Missed You In Church: A Hunter Jones Mystery

by Charlotte Moore

  “Thanks,” Sam said, “That would be a big help. And tell your sister not to worry about her wedding gifts. Taneesha and I went all through the house. I don’t think anybody went upstairs at all.”

  Finally, he got Noreen’s son’s number from Mallory and promised that he would notify him right away. Ben Barstow, it turned out, was recently out of law school, had passed the bar, and was starting a job in Savannah.

  “I guess I could call and tell him myself,” Mallory said after giving him the number, “but I’m just a coward. He really loved his mother.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Sam said. “And you drive carefully.”

  He heard a female voice in the background.

  “One more thing,” Mallory asked. “What about our dog? Is somebody looking after him?”

  “We’ve got him in the pool area,” Sam said, glad he had an answer, “He’s barking his head off, but he’s fine. Bub Williston and Skeet Borders are making sure he’s got plenty of food and water.”

  Sam made the call to Ben Barstow’s number next, but there was no answer. He left a message, knowing as he gave his title that the young man was going to understand immediately that there was a serious problem.

  It was a part of his job that he hated.

  By mid-afternoon, Mallory Bremmer was turning off Interstate 75, heading to Merchantsville. Miranda sniffled over the phone to her fiancé.

  She heard her sister say, “Why do you want to talk to Mallory? Oh, all right!”

  Mallory took the phone from Miranda’s outstretched hand.

  “How serious is it with Jack?” Chad asked, sounding calm but concerned.

  “He found Noreen’s body,” Mallory explained, keeping her eyes on the highway. “He called 911, but then he had an anxiety attack. His blood pressure shot up, and he was hyperventilating. I’ve talked to the doctor who took care of him, and he said all the heart tests were okay. He’ll probably get out in the morning.”

  “Miranda sounds really upset,” Chad said, “and I know you’re going to have your hands full with your dad. I’ve got some things to see about here first, but I can arrange to fly over in the morning and stay a few days if it would help.”

  “I really wish you would,” Mallory said. “It would help a lot.”

  “Let me talk to her again then. Thanks, Mallory.”

  Mallory handed the phone back to Miranda. She liked her future brother-in-law and was glad he was exactly who he was: the handsome, responsible and steady oldest son of a very wealthy family from Macon. Chad Montgomery had gone straight to work at one of the family businesses in Mobile after he graduated from the University of Georgia. When he said he’d fly, he meant he’d be landing at Magnolia County’s small local airstrip in the family Cessna.

  Miranda needed somebody as sensible as Chad, Mallory thought, and it didn’t hurt at all that there’d be money enough for her not to have to work.

  Her impatience with Miranda started to evaporate, as it usually did. She really couldn’t imagine her younger sister holding down any kind of serious job. Miranda had struggled to make passing grades in high school and two years of college. She hadn’t even been able to address her own wedding invitations without making mistakes on every other one. Aunt Clarissa had called Mallory and Noreen to help. They had made an evening’s work of getting the addressing done while Miranda brought in plates of cookies and cups of tea.

  “Chad’s coming,” Miranda said to Mallory when she got off the phone. “He’ll be here in the morning. I’m so glad.”

  “I am, too,” Mallory said, trying to be the kind older sister she knew she should be, “I know you need Chad here, and we all need to be strong for Dad. I thought we’d go by the hospital and see him before we go to Aunt Clarissa’s.”

  “Oh, Mallory,” Miranda said, sounding panicky, “Would you just take me to Aunt Clarissa’s and you go see Dad? I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow with Chad. I don’t know what to say about Noreen, and I don’t think I could stand it if Dad’s crying and all… you know. I’m sorry, Mallory. I know I should, but…”

  “It’s all right,” Mallory said gently. And it really was all right with her to drop Miranda off first. This way she could stay at the hospital as long as she needed to, and not have to worry about Miranda making things worse by bawling or claiming to have a headache.

  She had wondered when the courtship got serious if Chad knew what he was in for but finally decided that after two years, he must know. He was just a nice guy who really loved her beautiful sister, and maybe he liked taking care of her. That was something to be thankful for.

  A few minutes later, they passed their home, which had a half dozen vehicles in the yard and yellow crime tape wound from tree to tree. She pushed down on the accelerator, hoping Miranda wouldn’t get all emotional again.

  “You’re sure somebody’s looking after Merlin?” Miranda asked after glancing at all the cars.

  “Sam said they’ve got him in the pool area,” Mallory said, and Bub Williston brought him some dog food. “He’s fine.”

  Miranda smiled and looked relieved.

  “I love old Merlin,” she said, “Chad and I are going to get a dog once we get our house,” she said. “I want a cocker spaniel, but he wants a golden retriever. Maybe we’ll get both.”

  It was another five miles into town, and a mile further to Aunt Clarissa’s home, the old Victorian house on a tree-lined side street where three generations of Mallorys had lived.

  “Here we are,” she said to her sister, glad that their suitcases were in the back seat, and she didn’t have to get out and unlock the trunk. “Tell Aunt Clarissa I’ll see about Dad, and that I’m going to get some work done at the paper after that.”

  “Wait a minute,” Miranda said, “I want to get my presents out of the trunk to show Aunt Clarissa.”

  Mallory had noticed more cars than usual on the short side street and could see two women from their church approaching the house with casseroles. She went for her tactic of last resort.

  “Miranda Jane Bremmer,” she said in her bossiest voice, “I don’t have time for this. Dad is in the hospital and he’s probably all broken up about Noreen, and besides, Aunt Clarissa would be shocked out of her mind at some of that lingerie.”

  Miranda scowled, got out and slammed the door, then yanked the back door open and grabbed her suitcase. With another door slam, she was gone.

  Finally by herself, Mallory cried all the way to the hospital.

  CHAPTER 5

  A HALF HOUR LATER, HUNTER’S PHONE rang.

  “Hey,” Mallory said, “I just wanted to let you know that we’re home safe, and Dad’s doing okay. He was asleep when I got here. I woke him up and we talked a while, but he kept yawning and dozing off. The nurse says they’ll probably discharge him in the morning.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Hunter said. “I’m so sorry about Noreen.”

  “Thank you,” Mallory said, “She was a really good person and I don’t know what Dad’s going to do without her.”

  She drifted a little into her own thoughts and then said, “Anyway, I’m at the newspaper now, and I’ve been going through my notes. I can get my stories done tonight. I’ll probably have to take tomorrow morning off, but I’ll be in by noon and for sure on Tuesday morning, and…”

  “Mallory,” Hunter interrupted firmly, “You don’t need to be at work now and you don’t have to come to work at all for the next few days. Tyler’s already said he’ll pitch in. Just forget about this issue of the paper.”

  “But I want to work,” Mallory said in a plaintive tone. “I like to work. If I’m not working I’m going to have to listen to Aunt Clarissa and Miranda carrying on, and there are church ladies already there with casseroles, just like there were when Mom died, and I know everybody means well but…”

  “I’ve got an idea,” Hunter said calmly, hearing Mallory’ stress. “Why don’t you come stay with us tonight? You can have the guest room. I’ve got to be at a press conferenc
e at 5:30, but that won’t take long, and we can have supper after that. We can talk about work too, if you want to, and get it all figured out.”

  “Oh, could I?” Mallory asked. “That would be great. I just want to be somewhere normal and get calmed down.”

  Sheriff Sam Bailey’s media briefings were notable for being brief.

  Hunter, who had left Bethie at home with Mallory at the insistence of both, arrived in the magistrate courtroom at 5:24 p.m. Will Roy Johnson, the manager and announcer for Magnolia County’s one radio station was already set up to record whatever Sam said. A cameraman and reporter from one of the Macon television stations had also arrived. The reporter, a dark-haired young man Hunter hadn’t seen before in person, had a microphone in his hand, and rushed toward her.

  “Are you from the Sheriff’s office?” he asked. “I’m Flint Russell from Channel 7.”

  “She’s the Sheriff’s wife,” Will Roy said, without looking up from his equipment. “But she’s not going to tell you any more than I did.”

  “Are you really the Sheriff’s wife?” the young man asked. “Is he kidding me? Why are you here?”

  “I’m Hunter Jones,” Hunter said. “I’m the managing editor of The Magnolia County Messenger.”

  “So you’re not the sheriff’s wife?” Flint Russell asked.

  “Yes, she is,” Will Roy said.

  Taneesha Martin arrived, all business, and handed out single-page press releases.

  Sam followed with T.J. Jackson, the investigator from the District Attorney’s office who was already involved in the case. He read the statement that Taneesha has already handed out.

  “A call was received by Magnolia County E-911 at 11:15 this morning,” he said.” The caller, Jack Bremmer, reported a death at his home on Ga. Hwy. 33, approximately five miles east of Merchantsville. Sheriff’s Deputy W.S. Borders arrived five minutes later. The body of Mr. Bremmer’s wife, Mrs. Noreen Bremmer, age 45, was found lying on the kitchen floor. The cause of death has been determined to be gunshot wounds. Autopsy results indicate that the shooting took place Saturday afternoon. All other members of the family living at that residence were out of town for the weekend. Several items were missing from the home. Jack Bremmer required medical assistance at the scene and was taken to the Magnolia County Medical Center by the Magnolia County Emergency Medical Services. His condition is stable. The District Attorney’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia State Patrol are assisting us with the investigation. Anyone who can provide information that might help us in the investigation is urged to call our hotline.”

  “I’ll take one question from each of you,” Sam added, after stating the Hot Line number twice for the radio and television audiences.

  “Do you have any suspects?” the television reporter asked.

  “Not at this time,” Sam said.

  He glanced at Hunter, who asked, “What items were missing?”

  Sam deferred to T.J., who said, “Some jewelry and the victim’s wallet are the items we know about at this point. We don’t think any significant amount of money was stolen.”

  Will Roy wanted to know how Jack Bremmer was doing.

  “Mr. Bremmer had a bad shock,” Sam said. “He came home from an insurance conference in Atlanta and found his wife dead. He made the 911 call, and after Deputy Borders arrived, he appeared to need medical attention. I understand from the doctor in the emergency room that his condition is stable. He’ll probably be released tomorrow.”

  Sam and T.J. made their exit, but Taneesha, who was one of Hunter’s best friends, stayed just outside the door to ask her in a low voice how Mallory was doing.

  Before Hunter could answer, the television reporter’s voice came through loud and clear.

  “I don’t think it’s even ethical for a newspaper editor to be married to a sheriff?” he said. “She’s probably getting all the news before we do.”

  Taneesha grinned. Hunter put her finger to her lips and leaned toward the open door, listening as Will Roy, who had a radio announcer’s booming baritone, answered.

  “I know some of you liberal mainstream media folks think the government should make a law about everything,” he said, “but we don’t have any laws down here about who our sheriff can marry.”

  Then he chuckled and added, “And you don’t know the half of it. That man, Jack Bremmer, the husband of the dead woman, has a daughter who works at the newspaper, too. The only good thing is that no matter what they find out, that little weekly newspaper doesn’t go to press until Wednesday, and they never have caught up with the times and gotten a website.”

  Clarissa Scarbrough was rearranging her freezer to put away two casseroles when Miranda tiptoed down the stairs, looked around to be sure all the visitors had gone and came into the kitchen.

  “Are you feeling better now?” Clarissa asked. “Headache all gone?”

  “It’s better,” Miranda said, “and I’m hungry.”

  “Well, you’re in luck,” Clarissa said, “There’s a delicious broccoli and chicken casserole here, and a squash casserole, and some spinach quiche.”

  Miranda, who was a picky eater, shuddered a little and asked, “Could I just have a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk? And maybe a piece of that cake?”

  “Watch the calories, sweetie,” Clarissa said, “You know after all the trouble we went to having your wedding dress fitted, you really need to keep your weight exactly where it is.”

  “It’s fine,” Miranda said, “I weigh every morning. Have you heard from Mallory?”

  “Yes, and it looks like your father’s going to be out of the hospital tomorrow. Mallory’s spending the night with Hunter Jones, but she said she’d be over first thing in the morning. I can’t believe she’d rather be over there than with family at a time like this.”

  Mallory thought she didn’t have an appetite until she sat down to supper with Hunter and Bethie. There was oven-fried chicken with buttered corn on the cob and a Hunter had made a salad of sliced vine-ripened tomatoes, cucumbers and Vidalia onions in a vinaigrette dressing.

  They were digging into bowls of peach cobbler and ice cream when Mallory’s cell phone rang.

  It was Ben Barstow calling from Savannah.

  “Mallory, what’s going on? I’ve got a message from a Sheriff Bailey asking me to call.”

  Tears sprung to her eyes. She had hoped to avoid being the one to told Ben, but there was nothing else to do. She asked him to hold on a minute and went into the living room to talk with him in private.

  She had never told anyone such bad news, but she knew from losing her mother that there was no way to say such final and un-fixable things that made them easier to hear.

  She told him that his mother had been shot and was dead, that it probably was a robbery. Then after a long silence from him, she asked him, “Are you still there, Ben?”

  “Where was Jack when this happened?” Ben blurted out.

  When Mallory couldn’t answer for a moment, he apologized. “I’m sorry, Mallory.”

  “That’s all right,” Mallory said. “Remember, I’ve lost my mom, too. I know how awful it is. You can say anything you want to. Dad was in Atlanta at one of those insurance conventions. He asked her but she didn’t want to go. Miranda and I were in Atlanta, too, at a wedding shower one of her college friends gave for her. Dad found your mother this morning when he got home. He called 911 and then he just fell apart, and they had to take him to the hospital.”

  She was about to explain about her father’s panic attack when Ben interrupted and said, “Well, have they arrested anybody? Is there an investigation?”

  “I think you ought to call Sheriff Bailey,” Mallory said, “He can tell you so much more than I can. He’s a really nice guy. In fact, his wife is the editor of the newspaper where I’m working and I’m at their house right now.”

  “I’ll call him,” Ben said, his voice flat and angry. “I’ve got a pretty good idea who did it.”

  C
HAPTER 6

  AFTER BETHIE HAD GONE OFF TO read herself to sleep, Hunter and Mallory settled down on the sofa to talk.

  “Noreen didn’t try to be our mom,” Mallory said. “I already had my mind on college when they got married, and Miranda was closer to Aunt Clarissa. I liked Noreen, though. I mean I loved her, but the big thing is that I liked her. I respected her. I didn’t realize how smart she was until I worked part-time at the agency. She didn’t get a college education, but she could have been the CEO of a big company. She was so organized and always looking ahead. You know, Dad’s a great salesman, but Noreen has been running the business side things and always trying to keep… well, keep Dad from spending too much. I guess my mom did, too.”

  Mallory hugged a sofa pillow, looking like a worried little girl for a moment.

  “She had to talk Dad into letting two people go, and he just hates doing that kind of thing, but they’ve lost business since Burt Hilliard opened his new agency. A lot of the younger couples who went to school with Burt switched over, and Noreen said that the Hilliards were going to go after city and county insurance contracts when those come due. Dad just said she was worrying too much.”

  Hunter remembered Novena’s complaining that the Bremmer Agency had cut back on their advertising in the paper. She thought that Jack Bremmer probably would need to start worrying more. Burt Hilliard was the son of County Commissioner J. Burton “Jaybird” Hilliard, and the name had carried influence in Magnolia County since the Civil War.

  She changed the subject gently.

  “This won’t mean any changes in Miranda’s wedding plans, will it?”

  “I don’t think so,” Mallory said. “It’s just three weeks off now and it would really be complicated to change the date. Aunt Clarissa has been running that whole show all along, and all the invitations have gone out. They’ve reserved the country club for the rehearsal dinner and the reception and I think they’ve got Hilliard House for the bridesmaids’ brunch.”