One Dog Too Many (A Mae December Mystery)

by Farrell, Lia

  Ben got in his car and drove down the hill. After taking care of the dogs, Mae went upstairs to shower. Suddenly, she remembered a night almost five years earlier. She and Noah had walked into a club in Nashville. He stopped to talk to someone while Mae got in line for a table. When she looked back to see if Noah was coming, the man he was talking to was staring at her face and then her body. Could that have been Vince Harper?

  Mae shook off her fears. Even if that man was Harper, and he was stalking her, as of tonight, she was officially dating the Sheriff of Rose County. She didn’t have a thing to worry about.

  Mae called Tammy after her shower. She sounded a little grumpy at first but when Mae told her Ben stayed over the previous night, Tammy (aka Cupid) perked right up.

  “You’re not regretting this, right?”

  “Not at all.” Mae laughed.

  “Well, how was everything? I want details.”

  “I’m not going into any details. It’s private.”

  “Oh pooh! Well I’ll probably get the story out of you sometime, anyway. So, did you even remember how to do it?”

  “Tammy! We didn’t do it. He slept on the couch. We definitely have chemistry, though. I was very tempted. It’s been such a long time. Anyway, I have a favor to ask. Could you do my makeup tonight? Ben and I are going to a fundraiser.”

  “Is this your first real date?”

  “Yes, he asked to join me when he saw the invitation on my fridge. It’s for his nephew’s school. The event is always at Jill Chapman’s house, and its ‘denim and pearls’ attire.”

  “I can do your makeup at the salon at six. Right now I need to go get ready for work.”

  “One other thing. Could you take Ben out of the Local Love database?”

  “I already did.” Tammy stifled a giggle. “Ben told me to take him off the list a few days ago.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I thought you might freak out. I didn’t want to mess anything up between you two. If you thought he was taking you for granted, you might not have been very happy.”

  Tammy really was a bit of a mind reader. It was scary how right she could be sometimes.

  “You’re probably right. I’m glad you didn’t. You’re such a good friend. Thanks.”

  “You’re entirely welcome. I really have to go, though. Bye, Mae-Mae.”

  “Bye, Tammy.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  March 27

  Sheriff Ben Bradley

  Ben left Mae’s house and went home to shower and charge his phone before heading to the office.

  As soon as he walked through the office door, Dory caught him. “Your mother called.”

  “My mother called? That’s unlike her. She never calls me at work.”

  “She said your cell was off.” Dory gave him a reproving stare. He was supposed to be available twenty-four seven.

  “My phone died. I didn’t have my charger with me at, uh, where I was last night.”

  Dory tilted her head and gave him the onceover. “It’s not like you to be tomcatting around. Unless you were having a sleepover with a certain young woman …” Her eyes narrowed. Ben bolted into his office and quickly closed the door. Dory would figure out where he was last night soon enough, without him standing in front of her with what he was sure was a transparent face.

  Sitting at his desk, he dialed his parents’ house. The phone rang five times, and he was about to give up when his mother answered.

  “Good morning, Mom. You sound sleepy.”

  “It was a long night at the hospital and I crashed at home on the couch. Did the phone ring very long?”

  “Quite a while. What did you want? I’m in the middle of a murder investigation. I don’t have much time to talk.”

  “Yes, I know. Your father was a police officer for twenty-seven years. I remember. I wanted to let you know Katie Hudson’s in town.”

  Ben took a deep breath. “Mom, I don’t need this right now.”

  “She’s not here for a visit, Son. She’s divorced and wants to move here. She’s staying with a friend of hers and looking for a job.”

  His morning was in free fall now. He had been engaged to Katie. She was probably in town visiting her sorority sister, Charlotte. He used to like Char—that is, before she introduced him to the woman who broke his heart.

  “Is she staying with Char?”

  “I think so. Katie was in the Peds ER last night with her little boy, Matthew. He had a broken wrist. I assisted on his surgery and the surgeon pinned his arm.”

  Ben took a deep breath, trying to achieve control of his rocketing emotions. “Thanks for letting me know, Mom. I have to get back to work.”

  “Just listen, will you? You need to talk to Katie.”

  “I’m not talking to that woman. She’s out of my life. I’ve really got to go.”

  “Ben, you need to talk to her. I’m sorry, but I must insist.”

  “Okay, okay, but not until this murder is cleared up. Then I’ll talk to her. I really have nothing to say, and I don’t understand why this is important to you, but I will. Can we let it go now?”

  “I love you, Ben.”

  “I know you do, Mom. I love you, too. Bye.”

  Not all women are loyal like you, though. He’d avoid Katie as long as possible.

  It was mid-morning and Ben was still reeling from his mother’s news when Dory called on the intercom to let him know that Laura Connolly and her attorney were waiting for him. After hearing Robin’s bizarre information about the midnight text message, He and Wayne were anxious to question Laura. He walked down the hall to get Wayne.

  “I take it you had Laura picked up right when she was discharged? Is she okay to talk?”

  “Guess so. I picked her up. She seemed sleepy but otherwise coherent,” Wayne said.

  Laura and her attorney, Paul Bennett, were in the conference room when Ben and Wayne walked in. Dory followed them and offered coffee. No one wanted any, so she left the room after starting the tape recorder.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Connolly,” Ben began. “We appreciate your coming down to the office. I wish to state for the record that you are represented by counsel. Thank you for coming, Mr. Bennett.” The pale, gray-haired man nodded. “Laura, you’re here to be questioned in connection with the death of Ruby Mead-Allison.”

  He paused, looking her over. Laura wore black slacks and a white sweater with a blouse underneath. He was no expert on women’s fashion, but the clothes seemed baggy and ill fitting. Maybe she had lost some weight recently. There were two very bright spots of pink on her cheeks. Ben couldn’t tell if they were makeup or not.

  “I’d like to introduce Detective Wayne Nichols.”

  “Mrs. Connolly and I have already met.” Wayne looked at her. “Is it all right if I call you Laura?”

  “Yes.” Her voice was soft, her eyes cast down.

  Ben nodded at Wayne, giving him permission to proceed.

  “All right, Laura, I’d like to ask you some questions about the night Ruby Mead-Allison was killed. Can you remember what you were doing on the night of March fifteenth?”

  “Yes, my husband and I and our friends the Mitchells went to the symphony. We had dinner beforehand at Solo Mio and drinks afterwards.”

  “Good.” He smiled at her encouragingly. “After you arrived home that evening, what happened?”

  “I took the babysitter to her house. The Takichi girl sat for us that night. Then I returned home.”

  “Who stayed with the children while you did that?”

  “My husband.”

  “What time was that?”

  Laura locked eyes with her attorney at this point and he nodded. They had obviously discussed how she was going to provide this information.

  “It was about midnight when I left the house with Nora, our babysitter, and about twelve-thirty when I got to her house and dropped her off.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I drove directly home. I got hom
e about …” she paused and glanced again at her attorney, “about one.”

  “When you and I talked earlier, you said your husband took the babysitter home.”

  “Did I? I don’t remember.”

  Wayne gave her a withering look. “Okay, let’s leave this for a moment. I’d like to ask you about the evening of the eighteenth, three days after you went to the symphony. You texted your sister, Robin Fanning, around midnight, correct?”

  Laura gave her head a quick shake. “I don’t remember that.”

  “You did. We know you texted her. You asked her to come over to Ruby Mead-Allison’s house. Are you remembering this now?”

  “No.” She was almost whispering, the pink blotches fading from her cheeks.

  “When your sister arrived at Ruby Mead-Allison’s house, you gave her a shovel.”

  Laura didn’t respond.

  Wayne paused a moment. “Why did you give your sister a shovel at Ruby’s house?”

  “I didn’t.” Laura was on the defensive. The pink spots on her cheeks darkened again.

  Wayne questioned Laura in detail. She continued to deny that she had sent her sister a text. Finally, he sat back and stared at her for a long time. He looked at Ben and tipped his head toward the door.

  “Would you excuse us for a moment, Laura?” Ben asked.

  He and Wayne walked out into the hall.

  “Laura has me baffled, Boss. I think her disorder is throwing off my ability to tell if she’s lying. She knows more than she’s telling us, but I can’t figure out whether she’s protecting herself, Robin, or her husband.”

  “James said he checked the clock after Laura got home and it was one o’clock. According to James, she was in the shower by then. If that’s true, she couldn’t have done it. They’ve independently alibied each other. What do you want to do now?”

  “Did we get the phone and text records?”

  “No. It was after nine when we were finished with Robin last night. I tried early this morning and we were able to get the phone records, but texts are apparently another thing. Is there any way we can find out if Laura really did text her sister on the night of the eighteenth?”

  “Well, there’re a few ways we could do it. We obtain a subpoena and get the cell service provider to turn over the phone records, which would even include deleted text messages. I’m afraid that would take too much time, though.”

  “You’re the boss. What do you want to do?”

  “Let’s go back in and get Laura’s phone. Maybe we can see the text in the history.”

  Wayne and Ben entered the conference room, where they interrupted Laura and her attorney in what looked like a difficult interaction.

  “Laura, I need to see your cellphone. Do you have it with you today?”

  Laura seemed uneasy. “I got a new one. It’s home charging.”

  “What happened to the old one?” Wayne asked.

  “I took it to the company for recycling.”

  Had Laura decided to get a new phone because she knew perfectly well that she had texted Robin? Maybe ordering a new phone at this time was simply coincidental, but Ben tended to be wary of coincidences.

  “What cellphone company do you use?”

  “Freestyle Communications.”

  “I need your cellphone number.”

  Laura glanced at her attorney, but when he nodded, she quickly gave them the number.

  “I need your password, too.”

  “It’s two-one-one-two.”

  “When did you turn in the phone?”

  “About four days ago.”

  “All right, we have to check out your story. I apologize, but I need you to stay here for another few hours. Dory will put you in the break room. It has a couch so you can sleep for a while, okay?”

  Laura didn’t answer at first. Finally, she nodded.

  Ben and Wayne departed immediately for the cellphone provider’s office.

  “Dory, will you call us with the address of Freestyle Communications?” Ben asked on their way out.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I hate it when she calls me sir.” Ben said as he and Wayne walked to the parking lot. “It always means she’s mad at me about something.”

  “They were out of her special blueberry donuts this morning, weren’t they?” Wayne got into the car with a grin.

  “Yes. It’s always my fault somehow.”

  Ben knew where the general vicinity of the cellphone store was. He drove for about five minutes before breaking the silence.

  “I meant to tell you, Mae’s dad asked me to I.D. a photo that turned out to be a guy named Vince Harper. He has a stalking charge from five years ago. The gal who reported him dropped the charge before it came to trial. The case occurred before my time here. Do you remember him?”

  “Yeah, I remember him. Big guy, used to play ball for UT. He was a nasty piece of work. The victim never pressed charges because she was terrified of him. Why is Mae’s dad asking about him?”

  “Harper was in some of the pictures he wants to use in his next book, but no one could identify him. He’s apparently looking at Mae in most of the shots.”

  Wayne shook his head. “That’s not good. We need to find out what ol’ Vince is up to these days.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking. I’ll tell the deputies to keep an eye out for him. Can you ask around, too? You seem to be the one with all the street informants.”

  Wayne cracked his knuckles. “Maybe I should pay him a visit myself. Can I try and obtain a little information in a slightly unorthodox way?”

  “Please do.” Ben gave a wink.

  Just then, Ben’s phone rang. Dory rattled off the address. Shortly afterwards, they arrived at the strip mall where the cellphone store was located.

  The men walked in together and went back to the service counter. When they showed their badges to the clerk, he asked them to wait while he got his manager.

  “Hello, gentlemen, what can I do for you today?” The manager was young, with a mild case of acne. He looked like he should still be in college.

  They showed their badges. “We’re looking for a phone that was turned in recently. We need it for an important investigation we’re conducting. We have the phone number. The customer’s name is Laura Connolly. Or the account could be under the name of her husband, James Connolly.”

  “I need to talk to someone before I can release it. Do you have a warrant?”

  “No, we don’t. We can get one, but it would take a little time to get a subpoena. If we had the phone we could get the message from the history.”

  “Do you know when the customer turned the phone in?”

  “Four days ago.”

  The manager excused himself and left the office. He returned almost immediately.

  “I’m sorry, Sheriff and Detective Nichols, but the recycling contractor picked up our old phones at eight-thirty this morning. Unfortunately, the pickup included all phones from the last two weeks.”

  Frustrated, they thanked him and left the building. As they walked to the car, Ben noticed a trim woman with short brown hair reaching into the backseat of her car to release the belt on a child’s car seat. She lifted a little boy out of the car and started to walk into the cellphone store. The child rested his arm on the back of her neck and gazed sleepily back toward Ben. He was a cute little boy with curly hair and bright blue eyes. His arm was in a cast.

  Ben almost stopped breathing. It was Katie and her son. He ducked his head and turned away so she wouldn’t see him.

  “Let’s go get Robin’s cellphone. We might be able to retrieve the text messages from her phone’s memory. Of course, we may have to get a ten-year-old to do it for us.” Wayne laughed. “Or Dory.”

  Ben didn’t answer. He couldn’t believe he’d just seen Katie.

  “Ben, are you with me? I said Dory could get the messages.”

  The sheriff tried to get control of his emotions. He cleared his throat. “I’m glad to know Dory can get data f
rom phones. Getting information out of phones is not my forte. I can’t even change my ringtone.”

  The sheriff’s phone rang. When Ben saw the caller ID, he felt better immediately.

  “Hello, gorgeous. What’s up?” Looking over at Wayne, he mouthed “It’s Mae.”

  His detective rolled his eyes. “No surprise.”

  Ben clipped the phone to the dashboard and hit the speaker button.

  “Ben, I think I remember Vince Harper. I saw Noah talking to him in Nashville outside a club about five years ago. Noah went over to say hello, but while they were talking, Harper kept looking at me. I remember feeling uncomfortable.”

  “What were you wearing?” Wayne asked.

  There was a brief silence. “Am I on speakerphone or something?”

  “You sure are. I’m in the car with Detective Nichols. We were talking about Mr. Harper a few minutes before you called.”

  “Well, I don’t remember what I was wearing that night. It was years ago.”

  “Listen to me, Mae,” Wayne said. “I remember this weirdo. If you were dressed in anything revealing, or if you smiled at him, you could have triggered his interest. If you remember anything else, or see him, call one of us or nine-one-one right away.”

  “Um, all right. I will. Bye guys.” She hung up.

  They arrived at Little Chapel Road about twenty minutes later and drove to the Fannings’ house. Nobody was home.

  “Do you have Robin’s cellphone number?”

  “Yes, I’m dialing her now.”

  The cellphone rang but Robin didn’t answer. Wayne left a message asking her to stop by the sheriff’s office immediately and to bring her cellphone. They drove back to the office in silence.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  March 27

  Detective Wayne Nichols

  Dory was on the phone when the men returned to the office. “Hi Mrs. Fanning, I’ll put you through to him,” she said and waved Wayne back to his office.

  He picked up his desk phone. “Robin? Detective Nichols.”

  “Yes, Detective.”

  “We talked to Laura this morning and she denies sending you that text message. We need to have your cellphone in order to verify that she sent the message.”