Secrets at Sweetwater Cove

by Sally Roseveare

  “Why did Jasper go after Kurt Karver?” asked Aurora. “And didn’t Jasper shoot the Karver’s neighbor?”

  “Yep. He shot the neighbor because she could place him on the street near Kurt’s house and parked in the Karver’s driveway. And he intended to kill Kurt because Kurt could identify Butch, who could identify Jasper. Sorry, it’s a little complicated.” Lieutenant Conner sipped the glass of water Aurora handed him.

  “Tell us about Win.” Carole chewed on a ham biscuit.

  “Although Win seemed charming, his mother had created a monster. Always babied by Estelle, told that he could coast through life on his looks, do anything he wanted, Anthony Smoot—alias I. Winston Ford—believed he could do just that. A bad seed—his biological father is in prison for life—he possesses no morals, most often gets what he wants. He loved the ladies; they usually reciprocated. Those who didn’t play his games ended up mutilated and dead. We know of at least two. My guess is there are more.” Lieutenant Conner looked at Carole. “Because of her instincts and resourcefulness, Carole managed to escape.”

  “I didn’t trust him from the beginning. But the idea of a huge commission on the sale of an expensive house beat out common sense. Lesson learned here? Never put money over what you know is right, over values, over friends and family. If I’d listened to Aurora and Luke, I wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place,” said Carole.

  Luke squeezed her hand. “Yeah, you still would have. You came really close to dying. But you’re smart, suspected Win of stealing boats. And you switched glasses so that he drank the drugged wine intended for you. Then you ran.”

  “But I should have seen through him sooner.”

  “He thought you’d figured everything out. Besides, you turned down his advances. That alone marked you for death. Carole, you never had much chance of surviving.” Luke hugged her.

  “Who killed Blanche and Tom Southerland?” asked Sam.

  “Jasper,” answered Conner. “Unfortunately for him, the first attempt failed. He strangled Southerland, tried to make it look like he’d just quit breathing. He figured the man was in such bad shape that no one would notice the marks on his neck.” He laughed. “In squeezing Southerland’s neck, he damaged the tube in his throat. The doctor immediately suspected attempted murder and called the cops.”

  Little Guy and King darted to the door. Little Guy barked.

  Sam let them out, laughed as King snatched up a tennis ball and dashed toward the lake. “Sorry about that. Please continue.”

  “Am I boring you?” asked Conner.

  “No!” everybody said together.

  “Okay, then,” Conner said. “Posing as a caring friend, Estelle volunteered to spend the night in the hospital so Blanche could go home with their bridge friends and get some rest. Unfortunately for Estelle, Mary Ann insisted on staying, too, which thwarted Estelle’s hope of slipping into Southerland’s room and killing him.”

  The oven timer buzzed. Aurora excused herself and hurried to the kitchen.

  “A nurse’s aide foiled Jasper’s second attempt when she and the guard burst into Southerland’s room just as Jasper was about to inject something into Tom’s IV. Then the head nurse and Blanche walked in.”

  Sergeant Johnson picked up the story. “Jasper disarmed the guard, who, following orders from Jasper, tied up the aide and the nurse with a ripped sheet, gagged them, and forced them under the bed. Afraid Jasper would start shooting if he didn’t obey, the guard tied Blanche in the chair and gagged her. Jasper knocked out the guard, shoved him under the bed, and plunged a syringe filled with death into Southerland’s IV.”

  “That’s one evil family,” said Aurora. “Even though I had no idea Win was related to Jasper, when I looked into Win’s eyes at an intersection a few months ago, I thought I’d seen the devil.”

  “Was Estelle’s husband Dave involved in all this?” asked Jill.

  “No. Dave worshipped Estelle. He knew she’d been upset ever since Southerland was given the contractor job over him. He figured he just wasn’t good enough for her. To compensate, he worked harder and longer hours and wasn’t home long enough to figure it all out. As for his stepsons Jasper and Anthony—alias Win—Dave knew they were bad eggs. He didn’t trust them, but what could he do? After all, they were Estelle’s sons. And she adored them.” Lieutenant Conner put a chunk of Havarti cheese in his mouth.

  “So what about Blanche?” asked Sam. “How’d Jasper kill her?”

  “He held his gun against her chest and fired. She died instantly.”

  “Yuck,” said Monique.

  “I’d like to know how Southerland’s cap got in the portable john next door,” said Sue.

  “I can answer that,” said Johnson. “Southerland surprised Butch, Shorty and Otis as they drank moonshine in the van. He confronted them. They grabbed him, knocked him down. Southerland got up, ran across the yard, and locked himself in the john. He hoped they wouldn’t find him. They beat in the door and dragged him out. That’s when he lost his cap.”

  Deputy Conner’s pager beeped. “Sorry, folks, but Joe and I are needed on another call. If you have any questions, call me later. Good to see all of you.”

  “Wait. I have a quick question. Well, maybe two,” said Robert. “First, what happened to Jim the pilot?”

  “He survived. He had one bullet wound—not serious—and a few scrapes. Lucky man. The two guys on the chopper, Jasper and Win, died in the helicopter’s explosion. Dental records proved their identities. And your second question?”

  “What happened to the coon hunters who found Tom Southerland in the freezer?” asked Robert.

  Both deputies laughed. “They’re fine. Jude, who was impaled on the pine branch, spent time recuperating in the hospital. He’s still getting physical therapy.” Conner laughed. “His wife made a lamp from the pine branch that was sticking through his leg. Put a red lamp shade on it. She told me she set the lamp on the foyer table so Jude would see it every time he left the house.”

  “You’re kidding,” said Mac.

  “Nope. She thinks his hunting days are over.”

  Before the deputies could leave, Monique asked, “Did you ever find Mr. Southerland’s pickup truck?”

  “Yeah. We raided a local farm, discovered the truck parked in a storage building.”

  “Think maybe I could have it? I need a car. Mine like burned up,” said Monique.

  Conner and Johnson looked at each other. “I doubt it,” said Conner, “but we’ll check.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX

  After the deputies left, Aurora removed cheese straws and ham biscuits from the oven, stirred the meatballs in the crock pot, and placed the food on the dining room table beside platters of shrimp, tea sandwiches, lemon bars and cakes.

  She looked around at her old and new friends. Carole and Luke, Uncle Charlie and Dixie Lee, Robert and Jill, and Monique were there. Also there were Mac and Sue, who had grown fond of Etta and had driven up from Greenville with Etta and planned to stay a couple of nights. Hessie’s doctor thought the visit would be too much for her. Because the huge amount of media coverage kept The Eagle’s Perch filled and Yvonne busy in the kitchen, Yvonne and Paul Bateman sent their regrets. Kurt Karver sat at his parents’ feet.

  “Buffet’s ready, y’all,” Aurora announced. “Fill your plates and take them to the sunroom, or find a seat here.”

  “Before we spread out, could we make an announcement?” asked Luke. Everyone agreed. He put his arm around Carole’s shoulder. “As you know, Carole and I are engaged. We’ve finally set a date—February 14th—and you’re all invited. You’ll receive an invitation in January.”

  Everyone applauded.

  “We hope you’ll all come,” said Carole.

  “I’d like to say something, too,” said Uncle Charlie. He reached for Dixie Lee’s hand, held it. “We’re also making wedding plans.” A radiant Dixie Lee held her left hand high, flashed the diamond and ruby ring. “Don’t know the date yet, but it’
ll be soon.”

  “Will you live at the lake or in Lynchburg?” someone asked.

  “We’ll keep both places for now,” Dixie Lee said. “And since I no longer have a job, I’ll need something to do. Charlie stays pretty busy with golf and his volunteer work in Lynchburg, so I thought I’d volunteer for something, too. Any ideas?”

  Suggestions flew through the room. “Before Mom’s Alzheimer’s disease, Dad participated as a driver with Bedford Ride,” Aurora said. “Often the clients would have no other way of getting medical treatment. If you’re interested, I’ll tell you more about it later.”

  Dixie Lee nodded.

  Etta stood, said that she and Mouser planned to live with her sister in New Bern. “It makes sense to me,” she said. “I like my little house in Cifax, but I can never live there again. Too many bad memories. Mouser and I almost died in that house. And New Bern is close to Greenville, so I’ll get to visit with Sue and Mac often.”

  “Monique, what are your plans?” asked Carole.

  “Deputy Johnson like found me a part-time job as a live-in mother’s helper. And he’s also trying to get me a scholarship so I can go to nursing school.”

  “That’s wonderful,” said Carole. “You deserve it, Monique. If not for you, Win would have killed me if the Dobermans didn’t rip me to shreds first.”

  Two weeks later, Aurora leaned on the board fence and stared at the pasture. Sam walked up behind her, touched her shoulder. She jumped.

  “I didn’t hear you drive up,” she said.

  “I know. My guess is you were absorbed in horsey thoughts.”

  “How was work today?”

  “Fine. But I kept thinking of you, wished I were here with you instead of slaving in front of a computer. I love you, Aurora.”

  “I know you do, Sam. And I love you, too.”

  “So have you decided what kind of horse you’ll buy?”

  “I’ve made a decision, but you may not understand.” She watched five turkeys cross the field. King barked. A large hen lifted her head and sprinted into the shelter of the woods. The others followed. “I don’t know what breed I want.”

  “So you just can’t decide?”

  “The horse will decide,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I’ve been Googling horse farms for the past week. I keep going back to horse rescue sites. Today I drove to a rescue site in Roanoke, met the horses and their caretakers. I cried all the way home. Sam, you won’t believe the condition of some of those horses. Most were once fine animals that were abandoned by their owners and left to starve, or just plain mistreated. Some owners who could no longer keep their horses for one reason or another, gave them to the horse rescue before they became emaciated. Thank goodness for those rescue folks. They really care, Sam. They’re doing all they can to help these animals.” She looked into his eyes. “I want to adopt a rescue horse, Sam. The right horse will choose me. You think I’m nuts, don’t you?”

  “No, I don’t think you’re nuts. One of the things I’ve always loved and admired about you, Susie-Q, is the love and empathy you have for all living creatures.” Sam kissed her, pulled her close.

  “So when do we start cleaning out the barn?” he asked.