Fatal, Family, Album

by Joanna Campbell Slan

  I was curious if Lee was being singled out, so I asked her, “Do you know whether or not the cops questioned every member of the Zoo Keepers board?”

  Lee thought that over. “I have no idea. They did ask me a lot of questions about where everyone was and what they were doing. I told them that I walked in, set my purse on a chair, and looked over my notes before the board meeting.”

  “You never left your seat?” I asked.

  “Well…I did go back into the kitchenette to help Annie Patel make herself a cup of coffee. The Meyer Building just bought one of those fancy Nespresso machines. She didn’t know how to use it, so I helped her.”

  “Who was in the board room when you left your purse behind?”

  “No one. Annie and I were the first people there. Vicky Dillon and Peggy Rankin came in just as Annie and I walked back into the conference room.”

  “We need a way to get those four women to talk to us,” I said. “They might have useful information. Is it possible one of them fiddled with your phone, Lee?”

  “Not likely,” she started to say, but then she stopped. “Oh, no! I just thought of something. In the January board meeting, I used my phone to show off photos from my daughter Taylor’s wedding. Vicky, Peggy, Rook, and Annie were all crowded around me when I keyed in my access number!”

  Rebekkah spoke up. “Then any one of them could have remembered that code. They could have slipped your phone out of your purse, used your passcode and sent a text to Nancy.”

  “All four of those women from the Zoo Keepers board knew that Nancy left the Meyer Building with a cashier’s check for a million dollars. So did every member of that board. Maybe someone took the check, not realizing they wouldn’t be able to cash it.”

  “What do I do?” Lee sounded shocked, scared, and stunned. “Nothing? Do I just wait and hope that Jim Hagg is as good as they say he is? Should I call Detective Albertez and tell him all this?”

  “I certainly wouldn’t call Albertez.” I felt totally defeated and probably sounded that way, too. “I wish Detweiler could help us, but he can’t. At least, I don’t think he can. After all the problems they’ve had up in Ferguson, the cops up there are not interested in talking to outsiders. That includes members of any other police department. Period. And who can blame them?”

  “Then there’s just one thing to do.” Clancy snapped her fingers. “We need to make sure those four board members come to one of our crops here at the store. If they’re here, we can pump them for more information.”

  That sounded to me like a very, very good plan.

  CHAPTER 17

  Lee left shortly thereafter with a promise to come the next night for the crop. Clancy went through the registrations. Zoo Keepers board members Vicky and Annie were scheduled to come tonight. We hadn’t heard from Peggy. I sent Lee an email, explaining that Peggy wasn’t signed up to attend. She called me on the phone to say that she would make sure that Peggy came, even if she had to drag her along. “I’ll remind her that she’s a board member and that this is to help us raise money.”

  “If she doesn’t come, that’s another reason to be suspicious of her,” I added.

  I went home at five thirty.

  Several times I picked up my phone out of habit and started to call Anya. Then I’d remember that I couldn’t.

  I distracted myself by turning on the radio. The news was all abuzz in preparation for the visit from the young royals. I listened until I pulled into my garage and turned off the engine of the BMW.

  Only then did my phone ring. It was Jennifer. “Anya wants to come home, but she’s too stubborn to call you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, she keeps mentioning how much she misses Seymour, but she’s also missing her family.”

  “What is she thinking about Brawny?”

  “Nothing inappropriate happened. Anya asked her about tampons and how they work. How you use them. She feels stupid now. Plus, she asked Brawny a few questions about sex, and that’s bothering her.”

  I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath, but I had. “Thank goodness. I understand that she’s embarrassed, but if it had been more than that we would have let Brawny go.”

  “Of course you would have. I told Anya that you would be picking her up after school tomorrow. I explained that Nicci and I needed a little mother-daughter time.”

  “She didn’t fuss?”

  “She pouted for half a second. That’s all. She thanked me for being so kind to her. I told her she was always welcome at our house. Actually, I think Anya was relieved. She could go home with her head held high because she didn’t cave in. But she’d definitely made her point.”

  “She sure did. Jennifer, I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.”

  “Sure you can. I even have the perfect way for you to show your appreciation.”

  “Do tell.”

  “When William and Kate come to town, the Young Women Leaders are organizing the children’s activities.”

  “Sounds like fun. I mean, how can you go wrong with adorable kids and exotic animals? How can I help?”

  “As you know, I’m the president this year, and I was hoping you could assist me in entertaining the children. Have you heard about Kali? He’s a baby polar bear born at our zoo. Because he’s so adorable, we decided that a polar bear theme would be cute. I realize that Will is more concerned about elephants and rhinos, but with the ice cap melting, polar bears are in trouble, too.”

  The engine of my car tick-tick-ticked as it cooled. I hoped Jennifer would get to the point. I was getting cold out here in my garage. “Do you need a fun project for the kids to do? Something for the guests to take home?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Her tone got me worried. “Why am I getting the idea it might be something I’ll regret?”

  “Would I put you in an awkward situation?”

  “Yes, if you couldn’t find another patsy to help out.”

  I could almost hear my friend roll her eyes. I’m fairly positive she learned that from me. It’s not the sort of thing a well-brought-up lady like Jennifer would ever do on her own without guidance. “Okay, you’re kind of right. But not entirely. See, you and Nancy Owens are nearly the same size. Were nearly the same size. Whatever.”

  “You want me to pretend to be Nancy?”

  “Not exactly. The Young Women Leaders was the first group to celebrate when Kali was born. We thought he was adorable. Maybe we went a bit overboard because our president at the time bought a costume. A polar bear costume.”

  “If you’re asking me to wear a polar bear costume, I have a question. An important question.” I paused for effect. “Are you nuts? Polar bears are big! Really, really big. I won’t fit in a polar bear costume, will I? In fact, how did Nancy pull that off?”

  “Yes, you actually will fit perfectly in the costume, just like Nancy did. See, after the polar bear costume was worn once, our past president put it in her laundry basket. Her cleaning lady thought it was a fake fur rug and washed it. It shrank down to your size.”

  “Terrific. I always wanted wear a polar bear costume. I especially wanted to wear a fuzzy white suit while meeting Kate Middleton, the epitome of style and fashion. Thank you, Jennifer, for making my dreams come true. Any photos taken with me in them will be real family keepsakes. I can hand them down to my grandkids. Oh, look, there’s grandma somewhere in that big white piece of carpet. Isn’t she cute?”

  That got Jennifer giggling. “You do owe me.”

  “Yes, I do, and all teasing aside, I’m happy to help you in any way that I can. If it’s wearing a polar bear costume, I’ll do it. At least you’re asking me to dress in fake fur when it’s cold outside. For that I should be grateful.”

  “You really should. You’ll be a very, very cute polar bear. I’m sure of it.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Thanks a heap. I’ll need details.”

  “And you shall have them. They’re on their way to you right now. Check you
r email, okay? I’ll need you to send the forms back to me ASAP so I can get you a security pass.”

  “While we’re on the subject of Nancy Owens, what do you know about her?”

  “Not much. She was a good little worker. Always did as asked. In fact, she didn’t complain about the polar bear costume.”

  “Ha, ha, ha.”

  “Her husband is quiet. Her stepdaughter hates—hated—her. She made fun of everything Nancy did. Stevie told me that. He knows Rochelle from seeing her at football and basketball games. In fact, they’re the same age. Stevie and Rochelle. I think he took SAT prep classes with her.”

  “Look, I’m sitting in my car in my garage, freezing my backside off. I better get inside or Ty will have a frozen milkshake for dinner.”

  Jennifer laughed, and I found myself smiling. My daughter was coming home!

  CHAPTER 18

  Rebekkah came in early Friday. That was unusual for her. Even when she’s scheduled to work early, she’s typically a bit late. Today she was there before Clancy. I was freezing as I opened the back door and greeted her. The air outside was like an assault. Luckily for Rebekkah, she was entirely bundled up.

  “Where’s Gracie?” Rebekkah craned her neck to look around as she tugged off her crocheted muffler.

  “She’s home with the little boys. They’re both sick with a tummy bug.”

  “Ah. Makes sense. Who wouldn’t love a big, furry cuddle-bug like Gracie? Especially when you aren’t feeling well.”

  Rebekkah stepped away from the coat rack and I got a good look at her. Laurel has influenced Rebekkah to pay more attention to what she wears, and the results have been outstanding. Today she had on a red crew neck sweater and jeans. The cuffs on her pants were turned up to reveal a jaunty red-and-dark green plaid flannel lining.

  “Are those warm?” I asked.

  “Best thing ever. These and silk pant liners. You ought to try them.”

  “Maybe I will. How’s your dad?”

  “They’re releasing Abba at eleven, but I thought I’d drop by here first and see if there’s any more work to do.”

  “You could help re-stock the wire racks,” I said. “That would be super.”

  She took the new packages of paper from me. We walked out onto the sales floor together, but Rebekkah seemed to be dragging her feet. “Kiki? Anya called me last night.”

  I stopped in my tracks. “She did? What did she say?”

  “She feels betrayed by you and Detweiler. She’s really embarrassed about things she said to Brawny. She thinks you two might have known, but kept Brawny’s gender issues a secret.”

  “We did not.” I heard the desperation in my voice. “I promise you. We did not.”

  “I know. That’s not like you. I told her I thought she was conflating two emotions. She asked what ‘conflating’ meant, and I told her to look it up. I explained that it can be really easy to feel emotional, but not so easy to sort out the exact reasons.”

  I thanked Rebekkah for taking our side.

  “No thanks are necessary. I told her the truth, that’s all. I don’t think that was really what bothered her.”

  I froze. “Then what was it?”

  “I think she’s jealous of her little brothers. She suspects that you weren’t worried about her, but you were worried about Erik. While she didn’t come out and say it, I got the impression she thinks you were so concerned about his safety that you didn’t bother to give a second thought to how she, Anya, might feel about Brawny.”

  “Oh.” I sank down into one of the kitchen chairs. “That’s a surprise. It never dawned on me that she’d think I’d put his safety over her feelings.”

  “I realize you wouldn’t. I think she knows that in her heart-of-hearts, but she’s coming to grips with everything.” Rebekkah lifted a wayward strand of hair out of her eyes. “Please don’t tell her I shared this. I think she’s having a hard time being honest with herself. I figured that if I said something, it might make it easier for you to get her to open up.”

  With that, she got to work. Clancy phoned to say she was running behind. She’d stood in line a long time to buy treats for this evening’s crop. Because it was a special order—four dozen iced sugar cookies in the shape of various animals—she had to grit her teeth and bear the wait.

  Curtis arrived at ten. He told me that things were progressing nicely. Although I didn’t really have the time for it, I agreed to let him walk me around the store so I could see his progress. Some of the walls were still damp, according to a meter he used. Most of the store was fine. He felt he had no choice but to rip up a small area of the floor where water had seeped down. “If it got in the struts, you could have a problem. Not today or tomorrow, but down the line.”

  Rebekkah left at eleven. Clancy showed up a few minutes later.

  At noon, Laurel came into the store. Her skinny jeans were tucked into a cute pair of brown booties with tassel trim. Her sheepskin coat came off to reveal a black turtle neck sweater. Maybe it was the color, but she sure seemed pale to me. From a plaid bag over her arm, she removed two stacks of paper, clipped together at the top. One held our original inventories. The other consisted of duplicated copies. She’d gone through every charge on the second copy and highlighted ruined merchandise. First I would double-check her work and then Clancy would run an accounting tape to come up with a total dollar amount of our losses.

  “How did you do all this from home?” I asked Laurel as I realized she had marked page after page of useless merchandise.

  “Clancy texted me as she went along. She also text-messaged me items as you marked them ruined.”

  Clancy gave me a sheepish shrug. “It seemed like the fastest way to get everything done.”

  I nodded gratefully. “Ladies, you two are lifesavers.”

  “Excuse me.” Curtis slipped behind Clancy and helped himself to a fresh cup of coffee. As it poured, the rich aroma of hazelnut and coffee beans filled the air. I found it heavenly, but Laurel turned green and raced into the bathroom. Although we were twelve feet away and the door was shut, we could hear her being violently sick. Repeatedly. When the door finally opened, Laurel wobbled out, barely able to keep her balance. I put an arm around her and noticed how prominent her shoulder blades were.

  Have you lost weight?” I asked, knowing the answer.

  “Yes. Five pounds.”

  Clancy and I exchanged looks. Five pounds? Laurel is always thin, and five pounds on her was a lot of weight.

  “You’re sick often?” Clancy asked.

  “Almost all the time. I’m sick more than I’m well. Even the Saltines don’t seem to help me now.” She propped her head up on her hands. “I just feel a little dizzy, that’s all.”

  I pulled my phone out of my purse and dialed Laurel’s fiancé, Joe. He picked up on the first ring. “Joe? This is Kiki.”

  “Don’t!” Laurel tried to snatch the phone out of my hands. I danced away, keeping out of her reach. After Joe said hello, I barreled on ahead. “I think you need to go with Laurel to the doctor, and I think you need to go sooner rather than later.”

  “Kiki!” Laurel batted at me. “No, I’m fine.”

  “No, she’s not, Joe. She’s lost five pounds, she’s pale, and can’t keep anything down. You need to be very specific with the doctor. How many times a day is Laurel vomiting? Does she ever keep anything down? I have a hunch she’s dehydrated. I’m worried about her blood sugar. If she’s throwing up after taking her insulin, her numbers could be off.”

  “That never even occurred to me. I’ll be right there to pick her up. I’ll take her to an urgent care facility.”

  “Good idea,” I said, still backing away from my friend while Laurel half-heartedly swatted at my hands. Her lack of spunk confirmed I’d done the right thing, whether she was happy about it or not. I ended the conversation with Joe and took the seat across from Laurel’s.

  “I don’t know whether to thank you or be put out,” she said, brushing aside a stray lock of
her blond hair.

  “You don’t have to decide right now. In fact, I don’t care how you feel about the call I just made. Here’s the deal: If you get to Urgent Care and you’re fine, no biggie. If you’re dehydrated, then it’s good you went. If you aren’t dehydrated, you can still tell them how often you’ve been sick. That should spur your ob/gyn into action. There are things he can prescribe.”

  She bowed her head to hide her expression. “I hate bothering Joe with this. He’s busy. His parishioners need him. One of the vestry members is dying, and his wife is distraught. Joe’s been spending hours in the hospital, holding her hand.”

  “I get that. Really I do. However, he has a lot of parishioners and only one of you. If he takes time off work now, he can go back to the dying church-goer with the confidence that you are okay. Can you imagine how he’d feel if you collapsed?” I had to edit my words because I nearly said, “Can you imagine how he’d feel if you lost the baby?” That might have scared the pee-wadding out of her.

  Curtis walked past us a couple of times as he dragged equipment to the sales floor. The roar of the wet vac provided white noise. Not too bad of a sound. Enough to be a dull hum in the background. Just as Joe arrived, Curtis came back through to dump water he’d collected.

  To my surprise, the two men did a double-take, and Curtis set down his bucket to give Joe a bro-hug. Obviously, they knew each other.

  “Curt, this is Laurel,” Joe said. Although his voice gleamed with pride, there was also a cautious tone as he looked Laurel over.

  “We’ve met in passing,” Curtis said. “Sorry that you’re feeling poorly. Can I do anything to help?”

  “Actually, you can,” and Joe handed Curtis his keys. “Could you pull my car up closer to the back door? It’s that gray Honda.”

  “Of course.”