Chapter 25
I’m grateful for the full pot of coffee Lana left for me this morning and when I check the fridge for cream, I’m surprised by the turkey taking up a whole shelf. Oh yeah, that’s right—it’s the day before Thanksgiving. With everything going on, I completely forgot that’s the reason I’m out of school this week. It’s also just two days before my birthday and I have no party planned, no gift wish list made for Lana. With everything going on, it doesn’t seem as important as it did a month ago.
I take my coffee in the living room and find the DVDs are still on the table where Marco left them. I didn’t come up with any new ideas on MJ’s case last night, but I do have a theory about these DVDs. At first I thought they were from Lux, though I hadn’t thought up a reason why he’d send them to me. Then I thought it was a cute prank by Marco, but he swears he didn’t send the package. I’m inclined to believe him because he isn’t one to lie, even about a harmless prank. And if he really had sent the movies, it would have been so cute a prank that it bordered on being BF/GF-like, and we both agreed we wouldn’t be going there.
So now I’m back to thinking it was Lux. But when I looked through the box in MJ’s basement, all the movies I saw were no older than a year or two. I suppose there could have been some ancient movies at the bottom of the box that I missed, but I can’t imagine there’s a huge market for movies that are older than my grandparents. And I still have no motive for Lux to send them, unless he just wants to taunt MJ after successfully setting her up to get arrested. But why send them to me?
When the doorbell rings and startles me out of my thoughts, I’m expecting it to be MJ since I told her I had some news to share after my little field trip yesterday, but by the time I open the door, there’s no one there, just another envelope. It’s padded like yesterday’s package, but I can still feel the corners of DVD cases through the bubble wrap. I step out on the porch looking for signs of Lux. He isn’t anywhere to be found, but I do see two squad cars roll up in front of MJ’s house. Just as they get out of their cars, Lana pulls into our driveway and hurries up the porch.
“Come on, get inside,” she says, rushing me into the house.
“What’s going on?”
“I need to call Randolph Chatman.”
“Why?”
“After what you told me at dinner last night, I got curious.”
“Mom, that was just supposed to be us talking—I didn’t think you were going to do anything.”
“When you’re talking to your mother, you’re also talking to a cop. Your source suggested we may not have gotten the right man, or at least we didn’t get him on the right charge. Since I’m too close to this case, I told Falcone to check it out. He and another detective went to Lux’s place to ask him some questions.”
“Don’t tell me he skipped out.”
“He’s gone, but not of his own accord. His door was busted in, his apartment ransacked. It looked like it may have just happened this morning.”
“How could they tell?”
“Falcone found some blood in the apartment—fresh. There was also a neighbor who said she witnessed an altercation between Lux and a woman just two days ago. By her account, the woman fits MJ’s description.”
“So MJ was there and got into it with Lux. What does two days ago have to do with today?”
“The witness says the woman beat Lux up and threatened to kill him.”
“Oh, please—she’s exaggerating.”
“How would you know?”
“I mean, who’d believe a woman beating up a guy?”
“Lux wasn’t that big, and we both know MJ is capable. Not to mention the witness has photos of MJ about to choke Lux outside his apartment door.”
Uh-oh. I guess now I know where that chick disappeared to so quickly while I was moving MJ’s car out of her parking space. There’s always somebody ready with a camera phone, just waiting for a chance to get on TV.
“Did you see the photos? I mean, was there anyone else in them besides MJ and Lux?”
“No, I don’t think so. Why is that important?”
“Oh, just wondering if there were other witnesses, in case this one isn’t reliable.”
“You know, there might be. The witness said before MJ got into it with Lux, the witness was threatened by MJ after approaching her about parking in her assigned space. She says she feared for her life until another woman separated them and MJ left that fight to find Lux. Maybe we can find that other woman.”
“You won’t have to look very far,” I say, realizing this isn’t the time to try to keep Lana in the dark about how involved I am in this whole thing. “It was me.”
“Oh no, Chanti,” Lana says, shaking her head. “You’re MJ’s friend, you were there when she threatened him. You could be implicated.”
“Implicated?”
“I need to call Randolph right now.”
“Because the cops think MJ knows something about Lux’s disappearance?”
“No. Because MJ is being taken in for questioning on the disappearance and suspected murder of Lux Trenton.”