A Simmering Dilemma

by Tyora Moody

  Jocelyn appeared sheepish. “Better you than me. You may know how to softly explain to him that his daughter attracts trouble.”

  I think Amos already knew that, but I surely didn’t want to lay anything else on him right now. I leaned back in the porch chair, letting the chair slowly rock my weary body. “What did she do?”

  Jocelyn swallowed and looked at her grandmother. Louise gave a slight nod of encouragement. “There was an altercation at the cafe last Monday between Briana and a customer.”

  I sat straight up, tiredness in my body forgotten. “An altercation. Like a fight?”

  Jocelyn leaned forward, “It was almost a cat fight, Eugeena. Coffee was thrown and a carafe broken.”

  I suddenly wasn’t feeling so good anymore. That nap was calling me again. This time, it was more about wanting to hide under the covers. “Jocelyn, I’m too old for this. Just tell me what happened. My brain is already preparing me, excuse my bad grammar, that this ain’t gonna be good.”

  Jocelyn shook her head. “I’ve been scared about what to do or say. The woman Briana was arguing with was—”

  I held my hand up. “Let me guess. Sondra Howell.” I finished for her.

  Louise sucked in a sharp breath, “How did you know she would say that, Eugeena?”

  “Let’s just say that my eyes have been opened. Briana’s obviously been holding back some information. Y’all, I’m just scared for Amos.”

  Louise reached over and patted my hand. “I’m so sorry, Eugeena. You two don’t deserve this. You haven’t even been married six months yet. You both should be enjoying this time of your life.”

  Yes, that’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.

  I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves. “What were they arguing about?”

  Jocelyn cringed. “From what I could tell, Sondra was not happy that Briana was back in town. She told her she needed to go back wherever she came from. No one wanted her around here.”

  “I have to ask. Who threw what?”

  “I will say Sondra was the only one that threw coffee. Well, not really.” Jocelyn stood and demonstrated. “She smacked the cup of coffee on the counter towards Briana. In trying to get out of the way, Briana bumped into another employee who was trying to pour an order.” Jocelyn shook her head, “That’s when the carafe was broken, and the shouting match started.”

  “I ended up threatening to call the cops. Sondra and the woman she was with left and Briana was pretty shaken up. At first she had an attitude, and rightly so, she’d been threatened at work. But later when she was in the office, Ms. Eugeena, she was crying and that’s when she begged me not to tell her dad.”

  But she needed too. This was information Briana hadn’t shared with anyone. If our next door neighbor knew, then someone else probably knew about this altercation too.

  What was Briana thinking?

  Now it was really time to get to business. I had too much information to just sit still anymore. And I couldn’t be worried about being sensitive, even if it hurt my marriage.

  Briana had publicly fought with a young woman that she found dead less than a week later in Amos’s backyard.

  Chapter 14

  When I arrived home I found Amos in the kitchen cleaning fish. This man loved frying fish. The fishing poles I saw leaning against the backdoor took care of my questions about where he took off to this morning. I’m not sure why I felt led to keep up with Amos’s whereabouts. I tried to do this during my first marriage and at some point I gave up. I was married to an obstetrician whose second home was the Charleston Memorial Hospital. Maybe because I knew that’s usually where I could find Ralph if I really needed him, I didn’t concern myself with his coming and goings.

  Amos was so different from Ralph. For one, we literally had been partners-in-solving crimes prior to getting married. This new development of a body next door was indeed complicated, but I figured we’d solve this thing together. Instead, I could feel something loosening the seams of our marriage, creating a chasm that wasn’t there a few days before. I didn’t like it. I could’ve blamed it on the old insecurities that cropped up in my first marriage, which was quite distant for a number of years. But I knew that I needed to be concerned.

  I spotted Porgy in the corner admiring his male cohort at work. These two were the best of buddies.

  “I take it y’all had a good time fishing today.”

  Amos turned and grinned, “Yeah, I needed to think.”

  I should have known. It didn’t even occur to me earlier to search for the fishing poles which remained outside in the shed.

  I placed the Simply Safe Security pamphlet Carmen had given me on the table. I had so much I wanted to say, but I needed to start somewhere and I didn’t want to put my foot in my mouth, which I was frequently guilty of doing.

  While he washed his hands, Amos glanced over at the pamphlet. “I’ve seen that before. Cedric gave me one.”

  “Yeah, well I have been highly encouraged to consider getting a security system now. Carmen brought up a good point today about the cameras. Think what we could have captured the other night.”

  Amos grabbed a kitchen towel from the drawer by the sink and began drying his hands. “A camera would have come in handy Sunday night for sure. Not sure what good it would do now.”

  Before I could pour out my conversation that I had with Jocelyn, Amos shared some news. “By the way, I got a call from my buddy on the force. They just picked up Theo Nichols for questioning.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Okay, I guess Gladys got Detective Wilkes’ attention.”

  “Yeah, but Theo is denying he had any contact with Sondra last weekend. He was over at Briana’s most of the weekend and claims Sondra never entered the property. In fact, he said the last time he saw Sondra was for his son’s birthday party.”

  I pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat down. I tried to recall the photos I’d viewed on Facebook a few days earlier. To my recollection, I didn’t recall seeing one photo of Theo. “I saw photos at Chuck E. Cheese on Sondra’s Facebook page. There wasn’t a single photo of Theo.”

  “That doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”

  I tipped my head to the side, “So, you don’t think he’s lying?”

  “About not seeing Sondra this weekend? I’m not buying it. How else would the woman have ended up in the shed? She had to arrive at the house on Saturday night, the last time she was seen alive. Who had motive?” Amos threw the kitchen towel back on the hook and sat across from me at the table. “This is my theory. I think Sondra came to confront Theo. Maybe she showed up outside and they went out in the backyard where no one could overhear them arguing. The argument grew heated and he pushed her down. Hard, making her hit her head. I still haven’t figured out where or what she hit her head on. The more I think about it, she could have been struck on the head with an object.”

  I grimaced, “So someone walked away with a murder weapon?”

  He shrugged, “Probably. They had to hide it, so their fingerprints and/or DNA couldn’t be found.”

  I nodded, “Makes sense.” I shook my shoulders, “I guess I don’t want to believe a father would do that to his children’s mother. I know, I know. It happens all the time especially in domestic violence cases. I guess I’m stuck on the young man I watched grow up who had been a high school football star. When we were at the auto shop, he looked like he was doing well as a businessman.”

  “I’m not saying he intentionally tried to hurt Sondra. Maybe he was angry that she showed up while he was trying to get back with Briana. I don’t know, he could have panicked and in his haste to hide her body, pulled her inside the shed.”

  “I don’t know, Amos. If he supposedly likes Briana, why would he leave Sondra’s body for her to find?”

  “Maybe he didn’t want her to find the body.”

  I peered at him, “What?”

  “Briana mentioned everyone just decided at once to head out, some had jobs the next day. Suppose someon
e placed Sondra in the shed with intentions of returning the next night when the coast was clear.”

  I nodded, anxious to know where he was going with this theory. “So, the killer was going to come back and bury her someplace else?”

  “Right, but they weren’t expecting Briana to go outside. She said she hadn’t been in the yard since Friday.”

  “Okay, but—”

  “But what, Eugeena?”

  Lord, help me. That was all the prayer I could muster, because I was too tired right now to have this conversation, but it could no longer be avoided.

  “I’ve had several conversations today. I know Briana is your baby girl, but she’s not been completely honest with the police or you. Amos, I feel like you need to get her a lawyer. ASAP.”

  He frowned, “What’s going on? Briana didn’t have anything to do with that girl’s death. I know my child. She may be a bit high strung, but she wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  I placed my hand over his hands, which were balled into fists. “I don’t doubt Briana’s innocence, but she’s not been honest with Detective Wilkes, and it’s going to come back to bite her. First of all, it is clear that Briana knew exactly who Sondra was when she saw her body. They went to high school together. Sondra was Yvette’s friend. After yesterday’s incident with Gladys, you know Theo is the father of Sondra’s two children. Gladys told me she overheard Sondra being upset about some new woman in Theo’s life. Who has Theo been coming to see on a regular basis, Amos?”

  Amos closed his eyes, “I admit that Briana should have been more upfront.”

  “You think? When Detective Wilkes asked her if she knew the woman, Briana was purposely vague. I saw the detective’s face, and you and I both know how tenacious that little detective can be.” I took in a deep breath, “That’s not all. Just now, Jocelyn—”

  “Jocelyn? I thought things were working out fine at the coffeehouse.”

  I shook my head. “Amos, Briana and Sondra had a very public altercation at Sugar Creek Cafe last Monday. Jocelyn has not said a word because Briana begged her to remain quiet. But you know at some point in this investigation Detective Wilkes is going to find out. I know you think Theo should be going down for this, but Briana needs to come clean because I have a feeling…”

  Amos’s face turned stony. It caused me to pause for a moment. I knew he wouldn’t have an outburst in anger, but a shutdown was on the horizon. His eyes glazed over as if he couldn’t take another word I was telling him. But I had to finish my statement for me.

  I gulped, “Detective Wilkes is going to be looking at Briana as the number one suspect. She found the body. Don’t you detectives always suspect that person first? I know a few years ago, Detective Wilkes sure was looking at me sideways after I found Mary in her house. You know Mary and I hadn’t spoken to each other in years. I looked guilty.”

  We sat in silence for some time, until it started to feel uncomfortable. Even Porgy looked sorrowful at us from the corner. I knew Amos was seething with anger, either at me for bringing this to his attention or at his daughter for not being honest. I suspected both.

  I stood from the kitchen table unsure of how deep the gash was I’d just placed in my marriage. But I had to tell him everything I knew, I wasn’t into keeping secrets.

  “I’m going upstairs to rest for a while. I’m sorry about all of this. Maybe deep down Briana’s just scared, Amos. Remembering what you told me about the past, maybe she wanted to come back to Charleston in peace. The only thing is, since she’s been back, she’s ran into and in some cases clashed with people she left behind almost ten years ago. I’m going to pray for her. We’re all going to need prayer.”

  I trudged upstairs, my heart feeling heavy. Behind me I heard the patter of paws on the steps. The one thing about Porgy, he could sense a person’s mood. He knew when I was upset. The little dog took advantage of the occasion to climb up on the bed. I was too tired to yell at him to get off. After undressing, I climbed into bed despite it being late afternoon.

  I didn’t know how long I’d been asleep, but when I awoke my eyes focused on the reddish tones in the sky as the sun made its descent for the evening. I needed to close the blinds, but was too lazy to move. I stretched my feet and noticed Porgy was still on the bed, but so was someone else.

  “Amos?”

  Why was he sitting in the dark?

  I fumbled for the lamp switch on my nightstand. The bright light caused my bleary eyes to water.

  Amos turned around, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  I rubbed my eyes and stifled a yawn. “I needed to get up anyway. What’s wrong? Did you talk to Briana?”

  “Yeah, I went to talk to Briana.”

  I sat up. Something about Amos’s tone alarmed me. His voice was tight with tension and a hint of something else. Fear? “How did it go? What did she say?”

  Amos turned full around to face me. “She’s gone.”

  Alarm bells clang inside my head. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

  He shook his head, “She took Francine’s car. I looked around the house, and it looked like she may have packed a bag.”

  “Oh no, Amos. Why would she do that?”

  Amos sighed so deep I felt it. “Probably because of this.” He passed his phone to me.

  I reached for it and peered down at the screen. There was screeching. But it wasn’t from inside my head; it emanated from the phone. I studied the figures in the video and recognized the teal blue and brown décor, Sugar Creek Cafe. There on the screen was Briana behind the counter. Her eyes were wide. Across the counter, a woman stood shouting. I could only see her side profile, but I was fairly certain this was Sondra.

  I snapped my head up, “Someone recorded the argument last Monday.”

  “Yeah, and Wilkes has the video.”

  “How did she get it?”

  “Someone sent it to her anonymously.”

  I stared as I watched what Jocelyn had described to me play out. An angry Sondra slapped a coffee cup on the counter sending what had to be hot liquid flying. Some of the liquid seemed to hit Briana despite her scrambling to move out of the way. Sure enough, glass crashing could be heard next. I could barely hear what they were saying, but one thing I heard over and over from Sondra, almost like a chant, “You should have never come back here.”

  I paused the video, staring at the screen some more. “Amos, I don’t have your kind of experience, but this feels like a setup. Who recorded this video and sent it to Wilkes? We have to find Briana. Where would she go?”

  Amos rubbed his head. “I have no idea. I’m going to go back to the house to see if I can dig up any clues.”

  “That’s a good idea.” I snapped my fingers, “Where’s the list you got from Briana?”

  Amos reached into his pocket and unfolded the list. “Why?”

  I reached for the list noticing the paper appeared frayed around the folds like Amos had been opening and closing the piece of paper often. Since I last saw the list he’d placed an asterisk by Theo’s name.

  “Theo is getting the heat right now probably because of Gladys’s accusations. How long will that last?”

  Amos frowned, “Not long. Wilkes is focused on Theo, but I’m afraid things are about to shift to Briana. I just don’t understand why she took off.”

  I didn’t understand why Briana took off either. She’d only made things worse and made herself appear even more guilty.

  Or was she guilty?

  I couldn’t think like that. If Amos believed in his daughter’s innocence, then so would I. I examined the list as if I expected one of the names to jump out at me. There was someone on this list that had to be the guilty party. Whoever he or she was, they were doing a good job of shifting blame to Briana.

  My eyes focused on one name in particular, and I determined that I would seek this person out first thing tomorrow.

  Chapter 15

  Briana stayed gone all Thursday. Amos called his eldest daughter, Alexa, but Bria
na was not responding to her sister’s calls either. For some reason, I felt like Briana would return. When I checked the house, I noticed more of her things were still around including her guitar. It didn’t strike me that Briana would leave anywhere without her prized guitar.

  That brought some comfort to Amos when I pointed this out to him. I’d never seen his stress levels like they were now. I believe if he wasn’t already bald, he would have rubbed his hair clear of his head.

  My theory was Briana needed to get away and gather her thoughts together. She didn’t get along with her dad, but that’s because she was just like him in a lot of ways. Though I doubted Briana had gone fishing.

  While Amos spent most of the day searching in places he thought she might have gone, I decided to follow-up on my hunch from last night.

  But before I could begin my little inquiry there was something else I had to do. When I talked to Gladys at the church on Monday she mentioned Sondra hadn’t kept in touch with friends, and she blamed it on Theo. Now that I knew the tragic circumstances of Sondra losing her best friend in high school, I was curious to know more about the breakdown in friendship between Sondra and Charlene. Especially since Charlene openly admitted her and Sondra had been out of touch.

  Was it because of Theo? Or did the loss of Yvette break up the friendship between the two young women? I still couldn’t recall ever seeing Yvette in school, but I had brief flashes of Charlene being with Sondra. Sondra was what I would call the dominant friend, while Charlene seemed to be more like a puppy, satisfied with following the leader. Where Sondra had a mouth on her that could inflict damage, I rarely heard Charlene speak, but I recalled her egging Sondra on in support.

  What really puzzled me was how Sondra became involved with her childhood best friend’s love interest. How did that make Charlene feel to see Sondra grow close to a young man that her sister Yvette loved? Sure, loss can bring people closer, but something about that relationship seemed off. It was obvious there was animosity between Sondra and Theo. I felt sorry for the poor kids. I could only hope that the two co-parented in some type of peace.