Red Ochre Falls (7 page)

CHAPTER 8

Garrett told me to wait inside until he, or Detective Calvin Bateman
showed up.

I arrived a couple
minutes early, so I took the opportunity to check on mom. When I called she
sounded good. Mom told me she and Aunt Eileen were doing fine, and she promised
a more detailed update later because they were discussing grandpa’s latest
run-in with the nurse’s aide who came to help him each week. I hung up and
wondered how things were really going, but was glad mom had someone with her.
Lord knows they’d have their hands full with my grandpa.

About the time I
finished checking my news feed and the ten-day forecast, Garrett sat down
beside me. We only waited a couple minutes before a light-haired man about an
inch taller than Garrett walked in with two teenagers in handcuffs.

“I picked up these
two thieves and brought them here for booking. These geniuses tried to swipe a
Sonicare toothbrush, shirts, and some kind of book reader thing from the
department store. I was picking up socks on my lunch break.” He sounded humored
and annoyed. It was hard not to laugh, but they looked every bit as dumb as
their attempt at shoplifting sounded.

“I didn’t get to
finish shopping,” Calvin said. “And I really need socks.”

I laughed imagining
the guy trying solving crimes without socks.

“I’ll hand them off
and take your information here in a few,” he said to me. “You can sit by my
desk. The coffee is free, but it tastes like crap. Garrett shook his head to
reinforce the point. If you want something else, the vending machine’s that way.”
He motioned to an area past the front desk. I really just wanted to get down to
business, so I followed Garrett to Cal’s desk and we waited.

When Cal was
finished with dumb and dumber, he met us. We talked over Chloe, Tab, her
mysterious casino case, and anything else that seemed out of the ordinary, like
the calls she and her mom made to me this past week.

Going on my
assumption that Chloe wouldn’t commit suicide, Cal said there was a real
possibility the Tab or someone from the case she was working had a part in her
death. Garrett and Cal talked about the autopsy, which they told me would have
been standard in a case like this. Something I hadn’t known before.

Garrett looked at
me cautiously, then at Cal and described the things he noticed about Chloe.
Garrett told us he discovered some scratches, bruises, and a tiny needle mark
on Chloe that must have been made by an especially small needle. The mark was
made by someone who knew what they were doing because he almost missed it. I
wasn’t sure if it there was a mix-up at the Coroner’s office, or not, but
something about it bothered Garrett. It bothered me, too. If he hadn’t been
looking for something, it might have stayed hidden.

Originally, Chloe
was found with a nearly emptied bottle of sleeping pills by her bedside.
Garrett’s new information made Calvin wonder if the killer used some kind of
poison, then staged the scene to make it look like Chloe did it herself. If we
were correct, then we’d eliminated one unspeakable act and replaced it with another.
Maybe Chloe hadn’t killed herself, and someone else was responsible. It was
difficult to process, and I couldn’t imagine how Chloe’s mother would react to
this news.

Cal thought Tab was
a good suspect since he’d abused her before—Chloe had fresh bruises—but
Cal didn’t think a fake suicide fit Tab’s profile. Tab seemed more impulsive,
not methodical enough to pull off something like this.

Cal stopped the
conversation and looked directly at me. He asked me if I understood violence
was unacceptable. He quoted domestic abuse statistics, so I’d understand how
easily things could have escalated. It was scary to hear him talk about it.
Scary enough, my mind started to wander back to some of the things I’d seen.

While I was
distracted, they started to discuss the dusty bodies that were coming to the
funeral parlor. Apparently, the local police were trying to keep the details
under wraps. They didn’t want to alert the public until they knew what was
really going on. Calvin spoke quietly as he told Garrett the bodies were
covered head-to-toe in what the lab determined to be some kind of pulverized
rust. Probably the reddish powder on the first dead guy I saw at the funeral
home.

I didn’t totally
understand, but it seemed significant that the two bodies were also discovered
near a known mob hot spot with what Cal described as native artifacts. He
didn’t give more detail, but told Garrett to watch out for anything suspicious.
Basically, he told Garrett to double check the bodies as they came in for
anything that the Coroner may have missed. When Cal said the last part, Garrett
stiffened up and looked more serious than before.

“Easy, now,” Cal
said to Garrett. “I’m just saying what you already know. I trust you better
than her. If you notice anything that could be useful, give me a call.”

It was apparent
Garrett was still tense, but he smiled at his buddy. “Of course, I’ll call you
with any news,” Garrett said.

Cal told us he’d
look into Chloe’s background and see if anything popped. He expressed concern, and
warned us not to mention either case to anyone before he could get more
information. Cal said he’d make it a priority and keep us in the loop, and he
was sincere, even though his desk looked like he had plenty of cases to handle
without mine.

After we finished
Garrett walked me out. “See you back at the parlor.”

“Sure. I’m just
going to grab a peanut butter sandwich, or some crackers first if it’s okay.”

“I’ll grab some
sandwiches and meet you there.” Garrett turned to leave.

I walked toward the
Hellcat, which was parked down the street. My thoughts went all over. This
whole thing with Chloe was crazy. Why did she waste her time with a jerk like
Tab? Why didn’t she leave when he hurt her the first time? How could the normal
girl I spent practically every day with in college end up dead like this? It
didn’t seem possible to have a murderer invade our little part of the world.
Was it Tab, or her work that killed her? I had to find out.

My distracted brain
registered a noise behind me. I walked faster and pulled out my keys. If there
was enough distance between us, I’d make it to the car and get safely inside,
but there wasn’t. I knew it and started to run.

A large man grabbed
me from behind and lifted me off the ground—his chest and arms were huge.
He turned me to face the closest brick building. I struggled to hit and kick
him, but he had me locked down so tight, I could barely move.

“You can have my
purse.” Terror shot through me and tears welled up in my eyes, but instead of
crying, a little whimper escaped. “Take the money. Just please, don’t hurt me.”

He covered my mouth
with one of his hands then squeezed tighter. It hurt to breathe. I wiggled in
an attempt to free myself, but I was only able to move just enough to get a
tiny gasp of air. The guy waited for me to waste some more energy trying to
escape. My arms started to feel like fire, and my mind raced with thoughts of
what he might do to me. Maybe someone would see me in distress and come save
me. No one came.

“Are you
listening?”

I hesitated, then
shook my head yes.

“Stop poking around
other people’s business, or next time you won’t be so lucky.” He squeezed
tighter until my bones and cartilage started to grind. “This is your only
warning.” He let go.

My body shook. I
nearly collapsed, but I was too afraid to move. Not knowing what to do, I stood
there for a minute and kept my eyes focused on the weathered bricks in front of
me. When my instincts kicked in, I turned, grabbed my bag and keys off the
pavement, and ran for the Hellcat. I didn’t stop until I was locked inside with
the engine running. My fight or flight instinct yelled at me to get as far away
as possible, so I pushed back the tears, shoved the car into drive, and zoomed
off.

By the time I got
back to the funeral home, I was one hot mess of tears, mascara smudges, and
panic. Garrett’s truck was parked next to the garage, and so was his Maserati.
I punched the gas and squealed the tires coming up the driveway. It didn’t
matter if the Hellcat crashed through the building, I wanted everyone to know I
was here. Mostly so they could help me in case the crazy guy came back.

I flew in the back
door, through the hall and into the office. Apparently Garrett was unable to
hear my entrance because he had his hands full. With Bianca. I nearly ran them
over. They stood lip-locked. I stopped short and stared in shock. He pushed her
away just as I bolted through the office. He caught me halfway down the hall.

“Mattie,” he said
firmly. “It’s not what you think.” Right, and I’m a brain surgeon who
moonlights as a Victoria’s Secret model. Not buying it bud! I turned to dart
off again and he grabbed my arm.

“Hey!” I protested
still wounded from the psycho encounter. It must have taken him by surprise, or
he noticed my panicked look. He let go. I started off again when the door to
the viewing room opened. I freaked and tried to move left, only my foot caught
part of the doorway and I went flying. Gravity brought me down with a thwump.
Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! “Ouch!” was about all I could manage with my face
to the floor. I was going to have bruises and rug burns, or worse.

Mille and Garrett
both ran over to help me.

“Walk much.” I
heard Bianca say as she came toward us. She was on my last nerve and I was
going to give her an attitude adjustment. I tried to get up on my feet, only
nothing worked right and my foot slipped and landed me back on the floor.

“Stop movin’ girl,”
Mille told me. “Or ya gonna hurt somethin’ even worse.” She put a hand under my
right arm and one on my back. “Garrett, help me move her over.” He got in
position on my left side then stopped.
 

“Wait. Mattie, are
you okay to move? Does anything feel broken?” Only my ego, loverboy. Only my
ego. I lifted my face off the floor and rested my chin on the carpet while the
rest of me was pretty much flattened.

“I don’t think so,”
I said. They turned me over; I wasn’t much help even though I tried. I lay flat
on my back for a minute looking up at Mille, Garrett, and Bianca who stood over
me in a skirt so short I could see up to her neck. I gave her a dirty look,
which turned to a death stare when she smirked at me.

Garrett must have
noticed because he stood up and told Bianca it was time to leave.

 
“Sure, babe,” she told him. “You know how
to reach me, day or night.” She rubbed up against him, gave me a look, and
sashayed away.

Garrett got right
back down beside me. “Are you alright? Can I get you anything? Do you want to
try and sit up?” He nervously fired off questions as he stroked my hair. I
wasn’t expecting it, considering the whole Bianca thing, but it softened my
anger a little.

“I’m hurt. Still
breathing. I could use a stiff drink, but I’d settle for whatever you’ve got.
As long as it comes with some kind of pain reliever.” Millie and Garrett
supported me as I sat up and only yelped once.

“Garrett, go,”
Millie said. I watched Garrett as he quickly disappeared into the back hall.
Millie held one of my hands and used her other arm to keep me from falling
backward.

“There, there, now.
Don’t ya worry about ‘dat girl,” she said. “Bianca’s nuthin’ but
trouble—a whole lotta trouble. Ya got to do your own thing. He’ll come
‘round.”

“What do you mean,
Millie? I—”

“Ya can’t fool me,
neither one of ya. I know what I see with my own eyes and hear with my own
ears. Ya got some kind of animal magnetism. Heat has been comin’ off ya both
since ya met.”

I blushed. There
was absolutely no comeback for what she said. I didn’t know whether to deny it
or give in to it. Situation: hopeless.

When I didn’t
respond, she continued the conversation. “Mattie, I don’t know what ya been
through today, but it looks to be somethin’ more than tripping in the hallway.”
I was scared, but felt safer than before.

“It’s been a tough
day, but I’m okay.”

“When Garrett gets
back, I’ll give ya somethin’ to help the pain. Made in my own shop.”

“Shop?”

“Yes, I sell
natural herbs and medicines made the old way.” Something about her brown eyes
told me to trust her. “And if ya need to talk, I’ll listen. I got big ears.
See?” Millie pushed back her hair to reveal large dark lobes decorated with
beautiful wood-carved earrings. She was right, the ears looked big even on her
frame.

Garrett hustled
back with a glass of water and a couple pills, which Millie waved off.

“Oh.” Recognition
crossed his face. “She’s gonna give you some of the good stuff. It’ll
definitely make you feel better, but watch out for the kick that comes later.”

“After the morning
I’ve had, I’ll try just about anything.” I tried to move. It took the three of
us, but we managed to get me upright. Garrett hesitated to sit me in the
grieving area, so we headed to the office.