“Of course, I don't mind. Do come in.” Fonnie motioned Doris to a chair. “What can I do for you?”
Doris grimaced. “Nothing, actually. I'm just upset and I need an understanding ear.”
“I can understand why you're upset about Melanie being missing. It must be hard.”
“It's not that—not really. It's that I had talked Midge into going home in the morning. She agreed to let me drive her car while Hank drove ours. I was so looking forward to getting out of here and back home again. Now Melanie's messed that plan up. Hank won't leave until she's found and I'm stuck here.”
“But you're not worried about Melanie?”
“Nah. I think she found someone to shack up with. She doesn't give a damn about worrying other people. She never has.”
Another knock on the door, this time firm and loud, saved Fonnie from continuing the depressing conversation. “That must be Keisha.” Fonnie hurried to open the door. She grabbed Keisha and gave her a quick hug before ushering her in. Keisha gave Fonnie a strange look, but Fonnie just grinned. It was hard to explain, even to herself, but Fonnie as if a breath of fresh air had just entered the room.
“Stephon called from the lobby,” Keisha said. “Two policemen showed up. They're going to start searching the grounds after they check out Melanie's room. It's not officially a missing person case yet, but they agree it's odd that if she went off on her own, that she didn't even take her purse.”
“Oh, dear,” Doris said. “I didn't think about that. Maybe she really did meet with foul play. I'd better get back to Hank. He'll be going crazy. And Midge. What am I going to tell Midge? Oh, dear. Oh, dear.”
Keisha opened the door for Doris. “Let me know if there's anything I can do.” Doris nodded and sped toward the elevator.
Fonnie flopped down in the chair Doris had vacated. “What a nightmare. Buzz dead. Melanie missing. I feel like I'm in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries.”
Keisha walked to the window, stared out at the drizzling rain. The storm had passed quickly and the sun was trying to peek through the remaining clouds. She had sadness in her voice when she spoke. “I’m sure the mystery will be solved, but I'm also afraid that when we know the answer we may not like it.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent in searching. Fonnie overheard Edgar assign a maid to look into every unoccupied room, and she watched as the policemen knocked on the other doors. The policemen explained about a young woman being missing, gave her description and asked if the occupants had seen anybody resembling her. Apparently no one had.
After the rain stopped, the policemen and Melanie's friends scattered outside. They went over the motel grounds, the beach area, the parking lot, even peered into the parked cars.
Fonnie heard one of the policemen say he was going back inside and check all the storage areas and linen closets. She followed him in, and was in the lobby when the he met up with his partner. She was close enough to hear their conversation.
“Nothing?” one of them asked the other.
“Nothing. She's vanished. And I don't think it was of her own free will.”
“What do you make of the stories of the two guys who supposedly saw her last?” He checked his notebook. “Tony Cauthen and Stephon Weber. Are they telling it straight?”
“Hard to tell and we can't push them yet. I did notice that the connecting door between Weber's room and that of the missing girl was locked from her side—if that means anything. But if the gal doesn't show by morning, then we've got ourselves a case, and we'll go after them.”
Chapter Twelve
A dispirited group gathered for a late dinner. Fonnie, Jeremiah, Stephon, and Keisha sat at one table. Hank, Doris, Midge, Clara, and Tony were at another. Edgar had told them he and Lula were having dinner sent up to their suite.
Although Lula had joined in the search for a while that afternoon, when it came close to five o'clock she made an excuse to leave, and Fonnie feared that by now, Lula may have already drunk most of her dinner. Fonnie liked Lula and wondered what demons tormented her.
Silence hovered over the two tables. Everything that could be said about the missing woman had been said several times over. And it didn't seem fitting to bring up any other subject.
But Fonnie's mind kept going back over the conversations she'd had with different people. Clara had told her she didn't know what time Tony had come to bed. She'd taken pain medication for her headache and was asleep when he came in. Hank insisted that Melanie had not drunk very much and was fine when he and Doris left the party. Stephon's room was next to Melanie's but he said he didn't hear Tony leave. Edgar said he went right to bed after everybody left and that Lula was already sleeping. Midge hadn't gone to the party and said Melanie had stopped in to say goodbye because she planned on leaving in the morning.
At one point in the afternoon, when Fonnie and Keisha sat resting on the verandah, Midge joined them and seemed anxious to talk about the missing girl. As she nibbled at her salad, Fonnie replayed the conversation over in her mind. Midge had started off by saying, “I admit I didn't always like Melanie, but she could be sweet. And Buzz thought a lot of her.”
“Oh, she could be a real charmer,” Keisha said as she gave her rocker an extra shove.
Fonnie detected the sarcasm in Keisha's voice, but apparently Midge didn't. “That she could,” Midge said. “And you know, for all her sophistication, she had her childlike qualities.”
Keisha stopped rocking and asked, “Like what?”
“Like her funky jewelry. She wore that silly charm bracelet most all the time, even at the wedding. You must have noticed it. It had all the signs of the zodiac on it: a bull, a lion, a fish, and all the rest. She especially liked the scorpion because that represented her birthday. She had it on last night when she came to see me, and that silly lip-gloss ring too.”
Fonnie turned her head to stare at Midge. “Lip-gloss ring? What on earth is that?”
“It looks like a regular ring, sterling silver, but it opens up and there's lip-gloss inside. So after you eat or drink something, you can flip it open, get a little on a finger and rub it over your lips. Instant beauty.”
Keisha laughed. “I noticed she wore that at the wedding reception too. But I didn't see her use it. I guess she was too wrapped up in Brian to worry about whether her lips were glossy or not.”
“In a way,” Fonnie remembered saying, “I can understand her love of flashy jewelry. A nurse can't wear jewelry while on duty, so she may go way out when off duty. I loved chunky necklaces myself when I was younger.”
Fonnie brought herself back to the present by fingering the simple pearls around her neck, and wondered when she had become so conservative.
Chairs began to scrape away from the tables. People started saying goodnight and headed toward their rooms. There would be no partying tonight.
“Sleep well, Fonnie,” Jeremiah said. “Try not to worry. I'll see you in the morning.”
Fonnie nodded. Keisha and Stephon were already in the lobby. They looked her way. Stephon gave Keisha a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried to the elevator. Keisha waited for Fonnie, and they took the next elevator to their floor. They smiled goodnight as there seemed nothing else to say.
Fonnie closed and locked her door. She pulled the drapes tight over the windows, wishing she could block out everything that had happened this afternoon.
She was crawling into bed before she noticed the red light blinking on her phone. “Brian.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “What am I going to tell him?”
She pushed the button for the message. Brian's cheery voice seemed so out of place in the gloomy room. “Hey, Gram. Just checking on you. Melanie called me last night and said she was going home today. She gave me her home number but I can't get an answer there. Guess I'll have to try tomorrow. When are you and Keisha coming home? I miss you. Bye.”
As much as she hated to, Fonnie knew she had to call him back. He answered on the first ring. She could tell he had his mouth full. �
��Hmm. Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” Fonnie tried to keep her tone light, but it was no use. Her voice broke as soon as she started talking. She told Brian about Melanie's disappearance, the search, the uncertainty.
Brian seemed stunned. When she finished, he said very quietly. “I'm going to call the police station there. Maybe they can give me some more info. Maybe it's not as bad as it sounds.” He caught his breath.
Fonnie could tell he was trying hard to maintain his composure. Her heart went out to him. There was no way she was going to tell him now what she’d learned of Melanie's reputation. “Call me in the morning,” she said. “Maybe we'll know more then.”
But the morning brought only more mystery, more blank looks, more police. It also brought a detective, Lieutenant Max Steinberg, who strolled into the dining room, found Fonnie's table and introduced himself. The same quartet who had shared a table the evening before was again together: Fonnie, Keisha, Jeremiah, and Stephon.
Fonnie studied the man as he gave his name, rank, and the reason for his visit. He was dressed in a gray business suit, fiftyish, tall, muscular, and sported a thin dark mustache which he massaged as he looked around the table. Fonnie wondered if the mustache was new, maybe in compensation for the thinning hair on top of his head.
“Sorry to interrupt breakfast,” he said to the group in general, “but since there's been no news of the subject and it's been over twenty-four hours, we now have an official missing person case on our hands. We best get started with investigating.” He pulled up a chair and his eyes focused on Fonnie. “Mrs. Beachum?”
Fonnie peered at him over the rim of her coffee cup, took a slow sip, and then answered, “Yes.” She set the cup down, gave him a quizzical look. “How do you know my name?”
“Your grandson described you.”
Fonnie grinned, sat up straighter. “You talked to Brian? He said he was going to call the police station, but I didn't know he was going to cut to the top brass.”
Max Steinberg pulled up a chair from an empty table, sat down, and returned her grin. “I'm not exactly top-brass, and Officer Hendley warned me about you trying to smooth-talk your way into getting confidential information.”
“Me? Smooth-talk?” Fonnie gave him what she considered an innocent gaze. “Whatever did Brian mean?”
“I suspect I'll find out. But right now, I want each of you to tell me again your recollection of the last time you saw Melanie Peacock and anything you think may be pertinent to the case.”
Keisha turned worried eyes to the detective. “Do you think something terrible has happened to Melanie?”
“I don't think she went for a walk and got lost. What do you think happened?”
“I don't know.” She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and gave a slight shudder. “I don't even want to imagine.”
Steinberg shook his head. “Neither do I.” He pushed back his chair, rose to his feet. “I want to talk to each of you separately. The motel has set us up in the office behind the desk.” He pulled a paper from his pocket, glanced at the names. “I'll start with Stephon Weber.”
Stephon jerked his head. “Me?”
“Yes sir. You can come with me now.” He turned back to the others. “I'll get up with the rest of you later. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate you staying around here or in the lobby. Then if you want, you can join the search.”
Jeremiah spoke up, “The search?”
“We're going to search every inch of the beach and surrounding buildings today. I know the area was searched yesterday, but it was cursory. Today we're going to do it right. Since it's Sunday, I'm sending officers to every church in the county to solicit help from our fine citizens. If Miss Peacock is anywhere in the open, we'll find her.”
“And if she's stuffed in someone's closet,” Jeremiah said. “What then?”
“It'll take a little longer.”
Steinberg wiggled a finger at Stephon and the two of them left the dining room.
Keisha watched them walk away. She shook her head. “I don't understand. Why does he want to talk to Stephon? He didn't see Melanie after Tony took her to her room.” She looked from Fonnie to Jeremiah and back again. “What could he possibly know?”
Jeremiah shrugged. “What do any of us know? The police have to go over everyone's story again. They're just doing their job.” He swiveled his head around to Fonnie. “Right?”
Fonnie hesitated. Her mind went back to Keisha's last statement. Had Stephon seen Melanie again? Surely not. But it still bothered her that he hadn't told Keisha about having known Melanie previously, about having been in Miami the weekend before the wedding. Maybe now was the time to tell her.
Jeremiah waved his hand in front of Fonnie's face. “Earth to Fonnie. Come in Fonnie, from whatever galaxy you're in.”
Fonnie blinked. “I'm sorry. My mind got side-tracked.” She took a deep breath, reached over and touched Keisha's arm. “There's something I have to tell you. It may be upsetting, but hear me out.”
“Tell me what? You sound so mysterious.”
Jeremiah finished his coffee with a loud slurp. “Want me to leave?”
“No. I want you to hear it also and give us your opinion.”
Fonnie proceeded to tell Keisha and Jeremiah about Midge's account of Stephon's visit to Miami. Keisha listened in silence, her facial expression seemed to change from perplexity to disbelief and finally to fury.
But to Fonnie's surprise, the fury was against Midge, not Stephon. “So what if Stephon was in Miami? It's a free country. He can go where he wants. Midge just wants to get him in trouble. Implying that there was something between him and Melanie, and that he may have had something to do with her disappearance.”
Jeremiah frowned. “I don't think you're getting the picture, Keisha. Midge told Fonnie this story before Melanie disappeared. She was telling it in reference to the possible poisoning of Buzz. Stephon was there when Buzz first got sick.”
Tears seeped into Keisha's eyes. She tried to blink them back. She stared at Fonnie. “I thought you liked Stephon. Now you've turned against him. Accusing him of murder and of kidnapping. What next? Are you going to tell me he's a serial killer?”
“No, no, no.” Fonnie shook her head with a frantic motion. “I'm not accusing him of anything. I'm simply saying that he didn't seem to be up-front with you about his relationship with Melanie. Did he ever mention to you about knowing her previously?”
Keisha bent her head toward the table. She grabbed her napkin and swiped the tears from her cheeks. When she lifted her head, her eyes were belligerent. “No. But then I didn't ask him. If I had asked him, he would have told me. It's not that he lied to me.”
“Perhaps not. But it strikes me that it may fall into that gray area known as sins of omission.” Fonnie knew she had to tell Keisha one more fact and this was going to be even harder. She braced herself for Keisha's anger. “Melanie told me herself,” Fonnie went on, “that she came to the wedding just so she could spend more time with Stephon., and that he had suggested it.”
“That's a lie! Melanie said that just to make me jealous.”
“That hardly seems likely,” Jeremiah said. “If that had been the case, she would have told you directly. But she didn't tell you. She mentioned it offhand to Fonnie. By then, she and Brian had become a twosome, and so Stephon didn't matter to her any further.” Jeremiah tapped his spoon against the table a few times, then looked up and smiled at Keisha. “But I think I can understand why Stephon didn't say anything to you about knowing Melanie.” Both Keisha and Fonnie turned their complete attention to him. “It's really very simple,” he said. “After all, he'd just met a beautiful and charming girl and probably fell for her immediately. In cases like that, a man doesn't mention any other girls he knows or has dated. That might squash the romance before it had a chance to get started. He couldn't risk that.”
Keisha's smile broke out like the sun coming from behind a cloud. “Yes, that must be the reason. And he would hav
e told me when the time was right. He just didn't want to spoil our friendship with something that didn't really matter.” She leaned back in her chair. “Thank you, Jeremiah. I feel so much better.”
Fonnie kicked Jeremiah's ankle under the table at the same time she beamed at Keisha. “Now why didn't I think of that?”
“Because you've let all the romance go out of your life,” Jeremiah said. “A situation I intend to remedy as soon as all this other mess is cleaned up.”
Keisha laughed. “That I've got to see. But right now I'm going to see about my own romance. The detective should be through quizzing Stephon by now. Maybe I can be next in line and then Stephon and I can join the searchers.” She got up, bent over and kissed Jeremiah on the cheek. “Thanks again.”
When Keisha was out of hearing range, Fonnie let Jeremiah have it. She slapped the table with her right hand and stuck her face close to his. “Lost my romance, have I? What you've lost is your common sense. You don't for one instant, believe that rubbish you fed Keisha. You were just trying to make her feel good.”
“And what was wrong with that? That poor gal needed a life preserver and that's what I threw to her. If the truth is any different, she'll find out in her own time and she'll handle it in her own way. And when that time comes, you need to be there for her. Not to say, 'I told you so,' but as a friend, to help pick up the pieces.”
Fonnie dropped her head. “You're right, of course. Sometimes I get a little carried away with facts and forget about feelings. It won't happen again.”
“Sure it will. But that's okay. You stick to getting all the facts and I'll follow you around and sooth the ruffled feelings you leave in your wake. I think we'll make a pretty good team of detectives.”
“That we will.”
Chapter Thirteen
Fonnie sat in the lobby and watched as people trooped in and out of the detective's temporary office. She studied their faces. Some were blank, some looked nervous, some seemed aggravated. She wished she could have been privy to their conversations. She wondered what tidbits they would reveal to Lieutenant Steinberg that she hadn't been able to worm out of them earlier.
Murder and Misdeeds Page 8