Euphoria Lane (12 page)

“I know. Don’t cross any legal lines.” Like playing Peeping Tom. Remembering the events of the former evening made her cringe. Andi held her nose with one hand while she snatched the trash bag between the tongs with the other. Keeping her distance, she dropped the bag inside the open box, careful not to touch it and contaminate the fingerprints.

Andi hadn’t been excited about the idea of spending half of her first day of spring break helping her sister sort through the old files Lenny left behind in his office, but now she couldn’t wait to get to the detective agency. A fingerprint kit from Lenny’s Detective Agency might actually get Harry kicked off the board. At the next board meeting, she would stick around to prove to Luke that the fingerprints on the bag matched the one on Harry’s water glass.

The sisters had dressed and spent twenty minutes cleaning up the grime off the porch when Jessie’s phone chirped. She emptied the dustpan filled with eggshells into one of their own garbage bags and checked the number. “Back in a minute. I have to take this,” she said, retreating back inside the condo.

Andi scanned the porch for any remnants of debris, then looked down at the stuffed bag. “I have to throw you in the dumpster, don’t I?” She couldn’t ask Jessie to do it. Her sister would tease her endlessly for being afraid of a big metal box.

With the stench of garbage still lingering in the air, she resisted dragging in a deep breath for courage. She grabbed the bag with a fist, then stepped lightly through the condo and out the front door. Nearing the dumpster, she glanced back over her shoulder. None of the neighbors were watching. None that she could see, anyway.

“I can do this,” she mumbled beneath her breath. “I can do this.” Fear crept over her shoulders and down her spine as she lifted the latch and opened the gate in the fence surrounding the trash bin. “I can do this.” She stood, facing the dumpster, determined to carry out her mission “There’s no dead body in there.”

She took one hesitant step forward, lifted her free hand, reached for the lid, and . . . “I can do this. I can do this.
I can’t
do this!” She threw the bag on top of the metal lid. It landed with a resounding thump. The echo inside mocked her. Shuddering, she slammed the gate shut and turned to find a police cruiser entering the complex.

After following the cruiser, Andi found Luke standing in the grass, near an ambulance in front of Helen’s building. The second police cruiser came to a stop across the street behind the first one on the scene. Half a dozen neighbors stood on the sidewalk or in the grassy common area, including Roxie and Meg. Word traveled fast on Euphoria Lane.

“What’s going on?” Andi quickened her steps.

The scent of Andi’s strawberry shampoo enticed Luke’s senses as she drew close. Taking in the sight of her shorts and floral blouse, he was reminded of picnics they had once shared in the park. He missed those lazy, carefree days. Their only worry then was passing the next college exam. The past faded, however, when Roxie and Meg rushed to join them.

“Something happened to another board member,” he said, watching the EMTs roll Helen’s body out of her condo on a gurney.

“Is she alive?” Concern furrowed Andi’s brow.

Helen lifted her hand to her forehead, answering her question.

“If she’s not alive, she’s a zombie,” Meg said, waving to Helen.

“I vote for zombie.” Roxie chuckled, then coughed on her cigarette smoke.

Andi gazed up at him quizzically. “What are you doing here so early? I thought you walked the property only once a week.”

“I called him.” Roxie tapped her cigarette, causing a chunk of ash to separate and float through the crisp morning air. “How else are we going to find out what the police know?”

“Sorry, ladies.” He crossed his arms. “The officers asked me questions, but didn’t answer any of mine. Although they did call it a crime scene.”

“Then we know more than you do.” Roxie puffed her zebra-print-clad chest out with pride. “See those medical students?” She pointed to two young men speaking with one of the officers. “Helen stumbled out of her condo carrying one of those shots for people who are allergic to stuff. She couldn’t breathe and was too out of it to treat herself. Those med students said she would have died if they hadn’t found her.”

“EpiPen,” Meg said in a quiet voice. “Helen carries an EpiPen. She must have been too disoriented from the lack of oxygen to give herself the shot.”

Andi watched the EMTs loading Helen into the ambulance. “What is she allergic to?”

“Peanuts,” Luke, Roxie, and Meg answered together.

“You would have to be new to Euphoria—or deaf—not to know.” Roxie guffawed. “She broadcasted loud and clear at every pot luck that she couldn’t eat any cookies containing peanuts.”

Meg kicked at a stone with the toe of her tennis shoe. “Helen is always careful about what she eats. I bet someone slipped peanuts into something in her kitchen. She wouldn’t have suspected she was having an allergic reaction until it was almost too late.”

Andi’s gaze traveled the crowd. “That’s one murder and two attempted murders. No one can argue the fact now that someone is trying to kill off the board.”

On the other side of the street, the angry cowboy spit on the asphalt, then strode off. His scowl warned, “Stay out of my way.” Not that you would want to stand too close. He spit chewing tobacco like an automatic sprinkler.

Luke had heard that murderers often returned to the scene of the crime, especially when the police were investigating. Sort of a twisted version of an artist watching his work being admired in a gallery. “What do you ladies know about Mr. Decker?”

“Keeps to himself,” Meg said, waving to Dinah and Carla, the new members of the anti-board standing on the corner. “Unless he’s received a violation letter, then he’s threatening to kill the board. You already know that.” Her eyes twinkled. “You don’t think
he
tried to kill Helen, do you?”

Luke lost sight of the cowboy when he slipped between two buildings. “Of course not. I was just wondering.”

Andi’s expression said she didn’t believe him. Once upon a time, he swore she could read his every thought—at least those not concerning her sisters. She tuned him out when the conversation turned to family.

“I can tell you one thing,” Andi said. “I’m glad I’m not on the board.”

“I’m glad Tess is out of town,” Meg added. “She’s the only board member I like, aside from the reverend.”

Luke had to agree. Tess had a kind heart. He had never once had a problem with her.

“She’s the only board member who doesn’t deserve to be whacked.” Roxie patted the curls of her long, blonde wig. “Tess is a sweetie. Even Bernice liked her.”

Meg nodded. “Bernice called her Dorothy because she’s from Kansas.”

“Did I hear my wife’s name?” Doctor Owens ambled their way, wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and gray slacks. “I heard Helen was murdered.” He leaned around Meg to check out the crime scene.

Meg peered up at him with admiration in her eyes. “Only an attempted murder. She—”

“Doc,” Roxie interjected, “you had better keep that wife of yours out of town until this is all over. Someone’s trying to take out the board.”

“It looks that way, doesn’t it?” Doctor Owens eyed Luke as if asking for his opinion.

“Staying out of town might be a good idea,” Luke conceded.

The vet nodded, and his dark eyes filled with concern. “Tess is going to be devastated when she hears about Bernice.”

“She doesn’t know Bernice was killed?” Meg asked.

The crease in his brow deepened. “I didn’t think that was the type of news to deliver over the phone, but I don’t have any choice now. I have to tell her so she’ll change her flight plans and stay with her mother until the murderer is behind bars.”

Doctor Owens pushed a button on his iPhone and then lifted it to his ear.

“Hello, Mother Rose. This is Chris. How’s the weather there?” He paused. “That’s great. May I speak to Tess, please?” Another pause. “Oh, can you have her call me when she returns?” He stood quietly. His face paled, then turned stark white. “What do you mean, she’s not there? She left here to visit you last Thursday.” Another pause. “When was the last time you spoke to her?” His breathing grew quick and shallow. “Please tell her to call me when you hear from her.”

Meg grabbed the doctor’s shoulders and led him to an air-conditioning unit positioned on the ground next to the building. “Sit down before you fall,” she instructed, then whistled and motioned toward the crime scene for help.

A young officer with dark hair and a mustache approached them. “Yes?”

“It sounds like the doc’s wife’s gone missing.” Roxie shook her head. “Poor thing.”

The rough edge to the woman’s voice made it difficult to detect sincerity in her tone, although she did say she liked Tess.

“We’re concerned because she’s also a member of our board,” Andi added.

Luke and the officer had already discussed the possibility of someone targeting the board, so he clearly understood the gravity of the situation.

The officer removed a spiral notebook from his breast pocket. “Your name, sir?”

Doctor Owens spent five minutes answering questions. Meg stood over him, watching him with concern. Roxie watched him with interest.

Luke rubbed his chin.
If there is a serial killer targeting the board, the odds were against finding Tess alive. Andi had interviewed Reverend Nichols. What if the police were right in suspecting him? He had the strongest ties to Bernice and Helen. He also spent time on the board with Harry and Tess.

Meg patted the vet’s shoulder. “They’ll find her, Doc. She probably decided to spend time with a friend before heading to her mother’s.”

“She wouldn’t have felt the need to if I hadn’t been so stupid.” Tears welled in the man’s eyes. “We had a horrible argument over golf. Can you believe it? Golf.”

That caught everyone’s interest, including Luke’s. They stood still, quietly waiting for him to explain.

Doctor Owens pressed his thumb and finger beneath his eyes as if trying to push back the tears. “I renewed my membership at the country club,” he continued, “and she found the paperwork. Tess is normally a soft-spoken woman, but not that night. She threw a fit, said I spent too much time and money at the golf course.” He turned to Meg, the person showing the most empathy. “She’d already planned this trip to visit her mother. I figured she’d spend time with family, calm down, and everything would go back to normal once she returned.”

“You didn’t think to call to make sure she made it to her mother’s house?” The officer asked.

The vet hung his head low. “I know I should have, but she was so angry.” He turned his attention back to the officer before continuing. “She wouldn’t let me drive her to the airport, said she’d take the shuttle. She didn’t want me doing anything for her.” He wiped away the tears that managed to escape. “She said she never wanted to see me again. It seemed like no matter what I said, I made things worse. I thought it best to give her time to cool off.”

The officer studied him. “Did you see her get into the shuttle?”

“No,” Doctor Owens reluctantly admitted. “I couldn’t get our argument out of my head and I had to perform surgery on a Great Dane the next day, so I took a sleeping pill and went to bed. When I woke, she wasn’t in our home and her suitcase was gone. I assumed she’d left for the airport as planned.” He turned to Meg with tears glazing his eyes. “I should have called. If anything’s happened to her, I don’t know what I will do. She’s my life.”

Roxie patted his knee. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m sure she’s alive and well. She just left you, that’s all.”

The color drained from his face again. That option didn’t sit well either.

Luke looked good standing in her doorway. Correction, he looked great! He filled out a polo shirt and faded jeans better than any man she’d ever met before. The fact he’d brought pizza from her favorite Italian restaurant didn’t hurt his case.

“Is that an I’m-sorry-I-sent-you-violation-letters pizza?” Andi took a whiff of what she hoped was a decadent, thick crust, stick-to-your-thighs supreme pie.

“No. It’s an I-thought-you-might-be-hungry pizza.” He stepped around her to enter the condo, then stood in the foyer as if waiting for her next move. “Packing is a huge job. I’m here to lend a hand.”

“Lend a hand? Of course, moving means packing and since I just unpacked, sort of, I guess I would be
repacking
.”

It’d been barely three hours since Meg told her she had fired up the rumor mill. Her new friends knew her bank account couldn’t afford any more fines, so after Harry dumped trash on her porch, Meg and Roxie came up with the bright idea of telling everyone Andi was moving. They hoped Harry would back off with the violation letters long enough for them to prove he was the murderer. Not that any of them had any real evidence pointing in his direction. They just
wanted
him to be guilty.

It was kind of Roxie and Meg to want to help her, but she hated being less than honest. She should have told them no, but the plan had already been set into motion. Watching Luke carry the pizza to the dining room table, she realized no one had considered Luke’s possible reaction to hearing the news.

I should have, but I didn’t. Now what?

Luke set the pizza down on the dining room table and the enticing aroma beckoned. “I told Harry you were moving. Hopefully, now he’ll stop sending violation letters.”

“
You
told him?” She wanted Harry to find out, but certainly hadn’t expected Luke to be the one to tell him. She wondered how often they got together to discuss the community—and just how much information Luke chose to share.

“Of course I told him. You want him off your back, don’t you?” Luke waited for her answer.

“Yeah . . . I want him off my back.” She pictured the two men talking, and it didn’t sit well with her. For now it would probably be best if she kept the truth to herself. Telling him would place him in an uncomfortable position as the property manager. And she was a bit afraid he might let it slip to Harry that she wasn’t really moving.