I did want to see Ben and ask him about last night but didn’t want to walk down to his cottage. He’d have to come to me.
After coffee and a blueberry muffin, I dressed for church. At least my ankle didn’t hurt as much as it did yesterday. Before I left, I gave Ben a call. He should be awake and dressed by now.
He didn’t answer which led me to believe he must have gone up for breakfast. Then someone knocked, and when I opened the door, Ben stood on my porch.
“Where were you at breakfast? I had to try and answer all those questions myself without giving them all the details.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s exactly why I didn’t go up there, and I bet it was Bessie wanting the details.”
“You have that right. Anyway, I need to tell you what happened. Carrie is charged with involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide here in Arkansas. She told the detectives the exact same story she told us.
“What we didn’t know is that the crime scene team found the bloody rock. Even Harry didn’t know that, and the autopsy report showed the blow to the head didn’t kill him, but the aerator did. So, he died as a result of her actions, but she didn’t have the intention to kill him when she hit him.”
“I wish she hadn’t waited so long to confide in us. We could have helped her then. Even if she was afraid of the police, she should’ve trusted us.”
“I’m going back this afternoon. If I can negotiate a deal, she most likely will spend only a year in prison with a hefty fine.”
“Who’ll pay the fine? Does she have any family who can help her? We need to do what we can. Will she be out on bail?”
“The best deal we can make is one that will have her go directly to jail, pay the fine and serve her time which I hope we can get down to one year, maybe two. She’s already contacted her family, and they’ll be here today. There won’t need to be a trial since she’s already confessed. If we can get her before a judge in the next few days, we can take care of everything and get it over with.”
That was good to hear, but I hated the thought of Carrie being in jail. I realized she had to pay for what she had done although Pete’s death hadn’t been intentional.
“Sounds like you’ve been busy, and I’m glad you were there for her. It’d be terrible to have to go through that alone.”
“She’ll be okay with her parents here.” He furrowed his brow. “Were you on your way out?”
“Yes, I’m on my way to church. Want to come with me?”
“No, I’m going on back to my place. I have to be back at the station around one. That’s when Mr. and Mrs. Watkins should arrive, and I want to be there. Enjoy the service, and I’ll see you later this evening.”
With that he left. If it hadn’t been going to the police station, Ben would have had some other excuse for not attending church. Somehow, I needed to help him see the importance of God in our lives. Neither of us was getting any younger, and I sure didn’t want him to meet his maker unprepared.
I secured Mitzi in her kennel. “I’m just going to church, so I’ll be back in a little while.” She gave me one of her sad-eyed looks, but I ignored it. She’d be fine until I got home.
At church, I was able to sit alone near the back and listen to what the preacher had to say this morning. His message was all about becoming a new creature in Christ and changing old ways. God forgives us for all our sins when we seek Him, and He’s working on us every day.
I had no doubt the Lord had His hands full watching over me and forgiving my wayward ways, but that made me think of Ben. He wasn’t much of a one for going to church, and I’d never really asked why or discussed it with him.
With Pete’s murder now out of the way and in the hands of the professionals, maybe now it was time for me to take my faith more seriously and be concerned about others and their walk with the Lord. I hadn’t been the best role model of faith, but that was going to change. If I couldn’t walk my talk, I had no business trying to get Ben interested in the ways of the Lord.
All the way home I thought about Carrie and offered a prayer of thanks for her parents being with here for her. I’d have to make a special effort to visit with her if she actually ended up spending time in prison. She’d need friends more than ever.
After I ate lunch, I rested until Ben returned from his trip to the police station. He came inside all smiles, so all must have gone well.
“Looks like you’ve had a good day. Would you like coffee while you tell me about it?”
“Coffee sounds good. A cold front is coming through, and the air is nippy out there.” He removed his coat and sat at the table.
“The DA offered a fair deal, and we took it. Her fine will be taken care of by her parents, and she’ll spend eighteen months in prison, less if she qualifies for good behavior parole, and I think she will. One other thing I learned, she’s the one who put Maria’s keys in the flower bed after they’d taken Pete’s body away, and the police had all left the scene.”
“Well, that does explains a lot, but I’m so relieved to hear she has a light sentence. I prayed for her this morning, and I prayed for you to be able to help her in every way possible.”
“Did you now? I’m not sure what good prayer will do for an old reprobate like me. I’m set in my ways, so it’s little late for me to make changes, but thanks.”
It looked like I had my work cut out for me, and it might take some time. Peace cuddled my heart. It was never too late to bring another soul into the fold or to bring it back.
COMING SOON, BOOK TWO – TO CATCH A THIEF
Chapter 1
“Abigail, did you hear we had another theft last night? Ellie Davenport’s pearl and diamond necklace and earrings are missing.” Bessie Johnson sat back with a satisfied grin as she shared the news.
Everyone at the table stopped eating and stared at her and then at me. Bessie loved spreading news, bad or good, but this was not her usual tidbit of information.
I laid down my fork. “When did this happen?”
“I don’t really know. I just saw her going into Mrs. Jenson’s office and she told me. It must have happened last night because she had them on when I saw her right after dinner.”
Ben Martin, seated next to me, guffawed. “We’d better hop over and help her find them. Her eyesight is so poor they could be in front of her face.”
I glared at him. “Ben, what an awful thing to say. Poor Ellie. I’ll bet she’s worried sick. Those pearls belonged to her mother.”
Bessie’s perfectly coiffed and curled gray head bobbed in agreement. “She’s so upset, and so is Kate Hughes. She still hasn’t found her cameo brooch.”
Conversation buzzed among the other five at the table, but I shut them out. Two thefts may have been accidental or attributed to other causes, but with Kate’s, Ellie’s was the fourth such disappearance in the past month, and way too many. Oddly enough, all of the thefts had occurred in the main building with individual apartments for assisted living and memory-care residents. Nothing had been reported out in the cottages where I and the others at my table lived.
Harry should have perspective on this. He was a retired police detective. I leaned toward him with my elbows on the table. “Harry, what’s your take on this? Inside job?”
He sipped his coffee before answering. “Well, it seems to me, that’s the only conclusion to make. I spoke with the officer who came day before yesterday, and he said they were investigating, but I’m not at liberty to divulge any information he gave me.”
Bessie crossed her arms over her ample bosom. “Humph, nobody better try to take any of my things. I’ll clobber them with my baseball bat.”
I swallowed a chuckle at that. Everyone knew Bessie slept with her “weapon” beside her bed ever since the gardener had been found dead in my flower bed last fall.
Doris Barton wrinkled her nose and pushed a fork through her omelet. “Well, I hope Ellie doesn’t call that grandson of hers. He complains about everything. He’d have a heyday with this
one.”
Ellie’s grandson loved her and got involved with everything going on in the Ellie’s building. I considered him to be an arrogant young man with more money than common sense.
The idea of stealing going on in Spring Hills bothered me, and I was anxious to get alone with Ben and Harry to hash out a few theories. This would be even a lot easier and less dangerous than our work with Pete’s murder. One thing about Ben, he loved solving mysteries as much as I did.
Ben I may be good friends, but he’d indicated more than once he’d like it to be more. I did enjoy his company, and we had some good times together, but that’s as far as I wanted to go right now. Since my Jack’s death five years ago, I haven’t really been interested in another relationship. Ben and I also had unfinished business concerning his relationship to the Lord.
I glanced to my right where he was sitting. He didn’t seem to be listening with his full attention. Probably trying to figure out the same things I’ve been thinking.
Soon as we finished breakfast, I’d get him and Harry to come to my cottage and discuss the possibilities of the case. Even with the police involved, we could still do more good. Many, if not most of the residents were reluctant to talk with the police after Pete’s death.
With my good intuition and love for sleuthing, and their crime expertise, we could solve this in no time. Ben’s investigative days as a defense lawyer gave him the know how to work on the thefts.
Bessie cooed and flashed her dimples. “Oh, Ben, don’t forget the spring bridge tournament is coming up, and we’re having a session this afternoon.”
Ben shrugged. “I just don’t have the time.”
With her curls and dimples, Bessie must have looked just like Shirley Temple in her childhood. I hoped he meant he’d be spending that time with me and Harry.
Doris pushed back her chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to change for my water aerobics class.”
Doris is quiet and doesn’t always participate in our conversations, but she’s faithful to whatever she gets involved in, and she loved swimming.
When I rose to leave, Ben followed me to the foyer. “Abby, mind if we talk a little?”
I smiled and shook my head. “I know just what you want. We’re going to investigate these thefts aren’t we?”
“Ah, yes. With four thefts now, it’s time to take action. Let’s go down to your place. We’ll have more privacy there.”
He held the door open then accompanied me down the path. At least i had mercy on him this time and strolled beside him instead of loping ahead as I usually did.
I keep in shape on the golf course a few afternoons a week, and I walked as much as I could. Poor Ben always had a hard time keeping up with me, but today I cut him slack.
Ben pointed over to where the ground crew edged and mowed. “They’ve done a good job with Pete gone. The flowers are as beautiful as ever.”
Our grounds were full of spring blossoms, and the early morning chill gave way to the sunshine. “These are perfect days for golf.”
Ben shrugged his shoulders. “I still don’t see any point to a game where all you do is hit a ball, chase it, and then hit it again to get it into a little hole.”
“I know. You’ve told me enough times what a waste of time it is, but I enjoy it.”
He had no response for that. When we arrived at my cottage, I sank into one of the plastic chairs on my porch and nodded for him to join me.
Ben eased down and relaxed. “You want to go first?”
“Yes. I have a million questions and observations. First off, this has to be an inside theft. Think about it, Ben, no one can get into this place after seven p.m. without a pass or being let in by the attendant. And they have to sign in too.”
“That’s obvious, but who do you suspect? Employee or resident?” Ben smoothed back his thick, white hair, ruffled by the slight breeze.
“Well, I’m a bit puzzled. However, let’s look at it this way. Ellie is in room one thirty-five on the first floor. The other three thefts occurred in close proximity.”
Ben scratched his chin. “And how do you know that?”
“I go over and read to Ellie three times a week. You were right about her eyesight.”
He chuckled. “I know, but it wasn’t a nice thing to say. I apologize.” His elbows rested on the chair arms, and he made a peak with his fingers. “You say the other ladies live close to Ellie?”
“All are on the same wing, so it could be someone attending to those rooms. Of course that gives us a good list of suspects.” I jumped up. “Let me get a pad and pen to write all this down.”
Ben stopped me. “Do you have any fully-leaded coffee? That decaf they serve here doesn’t help my thinker.”
“Sure. Be back in a jiffy.”
I poured two cups from the coffee pot I kept on for this very purpose. I returned with two mugs of steaming coffee and set them on the table between the chairs. Then I retrieved the pad and pen I had stashed in my pants pocket.
He wrapped his hands around the warmth and savored the aroma rising from the mug. His eyebrows knit together. “Who takes care of the ladies in those rooms?” He downed a swig of his coffee.
“I’m not sure, but I can find out from Ellie.” I began writing on the pad. “If I’m not mistaken, the exit is open during the day from the inside only and you need a passkey to get in from the outside.”
“Right, and it’s locked in both directions at night. Shall we begin with the staff?”
He grinned and waited for my response, which would be yes. “Exactly what I hoped you’d say. Now let’s see what we have.”
“What we need are those new brochures with the floor plans. That way we can see who might have access.”
“That’s easy to get. The office if full of them since Noreen had them printed last fall.”
“Then all we need to do is to come up a list of all employees.” I tapped my lips with the end of my pen, resisting the urge the chew on it like I usually did when I pondered unanswered questions.
“Are you going to wait until your usual time to go see Ellie?”
“Yes. I see no need to change our routine. We can talk about her pearls then.”
Ben rubbed his hands together. “Sounds like a plan to me. Say we meet back here about half an hour before dinner and see what we have.”
I leaned back in her chair. “Sounds good to me, but it sure would be nice if I find the pearls for Ellie while I’m there.”
“Yes, that would be nice, but I have the feeling that isn’t going to happen.”
Ben left, but I remained on the porch. This little case, as I’d already begun to think of it, might take more time than we thought. But what did that matter. As I’ve said more than once, all we had around here was time. A bark from inside the house brought me to my feet.
Poor Mitzi. I’d completely forgotten she was still closed up in her carrier. Thinking about lost jewelry would have to wait.
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Love in the Bayou City of Texas:
Love on Trial
Forgiving Love
River Walk Christmas
Best Laid Plans
Not on the Menu
Series:
Winds Across the Prairie:The Homeward Journey
Becoming LucyLove Stays True
Morning for DoveLove Finds Faith
Finding BeckyLove Never Fails
Caroline’s Choice
Amelia’s Journey
Christmas at Holly Hill
Seasons of the Heart
Summer Dream
Autumn Song
Winter Promise
Spring Hope
Mulch Ado About Murder Page 14