by Farrell, Lia
David picked up his phone as they walked out. Ben heard him say “Yes, that’s right. I have Elvis.”
Wayne drove them back to the office, which gave Ben the opportunity to call Dory and ask her to get the deputies and the CSI Team scheduled for a staff meeting in the morning. He wanted to hear what the lab tests showed about David Allison’s clothes. If he was their killer, there should be blood or perhaps dirt on what he had been wearing. He was relying more and more on the Lab’s astonishing findings.
“Good thing David Allison’s shirts hadn’t already gone to the laundry,” Ben remarked.
“Sure was,” said Wayne replied. “I’m going to call Ruby’s attorney’s office to get an appointment for tomorrow.”
Ben felt a flicker of annoyance. Wayne seemed to be setting his own agenda, rather than waiting for his lead. He paused briefly before proceeding, deciding not to make an issue of it.
“Okay. I’m going to look at the body in the morgue and talk with the M.E. about the time of death. I also want another look at the traffic measurement equipment that was laid across the vic’s neck. I don’t think the cord was used to kill her, but I’ll double check with the doc.”
They agreed to meet the following morning at seven thirty. Ben enjoyed these early morning staff meetings. When he became sheriff, he promised his staff would live in the community. He also assured the residents that there’d be more transparency in the work of the department. Now the hunt for a killer had begun, and the sheriff wanted everyone on his staff focused on the crime.
Walking into his office, Ben jotted down a list of points to clarify and confirm at tomorrow’s meeting. Creating an hour-by-hour timeline of the victim’s movements on the last day of her life would be critical to solving the crime.
March 2: Mae December sees Ruby Mead-Allison leaving for airport on vacation
March 2-14: Ruby staying at resort. She departs one day earlier than planned
March 14: Ruby on plane back to Nashville, arrives 3:15 p.m.
March 15/16: Ruby dies late at night on the 15th or early morning of the 16th
March 18: Mae December informs sheriff’s office Ruby is missing
March 19: Mae December reports finding Ruby’s body
What did Ruby do between 3:15 on March 14 and later the next night? Why did she come home early from her trip? Did Ruby have a new lover? She and David Allison separated in February. She could have been seeing someone new.
Arriving back at the station behind the CSI van, Ben watched Hadley carry the laundry back to the lab. Ben and Wayne Nichols went into the reception area where Dory was waiting for them. She enjoyed enormous respect as the power behind the throne in the sheriff’s office. She seemed to know everyone, having lived her whole life in Rosedale. As a black woman herself, she had many connections in the black community that had proven useful in unearthing clues Wayne and Ben couldn’t have learned otherwise. Dismissing Wayne with a shooing motion, she fixed her eyes on Ben.
“Sheriff, there are twelve messages for you. None of them are important. Do you need me to find out the value of Ruby’s property? I’m also assuming you need to see her will.”
These days, Ben got a kick out of Dory deciding what was important and what wasn’t. When he started as sheriff, however, he had found her more than a little irritating. Now, two years later, he appreciated how she ran the office—with humor and authority. Plus, she turned out to be right most of the time about which messages he really needed to return.
“Yes. Please look into Ruby’s property. I need to know if she had a mortgage, and if so, its value. If you can, find out the beneficiary of Ruby’s will.”
At the words, “if you can” Dory narrowed her eyes. Whoops. Ben knew Dory prided herself on her ability to ferret out information. He also knew better than to express doubts in Miss Dory’s abilities.
“Sorry. I’m sorry. I know you can find out anything. I’ll expect those reports tomorrow morning. I’d like everyone in the conference room by seven thirty.”
“Would you like Miss December to be there also?”
Mae December at my staff meeting? No way in hell, he thought.
“Absolutely not, Dory. Why on earth would you think I’d want her here for a staff meeting?”
Dory gave Ben an icy stare. Was that a stupid question? Maybe Dory was in a “men are morons” mood. Sometimes being in charge was exhausting.
Before Mae found Ruby’s body, Ben had been planning to take some time off at his cabin. That was out of the question now. At least he could visit it as often as he wanted, in his mind.
The first time Ben had gone to the cabin was with Gampy, his mom’s father. He was beside himself with excitement. Ben’s older brother, Mark, had been out to the cabin before, but Ben hadn’t been old enough until then. He knew his mom was too worried about his asthma to let him go, but the doctor told her he was starting to outgrow it.
“Don’t you lose your glasses, honey,” she’d called from the porch, as he climbed into Gampy’s station wagon. “Be sweet!”
He manfully ignored her. At nine years old, he was already straining at the apron strings. The hour it took to drive to the cabin flew by as he peppered his taciturn grandfather with questions about everything they’d see, eat, and do on their men’s weekend.
They pulled off the county road and onto a two-track that cut across an open field and ran through woods thick with cedar and bowdock trees. They came to a stop in front of a tiny log cabin. Ben threw open the car door. Gampy’s dogs boiled out behind him. Gampy hauled himself out and looked around with his commanding stare.
“Place looks like hell,” he said gruffly.
Ben was delighted, both by the remote cabin and his grandfather’s use of a swear word.
“Does it? I love it here. You owe me a quarter for the swear jar.”
Gampy looked down at Ben and shook his head. “No swear jar out here, son. Let’s leave your Mama to worry about things like that.”
Better and better. No big brother or parents to tell him what to do, no swear jar and his favorite person all to himself.
“What should we do first?”
“Well, let’s go on in and unpack the cooler. Leave those glasses in the car, Ben. You don’t really need them. And that way you won’t lose ’em.”
The inside of the cabin had one large, high-ceilinged room, with a ladder leading up to a loft. Ben explored every inch in a hurry. The cabin kitchen had only a small ice chest, a sink and a stove. A fireplace took up the opposite wall, with a set of old chairs that he knew Mama would call disgusting set up beside it. A small metal table sat in the middle of the room. There were three cots in the loft. Ben unrolled his sleeping bag across the closest one and skidded back down the ladder.
“Find everything?” Gampy asked.
“Almost. Where do we pee?”
Gampy’s low chuckle rasped out.
“I guess your brother never told you ’bout that, huh? We go out the back door and stand on the edge of the porch. Then we water the weeds.”
He pointed to the small wooden door in the far wall, and Ben gleefully ran out on the porch and did just that. They stayed for three whole days, hiking the forty acres, fishing the creek and telling stories. After that weekend, Ben pestered his grandfather to take him out to the cabin as often as possible. He wasn’t allowed to go with Gampy for hunting trips until he turned twelve, but until he turned sixteen, the cabin was his favorite place on earth.
Of course, once he smelled gasoline, bought a beater car and tasted his first girlfriend’s lipstick, he lost interest in the old place for a while. Gampy died when Ben was in college. Ben’s brother inherited his home in Rosedale. The cabin went to Ben. He installed a rudimentary bathroom but made no other changes. Whenever his life got too hectic, Ben ran to ground there, even if only for a mental vacation.
Chapter Eight
March 20
Mae December
Mae’s mother departed after a short visit with her dog
s. Mae called Tammy, leaving the “Avalanche” message again. Checking on the puppies, she smiled, seeing them sleepily cuddled up with Tallulah. Then she called the sheriff’s office.
“Dory, it’s Mae. Was Ruby’s cellphone found when they searched the house?”
“No honey. Not on her or in the house. Do you know her number?”
“I do. I’m going over there to try and call it. If the phone has got any power left, maybe I’ll hear it ringing.”
“Good idea. Let me know if you find it.”
“I will. Bye.”
Mae grabbed her car keys, walked out to the car and drove down the driveway. Black cumulus clouds towered over the large hills behind her home as she headed down Little Chapel road toward Ruby’s house.
If she was going to have any time to search for Ruby’s phone before the storm broke, she would need to hurry. As a successful manager for clients in the country music industry, Ruby must have kept a calendar, possibly on her cellphone. If Mae found the phone, she might get some clues about Ruby’s death. She parked her car in Ruby’s driveway and walked slowly across the backyard. Yellow crime scene tape was wrapped around the house and she could hear more flapping in the trees around the grove. Mae kept her distance from the tape. She knew Ruby’s body was gone, but she didn’t want to get close to the grove ever again. The wind blew fiercely and last year’s damp leaves clung to her boots as she dialed Ruby’s cellphone number.
She heard nothing until she started walking back toward the house. As she got closer to the garage, she could hear a very faint rendition of “I’ve got Friends in Low Places” playing. There was no crime scene tape around the garage, so she opened the side door and stepped inside. Looking through the car’s windows, Mae noticed a white paper sack from the drug store on the rider’s seat. Beside the bag was a pregnancy testing kit. It had already been torn open. The ringtone sounded louder now. The phone lay on the concrete behind the left front tire. Mae always carried plastic bags for “doggie poo.” Taking two out of her pocket, she used one to pick up the phone and the other to wrap it carefully. She dashed back to her car as the first drops of rain slapped her windshield.
The rain was pelting down when she drove back up her driveway. Tammy’s car was parked outside. They both ran into the house, laughing.
“What now?” Tammy was out of breath.
“Look what I found.” Mae held up the plastic-encased phone with a flourish normally accorded an Oscar envelope.
“Ruby’s?”
“Um hum and it’s just like mine, so I should be able to charge it.” Mae got a pair of thin latex gloves from under the sink in order to remove the phone from the bag. She pushed buttons on the phone until she found the calendar. Ruby’s date of arrival back home was listed as March fourteenth and her appointment the next morning was with the road commissioner. At one o’clock, the calendar showed a meeting with Ruby’s attorney, followed by a doctor’s appointment.
“Well, I think this could be your chance to get to know our handsome single sheriff,” said Tammy.
“What are you talking about?”
“You need to take this to Ben. Maybe he’ll even let you help with the investigation.”
“Tammy, you’re brilliant. I’ve been thinking I could help him and maybe even catch the perp. That’s what they call them. I’ve been getting more and more upset about how Ruby died. People are acting as if she practically asked to be killed, all because she didn’t want Little Chapel Road widened. She was a human being, and she didn’t deserve to die like this.”
Tammy smiled. “You’re right, Mae-Mae. She deserved better.”
“That reminds me, I’d better call Dory and tell her I found the phone. She’ll probably want me to bring it in right away.”
“Go ahead, Mae. I need to get back home.”
Tammy waved and was out the door before Dory answered.
“Dory, I found it! Ruby’s cellphone. It was in the garage. Should I bring it in?”
“Could you bring it in the morning? We have a meeting with CSI and the deputies first thing tomorrow. After that you can probably meet with Sheriff Bradley.”
“That’s perfect. I’ll see you then.”
Mae dug her charger out of the kitchen drawer and plugged it into a wall outlet. She stuck the other end into Ruby’s phone and left it on the counter.
Chapter Nine
March 21
Mae December
By 7:00 a.m. Mae was up, showered and dressed in black denim jeans, a blue sweater, and silver earrings. Putting her hair in a twist, she turned around to check her backside in the mirror. The black pants made her look five pounds slimmer. She’d even remembered lipstick. Tammy would be proud.
She ran downstairs, took her dogs outside and fed the boarding dogs; then she came inside and fed Tallulah, Titan and Thoreau. After filling her coffee mug, she poured the whole pot into a large coffee urn and sliced a loaf of apricot-walnut bread. She was headed down the driveway by twenty after seven. The sky was pale blue with high cirrus clouds. A whole cluster of crocuses lay face down in the mud by her mailbox, casualties of the heavy rain. How quickly spring storms passed by in the south. Flowers paid the price, gone before their time. Like Ruby.
Mae arrived at the donut shop by seven thirty. By seven forty-five, she had hot coffee, homemade bread, donuts and best of all, Ruby’s phone, to share with the sheriff. The previous night she had placed the recharged cellphone in an envelope, carefully using her latex gloves to avoid smudging any fingerprints.
Mae struggled to open the Sheriff’s office door with her hands full. “Dory, did the meeting already start?”
“Yes, honey.” Dory held the door open for her.
“Could you please stick your head in there and tell the sheriff I have coffee and donuts for everyone? This bread is only for you, unless you want to share.”
“Oooh, apricot-walnut?” Dory held it up to sniff. “Your mother gave me some last time I visited. It’s delicious. Thank you. I’ll keep this. It would be wasted on those scoundrels.” She stashed the loaf in her desk drawer. “I’ll go see what I can do about getting you into the meeting.” She left the reception area and went down the hall into the conference room. Mae moved a little closer as Dory opened the door.
“Sheriff Bradley.”
“What is it, Dory?” the sheriff asked in an exasperated tone.
“Sheriff, Miss Mae December is here with coffee and donuts for everyone. She’d like to come in.”
“Tell Miss December I’ll see her in an hour and not before. Dory, what’s wrong with you? You know I can’t let civilians into a staff meeting.” The door shut firmly.
Dory turned to Mae. “Sorry, I guess he’ll see you in an hour.”
“Did you tell him I have Ruby’s cellphone? Her calendar’s on it.”
Dory nodded. “Now you sound like Suzanne’s child, with that persistence. I’ll tell him.” Dory opened the door again.
“She has Ruby’s cellphone.” Dory’s voice was deadpan. “It has her calendar on it.”
“Fine,” Ben snapped.
Dory turned to Mae. “The sheriff said you can come in.”
Both women walked into the conference room and sat down at the table.
“Good morning, all.” Mae smiled as she set down the box of donuts and the coffee urn. “I’m Mae December.”
Thank you for joining us, Miss December,” the sheriff said dryly. “Listen up people, this is the woman who found Ruby’s body. Mae, I’d like to introduce my staff. This big guy to my left is Wayne Nichols, Chief Detective. To his left is Tech Hadley Johns from our lab.”
Hadley Johns was tall and gangly looking. His dark hair was military short, Mae noticed. She thought it was probably to protect samples from contamination.
“Next to Hadley is Emma Peters, also from the lab. Going around the table, we have Deputy Robert Fuller in the glasses and George Phelps, who always looks a bit sleepy this early. George, are you with us?” Ben asked and George nodde
d, looking shamefaced.
Deputy Fuller had given Mae a sharp look when Ben said she was the person who found Ruby’s body. It was not the look of a man appreciating a woman.
Deputy Phelps smiled at Mae, seemingly unrepentant at Ben’s chastisement.
“It’s very nice to meet you all,” Mae said, smiling.
“Now, Dory said you have a cellphone for us?”
“Yes, Sheriff.”
Ben peered into the envelope. “Damn thing looks more like a computer than a phone. Does anyone here know how to use this thing?”
“I do.” Mae smiled. “It’s just like mine. I found it yesterday. Don’t worry, I used gloves. Her calendar shows that she had an appointment with the road commissioner on March fifteenth at ten a.m. Then she had an appointment with her attorney at one, her doctor at three and a dinner scheduled at the Bistro at six forty-five. I couldn’t find a dinner partner’s name.” Mae smiled.
“Thank you, Miss December. Where did you find this?” asked the sheriff.
“I went to Ruby’s before the storm and dialed her cellphone number. When it rang, I followed the sound to the floor of the garage by her car. It was right behind the left front tire.”
Ben sighed. “Didn’t you see the yellow crime scene tape?”
“Yes, and I know I’m not supposed to enter a crime scene, but the yellow tape was around her house, not around her garage.”
“Okay. Our mistake then.” He turned to his staff. “Which one of you geniuses put up the crime scene tape and failed to put tape around the victim’s garage?” He shook his head when Phelps put up his hand. “Go take care of that right now, George.” Phelps left in a hurry with his head down.
“Sheriff, could I stay for the rest of your meeting?” Mae asked.
He shot a glare in her direction. “Absolutely not.”
Deputy Fuller gave her a wink. “Oh come on, boss, a pretty lady who brings us coffee, donuts and a Blackberry?”
