Picture Perfect Murder (Ryli Sinclair 1) (9 page)

Mom and I made it to church with ten minutes to spare. Mom
stopped to talk with an elderly couple as I made my way to an open pew. I
couldn’t help but notice a larger crowd than normal. I had just put my purse
under the pew when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“I’m just so shocked at what’s happened,” Sandy Trindle said
as she slid closer to the front of her pew directly behind me. “I wonder when
they’ll hold an election to replace the position that’s open now on the church
board.”

Was she for real?

“I overheard June Johnson tell Barbara Nelson during Sunday
school that at the last church board meeting Dr. Garver and Pastor Williams got
into a heated dispute over money,” Sandy said.

Pastor Williams? Hmmm…definitely worth looking into.

Just then Anna Johnson sat down next to Sandy. Anna, June’s
daughter, always looked so glamorous. I remembered her being at Legends the day
after the murder. By the way her smooth tresses moved over her tan shoulders,
her blow out was still holding up.

“Well,” Anna said as she tucked a blonde strand behind her
ear, “I heard Dr. Garver was gunning for a lot of people. She had Dan Perkins
jumping through so many hoops, I’m surprised he’s stuck around this long. I bet
he did a jig when he found out she was dead.”

I was about to ask Anna to elaborate when the piano started,
signaling the start of service. Mom and Paige both slid into the pew beside me,
and I decided to file the rest of the questions away until a later time.

The sermon seemed to drag on extra long. I wasn't sure if it
was because there were so many people and Pastor Williams wanted to make sure
everyone got an extra helping of God's amazingness, or if he was just enjoying
the sound of his own voice. Finally the piano began playing the closing song
and we all filed out.

Mom, Paige, and I decided to go out to eat after church.
Since there were only two restaurants in town open on Sundays, it wasn't a hard
decision to make on where to eat. We decided on the Country Cafe. We were just
about to be seated when Dr. Powell walked in alone.

Knowing this would be a perfect opportunity to see what he
knew about the murder, I didn't even ask what the others thought when I said,
"Hey, Doc, want to sit with us today?"

Dr. Powell looked slightly embarrassed but recovered nicely.
"That would be lovely. That is, if you ladies don't mind the
company."

My mom blushed. I knew she thought I was doing this as a
hook up, but this time I just wanted to pick his brain. "We'd love it if
you joined us," my mom said.

The four of us were led to a back corner booth—a perfect
place for a little privacy. Mom and Doc both stopped many times on the way back
to the booth to chat with people. Paige and I gave up waiting on them and went
ahead and sat down...Paige on one side of the booth, me on the other.

"What's going on? Why did you invite Dr. Powell to join
us?" Paige asked.

I leaned over and whispered, "I want to see if he knows
anything more. I heard he and Dr. Garver were at odds over school board
stuff...maybe he'll give us some clues."

We didn't have long to wait before Mom and Doc joined us.
Mom slid in next to me and Doc sat next to Paige.

"It's very nice of you all to invite me over. I usually
just sit by myself most Sundays."

I gave mom a little nudge with my elbow. Obviously he was
giving her a signal that he was single and available. She chose to ignore me.

The waitress came over and took our order. With the small
talk out of the way, I decided to forge ahead.

"Doc, have you heard anything more about Dr. Garver's
death?" I didn't say murder because I didn't want to put him off if he was
in the mood to talk.

Stirring his coffee he didn't say anything. Just when I
thought he wasn't going to answer he said, "Not really, just what I've
heard around town. You know how people talk...but nothing concrete."

Darn. We weren't getting anywhere.

"Although, I did hear that there didn't appear to be a
struggle, so my guess is whoever did this either has to be amazingly strong or
was somehow able to subdue Dr. Garver."

Exactly what I thought.

"I'm sure Chief Kimble will figure it out soon,
though."

Mom gave me a look. I knew that look. That was a
stop-right-this-minute-young-lady look.

"I'm sure he will, Martin," my mom said softly.

Martin?
I mouthed to Paige. Since when
did my mom call Dr. Powell by his first name? Paige raised her eyebrows and
smiled.

Our meal came and we dug in. I didn't really pay much
attention to what Mom and Doc talked about. I was more interested in the fact
the suspect either had to be Arnold Schwarzenegger's body double, or someone
who knew how to subdue someone. There had to be tons of ways to subdue someone,
so that didn't get me too far ahead of where I currently was.

We bid farewell to Doc and headed back to Mom's. Paige and I
went upstairs to call Aunt Shirley and see what our next move should be. I put
her on speakerphone.

“Hey, Aunt Shirley.”

“About damn time. Where’ve you been?”

I rolled my eyes at Paige. “Umm...church. It's Sunday after
all." I added that last part as a dig, like I thought she might be going
to Hell for skipping church.

She obviously didn't care. “I’ve been thinking,” Aunt
Shirley said as she took a deep breath and then started hacking.

“Put that damn thing away! You’re seriously gonna hurt
yourself!” I knew she was puffing away on that ridiculous e-cig.

“Anyway,” she continued as though I hadn’t spoken, “I know
you said you were going to go see that loudmouth Iris on Monday. Maybe we
should all go together. She did say she may have some information for you,
didn’t she?”

I chewed on my lower lip. I wasn’t sure what to do. Did I
really want Aunt Shirley and Paige with me when I talked with Iris about the
murder?

Sensing my hesitation, Aunt Shirley said, “Do you even know
the questions you’re gonna ask her?”

I sighed. She was probably right, I would need her help.

“I can come,” Paige whispered.

Nodding to Paige I said to Aunt Shirley, “Fine. We’ll come
by to pick you up a little before seven tomorrow night.”

“Damn right you will. I want to make sure my Falcon is doing
okay.”

An hour later, Matt's shift at the fire station finally
ended. He pulled into the driveway and came inside to talk with Mom. By the
time Mom stopped fussing over and feeding Matt, I was ready to pull my hair
out. I love my mom, but I can only be away from my place for so long before I
start climbing the walls.

After promising Mom I’d be careful and not do anything
foolish, I hopped in Matt’s truck. He took me to Oak Grove to retrieve my
Honda. I drove it back to my house and parked it along the street in front of
my house. My driveway was too small for two cars. Matt insisted on coming in and
checking to make sure everything was safe before leaving.

A few minutes later, when I was finally alone, I sat down
and started writing a list of the people I had interacted with on Friday and
Saturday. There were all the ladies at Legends, Doc Powell, and Coach Perkins.
That was pretty much it. Did Garrett seriously believe that one of the ladies
at Legends hacked up Dr. Garver?

There was no way. We obviously missed something. I was still
pondering the list when my cell phone rang. “Hey, Garrett,” I said, trying to
go for casual.

“Did you get me that list?”

Obviously he was going for formal and gruff. “Yes, but I think
you’re on the wrong track. It was mostly old ladies from Legends.” There was no
way I was going to tell him I’d driven by Coach Perkins’s house. “We must have
missed something. Maybe I was targeted because I’m writing a piece for the
paper and asking questions. And when you put me up against Hank, I’m the easier
target.”

I could sense Garrett mulling that idea over. Sighing he
said, “Maybe. I just wish I knew for sure. How’re you doing otherwise?”

“I’m doing okay. Matt dropped me back home, so I’m just
piddling around.”

“Well, I’m stuck here at the station for a bit. I need to
finish going over a few things.”

Damn. “Well, I have that list if you need it. But like I
said, it’s just the ladies from Legends.”

“Please tell me you won’t do anything crazy tomorrow.”

Double damn. I hated the fact he assumed I’d do something
rash, and I also hated the fact I was going to have to lie. There was no way I
was going to tell him that the three of us were going to talk to Iris tomorrow
night.

“Nope, nothing rash,” I said as I crossed my fingers.

Monday morning had the office hopping with the distribution
of the paper. I filled Mindy in on what happened at my house Saturday
afternoon, which afforded me the opportunity to feel a little sorry for myself
and hear sympathetic concerns and coos, none of which would ever come from
Hank.

Luckily Hank never stayed in the office on distribution day,
so I didn’t have to get another earful about how I missed another opportunity
for the paper by not getting pictures of the heart or something equally
disturbing. I also filled Mindy in on everything else Paige, Aunt Shirley, and
I had been working on.

“So what’s next?” she asked.

“Tonight we’re going to Iris’s house to hear what she has to
tell us. I’m not sure what kind of gossip she has, but it must be pretty good
because she obviously didn’t want to share it there at the salon.”

Mindy patted me on my arm, her silver bracelets clinking
together. “Please be careful. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing that from
everyone, but I just wouldn’t know what I’d do if something bad happened to
you.”

“Don’t worry, I'm taking Paige and Aunt Shirley with
me...we'll be careful. So have you heard anything more about Garver as far as
the murder goes?”

Mindy leaned in as though she didn’t want anyone to
overhear. Not that she needed to worry, the office was empty except for the two
of us. “Hank said a source told him that there was no real sign of a struggle,
which probably means she knew the person that killed her. She just let him in.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured it that way, too. In fact, I
mentioned that to Kimble when I was taking pictures that night.”

“I heard there were no defensive wounds. Why do you think
that would be?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “You’d think she would have tried to
fight back…unless she was somehow prevented.”

“Exactly what I was thinking!” I could hear the excitement
in Mindy’s voice.

“I’ll tell you what, if Iris gives us anything useful, I’ll
let you know.”

I spent the next couple of hours Googling ways a person
could subdue someone without the victim fighting back…and basically succeeded
in creeping myself out. There were a lot of scary people who knew a lot of
scary ways to hurt someone. At this rate, it would take me forever to narrow
down a way Dr. Garver was killed.

The only thing that made sense was either the killer slipped
up behind her without her knowing and somehow subdued her, which meant the
killer had to be a pretty big guy to manage that. Or the killer gave her
something to knock her out. But how did he manage that? Did he put it in her
drink? Did he inject her?

I was pretty sure Garrett had some kind of answers from the
phone conversation the other night with the lab, but he wasn’t going to tell
me. Which meant I was back to square one, with no real motive or murder weapon.

“I’m going to head home, honey.”

I looked up from my screen. I hadn’t even heard Mindy come
up beside me. At this rate, I’ll be getting myself killed for sure.

“Ok. I’m heading out soon, too. I just want to research a
little more.”

Mindy leaned over and gave me a one-arm hug. “Just remember
what I said…please be careful tonight. And remember, Iris is a gossiping
windbag. It doesn’t mean she will always know fact from fiction.”

I knew where Mindy was going with this. After all these
years, Mindy still couldn’t forgive Iris for spreading horrible gossip about
her when she first arrived in town with Hank. “I promise to remember who and
what she really is,” I said. “Now, go home and fix dinner for that cranky old
man you call a husband.”

Laughing, Mindy glided out the door on her four-inch spiked
stiletto heels.

What does one wear to interrogate a suspect?

I decided on black jeans, a black loose-fitting turtleneck,
and my black boots. I was going for intimidating yet approachable. I knew I’d
be lucky if Iris gave me anything useful. Still, a girl can hope.

After making a quick sandwich, I picked Paige up at six-forty
and we drove over to Oak Grove Manor to pick up Aunt Shirley. I wasn’t sure
what I was expecting when she opened the door, but I can definitely say it
wasn’t a long-sleeved black jumpsuit with Army boots and a camouflage bandana
wrapped around her head.

“What’s with the outfit?” I asked.

“I figured you two sissies would go for cutesy, so one of us
had better go for kickass.”

We all piled into the Falcon and headed over to Legends.
Once again I parked in the back lot by the dumpster, out of sight of other cars
driving by. We were about ten minutes early, but I didn’t think Iris would
mind.

I escorted the girls up the back wooden stairs that led to
Iris’s house above the salon. Raising my hand, I knocked twice on the weather-beaten
aluminum door.

Nothing.

“Try again,” Aunt Shirley persisted.

I knocked again and waited a few seconds. Maybe we were too
early and she wasn’t home yet from running her errands. Peering inside the
tiny-portioned glass in the door, I tried to see if I could glimpse any
movement.

The kitchen was directly in front of me. All I could make
out was the layout of the kitchen and doorway leading into what I guessed was
the living room.

“Try the doorknob,” Aunt Shirley said.

“Don’t you dare!" Paige exclaimed. "That’s
illegal!”

I silently debated what I should do. Do I just leave without
answers, or do I turn the knob and see what happens?

Ignoring Paige’s gasp, I grasped the knob and turned. To my
surprise the door opened. “Iris,” I called out as we piled into her kitchen.

Nothing.

We were all three jammed into Iris’s tiny sunshine yellow
kitchen, trying to peer through the open doorway that led into her living room.
There were no lights on, but I swore I caught the faint glow of the TV from her
living room.

“I don’t think we should be in here,” Paige whispered.
“Let’s just go and come back later.”

“No way,” Aunt Shirley said as she pushed me out of her way
and began walking through the doorway and into Iris’s living room.

Praying Iris wouldn’t be pissed that we’d just barged in, I
hurried after Aunt Shirley. I could hear Paige trailing behind me and muttering
under her breath.

Two steps into the living room I hit the back of Aunt
Shirley. “Why'd you stop?” I asked.

“Look,” Aunt Shirley said as she pointed to the floor.

Looking over her shoulder I let out a high-pitched girlie
scream. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t expecting to see Iris’s body sprawled out
on the carpet, her face covered in blood. Behind me I could hear Paige
chanting, “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!”

Aunt Shirley knelt down and tried to find a pulse. Why I
don’t know, it was obvious she was dead.

Trying not to gag, I watched as Aunt Shirley stared into
Iris’s bloody mouth. “Looks like her tongue’s been cut out. I’d say the killer
put her on her back like this so she’d be sure to choke on her own blood. Panic
her as she was dying.”

“You think she was still alive when her tongue was cut out?”
I asked, shocked at the thought of something so brutal.

“Yep. With all this blood, I’d say it was done while she was
still alive. If it was done after she was dead, there wouldn’t be as much
blood.”

“I think I’m going to go wait outside,” Paige said.

“Don’t touch anything!” Aunt Shirley shouted as Paige
staggered her way through the kitchen and onto the deck.

“Crap. You know I’m gonna have to call Garrett and tell him
what we found. He’s going to flip shit when he finds out we went behind his
back and came here.”

“Suck it up, Buttercup.”

Having no other choice, I took out my cell phone and pulled
up Garrett’s number. Unfortunately for me, he actually answered this time.
“Hey, Sin, kinda busy. What’s up?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.

I could hear cursing on the other end. “First off, are you
okay?”

“Yes.”

“How bad is it?”

“You mean on a scale of one to dead body bad?” I don't know
why I made it sound like a question.

More cursing. “Didn’t I tell you to lay low today? What is
it with you and attracting trouble?”

Even though I’d prepared myself for his anger, actually
hearing him growl at me set me off. So I did what I always do when I’m good and
mad and totally worked up…I started to cry.

“Don’t cry, Sin,” I heard Garrett sigh. “Where are you, I’m
coming.”

Between my ragged breath, hiccuping, and soft sobs, I told
Garrett where I was. Hanging up the phone, I looked over at Aunt Shirley and
Iris’s dead body.

“That’s what you went with? Crying?”

“Shut up, Aunt Shirley,” I said, trying to calm my nerves. I
could hear the wailing of sirens in the background.

A few minutes later, Garrett came barging into the living
room. I have to admit, my heart gave a little leap when I saw him, even though
I was still pissed he thought I somehow did something to provoke this. I
watched in silence as he started examining the body.

I glanced over as Officer Chunsey and Officer Ryan walked
into the living room. Officer Mike Ryan had recently left the Army and had only
been with the Granville Police Department six months. He was a little over six
foot tall, bald, and had muscles bulging everywhere. With his dark complexion
and massive muscles, he always reminded me of Dwayne Johnson. The very
intimidating Dwayne Johnson, not the laid-back-wide-grin Dwayne Johnson.

“Melvin should be here shortly to make the call,” Officer
Ryan informed us as he stared down at Iris. “So we have Garver’s heart cut out,
and now we have Iris’s tongue cut out. That’s quite a specific pattern.”

“It is?” I asked.

“Agreed,” Garrett said, ignoring my question.

“I’ll start snapping pictures,” Officer Ryan said.

Deciding I wasn’t going to get anywhere with the men, I
started walking down the narrow hallway toward the bedroom and bathroom area. I
had almost reached the bathroom when I heard Garrett yell out, “Where are you
going? Don’t touch anything!”

Without turning around I rolled my eyes and said, “I’m going
to the bathroom.” What he didn’t know was that I was going to the bathroom to
snoop around, not to actually use it.

It just so happened the first door I opened on the left side
of the hallway was Iris’s bedroom. Closing the door behind me I looked around,
hoping to find some sort of clue. Iris’s bedroom suite was made of light oak
wood. Her bed was centered in the middle of the room, with a wooden headboard
attached. On the far wall stood a tall oak dresser with four drawers, and next
to her bed was a single oak nightstand. I didn’t recognize the quilt pattern on
her bedspread, but that was no surprise. I did, however, like the interlacing
colors of light blue, pink, and yellow.

Knowing Garrett would kill me if I got fingerprints
anywhere, I walked over to her nightstand, and using the bottom of my shirt, I
carefully opened the drawer to rummage around.

Big mistake. And when I say big, take my word for it, I mean
big
mistake. Who knew someone like Iris would keep toys in there. I
mean, I guess it made sense, but gross! I had no idea how I was going to burn
that image out of my mind.

I spotted a large notebook on the bed, and using the bottom
of my shirt again, I flipped it open. Bingo! It was her appointment book for
the salon. Leafing through to October, I reached into my jeans and took out my
cell phone. I quickly snapped a photo for the calendar month of October then
shut the book, leaving it exactly where it was.

Deciding I had spent enough time snooping, and knowing
Garrett would probably start looking for me, I opened the door and stepped into
the hallway. Or more like stepped into Garrett. He was standing in the middle
of the hall, arms crossed over his chest.

“I had better not find your fingerprints all over her
bedroom.”

“You won’t.”

“Find anything useful?” he asked, trying to sound stern, but
I could see his lips twitching, trying not to smile.

I didn’t say anything, just shook my head.

Dropping his arms to his side, he stepped closer to me. “I’m
sorry I yelled at you. It’s been a while since I felt that scared. Hearing you
cry, mentioning a dead body…it really got to me.”

He leaned down and gave me a light kiss. Just a quick brush
of his lips across mine, but the effect was like being squeezed to death by a
boa constrictor.

But in a good way.

“I have to finish up here. I want to talk to the toxicology
lab, have them check for something specific, then—”

“What specifically?” I couldn’t help it. I had to know.

“Then,” he continued, “I’ll wrap it up as quick as I can and
drop by your place tonight.”

“You will?”

“Yes, Ryli, I will. I don’t want you alone tonight.”

Not only had he used my given name, but he basically implied
he was staying the night with me. Had I shaved my legs this morning? What does
my house look like? Had I picked up my underwear off the floor? Good thing I
had time to pick up before he came over.

“How about you two quit making out in the hall and get over
here and wrap up this dead body thing.” God bless Aunt Shirley’s big mouth.

Turning around, Garrett sauntered back down the hall and
into the living room. I gawked at his backside the whole time. Aunt Shirley’s
cackle brought me back to the present, and I rushed down the hall, suddenly
eager to print out the picture on my phone before Garrett came over.

On an impulse, I decided to look in the sink. There were a
number of dirty dishes with dried food caked on plastic plates, a pot that
looked to have the remnants of macaroni and cheese stuck to the side, and lots
of cups and silverware. Evidently keeping a clean kitchen wasn’t high on Iris’s
list.

What did strike me as odd was the fact that sitting next to
the sink was two clean mugs—like they had recently been washed and set there to
dry. Just like at Dr. Garver’s house.

Minutes later, the three of us girls drove to the newspaper
to print out my picture.
I had just unlocked the front door
when Hank’s truck came screeching to a halt in the tiny parking lot
,
gravel flying
. Groaning, I knew what was coming next.

“I hear about a dead body discovered over the police
scanner. Then minutes later I get a call from someone that it was
you
who
discovered the body of the town’s biggest gossip, and you don’t call me to tell
me?” Hank barked as he slammed the truck door shut.

“I’m sorry,” I said sarcastically, “How stupid of me not to
think to call you during my breakdown.”

“How bad was it?”

“It was really bad,” Paige whispered.

“Looks like someone cut out her tongue while she was still
alive and waited for her to die,” Aunt Shirley said. Leave it to Aunt Shirley
to provide the truth.

“What you seem to be forgetting lately is that this is your
job. It’s your job to report on these things, and you’re lucky enough to be in
the thick of it!”

“Lucky enough?” I practically screamed. “Are you crazy? This
has been the worst few weeks of my life!”

Son of a bitch…once again I felt the water works starting. What’s
wrong with me? Usually I thought of myself a little bit more put together than
this. A couple dead bodies and suddenly I’m Simpering Sally.

“Leave her be you old coot,” my Aunt Shirley said. “Can’t
you see she’s shaken up?”

Glaring at my aunt, Hank pushed us all through the glass
double doors before locking the deadbolt behind him. That simple act had me
even more upset. If mean-ass Hank was taking safety precautions, I truly did
have a lot to worry about.

“What’d you get?” Hank said as he held out his hand. “I
figure you all coming back here means you found something.”

I debated on whether or not I should tell him, but then I
figured maybe his seasoned eyes could help. Pulling the phone out of my pocket,
I pulled up the gallery app and clicked on the photo. “I need to print this
out. I found Iris’ salon schedule on her bed and was able to snap a picture
real quick before Garrett found me.”

Smiling, Hank took the phone and plugged it into the cord
attached to the computer. “I knew you’d get something. Good work.”

Paige leaned over and patted me on my shoulder. “See, you
did good.”

“I figure we help solve this murder alongside the police,
papers will fly off the shelves.”
Hank, always the upstanding
guy.