by Lane Stone
“I may have.” She tried to twirl around but was thwarted by the shoes, so she just stomped off to join Janice Marshall.
One woman wanted to keep a man, one woman wanted to get rid of hers.
I turned back to Detective Kent. His hands were still on Tara’s shoulders, but she was looking at the floor.
“So Al Ford wrote ‘mine’ on Tara’s car out of jealousy?” I shook my head. “You’ve got yourself a real winner there.”
Victoria stood on the other side of Tara. “Detective Kent, have a seat.”
He removed his hands and did as he was told.
I was on to Asher Charles. “I see you found her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tara told you about your girlfriend’s aliases….”
“Once she masqueraded as a personal trainer to get into Leigh’s house.” Victoria pointed a finger at him. Then she jabbed three times. “I. Might. Add.”
I needed to keep going. “…and we asked you to look for her. You said you couldn’t locate anyone by that name.”
“I didn’t know why you were asking about her….” His voice trailed off, leaving me wondering about all the lies he had told last week. Did he think we were that stupid? “I didn’t want Tara to know about her.”
Tara pointed at him. “When you told Janice Marshall to call Thomas Chestnut and say that stuff about Buford Dam, were you talking about a plan to sabotage the dam? Was it some kind of threat?”
“No!” He made a move to stand, but the look on Tara’s face made him think better of it.
“I agreed with him that cyber security should be more of a funding priority for infrastructure like Buford Dam and I was trying to help him present a case.”
“Then why not call him yourself instead of having your girlfriend do the talking?” I asked.
“That’d be wrong! I’m a federal government employee,” said the poster child for situational ethics.
“She is too! She worked at CDC until last Friday, the day of the mur….the day Thomas Chestnut died.” When I said this, Detective Kent’s neck twitched.
Kent shook his head, then ran his hand through his hair. Then he made a swatting motion. “I’ll see you and Janice Marshall at 10 o’clock, in my office.”
“You’re letting them go?” I was feeling stupid from fatigue, and knew I didn’t have the energy to stop this. I thought I can’t win this war.
“Yes.” He was trying to meet my eye, but I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
Victoria stepped to the side and Asher walked out. “You can go now, but don’t leave town.”
Detective Kent did a double take. “For the love of Pete. Give ‘em an inch.”
Asher held out his hand to Tara. “Here, you can have this back.” It was the napkin from the scene of the murder. “I took it from your handbag so you wouldn’t get in trouble.” Then he walked out, leaving us stunned.
I wasn’t about to offer any elaboration on that to Detective Kent, so I was happy when Tara sat down next to him. “Who are you liking for Thomas Chestnut’s murder?”
I’d never heard her talk like a TV show before. “I don’t know, Tara. Who do you like for it?”
Victoria sat on his other side. “One suspect is Al Ford. If Bea and Thomas Chestnut married, Paige would be cut out of the will.”
I rested against the door frame. “You need to talk to the guy at CDC. His office was next to Janice Marshall’s, and he was fired over something he did to Mr. Chestnut. His first name is Robert. We knew all the acts of vandalism were senseless, but figured they had to make sense to someone. Each one involved physical security to commit or to solve, rather than cyber security. The former CDC employee is your man. And as far as the wetware being tainted with Atropine, that would take someone who knows what he’s doing. Atropine is extremely deadly. Three to five milligrams can kill in three to five minutes.”
“Was the chip rigged for a delayed release? Like with a coating of some kind?” Victoria asked.
“No, there was a trap door, which was electronically and remotely controlled.” He moved toward me to make some reassuring gesture, but I was having none of it. He continued, “I’m having Dr. Charles followed. Give me some credit.”
“Paige has something her father told her was a receiver for signals from the chip. I doubt it was the real one. The killer has that.”
Tara took a deep breath, then let it out. “Leigh, what are Asher and Janice guilty of, other than lying?”
“All week they have hindered the investigation. They both knew Thomas Chestnut and Janice saw those men steal the body.”
Detective Kent looked at us one at a time. “They won’t get away with that.” Then he tried to change the subject. “Leigh, why didn’t you tell me about her getting into your house?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Neither of them will show up to be interviewed, so good luck with that.” Before I could say anymore, Shorty walked up. I didn’t know he was still at the hospital.
“Leigh, your mother has gone into a coma.”
Victoria put her arm around me while Tara walked Detective Kent out. I heard her say, “Why don’t you go ahead and admit we are no longer untrained, ill-equipped, nor incompetent?”
He looked down at her but didn’t answer. Instead, he stopped to touch my arm and leaned in to whisper, “I know there were three women from a temp firm that showed up at CDC without being called, and then disappeared just as quickly. I’m ready to admit you three have a certain set of skills that can come in handy from time to time.” I could tell from the look on his face that this wasn’t just one of his smart ass comments. “I’ll take this from here.”
“Can I see her?” I pulled my arm away and walked to Shorty.
“Stay in there as long as you like.” I straightened my spine and walking as tall as I could, followed him into Intensive Care and to her glass-walled room.
I kissed her cheek then sat down and rested my head back down on her arm.
An hour or so later, I got up to stretch my legs. Victoria, Shorty and Tara were in the waiting room. Tara was asleep on Vic’s shoulder. The sound of the low, easy banter between the couple soothed me.
Shorty was saying, “So Tara made a joke about his Boston accent and his former girlfriend thought if she did something funny he’d come back to her? And that’s why she stole the R’s?”
“Yes!” Victoria pointed to a Nordstrom silver shopping bag in the corner. “Leigh, Janice Marshall left that at the nurses’ station for you.”
I looked inside and sure enough, the black letter R’s from the Gary Pirkle Park sign were in there. We three laughed and tried to keep the volume down so as not to wake Tara, but she moaned and her eyes popped open. “What’s so funny?”
Vic recounted the solving of the fascinating case of the missing letters, and her involvement in it. I ambled around a little.
“He never said he fell in love with me for my sense of humor.” I jerked around to be sure in her half awake state she hadn’t forgotten Shorty was still with us.
Shorty, or that’s what I hoped he was being called now, put his arm around Vic. One ankle was on the other knee and I saw he wore white ankle socks with his running shoes. I saw something else, a tattoo of a peach wearing glasses, a heart, then another peach. The second wore a stethoscope. It was just above his boney ankle.
“Have you always had that?” I leaned over for a closer look.
“Just got it. Hurt like hell.” He looked at Victoria sheepishly. “You weren’t supposed to see it until your birthday next week.”
Looking into his face, I think she saw the man she used to know and wanted to know again. She rubbed his now stubbly cheeks with the back of her hand.
Jack was so far away. Did I have the right to ask him to come back to be with me? It would be harder for him to avoid testifying if he came back to the United States. I couldn’t think anymore.
Tara had read my mind. “Jack sent you a text and we responded to it and t
old him everything. And we called Aunt Thelma to let her know. How are you holding up?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Victoria scooted closer to Shorty and patted the sofa cushion. I wedged myself in between her and Tara. “You are dealing with Congress wanting Jack to testify, plus this.” She motioned around the room. “And everything else.” I took this to mean Tiara Investigations.
“Women never handle only one commitment at a time. That’s not our lot.”
I wasn’t thinking about Shorty when I said this, but he looked at me, then hung his head.
“What time is it?” I stood up and stretched.
Before anyone could answer I heard a nurse in the hallway. “Excuse me, excuse me. Visiting hours are from….”
Shorty got up but was almost knocked back down again by the four aunts’ entrance.
“I’m going to get a shower and find a clean pair of scrubs. I’ll see you after my rounds.” He leaned over to kiss Victoria on the forehead, but she guided his lips to her mouth.
The subpoena in my handbag said I had to go change clothes too. I graciously accepted their offer to “spell” me and left the four aunts.
***
Tara took advantage of the walk to Victoria’s car to talk. “People are crazy.”
Victoria nodded in agreement. “Everyone but us, have you ever noticed that?”
“Vic, remember when I asked you about cyber security and you said you thought the fear of cyber attacks was over-hyped?” I asked. “What I don’t get is why everyone is so certain of their opinion on which should take precedence: cyber security or physical security.”
“You’re right. Thomas Chestnut was and Asher Charles is as confident of their position that it’s a threat, as Bryn Marie and Chestnut’s frenemy is that physical security is more important.” Victoria stopped and rubbed her forehead before clicking the doors unlocked.
Tara climbed in. “My money is on Vic’s assessment.”
“Mine, too. I say, we have nothing to fear but paranoia itself.”
***
At five minutes before eight o’clock, we met in front of the Gwinnett County courthouse, and went into the lobby. As we looked around, the case was called. Mrs. Bennett practically ran up to meet us. She was chewing the inside of her cheek. “I talked until I was blue in the face. Am I doing the right thing divorcing him? I told him I wouldn’t if he would only admit what he did!”
We kept walking because the clock kept ticking.
It was a wonder I didn’t trip over my feet because the whole time I was staring at her in amazement. She was questioning herself at this point? Talk about the eleventh hour.
Victoria pulled our client’s arm so she had to face her. “You need to stop this right now!”
Tara followed them up the center aisle. “Not if she doesn’t want to. She shouldn’t have to live on shifting sand and she’s right to insist on honesty.”
The three of us sat in the row behind the attorneys and the parties involved.
“All rise. The Honorable Justice Braxton presiding.” The rest was gobbledygook.
Victoria leaned up to get closer to Mrs. Bennett. “Tell your attorney what you….”
The gavel hit the plate violently. “Order in the court. If I hear another word, this court room will be cleared.”
That would have been fine with me, but I knew better than to say it out loud. I had a text message coming in and I peeked at my phone. It was from Aunt Opal. URGENT COME
Then another. CALL
Why the difference? I wasn’t seated at the end of the bench, and side stepping past I don’t know how many knees, earned me a few dirty looks.
***
Before I got back in the courtroom all the way, Victoria was at my side. “He kept to his story and the Judge threatened him with jail time for perjury. They’re meeting in the judge’s chambers. I’ve testified and…. Here they come now.”
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, with their attorneys, who looked scared shitless, went back to their wooden chairs.
“I’d like to call Leigh Reed to the stand,” Mrs. Bennett’s attorney said.
I walked toward the Sherriff’s deputy who was standing on the other side of the Judge. And that was wrong.
“Over here, Ms. Reed.” The judge pointed to the witness chair. I headed that way.
“Do you promise to tell …?” I can’t remember the rest of what he said, I’m not sure I heard it.
All of a sudden Mr. Bennett‘s attorney was yelling questions at me and Mrs. Bennett’s attorney was yelling, “Objection!”
“I can’t do this right now.” I toddled back the way I had come.
The judge was speechless. His mouth hung open like he was catching flies.
“You think you can just walk out?” It was Mr. Bennett. “You think you and your little friends with this, what is it called, Tiara Investigations, can just roll in, ruin everything for me and then you can just stroll out?”
His attorney placed himself in front of his client and was making soothing noises to him over his shoulder. “Hey, hey.”
Mr. Bennett made the mistake of getting a little too close me, when all I wanted to do was leave.
“Screw you!” It was me that said it. That shut them all up. I stopped in front of the husband. “You stupid idiot. You caused all this.”
“Your honor!” This was Mrs. Bennett’s attorney. I almost told him to mind his own business.
The gavel went down. “Mrs. Reed, I’m going to have to insist you return to the witness stand.”
In my peripheral vision I could see Tara and Victoria lunging for me. Detective Kent was coming with them.
“No.”
Tara started saying impressive legal things to the Judge. “Your Honor, can we take a short….”
“No? Is that what you said, young lady? Jerome, do you know this woman?”
“I do, Your Honor. We just need a short break.”
“My mother’s dead.”
CHAPTER 19
Continuation of statement by Leigh Reed. If you asked how I was, I’d say my mother was still dead. My pillow was wet, but that’s not what woke me up. My security alarm was screaming. Abby jumped off the bed. I thought I had set only the doors, not the motion detector, so it wasn’t Victoria moving around that had activated the signal. Had my husband made it back home already? I heard a spit of noise in the hallway. I couldn’t hear Abby anymore. Where was she? These half thoughts were ….
A shadowy figure approached the bed. Not my husband. He raised his arm and thrust the needle down with force only rage can power. His effort was wasted because I’d shifted the bed pillows to look like my body before I rolled out of bed.
I stole up behind him holding Jack’s golf putter horizontally with both hands, and slowly lowered it over his head. I pulled in and held the shaft of the club against his Adam’s apple.
It was pitch dark, but I knew exactly who he was. I leaned in, and in my sexiest voice, whispered in his ear, “If you stay, I’ll kill you. If you run, I’ll chase you.”
Robert Sanders bellowed and flipped us both onto the bed. On the way down he twisted to face me. I tossed the putter away, so he couldn’t get it and use it against me. He grabbed me and rolled over. No doubt about it, boney fingers were going to leave bruises on my arms.
“Get off me! What did you do to my dog?” Now I was mad. And sad. As in nothing to lose sad. I didn’t have a car to lift off a grandchild, but as soon as I could get up I was going to knock the shit out of this guy.
That was when I heard rolling thunder. I never knew Abby had that in her, since she’d never been tested, but I guessed she was mad too. My assailant thought he had time to get up and close the door. He was wrong. I waited for Abby to rescue me. I was wrong. My rescuer wasn’t Abby. In one jump Mr. Benz hurled himself onto the loveseat at the end of the bed, with the next he was on top of Sanders. With thirty-some pounds on his chest, he couldn’t speak. Mr. Benz didn’t bite him. Since he was right next to my fa
ce I could hear his low growl in spite of the alarm wailing. Mr. Benz’s rumble said, “If you stay….” He stood there, teeth bared, big brown eyes trucking no nonsense. The overhead light came on and Victoria was standing there holding a very limp Abby like a baby in her arms, along with a Big Bertha golf club. Ab’s head lolled back and she looked at me. My phone rang. It was the alarm company. I couldn’t reach the receiver and I didn’t need to. If no one answered with the code, they’d alert the police.
That thought of the telephone sent a current of pain through me. I would never be able to call my mother again. The day had been spent with my aunts making arrangements for my mother’s funeral.
I didn’t have leverage to hit him, so I reached for the lower bone of his eye socket with my thumb. He pulled back enough for me to sit up in bed. I reached my arms out for Abby. I couldn’t lose her too.
“What did you do?” I screamed.
I didn’t get an answer and I looked over my shoulder to see why. Mr. Benz was stretched out on him, not blinking.
“Good job, Mr. Benz. Hop up now.” Victoria walked over and stroked her dog’s back, but he bristled even at that kindness. “It’s alright.” She still couldn’t break the spell.
“What the hell?” It had been roared out and that sure enough broke the trance and we all swiveled our heads to see my husband stomping in. He picked our client’s former husband up and Mr. Benz rolled off. Mr. Sanders’ body was about to be hurled like a missile out the bedroom window.
“Wait! He drugged Abby! We need to know with what!” I screamed.
Victoria had placed Abby on the loveseat and pointed to her for Jack to see.
Jack stopped but didn’t drop Sanders. My would-be assailant turned his head to face me. Did he give me a straight answer? Hell, no. He had to smirk.
“Was it what you used on Beatrice?”
I didn’t know what to do. Let my husband throw him out the window? We heard the sirens of a couple of police cars as they turned into the subdivision. The relieved expression on Sander’s face said that was what he was waiting for. In the space between the bed and the still aloft man, I saw four paws move toward Sanders’ derriere. “Awwww! It was a blend of chloroform and some other ingredients.”