Killer in the Band

by Lauren Carr

  “That wouldn’t be good,” Cameron said.

  Having finished his exam, Tad joined them at the other end of the porch. “Just because he had a moment of confusion doesn’t mean he’s senile.”

  “Are you listening to me, Tad?” Joshua asked. “He was hearing music when there was none and he was going to shoot me.”

  “Could he be coming down with Alzheimer’s?” Cameron asked. “Maybe in his mind, he was in an earlier time when Joshua was younger and had dark hair.”

  “Before his wife was killed,” Joshua said. “You think I’m overreacting, too.”

  “No, I don’t,” Tad said in a firm tone. “Based on what you are describing, he was showing signs of dementia or he may have had a mini-stroke. My problem is that he’s showing no signs of it now and he is refusing to go in for an exam. Do I think he belongs in jail? No. Do I think he needs to go to the hospital for a thorough exam? Yes. But he doesn’t want to go, and we can’t make him.”

  Cameron went over to the swing, where Clyde Brady was sitting. His long, thin, weathered face was filled with worry. Sitting down next to him, she offered him a smile of reassurance and took his hand. “Mr. Brady, do you remember me?”

  “You’re the detective who’s gonna catch that monster who killed my Monica,” Clyde said in a firm voice.

  “That’s right.”

  “Have you found him yet?”

  “No.” Looking down at her hands, she shook her head. “Police officers all over the area have the drawing we made based on your description. We have a BOLO, orders for everyone to be on the lookout, for him. No one has seen him. We’re beginning to think he might have been a vagrant passing through the area—”

  “No,” Clyde said firmly. “I saw him just a couple of weeks ago.”

  Cameron’s head jerked around in his direction. “Really?”

  The old man lifted a twisted, arthritic finger and pointed in the direction of the indoor swimming pool. “Over there. Inside the pool. I went in to check on it after the pool people came to get it ready for Suellen, and there he was. I chased him outside, and then he disappeared.”

  “And this was when?”

  “A couple days before Suellen came back from Philadelphia.”

  “Why didn’t you call the police? Why didn’t you call me?” Cameron asked.

  Clyde’s eyes were wide with wonder. “I thought I did. I wondered why no one ever did anything about it.”

  “Maybe he’s still around. But with the BOLO out, why hasn’t anyone seen him?” Cameron said more to herself than to Clyde. She made a mental note to once again interview the managers of the orchards and the dairy farm to see if any past or current farm workers had a grudge against the foreman and could have killed his wife in retaliation.

  Despite Clyde’s objections, Tad offered to drive him home and to make sure that he was okay. When he insisted on going to the dairy to check on the cattle and the operations there, Tad assured him that things were running smoothly and that the managers who worked under him would know he was taking the day off.

  Cameron noticed that Joshua was waiting and watching Tad, Clyde, and Sheriff Sawyer drive away. Taking note of his filthy condition from the barnyard chores, she said, “I’m assuming you’re ready to go home and get out of those clothes.”

  With a sly grin, he said, “I’ll be along in a minute.” He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out a small leather case. “I’ve got something I need to do first.”

  “Are we going snooping?”

  “Not we. Me.” Glancing around to make sure that no one would see him, Joshua made his way back to the porch, where they had been discussing the situation with Clyde Brady only moments before. Turning to climb the steps, Joshua stopped when his path was blocked by a huge dog perched on the top step. His long, thick black fur and size made him resemble a black bear. His mouth was hanging open, and his tongue was hanging out of one side of his mouth. “Can you let me up, Smokey?”

  The giant black dog stepped aside to allow Joshua to the front door.

  Careful to avoid stepping on the small Jack Russell terrier that was in hot pursuit of her shoelaces, Cameron followed Joshua up the steps. “Since you’re a lawyer, I’m sure you’re aware that you’re about to break about a half dozen laws—and tick off your son when he realizes what you’re doing.” Standing with her back to him, she served as the lookout and made sure that no one saw what they were doing—especially not Izzy, who was sitting on the pasture fence and trying to lure the palomino mare over with an ear of corn.

  Joshua was already picking the lock with a lockpick. “He’s not going to know. I just want to find out what’s wrong with Suellen and what J.J. has gotten himself into. I’m his father. I have a right to know.” With a sigh, he rose to his feet and opened the door. “Coming?”

  “I did say ‘for better or for worse.’ I guess that includes breaking and entering.”

  “I’m not breaking anything. I’m just entering.”

  “Says the county prosecuting attorney. If we get caught, are you going to press charges against yourself?”

  “I’ll plead temporary insanity,” he said while scurrying across the foyer to the stairs that led up to the bedrooms. “Once the jury hears I have six kids, they’ll refuse to prosecute.”

  Cameron followed him up the stairs. “Clyde says he saw his wife’s killer hanging around the pool house a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Why didn’t he call the police? Why didn’t he call you?” Joshua asked her over his shoulder as he checked one bedroom after another in search of the master suite.

  “He says he did.”

  “Maybe he did, and you just didn’t get the message?” Upon opening the door to a spacious suite at the end of the hallway, Joshua stopped.

  “If it had been your wife and the detective hadn’t called you back, wouldn’t you have kept on calling until you did connect with her?” Upon entering the master bedroom, Cameron paused, noting the unmade bed. Seeing J.J.’s clothes on the floor, she swallowed to distance herself from the scene. He was Joshua’s son, the son of the man she loved, and this was the bedroom and the bed that hours before, he had been sharing with a woman who was several years older than she was.

  She took in a deep breath to adjust her attitude to one of professionalism. She and Joshua were there to uncover information.

  Joshua was examining the pill bottles lined up along Suellen Russell’s vanity. Her cosmetics, hair brushes, lotions, and jewelry were arranged in front of the mirror and to the side of it.

  “You know Suellen,” Cameron said. “Could she possibly have some connection to the man who killed Clyde’s wife?”

  “Tad would know better than I do.” Joshua pulled out his cell phone and focused the camera on the pill bottles, making sure that he got a clear view of the labels, and snapped a picture.

  A text popped up on his phone. It was from J.J. “Taking Suellen 2 appt. in Pitts. Call U when I get back.”

  “What are you doing?”

  Stunned, Joshua and Cameron stood up straight. Slowly, they turned to see Izzy standing in the doorway.

  “I thought we came to take care of Suellen’s critters,” Izzy said. “I don’t think there’re any critters in her bedroom.”

  “We came up to make her bed,” Joshua said.

  “Really?” Izzy folded her arms. “I wasn’t born yesterday. You two are snooping.”

  “Okay, we were snooping,” Cameron said. “Don’t tell J.J.”

  “What’s it worth to you?” Izzy asked.

  “I don’t negotiate with people listed as dependents on my tax returns.” Pointing his finger toward the open doorway, he said, “Go.”

  “All I want is a horse of my own.”

  Cameron ushered her toward the door. “You’ve never ridden a horse.”

  “I want lesso
ns, too. Tell you what—”

  “We’re through here.” Joshua closed the door behind them and escorted Izzy and Cameron down the stairs.

  Izzy was still negotiating. “I’ll forget I saw anything if you get me a horse and riding lessons.”

  Chapter Six

  Coffee Shop Outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  J.J.’s hot roasted-turkey sandwich was cold. Frowning at how unappealing his lunch had become while reviewing the recent changes in West Virginia’s statutes on violent crimes involving firearms, J.J. pushed it aside and turned his attention to a bag of potato chips.

  A quick glance at the time on his cell phone told him that Suellen’s meeting with her lawyer had been going on for an hour and a half. After Tad had released her from the hospital, both J.J. and the doctor had tried to get her to go home, but she’d insisted on going to Pittsburgh to see her lawyer.

  With a grin, J.J. recalled how her quiet strength was one of the things that had first attracted him to her. She was soft-spoken, yet there was so much strength in her nature that her wishes and desires could not be ignored. In that way, she was not unlike his mother had been.

  As he waited in the café, J.J. wished he had accepted Suellen’s invitation to sit in on the meeting. He didn’t like leaving her alone in her fragile state. But on the other hand, he believed it would’ve been inappropriate for him to intrude on her private legal affairs, even though he was only a few months away from getting his license to practice law. First, I need to pass the bar. He picked up his e-reader.

  Seeing her walk through the door of the coffee shop, he stood up from the table to greet her with a kiss before holding out her chair for her. “How did it go?”

  “Fine,” she said. “You didn’t need to leave.”

  “I need to keep up with my studying.” Seeing the server approaching the table, he asked, “Would you like something to eat? You didn’t touch your breakfast.”

  “Maybe some tea would settle my stomach.”

  While J.J. ordered a cup of herbal tea for her, he was aware that Suellen was studying him with a soft smile on her face. As soon as the server left, he chuckled. “What are you looking at? Do I have lettuce stuck between my teeth?” He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

  “Why don’t you have a girlfriend, J.J.?” she asked.

  He laughed.

  She turned serious. “You’re handsome, polite almost to a fault, extremely talented, and intelligent. Why—”

  “I’ve had girlfriends.” He then corrected himself. “Have, when I count you.”

  “Since me,” she said. “After you left. While you were in college.”

  “I’m afraid my priorities didn’t allow a lot of time for chasing women.” J.J. took a drink from his bottle of water. “I had to keep my GPA up while performing in the symphony in order to keep my scholarship and get into law school.” With a laugh, he added, “We won’t talk about the time I spent in law school working as an associate professor and doing an internship with a law firm.”

  “But you did have a fiancée,” Suellen said. “I believe her name was Destiny.”

  J.J. swallowed. “You heard about that.”

  “It is a small town,” she said. “What happened?”

  J.J. cocked his head, shrugged his shoulders, and took a sip of his water. “My family calls it an ‘unfortunate incident.’ She backed out of the wedding…at the altar…in front of ”—he swallowed—“everyone.”

  “Oh my. I didn’t know. That must have been so humiliating.”

  “Not really,” J.J. said in a soft voice. “I was unconscious at the time.”

  “Uncon—”

  “I’d really rather not talk about it.”

  “Then we won’t.”

  The silence between them lasted until the server returned with Suellen’s tea in a small metal pot. After letting the tea seep, she poured it into the mug and took a cautious sip.

  “I feel bad about what happened,” J.J. said in a soft voice.

  “But if she called it off—”

  “I shouldn’t have let things go that far.” J.J. sucked in a deep breath and swallowed. Taking a long sip of his water, he glanced around the coffee shop before he started. “Destiny was one of my students. A freshman. Intro to Prelaw.”

  Suellen smiled. “A student and the teacher. Sounds familiar.”

  “No,” J.J. said. “It wasn’t like you and me at all.” He stared at his tablet, which was resting next to the discarded sandwich. “I sensed that she had a crush on me, but I ignored it. Although she was legal, I couldn’t risk throwing away all of the hard work I’d done by going on a date with a student. After the class was over and she was no longer my student, I ran into her at a pub, and she asked me out. I said yes. She seduced me on the very first date.” He laughed. “Not that I fought her off very hard. A couple of months later, I realized she was moving into my apartment one article of clothing at a time. By fall, she had moved in, and I guess we were living together.”

  “You guess?”

  Slowly, J.J. shook his head. “I didn’t even realize it was happening. But I was, like—” He shrugged his shoulders. “Okay. She was nice. Pretty. Intelligent. We were very good together sexually.” He cleared his throat. “Then my twin, Murphy, got married. She started hinting. When Tracy got married six months after that, she turned up the heat. And even though she got on my nerves and I really did have my doubts about us, I just went along with it. That was my mistake. I guess I didn’t realize how big of a mistake it was until I fainted at the altar. By the time I came to, she’d slapped Murphy with her bridal bouquet and stormed out of the church.”

  “Sounds to me like you dodged a bullet.”

  J.J. smiled softly. “I know I did.”

  “Everyone gets on each other’s nerves, especially when they’re close,” she said. “What did she do to get on your nerves?”

  “She insisted on talking to me.”

  A slow grin came to Suellen’s lips. Realizing he was serious, she laughed. “She talked to you.”

  “Don’t laugh,” he said. “While you may know me, you’ve never actually lived with me.”

  “Rule number one of living with you is not to talk to you?”

  J.J. let out a deep breath. “I have a large family, and by the time I went to college, I realized that everyone has his thing. You can call it a ‘quirk’ or an ‘idiosyncrasy’—whatever. Murphy is into self-discipline. His wife calls him a control freak. My sister Sarah is into extreme sports—the more dangerous, the better.”

  “And you?”

  “I like my quiet, especially in the morning,” he said. “My apartment had a balcony that was right next to a big maple tree. On nice mornings, I really looked forward to sitting out there first thing with my mug of coffee and watching the birds in the tree. I even hung a suet ball in it so that more birds would come in. I’d sit there in complete quiet, watching those birds—I came to recognize them well enough to tell them apart. And I’d just watch them, listening to the quiet first thing in the morning.”

  “Then?”

  “Destiny moved in,” he said with dread in his tone. “Never failed. I’d go out onto the balcony to wake up to the birds singing and flying around, and she’d come out and start talking to me. The birds would take off. The more annoyed I got, the more offended she got. Finally, I came to realize that while I enjoyed the silence, it seemed to scare her. It was like she had to chase away the quiet by talking.” His eyes met hers. “With that being the case, there was no way that our relationship ever could have worked. It was just a matter of time. But I had pretty much resigned myself to her being my destiny.” He took another sip of the water. “Maybe you ruined me for other women.”

  Suellen didn’t return his laughter. Instead, she reached across the table to take his hand. “J.J., I want you to love again. Promise me that aft
er all of this is over, you will allow yourself to fall in love and to get married and to have a family. Promise me that.”

  When he tried to laugh off her request, she squeezed his hand. “Promise me, J.J. You will move on and love again.” She gritted her teeth. “Say it.”

  Slowly, he said, “I will love again…I promise.”

  A slight grin came to her lips. “Good. I’m going to hold you to that.”

  Releasing his hand, she picked up her tea and sipped it. J.J. watched her for a long moment before he broke their silence. “Okay, I told you about Destiny. Now it’s your turn. Tell me about Dylan.”

  She stopped with the mug in midair. Her eyes met his. “Dylan?”

  “You were talking in your sleep last night,” J.J. told her. “Before you started having your seizure.”

  With shaking hands, she brought the hot tea up to her lips. Instead of sipping it, she eyed J.J. over the top of the cup as if she wanted to wait for him to let the matter go. His eyes met hers. Finally, she set the cup down. Her voice was very soft when she asked, “Do you believe it’s possible to be haunted, J.J.?”

  He fought the laughter bubbling up from inside him at the notion. “Haunted?”

  “Haunted by…friends from long ago who might blame you for not doing the right thing by them.” She kept her eyes locked on his.

  Seeing that she was serious, he apologized. “I don’t believe in people from beyond coming back to haunt us as much as I believe in guilt tugging at our hearts, telling us to do the right thing.” After clearing his throat, he said, “We all let people down at some points in our lives. The important thing is realizing it and then doing something about it—setting things right.” He took her hand.

  “Dylan…” Her voice trailed off.

  Refusing to back down, J.J. continued to stare at her. Shame washed over her. She dropped her gaze to the tabletop.