Misalignment and Murder

by Cathy Tully

  “I told you the other day.” Digging into her hoodie pocket, Bitsy pulled out a small black flashlight. “Maybe you didn’t hear me because the Norfolk Southern was passing through. I walked through the woods behind the houses. That’s how I found you so fast the other day.”

  “I knew it!” Susannah exclaimed.

  “I know you knew it,” Bitsy scolded. “I told you the other day.”

  “I know, I know.” Susannah went to the checkout counter, placed a hand on the earring rack, and stared at the cash register. “I thought you had a computer here.”

  “I use a laptop now.” Bitsy gestured to the curtain that separated the sales floor from the break room. “It’s in the back.”

  “Let’s go.” Susannah beckoned to the women, who were not moving fast enough for her. She squeezed between a rack of blouses and a display of purses. “Come on.”

  “What gives?” Holding the pumpkin-speckled curtain aside for Angie, Bitsy followed. The back room doubled as a storage area for inventory and as a break room where Bitsy could eat her lunch.

  “Where’s the laptop?” asked Susannah.

  Bitsy pointed to the Dell, which was sitting on a half wall next to a small table.

  Susannah sat down at the table and said, “I think I finally understand what Crystal meant.”

  “About what?” Bitsy grabbed the laptop and took it to the table where Susannah sat. The screen came on, and she engaged the browser.

  “We need a Google map of Peach Grove.”

  Bitsy brought up a picture of the Peach Grove Municipal Building next to an equal-sized map. With one click, the city of Peach Grove filled the screen.

  Susannah pointed. “Scroll in on Cutz & Curlz. I want to see Maggie’s property.”

  “Okay.” Bitsy zoomed in until the property lines were clearly visible. A little teardrop-shaped icon labeled Cutz & Curlz appeared over the representation of Maggie’s building.

  “Now switch to satellite view.”

  Bitsy touched the square labeled satellite, and the map instantly changed from a bright gray to dark green. Suddenly, the screen was filled with an image of trees.

  “That’s it,” Susannah murmured. “That’s got to be it.”

  “What’s it?” asked Angie.

  “Hang on,” Susannah replied. To Bitsy she added, “Toggle to the map view and zoom out a bit.”

  Bitsy touched the screen again, and Susannah shouted, “Right there!”

  Bitsy jumped. Angie swore in Italian. “What’s there? I don’t see anything.”

  “That’s it exactly. It’s hiding in plain sight.” Pointing to the rear property line of Cutz & Curlz with a pen, she indicated the lots next to Maggie’s salon. Four properties had yards of the same length. “Here’s Bitsy’s cousin’s property. This is Maggie’s property, and two houses next door. They all back up to the water authority property.”

  “Yeah,” Bitsy said, “there’s a little reservoir over there.”

  “Right. Now when I first looked at this map, I saw how all these properties back up to public property.” She touched the screen, and a mass of trees came into view behind the houses. “Lots of trees but no houses. I couldn’t figure out why Travis would hide something on a property that went nowhere. But after the visit from Varina, I got to thinking about what Crystal said.” She touched the screen and dragged the map toward them.

  “Ya mean about Travis still loving Crystal?” asked Angie. “I don’t think—”

  “No.” Susannah looked at Angie. “The part about him using Maggie.”

  Bitsy shook her head and made tsking sounds under her breath, and Susannah indicated her with a nod of her head. “See, that’s what we all thought. That Crystal meant Travis was using Maggie for sex.”

  “That’s what that expression usually means.”

  “But Travis was using Maggie for her business location.” Dragging the map to the left revealed a property two houses down from Bitsy’s cousin’s, with a long, diagonal property line. The sides of the property ran straight and created a rectangular shape. But one side was much longer than the other, extending at least half a length further. This caused the end of the property to taper and come to a point. Susannah pointed at the lot. “You see that?”

  “The trapezoid?” Bitsy asked.

  “A trapezoid?” Angie furrowed her brow. “What are you, a geometry nerd?”

  “It’s like a rectangle, but crooked.” Bitsy shrugged. “And I prefer girl geek.”

  “Focus, you two.” Susannah shook her finger. “Not the, uh, trapezoid. The house.”

  They peered at the screen.

  “There.” Susannah pointed. “Hidden from view and not accessible from Peachtree Street. Except through the trees.”

  Angie leaned over Bitsy and inspected the screen.

  “It would be the perfect place to live if you wanted to be close to town but not be seen coming and going in your vehicle.” Susannah sat and looked at Bitsy. “You can’t drive there from this side of town, can you?”

  “No,” Bitsy said, shrinking and dragging the map to get a bird’s-eye view of the downtown area. “You have to go down Peachtree Street, past my house ’bout another half mile, and then cut over to Grove Street and come up Walker Drive. But it’s probably a five-minute walk from Maggie’s.”

  “Whoever lives there could get to that deer in Maggie’s yard anytime and be back home in a few minutes without anyone ever being the wiser. It’s the perfect plan if you didn’t want your face seen around Travis’s store holding a small item—like a gun.”

  “Guns,” Bitsy said. “A gun or two would fit inside that foam piece.”

  “Who do you think lives there?” Angie asked.

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but it seems to be someone who would have access to guns. Someone who drives a really distinct car and has a really distinct face.”

  “Who do you think it is, Suzie?”

  “Owen Chaffin.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Travesty in the Trees

  “Owen Chaffin?” Angie asked. “Who’s that?”

  “He’s a new officer on the job at the Peach Grove PD. He was at the school the night Gus died. And he was with Keith the night we went to the haunted house.”

  Tapping the screen with her nail, Bitsy asked, “Why do you think he lives there?”

  “Because of something he said at Tina and Keith’s Halloween party. I remembered seeing him there for a few minutes. I overheard him tell someone his house is on a lot close to town but with so many trees, it’s like living in the woods.”

  “But that could be anywhere,” Bitsy said. “Peach Grove is surrounded by trees.”

  “I know, I know, but think about it.”

  “What am I thinking about? That I need a hot drink?” Bitsy rolled her chair over to a small refrigerator, removed a pitcher of water, and filled her Keurig coffee maker. “Go on.”

  “The guns.”

  “Which guns?” Angie asked, then put a finger up. “I’ll have hot chocolate.”

  “Well, all the guns. Mine, yours, and Keith’s.”

  “You and Angie bought your guns from Travis.” Bitsy placed her coffee on the table and returned to the machine. “You think that’s related?”

  “Yes, I do. No one has asked why Angie’s gun was found at the scene of Gus’s death.”

  “I did,” Angie said. “But no one listened to me.”

  “I kept thinking about the guns and Travis.” Susannah put her hands down flat and stared at them. “Then all of a sudden, what Crystal said to Maggie clicked into place. Crystal told Maggie she was just another one of Travis’s deals. Once I realized that Crystal wasn’t talking about Maggie personally, I knew Travis had to be involved in some kind of scheme to sell guns.”

  Angie’s face fell. “A scheme that involves Owen and Keith?”

  “Well, not Keith.”

  “Not Keith. It would kill Tina.” Crossing herself, Angie mumbled the name of Jesus in Ital
ian and took a cup of hot chocolate from Bitsy.

  “Did you research the Business Association membership forms?” asked Susannah.

  “I sure did,” Bitsy replied. “Crystal is not a partner in Travis’s store. But that doesn’t mean she’s not involved in some other kind of illegal deal.”

  A furrow appeared in Angie’s forehead. “But Travis sells guns legally at the store.”

  “I know, and that’s what kept me from focusing on Travis in the first place.” Susannah sighed. “I couldn’t find his relation to Gus. Then Travis was killed, and Crystal freaked out and got me thinking.”

  “But how does that tie in with Owen?”

  Susannah chewed her lip. “Okay, I’m not sure of all the details, but it has something to do with Gus asking you about your Glock. You told me it was his idea to change the sights. Right?”

  “Right.”

  “We have to believe that Gus and Travis have some kind of connection. We can talk about that in a minute, but let’s just say for now that they knew each other and that Gus was working for or helping Travis.”

  “Okay?”

  “So for some reason, Travis is interested in your gun,” Susannah continued. “But he sold you that gun, so what gives?”

  “This talking in circles always makes me hungry.” Bitsy opened a cabinet and pulled out a package of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies and shook her finger at Angie, “Now, don’t you go into chocolate overload.”

  Ignoring the rustling of the bag, Susannah continued, “And then it occurred to me. Little Junior told you that there have been lots of closed-door meetings, right?” She didn’t wait for Bitsy to answer. “Little Junior usually finds out all kinds of information, but this time he wasn’t hearing anything.”

  Bitsy crunched a Milano cookie and raised her eyebrows, encouraging Susannah to go on.

  “Then Tina said Keith seemed distracted and wouldn’t talk about it.” She pointed at Bitsy. “Little Junior thought the county task forces might be involved. And then I remembered something. When I was in the NYPD, there was one thing that would make doors slam, cops clam up, and outside investigators show up in your precinct.”

  Angie stopped sipping her hot chocolate and frowned. “You mean Internal Affairs?” Having grown up with a father and older brothers on the police force, both women felt a certain amount of dread hearing the term. “You think someone on the force is under investigation?”

  Cookie halfway to her mouth, Bitsy gasped. “Keith?”

  “Owen.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Just listen.” Holding her hand up, Susannah counted on her fingers. “Owen Chaffin came from Tussahaw Junction. Travis lived in Tussahaw Junction. Gus’s last job was in Tussahaw Junction. I don’t know why I didn’t see it sooner. They probably all knew each other. Travis and Gus were veterans. I’m not sure about Owen. Gus had a service-related injury, and Crystal said Travis did too. They could have met getting treated at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. And then there was what Doyle said.”

  “Doyle?”

  “Doyle Etheridge, he’s a patient of mine. Remember I mentioned him? He was at the funeral.”

  “The older guy who caught the flying Super Plus.” Angie snickered.

  “Yes, he grew up in Tussahaw Junction and told me that the woods down there have always attracted criminals. Gangs, drugs, guns.”

  “But—” Bitsy tried to speak, but Susannah hushed her with a wave of the hand.

  “Remember how Crystal put it? Just another one of Travis’s deals. What if Travis and Owen got together for a deal?”

  “What kind of a deal, Suzie?”

  “Well, at this point”—lifting one shoulder, Susannah gave a slight shrug—“it’s mostly guesswork. Internal investigations happen because of a complaint about an officer’s conduct or behavior. They look for corruption, but there’s also things like losing evidence.”

  “Evidence like guns,” Bitsy said.

  “And drugs,” Angie added.

  “Yup.” Susannah stood. “What if Owen was taking guns from the evidence room and giving them to Travis to sell?”

  The women were silent for a moment, and then Bitsy said, “That makes some kind of sense. If Owen wanted to get a gun to Travis, he could just walk through the trees and leave it at Maggie’s property. Travis could go by and pick it up, and no one would ever see them together.”

  “But what about the serial numbers?” Angie asked.

  “He could have changed the serial number by one digit when he wrote it up so it wouldn’t set off any warnings. If he didn’t do it often, no one would notice.” Susannah tilted her head. “He and Owen would split a couple hundred bucks. Not bad for someone on a cop’s salary.”

  “Okay.” Angie put her mug down. “But how did Keith get mixed up in this?”

  “I think when Owen was at Tina and Keith’s house, he stole Keith’s off-duty weapon and then used it to shoot Travis and Gus. I think he’s the one who planted it in the cemetery.”

  “How are we going to prove all this?” asked Angie.

  “I have a plan.”

  “Of course you do,” said Bitsy.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  A Peachy Plan

  During the next half hour, Susannah ran her plan by Bitsy and Angie. She wasn’t sure she needed their approval, but she did need their help. Detective Withers’s focus was off Angie, so she felt like she could breathe a little easier on that matter. But with Keith’s head on the chopping block, she needed to move soon. Tapping her pen on her knee, she pondered what kind of evidence she could bring to Randy and Detective Withers that would convince them her theory was correct. At this point, she wasn’t even sure what she was looking for. Perusing the coffee pods that Bitsy kept in a metallic drawer under the coffee maker, she chose the only dark roast, one called Laughing Man Colombian. She watched it drip while eavesdropping on Bitsy.

  Bitsy’s first call had been to her cousin LaDonna Long, who now worked at the city water department. LaDonna verified from memory that Owen Chaffin lived in a house on Walker Drive. Perhaps not one hundred percent reliable information, but Susannah felt it confirmed her suspicions, and she gave a small whoop followed by a tiny fist pump.

  Bitsy quirked an eyebrow. “You can do better than that.”

  Dance ability was not something Susannah was gifted with, but she lifted one knee in an exaggeration of The Twist.

  “Please don’t.” Bitsy closed her eyes and sighed before texting Little Junior. He confirmed that Owen Chaffin would be on duty the next morning, directing traffic at the start of the Peach Grove Halloween festivities.

  “Just what are you going to do?” Angie wrung her hands. “If you’re right, this guy is dangerous.”

  “Ange, I owe Keith and Tina.”

  “I know you do, but there has to be a safer way.” A lock of hair dropped over Angie’s forehead, and she pushed it out of the way. “Talk to Randy first. Or you can hire a private detective. Like Tone. He might take the case.”

  Tone was Anthony Mancuso, Susannah’s former partner on the NYPD. He had retired from New York to Florida and opened his own business as a private investigator.

  “It won’t be dangerous.” The coffee finished brewing, and Susannah added milk to the cup. “I’m just going to check out Owen’s house while he’s busy with the parade.” Her phone vibrated. “It’s Maggie. I need to take this.” With the phone on speaker, she wandered into Peachy Things’s showroom, commiserating with Maggie over the unfairness of losing Travis in such a devastating way.

  “It was horrible enough that he died,” Maggie’s voice quavered, “but the humiliation of finding out he had been cheating on me with his own wife…well, that put me over the edge. In a weird way,” she continued, “it’s like I became a widow and a mistress, all on the same day. I can’t show my face in public anymore. Especially not after the Tampax affair.”

  Bitsy snatched the phone out of Susannah’s hand. “Miss Maggie, never you mind abou
t all that. Now everyone knows that Travis was a cheater, and Crystal is loony tunes. If Travis Keene was here today, it would serve him right if you killed him.”

  The guffaws that came through the phone were loud enough to be heard across the room. Bitsy gave Susannah a thumbs-up. “Anyway, I could use your help with the Growl-A-Ween Parade tomorrow morning. Why don’t you meet me at Peachy Things in the morning? The Peach Grove Business Association needs you.”

  There was silence as Bitsy switched off the speaker and brought the phone to her ear. “Well, no,” she told Maggie, “I don’t think holding a boycott of a member’s store is allowed.” She looked at Angie and Susannah and twirled her finger in a circle at her temple, the universal sign for this chick is bonkers.

  Susannah grabbed the phone. Before the call ended, she had secured the use of Maggie’s parking lot while the Growl-A-Ween Parade was on. Maggie even agreed to double-check Owen’s address since he had come in to get a haircut a few times. “So it’s all set,” she told Angie and Bitsy. “Tomorrow while the police block off traffic, and the Growl-A-Ween Parade starts, I’ll do some snooping around. You two make sure that Owen is kept busy so I have time to get over there and look around.”

  Angie sighed. “I hope it’s as easy as that.”

  “Don’t worry. What could go wrong?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Susannah gets the Boot

  The next morning dawned overcast. Steam filled the shower as Susannah went over her plan for the day. By tonight, she was sure she would have evidence pointing to Owen as the killer, and Keith and Angie would be in the clear. Confidence filled her. As part of her plan, she had chosen a camouflage outfit as a Halloween costume. Described by both Angie and Bitsy as “super cute,” it had the added benefit of aiding her on her stealth mission to find Owen Chaffin’s house. If he did live where she suspected, it would be easy for him to access the faux deer at the salon. Even Randy would be able to see the connection.

  Susannah peeped into Caden’s bedroom where a scene from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope replayed itself. Angie, dressed as Princess Leia in long white robes, bent over Caden, touching his shoulder to wake him. In the darkened room, the glare from his night light against her white robes gave her a halo. The buns only added to the effect.