Killer Honeymoon (7 page)

“No, a fund-raiser.” Jake laughed. “Not even
remotely science minded.”

“In addition to being poisoned, rubbing alcohol
is also one hundred forty proof, so a dash added to another drink would be
enough to send anyone over the edge.” Taylor took a deep breath. “Someone found
a way to poison her with alcohol, and this is how they could have done it.”

“So who?”

“Mason was hanging out by the beer all night. He
could have messed with her drink.”

“But why?”

“Don’t know.”

“What about the guitar guy?”

“Miller? I guess he could have, he brought water
bottles. Maybe he gave her tainted water.”

“There was a bottle in the fire. Who tossed it
there?”

“But if it had been in the water, she would have
tasted it.”

“Maybe not. She put one of those flavor-packet
thingies in hers.”

“So possibly Mason and the beer or maybe Miller
and the water. Why would Miller have done it?”

“I don’t know. I’m the budding chemist, you’re
the detectives.”

“Walk to the house with us. We need to talk to
my boss.”

Flora and Rocky joined them at the cottage, and
the five sat at the round table in front of the picture window. They could see
the ocean and the white crests of waves as they crashed against the beach.

“How long had Coco been at the bonfire before
she got sick?” Rocky’s voice was matter of fact, though his eyes held concern
for the girl.

“Only about fifteen minutes.”

“Did she drive there or walk?”

“She walked.”

“She could have consumed quite a bit of alcohol
before she got there.”

Taylor shook her head. “No, we walked together.
I picked her up at work on the way.”

“And there’s no way she would have been drinking
at work?”

“It’s not like her. She likes her job. Child care.”

“Eric and Mason fought the night before. Coco
asked about Eric and then got sick. Does Eric know something that someone wants
to keep quiet?”

“Mason was the one who fought with him. What
would Eric know that Mason wouldn’t want to get out?”

“No, you’ve got the wrong end of it. If Mason
hadn’t fought Eric, Coco would never have asked about him.”

“True. Maybe Coco had been invited to the
runaway party, but rejected them?”

“Maybe.” Taylor twirled her ponytail around her
finger. “Maybe she did. That guy, Amos, I remember him talking about it one
night with Coco.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Jane
asked.

“I didn’t get the whole story. I just know he
said something about his brother, Levi, and it sounded like he was annoyed,
like their car wasn’t going to make it.”

“Amos was trying to talk Coco out of going?”

“I don’t know. I remember him saying something
about a car not being up to it, and then afterwards, after everyone left, I
realized what he was talking about. So maybe he had invited her, or wanted to
invite her and couldn’t. Or maybe he was just complaining about his car.”

“That’s too many maybes.”

“I know. Plus they took Cherry’s car anyway. And
that’s why I didn’t mention it before.”

“I met with Judy, but there was no
identification on the body,” Flora said.

Jane shifted in her seat. It seemed like all she
had were unanswered questions. “Were his fingerprints destroyed? Did they try
his dental records?”

Flora’s eyes held deep sympathy. “There was
little skin left at all after three weeks exposed. They found some fingerprints
on his belt, maybe from his putting it on. But they didn’t match anything in
the system.”

“But what about the teeth?”

“It takes time to search dental records.” Flora
sighed. “But he didn’t have any dental work. His teeth were crooked, but in
good condition. No fillings of any kind. Looked like a small cavity on one
tooth, so we think he might not have been going to a dentist. Certainly not to
an orthodontist.”

“Ryder had terribly crooked teeth. He was really
handsome, but when he smiled, one of his teeth crossed over the other one in
front, a little bit, and he had one of those high-up eyeteeth. I remember it so
clearly, because I couldn’t take my eyes off of him until he smiled, and then
when he did, I still couldn’t take my eyes off of him, but not in a good way.”

“But that means you could identify him, right?”
Jane grinned at Taylor.

“Maybe so. We can ask. But if he was using a
pseudonym…” Taylor frowned. “I know I’d recognize his teeth, but do I really
know who he was?”

“If Taylor can ID him as the person she met,
they could make a sketch of him and then circulate it. Surely someone has
reported a missing person.”

Flora reached across the table and put her hand
on Jane’s. Jane jumped at the unexpected touch. “If what you said about the
potential connection to Warren Jeffs is true, then there will be no record of
this boy. No birth certificate, no missing persons report. This group is known for
disowning their young men. They don’t want the competition for brides.”

“That can’t be true.” Jane shook her head.

“It’s spoken of freely, by people who know, and
boys who are trying to rebuild their lives. They call themselves the lost
boys.”

“How could a mama kick her son out for such a
reason?”

“I’m sure that’s not the reason they give,”
Rocky added.

“And I’m sure it’s not easy on the mamas.” Flora
shook her head.

“Or the papas,” Rocky said, a suspicious shine
in his eye. “We know what we know from several exposé news reports by Lisa Ling
and others. We don’t want to defame anyone, but what we’re sharing is open
knowledge. If the body in your shed is a lost boy, no one is looking for him,
and you’ll never find out who he really was.”

Jane swallowed. What a way to die. Disowned by
your family, abandoned by your community, and killed by your friends. “But it
might not be him.” She lifted her eyebrows hopefully. “It could be something
else entirely.

Flora glanced at Taylor. “It would be useful to
see if you could identify him by his teeth.”

“It would be even better if Daisy Smith could.”

Flora and Rocky took Taylor to the medical
examiner’s office to see if she could be of use with identifying the body, and
Jane went to see Daisy Smith.

A girl Jane guessed to be about ten answered the
door.

“Good afternoon.” Jane smiled at the kid.

“Mo-om!” the girl hollered. “It’s another
reporter.” She stepped aside.

Jane went in without contradicting the girl.

A woman whose unlined face and shiny hair looked
too young to be the mom of teenagers met Jane in the front room. Her hair was
in a messy bun on the back of her head. She smiled, but not with her eyes. “How
can I help you?”

“I’m not actually a reporter.” Jane handed over
one of the Senior Corp of Retired Investigator cards. “My husband and I—” Jane
blushed “—are staying at our house here in town. The house where the body was
found.”

“I see.” Daisy sat down. She stared at the card.
“Somebody hid their murder victim in a detective’s shed. That’s bad planning.”
She looked up and smiled again, but there was no light in her eyes at all. Not
even a glimmer of appreciation at the irony.

Jane sat across from her. “We’ve been asking
around, and our questions led us to you. Not as the killer, of course, but
maybe as next of kin for the deceased.”

Daisy swallowed, hard. “What do you mean?”

“The timing is such that he might be one of your
nephews who were visiting. No other young men are missing, not even in nearby
towns.”

She pressed her hand to her mouth but didn’t
speak.

“If it was your nephew…you’re our best bet at a
DNA identification. Is that right?”

She nodded slowly. “But it’s not one of the
boys.” She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.

“Can you be sure?”

“Skye texted two weeks ago.” Daisy folded her
hands together and squeezed her fingers until her knuckles were white. “Said
she had reception and a bit of battery. Told me she loved me. Said everything
was cool.” Daisy exhaled. “If there had been a crisis, she would have used our
code word. You know how some families have those. She would have used it, but
she didn’t. No one is dead.”

“What about their friend Ryder?”

“If someone had died…if they were in danger,
Skye would have let me know.”

“Where do you think they went?”

She pressed her pink lips together.

Jane proceeded with a quiet, careful voice. “Do
you think they went back to Colorado City?”

Daisy stood up. “Get on back outside, Mia.” She
pushed her daughter towards the door.

The girl ran out without protest.

Daisy walked to the brick fireplace and rested
her hand on it. “Not Colorado City.”

She didn’t deny the implication. Jane relaxed a
little. They were getting somewhere.

“We weren’t from that group. A different group.”
She turned to Jane with wide, pale eyes, still afraid. “Kind of like them, but
different leaders, different rules. Up in the hills, by ourselves.”

“Do you think your nephews went back?”

“They couldn’t go back.”

Lost boys.

“They all just wanted an adventure. Just a bunch
of kids. They aren’t getting into trouble.” Her eyes begged Jane to believe.

“So you don’t think there’s any chance the body is
Ryder?”

“Ryder is a good boy. A real sweet young man. No
one would want to hurt him.”

“Do you know him well?”

“I’ve been here a long time. Ryder was just a
baby when I…left. But I know his ma…and his daddy. And I know him, now. He’s a
good one. No reason to quarrel.”

“So you don’t think it might be him?”

“No. Not him.”

“And not one of your nephews, either?”

“But why would it have been?” Something in her
tone changed—a challenge. “Just because they weren’t from here? Or were…from
somewhere different, everyone thinks bad things? They’re all good kids and
they’ll be back in time for school to start.”

“Of course they will.” Jane remained in her
seat. Daisy was trying to convince herself the kids were safe. What was she
really afraid of? “If they didn’t go back home, where do you think they went?”

Daisy nodded. “Yes. Right. They went somewhere.
A road trip. They always like to go camping. So they might have driven somewhere,
maybe central Oregon, to camp.”

“They could have.” Jane smiled. “Or maybe they’re
somewhere closer?”

“Maybe. Lots of woods to camp in around here.”

“But camping for three weeks?”

“They’re young. Young people do things…” She
moved back to the chair, slowly, and sat down. “They’re all good kids. After
Skye texted, I felt better. She doesn’t lie. She wouldn’t, so they’re fine and
they’ll be back real soon.”

“Before I go, has anyone heard of any other
young men gone missing? Besides your three?”

“People come from all over the world to visit
the Oregon coast. I’m sorry that you found this…person on your property, but I
don’t know anything.” She settled her hands on the arms of her chair like she
was going to stand up but was moving in slow motion.

Jane stood instead. “I’d still like to talk to
your daughters and your nephews. They left in the night, just around the same
time we think this man died. They may have seen something or heard something.
If you hear from Skye again, could you have her contact me? My number is on the
card.” She indicated the card that Daisy had set on the table next to her.

“I’ll mention it.”

Jane let herself out.

As she rounded the corner, a small person
barreled into her.

“Whoa.” Jane reached for the girl to steady
herself.

Mia grinned from ear to ear. “Keep walking in
case Mom peeks.”

“What’s up?”

“Ryder was really, really mad at Levi and Amos.
Like superdy mad. He yelled at them a lot on the beach the night they left.”

Jane stopped. “What did he yell?”

“Keep walking.” Mia tugged on Jane’s hand. “I
couldn’t hear super well because I was hiding in the bushes, but I know he said
something about them being stupid and that they were jerks just like their dad.
Or that they were something just like their dad. I don’t know exactly.”

Jane stopped again. “Do you think they went back
home?”

“No way. They said so to Mom. They said they got
kicked out and needed a place to start over, and Mom cried a lot and hugged
them and they hugged her, but they didn’t cry. And they hung out with sis and
Skye and all of their friends, and it was going great until Ryder got here.”

“What changed?”

“Ryder didn’t want anyone to leave.”

“Did your mom really like Ryder, or was she just
saying that?”

“Oh yeah, she really, really liked him. He’s her
baby brother, but from another mother.”

“He’s your uncle?”

Mia shook her head. “I guess.”

“Do you think Skye meant it when she said
everything was fine?”

“Oh no, definitely not.”

“Mi-a!” Daisy’s voice carried well as she called
for her daughter.

“Shoot, I’ve got to run.”

“But real fast, why don’t you think she meant
it?”

“’Cause she didn’t write it. Gotta run! Find my
sisters!” Mia spun on the wheelie-heels of her shoes and raced back toward her
house.

Jane wanted to find Mia’s sisters. She really,
really wanted to.

Jake brought burgers and shakes back to the
house for dinner.

“I think we need to head to the woods.” Jane
sipped a chocolate malted milkshake. The day was perfect honeymoon weather. Hot
but not humid. Perfect for holding hands and strolling on the beach and going
back to their air-conditioned beach house to be…alone.

“Are we one hundred percent confident that
Hannah isn’t crazy?” Jake asked.

“I’d say eighty percent confident.”

“And I’m at least eighty percent confident that
we have no idea how to find lost people in the woods. Plus it’s been almost a
whole month now. Even if she had seen Rose, I doubt they’re all still just
chillin’ in the coast range, hanging out in the trees.” Jake dipped one of the
fat steak fries in Jane’s malted.

“But it’s our only actual clue.”

“I get it. But let’s wait until we know for sure
that this guy is our snaggletoothed polygamous friend.”

“That’s not nice.”

“Neither is enslaving women with threats of
spiritual damnation.” He drew his brows over his eyes. “Seriously.”

“You don’t leap to extremes, do you?”

He laughed and brought her into his arms. “I go
to extreme on the whole ‘don’t enslave chicks’ thing.”

“Maybe don’t call us chicks, though, yes?”

He kissed her cheek and rested his forehead on
the top of her head. “I will call ladies whatever you tell me to. Just let’s
help end the crazy. You and me. We can do something about all the crazy.”

His touch and his words filled her like a warm
sun from within. She nuzzled against his neck, the only sound the ocean in the
distance. She breathed deeply—Jake scent, ocean air, mystery. “I like that.
Let’s do it. Let’s make the world a better place one crazy at a time.”