Drive Thru Murder Read online

“Dante’s job is always going to interfere. That’s not going to change and neither is he. I’m surprised you moved with me when the lease was up,” she said. “I figured y’all might be moving into a place together, or at least setting a date. I thought y’all were moving forward.”

  “Yeah, I thought so too,” I said plumping down on the sofa next to my dog. Meaux weighed sixteen pounds, but he was sliding toward me like he was being sucked down in quicksand. He climbed out of the cushion sinkhole, circled three times on the other side of the sofa and curled up. Our sofa was a thrift store purchase, in decent condition, with seat cushions that could use a little more stuffing.

  “And Jiff? When’s the last time you saw him?” she asked.

  “He’s had a trial for the last two, almost three weeks so I haven’t seen him, but he has texted or called every day and as soon as his trial settled this morning, he called and asked if he could see me tonight.”

  “Hmm, what could all that be telling you?” Suzanne had stopped in the middle of the living room and looked up at the ceiling with her hand on her chin. Then she looked at me and added, “Aside from needing a carpet man?”

  “You’re very funny.”

  “Whenever my brothers talk about women they always give each other the same advice, and that is, it’s less work to like the one who likes you more than you like them. So, it seems like it’s less work for Dante, but more work for you.”

  “You’re right,” I said.

  “And with Jiff, I see he’s doing all the heavy lifting, giving you the opportunity to see if you like him,” she said. “Smart guy.”

  “I do like him, but I’m not in love with him,” I said. I stood up from the sofa and went to the dining room table. I picked up wine glasses that had been unboxed and put them in the china cabinet, then I closed the door.

  “I think you love Dante and I think he loves you, but are you in love with him?” Suzanne held up her one hand while she put the other hand’s index finger on her lips to shush me when I started to answer. “You don’t have to answer me or anyone. You have to answer yourself.”

  “You sound like the palm reader across the street,” I said.

  “What?” she asked looking at me with her face all scrunched up.

  “The neighbor across the street is another story. Dante and I have had our moments. A few have even been passionate.”

  “A few? Not most? This is the time in your lives when it should all be passionate.” Suzanne knew how to hit a nerve.

  “I overheard Dante’s mother—my Aunt Ruth—telling my mom that she was crazy for an Italian boy in the old neighborhood, but he wasn’t so crazy for her. Dante’s dad used to bring Aunt Ruth flowers and candy to her mother when he called on her.

  “Smart man,” I said. “Men know they get a lotta mileage from flowers.”

  “It wasn’t just that. Aunt Ruth said he was quiet, and English, so he seemed less exciting, but he had great manners. He opened doors for her and always helped her on and off with her coat. She fell in love with him because he wanted to take care of her instead of the other way around. Maybe if you gave Jiff a chance you could let yourself fall in love with him.”

  “What if I don’t fall in love with him?”

  “Then you might find out it’s enough for you to love Dante more than he loves you.”

  What she said made me think, and if I was honest with myself I would have to admit I feel cheated waiting on Dante, missing out on things we should be doing together. Our memory scrap book will have a lot of blank pages for us to look at when we get old—if we are still together.

  “I think psychology is a better fit for you than Engineering. I’m going to try and find where Jesus got that piece of carpet. Thanks.”

  “Jesus? You named that dog Jesus?” She looked at the dog then at me adding, “You’re going to be struck by lightning” while she made the sign of the cross. Then she went upstairs to take a nap before she had to leave for work.

  My cell phone rang, and I knew it was Jiff before I saw the caller ID. I didn’t want him to see my place in the shambles it still was in from the move so I said I’d meet him on Magazine Street. There was a shop I intended to go to before the Woozie call, to look at a couple of things. He offered to meet me there and help me back to my car with any purchases.

  “I just want to pop in and see if they have what I want. I don’t plan to buy too much of anything.”

  “Oh, there will be purchases,” he said.

  Every room of our apartment was painted all white, had lots of windows and ten foot ceilings. It was a craftsman-style bungalow with built-in bookcases dividing the living room and dining room areas. It had a large open feel, but also was a little antiseptic painted all white. I thought adding color with curtains, pillows and an area rug would make it more homey. I wanted to get a sisal rug and the store I was going to had them. Maybe he could help me get it in my car if I found one I like.

  Jiff said he knew of a great Mexican restaurant near the store. He suggested I bring Meaux and we would sit outside. The place made Fido Burgers for patrons who came with dogs. His dog, Isabella, had been staying with his parents since the trial started and he was going to get her in the morning.

  He was waiting for me in front of the store on Magazine Street outside on the sidewalk when I walked up with Meaux. He was taller than I was even when I had on four-inch heels. I even had to look up at him a little. I felt like I was on the red carpet with him, no matter what we did or where we went.

  Today he was casually dressed in a blue button-down cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up a couple of times and taupe chino pants with a sharp crease. He wore Italian loafers with a shine that looked like it could pass a military inspection. He leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, and he took my hand in both of his and kissed them.

  “It feels good to see you,” he said. Then he said to Meaux, who was wiggling and whining at our feet to be noticed, “And you too, buddy.” Jiff bent over and rubbed Meaux’s head which only satisfied his need for attention a nanosecond. He continued to wiggle and whine for more.

  Jiff’s scent aroused me, not the smell of cologne, but the way he smelled, the way he touched me and held my hand. As soon as he made physical contact with me I heated up from head to toe. It was just like the first time I saw him. He had stopped in the middle of the street and stared at me while I stood watching. He never waved me over. He just stood staring and I was so drawn to him I walked through the crowd right up to him. He took my face in his hands and kissed me in a lip lock that caused my leg to bend at the knee.

  All this happened smack in the middle of St. Charles Avenue with a throng of parade goers for an audience. The audience included Dante, who was working in uniform on a parade detail and standing near me. My parents and the entire neighborhood were also present. After we kissed and before Dante’s partner moved him along, Jiff had whispered in my ear to meet him at the end of the parade. I did, and my life has been complicated with these two men ever since.

  Every time Jiff touched me it felt like a Roman Candle firing from my feet and exploding in my chest. He wanted our relationship to move forward. I couldn’t decide to take the next step with him because, to me, if I did it meant breaking it off with Dante for good.

  “I should only be a minute in here because I know what I want,” I said and he followed me into the store holding Meaux’s leash. A saleslady parked him and my dog in a chair then brought Jiff a glass of champagne along with a bowl of water for Meaux. Forty-five minutes later I had selected six taupe and cream-stripped pillows, four pair of matching curtains and a natural fiber sisal rug.

  “I’m parked right outside and I saw you walking from at least a block away,” he said. We loaded everything into his Mercedes. “I’ll follow you home when we are ready to leave.”

  “I’m sorry about inserting my shopping mission into our evening, but I saw they had exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for being so patient,” I said.

  “My Dad�
��s philosophy, which seems to have served him well with my mother, is always let a woman shop when she knows what she wants. Otherwise she’ll run you all over the city twice, once buying things she doesn’t want and once to bring it all back,” he said. He tilted his chin and raised his eyebrows while giving me a knowing look that made us both smile.

  “Your father sounds like a very smart man. I bet your mother is a happy woman,” I said as we walked a block along Magazine Street.

  “They’re an odd couple, but a perfect match,” he said. “If you met them at a party you’d wonder how those two are together.”

  I thought that was an odd way to describe his parents.

  “I know you told me you have brothers, but any sisters?” I asked.

  “Yes, one sister, and you would think she would be the princess, but my parents treat all of us like the most important one in the world without causing any jealousy or competition between us,” he said. “They have afforded us opportunities and the support we each needed to succeed. My sister is treated like one of the boys, with extra allowance for nice clothes.”

  The stretch of street was busy with pedestrian traffic patronizing other restaurants, shops and grocery stores. We stopped at the Mexican restaurant a friend of his owned and sat outside at one of the wire mesh patio tables on either side of the entry door. Meaux sat in the chair next to me. Jiff fixed his eyes on me with such intensity he didn’t hear the waiter come up and ask what he wanted to drink. He could make me feel like the most important person in the universe when I was with him.

  “I think he wants to know if you would like something to drink,” I nudged him toward the waiter who had appeared while Jiff was still looking at me.

  “Sorry, I didn’t see you standing there because this beautiful woman captures all my attention. Yes,” he said to the waiter.

  Turning back to me he asked, “Would you prefer a glass of champagne, because I would like to have one with you?” I nodded yes with a smile. “Please bring us two glasses of champagne, or the bottle, if that’s the only way you sell it. Also, would you mind bringing us water, and one for this guy?” He pointed to Meaux. The waiter nodded and smiled at us a little longer than he needed to.

  Meaux’s entire body wiggled from his stubby little tail to his nose trying to move closer to Jiff. He finally jumped in the chair next to him to get more attention. Jiff reached to pet Meaux with one hand while holding my hand with his other one.

  How could I have these feelings with Jiff and not give us a chance? I really liked him and he made it very clear he was available to me. The big plus was Meaux liked him too.

  I didn’t want to spoil any part of our evening by bringing up CluckIt, and what happened there unless he asked, and I surely wasn’t going to burden him with my dysfunctional family woes. I needed a break from it myself. He finally asked me to tell him about CluckIt.

  “What really bothers me is that the victim who was shot died where she worked and the one kidnapped is still missing. The police don’t hold out any hope that he will be found alive. There’s something about her, or him, the person who was shot and died that touched me. I’d really like to go by there and talk to the workers, if only to offer my condolences,” I said.

  “Brandy, I’m so sorry.”

  “It was chaos last night, but I feel like no one is going to make any big effort to find out why she was shot in the first place. There were several workers around. I feel like I’m missing something. I’m wondering: why did a man dressed like a woman, shoot the one that didn’t seem to know him, then pull the other person out the window with him, and drive off?”

  “It sounds like a lovers’ quarrel, or one too many in a relationship. I’d like to go with you since that is a rough area of town. I know you can handle yourself, but I’d feel better if someone went with you,” he said. “By someone, I mean anyone other than Dante.”

  I decided to let the last remark go unchallenged. I called to see if Earline and Lionel were working, and there was a recording saying that CluckIt was closed due to the death of one of their employees, but would reopen soon. I told Jiff I would let him know when they did and if he couldn’t go with me I’d find somebody who would. He was good with that.

  After we ate, we walked up and down Magazine Street window shopping. I saw a floor lamp in the window of an antique store I liked. It was good thing the store was closed because I couldn’t get any more stuff in Jiff’s car. It was also a good thing we came in two cars because there was no room in his car for Meaux and me.

  Jiff followed me home and helped me inside with my new stuff. He helped me roll out the sisal rug where I wanted it. Then he and Meaux sat on the sofa and watched me arrange the throw pillows.

  “I know this place is a mess but I’d like to invite you over for dinner when I get it pulled together,” I said.

  “Dinner sounds great. But I don’t think your new place looks a mess,” Jiff said throwing toys for Meaux and Jesus to chase. “You just moved in. It takes time to put stuff away. When you’re ready, I’ll help you hang up your pictures.”

  Meaux came back with the toy, but Jesus had the carpet piece again. They must have been tugging on it since I left because now it was half its original size with the fraying threads dragging along the floor behind the piece in his mouth. Jiff tried to grab it from Jesus and asked, “What’s he got there?”

  “I think it came out of one of our closets. I need to check it out. They had it this evening and were playing tug-o-war with it,” I said trying to get the piece away from them.

  “I’ll help you get it back where it goes,” he said.

  So, we started going from room-to-room looking in the closets and discovered carpet on the closet floors except for Suzanne’s room. Her piece of carpet was what Jesus had claimed as his new bed. I thought to myself I was going to be struck by lightning thinking of him by that name.

  “Well, I figure I’ll put my piece in Suzanne’s closet. If I ever get the piece away from the new dog, I’ll put it back in mine,” I said.

  “OK. I’ll pull up the carpet piece in yours and put this one in yours until I can get you a replacement. It’ll take a second,” Jiff said.

  We went into my bedroom and he pulled out the carpet piece which was tacked down with four nail brads. With it, a floor board lifted at one end with the carpet, and then fell back into place under it.

  “That’s odd,” Jiff said. “Is there a light in here? It seems a floor board is loose.”

  With the light on, he found three other boards were sitting next to each other that were not secure or nailed when he pried off the carpet piece. He lifted the other three and found a small wooden box snuggled down between the joists.

  “I think we found a hidden treasure,” he said.

  “If you’re willing to stick your hand in there you can have it. I’m afraid to pick that up because something might crawl out of it and on me. You do remember I’m afraid of roaches based on my mother’s parenting skills?” I asked.

  “I remember you have a rather unhealthy fear of indigenous flying insects,” he said referring to the time we were both trapped in an ice house. To escape I had to stand on his shoulders and climb over a wall where a huge flying roach sat high on hairy legs with his foot-long antennae whipping around. When it started to fly I thought it was going to land on me. I would have fainted and we’d still be in the ice house if Jiff hadn’t jumped up, swatted it to the floor and stepped on it.

  “Not just flying ones. When I was a child my mother would threaten to put one on me if I didn’t eat my dinner, take a nap or do whatever she wanted me to do. I wish she would have just water boarded me. It would have been less damaging—psychologically. My mother could teach terrorists a few tactics,” I said watching the box for anything that might crawl out.

  “Wait,” I said when Jiff started to reach for the box. “What if something is under it, or in it. Let me get the bug spray first.” I ran off to the kitchen to look for the can I was sure I brought from th
e last apartment.

  When I returned he had already lifted the box from under the floor. It appeared to be a keepsake box or maybe even a jewelry box. It was made of dark wood that looked old with carvings on both sides.

  “Let’s go to the kitchen to open it. If anything flies out I want it to fly out somewhere other than in my bedroom. I’ll never sleep in here again and might even have to move if I can’t kill it by drowning it in insect spray,” I said poised with the spray can aimed at Jiff holding the box. “I also have to see it dead.”

  He just looked at me. “Maybe you should have a local pest control under a daily maintenance agreement,” he said. “This is New Orleans. I’m pretty sure the critters were here first.”

  “Do you know any that come daily?” I asked.

  He just shook his head and smiled. When we got to the kitchen he lifted the box over his head to look under it. When he tilted it, we both heard something slide around inside. The carvings looked like they were hibiscus flowers with hummingbirds. It made me think this was a souvenir brought home from an island vacation trip. Whatever was in the box moved from end to end when it tilted it but didn’t seem heavy. Jiff could easily hold it in one hand.

  I was about to give it a round of insect spray when Jiff stopped me by taking the can out of my hand.

  “I’ll kill anything that comes out of it. I promise,” he said.

  Nothing flew out, crawled out or lurked in the darkness of the reddish-brown wood interior of the box. Once the box was open, there was a relaxing scent coming from the interior. It smelled like a day spa and I recognized the fragrance as Sandalwood. In the box was a navy-blue velvet pouch with a gold drawstring, like the kind that holds a bottle of Crown Royal.

  I stood back to let Jiff pull open the drawstring and when he turned the pouch over out tumbled several rings. They were beautiful and looked antique. I counted eleven in all. Each one was a different colored stone. There was a red one, black one, blue with gold streaks, a beige one, a milky white one, soft pastel pink and green one, one that looked like limestone, and the others had different colors depending on which way you viewed them in the light.