“Well, I can.” Bessie put one hand on Annie’s face. “I knew that you would stop him, Annie. I have always had faith in you. You just needed to have a little more in yourself.” Bessie stepped back and took a deep breath. “Who would like something to drink?”
Annie didn’t hesitate to respond. “I would love some of that lemonade you were supposed to be making.”
Bessie waved her hand dismissively. “Pshaw! Forget that. I’m having me a nip of whiskey. After all that, I think I deserve a little something to calm my nerves.”
Annie and Rory exchanged incredulous glances as Bessie ambled off to the liquor cabinet to pour herself a drink. Before either of them could speak, Emmett entered the open door behind them.
“Annie, if you’re alright, I’m going to need to take a statement from you.”
For just a second, panic filled Annie’s chest. “Did you just leave him out there? What if he escapes?”
“You mean Mr. Tremaine? Oh, I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere, not for a long while. Besides, I’ve got a couple of officers out there already, taking care of things. You did a fine job, Annie Purdy, a real fine job.”
Annie didn’t bother correcting the man. She just sank into the nearest chair and leaned back into it, letting it cradle her aching body as her home once again became a crime scene.
***
After some time, Annie was able to give her official statement to Delbert Plemmons, who stared at her like she was some sort of exotic fish during the entire interview. His mouth hung open slightly as he wrote down her statement. When she finished, he shook his head in disbelief.
“Well, I never would have pegged Mr. Tremaine as the murdering kind, but I sure am glad that you think fast on your feet. I would have felt awful if something happened to you or your son, or your dear, sweet Mama,” he added, looking around to make sure she wasn’t actually watching him. “Y’all can rest easy now, ma’am. We have everything under control.” As he turned to walk away, Delbert tripped over his own untied shoelace and stumbled. Annie fought hard not to laugh, and if she hadn’t been so tired, she probably would have. She doubted very much that Delbert had anything under control, but she bit her tongue and waited for him to leave.
After Delbert had finished with her, Emmett approached her again.
“Annie, I am sure you have some questions after all this. Would you care to sit and have a little chat?”
They went out on the veranda, where Bessie had finally produced the much anticipated lemonade and a plate of cookies. “I’m afraid that they’re only store-bought ones,” Bessie apologized, “but I had no idea we’d be having company today, so I didn’t have time to whip anything up.”
She batted her eyes at Emmett, while Annie rolled her own. “Thank you very much, Mother. Now, if you don’t mind, I really would like to speak to Chief Barnes here alone for a bit.”
Bessie left reluctantly, and Annie could swear that she saw the curtains in the parlour twitching after she was gone. Annie truthfully didn’t mind her mother watching or listening in on her conversation with Emmett, but she feared that if the woman sat with them, Annie wouldn’t get a word in edgewise.
Emmett poured himself a glass of lemonade and took a sip, his lips puckering at the sour-sweet tang of the drink. “Very refreshing,” he stated. “Annie, Daniel Tremaine has been arrested for the murder of Suzy Anderson. Because of his confession to both you and young Devon in there, and because the man was obviously trying to harm you with that gun, I’m inclined to believe that he did, indeed, murder his fiancée.”
Annie nodded. “This means you’ll drop all the charges against Rory, right?” Emmett nodded. “And you’ll give him back his tools and truck?”
“Certainly. We’ve got no reason to hold them, either.”
“And what about the murder of Thomas Anderson? Daniel claimed that his father confessed to the killing on his deathbed, How do we know he didn’t lie about that and maybe he killed Thomas, too?” Annie had her doubts about most of the things that Daniel had said to her since he lied so skillfully, but if he killed Suzy, she could easily imagine him killing her uncle, too.
“Well, truth be told, we only have Daniel’s word for that particular death, and since we currently have no evidence linking him to Thomas’ death, I suppose we’d better focus on Suzy’s untimely demise.”
Annie took a moment to let Emmett’s words sink in. Daniel may or may not have had a hand in Thomas’ death, but at least he would be going to prison for murdering Suzy, and Rory was free to--what? Would he even want to stick around and finish renovating the old farmhouse now? Or would the plantation hold too many unpleasant memories? She didn’t realize that she was frowning, but Emmett noticed.
“Now, don’t you worry about that fool Tremaine. Truth be told, I’ve never cared for the fella. He just seemed too uppity for a realtor, like he was living on some yet-to-be-received inheritance. I’ve got it on good authority that his Hollywood lifestyle was getting him into some mighty steep debt. I’m guessing he thought that if he found this mythical treasure he could wipe his slate clean and keep on living the life of Riley, but who on earth gambles their finances on a little historical gossip about some long-lost, antebellum treasure?”
He took a break from his long-winded diatribe and sipped his lemonade, taking thoughtful bites of a chocolate chip cookie every now and then. Finally, he continued.
“I guess, what I’m asking, completely off the record, is why on earth he thought you might know where that treasure is.”
Annie pursed her lips, struggling with the desire to both tell Emmett everything and keep the knowledge to herself. After all, once she told him, she couldn’t be sure that someone wouldn’t try to come in and start digging around in the old graveyard. Annie shuddered at the thought of disturbing anyone’s old bones, and she was just superstitious enough to believe that such a thing could stir up old ghosts and bad juju.
Realizing that she couldn’t avoid answering his question, Annie pleaded with him to keep the information guarded. “I just don’t want people running around, digging up my land when that treasure rightfully belongs to nobody at all.” She explained how she’d found Rose’s diary and then later John’s letter, confessing to having received stolen money and jewels in exchange for his slaves.
Emmett listened with rapt attention, and when she was finished, he leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Well, I’ll be. Those things that you found, and that letter you said Tremaine showed you, paint such a clear picture. My Marjorie would have loved to hear this,” he added, nodding to himself. “And to think I was walking around, just a kid playing among the dead, and there was a fantastic treasure beneath my feet the whole time.”
“Emmett, you aren’t even the least bit interested in digging up that grave to see what’s inside?”
“No, ma’am, not one bit. Like you said, it doesn’t belong to any of us, so we’ll just let poor old Rose hold onto her jewels. She seems to have done a fine job of looking after them all these years.”
Annie let out a breath that she wasn’t aware that she had been holding in and smiled tentatively. “So does this mean I can just get back to renovating this place and getting it ready for guests?”
“It sure does, but only on one condition.”
Annie frowned. “What’s that?”
Emmett leaned forward in his seat. “I’d just love to make sure that graveyard gets cleaned up properly. I reckon there’ve been enough bad things going on here for a long time now. There’s no need to go riling up any of the Cooper family ghosts by disrespecting their dead. Oh, and I’d love to take a look at Rose’s diary someday. I imagine it must really paint a picture of this place, huh?”
Annie nodded. “I’d be happy to meet those conditions, Emmett. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I need to go and soak in the tub for about a week.” Now that the adrenaline had worn off, Annie was starting to feel the strains of her earlier adventure. She rose from her seat and shook Emmett’s outstretc
hed hand.
“I’ll get out of your way, young lady. You just thank your mama for the lemonade and cookies, and tell her I’ll be back when you get this place up and running.”
Annie watched him make his way down the front porch steps and over to his police car, then she watched as he drove away into the last soft rays of sunset, and Annie was alone once again.
27
Rosewood Place
Sunlight filtered through the branches of the old magnolia tree out to the front left side of Rosewood Place. Annie adjusted the wrought iron bench that sat beneath its branches, then stepped back to admire how it looked beneath the majestic old tree. The bench had been just one of many beautiful pieces of furniture Annie had found stashed up in the attic when she’d finally got around to clearing it out.
Rory had spent nearly a week solid working to transform the dusty, dank space into a gorgeous bedroom for Devon. It was unrecognizable from its former state, and that was a good thing. In fact, the entire house now seemed to shine and glimmer with hopeful anticipation, waiting for the first guests to arrive.
It had been several months since the police had carted Daniel Tremaine away, and apart from having to testify against him in a few short weeks, the stress and horror of those first few days in her new home had slipped from Annie’s mind as easily as if she’d walked through a door. The trial wouldn’t bother her; Emmett had assured her that there was no risk of Daniel Tremaine ever seeing another day of freedom in his lifetime.
Annie cast her eyes towards the hill and the small cemetery there. It had taken a few days and a lot of hard work, but she, Rory, and Devon had diligently worked to clear the weeds and briars from the old stones that still marked the Cooper family graves. Rose’s stone had been the last they’d found, and Annie felt a pang of sadness every time she looked at it. Rose never had a chance to have a family of her own, and with John’s death, that particular branch of the Cooper family line had effectively died out.
Annie could see Rory and Devon working on the hill, erecting a small fence around the graveyard. Rosebushes stood nearby in a white bucket, waiting to be planted. Her son looked almost as unrecognizable as his new room, with hair bleached from days spent working outdoors, helping Rory and chasing his irascible kitten around the property. He had a farmer’s tan and a smile that Annie hadn’t seen since he was little, and though she knew these physical changes were only minor, it was the changes in the boy’s demeanor that impressed her the most.
Her formerly sullen teen had blossomed into a friendly, funny, and helpful young man. Of course, she thoroughly blamed Rory for this, as Devon seemed to have adopted him as his role model for the summer. Annie hoped the new school year would be a smooth transition for Devon, and although she’d had her doubts when they first moved back to Coopersville, Annie was certain she’d made the right choice now.
Annie entered the kitchen through the side door, finding her mother in the middle of frosting a cake. “For our dinner guest,” she explained, licking buttercream frosting off of one spindly finger. Bessie had invited Emmett to eat with them as the first official guest at Rosewood Place. Although he would not rent a room, he would be the first person outside of their little circle to formally dine in its newly renovated halls.
Smiling and nodding, Annie grabbed herself a glass and filled it with sweet iced tea, then made her way to the veranda, where a cool breeze provided relief from the smoldering summer heat. As Annie sipped her tea and surveyed her land, she knew without one single doubt that she was home for good, exactly where she was meant to be.
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Look for the next book in the series, Corpses & Conmen, coming soon!
In the meantime, why not check out my cozy mystery series, the Carly Keene Cozy Mysteries?
Dead Before the Wedding
Gravely Dead
Love, Death & Christmas Cookies
Can't Beat A Dead Horse
Bodies & Buried Secrets: A Rosewood Place Mystery (Rosewood Place Mysteries Book 1) Page 19