Maisie Fezziwig 01-Hickory Dickory Dead

by Cheryl Bradshaw

  Maisie paused, taken aback by the woman’s odd behavior.

  Doesn’t she know her daughter is missing?

  And if she does, why is she so damn chipper?

  Annoyingly chipper.

  “Did the police give you the details about Zoey and your son-in-law? Do you know what’s happened?”

  “About my son, you mean?”

  “Wait. You aren’t Zoey’s mother?”

  “I’m Wanda, Lane’s mother.”

  “I thought Zoey’s mother was coming to pick up the baby?”

  “Well, I got the call about an hour ago. Looks like I got here first.”

  Maisie wondered if MacDougal had been mistaken about which grandmother was coming for Alice. Given the level of stress he was under earlier, it was possible. Still, it wasn’t like him to get details wrong.

  “I’m sorry about your son,” Maisie said. “I was the one who found him.”

  “My poor boy. It’s so sad. So unexpected. I’m just glad the baby’s all right.”

  She didn’t look like she was sad. She looked unaffected, like she either wasn’t close to her son, or the reality of his unfortunate demise hadn’t set in yet.

  “What did the police tell you on the phone?”

  The woman placed a hand on her hip. “They told me what happened to Lane this morning and said they were still searching for his wife.” She turned, stared down the street. “Which one is it?”

  “Which one is what?”

  “Which house belonged to my son?”

  “You’re his mother,” Maisie said. “Don’t you know?”

  “I wasn’t ... umm ... on the best of terms with my son before he died. We hadn’t spoken for a while.” She counted using her fingers. “Gosh, it’s been at least six months.”

  “That’s a long time to go without speaking to your child.”

  “I know. Too long. I’ve never met his wife before, or my grandbaby. Truth is, I didn’t know he had a wife and a baby until today.”

  Maisie served up her very best fake smile, determined to get this woman into the house for further questioning. “My sister ran a quick errand with Alice. She’ll be back soon.”

  “Who’s Alice?”

  “Your granddaughter.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Why did they call you instead of visiting you in person? This kind of news usually isn’t given over the phone.”

  “They tried to locate where I live, but they went to the wrong place. The woman living there now knows me. She didn’t know where they could find me, but she gave them my number, and here I am. I’m kinda here and there right now. Renting an apartment with a few roommates on Dugway in Kearns.”

  Was it a subtle way of saying she was homeless? She sure looked it. Everything about the woman raised red flags. From her long, unkempt hair to her lackadaisical attitude. “I’ve just baked some cookies. Why don’t you come in for a moment while you wait?”

  Wanda shot past Maisie and entered the house, walking straight to the kitchen and helping herself to the plate of cookies on the counter. “These are fantastic. Truly. You must give me the recipe.”

  Maisie stood next to Wanda, watching the crumbs from the cookies sprinkle over the counter as Wanda spoke. Wanda didn’t seem to notice, or if she did, she certainly didn’t care.

  “Why didn’t you and your son have a relationship?”

  Wanda shoved another whole cookie into her mouth, continuing to talk while she chewed. “It’s a long story.”

  “My sister’s not back with Alice yet. You have plenty of time.”

  “Maybe you should call her. Tell her I’m here, and I’m waiting. I have other things to do today. I’d like to get going.”

  Maisie had serious doubts about Wanda having any kind of agenda that involved making appointments, but the cookies were gone, and a seemingly ADD-riddled Wanda no longer had an incentive to stay.

  “If she doesn’t arrive within the next few minutes, I’ll call. Besides, the caseworker is also supposed to be here. Now, what’s the story between you and your son?”

  “We had a falling out.”

  “Over what?”

  “I borrowed some money from him. I planned on paying it back, but when I tried to explain, he wouldn’t listen.”

  “How did borrowing money make him mad enough to stop speaking to you?”

  “When I say borrow, what I mean is, I kind of took it.”

  “You mean you stole it,” Maisie said.

  Wanda nodded. “It’s just ... he had so much. A giant, perfect stack of bills sitting in plain sight, right on top of his bedroom dresser, almost begging someone to make good use of it. I thought it was no big deal. There was plenty there, and I assumed he wouldn’t notice if I skimmed a little off the top.”

  “But it wasn’t your money. It was his.”

  “I didn’t think he’d mind, and even if he did, I figured ... I was his mother. I needed it.”

  “You needed it. For what?”

  She didn’t answer, which Maisie expected. The woman had an obvious addiction.

  “Where did the money come from?” Maisie asked.

  “His job at the time, I suppose. Something in construction.”

  “Why keep it at home and not at the bank?”

  “He didn’t like banks.”

  “When he found out you took it, what did he say?”

  “He said he was saving it for something important. If I didn’t return it to him in a week, we were done. He’d never speak to me again.”

  “I’m guessing you didn’t give the money back.”

  “I couldn’t. I’d already spent it.”

  “How much money did you take?”

  “I’d ... rather not say.”

  “Skimming a bit off the top is much different than taking a sizable chunk of his stash.”

  The front door swung open, and Maude walked in, balancing Alice in her car seat in one hand and a handbag in the other. Upon seeing her granddaughter for the first time, Wanda leapt off the barstool, her arms stretched toward Alice. Maisie stepped in front of Wanda, grabbing the car seat from her sister. Maude gave Maisie a look like she was astounded at her sister’s sudden interest in the child.

  “I wanted to hold this little sweetie for a minute before she goes,” Maisie said.

  Maude eyed her sister. “Is ... everything all right?”

  Maisie leaned over, whispered, “When I hand Alice back, say she needs her diaper changed, and take her to the back bedroom.”

  Though Maude was unclear of the circumstances, one glance from Maisie was all Maude needed to do what she asked. It was like a secret handshake, Morse code between sisters.

  “Alice smells a bit fresh,” Maisie said, handing Alice over once again.

  “I believe you’re right,” Maude said. “I’ll go back and change her diaper before she leaves.”

  “Wait a minute,” Wanda said. “I haven’t even been able to hold her yet.”

  Maude disregarded the remark and walked down the hall. Once she was out of sight, Maisie yanked the sunglasses off Wanda’s face. “Mmhmm ... mmhmm. Exactly as I suspected.”

  Wanda swung for the glasses dangling from Maisie’s hand and missed.

  “What kind of prescription pills are you popping, lady?” Maisie asked. “And how many have you had today?”

  “I ... I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d never—”

  “Don’t lie to me. How long have you been abusing pills, or other drugs?”

  “You have no right to—”

  Maisie grabbed Wanda’s arm and led her to the front door, thrusting her outside once they got there. “It’s no wonder you have no emotion about your son’s death. You’ve probably ingested enough pills today to make all feeling in your body go away. Take my advice and get yourself straight.”

  “I want my grandbaby! You can’t keep her from me. You’re not family! You have no right!”

  “I’m not keeping her from you. I’m protecting her
from you. Big difference. And I wouldn’t release her to you anyway. Not without the proper authority here to sign off.”

  Maisie slammed the door, but Wanda wouldn’t go without a fight. She smacked her fists against it, yelling, “Get back here! Open this door! I’m not leaving!”

  Maisie jerked the door back open, wrapping her hand around Wanda’s neck. “You pound your fists on my door one more time, I’ll return with a hammer. Use your imagination to figure out what I’ll do with it. I’m calling the police and my son, who also happens to be the mayor of this city. I suggest you leave now while you still can.”

  CHAPTER 9

  “What kind of shit show are you running here?” Maisie yelled into the phone.

  “Language, please,” MacDougal said. “What are you talking about?”

  “Since when is it okay to hand an innocent child over to a pill-popping, drug-addicted grandmother who doesn’t even know how to take care of herself, let alone a baby!”

  “Calm down. Tell me what happened.”

  Maisie detailed Wanda’s visit.

  “Where was the DCFS worker from child services? She was supposed to be there to witness everything, and make sure it all went okay.”

  “There wasn’t anyone with Wanda,” Maisie said. “She was alone. I thought you said Alice was going to be released to Zoey’s mother.”

  “I did.”

  “Then why did Lane’s mother show up?”

  MacDougal grumbled something under his breath, causing Maisie to think she was right in assuming there had been a mistake.

  “Where’s the baby now?” he asked.

  “We have her. There was no way I was releasing her to that lunatic.”

  “I’ll call Ilene, the caseworker, find out what’s going on.”

  He hung up, then called back a couple minutes later to say Ilene was on her way. Apparently she never showed because she’d been under the impression an officer would be bringing Alice to her office and she’d be picked up there. Ilene was new, and having never received a call quite like that before, she had been unclear on how to handle it.

  Confusion was everywhere, it seemed.

  Within the next hour, Zoey’s mother had been notified and was en route to the child services office, where she was to wait for her grandbaby. In the meantime, the woman from child services arrived. Maude struggled when it came time to hand Alice over, biting down on her lower lip to keep the tears welled up in her eyes from getting away.

  Maisie placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “Are you okay?”

  “What do you mean?” Maude answered. “I’m fine.”

  Maisie nodded, remaining by her sister while Ilene backed out of the driveway. While the car made its way down the street, Maisie’s cell phone buzzed. She took it out of her pocket, looked to see who was calling.

  “Yes, Sylvia, what is it?” Maisie said.

  “There’s a young woman in front of the Marshalls’ house.”

  Sylvia’s tone was so low, Maisie almost couldn’t make out what she’d said. “Why are you whispering?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t realize. This whole business has me out of sorts.”

  “Why call me? The lady at the Marshalls’ house is probably involved in the investigation.”

  “I don’t think so. She’s on her knees in the front yard, pounding a fist into the lawn. Looks like she’s crying. And she’s not a lady. She’s much younger.”

  “What do you expect me to do about it?”

  “I don’t know. I just thought you’d want to know. Might not be a bad idea to go find out who she is, and why she’s taking her frustrations out on the front lawn.”

  Maisie said goodbye to her sister, grabbed a sweater, wrapped it around herself, and headed outside. Sylvia was right. The girl in the Marshalls’ front yard was young, in her early twenties, Maisie guessed. She had long, loosely braided, auburn hair that cascaded over her right shoulder.

  Maisie placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, and the girl jumped.

  “Sorry,” Maisie said. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “It’s okay. Who are you?”

  “I think you’d better tell me who you are first.”

  The girl wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and stood. “I’m Lena. Zoey Marshall’s sister. Your turn.”

  “My name is Maisie. I live a few houses down. My sister Maude has been keeping an eye on your niece today.”

  “Oh, well, thank you for looking after her. Ever since we found out what happened, we’ve been worried about Alice.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I dunno. I guess I just needed a few minutes away from everyone. My mom is freaking out. I mean, I don’t blame her. I am too, but home is just a hard place to be right now, and I didn’t know where else to go. I can’t get my head around it. It doesn’t seem real, you know?”

  “I imagine it doesn’t. Have the police talked to your family yet?”

  “They talked to my mother, and I guess they’re coming over in a couple hours to talk to me too. Or question us, I should say. My mom said she thinks they’re going to ask questions, like interrogate us, just to make sure we don’t know anything, but we don’t. We have no idea where she is, why anyone would take her, or why anyone would kill Lane.”

  “You look like you could use a cup of coffee. Would you like to come to my house for a few minutes?”

  “I should get home, but maybe I could come by for a few minutes.”

  They walked toward Maisie’s house. “Before, when I said I had Alice, there was one other thing I should have mentioned. I was the one who found her and Lane.”

  “I don’t understand. How did you end up in their house?”

  “The truth is, I think I may have heard your sister scream when everything was happening. I looked out the window and couldn’t see anything, so I didn’t know what had happened until I stopped by their house today. I heard Alice crying, started snooping around, and that’s how I found her and Lane.”

  “Must have been horrible for you. I’m so glad you found Alice in time.”

  “I’d like to help find out what happened to your sister if I can.”

  “Why would you want to get involved? Aren’t the police taking care of it?”

  “They are, and I have no doubt they’ll do a fine job, but the fact is Lane’s murder and your sister’s abduction happened in my neighborhood. It unnerves me, and not just me, everyone who lives on this street. Things like this just don’t happen here, and I suppose we all won’t sleep the same until we know why.”

  Maisie opened her front door, allowing Lena into the house.

  “I’m praying my sister’s still alive. I want to believe she is, but since Lane’s dead, I can’t help but think she is too.”

  “I know it’s hard. I know everything is being done to find her. Hopefully she’ll be found and she’ll be alive.” Maisie walked into the kitchen. “I’d offer you some cookies, but Wanda ate them all when she was here earlier. I’m just glad Alice went to your mother and not to her.”

  Lena looked confused. “Who’s Wanda?”

  “Lane’s mother, of course. Hadn’t he mentioned her before?”

  “Not really. He just said she wasn’t a good mother or a good person. He didn’t want her around Alice.”

  “Let me see if I have this straight. In the last year, your sister met Lane, married Lane, and had his baby?”

  Lena nodded.

  Maisie leaned back, folding her arms in front of her. “Well, they didn’t waste any time, did they?”

  “Lane ... umm ... well ... Zoey got pregnant right after they started dating, so they decided to get married. She wanted to finish her first year of school, so she stayed on campus for a while until she couldn’t hide the fact she was pregnant anymore. She moved home for the last couple months of her pregnancy, then they married and moved here, to your neighborhood. It probably sounds like they did it all for Alice, but they didn’t. He loved her, and she love
d him.”

  “And your parents? What did they think?”

  “It’s just my mom. Our dad isn’t really in our lives anymore. He divorced my mom when we were kids and moved to Florida with another woman.”

  “Oh. Does he know your sister’s missing?”

  “My mom called him. He said he’d try to fly out tonight.”

  “I’m still wondering what your mother thought of Lane, the marriage, and the baby.”

  “When Zoey first told my mother about Lane, she didn’t like it at first. She thought my sister was too young, and she thought Zoey was going to drop out of school. She didn’t though. She’s been taking courses online. Even though it was fast, my mom always liked Lane, and to be honest, I think secretly she was excited about a grandbaby even if the timing wasn’t right.”

  Needing a little something to take the edge off a long, frustrating day, she decided to fix herself something a bit stronger than the coffee she’d serve to Lena. She removed a glass from the cabinet and a bottle of wine from the refrigerator, and poured until every last drop was out of the bottle. Wine in one hand and coffee in the other, she walked over to Lena, handed her the cup.

  “I’d love to have a glass of wine instead of coffee,” Lena said.

  Maisie raised a brow. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty. I’ll be twenty-one in four months.”

  Hand on hip, Maisie said, “I’m not a stickler for conventional rules by any means, but offering alcohol to a minor is a line I won’t cross, dear. I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for drinking in front of you, but I feel I must.” She took a swig. “How did your sister and Lane meet? What do you know about him?”

  “They met at a coffee shop. She used to go there sometimes after school to do her homework. He asked for her phone number one day, and they haven’t spent a day apart since.”

  “What did he do for a job?”

  “He was a construction worker.”

  “I can’t imagine that paid very much.”

  “It was okay. It paid the bills.”

  “If Zoey stayed home to tend to the baby, how did they afford the house they just bought? Homes in The Avenues aren’t cheap.”

  “Oh, that’s easy. They didn’t buy it. My mother inherited the house after granny died.”