Murder at Harbor Village

by GP Gardner

  “What color was the vehicle that left?”

  “Dark. Black or red, maybe.”

  “And you’re sure lights flashed on both of them before the one drove away?”

  I nodded. “I’m sure. I saw headlights flash on one, and taillights on the other as one started up and drove in a big arc. I don’t know which way it went on the cross street, since I didn’t stay to watch. It might’ve gone over to the next street or out the boulevard.”

  “It might’ve gone to the swimming pool?”

  I shrugged. “I suppose.”

  Chief Boozer didn’t seem happy. “Would you recognize the cars if you saw them again?”

  I hated to disappoint him, but I didn’t think so. “A silver Lexus, and I only know that because I walked past it later, and the dark-colored SUV, about the same size. I don’t think I know any more than that.”

  “Do you know what kind of car Jamie Barnes drives?”

  “I do, actually. A BMW two-seater convertible.”

  Boozer looked at Officer Montgomery, raised his eyebrows inquiringly then sighed and launched into another little pre-packaged speech, announcing the end of the interview and giving the time.

  Officer Montgomery picked up the recording device and turned it off. “What kind of husband was McKenzie?” she asked, casually.

  Ohmygod, the tinnitus chorus erupted immediately. Not Travis; please, Travis, don’t be involved in her death. “That was twenty-three years ago.” My voice sounded tense. “I’ve tried to forget everything about it but I don’t believe he’d harm anybody.”

  “Why did the two of you divorce? Was he abusive?”

  I hesitated and Chief Boozer said, offhandedly, “Divorces are public records.”

  “No, he wasn’t abusive, not physically. It was no-fault, I guess. It was a long time ago.”

  Boozer continued. “And he’s been married twice since then, in addition to Lee Ferrell. Any idea why those marriages ended?”

  I shook my head. “I never met the women. I don’t know much about his life since we parted company. He was happy to be rid of me. No alimony and not much child support since he was a student at the time.”

  Montgomery spoke casually, like she was chatting with a friend. “Why do you suppose he left here so suddenly yesterday? Is business more important than finding out who killed his wife?”

  I decided to defend him. “I can think of a few possible reasons. He likes to be in charge, he’s not good at waiting and he needs to stay busy. I know he was afraid you were going to charge him with something. Personally, my guess is, since they’re both in Charleston, he wanted to talk with Jamie.”

  “Isn’t that a little odd? Both of them in Charleston? There’s not something between them, is there?”

  It reminded me of a good cop/bad cop routine, but Montgomery wasn’t very good and Boozer was just listening.

  “I have no idea. She went for a new job, he went to talk to her…that works for me. It’s not like we don’t know where they are, and they do have a business to run. If you want low probability, consider that they might both be hiding from somebody, someone with a vendetta against Harbor Health Service. Maybe Lee was just the first target.”

  Officer Montgomery snorted.

  I gave her another smile. “I said it was far-fetched.”

  Boozer inhaled noisily and slapped his leg. “Well, I guess we’re done here.”

  Chapter 10

  I had begun hearing noises in the hallway outside the office, bumps and squeaks and the distinctive clank of a metal ladder, as well as a variety of muttering voices. The painting crew must be waiting.

  Officer Montgomery gathered up her gear. “That nurse is probably gone already.”

  “Is it after five.” I looked at my watch and saw that it was, barely. “She’ll be back by seven in the morning, but she’ll be busy for the first hour, helping with the morning routine.” I stood and looked at Chief Boozer. “Can I ask a question?”

  “You want to know how she died.” He pulled off his glasses and dropped them into his uniform pocket. “A single blow to the back of the head, delivered with a rounded object. It happened right where you saw her last, out there in the lobby.”

  I held my breath for a moment then blinked a few times. “So not an accident. Homicide?”

  “Undoubtedly. But don’t worry about finding any traces. The bleeding was mostly internal. We had a disaster crew come in to clean up, just in case. You’ll get a bill.” He paused for a second or two. “Probably dead when you saw her.”

  “Are you kidding? In the window, with all the lights on?”

  He nodded. “Got any ideas?”

  I shook my head. “Hard to process it all at once.”

  Officer Montgomery had her equipment packed up and ready to go. “You know, for somebody who just moved here, you’re awfully involved in this case, if you don’t mind me saying so. You met the victim just before she died, you were married to her husband, you got hired by her sister and you found that mystery phone. And now you’ve taken over her job.”

  I was offended. “And we stayed at the same motel last Wednesday. But don’t get ideas. I didn’t know she was there until the desk clerk told me Saturday. And I wouldn’t have known who she was if I’d ridden in the elevator with her. In fact, everybody who works here knew Lee better than I did. I hadn’t heard from Travis in years, and I didn’t find the phone. I just turned it in. And I’ve told you everything I know. It’s up to you now.”

  Chief Boozer spoke up. “That phone you turned in was used to call nine-one-one Friday morning. What do you make of that?”

  “Used by Dolly Webb?”

  “She denies it. Says she used her own phone and didn’t find the other one until the next day.”

  “Dolly could be confused about that. She might’ve picked it up reflexively. But that means somebody else left it at the pool. How did Lee get there if she was killed in the lobby?”

  He shrugged again.

  Didn’t know or wasn’t telling me. I drew my own conclusions. “Whoever moved the body left their phone, probably by accident. The question is, whose phone is it? Aren’t they easy to trace? And what about the weapon, Chief?”

  Another shrug. “Probably in the bay.”

  “That’s what Jim Bergen said.” I paused to think. “About the phone…where is Lee’s phone?”

  He shook his head. “Not with her. We haven’t found it.”

  “She had a computer?”

  “A laptop in her office down the hall here. Supposed to have an iPad and a phone but they’re missing, along with her purse.”

  “So it could have been a robbery.”

  “Anything is possible, but why add additional complexity?”

  “Travis said…” I was thinking a split second ahead as I spoke and caught myself in time to edit out the part about them having an argument. No need to make things worse for him if he didn’t deserve it. “He said he used an app to learn she was here, before he drove over from Houston. Have you tried the app, to see where her phone is now?”

  “An app on his phone that tells him where her phone is? Yeah, I’ve got that, too. The detectives probably looked into it, but I’ll ask. We don’t get a lot of murders to practice on. She had dinner at the pier Thursday night. You said you didn’t see her there.”

  I shook my head and got in another quick question. “How did her body get from the lobby to the pool?”

  He grinned, but all at once the wall between cop and witness was firmly in place again. He pushed up from the chair. “We’re working on that. Thanks for your help. Call if you think of anything else. And let me remind you not to play detective. That could be dangerous. I assume you won’t be leaving Fairhope. We may need to come back at some point.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  The hallway outside my office loo
ked like a construction zone. There were paint cans, trays and rollers, a cart with an air compressor and what looked like scuba diving masks, another cart with a steam cleaner, hoses and drop cloths, a ladder and a vacuum cleaner. Boozer and Montgomery and I threaded our way single-file through the clutter.

  The painting crew was lounging in the lobby.

  And so was Jim Bergen. “Hello, hello.” The couch was low and soft and he needed a couple of tries to swing up onto his feet, where he balanced by stabbing his cane against the floor.

  Stewart and his helper bounded into action and headed for the hallway.

  “It’s all yours,” I said, “if you’re sure you want to start on it tonight.”

  “We’ll be through before dark, what’d’ya bet. Start the clock.”

  “Chief, Mary,” Jim acknowledged them. “Are you making progress?”

  Boozer’s voice was quiet compared to Jim’s. “Got a couple of angles to pin down still. But it’s coming together.”

  “And what do you do first, Chief? Arrest or get a warrant?”

  “We’re meeting with the DA.”

  “Good work.” He nodded, looking a bit like a shaggy buffalo.

  Officer Montgomery looked at me. “We’ll be here first thing in the morning to talk with your nurse.”

  The four of us headed for the door together.

  “Cleo,” Jim said, “we were hoping you’d be available for a steak dinner tonight. We thought we’d go up to the steakhouse in Daphne.”

  “Sounds good. Shall I drive?”

  “No, Riley will. Just the four of us, so we’ll fit in a booth. Why don’t we pick you up in about twenty minutes? That may sound early, but it’ll take us thirty minutes to get to the restaurant and longer to get food on the table.”

  “Let me stop by my apartment for a minute and then I’ll walk to your place.”

  He agreed, which meant I had to get moving. I was eating out too frequently, but these were unusual times.

  I thought about Stewart as I walked to the apartment and freshened up. He had appeared uncomfortable around Boozer and Montgomery and been quick to avoid them. I wondered why. He seemed like a nice guy, but the question was, how had he gotten along with Lee Ferrell? Could he have been on her hit list for dismissal? Or maybe he had a history with cops. I wondered if his personnel file would hold any clues. With a chief executive who was only occasionally present, Harbor Village might’ve dropped the ball on screening employees. It was an important consideration, given the vulnerability of older residents and the recent increase in opioid abuse.

  The cat met me at the door and watched while I changed shoes and selected a sweater from the dresser drawer. Restaurants were always so cold around here. I went to the kitchen and added dry food to the empty cat dish.

  Was this weekend’s theft from the assisted living drug cart related to Lee’s death? And why had Lee Ferrell been looking for Stewart Thursday afternoon? Had she really been looking at the lights in the lobby?

  I locked up and walked through the building and across the boulevard. I could see Jim and Riley standing on the porch and Nita sitting in one of the big white rocking chairs. I’d ask Patti if there’d been any problem with the lobby lights. I was playing detective, exactly what Boozer had warned against, but I had to have confidence in my staff.

  Riley’s car was a black BMW station wagon. Jim claimed the front passenger seat because of his long legs, but he opened the back door and helped Nita in.

  “Nice car.” I slid into the seat behind the driver.

  “No more driving than I do, I’ll probably keep it forever.”

  We went north on the four-lane in light traffic, although the southbound lanes were still clogged with commuters returning home to the Eastern Shore. The sun was on my side of the car, dropping low in the sky, and dark clouds loomed to the north.

  “Looks like it’ll be a pretty sunset.”

  Nita smiled. “It’ll be hard to beat your first Fairhope sunset. I’ll always believe that’s what persuaded you to move here.”

  I gave her hand a squeeze. “I think some nice people played a big role, too.”

  “Oh, how is your cat?”

  Jim spoke up from the front seat. “Now remember, we’re not going to talk about anything important until we get to the restaurant, where everybody can hear.”

  Nita rolled her eyes and looked at me. “I didn’t realize he considered cats important.”

  The Bergens knew the hostess, who took us to their favorite booth, where Jim and Nita sat with their backs against the kitchen wall.

  I ordered tilapia with mango chutney on a bed of rice. Riley and Nita got petite filets with potatoes and salads, and Jim ordered the large version, a 10-ounce portion with a sweet potato and a Caesar salad “with a few extra croutons. And bring us extra napkins, a big stack.”

  Then the inquisition began.

  “Well, Cleo, how was your first day on the job? I see the police are still on the premises.”

  I told them about the missing pain meds and summarized the questions Boozer had asked in our interview. “I couldn’t tell him much about Lee Ferrell, but he asked about my history with Travis, twenty-three years ago.”

  “Well, it’s quite a coincidence, you know, although some people say there’s no such thing. You’re aware it’s officially a homicide.”

  “I think they’d like to pin it on me. Officer Montgomery thinks it’s suspicious I have so many connections to this case.”

  “Mary’s a good officer. That’s just the way they’re trained, to look for anything out of the ordinary.”

  “It’s hard to think a local did such a thing,” Nita said.

  Riley took a wry view. “Hard to accept when you claim to have a perfect little community.”

  “I do it, too,” Jim admitted. “Catch myself thinking a stranger came in, grabbed her purse and something went wrong. And who’s to say it didn’t happen that way. Where is her purse?”

  Nobody knew.

  “Well, there you go.” He shrugged.

  Our salads were delivered and right behind them came the rest of our meals, so food absorbed our attention for several minutes. Then I told them about the two SUVs. Jim produced an index card and made a sketch to be sure he understood precisely where the vehicles had been located and what they had done.

  I asked Riley, “Did you notice them, parked in the center of the lot beyond Stephanie’s car?”

  He couldn’t be sure. “I don’t think I could be specific about how many vehicles or what type.”

  “That’s what I would’ve said, too, but when I went out later to check Stephanie’s car, the lights of both SUVs flashed and then one of them drove away. That brought them to my attention.”

  “Must’ve been those keyless cars. With the fob you keep in your pocket. Or purse.”

  All three of us looked at him.

  “You know what I mean. You walk up and the doors unlock automatically. Then you touch a button on the dash and the engine starts up. No key needed.”

  “All automatic.” Jim was awestruck. “I’ll have to go to the dealership tomorrow and educate myself. Something I’ve missed out on. Now, Cleo, the question is, who did these cars belong to?”

  “I can’t answer that. One was a silver Lexus. It sat in the same spot, or close by, for a day or two. I haven’t seen it since. The dark one left that night, and I wouldn’t recognize it if I saw it again.”

  “A silver Lexus.” Jim paused thoughtfully. “That wouldn’t be Lee Ferrell’s car, would it?”

  Lee’s car! “You know, I never thought of that. I don’t know what kind of car she drove, although the cops do, I’m sure. I’m clearly not cut out for this sleuthing business.”

  “The question is,” Nita asked, “was she in the car when the lights flashed? Could she have been signaling to you?”r />
  “Ohmygod.” I shivered. Had I ignored a signal for help? “Chief Boozer thinks she might’ve been dead when I saw her in the lobby.”

  All three of them stared at me.

  Jim shook his head. “I think he’s got that wrong. What murderer would choose a victim seated under spotlights, right in front of a wall of windows?”

  “He said there was ‘forensic evidence’ there.” I did little air quotation marks. “But I don’t know how they determined the time of death.”

  “Stomach contents.” Jim nodded.

  I was afraid he was going to elaborate, but Nita gave him a stern look. Just the thought was enough to make me opt out on dessert. Riley and Nita shared a slice of banana cream pie—a specialty of the steakhouse, they said—and, of course, Jim had a whole piece all to himself.

  I got a cup of decaf and took a sip. “I have a question for you. Who answers emergency calls at night? The security guard?”

  Riley and Nita looked to Jim, who blotted meringue off his lips. “There is a security guard, the same man for years. I think he catches a few winks during the night. Any calls from the alarm system go to the Assisted Living office. But there weren’t any calls Thursday night. That’s the first thing I asked.”

  I smiled at Nita. “He’s amazing, do you know? Thinks of everything.”

  Riley changed the subject. “What’s the story with Jamie? It looks bad, her leaving with her sister just murdered. That’s the main thing people are talking about.”

  “Let’s not use the m-word,” Nita said. “Can’t we just say deceased, or that she died.”

  Jim pulled his eyebrows together in a scowl. “We can say she went for a moonlight swim, Nita, if you like that better, but it was still murder.” He took a deep breath and covered Nita’s hand with his. “Sorry, honey.” He looked at Riley. “Jamie had a rough life, and she got the short end of the stick in the brains department. But I know her pretty well and I can’t see her bashing anybody over the head. We don’t even need to consider it.”