Looking for Lillian (Hunter Jones Mystery Book 7)

by Charlotte Moore

  “Stop that,” Taneesha said firmly. “Whoever did that to your mother came planning to do wrong. They wouldn’t have let a locked door stop them, and if Kenyatta had been there, she might have gotten hurt, too.”

  “Here’s the doctor,” Kenyatta interrupted.

  “Should I tell him about the toddy?” Marietta asked Taneesha.

  “I think so,” Taneesha said.

  Chapter 34

  Tarquin Greathouse chose his own style when he was on his own time, wearing all black and letting his long dark hair flow to his shoulders. When he was at work on the custodial staff at the Magnolia County Medical Center, however, he tied his hair back neatly, left off the eye shadow, and wore the pale blue coverall and white shoes the hospital required. This meant that he was almost invisible to hectic hospital staff and worried families.

  The news from the emergency room was especially interesting that morning. He heard someone say, “It was at the same address where that McFall guy got murdered Monday night—in the guest house in the back.”

  His hands were shaking a little as he made his way to the emergency room lobby with a bucket of cleaning supplies.

  Hunter did her best to wait an hour before calling Sam. He was at the McFall guest house with the crime scene technicians.

  “She’s alive, but not responding,” he said. “She had a bad blow to the head. I just heard from Taneesha that they’re doing some kind of procedure to relieve pressure on the brain. It looks like she’s going to live, but I’m worried about how she’ll be when she comes around.”

  “Do you think this is connected with the other … with Buzz McFall’s death?” she asked.

  “I hope so,” he said. “Maybe if we figure out who tried to kill Augusta, we’ll know who killed Buzz, too.”

  “Remember, today was the day Bethie and I were going to make some cookies to take over to the McFalls’ house and maybe invite Caitlin over here,” Hunter said. “I guess we should change plans.”

  “No,” Sam said, “Please do go. The kid seems downright gloomy, and her mother’s not going to get here until tomorrow. Tab’s gone off somewhere, and he’s the only one she seems close to. Besides, I think she’s getting on her grandmother’s nerves.”

  “We’ll do it then,” Hunter said.

  “And one more thing,” Sam said.

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t take all the cookies over there.”

  Hunter laughed.

  “Somebody hit the McFall’s housekeeper on the head while she was sleeping, and gave her a bad concussion” Tarquin told Lucasta over the phone. “It didn’t kill her, but they don’t know how she’s going to be when she comes around. There must be fifty people here waiting to see how she is.”

  Lucasta took a deep breath and was silent for a few moments. Tarquin was about to ask “Are you still there?” when she said, “I knew it. I knew that dream I had meant something.”

  “You had a dream about it?” Tarquin asked.

  “I dreamed that someone came into my room and was standing over me and then I woke up with my heart pounding and my head hurting.”

  “Was it a man or a woman?” Tarquin asked.

  “A man, I think,” Lucasta said. “Consumed with hatred.”

  “Hmm. I think it was a woman,” Tarquin said, cautiously. “I think it was Lillian.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Lucasta said. “Lillian wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  “I’ve got to go,” Tarquin said.

  Chapter 35

  “You know, you remind me of your grandmother,” Taneesha said to Kenyatta Johnson as they sat side-by-side in the waiting room. “I like the way you’ve been staying calm and trying to help your mother. “

  “Thank you,” Kenyatta said, with tears suddenly bright in her eyes. “I’m really so mad I can hardly stand it.”

  “I’m mad, too,” Taneesha said, “And we’re going to do everything we can to find out who did this.”

  “Will there be television people down here again?” Kenyatta asked.

  “I hope not,” Taneesha said, “That was mostly because Buzz McFall was running for governor so he was in the state news, but you know your grandmother is very important to this community, and everybody’s concerned.”

  “Do you think she’s going to be all right?” Kenyatta asked. “I mean I know the doctor said she’s going to live, but will her mind be clear?”

  “I don’t know, but I sure hope so,” Taneesha said. “I want her to wake up, and sit up and tell us exactly who it was who hit her, but from what the doctor says, they’re going to keep her sedated for a while, so we’re going to have to wait and see. And pray.”

  “If she tells us who it was, will they be arrested and go to prison?” Kenyatta asked.

  “Absolutely,” Taneesha said.

  They sat in silence for a while, and Kenyatta asked, “Did Caitlin’s mother come and get her?”

  “Not yet,” Taneesha said. “But I think she’s on her way.”

  “I feel sorry for Caitlin,” Kenyatta said. “It’s like nobody cares about her. Well, maybe her daddy did, but her mother went off to Spain and from what Grandma said, Caitlin’s stepmother just left after the funeral. And on top of all that, she thinks this guy is her boyfriend, but I don’t think he likes her that much.”

  “You mean a boyfriend back in Atlanta?” Taneesha asked.

  “I think he lives in Atlanta, too,” Kenyatta said. “He was down here that day when everything happened.”

  “Monday?” Taneesha asked. “You mean he came down here from Atlanta? What’s his name? What does he look like?”

  “She calls him Deck, but his name is Declan,” Kenyatta said, and then she giggled. “He doesn’t look like much, kinda scrawny, but he’s got good clothes. I saw them kissing on the back stairs. She was just all over him.”

  “When was this?” Taneesha asked.

  “Just after they all got to the house,” Kenyatta said. “He had to carry all the luggage upstairs, and she was tagging along beside him. I asked her if he was her boyfriend and she said yes. She said they rode down from Atlanta together, listening to music and talking, but you know, I think he must have been tired of her because I saw him going back out to his car. He left for a while and came back, and sat in the car and she went out there and talked to him, and he finally came back in, but he was just standing around, not talking to anybody.”

  “I need to write this down,” Taneesha said, taking out her notebook and pen.

  “Why?” Kenyatta asked.

  “It’s just something we didn’t know about that day,” Taneesha said, “Now let me make sure I got this right. Did you tell anybody else about him and Caitlin?”

  “Only Grandma,” Kenyatta said, “And I didn’t tell her about the kissing. You know my mother came and got me that day after they found Caitlin’s father dead that way. I wasn’t feeling too good, anyway. Then later, when Grandma was telling us about all that happened with you and the Sheriff coming, I just asked her if Declan had stayed. I told her Caitlin said he was her boyfriend. She said he might look like a boy, but he was too old for Caitlin—that he was out of college.”

  Taneesha had a quick memory of Declan Reeves, standing by his father, looking faintly ill, wanting to leave.

  She got up and went to the hallway to leave a message for Sam.

  Chapter 36

  Sam and Skeet were at Lucasta Tilling’s home.

  “I can’t believe you’re here again,” she said. “This is harassment. That’s what it is. I told you already I don’t know anything about any embroidered jewelry bag or any pearls, and if this is about that housekeeper of theirs getting hurt, I just learned about that this morning.”

  “I’m sorry we have to keep coming over here, Miss Tilling,” Sam said, “But you brought some of this on yourself by wandering around in somebody else�
��s house. We know people have been driving by the McFall house at night, and some cars are stopping. Did you do that last night?”

  “No, I did not. I was home all night asleep. And I don’t do that anyway. You’ve never heard me say I saw Lillian. Some might claim that, but I think they’re imagining things. I’ve only heard her and felt her presence, and had occasional dreams …”

  “How did you know about the McFalls’ housekeeper being hurt?” Skeet asked.

  Lucasta blinked and seemed to consider her answer.

  “If you must know, I heard it from Tarquin Greathouse,” she finally said. “He’s one of our members. He works at the hospital. He thought I would be interested because he overheard that she worked for the McFalls. He thought it was interesting in view of other things that have happened over there, and I should tell you that I did have a dream last night that might have some bearing on that.”

  “Never mind,” Sam said, getting up to leave. Skeet pushed two cats away and got up from the sofa.

  “I believe it was a tall man,” Lucasta said.

  “Thank you for your cooperation,” Sam said. “I hope we won’t have to bother you again.”

  Mallory called Hunter to ask about Augusta Wren, and Hunter told her what she knew.

  “That sure got around fast,” Hunter said

  “I found out from Miss Rose,” Mallory said. “Her cold’s better, but she had her old watch on, so I guess she didn’t find the one you gave her.”

  “I’m going to drop by the McFalls’ house with some cookies this afternoon,” Hunter said. “Maybe I’ll ask about it. If it hasn’t turned up there, I’m just going to order her another.”

  “Good,” Mallory said, “and if you’ve got a minute, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. You know I was fussing about Tucker not liking Ben.”

  “Right,” Hunter said.

  “Tucker apologized,” Mallory said, “But then it turned out that he was kind of right. Ben’s trial got held over until Monday, and he called yesterday afternoon and wanted me to ride down there and spend the weekend with him. I thought he meant both of us, but he didn’t mean Tucker. He said that. He just meant me, and then he asked me if I was really that serious about Tucker. Can you believe that? I said yes I was. He wasn’t too happy when he hung up.”

  “Did you tell Tucker about this?” Hunter asked, laughing.

  “No. And don’t laugh. I feel bad that I didn’t,” Mallory said, “Because we always tell each other everything, and he was so sweet like it was all his fault, and he wanted to make it up to me. He wants us to drive up to Macon to have dinner at some fancy place tomorrow night.”

  “That sounds to me like a happy ending,” Hunter said. “Don’t tell him.”

  “You think I shouldn’t?”

  “Definitely not,” Hunter said. “He’ll never let you forget it. You know I told you that I had one date with T.J. Jackson. Just one. Sam had never asked me out, and T.J. did. It turned out he was allergic to my cat and spent the whole time talking about his ex-wife—the one he married again. I wound up telling him he ought to try to get back together with her. That was the date. To hear Sam talk, you’d think T.J. and I were practically engaged, and he broke us up.”

  Chapter 37

  Bethie pulled the fourth pan of perfect cookies out the oven and admired her handiwork.

  “Okay,” Hunter said. “As soon as they cool, we need a tin of them for Caitlin McFall, and the rest can go in the cookie jar.”

  “I want a cookie,” Ty said reaching toward the hot pan.

  “After you eat your lunch,” Hunter said, as Bethie swung the pan out of his way.

  Over hot dogs for lunch, Hunter told Bethie about Miss Rose misplacing the watch. Bethie, who had helped pick it out and wrapped the package, said, “Oh, we have to get her another one. She really liked it.”

  “That’s just what I was thinking,” Hunter said. “But first I’m going to make sure it hasn’t shown up at the McFalls’ house. I don’t think we can stay very long. I was expecting your dad to be home today, and now we’re going to have Ty along, too.”

  Taneesha had two pieces of information for Sam when he called back. The first was from the emergency room doctor, who said that in cleaning Augusta’s wound, they had found a small flake of red clay that looked as if it had come from a brick.

  She had already called the crime tech team, and they verified that there were bricks, sunk in a diagonal pattern around the shrubbery at the front door of the guest house. None were out of place, and it seemed unlikely that there would be prints on any of them following the freezing rain of the night before, but they’d be taking them up anyway.

  Then she told him about her talk with Kenyatta.

  “Declan Taggart was upstairs in all the rooms if he was taking the luggage up,” she said, “and Kenyatta says she saw him kissing Caitlin—or Caitlin kissing him. Kenyatta told Augusta about it later.”

  “That’s interesting,” Sam said. “That might be what Augusta was talking to Declan about after the funeral.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Taneesha said. “Maybe Buzz saw something going on between Declan and his daughter and threatened to fire Declan. We’ve been thinking he was scared of Pink McFall, but maybe he was scared of Buzz McFall. Why’d he drive off and come back? Why’d he go sit in his car? And why’d he look so scared that night? Could he have killed Buzz McFall?”

  “I guess it’s a possibility,” Sam said. “Caitlin’s a minor, so Buzz could have threatened Declan with something more than getting fired. But, the kid just doesn’t strike me as the aggressive kind. He went out and hid in his car.”

  “This was definitely a cowardly crime,” Taneesha said.

  “We’d better look into it,” Sam said. “I’d like to talk to Caitlin again, and soon—because she’s going to be leaving —but I want to hear what Declan has to say first. Of course, that doesn’t explain the business with Augusta. He’d have had to drive through the rain from Atlanta to do that.”

  “And I still want to know where Tab McFall has gotten off to,” he added. “Why did he just happen to leave this morning without telling anybody where he was going, and why is his phone off?”

  “Motive?” Taneesha asked.

  “Who knows who’s got a motive in this mess?” Sam said. “But Tab’s could be simple. Maybe he needed money and thought he’d come into a bunch if his dad died. Maybe his Dad caught him stealing the pearls from his grandmother’s bedroom. Maybe Augusta knew something and said something to him. He had the opportunity to frame Augusta, too. After all, he spent the night at his grandparents’ house.”

  Sam made a call to Dawson Taggart as soon as he got off the phone with Taneesha.

  “How do I reach Declan?” he asked. “I need to talk with him again. Just a few details to clear up.”

  “He lost his cell phone, and he’s gotten a new one,” Dawson said, sounding weary of the whole thing. “I don’t have the number, but if it’s important, I’ll go over to his apartment and get him to call you.”

  “It would be a help,” Sam said.

  Chapter 38

  Tab McFall had a motive for disappearing. He knew he should haven’t left town, but he was exhausted with his family.

  He had gotten up early and just headed for his car as soon as he was dressed. At first, he meant to find a place to have a quiet cup of coffee and think about things, but then, on an impulse, he headed to Macon to pick up his college friend Jack Barrow.

  They had hit the road and stopped at lunchtime to feast on pit barbecue, Brunswick stew, and cole slaw near Jackson. Then they decided to drive from Jackson to Jeffersonville to surprise another friend. They got lost a few times and wound up on a two-lane country road with very little traffic and plenty of curves.

  “I just had to get out of there,” Tab confided to Jack, as he leaned back and
stretched with one hand on the steering wheel. “My mom’s probably going to chew me out when I get home because she’s worn out with the whole thing, too. Non-stop drama. I’ve got my phone turned off, or it would probably be ringing every two minutes. My half sister’s mother is taking her time coming from Spain to get her. The kid’s been bored out of her mind at my grandparents’ house, so she’s been coming over to my house and driving my mom crazy with her music and her mess.”

  “I remember when my grandmother died,” Jack said. “I mean I loved her and all that, but it was just like a whole week of people having fits and fighting over her old furniture and arguing about who was going to take care of this little bitty dog she had. The dog was older than I was and was on this special diet, so my uncle said they needed to put it down, and my sister got hysterical crying over that. Then my mother and my aunt had an argument over who was going to get some old teapots.”

  He glanced at the speedometer and said, “You’re going 75, Tab. This isn’t the interstate.”

  Tab shrugged.

  “Never have had a wreck in my life,” he said.

  Getting away was helping. He was thinking about going back to college—being away from home again and with people his own age. The problems he had, he told himself, were pretty much the same as Jack’s—needing to finish college, be ready for some kind of career— and maybe needing to get a part-time job soon. It wasn’t the end of the world.

  “Not to be crass,” Jack said, “But are you going to be rich now?”

  “No,” Tab said, executing another curve, “Looks like Dad was in debt big time…”

  “Watch out!” Jack shouted as Tab slammed on the brakes.