DIGGIN' UP THE DIRT

by Tonya Kappes

  I took a left on the Town Branch and zoomed past Tibbie’s, passing Stratton Avenue where I couldn’t help but noticed there were some lights on at Avon Meyer’s parents’ house. My heart tugged. I felt so bad that Avon’s killer hadn’t been brought to justice yet.

  There was an ambulance parked up against the emergency room sign in front of the Cottonwood Acres Rehabilitation Center. I pulled right up alongside the entrance and threw the Wagoneer in park. I rolled down all the windows for Duke and left him in the Wagoneer until I could figure out what was going on.

  “Sheriff,” Sebastian was pushing the ambulance gurney out of the automatic sliding doors. “I think your mother-in-law is going to be okay.”

  “Mother-in-law?” I asked.

  “Shelby Vincent, your mom said she was your mother-in-law. Well,” he smiled, and I knew he’d been told a tale by Mama. “She said, ‘You better save her life because this is the sheriff’s mother-in-law and I’m her mama. You understand me?’”

  Sounded like Mama.

  “What happened?” I was trying to process what was happening. I needed the facts.

  I followed him behind the ambulance where he had opened the double doors and pushed the gurney back into the ambulance.

  “We got a call from your mom. They were at her house.” He gestured for me to follow him back inside. “She showed the classic signs of a heart attack. I gave her a nitroglycerin tab under her tongue and got her in the ambulance.”

  “Kendrick.” Mama had a look of relief on her face. “Where were you? Finn and I have been looking all over for you.”

  I pulled my phone out and looked at the calls. I’d missed several calls and text messages from both of them. I put the phone back into my pocket.

  “I’m sorry. I was at the office working on the Meyer’s case and I fell asleep there.” Generally, I wasn’t a heavy sleeper, but with the stress of two crimes, I couldn’t dismiss the fact that the stress had probably caught up to my body.

  “What about my RV?” Shelby’s voice carried out into the hallway from behind the thinly closed curtain. “Your father isn’t there to keep an eye on it and I just don’t trust them people on ‘Free Row’, as you call it.”

  “Sheriff, I’m taking care of your mother-in-law.” A woman in blue scrubs came up to me with a clipboard in her grasp. “Can you fill out some forms for me?”

  My eyes scanned down the badge clipped on her shirt pocket. Reagan Quinlan, Nurse Manager was in bold black letters with a small photo next to it.

  “I’m sorry.” I had to correct the misleading information Mama had given them. “Shelby Vincent isn’t my mother-in-law.”

  “Yet.” Mama had to throw in her opinion. “They are going to be.”

  “Mama, please.” I held a hand up to her to be quiet. “Why don’t you go get in touch with Daddy, so Shelby’s husband can get here by morning to be with her?” I brushed my hand for her to scurry off somewhere other than here so I could get the information from Reagan.

  “My Deputy Finn Vincent is her son and we are together.” I tried to put the fact aside that this was the Reagan I needed to interview about Avon and why she had such a beef with the girl. I had to put Finn and his mother first at this moment. “Is he here?”

  “Listen, I’m going to get out of here.” Sebastian pointed towards the exit.

  “Wait!” Mama called out to him. “Kenni, he saved Shelby’s life.” Mama patted me on the arm.

  “Ma’am, it’s my job. I’m just happy to have helped.” He smiled. He gave us a goodbye nod and headed back to his ambulance.

  “Kenni, don’t you have any nice Southern friends to set him up with?” She asked.

  “Oh, Mama. Not now.” I turned to Reagan, “I’m sorry, did you say if Finn was here?”

  “He is in there with his mother. I was going fill you in on the situation, but now that it’s come to light that you aren’t the daughter-in-law,” she said with lowered eyelids and a glance over my shoulder at Mama, “then I can’t tell you unless they put you on the HIPPA form.”

  “No problem.” I shook my head and followed her over to the curtain where she peeled it back enough for us to peek in.

  “Kenni, dear. Please tell Finley I’m fine.” Shelby didn’t look fine. She was a little gray and didn’t look fine. Far from it.

  Finn nodded his head, gesturing me to meet him outside of the curtained emergency room.

  “Where have you been?” His sad eyes searched my face. “I ran to your house and beat on your door even though I didn’t see your car. I called your phone.”

  I curled my arms around him and pulled him into me, giving him a big hug.

  “Oh, Kenni.” He melted.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered into his ear. “After Euchre I was wide awake and decided to head to the department to look over the evidence. I fell asleep on the cot in the cell.”

  He continued to hug me back.

  “Did you say Reagan Quinlan is your mom’s nurse?” I took the opportunity while I was consoling him to ask him since no one would hear me.

  “Kenni.” He pulled away from me and took a step back. The look of disgust went from his chin to his hairline. “My mom has had signs of a heart attack. The last thing on my mind is who is taking care of her as long as she’s getting taken care of her.”

  He darted back to the curtain and swung it open.

  “What’s going on?” Mama hurried over with a few cups of coffee stacked in her hands.

  “Nothing. He’s stressed.” This wasn’t the place to even act like something might be wrong because Mama would spend the next hours trying to fix it. “Let me help you.”

  I took a couple of cups of coffee she’d stacked and tried to balance.

  “I’m fine,” Shelby continued to try and convince Finn and Reagan when we walked in. “Tell them, Viv. We were laughing. Having a couple of glasses of wine. Talking about the kids.”

  I couldn’t help but smile when she said “kids”. Finn and I were far from kids, but not in our parent’s eyes.

  “Mrs. Vincent, can these ladies be in here? They aren’t on your HIPPA form.” Reagan pulled the form from the clipboard she’d been carrying around.

  “Yes. Add them. Vivian and Kenni Lowry.” She nodded. “Now, please can I get out of here? I’ve left my RV alone on the seedy side of town.”

  “Seedy side of town? Come on, Mom. It’s Broadway not downtown Chicago.” He reminded her of where she lived. “Besides, it’s parked between my house and Kenni’s. If someone was to hurt the RV, they’d be pretty darn brave.”

  I took my phone out of my pocket and texted my dad to make sure he and Clay knew what was going on and to come back as quickly as possible.

  “We are going to have to do a heart catherization test, Mrs. Vincent.” Reagan was reading off the chart. “They want to make sure you don’t have any blockages that need to be taken care of, so we are going to admit you tonight and do the test in the morning.”

  “What about my husband?” Shelby’s head darted around with a stark fear in her eyes. “I can’t agree to anything unless my husband is here.”

  “Don’t worry. Mama got ahold of daddy’s cell and I can run down there to get them if I need to. I know exactly where they are.” I wanted her to feel safe. She was so scared, I could see her hands shaking and it broke my heart. “Why don’t we leave and come back in the morning before your test.”

  “That sounds great.” Mama agreed.

  I looked up at Finn and mouthed that I was sorry. I knew it was insensitive, but I’d not realized how serious his mom was. Regardless, there was still a dead girl and her possible killer was standing over his mom. That alone scared me.

  My phone chirped a text.

  “It’s Dad. He and Clay are on their way back.” It was a relief to see the stress melt away from Shelby’s face when I told her th
e news. “They will be about an hour or so.”

  “Good.” She turned her attention to Reagan. “After my husband gets here, we can discuss this test or whether we need to go home to our regular doctor.”

  “I assure you, ma’am, that our doctors here are well qualified to do the test. If you need surgery, we’d have to transport you to a bigger hospital.” Reagan did seem to be knowledgeable and she was very professional. “I’ll be on the lookout for your husband.”

  “You’ll be here all night?” Shelby asked her. “You’ve been such a doll. I’m not sure how you calmed me down, but you did.”

  “I’ll be here all night and some tomorrow. I’m short a few nurses, don’t worry. I’m the nurse manager, so you’re in good hands.” Reagan smiled, laid the clipboard on the tray table and skirted out the curtain.

  Mama started to hand Finn a coffee, so I took the opportunity to go out and find Reagan. I found her at the nurse’s station where she’d already taken a seat at a desk and was staring at a computer.

  “Reagan Quinlan, right?” I asked.

  She looked up from her typing and smiled.

  “Yes. Is there something I can help you with? I can’t tell you if she’s going to need more treatment until the catherization results.” She was all business. “I’ve put in the orders and we don’t do a lot of those here, so she’ll go first thing in the morning.”

  “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Avon Meyers,” I said and noticed the shadow pass over her face, darkening her features.

  “I understand she was killed, but I don’t know what that has to do with me.” She went back to clicking on the computer keyboard.

  “I understand she worked for you and she’d been written up a few times. I have to explore all the possibilities as to why someone would want to kill her. Did she have a disgruntled client? Did she have enemies here at the hospital?” I asked.

  “I’d heard from somewhere that she was robbed. That sounds like the wrong place at the wrong time to me.” She hit a button really hard before she shoved her chair back from the desk. “If you’ll excuse me, like I said I’m a little shorthanded and I’ve got to check on more patients.” She jerked a file from the desk top and held it close to her chest.

  “Actually, I will need to interview you.” I flipped open the pocket of my shirt and handed her one of my cards. “I’m sure you know the sheriff’s office is located in the back of Cowboy’s Catfish, but here’s my card just in case. What time do you get off tomorrow?”

  “I’m going straight to bed when I get home.” She wasn’t budging. She looked at her watch. “Which is in about two hours.”

  “I can come to your house.” I wasn’t letting her off the hook that easy. “In the morning when you wake up,” I clarified.

  “Fine.” She squirmed uncomfortably.

  I added that to the things I needed to do tomorrow. Go into Clay’s Ferry to get the reports from their dispatch that Lita Brumfield had filed, drop the evidence off to Geary, stop by the morgue to see Max, and touch base with all the deputies.

  “What if you come back here tomorrow around supper time? I’m working the late shift again.” She hugged the folder tighter as her arms wrapped around her.

  “That’d be great. I’m also going to need to see your copies of the write-ups against Avon as well as the other employees she came in contact with and her patients.” I knew I was probably overstepping my boundaries since I didn’t have a warrant and by the look on her face, I added, “I’ll have a warrant for you to obtain all of her files and records.”

  She didn’t even bother telling me goodbye. I watched her hurry down the hall, opposite of me. Her body language told me that she loathed Avon Meyers with a passion and that would be enough motive to kill someone. What on Earth did Avon do to her?

  “We need a bed!” Sebastian rushed through the double electronic doors with another person on the gurney. “In A-fib!” He hollered, nearly missing me when I jumped aside.

  “Lita Brumfield?” I gasped when I noticed it was her under the air mask and blankets.

  “Yes.” The tall man, who looked to be in his forties, was running alongside her, but was forced to stop once Sebastian had continued to push through Authorized Access Only doors.

  “Move it!” Reagan came out of nowhere, pushing a pedal cart through the doors. Reagan and the man looked at each other. There was something between them when their eyes met, but I wasn’t so sure what that was.

  “Oh no. Oh no.” The man cried out and paced back and forth in front of the emergency doors where they’d taken Lita.

  He put his hands out just as Reagan and the cart disappeared.

  “Can I offer you some support?” I asked the man. “I know I’m the sheriff, but I’ve spent my whole life listening to people.”

  “That’s my mom.” He pointed. “I can’t. . .I mean, she already has Parkinson’s.” He abruptly stopped talking. “You,” he gasped with a look of distain replacing the one of stress. “You’re that woman sheriff that’s been harassing my mom.” He jabbed his finger at me. “She’s in here because of you and your loose accusations.”

  Herb Brumfield. He had my full attention.

  The emergency room doors flew open.

  “You can see your mom now.” Reagan held her hand out to the man. He took it but still had his eyes fixed on me.

  I stood there watching the swinging doors go back and forth in opposite directions wondering if the two of them knew each other and dismissed the fact he felt I’d put his mom in the hospital. There wasn’t anything I said to her that would make her sick. Surely, he knew her neighbor was dead, and I had to follow up on leads that his mom had complained and filed multiple reports on her.

  When the doors finally came together and stopped, I knew I wasn’t going to get any real answers out of anyone in here tonight. No one was thinking clearly, and even I had head fog. The crime certainly wasn’t going to be solved in these late hours.

  It was best that I get home and get some sleep. I had a big day tomorrow and getting the warrant for all the paperwork I was going to need to get some answers out of Reagan Quinlan had jumped to the top of the list.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m going to need a full warrant,” I told the judge’s secretary while I stood in front of the coffeepot to wait for my coffee to finish the brew cycle.

  I’d slept on and off, a few minutes here and there after I’d gotten home from the hospital. Duke was even still in the bed.

  “Yes. For all of the records for Avon Meyers.” I grabbed my thermal coffee mug from the cabinet and got confirmation that the judge’s secretary would have the warrant ready for Scott to pick it up for me since I’d make sure Finn wasn’t doing a dang thing today.

  After she and I hung up, I called my neighbor, Mrs. Brown. She was always happy to help out with Duke when I needed her to.

  “When are they going to move that big RV from in front of my house?” she asked. “They were so nosey last night that it woke me up. I had a hard time falling back to sleep.”

  “Last night?” I questioned.

  “Yes. Well, technically, you’d say it was wee-early morning, but it was around four-ish.” At first, I thought her recollection was off, but then I remembered that it was probably Clay.

  “I’m sure they didn’t mean to.” I made a mental note to check in with Mama and see what else had transpired after I’d left the hospital. “Finn’s mom might’ve had a heart attack last night. She was sent to the emergency room for some testing and I’m sure it was Mr. Vincent coming back to the RV to get some things. You know men,” I joked. “They can’t be quiet for nothing.”

  “Oh my stars, honey child,” Mrs. Brown gasped on the other end of the phone. “She’ll have to be put on the prayer chains, ASAP.” I heard some shuffling on the other end of the phone. I knew for sure, because I’d seen it with my
own eyes, she was getting her little black book with the prayer chain phone numbers. I guess you could call it the little black book of gossip. “I’ll be over to get Duke. Don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours.”

  The phone went dead. It was a relief to know that Duke wasn’t going to be left here alone all day. I also knew that it was Mrs. Brown’s day for Jolee to drop off her Meals on Wheels, which meant that Duke would be going to Jolee for the afternoon. Still, I texted a quick message to Jolee to let her know that Duke would be at Mrs. Brown’s, knowing she’d be up getting the On The Run Food Truck ready for the breakfast crew where ever she was parking it that morning.

  The sunrise over Cottonwood wasn’t even peeking through until after six a.m., so this early morning I was going to have to put on my headlights for at least an hour and pray all the way into Clay’s Ferry on those windy roads that I didn’t hit a deer. It was birthing season and it was all woods between Cottonwood and Clay’s Ferry.

  My thermal cup was nestled in the bean bag coffee holder, which used to be my Poppa’s, that laid across the hump between the driver’s side and passenger’s side floorboard. My bag was in the back. The only thing I needed to do was to stop real fast at the department to grab the evidence for the lab and head on out of town.

  Heading north on Main Street, I passed Ben’s Diner. The warm glow of the lights made me miss my morning routine I had to abandon while I was going to be investigating the robbery and the murder. I loved doing my rounds in and around Cottonwood before ending up at a corner table at Ben’s where I enjoyed biscuits and gravy. If I was going there today, I’d have him add the chocolate drizzle on top. A sure sign that stress was tickling my nerves.

  That’s when I remember the Sweet Shop and how I’d planned to go there first thing. It would be open, or at least they’d be there baking. Before I knew it, I’d whipped the Jeep around and headed straight towards Sweet Shop on the north side of town near Lulu’s Boutique.