Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“Iquestioned Isabel,” Cage says in a form of greeting the moment I answered his phone call.
“Where was she?” I stand up from my chair, for something to do. Tori immediately turns in her desk chair in our shared office.
“Serving time in Piedras Sueltas, a small town in West Texas. Seven hours from here.” Cage answers. The sound of a vehicle’s door slam echoes in my ear.
“Wait what?”
Tori comes to me and wraps her arm around my waist, her fingernails drawing circles on my back. She leans in, listening to Cage over the phone.
“Apparently, when she heard about Calahan while in Austin,” he sighs.
I pinch the bridge of my nose with the same exasperation.
“She took off. Ended up in Piedras Sueltas and got wasted. Then, she decided to play bartender and set a row of tequila shots on fire. Lucky for the bar owner, the fire was easy to put out with minimal damage sustained to the bar… counter,” he says.
“Fuck,” I breathe, sitting back down in my chair. Tori climbs up into my lap as I continue my conversation with Cage.
“She’s charged with destruction of property and disorderly conduct… the list just keeps growing after that.”
“What was she doing in Austin? She-”
“Aaron,” he says my name in an attempt to stop me from talking.
“Could’ve killed him and made it to Austin in-” I stop when Cage says my name again.
“She didn’t. Her alibi checks out. She wasn’t in Eagle Pointe,” he confirms.
“It has to be her. How can it not be?” Tori combs through the back of my hair, wrapping herself around my neck to comfort me. My mind is spinning, searching for an answer for Cal’s death. One that makes sense. One in which I solve it and kill whoever did it.
“I’mma have to interview the Vultures, start there and work my way through a suspect list.” He clears his throat. Exhales heavily. Then he proceeds to ask, “Just to have on record. Where were you Tuesday, August fourth, between two and three p.m.?”
“I was at The Scrape Bar & Grill. Seven employees worked that day, and several customers saw me as well… including you.” I roll my eyes. The fact that he asks me is annoying as fuck.
“Sorry Aaron, but I will need to be thorough with this investigation. You know that.”
“I do. Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“What did you and Cal discuss the last time you saw him?”
I take a deep breath in, attempting to clear my mind, then blow it out. After a few seconds, I answer. “Josiah. Cal had asked me to review Josiah's expense report for the charity ride. He was concerned that Josiah and Isabel had an affair during our time away.”
“Why didn’t you mention him before now? What did you find?”
“A perfect report. Nothing suspicious.”
“Okay I’ll start with him,” Cage declares.
***
Waiting on Cage to interview Josiah is frustrating.
It’s easier for me to go to his house and beat him bloody until I know something.
However, Cage meets me at Josiah’s house before I can go busting through the door.
We knock on the door but there is no answer.
I knock again, this time verifying his car and bike are parked under the carport. It is.
I call and it rings and rings until it goes to voicemail.
I dial again and still no answer. Dread falls heavy on my shoulders forcing my beating heart to beat faster.
Cage tries him on his phone at the same time he knocks on the door.
We both meet each other’s gaze, silently agreeing that something isn’t right.
“Where the fuck is he?” I ask rhetorically.
“Call Mary,” Cage suggests.
The phone rings once, then someone picks up. “Aaron? Have you seen Josiah?” a woman, not Mary, asks.
“I wanted to ask Mary the same question.” I reply and immediately follow up with, “Who’s this?”
“Yazmin. Mary’s my sister,” she reminds me. The realization hits and mentally berate myself for forgetting that detail. “Mary is in labor and we haven’t been able to get a hold of Josiah in over five hours. I don’t think Mary and the baby can wait much longer.”
“Shit.” I shake my head. Cage’s head whips toward me from the sidewalk. He lets me know that he’s going to scope around the house. “Thanks for the update. I’m at his house now… his car and bike are here. Where was Mary when she went into labor?”
“They… She’s been staying with me since before the charity ride. They’re separated at the moment.” Her voice is apologetic. She repeats what I’ve told her to Mary who in return screams with a contraction. “I have to go. Keep me updated on Josiah.”
“Yeah, same to you. Let me know how Mary is doing?” We hang up and Cage is walking around the house looking through the windows and making his way around the back.
“Think the back door is open?” I trail over to the back gate and pull it open.
“It’s possible.” He follows behind me, unconcerned about warrants and whatnot. “If anyone asks-”
“I’m a concerned friend who called you because-” I don’t finish when I see Josiah lying on his stomach on the concrete of his back patio…
in the hot Texas sun and in a puddle of his own blood.
An obvious head wound. The bloat is beginning to set in and a mild smell creeps up my nostrils. “Because… I found him dead.”
“Fuck,” Cage huffs. His hand claps me on the shoulder. “Stay back.
I watch as Cage slowly approaches Josiah’s body and takes in the scene before me.
Beer and liquor bottles crowd the patio table.
There’s a marijuana bud in the ashtray. Vile crawls up my throat at the sight of brain matter.
Cage’s with a gloved hand… I assume he pulled them from his pocket.
Cage, ever the boyscout… grabs a letter from the table and reads it.
“What does it say?” I swallow my vomit, refusing to be sick.
“I’m sorry Mary… but I can’t live with the guilt.
I cheated on you and Cal found out.
I killed him. Our child deserves better than me as a father.
I love you. Forever yours,
Josiah.”
Cage puts the suicide note down and squats down to examine the gun hidden in Josiah’s right hand. “From this angle, it looks like a Glock. Won’t know until we move the body. But if it is and judging by the note… this is the murder weapon used on Cal.”