1 Murder on Sugar Creek (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

By the time Maggie arrived at work
the following Monday, news of Carla’s arrest and Maggie’s involvement in the
case had spread throughout Jasper and into the county. The advertising and
bookkeeping departments as well as the publisher besieged her for information
on the investigation. When Joe and Tyler strolled into the office around ten
o’clock, Maggie had already told her story six times.

After repeating the story one more
time to the satisfaction of the two men, she followed Joe into his office.

“I just want you to know that my
snooping, for lack of a better word, was done on my own time.” She paused.
“Well, except for the exchange of emails with a source, but everyone sends and
receives personal email at work, so it’s not that big of a deal. Right?”

Joe nodded.

“Oh, and I did search the public
records the day I went to the courthouse to get the indictments, but I’m
entitled to breaks. Right?”

“Yes, you are.”

Maggie turned to leave, but just as
quickly changed her mind. “One more thing. They consider my recorder evidence.
It was my personal recorder, but I had saved some interviews on there. You
know, in case of a lawsuit. I guess we can always appeal to the courts for the
release of the recorder if need be.”

“If need be what?”

“If one of my stories results in a
lawsuit.”

“Maggie, how many years have you
been working here?”

“Uh, thirteen years, give or take a
few months.”

“Have you ever been sued?”

“No.”

“Have you written something
recently that contained libelous information? For example, have you libeled the
man who displays hundreds if not thousands of fishing lures on the wall of his
machine shop or the teen who won the Jasper Idol singing competition?”

“When you put it that way, the
answer is no.”

“Then, I think we’re good.” Maggie
once again turned to leave, but this time, Joe prevented her from making an
exit. “By the way, you did a good job. I guess you’re an investigative reporter
after all.”

Maggie finally made her departure
and, as she walked by Tyler’s desk, he removed his ear buds.

“That was really smart of you,” he
said. “You know, recording her. I’m impressed.”

I’ve solved a
murder and received two compliments from Tyler, Maggie thought to herself.
Wonder what I’ll accomplish next month?

Unlike Tyler, Luke was not
impressed with Maggie’s accomplishments. She spoke to him on Sunday long enough
for him to tell her they needed to talk. On Monday evening, Maggie joined him
at his place for pizza.

“Listen,” she said before he could
speak. “I’m so sorry about Saturday. I feel terrible for standing you up, but I
got behind the trailer and, of course, I couldn’t get service up the holler –”

“When did you call Seth?”

The slice of pizza she held fell
limp in her hand. “What do you mean?”

“At some point while you were still
on Sugar Creek, you called Seth. I’m just wondering how you got service long
enough to call him.”

Maggie placed her pizza on the
plate. “Is this about Seth?”

“Not entirely. I know you have a
past with him, but I thought we – you and me – had the makings of something
special. I know we’re not there, yet, but I thought we could get there.”

“We can.”

“Then why did you turn to him?”

“Because he’s a police officer.”

“Was Saturday the first time he
helped you on the case?”

“No, he came out and looked around
after the Barnaby incident. But only after Edie let him know what was going on.
Edie made the first contact with him. I did accept his help, but I only asked
him for one favor and I didn’t do that until Saturday.”

Luke chewed on a bite of pizza for
what Maggie considered an exorbitant amount of time. “I’ll give you that,” he
said, “but why didn’t you confide in me? Why didn’t you tell me what was going
on in your life? Why did you leave me in the dark?”

“I guess for the same reason I
didn’t tell my parents. I didn’t want to worry you and I knew you’d try to talk
me out of it. Edie and Seth certainly offered discouragement.”

“Do you want to keep seeing me?”

Luke’s question took Maggie by
surprise. “Of course, I do. You’re fun and funny and, well, easy on the eyes. I
very much enjoy your company and I like the way I feel when I’m with you or
even thinking about you.”

Luke’s eyes twinkled. “I very much
enjoy your company, too, and I like the way you make me feel. But, if we’re
going to keep seeing each other, this can’t happen again.”

“Don’t worry,”
Maggie picked up the slice of pizza. “My sleuthing days are over.”

Maggie read the first sentence of
Joe’s editorial. She couldn’t believe someone with as much knowledge and with
as many years’ experience as Joe had never mastered the “then versus than”
rule. She circled the errant “than” and rolled her eyes. She had found a
misplaced comma when the phone rang.

“
Jasper Sentinel
. This is
Maggie Morgan. How may I help you?”

“Good afternoon, Miss Morgan. This
is Detective King with the Kentucky State Police.”

“Oh, hello detective. What can I do
for you?”

Maggie assumed he had called with a
request for more information or to thank her for her role in nabbing Mac’s
murderer. She was not prepared for what came next.

“Miss Morgan, this is out of the
ordinary, but we wanted to let you know that Carla Honaker is asking to see
you. Of course, you don’t have to talk to her, but we’d consider it a favor if
you did. She’s already confessed to the murder and we have the murder weapon,
but there’s a reason she wants to see you and we’re hoping that reason might
involve sharing information with you. She would not give us a motive. Although
we don’t need one to proceed, it would be helpful to have one in order to fill
in the blanks.”

The sensible side of Maggie
believed nothing good could come from meeting a confessed murderer in lockup.
The curious side of Maggie couldn’t believe her luck.

“Will she be behind a glass?”

The detective chuckled. “No, ma’am,
the Jasper Detention Center doesn’t have enough money in its budget for such
luxuries. You would be in the same room with Carla Honaker but never alone with
her. And she would be handcuffed the entire time.”

Maggie’s mental deliberation lasted
less than two seconds. “What do I need to do?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Officer King met Maggie at the
detention center’s entrance and escorted her inside. Although she knew it was a
ridiculous thought, Maggie had expected to be ushered into a commons area with
rows of cells and prisoners towering above her. Once they passed through the security
check, he took her to an area that reminded her of a classroom. Carla sat at
one of the many tables as a guard kept watch.

“As you might expect, this room is
crowded during visiting hours,” the detective explained.

Maggie nodded, walked by his side, and
tried to avoid looking at the woman who waited for her. A few days earlier,
Carla was the small widow who made scrumptious desserts. Today, she was a known
killer, and that scared Maggie.

“If you need anything, just tell
the guard,” the detective said to Maggie as she pulled out a chair and joined
Carla at the table.

She could feel her heart racing
faster than Barnaby’s after he’d chased a rabbit, but she refused to show her
fear. “You wanted to talk to me,” she said to Carla.

“How did you figure it out?” Carla all
but barked at Maggie. “How did you know it was me?”

Although Maggie knew it was
unrealistic, she had wanted Carla to confess her crimes and unload her
conscience in peaceful tones that suggested regret and introspection. “I’ll
tell you that, if you tell me why you did it.”

Carla grunted. “I’m not telling you
anything.”

“Fine,” Maggie stood up and started
walking away.

“Wait,” Carla called as Maggie
reached the door. “Come back and I’ll tell you why I killed Mac.”

Maggie returned to the chair and
said, “Let’s hear it.”

Carla brought her cuffed hands up
to her chest. “I was in a vulnerable state when I met Mac. My mother passed
away when I was a teenager. After that, it was just my dad and me. We were very
close and it was hard for me to see him lying helpless in that nursing home
bed. And out of nowhere, Mac appeared. I’m not an emotional person. I do not
connect easily with people. But he happened into my life when I was in great
need. I was also approaching middle age and afraid I would never find anyone to
spend my life with. I didn’t consciously realize that played a role in my
decision to marry Mac until months later. Nevertheless, I will admit that I
didn’t love him and that I married him for the wrong reasons. I was fond of
him, though. At least I was for a while.”

“What happened to change your
feelings?”

“Mac happened.”

“From all accounts, he doted on
you. I’ve heard he was always sending you flowers and bragging on you.”

Carla laughed and scratched her
nose with the back of her hands. “Yeah, he bragged on me and I’ll admit that he
tried. At first, the flowers and compliments were genuine. After a while, they
became routine. Mac was a liar and a thief who fooled everyone into thinking he
was as honest as Lincoln. Oh, I can tell from the look on your face that you’ve
heard this before.”

Maggie relaxed her facial muscles
and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Play it your way. Pretend you
don’t know what I came to realize a few months into my marriage. You see,”
Carla smirked, “I wasn’t as dumb as everyone else. I lived with him. I knew how
much he made for a living. I knew he couldn’t afford all those expensive
electronic gadgets, that danged fishing gear, and prime season tickets to UK
games. He thought he was pulling one over on me, but I figured it out. He and
that slob Bug were running a scam on the nursing home. I’m not going to lie, I
didn’t care. The more money he stole meant he’d dip his hands into our joint
account less and less. So, when he quit his job to build that stupid store, I
nearly had a heart attack.”

“I thought you appreciated, what
did you tell me, his drive and ambition?”

“Hardly. We had a huge argument and
I told him outright that he was not quitting his job and building a store. That
night, we went to his aunt’s birthday party. That was back when we attended
events together. Anyway, he announced his plans to a roomful of relatives. He
also went a step further. He made a toast to his wonderfully caring wife for
supporting his decision. What was I supposed to do? Start screaming at him in
front of everybody? He won, and I learned to live with it because I figured he
would start pulling some scam at the store. And he did.” Carla chuckled. “Did
he really think nobody would question why he and Bug won the lottery so often?
God, how arrogant.” Carla tilted her head and, with a faraway look in her eyes,
pondered, “Who knows what he did before I met him?”

I know, Maggie thought, but I’m not
telling. “How did you figure all this out?”

“One day when he opened his safe, he
didn’t know I was watching him from the hallway. I memorized the combination
and sneaked in there when he was gone. He had a ledger that contained dates and
figures. I made copies and studied them. I’m no CPA, but it didn’t take long
for me to put it together because Mac was no CPA, either, and he wasn’t nearly
as smart as he thought he was. He also kept cash in the safe. I kept track of
it and noticed he removed five hundred dollars every month. It was always
around the twentieth of the month, too. One day I followed him straight to that
housing project where his haggard-looking ex-wife lives.”

Maggie gasped. “Rhonda?”

Carla raised one eyebrow. “You know
her?”

“I interviewed her when I talked to
you and the others.”

“It wasn’t in the paper.”

“She asked me not to include her
out of respect for you.”

“Well, wasn’t that nice of her?”
Carla snorted.

“He was giving her money?” That
explains her duplicity, Maggie thought. She was ashamed and afraid she would
lose her benefits and apartment if her landlord learned she received extra
money each month.

“At first, I thought they were
having an affair. I really didn’t care. After all, we had slept in separate beds
and in separate rooms for years. Still, the thought of him cheating with her
was a blow to my vanity.” Carla pursed her lips. “Well, you’ve seen her. No
wonder he cheated on her when they were married.”

“So, he did cheat on her?” Maggie
recalled Sylvie’s pronouncement and couldn’t imagine why any woman would have
an affair with Mac.

“How do you know about that?”

Maggie shrugged. “It’s Sugar
Creek.”

Carla apparently accepted Maggie’s
explanation and continued, “So I guess you know that when he decided it was
over, he sent his dad to give her the news. She went back to the trailer one
night with her tail between her legs and waited on the front steps for him to
come home. He came home all right and, when he saw her, he backed out of the
driveway and left her sitting there like the fool she was and is.”

“Yeah,” Maggie said. “I know all
about that.”

“Well, when I confronted him about
seeing her, he said he felt sorry for her because she’s disabled and can’t
work. Give me a break. She has headaches. She can take an aspirin and go to
work like the rest of us.” Carla rolled her eyes. “Helping poor old disabled
Rhonda was just another way for him to appear kind and generous. He didn’t care
about her. He didn’t care about anybody but himself.” Carla shook her head. “Where
was I? Oh, we had another big dustup and I told him it must be easy to shower
money that isn’t even yours on your pathetic ex-wife and I demanded that he
shower some of that money on his current wife. He pretended he didn’t know what
I was talking about. When I told him I had copies of his ledgers, he laughed
and said that didn’t prove anything. Then, he told me he’d die before he’d
share one penny with me. I considered my options and knew what I had to do.”

“Kill him?”

“Absolutely. Instead of going to
the gym or running around town, I started running on Sugar Creek so it wouldn’t
seem out of the ordinary if somebody saw me that morning.” Carla directed her
hands toward Maggie. “You were right about that. I got the gun from his safe
and put it in the backpack that I had started using for the purpose of building
an alibi, for lack of a better word. I also tucked my hair under a baseball
cap.”

“Mac didn’t seem like a good
person, but I don’t understand why you had to kill him. Haven’t you ever heard
of divorce? You could have taken half of his assets.”

“Sure,” Carla huffed. “His legal
assets. Don’t think I didn’t consider divorce if, for no other reason, than to
make him sell that stupid store, but my business wasn’t performing as well as I
had hoped and a divorce could have proven expensive. I needed money to stay
afloat and there was only one way to obtain it. With him gone, I would receive
a hefty life insurance check and own the store and house outright. But I needed
to do it before he changed beneficiaries or made a new will. I lived in fear
that he would leave everything to his disgusting cousin or loser ex-wife.”

“He was still a person and he wasn’t
entirely bad.”

“Why? Because he took a grieving
Bug to a football game and gave stolen money to struggling Rhonda? Please.”
Carla smiled. “At least I ended up with some of that stolen money. After I told
him I knew about the cash in the safe, he moved it to the store. He thought he
was pulling one over on me, and at the time I could have kicked my own rear end
for showing my hand. But after his untimely death, that money was mine.”

“Little good it will do you now,”
Maggie said. “You shouldn’t have killed Mac, but he certainly earned your ill
will. But what about Kevin?”

“What about him?”

“You were prepared to send an
innocent man to prison.”

“He’s not innocent. No one’s
innocent.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I didn’t frame him. I lucked into
a thief riding a bicycle by the store on his way to give his drug dealer two
hundred bucks, but I wasn’t about to help him wiggle off that hook. If it’s
between me and him, I choose me.”

Maggie sat back and crossed her
arms. “I’m happy that didn’t work out for you, but I do have another question
for you. How did you manage to turn off the security cameras?”

Carla smiled. “I also found the
password to the security system in that safe and I had long since realized he
had a feed running to the laptop he kept at home. I logged on and turned it
off.

“Didn’t that worry you? Weren’t you
afraid it would be traced to his laptop and then to you?”

“No,” Carla said. “Mac had been
telling people for years that the cameras didn’t work. I guess you could say
his lies finally caught up with him.” She leaned back in the chair and said,
“Now, it’s your turn. How did you catch me?”

“I didn’t know it was you until I
saw you running. From behind you looked like a boy.” When Carla scrunched up
her face, Maggie clarified, “You know, with your hair under your cap. And
you’re so small.” Maggie chose not to share her assessment of Carla’s shoulders
and hips.

With her face contorted, Carla
asked, “You had no other suspicions?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that.” Maggie
made sure not to reveal the confidential banking information shared by Ben.
“You’re the wife, and spouses are always the first suspects. It was always in
the back of my mind that you could have done it, but I didn’t put the pieces
together until Saturday when I saw you running on Little Elm Fork. I didn’t see
you on the road and you told me you hike through the hills.”

“So?”

“That’s how you gained access to my
dog. You watched me from the hill behind my home, entered my house through an
unlocked door, lured Barnaby to the barn, and let him go after giving me a
scare.” Maggie remained sitting straight, with her back against the chair, “Why
did you involve my dog?”

“Let me make one thing clear,”
Carla held up her right index finger. “I never would have hurt him. I love
animals. I couldn’t have a pet, though, because of Mac’s alleged allergies. But
you’re right, I was trying to scare you.”

“Why? How did you even know I was
looking into the murder?”

“I overheard you talking to Kevin
Mullins’ dad at the store.”

Maggie shuddered. “I wondered.”

“You know,” Carla tried to move her
hands, but the cuffs restricted her, “I thought I was home free when they arrested
Kevin. I couldn’t believe my luck. And everything went well until you had to
mess it up. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.”

Maggie wasn’t sure if Carla had
intended to compare her to a character on
Scooby-Doo
, but didn’t press
the issue.

Carla stared off into space. “I
thought that putting my hair under the cap would save me, but that’s what
ruined me. You’re a writer, is that what you call irony?”

“I’m not sure,” Maggie said. “Irony
has always confused me.”