Roast Turkey and a Murder

by Kathleen Suzette

  There was a long counter high enough to stand and write comfortably against one wall with forms in partitioned Plexiglas pockets along the top. I went to the counter and looked over the forms. You could borrow money in amounts from fifty to three hundred dollars. A flyer on the wall said if you needed more than three hundred dollars you could speak with the manager. I wondered how many people came in needing more than three hundred dollars and I also wondered if there were repeat customers that needed that amount of money every week. It would get expensive in a hurry.

  I pulled one of the forms out of the pocket and picked up the pen that was attached to the counter with a nylon cord. I began filling out the form, deciding I would borrow a hundred dollars just to see how this thing worked. The flyer on the wall said the fee would be fifteen dollars. I guess that isn’t too bad if you really had an emergency and needed the money right away.

  I signed the form at the bottom. The instructions at the top of the form informed me I would need two check stubs and I would need to leave a check that would be deposited should I not come back and pay off my loan. I didn’t have pay stubs with me, but I went up to the window anyway. The customer that was there before mewas already gone.

  I smiled and when Kayla recognized me. She gave me a big smile back. “Hi Rainey, how are you?” she asked. There was a microphone that stuck out from the wall a couple of inches from her face.

  “I’m doing great Kayla, how are you?” I asked her.

  “Can’t complain,” she said. “Did you need a loan?”

  I nodded. “But I don’t have any check stubs with me. My paychecks come direct deposit.”

  “That’s okay,” she said reaching for the form as I slid it through the gap beneath the window. “I’ve known you long enough to know you’re going to take care of this when it comes due.” She looked over the form and smiled. “Everything looks like it’s an order. I just need a check from you.”

  I wrote out the check for one hundred and fifteen dollars and signed it, then slid it underneath the window. “How was your Thanksgiving?”

  “It was really nice,” she said as she began typing on her computer. “We just had a small get-together with family. I need to get you in the system and then I’ll get you your money.”

  “We missed you at the community center,” I said. She had been suspiciously absent Thanksgiving morning, and I wondered if it was because she had gotten there ahead of everyone else and ran Tori down.

  She glanced at me and then returned her gaze to her computer screen. “Yes, we were just so busy that I couldn’t make it. I had the family to cook for, you understand.”

  I nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. Thanksgiving dinner is an awful lot of work. When Tori first asked me to come and cook at the community center, it was the last thing I wanted to do, but I felt like it was the least I could do for Sparrow’s less fortunate.”

  She looked at me and pushed her wire-frame glasses up on her nose. “Yes well, I suppose if I had been asked and not ordered, I might have shown up. You know how Tori was.” She smirked. “Was. I still can’t quite get over that, can you?”

  “It’s a terrible tragedy,” I said, nodding. “I can’t imagine who would run Tori over and just leave her laying out there in the cold, can you?”

  She shrugged and turned back to the computer screen. “I can think of a lot of people who might like to see her dead.”

  Her attitude toward Tori’s death was grating on my nerves. I probably should have held back, but I wanted to see what she would say if I pushed her. “How about you, Kayla? Are you one of those people that wouldn’t mind seeing Tori dead?”

  She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes at me. “What if I am? I wouldn’t be any different from a lot of other people here in Sparrow.”

  “I heard you had a little trouble at your place a few months ago,” I said. “It’s tough when your house isn’t safe, isn’t it?”

  “Who told you that?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

  I shrugged. “Could have been Elizabeth Wells, or maybe not.” I knew I should bite my tongue and not bait her like I was, but I couldn’t help it. She should at least have the decency to feel bad that someone had died.

  “Elizabeth told you that? Well, let me tell you something; Elizabeth hated her daughter-in-law. And she had every reason to hate her as far as I’m concerned. Everyone knows those two couldn’t get along. But Tori egged my house three times, broke the pots on my porch, and then she keyed my car. So before you ask, no. I did not kill Tori Wells. But I’m certainly not wasting any tears over her death.”

  I nodded. “Fair enough. How do you know it was Tori that did these things? Did you see her?”

  “No, but since we had just had an argument the day before, I have no doubt it was her.”

  “What did you argue about?”

  “She cheated during the election. There was no way there were enough people that voted for her to win. I accused her of that. She stuffed the ballot boxes. I just know it.”

  “What makes you think she did that? And how would she have been able to do it?” I asked her.

  “One of her best buddies, Sandra Daily, was in charge of watching over the ballot box. Don’t tell me she didn’t stuff a bunch of extra ballots in there and then when they went to count it, guess who was in charge of that? Yep. Sandra Daily, Christine Lundy, and Molly Zepeda. All of whom were a part of Tori’s fan club.”

  “Fan club? Is that what you call it?” I asked, surprised she used the term.

  She chuckled. “That’s what everyone calls it. You should have seen those three and a few others. They used to fawn over Tori. Every time she’d walk into a room, they’d tell her she was so beautiful, or tell her that her clothes were so cute. It was disgusting.” She wrinkled her nose.

  “And I bet Tori ate that up, didn’t she?” I said. Kayla was on a roll and I wasn’t going to stem the tide now. I could see where it would be annoying to have to be around someone like that, but I wanted to see what all she would tell me.

  “It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” she repeated. “It was like being in junior high all over again, only worse. These were grown women and they would just fall over themselves to get close to her. One time I thought Sandra and Christine were going to wrestle for the chair closest to Tori so they could sit next to her,” she said and laughed. “Those idiots didn’t know that Tori would turn around and say awful things about them just as easily as she did the rest of us. She came to me one day and told me how she thought Sandra had terrible taste in clothes and that she looked like an old grandma.”

  “I guess I should be surprised, but I’m not. Tori talked about herself a lot and I’ve heard she wasn’t kind to other people,” I relented. Kayla had a good point about Tori. She really was hateful.

  “She sure did. You want to know something even more interesting?” she asked. Before I could answer, she continued. “I saw Agatha Broome yesterday. She was pulling her car into the body shop on Main Street to get it fixed. The left-hand side of the front of her car was smashed in as if she had hit something.”

  I tried to hide my surprise. The barista at her coffee shop said she was sick. “And?”

  “And I saw her at the community center the evening before. I drive past there on my way home and I saw Agatha getting out of her car and going into the community center. Tori’s car was already parked out front and Agatha parked right next to her.”

  Agatha’s car was red. There was red paint on Tori’s purse. I felt the floor drop out beneath me. “So what does that mean? She was probably dropping something off for the Thanksgiving meal.” As soon as I said it, I remembered the coffee that I had made for the officers when they were investigating. It had been the same brand of coffee that Agatha used at her coffee shop and she hadn’t brought it with us when we drove to the community center that morning. It was already there when we got there.

  She smiled smugly. “Makes you wonder what Agatha was up
to, doesn’t it?”

  “I’m sure she was just dropping off the coffee. I made it for the officers that morning.” I could hear the tremble in my voice and I silently cursed myself. Agatha was innocent.

  She shrugged. “Seems odd that she has that dent in her car. Looks to me like she hit something really hard.”

  I stared at her and licked my lips. They had suddenly gone dry. “I don’t know what you’re trying to get at Kayla,” I said. “You know what? I just changed my mind about taking out a payday loan. I’ll be fine without the money.” I turned and strode out of the store. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, and I needed to speak to Cade.

  Chapter Seventeen

  When I got into my car, I pulled my phone from my purse, my hands shaking. I fumbled and dropped it and it slipped onto the floor on the passenger’s side. It slid under the seat and I reached around, searching for it. I finally found it after a few tries.

  I hit dial for Cade’s number, but it went to voicemail on the fifth ring. I sighed. I needed to speak to Cade, but it was almost 2 o’clock in the afternoon and I was scheduled to be at my second job at the newspaper at 2 o’clock. I briefly considered driving by the police station to see if he was there, but decided against it. He was busy, and I didn’t want to disturb him at work. I quickly sent him a text and told him it was important that I speak to him as soon as he was free and that I would be at the newspaper.

  I made it to the newspaper with one minute to spare, and hurried to my desk, sat down, and fired up my ancient desktop computer before anyone was the wiser. The other reporters that sat at the desks out front must have had something else to do because their desks were empty.

  “Oh, Rainey,” Karen Forrest said, coming out from her office. “I thought I heard somebody come in. How are you this afternoon?”

  I looked at her and tried to steady my breathing before speaking. “I’m doing great Karen, how are you?”

  She nodded. “I’m doing okay. Did you enjoy your few days off?”

  I nodded. I had had five days off from the newspaper and it was great, but I was glad to be back. I hadn’t seen Karen in over two weeks because she had taken her vacation before I had my time off.

  “It was great. How was your Thanksgiving?”

  “Very quiet without Silas,” she said suddenly looking sad. Her boyfriend had been murdered two months earlier and guilt seized me as I realized I should have invited her to our Thanksgiving dinner. “I went to Boise and spent the day with my aunt and uncle and cousins.”

  That made me feel better about forgetting to invite her to dinner. “I’m sorry you’re missing Silas. I know that’s hard.”

  She nodded. “At least I had a good time with my aunt and uncle.”

  “I suppose you heard what happened to Tori Wells?” I asked.

  She nodded, her brow furrowing. “Tori was my cousin.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Are your aunt and uncle okay?” I asked her.

  “She’s on the other side of the family, not the side I went to visit for Thanksgiving. I never liked her. She was so full of herself. She always was, even when we were kids.”

  “I kind of got that impression,” I said. “Still, it’s sad that she died on Thanksgiving Day.”

  She came closer and stood beside my desk, folding her arms in front of her chest. “She really was an unpleasant person to deal with. I hated going to functions on that side of the family because I knew she was going to be there. She never missed one. It was as if she needed every opportunity she could find to get an audience around her so she could explain over and over how wonderful and perfect she was. It was tedious.”

  “Really?” I said, hoping she would say more.

  She nodded. “I suppose I shouldn’t speak evil of the dead, but I don’t think I’ll go to her funeral. It’s just too painful.” She looked away

  “I take it she was unkind to you?” I asked her.

  She looked back at me and nodded. “Very much so. She was always trying to turn family members against one another, but especially against me. I don’t know why, but it seemed like she had it out for me.”

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with something like that,” I said. It made me sad that Tori seemed to be unable to be kind to anyone.

  “Does Cade have any idea who may have killed her?” she asked. “Or does he think it was an accident?”

  I shook my head. “No, he’s sure it was a murder. He’s still investigating.”

  “Well, I hate to say anything bad about anyone,” she said slowly. “But I know that she and Agatha Broome had an argument the night before Thanksgiving.”

  My breath caught. This was the last thing I wanted to hear. How many people knew about Agatha being at the community center? Or that she and Tori couldn’t get along? “What do you mean they had an argument? How do you know?”

  “Tori had strong-armed me into bringing a donation by the community center. She promised she would be there the evening before because she knew I was driving to Boise to stay the night at my aunt and uncle’s house. So when I showed up with the cranberry sauce I had promised to bring, I heard she and Agatha in the kitchen at the community center and they were arguing. Agatha said she wasn’t going to put up with Tori’s shenanigans anymore and Tori just laughed at her.”

  “Did you hear exactly what shenanigans she was talking about?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “No, but Agatha was really angry. When I walked into the kitchen, they both turned and looked at me and Agatha looked positively mortified that I had heard her raising her voice to Tori the way she had.”

  “That sounds like Agatha. She’s such a gentle soul,” I said as much for myself as for Karen.

  “I agree with that assessment. I was surprised Agatha was so angry. Her cheeks were so red, and she just looked so—so angry. I didn’t blame her though, I know all about Tori and it didn’t surprise me at all that Agatha had finally lost her cool with her.”

  “Did you stay long?”

  “No, I gave the cranberry sauce to Tori and said hello to Agatha and then I left. But before I walked out the door, I stopped to listen. I could hear Agatha speaking in a much lower tone, but I could tell she was still angry. It surprised me if you want to know the truth. Like you, I’ve always thought Agatha was a gentle soul. And I suppose she is, it’s just that I’m sure Tori pushed her past her limits.”

  I couldn’t blame Agatha for being pushed past her limits by Tori, but I was shocked nonetheless. I had never once heard her raise her voice to anyone, and now Karen was saying she and Tori were arguing loudly? The whole thing just made me feel sick. Why hadn’t Agatha mentioned she had been at the community center the night before? She had insisted that I drive us that morning. Was she trying to keep me from seeing the dent on her car? I knew it was true she was at the community center because the coffee was sitting on the counter when we got there that morning. Kayla had said Agatha had been taking her car in to have work done on the damage on the front left-hand side of her car. I felt sick again, and I desperately wanted to speak to Cade about all of this. There had to be some mistake and he would be able to sort things out.

  “Well, I’m sure Cade will figure out who killed Tori. Sparrow is such a small town, that whoever did it is probably feeling very guilty right about now. And honestly, even though Cade said he thought it was a murder, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it was an accident. I really think somebody was driving too fast down that alley and didn’t see Tori. They probably just panicked and left the scene and are now too scared to speak up.” I needed to say it more for myself than for Karen. It could be the truth. Maybe after Agatha had argued with Tori, she had gotten into her car and driven back through the alley to get home and hadn’t realized that Tori had gone out the back door and was in the alley doing something.

  Doing what? I wasn’t sure. Maybe she had taken the trash out, but why would she take her purse with her? That was the question of the day.

  Karen nodded. “I ce
rtainly hope so. It’s a shame that we have another murder here in Sparrow. But I know Cade will find the killer quickly. He did a fine job finding Silas’ killer.”

  Recent events were running through my mind and I looked up at her, momentarily lost in thought. I came to myself and said, “Yes. Cade will certainly find the killer quickly.”

  She smiled at me. “I better get back to work. I’ve got to get an article written.”

  I watched as she went back into her office and I leaned back in my chair. I felt sick about this entire thing. I fished my phone out of my purse, hoping Cade had texted me and I had just missed hearing the tone. But there was no text. I sent him another text asking him to call me as soon as he could.

  Chapter Eighteen