by Jessica Beck
“True, but it’s still a better plan than the one you suggested,” she said with a smile.
I knew to give up when I was ahead. “Agreed. You take the women, I’ll take the men, and we’ll compare notes afterwards.”
“It’s a deal,” Annie said just as we reached the wide veranda that served as a front porch for the McMansion. I was wondering how I was going to juggle the cornbread and knock on the door at the same time when I was saved from my dilemma. Lydia herself opened the door for us, and from her black shoes and dress to the hat with a veil pulled over her face, I realized that she was playing the grieving sister to the hilt.
“Our condolences for your loss,” Annie said to her.
“How tragic for you to be the one who found him,” Lydia replied. “Did he say anything before he died?”
Had she lost her mind? Chester had been long gone by the time Annie discovered his body on our front porch. “I thought you knew. He’d already been gone for some time when we found him,” I said.
“Of course. I knew that. You’ll have to excuse me. I don’t know where my mind is. It was such a blow losing my dear brother like that.”
“I’m sure that it was,” Annie said as she handed me the pineapple upside down cake, which I placed delicately on top of the cornbread. “Pat, won’t you take those inside? I’d like a word with Lydia before I join you.”
“Of course,” I said. Annie was getting down to business, and it was time that I did so as well. I left them on the front porch together and made my way into the kitchen. Fortunately, one of the men on my list was lurking there. He already had a plate stacked high with food, so I could see that the murder hadn’t thrown him off his feed, at any rate.
“Franklin, we’re all so sorry for your loss,” I said as I handed the food over to one of the women from the Ladies’ Floral Society. Their group’s responsibilities went far beyond horticulture, extending to bake sales to charities to wakes, always there ready and willing to lend a hand. Beatrice Masterson took the offered goods and, in a somber voice, said, “Annie’s donations are always welcome.”
“I’ll tell her you said so,” I said, and then I turned back to Franklin. He was clearly older than Chester had been, and the years had not been so kind to him. Whereas his younger brother had kept his boyish good looks, the older brother of the pair definitely showed his age. “When did you hear about what happened to your brother?” I asked him.
“Lydia called me at home. I was still asleep. Pretty awful way to wake up, if you ask me.”
I wanted to ask him if he’d been alone at the time, but I didn’t know how to word it without infuriating the man. For the moment, I was just going to assume that the twice-divorced man had been alone. “When was the last time you saw him?”
Franklin looked up from some questionable-looking ham loaf. “We chatted for a minute the other day on the phone, but I hadn’t seen him in days. Pity, that. I would have liked to have had the chance to say good-bye.”
“I’m sure he would have enjoyed that as well,” I said. What was that supposed to mean? I was struggling with fitting my questions into the conversation, and it was clear that I had a lot to learn about interrogating suspects. If the statement sounded awkward to Franklin, he didn’t show it. I followed up with, “Didn’t I see you at the Iron yesterday?”
“No, it wasn’t me. I wasn’t there,” Franklin said curtly.
“Are you sure? I could swear that I saw you. You’re still driving that green Cadillac, aren’t you?”
“I drive a dark blue Suburban,” he corrected me as he shook his head, “and I’m sure I wouldn’t forget coming by your little general store.”
I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not about visiting the Iron, but at least his vehicle description matched the information Chester had provided. How did he get Annie’s pan, though, if he wasn’t at the grill at some point? I’d have to dig a little more into that. I had one more question for him, but I didn’t have a clue about how to bring it up. I was running out of time, too. I saw Grady of pennysaver fame heading in our direction. “Maybe you can give me some advice. I’m looking to purchase a rifle. Do you have any ideas what kind I should buy?”
Franklin stared at me for a moment as though I’d suddenly grown a third eye. “Sorry, I can’t help you.” As Grady approached us, Franklin said, “I need to see about something in back. Thanks for coming.”
And then he was gone in a flash. Grady looked disappointed as he joined me. “Where is he off to in such a hurry? I wanted to interview him for my special edition.”
“Good luck with that,” I said with a grin I didn’t feel as I sidestepped him and went off in search of my own quarry.
The problem was that I had too much immediate success.
Two of our suspects were deep in conversation with each other! I couldn’t wait to get Bryson alone, so I dove in headfirst, butting my way into his talk with Julia Crane.
“Tragic, isn’t it?” I asked them, interrupting their whispered exchange as I approached them.
“We were just saying the exact same thing,” Bryson said. “What a loss to the community,” he added.
“It’s okay to admit that you two had issues when he was alive,” Julia said softly as she touched her beau’s arm. “The fact that you’d come here this afternoon says a lot about how you feel about me.”
“It’s not much, but standing by you is all that I can do right now,” he answered. Bryson was extremely solicitous when he spoke to her, giving her every ounce of his attention. Was that his secret for attracting women despite his outward appearance? I decided to forget about that particular conundrum. It was time to start asking questions, even if it meant grilling them both at the same time. I already knew that they’d both been at the Iron the day before when the skillet had been stolen, so thankfully, that was one question I didn’t need to work into the conversation. “I was just speaking with Grady Simpson,” I said, which was the entire truth, but the lie I was about to add was not. “We were talking about the last time that we saw Chester. I think he’s going to publish some kind of memorial in his paper.”
“Leave it to Grady to try to make a dollar out of someone else’s misery,” Bryson said with disdain.
“I don’t know. I think it’s sweet,” Julia countered. “Chester and I had our differences lately, but once upon a time, we were in love, and that’s something that I’ll never forget.”
I suddenly realized that they’d both neatly sidestepped the question. How could I get them to answer it now? In an instant, I decided that there was nothing like the direct approach. “I spoke with him yesterday at the Iron myself,” I said, getting the ball rolling. “How about you two?”
“We spoke yesterday as well,” Bryson admitted. “It was brief, and a bit heated, to be honest with you, but that was the nature of our relationship. He recently beat me out on a land deal that I’d been working on for two months, and frankly, he was gloating about it a bit.”
“I wouldn’t take it too personally, Bryson. Chester always did enjoy teasing you,” Julia said.
“When did you see him last?” I asked her.
She frowned for a moment in thought before she spoke. “It must have been several days ago. I can’t remember the details, but I do wish that I’d been kinder to him now.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Bryson said, speaking in a calm and soothing manner. “There was no way to know that it would be the last time you two spoke.”
“Thank you,” she said, clearly appreciating his words of comfort.
At least they were answering my questions. It was time to push a little harder for more information. “Where were you when it happened?” I asked them both as innocently as I could muster. Was it possible that they were about to alibi each other?
“What an odd question to ask us,” Julia said as she looked at me suspiciously. “Pat, why on earth would you want to know that?”
It was a fair question and, worse yet, one that I di
dn’t happen to have a ready answer for. Fortunately, Bryson stepped in and saved me. “Julia, don’t forget that Pat was upstairs when Chester was being murdered just below him. I don’t blame him one bit for asking.”
I nodded my thanks to Bryson and decided to run with his excuse. “To be honest with you, it’s helping me cope with what happened by asking other people where they were.”
Bryson put a hand on my shoulder and turned his charm straight at me. “I understand completely. My whereabouts are easy enough to explain. I was in Glory Landing having breakfast with Nathan Pepper. I’ve been trying to buy some land from him for ages so I can develop it, and he insisted that I be there before the sun came up. I had to push my Escalade to its limit to get there in time.”
Score! I’d gotten the answers to two questions with one inquiry. I knew it was just beginner’s luck, but I wasn’t going to take it for granted.
We both looked expectantly at Julia. Finally, she shrugged as she said, “It’s nowhere near as interesting as your early-morning meeting. I was home in bed, fast asleep.”
Now all I had to do was ask them about firearms. Even in our part of the South, it wasn’t all that easy a subject to bring up. Then I had an idea. “I’ve been thinking about buying some protection for the Iron after this happened. Do either one of you happen to know anything about guns?”
“I used to go hunting with my father when I was a little girl,” Julia said, surprisingly. “Trust me, I got out of that just as soon as I could manage it without hurting his feelings. He’d always wanted a son, and until I put my foot down, he tried his best to turn me into one.”
“I’m awfully glad that he failed,” Bryson said to her with a smile before he added, “I had a twenty-two rifle growing up, just like all of my friends did, but I put it away a long time ago. I just didn’t enjoy shooting tin cans after a while, you know?”
So both of them knew their way around firearms. All I had left on my list to ask was what Julia drove, but it appeared that I wasn’t going to get the chance.
My sister called my name out from across the room.
I put up my index finger in her direction, signaling that I’d need another minute, but she was insistent.
“You’d better go see what’s happening,” Bryson said. “It appears to be urgent.”
“No worries. I’m sure that it can wait,” I replied.
“I’ve seen that look on enough faces to know that it probably can’t,” he countered. “Go on. It was nice chatting with you again.”
“If you’ll excuse me,” I said, knowing that there was no way I could postpone speaking with Annie now, “I’ll be back with you both in a minute.”
“Don’t come back on my account,” Bryson said. “Unfortunately, I can’t stay.” He glanced at his watch, and then he turned to Julia. “Sorry, but duty calls.”
“No worries. I’ll see you tonight,” she said. It was interesting that there was no physical contact between them, but seeing how it was her ex-husband’s farewell, I supposed that it was perfectly understandable.
“Did you two come together, by any chance?” I asked them. “I could always give you a ride home later, Julia.”
“No, I brought my own car, since I knew that Bryson would be skipping out early.”
“You drive a cute little convertible, don’t you?” I asked.
“I used to, but I switched over to one of those SUV monsters last month. I’m having a change of heart, though, so I’ll be going back to something fast and small soon. I can’t believe how much gas those things take, and parking is a nightmare.”
I was about to ask her what color it was when Annie grabbed my arm, and from the tension she was applying, she wasn’t about to let go.
“Nice seeing you both,” I said as my sister dragged me away.
Whatever she had to say had better be urgent.
I wasn’t a fan of being muscled around, especially by one of my sisters.
This had better be good.
CHAPTER 12: ANNIE
“Okay, you’ve got my attention. What’s so important?” Pat asked me as I kept my fingers clenched around his upper arm and drug him away from Bryson and Julia.
“She was on my list, and you know it,” I said. “Why were you talking to her just now?”
“Julia was standing there with Bryson,” he said. “What was I supposed to do, ask her to leave?”
“You might have, but clearly you didn’t. Did you grill her as well?” I already knew the answer to that question. I’d finished with Lydia earlier, and as far as I could see, Harper wasn’t there yet, if she was even coming at all.
“Some of the questions on our list might have come up,” he reluctantly admitted. “Annie, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
I eased up on my twin brother’s arm. I shouldn’t have vented my frustrations on him. Lydia had blown me off completely, and I’d looked in vain for my other two objects of interest without success until I’d found my brother interrogating one of them.
“What did you find out?” I asked him, calming down a little as I spoke.
“Do you really want to do this here and now?” my brother asked me softly. “As far as I’m concerned, it can wait until you’re finished with your interrogations. If you are, then we can leave.”
“I haven’t had any luck at all,” I said, letting my frustration spill out a little.
Pat grinned at me, which was exactly the wrong way to react to what I’d just told him. “Do you need a hand, Sis?”
“Not on your life,” I said firmly. “But if you’re finished, you’re free to leave. Don’t worry about me. I’ll find a way back to my car.”
Pat knew that he’d crossed a line, and he began to apologize immediately. That was one of the things that I loved most about my twin, his willingness to say that he was sorry with the least hint of provocation. “I’m sorry, Annie. I shouldn’t have said that. I was wrong. Now tell me, what can I do to make it up to you?”
“For starters, you can help me find Harper,” I said.
“I thought I saw her heading to the back porch a few minutes ago,” he said.
“Seriously? You haven’t spoken with her, too, have you?”
“No, ma’am. Scout’s honor. She’s all yours.”
“Then you need to stay right here,” I said as I put a hand on Pat’s chest. “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m going to go get some pineapple upside down cake.”
“You can get that any time you want it,” I said as I brushed past him on my way to the porch.
He grinned at me. “I know, and I want some right now. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” I said as I hurried out the back door. I needed to speak with Harper, and after I was finished with her, it was going to be time to take another run at Lydia. She might have won the battle earlier, but I wasn’t about to concede the war.
But Harper was first.
She was alone, thank goodness. I didn’t know how Pat had managed to deal with two suspects at once, not that I wasn’t a multitasker in most of the things I did in life. It wasn’t anything especially taxing for me to be running a dozen breakfast or lunch orders at the same time, but that was when I was behind the counter and at my most comfortable.
Harper was an attractive woman, and it wasn’t hard to see why Chester had been attracted to her. If I had to guess, I’d say that she tipped the scales somewhere around one hundred forty pounds—somewhere close to my weight—but she was at least six inches taller than I was. Probably the most distinctive thing about her was her jet-black hair, and she had a lot of it. Where a great many women were opting for shorter cuts these days, Harper’s hair nearly reached her waist.
When I came upon her, she had obviously been crying, and the moment I opened the back door, she tried to hide the fact with her hand. “I’m sorry. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to cry, but I couldn’t stand being in there with Franklin and Lydia for one more second. To hear them tell it, they were
Chester’s closest confidants. I knew better, but I couldn’t say anything, so I had to leave before I spoke my mind.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said, and this time, there was nothing automatic about it. It must be tragic losing someone you loved in such a violent way, and my first thoughts were of sympathy for her, but I couldn’t give in to those. After all, Harper might have been the one who’d done it, and if that was the case, she didn’t deserve my sympathy at all.
Harper nodded her thanks, and then she took her hands in mine. “Annie, I’m sorry that you had to be the one to find him. It must have been terrible for you.”
“I’ve had better mornings,” I admitted. “Were you at least on good terms with Chester when he died? I understand the two of you had a rather volatile relationship.” Now was the time to see if she’d tell me the truth about her confrontation with Chester the night before he died. Les Hodges had seen the two of them fighting in the park on the eve of Chester’s murder, but would Harper admit to it?
“It’s just awful,” Harper said as she started to cry again. “We had a stupid argument last night, and I never got the opportunity to tell him that I was sorry and to make up with him. Now I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
As sympathetically as I could manage, I asked, “What exactly were you fighting about?”
“He wanted more from me than I was ready to give,” she confessed in a near whisper.
“In what way?” I might be pushing her too hard, but I honestly wanted to know. After all, it might just have a bearing on what had happened to the man.
“I’m sorry. It’s too painful to talk about,” she answered. It was an excellent evasion, and I knew that particular bit of curiosity was going to have to go unsatisfied, at least for the moment.
“Let’s talk about something else,” I said brightly. “Didn’t I see you at the Iron yesterday afternoon?”
She nodded. “I came by to check my mail. I’ve been waiting for a letter from my uncle. He’s so old fashioned that he never uses email. In fact, I’m not entirely certain that he even owns a computer.” So at least she admitted being near where I stored the skillet that had been used as a murder weapon.