Sage Advice to Cover Up a Murder! (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 2)

by Phoebe T. Eggli

  Having returned early from their walk, Logan and Emily overheard most of their conversation. Logan suggested that if the poison was traced back to Johnson’s holding company then couldn’t the police obtain a warrant for the company’s financial records. It seemed to make sense that the money came from Johnson’s company since the influx began at the time of Mr. Hawkins’ retirement. However, the young man mused why the money kept coming in after the man’s death. Melissa piped in with the information Ronnie had given her about Sophie Hawkins showing up at the company shortly after her husband’s abrupt retirement announcement. This was the first Joey heard about the encounter. The dismay was evident on his face. He realized that perhaps it was time someone questioned his mother.

  Joey made a quick call to the police department. He left out the information about his parents’ finances and his suspicion that the funds came from Johnson’s company, perhaps as a bribe to keep his dad silent. Using his authoritative, stern voice as intimidation, he demanded that the police question his father’s employer about his sudden retirement. The chief quickly assured him that the department agreed questioning Mr. Johnson was an excellent idea. “Actually,” the chief confided, “it is being done as we speak.” Joey remarked that he was happy to hear that news. Before ending the call, he coyly asked if the department needed his mother to come in to give her statement. “It’s funny that you ask, Mr. Hawkins. We planned to call your mother in later this afternoon for just that purpose.” Joey was impressed. Maybe the Kill Devil Hill police department knew what it was doing after all.

  After thanking John David and Melissa for their help, Joey returned home to encourage his mother to go to the precinct and tell the cops everything she knew about Dad’s sudden retirement. He knew she would be livid about the situation. He just wanted to make her understand it was the only way to find out if Dad had been murdered. The police needed to cover all angles. If Mr. Johnson had anything to do with his father’s death, perhaps Mom knew more than she thought she did. Perhaps she had key information the police needed to crack the case. If she didn’t cooperate, he intended to bring out the papers Emily found in the file cabinet that showed his father’s knowledge of Johnson’s illicit dealings with the chemical company.

  Joey didn’t really want Emily around the house. He fully expected his mother to make a scene about being called into the police station. The chief assured him that, if needed, they could send a patrol car to pick her up. He hoped it didn’t come to that. Logan offered to take Emily back to the beach for a surf lesson to keep her mind otherwise occupied. The young woman smiled at her father with an unspoken “Please”. He readily agreed. The two teens grabbed Logan’s surf board and ran out the door. Melissa smiled at the retreating backs of the young couple. Deciding she had neglected her business long enough, she called Maddie at the bakery to let her know she would be arriving there in a little while.

  Chapter 17

  Joey was right to worry. By the time he arrived home the police had already called. Sophie Hawkins was in a complete meltdown. He found her in the living room scooping ashes from the fireplace into the urn that contained William Hawkins’ cremains. Completely aghast, he ran over to stop her. “Mother, what are you doing?” he asked in shock. She stared blankly back at him. After a few moments, she appeared to gather her wits about her again. Smiling, she confessed what she was doing looked a bit odd, but it was all for the best. Not able to comprehend her logic and sick of dealing with her nonsense, Joey’s anger burst forth. How dare she fill his father’s urn with soot and ash!

  Sophie Hawkins had never in her life been on the wrong side of her son’s temper. So upset at the tone of his voice, she started trembling. He again asked what she was doing. His face red with anger. In a shaken voice, she admitted that the cops had called earlier. They wanted her for questioning. “They want to question ME!” she said almost hysterically. “Me! I’m the blasted widow, not a suspect! How dare they tell me that I have to come to the police station! I’ve done nothing wrong!”

  Still not understanding her actions, Joey tried again. The look that crossed Sophie’s face made a shiver run down his spine. He could almost see her mind working to come up with a suitable answer as a smile crept across her features. “Don’t you see, honey? The cops…they performed autopsies on dead seagulls just so they would have an excuse to defile your father’s remains. That’s why I had him cremated. You see, I knew even then that the cops would insist your poor father didn’t die of natural causes. They just have to have someone to blame for everything. Look what they did to that poor baker woman last summer.” She leaned in close to whisper, “The cops want me to bring in your father’s cremains for testing. Can you believe that? Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, I wouldn’t let them defile your father’s body by performing an autopsy. I’m surely not going to allow them to defile his cremains.”

  The poor man was so shaken and appalled by her words that he fell to his knees. Sophie knelt beside her son while tenderly petting the top of his head as if he were still a small child. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I already moved William’s ashes to a different container. The cops won’t know what to make of the ashes and will have to drop the whole thing,” she soothed.

  Gathering his strength back, Joey grabbed his mother’s wrist. “Show me where Dad’s cremains are now!” he ordered. He couldn’t understand if his mom had lost complete touch with reality or was just so concerned about losing her newfound wealth that she would actively withhold evidence that could prove Johnson poisoned his father. Did she really only care about the money? Why did his mother not desire justice for her husband? After recovering the cremains from a plastic container in the laundry room, Joey drove his mother and the cremains to the police station.

  They entered the precinct to the sound of loud voices emanating from the chief’s office. Mr. Johnson’s lawyer, Peter Andrews, was in full lambasting mode as he insisted his client be released immediately. Everyone else in the department stood frozen in place as they listened to the heated exchange. Detective Bronson hurried over to the Hawkins family. He thanked Mrs. Hawkins for coming in and for bringing in her husband’s cremains. She reluctantly handed over the plastic container. Although confused why the cremains were now housed in plastic instead of the expensive bronze memorial urn from the funeral home, Cory handed the container off to a uniformed officer for cataloging. The detective then led the widow and her son to an empty conference room down the hall. As Sophie Hawkins passed the chief’s office window, Peter Andrews turned around just in time to lock eyes with her. Joey noticed as a frightened look came over his mother’s face as she stumbled a step before continuing to follow the detective. By the time they reached the other room, she fully recovered herself with no signs of further distress.

  Back in the chief’s office, the FBI agent also noted the exchange between the lawyer and Mrs. Hawkins. Mr. Andrews’ confrontational demeanor changed. After a moment or two, he requested that he be allowed to talk with his client in private for a few minutes. Neither the chief nor Agent Young understood the alteration. They hoped it meant someone was about to come clean and this whole mystery would be solved. Knowing Mr. Johnson, the chief was not optimistic.

  The attorney and Mr. Johnson spoke in hushed tones while the others waited outside the office. At his desk a few yards away, Jason would have given anything to be a fly on the wall in that room right then. It didn’t take long for the attorney to stick his head out the office door to reconvene the meeting. As Chief Monroe and the FBI agent re-entered the room, Mr. Johnson held his head high with a stern, but determined look. The chief knew that whatever information the tycoon was about to give them came at a huge price. Mr. Andrews began the conversation by requesting, no demanding, full immunity be given to his client. “Full immunity from what exactly?” Agent Young asked. However, Chief Monroe interjected that only the district attorney’s office had the authority to make deals. Peter Andrews corrected the chief. For the information that his client cou
ld deliver would require a higher level of authority, such as only the FBI or the Department of Justice wielded. The chief groaned. This negotiation was going to take a long time.

  Chapter 18

  The precinct waited on pins and needles to find out what was going on in Chief Monroe’s office. Mrs. Hawkins became more and more agitated as she waited in the conference room down the hall. She picked her fingernails and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It seemed everything had reached a standstill. It was so quiet in the department that a number of people jumped when the silence was penetrated by the shrill ring of the phone on Detective Payne’s desk.

  Melissa was on the line and in a panic. She explained that she was on her way to the emergency room with Emily. Although she didn’t know the specifics, she told him that the two teenagers had gone back to the Hawkins’ residence. At some point, Emily started experiencing severe heart palpitations. Logan called his aunt for advice. Her assistant, Maddie, drove her over to the house to check on the girl. Minutes before her arrival, Emily passed out. Thankfully, Logan knew enough to call 911 first. The ambulance pulled up just as Melissa got out of Maddie’s car. She didn’t know anything about the girl’s condition, but needed Jason to track down Emily’s father. He heard the fear in her voice. He wished more than anything he was there to put his arms around her to reassure her. He promised to bring Joey to the hospital himself.

  Jason burst into the conference room where Joey sat trying to reason with his mother to simply tell the cops everything so they could get justice for his father. The detective didn’t know how to put the news into soothing words, so he blurted out that Emily was on her way to the hospital. Both Joey and Sophie Hawkins jumped up. Jason offered to take them both over in his own car. Shaken, they accepted. On the way out, Jason informed his partner about Emily’s plight.

  After they left the precinct, Cory rushed back to the forensics laboratory. He requested that they put a rush on the cremains testing before Mrs. Hawkins changed her mind and demanded them back. Almost as an afterthought, he decided to take one of the technicians with him to the hospital. Before leaving, he knocked on the chief’s door. Cory requested that he speak with Agent Young for a moment. He advised the agent of what have transpired with the victim’s granddaughter. With a quizzical look, the agent nodded. The two had one last trick up their sleeves. They already had search warrants for the Johnson International Shipping offices, as well as for the Hawkins’ residence. They agreed that the best time to act on it was when the widow was not at home and Mr. Johnson and his attorney were otherwise occupied. Now was the perfect time. While Agent Young rounded up a group of uniformed officers and a couple of forensic lab technicians, Detective Bronson headed over to the hospital.

  When Jason arrived at the hospital with Joey and Sophie, Emily had been taken back to radiology for a heart scan. Melissa and Logan waited anxiously outside the secured doors to the emergency room. Since they were not relatives, the staff would not allow them to go back with the young girl and would not give updates on her condition. They only knew that Emily had been resuscitated in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. She was breathing on her own, which was an excellent sign. Joey marched up to the reception desk to demand he be permitted to see his daughter. A nurse escorted him back.

  Emily had just been returned to the emergency room cubicle from radiology. Seeing his daughter connected by various wires and tubes to machines monitoring her vital signs made tears spring to Joey’s eyes. He loved his daughter with his whole heart and never wanted to see her in such a sad state. Her skin was a ghastly pale shade with dark circles under her eyes. He realized that he had been in such a rush that he had not even called her mother. Joey hoped his own mother had the sense to call her for him. He doubted it though. Sophie had been frantic on her way over to the hospital.

  He walked softly over to a small metal chair beside the bed. Emily appeared to sleep. He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. As tears flowed down his face, he promised the moon and the stars if only she’d just wake up and be healthy again. She stirred a little, but could barely open her eyes. Instead, she squeezed his hand as if to let him know she was going to be okay.

  Jason was surprised when his partner entered the small waiting area outside the emergency room, followed by a lab technician from the department. Cory politely asked about Emily’s condition, then requested to speak with Jason privately. Despite the fact he was not allowed to work the case due to his affiliation with Melissa, Cory filled Jason in on the searches that were being conducted. He wanted Jason’s assistance with getting Joey Hawkins to give them permission to take a blood sample from his daughter. The older detective began to see where his partner was going with the new direction of the investigation. He agreed, but needed to speak with Joey when he was away from his mother.

  An hour went by agonizingly slow as they waited for word of Emily’s condition. Sophie peppered Logan with questions about what Emily had been doing prior to falling ill. He explained that they returned from the surfing lesson to find no one home. Emily was hungry for something sweet so she offered to make a dessert for them. Although not a fancy pastry chef like his aunt, she promised she could make crazy good smoothies. He didn’t even have a chance to taste it. Almost immediately after testing a spoonful herself before serving it, Emily suddenly felt very ill and grasped her chest in pain. The poor girl’s grandmother was visibly upset so Melissa came over to wrap an arm around the woman’s shoulders to comfort her.

  Finally, Joey came out to let them know she was being moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) for observation. The doctors still did not know what caused Emily’s heart palpitations. Her condition was stabilized for the time being, but they couldn’t promise there would not be a recurrence. At this point, they were puzzled but optimistic the tests performed would reveal the true culprit so they could make a proper diagnosis.

  Sophie interrupted her son. “What did the doctors say about heart palpitations? She’s just a young girl. Why would she experience that?” she asked with a shaky voice. Joey explained that something caused Emily’s otherwise normal heart to beat extremely fast and then slow to almost a standstill before racing again. She experienced agonizing pain, quite similar to a heart attack. However, she was sedated and resting comfortably now.

  The grandmother let out a wail of sorrow. She began rocking back and forth muttering, “It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault!” Over and over again she repeated the words as her voice grew louder each time. Everyone stood back in silent shock as they tried to make sense of the manic woman before them. Cory and Jason exchanged glances. They knew one of them needed to get Mrs. Hawkins to elaborate on what exactly was her fault.

  As the truth began to dawn on Joey, he knelt beside his mother. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to speak the awful question that needed to be asked. “Mother,” he began, “what did you do?”

  Chapter 19

  As rays of sunshine penetrated the flimsy shades of her hospital room, Emily opened her eyes. Still incredibly fatigued, she felt much better. She recalled being brought into the hospital and being poked and prodded. She looked over to find her father fast asleep in an oversized recliner near the window. Clearing her throat, she attempted to wake him. Joey bolted upright at the noise. He quickly realized his daughter made the noise and her eyes were open again. Saying a silent prayer of thanks, he rushed to her bedside.

  With the help of Emily’s grandmother, the doctors were able to discover the source of the young woman’s ailment and treat it. A transfusion had been required to flush the poison out of Emily’s bloodstream. Apparently, when she fixed the smoothies she used the same food processor to chop up her berries and kale that Sophie used to mix the ingredients of her version of Melissa’s lemon sage bread. Despite cleaning all the utensils, a small trace of the poison remained stuck on the processor’s blades.

  The doctors admitted that if they waited for the lab results, Emily would have survived, but there could have been long-te
rm damage to her heart. Mrs. Hawkins coming forward so quickly with the suggestion it was poison and the particular type of poison made their jobs a lot easier. Joey was grateful his daughter’s life and health would be spared, but he was furious with his mother. He thought Emily still too frail to hear the entire truth. When she was stronger he would explain the situation fully.

  Last night’s revelations rocked Joey to his core. It’s not every day you hear your own mother confess to planning to murder your father. The question still remained whether William Hawkins died of the poison or whether he died of a heart attack. The doctors explained that because Emily had a strong healthy heart, the poison wasn’t fatal. However, his father had been known to have coronary artery disease. Even the slightest contact with the poison could’ve triggered a cardiac episode. He really wished he’d intervened earlier, before his father’s body was cremated.

  The police jumped into action when Sophie confessed. Apparently, there was already some suspicion. The search of the Hawkins’ home uncovered several items that were now in police custody – the food processor, bottled lemon juice, commercial (non-organic) dried sage, and a small pill bottle in Sophie’s bathroom medicine cabinet containing a powdery substance. Along with the financial records Joey turned over to the police and his father’s files on the illegal dealings between Johnson Shipping International and the chemical holding company, the confession was enough to warrant the arrest of Mrs. Sophie Hawkins for at least the attempted murder of Mr. Williams Hawkins.