Framed by Friends: A Senoia Cozy Mystery

by Susan Harper

  “I look just like my mom,” Brittany said with a bit of remorse. “If I’m being honest, I think Dad has a hard time looking at me sometimes. Mom ruined his life. I mean, she tried to kill him in his sleep with a kitchen knife. If it wasn’t for his military training, I think she would have succeeded. He’s never been a heavy sleeper, you know? I think it’s hard for someone who looks like a miniature version of his ex-wife to be walking around the house.”

  “You and Whitney look a lot alike to me,” Jack said. “Surely she must look like your mom too.”

  “Not really,” Brittany said. “Not the way that I do. But I’ll tell you one thing—I’d rather look like our psycho mother than act like her.”

  “As opposed to, who, Whitney?” Jack questioned.

  “Whitney was older when everything went down. It was a lot easier for me to let go, you know? I only go see Mom on her birthday every year. Whitney visits with her a lot, but she remembers her growing up better than I do, so I guess I can’t blame her. I think Mom gets in her head sometimes, because she always comes back from a prison visit acting and talking a little crazy.”

  “What do you mean by crazy?” Jack asked.

  “Mom was a big-time cheater,” Brittany said, now walking toward the door. “Whitney gets it from her honestly. Look, it’s been nice ragging on Miss Perfect and all, but I gotta go. Whether she and I are besties or not—not—she’s still my sister, and I can imagine she’s pretty upset right now after watching her husband get shot. So I got to get going.”

  Jack stepped out of the house so that Brittany could lock up. “Thanks for the information, Brittany.”

  “Sure thing,” she said and reached her hand out. “Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in it in case you have anything you want to ask. I’m an open book. Anything to get Jefferson out of trouble, because I know there is no way he would ever hurt anyone.”

  Jack smiled and handed her his cell phone, thanking her for being so helpful. She handed it back once her number was put in. “Just make sure you get Jefferson out of jail, all right?” she said before hurrying to her father’s pickup truck, where the man was passed out in the passenger’s side.

  Jack headed for his own car, feeling quite accomplished with his assignment.

  Chapter 7

  Felicity arrived back at the party location in record time. The majority of the guests had already left, while the rest were lingering around and talking. She parked and got out of the car, scanning the small crowd for familiar faces. She spotted Kristopher, Nick’s friend who was also in the Navy, heading toward the cars. He was on the phone, sounding quite frantic. “Yeah? Okay, so he’s still in surgery? Okay, Whit, I’ll be there soon, I promise,” Kristopher said before hanging up, almost bumping into Felicity in his distraction. “Sorry!” he exclaimed, attempting to walk around her.

  “Kristopher, before you run off, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Felicity prodded, following him toward his car.

  “I’m kind of in a hurry,” Kristopher said and then frowned at her. “You’re Felicity, Jefferson’s boss, right?”

  “Yes,” Felicity said.

  “You going to fire that creep now?” he asked. “Or are you one of those types that’ll hold the job for the guy once he gets out of prison?”

  “Jefferson didn’t shoot Nick,” Felicity said. “I know him. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  Kristopher huffed. “Sure,” he said. “Whatever you say.”

  “You seem to think otherwise?”

  “I knew Jefferson back when he dated Whitney, and he was awful! He used to hurt her,” Kristopher claimed, sending a shiver through Felicity.

  “Jefferson?” she questioned.

  “Yeah, Jefferson,” Kristopher hissed. “Let me guess, he’s got you fooled too, right? Good boy Jefferson. I thought so too until he put Whitney in the hospital.”

  “I don’t buy that for even a second,” Felicity said. “Listen, I know your friend has been hurt, and that’s why I want to talk. I’m trying to find out what happened. What really happened. If you are truly Nick’s friend, you would want to know the truth, right?”

  “What’s there to know?” Kristopher snarled. “That guy was in the house where the bullet came from. He and Nick have fought before. Nick married his ex. Jefferson’s gun was found in the house too. Jefferson shot Nick, Felicity. The evidence is there.” Kristopher flung open the driver’s side door of his car. “I need to go to the hospital to be there for Whitney,” he declared.

  “Yeah, about that,” Felicity said as Kristopher climbed into the car. “I noticed you and Whitney’s father seemed close.”

  “So?” he questioned.

  “I don’t know. It just didn’t seem like Mister Lull was all that close with his son-in-law. Why you?” Felicity asked.

  “He’s close with Nick too,” Kristopher defended. “Whitney, Nick, Logan, and I were all real close as kids. Jefferson too before his and Whitney’s nasty breakup. We grew up hanging around the Lull household. Mister Lull is close with all of us. Not just me.”

  “Just seems like he is exceptionally close to you,” Felicity said. “You two probably bond over the Navy, I’m sure. But why can’t he bond that way with Nick?”

  “Nick just doesn’t get how things really work in the Navy,” Kristopher said, reaching for the door handle. Felicity stood in the way of him closing the door.

  “What do you mean by that?” Felicity asked.

  “Okay, listen,” Kristopher said, pointing at her. “I already told Whitney I was headed that way, so move, or I swear you’re getting run over!”

  “Fine!” Felicity snapped, taking a few steps back. Kristopher slammed the car door and peeled out of the drive. I’m glad Jefferson doesn’t hang out with him anymore, Felicity mused.

  “Well, he sure was pleasant toward you,” a man’s voice said from behind.

  She turned around to see a younger man she didn’t recognize at first. “No, he wasn’t,” she said.

  “You’re Felicity, right? Jefferson’s friend?” he asked.

  “Oh, Logan!” she said, recalling having met him earlier that day at the party.

  He was sheepishly standing nearby, holding onto his car keys. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s me. What are you doing back here? Did you forget something?”

  “No,” Felicity said. “I’m just looking for answers. Can you attest to anything that Kristopher just told me about Jefferson?”

  “I don’t think Jefferson was ever physical with Whitney, if that’s what you mean, but I couldn’t tell you for sure,” Logan said. “They always seemed like a happy couple until Whitney cheated with Nick. I do know that Whitney went to the hospital for something the night of the breakup, but I don’t know exactly what happened because I wasn’t there. She wouldn’t ever talk about it.”

  “Logan, can I ask you something?” Felicity questioned, and he nodded sheepishly. “From what Jefferson told me, the two of you had been really close before his and Whitney’s breakup split up your group of friends. If you and Jefferson were best friends, why didn’t you tell him that his girlfriend was cheating on him? And why would you just…leave him for Whitney and her friends? Why not stay friends with Jefferson?”

  Logan frowned. “I’m not really proud of it. I definitely chose the wrong side. You’re right. Jeffrey was my best friend. We knew each other pretty much our entire lives and had always been best friends. I messed up.”

  “But why? Why take Whitney’s side?”

  “Because I liked her,” Logan said, and his face turned red. “I got jealous after Jefferson got together with Whitney. I never told him I liked her. Stupid kid stuff, right? I caught her making out with Nick a couple of times, but she could always convince me not to say anything. When they broke up, there were all these crazy rumors about what happened, and I didn’t know who to believe. I know who I should have believed, though. But I was a stupid kid who was totally in love with Whitney, and I followed after her and the rest of the gro
up when they ostracized Jefferson because I didn’t want to lose her and Nick and Kristopher over Jefferson.”

  “That’s pretty cold, Logan,” Felicity said.

  “I regret it,” Logan said. “I should have been a better friend to Jeff. I followed Whitney because I didn’t think she and Nick would stay together. I figured once they broke up that I could maybe get together with her, but they never did. By the time I realized I had made a huge mistake turning my back on Jefferson, it was way too late. He wouldn’t have forgiven me.”

  “He would have,” Felicity said. “Because that’s the kind of guy he is. And I suspect that you don’t think he hurt Nick, am I right?”

  “You’re right,” Logan said. “I don’t know what happened, but there is no way he shot Nick. I mean, I know he got into a fight with Nick back in high school, but it’s not like you could blame the guy. I don’t think Jefferson would have held a grudge for that long. None of this makes sense to me.”

  “If there is anything you could tell me that could help, I would appreciate it,” Felicity said.

  Logan shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “What happened after the breakup?” Felicity asked.

  “Exactly what I’ve already said. Everyone ditched Jefferson. He didn’t really have a lot of friends in high school after all of that. You know… He probably never would have taken your job offer if it hadn’t had been for all of that. If he had had friends to hang out with on the weekends after high school. But he really didn’t. Funny how the world works, right?” Logan said.

  “I guess fate brought us together,” Felicity said. “That, or just a really bad girlfriend.”

  “You have no idea,” Logan moaned. “I really am sorry for my part in all of that. I should have told him. And I definitely shouldn’t have bailed on him.”

  “Logan, if you’re really sorry, I think you should tell Jefferson. Not me,” she said.

  “I hope I get the chance,” Logan said. “I don’t want to see Jefferson going to jail over all of this. He didn’t do it. I know it.”

  “You seem really confident in that, especially since you haven’t spoken to Jefferson in years,” Felicity said. “Is there anything you know that you’re not telling me, Logan?”

  Logan looked suddenly very anxious. “I don’t know exactly. Everyone was just acting weird at the party with Jefferson being here. It makes me feel like something went down.”

  “Like what?” Felicity questioned.

  “I don’t know exactly,” Logan said, avoiding eye contact.

  “Logan, you know something,” Felicity said, taking a step forward. “Please, tell me.”

  Logan nodded. “Okay, but this is all I know. I overheard Kristopher saying something about Jack and Jefferson going to the shooting range after the party. He was being a tool, you know, making fun of Jeff for not knowing how to shoot. But he knew Jefferson was going to the range, so he knew that Jeff had his gun at the party.”

  Felicity said. “How did he know about Jack and Jefferson planning on going to the range afterward?”

  “Apparently they were going with some guys from the station where your friend Jack works. Kristopher and Nick have a bunch of friends who work at the station, so they probably found out that way,” Logan said.

  “Thank you,” Felicity said to him. “That’s very helpful. Is there anything else you can tell me?”

  “No, that’s it,” he said quickly.

  “Logan, what else?” Felicity asked. “I can tell you are keeping something from me. What do you know?”

  “I know that those guys at the station are not that good of friends with Jack,” Logan said under his breath. “There’s no reason they would have invited Jack along to go shooting with them. But for some reason, they did.”

  “Logan, why do you think that is?” Felicity asked.

  Logan now looked very anxious. He sped around her, heading for his vehicle. “I don’t know,” he said. “I just know that Jefferson did not shoot Nick. I got to go.” With that, Logan loaded up into his car and sped off.

  Felicity shook her head. Something was not sitting right with her about her conversation with Logan. He knew something else, but she was not sure what. She spoke with a few more people before heading back to her own vehicle. She sent a quick text to her friends to let them know to reconvene at the event shop and asking them all what type of coffee they would like since she planned to walk down to the Senoia coffee shop before they all arrived.

  She drove back to Senoia, thinking about what all she had learned. Her conversation with Kristopher about how Jefferson had been toward Whitney had her on edge. She didn’t believe Jefferson could ever hurt someone, but hearing it from Kristopher had still unsettled her.

  Chapter 8

  Autumn arrived at Newnan Hospital with Dawn and Veronica only twenty minutes after leaving the event shop. The three women piled out of the car, eager to complete the tasks that had been assigned to them. “So Dawn and I are going to go talk to Whitney, and what are you doing exactly?” Veronica asked as they scurried up to the main entrance.

  “I’m going to talk to a few doctors and see if I can find any information about Nick,” Autumn said.

  “Sounds good,” Veronica said as they entered the building. They headed to the waiting room where Whitney would likely be, and Autumn spotted the woman sulking in a corner. “Okay, you two are on,” Autumn said. “Good luck, ladies. I’ll meet you both back by the main entrance.” She then dipped out, heading through the double doors that only personnel were permitted through. Luckily, she worked at the hospital.

  Autumn headed to the large nurses’ station in the back area and propped her elbows up on the desk, looking over at two women who were busying themselves on the computer. “Maria,” Autumn sang slightly, and one of the women looked up.

  “Doctor Smitz,” Maria said with a smile. “What brings you to this side of the hospital?”

  Autumn giggled slightly. “You mean what am I doing out of the basement?”

  “Well, I didn’t want to say it like that,” Maria joked. Maria’s little corner of the reception desk was covered in little sugar skull knick-knacks that made her seem as though she was celebrating the Day of the Dead all year round. Maria’s little collection had a lot to do with how the two of them had gotten to know one another. The medical receptionist had a fascination with the world of the un-living and was studying to work in Autumn’s field.

  “Listen, Maria, I need the name of the surgeon who is operating on a gentleman who just got in about an hour ago. Nick Fontant?” Autumn began.

  Maria started to pull the file, but the other woman at the desk peered up from her computer screen. “Why do you need that information, Doctor Smitz?” she asked.

  “I just need to speak with the surgeon,” Autumn said.

  “Are you family?” the woman asked.

  “It’s Doctor Roberts,” Maria said before the woman could pester Autumn any further.

  Autumn smiled. She and Dr. Roberts were fairly close—especially after he had helped her during the Halloween fundraiser when she had accidently inhaled toxic fumes. The man had been a lifesaver. “Great,” Autumn said. “Is he still in surgery?”

  “I believe so,” Maria said. “I was told the surgery was going well. Nick is being patched up as we speak.”

  “Thanks, Maria. Do you know which operating suite they’re in?” Autumn asked.

  “Suite number four,” Maria replied, and Autumn thanked her again before heading down the hall.

  She entered the viewing room and through a large glass window, she could see Dr. Roberts and his surgical team hard at work on Nick. She waited around for close to half an hour before Dr. Roberts was able to clean up and exit the operating suite into the viewing room. He smiled when he saw her and put aside his dirtied gloves, beginning to scrub up. “How did the surgery go?” Autumn asked.

  “Better than expected,” Dr. Roberts said.

  “Can you tell me anything more specific tha
n that?” Autumn asked.

  Dr. Roberts frowned. “Autumn, you know this sort of thing is quite confidential. You’re the forensic pathologist here. What interest could you possibly have in this?”

  Autumn stood upright, unwilling to back down. Felicity has done this sort of thing plenty of times before. If she can do it, so can I, she thought. “Listen, Doctor Roberts, this is personal.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you knew Mister Fontant,” Dr. Roberts said. “I’ll be filling in his wife on the surgery in just a moment, and I’ll—”

  “I don’t know Nick,” Autumn said. “One of my best friends is being accused of shooting him. I know he didn’t do it. Please, if there’s any information you can give me—”

  “Doctor Smitz, this is incredibly unprofessional of you!” Dr. Roberts chastised as he dried his hands and tossed the paper towels in the trash.

  “I know,” she said. “But I’m worried for my friend.”

  He frowned and seemed to be contemplating for a moment. “I can tell you that he was shot high on the back of his neck.”

  “Likely was meant to be a head shot,” Autumn said. “Is he going to be all right?”

  “Depends on what you mean by all right,” Dr. Roberts said. “It got him right at the top of his spine. He will be lucky if paralysis is all he has to deal with.”

  “That’s just awful,” Autumn said. Autumn sensed that there was something more the man had for her. She stared him down. “What is it?” she asked simply, hoping he would keep talking.

  He took a breath, clearly uncomfortable sharing information with her. “I do surgeries quite often. I don’t normally let something like this bother me. It’s part of the job. I don’t look forward to telling Nick about his paralysis.”

  “What’s different about this case?” Autumn asked. Dr. Roberts seemed incredibly troubled. The man rubbed his wrists and tilted his head slightly as he contemplated what to tell her exactly.

  “I can’t be sure, but I got the sense that his wife won’t be able to handle it,” he said, but this didn’t seem all that suspicious to Autumn.