Poison Branches

by Cynthia Raleigh

  “Oh yeah, we’re fine, we were just a bit shaken. I haven’t been nearly shot at before,” replied Perri. “We, uh, stopped by Whippoorwill Cemetery on our way out this morning and saw you looking over the wrecked car.”

  Sarah nodded, “Yes. This will be a puzzle, I’m afraid. Well, I’m glad you are ok. If you have any further trouble while you are here,” Sarah transferred her gaze to Officer Wilcox, “I’d like to know.”

  “Will do, Sarah,” answered George.

  Sarah passed the counter and then turned around, “If they were in the cemetery, they weren’t even on Milton’s property. What’s his problem?”

  Officer Wilcox waved the report and said, “That’s what we’re going to find out.”

  Chapter 16

  Sarah Vines walked past the reception area of the station and down the hallway to the kitchen. She poured herself a mug of coffee, added sugar and creamer, and took it with her to the combination interview room/conference room. She flopped the file folder with her accumulated case information down on the table and slumped into the folding chair with a grunt.

  “Crap.” She stared down at the coffee in her cup and knew it would be awful. If the creamer doesn’t lighten the coffee much at all when it is stirred in, the coffee’s old as dirt. And this coffee was a grayish brown, not a light brown. She sipped it. Yep. Awful. It wasn’t really better than nothing, but it was more than nothing and she didn’t want to make more.

  Sarah could hear the sound of the station door opening and closing followed by a familiar voice greeting Officer Wilcox. Sarah was pleased and displeased at the same time. Daniel Bales had been the station’s detective, when needed, prior to Sarah. The Russellville police department didn’t need a full-time detective, but there was always at least one officer with the title who was in charge of investigations when they came up. A little over twelve months ago, after several years in Russellville, Daniel had been offered a choice, full-time detective position in Nashville and had moved on. Sarah had been promoted to Daniel’s position at that time. They kept in touch, although less regularly as the months went by.

  She could hear Daniel’s footsteps approaching. She straightened her back and quickly opened the folder, rapidly spreading what paperwork there was across the table. Daniel entered the room to find Sarah intently studying her notes. Daniel breezed into the room, his suit coat over his shoulder and his tie loosened, his black hair windblown.

  “Sarah! S’up?” he laughed his easy laugh. “Heard you got a murder case going?”

  “Hi, Daniel. How are you doing?” Sarah turned in her chair as Daniel plopped down into the remaining chair.

  “I’m good, real good. What about you?”

  “I’m doing just fine. What drew you away from the big city to our patch of ground?”

  “I’ve been in Frankfort for a few days to give testimony in the trial of the Russellville local we arrested in Nashville a few months ago, the one who was peddling methamphetamine.”

  “That guy. Turned out he was manufacturing in Logan County, had a pretty big operation, going back and forth?”

  “That’s the one.”

  He sighed, “Glad that’s over. I was driving back and since I was practically going right by here, I decided to make a small detour and see how things were going. And to see you. I love my new job, but I miss everyone here too.” Daniel glanced furtively into Sarah eyes and scooted the chair closer to the table. “Can you tell me about what’s going on?”

  Sarah grinned, “I’m glad you came by. I miss your harebrained humor. I’m starting to feel like a dour-faced matron with no sense of humor.”

  Daniel threw his head back and guffawed, “You? A matron? Oh, come on…you serious? What’s going on, Sarah?”

  “This is a weird one. I just got back from Whippoorwill Cemetery, which is where the body was found…” Daniel’s expression became serious.

  Sarah ran through the story from the moment William Parker had called the station. She ended by saying, “So, what we are looking for is a car painted tan or beige which should have significant front-end damage. Here are photos of the tire tracks from the verge. They are the only discernible ones; the deep ruts, weeds, and mixed tracks in the road made it pretty much impossible to single out any tracks well enough. I have finished interviews, at least preliminary, with Amy’s mother, her employer and a couple of coworkers, her neighbors, and I have two more interviews to complete today.”

  Daniel was scrutinizing the photos. Sarah continued, “And…she was shot with an AR-15. No brass recovered from the scene, so the person responsible took them with him or her. There were at least two shots; the first one missed its target and was found in the mud five yards from Amy’s body; the second round was recovered inside her skull. We haven’t yet found a car that is consistent with the paint and damage on Amy’s Focus, we haven’t found the gun, or anyone who knows why someone would have killed Amy. It doesn’t make sense; I’m a little baffled. But, there could be something from the car and I still have a couple more interviews to do. By then the search of Amy’s apartment should be finished. I hope something comes up there.”

  Daniel looked steadily into Sarah’s eyes. Neither said anything.

  Sarah broke eye contact first, “I really better get going or it will get a bit late to ask for interviews.

  Daniel sat back and smiled a little wistfully, “Right, I’m sorry I didn’t call, I know you’re busy.” He stood and picked up his suit coat, “I should get back, I’m supposed to show my face in the office sometime today.”

  Sarah rose from her chair as she gathered her paperwork, “It really was great to see you, Daniel.” She turned to him, “I’d be glad to see you whenever you are up this way, I’m sorry I’m swamped right now.” Sarah’s face and ears warmed under Daniel’s brown-eyed gaze. “I’ll walk out with you.”

  Daniel and Sarah walked single file down the narrow hallway, past the counter and the now empty reception area. The two women filing a report had gone. Daniel leaned across to shake George’s hand, “Good to see you again, George.”

  “You too, Detective Bales.”

  “I’m going out for a couple of more interviews, George. Not sure when I’ll be back.”

  “Alright, I’ll call you if anything comes in.”

  Daniel opened his car door and, with one foot on the frame, spoke to Sarah as she walked past the front of his car, “Don’t worry, Sarah, you’ll do fine. Everyone feels some frustration and confusion with cases like this. And I know it feels awkward; you haven’t had enough cases to feel comfortable in the new responsibilities yet. I have a lot of faith in you.” Sarah gave a half smile and nodded. Daniel said, “I’ll call you soon. See how the case is going.”

  “Ok, I’d like that. Be careful, and talk to you soon.” Sarah gave an awkward wave and walked toward her own car. She looked back as she sat in the front seat to see Daniel waiting for her to look at him. He waved at her through the passenger window, backed his car out of the space, and drove away.

  Sarah fastened her seat belt and stared unseeingly at the dashboard for at least a minute. She tossed her hair back from her face, “Ok, Sarah, get moving. Onward.” She pulled away from the police station and drove in the opposite direction from Daniel.

  ***

  Sarah felt the dread in every bone in her body as she knocked on Margie Barrow’s front door. She stood, waiting, focusing on the three narrow, horizontal windows in the faded 1950s wooden door. The pale blue and yellow ruffled curtain covering the living room window fluttered a few moments before Margie opened the door.

  “Margie, I’m sorry to intrude right now, I really am. Can I come in and talk to you for a few minutes?” Sarah asked.

  Margie’s eyes and nose were red and swollen from crying; even her lips were red-rimmed and raw. “I know you have to, Sarah. Come on in.” She opened the door and stepped back for Sarah to enter then closed it behind her. She stood still, leaving her hand on the knob, just staring at it.

 
“Margie, let’s sit down, ok?”

  “Yeah.” Margie went into the living room and sunk onto the sofa. The living room was a little crowded, but was clean and homey. The coffee table sat on a braided rug of blue and brown, with a tan recliner at one end and a light blue one across from it, near the window. In the far corner was the television. Numerous small end tables with knickknacks and bookshelves lined the remaining wall space. Photos of the family were arranged on the wall next to the doorway to the kitchen.

  Sarah sat perched on the edge of the recliner opposite the couch. “I can’t even describe how sorry I am about Amy; there really is no way to do that. What I can say is that I want you to be certain that I will do whatever I can to find…to figure this out.”

  “I know you will.” Margie sucked in short gasps of air as the emotion threatened to overwhelm her again, even though she obviously was struggling not to cry in front of ‘company.’

  “I need to ask you questions that I’m sure you’ve been asked, and I apologize for that, but it will help me to talk to you.” Margie nodded and blotted her tender nose with a man’s white cotton handkerchief, the embroidered monogram ‘JDB’ in one corner. “Thank you, Margie. Is there anyone, anyone at all, with whom Amy had an argument, a problem, or any kind of issue in the last six months?”

  “No. There really wasn’t. I know people always say the person had no enemies, but Amy really didn’t. Not that I know of anyway. She would have said, I’m sure of it.”

  “I know she had a cell phone, but had there been any calls for her here at the house, or any people visiting her here that you didn’t know?”

  “No. If Amy was going to meet someone it was usually somewhere else anyway, not here. I mean, like going for supper or to a movie.”

  “Alright.” Sarah was sliding back on the slick vinyl of the recliner; she shifted forward and continued. “I know that Amy had been helping Patricia with some research she was doing. Do you know anything about that?”

  Margie lifted her bleary eyes to Sarah’s face and made an effort to concentrate on the question. “Well, I guess. She said Amy wanted to do some checking on her family tree, or something like that. They had been friends in school, well, you know that. Patricia knew Amy was used to doing research. She did research for her job too, you know?”

  “Yes, that’s right. Did Amy tell you anything about what she was looking for or perhaps what they may have been finding?”

  Margie gave an exhausted sigh. “I don’t know.” She turned the handkerchief around and around, then said, “Amy did talk about it while we ate supper sometimes, but I’m sorry to admit I didn’t always…listen as closely as I might have.”

  “Tell me what you do remember, that will be enough.”

  The skin between Margie’s eyebrows creased deeply as she thought, “Any was telling me that when Patricia first asked Amy to help her, she was kind of mad about it, or about something. Later, after it had been going on for a while, after they’d gotten together at the library several times, Amy said Patricia wasn’t mad anymore but was happy. Maybe not happy, I can’t think of a word for it. More like determined or satisfied, you know what I mean?”

  “I think I do, yes. So…you think, from what Amy told you, that Patricia had found what she was looking for?”

  “I know Amy said Patricia found some relatives of hers that she didn’t know she had. They didn’t live here. I never thought of Patricia as someone who was interested in family ties, but people change.”

  “You feel that Patricia had changed and wanted to get to know these other family members she had found?”

  “What Amy said was more like Patricia was going to contact them. She was going to call one of them. I can’t remember what she said it was for, but I don’t remember her saying anything about wanting to visit with them. I’m sorry, it seems like I can’t tell you what it was for, but I can tell you what it wasn’t for. Darn it! Why didn’t I listen closer?”

  “It’s ok, Margie, really, don’t let it upset you because you’ve thought of quite a bit already.”

  Margie stared intently at the rug, “We were eating supper: meat loaf, lima beans, and mashed potatoes, when Amy was telling me about that. It seems to me I remember thinking ‘Oh, that’ll come to no good.’ I just can’t remember what it was Amy said.”

  “Ok. As we go along, that may make more sense than you think it does. Anything else you remember?”

  Margie drew in another large breath and looked to the ceiling as she exhaled. “No, that’s all I remember.”

  “That’s perfectly ok. Margie, you did a great job, I’m sure your information will help me.” Sarah rose from the recliner, “When is Amy’s showing and funeral? I want to be there.”

  “Monday afternoon, it’s at Watson’s.” Margie’s chin and lower lip quivered.

  “I’ll be there. Thank you for talking to me.” Sarah moved to the door. “Please let me know if there is anything any of us can do for you, Margie. And call me at any time if you think of something else, no matter how small it might seem.”

  “I will, Sarah. Let me know what you find out.”

  “I definitely will, you can count on that.” Sarah stepped out onto the porch and heard the door softly shut behind her as she descended the three steps to the walk.

  Chapter 17

  The police report completed and signed, Perri and Nina were ensconced in a booth at the Arrogant Rogue with iced tea and an appetizer plate of Buffalo Wings.

  “I’m probably going to need a bib. Why can I not eat these without getting it all over me?” Nina said in exasperation, looking down at her smeared shirt.

  “It’s part of it, makes it taste better if you rub it on your clothes.” Perri watched Nina dab at the stain with her napkin dipped in water. “Don’t worry, I got something really messy for the entrée and I promise I’ll drop some on myself.”

  “You’d better.” Nina made an exaggerated frown at Perri.

  They enjoyed their food and the music and reviewed their day. “I’m interested to know if the police find out anything from Mr. Crabby Appleton,” said Perri.

  “Me too.” Nina drummed her fingers on the table in time to Motley Crue. “I hope you don’t need to go back to that cemetery though. I think I’m good on that one.”

  “Well, I won’t be going any time soon. I got a photo and I can remember its location well enough to add it to the map I made.” Perri leaned side to side, stretching her back. “I know we were going to look for Jack and the others, but I don’t see them right now. And honestly, if you are done, I’m ready to get a hot bath and put my feet up with a glass of wine or three.”

  “Oh, my gosh, that sounds good. Let’s get going.”

  As they neared the door, it flung open and Rodney Sauer barged through, knocking over the ‘Please Seat Yourself” sign. “YOU bitches!” he shouted, fists balled up at his sides.

  A hush rapidly swept over the entire room, extinguishing all conversation, everyone turned toward the front of the tavern. “I told you! You women are trouble. You bitches sent the cops to my house.” As he lunged forward, Perri and Nina stumbled backward into the edge of a table, lifting one side which thumped back down, spilling the drinks. The customers seated at the table leapt up and backed away.

  Rodney stopped a yard away, raised his fist, squeezed so tight his fingers were white, and said, “That’s right you bitches, you’d better cower. You ought to be at my feet. I think you better kneel down…”

  As Rodney reached out as though to grab Perri’s hair, the bartender they had seen the night before darted around the end of the bar and approached Rodney, menacing a short bat in his hand. “Rodney, get the hell out of here and don’t come back.” Rodney stood still. “Right NOW!”

  “Shut your mouth, Nick! These two floosies have been poking around our property, snooping around like women do.” He lowered his arm but kept the fist and turned back to Nina and Perri, “What the hell are you looking for, huh? What you doing up there?”

/>   “Floosies?” gasped out Perri. “You pea-brained, sexist primate…” Nina put her hand on Perri’s arm and shook her head. Perri took a deep breath. “As I told your father, we were in the cemetery to look at the old headstones, looking for a particular one. It isn’t on your property anyway, and we never set foot on your property.”

  “That isn’t for you to decide.”

  Nina piped up, “What are you talking about? It’s a property line. It sure isn’t for you to decide!”

  Rodney narrowed his eyes and glared at Nina, “You need to be slapped around.”

  Nick stepped forward a few paces, raising the bat ominously. “Rodney, get out of here, pronto! If you’d prefer to spend the night in the jail, we’ve already called the police.”

  Rodney turned and kicked the seating sign into the hostess stand, then pushed the stand over. It crashed onto a wooden bench just inside the door and they both tipped over and clamored to the floor. People from the other side of the tavern were craning their necks to look through the doorway. Rodney turned back, looked around the room full of people, and pointed at Nina and Perri. “You’d both better go back home. Now! Or I’m telling you, I’ll teach you the lesson you should’ve learnt by now!” He wrenched the door open, hinges protesting, and stormed out.

  A middle-aged couple paid their bill and left. As the waitress was taking their payment, a man at a table near the back of the tavern was standing by his table and impatiently gesturing for her to bring his bill. As she tore it from her order pad, he snatched it and rapidly shoved it back in her hand along with some cash then rushed out the door. Once the door had whooshed shut a second time, general silence blanketed the room. “Well, I didn’t expect that,” said Perri a little shakily as they sat back down at the table they had just vacated.

  Nick came to their table, leaned down to eye level, and asked, “Are you guys ok?” He returned his gaze to Perri.

  “Uh, yeah, just surprised, I guess. Not surprised that he’s a goon, just that he came in here. We had the misfortune to him at his gas station this morning.”