Death of a Coupon Clipper, page 9
“All done. Uploading,” he said, winking as he brushed past her and ambled back into the bull pen.
Hayley was not going to stand by and just do nothing as Bruce’s column indicted her best friend Mona.
No.
She was going to be there for her best friend, and she was going to start by looking into the facts surrounding Candace Culpepper’s murder herself.
That’s right. Here we go again.
Chapter 14
“There’s no way I’m letting you in here,” Officer Donnie said. His lean, lanky frame filled the doorway of Candace Culpepper’s small two-story house.
“But I brought almond fudge brownies. Your favorite,” Hayley said, holding out a white plate stacked with brownies and covered with plastic wrap.
Actually, she hadn’t made them. She had bought them at the Morning Glory Bakery. But these were just as good as hers, and Officer Donnie would never know the difference. Hayley had babysat Donnie when he was a little kid and remembered he had an insatiable sweet tooth. She was hoping to take advantage of that weakness for chocolate to gain entry into Candace’s house.
So far, it wasn’t working.
“How did you know I was even here?” Donnie asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“I called you at the station to get an update on the case, and Earl, who was working dispatch, told me where I could find you.” Hayley thrust the plate up into Donnie’s face. “Don’t be shy. Take one.”
Donnie was trying hard to resist the urge. The brownies looked warm and inviting; he sniffed a few times as the cold air made his nose run. Finally he couldn’t help himself and reached out, ripped open the plastic wrap, grabbed the brownie on top with his gloved hand, and stuffed half of it into his mouth.
“Technically, this is a bribe,” Donnie said, his mouth full, bits of brownie flying out so fast that Hayley had to duck to avoid getting hit in the face.
“I just thought you’d like a snack while you were searching Candace’s house for any clues that might point you in the direction of her killer,” Hayley said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
Donnie eyed her suspiciously. He knew her history of poking her nose into crime scenes, and he didn’t want to do anything to make Sergio mad.
Hayley could tell his mind was racing as he debated with himself. He looked like he was about to crack, especially since he had just finished downing one brownie and was glancing at the plate, hoping she’d offer him another.
Hayley raised the plate even closer to his nose. “Go on, Donnie. I won’t tell if you won’t.”
He slipped off his glove and picked up another, popping the whole thing into his mouth this time. “They’re really, really good.”
Hayley knew she was in when he casually stepped aside as he licked chocolate off his fingers. Sergio would never allow her to enter the house of the victim. In the past she had tried to do it under his nose, with disastrous results. But right now, Sergio was thousands of miles away in Brazil. What harm could it do? Poor Donnie was an emotional wreck being in charge. She convinced herself that she was actually helping the chief by holding Donnie’s hand and guiding him along so he didn’t miss any important clues.
“Now don’t touch anything,” Donnie said, closing the door behind them.
Hayley looked around. The house was dusty and unkempt. Candace worked a lot of double shifts, so she wasn’t home a lot to do much cleaning. Hayley made her way to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. A half bottle of white wine. Some mustard and ketchup. Not much else. Candace probably ate most of her meals at the hospital, which would explain why she complained so hard about the beans in her chili. She didn’t do her own cooking and relied on the cafeteria to make sure she got what she wanted to eat.
“Hayley, I told you not to touch anything,” Donnie wailed as he followed her into the kitchen.
Hayley slammed the refrigerator door shut and threw up her hands. “Sorry.” Then she handed Donnie the plate of brownies. “You mind holding this while I check upstairs?”
Donnie opened his mouth to protest, but then decided to silence himself by popping a third brownie into his mouth. Hayley seized the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen and up the staircase.
She had reached the second floor and was halfway into the bathroom when Donnie called to her from the foot of the stairs. “I already did a sweep up there. I didn’t find anything. So, why don’t you just come back down here? I’m starting to think letting you in the house wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Okay, let me just use the bathroom first,” Hayley said, sneaking into the bathroom and closing the door before opening up the medicine chest. There was blood pressure medicine, some Advil, a half tube of toothpaste, and what looked like a bottle of birth control pills. Hayley checked the label. Definitely birth control pills. She was about to close the cabinet, when she noticed something odd. The back of the cabinet was lined with newspaper pinned down with Scotch tape. She pulled at a small piece and tore it away. It was covering some kind of mirror. Hayley started ripping the newspaper off. When she had removed half of it, she realized it wasn’t a mirror at all. It was a small window, which looked into Candace’s bedroom. She flushed the toilet and turned on the faucet and let water run into the basin so Donnie would have the impression she was washing her hands.
She quietly opened the bathroom door and tiptoed down the hall into the bedroom. There was a mirror hanging on the wall in the exact spot as the window in the medicine cabinet.
Omigod.
It wasn’t any regular old mirror.
It was a two-way mirror.
Why on earth would Candace need a two-way mirror pointing straight at her bed?
Unless . . .
Hayley didn’t even want to think about it, but she couldn’t help herself. Was Candace making sex tapes when she wasn’t busy working as a nurse? Hayley knew that once the image got into her head, there would be no way of ever getting rid of it.
Too late.
Hayley searched the dresser drawers and found some camera equipment; she then began rummaging through Candace’s closet. Hidden deep in the back was a box filled with DVDs. Most of them were boxed sets of Candace’s favorite TV shows, such as The Sopranos, True Blood, and Game of Thrones. Nothing sordid or out of the ordinary about those. But as she opened one of the cases, Hayley noticed the DVDs didn’t have any labels. The distributor would certainly have labeled the DVDs. The only thing written on them were dates.
It suddenly struck her.
Were the TV cases a way to disguise Candace’s homemade tapes?
She grabbed one made a month ago and hurried over to a small desk and inserted it into Candace’s laptop.
Sure enough. It was a recording of Candace’s wild romp with the local pharmacist.
The local married pharmacist.
Hayley ejected that one and put in another from six months ago, during the summer. Some rather erotic foreplay of Candace with a man wearing nothing but a Chicago Bulls basketball team cap. Probably a tourist she had picked up.
Hayley knew the clock was ticking.
Even though Donnie wasn’t exactly a Rhodes scholar, pretty soon he was going to realize it would never take Hayley this long to wash her hands. She was about to head out when she noticed a DVD left out on the desk; it was almost buried underneath some of Candace’s bills.
This one had been made just two days ago.
“Hayley, what are you doing up there?” Donnie yelled as he began stomping up the stairs.
She was out of time.
But she had to know.
She waited for the DVD to load and play.
Outside in the hall she heard Donnie banging on the bathroom door.
“Are you okay in there?”
An image of Candace, topless, came up on the screen.
She was with a man; his bare back was to the camera as he grabbed Candace and began smothering her with kisses. He pushed her down on the bed, turning just enough so he could straddle her. It was at that moment Hayley saw a glimpse of his face and instantly recognized him.
It was Drew Nickerson, the pompous, overbearing, and sex-crazed host of Wild and Crazy Couponing.
Chapter 15
Steffie Blackburn’s jaw nearly hit the hardwood floor when she spotted Hayley walking into her small, low-lit yoga studio, which was located on the second floor of some retail space in the middle of town. Most of the shops were closed up for the winter, but Steffie had enough clients to continue her various yoga and meditation classes year-round, except for the month of April, when she traveled to Arizona to visit her parents in Scottsdale.
Hayley shed her coat and hung it on a wooden rack. She was in a roomy t-shirt and sweats and stood out among the five other much thinner women in mesh tank tops and wrap-waist yoga pants that accentuated every curve of their lean bodies. They were drinking bottled water and gossiping as they laid out their mats and set down their towels. Hayley realized she had come totally unprepared.
Steffie made a beeline for Hayley, still in somewhat of a state of shock. “Hayley, what are you doing here? How can I help you?”
“I’ve come to take your restorative yoga class,” Hayley said, smiling.
Steffie’s jaw hit the floor again.
Hayley fished in the pocket of her sweatpants and pulled out a crinkled ten-dollar bill and handed it to Steffie. “Ten dollars, right? That’s what it said online.”
“You actually went to my website and looked it up? Is this some kind of joke?”
“I know it’s been a while since I’ve come to your class, and I’m aware that the last time didn’t go so well.”
“It was a disaster,” Steffie said, nodding.
“Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Hayley said defensively.
“Hayley, you couldn’t hold a simple warrior pose and fell into Kim Lankford, who was next to you, who then fell into Liz Beard, who then fell into Sue Farley, who sprained her ankle and had to be taken to the hospital.”
“Okay, maybe your choice of words actually does describe the last time I took your class. But I’m not one to give up. I’m here to try again.”
“It took you three years to come to this decision to try again?”
“Yes. I’ve always been a late bloomer and, well, I’ve put on a few pounds this winter, I’m sure you understand,” Hayley said, glancing at Steffie’s perfect body. “Or maybe you don’t. Anyway, I’ve decided it’s time for me to get serious and get back into shape, and I know your class does wonders for Liddy. She’s always singing your praises and telling me how much she loves how you teach.”
“Liddy hasn’t been to my class in almost two years.”
“Maybe it wasn’t Liddy,” Hayley said quickly.
Hayley knew she couldn’t say it was Mona. Mona wouldn’t be caught dead doing a downward-dog pose. The only exercise she got was lifting a beer mug, and only when she wasn’t pregnant.
“But the point is, I’m here, Steffie, and I’m ready to get to work,” Hayley said.
“Well, if you’re sure you really want to do this,” Steffie said, more than a hint of reluctance in her voice.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
“Did you bring a mat?”
“No.”
“Water?”
“No.”
“A towel?”
“No.”
“Okay, well, next time I suggest you bring all of those things. But just for today, I’ll provide you with everything you need.”
“Thanks, Stef. Appreciate it,” Hayley said, knowing full well she was never, ever going to be coming back to the class after this day.
She was on a mission.
She was here to talk to one of Steffie’s regulars, but Sabrina Merryweather, the county coroner and Hayley’s former high-school rival and resident mean girl, hadn’t shown up yet. If she didn’t, then there was no way Hayley was going to stick around and torture herself by twisting her body into all kinds of unnatural positions.
Steffie eyed Hayley suspiciously, not entirely convinced her motives for being here were pure, but she padded over to the other side of the room to fetch a mat and towel and some bottled water.
Hayley checked the clock.
Two minutes past eleven.
She knew Sabrina went to morning church services at nine-thirty and then usually drove right over to the class. She should have been here by now.
Steffie returned, handing Hayley her yoga essentials. “Why don’t you come up front near me, Hayley, so I can work closely with you and make sure you don’t fall again. I don’t want to be liable again for any injuries.”
Hayley nodded and followed Steffie past the other women, who were now on their mats and stretching and contorting their perfect bodies into various pretzel shapes in order to loosen up before the class began.
Near the front of the room, as instructed, Hayley rolled out the sticky, stained purple mat, which Steffie had given her, and then took a swig of her water, ready to plan a quick escape if Sabrina was a no-show. Suddenly the door to the yoga studio flew open and Sabrina breezed in. Her blond hair was in a ponytail; a wide smile was on her face.
“Morning, everybody, sorry I’m late. The reverend went a little long today, talking about his trip to Nigeria building toilets for poor people. I was like, ‘Yuck, wrap it up, Rev. Why not just write a check?’ Am I right, people?”
A couple of the women giggled.
The others just looked at Sabrina, horrified.
Although she was a respected county coroner and took her work seriously, Sabrina was still as shallow and as stuck-up as she had been in high school. Sabrina had conveniently forgotten how mean she had been to Hayley when they were teenagers and now considered her to be one of her besties. Hayley played along because she never knew when Sabrina’s expertise, when it came to autopsies, might come in handy.
Like today.
Hayley raised her hand to wave Sabrina over, but she wasn’t fast enough. Sue Farley had already made room next to herself for Sabrina’s mat. They were chatting amiably and Sabrina hadn’t even spotted Hayley yet.
Meanwhile, Steffie was dimming the lights even further to the point where Hayley couldn’t see anything. Steffie then plugged her iPod into a speaker and started playing soothing, soft music about grace and gratitude, and then turned the heat up so high Hayley began sweating even before she could get into her first pose.
“Let’s get into position, ladies,” Steffie said, assuming the lotus position.
The other women followed suit. Hayley had to use her hands to get her right leg over her left; then she had to wipe the sweat off her forehead.
This was not starting well.
“Everyone, close your eyes and let’s take this opportunity to release the tensions of our lives and be present and centered and grateful for this opportunity to restore our body and our mind and to be strong and clear.”
Hayley cranked her head around to get a look at Sabrina.
Damn.
She had her eyes closed.
Leave it to kiss-ass Sabrina to follow the teacher’s instructions to the letter.
Hayley cleared her throat.
Sabrina didn’t hear her or was ignoring her.
However, Sue Farley popped one eye open, noticing Hayley for the first time. Her face was suddenly full of concern. Or was it outright fear? She was probably afraid of spraining her ankle again. Hayley signaled Sue to get Sabrina’s attention. Sue looked at Sabrina and then at Hayley, who was now sighing loudly out of frustration and pointing at Sabrina. Sue finally got the message and nudged Sabrina, who eventually opened her eyes.
“Omigod, Hayley, I didn’t even see you here. How are you doing, girlfriend?” Sabrina asked, her voice raised as she talked over the soothing music.
“Ladies, please, class has begun,” Steffie said, trying hard not to throw a hissy fit.
It was important for a yoga instructor to remain calm and collected.
Hayley stood up and picked up her mat and towel. “I’m just going to move next to Sabrina.”
Before Steffie could protest, Hayley was scurrying over to Sabrina, her mat slapping Sue in the head as she stepped over her. Sue was forced to move her own mat a few feet to make room for Hayley as Steffie just glared at her, not sure how to handle this rude disruption of her peaceful and restorative class.
Once Hayley settled in, Sabrina reached over and gave her a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you. We don’t hang out enough.”
“I was hoping we could talk for a bit after class,” Hayley whispered, keeping one eye on Steffie, who was close to ejecting her from the class.
“Sorry, my deadbeat husband has an art show at the library. Like selling one of his crap paintings to his eighty-year-old aunt is going to pay for our two-week trip to Fiji next month. But I’m not bitter about being the sole breadwinner in the family.”
Steffie started chanting.
Really loud.
To make a point.
And that was for the two of them to shut up.
Sabrina closed her eyes and readjusted her position and joined in the chanting. “Ommm . . .”
Hayley opened her mouth to ask Sabrina a few questions about Candace Culpepper’s autopsy, but she noticed Steffie staring at her, stone-faced, just waiting for any excuse to kick her out. Hayley knew she couldn’t take that chance. She had to get information out of Sabrina in the next forty-five minutes. Once Sabrina was at the art show berating her husband, there would be no talking to her.
Hayley tried her best to keep up with the other women as they held various yoga positions. Some were so torturous and painful, she felt like an insurgent at an Iraqi prison during the Bush administration.
Steffie hovered over her the entire time, helping her adjust her position, taking extreme pleasure in the shooting pain that Hayley endured as she twisted her legs, arms, and head in all different directions.
In fact, Steffie could barely contain her glee. And with Steffie on top of her the entire time, there was zero opportunity for Hayley to speak with Sabrina.
Until the final minutes of the class, when all the hard work was done and it was time for everyone to stretch out on their backs and enjoy five minutes of meditation.
