He nodded. “I hadn’t seen her that mad since Earnest left her.”
“Did you tell her about your,” Maggie paused, “arrangement with Fallon?”
“You mean that Fallon’s my girlfriend?”
Maggie raised her eyebrows. “Your girlfriend?”
“I had thought about telling my sisters about us, but I didn’t think they’d understand. And Hazel didn’t. She said some pretty mean things and then told Fallon she had to move.”
Maggie studied the balding, aging, heavyset boy child who stood swaying left and right to a beat only he could hear. He had held down a job for three decades and paid his bills every month, yet he had lived for more than fifty years with an apparent misunderstanding of how the world worked. “Fallon said you told her you’d take care of the situation.”
“I did.”
“What? Take care of it? How?”
“I talked to Hazel. At least I tried to talk to her. She wouldn’t listen. She threatened to tell Stella and my niece. I told her that was okay with me. I wanted them to know. I wanted everyone to know. But she had twisted everything around.” Dennis squeezed his crossed arms and hunched his shoulders. “She had made it sound ugly.”
“Is that what you and Hazel talked about the night she died? Fallon’s rent?”
“I called her one last time to try to convince her to see it our way. Mine and Fallon’s. But she still wouldn’t listen.”
“Dennis, did you drive over to Hazel’s that night?”
Dennis, who had resumed looking at the carpet, raised his eyes to meet Maggie’s and asked, “Why would I do that?”
After Maggie had found the email exchanges between Hazel and Earnest, she had called Brandi and requested an interview with her husband.
“Why? Ain’t you left this alone yet?” Brandi had asked Maggie.
“No, I haven’t.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking. I know I told you I thought Earnest killed Hazel, but that was just my emotions talking. I was under a lot of stress.”
“I’ve been under a lot of stress, too, Brandi. All these trips to Sassafras have gotten the best of me. And not to mention the stress of having someone vandalize my car.”
“All right. Come by a little after noon. That will give him time to get home from church.”
Maggie left Dennis’ trailer right at noon. The rain stopped en route to Brandi and Earnest’s house and a blinding sun peeked out from behind the clouds. “Please let this be an omen of good things to come,” she said as she turned into the driveway.
She heard the raised voices from the porch. The shouting didn’t stop when she rang the doorbell. In fact, it became clearer and, before Brandi opened the door, Maggie determined that the subject of a nap had for some reason enraged Brandi.
Brandi opened the door, shrieking over her shoulder all the while.
“I told you we was having company and you couldn’t take no nap. Well, company’s here.”
Earnest slouched into the foyer, but his scowl turned into a smile when he saw Maggie. “Miss Morgan. This is a surprise.”
Brandi spun around and yelled in her husband’s face, “Stop flirting with her. She ain’t interested in an old fart like you. She ain’t that desperate yet.”
Earnest turned his head and held up a hand as if to deflect the noise. “I’m not flirting. I’m being friendly.” He looked to Maggie. “What occasion has brought you to our door today?”
“That fancy talk ain’t going to get you nowhere with her and why do you think she’s here, dummy? She wants to talk about your dead ex-wife.”
Earnest’s face crumbled. “Now, I told you everything I know about that.”
“May I come in?” Maggie asked.
Earnest said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Come on in,” Brandi said.
Over Earnest’s protests, Maggie followed Brandi into the living room. Brandi fell onto the sofa and fixed her eyes on the TV. Maggie recognized the show, Snapped, which detailed the stories of real-life women who lose control and, in most cases, kill their significant other.
“If somebody don’t change his ways, you’re going to see me on this show one of these days.”
Brandi’s threat didn’t seem to faze Earnest, who stood beside the sofa, saying, “This doesn’t concern me.”
“Would you sit down,” Brandi said. “You know I hate it when you stand over top me.”
Earnest did as requested as Maggie pulled her notepad and copies of the email messages from her purse.
“What’s that?” Brandi nodded toward the papers.
“It’s what I wanted to talk about today. Brandi, would you mind turning down the volume on the TV? Thanks. Is your daughter here?”
“No, Paradice is at my sister’s. It’s where I wanted to be, but I never get what I want.”
Maggie closed her eyes and counted to ten before addressing Earnest. “Stella allowed me to look at Hazel’s computer.”
“So?”
He might have been flirting earlier, Maggie thought to herself, but not now. “I was able to access her email.” She handed the papers to Earnest. “Do you remember engaging in these conversations with Hazel about your pension? Do you remember telling her you had borrowed against your pension and requesting she agree to amend your divorce agreement?”
“What?” Brandi snatched the papers from Maggie’s hands before Earnest could review them. She read them and threw them at Earnest. “So, me and Paradice are costing you too much money? We don’t ask for nothing we don’t need. It ain’t our fault you’re a tightwad who don’t want to let loose of a dime. You didn’t even want to buy her those ballet shoes she needed.”
“Ballet is expensive. I tried to tell you that, but you have no grasp of money management. You might understand the value of a dollar if you actually earned it,” Earnest said.
“Believe you me, I earn every dollar I spend.”
Maggie cleared her throat. “Earnest, did you know that Hazel went to the post office the same time every day?”
“Of course. Everybody knew that. She went to the post office every day at three o’clock. What does that have to do with anything?”
Earnest’s tone of voice and glowering face reminded Maggie of an insolent teenager. “Does that mean you didn’t just happen to run into her that day at the post office? You know, a couple days before she died.”
“Ha,” Brandi slapped Earnest’s chest. “She’s got you there.”
“No, I ran into her just like I told you.”
“Did you talk about your retirement that day? How did she react when you suggested amending the divorce agreement?” Maggie asked.
Earnest shook his head and said, “No, no, no.”
In a soft voice that betrayed her earlier shenanigans, Brandi said, “Why don’t you just tell us what happened. It will be okay.”
Earnest took a sip from a can of diet soda sitting on the coffee table. “She wouldn’t listen to reason. I told her that if she had ever loved me, she’d give me that money. I needed it more than she did. She was drawing her Social Security and I know she saved for her own retirement. The house was paid off and she collected rent on her mommy’s house every month. She wanted it out of meanness. I never realized how mean she was until I divorced her. She always did exactly what I wanted,” he sighed, “until I left her.”
“Did you see her or talk to her after that day at the post office?’
“I tried calling her, but she wouldn’t answer.”
“Did you go to her house? Did you –”
“Unh-uh,” Brandi said, springing to her feet. “I don’t like where this is going. You have to leave.”
“Brandi, I can talk to her.”
Brandi bent over and put her hands around each side of Earnest’s face. “You don’t have to say one more word to her, baby.” She stood and faced Maggie, who had gathered her belongings and risen from the chair. “Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”
&nbs
p; Chapter Twenty-Eight
Stella happened to be home, so Maggie swung by her house to bring her up-to-date on the day’s developments. When she told her about finding the email messages between Earnest and Hazel and Brandi abruptly ending the interview, Stella clapped her hands.
“I knew it,” she said. “I told you Earnest killed my sister. We need to call the police.”
“Not so fast,” Maggie cautioned. “There are other suspects.”
“Who? Earl David? He shouldn’t have left her out there, but I can’t believe he would have intentionally hurt her.”
“What about Fallon? Or Dennis? Do you think they would have intentionally hurt her?”
The confused look on Stella’s face became more pronounced as Maggie explained Hazel’s discovery of Dennis and Fallon’s relationship as well as her intention to evict Fallon.
“I don’t believe what you’re saying. Brother and Fallon? That can’t be right.”
“According to the involved parties, it is.”
“Why didn’t Hazel tell me about this?”
“Maybe she was trying to protect you or maybe she was planning on telling you later.”
Stella brought her hands together as if in prayer. “How am I going to tell my daughter?”
“I’m sorry that I had to be the one to give you this news. I know this can’t be easy for you. It seems like you’re enduring one painful revelation after another.” Maggie paused. “But you have to consider the possibility that Dennis killed Hazel.”
“No, he’s not capable of hurting someone.”
“Ten minutes ago, did you think he was capable of having a relationship with Fallon?”
“I’m going to be sick,” Stella said and ran from the room.
Although the day had proven informative, it hadn’t illuminated matters for Maggie. She spent the next couple days mentally reviewing the list of suspects and motives. Then, she called Seth.
“I hate to bother you,” she said.
“You’re no bother. What’s up?”
“It’s the Hazel Baker death. By my count, six people had a motive to kill her and that’s only counting the people I know about. There could be dozens of other folks she ticked off. She was one disagreeable woman.”
Seth chuckled. “The last time we talked, Brandi Baker had smashed your car window and accused her husband of murder. What’s happened since then?”
“I guess I should start with the receipt.”
When Maggie finished talking, Seth whistled. “You’re right about Hazel Baker. She doesn’t sound like a nice person. Be that as it may, you don’t have a right to take a life even if you catch somebody trying to pour bleach on your catfish. By the way, the state police need to know about that. They need to know Earl David Osborne caught her in the process of damaging his property.”
“Why? After all, if she wasn’t murdered, then it’s not like he failed to report a crime.”
“Don’t split hairs with me, Maggie. Take what you have to the state police. If you’d like, I can go with you.”
“But if they didn’t think it was murder when she died, why would my suspicions change their minds?”
“Because it sounds like, at the very least, Mr. Osborne lied by omission to the police. He also moved the bleach and the hand cart. They need to talk to him.”
Maggie groaned. “Can it wait until tomorrow? Luke and I are going to Edie and Ben’s for a cookout. Edie wants to get together before Luke and I leave for vacation.”
“Where are you going? I hope it’s somewhere fun.”
“We’re driving to the Grand Canyon on Saturday.”
“Well, you have a safe and fun-filled trip. And this can wait until tomorrow. Go grab a burger and a hot dog at Edie’s, but if I don’t hear from you by the end of the day tomorrow, I know where to find you.”
“Why is it that you can only get a man to cook if it involves a grill?”
“That’s not true,” Maggie corrected Edie. “Luke’s a good cook.”
“Maybe he can teach Ben. He can’t even make toast.”
Maggie looked out the French doors to the patio where the men stood over a grill. “Do you think we ought to join them?”
“Absolutely not. It’s too hot to breathe out there. I intend to stay inside this cool house and work on this necklace until Ben serves up a hot, juicy burger.”
Edie concentrated on the wire that lay in front of her on the dining room table. Maggie had been skeptical when Edie had developed an interest in making jewelry several months back. She felt sure this hobby would go the way of Edie’s previous and short-lived pursuits of knitting, bread making, and scrapbooking. But Edie’s perseverance had surprised and impressed Maggie.
Maggie leaned over the table and asked, “What are you working on this time?”
“It’s a bird’s nest necklace. I’m giving it to a friend from the bank. Her baby shower is this weekend.”
When Maggie’s eyes settled on the pearl wrapped inside the sterling silver wire, she knew what she would have to do. Only this time, Sassafras would come to her.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Although Maggie had chosen the time – noon – and location – the park – she started doubting herself at one minute past the hour. What if I’m dealing with a no-show, she thought to herself. Or a sniper? She turned and looked at the mountains across the road. Years earlier, while she and her parents had listened to bluegrass music in the park during Moonshiner Days, another festival-goer had alerted them to a man lurking in the hills. Lena had immediately suspected the man on the mountain of harboring ill will, especially when a festival-goer with binoculars noticed he was holding something long in his hands.
“It’s a gun,” somebody had exclaimed.
Luckily, before panic could overwhelm the crowd, the man on the mountain had planted a flag pole.
“Huh, it’s the American flag,” the festival-goer with binoculars had announced. “Now, why you reckon he’s putting a flag up on that hill?”
Although that incident had proven to be a false alarm, a sniper could have a scope aimed at her head that very minute. Or so Maggie feared.
Of course, it’s not like her number one suspect knew they were the number one suspect. Maggie had watched enough movies and true crime shows to know better than to level an accusation without cover. So, on the phone the evening before, she had simply said, “I have something to show you and it would be in your best interest to meet me. I’ve already briefed the police, but I’d like to hear from you before I take further action.”
Although an agreement had been made, by ten minutes after noon, Maggie’s lunch date had not arrived and she decided to take Seth up on his offer to accompany her to the state police post. She had unlocked her phone when Vanessa Griffith finally strode into the park and took a seat beside her on a park bench.
“I had to close the clinic for the afternoon. You’re denying my patients the care they need and deserve. Don’t make me regret taking another one of your calls.”
If I’m right, Maggie thought, the patients will be denied even more care and answering the phone won’t be the only thing you regret. “Vanessa, why do you think I asked to meet with you today?”
Vanessa fanned herself with her hand. “I imagine it has something to do with that absurd fraud accusation.”
“Not exactly.” Maggie squinted at the sun and felt grateful she had selected a bench shaded by a tree. Still, there was no denying the noon-day heat that pressed down upon her and she wanted to get through with this and return to an air-conditioned environment. “Vanessa, have you ever been to Catfish Corner?”
“Hanging out at a pay lake isn’t my idea of fun.”
“So, are you saying you’ve never been there?”
Vanessa stopped fanning herself. “Why are you asking that?”
“Why do you think?”
“I don’t have to sit here and take this.” Vanessa jumped to her feet and took two steps away from the bench.
�
�Don’t you want to see what I have to show you?”
Vanessa stood on the sidewalk for a full minute before turning to Maggie. “What is it?”
“Why don’t you come over here and sit by me?”
“Why don’t you just show it to me?”
Maggie held out the piece of paper and said, “It’s a copy, of course.”
Vanessa stared at the paper from where she stood. Although her expression didn’t change, she did take Maggie’s advice and returned to the bench.
“According to my friend who makes jewelry, it’s called a bird’s nest necklace,” Maggie said. “It was found at the lake the same morning Hazel’s body was found floating in the water. I’ve had the photo for weeks, but the necklace meant nothing to me until yesterday evening. Until then, it was simply a necklace with two pearls. But now I understand the significance. The pearls represent your children.”
“They were born in June. The pearl is their birthstone. My husband had his sister make the necklace for me. He presented it to me the day we brought the babies home.”
“And you lost the necklace the night Hazel died. Why were you there?”
Vanessa’s mouth quivered as she spoke. “You have no idea how hard it is to take care of twins. They never sleep at the same time and the girl is colicky. Car rides help, so when she started crying that night, I loaded her in the car and drove around. I didn’t plan to go to Hazel’s neighborhood, but that’s where we ended up. The baby had fallen asleep, so when I saw Hazel pulling that hand cart on the side of the road, I pulled into her driveway and watched her. I made sure the baby was still asleep and I walked to the lake.”
“Why was it so important to talk to Hazel that night?”
Vanessa wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “She hadn’t just stopped by the clinic to say hi. She had come there to make veiled threats about contacting the authorities.”
“About the fraud? She was right about that, wasn’t she?”
Vanessa raised her head slightly. “We’re good people, my husband and I. I could have made more money in private practice or working for a hospital, but I wanted to help the people of Sassafras. I didn’t want to let them down and I wanted to carry on my dad’s work, but property doesn’t come cheap and we over-extended ourselves with the house. And do you know how much it costs to adopt a baby? Well, try adopting two. It was an open adoption and we didn’t know she was expecting twins until we had settled on an agreement. Don’t get me wrong, I love our kids. We love our kids. We are so grateful for them, and I haven’t for one moment regretted bringing them into my life. They make me complete, but my God, it’s so hard. Our mothers help, but between the sleep deprivation and the expenses, I was already stressed to the max. Hazel made everything worse.”
Murder at Catfish Corner: A Maggie Morgan Mystery Page 15
