“I’m serious. You could get hurt.”
“I promise, the roads are fine. Ask your significant other. He’ll vouch for me.”
“He is not my significant other.”
“Fine. Ask the boy, er, man you’re spending time with then.”
Hayden shared a lot with me, but I wasn’t naïve. I knew she didn’t share everything, and I was fine with that. Some things a mother didn’t need to know. I hated that she hadn’t shared much about her re-budding romance with Justin, but I had a feeling she didn’t want me to get my hopes up. She was too late for that. My hopes were up the minute they showed up at the fall festival together.
“Are you at least on your way home?”
“I am.”
“Good. I’ve asked Justin to pick up some milk, eggs, and bread for you just in case you get stuck there.”
“So I can make French toast?”
“So you don’t starve.”
Losing her father was tough on Hayden, and she feared she’d lose me, too. I tried to explain to her that, at some point, death was inevitable. It was inevitable, and she needed to stop worrying about something she couldn’t change. “Call him and tell him to forget it. I have plenty of French toast fixings, and I’m fully capable of driving in a few inches of melting snow.”
“Fine, but I may stop by tonight, so you’d better be there.”
She’d ground me to my house, yet she could risk the danger of Interstate 400 and drive from Midtown Atlanta? “You don’t need to come by, honey. I’ll be okay.”
“Gotta go. Love you.” She disconnected the call before I could remind her to call Justin.
“Hey Siri, call Justin Johns.”
I loved modern technology. I could call anyone on my contact list without even pressing a button. My heart pinched at the thought of Sam’s voicemails still floating through the ether. I’d listened to them just the other day. Sam always said he loved me before he hung up. I couldn’t bear to part with those.
I still hadn’t shut off Sam’s phone. At first, I did it for business purposes, but I’d kept it on to talk to him, to leave him messages. I called his phone and told him how much I missed him, and how much I loved him. There were a few angry messages, ones where my pain took over, and I took it out on him. I knew he’d forgive me, but I went in and deleted those.
“Hey, Ms. Kingston.”
“I thought you’d gotten used to calling me Missy.”
“Yeah, I forgot. Sorry about that.”
“Do not go to the grocery store for me.”
He laughed. “I told Hayden you’d shoot me if I came over with food.”
“Maybe in the knee, but that’s it.”
“Thanks.”
“She worries too much.”
“I know. She’s afraid.”
“I understand, and I’m patient with her because of it, but sending you for groceries? Really?”
“She wants what she wants.”
“I’m just wondering, have you talked to Rick Morring?”
He breathed heavily into the phone. “Missy.”
“I have a theory, and I explained it to the detective, but I don’t know if he’s going to follow through on it. I thought maybe, since you’re his superior, you could give him a little push.”
“Bruno’s a great detective. If he thinks your theory is plausible, I’m sure he’ll follow up on it.”
“But what if he doesn’t? If my theory’s right, it could clear Max. Someone should look into it.”
He sighed. “I’ll see what I can do, okay?”
“Thank you.”
“Now do me a favor, go home so your daughter stops freaking out. She’s called four times while I’ve been on the phone with you.”
I did go home, and the dogs greeted me like I’d been gone for months.
Bandit jumped on me with cold, wet feet, and I knew they’d been outside. The electronic doggie door was the greatest invention for dog owners. “Have you been playing in the snow?”
Their tails both wagged.
“Momma wants to play some, too. Let’s go outside.”
The dogs rushed to the door and scooted out their opening, but I went through it the human way. The doggie door was big, but not big enough for me.
Bandit must have changed his mind about snow. He bounded through it like a rabbit while Allie ate it. I rolled a ball the size of the bottom ball of a snowman and patted it together as much as possible. The brown grass, extra leaves, and dirt that came up with it didn’t make it the prettiest snowball, but it was the best I could do. As the dogs jumped and played, I made another one a little smaller, and then one last even smaller one for the head and plopped them onto the biggest one. Allie came over, sniffed it, and barked, then caught a scent and took off running. I broke two twigs off a tree—not an easy feat for living branches—and stuck them on the sides for arms. I swiped my cold hands together and rubbed them on my sweater. “That stuff’s colder than it looks, isn’t it?”
The dogs ran over and stopped behind me. Allie cautiously peeked around my leg, stretched out her neck and sniffed the funny looking, stick armed thing in front of me.
“You were just close to it. It’s fine.”
Bandit, the scared of turtles and frogs dog, had no fear and nudged it with his nose. The head fell off and they both jumped back and barked. I picked it up and stuck it back on.
“Momma made a snowman and it’s head popped off.”
The dogs barked as if they understood what I’d said.
We played for a little while longer, and when I couldn’t bend my fingers, I went inside to warm up. The dogs followed. I ran my hands under warm water, dried them, and then dried off the pups, too. They’d sufficiently worn themselves out enough to snooze on their dog beds in front of the fireplace. I switched it on so they’d stay warm.
It was a perfect winter day, aside from the fact that a man was murdered the night before. How I wished Sam was there to share it with me. He would have stayed home from work and snuggled on the couch like we always did on cold winter days—the few Georgia had—and force me to watch his reality TV shows. I closed my eyes and went back in time.
“Do we really have to watch reality shows?”
“How can you not like this? These people are living off grid in Alaska. Don’t you appreciate the work that takes?” He faked incredulousness.
“I have this thing about men who don’t shower.”
“You only married me for my good hygiene habits.”
“A woman has to have standards.”
He kissed me.
My cell phone rang and pulled me from the memory. I checked the caller ID and answered. “Max, how are you?”
“I’m fine. I hear you’re working hard to prove my innocence.”
“You talked to Justin.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. He wouldn’t have done that if he thought you were a suspect.”
“You feel like some company?”
“Sure. You hungry? I can warm up some homemade chicken noodle soup. I just made it the other day.”
“Sounds perfect. See you in a bit.”
I quickly changed into dry clothes and set two table settings on the kitchen bar. I walked to our sound system to turn on some light music, but I stopped myself before I got there. Max and I were friends, and though I knew he wanted to explore something deeper, I didn’t, and I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. I adored Max, but he wasn’t Sam.
Hayden wanted me to date. She wanted me to meet someone special because she was afraid I’d spend the rest of my life alone. She’d worked endlessly for the past few months to try and convince me to set up an online dating profile on one of those ridiculous sites, but I refused. I’d heard the horror stories, the stories of people claiming to be something they weren’t, and I wanted nothing to do with that.
I worried that if I did meet someone, if I did let someone into my life that way, it would hurt Hayden. Seeing me with someone else might affect her in
a way she wasn’t expecting, and I didn’t want to put her through that.
My electronic doorbell chimed, and Allie made a beeline for the door as if someone was trying to break in. “Allie, it’s just Max.” I rubbed her ear. “But thank you for protecting us.” The other day the UPS delivery man dropped off a package and when he saw Allie’s thick head and big white teeth staring at him from the window, he threw the box onto the porch, and took off running. I laughed like crazy, but I felt kind of sorry for the guy.
Max patted Allie on the top of her head. “Hey girl. You sure are a good watch dog, aren’t you? That’s good for your momma.”
Bandit strolled over, after a quick yoga pose, and offered his head to Max for a pat, too. Max chuckled. “You’re more of a let’s wait and see if there’s a threat kind of guy, aren’t you Bandit?”
I took a loaf of French bread from his hands and headed toward the kitchen. “I don’t think Bandit considers anyone a threat.”
Max took off his coat and hung it on the bar chair. “You’re going to have to work on that.”
I’d tossed a quick salad together while Max cut up the French bread.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Water’s fine, please.”
“Just water? I’ve got wine, sweet tea, and I think I might have a few beers in the ‘fridge in the garage if you’d like one.”
“Beer and soup don’t mix.”
“Gotcha.” I poured us both a glass of water. “What’s going on with the investigation? Did you hire an attorney?” I sat as Max served us both ladles full of hot soup.
“Why would I hire an attorney? I’m innocent.”
“But you’re a suspect, and you need someone to fight for you.” I set my spoon next to my bowl. “Why aren’t you taking this seriously?”
“I am taking it seriously, but I haven’t done anything, so I’m not worried. The investigation will prove that.”
I picked up my spoon again, dipped it into my soup, blew on it, and carefully sipped it. “Oh, that’s good. And innocent people are convicted of crimes all the time. You need to be prepared.”
“Innocent people aren’t convicted as often as you think. I promise you, I’m not going to be convicted. When I—”
I cut him off. “What did you say to Justin?”
He smiled. “If you’d stop interrupting, I can tell you.”
I sat and ate my soup so he could finish.
“He wanted to know if I’d changed my mind about the expansion, asked me if George had come to me with any kind of financial incentive to do so.”
Good. Justin must have talked to Detective Bruno and filled him in on my theory. “And you told him no.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He asked if I thought any other council members might take that kind of offer, and we talked about George’s relationship with the council.”
“You told him Rick could be persuaded, right?”
“I did not.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I don’t think it’s true, and besides, if it were, there’s no reason he’d kill George then. Not that I think he killed him anyway, but what would be the point if George offered him a pay to play and he took it?”
“I don’t think Rick killed him. I think Turner Shaw did.”
“Why would he kill Watson?”
I explained my theory.
“I’ve seen the shelter’s financials, they don’t have that kind of cash, or at least they didn’t a few months ago when the expansion came to the table.”
“According to Cindy Truelson, they do.”
His eyes widened. “She told you that?”
“Yup, and since the financials are public, Turner Shaw could know, too.”
“You didn’t tell her your theory about Shaw, did you?”
“No, of course not. I didn’t tell her anything.”
“Good. She might use it to her advantage.”
“My thought exactly.”
We finished up dinner, and Max helped me clean up. Sam liked to do the cooking, and when he did, I cleaned up, but when it was something simple like soup, we usually cleaned as a couple. Max helping brought back a flood of emotions and memories. Sam jutting his hip against mine as we passed each other in the kitchen, his full-faced smile, the sparkle in his eyes. It hit me hard, but I didn’t want Max to see, so I kept my head down, and cleaned up quickly.
“I think we should check the shelter’s financials.”
“I’d planned to do that, but I’m not sure how. I know they’re online, because the animal shelters are, but I have to research where exactly.” I led him to the couch and opened my laptop.
“Non-profits are required to disclose the information on a 990 form.” He held his hands out. “May I?”
“Wouldn’t that have to be requested?”
“Yes, but city council got them before, remember?”
“But you said the money wasn’t there.”
“It wasn’t then, but we filed for an update before the vote. It just hadn’t come in yet. It might be there now.”
I wanted to jump for joy. “Perfect.”
Max tapped away on my laptop and finally said, “Bingo.”
He leaned back and nodded. “Well now, that’s interesting, isn’t it?”
I blinked just to make sure I wasn’t imagining what I saw. “How’d she get that kind of money?”
He smiled. “Cindy Truelson comes from a wealthy family. I’m sure this is pocket change to her.”
“I knew she had money, but that’s a pretty big donation.”
“And look here.” He pointed to a section of the form.
My eyes widened. “Did you know that?”
“We know all the board members of all the non-profits in town. It’s common knowledge.
“Then how did I not know that?”
“I’m surprised you didn’t. Then again, no one really goes around talking about members of a board unless there’s an issue. Cindy’s got her hands in several businesses around the metro area.”
“She’s a bigger player than I thought.” I pressed my lips together and let that sink in. “So why would she tell me there was enough money to do the expansion without George’s funding? Wouldn’t that make her look suspicious?”
“She knows you can find it, so she knew you’d figure it out eventually.”
I tucked my foot under my leg. “Could she benefit from the expansion?”
“Financially? She’s compensated for her work on the board, but I don’t think she’ll benefit financially from it, no.”
“The animal shelter doesn’t pay board members. Isn’t that illegal or something.”
“It’s not illegal, but it’s frowned upon. Most charity programs pay their employees but the board members volunteer so what they may have been paid can go back to the charity.”
“Okay, then what benefit would Cindy have to give the shelter that much cash?”
“Power, control, that kind of thing.”
“Exactly, and she’d want those because—”
In unison we both said, “She wants to be mayor.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s it,” I said. “Maybe I was wrong about Turner Shaw? Hold on.” I stood and walked in circles around the couch. Allie got up from her dog bed and followed me. “Cindy wants the shelter moved, which honestly, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but whatever. But George just wanted the addition.” I stopped and dropped my arms to my sides. “That doesn’t sound like a motive for murder.”
“It isn’t, but what if their fight for control is?”
“George didn’t want to be mayor, at least not that I know of.”
“But if he has Mayor Barrett in his pocket, he’s not going to want him to lose his next election because then he loses his control, his power.”
I stopped on the opposite side of the couch, and Allie bumped into the back of my legs. “Do you think Cindy would have a chance at beating the mayor?”
“There’s a lot of moms in town. She’s got a good chance of getting their votes solely based on the fact that she’s female.”
“True.” I sat on the couch again and our shoulders touched. I shirked away without intending to, and if Max noticed, he didn’t say anything. “All right, so let’s say Cindy wants to be mayor, and George has the current mayor in his pocket. Based on what Bruno said about my Shaw theory, that’s a flimsy motive for murder. At least for George Watson’s murder anyway. Wouldn’t she be better off with the mayor dead? Not that I’m suggesting it or anything.”
He smiled. “George put a lot of money into Barrett’s last campaign. He’s got a lot of friends with connections. Connections sway support, and support sways votes. Without George, Cindy’s chances of winning improve.”
I nodded, and then I looked Max straight in the eyes. “What about you?”
He caught the tension in my face and furrowed his brow. “What about me?”
I twisted my hands together and held them tight. “Would Cindy get your vote?”
He blinked. “I…why do you ask?” He leaned away from me. “Do you think I’m helping Cindy or something?”
“No, I…maybe?”
He blinked. “Missy, really?”
“No, not really, but I saw you talking to her at the fundraiser. You looked pretty close and then she kissed you on the cheek, and well, it made me wonder about your relationship.”
He smirked. “It didn’t mean anything. It’s just Cindy trying to charm me. She worked everyone in that room.” He rubbed the five o’clock shadow forming on his chin and then leaned toward me. “Is your concern personal or because of the investigation?”
I blanched as I leaned back, putting space between us. “The investigation. Given what we’ve discovered, if Cindy’s involved in George’s murder in any way, the last thing you need is a connection to her.”
“A lot of people in town have a connection to her. That doesn’t mean they’re involved with her in some way, or that they killed George Watson.”
“We should tell Detective Bruno or Justin about this.” I walked over to the kitchen and searched the counter for my cell. When I didn’t see it, I checked the desk and found it sitting on top of the previous days mail. “I’m calling Justin.”
He answered on the first ring. “I got a lecture for not bringing you the French toast fixings.”
Hounds, Harvest, and Homicide Page 7
