Berry The Dead

by Nancy McGovern

  “A friend?” Patricia lowered the rifle. “You’re not a reporter?”

  “No,” Nora said. “I’m a… I’m just a concerned citizen. I think the killer’s back, and he’s going to strike again if we’re not quick to catch him.”

  “Come on inside.” Patricia sighed. “It’s hot, and I could use a beer.”

  *****

  Five minutes later, Nora sat on a lumpy sofa with scratched posts, sipping a coke while Patricia drank from a dark, unlabeled bottle. Gunter sat at her feet, chewing on a treat.

  “Too bad you don’t want a one,” Patricia said, tilting her bottle. “My home brewery’s famous around town.”

  “I’ve got a long drive home,” Nora demurred.

  “So what’s this about Zoey?”

  “She was killed a few days ago. Poisoned in her own home.”

  “Poisoned?” Patricia’s shoulders relaxed. “Well, it can’t have been him then, can it? The Strangler had a pretty obvious M.O. Poisoning wasn’t his style.”

  “He’s older now, isn’t he?” Nora asked. “Maybe strangling isn’t his style anymore. The day before she died, Zoey came to me, wanting to talk about a silver jacket. Unfortunately I got distracted, and she went home. She died before I could talk to her.” Nora paused for a moment, feeling a familiar wash of guilt and sorrow.

  Patricia reached forward and patted her leg. “Wasn’t your fault.”

  “Maybe. But I should have helped. I could have helped. All I can think is…” She trailed off. “Anyway, if he’s back, I have to catch him.”

  “I hope you do, too,” Patricia said. “So Zoey wanted to talk about a silver jacket? Huh.”

  “You knew Zoey, right?” Nora asked.

  Patricia nodded. “Yep. Made her acquaintance twenty years ago. Or rather, she made mine. I was pretty messed up after that close escape with The Strangler. I’d wake up nights screaming. My pa somehow contacted Zoey and she came up here to meet me. Nobody else could understand why he struck such terror into my heart, but she did. It took a load off my shoulders. Zoey was so kind to me, and I really needed kindness around then. We stayed in touch ever since. We made it a point to meet once a month or so.”

  “When’s the last time you saw her?” Nora asked.

  “Oh, maybe three months ago.” Patricia gave an embarrassed smile. “We’d both been real busy, lately.”

  “I don’t suppose she was disturbed or in any way different when you met?” Nora asked.

  “Nope. Except she was talking about wanting to break up with her boyfriend and not knowing how,” Patricia said, scratching her chin. “I told her to be direct, but Zoey wasn’t like that. She couldn’t bear to hurt people’s feelings. Personally, I think you just hurt their feelings worse later on if you’re not direct.”

  Nora sighed. “So no talk about silver jackets?”

  “None. Except…” Patricia hesitated. “Last week, Saturday I think, she left a message on voicemail for me.”

  “Can I hear it?” Nora asked excitedly.

  “Sure.” Patricia fiddled through her phone a bit, then found the message.

  Zoey’s voice filled the room and Nora felt chills down her spine.

  “Patty? It’s me, Zoey.” Her voice was thin, high. “I’m just calling to…oh, I don’t know. Look, I’m sending you something. Call me as soon as you get it, okay?”

  There was a long beep followed by silence.

  “Well?” Nora asked. “What did she send you?”

  “Beats me,” Patricia said. “I never got another message from her, nor any email or picture. Nothing. I tried calling her but her phone was switched off.” Patricia’s eyes suddenly welled. “I guess I know why, now.”

  “I’m sorry.” It was Nora’s turn to lean forward and pat her on the knee.

  “What could it have been?” Patricia wondered. “It must have had something to do with The Strangler. You’re right. It’s no coincidence.”

  “Is there anything you can tell me about him?” Nora asked.

  “Just that he wasn’t human,” Patricia said. She shuddered. “I know some people might laugh at me but, I tell you, that man was pure evil. All I felt were his hands around me, trying to subdue me. I fought like a cat in a trap. His smell overpowered me, his hands were like iron bars. Then, I got lucky. I managed to scratch his face pretty nicely.”

  “You scratched his face?” Something stirred in Nora’s memory, then settled down again.

  “Yep. Got his blood on my hands.” Patricia sounded almost happy at the thought. “Gave him a taste of pain. I’m glad.”

  “I’m glad, too.” Nora said.

  “The police looked under my fingernails afterwards, collected DNA,” Patricia said. “Fat lot of good it did them. They never found a match.”

  “But they’ve got it in their records somewhere,” Nora said. “So if we could only get the right man now, we could prove it was him. Patricia, it can help…still.”

  “After twenty years?” Patricia sighed. “I don’t know. I hope we can catch him…but hope’s wearing thin for me these days. Mostly, I just hope I never have to look into those evil eyes again. Zoey got lucky, that way. She never saw his eyes. I did. They’ll haunt me forever.”

  *****

  Chapter 13

  Home Alone

  Nora didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed it before but, by the time she got home, she had a headache that felt like hammer strikes against her temple. She touched her brow and sighed at the warmth of it — what a time to get sick! This was really the last thing she needed.

  The sun had already set and, even though it was summer, a chill was in the air. The mountains looked fast asleep. Nora could imagine them leaning on each other and hitching up their blanket of trees. As for her, all she wanted was quiet. Fat chance, though. She had thought after thought racing through her mind, pulling her in all directions.

  Matt had lied to the sheriff. Why? Was it possible that he was the murderer? Maybe when he had mentioned the silver jacket at first, it was because he assumed Zoey had told Nora about it. He realized too late that Nora knew nothing about the jacket and was trying to backtrack now, so that the sheriff wouldn’t find out.

  Then again…Nora bit her lip. Perhaps she was being too fanciful. Maybe Matt had just forgotten the conversation. He was grieving over Zoey’s death, after all. If she looked at solid facts, well, an ex-convict who stood to benefit from his wife’s death was the obvious murderer.

  So which one was it? Or neither?

  Third, there was Ronnie Shepherd. Nora still hadn’t forgotten her strange behavior at Mrs. Mullally’s house. Something was going on with her. But what? Was it related to Zoey at all?

  Nora groaned and sank down onto the sofa. She didn’t bother turning the lights on or even feeding herself. The air smelled good, though. Like basil and tomatoes. Smiling, Nora cuddled up with pillow and turned onto her side. Then she sat up, horrified. Hazel’s spaghetti! In her rush to see the sheriff, she’d forgotten all about it!

  Running into the kitchen, Nora steeled herself to find the sauce burnt to a crisp on the stove. To her relief, it was still simmering away. Hazel must have turned down the heat before leaving while Nora spoke with Brock and two hours on simmer, instead of one, had done no harm. Still, it had been careless of Nora to go out without turning off the stove. What had gotten into her?

  She heard the front door click open and a light come on. Harvey peeked into the kitchen, confused.

  “What are you doing standing over the stove with no lights on?” Harvey asked, bemused.

  “It’s a long story.” Nora sighed. “Want some spaghetti? Hazel made the meat sauce and it looks delicious.”

  “About Hazel, she called me earlier today,” Harvey said. “What’s been going on? You let a murderer into our house?”

  Nora sighed. She pulled some leftover spaghetti from the fridge and mixed it into the sauce, giving it all a good stir, before getting out the parmesan and grating a small mountain over it all. �
�I can’t talk about it.”

  “Alright. Let’s not.” Harvey took the grater from her, put it to the side and switched off the stove. Then, holding her hands, he lead her to the living room.

  “Don’t take this wrong but…you look terrible,” Harvey said, wincing. “I can tell when you’re coming down with something.”

  “I’ve got the worst headache,” Nora confirmed. “It’s just…Hazel…and Matt Whitman…and—”

  “She told me about your fight, too. She didn’t like the idea of working at the diner, clearly,” Harvey said. “Looks like my idea wasn’t so good after all, eh? I didn’t expect her to get so defensive.”

  “I don’t like the idea of her working with Matt Whitman,” Nora said. “Harvey, if I’m right, the man could be a serious threat to her.”

  Harvey’s face hardened and his shoulders drew back into a fighting stance. “To our Hazel?”

  The entire story came pouring out of Nora. She told Harvey everything she could think of, including her own suspicions and her fear for Hazel’s safety.

  Harvey listened patiently, never interrupting her, occasionally asking a question for clarity. “So, to sum it up, there might be a serial killer involved, or it might be Zoey’s ne’er-do-well husband who did her in and is now trying to distract the police with a tall tale.”

  “Right,” Nora confirmed. “I can’t figure out which it is.”

  “Well, I’m no detective,” Harvey said. “But I’d say you need two things- first, some Tylenol for your fever.”

  Nora accepted gratefully as he handed her a glass of water and a pill. “Second?”

  “Second is a good night’s sleep,” Harvey said. “Nothing’s going to change in twelve hours. Put all of this information in the back of your brain and let your subconscious mull it over. You’ll have a clearer perspective tomorrow morning.”

  “That’s not very satisfying.” Nora sighed. But Harvey had built up a small fort of pillows around her on the sofa and she felt rather cozy nestling into them. “I feel like I need answers, and I need them now.”

  “True. So do I, believe me,” Harvey said. “But if there’s one thing my career has taught me it’s that, whenever I feel that way, the best course of action is always to take a step back and look at it from a new angle.”

  “Well, what about Hazel?” Nora asked. “If we don’t stop her, she’ll be in danger.”

  “Nora...” Harvey sighed. “We can’t stop her. She’s an adult now, remember?”

  “But Matt Whitman—”

  “I know. Look, as soon as she told me about her plans with Matt, I called some people I know. They did a background check on him. Matt’s fairly clean. He was in the army, got discharged due to an injury. About thirty years ago, when he was still in his twenties, he got into a bar fight and got arrested for assault. But he’s been clean ever since.”

  “He got arrested?!” Nora exclaimed, jumping up. “I knew it! The man has an unstable—”

  “Are you forgetting I’ve been arrested for losing my temper, too?” Harvey asked, easing her back down onto the sofa. “Doesn’t mean I’m a bad guy, you know.”

  “Well..that was different,” Nora said.

  “I know it’s hard, but I’m going to trust Hazel’s judgment and let her go forward.”

  “How can you—”

  “Because she’s a smart kid, Nora, and she’s inherited your good instincts when it comes to people,” Harvey explained. “I like her business plan, too. Milburn really does need a good landscaping company. Perry’s company is decent, but the service is a little unreliable and overpriced. If Hazel gets in at the ground floor with Matt, they could go places.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Nora said.

  “You don’t have to. We’re still here, aren’t we? We’ll be waiting and watching and, if Matt makes one false step, I’ll pounce on him. But right now, let Hazel do what she feels she has to do.”

  “Why?” Nora asked. “Why does she have to be so darn obstinate? It would be so easy if she just worked for you or me, you know. We’d all be comfortable and happy.”

  “I agree,” Harvey said. “But I can’t read minds. Who knows what Hazel’s thinking!”

  “She’s thinking I favor Grace over her.” Nora sighed. “She told me so earlier today.”

  “What? That’s crazy.”

  “Parenting is crazy, isn’t it? Every single time I think, ‘This is the easy part’, something new happens. Once the two of them were out of their teens, I really thought you and I could step back and worry less.” Nora laughed. “I don’t know whether I want to push Hazel out of the nest and into the world or just draw her closer for a little while longer. It’s so hard to have her stay, knowing what she’s missing, and so hard to think she’ll leave. I keep wanting one more year.”

  “I know,” Harvey agreed. “It’s going to be so quiet here with both girls gone. The house feels too empty.” With a grin, he put his arms around Nora. “What say we make a third one, eh?”

  “Harvey!” Nora laughed and swatted his arm. “No, thank you. I’m not running around after any more babies.”

  “How about a pup then?” Harvey asked, his face serious. “You’ve always wanted one, and we’ve always had one excuse or another to put it off.”

  “A pup?” Nora considered this. “A pup.”

  “We’ve both got more free time now.”

  Nora straightened. “Wait a minute, you mean you’ve come to a decision? You’re selling your company?”

  Harvey nodded. “I ran the numbers and Perry’s offer is fairly generous. It’s what’s best for us, and it’s what’s best for the company. I think we should go for it.”

  “Hmmm…” Nora searched Harvey’s face, trying to see behind his smile and into his heart.

  “Obviously, I haven’t accepted yet,” Harvey said. “It’ll take another week, at least, and maybe a few rounds of negotiation with our lawyers. But, yeah, eventually I think I’m going to sign that dotted line.”

  “But what are you going to do?” Nora asked. “If you retire, I mean.”

  Harvey grinned. “Well…I was thinking that Hazel’s company might need a secretary...”

  “Don’t even think of it. She’ll accuse you of smothering her.”

  Harvey nodded. “Yeah. She will at that. She’d be right, too. I don’t know. What do you do if you retire at sixty? I’ll take up golfing, maybe.”

  “Maybe you could run for sheriff.” Nora laughed. “I don’t like Ellerton one bit.”

  “If anyone runs for sheriff, it should be you,” Harvey joked. “I think you’d get 90% of Milburn to vote for you real easy.”

  “Only if you’re my campaign manager.” Nora grinned. “Well, what can I say? Congratulations, Harvey. Forty years of working in real estate and this is it. The End.”

  “Oof. That sounds too final,” Harvey said. “The Pause, I’ll call it. I’ll take a gap year like all the fashionable kids do these days. Hey, maybe you and I can rent an RV and chase Sean and Karen across America.”

  “Sure and I—” Nora’s words were cut off by a crashing sound from the kitchen. Startled, she and Harvey both looked up. There was silence for a few moments and then the sound of a car driving off in a hurry. Jumping up, Harvey ran to the kitchen before screeching to a halt.

  The floor was covered with glass and a brick sat in the middle of it all. Nora entered behind Harvey, her eyes wide.

  “Harvey…” Nora tried to step ahead, but Harvey put out a hand, pushing her back gently. Slowly, carefully, he approached the brick and lifted it to find a note underneath. Making sure not to get cut by the glass, Harvey unfolded the paper. As he read it, Nora could see his eyes widen at first, then slowly glaze over with rage. Wordlessly, he handed the note to her.

  Nora’s headache throbbed, and she prepared herself for the worst as she read the note.

  “SHUT UP — or I’ll kill you.”

  Still silent, Harvey had gotten out a broom and was sweeping up the gl
ass. He was biting his lower lip and had a look of concentration that Nora recognized well. Harvey was preparing to go to war.

  “It’s stupid, Harvey,” Nora said, laughing and tossing the note aside. “If the killer thinks he’s going to scare me off with this, he’d better think again.”

  “Not a man of many words, our killer,” Harvey replied. “We’re taking this to the sheriff as soon as I’m done cleaning up. Would you do me a favor? Call Hazel, check that she’s okay?”

  “Harvey…” Nora hesitated. “This means I’m on the right track, doesn’t it? The killer’s getting scared. That’s why he’s trying to terrorize us.”

  “Nobody threatens my wife and gets away with it,” Harvey said. He didn’t raise his voice, but Nora felt a chill down her spine anyway.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “I’m going to make sure we find this guy and lock him up for murder…after I’ve had a little talk with him,” Harvey said. Then, looking up, he noticed the fear in Nora’s eyes and attempted to lighten the mood. “I’ll also send him a receipt for the broken window. You know how expensive these are nowadays?”

  “I’m calling Hazel and then the sheriff,” Nora said, forcing a small smile. “Maybe there’s fingerprints on—”

  She froze again as there was a knock on the door. She stood still, fear flooding through her. Had the killer returned? Maybe he’d decided to finish the job.

  Harvey dropped the broom and turned to the kitchen drawer, rummaging until he found a butcher knife. Then, finger pressed to his lips, he moved to the front door, ready to attack.

  *****

  Chapter 14

  Midnight Diner

  Harvey swung the door open, his chin up, and then stepped back in surprise. The butcher knife dropped to the floor with a clang.

  “Grace?” Nora’s jaw nearly fell next to the knife at the sight of her daughter. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hey mom!” Grace gave her a dazzling smile and stepped forward for a hug. “I’m here for the weekend, remember? Where’s Hazel? And what smells so good in here?” She raised her nose and gave an exaggerated sniff, then drew her head back in surprise as she caught sight of the butcher’s knife on the floor.