The Body in the Apartment by Judi Lynn

Author:Judi Lynn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2019-12-11T03:58:11+00:00

Chapter 20

Wednesday blew in, starting March with its trademark winds. Small limbs littered the yard. Tree branches whipped back and forth in the woods behind their house. Jazzi packed ham and cheese sandwiches in the cooler, then added her panini maker to heat them at the fixer-upper. A warm lunch would taste good today. Before Jazzi and Ansel walked out the door, Gaff called.

“I’m going to check in on Ronnie’s grandma today. Mind coming along? She could use a friendly face.”

Jazzi had worried about the old lady. “When will you pick me up?”

“Two in the afternoon? I have a few things I have to do first.”

“I’ll be ready.” She explained to Ansel as they got ready to go. Ansel had decided that George was shivering more than usual, so he’d dressed him in a doggie sweater for the day. If the dog sneezed, Ansel worried about him. Her tough looking Norseman was a marshmallow inside.

When they reached the house, Ansel carried George up the steps to the attic, so that he could be with them while they worked. She, Jerod, and Ansel spent the entire morning lifting and nailing drywall in place for the ceiling. Along with the insulation, the area already felt more comfortable. Jazzi’s arms, however, felt like lead, like she might never be able to lift them again. They only took a short lunch break, even though the paninis were a big hit, so they could finish the ceiling by the time Gaff arrived. The guys were going to finish walling off the bathroom space while she was gone.

When she and Gaff reached Ronnie’s grandma’s house, the wind blew hard enough, Gaff put an arm under Jazzi’s elbow and they leaned into the sharp gusts to walk up the sidewalk. When they knocked, a small voice called, “It’s open.”

They entered, and heat hit them hard. The woman had the furnace set so high, the air was stifling. Jazzi knew old people did that. When she was a little girl and visited her great-grandma, the house was so hot that Jazzi always left with a headache. Today, Ronnie’s grandma sat in a high backed rocking chair, wearing a long chenille robe and heavy stockings with a blanket draped over her legs.

Jazzi’s heart sank. The last time they’d seen her, she’d reminded Jazzi of a pert, little bird—small and quick with bright, alert eyes. Now her shoulders drooped and it looked like all the energy had drained out of her. She looked at Jazzi and shook her head.

“Ronnie wouldn’t just go off and not tell me. He’d call from somewhere to let me know he was okay.”

Gaff took a chair close to hers. “Did he talk about meeting anyone? Doing anything unusual?”

“He promised to bring me home some of them chicken wings from his restaurant. Knows how I like ‘em. He didn’t forget stuff like that. Somethin’ happened to my boy. Somethin’ bad.”

“Did he ever have to hide out from anyone?” Gaff asked. “Did he have a spot he ran to when he was in trouble?”

“He came here.

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