“Is this your new look?” Dane said, suppressing a smile as he reached up to pull something out of my hair. He was in uniform and surrounded by firefighters holding assorted equipment. Lieutenant Borgnine and Kevin St. John showed up a moment later. I couldn’t even begin to describe their reactions to seeing me sitting in the Dumpster with some of those black beans Jordan had been serving smeared all over my shirt.
“Are you going to help me out of here?” I said to the crew standing there. They all looked at each other to see who was going to volunteer.
“You guys are all wimps,” Dane said. He got a stepladder, and when he was on top of it, hoisted me up, and before I could object, threw me over his shoulder firefighter style. “Really?” I said and he just laughed, realizing he’d just done what he’d promised not to.
In all that I didn’t let go of my found treasure. I barely had my feet on the ground before I was calling for Lieutenant Borgnine, waving something in my hand. “Remember what you said, conjecture wasn’t any good without proof? Well, here it is.”
We all looked at the cup full of garbage in my hand. Kevin St. John started trying to pull the lieutenant away as the firefighters went back to their trucks. “I’m telling you it’s evidence,” I said.
To humor me, he had Dane put it in a bag he’d pulled out of his pocket. Then he looked at me with distaste. “Take a shower and then we’ll talk about it,” he said.
“I know what happened and who is responsible,” I said. “We need to do something now before everybody starts to leave.”
“Ignore her,” Kevin St. John said, positioning himself to block the lieutenant’s view of me. “Hasn’t she caused enough trouble disturbing the Jordan retreat? She has crime on the brain. The two deaths were accidents. I’m sure the Jordan people will take steps so nothing like that happens again.” I stepped around the manager and was back in full sight of the cop. There seemed to be no way that he’d listen to my explanation of what I was sure had happened, so I just offered a name.
Borgnine’s expression was unreadable and I thought that meant he was considering what I’d said. Dane stepped closer to his superior. He glanced back at me for a second, giving me an almost imperceptible nod of support.
“She’s been right before,” Dane said.
“You’re hardly an objective party,” the lieutenant said, shaking his head. He turned back to me. “I’m not talking to someone with apple peels in their hair.”
To further make his point, he walked away. Kevin St. John stuck to him like glue. Dane had to follow, but looked back with a sympathetic nod. Once I was alone I really got a whiff of myself. I really stunk.
I ran to my place, jumped over Julius as he tried to direct me to the refrigerator. I showered, washed my hair and got dressed in fresh clothes in record time. My hair was still dripping as I jogged back to Vista Del Mar, formulating a plan as I went. I saw the car with its motor running parked by the Lodge. The clatter of wheels on the pavement drew my attention away from it as a figure hidden by a hoodie was almost running as they pulled a suitcase behind them. The person was too intent on getting to the car to notice me.
Oh, no, I mumbled to myself. Thank you, Lieutenant Borgnine, for taking your time. He was so sure that the killer wouldn’t try to get away. Well, he was wrong. Glad I was wearing sneakers that made no sound and that I had dressed in khaki pants and an olive-green jacket that thanks to the cloudy sky blended in with the trees and brush, making me almost ninja invisible. I slipped down the driveway and came up behind the figure trying to make an escape. A short length of crocheted red yarn ending with a tassel hung off the handle. It was meant to make the black suitcase stand out from all the others that looked the same, but I now hoped it would be something to stop an escape. The person pulling the suitcase was laser focused on getting to the rideshare car as they rushed along. I reached out for the crocheted piece and gave it a tug. It pulled the suitcase backward. As it fell, it took the person pulling it with it as well. They’d barely landed on top of the suitcase before they tried to get up. I threw myself on top to end their escape. It was the first time I got to see a face and confirm I’d been right.