Murder by Kindness

by Barbara Graham

  No one objected. Wade pushed the point of the needle into the fabric and pulled gently, popping the knot between the layers. The quilters nodded their approval of his technique. He took some more stitches, then paused and gave the Grand Duchess his best smile. “I don’t believe I’ve met you.”

  The Grand Duchess agreed that they had not and favored him with a pleasant smile. She stared, evidently surprised to see a man at the frame. The group chatted for a while and Wade continued stitching. When he finished the length of thread he used, he excused himself and left.

  Theo and Tony met him in the main room of the shop.

  “Nothing, as I’m sure you heard.” Wade hitched one shoulder and said to Tony, “Very pleasant. Very closemouthed about herself. The only thing I actually determined was a total lack of interest on her part in quilting. I don’t think even your wife will be able to convert her.”

  “And you?” Tony knew Wade was an excellent quilter. Theo had shared that much information. “Did she convert you?”

  “Nope. My grandmother always said I could run wild all day but needed something calming or I’d become unbalanced.” Wade grinned. “I don’t sew, but I do enjoy hand quilting from time to time.”

  “Let’s lock up this little gem.” Tony opened his hand to display the antique coin. “I’d really like to know where she got it.”

  Tony had been requested by Mrs. Violet Flowers Blake, the manager of their senior center, to drop by for a few moments. When he arrived, Violet was deep in conversation with one of four elderly men seated at a table near the window. The man listening to her words was shuffling cards. An unfamiliar red-haired boy about Chris’s age, twelve, stood nearby watching all of them.

  Tony thought the old man looked like an aging Caesar Romero with silver hair, his dark eyes sparkling with ageless mischief. His hair was quite thick and waved back away from his forehead. Using the sour grapes approach to life, Tony tried, but couldn’t quite convince himself that the caring for such a coiffure would be worth the time it would necessitate. He was lying. He tried to imagine himself with hair. And failed.

  A glance at the old man’s hands made Tony regret his moment of envy. The fingers on the right hand were deformed as if a heavy weight had flattened them. The left hand had a thumb and pinkie finger only. Whatever had caused the problems with his hands did not prevent him from shuffling playing cards and dealing them to his companions. Standing next to the old man, the red-haired boy with freckles was wearing oversized work gloves and apparently studying the rules of the game. The boy nodded several times in response to something Violet was telling him.

  The other three gentlemen seated at the table seemed much frailer than the dealer, but they were all laughing as they played their cards. Scattered at nearby tables, Tony saw probably twenty older women watching the men. Like hungry predators, the women studied every move each man made and listened to every syllable they uttered.

  Violet made her way to Tony’s side. “As you can see, Sheriff, we have many more women than gentlemen. We welcome everyone, but sometimes the gentlemen have to be encouraged to come in. Rather firmly.” Violet whispered, “As you go through the county, if you find any eligible men—of certain age, of course—would you please send them here?”

  Tony promised to do what he could but no more than that. He wasn’t going to deliver anyone to the senior center against his will. He’d seen sharks attack a bait fish. It hadn’t been pretty. He doubted the women would rip a new man apart, but he wasn’t totally sure. They looked hungry.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Theo? This is Helen, down at the water department. I have you listed as the emergency contact for Nina Crisp.”

  “Oh, no. Has she been in an accident?” Theo had been thinking hard about something else and only really absorbed one word other than her best friend’s name. “Emergency.” It made her almost stop breathing. The idea of something happening to her best friend was difficult to process. Then her brain caught up. Why on earth would someone from the water department contact her about an accident?

  Helen’s voice held a note of asperity. “How would I know? I assume she’s fine. What I’m calling about is she has you listed as the person I’m supposed to call if there’s a problem with the utilities at her house.”

  Theo was relieved that nothing had happened to her friend. “Wait a minute. What’s the problem at her house?”

  “Water.”

  Helen, Theo knew, had never been notable for her long-winded conversations. But even for her this was ridiculous. “What about the water at Nina’s house?”

  “Oh, I didn’t explain, did I? Well, it seems there is water running from under the front door and down the sidewalk. The mail carrier noticed it and notified us. I’ve been trying to call Nina. I couldn’t get hold of her, so now I’m telling you.”

  Theo guessed that was the longest string of words Helen had ever put together. Theo tried to visualize the situation. “Nina’s out of town. I’ll go over there and see what’s going on.”

  “Call me when you get there and let me know what you need.” Helen coughed. “If you can’t find the valve to turn off the water, I’ll send someone out to help. At least she’s using water from our system and not a well.”

  The statement didn’t make any sense at all to Theo but she said, “Thank you,” automatically. Helen disconnected and Theo picked up her purse and looked over at the twins in their play area. Maybelle wasn’t expected for another hour. They would have to go with her. Thinking it would just be a quick trip out to Nina’s house to check things out, Theo picked up the toddlers and staggered down the stairs, carrying both of them. She vowed the girls needed to learn to do stairs a bit faster on their own. They could do it crawling, but even snails could beat them in a race. As Theo left the shop, she told Gretchen where she was going.

  Nina’s much newer and more modern home than Theo’s own sat on a several-acre wooded lot outside of town. It was part of the land that had been in her family for generations. Impossible to farm, it was a beautiful residential area now. Nina’s house, unlike Theo’s simple two-story home, was built in tiers, involving several short staircases.

  It was designed to capture the beautiful mountain views and it did. Huge windows framed the Smoky Mountains on one side and the woods on another. Although there were other homes in the subdivision, they were not near neighbors.

  When Theo reached Nina’s house, she released the twins from their car seats and, carrying them, headed for the front steps. Although she’d been warned, the amount of water she saw was shocking. Water cascaded under the front door, down the steps and poured into a flowerbed. The narrow flowerbed resembled a lake. The overflow continued onto the lawn, moving downhill. It hit a few rocks and turned into a small waterfall. Theo stared in disbelief. There was so much water. Where could it be coming from?

  Almost blinded by tiny fingerprints on her lenses that she couldn’t wipe away with her arms full, Theo headed toward the back door. She set the twins down on the large flagstone patio. Thankfully, there was no water out here. Hoping that was a good sign, Theo felt slightly relieved. Using her key, she let herself into the mudroom. The burglar alarm near the door beeped its warning and Theo punched in the alarm code to disarm it. It worked and she sighed.

  Seconds later, all sense of relief vanished as she paused just inside the mudroom door. In the silence of the empty house, Theo could hear the sound of water splashing on the kitchen floor on the other side of the second door. She gathered her girls up again and, juggling them, she turned the knob and opening the door a little, she peeked into the kitchen.

  Even half expecting what she’d find, she gasped. The throw rug in front of the sink was covered by at least two inches of water. It wasn’t exactly floating, but it was shifting back and forth, pushed by the current. Water cascaded from the kitchen ceiling, pouring out of recessed light fixtures, and then, like a slow moving river, it moved toward the front of the house. More water dripped through the seams betw
een pieces of the sheetrock ceiling. A strip of drywall tape dangled in the center of the room. The pendent lamp that should hang near the ceiling sagged so low it nearly touched the island. More, normally hidden, electric wires hung from a hole in the ceiling and were dangling into the water on the floor. A giant water-filled bubble was trapped under the surface of the paint on one wall.

  Theo recognized a small blue and white teacup bobbing on the surface of the water next to a plastic bag containing twist ties. The teacup was Nina’s souvenir from a trip to England. The last time Theo had seen it, the cup had been on a small shelf over the kitchen sink. The shelf was empty now and although some water was vanishing down the sink, most was pouring from the ceiling directly onto the floor.

  Lizzie, the busier of the two girls, struggled to get down. She pulled hard on Theo’s hair. Even Kara had had enough arm time and was ready to roll. They began to protest in earnest.

  Concerned about the little girls’ safety and not willing to step into the water and possibly electrocute her own self, Theo was cautious as she tried to determine what might have happened. She carried the girls back to her car, fastened them into their seats, and pulled out her phone. She lowered the SUV’s windows enough to supply them with fresh air.

  Theo tried to envision the location of the shut-off valve in her head. She had spent lots of time at Nina’s house. Why couldn’t she remember where the water shut-off valve might be? Standing outside and leaning against the car, Theo stared at the house even as she called Helen. “I’m not sure where the valve is. How can I shut the water off?”

  Helen said, “I’ll send someone out. Can you tell what happened?”

  “Not really. The water seems to be coming from upstairs. With the power on, I can’t get up there but I do know there’s a second hot-water heater just for the master bedroom. Nina has one of those big whirlpool tubs and it holds gallons.” Theo had been jealous. The idea of lounging in a whirlpool after a long day of work and motherhood had sounded exotic. It wasn’t as appealing at this moment.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The water department guys, as Theo thought of them, arrived in short order. They uncovered a valve near the road and turned off all the water to the property. Once the water stopped pouring over the porch, they came over to talk to Theo. They even managed to look cheerful.

  “Wow! What happened?” The taller member of the crew, whose name escaped Theo at the moment, stared at the house.

  Since Theo didn’t have an answer, she merely shrugged and shook her head. “Now what do I do?” She hadn’t meant to speak out loud so she was startled to hear an answer.

  “That water had better be sucked out pronto or she’s going to have a mold and mildew farm.” Casey, the senior member of the water crew, ran a hand over his crewcut brown hair.

  Now that he mentioned it, Theo remembered hearing an advertisement for a company that did just that. “You think I should call in the professionals?”

  “Yeah, I would.” Casey made a sweeping motion with his arm. “Insurance companies would rather pay for water removal than deal with long-term problems. You know how mold is: once it starts growing, it’s hard to stop.” The words were barely out of his mouth when his pager went off. “Oops, come on, Frank, got another call.”

  Wondering how she had ever lived without one, Theo pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Nina’s number. Her call went right to voicemail. Theo hung up without speaking. It didn’t seem like the kind of event you should hear on a recorded message.

  In the backseat, the twins suddenly seemed as upset as Theo herself and started howling. Theo felt like joining them. “Calm down, girls, we’re going back to town.”

  Theo hurried back into her shop and gave thanks when she found Maybelle there waiting to take charge of the twins. Theo wasn’t sure when she had been so happy to see the babysitting angel. Theo handed off the babies and hurried upstairs to her office.

  Theo tried again to get hold of Nina. She failed. Desperate, she looked up the number for the flood abatement company and called for help.

  After she went through the entire explanation of what she knew and who she was and who she wasn’t, a voice assured her a crew would arrive in just a couple of hours and would call her when they were approaching Silersville.

  Theo promised to meet them at Nina’s house with the keys. While she waited, she worked on her paperwork for a while and then looked for inspiration about what special thing she could do for the shop-hopping people who would arrive in a few days. In comparison to the damage to her friend’s house, the event sounded trivial. Although, in all honesty, it wasn’t. Theo needed the additional business the shop hop would bring.

  Every few minutes, she paused to redial Nina’s number. Still no answer.

  Buried in the paperwork she had forced herself to concentrate on, it seemed like only moments had passed and she had barely gotten back to the office when she received the call from the restoration crew. She imagined they must have broken some speed limits along the way. Theo promised she would pay their fine if they received a speeding ticket.

  On her way out the door, she told Gretchen and Maybelle where she was going and that she had no idea when she would be back. She promised Maybelle a nice bonus if she would stay with the little girls, pick up the boys from school and keep all the children in order until she could return. Theo left a message for Tony letting him know about the same things.

  Upon her return to Nina’s home, Theo was relieved to see that now with the water shut off, not only was water no longer pouring down the front steps, but the steps themselves were drying in the sunlight. It wasn’t much but it was some improvement. She sat on the top step to wait.

  From her perch, Theo glanced down into the flowerbed on her right and noticed a large wooden square. It was almost the same color as the dirt around it. After a moment’s puzzlement, she remembered the old storm shelter. The door, actually more of a hatch, covered the ladder down into it. It had been right in the path the water had taken. There was no lock and no need for one, because it did not open into the house. Theo trotted down the steps and over to it. Grasping the iron ring, she pulled, hoping she’d be able to lift the cover far enough for her to check for water. As heavy as the wooden cover was, the hinges were in good shape, and it was surprisingly easy for her to open.

  The old storm shelter was completely filled with water. She couldn’t see past the surface of the water because of the darkness, but she could smell water and something more disturbing. Something vile. She expected to see the bloated body of some small animal floating on the surface.

  Theo released the door, letting the cover fall away from her and lean against the wall, exposing the water. Hearing a vehicle, she turned to see two members of the restoration crew had arrived. They climbed out of a truck with a large tank instead of a bed. Two more people got out of a heavy-duty pickup. In all, there were four workers. The crew boss, a young woman carrying a clipboard, met Theo at the porch. “I’m Kathy. Have you been able to reach your friend?”

  “No. I’m still trying.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but my boss doesn’t usually let us start a job without the homeowner’s signature, you know, unless we can at least talk with them.”

  After trying to contact Nina once more on her cell phone, Theo was undeterred. “I’ll pay for it if her insurance won’t.”

  Kathy spoke to her boss on the phone, relaying Theo’s determination. When permission had been granted, she handed Theo a sheaf of papers to sign and asked for her to write a deposit check. Theo did everything she was asked to do, hoping Nina’s insurance would pay. Even as Theo was dealing with the woman and the paperwork, two young men headed around the side of the house, toward the back door and into the flooded kitchen. By the time Theo reached them, they had already started a vacuum with large hoses connected to the tank on the truck and begun sucking the water from the floor. Obviously seeing her confusion, one of the young men explained, “We will pull the water out and p
ut it into the tank instead of sending it into the sewer. We show them how much water did not go through the system. That way, if there is a charge for sewage, it will save your friend a lot of money.”

  Theo considered it a brilliant idea.

  While those two were vacuuming up water, the third man began hauling furniture and every manner of household items found in the wet zone out of the house. Soggy things that had been on the floor or under the cascade were placed on the grass. If they were dry, he moved them into the empty garage.

  They cranked up the heat in the house to the warmest temperature and left the doors open.

  Understanding the need to dry everything as quickly as possible, Theo still couldn’t help but wonder if it would save Nina enough to pay for heating a goodly portion of a snow-covered mountain.

  Feeling absolutely helpless, Theo watched the steady parade of things belonging to Nina and her children leaving the house. Even Nina’s fuzzy pink slippers dripped as they were carried outside. A couple of cardboard boxes, wet from the bottom up, caught her eye. She recognized treasure.

  “Leave those with me. I can work on them and maybe save a few things.” Framed photographs and loose pictures, as well as drawings and school projects made by Nina’s children, filled the boxes that had been neatly stored on a closet floor. They should have been safe but were soaking up water like a sponge. Theo felt like crying but there wasn’t time. Even as she began carefully separating the papers so they could dry, one of the crew members was asking if there was electricity in the old storm shelter by the front steps.

  “I don’t think so. But I’ve never actually been down there.” Theo ran through her memories. “Before this house was built, a ramshackle old house sat on this spot. When this house was built, Nina wanted the view and thought the old storm cellar would be useful in case of a tornado, so it was left as part of the flowerbed.”