by Liliana Hart
“Oh,” Jack said. It had never dawned on either of us. “I guess it does.”
“He’s glad to help,” she said. “He said it had been a while since he had a challenge, so he’s looking forward to it.”
“Glad we can give him a challenge,” Jack said.
“Remember that when he gets to your house. Joanie’s going to stay at the hotel by the hospital, and I told her I’d stay with her, so Doug can have the guest room at your place. I figure it’ll be safer for him to stay put rather than traveling back and forth.”
“Good thinking,” Jack said. “What time should he arrive? I want to make sure we’re at the house and I’ve got a couple of officers in place. I don’t want to take any chances with him.”
“Joanie will appreciate that,” Michelle said. “Doug has a tendency to leap first and look later, so she pretty much lives in a constant state of stress. They’re about an hour out.”
“I’m really looking forward to meeting Doug,” I said.
“Joanie would probably let you adopt him without having to persuade her too hard,” Michelle said. “Oh, I almost forgot. Someone from the FBI came by while Ben was in surgery. They’re wanting to get some information about the crash. He seemed especially interested in where Ben’s computer was. I told him last I saw it Miranda was at home.”
“You get a name?”
“Clay Hawke,” Michelle said. “He’s out of Ben’s unit, but he’s a junior agent. He’s sniffing, hoping he can find something that’ll make him rise through the ranks. I told him it was just an accident and there was a search for the hit-and-run driver. But he’s probably going to track you down. He’s not stupid, and he’s got a good gut.”
“Always a dangerous combination,” Jack said, smiling. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“I’ll send you Joanie’s number so you can give her your address.”
“Good,” Jack said. “Get some rest.”
We were back in Bloody Mary by the time he disconnected, and I noticed he was turning down a familiar road. We’d spent a lot of time driving down Oleander this past week, and I breathed a sigh of relief as we passed by Foxglove Court. The people who lived on Foxglove were probably breathing a sigh of relief too. They’d seen way too much of us lately, considering that’s where Rosalyn McGowen had been murdered and eaten by her cats.
He drove to the next street and took a right onto Wolfsbane, and he stopped in front of the first house on the corner. All the houses in this part of town were built in the fifties with the exception of a few.
Marilee Hedgepeth lived in a blue craftsman house with white trim and a screened-in porch. Her flower beds reminded me of Nina’s, and I wondered if the two women shared a love of gardening. Now that I thought about it, Nina’s flower beds were the only inviting thing about the whole house.
A woman was standing on the front porch holding the screen door open for us before we could get out of the car.
“Sheriff Lawson?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jack said. “Thank you for seeing us. I know this has to be a difficult time for you.”
Marilee was probably a good twenty years older than Nina. She was a handsome woman, with wavy hair that was silver at the roots and turned dark toward the ends just above her shoulders. She wore pearl earrings and an oversized denim shirt and jeans.
“I appreciate you calling me,” she said. “The thought of Nina being gone breaks my heart. You’ll never meet a sweeter woman. But I can’t say I’m surprised she’s gone.”
“This is Dr. Graves,” Jack said. “She’s the coroner for the county.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “I recognize you. Y’all got married a couple of months back, didn’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
“You don’t have that newlywed glow,” she said, looking me up and down. “Y’all have a fight?”
I couldn’t help but smile at her straightforwardness. “Yes, but it’ll pass. Hazards of the job.”
“I imagine it must be hard, doing what y’all do,” she said. “I was married for forty years before my husband passed on a few years back. He worked at the sanitation department all his adult life, so our conversations weren’t as exciting as I’m sure the two of yours are. I never had to worry about him bringing his work home with him,” she said, chuckling.
Jack and I both laughed, and we followed Marilee into a sunroom. She already had a pitcher of iced tea and some cookies sitting on a platter waiting for us. The room was bright and sunny, and white fans spun lazily from the ceiling.
“Y’all have a seat,” she said. “The tea is sweet, and the cookies are snickerdoodle. I made them fresh this morning.”
“They smell amazing,” I said, taking a seat in a white wicker chair with a yellow and blue striped cushion. Her backyard was a showpiece designed around two big oak trees. There were flowers everywhere, and a pond with a small waterfall in the back corner. It was peaceful to look at and probably the devil to maintain.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about Nina last night after you called,” she said, taking the seat across from us. “I want to do whatever I can to help. Nina deserves better.”
“How long were you and Nina friends?” I asked her.
“Oh, I’m guessing more than ten or so years now,” she said. “I kept seeing her at the nursery, buying up all the flowers.” Marilee stopped and smiled as she reminisced. “She’d get lost in her own little world. She was always happy around her flowers. Talked to them and everything. She could make anything grow.
“That’s what I do, by the way,” she said, looking at us expectantly. “I own the nursery over on Elizabeth Street in King George. Been there thirty years, but I’ve got a manager to run the day-to-day things. I’m enjoying retirement.”
“Sure,” I said, smiling. “The Secret Garden. You always have those lovely hanging baskets out front. I love the colors.”
“Bougainvillea,” she said, nodding approvingly.
“I’m always tempted to stop by and get some, but I know I’d kill them. I don’t have a green thumb.”
“Flowers are meant to bring joy,” Marilee said. She poured the iced tea and then pushed the plate of cookies toward us. I happily took one. I was starving. “And if they die, then they die. And you appreciate the joy you had for a short time. You can always buy new ones.”
“I’ll remember that,” I said. “Maybe I’ll stop in after all.”
“There’s a girl,” Marilee said approvingly. And then she looked back at Jack. “I suppose you want to know about Nina.”
“I’d like to know why you weren’t surprised to hear about her death,” he said.
“Like I said,” she started. “Nina was the sweetest thing. Tiny as a fairy. And she had this naïve innocence about her. She looked like she was barely out of school, but she had a teenager she brought with her some days. Looked just like her. Lord, it broke Nina’s heart when Hailey stopped talking to her. She’d already been through so much when she lost her husband, and Hailey was her last connection to him. But Roy Walsh made sure he killed every bit of happiness Nina had.”
“Did you meet Roy before they married?” I asked.
“No, Nina never asked me to,” she said. “I think she knew deep down that she was making a mistake. I’d pick up on little things she’d say in conversation. I think she was lonely. Hailey was away at college, and Nina was left to ramble around the house she shared with Daryl by herself. She was a loan officer at the bank then. I think that’s where she met Roy. He came in with his buddies wanting to get a loan for a business, and he charmed her right into marriage and giving him every penny Daryl had left her. He made her quit her job, so she only had him to rely on. It all happened so fast. There was nothing I could do but be here and listen.”
“What happened with Hailey?” Jack asked.
“He got better at the abuse the longer he did it,” she said, her eyes flashing with anger. “In the early days, I don’t think he realized how delicate
Nina was. She was a fragile thing. She came by the house one day, and she was helping me out front in the flower beds. When she pushed her sleeves up, I could see perfect imprints of his fingers where he’d bruised her. And then there was another time I noticed because Nina rarely wears makeup, and she had on a full face of it to hide the bruise on her cheek.
“I confronted her about it then, and she broke down. That was about the same time she and Hailey had a falling out. I guess Hailey threatened to call the police on Roy, and Nina wouldn’t let her. Hailey’s no pushover, and she confronted Roy about it too, and told him to never lay another hand on her mother.”
Marilee paused and took a drink of tea, looking out to her backyard. It was a beautiful space. Peaceful.
“Well,” she said. “As you can imagine, that didn’t go over too well with Roy. He told Hailey to get out and that she wasn’t welcome there anymore. And he said if he ever found out that she and Nina were communicating there’d be hell to pay. Nina didn’t do anything to contradict him, and I think in that moment Hailey was just as angry with her mother as she was with Roy.”
“They didn’t talk after that?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “Not really. Nina would send Hailey gifts for Christmas and her birthday. Hailey would sometimes do the same. But Roy found one of the boxes Hailey had sent once, and Nina paid for it. Though he got a lot better about not leaving bruises on her after those first few months. But you can just tell. The woman I’d once known was completely gone. Even after Daryl died and she had the sad, helpless look in her eyes, I could still see Nina in there, and I knew she’d be okay. She just needed time to heal and to grieve. But after she met Roy, I never saw that woman again. So no, I’m not surprised at all that Nina’s gone. And there’s no doubt in my mind that Roy’s the one responsible.”
“Did she say specifically that she was ever in fear for her life?” Jack asked.
“No,” Marilee said. “This was her escape. We’d visit twice a week like clockwork. She’d come on the days Roy was on shift, so she didn’t have to worry about getting home and making sure the house was ready for him. You never saw a man so prissy in the way he liked things. He was like a drill sergeant, giving orders and checking to see if there was dust on the windowsills or if a bedspread was wrinkled. He was just looking for an excuse to punish her.
“But she’d come here, and we’d talk about flowers and everything but Roy. I was careful not to bring it up because I knew it upset her. But sometimes she’d say things to let me know what was going on. Or if she got something from Hailey. She started making sure she hid those gifts better.”
“You’ve been a big help, Marilee,” Jack said. “I’m glad Nina had a friend like you.”
“Me too, Sheriff,” she said, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. “Do you happen to have Hailey’s number? I’d like to reach out to her if I could. I don’t want her to think her mother will be forgotten.”
“I’ll make sure you get it,” Jack promised.
“Thank you,” she said.
We both stood, and Marilee moved to stand with us. “Y’all can go out back here,” she said, opening the sunroom door that led into the backyard. “Just follow the path around to the side of the house.” Then she looked at me and smiled. “Come see me, Dr. Graves. I might be able to help you find your green thumb.”
“I’d like that,” I said, shaking her hand.
I followed Jack around the side of the house thinking about flowers and Nina Walsh. And I felt lighter of heart because Jack was right. Nina hadn’t been completely alone. There were at least two people who loved her and who would keep her memory alive.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Michelle had called while we’d been talking with Marilee, so Jack called her back and arrangements were made for us to pick up Doug at the police station.
The town square and municipal buildings were located at the juncture of where the four corners of each town in King George met. The courthouse was Gothic in style and was surrounded by a parks and recreation project that had come in way over budget and way under delivered.
There were trees and park benches where city workers would sometimes eat lunch if the weather was nice. There was a mishmash of statues displaying the county’s history—an Algonquian Indian chief, King George I, who took the land from the Algonquians, and James Madison, because he was born in King George County. There was a grouping of cannons on the corner that faced the Potomac, signifying our part in fighting during the Civil War. The occasional tourist would stop and read the markers next to all of them, but for the most part they went unnoticed.
The municipal buildings were across the street and took up the entire block. The jail, the sheriff’s office, and fire station were all connected to one another. Parking was a nightmare, and there was barely room for the two fire trucks to get in and out of their slots.
Jack’s parking spot was right in front of the sheriff’s office, so he pulled into the vacant slot and we headed inside to get our first look at Doug. The front of the sheriff’s office had glass doors that led into a small waiting area with hard plastic chairs against the walls. I didn’t recognize the officer sitting behind the plexiglass wall that protected the rest of the building from the outside world. He was a little overweight and probably in his late fifties, with a round face and a few strands of hair he still valiantly tried to comb over. He looked like he was perfectly content to be sitting behind the desk, checking people in and out.
“Hey, Sheriff,” the man said.
“How’s it going, Hitchcock?” Jack asked.
“Nice and slow for the most part. Got a kid waiting for you in the break room. Said he was hungry, so Ramirez ordered him a pizza.”
“Good thinking,” Jack said. “This is Dr. Graves. Jaye, this is Arnold Hitchcock. He just came on with the new recruits.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, giving him a smile.
“I’ve heard all about you, Doc,” he said. “Word is you’ve got a mean right hook.”
“No point in using it if it’s not mean,” I said.
“Isn’t that the truth,” he said, nodding.
Jack typed in his code on the keypad on the door that was used by personnel, and I followed him toward his office. Betsy Clement had been secretary for every sheriff King George had elected for the last forty years, and she sat like a sentinel in front of Jack’s office in a three-sided cubicle.
“Hey, Sheriff,” she said, looking up briefly from whatever she was typing on her computer. “Got a visitor in the break room. I put messages on your desk, but there’s nothing too pressing. An FBI agent stopped by asking a bunch of questions about the wreck out by your place, but I might have misplaced his contact information.”
Jack grinned. “You’re a treasure.”
“I know,” she said. “Don’t think I’m not expecting a raise with this new windfall of tax money.”
“It’s at the top of my list,” Jack said.
He didn’t stop in his office, and we made our way down the long hall that held a couple of interrogation rooms and the break room. I could hear the hoots and hollers before we even got to the room.
“This should be good,” Jack said, opening the door wide.
A myriad of expressions greeted us as a mix of cops and other staff looked up from a computer monitor. The computer was sitting in front of a teenager with a red hoodie on, despite the fact it was summer and hot as Hades outside. There were empty pizza boxes spread out across the table.
Eyes widened and everyone moved back from the kid, taking the “every man for himself” approach, and several people took the opportunity to slip around Jack and out the door as we made our way farther into the room.
“Look, Ramirez,” the kid said. “You can even do this from home. It’s simple. I can fix you up for a hundred bucks. I’d do it for free, but a guy’s gotta eat.”
“No thanks, man,” Ramirez said. “I told you I wasn’t interested.”
“What are you talking
about?” the kid said, oblivious to his surroundings. “I thought you wanted to see if she was cheating?”
“As fascinating as this sounds,” Jack said, giving Ramirez a look that had the officer flushing red with embarrassment. “We’re going to have to take our visitor with us. I’m sure everyone else has work to do, considering we have an open homicide and I saw at least six cars illegally parked outside.”
The kid finally looked up from his screen and locked eyes with Jack. He didn’t look ashamed at all. He just gave Jack a lopsided grin. I covered my mouth with my hand to hide the smile. He looked so much like Carver it was eerie.
“You must be Sheriff Lawson,” he said. “I’m Doug. Thanks for the pizza. I was starving and my mom said she wanted to get me here as fast as she could, so I didn’t have time to eat before we left. Uncle Ben says you shot him. That’s wicked, man.”
“Thanks,” Jack said, looking at me.
“I think that means you’re cool,” I whispered, and Jack rolled his eyes.
Doug’s gaze turned toward me, and he waggled his eyebrows. “How you doin’?”
The snort of laughter snuck through before I could control it. “I’m good. I’m Dr. Graves.” I pointed at Jack and said, “His wife.”
“A doctor?” he said, closing his laptop and putting it away in his backpack. I noticed it looked an awful lot like Carver’s computer, Miranda. “I’ve always had a thing for a woman with a brain. Let me buy you some ice cream. I saw a place on the way here. You got a Snapchat account?”
Jack was clearly entertained as he watched Doug work his magic. “You remind me a lot of your uncle,” Jack said. “Do I want to know what you were doing for Ramirez?”
“Nothing much,” Doug said. “Just a simple surveillance using satellites. Big Brother really is watching. No one has any privacy anymore. All you have to do is link up and you can see anyone, anywhere. I built a kind of safeguard, though, on my computer, so if you stick close to me no one can watch you without me knowing about it.”
Doug slung his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed a couple of duffle bags from under the table. I looked at them in surprise and wondered how long Doug thought he was staying.