“She’s out there again,” Jessa Fairchild’s fingers carefully searched the soapy water for any leftover silverware. Satisfied that she’d left not a single butter knife or fork behind, her fingers latched onto the plug and yanked on it, “That’s the third time this week.”

Zach, Jessa’s new husband, slid up behind her. He dropped a flurry of kisses on her cheek and down her throat, making her purr in delight.

“Stop,” Jessa wiggled away, “She’ll see us.”

“So what?” Zach glared out the kitchen window into the backyard, where the old woman stood beneath their white oak tree, “If she sees something that offends her, maybe she shouldn’t be standing in our damn yard.”

“Maybe she’s lonely.” Jessa frowned at the depressing thought.

“Maybe she’s just weird,” Zach started walking towards the sliding door, “I’m going to go tell her that she’s trespassing.”

Jessa grabbed his arm, “Zach, no. She’s not hurting anything. She’s just standing out there, looking at our house.”

“Jessa, it creeps me out. I mean, who does that, huh? Who the hell stands in someone’s yard and stares in at them?”

“I know. I know it’s strange,” Jessa stepped back to the window, “She’s gone, Zach. See.”

********************************************************************************************

Two doors down, Barney Shiner’s dogs, Melba, a shepherd mix, and Chewie, a chihuahua, started barking excitedly as they raced to the back door.

Barney, who had, only minutes before, sat down in his recliner with his plate of spaghetti and flipped on his favorite crime show, cursed a blue streak, but the yelping continued, finally forcing him out of his chair to go find out what was the matter.

“Melba, Chewie, shut the hell up and go lie down,” Barney ordered, with his finger pointed in the direction of the living room, “Go. Now.”

Melba gave a final whine of discontent, but followed orders. Chewie stood his ground another full second, until Barney bellowed, “Go lay down, Chewie.”

Finally, with both dogs quiet, Barney opened his back door. The patio light, set on a motion detector, flicked on, illuminating half of his yard. Rage bubbled up inside of him when he spotted the woman that had managed to ruin his dinner yet again. She was lurking just outside of the pool of light, but Barney knew full well who she was. He bolted out the door and down the lawn, unbothered that he was only wearing his boxers, “How many times do I have to tell you to get the hell off my lawn?” he bellowed, as he approached the old woman, “Are you fucking deaf?”

The old woman stayed still, forcing Barney to keep moving down his yard. His bare foot landed in something squishy. It took him only another second to realize that it was Melba’s poop. Furiously, and without thinking it all the way through, he reached down, grabbed the pile, and threw it at the woman, “Get the hell out of my fucking yard, you crazy bitch!” he cried. He watched in satisfaction as a clod of poop splattered the woman’s pale colored slacks.

**********************************************

Janice Thomas turned the volume down on the television and listened hard. There it was again; a male voice bellowing loudly outside, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. She looked toward the laundry room, “What in the world is going on out there, Howard?” she hollered to her husband, who was folding clothes.

“How the hell do I know.” she heard him say.

With a grunt of dissatisfaction, Janice put aside her knitting, stood up and made her way over to the window that faced the backyard, all the while bemoaning the fact that, at this rate, Nola, her new granddaughter, would finally receive her knitted blanket when she was ten.

“Well, what’s going on out there?” Howard asked, from the laundry room.

“Hold your horses, I’m looking.” Janice hollered, as she pulled the drapes back and stared out into the darkness. It took her eyes a few moments to hone in on the two figures down near the end of their neighbor, Barney Shiner’s yard. As soon as Janice saw the woman, her mouth drew into a scowl of recognition. It was that loon, Patsy Briscoe. Suddenly, Janice saw Barney pick something up from his lawn and launch it at Patsy.

“Oh my word!” Janice’s hand flew to her mouth, “Howard, Barney just threw something at Patsy! I saw it with my own eyes.”

Howard’s torso appeared from around the laundry room doorway, “You mean that crazy woman that eats our strawberries before we even have a chance to pick them?”

“Yes, that one.” Janice grabbed the drapes again and peered outside. Patsy was walking across their yard now, heading to the side yard that led back out towards the street. She let the drapes fall and scurried towards the front window to watch as Patsy reappeared, her figure becoming more clear as she neared the streetlight. There was something dark staining the front of her slacks, and Janice was just beginning to feel a bit sorry for the woman when Patsy suddenly stopped and yanked several of her prized hollyhocks straight out of the ground and tossed them on the yard.

A shriek of outrage flew out of Janice’s mouth. That was it. She’d had enough. It was time to confront Patsy. She stomped over to the front door, opened it, and was about to step out, when she saw that Patsy had managed to get across the street and was now in an altercation with Dana Waller.

Janice walked down to her hedges, still with half a mind to confront Patsy, but, after listening in to what Dana was saying, she decided that Patsy was getting what was coming to her, anyway.

“I saw you do something to my car, you old biddy,” Dana was screeching, “I caught you this time, and I’m not letting you get away with it.”

“I did nothing of the sort.” Patsy moved around Dana and started walking down the sidewalk, but Dana grabbed her arm.

“Oh no you’re not.” Dana cried, “I’m not letting you leave until we check my car out. Stay here until I go get my flashlight.”

As they argued, Janice saw Dana’s next door neighbor, a woman that had moved in just six months earlier, walk out to her car, trying to look like she wasn’t listening in on the clamor. Janice knew that the young woman must be wondering what kind of neighborhood she’d moved into. Hell, she, herself, was wondering the same thing. As the car slowly backed out of the driveway and drove off down the street, Janice turned her attention back to Dana and Patsy.

“I’m not standing here waiting for you to go get a flashlight just so that you can see that I didn’t touch your car. You can’t make me.” Patsy shook her arm free and turned to leave again, but Dana jumped in front of her.

“You’re not going anywhere until I see the damage, you old coot. Besides, if you didn’t do anything, then you have nothing to fear, do you?”

“I’ve had enough of this nonsense. Now, get out of my way.” Patsy stepped around Dana and ambled off into the darkness.

“You fucked up piece of shit!” Dana hollered after her, “You’re not getting away with this! I mean it! I’ll make you pay if you hurt my goddamned car!”

Janice’s heart was pounding something fierce, as she watched Dana storm into her house. She turned to go back into her own house when she saw Dana rush back out with a flashlight, scan the side of her car, scream bloody murder, and then run back into her house.

Howard suddenly appeared beside her, “Are you coming in or are you going to stand out here all night?”

“I think Patsy keyed Dana’s car, and, Howard, that dreadful woman pulled up my hollyhocks, too!”

Howard shook his head disapprovingly, “Didn’t I tell you that she wasn’t right in the head,” he put his arm around Janice, “Come on, let’s go have a quick look at the flowerbed.”

They wandered over and had a look at the damaged area until a slamming car door drew their attention back to the road. Dana’s car quickly backed out of her driveway and then, with a screech, sped off down the street in a cloud of smoke.

Janice and Howard looked at each other with raised brows, and then they went inside to finish up their evening with a nice bowl of butter brickle ice cream.

***********************************************

“That’s a damn shame.” Luanna Finwith, Hudson Cove’s chief detective, stood over the body of an elderly female. Her limbs were at odd angles and her head was caved in on the side that had made contact with the boulders that lined the creek bank.

Assistant detective, Rodney Remus, tilted his head back, staring up at the bridge that spanned the creek, “Probably jumped.” he mused aloud.

“And why would you think that?” Luanna asked him, brow raised in curiosity.

“I don’t know. It just makes sense, I guess. Who’d want to kill an old woman?”

“So, what you’re saying is that it makes more sense for an old woman like her to kill herself then? Is that what you’re saying, Remus?”

Rodney shrugged, just beginning to understand that he might have hit a sore spot with his boss, but too brave to back peddle.

“After all, what could an old woman like her have anything to live for. I mean, life isn’t worth living once you’re past what? Fifty, would you say, Remus?”

Rodney smiled, fully aware now that he was being baited, “I was going to say fifty-five, but, yeah, I guess fifty is pretty old.”

Luanna swatted him with her nitrile gloves. Was she irritated by him? Yes, yes she was. But, she also had to admit that he was sort of growing on her. Sort of. She snapped her gloves on and bent down, gently turning the body over. To her eye, the body had been down here for several days. She searched the woman’s pockets and came up with nothing.

“No ID?”

“No,” Luanna made to stand up, but spotted a lanyard wrapped around the woman’s throat. She gently lifted it, revealing a key. She removed it and dropped it into an evidence bag. She stood up, grunting a bit with the effort, “Check and see if anyone filed a missing persons report in the past week. I’m going to look around, see if I can find anything unusual.”

“I could stay, boss,” Rodney gave her a look that was usually reserved for people in nursing homes, “It sounds like you might need to rest up a bit.”

“Keep it up and I might throw you in that creek, Remus.” she snarled.

“You sure do talk a big game for such a …. never mind.” he winked and started up the rocky embankment, leaving her glaring at him until he reached the top and disappeared.

“Twit.” she whispered, before turning to examine the body once more. She felt in her bones that it wasn’t a suicide, but now she had to prove it. The climb back up the embankment was certainly more taxing than coming down it, and it annoyed the hell out of her that she had to pause for a bit to recover from the exertion. While she waited for her heartbeat to settle, Luanna wandered over to the bridge and peered over the side; the drop was substantial. Luanna stepped back and carefully scanned the sidewalk. She kicked through the bottle caps, leaves, cigarette butts, and a few fast food wrappers until something orangish red caught her eye. She reached down and plucked a gemstone, smaller than the size of a pencil eraser, out of the silt and held it up to examine it.

“A garnet, maybe?” she mused aloud, as she dropped it into an evidence bag.

*******************************************

“Her name is Patsy Briscoe, age 73, lived on the east side of the Haverfield Heights neighborhood,” Rodney poured himself a cup of coffee and returned to the desk, “Her next door neighbor, Walter Fletcher, positively identified her body down at the morgue this morning.”

“Have you interviewed him?” Luanna asked.

“I did, briefly,” Rodney pulled a file out from under an enormous container of protein powder and flipped it open, “According to Mr. Fletcher, Patsy has been in the same house for the past sixteen years, having moved down here from Lawton. To his knowledge, she’s never been married, has no children, and is,” he glanced back down at his notes, “An infuriating character of a woman that has made my life hell,” Rodney looked up at Luanna, “His words, not mine.”

“Huhm,” Luanna rocked back in her chair, “Does he have an alibi?”

“Says that he was home with his wife watching their three month old grandson. I called his daughter and she confirmed it.”

Luanna hopped up, “I think I’ll go have a chat with him. Did you want me to pick up some burgers on the way back?”

“Nope. I brought a meal prep from home, and I’ll have a protein shake to go along with it.”

Luanna took the bait, “All right, what’s a meal prep?”

“Grilled chicken, hard boiled eggs, steamed broccoli and brown rice. I made up enough for the week. Keeps me walking a straight line, if you know what I mean. No more nasty fast food for me. I’m gonna get ripped. You should do it with me, Lu.”

“Lu?”

Rodney grinned impishly.

Luanna made a point to roll her eyes as she left.

****************************************

“Forgive me for saying this, but that woman was a pain in my ass.” Walter Fletcher growled, as his wife, Marion, placed a glass of iced tea in front of Luanna.

“Can you tell me why?” Luanna gave Marion a polite nod for the tea.

“She was hateful is what she was. Always doing mean things for no reason. Once, she took my trash can and put it in her garage for two weeks. When I confronted her about it, she said she forgot she had it! Forgot, my ass. Forgive me the language.”

“It’s fine. Anything else?”

“She would throw rocks into our yard. Small enough that I wouldn’t see them, but big enough that they would mess up my mower. I’ve been through a hell of a lot of mowers let me tell you …”

“Oh, and one year I had the most beautiful roses out in the garden. I happened to mention to her in passing that I was in the running for the most beautiful garden in Hudson Cove, and you know what she did?” Marion paused, expectantly.

“What did she do?” Luanna asked, dutifully.

“Well, I came out the following morning to tidy up the garden and the yard, and there was an enormous pile of pasteurized horse manure sitting right there, dead center!”

Luanna raised her brows.

“Well, who happens to be standing in her yard, watching my reaction, but that, that awful woman, Patsy Briscoe. She came running over telling me that she must have given the wrong address to the manure delivery man. Such a pity, she said, when I started crying.”

Inside, Luanna silently agreed with the couple. She leaned forward, grabbed the glass of tea and took a long drink. She stood up, “So, just to confirm, you were both here, watching your grandson on the night that Patsy disappeared, correct?”

“Absolutely. In fact, I was rocking Colton by that window over there, when I saw Patsy leave for her evening walk. She always went across the bridge over to the west side of Haverfield Heights. Always seemed strange to me, what with the nice walking path over at the park.” Marion answered.

“So what prompted you to call in a missing persons report?”

“That was my idea,” Walter stated, as he, too, stood up, “We knew that she hadn’t returned home when we finally got Colton down to sleep at 1:30 a.m.. The next morning, when I went to put our trash bin out, I noticed that Patsy hadn’t put hers out, which I thought was mighty strange. She was always a stickler for that sort of thing. I went over and knocked on her door but she didn’t answer. I even went around back and knocked on her back door, but there wasn’t a response.”

“I told him she was probably just messing with him.” Marion admitted, with a regretful shrug.

“That’s why I didn’t check again until the following day. When she still hadn’t answered her door, I figured it was time to call the authorities.”

******************************************

Luanna was about to get in her car when she spotted the patrol car over in front of Patsy’s house. She ignored her growling stomach and stepped over the crime scene tape and showed her badge to the officer manning the front door.

As she moved through the rooms, the overall theme was one of sparseness. Everything was immaculate, but there wasn’t much to clean. The living room had a single chair in front of a stand with a television on it. There was a small side table next to the chair, but it was bare. Luanna checked the bathroom. There wasn’t much to see. She moved on into the kitchen. The cabinets held food, but no one would accuse Patsy of hoarding, that was certain.

With a sigh, Luanna went into the bedroom. She checked the contents of the dresser. Again, there wasn’t much to see. After taking a look into the closet, Luanna knew that Patsy wore either light gray slacks in the colder months, or light gray, knee length shorts in the warmer months, and paired those with either cream, or white short sleeved button ups, or long sleeved button ups, depending on the season.

“Strange.” she whispered, wondering why a woman would live such a regimented, restrictive life. She sat down on the bed, whose mattress was firm, of course, and looked around. There were no pictures on the walls, no knickknacks on the side table or dresser top. The woman had lived here for almost twenty years and yet there was nothing of her here. Luanna’s stomach growled again, and she stood up to leave, stopping to close the closet door. As she did, she spotted something sitting on the upper shelf. On her tiptoes, Luanna reached up and pulled it down. It was a photo album; an old one, judging from the hard, yellowed plastic that protected the avocado green, velvet cover. Luanna took it back to the bed and sat down, eager to see what might be the one true glimpse into Patsy Briscoe.

She opened the cover. The first several pages were empty, but on the third page, there was one small picture taped in the center. Luanna raised the album up and studied the photo. It was of a girl, maybe twelve or so years old, wearing a frilly white dress with ankle socks and buckle strap shoes. She was holding a puppy up towards the camera and she was smiling broadly. Was this Patsy? Luanna turned the next several blank pages until she came upon another picture. This one was a company picture. There were maybe fifteen people standing in front of a red brick building. There was a large sign on the building that read, ‘The Ewing Company.’ Luanna lifted the album again and squinted at the tiny print at the bottom of the picture. Patsy Briscoe’s name was second row, fourth from left. She searched for her and found a woman that was pretty, with dark hair and a bright smile. She was wearing a form fitting black dress with a bright pink bolero jacket, and sky high spiked heels.

“Certainly changed, didn’t you, Patsy?” Luanna muttered.

“Ma’am, we’re all finished here,” a patrolman stood at the door, “Did you want to lock up?”

“No, I was just leaving myself.” Luanna took the company photo out of the album, before returning the album to the shelf.

***************************************

Luanna shoved a few fries in her mouth as she watched a lithe young woman jog by.

“I used to look like that,” she muttered, then belched before picking up her greasy burger and taking an enormous bite, “It wasn’t all that great, honestly.”

A ping of guilt prodded at her, but Luanna wasn’t in the mood to attend to it. She finished eating and stepped out of her car to toss the trash in the park garbage can. She returned to her car and called Rodney.

“Rodney Remus.” he answered.

“Remus, meet me on the west side of Haverfield Heights in twenty.”

****************************************

“I’ll take this side, you do that side, then come find me.” Luanna scowled as she watched Remus toss a handful of vitamins in his mouth and wash them down with a bottle of green tea. She was feeling a mood, and knew exactly what was behind it, but was determined to ignore it as she marched up the lawn and knocked on the first door. A young man opened the door.

“Oh, hey, I was just about to head out to the gym,” he said, “But if you’re selling something, you should come back later this evening, when my wife’s home.”

Luanna flashed her badge, “Actually, I’m Chief Detective Finwith, Hudson Cove Police …”

“Oh. Wow. Cool,” he said, and then, just like that, his expression changed, “Wait. Is something wrong? Did something happen to Jessa?”

Luanna heard his voice rise in panic and she hurried to assure him, “No, I’m just here to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind. Can I come in? This won’t take long.”

“Sure,” Zach stepped aside and ushered Luanna inside. He led her back to the living room and they each took a seat, “That sure gave me a fright, let me tell you.”

“Can you tell me your name, and your wife’s name, too, for the record?”

“I’m Zach Fairchild. My wife’s name is Jessa. Jessa Fairchild. We’ve been married eight months now.”

“Sorry about frightening you. I’m actually here to ask you about a woman you might have seen. Older woman …”

“You’re talking about that old woman that likes to come into peoples’ yards and stare in on them.” Zach exclaimed.

“Yes, that one. Can you tell me what you know about her?”

Zach snorted, derisively, “What’s to know but what I’ve already told you. Crazy as they come. She shows up in our yard and just stands out there, looking in our window.”

“Has she ever talked to you?”

“Hell no. Never says anything. Of course, we’ve never said anything to her, either. I’ve wanted to confront her though, but my wife won’t let me.”

“Any property damage, theft …”

Zach snorted loudly again, “As a matter of fact, a few weeks ago she took a sun ornament that we had hanging on our bird feeder and walked off with it. I was steaming mad, but Jessa wouldn’t hear of me going after her.”

“Why not?” Luanna was genuinely curious.

“Aw, she’s got this whole story in her head that the crazy lady is just lonely and looking for a surrogate family or something.”

“And that’s not what you think?” Luanna stood up.

“Hell no. I think she’s got problems in the head. If she steals something else though, I’m gonna call you.”

“She won’t. She’s dead.”

*********************************

“Hello, I’m Chief Detective Luanna Finworth, Hudson Cove Police Department. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Janice Thomas’ eyes grew round as gumballs as she stepped back from the door and ushered Luanna inside, “Howard,” she called, as she rapped quickly on the bathroom door, “Howard, the police are here! They want to ask us some questions. Hurry, dear.”

“Be out in a minute.” a muffled male voice answered, as Janice took Luanna into the living room and offered her a seat on the afghan covered couch.

“Well, this is certainly exciting,” Janice declared, as she perched on the edge of her chair, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a chat with a police person before.”

“It’s detective, actually,” Luanna corrected her, “Chief Detective Finworth.”

“Ah.” Janice nodded her permed gray head and pursed her lips primly.

Down the hall, a toilet flushed, a door opened, and moments later, an elderly gentleman wandered slowly into the room.

“Howard, dear, look whose here. It’s a … a woman from the police department. She’s come to ask us some questions.”

“About what?” Howard lifted another crocheted afghan off his recliner and sat down, tucking it around him.

“I’m wondering what you could tell me about an elderly woman that often …”

Janice glanced at Howard, “She’s talking about Patsy Briscoe, Howard,” she looked back at Luanna, “Did someone finally turn her in? It’s about time, I should say.”

Luanna felt a little trill go up her spine, “So, you know her then?” she asked Janice.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, really,” Janice looked a bit offended, “What I would say is that I know of her.”

“Lost her marbles.” Howard offered, as he picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV.

A western came on, filling the small room with sounds of gunfire that grated on Luanna’s nerves. She took a centering breath and asked Janice, “What, exactly, did you know about Patsy?”

“Did?” Janice caught her.

Luanna sighed. She really wanted to leave right then and there. She hardly thought these two were Patsy’s murderers, but she was in desperate need of information, “Actually, Patsy Briscoe’s body was found, I’m afraid.”

“Heavens!” Janice’s hand flew to her mouth. She looked at her husband, “Howard, did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” he hollered, over the blaring gunfire at the OK corral.

“She said that Patsy Briscoe is dead.”

“What?” the old man put his hand behind his ear.

“Dead, Howard. She said that Patsy Briscoe is DEAD!”

Finally, Howard seemed to hear her, and he reared back in surprise. He looked at Luanna, “Not surprised. Someone finally took her out, huh?”

Luanna chose to ignore him; he wouldn’t have heard her anyway. She waited until she had Janice’s attention again, “So, how long have you known of Patsy Briscoe then?”

“My goodness, it’s been many years. Fifteen, maybe? I think the first time I met her was when she came into my yard while I was putting in one of my flower beds. I thought she was maybe a new neighbor come to introduce herself, so I approached her and said hello. She wasn’t very friendly, even back then, but she did tell me her name, before proceeding to tell me that my yard was the blight of the neighborhood! You can imagine my surprise, of course.” Janice looked for confirmation from Luanna.

Luanna gave it, irritated that this interview was taking so damn long.

“Turns out, she didn’t live nearby. I followed her once, just because I was curious, you know. She lived clear across the bridge, but that didn’t stop her from harassing us all the time.”

“When you say all the time, what do you mean?”

“At least a few times a week she would do something scandalous to one of us, up and down the street.”

“Why didn’t anyone call the police on her?”

Janice shrugged, “How should I know. I thought about it quite a few times, but I suppose I just felt sort of sorry for her. There was something about her…something sad and lonely, I guess, like she was looking in on everyone and wishing she had what we had,” Janice shook herself out of her thoughts, “Besides, I thought for sure that Dana Waller had called the police after Patsy keyed her car…”

Luanna sat upright, “When did this happen?”

“Why, it was the last time I saw Patsy, now that you mention it.”

“Can you walk me through what happened that evening?”

“Let’s see,” Janice stared off into space for a moment, “Oh, that’s right. I was here, watching the television and knitting, a blanket for my granddaughter, Nola…”

Luanna nodded vigorously, trying to keep her steered in the right, conversational direction.

“And I heard the most awful racket coming from the back. I went and looked out the back window, and I saw my neighbor, Barney Shiner, throw something at Patsy. He was yelling, but I couldn’t make out the words from in here.”

Luanna made a mental note that this must be the man that hadn’t been home, currently. She had left her card and had jotted a note on the back asking him to call her.

“So he was angry, would you say?”

“He certainly was. Livid, I would say, but the whole interaction didn’t last long because Patsy walked across the yard and into ours, and came around the house.”

“How do you know that?”

“Why, I watched her, of course. I moved into the front of the house just in time to catch her pulling up my hollyhocks! I was intending to confront her myself, but by the time I made it outside, she’d already gotten into an altercation with Dana Waller across the street.”

“Can you tell me what they were arguing about?”

“Dana was accusing Patsy of keying her car, and, from what I heard, it wasn’t the first time Patsy had done it, either. Dana was as mad as I’ve ever seen her. I don’t blame her.”

“How did the altercation end, Janice?”

“Patsy yanked her arm out of Dana’s grasp and she just walked on down the street. Dana went and got a flashlight and she must have seen evidence that Patsy had keyed her car, because she started swearing a blue streak.”

“And then what happened?” Luanna prodded her.

“Howard came outside and asked me if I was going to stand out there all night,” Janice smiled softly in her husband’s direction, but he was engrossed in his western, “We had a look at the flower beds, and I think we discussed how we were going to have to go to the garden center to replace the hollyhocks, until we heard Dana get in her car and screech off down the street.”

“How much time would you say had passed between Patsy leaving, and Dana driving off?”

Janice rubbed her chin, thoughtfully, “I suppose not more than ten minutes.”

*******************************************

“Tell me about Dana Waller.” Luanna leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on her desk.

Rodney shot her a look.

“What? I’m allowed to put my feet on my desk, but you aren’t. It’s not complicated.” She watched him measure some protein powder in a shaker bottle and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She’d smelled it once, when he hadn’t been there; it had smelled like rubber with a hint of imitation vanilla. Gross.

Rodney shook the bottle vigorously while he sat down and scanned his notes. He read, “Dana Waller, aged 32. Lives with her partner, Anna Wilco. Anna was out of town the night the incident went down, interviewing with an aerospace company in Texas. Dana claims that her dog, Lucid, a Rottweiler mix, started barking, alerting her to someone outside. She opened the front door and claims that she saw Patsy Briscoe keying her car. She had suspected her of doing it once before, but this time, according to her, she caught Patsy red handed.”

“She was quite angry, I hear.” Luanna interrupted him.

“Oh yeah, she admits it. Said she was seeing red, for sure. She ran out and confronted Patsy, who, not surprisingly, insisted that she was innocent, so Dana wanted her to stay there while she ran in and got a flashlight to check for damage to her car. Patsy refused to stay. Dana said that she grabbed her arm, which, in hindsight probably wasn’t a good idea, but she was seeing…”

“Red, right.”

“Uh huh. Well, Patsy took off down the street, and Dana said that she went in and got the flashlight and took it back outside to take a look at her car. Sure enough, there was a long scratch down the rear quarter panel. She then went inside and called Anna. Anna told her that it was time to invest in some outdoor cameras so they could have Patsy on film. Dana then claims that she got off the phone but she was still outraged and decided to drive down the street to look for Patsy.”

Luanna cocked her eyebrow, “Interesting.” she said.

“According to Dana, she never saw Patsy along the road, so she went into the convenience store up on Harris Road, bought a burrito and an energy drink, and drove home.”

With a burst of energy, Luanna stood up, “I need you to go see this man here,” she handed him Barney Shiner’s info,” she looked for and found the company photograph, picked up the file of Rodney’s, and added, “I’ve got a stop to make.”

*************************************************

“How long do you think that’ll take?” Luanna asked the forensic artist, as she sketched out a likeness of Patsy Briscoe.

“Not long.”

Luanna stepped out into the hallway and found a seat in the foyer. She opened the folder and started reading the notes that Remus had collected from the opposite side of the street.

Dana Waller certainly had reason to rage kill. It was sickening that someone would take someone’s life for keying their car, but people had taken lives for much, much less. Luanna knew that all too well, unfortunately. She glanced through the list and noticed that a Gretchen Hatch lived next door to Dana and Anna. Luanna grunted as she lifted the paper closer, squinting at Remus’s chicken scratches. Perhaps it was time to visit the eye doctor, she thought, sulkily.

“Chief, I’ve finished.”

Luanna glanced up. The forensic artist was standing at the door, waving the picture at her.

*****************************************

“Have you seen this woman before?” Luanna plopped the drawing of Patsy down on the counter in front of the ZipIn convenience store clerk. The artist had done an amazing job of progressing the woman’s age from youthful to elderly, and, with Luanna’s help with hair length, it looked as accurate as was possible.

The clerk picked up the drawing and studied it for a second. He put it back down, “She looks familiar I guess, but I’ve only been here a month. You should ask Marta, she’s been here forever.”

“And when will Marta be in?”

“Oh, she’s here. She’s on break.” the clerk nodded out the wide window.

Luanna grabbed the drawing and headed outside. A woman was leaning up against the trash can, smoking a cigarette.

“Marta?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Have you seen this woman before?”

Marta stubbed her cigarette out and took the paper. She nodded and handed it back.

“When?”

“She’d come in occasionally. She got into a fight with some woman out in the parking lot once. I was about to call the cops, but they broke it up right before I reached for the phone.”

“A physical fight?”

“Nah, a screaming match. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but you could tell they were really going at it.”

“Do you remember what the other woman looked like?”

“She was younger, I do remember that. Had darker hair, maybe. I don’t know. I was busy. Had customers lined up. I remember just being happy that I didn’t have to call the cops and deal with all that bullshit,” Marta suddenly seemed to remember who she was talking to, “Sorry.” she added weakly.

*******************************************

Luanna sat in her car feeling intimidated by the parade of lithe, yoga pants wearing people that were going in and out of the fitness club. This was not her place or her people, of that she was certain. She opened her car door and put a leg out, thought better of it and pulled it back in and closed the door again. Surely there was a way to get in better shape that didn’t require doing it in front of other, much fitter, people.

Her phone rang and, even though it was her lunch break, she answered it, thankful for the distraction, “Finwith, here.”

“I just talked with Barney Shiner…” Remus said.

“I thought you already talked to him yesterday.” she interrupted him.

“I tried, but he wasn’t home. I had to meet my trainer for a workout last night, so I figured I’d swing by this morning, but he wasn’t there. He finally called me back just a few minutes ago.”

“So, what did he say?”

Luanna could hear his shrug, “Not much. Claims that Patsy Briscoe was trespassing when she came into his yard, and he was well within his rights to confront her. Also, he confirmed that he did throw dog shit at her, but that she had it coming. He said that after the confrontation, he went back inside and finished his dinner and went to bed. He lives alone, so it’s not an airtight alibi.”

“No, it’s not,” Luanna sighed. Her eyes were watching an entire family of buff looking people exit a van and jog into the fitness club and she rolled her eyes, “Oh, by the way, what color hair does Dana Waller have?”

“Dark brown.”

*********************************************

Luanna sat waiting up the street until she saw a white SUV pull into the driveway of Gretchen Hatch’s house. She noted with interest that the woman that exited the vehicle had a dark, shoulder length bob. She waited until the woman had went inside before jumping out and walking down the street to the house. She knocked on the door.

The door opened.

“Yes?” Gretchen asked, with an irritated expression.

“Chief Detective Luanna Finwith, Hudson Cove Police,” Luanna flashed her badge, “I was hoping to ask you a few questions about Patsy Briscoe. Do you mind.”

“Actually, I do,” she said, “I just got home and I’m tired. Besides, I already talked to someone from the police department. Don’t you guys share your information?”

Luanna’s lips formed into a flat line and her eyes narrowed. Sometimes it worked, so why not put it out there and see if it stuck.

Gretchen sighed and stepped back, allowing Luanna into the house, “I’ll answer a few questions, but it better not take long. I’ve got a long day on tap tomorrow.”

“What do you do?” Luanna’s eyes swept the small front room.

“I clean houses. Why do you need to know?”

“I don’t,” Luanna spun around in her direction, “I was just curious. So, you live alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Mind if I take a look around?”

“I do, actually,” Gretchen glared and crossed her arms across her chest, “Like I said, I have a long day tomorrow.”

Luanna’s eyes caught on a flash of gold on Gretchen’s finger. The ring had a large turquoise stone in the center, surrounded by smaller gemstones circling it, “That’s a lovely ring. Mind if I take a closer look?”

Clearly put out by Luanna’s request, Gretchen pulled the ring off and handed it to Luanna, “It’s not worth much. I got it in Arizona years ago.”

Nodding, Luanna examined the ring. There was a missing stone, though it wasn’t that noticeable seeing as how they were so small. She suspected that Gretchen hadn’t even realized that she’d lost one of the gemstones. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an evidence bag, “I’m afraid that I have to take this in as evidence.” she dropped the ring inside and glanced over at Gretchen, whose shocked expression was at least a new look for her.

“You can’t do that!” Gretchen sputtered in outrage.

“I can, actually,” Luanna started walking towards the door, “I’ll let myself out. Have a nice evening.”

*************************************

“There. See, it’s a perfect match,” Luanna held the ring out in front of her and turned it this way and that. The garnet gemstone had settled into the prongs like a marble in a checker board. There was even its match on the opposite side of the ring, “Don’t you think, Michael?”

Michael, the head evidence technician, nodded, “Looks like it to me, but I’ll need to put it under the microscope to confirm it.”

Luanna bagged it up and handed it off to him.

“Give me twenty minutes and I’ll get back to you.”

“Sure thing. Thanks.”

As he left her office, Luanna settled back with a pleased grin. It wasn’t much, but at least she could probably directly tie one of their suspects to the crime scene.

Remus suddenly bounded into the room. He stopped short when he caught sight of her, “Hey, you’re here!”

“I am.”

“Great, cause I have some news.”

Luanna watched him as he launched a pretend ball into a pretend basket across the room. His energy was exhausting, “Please, enlighten me,” she gestured at his seat, “But sit down first.”

“So, as it turns out, our man, Barney Shiner, was in prison for aggravated assault fifteen years ago.”

“That’s interesting.” Luanna considered the news. It certainly added a new angle, but it wasn’t ground breaking, either.

“I think we should bring him in for interrogation.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because the man was in prison for aggravated assault, that’s why.”

“Fifteen years ago.”

“And?”

“Are you pouting, Remus?”

“No, I’m not pouting. This is a possible break in the case. I don’t get why you aren’t taking this more seriously.”

“Who says that I’m not…”

Michael popped his head around the door, “It’s a match, Chief.” he said.

“Okay. Thanks, Michael,” she turned back to Remus, “As for Shiner, dig a little deeper and maybe I’ll agree to an interrogation.” She picked up the phone and dialed Gretchen Hatch’s number.

***************************************

“Take a seat,” Luanna waited for Gretchen Hatch to sit down and then she pulled the evidence bag out of her drawer and placed it in front of her, “You recognize this, don’t you?”

“Of course. It’s my ring.” Gretchen reached for it, but Luanna snatched it back.

“I noticed earlier, when I saw the ring at your house, that the ring was missing a stone. Did you know that, Ms. Hatch?”

Luanna watched Remus enter the room. He took a seat at his desk and turned on his computer, barely looking in her direction. Clearly, he was still pouting.

“I didn’t realize that, no.”

Luanna snapped on her gloves and reached into the bag, retrieving the loose garnet and the ring. She sat them down on the bag, “As it turns out, it was, and what was truly interesting was that I happened to have the missing one, right here,” she picked up the garnet, letting the sunlight that peeked through the blinds catch the fire in the gemstone, “And, what’s even more interesting, Ms. Hatch, is where I found the stone…”

“Please, fill me in.” Gretchen said, dryly, as she crossed her legs and then her arms.

Luanna leaned forward, “I found this gemstone on the bridge that Patsy Briscoe was thrown off of, Ms. Hatch.”

Gretchen’s body suddenly lurched forward, “So fucking what? That doesn’t mean shit. Even if you can prove that that stone is the one that was missing from my ring, so fucking what?”

“I sent it down to our team. It’s a perfect match.”

“Like I said, who the fuck cares. I go over that bridge all the time. It doesn’t mean I had anything to do with that Briscoe woman’s death,” she jolted up out of her chair, “I’m out of here.”

“Not so fast.” Luanna leapt up, too.

“You can’t keep me here.”

“She’s right.” Remus said.

Luanna gave him an evil glare.

“I didn’t kill that old bitch, so go ahead and pin all your hopes on that ring if you want, but, like he said, I’m free to go.”

Gretchen marched out of the room while Luanna silently seethed. As soon as the door closed, she whirled to face Remus, “Care to tell me what that was about?” she snapped.

“I was just stating the facts.”

“I know the facts, Remus. I don’t need to be reminded.”

“Fine. Maybe I overstepped.”

“You did.”

“Now that she’s gone, maybe you want to check out some new information I happened to come across.”

She wanted to wring his neck, was what she wanted to do, but, curiosity piqued, she wandered over to his desk, “What did you find?” she asked, as she pulled a chair out and took a seat.

Rodney moved his computer screen so she could see it, “Look at this. Barney Shiner has had more than ten complaints of simple assault lodged against him during the past five years, and an ex girlfriend by the name of Sheena Louis, filed a restraining order against him. I think you’ve been barking up the wrong tree, boss. I think this is our man.”

****************************************

“Ms. Louis, can you tell me about your relationship with Barney Shiner?” Luanna asked, as she stood out in the apartment hallway.

“He’s an asshole. He didn’t start out that way, but hell, do they ever start out that way?”

Luanna smiled, encouragingly.

“You filed a restraining order against him two years ago. Was he ever physically threatening to you?”

Sheena Louis shrugged, “Not in the way you’re thinking, no, but he shoved me a few times when we were arguing, and he tripped me once. I twisted my ankle so bad I was laid up for two weeks.”

“So you were frightened of him, of what he might do?”

“Listen, Barney could be a real nice guy most of the time, but if you pissed him off, he fought dirty, so yeah, I was worried.”

“Thanks for your time, Ms. Louis. If I have any more questions, I’ll get back in touch.”

Walking back to her car, Luanna sorted through her feelings. Maybe Remus was right. Maybe Barney Shiner was their prime suspect. It just didn’t feel right though. She opened the car door and slid behind the wheel as she flipped through the facts. The picture of Patsy as a younger woman standing with her coworkers came to mind. She’d looked so different from the woman she must have eventually become. What had happened to change her, Luanna wondered, as she searched the file that she’d thrown on the passenger seat. She found the picture and searched for the sign.

“Maybe it’s time to find out.” Luanna picked her police issued tablet up and tapped in ‘The Ewing Company.'” Several listings came up, but the one she was interested in was the one in Lawton. She read every single article that came up, and when she finished, she sat back with a sigh. Apparently, the company had went belly up nearly seventeen years ago after the owner, a man by the name of, Eugene Blumenthal, had been accused by a former employee of rape. Though no charges were ever filed, the company’s reputation had tanked, business had suffered, and they had been forced to close.

She picked up the picture again and scanned the list of names that were typed in tiny letters, matching them up to the people. Her eyes stopped when they came upon the name of Sally Hatch. She searched for the woman; she was standing next to Patsy Briscoe.

“Well, would you look at that.” Luanna said, as she started the car.

***********************************

“I want to see the video of the altercation you witnessed,” Luanna asked Marta. She was back at the convenience store, hoping to collect more confirmation that she was on the right track, “How long will it take?”

Marta’s exasperated expression didn’t give her much hope, but, surprisingly, she answered, “We keep the old tapes in the storeroom, “I guess you could go look for it.” she turned around and took a key off a hook and handed it to Luanna.

“Thanks,” Luanna stepped away from the counter and turned in the direction that Marta was pointing, “Wait, do you happen to know what month I’m looking for, or year, for that matter?”

Marta shrugged, “It was this year if I remember right, and it was cold I think,” she shrugged, “Sorry. Wish I could help ya more, but that’s all I got retained in this here noggin.”

When she reached the storeroom, Luanna found the tapes in two huge, wheeled bins. With a disappointed sigh, she shuffled through them. When she had collected most of the tapes that read January, February, March, and April of that year, she brought them over to the video player and shoved the first one in. Ten boring minutes later, she finally realized how to fast forward while also not missing anything of importance. Ten minutes after that, she had an uncomfortable tally of just how many people picked their noses and pulled their wedgies in full view of cameras, and knew that January wasn’t the month she was looking for. She pulled the tape and shoved in the tape marked February, and started fast forwarding. Suddenly, midway through, Luanna spotted a familiar woman step out of her car. She stopped the fast forward and let it play, watching as Patsy Briscoe went inside to pay for her gas. She came back out just as another car pulled into the pump right beside her. Gretchen Hatch jumped out of the car and stormed over to Patsy, who was visibly stunned by her approach. The women talked briefly, but, just as Marta had said, the conversation turned heated, judging by their aggressive expressions and wild, gesticulating arm movements. Luanna would have given her pinky toe to have been able to listen in, but this was enough, she supposed. She now had not only the gemstone, but this direct link between the two women, and it couldn’t be refuted.

************************************

“Care to tell me how you knew Patsy Briscoe, Ms. Hatch?”

“I didn’t. I told you that.”

Luanna brought the tape from around her back, “I have you on film together. Does that ring any bells for you?”

There was the briefest flicker of fear in Gretchen’s eyes, but she reeled it in fast, “So what? That proves absolutely shit, detective.” she snarled.

“What were you arguing about?” Luanna asked, choosing to stay on task.

“It’s none of your business.” Gretchen said, as she stepped inside and slammed the door.

The sharp bite of rage that was working its way up her throat made it difficult for Luanna to walk away, but walk away she did. She needed to find the right angle, which meant she needed to take a step back and figure out how, so she got back in her car and took a few deep breaths.

She looked around, spotting Janice out working in her yard. Janice looked up and waved. Luanna waved back and then picked up the file. She felt certain that Gretchen Hatch was related to Sally Hatch, but what did that mean?

A car door slammed shut, and Luanna lifted her head. Gretchen’s car was backing out of her driveway. Luanna watched her drive down the street and went back to her ruminations.

Suddenly, a tap on the window made her jump.

“Detective Finworth?” Janice Thomas was bent over, peering in at her with an excited expression on her face.

Luanna rolled down the window, “Yes?”

“Oh, I just had to come over and tell you that I remember something else about the night Patsy died…”

“And what is that, Janice?”

“Well, it was when I saw Gretchen pull out of her driveway just now that it came back to me… she left too, that night…”

“When did she leave, Janice?”

“It was when Dana and Patsy were in that argument that I was telling you about.”

“So she left before Patsy walked away?”

“Yes, she certainly did.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Janice.”

As the woman went back to her yard work, Luanna dialed the phone, “Remus, I want a search warrant for Gretchen Hatch’s property, and get here with it as quick as you can.”

************************************

“You check the front, I’ll take the back.” Luanna told Remus, as she went down the hall toward the bathroom. She riffled through the drawers and shelves, but didn’t find anything of note. The bedroom was next. The bed was made, clothes hung up, save for a pair of slippers sitting primly on a small rug by the side of the bed. Luanna diligently searched everything she could possibly search, but still turned up nothing. A small stab of concern shot through her temple; if they didn’t find any connection between Patsy and Gretchen, Remus was going to have a heyday with it. Irksome thought, really.

There was a door that led down into the basement. She almost walked on by it, (She hated basements, and, because of this irrational fear, usually assumed that everyone else did, too) but something made her open the door, flip on the light switch, and head on down the stairs. Surprisingly, the basement was finished, with paneled walls and tiled floors.

“There is a whole ass other house down here.” Luanna whistled appreciatively, as she took a look at the full set of living room furniture in the main room. There was another, smaller room off to the side, whose door was closed. She opened it, revealing a small office, with a desk and chair, computer, several carts filled with books, and framed pictures, lots and lots of framed pictures on the walls.

Luanna’s eyes were drawn immediately to a picture that she recognized; it was the same one that Patsy had had, and that was now in her possession. She walked over to have a closer look.

“Jackpot.” she whispered.

What sounded like a herd of buffalo coming down the stairs made her glance back at the doorway. Suddenly, Gretchen appeared in front of her. Her eyes were wild, and there was a gun in her hand, and she was pointing it at Luanna, “Get the hell out of my house!” she cried.

Luanna held her hands up in front of her, “Gretchen, calm down. Just calm down. Everything’s fine. I was just about to leave.” Where the hell was Remus, she wondered.

“Oh, I’m calm, bitch,” Gretchen’s eyes were honed in on Luanna like a cat on a bird, “I told you to fucking get off my back, and here you are, in my goddamned house. Walk toward me, slowly.”

As she followed orders, Luanna asked, “Where are we going?”

“Maybe we’ll go to the bridge. Who knows, maybe I’ll help you over it, and down you’ll go, down, down, down, until splat!”

“Is that what you did to Patsy? Did you throw her over the bridge?”

“The bitch had it coming. I would do it a million times if I could, and each way more torturous than the last…”

As Luanna drew nearer, Gretchen began backing out of the doorway, “Why?” Luanna asked her, “What did she do to you?”

“She ruined my fucking life is what she did. She accused my father of raping her…”

“Your father? And did he?”

“Fuck no, he didn’t, but my mother still left him, and then his business fell apart and we lost everything.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” they were both in the main room now. Gretchen was backing her way towards the stairs, but the gun never wavered, “But how can you be sure that your father didn’t do it?”

“Shut the hell up and keep moving toward me. Slowly!”

Gretchen had reached the stairs. She stepped backwards up the first stair, and then the second, and then the third. Luanna slowly approached. She darted a quick glance up, and saw Remus, gun drawn, standing about three steps from the top.

Luanna knew that she had to keep Gretchen talking, “So, if your father didn’t do it, why did your mom leave?” she asked her.

“Did you know that they used to be friends, my mother and Patsy Briscoe? Oh, yeah, they were the best of friends until Patsy made her accusation.”

“So your mother never talked to Patsy again?” Luanna asked, as she slowly took a step up towards Gretchen, who was now just four steps away from Remus.

“Nope, but she still left my father. They got a divorce and she died just a few years later, leaving me with a man that had lost everything. He was a man that could barely get out of bed in the morning, much less be any kind of parent to me!” Gretchen spat, “I was supposed to have the best things, and I ended up with nothing, all because of that damn bitch! But I got her back, didn’t I? I got her good. After my father died, I searched for her, and when I found her, I even moved down here so that I could be closer to her, and you can imagine my surprise when I realized that the fucking looney bitch walked up and down my street every night…”

“So, on the night Patsy was killed, you came out of your house when you heard Patsy and Dana arguing, and you…”

Gretchen chuckled, proudly, “I saw my chance and I fucking took it! Damn straight. I knew she’d be walking over the bridge, cause that’s the way back to her house, so I parked and waited for her, and then I rushed her and threw her up and over, and that was that. I made damn sure that she saw my face, though…”

Suddenly, a shocked expression came over Gretchen’s face as she backed up into Remus’ gun.

Luanna lunged forward and clamped her hands over Gretchen’s wrist and slammed it down on the railing, dislodging the gun.

“I’ve got her,” Remus yanked Gretchen up the stairs and threw her against the wall as Luanna grabbed Gretchen’s gun and clambered up after them. Remus holstered his weapon and slapped cuffs on Gretchen, “You’re under arrest for the murder of Patsy Briscoe…” he looked at Luanna, questioningly.

“I’m fine.” she said.

****************************************

“Just answer me one thing,” Rodney Remus peeled the wrapper from the cupcake and tossed it into the trash, “How do you do it, Lu? How do you figure out who the murderer is even when all the signs point to it being someone else?”

Luanna watched him shove nearly half of the cupcake, two inches of cream cheese frosting and all, into his mouth, “I didn’t realize that cupcakes were on your eating program, Remus.” she mused, aloud.

He chewed, moaned in pleasure, swallowed, and said, “Cheat day. So, tell me your secret.” He took another bite.

“It’s not a secret. It’s… it’s just practice, I guess, and good old fashioned feels. I feel it in my gut sometimes,” She reached out and took the remaining cupcake out of his hand and plopped it into her mouth, “My cheat day, too.” she said, over delectable frosting and moist cake.

“Every day is cheat day for you.” he pulled a face.

“I’m turning a new leaf, Remus, just not today.”