She searched the triage room until her eyes landed on Emily. “RahRah? Peter?”
“RahRah is happily lying in the sun in your kitchen and Peter is a resident in his own jail.” Emily leaned over the edge of the stretcher and took Sarah’s hand. “He confessed to murdering Richard and zapping you. He apparently feels quite guilty. We’ve been waiting for you to stay awake long enough for the doctors to let us take you home. RahRah misses his mother.”
Sarah ran her hand over her face. “How long have I been here? I don’t seem to remember everything.”
“That’s because you did the almost impossible. You Tased Peter, managed to shoot yourself, too, and bumped your head again when you passed out.”
Sarah stared at Emily.
“It’s very simple,” Harlan said. “Tasers have a stun field between two electrodes. When Peter shot you the first time, both electrodes apparently hit you in the back. If you’d hit him with two electrodes when you pulled the trigger, even if you were touching, nothing would have happened to you, but you managed to be touching and to hit each of you with one of the electrodes. Consequently, you were both in the stun field.” Harlan glanced at Emily. “Too much information?”
Both sisters looked at each other and then at Harlan. In unison, they said, “Yes.”
Emily patted Sarah’s hand. “Relax. It’s only been a little while. It just seems like hours to you. The main thing is you’re fine. The aftermath of everything should fade quickly.”
“And you’re off the hook, too,” Sarah said excitedly, her memory returning. “Harlan, you need to get the tox reports. Peter told me Bill really died from an unintentional allergic reaction. You’ve got to—”
Harlan motioned for her to calm down. “Peter told the authorities everything about Bill and Richard.”
“Richard? Peter said he put his nose where it didn’t belong. And that I had, too.” Sarah lay back on her pillows.
“Peter probably isn’t the only one who ever accused the two of you of poking your noses where they don’t belong.”
“That’s not fair. Sarah and I simply have a healthy level of curiosity.”
Harlan glanced around the triage room. “I don’t think this qualifies as healthy.”
Sarah ignored Harlan’s remark. Instead, she followed up on the question still bothering her. “What did Richard do that pushed Peter over the edge?”
“He attacked you on the stairs of your apartment. You surprised him by coming home from the Expo early when he’d gone to your place on Jane’s behalf to get RahRah. When Peter confronted him on the loading dock about it, Richard threatened to publicize Peter’s knowledge of and acquiescence to Bill’s shady activities with his deals and the Southwind buyouts. Apparently, Richard did enough odd jobs for Bill, he knew where the skeletons were buried.”
“But wouldn’t that have implicated Richard, too?”
“Peter claims he wasn’t thinking straight. Apparently, when he found Richard on the loading dock having a smoke and sharpening his knife, Peter’s police chief hat went on. He accused Richard of breaking into your apartment and sabotaging the Southwind refrigerator. Richard didn’t deny doing these things, but he suggested Peter look the other way, as he’d done with Bill. Things got edgy and Richard crossed the final line, according to Peter, when he pointed out neither Peter’s ex-wife nor Ralph Hightower would look kindly on letting the ‘Hightower’ children associate with a dirty cop. Threatened with losing access to his sons, Peter lost it and grabbed Richard’s knife.”
Emily squeezed onto the stretcher next to Sarah. “Until Peter confessed, I completely forgot Richard took his knife roll with him when he left Jane’s booth.”
“But I don’t understand. There was so much blood, but when we saw him, Peter and his uniform were clean.”
“He got lucky there. His car was behind the loading dock. Remember, that’s where the security chief and Peter blocked off spaces for themselves? Everyone was so busy with the Expo opening, no one saw him run to his car or go directly into his office and private shower from his reserved underground office parking spot.”
“And the knife roll?”
“Could have been out of a TV show. The murder weapon was already in the evidence room, so he hid the knife roll in plain sight there, too.”
Sarah shook her head, but the cobwebs remained. “But what made Richard take on Peter? Surely, if he knew Peter was involved, he would have wanted to keep him on his side?”
Emily fielded the question. “When Bill died, Richard weighed what would be best for him. He knew Peter and Jacob didn’t own any land, yet, so their plan was still a pipe dream, but both Bill and Jane had boasted they controlled Southwind’s future. That’s why he allied himself with her against me. He cut the refrigerator cord and put out the Ex-Lax brownies to sabotage my management efforts and my participation in the Expo. To keep her happy, Richard even took a break from prepping spices and broke into your apartment to get RahRah when Jane was afraid Peter’s stalling meant he was reneging on her having possession of RahRah. She feared he’d also take away the houses and restaurant.”
The smell on the stairs came back to Sarah. “That’s it. It was cinnamon and vanilla, not cologne. It still doesn’t make total sense to me. Harlan, Peter and you were making me give RahRah to her. Why take the chance of breaking into my apartment?”
“Jane was afraid to wait in case someone realized all the signatures on the documents Peter had were fake. You should thank her for meddling. If Jane hadn’t stirred everything up, I probably wouldn’t have gone looking for the original documents and discovered the ones Peter showed us had never been formally signed, witnessed, and notarized.”
“So, who?”
“Probably Peter on the copy he showed us or maybe Bill on some. It doesn’t matter now as they were never signed in accordance with Alabama law. I got lucky when I recognized the name of an attorney on one of the documents and could trace the real will executed by Mrs. Blair. It left the carriage house and a funded animal trust for you to care for RahRah. The big house and her remaining assets went to Bill.”
Sarah lay quiet, stunned. “Harlan, when you knew the documents Peter showed us were fake, why didn’t you tell me? Were you going to tell me when you fired me?”
“Your job has nothing to do with anything. It’s yours as long as you want it, but don’t expect a raise soon.”
He laughed and then got quiet. “Sarah, I wanted to protect you, so I thought it best not to say anything until I put this to rest once and for all with Peter. Unfortunately, my desire for you to see me as your white knight backfired.”
Sarah exchanged a glance with Emily. She’d been so busy fantasizing about Peter, she’d never considered that all the extras he had done for Emily and her might have been from an interest in her rather than their employer-employee relationship.
“I shudder to think what might have happened because I didn’t realize Peter was involved. I not only shared what I found with him, but told him I was waiting for confirmation Bill never executed a new will after your divorce.”
“Is that important?”
“Yup, the way I look at it, after we probate Mrs. Blair’s and Bill’s original wills and the animal trust, you’ll be RahRah’s trustee, part owner of Southwind, and you’ll own both houses, plus whatever assets there are.”
“Does that include the bracelet I’m accused of taking?”
“Yes, but it’s pretty apparent that was another fib designed to undermine your credibility. It’s moot now, anyway. Whether you find it or not, all of the jewelry is yours.”
Sarah swallowed, but Emily let out a “woohoo” whoop. “Just think, Bill’s given you the chance to finally try to follow in Perry Mason’s footsteps. You can do whatever you want. Maybe you should thank Bill for putting RahRah and you on Easy Street instead of Main Street.”
Sarah rolled her eyes upward. “I think I need to thank Mother Blair for that.”
RECIPES
Sarah’s
Spinach Pie
A family friend makes this with an honest to goodness thinly sliced onion and diced mushrooms that she browns in oil, drains, and uses in the layers, but Sarah’s recipe is one of convenience.
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 pie crust (deep dish)
1 package Durkee’s French Fried Onions
1 can or jar of diced or sliced mushrooms, drained
2 pkgs. Stouffer’s frozen spinach soufflé
Spread a layer of cheese in the bottom of the raw pie crust. Spread onions and mushrooms next. Repeat. Retain some cheese and onions to top off the pie. Place thawed soufflé in pie crust and mush it around to cover the layer below. Bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees and then sprinkle remaining cheese and onions on top and finish for 7–10 minutes. For best results, let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Delicious as a leftover.
Jell-O in a Can
In the 1950s, Jell-O and Dole Pineapple joined forces to create the Jell-O in the Pineapple Can recipe.
1 20 oz. can of sliced pineapple
1 3 oz. pkg. of Jell-O gelatin, any flavor choice
1 cup boiling water
Optional: 1 banana or other type of fruit
Open the can and pour off the pineapple juice but leave the pineapple in the can. Dissolve the Jell-O in boiling water and permit it to cool slightly before pouring the Jell-O and water mixture into the can, over the pineapple. If desired, place the banana or other fruit in the center of the rings of pineapple.
Chill until set.
To serve, run a knife around the inside of the can and tip it out. (Before rimmed flip-top cans, one pushed the jelled mixture through and out using the bottom of the can.) Slice between the pineapple rings and serve.
One Taste Too Many Page 26