A Manor of Murder

by June Shaw

  Yes, our mother wanted to get rid of us. Were my sister and I overstepping? I wondered in a brief thought. But then I recalled that we knew almost nothing about the man our one parent wanted a new life with.

  Mom offered her cheeks for us to give her brief kisses on.

  “Here’s your medicine. Take some now.” I handed her the knit pouch.

  “I know what to do with it.” Her annoyed response made an ache pinch my heart, but I understood. We were not trying to treat her as though she were incapable of anything because of her age. We only wanted to protect her as she had always protected us.

  Outside the building, Eve shook her head. “You know what got her going so much about doing a rapid wedding again?” she asked but didn’t wait for me to voice a guess. “That lady Clarice started telling me how she used to get boyfriends away from other girls when she was in school. She left it like that and just looked at Mom. From the anger in Mom’s face, I was afraid she was going to get into a catfight.”

  I shrugged. “What do we do?”

  Neither of us came up with an answer as we walked to Eve’s car and got in. Once we were on the road, Eve glanced at me. “Maybe we can talk to the administrator and tell her what’s going on now.”

  “And then what?” I asked, wanting some solution.

  Her eyes looked unsure. “Possibly they could sit one of them at another table. Move Clarice.”

  “Hm, but if they sat her closer to Mac, she’d get to flirt with him more.”

  “And maybe he’d take the bait. That would show Mom what kind of man he is.” We didn’t know that ourselves. We both gave satisfied sighs. We may have found a solution to stopping our mother from getting badly hurt.

  “Oh.” My tone had deflated. “But suppose they’d want to move Mom instead, and she would get even closer to him?”

  While Eve drove and peered ahead, her face lengthened. We would need to work much harder to find a solution.

  Chapter 12

  Eve pulled to the curb in front of my house. “I’m going to go home and call my grandbaby.” Her smile was warm. “And then I’ll paint. Maybe while I’m doing that, I’ll come up with other ideas about how to improve Mom’s situation.” Only painting for her own benefit, she used to cover her canvases with flowers, ovals, and anything that came to mind when she considered the men she’d been dating. After she decided Dave was the soulmate she had awaited all along, her artwork became explosive, striking, bright colors filling every inch of the canvas. That was how she was expecting her relationship with him would become, she had told me.

  But then she became a grandmother and things changed. She seemed to transfer some of her intense love to her grandchild. It wasn’t the same kind of love. But now she coated her canvases with hearts representing her love of that adorable baby boy and his name Noah in tiny print between them. I’d watched to see if she’d print Dave between any but hadn’t noticed that name yet.

  “Good idea. Tell the little one hi for me.”

  Her smile widened. “I sure will.” Of course he was still too young to understand.

  “Oh, and Eve, let’s start keeping a closer eye on Mom to make sure she isn’t forgetting other things.”

  Her silent gaze told me she knew the severity of what I suggested. What if our mother had begun getting some dementia? That might also affect her intense feelings for a new man.

  “She only forgot one thing one time that we know of,” I said, trying to reassure her and myself. “I’ve done that lots of times.”

  “So have I.”

  Relaxing a little before she pulled away, I considered asking whether she had spoken to Dave lately. Second thoughts made me stop myself. I preferred not to get her talking about him or asking the same thing of me. Life would be much simpler in that regards if she knew and accepted that he and I had started dating each other. After three marriages and divorces, she still believed in falling in love, and she believed her true love was the man I was seeing.

  He had come into this house with me and ate there with me, I considered, walking inside and through the kitchen. I glanced into the den at the spot where he’d been, and I leaned against him. He held me in his arms.

  Going to the fridge for a water, I noticed movement beyond my window’s shut curtains. A man’s shadow crossed them.

  Dave. I rushed to the door and with a bright smile, pulled it open.

  “You look happy today. What’s the occasion?” Detective Wilet stood at my doorstop, head leaning to the side while he looked as though trying to figure me out.

  “Oh. Hi, Detective.” I released a deep breath. “I was just… It’s a beautiful day, don’t you think?”

  He turned around to look behind himself and then at the sky. It held dark clouds. “I guess. If you like rainy weather. Looks like we might get a downpour.”

  I considered my newly planted azaleas. “I’m sure our plants could use the rain.”

  His eyes pulled closer together. “We’ve been getting some rain fairly often.”

  “Yes.” Many other things had been occupying my mind. “Did you want to come in?” I hoped he did not, but he stepped forward, so I stepped back to allow him inside. I moved into my kitchen, where he joined me at the table. Mouth closed, I let out a deep sigh. What was this about? Were Eve and I in even more trouble?

  He laid his thick hands flat on my table and looked me in the eye. “I felt I owed it to you to come and tell you—I found out who relayed that rumor about Edward Cancienne knowing of a girl from here prostituting sometime back in New Orleans.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Oh, it was only a rumor?” Then we were still in trouble, still considered suspects, probably even more so since it would seem that I tried to put the blame on someone else.

  His shoulders pressed forward, allowing his thick frame to come partway over the table and closer to me. “Since you told me the woman who passed on some of that information lives in Sugar Ledge Manor, I need to admit I thought she might have been kind of senile.”

  I rushed to respond. “Some of the residents do get forgetful, but most of them are just older people who just don’t want the upkeep of a house any longer.”

  To my surprise, he was nodding. “I should have realized that. In fact I did know that, but I hadn’t been around the place in quite a while, so I’d forgotten. But I did find Big Bub Richards’s neighbor’s aunt there, and I spoke with her. It was hard to do.”

  More discouragement. “Why? Is she one of the few there who have problems remembering?”

  His barrel chest’s sudden quiver over the table grabbed my attention first, making me concerned about a possible heart attack. I swung my gaze up to his face, expecting contortion and maybe graying. Instead his lips pulled back and up at the edges. Without a sound, the man was laughing.

  “Detective?”

  “Okay, here’s what happened. I found out the name of Big Bub’s neighbor’s aunt and went over there yesterday evening to talk to her.” He watched my eyes for long minutes as though he was building up to a big announcement. “She wasn’t there.”

  “Oh. Well maybe she went out for supper. A lot of people who live there do that on a regular basis.”

  His shoulders quivered as he pulled back in the chair and gave an apparently silent chuckle. “She went out all right. When I got there, it was late, way past the time most people would eat.” He again wore a smile while he shook his head. “It seems she and two other ladies there like to kind of sneak out every Saturday night and go dancing at Eric’s Place.”

  “Wait.” I set my hand on his, needing to straighten out his thinking. “Nobody needs to sneak out. The residents can leave whenever they please. And Eric’s Place is where all the kids go.”

  “Yes, the older teens and those in their early twenties usually frequent that lounge. But the lady you told me about and two of her buddies get together in one of
their cars and go dancing with young guys there.” He snickered and gave his head a shake. “I’m sure the guys get a kick out of that. And probably some of them sometimes try to make out with those old gals just for fun.”

  I pulled back. “That would be terrible.”

  “Yes, but the ladies are too smart for that, and they’re not interested. At least that’s what Big Bub’s neighbor’s aunt told me when she got back to the manor.” Not waiting for me to ask the question reaching my mind, he went on. “I’d left a message on the phone in her suite that I needed to speak with her right away. She had to call me as soon as she got in.”

  “And was that late?”

  “Absolutely. But I waited up, wanting to see this lady instead of just asking her questions on the phone. When she called, I went over there.” He smiled again. “She isn’t bad looking for being her age. That’s amazing. When my momma got to be in her eighties, she looked about ready for a nursing home. Not this lady.”

  “Okay, so tell me what happened.”

  His demeanor grew serious. “She told me in detail about Edward Cancienne knowing Tommy Jeansonne’s daughter was hooking in the city, just like you told me. Today I checked up on some of those things. I believe them.”

  I was pleased, but sad about that girl and any others.

  “Nothing is solved yet. We’re continuing our investigation into Edward’s death. It’s just that since I seemed to make you afraid that we were after you or your twin, I wanted to maybe put you at peace a little bit.” He offered a weak smile.

  “Thank you for doing that. If you find out anything else you can tell me, would you?”

  This smile of his was broader and showed his side teeth. He was being nice.

  “Would you like some water or coffee?”

  “I need to get back to work.” He pushed back in his chair and rose. “But maybe next time?”

  Once he was out the door, I leaned back on the wall. It was good that he had gained other suspects in the murder. But he had almost seemed interested in me, or was I only believing that, since this was the first time I saw him laugh and smile so much? I knew little about romance. He was not a man that I would be interested in in any way, and he was married, I believed. Then I recalled that a few months ago my friend, Amy, told me his wife left him.

  I got Eve on the phone and told her everything the detective said to me. We laughed together about the three women who lived in the manor sneaking out to get their dancing done, and while they were out at the place younger folks frequent, maybe some of them also had a few drinks. But having the detective believe Edward knew about young teens becoming prostitutes in New Orleans and not telling their parents here made us both sad. But more assured about Edward’s dark knowledge saddened both of us.

  “Oh, I need to go. Nicole’s calling me back.” She clicked off. Nicole, her only child, hadn’t been available to talk earlier when Eve phoned her. Now, obviously, she was, and little Noah would be available to hear my sister’s sweet babble.

  A little growl came from my stomach. I looked at the clock. It was well past lunchtime, and I never skipped meals. There was a little shrimp and eggplant casserole in my fridge. I had cooked the dish a couple of months ago and defrosted what remained of it three days ago. I added a couple of tablespoons of seasoned breadcrumbs over it with a pinch of butter and let the microwave work. While enjoying my tasty meal, I considered what I might do next.

  Another glance at the wall clock assured me that my mother should be sound asleep by now. Her naptime always came soon after she ate, and her nap lasted awhile.

  Without taking the time to wash my plate, I hurried out to my truck. While Mom slept, with any luck I would be able to get help for slowing down her plans from the person who ran the place where she currently lived.

  Chapter 13

  The area where Mom and her friends sat to visit was empty, as I’d hoped. All the ladies who were normally there went to their rooms after lunch, just like most of the other residents. Several of them would take a nap while others just rested, maybe caught up on favorite TV shows or knitted or worked crossword puzzles. A couple of diehard men always lifted weights right after they ate. Some of Mom’s buddies occasionally drifted off for a few minutes while on a sofa or in a wheelchair and the others gossiped—gossiping being a major source of entertainment for many of them.

  But now a hush dropped over the otherwise boisterous open area. Only scattered bits of sound carried. A group of men spoke quietly while they hunched over, playing cards at a table. One loud clack sounded like someone dropping a heavy pot. The odor of disinfectant reached my nostrils right before I spotted the yellow triangle at the entrance to the administrative area that warned of a wet floor. The shine on a small section in front of the counter suggested that area had recently been mopped.

  Nobody was visible anywhere behind the counter. The three doors to offices back there were all shut.

  I tapped on the counter to get the attention of the woman who normally sat behind it. I wanted to speak to the administrator, who was probably behind the closed door to her office. I didn’t want to yell or knock harder. Instead, I went to the square cut section at the end of the counter, unlocked, and lifted it. The square of wood wobbled. I looked close and saw that two hinges were bent. I’d have to replace them. A staff member in navy blue came at a brisk pace down the hall. She looked at me with a frown, probably to say I wasn’t supposed to be back here.

  No matter what, I needed to ask my questions. Turning away from her, I knocked on the door marked Administrator.

  The door didn’t open, so I knocked harder. “Ms. Hebert, it’s Sunny Taylor. I need to talk to you.”

  I watched the doorknob and listened while waiting for it to turn.

  “Yes? What is it you need?” Instead of coming out of her own office, she came out of the one belonging to the nurse. The nurse and assistant-administrator came out with her. All of them waited, looking at me.

  “There is a situation here with my mother that my sister and I need help with.”

  She tightened her lips and shook her head. “I’m sorry. Like I already told you, we can’t stop your mother from being interested in any of our clients, whether male or female.”

  An image popped up, one I hadn’t considered before. Even though the people who lived here were older, some of them probably had same sex partners. Well, good for them.

  “No, it’s something else. Something that’s troubling her this time.”

  “Y’all come into my office,” the nurse said. “We don’t need everyone hearing about anyone’s problem.”

  I pointed toward the section of the counter that I’d lifted to come back here. “A couple of hinges on that need to be changed. I’ll get some and do that.”

  “Good. Thank you. Now I only have a few minutes before an appointment with someone,” Ms. Hebert told me.

  We gathered inside the nurse’s office, all standing in a clump. Nobody suggested we sit, so I knew this probably needed to be quick with all of them. I faced the other two. “I’ve spoken to Ms. Hebert about my concern and don’t know if the others are aware of the situation here with my mother and one of your fairly new male residents.”

  Rita Picou, the assistant-administrator, spoke first. “We all know about Mac’s nephew dying. And we heard about a ruckus that had taken place here between him and you.”

  The nurse nodded. “We know Miriam and Mac are interested in each other.”

  “Yes, and my sister and I surely don’t want them rushing into anything, unless we know more about him.” I tilted my head toward the administrator. “She couldn’t tell me anything about him. And I respect that.”

  Ms. Hebert glanced at her watch. “What is your concern now?”

  “Things seemed to have slowed down between them after what took place with Mac’s nephew, who died. We were really sorry his nephew died, but glad o
ur mother wasn’t rushing into a marriage any longer. But now another one of your female residents, a Ms. Clarice, seems to want Mac.”

  A small grin touched the nurse’s lips.

  I looked from one to the other of them. “Since she wants to get him, and she isn’t bad looking, and she’s not shy about telling Mom about that, Mom seems to want to rush things with him again.”

  A wider smile came from the nurse. “Just like childhood rivalry.” She placed her finger on my chest. “You want him?” She removed her finger and set it against her own. “Then I want him more. And I’m going to show you I can take him away from you.”

  The head lady spread her hands and dropped them against her long skirt. “Just what is it you want us to do? You know there are things that we’re capable of, but we can’t tell adults what to do or not do unless it harms them.” While protests worked through my throat, she added, “You wouldn’t want us to do that to you if you lived here.”

  Her last statement, although true, made me sink back. It was the first time I ever considered that one of these days I might find myself in a place such as this. Maybe this place, if I was fortunate once I became older. Sugar Ledge Manor really was a fine establishment.

  But was she suggesting that I was getting old?

  The assistant pressed her face closer to mine, making me notice the wrinkles I hadn’t paid attention to before. “And you have a suggestion for us?”

  Yes, I could have suggested they keep my mom and her male friend apart. That wasn’t going to happen.

  “The woman who’s pushing lately to try to take Mr. McCormick’s attention away from Mom sits at the same table with her in the cafeteria. Even though Mom might not run into her much otherwise, while they share a table at every meal, it seems this Miss Clarice keeps saying how much she wants him. That’s pushing Mom to want to get more serious with him than I believe she was before.”