Murder at Catfish Corner: A Maggie Morgan Mystery

by Michelle Goff

  Maggie put the photos into her purse and the women stood to leave as the wind and rain picked up. Just then, Maggie remembered something she needed to ask Stella. “Hey,” she yelled. “Who gets the houses?”

  “My daughter,” Hazel said as she walked backwards out of the park. “She’s going to surprise her uncle Den and sign the homeplace over to him next time she comes home.”

  It was hard to see through the quickening rain, but Maggie thought she saw a smile on Stella’s face. Although she was unsure about that, she knew one thing. She wouldn’t be able to reach her car before the rain began coming down in sheets. She decided to duck inside the park’s gazebo and wait out the storm. She reached it just as a man also darted inside. As Maggie bent over to shake the water from her head, she said to him, “It looks like we had the same idea.”

  “I guess it’s true what they say about great minds thinking alike.”

  Maggie recognized the voice. “Seth, are you following me?” she asked.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “No, I’m not following you, but that’s the second time you’ve accused me.” Seth smiled. “You know, maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe you’re following me.”

  Maggie did not find him amusing. “What are you doing here?”

  “The same thing you’re doing, seeking shelter from a storm.”

  “Why were you roaming the streets when it started raining?”

  Seth chuckled. “I wouldn’t characterize my actions as roaming the streets. I was in the mood for a sub and I thought I could beat the storm. I misjudged. As long as we’re accusing each other of maleficence, why are you loitering in the park?”

  “I’m not loitering. I was –”

  “Sleuthing?”

  Maggie chewed the inside of her lip. “As a matter of fact, I was. I met with Hazel Baker’s sister, Stella.”

  Seth walked to the edge of the gazebo and looked toward the sky. “It’s not letting up. As long as we’re here, do you want to talk over the case?”

  That’s one option, Maggie thought to herself as she watched the rain fall from the sky in waves. Or, she thought, I could make a run for it. The car is only a block away. It’s just water. My body, hair, and clothes will eventually dry. Yet, despite her attempts to convince herself otherwise, Maggie didn’t find the prospect of running through a torrential downpour or suffering through a wet car ride appealing, so she said, “I could use a springboard, but that doesn’t mean I need any attitude.”

  “Attitude? I’m the one with an attitude?” Seth laughed. “Okay. What have you got?”

  Maggie shared the highlights of her investigation, including the photos from Catfish Corner.

  Seth pored over the photos and said, “These could be something or they could be nothing.”

  “Way to commit yourself, Detective Heyward.”

  “Hey, a cigarette lighter in eastern Kentucky is not exactly rare.”

  “I know. I thought of that,” Maggie said. “But Earl David Osborne and Fallon both smoke. And from the looks of Fallon’s eyes, she obviously invests in eye makeup. I don’t know much about box cutters or jewelry, for that matter. I guess I could ask Edie.”

  “When did she become an expert on box cutters?”

  “I was talking about the necklace. It doesn’t look expensive to me, but what do I know about jewelry? I don’t even wear earrings.” Maggie thumbed through the photos again. “You’re right, though. This could be nothing. I was thinking about going back over to Sassafras and talking to Earl David. He could tell me if his customers lost items on a regular basis and if anyone reported anything missing around the time of Hazel’s death.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Seth rubbed his face. “What about the brother? He looks like a viable suspect.”

  “Dennis?”

  “He’s gaining a house from Hazel’s death.”

  “Dennis is, um, how do I say this? Different.”

  “Different how?”

  “I thought he had a developmental disorder.”

  “Really?”

  “He barely made eye contact with me or even spoke to me. If Stella hadn’t been there, I’m not sure he would have been able to speak.”

  Seth raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure about that? Are you sure it wasn’t an act to gain your sympathy?”

  “No, I’m not entirely sympathetic toward him. To tell the truth, he got on my nerves.”

  “And that makes you feel guilty? Right?”

  As much as it pained Maggie, she admitted the truth to herself and to Seth. “Yes, it makes me feel like a bad person. Irrespective of that, it couldn’t have been an act because Sylvie Johnson knows the family and she refers to Dennis as a weirdo.”

  “Weirdos commit murder every day. In fact, most people probably think you have to be at least a little off in order to take a life.”

  “But Dennis is weird in a passive way. If you had met him, you wouldn’t consider him a suspect. You would consider him a victim of circumstance.”

  “You can’t rule out anybody and he’s gotten what he wanted. Of course, so has Stella.”

  Maggie couldn’t believe Seth was giving voice to her doubts. “Do you think she’s misleading me?”

  “Not necessarily, but it’s wise of you to consider the source of your information.”

  “The same could be said of Earnest. He has an agenda, too.”

  “Yes, he does. Everyone has an agenda. Don’t forget that.”

  “I won’t and as long as I’m in Sassafras, I’ll talk to Dennis again. Maybe he’ll be more engaging if he doesn’t have Stella prodding him. Maybe I’ll talk to Dr. Griffith, too. I got the feeling she didn’t appreciate Stella calling her Vanessa.”

  “That sounds like a plan to me.”

  Maggie noticed the rain had slackened. “It’s looking better out there,” she said. “I think we can venture out without worrying about melting.”

  “I think you’re right and it’s not a moment too soon. I’m starving.”

  “Thanks for your help.” Maggie made it to the bottom of the gazebo steps before turning and asking, “Hey, Seth, do you think there’s something there? Do you think she could have been murdered? Or am I wasting my time?”

  Seth shrugged. “I don’t know, but whether it was an accident or murder, you need to find out why she was out there that night. You also need to keep your guard up and maintain your distance from the suspects.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  After her usual Saturday morning breakfast with her parents, Maggie headed to Sassafras with two cans of kraut for Boone Osborne and the fervent wish for a productive and enlightening day. She visited briefly with Boone, who gave her two jars of honey to share with her parents, before walking to Catfish Corner. Earl David was using a weed eater to trim the grass around the lake. When he saw her, he cut off the machine.

  “Hey,” Maggie said. “I don’t know if you remember me.”

  “I never forget a pretty face,” Earl David said. “The lake don’t open for another half hour, but if you’ve got your fishing gear in your car, I’ll let you sneak in.”

  “No, I’m not here to fish.” Maggie gestured toward Boone’s, “I brought your uncle some fresh kraut. When he was at the house a couple weeks ago, he told us that his sister-in-law has done the canning for him since his wife died, but that she ruins every mess of kraut that she tries to can.”

  Earl David nodded. “Mom can’t can kraut to suit Uncle Boone, that’s for sure.”

  “Oh, my God.” Maggie covered her mouth with her hand. “That’s your mom? If I had known, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

  Earl David lit a cigarette. “Don’t worry about it. She knows how he feels. Uncle Boone ain’t one to hide his feelings. You can’t say she don’t try, though.”

  “He says it’s because she doesn’t follow the signs.” Maggie rolled her eyes. “The way I see it, the moon has about as much to do with turning kraut brown as it does with making biscuits rise.”

&
nbsp; Earl David exhaled smoke and laughed. “I like that. You’re not just pretty, you’re awful smart, too.” He leaned against the fence and winked. “If you didn’t come out here to fish, what did you come out here for?”

  Maggie let his flirtation pass without comment. “I wanted to ask you some more questions about Hazel Baker’s drowning.”

  “Now, I done told you and Miss Martin everything I know about that.”

  Maggie pulled copies of the photos from her purse. “I guess you could say something’s come up and I was wondering if any of your customers reported losing items around the time of Hazel’s death.”

  Earl David’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “No, why would you ask something like that?”

  Maggie handed the copies to him. “The police found these items around the lake that morning.”

  Earl David took quick successive draws from his cigarette as he looked at the photos.

  “Is it commonplace for customers to leave things at the lake?” Maggie asked.

  Earl David flicked the stub of the cigarette onto the ground and lit another one with a blue Bic lighter. “Ah, you wouldn’t believe the stuff I find around here. Billfolds, glasses, keys. One feller even lost his teeth. Hey, I’ve got to get this weed eating done, but that stuff in those pictures, I ain’t never seen any of that before.”

  I didn’t ask if you had seen them, Maggie thought to herself.

  When no one answered at Dennis’ trailer, Maggie said, “Rats,” and looked around the sparse lawn as if she expected Dennis to materialize among the dandelions. “As long as I’m here,” she said to herself, “I’ll drive up the road and see if Fallon’s home.”

  Fallon’s shiny new car was in the driveway, and Dennis was there, too, power washing the house. Maggie decided to visit with Fallon until Dennis took a break from his chore. When Fallon came to the door, Maggie was taken aback by the young woman’s appearance. Fallon’s resemblance to a raccoon was more striking than it had been on Maggie’s first visit. Her tanned face and blue eyes had reddened from crying and her ample eye makeup had smeared and run.

  When Maggie asked her what had happened, Fallon resumed crying and handed Maggie a piece of paper. Maggie read the eviction letter and winced.

  “I’m sorry, Fallon, but look on the bright side, if you find a bigger place to live, you can get the rest of the bedroom set.”

  “I can’t afford a bigger place.” Her attempt to wipe away tears from her eyes only succeeded in making dark tears run down her face.

  “Where’s your bathroom?” Maggie asked.

  “Down the hall,” Fallon sniffed.

  Maggie walked down the short hallway and into the bathroom. She turned on the bathroom faucet and opened the cabinet to look for a wash cloth. She picked up a burgundy cloth and started to close the cabinet door when a black eyeliner pencil grabbed her attention. She stepped out of the bathroom and looked down the hall before picking up the pencil. “It looks like the one found near Hazel’s body,” she whispered to herself, “but it is a popular brand. There might even be one in my bathroom.” She put the pencil in the cabinet, warmed the cloth, and returned to the living room.

  Maggie handed the cloth to the still-sobbing Fallon. “Wash your face with this. It will make you feel better.”

  Fallon wiped her face. “Nothing will make me feel better. I don’t know what me and Cullen are going to do.”

  “Where is Cullen?”

  “With his dad.”

  “Fallon, I know this is none of my business, but does Cullen’s dad pay child support?”

  The warm wash cloth made Fallon’s young face appear even softer. “I’ll give him that much. He takes care of Cullen, but the mines he was working at closed down. He’s found another job, but it don’t pay that much.”

  “Between child support and your salary, I’m sure you can find a place that’s just as good, if not better, than this one.”

  “No, this place was perfect for us. Me and Cullen never had it so good.” She fell back onto the sofa and smoothed the wash cloth on her brown legs. “It wasn’t supposed to work out like this. Everything was supposed to be taken care of.”

  “Taken care of? What do you mean by that, Fallon?”

  Without looking at Maggie, Fallon said, “I think I’ll take a nap.”

  When Maggie stepped outside, she didn’t hear the motor of the power washer. Deducing that Dennis had taken a break, she followed the extension cord until she found him on the back steps chugging a sports drink.

  “That’s a good idea,” Maggie said, pointing to the bottle of orange liquid. “It’s important to stay hydrated on a hot, humid day like this.”

  Dennis looked at the sports drink like he had never seen it before.

  “Do you mind if I talk to you while you rest?”

  He seemed confused by her question, but nodded his head.

  Although Maggie wasn’t sure if the nod meant he did or did not mind, she sat on the bottom of Cullen’s green slide and pulled her knees to her chest. “So, Dennis, do you like taking care of the house?”

  “I like being outside.”

  His semi-direct answer took Maggie by surprise, but she quickly recovered. “It is nice to get outside and work in the fresh air, especially if you spend your week inside an office.” When Dennis failed to maintain his side of the conversation, Maggie added, “What’s your favorite thing to do outside?”

  “I like to fish.”

  Finally, this man gives me a good answer, Maggie thought to herself. “It must have been convenient having a sister who lived beside a pay lake. Do you ever go fishing at Catfish Corner?”

  “No, Hazel didn’t like the pay lake, so I didn’t go there. I go to the riverbank with my cousins.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  Dennis downed the last of the orange drink, closed the lid on the bottle, and placed it beside him on the steps. “I went fishing with Stella’s husband when he was living. His friend had a boat. We went out on that boat and spent whole days on the water. Fishing and eating hamburgers.”

  Maggie looked into Dennis’ sad doughy face and said, “That sounds like fun, too. Did your sisters go with you?”

  “Sometimes. My niece went sometimes, too. She came in for Hazel’s funeral services. She called me the other night and said she’d have a surprise next time she comes in.” He bent his head and stared at Maggie. “You know, you remind me of her. Of my niece.”

  “I do? In what way?”

  “You’re both really sweet girls. You care about people. You can see it in your faces.”

  Maggie rested her chin on her knees. “Thank you, Dennis.”

  “Stella is there now. At my niece’s. She asked me to go, but I couldn’t get off work and, besides, Hazel didn’t like me going off and leaving the place unattended.”

  “Hazel’s gone now, Dennis. Can’t you do what you want?”

  “I am. I want to take care of the house.”

  Maggie looked around the yard. It was certainly in better shape than Dennis’ browning lawn. The grass was low and green and not one dandelion or wild violet was in sight. Of course, Maggie liked dandelions and wild violets and couldn’t understand why people made such a fuss about ridding their lawns of what they considered weeds and she referred to as flowers. But at least no one could say Dennis couldn’t take care of the property. She wondered what Earnest would think of Dennis’ landscaping skills. “What about Earnest?” she suddenly asked. “Did he go out on the boat?”

  “Once, but he said it made him queasy. He spent most of the time below deck.” Dennis smiled. “Stella called Earnest a big baby. She told Hazel to leave her big baby at home and come out and have some fun with us. But Hazel didn’t go with us again after the time Earnest got queasy.”

  “Did you like Earnest?”

  “He was okay. We didn’t have much to say to each other. I liked Stella’s husband. I liked him a lot.”

  “You like Stella a lot, too, don’t you?”


  “I do. I liked Hazel, too, but Stella is …” Dennis trailed off before adding, “When we all lived here, when we were younger, we had a dog that had a litter of puppies. I liked all the puppies, but there was one we named Patch. He was solid white except for a black circle around his eye.” Dennis made a circular motion around his right eye. “It looked like an eye patch. He was my favorite. I liked him more than the others.” Dennis looked down. “We found him one day when we got home from school. He had been run over.”

  A lump formed in Maggie’s throat. “I’m so sorry, Dennis.”

  “It’s all right. It was a long time ago. And it’s not like I didn’t like the other ones. I just liked Patch more.”

  “And you like Stella more than you liked Hazel. There’s nothing wrong with that. We can’t change how we feel about people.”

  “Did Fallon tell you that she and Cullen will be moving?”

  “She did,” Maggie said.

  “I thought it would be different.”

  Maggie swallowed and the lump in her throat disappeared. She knew it wasn’t her place to tell Dennis that he soon would be taking possession of the house, but she did say, “It will be different. Fallon won’t be living here.”

  The faraway look in Dennis’ eyes suggested he had not heard Maggie. “I’m going to talk to Stella. Maybe she won’t be like Hazel. Maybe she’ll listen.”

  After leaving Dennis to his power-washing duties, Maggie joined Dr. Griffith at the dairy bar. She had intended to order a plain grilled chicken sandwich, but after her confusing encounters with Fallon and Dennis, she switched to a footlong hot dog and fries. She detected disappointment in Dr. Griffith’s eyes.

  Maggie attempted an explanation. “I’m usually a salad girl like you, but sometimes you have to treat yourself.”

  “Don’t feel you need to convince me. Believe me, when it comes to health and nutrition, most of my colleagues and I operate on a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ policy. I draw the line at hot dogs, though. Yuck. But the only thing keeping me from inhaling a cheeseburger is a dinner date with my husband. We’re having Italian and I have to save room for fettuccini.” The doctor speared a cherry tomato with her fork and changed the subject. “As I explained on the phone, I don’t understand why you wanted to speak to me again. I don’t know how I can help.”