***
If the tension between the suspects inside the church wasn’t bad enough, the awkwardness spilled out into to parking lot as the funeralgoers exited the service. As I had predicted, emotions were running a little too hot to handle.
They finally boiled over.
It was Andrew’s brother, Hank Stewart, who made the first move, confronting Leah with some harsh words.
Having a strong will of her own, Leah fired back at Hank until the two were in the heat of an argument right there in the middle of the parking lot.
My boyfriend and I were on the other side of the lot, approaching our respective cars, when the argument broke out. David and I were too far away to hear the exact words being spoken, but the body language Hank and Leah were giving off made it clear that they had a serious beef with each other.
Things only escalated from there. When the argument got overly heated between Leah and Hank, Leah’s adult son, Nathan Stewart, stepped in to defend his mother.
I watched in horror as the Stewarts went after each other in the middle of the parking lot. As a law enforcement official, David had a different reaction to the argument. Instinctively, he began to move toward the Stewart’s to break things up. David wouldn’t get the chance to. The Stewarts hadn’t just gotten the attention of my boyfriend and me with their arguing.
Their yelling had drawn a crowd. That did not sit well with Hank, who did not seem to enjoy having so many eyes staring at him.
Hank shelved his differences with Leah for the moment in favor of tucking tail and running. He darted off toward his car, putting an abrupt end to the argument.
It turned out that Nathan shunned the spotlight just as much as his uncle did. When Nathan noticed that all eyes were now on him and his mother, he said a quick few words to his mom before also darting away.
In that same vein, Leah took a deep breath to gain her composure before making a beeline for her car. After I watched the Stewarts scurry away in such a mad-dash fashion, my mind couldn’t help but be filled with questions.
I shared my thoughts with my boyfriend, who looked equally perplexed about what had just happened.
“Is it just me, or was that crazy?” I asked.
David’s eyebrows were arched. “It wasn’t just you.”
Our focus then shifted to the cause of the skirmish.
“What do you suppose that was that about?” I said.
David shrugged. “It beats me.” He was as deadpan as ever with his follow-up. “Although I think it’s safe to say that they won’t be having a big family dinner anytime soon.”
I gave him a wry smile. “If anything, that family looks like it is on the verge of imploding.”
“Which is strange since you’d think something like this would bring them together.” He became pensive. “So why is it tearing them apart?”
I had no answer to that. Instead, another question bounced around my head. “It makes you wonder what was said.”
David sprang into action. “I’ll go ask him.”
“Good luck,” I said.
David’s eyes widened. “Thanks. I’m going to need it.”
Chapter Eighteen
David wasn’t the only one who felt compelled to do some digging. I had the inclination to do some investigative work of my own, and I knew exactly who I wanted to start with. From an empathy standpoint, I hated approaching Leah right then, knowing that her emotions were so raw.
Ironically, from a sleuthing perspective, it was the best time to be talking to her. I just wished that those two factors didn’t have to be in such diametric opposition. Then again, solving a murder wasn’t about expressing empathy. It was about uncovering the truth.
I took a few deep breaths, prepared myself as much as I could for my first suspect interview, then walked over to Leah’s car. When I reached her blue sedan, I saw her crying in the driver’s seat. With tears dribbling down her cheeks, her makeup had started running.
I reached into my purse to pull out a tissue. “I’m so sorry.”
Not expecting anyone to be next to her, Leah jumped in her seat when she heard my voice. She put her hand over her heart as her eyes darted toward me.
Leah scolded me. “You scared me to death.”
I hadn’t intended to scare her. To smooth the situation over, I was very contrite. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to do that.”
She remained short with me. “What do you want?”
Leah was clearly in no mood to talk. I didn’t blame her. If I were in her position, I would have wanted to be left alone. That said, there was information that I sought to obtain from her, and I was determined to get it. If I was going to be successful, I would have to get her to warm up to me.
“I just wanted to extend my sympathies,” I said. “It must be a terrible time for you.”
She had a harrowed look in her eyes as she replied, “It is.”
It made for a difficult segue, but I had to address Andrew’s murder. “Knowing your husband’s killer is still out there must only make it worse.”
Her face stiffened. There was intense pain in her eyes. “Bringing it up doesn’t make it better.”
Uh-oh.
I was losing my grip on this conversation. It was vital to get her back in my corner. I wanted to get her to see me as a friend, not as a foe. It was time to make another attempt to get her to open up to me. “I meant that it is hard to fully move on when the killer is still out there. I hope the guilty party is brought to justice.”
She softened a little. “Thank you.”
Even though she was no longer curt with me, her interest in this conversation was still negligible.
That made the next question even harder to ask. I mustered all the courage I had. “In light of that, I was wondering if you can give some information.”
“What kind of information?”
“Anything that might help me figure out who did this to your husband.”
Leah scoffed. “You have come to the wrong person.”
As much as I was empathetic to the emotionally precarious position she was in, I didn’t believe her answer one bit. It didn’t seem possible that she had no useful information of any kind. After all, she was married to the man. She couldn’t be completely in the dark as to who might have wanted Andrew dead.
“He was your husband. You knew him better than anyone,” I said.
She nodded. “True.”
“So do you have any idea who might have done this?”
She became defensive. “I didn’t do it.”
That was curious. I hadn’t accused her of murdering her husband, yet she felt compelled to proclaim her innocence. To me, that was highly suspicious.
At the same time, I was walking a tightwire here, and this interview could get away from me in a hurry if I pushed too far too soon. I had to talk her down from the heights as quickly as possible.
“I didn’t accuse you of anything,” I replied. “I was just wondering if you knew who might have wanted your husband dead.”
She shrugged. “Do I look like a detective to you?”
“No. I’m just saying that any help would be really appreciated. Did anyone have a beef with him?”
Finally, a name came to her mind. “His mistress.”
My eyes widened. “Mistress?”
She nodded. “Melissa Wilcox. They recently had a falling out.”
Leah had gotten way ahead of me. I was still hung up on her previous point. “Wait. Andrew was cheating on you?”
She got choked up. “Unfortunately.”
My heart went out to her. “I’m so sorry.”
Her emotions were as raw as ever. “I really want to leave.”
I put my arm up in hopes of stopping her. “I understand that this must be difficult to talk about—”
“It is.”
“But it could also be very important in solving your husband’s murder. When you say your husband and his mistress had a falling out—”
Leah shut me down
. “Talk to Melissa about it. I’m done.”
I left the topic of Andrew’s mistress alone. After all, there was another major detail to discuss before she drove off. “Mrs. Stewart, I just have one more question for you.”
Leah fumbled through her purse for her car keys. “Can’t it wait?”
“I’ll make it really quick.”
She let out a sigh. “Fine.”
There was no time to waste. That meant I had to launch right into my next topic without any preface. “When I asked you who had a beef with your husband, I figured you would have mentioned Hank. Judging by that argument you just had with your brother-in-law, you two looked like you haven’t been getting along that well recently.”
Her face got red. “That looked worse than it was.”
I gave her a critical stare. “What were you two just arguing about?”
“Emotions are high right now.”
“I imagine they are,” I replied. “What specifically were Hank’s emotions running high about?”
Leah was exasperated. “He was upset about having been fired.”
The whole Stewart family worked at the chocolate shop—Andrew, Leah, Nathan, and Hank. Correction—Hank used to work at the shop. This new detail about Hank having been fired was explosive.
Now I was getting somewhere. Talk about a lead. Suddenly, Hank was drenched in motive.
“Fired, huh?” I replied.
Leah nodded.
As juicy as that detail was, part of her story didn’t add up.
“Did you fire him?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Andrew did.”
“Then why was Hank yelling at you?”
“He blames me for losing his job. Hank is convinced that I was the one who pressured Andrew to give him the boot.”
“What’s your side of the story?”
“Andrew knew that his brother was nothing but trouble. I mean, how many times could Hank show up to work drunk and still keep his job? But just because Andrew knew what needed to happen didn’t make it easy for him to pull the trigger.”
“Do you think Hank was upset enough about his brother firing him to kill him?”
She scratched her forehead. “Well, Hank does know how to hold a grudge. Besides, without a job, he was going to have a hard time paying his rent. Then again, with Andrew dead, Hank stood to inherit a fair amount of money.”
“Hank is listed in Andrew’s will, then?”
Leah sighed. “Unfortunately. I begged Andrew to change his will, but my husband had a soft spot for his loser brother.”
Very interesting. I would have pressed further, but Leah grabbed the keys to her car and put them in the ignition. I had to get to my last topic before she left the parking lot.
“What about your son?” I asked.
Leah narrowed her eyes at me like a protective female lion who would fight to the death to defend her cub. “What about him?”
I gingerly continued. “I couldn’t help but notice your son came quickly to your aid.”
“He’s very protective of me.”
“That’s a good quality,” I said.
“It is,” she replied.
I hesitated for a moment before asking my next question. “Did Nathan know that his father was cheating on you?”
A fire came to her eyes. “Leave my son out of this!”
I took a step back. “I just asked a question is all.”
Leah flew even more off the handle. “And you heard my answer. Leave Nathan alone.”
Leah turned her car on and put her hand on the gear shift.
Even though the conversation was rapidly deteriorating, I tried to salvage it. “Mrs. Stewart, I didn’t mean any offense—”
It was no use. She didn’t listen to me.
Leah drove her car out of that parking lot as fast as possible.
As Leah peeled away, I could have lingered, contemplating how things had gone south so quickly. But I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I just had to tell myself that I had gotten all of the information that I could and console myself with the knowledge that I had uncovered a few leads.
Chapter Nineteen
A collection of thin, wispy clouds leisurely made their way across the sky heading inland, almost giving off the impression that they were following me as I drove from central Treasure Cove to Hank Stewart’s apartment on the east side of town. It was as if the clouds were just passing through.
Looking up at the sky, I wasn’t sure if it was going to rain or if the sun would decide to make an appearance. The weather couldn’t seem to make up its mind. Was the indecisive sky mirroring what kind of a day it would be?
When I woke up that morning, I had fully expected it to rain. That was just a gut feeling of mine. It certainly wasn’t backed up by the weather forecast I had read. According to our local meteorologist, the chance of precipitation was only twenty percent. So why did I expect a soggy day? Because it always seemed to rain when I went to a funeral. As if Mother Nature took weather cues from how somber of an occasion was on the calendar that day. Thankfully, not a drop had fallen so far.
Turning my focus back to the road, I drove through the intersection of Oak Street and Spring Avenue. Oak Street was the line of demarcation between central Treasure Cover and the east side of town. Residences with manicured lawns gave way to houses with crabgrass out front. The east side was a place where warehouses and low-rent apartments were in ample supply. From a geographical standpoint, it made plenty of sense. The east side was the farthest possible place from the ocean, making leases and rents as cheap as could be.
The discouraging thing to me was just how little pride the residents took in keeping up their homes. There were plenty of rickety fences and junk that was left strewn across the lawn. Pride of ownership was completely absent.
I made a right turn onto Hickory Drive, were Hank’s single-story apartment complex was located. The place was a beige block of stucco with no character whatsoever. The building was as unattractive as the neighborhood it was located in. Then again, people didn’t live there because the place looked good. They resided there because the rent was dirt cheap. To me, the worst part was that the building was located directly next to a dive bar. Although perhaps some of the residents viewed that as a bonus.
As my car drew closer to Hank’s building, I was careful to hang back for a moment. I was on the lookout for my boyfriend’s car. This upcoming suspect interview was already giving me enough stress without me having to worry about getting into a confrontation with David over investigating his case without his knowledge.
Luckily, I saw no sign of David’s car anywhere. What I did see was Hank standing in front of the dive bar next to his apartment building. Hank was taking a puff of a cigarette.
The mustached forty-eight-year-old had wrinkles on his face. Decades of heavy smoking made him look ten years older than he actually was. In addition, his affinity for booze had left him with a sizable beer belly. Hank was still wearing his suit from the funeral, but he had untucked his shirt and had taken his tie off.
As I parked in front of the bar, Hank put his cigarette out and went inside. That made for some lousy timing. Talking to him outside would have been far more preferable. This was not the kind of bar that looked very welcoming to women who didn’t drive motorcycles or have tattoos on every inch of their bodies.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know how long Hank would be in there. I couldn’t just wait around out front for him to come out. If I wanted answers, I would have to go in there and get them.
I took a moment to myself to muster all the resolve I could, then I went inside.
***
The clientele was exactly what I expected—rough around the edges, heavily inebriated, and all male. Day-drinkers were a unique breed. The type who threw caution to the wind and boldly embraced booze in the early afternoon. I couldn’t live like that.
Hank not only could—he did. He had already bellied up to the bar. A shaved-headed bartender with tattoos up a
nd down his arms poured a drink for him.
Any attempt to fly under the radar was immediately lost when the bartender spotted me and gave me a bewildered look.
“You lost?” he asked.
Customer service was clearly not the bartender’s specialty. As the manager of a business myself, I knew the importance of encouraging new customers, not driving them away. That being said, I didn’t belabor the point. After all, I wasn’t there to give the bartender a lesson in manners.
If I had my choice, I wouldn’t have spoken to the bartender at all. Hank was the only reason I had set foot in that bar. I wanted to talk to him alone, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen. Not just because I had caught the bartender’s attention, but also because Hank gave me the stink eye.
“No. I believe she came in here looking for trouble,” Hank said. He stared me down. “If you don’t leave, you’re going to find it.”
I couldn’t help but be discouraged. A threat was the worst possible way to start things off. I hated working from such a disadvantage. If I was going to get things back on track, I would need to find a way to claw myself out of this hole.
Hank clearly expected that he could intimidate me and make me slink away. I surprised him by holding my ground. To start, I knew he was bluffing. The man was a murder suspect. He would have to be a complete moron to start trouble in the middle of a public place like this with so many people around. Even so, I reached into my purse and made sure I had a finger on the can of pepper spray that I always carried around. If things did get out of hand, I would be ready.
After my sister’s disappearance, my mother had been adamant that I keep a can of pepper spray on me at all times. If that wasn’t enough protection for me, shortly after Jessica went missing, my mom signed me up for a self-defense class. I had never used any of the training that I had learned in the class, but it was good to have it under my belt. Deep down, I wanted to believe I was just worried for nothing. It was just good to know that if push came to shove, I could hold my own.
Meredith Potts Fourteen Book Cozy Mystery Set Page 92
