“No, but I’m working on it.”
“I want you to know, you’re welcome to come around here asking questions until you catch the bastard.”
“Thanks, Pepper.”
“The girls think I’m armor coated sometimes, but you have to be tough in this business.”
Joe nodded.
“I liked Denise. She never done harm to anybody, and it was a rotten thing that happened to her.”
“Yes it was.”
“I’ve been keeping my eyes open, too. We all have.”
Joe finished his beer. “You know you can call me anytime you see anyone you suspect.”
“Yeah, I got your card.” Pepper looked at him. “I’ve been watching for this one dude, but he hasn’t been back in since Denise bought it.”
Joe’s ears pricked up. “Tell me about him.
“Nothing special. He could be a tourist, but I did see him talking to Arthur once or twice.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Not really. I remember he kept pushing his glasses up on his nose like he was wearing them for the first time.”
“And he hasn’t been in lately?”
“Not since before Denise died?”
“Pepper, think carefully. This could be important. Was he here the night Denise was murdered?”
“Don’t you think I’ve racked my brain trying to answer that very question? I simply can’t remember. It was a very busy night because there was a golf tournament that day. There’s nothing like a golf tournament to bring in a bunch of men.”
“You keep thinking about it.” Joe stood.
“I will, Joe.”
He turned as he started for the door. “Thanks for all the help you and the girls are giving me.”
“Don’t mention it. We feel like we’re helping one of our own.”
As he headed for the car, he knew he should be thinking about the murder and how to solve it. But his mind kept drifting to Nola Dean Buckingham and Shane Norrick.
* * * *
Bett Willis looked at the pile of boxes in the living room and shook her head. Ellie was meandering from box to box having the time of her life.
Bett couldn’t help smiling at the calico cat. “I wonder if all of this will ever fit into this condo.”
She was about to tear into the first box when the doorbell rang. She frowned, wondering who in the world could be calling on her so quickly. The movers had only been gone a few minutes.
She opened the door. Olive Brunson stood there with a plate of cookies in her hand.
“I saw you moving in and I thought you might like something to munch on,” the older woman said. Then her eyes widened, “Why you’re the police officer working on the murder case.”
“Yes, Bett Willis, in case you don’t remember.” She stood aside. “Come in if you can get in, Mrs. Brunson.”
“I won’t bother you long. I wanted to come by and welcome you to the condo complex. It’s nice to see someone else moving in as a full time resident.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Bett moved a box from the sofa and gestured for Olive to sit down.
“Oh, you have a cat. What’s its name?”
“Ellie.”
“I have a cat named Mansford. He’s a good companion when he wants to be.”
“All cats must be that way. They want love on their own terms, don’t they?”
“Like most men,” Olive’s eyes twinkled.
Bett laughed. She knew immediately she was going to like living near this woman. “You’ve got that right.”
“I hate to bring this up, but could you tell me how the investigation into Mr. Overton’s death is coming?”
“Slow. But we’re working on it.” She eyed Olive. “Have you thought of what was familiar about the picture?”
“Not yet, but I think it has something to do with last summer.”
“Oh?”
“That’s about all I’ve come up with, but last summer sticks with me.”
“I hope you’ll continue to think on it.”
“Oh, I shall. I told the other officer I would keep thinking when I saw him the other night.”
“You saw Joe?”
“Yes. He and my friend, Nola Dean were at the movies.”
Bett’s heart jumped into her mouth. She was sure she hid it from Olive. “I see,” she mumbled.
“It was the new Harrison Ford movie. Do you like Harrison Ford?”
“Of course. I don’t think there’s a woman alive who doesn’t.”
“Old or young,” Olive added.
“Changing the subject, could I get you something to drink? I think I’d like a cup a coffee. I skipped dinner and one of those cookies you brought would taste wonderful.”
“I’ll have a cup with you, then I must get back. I don’t want to hold up your unpacking.”
“That’s okay. Now that I’ve moved, I have the rest of my life to get the boxes empty.” She hoped her voice was light and happy. She certainly didn’t feel that way and she was almost angry at herself. Why should she let the fact that Joe was taking Nola Dean out bother her? He had a right to take out any woman he wanted to. But she couldn’t help wondering, why couldn’t he ask her?
She stood and went toward the kitchen. “How do you like your coffee, Mrs. Brunson?”
“A little cream and sugar, please.”
Because her back was turned, Bett didn’t see the funny way Olive was looking at her.
Chapter 20
Megan Eller didn’t say anything for a long time. Everyone waited for her to speak. Finally she said, “I can’t believe it.”
“It’s true.” Rex smiled at her. “Grandfather had an iron clad will. He was determined you get his portion of the firm.”
“May I welcome you personally?” Grady Collier extended his hand. “Father had a lot of confidence in you, Megan. Seeing how you’ve carried the load here, I can see his faith was well placed.”
“Thank you, Mr. Collier.”
“Please, call me Grady. We’re partners now.”
She nodded.
“We’ve talked about what should be done with this office,” Rex said. “Father and I both would like it to stay open, but since Walter is gone, we’re open for suggestions of what to do.”
“Right now I’m too shocked to think. It will take some getting used to me being a partner.”
“I know it’s moving fast for you, but if possible, we’d like you to come to Columbia for a few days. There’s a board meeting you need to attend. Briggs and Burton will want to welcome you also.”
“I think this office will survive for a few days.” Rex looked at his father. “You and I can alternate coming here for a while. At least until we decide what to do with it.”
“We do need to keep things going. The Briarcliff property is getting close to working out and the land we looked at near Broadway at the Beach is still hanging,” Grady said.
Megan was trying to focus her mind on the topic at hand. What she really wanted to do was stand up and shout: “It’s happened. I’m a big wheel now. I can hang in there with the best of them. Hazel Collier, kiss my ass!”
“Yes, and Nola Dean Buckingham is about ready to go in on some property.” Rex looked at his father again. “That was the way Walter did things here. He would get a group of real estate investors and they would buy the property together. Collier would then handle all the transactions and manage the property itself. It was a lucrative situation for both investor and us.”
“A little more lucrative for us, wouldn’t you say?” His father’s eyebrow shot up.
“It was all well explained to the investors,” Megan put in. “Everyone knew all about the deals and the books were always open to them.”
“Then I see nothing wrong with continuing in the same manner. Especially with the two deals you’re working on now,” Grady said. “Could I see more of the plans?”
“Sure, let me get the papers.” Megan stood and took them from her files. She laid t
he papers on the desk and the three of them began going over the details. In a matter of minutes, Rex and his father were making suggestions. Megan listened and soon began looking for ways to increase profits. It was more important now since she had a personal stake in the outcome.
She couldn’t help wondering how long it would be before Briggs, Burton, or a Collier tried to buy her out. They may be in for a shock. I may buy one of them out.
* * * *
Nola Dean was headed toward the elevator when she saw Olive rushing toward her. She paused and waited.
“Oh, Nola Dean,” Olive was almost out of breath. “I had to run to catch you.”
“I didn’t know you were behind me, Olive. I would have slowed down.” She took the older woman’s arm. “Let me get you inside so you can rest.”
“I have to tell you something.”
“It can wait until you catch your breath.” The elevator opened and Nola Dean guided Olive inside. “We’ll talk when we get to my condo.”
Once inside the living room, Nola Dean insisted that Olive sit on the sofa while she fixed them each a glass of tea.
Olive obliged.
When the tea was served, Nola Dean sat in the barrel chair that faced the sofa. “Feeling better?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Now, let’s hear what you have to tell me.”
“It came to me while I was walking on the beach. I know where I saw Mr. Overton before.”
“Oh,” Nola Dean’s ears quickened. “And where was that?”
“He was with the man I ran into at breakfast today.”
“Slow down, Olive. You’re confusing me.”
“I’m sorry. Let me start over.” Olive took a sip of her tea. “I met some of my friends for breakfast at the K&W this morning. A group of people came in and I couldn’t help noticing a young man among them. I felt sure I’d seen him somewhere before, but we looked right at each other and he didn’t seem to recognize me. His face stayed on my mind though and while I was walking on the beach it hit me. I’d seen the young man with Mr. Overton.”
“Olive, are you sure?”
“I’m positive. I saw them together not too long ago. They were down at the point almost in front of my patio window. They were walking on the beach and kept pointing at the marsh lands.”
“But it’s quite a distance from your condo to the water’s edge. How could you be sure it was them?”
Olive bit her lip. “I guess I have to confess. I have binoculars I use to watch birds. I was on my balcony watching some pelicans and just happened to focus on the men. I watched them for a while.”
“Why would you bother watching them?”
“It was the way they were dressed. They were walking on the beach and both men were wearing business suits and ties. That isn’t the usual beach dress and it made me wonder what they were doing. They walked one way for a little while then turned and walked back. They seemed to be measuring the distance to the island off the point.”
“Did they do anything else?”
“Once they looked toward the condos so I ducked behind my potted palm. I didn’t want them to see me spying on them.” She sighed. “After a while they walked back around the point and in a little while I saw them come up the public walkway on the ocean side of the point. They got into their cars and left.”
“Do you remember what kind of cars?”
She thought. “One of them was black or dark blue. I’m sure of that because I wondered how he kept it so clean at the beach. I’m not sure about the other one.”
“You didn’t get the make?”
“I don’t know makes of cars very well. A lot of them look alike to me. It would have to be an older one for me to be sure. I think it was an expensive one though. It looked expensive.”
Nola Dean smiled. “The body styles do resemble each other now.”
“I know this isn’t much, but I felt better knowing I was right about the picture in the paper. I had seen Mr. Overton before.”
“Have you called the police?”
“No. It seems such a minor thing, I don’t even know if I should bother them with it.”
“Joe said he wanted to know about any incidents, minor or not. I think you should call him.”
“Well, if you think I should...”
“Here, I’ll get him on the phone for you.”
“Thank you.”
Bubbles ambled into the room, stopping to stretch every few feet.
“Oh, my goodness. What a big cat.” Olive stared at the furry animal. “He could swallow my Mansford.”
Nola Dean laughed. “He is pretty big, but a lot of it is fur.”
“Police Department,” a voice on the other end said.
“Joe Randell, please.”
“Just a moment.”
When Joe grunted his name into the phone, Nola Dean said, “Joe, Olive Brunson is here with me. She’s remembered where she saw Walter Overton.”
“That’s great. I’ll be right over.”
“You don’t want to talk to her on the phone?”
“I think I’d rather come see her in person, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. We’ll be here.” To Olive she said, “He’s coming here to talk with you. Do you mind waiting?”
“I don’t mind at all.” She smiled. “You have such a lovely place. I’ll enjoy sitting here to wait on him.”
“Then, I’m going to make us a sandwich. I haven’t had lunch, have you?”
“No, but I was going to eat something when I got home.”
“Then you’ll join me. Relax and I’ll see what I can whip up.”
“Thank you very much, Nola Dean. You’re very kind.”
Nola Dean didn’t answer. She was looking in the refrigerator wondering if she had anything that Joe would like to eat.
* * * *
Dolly came into her house through the garage. She carried the bag of groceries to the kitchen and sat them on the counter. She took out the frozen dinners and placed them in the freezer and put the perishables in the refrigerator bins. She didn’t bother to put away the canned food and other items in the bags.
As she closed the refrigerator, she took a peach wine cooler from the rack on the door and twisted off the cap. She liked wine and she liked mixed drinks and occasionally she even liked beer, but nothing compared to her passion for wine coolers.
Drinking from the bottle, she crossed the living room and headed toward her bedroom. She wanted to get out of the high heels and panty hose before tackling anything else in the kitchen.
The moment she entered the bedroom, she knew something was wrong. A feeling of dread swept over her as she looked around. The light on the answering machine was blinking but nothing seemed to be out of place. She went to the night stand and switched on the machine.
“Hi, Dolly. It’s Megan Eller. I have some great news to share with you. Maybe we could go out and celebrate. Call me when you get in.”
This was the only call. Dolly took a swig of her wine cooler and set it down on the night stand. Again she looked around the room, but she saw nothing wrong.
She wanted to run, but she refused to give in to her fears. She moved toward the bathroom. At first everything seemed to be fine. Then she saw it.
Hanging across her shower curtain rod was a five foot snake. Printed with red lipstick on the white tile beside the shower was the threat...GIVE ME WHAT’S MINE OR NEXT TIME THE SNAKE WILL BE ALIVE!
Before she could scream, Dolly fainted.
Chapter 21
Nola Dean answered the phone in the kitchen while Joe and Olive were talking about Walter’s picture.
“Nola Dean.” Dolly was sobbing. “You’ve got to come. Somebody put a snake in my bathroom.”
“Calm down, Dolly. What happened?”
“I don’t know. Call the police, they need to come too.”
“Dolly, Joe is here. Would you like to talk to him?”
“Yes. Put him on. Somebody has got to help me.”
Nola Dean looked at Joe. “Something has happened to Dolly. Will you talk to her?”
He took the phone. “Yes, Mrs. Overton…I see...when did you find it? Yes...I’ll send someone...yes, right away...we’ll be there shortly.”
He turned back to the women. “Mrs. Overton is almost hysterical.” He dialed a number and in a moment said into the receiver, “This is Detective Joe Randell. Send a car to check out Dolly Overton’s house.” He gave them the address. “Yes. Stay with her until I arrive.”
Nola Dean stood beside him. “Dolly said something about a snake.”
Joe didn’t answer her statement. He said, “I think we should go to her right away.”
Olive stood. “Then I must go. I won’t hold you up.”
“I want to talk with you some more, Mrs. Brunson. May I call you tomorrow?”
“Of course.” She started for the door.
“We’ll drop you off at your house, Olive,” Nola Dean said. “You were exhausted when you got here.”
“I’ll be all right.”
“Nola Dean is right.” Joe held the door open for both women. “It will only take a few minutes to run you home.”
“Thank you, Officer.”
They let Olive out at her condo and headed toward South Myrtle Beach. Nola Dean asked. “Did Dolly tell you what happened?”
“She said there was a snake in her bathroom and some kind of threat on the wall.”
“Do you think it was the person who has been calling her?”
“Probably.” He glanced at Nola Dean. “Nobody has threatened you, have they?”
“No. Why would they?”
“I don’t know, but things keep taking twists in this case. I want to be sure you’re safe.”
“Why shouldn’t I be?”
“You did find the body, you know.”
“Oh.” For a moment she was silent. “It’s getting mixed up, isn’t it, Joe?”
He nodded, but didn’t answer. Instead, he reached across the seat and took hold of her hand. She didn’t pull away.
* * * *
Mr. Smith smiled. It had worked as he thought it would. Poor Dolly Overton, she would think the threat was simply to scare her when all the time it was to get Nola Dean out of her condo. Now he could go in and plant all the bugs he wanted.
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