Fit To Be Tied

by Elizabeth Craig

  “What a mess,” said Posy sympathetically.

  Meadow waved her hands around in agitation. “That’s completely ridiculous. Gerald should have just felt bad enough about the whole business that he contributed support to Jenna. Or he should have simply looked at that adorable little girl of his and wanted to help out. How unfeeling of him! Couldn’t Salome have done something to pressure him to contribute, even if it wasn’t through the courts?”

  Carla was quiet for a minute and then she said quietly, “I think Salome did. And I wonder if that’s what got her killed.”

  The other women were quiet and Carla continued, “I didn’t want to say anything because I would hate for anyone to think badly of Salome.”

  “Impossible!” said Meadow and Posy and Beatrice murmured their agreement.

  “You see, the police took away some papers when they were here searching the house. And then they asked me about them and whether I’d known about them. I had, but I hadn’t totally understood what Salome’s plans for them were or I’d have tried to dissuade her. When she was still working at Dappled Hills Pimento Cheese, she’d collected some papers to show that Gerald’s business wasn’t in as good financial shape as he’d always let on. I didn’t listen to her very carefully, and I wish I had. She told me about it, but I was in the middle of something else and I didn’t give Salome all of my attention.” Carla flushed.

  “It happens,” said Beatrice wryly. “I know Wyatt frequently tells me things that I can’t really remember later.”

  Carla nodded. “I can only guess why she had those papers—to hold them over Gerald’s head and threaten to expose the business’s weaknesses if he didn’t help support Jenna.”

  Beatrice asked, “Do you think that’s why Salome was at the company the morning Gerald was found dead?”

  Carla said, “Yes. Oh, I’d originally thought that maybe she’d gone back over there to try to reason with Gerald, but that didn’t really make sense. After all, she’d already asked Gerald for help and he’d already turned her down. Why else would she go over there and risk further humiliation unless she had something new to discuss with him? Of course, I knew she had nothing to do with Gerald’s murder. Why would she? That wouldn’t have been a smart way to get money out of Gerald and it wasn’t as if he provided for Jenna in his will.”

  Meadow said darkly, “I still can’t believe he wouldn’t give her something. How completely twisted that is.”

  Carla said, “As far as I’m aware, he didn’t give her anything.” She paused and then shook her head. “Posy, I suspect that maybe you were slipping Salome a little extra right before the end. You’re such a kind and caring person that it sounded like something you might do.”

  Posy colored a little and said, “That’s really sweet of you to think so and I wish that I could claim to have been that generous, but I’m afraid I didn’t provide Salome with anything other than her salary.”

  Carla looked thoughtful. “That’s interesting. I know that Salome came into some money before she died. She wouldn’t tell me about it, except to acknowledge that she was about to have a bit of cash to handle some of the expenses. Maybe I’m wrong and Gerald did give her a little something.”

  “Well, whatever he gave her, it wasn’t enough,” said Meadow with a scowl.

  Posy’s brow was crinkled with concern. “You were saying before that you thought that someone at the business knew that she might still talk about the company’s financial problems and they wanted to get Salome out of the way?”

  Carla sighed. “I hate thinking this way, but the only thing that really makes sense is that someone in the family wanted the business to appear solid, financially. If the family wanted to sell the company, which is what I understood from Salome that they wanted to do, it’s only natural that they wouldn’t want word to get out that it wasn’t as viable as it appeared.” She shook her head. “Like I said, I hate thinking that way, but it certainly sounds like a motive for murder.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  THE WOMEN EVENTUALLY moved on to other subjects before leaving Carla. They walked to their cars and Posy said sadly, “What a tragedy. But Jenna is in such good hands with Carla. She seems really smart and caring.”

  Meadow said, “She is. But it sure shouldn’t have to be this way.” She glanced over at Beatrice. “What are you doing for the rest of the day?”

  Beatrice said, “I think I should check in with Wyatt and see what he’s juggling. Can you drop me back off at the house?”

  “Sure. I’m going to see if Piper needs anything,” said Meadow. “It makes me happy to think that I can help her out.”

  Beatrice decided that she should text Piper and encourage her to find something, anything for Meadow to do . . . as a kindness.

  When Beatrice returned home, Wyatt looked relieved to see her. “It’s one of those days when everything happens at one time. There’s an impromptu meeting called by the elders over the Sunday school building heating and cooling system. Plus, Juliana Crompton has passed away and I need to check in on the family. We have two members who have just been checked into the hospital, are facing surgery, and are requesting visits this afternoon. And Colleen Roberts has called several times and gone to voice mail because I’ve been on the phone. She sounds as if she’s about to detonate.”

  Beatrice said, “That’s enough stuff to fill a whole week! What can I help out with?”

  Wyatt shook his head. “Most of those things are things that I have to do, myself.”

  “How about the Colleen Roberts conversation? I’ve already spoken to her once. Maybe I can at least calm her down and put everything in context for her—that this has been a very busy day and you’ll get back to her about the ceremony as soon as you can.”

  Wyatt said, “In her last message, she said that it was no longer convenient for her to come to Dappled Hills today, but she wanted to meet in person. I don’t suppose you fancy a trip to Lenoir, do you?”

  Beatrice grinned at him. “As it happens, I can probably make it to Lenoir on autopilot today. I’ve already been there this morning to return some mislaid eyeglasses to one of the church ladies.”

  Wyatt grimaced. “Maybe you can put Colleen off until tomorrow, then. That’s a lot of driving. And it doesn’t sound as if it will be a very upbeat trip. She’s pretty upset and seems to think I’m avoiding her. And the volunteer wedding coordinator for the church is out of town right now.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” said Beatrice firmly. “After all, if I don’t have anything to do the rest of the day, I’ll sit around and fret over Piper, just like Meadow. And I really don’t want to be as much of a basket-case as Meadow is right now.”

  Wyatt looked relieved. “If you could take on that one task, that would make a huge difference. Thank you.”

  A minute later, he set off to the church for the meeting with the elders.

  Beatrice first tried calling Colleen, using the number Wyatt had left her. The phone rang for several rings and then a cranky Colleen picked up. “Yes?” she said crossly. “Who is this?”

  “It’s Beatrice Thompson,” she said coolly. “I’m sorry that Wyatt hasn’t been able to call you back—it’s been quite a day here and he’s tied up for the remainder of it. But I’d be happy to try and help you, or at least relay a message if it’s anything that requires a decision.”

  “Well, it’s about time,” snapped Colleen. “Look, I can’t talk about this on the phone because I want to show someone from the church in person the type of lighting I’m talking about bringing in for the wedding ceremony. It’s quite innocuous and certainly not any sort of a fire hazard.”

  “Maybe you could send a picture of it to us?” asked Beatrice.

  “No, I want someone to actually handle the lighting and take a look at it. I swear that it has all sorts of safety features and things. I left a message about this, but who knows if anyone was responsible enough to listen to it. I can’t leave Lenoir now because I have meetings coming up, myself. I’
m on several boards,” she said in a haughty tone.

  Beatrice gritted her teeth for a minute, but managed to say in a measured voice, “As I mentioned, Wyatt is completely unavailable the remainder of the day, but I would be happy to drive over to Lenoir and meet with you about the lighting.”

  “Are you allowed to make a decision about the lighting?”

  “No. But I can relay exactly what you’re thinking to the people who do make the decisions,” replied Beatrice.

  “Can you come here immediately? Because I don’t want to progress with arranging this wedding at that church unless this gets approved,” said Colleen shortly. “The candles will be fine. I want you to see them.”

  “I’ll get in the car in the next five minutes,” said Beatrice.

  Colleen gave her the address and Beatrice let Noo-noo out, fed her, and then climbed into her car. Colleen certainly did like getting her way. At this point, Beatrice suspected that the church would rather have her take the wedding somewhere else . . . if Colleen could even find an alternate location that was available at this late date.

  But before she could leave her driveway, Beatrice’s phone rang. She saw it was Len and groaned. There didn’t seem to be much room in the day today for construction and poor Noo-noo was in the house alone.

  She picked up the phone. “Hi, Len.”

  Len’s voice was apologetic. “Hi there, Ms. Thompson. Listen, I’m sorry about this, but I’m not going to be able to come by today. There’s a problem that’s come up at this other job I’m working on.”

  Beatrice brightened, even though she knew she shouldn’t be happy that the project would be no closer to resolution today. “Sorry to hear that,” she said, unable to keep the smile from her voice.

  Len said, “And that’s not the only thing. I’m afraid I left one of my tools at your house and I’m going to be needing it in about an hour. Can I maybe run by?”

  Beatrice said, “Actually, we’re going to be gone for the next hour, both of us.” She looked at the sky and saw that the weather was still ominous. “I don’t really want to leave the house unlocked. I’d leave your tool outside, but it’s looking like rain. I’m running out of the house now, but I told the person I’m meeting with that I’d be right there. Can I run the tool by your worksite as soon as I’m done?”

  “That would be great, if you could.”

  “Which one is it?” asked Beatrice, hoping that she would be able to even recognize the thing among the motley assortment of tools that were in her kitchen.

  “It’s a demolition bar,” said Len.

  Beatrice frowned. “Sorry, you’ll have to describe it a little more than that. I’m not sure what that is.”

  “It looks sort of like a big crowbar. You won’t be able to miss it because it’s about five feet long. I think I left it propped up against a wall in there. Sorry, it’s probably going to be hard for you to handle,” said Len.

  “No problem—I’ll grab it,” said Beatrice, “See you soon, Len.”

  She hurried back into the house and picked up the bar which was just as unwieldly and heavy as it could possibly be. But, likely, very useful for ripping out cabinets and countertops. She put it in the backseat and then headed off for Colleen’s.

  Her phone rang halfway there and she sighed. Instead of reaching for it while driving, she decided to let the call go to voicemail. But she did glance over to make sure it wasn’t a call from Piper. Fortunately, it seemed to be from a number she didn’t recognize.

  Colleen’s house was right on the cusp of a mountain and had a fantastic view. The house itself, however, really didn’t seem to fit into the landscape around it or with the other houses in her neighborhood. It looked as if it belonged at Versailles. It had turrets, towers, gargoyles, and lots of huge windows.

  Beatrice frowned, remembering that Edgenora at the church had said that Colleen was not exactly good about paying her bills, even stiffing the church. Had she sunk everything into this monstrous house, or was she just the type of person who procrastinated when it was time to make payments? How was she keeping up with her lifestyle?

  Beatrice parked the car, took the keys out of the ignition, and reached for her phone to check the message.

  “Hi,” said the voice on her voice mail. “This is Mark Carpenter. I was wondering if I could run by your house a little later this afternoon.” There was a pause. “Thank you.”

  Beatrice frowned. What was that about? She couldn’t think of a reason why Mark would need to drop by the house. Could it have anything to do with their conversation at the funeral service? Maybe he’d thought of something else to do with Laura.

  She shoved her phone in her pocket and glanced back again at the monstrous house in front of her. If this was how Colleen spent money, maybe she really was short on cash. What if Colleen had been planning on blackmailing Gerald? Threatening to tell Laura about their affair? That would have been an excellent way of getting money because Gerald, despite how his business was doing, seemed to have plenty of cash on hand. But then why would she kill Gerald if she was depending on him for blackmail payments? Could she really have been that furious that he dumped her?

  Colleen had seemed to know a lot about Gerald’s business. She knew how organized he kept everything and how carefully his files were maintained. She also seemed to know a lot about him on a personal level—that he was too traditional to have a prenup and that Gerald wouldn’t have wanted Laura to leave him because he’d have had to sacrifice a lot of money in a divorce.

  What if Colleen killed Gerald when he threatened to turn the tables on her and expose her as a blackmailer? What if Salome knew that Colleen had been there that morning? Salome had already shown a propensity to blackmail, from complete desperation. And Salome’s sister said that she had recently expected to come into some cash. Maybe Salome thought that Colleen was going to pay her that day that she killed her, instead.

  Beatrice’s phone started ringing and she reached absently for it. It was Ash.

  “Piper’s having some pains and we’re on our way to Lenoir to check them out,” he said in a calm and level voice. “I just wanted to keep you updated. She thinks it’s probably a false alarm again and definitely nothing to worry about.”

  Beatrice said, “I’m right here in Lenoir now, Ash, so I can meet you over there as soon as I’m done here.” She grimaced, remembering that she was supposed to be returning the demolition bar to Len. She’d have to call him and see what he wanted her to do.

  “If you’re here, that would be great. But like I said, Piper thinks it’s probably nothing. Maybe some Braxton-Hicks again,” Ash said. “I did throw her bag in the car, though, just in case.”

  “I’ll be there just as soon as I can,” said Beatrice. She swiftly called Wyatt. “Ash called me...he’s heading for the hospital because Piper may be in labor. I’m at Colleen’s house, but I haven’t met with her yet.”

  Wyatt said, “Don’t worry about Colleen. I’ll head over there now—both of the ladies at the hospital are having tests done this afternoon before their surgery and we’ve arranged to put off visiting until tomorrow.”

  “That sounds perfect. I’ll keep you updated,” said Beatrice and hung up the phone.

  Beatrice jumped at sudden movement at her car window and swung her head around to see Colleen glaring at her.

  Colleen’s eyes narrowed and she yanked impatiently on Beatrice’s door, pulling it open. “You could get out of the car, you know. We’re not going to get very far with our meeting if you don’t.”

  Beatrice said carefully, trying to keep her suspicions about Colleen from showing, “Actually, I’ve just heard that my daughter might be going into labor so I need to join her in the hospital.”

  She was about to add that Wyatt was on his way over, but stopped at Colleen’s expression. There must have been something in Beatrice’s manner that tipped Colleen off. Some general unease that Beatrice wasn’t able to completely cover up.

  Colleen narrowed her eyes and
snapped, “You’re not going anywhere.” And she reached into the car and grabbed the keys out of Beatrice’s lap.

  Chapter Twenty

  BEATRICE SWIFTLY GOT out of the car and took a step toward Colleen, who took a step backward.

  “Give those back to me,” said Beatrice in a steely voice. “You can’t keep me from getting to that hospital.”

  Colleen said, “I want to talk to you. I saw your face. You know something, don’t you?”

  Beatrice lunged at Colleen, who backed off again with the keys.

  Colleen ran a few yards away while Beatrice glared at her.

  Colleen repeated, “You know something. I could tell you were snooping around. You sure were asking a lot of questions.”

  Beatrice raised her eyebrows. “As I recall, I wasn’t asking a lot of questions. You were offering a lot of information.” She thought quickly. Wyatt said he was on his way and, being Wyatt, he probably left immediately, not wanting to waste any time. If she could keep Colleen talking, maybe he would arrive soon and it would be two against one.

  Colleen said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What kind of information?”

  Beatrice said, “I thought it was very interesting that you knew so much about Gerald’s personal life.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? I was very involved in his personal life, as I think I told you,” Colleen said, rolling her eyes.

  “It’s one thing to know information about what’s going on with his close family members. But it’s another to know that Gerald didn’t have a prenup. And another,” said Beatrice, trying to sound as sure as she possibly could, “to try and blackmail someone.”

  Colleen gave a short laugh but there was a shred of worry in her eyes now. “What on earth are you talking about?”

  “I’m simply saying that you blackmailed Gerald. You knew he was in a vulnerable spot and you tried to press your advantage,” answered Beatrice.