Chapter Five
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Dizzy yawned and shifted on the couch before taking another fortifying sip of coffee. She didn’t want to fall asleep. Not with a killer living so close.
“Park Place,” Leann announced with triumph. “You owe me fifty bucks.”
Both women had changed into pajamas – Leann borrowing a pair of Dizzy’s – and they’d hunkered down for the night, determined to keep watch on the home next door in case Trip decided to move the body away from the house. To that end, they’d set up a Monopoly game between them on the sofa where they could see the street from a gap in the drapes. If anyone left their home tonight, they’d see it.
“Here you go.” Dizzy handed over the money with less than enthusiasm. Her mind was only partially on the game and it showed. She was getting thoroughly trounced, although Monopoly wasn’t her preferred game. She was better at Clue but they’d both thought that a game based on a murder wasn’t a good choice. “It’s so quiet this time of night. Kind of creepy, isn’t it?”
Leann pushed the dice closer to Dizzy. “I think that what happened tonight makes it creepy, not the silence. Can you see anything?”
“Nothing. Not even a cat. Wouldn’t he want the body out of the house? I mean…unless he’s doing something awful with it.” Dizzy shuddered again. “Now I’m freaking myself out.”
Twisting her body around, Leann peeked out of the curtains for a moment. “I have a theory. After Trip strangled that girl, he probably panicked. I know I would. So then what would he do?”
“Dispose of the body,” Dizzy replied immediately. “That’s what I’d do, especially if people knew she was with me.”
“But if they didn’t know,” Leann countered. “And you were scared, you might stuff the body away and then try and calm down. You know, think about what you should do and where you would get rid of the body and the evidence. But I guess that’s the opposite of panicking. So if he didn’t panic, this might not be his first murder.”
Placing her hand on her now nauseous stomach, Dizzy gulped down the acid that had gathered in her mouth. “That’s just lovely. I live on Serial Killer Boulevard. This is going to hit home values hard.”
Leann turned to check the street again. “You’re going to have to move now. You know that, right? You can’t stay here.”
That very thought had crossed Dizzy’s mind more than once this evening.
“If they don’t end up arresting him,” she pointed out. “Eventually he’s going to have to get rid of the body and we’ll be here watching him. Do you think he knows that he’s being watched? Is he watching us watching him?”
This was worse than when she’d watched a double feature of Terror Train and Prom Night. All alone. She’d quickly learned what a nightmare really was like.
Leann pursed her lips in thought for a long moment before answering. “Honestly? No. I think the arrogant little prick thinks he got away with it. The way he came over here tonight so confident and smug. He thinks that no one is going to believe you no matter what you say and that he can charm you into thinking you had a bad dream or something. Did you see how he was laying it on thick with Easton? How he loved his job and all that crap but the whole time he was watching you.”
“And now we’re watching him. And I bet he knows that we are. He’s not going to do anything with that body tonight, is he? He’s going to wait a day or two until he thinks we’ve lost interest or believe his story.”
Leann stood and padded into the kitchen, retrieving the coffee carafe to refill their mugs.
“I know this is going to sound macabre but where do you think he hid her?”
Dizzy rubbed her pounding temple. She’d had a headache for hours and it showed no signs of waning any time soon. “You’re only saying out loud what I’ve been thinking silently. These houses on this cul de sac and down the street are almost identical in layout. If it were me I might stow her in a corner of the basement or perhaps in the crawlspace behind the powder room. I think there’s enough room and the opening isn’t conspicuous at all. Anyone could walk right by it and not even know it’s there.”
Leann’s brows were pinched together as she poured the coffee. “You have a crawl space behind the bathroom? Where? I’ve never seen it and I helped you move in to this house. I lived here with you for months.”
“Follow me. I’ll show you.”
Dizzy led the way down the hall toward the laundry room. The half bath was next to it and then there was a small alcove that led to the garage. She pointed to the white-washed wainscoting on the wall.
“Right there.”
Leann bent down closer, but she shook her head. “I don’t see– Wait, there it is. Just a gap in the wainscoting, barely enough to get your fingers in there. You wouldn’t know unless you were looking for it. Holy hell, you could really hide something or someone back here.”
Swinging the small door open, Dizzy knelt down to look inside the dark space. She didn’t use this for anything as she hated any and all creepy crawlers. If she’d opened her Christmas decorations and found a spider the holidays would definitely be cancelled that year.
But there was room for a dead body. Not much more but a determined person could make it work.
“For awhile,” Dizzy replied, although her mind was already working on just how long that was a feasible choice for Trip. Eventually… “But he can’t leave her there for long. He needs a more permanent solution. Jeez, listen to the way we’re talking about it. So cold-blooded and clinical.”
Leann nodded sagely. “Your more rational mind is taking over for the emotional part of your brain until you process all your feelings about what you witnessed tonight. Classic reaction and nothing to worry about. You’re normal.”
As a licensed psychologist, Leann’s opinion could be trusted.
“Your cousin doesn’t think that. He thinks I’m a liar and a weirdo.”
It still stung that Easton hadn’t believed her. She shouldn’t have expected it but there was a small part of her that had hoped he would. She should probably just be grateful that he had intervened with the police and leave it at that.
Leann levered off the floor and helped Dizzy close up the crawlspace. “Easton needs a good smack every now and then. I apologize for his crappy attitude tonight but you know how he is. A computer for a brain and a cash register for a heart. I pity the woman he eventually marries.”
They turned out the lights behind them as they headed back into the living room, hoping they hadn’t missed anything happening on the street. Dizzy took up her position on the couch again.
“I don’t know about that. Easton is the type that once he falls in love he’d be a dedicated husband. He’d never cheat on her.”
Leann snorted. “That’s true. He’d never want to admit that he was that human. As for falling in love, I can’t even imagine how he would do that. He makes everything about profit and loss, pros and cons. I heard him tell Jason once that he should select his wife carefully because she had to fit into the Anderson family. Can you believe that? Like I would have launched Zach if he didn’t get along with my brothers and cousins? I highly doubt he’s ever been in love. Not really.”
Frankly Dizzy couldn’t imagine Easton in love either, although until this moment she hadn’t given it any thought. He had many wonderful qualities but he had a few others that made her crazy. Not that it mattered. She wasn’t interested in Easton Anderson. He might be handsome as hell but he was a pain in the ass.
“Do you think you could call Zach?” Dizzy suggested meekly. Leann’s fiancé was currently out of town for work. “Not now obviously but maybe tomorrow? Maybe he could…you know…check out Trip Stanford. He’s lived in Tremont a long time but what does anyone know about him?”
She hated suggesting it but the police weren’t going to lift a finger to help her. If she wanted anything done she was going to have to call in a few favors.
Leann slapped down her coffee mug. “That’s a great idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Zach can do a little background check on your neighbor. Who knows what he was up to before he moved here? I’ll call him in the morning, first thing. Which is in approximately four hours.”
Checking the deserted street one more time, Dizzy stood and headed to the kitchen.
“I better put on another pot of coffee then. Is it my turn or yours?”
It was going to be a long night and no way was Dizzy going to shut her eyes for even one minute of it.