Death Wore Brown Shorts (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 1) (9 page)

A
nnie let
Omen walk away as she mulled over everything he told her. She was happy she had Flynn investigating the murder with her. Perhaps when they resolved the case and he returned home, she would get some type of weapon.

That’s assuming I’m crazy enough to repeat this madness.

Not likely anyone she knew would be murdered in Amberlon. She amused herself with the thought of getting a weapon anyway because it sounded interesting. Then she recalled her dad and changed her mind. No weapon for her and no murder cases after this one.

Annie and her aunt sat down to a lunch served on silver platters. She had to admit the fare looked scrumptious and hoped it tasted the same. The appetizers earlier were delicious, and she managed to keep herself from eating too many before lunch.

Both a beef and a chicken dish were offered to Annie—crab-stuffed filet mignon and oven-roasted chicken breasts with artichokes. A server filled the glass at her elbow with red wine, and Annie thanked him before taking a sip. She didn’t need any more alcohol after consuming two glasses earlier, but sipping wouldn’t hurt.

“Annie.” Aunt Bridge concentrated on spearing a bite of steak and running it around in the sauce on her plate before eating it. After she chewed and dabbed at her mouth like royalty, she continued. “I want to talk to you about Jane.”

Annie tensed, swirling the liquid in her glass. “What about her?”

“Donovan called me.”

Why did he talk to Annie if he was going to go running to Aunt Bridge? She had to admit her brother-in-law was losing status in her eyes.

He’s worried, Annie. You always think the best of people. Why not him?

This was Jane. She couldn’t bear the thought of Donovan hurting Jane. “What did he say?”

“He said they’re having trouble, and he’s worried about Jane. She’s not the woman he married, he says.” Annie caught the fleeting look of pain in Aunt Bridge’s eyes, and she drew in a sharp breath. Their aunt did care. She just never showed it the way Annie expected. “He kept being so defensive. I felt like he was scared I would blame him. It
is
his fault if his wife isn’t happy!”

Annie laughed into her glass. There was the aunt she knew. She sipped more wine and set her glass down.

“I talked to him, too, and it sounds like Jane is stressing out. She should take life easier like me.”

Aunt Bridge shot her a scathing look and flared her nostrils. “There’s no one as uptight as you, Annie.”

“Ah!”

“In many ways,” she amended. “But you’re also a good girl, and you’re sunny. That’s what Jane needs, her little sister. So I want you to call her and take her out. I know we did a lot of shopping yesterday, but a ladies’ day at the mall or at a spa is what Jane could use. If you need some money, just ask.”

“I’m sure I can handle it, Aunt.”

“Good. Sometime next week when all this mess has faded a little from everyone’s mind. Plus, Jane will feel better when the kids are back in school. That Paisley, I love her dearly, but she’s a handful. I would send her away if she was mine.”

“Where?”

Aunt Bridge flushed. “To her father.”

“Donovan is her father.”

Then Annie got it. Aunt Bridge would have divorced a fourth husband or she would have killed him and sent his daughter after him. Annie found herself relieved Aunt Bridge didn’t have any kids. Trying to control Annie’s and Jane’s lives was more than enough for the woman.

“I’ll give her a call, Aunt Bridge. I’m sure everything will be fine with Jane. She probably just needs a few days off from all her responsibilities.”

Annie thought about the situation. What Aunt Bridge suggested was a good idea. They could make it an entire weekend, just the two of them. Surely, if Donovan wanted his old Jane back, he could handle the kids for two days. She would suggest the plan when she returned home later.

A
nnie stepped
off Evie’s front porch frowning. She gazed around the property as if inspiration would strike her at any second—or Evie herself would appear. Ringing the bell over and over had produced nothing.

Evie’s car wasn’t in the drive, so Annie stepped over to the garage door and cupped her hands to the window. Her back skin prickled a bit as she worried someone would happen along and catch her. Squinting, she could make out nothing more than a few shelves with old paint cans on them, oil bottles, a couple of tools, and odds and ends.

“I never took you for a Peeping Tom, Annie.”

She jumped and spun around. “Flynn, that’s not funny.”

“I thought it was. Anything? Did you ring the bell?”

“Yes, but no answer, and no one has seen her. About an hour ago Detective Lawson stopped by my house to ask if I knew where she was. You think they’ve made the connection we have?”

He gazed up at the house. “Possibly.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about Icky?”

“Icky?”

“Icky is Evie’s ex-husband, who also happens to be a childhood friend of Paul’s.” She folded her arms across her chest and dared him with a glare to deny what she learned. Flynn didn’t so much as wince.

“Remember, I told you Paul came to my family when he was ten. He was standoffish and didn’t accept us as his family. He went off on his own a lot when he started getting older. I knew he had a friend from childhood named Ivan. Now that you mention it, I think his nickname was Icky, but I didn’t know he still saw him after they grew up.”

Annie raised an eyebrow, and he smirked.

“Do you still suspect me, Annie?”

“I’m not saying I think you killed Paul.”

“Good because I hope you would have better sense than to ride around with me alone the way you have been. I know I would never hurt my cousin, but you don’t. That goes for whoever else you might trust. Watch yourself.”

She had to admit, he made sense.

“How did you find out about Icky?”

“Omen told me.”

“Omen?”

“He’s—”

“Annie?”

They both turned to find Gary starting up the drive. He had parked on the street for some reason. The grapevine had it that Evie frightened him, but she supposed it could be an act to frame his wife. Annie sighed. She didn’t like suspecting her friends.

“Gary, how have you been? Do you happen to know where Evie is?”

The man, about as tall as Flynn but not as well-built, stood dumbfounded. From the slope in his shoulders, Annie wondered just how much poor Evie wore him down. Then again, he might miss her terribly, and the strain of being separated weighed on him.

Maybe I’m a romantic after all, and I can make my next book a romance.
She quaked at the thought.

“She’s not here?” Gary said. “I haven’t talked to her. She’s not taking my calls, and I assumed it was because she was still mad I walked out.”

“You heard about Paul, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with Evie?” His eyes bugged, and he convulsed a little as if he would throw up. “She’s not…”

“No!”

Annie raised a hand, but it was Flynn who squeezed Gary’s shoulder. “Easy, guy. Breathe. As far as we know your wife is okay. I think she’s lying low for a while.”

“Why would she lie low?” The color returned to Gary’s face, but confusion followed.

“We’re not sure,” Flynn explained. Annie glanced at him, surprised he didn’t tell Gary about what they had learned. Then again, from Gary’s reaction thinking the next victim turned out to be his wife, he might not be able to handle her being accused of murder. The way things looked, he might not have a choice.

Gary heaved a sigh. “Look, I don’t know where she is. I came by to pick up some more of my things. I’m letting her have the house until the divorce settlement.”

“You’re…” Annie hesitated to get into his affairs.

“She’s probably told you all already,” Gary grumbled. “You could never stop anybody around here from knowing all your business. Evie was obsessed, and I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

“With another man?” Flynn asked.

Gary uttered a dry laugh. “If it was that, no, I guess I still wouldn't like it. No, it was money. I don’t know everything she went through in her first marriage. All I know is she drove me nuts about every penny. When we first got married, she told me her first husband sold everything that wasn’t nailed down in their house. He blew his pay and hers on a regular basis.”

“Oh no,” Annie whispered.

He shook his head. “Yeah, real nice guy. Evie said they got kicked out a lot, went hungry a bunch. The bad part is he was one of those guys who could hustle anyone out of their money. He just couldn’t hold on to what he got.”

“She didn’t leave?” Flynn said.

“Not for a few years, I guess. She got stronger and kicked him out, then moved away. We met a couple years later and ended up getting married. By then, Evie was like she is now.”

“A tyrant.”

Annie tossed Flynn a reproving look, which he ignored and spoke to Gary.

“You come across as the type of man who’s flexible in the face of a stern woman. So what pushed you to your breaking point?”

To Annie’s surprise, Gary smiled. The men must be bonding somehow that she couldn’t fathom. She studied them both but didn’t pick up any clues.

“Like I said,” Gary explained, “she was on me about every cent. I make okay money, but I’m not rich. I can at least cover my part of the bills with a little left over. I came across a bank account with only her name on it. You wouldn’t believe how much was in there.”

“Ten thousand?” Annie suggested.

“Try one hundred thousand.”

Annie could think of nothing to say. Flynn rubbed his jaw.

“I need to get inside,” Gary said, moving past them and up the steps. “I want to get in and out before she comes back.”

“I haven’t seen her for at least twenty-four hours, Gary. I hope the dog is okay. Can you check on him while you’re here, make sure he has everything he needs and can go outside?”

“He’s Evie’s dog.”

“Does that mean no?” She noted the irritation in his tone.

“It means he’s goes everywhere she does. The dog is the only one Evie never browbeat. Or maybe she treated everyone great, except me.” He went on mumbling unhappily as he let himself into the house and closed the door.

“That’s the getaway car.” Flynn pointed to Gary’s vehicle.

“How do you mean?”

He started down the drive, and Annie followed. She intended to get him to go with her to see Icky, right then if possible.

“He parked on the street so he could get away fast if he needed to. I’ve seen a lot of scary women in my time, and I’m beginning to think Evie is among the top. I haven’t had the privilege of talking to her, and I don’t think I want to.”

“Flynn, a hero like you cowed? You disappoint me.”

“Not that, Annie. Say it isn’t so.”

She laughed. “You will impress me for at least the rest of the week if you go with me to talk to Icky. Omen gave me his number, and I looked up his address.”

“No.”

“What do you mean?”

He juggled his car keys in his hand. “If this guy is as bad as we’re hearing, then you’re better off not getting involved with him.”

“Omen did say take someone with me.”

“That confirms it then. I’ll go and report back to you if you like.”

“No, I’ll go and talk to him myself if you don’t want to go.” Her stomach knotted. She wasn’t one of those gung-ho rush into danger types to prove she was an independent strong woman.

“Annie, don’t be stubborn.”

“Okay, but I have his address. I can walk down the street and get my own car. I’ll be there before you can even find his number.”

Flynn growled. “Get in the car.”

Annie cheered. “Good answer.”

His tires squealed his annoyance as he pulled into the road.

I
cky’s place
lay in a part of town even the optimistic and happy Annie would describe as “icky.” She drew away from the door of Flynn’s car before they drew to a stop in Icky’s drive.

Rather, she should think of the way onto Icky’s property as more of a dirt path with deep grooves on both sides. Driving along at night would rip the bottom of the car clean off.

Flynn opened his door and climbed out. When she didn’t move, he leaned in to look at her. “Coming?”

Annie clutched her handbag tighter, staring at the mobile trailer that sat on concrete blocks. Not for a moment did she look down on anyone living worse than she did. However, it appeared that Icky sank all his money into the fancy car with the shiny rims, parked just off the path.

Rust and filth covered the side of the trailer. Broken furniture littered the yard, a couple of shirtless toddlers waddled with smeared fingers. A woman’s face materialized briefly in the window but then disappeared.

Then there was the man Annie assumed was Icky. He leaned up from working beneath the hood of the car. He wiped greasy fingers on a greasier rag and tossed it on the ground. The scowl on his face said they better have a good explanation for being there.

She shoved a hand into her bag and scrounged around. Flynn got tired of waiting for her to answer, and he shut his door and approached Icky. She tried to make out what they said but failed and braved opening her door. The stench was just as she expected.

Annie’s fingers brushed the rubber gloves, and she fought a desperate need to put them on. Something else caught her gaze as she searched the recesses of her purse, and she latched onto it. The tiny bottle of hand sanitizer whistled as she squeezed a glob into her palm.

She climbed out of the car and pressed her fingers to her nose. Icky gazed past Flynn’s shoulder to look at her. Flynn stepped in his path, cutting the view off. For some reason, his protectiveness bolstered her confidence, and she joined them. Well, not too close. Icky might take it into his head to shake her hand. She felt like Gary looked at the thought.

“Who are you?” Icky demanded as soon as she reached them.

“Annie Holloway. Are you Ivan?”

Flynn swore. She blinked at him.

“The name’s Icky. What of it, and why the heck should I care if you’re Annie Holloway? You famous or something?”

“Yes,” Annie said, straight-faced.

“No,” Flynn spat. “Look, she’s nobody, just an assistant. I know you remember me. I’m Paul’s cousin, Flynn.”

Icky snapped dirty fingers a few times. “Yeah, yeah, Flynn. The small nerdy kid with the weird name, too good to hang out with us.”

“I don’t recall being invited.”

“You weren’t my type. I could tell you were the goodie goodie kind. I guess I could have turned that around, but Paul didn’t want it. He said he wanted to keep his family separate. I respected him for that.”

“It’s all in the past now,” Flynn said. “I’m sure you heard Paul was killed.”

Icky shrugged. “This life, man. It’ll do it to you.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“You want me to cry or something?”

Annie stepped forward. “He was your friend. You’ve known each other all these years, and you just shrug his death off? Maybe you two had a falling out. Did you do it?”

“Annie!”

Flynn grabbed for her arm but missed when she moved forward another step. She had no idea why she flew off the handle to this obvious killer—or potential one. Maybe it was the fumes going to her head or a desperate wish to get out of there.

Annie liked to try new things despite her hang-ups, but when she felt that sense inside that she pushed against stone boundaries, she backed off. This property, the trailer, Icky, his kids, everything around her felt like it pushed Annie to extremes she didn’t want to go.

“Who do you think you’re talking to, woman?” Icky snapped. He spat on the ground at her feet, and before Flynn or she could react, he grabbed the front of her blouse and tugged her to him. “Watch your mouth before I help you watch it.”

Annie looked down and screamed. Flynn thrust Icky back, knocking him off balance. He raised his fists, as if he expected Icky to follow his threat with more violence. Icky waved him off as he put more space between them.

Annie saw all of this with her peripheral vision because she hadn’t stopped staring at her blouse. The stain lay in the dead center—reeking, oily, and in her mind,
growing
. Annie’s equilibrium faded fast, and the contents of her stomach rocked on a sea of bile.

A little at a time, she screamed louder and it escalated until her voice rung in her ears. The kids began to cry and whine, covering their ears. Flynn spun around and grabbed her arms in a firm but gentle grip.

“Annie, stop. It’s not that big a deal. Can you hear me?”

He gave her a small shake, but that made the material touch her skin. Tears flooded her eyes.

“Oh, hell.” Flynn turned her and shuffled her toward the car. “Hang on. We’ll fix it.”

He opened the back door and shoved her inside. She landed in a flop on her back, and Flynn climbed above her. Panic choked off her voice, so at least now she wasn’t in danger of bursting hers and everyone else’s eardrums.

Annie fought him, smacking at his hands, curling her fingers to try to get to his eyes to scratch them out. Flynn held her wrists together and ripped her shirt apart to take it off. Annie howled, but somehow he got her free of the thing.

A few seconds later, he yanked his own shirt over his head and brought it down over Annie’s head. She grabbed the material before it could touch her chest, and Flynn began searching her purse. Annie wanted to ask him what he thought he was doing, but her tongue refused to move.

“Just as I thought.” He brought out the hand sanitizer. Flynn started for the hem of the shirt, but she squeaked. He took one of her hands and shoved the bottle into it. “Put some on and use the tissue.”

When he climbed out of the car and moved away from it, her heart began to settle. With frenzied movements, Annie scrubbed her chest raw under the shirt. Eyes on the two men outside, she only stopped cleaning when the sting was too much. Then she lay down on the seat and closed her eyes. For a long while, she couldn’t let go of the bottle and clutched it in her palm.

Some time later, the door opened and closed, and the car started up. Flynn didn’t speak, and neither did Annie. When she judged they were minutes away from her house, she forced herself to straighten.

“You think I’m crazy.” She kept her focus on her fingers, twisting them together.

“I don’t.”

She tried to make herself look into the rearview mirror, but she couldn’t do it. Shame washed over her.

“I can’t tolerate certain…things,” Annie said. “I’ve done more than most people who never face the fears I do.”

“And many don’t have your background.”

She did look at him then. “You knew?”

“Yeah, all a part of my investigation into my cousin’s death. I didn’t just look at the people in your area but anyone he came into contact with. It took me a little extra time to remember Icky, and I couldn’t have done it without you.”

She said nothing.

“It’s a wonder you’re okay with what happened with you and your family. You
are
okay, Annie.”

She grinned. “Thanks for trying to reinforce it in my head. I choose as far as I can go. Icky’s place wasn’t it.”

He snorted. “Trust me, I felt like I’d catch something standing there myself. Pretty nasty.”

She didn’t believe him, but she appreciated the effort. “Don’t tell anyone, please. No one really knows except Jane.”

“I have no reason to tell anyone. Even if I did, it’s your business.”

“Thanks.” They pulled into her drive. “Um, can you wait here while I change? I don’t want to give anyone any ideas if you get out of the car half naked. I’ll bring your shirt right back.”

He chuckled. “Sure.”

Annie scrambled into her house and stripped off Flynn’s shirt. She found a replacement T-shirt of her own and wondered about the ruined blouse. As far as she was concerned Flynn could burn it. If she dared to touch it again, she would.

She returned to the car and passed Flynn his shirt through the window. He slipped it over his head, and Annie checked the area to see if anyone saw. Too many trees in her yard, she decided with relief.

“I’ll call you later to tell you what he said,” Flynn offered.

“That would be great.” She couldn’t think about the case. Her shower called.

“Annie, are you sure you’re fine? Do you want me to call anyone for you?”

“I thought you said I’m okay.”

“You know what I mean.”

She grinned. “I’m okay. Call me after seven.”

“Will do.”

Annie didn’t wait to watch him drive down the street. She ran up her drive and into the house straight to the bathroom.