Flea Market Fatal (10 page)

Missy had worked up a sweat dancing inside the humid bar. The night air felt twenty degrees cooler. The deck was pretty crowded too. The smokers congregated in one designated corner. Missy smiled at the people she knew.

“I got you a Moscow Mule,” Cooper said, coming up from behind her. “You like that, right?”

She had exchanged all of five words with him before tonight, so she wasn’t sure why he thought she liked that drink.

“Oh, great,” she said.

Cooper went to work on a fresh beer. He really was tall, with long limbs. His t-shirt was fitted and accentuated how lean he was. Missy had always been intimidated by skinny guys, much more so than muscled guys. She had no doubt that if she pulled up Cooper’s shirt, she’d find a six pack.

“So you found
Switzer
?” Cooper almost spat out the name.

“Yeah…” She made a face like she was sorry. “…I heard you two had a falling out.”

“Prick got me fired.” Cooper took a long sip, probably drinking half his beer. “For no good reason.”

Cooper was ticked off, but Missy couldn’t let it go. She had to probe.

“What do you mean for no good reason?”

For a moment, Cooper looked at her. His eyes were filled with anger. She didn’t know if she could hold the stare, but forced herself not to look away. Finally he shrugged.

“Everybody takes minutes here and there. Hell, I’m sure Switzer did before too. So what if I was off a few minutes when I signed in and out? Guy is just a rat.
Was
a rat. We machinists are supposed to look out for each other, because management sure as hell doesn’t.”

Missy nodded like she understood, but in her mind it was impossible to justify stealing minutes from your boss. She’d never do something like that. She was way too honest.

“Must have made you mad.”

He looked away and drank almost the rest of his beer. “I’m not the only guy that Switzer has screwed over. He makes a habit of it.”

“Oh really?” Missy didn’t want there to be more suspects. She wanted the killer to be either Cooper or Oliver. Things were already complicated enough.

Cooper smirked at her. “You should know, of all people. He torpedoed your pop, didn’t he?”

She smiled, playing it off. “That was a long time ago. Was there anybody else he ticked off recently, I mean, other than you?”

Cooper finished his beer. “His neighbor, Del Reimer.”

How hadn’t Missy heard about this? Del Reimer was the perfect suspect. He lived right next door and could have easily gotten in and out unnoticed. All he had to do was wait till Switzer was alone.

“What happened?”

“Property dispute. Switzer of course was encroaching on Reimer’s land.”

“How about you?” Missy said, pretending to be joking around. “Where were you on Saturday morning?”

Cooper shrugged. “At home. Alone.”

She knew where Cooper lived. His property sat well off the beaten-path. He’d inherited it from his grandparents. His nearest neighbor was probably half a mile away. Cooper could easily leave his house without anybody noticing.

The silence between them was growing. Missy realized she hadn’t even touched her Moscow Mule. She took a sip and hid a gag.

“I figured a guy like you would have something to do on a Saturday morning.” She wasn’t quite sure if she was making sense, but she smiled when she said it.

“A guy like me?” Cooper obviously didn’t understand.

“You know…” She held her hands out and circled him. “You know, somebody that’s outdoorsy and single…”

“You mean unemployed, don’t you?” Cooper shook his head. “The factory was the only job I ever had. Once Switzer ratted me out and they fired me, I basically had no references. Nobody wants to take me on.”

There was murder in his eyes.

Cooper went on. “All for a lousy few minutes here and there. Switzer has made it so I can’t get a damned job!”

Temper, temper. From what Missy knew, he’d been fired a couple months ago. He should have been over it by now, but he was holding onto it, the anger right under the surface. Not even Switzer’s horrible murder had taken the edge off.

She remembered he had children. “Did your boys get you up early, maybe, for Saturday morning cartoons?”

She didn’t even know if there was such a thing anymore as Saturday morning cartoons.

He shook his head. “They were at their mother’s.”

“So you were home alone?”

His eyes bored into her.

“Yeah.”

She gulped. Her throat was dry. The man had no alibi to corroborate his story and in just talking with him a few minutes, she could tell he had a big ax to grind. Cooper was blaming his complete lack of job prospects on Switzer.

Missy could no longer hold his gaze. His eyes were wild and brimming with anger. Looking into them, even for a second, she got the feeling this man could turn violent. He’d lost his livelihood. That was enough to drive anybody mad.

Just like her father?

“How did you know about Switzer’s dispute with his neighbor?” As soon as she asked the question, she wanted to pull the words back.

Cooper had a death grip on his beer bottle. “What are you, working for your old boyfriend or something?”

She laughed but it sounded as forced as it actually was. “No, what do you mean?”

“You and Tyler Brock. Aren’t you hooking up again?”

She was wondering why he’d shown a passing interest in her if he’d thought she was with Tyler. Probably better not to ask, though. He was already mad enough.

“Why don’t we go back inside? I need to use the bath—”

He grabbed her arm. His fingers dug in a little more than they needed to. “Does Tyler think I killed Switzer?”

Missy was big on personal space. Cooper’s roughness sent her over the edge.

“Let go!”

Cooper leaned in. “Did Tyler send you to question me? If he’s got something to ask me, he should come at me straight on, like a man.”

“You’re hurting me!”

“This is just what I need. Switzer gets me canned, I can’t find a job, and now that idiot cop wants to pin a murder on me.”

“Get off!”

Cooper held on longer. “Give Tyler a message for me.”

“Get—”

Next thing she knew a fist whizzed by her head and connected with Cooper’s jaw. The tall, thin man spun around and then his legs gave out. He hit the deck with a thud and the conversation outside grinded to a halt. Nobody rushed to Cooper’s aid. Missy figured they had been watching what he’d done to her, so nobody wanted to help.

“Are you okay, Miss?” Aaron appeared at her side.

She rubbed her forearm. It was red and aching from where Cooper had grabbed her. Men never understood how strong they were and how frightening they could be.

“Yeah.”

Aaron shook his hand. He must have hurt himself when he’d knocked Cooper out.

“Thanks, Aaron. That was really brave of you.”

“I’d never let anybody hurt you.”

The last thing she wanted was to owe Aaron for something. He was a nice guy, maybe even a great guy, but there was just no spark there. She really liked him and could see how he’d make somebody really happy. But she just didn’t think of him that way.

***

Somebody called the police. Tyler showed up with one of his deputies a few minutes later to collect Cooper.

The deputy led Cooper off the deck and around the outside of the bar. The whole way, Cooper looked back at them with hostile eyes.

“Melissa, can we talk?” Tyler asked.

“She’s had enough for one day.” Aaron put his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer. 

She appreciated Aaron trying to look out for her, but she was a grown woman and could fend for herself.

“Thanks, Aaron. I really appreciate your help but I’m okay. I really do need to talk to Tyler.”

When she looked up into his eyes, she saw the hurt in them. Disappointment curved his lips into a frown. The man felt rejected.

Quickly, she added, “About the investigation, Aaron.”

He perked up at this revelation and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “How about I call you tomorrow?”

She was too tired to say no. “Okay, Aaron.”

“Great!” He clapped his delight, but ended up hurting the hand he’d punched with. Shaking it, he went back inside.

Tyler bobbed his head for her to follow. They left the deck and walked around to the other side of the building, away from the parking lot where they could speak privately. Tyler was in plainclothes tonight, a pair of jeans and a polo shirt. He looked really good.

“What were you doing talking to Cooper Merritt?” Tyler’s voice was stern and accusatory.

“He bought me a drink,” she said, which was true. After, she’d gulped it down, along with the mixed drink she’d ordered earlier to calm her nerves. As a result, she was feeling a little tipsy.

Tyler’s eyes drifted south. He took in her outfit. “You look…”

“What?” She thrust a hip out.

“…not yourself…I’ve never seen you dress like this.”

He sounded disappointed in her, like she’d let him down. “You do realize you haven’t seen me much since high school?”

Even though Tyler was right, she couldn’t concede anything. She didn’t like how he was looking at her. So what if she’d put on this ridiculous t-shirt that showed off the ta-tas?

“I know.” His voice was full of something…maybe regret? “You’re right, Melissa. I guess I have no idea what you dress like anymore.”

“Anyway,” Missy said. “Cooper was home alone on Saturday morning and has no alibi.”

Tyler tilted his head back to look up in exasperation. “Melissa DeMeanor, what are you telling me?”

She had expected him to be pleased with what she’d found out. Instead, he was ticked off. “I just gave you a lead.”

“What did I tell you about this?” Tyler said. “You can’t be part of this investigation. You have to let us do our job.”

“Do your job?” Missy was a little drunk and now a lot angry. “What have you been doing, Tyler? Your boss thinks I did it, you wasted your Sunday arresting my mother, and when I bring you information you get mad at me.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but instead took a calming breath. He stepped away for a moment to gather himself before turning back to her.

“Yes, I’m mad. I’m mad because I asked you not to do this but you went ahead and did it anyway. I’m a detective, Melissa. This is what I do. You don’t have the whole story so you can’t see what we’re doing and how we’re working this case.”

She realized she’d gone too far but couldn’t swallow her pride and apologize. She was angry at him. Not just for the last few days. Maybe not
even
for the last few days. It was for the last two decades. They had gone their separate ways for college, agreeing to see other people. And when they’d promptly drifted apart, he’d made no effort to regain what they had. After graduation he hadn’t even bothered to come back to town, instead going right to Philadelphia to become a police officer. They had loved each other fiercely in high school, often talking about that taboo topic—the
future
—and like that he’d just left her?

“Why didn’t you come back?” Missy asked.

Again, Tyler started to say something but stopped himself short. After taking a pause, he spoke in a calm, professional voice. “Are you okay to get home?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

She left in a hurry.

“So Cooper Merritt totally killed Switzer,” Noreen said.

She made a left onto a side road that led to the Missy’s mom’s house. It was the same one Missy had grown up in. She and Noreen had spent many afternoons running around in the backyard as tweens and later, had spent many evenings on the deck in summer, talking about college and boys and The Future as high schoolers.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Missy said. Though something Cooper said was bothering her. She couldn’t remember his exact words, but it was along the lines of:
Tyler is trying to pin this murder on me.

That wasn’t how guilty people talked, unless they were really smart and trying to throw others off their trail. And as far as she could tell, Cooper wasn’t that smart. If he had any intelligence, he wouldn’t have made such a scene at Hank’s and he wouldn’t have threatened her in front of all those witnesses.

But maybe that was just it. Cooper
wasn’t
smart. And when he’d gone to Switzer’s place to confront the man, he’d just flipped his lid. If you were planning to kill somebody, would you plan to
strangle
them? Missy didn’t think so. The crime was done in a rage, not after hours of careful scheming.

Cooper had a lot of rage. She thought about how quickly he’d gone from interested in her to almost yanking her arm out of its socket. He was out of control.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Noreen asked.

“Cooper mentioned Switzer’s neighbor. I’m going out there to talk to him.”

“Whoa, Miss.” Noreen rolled to a stop in front of Missy’s mom’s house. “You’re just dropping by? You need a cover story.”

“I’ll come up with something.” She was ever more determined now to solve the murder for a lot of reasons. First, she hadn’t forgotten that the chief thought she was guilty. Second, she wanted everybody in this town to stop whispering about her, her mom, and her dad. And third, a small part of wanted to stick it to Tyler.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d looked at her outside the bar. He clearly wasn’t excited about her outfit…but who was he to judge? She’d turned more heads tonight than she had in years. And more importantly, why did she care what he thought anyway?

“Alright, want some company?” Noreen asked.

Missy was about to say no but knew it was for all the wrong reasons. It was okay if she asked for help every now and then. Noreen was her friend.

“Thanks, Nor. How about I pick you up at nine?”

Noreen smiled. “Nine-thirty.”

Missy laughed. Of course Noreen, who was notoriously late, would haggle for more time in the morning. “Nine-fifteen. I have to be at Books and Crannies by ten. Okay?”

“Sounds good.” Noreen winked at her. “Partner.”

They laughed again and hugged before Missy got out of Noreen’s car and walked up her mother’s driveway. She loved this house, having spent the first thirty years of her life in it. It was only a few years ago that her uncle decided to up and move to Florida, offering his house to her for significantly less than he could have gotten on the open market. Having moved back home after college, Missy had slowly saved up enough money to make a down payment and secure a mortgage.

Mom’s house was dark except for one window on the first floor. She still had a key and used it to unlock the front door. Stepping inside, she could tell Mom had gone to bed. Cody was stretched out on the hardwood in the foyer. The dog picked her head up a few inches, blinked a few times, then put her head back down.

“Yeah. I’m tired too.”

It wasn’t that late, not even eleven, but once Missy stepped into her mother’s house the exhaustion hit. The last few days had been crazy and she hadn’t slept well. Her old bed was just up the stairs and calling to her. So Missy locked the front door and patted her thigh for Cody to follow. The dog thumped her tail and hopped up, somehow understanding they weren’t driving home tonight but staying here.

Mom hadn’t changed much about her room. Turning on the light, she could still see the rectangular areas on the wall that were lighter in tone than the rest, the only remaining evidence of her posters: boy bands and movies, basically.

Missy peeled off the t-shirt and slinked her way out of the low-rider jeans. Without even meaning to, she caught herself in the mirror. She obviously didn’t look different tonight than she had this morning, but when she saw her hips and big thighs in the mirror she didn’t cringe. Again she hadn’t gotten to the gym, but maybe she could tomorrow.

She turned out the light and got under the cool sheets. Cody spun three times and finally settled by the foot of the bed.

The next morning Missy woke without an alarm to the sounds and smells of Mom cooking. Cody had beaten her downstairs and was sitting on her haunches two feet from Mom as she worked over the stove.

“Blueberry pancakes and bacon.” Mom smiled. “Your favorite.”

Missy sat where she always sat, in front of the window. Cody was so focused on the food being cooked, she didn’t even notice Missy.

“How was your night?” Mom asked.

“Interesting.” Missy filled her in.

Mom finished at the stove and pushed the pancakes and bacon onto a plate. As she made her way to the table, Cody was glued to her side.

Mom sat. “You and Tyler keep running into each other.”

“Because there’s a murder and I’m the prime suspect now that you’re cleared.” Missy gave her a look. “Speaking of which, it’s time you told me what’s going on. I hate how you keep things from me, Mom. I’m not ten years old anymore.”

Mom put a pancake and two strips of bacon on her plate. “Missy, I’d tell you if I could. But it’s not just my secret to keep.”

“Are you having an affair?”

Mom didn’t answer. “Don’t worry about me. Now tell me about Tyler.”

“Like I was saying, we keep running into each other because there’s a murder investigation.”

Mom wagged her finger. “But you’re not a detective, Miss.”

“But I can help, can’t I?” Missy was about to dig in, but thought better of it. She couldn’t just shovel a bunch of pancakes and bacon down her gullet and expect to lose weight.

“Why do you want to help so much?” Mom asked. “You and Albert weren’t that close.”

“I liked him.” She gave Mom a look. “And because people think I killed him.”

“If they really thought that, you’d be arrested by now, I think.” Mom put her fork down. “So why are you putting yourself in danger?”

“Mom, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“That’s no answer.’

Missy knew where Mom was going with this. Exactly where. Mom was suggesting that Missy was inserting herself into the police investigation as a way to see Tyler. But that wasn’t why. She was doing this because…for a lot of reasons.

Mom nodded, as if Missy had actually answered her. “Just be careful, sweety. I can’t…lose you too.”

Missy hadn’t seen her mother cry in a long time and was shocked to find her teary-eyed.

“Mom.”

She put a hand on her mother’s shoulder. It was so bony, the skin so loose. It was like she was fading away to nothing.

“Mom, nothing is going to happen to me, okay?”

“Promise.”

“I swear.”

***

Missy arrived a few minutes early to pick up Noreen, who was of course late. She wasn’t out the door until nine-twenty-five.

Noreen jumped into the passenger seat and gave Cody a back rub. The dog’s legs shook in pure joy.

“You still have all your stuff in the flatbed,” Noreen remarked.

Truth be told, Missy had forgotten about the things she’d picked up on Saturday while garage sale-hopping. Switzer’s cabinet was still strapped to the passenger side of the bed with a tarp covering it. Maybe she’d get some time to start working on it tonight. The Tri-County Flea Market was Saturday, which gave her exactly three nights to work on it. No, actually two. They had their book club tomorrow night. Normally she could skip a meeting and be okay, but this month she had picked the book and was slotted to lead the discussion…and she’d only read half of it so far.

“Hello, Earth to Miss.” Noreen waved a hand in her face even though she was driving. “You there?”

“Sorry, guess I have a lot on my mind.”

Noreen smiled. “Like Tyler Brock.”

“No. Try finding a murderer.”

“Uh-huh.” Noreen didn’t believe her.

“Don’t uh-huh me.”

“Too late, I already did.”

They mock-fought the rest of the way to Del Reimer’s house. To get there they had to pass Albert Switzer’s. Missy had half been expecting all his stuff from the garage sale to still be out, but the driveway was clear and yellow police tape stretched across his front door.

Noreen shivered. “I literally just got a chill because we passed that house. Creepy.”

“Yeah.” It had looked just like any other house Saturday morning, until she found Switzer inside. Now she had to admit, the place did look creepy though she couldn’t say why. “Creepy, alright.”

Missy pulled into Del Reimer’s driveway. It had been repaved recently, maybe a few months ago. The house had new siding, and the windows looked new also. Del was making a lot of improvements and obviously took pride in his home.

Del’s boy, Sonny, had been a year ahead of Missy in high school. They hadn’t run in the same circles, but they had actually kissed once behind the curtains on the stage in the auditorium on a dare. All these years later, she could still remember the boy’s bad breath. He must have eaten something covered in garlic before they’d smooched. She hadn’t seen Sonny in a long time. He’d moved away after college.

Del was a few years older and retired. His wife had died rather suddenly maybe ten years ago from a heart attack. By the time Missy put the old truck in park, the front door opened and Del stepped onto his porch. He’d grown a beard since she last saw him. It was mostly white, the same color as his hair. He scratched absently at the beard while his eyes slowly took them in.

“I take back what I said about Cooper.” Noreen squirmed in the passenger seat. “This guy killed Switzer.”

Del hooked his thumbs under his overalls and stepped off the porch. It was a cold, grey day, much colder than yesterday. He came right at their truck.

Missy took a deep breath and got out. Cody followed right on her heels.

“Hi, Missy,” Del said.

“Hey, Del.” The last time she’d spoken to him, she’d called him
Mister Reimer.
Calling him Del felt strange. “Long time, no see, right?”

“Maybe for you, but not for me.” He stopped about ten feet shy of them on one of the pavers leading to the porch.

Missy waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. “What do you mean?”

“I saw
you
recently.” He turned one corner of his mouth up. “Guess you didn’t see me.”

Missy just about fell on the ground. Had he just confessed to the murder? Maybe Del was hiding in Switzer’s house when she’d gone inside. She felt Noreen right beside her and was grateful she and Cody were there with her. Her whole body was tensed.

“I guess I didn’t.”

Del hmphed. “There were a lot of people at the bookstore, though only a few men. I would have thought a handsome fellar like yours truly would have stood out.”

Missy relaxed her shoulders. He was referring to the bookstore. But was he
only
referring to the bookstore? She didn’t really know him. He might have been playing games with her. The more she thought about it, Del really had the best opportunity of anybody to kill Switzer.

Missy remembered to smile and hoped it didn’t look fake. “Sorry, I didn’t see you. I was too busy fielding Ellen’s questions and dealing with Oliver McCleary.”

“You ain’t fat,” Del said.

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah, excuse her?” Noreen chimed in.

Del ignored Noreen completely, leveling his eyes on her. “I said, you ain’t fat. You’re what a woman should be, not what these drug addict supermodels look like these days. Hell, you’re probably Marilyn Monroe’s size.”

Missy sincerely doubted it, but wasn’t about to argue.

Del wouldn’t drop the subject even though it obviously made her uncomfortable. “Don’t let a punk like McCleary make you feel bad about yourself. You’re a sexy woman, and if I was twenty years younger…” A jolt seemed to go through his body. “…ah, what the hell? How about you and I go out?”

He didn’t quite lick his chops, but he almost did. The creep factor was super high on this guy. Not only was he much older…she had gone to school with his boy.

“Uh, thanks but no thanks.” Missy looked at Noreen, who appeared stupefied. So much for good cop, bad cop.

“Suit yourself.” Del shrugged. “Whachoo doing here?”

“Were you home Saturday morning?”

The smirk vanished and his voice dropped an octave. “I asked what you were doing here.”

Missy felt Cody tense. The dog was picking up on Del’s weird vibe also.

“I was inside Mr. Switzer’s house for probably ten minutes Saturday morning after I found him. Later, I realized some things were missing from my truck. The only time I didn’t have my eyes on it was when I was inside. I figured somebody came by to check out his garage sale, saw something they liked, and swiped it out of my truck.”