The Pumpkin Muffin Murder

by Livia J. Washburn

  “Yes, Your Honor,” Dana said, again sounding like she was reciting a poem learned in school.

  “In the matter of bail, Your Honor—,” Juliette began.

  The district attorney said, “The state requests that bail be denied, Your Honor.”

  The judge looked at him and said, “You’re aware that bail is usually granted these days even in murder cases, Mr. Sullivan?”

  “With all due respect, not in high-profile murder cases where the defendant poses a flight risk, Your Honor.”

  “Ms. Powell poses absolutely no flight risk, Your Honor,” Juliette said. “She pled not guilty because she is innocent of this charge and is eager to clear her name so that the police can go about discovering who actually killed her husband.”

  “Your Honor, the state believes that Ms. Powell committed this crime; otherwise, the charge would not have been brought against her.”

  “Presumption of innocence,” Juliette snapped as she glanced over at the district attorney.

  “You’ve read the charge, Your Honor,” Sullivan insisted. “Logan Powell was killed in a particularly devious and cruel fashion, indicating that his murderer possesses a high degree of intelligence and no moral compunctions whatsoever. We believe that if Ms. Powell is freed from custody, no matter what precautions are taken, she will find a way to circumvent them and will flee from justice.”

  “Your Honor, Ms. Powell is a highly respected educator and member of the community,” Juliette argued. “She has one of the most important jobs to be found anywhere, that of teaching our children. And I might add, the community has trusted Ms. Powell with those children for many years. Not only that, but she has many, many friends, including Mrs. Phyllis Newsom and Mrs. Carolyn Wilbarger, who are here in court today to testify on her behalf if needed.”

  The district attorney said, “I’m sure Ms. Powell can find many people who will tell you what a fine person she is, Your Honor. That doesn’t change the facts of the case.”

  “Mrs. Newsom is prepared to do more than testify on my client’s behalf,” Juliette said. She glanced back at Phyllis, who had an idea of what was coming next. It had occurred to her while Juliette and District Attorney Sullivan were arguing back and forth. She gave Juliette a tiny nod now to indicate that it was all right. Juliette faced the judge again and went on, “Mrs. Newsom is willing to open her own home to Ms. Powell and allow her to stay there until the case comes to trial.”

  Next to Phyllis, Carolyn made a little noise of surprise. She leaned over and whispered, “Really?”

  Phyllis nodded.

  “That’s a good idea—,” Carolyn started to say.

  The judge silenced her by saying, “Order, please.” He looked past the attorneys’ tables and gazed directly at Phyllis. “Mrs. Newsom, would you stand up, please?”

  Phyllis got to her feet and stood there clutching her purse.

  “Mrs. Newsom, is this true? If Ms. Powell is released on bail, you’d like for her to come stay with you?”

  “That’s right, Your Honor,” Phyllis said. “I have a spare bedroom in my house.”

  That was true. The extra room had sat there empty ever since Mattie Harris had passed away. Phyllis hadn’t been able to bring herself to rent it out again. Besides, she and Carolyn and Eve and Sam all got along so well, she hesitated to bring in someone else who might upset the dynamics of the house.

  This would only be temporary, though, so Phyllis thought it would be all right. She glanced at Carolyn, who nodded to show that she thought it was all right, too.

  The district attorney looked annoyed. Obviously, he hadn’t anticipated this ploy from Juliette. He said, “Your Honor, the state has the highest admiration and respect for Mrs. Newsom. No one has forgotten how helpful she’s been to the authorities in the past. But that doesn’t mean she’s qualified to take responsibility for a dangerous prisoner.”

  “Ms. Powell is not dangerous, Your Honor,” Juliette insisted. “In fact, she’s as much a victim here as her husband. Whoever killed him has struck at her, too. I respectfully ask that this tragedy not be compounded by forcing her to remain in custody until her case comes before the grand jury.”

  The judge steepled his fingers together in front of him. “If I grant bail now, and then the grand jury indicts your client, Ms. Yorke, I may have to consider revoking it.”

  Juliette nodded. “I understand that, Your Honor.”

  “All right, then.” The judge reached for his gavel. “I hereby grant bail to the defendant in the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

  Sullivan’s expression was bleak and angry, but he responded quickly to the ruling. “Your Honor, the state requests that a higher amount be set, not less than one million dollars.”

  “I’ve made my decision, Mr. Sullivan,” the judge said. “We’ll move along to the next case.”

  Juliette glanced down at the papers spread out on the table in front of her. From where Phyllis was sitting, she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a smile play briefly across Juliette’s face. Then Juliette turned to Dana and spoke to her for a moment in a low voice. The officers who had brought Dana into the courtroom came over and took charge of her again, escorting her back out the way she had come in. Juliette gathered up her papers, placed them in her briefcase, snapped the case closed, and came through the gate in the railing to join Phyllis and Carolyn. She inclined her head toward the lobby outside the courtroom, indicating that they would talk there.

  “That went even better than I’d hoped,” Juliette said once they were out of the courtroom.

  “Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money,” Carolyn pointed out. “I don’t know if Dana can raise that much.”

  “She won’t have to. I know several bail bondsmen who’ll put up ninety percent of it, and Dana’s given me power of attorney to get a certified check for the balance from her account at the bank. It’ll take an hour or so to do all the paperwork, but I’ll have her out and at your house before the morning is over, Mrs. Newsom.”

  Phyllis nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll go get the spare room ready for her and let the others in the house know that we’ll be having company.”

  “They won’t object, will they?”

  “Sam and Eve?” Phyllis shook her head. “I’m sure they won’t.”

  “What happens after that?” Carolyn wanted to know.

  Juliette smiled. “The grand jury won’t meet again until the first of next month. We can all sit back and take a deep breath right now. Thanksgiving is in three days, and I suggest we all try to enjoy it as much as we can. After the holiday will be soon enough to start digging deeper into the case.”

  Phyllis knew the lawyer was probably right, but it still struck her as a waste of time. They ought to be trying to prove that Dana was innocent now.

  Maybe she would have an opportunity to do so, she told herself. After all, Dana was going to be right there in her house, where Phyllis could ask all the questions she wanted. There were still questions for which she definitely wanted answers.

  Beginning with a certain pumpkin muffin.

  Chapter 27

  As she and Carolyn drove away from the court building, something nagged at Phyllis’s brain. She had a feeling that she had seen or heard something back there in the courtroom that would go a long way toward explaining Logan Powell’s death and maybe even lead to his killer.

  But no matter how hard she tried, the thought eluded her. Finally, she stopped worrying about it, knowing from experience that sometimes that would make the idea pop into her mental grasp.

  Not today, though. By the time they reached the house, Phyllis still had no idea what it was that had tantalized her like that.

  “Dana looked like she’s been through a terrible ordeal,” Carolyn commented as Phyllis pulled into the garage. “It was a good idea to let her stay here. I’m not sure she needs to be by herself right now.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Phyllis said. “I’m glad Juliett
e came up with it. It might have helped influence the judge to grant bail, too.”

  “You looked like you were a million miles away while we were driving back over here. What were you thinking about?”

  “I’m not sure.” Phyllis smiled slightly. “That’s the problem.”

  She didn’t explain any further, because they were out of the car now and Bobby came running to greet her. He held up a smooth piece of board.

  “Sam let me practice on this, and then he let me sand one of the boards for the bookshelves! Look what a good job I did!”

  Phyllis ran her fingers over the surface of the board. “Yes, you did,” she told the little boy. “That’s very good work.”

  Sam propped a hip against the bench and grinned. “Bobby’s a natural-born woodworker,” he said.

  Eve opened the door between the garage and the kitchen and asked, “What happened? Did the judge set bail for Dana?”

  Phyllis nodded, glad that they were all here so she could go ahead and tell them the news. “Yes, Ms. Yorke is arranging for her to be released right now. And when that’s done, Dana is going to come here and stay with us for a while.”

  Sam’s bushy eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise, while Eve frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, dear?” she asked.

  Phyllis didn’t answer right away. Instead she patted Bobby on the shoulder and said, “Why don’t you run along inside for a few minutes, Bobby? The grown-ups need to talk.”

  “I want to sand some more boards!”

  “I got plenty of boards for you to sand, pardner,” Sam said as he steered Bobby toward the door. “We’ll work on ’em again in a little while, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay,” Bobby agreed a little grudgingly.

  Once he was gone, Carolyn said, “I’m surprised at you, Eve. I didn’t think you’d object to the idea.”

  “It’s just that Dana’s been accused of murder—,” Eve began.

  “You didn’t move out when the police thought I’d killed someone!”

  “That was different,” Eve said. “I knew you couldn’t have killed anyone, Carolyn.”

  “Well, I know Dana didn’t kill anyone, either.”

  “Anyway, it’s not because of me that I’m worried,” Eve went on. “I just wondered how Mike and Sarah are going to feel about having an accused murderer staying in the same house as Bobby.”

  “Falsely accused murderer,” Carolyn insisted. “But . . . I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “Neither did I,” Phyllis admitted. “But Mike knows I would never do anything that I thought would put Bobby in the least bit of jeopardy. I’m sure he and Sarah will understand.”

  She hoped that would be the case, anyway.

  And if nothing else, it was one more good reason to get to the bottom of this business as soon as possible, so the spectre of being accused of killing her own husband wouldn’t be hanging over Dana any longer than necessary.

  “I’m sure you know what you’re doing,” Eve said. “Where is Dana going to stay? In Mattie’s old room?”

  “That’s right. And I guess she’ll be here for Thanksgiving, too, along with Dolly and whoever else she rounds up.”

  Phyllis went upstairs to dust the room and make sure everything was in order, even though she was confident that it was. She cleaned this room every week, just like she did all the others. Just about the time she was finished, she got a cell phone call from Juliette Yorke saying that she and Dana were on their way.

  Phyllis told the others, and they were all waiting in the living room, even Bobby, when Juliette parked her car at the curb in front of the house. Juliette and Dana got out and started up the walk.

  “She doesn’t have any bags,” Carolyn commented. “Someone will need to go over to her house and pick up some clothes and other things for her.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Phyllis said as she went to the front door. “Dana may not feel like doing it herself right now.”

  “Who is this lady again?” Bobby asked.

  “A friend of ours,” Phyllis said. “Some bad things have happened, and she can’t stay at her house right now. So we’re letting her stay here for a while.”

  “Oh.” Bobby nodded as if that explanation satisfied him.

  Phyllis opened the door and put a smile on her face. “Come in,” she said with the same sort of welcome cheeriness in her voice that would have been there if she’d been welcoming any other friend or relative for a visit. Somehow it rang hollow in her own ears, though, and she wondered if it sounded the same way to Dana.

  Summoning up a smile of her own with obvious effort, Dana stepped into the house, followed by Juliette. Dana was able to nod and say, “Hello.”

  “I think you know everyone except my grandson,” Phyllis said. “This is Bobby.”

  Dana’s smile was a little more genuine as she looked down and said, “Hello, Bobby.”

  “Hi,” he said. “I’m stayin’ here ’cause I had a ear ’fection.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. Are you feeling better now?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Dana glanced up at Phyllis. “He’s very polite. Of course, I wouldn’t have expected anything else.”

  Phyllis said, “It’s been wonderful having him here. He’s really livened things up.”

  “He’s been a big help to me in my woodworkin’, too,” Sam put in. “We don’t know each other very well, Miz Powell, but it’s good to have you here with us.”

  “That’s right,” Eve added, and Phyllis was grateful to her friends for trying to make Dana feel comfortable about being here.

  “Why don’t we all sit down?” Phyllis suggested.

  Sam put a hand on Bobby’s shoulder and said, “Bobby and I can’t. We’ve got boards waitin’ for us out in the garage. They won’t sand and stain themselves, you know.”

  “That’s all right,” Phyllis told him. “We’ll let you know when lunch is ready.”

  Sam and Bobby left the living room, and the five women sat down on the sofa and chairs arranged around the room. Dana’s control slipped for a second, and the strain she was under showed on her face as she sank down on the sofa next to Juliette Yorke.

  “Thank you so much, Phyllis,” she murmured. “I . . . I couldn’t have faced going back home right now. There’s too much there that would remind me of . . . Anyway, I’m not sure the judge would have agreed to bail if you hadn’t said you’d take me in.” She smiled, but it was one of the saddest smiles Phyllis had ever seen. “I’m just a homeless waif right now.”

  “That’s not true at all,” Carolyn insisted. “For the time being, this is your home, and I’m sure that when you’ve put all this behind you, you’ll go back to your own house.”

  Dana shook her head. “If that district attorney has his way, my next home will be in Gatesville.”

  That was the central Texas town where most of the state’s female prison inmates were housed, Phyllis knew. Obviously, Dana knew that, too.

  “It’s not going to come to that,” Carolyn insisted. “Phyllis and Juliette will find out who . . . I mean, they’ll find out what really happened.”

  Juliette looked at Phyllis and said, “I wasn’t aware that you were working as my investigator now, Mrs. Newsom.”

  “I’m not,” Phyllis said, wishing that Carolyn hadn’t said that. “I don’t want to interfere with anything that you’re planning to do to build Dana’s defense. But if there’s anything I can do to help, I hope you’ll feel free to let me know.”

  “Right now, what you’re doing is important. Dana needs a place to stay that’s safe and secure. You’re providing that.”

  Phyllis wanted to provide a lot more, such as the identity of whoever had killed Logan, but that would have to wait. She said, “I had better go get started on lunch.”

  “Eve and I can do that,” Carolyn offered before Phyllis could get up. “Why don’t you stay and talk to Dana and Ms. Yorke?”

  Why didn’t she stay and ask questions—that was what Carol
yn meant, Phyllis thought. That wasn’t a bad idea, although she wasn’t sure how much Juliette would allow her client to say. She might not want Dana talking about the case at all.

  “All right, that’ll be fine,” Phyllis said. When Carolyn and Eve had stood up and gone to the kitchen, she went on, “If you’d like, Dana, Carolyn and I can go over to your house this afternoon and bring you back some clothes and anything else you might need.”

  She wanted to take Carolyn along because she wasn’t sure she would feel comfortable going into Dana’s house by herself. She didn’t really know Dana that well.

  Dana didn’t really seem to think anything of it, though. She just nodded and said, “I’d appreciate that very much. Like I said, I don’t really want to go there right now.”

  “Do you have any pets that need to be cared for? Maybe we could make arrangements with your neighbors. . . .”

  Phyllis stopped because Dana was shaking her head. “No, we don’t have any pets,” she said. “We were both so busy it didn’t seem like there was really time for them. It would have been unfair to the animals.”

  “I understand.”

  Juliette stood up. “You seem to have things well under control here, Mrs. Newsom,” she said. “I should be going.”

  “I hoped you’d stay for lunch,” Phyllis said.

  Juliette smiled and shook her head. “Thank you, though. I have some other things I need to do.”

  Dana got to her feet as well, held out her hand as if she were going to shake with Juliette, and then suddenly put her arms around the lawyer instead. “Thank you so much,” Dana said in a husky half whisper. “I don’t know what I would have done without you helping me, Ms. Yorke.”

  Looking a little uncomfortable with the hug, Juliette slipped out of Dana’s arms and gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. “It’s going to be all right,” she said. “For now, just take it easy and try to recover from what’s happened. I know it’ll be difficult, but try not to worry. That’s what I’ll be doing for you.”