by Pyper James
Underneath the cards were several spiral bound notebooks. It was like hitting the motherload as Vivica thumbed through the one on top and started searching the pages. Ms. Sophie had been right. He had been penning some sort of memoir and Vivica hoped that the answers to some of the most important questions could be found within the pages. But with so much material, it wasn’t possible to hone in on the answers immediately. So, Vivica opted to repack the suitcase and take it to her room where she could spread things out, read the entries and take some notes.
“If there’s a clue in here, Mr. Gingham, I promise I’ll find it,” Vivica said as she moved toward the door to leave Mr. Gingham’s room. Thinking about it as she stood in the doorway, Vivica opted to push the button on the lock, so that no one else could enter the room while the tape was up. She would remind her aunt not to allow housekeeping to enter the room until the investigation was over. Vivica closed the door behind her and then sat the suitcase down while she reapplied the caution tape to cover the door.
As Vivica made her way down the hall to her room, she passed one of the guests.
“Good evening,” he said pausing to speak.
“Good evening,” Vivica replied. “Mr. Graham, right?”
“That’s correct,” he answered. “How did you know my name?”
“Oh, from the interviews we did last night,” Vivica answered.
“And how is that going? When I asked the innkeeper earlier, she didn’t have many answers.
“They’re going but I really can’t go into that, you understand,” Vivica replied, shifting the suitcase in her hand.
“That’s an interesting piece you’ve got there,” Mr. Graham speculated.
Vivica didn’t respond to that statement but instead asked a question of her own.
“This your first time here, Mr. Graham?”
“It is,” he replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
“What brings you to Mulberry Grove?”
“Just a little vacation, but it’s time for me to get back home,” he continued. “That’s why I was hoping that this situation would be over soon.”
“Family to get home to?”
“No, don’t have any family left, well not anymore,” Bradford replied, his tone a bit more somber than before.
“I understand. Aunt Mildred is the only family I have left,” Vivica offered,
“Well maybe you do understand,” Bradford agreed. “Still, there are things that I need to attend to at home, so…”
“And where’s home for you, if you don’t mind me asking,” Vivica went on.
“Rome,” Mr. Graham answered.
“Italy?” Vivica asked, surprised at his answer.
He chuckled as he responded. “Not quite, although that would be nice. I’m from Rome Georgia. Just a small town, not many have heard of. I think that’s what drew me to Dahlonega. I love the feel of a small town.”
“Me too. Well, I’m not going to hold you. Good to talk to you, Mr. Graham.”
“And you as well Ms. Meadows.”
Chapter Eleven
Vivica was up most of the night combing through Mr. Gingham’s notebooks. She had learned a lot about Braxton, but there was still much to uncover. His notebooks were still sprawled all over her bed when Maximus climbed in, finding his way through the mess to go to sleep. When Vivica’s phone rang before 8:00 a.m., she was startled, but managed to open one eye and reach for her cell.
“Hello?”
“Vivica?”
Hearing the smooth baritone of Johnathan’s voice, Vivica forced herself to open both eyes. She cleared her throat away from the phone before responding.
“Yes, good morning.” Vivica did her best to straighten up. Her morning voice was awful, and she knew it.
“Wanted to let you know we got the call from Brown Mitchell. The results are back from the blood test. We’re meeting him at the station in an hour. I figured you’d want to be there.”
“Thanks, sheriff. I’ll see you in an hour.”
As soon as the line disconnected, Vivica groaned. All she wanted was a few more hours of sleep, but alas, duty called. Clearing the bed and restacking the notebooks in the suitcase, Vivica made her way to the shower which perked her right up. After getting dressed, Vivica checked the time. she needed to be at the police station in thirty minutes.
“Gotta run, Max, but don’t bother getting up. I’ll leave the door cracked.”
Her four-legged friend didn’t even lift his head in response. Grabbing the suitcase, Vivica made her way downstairs and straight into the kitchen to grab some coffee before leaving. Surprisingly, Aunt Mildred wasn’t there. That was curious, but Vivica didn’t have time to doddle. Getting her to go cup, Vivica filled it up and headed back towards the front door. She would check in with Aunt Mildred later. At the moment, getting to the sheriff’s station was most important.
Unlike the days before, this morning, the sun wasn’t shining on Dahlonega. The sky was overcast, and the clouds were full and gray. At some points, along Vivica’s drive, it looked as if the clouds rested atop the mountain peaks; the weightiness of the mingly gray clouds being pierced by the darkness of the mountain tops. This was one morning, Vivica couldn’t ride with the drop top dropped. Fortunately, the roads were clear, and she was able to make to the station in record time. The two cars she expected to be in the parking lot was there and Vivica parked the bug between them and made her way inside.
“Good, we’re all here,” Sheriff Harper said as Vivica walked towards his desk. She nodded to the men in the room and took a seat near Deputy Gathright’s desk. “Brown, you can go ahead and share with us what you have learned,” Harper encouraged. Brown cleared his throat as he sat on the edge of Harper’s desk.
“Well, it turns out that no poison was introduced intravenously to Mr. Gingham.”
Everyone in the room looked both surprised and confused. Looking around the room and seeing their faces, Brown continued. “There was no substance of any sort introduced. It’s definitely a homicide; murder by air.”
“What in the world are you talking about,” Bo asked, articulating what everyone else was thinking.
“Brown chuckled and adjusted on the desk enough so that his feet swung just above the floor.
“Braxton Gingham was killed by an injection of air bubbles into his vein. The medical term for it is venous air embolism.”
“Okay, let me see if I understand, Harper said, scratching through his buzzed haircut. “Somebody shot air in his neck and it killed him?”
“That’s precisely right,” Coroner Mitchell said. “Let’s think about this for a moment. You’ve seen nurses and doctors thump a syringe to make sure there are no air bubbles in the medication they prepare to inject into a patient, right?”
Everyone nodded their heads.
“There’s a very good reason for that,” Brown continued. “When air bubbles get into the veins, they can cause a great deal of damage. Despite the point of entry, these bubbles can travel to the brain and cause a stroke; to the heart and cause a heart attack or to the lungs and cause respiratory failure. It’s very clever actually because all the things that an air embolism can cause mimic death by natural causes.”
“That is incredible,” Vivica replied. “To know to do something like that, you would think the killer would maybe be in a medical field?”
“Ten years ago, I would have agreed with you,” Coroner Mitchell advised. “But now, with Google and the internet, all you have to do is search and the answers pop right up.”
“And people actually search for this kind of stuff, huh,” Bo said, more rhetorically than anything, as he shook his head.
“Yeah, they certainly do,” Brown answered.
“Then that doesn’t help us narrow down the search since anyone could find the information,” Gathright agreed.
“But now we know, that without a doubt, Braxton Gingham was murdered,” Harper concluded.
Vivica didn’t find that know
ledge the least bit comforting. At least now, though, they knew what they were dealing with; a murderer at Mulberry Grove.
“So, what’s next,” Vivica asked.
“I don’t know about you all, but I’m going to complete the autopsy on Mr. Gingham and finalize my report,” Coroner Mitchell said. “Do we have any family to notify?”
“Working on that part,” Vivica replied. “I’m actually going through some writings I found that belong to Mr. Gingham. I’m hoping something in there will at least point us in the direction of family and maybe a reason why he was killed.”
“Well, let us know if you find anything,” Harper began. “Bo and I will go over the interviews we’ve already completed and see who we need to speak to again.”
Although there was much to do with trying to solve Mr. Gingham’s case, Vivica could no longer afford to ignore her business. Leaving the station, she went to the garden to check on her flower beds. They bloomed brightly, peppering the landscape with brilliant colors. The butterflies were abundant which was a sign to Vivica of healthy blooms. There was such peace in her little corner of the world, even though the sky overhead still hung heavy with rain. The clouds had not yet burst with the showers that were soon to come, and that was fine with Vivica. She basked in the moment of what she had accomplished since coming to Dahlonega. And to think that she was actually making a living from doing something she loved, something she shared with her mother, was extra special. She missed her terribly, both her parents. There wasn’t a day that passed when she didn’t think about them or wanted to share with them. Vivica wondered if there was anyone to miss Braxton.
But, thoughts about Mr. Gingham had to be put on hold. She needed to finalize the payment for her floral kiosk, make a couple of deliveries and stop by the hospital to check in on Winnie and the new baby.
“So much to do, so little time,” Vivica said aloud as she walked passed the hyacinth growing in one corner of the garden. Vivica intentionally planted the cylindrical blossoms in groupings by color. The hyacinth made a beautiful patchwork of color. They reminded Vivica of the hyacinth in Braxton’s restroom. Someone took the time to either send or give the flowers to him, tie a bow around the pretty vase, but left no card? Unless, Vivica mused, Braxton removed the card upon reading. But would he throw it away? That thought made Vivica curious as to where the card could possibly be, if there was one Or, maybe she could find out who sold hyacinth nearby?
“Or maybe you’re reading too much into it, flower lady,” Vivica chastised herself aloud. With no time to waste, Vivica sorted and picked the flowers she needed to deliver. She also picked a bunch for Winnie.
Next stop? The hospital to see the newest little Baxter.
Once Vivica was back at Dahlonega General, she stopped by the gift shop to pick up a few things for mommy and baby. Satisfied with her purchases, Vivica returned to the maternity ward and padded down the hallway towards Winifred’s room. When Vivica opened the door, she was surprised at how quiet it was. She looked around to see where everyone was, only to find mommy and the new baby alone. Looking up and seeing Vivica standing there, Winnie smiled and waved her over.
“So, mommy, how are you and Jared Thomas doing today? And where’s everyone else,” Vivica asked, sitting her gift on the side table.
“Girl, I sent that motley crew home for a while. The boys were getting antsy being stuck in the room. Besides, they were wearing our pockets out wanting to run to the cafeteria for snacks,” Winnie laughed.
Vivica leaned over the bed to get a look at the baby.
“Oh, Winnie, I didn’t know you were nursing,” Vivica pulled back flushed.
“It’s no biggie,” Winnie laughed, adjusting Jared in her arms. “And he’s a big eater just like his brothers. I feel like a dairy cow right about now.” She laughed and Vivica laughed with her.
“The flowers and balloons are nice, Viv, thank you,” Winnie replied, looking at the bouquet of carnations Vivica brought. “Okay little man, time to burp,” Winnie said, coaxing her son off the breast. “Would you like to do the honors, Aunt Vivica?”
“I most certainly would,” Vivica beamed. Winnie pointed Vivica in the direction of the burping clothes which Vivica readily retrieved. Once she had the padding on her shoulder and returned bedside, Winifred lifted Jared up to Vivica who took him lovingly into her arms. This was her first time holding the baby as there was so much going on the night Winifred delivered, Vivica didn’t have a chance to. But now, she was able to look down into Jared’s angelic face and admire just how remarkable a new baby was. Gently and with a smile, Vivica lifted Jared onto her shoulder and he adjusted until he was comfortable. Vivica sat down in the chair close to the bed and started patting Jared on the back.
“Still tired,” Vivica asked as she slowly rocked and patted the baby.
“Yes,” Winnie exclaimed. “But the one benefit of being in the hospital is that I don’t have to do anything but rest and take care of Jared,” she continued with a smile.
“How long will you be able to stay?”
“Not long enough,” Winifred laughed. “I sneak and asked Dr. Lemon if I could stay a couple extra days, though.”
“What did he say,” Vivica asked amused.
“He winked and smiled,” Winnie replied.
“Does that mean yes?”
“I certainly hope so,” Winnie went on. “He knows what I’m dealing with, with all that testosterone in my house. The least he could do is contribute to my mini-vaca!”
The girls laughed it up again, and then the look on Winifred’s face changed.
“I’m glad you stopped by, Vivica,” she began. Noticing the change, Vivica watched her friend to see if everything was okay. Vivica’s face must have said as much.
“No, nothing’s wrong,” Winifred cleared up, “But I am glad you stopped by because there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“And what is that,” Vivica asked playfully challenging her friend.
The loon on Winifred’s face was serious yet calm.
“I love you like a sister, Viv,” she began.
“I love you too,” Vivica replied. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’re about to cry.”
“It’s the hormones, girl,” Winnie chuckled. “But seriously, I can’t think of anyone I trust more than you.”
“Aww, Winnie, now you’re gonna make me cry.”
“You are so selfless; always putting others before your own needs,” Winnie continued, wiping the tears that had just started to fall to her cheeks. “With that being said, I wanted to know if you would be willing to be Jared’s godmother?”
Vivica was rendered speechless. Her eyes quickly misted over with tears that spilled effortlessly onto her pale cheeks.
“It would be an honor, Winnie, thank you,” Vivica beamed.
Just then, Jared let out a loud belch and a toot from the derriere to go along with it. Wide-eyed looks were shared between the two friends who then simultaneously burst out into laughter.
“Jared your timing is impeccable,” Vivica crooned.
“For sure,” Winnie howled.
When the laughter died down, Winnie shifted the conversation.
“Tell me what’s been going on with you since I’ve been laid up and out of commission.”
“Oh, Winnie, there’s a lot going on,” Vivica replied, shifting baby Jared down from her shoulder to her lap.
“Do tell, please,” Winnie encouraged, reaching for the remote and raising the back of the bed to sit up higher.
“Gosh, where do I start,” Vivica mused.
“At the beginning, Viv! I need to think about something other than boys, breastfeeding, and babies!”
Vivica laughed but she knew Winifred meant it.
“Okay, so the other day, I found Mr. Gingham, one of the long-timers at Mulberry Grove, laying out in the vineyard.”
Vivica watched as Winnie’s eyes swelled, much like a girl scout around the campfire when it was story time.
“Yeah, I couldn’t believe it myself,” Vivica continued. “I didn’t see where he was hurt, but Winnie, he whispered with his dying breath, help me.”
“Oh my God, Vivica, that’s awful,” Winnie replied, leaning forward and resting her arm on the bed’s railing.
“I know,” Vivica replied. “I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do to help him.”
“Natural causes,” Winifred asked.
“That’s the thing,” Vivica said as she continued to rock Jared in her arms. “Initially, we weren’t sure.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Mr. Gingham didn’t look to have any injuries, I mean nothing we could see outright. Even the medics couldn’t find anything.”
“So, natural causes, right?”
“No, Winnie. Somebody killed Mr. Gingham.”
“What in the world,” Winnie moaned. “And he was so nice!” She paused before continuing. “It feels weird to refer to him in past tense,” Winnie admitted.
“Ms. Mildred,” Winnie sighed. “How is she holding up behind all of this?”
“Aunt Mildred is beside herself,” Vivica added. “Another thing that makes me feel helpless to fix.”
“Yeah, but you guys are working on it right, to figure out who did it,” Winnie inquired.
“We’re trying,” Vivica replied dejectedly.
“No good leads?”
“Like you said, who would want to hurt Mr. Braxton? We haven’t located any family, not as of yet, so finding a place to start is hard.”
Winnie leaned back against the pillow. Vivica, realizing Jared had fallen asleep, slowed her rocking motion and cuddled him closer.
