Misalignment and Murder

by Cathy Tully

  “That’s good for Dr. Shine,” Tina said as she sat next to Susannah, rubbing her belly. “Well, where do we start? This whole thing has gotten me tied up in knots. Who would shoot someone right outside an elementary school?” She rubbed her arms vigorously. “It’s ghoulish.”

  Bitsy patted Tina’s shoulder. “You need to stop parking in that back lot too.”

  Tina smiled at Bitsy and picked up her fork. “Keith has been closed-mouthed about this whole thing.” She pushed some rice around her plate. “But something’s different than before,” she said, dipping her chin toward Susannah. They all understood her meaning. Before meant earlier this summer, when Susannah had been under suspicion of murder.

  “I think we have to consider that Gus was not as innocent as he seemed.” Susannah swallowed, her appetite gone. Angie certainly wasn’t as innocent as Susannah had thought. “Angie mentioned that he got a lot of phone calls and texts that he didn’t take when she was around. She thought he was seeing someone else. But maybe he was mixed up with something bad. And maybe Travis was too.”

  “Why do you say that, Dr. Shine?” asked Tina.

  “Because Travis Keene was acting odd over the weekend.” Susannah filled them in about his “sources” for knowing about Gus’s death and about finding Travis at the dining hall. “The more I think of it, the more suspicious his behavior seems. He was meeting someone there on the sly. I know it.”

  Before anyone could comment, Bitsy’s phone toned and she held up a finger while she answered the call. “Uh-huh, uh-huh,” she said, her eyes wide. Her finger wavered as she tapped the screen to end the call. “Y’all are not going to believe this. Travis never came home from the camp-out last night. Little Junior just took Maggie’s missing persons report.”

  “Missing?” Tina’s eyes were wide.

  “According to Little Junior, his truck is not at the campground.”

  “Did Gus and Travis know each other?” Larraine asked. Tina shook her head to say I don’t know. Susannah lifted one shoulder in a halfhearted shrug.

  “Little Junior said the same thing yesterday,” Bitsy chimed in, lifting a chip covered with jack cheese and jalapeños to her mouth. “About things being more complicated, I mean. He said there’s a lot of phone calls going back and forth to the county lately.”

  “The county?” Larraine fingered the faux pearls on her eyeglass chain.

  “Yeah,” Bitsy said, cheese dotting her chin. “They have these task forces where the county and the city police combine forces. You know, like a superhero Mod Squad.”

  Tina spilled some rice off her fork as she giggled. “Miss Bitsy, you crack me up.”

  Bitsy waggled her eyebrows. “Y’all know what I mean.”

  “But why?” Susannah asked.

  “Well, the task forces work on things that overlap jurisdictions. Like drug deals or illegal gun sales,” Tina said, laying her fork down. “And there’s one thing we haven’t talked about yet.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You didn’t hear a gunshot, Dr. Shine. The killer might have used a silencer.”

  Susannah dropped her fork, which clattered loudly on her plate. “That’s good news for Angie! She wouldn’t know how to find a silencer. If only she had kept hold of her lipstick!”

  The three women stared at Susannah. Tina asked, “What about Angie’s lipstick?”

  “Remember how Keith told you the police thought Gus was meeting someone before the Fall Festival?” Susannah asked.

  Tina nodded, wide-eyed.

  “That someone was Angie.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Sour Cream and Choosing Teams

  “Angie was the one meeting Gus?” Larraine’s fair complexion pinked. “Well, I’ll be.”

  “I didn’t see that comin’,” Bitsy said, layering beans and rice on a tortilla chip and popping it into her mouth.

  “I wish you wouldn’t have told me this.” Tina got up from her chair with a pained expression. The gold flecks that highlighted her brown eyes shone. “How am I going to keep it from Keith? What if he asks me what we talked about? You know I can’t lie to him.”

  Susannah touched Tina’s hand. “They already know.”

  “I guess Keith is better at keeping things from me than I thought.” Tina sat down, her long fingers twisting her wedding ring. Larraine patted Tina’s shoulder and then picked up her plate and headed into the kitchen.

  “We know Angie was with Gus before he was killed.” Susannah sipped her drink, the corners of her mouth turned down. “She says she didn’t see anything.”

  “We have a lot to organize.” Larraine stood in the doorway of the kitchen, arms folded, leaning on the doorjamb.

  “I have no doubt Gus’s murder and Travis’s disappearance are connected,” Susannah continued. “We have to connect Gus and Travis.”

  “Miss Larraine is right, we have to get organized.” Bitsy removed the fork from her mouth and shook it at Susannah. “We need two teams. Team Travis and Team Gus.”

  “Then you’re on Team Gus,” Susannah said, pointing at her friend, who leaned halfway out of her chair to sift through a tote bag she had left by the door. With a thumbs-up, Bitsy pulled two white paper bags from the tote, one of which was crumpled and stained. “Uh,” Susannah said watching her, “you focus on Peach Grove Elementary School.”

  “Righto.” Bitsy unrolled the neck of one paper sack and removed a round take-out container. On top of the aluminum container sat two small plastic condiment cups; one filled with a black liquid and one filled with white liquid. The women watched as she grabbed the bag and ripped it in half. “Anyone got a pen?”

  Tina handed her a pen, and Bitsy wrote Team Gus on one side of the bag and Team Travis on the other. “Okay, Gus was new to town. At the Fall Festival, Eberly Braswell mentioned Gus had taught in Tussahaw Junction before he got promoted to assistant principal in Peach Grove.”

  “Start by giving Eberly a call,” Susannah told Bitsy, “and pump her for more details about Gus.” Bitsy stuck the tip of her tongue out and wrote grill Eberly on the Team Gus bag.

  “Miss Larraine?” Tina asked.

  “Gus never joined my church.” The Peach Grove Baptist Church was the largest congregation in town, and Larraine knew almost every member by name.

  Bitsy wrote heathen on the bag under Team Gus. Susannah opened her mouth to object, but Bitsy placed her pen on the table, grabbed the take-out container, and quickly pulled off the lid. She removed a brown cylindrical stick and then opened one of the condiment cups and dipped it into a black, viscous liquid, then bit off the end.

  “What is that?” Tina wrinkled her nose as Bitsy dipped the other end into the cup filled with the white sauce.

  “Is that sour cream?” Larraine interrupted, squeezing one eye closed, clearly confused at what she was watching.

  “Sour cream on churros?” Bitsy asked. She popped the last bit of churro into her mouth, chewing contentedly. “It’s whipped cream and chocolate sauce.”

  “Oh,” Susannah and Tina said simultaneously and relievedly.

  Bitsy picked up her pen and looked at the women, who stared back at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing at all.” Larraine crossed her arms. “Where were we?”

  “Building Team Gus,” Susannah replied. “He didn’t go to your church. Does he have family around here?” Tina shrugged. Larraine shook her head to indicate that she didn’t know. Susannah turned to Bitsy. “Well, it looks like you and I are on Team Gus. You talk to Eberly. It should be easy to find out what school he worked at in Tussahaw Junction. We need to know about his past. I know he mentioned he was in the military. That’s how he hurt his knee.”

  “I’ll see if Roman can help.” Bitsy looked hopeful, and then her face drooped. “We would need to know what branch of the military he was in.”

  Susannah looked at Tina. “You’re going to have to see what information you can get out of Keith. You know, not crime-related. Next of kin. Where they
live. I’ll get on Google and see what I can find.” Susannah steepled her fingers. “In fact, Angie told me that Gus had some kind of certification with Glock. He was going to change the sights on her gun. Maybe we can work that angle. He must have known Travis.”

  “Building Team Travis.” Bitsy underlined his name twice. “Miss Larraine, whatcha got?”

  Despite the fact that she despised gossip and innuendo, Larraine Moore was a fantastic sleuth, managing to ferret out information from even the most closed-mouthed individual. “Travis and his wife, Crystal, used to attend regular as clockwork. But after they separated, neither have been back.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “About a year.”

  Susannah watched Bitsy write lapsed Baptist under Travis’s column.

  “Do you think Crystal might want to have a chat with you?” Susannah looked at Larraine. “You could invite her for a nice sit-down with some of your famous cookies.”

  “I might could do that.” Larraine tugged at her cardigan. “Though she wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around. Smokes like a chimney too.”

  “So does Travis,” Susannah commented. “I can go with you. We’ll have to come up with some reason to contact her.”

  Larraine pressed her lips together. Susannah took that as a yes. To Bitsy, she said, “You getting all this?”

  Bitsy looked up from doodling devil horns above Crystal Keene’s name. “Who, me?”

  “What about Maggie Hibbard?” Tina asked. “Anyone need a wash and cut?”

  “Put a new ‘do’ on my list.” Larraine stood up, patting her hair. “Maggie and the boys are members, and I reckon I’ve sent twenty customers her way. Does that make me Team Travis or Team Gus? Her boys go to Peach Grove Elementary too.”

  Bitsy shook her pen in Larraine’s direction.

  “Now, ladies, no turf wars.” Tina’s belly bounced as she laughed.

  Susannah checked her watch. “Okay, we have a lot to do.” She put up one finger. “Bitsy and I will start with Gus. Bitsy will contact her PTA friends and see what she can learn there. Tina, you also need to find out what Keith knows about Travis’s disappearance.”

  “Wheedling will commence,” Tina giggled.

  “I’ll do some internet searching,” said Susannah.

  “Meanwhile,” Larraine said, “I’ll make a call to Maggie about a hair appointment.”

  “Okay, I think we have a plan.”

  As her friends left, Susannah pulled Larraine aside. “I’m going to need an attorney for Angie.”

  “I thought as much.” Larraine handed Susannah a business card: Buchanan, Hinton, and Norris. Winston Norris was related to Larraine’s son by marriage. The law firm had the reputation of being the toughest one in the county. “Winston will help you get to the truth.”

  Susannah wondered if she was ready for the truth.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Lipsticks and Ballistics

  Susannah was elbow deep in sudsy water when a loud knock startled her out of her reverie. She dried her arms and hands with a dish towel as she peered through the peephole of her front door.

  After she opened the door, Bitsy leaned forward and stuck her head inside and asked, “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. What’s going on?”

  “I’ve been callin’ and textin’.” She peered into Susannah’s face and lowered her voice. “Blink if you’re in danger.”

  Susannah laughed. “Come on in. I’ve been running water and cleaning up the kitchen. I didn’t hear the phone.”

  Bitsy took a step and stopped. “What do I smell—Italian comfort cooking?”

  “I think you could say that.”

  Susannah shut the door and ushered Bitsy into the kitchen as Caden came scampering into the room, naked. “Who’s at the door? Is it for me?” he called. He stopped when he saw Bitsy. “Did you bring Jamal? He said he would come over to play.”

  Bitsy shook her head. “Sorry, sweet pea, it’s too late for Jamal to come over. It’s a school night.”

  “But you’re here on a school night? Why can’t Jamal come too?”

  “Because he’s probably in bed,” Susannah directed Caden to the bathroom and threw a towel around him. “Dry off and get dressed. Then you can come out.”

  In the kitchen, Bitsy had taken a seat. Susannah asked, “Why are you here on a school night?”

  “I heard from Eberly, and I heard from Little Junior. He gave me some good news and some less good news.” Bitsy raised one eyebrow. “This is not on the record.”

  “Go on.”

  “First, Little Junior thinks the item left in Gus’s car wasn’t a tube of lipstick. It was a cigarette butt with lipstick on it.”

  “Another woman was in the car with Gus?” Susannah gasped.

  “That’s not all.” Bitsy tapped a nail on the table. “Little Junior thinks the ballistics report will clear Angie once they release it.”

  “That is good news.” Biting her lip, Susannah asked the obvious. “When are they going to release it?”

  “They’re not.” Picking up one of Susannah’s wonky gluten-free blueberry muffins, Bitsy nibbled at it. “Leastways not yet. Eventually, they’ll have to. But for now, they’re keeping it quiet.”

  “Why?” Susannah took the muffin from Bitsy’s hand, broke it in half, and popped a piece into her own mouth.

  “I don’t want to say it’s a cover-up, but let’s say Detective Westers has her mind set on Angie.”

  Susannah didn’t correct her friend’s mispronunciation of Varina Withers’s name. “How sure is Little Junior about this?”

  “His information is usually spot on.” Bitsy lifted her hands. “But he’s worried that they won’t release the report. Nothing is a hundred percent until he sees it in writing.”

  Susannah put her finger to her lips. They heard a door close, and Caden appeared in the living room. “Come and say good night to Miss Bitsy.”

  Caden hugged Bitsy. “Good night.”

  Susannah put her arm around her nephew. “Get into bed, and I’ll come and read you a story.” Caden nodded and scampered off. Susannah turned to Bitsy. “We have to get Angie out of jail quick. Caden thinks Angie is away doing some special training for the hospital. I’m not going to be able to keep lying to him. Or to my mother for that matter.”

  “Just be patient.” Bitsy sat up. “I spoke to Eberly. She told me that Gus was in the Marines and was discharged because of his knee injury. She didn’t know more than that. I’m gonna meet her for supper tomorrow and see what else I can get out of her. She mentioned that Gus worked at the Tussahaw Junction Elementary School as a teacher. This was his first job as an assistant principal.”

  Caden called from his room, and Susannah stood. “Right. Let’s make some time and go to America’s Finest and snoop around.”

  “How about tomorrow at lunchtime?”

  “Sounds like a plan. America won’t know what hit them.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  America’s Finest

  Susannah parked under the giant American flag that hung over the entryway of Travis Keene’s store. America’s Finest Sporting Goods was an impressive achievement, and Susannah tried to reconcile that with the man she had seen hanging around outside the dining hall of a boy’s camp in the middle of the woods. Something told her he hadn’t been there just to sneak a cigarette. But what had he been doing? She waved at Bitsy, whose SUV slid into the parking place next to hers, and released the door locks. Bitsy exited her SUV and slipped into the Jeep.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Bitsy made finger guns and rocked them back and forth.

  “We’re going to be casual shoppers, that’s all,” Susannah said. “I have office hours this afternoon, so let’s not take a lot of time. Browse around and look for anything out of the ordinary. If you see a sales clerk, ask some questions.”

  “Like, ‘Where is your crazy-ass boss hiding?’” Bitsy nudged her in the ribs. “How’s that for casual?”

&nbs
p; “A little too casual.”

  Bitsy used her finger guns again. “Gotcha.”

  “Angie said Gus was certified to work on Glocks. I’m going to go to the gun counter and start up a conversation there, and ask if they have someone who can change the sights on my gun. Maybe they have Gus’s name on a list of gunsmiths or something. You check out the shoes and hikers.” Susannah pulled up the photo of the hiking bootprint and texted it to Bitsy, whose phone pinged to announce its arrival. “Look for that tread. If we can match it to the prints we saw at the camp, maybe it will tell us something.”

  “Sure thing.” Bitsy opened the door a crack. “Let me go in first. I need a head start on some browsing I want to do for Growl-A-Ween supplies. I also need a new concealed-carry purse. I have a two-pronged angle of attack.” She jumped out and ambled into the store.

  Susannah tugged on a strand of hair. Could Travis Keene really have murdered Gus? A murder and a disappearance in the same week couldn’t be a coincidence. But she needed proof. She waited a little while and then went into the store, where she strolled around the Major League Baseball team caps and came to the aisle she and Bitsy had browsed for ammo. Around the corner, the gun counter was deserted, and Susannah examined the firearms. A small cardboard display sat on the countertop advertising a sale on the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield.

  “Can I help you?” A thin woman with stringy blond hair studied her, gaze lingering momentarily on Susannah’s shoes. Susannah suddenly felt that she was dressed all wrong. The woman, whose name tag read CRYSTAL, was wearing faded blue jeans, a flannel shirt, and brown hiking boots. Remembering that she was not an accomplished liar, Susannah stammered, “Uh, yeah, I own a Glock and—”