I prayed over my attitude towards Briana. I really didn’t know why my suspicions popped up like they did. I was not one to question my gut feelings, but I knew I needed to set aside my suspicions. She seemed to still be in shock and hadn’t rested at all. I couldn’t blame her. There was no rest for one who laid eyes on a human, knowing they died a horrible death.
I inquired, “How are you doing this morning, Briana? I hope you were able to get some sleep.”
She grimaced, “No, unfortunately I couldn’t.”
Amos waved his daughter over to the table. “Come on over and have some breakfast. Don’t worry, we will get to the bottom of what happened to that woman.”
Looking unsure, Briana sat down next to her father. “What do you mean we? Aren’t the police going to handle this?”
I frowned, “Your dad isn’t going to let this go even if he is retired.”
Amos nodded, “This isn’t going away, especially once they identify the woman. We need to know what happened.”
I took out more eggs and prepared to scramble them. As I cooked, I kept an ear cocked for the conversation that I felt should be addressed.
I knew Amos was concerned it could have been one of his old cases, but that theory didn’t feel right to me. Why now? Amos had been living at that house for some time. Why would they leave a body once he moved out? I knew Amos’s former profession made him run into all kinds of criminals, but I’d never until this moment thought his past life would affect us.
I scooped the eggs onto a plate and passed them to Briana.
She mumbled, “Thanks.”
As I watched her eat, I thought, At least her appetite is still good. The peace of the moment over breakfast would surely not last.
Briana seemed to come awake after finishing her food. “Dad, do I need a lawyer?”
Amos raised his eyebrow, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, but I can tell that detective was suspicious of me last night. She asked all these questions as though I put … that body in the shed.”
Amos sighed, “Well, somebody did. We need that list of people you gave the detective.”
Briana sat up, “Why?”
“So we can stay ahead of the police. I need to know who you let into the house.”
Briana crossed her arms. “They were good people.”
I rolled my eyes. “You were by yourself most of the day yesterday. Did you happen to be outside in the yard?”
Briana bristled at my voice. “I didn’t kill anyone and stuff them in the shed.”
Amos barked, “Eugeena is not accusing you of anything. She’s asking a question that makes sense. Did you notice anything different yesterday? Were you in the shed?”
I added, “I’m not expert on this kind of stuff like your dad, but I watch enough TV shows to know. You have to know your timeline to support an alibi. Detective Wilkes can’t accuse you of anything as long as you can account for your whereabouts.”
Briana seemed to grow smaller in the chair. She crossed her arms as though she was feigning away cold air. “You’re right. I’m sorry. This has me all messed up in the head. I didn’t sleep at all. All I could see was … that woman’s face.” She swallowed. “She definitely wasn’t there before folks started coming over. I did go to the shed on Friday because I remembered the lawn chairs were in there.” She wrinkled her forehead in concentration. “I wasn’t in the yard at all yesterday.”
Amos shook his head. “So someone could have placed the body in the shed in the past twenty-four hours. You didn’t have anyone over on Friday?”
Briana squirmed in her seat. “Just one person.”
I tried not to raise my eyebrow, but it shot up anyway. I had a feeling I knew the identity of the one person based on my earlier conversation with Amos.
He cleared his throat, avoiding the subject of who. “I’m trying to get some information from some associates who still work on the force. As soon as the body is identified, then we can start figuring out what happened to her.”
I took a swig from my mug, the coffee had grown cold. “I still feel like I know her from someplace.” I looked at my phone, noting the time. “I need to get to the church soon for summer camp.”
Nothing went unnoticed in our neighborhood, Sugar Creek. Someone knew or saw something and I knew just where to start.