Murder in the Morgue: A Senoia Cozy Mystery

by Susan Harper

  “You heard Stacy. He’s uncomfortable. And from the way Grandma Rose and Candice talked about him, it doesn’t sound like he would enjoy being stuck in a room with them. He’s obviously not well-liked by his in-laws.”

  “That’s a shame. I would hate that,” said Jefferson.

  “Same here,” she said.

  They stood looking for Rodney as the crowd swayed to the rhythm of the band performing on stage. Felicity was glad to see that most of the people were still at the fundraiser. Fortunately, they had decided to come inside when it started to rain, and now they were drying off while dancing a line dance. It was quite a sight to see vampires and zombies doing the Electric Slide across the hospital floor. Felicity worried about finding Rodney in such a big crowd.

  Jefferson suddenly nudged Felicity. “Found him.” He pointed across the crowd, and they spotted Rodney hiding out in a corner, casually nodding along to the music.

  The people around him were watching the dancers and they all cried out for more when the band was done. Everyone was having a great time and the people were contributing to the fundraiser. It looked like it was going to be a successful night. The band started back up and the crowd roared and sang along to a favorite song. One of the doctors jumped on stage and started singing with the lead singer. A nurse joined them and the crowd cheered. Felicity noticed the checkbooks coming out and was happy for the hospital.

  “He doesn’t really look like he’s having that much fun,” said Felicity. “Maybe Stacy was right about Rodney just not being comfortable. He looks like he is just trying to avoid the Younglings.”

  “With the way they talk about him all the time, I guess I can’t really blame him,” Jefferson said as they made their way over.

  As they came closer, they saw that Rodney was on the phone. “Yes, sweetie,” he was saying as they came closer. “We’ll be home soon. What about Great-Grandma? Who told you that, sweetie? Okay, listen, we’ll be home in a few hours. You just go to bed for the sitter, and we’ll talk in the morning, okay? Are you alright? Yes. I know. I love you too.” He hung up the phone just as Felicity and Jefferson arrived beside him, and the man sighed heavily. “Hey,” he said.

  “One of your children?” Felicity asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I guess one of their cousins called them. Word gets around pretty fast in this family. They’re all gossips. I would have preferred that Stacy and I told them.”

  “So we heard you had to deal with Grandma Rose some tonight?” Jefferson asked slyly.

  Rodney shrugged. “Not really. Tommy asked me to stay with her while he went to the bathroom.”

  “Did anything happen while you were watching her?” Felicity asked.

  Rodney shrugged. “Nothing really. I got her some water so that she could take her medication, but that’s about it. It’s not like Tommy hid out in the bathroom or anything. I only watched her for a few minutes. A few minutes was enough for me, though.”

  “How do you mean?” asked Felicity.

  “I mean you can only handle a few minutes alone with her. I don’t know how Tommy does it. The man is a saint. I’m sorry she’s gone, but this is probably for the best,” he said and slipped his cell phone back into his pocket.

  “Has Grandma Rose’s illness really taken that big a toll on the family?” asked Felicity.

  “Are you kidding?” Rodney asked. “My wife was pooling half of her paychecks into the woman’s medical bills because she’s the only one who could afford it since Rose had dropped her medical insurance. Tommy looked after her and the house; the man was exhausted. Candice was her little errand girl, always running off to get her some tobacco. And because of that nasty habit, my wife was always having to pay for doctor visits for her lip cancer. Rose’s son Donnie was in charge of the woman’s medications, and pretty much all of her children were constantly chaperoning her from one place to another.”

  “You sound awfully relieved to have her gone,” said Felicity, and Rodney took quick defense.

  “It’s not like that, Felicity. It was just her time. I hate that it had to happen like this because Rose was a nice woman in her prime, but honestly, this is probably for the best. It was too much. But I’m not cold. I hate that this happened. I just can’t imagine who would have wanted to kill her,” Rodney spat.

  “Do you mind if I ask you a question, Rodney?” Felicity stammered slightly.

  “It’s not like you haven’t been asking me questions already,” he retorted.

  “Well, we’ve been told you and Stacy have been having some marital spats after she quit her job? Care to comment?”

  Rodney scowled and crossed his arms. “Oh, geez, you too? I swear, the entire Youngling family are the most backward people. The thought that Stacy might have actually wanted to work while I stayed home never crossed their minds once. They just assume I’m some lazy man who married her because she made six figures. Well, guess what? Unlike what everyone has been whispering about, I knew that Stacy was going to quit her job. In fact, I encouraged it! She hated it. We have plenty of money put aside, and she’s been saying she wished she could spend more time with the kids. So I’m job hunting now. We’re not fighting. It was a mutual decision. Her job was stressing her out. It was time for something new.”

  “So you’re not mad that your wife isn’t bringing home the bacon anymore?” Jefferson asked.

  Rodney practically growled. “No! I’m not! You know why? Because unlike what everyone in this judgmental family seems to say, I never married Stacy for the money. I stayed at home because that’s what worked for us at the time. Now things are changing, and I’m okay with that! I don’t mind working. And I didn’t mind staying at home with the kids either.”

  “So why does Stacy’s family seem to think you’re upset with this new change?” Felicity questioned.

  He rolled his eyes, but then took a calming breath. “That’s probably my mistake. I think I may have vocalized some concerns regarding bills. But it’s not like we’re in trouble or anything. I’ve got two interviews next week, so we’ll be fine. Plus, we have plenty saved up. We were living below our means while Stacy was bringing in all that money.”

  “I’m sorry your in-laws give you such a hard time,” said Jefferson.

  “Yeah, me too. The Younglings are just very traditional people. They’ve just never liked me because mine and Stacy’s family situation has never been traditional. But that’s just us. We’re not traditional people. I’m going back up to the waiting room. I think I’ve hid out down here long enough.”

  “We’ll walk with you,” said Felicity, and Rodney didn’t seem too pleased with the offer. As soon as they got back to the waiting room, Rodney left them to go sit with his wife and to inform her that he had spoken to their children.

  The waiting room was still full of patients and harried nurses. The doctors and nurses were leaving the fundraiser to help with the overflow. One doctor, dressed as a knight, was giving the parents of the boy who had wrecked his neighbor’s yard some good news. His wrist was just sprained and should be better soon. The parents were relieved and assured the neighbor that their son would be there first thing the next morning, and a few after that, to not only clean up his mess but help their neighbor with other chores. The neighbor was pleased and the child looked sullen, but only for a few moments. Then he remembered the candy he had gotten and dove into his treat bag. He looked around and saw a child waiting with her mother. He took his treat bag over and offered her some candy, redeeming himself.

  Felicity looked around the room to see that additional Younglings who had not been attending the party had arrived since hearing about Grandma Rose. They were all there hoping to get some additional information. “What are you going to do now?” Jefferson asked as Felicity was scribbling down notes from her brief interview with Rodney.

  “I think I might try talking to Tommy again to see what I can learn. He did live with Rose for two years, after all,” she said.

  “Want me to go with you?�
� he asked.

  “No. I think I’ve gained some sort of understanding with Tommy, so I think one on one will be best. See if you can learn anything from some of the new Younglings who’ve shown up,” she said and then made her way over to Tommy, who was standing with Linda. She smiled brightly at him as she approached. “Hey, Tommy,” she said. “I was wondering if I could ask you a few more questions?”

  He frowned. Linda spoke for him. “Are you playing detective again, Felicity?”

  “I guess you could say that,” she said. “I do have a pretty good track record.”

  Tommy smirked. “Okay, Felicity. What do you want to know?”

  “I heard a rather harsh accusation earlier tonight about you that there had been a rumor going around the family that you were trying to get Grandma Rose to change her will. I was hoping you could comment?”

  Without missing a beat, both Tommy and Linda muttered, “Candice.”

  Felicity raised a brow. “So it was that obvious who I heard that from?”

  Tommy huffed. “Yeah, because she’s the one who started that rumor. She’s all sweet on the outside, but she’s pretty rotten at times. I know exactly what’s in Grandma Rose’s will, and I have to say I’m not making off any better than the rest of the cousins, except for Candice, of course. Grandma is pretty much leaving everything to Candice. I mean, I get it. Candice is both Rose’s granddaughter and pretty much her adopted daughter. They were very close. The rest of the family doesn’t seem to think that’s fair, but I’ve never really cared about that sort of thing. I just wanted to take care of Grandma when she got sick. I never talked to Grandma about her will; I just saw it once when she had me deliver it to her lawyer. And as far as I know, Candice is still in the will as the one who is going to walk out of this a very happy lady.”

  “So does Candice know?” Felicity asked.

  “Probably,” Tommy growled. “I’m so tired of hearing crap from her. She was more annoying than Grandma Rose during one of her spells. She was always so suspicious of me and always accusing me of taking advantage of her.”

  “I can hear you!” a squeaky little voice from behind caused Felicity to turn on her heels. Candice was standing behind her with her arms crossed, looking quite livid. “I don’t really care for your attitude, Tommy! I didn’t even know Grandma Rose had left me anything. The only reason I’ve ever been suspicious is because everyone in this family always took advantage of her!”

  “Candice, you don’t mean that,” Linda said.

  “Oh, don’t I?” she snarled. “Grandma Rose paid for Stacy’s college, and Stacy whines about paying a fraction of that toward Rose’s medical bills. Grandma paid to send Donnie’s stupid kids to that fancy school. And even you, Linda, borrowed ten thousand dollars from her to buy yourself a car!”

  “I paid that back! It was a loan!” Linda snapped. “And you need to relax.”

  “You’re over here talking about me!” she snarled.

  Felicity intervened. “Candice, we’re not talking about you. I’m just trying to figure out what happened to your grandmother. They’re not doing anything that you weren’t doing earlier when you talked to me about Tommy and about Rodney.”

  Candice took a breath, then her face turned bright red. “I’m sorry,” she said under her breath.

  Tommy nodded. “It’s all right, Candice. I know this has got to be hard on you. She was practically your mom.”

  “She was my mom,” Candice insisted. Her eyes shifted back to Felicity. “I’m sorry. I don’t like for people to talk about me. I overreacted. How is your friend Autumn doing?”

  “She’s doing better, last I heard. I should probably go check on her again soon,” said Felicity.

  Jefferson had walked up to them at this point; he had started coming over when Candice’s angry rant started to draw attention. “Everything okay over here?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we’re all good,” Felicity said reassuringly. She glanced around the room; most everyone was accounted for. “Where’s your Uncle Donnie?” she asked.

  “I thought he was with Rodney,” said Tommy. “But Rodney got back when you two got here.”

  “We haven’t talked to him yet,” Jefferson said. “Want to go find him?”

  Felicity nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hit the party again.”

  The two of them apologized to Linda, Tommy, and Candice for causing their brief spat before heading back toward the lobby in order to locate Linda’s Uncle Donnie.

  Chapter 10

  After spending close to half an hour in search of Linda’s Uncle Donnie, Felicity and Jefferson decided to throw in the towel and head to the emergency room to get an update on Autumn. Still where they left them were Dawn, Veronica, and Monte huddled together in a corner all trying to pass the time by playing on their phones or flipping through outdated magazines.

  Monte looked up and gave them an approving nod as they approached and found themselves a seat. “How is she?” Felicity asked.

  “Doctor says she’s waking up now, and if she’s up for company, we can go back and see her fairly soon,” said Monte.

  “That’s good to hear,” said Jefferson. “Is she going to be all right?”

  “She should be fine,” said Veronica. “Just really nauseated.”

  “Thank goodness,” Felicity muttered.

  The group of friends spent some time discussing what all Felicity and Jefferson had managed to find, and thus far, Felicity concluded that they didn’t have any solid leads. “Candice seems a little sketchy to me,” said Jefferson. “But that’s really only because I think she knew about her grandmother’s will and probably lied to us.”

  “Yeah, but if this was a financial thing, then just about everyone in that family had something to gain because of that insurance policy Grandma Rose took out,” Monte said, confident enough to comment after being heavily filled in.

  “Then there’s the missing table,” Felicity reminded. “But I’m not sure if the two things are connected.”

  “What about Tommy?” Veronica questioned. “You say he seemed really shaken up, but what if that’s more guilt than mourning? Two years of taking care of an unstable woman with Alzheimer’s could have really done him in.”

  “And who in the family has access to cyanide?” Felicity added. “It’s not exactly something you can buy from a pharmacy. So who in the Youngling family could even get a hold of it?”

  “Good question,” said Jefferson. “Okay, let’s think about this for a second. What is cyanide used for?”

  “It’s used in some medical tests,” said Veronica. “So maybe if anyone in the family is a doctor? I mean, we are assuming someone in the family did it, right?”

  “Probably,” said Felicity. “It doesn’t sound like Grandma Rose had much contact with people outside of her family. So…where else can you find cyanide?”

  “Um…artists! Like for metal working, anyone who has to do electroplating. So also welding,” Monte said.

  “Okay, so a doctor, an artist, or a welder,” said Jefferson. “I don’t know what anyone in that family really does.”

  “Might be something worth asking,” said Felicity.

  Felicity looked around and saw the people gathered in the ER. Most were watching the news about the weather on the television while others were trying to read a magazine. Some were chatting and talking about the sudden storm, and the damage it may have caused. One man told the person beside him that a tree limb had fallen and blocked one of the smaller roads in town. He speculated that the ambulance they were hearing coming in had been carrying someone who had been driving when the tree landed. Another person said that the ambulance might have been from the wreck he had heard about earlier that evening, where someone had run into a mailbox outside of town. Another said the car probably hydroplaned, but the first replied that the mailbox accident had occurred before the storm hit. A woman said she had heard that the tree had hit a house, while her teenage son said it had just fallen in a yard. Speculation ran high, as it te
nded to do when the weather got nasty. Everything would be sorted out, but the locals liked to think they knew everything that was going on at all times. Fortunately, a police officer was sitting nearby the conversation and he filled them in on what had actually happened, which was not nearly as bad as the townspeople had believed.

  The double doors that led back to the emergency room swung open, and Dr. Roberts exited into the waiting area. He came up to them and smiled. “Autumn is awake. I told her you all were still here. Would you like to see her?”

  “Of course!” Felicity said, jumping up. She glanced around. “Where are Autumn’s parents?” she asked.

  “They were just here,” said Veronica as she and the others stood. “They went to grab a bite to eat after sitting here for a few hours. They didn’t think Autumn would be up any time soon.”

  “Don’t worry,” Dr. Roberts said. “I’ll have one of the receptionists send them back as soon as they get back.”

  “Thanks, Doctor Roberts,” said Veronica.

  Felicity and the others followed Dr. Roberts back into the emergency wing and down a long hall until they at last reached Autumn’s room. Felicity practically sprinted to Autumn’s bedside, smiling brightly to see that her friend was sitting up and looking quite alert, although it was fairly obvious she was on some heavy medication. “Felicity!” Autumn squeaked slightly. She coughed and covered her mouth. Autumn was on an IV, and she had an oxygen tube under her nose. Her face was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot.

  “Thank goodness,” Monte said as he pushed his way in with Dawn beside him.

  Autumn started to giggle, and Veronica laughed at her. “They must have you on that good stuff.”

  “Oh, yes,” Autumn said and stifled a snort. “I felt awful about an hour ago, but Doctor Roberts hooked me up.”

  “I bet he did,” said Jefferson, laughing slightly at their friend who was quite clearly doped up on pain medication.