“Anger too that the arsenic wasn’t working,” Thorn said.
“Yes, and maybe people close to Pepper don’t want to talk to Jeremy because he’s law enforcement. But maybe they’ll talk to me. I think Josh and I struck a rapport, so I’m going to go talk to him,” I said.
“Right now?” Thorn asked.
“Yes, right now,” I said. “It’s not late, and I don’t want to wait until after work tomorrow.”
What I hadn’t told Thorn was that while he was talking to Jeremy, Pepper’s spirit had appeared under the hanging tree out front. She didn’t look sad and confused anymore. Her eyes had begun to turn black, and her skin was a mottled shade of gray.
I got the distinct feeling that she was trying to frighten me. It made me sad to think that she was already so far on her way to being a dark specter. It was her death that had propelled her so fast toward that fate. When she’d passed, it had been terrifying and horrific.
And she was betrayed.
Nothing turned a person towards the darkness like betrayal. But would being killed by someone she was casually dating have been a big enough treachery? It didn’t seem like it. Terrible and frightening, yes, but not enough to cause bone-deep rot in the soul.
I could feel it when Pepper looked at me, and I knew that she was beginning to grow angry with me as well. Because I hadn’t solved the crime. Because it was right there under my nose, and I had to be missing it. I couldn’t risk summoning her anymore, though, because she was too far gone. I wished I had done it sooner.
“I’m coming with you,” Thorn said.
“That defeats the purpose of me going alone,” I said with a chuckle. “You’re still the sheriff. He might not open up with you around.”
“Then I’ll wait outside his door,” Thorn said.
“Too close,” I said. “You can wait in the car. I’ll have you up on speed dial.”
“The stairwell,” Thorn said and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Fine,” I relented.
Chapter Eleven
Thorn drove us over to Josh’s apartment building and parked on the opposite side of the building from Josh’s place. After much insistence from me, he didn’t want to take any chance of Josh seeing us together.
We walked into the building together, and as promised, Thorn waited in the stairwell. I proceeded down the hall and knocked lightly on Josh’s door.
“Oh, hello,” he said when he opened his door. “Did you decide to come back and pack Pepper’s things yourself? Let me get the key. I hope nobody minds, but I’ve been over there packing some things when I had time. I wanted to make the moving fees cheaper for you, but if you’re doing it yourself, it’s even better.”
“I’m not here to pack,” I said before he could leave me at the threshold to get the key. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh… Okay,” Josh’s shoulders slumped a little. “Well, can I at least show you what I’ve done?”
“Sure,” I said. “That would be great. We can talk while you show me what you’ve packed.”
“I’ll get the key,” he said and disappeared into his apartment. When he returned, we walked down the hall and I waited while Josh let us in to Pepper’s former apartment. “I think the owner wants to rent her apartment out soon. If we don’t get her stuff out of here, he’s going to hire someone to come in and throw it all away. I didn’t want that to happen, so I’ve been packing as much as I can. I’ve had a lot of work to do, though.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t sent anyone yet,” I said as I followed him into the apartment. “I will soon so that her things don’t get thrown out.”
“You’re not here to pack?” he asked me again.
“No,” I said gently. “Right now, I just want to talk to you.”
“All right,” he said and wiped his hands down his worn jeans as if they were sweating. “Sorry, pretty women make me nervous,” Josh said when he noticed me watching him. “Maybe I should just let you be.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I need to talk to you about Pepper, Josh. You were close to her, right?”
“She was my best friend,” he said. “She moved into this building three years ago, and we’ve been thick as thieves ever since.”
“That’s why I need to speak to you,” I said. “I need to know if Pepper was seeing anyone other than Tucker Garrison. I’m worried she was killed by someone who was jealous, but I don’t know who. Did she have other men over to her place?”
“Pepper had a lot of men over to her place,” Josh said nonchalantly. “It wasn’t a big deal, though. She was a pretty girl. Not my type because I wasn’t interested in casual… dating, but that didn’t make her unattractive. Just unattractive to me.”
“I see,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” Josh said. His cheeks turned bright red. “You didn’t ask me for my opinion on that. I shouldn’t speak that way about a dead friend.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Was there anyone special?”
“As far as I could tell, none of them was any more special than another,” Josh responded.
“I’m not asking this to be rude, so please don’t take it that way, but is there any chance whatsoever that she might not have wanted to discuss her love life with you?” I said and then thought of a way to soften the blow. “Maybe she had a thing for you, so she wouldn’t have wanted to talk about other men with you. You weren’t attracted to her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have at least a tiny crush on you.”
“I doubt that,” Josh said. “We really were just friends, and I think Pepper just didn’t want a serious relationship.”
“Okay,” I
