Body of Evidence

by Stella Cameron

  Annie returned with a wooden box carried proudly before her. Ona, a substantial woman with bleached white hair and a sweet, liberally made-up face, followed. “Emma,” she said. “Welcome. I haven’t seen you around here lately. I remember when you and your mama and daddy used to come in ev’ry Sunday after services.” On each occasion when they met, Ona mentioned this. Emma enjoyed the memory.

  “You always did make the best breakfasts in town, Ona,” Emma said.

  Ona looked around, and when she was satisfied they couldn’t be overheard, other than by Annie, she said, “Do you believe Denise was killed by someone just passin’ through—like the mayor said?”

  Did she? There was nothing to be gained by frightening anyone, and going against Orville’s wisdom would not be a good idea. “It’s likely,” she said and frowned. She’d intended to give a resounding endorsement of Orville’s theory.

  “Denise was a character.” Ona’s glittery dark eyes filled with tears, surprising Emma, who had never seen the woman upset over anything. “I reckon she and Rusty Barnes would have tied the knot in time. She would always have had a mouth on her, but so what? A person gets sick of mealy-mouthed people who don’t have an opinion of their own.”

  “She was my dear friend,” Emma said.

  “I know,” Ona said. “And you had to be the one who found her. I’m real sorry.”

  Ona was soon on her way, and Annie, her face real serious, said, “This is a tea caddy,” opening the top of the box. “See all the different kinds of tea bags? I can make you loose leaf, too, but I wanted you to see this. The green teas are really popular now. They’ve got a lot of antioxidants in them.”

  “Do you like green tea?” Emma asked.

  “Oh, yes, it’s lovely. There’s a lot of kinds, mind you.”

  “I’ll have the green tea you like best.”

  That earned her a purely sweet smile.

  “I’m dying of curiosity. Are you related to Finn Duhon? We went to school together, and I know he’s in Pointe Judah now.”

  Annie almost closed her fingers in the caddy. “Why, yes, ma’am. Finn’s my cousin. So’s Eileen Moggeridge. She’s a sweetheart—lets me live with her until I decide if I’m stayin’.”

  “Stayin’?”

  Annie turned pink. “One day I want my own business. I’ve dreamed about that since I was a little girl, but things, well, they got in my way, if you know what I mean.”

  “I know,” Emma said.

  “For now I’m workin’ for Ona. She’s got a heart of gold, that woman. And I just started in with Holly Chandall. Do you know her? She caters big important parties, and I’ve had good trainin’ as a cook. Her business has grown, and she needed someone, so she hired me.”

  The world began to feel awful small. “I’ve known Holly for years. I called her earlier, and she’s caterin’ a party for me in a couple of weeks.”

  “How many people?”

  “Around sixty.”

  “She told me about one for the mayor, but—”

  “That’s the one,” Emma said, not without reluctance.

  Annie’s lips parted. “You’ll be the mayor’s wife, then.”

  “Mmm. The mayor’s house is nice for entertainin’. Will you be helpin’ with that?”

  “I’ll be fixin’ the desserts, ma’am. That’s one of my specialties. And I’ll be servin’.”

  “I’m Emma.”

  Annie looked uncertain, but said, “Emma, then. Thank you, ma’am. Holly and me will make your party the best. Holly’s so clever.”

  “I know,” Emma said. “And if she’s hired you, you’re clever, too. I don’t suppose you know anything about ice sculpting?”

  Annie showed no surprise. “What do you want?”

  Mortified, Emma said, “The state senate building.”

  If Annie found that strange, she didn’t show it. “I’ve got a friend I went to school with in Lafayette. He’s in New Orleans, and he’s better than anyone I ever saw. We can get the sculpture brought here in a refrigerated van. I don’t know how much that would cost, though.”

  “Just arrange it Annie. I’m starting to think my lucky angel brought me in here today.”

  “I’ll see to things,” Annie said. She turned to leave but paused. “I know Finn was with you when you…well, you know, when you found the dead lady. He mentioned you and said how brave you were.”

  The ridiculous pleasure Annie’s remark brought ought to embarrass her, Emma thought, but it didn’t. “I wouldn’t have been so brave if he hadn’t been there.”

  Annie nodded. “He makes you feel safe, doesn’t he? He’s been through so much, but if he’s feelin’ bad, he never lets it show.” She started to leave again, and again stopped. “When he jumps the way he does sometimes, you know he can’t help it, don’t you? Oh, it’d probably never happen around you, but just in case. It’s because somethin’ pretty bad happened to him when he was a Ranger. Leastwise, that’s what Eileen and me think. He never talks about it. He won’t stay at Eileen’s, and we think it’s because he doesn’t sleep.”

  Emma couldn’t imagine why Annie had chosen to reveal all this to her. “If he doesn’t stay, how do you know he doesn’t sleep?”

  Annie turned red. “It’s none of my business, is it? But I worry about him and want him to be happy. Aaron stays over at Finn’s place now and then, and he said Finn walks around a lot at night. Oh, listen to me. Forget I said anythin’. But you are an old friend of his—you said you were—and he’d hate it if he heard me say as much, but I think he needs a good friend.”

  At last Annie returned to the kitchens, leaving Emma with even more to think about.

  Then, as if she’d summoned him up, Finn walked through the back door. He headed straight for Emma, showing no surprise at finding her there. “I thought I’d see how my cousin’s doin’,” he said. “Saw your car out back and figured I’d hit pay dirt. Where’ve you been? Couldn’t find you anywhere.”

  “Where did you try?” she asked nervously.

  He smiled, and Emma smiled back. “I’m a circumspect man,” he said, and she decided this wasn’t an infatuation she was likely to get over soon.

  “What did Billy say about your truck?” she asked.

  “No useful prints after you and I had our mitts all over it—if there ever were any. Nothing but a battered tennis ball. They don’t hold much hope of matching fibers from that.”

  She raised her eyebrows at that.

  “That’s what they used to make the smoke bomb. Silly kids’ stuff, but it works if all you want is to shock someone.”

  “It shocked me,” she said, and shook her head. “I was goin’ to tear you out of that thing bodily. I think it’s true you get superhuman strength when you’re scared.”

  Finn didn’t laugh, or smile; he stared down at her, the irresistible shadow from his lashes in his eyes. Rain had dampened his hair. She noticed every detail about him. He didn’t look particularly tired.

  He broke the silence. “With your permission, I’d like to replace the locks on your doors. Even if you don’t intend to stay up there again, they should be attended to. Several of them are real old and wouldn’t take much to force.”

  “You’ve got your own business to deal with. I’ll get Len up there. He does a lot of locks. I think I’ll have the windows gone over, too, and seal up that stupid door in the pantry.”

  “Okay. Sounds like a good idea. Let me do the door into the pantry, though, okay? The wall needs reinforcin’, and I’ll feel better if I do it myself.”

  If she had a backbone, she would refuse. “That’s kind of you. Thank you.” After all, she couldn’t be rude to him.

  He stood there, glancing at her, then away again, and Emma couldn’t think what to say next.

  “I’ve got some news you’ll want to know,” he said. “Or you may not want to know it, but I’d rather you hear it from me today than on the street tomorrow.”

  Annie appeared with a tray and set it on the table. “Hi
there, Finn. Saw you come in, so I brought an extra cup. I know you like green tea.”

  She put a teapot, a pot of boiling water, a small glass bowl filled with lemon slices, and a plate of cookies and cakes on the table. “You’ll say you weren’t goin’ to stay, Finn, but Emma knows you and me are cousins, and I know you two went to school together, so I reckon it’s only polite for you to keep the lady company. I’ll just bet he was a terror in school,” she said to Emma, smiling her shy smile. “Did all the girls run after him?”

  Finn grimaced, but Emma kept a straight face and said, “Absolutely.”

  “I thought so. It’s a good thing he’s come back where he belongs. Maybe he’ll find a new wife, and this one will want him for himself and not his money. It would be nice if he settled down here, where he’s got some family.”

  When Annie finally stopped talking, she studied her cousin’s face and looked horrified. Emma wasn’t surprised that Finn wouldn’t meet her eyes. Annie left, and when she got close to the kitchen, she broke into a trot.

  Finn sat in a chair beside Emma’s. With the seat so close to the ground, his knees stuck way up.

  Emma poured two cups of pale green tea. “Annie was just bein’ friendly and kind,” she said. “There was no need to look as if you’d swallowed an aardvark just because she mentioned somethin’ a little personal.”

  He turned his head sharply in her direction. “Aardvark?”

  She shrugged. “First thing that came into my head. I didn’t realize you’d been married.”

  “I’m not generally inclined to spill my business.”

  A flare of annoyance sharpened Emma’s tongue. “But it’s okay to dig at mine?”

  “I haven’t ‘dug’ at your business.”

  “What would you call it, then?” She gave him a cup and saucer, and he drained the cup immediately.

  “Annie didn’t mean any harm,” Finn said. “She’s gentle and shy. And she’s had a bad deal. I hope her luck has changed.”

  “So do I,” she said. “What’s your problem, Finn? You’re wound up tighter than a spring. You said you had news—is that what’s upsetting you?”

  “I don’t have any problems. And I’m not upset. The news will wait till we’re out of here.”

  “Whatever you say.” She ate part of a pink-frosted shortbread cookie and made satisfied noises. “Annie’s a good baker.”

  “Yes,” he said. Two donuts disappeared in rapid succession. “Now—” he used his napkin “—I have to talk to you. You’re going to have to trust me, be honest with me.”

  “The way you have with me?” she asked mildly.

  “I haven’t told you any lies. You’ve got troubles of your own. Why would I start unloadin’ mine?”

  “To make me feel less of a nuisance, maybe. And to let me know you understand at least part of what I’m goin’ through because you’ve been there yourself.” She paused. “Annie did mean you used to be married, didn’t she?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “You’re not anymore?”

  “Nope.”

  He wouldn’t volunteer details, and she wouldn’t dig for them. “I’d better get over to Len’s,” she said. “I want to see how quickly he can get the job done at Mom and Dad’s place.”

  “In a hurry now?”

  “You sound so irritable. Yes, I’m in a hurry. I intend to live up there just as soon as I can.”

  “How’s Orville going to take that?”

  Emma looked at her purse on the floor and the envelope beneath it. She’d planned to sit here and take her time thinking over the contents. “That’s not something I can discuss—not yet.”

  “Eventually?”

  She put fallen cookie crumbs on her plate. “Could be.”

  “What happened to your face? You cut it on something. What? It hit pretty close to the eye, and it’s bruisin’.”

  “The corner of an envelope,” she said. Truth was so much easier. “It caught me there.” She didn’t know how much she could confide in Finn or anyone else. He felt like an old and trusted friend, but they’d only been reacquainted a short time.

  “This isn’t a good place to talk about private things,” he told her.

  “Why not? We’re the only ones here.”

  “At the moment. We’ll be interrupted. When do you plan to move to the Balou house?”

  Tea dripped from the bottom of her cup onto the lilac crop pants that embarrassed her. She took a napkin, dipped it in the pot of water and rubbed at the tea.

  “Hot water sets in stains,” Finn said.

  She threw the napkin on the table. “I’m getting rid of these—and this,” she plucked at the sweater, “the moment I can get to my own clothes. These were just a stopgap.”

  He gave her a quizzical glance.

  “I went straight from Billy’s inquisition to the shop, and my sweats needed to be burned. Sandy picked these out for me.”

  “Including the shoes?”

  She sighed. “Yes.”

  “Not your style. Not any of it.”

  “Thanks for making me feel better.” Suddenly, she laughed. “Snip, snipe. Will you listen to us?”

  He smiled faintly. “You look sexy in that stuff. Might as well admit it. But it’s too obvious.”

  Emma felt very warm.

  “You didn’t say when you’re movin’,” he said.

  “That’s because I don’t know. We’ll have to see. I may split my time between Orville’s house and Mom and Dad’s.”

  “Why do you call it Orville’s house?”

  “Because it is.”

  “O-kay.”

  “Do you have children?”

  “Unfortunately not,” he said.

  Emma’s stomach turned over. Every one of her reactions was way off base.

  He checked around to be sure they were completely alone. “My wife didn’t do anythin’ wrong. She married someone in finance, not an Army Ranger. She made it through the first tour. I knew the second one had to be my last, but she needs life around her. She’s vibrant.” Sliding even deeper in the chair, he looked like a human tarantula—an attractive one. “She met someone else. Just as well, because she wouldn’t have understood it when I wouldn’t go back to tradin’ and coachin’.”

  “She’s an idiot,” Emma said, and slapped a hand over her mouth.

  Finn fought down a laugh and looked at Emma. Her blush looked as if it might burn. “Thanks for that vote of confidence.” He picked up an oatmeal cookie. “I do have some questions of my own in this town. About somethin’ personal. Somethn’ that’s probably as much responsible for bringing me back here as anythin’. With what’s come up with Denise, I feel my own interests have to wait, though. Most of all, you take precedence, as long as you need me.”

  She didn’t know what to say.

  “Hey,” he said. “Don’t look like that. You don’t have to be uncomfortable because an old friend wants to make sure you’re okay. You’d do the same if I needed help.”

  She could tell him she was fine and didn’t need anyone’s help, but it would be a lie. “You’ve got troubles of your own,” she told him. “Can I help you?”

  He held her hand and squeezed. “If you’ll listen to me ramblin’ from time to time, it would be a big help. I figure I’ll be doing a lot of that, but not until we’re sure Denise’s killing wasn’t the first of a string.” When he looked into her eyes, she couldn’t turn away.

  She removed her hand, and he sighed. Emma punched his arm lightly. “Say the word, Finn, and I’ll be there for you. You’ve been too good to me.”

  “Emma.” He turned in his seat. “I’ve batted this around and changed my mind a dozen times, but if I don’t say what I think and something happens, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  The tone of his voice, what he said, turned her ice-cold.

  “Don’t look like that,” he said. “I’m going to make sure you’re okay.”

  He scared her. “You think I’m really at risk.”

&nbs
p; Finn frowned.

  “Because of the cowboy,” she said. “Finn, I think the guy’s a joker. He hasn’t done anything but play games, I don’t think he ever will.”

  He stood up, put money on the table and grabbed Emma by the elbow. “How can you pretend this is nothing? They don’t have anyone in custody. Why can’t the killer be the cowboy, as you call him?”

  “I just don’t think he is. I think there are two different men.”

  “Let’s get outside.” He walked with her outside and into the slanting rain. They ran to her SUV, and she got in. He stood with water beating on top of his head, streaming down his face. He refused to get in beside her. “I’m not going to varnish this, but I want you to answer me one more time. Do you believe you’re safe, that you’re not in any danger?”

  Emma looked at her hands in her lap. As nonchalantly as she could, she put the envelope on the seat beside her with her purse on top. “Yes,” she said honestly. “But I’m in a bigger mess than you know, and I won’t involve you more than I have already.”

  “Emma! Look at me.”

  She shook her head.

  “For God’s sake, don’t close me out.”

  “Look, I promise I’ll let you know if I need help. We’ve got time to see if something else happens.” She sounded crazy even to herself, but her life was turning crazy. “I’ve got to believe someone had a vendetta against Denise. It makes sense that she was a threat to someone.”

  “And the guy who sneaked into your house and left you ten grand? And hung around to prove how easy it was for him to be there whenever he wanted to?”

  “Billy knows now. He’ll take care of it.” She wanted to be alone, to scream and scream. If she tried to contact her folks, they would tell her to come to them. But she was thirty-two, and they’d never wanted her to marry Orville. They thought she couldn’t take care of herself and had made bad decisions.

  Finn stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and raised his face to the sky. He swallowed rainwater that ran into his mouth. “And I’m just one more stranger,” he said, sounding bitter. “For all you know, I’m the cowboy. Wouldn’t have been hard for me to put the smoke bomb in my truck. Want to get Billy and his sidekicks to look around my place for a white Stetson?”