Death of a Coupon Queen

by Jenna Harte

  “It must have something to do with Marla.” I guided Vivie to stand next to me alongside Ellie.

  “Could be a jealous husband. Maybe Marla’s jealous husband,” Ellie said.

  I turned to her. “Has he come home?”

  “Surely he must have.”

  “Have you seen him?” I pressed Ellie.

  “No. The only person who’s been to the house is Junior Junior. Bless his heart, still keeping her garden.”

  I looked over the garden. For a moment I wondered if there was something about the garden that would cause Marla and Junior Junior to be attacked. Were they growing marijuana or something? I didn’t know much about plants. A quick glance over the garden suggested that everything growing in it was legal.

  “I hope he’ll be okay.”

  “Is he alive?” Ellie asked the paramedics.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Well, that’s good. I pray that he’ll pull through without any problems.”

  “He can’t die.” Vivie’s voice was soft, and I started to feel sorry for her. I think she really had a thing for him.

  “What were you doing here?” Ellie looked at me and then Vivie.

  “I was stopping by to give Mr. Naylor my condolences and see if he needed anything.”

  Vivie didn’t respond.

  “Vivie, why were you here?” Ellie asked her.

  “I . . . ah . . . I wanted to see Junior Junior.”

  Ellie’s brow lifted as she gave me look. I got the feeling she suspected Vivie of whapping Junior Junior. Before I could say anything, the paramedics moved Junior Junior to a gurney, and in coordination, lifted him and started back toward the front of the house where the ambulance was parked.

  “Can I go with him?” Vivie asked.

  “You should stay here.” I rested my hand on Vivie’s arm. “The sheriff deputies will have questions.”

  “I didn’t do this.” She hissed at me, reminding me of the old Vivie.

  “You’re a witness, Vivie. I am too. We should stay.”

  “I’ll call Junior Mason and let him know about his son.” Ellie looked at me. “I’ll be next door if you ladies want to come by when the police are done.”

  “We don’t want to bother you, Mrs. Tappen.”

  “No bother.” She waved her hand as if she was brushing my comment away. “Al is sleeping. And after all this, you two look like you could use a little support.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  Ellie turned back to her house just as Sergeant Scowl appeared from the corner of Marla’s house.

  He looked at Vivie and then at me. His facial features remained stern, but I was certain on the inside he was shaking his head.

  Chapter Twelve

  Isat across from Sergeant Scowl in the small drab interrogation room. He shook his head slightly as if to say, “how do you get yourself caught up in trouble all the time?” It was the same question running through my head. I’ve tried to toe the line and keep my head down, so why did I once again have to endure questioning by him?

  “Is Junior Junior okay?” I asked.

  “I don’t have an update. Maybe by the time we’re done here, I’ll be able to let you know.”

  I blew out a breath and sat back awaiting his questions. He started with the usual. Why was I there? What did I see and hear?

  “Why would Vivie Danner want to kill Junior Junior Mason?”

  “I don’t think she does.”

  He leaned back slightly in his chair. “You just said you saw her standing over Junior Junior with the shovel in her hand.”

  “She says it was on him and she picked it up.”

  “You believe her?”

  I moved my head in a way that was a cross between a nod and a shake.

  “You don’t appear convinced.” He studied me for a minute. “Do you know why anyone would want Junior Junior dead?”

  “Not specifically. I’ve heard that he has relationships with many of the business’ clients. Maybe it was a jealous husband.”

  “Was Mrs. Danner one of his clients?”

  “Yes.” And once again I was putting Vivie in the hot seat.

  “Did they have a relationship?”

  I nodded, but quickly said, “She says it was over. He was in love with Marla Naylor. Maybe Marla’s husband found out. Have you found him?”

  “If Junior Junior had moved on from Mrs. Danner to Mrs. Naylor, it could be Mrs. Danner killed her and attacked Junior Junior.”

  I couldn’t argue that point. I had made the same connection at one point.

  “Why don’t you think she did this?”

  I shrugged, knowing my reasoning wouldn’t hold much weight with him. “I’ve seen Vivie jealous and angry over Randy, and he’s not dead nor are any of his mistresses.”

  “So.”

  “So, Vivie wasn’t angry about Junior Junior and Marla.” Then again, her reaction at finding Junior Junior suggested that her feelings for him were stronger than I’d initially suspected.

  “What is your relationship with Vivie Danner?”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. We weren’t friends, that was for sure. “Vivie and I went to high school together. She and I are in the same coupon group.”

  “So, you’re friends?”

  I shook my head. “I wouldn’t say we’re friends.” I realized that Vivie’s continued grudge against my dating Randy in high school might help her. After all, she hadn’t touched me much less tried to kill me. “She’s never forgiven me for dating Randy in high school. Normally she’s just mean to me. She’s never tried to hurt me physically.”

  Sergeant Scowl looked over a few papers. “You work for Randy Danner, correct.”

  I nodded.

  “Is he aware of his wife’s affair with Junior Junior?”

  “He knows she’s had affairs, but I don’t know if he knows with who. Except Joseph Cullen. He knew about that.”

  “Is he the jealous type?”

  Normally, I’d have said no. But his reaction to being kicked out of the house had me thinking he cared more about his marriage than he let on. “He has his own affairs and he’s never acted jealous. He was upset that she made him leave.”

  Sergeant Scowl’s head cocked to the side. “Leave?”

  “Vivie found evidence that Randy had his mistress over at the house while Vivie was in jail. I guess their rule is that philandering can occur, just not at the house. Anyway, she kicked him out.”

  “And he was upset.”

  “He asked me to talk to her.”

  Sergeant Scowl frowned. “I thought you too weren’t friends.”

  “We’re not, but he thought I could help and he’s my boss.”

  “Did Mrs. Danner have any other response to his bringing his mistress home?”

  “When I was leaving, she was getting ready to set their mattress on fire.” As I said it, I knew it made her sound crazy and violent, and yet, she took her anger out on an inanimate object, not Randy. That had to count for something.

  “Any chance Mrs. Naylor was one of Mr. Danner’s friends?”

  That took me by surprise. I wasn’t sure why Sergeant Scowl would ask that unless he was just trying to look at this case in all angles. “I doubt it.”

  “You’re not sure.”

  I couldn’t be sure, and because I wasn’t, I thought I’d just given Vivie motive to kill Marla and hurt Junior Junior. “What about Mr. Naylor?”

  “What did Mrs. Naylor tell you about him?”

  “She said he traveled a lot. But no one has ever met him.”

  “So, you’ve never met him?”

  “No. Have you found him?”

  “We found him. He says they’re divorced. Why would she lie about that?”

  That didn’t make any sense. “I d
on’t know. Are you sure? Maybe he’s lying.”

  “I talked to him and both their lawyers.”

  I didn’t know Marla well, but I was realizing just how little I did know her. Why would she lie about her husband? Was she hiding more about her life? Then I remembered how she’d won the lottery. “She won the lottery. Maybe this is about the money.”

  Sergeant Scowl studied me for a moment as if he was trying to decide what to say to me. He gave a small shrug and said, “Hell of a thing. She won the lottery just after he left her for another woman. Her lawyer was shrewd and her husband didn’t get a cent of it.” Sergeant Scowl shook his head. “Millions of dollars lost because he left his wife one day too early.”

  Wow. “Wouldn’t that give him motive to kill her?”

  “It could, except he still wouldn’t get the money.”

  “Maybe he killed her because he was mad about it.”

  Sergeant Scowl rolled his eyes. “I’ll try not to be offended that you don’t think I know how to do my job, Ms. Parker.”

  I guess that meant he was looking into that angle. “Sorry.”

  “So, Mrs. Naylor never gave any indication that she was divorced?”

  I shook my head.

  “Were she and Junior Junior having an affair?”

  “Vivie said he loved Marla, and her neighbor, Ellie Tappen, said they spent time together, but I don’t know that they were having an affair. I think they bonded over her garden. He was probably taking care of it when he was attacked.”

  Sergeant Scowl put his pen and down and stood. “Well, I think that’s it for now. If you think of anything—”

  I narrowed my brows in thought. “So, who does inherit her Powerball winnings?”

  “That’s being determined, and none of your business.” His voice was stern, which made no sense, when he’d just explained her husband wasn’t getting the money. Maybe he decided he said too much. Or he wanted me to mind my own business.

  Like that was going to happen. “What’s going to happen to Vivie?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “For someone who isn’t a friend, you seem concerned.”

  “I just don’t think she did it, and if she didn’t, a murderer is loose in Jefferson Grove.”

  “She doesn’t have very nice things to say about you.”

  “No.” I groaned because I suspected her statement somehow implicated me. “What has she said?”

  “She says you’re setting her up. That you want her husband all to yourself.”

  I rolled my eyes, then worry niggled at me as I wondered if Sergeant Scowl might believe her. “I have no interest in Randy.”

  “And, of course, you have an alibi for Mrs. Naylor.”

  “Yes.” Whew.

  “We’ll keep Mrs. Danner here until her lawyer arrives. After that . . .”

  He didn’t finish his statement. That was okay. I didn’t want to know about Vivie’s lawyer Becca anyway.

  As I left the station, I looked for Lani. Maybe she could take a break for coffee with me and I could thank her for her relationship advice and let her know AJ and I were good. I found her hiding behind a stack of papers giving me a look that suggested she might never get free. I sent her a little wave and headed out.

  I had time before meeting AJ. I could have gone home and worked on my library programs, but Sergeant Scowl’s info about Marla’s husband piqued my curiosity. While Ellie Tappen didn’t seem to know much, she was the best person to know more than most of us. Since she was home all the time, she’d have seen more.

  She didn’t have to come in for questioning with Vivie and me because she couldn’t leave Al, and because she told Sergeant Scowl she hadn’t seen or heard anything regarding Junior Junior’s attack. Nevertheless, I wondered if she might know more about Marla’s husband.

  I steered the Brown Bomber back to Monticello Heights and I was somehow allowed back in the gate. The word about Vivie’s second detainment must not have reached here.

  I parked in front of Ellie’s house and made my way to the door.

  “Sophie. What a surprise. I was worried when you two were taken to the sheriff’s station.” Ellie held the door open for me.

  “I was questioned.” I followed her back to her bright kitchen.

  “Would you like some tea? I have a few minutes before Al’s next meds.”

  “If now is a bad time--”

  “No, no. It’s fine. You know I can always use the company.”

  “Tea would be nice, thank you.”

  I sat at Ellie’s kitchen table and looked out over her yard toward Marla’s garden. “Junior Junior sure had a thing for Marla, didn’t he?”

  “I think he did, bless his heart. It’s about time too. You know he has a reputation with the ladies around here.”

  “I’d heard that.”

  “I suppose that’s why Marjorie left him. Of course, they never married, even after she had his son.” Ellie shook her head as she handed me a glass of iced tea. There was a lot of talk about old values and traditions in the rural south. In reality, it was like most other places when it came to the birds and bees.

  Ellie sat across the table from me. “Poor Junior Mason. I asked him to keep me updated on Junior Junior’s condition. I haven’t heard anything. Have you?”

  I shook my head. “I wonder why someone wanted both him and Marla dead.”

  “I know this sort of thing happens elsewhere, but here in Jefferson Grove? In Monticello Heights? What’s the world coming to?”

  “I don’t know.” I took a sip of the cool iced tea.

  “What about Vivie? I suppose she’s one of Junior Junior’s conquests. Goodness, he must be fifteen years older than her.” Ellie leaned forward conspiratorially. “Did she do it?”

  “Attack Junior Junior?”

  Ellie bobbed her head. “Yes. And kill Marla. Maybe in a jealous rage.”

  “The police seem to think so.”

  “So, they have evidence.” She sat back in her chair pondering the news.

  “I guess. But I have a hard time thinking Vivie did this.”

  “Really? I’ve always found her a bit unhinged.”

  That wasn’t an inaccurate description. After all, Vivie set her mattress on fire.

  “Did you know the fire department had to go out to her house the other day? She nearly burned the place down.” Ellie pursed her lips in disgust. “I told Alice Danner when her son Randy set out to marry that girl that she’d be nothing but trouble.”

  I wanted to tell Ellie that Randy was no saint, but I was certain I’d get the ‘boys will be boys’ speech. Ellie seemed to have come from the era of double standards.

  “If it wasn’t Vivie, who do you think it could be?” she asked.

  “I keep wondering about Marla’s husband. It’s weird that no one has ever seen him.”

  “You know, I’ve been trying to think back when he was here. I just can’t remember.”

  “Sergeant Davis says they were divorced. I wonder why she’d lie about that?”

  “Really?” Ellie’s eyes shone with interest. Gossip wasn’t nice, but I supposed for someone like Ellie, it was her only link to the outside world, and entertainment.

  I didn’t learn anything from Ellie; however, I could see she enjoyed the company and I was happy to spend time with her. In some ways we were the same. We both had significant changes in our families.

  I left her house and drove the thirty minutes to Jefferson Lake. As I pulled into AJ’s drive, I saw Becca’s car. Immediately a tight ball formed in the pit of my stomach. I parked and started toward the front door, stopping just short of it to determine if I could hear them inside. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, and I suppose it suggested I didn’t trust AJ. I pushed that bit of guilt away, as I lingered outside the door.

  “You said she believ
ed you about the other morning. So, what’s the problem?” For a moment, Becca’s words had me wondering if I’d been duped after all. Was Becca saying that I’d bought their story?

  “You can’t stay here.”

  “If she believes and trusts you, then why not? Are you worried you’d give her reason to doubt you?” There was a purr in her voice that nearly had me tearing the door down.

  “No.”

  “Then come on, AJ. It’s just for a couple of days, a week tops while I deal with my client here.”

  Did that mean Vivie was officially arrested?

  “Becca. I’m sorry, I can’t help. It’s really not that far from Charlottesville that you can’t drive. Or if you insist on staying in town, there’s a nice hotel in Jefferson Grove. It’s even close to the courthouse.”

  “So, she doesn’t trust you.”

  I wanted to throttle Becca, and I was about to knock on the door, when AJ said, “Would you trust me if I’d had an old girlfriend staying here when we were dating?”

  “If she were a friend and needed help—”

  “You’re full of it.” He scoffed. “Bottom line is that I love her, and I don’t want to give her any reason to question that.”

  The romantic part of me melted a little bit.

  “So, it’s serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like marriage serious?”

  My heart stopped in my chest as I waited for AJ’s answer.

  “Maybe. Probably.”

  My mouth hurt from the giant grin that spread on my face. I tiptoed away from the door and back to my car. I sat on the hood and waited for Becca to get a clue and finally leave. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Becca stepped out.

  Her eyes widened when she saw me. “Sophie.”

  Behind her, AJ’s gaze jerked to me, his eyes round with surprise as well. Dutch bounded out the door toward me.

  “I saw you were busy so I decided to wait.” I patted Dutch as she nuzzled me.

  AJ’s eyes studied me, and I was sure he was looking for a clue as to what I was feeling. I sent him a big goofy grin.

  “Well, I’m off to town to see about a hotel room.” Becca opened the door to her car.