Deadly Southern Charm

by Mary Burton

  Lynn had no doubt that he reeked of beer, unfiltered cigarettes, and sweat. And fish, she couldn’t forget the fish smell. She shuttered at the thought. The photo had been taken two days before the brothers’ boat went over the Lake Chesdin dam, drowning both. Bet they were passed out drunk when it happened.

  Lightning bathed the room in white light; thunder rattled the window panels. Lynn jumped, silently cursing her jumpy nerves.

  “Storms out here tend to be worse, as they follow the river.” Katherine Anderson glided across the floor to stand before Lynn. She offered a hand. “Welcome to my humble abode, Miss Weber.” Each word was enunciated with a precision learned in one of the South’s finer boarding schools.

  Lynn stood, taking the offered hand. It was ice cold. She could feel every bone beneath the paper-thin skin. She managed a smile, holding the old woman’s gaze. Dark circles framed the dull, sunken eyes staring back at her. The woman was a ghost of the one in the painting.

  “Thank you for accepting my request for an interview, Mrs. Anderson.” Lynn ducked her head with a light chuckle. “I’d started to think you were going to ignore me.”

  The icy hand tightened with surprising strength. Lynn bit back a yelp, then she was free. Rain beat against the large windows.

  Sunken eyes narrowed as they bore into Lynn’s. “I had considered declining your request. But fate seems to be on your side in this matter. Besides, it’s a perfect night for chasing ghosts.” She gestured toward one of the windows as she moved behind the desk.

  From a pocket she pulled out a small cloth. She reached over and opened the lid on the empty display box. With great care she unwrapped a worn gold coin and placed it atop the acrylic stand. “An old family keepsake. It’s been handed down from mother to daughter for generations.” She snapped the lid closed. “Legend has it, one of my great grandmothers stole it from a leprechaun.”

  “Really?” Lynn leaned forward for a closer look. The face of the coin showed a woman wearing a toga-style dress that covered one shoulder and breast. She held a sword across her lap and an olive branch in her other hand. Runic characters circled the figure. On the reverse of the coin, two crossed swords hung over the fallen body of a man. “It’s very… unique.”

  “Yes, it is.” Katherine settled into the leather wing backed chair, draping her hands over the armrests. Lynn couldn’t shake the thought she looked like a queen holding court. “I understand you’re researching the Paige Archer murder for a book.”

  “Yes. It started as my college research project and became a bit of an obsession.”

  “Obsessions can be dangerous things, Miss Weber.”

  The sunken eyes bored through her. For a fleeting moment, she considered bolting for her car and not looking back. Instead she smiled, holding up the phone. “Yes, they can. Do you mind if I record this?”

  Katherine eyed the phone. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

  “Okay. No problem.” Lynn shoved the phone into her backpack and pulled out a notebook and pen. “Sometimes old school is better.”

  Katherine didn’t laugh.

  “All right then.” Lynn leaned forward in the chair, gritting her teeth against the awkward squeal of the leather.

  Ann Harper appeared in the doorway with a tray. She set it clumsily on the desk, causing the china to rattle. “It’s time for your pill, ma’am.” Not waiting for an answer, she poured a cup of tea, lightened it with milk and a sugar cube, and handed it to Katherine.

  “Thank you, Ann. Please, pour for Miss Weber, then you may leave us.”

  Lynn couldn’t see Ann’s face, but she caught the raised eyebrow Katherine shot the woman.

  “One lump or two,” Ann growled as she turned to Lynn.

  “Two, please.” Lynn smiled.

  It was not returned as two sugar cubes plopped into the tea before the cup and saucer were thrust at Lynn.

  She tucked the notebook under one arm to balance the fine china in both hands. “Thank you.”

  Without a word, Ann turned and left the room.

  Lynn leaned forward to whisper. “Have I offended her?”

  “She’s just pouting.” Katherine waved a hand toward the empty doorway. “It’ll pass.”

  “How long has she been working for you?”

  “It seems like a lifetime.” Katherine picked up the pill from the serving tray. “Cancer.” She placed the pill in her mouth and washed it down with the tea.

  “Excuse me?”

  “The pill is for my cancer.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not the demise I would have chosen, but there’s still time to choose another.”

  Unsure if she was meant to reply, Lynn chose to remain silent.

  “Why do you want to solve this case, Miss Weber?”

  “I’d like to give Paige Archer the justice she deserves.”

  “People seldom get what they deserve.” She lifted her cup and took a sip.

  Something in her tone made Lynn’s skin crawl. “Someone murdered a pregnant teenage girl. They need to be brought to justice.”

  “Justice?” Katherine chuckled. The sound added to Lynn’s anxiety. “Justice isn’t always delivered in a courtroom. Sometimes fate serves it up in more satisfying ways.”

  “Did you serve justice to Paige Archer?”

  A delicate eyebrow arched at the question. Katherine lowered her cup. “Are you accusing me of Paige Archer’s murder?”

  “You had a motive.”

  “Do tell.” She raised the cup.

  “She was pregnant with your husband’s baby.”

  “I hope you have proof to back up such slander.” Katherine took a sip of tea.

  “I do.” Lynn sat her cup on the desk. She pulled the envelope from her backpack and held it out.

  Katherine eyed it a moment. Her gaze shifted to Lynn as she sat aside the teacup and took the envelope. Long fingernails slipped under the flap popping it open. She pulled out several photos.

  Lynn felt a twinge of smug satisfaction as the old woman’s cool façade cracked.

  She placed the photos back in the envelope without looking through them. “Where did you get these?”

  “They were in a box of Paige’s belongings. Her aunt inherited it after Paige’s parents passed away. The photos, along with her diary were in it.”

  “Diary? The police searched every inch of the Archer house for her diary.”

  “The diary, along with the photos, was hidden in a secret compartment in the bottom of her jewelry box. I guess no one bothered to look there.”

  Katherine chuckled. “No, James never would have thought of that.”

  “James? You mean, Sheriff Anderson?”

  “Yes, he took over the investigation after Deputy Milton’s death.” Katherine tossed the envelope onto the desk and settled back in her chair. “I still don’t see how this makes me a murderer.”

  “Paige described her affair with Robert in detail. She was going to confront you about the affair. And the baby.”

  “And?”

  “And that was her last entry. She disappeared the next day. After Paige’s body was found, your husband paid for her funeral. According to Paige’s aunt, he insisted the bodies be cremated. Nice way to avoid any further testing. Any evidence with possible DNA samples is missing from the case file, along with several pages of investigation notes. It would have been easy for a Sheriff to make such things disappear.”

  Thin lips curled back over perfect teeth. Lynn couldn’t shake the feeling she was a mouse at the mercy of a cat. “I offered to pay for Paige’s funeral. My husband, the Judge, insisted it be a cremation, not to destroy evidence, but because he was cheap. He liked to play the saint, but always on a budget.”

  “Did Paige confront you about the affair?”

  Lightning and thunder struck at the same moment, shaking the house. The lights flickered before abandoning the room to darkness. Lynn’s heart began to race. She yelped as a lighter flared, shadowing the sharp featur
es of Ann Harper. Ignoring Lynn’s outburst, she placed the flame to a candle sitting on the desk. Its shadows danced about the room.

  “You said the repairman fixed that generator,” Katherine snipped.

  “I told you not to pay him up front,” Ann replied. She turned and walked away, missing the glare Katherine shot at her back. Katherine mumbled something under her breath Lynn couldn’t make out. “I heard that.” Ann called from the hallway.

  “I’m sure you did, with those bat ears of yours.” Satisfied with the last word Katherine settled back into her chair. “Now where were we?”

  “Did Paige come to you about the affair?”

  “Yes, she came here, all full of piss and vinegar. Sat in that very chair.” A bony finger pointed at Lynn. “Announced that she was having Robert’s baby, and I should start packing, as she was going to be the new Mrs. Robert Samuels.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I laughed and told her the Judge would do what he always did in these situations. He’d put her on a bus to Charlottesville with some money and the address of a doctor who would fix the problem.”

  “So, this wasn’t his first affair?”

  “Hardly.” Katherine chuckled, shaking her head.

  “You never thought about killing Paige?”

  “Oh, I thought about it, but fate was on her side that day. I tried to tell the Judge that, but he wouldn’t listen. He never believed in fate. That’s why it turned against him.”

  “Did your husband kill Paige?”

  Katherine looked her square in the eye. “The Judge never did his own dirty work.”

  “Are you saying he had someone else kill her? Who?” She paused. “It was James, wasn’t it?”

  “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for Miss Weber.”

  “How can you be certain it was James and not Robert?”

  “Because Robert would never have trusted anyone else to do it. Their brotherly bond was strong. Besides, James would have enjoyed it. From the day he took his first step, he liked to hurt things. Insects, puppies, his wife. Once he was elected sheriff, there were no limits to his cruelty.”

  “When did you start to suspect Robert had her killed?”

  “From day one. But it was several months before I learned the truth. One day Deputy Milton came to speak with me. He’d found evidence of the affair and suspected Robert and James were involved in Paige’s death.”

  “There’s nothing in his case notes about it.” Lynn said.

  “After his death, James went through the case file and purged anything that might point to Robert.”

  “James told you this?”

  “I watched him hand the notes to Robert. He burned them in the fireplace.” Her eyes shifted to the stone mantel. “The same place where James murdered Ollie Milton.”

  “Excuse me? Deputy Milton died in a car crash.”

  “No, James beat him to death with a fireplace poker, then staged the car crash as a cover.”

  “You witnessed this?”

  “Yes, it was quite brutal.” She reached for the teacup. “Ruined one of my favorite rugs.”

  Lynn’s mouth dropped into a shocked O. “Why didn’t you go to the authorities?”

  “Robert and James were the authorities, dear. I would have suffered one of James’ accidents long before I could have testified. Besides, their fates hadn’t been decided yet.” She sipped at her tea.

  Lynn’s mind spun as the pieces began to come together. Her gaze fell on the watch display, and another piece snapped into place. “Had their fates been decided when you drowned them in the river?”

  The teacup paused midway to Katherine’s lips. She didn’t look up. “First you accuse me of murdering my husband’s mistress and now my husband. Before you ask, I can prove I wasn’t in Dallas during the Kennedy assassination.” A smirk crossed her lips as she took a sip.

  “According to the report on your husband’s death, the last time you saw him was the day he left for the fishing tournament, three days before he drowned.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Then how did his watch end up on your desk?”

  “That’s not his watch.” There was a chill in the answer. “It belonged to my grandfather.”

  “Then why was Robert wearing it in all the photos with Paige?” Lynn pulled out her phone and swiped through several screens. “And during the fishing tournament two days before he died.” She held up the newspaper article with the grainy photo.

  Katherine didn’t look at it. “It was given to me with his personal affects.”

  “No, I’ve read the report, there is no mention of a watch in his belongings. You took it off him before you sent his boat over the dam.”

  Jaw muscles worked beneath pale skin. “The Judge had a habit of taking things he liked. He took a fancy to my grandfather’s watch. So, I took it back.”

  “Before or after you murdered him?”

  “Murder is such a nasty word. I saw it more as self-preservation. The Samuel brothers were a dangerous duo. They had come to see murder as an acceptable solution to their problems. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be a problem for them to solve.”

  “You’re claiming self-defense?”

  “As I said, self-preservation.” She took another sip of tea.

  “You know I have to report this to the authorities?”

  “I’m dying, Miss Weber. Your justice will have to move swiftly if it wishes to catch me.”

  “How did you do it?”

  “Horse tranquilizers in the prepared meals I sent with them. I knew which night they would eat them, so I slipped up to the cabin and waited in the woods. They were out cold when the boat went over the dam.”

  “There is no way you could have carried them to the boat by yourself. Who helped you?”

  “My sins are my own to confess. If others wish to unburden their souls, I’ll not deprive them of the chance.” Across the room a grandfather clock began to chime the hour. “I’ve given you all my secrets, Miss Weber. Do with them as you wish.” Katherine set down her teacup. “It’s getting late, and this trip down memory lane has drained me.” She stood.

  Lynn scrambled to her feet.

  “Ann will show you out.”

  “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Anderson.” Lynn thrust out her hand. “And your honesty.”

  Katherine eyed the offered hand a moment before taking it. Somehow her hand was colder than before. “Fate smiled on you this evening, Miss Weber. If you’re lucky it will continue to do so.”

  “I hope so. If you like, I can send you a copy of the book once it’s finished.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I already know the ending. Besides, I won’t be here to read it. Good evening, Miss Weber.” Not waiting for a reply, she turned and disappeared into the darkness beyond the study door.

  “This way.”

  Lynn jumped as Ann picked up the candle and started away. How does she do that? She hurried to catch up to the woman who was already standing by the open door. The storm had moved on, leaving behind a light rain.

  Lynn stepped through the doorway and turned back. “Mrs. Harper, may I—” The door slammed. “I guess that’s a no.” Relieved to be free of the place, she hurried to her car.

  * * * *

  There was a sharp knock at the door. Lynn pressed save on her document before checking the peephole. She startled at the figure standing in the hallway of her apartment. Her hand hovered over the lock a moment before clicking it open. “Mrs. Harper, what are you doing here?”

  “Mrs. Anderson is dead. She passed away in her sleep last night.”

  “I… I’m sorry to hear that.” Caught off guard by the abrupt announcement, Lynn brushed at her hair, trying to think of a better response.

  “She wanted you to have this.”

  Lynn eyed the small display case resting in the woman’s outstretched hand. Light reflected off the gold coin’s surface. “Why would she give it to me?”

&nbs
p; “She didn’t. Fate chose you.”

  “Okay… thanks.” Lynn took the box. “With her gone, what will you do?”

  “I’m moving to Fiji, so I can sit on the beach while Cabana boys bring me frozen drinks.”

  Lynn ducked her head unable to hide a smile. “Good for you.”

  “Yes, it will be.” Ann turned to leave. She paused. “I’m glad you won the coin toss.”

  “What coin toss?”

  “The one the night of your visit. Katherine felt we should let Fate decide your destiny.”

  “You tossed to see if she would speak with me?”

  “No, we tossed to decide if we should kill you or not.”

  “Ki… Kill me?”

  “Yes, but Fate smiled on you that evening.” Ann’s sharp features softened into something that could pass for a smile. It only made her more terrifying.

  “Fate?” Lynn’s mind struggled to process the revelation.

  “Yes, the coin.” Ann tapped a fingernail against the box. “That’s its name, Fate. Trust Fate, and it will never lead you astray. Goodbye, Miss Weber.”

  Lynn slammed the door shut, clicking the deadbolt into place. She leaned against the door with a heavy sigh and held up the coin. “Well, Fate, I guess I owe you one.”

  SOUTHERN SISTERS STICK TOGETHER, by Stacie Giles

  “You’re a sight for sore eyes.” Vera smiled at hearing her cousin call to her from the sidewalk. Her long dark skirt swished as she closed the front door of the Memphis YWCA where she lived and turned toward him.

  “Good morning, Burnell. Are you just off work? You look like you need your bed.” Burnell had recently begun working for the police department and was stuck on night shift.

  “I hoped you’d be happier to see me than that.” He pretended to pout as he followed Vera along the Madison Street sidewalk.

  “Always happy to see you, but I’m on my way to work and Mrs. Florence won’t put up with late waitresses at Gerber’s Tea Room. I’m still in my probationary period, remember?” Still, Vera slowed her pace and peered closely at her cousin. Growing up on neighboring family farms a long way from Memphis, they were as close as brother and sister, and she realized he was worried. “Is something on your mind, Burnell?”