Murder by Gravity

by Barbara Graham

  Silence fell as the meaning of her words sank in. Several women looked like they were chewing on their lips to keep from laughing.

  “I might.” Two words softly spoken in the far corner of the room attracted the full attention of every woman in the room. “My second cousin’s daughter, Amy.”

  Theo felt like an iron filing being drawn by a magnet. She was powerless to resist. Seconds later, she stood next to the speaker, Eileene Bass. “Tell me.”

  “Well, Amy’s a nice woman, a bit, um . . .” Eileene hesitated. “Bossy.”

  “Bossy?” Theo repeated like a robot. “I’m bossy too. What else?”

  “She was married right out of high school, but it didn’t last. I’d bet you’ve seen her around. She works at the post office.”

  The final two words hit a nerve. Theo jumped. “The tall woman with the serious expression?”

  “That’s her,” Eileene said, “Her ex totally destroyed her self-confidence as far as dating. Among other things, he told her she was stupid and bossy and no fun.”

  Theo wondered what made people say such cruel things. Even if they were true, wasn’t there a kinder, more helpful way to encourage small changes. “Is she?”

  “No.” Eileene laughed, a rarity for the normally sour woman. “When you get to know her and she relaxes a bit, she’s sweet and very funny.”

  “Who’s her ex?” Susan, one of Theo’s favorites of the younger quilters, had moved closer, listening to the conversation. “He sounds like a real piece of work.”

  “His name is Ralph and you’re right, he is not very nice at all. He spends more time drinking at The Spa than anything else. That’s probably why you don’t know him.” Eileene shook her head slightly. “Ralph peaked in high school, wasn’t bad looking, and his prospects weren’t bad. A small college was seriously scouting him for their basketball team.”

  “But?”

  “Ralph didn’t want them. He thought one of the basketball powerhouse universities was sure to come begging for him.” Eileene’s lips twisted in disdain. “None of them came close to wanting him, so he never left town, never furthered his education, and kind of puts the ‘L’ in loser.”

  The Spa was an ill-fitting nickname for a local bar. Theo knew its original name had been The Spot but now no one bothered pronouncing the last T. Its clientele consisted of generally unpleasant, unsavory, and usually unemployed citizens.

  “And your cousin?” Theo said. “When did she realize he wasn’t a winner?”

  “Oh, it took a little while. She loved him in high school, believed his story, married him, and went to work so he wouldn’t have to balance a job along with his studies and practice sessions. When he didn’t go to college, he didn’t go to work either. It turned out he liked being supported financially by his wife, but she wised up pretty fast. Turns out he was practicing something while she was working, but it wasn’t basketball.” The woman looked like she wouldn’t bother to call 911 if the man was having a heart attack. “They were divorced within six months of the wedding.”

  “I don’t know what to do.” Ruby sat in Tony’s office. Her hands folded and refolded a tissue as Ruby’s gorgeous brown eyes filled with tears. “Mike thought you might have a suggestion.”

  Tony had heard Theo comment from time to time about the unfair advantage held by women with brown eyes. A single tear in big brown eyes broke both hearts and rules. Ruby’s tears were genuine, a mixture he suspected of fatigue and concern, and he felt their impact, encouraging him to volunteer to help.

  “What’s the problem?” He handed her a box of tissues and tried to visualize Theo’s green/gold hazel eyes. They were beautiful, amazingly so, and intelligent and full of fight and wit and he loved them. But, well, they weren’t brown and didn’t scream protect me.

  Before Ruby had a chance to say anything, her husband, Deputy Mike Ott, came into the office carrying their tiny, precious, brown-eyed daughter. The baby was sleeping on her back, draped across her father’s arm, one of her tiny arms dangling, limp as a rag doll. Dammit the bloodhound slouched in and collapsed close enough to Ruby for her to be able to pet him without changing position. The dog looked exhausted, and his drooping eyes and skin seemed to be hanging lower than usual.

  Mike looked into his wife’s face and said, “Did you tell him?”

  Ruby shook her head. “I was trying to decide what to tell him and how to tell him.”

  “Tell me what?” The mysterious conversation erased all thoughts of eye color from Tony’s mind. He hoped this wasn’t Mike’s notice of intent to leave the department. He mentally shook the idea away. Paranoia was not a good trait.

  Balancing the baby, Mike reached for Ruby’s hand with his free one. “Just give him the highlights for now.”

  Ruby sighed and looked directly into Tony’s eyes. “You won’t be surprised to learn that I run a casual and unregulated shelter for broken families.”

  Tony did know about it. He also suspected she was involved in transporting fleeing spouses across state lines and into safer areas, sort of a modern underground railroad. “Do I want to know more?”

  Ruby ignored his question. “There was a woman who showed up with two children the other day.”

  Mike interrupted, “We have no idea how she found us. That’s the scary part.”

  Ruby’s dark eyes flashed with anger or irritation, and Tony wasn’t sure if the nameless woman or Mike’s interruption was the cause.

  “As I was saying, she just showed up on our shelter doorstep, claiming to have been battered by her husband. Prudence Holt was on duty at the time. When Prudence asked her about any injuries, she said she didn’t have any.” Ruby sighed. “We’ll call this woman Alice.”

  Tony started to see Ruby’s problem. “We all know there are other forms of abuse.”

  Ruby nodded. “Alice had two children with her, a three-year-old and a six-year-old.” Ruby stopped massaging the dog’s ear and stared into the distance. “The kids were nice enough, seemed kind of bored, but they did not seem traumatized or bruised either.”

  “How long ago was this?” Tony thought he could check for a missing woman with children. Maybe the report would shed some light on the problem. He wasn’t at all surprised that Deputy Darren Holt’s wife, Prudence, was also part of this group. Not only did Prudence hold strong feelings about how women should be treated, she was the undisputed arm wrestling champion in the area. He wouldn’t fight Prudence on a dare.

  “Alice arrived on Tuesday. On Wednesday I had to confront her about the rules.” Ruby checked her pocket calendar. “She said she didn’t have to follow my stupid rules or come to the support meetings. She claimed her attitude was because she knew we would be sending her on down the line.”

  “Pretty rebellious for one of your rescues.” Tony could feel Ruby’s discomfort.

  “No kidding.” Ruby finally smiled. “I like it when they start to show a little spunk and a little less, ‘I deserve to be beaten ’cause he wouldn’t have hit me if I did everything right.’ ”

  “So, you’re suspicious about why she sought you out, how she found you, and now maybe where she went?”

  “That, and because we’re taking care of another, truly pitiful woman whose life since she ran away from her home, at least until now, has been foraging for food and clothes in other people’s garbage.” Ruby bit her lower lip. “This morning, this other woman came to me with thousands of dollars in cash. Said she found it spilling out of one of Alice’s bags. Said there was more money in the bag than in a bank. I made sure she put it all back.”

  Tony sat back, stunned. A runaway with lots of cash could either be in a world of trouble or be the cause of it. “Does this Alice know what your husband does for a living?”

  “No.” Ruby seemed to relax a bit. “No one knows who we really are or where we live or what we do in life. I was afraid for the other woman if Alice finds any of her money is missing and turns on her.”

  “But you are doubly suspicious of this Alic
e woman because she can afford hotels, transportation, protection, and she’s been staying in our little backwater for no apparent reason.”

  “Unless she stole it from someone truly evil.” Ruby shivered. “Rich people are as often guilty as the poor or middle class. Abuse is a crime that crosses all segments of society.”

  The baby started fussing in Mike’s arms, and he handed her to Ruby. His eyes met Tony’s. “I’ve tried to find out something, anything, about this woman without giving her location away to the bad guy or involving your office in any way.”

  “And?” Tony knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.

  “And there’s nothing.” Mike shook his head. “No one claims to be missing a wife and two children. No one seems to be missing a boatload of cash. And the little information we ask the women for when they come to us, all of hers seems fictitious. Lots, if not most, of our victims tell lies about their names and locations, but the painful truth is still evident.”

  “So she’s lying. But why?” Tony leaned forward. “Is she hiding from her abusive husband whose money and children she’s running with or . . .”

  “Maybe those aren’t her kids and she borrowed them, and somewhere their parents are either counting their rental money or she took them and they’re hoping if they cooperate, she’ll return them.” Mike shook his head. “Whichever, I think she is hiding with us for a different reason.”

  “No matter how you look at it, we need to move her and the other woman.” Tony looked at Mike. “We are now officially involved in this. Put out her description and all the warnings about who else might be hunting for her. If that money is stolen, the owner, husband or not, will most likely be looking for it.”

  “Now then, Ruby, you’re smarter than about anyone I know and you have had some experience with bad husbands.” He tipped his head toward Mike. “I gather this one is an exception.”

  Ruby laughed, a real laugh filled with joy. “He is a keeper.”

  “So, what is your gut telling you?” Tony thought the change in her expression from joy to despair told the whole story. “You wanted to help, and she’s involved you and your rescue system in a very public, potentially disastrous situation.”

  There was no trace of the happy woman from seconds earlier. “We have to move everyone away, as quickly as possible and without using any of our normal routes.” Ruby’s dark eyes filled with tears. “If I thought it possible, I’d say this woman, Alice, was paid to find us, paid to expose our fragile souls to someone who hasn’t stopped hunting.”

  Tony felt her words like blows to his gut. Ruby was right. He could feel it too: someone had breached her security and was planning to close in and destroy them. Soon. “Pack the women and children up and get them all out of their current locations.”

  “And take them where?” Ruby wasn’t arguing; she was hoping for help.

  “How many do you have?”

  “We have Alice and her two children plus one other woman who has one child and a small dog.” Ruby stared at her trembling fingers as if surprised there weren’t more to protect. “So only two families.”

  For a moment Tony considered locking the whole bunch in the jail for safekeeping. Not a good plan. And then he had an idea. They could send them to the most isolated, most unlikely place to stash women and children until they could be safely moved. “Hold on.” He dialed his brother Gus’s cell phone. When Gus answered Tony skipped the small talk. “Is Roscoe with you? I need to talk to him.”

  Seconds later, the distinctive nasal voice spoke. “Sheriff?”

  “Roscoe, can you and the professor hide a few people for me?” He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t ask, but it’s a bit of an emergency.”

  “Sure. I’ll call my lady love and tell her you’re a-coming.”

  “Thanks Roscoe, I owe you one.” Tony disconnected. “Ruby, you get those women packed up and tell them I’m coming. Then I want you to take your baby girl to your café and stay there, in plain sight.”

  Ruby didn’t hesitate. She was gone before Tony said more than, “And Mike. I’ll go get them and let you explain the details to Theo.”

  Luckily there were only the two women and three children. Tony called his wife’s cell phone. “Theo, honey, I need your car, and then I’ll need you to drive it somewhere.” He must have sounded as urgent as he felt. For a change, his wife didn’t ask any questions, but just agreed. “I’ll come by and pick it up. In the meantime, please don’t report it stolen.”

  Five minutes later, half of which he used to get the seat moved far enough away from the steering wheel for him to fit inside so he could actually drive the yellow SUV, he was following Ruby’s instructions to the safe house. Hidden in plain sight, for sure. The little house was in the middle of town. Prudence Sligar Holt waved him around to the back door. In less than ten minutes they’d loaded all the residents and their few belongings, including a small mongrel dog, into Theo’s SUV. “Stay down.” And Tony headed back to the quilt shop.

  By the time he returned, Mike had filled in Theo, telling her of Tony’s master plan.

  Tony parked behind the shop and at an angle so no one could see inside the driver’s door when it was open. He didn’t think anyone was watching but didn’t want to risk someone spotting his passengers.

  In seconds he had gotten out and Theo climbed behind the wheel and moved the seat forward so she could reach the pedals again. She lowered the window. “Don’t forget to pick up the boys after school,” she said. “The girls are fine staying here with Maybelle.”

  Tony almost laughed at her micro-managing in this situation. He whispered in her ear, “Love you.” She kissed him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  As she had been instructed to do, Theo drove around town. She’d been given a list of seemingly normal things to do, errands, just in case she was being followed. She headed sedately for the edge of town. On the way, she stopped for gas. Went to the ATM. Ran into Food City and picked up a few items. All the while her heart was pounding. She must have checked her watch over fifty times in twenty minutes.

  Trying to seem as relaxed as possible, she climbed back into her unmistakably bright yellow SUV and whispered to her passengers, “I’m sorry I had to leave the windows rolled up. I’ll get you some fresh air now.”

  “Bless you for doing this.” A frightened female voice in the far back whispered, “I’m Alice.”

  It was enough to give Theo the courage she needed. “I’m sorry y’all have to be so crammed in.”

  “We’re fine.” The voice came from a woman folded onto the floor instead of sitting on the front seat. “This is just fine. You can call me Darla.”

  Theo smiled. If Darla, crouching and badly cramped, was able to smile and lie about her comfort, and her name, Theo could drive. She held to her normal speed and headed out to the small farm on the border of the county and federal land. She thought that Roscoe, the professor, and Baby the bear might as well have moved to the moon. As she came around the final bend in the road and could see the house, she slowed down. In the pasture, surrounded by a split-rail fence, she could see the crane-like features of one of the intriguing couple’s trebuchets. This new version of an old siege weapon sat in a former cornfield.

  As they had gotten farther from town and seen no other vehicles, her passengers had gradually risen from the floor to buckle themselves into the seats. All of them were sure no one would see them out here.

  “What is that thing?” A child’s voice.

  Theo was relieved to hear, finally, a normal-sounding question from a curious child. Theo explained the medieval weapons as she drove past. “It’s really fun to watch it kind of back up and fling things—like it’s throwing a ball overhand.”

  “What do they fling?” The child hesitated on the last word.

  “Oh, fun stuff now. Back in medieval times it would have been rocks, but now my friends send pumpkins and overgrown zucchini flying through the air.” Theo was delighted by the smile she glimpsed in the re
arview mirror. “When they hit the ground, they splatter vegetable bits over everything nearby.”

  “There’s no quilt.” Darla spoke, her eyes glued to the house and yard. She looked ready to jump from the car and run.

  “No.” Theo reached over and patted the woman’s leg. “These are trusted friends, but they are not part of the regular transportation.”

  “Why are we here?”

  “Someone has broken our trust.” Theo felt a knot form in her throat. “We’ll see you safely away, but we have to handle the transportation differently.”

  “Is that necessary?” The woman in the far back frowned. “We’ve come this far. Shouldn’t we stick to the original plan? I want you to turn and take us back.”

  Theo felt a tingle at the base of her neck. No one ever complained or offered resistance. These people were desperate. Not even the shelter or facilities where they came from originally had been able to protect them. She glanced over at the woman who had been on the floor next to her. Wide-eyed, Darla looked back at Theo, but her breathing was suddenly very shallow.

  Slowing to make the turn into the drive, Theo flashed her headlights instead of using the turn signal. Relieved, she watched Roscoe trot toward her, his arms waving to make her stop. Her errands had taken long enough to allow him to get here before she did and he’d had plenty of time to talk to Tony.

  “What happened?” Alice, the woman in the far back, sounded angry more than frightened.

  “I don’t know.” Theo stopped her car and lowered her window and stuck her head out. “Let’s see what he says.”

  Roscoe whispered an almost soundless question in Theo’s ear. “Which one?”

  Theo’s answer was almost inaudible, but Roscoe heard every word. He trotted around to the far side of the SUV. “Ma’am, you and your young’un and the pup are to come with me.” Roscoe reached for the front passenger door handle. “I’ll take you to your next stop.”

  Looking back at Theo for reassurance, who forced a smile and nodded, the woman known as Darla picked up her well-worn purse and climbed out. Her daughter and the mongrel joined her and then Roscoe shut the door, came back around to the driver’s door, and whispered to Theo, “You’re to take these other ones back to the house where they’ll get different transportation. Your husband says it’s too dangerous to have all the eggs in one basket or something like that.”