Murder in Madden

by Raegan Teller

  “Your car has been impounded, and we’ll take a look at it.” The chief appeared to be struggling to hold his anger in check. “When we talked before, I thought we agreed you would leave the investigation of an open murder case to the authorities. And yet, here you are running around in the middle of the night chasing leads.”

  “I wasn’t chasing leads. I was going to meet Molly. She called me and wanted to meet, after she left work.”

  Jensen stopped writing notes and looked up at Enid. “Did you say Molly asked you to meet her?”

  Enid nodded. “Yes, she, that is we . . . She asked me to meet her after she left work.”

  Jensen studied Enid. “She told me you asked to talk with her.” He paused. “And she left work around four o’clock this afternoon.”

  “What does it matter?” Enid made a mental note to follow up with Molly about the mix-up and to find out why she had wanted to meet with Enid.

  Chief Jensen ignored her rhetorical question and resumed his questioning. “What about the green pickup truck? Do you know who was driving it?”

  “I’ve seen that truck before. It was parked down the road at that old grain and seed store.” After her conversation with Ray, she decided not to mention seeing him there, too. “I think the truck belongs to Eddie, the biker gang leader.”

  Jensen rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, just as Jack often did. Jensen then stood up quickly and leaned over her, pointing his finger. “I want you out of here as soon as your car is repaired.” He hit the table with the tip of his finger. “Is that clear?” Little specks of spittle flew through the air between them.

  “And when will you release my car so I can have it repaired?”

  The chief picked up his hat and slammed it on his head. “Tomorrow afternoon.” He walked to the door and held it open for her. “I’ve got one of the deputies in his car out front. He’ll take you to see Doc Henry first, see if you need to go to the ER in the next town over. He’ll make sure you get back to the inn.”

  “No, thanks, I don’t need medical attention. I’m going back to the inn now.” Enid limped slightly as she walked out the door of the police station.

  CHAPTER 53

  Cassie was pacing when Enid walked in the inn’s front door. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.”

  Enid filled Cassie in on the night’s events, leaving out the part about Molly saying the meeting was Enid’s idea. She didn’t want to cast doubts on Molly’s character until she had a chance to talk with Molly to clear up the misunderstanding.

  “I really need to get some sleep,” said Enid. She said goodnight and went up to her room. But even after a hot shower, she couldn’t fall asleep. Her throbbing leg and too many thoughts were competing for her attention. Most of all, she had this overwhelming need to talk to Cade. After tossing and turning but not being able to sleep, Enid glanced at the bedside clock. Three o’clock in the morning, which meant it would be two hours earlier in Montana. She knew he often wrote well into the night and decided to call, even if she woke him up.

  Just before she hit the button on her cell phone, she hesitated momentarily. She didn’t want to worry Cade or wake him up. Yet, she needed to hear his voice.

  The phone rang twice before the call was answered. “Hello,” said an unfamiliar female voice.

  Assuming she had hit the wrong favorite in her cell phone contacts, Enid apologized. “I’m so sorry. I must have . . .” Enid stopped when she heard Cade’s unmistakable voice in the background. She heard movement and a noise that sounded like someone had thrown the phone down on a hard surface.

  “Hello.” This time it was Cade. When Enid failed to respond, Cade added, “Enid?”

  Enid’s voice sounded strange, even to herself. “Cade, I’m sorry.” Kicking herself for apologizing, Enid recovered. “Who is that woman who answered the phone—at this time of night?”

  “Enid, are you alright? What time is it? Where are you?”

  “I needed to talk. And I wanted to hear your voice.” The events of the day finally overcame her. “You were right. I should have listened to you.” All the while Enid was talking, part of her was trying to place the woman’s voice who answered. And then she knew. Madelyn Jensen. “What the hell is Madelyn Jensen doing with you at this time of night? You swore to me nothing was going on between you two.”

  “There’s not, I promise.” Cade sounded desperate, and Enid wanted to believe him. “We decided to do an exposé on the Madden Police Department. She’s got pretty good proof that he’s been taking money from the biker gang for years. He’s been paid to look the other way while they trafficked drugs.” He lowered his voice. “And perhaps worse.”

  “What are you saying?” asked Enid. “Does this have something to do with Rosie’s murder?” She was getting angry again. “And when the hell were you going to tell me about this little piece you and Madelyn are working on, especially since it’s connected to my story?”

  Enid heard shuffling in the background and Madelyn’s voice. “Let me talk to her.” More shuffling noises. “Enid, this is Madelyn. I’m not the enemy here, and there’s nothing going on between me and Cade. We are just pulling our notes together. With my court schedule and Cade having a new job, we had to meet when and where we could, so I flew up this afternoon. We have separate rooms, in case you’re wondering. You can believe that or not, but it’s the truth.”

  Enid didn’t know what to believe. “Just tell me if your uncle had anything to do with Rosie’s murder.”

  Madelyn sighed. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. We have pretty conclusive evidence he covered up the death of Cassie’s son, Mark. Jack Johnson and I have been talking about it for years. I think you know Jack has been helping Cassie, and I know he’s working with you on your research.”

  Enid was struggling with mixed emotions of jealousy, rage, and curiosity. “Have you talked with Cassie about all of this? After all, it’s her son, and she’ll be devastated when she learns that you’ve confirmed her worst fear.”

  “No, not yet. But we’ll talk with her before the piece goes to print,” said Madelyn.

  Enid noticed she said we. “Let me talk to Cade again,” said Enid. During the brief period of silence, Enid imagined that Cade and Madelyn were exchanging knowing glances or mouthing messages to each other silently. Enid stopped herself from going further down that road, as nothing could be gained from allowing her suspicions to take over.

  Cade took the phone again. “Why did you call?”

  For the next thirty minutes, Enid spilled out what she had learned about Rosie’s death. She concluded by telling him about being run off the road. “I’m afraid the BMW might be totaled. I’ll know in a day or so.”

  Cade started to speak, but Enid stopped him. “Why now, Cade? You walked away from this investigation a decade ago because you didn’t want to upset Fern. Now you join forces with Madelyn and you’re ready to forge ahead. What’s changed? How do you think Fern’s going to react to this story?”

  “I’m not going to write about Rosie, so what’s Mother got to do with it?”

  “Fern has gone to great lengths to protect the Blackwell name in Madden, and Madden is pretty much controlled by the Jensen family. Through her generous contributions, she persuaded the Jensen-owned newspaper not to report on Wynona when she murdered Frank Kelly. And I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the one who shut down Jack’s articles when Rosie was killed. Whether you are willing to accept it or not, Fern is a player in all this. How do you think she’s going to feel when you attack Chief Jensen?”

  “You’re probably right. I need to talk with her, at least so she won’t be surprised.”

  Enid decided now was not the time to hold back anything. “Do you remember seeing a note on the autopsy report about goat hairs being found on Rosie’s clothing?”

  “I vaguely remember, but what’s your point?” asked Cade.

  “The closest goat farm to Madden was owned by your parents. They sold it throug
h OJ Development just after Rosie died.”

  “Hold on. I really don’t like where you’re going with this.”

  “I’m not accusing Fern of anything at this point, but she knows more than she’s letting on.”

  “I think you’re jumping to conclusions. Besides, I’m sure there were other goats in town. Did they do any tests to compare the goat hairs?”

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  Cade didn’t reply.

  “Even if they had tried, they couldn’t have matched the goat hairs, that is unless they had hairs with root bulbs on both samples for comparison.”

  “You’ve done your research, I see.” Cade’s tone sounded a bit softer now. “But the goat connection is irrelevant in a place like Madden. People there keep goats for pets, for Pete’s sake, and there are farms everywhere.”

  “Taken alone, you’re right, the goat hairs mean nothing. But given the guilt money Fern paid the town and her insistence that I drop this story, I have to wonder how deep her involvement was. And while she might have thought she was doing the right thing, she took it upon herself to manipulate the truth Rosie was told about her own mother. Don’t you see what they did to Rosie? She lost trust in her own family and lashed out by being rebellious and experimenting with drugs.”

  Cade spoke so softly Enid could barely hear him. “I admit, it doesn’t look good.”

  “I’m going to Charlotte to talk to Fern about the goat farm.” Enid stopped Cade from interrupting her. “I know you don’t want me to, but I need to find out what she knows.” Or what she did. Enid knew it was Cade’s nature to protect the family, a trait he inherited from Fern. After all, he had been raised to believe that protecting the family name was a matter of defending one’s honor—the kind of thing duels were once fought over. Enid’s throat constricted, and she felt sick.

  “Under the circumstances, I realize I have no right to stop you. But remember, she’s my mother, if that still means anything to you. Not to mention, she’s already had one anxiety attack, so take it easy.” His tone softened slightly. “Please be careful. I don’t want you or anyone else to get hurt.”

  CHAPTER 54

  After the two-hour drive to Charlotte in her small rental car, Enid pulled into the driveway of the big brick house with the beautifully landscaped yard. Fern’s domain. A short Hispanic man was trimming the hedges, stepping back after a few snips to make sure each bush was equal in height.

  He never looked her way as she walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.

  The door opened and the perfectly coiffed, neatly dressed Fern Blackwell stood before Enid. “Well, Enid. What a surprise.” Had Cade warned his mother she was coming to see her? Fern opened the door. “Whose car is that?”

  “I had an accident in the BMW. It’s being repaired.”

  Fern stepped back inside and held the door open. “Well, I hope you weren’t hurt. Please, dear, come on in.”

  Enid followed Fern into the living room. Fern sat on the sofa and Enid sat in one of the overstuffed damask chairs across from her. “I’m sorry to barge in like this,” said Enid. “But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  Fern stiffened. “Well, of course, I’m happy to talk to you anytime.” She smoothed a wrinkle from her skirt. “Is this about Cade? I do hope you two can work out your differences.”

  The housekeeper appeared with a pot of tea and poured a cup for each of them. Fern added milk and stirred a few rounds until she was happy with the way it looked.

  Enid squeezed a slice of lemon into her cup. “We’ve never been good at small talk, so I’ll just cut right to it. I’m here to ask you a few questions about Rosie.”

  Fern took a sip and then set her cup in the saucer on the polished mahogany coffee table. “If I must say so, I don’t understand this mission you’re on to make our family look bad.” Her hands were shaking slightly.

  Enid put her cup on the tray. “My intent has never been to make anyone look bad.” She leaned forward. “Rosie was family. Your family. I don’t understand why you were so eager to sacrifice the truth and then forget her.”

  Fern’s chin protruded slightly. “She was a stain on our family’s reputation. I did everything I could to help that girl, but it didn’t help. I guess she had Wynona’s bad genes. That girl stayed in trouble all her life. I think it’s what killed my own mother.”

  “Did you even know Rosie?” Enid regretted the sharp tone in her own voice.

  “Did you?” Fern shot back.

  “No, but I’ve learned more about her in the past couple of weeks.”

  Fern stared intently at Enid. “Why does this have anything to do with me?” A muscle in her face twitched slightly.

  “Why did you pay Myra to lie about Rosie’s mother?”

  Fern sat erect and raised her voice. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The housekeeper came in to see if the teapot needed refilling. Fern assured her they didn’t need anything and dismissed her. As the housekeeper was leaving the room, she glanced back over her shoulder at Fern, who nodded slightly to signal that all was well. The housekeeper had been with Fern since before Enid and Cade’s marriage. Oddly, while the two woman clearly lived in different social strata, they were more like friends than employer-employee.

  “You made sure Frank Kelly’s killing was never reported in the Madden Gazette. Your sister sat in prison in Mississippi, knowing that her own daughter thought she was dead because you paid Myra to lie.”

  Fern played nervously with the large diamond ring on her finger. “I did it because they were trash. Both of them—Wynona and Rosie. Trash.” Her lip was quivering. “I had Cade to think about and our family name. Cade’s father, my beloved Samuel, helped build Madden. He was revered in that town. I’ll always regret asking him to leave and come to Charlotte.” She sniffed softly. “He never fit in here.”

  Enid was annoyed at how skillfully Fern had shifted the focus of the conversation to herself. “Wynona wrote a letter to Rosie and asked Myra to give to her when she was old enough to understand. But you made sure that never happened. Rosie found the letter and was saving money to go see her mother in prison. Did you know that?” She watched Fern’s face for her reaction but saw none. “Rosie also knew Frank Kelly was her father.”

  Fern’s lip quivered. “I’m not a monster, you know,” she said quietly. “I only did what I thought was right for our family. Wynona agreed because she thought it was best for Rosie, too.” Fern’s chin raised slightly in defiance. “There’s nothing a mother wouldn’t do to protect her child. But you wouldn’t understand that.”

  “You may have thought you were protecting Rosie, but secrets are like cancer. They feed on the fear of discovery, and small lies metastasize into other parts of your life. Eventually, your soul is consumed by the secrets you tried to protect.” Images of Rosie’s body at the edge of the woods flashed into her memory. “Was it worth it?”

  Fern wrung a napkin in her lap and stared down at her hands.

  “Did you own a goat farm in Madden at the edge of town?” asked Enid.

  Fern looked up at Enid. “Yes, as I recall, we did. But we owned a number of properties. Why is that important?”

  “Did you own it when Rosie died?”

  “Where on earth are you going with these questions?” She had regained her composure now and sipped her tea slowly, as if nothing else was more important.

  “Did you?” Enid regretted the harsh tone.

  Fern set her cup down. “I’d have to check to be sure, but, yes, I’m fairly certain we did own the goat farm at that time.”

  “Who did you lease it to?”

  Fern appeared to be thinking about the question. “I believe, yes, I’m pretty sure I remember now. We leased that property to Molly Anderson. Her family operated a dairy farm there.”

  “Molly Anderson, the woman who works for the Madden police department?”

  “Yes, that’s her.” Fern’s face showed no e
xpression.

  Enid stood up and looked down at Fern, who appeared to be getting smaller as she slumped in her seat. “Rosie deserved a better life than the one you and Myra created for her. And she deserves to be remembered.”

  Fern looked up at Enid. “What would have been better? Letting her know her mother was in prison for killing her worthless father? Subjecting Rosie to small-town gossip? Whether you agree with me or not, I did what I thought was right.” She raised her chin slightly. “And I would do it again.”

  Fern sat stoically as Enid walked out the door.

  CHAPTER 55

  The vibration of Enid’s cell phone on the bedside table jarred her from a deep sleep. The drive back to Madden from Charlotte left her tired, and the conversation with Fern kept playing in her head. Enid didn’t fall asleep until after midnight. She glanced at her cell phone. It was three o’clock, and Cade’s face was smiling at her from the cell phone screen, a photo from a happier period of life. A call at this time of the morning couldn’t be good news.

  “Hello. Are you okay?”

  Cade seemed to be out of breath. “Mother had a heart attack. She’s at the hospital.”

  “Are you sure it’s not another anxiety attack?”

  “They put her in intensive care.”

  “Oh, God. I’m so sorry. Is she going to be okay?” asked Enid.

  “The housekeeper called 911 and an ambulance carried her to the emergency room. They admitted her to ICU, and the attending cardiologist called me.”

  Enid could hear the usual hospital noises in the background, and she recalled the many days and nights she had listened to those noises while visiting her own mother. The phantom antiseptic odors lingered long after her mother’s death. “Where are you? I thought you were still in Montana.”

  “I’m back in Charlotte. You were right about the new job. It was a mistake.”