by Amber Crewes
“WHAT?”
Meghan saw that Karen’s eyes were filled with worry. “Murdered? Are you serious?”
“Yes! And Mama is acting like its no big deal. She is just relieved that she can use David to bake my cake.”
Karen chewed on her lower lip. “That all sounds crazy, Meghan,” she said. “Do you think your Mama and David had some connection? Like an affair? Or maybe David and Thelma were having an affair, and their lovers' quarrel became a business quarrel?”
“I don’t know,” Meghan admitted. “But Mama has been so tight-lipped about it. I tried to talk to my sister about it, but she seemed disinterested. Am I the only one who’s bothered by the events that have transpired in the last few days?”
Karen reached over and took Meghan’s hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “In your sister’s defense,” she began. “She’s probably preoccupied with your upcoming nuptials. I know this is all exciting and chaotic, but it is your wedding, Meghan. You came here to relax.”
Meghan shook her head. “I can’t relax with so much going on,” she confessed. “Now that I know this wedding has become a spectacle, the only thing that’s helping me is keeping my mind on this situation with Thelma; the wedding doesn’t feel like mine anymore, so it just feels like I’m home for a big party or something. If I think about Thelma and David and the sordid situation, it helps me forget how angry I am at my parents for hijacking my big day.”
Karen nodded sympathetically. “That makes sense,” she agreed as Meghan guided the car off the interstate and onto the country road. “Well, if it helps you, I hope you know that I am here for you. Whether or not your family wants to help solve this murder, I am here for you, Meghan. I’ll help you with anything you need, whether it’s a murder or your wedding.”
Meghan smiled at her friend. “You’re the best, Karen. I can always count on you.”
They chatted the rest of the way home, but when they pulled into the driveway, Karen and Meghan gasped. “What is going on here?” Karen screeched as Meghan grimaced. Parked in front of her parents’ home were ten police cars, their lights flashing in sinister patterns of blue and red.
7
M eghan and Karen ran into the house. “Mama? Daddy?”
An officer stopped her at the door. “Ma’am?”
“She’s part of the family,” Mellie told the officer as she burst into the foyer. “Meghan, the police are talking with us in the library.”
Meghan and Karen followed Mellie into the library. “What’s going on?” Meghan whispered to Mellie as she saw her family sitting with the police officers. “What happened? Is everything okay?”
“I know about as much as you do now,” Mellie whispered. “They’ve been here for about thirty minutes. What if they are here to take Daddy away again?”
“Officers, this is Meghan, our daughter, and her friend, Karen,” Rebecca announced as they joined the family on the leather couches. “Meghan picked Karen up from the airport. Ladies, we were just speaking with the officers about what happened to poor Thelma Barrington.”
Meghan raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of cop cars parked outside,” she commented as she folded her hands in her lap.
Meghan recognized Detective Doug Liman, a young detective who had worked with Jack during a training in New Orleans. She smiled weakly at him. “Detective Liman,” she greeted.
“Good to see you, Meghan,” he told her. “I’m sorry to hear my friend, Jack, isn’t around. Your mother told me he couldn’t accompany you down here?”
She frowned. “It is a bummer. We planned for him to be here, but something came up at work.”
“He’ll be back,” Rebecca repeated. “Don’t think about Jack right now, Meghan. We need to make sure these officers get the information they need.”
Henry cleared his throat. “Detective, why don’t you start at the beginning as Meghan has now joined us?” he requested. “Meghan, dear, Detective Liman and his associates have been asking us about Thelma Barrington.”
Doug nodded. “Of course. Meghan, I was telling your parents and sisters that I am interviewing everyone who came in contact with Thelma Barrington seven days before her murder. Her death is being investigated as a homicide, and we are not leaving a single stone unturned. Tell me, Meghan, you and your family received a visit from Mrs. Barrington, did you not?”
“On the day she died,” Meghan confirmed. “That was the first time I had met her.”
“What about your parents? Had they met her before?”
“I believe so,” Meghan told him.
“And how would you describe her demeanor on the day of that visit?” Doug asked, retrieving a small notepad from his uniform. “Was she happy? Agitated? Frightened? How did you perceive her spirits?”
“Mrs. Barrington seemed calm,” Rebecca answered, and Meghan turned to stare at her. “She was here to discuss options for Meghan’s wedding cake, and she was pleased to do business with us. I have met her before, and her visit was an ordinary client-business visit.”
“Why is Mama lying to the detective?” Meghan wondered to herself as Rebecca continued. “Thelma was anything but calm. Why is Mama lying?”
Doug took detailed notes before turning to Henry. “What did you notice about Mrs. Barrington?” he asked. “Did anything seem unusual about her visit? What was her demeanor like?”
Henry stifled a laugh. “Not to sound irreverent,” he began. “But she was a bit... friendly... with me.”
Rebecca glared. “Too friendly is an understatement,” she muttered. “Too friendly, indeed!”
“What do you mean?” Doug asked. “Too friendly?”
Henry chuckled. “Mrs. Barrington was a bit... flirtatious. My wife certainly wasn’t pleased with her familiarity toward me during her visit.”
Rebecca scowled. “Henry! Why are you telling them that? They don’t need to know that. You’ve embarrassed me, now. Officer, please forget you heard that. My husband was out of line to say such a thing, especially about the poor deceased.”
The detective shook his head. “I won’t write that down, Ma’am,” he assured Rebecca. “Meghan? Did you notice anything odd about Mrs. Barrington when she visited the house?”
Meghan nodded. “I had only just met her,” she repeated. “But... she seemed... high strung,” she told him. “Like she had a lot on her mind?”
She glanced at her mother, not wanting to anger Rebecca. Rebecca’s face was tight, but she nodded at Meghan in approval. Meghan continued. “She was very proud of her work. She seemed... passionate...about baking, that’s for sure.”
“Tell me about her staff,” Doug asked. “Did she have any staff with her?”
“She brought two assistants,” Meghan told him. “I think one was named Stanley. They didn’t interact with us much. They wheeled cakes in and out, but other than that, we didn’t really speak.”
He took notes as she continued telling him about the visit. “Anything else you want to add?”
She shook her head. “I just want to have a relaxing, enjoyable time here with my family,” she sighed. “I’m getting married here in two weeks, and so far, my visit has been anything but relaxing. Thelma’s death and that strange visit with the competing vendor…”
“What was that?” Doug inquired, and Meghan watched as her mother’s face darkened. “What strange visit? A competing vendor?”
Meghan’s face paled. “After Thelma left, we went over to Lemon Tree Valley to talk with a different baker,” she explained. “David? He owns that new place?”
“I’ve heard of him,” Doug commented. “And then?”
“Thelma burst in,” Meghan muttered. “She had followed us to his bakery, and she confronted us.”
“About what?”
“About using David to make my wedding cake instead of her,” Meghan said. “She was furious. She said some terrible things to David, too, and he threatened to call the police if she didn’t leave.”
Doug raised an eyebrow. “What happened next?�
�
“Thelma finally left,” she told him. “She left, and soon after, we went home. That night, Mama got a call that she had been killed.”
Doug wrote what Meghan had said. “That sounds like quite the visit to David’s bakery,” he murmured as he tucked the notepad and pen back into his pocket. “Rebecca? Is there anything else you would like to mention? Henry? You all left out the part about going to David’s...”
Henry’s face darkened. “I didn’t think it was important,” he insisted. “We’ll tell you anything you need to know, Detective. I may have been released from jail earlier this year, but I have learned from my mistakes. Mark my words: I am not going to hide anything from the police. Right, Rebecca?”
Meghan saw her mother squirm as Henry and the officers stared at her. “Right, Rebecca?” her husband repeated.
“Right,” she agreed weakly. “Of course. We would never keep anything from the authorities. It would kill us to do that.”
8
M eghan stared warily at her mother. What was Rebecca Truman up to?
“Thank you for your time,” Doug said to the Trumans as he stood up and gestured to the other officers toward the door. “I will be speaking with David. If you think of any more details regarding Thelma Barrington, please be in touch.”
“We will,” Henry assured him. “Without a doubt.”
Doug turned to smile at Meghan. “Give Jack my best when you speak with him,” he told her. “I hope he gets back here soon and your wedding goes off without a hitch.”
“Thanks,” she replied weakly, a thin smile on her face. “I’ll tell him you said hello.”
Doug led the officers out the door, and Henry leaned back against the leather couch. “Phew,” he exhaled, pretending to wipe sweat from his forehead. “That was stressful. Now that I’ve been through the justice system and done my time, I don’t ever want to be in trouble with the law again! That brought up some dreadful memories.”
Mellie patted her father’s shoulder. “It’s all okay, Daddy,” she assured him. “We did nothing wrong. You will never have to go to…. you know…. jail…. again.”
Mandy nodded. “Yeah, we don’t have to talk about it. Daddy, you did your time, and now it’s all over.”
Meghan’s stomach churned as she listened to her sisters. Clearly, they had inherited their mother’s propensity to sweep uncomfortable memories and situations under the rug.
“Mama, what do you think happened to Thelma?” she asked cautiously as Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “Why would the police take an interest in talking to us?”
“I don’t know,” Rebecca hissed. “But was it really necessary to drag poor David into this mess?”
Meghan’s dark eyes grew large. “What do you mean? I told the truth when they asked me a question.”
Rebecca shook her head. “You didn’t have to bring David up,” she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. “He is an innocent young man starting out in a business, and now, he’s going to have the cops swarming around his place. Surely you can understand how damaging that will be for his bakery.”
Meghan felt her heart pounding. “Mama,” she said evenly. “I told the truth. I told them what happened on the day Thelma died. I don’t understand why you are being so protective over David. He’s practically a stranger.”
Rebecca stood, her face dark and her eyes flashing with rage. “You don’t understand,” she muttered as Henry raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t understand what, dear?” he asked his wife.
“Meghan needs to understand when to keep her mouth shut,” she barked. “Henry, do you remember how lost and sad you were when you were all alone in a jail cell? That was a horrible time for our family, and now, Meghan has practically signed the arrest warrant for an innocent man to sit in jail. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”
“Mama!” Meghan cried. “That’s ridiculous! You are turning this into something when it perhaps isn’t anything at all.”
“No,” Rebecca glowered. “That’s what you did by giving David’s name to the police.”
The two women stared at each other, and finally, Rebecca turned on her heel and strode out of the room. The Trumans were quiet, all sitting with wide eyes and pale faces.
“Well,” Karen began clearing her throat in an attempt to clear the air. “I guess I will introduce myself to those of you I haven’t met. I’m Karen, Meghan’s friend.”
Everyone gave Karen weak waves and smiles. “I’ll take Karen upstairs,” Meghan muttered as she took Karen by the hand. “Goodnight, everyone.”
They tiptoed upstairs, Meghan hoping they would avoid running into Rebecca. “What was that all about?” Karen whispered as they ducked into the bedroom. “Your mother is off her rocker, sweetheart.”
Meghan nodded and closed the door behind them. “I don’t know what has come over her,” she told her friend as they settled onto the bed. “Mama has been acting like she just met David, but from a conversation I overheard, she’s hired him for baking before. Why would she act one way when there is more to the story?”
Karen pursed her lips. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“Of course. You’re one of my best friends, Karen. Ask me anything.”
Karen took a deep breath. “How is your parents’ marriage? Do you think there is any chance your mother and David... well... how do I put this delicately? Is there any chance they have been... closely acquainted?”
Meghan frowned. “I don’t know,” she admitted as she shifted uncomfortably. “I haven’t lived at home in over ten years; after I left for college, I never really lived in this house again, nor have I spent a lot of time with both of my parents. I think they are happy, but I can’t be sure.”
“Do they bicker often? Do they kiss in front of you?”
She shook her head. “Mama doesn’t find bickering pleasant, so their conversations in front of us are mostly surface level,” she said. “They kiss occasionally, but I wouldn’t call their encounters passionate.”
Karen nodded. “Interesting.”
“What?”
Karen raised an eyebrow. “I wonder if there is a lot more to the story,” she breathed. “It sounds like your mother knows David better than she would care to admit.”
“What makes you say that?”
“They’ve been married a long time, yes? Your parents?”
“Almost forty years,” Meghan confirmed.
“They’ve been married forever, and you don’t really see them kiss or be playful with each other, right?”
“Right.”
Karen folded her hands in her lap. “Every woman needs someone to be silly with. Every woman needs someone to kiss her like she is the most beautiful, ravishing, unique creature in the world. Your mother is just like every woman: she needs those things, too. It doesn’t sound like she shares them with your father... unless it’s in private... and I wonder if perhaps she is getting that attention from David.”
Meghan’s heart sank. “You think Mama is having an affair?”
Karen’s lips turned down into a frown. “It isn’t my place to say,” she sighed. “But I do have questions, especially after the spectacle we just witnessed. She was acting so strangely and being so protective about someone she supposedly doesn’t know very well. It seems odd to me.”
Meghan leaned in toward Karen. “You have a good instinct,” she told her friend. “Who do you think killed Thelma Barrington, Karen? Do you think David did it? Do you think my mother was involved? Or both of them?”
Karen paused. “Do you hear that?” she asked softly. “I hear a sound in the hall…”
Meghan held her breath, straining to hear. She heard the soft padding of footsteps move away from the bedroom door. “Shhhh,” she told Karen, holding a finger to her lips. “Someone is listening in on us.”
Karen brushed her icy blonde bob behind her shoulders. “Who do you think is out there?” she mouthed to Meghan.
Meghan rose to her feet and crept over
to the door, gently opening it and peering into the hallway. “No one is there,” she told Karen. “But someone was definitely listening.”
Karen’s face was grim. “We need to be careful,” she warned Meghan. “Let’s have some girl talk now. We can talk about the crazy stuff later, outside of your house.”
She nodded. “That’s probably for the best.”
9
T he next morning, Meghan was awakened by Karen sneaking into the bedroom. She was wearing pink leggings and a white tank top, and her forehead was glistening with sweat.
