by Rose Pressey
“Are you still watching her?” Tammy looked over her shoulder again. “She’ll think you’re a stalker.”
“I can’t help it. I know there’s something that I’m missing.”
“Clearly you’re letting this investigation get the better of you.” Tammy played with her napkin.
I took a drink of water. “Maybe so, but I have to do what I can to solve the murder.”
I knew Tammy thought I shouldn’t be involved. She said it was too dangerous. Of course she was right, but again I didn’t do what was safe.
As I studied Melissa and tried to pretend that I wasn’t watching her, it hit me. “Ah-ha,” I blurted out.
Tammy set her glass down. “What?”
“The scarf around her neck.” I gestured with a tilt of my head.
Tammy peeked at the woman. “You’ve seen the scarf in a store? I have to tell you, Rip, it’s not that cute. So if you’re thinking of buying one, don’t.”
I could always count on Tammy to be honest with me. “No, that’s not it. Hank was wearing that scarf the night of his murder.”
Tammy stared at me with wide eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Like you said, I noticed how ugly it was.” I frowned.
“Don’t worry, she can’t hear you say how ugly it is. Maybe she has one just like his,” Tammy said.
“Matching scarves? That’s a big coincidence, don’t you think? Considering they weren’t married anymore?”
“I suppose they could still dress alike,” Tammy said.
“That would just be creepy,” I said.
The waitress brought our food. I couldn’t concentrate on eating because I was watching Melissa. Since I’d started watching she’d gotten her food and was almost finished eating.
“She’s going to catch you watching her.”
I stuffed a forkful of food into my mouth and chewed. When I finished I said, “I have to find a way to find out if that was his scarf.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t seem possible,” Tammy said.
“Nothing is impossible,” I said with a wink.
“You are going to get in trouble, aren’t you?” Tammy asked.
“Not if I can help it,” I said. “I just know that he was wearing that scarf the night he was murdered. What kind of sicko would murder someone and wear his clothing?”
“There are a lot of sick people in this world. I’ve heard of killers taking things from their victims as a sort of memento,” Tammy said.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of that too.”
“Do you think that’s the case with her?”
“It’s looking kind of like it, yes,” I said.
Tammy had been right. There was no way to prove that it was his scarf. I could tell Brannon, but what could he do?
Just then, as if she had heard us talking about her, Melissa looked over and noticed me watching her. I looked away quickly, but I knew she’d seen me. She’d looked right in my eyes. It was a creepy look too.
“She saw me,” I whispered.
Tammy coughed. “Uh-oh. What is she doing?”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid to look over at her again.”
“I’m starting to sweat,” Tammy said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait a second. I’ll look over at her again. Just let me get my nerve up.” I took a deep breath and released it.
I glanced over again, sure that I would either find her glaring at me or, worse, standing beside our table. Much to my surprise, Melissa was headed for the door.
“She’s leaving,” I whispered.
“Did she look at you?” Tammy asked.
“Not yet.” I didn’t take my eyes off her, although I was worried at any second she would look my way.
When she reached the door, she paused and looked right at me. I froze, unsure of what to do. She knew that I’d seen her, so I offered a halfhearted smile. She walked out the door. She didn’t smile in return, which wasn’t a good sign.
“What’s happening?” Tammy asked.
“She looked at me and I had no choice but to smile,” I whispered.
“Is she still here?” Tammy asked.
“No, she walked out the door and down the sidewalk the other way.”
“Then why are you still whispering?”
“Oh, I forgot. Anyway, I hope she’s not waiting for us when we go out there.”
“See, I told you getting involved would only bring trouble.”
“Yeah, I know. So how can I find out about the scarf?” I asked.
“Did you not listen to anything I said?”
“I listened, it’s just that I can’t actually follow your advice at the moment.”
Tammy placed her napkin on the table. “I don’t condone any of your behavior, just so you know.”
“Duly noted.” I took another drink of water. “Now back to the scarf.” I tapped my fingers against the table. That was when it hit me. “Sandra took pictures with him.”
“Didn’t you have your picture taken with him too?” Tammy asked.
“Yes, but he’d removed his coat, which would mean that he would have taken off his scarf too.”
“Maybe she had her picture taken with him before and he was still wearing the scarf.”
The waitress brought over our checks. I pulled Tammy’s over to my side.
“What are you doing?” Tammy asked.
“I’m paying for yours.”
“Why?” she asked with a frown.
“Because I scared you to death over dinner by staring at that woman.”
Tammy grinned. “You did do that.”
“So that’s why dinner’s on me.”
“Okay, I won’t argue with that. Maybe if you have to pay often you will stop doing it,” she said.
“Maybe,” I said with a smile.
I pushed to my feet and Tammy followed me to the register. I handed over my card to the woman behind the register.
While I waited, I asked, “How can we get to Sandra’s pictures?”
Tammy’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.”
I took my card back and signed the receipt. “Of course I’m serious.”
Tammy shook her head. “No way. You can’t do that.”
We walked toward the door and I said, “I have to.” Tammy stepped out the door as I held it open.
“Again, you don’t have to.”
“Okay, well, I want to.”
“See, that’s totally different. That proves you’re crazy.”
“I know she had to have taken pictures. I’m sure I remember seeing her pose with him. I just can’t remember at what point in the night.” I looked all around for Sandra or the ghosts as we walked down the sidewalk. Thank goodness I didn’t see her anywhere.
“It sounds as if you are set on doing this,” Tammy said.
“I know it’s crazy, but just think if doing this saves someone else’s life.”
“Just think if it gets us killed,” Tammy said.
“Us? So that means you’re going to help me?” I asked with a smile.
She sighed. “Of course I am going to help.”
“What changed your mind?”
“You do have a point. If Melissa is the one who did this then she needs to be behind bars.”
“Exactly!” I said.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I guess we could go back to the bed-and-breakfast where Sandra is staying.”
I glanced over at Tammy. “You’re right, I can’t believe you said it.”
“I can cause a distraction while you go up to her room and take a look.”
“What if I can’t get into her room?” I asked.
Tammy shook her head. “That’s something you’ll have to figure out. I’m just the distraction.”
“So we should go now?” I asked.
Tammy paused. “Wait. Now? Aren’t you going to give me time to prepare? I can’t just walk into a scheme like this.”
“Well, we really don’t have m
uch time to prepare. This could be life or death. It’s already been one death,” I said.
Tammy stared straight ahead for a second. “True. How will I distract her?”
I tapped my finger against my lip. “I know. Talk about books. She loves books. That will give me plenty of time to go upstairs and look around. Of course that’s assuming Cady isn’t there too.”
“This gets more complicated by the minute.”
“I’m good at sneaking around, so I think we’ll be okay.” We started walking again toward the car again.
“I certainly hope so,” Tammy said.
After making our way over to Tammy’s car, we climbed in and headed over to Gail’s bed-and-breakfast.
“I suppose I didn’t think of what I would say to Gail,” I said when Tammy pulled up to the curb. “I mean, I haven’t seen her in years and now I pay her two visits in a day? Not to mention showing up at night with the police.”
Tammy cut the engine. “Good point. What if you told her you were there to talk with Sandra?”
“I suppose, but I think Gail knows that I think Sandra’s weird.”
Tammy pulled the key from the ignition. “We’ll just tell her we need to speak with Sandra about the book signing the other night. I don’t think she’ll see anything wrong about that.”
I nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right,” Tammy said with a cluck of her tongue.
The sun was fading away quickly and it would be dark soon. This house had seemed so cheery during the day, but now it kind of had an ominous feeling. I supposed it was just the dark. Believe it or not, I’d always had a fear of the dark. Maybe that was part of the reason why I did the tour, so that I could get over that phobia. It had worked pretty well because I did the tour with minimal fear.
Tammy and I walked up the steps and to the door. I rang the doorbell and waited. After a few seconds, Gail opened the door. At first she looked confused, but then she gave an anxious smile. She glanced over her shoulder as if she was worried someone would see or hear us. What was going on in this house?
Chapter 21
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Gail said, looking at me expectantly.
I chuckled. “Yes, actually I’m here to see Sandra.”
“Oh, sure.” Her eyes widened. I knew she was shocked after the conversation we’d had.
“This is Tammy White, you remember her?” I asked.
Gail looked at Tammy. “Yes, she was the one with the big hair.”
I snickered and Tammy cast me a glance. “That was in high school,” Tammy said through gritted teeth.
“Well, we all go through our awkward phases,” Gail said.
“Yes, we do,” I said, glancing over her shoulder. I hoped she’d take the hint and invite us in.
Gail stepped back from the door and motioned for us to enter. “Please come in.”
“Thank you,” Tammy mumbled. She was obviously still thinking about that big hair comment.
“I hope we’re not interrupting anything?” I followed Tammy inside.
Gail chuckled nervously. “No, not at all.”
My stomach did a little flip when I thought about what we were trying to do. I just didn’t want to get caught. I didn’t want to put Gail in the middle of this either, although that was exactly what I was doing. Just because I wanted to solve this didn’t mean I had to drag everyone else in too. What was I thinking? Maybe it wasn’t too late to leave. Sandra might not even be here.
“Well, I can go get Sandra. I believe she’s upstairs.” Gail motioned toward the stairs.
“That would be great. Thank you.” I smiled.
After a pause, Gail said, “Okay. Well, I’ll be right back.”
I knew she was curious about our visit. Would she eavesdrop? That might make her suspicious if I wasn’t involved in the conversation. I would just have to take my chances. We watched Gail walk up the stairs and disappear out of sight.
“Are you scared?” Tammy asked.
I nodded. “Yes, a little.”
Tammy shivered. “I think I might pee my pants I’m so scared.”
“Mind over bladder, Tammy. Everything will be just fine.”
She laughed. “Easy for you to say.”
“I feel like I did when we tried to sneak out of my parents’ house to go to that concert when we were sixteen.”
“We would have made it if you hadn’t tripped coming out of the window,” Tammy said.
I rubbed my leg. “I still think I have a little limp from that.”
We laughed until the sound of footsteps caught our attention. Gail was walking back down the stairs. Sandra wasn’t with her and I worried that after all this she wasn’t even here.
Gail caught us staring at her and smiled. “She’ll be right down. I have to say she was just as surprised as I was by your visit.”
I chuckled nervously. “We’re full of surprises today.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Gail asked.
“That would be great…”
I poked Tammy in the side. “No, thank you,” I said.
Gail looked us up and down one more time and then said, “Okay then. Let me know if you need anything.”
“We sure will. Thank you again,” I said.
Gail looked at us again and then finally turned and walked away. Just then the stairs treads squeaked, making us look over. Sandra was coming down. She remained expressionless as she watched us all the way down. When she reached the bottom, she said, “What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Sandra. Do you remember Tammy from the library?” I asked.
She looked at Tammy. “Yes, I remember.”
The silence filled the room.
“Well, we came to tell you about a book sale at the library.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“Oh, you know, I forgot to tell Gail about that book she was asking about,” I said. “Tammy can tell you about the sale while I go talk with Gail.”
“Sure.” Tammy forced a smile on her face and motioned toward the parlor.
I walked toward the dining room, but before reaching the room, I looked back. Tammy had gotten Sandra to sit in the chair with her back facing me. Now I just had to sneak by again and get up the stairs.
I eased through the room toward the stairs. So far Tammy was successfully avoiding looking at me. I just hoped Sandra didn’t hear my footsteps. I held my breath while I walked across the floor. Finally, I made it to the stairs. Just a little further and I would at least be out of sight. That was halfway clear.
I tiptoed up the stairs and cursed every squeak they made. So far Sandra hadn’t noticed that I’d gone upstairs. Once upstairs, I had to find her room again. I knew which room was Cady’s and I thought I knew which one was Sandra’s, but since the door had been locked, I wasn’t sure. When I walked by Cady’s door, it was closed. I hoped she didn’t come out and see me.
One door just down the hall was open. I hoped that was Sandra’s room. When I reached the door, I peeked in. There were clothes tossed all around the room and I recognized her purse on the chair by the door. I looked over my shoulder and didn’t see anyone, so I rushed in. I had to hurry. How would I find anything in all this mess? First, I decided to look in her purse for her phone. It might have photos on it. I stuck my hand in the bag and made contact with a phone. If she caught me she would think I was stealing. Rightfully so because that was exactly what it looked like.
I pulled the phone out and quickly found the photo icon. There were no photos on the phone. How could that be? What would I do now? I tossed the phone back in the bag and took a quick look inside. There was nothing else but a wallet and peach-scented hand lotion. I stood in the middle of the room and released a deep breath. Now what? When I looked over at the dresser, I spotted a binder. It was worth a shot. I hurried over and grabbed the binder.
I flipped back the cover and wasn’t prepared for what I found. The whole thing was noth
ing but photos of Hank.
This was just too creepy. Based on her behavior, I shouldn’t have been surprised. At least now I might find the photo she’d had taken of the two of them before his murder.
I flipped through a couple pages and then stopped when I found the photo. That was exactly what I was looking for. And just as I had suspected, Hank had been wearing the scarf in the photo. He hadn’t been wearing it when his body had been found.
I had to show this to Brannon, but I didn’t want to risk taking her photo binder. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of the album. This would be good enough for Brannon to see that Hank had been wearing the scarf. Would he arrest the ex-wife right away? Would that be enough to prove that she had murdered Hank? I just hoped that she didn’t get away with murder. Why had she killed him? I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and placed the album back on the dresser where I’d found it. Sandra would never know that I’d been in the room.
I would have to explain to Brannon how I’d gotten a picture of Sandra’s picture. I supposed being honest was the only choice I had. Would he be upset that I had gone through her things?
I eased out the door and back down the hallway toward the stairs. I’d just reached the top of the staircase when I heard someone coming up. My heart sped up and I panicked. What would I do now? How would I explain being up here again? Could I use the bathroom excuse again? I had to do something quickly. The footsteps were growing louder.
There was a door to my left. I opened the door and discovered it was a closet. The small space was dark and scary. I pushed through my anxiety and squeezed into the tiny room. I would just hide in the closet until the person went by and then I would hurry back downstairs. Tammy was probably wondering what was taking me so long. I wondered if this was Sandra coming up to her room. What if she opened the door and saw me hiding in the closet? Of course she would have no reason to look in here, right?
I remained quiet while I listened to the footsteps. That was when I heard someone talking. It wasn’t Sandra. It was Cady.
I definitely didn’t want her to see me upstairs again. She had been suspicious the first time. As she walked by I tried to listen to the conversation.
