I HEARD THE words clearly enough but it took a second for them to register in my brain.
“Kevin Major is dead?” I joined Salnikova and her colleague in the middle of the hallway.
JT followed me. “Is that for real?” he asked.
“Who are you?” The uniformed officer looked from me to JT. He didn’t seem impressed that I’d overheard, but it wasn’t my fault he hadn’t been more discreet about delivering his news.
“They’re with me,” Salnikova told him, with what I thought was a hint of a sigh behind her words.
The uniformed officer hesitated, but Salnikova nodded at him and he took a step back.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” he said.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Salnikova said as he retreated down the hall.
“How did he die?” I asked, unable to suppress the questions bubbling up in the wake of the officer’s news. “Was he killed or did something else happen?”
“At this point, I know as much as you do.”
“I wouldn’t wish death on anyone, including him,” JT said, resting a hand on my shoulder, “but at least we don’t have to worry about him coming after you anymore.”
That was true.
“But remember what I said about Dr. Beaufort,” Salnikova said to me.
“I will.”
She nodded at the two of us. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some things I need to attend to.”
As much as I wanted to pester her with more questions about Kevin, I knew it would be pointless. She didn’t have any answers and even if she did, she wouldn’t share them with me. So instead, JT and I thanked the detective and went on our way.
AFTER A BRIEF stop at JT’s house to let Finnegan out in the yard for a few minutes, we continued on to Minerva’s restaurant, only a short drive away. We both ordered lasagna and dug in as soon as our steaming hot meals arrived.
“Kevin’s death is probably enough to get his name off the list of suspects,” I said as I waited for a forkful of lasagna to cool enough to eat.
“Not necessarily.”
“Because the two deaths could be unrelated?”
JT nodded as he chewed and swallowed. “Kevin was a criminal, right? He probably had all kinds of unsavory associations. Even if his death wasn’t natural or accidental, it might not have anything to do with his father’s death.”
“It might not,” I conceded, although not without a generous dose of doubt. “But don’t you think that’s too coincidental?”
JT shrugged. “Not if he had a lot of enemies as a result of his criminal lifestyle.”
“I suppose.” Despite my words, he didn’t have me convinced.
The timing really did seem too coincidental to me. Sure, it was possible that his death was unrelated, but I also thought it was highly unlikely.
If his death had indeed involved foul play, the question was why had someone killed him? Did he know who killed his father?
I wouldn’t have put it past him to attempt to blackmail the murderer instead of turning them in. But there was really no way for me to know what had happened. Not yet, at least.
A plan took shape in my head, but didn’t have the chance to fully form.
“Can we talk about something else?” JT asked, distracting me.
I didn’t really want to change topics, but he’d put up with me and my investigating all day so I figured it was the least I could do. For a second I considered bringing up the recent annoyance of Elena and the gorgeous boots I’d drooled over, but I quickly changed my mind. Since he was a guy, I doubted JT would understand why such a thing would matter so much to me, even though he knew I had good reason not to like Elena.
While I savored another forkful of lasagna, I cast around for another subject that had nothing to do with crime or fashion. Before I could come up with one, JT took the lead.
“I talked to my mom yesterday. She and my stepdad definitely want to come to one of your concerts soon.”
My face lit up. “Cool. There’s one in mid-October I think they’d really like. We’ll be playing some Mozart, Dvořák, and Prokofiev.”
“Sounds good.”
“And you’ll come too?” I checked, hopeful.
“Of course.”
My smile brightened. “Perfect. I’ll get tickets for you guys.” I enjoyed some more lasagna before saying, “Oh, I should talk to your mom about the Absolute Zero party.”
JT regarded me with suspicion. “I thought we agreed to keep it small.”
“We did. And it will be. But we’ll still need food.”
“We can just order some pizza.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine. But we should also have cake.”
“I’ll never say no to cake.”
“What kind?”
“Three guesses,” he said. “First two don’t count.”
I grinned. “Chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate.”
“You got it.”
Still smiling, I refocused on my lasagna. Although I knew that thoughts of murder and secrets still lingered at the back of my mind, waiting for a chance to return to my mental spotlight, for the time being I was determined to concentrate on only one thing—enjoying dinner with my best friend.
BY MORNING THE rain had stopped and the sky had partially cleared. I spent the first half hour of my day talking on the phone with my parents, and the second eating a breakfast of toast and tea while reading the Richard Castle book I’d checked out of the library. Once I’d washed and dried my breakfast dishes, however, I had to admit defeat. I couldn’t laze around and enjoy a quiet Sunday. I had to look into Kevin Major’s death. As much as I wished I could focus on something else, my brain wasn’t about to cooperate.
Using my phone to access the Internet, I searched through local news stories until I found a short piece on a body discovered in Surrey the day before. The article contained very little information, but it did state that a woman had found the body while walking her dog at the edge of a wooded area in her neighborhood. The article also mentioned the location of her neighborhood, and that was exactly what I needed.
As soon as I had my hair and makeup done, I grabbed my coat, stuffed my library book into my tote bag, and set off for the bus stop. Soon I boarded a bus that would take me on the first leg of my journey to Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver. The trip would require several transfers and a fair bit of time spent sitting on buses and the Skytrain, but with my book to keep me occupied, I didn’t mind too much.
Although my thoughts did stray several times to the purpose for my trip, the fictional mystery set in New York City kept me distracted for good chunks of time. About two hours after I’d left my apartment, I put the book away, disembarked from the bus I was riding, and glanced down at the map displayed on my phone.
As soon as I had my bearings I set off on foot, heading for the neighborhood where Kevin’s body had been found. While I walked, I took in deep breaths of the damp fall air, enjoying its freshness. A gentle breeze brushed against my face and played with the ends of my hair, lifting and twirling them in a subdued dance.
It was nice to be outdoors, even if I was heading for the scene of a possible murder. While I was sorry that Jordan’s uncle had died, JT wasn’t the only one relieved that he was no longer roaming the streets. I now had the freedom to walk around on my own without any out-of-the-ordinary dangers. That knowledge released tension from my shoulders that I hadn’t realized was there.
After several minutes of walking, I silently thanked myself for having the forethought to wear flats. The on-foot portion of my journey had turned out to be longer than I’d predicted. If I’d worn heels my feet would have been killing me, but in flats I was able to enjoy the journey. Another minute or two later I spotted a wooded area at the end of a residential street and felt certain I’d found the right place.
I slowed my pace and followed the street to its dead end. A wide dirt path ran along the edge of the woods, providing the neighborhood’s residents with a place to jog or walk their dogs. When I reached the path, I paused, not knowing whether to go left or right. The news article hadn’t provided a more detailed location so I was on my own from there on out.
Unable to know which would be the correct direction, I decided to start by heading right. Less than two minutes later, I knew I’d chosen correctly. Up ahead, a piece of torn police tape dangled from a huckleberry bush, a sad and bedraggled marker of the place where Kevin’s body had been discovered. I slowed my steps and stopped when I reached the bush. I stood facing the woods, noting all the details before me.
Deciduous trees with leaves in the process of changing color stood mixed in with conifers. Beneath the trees, numerous feet had trampled the underbrush, creating something of a pathway into the woods. From my vantage point, I could see that it didn’t lead too far in, ending in a larger trampled area about twenty feet from the path.
If Kevin’s body had been dumped, his killer hadn’t gone to a whole lot of trouble to hide him. No wonder someone had discovered his corpse before too much time had passed.
I hesitated on the pathway, a battle brewing inside of me. On the one hand, my curiosity encouraged me to proceed into the woods, to check out the site where Kevin had been found. On the other hand, the knowledge that a dead body had been discovered mere feet away from me creeped me out and made me want to hightail it out of there.
But of course my curiosity won out. It nearly always did.
Glancing around to make sure I was unobserved, I drew in a deep breath to steady my nerves and stepped off the path. I picked my way through the trampled underbrush until I reached the small man-made clearing. Once there, I stood still and let my eyes do the work.
Although I spent several minutes looking at the ground and the surrounding bushes, there wasn’t much to see. The footprints, smooshed wet leaves, and crushed underbrush only told me what I already knew—that several people had traipsed over the area recently.
A crow took flight from a branch over my head and I jumped at the sudden movement. I wrapped my arms around myself as a chill ran through my body, leaving me with goose bumps beneath my sleeves. The scene held nothing of interest for me to see and I found myself relieved by that. It gave me an excuse to turn around and get the heck out of the woods, away from the creepy vibes working their way into my bones.
Seconds later I emerged from the trees and returned to the pathway. A slight movement caught my eye and drew my gaze to the nearest house with its faded purple siding and graying trim. A side window looked out over the pathway where I stood, and I could have sworn that the curtain had twitched. I stared hard at the window but noticed no further movement.
If someone had watched me out of curiosity, I couldn’t really blame them. After all, I had just emerged from what until very recently was the site of a police investigation. Still, the thought of someone keeping an eye on me only unnerved me further.
I shivered and rubbed my arms. It seemed as though my trip had been for nothing. I didn’t know anything more than I’d known last night, and nothing about the neighborhood gave me a clue as to why Kevin might have gone there. If indeed he’d gone there of his own accord.
Some of the houses—like the faded purple one—could have used some TLC, but for the most part the neighborhood was well kept. It didn’t strike me as a hive of criminality or a place where someone like Kevin would easily blend in, but who knew what lurked beneath the surface? There was always the possibility that one or more of the homes was a drug house or had rooms filled with stolen goods, but any secrets of that sort would remain hidden from me, along with the reason for Kevin’s presence in the area, whether he’d arrived there alive or already dead.
In any event, I had no reason to stick around and no particular desire to either. I turned away from the purple house and headed for the nearest street. I’d only taken three steps when a woman’s voice called out from behind me.
“Halloo!”
I paused and checked over my shoulder, wondering if the hail was aimed at me.
Apparently, it was.
A sixty-something woman with curly gray hair power-walked down the path toward me. She wore a pink and white sweat suit, and a little Yorkshire terrier trotted along at the end of a retractable leash. As soon as I looked in the woman’s direction, she waved at me with great enthusiasm and kicked her already swift pace up another notch.
I retraced my three steps back to the path and waited as she approached, wondering what I was in for.
“Good morning,” the woman called out in a cheery voice as she drew closer.
“Morning,” I returned.
“I couldn’t help but notice that you came out of the woods right where they found that body yesterday.”
“Er . . . that’s right.” I waited for the interrogation to begin, expecting that the woman harbored suspicions about me and my presence near the woods.
“You’re not from the neighborhood.” It was a statement rather than a question. I had a feeling she probably knew every single one of the local residents, at least by sight.
“No,” I said. “I was just taking a look around.”
Contrary to what I expected, she nodded with understanding, a gleam of excitement in her hazel eyes. “I expected the body to draw some curious souls. It’s rather thrilling, isn’t it? A dead body in the woods.”
“I suppose so.”
“Thrilling” wasn’t quite the word I would have used, but I wasn’t about to contradict her. I was relieved that she seemed far more interested in gossiping than interrogating me, and I didn’t want to risk changing that.
“All the police and media hoopla,” she went on. “You should have seen all the officers and technicians that were here yesterday.”
“It must have been quite a scene.”
“Oh yes, it certainly was. We haven’t had so much excitement in the neighborhood since Donna and Jim Baristo’s marriage fell apart and she threw all his belongings out a window.”
I did my best to appear interested, although I had a sudden picture in my head of me standing there for hours, listening to all the neighborhood gossip from the past ten years. Perhaps there was a way I could turn the conversation in a direction more to my own advantage.
“The reason I’m here,” I said before she had a chance to delve further into neighborhood drama, “is because I knew the dead man.”
The woman’s eyes widened with shock, although their thrilled gleam didn’t disappear entirely. “Oh my goodness. How terrible for you.”
“I actually know his nephew better, but still . . . I wanted to come and see where he was found.”
“Of course, of course.”
She clicked her tongue at her terrier as he strained at the end of his leash, trying to reach the base of a Douglas fir. The little dog trotted back toward her in response, his leash retracting into its handle.
“You see,” I continued, “it’s been quite difficult for the family.”
“Yes, yes, I imagine so.”
“And the police aren’t saying much. They can’t, of course, at this point, but it’s still hard not having any details.”
The woman nodded in sympathy, drinking in every one of my words.
“We don’t know if he died of natural causes or an accident or what,” I said. “I thought I’d come by to see the spot where he died, but in the end that wasn’t quite as helpful as I’d hoped.”
“You poor thing.” The woman clicked her tongue again as her dog lunged toward a squirrel darting up a tree trunk. “But I can tell you that he didn’t die of natural causes and, in fact, this wasn’t the place where he met his end.”
“Really?” I asked, intrigued. “How do you know?”
“See that house?” She pointed to a blue and white one across the street from the faded purple house. “My best friend, Linnea, lives there.” The woman beamed with pride. “She’s the one who found the body.”