by Lea Nolan
I pause, surprised he didn’t offer to come with me like usual. Normally he’d grab any chance to get out of here and flee the craziness of this house and his father’s cruelty. But this is no ordinary day and it’s not fair to expect him to act like it is. Missy’s death was a shock, but it’s obviously brought up horrible memories of his mother. He needs space to process this. But I need a cool sea breeze and the sun’s warm rays to purge the queasiness churning my stomach.
Jack shoots me a look, silently asking if I want his company. I shake my head. Cooper needs him more than I do right now.
“Okay, I’ll see you later then.” I reach for Cooper’s hand, but he pulls it away and waves good-bye instead.
“See you.” Again, he doesn’t look my way.
“Yeah, see you.” Squelching the twinge of worry wiggling at the back of my mind, I rise to my feet and climb over his outstretched legs.
Exiting the library, I head down the hall toward the foyer. Just as I’m rounding the corner, Claude steps into my path.
“So, Emma Guthrie.” His smile splits his face as he tucks something into his jacket pocket. “Such a lovely name. And a greater pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”
Chapter Eleven
I suck in a breath and blink, transfixed by his slippery, almost serpentlike grin. “Uh, yeah, thanks. Me too,” I manage though it’s a giant lie. In fact, I could have gone the rest of my life without ever seeing him again and I’d have been happy. But now he knows my relationship to the Beaumonts and my name, a fact that will likely flip Miss Delia’s lid.
He looks at me expectantly as if he’s waiting for me to elaborate or fill in some mysterious blank. But my head’s spinning, propelled by the increasing stuffiness of the foyer and my growing suspicion of him and his motives. All I can think about is getting to the door that leads to the front porch, zipping down the steps, then racing down the beach path. It’s so close, just a few long strides away across the wide-planked hardwood floor, except Claude’s planted himself between me and that door, blocking my way. Drawing a deep breath, I remember Miss Delia’s instructions to stay strong in his presence. Clearing my mind, I mentally block out my fear, then swallow the sick feeling swirling in my stomach, and stare back into his ebony eyes. Confidence swells in my chest, making it feel lighter, and easing the anxiousness that gripped me just moments ago.
Claude’s lips part as if he’s about to say something, but then Beau grunts, breaking the silence.
“Corbeau!” The tip of his cane strikes the floor as he lumbers out of the library. “You finished upstairs with the deputies? We’ve got work to do.”
Claude pulls his gaze from mine. “Actually sir, I just missed them. They’ve already taken Mrs. Beaumont to the morgue. Sheriff Walker’s on his way there, too.”
Twisting slightly, I glance over my shoulder to see Beau chomp his soggy cigar. “Good thing. I couldn’t stand to lay eyes on her. Better to wait for the undertaker to clean her up first.” Beau’s words are so cold and indifferent they sting. I never adored Missy, but natural causes or not, something horrible happened to her. Surely she deserves more care than that, especially from someone who supposedly loved her. Not that I’d expect him to want to see her all stiff and purple, but his words are a far cry from when he first came home.
Claude laughs. “Then you might want to steer clear of the bedroom until you hire a professional cleaning crew. It’s a real mess.”
My ear lobes prick as images of black sludge spattered against milky white carpet and Missy’s pink nightie flash across my mind. How could he possibly think it’s funny?
Beau chuckles and his chest gurgles with thick, mucousy fluid. “There isn’t anything in there that’ll bother me or my man Jed. He’ll take care of it. Now quit fussing with Emma and let’s get back to business.” Shoving the cigar in his mouth, he winks at me, and then propels his body forward, navigating his enormous girth toward his private study.
Claude nods, then turns his sights back to me. “Until we meet again, Emma Guthrie.” Brushing past me, he hustles after Beau.
A new, different type of unease bubbles in my gut, replacing the woozy, sick sensation I felt before. Now I’m confused, even angry at Beau’s epic emotional flip-flopping. First he’s whimpering, then he acts like he couldn’t care less, and now he’s laughing? What the heck is going on? Granted he’s soulless, so maybe I shouldn’t be all that surprised, but something isn’t right. It’s not like he’s had a brain-ectomy, too. He’s smart enough to rip people off in business while making them believe he gave them a deal. So how is it that he just accepts the sheriff and Claude’s assertion that Missy’s death was from natural causes? Why doesn’t he want her to have an autopsy? And given his preoccupation with the museum robbery and missing Beaumont ruby, why didn’t he ask if the house had been broken into? I’d have thought he’d ride that elevator of his to the second floor to make sure his safe hadn’t been cracked, and perhaps look at the unusual black stuff they found on the carpet. But no, he doesn’t seem to be the least bit bothered by any of these gaps in logic. Which is just plain weird.
A tingling sensation dances at the nape of my neck. There’s something I’m supposed to notice. I gnaw my bottom lip and retrace my mental steps, considering the situation. Then it hits me. The black stuff. It might be the only thing that can explain what really happened up there. The sheriff took a sample, but judging by his apparent willingness to say she died from natural causes, I doubt he’ll give it the thorough going over it deserves.
But I know one person who will. And with any luck, she’ll be able to tell me if there’s anything special about that tar-like substance. But I’ll need to collect a sample of it first to show Miss Delia.
Glancing down the hall, I check to make sure Claude and Beau aren’t still lurking around. They’re nowhere in sight. Neither are Cooper and Jack, but I hear the soft murmur of their voices in the library. If I hurry, I can be up there and back without anyone knowing. There’s no use in making a big deal about the black gunk, just in case Claude and the sheriff are right about Missy’s death.
After racing up the stairs, I sprint around the landing then head to the master suite. The door is shut and draped with yellow police tape, but it only takes five seconds to remove enough to slip under and enter the room. Once inside, I head for the vanity table and grab an empty travel size bottle and the Q-tips I saw earlier, then slip around the bed to the first black spot. It’s dry, as are the few scattered drops nearby. I follow the trail to where it’s widest, a streak about three inches wide and six inches long. The sludgy substance has thickened, forming a skin on the top like a bowl of pudding left in the refrigerator without a cover.
Crouching down, I dip a Q-tip into the muck, piercing the film to find a bit of the still goopy substance beneath. A rank smell wafts from the sludge, a twisted combination of skunk road-kill and garbage left out under the scorching sun. Holding my breath, I screw off the lid and dip the bottle’s lip into the crud, then use the Q-tip to scoop some of the substance into the bottle.
A throat clears, breaking the silence. Surprised, I squeal like a pig in a smokehouse, then look up to find Cooper standing over me, his arms crossed. How did I not hear him come in?
Careful to avoid the black stuff, I roll back on my bottom and exhale. “You scared the heck out of me.”
“Sorry. I thought you were going to the beach.”
I nod. “I was. But then I had an idea and needed to stop in here for a second.”
“You’re taking your own sample.” He motions his square jaw toward the bottle in my hand. “Why? The sheriff already took one.”
“I know, but something about this stuff bothers me. I’ve never seen anything like it, and Sheriff Walker didn’t seem to know what it was either. Miss Delia might have a few ideas.”
He shrugs. “Guess it can’t hurt. But I doubt she’ll find anything.” His gaze travels to the bathroom and back again, and then settles on the four-poster bed. The bed
spread and pillows are untouched and don’t even have so much as a wrinkle. His lips turn down slightly. He looks lost.
“You okay?” But that’s sort of a dumb question because it’s clear he isn’t.
“I just don’t understand.” He doesn’t look away from the bed. “It all so weird. But at the same time…familiar.”
My scalp tingles with heat. I sort of don’t want to ask, but now that he’s brought it up, I can’t help but follow through. “Do you mean your mom?” I push up from the floor and stand next to him at the foot of the bed.
He nods. “Yeah. She died right here in this room.” He eyes the right side of the bedspread. “In her sleep. I’d had a nightmare so I came in early one morning and climbed in next to her. She was so cold.” He pauses for a long moment as if replaying the scene in his head. “No matter how hard I shook her, she wouldn’t move.”
A sharp ache pierces my heart. I always assumed she’d been sick or something. I can’t imagine how horrible it must have been to be just five years old and find her like that. No wonder he never talks about her. But there’s something I don’t understand. I inch toward him gently and lay my hand on his back. “But Missy died in the bathroom. What did you mean when you said she looked like your mom? Did they find this black stuff back then, too?”
He shakes his head. “No. Their expressions. They were the same.” He shuts his eyes and swallows hard. “Mouths and eyes frozen open. Like their last moments were terrifying.” He pulls away, steps over the spree of black spots, and sits on one of the armchairs in the sitting room area. “They said my mom died of natural causes, too.” He drags his fingers through his golden-brown waves.
Goose bumps raise on my arms. The coincidences are frightening. And overwhelming. What is it they say about coincidences? That there are none? Missy and his mother’s deaths might be separated by almost eleven years, but there’s one common link. They were both married to Beau.
Blood pounds in my ears.
I’m almost afraid to ask, but I can’t stop myself. “What if it wasn’t?” My voice trembles.
Cooper looks up at me, tilting his head. “Wasn’t what?”
“Natural causes.” I bite my bottom lip. “What if it was something else?”
His brow furrows. “What else could it have been? I was little but I remember the coroner sat me down and explained that sometimes people die even though they aren’t injured or sick. I know it’s rare in younger people, but it does happen.”
“Except now it’s happened twice. Missy was acting crazier than normal but she didn’t have any diseases. And there’s no blood in here so it’s clear she wasn’t shot or stabbed. There’s only this black stuff.”
He stiffens. “What are you trying to say, Emmaline? Because I’m not following you.” He uses my real name but this time it doesn’t ring with his sweet, lilting southern accent. Instead, it’s as sharp as barbed wire.
I screwed up once before by not being honest with him. It almost broke us up, and even worse, threatened to destroy our friendship for good. So no matter how hard it might be, I’ve got to tell him the truth about what I’m thinking. Drawing a deep breath, I square my shoulders. “What if your father had something to do with both their deaths?”
His brow creases, his expression is a mixture of shock, disbelief, and serious concern for my mental welfare. “What are you talking about?”
“Think about it. When someone dies, they always suspect the spouse. Because nine times out of ten, the spouse did it.”
“But Sheriff Walker said it’s probably natural causes.”
“Yeah. Why is that, by the way? Could it have anything to do with the fact that Beau basically funded his campaign? Isn’t it possible the sheriff is covering for him? What’s to stop him from telling the lab to alter the results on this black slime?” I contemplate adding my suspicion that the sheriff may somehow have been unduly swayed by Beau’s new friend, Claude, but realize how crazy it sounds, and decide to keep it to myself until I’ve got a better idea of what’s going on.
Cooper stares at me. I’m not sure if he’s considering my reasoning or trying not to erupt. Finally he speaks. “You know, I usually disagree with Jack about you and the emo stuff, but this time I’m not so sure.”
My brow knits and my hands fly to my hips. “How can you say that?”
“Because this is my father we’re talking about. You’ve just accused him of killing my mother and stepmother. He’s not the most honest business guy in the world, and he’s probably a candidate for worst father of the decade, but he’s no murderer.”
“Have you forgotten the Beaumont Curse? He’s got no soul. If he can screw a Gullah family out of their land, and destroy acres of forest to build a useless golf course development, what’s to stop him from killing a couple of his wives?
Cooper’s jaw tenses. “Can you stop and listen to yourself for just a second? The two have nothing to do with each other. Besides, what possible motive would my father have for killing them? He divorced his second and third wives after they left him—he could have done the same with my mom and Missy.” He stands and paces the carpet.
“But Cooper, set aside for a second that he’s your dad. Think about it. Two young wives with similar deaths. Don’t you think it’s suspicious? Or at the very least coincidental? In any other situation, the cops would be all over him.”
“That’s the whole point, Emma. I can’t forget he’s my father. Even for a second. He’s disgusting and horrible but he’s the only parent I’ve got. Maybe it’s easy for you to write him off because you’ve got two parents who love you. And you’ve got Jack who’s got your back no matter what. What have I got? Just my dad. If I let myself believe he killed Missy, then I’ve got to allow for the possibility that he killed my mother, too. And if that’s true, and we can prove it…” His voice breaks as his downturned eyes drift toward the bed where his mother perished. “He’ll spend the rest of his life in jail or fry in the electric chair. Either way, I’ll be an orphan and even more alone than I am now.” His expression is so sad it twists my heart.
“You’ll never be alone. You’ll always have us.” My voice is soft.
He laughs but it’s hollow and flat. “Sure. But haven’t you heard that blood is thicker than water?”
As a matter of fact, yes I have. From Taneea of all people. Which does nothing to bolster his argument. I cross my arms. “So that means you’re willing to turn a blind eye to anything your dad may have done just to keep him out of jail, or worse?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what do you mean because you’ve totally confused me.”
He sighs. “I’m saying it’s not as cut and dry as that. It’s easy for you to come in here, collect a bottle of whatever that crap is, and jump to all these conclusions because you have no idea how painful it is to lose one parent, much less two. Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky.”
The truth of his words burns. Maybe I’ve been insensitive. This has been an especially difficult day for him and I probably should have picked my words or timing better. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I just have to be a little more delicate about the way I go about it. “Look, I’m sorry. I should have been more considerate. Maybe I’m wrong about your dad and what happened to Missy. But there’s only one way to know for sure.” I clutch the plastic bottle in my hand. “Are you okay with me taking this to Miss Delia?”
He peers at the bottle. Finally, he nods. “Yeah. Okay.”
I smile. “Thanks.” Then I hold out my hand. “How about we get out of here and go to the beach? The fresh air will do us both some good.”
Ignoring my outstretched fingers, he shakes his head. “I’m going to pass. I want to stay in here a little while longer. Think a bit.”
That’s the second time he’s turned me down today. Don’t push it, Emma. “Okay, sure. No problem. I’ll see you later.”
He sits in the armchair and stares at his parents’ bed. “Yeah. See you,” he says with
out so much as a glance my way.
Chapter Twelve
Cooper pulls up to Miss Delia’s house. He shifts the gear into park but doesn’t cut the engine. Instead he stares out the front windshield, his gaze fixed on the enormous canopy of the bottle tree. He’s been in a daze all day, nearly silent and unmotivated to do much of anything.
I can’t help but wonder if Cooper’s attitude has anything to do with what I said about his father yesterday. Under normal circumstances my suggestion that his dad might have killed Missy would be pretty unforgivable, but we are talking about Beau, which makes it almost understandable. Is it possible Cooper’s holding a grudge? My mind wonders, but my heart says no. That’s just not Cooper.
“Dude, you going to turn off the ignition?” Jack asks as he eyes the steering column. He rode shotgun this morning, stealing the front seat out from under me. I’m not sure what’s worse, having to sit in the back, or that Cooper doesn’t seem to notice I’m not next to him. “Hello, earth to Coop.” Jack snaps his fingers next to Cooper’s ear.
Cooper jerks his head toward Jack. “Huh? What?”
“The car’s still running. I just wondered if you’d noticed.”
“Oh, yeah.” Cooper kills the engine.
Jack laughs. “I was worried for a second that you weren’t planning on coming with us. Now that The Creep’s gone, I’m all for hanging at Miss D’s and helping her around the house, but from everything I’ve heard about that Taneea chick, I’m not psyched to hang with her on my own.”
I’d forgotten they’ve never met in person. Leaning forward between the two front seats, I pat his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’d never sic her on you.” Though if we’re lucky she’s ditched her great-grandmother again to go on one of her mysterious walks.
“What? You’re not into crazy train?” Cooper chuffs out a laugh, but it doesn’t have its usual lightness. But it’s a good sign because at least he’s trying.
