She wasn’t kidding. After being petted for a few minutes, the cat put her paws up on Rossalyn’s leg, demanding to be picked up. Once ensconced on Rossie’s lap, she purred contentedly. There was a simply framed photo on the end table next to her that held a picture of a vibrant young woman with the blonde toddler, and Rossie assumed that it was Dana. Her eyes were so merry, and her smile was lovely, it made her heart hurt to think that her life had been snuffed out.
“That’s my baby girl,” Margaret said sadly, noticing Rossalyn gazing at the picture when she entered the room with two steaming cups.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Every time I think about it, I just keep asking why? Why my girl? She was good and kind and never hurt nobody,” Margaret shook her head.
“Who could do such a thing?” Rossie sympathized.
“Oh, I got my ideas about that one,” was the bitter reply.
“Really? You think that you know who the horrible person is?”
Margaret nodded. “Yup. The sheriff is trying to pin it on Tommy, but it ain’t him. I know it ain’t.”
“Who do you think it is?” Rossalyn tried to sound casual.
“I think it’s that little weasel, Jason. Dana was always nice to him, even though I told her to keep away from him. He and his mama were nothin’ but trouble, but my girl didn’t listen to me,” she smiled faintly. “She was headstrong. Wonder where she got that from?” Margaret chuckled, lost in a memory for a moment. “They had a fight right before she died.”
“What were they fighting about? It had to be pretty bad if you think that he… he’s the one,” Rossalyn asked carefully.
“I don’t know. I’m sure it’s all in that diary of hers, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it just yet. I hid it from the sheriff when he searched her room. I didn’t want him getting all up in her privacy. Didn’t feel right.”
“What if there’s something in the diary that would lead to the killer?”
Margaret stared at her for a moment.
“You know, I think maybe I feel like if they catch the killer, if they catch who did this to my Dana, it’ll all be too real. I’ll have to accept that she’s gone. We’ve had the funeral, and it still don’t seem real,” she whispered.
“I can imagine. My husband died a few months ago, and I still keep waiting to see him come walking around the corner at any minute to give me a hug like he used to,” Rossalyn confessed.
“Oh honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a widow. Folks in town said you had a son, but I just figured that you were divorced. Well, ain’t we a pair?” Margaret took a sip of her coffee, clearly thinking about something.
Rossalyn didn’t respond, lost for a moment in her own thoughts.
“Would you do it?”
“Do what?” Margaret’s question had startled her out of her reverie.
“Read Dana’s diary. See if there’s anything helpful in there? I just can’t bear to see her words just yet, but if there’s something in there, you could tell the sheriff. I’m just not strong enough to do it, ya know?”
“I understand, but I’m not exactly the best person to talk to the sheriff. We don’t exactly get along.”
“That’s cuz he’s basically worthless,” Margaret’s voice was laced with contempt. “But you could tell the cops here in town instead. They’re a good bunch for the most part.”
“If you think that it would be helpful, I’d be honored to read it for you,” Rossalyn nodded.
“All right then. You just sit tight. I’m gonna check on the little one, then I’ll run and get it. Been hidin’ it in my cedar chest,” she rose, setting her coffee cup on the end table beside the threadbare recliner that she’d been sitting in.
When Margaret came back, she was carrying a brown paper sack, like the kind that one would get at the grocery store.
“I didn’t want the little one to see me with her mama’s book,” she whispered, handing over the sack. “Take good care of it, and see what you can find out. I’ll be most grateful to ya.”
“I’ll look at it tonight. I’m so sorry that this happened, Margaret.”
“Me too, honey. Me too.”
“I’d better get going. I don’t want to leave the café too long during the lunch rush,” Rossalyn gently placed Buttons on the floor, and stood.
“Well, thank you for the food. It came at a good time. Things are getting kinda tight around here without Dana’s income.”
“If you get in a tight spot, and you need food, you just drop by anytime,” Rossie said quietly, going to the door.
“Thank you, Rossalyn. Hopefully I won’t have to take you up on that, but thank you, you’re good people.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
* * *
Rossalyn sat her legs tucked up underneath her on the bed, with a cup of chamomile tea on the nightstand, and withdrew the pink leather journal from the bag that Margaret Benton had put it in. Inside the front cover, there were doodles of flowers, shapes and dots surrounding her name. The handwriting was so young and feminine that it made Rossie’s heart ache. The journal was over a year old, but she started looking for entries that were dated a few weeks before Dana’s murder.
Stopping at a page that had a thunderbolt drawn in the margin, she looked and saw that the date was exactly two weeks before the young woman’s body was found.
October 19, 2016
Jason was so mean to me today. I told him that he shouldn’t be ashamed of who he is. I know we live in a small town, but people would understand and not judge him, I’m sure of it. I even said that maybe if he wasn’t brave enough to tell, then I would do it. I’d tell the world that he was gay. Maybe then they’d stop saying that he was a pedophile. It’s so stupid, he couldn’t have been interested in me, because I’m female, and he really wasn’t that much older than me anyway. He acted like I was the enemy and stormed out without even saying anything. Now he won’t talk to me or answer my texts. Fine, if he wants to be immature, I’ll just tell the world about him and he’ll have to deal with it.
Rossalyn took a sip from her tea. Jason was gay? She wouldn’t have guessed it, but didn’t see why that would matter so much. Had he killed Dana to keep her from outing him? A cold feeling of dread gripped her heart and she turned the page to go to the next entry.
October 23, 2016
Jerk still won’t talk to me. I even sent him a text asking him what he’d do if I told his secret, and nothing. He’ll stop throwing his little fit soon, I’m sure. I had a rough day at work today, my least favorite person came into the mini-mart again, ugh. The only good thing that happened today is when I got home from work, Mama and my little angel Claire were outside playing in the leaves. My baby looked so beautiful when she was surrounded by all those reds and oranges and golds. There was a fire in the fireplace tonight, and we splurged and used some ground beef in our chili. Thought I saw someone hanging around outside my window, and that was kind of spooky, but it was probably just shadows from the trees. Either that or I’m getting freaked out because it’s so close to Halloween, lol.
Rosslyn shivered a bit at the last lines of that entry. Had Jason been stalking Dana? She thought that they had been best friends, but could he have been harboring an evil resentment toward her because she was the only person who knew his personal secret? And would that be enough of a motive for murder? She kept reading after making another cup of tea.
October 27, 2016
Abbey ran in to warn me that Mr. Creepy was loitering outside the mini-mart tonight, waiting for me to get done with work. Can’t he take a hint? I’m not interested, he’s old, he’s ugly, and I think that it’s gross that he keeps hitting on me. Not in this lifetime, buddy! So Abbey told me that she’d drive around to the front so that I could get into her car without running into him. We went to her house and did experiments with Halloween makeup. I still don’t know what I want to be yet, and I need to figure it out before the party on Saturday. Claire is going to be the most adorable littl
e Goldilocks ever, especially with her little teddy bear! Maybe I should just be Mama Bear. I wonder if Jason is still going? He still won’t talk to me, and his pouting is getting old.
Officer Morgan Tyler had told Rossalyn that Tom Hundman had been the last person seen with Dana while she was still alive. Could he be the annoying older guy that she kept talking about? The one who stalked her at her job? Rossie’s head was beginning to ache with questions and possibilities, but she wanted to read to the end. Taking a bath usually helped to clear her head, so she contemplated going into the master bathroom and turning on the tap, but she was too curious, so she continued to the next page.
October 30, 2016
So tired… last night’s party was an absolute disaster, I’m glad that Mama was there to take Claire home. Jason was just awful. When I tried to talk to him, he dragged me outside so that no one could hear us. I have bruises on my arm where his fingers dug in, I’d never seen him like that before. I tried to tell him that I had been kidding, that I wasn’t going to tell anyone, but he didn’t believe me. He called me horrible names and threatened me. I can’t believe that it’s come to this… We’ve been friends forever, he should know better. And of course my gross stalker was lurking around Abbey’s house when I came back inside. It’ll be so nice to have lunch with my dad, the one sane male left in the universe. He always makes me smile and I can’t even tell anyone that he exists. Thank goodness for my mama and my little angel, they always give me something to come home to. I’m going to try to snag some of the unsold meat that’s marked “Sell By” for today. It would just get thrown out anyhow, and mama could do something delicious with it, I’m sure. Still sad about Jason, but I guess nothing lasts forever.
There were no more entries after that. Rossalyn sat stunned. Her stomach gurgled and churned as she digested what she had just read. The diary presented a couple of unsavory options for the killer. Jason was mentioned by name, and she said that he had threatened her, a mere two days before the murder, but she also had a mysterious stalker, who may or may not have been Tom Hundman. In either case, Rossalyn may have employed a killer.
Margaret Benton hadn’t suspected Tom as the killer, but she’d definitely thought that it could be Jason, and there was clearly some serious animosity between him and Dana right before her murder. Turning things over and over in her mind, she knew what she had to do.
***
“Morgan Tyler.”
“Morgan, it’s Rossalyn. I’m sorry to call you so late, but can we meet for coffee tomorrow morning? I have something that I really need to talk to you about. I can leave José and Jason to finish up with the breakfast crowd around nine if that works for you.”
“Sure, I’ll put a reminder in my phone. Mo’s Place?” he asked, naming the only coffee shop in town.
“Yes, that’ll work. And thank you.”
“No problem. Everything all right?” there was concern in the officer’s voice.
“Yes and no. I mean, I’m fine. I’m not in any danger… at least I don’t think so, but… yeah.”
“Okaaay,” Morgan sounded skeptical.
“Sorry, I’m just a little rattled, but I’ll be fine.”
“Well, you know how to reach me if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow at nine.”
“Thanks, Morgan.”
“Anytime.”
***
By nine o’clock, the early coffee drinkers had gone and the late risers hadn’t rolled out of bed yet, so Rossalyn and Morgan had a corner booth to themselves. Morgan snagged a couple of donuts to go with his coffee, but Rossie was too nervous to eat.
“Stereotypical I know,” Morgan grinned, taking a huge bite out of a donut. “But a man’s gotta keep up his strength.”
Rossalyn gave him a faint smile and he sobered. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She’d been trying to think of a way to tell Morgan what she’d learned, without revealing that she had Dana’s diary, knowing that her mother hadn’t wanted the police to have it, but she’d come up with nothing, so she’d just have to wing it.
“Okay, I have some information that might be important in the murder case, but I don’t want to divulge my source,” she decided to go with the honest approach.
“Well, let’s hear what you’ve got, and we can decide what to do with it,” he took out a notebook and pen, stuffing the rest of the donut in his mouth.
“I think that Jason may be the killer,” she leaned forward and whispered.
“I’m gonna need more than a hunch to go on, Rossalyn.”
She related the information that she’d discovered in the diary, without mentioning that she’d read it in a diary, including the lurking presence of an older male.
“So, what do you think?” she asked.
“I think I’m going to go take a look in your back field and see if I can find something that the sheriff missed. With what you’ve told me, if I can find some evidence to substantiate an accusation, we may be able to solve this thing.”
“Should I… be worried?” Rossalyn bit her lip.
“Because you’ve surrounded yourself with potential murder suspects? Doubtful. If Jason or Tom committed the act, they’re going to want to lay low, not double their chances of getting caught by striking again. Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely keep your eyes and ears open, be aware of your surroundings, and lock up tight at home, but I don’t think you should be jumping at shadows at this point,” Morgan reassured her with a smile. “Just go back to the café and act like it’s a normal day. I’m going to go out and stroll through your back lot, so I’ll be handy if anything unusual happens.”
Rossalyn nodded. “Okay, thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet, I still have to find the clues,” he cautioned. Taking a large bite out of his second donut, he put his notebook and pen away and headed out. Rossalyn stayed in the booth by herself for a moment, and looked up when she thought she heard the rumbling of a motorcycle engine.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
* * *
“What’s he doing here?” Jason, who typically didn’t speak much while he was at Hawg Heaven, glared out the window, having spotted Morgan Tyler moving slowly through the part of the backlot that was nearest to the highway.
“His job, I would imagine. As should you,” Rossalyn gave the young man a pointed look.
She was trying hard to not let what she had read influence her perspective, but it had been difficult with both Tom and Jason this morning. When the biker saw Morgan pull up in his patrol car, he’d finished up the task that he’d been working on, grabbed a to-go carton of teriyaki pork chops and creamy mac-n-cheese with bacon, and disappeared. His schedule couldn’t be described as regular anyway, and with Morgan nearby, Rossalyn figured that she could handle whatever might happen during the day.
Glancing out the window, she saw that Morgan had stopped and was bent over peering at something in the general area of where the body had been found. The officer spoke into the transmitter on his chest and stayed put. Not five minutes later, a forensics team and two more patrol cars arrived, cordoning off an area around the original crime scene. Roughly ten minutes later, Sheriff Buckley Willis came storming into the café.
“Just what in the Sam Heck do you have going on out there?” he demanded.
“How should I know? I’m just busy trying to run my business here,” she blinked at him.
“We’ll see about that, missy,” he growled, throwing the side door open and striding across the field.
Rossalyn, José, and Jason watched out the back window, seeing the sheriff get into a confrontation with a patrol officer, and Morgan breaking it up.
“Kind of looks like the sheriff is afraid that the police might find something that he didn’t,” José observed.
“Well, hopefully they do. It’d sure be nice to know if there’s a murderer walking the streets of Chatsworth,” Rossalyn murmured.
Jason was silent, scratching absently at his arm.
�
��Okay, party’s over guys, let’s get ready for the dinner rush,” she instructed. “Whatever happens back there has nothing to do with what’s happening in here, so let’s make it happen,” she clapped her hands together, heading back to the front of the café.
Oddly, the rest of the evening was entirely uneventful. The police and forensics unit were in the field until dusk, then they packed up their equipment and called it a day. Rossalyn couldn’t wait to find out what they had discovered, and planned to call Morgan after she and Ryan had dinner. She dropped off her deposit at the bank and headed home.
“Hey kiddo, how was school?” she asked, kissing the top of Ryan’s head as he did his homework at the kitchen table.
“Same as it is every day,” was the pragmatic answer. “Kelsey is having a few people over to watch movies at her house this weekend and wants me to come over.”
“Well, that sounds pretty awesome,” Rossie grinned, glad that he was fitting in. He’d formed a small, but loyal group of friends who were nerdy, but smart and kind. “I can send some food over with you if you think they’d like that.”
“Oh, they totally would. Everybody at school talks about how amazing your food is. I think the football coach is gonna ask you about doing a banquet or something for the team.”
Rossalyn raised her eyebrows. “That’s good news. For right now though, I need to figure out what to feed this team,” she gave his shoulders a hug before she rummaged through the fridge.
Patriot's Passing: Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mysteries, Book 1 Page 12