An Artful Assassination

by Susan Harper

  The room erupted into a murmur. Kendell looked up front toward Sheldon and Lonnie. Sheldon didn’t move. Lonnie looked incredibly uncomfortable and quickly removed his hand from Sheldon’s shoulder. Some of the other family members were whispering to themselves, others leaning up toward Sheldon and Lonnie, questioning the reading that had just taken place.

  The man who had read the will placed the papers under his arm. “That’s it. That’s all,” he announced to the room and proceeded to leave.

  Slowly, bit by bit, the room dispersed. Felicity, Fix, Pauline, and Kendell remained behind as people trickled out until only Lonnie and Sheldon remained. Lonnie was fidgeting in his seat uncomfortably. Sheldon at last rose. “Mom left everything to you?” he asked.

  Lonnie just shrugged. “I don’t know what happened, Shelly,” Lonnie said, rising from his seat and staring down at his feet, unwilling to look his stepbrother in the eye. Lonnie at last scurried out of the room, leaving Sheldon alone.

  The man sunk back down into his seat. Felicity waved them all with a sway of her head, and they slowly made their way up to Sheldon. “Sheldon?” Felicity spoke, and the man looked up.

  “Ah, Miss Overton,” he said, sitting upright.

  “Do you have any idea why your mother wouldn’t leave you anything?” Pauline questioned, getting straight to the point.

  Sheldon frowned. “I…I have no idea,” he said. “I mean, I didn’t expect everything…but…I honestly didn’t think she’d leave anything to Lonnie! The two of them were never particularly close. Mom and I were. I took care of her. I did everything for her. She was practically my best friend… I was wondering why the life insurance company didn’t want to talk to me. She must have removed me from her benefactor list and put Lonnie on it instead. But…why? Why would she do that?”

  “You don’t think Lonnie had anything to do with this, do you?” Fix asked.

  “I don’t know… Maybe…” Sheldon stood. “He seemed just as surprised as me, though.”

  “I’m very sorry about this, Sheldon,” Felicity said.

  “Yeah… Me too,” he said, and he left.

  “Well, glad I came to this,” Fix said. “It was like watching a TV drama unfold.”

  “I think Lonnie just made it onto our suspect list,” Kendell said. “And what about that Lark woman? Did anybody see her when the announcement was made?”

  “I did,” Pauline said. “She seemed pretty satisfied by it.”

  “You don’t think Lark could have changed the will somehow, do you?” Fix asked. “I mean, that seems like a lot of trouble to go through to try to get some paintings. But, maybe she worried that Sheldon would have wanted to hold onto the paintings while she would be able to convince the stepson to sell them?”

  “That’s possible, but it seems pretty far-fetched,” Felicity said. “But I think Lark might be someone worth looking into. She was definitely hanging around Barbara a lot at the art auction. Maybe there is something more to that story than meets the eye.”

  “Maybe,” Pauline said. “She did seem very obsessed with Barbara’s paintings. She bought every last one that Barbara had brought to the auction, and she hovered during the entire event, outbidding everyone the moment they put their name down on one of the paintings.”

  “Something more is probably going on, then,” Kendell said, agreeing with Felicity. “But, not sure if it’s motive to kill.”

  “Lonnie and Lark have definitely made it onto our suspect board, though,” Felicity said. “Let’s head back to the agency so that we can update Jack. I want to see how his follow-up interview with Tim went.”

  “Do you think he stopped by?” Fix asked. “Jack seemed unsure as to whether or not he would actually come talk again.”

  “I hope so,” Felicity said. “But, you never know.”

  The four of them headed out, piling into Felicity’s car. “This has been quite an exciting trip back home,” Pauline said as she sat herself down in the passenger’s seat.

  Felicity frowned. “You’re home. We should go do something fun tomorrow instead of you just following me around while I’m working.”

  “Oh, honey, I enjoy watching you work,” Pauline insisted.

  Felicity looked back at Kendell. “You’ve never been to Georgia, right?”

  “Just the Atlanta airport,” Kendell said.

  Felicity seemed to be thinking as she pulled out of the parking lot of the courthouse. She smiled. “I think I know just what we need to do tomorrow.”

  9

  Kendell, Pauline, Pauline’s daughter Samantha, Felicity, and Iris all loaded up into a family van and hit the road, headed north for Stone Mountain Park—a lovely Georgia attraction that Kendell had heard about once during her stay at the Atlanta airport a year or so before. She had not of course left the airport to venture out and visit the state monument.

  Samantha had packed snacks and was the driver for their destination trip. They played loud country music that Kendell affectionately referred to as hillbilly sing-alongs. Although, since becoming acquainted with Pauline, she had learned to enjoy the style of music. They tuned into a country station that played some greatest hits from different generations of country, and Chattahoochee came on the radio. It was like a bomb had gone off in that car.

  Pauline, Samantha, Felicity, and Iris all belted out singing.

  “Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee

  It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie

  We laid rubber on the Georgia asphalt

  We got a little crazy but we never got caught

  Down by the river on a Friday night

  A pyramid of cans in the pale moonlight

  Talking 'bout cars and dreaming 'bout women

  Never had a plan just a livin' for the minute

  Yeah way down yonder on the Chattahoochee

  Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me

  But I learned how to swim and I learned who I was

  A lot about livin' and a little 'bout love”

  Kendell shook her head, laughing slightly at the lyrics of this classic country song that all of the women in the car, apart from herself, seemed to know by heart. When the song ended, the women all laughed together. “Remember how this was basically our theme song on our trip to Helen, Felicity?” Iris asked.

  Kendell was seated between the two sisters in the back seat. The two women laughed. “Oh, I remember,” Felicity said. “I think it was played every four songs on the stations out that way.”

  “You’re not kidding,” Iris said. “Plus, the band by the river was playing the song during that riverfront party.”

  “You all sure do love your country music,” Kendell said.

  “Well, honey, we’re in the country,” Pauline reminded her. “We all grew up listening to it. Gospel and country, that’s what you get out this way. Although, with Atlanta growing up the way it has and the movie industry coming out this way, Georgia’s choice in musical preferences has expanded a good bit.”

  “I imagine so,” Kendell said. “So, are we going to be hiking up Stone Mountain or taking the sky lift?”

  “My thought was we walk up it and then take the sky lift back down,” Pauline suggested.

  “Mom, you do not need to be hiking up a mountain!” Samantha exclaimed. “How about you and I take the lift, and the girls can walk if they want to?”

  Pauline pouted. “Fine. I suppose I need to keep my back steady for my trips.”

  “Exactly,” Felicity said, leaning up and touching her grandmother’s shoulder. “You’ve walked up Stone Mountain plenty of times. Save your energy for your unchecked items on your bucket list.”

  Dot, who was sitting in Pauline’s lap, yelped in agreement. Eventually, the van was pulling up into a large parking lot. There was an entrance into the park, and just in front of the ticket line was a strange vehicle that resembled a boat with wheels. “What is that?” Kendell asked.

  “Ooh, we’re just in time for the duck boat!” Pauline exclaim
ed. “Let’s do that before we go inside the park!”

  Everyone was jumping out of the car too fast for Kendell to keep up. She saw people lining up to get onto the weird car-boat contraption. They all piled onto the duck bus, and little plastic duck beaks were given out to everyone. Kendell held hers in her hands, staring at it curiously—wondering what it was for—when a small child behind her blew into the beak, causing a loud, obnoxious quacking sound. “Oh!” Kendell yelped in surprise as she did not realize it had been a duck whistle. She laughed, blowing on hers as well.

  The vehicle went off, and a friendly and peppy driver spoke to them as they drove around the outskirts of the park—taking a bit of a tour and learning all about the history of the duck boat and about Stone Mountain Park. Suddenly, they arrived at a lake, and rather than driving around it, the car drove straight into the water and floated. “Oh, wow,” Kendell said, though based off the name and the design, she had guessed the vehicle would float. Either way, it was a fun experience going from trail to water.

  Eventually, the duck boat arrived back outside of the gates of Stone Mountain Park, and she and her group of friends hurried to get tickets. “I say we go up the mountain first,” Iris said. “Then we can come back and enjoy the park.”

  “I agree,” Pauline said, then sighed and looked at Samantha. “You’re going to make me take the lift, aren’t you?”

  “I am, Mom,” Samantha said, laughing. “We’ll meet you girls at the top.”

  “You ready to go on a hike?” Felicity asked, leading Kendell and Iris off in a different direction. They walked a few trails through the park, eventually arriving at a path that would lead them up the side of the mountain.

  It started out easy enough. While Kendell could definitely tell they were walking uphill, the track was not too demanding. There were some spots where the girls stopped to take pictures as the scenery was just lovely. Kendell could hear a train whistle blow. “We’ll have to ride the train around the mountain while we’re here,” Iris said.

  “You want to do everything, don’t you?” Felicity teased.

  “I mean, it’s been forever since we’ve come to Stone Mountain. We used to come up here all the time when we were kids,” Iris said. “I kind of miss it.”

  “Remember how we would always come up here every December for Snow Mountain?” Felicity asked.

  “Snow Mountain?” Kendell questioned, starting to pant slightly as the Georgia heat beat down on her shoulders.

  “They take ice machines and blow a bunch snow on the hillside in front of the mountain for people to ride tubes down. It’s a lot of fun,” Felicity said.

  “That does sound fun,” Kendell said.

  “Yeah, we don’t exactly get a lot of snow down here in Georgia,” Iris said. “So, that was always a highlight every year.”

  “I imagine so,” Kendell said, smiling. “So, were the guys okay with you taking a break today, Felicity? It sounds like you guys have a lot of events coming up and with an active case, I imagine you were probably needed. I hate that we pulled you away from your work.”

  “Are you kidding?” Felicity said with a laugh. “The guys know I never take “me” time. They practically had to push me out the door when Iris first came home for the summer for the two of us to go take a little sisters’ weekend trip. I think sometimes they want me gone just so they can breathe. I stay on top of everybody too much. I’m learning how to relax a little more, you know?” Felicity stepped up onto some large rocks, looking back down the mountainside. “We’ve walked a good ways already.”

  “I’m curious as to how you balance your work and personal life,” Kendell said.

  “It’s not easy,” Felicity admitted. “But when you find something you are passionate about, it becomes easier. Especially when you have a good group of friends like I do who support me. And, being able to see the guy I’m dating at work is nice. A lot of my work life overlaps in my personal life, you know? I think that makes it easier on me. Although, recently it has been pretty stressful.”

  “How so?” Kendell asked.

  Felicity hopped down, and they continued their walk up the mountain. “These break-ins we’ve been looking into are pretty heavy on my mind. I’ve never worried about home security before. We live in a small town—stuff like that doesn’t happen very often. Now I’ve got to put an alarm code in every time I enter my house, and we put in a security system at the shop. I just wish we knew who was behind all of that mess.”

  “I’m sorry you’re having to deal with all that, Felicity,” Iris said. “Do you guys have any leads on that case?”

  “None,” Felicity said with a sigh. “And after what happened to Bobby, I’m getting worried.”

  “Bobby?” Kendell questioned.

  “A friend of ours was killed recently,” Felicity said. “He was involved in my very first case. He was wrongly accused of murder, and Jefferson and I looked into it to clear his name. Well, just this past week, someone murdered Bobby and posed him in the same manner of the victim of my first case. I felt like someone was trying to send me a message.”

  “That is scary. Do you think that and the break-ins are related?” Kendell asked.

  “Could be,” she said. “But, right now, I’m more focused on Barbara’s case. We need to find out what happened to her, and I highly suspect our first step is going to involve finding out why she left her entire fortune to Lonnie as opposed to her son.”

  “I agree,” Kendell said. “Something is not sitting right with me about that.”

  Kendell looked ahead, cringing. They were almost to the top of the mountain, but there was a frightfully steep incline ahead. So steep, in fact, that the park officials had added in a railing for people to hold onto. The three of them lined up and began the climb. Kendell felt like she was having to pull herself up.

  When they finally reached the top, Kendell looked out at the wonderful view. She smiled. The top of the mountain was incredibly flat. There was a building at the top, and the Overton sisters darted toward it, talking about getting slushies as their reward for the climb. “They have slushies?” Kendell asked, chasing after them.

  Inside the air-conditioned building were Pauline and Samantha, each with a slushy in hand. Kendell had sweated under the Georgia summer sun, so she very eagerly got herself a slushy as well. The five of them sat in a booth together, talking about the girls’ climb while Pauline and Samantha spoke about a young boy who had been running around in the lift, making it sway and scaring everyone on board.

  “That sounds awful!” Kendell exclaimed.

  “They’re steady. But it did make me a little woozy when he started doing that,” Samantha said. “His dad got onto him pretty bad when we got off the lift about the whole ordeal.”

  “Why didn’t he say anything while he was shaking the lift?” Kendell asked.

  “He was too busy groaning in the corner trying not to throw up,” Pauline said and laughed loudly.

  Once they had all devoured their slushies, they headed outside to take pictures on top of the mountain. “You girls want to ride back down with us?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes!” all three of them moaned, their calves a bit sore after the climb.

  Kendell and the others loaded up into the lift, thankful the little boy who had terrified Pauline and Samantha on the way up would not be joining them for this round. The view was incredible. Kendell soaked it in as they slowly descended back into the park.

  10

  The train came to screeching halt, and the group of women made their exit. The train ride had allowed Kendell to get her first good glimpse at the Confederate memorial on the side of the mountain. It was quite an impressive carving, though she was a little bummed to learn that it was not carved directly into the mountain but had been carved on a separate stone and then fastened to the mountainside. Not that one could tell the difference looking at it. If there was one thing Kendell had learned about the South, it was their obsession with the Civil War, especially in Georg
ia. There were monuments everywhere, Confederate flags posted about, museums galore, and just about every historical site in one way or another paid homage to the Confederate army. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around the obsession the South had over a major military loss in their history—one where the history books greatly painted them as the villains of the war, seeing as the South had been the side owning slaves.

  After the train ride, they headed directly into the park where they enjoyed watching a glass blower at the park’s glass shop, did a little bit of shopping, and enjoyed their sky hike adventure attraction. Eventually, the women headed back to the car to gather blankets before returning to the park and finding themselves a spot on the grassy hill that looked out toward the Confederate soldiers’ carving on the mountainside.

  “I haven’t seen the Stone Mountain laser show since I was probably fourteen,” Felicity said, laying out one of the two blankets they had brought. Once it was spread out on the grass, she helped Pauline sit on it. Pauline released Dot from her carrier, and the little dog scurried around the blanket, sniffing the grass and wagging her tail happily.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Kendell said, her stomach growling slightly as she laid out the second blanket.

  “Hungry?” Iris asked, laughing.

  “Yes, actually,” Kendell said, rubbing her stomach. “I mean, we pretty much just had slushies for lunch. I think I need some solid food.”

  “There is a place that does stuff like pizza and hot dogs and hamburgers just down that path,” Felicity said, pointing. She looked at her grandmother. “Grandmama, you want me to grab you something to eat too?”

  “A hot dog and some fries sounds just lovely,” Pauline said.

  “I’ll go with you,” Kendell said. “You want anything, Iris?”

  “Pizza!” Iris exclaimed. “You know, I wouldn’t mind a soft pretzel too with a cheese sauce. Extra salt.”

  Felicity laughed and nudged Kendell. “Sounds like you weren’t the only one who was hungry.”