Barbara Graham - Quilted 03 - Murder by Music

by Barbara Graham

  “You're all right.” Martha collapsed, laughing, onto her chair. “I didn't do anything to the woman and don't know why I've been acting like such a ninny.”

  The retreat was moving ahead. Instead of working on her quilt, Theo rolled outside to call Tony. “Hey, lawman.” Her voice was cheery. “How are you doing?”

  “Tired, beat, exhausted, confused.” There was a pause in his litany of weariness followed by a jaw-cracking yawn. “And you?”

  Her answering yawn was much quieter. “I thought I'd better tell you a couple of things if you have the time.”

  Tony finished talking to Theo and stepped out of his office. Most of his meager staff of deputies were doing paperwork. Time for the shift change. Although the talk was general, they were mostly subdued, and the fine lines of tension made them all look hard. Tony glanced at the clock on the wall. He couldn't believe he'd lost track of this entire day. He perched one hip on Ruth Ann's immaculate desk. Luckily for him, she didn't work Saturdays.

  “I'm sure you have all heard by now, but Scarlet LaFleur was found dead at The Lodge early this morning. We do not have an official cause of death but it is a homicide.” Leaning forward, he looked from face to face. “Last night, because it was Friday, we had three cars out on patrol. I want each one of you to write down everything that you saw, heard or imagined. In town as well as out. I don't care how trivial you think it might be.” Rolling his shoulders didn't relieve any of his tension. Focusing on Sheila and Darren, who normally patrolled the area near The Lodge, he addressed them. “From you two, I want to know what vehicles you saw, what time you saw them, and if you noticed anything missing from anywhere. If you saw people, I want to know who they are and what they were doing. Give me a dead 'possum count.” With a yawn, he left the desk and poured himself a cup of coffee. His stomach rolled in protest, but he ignored it. He wondered if the rumor about Art, Claude and Darren's wife would surface.

  Tony watched Sheila nod and begin writing. She didn't mention she'd been on duty all day just as most of them had. A lovely and extremely efficient young woman, she had been the first to arrive at The Lodge after Tony and Wade. As usual, her long blond hair was tightly braided and the tail pinned out of the way. Like everything about her, the report would be meticulous, from her elegant handwriting to her phrasing. Tony loved her reports. They were unfailingly coherent and comprehensive.

  Seated next to her, Darren Holt, the bantam rooster of the staff, whose patrol should cross her path several times in the early evening but not later, looked at Sheila and suddenly turned pale. He fidgeted with his pen but didn't start writing. In fact, he looked ready to bolt from the room.

  Very interesting. Tony thought.

  Wade arrived, rumpled and wearing a mustard stain on his brown uniform shirt. Tony noticed Wade's name pin was missing. Tony was sure he didn't look any better.

  Practically dragging his feet, Wade made his way to Tony's side, pausing only to greet his fellow officers. “I don't know about you, but I've gotten all kinds of calls from frightened citizens. Portia Osgood knows my number and has called me at least three times to report movement in the bushes around her house.” He swung his arms a bit, and Tony heard popping and cracking in his joints.

  “Naturally the damned things are moving, the wind is blowing harder and the temperature has started dropping too.” Then, more quietly, for Tony's ears only, he said, “I was at Ruby's for lunch. She tells me that her crankiest customers are suddenly being easily satisfied, and a couple of them have even left tips. I tell you what, Sheriff, the diners there are certain someone is killing off the most annoying citizens in Silersville, and the murders have the others looking over their shoulders. No one seems to believe Mr. Beasley died of natural causes, and Ruby says she heard a couple of people talking about forming some kind of citizens' protection group. Since Scarlet LaFleur grew up here, she's classified as a local in many minds.”

  Tony was sure if he had hair, he would be down to his last strand by now. The last thing he needed was a bunch of panicky cranks running amok in his county. Heaven only knew what kind of trouble they could create. He looked around and saw his officers diligently making notes. Some were checking times in their notebooks. Even as he was filling Wade in about his morning at The Lodge, he noticed Darren's odd behavior. Darren was erasing more than he was writing, and Sheila seemed to be egging him on about something. As Tony approached, Sheila stood and walked to the coffeepot. She indicated with a movement of her head he should follow her. Tony followed. Darren was close on their heels.

  “I have to tell you—” Sheila began but was cut off by Darren.

  “No, I have to be the one to tell you.”

  Tony was intrigued. The look Darren gave Sheila was a cross between belligerence and a plea. Then his eyes met Tony's. “Can we talk in your office?” Evidently satisfied, Sheila filled her cup and walked off.

  As soon as the door closed behind them, Darren dropped into a chair and covered his face with his hands. “I don't know what came over me, Sheriff. I swear nothing like it ever happened before and if you don't fire me, I swear it will never happen again.” His shoulders heaved and a shudder wracked his whole body.

  Tony didn't like the way this sounded. “You'd better go ahead and tell me.” Darren had never been Tony's favorite officer, but he had never caused any trouble either. Twice divorced from the same woman, he was a reasonably attractive man now married to a different woman. He and the hairstylist, Prudence Sligar, had married only a few months earlier and were parents of a new baby. All the information he'd heard said Darren was a good stepfather to Prudence's brood of fatherless children.

  Darren finally lifted his face and met Tony's inquiring gaze. “Sheila is going to report she saw my patrol car parked on the big turnout just below The Lodge.” Pressing his lips tightly together, he turned his face away from Tony. His hands were clasping and unclasping as if they had a life of their own. His Adam's apple was bobbing up and down at the same rate.

  Arms crossed over his chest, Tony stared at him. He wasn't getting it. Why should parking in the turnout cause so much distress? Unless? “Tell me you're not sleeping on the job.”

  “Uh,” Suddenly Darren's face was brick red, and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. He shook his head violently from side to side. “Worse.” Instead of looking into Tony's eyes, his eyes seemed to be focused on the coffee stain on the carpet. They flickered to Tony's face and fell again. “I swear it was the only time.”

  “What exactly did you do and who were you doing it with?” Jamie and Chris would have recognized his tone of voice. Even Theo rarely ignored it.

  “Sir, I'm sorry.” Darren looked more like a teenager who got caught necking in the park than the cocky man he seemed on a normal day. “I was with Prudence. She, um, that is we were, um, you know.” Amazingly, his face managed to turn even redder.

  Struck speechless for the moment by the mental picture of Darren and Prudence doing the “you know” in the patrol car, Tony blinked several times. His first thought was how much Theo was going to love this story. His momentary flash of amusement was quickly replaced by anger. This man had not been doing his duty to the community paying his salary. What if he could have prevented the death of one of its citizens if he had been on patrol? “Were you in the county car?” Ice was much warmer than his question.

  The horrified expression on Darren's face was almost answer enough. “No, sir. We were in her car.” His babbling answer seemed to jump from his lips. Then he slammed them together and held them closed while he moaned deep in his throat. Obviously, he was suddenly unsure whether it was worse he had left his car or if it would have been worse if they had stayed in it. “I swear nothing like this has ever happened before. I'm not even sure what happened.”

  Tony felt his eyebrows shoot up. He leaned forward and snapped, “You're married to her. Couldn't you just go to your own bed? After your shift?”

  “Oh, no sir. It was not like that at all. We did
n't plan to meet.” He sighed. A half smile lifted the corners of his mouth. At least it did until he glanced in Tony's direction. Then he straightened both his face and his spine.

  “Heaven help me for asking this, but if you didn't plan to meet there, how did it happen? The turnout isn't exactly on the way to everywhere.” In fact, Tony knew, with the encroaching forest, the turnout was practically invisible at night.

  “I know.” Darren closed his eyes. “I saw Prudence's car parked there. It was well off the road, and there wasn't any flat tire on the side that I could see.” His eyes flew open. “She wasn't in the car. Right after I pulled up, she came out of the woods and stopped as soon as she saw me. I got out of the car to talk to her, and I swear I don't know how, but the next thing I knew we were in her car, and . . .” His voice tapered to a stop.

  “I know working nights can be a trial for some families, but you were derelict.” Tony reached for the antacid bottle instead of Darren's neck. “I'm not sure yet what I intend to do about this.” Disciplining an officer for an infraction like this one was nothing he'd ever had to deal with before. Tony thought a good idea would probably be to buy advice from ex-Sheriff Winston with a six pack, but right now he needed all of his officers, and Darren was reasonably capable. “What else did you see?”

  Anxious to atone, Darren began a recitation of events. “There was a bit of traffic early. I saw quite a few cars from out of state and out of county going both ways and parked in the turnoffs as well. I ticketed a couple of out-of-state residents for dumping trash in one and made them clean it up. I didn't recognize most of the cars, parked or moving. But you know, now that I think about it, parked in one of the earlier turnoffs but still within walking distance of The Lodge, was Marmot the Varmint's car/truck.”

  “Was there any reason for you to stop there?”

  “No.” Darren gulped air, making his Adam's apple jump. “I don't have a good relationship with Claude.” He gulped again. “The vehicle was parked in a safe and legal manner. I assumed that Claude was sleeping inside, which I figured was better than him driving.”

  “I understand.” Tony could visualize the road. It was winding through heavily wooded areas, but there were no hairpin turns. The higher you went, the more turnoffs had been built into the road. The tourists liked to be able to pull off and take pictures without dodging cars, although they preferred the valley side. The road was also popular with couples. Tony flinched away from the mental picture of Darren and Prudence. “When you came back down the road after your, um, encounter with your wife, was Claude's car/truck still parked there?”

  “No. It was gone. In fact, all of the turnoffs were empty as I came down.” Darren was back in control of himself again.

  “So, let me get this straight. You didn't plan to meet Prudence but stopped when you saw her car? What was she doing up there if not waiting for you?”

  Darren sat speechless and slowly moved his head back and forth. His eyes were very wide.

  Tony sent Darren to finish his written report and considered the chances that Prudence strangled Scarlet. Prudence was taller, younger and, as an arm wrestling champion, much stronger than the victim. Tony didn't believe Prudence was their killer.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Theo was being bombarded with questions. She shook her head to all of them not involved with quilting. Did people think she shared a brain with Tony? The idea made her chuckle, and she relaxed back into her chair. A part of her wondered if there was really any point at all in their staying at The Lodge. Certainly this was not the most relaxing or productive of their retreats. A quick glance around the lobby made her change her mind.

  Everyone looked exhausted. The early morning arrival of the sheriff's department, the crime scene unit, and all that was triggered by the discovery of Scarlet's body draped so obscenely in the shrubbery, had taken its toll. Several of the older women had vanished in the late morning for a nap. They were back now and appeared to be greatly refreshed and ready to roll.

  “Theo?” Susan waved her hand to attract her attention. “When do we get the next clue for the mystery quilt?” The circles under her eyes were dark, but her eyes were clear and she was smiling. At her question, every quilter stopped and looked up expectantly.

  “Is everyone ready to go on?” Theo didn't want to admit that she had forgotten all about the mystery quilt.

  As a resounding chorus of “yes” answered, Theo pulled out the sealed envelope holding the next clue. Passing the sheets around, she watched their faces as they read the next clue. Some of the women looked like they had guessed what was coming next and some looked totally bewildered, but all of the ladies doing the mystery quilt jumped into action. Soon, the room was filled with the sounds of sewing machines and the scent of chocolate.

  Theo decided she would take advantage of the moment to slip to her room and take a quick shower. Somehow she had missed getting one earlier in the day. She'd almost reached her door, when upstairs, the sounds of an argument coming from the veranda made her pause. The voices were those of Beth and Art. More precisely, it was Beth telling Art exactly what was on her mind. Her voice was tight and strained, but easy enough to understand.

  “I think you had better tell the sheriff what you and Prudence were doing. I am not going to lie for you one more time.” There was a pause while Beth blew her nose. “Enough is enough. What am I supposed to believe, anyway? You hated Scarlet. For all I know, maybe you did throw her into the bushes.”

  “Beth, honey.” Art's tone sounded sad and restrained as he pleaded with his wife. The voices were fading as the pair moved along the hallway. “You can't believe that. You know where I was and what I was doing. Surely you can't really doubt me?”

  As soon as they were out of sight, Theo wheeled her chair as quickly as she could, going to her room. Before she climbed into the shower, she double-checked her window. It took all of her resolve not to look down into those rhododendrons. Uneasy, she locked the door and put a chair in front of it. “Prudence and Art? No way.” She mumbled to herself as she adjusted the water temperature. “I'll call Tony when I get out.” Beth had certainly sounded angry, but it was not the kind of anger Theo would expect if she were talking to a cheating spouse. But then again, who ever knew what was really going on in someone else's mind? “Prudence and Art, with Beth reluctantly covering up for them?” The pieces of the mental picture didn't fit together.

  The hot water eased some of the stiffness from Theo's joints. She hadn't realized the effect the day had had on her until now. It was bliss for her as she stayed in the shower longer than her allotted three minutes, luxuriating in the continuous spray of hot water. As much as she loved her house and family, there were days when the promise of enough hot water to go around was merely an unfulfilled dream. Wrapping herself in one of the oversized hotel towels, she hummed a little tune. She wrapped another towel around her head, turban style, and headed for the telephone.

  Theo dialed Tony's cellular phone. If he didn't want to be disturbed, he would have it turned off. Knowing Tony, it might be under the seat of the patrol car.

  He answered on the first ring.

  “Hi, sweetheart.” Theo warbled. She grinned at the phone when Tony groaned. “Don't worry, I haven't found any more bodies.”

  “That's a blessing.” There was relief attached to each syllable. “What's up, then? You never call in when you are at a retreat. Did you forget your thread?”

  “Hah!” Hearing the concern in his voice, she smiled. “Well,” she said, adding a vowel and making it sound like way-ell, “You know, this one has been a bit out of the ordinary, but actually, I just got out of a long and luxurious shower.”

  “So, what's up?” Amusement replaced Tony's concern.

  “I happened to overhear an argument between Art and Beth. It was hard to make out the sense of it, but somehow it involved Art and Prudence, and it sounds like Beth has been covering for them. Does this mean anything to you?”

  “Not really, but maybe.
At the very least, it gives me an edge. Thanks for the hint. Anything else?”

  “I don't think so offhand. It seems like I overheard something I meant to pass on to you but can't place it at all.” She yawned and stretched. “You know this is not exactly gossip central. We're all working like slaves.”

  “Well, you have fun, take lots of showers and I'll see you tomorrow.”

  As she carefully combed the tangles out of her wet hair, Theo tried to pin down what she had heard, but it was elusive, teasing the corner of her memory, so she shrugged it off and finished getting dressed. The memory would return eventually. Theo just hoped it wouldn't be three o'clock in the morning when it came back.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Tony wasted no time getting Prudence delivered to his office.

  She wasted no time calling her attorney, almost as though she was expecting to be interviewed. Through the small window, he could see into the interrogation room where Prudence was deep in conference with her attorney, Mr. Mason. Mason was his real name. Originally from Kentucky, his parents hoped he would be inspired to become a successful lawyer and enjoy a life that did not include mining coal. The ploy had worked like a charm. Driving a gleaming silver sports car, he had arrived from Knoxville in almost record time. On one level, Tony admired Prudence's ability to get her lawyer to Silersville so quickly on a Saturday afternoon, and on another, he wondered why a hairdresser in Silersville would even know the name of a defense attorney, much less have the phone number committed to memory.

  Tall, thin and in his early forties, Mr. Mason appeared to be very businesslike, even wearing an expensive gray business suit and spotless white shirt. Although it was a Saturday, the man obviously hadn't come directly from a football game. There wasn't even any orange on his tie. By all appearances, he had been expecting to be in Silersville today, dressed for court. And as he thought about appearances, there was something about the shade of his auburn hair that reminded Tony of Prudence's middle child. Grinning wryly to himself, Tony knew he had settled back into small town life when he started noticing such a detail. Did small town curiosity stem from knowing everyone, or did the door swing in the other direction? Either way, he doubted city people would even be aware the children had different fathers.