Saints & Sinners Ball

by Stacy M Jones

  Once inside, Hattie locked the door behind them.

  Harper explained, “The man took off into the backyard. I was closing in on him, but instead of running toward the road or cutting through the clearing, he ran straight for the woods. I was so close I nearly grabbed him, but he gained ground and darted right into the woods, cutting between the trees.”

  “I lost him, too” Jackson grunted.

  Harper reached for his arm. “I didn’t think you’d catch him. He was so far ahead.”

  “I stopped to put sneakers on before leaving the house,” Jackson cursed, clearly frustrated with himself.

  Harper lifted her bare foot to the side so Jackson could see the cuts and scrapes on her sole. “If you hadn’t you wouldn’t have been able to chase him at all. I got all cut up.”

  Jackson winced. “Let’s get you fixed up.”

  Hattie got some antibiotic cream and some bandages. While Jackson was helping Harper clean and bandage her cuts, Hattie got the note and told them about it.

  “Someone was trying to scare us,” Harper said.

  “Is that handwritten?” Jackson asked, holding out his hand to take the note from Hattie. He examined it. It was in simple block lettering, black ink on a plain white piece of paper.

  Hattie heard the cop car pull up in the driveway and walked to the back porch to let them in. She called out, “Come this way. This is the door they were trying to open.”

  The cops came in and spent time inspecting the door. The younger of the two looked to Hattie and asked, “Where did you find the note?”

  “It was tucked into the window on the door. He was clearly trying to turn the handle when we came down. I think the dogs slowed him down and then we scared him off. Harper and Jackson chased him into the woods.”

  The cops explained that Det. Granger was on his way so they’d hold off asking any more questions. When Det. Granger arrived a few minutes later, the cops got him up to speed.

  Granger looked to Harper who was sitting on the kitchen chair her feet wrapped in bandages. “What did I tell you about wanting to protect you?”

  “It’s just a few cuts from the sticks in the woods. I started to chase him back there but was barefoot. I’m fine,” Harper assured him.

  Det. Granger hitched his jaw in Jackson’s direction. “How’d you end up in the middle of this? I thought you lived across the street.”

  “I do,” Jackson confirmed. “I had fallen asleep in the living room and woke up to dogs barking. That never happens in this neighborhood so I looked out the window and saw a guy standing on the side of Hattie’s house. I threw on sneakers and ran out of the house. By then, he had already taken off, and Harper was chasing him. He ran into the woods behind the house. I never caught up to him.”

  Turning back to Harper and then to Jackson, “Can either of you give me a description?”

  “He was Caucasian, medium build, but he had a cap on and a hood over it,” Harper explained first. “I couldn’t really see his facial features enough to describe him. It was so dark I don’t know if it was someone I recognized or not.”

  Jackson added, “He ran pretty fast. He was definitely taller than I am by a few inches. He wasn’t a big guy through. He had something in his hand as he was running. A screwdriver, maybe.”

  “I didn’t even notice that,” Harper admitted, looking at Jackson. “Is that what he was using to break in?”

  “He could have been,” Det. Grander said seriously. He took the note from Hattie and read it over. Pointing at Harper, he warned, “You need to drop this and let me do my job. You should heed this warning.”

  Det. Granger went to the door and checked it out. He told them he was going out back to walk the area and check out the woods. Nearly twenty minutes later, Granger came back in. “I’m going to follow up with you folks tomorrow. There’s no one out there now and nothing I can see.”

  Holding up the note, Granger added, “I’m going to keep this. Lock up. I’ll look more into this in the morning.”

  Jackson insisted on spending the rest of the night there. Hattie was glad. He went home and locked his house quickly. When Jackson got back to Hattie’s, the three of them headed up the stairs with the two dogs close behind. Hattie showed Jackson the spare room he could have.

  From her doorway, Harper called out, “I should have said it before, but those boxers look good on you. Didn’t know you had such muscular, sexy legs.” Then she giggled and closed the door.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Hattie barely fell back to sleep, and it was time to get up again. She made eggs and bacon for Harper and Jackson for breakfast, and then headed into her shop. Jackson had told them he had some things to take care of so he’d be unavailable for a while. Before he left, Jackson promised he’d spend some time following up with the guest list to see where Inslee was during the Saints & Sinners Ball. Harper seemed distracted and a bit moody. She told Hattie she might stop by the shop, but she wanted to shower, rebandage her feet and then had a few calls to make.

  Hattie worked all morning and before she knew it, it was nearly noon. She hadn’t heard anything from Det. Granger. She was contemplating giving him a call when Beatrix arrived for her afternoon shift.

  Hattie looked up from behind the counter where she was bagging some loose tea. “We nearly had a break-in last night. Let’s do that protection spell on the house tonight if you’re available.”

  “Is everything okay?” Beatrix asked, a bit startled.

  “Everything is fine. The police are looking into it. I’d just rather get the spell done sooner than later,” Hattie assured her.

  Beatrix agreed and went about fixing some fresh coffee for the afternoon. Then she busied herself by taking fresh pastries from the back and arranging them in the display case. Hattie was glad as they had been getting busier each afternoon. Hattie wondered if people were coming into the shop simply because they knew it was at her house where the murder took place. People could have a morbid fascination.

  Hattie had two quick back-to-back readings that each took thirty minutes. When she came out from the backroom, Hattie was pleasantly surprised to see Harper sitting at a table with her laptop. Hattie went over and wrapped her arms around Harper’s shoulders. Harper gave a bit of a jump from being startled. Hattie said happily, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Harper smiled at her aunt. “I came to see if you needed help, but Beatrix has everything under control. I thought I’d do a little digging into Fr. McNally. What do you know about him?”

  “Not much really. It seems, if I’m remembering correctly, he started over the summer. I think I heard he had been at a Catholic mission in Rio de Janeiro before coming here. You know they move priests around sometimes.”

  “Matthew Inslee had said something to that effect. Had Fr. McNally ever been here before? He seems pretty connected to the community for only being here such a short time,” Harper speculated. Hattie watched as Harper brought up a search page and typed in the priest’s name.

  “I don’t think he’s been here before. I’m pretty sure I would have heard that. Last summer, I think it was July, they had a big welcome event at the parish.”

  “Well, I don’t know what it is, but there’s something shady with him.” Harper went to work searching different sites and digging for more background information on Fr. McNally.

  “Fr. McNally has been going back to the spot where Tucker was killed,” Hattie explained, sitting across from Harper. She couldn’t say Tucker told her so she said, “I’ve noticed him a few times. It seems he’s searching for something.”

  “That’s interesting,” Harper said, not looking up. Her head buried in her laptop.

  Hattie was going to leave her to work. As she stood, Harper popped her head up. “I forgot to tell you last night, Nick called me.”

  Hattie sat right back down. This wasn’t good at all. “What on earth did he want?”

  “It seems Nick snitched on another prisoner, and for that, he’s getting tra
nsferred. He’s getting out early on good behavior or at least that’s what he said.” Harper took a sip of the coffee she had in front of her. Taking a big bite of her muffin, she added, “He wants to know where I am so he can visit. I hung up on him.”

  “Do you want me to pull some cards, and see if I can figure out what he really wants?” Hattie offered.

  Harper shrugged. “Can’t hurt. Let’s do it after I see what I get here.” With that Harper went back to work.

  Hattie joined Beatrix behind the counter. She whispered to the girl, “At least she’s in the shop. She looks fairly at ease, too.”

  “Baby steps,” Beatrix reminded Hattie with a smile.

  Nearly thirty minutes later, the three women, all hard at work, were interrupted by Det. Granger’s large frame standing in the doorway of the shop. Harper looked up from her laptop as Hattie stopped what she was doing to see who came in the door. Hattie wasn’t as surprised to see him as she was the constrained, worried look on his face.

  “Det. Granger, can I get you some coffee?” Hattie offered.

  He shook his head no. “Thanks, but I really came to talk. Do you have some private space?”

  Hattie waved to Harper to follow, and the three of them went into Hattie’s back reading room. She gave Det. Granger her chair and she and Harper took the couch. Hattie felt weird being on this side of the room, but Det. Granger’s face was causing her even more distress.

  “There’s no easy way to say this, but Roxy Holland, Tucker’s mistress, was found dead this morning in her apartment. She had been shot,” Det. Granger informed them. Then he leveled a look at Hattie and asked, “Did you know her?”

  “I didn’t even know her last name,” Hattie started to explain, “but she was here yesterday, Detective. We sat in this very room.”

  “What did she tell you?” It was clear from Granger’s tone he wasn’t pulling any punches.

  Hattie shot straight. “Roxy informed me she thought that Tucker’s murder was connected to a scandal or criminal activity at the parish. She wasn’t sure of the details, but she said Tucker was looking into the priest, Fr. McNally, who Tucker had said was acting strangely. Roxy was filled with grief, and she was scared. She told me Tucker was sneaking around investigating. She didn’t know any more though.”

  “Lizzie told me the same when I was over there yesterday,” Harper added.

  Hattie thought back to the day before. Filled with shock and guilt, she said quietly to herself, “The cards showed me Roxy was going to die. I just didn’t realize it at the time.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “Excuse me? I didn’t catch that,” Det. Granger said, sitting back in his seat. He was watching them closely.

  “Whether you believe in such things or not, Detective, I’m psychic. I can look at my cards and they can show me the past, present, and sometimes the future,” Hattie explained.

  She picked up the deck of Celtic Tarot cards that was sitting on the table between them. Gesturing with the deck in her hand, Hattie informed him, “I had looked for Roxy to see if there was any validity to Tucker’s concerns about the parish. I got the cards for deceit, destruction and death. Then after that, I did a reading for Roxy about her life going forward without Tucker’s financial support and got the same cards. I thought the energy was maybe off as Roxy had been very emotional. I assumed the reading was just a repeat of the one about the parish rather than seeing correctly that Roxy was in danger. I could have warned her.” Hattie started to cry softly.

  “You couldn’t have known,” Harper soothed as she wrapped her arms around her aunt.

  Det. Granger sat forward with his hands on his knees. “I understand you’re upset, Hattie, but Harper is right. You had no way of knowing that’s what it meant. But this does explain a note tucked away in Roxy’s bedroom. It simply read that she had talked to Hattie Beauregard, and you knew everything. Then there was a detailed note indicating what you just told me about the parish. But there’s not enough to go on. It doesn’t make any sense to us. Other investigators are interviewing Fr. McNally and staff right now. From what the investigators have updated me so far, no one at the parish seems to have any idea what Tucker may have been looking into.”

  “When was Roxy killed?” Harper asked.

  “We believe sometime late last night. A friend of hers found her body early this morning. The medical examiner will do an autopsy later this afternoon. We should have a better time of death then.”

  Granger opened the folder on his lap, which contained a legal pad. He pulled out a pen and was poised to take some notes. “I need you to tell me everything Roxy said,” Granger coaxed.

  Hattie detailed everything Roxy had told her and included details that Tucker had added. Hattie hated lying, but she couldn’t exactly say that a dead man came to her and told her about seeing the priest in Murray Park and about his undefined suspicions. None of it even made sense to Hattie, yet.

  “You don’t know who else Tucker told?” Granger pressed.

  “As Harper told you, he had mentioned it to Lizzie. But no, I don’t know of anyone else. I was surprised that Tucker had confided in Roxy that much.”

  Harper interjected, “I know someone told Dan Barnes. When I had dinner with him last night, he said he had an anonymous source. I wonder now if that was Roxy. Do you have any suspects?”

  “We don’t have much of anything right now,” Granger admitted. “We are waiting for ballistics on the murder weapon. I can tell you someone surprised her. She was found in bed with a bullet hole in her head. Her place was ransacked like they were looking for something.”

  “Do you think they found the note she left?” Hattie asked concerned. If someone was killing off people who knew what Tucker might have been investigating, Hattie was worried she was next.

  Granger shook his head no. “We only found it by accident. One of the crime scene techs knocked over a vase and it was inside.”

  Harper looked over at her aunt and detailed, “I was coming back from dinner last night, and I saw something strange behind Fr. McNally’s residence. Hattie and Jackson didn’t think much of it, but I’m just going to tell you and let you decide if it’s important.”

  Det. Granger nodded so Harper continued. “I saw a car pull up. Fr. McNally handed the driver, a man, a large envelope full of something. I’m not sure what. Then he opened the back door to the car and a very pregnant girl stepped out. The three of them went behind the priest’s residence. Hattie says it’s a small brick building with stairs leading down to a large storm shelter. I don’t know what it means, but I found it very strange.”

  Hattie added, “I didn’t think much of it because there are beds down there, entire living spaces with bathrooms, showers, and kitchen. It’s a living space. I thought maybe she just needed a place to stay. The Catholic church does that as many churches do.”

  Det. Granger seemed to take it and think about it. He commented, “They do that, but I find it strange if the girl needed shelter or a home, why not one of the many women’s shelters in town. Holy Souls has an entire women’s facility. Why put a pregnant girl in a storm shelter all alone?”

  “Good point,” Hattie agreed.

  “I’ll look into it,” Granger assured. “That’s all I have for now. I don’t have anything more on your break-in, but as soon as I know more, you’ll hear from me. Please, as I said before, let me know anything you find out immediately. Don’t go looking for it, but things seem to fall into your laps. Call me anytime day or night.”

  Hattie saw Granger out. He grabbed a coffee to go. He thanked Hattie again for being so accommodating. She watched him leave, and then turned back and headed to Harper who was still sitting in her reading room.

  “You okay?” Hattie asked as she sat down in her chair.

  “I don’t even know what to say about all of this. I feel like a murder magnet.” Harper leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. She sighed loudly.

  “Are you regretting moving here?”
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br />   Harper sat forward and looked over at her aunt. “Not at all. This is just a lot and then with Nick calling.”

  “You want to look into what he wants? I can show you how these cards work, too?”

  “Might as well.” Harper sat on the edge of the couch, looking at the cards on the table.

  Hattie picked them up, closed her eyes and shuffled them in her hands. Then she began to lay them out in a spread. Hattie explained each card’s meaning in general and then their specific meaning in relation to where they fell in the tarot spread. To Hattie’s delight, Harper really seemed to be listening and taking in what she explained.

  “To summarize,” Hattie said at the end, “Nick wants back in your life. He regrets his decision and the affair. He wants to repair things with you. I don’t need to read the cards to know that won’t happen, but he will be persistent. You’ll need to be very firm with him. I don’t see anything positive around him.”

  Hattie then smiled at Harper. “For you though, I see three suitors and eventually a marriage to one of them. Not just a marriage, but a soul connection. It’s the man you’re meant to be with.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Harper appreciated her aunt looking at her cards regarding Nick and was surprised to hear she’d marry again. She didn’t always give Hattie much credit, but it was nice to hear regardless. Harper was tempted to figure out who her suitors were, but really, she just wanted to find out what was going on with Fr. McNally. She knew it was something. As Hattie told her to do time and again, she was trusting her instinct.

  Harper said goodbye to Hattie at the shop and headed back to the house. Once there, Harper set up a workspace in her room and spent the next two hours going through more internet searches. She printed some photos from Fr. McNally’s time in Brazil and studied them closely.