False Nails and Tall Tales (The Teasen and Pleasen Hair Salon Cozy Mystery Series Book 5)

by Constance Barker

  “Protecting someone? Well, I asked Digby to bring him in tomorrow to chat. I’ll see what I can find out. He seems to have walked a long way just to chat.”

  “And I talked to Rudy at the gator farm as well. He admitted that he was there earlier. He was supposed to wait for Nellie, but he claims that Joe got a phone call and then told Rudy he had to meet someone."

  “Sound possible?”

  “Not for Joe. That might make sense if Joe was some businessman, but he was a moonshiner. From all the evidence he got about three visitors a year, and here on the day he dies he has two, maybe more?” Woodley sighed. "And yet, Bogdan’s story meshes with Rudy’s in terms of timing, and when we checked Joe’s phone it showed that he got a brief call at the time Rudy said.”

  “Who from?”

  “Bogdan. His next call was to 911 a few hours later.”

  I shook my head. “But Bogdan didn’t see Rudy?"

  "No. He said he didn’t see Rudy, didn’t know he’d been there. His statement said that he called Joe to tell him he was coming over.” Woodley shrugged. “Everything we can double check says he’s telling the truth. These guys sound more like some social club than moonshiners."

  "So what do we have?"

  "If we believe both men, we know exactly when Joe died. Rudy left him alive at four; Bogdan said he arrived and found him dead at six. You two got there about twenty minutes later."

  "Right."

  "And the coroner can’t establish time of death closer than sometime after two in the afternoon." Woodley held up the autopsy. "The room was pretty trashed, but there were no signs of a struggle. We should consider suicide.”

  "What?"

  "We have to consider the possibility. If you eliminate Rudy and Bogdan we have no suspects. As far as anyone knows, nothing is missing from his place, which makes even the unlikely event of a home break in that went wrong happening during that interval even more unlikely. Digby took me out there when I got here earlier today and we went over the scene. He was pretty thorough, amazingly enough.”

  “And we would have encountered any other vehicles that came or went in that timeframe. Did you see any extra tracks that might point to someone else being there?”

  “We found some tracks in and out through the swamp, but none of us is exactly a tracker. Bogdan and Rudy both came and went through the swamp." He laughed. "Digby said that Rudy even has scratches on his arms and face that show he was in the swamp. He said Rudy can’t walk twenty feet through the swamp without getting scratched up."

  I shook my head. "You’d think that growing up in this area he’d have learned more about that sort of thing. Rudy’s a good man, and one of a kind. Thank goodness his boys take after their mother when it comes to some things."

  "And the only tire tracks were from Joe’s truck and Rudy’s four-wheeler."

  "Which Nellie and I drove."

  "That’s why Rudy was on foot… Nellie had the four wheeler."

  I nodded. “Like the coroner, she didn’t think her car would make it out there.”

  "So when we process all these… clues, if that isn’t too strong a word, we have no motives for killing Joe at all; we can eliminate a break in; we have no reasonable or even truly questionable suspects… Rudy had the opportunity and while I’d consider him as a suspect if Joe had been accidentally shot, I can’t see him stringing his buddy up. Joe’s body showed no signs of struggle, no defensive wounds. His hands and feet were free. He had some abrasions on his hands that show he grabbed at the rope when he started choking, but those are consistent with last minute remorse. So I’m down to looking at suicide."

  "Which no one who knew him thinks is even a remote possibility."

  "Sherlock Holmes," he said.

  "Was a fictional detective."

  "He said when you’ve considered all the possible solutions and not found the answer, you have to consider the impossible."

  I picked up my wine glass and finished the pinot. When I put it down, James smiled and refilled my glass. "Great," I said. "So, taking that at face value, according to Sherlock, Old Joe was killed by aliens?"

  "Maybe not exactly that. Nudge it a touch back toward the possible and see what’s there."

  I sighed. If I had to choose between Old Joe killing himself and Rudy doing it then Joe was going to have to take the fall.

  "What if it was an accident?"

  We turned and saw Sarah standing in the doorway. She held up an empty glass. "I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I wanted to get some more juice."

  "And you discovered that the conversation was even juicier," I said.

  She grinned. “More interesting. If he wasn’t killed and didn’t kill himself, then it must’ve been an accident."

  I held out my arms. She came over and I gave her a hug. "That’s a nice thought, sweetie, but it’s pretty hard to accidentally hang yourself that way."

  Sarah shrugged and slipped out of my arms to go the refrigerator. She refilled her glass and then turned back to face me. "Maybe it’s hard, but it isn’t impossible. And if Sherlock Holmes is right, you guys jumped to the impossible before you finished considering all the possibilities. I don’t think that’s what he was suggesting."

  "You’ve read Sherlock Holmes?" James asked.

  "Just THE SIGN OF THE FOUR," she said. "Mrs. Lacey has a copy in the school library."

  "I thought girls your age read Nancy Drew mysteries," he said.

  Sarah scowled. "Who is that?"

  "Never mind," I told her. "It’s a collection of ancient tales."

  Sarah brightened. "Okay. I finished my homework. I’ll be watching the show on Neanderthals if you need any help."

  James watched her go. "We just might." He looked at me. "So do you think…?"

  “I told you before… you can’t put her on the Parish payroll as a consultant to the police until she’s older."

  "How about when she’s ten?"

  It was a joke, of course, but just barely.

  "You don’t think…"

  “That it was an accident? If a man stands on a chair and puts his head in a noose, then pushes the chair away I don’t call that an accident. The technical term is suicide, no matter what his state of mind, which is something we can’t know."

  "You said the chair was broken."

  “True but he was thrashing around. With his hands and feet free the way they were he would’ve been grabbing at the rope trying to stop the choking and kicking wildly. He probably smashed it."

  We both stared at the file folder. I didn’t want to believe it was suicide. I knew Nellie wouldn’t believe it. Nor would Leander. They’d both resent that verdict. Given everything I’d been told about Old Joe I knew I didn’t want to believe a man like that would kill himself, especially hang himself, between guests.

  “Why would he hang himself, assuming he did, when he knew Bogdan was on his way? If he got there too soon and Bogdan cut him down, he’d survive.”

  “Maybe that’s why he threw Rudy out as soon as he got the call. There’s another reason to find out more about the real reason for Bogdan’s visit. I intend to talk to Bogdan and Rudy tomorrow. Then I’ll probably go back out to the cabin and see if we missed anything."

  "Take a close look at the chair," I said. “See if you can tell how it got broken.”

  "I’ll take a close look at everything." Then he smiled. "Say, can you have coffee with me tomorrow morning after you take the genius to school and open the salon. I’ll have some time before I’m supposed to show up at the police station. Chief Tanner starts slow and I see no reason to make him think I’m pushing him about anything."

  "I’m sure I can arrange that. Meet at the BaconUp?"

  "Where else?" He grinned. "It’s a small town."

  We finished the wine and then James went to his motel room. There was so much more I wanted to talk about, but it was personal. A discussion about the mysterious death of a good man wasn’t a good backdrop for talking about personal hopes, dreams, and concerns a
nd we both felt that.

  He said goodnight to Sarah, then kissed me at the door. It was a kiss that called for more. It was a kiss that suggested the attraction I felt for Woodley wasn’t all about murders and solving crimes.

  # # #

  "What do we do next year?" Sarah asked as we walked to school the next morning. She stopped to watch Finnegan snap at a butterfly and laughed.

  ”About what?"

  “About school. Like we talked about before. I’m going to graduate and Mrs. Lacey can’t teach me next year. I’ll have to go to school somewhere else."

  "That’s true. I take it you are giving the problem serious thought."

  She nodded. “Especially because Ginny is doing research on her own. I can't let her take all the initiative. I've been wondering what you think."

  I sighed. "I’ve been aware of the need to decide something, but honestly I haven’t even gotten any information on the school choices."

  "Ginny’s mother has a lot of information."

  "And did you hear what they decided?"

  "About moving to New Orleans?" she asked.

  "Yes."

  "Ginny told me that they think they might do it. We went to the web site of a couple of schools in the area they are talking about moving to. They look really good. There are all sorts of good programs. The private school is the best."

  "Paula is looking at putting Ginny in private school?"

  "Apparently there is a scholarship program and Ginny is a great student."

  "How do you feel about that?"

  "About her going to a private school? Well, I’m happy for her. It will be different here without her though."

  "You’ll make other friends in a new school."

  She straightened her shoulders. "I have to hope I will, but it will be hard because they will all live in another town. If we stay here I’ll be commuting to school."

  "And would you rather live in a big city?"

  She took my hand. "I don’t know.” Then she grinned. “I’d have to see it first, wouldn’t I?"

  "So you think we need a trip to the city?"

  "If you are even thinking about us moving to the city then we’d be foolish not to take one or two and check it out."

  "You’re right."

  "Are you thinking about it?"

  "I suppose I have to. We need to get you in a good school."

  "And in New Orleans, Investigator Woodley could visit more often."

  “And you’d like that?"

  She nodded. "He’s nice and I like the way he makes you smile and laugh."

  "He can do that."

  "What about the salon? Can you move it? Could you bring Pete and Nellie to New Orleans?”

  I sighed. “That’s a problem. Nellie won’t move, I don’t think. Her family has the business here so I suppose I’d have to make some kind of deal with Nellie and Pete so they could keep running it. But like everything else, I haven’t given it enough thought. All these ideas are just floating around like an annoying swarm of mosquitos."

  "Since you are busy helping Investigator Woodley figure out Old Joe’s death, I could get the information on schools if you like. I can ask Ginny about the ones she’s looking at and Mrs. Lacey would help me find out about the ones around here."

  "Okay. That would be great. You need to be informed about the choices as much as I do."

  She gave me a puzzled look. "Can you explain something to me about the case?"

  "About Joe’s death? I’ll try."

  "Everyone is trying to figure out why someone might kill Old Joe, or asking if there could be any reason for him to kill himself, right?"

  "That’s right."

  "Why won’t Investigator Woodley serious consider the idea that is was an accident?"

  "An accident?" I stopped. It was a fair question. "Sherlock Holmes notwithstanding… the man was hanging from a rope. How do you accidentally put a rope over the beam and get him to put his head in the noose?"

  She nodded. “I’m not sure, but that might be an important question to ask. It might be easier to understand how he did it accidentally than why he did it on purpose.”

  I frowned. “An accident doesn’t seem likely."

  "But you’ve said that it’s unlikely that anyone else killed him and you don’t think he killed himself. So the fact that an accident is unlikely makes it the same as the other possibilities. And people always say accidents happen."

  "I suppose they do."

  "I just think you shouldn’t eliminate a possibility just because it doesn’t seem reasonable, especially when you don’t even know how the third possibility might’ve happened. Once you understand how, it might seem more likely. I think you shouldn’t eliminate any possibilities until you are sure they are actually impossibilities.”

  I looked down at the smug smile peering up at me and chuckled. "I won’t."

  "And remind Investigator Woodley not to."

  "I promise. Now we need to get to school."

  I dropped her off, had a brief chat with Mrs. Lacey about Sarah researching schools, which made the woman smile. "An important decision," she said. "It’s good to be proactive."

  “I think Ginny has already started her research.”

  She smiled. “So has Sarah. They’ve been doing it together.” I started to say something and she stopped me. “She didn’t want to bother you with it. She said you had a lot of things on your mind, and as she explained it, ’Miz Jeffries has her Investigator Woodley visiting.’ She thought you needed a chance to focus on him.”

  “Kids,” I said. “They presume too much.”

  She winked. “They observe a lot. Take it for what it’s worth.”

  My head spun a bit as I walked to the salon and caught Nellie and Pete opening the door. Pete stooped down and let Finnegan sniff his hand. “Sorry, no dog treats,” he said.

  ”I don’t have any appointments this morning," I said. "I’m going to meet Woodley at BaconUp. He wanted to talk about something to do with the case."

  Pete looked at Nellie and grinned. “Must be nice to be the boss. You get to have lazy breakfasts with friends at expensive restaurants."

  I nodded. “Right. But being boss… there’s a bit more to it than giving orders as you are finding out… little challenges like hiring."

  He laughed. "Okay. You got me. For your information...Donna here is my first interview."

  A young girl with short brown hair and a chunky frame came through the door.

  "Then there is hope for hiring an assistant this year?"

  "Hope, yes. Good candidates… we will see.”

  As Pete went in to show Donna around, Nellie took my arm. "Rudy is supposed to talk to the police today."

  “I heard. Woodley wants to ask more questions. Are you worried?"

  She laughed. "When it comes to Rudy I’m always either delighted with him, worried about him, or angry with him. Right now I’m worried. Can’t be angry because he hasn’t done a thing wrong."

  "I’ll pass that along to Woodley, and don’t worry. He likes Rudy.”

  "I feel like Rudy is a suspect in this, the way he was called in and all."

  I grinned. "Then I’ll be forced to de-suspect him for you. But he was there and Woodley needs to know everything he might’ve seen. You know Rudy won’t have told Digby everything he knows. Woodley will know that too.”

  She gave me a weak smile. "I know you’ll do what you can."

  "Since we both know Rudy wouldn’t ever hurt anyone on purpose, I can’t image there would be a thing to worry about."

  She squeezed my arm. “You always have been an optimist.”

  I stared at her for a moment because I could see she was being serious. “Me, an optimist?”

  “Always,” she said. “It even works sometimes. I know it's only been like 10 minutes but Donna's attitude seems a lot better than that first girl Pete hired.”

  Donna was Pete’s latest attempt at replacing Betina. She wasn’t the brightest leaf on the tree (my Daddy
’s favorite mixed metaphor) but she had an engaging personality, and unlike Ella, seemed to want to learn. She didn’t even mind sweeping the floor, which gave her points in my book.

  “So far so good,” I said to Pete.

  “It’s only been 15 minutes,” he said.

  “Still…” I was thinking of Ella’s debut hour. “…it’s a promising start.”

  He gave me a grin that showed he enjoyed being appreciated.

  “Like I said, an optimist,” Nellie called after me.

  As I walked over to BaconUp my brain insisted on dwelling on Sarah’s suggestion that it could be an accident. And although Rudy was accident prone. I couldn’t imagine how you’d accidentally hang someone, but Rudy was incredibly innovative when it came to accidents. But even if he’d been there and something had happened to Joe he wouldn’t have run away. He certainly wouldn’t have left him hanging there. Rudy didn’t like the authorities but he wasn’t the kind of person to abandon a friend.

  I dismissed the thought of an accident. Surely we’d uncover some reason for someone killing Joe. Then Woodley would track them down and life could go back to normal. That should’ve been a calming thought, and it would’ve been except for my awareness that the new normal involved me deciding what came next in my life. Mine and Sarah’s. And I couldn’t stall. Time was flying by. Not making a decision would be a default decision.

  How unfair was that? Not fair at all.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Woodley was waiting for me at BaconUp, already drinking coffee. Margie did her swoosh over to the table, filled my cup, took Woodley’s request for a bagel and cream cheese, with bacon on the side, and we settled in.

  "If you have the time, I’d like you to sit in on the interviews this morning," Woodley said.

  I tried not to show my delight too exuberantly. “I can do that. It’s a slow day. Pete can cover for me well enough."

  He smiled. “The State of Louisiana thanks you for making the sacrifice.”