A.L. Jambor - Where's Audrey? (14 page)

“Darn,” Sharon said. “I guess I should come. I was hoping to get my Christmas shopping done. What’s she doing now?”

Marge was grumbling about her cigarettes. “She’s in her recliner.”

“Does she look like she might go to sleep?”

Mel looked at Marge. She looked a little frisky to her.

“Not really,” Mel said.

“Okay. I’ll come over. Can you stay there for a few minutes? It takes me about a half hour to get there, but if she falls asleep, you can leave her alone.”

“Sure,” Mel said, rolling her eyes.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

Mel hung up the phone and looked at Marge. She was crying.

“Hey, Marge,” Mel said. “What’s wrong?”

“He killed my dog,” Marge said.

Mel walked over to a chair near the recliner and sat.

“Maurice was a good dog,” Mel said. “How old was he?”

“He was ten. He was just a baby.”

“What kind of dog was he?” Mel asked. She had seen dogs like Maurice but couldn’t remember what they were called.

“He was a shih tzu,” Marge said. “The sweetest dog ever.”

“He was pretty.”

“He was.”

Mel thought about Audrey. “Do you know anything about that guy, Jason?”

“Son of a bitch,” Marge said.

“Yes, he is, but do you know anything about him?”

“I know he killed my dog.”

“Do you think he hurt Audrey?”

“Damn straight he did. Him and his no good father.”

This is interesting,
Mel thought. Why hadn’t Marge mentioned the father before? “What did his father do?”

“He came around the pool.”

“Really? When?”

“Who knows? I heard it from Dick.”

“Who’s Dick?” Mel asked.

“Dick. You know. The guy next to her house.”

“On which side?”

“Next to the street.”

Dick had to be the man living in number 300.

“He told you Jason’s father came to the pool?”

“Yeah. He was talking up the ladies. He was looking for a mark if you ask me.”

“And Audrey took the bait?”

Marge laughed. “Like a rat to a sewer.”

Why would Audrey fall for Jason Sr.’s bullshit?
Mel thought. “When did he start coming around her house?”

“Who knows? Months ago. She’d get all dolled up like a geisha.”

Oh, brother, Mel thought. “Did he ever live in that home?”

“Nah. But I haven’t seen the old one for a while. He used to come to her house and bring the kid. I guess they ate dinner there.”

Mel tried to think of something to ask, then she thought of the hole in the kitchen floor.

“Did you ever hear anything weird coming from the house?”

“Like what?” Marge asked.

“Like a power saw.”

Marge laid her head back and looked at the ceiling. “No. My ears aren’t so good anymore. But Dick got real mad one day. He came over and sat on my porch.”

“Why was he mad?”

“The kid was playing his music real loud. Dick was mad. He told the manager, but Bea never did a thing. She had cancer. No one was supposed to know, but Peggy told me when I dropped off my rent.”

Mel remembered talking to Peggy the first day. “Is that why Bea left?”

“Yeah. She was pretty sick. Peggy was mad because she wasn’t doing her job. Stuff was piling up. She wasn’t running credit checks on new residents, stuff like that.”

So that’s how Jason Sr. was able to sign a lease for Audrey’s home
, Mel thought. From the look of his mobile home, Mel didn’t think he would have been able to pass a credit check.
That’s why Jason junior was able to move in without anyone asking about him
.

“Did you know that Audrey sold the home to him?”

“What?” Marge said. She looked incredulous.

“She signed the title over to him.”

“No way. Huh-huh. Audrey may have been a bitch, but she wasn’t stupid.”

Mel got mad. She didn’t like Marge calling her aunt a bitch. She took a few deep breaths to keep from punching her. “I saw the title.”

“No. I don’t believe she’d do it. He was a swindler.”

“Right. But he did, and Jason junior moved in.”

“Yeah. I complained about that. Bea said he was Audrey’s caretaker.”

“Did Bea talk to Audrey?”

“Who knows?”

“Do you think Peggy would know?”

“She knows everything that happens here.”

But she didn’t know Jason was living in Audrey’s home.

Mel saw something through the window behind Marge’s chair. She hoped it was Sharon. She got up and went to the window. She saw Conner get out of his cruiser.

Chapter 19

Mel felt the cigarettes in her pocket. “I have to go outside,” she said. “You stay here.”

“Don’t you tell me what to do,” Marge said.

“Fine,” Mel said.

She went out the kitchen door and over to the cruiser. There was another officer with Conner. They had both gotten out of the cruiser and were standing near it.

“Hey,” she said.

Conner turned and looked surprised to see her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“It’s a long story.”

“I got a search warrant,” he said smiling.

“How?” she asked.

“I’ll catch you up later,” he said. “Is that your car?” he pointed to her rental.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Would you move it? We have more cars coming.”

“Are you gonna arrest him?”

“Depends on what we find.”

Mel had left her purse inside Marge’s home and went back to retrieve her keys. She moved the car to the main road running through the park, then went back to Marge’s.

“You want to sit on the porch?” she asked Marge.

“Not without Maurice.”

“The cops are going to search Audrey’s home.”

“Yeah? Let’s sit on the porch.”

Another cruiser arrived, then a K-9 cruiser car with a white dog in the back seat. Conner was knocking on the door of Audrey’s home. She could see inside the porch and saw Jason opening the sliding glass door. He saw the police car and went back inside.

The deputy with the dog got out of his car. He took the dog out. The dog was pulling on his leash. He went straight to the driveway and barked when he reached the space under the kitchen. One of the deputies was taking notes.

Conner was banging on the door. Jason finally answered and Conner handed him the paper warrant. He must have asked Jason to step outside. He did, and one of the deputies stayed with him while three went inside.

“He’s shitting in his pants,” Marge said. “Dog killer. You’re gonna get yours now.”

Sharon appeared on the sidewalk coming toward Marge’s home. She looked annoyed.

“I had to park way up the street,” she said when she got to the porch. “What’s going on?”

“He’s getting his,” Marge said.

“They’re searching the house,” Mel said.

“Is it drugs?” Sharon asked. “I always smelled marijuana when I came here. I’ll bet that kid sells it.”

“Pot head asshole,” Marge said.

“Marge!” Sharon cried. “Language.”

“What? Like she’s never heard it before?”

“Thank you for staying,” Sharon said.

“No problem. Do you mind if I stay for a little longer?”

“You want to see what happens?”

“If you don’t mind,” Mel said.

“How much longer?” Sharon asked.

“Go do your shopping,” Mel replied.

Sharon left, promising to return within an hour. A half hour after she left, a car arrived and parked in front of number 300. Two people in uniform got out. The car had “Forensics” written on the side.

Mel had seen several episodes of CSI and knew why they were here. She felt sadness overwhelming her. Marge had fallen asleep. Mel tried to focus on seeing Audrey sitting in a lounge chair on the deck of a ship sipping one of those drinks with an umbrella in it, but the image vanished when Conner and another officer came outside carrying a large piece of wood.

Conner walked across the street and up to the porch.

“We found something. The forensic team is going to start digging. You should probably leave now.”

“I promised Sharon I’d stay with Marge. I want to be here.”

Conner nodded. “Mel, it doesn’t look good.”

She started crying again. Conner put his hand out and she took it.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s not over yet,” Mel said.

“I gotta get back.”

“Okay. I’m okay.”

Her phone rang and she took it out of her pocket. It was Nana Grace. She couldn’t talk to her now. She let it go to voicemail.

Mel watched the forensic team carry shovels into the house. She decided Conner was right – she didn’t want to see what would happen next. She went inside Marge’s home and turned on the TV. She was tired. She had been up late with Lisa and woke up too early. Despite her growing anxiety, she fell asleep.

Mel woke up when Sharon arrived.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Mel said.

“I’m here now if you want to go.”

Mel nodded and got up. She grabbed her purse. She reached into her pocket and handed Sharon Marge’s cigarettes.

“Thanks for staying with her,” Sharon said. “Merry Christmas.”

Mel had forgotten it was almost Christmas. “Merry Christmas.” She’d also forgotten to cancel her flight home.

As she walked outside, she saw two people carrying something out of Audrey’s home. It was a large, black bag. A body bag. Mel began to sob. The deputy with the dog came to her.

“Are you Mel?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said between gulps of air.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “We think we found someone.”

She nodded.

“Conner just took the man living here to the sheriff’s office. He asked me to stay and tell you.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“We won’t know for sure until they do an autopsy. Are you gonna be all right to drive?”

She nodded, but she wasn’t sure herself.

“I can take you.”

“No. I’ll be all right. We don’t even know for sure it’s her.”

“Please don’t drive until you calm down. I really shouldn’t let you.”

“I’m fine. I’m going to stay a few more minutes.”

He put his hand on her shoulder, then went back to his cruiser. He waited until Mel went to her car and got inside before driving away. She cried for a few minutes before pulling herself together and starting the car.

As she drove to the park entrance, her phone rang. She parked on the side of the road and looked at it. It was Lisa.

“Hey,” she said when she answered.

“Hi,” Lisa said. “Where are you?”

“I’m at my aunt’s park.”

“Oh. Are you coming back here? You sound kind of down.”

Mel started crying again. “I think they found my aunt.”

“Oh, Mel. It’s gonna be all right.”

“I know. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Just come back. Be careful driving.”

“I’m fine.”

Chapter 20

An unrepentant Jason Frye sat in the interrogation room. His hands were cuffed. Conner was watching him from behind the mirrored panel that separated them. Jason hadn’t said a word while being taken to the sheriff’s office, even after he was informed they had found a body buried under his mobile home.

A detective, Jerry Klein, arrived and went into the interrogation room. Jason looked up, but he didn’t look scared. He was smiling. Conner felt like punching him in the face.

“So, we found a body buried under your trailer,” Jerry said. Jason didn’t reply. “And we think we know who it is. Why did you kill her, Jason?”

“I didn’t kill her,” Jason said.

“Then why bury her under the house?”

“I didn’t kill her,” Jason repeated. He looked at Jerry’s pocket. “Can I have a smoke?”

“Later. Right now I want to know why you buried her under the trailer.”

Jason put his hands on the table. “I liked her. She was nice to me.”

“You must have liked her a lot to keep her with you so long. The coroner said she must have been under there for months.”

“She was old, you know?”

Jerry sat back in his chair. He looked at Jason. His rap sheet included a possession and some traffic tickets. Jerry was trying to figure out what would make this guy kill someone.

“But it’s hard living with an old person, isn’t it, Jason? They are so needy.”

“Audrey was nice to me. She was no trouble at all. She liked me.”

“Then why did you kill her?”

“Is that what the coroner said?” Jason cried. “Did he say I killed her?”

“We won’t know until he’s done with the autopsy. Did she piss you off? Did you hit her hard enough to knock her down? Maybe she hit her head and you didn’t know what to do.”

“I want a lawyer,” Jason said. “And I didn’t kill her.”

Jerry kept hammering Jason, but the kid had clammed up. He didn’t say another word.

When Jerry emerged from the interrogation room, Conner stopped him.

“Was she hit on the head?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I was just fishing. The medical examiner is backed up. It may have to wait until after Christmas.”

“What did forensics say?” Conner asked.

“Not much. Jeannie said she didn’t see any cracks in the skull, but the victim was old. She could have bled out from a wound without cracking her skull.”

“Why do you think he did it?” Conner asked.

“Between us, I think she died and he panicked. He had a nice setup there. A roof over his head and her Social Security coming in every month.”

“Did they find blood anywhere?”

“Jeannie said no.”

Conner frowned. “I have to talk to her niece. Is there any way to get the autopsy pushed up?”

“Not with Christmas. The doc won’t work on the holiday.”

“He has assistants, doesn’t he?”

“Conner, this isn’t the crime of the century. Let it go. He’ll get it done.”

Jerry walked away, leaving Conner alone in front of the window. Jason was tapping his fingers on the table. He didn’t look worried, and that worried Conner. Either the kid was a sociopath, or he didn’t kill Audrey.

He could be charged with unlawful burial and fraud regarding the Social Security, and that might put him away for a while, but it didn’t seem right. When Audrey’s family found out, it would be devastating. He deserved to go away for a long time.