Dogs and More Dogs, Another Murder

by Christa Nardi

With our system, we worked steadily and even moved boxes so we could sit while we sorted. After about three hours we had the porch cleared other than our “seats” and the one box, now almost full, of mail that might need to be opened and shredded.

  “Relax for a few minutes. There’s bottled water in that bag if you’re thirsty. Not as good as coffee, but …”

  Helen exhaled and grabbed a water. I returned to the fray. I looked around and other than some stacks higher than others and loose mail and newspaper on the floor, I couldn’t see anyone.

  “Anyone want water?”

  “Upstairs. I’ll come down – don’t even try to come up.” I could hear the disdain in Brett’s voice. I picked up the loose stuff off the floor in front of me for a couple of feet and brought it out to Helen. I went back inside, bag in one hand, and used my feet to move as much loose stuff as possible into a pile. Brett suddenly appeared in front of me. Seeing what I was doing, he started pushing the stuff in my direction. We met up and I handed him the bag of water.

  “Heads up. We have to get home – at least one of us – in the next hour.”

  He nodded and whispered, “He’s one of a kind and not the good kind.”

  He turned and walked away. I picked up the papers and brought them out to Helen.

  “Brett and I can only stay…”

  A car pulled in and I recognized it immediately. Blake Buchanan had arrived. The officer stopped him at the car. I yelled in the door, “Blake Buchanan is here.”

  Then I sat with Helen, whose mouth dropped, and waited. Blake joined us on the porch, the officer trotting behind him.

  “I’m not going in, just paying my respects to these lovely ladies. Hello, Sheridan. And you must be Helen. I dare say the last time I saw you, you were a toddler. I’m Blake Buchanan and I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Helen hesitated when faced with his southern charm and smile. “Thank you, Mr. Buchanan. And thank you for your assistance in finding …”

  Her voice broke and before she could regain her composure, Jacob bellowed, “Get off my property, you slime ball. Who do you think you are? You could care less about us or our parents.”

  By then Jacob was on the porch. Obviously, he wasn’t used to heavy exertion and had been sweating. A new odor to add to the smells. His face was red, his breathing heavy, and his fists clenched.

  Brett moved around Jacob and nodded to Blake. The chief came out last. He looked to Jacob. “You may not be aware of it, however Mr. Buchanan has been extremely helpful. If not for his dogs, we wouldn’t have found your parents at all.”

  Jacob looked at Blake and sneered. “So what brings you out here this time?”

  “I wanted to stop and pay my respects, offer my condolences, and see if I could help in any way.” He shrugged like his reasons were obvious.

  Jacob took a step forward and both Brett and the chief positioned themselves to intervene if necessary.

  “We don’t need your respect or condolences or any help from a Buchanan. Your kind play dirty and you just want our land. You probably killed my father and mother to get it. Chief, why haven’t you arrested him? He’s guilty as sin.”

  The chief let him rant and put up his hand. “Blake, I don’t think you’re welcome here right now. I certainly appreciate all the help you’ve provided. Please be on your way.”

  Blake opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and left.

  “Mr. Stoneham. There is no evidence that Blake or any member of his family had anything to do with your parents’ deaths. In fact, I would remind you that your father’s death was determined to be of natural causes. Without facts or evidence, you’d best be careful of making accusations.”

  Jacob raised his hand slightly and the chief put his hand up to signal him to stop.

  “We’ve been at this for hours. We’re all tired and we need a break. I don’t see this all going anywhere.” He looked around the porch and smiled. “These ladies need to share their system – fine job out here.”

  “Chief? The box over there is mail I’d like to look at – get account numbers from, you know. Can I take that box with me?”

  “Yes, ma’am. You can.”

  “No, she can’t. Not until I make sure the will or legal papers aren’t in there.” Jacob grabbed for the box and the contents went flying.

  “See what you made me do!” He lunged for Helen and tripped as Brett’s well-placed leg got in his way.

  I put the papers back into the box and handed the box to the chief. He thumbed through the envelopes. “Electric company. Chewy’s dog supplies. Meals-To-Go. Chevron bill. And more of the same. Nothing from an attorney. And Helen, you need to contact Chewy’s and Meals-To-Go and cancel the orders, as soon as possible.”

  She nodded and turned to leave.

  “Can we plan on meeting here again at nine tomorrow morning?”

  Brett and I exchanged nods before he answered in the affirmative. Jacob and Helen nodded. Tired and cold, we followed Helen down the driveway. Before she left us, she handed me a piece of paper with her phone number and asked me to call her later. It was after dinner, with Maddie in her room, when I called Helen back with my number blocked and the phone on speaker.

  “Hi, Helen. Sheridan Hendley here. You asked me to call?”

  “Yes. I wanted to thank you for your support and help these past few days, among other things. I didn’t want to talk at the house where Jacob might have heard me. I met with the manager at the bank this morning and turned in a copy of the letter from the coroner, attesting to my father's death. There’s some hold up on the actual death certificate, but that was sufficient.”

  “And, what were you able to find out?”

  “His checks have been autodeposited and I have a listing of all the autopays from the account. The bank manager cancelled the debit card effective immediately when I told him we didn’t have a clue where it was. I asked him to freeze the account until it was all straightened out with who inherited. He … You were right. He said the banking aspect was not part of the estate. I was the only other person on the account.”

  “That’s one less thing to worry about, though you need to deal with all the autopay accounts.”

  “I managed to reach some of them before we came to the house today. The coroner also helped me with setting up funeral arrangements. Jacob plans to go home to Atlanta on Wednesday, so I’m scheduling the services and memorial for Tuesday. That was the soonest I could arrange for burial in the family plots in Oak Grove.”

  “Good. You are making decisions and you’ll be able to get some closure.”

  “I can deal with accounting and banking and such. There are rules and procedures. Jacob is the problem. That and the open investigation. I know you’re helping the chief. Are there any other questions you need to ask?”

  I hesitated and looked to Brett. Then I remembered the one question we had. “One thing we wondered about. There’s apparently a shack in the woods out back. Do you remember it or know what it was used for?”

  She chuckled. “Different things at different times. When I was little I asked for a treehouse or a life size doll house or something. The shack was my place to play when my parents wanted me or both of us out of the way. I remember it most from that time. It was closed in and had a bathroom and small fridge. Most of my dolls and stuffed animals lived there. My father didn’t like clutter.”

  “That’s interesting. That your dolls and animals had their own house, I mean.”

  “As I got older, and Jacob got bigger, his trucks and stuff took over and it wasn’t as much fun. I didn’t like being there with him alone. He was always mean to me.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “After a while, I’d refuse to go there. I’d play outside instead. Sometimes, my mother would tell us dad went away on a business trip, but I figured out sometimes he stayed in the shack. In high school, I caught them both in the shack. Embarrassing then,” she laughed, “kind of funny now.”

  On our end, we
both smiled. “Can you think of any other hideaways your dad or mom had? Any place he might have stashed his will?”

  “Afraid not. Other than the house, the shack, and the bank, occasionally to church, I don’t think he ever went anywhere. My mom only left the house to get groceries and run errands related to the house. Growing up, I watched how she catered to my dad and swore I wouldn’t end up in that kind of relationship.”

  “Let us know if you think of anything else and we’ll see you in the morning.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Melina came by promptly at half past eight. Amazingly, Maddie was dressed and ready to go. Of course, she and Nedra would be playing with the pups all morning and then playing at Melina’s house until we finished up at the Stoneham place. Or ran out of energy or patience or both. We’d discussed what song she’d sing for the tryouts and I suspected the dogs and anyone else around would be her captive audience.

  Brett and I stopped at Dunkin’ and got a large thermos of coffee as well as individual coffees for us and a dozen donuts. I gobbled up a cinnamon roll before we even got to the Stoneham place. This time we arrived after the chief and Helen. No sign of Jacob. I wasn’t sorry.

  It wasn’t too cold and, to create space inside, Brett and the chief moved boxes out to the porch, stacked three high. Then they went to work using our system of working from a box to the floor and then using the empty box to sort out the next box. It was a different officer, but he was so thankful for the coffee and donuts, he was happy to be our conduit to the dumpster.

  We worked steadily with minimal conversation. When Jacob still wasn’t there an hour later, I asked, “Did you talk to Jacob at all last night or this morning?”

  She huffed. “He called me around midnight, yelling in a drunken rage. I hung up on him. He’s probably hung over.”

  We worked some more and she stood up, paper falling to the porch floor.

  “What did you find?”

  “I’m not sure. The return address looks like an attorney to me.” She handed it to me.

  “Greenspan, Morrison, Grant, and Lane. Definitely could be an attorney. Better let the chief know.”

  She took the letter and went inside. I decided it was time for a stretch and walked as far as the doorway. Brett had been walking past us with box after box and it was now apparent just how many boxes. There was now a lane at least five boxes wide and four deep. I could see there was a table under the boxes on my right. Most importantly, the front windows were no longer obstructed and light filtered in.

  Brett joined me while the chief and Helen had a private conversation. I whispered, “Furniture” and tapped the table. He smiled. The chief and Helen joined us.

  “I’ve put a call in to the number for this firm and asked them to return my call regarding Herman and Justine. Hopefully, their answering service will get them the message and realize this is not a ‘wait until we have time’ phone call. In the meantime, I’ll hold onto this.”

  Helen and I resumed our work out on the porch after coffee refills. When we’d cleaned off the porch, we joined the men inside. We all stopped when the chief’s phone rang.

  “Uh huh. Yes. I understand. Thank you for the notification.” He hung up and shook his head.

  “That was someone from the next police district – Oak Grove. Jacob was stopped for driving under the influence and spent the night as their guest. When he took off his shirt – he got sick on himself – they noticed scratches and a puncture wound on his arm. They’re holding him until the local doctor can check it out. He’s already claiming police brutality and threatening to sue, so he’ll be completely checked out before he’s released.”

  He rolled his eyes and then smiled. I didn’t ask what “completely checked out” meant.

  “I knew he was drunk when he called. I’m glad they picked him up. But why was he in Oak Grove? I wonder if he visited the cemetery and the family plots.”

  I shrugged. “Guess we keep working then. Though, um… Can we move some of the boxes to get to the bathroom?”

  Brett laughed. “Upstairs. We had to get access yesterday. It works and it’s not too bad. There’s even toilet paper.”

  I went upstairs and gasped. As downstairs, what had been a relatively neat stacking of boxes, was now random. I managed to step over and around boxes to get to the bathroom. While there, I checked the vanity drawers – only the usual bathroom stuff. I knew it was a longshot, likely a function of too much television and murder mysteries, yet I lifted the lid of the commode to check for anything hidden there. Nothing. Disappointed, I made my way back downstairs.

  By noon, we all found boxes to sit on and relaxed. We’d uncovered the front of a sofa Helen remembered and the coffee table. She smiled but with a sadness in her eyes as she looked around what was once again beginning to look like what she remembered of her childhood home.

  “Pizza anyone? Fresh coffee?” The chief looked at each of us as we nodded. Then he called in the order. Three large pizzas, six coffees, and lots of napkins.

  “We have bottled water in the car, too.”

  “Have you found anything interesting yet?” Helen asked the men.

  The chief snorted. “We discovered the downstairs bathroom. Still works though obviously wasn’t being used.” He hesitated. “Jacob mentioned a small gun safe. Do you have any recollection of where that might have been?”

  “Not really, but I’m thinking it was in their room. The room…” She turned a little green again.

  “Put your head between your knees. It’ll pass in a few minutes. Do you know how a water brigade works?”

  We nodded and the chief continued. “Okay we’ve cleaned up some space here and the stairs are clear. I think we need to form a brigade and pass boxes down from the master bedroom to the hall upstairs and get them down here and out on the porch. Helen, you can stay down here and keep sorting. If Jacob shows up, holler and I’ll get my officer back outside fast. While we wait on the pizza, Brett and I will start moving the boxes from in front of the master bedroom to the stairs. Sound like a plan?”

  All in agreement, the two of them disappeared upstairs. I followed behind and grabbed up all the loose stuff in the hall. Brett brought the first box downstairs for Helen to work on and the chief followed with another. As we worked, we could hear them moving around upstairs, moving boxes to the stairs. When the pizza arrived, we yelled and they came down, each carrying a box.

  Tired and hungry, there wasn’t much conversation. The chief called the officer outside to come in and eat with us. The pizza was hot, the coffee was fresh, and we were sated in no time. Unfortunately, Brett and the officer had all the boxes they’d already moved to the stairs downstairs quicker than we could dispose of them. Then the brigade began. The chief would take a box to Brett to the officer to me to Helen. About ten boxes later, I saw movement outside and yelled “Incoming.”

  All three men were downstairs in a heartbeat, each with a box. The chief and officer went outside. Brett looked to me his brows raised.

  “I didn’t see a car. I saw a person dart from our car to behind Helen’s. I don’t know if it was Jacob or not. I thought I saw someone in the woods yesterday too. This time I can tell you they had a blue jacket on.”

  He nodded and stood in the doorway. Helen and I watched the scene outside through the dirty windows. We watched the two men in the yard signal each other and heard the chief when he said, “You can’t sneak away. Whoever you are, come out and explain yourself right now.”

  We all walked out onto the porch. Nothing happened for a few seconds and then the chief shook his head. “Lacie, what are you doing here?”

  “I came … I came to see what was going on. You seem to think I killed Justine and I can’t go to work. Dora doesn’t need me and she makes me crazy anyway.”

  “Wait. Aren’t you the housekeeper who was helping my mother out?”

  Lacie nodded. “Until Herman retired. Then he said she didn’t need help.”

  “That’s not quite consis
tent with the payment records we found, Lacie.”

  She shrugged. “Every once in a while, Justine’d call when Herman wasn’t around and I’d come out. But not weekly like before.”

  The chief stared at her, as if waiting for something else. She didn’t say another word. Just turned to walk off.

  “Lacie. My office. Let me know when it’s convenient. I expect you to arrange for it before Monday morning.”

  She turned around and nodded. Then she disappeared from my view.

  “Did you see where she went?”

  Brett shook his head. “The driveway curves just enough that she vanished. She must have parked on the road.”

  “Okay, folks. In another hour, we should be able to get into the bedroom.” He turned to the officer. “John, you need to stay out here. Just keep helping the ladies get the boxes into the dumpster.”

  We followed the chief into the house. The chief and Brett brought boxes and we sorted and sorted. The officer stayed outside but continued to take boxes from us to the dumpster. I knew they’d made it into the room when Brett took one parcel of stuff out the door. It looked like sheets all folded up.

  Chief Peabody followed him and grunted. “Not as young as I used to be. Jacob still hasn’t made it here and I think it’s time to call it a day. I think it’ll only take a couple of hours to get to the master bath and closet. Anyone game for tomorrow?”

  I looked to Brett and he nodded. “We can be here. That’s definitely the most likely place to find a will or legal documents.”

  He paused and turned to Helen. “I’m afraid after that, you’ll be on your own. I’d suggest hiring some high school boys, starting with Dan who did the yard work around here. Just to cart the boxes downstairs.”

  The chief added, “I’ll arrange to have the dumpster replaced with a fresh one on Monday. That one will be full by tomorrow.”

  “Okay. I appreciate your help. I doubt Jacob will do much. And Chief Peabody, I already told Brett and Sheridan, I tentatively planned a service for my father on Tuesday. Jacob said he’s returning to Atlanta on Wednesday.”