by Jessica Beck
Once we were headed out of town, Max asked, “Do you think I could sit up front with you now?”
“Sure, if you’re willing to risk someone spotting you in my Jeep. I won’t try to outrun the police for you, Max, so you’d better be ready to turn yourself in if they stop us.”
He must have thought about that for a full thirty seconds before he replied a little sullenly, “Okay, I’ll stay back here. Just take it easy on the turns, would you? I don’t have any warning they’re coming, and it’s making me a little sick.”
“I guess that depends on what you have to say,” I said. “I won’t punish you as long as I think you’re being honest with me. Max, you wanted to talk. So talk.”
He was silent for a few seconds, then he said, “Some of the things I’m going to tell you are probably going to upset you, but I want you to promise you won’t go ballistic until I’m finished. Can you do that for me?”
“It depends on how bad it is,” I said, after mulling over his question.
“Suzanne, give me a break here, okay? I’ve been going out of mind worrying that the chief is going to try to pin this murder on me. You know how he is. He’s got a one-track mind, and the easiest solution is always his favorite.” Max laughed softly, but there was no amusement in it. “And let’s face it. I’m the easiest answer he’s got right now.”
“I didn’t turn you in, did I?” I asked. “I’m getting impatient, Max. It’s been a long day for me, remember? I’m worn out. What is it?”
“First things first. Don’t blame Emma for losing your money at the donut shop. It wasn’t her fault.”
“How did you know about that?” A split second later, I screamed out, “It was you. I can’t believe you stole from me!”
“I needed money, and I knew if I tapped into my own accounts, the chief would find out. I had no choice. I’d been keeping an eye out on the donut shop, hoping to get a chance to talk to you, but every time I was there, someone was with you. When you left, I had no choice but to wait across the street until you came back. I saw Emma slip in back, so I rushed over, cleaned out the till, and got away before she even knew I’d been there.”
“You stole from me,” I repeated, feeling the anger boil up inside me.
“I borrowed from you,” he corrected me. “And I have every intention of paying you back. I know exactly how much I took.”
“Believe me, so do I,” I said.
I felt a little better knowing that Max had been watching the place and had merely seized an opportunity to take advantage of us.
“Do you forgive me?” he asked after a few minutes of stony silence.
“Why did you rob me?”
“Suzanne, you’ve got to understand my situation. I had no money on me. I was going to run away and lay low until this thing was over, but that took money.”
I looked at him in the rearview mirror. “Then why didn’t you do us both a favor and do exactly that once you robbed me?”
“Borrowed from you,” he corrected me.
“So you say. I’m still waiting for an answer, Max.”
“It wasn’t enough,” he said. “I needed more.”
“What were you going to do, wait until I built up the cash in my register again before you took more?”
“I’d never do that,” he said. “I’m sorry, but I was desperate. I don’t know what else to say.”
“I don’t, either,” I said.
After a few seconds, I said, “You said some of the things you said were going to make me mad. What else do you have to confess? Have you changed your story about you and Darlene?”
“Of course not,” he said. “This next part doesn’t involve her at all. This is about Grace.”
I didn’t need a playbill to tell me what was next on the horizon. “I should have figured that out on my own. You’re the one who broke into her place.”
“I needed a place to stay,” he said shrilly. “I knew she was staying with you, so no one would be there. I never dreamed you two would come back when you did. I had to race out the back as that cop was coming in the front door. Another second of hesitation and he would have had me.”
“You violated my best friend’s sense of security,” I said. “She’s shattered about the break-in. Max, she won’t even go back home by herself.”
With a hint of regret in his voice, he said, “I can apologize to her right now, if you want me to.”
“I doubt it would do much good,” I said. “She was pretty rattled by it. Besides, Grace isn’t even in town. She’s on her way to Charlotte by now.”
His voice was tired and beaten as he said, “I said I was sorry, and I meant it. I’ll do whatever I can to make it right.”
“I’m not sure there’s anything you can do,” I said. “So, why are you here? I’m sure there’s more to it than your desire to confess your sins to me.”
“I need help, Suzanne. I’m running out of options. I know you are investigating the murder, and I need to know what you’ve uncovered so far.”
I couldn’t see what it would hurt telling him what we’d found, but there was a part of me that didn’t want to ease his mind at all. “Why should I tell you?”
“Because I’m going crazy with worry,” he said, his voice cracking as he spoke.
I decided I might as well tell him what we’d found. “Muriel is in the clear as a possible victim. She has problems of her own, but she’s out of the picture for now. Gabby Williams drove her out of state, so she’ll be safe.”
“Where did she go?”
That was an odd question. “Why do you care, Max?”
“Curious, I guess,” he said.
“Sorry, I wasn’t privy to their plans,” I lied. I didn’t even feel bad about withholding the truth from him. Goodness knows he’d done it enough with me when we were married.
“Fine, I don’t need to know. I’m just glad she’s safe. What else is going on?”
“There are some connections we’re still looking into,” I said as I pulled into Union Square. “Where do you want to go now? I should warn you, I’m not driving you to Tennessee, no matter how nice you ask.”
“Could we just head back to April Springs?” he asked.
I was surprised by the request. “I figured that was the last place you’d want to be. It’s a little small to find a good hiding place, isn’t it?”
“I can’t do anything about that. Without much money, I have to depend on my friends to help me. There’s a way I could leave, though.”
“Go on, I’m listening.”
“If you could loan me a thousand bucks, I could take off until this mess blows over.”
I turned around and started back to April Springs.
Max said, “Does that mean you’ll do it?”
I laughed, despite my ill-tempered mood. “What makes you think I have that kind of money? I own a donut shop, Max, I’m not printing money there.”
“Suzanne, remember who you’re talking to. I know you’ve kept ten hundred-dollar-bills in the Bible on your nightstand ever since you could afford it. It’s your rainy-day money, and believe me, from where I’m sitting, it’s pouring.”
“Max, that’s my security blanket, and you know it.”
“I’ll pay you back,” he said, lifting off his chair. “You know if I tell you something, you can believe it.”
“Like the marriage vows you made to me that you broke?”
“That’s low, even for you,” Max said. “I made a mistake, and I’ve been paying for it ever since. When are we going to ever be square?”
“Mister, you haven’t even touched the interest you owe me yet. Forget about the principal.”
“So, that’s how it’s going to be? You won’t help me?”
“I never said that,” I said. “But don’t expect to get it without jumping through some hoops first.”
“Then you’ll do it?” he asked, the hope starting to surface in his voice.
“Probably.”
“That’s fantastic,
Suzanne. I appreciate it so much, I can’t even tell you.”
“Just make sure you pay it back,” I said. “And I don’t mean a year from now, either, Max.”
“Consider it done, Suzanne. The second I get my hands on my bank account, I’ll pay you back.”
As we drove back toward town, I looked back at Max and saw there was a gun tucked into his jacket.
“Please tell me that’s from your prop department at the community theater,” I said.
“It’s real enough. As long as there’s a killer on the loose, I’m going to protect myself.”
“Do you even know how to use it?”
He nodded. “I played a part in a regional production in Raleigh, and the director was a method man. He took me to a firing range and made me practice until I was comfortable enough to shoot it without flinching.”
“I don’t like the idea of you being armed,” I said.
“Well, I don’t like the idea of dying, so we’re even.”
A few minutes later, Max asked, “Have you found anything else out about Darlene?”
“We have,” I admitted. “Though I’m not sure how much I should share with you.”
“You know you can trust me,” he said.
My laughter echoed in the tight confines of the Jeep.
“Suzanne,” he said, the scolding in his voice evident.
“Be very careful right now,” I said.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said. “Seriously though, did you find anything else? I might be able to help you, if I know what you’ve found out so far.”
I had to admit that Max might have some insights that could help our investigation. “Okay, here’s what we’ve got so far. Wilma claims Darlene stole from her at Cutnip, and we all know what kind of temper Wilma has. Lester Moorefield was paying her an informant’s fee for dirty gossip around town, and we think she might have threatened to tell Wilma about the arrangement. Since she was Lester’s last sponsor, that could be a motive for murder.”
“Anybody else make your list?” Max asked. He hesitated, then added, “Besides me, I mean.”
I let that one go. “There’s her cousin Taylor, but I’m not sure how viable a suspect he is. To be honest with you, I don’t have much information about him, but he’s been hanging around April Springs a lot lately, and from what we’ve heard, he was the executor of his great-aunt’s estate until she changed it to Darlene at the last second.”
“Wow, I’m not sure I even want to know what you and your friends have on me.”
“Believe me, your name has come up in our discussions of suspects several times.”
“George and Grace never liked me,” he said.
I swerved the Jeep—though nothing was in the road—nearly dumping Max onto the floor.
“Hey, take it easy.”
“Sorry, there was a dog in the road.”
He didn’t believe me, and I didn’t care.
After a few moments, Max said, “Who else made your list?”
“There are a few people we haven’t talked about much yet. Darlene’s roommate could have done it.”
“Kimmi? You’re kidding, aren’t you? She wouldn’t hurt a charging bull if she had a stick of lit dynamite in her hand.”
“You know her, do you?”
“We’ve met,” Max said, a little too cryptically for my taste. “Who else is on your list?”
“That’s it,” I admitted. “If someone else did it, they’re flying under the radar.”
“I might have a few ideas of my own,” he said.
“Go on. I’m willing to listen.”
“We can talk after I get the money,” Max said.
“What’s the matter, Max? Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I do. Would I have come to you if I didn’t?”
I shook my head. “From the sound of it, you didn’t really have much choice, did you? You were running out of options, and fast.”
“I had other people I could ask for help,” he said. “But I chose you.”
“Then tell me who else you suspect,” I said as I pulled back into town.
“Let me get my thoughts in order a little first,” he said.
We drove through April Springs in silence. As I neared my driveway, I slowed down to a crawl as I spotted a squad car through the evergreen trees.
“Max, I think Chief Martin’s at my house.”
Without a word, the back flap opened and Max slipped out.
“What about the money?” I called out.
But it was too late.
Max was gone.
Again.
* * *
“Where have you been?” my mother asked me as I walked into the house. “I’ve been calling your cell phone for the last two hours. Suzanne, why do you even have one if you’re not going to answer it?”
I pulled my phone out of my purse, ignoring Chief Martin for the moment. “The battery’s dead. I’m having a hard time holding a charge lately. Sorry, I’ll get it fixed tomorrow.”
“Phillip wants to speak with you,” Momma said.
“Hello, Chief,” I said as I turned toward him. “What can I do for you?”
“You can start by telling me why you drove to Union Square, then turned around and came back without stopping anywhere along the way.”
Had someone seen Max with me, despite his precautions? No, if they had, the chief would have led off with a very different question for me.
“Are you actually following me?”
“I’m the one asking questions here,” Martin said.
My mother stared hard at him. “I’d like to know the answer to that question myself. You’re here by my favor. The only thing you told me was that it was important that you speak with Suzanne.”
“Pardon me, Dorothy, but I don’t need your blessing to talk to your daughter any time I want to.”
My mother was openly glaring at him now, and I was glad her gaze wasn’t pointing at me. She said, “Perhaps not, but if you wish to remain on good terms with me, you might want to appease our curiosity and answer Suzanne’s question. Do you have an officer following her?”
He seemed to chew the question over in his mind, and I knew the fact that the chief’s yearning for my mother hadn’t lessened any over the years was weighing heavily in his response. He was going to answer, and all three of us knew it.
Finally, he shrugged and said, “One of my officers was in Union Square, and he spotted Suzanne’s odd behavior.”
“How did he happen to be there in the first place?” I asked.
“He wasn’t following you, and I told him not to tail you when you turned around and came straight back here. I don’t work that way, and you know it. My officer called me out of curiosity, but he was there with his family, not there to watch you.”
I had to believe that, since Max hadn’t been apprehended the second he’d left my Jeep. At least I hadn’t heard of it happening, and I figured the chief would have mentioned that particular turn of events with real pride in his voice.
“Now, it’s your turn,” he said. “What happened?”
It was time to lie, and this time, I didn’t feel bad about doing it at all. “I was going to eat at Napoli’s, but then I changed my mind at the last second.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t feel like eating alone,” I said.
He scratched his chin. “Okay, we’ll leave that for now. What are you and your friends up to? I heard you and Grace were at Darlene’s house the other day. You’re not snooping into my murder investigation, are you?”
“We were looking for a place to live,” I said, recalling Grace’s excuse to search Darlene’s room.
“You’re not leaving here, are you?” my mother asked, with more than a hint of hurt in her voice as she spoke.
“It’s for Grace,” I explained. “She’s tired of living alone.”
My mother looked relieved by the admission. “That’s fine, then.” She frowned, then said, “She could always com
e live with us on a permanent basis. It’s been lovely having her around.”
“The point may be moot,” I said. “There might be a big change in her life soon.”
The chief cleared his throat. “Ladies, can we get back to the subject?”
“I wasn’t aware there was one,” I said.
“We both know better than that. How did you find out where Muriel Stevens was hiding before my men did? And why didn’t you come to me straight away as soon as you knew, instead of going there yourself.”
I looked out the window, wondering if Max was out there, watching. I was getting tired of the chief’s questions, but I wasn’t at all sure I could refuse to answer. “I have hunches myself, you know,” I said. “It’s as simple as that.”
“Now why don’t I believe you?” the chief asked.
My mother had finally had enough. “That’s it, Phillip. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
He looked surprised by the request. “Dorothy, you told me I could talk to her when I came to the house.”
“You may talk, but so far, you’ve refused to accept a single answer she’s given you as the truth. We’re finished here.”
As she stood, so did the chief, albeit reluctantly.
I tried not to look at him, and diverted my gaze back to the window. I don’t know what kind of look might have passed between them, and frankly, I didn’t want to see it.
I didn’t turn around again until the door closed, and I saw Chief Martin walking down the steps, an angry scowl on his face.
“Thanks, Momma, I owe you one. I love the way you stood up to him.”
“You are my daughter, my only child. Of course I’m going to take up for you.” She paused, then added softly, “What exactly were you hiding from him?”
“What makes you think I wasn’t telling the truth?” I asked.
“Oh, please. I can tell when you’re lying from twenty miles away. There are a set of signals you give off that are like flares to me.”
“I’ll have to work on that then, won’t I?” I said with a smile.
“I’m still waiting for an answer.”
I thought about lying to her—I honestly did—but suddenly I found myself telling her about Max, and all he’d said to me.
After I was finished, she merely nodded. “As you know, I’m not Max’s biggest fan, but if you believe he was telling the truth, then I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when he says he didn’t kill that woman.”