Chapter 24
Hog
“Expecting anyone?”
Anika shakes her head, and I continue to the front door while she rushes the pups out back.
I’m surprised to find Special Agent Livingston on the doorstep.
“I should’ve probably called first, but things have been a bit hectic the past twenty-four hours, which is in part why I’m here.”
“Come on in.”
Anika stands by the back door, keeping an eye on the pups, when I lead the agent into the living room.
“Are you okay with dogs?” I ask him.
“Love dogs.”
“Good. Brace,” I warn him, as Anika opens the door again and the herd comes charging in, hoping to make more new friends.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Anika offers, but Livingston shakes his head.
“I’m actually on my way to the airport, but wanted to stop in to give you an update and say goodbye.”
I gesture for him to take a seat, and he wisely chooses a chair instead of the couch, giving him a little control over the pups’ access to his face. It’s clear from the calm way he handles them, he’s used to dogs.
Anika curls up in a corner of the couch, her legs tucked underneath her, which I’ve come to recognize as self-protection. I sit down next to her and put my hand on her knee.
“I just wanted to let you know in the past twenty-four hours, we were able to locate and arrest all key players in the money laundering operation.”
Evans mentioned they were working on that, so it’s great news to hear they managed to get them.
“That’s great,” Anika echoes my thoughts. “So you’ve got Chris as well?”
I get an uneasy feeling when I catch the agent’s reaction.
“Mr. Cooper is no longer any threat to you,” he diplomatically states.
“Does that mean you have him?” I push, recognizing Livingston is circumventing the question.
“In a way. In the process of making arrests, we were able to recover Mr. Cooper’s body.”
Anika shoots up straight. “He’s dead?”
“Yes, and we have reason to believe he may have been dead prior to his brother’s attack on you.”
Obviously, these guys wouldn’t have shared that with the brother, since it was their leverage.
“I’m not sure how to feel about that,” Anika admits. “I would’ve loved some answers on things that still confuse me. Like who vandalized my car?”
“The likelihood is, it was done by some kids hired by Christopher Cooper,” Livingston suggests.
I’m not sure I agree with that assessment, since they never went into the trunk where the casino chips were supposed to have been hidden. The roadkill made no sense either. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to ask him.
“And Kim’s murder?” Anika probes. “Because that makes even less sense and it’s been eating at me.”
The agent gives her a sympathetic smile.
“I understand. It’s something we in law enforcement deal with a lot, unanswered questions. I wish I could give you a satisfying answer, but unfortunately, I don’t have one ready for you at this time.”
He gets to his feet, and both Anika and I do the same.
“I want you to know that investigation is ongoing, and Detective Evans is going to continue looking into the different possible scenarios.”
We follow him to the front door, where he turns around and offers Anika his hand.
“Best of luck to you, Ms. Jones.”
She grins. “The name is Anika.”
He smiles at her, nods at me, and turns on his heel before making his exit.
“So, are you going to call Mel?” I ask her when we walk back inside.
“Shit, yeah. I hadn’t thought of that yet. That eliminates one of the hurdles.
She’s been on the phone and computer most of the morning, doing research and conferring with her mother about funeral options. She did much the same yesterday. Unfortunately, without the go-ahead, there’s only so much she can do.
I overheard her discussing expenses with her mom, which leads me to the conclusion she intends to pay for everything with her mother’s help. She hasn’t discussed it directly with me, but I’m giving her some time, hopefully she’ll broach the subject at some point. Either way, I plan to contribute as well, and I’m sure there are more people who might be interested.
“Hey, Mel? We just had a visit from the FBI, Christopher Cooper is dead.”
She curls up in the corner next to the boys—who, once again take up half the couch—her phone to her ear. I head to the kitchen to empty the dishwasher, keeping myself busy so I can eavesdrop.
“You did? Okay, so what does that mean exactly?”
After a couple of hums she says, “And he’s doing that? When?”
A few more uh-huhs, and then “Arrange for a pickup? Okay, I’ll call them.”
I give up the ruse of putting dishes away, and end up leaning against the counter, my arms crossed, and blatantly listening to Anika’s end of the conversation.
“Sure, I can be there at two.”
It sounds promising, at least from this end, and when Anika puts the phone down a few moments later, the smile on her face confirms it.
“I take it that was good news?” I prompt her.
“Very. Mel already knew about Chris Cooper and apparently talked to the Medical Examiner’s office to get a copy of the death certificate. In talking to the ME, she was told Kim’s body can be released, so I need to call a funeral home to at least pick her up.”
“Does that mean you have the go-ahead with planning?”
She unfolds herself from the couch and walks up to the island, perching her butt on one of the stools.
“Not yet, we’re waiting for a letter from the physician at the nursing home, confirming Martha is no longer of sound mind. I’m supposed to meet Mel at the courthouse at two to see a judge.”
“Okay. If you don’t mind taking the Suburban. My appointment at Mercy is at one thirty and I was hoping to take the pickup so I can swing by the farm to grab some organic fertilizer for the veggie garden.”
Organic fertilizer meaning pigshit. It happens to be a great source of nutrients and is a good organic replacement for a chemical fertilizer.
I also wouldn’t mind picking up a few nice cuts of pork while I’m there. That’s one thing I miss, not having ready access to meat and vegetables. I’m having a hard time buying those from grocery stores.
“Oh shit, I forgot about your appointment.”
I round the island and she turns to face me, automatically opening her knees to make room for me to step between them. I put my hands on her shoulders.
“I can change it if you want me to come to the courthouse with you,” I offer.
She resolutely shakes her head.
“God, no. Go get your all clear. I’ll be fine. I might actually stop in at the salon, see how things are going there,” she suggests, hooking her thumbs in the loops on my jeans.
“You miss it, don’t you?”
“No more than you miss the firehouse,” she lobs back.
She’s not wrong. As much as I enjoy spending time with Anika, I miss my crew. Miss the job. When the doc signs off on me going back, I can catch the last shift of this rotation from tomorrow morning until Saturday morning. I’d have two days off after that, and be back full time on the next schedule. A nice slow start to get back in the swing of things.
“Touché,” I mumble, kissing her offered mouth.
So damn sweet.
Anika
“What do you think?”
The purple and turquoise ombré is flawless and looks great on Landon. He’s preening a little, and I notice Fergie keeps darting glances this way.
“You look fabulous. Seriously, you make me want to dye my hair.”
“Don’t you ever,” Fergie pipes up. “Your hair is gorgeous as it is.”
I toss him a grateful smile. Compliments are good for the soul.
“Where is everyone else?” I ask, looking around the salon.
“Molly had a doctor’s appointment and Mo is in the back having lunch.”
“I’m just gonna go say hi.”
I start walking to the back when Landon calls after me.
“Any news on arrangements for Kim?”
“Hopefully, I’ll know more later this afternoon.”
I talked to Hood Funeral home earlier and they’re supposed to pick Kim up sometime this afternoon. Hopefully I get the go-ahead from the judge and maybe later I can stop by the funeral home to take the next steps. Maybe either Mom or Hog can come with me.
To be honest, for all the determination I felt initially, I’m not quite as sure about what I’m doing. It suddenly feels like a lot of responsibility to take on. But…I’m already committed, and if I don’t do it, who will?
I find Monique in my office, eating lunch at my desk. She looks up, surprised.
“Hey. I didn’t know you were coming in.”
“I’m only dropping in for a quick visit. I’m actually on my way to meet Lindsey’s mom at the courthouse to get a judge’s permission to make arrangements for Kim.”
“It’s about time.”
“I know, but the medical examiner only released the body this morning, so I couldn’t have done much anyway. I picked Hood Funeral Home.”
I sit down in the visitor’s chair. It feels a little odd sitting on this side of my desk.
“Any idea what day? So I can start making some calls?”
I shake my head. “No, I have to talk to Hood first, see what’s available. I don’t even know if they do funerals on Sunday, which would be easiest, and Saturday is probably too soon, but Monday might work. It’ll only be a half-day’s worth of appointments we’d have to shuffle.”
“We?”
I’m a little taken aback by her sharp tone, but she immediately comes back with an apology.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just been stressful, you know? Kim, keeping the salon going, worrying about her idiot of a husband out there waiting to jump on any one of us. It’s affected all of us.”
She’s right. Of course she’s right. Kim was important to all of us, and things have been crazy around here. Monique’s had my back, but I haven’t exactly had hers.
“No need to apologize. You’re right, I’ve been up in my own head and haven’t exactly been considerate of you guys. Some friend I am, huh?”
She reaches across the desk and gives my hand a squeeze.
Neither of us are big on sappy displays, so I quickly retrieve my hand and continue, “As for Chris Cooper, you can stop worrying about him.”
Her eyebrows shoot up in her hairline.
“What are you saying?”
“He was found dead.”
Her jaw hits the floor. “You’re shitting me. He killed himself?”
“I don’t think so. Not sure of the details, I just know he’s not going to be a problem anymore.”
She leans back in my desk chair.
“Well, I’ll be damned. That’s messed up.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding. Hey,” I change gears. “What’s wrong with Molly? Landon said she had an appointment with her doctor?”
Monique nods. “Yeah, she seems depressed. I think she’s struggling a bit emotionally. She said something about her boyfriend breaking up with her.”
That poor thing.
“Ah, man, on top of everything else? That’s so sad. I’ll try and get in touch with her. See if she wants to meet up for drinks and a talk. I think Hog will be back on shift starting tomorrow, so maybe tomorrow night.”
“Why don’t I talk to Molly when she gets back? I’ll see if she wants to get together at my place? We can sit by the river with a pitcher of margaritas and watch the sun go down.”
Monique lives in a trailer home right by Oxbow Park. Her little backyard borders on the park and the river. I haven’t been there in probably close to two years.
“That sounds good to me.” I check my phone for the time. “Look, I’ve gotta run, but shoot me a message when you hear from her, okay?”
I was lucky to find a parking spot that fit the Suburban in front of the salon, but sadly I’m not that lucky near the courthouse. It takes me three trips up and down the street to find a spot outside the Legion, which is about two blocks down.
Since I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be late for the judge, I end up running the whole way. Out of breath and sweaty, I hang on to the railing running alongside the steps to the main door of the courthouse, when I hear my name called.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Mel pants, jogging up to me. “Parking is crazy.”
“Oh, I know. I literally got here two seconds ago myself.”
“Well, let’s head in. Judge Browning was able to fit us in last-minute, so we shouldn’t keep her waiting.”
Less than an hour later we’re standing back outside the courthouse, but I’m holding a copy of a judge’s order to show the funeral home.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I tell Mel, who shrugs it off.
“You’re family,” she says. “Which reminds me.” She pulls an envelope from the ratty leather tote bag she hauls around everywhere. “They did a collection at the clubhouse. To help with the funeral,” she adds, when I stand there with my mouth open.
Inside the envelope is a stack of bills.
“How…you didn’t have to…this is too much.”
Mel chuckles. “You try telling those do-good knuckleheads. And I can call them that, because I’m married to one and my daughter’s married to another. I told you—family.” She points at the envelope. “There’s probably enough there for a gravestone as well.”
Mel isn’t a big hugger, but I don’t let that stop me and wrap her into a tight one.
“Lifetime of free haircuts,” I tell her.
“Whatever floats your boat.”
She steps out of my hold and starts heading up the street.
“Hey! Shoot me a message with the funeral arrangements,” she calls over her shoulder.
“Will do!”
I slowly head back to the Suburban, giving Hog a quick call.
“How did it go?”
“Good,” I share. “I’ve got the paperwork in hand, heading to the funeral home now. And get this, Mel handed me an envelope with a whack of money. Apparently, the MC did a collection.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. They’re good people,” he comments.
I can hear he’s in the truck.
“What about you? What did the doc say?”
“I’m cleared. Already let the firehouse know. I’m back on shift starting Saturday.”
“Oh shit, Saturday? I thought you were going back tomorrow, I made plans.”
There’s a bit of a pause and then he comes back with, “What plans exactly?”
I snicker, if I’m not mistaken the man is a wee bit jealous.
“It’s only drinks,” I tease him. “Nothing major.”
Another pause, this one a bit longer and heavier.
“Only drinks, with who?”
I can almost hear him grind his teeth.
“The girls,” I explain, taking pity on him. “I was just messing with you.”
His growl does things to my nether region.
“I’ll deal with you when I get home,” he warns. “I’m on my way now.”
“It’ll have to wait,” I inform him, as I unlock the Suburban. “I have to make a stop at the funeral home first.”
“Probably better. Gives me a chance to unload the fertilizer and grab a quick shower first. Means I’ll have my hands free to deal with you when you get here.”
I’m smiling as I settle in behind the wheel.
“I can’t wait.”