Organized for Homicide (Organized Mysteries Book 2) (23 page)

Kate pulled into the smaller east lot of the funeral home and slid into the farthest visitor
's space from the door. There were plenty of open slots that afternoon, but she just wanted to slip in low-key, and parking front and center didn't really accomplish such a task. A walkway led to the covered portico at the side of the building, but the door wouldn't open when she pulled. She understood about security but was disappointed all the same. Double doors at the front of the building activated a short buzz to announce her arrival, and a tiny woman in black came quickly to greet her.

"
Lila Collier?" Kate opened.

"
Of course." The woman smiled and pointed to a guest book. "If you wouldn't mind signing here. The family appreciates seeing who comes by—you understand."

"
Yes." Kate grabbed up the disposable pen, noting it was not the one that would be there for the service, but was the fill-in while visitors were intermittent and it was easier to walk off with the pen. Security issue again. She didn't know why she kept reverting back to these thoughts but couldn't seem to get away from them.

The woman directed her to a large viewing room where the casket placed near the door could be seen half-hidden by a privacy screen. Chairs took up the rest of the space, and Kate assumed the space doubled as the chapel where the service would take place. She noticed double doors at the other end, closed now, that were likely the way in for the masses when services were held, and this side door would allow family to come in after. Hopefully the deceased would be moved closer in the room the day of the event, but for the present she could see how this placement was handy for mourners.

"I'll leave this door open, if you don't mind," the woman explained, "but there's a chair on the other side of the screen if you want to spend some extra time. No hurry."

As the funeral home employee scurried away, Kate looked at her watch. Almost dinner time. She wondered
if the family would be by later and moved inside the screened area.

Lila looked lovely. It always felt like a cliché when she heard it, but in death Lila Collier truly did look as if she was sleeping. A high collar hid the wound that killed her, but Kate could tell the
fabric had been moved slightly and assumed someone who had already been by felt it necessary to see where her throat was slashed.

Along the padded side of the casket, a lavender envelope stood between Lila
's arm and the cream-colored satin. On the outside was written "You Made Me Who I Am," and Kate recognized the handwriting as Sydney's from notes she'd seen in the workroom. Could it be a confession? Could she and Meg be wrong? She bit her lip and used a fingernail to pull the envelope away from the fabric. The flap was tucked in, not sealed. Kate pushed it back into place, then touched the top, fingering it several times.

No! I don
't have the right!

She crossed her arms and turned away but slowly rotated back around, her gaze drawn to the envelope. What if it was a confession? Or what if
Sydney knew who did it and refused to tell, didn't realize the risk she was doing to her own future? Okay, now she was being melodramatic. It was probably just a goodbye note, and she had no right to even consider reading it.

But if I
'd gone ahead and read the journal last month, I might have saved myself tangling with a killer.
Slamming the door on her own good ethics, Kate glanced quickly over her shoulder and around the screen to make sure she was not seen, then slipped the envelope out of the casket and teased open the flap.

The letter was several pages of half-sized stationery, a love letter from a daughter who acknowledged her mother
's greatest gift was allowing Sydney to grow into a strong adult. The adoption was never mentioned, and Kate wept at the part where Sydney thanked her mom for giving her independence by standing strong for beliefs and for showing her daughter the importance of taking on responsibility from an early age. Rather than feeling betrayed by her parent's turning over household challenges, Sydney thanked her mom for allowing her to see what she truly was capable of handling.

"
Damn," Kate whispered, folding the sheets and returning everything to the side of the casket. "She understands more now at seventeen than I do at nearly twice her age. She saw Lila's absences as gifts to learn who she was, and I saw my parents' work as more important than me."

And Kate had learned to stand on her own feet early because of her parents. If they had been more conventional, she would have never been so self-sufficient. Maybe she was too self-sufficient at times. Like lately when everyone tried to get her to take it easy like the doctor said, but she kept pushing because of a need to do everything herself.

"I obviously still have some learning to do."

She shook her head in dismay and seated herself.

"Thank you, Lila, for helping your family grow strong and steady." There was no pressing need for her to speak out loud, but Kate hoped her presence there told Lila's spirit that she was doing everything she could to make sure Sydney was clear of all suspicion in the death. That she hadn't just come to read personal correspondence.

Nevertheless, for a moment there was an overwhelming need to make a connection, and she reached out a hand to touch the outside of the casket. Then she heard the whisper.

"Stop looking, Kate McKenzie."

For a moment she thought it came from the casket.

"Quit investigating before it's too late."

She realized the voice came from behind the screen at her left shoulder, right by the doorway. She jumped up to see who was there.

No one.

Kate flew out into the hall, hoping to see the back of a figure racing away. Instead, she heard the clunk of the emergency door bar on the previously locked side exit. The door was hidden by a turn in the hallway, but the flash of sunlight she saw told Kate the whisperer had exited to the outside.

The tiny woman in black suddenly appeared at her elbow. "Who was that?"

"
I don't know. Didn't you notice the entrance door buzz?"

"
Yes, a few minutes ago. But when I got to the front no one was there, so I just assumed someone either realized they'd come to the wrong business and left or decided they weren't ready yet to come in."

Kate walked back to grab the purse she
'd left by the chair near Lila's casket. The woman followed her.

"
Are you okay? You're very pale. Did the person try to attack you?"

What did just happen? Kate wasn
't sure, but she decided a call to Lieutenant Johnson wasn't a bad idea.

"
I'm fine. However, I think I'll leave now."

Kate stayed on high alert as she walked back to her car. The only people around were pedestrians on the sidewalk, moving in and out of the nearby businesses. No one seemed to be taking a particular interest in her. Kate thought about the warning, and mentally went back over the words and the voice. Her van
's door lock clunked open, and she slid into the driver's seat and touched the button to slam the locks back again to the down position.

Did the voice sound familiar? Had she recognized the words as the speech pattern of anyone she
'd met with this job? Besides the whispering, she assumed the voice was disguised in some way, the person trying to sound differently. But words often were favorites used over and over. Was she mistaken? Was she simply obsessing?

She flipped the rubber band on her wrist.
Yes, the message was too short to give any such clues.

Between her clients, the house, the library sale, and all the assorted people she
'd met through the recent experiences, too many voices filtered through her head. They were all there, but how could she isolate them one by one? And who's to say the whisperer wasn't just some prankster pulling a joke.

"
No, my name was spoken. That was no prank."

All Those Little Things That Entertain Us

The boxes that puzzles come in rarely last as long as the puzzle. Whether it's large children's puzzle pieces or a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, adapting to new storage right away is often a good idea. For large children's puzzles, use a plastic container with a snap-on lid. For jigsaw puzzles, put the pieces inside a large Ziploc bag then place into the original storage box. Both methods keep pieces from getting lost in transit between game closet and table, or as they are moved with other household belongings. Do the same with board games—put small pieces into Ziploc bags from the start. Then when the box starts to come apart at the seams the pieces will still be with the rest of the game, or easily found together.

Family photos are another group of small items that take a lot of space and are easily lost in a move. Digitizing photos not only offers the ability to share more easily, and inexpensively print only what you want, but makes for much more efficient storage. Flash cards and USB drives save large amounts of photos within very small storage drives, and the constantly falling cost of technology means these kinds of drives hold more for less cost all the time. The tiny drives take very little space in safe deposit boxes, too. Or you can back up your photos easily with cloud servers, and access photos anywhere at any time—you won't have to pack or move anything.

* * *

She planned to call Lieutenant Johnson when she arrived home, but as the van reached the top of her cul-de-sac, Kate saw Jane's car already in the driveway, so she drove on. No way she was going to worry her mother-in-law. A call from the van was now plan B, but she needed to make sure she was completely calm before trying to talk. The lieutenant stayed irritated enough with her, and this call likely wouldn't help his mood.

Downtown Hazelton was small but offered people and cover, so she drove to
Main Street. She loved the charm of her current hometown, rooted in the early 1800s but adapting well with the changing times, and most of the buildings at least could boast that parts were constructed ahead of the twentieth century, especially the custom trim work displayed along the eaves and window sills. People around here appreciated their signage and used the town's turn-of-the-century rustic look for inspiration. While some of the names on the buildings changed, reproductions of original beaten metal signs or stylized new designs were called on to give new businesses a historic air. All signage hung securely on wrought iron, and most swayed when a brisk wind blew. Kate loved sitting on one of the sidewalk benches and listening to the squeaks.

Many older buildings used to house other functions. An old filling station now boasted the local IT geek crew. From fueling early days
' highway gas guzzlers, to now keeping Internet potholes and wrecks from crippling residents' computers, the business space was used well. But for Kate's purposes, the parking lot held a bigger attraction, and she pulled the van into one of the spaces.

Johnson answered on the second ring.

"Hi, this is Kate McKenzie."

"
Mrs. McKenzie, what can I do for you?"

"
I have some information you might need to hear." As succinctly as possible, she relayed the information, following up with the suggestion that was the true reason for her taking the risk of his wrath to call. "The funeral home's video security system might offer a look at the person. At least let you know if the whisperer was a man or woman."

"
I'll take your expert opinion under advisement," Johnson said, dryly. "You do realize, however, the warning was simply the same advice I've been giving you all along. Stay out of my active cases, Mrs. McKenzie."

"
Please know, Lieutenant Johnson, I never want to be in any way associated with your cases. Circumstances simply make things happen that way."

"
Well, try to make circumstances lead in another direction in the future. Okay?"

The man infuriated her. Where did he get the nerve to insinuate all the things his sarcastic comments implied?

"I'm only asking questions because I'm concerned a young woman's future is in jeopardy. I don't actively pursue clues to your cases, but if I learn anything through conversation, I take note and ask questions if the need arises."

"
So what needs have arisen lately?" Johnson asked.

"
Pardon?"

"
What have you heard to make you feel you needed to ask more questions? Why did someone feel you should be warned off?"

He
'd nailed her again. Darn her anger. After the murder at the Nethercutt mansion, she had begun watching a few highly rated crime shows just to take note of the things that had gone over her head during the investigation. And one thing she'd noticed right away was how law enforcement often made witnesses and suspects angry as a means of getting them to actively spill what they knew or to incriminate themselves. Johnson had just pulled the same tactic on her.

"
Did you know Erin Parker hired a bodyguard because she thinks she should have been killed instead of Lila?"