Killer Honeymoon (3 page)

“Senior Corps of Retired Investigators.”

Jane swallowed. “Flora, this is Jane.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?”
The mildly acid voice belonged to Flora’s office manager, Miranda.

“I am, but we have a problem. Could you put
Flora on?”

“Why not?” Miranda chuckled.

Jane wouldn’t let the snide reception get to
her. Miranda wasn’t married, so whatever she was thinking about calling into
work on your honeymoon was probably not fair, anyway.

“This is Flora.” Flora’s voice was tired,
rushed, and a little put out. So, normal.

“Hey, this is Jane. We’ve got a little problem
out here in Warrenton. At the house. The, um, the beach house. There was a body
in the shed.”

“Hang up and call 911. Right now.”

“We already did. It’s okay. The ME has the body
and stuff. But we thought if you guys came out here, we could maybe pursue some
lines of inquiry and make it count toward supervised hours.”

“That’s Clatsop County.” Flora paused. “So Judy
has the body.” She paused again, the sound of shuffling papers barely audible.
“We have a new case here. Should be fast, but I don’t know.”

“I guess, if you can’t…”

“It’s not that we can’t. Let me talk to Rocky.
We can assign this case to someone and maybe get out there. But without a
client…”

“The body was found at our house. Couldn’t Jake
be the client?”

There was a long pause this time. “Yes. I think that
would work.”

“Great! So when will you be here? We’re staying
here for two weeks, but after that Jake is leaving for a month.” Jane’s heart
was beating as fast as the words spilling out of her mouth.

“Give me a few hours to take care of business
here and we’ll call you.”

“Yes, I can do that. Thank you.” Jane ended the
call. “She’s going to do it, Jake! I can’t believe it.”

“Did you say I was the client?” Jake’s eyebrows
were pulled together. “How much is that going to cost me?”

“Less than a starter apartment in Paris, I’m
sure.”

She sidled up next to him and nibbled his ear.

He put aside his fake reluctance and they found
a way to entertain themselves until Flora called.

“We’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning.
This was an old body, and you have limited time, so don’t waste today,” Flora
said.

Jane blushed, not agreeing that the other things
they had to do were a waste of time. “They said that five ‘kids’ went missing a
few weeks ago. I think we should go try to meet some local youths. Learn something
about the missing kids.”

“I agree,” Flora said. “You and Jake will be
much better at that than Rocky and I. Be ready to report when we come
tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Flora. Not ma’am. I’m not a hundred years old
and this isn’t Texas.”

“Sorry.”

Jane and Jake both Googled for the name of the
place young people hang out in Warrenton. The obvious answer for a clear, warm
day like this was the beach. All they had to do was fill the hours between now
and sundown.

They managed.

That night’s bonfire was about half a mile from
their house. A dozen kids were gathered around, dressed warm for the cool
night, hoods pulled up, hands shoved in pockets, or poking the huge fire with
long sticks of driftwood. Plenty of bottles were tucked into the sand, so the
crowd was bound to get noisier, but at the moment, it was mellow.

Jane and Jake played it like they were just
walking and happened past the fire. “Hey.” Jake tilted his chin at a tall,
broad-shouldered guy in his early twenties or so, who was throwing another log
on the fire.

“Did you bring beer?” the broad-shouldered guy
asked.

“Not this time. Just passing.”

The other guy chucked a small log into the
flames. “Whatever.”

Jane moved to a group of three girls, each with
a brown bottle in hand. “Nice fire.”

A short girl with brown hair in a pixie cut
pulled another brown bottle from the pocket of her oversized hoodie and offered
it to Jane. “Don’t talk so much.”

Jane waved away the bottle. “Sorry. You guys
seem kind of down.”

The brunette took a long drink from her bottle.

“It’s been a bad day,” a girl to her right, in
short-shorts and a baggy sweatshirt, said.

“Sorry to hear that.” Jane wrapped her arms over
her stomach and rocked on her heels. A cold wind blew across the beach, sending
the smoke from their fire into the rolling waves.

“Not as sorry as Eric.” The short-shorts girl
indicated the broad-shouldered guy at the fire.

“What happened?” Jane asked.

“His girlfriend ran away from him,” the brunette
answered. “And he’s been pissy to everyone since.”

“Was that today?” Jane tried to hide her
excitement. Maybe his girl was one of the missing kids.

“No, a few weeks ago, but someone found a body
today and now Eric thinks Cherry is dead.”

“Do you think it was her?” Jane shivered.
Another body, another shed. Her serial-killer theory was right.

“No, it was a guy.”

“You lost me.” Jane glanced at Jake, who stood
by the fire, listening to the boys.

“His Cherry and some other girls ran off with
some guys. Anyway, the body was a guy and he figures that means they’re all
dead.”

“He’s the kind who would rather have his
girlfriend and all her friends die than get dumped,” the brunette said.

Short-shorts rolled her eyes.

Jane hadn’t heard any of them say their names
yet, and they didn’t seem likely to. “I’m Jane.” She held out her hand to the
short-shorts girl.

“That must be nice for you.” The girl glanced at
Jane’s hand and left the little knot of girls.

The third girl, with a sandy blonde ponytail and
a track jacket, wavered on her feet. She reached for a bottle on the ground and
tipped over, landing on her bottom.

“Jeez. Get control of yourself.” The brunette
rolled her eyes and walked off.

“See you around.” Jake’s voice rose over the
sound of the crackling fire. He connected with Jane, taking her elbow gently
and walking away. “They aren’t feeling much like socializing, I’d say.”

Jane steered their steps toward the water
instead of down the beach. “True. They’ve heard about the body already and
suspect what we do. Eric in particular, since his girlfriend, Cherry, is one of
the missing kids.”

“You’re good. All I learned is that the blonde
you were hanging out with, is sloppy drunk and none of the men want to take
responsibility for her tonight.”

Jane kept her eyes trained away from the crowd.
“Sounded like her best girlfriends felt the same way.”

“Did it seem like they knew we knew about the
body?”

“They didn’t seem too curious.” Jane slowed her
steps down, not inclined to leave the scene. “Brr. Don’t you think it’s cold?”
Jane leaned into Jake. There was more to learn at that fire, and she had to
make a report tomorrow.

“Let me guess, so cold you want to stop by the
fire again?”

“Umm hmm.”

He led her back to the fire.

Eric stared at him.

Two other guys, one in a jean jacket and the
other in a ball cap, also stared.

A fourth guy got a little too close for comfort.
“Did you bring firewood or beer?” he growled.

“Nope,” Jake responded lightly.

“Then get out.”

“Don’t be unfriendly.” The blonde had meandered
over to that side of the fire. “Let the lovebirds warm up on their way back
home.”

“Tourists.” Short-shorts rolled her eyes again.

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” The jean-jacket
guy slurred his
s
’s.

“Maybe,” Jake said. “I used to come here a lot.”

“Not you, her.” He pushed Jake’s shoulder.

“Back off, bro.” Eric stepped up to the jean-jacket
guy.

“Jane, you spent much time here before?” Jake
asked, as though the big, drunk guy hadn’t just tried to start something.

“Not that I can remember.” Jane shrugged, her
eyes glued on Eric.

Jean Jacket put his meaty paw on Jane’s waist.
“Then let’s make up for lost time.”

Jane scooched nearer Jake.

Eric reeled back with one stony fist and slugged
Jean Jacket in the jaw. “Don’t go touching another man’s woman.” His fist,
though impressive, lacked some of the impact Jane had expected. “No one likes
that guy.” He swung again, but in slow motion, and missed.

“Oh yeah?” Jean Jacket swung a fist at Eric,
hitting him in the shoulder. “Cherry liked it.” He swung again, this time
planting it on Eric’s chin with a crack.

Eric swayed under the impact. He worked for his
footing and drove at Jean Jacket headfirst, throwing him to the ground.

Jean Jacket hit the sand with a thud, Eric on
top of him. “I’ll kill you for that, Mason. You know I will. I will kill you.”
Eric had Mason pinned to the ground and punched him in the face, a solid crack
of bone on bone.

Short-shorts screamed and threw herself on
Eric’s back. “Get off! Get off!” She grabbed for Eric’s arms, her skinny white
fingers skeletal in the light of the fire.

Eric swung his arm behind him and pushed her off
his back.

Blood streaming from his nose, Mason pushed
himself up and knocked Eric over. He got to his knees and reeled back, one
thick hand in a rock of a fist, and he lunged at Eric. His fist connected with
Eric’s left eye.

Eric dropped.

“Mase, that’s enough.” Short-shorts’ voice
cracked. She stood to the side, her arms wrapped around her waist.

Mason stood and brushed the sand off his knees.
He spat. “Come on.” He grabbed Short-shorts by the arm and dragged her off.

The drunk blonde knelt by Eric and nudged him.
“He’s not dead.” She flopped on her back and closed her eyes.

The brunette and the others turned their
attention back to the fire.

Jane wanted to follow Mason and Short-shorts,
but she hesitated. She didn’t trust the drunk blonde’s medical expertise.

Jane and Jake both checked Eric’s vitals. He was
breathing, but he wouldn’t open his eyes. “Dude.” Jake’s single word was low
and worried.

“He’sh fine.”

“I don’t know.” Jane chewed her lip. Concussed,
for sure. And what if he fell into a coma? She patted her pocket, checking for
her phone. “Maybe we should call for someone?”

“Who?” the drunk blonde asked. “He’s the
paramedic.” She laughed, but her heart wasn’t in it. Then she rolled over and
groaned.

“Can someone take him to the ER?” Jake called

“Chill out,” Baseball Hat said. “I’ve got him.
You all just move along.”

Jane gritted her teeth, but stood up. If the guy
in the baseball cap was going to take care of his friend, she guessed it would
be all right.

Jake shrugged. “He’ll be fine. His head will
hurt in the morning, but he’ll survive. Let’s stroll in this direction.” He led
Jane down the beach, away from their house. “I’m a little worried about the
blonde. The guys really didn’t want to take care of her, and the girls all
left.”

“When we turn around to go home, we can offer
her a ride.”

“Thanks, love.” They walked in silence for a few
feet.

“Eric is sensitive about his girlfriend leaving,
and Mason is taking advantage of that weakness.”

“Guys can be jerks.”

“We didn’t get enough information to make any
headway.”

“Don’t get discouraged. We got some names,
anyway.”

“Let’s go get one more, at least.” After a few
minutes of silence, they returned to the fire, her eye out for the drunk blonde.

Eric was sitting up, the guy in the hat was
sitting down, and everyone else was gone.

They passed the guys without saying anything.

Jane and Jake slept with their window open, the
sea air cold and clean. Jane woke early. Housecleaning habits died hard. She made
her way quietly downstairs, straight to the coffee maker. She considered making
a big breakfast for Jake, but she didn’t want a mess to clean up. Besides,
there were still four almost fresh croissants in the cupboard and a basket of
fresh fruit.

She yawned, stretching her arms over her head.
Flora would call her when they got into town, but that wouldn’t be for hours.
If she really wanted to fill out her case notes, she’d have to learn as much as
she could from the morning news, which would already be waiting for her on the
front porch.

She leaned on the rail of the porch, drank in a
deep breath of fresh air, and stared at the remnants of the sunrise. She could
picture this as their home. Nothing to keep them in the city, really. She could
be a small-town girl, if the small town was at the beach and it was always
sunny. The clouds just over the distant hills reminded her that the last thing
it was “always” at the beach was sunny.

The paper wasn’t on the porch. She climbed down
the steps to check the bushes. Paperboys didn’t always have the best aim.

Instead of finding the paper, she found a foot.

With painted nails and a silver toe ring. Also,
it was attached to a person lying with most of her body in the bushes, but her
tan feet hanging out on the gravel path to Jane’s door.

She took a deep breath and nudged the girl with
her bare foot.

The foot shifted, and Jane exhaled. Not a dead
person. So glad it wasn’t a dead person.

“Are you okay?” Jane knelt beside the girl and
nudged her shoulder.

The girl rolled her head to the side and moaned.

She looked familiar. It had been dark last night,
so she didn’t trust her memory, but it looked like it was the very drunk blonde
from the night before.

There were no signs of trauma on her head, but
there was a heavy odor of last night’s drinking. “Wake up.” Jane shook her
shoulder.

The girl’s eyes fluttered open. Her mouth opened
slightly, followed by a hollow retching.

Jane stepped back. It didn’t seem like a case
for an ambulance, but then, she didn’t have a lot of experience with fall-down
drunks who slept under bushes. She exhaled slowly and looked up at the house.
Should she wake Jake to help get the girl inside? Or could she do it herself?
She got herself into the bushes behind the girl and lifted her by the armpits.
“Up and at ’em.” She lifted the half-conscious girl—she was lighter than
expected—and propped her up. “Wakey, wakey.”

The girl’s head flopped to the side and breathed
her dead-dragon breath all over Jane.

Jane wrapped her arms around the girl and
dragged her up the steps and into the house. She dropped her onto the sofa. “I
guess it’s time to make coffee.”

The girl looked to be in her mid-twenties, but
if this kind of drinking and passing out was normal for her, she was probably a
lot younger. She rolled her face onto the flower pillow with a soft groan and
didn’t say anything. One arm hung limp off the sofa, a fresh set of French tips
grazing the floor.

Jane got the coffee going and went upstairs to
Jake. He was reclining against a pile of fluffy white pillows, reading
something on his phone.

“Hey, Jake, what’s the best hangover cure?”

Jake looked up, both eyebrows lifted. “Did you
party a bit too much after I went to sleep?”

“Nope, but I think that blonde girl from last
night did.”

“And you are worried about her why?”

“Because she’s on our sofa.”

Jake set his phone down. “That’s not what I
expected.”

“So what can I give her to perk her up a
little?”

“A few years to grow up.”

“Not a raw egg with tabasco? Or the hair of the
dog? Something like that.”

“Definitely not either of those. I’d suggest a
croissant and maybe some coffee.”

“You could Google, maybe, and see if there’s
something better.”

“There’s not. Remember, I was an expert there
for a little while.”

Jane sat on the end of the bed. “Funny, I never
expected to be glad for your wild past.”

Jake lunged forward and grabbed Jane for a kiss.
He pulled away and grinned. “What were you saying?”

She kissed his cheek. “Nothing, but we have a
fairly sick guest downstairs, so I should go play nurse now.”

“And tonight you can play nurse for me?”

Jane swatted him lightly. “We’ll see.”

She tripped down the stairs, her face a little
hotter than it had been when she went up. Jake. Oh, Jake.

The blonde was lying on her back now, one hand
over her face.

Jane poured a cup of coffee and brought it over.
“Good morning.”

“No.” The word came out like an expletive.

“Unfortunately, it’s true. I don’t know how long
you were asleep in my bushes, but it’s morning now. Coffee?” She passed the
mug.

The girl ignored it. “Did someone hit me with a
brick?”

“You did that to yourself, I’m afraid.”

“Most likely.” She tried to sit up, but failed.

“Could you eat something?”

“Never again.”

“Was there a reason you stopped by to see us, or
were we just lucky?”

“Stop talking. Please. For a year.” Her mouth
was a thin line.

Jane sat back and drank the coffee. Surely this
girl would wake up a little and want something. Coffee, breakfast. Something so
that Jane could earn a little trust from her and get a little Warrenton gossip.

Jake joined Jane in the front room, dressed in
his bathrobe and slippers. “So what’s her name?”

“She requested I not talk for about a year, and
since the time hasn’t passed yet, I haven’t asked.”

“Who the heck are you, and why were you in my
bushes?”

She groaned. “Taylor.”

“That’s half a point. If you want to pass the
test, you’ve got to do better than that.”

Jane got up to get Jake a cup of coffee. His
teasing tone was softening their guest. If he could get a little information
out of her, she’d thank him well for it.

“Taylor Kent.” She opened her eyes to stare at
the ceiling. “You were at the bonfire last night.”

“I’m surprised you remember there
was
a
bonfire last night.”

“You were asking questions. I know who you are.”
Taylor’s words were long and drawn out as though it was painful to speak.

Jane rejoined them with two more cups of coffee
and a plate of dry toast. She sat back to observe.

“I was asking questions, Taylor. But no one was
answering. Why?”

“Because we don’t know you.”

“Then let’s make up for lost time. I’m Jake
Crawford, and that’s my wife, Jane…Adler. We got married on Tuesday. Someone
left a dead body in our shed.”

“But who was it?” Taylor propped herself up on
her elbow, but changed her mind. “My sister, Sadie, told me this was the house
they found the body in. I saw you guys turn here while I was walking home.
Please tell me who it was.”

“We don’t know.”

“But Josh came. Josh saw the body.”

“Who is this Josh you speak of?”

“Josh, my brother-in-law. He’s a cop. Didn’t he
say who it was?”

“Taylor, my friend, there was no telling. That
body was past its expiration date.”

She covered her face with her arm.

“Who do you think it was?” Jake asked.

“How should I know?”

“Taylor, can you eat something yet?” Jane
interjected.

“No.” She sat up, but leaned forward, holding
her head in her hands.

“Last night someone said a girl named Cherry ran
away,” Jane said. “Did she go alone?”

“No.”

“Who went with her?”

Taylor reached for the coffee cup and held it.
“Her sister Skye, Skye’s friend Emma, and Rose, just another girl. I don’t know
her very well.”

“That’s only four,” Jake said. “The police said five
kids went missing.”

“Five?” Taylor scowled. “I guess, if he was only
counting locals.”

“Who else left with the girls?” Jane asked.

“Cherry’s cousins Levi and Amos. And another
guy, Ryder.”

“Levi, Amos and Ryder aren’t local?” Jane pushed
the plate of toast closer to Taylor.

“No.”

“Who haven’t you mentioned yet?” Jake asked.
“You left out a local.”

“Yeah, sorry. It was Hannah.”

“Hannah’s not your best friend?” Jake selected a
piece of dry toast and stared at it.

Taylor shrugged.

“Eight people all went missing three weeks ago.”
Jane grabbed her own piece of toast and crunched it. Why had the cops only
counted the local kids? “Why did you leave Hannah out when listing them?”

Taylor finally took a piece of toast, but she
just held it. “Hannah doesn’t count.”

“Why not?”

“I saw her at work two days after the others
left. She didn’t go with them.”

Jane swallowed. “Maybe she had plans to meet
them later?”

“Everyone was already talking. The girls had
left in the night, no notes or anything. Just took stuff and left. They took
Cherry’s car. Hannah didn’t leave until after she heard all the attention
Cherry and the others were getting.”

“You think she left for the attention?”

“It would be like her.” Taylor bit her toast and
chewed slowly.

“Has anyone heard from Hannah since she left?”

“No.”

“And you really don’t think she could have met
up with the others somewhere?”

“Maybe if that Rose girl had wanted her to, but
I don’t think the others would have.”

“Was she not friends with them?”

Taylor laughed. “She was a lot older. Cherry is seventeen,
Sky and the others were younger. Hannah is, like, twenty-five. Why would they
want to hang out with her?”

“And why would she want to hang out with them?”
Jane said it softly, under her breath. Her heart was with Hannah, too old to be
cool to the very hungover Taylor and gone missing too late to get any sympathy.

“Because she was weird. The kind of old person that
dressed up in costumes and went to see movies.” Taylor finished her toast and
brushed the crumbs off.

“So you weren’t concerned the body in our shed
was Hannah, then, were you?” Jake got up and went to the window.

Taylor didn’t answer.

“How long had you known Ryder?” Jane asked.

Taylor looked up, eyes narrowed. “No.”

“What about Levi and Amos?”

“No one knew them long.”

“Does Eric thinks Cherry ran off with Ryder?”
Jane sipped her coffee.

“Ryder wasn’t here long enough to do something
like that.”

“But that other guy, Mason? He was ragging Eric
because Cherry had run off with someone else. She couldn’t have left him for
her cousins.”

“Ryder did
not
run off with Cherry.”

“How do you know?” Jake came back to them. “If
you didn’t know Ryder, how do you know he didn’t know Cherry?”

Taylor groaned and dropped back on the sofa.

“Was it love at first sight?” Jane kept her
voice soft.

Taylor sighed.

“You wanted to know him.”

Taylor nodded.

“How long had he been in town?”

“He had only been here for two days.”

“That’s why they don’t count him as missing, I
guess,” Jane said.

“Who did he know in town?” Jake sat down next to
Jane.

“He seemed to know Cherry’s cousins.”

“How long had they been in town?” Jane leaned
against Jake, glad for all of the help he had been in this surprise interview.

“A month. They were staying with Cherry.”

“And Ryder came to town, and then, two days
later everyone was gone?”

“Yes. Exactly. Except Hannah. She left at least two
days after that.”

Jane rubbed her chin thoughtfully. If the number
of boys and girls matched better, or if four of the kids hadn’t been related,
it would have made more sense. Then again, running away didn’t have to be about
sex. They could have all left to go on a road trip, just for kicks. It could
have been nothing more than that. And Hannah could have left for some other
reason. Comic-Con or something. And…the body in the shed could be completely
unrelated to any of it. Some other sad murder.

“What about all the other missing kids?” Jake
asked. “The ones from the other towns?”

“How should I know?” Taylor took a tentative sip
of the coffee.