Picture Perfect Murder (Ryli Sinclair 1)

by Jenna St James

  “What are you doing out of your seat? Aren’t you afraid someone will take it?” I asked.

  “Nope. I’m sitting next to Old Man Jenkins. I told him if he saved my spot, I’d let him touch my boobs when we got back to the home.”

  I literally felt my mouth hanging open.

  “Shut your trap, girl…flies will swarm in!” She cackled at her own joke.

  I shut my mouth and prayed to God no one heard her. I looked around, but no one was paying us any attention anymore.

  “Paige is already in there, opposite side of me, one pew behind. The girl can follow directions. Now,” Aunt Shirley said as she gave me a shove, “get in there!”

  I stumbled and barely caught myself before face-planting on the carpet. I turned and gave her my best evil eye, but she’d already slipped through the crowd. Regaining my balance, I made my way to the glass doors that led into the sanctuary.

  Pushing open the doors, I was surprised to see just how packed the church was. I’d told myself it would be…but physically seeing all the people was jarring. Young, old, business suits, made up ladies, dressed down students. It looked like the whole town was here.

  A slight exaggeration…but not by much.

  The church sanctuary was set up in a traditional one-aisle layout with interlocking mauve chairs fanning out on each side of the aisle. I can still remember the uproar the chairs caused years ago. The old wooden pews were falling apart, the orange carpet-like fabric coverings were torn and nasty looking. When it became apparent something needed to be done, the church decided to cast a vote. Some members wanted to buy new pews, some wanted to put in the interlocking chairs, and some thought the pews in their worn condition should be good enough.

  The chairs won out by a slight margin. There were still some church members not speaking to each other because of the outcome.

  Yep, you heard right. It was years ago, and there were still members not speaking to each other.

  I actually liked the interlocking mauve chairs that lined the aisle. They were stylish and really soft. And when Pastor Williams got on a roll some Sunday mornings and preached a long sermon, believe me, you were glad for the added comfort.

  The sanctuary could seat about two hundred people, and right now almost every seat was taken. Sometimes during the holidays the ushers have to open the glass doors and set up chairs in the foyer for the overflow. I’m assuming that’s what they’d have to do today.

  Near the altar a huge glossy picture of Dr. Garver sat on an easel. I was expecting the standard school picture. Instead, it was one of those cheesy Glamour Shots that were popular years ago. When I say years ago, I mean years ago. Garver appeared twenty years younger in this picture. I had to assume this was one of her demands...surely her husband didn’t think this was appropriate.

  A smaller easel to the left of the hideous picture cradled a bulky wreath made of different colored roses. The words “mother” “wife” and “grandmother” were woven within the wreath. The urn housing Dr. Garver’s ashes sat on a white pillar next to the wreath.

  I saw Paige on my left, four rows up from the back. It must be that best-friend thing, because she chose that moment to turn around and make eye contact with me. Motioning me to sit next to her, I carefully made my way through the feet and legs of those already seated.

  “I was beginning to worry,” she said as I finally plopped down next to her.

  “There’s still fifteen minutes left before it starts,” I said. “Aunt Shirley practically shoved me in here face first.” I crossed my legs and smoothed my dress.

  “Nice shoes,” Paige said, giving me a knowing smile. “Very subtle.”

  I laughed at her comment. Unfortunately I forgot I was at a funeral and thirty people turned around and stared at me.

  Oops!

  “I brought a small notepad to jot down notes, just in case,” Paige said as she showed me the short, spiral-bound tablet.

  “Good idea,” I said, practically kicking myself. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s like I’ll never get the hang of this private eye stuff sometimes. Even Paige is more prepared.

  I tried to make eye contact with Aunt Shirley sitting on the opposite side of the church, but with so many people it wasn’t possible.

  Leaning over to Paige I whispered, “Have you seen anything or anyone suspicious yet?”

  Looking over both shoulders before responding, she leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I’ve been thinking of what you said about the medical profession, and so I thought I’d watch Patty Carter and Dr. Powell for sure.”

  Exactly what I’d been thinking!

  “Although I can’t imagine they’d have anything to do with this,” she quickly added.

  Again...exactly what I’d been thinking!

  Coming up with suspects was easy, but actually imagining them doing it was another story. I’d known both of these people my whole life. Both of them had never been anything but kind. But then again, rage made you do crazy things sometimes.

  I spotted Doc Powell sitting four rows up from me to my right. I actually had a good view of his face. As wrong as it was, I couldn’t help but think he looked good today. Very handsome. I really hoped he didn’t have anything to do with the murders…I was still pulling for him to get with my mom.

  Patty Carter was harder to find. I stood up, pretending to smooth down the back of my dress, hoping I could spot her in the crowd. She was sitting near the front of the church. There was no way I’d be able to see her throughout the ceremony.

  What had she done, gotten here an hour early for that prime seating?

  The organ music stopped, signaling the start of the memorial service. I quickly sat down and watched as Pastor Williams walked down the aisle, followed by Mr. Garver. His daughter was next in line, her arms linked through her husband’s, as he led his weeping wife down the aisle. A little girl in a pink and white ruffled dress was hanging onto her mother’s skirt for dear life. The Garver’s son brought up the rear of the train.

  And just like a train wreck, you couldn’t help but watch, even though you didn’t want to. I noticed the son didn’t look near as torn up as his sister. Not that I suspected the son of the murders, but still…it was odd I thought. Or very telling.

  As the family was getting seated and Pastor Williams was walking to the podium, I kept my eyes on Doc Powell. As Pastor Williams droned on and on, touting the wonderful attributions of the most hated woman in town, I tried to think of a reason why Doc Powell would want to kill Dr. Garver. Outside of the school board, I didn’t think they ran in the same circle. I’m not sure Dr. Garver even had a circle of friends to run in.

  Two songs, a standard funeral mini sermon, and thirty minutes later, Pastor Williams was finally winding down. I was actually amazed that outside of the daughter, I really couldn’t see or hear any weeping. It was quite sad. Almost made me wish I could muster a tear or two. Goodness knows I’d want some weeping at my funeral.

  The organ started up again, signaling the end of the memorial service. I glanced over at Paige, who’d been scribbling furiously in her notebook pretty much the whole service. Had she picked up on vibes I hadn’t?

  Leaning over to look in her lap, I almost laughed out loud. She’d been scribbling “Paige Sinclair” all over the paper…just like she’d done when we were kids. I grinned up at her. Shrugging her shoulders, she closed the notebook and smiled back at me.

  I finally caught sight of Patty Carter’s head as she was walking down the aisle to exit the service. One good thing about sitting in the back, you had to wait until the end to be dismissed. I couldn’t help but note that Patty’s face held no traces of tears. In fact, walking down the aisle, she’d periodically stop and chat with people…even laughing on occasion.

  Guess when your archenemy dies, you can’t help but feel pretty damn good.

  Doc Powell also shuffled past us, head down. I couldn’t tell how he was doing. I did notice throughout the service that he didn’t seem to pay the Garvers to
o much attention. Not more than anyone else, I’d say.

  I hoped Aunt Shirley had more than us. I obviously wasn’t good at judging people and their action.

  When it was finally our turn to leave the sanctuary, I followed my row out to shake hands and exchange hugs with the Garvers. I wasn’t prepared for the wave of sadness that washed over me when I came face to face with Professor Garver. I’d always liked him, so knowing he was grieving was heart wrenching.

  I reached up and hugged him. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Professor.”

  A sad smile crossed his face. His eyes were bloodshot and hollow. “Thank you. It’s a shock what’s happened, even still days later. I’m just not sure what to do with myself, you know?”

  I really didn’t, but I didn’t want to say that to him. “I know. Is there anything you need?”

  “For someone to catch the person that murdered my wife. But that seems to be a miracle to ask for,” he said, sighing heavily.

  I said nothing and moved quickly down the receiving line. It was even more awkward with the daughter and son. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just mumbled my condolences and shuffled on.

  When it was finally time to go downstairs to eat, I grabbed Paige and started looking for Aunt Shirley. I saw her talking with Patty Carter.

  Weaving through the crowd, Paige and I made our way slowly to them. Patty turned to me and smiled. Correction…she grinned. Her grin was almost as bright as her outfit. I couldn’t see what she was wearing sitting at the back of the church, but standing next to her now, I suddenly wished the ground would open up and swallow me.

  There was no mourning black for her. Instead, she wore a dark blue t-shirt with the words “Today Will Be Amazing” printed on the front in day-glow yellow. She’d paired it with bright red Cargo pants, and a matching red jacket over the t-shirt. The only subtle thing on her was the staple all nurses wear—Dansko clogs. These particular shoes were designed to look like Jackson Pollock had splattered them.

  I’d always liked Patty, but today I found her to be out of line. No matter how much she may have hated Garver, the dead woman did have a family. I found myself hoping they hadn’t seen the t-shirt when she went through the receiving line.

  “Wonderful day isn’t it, Ryli?” Patty practically shouted…or at least I felt she was shouting.

  Ducking my head, I mumbled a non-coherent response.

  “I was just asking Patty here how she found out about Dr. Garver’s death,” my aunt said.

  “Right,” she said, lifting her hands to her hair and patting her brown bob into place. “So like I was saying, usually I work the graveyard shift at the hospital. I was even supposed to be on duty the night she died, but I had to call in because I had the stomach flu. I don’t know if it was something I ate or what, but I was pretty sick. So, I went ahead and started making calls to see if I could find someone to cover my shift. Luckily I found someone. It wasn’t until probably six that next morning I started getting texts from people. That’s why I didn’t get up to Legends until later that morning,” Patty said, turning to me. “You remember, Ryli? I saw you and Paige there that morning talking to some of the ladies about the murder.”

  I remembered.

  I also wondered if Patty just realized she’d admitted she was home all night alone the night the murder took place. I was dying to ask her where she was the night Iris died, but I didn’t want to overplay my hand.

  “What about the night Iris died,” my aunt said, not caring if she overplayed her hand or not obviously. “Where were you that night?”

  Scowling, Patty took a step back from the circle we’d made. “Why do you want to know?” she demanded. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

  With that, Patty turned and marched away, her ample hips pushing the rest of the thinning crowd of mourners out of her way. Dozens of bewildered people turned to watch her stride down the ramp into the basement of the church.

  Well, so much for subtlety and not pissing her off.

  “Seems we hit a nerve,” Aunt Shirley chuckled.

  “Yep,” Paige said. “Seems to me if you’re going to be happy about someone being murdered, you should be able to handle being accused of doing the murdering.”

  Smiling, I nodded my head in agreement.

  We decided to make our way downstairs and find a seat. I could smell the delicious aromas permeating throughout the church, and my stomach growled in response. A huge bowl on Mom’s berry crisp sounded exquisite right about now.

  * * *

  After thirty minutes of waiting in line, no sign of berry crisp or Garrett in sight, I was cursing my idiotic decision to wear the heels. I’d say my feet were killing me, but to be honest, I’d lost feeling in them fifteen minutes ago.

  Everyone was basically smashed up against each other in the hallway leading down to the food. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the order, no line established, just a bunch of pressed up bodies waiting to get to the buffet.

  I shoved myself off the wall and stumbled into Paige. Great, I was dizzy with starvation! Okay, a slight exaggeration. I knew it was because my feet were asleep, but it helped to grumble about the lack of food. I figured at this rate, I’d be passed out in ten minutes. The only perk in my future was the fact that Mrs. Pratt’s room was not much farther ahead and I could run in and take off these damn shoes! Maybe I could even find a Tic Tac in my purse to tide me over before I expired.

  “Careful there, Sin,” a voice said, caressing my ear and making me shiver. “Hate for those sexy shoes to break your pretty neck.”

  My heart jumped as he brushed his hands up my arms. I tried to hide my smile, I didn’t want to be grinning like a fool and have everyone see.

  “Quit grinning like an idiot,” Aunt Shirley said.

  Garrett chuckled in my ear before turning to Aunt Shirley. “Shirley, always lovely to see you.”

  “My ass,” she grumbled.

  “I can’t stay long,” Garrett said, ignoring my aunt’s retort, “I just wanted to see you before I headed out. I know what you’re up to, so I’m not even going to waste my breath and tell you to be careful.” With that he leaned over to whisper in my ear, “And let me know if you find anything significant, please.” I felt a light kiss against the underside of my ear.

  It was a pretty bold move to do in front of everyone. But then I realized what he’d said. “What do you mean you know what we’re up to?” I gave him my best innocent face.

  He gave me his Kimball Hardass stare. “You heard me. I know what you three girls are up to. I don’t like it, but I can’t stop it, either. So just be careful, please.” He turned to Aunt Shirley. “I’m growing fond of her and wouldn’t want to see her harmed.” I’m pretty sure there was a veiled threat there somewhere.

  Aunt Shirley must have heard it too. “Don’t you worry yourself none,” my aunt said. “I’ll bring her home safely.”

  Garrett stared her down, “See that you do.”

  With that he squeezed my arm, said goodbye to Aunt Shirley and Paige, and left as quickly and quietly as he came.

  I watched him thread his way back up the ramp toward the sanctuary. I also saw Mindy waving at me just a few rows back. She looked smashing in a vintage 1950s hourglass-enhancing black dress. It had short, capped sleeves, a scoop collar, and a bodice that tapered down to a cinched-in waist. The bottom of her dress flared out from her waist and stopped just above her knees. I couldn’t see her shoes, but I bet they were killer, too.

  I hadn’t noticed her or Hank at the memorial service, even though I’d looked for them. I waved back at her and motioned I’d save a spot for her when we got downstairs. She gave me a thumbs-up sign.

  We moved forward again, and it wasn’t until we passed the Sunday school room that I realized I’d forgotten to get my purse and shoes. With the throng of people still pressing around me on the ramp, I didn’t want to go back up. Oh well, we were almost to the food and that was my primary focus. My feet would have to suffer.

/>   Paige checked her text message again. “Your brother asked how everything was going. If there was anything new.”

  Matt had to work today, so he’d been texting every twenty minutes wanting a play by play of what was happening. Unfortunately, we had nothing to report, except for the fact we were still waiting in line to eat. Even the conversation around us was boring and of no use.

  We finally reached the food, and I didn’t even pretend to be a lady about my portions. I took as much as my plate could handle. I found a table that had been recently vacated by a large group. There was still trash on the table, so I cleared it off to make room for the five of us. By the time I finished, everyone was getting seated.

  “So, what’ve you got for the paper?” Hank said, not even bothering with polite chitchat.

  I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t aware I was supposed to be writing my article during the memorial service,” I said as sarcastically as I dared. I was always mindful of the fact he could snap my neck like a twig whenever the mood struck. Or discontinue my paycheck, meager as it was.

  My stomach dropped!

  I’d never ever considered Hank for the murders! He had been gone an awful lot lately, and I’m sure with his connections he could probably get his hands on drugs…but what would his motive be?

  The look on my face must have been priceless because I came to with the whole table staring at me like I had suddenly grown two heads. “What the hell is that look for?” Hank said. “You’re staring at me like you ain’t never seen me before.” He continued shoving food into his mouth without stopping.

  I mentally shook my head. Aunt Shirley must know me better than I thought since she started laughing. “Think Ryli here just realized you could be the murderer.”

  Hank stopped shoving the food in his mouth. “You ain’t serious.” He stared at me a little harder then started laughing. He laughed so hard the food fell off his fork. He laid it down on his plate and grabbed his napkin to dab at his eyes.

  Mindy shot me a look I couldn’t read. “Are you okay, Hank?” she asked, placing her perfectly manicured hand on his arm. “You’re scaring me.”