“On my way.” Morgan snapped the phone closed. “Denny paid Opal a visit.”
“I’m going with you,” Gage said.
“I hear you’re pretty good with computers,” Sean said to Jeremy. “Is that true?”
“I know my grades two minutes after the teacher enters them.” Jeremy shot a quick look at Gage. “Not that I’d ever change them or anything. I mean, I guess I could, but—”
Sean laughed. “I don’t want you to change my grades, I want you to help me find some files I’m not sure even exist.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “Can I stay here, Dad? And help Sean?”
“You sure you’re okay with this?” Sean asked Gage. “If unwanted visitors show up, I’ll call the sheriff. But I don’t think there’ll be any more trouble today.”
“I hope you’re right. It’s just—”
“I’ll keep a close eye on him,” Sean said.
“Okay, then,” Gage said. “You guys be careful.”
Sean tossed his keys to Morgan. “Take the Jeep. It’ll get you over the mountain faster than the truck. And do yourselves a favor. After the two of you check on Opal, go to dinner. Get away from this farm for a while. I'll pick up some burgers and sugar for the apples, then after we eat, Jeremy can help me fire up the outside kettle. I think I have enough propane.”
“You're going to start a batch now?” Morgan asked. “It takes five hours to cook apple butter. By the time the apples boil, it'll take you all night.”
“I read where you drop a silver dollar in the kettle to keep the apples from sticking,” Jeremy said. “Is that true?”
“Absolutely,” Sean said. “The Harvest Festival is two weeks away, and I want to have something to sell. Two nights on a cement mattress without sleep reset my body clock. If I'm gonna be awake anyway, I might as well be doing something productive.”
And as long as Sean’s awake, Gage thought. He’ll be standing guard over my son.
“I...I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Harlan,” Gage said.
“Thanks,” Sean said.
“After Morgan and I make sure Opal’s all right, I think we should go to the Spannagel's house and ask Ethan for the accounting files. Finch said Harlan was working for Bert, and you need to see those files in hand as soon as possible. Before they're compromised.”
“I'm not sure I believe Finch was telling the truth,” Sean said.
“Still,” Gage said, “you should know what you're dealing with. If Harlan was embezzling from Maguire Orchard, and you can prove it, you can prosecute Harlan's estate and demand restitution. The court would freeze the estate until the heirs are able to pay you back.”
“You mean Ethan,” Morgan said. “He's the only heir.”
“You know what's been bothering me?” Sean said. “The accounting files were in folders sitting on Harlan's dining room table in full view of anyone who walked by. He liked to work from printouts, said it helped him see the big picture. But Ethan had been living at his dad’s house for over a week. He had to have seen them.”
“Oh, I’m sure he saw them,” Morgan said. “But he would never mention it. Appearances are everything to Ethan. His father was a well-respected man in this community. If Ethan knew what Harlan had been hired to do by Bert, he would take every precaution he could to hide it.”
“I wonder how much Bert really knew about this,” Gage said.
“And Finch,” Morgan said. “And Mendoza. Sean met them on the road after he left Harlan, driving toward Harlan’s house.”
“They weren’t driving,” Sean said. “They were flying.”
“Maybe I’m wrong,” Morgan said. “Maybe Ethan didn't notice the files. I don't pay any attention to the files in Sean's office.”
Gage cocked one eyebrow. “This is different. This is your orchard. I think Ethan would keep tabs on anything that belonged to you. If he was aware of what was going on, he wouldn’t have wanted you to find out because it would blow his chances with you. That man is more into you than you realize.”
Morgan glanced at her watch. “Ethan’s meeting the pastor at the church at three. If we hurry, we'll have enough time to check on Opal then get to the Spannagel's house.”
“But Ethan would be gone by then,” Sean said.
“I think that's the idea,” Gage said.
“Don’t look so worried, little brother. Gage is an ex-PI. I’m in good hands. Let me grab my purse, and we’ll go.”
Gage turned to Sean. “I guess it’s time to get back on the horse. God, I love PI work. I can already feel the adrenaline beginning to shoot through me. I’m used to going it alone, though.”
“Then convince my sister that breaking into Ethan’s house is too dangerous.”
“It was her idea.” Gage smiled appreciatively as Morgan climbed into the Jeep. “She’s not boring, is she?”
“No, she’s not.”
“She has guts.”
“And you hate gutsy women, right?”
Gage grinned. “Only if they clean fish for a living.”
Chapter 14
The last thing Morgan expected to see in Opal’s kitchen was Peach standing at the sink, wringing out a washcloth.
Morgan set her purse on the counter. “What are you doing here?”
“I was visiting Edith Duncan down the hall—she used to be one of my patients at the nursing home—and on my way out, I heard someone crying in here. I knocked on the door, and it was Opal.” Peach opened the freezer and took out two ice cubes. She wrapped them in the washcloth. “This is for her bruised wrists. Vinegar helps, too, but I couldn’t find any.”
“Opal doesn’t cook,” Morgan said. “She heats up.”
“What are you two talking about out there?” Opal hollered. “I can’t hear you!”
“Nothing.” Morgan lowered her voice. “She said Denny grabbed her. Did you see him?”
Peach’s blue eyes widened. “No, but I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt her. She’s taking a blood thinner—warfarin. You can breathe on her wrists, and they’ll bruise.”
“I didn’t know she was on warfarin. Is everybody on warfarin?”
“Everybody over seventy. Half the people at the nursing home take it. I found it in her medicine cabinet when I was looking for an icepack. She said she’d had a mini-stroke after your grandpa died, and she didn’t want anyone to know.”
“That’s not like her,” Morgan said. “If anything’s wrong, Opal blabs it to the world.”
Gage stuck his head around the door. “Everything okay? I hear major whispering.”
“Opal’s on a blood thinner,” Morgan said. “Just like Harlan. Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Not if she’s monitored by a doctor,” Peach said. “A lot of things can affect her Pro Time.”
“Her what?”
“Prothrombin Time. It’s a blood test to measure how fast the blood clots.”
“What can affect it?” Gage asked.
“Diet,” Peach said. “Foods with large amounts of Vitamin K in them like spinach, broccoli, parsley, collards. All those will thicken the blood. Certain OTC supplements like fish oil and Vitamin E can thin it. So can aspirin.”
Gage leaned against the windowsill. “So, if a person took too many blood-thinning supplements, it could cause them to hemorrhage spontaneously?”
“Oh, sure,” Peach said. “If they were on a high enough dosage, over time, it could do a lot of damage. They could be fine one minute, then start bleeding out the next.”
“Morgan!” Opal trilled from the living room. “Peach! What’s going on in there?”
“I’ll get this.” Gage took the makeshift icepacks from Peach.
“Hold them on her wrists,” Peach said. “She’ll be fine.”
After Gage left, Morgan said, “Damn that Denny! What’s the matter with him? Scaring an old woman. I should have him arrested for assault.”
“Why are you always so hard on him?” Peach rinsed her hands and pulled a paper towel from the dispenser.
“He’s not doing drugs. He’s almost stopped drinking. He’s trying to turn his life around. He wants to sell the flag you’re keeping for him so he can put a down payment on a house.” She clutched the wet paper towel in front of her like a bouquet. Her eyes shone. “Oh, Morgan, it’s the most beautiful place. He showed me a picture of it—a little one-story ranch, right on the golf course. He said he’s gonna take me there sometime and we’ll—”
“You came with him here, didn’t you?”
Peach stared at Morgan. A slow blush crept up the fleshy folds in her neck.
“How did you know about the flag, Peach? Did Denny tell you about it when he came to the bar? Or did he tell you today when he brought you here to help frighten Opal into telling him where it was? What did you do? Keep watch in the hall so you could warn him in case someone heard an old lady screaming?”
“That flag belongs to Denny, and you know it. All he did was ask Opal where it was, and she flew mad—I mean, crazy mad. She said she was tired of you and Sean hiding parts of the estate from her. Then she went at him like a banshee. He had to hold her wrists to keep her from choking him.”
“She’s a seventy-seven-year-old woman. She can’t open a jar of pickles without help. How do you think she could choke him? Put him in a headlock and use her knees?”
“Denny said you wouldn’t believe him.”
“Honey, Denny will say anything, do anything to get what he wants. You don’t need that kind of man in your life.”
“You don’t know what I need.”
“Peach, he hit me once—twice, actually. When he’s drinking, he can’t control his temper. I know firsthand he hasn’t changed.” She softened her tone. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“You don’t want me to have Denny.” Peach pushed a coil of brassy blond hair back from her forehead. “You’re so selfish, Morgan. You’ve had everything handed to you since the day you were born: a big house in Riverbirch, a fancy college education, a husband, money.”
“I worked hard for the money I made.”
“Oh, right. Giving piano lessons. How hard is that?”
“You’d be surprised. It isn’t easy scraping bubblegum off ivory.”
“Oh, please.” Peach’s plump face twisted in disgust. “You don’t care about Denny. You just don’t want me to be with him because you can’t stand to see other people happy. You’ve been alone for so long, you can’t remember what it’s like to fall for someone.”
“Like you fell for Sean? And Andy? And Ethan? And Harlan Spannagel? You’ll fall for anyone who’ll buy you a shot of bourbon. Anyone you can use.”
“You’re just like your brother. You think you’re so high and mighty, but you don’t have a clue what the real world is like. You don’t know what it feels like to be desperate. I’ve had to work every day of my life doing things for money you wouldn’t last two hours doing, and raising three kids. And now I’m getting laid off again.” She glowered at Morgan, her eyes wet with tears. “Denny could be the man I’ve been waiting for. If he’d just—so, where did you hide the flag? I looked everywhere. I—” She stopped. Her mouth opened and closed like a stranded carp.
Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “Does everywhere include my bedroom?”
“I...I—”
“It was you, wasn’t it? You broke into my house and snooped through my things. I was in the next room. I heard you. Hell, Peach, not many people would have the nerve to sneak in while I was at home. I’ve gotta say, I’m a little impressed.”
“Oh, shut up. You have no right to judge me. You have no idea what my life is like. I work and work, and never get anywhere. I would do anything—anything—to get out of that rat infested trailer and give Crystal a decent life.”
“Even blackmailing Harlan Spannagel into changing his will?”
Peach’s blue eyes flashed.
“You and Ethan were arguing about it yesterday, weren’t you?”
“Harlan promised me that money. He promised. And believe me, I earned every penny.”
“Oh, I’m sure Harlan was flattered that a young, if slightly used woman found him attractive. He was a man, after all. But he was a smart man, and I doubt if he changed his will for you, no matter what you did for him. Or to him. What concerns me most, besides your extensive knowledge of blood thinners and your easy access to them, is the fact that you left threatening messages on Harlan’s voicemail, and he died the next day. What did you do, Peach? Slip some warfarin into his moonshine and wait for him to bleed to death? Didn’t take long, did it?”
For a woman of considerable heft, Peach moved like a ninja. Her hand whizzed through the air and struck the side of Morgan’s face before Morgan had time to blink, much less duck.
Morgan’s hand flew to her cheek. Her eyes smarted with tears.
Gage rounded the doorway. “I heard a—” His gaze flicked from Peach to Morgan. “What the—did she hit you? Morgan? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Morgan said.
“Morgan, I didn’t mean to,” Peach said.
“Yeah, you did,” Morgan said. “And you know what? You can have Denny. The two of you are perfect for each other.” She picked up Peach’s faux leather clutch and walked into the living room, still holding her stinging cheek. She opened the door and sailed it down the hall like a Frisbee. “Peach was just leaving,” she said to Opal. “And she won’t be coming back.”
“Floozy!” Opal spat. She held her wrists in the air like she had a gun at her back. “That woman is nothing but a floozy! Harlan didn’t have a chance. She snatched him away from me while I was nursing my dying husband. Snatched him right out from under my nose. Like a common...Floozy!” she hollered one last time. Gage closed the door behind Peach.
Gage gently pulled Morgan’s hand away and inspected her face. “Looks like we may need more ice.”
“I deserved it,” Morgan said. “I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut.”
“I’m very fond of that mouth,” Gage said. “Open or shut.”
“I accused her of poisoning Harlan.”
He whistled through his teeth. “Not exactly the way I would have handled it, but...she is a legitimate suspect. She had access to prescription blood thinners and she thought Harlan had changed his will to include her. That’s one hell of a motive.”
“But she was at work when he died.”
“She said she left work early. She was already at your house, waiting for you and Crystal when I arrived. I have no idea how long she’d been there.” He opened the freezer and pulled out a frozen bag of breaded okra. “If she’d given Harlan a lethal dose of warfarin, she couldn’t know the exact time he was going to hemorrhage. We don’t know what Harlan’s time of death was, but she might have had time to stop by his place before you got there, find him dead, and stab him with your brother’s knife. Do you think she did that? Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know.” Morgan said. “Payback, maybe?”
“For what?”
“I think Sean rejected her. When he was passed out, she was all over him, patting his arm, stroking his hair, comforting him as if they were a couple. But when the sheriff came to arrest him, he looked straight at Peach and said, ‘What are you doing here? I told you to leave me alone.’ Of course, he was smashed at the time.”
“Sounds like he was sober enough to know he didn’t want her around. We need to talk to Sean, find out if he did reject her and when. She’s at your house five days a week picking up Crystal. If she wanted to frame Sean for Harlan’s murder, she could have found his knife, then held on to it and waited for Harlan to hemorrhage, then—” He stopped. “Okay, that could take forever. This theory is a little farfetched, even for me.”
“Come on. We need to hurry. I thought of something else we need to look for at Harlan’s besides the files.”
“What?”
“When I was at his house, I noticed some pill bottles lined up on his dresser. I don't know what they were for, but there were a lot of them. I wonder if t
he sheriff confiscated them.”
“Hard to tell. But if he took too many pills, then he did it of his own volition. You said they were already on his dresser, so no one forced him to take them.”
“No, but he may not have known how harmful they could be. He was always medicating himself. He'd do anything to keep from going to the doctor. But he wasn’t stupid, and he knew how to use a computer, so I can’t believe he would take a bunch of drugs and supplements unless he'd researched possible interactions.”
“Unless someone suggested he take them. Someone he trusted.”
They got in the Jeep.
“Is this a good idea?” Gage asked. “It’s a quarter to three. By the time we get to Ethan’s house, he’ll be on his way back.”
“No, he won’t. He’s meeting the pastor at three. The church is halfway up the mountain. We’ll be fine.” She laughed. “Hell, Gage, you’re the P. I. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I left it in my other pants.” He pulled onto the highway. “Hold that okra on your face. You don’t want to look like you’re storing nuts for the winter.”
At exactly three o’clock, Gage maneuvered the Jeep into the tall grass beside the Spannagel's fence. He cut the motor and turned to Morgan. “So, what’s the plan? You are going to tell me the plan, aren't you?”
“Break in, find the stuff, and don't get caught.”
Gage sighed and opened the door. “Well, at least we have a plan.”
“I’ll take care of the guard. You find the key under the planter. Keep an eye on the road. Meet you in four. Mrs. Cowden may be half blind, but she can hear snow melt.”
Morgan ran across the road and waded through the weeds until she came to the Cowden house. She slipped on the porch, rang the doorbell, and counted to twenty. Then she sprinted back across the road and jumped into the ditch. She ducked down, panting, feeling like she was ten-years-old again. She’d always loved ringing doorbells and running, but back then, the rush of not getting caught had been worth the risk. It would take several minutes for Mrs. Cowden to get out of her chair and lumber downstairs. When the old bat realized no one was at the door, she would either call the sheriff or start firing the hunting rifle she kept in the foyer.
A Shadow on the Ground Page 18