by Jack Parker
"I don't," Ashley replied. "I don't care what she thinks of me. Thought of me. I saw through her ploys and didn't like the way she treated any of her children. I showed up on family occasions because Jason was there, but it was no skin off my nose if she got mad at me for refusing to help her. Help! Hah, mostly what she wanted was for me to side with her against one of the others. I didn't need the money she promised and besides, I'd learned long ago that it somehow never managed to get paid anyway."
"And I suppose you didn't kill her," Gracie said.
"No, I did not. Her death will hurt Jason, and no amount of money from John's Estate will make that better. That's the only reason I'm sorry she's dead. I only hope Jason can get some kind of closure from finding her killer and punishing him."
* * * *
"Good evening, Mrs. Stubblefield. I'm Gracie Greene; we met Thursday at your mother-in-law's home. May I come in for just a few minutes?
Karen looked unsure of what to do. She peered over Gracie's shoulder as if looking for help. "I guess it would be okay. Loretta's not with you."
Gracie stepped into the house, noting that the furnishings were old and drab but serviceable. The room was crowded with too much furniture and there were untidy piles of car magazines on the coffee table, but otherwise it was neat and clean. "Mrs. Stubblefield, I wanted you and your husband to know how sorry I am for your loss. I only met Mrs. Redmond that one time, but I do know how difficult it is to lose a parent."
"Thanks, uh, Gracie is it? Call me Karen." Karen seemed to relax a little. "Please sit down, and can I get you something to drink?"
"A glass of water would be nice, thank you."
Karen bustled off to the kitchen and Gracie took the opportunity to look a bit more closely at the room. There was a comfortable looking recliner placed squarely in front of the television (analog, not digital); yesterday's newspaper lay on the arm, the sports section on top. A box of cheap cigars sat on the end table beside the chair, though her husband must smoke them outside, as she couldn't smell any trace of smoke. The room looked masculine; even the pictures on the walls were of dogs and fish and antique cars. She spied a smaller chair on the opposite wall, a cheap paperback mystery novel on the seat. Karen didn't seem to have much presence in this room.
Hearing Karen's footsteps Gracie hurriedly took a seat. "Thanks, Karen," she said, taking a deep drink of the cold tap water and wondering just what to say next.
Karen moved the book and sat down. "I know you young people like bottles of water, but we don't keep it."
Gracie waved off the apology. "No problem!" she said. "I admit it's easier to carry a bottle around and you can put the lid back on so it won't spill, but all those plastic bottles end up in the dump and they take forever to degrade. Not enough people bother to recycle them." She paused, having realized she might've sounded preachy.
Karen laughed gently. "We seem to be ahead of our time, then. Most of our furniture came from someone else, usually things they gave away just to be rid of them. That counts as recycling, doesn't it?"
"It certainly does!" Gracie agreed happily. "I could tell you details about all the wood and metal and manufacturing costs it saves, but that's not why I came here. I guess your husband isn't home yet. I wanted to give him my condolences, and ask if there's anything I can do to help."
"No, Charlie often works late. Frankly, we need the overtime pay. And I think it's easier for him to work than to think about his mother's passing. And murdered – how horrible." Her tone said she wasn't terribly upset about any of it.
Gracie took a chance with her next statement. In a sympathetic voice she said, "I'm sure it bothers him that the police consider him a suspect."
Karen looked a bit surprised. "Not really. He knows he didn't do it, so he's not worried what they think. Any investigation will show that Charlie took good care of his mother; perhaps better care than she deserved." She looked around nervously, as if Charlie might suddenly pop out of the woodwork and hear her.
"She wasn't easy to get along with?" Gracie hazarded a guess.
"Hah! If she wanted something from him, she could be the nicest person in the world. Right up until the moment he told her 'no'; then she wouldn't give him the time of day for a couple of weeks," Karen said. "Personally I wish he'd told her 'no' more often."
"What kinds of things did she want from him? Money?" Gracie asked curiously.
"Hardly," Karen replied cynically. "More like favors of different kinds; taking her shopping, or telling poor John she'd spent the day with him."
Gracie chuckled. "So John wouldn't realize she'd been at the mall shopping again."
"Yes, exactly," Karen said. "I see you've heard about her little problem. She knew better than to ask any of us for money. Charlie and I don't have any to spare, Jason's always in debt up to his eyeballs, and Loretta just flat refuses even though she's got plenty. I don't think Ashley even answered the phone when Robbie called. She'd try to bribe us, asking us to take her side in some fight with the others and promising to give us money if we did. Once she took a notion that Ashley had stolen a dinner ring from her; really it had belonged to Ashley's mother. An aunt had given the ring to Ashley after she was grown and I guess Robbie thought the aunt should've given it to Ashley's father, meaning to her. Robbie told Charlie she'd give him $1,000 if he'd swear his step-daddy had given it to her."
"Let me guess," Gracie said. "Charlie suddenly claimed to remember seeing the ring in Robbie's jewelry box, but Robbie never paid up."
Karen tilted her head to one side, eyeing Gracie. "How ever did you know? That's exactly what happened! I think Charlie really believed he'd seen it there, seen her wear it. Ashley was fit to be tied, but the aunt had passed and there wasn't anyone else to say different. Ashley took the ring off her finger and handed it to Robbie. Said it wasn't worth causing trouble for her step-brother."
"Wow, really? I guess it was worth something, or Robbie wouldn't have wanted it."
Karen laughed; the first real emotion Gracie had seen her exhibit. "Turned out to be paste. And yes, I'm sure! Charlie was with her when she took it to the jewelry store so it wasn't just another one of her stories. She threw it in the trash and he dug it out when she wasn't looking and gave it back to Ashley."
"So Charlie's close to his brother and sisters," Gracie said.
"Yes and no," Karen replied. "He'd like to be close to Loretta; after all, they're brother and sister so they should have a lot in common. Charlie learned to work for love and acceptance, but Loretta learned not to trust anyone, even those that should be close to her. Ashley and Theresa should've been in much the same boat, growing up with Robbie as a stepmother, but apparently neither of them wants to be close to the rest of the siblings. Maybe it reminds them of things they'd rather not remember."
"Isn't Jason a lot younger?" Gracie asked. "I'm sorry, that didn't sound very nice."
Karen waved it off. "He is, and he's never made much effort to be really friendly with Charlie, Loretta, or Ashley. I think Theresa moved away when he was just a baby so he never knew her. He doesn't say it, but I think he feels better than them. Because he was the youngest and favorite, you know. I bet he thinks he'll get all her money, too."
"Karen, I know this isn't any of my business, but have you found Robbie's Will?"
Karen fixed her with an odd stare. "That policeman told us you're a suspect too, since you were at Robbie's house Thursday evening. Until he catches the killer I think that makes it your business. Meredith said you were a smart young lady, and if you can help him then you need answers to whatever questions you ask. The answer is, I don't think so. Charlie thought Jason said he'd found the Will, but he must've misunderstood because Jason says not."
Gracie thought about what Loretta had told her regarding Robbie's constant threats to cut various children out of her Will. That went right along with the story Ashley had just told. "Did Robbie ever say anything to Charlie about what he might inherit?"
Karen rolled her eyes. "Countle
ss times. If he was a good boy she'd promise to give him everything; sometimes though the favor was only worth offering to share it with Jason or one of the others. If she was mad at him she'd threaten to leave it to one of the other kids. I used to laugh about it because it didn't make any difference; she had no money to leave anyone."
"And then she married John and suddenly it wasn't so funny," Gracie said.
"You know, even then it was funny because I thought she'd spend every penny John had so what difference did it make?"
"Well, I certainly hope that you and Charlie get something from his mother; you deserve it after putting up with her."
Karen smiled tiredly. "Thanks, Gracie. Me, too."
Both women turned to stare at the front door as they heard a key turn in the lock. Charlie strode in, then stopped to look at his wife as if wondering why she was just sitting in her chair.
"Good evening, Mr. Wheeler," Gracie said.
Charlie turned to look at her in surprise. "You're Meredith's friend. What are you doing here?"
"I just came by to offer my condolences on your mother's death. I know how difficult it is to lose someone you love, and I'd like to offer my help if you should need anything."
Charlie looked skeptical. "Thanks, I guess, but we don't need anyone's help. There's nothing to help with until we can give her a decent burial."
Gracie knew when she wasn't wanted. She took a last drink of her water, more to show Charlie that Karen had been hospitable than anything else. She set it down on the coffee table and stood up. "Mr. Wheeler, I am truly sorry for your loss. I'll be going now. Good night."
Karen gave Gracie a grateful look as Charlie held the front door open for her. She started across the porch expecting to hear the door slam behind her, but when the sound didn't come she lingered on the top step.
"Charlie, she was only trying to be nice," Karen said as if placating a child.
"She'll run tell Meredith everything you said," Charlie retorted.
Gracie slunk down the steps, knowing that was exactly what she would do.
CHAPTER 73
Monday
"You are not imposing!" Meredith said. "I love having the company and besides, it gives me an excuse to eat pizza." She licked her lips in an exaggerated fashion.
"I just hope Gracie and Cheryl leave you some," Kelly said.
Cheryl stuck out her tongue at him, then picked up another slice of pizza.
"You kids eat all you want," Meredith said. "I've already had my dinner, but I can't resist one piece of pizza. And thank you for bringing it, Kelly. That was very nice."
"I thought Gracie would never get home tonight," Shawna complained around a mouthful of pizza. "I thought condolence calls were supposed to be short."
"That's because she was trying to get information out of them, silly," Cheryl reminded her. "She had to pretend she was sorry, she couldn't just ask them questions."
"And now she'll tell us all what she's learned," Meredith said. She took a bite of pizza and made an ecstatic face.
"Like you said, Robbie played one kid against the others," Gracie began. "Everyone says that, so it must be true. They all seem to think Robbie had a Will, but said she was always threatening to change it. She'd tell one kid she was cutting them out because they didn't do what she wanted. Or tell another they'd get more because they did her a favor."
"So no one knows what it says?" Shawna asked.
Gracie shook her head as she chewed and swallowed. "Jason told me he thought he knew where it was, except that it wasn't there. I thought that sounded reasonable for someone as inconsistent as Robbie Redmond. But he carried on with a story about how he hadn't seen the Will in over a year and how his brother and sister didn't have access to the safety deposit box. It just sounded like too many details, you know what I mean?"
"Embroidered," Meredith said. "All the details are meant to make it sound more realistic when it was a simple fact to begin with. It begs the question of why he felt the need to add those details."
"Yeah, that's it!" Gracie said. "Why didn't he just shrug and say it wasn't in the box? And there's something else. Karen Stubblefield told me that Charlie thought Jason had the Will but later he said he didn't. She thought Charlie had just misunderstood. But what if he hadn't?"
"Which would mean that Jason had the Will at one point, and now he doesn't," Kelly said. "Or says he doesn't."
"Why would he lie if he's got it?" Shawna asked.
"The obvious answer is that he gets all the money and Charlie, Ashley, and whats-her-face, Loretta, get squat," Cheryl replied. "That would give him motive to kill her."
"Oh!" Shawna said. "But he didn't do it so he doesn't want Ken to know. Then when the real killer is caught he'll suddenly 'find' the Will and get the money."
"Or he did kill her and thinks he'll get away with it because he's set it up to point to someone else," Meredith said. "Like me."
"So, he waits until Ms. Rodgers gets unfairly convicted and then comes up with the Will and gets all the money," Shawna said. "But what if Ken doesn't arrest her? How long would he have to wait?"
Meredith shrugged. "Depends on how long the investigation goes on, I guess. At some point he'll need the money so badly that he'll be willing to admit to having the Will. He can always claim he found it tucked away in a book or something. It'll probably raise suspicion with the detective, but that alone wouldn't be enough evidence to convict him."
"So it's a waiting game," Kelly remarked. "If Jason has the Will and if it leaves everything to him then he has to wait until either someone else is convicted, or is a strong enough suspect that Ken's not looking at him."
"Maybe it'll become a cold case and we'll never know who killed her," Shawna said.
"Not a chance!" Kelly told her. "Gracie will solve it," he said with conviction.
"You just don't want to date a murder suspect," Cheryl joked.
"No, that's not it at all," Kelly protested. "I know Gracie didn't commit murder, and I'll stick by her no matter what anyone else says."
Gracie smiled across the table at him. "Thanks."
"But I'm not sure just how long Jason can wait. Won't the rest of the family want to probate the Estate as soon as possible?" Cheryl asked.
"He could probably put 'em off for awhile," Gracie said. "After all, if he's the one she gave access to the Will then she probably named him Personal Representative."
Shawna shook her head in confusion. "What difference does that make? Wouldn't he have to have the Will to prove that?"
Gracie winced. "Well, yeah. But Charlie's not the type to push it; he wouldn't want to take that responsibility himself. Ashley's PR of Mr. Redmond's Estate, so I doubt she could act as PR of Robbie's. And I seriously doubt Loretta cares about the money; she's got plenty. They'd all probably prefer Jason do all the work, and not squawk too loud if he didn't get started right away. Especially if he keeps telling them he's waiting to find the Will."
"What happens if he never finds it?" Shawna inquired.
"Exactly what happened to John's Estate," Meredith replied. "The judge will rule she died intestate and state law will dictate who inherits and how much they get. I'd think the five kids would each get a fifth. That'll piss everyone off since it means Theresa will get her fair share."
"And what happens if it's all done and the money's been divided up and then Jason feels safe enough to produce the real Will?" Shawna asked the next logical question.
Meredith chuckled. "I asked my lawyer that very same question. Because I can't figure out why Robbie wouldn't submit John's real Will to the court if she had it, and I didn't want to go through all this only to have her waltz in at the last minute saying 'Lookee what I found.'" She mimed waving a piece of paper in the air. "He said it's entirely possible that the Will would prevail and the money would be re-distributed accordingly." She looked depressed at the idea.
"Probably especially if Robbie's Will gives it all to Jason," Cheryl commented.
"Why wouldn't Rob
bie give the Will if she had it?" Shawna asked. "She'd get more money that way."
"I think she believed the entire Estate would go to her without a Will," Meredith said with a shrug.
"Didn't you say that Loretta claimed your brother's Trustee said there wasn't much money in the Estate?" Gracie asked. "And that you'd gotten your inheritance with that sports car?"
"Yeah, but remember I don't necessarily believe anything Loretta says," Meredith replied.
"What if Robbie thought she could just quietly close out his bank accounts and not probate the Estate?"
"She can't do that!" Cheryl exclaimed. When everyone turned their attention to her she explained. "When my uncle passed..."
"The one with the wife with the drinking problem?" Shawna asked.
"No, another uncle. I've got a big family," Cheryl said. "Anyway, his wife marched down to the bank the very next day and tried to close out his account. They told her the account was frozen and she couldn't get the money."
"How did they know?" Kelly asked. "It was only the next day."
Cheryl shrugged. "I don't know, she didn't say. But she was plenty mad about it, I can tell you that!"
"Did your uncle die in a hospital?" Meredith asked.
"Yeah, why?" Cheryl said.
"The hospital probably notified all the relevant authorities," Meredith said.
"Oh, yeah!" Cheryl said. "They've probably got some computer app that sends the info to all the banks and, oh, I don't know, whoever else needs to know that he died."
"The Social Security Administration, if he was old enough to be on it," Meredith said. "John was on Social Security, and Loretta said Robbie was frantic at first because they quit sending his checks and she didn't know how she was going to pay the bills. That was one of her statements that I tend to believe."
"But they were married," Kelly said. "Didn't they have both names on the account? My folks do."
Cheryl shook her head. "Not this account. This aunt is where I get my clothing gene from. She always looked like a million dollars, and my uncle used to say that's exactly what it cost."
