My latest book has just dropped. It is called Grafton, and is a series of novellas revolving around the Grafton family from the Dixon-Prince series. This is part of Melody’s backstory, how she came to be an FBI agent.
She wasn’t normally a big consumer of newspapers, but as she made her way through the market, she dropped a fresh copy of the afternoon paper into her basket. She made her way to the front of the store with the few items she needed, and quickly paid the cashier. Luckily, the rain had stopped, and it was a short walk home.
After unloading the small supply of groceries, she flopped onto the couch to rest and then start studying. She hated biology with a passion… but it was a core class she had to get through.
But before that, she picked up the newspaper.
Crescent City Killer Strikes Again
[red more]That was a headline that grabbed her attention. She hadn’t even noticed it just below the fold when she had picked the paper up. Above the fold was a story about the problems at the Franklin National Bank, and how if it failed it would ripple across the economy.
As she looked through the story that had caught her attention, she noted that a young woman, blonde, early to mid-twenties, had been murdered near Lee Circle. She had been wearing a rose-colored skirt and ivory blouse and a jacket matching the skirt had been found nearby, but police were searching for a clue as to the woman’s identity. The murder shared similarities to three other murders that had happened a couple of years prior.
Melody leapt off the couch and ran into Karie’s room. She flung open her closet and started digging through her outfits. Karie had an outfit just like what had been described… and it was eight o’clock and there still hadn’t been word from her. The skirt and jacket were nowhere to be found.
She ran back to the living room and looked for the article again. They had a tip line, which she quickly dialed.
“My roommate hasn’t been here since yesterday, and she matches the description of the victim I saw in the paper,” she said to the person manning the phone bank.
…
“Blonde, twenty-one, blue eyes. Medium weight, tall… probably five-nine. The jacket has brass buttons.”
…
“No, sometimes she isn’t at home overnight, but she didn’t take her notebook and she had a class today.”
…
“A little over twenty-four hours… Yesterday about six. She left with her boyfriend for dinner.”
…
“No… not really. John something. They had only gone out a couple of times.”
…
“Sure,” she finished, giving the detective her address.
She collapsed back on the couch, worry washing over her like a wave. She picked the paper back up and carefully read the description. There had been no mention of the buttons in describing the jacket. She wondered if it had been held back, the detective she had talked with was very interested in that detail.
Thirty minutes later she tossed the biology notes back on the table as she was startled by a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” she said through the door.
“Police, ma’am. Is this Melody Jenkins?”
“Yes, just a moment.” She unlocked the door, leaving the chain hooked. When she glanced out, two men in suits were staring back, one holding his badge up. “Hang on.” She closed the door and undid the chain. “Please, come in.”
“Thank you,” the shorter one said. “I’m Detective Marlow, and this is Detective Phillips. We wanted to follow up with you on your missing roommate.”
“It’s the buttons, isn’t it?” Melody asked, holding the eyes of Detective Marlow.
“What makes you say that, Miss Jenkins?”
“Because it wasn’t in the paper. As soon as I read it, I looked through the closet for that jacket. It wasn’t there. I had tried to find one just like it… hers was a little big for me… and I couldn’t. But the way the shiny brass buttons looked… I remembered them.”
“Do you have any photographs of your roommate… Miss Karen Adams?”
“No, but she might have some pictures in her room. Give me a moment and I can look. And she goes by Karie.” Melody walked out of the living room and walked into Karie’s rooms. She quickly went through her bedside table and found a picture of her that was a few years old. It was her with her family on vacation.
When she came back to the living room, the two detectives were seated on the couch. She handed Marlow the picture. “There might be more… I think this one is about three years old. I’m pretty sure that is her family… they were on vacation.”
“Can we keep this, Miss Jenkins?” Phillips asked.
“If it were mine, I would gladly let you keep it. I hope all of this is a big mix-up, and Karie walks through the door and rolls her eyes at me having been worried.”
“We understand… if she wasn’t the victim, she could certainly have the photograph back. We would have no need of it.”
“Then, please… take it.”
“One other thing, Miss Jenkins, could you come with us to look at the victim to see if it is your friend?” Phillips asked.
“I guess,” Melody replied, nervously.
***
She rode with the two detectives to the Coroner’s Office, downtown. Marlow held the door for her as he let her out of the car, and they led her through the corridors of the basement of the main police station, to the morgue.
They walked into an antiseptic room, the overhead fluorescent lights buzzing and occasionally flickering. Melody’s goosebumps weren’t just because the room was chilly. Facing the wall of doors, knowing that each of them may have a dead body behind it… Melody shivered. Marlow reached forward, unlatching one of the doors and sliding out the drawer with a body covered in a sheet. He peeled the sheet back, revealing her face.
Melody stepped back. “Yes… I’m fairly certain that is her.”
Marlow started to slide the body back in.
“Wait, may I take a closer look?”
Melody leaned over and looked at Karie’s body. She looked at her face… her eyelids. “Can I pull the sheet down further?”
“I suppose,” Marlow said, hesitantly.
Melody pulled the sheet down to Karie’s chest, then picked up the side and looked at her hand. She covered her hand again and went to look at her toes. She rushed back up and pulled the sheet down a little more.
“Miss Jenkins?” Phillips said.
“I’m sorry… something isn’t right.” She pulled the sheet back over the young woman’s body. “It’s her, Karen Adams, but he did something to her, I think. Can we talk… somewhere else?”
“Certainly,” Marlow said, leading her from the room again. “How about my office?”
As they rode the elevator up to the Detective’s Bullpen, Phillips offered her coffee, which she refused. When they entered Marlow’s office, he held the chair as he beckoned her to sit down.
“So, what seems to be the issue, Miss Jenkins? You said something was wrong.”
“I’m sorry, Detective Marlow. Karie and I had gotten our nails done last Saturday. We were doubling with a guy she knew and his friend, and anyway… we got our nails done.” Melody held out her hand, showing the detectives her fingernails. “They were the same color… Karie’s and mine.”
The two men looked at her expectantly. Both leaned in. “And?” Marlow said.
“Hers are a different color. And they are flawless.” Melody held her hand up again. “See these little chips? And the edges are worn. Hers weren’t like that. And her toenails were painted to match… which they weren’t when she left yesterday.”
“You think that means something… the color of her toenails?” Phillips said, raising an eyebrow.
“It is something. Either she went and got a manicure and pedicure after she was picked up for the date and before she was murdered, or someone gave her one after. And did you see her make-up? It was flawless. Like it was fresh. Her lipstick didn’t even look like it was blotted.”
“You think the killer put on make-up and did her nails after killing her?” Marlow asked.
“I saw in the paper that there had been other victims a few years ago. Is there anything in the file about something similar?” Melody asked.
“We’ll look into it, Miss Jenkins. Thank you for coming in to identify her. I’ll have Detective Phillips drive you home. If you could also give him the next of kin information for Miss Adams, we would appreciate it.”
Marlow and Phillips both rose. Melody knew the interview was over and rose as well. She followed Phillips through the labyrinthine corridors and back out to his car so that he could escort her home. [/read]
If you enjoyed this, check out the full story in Grafton. If you enjoy my writing, you can find all of my current novels here on my Amazon Author page, and some of my other works on Vocal.media.
