Murder by Serpents (Five Star First Edition Mystery)

by Graham, Barbara

  “So you and Martha are going on the road?”Visions of Tony’s mother and aunt singing in smoky roadhouses, the entertainment between bar fights, flashed into her brain. A sense of dread grew in the pit of her stomach. Hollywood could not have produced a more lurid picture. Theo hoped Tony didn’t have a stroke when he found out. He might be the youngest of the siblings, but he felt responsible for his mother’s safety. It was just that simple.

  “I’m afraid Tony would have a stroke if he heard it put that way.” Jane’s words echoed Theo’s thoughts to perfection. “For that matter, Gus and Callie would too. Even Virgil would get involved, and he never gets involved.” Her eyes flashed. “Not that it’s any of their business, but we sent a bunch of demo CD’s out and from them we got offered a summer job at a little place near Chattanooga. We drove down a week ago last Saturday and took a look and we’re in.” Her grin looked like she had just hit the game winning home run.

  “You’ve been planning this that long?” Gaping at Jane as if she had transformed herself into a little green Martian, Theo collapsed onto the chair in front of her sewing machine. “You don’t just get a CD made and mail it out and get a job over the weekend. What about your museum project?”

  A rush of words poured from Jane like water released from a dam. They buffeted Theo’s ears and brain. She did manage to hang on to enough of them to determine that something the mayor’s wife had done would delay the museum project indefinitely. Since that had fallen through, neither sister wanted to say anything about the singing project for fear of jinxing it. Superstitious, but true. The last bit of information Theo grasped was the name of Jane’s summer replacement. Gretchen Blackburn, Ziggy’s wife.

  Theo almost groaned out loud.

  Gretchen was a sweetheart and Theo loved her, but, she could talk the nuts off a Jeep. On the plus side, everyone liked Gretchen, probably because she laughed constantly.

  Raised in Ohio, Gretchen went to Indiana University to major in vocal music. Built like a Wagnerian heroine, Theo thought she would look at home armed with a spear and shield and her long blond hair in braids. But, ten years ago, she was singing at a gospel music convention in Pigeon Forge when she met Ziggy. Two weeks later they were exchanging vows in the Heartland Wedding Chapel in Townsend. Nine months after that, she presented Ziggy with twin daughters. She might have given up on her dream of singing arias at La Scala, but she became the mainstay of the Baptist choir.

  Her quilt-making skills were so-so, but each quilt she made was better than the last. In the years since she had taken the beginning class, she had come to Theo’s shop at least once a week, sometimes daily. She probably knew the inventory as well as Jane did.

  After giving it some thought, Theo smiled. Maybe this would be a change for the better. At least she wouldn’t be worried about her mother-in-law wearing out while working for her. Gretchen would have no difficulty carrying several bolts of fabric at a time.

  Tony sat behind his desk, pouring over the printout of the cell phone records of the late Harold Usher Brown. The man must have spent most his time dialing or talking. The bulk of his calls were to the Atlanta area, but he had made some to almost every state east of the Mississippi River.

  On the night he died, he made four calls between the time his preaching ended and the time his life ended. One call was to Atlanta, one to Knoxville and two to Park County numbers. Tony recognized the mayor’s home phone number. He dialed the other, but no one answered. It didn’t take him long to find out that it belonged to one of the pay phones outside the Okay Bar and Bait Shop. That one would have to wait.

  Just to see what would happen, he dialed the Atlanta number. An artificial voice informed him that the number he dialed was not in service. The Knoxville number was only slightly more productive. At that number, a recording of a real voice gave him a list of the movies playing and the times they would be shown.

  He debated with himself whether or not to wander over to the mayor’s office, situated in another wing of the city building or to arrive, lights flashing, in front of his house. Maybe he could get a search warrant and then he could enlist every deputy, even those off duty, to help him comb the mayor’s house. It was a lovely dream but he decided to go casual. After all, receiving a telephone call from a snake-handling, drug-smuggling preacher just minutes before he died was not a crime. An ugly coincidence, to be sure, but not a crime.

  With the printout in hand and Wade trotting along beside him,Tony marched out the front doors of the Law Enforcement center and over to the main doors of the City Building. He chose that route because he felt like doing something petty, and this route was much more public than using the tunnel system. If the mayor didn’t remember the phone call, Tony could still use the patrol car and lights to visit with the Missus. Queen Doreen was six times more annoying than the mayor. Tony wouldn’t mind causing her a little embarrassment.

  Justifiably, the town of Silersville refused to pay the salary for a full-time secretary for a part-time mayor. Marigold Flowers Proffitt took his telephone messages and did occasional typing on his official stationary when she wasn’t tied up with her real job, which was taking care of the city’s finances. If Marigold had too much to do, by her standards, the mayor did his own typing.

  Like her younger sister Blossom, Marigold had been gifted with very little hair. Instead of taking Blossom’s approach of doing the best she could with what she had been given, Marigold had long ago shaved her head. She owned an array of wigs and turbans that she wore, changing them with the rest of her ensemble. Today Marigold was coifed in a wig of short russet curls. Tony thought it looked exceptionally nice with her stylish navy dress and red high-heeled shoes. They added four inches to her height. Marigold had lovely legs and knew it. She made sure that they were always on display.

  Tony could probably count on one hand the number of times she had worn slacks to work. She had been overweight as a girl, although never as heavy as Blossom, and had worked tirelessly to change that. Someone once mentioned that Marigold’s husband ate three meals a day at Ruby’s because his wife didn’t allow food in her house.

  At the approach of Tony and Wade, she looked up from her computer screen and gave them a big smile. Her teeth were perfect, small and pearl-white. Tony thought they were probably not original equipment.

  “Morning, gentlemen.”

  After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Marigold informed them that the mayor was indeed in his office and that if he was busy, it was most likely not because he was working on city business. Calvin’s mayoral duties were mostly ceremonial. Only on rare occasions did the office require actual work. A combination of wanting more business for his wife’s gift shop and the need to show the voters that they ought to keep such a paragon in office fueled his current campaign to enhance area tourism. After all, it was an election year.

  Tony knocked on the mayor’s door. He didn’t wait for an answer but strolled on in.

  Calvin’s head swiveled as he looked from him to Wade and back again, sending his mop of blond hair into his eyes. If the pinched expression around his mouth meant anything, he wasn’t pleased to see them. “What can I do for you, Tony? Deputy? Come on in and have a seat.” The words were pleasant enough, but the tone was as sour as unripe berries.

  “This is official business, not social.” Tony sat but Wade merely propped a shoulder against the doorframe and watched, his arms crossed over his chest and his fingertips pressed against the underside of his biceps. The pose made his bulging muscles bulge even more. No doubt about it, Wade made an impressive bodyguard.

  Tony said, “I’m a busy man so I’ll get right to the point.” He enjoyed the mayor’s frown as he caught the intentional dig. “I want you to tell me all about your relationship with the late Harold Brown, also known as John Mize?”

  “There’s nothing to tell.” The mayor’s answer was immediate and a little too loud. “I’m positive I never met the man.”

  “Really?” Tony didn’t need to look at the
printout again, but opened it and made quite a production of silently reading it. He held the paper so that he could watch the mayor without lifting his eyes. Judging by the way Calvin was craning his head around to see what Tony held, it was clear that curiosity was burning the man alive. Tony looked up. “You have talked to him though.”

  “No. Don’t believe so.” Failing in his attempts to read around corners, the mayor adopted a more casual pose, leaning forward in his chair, his hands stacked on his desk. He graced them with his campaign smile. “Can’t imagine why I would want to. Snakes give me the creeps and I am, after all, a lifetime member of the First Baptist Church. I don’t hold with these fly-by-night churches.”

  “I’ll accept that, for now.” With a nod, Tony folded the printout and put it on his lap. “Maybe you wouldn’t mind telling me where you were last Wednesday evening?”

  “Wednesday?” Calvin’s head reared back so quickly that it was amazing that he didn’t give himself whiplash. His face went red and blotchy and it looked as if he’d swallowed his lips. Stuttering and gasping, he couldn’t seem to catch his breath long enough to answer the question. “I, uh, I went to church, of course.”

  “And afterwards?” Tony wasn’t much of a fisherman, but he knew better than to try to set the hook too soon. He made it sound like an idle question.

  “I, uh, I was at home, uh, that is I went home afterwards, and uh, there I was, that is, at home.” Babbling, it took him a moment to realize his statement was incoherent. He fell silent at last, but his breathing was still ragged. No longer red and blotchy, his face had turned chalk white.

  Tony recognized panic when he saw it, and the mayor was going into full panic mode. Interesting. Lifting an eyebrow, he waited. From the look of things, the mayor would start pleading for mercy, or crying, at any moment.

  “I didn’t know him.” Calvin bolted from his desk chair, running toward Wade and the doorway. When he saw Wade’s hand move toward the holstered gun resting on his hip, he raised his hands and stopped dead in his tracks. Craning his neck, he peeked around the deputy, looking into the reception area.

  Tony could see that Marigold’s back was just a few feet away from the doorway. Her russet head moved as if she was listening to music.

  “Close the door.” Calvin mouthed the words but made no sound.

  Stepping inside, Wade did.

  It brought the deputy even closer to the mayor. Calvin made no attempt to move. The mayor was the taller of the two but Wade wasn’t short. He was a powerful young man whose hand hovered near his gun.

  Calvin flinched and swallowed hard as he half-turned and addressed Tony. “If I swear I had nothing to do with that man’s death, wouldn’t my word be good enough?” Calvin shook as if he had palsy. His eyes were glued to the gun. “Can’t we just leave it at that?”

  “Not even close.” Unable to hear clearly, Tony left his chair and moved across the room. He stopped inches away from the mayor.

  “Does this have to be spread about? I’d like to keep this private, you know, just man to man.” There were tears in his eyes. He wasn’t talking but he was begging nonetheless.

  Tony relaxed. Mayor Calvin Cashdollar had a dirty little secret, but it was probably not murder. “If it’s criminal, everyone will soon hear about it. If it’s just criminally stupid, it will stay in this room.”

  The mayor released his breath and went back to his chair. “A man called me at home. He said that he knew I was the mayor and that if I didn’t want the community to learn about . . .” he paused to cough. “A certain, indiscreet meeting I had in Knoxville, that I should get five thousand dollars in cash and he would tell me later how to pay him.”

  “Let me get this straight.” Tony couldn’t believe his ears. The ost self-righteous, holier-than-thou prig in all of Tennessee was confessing to an improper liaison. “You want me to believe that you were stupid enough to have an affair, and not just to have an affair, but to have it only sixty miles away from home. Hell, man, you might as well have been fornicating on the courthouse lawn. Have you ever gone to Knoxville and not seen someone you know?”

  Shaking his head, Calvin didn’t say a word. His shoulders rolled forward as if to protect his chest. A tear did escape and roll down one cheek.

  “So someone saw you and recognized you and thought to make a profit from it and gave you call?” said Tony. What was wrong with the people in this community? Calvin Cashdollar continued to be elected. He’d heard of towns that had elected a dog to the position and was about to decide that they were on the right track.

  “That’s right. I didn’t recognize the voice and he didn’t give me a name or a place to meet. He just said to get the money together and expect him to call again.” The mayor managed to get to back to his chair and he collapsed onto it, sending it sliding across the plastic carpet cover. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

  “So, did you get the money?” said Wade.

  “Yes.” The mayor opened his desk drawer and pulled out a fat manila envelope. “Would you like to count it?” His hands trembled as he offered it to each man in turn. Neither of them touched it.

  “When Blossom found a dead man in that car, did you have any reason to believe he was the same man who called you?”

  Calvin shook his head in denial. “If I had, I would’ve put this back in the savings account before Doreen noticed that it was gone.” He coughed into a fist. “Lucky for me, she only likes to spend it and prefers to let someone else to do the accounting.”

  Tony believed him. No one would make up such a stupid story.

  “Do you own any handcuffs?” said Wade.

  The way the mayor’s face blanched and then flushed made Tony wish that he had thought to ask that question himself. Calvin’s head nodded the slightest amount.

  “I did have.” His long fingers toyed with the manila envelope, tearing the flap into confetti and exposing a fair sized stack of currency inside. “They’re missing.”

  “Since when?”

  “I don’t know.” The flesh of his face pulled against the bones, making him look like a cadaver. His pale eyes drifted toward Tony’s face before dropping to the star-shaped badge and up to the ceiling. “I, um, ordered them some time ago and left them in my car, because, I didn’t want Doreen to find them.”

  Tony could barely hear his last words. “When did you notice that they were gone?”

  “After I heard about the handcuffs on the guy in the car, I looked for them and they weren’t under the seat any longer.”

  “Why did you look for them?” said Wade. “Did you have any reason to believe they were yours?”

  “No.” He lifted his eyes. “I swear that I have no idea what became of them. I haven’t seen them for weeks.”

  * * *

  THE THIRD BODY OF CLUES

  Sew together Unit 1’s and Unit 2’s. Place a 2 (flying geese) right side up with the arrow pointing left. Place a Unit 1 onto it with wrong side of triangle in upper right. Sew 1’s to 2’s using 1/4” seam, along long right edge. Open. You should have a 4 1/2” square. Press seam toward 2’s. Sew 48.

  Divide these blocks into two equal stacks. Place one stack right side up with arrow of goose pointing left. Place the other stack, wrong side up with arrow of goose pointing down. Using 1/4” seam sew these together along right edge. Press toward 1’s. Sew 24.

  Divide into two stacks. Place stack right side up with arrows pointing left and down. Place the other stack, wrong side up with arrows pointing down and right. Pin upper edge to hold center aligned before sewing with 1/4” seam. Center triangles will form pinwheel of fabric (B).

  Before pressing, turn to wrong side and use your fingers to pop the threads in the center so that it opens and you can press each side toward unit 1’s. The center on back will look like a tiny pinwheel and will lay flat.

  Each block should measure 8 1/2” by 8 1/2”. Make 12.

  * * *

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  * * *

  Tony like
d the Okay Bar and Bait Shop. The blue-collar establishment operated more like a clubhouse than a bar. Its regulars were mostly single men with few prospects, monetary or social. They liked to hang out together, watching television, drinking beer, playing pool and having an occasional fight. The Okay had no dance floor, in part because of space limitations, but more because men did not come here to socialize with women. A few women stopped in on a regular basis, but like the men, they didn’t come looking for a date.

  Sitting at the far end of the parking lot, away from the highway, the building itself resembled a cube. Its flat walls and roof bore no decorative touches, and the peeling paint exposed more wood than it covered. Kudzu spreading from nearby trees had established a toehold on the west end of the building. By the end of summer it would probably cover that whole section.

  Tony had always thought that the front resembled a ghost face, the illusion created by a pair of small windows of black glass that flanked the black steel door. A group of volunteers had constructed a crude deck of rough-cut boards and attached it to the back. Donated plastic lawn chairs were arranged so that the large-screen television behind the bar was visible to those seated outside as well as those inside.