by Quinn, Lucy
“I’ll be right back.” Julia popped up from her chair and went to the bathroom.
I couldn’t help but notice the keys sitting on her desk. I knew they weren’t hers because I didn’t see the monogrammed keychain I’d given her, but this set might be the one she said Mac had given her for housesitting.
For a split second, I debated whether it was ethical if I took them and sorta let myself into Mac’s house while he was here. Apparently, I wasn’t too ethical, because I wanted to find those letters from Tasha. I’d like to say I wanted to find them so I could find her like Vince wanted me to, but if I was being honest with myself, it was strictly because I wanted to know what was in them and if they were having a relationship.
I grabbed the keys and slipped them into my bag.
“I wanted to make sure Mac was occupied before I gave this to you.” Julia handed me an envelope. “Not that I want Grady to get mad at me for snooping, but I did a little digging around this morning and found Mac’s business plan for the condos. It appears as if he’s going to sell them as soon as he builds them. This could be a reason someone is trying to set him up.”
Judging from the sound of Julia’s voice, she was on board with my sleuthing around, unlike my son.
She looked over her shoulder. When she saw it was clear, she looked back at me. “I think he’s in financial trouble. He’s trying to pay off something, but it’s cryptic in the system.” She frowned. “I’m sorry I’m not more helpful today.”
“Maybe this was why Chuck Shilling didn’t want to go through with the deal. He knew Mac was just going to turn it and make a profit, which wouldn’t be good for our community.” I tried to shrug off the gut punch, but I felt sick to my stomach. This was a whole different situation than just a murder.
Julia excused herself again.
That was when I headed out the door. It was still early enough that the front porch ladies might not be out, and that was probably best if I was going to sneak into Mac’s house.
There was one problem. Rushing over to Mac’s house while he was at the office would put me off schedule for my delivery route, and when I was off schedule, it made for cranky customers. Literally, I had customers who sat next to their window or even greeted me on the street. I was willing to have cranky customers so I headed right on over there.
I knew my little duck friend would hear me when I crossed the bridge to head on over to Little Creek Road, so I grabbed the extra slice of bread I’d taken from home and tossed it into the creek after I heard him give a few quacks.
“I can’t hang out this morning,” I told the duck. “I’ve got a murder to solve. And don’t swim down to the other bridge, because I won’t be there for a while.”
I laughed and wondered if Iris was right about me needing some sort of companionship. The extent of my day consisted of talking to a duck.
The entire street was still asleep. The small frosted globes on the front porches next to the doors were glowing in a line when I looked down the row of houses. I was glad to see Mac didn’t have his front porch light on, because the darkness would make it much easier to slip in without being seen.
It was the creaky gate that generally got the neighborhood dogs barking or the ears of the front porch ladies to perk up. I slowly opened the gate and tried to push up or down on it to lessen the noise. I made sure I didn’t make any sudden moves in case someone was watching out their windows and saw my shadow. I wore big thick-soled shoes for walking, so I knew those would be nice and quiet as I tiptoed up to the front porch. It was then that I darted up the stairs, confident I hadn’t been seen.
The key was ready in my hand, and I jammed it into the lock. Inside, it was completely dark, so I dragged my phone out of my pocket and hit the flashlight feature. I set my mailbag on the floor next to the front door so I didn’t have to lug the thing.
The wooden blinds on all the windows were shut, so I wasn’t worried about someone seeing my flashlight.
“What are we looking for?”
The shaky voice startled me.
“Oh my gosh! Harriette!” I saw her standing in the open front door when I turned the phone flashlight on her. “You scared me.”
“You scared me sneaking through Mac’s gate like that.” She put a hand on her waist. Her housecoat swung from side to side. “So, what are we looking for?”
“Letters.” I walked over and hurried her past the threshold so I could shut the door. I did take a quick look outside to see if any of her other friends would be joining us. “Letters from Tasha.”
“That woman he’s been dating?” she asked. I nodded. “Why?”
“She might have some information that’ll help Mac. She was with him the night of Chuck’s murder, and she’s his alibi. Only he can’t get in touch with her. Tim Crouse said her phone has been disconnected. I also heard Chuck, Mac, and Tasha were all at Madame’s after they had the fight you saw.”
“Then I reckon we better get to looking.” She pointed to Mac’s home office that just so happened to be located on Harriette’s neighboring side. “He works in here a lot, and I’ve seen him open his mail in here a time or two.”
I shot her a questioning look.
“What?” She shrugged and pushed past me. “I like to know my neighbors are safe, and if I’m outside on my porch or sitting at my kitchen table, I can’t help it if I can see over here. Do you want me to wear blinders?”
“Did I say anything?” I asked and followed her into the office. “If you can help me find Tasha, then it’s all good.”
Harriette was already opening and shutting the drawers of the desk. There were a lot of rolled-up building plans in the corner of the room next to what he called his planning desk, which had a cantilevered top with an overhead lamp clamped to the edge of it.
“This looks like her.” Harriette picked up a photo showing Mac laughing next to a younger woman. “They look a lot younger, but I’m sure that’s her.”
I took the photo and was surprised at how young Tasha looked.
“I thought you said she was young.” I couldn’t help but see the big smile on Mac’s face.
“She is young.” She snapped the photo out of my hands. “Hell, you’re young compared to me.”
“So she’s my age?” I asked, putting pieces together. Harriette hummed out a yes. “I bet she and Mac went to college together. Richard said Mac was never at a loss for women.” I stood there and contemplated whether I’d ever heard Richard mention a Tasha, but I didn’t recall.
“Here we go.” Harriette had opened a closet door and taken out a shoe box. “Lots of letters in here.”
She brought the box over to the desk.
“Gosh, it seems so personal to look through these.” I picked up the letters and cards. There were happy birthday cards. Always signed with big X’s and O’s. There were even some with lipstick kisses on them. I shuffled through them.
“Is there a return address?” I asked when I noticed none of them had envelopes.
“Just the cards and letters.” Harriette was busy reading the letters. “I had no idea Mac was going to visit this woman so much.”
“You should know,” I said under my breath and put the cards I’d read back into the box. “I have another letter from her for today’s delivery.”
“What is the return address?” Harriette asked.
“There isn’t one. Only a postmark from Tennessee. It’s a broad city stamp that would cover miles of homes.” I shrugged.
“This woman must’ve been married before. That’s the woman I saw him fighting with.” Harriette had found a photo at the bottom of the shoe box. The photo was of Tasha, Mac, and a little girl.
“I wonder if she got married after college and over the past few years had gotten divorced. He has been so worried about me and Grady that he didn’t want to tell us.” My stomach dropped, and I felt terrible. I’d been so wrapped up in my life and had not even thought about Mac and his needs. “He’s always put everything on the line for me an
d Grady. This is why I have to find Tasha. According to Mac, he claims she won’t be coming around anymore, but she’s just our ticket to figuring this out and getting on the road to the real killer.”
I held the photo in my grip and stared at it a little longer. Mac had always been good with Grady when he was little. I could only imagine how he’d been with Tasha’s daughter. Tasha had shoulder-length brown hair and big brown eyes. Her daughter looked just like her.
“Are you going to ask him about it?” Harriette asked.
“No. I only want to find her first so he’s got a solid alibi and witness. After she comes forward, I’ll let him go and live his life.” It was a vision I had to come to terms with. “Richard never left Mac in charge of his family.”
“We all love you and Grady.” Harriette put the cards and letter back in the box. “We need to put these back where we found them.”
“Don’t tell anyone we were in here, or Angela will arrest us for not only breaking and entering but also tampering with evidence,” I told her.
“You talking about all those old coots?” She referred to the front porch ladies. “They can’t hardly hear anything I tell them.”
Harriette and I snuck back out of Mac’s house. When she took a right into her gate, I quickly moved down Little Creek Road, delivering the mail as quickly as my legs would carry me.
“Hey, Buster.” I flipped him a treat before he could start barking and wake up the neighbors. “How are you?” I asked him after he gobbled up the treat and came back to the fence for another one.
“You’re early.” Mr. Macum opened the door, scaring me half to death. “Thanks for the stamps yesterday.”
“You’re welcome.” I handed him the junk mail. “I’m early because I’m trying to help out my friend Mac.”
Then it dawned on me. I looked at Mr. Macum and twirled around to look at the bridge right across the street from his house.
“Mr. Macum, did you hear or see anything on Thursday night?” I asked.
“Nope. I keep to myself.” He gave a hard nod.
“Yes. I understand that, but I don’t know if you know, but yesterday…”
“You found that man’s body.” He must’ve seen the commotion. “I just like to keep to myself.”
“Yes, but my friend Mac Tabor, your neighbor…”
“The man who is buying the country club to build all those condos? We’ve got enough traffic in this town as it is. We don’t need any stinking condos and more people.” He looked at the sign in his yard.
“Well, that’s not what I was going to say, but you do have a point. Really, I just wanted to know if you saw anything funny or suspicious or heard a gunshot?” I asked. When I noticed he wasn’t budging, I said, “My friend Mac’s life depends on it. I don’t think he did it, but he’s going to be charged with murder.”
“It’s none of my business. I voted for Angela Hafley as sheriff, and I think she’ll do a fine job of figuring out who killed that man.” He patted his leg, and Buster came running up and into the house. “Have a good day. Don’t catch a cold.”
Chapter 13
Between Mr. Macum not wanting to be of any help and my not finding Tasha’s mailing address, it appeared my efforts on Little Creek Road had been futile.
I went back to Main Street, where I finished up the shops’ deliveries. Iris did have a lot of outgoing mail, but she wasn’t in, so I couldn’t tell her about what Harriette and I had found out about all of Tasha’s love letters.
I’d also decided not to return to Tabor Architects with the key. I figured I’d be able to disguise it in the mail on Monday, hoping they’d think they’d just overlooked it if they’d been looking for it.
“Good morning!” I sorted the diner’s mail on the way through the door. I gave the bills to my dad and the junk to my mama. I sat down on the stool and put my mailbag on the floor. “How’s it going?”
“We’re all fine. Just fine.” Mama looked over her shoulder. She cut a slice of her homemade Southern pecan butter bread, put it on a plate, and slapped some butter on top to melt. “How’s Mac?” She set the plate in front of me. “You need to eat.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I didn’t even bother using a fork; I just pinched off pieces and washed them down with a hot cup of coffee Mama also sat in front of me.
“I don’t know. I didn’t talk to him this morning.” I took another sip.
“He went in early. I seen him with a coffee from the Roasted Bean, and shortly after, Julia ran out, saying something about fielding phone calls this morning.” Mama leaned on the counter and folded her arms, eyeballing me to make sure I was going to eat all of the big slice of bread she had given me.
“I’ve been doing some digging around.” I knew my mama wasn’t going to like what I was doing.
“What? We try to keep things swept under the rug.” She lifted a brow.
“I told Mac I’d keep my eyes and ears open to see if there are any rumblings about who else could possibly want to kill Chuck Shilling.” I pinched off another piece of bread and stuck it in my mouth, letting the buttery goodness take over my senses. It was a much-needed stress relief.
“I like Mac. He’s done good by you and my grandbaby.” She leaned in a little more, topping off my coffee. It was her way of making me hang around a little longer. “Audrey came in, and she said she was actively looking for another job. I asked her why, figuring the country club would go off the market since Chuck was, well, you know, and thinking that his demise killed the deal.” Mama shook her head. “Nope. She said the club was going to have to close because it was bankrupt and everyone is jumping ship. Including Kenneth Simpson. He hasn’t showed up to any of his clients’ golf lessons. They are demanding their money back.”
“Did you give Audrey a job?” I asked, knowing Mama had been wanting to get out of the kitchen a little more. But when one owned a restaurant, it was a twenty-four-hour gig. I knew this well, because I had worked in the diner since I could walk.
“Thinking on it.” She grabbed my empty plate.
“Thank you, that was good.” I took another drink of my coffee and wiped my mouth. I picked up the now-much-lighter mailbag and stood up, tossing it over my shoulder. “I know you hear a lot of gossip, so let me know if you hear anything.”
“As long as you don’t do anything to get you in trouble.” She gave me the Mom look, which proved one was never too old to get the Mom look.
“I won’t.” I gave her a hug. “I’ll see you and Dad tomorrow night for supper,” I reminded her before I headed to the General Store to get Vince’s burner phone from Gill.
“Mornin’!” Gill lifted his head from the morning paper on the counter. “I got some mail for ya.” Gill was a good ol’ boy who wore overalls and boots. He was about my parents’ age.
“I’ve got some for you too.” I weaved in and out of the standing displays. “And I need one of those phones you add minutes to.”
“Ahhh…” He lifted a brow. “Anyone I know?”
“Huh?”
“Most people come in here to get these phones to disguise who they are talking to.” He reached behind him and took a phone off the hook before he rang it up.
I wasn’t about to tell him it was for Vince and some FBI sleuthing, but I did want to know about the spray paint. “I’m looking for some information on spray paint. Has anyone come in to buy some?”
“Everyone who has a kid at Sugar Creek Gap High. They all came in here and bought all the brown, red, and gold paint to make all those signs for the game. Poor Ashley Williams was a little too late.”
When he laughed, my ears perked up. Ashley Williams was the last person on my suspect list.
“Oh no. What happened?” I questioned, laying it on thick as if I really cared that poor Ashley didn’t get the Grizzly colors. I took out my wallet and handed him the cash for the phone.
“Well, she said she was making some signs for the game, but the only color I had to give her was orange.”
“Did you say she bought orange spray paint?” My gut dropped. Angela had said someone had spray-painted the country club with orange spray paint.
“She bought me out of that color too.” He held the phone out to me. “Said it was the closest color to red we had and it’d be fine for what she was going to do with it.”
“Thanks, Gill.” I bounced on my toes. “You’ve been a big help.”
He muttered something when I hurried out the door, but I didn’t stay to hear it. Ashley Williams had not only spray-painted the country club to make it look like Mac did it, she’d framed him for murder!
Chapter 14
“And how did Ashley get Mac’s gun?” Angela crossed her arms and let out a deep sigh.
When I left the General Store, I went straight to the sheriff’s department with the news about Ashley buying all the spray paint.
“I don’t know that, but I do know Ashley bought Gill Tillett out of orange spray paint.” I was handing her this information on a platter, but she wasn’t too impressed.
She uncurled her arms and pushed herself off the edge of her desk, grabbing the phone behind her.
“Vita,” Angela said to Vita Dickens, the dispatch operator for the department. “Can you send out a deputy to talk to Ashley Williams and question her about the orange spray paint she bought at the General Store?”
She let out a few ahs, huns, and hms before she hung up the phone. “Happy?” she asked me.
“Yes. Thank you.” I nodded. “I understand Kenneth Simpson has an alibi. What about Dennis Kuntz?”
“Why, Bernadette Butler, if I didn’t have this here badge resting on my chest, I’d’ve thought you were elected sheriff of Sugar Creek Gap.” It was not only apparent in her tone but written all over her face that she didn’t like my line of questioning.
“I’m really just trying to help out Mac.” I thought she’d understand.
“He’s got a lawyer for that. The best thing you can do for him is to be his friend.” She said that as if there was some more evidence against Mac that I didn’t know of. “Thank you for letting us know about the orange spray paint. We will check that out.”