Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Katie had a great night’s sleep and was ready to begin another day—after three cups of coffee. She wasn’t going to let her troubles and momentary insecurities dampen her investigation.
She and McGaven drove to Shelby’s place of employment: All Fitness Yoga Studio. It was located on Pine Avenue. It took Katie a few extra minutes to find a parking place. There were many stores, from clothing, kitchen wares, insurance, to a very popular coffee shop.
“It’s kinda busy for a Wednesday,” said McGaven. He looked at his notes. “So the yoga studio has been in business for almost ten years and owned by the same person, Cindy Ware.”
“Has she been in any kind of trouble?”
“Only a couple of parking tickets,” he said.
“Personal details?” she asked.
“Let’s see, she’s single, forty-two years old, and seems to be in good financial standing.”
“Okay,” she said, opening her door. “You ready to stretch?” She giggled.
“Oh, that’s funny…”
The detectives jogged across the street, away from the coffee shop, where there were many people enjoying their midmorning caffeine fixes.
The workout studio had a large glass front that looked into an even larger area divided into three sections.
One area was for working out with machines and free weights, the second section was for yoga classes, and the last area seemed to be offices and a restroom.
Katie opened the door and said, “You ready?”
“Just keep going… I’ll be fine.”
The workout area was occupied by a few patrons, but suddenly a class finished and at least a dozen people filed out. Katie saw a woman matching the description of the owner. She wore turquoise tights and a black jog bra.
She looked up from her clipboard. “Can I help you?” she said and smiled.
“Are you Cindy Ware?” said McGaven.
“Yes.” She walked closer to the detectives. “And you are?”
“We’re Detectives Scott and McGaven from the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Departments.”
“What can I do for you, Detectives?” she said, appearing concerned.
“It’s about Shelby Roberts,” said Katie.
“Have you found her?” she said and tears welled in her eyes. “It’s…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“I’m sorry to tell you, Ms. Ware, but we’re afraid she’s been the victim of foul play and is dead. We are working on confirming that.” Katie hated telling people a loved one had died; it never got any easier.
“I thought something bad had happened to her,” she said quietly. She turned away and became distraught. “When she didn’t show up for two shifts and wasn’t at home, I knew something had happened.”
“We’re sorry for your loss.”
“What happened to her? How?”
“I’m sorry, we’re not at liberty to discuss details.”
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” she said. “She was a great instructor. Everyone loved her. She was a true friend…” Her voice faded.
“Ms. Ware, had anything changed in her life recently? Was she having trouble with anyone?”
“No, no. She was doing well. She’d been in debt for a bit, but was making progress. That’s why I rented her an apartment to help with bills.”
“She lived in your rental house?” said McGaven, checking his notes.
“Yes. For about two years now. It’s 1616 Merry Lane.”
“What about family? Parents? Siblings?”
“She mentioned one time that her parents had died when she was young and never said anything about siblings—so I don’t know for sure.”
“Did she have any problems with neighbors or anyone else? Was she seeing anyone?” said Katie.
“Nothing. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”
“Since you own the property, can we have access to it? There might be something that could help in the case,” said Katie.
“Yes, of course. I have a key. Just a moment.” She left the detectives and disappeared into one of the offices.
Katie took a look at the studio; no one seemed to pay any attention to them. She saw that most of the women from the class went across the street to the coffee place.
Ms. Ware came back and gave Katie a key.
“Thank you. If you think of anything, please contact us,” said Katie, giving her a business card.
“Please,” said the woman. “Please find out who killed her.”
The detectives walked back to their car. Katie hesitated, looking at the coffee place.
“What?” said McGaven.
“Let’s get a couple of coffees.”
He smiled, seeing where she was going. “You can never have enough caffeine when you’re a cop.”
“Trust me, the last thing I need this morning is more caffeine.”
They walked around several small bistro tables to the front door. The interior was fun with lots of colorful decorations. There was modern music playing and the conversation level was high.
“I’ve never been here before,” said McGaven. “I usually go to Java Junction on the way to work.”
“I haven’t been here either. It’s usually really busy and parking is a pain.”
They made their way to the counter to order.
“One black tea with milk,” said Katie.
“I’ll have a mocha latte.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” said the barista with a nametag that said “Mike.” “I know you guys.”
Katie was puzzled. “You do?”
“You’re a couple of Pine Valley’s finest.”
“Yes. Detectives,” said Katie, feeling a bit conspicuous as others turned to stare at them.
The man behind the counter had shoulder-length blond hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He looked to be about twenty-five. “Well, we’re glad you’re here. Your drinks are on us.”
“Oh no, that won’t be necessary,” she said.
“We have this.” The blond man pointed to a small bucket where people could drop a few dollars for coffee for police officers. He reached into the bucket and took out what the two drinks cost.
“Thank you,” said McGaven as he tossed money into the tip jar.
The barista yelled the orders. He looked back to Katie and McGaven. “So are you on a case?”
Katie nodded.
“Can we help?”
“You haven’t noticed anyone who seems to be obsessed with the yoga studio?” said McGaven.
“You mean like staring and sitting in the same place outside, strategically positioned to watch the studio?”
“Yeah, actually, something like that,” said McGaven.
“I have, a couple of times. He seemed weird, and he seemed to keep an eye on the studio the whole time he was here. At first, I thought it might be a boyfriend or husband of someone there, but he always left alone.”
“And?” said Katie. “What did he look like?”
“Average, brown hair, slim to athletic build, always wearing a leather jacket.”
“Anything else?”
“Nah, I’m sorry. That’s pretty much it. Oh wait, I think I’ve seen him delivering packages before to the other businesses along here.”
“Parcel or other worldwide companies?”
“No, I got the feeling it was private courier and not one of those big ones.”
“Do you have cameras?”
“Nope. We did, but the owner hasn’t made a decision yet about replacing them.”
“If you see that guy again, can you call us?” said Katie, handing him a business card.
“For sure.”
“And keep it on the down-low,” said McGaven.
“You bet.”
The detectives waited for their beverages and then left.
Once back in their vehicle, Katie turned to her partner. “Does that courier guy’s behavior sound unusual?”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that it’s just some guy watching women at a workout place,” she said. “It’s not against the law, creepy maybe, but the barista said that the guy was only there a couple of times.”
“It still means there was a guy watching the place where a woman went missing. We have to figure out what for.”
“We don’t have a lot to go on… Maybe Shelby’s place will fill us in.”
“Let’s go.”