Dead On the Bayou

by June Shaw

  Only a fence separated that backyard from the one that belonged to Mrs. Wilburn and her son. “Do you know who he was yelling at?”

  “No. I’m certain they would have been in the back, and of course they have that fence.”

  A frightening thought occurred. “Mrs. Hawthorne, you didn’t hear anything like he was making a threat, did you?”

  She kept shaking her head. “I have no idea what he said.” Her gaze moved lower as though she was thinking of something. She looked straight at me. “I believe a woman might have yelled back at him.”

  My pulse sped. “Could it have been Mrs. Wilburn?” Her home was right behind that young couple’s.

  She gazed across the street at the neatly kept lawn and tan brick house. “I never spoke to that woman, so I don’t know what she sounds like.” She lowered her head, lifted it, and corrected herself. “Or what she sounded like.”

  My phone rang. “Excuse me,” I told her and answered.

  “You’re coming over?” Eve asked.

  “Sure. I won’t be long.”

  “Good, ’cause we just got a job! It’s one that’ll be easy for your shoulder.”

  I jerked my other arm back at the elbow, my hand making a fist like I was saying yes. “See you in a minute,” I told her.

  “You need to go. I won’t keep you.” Mrs. Hawthorne stepped away from the curb.

  “Thank you so much for giving me all this information.”

  “I don’t know whether it’ll do any good.” She glanced across the street and then back at me. “Couples do sometimes argue, you know.”

  My ex who had made me dread being romantically involved with a man came to mind. “They do. Thanks again.” I accelerated toward my house.

  “Don’t forget my cousin,” she yelled.

  Pleased to put my wounded truck to rest under my carport, I walked across the street, moving slower while I passed through the slim area of grass between the fence she mentioned and the one beside it. The young couple’s tall dog-eared fence retained a slight scent of cedar, although while I moved closer toward the rear section of their yard, a strong pungent odor of chlorine made my nostrils recoil. He had probably just added some to their swimming pool.

  The white solid vinyl fence panels surrounding the backyard on the other side left no spaces between panels. This fence, however, had small spaces between the boards, in some areas slightly wider than others. Whoever built this wooden privacy fence could have used better professional help.

  Hoping to see or hear the young couple out there, I pressed against the wood and got my eye as close as possible to a slender space.

  Something pushed against the fence from the opposite side. A man’s gruff voice followed. “What’re you gonna do about it?”

  Chapter 15

  I jumped back, heart jammed in my throat. Glad he hadn’t been eyeball to eyeball with me, I scrambled to Eve’s yard. Words from a young woman trailed from their side of the fence, but the drumming in my head wouldn’t let me make out what she said. I was satisfied to realize he hadn’t been questioning me.

  “Good Lord, who’s chasing you?” Eve asked when I dashed near. She leaned forward from the patio chair she sat on and glanced behind me.

  I caught my breath and spoke. “No one. I hope.” I looked back, hoping nobody came rushing behind, his fist flailing in the air.

  “Sit down, Sis. Take it easy. I’ll get us some tea so you can chill. After that we need to talk.”

  I wanted to protest but wasn’t certain why. Apprehension jumped around in my chest and my eyes swerved to the wooden fence. I’d thought the guy who lived there may have run after me. If he did, how would I explain that I was peeking through their fence because the elderly woman across from him had heard him yelling at someone? While I considered that idea, it seemed ridiculous. My pulse slowed when I determined how foolish it was for me to have been concerned about what Mrs. Hawthorne told me. I sat on a cushioned chair beside Eve’s. Probably, I was only digging for anything that might get Dave out of jail.

  Eve came through her back door carrying our drinks. The tea was icy cold and did wonders for my formerly tight throat. “This is good.” I raised my glass to her. “I’ll tell you about it after I relax a bit more.”

  She nodded, smiled, and glanced to her left, where Jake in jeans was out in his yard. With a few tools scattered near, he bent over opposite us, doing something low to the ground.

  “Nice view, isn’t it?” Eve asked.

  I tapped her arm. “You wicked thing.” I watched him moving and made up my mind that she was correct. Remembering my mission of getting him and Eve together so she wouldn’t be hurt when I paired up with Dave, I made a suggestion. “It’s pretty warm out here. Why don’t you offer him some tea with us? I’m sure he could use a break.”

  “That’s a great idea.” She turned toward his lawn. “Hey, Jake,” she called, and he straightened and looked our way. “You look too hot working out there. Come join us for some tea.”

  My sister certainly had a dual meaning for telling him he looked hot and surely wouldn’t mind if he knew it. I didn’t mind her telling him that either. It was a good start for bringing them together.

  He ran his fingers back through his long, wavy hair and took long strides toward us, his smiling eyes aimed at my sister. “That’s a great suggestion. Thank you.”

  “No problem.” She scrambled to her feet and stood chest-to-chest with him, her flirtatious smile matching his. Maybe I wouldn’t have to do anything. Possibly something already started with them.

  I felt my smile widen.

  “And you know my sister Sunny,” Eve said, waving a hand toward me like an introduction.

  “Of course. Hello, Sunny.”

  “Hi. Have a seat.” I nodded toward the empty chair close to my sister. “And she’ll get you the most delicious iced tea.” I lifted my glass.

  Eve rushed inside, and he lowered his hips to a chair.

  “Jake,” I said, “you’re home a bit during the day.”

  “Yes, I’m fortunate. I can do a lot of work from my house.”

  I hoped he wouldn’t suggest I let him advise where I should invest all of my excess income, which was nil. “What were you doing?” I tilted my head toward the edge of his yard.

  “I still haven’t gotten that permit for a fence yet, but I imagine I’ll be getting it soon. In the meantime, I’m taking measurements for the stakes. What have you been up to?”

  Trying to find a killer. Trying to prove it isn’t the man I cared so much about. “I’ve been visiting my mom and trying to heal up from this shoulder wound.” I shifted my left shoulder up. It still felt numb.

  He shook his head. “I hope it gets better soon.” The back door let out a little squeak, and he looked toward it with a smile. Eve handed him a tall glass filled with ice and tea, and he took a large swallow. “You do know how to treat a man.” He gave her a little salute of approval with his glass.

  “I try.” She wiggled her hips back down to her chair.

  If I didn’t want them to get together, the back and forth flirting would annoy me. But then I’ve never been one to get gung ho about the male and female trying to mate thing. They shared eye contact both with lips pulled back a little at the corners, their looks suggesting they liked being together. That was fine. I almost suggested that Eve might help him once he got his fence going but didn’t believe a suggestion was necessary. Their icy glasses might have steamed up from the eyes they were giving each other while they held their glasses to their lips.

  “Jake,” I said, getting his attention back to me, “the police must have questioned you about the woman who lived over there.” I pointed toward the tall shrubs that separated Eve’s backyard from the one that belonged to Mrs. Wilburn, and Jake nodded. “What did you tell them? Did you see or hear anything that might have seemed suspicious?”

  He shook his head. “I said I didn’t really know the lady. I’m r
eally sorry about what happened to her, but I’m not even sure what she looked like. I saw her son drive away from there a couple of times. I never noticed her out in front of her house.”

  I thought about the people behind her house on the opposite side of that fence. “What about noise? Had you heard any shouting or anything not long before Mrs. Wilburn was killed?”

  He dropped his gaze toward the cement, appearing to concentrate. He looked up at me. “Not that I can recall.” He crooked his finger toward his place. “But the people who live on the other side of me keep having parties. I seem to recall lots of noise and cars at their place around that time.”

  “I noticed all the cars out there, too.”

  Eve swung her arm out. “Okay, you two, we are not here for the inquisition. I invited Jake over so he could sit and relax.” She stared at me. “You are not letting him relax.”

  I tightened my lips. “I’m sorry,” I told him. “It’s just a concern.”

  “I understand.”

  “Now I’m alive, and I want your attention.” Eve had no hesitation with getting males to notice her, and that was fine with me, especially with her getting it from him.

  “You’ve got it,” he told her. The hint of romance their smiles suggested toward each other told me I needed to set down my glass and leave them alone. They might not even notice I was gone.

  I put my drink on the glass-topped table, about to stand when Jake’s phone rang.

  “Excuse me,” he told us and looked at the front of it to check the caller. “I need to get this.” He stepped away from the patio and spoke, his tone sounding all businesslike. A moment later, he lifted his hand toward us. “I have to get to my office inside. Thanks for the drink.”

  “Anytime.” Eve kept her eyes on him while he moved across her lawn and his and stepped into his back doorway. Finally, she breathed a long exhale.

  I let her have a moment to extend her enjoyment of the man who wasn’t Dave before moving on with other matters. “So we have a job?” My enthusiasm returned. “And it’s something I can do?”

  “Yes. First tell me why you were so out of breath when you got here. I doubt that you were having a romantic interlude.” That thought seemed to really sink in. Eve’s eyes widened and brightened. “Or were you?”

  I was tempted to blurt that the person I wanted such an interlude with was sitting behind bars. Admitting that to her now would serve no purpose and might hurt the relationship between us. As we looked at each other, I knew we needed to work together on a job now and help prove Dave didn’t commit murder. The time it took us to perform both tasks would offer a longer period for a romance to develop between her and Jake.

  I shrugged and smiled innocently with my eyebrows raised higher.

  “Oh, Sunny, you were messing around with a man?” Her excitement expressed how much she wanted that to happen.

  “I didn’t say that.” Of course I’d suggested it. And then I told her what Mrs. Hawthorne said about the yelling she’d heard not long before Mrs. Wilburn wound up dead.

  Eve smirked, shaking her head. “So if somebody yells in their yard, they’re about to kill someone? That poor lady does need to get out of her yard more. Or at least take off her hat and see what the real world looks like.”

  “But she did help the police once.”

  “True. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do if you want to earn some money real soon.”

  “I need to earn money.”

  “I got a call from a woman who wants some remodeling in her kitchen. She told me she would pay us double what we would normally charge if we can get it done.”

  “What? That sounds terrific.” I leaned toward Eve and spoke softer. “Why would she do that? And why would she choose us? Or even trust us?”

  The enthusiasm in her tone dulled. “She did admit she tried other companies, but they all had work lined up. Okay, here’s the thing. She wants the work finished before she has a big party at her house.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “The party’s in ten days.”

  I shook my head. “How could we do that?”

  “It won’t be that much work, and of course she won’t need to wait for a permit since she wants us to remodel her kitchen.”

  “I still don’t understand why a person would want to pay us twice what we’d ask for. We haven’t been in business that long.” I lowered my voice even more. “And we’re still associated with murder.”

  “She’s married to one of those new young doctors in town. Her grandmother lives at the manor. It seems Mom and a couple of others in her Chat and Nap Group brag about us. Mom was talking to this woman, who mentioned she needed some work done really fast, and Mom told her how wonderful Twin Sisters Remodeling and Repairs is.”

  “Bless our mom’s heart.”

  “Yes, and that woman wrote our names down and said she might give us a call. She did.” Eve hopped up from her chair with her glass that now held melting ice and glanced toward Jake’s yard. “Let’s go inside. It’s too distracting out here,” she added with a grin. “I’ll let you know what she wants us to do, and we can make plans to get started.”

  I glanced toward the wooden fence to make sure the young man from the other side still wasn’t coming for me. Satisfied that he wasn’t, I carried my own glass into Eve’s house and wondered how in the world I could start working with my still-wounded shoulder.

  Knowing we might discover more about Mrs. Wilburn’s relatives who often went around the manor and hadn’t liked her gave me more incentive. I wanted to learn more about people who might have disliked her enough to want her dead. Earning money would be a big bonus.

  Chapter 16

  Our new customer was Cherry Cleveland. She had given Eve an idea of what she wanted done, and Eve had assured her and now me that we could do it. Inside Eve’s kitchen, she got Cherry on the phone. “I just checked with my sister, and yes, we’ll do it.” Eve listened and nodded, then she handed her phone to me.

  I gave her eyes that questioned what the heck. With no response, I pressed the phone to my ear. “Hello. This is Sunny Taylor.”

  “Hi, Sunny. Eve and your mother and all of her friends tell me you are terrific with details.”

  I felt my chest puff up with her praise. Anyone who made me feel special gave me an affinity for that person. I even felt my cheeks color. “Thank you so much for saying that.”

  “They’re the ones who said it. I just look forward to seeing your work.”

  Okay, now she had me. I would need to prove myself to this person who sounded barely old enough to be out of high school. “I mainly learned to pay special attention to women’s bodies and underwear.”

  Her laughter bubbled up. “Whatever caused it, it’s a good trait. Could you and your sister come over and see what I have? Then we can discuss what I’d want and, of course, the price.”

  “Yes. Is now a good time?”

  “Sure. Let me give you the address and my phone number so you’ll have it.” She did, and I wrote it all to make sure I got everything straight. “See you soon,” she said, and we clicked off.

  “She sounds really nice.” I handed Eve’s phone back to her. “Let’s go check her place out. Here’s her address.” I held up the sheet that I’d written the info on.

  Eve grabbed her purse and headed for the door to her garage without looking at what I held. “I know where she lives.”

  I slid into the passenger side of her car, while she started the Lexus and it purred. Even with the comfort of the pillow-soft seat and the recent praise I’d received, my mind wasn’t at ease. “Did she know you were already aware of her address?”

  “Look,” Eve said instead of answering my question.

  I did look to my right where she tilted her head as she backed to her driveway. Royce stood on the grass right next to Eve’s yard staring at us, his face mean and eyes hard. I felt he would have thrown something at us if anything
had been available close to him. When Eve pulled off in front of his house, I noticed he slid into the driver’s side of a sassy black sports car. The license showing it was brand-new sat in the rear window. His mother’s five-year-old sedan that he had used while she was alive was not parked in front of the new vehicle.

  “He got rid of his mother’s car,” I said.

  “I guess he did. He’s not waiting for much.”

  “Except for us to be arrested.”

  “He must know that Dave was arrested. Even if we know he’s innocent, Royce doesn’t.”

  Once she steered us out of the neighborhood, my tense shoulders relaxed. “Since we were with Dave and found her, he might still believe we were involved in her murder.” I shivered and added, “And he looks like he might like to make sure something happens to us.”

  Eve showed no reaction but faced straight ahead and drove. In no time, she reached the bayou and drove along it until she crossed at the first bridge. She followed the greenish-brown waterway and after a quarter of a mile, turned onto a long driveway.

  The breathtaking lawn was one of my favorites that always called my attention when I drove past. Many striking large live oaks draped lawns along highways down here. This place held some of the most spectacular massive trees with their branches like powerful arms that reached toward the ground, a couple of them resting on it and then dipping up again. Chemical crop-dusters that once sprayed the area’s sugar cane fields had destroyed many pests that harmed the crops but did the same to most of the thick Spanish moss, which appeared dead hanging from branches like long gray beards. Actually, the moss was alive.

  It swayed like a welcoming wave of fresh air when we drove in. The house was barely visible from the road since it was set back from the trees and had been there a long time. I’d heard it once belonged to an attorney. The house was brick and not large, not nearly as imposing as its entry at the main road.

  Its bubbly owner greeted us at the front door, swinging it open the minute Eve used the knocker for one strike. “Hi, I’m so glad y’all are here. Come on in.” She was almost as tall as we were although her voice on the phone had made me believe she was tiny. I was right that she was young.