Maddie Cochere - Two Sisters and a Journalist 01 - Murder Under Construction (4 page)

I heard Pepper say, “Buck’s brother and his wife are coming with their five kids.”

I drifted back to sleep.

I was now grilling burgers for five kids. Each one wanted their burger cooked a different way. My frustration was mounting, and I started swearing at all of them. It was top-notch swearing with every nasty word I had ever said in my lifetime and then some. I used my spatula to flip the burgers one at a time from the grill to the kids. Each burger fell to the ground. My laughter was maniacal. The kids faded from view. I stared at the charred meat on the ground and contemplated picking one up to eat. As I reached for the burger nearest me, the ground shook from the whip that split the burger in two. I looked up to see Paula staring intently into my eyes. She spoke. “The soup. The soup killed me.”

I bolted upright in the back seat. I had been slumped over, and a bit of drool was at the corner of my mouth. I felt like a sluggard. I had never had anything like this happen to me before, and I didn’t want to believe someone could actually come to me in my dreams. Especially a dead someone. That kind of thing only happened in books and movies. And if she was coming to me, I now knew she had been poisoned. But that didn’t make sense. Why the knife in her chest?

I wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. “Are we there yet?” I asked.

“Geez, Jo,” Pepper said. “Thanks for waking up. You sure do know how to saw logs.”

“I do not snore!” I said emphatically.

Jackie twisted around to give me a big smile. I suppose I must have been snoring, but I wasn’t going to admit it. “We’re just coming up to the Fort Pitt Tunnel,” she said. “We’ll be downtown in about five minutes.”

I yawned and tried to clear my cobwebs. “What’s our plan, ladies? How do you want to go about looking for a pimp?” I asked.

Jackie responded, “I think our best bet is to go into as many bars as we can. We’ll show Ruby’s picture around and ask if anyone knows her. We’re going to have to find someone who knew her before we can find her pimp.”

“Do we have a good picture?” Pepper asked.

Jackie showed her the headshot of Ruby from the construction site. It wasn’t gruesome. She looked like she was sleeping, albeit with dirt on her face.

The atmosphere in the car became melancholy. I had a strange feeling that today’s excursion would be a waste of time.

“What is that smell?” I asked. I looked around to see what we had just passed. A sickening odor filled the car.

Pepper started to giggle. Jackie held her hand up over her nose.

“What the french toast?” I yelped. “Pepper!”

She burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. It was only a little test fart. I didn’t expect it to smell so bad. We had Mexican food last night, and then with Chummy’s food this morning, I think my guts are messed up.”

“Well, roll the window down,” I snapped. I was thoroughly grossed out by the odor. “And grab a parking spot. We can use the GPS to find bars and strip clubs.”

“You can’t search for strip clubs with a GPS,” Pepper said.

“Sure you can,” Jackie replied. She fiddled with her phone for a minute. “We’re close to three strip clubs and four bars. Go one block to your left and then turn right. The Diamond Gentleman’s Club will be on your right.”

“Should we all go in?” Pepper asked.

“No,” I said. “Why don’t you man the getaway car while Jackie and I go in and ask around?”

A few minutes later, we were inside the brightly lit club. The color scheme was a gaudy purple and vanilla. The club didn’t officially open until four o’clock, and a cleaning crew was busy at work.

Jackie approached the nearest worker and flashed her press badge. “Is the owner around?”

The woman appeared frightened at the sight of the badge.

“I’m not the police. I’m a reporter,” Jackie assured her.

The woman responded through a thick accent, “Mr. Gentleman in back. I go get.” She hustled to the rear of the room and through an open doorway.

“Do you think there might be some illegal workers on the cleaning crew?” I asked.

“Probably. But it’s not my town to care or want to write about it,” Jackie said as she read messages on her phone.

After a few minutes of waiting, I became restless. I had a strong feeling this wasn’t the place for Ruby.

“If he doesn’t come out in another couple of minutes, let’s go,” I said.

Jackie nodded and continued reading messages on her phone.

A short, bald man finally walked through the doorway and approached us.

“What do you want, ladies?”

His attitude was less than cordial.

Jackie flashed her press badge again and pulled out the picture. “Do you know this girl? She goes by the name of Ruby.”

“I don’t know her, and I’ve never seen her before. Just like I told the other guys who were here.”

Pepper and I exchanged surprised looks.

“What guys?” I asked. “Police officers?”

“No, just a couple of guys in suits early this morning. We don’t hire prostitutes, and I’ve never seen her before.” He handed the photo back to Jackie.

“C’mon, let’s go.” I grabbed her arm to head back to the entrance.

Out on the sidewalk, I held a finger up to Pepper to let her know to wait where she was. I pointed to a bar across the street, and Jackie and I crossed over.

“Who do you think these guys are asking about Ruby?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Undercover cops, private investigators, or a couple of criminals. I’ll try to find out by the end of the day.”

We walked into the next bar and left with the same information as before. No one knew Ruby, and two men had already been there inquiring about her. We encountered the same scenario at the two strip clubs around the corner.

When we doubled back to the Diamond Gentleman’s Club, Pepper was leaning against the car.

“Did you find out anything?” she asked.

Jackie shook her head. “Nothing other than two guys are here asking about her, too.”

“Really? Police?”

“Nope,” I said. “They weren’t wearing uniforms. Jackie’s going to try to find out who they are when we get back. Why are you standing out here?”

Pepper started to giggle.

“You’re kidding,” I said. “Has it aired out yet?”

“Give me a break,” she said. “I told you my guts were messed up, but I went in and used the restroom. I feel better now. It’s all good.”

Jackie couldn’t hide her disgust. “You used a bathroom in a strip club?”

“There were people cleaning in there. It was nice.”

I started to feel a sense of urgency. “Come on. Let’s keep moving. What’s next on your GPS, Jackie?”

For the next couple of hours, we stopped at bars and strip clubs throughout the downtown area. We weren’t any closer to finding out anything about Ruby than when we first started.

“We’re going about this the wrong way,” I said. “Most of the bars and clubs we’ve been in have been nice. Maybe we need to find out of the way places that are seedier. Let’s pick a direction and head out of the city.”

Jackie agreed with me. “I vote we go south. When we’re done, we can simply head west, and we shouldn’t be too far from home.”

“Fine by me,” Pepper said and turned the car around. “Can we eat soon?”

It was nearly three thirty. I was feeling hungry myself. “We’ll get a bite to eat at the next place we find.”

“What are you guys doing tonight?” Jackie asked.

“The kids are gone, so Buck and I have a special evening planned.” Pepper placed emphasis on the word special.

“Ooh, sounds like fun,” Jackie said. “Matt and I are going to the movies with his sister and her husband. It’s their turn to pick the movie, so as long as they don’t choose horror, it should be a good time. What are you doing, Jo?”

I squirmed in my seat. It was at times like this when I hated being alone. I spent a lot of time hanging out at Pepper’s house, but not when Buck was home, and they had
special
evenings planned. Jackie and I had been spending more time together over the past year, but she and Matt had a busy social life, so it was usually just a few nights a month. When Jackie and Pepper were both busy, I was more aware of, and even embarrassed by, my aloneness.

“I might go out by myself. There’s a Buster Keaton film festival at the college over in Patterson.”

“Since when do you like silent films?” Pepper was staring at me in the rear-view mirror. I could see the furrow between her eyebrows.

“What? I like silent films. And I like going to the college.”

I hated lying, and I just told two whoppers. It hit me that my personal life was starting to spiral out of control, and I needed to reel it in before I turned into someone the reality show people wanted to showcase.
Jo Ravens. Crazy, overweight woman who lives alone, dreams of dead people, and sniffs out dead bodies. Tune in Tuesdays at 8:00 on Discovery.

I was quiet as we headed south out of the downtown area. My thoughts were depressing until I remembered the comment I made to Pepper yesterday about becoming a private investigator. It suddenly seemed like a good idea. A very good idea. I could take criminology classes at the college this fall. My mood lifted instantly. This was something I definitely wanted to look into.

“Pink Elephants should be just ahead on your left,” Jackie told Pepper.

A bright green liquor sign flashed at the edge of the parking lot. A pink elephant with bubbles over its head was nestled in a champagne glass on a large sign above the building. The bar had an overall rundown appearance, but the parking lot was nearly full.

Once my eyes adjusted to the dim interior, I could see the dining area was bustling with waitresses running food and drink orders. A buxom girl in a tight t-shirt with the pink elephant logo raced by with a platter of sliders and told us to take a seat anywhere. Jackie led the way to a table near the kitchen.

“Wow, for looking like a dump, this place sure is hopping,” Pepper said.

Patrons filled the bar, but there appeared to be more cars outside than allowed for the number of people inside. A waitress came by and dropped three menus on the table before running into the kitchen. 

“It’s all bar food. What do you guys want?” Pepper asked.

“We could share some jalapeno poppers,” I said.

Both nodded their approval. A frazzled waitress arrived with three glasses of water then stood at attention with pad and pen in hand. We placed our order for the poppers followed by a Philly cheesesteak sandwich for me, a bourbon burger for Pepper, and a taco salad for Jackie.

“Thanks for doing this today, girls. We didn’t accomplish much, but at least we tried,” I said.

“No problem,” Pepper said. “It’s been fun. We should head for home after this though. I’d like to be back by six.”

Jackie nodded her agreement. “Matt wants to leave by seven, so that will work out for me, too.” She checked her messages one more time before slipping her phone into her purse.

A few minutes later, our waitress plunked the plate of poppers onto the table.

I decided to run my idea by the two of them. “Ok, listen up. I’ve been doing some thinking.”

Pepper laughed. “This can’t be good.”

I smiled. “No, I think this is good. You both know how much I hate my job. I think I would make a good private investigator. I can take criminology classes at the college this fall and get my license. You two can be my assistants.”

Jackie laughed so hard, she snorted several times, causing the people at the table next to ours to look over.

Pepper was giggling, but she knew me well enough to know I was serious.

When Jackie had her laughing and snorting under control, she said, “You have to have a name for your business. What will you call yourself?”

“Jo Ravens, P.I., of course.”

Pepper shook her head. “That’s too plain, and it sounds like the title of a B movie.”

“Well then, Jo Ravens, Private Investigator. Or Ravens Agency,” I said.

Jackie started to laugh again. “The name should include all three of us if we’re going to be working together. What do our initials make up?”

Pepper fished a pen out of her purse to write on the paper placement. “You and Jo have the same initials of JR. Mine are PS. We could go with PS and Juniors, or Pepper and Juniors.”

Why did Pepper think I would let her have top billing? I shook my head. “Both of those sound like daycare centers.”

Jackie glanced over at Pepper’s scribbles and offered, “How about The JoJackPepper Agency?”

I added a frown to my head shaking. “That sounds like cheese.”

“I have it!” Pepper exclaimed. “My middle name is May, so my initials are PMS. We can call ourselves, Two Girls and PMS.”

Pepper and Jackie laughed so hard, they cried. I found humor in the name, but I was slightly offended they didn’t like Jo Ravens, PI.

Our waitress arrived with our food. Jackie smiled and softened her tone. “I like the idea a lot, Jo. I think you’re definitely onto something, and I think you’ll make a great private investigator. I wish I had a sister to share my work with.”