5 Conditioner and a Corpse (2 page)

When
Bekki was finally able to get her hand into her purse to reach for her phone, her heart was racing. She wanted to go to Jasmine, to kneel beside her, even though it was clear the woman was already gone. But she had observed enough of Nick's work to know not to contaminate the crime scene. She called for help, her voice trembling as she spoke.

“
There's been a murder at the Harroway Harbor Motel, room ten,” Bekki managed to get across. As soon as she knew that the police were on their way she dialed Nick's number. He had understood her wanting to have a girl's night, and had planned to have a marathon of his favorite zombie television show that Bekki could only stomach on occasion.

“
Bekki, are you all right?” he asked, as if he already knew something must be wrong. Bekki couldn't bring herself to speak as the sirens wailed into the parking lot. “Bekki tell me where you are, I'll be right there,” Nick spoke with more urgency. His voice snapped her from the place she had retreated to. The truth was, Bekki was no stranger to death. She always seemed to be stumbling upon a murder mystery. But this wasn't just anyone, this was Jasmine, someone who had held back her hair for her, someone who had laughed until three in the morning with her.

“
Harroway Harbor Motel,” she breathed into the phone. “Get here fast,” she added. She knew she only had moments before she would be escorted out of the room and the entire place would be taped off as a crime scene.

Bekki forced herself to push past her shock and observe the room. She was trying to memorize everything that
she saw. From what she could tell there hadn't been much of a struggle. None of the furniture was overturned. It didn't look as if Jasmine had been trying to get to the door. She also could see that her valuables were left untouched, including the flashy vehicle she had seen outside. It did look as if someone might have been looking for something as the pillows were tossed off the bed, and the drawers were pulled out in the small dresser, but not all of them. In fact, the more she observed the more she began to believe that it was quite possible her arrival at the motel room had scared off whoever the killer was. Her heartbeat quickened as she wondered what would have happened if she had arrived just a little bit earlier. Maybe she could have helped Jasmine, or maybe she would have ended up a victim, too.

“
Bekki, are you okay?” Morris said gently as he walked up behind Bekki. Bekki nodded as she looked at him.

“
I'm okay,” she said breathlessly. Paramedics pushed past her to go through the motions of checking on Jasmine.

“
I'm going to have to ask you to step outside,” he said as politely as he could. Thanks to her relationship with Nick, the majority of the police department knew who Bekki was.

As soon as Bekki turned toward
s the door, Nick was walking through it. She collided with his firm chest, and her forehead came to rest on his shoulder automatically. His arms wound around her and held her close as he looked over her shoulder at the crime scene that was unfolding.

“
Bekki, I'm sorry,” he whispered beside her ear, as he had gathered enough information on his way in to know the gist of what had happened, and most importantly who the victim was. He trailed his hand soothingly down through Bekki's loose hair. When she pulled away enough to look up at him, she could see the concern in his eyes.

“
I don't know how this could have happened,” she said quietly. “I just saw her this afternoon.”

“
I know, I know,” Nick said soothingly and tilted his head towards Morris who was talking quietly with the paramedics. It wouldn't be long until time of death was established, but Bekki had already helped him out by narrowing it down to within the past few hours.

“
Let me take you home,” Nick suggested with concern as he continued to keep his arms draped casually around her.

“
No,” Bekki shook her head slowly. “I can drive. I want you here, investigating this,” she said firmly.

“
Bekki,” Nick met her gaze and tried to remain understanding while speaking sternly. “Just go home, no detective work, understand?”

Bekki managed a meek nod as she stepped out of the motel room. The fresh evening air struck her hard as she walked out into it. It had been a long time since she had noticed the scent the air carried. It had a faint pine tint to it, but it w
as mostly a combination of all the local flora, and the cars and trucks that passed through.

“
Bekki?” Sammy came running up to her. “Oh no, I hoped it wasn't true,” she gasped out as she threw her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. “When Morris said he had to go at dinner, that he had to go because something had happened at the Harroway Harbor, all I could think of was you, and Jasmine,” she frowned as she looked into Bekki's eyes. “Are you okay?”

“
I guess,” Bekki said, her voice barely audible.

“
Oh sweetie, let me take you home,” Sammy said quickly and they walked towards Bekki's car together. Bekki took in the parking lot. She was looking for any strange vehicles. Could the killer still be lurking? Surely it was no one from Harroway. Who would have anything against Jasmine, when this was her first time in town?

“
Keys,” Sammy demanded as she detected the faraway look in Bekki's eyes. Bekki relinquished her keys and slid into the passenger seat. Her mind kept drifting between being on point and observant, to replaying the image of the way she had found Jasmine. She had never done anything to deserve such a horrible death. Bekki knew that if it was left up to Nick, and the rest of the Harroway police force the crime would be thoroughly investigated and eventually solved. But she didn't want to wait for eventually. She wanted it solved immediately.

“
I have two choices,” she said quietly when they pulled off Rose Hill Drive and into the driveway of her house, the same house where she had planned to cook dinner for Jasmine that night.

“
Two choices?” Sammy repeated curiously as she looked over at her friend.

“
Yes. I can grieve and move forward, as I'm sure everyone will tell me to, or I can figure out who did this,” Bekki climbed out of the car and Sammy followed her up the walkway to Bekki's house.

“
Bekki, have you ever considered that maybe grieving and moving forward would be the right thing to do?” Sammy asked as gently as she could. She knew her friend could get easily fixated. Bekki took the keys from Sammy's hand and unlocked her front door. She paused with one foot over the threshold and looked back at Sammy.

“
I have just one thing to ask you Sammy,” Bekki said as she met her best friend's eyes. “What if it was me? Could you just grieve and move on?”

Sammy frowned as th
e words sunk in. She was not someone who would give up that easily.

“
No,” she finally sighed. “So I'll make the coffee,” she suggested as she moved past Bekki into the house.

“
Sammy, you really don't have to stay,” Bekki offered honestly as she set down her purse and sat down at the kitchen table.

“
I know I don't have to,” Sammy replied tersely.”But if you are going to spend the whole night looking into this, then I'm going to look into it with you.”

Bekki was actually relieved to have Sammy with her. She wasn't sure if she would be able to stay focused if she was all alone with the memory of finding Jasmine. While Sammy settled in the living room
, Bekki poured them both a glass of wine and then joined her. Each time she felt a wave of sadness rise up through her, she pushed it back down. There would be time to grieve later.

“
Who did this?” Bekki asked the moment she sat on the couch beside Sammy. “I just can't understand why anyone would hurt Jasmine.”

“
Well, New York City can be pretty tough,” Sammy pointed out with a slight frown. “Did she have any enemies? Anyone she crossed in business or personally?”

“
No,” Bekki shook her head slowly. “That's the thing, Jasmine never took anything too seriously. She even stayed good friends with her exes. She was a naturally enthusiastic and friendly person. I never saw her exchange bad words with anyone,” Bekki frowned as she took a sip of her wine. “Honestly, I didn't know her that well. I don't even know if she has family I should be contacting.”

“
The police will take care of that, I'm sure,” Sammy said gently and gave Bekki's hand a light squeeze. “Are you sure this can't wait until tomorrow, Bekki? You look like you could use some sleep.”

“
No,” Bekki said firmly. “I need to do this while everything is fresh in my mind,” she closed her eyes for a moment and visualized the motel room she had found Jasmine in.

“
It was as if someone was looking for something,” Bekki said quietly.

“
Looking for what?” Sammy asked in a whisper. “Money? Jewelry?”

“
No,” Bekki replied slowly as an image of Jasmine's hands flashed in her mind. “She still had her rings and bracelet. Her purse was on the dresser,” she murmured.

“
I still think this is too hard for you now, maybe this is one that…”

“
The police should handle,” Nick finished from the entrance of the living room. Bekki wasn't surprised that he had let himself in as they had moved far past knocking on doors in their relationship, and they had even exchanged keys in case of emergency. Bekki braced herself for an argument. She knew that Nick meant well, but she was determined to figure out what happened to Jasmine. Before she could protest she felt his hands on her shoulders. He reached over the back of the couch to lightly massage them.

“
Of course, everyone handles things differently,” he said softly. “I'm so sorry for your loss, Bekki.”

Bekki nodded and reached up to wrap her fingers around his left wrist.

“I'm glad you're here,” she said quietly. She truly was, Nick's mere presence provided her comfort.

“
I'll let you two talk,” Sammy said as she smiled sadly at Bekki. “Don't worry about the salon, I'll open it up in the morning, okay?” she met her friend's eyes.

“
Thanks Sammy,” Bekki said and managed a slight smile. Nick walked around to the front of the couch and sat down beside her. He continued to lightly stroke her shoulders and arms until he began to feel her relax beneath his touch. Only then did he begin to speak, and when he did, his words had a bit more sternness behind them than she expected.

“
I know that you care about what happened to your friend,” Nick began his tone understanding, but still firm. “I know that you are a very brave and determined person, but please Bekki…”

Bekki began to sit forward on the couch, but Nick gently guided her back against the cushions so that he could look into her eyes.
“Just listen to me,” he pleaded as he held her gaze. “I've asked you to trust me, Bekki, do you?” he searched her gaze intently.

Bekki
frowned, but she nodded slightly. “Of course, I do.”

“
Then I'm asking you to listen to me, and to take this seriously,” he held her gaze as alarm grew within Bekki's. She had never seen Nick behave with such determination. He had warned her of danger in the past, but this time it felt different, more intense and urgent.

“
I'm listening,” she replied openly, her heart beating a little faster.

“
One of the first things we did was to review the security cameras at the motel. There's one camera that documents the entrance and exit of the parking lot. We ran the plate of a car that came and left during the time of the murder, and now we're pretty sure we have a strong suspect in the case,” he explained carefully.

“
Oh, that's great,” Bekki said with relief. “So it shouldn't be long until the killer is in custody?” she asked hopefully.

“
Well, it's a little more complicated than that,” Nick frowned and met her eyes once more. “The suspect, Randy, is a known criminal, and not your common street thug, but a career criminal.”

“
Career criminal?” Bekki gasped as she shook her head. “What would a career criminal want with Jasmine?”

“
Well,” Nick hesitated as he glanced away from her. “Did she have a history of any illegal behavior? Any shady characters she used to hang out with? Any drug use?” he asked as casually as he could.

“
Of course not, Nick,” Bekki scowled, and then took a breath. “I mean, in all the time that I knew her I never saw her with or heard about her being friends with anyone dodgy or have anything stronger than alcohol.”

“
Okay,” he nodded as he folded his hands loosely in his lap. “Maybe she might have been involved with him, romantically?” he suggested.

“
I don't think so,” Bekki shook her head firmly. “Jasmine was always very picky about the men she dated. She had pretty high standards,” Bekki frowned as she stared hard at the coffee table in front of the couch. “It's strange.”