Zimmerman Academy: The New Normal Page 3

“Me too.” Brady tossed three different varieties into the basket before filling me in on the history of the starchy stuff.

  In spite of the running monologue—and the fact that I learned more about the science of shopping than I’d ever really wanted to—I had a really good time with Brady. I could see why Zak and Brady had hit it off right away. Zak was a billionaire and still had every item he purchased reduced to a variable based on price, quality, and a bunch of other things I didn’t understand. Zoe had given up trying to keep up with Zak’s logic long ago and simply let him take care of all the shopping.

  After we took the groceries back to Brady’s place, I took Stephanie home while Brady made lunch for all of us. I had to meet Levi at three thirty, but there was no way I was going to turn down the chance to get to know Holly, Haden, and Hudson a little better. There was nothing like a smile from a child to ease even the most intense heartache.

  After lunch Brady put the kids down for a nap while I started in on the dishes. I was just finishing up when my phone rang.

  “Hey, Salinger. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to let you know that you were right. We searched the entire apartment and didn’t find a pill bottle. I had the ME’s office test the residue in her wineglass and there was evidence that the sleeping pills were ground up and added to the wine. I have to head out now; there’s a pileup on the highway. But I’m going to need to speak to Levi again. I know he’s in class right now, so I called you. Not only did we find pill residue in Ms. Kramer’s wineglass but we found a second wineglass in the sink. Levi’s prints are all over it.”

  My heart sank. “You know he wouldn’t…”

  “I know. That’s the only reason I didn’t drag him out of class. Just let him know I’m going to need to have another conversation with him when I get back into town. It could be several hours.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell him. And thanks for giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Boy’s still gonna need an alibi.”

  “Yeah. I know. I’ll ask him about it.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly after I hung up.

  “Bad news?” Brady asked from the doorway behind me.

  “A local woman—a teacher at the high school—died. They think she was murdered.”

  “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry. Were you close?”

  “No. Not at all. Still, someone I am close to was good friends with her. I’m afraid the fact that he was at her place shortly before she died is going to complicate things.”

  Brady frowned. “You don’t think your friend…?”

  “No,” I said with conviction. “Levi wouldn’t hurt a fly. Luckily, Sheriff Salinger seems to know that as well.”

  “That was the sheriff on the phone?”

  “Yeah. We were supposed to meet later, but there was an accident on the highway coming into town.”

  Brady looked confused. “Are you some sort of a private investigator?”

  I laughed. “Hardly. That’s Zoe’s gig. I have on occasion helped her investigate some deaths, and because Levi was a friend of Maddie Kramer’s, I guess I feel a certain investment in seeing how the investigation turns out. Unlike Zoe, however, I have no intention of playing the hero and leaping into the fray. I’ll help out of I can, but I plan to remain fray adjacent.”

  Brady looked at me like I was crazy. Who could blame him? It was unusual for a sheriff to consult with the locals about ongoing investigations.

  “I was thinking that the kids and I might like to tour the town tomorrow. If you aren’t busy maybe you’d like to come with us. I’ll even buy you lunch.”

  “I’d love to. What time were you thinking?”

  “Maybe around ten?”

  “I’ll pick you up. It’ll be easier if I drive because I know where everything is. Dress warmly. We’ll want to park and walk around the shops on Main Street. There are a couple of good places to eat on Main as well.”

  “Sounds like a date.”

  I had to admit I liked the sound of that.

  Levi and I decided to meet at Zak and Zoe’s because I was staying there while they were out of town. We took my dog, Shep, Levi’s dog, Karloff, Zak’s dog, Bella, and Scooter’s dog, Digger, for a walk along the lakeshore. Zoe had taken her dog, Charlie, with her to Ireland. Zoe never went anywhere without Charlie. It was odd to realize that Charlie had traveled a lot more broadly than I most likely ever would.

  Walking the dogs with Levi along the same path he and I had walked them thousands of times over the years was oddly comforting. This participation in a familiar activity provided a feeling of normalcy to my life at a time when nothing felt normal. I wasn’t happy Maddie was dead, but I was glad Levi and I were somewhat forced into a situation that would require us to work together, just like we had in the past.

  “I can’t imagine who would kill Maddie,” Levi said after I explained about the ground-up pills in the wine.

  “We’ll figure it out. We always do. I know Zoe isn’t here, but she’ll be back Monday. I’m sure if we haven’t figured it out by then she’ll pitch in and help. Let’s not mention it to her if we get through to her, though. She’ll only worry, and there isn’t anything she can do from Ireland. I think it’s best to let her have her vacation without having to spend all her time thinking about murder for once.”

  “Agreed. Although I’m sure Salinger told her what was going on. He did say he left a bunch of messages.”

  “When I got home I realized he left the messages on the house phone. I’m not sure he even has Zoe’s new cell number.”

  “Okay, so if we’re investigating this on our own where do we start?”

  “By figuring out exactly what you’re going to tell Salinger when he gets back.”

  Levi didn’t answer right away, He picked up a stick and tossed it down the beach. All the dogs took off chasing it.

  “Something on your mind?” I asked.

  “I’m just afraid that talking about this is going to be weird for you. I’m enjoying our walk. It feels like old times. I hate to ruin the moment.”

  While I agreed with him, Salinger was going to want answers. Our time would be well spent coming up with some.

  “I know our decision to return to best friend status was mutual. And I don’t regret the decision we made. I think in the long run it will prove to be the right one. But it’s been hard. Harder than I imagined it would be. It really hurt that you moved on so quickly. The fact that you did made me feel that what we had hadn’t meant as much to you as it meant to me.”

  Levi stopped walking. He turned and looked at me. “I’m sorry I hurt you. That was the last thing I wanted to do. My relationship with Maddie meant nothing to me. We simply got along well and had a few good times. I don’t know why I slept with her. I guess it made me hurt a little less. At least for a while. Maddie never had even a tiny piece of my heart. Not the way you do. I love you and I love Zoe. You’re the most important people in my life and I would never want to hurt either of you.”

  I couldn’t prevent the tear that slipped down my cheek. “I know. I love you too. It doesn’t change anything and I know we’re best as friends. It might have taken me a little longer, but I feel like I might finally be ready to move on. I know if I can it won’t hurt so much to see you with someone else.”

  Levi took my hand. We walked along in silence until we hit the end of the beach. We turned around and started back. I was glad we’d had this talk. It had been long overdue. In a way I felt like my shattered heart had been at least partially repaired as, for the first time in a long time, I found myself looking forward to what lay ahead rather than backward at what I’d lost.

  Chapter 3

  Salinger wanted to talk to Levi alone, so I sat in the lobby of the sheriff’s station, driving myself crazy as I imagined every horrible outcome to the situation. There was no part of me that thought Levi was guilty, but there was a small one that believed Salinger would arrest him if he didn’t have an alibi. Which he didn’t.
We never had gotten around to coming up with a strategy, but Levi had confided that after he left Maddie’s that night he went home, watched a movie, and then went to bed.

  He said no one had seen him, and he hadn’t answered the phone or talked to anyone. There was absolutely no way for him to prove to anyone where he was or what he was doing when Maddie was killed.

  I was seriously about to jump out of my skin when Brady called, saving me from the embarrassing outburst I was trying to avoid.

  “Hey, Brady; what’s up?”

  “How do you feel about Chinese?”

  “The language, the people, or the food?”

  “The food. The kids and I are ordering in. We thought you might want to join us.”

  I looked at Salinger’s closed door. As much as Chinese with Brady and the kids sounded like a slice of heaven, I had already promised Levi we would strategize.

  “As absolutely perfect as that sounds, I promised to help out a friend tonight. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, though.”

  “As am I. Now for the next embarrassing question: Do you know where we can get take-out Chinese? If you had agreed to come to dinner I would’ve just asked you to choose your favorite restaurant, thereby preventing me from having to admit the motivation behind the invite.”

  I laughed. “Chan’s. I have the number in my phone. Hang on.” I looked it up and read it to him. “You know, you can just ask if you have questions. You don’t need to invite me to dinner just so I’ll share my favorite place for takeout.”

  “I lied. Having you choose the restaurant wasn’t really my main motivation. The kids and I wanted to spend some more time with you.”

  “Then why didn’t you just say so?”

  I waited for Brady to respond. When he did it was with a tone of uncertainty. “I don’t know. It’s been a very long time since I’ve asked a girl to dinner, takeout or otherwise.”

  Was he asking me out on a date? Naw. He didn’t know anyone in town. He probably just wanted someone to talk to.

  I watched as Salinger’s door opened and Levi walked out with the sheriff behind him. “My friend is here. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I hung up quickly. I don’t know why I didn’t want Levi to know I was talking to a man. Brady and I were just friends. I had nothing to hide. Heck, I was a single woman. I had nothing to hide even if we were more than friends. It was a lot harder to make the transition back to just friends with Levi than I’d hoped it would be.

  “So?” I asked Levi after we’d said good-bye to Salinger and exited the building.

  Levi shrugged. “I was honest. I told him I didn’t have an alibi, but I also reiterated that I would never kill Maddie, or anyone else for that matter. It seemed like he believed me. He let me go.”

  “Did he say whether he had any leads?”

  “He didn’t say, but I had the feeling he didn’t.”

  “Do you have any idea who might have done it?”

  Levi opened my car door for me. “Maybe. I’m not sure. How about we pick up some takeout and go back to your place? We can make a list of possible suspects and motives.”

  “I’m staying at Zoe’s,” I reminded him.

  “Okay, then let’s meet up at Zoe’s. I’ll pick up the food. Chinese okay?”

  I was the first to arrive at the house, so I took the dogs out for a quick run, opened a bottle of Zak’s expensive wine, started a fire, and put on some music. Then I decided I’d created much too romantic a scene, so I turned off the music and changed into the rattiest sweats I had with me. The fire was already crackling away and I really wanted the wine, so my countermeasures would have to do.

  Levi didn’t seem to notice what I was wearing one way or another. He grabbed a pen and a pad of paper, filled a plate with a selection of the pint containers he’d brought, and headed toward the dining table.

  “So where do we start?” I asked.

  “I’m thinking with a list of suspects. When I was talking to Salinger three names came to mind. They’re pretty weak as leads, but at this point they’re all we have.”

  “Okay,” I said as I filled my own plate and then sat down across from Levi. “What do you have?”

  “Before Maddie and I began,” Levi hesitated, “spending time together, she was involved with George Wildwood.”

  I knew George, who was a math teacher at the high school. He was a slight and nerdy sort of guy. He didn’t seem to me to be the type to murder someone, but I didn’t know him all that well. “Why would George Wildwood kill Maddie?”

  “She told me he was a lot more serious about their relationship than she was. He even gave her the money she needed to pay off some debts.”

  “Hold on,” I interrupted. “George gave Maddie money and then she turned around and started…” I paused this time. We both knew what we were trying not to say. “Spending time with you?”

  “Yeah. George was pretty mad. At both of us, but mainly at her. He told me that she led him to believe they were all but engaged.”

  “Maybe it was a scam.”

  Levi frowned. “I doubt that. I’m sure George just misread the signals. It happens.”

  “Why would Maddie take money from him if she wasn’t as serious about him as he was about her?”

  “They were going to repossess her car. She was desperate, and I guess she used bad judgment.”

  It sounded to me like Maddie had used her looks to scam poor George, who was socially awkward, out of the money she needed to pay off her debts. Sounded like a good motive to me and I said so. “Okay, who else?”

  Levi looked at me. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”

  “Why? You want to find the killer, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, it’s just that…”

  Suddenly I knew. “Your second suspect is someone else you were sleeping with!”

  Levi grimaced.

  “Even before you were sleeping with Maddie.” I shook my head. “Who was it?”

  “Beverly Hallmark.”

  Oh, God. It was even worse than I’d thought. Beverly was a waitress at Lucky’s Bar who had been flirting with Levi for a year. The entire time we were dating she’d been coming on to him and taking little jabs at me, the mousey girlfriend.

  “How could you sleep with Beverly after all the times she was rude and mean to me?”

  Levi didn’t answer. Suddenly I found that I agreed with Levi. This wasn’t a good idea. I wanted to throw a lamp at him. I could just imagine Beverly’s smug face when she managed to do exactly what she had been threatening to do all those months.

  “Who else?” I demanded.

  “El, you have to understand…”

  “Who else?”

  “I didn’t sleep with anyone else, but I think Maddie’s sister could be a suspect. I think her name is Lisa. Maddie told me that she was coming to town to discuss their mother’s will. Maddie, being the oldest, was named executor, and it seemed she planned to sell the house Lisa is currently living in.”

  “I thought you said this woman was nice.”

  “She was. To me.”

  Suddenly I wondered what I was doing there. Sweet Brady and his three adorable children were eating Chinese food alone while I was eating with my idiot of an ex.

  “She sounds like a horrible person. Maybe we should stop wasting our time trying to find her killer. Sounds like whoever did it was justified.”

  “You don’t mean that.”

  “No,” I admitted. “I don’t mean it.”

  Levi got up from where he was sitting and came to sit next to me.

  “I’m sorry. I know I screwed up. I should have waited before moving on. I know that now. I suppose I knew it at the time. I hurt you and I’m continuing to hurt you, and that’s the last thing I want to do. But a woman is dead and I’m the prime suspect. Salinger is giving me a pass for now, but if the real killer isn’t found…”

  “You’ll be a convenient scapegoat.”

  “Exactly. So will you help me?”

&n
bsp; I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll help you.”

  “So maybe tomorrow…”

  “I have a date tomorrow,” I interrupted.

  “A date?”

  “Yes, a date. You do know what those are?”

  “Yeah, it’s just… never mind.”

  “I know George. If he’s as mad at you as he was at Maddie I should be the one to talk to him. I’ll find a time to work it in tomorrow. Perhaps you should chat up Beverly. And the sister; any idea where to find her?”

  “I don’t have a clue. The only reason I knew she was in town was because Maddie was complaining about it when I was at her place on the night she died.”

  “Do you have a last name?”

  Levi shook his head.

  “Do you have access to Maddie’s classroom? Computer? Employee locker?”

  “Yeah, I can get in.”

  “Okay, then look for info on the sister and anything else you can find. I’ll keep my cell on during my date. Call me if you find anything.”

  “So who is this date with exactly?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

  Chapter 4

  Saturday, February 13

  I arrived at the Matthews household to find chaos. Hudson was running around the house in nothing but a diaper and one shoe and Haden had on a shirt that was wet on the front and shoes but no pants or diaper. Holly was sitting quietly on the couch with Mittens, but she was still in her pajamas. I could hear Brady upstairs cursing at something, although I wasn’t sure what that something might be because all the kids were downstairs.

  “Where’s your dad?” I asked Holly.

  “Upstairs. Haden took off his diaper and flushed it down the toilet. There’s water all over the floor.”

  I picked up Haden and headed upstairs. I poked my head in the bathroom door to inform Brady that I would take charge of getting the kids dressed while he cleaned up what looked to be quite a large mess.

  The poor guy looked exhausted. There was water down the front of him, it was apparent he hadn’t had a chance to shower or shave, and there were bags under his eyes that hadn’t been there the day before. Trying to be a single parent with three young children had to be nearly an impossible task. Up until a few days ago Brady had lived with his parents and had had their help. I was afraid he was in for a steep learning curve when it came down to figuring out how to do everything himself.