Murder by Kindness

by Barbara Graham

  Doctor Death cleared his throat as though he were preparing to give a speech. “Well, yes. I think from what I’ve seen and the report and photographs of where the body was found, he might have simply missed a rung on the ladder and fallen awkwardly into that small space. It had to be like being crammed into a box and his neck broke.”

  “There is no sign of his being struck, causing the fall?” Tony wouldn’t be shocked if the man had been punched in the jaw.

  The doctor allowed himself a slight chuckle. “No way. I checked carefully for any indication of contact. He was already dead when the water started, and that might have been as much as twenty-four hours after his death. I’ll say it again: there was no water in his lungs.” The doctor paused. “However, that doesn’t mean he didn’t have help falling.”

  “However?” Tony wasn’t quite ready to stamp “closed” on the file. “So, he could have been pushed?”

  Doc Death agreed. “A push wouldn’t have left a mark unless he was pushed with a fist or a pipe wrench. But, he could just as easily have lost his balance and toppled over. I can only tell you what caused him to be dead. Nothing else.” There was silence for a moment. “If you have some pertinent information that indicates another manner of death, you will have to share it with me. Otherwise, I can indicate some uncertainty about the manner on the death certificate.”

  Tony massaged his forehead, trying to relieve some tension. “No information. Just a nagging suspicion caused by my personal dislike of the man.”

  “I’ll list the manner as unknown until you decide. I would be interested to know why he was found in such a spot at his ex-wife’s house.” Like Tony, the doctor clearly found the circumstances of the man’s death to be a bit peculiar, and he sounded irritated by their lack of information. “I’ve studied the pictures of the storm cellar, trying to understand what happened to him. It’s not like the man went out there to visit his ex-wife and fell into an unseen hole in the dark.”

  Tony agreed. Thinking that sometimes people got what they deserved, he disconnected.

  Tony thought he’d talk to Theo again. “Did Nina ever mention Daniel making threats?”

  “Threats?” Theo repeated the word and let it bounce around in her brain for a moment. About the last thing she expected to be asked was if Nina had ever mentioned being threatened by Daniel.

  “I’m sure over the years you’ve learned more about Nina’s marriage than anyone else.” Tony smiled encouragingly. “What was the latest news?”

  “Nina was tired of him showing up erratically to see the children, and she was super upset when he showed up unexpectedly. There is an actual visitation schedule, which she checked very carefully before setting the D.C. trip in motion. Daniel arrived unexpectedly while she was packing for herself and the kids. I guess he really pitched a fit.” Theo shook her head, setting her curls in motion. “She told me Daniel shouted and claimed she had no right to steal his children away when he had come up here expressly to spend time with his beloved offspring.”

  Tony assumed the words were Theo’s. The intent was clear though. “Money?”

  “Oh, yeah, if she gave him money, he’d let her take the kids to D.C. Only Nina doesn’t have any extra cash, so she had to refuse.”

  Tony thought Theo’s expression was close to Nina’s brother Adam’s. Luckily his wife hadn’t followed her inclination either. He’d hate to have to arrest Theo for murdering the scum. “Did she mention anything else Daniel had said or done?” Tony would compare the two women’s stories.

  Theo went still. She stared at something only she could see. She whispered, “Nina told me he said if she continued to date Dr. Looks-So-Good, he’d take her to court and have her declared an unfit mother.” Theo looked up into his eyes. “It’s ridiculous, of course, but still cruel. He’s allowed to bring any number of girlfriends, like his blond bombshell, along for a visit, and yet he would tell horrible, obscene lies about Nina to anyone who would listen.”

  “Did she tell the dentist?”

  “Yes.” Theo nodded vigorously. “I guess he was furious. The idea of her ex-husband bullying her was too much. He’s smart and very nice as well as handsome.”

  Tony wasn’t surprised by anything his wife reported. He liked his brother Tiberius’s partner in their Knoxville dental practice. Tony wasn’t looking forward to asking the dentist his opinion of the deceased. But again, as with her father and brothers, Tony couldn’t imagine anyone who loved her leaving the body there, right next to Nina’s front porch.

  If it wasn’t an accident, Tony had to consider if the death had been an act meant to destroy Nina. That seemed ludicrous. He thought a better possibility was someone who had followed Daniel and merely killed him where he stood.

  Nina, like his wife, was smart, decent and not likely to be involved with anything deliberately dangerous. “Do you know of any problems Nina was having with anyone besides Daniel? Even inconsequential problems.”

  He made a note to himself to ask Nina as well, but his wife’s radar was pretty good.

  Theo looked thoughtful and finally said, “Recently she had a problem with the parent of one of her students who didn’t think she was grading fairly because his boy’s bad grades were going to limit his sports eligibility. That’s hardly rational because how would someone know Daniel would be at Nina’s house? Or weirder, who would think she’d care?”

  Tony couldn’t disagree. Still, weird things happen. “What was the name?”

  “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Nina.”

  “Anything else happen?”

  Theo stared at him. Silently, and slowly, she shook her head.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Tony knew Nina’s ex-husband might not have been the best man he could be, but her children had lost their father. And they grieved. The wreckage caused by a simple hot-water tank would take a long time to fix. He was distracted from his thoughts of Daniel’s death by another growing file on his desk and found himself thinking about unfairness, cruelty and fate.

  Tony sat wondering about Eunice’s death. Eunice Plover had lived in Silersville her entire life. She married her high-school sweetheart but never had children. She volunteered at the church and sang in the choir. Her bully of a husband had passed away three years prior from a long series of cardiac events and his adamant refusal to give up grease.

  Eunice was an excellent cook, but favored the rich goodness of butter mixed with everything, especially sugar. Her husband’s doctors convinced her to change her recipes to include more vegetables and less fat. She did, so he ate out. Tony himself had heard the man shout across the room for more fries at Ruby’s café. He passed away, napping on his recliner, after a particularly large restaurant meal of chicken-fried steak, fried okra and fried potatoes followed by a slab of pie covered with ice cream.

  After his death, Mrs. Plover returned to the foods she preferred—fried chicken, red-eye gravy on biscuits, bacon and butter were her favorite mealtime foods. If anyone could make green beans bad for your health, she could. She had a voracious appetite and an amazingly spacious stomach. In one of life’s paradoxes, her medical records showed her cholesterol level was always low.

  Eunice claimed publicly she lived for dessert. She and her best friend, Jenny Swift, competed against each other to produce the most luscious and potentially most fattening or deadly desserts. It was only a semi-friendly rivalry. No bake sale was complete without the dueling duo trotting out their finest cookies, cakes and pies. When they weren’t cooking, they were inseparable. Although Blossom Flowers Baines actually was a better cook, she was much younger and smart enough to stay clear of the competition. Mrs. Plover’s nephew, Jack Gates, was her official taster. He had a wide grin on his face when he told how difficult he found the task.

  If anyone could supply informal information about Mrs. Plover, it would be Tony’s own mother and possibly his aunt.

  Tony and Wade drove out to the museum and cornered his mother. “I need to ask some questions abo
ut Eunice Plover.” Predictably, Jane didn’t want to talk to him about her. It frustrated the life out of Tony that his mom seemed to hear every bit of gossip and remember it, and no one told him anything. “Who were her best friends?”

  “Why, Jenny Swift, of course.” Jane finally surrendered after she fidgeted on her chair and moved the handle on her tea cup from one side to the other twenty or more times.

  Tony gripped his pen. “Yes, I know about Jenny. Everyone, including me, has seen them laughing together. Who else?”

  “She, that is Eunice, is older than she looks, you know.” The moment Jane said the words, she paused, clearly realizing she had used the wrong tense. “Looked, I mean.”

  “And that has what to do with what?” Tony waited for his mother to catch up with him.

  “Most of her friends are quite a bit younger than she was.” Jane looked like she had answered his question to her satisfaction. “Still, I would say Jenny and Eunice were closest friends. I often saw them shopping together or having lunch.”

  “And who else?”

  “Well, if she wasn’t with Jenny, I most often saw Eunice with Jack Gates. Not only are they relatives, but they’ve been friends forever, or as close to forever as two people with a twenty-five-year age gap can have. After his accident, he came to visit her quite often and now, of course, lives here.” Jane’s expression held a mixture of amusement and curiosity. “I believe he’s much more popular with the ladies now than he was before he became crippled.”

  “When Eunice was found,” Wade interjected, “it looked like she had just finished eating.”

  “Not to speak ill of the dead,” said Jane, “but Eunice had an insatiable appetite for sweets, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you told me that she had exploded from overeating.”

  “Speaking of not speaking ill of someone . . .” Tony frowned at his mother’s words. He racked his brain for a diplomatic way to ask his next question. “I remember when you and Eunice were practically inseparable. What happened? Why did that change?”

  “Does it make a difference?” Jane wouldn’t look directly at either of the men.

  “I won’t know until you tell me what happened.” Tony stared at his mother.

  Jane shrugged. Then she fidgeted. She took another sip of her tea. She heaved a huge sigh. “It was one of those stupid, unfortunate misunderstandings. Her husband was a bully, and at one time she asked me for advice. I gave her bad advice instead of sympathy or any form of help.”

  “What happened?” Tony didn’t really need to ask. He knew the pattern and could almost predict the result. “Did she end up in the hospital?”

  “Thankfully, no. At least it wasn’t anything quite that horrendous. What she had needed was a shoulder to cry on and encouragement. I pushed her away.” Jane pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped her streaming eyes and blew her nose. “But she never confided in me again.”

  “There are no children.” Tony checked his notes.

  Jane’s expression turned to one of great sorrow. “She had one child, a girl, who died in infancy.”

  Tony felt touched by the fear every parent experiences when hearing such words. He buried it and asked, “And her will?”

  “Ask Carl Lee Cashdollar. I’m pretty sure he’s her attorney. I do remember hearing that her late husband’s brother was even worse scum than her husband. Unless she has a will, his brother’s children may be in line to inherit.”

  Like pieces of a puzzle coming together, Tony recognized the family by name and reputation. He had served papers multiple times to the children involving varying lawsuits about money and, most recently, bankruptcy proceedings. If they were to inherit Mrs. Plover’s home and the valuable land it sat on, he guessed it would only be a matter of time before they squandered the inheritance. Tony felt like slapping himself. How could he have forgotten the recent melodrama in his office. It hadn’t been long since Mrs. Plover came to his office complaining that her niece and nephews were trying to move her off the property so they could sell it. She was adamant in her refusal to sign it over to them. The little heathens, as she always referred to them, had been unable to attain even a counterfeit power of attorney.

  “Anything else, son?” Jane rose to her feet, the royal indication that she was through talking to them.

  Tony gripped his pen harder. “Not right now, Mom. But I’ll be back.”

  Tony, with Wade at his heels, stopped by Carl Lee’s law office. They were in luck. The overworked public defender was available.

  Tony skipped the normal greetings and started right in. “Eunice Plover has died. Do you happen to know if she has a will?”

  “She absolutely does. I just got back from a convention and am out of the loop. When did this happen?” Carl Lee was clearly upset by the news. “We drew it up very carefully in order to eliminate any possibility of her brother-in-law, or his children, getting a single penny of her estate. She called them collectively ‘Satan’s children.’”

  “It’s been a few days, and we’re still not sure what happened.” Tony wasn’t surprised by the information about her will. It sounded like something he’d expect from the outspoken Eunice. “Can you tell me who does profit by her death? That’s some pretty valuable property up there.”

  “I can look it up. Most of the property has already been deeded over. I remember several charities and a few individuals will share the remaining estate. None of them are related to either her or her late husband.” Carl Lee pulled a spotless handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes. “I don’t understand. She seemed to be in such good health the last time I saw her. What happened?”

  Since Tony didn’t really know, all could tell Carl Lee was that they were investigating the situation. “If you wouldn’t mind finding a copy of the will, I can wait.”

  Carl Lee stood. “Do make yourself comfortable. I’ll go get it for you.” He wasn’t gone very long before he returned with a file containing a good-sized document. “Here you go, Tony.”

  Tony flipped through the pages, skimming the document. “If she wanted to make a new will, you know, without involving you, how would we know which one was the valid one?” Tony’s perpetual indigestion made his stomach rumble.

  “It’s actually very simple. She could go to another attorney or write out a document herself and sign it in front of witnesses. The date the will is signed is the key to determining which one is the true one, unless someone can prove there was duress or some mental incapacity.” Carl Lee cleared his throat. “Um, do you have reason to think there’s another will?”

  Tony shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t be shocked, though, from descriptions I’ve heard of her brother-in-law and his children, to see the family show up with a brand-new document.”

  His statement brought a wry smile to Carl Lee’s face. “Nor would I. When she didn’t call them ‘Satan’s children,’ she referred to them as a pack of hyenas. If they have a new will, you might want to check on the identity of the witnesses and maybe have her signature verified by an expert.”

  Tony accepted this as good advice. He decided to increase the patrol presence near the empty house. He didn’t believe hyenas were likely to heed the tape and seals.

  Tony sat in the passenger seat of Wade’s cruiser. “Have you had any recent dealings with the Plover clan, father or children?”

  “Funny you should ask.” Wade made no attempt to start the car. “It hasn’t been a week since I had to drag two of the younger generation out of The Spa. They were so drunk they were annoying the pack of deadbeats hanging out there.”

  Tony knew he’d regret his decision but it was necessary. “Let’s drop by The Spa and see if there’s any new fungus growing on the walls.” He watched Wade’s face. The handsome deputy didn’t look happy with the decision, but at least he didn’t jump out of the vehicle and run the other direction.

  The Spa was the shortened name for The Spot, a seedy tavern on the outskirts of town. The peeling paint on the exterior left only a faint pinkis
h shadow, the remains of a large red spot encompassing the door and part of the front wall. Dirty, dark and dismal summed up the interior of the bar and the owner wasn’t any better. The owner, Fast Osborne, did not appear pleased to see Tony and Wade.

  “Have any of the Plover family, father or children, been in recently?” Tony thought he would ask in spite of his disbelief he’d be given a straight answer. He was correct.

  “I don’t make a habit of gossiping about my clientele.” Fast peered at them through the dim light of the bar. “Have you got a warrant?”

  Tony grinned at the absurdity of having Fast bring up the W word. Fast was known throughout Park County for being one of the biggest gossips. Ever. The ladies at the senior center could talk all day and never come close.

  “I don’t believe we need a warrant to ask for this information.” Wade slapped a cockroach crossing the bar for emphasis. Fast balled his hands into fists. Wade smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was that your pet?”

  “Before you two get into a fight.” Tony stepped between the two men and addressed Fast. “When was the last time you saw the younger Plover brothers?”

  Fast mumbled, “They was in here last night.”

  “Now that wasn’t too hard, was it?” Tony’s exasperation was growing. “Were they with anyone?”

  “Naw, it were just the brothers.” Fast gestured to a table barely visible in the semidarkness. “They just set and drank there all evening. They wasn’t socializing or playing pool.”

  “Did you overhear anything they said?” Wade was back to writing himself notes instead of slapping roaches.

  “Only thing I did hear was them whinin’ about that aunt of theirs not being good enough to chip in some money for her dear departed husband’s family.” Fast’s face indicated a fair amount of displeasure on his part. If his clients weren’t getting extra cash, neither was he. “Guess she was a real tightwad.”