The undercurrent between Ruth and Patrick also needed watching. Every time I noticed them together, Ruth was more vibrant and Patrick certainly seemed to be responding, drawing closer like a bee to a blossom, like Mel and I had been so many years ago. I carried the rest of the bouquets outside, wishing Edgy were here to help me keep track of it all.
Friends and neighbors gathered, visiting in small groups and carrying brown beer bottles or glasses of wine. Some had even brought their own favorite lawn chairs. They apparently planned to stretch the evening into the early morning hours. I was glad I had rested for a bit.
Ruth said behind me, “Were all of these people friends of Edgy’s?” She appeared to be holding up okay, but I sensed she was keeping a brave face by sheer willpower.
“I imagine you’re not used to so many people milling around,” I said softly. She wouldn’t want my words to be overheard by others.
“Ranch life is pretty solitary,” she whispered back.
“So is city life. Unless, like this, a death or wedding brings us together. Some of these folks I call my funeral friends because that’s the only time we see each other.”
Ruth pressed her lips together trying not to laugh, which made her eyes shinier and her cheeks rosier. “I don’t believe you,” she whispered. A few simple words had dispelled her anxiety. She matched Edgy with a grit I wished I possessed. She busied herself by greeting folks she didn’t know.
Dean appeared next to me, looking a bit bewildered. “Ruth looks happy,” he said.
“I wondered when you’d show up.”
“I had a few stops to make.”
I wanted to ask him where and why he’d have stops to make in a town he didn’t live in, but I held my tongue. Where he went wasn’t my business. Besides, curiosity might show an interest, and I certainly didn’t want that.
His lips eased, almost into a smile. “I need, um, parts for one of the tractors and was checking prices here.”
“Sure you were. Better grab a beer and help Patrick at the grill.”
He walked away with that irritating hip-rolling stride he was so proud of.
Ruth came up behind me, squeezed my shoulders with one arm, and whispered, “He likes you.” She caught up with him, and they joined the group managing the grill.
Late afternoon drifted into evening as we reminisced and laughed. A few couples declared they needed to go home. I walked around the side of the house with them and waved as they drove away. I almost bumped into Dean as I turned.
“Oops, I didn’t hear you,” I said.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. Just wanted to say I enjoyed the party, but it’s time to head for the hotel.” Fatigue dimmed his features, and his square shoulders bowed a little. He needed a good rest, and so did I.
I stifled a yawn and was too tired to distrust him. “It’s been a long day. Come sit for a bit and we’ll watch the others from a quiet spot and get a second wind.”
“I rarely get an offer of a second wind.” Mischief twinkled in his eyes.
“Well, you just did. Come on.” We strolled past the trees in the twilight toward the bench near the potting shed. The automatic timer had turned on the sprinklers along the back fence, and their gentle swooshing engulfed us with saturated smells of wet grass and damp pine needles; a few stray drops landed near enough for us to feel their chill.
Dean suddenly halted and grabbed my arm.
I jerked slightly at the warm pressure of his hand.
“Some guy’s hiding behind the blue spruce,” he said.
Oh, good grief. “Remember the man at church that Edgy had a fit about?”
“What?” Dean’s brows rose. “That creep?”
“Ever since she died, he’s been hiding in there spying on me. It’s his way of getting revenge for me because I saw him with another woman and told his wife.”
“You did that?” A slight grin mixed with surprise played across his face.
“I regret it, especially since he is now skulking around here watching me.” I didn’t mention I was nervous enough about it to hide the rifle under the bed.
“Nope. He doesn’t need to be doing that.” All business, Dean moved forward cat-quick. “Lester, what the hell are you doing? Come out from there.”
Lester rushed forward. His chest puffed and arms hooked like an ape, making him appear strong in anger. He jabbed a finger toward me. “She pushed Edwina Brewster down that hill!”
I couldn’t move but stood rooted to the spot in disbelief.
Dean put out his hand. “Don’t come any closer.”
Lester halted and bellowed at me. “Slayer!”
Patrick rounded the corner of the house and was immediately next to me. Marley, Ruth, and friends were right behind him and grouped on either side of us, all lined up against one crazy, belligerent man.
Lester glared at us, defiantly scanning everyone back and forth. “Sure, protect the murderer. Mrs. Cooper’s ass needs to be arrested and fried.”
Dean spoke softly. “You think Corinne killed Edwina? How so?”
“I saw her do it.”
“Where did you see this?”
“Way the hell out on KM Ranch Road. Some damned farmer built a meeting hall up there in the woods. Named it Millie’s after his wife. Of course, he was too cheap to use some land in one of his fancy hay fields. Wealthy bastards.” Lester rammed his chest out more, tendons tight in his neck. He sneered at Dean, “Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t belong here.”
Dean’s jaw clenched in his effort to remain civil. “Why don’t we go to the Justice Center and see Detective Langnecker. I’m sure he’d be interested in what you have to say.”
“Are you nuts?” Lester spat. “You’ve been hanging around here, spying on Edwina and stupid Corinne. I saw you spying on that Brewster woman.” He shook his upper body. “What was that about? Then I hear she died from a fall. Had to be you who pushed her, you lowlife bastard. Better get your ass back to where you came from. There’s no room here for the likes of you.”
Dean shifted forward, ready to pounce. “Mr. Fitch, I need you to leave. Now.”
Lester flipped him the finger, spun, and dodged toward the trees. He made it two steps before Dean snatched his collar from behind and threw him flat, belly down, like he would a steer. He quickly jammed his knee hard between Lester’s shoulder blades.
Dean kept his knee gouged into Lester’s back, pinning him to the ground. “If you don’t quit harassing this family, I’m going to sue you for defamation and trespassing. You’ll lose every cent you have.”
“Get off me!” Lester fought to get up.
Dean dug his knee harder into Lester’s back. “You sure you want to keep this up? Might want to rethink that.” The sound of his voice hammered with the force of a man who knew how to defeat anyone who messed with him.
Lester quit struggling. “I’ll go if you let me up,” he whined.
Dean eased off and stood above him. “Get along home.”
Lester struggled to his feet and stormed across the street, angling to cut through Edgy’s yard to his house.
Dean dusted his hands off on his jeans and turned toward the group of friends and neighbors. “Show’s over. Why don’t we all call it a night?” He took my arm and walked me to the backyard and into the house. I had wanted to say goodbye to the guests, but he didn’t give me the chance. He led me to a chair in the living room. “Marley will be here in a minute. You stay with her. I’m going to make sure Lester doesn’t come back.”
I found my voice. “Don’t do anything dumb. We can call Detective Langnecker.”
“No need. I’m just going to watch for a bit to see if Lester leaves his house. I’ll make the call if he does.”
Chapter 18
T he next morning, Marley and I stayed out of the way while Dean loaded suitcases and carry-on bags into his rental pickup. Marley got bumped once and laughed. “I can’t help it,” she said. “I’m not at all sure I want you to leave.”
/> “Then make yourself useful.” Ruth handed her one of the heavy cardboard boxes Fred had given her filled with mementoes that had been important to Edgy. She’d duct taped them very thoroughly so they would survive the trip, but I’d like to see her trying to open them at the ranch. It’d take a while.
I took a deep breath before I hugged Ruth tightly. “Please keep in touch.”
She blinked back tears. “You know I will.”
Dean didn’t hug me, not that I wanted him to. I was still uneasy with him, and he sensed it. That in itself should have made me less wary around him, but my defenses had been on high alert ever since the night Edgy had died. And he had been there, watching her buy drugs from Randal, and he claimed he saw a truck with mismatched fenders. I needed to square that with the fact that someone had pushed her hard enough that she died from it. The who was the question that kept me in deep anxiety.
Marley and I stood shoulder to shoulder until the truck turned the corner. She linked arms with me as we walked back to the porch.
She stopped short. “Where’s the morning paper?”
Unlinking my arm, I pointed. “Probably under those shrubs. I hope the new kid gets a better arm before the snow flies.”
I left her to dig it out and went in to pour coffee. She would claim the front page, and I’d be satisfied with the sports section and weather report page. Same routine every morning.
Marley unfolded the paper, rustled straight to the obituary section like she always did, and spread it out on the kitchen table. Her face drained of color, then turned red with anger. She pushed the open page toward me. “Look!”
I spun it around. On the bottom right was a black-and-white photo of me tossing a rose into Edgy’s open grave. The caption read, “Kalispell resident Corinne Cooper tosses a rose into the open grave of murder victim Edwina Brewster. According to Detective Theo Wood, Ms. Cooper is considered a person of interest in the ongoing homicide investigation by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office. When asked for an interview, she had no comment.” The credit below the article said, “Chad Downing, reporter for the Daily News.”
Marley and I locked eyes. The air conditioner kicked on. A pair of house finches trilled from somewhere near an open window. The mailman’s footsteps sounded on the front porch, and the mailbox lid rattled. I laid my head on the paper.
Marley scraped back her chair. She patted my shoulder as she walked by. “That reporter better hope he doesn’t end up in the ER. I have some dull needles.”
I quickly sat upright. “I won’t let them get me down, but that picture in the paper is a tough one.”
She stopped in the doorway and faced me. “It really is going to be okay. You’ve done nothing wrong, and someday the whole town will know it.”
We both jumped when the house phone rang. Marley checked the caller ID display. “It’s Bruce. You want to answer?”
I picked up.
“Mrs. Cooper, the commander and I need to have a talk with you. Do you want to come into the office, or would you be more comfortable at your house?”
“Commander of what?”
“My boss. We’re trying to trace the supply source for the opioids Ms. Brewster used.”
“I don’t know about them, but I will come there. After the picture in the paper this morning, I don’t want the neighbors to see half the police force at my door.”
“It’s just two of us.”
“You look like more. Give me an hour.” My hand trembled so much that I could barely tap the end call icon.
“What?” Marley demanded.
“They want me to tell them about Edgy’s drugs. I don’t know anything.”
Marley’s string of cuss words sounded as harsh as I felt.
Patrick ran down the stairs. “What’s the matter? And why the hell didn’t you wake me to say goodbye to Ruth and Dean?”
Marley threw her hands in the air, then zeroed in on me. “I told you he’d be mad.”
“Well, just shoot me.” I sailed past him and up the stairs, leaving her to explain. At the top of the stairs, I said loud enough to carry down to them, “I know you both want to ask but can’t, so I’ll just say it once. No. I did not kill Edgy.” I eased the bedroom door shut on Marley’s swear word and Patrick’s silence—and on the whole damn mess my life had become.
Patrick remained quiet as he drove us to the Justice Center. The stiff set of his features spoke volumes. His attitude didn’t help one bit. However, I was glad Marley had elected to stay home. I’m sure she had declined to go with us so her brother would witness my anxiety. She always accused him of not paying enough attention to what was going on around him.
In the vestibule, Detective Langnecker spoke quietly to Patrick. “Please have a seat here.” He indicated the same chair where Marley had waited for me. “Your mother won’t be long.”
Patrick slouched into a comfortable position as if it was normal to have your mother interviewed by law enforcement. And no, I wouldn’t start calling it my kids’ chair. See what the mind does when stressed beyond belief? I could have pinched my son’s earlobe as I passed by him to walk beside Langnecker to the small room where interviews were recorded. I would tell them what I could without revealing Edgy’s personal secrets.
I settled into my allotted place, looked at the camera, and straightened, listening to the annoying hum of the ceiling’s florescent light.
“Don’t be nervous,” Detective Langnecker said.
“Easy for you to say.”
The door opened and a man entered, filling the room with his girth. Round face, round paunch, and round blue eyes. He looked as Irish as they come and not at all intimidating.
He shook my hand. “I’m Commander Arlen Renny. I’m the guy who the detectives answer to.” He grinned like he expected me to smile back.
I didn’t.
He continued, “I know this is hard and, from what I understand, you’ve had your share of hard lately.”
My guard stiffened at his apparent trap. He had no reason to reassure me, and I wasn’t about to say anything incriminating. “Thank you,” I said as pleasantly as he had faked his greeting.
He pulled a chair away from the table and sat across from me. Detective Langnecker leaned against the far wall, looking at ease, but a muscle in his jaw worked as if he was grinding his teeth together.
The door opened again and in walked Theo Wood. “Sorry I’m late,” he said to Commander Renny, trying to sound agreeable to cover his rotten soul, but he couldn’t help adding, “Langnecker didn’t tell me about the meeting.”
Detective Langnecker remained unruffled by the jab, but his jaw still appeared tight.
The commander cleared his throat. “As I was saying, Mrs. Cooper, the toxicology report on Mrs. Brewster came back with high levels of opioids in her blood. We’re trying to track where she got them and if a doctor overprescribed them.”
“I don’t know anything about the drugs Edwina used.”
“You were her closest friend. Do you recall any time she left you waiting while she went to buy something and came back empty handed?”
“Sometimes she took a long time in a restroom. I figured she was dealing with anxiety. She suffered over things from her childhood.”
“Tell me about them so I can understand.”
“Have you talked with her husband about her past?”
“He hasn’t said much. I’d like to hear what you have to say.”
“Do you blame him? He’s lost his wife and your office is investigating him and me. Neither of us hurt Edgy.”
Theo Wood jumped in, scolding me like I was a dumb kid. “Ms. Cooper, you know full well we have to investigate every angle. Today we’re focusing on Mrs. Brewster’s drug use. Do you know who supplied her habit?”
“I knew you’d think she committed a crime.”
“She bought illegal drugs. That’s a crime.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“Don’t play the innocent with me.”
/>
Commander Renny frowned at Theo long enough that Theo looked down at the floor.
I didn’t squirm when he refocused on me.
“Mrs. Cooper,” he said. “I know this is uncomfortable, but this won’t take long. We’re just trying to figure out what happened to Mrs. Brewster. Anything you tell us is voluntary. You don’t have to answer, but we need your help to piece things together.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth to calm myself. “Whatever medications she took had to come from her doctor. Can’t think of his name. Surely you have that info.”
“Opioids are obtained in many places,” the Commander said. “Mail order, doctors, dealers. Know of any she might’ve used?”
I turned to Detective Langnecker, “How can I tell something I have no knowledge of?”
Theo Wood snorted, “You know a whole lot more than the line you’re trying to feed us.”
I didn’t respond, and neither did Langnecker. Commander Renny just tipped back in his chair, wide fingers entwined on his belly, and rocked for a moment, his eyes on me.
“Do you have an idea who might’ve pushed Edwina Brewster down that hill?” he asked.
“No.”
“Any idea who supplied her drugs?”
I paused for a fraction of a second. “I don’t know.”
“Who do you think did?”
“Maybe a family of loggers up Star Meadow Road.” The words just slipped out. I hadn’t mean to say them. I caught a glance between the three men. My heart raced. I had to relax. I curled my toes inside my shoes. The pressure helped calm me down before the next question.
Theo jumped on my slipup. “I knew it! She knows a lot more than she’s telling.”
Langnecker pulled out his notebook, flipped it open, and looked at me expectantly. “What family of loggers?” he said.
Blame the Car Ride Page 16