Miss June's Judgement

by Harper Harris

  “Hi, Cindy. Could I come in and take a look around? It’ll only take a few minutes.”

  Crossing her arms, she further blocked access for me into the house. This was a losing battle and I knew it.

  “No. You can’t,” she seemed to almost enjoy saying. “Even if I were so inclined that mutt couldn’t come in here, so shove off.”

  Lots of people I’d encountered lately seemed to feel that way about me. It was like they didn’t understand my job as a lawyer. I couldn’t just move on and accept whatever fate was doled out to my client. I had to fight for her. Since I knew there was no way to get Cindy to like me, I tried something a little more aggressive. But first things first.

  Mutt?

  “This,” I said, gesturing to Shortbread, “is a purebred boarhound. And I’d like to remind you that I am the attorney for the accused and, as such, I have a right to look at the crime scene and gather my own evidence.”

  Even with this in her face, Cindy didn’t come to my side. What did I expect?

  “It doesn’t matter, okay. I already cleaned up everything, so there’s nothing to look at. You want evidence, go to the police.” And with that, she shooed me off her porch. “Stick your nose somewhere else because it sure isn’t welcome here.”

  She went back inside, slamming the door behind her.

  I wanted to get angry, but I remained calm. I had to remember that Cindy had just lost her mother and in one of the most brutal ways. She would be upset, and I couldn’t get angry at her over wanting to be alone. I walked over to Ashley’s since I still had the spare key. I would just wait until Cindy left and take another look around.

  I wasn’t waiting long when someone left, but that someone wasn’t Cindy. It was that creeper Mr. Anderson. He came out on to the porch, Cindy staying in the door frame. They shook hands and then he got inside the SUV in the driveway.

  While I did want to get back into June’s house, what was going on with Anderson was a lot more intriguing at the moment. I hustled out of the house and jumped into my car to follow him. We got all the way to city hall and I parked a few cars down.

  It was too hot to even think of leaving Shortbread in the car, so I took him in my arms and followed Anderson inside a few paces behind. He was headed in the direction of the mayor’s office and when he got to the door Mayor Harper-Lewis welcomed him heartily. I didn’t realize they were such good friends.

  They were talking by the door, when Duggie walked up. A lot of backslapping went around, the three men congratulating each other on something. This probably all had to do with Anderson’s trip to June’s place, but why would they be so happy? They all piled into the mayor’s office and I went up to the mayor’s secretary. If I couldn’t be in the room for the meeting, then I would get whatever information I could through other means.

  When I got to her desk, the secretary looked up and said, “Now that’s a cute puppy. How can I help you, hun?”

  “I just wanted to stop by and thank the mayor for the lovely dinner last night.”

  I’d gotten really good at playing sweet for people. It made me seem less threatening and people wanted to trust me more.

  “Oh, that’s sweet, but the mayor is in a meeting right now, but you can wait if you want.”

  She pointed at the small waiting area. I looked to play along, but I needed to get the information I came for.

  “Oh,” I sounded surprised. “What’s the meeting about?”

  She shrugged, not really sure.

  “Something about property acquisitions for Mr. Anderson’s firm. I just schedule the meetings, you know.”

  I thanked her, but I knew I couldn’t stay. All three men would be suspicious of me. They’d probably all already talked to one another about my talking to each of them.

  “That sounds long. I don’t think I can wait, I have to head back to my office, but thank you.”

  I left city hall and started to formulate my next move.

  Chapter Thirteen

  July 16th 2:40pm

  Instead of heading back to my office, I stopped by the coffee shop with Shortbread to take a second and clear my head. I needed to get everything down and in front of me, so I could organize all these new players and clues. This was getting a lot larger than two neighbors quarrelling.

  As I drove over, I thought about the questions I should be asking myself. If my assumptions were correct, Cindy probably promised to sell June’s property to Mr. Anderson’s firm. That would be neither illegal, nor was it totally crazy that Cindy would want to sell the property quickly. But with Anderson as the buyer, and because he was looking at the plans before June’s murder, the timing was way too convenient.

  Maybe that was why Miss June was so preoccupied with the property line. If she could claim an easement to get a piece of Ashley’s lawn then there would more to sell, meaning a bigger profit! Everything was starting to come together, but I needed solid proof. The theory made sense. Now, with June and Ashley out of the picture, the property line wouldn’t matter to Cindy.

  Cindy would sell her mom’s house low, as is. And if Ashley was on death row, Anderson could eventually scoop up the land for pennies on the dollar. The house of a convicted murderer attracted undesirable types. Would Anderson and his cronies, the mayor, and a city councilman frame Ashley? Would they murder just to make some money? People had done worse for less.

  I finally got to the coffee shop and I was ready to take a seat, but first I needed to get some coffee. I got to the counter, but it took some time because the shop was still bustling. At least no one was staring at me anymore.

  Ted greeted us warmly: “This must be Shortbread the Great Dane, you’ve been talking about.” My face must have had all my feelings written because Ted asked, “What’s wrong, Miss Kari?”

  I debated keeping it to myself, but that strategy hadn’t been doing me any good. I was frustrated, tired, and nowhere close to getting Ashley out of jail. I shook my head and was about to tell him everything, but he motioned towards the back with his head.

  “Let’s head to my office.”

  I nodded and followed him to the back. His office was small, smaller than mine back at the firm, but it was nice. He kept it clean and there was natural light, so it didn’t feel cramped or gloomy.

  Once we both sat down, he commented, “It’s quieter back here. Lately, it’s been a madhouse and it’s still taking some getting used to.”

  I rested my cheek in my palm as I looked up at Ted. I didn’t know why yet, but he made me feel calmer. Probably because he was always so nice to me.

  He looked into my eyes and asked me, “What’s on your mind?”

  I sighed and told him, “It’s just been really difficult investigating this murder. I’m literally the newest person in town. I barely know anyone, and I feel like some outsider, encroaching on everyone’s life.”

  I didn’t want to feel bad for doing my job, but it wasn’t easy when every time I spoke to someone, they ended up treating me like I was a troublemaker. The only one who was nice to me was the clerk, but I was pretty sure he’d just wanted someone to talk to.

  “You’re not, though, you’re fighting for justice. I know it must be hard, but at least your cause is noble.”

  Noble, huh? Internally, Ted’s words made me feel better, but the situation still stood in a not so great place.

  “But my best hasn’t been good enough. Ashley is still in jail for a crime she didn’t commit, and no one seems to care about how fishy everything seems.”

  I ran my hand through my hair, the frustration getting to me more and more.

  “I told you before I’m here to help and the offer’s still good. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve got so far?”

  Maybe talking about my theories out loud would be helpful. Bouncing ideas off other people was always a great way to get a new perspective and I was willing to try anything at this point.

  “Okay,” I shifted in my seat. “So, I think Anderson, the mayor, and Duggie are all doing som
e kind of land deal that involves Ashley and June’s property. I think that’s why June wanted to get the property line moved. She was planning on selling to Anderson and if she had more land then she’d get more money.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “But I know Ashley would never sell and June was probably driving a hard bargain, so with June out of the way and Ashley in jail, Anderson could swoop in and pick up everything with very little trouble or expense. I saw him coming out of June’s house and Cindy was there. I think she promised to sell. And Duggie and Anderson were seen at the assessor’s office checking out the map of Ashley and June’s houses.”

  “Wow,” he said, pretty surprised.

  “It’s all fitting together, but I feel like something is missing still. Especially since it’s all speculation.”

  I looked at Ted to see what he had to say, but it wasn’t much.

  “Do you think any of them is capable of murder?” I asked.

  Ted knew more about these people than I did. I was going off what I knew about human nature, not who all these guys were individually. In that respect, I just had my gut.

  “I don’t think so. That would be a few steps too far for these guys. Yeah, they like money and they would all gain something from this deal, but June was going to sell either way. I bet they would have eventually convinced her.”

  “But Ashley probably wouldn’t. She loves her house.”

  But then killing June wouldn’t make much sense. That circumvented the problem a little too much. Ted backed up my stance, but with some of his own reasoning.

  “Even with Ashley holding out, I still don’t think they would resort to murder. It doesn’t even seem like they had asked her yet.”

  That was also right. This theory had a lot of holes and realizing them now made it easier to move on to finding a new one.

  “You’re probably right. There was something else, though. I went to go see Doris and she said some stuff about June. About how she was promiscuous, and she married her first husband because she got pregnant.”

  I picked up my bag and dug through it until I found the printout of the picture from June’s drawer. Pointing to the man, I asked, “Is this June’s first husband?”

  It didn’t take Ted long to figure it out. Shaking his head, he answered, “No. Mr. Carter was short and pudgy. Nothing like that guy in the photo.”

  I looked at it again and the man was tall and thin. This must have been before she was married then. Maybe the guy Doris accidentally mentioned… But who could that be?

  “Can you tell who this is?” He took the picture and gave it a closer look but shook his head again.

  “Sorry, it’s not clear enough. Anyway, this was way before I was born. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can be much help.”

  His face got genuinely down, and I laughed at how much he cared.

  “You’ve helped plenty. Talking to you has shown me some new avenues to travel down. I feel like I’m getting so close. Thank you.”

  I put my hand on top of his before taking a deep breath and getting up. I was getting all my stuff back together, putting the printouts back in my manila folder, reinvigorated to jump right back on the case. I was about to exit when Ted stopped me with a proposition.

  “Kari, let me take you out to dinner tonight. You could use a break and I’d love to have your company.”

  I felt my cheeks get hot at his forwardness. We’d flirted, but dinner was the next level. I tried to diffuse the situation by playfully chastising him.

  “Ted, you know I’m much too busy to be going out to dinner.”

  I bit my lip after talking, worried I’d keep going and say yes because, secretly, I was flattered and a little thrilled at the invitation.

  “Well, that’s too bad. I’ll still be here after you get Ashley exonerated. And there’s a silver lining here.”

  “Oh? What’s that?” I inquired.

  “You just called me Ted instead of Theodore. I’m going to call that a progression in our friendship.”

  I looked up at him and smiled, but I just said, “See you later, Ted,” and left his office.

  Dinner was another worry for another time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  July 17th

  After my talk with Ted, I went back home and chose to rest. I’d been running on fumes and if I wanted to be at my best, I’d need to catch up on some sleep.

  The next day, I went back to my office and started going through old newspapers and searching the internet for anything. Someone else out there had a motive for killing June and they had followed through with it.

  Even though Ted had convinced me that Anderson, Duggie, or the mayor probably had nothing to do with the murder, I still looked for whatever I could find on them.

  Duggie and the mayor had the usual politician problems, people not liking the particularly shady business of politics or a disgruntled citizen here and there, but nothing unexpected.

  And that drinking problem of the mayor’s I noted when I went to his house––it seemed to be an open secret that no one bothered themselves with much. Michelle was a sore spot for a few, how she was favored, and her ugly art was all over town. But basically, everyone just dealt with it.

  Even Anderson was clean. Can’t judge people just because they gave you the creeps or whatever. There were complaints about his company, but it was the usual. They were changing small towns, taking away their charm. But that was how many people felt when an out of towner tried to fundamentally change their infrastructure. But what he was doing wasn’t criminal.

  I was thinking about who to investigate next when I got a call. It was from a number I didn’t have programmed into my phone, so when I answered, I sounded a little wary.

  “Hello?”

  “Kari. Hi.” It was Ted.

  I was surprised to hear his voice. Not only because I couldn’t think of a reason for his call, except for a quick flirt, which I didn’t have time for, but also because we never exchanged numbers. I would have to demote him.

  “Theodore,” I said his name with a long emphasis. I was hoping to instill a little shame because he was calling me up in such a weird fashion. “How did you get my number?”

  At the same time, I didn’t want to sound too accusatory. Ted didn’t seem like a creep and even if he got my number under suspicious circumstances, I still kind of liked him.

  “Dang,” he muttered. “Well, fair enough. But in my defense, it’s a small town, we still have phonebooks.”

  I still wasn’t used to that laid-back tone of his words. All his words had a level of casualness that made him sound so assured.

  “Okay,” I said flatly. This call might be cute and fun—another time. “So, why are you calling? Need I remind you that I don’t have time for all this flirting.”

  I couldn’t believe I had just said that out loud. I wanted to wiggle out of my body from embarrassment, but I also didn’t have time for that.

  Ted kept me in suspense, a light chuckle passing through the phone to me. But he assured me, “This call is strictly business. I promise.”

  I assumed he wouldn’t lie which means that he really did have something to tell me.

  “What is it?”

  “There were a couple of deputies in the shop to get some coffee when they all got a call out to June’s address.”

  I sat up in my seat, suddenly glad that Ted called. This was a development that I needed to follow.

  “Do you know what the call was for?”

  “Apparently, there’s a fight going on in June’s front lawn. That was all I was able to hear before they all ran out of here.”

  I thanked Ted, hanging up quickly because I needed to get over to Miss June’s.

  I rushed as fast as I could and what I found was Cindy and another woman I did not know. She seemed way angrier than Cindy, who just seemed irritated. This new lady was short and well-dressed and didn’t seem like the type to be getting into a fight that required deputies being called out.

>   Slowly, I approached the scene, not wanting the deputies to view me as a part of the problem. With my nearer proximity, I could hear what they were yelling about. Cindy was standing while this woman gestured wildly, pointing in her face.

  “You can’t sell this property. It doesn’t have my approval and it’s not allowed and you can’t just do what you want without consideration to the rest of the neighborhood! That’s not how things work!”

  Another argument concerning the property. It would seem that so much of what was going wrong in Appleton circled around land.

  “Close your pie-hole, Gladys. I can do whatever I want! I don’t need your approval. I don’t need anyone’s approval! This is my house now and if I want money for it, then you better believe I’ll get money for it!”

  Did Doris mention a Gladys during her little town history lesson? Yes! She did! Gladys Goodstone! She was the head of the homeowner’s association. She wanted Appleton to stay as historical as possible which meant no development. This would fly against what the mayor, Duggie, and Anderson wanted. Perhaps another player had entered the ring.

  “You can’t do whatever you want, Cindy! Your mother signed an agreement! Unless I say yes, this house will not be sold!”

  The deputies didn’t seem to be doing much yet. Maybe it was because the women hadn’t gotten too aggressive yet. They were yelling, but there was also some distance. Cindy was starting to close it, though.

  “Mother is dead, so whatever agreement you had with her is dead too. There’s nothing you can do, and you’ll just have to live with it.”

  I couldn’t tell if Cindy was upset that June was dead. The way she was talking about her mother was cold and in such harsh terms.

  Suddenly, they went at each other and, at that point, the only thing keeping them from tearing each other’s heads off were the police physically holding them back.

  Gladys went off: “Your just like your mother, Cindy! You have no integrity and you want the rest of the town to follow the selfish and greedy destruction you revel in! You’re opening the door for Appleton to lose whatever history it had!”