Hell in a Handbasket: Rose Gardner Investigations #3

by Denise Grover Swank

  I rested my elbows on my knees and leaned closer as I held the older woman’s gaze. “First of all, Neely Kate and I are tryin’ to prove that Patsy Sue didn’t murder her cousin.”

  She snorted. “Well, that’s a fool’s errand.”

  “Nevertheless, we’re gonna try. Which means part of our job is to help figure out who did kill Carol Ann and why.” When she didn’t respond, I added, “If Carol Ann was opening a business and worried about competition, then there’s the chance that the competition might have found out and killed her.”

  Everyone gasped except for Nicki, who was sitting on the floor next to her great-grandmother’s chair. Nicki didn’t look shocked at all. I definitely needed to talk to her later.

  “Does the sheriff know that?” Lucille asked.

  “I suppose it depends on what you told them,” I said. “The more information they have, the better.” The looks on their faces told me they hadn’t thought it important enough to share.

  “Carol Ann was stayin’ at the Broken Branch Motel, but she checked in on Saturday night. Did any of y’all ask where she was stayin’ before that?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “Did she ask to stay with you, Miss Lucille?” I asked.

  “No. She doesn’t like stayin’ with me, and I don’t like the late hours she keeps.” Then she started to cry. “I guess she’s not keeping any hours now.”

  “Did she have any friends she might have stayed with?” I asked.

  Lucille shook her head and shrugged. “As far as I know, she burned most of her bridges years ago.”

  “What about other relatives?” I asked. All the women gave me blank looks, but Neely Kate had said she’d found one of Carol Ann’s cousins. “Anyone on her daddy’s side?”

  Disgust washed over Lily’s face. “Those fools live down in Big Thief Hollow.”

  “I take it y’all don’t get along with them?” I asked.

  “No,” Lily bit out.

  “Where is your ex-husband, Miss Lucille?” I asked.

  Lily let out a harsh laugh. “Husband? Carol Ann’s a bastard.”

  My eyes shot open, and Poppy let out a loud protest. “Momma, you can’t go around sayin’ things like that!”

  “Why not?” she countered. “It’s true.”

  I turned to Lucille, trying to ignore her sister. “So you had Carol Ann out of wedlock?”

  She nodded. “She’s my only child. Or I guess she was . . .”

  I really wished I was conducting this interview with her alone, but Lily was beginning to seem like a bully. I doubted she would have allowed a one-on-one interview, and no doubt she would have given her sister endless grief had I insisted on it. Poor Lucille had been through enough. “What happened to Carol Ann’s father?”

  “He died in prison,” Lily blurted out in contempt. “Doin’ fifty years for murder.”

  Lucille looked up at me through tear-filled eyes. “He didn’t do it. He was framed.”

  “Neil’s family is nothin’ but white trash,” Lily said. “It’s no wonder Carol Ann turned out the way she did.”

  “Momma!” Poppy said.

  Lucille turned toward her sister and slapped her hard across the cheek. The loud smacking sound made me startle.

  Lily jumped to her feet. “You’re just as white trash as the rest of ’em! Get out of my house!”

  “Momma!” Poppy protested while Nicki looked on with wide eyes.

  “Stop it right now,” Miss Bluebell snapped. “Both y’all, stop it right now.”

  “My daughter is accused of murdering that white trash fool,” Lily shouted at her mother. “So why are we wasting time talkin’ about her white trash family?”

  “Miss Lily,” I said. My tone was a bit harsh, but she was starting to piss me off. It was easy to see where Patsy had gotten some of her negative personality traits. “I already told you why we’re trying to find out who killed Carol Ann. Patsy can’t bring herself to tell us what she was doin’ on Sunday afternoon, so it’s the only good avenue we have to investigate. And besides”—I gave Lucille a soft smile—“it will help Miss Lucille find some semblance of closure.”

  “Sit your ass down, Lily,” Miss Bluebell said. “We’re gonna help this woman find Carol Ann’s killer. Even if it’s your sorry daughter.”

  The other women looked startled, but Nicki glanced up at her great-grandmother and giggled.

  “What?” the older woman asked. “You never heard the word ass before?”

  The expressions on everyone’s faces suggested they weren’t used to hearing it from her.

  “Carol Ann has some cousins down in Big Thief Hollow,” Lucille said with more determination in her eyes. Slapping her sister seemed to have given her more backbone. “They’re Neil’s brother’s girls.”

  “And where’s Neil’s brother?”

  “He’s the one Neil murdered,” Lily said in disgust.

  I expected Lucille to crumple from her sister’s harsh tone, but the fierceness in her eyes said she was done with her sister’s bullying. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that Neil did not murder his brother. And before you start gloatin’, maybe you should take a moment to reflect on the fact your daughter is facin’ the exact same situation.”

  Lily clamped her mouth shut.

  Lucille sat up straighter. “Neil came from the other side of the tracks. He was tryin’ to make a better life for himself—and me. We were planning on gettin’ married, especially after we found out about Carol Ann. Neil had been helpin’ his brother with something illegal—”

  “Drugs,” Lily said in a self-righteous tone. “He was dealin’ drugs.”

  Lucille shot her a dark look. “He planned to tell his brother he was done, but it didn’t go well. Chuck said he’d never let Neil leave. The next night Chuck was dead, and Neil was arrested for his murder.” She paused. “And I was left to raise our baby alone.”

  “I’m so sorry, Miss Lucille.” Nowadays, plenty of women raised their babies alone, but I could only imagine the insults and judgment Lucille must have faced forty years ago. The fact that her sister seemed to be gloating about it didn’t sit right with me.

  “Was Carol Ann close to her cousins in Big Thief Hollow growin’ up?” I asked softly.

  Lucille glanced up with confusion in her eyes. “No. She never saw them. Their mother blamed me for bein’ widowed, so we never had anything to do with that side of the family.”

  She obviously didn’t know that Carol Ann had been in contact with them. I considered mentioning it, but I didn’t want to give Lily any more information she could use to hurt her sister, and I doubted that Lucille had anything helpful to offer. Carol Ann had purposely kept the last couple of months from her. I wanted to find out why before bringing it up. “Did you and Carol Ann get along?”

  I’d been wondering. I’d come into the interview thinking they hadn’t—everyone had been quick to say they were tired of being used for money—but everything she’d said about her daughter had been loving.

  She flopped her hand over in a nervous gesture. “We had our spats, but for the most part we got along.”

  “Carol Ann loved her momma,” Poppy said with a tearful look. “She hated disappointin’ her.”

  Lucille looked startled. “What?”

  Poppy’s mouth tipped up into a sad smile. “She knew she was all you had, and she hated that she didn’t do more to make you proud. She hated that she was weak.”

  I focused my attention on Poppy. “When was the last time you talked to Carol Ann?”

  “Last Thursday. She asked me for money too, but I don’t have that kind of money.”

  “But you gave her some?” I asked.

  She nodded with an embarrassed look. “A few hundred dollars. It wasn’t much, but she was so desperate to make this new business work.”

  “She didn’t give you any more information about the business?”

  “No.”

  “And you gave her money anyway?�
�� Lily demanded.

  Instead of addressing her mother, Poppy turned to me. “She was really tryin’ this time. I could see it in her eyes. She and her momma just needed to catch a break.”

  “Do you know where she was stayin?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “And before last Thursday, when was the last time you talked to her?”

  “About two months ago. That was the first time she mentioned her business—but she wasn’t asking for money that time. She just told me she was workin’ on it.”

  “She was in town?” I asked.

  “No. Maybe she was in Atlanta. Or Vegas? I lost track of where she was livin’, but she didn’t say.”

  Lily snorted. “I don’t believe for one minute she didn’t ask you for money.”

  “Well, she didn’t,” Poppy said in defiance. “She called to say she was tired of hurtin’ her momma, and she was finally goin’ to do something that would make her proud.”

  I cast a glance toward Lucille, who was now silently weeping.

  I really wanted to be done with this toxic environment, but I hadn’t finished questioning them. “I know that Carol Ann asked Patsy for money. Do you know who else she hit up?”

  “She didn’t ask me,” Nicki said.

  Her great-grandmother shot her an ornery grin. “That’s because you don’t have a pot to piss in.”

  Lily’s mouth dropped open in outrage. “Momma. You have got to stop goin’ on the internet!” She glanced around the room, her face becoming blotchy. “This family is goin’ to hell in a handbasket!” Lily shouted, then pointed her finger at her mother. “And you’re in the driver’s seat!”

  “You know what you need?” Miss Bluebell asked. “You need a joint. Weed’s legal in several states now.”

  Lily froze and looked so horrified you could have pushed her over with a pin. And while everyone else looked momentarily stunned by her announcement, they were soon stifling giggles.

  It was time for me to take charge. “Look, it’s obvious y’all have a lot of family business you’d like to attend to, so if I could ask a few more questions, I’ll be more than happy to get out of your hair.” When no one protested, I asked, “Does anyone know what Patsy was doin’ between three and seven on Sunday afternoon?”

  They remained quiet.

  “Do you know of anyone who held a grudge against Patsy? Someone who might want to set her up?”

  They were quiet again, but I could see they were putting more thought into this question.

  “She made some enemies in her business,” Poppy said.

  “Fools who were jealous of her success,” Lily said.

  “Her questionable success,” Poppy said.

  “You hush your mouth!” Lily shouted. “You’re jealous of her too.”

  “How can I not be, Momma? When you constantly shove my face in how wonderful she is and what a disappointment I am.”

  Nicki stiffened during the exchange. Her great-grandmother put a hand on her head and began to stroke her hair soothingly as she gave her daughter a dark glare.

  “Poppy,” I said. “Why do you say questionable success?”

  “Patsy’s always braggin’ at family dinners about all her land deals. But I have a friend who says Patsy ripped her off.”

  “Ripped her off how?”

  “Patsy purchased the land for a lot less than it was worth.”

  “And you made sure to bring it up at Thanksgivin’ dinner, didn’t you?” Lily asked. “Right there in front of everyone, you accused your sister of fraud. But you keep leaving out the part that exonerates your sister.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Patsy used an appraiser to come up with how much the land was worth. Poppy’s friend is delusional.”

  Poppy made a face. “Well, my friend’s not the only one who’s pissed at her. Several people tried to bring a lawsuit against her, but Judge Berger refused to hear it.”

  “See?” Poppy’s mother said. “Even the judge said she was on the up-and-up.”

  “Judge Berger is as crooked as they come,” Poppy scoffed. “He was arrested for bribery charges.”

  “Everyone knows he was set up.”

  I resisted the urge to groan. Talk about denial. Judge Berger was the same corrupt judge who’d set my bail at a million dollars last winter after J.R. Simmons got me arrested on trumped-up charges.

  “Poppy, do you think you can get me a list of the people you know who might have held a grudge against Patsy?” I pulled a business card out of my purse and handed it to her.

  “Yeah.” But she didn’t look too sure, and I realized why. Giving me the information might help prove her sister didn’t kill Carol Ann. And it looked like Poppy would love nothing more than to see Patsy Sue behind bars.

  I got to my feet. “Well, if there’s nothin’ else you all have to share with me, I’ll be on my way. But feel free to let me know if you think of anything.”

  The women all nodded, but Poppy was the only one who got to her feet. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  I cast a glance at Nicki, remembering her reaction to my suggestion that Carol Ann’s competition might have killed her to get in the way. “Hey, Nicki. My niece’s birthday’s comin’ up. Do you think you could walk out with me so I can pick your brain about what teenagers like these days?”

  “Sure.”

  Poppy opened the front door and held it open for me. “Thanks for your help,” I said.

  She grimaced. “Yeah. Sure. I’m not sure what good we did.”

  I smiled. “You just never know.”

  Nicki followed me and shut the door behind her. As soon as we reached the driveway, she said, “That was pretty much the lamest excuse you could have made to talk to me alone.” Then she grinned. “Good thing my family’s not the brightest.”

  I chuckled. “I guess I wasn’t so subtle. I wanted to ask you what you know about Carol Ann’s business.”

  She shoved her hands into the front pockets of her short jean shorts. “Not much more than what you learned in there.”

  “But something more . . .”

  “More like who she was doin’ it with.”

  “Her cousins on her father’s side?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “Neely Kate talked to one of them last night. Sounds like Carol Ann was in town for a lot longer than your family knows.”

  Nicki glanced back at the house before answering me in a much lower voice. “I know she’d been in town for at least two months. I ran into her down in Big Thief Hollow, but you can’t tell my mom. I skipped school to go down there.”

  I almost asked her what she’d been up to, but I knew the sheriff’s department had been trying—and failing—to stomp out the thriving drug market in that town. “When was this? The middle of May?”

  Nicki nodded. “She was stayin’ with one of the Big Thief Hollow cousins. She asked me not to tell anyone that I saw her. I told her she had a deal as long as she kept quiet about me.”

  I hesitated before asking my next question, but considering the profession of Carol Ann’s cousins’ deceased father, it needed to be asked. “Do you know if Carol Ann was using drugs?”

  She stared at me like I’d just caught her letting out a loud, stinky fart.

  “It might help me find out who killed her.”

  “Oh, I know who killed her,” Nicki said. “Patsy’s guilty as sin. I can’t believe you’re defending that bitch.”

  She glanced at the house, and I saw Lily glaring at us through the big picture window.

  “Just so you know,” she said with a grin. “When Grandma Lily grills me over our conversation, I’m going to make this whole gift story sound lame as hell.”

  Chapter 17

  I called Neely Kate as soon as I pulled away from the house. “Any luck finding Becky?” I asked.

  “The manager’s running late, so we haven’t talked to him, but we found a neighbor who remembers her. He said he sees her walk to the
convenience store nearly every day in the early afternoon. He pointed out the apartment he thinks she lives in, so we’re watchin’ the door while we wait for the manager. What about you?” she asked. “Find out anything useful?”

  “You wouldn’t believe what I found out.” I spent several minutes filling her in on both Carol Ann and Patsy.

  When I finished, she was quiet for a moment. “What do you think she was up to?”

  “Honestly,” I said, “I would have said she was jumping into the drug business, but why would she tell Poppy she was doin’ something her mother would be proud of? Carol Ann’s daddy got thrown into prison because he messed with the drug trade, or at least Lucille thinks so. She would not be happy.”

  “Yeah, that’s throwin’ me off too.”

  Since I didn’t know where I was going next, I pulled into a convenience store parking lot. “Her cousin in Big Thief Hollow didn’t know anything specific about Carol Ann’s business?”

  “No, she only mentioned it in passing. She made it seem like no big deal.”

  “Or she was bein’ super secretive about it. How’d it come up in the conversation?”

  Neely Kate was quiet for a moment. “Come to think of it, Charlene’s mother’s the one who mentioned it. She kind of played it down.”

  “Sounds like we need to have another chat with Charlene.”

  “Yeah . . .”

  “Did you know anything about Patsy cheatin’ people in her real estate deals?” I asked.

  “I’ve heard rumors. I know there was a lawsuit filed against her that got dismissed, but the people who sued her weren’t the most trustworthy citizens of Fenton County. I figured it was a wash.”

  “Yeah, but Judge Berger’s the one who threw out the case. Plus, you said Patsy’s office staff acted weird. There’s something fishy going on with her. All the more reason for me to talk to Calvin again.”

  “Agreed, but when are you plannin’ on seeing him?” Neely Kate asked. “Witt had to leave Marshall in the panic room while he went to talk to someone about renting garage space for his mechanic shop. He won’t be able to go with you until later this afternoon.”

  “Huh.” I didn’t want to wait to go see him. I’d built some momentum, and I would hate for it to grind to a halt now. I heard the beep of a text message and saw James’ name on the screen.