Up Shute Creek: Rose Gardner Investigation #4

by Denise Grover Swank

  Sarah and Marsha looked happy in most of the photos—a mother and daughter who genuinely loved one another. I felt some of the tension leave Neely Kate’s body. I was sure Nina’s allegation that Marsha was only looking for her daughter because of the potential money had concerned her. It had definitely concerned me.

  “Do you want to have a seat?” Marsha asked.

  “Thanks,” Neely Kate said, taking a seat on the sofa, and I joined her.

  Marsha sat in the catty-corner love seat. “You said you found out some things?”

  While I was trying to decide where to start, Neely Kate jumped right in. “Did you ever notice any bruises on Sarah’s arms or neck?” She’d obviously latched on to the part that concerned her most.

  Marsha’s eyes flew wide, but there was a hint of guilt in them too. “Bruises?”

  “You’re sayin’ you didn’t see any?” Neely Kate asked, and I was proud of her for keeping her tone neutral.

  “Of course I noticed bruises,” Marsha said softly. “Sarah has always bruised so easily. When she was little, I asked the doctor to check if she was a hemophiliac, but the doctor dismissed it, saying mostly boys got that.”

  “But you didn’t notice bruises showin’ up more recently?” I pressed. “The staff at the dentist’s office commented on it.”

  Her hand went to the base of her throat and she started to fiddle with the thin silver chain around her neck. “No…” She didn’t sound convincing.

  Neely Kate leaned forward. “Marsha, this is important. Are you sure you didn’t notice them? Sarah’s former coworkers said they started not long before she stopped working there.”

  Marsha shook her head but wouldn’t make eye contact with either of us.

  Neely Kate sat back and her tone became less pleading. “Did Sarah bring home any flower arrangements over the last few months?”

  Marsha’s gaze jerked up in surprise. “A few. Why?”

  “Did she ever say who they were from?”

  “They were from Digger. I figured he finally decided to step up, ya know?”

  Neely Kate pressed on. “But she never specifically said that they were from Digger?”

  She shook her head. “No. I guess not.”

  “Did you ever see one of the cards?” I asked. “I know it would be an invasion of privacy to look,” I quickly added. “But I assure you we won’t judge. In fact, it might be helpful if you did look.”

  Marsha shook her head. “There were never any cards. Just flowers, and not cheap ones. Roses and such. I figured Digger was payin’ for ’em with his wages from the tire store.”

  I cast a glance to Neely Kate, hoping to get a sense of where she wanted to go with this. It was obvious Marsha had noticed her daughter’s bruises, but that didn’t mean she knew who’d given them to her. She could just feel guilty for not intervening.

  Neely Kate must have been on the same wavelength because she asked, “Knowin’ now that Sarah was showing up at work with fresh bruises once a week and she was gettin’ weekly flower arrangements with a card that said ‘sorry,’ who would you think gave those bruises to her?”

  Marsha’s eyes filled with tears. “Digger. I know he smacked her once, about six months ago, and she told him if he ever hit her again she was done.”

  “She told you that?” I asked.

  She nodded. “She showed up late one night, her cheek red and swollen, and she told me.”

  “But she never told you that Digger was hittin’ her again?” Neely Kate asked.

  “No.”

  There could have been a number of reasons for that. Sarah might have been ashamed that she was tolerating his abuse, or perhaps she’d hidden it from her mother because her abuser was someone else, someone her mother would want to protect.

  Conrad.

  I considered asking her about Conrad, but I was worried she’d shut down from the obvious leap in my line of questioning. Instead, I decided to tackle a different topic then circle back to Marsha’s boyfriend. “Nina said that Sarah asked her to move in with her.”

  She blinked in confusion. “In here?”

  “No,” I said. “She wanted to get her own place.”

  She shook her head in shock. “She never mentioned it.”

  “Nina also said that Sarah told her she’d come into some money.”

  Marsha looked even more confused. “What money?”

  “Nina didn’t know, only that Sarah had told her she was goin’ to collect it on the Sunday she disappeared. She and Sarah were planning to run off together.”

  “Run off?” she practically screeched. “So she really did run away?”

  “We don’t know,” Neely Kate said in a soothing tone, “but we’re working under the assumption that she didn’t.”

  “We don’t think she’d run off without Nina,” I added. “She was worried about leavin’ her with Stewie.”

  Marsha shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “That boy is nothin’ but trouble. I told both those girls that when Nina started datin’ him. Then Sarah hooked up with his fool friend.”

  “Do you have any idea where Sarah might have gotten the money?” I asked.

  “How much money?” she asked.

  “We’re thinkin’ a lot,” Neely Kate said. “At least several thousand dollars. Enough to run off and start a new life.”

  I cast a sideways glance to my friend, a little surprised by her answer. Earlier she’d insisted it might not be that much after all.

  Marsha stared at me with huge eyes. “I don’t know. No one I know has money like that.”

  “You don’t save money in the house?” I asked, then carefully added, “Did Conrad?”

  If she begrudged my line of questioning, she didn’t let on. “No.” She made a face. “Most of Conrad’s money goes to his ex-wife and their kids.”

  Neely Kate’s eyebrows shot up. “How much does he pay in child support?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but it’s a good bit.”

  “Does he help pay for the rent?” I asked.

  Pride filled her eyes. “I own my own house.”

  “But I’m sure you have a mortgage payment,” I said gently. “Did Conrad help with that?”

  She hesitated. “He’s in bad shape. His ex-wife cleaned him out. He promises to help once he makes his last payment in a couple of years.” She could see the skepticism on Neely Kate’s face. “He’s a good man, and that bitch screwed him over. He’s just in a bad spot.”

  “What’s Conrad’s ex-wife’s name?” I asked as Neely Kate started writing in her notebook. “And tell me about his kids.”

  Wariness filled her eyes “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Well,” Neely Kate said in an even tone. “They’re kind of Sarah’s stepsiblin’s, right? We should talk to them.”

  “Nikki and Conrad, Jr., don’t have nothin’ to do with Sarah,” she said in a disgusted tone. “In fact, they’ve never even met her. That bitch Nicole wouldn’t let them come to Sunday dinner. Said it was too far.”

  “Where do they live?” I asked.

  “El Dorado, so it ain’t that far.”

  She was right. It was forty-five minutes tops. “Is Conrad current with his child support?”

  “He’s a little bit behind.” Her body tensed, and her eyes darted from me to Neely Kate. “Why’re y’all harpin’ so much on Conrad? He’s not the one to blame for this.”

  “We’re not here to judge, Marsha,” I said. “We’re only tryin’ to figure out where Sarah is.”

  “Then why are you askin’ about Conrad?”

  “Like Rose said,” Neely Kate purred, her voice as sweet as honey. “We’re tryin’ to get a picture of what was goin’ on in Sarah’s head. I’m sure she knew Conrad wasn’t helpin’ financially, but he was sendin’ money to kids who couldn’t even bring themselves to see him. Seems to me that had to bother her?”

  She glanced down, a grimace twisting her mouth. “Yeah. I guess.”

  I took the part a
bout his kids as a no, and the part about not helping in the Freestone household as a yes.

  “Did you have arguments about it?” I asked.

  “A few.”

  “I know you said Conrad took a shine to Sarah,” I said, “and that she didn’t take a shine back. How did they act around each other? Did they argue?”

  “I never saw them argue. They just ignored each other.”

  “And did anything change between them lately?” Neely Kate asked.

  Marsha’s face flushed with anger. “I told you Conrad didn’t do nothin’ to her. He’s worried sick too.”

  “Marsha,” Neely Kate practically cooed. “We’re not accusin’ Conrad of anythin’. But if he and Sarah aren’t gettin’ along, it might have given her a reason to run off.”

  Tears streamed down her face. “I thought you said she didn’t run off.”

  “We flat-out don’t know what happened to her,” I said. “We’re investigatin’ all possibilities.”

  “Conrad didn’t do it.”

  “We believe you,” I said. “Don’t worry about that. This is about us tryin’ to get into Sarah’s head.” I didn’t like lying to Marsha, but it was obvious she desperately wanted to believe in Conrad’s innocence. I couldn’t risk her warning her boyfriend that we were looking into him.

  Marsha grabbed a tissue and wiped her cheeks as she nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense.”

  I crossed my legs and put my hand on my knee. “Did Sarah have a laptop or computer?”

  “She has a laptop, but it’s busted.”

  “How did it get busted?” Neely Kate asked.

  She shrugged, wiping her nose with her damp tissue. “She dropped a cup of water on it, and it never turned back on.”

  “Do you have another computer in the house she might have used?” I asked.

  “No. Conrad has a laptop for work, but I just use my phone. Sarah didn’t have the money to get hers fixed, so she was usin’ her phone too.”

  “Do you happen to know the passwords for her email and social media accounts?” I asked.

  “You want to read her email?” At first she looked surprised, then her shoulders sank. “No. I don’t know ’em. I’m sorry.”

  “Do you mind if we look at her room?” I asked. “It might give us some insights.”

  “Sure.” She got to her feet, and Neely Kate and I followed her to a room with a closed door. “I ain’t touched much since she left.”

  “Okay,” Neely Kate said.

  She pushed the door open, revealing an unmade full-sized bed, a dresser with a couple of partially opened drawers, and a pile of dirty clothes on the floor in front of the closet.

  Neely Kate took a few steps inside and let me in behind her.

  “I take it she doesn’t have any missin’ clothes?” Neely Kate said.

  “It’s hard to say,” Marsha said, “but my suitcase ain’t missin’ and all her makeup is still in the bathroom.”

  I scanned the room, moving closer to her nightstand. “Is it all right if we poke around?”

  Her voice broke. “If it will help you find my daughter, you can haul every last bit of it out. I just want my girl back.”

  A lump filled my throat, but I pushed past it. “We’ll do our best, Marsha. I swear it.”

  She gave me a quick hug. “I know you will.” Then she turned and left, walking toward the living room. I knew without asking it was painful for her to be in Sarah’s room.

  Neely Kate and I spent the next ten minutes rifling through Sarah’s personal possessions, which felt like a huge invasion of her privacy, but I reminded myself it was part of the job. Still, after all our searching, we came up with nothing helpful.

  “Where are all her old ticket stubs and journals or even old school papers?” I asked. “There’s absolutely nothin’ here that tells us anything about Sarah.” The beige walls were completely bare.

  Neely Kate stared at the bed, her face pale, then turned and looked me square in the eye. “This looks like the room of someone wantin’ to protect herself.”

  My heart sank.

  We needed to talk to Conrad. Pronto.

  Chapter 16

  When we walked out of the house, I tucked Sarah’s laptop into Neely Kate’s trunk. We were silent as she pulled out of the driveway.

  Finally, Neely Kate said, “Conrad was abusin’ her. I know it in my gut.”

  I took a breath to ease the dread in my gut. “Yeah. I think so too.”

  “We need to talk to him,” she said, gripping the steering wheel so tightly I was sure she was going to snap it into pieces. “It can’t wait until Thursday.”

  “I agree, but maybe we can get him to do a video call. Then we can watch his reaction when we ask him about the bruises.”

  Her face lit up. “Yeah. Great idea.”

  Neely Kate’s phone rang, and Bruce Wayne’s name appeared on the screen in her center console.

  “Hey, Bruce Wayne,” she said when she answered. “What’s up?”

  “I’ve come up with squat on Carly. I even asked Jed to tell me what he and Witt had found, hopin’ I could expand on it, but it didn’t help. Sorry to have let you down.” Defeat filled his words.

  “You didn’t let us down, Bruce Wayne,” I insisted. “In fact, we have something even more pressin’ for you to look into.”

  Neely Kate’s brow scrunched as she shot me a glance.

  “Sure thing,” Bruce Wayne said, eager to help. “Whatcha need?”

  I continued, “We need you to look into a man named Conrad Duffy. He’s forty-eight years old and lives in Sugar Branch at 407 Denton Drive with Marsha Freestone. She owns the house.”

  “Let me write this down.” He paused for a half minute, then said, “Okay. Go on.”

  “He’s a travelin’ salesman with Blinket Supplies. Marsha says he’s gone Monday through Thursday nights and his route is in Louisiana.”

  “Got it.”

  “He also has an ex-wife, Nicole, and two kids, Nikki and Conrad, Jr. Supposedly they don’t see him. They live in El Dorado. Marsha says Conrad doesn’t help out with expenses for the house because he sends all his money to his ex and doesn’t have any left to help her.”

  “So he’s shackin’ up with her for free, then getting four nights to fool around?” he asked.

  “We think he might have been trying to fool around with our missing person, Marsha’s nineteen-year-old daughter. Conrad comes home on Thursday nights while Marsha’s workin’ the night shift at the Feed and Fuel. Sarah was goin’ to work on Fridays with bruises on her neck and wrists.”

  “Shit,” he muttered.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “You want me to find out if he has a criminal record?”

  “And see what you can find out about the divorce too. Also look into his ex-wife and kids. See if they even exist.”

  “Sure thing,” he said.

  We ended the call, and Neely Kate let out a loud breath. “We should send Conrad a text and tell him we want to video chat with him tonight.”

  “He might tell us no,” I said.

  “True, but he might be open to it if you paint it for him like you did for Digger. That it would only be logical for us to ask her pseudo stepdad what he knows. We don’t give him any hint that we think he’s a pervert.” Her hands tightened on the wheel.

  “Agreed. But if he’s out of town, we can’t let our questioning lead him to believe we suspect him of anything. Otherwise, he might not come home.”

  She nodded. “True.”

  It seemed like every question we resolved led us to have a dozen new ones, like turning over a rock and finding wriggling earthworms, but it finally felt like we were getting somewhere.

  If only things looked better for Sarah.

  We pulled into the parking lot around 5:30. Violet’s car was gone, but I could see Carly talking to a customer in the greenhouse, wearing a warm smile.

  “She doesn’t look unhappy,” Neely Kate said. “That’s a good thing.”r />
  “True. But I can’t stop thinkin’ about what she’s running from. What if it is Hardshaw?”

  “If Carly has a connection to them, then she’s a victim too.”

  I was inclined to believe her. “Nevertheless, we need to talk to her about it. We’ll help her if she needs it, but we need to be prepared. She does too.”

  Neely Kate was quiet for a long moment, then grudgingly said, “Okay.”

  Maeve greeted us with a warm smile of her own when we walked in, and Muffy came barreling around the corner, leaping into my arms as though she hadn’t seen me in a year.

  “Hey, girl,” I said, picking her up and rubbing behind her ears. “I’m really takin’ you home this time.”

  “How’s Carly been?” Neely Kate asked.

  “I couldn’t ask for a better employee,” Maeve said, beaming. “She’s a fast learner and the customers all love her. Violet even taught her about a few plants.” She winked at Neely Kate. “We both know that’s a sure sign that Violet approves.”

  I glanced at my best friend. A soft smile lit up her face. Violet had started teaching her about plants too, which made me happy considering the two women hadn’t seen eye to eye when they’d first met. I was certain Violet had been jealous of her, but now my sister seemed intent on making sure I was surrounded with people who loved me.

  “How long did Vi last today?” I asked.

  “She hung in there for quite a while,” Maeve said. “She left around three. She needed to be home to get Ashley off the bus.”

  I nodded.

  “I talked to Joe,” Maeve said in a lower tone. “He called me about coming over to look at my leaky kitchen faucet. I hope I didn’t speak out of turn, but I told him about Violet movin’ in with you. I thought you might need help. Sounds like he has a date with Dena tonight, but maybe he can stop by later this week.”

  “We talked to him after you did,” I said. “He said he’d be over after dinner to take a look but made no mention of plans with Dena.” I grimaced. “I’m so sorry if he broke his plans to help me out.”

  “Violet’s more important,” Maeve said. “I’m sure he thought so too if he canceled on Dena, but we all know she won’t take that well.”