Lost Souls by J. Bishop (the giving tree read aloud txt) 📗

“I like this place. Their sandwiches are almost as good as Mom’s.”

Mason sighed through a mouthful. “Almost.” He took a sip of his drink. It was iced tea. “This isn’t, though.” He grimaced.

“It’s hard to find good iced tea, especially like Mom’s, unless you’re in Texas.”

“True.” He took another sip. “I meant to ask how dinner was last night? Did Daniels and Rem stay?”

“They did. I’m surprised you didn’t hear us and come out.”

“I was done.” Mason picked up his sandwich. “Trick took the stuffing out of me and I crashed.”

Mikey picked up her drink. “It’s okay. We ate the tacos and had some beer, and I filled them in on what I knew about the case. They’re just as flummoxed as we are.”

“Great. At least we’re in good company.”

“I thought so. So, tell me about Kyle. Any red flags?”

Mason pulled a napkin from the bag. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“He dated Lydia for a while. Said they got along fine. He knew she had some issues, but she took her meds and they did okay. Then, something happened that flipped a switch in her. He met her family. Everything went to hell after that. Her mom drank almost as much as her sister. Her brother was a tool who didn’t like him, but he started coming around, asking Lydia for money and Lydia would give it to him. Shay would call and she and Lydia would get into screaming fights. Lydia started going off her meds, and then began accusing him of being possessive. Then she started disappearing for a few days, and she’d come back, acting like it was no big deal. One time, he’d gone looking for her, and when she’d returned, out of the blue, she yelled at him for following her. She got furious and started hitting him. He couldn’t figure out what was going on. A neighbor heard the commotion and called the cops, and the next thing he knew, Lydia was accusing him of assault and he’d been hauled off to jail, but was released the next day.” Mason wiped his fingers on the napkin. “A few days later, he got served with a restraining order, which amused him because he had no intentions of going near her again.”

He grabbed another napkin and handed it to Mikey, who took it. “Assuming he’s not lying,” said Mikey, “then it was Lydia who went off the deep end, not him, and Kyle had no reason to kill her.”

“He didn’t kill her,” said Mason. “I believe him. He hasn’t even seen her since their fight. Plus, he’s got no record or history of abuse, and Monica definitely liked him, too.”

“Monica?”

“His neighbor. Cute and smitten with Trick.” He picked up a piece of fallen tuna and ate it.

“Of course.” Mikey wiped her mouth. “Well, Kyle’s version of Shay fits, if you ask me. I talked to Shay yesterday, before my enlightening conversation with Carla. Shay is, or was, fed up with Lydia, didn’t like Kyle, and has lousy allergies. Doesn’t think too highly of her brother or mother, either. She did confirm Lydia was seeing someone though, but didn’t know it was Chad. She got pissed when she realized I was fishing around for clues about her family and Lydia’s death, and she hung up on me. I think she was drinking, too, unless she has an affinity for cough syrup.”

“That whole family is a shit show.” Mason licked mayonnaise off his finger. “What about Cissy? How’d that go?”

Mikey dabbed at a stain on her shirt with her napkin. “Okay, I suppose. Trick called her last night after you threw him out, and he broke up with her, then asked for Chad’s boots.”

“Huh? His boots?”

“Trick gave him a pair of brown Justins a while back. Cissy was looking for them, but couldn’t find them.”

“Justin makes a good boot,” said Mason. “I could use a new pair myself.”

“Christmas is just around the corner.”

Mason squinted. “Justins, not the local, discount, big box store.”

“Shut up, Mason.”

He chuckled. “Trick didn’t go see her then?”

“No, thank God. She was upset, though. Felt horrible about the whole thing. I told her to tell her attorney about Trick before he gets blindsided, because it’s bound to come out at this point.”

“She doesn’t know where Trick went?”

“No.”

Mason put his sandwich down and sat back. “What was your read on her? Is she a murderer?” He paused. “Did Trick help her kill Chad?”

Mikey finished her bite and swallowed. “My take? She’s stupid, and so’s Trick, but they’re not killers.”

“Yeah, I think the same.” He put his elbow on the back of the couch. “But if they aren’t, then who is?”

“It comes down to Lydia. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Somebody killed her, and then went after Chad.”

Mason rubbed his jaw. “But why? Did they intend to frame Cissy?”

“Think about it,” said Mikey. “Lydia loses it with Kyle, and accuses him of abusing her. What if she did the same to Chad? She goes off the meds, then goes off the rails and accuses Chad of mistreating her. Maybe they had a big fight.” She tapped her chin. “My money’s on Bradley. Could Chad have killed Lydia and then Bradley kills Chad?”

“Either that or Bradley killed them both. Bradley was the executor of her will. If Lydia left him money, that’s motive. Maybe Chad suspected, and Bradley did him in because he had to.”

“You think Bradley, too, then?”

Mason sat up. “Maybe.”

“Personally,” said Mikey, I’m not buying the ‘Chad’s a killer’ theory. Whether he argued with Lydia or not, he doesn’t strike me as the type.”

“I tend to agree.”

“But how do we prove it?”

Mason reached for his sandwich. “I think it’s time to put a little pressure on Bradley Stanford. We’ve been too nice. If he’s hiding a secret, it’s time to discover it.”

“His prior crimes don’t indicate violence, unless you consider the bar fight, but hell, you’ve had a few of those,” said Mikey.

“Not one of my better memories.