June Bug (11 page)

I stepped into the blinding light of Main Street and pulled my gas-station-rack sunglasses over my eyes. It was nine-fifteen in the morning, and I wasn’t sure where to go next. I wanted to talk to Shirly to ferret into what he had left out of his Shangri-La story, and I needed to interview Chief Wohnt, but I only had forty-five minutes until I was supposed to have the library unlocked and open for business. I shirked certain areas of my life, like forming relationships with other humans, and occasionally personal hygiene, but I had a strong work ethic, and the idea of not fulfilling my duties rankled.

I decided to visit the Senior Sunset first, because I could always phone Gary Wohnt for the information I needed. Shirly, however, needed to be talked to in person. I wanted to be able to read his face.

There is only one main street through Battle Lake, so everything is technically around the corner from something else. It would take me all of six minutes to walk to the nursing home. I counted six Ford and five Dodge pickup trucks on the way and walked past a crowd gathering in the First National Bank parking lot. Families had come out in droves to partake in and cheer on the turtle races, held every Tuesday during the summer months. A bank employee was hosing down the already-steaming pavement so the creatures didn’t melt their mitts right into the black tar, and there were loads of brightly clothed kids painting numbers on the backs of the turtles.

I spotted Peyton standing alone off to the side of the crowd, wearing a bright pink sundress and matching hat, and I waved at her. She waved back with both skinny hands. I was not surprised to see her turtle-free. Technically, they were pretty dirty creatures with a tendency to pee like a river when alarmed. Leylanda would not allow Peyton to touch one of those. I was actually surprised Leylanda had retracted her meat hooks far enough to let Peyton stand in the parking lot out of smothering distance. She must be nearby.

I swiveled my head, looking for her, and was shocked to see her talking animatedly with Jason. The sight of him made me feel like I had cement hardening in my stomach. He had buzzed off his hair between last night and now, and the severe cut drew attention to the slant of his dark, restless eyes. I instinctively ducked behind a Ford F-150 and watched the two interact. Leylanda was laughing and he was nodding at her, ogling her boobs whenever she’d toss her head back to giggle. I hadn’t been aware that they knew each other, though it made sense because they were about the same age and had both grown up in Battle Lake. I wondered if the two were hooking up. They didn’t seem to have much in common on the surface, but I knew Jason could be charming when he wanted to, and I guessed Leylanda was lonely. She was divorced, her husband long gone, and Jason considered himself single no matter who he was seeing, so I suppose the two were free to date.

I was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but I saw their faces change as they both glanced toward Jason’s crotch. They must have been reacting to a noise, because he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear. He winked at Leylanda and turned away. I was the only one who saw how dark and still his face became as he continued the conversation. Abruptly, he jerked the phone from his ear, fished in his front pants pocket, pulled out a few green bills, and handed them to Leylanda, who was standing directly behind him. He pointed across the street at Granny’s Pantry. Leylanda made a motion toward Peyton, who was watching the turtle races hypnotically.

Jason waved his hand in an “It’ll be fine” manner and walked over to Peyton, effectively dismissing her mother. Leylanda watched him uncertainly, looked back at Granny’s Pantry, and back at Peyton. She squeezed the money in her hand and walked to the candy store, going as fast as she could without looking like she was running.

Jason, for his part, strode stiffly to the rear of the parking lot. The kiddie crowd cheered as the first turtle crossed the line, and I saw Peyton break out of her trance and look around. She didn’t see her mom, so she skipped over to Jason, who had his back to her and the crowd as he continued his animated phone conversation. Meanwhile, Leylanda ran into and popped out of Granny’s in record time. She must have grabbed whatever was closest to the door, thrown her money at the cash register, and dashed out.

That four seconds was probably the longest Peyton had ever been out of Leylanda’s sight. As soon as Peyton spotted her mom hurrying around the side of the bank, she ran to her and grabbed at the bag in her hand. I couldn’t see Peyton’s face, but I imagine she was miserably disappointed when she pulled out the Red Delicious apple. I didn’t even know Granny’s sold fruit. It should be illegal for a candy and ice cream shop to sell healthy things. Is nothing sacred?

Jason clicked his phone shut, and even from my hidden location I could feel his icy rage. Apparently, whoever had called Jason had given him some very bad news. This was my cue to flee the scene. I curved my shoulders and tried to turn myself inside out so he wouldn’t see me, and I strode swiftly away from the bank. I was a block from the turtle races and in sight of the nursing home when his brawny hand clamped down on my shoulder and made me jump like a squirrel.

“Hello, Mira.”

I shrugged his paw off and tried to walk away, but he wrapped his arm around my waist and led me behind Walvatne’s Dentistry in a vicious two-step. I looked back at the turtle races, but no one was facing our direction save a wistful-looking Leylanda. I considered yelling, but I didn’t think Jason would hurt me in public and I didn’t want to scare the kids.

“I saw you made it to the show last night,” he whispered into my ear.

I pushed myself away from him, and he let me go now that we were out of sight. “I saw you, too. It looked like you and Kennie were having a blast. Are you going steady, or was it just a heat-of-the-moment thing?”

He swelled up like a premenstrual salt lick, and his fingers twitched at his sides. Then, just like that, he was calm. “Yeah, that was pretty funny. I’m glad the guys didn’t see me with her. I’d never hear the end of it, being hit on by a big nasty skank like Kennie Rogers.”

I was speechless. Suddenly, I was talking with the easygoing Jason that Sunny called one of her best friends. Hello, bipolar.

“Say, Mira, funniest thing.” He laughed here to illustrate his point, a warm, companionable laugh that made my lips twitch against my better judgment. “Someone took something very special from me last night. Could you help me find it?”

I was certain Jason hadn’t seen me clearly last night when I fled his room, so I had nothing to lose by acting helpful now. “Sure, Jason. Meet me at the library in about half an hour to tell me how I can help. Really though, man, I need to go.”

I turned to leave and he wrenched the hobo purse I was still carrying off my shoulder. I grabbed at it, but he was too quick. “Golly, Mira, I don’t think you need to go yet.” His tone was the same, but his eyes were sharp and black, his pupils eerily swollen in the light.

The purple-silk-wrapped message was on the top, and he grabbed it easily and tossed my brown crocheted purse to the ground. “You’re a real pal, Mira. Thanks! I’ve been looking everywhere for this!” He punched my shoulder hard enough to knock me to the ground and laughed sharply.

As he walked away, he said, “Ignore the message I left at your place. We’re cool now.”

I watched his broad back turn the corner. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about my cat and dog, vulnerable, spending the night alone at my house. If Jason had hurt Tiger Pop or Luna, I was going to Z-Force zap him until he spoke French.

“Are you okay, honey?”

I turned quickly at the voice and wiped the tears from my eyes. “Hi, Mrs. Berns. Yeah, I just fell on the ground.”

“No shit. Pretty hard to fall anywhere else.” She helped me up and brushed the dirt off me. “How come you’re not opening up the library?”

“I don’t feel very well, Mrs. Berns.” I was grateful that she ignored my tears.

“Well, give me the damn keys. I’ll open her up.”

“Really?”

“Honey, I raised twelve children, ran a farm and a business, and sewed all my own clothes. I think I can boot up a computer and scan some codes.”

I had no doubt. However, being fertile and good with a needle didn’t necessarily translate into good public relations skills. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any other option if the library was going to be opened on time. I handed her the keys and considered hugging her, but I needed to get back to my place and make sure Tiger Pop and Luna were alive and healthy. I jogged back to my car, feeling tightness in the knee I scraped when Jason pushed me.

I sped the whole way home and up my driveway and ran into the house. There was not a clean surface to be found, and the house smelled like sewage and rotten fruit. The bookshelf was on its side, books ripped apart and pages scattered. The kitchen cupboards had been ripped open, and the food inside of them had been dumped or tossed. My bedroom was the worst. The quilt and pillows were shredded, and my drawers and closets were pulled apart, clothes scattered and torn everywhere. The bathroom wasn’t as bad, but in the middle of the extra-large tub was a bear-sized poop. Jason wasn’t lacking for fiber in his diet.

He clearly knew, or had assumed, it was me who was in the hidden room last night, and he must have had an idea of what he was looking for. I wondered if Jason would be as disappointed with the code in the purple cloth as I was.

“Meow.”

Really. That’s how he said it. I ran into the laundry room and saw him stretching in a sunbeam. I buried my face in his fur and grabbed some catnip to reward him for being alive. Then, out of paranoia, I dashed out to my garden and was relieved to see it was untouched. When Luna loped out of her shaded house to walk me to the garden, I finally relaxed. Jason thought he was getting at me, but he hadn’t even recognized the things that mattered. Both animals still had dishes full of food, but I got them fresh water and sat outside with them for a half an hour, telling them what had transpired the past twelve hours and how happy I was that they were all right.

Afterward, I stopped just short of calling Mrs. Blunt to tell her that her youngest son had shat in my tub. I had no doubt she would give him an earful, but I wanted to do some more permanent damage. I cleaned up the mess in the house and used a plastic-wrapped dustpan and broom to relocate the poop to the toilet. When it was all said and done, my place looked as good as new, except now I had more garbage than belongings. I would need to add grocery and clothes shopping to my to-do list.

I packed up Luna and Tiger Pop and dropped them off at Gina’s empty house. We wouldn’t be going home until Jason was behind bars. I felt in my bones that he was connected to the shooting at Shangri-La last night, but I needed time to prove it. That meant I had to find the missing jewelry before he did, because he would be gone once he had it in hand.

After I made sure my kitty and foster dog were comfortable, I went to the library to check on Mrs. Berns. She had set up a table in front where she was selling kisses for a quarter (or free to anyone who signed up for our newsletter) and giving books away to anyone who could guess her age and weight. Fortunately, the library was slow on Tuesday mornings, even with all the contest-related business in town, so I decided to run over to the nursing home before I relieved her.

Solving the mystery of the missing jewelry had taken on a new immediacy now that it was affecting my home life. I blew into the lobby, ignoring the nurse at the front desk, the smell, and the drooping people in wheelchairs lining the halls like skin garlands. I was happy to find Shirly in his room reading the newspaper.

“Well, hello, Ms. James!”

“Mira.”

“Well, hello, Mira! I hear there’s some excitement going down in the real world, most notably at Shangri-La.” His eyes twinkled.

“You heard right.” I sized him up. He was in the same position on his bed, but now he was wearing navy blue carpenter pants and a cream-colored polo. His hair and smile were still impeccable. He actually looked quite dashing, but I caught a mischievous glint in his eyes that I had overlooked at our last meeting.

“Shirly, remember when you told me that you caught Dolores Krupps snooping in the master bedroom closet at Shangri-La?”

“Regina. Regina Krupps.”

He had known her first name. When I first interviewed him, he acted like he wasn’t even sure about her last name. “Oh, that’s right. What do you think she was doing in the closet?”

“If you ask me, she was hiding the jewelry she had been stealing since she got there.”