MURDER IN THE SPOTLIGHT (Food Truck Mysteries Book 2) (15 page)

I found a small café where I could sit and get a cup of coffee. It sounded odd, given that I made coffee all day long, but I’d been up a long time already and was feeling a little droopy. The waitress that brought the coffee to me was more chipper than I ever felt during a shift.

I’d pulled a list of kennels from a website, and I’d sorted them by distance from the Jones house. I started dialing and starting my spiel. I was supposed to pick up my friend’s dog, but I’d totally forgotten what kennel was housing the pet. I gave them Tracy’s name and the description of the dog.

I was on my seventh kennel when the receptionist told me that the Jones had dropped the dog off two days ago and were expected to pick him up tomorrow. I expressed my puzzlement since I’d thought I was supposed to pick him up tomorrow, but I thanked the receptionist and hung up. So the Jones family had dropped the family dog off before leaving. The only question I had was whether Tracy had arranged the scene before she’d left or if she’d come back alone to take care of the details.

I suspected the former, since the walls had holes in them. I doubted that the diminutive woman could have done that by herself. I was willing to bet that Mr. Jones had some sweet looking bruises on his knuckles about now.

I paid my bill and hailed a cab outside. I was still debating whether to go to the lot or apartment as I got in. I noticed a car pull up behind the cab. The windows were tinted, but it was so close to the cab that it seemed apparent that he was watching me. The car was a sleek black Camaro, and I wondered at the ego that had gone into the car.

I was feeling nervous from the murder scenes and the crime scene yesterday, so I asked the driver to take me to my apartment. I would get Land to pick me up tomorrow, or I’d borrow a car from my parents.

The driver pulled away from the curb and started toward my place. From time to time, I looked back to see if the Camaro was still there—and it was. I had the driver take a few odd turns to get to my apartment, and each time, the Camaro took the same turns with us. We were approaching the street where I lived when I felt the cold fright run down my spine. Once I was at home, there would be no one to stop an intruder. I didn’t know the neighbors, and even if I did, there was no way to know that they’d be home at this time of day.

I’d be alone and relatively defenseless against whomever was following me. Instead, I made a quick call to my parents and asked for a dinner invitation. My mother jumped at the chance to see me, so I gave the driver new directions. He gave me a dramatic sigh, but it didn’t stop me. I offered him a larger tip to make it fast, and he sped up to earn the extra cash.

We made it to my parents’ house in less than ten minutes. I paid the cab driver as the Camaro drove down the street. My mother and father both answered the door and I waved at the Camaro, driver and the cab as I entered.

The next morning was uneventful in my trip to work. My father drove me to Elm Street after Land had already picked up the food truck. He dropped me at the truck’s door, and I went in. Land raised an eyebrow at me. “Missing Mommy and Daddy?” he asked with a smirk.

“After I found the dog last night, I was followed home. So I decided to stay with my parents instead of going to an empty apartment.” I tried not to look as desperate as I felt at the moment.

He nodded. “Good choice. You could have called me instead.”

I grinned. “You were next.”

He nodded as if I needed his approval for my decisions. “On the down side, someone is after you, but on the bright side, you must be getting close to the solution. Otherwise, no one would give a shit if you were poking around.”

I grunted. “That only works if I knew what I’m supposed to have found out. I’m more baffled now than I was before. I have no idea what I’m supposed to be aware of.”

Land continued his chopping. “A few things to think about. This person following you only started yesterday. That must mean that the discovery is rather fresh. If you’d known for weeks, then it wouldn’t make sense for him to start now. So you need to think about the things you’ve discovered and if other people could know that you’ve discovered it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. I only had one cup of coffee, and I was barely awake. Sleep had not come easily to someone who had been followed home.

“For example, your phone call to the kennels would not likely be known by someone else. You made the calls, and the only other people who would know are the kennel operators. So scratch that. I’d say it’s more likely that you know something about the disappearance of Tracy Jones and you haven’t processed it correctly yet. Lots of people were there including police and the press. Some of them mentioned that you were on the scene. Something from the house might be a clue that you don’t realize yet.”

I nodded. Mainly because my mouth was full of coffee, but also because he made sense. Whoever was following me knew that I knew something. Land was fine, and he’d been to all the reality show’s meetings and challenges. So it was doubtful that we’d both seen something of importance to the murders and disappearance.

However, the harder I thought about it, the less sure I was of anything. The Tracy Jones disappearance was the only thing I could think of, but the police had been there as well. So I figured that they knew the same things I did—and they were trained to solve mysteries.

I stuffed my hands in my pocket, wishing I could get rid of the feeling of impending doom. Instead I just found the flash drive that I’d used to pull the surveillance videos. I put it back in its place, so I wouldn’t lose it the next time I wanted to find it.

I paused. I ran my mind back over the scene at the Jones’ house yesterday and then a huge piece of the puzzle fell into place. I knew some of what had happened, and I knew that the rest would come soon.

I finished up my morning work without saying much. I didn’t want Land to try to talk me out of my plan. I knew what I was doing involved a certain amount of risk, but I didn’t care. The payoff would be that we’d win the competition, and I’d be well on my way toward winning the publicity that went with it. I passed the hours by thinking about what I’d do with the money.

Danvers didn’t stop by at all, which didn’t surprise me. I’d intentionally showed him up at the Jones’ house, and I thought it had likely annoyed him—at least, I hoped it had. That was my intention.

After I counted the money for the day and finished my part of the cleanup, I grabbed the money bag and started to head out the door. Land watched me get ready and said, “I’m going with you.”

I thought about fighting it, but then decided that it would be fruitless to argue with him. If I told him what I knew, then he’d go with me whether I wanted him there or not. I wanted to do this alone. I thought I’d have a better chance of getting into the places I needed by myself.

I made a dramatic sigh and nodded. “Okay, drop off the truck, get your car and I’ll be here waiting.”

He nodded, remembering that my car was still at the secured lot as well. I couldn’t go far without my car. He drove off smiling—knowing that he’d won a battle. However, as soon as he’d gone, I caught a cab, went to my parents’ house and borrowed a car.

I was back at the Jones’ house in no time. I assumed that since they hadn’t picked up their dog yet that they hadn’t returned home, and I was correct. The house was empty when I pulled into the driveway. There was an odd feeling about the house; its solitude made my nerves jump.

I walked around back and popped the back door open. The tape had been removed and replaced when Detective Danvers and I went into the house, so it wasn’t hard to remove it again. I wasted no time once I was inside. I walked to the smart TV and reached down. Sure enough, a flash drive stuck out of the side of the television. I knew that I wasn’t the only person who had discovered the security footage and made a copy.

Except now I knew that Tracy had used her copies for another purpose. She’d learned who had peed on our pots and pans. She then used that knowledge to keep the pranks at bay. She didn’t want the ugly blot of pranks upon her reputation on the show. Apparently blackmail was fine, but pranks were out of the question.

I slipped out of the building and drove home. My parents helped me get my car from the secured lot. I took my time deciding where I wanted to watch this flash drive. I knew that it had video files on it, even before I took it anywhere or plugged it into any device. It had to.

I finally opted to watch it at my parents’ house. The location seemed acceptable. After all the things that had gone on, I wasn’t ready to watch this flash drive on my own. I needed people around who I knew were on my side.

My folks didn’t have a smart TV, they still watched an older model, but they did have a computer. I plugged the flash drive in and looked at the files. Sure enough, I’d been right. I patted myself on the back for this. I had the makings of a decent detective. There were a number of video files on the flash drive, named in the same manner as the security videos I’d taken from Marsha’s office.

I knew that it was going to be slow going through these videos. I hadn’t bothered to learn the name of the video with the 20 missing minutes on it. I also didn’t know if there was anything else to be learned from the video files. So I’d be watching them all again and probably moving slower through them so as not to overlook anything. I knew the value of these files even if the police had totally missed it.

Sitting in my parents’ house, it was easy to forget last night and how someone had taken the trouble to follow me. I understood now why they thought I might have seen something. If I’d been looking for a flash drive last night, I would have been a threat to them. It had just taken me longer to realize what I’d missed.

I stopped my brain and began watching the videos. They were fairly dull, given that in most screens there were no people and no movement of any kind. I finally gave up and started to fast forward through the videos. There were still several to go through, but at least it moved faster.

Finally, I hit the one that had the delivery of our pots and pans. I recognized it from the early moments. I sped through the video, wondering if the same clip had been removed from this version of the security video. I doubted it. Our version had been sanitized so that no one would be the wiser.

I slowed down when the pots and pans were delivered. Just like in the other video they were set in the main hallway and left. I waited for Marsha to come by with her clipboard. I found the instant where that happened and began watching in earnest.

The video had not been edited. Within a minute of Marsha standing beside the boxes, she fished a cup out of her bag. I couldn’t see the contents from the grainy feed of the video, but I knew what it was. She opened the cup and poured the contents of it into the box. In a matter of seconds, she’d adjusted her shoe, dumped the cup into the trash and moved on.

I sat there in silence. It was exactly what I’d expected. I’d suspected Marsha off and on of being the prankster. She was the most organized person in the studio, and she could easily have found the times and availability of people to know when she could conduct her stunts. As I’d pointed out, the pranks had not interrupted the production of the show in any way. That suggested someone who was dedicated to the show and its goals.

If a contestant had been responsible, the goal would have been to achieve the most publicity. They would want the press and the gossip sites to be aware of what was happening. However, these pranks were easily covered up or could be blamed on the contestant, like the missing ingredients. They didn’t detract from the show at all. They merely added tension and drama to a group of people who were already stressed out.

I knew what happened when there was too much stress. You got drama, which was the lifeblood of any reality show. The pranks had been pulled just to ratchet up the tension and hopefully cause some outbursts that could be played for maximum value. The show wanted more excitement, and this was their way to get it.

I watched the rest of the videos but nothing came of it. I couldn’t find any other scenes regarding the pranks or Marsha committing them. Still, it was enough.

Tracy had used the information she’d obtained. Somehow she’d purloined the video files, and from that, she’d made herself immune to the pranks. Tracy Jones was too perfect to be dragged down into the mud of humiliation or defeat. So she made Marsha ensure that no pranks were played on her.

I also knew two other things about Tracy. First, she was the one who had pulled the dog poop prank. I suspected that after the murders she began to worry that she would be suspected since nothing had happened to her. So she had engineered her own prank, taking her own dog’s mess and putting it in the box. The attempt had been amateurish, and while Tracy might have been a good blackmailer, she was a terrible prankster. When the police began to suspect that she was behind the pranks, she’d packed up the family and left town.

The other thing I knew was that Tracy had not killed Marsha. It takes an odd kind of logic to kill the person who is benefitting you. Tracy had no reason to kill Marsha. She was exempt from pranks and was being given the easiest of challenges. The blackmail certainly explained the cilantro, which was likely a suggestion from Tracy to Marsha. No doubt Tracy had decided that she wanted the easy route to victory, but she’d grown complacent. When her challenge had not shown any stretch for her food truck, she’d been eliminated.

The other thing that I strongly suspected was that the Jones’ home had been trashed by none other than Tracy herself. She’d shown me a glimpse of her bad humor when she slammed the door in my face. If someone was willing to go to the lengths of blackmail because she felt herself above pranks, I couldn’t imagine how she would behave if she was eliminated from the competition.

Actually I could imagine it, since I’d seen the house. The furniture was ripped up and the TV was in pieces. Of course, the television would be destroyed, given that it was the way that she would have watched the reality show. The quick trip had been to placate her and get her away from the source of her anger. I felt sorry suddenly for the perfect family who had such an imperfect matriarch.

I called Land. I knew what I wanted to do, but I needed help, preferably from a man. I wasn’t too proud to admit it. I knew that Danvers would likely try to scrap my plan before he even heard the entire thing. It involved a bit of danger, and I was a woman that he might be interested in. So Land could do the persuading, man to man.

He came over to my parents’ home. My mother cooed over him and offered him large plates of food. He demurred and then listened as I explained what I had found. He raised an eyebrow when he heard what I’d done. “That was pretty brazen of you. Marching into their house and taking the flash drive.”

I shrugged. “I want this over so that we can win the contest and get things back to normal.”

Land ran a finger down my jawline. “I’m not sure I know exactly what normal is with you anymore.”

My mouth dropped open. Was this a proposition on his part, or had he heard about Danvers’ kiss and wanted to one up the detective? Given their rather competitive relationship, I wasn’t sure that I could answer that question. Before I could say a word, Land gave me a smile. “So where do I fit in with this scheme you’re hatching?”

I cleared my throat. “I need you to get Danvers to agree to let me wear a wire and get the killer to confess to murdering Marsha.”

Land laughed out loud. I rarely heard him laugh, so this was a change. I wasn’t pleased with it though, since he was doing it at my expense. “Wow, you don’t ask much. I’ll do what I can. Do you know who the killer is?”

I nodded. “I do, but the trail stops with Marsha. We need to get him to confess,” I said as I went on to tell him everything.