We came back to him, where he stood just outside his door. “I told them I needed a cigarette break. They don’t have to know I quit smoking three years ago, even though this mess makes me want to light up again every time I think about it.”
“What happened?”
“One of my clients called the feds, and they decided to do a surprise audit first thing this morning. I can’t believe what they’ve found already. Wade was stealing from my customers, and I didn’t even catch it. I’m looking like a real idiot in there.”
“What’s going to happen to you?”
He looked startled by my question. “You know what? I never even thought about it. I’ll lose the business—that much is pretty certain. But I didn’t do anything wrong other than trust the wrong man. They’ll have to see that.” He looked back at his office, and then he said, “I had to get out of there, but I’d better get back. I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
“Good luck,” Maddy said.
“Thanks, I’m going to need it,” Roger said.
After he went inside, we got back into Maddy’s car. As she started to drive, I said softly, “It’s awfully convenient that Wade is dead, isn’t it?”
Maddy nearly drove off the road before she corrected her course. “Convenient for who, exactly?”
“Roger Henderson,” I replied.
“It didn’t look all that convenient to me back there.”
“Think about it, Maddy. With Wade gone, Roger can blame every single embezzlement on him, and who’s to say Roger wasn’t the one stealing all of that money in the first place?”
“Eleanor, you have an active imagination this morning,” Maddy said.
“You have to admit that it’s a possibility,” I said. “He could have stolen the money from his customers, made it look like Wade did it, and after that, he killed his scapegoat. In a twisted kind of way, it makes perfect sense.”
Maddy must have been thinking about it as she drove toward downtown. As we neared our usual parking spot behind the Slice, she finally said, “I hate to admit it, but I can see it. Sis, you’ve got a skewed way of looking at the world.”
“I just know people’s actions don’t always mirror our impressions of them.”
“Then we need to dig into Roger Henderson’s life a little.”
“I agree,” I said. “But since we’re here, why don’t we get an early start on the day?” It was a full twenty minutes before we had to be at the Slice, and I had to admit, it would be nice to get a jump on things.
“Why not? I can’t think of anything better to do.”
As I unlocked the front door of the pizzeria, I heard the telephone ringing. Maddy walked in behind me and said, “I’d ignore it, if I were you.”
“I can’t do that, and you know it.” I had a tough time letting any phone ring unanswered, though it wasn’t the most convenient obsession I could have had.
“A Slice of Delight,” I said as I grabbed the phone.
“I didn’t think you were ever going to answer your phone,” a familiar voice said, though I couldn’t place the woman calling me.
“We’re not even due to start for another twenty minutes,” I said.
“You don’t know who this is, do you?”
“Not a clue,” I said. I hated playing guessing games, maybe because I was usually so bad at it.
There was a chuckle on the other end of the line, and I suddenly knew who it was. “I take that back. How are you doing, Emma?”
Emma Corbin worked at the courthouse in the small clerk of courts office that housed every department that covered the legal paperwork in Timber Ridge. She also happened to be a pizza lover, and had been lobbying me for months to have a karaoke night at the Slice, something I’d steadfastly refused even to consider. I liked atmosphere, but that was a little too much for my taste.
“I’m doing fine,” she said, “at least better than you are. Listen, you’d better get over to the courthouse right away.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
She lowered her voice, “I can’t say over the phone—someone just walked in—but it relates to Wade Hatcher’s murder, and I know you’re looking into it.”
“How could you possibly know that?” I asked.
“I shouldn’t have to tell you that Timber Ridge is a small town. Not much goes on around here that I don’t know.” She hesitated, then added, “Trust me, Eleanor. It would be worth your time to come.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes,” I said.
After I hung up, Maddy asked, “What was that all about?”
“Don’t start prepping anything yet. We’re going out again,” I said.
“Good, I was getting tired of being here so long,” she said as she winked at me.
Once we were outside, Maddy started toward her car, when I put a hand on her shoulder. “There’s no need to drive. We’re walking.”
“For exercise?” she asked incredulously. My sister’s idea of working out was opening the top of a half-gallon of ice cream.
“No, don’t worry, you won’t have to break a sweat. We’re going to the town hall to talk to Emma Corbin. She’s got some information about Wade Hatcher.”
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Maddy said as we started off. “Emma knows a little something about just about everything. Did she give you any idea what it might be?”
“I think she was going to, but someone walked in. I can’t help wondering what it could be.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
Maddy and I walked across the brick-lined promenade, through the parking lot, and across the street to city hall. There were plantings out front, and the ancient brick building’s trim sported a fresh coat of paint. We didn’t go in through the beautiful oak doors in front, though, bypassing them for a dingy little entrance into the basement in front where the city and county records were kept.
There was a huge counter near the entrance, and most of it was covered with rolled maps, books of different registries, and just about any other kind of document you could ever want. It was tough spotting Emma behind the desk, but not just because of the piles of material. She was barely five feet tall, and if she weighed a hundred pounds, I’d give up donuts and pizza for a year, neither of which was about to happen.
“Good, you’re here,” Emma said as she moved down the counter toward us.
“What’s so urgent?” I asked. There wasn’t much time for pleasantries. Not only did we need to get back to the Slice soon, but I doubted we’d have the place to ourselves for very long.
“Clara Hatcher was just here. She filed this with our probate department.”
I glanced at the document. “Should you be showing me this?”
Emma smiled. “Once it’s registered, it becomes public information.”
I nodded. “I’ll look at it as long as I’m not getting you in trouble.”
“Trust me, I’d never do anything to jeopardize my job,” she said. “I love it here too much.”
I looked around the basement with its massive disorder, lack of any windows, and harsh fluorescent lights, and then said, “Who wouldn’t?”
That got a laugh. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s my domain, and believe it or not, I know where everything is.”
Maddy smiled. “I don’t see how.”
“Try me. Go ahead, I’m game.”
“We don’t have time for that,” I said as I picked up a copy of the document she was so eager for us to see. It was a simple will for Wade Livingston Hatcher, and it left everything to his mother, Clara.
“I’m not surprised he left everything to his mother,” I said.
Emma tapped the document. “Now look at the date.”
I did as she asked, and saw that the will had just been written ten days earlier. “That’s quite a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
Emma shook her head. “No, what’s odd is that ten minutes after Clara left, someone else walked in with a will that was written two month
s ago. Want to guess who the beneficiary was on that one?”
“I don’t have a clue,” I admitted.
As she slid another document in front of me, she said, “Sandi Meadows, Wade’s old girlfriend, is the sole beneficiary on this one. She got it all, and from the way she walked in here, she thought she had it made. You should have seen the look on her face when I told her about Clara’s version of the will.”
“What did she say?”
“She said it was a fake,” Emma said. “I don’t think so myself—the signatures both match—but when there’s a dispute, we kick it upstairs. If I were betting on it, I’d say Clara’s version of the will is going to hold up.”
I thought about it for a second. “If Sandi didn’t know about the new will, she might have gotten rid of Wade to get to his money.”
“More important, she’d get her hands on the money left to Greg and Wade by their grandparents.”
Maddy said, “That hasn’t been cleared up yet.”
Emma frowned. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but the rumor is that Wade signed the agreement the afternoon he died. The estate was as good as settled, and he was going to get half of everything as soon as the probate was finished.”
“Did Greg know his brother signed off on it?”
Emma looked puzzled. “I would assume so, wouldn’t you? Maybe he didn’t know yet, if his attorney hasn’t told him. That would explain why no one’s filed it with me yet, wouldn’t it?”
“Hang on a second,” I said. “What would have happened if Wade had died before he’d settled the estate with Greg?”
Emma grinned. “That’s the question I’ve been wondering about myself. It depends on the original wording of the document, but most likely, if Wade had died without signing the settlement, Greg would have gotten everything. As it stands now, I’m guessing that if Wade really did sign the settlement agreement, it’s part of his estate.”
“That’s terrible news,” I said.
“What’s wrong with that?” Maddy asked.
“If Greg didn’t know Wade signed, then he had a pretty big motive for murder.”
Emma shrugged. “I suppose you’re right. Sorry if I got you over here for nothing. I just wanted to help.”
“You did,” I said. “Thanks, Emma.”
“I’ll keep you informed,” she said, “if anything else comes up, or if any more wills for Wade Hatcher come across my desk.”
As Maddy and I walked back to the Slice, I said, “We’ve got new motives for old suspects. I’m not sure if we’re any better off now than we were before.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. The more information we have, the clearer things will get. I’m sure of it.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said. “What do you think our next step is?”
“We need to talk to Clara again.”
I shivered a little at the thought. “She’s not exactly our biggest fan, is she?”
“If you think she disliked us before, just wait.”
“Wonderful,” I said.
We were back at the Slice, but before I had a chance to unlock the door, Clara Hatcher herself stormed toward us, with a fierce look of anger burning on her face.
It appeared that our conversation with her about Wade’s last will and testament was going to happen sooner rather than later, and in a pretty public arena.
Chapter 11
“You two busybodies had better butt out of my business, or you’re going to regret it, I promise you that.”
“Hi, Clara. How are you?” I asked, mimicking my best level of sincerity. “You’re looking nice this morning.”
“Cut the small talk,” she said. “I heard you were just at the courthouse sniffing around a few minutes ago.”
“Wow, that’s fast, even for Timber Ridge,” Maddy said.
“You stay out of this,” Clara said to my sister. “I’m talking to her.”
“Well, this is your lucky day. You get two sisters for the price of one.”
Clara snapped, “You both think you’re so clever, but everyone in town is laughing at you. You know that, don’t you?”
“I doubt that,” I said. “Why are you so angry? All we’re doing is looking into your son’s death. You should be cheering us on, not trying to get us to stop.”
“It’s a police matter,” Clara said. “As long as you keep interfering, they can’t do their job properly. My son deserves the best he can get, and you’re not going to be able to provide it.”
“We’re looking out for the son you have who’s alive. He’s in jail right now, did you know that?”
A look of triumph crossed her face for just a split second, and then vanished so quickly that I began to doubt I’d seen it. “They got him?”
“Not for murder,” I said.
“Why was he arrested, then?”
I wasn’t about to answer that, but Maddy said something before I could stop her. “The chief arrested him for armed robbery.”
Clara frowned. “I never did think that boy would turn out to be any good, always acting like he was better than the rest of us. Who did he rob?” She paused for a beat, and then actually laughed. “It was you, wasn’t it? He held a gun on his own boss. I guess this changes your tune about him.”
“He didn’t do it,” I said, angry that Greg’s mother could turn against him so deeply, especially when he was such a fine young man. “Wade did.”
The words were like scalding water thrown in her face. Clara reached out and grabbed my jacket in her hand and pulled me toward her. It was as if I had no strength of my own to resist her.
“Take it back,” she said, the words hissing out of her like escaping steam.
I pulled myself away from her, but I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking as I said, “I won’t, because it’s the truth. They arrested Greg, but Wade is the one who robbed me. How does that fit into your attitude about your sons?”
Maddy put a hand on my shoulder, but it was too late to stop me.
Clara looked as though she wanted to kill me just then, and there was no mistaking it on my part.
She stared at me, then said hotly, “Mark my words, you’ll pay for trying to sully my son’s good name.”
I couldn’t believe this woman, and I wasn’t about to stand there and take any more grief from her. “Clara, do you honestly think I’d say it if it weren’t true? Wade was no good. I’m not saying he deserved what he got, but I don’t think it should be all that much of a surprise to you that something bad happened to him.”
Her face had gone pallid as I spoke, and I instantly regretted losing my temper with her, but it was too late to make amends.
“Why don’t you do the world a favor and crawl into a hole and die,” Clara said before she stormed off down the street.
It took me a second to catch my breath after she was gone. Confrontations always left me like that, a little weak from the strain, but to my credit, I’d stood my ground with the woman and hadn’t backed down.
Maddy started after her as she said, “She’s not getting away with that.”
I reached out and grabbed my sister’s arm before she could get to Clara. “It’s not worth the bother.”
“Maybe not to you, but I’m not about to let her talk to you that way.”
“Maddy, I don’t like her any more than you do, but she just lost a son, and as sad as it is to say, Wade was clearly her favorite.”
My sister shook her head in disgust. “If I live to be a thousand, I’ll never understand how a woman can turn her back on her good son and idolize her bad one.”
“It’s a mystery to me, too.”
I looked around the plaza and saw that there were a few people standing around, watching us. I wondered how much of the earlier confrontation they’d seen. “Let’s go inside, okay?”
“That’s fine with me,” Maddy said.
We walked into the Slice, but things I normally took great pride and satisfaction in doing were merely perfor
med, not savored. The confrontation with Clara had left me queasy and unsettled, and I hated her just a little for taking one of my life’s joys from me, no matter how temporary it was.
Maddy came back into the kitchen two minutes after we were supposed to open for the day.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“You’re not going to believe who our first customer is.”
“I’m really not in the mood to guess,” I said as I brushed an errant strand of hair back behind my ear.
“Clara Hatcher is sitting at a table by the front window.”
That I had to see for myself. If she wanted to continue our fight, I was going to do it before we had a restaurant full of customers. The last thing I wanted to do was air any more dirty laundry in front of the residents of Timber Ridge.
“Where’s my soft drink?” Clara said when I walked up to her.
“What are you doing here, Clara?”
She raised an eyebrow as she looked at me. “Is that how you treat all of your customers?”
I nodded. “It is for the ones who come in looking for trouble.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “We’ve said all we need to say, and as far as I’m concerned, the subject is closed. Now, are you going to serve me my Diet Coke, or do I have to go have my lunch somewhere else?”
“We’ll serve you,” I said.
I nearly bumped into my sister as I came back into the kitchen.
Maddy asked, “What did she want?”
“A Diet Coke,” I replied.
“I heard that much myself. What did she say to you?”
“She said that our argument was over, and she came here to eat.”
Maddy looked skeptically at me. “Do you believe that?”
“Not on your life, but I can’t throw her out without a good reason.”
Maddy said, “I keep telling you, we need to post a sign that says we refuse to serve anyone we choose without a reason.”
“I’m not doing it,” I said. “Now, are you going to get her drink, or do I have to?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.”
Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder Page 19