Adventures In Murder Chasing (Funeral Crashing #3) Read online

  Anne looked suddenly sad, "She had leukemia. She was sick for a while, but she didn't make it. She was my little sister."

  "What was her name?" I asked.

  "Allie," Anne said. "My mom likes A names. We're all A names. It's kind of funny."

  I smiled, but inside I felt sad. How could I not have known that Anne had lost a sister? I mean, she knew all about my mom, but had never said anything about Allie. Was I just that self-absorbed? Or was she like Ethan and just wanted to keep it to herself? Was I weird to want to talk about it? Not that I talked about it with most people. I definitely didn't, but I did talk about my mom to those close to me. Then again, maybe Anne's sister had died so long ago that it didn't hurt as much anymore. I thought about my mom. I couldn't imagine never hurting when I thought about her. Yeah, I had happy memories, but there was this weird pain to them because I wanted more memories with my mom. I wanted to tell her about Ethan and well, everything, but I knew that I'd never really be able to, not like if she was still alive.

  "I'm really sorry about your sister," I said.

  "Thanks," Anne said. "But anyway, my point is that sometimes people just die. Don't chase funerals, looking for murder cases."

  I nodded. I understood. I just wanted to be sure. Besides, I wasn't chasing funerals or murders...yet. Right?

  Chapter 4: Funeral Crashing

  Two days later and I was pretty much ready to actively start my investigation by heading off to Gabe's funeral. I was just brushing up on last minute details about Gabe so that if I talked to anyone, I wouldn't be going in blind. I read his obituary again.

  Gabe Fulton, 20, died Saturday. He was a straight A student at Laurel Community College. He worked at the Wired Coffee Shop and one day hoped to start his own restaurant business. In his spare time, he also helped raise money for Pediatric Diseases. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity he loved so much. He is survived by his mother and father, Jennifer and Hank Fulton, and his siblings, Warren and Ken Fulton. The wake will be held on Tuesday from 3pm - 9pm at Palos Funeral Home. The funeral is Wednesday at 10 am.

  I had read it so many times that I was bored. I scanned through the other ones on the page, just looking. Sometimes obituaries were just interesting to read. Like, this one:

  Jessie Pulton, 82, spent his life collecting toy cars. In his spare time, he worked for fifty years as an insurance salesman. He had just celebrated his Golden Wedding Anniversary with his wife, Regina.

  Wow, Jessie had fifty years with his wife. That was pretty amazing, especially since Jessie probably had a huge toy car collection that was stored all over the house. I wondered if Ethan and I would make it that long. I mean, if we ever got married and all that, of course. I skimmed down the page. This one was sad too:

  Nico Moretti, 19, died Saturday. He was a sophomore at Landale College, studying business.

  Huh, he had died young too. It was so unfair. Uh-oh. Part of me wanted to check out that funeral too, just to make sure it was legit. Maybe Anne was right. Maybe I was a funeral crashing, murder mystery chaser. His wake was at the same funeral home as Gabe's...

  I scanned further down the page before I let myself get obsessed. Maybe I could funeral hop and check out multiple murder mysteries at once. Could I do that? I mean, if I really was looking for murder mysteries, this one was a little bizarre too:

  Ken Reed, 39, lived his short life to the fullest. He is survived by all five of his ex-wives: Natasha, Julie, Paula, Wendy, and Valerie Reed.

  I mean five ex-wives? That screamed murder mystery. I needed to stop reading. My brain was going to explode with all of the possibilities in how people had died. Sometimes the obituary said. Sometimes it didn't. The ones that didn't were now starting to call to me. Anne was right, though. Sometimes people just died. I had to focus. I was looking into one death right now. That was where I needed to put all of my attention. If I pulled my brain ten different ways, I wasn't going to solve any of my cases, have time for Ethan, or manage to get my homework done.

  I had to stay focused for Suzie. I had spent the weekend googling Gabe and checking out all of his social media connections. Those things in themselves had given me a wealth of information on Gabe, who sounded like a cool guy. He loved to cook. He even had a blog about cooking. I could have totally seen him as a restaurant owner one day. He even had a pretty big following. There were at least twenty comments on every post. People seemed to like his recipes. Wired should have used him to their advantage. He even had a whole coffee section on drinks that I knew Wired didn't serve, but sounded pretty tasty even for someone who really didn't drink coffee, like me. I mean, a peanut butter banana coffee drink, yum! Gabe had the recipe on his blog if I ever wanted to try it! Still, I had to remember that even if the guy did have four hundred friends on Facebook and tons of blog fans, it didn't mean that he didn't have enemies.

  I had gotten even more personal details from Suzie on Monday when I saw her in Chemistry class.

  "He was only twenty," Suzie said again, as soon as I brought it up. That was good, though, it reminded me of why I was doing this. Suzie was still upset about it. "They keep saying it was natural causes, but he was only twenty."

  Kyle was being super supportive too, holding Suzie's hand, as she talked to me about Gabe. They were so cute together!

  "I didn't know him that well, though," Suzie said. "And yeah, I knew that he liked to cook. He was always making these weird drinks when we were slow. I tasted a couple and they were pretty amazing. He was a nice guy."

  "Did you get any hint of anything wrong? Any enemies? Crazy ex-girlfriend? Anything?" I asked.

  Suzie thought for a moment, "Not really. Sorry. We maybe only worked together twice."

  "Nothing?" I felt disappointed. There had to be someone who didn't like him. Everyone had at least one enemy. "No gossip even?"

  "Wait! I did hear one thing," Suzie said.

  "What?" I asked, my pen poised over my notebook, hoping to write down something useful to the case.

  "Well," Suzie said. "This girl did come in."

  "Okay?" I asked. "What about her seemed weird?"

  "Well, she was trying to talk to Gabe and he really wasn't having it. And, okay, he was busy making drinks at the bar, but still. It sounded like she might have been an ex," Suzie said.

  "Anything you can remember about her?" I asked.

  Suzie thought for a moment, "Well, she was African American and had this really beautiful long hair."

  "Did you catch a name?" I asked.

  "Oh. Her name was Layla. I just remember thinking that it was a really pretty name. Like maybe something I'd put in my top ten names to call my kids." Suzie's cheeks turned pink and she glanced at Kyle, "If I ever have any."

  I wrote down the name. Finally, a promising lead! It wasn't much, but it was something!

  So, what did I do, helpful citizen that I am? I called to talk to my local detective and offered to give them the information that Suzie had given me. I was also trying to act in accordance to what Ethan wanted and not get too wrapped up in the case and put myself in danger again. That's how I found out that the police weren't even working on the case. Still, I was a little annoyed that they didn't even put me through to Detective Dixon, even though I knew he knew who I was because we had investigated a bunch of murder cases together. Well, maybe we didn't investigate them together together, but sort of parallel-y. And okay, maybe Detective Dixon didn't always take my help in a good way, but I had been right before when he was ready to blow a case off. The front desk receptionist, though, didn't have to act like I was crazy for offering a lead in the Gabe Fulton case. I didn't deserve that even if there was no Gabe Fulton case...yet. That didn't bother me too much, though. I knew that the police had been wrong on other occasions.

  The more I thought about it too, the more I agreed with Suzie. Twenty was super young to die from natural causes. I definitely thought there could be something there. Besides, I was now really nervous about the fact that Suzie and I were kind
of, sort of friends. I felt a little pressured. I didn't want things to end up with Suzie the way they did with Ariel. I wanted to do something nice for her and didn't you do stuff like this for friends? Well, I mean, help them in general. Maybe not all friends looked into suspicious deaths to see if they were actually murders, but you get the gist. Suzie was upset and I wanted to make it better. I wanted to be a good friend and not take her for granted. Although, I didn't think I had taken Ariel for granted. Anyway, I had to focus on Suzie and helping her.

  So, I researched Layla, who seemed like a normal girl, but she definitely still had a thing for Gabe if they were exes. Like she was still listed as in a relationship and although it didn't say with whom, there were plenty of pictures of her and Gabe together in her photos section. The girl obviously couldn't take a hint. So, she was definitely a potential suspect. I hoped to catch a glimpse of her at the funeral. She would totally be there, I was sure. Plus I'd scout out some more leads while I was there. For the most part, it was almost never the obvious person who committed the murder, after all. I mean, if Gabe was murdered. I didn't know yet, officially. Still, if Gabe was murdered, who were some other potential suspects? I should have a big list at this point, but I didn't.

  Gabe oozed niceness and I was having issues finding someone who might have wanted to off him besides Layla. There had to be other suspects. It couldn't be as obvious as my first one, could it? Maybe I was just in luck...if Gabe was murdered. I had to keep reminding myself that I still needed to find out how he died and that him being murdered wasn't a done deal yet. Anne had made me paranoid with her sister's story. Still, I was investigating the case either way. I just wanted to find out what happened...for Suzie.

  I was all ready to go to the funeral, but I was a little bit worried about going to the Palos Funeral Home specifically. The last time I was there the Funeral Home Director recognized me as a funeral crasher. That was not a good thing. Most people frowned upon funeral crashing and it was quite possible that I could get in big trouble for doing it. So, if I was going to go to the Palos Funeral Home, I had to go in disguise this time. It was totally ridiculous, but I was going to wear a wig. I figured Ethan was safe, at least for the time being. I was the one the Funeral Home Director had been really gunning for. Besides, I wasn't quite sure I could get Ethan to investigate a mystery, crash a funeral, and wear a wig and maybe even a costume. I was afraid it might be asking too much, even if I was his girlfriend now.

  By the time Ethan got to my house, I was ready and waiting for him. My dad was in his den watching television.

  "Bye, dad!" I yelled and ran out the door.

  My dad had already met Ethan on numerous occasions and he liked him alright, but I still wasn't too fond of the let's hang out as a couple with my dad moments. It was super awkward. Although, oddly enough, I wanted Ethan to meet my mom. Of course since my mom had died that meant that I had to take Ethan to the cemetery to meet her. I know it sounded creepy, but it really wasn't. I spent a lot of Saturdays at the cemetery, just being with my mom. Plus I wanted Ethan to meet Leonora, the old woman who had become sort of like a...well, a grandma to me. She was there as often as I was, visiting her dead husband. Maybe that was weird, but Leonora and I, despite the age difference had a lot in common - we had both lost one of the most important people in our lives and we were both trying to make the best of it. Plus Leonora really, really wanted to meet Ethan. She was excited that I finally had a boyfriend. Truthfully, I guess I also kind of wanted Leonora to meet him too.

  I ran over to Ethan's car and got in. I turned to look at him. Wow, he looked good dressed up. He was in a black suit without the jacket, wearing a dark blue shirt. Wow. I couldn't get over how hot he looked every time I saw him from his dark wavy hair to his blue eyes to well, just him. He was an amazing boyfriend. I was a super lucky girl. I leaned over and kissed Ethan on the lips. It was hard to believe that a mere few weeks ago, I had never had a boyfriend. Now I was in a full on relationship with one of the hottest guys in school. Life was good.

  Ethan pulled out of the kiss, looked at me, and smiled, "I like the wig."

  "Thanks," I said. "Do I look different?"

  I was wearing a wig with chin length short dark brown hair with bangs cut straight across my forehead. I looked totally different, but in a good way I thought. Other than that, I was in funeral garb wearing an all black dress with nylons and black flats. I never wore heels to funerals if I could help it. I had a tendency to trip in them.

  "Definitely," Ethan said, "You look super hot as a brunette."

  "Thanks," I said. "I think."

  "No problem," Ethan said, grinning as he pulled out of the driveway. "It's fun seeing you in disguise."

  I smiled at him, "Fun enough that you'll wear one next time?"

  Ethan smiled at me, "Maybe."

  "I bet you that you would look super hot as a blonde," I said.

  "So, we're trading hair places?" Ethan asked. "Why can't I go blue or jet black or..."

  "To a funeral? Yeah, that wouldn't stand out," I said.

  "Well, what if it was a punk rocker's funeral?" Ethan asked.

  "Okay, then you can wear the blue hair," I said.

  "It's a deal," Ethan said.

  "You're a tough negotiator," I said.

  "I know," Ethan said.

  I laughed and kissed him on the cheek. Ethan gave me a smile and focused back on the road. The ride to the funeral home was quick. Ethan knew where it was now from me having dragged him down there a bunch of times already.

  "You ready?" Ethan asked, turning off the car.

  "I hope so," I said.

  I was feeling a little nervous. I didn't want to get in trouble. I mean, could they arrest me for going to someone's funeral? I actually didn't know. They might try if they really didn't like me I supposed. Seriously, though, I just wanted to help. Even if I wasn't investigating a suspicious death, I really only wanted to mourn like everyone else. I wasn't mean-spirited or anything. Still, I hoped the Funeral Director didn't recognize me with my disguise. I didn't really want to get the chance to find out what happened if I got caught funeral crashing.

  We got out of the car. Ethan took my hand and we walked into the funeral home. It was a busy night. There were four different wakes going on. Well, that made me feel a little bit better. It would make it easier for us to blend in with the other funeral goers. There were a lot of people milling around. We looked at the directory on the wall.

  Room 1: Gonzalez

  Room 2: Moretti

  Room 3: Fulton

  Room 4: Caldwell

  "Room 3," I said and pulled Ethan down the hallway.

  We walked quickly past the Funeral Home Director's office and I noticed that he wasn't inside. That wasn't good. It meant that he was milling around, maybe in one of the viewing rooms. I hoped it wasn't in Room 3. I tried not to think about it. We had to do this. We had to see if Gabe Fulton's death had happened under mysterious circumstances.

  We passed the first two rooms and slowed down to enter Room 3. It was crowded. Gabe was so young that he was leaving a lot of people behind. Plus a few more were probably shocked enough that they came to the funeral out of morbid curiosity. That happened too. I scanned around the room for Layla, but I didn't see her. After we paid our respects to the deceased, we were going to have to take a closer look around. There were too many groups milling about and I couldn't see everyone clearly. We had a lot to do.

  First things first, Ethan and I made our way up to the front and walked toward the casket to pay our respects. When we got close enough to see the body, I did a double take. I had done enough research on Gabe to know that he was not what looked to be an Italian or Greek man. The man in the coffin was young, but he was definitely not Gabe. Gabe, from his online photos, was blonde with pale skin. This guy was tan with olive skin and dark hair.

  I looked over at a photo collage that stood next to the coffin. My eyes scanned it through twice. There was no Gabe in there either, just multi
tudes of photos of the olive skinned man. What was going on? My mind was reeling.

  "How did you know Nico?" I heard a man from behind us ask.

  I froze. Ethan gripped my hand in a vice grip. Who was Nico?

  Chapter 5: Pretending

  Ethan whispered in my ear, "I thought you said his name was Gabe."

  I could barely hear Ethan with the cacophony of voices going off in my head, sounding the you've been caught alarm. The other half of the voices were yelling: who the heck is Nico? What is going on?

  The man was looking at us, "Did you go to school with Nico?"

  What was I supposed to say? Nico? Who's Nico? Oh, is that the dead guy in the casket? Oh my goodness...

  "Yes, yes we did," I said before I thought about it, glad that the man had given me a reason to be at Nico's funeral. It was, after all, one of the main rules for funeral crashing, to know the answer to that very question. Now I just had to figure out who in the heck Nico was!

  As my brain turned, I started to walk away from the coffin, dragging Ethan, and stopping our conversation with the man who had started talking to us, cold. I wanted to get out of this viewing room. My brain was finally functioning again. We were at the wrong wake! How could that have happened? I knew we had the right room according to the directory, but the names next to the viewing room numbers must have been wrong. The Funeral Home Director was not doing his job. Didn't he know how tacky it was to direct people to the wrong funeral when they were already upset? I was so going to fill out a complaint card, anonymously, of course. First, though, we had to get out of the viewing room.

  To my dismay, the man I had started walking away from kept following us. I should have just apologized and said we were at the wrong funeral. What was wrong with me? That would have been the normal answer. If I hadn't been so worried about getting caught funeral crashing and arrested for it, I would have been honest. Now it was too late and regardless, we needed to go before we got caught in a lie. I didn't know anything about Nico. It would be easy to make a mistake.