Moth Busters, Dr. Prepper, Oral Robbers: Freaky Florida Mystery Adventures 1, 2 & 3 by Margaret Lashley

Author:Margaret Lashley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zazzy Ideas, Inc.
Published: 2020-04-08T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

WE WERE SITTING IN a booth at a tiny, strip-mall restaurant called Tacos Locos. Officer Wells was making his last-chance pitch to Grayson. The young cop had to convince him that something way past normal was going on around Plant City, or we were hitting the road, pronto.

“Lester Jenkins could be a jerk, for sure,” Wells said as he eyed Grayson’s frosty mug of beer with envy. “But he just didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would lock his wife up to die alone in that bunker.”

“You sure about that?” Grayson said. “From what I hear, the guy was no Gandhi.”

“Believe me,” Wells said. “I’ve been called out to the Jenkins’ to settle more than a few domestic disputes. But their fights were always about Lester drinking too much or Arlene spending too much. Never anything that would drive him crazy enough to bury her alive.”

Grayson leaned back in the booth and eyed Wells. “But he did bury her alive. Didn’t even leave her a cellphone. He wanted her dead.”

Wells drummed a finger on the table absently. “No. I just don’t believe that. I think he was trying to punish her somehow. I’m sure he planned on letting her out. He just never got the chance.”

Grayson’s lips twisted to one side. “Okay. Let’s say you’re right. That still doesn’t answer the question of why he locked her up in the first place. There are easier ways to stop a shopaholic. Just take away her credit cards.”

Wells acquiesced with a nod. “I know. That’s what has me stuck. Jenkins must’ve had a really good reason.”

“Maybe it was Arlene who wanted Lester dead,” I offered. “So, he stuck her in there to protect himself.”

Wells pursed his lips. “If she was trying to murder him, Jenkins didn’t mention anything about it in his notebook.”

“What did you find in that thing?” Grayson asked.

“Mostly ramblings about the end of the world. This may sound weird, but I think in his own way, Jenkins may have been trying to protect Arlene.”

“From what?” I asked.

“Listen and decide for yourself.” Wells set a small tape recorder on the table, then pulled a tiny cassette from his shirt pocket. “I only caught the beginning of this before I got the call about Jenkins’ body disappearing.”

“Then you don’t know what’s on the tape?” Grayson asked.

Wells hesitated. “Well, not exactly. No.”

Grayson’s eyes narrowed. “So you were bluffing.”

Wells cringed. “Sort of. But I figured if it was anything like the notebook—”

Grayson grinned and nodded his head. “Well played, kid. You got me. Now don’t waste any more of my time. Let’s hear it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Wells mashed a button on the recorder. As it began to play, a waitress delivered a pile of tacos to the table. I started to reach for one, but the words on the cassette made me lose my train of thought.

“static ... don't know what to think. The metal casing is definitely extraterrestrial ... static ... the earth's atmosphere usually tears holes in a meteorite. This thing is smooth .

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