Grounds for Remorse

by Misty Simon

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, spit it out. What do you want? Another go at Gina? Another session of blaming her for Craig’s shortcomings?”

  “No.” She gulped and spoke louder. “No, I need you to find out who did this, and I want to know who this new woman is.”

  “Look it up on the Internet. I’m not sure what your game is, but you’ve thrown Gina under the bus every chance you get. My best friend did not kill Craig. She had no intention of seeing him ever again. He’s the one who came by her house and threw flowers at my boyfriend thinking he was there for Gina. He’s the one who somehow snuck into Gina’s stair well and then fell down the stairs to his death. She had nothing to do with any of that. She thought she was meeting a nice guy off the Internet and instead she got this.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry.”

  I snorted.

  “No, really I am.” She moved around the hood of the car to stand in front of me. I opened my door just to keep something between us. She could go from hot to cold in an instant. I’d seen it happen before. I didn’t know what, if anything, she had with her. She could still be the killer, trying to foist it off on everyone else simply because it was the easiest way to deflect attention from the fact that she’d finally had enough and had killed her own husband.

  “And how do I know you didn’t kill him? You could have just as easily slipped something into his dinner or something into a drink.”

  She shook her head so hard her hair flew around. “Never. I loved him.”

  “That’s not exactly the way it came off when we were cleaning your house.”

  Tears ran down her face and they looked real this time, real distress and real heartbreak.

  “I was so distraught and thought I just wanted to move on without him because of the way he’d looked at Gina. He never looked at me like that, like he thought I was everything. When I found him in the coffeehouse I’ve wanted for years, eyeing up the owner with those roses that he used to bring me before we got married, I lost it. I wanted to throw everything out.”

  Now that I could understand.

  “Is that why you keep blaming Gina? Because you want her to pay for him looking at her like that?”

  Using the heels of her hands, she dug into her cheeks to get rid of the tears. “Yes, I’m sorry, but yes. It still hurts, and I want someone to pay. I swear to you I didn’t kill him. I don’t really even think Gina did. But someone poisoned him, and now I might never know who because the police won’t talk to me anymore because they’re not sure if I’m his real wife or just another ‘other’ woman.” A sob broke free. “My God, I don’t even know what to do. She could take everything we have.”

  I let her sob it out. There was nothing I could do for her, and I didn’t know if she would want comfort from me. It did put a little hitch in my anger toward her as I watched her, though. I wasn’t completely heartless. I ended up patting her on the back. Before I knew it, she was hugging me tight and shedding tears all over my shoulder.

  She backed away after a few moments, obviously trying to compose herself. “I’m sorry. You don’t even know me, and until a few minutes ago, I hated you almost as much as I hated Gina.”

  So much hatred and angst. She lived in a world where she never got what she wanted. I tried to imagine myself there and couldn’t. My life might not be awesome right now, but I had a lot of good things going on and I was thankful for every one of them. I softened, just a little, not enough to feel bad for her but at least enough to feel pity. “Maybe you should go home and see what’s there.”

  “Will you come with me?”

  Well, I certainly hadn’t expected that. And yet, it could give me just the access I had been looking for.

  “Of course.” That mental calendar I kept in my head was whirling through the things I had to do today. I had two houses to clean this evening, spaced hours apart. I had the time.

  At this point, I’d make the time if I had to. No one was off the hook completely until we found out who had killed Craig and hurt Brenna. It could be the same person, or two separate ones, but someone was responsible for the pain caused to both parties. I didn’t want any more to happen before I found out who had come to town with vengeance on their mind and poison in their pocket.

  Chapter Nine

  I made a quick call to Gina to update her while Michelle got into her car.

  I still didn’t trust Michelle completely, but what she had said made sense. I’d have to go with my gut on this one, praying I wasn’t wrong. Being at the house would at least give me the lay of the land and I could find out what Michelle thought she had on Gina that would prove her guilt.

  “I’m working on it,” I said after Gina warned me for the fourth time to please be careful.

  “I know that, but this is not all about you figuring it out. I want you safe more. This has gotten out of hand. I can’t believe the police are here taking those old bottles out of the cabinet. Some of that stuff is over a hundred years old. They could harm someone just by opening the stopper.”

  I hadn’t considered that. “Hopefully they’re being careful. I don’t think they really believe you did it, but they have to follow all avenues while I can just get right to the pieces that will make this whole picture fit.”

  “Fine, but you’d better not come back dead.”

  “Thank you so much for the warm wishes.”

  “It’s what I do.” She hung up before I could shoot a zinger back at her.

  We pulled up in front of Michelle’s house only to find that there was no room for us in the driveway. A huge moving truck took up half the driveway and a small compact took up the other half because of the way it was parked.

  Stopping my car at the curb behind Michelle’s, we both got out and convened in front of my car.

  “This has to be her.” Anger was a mild word for the venomous tone in Michelle’s voice.

  “Yeah, I don’t think there’s much doubt about that, but how did she get in?”

  I saw no evidence of anyone outside. Inside, though, there was plenty of noise. Did we knock on the door? Or just walk in since Michelle did own the house, too?

  “Is your name on the mortgage?” I asked, hoping she’d say yes.

  “No,” she whispered. “Craig thought it would be better if everything was in his name so that it could all be a tax write-off.”

  Oh man. I didn’t say that out loud because I didn’t want to make her even more upset. The tears sparkled in her eyes again, and I thought she might need a drink of water soon, just to stay hydrated.

  “Okay, let me call this in to the police. We’ll see what can be done.”

  I didn’t call the local police in Harrisburg, even though they would have been the smart choice and probably the right one. I highly doubted Burton had any jurisdiction over here across the river, but I at least needed to know what my options were.

  “What do you have for me now, Tallie?” Burton rattled out as soon as he picked up. “And it had better not be another dead body.”

  “No, I promise, it’s not that.” I turned away from Michelle and lowered my voice. She could probably still hear me, but at least I was trying to be discreet. “Michelle and I are at Craig’s house and there’s a huge moving van and a car. People are moving around inside. Michelle says she didn’t authorize anyone to go into the house. What can we do?”

  “Sit tight, don’t move. I’ll call a buddy of mine and have him come out.”

  “You want us to just stand outside here and hope no one sees us? That no one comes out for a confrontation?”

  “Your mind is a terrifying place. They probably don’t even see you, and it’s a public road. You could be going to the bookstore across the street. I saw it when we had to go tell Michelle about Craig’s death. In fact, why don’t you go there? Don’t worry so much. Someone will be there in a little while. Just keep your cool until they show up.”

  Of course, not thirty seconds passed after I hung up with Burton that Lily came floating out of the house a
s if she were greeting party guests.

  “Tallie, and dear Michelle. Is there something I can do for you?”

  “You can get out of my house!” Michelle marched up onto the small front lawn with her hands on her hips. I was moving before I could stop myself and got right in between them. I did not want Michelle throwing any punches when the cops got here.

  “Oh dear, we have a problem. You see, this is my house,” Lily replied.

  “Why can’t you just stop?” I moved to the right a little to block all view of Michelle behind me. I wanted Lily to focus only on me. “He just died. Michelle had no idea about you and within hours you’re taking over her stuff. This can’t be legal. Even if it is, you could at least give her a chance to get her own stuff out before you go steamrolling through. There has to be a law against this. You have no idea if Craig divorced you without you getting paperwork for it. You have no idea if your marriage is even still legal. And you certainly can’t think that everything in this house, including the house, is yours.”

  Despite my vehemence, she just laughed in my face.

  “You don’t think I would have checked all of that out before I came winging in here? I’ve got the papers to prove my marriage. I already spoke with the Harrisburg police and plan on dropping them off to your chief of police as soon as I’m done here.”

  I’d have to ask Burton what they said when he got them. I pulled myself back to the conversation because she was still talking. I didn’t want to miss what she had to say.

  “I ignored Craig for years. But I decided I wanted a real divorce, to make sure that I was free of him because I have new plans of my own to make happen. Was it coincidence or fate that I come into town just as he dies and everything I’ve already made sure is mine is actually mine?” She smiled.

  I laid a hand on Michelle’s arm to keep her from pouncing on the other woman.

  “Now, dear Michelle, I was going to talk with him about divorcing and splitting everything in half so that he could marry you for real. I wanted my share, though. I built my own life hours away where we had lived together after marrying. I started keeping my eyes and ears open for any sign of him about a year ago when I realized that I should be free to pursue my own dreams and life. Early on it was convenient to stay a missus and let him do whatever floated his boat, but not anymore. So I started looking for him in earnest. I knew about his roving eye from our early years together and figured it would get him into trouble at some point. Who knew that it would happen just as I was coming in for the kill?” She covered her mouth as she giggled. “I guess that’s probably not the most appropriate way to put it. Freudian slip. I didn’t really kill him, but I was going to take him to court for half of everything I should have had all these years after he walked out on me. And now what’s his is mine.”

  She broke eye contact with Michelle to lock gazes with me while she continued to smile. “So no, I don’t think I will wait. This is all just falling right into a neat little plan, and now I don’t have to pay for lawyers. I don’t have to try to split things evenly. It’s all mine. And unless Michelle earned any of the money that went into the buying and stocking of this house, then I say she has no right to anything.”

  That last part was apparently too much for Michelle. She came around me swinging and knocked Lily right to the ground with a left hook that I was both horrified by and mightily impressed with.

  And it didn’t surprise me in the least when that was the moment the cops pulled up with Burton right behind them.

  * * *

  “Why is Michelle here in your jail when her crime was committed across the river?” I sat in Burton’s visitor’s chair, flipping a pen around and around my fingers.

  “Because that police department had some sort of drug bust last night. They don’t have any more room until they process everyone. So, she’s our guest for the moment.” Stacks of paper sat in front of him. He’d sign one, then move it to another pile, sign another and move it to a different pile. Who knew police work involved so many dead trees?

  “Why didn’t you tell me Lily had let you know her marriage license was coming to you?”

  “Because it didn’t concern you.”

  “And yet it did.”

  “Point taken, but we are still operating on a need-to-know basis, and I had no idea she was going to swoop in like that and start cleaning out the house.”

  I made a disgruntled noise, but kept going. “Did you take Michelle’s statement already?”

  Burton’s forehead creased as he continued to stare down at the papers. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to look at me with that scowl on his face. It might freeze me for eternity.

  He smoothed out his brow before lifting his head and clasping his hands together in front of him on the desk. “Yes, Tallie, I processed her. I asked her for her statement. I even gave her the one phone call, but she wanted to call you, and since you were already here I thought that might be unnecessary.”

  “Does Michelle want to talk to me?” I nearly bounced in my seat. “Maybe she’ll admit something she hasn’t already.”

  His eyes narrowed. “There is nothing more to admit. This is a separate incident from Craig’s death at this point. I still have to try to find some information on the woman who swore she might be pregnant. Which she wasn’t, by the way. It was a ruse. She doesn’t even have the parts to be pregnant.”

  “What? Was Craig making time with men and women? How did he ever get any work done?”

  His disgusted sigh should have aggravated me. Instead, it made me smile.

  “I’m sorry. You left yourself wide open for that one. I’m assuming you mean that she’s had a hysterectomy or something.”

  “Yes, she doesn’t have a uterus, so there’s no way she could have been pregnant. Which means that if someone hurt her thinking she was pregnant, it’s an even more senseless act than we thought.”

  “Oh man.”

  “Right. So now I have a death and two assaults. I’m a little busy here right now for you to sit in my chair and play with my pens. You have to have something to do. Clean a house. Get a funeral going? I can’t have you sitting in here all day and distracting me.”

  “Sure. I get it. Can I talk to Michelle before I go? If she wanted to call me, I really think there’s value in at least seeing what she has to say. I’m surprised she had no one else to call. I would have thought she would have at least called Craig’s partner, Drake. Or her brother.”

  “No, no call to Drake Fuller. In fact, I asked her about that, and she said she just wasn’t ready to deal with him and his issues when she had so many of her own going on. She was even more close-lipped about her brother.”

  Interesting. I figured I might have to talk to the brother eventually but truly didn’t want to. Instead I added Drake to the list of people I should talk to in between house cleanings tomorrow. I would make sure my customers got their money’s worth, but there would be no extras. At this point, maybe I’d need to take Max up on his offer to help, since we could be done that much sooner.

  With everything that had gone on today, I wasn’t going to get a chance to just hang with Max until much later.

  For every step forward I might have taken, I kept getting rocked back at least fourteen. And instead of just one murder and one bad guy, now I had this convoluted mess to unravel before I could even begin to figure out why someone would truly want Craig dead. It could have been his partner who wanted his wife for himself, the secretary who wanted Craig for herself, the woman who was willing to fake a pregnancy to claim a man who was never going to be hers, one of the scorned women coming after him for lying about being single. It could have been Michelle, who thought she was a wife and who wasn’t, or the wife whom no one had known about and yet probably was. Maybe even Michelle’s brother, who had threatened Drake at the funeral after-party. That last one I wasn’t sure about, but he had seemed nasty and that was enough to make it on my list at this point.

  I really needed my pad of paper, but there was
little hope of having time with it until after my jobs were done. I needed something portable to take with me, but I’d have to come up with an alternative for that later.

  I called Max and asked him to meet me at Buffy Hoffington’s place at four-thirty. Timing would be tight, but it was a weekly cleaning job and Mr. Hoffington usually picked up after himself. No socks crammed in the sofa would be nice.

  Arriving at Buffy’s, Max and I emerged from our cars at the same time. My Lexus had seen better days, but at least it ran nicely. Max had an SUV that could probably hold a football team. I had never understood why he needed that much room for one person, but who was I to question his vehicle of choice? I knew he wasn’t compensating for anything, so maybe there was another reason he felt the need to drive what looked like a bus on oversized tires.

  He grabbed me up in a hug and kissed me on my cheek. Someone swished the curtain at the front window, so I pushed away from Max.

  “You are too much. This is a small town and people like to talk.”

  “So let them talk. What do we care?”

  “We don’t, but technically I’m on a job and you’re my help. The boss shouldn’t be messing with the employee.”

  I laughed at the dumbfounded look on his face.

  “We can go back to just boyfriend and girlfriend after we clean up at the Hoffingtons’.”

  “As long as you promise.”

  “Absolutely.”

  He patted me on the butt on our way up the walkway. I let that one slide since no one would have been able to see it. Buffy opened the door before I could knock.

  “Is this the young man I keep hearing about? Quite the step up from Walden.”

  I blushed. I didn’t quite know why, except that I disliked talking about my former, and now dead, husband in front of Max.

  When Max was with me I tried to keep things light and fun. We were still in the beginning stages of this relationship and it was taking longer because of the distance between us. He lived three hours away, so we weren’t in each other’s circles constantly. We didn’t know what life would be like if we lived in the same town and frequented the same restaurants with friends, or wound up at the grocery store at the same time. I didn’t think I was ready for that just yet, so I hadn’t encouraged Max to move himself up here, and I wasn’t ready to uproot my life once again to move down there. Plus, I wouldn’t have work down there, nor would I have any friends. When the time came, I guess Max would move up here, but working for the government the way he did, on a tax task force, might not be a telecommuter position.