Paul thanked him, and then, thanking Grace again, Joey left to go back to their barracks cottage.
“Now what?” Paul said. “I don't think he did it.”
“No,” Grace said. “He didn't. I think it's time for me to meet Mr. Wilson, don't you?”
13
After Ben left I still wasn't sure I wanted to get involved in Mariette's problem, so I took my iced tea, an extra churro, and my cellphone out to the back porch to think. I knew I didn't have long before Elena called me again, so I had to make a decision before she made it for me.
“I need some clarity here, God,” I prayed, a bit facetiously. “You could just tell me what to do, You know!” A part of me felt a little guilty for poking fun at praying, but then I could almost hear Poppaw saying, “Pretty sure God's big enough to handle a little snark from you, darlin'.” The thought felt like Poppaw had wrapped his arms around me for a hug.
“Okay,” I said out loud. “I told Ben I was going to talk to Mariette and Elena before I decided what to do, and that still seems like the best step forward.” I took a deep breath, picked up my phone, and called Elena.
“Hey, girl!” she answered. “I was about to call you; I thought maybe you'd wimped out on me.”
“Not quite,” I laughed, “but I'm still not sure about the whole thing.”
“Why?” she asked. Her tone sounded concerned, not challenging “I mean, what are you worried about? What's holding you back?”
“Well, first, we don't even know if Mariette wants us to get involved; what if she doesn't want our help, if she thinks we're just gossips interfering? And I'm afraid that, even if she's okay with it, we might do something that keeps the deputies and the DA from being able to prosecute whoever drugged her. Even more, I'm terrified that we might say or do something that puts Mariette in danger.”
“So, it's not about it being Mariette herself, right?” Elena asked. “I mean, you wouldn't have a problem working together with her, if the other things were resolved?”
“No, it really isn't about that,” I said, surprising myself. “I mean, I think it would be awkward, in the beginning, anyway; but I don't hate her or anything like that. I want things to work out for her, believe it or not.”
Elena laughed. “Oh, I believe it! Norah, you are one of the kindest people I know; you would want the best for anyone, even if it was your worst enemy! I already knew the answer to my question; I just wanted to be sure that you knew it!”
She giggled again before continuing. “I've already talked to Mariette; I called her this afternoon and told her that we had heard about the labs. I asked her, point blank, if she wanted help figuring out the whole thing, and she started crying, telling me how much it meant that we would even ask. So that worry is cleared up.”
She gave me a second to think about that and then said, “What if we just meet with her and talk about the situation? Maybe we can ask the right questions to help her figure out what happened, and then she could tell the sheriff. We wouldn't have to talk to anyone or do anything, so there would be no extra risk for her, and we wouldn't be messing around with evidence or witnesses. That would mean that we couldn't goof up the case in any way.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “I'm still not totally sure, but I can't see where that would hurt anything. But that's it, Elena – no Nancy Drew or Jessica Fletcher moves, do you hear me?”
“I'll pick you up about 9 tomorrow morning,” she said, ignoring my comments. “You fix the coffee, and I'll pick up some pastries or something to take with us. Good night!” She ended the call before I could say anything else.
“I need to find a new best friend,” I muttered. “This one is going to get me into all kinds of trouble, I just know it.” Despite my grumbling, I couldn't help smiling, as I remembered that the two of us had been getting each other in minor scrapes all our lives. Why should things change now? I thought as I headed off to bed.
The next morning, I took my coffee and a notepad and headed back out to the porch again. If we're going to do this, we might as well do it right, I thought as I scribbled some questions to ask Mariette. Finally, I felt as ready as I was likely to ever be, so I filled two travel mugs with coffee and then made a second pot to add to a thermos. Elena pulled into the driveway and beeped the car's horn just as I was locking the front door.
“Good morning,” I said, handing her one of the mugs. “Are you still convinced we need to do this? We could always drive over to Victoria for a little retail therapy instead.”
“Pfft!” she scoffed. “You hate shopping; there's no way you'd choose it over...well, over just about anything. And yes, I do think we need to talk to Mariette. Even if we can't help solve anything, I think she really needs someone to listen to her right now – someone to care about what she's saying. I know that you haven't said anything in town, but you also aren't the only one who has been angry with her about what happened to your grandfather. There are some folks who have really been giving her a hard time.”
“That's not right!” I exclaimed. “Even if she was at fault – and I've always known that it wasn't really her fault – I would never have said or done anything to make her feel bad about it.”
“I know,” Elena sighed. “That's what I said last night – you would only wish good for your worst enemy. Unfortunately, though, not everyone around here is as charitable as you are!”
Elena pulled into the Jackson's driveway and parked. Walking toward the front door, I said, “I love this town, and I don't want to live anywhere else again, but there are some things about small-town life I'll never like!”
“Hello, girls,” Mrs. Jackson said as she opened the door. “Please come in; Mariette is waiting in the family room.” We started to walk away when she stopped us. “Norah, Elena – thank you for coming today. I know that my daughter isn't one of your favorite people, and I understand that; her past choices have made it difficult. But, this time, I think she really wants to break those patterns. Knowing that people are judging her without having all of the facts is...well, I'm so afraid it will be enough to send her back to alcohol and drugs, just to escape the nasty looks and sly comments. It means a lot that you are here – to her and to me.”
I hugged her, and we cried together for a second or two. “Mrs. Jackson, it doesn't matter what Mariette has done – or hasn't done, for that matter – in the past. Everyone deserves another chance, and we aren't the ones to decide how many chances there should be. Even the Bible says to forgive 70 times seven, and she's still a long way from there!” She laughed, as I'd hoped she would. “Let's see what we can figure out!”
Mariette stood to greet us as we walked into the cozy den. Elena hugged her and then led her back to the love seat she'd been sitting on. I followed, still a little reluctant, and sat in what may be the most comfortable chair in the world.
“Oh, wow!” I said. “This chair is amazing! I may never want to leave; hand me a stack of cozy mysteries, some snacks, and some iced tea, and I could be set for life.”
Mariette and Elena looked startled for a second, and then they both burst into giggles. It seemed that I'd broken the ice without even meaning to.
“It is pretty comfy,” Mariette said. “My dad loves that chair, and no one sits in it when he's around. I'd forgotten how great it is.” She took a deep breath. “Thank you, both, for coming. I couldn't believe it when you called, Elena; I had just been thinking that I needed someone to help me think through how to solve this mess.”
She looked down at her hands. “Norah, I am so sorry about your grandfather. He always said something encouraging when I saw him, no matter what condition I was in.” Her voice broke as she continued, “He and your grandmother never judged me; they never treated me like a drunk or an addict. They spoke to me the same way they did to any other person in town. Now and then, one or both of them would offer me a bit of wisdom, even though I could tell they knew I wasn't ready to listen.”
“They are very special people,” I agreed. “For them, faith i
sn't about what you believe; it's about how you live your life, every day and in every situation. They've always been what I wanted to be 'when I grow up'!”
Before things could get awkward, Elena jumped back into the conversation. “Okay,” she said. “We know that your blood tests showed drugs in your system – date rape drugs. Can you tell us what you know, what happened that day?”
Mariette nodded. “I've been back home about three months now, and I attend an AA meeting every day. I've been going to Beeville for them; I've been in the local group for years, and my inpatient counselor and I both felt like it would be better to join in with another group of people. I was finally serious about making this work during my last time in the hospital and driving 30 miles didn't seem like too much effort to stay sober.”
Elena grabbed Mariette's hand and squeezed it. “You even sound different this time; I can hear the determination in your voice.”
Mariette thanked her and then continued her story. “Two or three times a month, several of us go out for coffee after the meeting. Usually, we just hit McDonald's or somewhere like that; once or twice, we've gone to the diner and had lunch. That day, though, someone suggested a little coffee shop that has just opened recently, so we decided to try it out.”
Elena asked, “A new shop? Where is it? Is it any good? Do they have real coffee, like espresso and stuff, or is it just another wannabe with multiple drip machines and grocery-store grind?”
“Focus, friend,” I said. “You can worry about your coffee snobbery later.” Mariette laughed, and I waved for her to continue.
“Anyway,” she said, “there were six or seven of us together that day. We drank our lattes and cappuccinos, and then everyone gathered up their things and left. I got almost to Berclair when I started feeling really weird. The next thing I remember was waking up in that field with a massive headache and seeing just about every first-responder in the county around my car. I didn't find out until later that your grandfather...that he had been trying to help me. The EMTs loaded me into an ambulance and took me to the hospital in Victoria. I guess they took a blood sample in the ER; I was still pretty out of it at that point.”
She looked at me. “I didn't take those drugs knowingly. I promise you that, as far as my own actions are concerned, I've been sober since two days after I went into the hospital the last time. I hadn't had a drink or so much as an aspirin for almost five months, until I got to the hospital...well, until someone put something in my coffee, I guess.”
“I believe you,” I said. It seemed important to her to hear that. And I did believe her, in spite of having heard her say the same thing time and time again, usually while she was too drunk to know where she was.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Two days ago, the sheriff called my parents and asked if she could stop by the house. When she got here, she told us that the lab results showed I had Rohypnol in my system. Surprisingly, given my history, she believed me when I told her that I hadn't taken it on my own. She asked a few questions, then she said that she would have one of the detectives talk to me, to see if they could figure out who drugged me.”
“And did someone talk to you?” I asked.
“Yeah, I guess you could technically say that,” Mariette said. “I ran into one of the deputies at the grocery store, and he said the sheriff had given him the lab results. He asked me who I bought the drug from; when I told him that I didn't buy it, he gave me this cocky, 'yeah, sure you didn't' look and thanked me for my time. As far as I know, nothing else has been done since then. He clearly didn't believe me or think I was worth his time. I don't think the sheriff knows that, though.”
“I can guarantee that she doesn't,” Elena said. “If she told you a detective would be asking questions, she intended for there to be a thorough investigation. If she didn't believe your story, she would have told you that upfront. That kind of drive-by questioning and dismissal isn't her style; I think that deputy needs a wake-up call.”
“I don't want to make trouble,” Mariette said. “It's easy to understand why he would think I was making it all up.”
I interrupted. “Doesn't matter if he had a reason to doubt you or not; it's his job to investigate every case assigned to him in a professional way. And, if he's not willing to do that, he needs to be in trouble. What if whoever did this tries again, with you or with someone else? Or, less dramatically, what if people who hear about it think that Natalia is okay with that kind of response to citizens? She needs to know, Mariette, and, if he does get into trouble over it, it was his choice, not yours, that would cause it.”
Mariette squirmed uncomfortably in her seat as Elena opened her mouth to say more. I shook my head slightly to tell her to let it go for now. We'd revisit that conversation a little later.
“So,” I asked, “who was at the coffee shop? Or can you tell us that?” I suddenly realized that the others would also be in her AA group and that she might not feel that she could break that anonymity.
“Well, I usually wouldn't say,” she replied, “but not everyone in the group attends meetings with us. A couple of other friends met us at the shop, so I think that I can give you everyone's name without giving away anything I shouldn't.”
“Has anyone in that group ever come on to you or to one of the others in a way that made you uncomfortable, that, in hindsight, makes you think he might be willing to drug someone for sex?”
“No, nothing like that,” she replied. “We're all just friends. No one in that bunch dates anyone else in the group, and I've never seen any indication that someone wants to.”
Elena asked, “Did anything unusual happen that day? Other than someone slipping drugs in your coffee, I mean, obviously!” We all laughed at the silly face she made.
“Nothing that I remember,” Mariette said. “One of the guys stepped outside, and I saw him talking to some other guy – kind of a rough-looking sort – but it didn't seem particularly unusual.”
“Do you know much about him?” I asked her. It didn't sound unusual to me, either, but there was just something that made me wonder.
“Not much,” she replied. “We were in rehab together, so I know a little more about him than some of the others. I know that he was there because of a court order, and not because he wanted to be. He was arrested for possession with intent to distribute, and his attorney got him a deferred sentence if he did an in-patient rehab stint. I hadn't seen him since I left the hospital, and I got the impression that the group wasn't his choice, either.”
I thought about it for a minute. “Mariette, is there any chance he was making a drug deal, that he thinks you saw the whole thing? Maybe he was trying to warn you off?”
'Well, it was a pretty inefficient way to do that, since I hadn't connected the two things,” she snorted, “but yeah, it's a possibility. Do you think he meant for me to have that accident?” She sounded scared.
“I bet he was planning on 'helping' you home when the drugs kicked in, hoping you'd remember that and not what you saw before,” Elena interjected. “Or he wanted to get you away from the others and find out what you saw.”
I nodded. “I don't think he jumped right to wanting to hurt you that fast; he probably expected you to get dizzy or something, so he could offer to drive you home.”
“That makes sense,” Mariette agreed. “But how do I find out if he's the one who drugged me?”
“Oh, oh, I know!” Elena bounced in her chair and waved her hand like a little kid in class. “We can trick him into trying again and catch him in the act.”
“No, nope, not a chance,” I said as Mariette shook her head. “First, we agreed that we were going to brainstorm possible scenarios without taking any direct action. Second, that's way too risky; Mariette could be in serious danger if he figures out it's a trap. I think we share what we've figured out with the sheriff's office and let them handle it.”
“Oh, c'mon, Norah,” Elena objected. “You know there's no way they can do anything at this point. All we have is supp
osition; they need something more compelling than 'might haves' and “maybes.' And Mariette wouldn't be alone with him. Besides the group members who joined them for coffee, we can be there, too.”
“Um, Elena, the others were there when whoever slipped the drug in Mariette's coffee the first time, “ I pointed out. “I don't think we can count on that making things safe. Mariette nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, but we know what we are watching for,” Elena insisted. “One of us can watch the guy himself, while the other one can focus on Mariette's drink and food. There's no way to miss it if someone tries to tamper with them.”
“She does have a point there,” Mariette said, although her acknowledgment seemed a little reluctant. “I'm not saying we should try to catch him, but it would be safer with all three of us working on it.”
“What if we do catch him, but we screw things up, so that the sheriff can't arrest him?” I asked, sure that I'd come up with the final word.
“We tell them what we're going to do, and they place someone in the shop, undercover,” Elena said. “Simple!”
“You watch way too much crime television!” I retorted. I looked at Mariette; her expression said that something inside her wanted to explore the possibility.
I sighed. “Okay, how about this? We talk to Frank, at the SO. – he is your source, right, Elena?” I winked at her. “If he says it's okay, we'll try to catch...what's his name, Mari?”
“Hamilton Chance III,” she said in a snotty voice. “Can you believe it?”
After a giggle or two, I continued. “All righty then, if Frank agrees, we go after Mr. Chance, with a deputy on the scene.” Elena squealed and clapped. I held up a hand. “ But... but, if he says no, we drop that idea and figure out something else.”
Mariette nodded. “If a deputy thinks it could work and be safe, I'm willing to try. And I agree that, if he says no, we shouldn't go rogue and try it on our own.”
Murder at the Mission Page 7
