Duffel Bags And Drownings by Dorothy Howell Read Free Book Online Page A

plastered on all
     the buses. You can ask her yourself, if you don’t believe me.”
    “So there’s no chance this had anything to do with Jeri’s death?” I asked.
    “No way,” Sierra said.
    “The guy she was involved with, he didn’t change his mind? Didn’t have a psycho wife?
     Kids who blamed Jeri for the breakup?” I asked.
    Sierra shook her head. “They didn’t have any kids. His wife was already involved with
     somebody else—they were getting a divorce before Jeri came along.”
    Damn. That pretty much destroyed my theory—and Detective Grayson’s—that Jeri’s death
     involved her married boyfriend.
    “So who do you think killed Jeri?” I asked.
    “There’s only person here who didn’t like Jeri,” Sierra said. “Lourdes.”
     

Chapter 5
     
    Sierra went back to work and I stood outside the ice room for a few minutes thinking
     about what she’d told me. Lourdes, it seemed, had really disliked Jeri, maybe even
     hated her. But that situation had existed for a long time. Something major must have
     happened if Lourdes suddenly turned on Jeri and killed her.
    I had no idea what it could have been.
    I’d considered Cady a possible suspect also, since there was a question about her
     whereabouts during the time of the murder. But so far nobody had mentioned a problem
     between Cady and Jeri. Plus, Cady had had a serious melt-down when Lourdes had told
     her Jeri was dead.
    My major suspect was the giant leprechaun who’d run away so quickly he’d made a mad
     dash out of here in a costume. Hopefully, I could come up with a motive when I found
     him.
    I stared at the yellow tape crisscrossing the door to the ice room and thought about
     how Jeri had died. I’d seen a fresh scratch on her face, so obviously, there had been
     some sort of physical confrontation between her and her killer. Maybe it had started
     out small with an argument, then escalated. Things must have gotten crazy at that
     point because I’d seen that yucky dent in Jeri’s skull.
    Water had been pooled on the floor under the tank when I’d walked in and found Jeri,
     but there was no trail of water leading out the door. I wasn’t sure how that was possible,
     except that maybe the murderer had come prepared with some sort of bag to put wet
     clothing in after the deed was done.
    That made it premeditated. Whoever had done this to Jeri had put a lot of thought
     into it and had deliberately attacked, then drowned her.
    A really ugly picture popped into my head. I didn’t like it.
    I started walking, following the sounds of the hammers, electric saws and drills,
     and loud voices of the construction workers, and found my way to the space that was
     being remodeled next door. A dozen or so men were busy doing all sorts of things with
     all sorts of tools and equipment. The front door and rear doors were propped open.
    I knew the same thing was taking place on the other side of Cady Faye’s. Faye had
     told me she’d tripled their business in the last year. They needed triple the space—which,
     to me, meant even more ways for the murderer to escape unnoticed by the constructions
     workers intent on doing their jobs.
    Detective Grayson floated into my head. I wondered if he’d thought of these things,
     and figured that he must have. Still, it might be nice to compare notes with him—strictly
     in the line of duty, of course.
    I turned around and headed back, then followed my nose to the kitchen. It was a big
     room crowded with stoves, ovens, sinks, prep tables, and other equipment. A dozen
     or so workers wearing hairnets and plastic gloves were elbow-to-elbow preparing food.
    I spotted Cady seated at a desk wedged into a tiny office at the rear of the room,
     and walked over. The place was a mess. File folders, magazines, and papers were stacked
     on every flat surface. Clothing was piled in a chair, shoes underneath. Print-outs,
     notes, and schedules were pinned to a giant bulletin board. Cady was crouched