“I was coming back to see what was taking her so long. Please let me go. Go in the restroom and tell her I’m waiting for her. We can talk about this later.”
Oh, God! He hadn’t been heading to his office after all. He was just looking for his wife. I was out of breath from the struggle. “Okay. Wait right here. I’ll find her.”
I went in and saw Faith Kerr in front of the mirror, repairing her makeup. “Mrs. Kerr, I don’t know if you remember me. We met after Tony and Ruth’s wedding. Your husband is out in the hall waiting for you.”
“Yes, I remember you, Mrs. …”
“Williamson. Are you enjoying the party?” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“It’s very nice. I’d better get out there. Stuart does get impatient.”
I went in a stall and sat down to take time to regain my composure. I suppose Kerr would tell his wife what happened, and she’d spread the story to the other string quartet ladies. I’d just ruined my plan for a Sunday afternoon tea for my quilting friends with the quartet on hand to furnish music. I hoped Andrea got what she was after and made my sacrifice worthwhile.
I went back to the Garden Room and sat down. Kerr and his wife were on the dance floor. Jack was coming in the front door, looking like he was just returning after going out for a smoke. He doesn’t smoke, but that’s how casual he looked. He’s a natural for helping us.
He sat down beside me, and Andrea walked in the front door. What was she doing, coming from that direction? I scooted over, and she sat down between us. “Everything okay?”
“Perfect. I got Jack’s text. Then I heard someone in the hallway, so I climbed out a window and came around to the front of the building. Got what I was after on a flash drive.”
At least I hadn’t made an idiot of myself in vain. “Glad to hear it. Now I’m ready for seconds from the snack table.”
We ate and danced some more. Jack danced with both of us, and two gentlemen who appeared to be in their nineties asked me to dance, and then we snacked some more. The affair looked as if it would go on forever, but we decided to leave. As we neared the door, Stuart Kerr sidled up to me and gave me a sly grin. “We must meet soon.”
I wanted to tell him that I was only keeping him occupied while Andrea ransacked his office, but tonight wasn’t the time for divulging that. I stared at him for a moment and turned and walked away.
“What was that about?” Andrea asked as we got into the car.
“I’ll tell you when we get to Jack’s.” He’d insisted we come for coffee before driving home, even though we hadn’t had any alcohol to drink.
They sat down at the kitchen table with their coffee, and I demonstrated my actions when detaining Stuart Kerr. I’ve heard of people dying laughing, but I never thought I’d see Andrea and Jack come so close to it as they did that night.
#
I was emotionally drained by the events of the Spring Fling, and I wanted to spend a day by myself. I drove to Martindale to pick up a few groceries. Having time to myself wasn’t to be, however, at least not at the moment I entered the store. Geneva Harper spotted me from across an aisle and rushed to my side. “I’ve been hoping to talk to you again. Can we go for coffee?”
“Mrs. Harper…what about your groceries?”
“Oh, I’ll leave them. This is important. And you must call me Geneva.”
“Okay, if you’ll call me Kathleen. Shall we go next door?”
“Yes. I like their lattes.”
We were the only customers in the coffee shop. We ordered at the counter and took our drinks to a booth.
“Do you remember that I told you Farley hadn’t been the same since finding that body? And I thought it was more than just finding the body? I finally pinned him down, and he told me that the sheriff had warned him not to mention that he was out there looking for Chester Hubbard’s golf club. Told him not to mention it in his statement. What do you think of that?”
“That’s interesting. You mentioned the sheriff. You mean the former sheriff, Walter Stanley?”
“Yes, that’s what I meant. He was sheriff for so long, we forget he’s no longer in office. Anyway, Farley said he felt intimidated, or maybe threatened is a better word. He was worried about keeping his job, since the sheriff and Hubbard are both big in the country club. I think maybe he was even concerned about his safety.”
“We haven’t come across his statement yet. Did he leave the information about Chester Hubbard out?”
“Yes. He told the sheriff he didn’t see how that had any bearing on the case, but he’s been feeling uneasy and guilty about the situation ever since.”
“I wonder why he was so willing to tell us about the missing club,” I said.
“I think he’s ready for the truth to come out. He’s tired of feeling bad about this. Besides, he’s old enough that he can retire when he wants to, so he’s not concerned for his job.”
“Thanks for letting me know about all this. I’ll tell Andrea as soon as I get a chance.”
“Please don’t tell anyone else except Andrea, and don’t let Farley know I told you. He wouldn’t want this to be spread around.”
“You did the right thing, letting me know. It won’t go any farther than Andrea and me.” For now, I thought. I hoped we’d be able to keep what she told me to ourselves.
We finished our coffee and went back to grocery shopping. Trying to take a day off to myself while forgetting about murder had just become more of a challenge.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I was putting my groceries away when Andrea showed up. We’d been spending more time at my house now that we found out hers was bugged. She pecked on the door and walked on in with her bug detector in her hand. “Still clear here,” she said.
I put a box of Cheerios in the pantry. “What’s happening?”
“I want to show you something interesting—when you’re through.”
I told her what Geneva Harper had divulged while I finished with the groceries.
“I’m not at all surprised Walter Stanley would threaten someone in order to protect his friends. It’s probably just that he thought it might look suspicious that Hubbard had mentioned the area where the body was found, as if he thought it fitting that someone find her right away.”
“No telling. But what did you want to show me?”
She took out her cell phone. “I had a message from Bill, and…”
“Bill?” It took me a minute. “Oh, the Marshall County deputy. The good cop.”
“Yes. He said Paul, his partner, had insisted on putting up a security camera at Ollie’s house so they could tell if anyone came around. I’m sure he put it up so they could tell if we came around, because who else would be up in that hollow—at least that’s what I thought. Then he sent me this photo today and asked if we recognized either of these men.”
I looked at the small picture. “It’s so tiny. I can’t tell who it is.”
“I’ll transfer it to your computer, and we can see a bigger version. It might enable us to read what’s written on that truck in the background, too.”
We went to the tiny room I call my office, and Andrea hooked her phone up to my computer. Soon she had a much larger version of the photo on the screen.
“That’s Ollie’s house in the background,” I said. “The one guy looks familiar, but I can’t remember where we saw him. Was he someone at the Garden Room?”
“He’s Lea’s step-brother, Terry Forsythe. We had lunch with him in Wheeling.”
“Oh, right—at that place—what was it called—Leapin’ Lizards?”
“I think it was Later Alligator. Anyway, it never occurred to me that he might inherit the property where Ollie lived. I doubted that Ollie even owned the place.”
“Can you tell what it says on the side of the truck?”
“I can make out the word ‘lumber.’ Do you think that means Terry’s trying to sell the lumber from Ollie’s place?”
I moved closer and peered at the truck. “
That’s all I can make out, too. I think we need to check out what’s going on, but I don’t know where to start.”
“We’ll start at Moundsville. We need to go to the courthouse and see if Ollie had a will. I can’t imagine he and Terry were ever close, but Terry was his stepson. Maybe Ollie left everything to him and Lea.”
“Which means Terry had a good reason for killing both of them.”
“Not so fast, Sis. I’m wondering how much acreage is involved with the house. There certainly are a lot of nice, big trees all around. Are you free to go to Moundsville?”
“Right now?”
“Why not? I think we have time to get up there and do what we need to do at the courthouse before it closes.”
“I’ll grab my purse.”
We puzzled over this turn of events on the way to Moundsville. We hadn’t been able to come to any conclusions, of course. Andrea reasoned that Terry and Ollie hadn’t been close, and that Terry had found out about Ollie’s death through his mother. She had a copy of Ollie’s will, and Terry learned in that way that he’d inherited the Hog Run place. This was Andrea’s theorizing.
We got to the courthouse in plenty of time to check the files for the will. We were surprised to learn that he had owned the little house and eighty-seven acres. Lea and Terry were his only heirs.
“I think we need to go on to Benwood and pay a visit to Mrs. Logan,” Andrea said as we left the courthouse.
“Under the guise of offering our condolences, I assume.”
“Yes—and we need to find out about Terry’s relationship to Ollie, how he found out about the death, etcetera.”
It didn’t take long to reach the Logan house. We noticed immediately that Mrs. Logan had new siding and windows. “I wonder if Mrs. Logan’s counting her chickens before they’re hatched,” I said.
“Most interesting.”
Mrs. Logan opened the door and invited us in when we knocked. The place even smelled better inside, because all the old furniture had been replaced. The new stuff didn’t look all that expensive, but at least it was new.
“You’ve made several improvements to your house,” Andrea said. “It’s looking good.”
“Thank you. We’ve come into some money, Terry and me.”
She had complained during our first visit that Terry wouldn’t help her. What was going on? “He inherited Ollie’s property,” I said. “Is this turning out to be profitable for him?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but you’ve probably heard about the natural gas boom that’s going on around here. Terry leased the mineral rights to some company, and then there’s a lot of timber on the place. Ollie was such a weirdo, he didn’t want some gas company tearing up his land, and he didn’t want any trees cut.”
“We really just stopped by to offer our condolences,” I said. “It must have been a shock to both you and Terry to find out that Ollie had died a few years ago, and no one knew about it.”
“It was a surprise, I must say. Terry never visited him…never even liked him. I had to twist Ollie’s arm to get him to include Terry in the will. He had it made after we divorced, but he come here to discuss it with me.”
Including Terry in the will is probably what got Ollie killed, I thought.
“How did you find out about Ollie’s death?” Andrea asked.
“Them deputies come here. They couldn’t locate any blood relatives. Ollie was raised in an orphanage and didn’t have any relatives. Me and Terry was the only ones they could think of to notify.”
We were still standing. She hadn’t asked us to sit down on her new furniture. Andrea looked all around. “I’m sure you’re happy for Terry’s good fortune and that he’s sharing it with you.”
A strange look came over Mrs. Logan’s face. Was it anger, spitefulness, or hatred, with maybe a little fear thrown in? She started toward the door. “I need to get busy.” She opened the door and held it for us.
We said goodbye as cheerfully as we could manage. “This is strange,” I said. “Do you remember when we first met her, she said Terry wouldn’t help her at all. Now she’s having all this done to her house.”
“It’s very strange. Did you notice the look on her face when I mentioned Terry sharing the wealth with her?”
“Definitely. There’s something not right here. The question is, how do we find out what it is?”
Andrea started the Accord and pulled away from the curb. “I don’t know. Considering the way Mrs. Logan looked at us there at the end, I have a feeling she’d be easy to manipulate for finding answers. The problem is, I don’t know what the questions should be.”
“We have more suspects now, but no way to prove anyone did it.”
“Chad will be home for the summer tomorrow, and he’s eager to work on Lea’s laptop. I’ll also get him started on the stuff I took from Stuart Kerr’s computer.”
“Have you looked at it?”
“Briefly. There are some password-protected files there, too. Otherwise, I couldn’t find anything interesting.”
It was almost dark by the time we reached Pine Summit. “Stop at my house, and I’ll warm up some vegetable soup and make grilled cheese,” I said.
“That would hit the spot. It’s beginning to get chilly.”
I put the soup on to heat and started the sandwiches, while Andrea went to the living room to text Bill. She’d tell him who the one man in the photo was and let him know what we’d discovered about the will.
We sat down in the kitchen to eat when she was through. I made decaf coffee, and we had cookies to finish the meal. “I’m going to take a refill on the coffee and go back to your computer. I want to enlarge that photo as much as I can, or zero in on the truck.”
I cleared up the kitchen and had finished putting dishes in the dishwasher when I heard a knock on the door. No one ever comes to my door at that time of evening. I wondered whether I should get Andrea to go with me to answer it. Then I decided to be brave.
I switched on the porch light and pulled the door open. Standing there, dressed in a dark suit and looking spiffy, was Stuart Kerr. He walked right on in. His right hand was behind his back, and he started bringing it around. Was he going to shoot me? I was stunned when he produced a dozen roses and handed them to me.
“Mr. Kerr…I don’t know what to say. I’ve wanted to apologize to you for the other night. I don’t know what came over me. I’m afraid I’d had too much to drink, which is something I’m not accustomed to.”
“No need to apologize. It was a wonderful moment. I hope we can recreate it here tonight.”
“What’s happening?” Andrea asked from somewhere behind me.
“Mr. Kerr…uh…” I didn’t know how to explain what was happening.
“I just stopped by to say hello. I enjoyed meeting Kathleen at the Spring Fling, and I’ve been hoping to get better acquainted. Sorry if I’m intruding. I must be on my way.” He scurried out as if he wasn’t about to tangle with Andrea.
Andrea was laughing when I closed the door and turned around. “I’m glad you were here,” I said. “I didn’t know what to say to him.”
“You did fine, apologizing and telling him you’d had too much to drink.”
I looked under the sink and found a vase for the roses. “We might as well enjoy these.” I put them in the center of the table.
“He’s obviously trying to get close to you so he can find out how we’re progressing with our investigation. Or maybe he was trying to slip a bug into the house.”
“Well, that’s insulting,” I said. “You don’t think it’s possible for someone to be smitten with me?”
“Of course it’s possible. I just don’t think Stuart Kerr is.”
I suppose it was for the best. I’m not cut out to be a paramour. “What am I going to do if he comes back?”
“Don’t answer the door and keep it locked. I can use my key. Tell the neighbors to call before visiting, or text you.”
“I hope he isn’t going to turn into a
stalker. It seems pretty extreme that he drove all the way out here and brought roses.”
“I don’t think he’s the stalker type. However, we don’t know how determined he is to get information out of us.”
I looked at the calendar I keep hanging on the kitchen wall. “Wouldn’t you know something like this would happen in the dark of the moon?”
#
“Do you remember when we talked to you about opening the safe in our office at the courthouse?” Andrea asked Chad. We were all at my house, where Chad had resumed working on Lea’s laptop. The operation had moved because of Andrea’s house being bugged. I think Chad liked my place better anyway, because I gave him lunch and served him homemade cookies and milk.
“Vaguely. What kind of safe did you say it is?”
“It’s an old-fashioned one with a knob that you turn to get to the combination numbers. Then it has a handle on the front that can be turned to open it once you find the combination.”
“I’ll give anything a try, but I don’t think it’s likely without knowing the numbers. On the other hand, you see all those movies where safe crackers are turning the knob and listening intently—for a click, I think.”
“The sheriff knew the combination at one time, but she seems to have forgotten it. She might be able to remember some of the numbers. She wants you to try it, if you’re willing.”
“I can try it. I have to go to town tomorrow anyway for a dental appointment. Why don’t we meet at the courthouse afterward?”
“Let’s do that. We should get you signed up as a volunteer for the sheriff’s office anyway, since you’re helping us.”
That made him smile. “Then I’ll be an official crime fighter.”
He’d been doing good work so far. Now if he just didn’t fall in love with some girl and abandon us, we’d continue to make use of him. “What time’s your appointment?” I asked.
“Ten o’clock. I’ll meet you at the courthouse at eleven. I don’t know where your office is, though.”
“Meet us in the sheriff’s office on the first floor. We can introduce you to Jordan and let her know you’re ready to try opening the safe. I’ll send her a text to make sure she’ll be there tomorrow.” Andrea started pecking away on her phone.
Evil Under the Moon (Moon Mystery Series Book 5) Page 13