Ladies' Circle of Murder (A Lacy Steele Mystery Book 8) (5 page)

“I know. I’ve been waiting and hoping for this since I became a detective. Some basic knowledge of forensics could make all the difference in a case. That homeless woman they found off the highway last week, for instance. The animals had done too much damage to tell anything obvious about her. I had to send her to the forensic pathologist in the capital. But if I knew more, I would have been able to tell how long she had been there, maybe get an idea of her age or cause of death. I’m stoked,” he said, but he didn’t look it.

“Really? Because you look and sound like someone who has jury duty.”

“There’s the issue of dodgeball. We’ll have two games while I’m gone.”

She hadn’t thought about dodgeball, but now that she did, she was relieved. If he wasn’t going, she wouldn’t have to. “Travis can sub for you. And he can get one of his friends to sub for me. I’m sure everyone will understand.”

“No, sweetie, you don’t understand. League rules say we have to have a minimum of three women playing or we forfeit. I can miss, but you can’t or we’ll lose.” He paused. “You know what, never mind. This was my thing, and it’s not fair of me to ask you to go without me.”

He hated to lose at sports. Lacy didn’t want him to because she was too afraid to show up. “I’ll go,” she promised, although she was sure she would regret it later when the time came to face the court alone.

“Travis will be there. I already checked, and he’s available. He’ll cover you.”

She tried to smile, but terror kept it from being convincing. There was no way Travis would be able to protect her the same way Jason had. Mentally, she reviewed her insurance coverage. What was her co-pay for an emergency room visit? Since she had been dating Jason, she hadn’t needed to know. Strange how infrequently she’d had any accidents since they’d been together.

“You’re good for my health,” she blurted.

“You’re good for my everything,” he returned. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Please try not to think of me when you’re digging up rotting corpses,” she said.

“I’ll do my best.”

“You’re allowed to think of me all the other times when you’re not touching dead bodies,” she said.

“Duly noted. Same goes for you.”

“I don’t plan to touch any dead bodies, and I will surely think of you,” she promised him. He came around the desk and gave her an extended goodbye. As she watched him walk out the door, she tried not to feel forlorn. She wouldn’t be one of those women who fell to pieces at the thought of spending a week without her boyfriend. She would be one of those people who fell to pieces over spending a week with her mother. How was she going to handle so much time spent with her mother without Jason as a buffer?

She picked up the phone and called her sister. “Any chance you had that baby yet?” If the baby arrived, Frannie would have a worthwhile way to spend her time and energy. Lacy would be off the hook.

“Just a sec, I’ll check. Nope, it’s still in there and locked up tight. Judging by my size and the length of my gestation, I’ve decided I’m having an elephant. I need a distraction. Distract me.”

“Do you want me to dance or juggle or something?” Lacy asked.

“No, I need a hobby, something to get me away from the house, away from Mom.”

“I was invited to a knitting group last night,” Lacy said.

“Yes, that. Let’s do that. I probably have time to knit a blanket or twelve before the baby comes.”

“Why do I have to go if you’re the one who wants a hobby?” Lacy asked.

“Because I can’t show up at a knitting group you were invited to without you. Can’t you just do this for me? My feet are too swollen for shoes and the only pants that fit are some of Tosh’s cut-off sweatpants. I look like the Incredible Hulk.”

“Fine. Hey, did you loan Mom your car last night?”

“I told her she could use it anytime she wants.”

“Did she use it last night?” Lacy asked.

“How should I know? I fell asleep in the middle of a container of mango sorbet. The spoon was in my mouth and I drooled on the only shirt that fits me. Do you think Grandma would mind if I borrowed one of her muumuus?”

“Not if you call it a muumuu,” Lacy said.

“I’m going over there later to look for something that fits. Do you still have any of your old clothes lying around? What about the dress you wore to homecoming your senior year?”

“What are you saying? My clothes were not that big,” Lacy said.

“If you say so, but the
Santa Maria
called. It never got its sail back after you borrowed it to make a nightgown.”

“I really do not think we want to start tossing out weight jokes right now,” Lacy said.

“Believe me, there’s nothing you could say about me that I haven’t said about myself. At least you lost the weight. I’m still a frontrunner to play
Moby Dick
in the live-action version,” Riley said.

“It’s not that bad, and it’s all going to come off after you have the baby.”

“I’m never having the baby. In fact, I’m having a lawyer deliver it an eviction notice later this afternoon because that’s all I can think of to get it out at this point,” Riley said.

“Soon we’ll be able to stop calling it an it. Any ideas on a name yet?” Lacy asked.

“Only Tosh’s ideas, so no. Promise me something: If I go into a coma, don’t let him or anyone from his family name the baby.”

“What would I name it?” Lacy asked.

“I don’t know. Name it whatever you’d name it if it were yours. What would that be?” Riley asked.

“I’ve only ever thought of a girl’s name. I’d name her Lucinda after Grandma and call her Lucy.”

“Fine, if something happens to me, go with that.”

“What if Tosh objects?”

“You can take him,” Riley said.

“This is a particularly depressing topic. Can we change the subject, please?” Lacy asked.

“Let’s have lunch with Grandma.”

“What about Mom?”

“She’s mysteriously absent. Let’s enjoy that for the gift it is,” Riley said.

“All right, I’ll meet you at home at noon.”

By the time lunch arrived, Lacy was starving. The ice cream shop downstairs had been busy baking fresh waffle cones all morning. At one point she put a towel over her vent, but it didn’t matter; the smell was everywhere. When she finally left her desk, she ran down the back stairs and straight outside to avoid temptation. Fresh, waffle cone-less air had never smelled so good.

The weather was cool, but she walked home nonetheless. She didn’t want to borrow her grandmother’s car any more than she had to, and neither did she want a car of her own. Instead she waited for some magic solution to present itself. Maybe she should buy a bicycle. She had never owned an adult bicycle. Her grandmother still had her childhood bike. Every once in a while she squished herself onto it and rode around the neighborhood, but that would never do for riding to work. No one would take her seriously as a professional if she showed up on a tiny blue bike with a banana seat, horn, and basket. She would look like a circus monkey.

Riley was already there and eating when she arrived. “How did you get here?” Lacy asked.

“Grandma picked me up.”

“Is it wrong that we’re almost thirty and still rely on our grandma so much?” Lacy asked.

“I don’t think so,” Lucinda said as she bustled about making a plate for Lacy. It was apparent that she had spent the morning cooking, probably to fill the lonely hours without her boyfriend.

“We’re all without our men this week,” Lacy noted.

“Newsflash: it’s not the fifties. We’ll survive,” Riley said.

“It still feels weird. Very Amazonian.”

“It reminds me of the war when I was a little girl. There were mostly women around, and a lot of them worked in factories. We kids were on our own,” Lucinda said.

“Grandma, sit with us,” Lacy said. If she didn’t prompt her to eat, her grandmother would spend the whole meal serving them.

She made a plate for herself and sat. “Where’s Frannie?”

“I don’t know,” Lacy and Riley answered together.

“That’s strange,” Lucinda said.

“Mom’s been acting weird lately,” Riley said. “More neurotic than usual. I think she needs a hobby. Maybe she should come to the knitting club with us, although not really because I need a break from her. Did you set it up?”

“Yes, and it’s tonight. I texted Jason and got Marcia’s contact number. They’ve been meeting in the basement of the Baptist church. I invited them to meet in the Stakely building. She was pretty excited about that. Plus it will be good for business. Maybe someone will start a yarn store. That would be a great addition to the building.”

“What? I’m sorry, I fell asleep halfway through that monologue,” Riley said. “The important thing is that I have something tangible to do tonight other than sit around and play connect the dots with my stretch marks.”

“Should we be worried about Frannie? Where could she be?” Lucinda asked.

“Grandma, when Mom was in high school, did she ever mention someone named Bob Hoskins?” Lacy asked.

“Not that I can remember,” Lucinda said.

“Did she ever date anyone you didn’t approve of? Someone from a rougher crowd?”

“She never dated anyone but your dad, and we always approved of him,” Lucinda said.

“You don’t remember her having a crush on anyone else, even in passing?” Lacy pressed.

Lucinda shook her head. “It was always your dad for her. He was the only boy she ever mentioned. They broke up for a time near the end of high school, but they soon got back together and became engaged.”

“Why did they break up?” Riley asked.

“I don’t remember.”

“Do you think it’s possible that she dated someone else during that time?” Lacy asked.

“I don’t think so. She was so heartbroken. Maybe there was someone at camp, but she never mentioned it.”

“Camp? Mom never mentioned camp,” Riley said.

“She went once for a whole summer, but I don’t think she liked it. After she came back, she and your dad broke up for a time. I guess it’s possible that there was another boy in there somewhere, but Frannie was never much for confiding in me. She was closer to her dad that way.”

“Why are you asking so many questions about Mom’s love life? Some things are better left un-poked,” Riley said.

Lacy told them about the strange visit with the mechanic and his untimely death. She left off the part about seeing her mother at the shop last night. No need to make her grandmother worry.

“So some guy was hitting on Mom, and then he wound up dead. That’s a little freaky,” Riley said.

“How sad for his family,” Lucinda said.

“I don’t know if he had any family,” Lacy said. He had alluded to an ex-wife, but was he remarried? Had Jason been forced to notify a grieving widow of the death? Lacy had no idea. She should have asked, but their parting had been so rushed. And now the case, if there was a case, had been handed off to Detective Arroyo. He hated her. There was no way she could ask him any questions.

The door slammed and Frannie appeared. “You’re having a party without me?”

“I called, Mom. You didn’t answer,” Riley said.

“I was having my hair and nails done. I couldn’t hear over the noise in the salon.”

“Where did you go?” Lucinda asked.

“To Francois.”

“You drove to the capital?” Lacy asked.

“I don’t trust my hair to these rinky-dink salons,” Frannie said, oblivious to the fact that she was talking to three people who routinely trusted their hair to the rinky-dink salons.

“I was telling Grandma and Riley about Bob Hoskins,” Lacy said.

Frannie tensed. “What about him?”

“That he died last night.”

Her mother blinked once, twice. “Oh. How sad. When will I be able to retrieve my car?”

“I have no idea,” Lacy said.

“Can’t you ask Jason?”

“He’s at the Body Farm.”

“is that some kind of spa?” Frannie asked.

“No, it’s a literal farm filled with dead bodies. He’s taking a forensics course,” Lacy said.

“That’s disgusting,” Frannie said.

“That’s his job. He sees a lot of disturbing things. Like Bob Hoskins last night.”

Frannie gripped a kitchen chair until her knuckles popped. “Regardless, I still need my car. You must have some in with law enforcement. I would appreciate it if you would check.”

“I’ll do my best,” Lacy promised. “In fact, I need to get back to work. I’ll check right now.” She was glad for the chance to escape.

The walk back into town felt even cooler. They were at that point in fall where the weather varied widely from day to day. Sometimes it was balmy. Others, like today, it was near freezing and blustery. Her toes were numb by the time she approached the repair shop. Police tape blocked the entrance, but a sheriff’s van was parked outside. Lacy poked her head in the door, hoping for a friendly deputy. Instead she found Detective Arroyo. He didn’t look happy to see her.

“Cantor’s not here,” he said.

“I know. I have a question about this.” She motioned toward the lift, which was now covered in plastic.

“No,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“I said no. I know your boyfriend indulges your nosiness and lets you poke your fingers into his investigations, but that’s not how I operate. I don’t care if you did find the body. You are a civilian and have no part of this investigation. In fact, you need to go now. This scene is still closed.”

“But, I…” Lacy started, but he cut her off.

“I said no. If I have to arrest you to make my point, I will. Leave. Now.”

“Whatever you say,” Lacy said, as sweetly as she could manage. She turned and stalked away.

To the casual observer, she might have appeared aimless, but she had a firm destination in mind. She reached it in record time and pulled open the door.

With a purposeful stride, she bypassed the counter and entered an office without knocking. The editor of the local paper looked at her in surprise, but not unhappy surprise.

“Lacy.” He put down the phone and waited for her to speak.

“I’m going to be covering the death of Bob Hoskins for you,” she said. “You don’t have to pay me, but I’m going to need you to back me up with press credentials if I get into trouble.”