by Tonya Kappes
“There’s not many here.” I chuckled and took a sip.
“Finn Vincent is cute,” she replied.
Coffee spewed from my mouth as I choked.
“Unless there is something going on between you two and you were lying to Lulu.” She pointed behind us to the inside of the shop.
“No.” My eyes felt as big as a full moon. I shook my head. Hell yes, I wanted to blurt out. There is something there, he just doesn’t know it.
“Keep it together, Kenni-bug.” Poppa ghosted next to me. “Let’s go talk to Sean Graves so we can get Beryle’s MG towed. Stay on track. We’re burning daylight.”
“It was good seeing you.” I inhaled deeply through my nose to keep my wits about me.
Stiffly, I turned around and tried hard to blink my eyelids. I swear my eyeballs were frozen three times their original size.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Jenny called at my back.
“Yep!” I hollered and got into the Jeep. “Holy cow.” I sighed deeply and turned the key to start the engine.
“We can deal with that later.” Poppa sat in the front seat. He pointed north. “Get going.”
There was silence between us the entire way to Graves Towing. Not that it was that far away, but my mind was.
The tow company was on the far edge of the north side of town before the county border. Sean Graves was a third-generation family owner. To a town visitor, the tow company would look like a farm with a big white farmhouse. The Graves were good about keeping their company nice and neat.
Around the property was black Kentucky post fencing, but around the actual tow lot full of cars was a chain-link fence with security cameras all around. You couldn’t see the tow lot from the street; you had to drive up the driveway and go around the house to see the miles of concrete where they did their business. The land and house had been in their family for generations. It wasn’t until Sean’s father’s management that they’d turned the house into the business and lived off property. I’d yet to see their home, but Finn had when he’d gone out there about the trespassing call we’d gotten a couple of days ago.
I pulled the Jeep around to the back of the house. I put the Jeep in park and headed into the house.
“Hello?” I called after I’d opened the door with the open sign and walked in. “Hello?”
“Here I am.” Leighann Graves came out of another room, tucking her shirt in. “Daddy’s out on a call and I’m answering phones.”
“Looks like it.” My eyes scanned over her shoulder. There was a shadow casting down into the hallway from the room Leighann had just come from. “Manuel, you can come on out now.”
“Huh?” Leighann tried to play off her decision to make the most of her being alone.
“I can see your shadow,” I called out to him, ignoring her. “And I don’t think you want me to call Sean.”
“Listen here, Sheriff.” Leighann stepped up, and so did her voice. “What can I do for you? Unless you’ve got some towing business, then you can leave.”
“Seeing how your father has called about Manuel trespassing before, I do have a right to be here to check it out.” I rocked back on the heels of my shoes and rested my forearm on the butt of my gun. “So I suggest you get him out of here now. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She chewed on her bottom lip.
“Fine.” I pulled a business card out of the front pocket of my shirt. I picked up a pen from the desk and quickly wrote Sean a note about the car. I handed it to her. “Make sure you give this to your dad. It’s official business.”
“I’ll call him right now.” Her face relaxed. She seemed a bit relieved. “And I’ll take care of the other thing.” She tilted her head toward the door.
“Bye, Manuel,” I called out. “Bye, Leighann.”
“You know what?” Leighann stopped me. “Just wait until you fall in love. You’ll see that it isn’t easy to stay away from each other.”
I gave a sympathetic grin before I headed out the door. My heart took a little dip. I felt it more than she knew.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Beep, beep. The walkie-talkie chirped right before Betty Murphy’s voice came over the speaker with an urgent plea, “Calling all units, calling all units!”
“I’m here, Betty,” I answered and waited to turn the engine over in the Jeep.
“I’m here too,” Finn answered right after me.
“Oh, good, both of you.” There was relief in her voice. “Darby called from over at the Inn. She said that someone tore up Hattie’s room.”
“What do you mean ‘tore up’?” I asked and started the engine.
I turned the windshield wipers on and put the Jeep in gear.
“As in ransacked. Shuffled through,” Betty answered back. “I didn’t get all the details because Darby was so upset. She said to call Kenni right now.”
“I just got to the Lemar residence. Lonnie’s car is here, so I’ll get his statement and then head over,” Finn said.
“Betty, call Darby back and tell her we are on our way.” I clicked off the radio.
With the beacon suctioned on the top of the roof and wipers moving as fast as they could, I headed right on over to the Inn.
The Inn had looked much different twenty-four hours ago with the sun shining on the amazing autumn leaves. Now, the rain and blowing wind had knocked off what remaining leaves were left on the branches, pasting them to the ground, damp and brown, making the road slick.
Finn was still in town checking out the Lemar residence to see if Paige was in fact home and had not been kidnapped by the killer.
After I put the Jeep in park, I scooted up the front steps of the Inn and in the door. Darby was sitting on the top step next to Hattie, and the reserve officer was standing up next to them. A few of the Inn’s guests were in the gathering room on the right.
“They don’t know about it,” Darby whispered, tilting her head toward the guests. “I figured if any of their rooms were destroyed like Hattie’s, they’d tell me.”
“Why don’t you take Hattie into the kitchen while I go look at the room,” I suggested.
“I’m telling you,” Hattie said, “it’s that darn critter. It’s lurking its ugly head, just like Sister said.”
“I’ll go look,” I assured her. I gave a gentle pat on her back once Darby had her standing. I turned my attention to the reserve officer. “You can come with me.”
I moved my bag to my left hand and used my right to hold on to the railing. My shoes were slippery from the rain, and I wasn’t about to take a chance of falling down these hardwood stairs.
“Where were you when this happened?” I asked, knowing good and well he was there only to keep Hattie safe, which apparently, he’d done.
“Hattie wanted to go sit on the porch and listen to the rain,” he said as we made our way down to Hattie’s room. “I didn’t see any harm in it. Darby had brought us some tea and cookies. I put a blanket around her legs, and we were out there for about thirty minutes. That’s when the rain started to blow on the porch and I told her it was time to come in.”
I opened the door to Hattie’s room. The lights were already on, giving me a good idea that someone was looking for something. The cushions on her couch were flipped off. The TV stand doors were open and all the items that she’d had in there were strewn all over the floor in front of it. The kitchenette drawers were all pulled off their brackets and thrown on the floor with the contents of each of them half out and half in. There wasn’t a drawer left in the place that was untouched. Including in the bedroom.
All the paper towels, plastic grocery sacks, and anything else underneath her bed was exposed from the flipped mattress and box spring. The curtains on her window had been jerked down.
“They destroyed the place,” the reserve officer said. “I haven’t touched anything. I saw that i
t’d been destroyed, and I took her back downstairs to find Darby.”
“Thanks.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll take over from here. Can you do one thing for me first?” I asked, not waiting for him to answer. “Go find out from Darby who the guests next door are. I’d like to talk to them.”
“Okay.” The officer left the room.
I opened my bag and took out my camera along with some evidence markers. I slipped on some gloves and started to work.
“This is awful.” Poppa stood in the kitchen and looked around.
“Yeah. And this wasn’t some random break-in. Whoever did this knows that Hattie is Beryle’s sister and was looking for something.” It was a big theory I’d had, and it fit the circumstances. “At least I’m going to investigate it that way.”
After I took all the photos, I dusted for fingerprints. In the meantime, the officer came back and told me that Jenny was staying next door until she found a place to live. How convenient, I thought, wondering if Betty had gotten any more information about Jenny.
Poppa ghosted around me and watched and looked as I continued to work around the rooms.
“Someone was just angry once they got into her room.” I pointed to the curtain rods that had been jerked out of the wall. The screws had even been yanked out of the wall, drywall crumbles on the floor.
“They seemed pretty confident that they’d get whatever it was they were looking for, and when they didn’t, they went nuts, just like they did on Cecily and Paige.” Poppa only confirmed what I was thinking.
“I can’t wait to bring them to justice,” I stated.
After I felt confident that I’d gotten all I was going to get of the fingerprints, I inspected them a little more closely.
“They’re all Hattie’s.” Poppa had already gone around the room and took a good look himself. “They’re all the same. Not a one different.”
“This is just impossible.” I pushed a piece of my hair off my forehead with the back of my hand. “Hattie’s prints are everywhere, and not a single one is from anyone else. This person is good at covering their tracks, I’ll give them that.”
I hesitated to put police tape across the front of the door, not wanting to alarm the other guests, because I was 99 percent sure that this was an isolated incident that had to do with the investigation. Instead of putting the tape on the outside of the door facing the hallway, I took two of Hattie’s kitchen chairs and stuck them a few feet apart just on the inside of the apartment and strung the crime tape all over them.
“What is this?” Poppa asked with his hands on his hips. “Hillbilly policing?”
“This,” I snapped the edge of the tape, “will hopefully keep anyone out who shouldn’t be in Hattie’s room.”
“You’re right. No one but Hattie should be in here,” Poppa said.
“I’m going to head downstairs to see what I can get out of Hattie.” I grabbed my bag and checked my watch. “I wonder where Finn is.” I turned to ask Poppa, but he was gone.
I headed down the hallway and down the stairs where the guests were enjoying pre-dinner drinks before Darby was to serve supper. When I swung the kitchen door open, there sat Mama, along with Darby, Hattie, and the reserve officer.
“Have you seen Deputy Vincent?” I asked and looked around the kitchen.
“No.” Mama dragged her hand up to her chest before she fanned her face. “Trust me, I’d know if that man was in here.”
“Mmm-hmmm. The kitchen is already hot, but he’d make it hotter.” Darby continued the joke with Mama.
“Hot, hot,” Kiwi repeated from his perch in his cage in the corner of the kitchen.
“Seriously.” I tipped my head and looked at them. “This is an investigation, not a Chippendale show.”
Hattie looked content sitting at the table with a plate of Mama’s famous ribs, mashed potato pie, and wilted lettuce. The reserve officer had his own plate too.
“Mama, you sure outdid yourself tonight.” I couldn’t help but stand over Hattie’s shoulder and take a nice long whiff.
“Honey, did you just give your mama a compliment?” she asked and winked.
“Why, I think she did.” Darby smiled. “So,” Darby looked at me, “did you see anything up there?”
“It’s just a shame that someone would come here and break in.” Mama stepped next to me and put a hand on Hattie. She whispered, “Especially since her sister is dead and all.”
“How did you know?” I jerked around.
“Honey, secrets in Cottonwood?” Her brows lifted.
I slid my eyes over to Darby. She wouldn’t look at me.
“Darby,” I scolded her. “Why on Earth didn’t you keep Beryle’s secret a little bit longer? I mean, you kept it for all those years.”
“Kenni, I have no idea how I’m going to have Hattie’s living expenses paid for,” she said.
“I did find out that there’s a fund set up at the bank and Hattie’s got plenty to take care of her expenses. Wally is just finishing up the paperwork, and I’m sure he’ll be in touch soon.” I needed to put her mind at ease.
“I’ll be sure to give Wally a call.” She walked over to the stove and pulled out a tray of Mama’s ribs from the oven. They looked nice and bronzed. The edges of the sauce were tinted a little browner. My mouth watered.
“I’ve got to have a sounding board, and your mama has a good ear.” She nodded.
“It’s a talent,” Mama said proudly. “Besides, I’m not going to say a word.” She made a turning key gesture in the middle of her lips before she tossed the imaginary key over her shoulder.
It was petty to get into it with them. Darby had already let the cat out of the bag, and it was only a matter of time before the cat sprinted all over town and told the news. Not saying that Mama was the cat, but somehow someone with very big ears tended to hear things that weren’t meant to be heard. In my personal life, I lived by Poppa’s rule that if you didn’t want it out in the world, you didn’t speak it.
“Can I have a cup of coffee?” I asked Darby before I helped myself. “I’ve got the afternoon slumps and coffee helps me think.”
“Sure, honey.” She made me a cup of coffee while I sat down next to Hattie.
“Well?” Her big brown eyes looked over at me. “Was it that darn critter?”
“I don’t know,” I said matter-of-factly. “But I do know that someone thinks you have something of importance in your room.”
Darby set the steaming cup of coffee in front of me, and I curled my hands around and mouthed “thank you” to her.
“Did your sister, Beryle, ever come to see you?” I asked.
“I came from Beryle’s and couldn’t find the book. Couldn’t find the book. Glad she’s dead,” Kiwi chirped.
All of us looked over at Kiwi. This was the second time I’d heard the bird say it. The first being before there was a killer walking around Cottonwood.
“She only went by Sister to Hattie.” Darby started to answer, but I stuck my hand up for her to stop. “Crazy bird.”
“Hattie, did Sister ever come see you?” I asked.
“Not for a long time. When she did, she was older like my mom.” Hattie patted her wrinkly hand on the table. “Mom was always so pretty. I took after my dad. Bigger. Broader.” She smiled.
Looking at Hattie, she reminded me of a little old granny. No one would know that she had special needs. She took good care of herself. It was like she’d been a dementia patient since childhood.
“I bet you were so happy to see her.” I offered her a smile back before I lifted the mug for a drink.
“Oh yes.” Her eyes sparkled. “I enjoy every visit. But she doesn’t get to come around often. Today she would’ve enjoyed the rain. When we were little girls we used to sit in her car and let the rain plop down on the roof. It made the funniest noises.”
“I bet it did.” Sadness swept over me when I realized she had no clue that Beryle had died. I couldn’t imagine how she was going to feel.
“She’d paint and I’d talk.” She tapped her fingers. “I’d talk and she’d paint.”
“Do you remember the last time she came to see you?” I asked.
“Yes. She was mad.” Hattie’s face hardened. Her eyes dulled.
“Did she tell you why she was mad?” I asked and glanced up at the clock on Darby’s stove. Finn should’ve arrived at the Inn by now.
“She kept saying how people were frauds and she couldn’t trust anyone.” Hattie shook her head. “She told me she loved me, and she always made sure she told me she was sorry about how Mom and Dad sent me away.”
“You enjoyed your old house.” Darby was good with Hattie and keeping her calm.
“I like it much better here.” Hattie looked up at Darby. “Here I don’t see the critters, I just know they’re here. There, I saw them.”
“It wasn’t the nicest of places, the estate, but the Stones didn’t have many choices back then.” It was interesting how Darby took up for the Stones. “They did the best they could, according to Beryle.”
“You don’t have to worry about that here.” I finished up my coffee and Darby rushed over to refill it.
“You said that she said someone was a fraud. Do you know who she was talking about?” I asked.
“I didn’t listen to her much. The Price Is Right was on and she knows I love to watch that show. But she kept saying how she was going to come clean about the person. Something about a book at our old house, and she asked me about the hiding places we used to have.” Hattie shrugged and pushed her plate away. “That was a mighty good meal. Can I go back up to my room now?”
“Dear.” Darby’s eyes dipped with worry. “Jenny is off today, and I don’t have help right now.”
“Hiding places?” I asked Hattie, wondering if it would be a good idea to take her to the estate and see if she could show me some, though she’d not been there in years. “You and Sister had fun hiding places?”