Death Wore Brown Shorts (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 1) (7 page)

When she reached the back door of her house, she three it wide and leaped inside. Annie could swear she did a shoulder roll to come up facing the door. She locked it and sagged to the floor. Every muscle ached and her throat hurt from running.

“Exercise,” she panted. “No, forget it. That was enough for the year.”

A shadow crossed her window shaped like a person. Annie squealed and found the energy to run to her room. She snatched up her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

“Please, send a policeman. I think there’s someone outside my house.”

“
M
a’am
, you’re saying someone chased you through the trees?” the policeman asked, looking skeptical. Annie raised a hand to her hair and smoothed it down. No sense appearing to be a wild woman given to fantasies or seeking attention.

“Yes.”

“You’re sure?”

She sighed and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m not making it up. Why didn’t they send Detective Lawson? This might have something to do with the murder investigation he’s working on.”

An eyebrow rose. “What makes you say so?”

Annie offered a hesitant grin. “A hunch?”

The validity of her story plummeted. She could almost see it happening, but she wouldn’t be the one to blow the whistle on Evie’s movements if there was a perfectly good explanation. What the reason might be escaped her, but it could exist. After she spoke with Evie herself, she would decide what to do.

“I know what I heard and saw, officer.”

“You said you couldn’t see anything.” He checked his notes as if there were that many. “‘It was pitch black. All I could see were trees. I think they were trees.’”

Annie ground her teeth. Now she sounded like a four-year-old. “I mean I know what I
heard
. It sounded like a weapon, a knife, maybe, and someone grabbed me.
That
I didn’t imagine.”

“So you imagined the rest?”

“I mean if you claim I imagined hearing the knife or that someone chased me. I felt the person’s hand on my ankle.”

“Did it seem like a man’s or a woman’s?”

“My ankle isn’t trained to know the difference.”

He glared. “Did it feel big, small, rough?”

She tried to recall and failed. The truth was her fear blocked out everything except how to escape. Even now her mind refused to let her replay the incident in her head lest she panic and run around the house screaming. Not good for convincing the policeman she didn’t imagine the whole thing.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “It might have been a man.”

A knock on the door followed by someone ringing the doorbell brought them both up short. Annie went to answer with the cop trailing her. She had to admit he made her feel safer doing so.

Flynn stood on the doorstep with his arm in a sling and scratches on his cheek and forehead. Along with the cuts, one eye had swollen and was bruised. Annie gasped in sympathy. “Did you get into a fight?”

“No. Can I come in?”

She stepped back, and he moved into the house. His gaze fell on the policeman. The two sized each other up. The policeman spoke first, his voice deeper and demonstrating more authority than it had earlier. Annie suspected despite the badge Flynn with his big build intimidated him.

You have a gun
, Annie told him silently.

“Flynn Aikens, why are you here at this hour?” the policeman asked.

“Visiting.” Flynn didn’t elaborate, but neither did he sound hostile.

The familiarity surprised Annie. “You know him, officer?”

“I left him at the station earlier,” the man snapped. “If there’s nothing else, Ms. Holloway, I’m going to get going. I would suggest until things die down around here, you don’t go out at night.”

“Go out?” Flynn almost shouted.

Annie shrugged, but she saw the officer out of the house before turning back to Flynn. “What happened to you?”

“First you.”

She frowned at him. “Well, let’s go to the kitchen. You look like you’ll fall down if you keep standing.”

They passed the living room on the way to the kitchen, and Flynn glanced inside. Annie ignored the questioning expression on his face and kept moving. When they entered the kitchen, she pulled a chair out for him and indicated he should take it. He didn’t hesitate.

“Sometime after I left you, someone tried to run me off the road,” he explained.

Her mouth fell open. “You’re kidding?”

“No. I might be getting too close to the killer, or they just don’t want me poking around.”

“Did you get a description of the vehicle?”

He nodded. “Stolen. They found it not long after, but I was busy getting patched up.”

“Did you see the driver?”

“Wouldn’t you know the stolen car had tinted windows? From the little I could make out, I think they wore a disguise to stay hidden. The car was ditched, wrecked along a side road. No fingerprints other than the owner’s.”

Annie shivered and rubbed her arms. She glanced toward the sink and spotted her bottle of bleach spray, but she didn’t dare start cleaning while Flynn was there in case he thought it weird at three in the morning. Well, it was weird of him to stop by.

“Why are you here at this time?”

“I heard the call.”

“What call?”

He frowned at her. “The call you made that someone was outside your house.”

“You have a police scanner.”

“Yes, so I knew you were awake, but I didn’t think you were crazy enough to be outside at this hour!”

Annie related what she had seen earlier and her experience of being chased. Flynn listened to everything with a far away light in his eyes. “Are you sure it wasn’t Evie who chased you and grabbed your ankle?”

“No, I’m not sure, but I don’t see her doing that.”

“Did you think she would put a package inside Stacy’s house without Stacy knowing it?”

“Um, no. You have a point. I suppose if any of my neighbors are found guilty, it will shock me to my core. I want to know, and I don’t. I like our community, and I wish this had never happened. It doesn’t feel safe anymore.”

Flynn reached out as if to rub Annie’s arm, and she leaned back out of reach. He stilled, eyes wide. Annie searched for a spot on the wall to disappear into. Her face burned, and she prayed he wouldn’t ask what her issue was. They sat in silence for a few awkward moments.

Annie rose and moved to the sink. She couldn’t resist. The bleach spray called her name, and the sponge.

Don’t do it, Annie. Resist, relate, release!

She opened a drawer and removed a new package of rubber gloves and another one holding a sponge. Already a sigh formed in her chest, and she pressed her lips together to push down the contented feeling. This wasn’t natural.

“So what time should I pick you up?” Flynn asked.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Huh?”

“We’re questioning Evie, right? Before we inform the police? Or did you want to get into Stacy’s house to see the package for ourselves?”

Annie faced him, placing a half gloved hand on her hip. “Don’t start that again. I’m not breaking into Stacy’s house.”

He shrugged and then winced in pain. Her heart stirred for him.

“Did they give you pain meds?”

“They did. Whiskey would be better. Anyway, I was thinking more of inviting ourselves over for a visit.”

“Us,” she repeated and rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe after what happened to you, you’re still willing to keep investigating. You didn’t hear of anyone running Detective Lawson off the road.”

“No, but he has a gun. Now there’s an idea. I should buy a gun.”

She eyed him trying to figure out if he was joking again. Annie had nothing against guns. She had once visited a firing range to learn how to shoot. The cold steel in her hand felt powerful and satisfying for some reason. However, after the session, she wrote the scene she needed the experience for and never returned.

“Would you have had a shootout on the road?” Annie asked in disbelief.

“I would do anything to protect myself or anyone with me.”

She figured he meant it as encouragement.

“Besides, Annie, you were attacked as well. Are you willing to keep going?” He gazed around the kitchen. “Do you have a gun in that giant purse you carry around?”

She waggled a finger at him, calming down a bit. His teasing helped her more than he knew, that and putting distance between them. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Are we doing this?” he insisted.

Annie hesitated. She had enjoyed talking with him and searching Paul’s apartment together. In fact, she liked people a lot, socializing with them, getting to know them. Men were a challenge on a personal level, and she tended to hold them at a distance. Not that she had that much trouble. They weren’t beating the door down to ask for a date or anything.

She studied Flynn’s handsome face. This man was not the kind to be interested in her, and she didn’t once think of him as a love interest. Her ridiculous reaction from earlier embarrassed her now.

“Evie’s likely to lie if we ask her directly,” Annie surmised. “But she did tell me she feared the police would blame her if they found out about her being the last on Paul’s delivery list.”

“Or she could have lied then, too.”

Annie’s brows rose. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Here’s a theory, Annie.”

“Go ahead.” She tugged the gloves off and placed them with care back inside the plastic.

“What if Evie was Paul’s accomplice?”

“That’s preposterous.”

“Annie, you’re a mystery writer. Open your mind. You can’t close off the possibilities just because your friends are involved. It’s scary. I know, but you have to do it.”

Annie scowled at him. “Are you my therapist?”

He waited rather than respond.

“Okay, fine. I’m having a hard time accepting it.”

“Why?”

“Because Evie is so anal about money. Everyone knows it. She saves every cent she can, and her husband Gary had to justify each purchase. The day before Paul died, the two of them had a big argument because Evie got onto him about money. If she was selling stolen goods on the side with Paul, I think her household finances would have been better.”

He rubbed his jaw. “Makes sense, but everything isn’t black and white.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just because a person is worried about money all the time doesn’t mean they have money problems.”

“You’re right!”

He stood and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I know I’m right. I’ll be here early. Let’s say seven?”

“It’s just after three now.”

“We want to catch Stacy before she leaves for work, and we want to get a hold of that package before Evie has a chance to try to call in an anonymous tip.”

Annie went cold. Once again, he was right. For a moment, she was temped to call Stacy and alert her. Who knew if Stacy had returned after her middle of the night trip of trailing Robert. She might still be spying on the poor guy. On top of that, where did he need to be at this time? Robert lived off his retirement money from the military, and sometimes he visited his old colleagues.

Not the middle of the night though.

“Are you staying nearby?” Annie asked, realizing she had no idea.

“I was in a hotel, but I’ve moved to Paul’s place. Might as well use it since I paid the bill for the month.”

“That’s thirty minutes from here. I’ll call you when I’m sure she’s in, and you can meet me there.”

Flynn agreed and took his leave. At the door, Annie cautioned him.

“Please, be careful.”

“I took a defensive driving class once. That’s how I got away with just this arm when my car was totaled. Don’t worry.”

“You’re only human.”

He grinned and strode to the small car she assumed was a rental then backed out of the drive and rode away. Annie hoped whoever had come after him wouldn’t try again.

S
tacy squealed
like a schoolgirl and linked her arm through Annie’s. “Oh goodie, Annie, you’ve found a beau. I knew Flynn was just the man for you the moment I saw him.”

Annie pressed a finger to her lips. “Will you shush, Stacy? He’ll hear you. Flynn is not my ‘beau.’ We’re just working together to find out what happened to his cousin. That’s all.”

Stacy’s eyes insisted on sparkling. “That’s where it all starts. Then love blossoms, and before you know it, you’re picking out patterns together.”

“What patterns?”

Stacy’s cheeks pinked, and she ducked her head closer to Annie’s. She made small walking gestures in the air with the forefinger and middle finger of each hand. “Baby patterns.”

Annie’s eye twitched. “Stacy, please stick to reality, sweetheart.”

“Oh poo, you ruin my fun, Annie. Well, come on in and sit down. Or we can go out on the back porch. I spend more time out there now that I’ve screened it in. It was worth the investment getting it done. Let me tell you.”

“Don’t you have to go to work?” Annie watched as Flynn checked something on the body of the rental car. Her stomach tightened thinking he had been attacked again, but he flicked a leaf away. She guessed he missed fussing over his sports car.

“I took the day off,” Stacy said. “So sleepy this morning for some reason.”

“Yes, I wonder why,” Annie commented. The inflection in Annie’s tone slipped right on by Stacy as she ushered them into the house.

Annie scanned the interior of Stacy’s home, but she didn’t spot anything resembling the cardboard box. She wondered if Evie hid it in a cupboard or if Stacy herself had stumbled onto the box.

Annie met Flynn’s eyes in an unspoken question. Should they ask? He shook his head in a slight movement, and Annie grabbed a seat when Stacy offered.

“How about some bacon and eggs?” Stacy said. “I haven’t eaten yet, but I have scones and cream, or biscuits if you prefer.”

Annie’s stomach growled. She’d grabbed a bowl of instant oatmeal. Time of year never mattered to her when it came to what she craved. “No thanks, Stacy, but I was wondering if you’ve seen anything strange around the neighborhood lately.”

“Strange how?” Stacy furrowed her brow. “You mean like people we don’t know lurking about?”

Annie thought about it. The killer might have come from somewhere else. There were no guarantees one of her friends or the people she had known for years were involved. “It could be strangers, like you said, movement at night. After all, poor Paul was attacked at night, and it happened on your block. Have you noticed anything unexplained, Stacy?”

The glass she held shattered on the floor at Stacy’s feet. Her fingers trembled, and she buried them in her dress. “Oh crud muffin.”

Flynn looked at Annie, but she kept her gaze on Stacy. “Are you okay, Stacy?”

“I’m fine. Let me get the broom to sweep this up. Mind your step.”

Flynn jumped to his feet. “I’ll grab the broom for you. This way, right?”

“No, don’t bother,” Stacy tried.

He kept walking and called over his shoulder, “Annie, you can help her to gather the bigger pieces of glass.”

Annie knew what he was doing. Surely, Evie didn’t walk all the way through the house to hide the box in the kitchen. More likely, she would choose the living room off from the front door.

Stacy’s china closet included mostly glass doors from top to bottom. A box couldn’t be hidden there. Unless Stacy stuffed the box behind a couch or under it, another room was a better choice.

Annie crouched beside Stacy to help gather the bigger pieces of glass as Flynn suggested. She kept her tone casual and her gaze on her hands.

“Stacy, something seems to be bothering you. I’d like to help if I can. You know I’m not going to spread your secrets around.”

She braced herself, realizing Stacy had spread
her
secrets around—what few she knew. Yet, Stacy didn’t appear to be offended. Her bearing told Annie before she even spoke that they were going to circle the tree a few times.

“Nothing bothering me,” she claimed, waving a hand in the air. “Just the usual, you know bills, life, et cetera.”

Annie was as stubborn as they came, and she halfway forgot the fear she suffered when she ventured outside. If she didn’t ask any questions, she couldn’t learn the truth.

“So that wasn’t you I saw following Robert the other night?”

Stacy paled. “M-me? Um, uh, I… No. That is…”

Annie watched her, hands fluttering about, first tugging on a lock of hair and then yanking it hard enough to sting. Sympathy washed over Annie at putting her friend in this position.

“I’m sorry, Stacy. I shouldn’t have put it like that. Anyone would feel the same about Robert.” If Annie had seen him driving out at three in the morning, and she hadn’t been hiding in the trees, she would have followed, too.

“About Robert?” Stacy repeated, still dumbfounded.

“Yes, driving out at night, heading who knows where. I would have followed if I could have.”

Stacy rocked so much on her heels she toppled over and landed on her butt. With Stacy’s love of historical romance, Annie couldn’t help thinking the woman had a case of the vapors just then. She almost wanted to tell her she would get the smelling salts.

Does she have smelling salts? I bet she does.

“Stacy, are you okay?” Annie touched the backs of her fingers to Stacy’s forehead. Stacy dragged the hand away and chuckled, a shaky sound at best.

“I’m fine. Low blood sugar probably. I just need something to eat. Don’t concern yourself, Annie. You said you followed Robert the other night?”

“No.” Annie narrowed her eyes at her. “I didn’t. You did though. Where did he end up at that time of night?”

“I don’t know.”

Annie held her breath for more, but Stacy went back to busying herself with cleaning up the glass. The longer she worked the more color entered her cheeks. She lowered her eyelids, so Annie couldn’t guess what she thought. Stacy had pulled herself together by the time Flynn returned to the room.

Flynn held the broom out to Stacy with one hand. The other he kept behind his back. Annie figured out in an instant that he’d found the box. His expression, calm and cool, gave nothing away, but a tight nod of his head told her so.

“Thanks, Flynn. I appreciate it.” Stacy swept up the last of the mess and straightened. When she rubbed an arm over her forehead to wipe away moisture, the bell rang. All three of them looked in its direction.

Annie tensed.

“Should I get that?” Flynn asked. He stood near the fireplace, leaning an elbow on the mantel.

“No, stay put.” Stacy set aside the broom and dustpan full of glass and rushed from the room.

Flynn covered the space between himself and Annie in a couple long strides. He produced the small box. “Stuff this in that big bag of everything you have. Quick.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re not going to tell her?”

“It has nothing to do with her if Evie had to sneak it into the house. Put it away. We can decide later what to do with it.”

Annie hesitated, but at the sound of voices in the hall, she made a snap decision. Her purse held the box without a problem, and she stuffed it deep before slapping the handle onto her shoulder and dropping into a chair.

When Detective Lawson strode into the room, Annie felt like she could use a snort of the smelling salts. He eyed her with suspicion. Her handbag suddenly weighed two tons. What she should do was hand the box over to him, but she sat there mute.

“What are you two doing here?” he demanded.

Annie blinked. Her tongue refused to work.

“Visiting,” Flynn supplied.

Annie dared to glance at Flynn. Zero fear of the police or getting into trouble. Maybe she should suspect him. Sure, she was the one who told him about the box and Evie, but that proved nothing. Evie might be another nosy neighbor like Stacy who saw something suspicious and acted on it.

Flynn being Paul’s cousin and close to him might have partnered with him on the eBay selling scheme. That might not even be what was happening. She had Flynn’s word and nothing else to go on.

Detective Lawson dismissed Flynn and Annie and focused on Stacy. “I received a tip saying you received a particular package from Paul Granger the day before he died, Ms. Dover. Care to comment on that?”

Annie peeked at Flynn again, and he raised one eyebrow at her. She suspected he knew she started to doubt him. She clutched her bag tighter in one hand. The squeak from her grip should have alerted the law officer if not the downpour at her temples and upper lip.

Stacy’s mouth fell open. “Me? A package? I don’t know what you’re talking about. The last box I got was a shipment of used books. That was three weeks ago. I haven’t read through them all yet.”

“Mind if I take a look around?” he asked.

Flynn straightened. “Do you have a warrant?”

Lawson scowled at him. “I’m speaking to Ms. Dover, or maybe you have a reason I shouldn’t look around her house?”

“Sure,” Flynn shot back, “and maybe I tried to kill myself.”

Lawson shrugged. “That’s between you and your therapist, but I haven’t ruled out a crime ring that involves several people. A falling out that ended in murder isn’t unheard of.”

Annie stirred from her fear enough to speak. “A crime ring? In Amberlon?”

The detective bristled. “I’m going to have to ask the two of you to leave while I conduct my interview with Ms. Dover. If you have a problem with that, we can discuss it down at the station.”

Annie didn’t need to be asked twice. She flew to the door with a muttered good-bye to Stacy. Flynn followed at a more leisurely pace. When they were out on the walk, she turned to him. “Did you—”

He took her arm and let go right away. “Don’t talk. Get in the car.”

“Flynn!”

“Annie, he might be watching from the window. You don’t want to look suspicious. Get in.”

She realized he was right and climbed into the rental. “I live around the corner.”

“We’ll drive somewhere we can feel safe to check the contents of that box. Paul’s apartment is as good as any.”

“Weren’t you nervous about him being there and us having the box?”

“A little.”

“I don’t flout the law, Flynn. I don’t know what you do when you’re not putting out fires.”

He grinned. “I lay around on my back and watch TV. When I’m not doing that I exercise. Other times, I deal with an on and off relationship with my girlfriend.”

Annie turned away from him to watch the passing scenery. “I didn’t ask for details.”

“
Off
at the moment.”

“Still not asking.”

He laughed.