Who Killed Kasey Hill

by Charlotte Moore

  “Well, I would think that it would cheer her up considerably to know that Edgar is in custody,” Evergreen said. “But I’ll leave that to Chief Bandry.”

  Five minutes later, two minutes after the ambulance had arrived, Darby saw someone familiar arriving in the van he had seen the night before. He was waiting at the door when Quincy Holmes parked her van right next to Annette Hegley Chase’s Jaguar and headed into the station.

  “Hi,” he said, reaching out to shake hands. “You’re Mrs. Brayburn’s daughter, aren’t you? I’m Detective Darby from the Sheriff’s Office. Chief Bandry has a crisis to handle and she’s asked me to start filling you in on the investigation. I was thinking we could go have a sandwich across the street.”

  “You look familiar,” Quincy said.

  “Of course I do,” Darby said with an engaging grin. “I was in the backyard next to your mother’s home when you came out of her house late yesterday afternoon. The cute redhead was Chief Bandry. We’re married, despite the different names, and we’re house hunting.”

  Quincy almost smiled. “I always forget how small this town is.”

  “They’ve got good sandwiches over there,” Darby said, and much better coffee than the police department. “Come on. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but first, how’s your mom doing?”

  “She’s alive,” Quincy said tersely, “But she’s hurt badly. Was it really Edgar Hegley who shot her?”

  “Yes, it seems he did. He’s claiming it was an accident,” Darby said. “He’s being charged aggravated assault, but for now, he’s going to the hospital.”

  “Not to jail?”

  “Not right now,” Darby said. “He’s got a bad heart. His daughter’s there and she and his lawyer both think he needs to be hospitalized. They’re probably right. He looks downright gray.”

  “Annette used to be my sister-in-law,” Quincy said, “I should have known she was here when I saw the red Jaguar. So you’re trying to get me out of their way to prevent a scene?”

  “You got it,” Darby said with a grin, “But the sandwiches really are good, and the chief will be joining us.”

  Evergreen thought for a moment that she had the wrong room. Pinky looked ten years older without her pink rouge and lipstick. Her fluffy white curls had wilted. A pale blue hospital gown was awkwardly tied over a brace and a big bandage on her left side.

  All the same, she managed a shadow of a smile and said, “Evergreen, how sweet of you to come to see me. Quincy said you made a wonderful dinner for her last night.”

  “We had a nice visit,” Evergreen said. “Now tell me how you’re feeling and how I can help?”

  Pinky thought about her answer with a frown.

  “I hurt if I move wrong,” she said. “But I just hate that pain medicine. It makes me all fuzzy-brained and I hate being all hooked up to things. The doctor said they’ll discharge me in four or five days, but I’ll have to have help if I go home, and I’ll have to have physical therapy to get my left shoulder working right.”

  “It will heal,” Evergreen said. “You’re strong.”

  “I don’t feel strong,” Pinky said. “And I wish I could go home and be with my precious puppies, but who knows how long it’s going to take before I can use both arms. You know I can’t expect Quincy to stay here. She’s got her family to see about, and she loves those kids of Frank’s but they’re just helpless around the house. She’s already mentioned my going to Azalea Terrace, but I won’t. I just won’t. I know Marcilla loves it, but I couldn’t have my puppies with me.”

  “Let me think about that,” Evergreen said. “There must be somebody who could stay with you.”

  “Well, I know there are nurses who come for visits,” she said, “But I don’t think they stay to cook or that they’d walk Pierre and Fifi. I know Linda Stanley will take good care of them, but the poor things must think I’ve abandoned them.”

  “I’ll ask around about somebody who might want to move in with you for a while,” Evergreen said, already thinking of LaNelle Hopkins, “And in the meantime you need to put on some makeup, and let’s see if Chloe will come over and fix your hair.”

  “Evergreen Tinsley, I got shot and had surgery yesterday,” Pinky said “I hope you’re not going to go around telling people I look pitiful.”

  “Now you sound like yourself, but you just don’t look like yourself,” Evergreen said. “You know you and I are alike in having a certain style that people count on. What would you have though if I’d come in here wearing a polyester pants suit with my hair dyed blue?”

  Pinky laughed.

  “And they could at least have given you a pink hospital gown!” Evergreen said.

  Pinky laughed again, and then said, “You know, you’re right. I’ll get Quincy to bring me my make up from home and call Chloe.”

  “Chloe’s so goodhearted she’ll be right over here, “Evergreen said. “I think she’s been a big help to Holly Wellston. I’d forgotten they were related.”

  Pinky didn’t respond for a moment, and when she did she sounded a little anxious.

  “Are the Wellstons going to keep the little boy?” she asked.

  “Of course,” Evergreen said. “B.J. says that they’re talking about adopting him legally. Holly was already taking care of him while Kasey worked.”

  “Oh, that’s good,” Pinky said. “I was hoping…”

  She didn’t finish the sentence.

  “Did you know them?” Evergreen asked.

  “A little,” Pinky said. “I saw the girl—Kasey—at Chloe’s sometimes, you know, and I saw her with the little boy just a few days before…you know.”

  She stopped and winced a little.

  “Do you need the nurse?” Evergreen asked.

  “No, I’m trying not to take much pain medication. It makes me so fuzzy-headed, and it’s really not so bad if I just lie still.”

  “I’m going to let you lie still then,” Evergreen said, “I’ll just sit over here and wait until Quincy’s back. Now, I have something for you. Open your hand.”

  “Oh I hope it’s magic!” Pinky said with a slight smile. “I could use some.”

  Evergreen placed her own clear quartz crystal in her friend’s hand.

  “Oh, that’s even prettier than the one you gave Marcilla,” Pinky said, lifting it to the light. “What does it do?”

  “It’s for clarity and courage,” Evergreen said. “Don’t hold it too tight, or you’ll get over-courageous and fierce as a tiger.”

  “I can’t even imagine being courageous,” Pinky said, “but thank you.”

  “It’s not for keeps,” Evergreen said. “Once you’ve made it through this hard time, I’m going to want it back, and I’ll give you a lovely pink one.”

  Chapter 25

  “None of it makes sense to me,” Quincy said after B.J. had joined them for lunch at Marti’s Muffin Shop. “My mother has gone out of her way to be polite to Floramae Hegley all these years, and I suppose she’s been nice enough to Edgar too, if she’s even seen that much of him.”

  “Tell me what you can about their relationship with your mother,” B.J. said.

  “There’s hardly anything to tell,” Quincy said. “My brother Randall was married to their daughter, Annette, for about five years before he was killed in a car accident. I’d heard that she was fooling around with Fulton Chase even before that, and of course Fulton was married too, but he got a divorce and they were married about a year after Randall died. It was a bit of a scandal but I guess most people have forgotten that. The only real link between Mom and them is my nephew, Jackson, and he doesn’t really even remember Randall, from what Mom has told me.”

  “Your nephew’s the one who’s getting married?” B.J. asked.

  “Yes. I was planning to come and get Mom and drive her to the wedding,” she said with an expression that made
it clear that she considered it something to be endured. “It will be in Buckhead. I’d told Mom I couldn’t make it to the luncheon down here, too. Of course, you don’t need to know all that. I guess the main thing is that they’ve probably had more contact lately than they’ve had in years because my mother was sweet enough to plan that luncheon and let Floramae be a co-hostess, when she probably hasn’t been doing a thing except planning what to wear.”

  She concentrated on the last of her sandwich and said, “It really must have been an accident. It doesn’t make sense that he’d try to kill her. I just hope you’re taking his guns away.”

  She glanced at her watch, and said, “Mom’s surgeon is supposed to make his rounds soon. Evergreen Tinsley was visiting with her when I left and she promised to stay until I returned. I’d better get back over there.”

  “I’d like to meet you there,” B. J. said. “I want to tell your mother about the arrest and let her know that Edgar Hegley is in police custody.”

  “Well, I suppose you must,” Quincy said.

  Chapter 26

  Pinky had dozed off.

  Evergreen thought she might talk to Quincy about working out ways for her mother to stay in her own familiar home with her dogs. Pinky, she knew, had plenty of money to pay a live-in companion until she had regained her strength, and for now what she mostly needed was to know she was going back home. That—and the morale booster of a bit of make-up and hair-care.

  Also, Evergreen thought, Pinky needed to know that it was Edgar who had shot her, and that he was in custody. Her world had been turned upside down and she needed it to be put right-side up. She needed to know that she’d be able to walk in the city park again.

  To Evergreen’s rational mind it had to have been an accident, just because it made no sense. But the dream had turned Edgar into a Big Bad Wolf.

  Evergreen wondered if that was just because he really was so gray and shaggy, but then there was the problem of the Edgar Wolf chasing Loki. She was still trying to sort this problem out when Quincy and B.J. arrived.

  “Please stay a little while longer,” Quincy whispered to her. “I don’t know how this is going to go.”

  “Stop whispering,” Pinky said from her bed. “I’m not asleep. Hello, Chief Bandry. How nice to see you. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a mess, but Quincy’s going to bring me my make-up and I do plan to do something about my hair.”

  B.J. smiled.

  “I’m glad to find you in good spirits,” she said.

  “And I want to thank you so much for saving my life,” Pinky said. “You know, all I remember was seeing you before I crossed the street. They’ve told me I was shot, but I honestly don’t remember anything much at all except that I couldn’t get up and I didn’t know where my poodles were and you told me they were fine. I remember that. Everyone’s been so kind.”

  It was going well, Evergreen thought.

  “Have you found out who was shooting in the park?” Pinky asked. “I’ve been wondering if some young person was just playing with a gun or something.”

  “Well, we do know who it was,” B.J. said. “You know Edgar Hegley, don’t you?”

  Pinky’s eyes grew wide.

  “Of course. Why?”

  “We’ve charged him in your shooting,” B.J. said. “He’s in custody now. He was up near the water tank and he fired three shots. One of them hit you.”

  She waited for Pinky to absorb that.

  Pinky gave her one fearful glance and then said, “It must have been an accident. It was a mistake.”

  “We’ll look into it further,” B.J. said. “But we’re certain about it. We’re charging him with aggravated assault.”

  Pinky closed her eyes and said in a dull voice, “Would somebody call my nurse? I think I need my pain medicine again.”

  Quincy gave B.J. a frown and a raised eyebrow.

  “I think maybe my mother needs her rest now,” she said.

  Pinky’s brief return to her usual self was over.

  Chapter 27

  Evergreen could always sense the presence of Floramae Hegley from a distance. She made a quick trip to her car and back into the hospital’s emergency room, where she learned from Tania Taylor that Mrs. Hegley was already discharged but was waiting for her daughter to bring her a change of clothes and take her home.

  “I’d love to speak to her for one teeny minute,” she said. “Just tell her it’s Evergreen Tinsley.”

  Tania was back shortly and guided Evergreen to a curtained-off area where Floramae was sitting up on the edge of her bed, wearing a quilted robe and fluffy slippers.

  “Oh, Evergreen,” she said. “You dear thing. You have been sent to me as a blessing, I know. Do you know that the police just stormed our home this morning? It was terrifying. I collapsed and woke up here, and Annette says that they took Edgar to the police station and they were actually thinking he had something to do with poor Pinky’s being shot.

  She stopped for breath.

  “But Annette got it all straightened out and insisted that they take him to the hospital in McFall instead because they had given him such a shock to his heart. Now she’s on her way to pick me up. It’s just been dreadful.”

  “Pinky’s doing pretty well,” Evergreen said, answering a question that hadn’t been asked. “I’ve just been to see her.”

  “That’s good news. You know, we heard first that Pinky had passed away, and I was so thankful when Annette told me she hadn’t but she did have to have surgery. I do hope they find out who shot her. It was probably some silly boys playing with guns or somebody shooting at the buzzards again. What room is she in? Annette and I might just want to pop up there and see if she’ll get somebody to let us into her house. You know we’ve still got that luncheon planned, and all the RSVPs are at her house.”

  Evergreen remembered again why she could not abide Floramae Hegley.

  “Now that’s why I asked if you were still here,” she said sweetly, handing over the big shopping bag. “Quincy asked me to give you this. She said everything’s in there for the luncheon.”

  “Oh,” Floramae said, looking into the jumble of envelopes and papers. “Well, thank you.”.

  “And Pinky’s visitors are being strictly limited,” Evergreen said.

  “Oh, such a fuss,” Floramae said. “Well, life must go on, and we’ll just have to manage the luncheon without her.”

  Evergreen resisted putting a hex on Floramae, and headed home wondering if Floramae really didn’t know that her husband was under arrest for shooting Pinky.

  She was hoping that Pinky would remember to hold the crystal for courage until she was ready to absorb the news that B.J. had given her.

  “She wasn’t relieved,” B.J. said to Darcy later. “She was frightened so badly that she just tuned us all out. I talked to Evergreen a while ago and she said that Pinky was pepping up a bit before we got there, and had said she didn’t want the pain medicine because it made her fuzzy-headed. She was even cheerful when we were first there. Apparently, I undid Evergreen’s good work because when I left she was looking like a ghost and asking to be made fuzzy-headed. I couldn’t ask her another question at that because her daughter was shooting daggers at me.”

  “I can see someone’s wanting it to be a random sort of thing,” Darby said. “That’s a lot easier to absorb than it’s being someone you know. Maybe there’s some old animosity there.”

  “And another thing,” B.J. said. “Evergreen saw Hegley’s wife, Floramae, before she left the emergency room, and Floramae either thought that her husband was in the clear, or was making up a story she hoped Evergreen would help spread around—that we were all wrong and he had wound up in the hospital for his heart problems.”

  “You still want to charge this old guy?” Darby asked. “He may turn out to have dementia.”

  “Of course,” B.J. said. “What I th
ink is that he got his gun and drove down that alley in the dark and got himself positioned, and when he saw her walk into the park he tried to kill her. And he did it on a morning when he knew he and his wife would be out of town most of the day. His mistake was not having sense enough to know that the recycling guys got a very good look at him.”

  “But why?” Darby asked.

  “I have no idea,” B.J. said, “That’s why I’m so glad you’re a detective.”

  “I’m a detective with another case that’s rapidly getting stone cold,” he said. “We know who shot Pinky Brayburn, and he’ll pay one way or the other—maybe by losing his right to bear arms. He’s going to stick to that story about shooting at a snake, and it’s aggravated assault, not murder. Meanwhile, we’ve got a strangler running loose, and what I want to know is who killed Kasey Hill.”

  B.J. got up to get the ice cream out of the freezer, and said, “So what’s next with the Kasey Hill case?” and Darby got out his notebook.

  Chapter 28

  There was a family conference going on in the big house in McFall. Jackson Brayburn, known to his friends as Jack, was reminding himself to look concerned and worried as Wayne Sharpley gave his report.

  “I think he really was shooting at a snake,” Sharpley said, “And that’s the case to make, just to get it settled with the least fuss—sort of like a hunting accident. He’s showing some signs of confusion He started off denying that he was down at the site at all, but then his mind got clearer as he talked, but then he got stressed again and just wasn’t making sense.”

  “Wayne, Daddy is not confused,” Annette Chase said. “He’s sharp as a tack.”

  Right, Mom, Jack thought, Miss the point entirely. We need for him to be confused.

  “Oh, he certainly is confused sometimes,” Floramae said. “But anyway, it was an accident and Pinky is recovering. She’ll understand that it was an accident.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Sharpley said.