Law and Author (17 page)

“I'm real sorry I couldn't get here any sooner. Fill me in on what's happened.”

Lizzie looked at Bob, who gave a slight nod. “It started with Darla calling Stephanie at the bookstore and then Stephanie called me,” Lizzie started. “Darla had been beaten up by Wade so I picked up Molly”— she looked at Molly, who nodded—“because I thought she'd have a better chance of getting Darla to open the door. When we saw her, Molly insisted she pack her things and come here. She was really reluctant but eventually did. When we got here, Molly called Bob, who came over, and I called you. Then Wade showed up and demanded Darla go with him. Bob told him to leave or he'd call the police. He left but threatened Bob. And here we are.” She thought it best to leave out the part about Molly and her gun.

Mark shook his head. “I'll go pick him up.”

Bob leaned forward in his chair. “I've been thinking this through and although that's what I really want you to do, I'm thinking as soon as he gets out on bail he'll be right back at it and ornerier than ever, although I've no idea how he'd post it. But just to be on the safe side, let's assume he might have some connections. Why not let things simmer for a while? Darla stays here and I'm hoping we can talk some real sense into her so she'll dump the guy rather than be willing to follow him whenever he snaps his fingers. We'll keep an eye on her and maybe you'd have a patrol car pass by frequently.”

“I can do that but I'd be happier putting him behind bars right away.”

“Believe me, so would I.” Bob leaned back and took a long drink from his bottle before continuing. “But maybe we can go about it in a different way. We know he connected with Eddie Riser behind the community center, and my bet is that he was buying drugs. They met up a second time, too. So, I followed Riser yesterday hoping to watch a deal going down between the two. Although nothing happened, he's sure to try again. It's been a couple of days now and he must be running low on whatever he's using. We watch and scoop them both up.”

Mark considered it. “I like the idea but I don't think I can spare enough officers to do a proper surveillance right now. Got a couple out on sick leave and Officer Craig is still in Atlanta.”

“I can help. I'm not too old to be sitting in a car watching, you know.”

Mark stood and walked around the patio, snatching a cheese straw on his way back to his chair. “All right. I'll go along with it on two conditions. Only for a couple of days and no book club members are involved.” He stared at Lizzie as he said the last part.

“Done.”

Lizzie opened her mouth but quickly shut it, remembering that sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Mark stood. “I'd like to talk to Darla before I leave.”

Molly stood, too. “Oh, Mark. She's been through so much. Can't it wait until maybe tomorrow?”

“I gather she doesn't want to go to the hospital?”

They all shook their heads.

“All right. I'll call before coming over tomorrow morning, but I want someone to document her injuries. Molly, do you have a good-quality camera handy so you can take some pictures of her?”

“Yes, I do and we will.”

“Okay. I've got to get back to the station. Keep me posted, and Bob, drop by the station later and we'll set up a surveillance schedule.”

Bob nodded.

Lizzie waited until Mark would be in his car, then said, “I'm going to help with that surveillance.”

“You could. But it's time consuming and boring. I think your talents are better used doing other things, don't you?”

Lizzie thought about it a moment. “Good idea.”

Her iPhone rang and she answered. “Oh, hi. Yes, that's good for sure but look, I can't talk right now.” She willed herself not to look at Molly, not wanting to take the chance that Molly would figure out it was Teensy calling. “Can I call you back later? Oh, okay. See you then.”

She hung up and tried not to look guilty. Molly looked like she'd like nothing better than knowing who had been on the other end of the line, but Lizzie said instead, “I guess there's nothing else I can do here. I'll talk to you later, Molly.”

Molly gave Lizzie a big hug. “Thanks for your help and for being concerned, honey. Now, if there's anything I can help you with”—she glanced at the phone still in Lizzie's hand—“be sure to let me know.”

We'd found our mystery man, but he didn't solve our mystery.

PAWS FOR MURDER—
ANNIE KNOX

L
izzie drove straight home, hoping to connect again with Teensy and find out just what information she'd been so excited to share. The last thing Lizzie had wanted was for Molly to find out about Teensy's trip to Atlanta, but if it turned out to be relevant, they'd have to tell all. Just what Molly's reaction would be, she had no idea.

She let herself into her house and dialed Teensy's cell phone first thing. She answered on the third ring.

“Oh, I can't talk now, sweetie. I'm still in Atlanta and I'm about to go out on a hot date. I met this rich and single fella at the casino last night and he's taking me out to dinner.”

“Can't you tell me what you found out?'

“It can wait until I get home. I'll leave straight after breakfast tomorrow. Be home in time for late lunch. Ta-ta for now.”

Lizzie hung up, disappointed. Maybe it wasn't that
important after all, otherwise surely Teensy would be wanting to dish all. That was it; however, Lizzie was properly vexed. She never had been good at waiting. Especially at holiday times. She poured herself a glass of water from the Brita sitting on her counter top and sat down at the kitchen table, her mind traveling back to memories of waiting for her daddy to get home from a trip on her birthday, wanting him home and also wanting her gift.

When she was seven, she'd had an afternoon birthday party with five of her best pals attending. The living room at the Cavendish Street house had been small and the day had turned out rainy, unusual for a day in June. After everyone had left, Lizzie ignored the gifts strewn on the floor, and kept walking over to the window, checking to see if her daddy's old blue Chevy was pulling into the driveway. Her mama had to keep telling her to just be patient, that a watched pot never boiled, and other useful advice. Finally, with supper on the table, her daddy burst through the door, a golden Labrador puppy cradled in his arms.

Lizzie had been too excited to sleep that night. She'd kept getting up and sneaking down to the kitchen to sit with her new puppy, Lifer. The puppy Daddy's paycheck from
LIFE
magazine had bought, he loved to say.

She sighed. Less than a year later, they'd had to find a new home for the puppy because of her mama's allergies. There were no more pets in the Turner household, until now. Lizzie tucked the memory away and reached out to pat Edam, who'd jumped on her lap and was butting her chin with his head.

*   *   *

L
izzie was one of the first to arrive at choir that evening. She liked to get there early, which didn't often happen, and just mellow out while listening to Tommy McCann, the
accompanist, warm up on the piano. Tommy had been with the choir since it was started ten years ago. He was originally from New York City, and his resume listed several gigs with local choirs and his own performances as a soloist. Lizzie knew they were lucky he'd fallen in love with an Ashton Corners gal and decided to marry her and stay put.

By the time Stanton Giles arrived, almost everyone was in place and ready to go. He apologized for keeping them waiting, although by Lizzie's reckoning, he hadn't. Then he went right into rehearsals without the usual joking around. She wondered what was bothering him but realized it was none of her business. But what if he'd had a lover's tiff with Teensy? If they were still dating, that was. She'd have to look into that.

After an hour spent on the
Celtic Mass
, the main piece for the concert, Giles called for a break. Lizzie grabbed her bottle of water and wandered into the kitchen, hoping to find that someone had brought a box of chocolates, and wishing she'd thought of it earlier when there was none. She glanced out the window while listening to one of the altos in a group of four women, expounding on the virtues of a homeopathic remedy for sore throats with a name Lizzie couldn't even hope to spell, and almost dropped her bottle in surprise. She leaned forward to see out the window more clearly, trying to be sure of what she'd just seen. Or rather, who.

“Excuse me. I think I forgot to lock my car,” she said, feeling rude but desperate to get out the back door.

By the time she made it down the hall and out the door into the parking lot, it was empty of people. But she was certain she'd seen Eddie Riser. What had he been doing skulking around the lot? Meeting up to make another sale? She wondered if she should give Mark a call but Eddie looked to be long gone.

She took another look around, just to be sure, and then went back inside just as Tommy's famous fanfare signaled it was time to get back down to singing. The last half of the evening was spent fine-tuning two pieces that comprised the remainder of the program. By the end of the rehearsal, Lizzie felt exhausted. The combination of missing out on a good night's sleep the evening before, and all the energy needed to go over and over the music, had her longing for home and bed.

*   *   *

T
he next morning was all about housework. Lizzie took a page from Bob's book and attacked her cupboards with vigor, hoping to trigger some activity in her brain cells. She felt she was floundering in too many details, too many paths with none of them leading directly to Rafe Shannon.

What with all that had been going on lately, starting with the arrival of Darla, then the murder, the arrival of Wade and his beating up of Darla, and throwing in Teensy's task to deal with Fannie Hewitt, there was far too much to keep proper track of. And she'd been hoping for a quiet Easter break during which she'd get caught up on some other tasks.

The key to finding the murderer, she felt certain, lay in the reason Rafe had come to Ashton Corners. She was pretty certain Darla wasn't the killer, but believed she had to be involved in some way. The fact that Darla clammed up every time Lizzie tried asking her about the guy certainly raised her suspicions.

But why would someone like Rafe come to this town? The reason probably wasn't a good one, given his background. She wondered briefly if Amber Craig had discovered anything relevant about her errant cousin and also, when would she be back home so that Lizzie could talk to her?

And what was Wade doing talking to Eddie Riser? Was
he buying drugs? Or was he selling them? Lizzie stopped in the middle of putting some plates back in the cupboard. That didn't make any sense whatsoever. Eddie must already have a supplier; he'd been in the business for a while now, according to Bob.

Had Eddie met with Rafe for something involving drugs? The only way to find out seemed to be asking Eddie flat out. Not the safest, though. But what would he do? Kill her? Not likely. Deny it? Probably. Maybe he'd give himself away by his reaction to the question or in some other manner. Could she chance it? Not alone, she realized. But she couldn't take Bob with her. His presence would ensure no cooperation at all. Molly was out of the question. She didn't want her to hear if Darla's name came up. And, certainly no Andie nor Stephanie. She didn't want either of them even remotely involved with the likes of Eddie Riser.

Teensy should be back by noon, if she'd left Atlanta at a reasonable hour. That was her backup, for better or worse. She'd just leave Teensy a message on her home phone to call, and then finish off the housework. A good way to plot how to approach the drug-dealing Eddie Riser. Not known to get violent, she kept saying to reassure herself.

Teensy called at noon. “I got your message, sugar, but you didn't have to worry. You're the first person I'd planned to talk to. Can I come on over?”

“That would be great, Teensy. And I have a plan that I need your help with.”

“Oh, goody. Some action, I hope. I'll be there in, say, a half hour.”

Lizzie had just finished dusting when the front doorbell rang. Teensy gave her a big hug and grabbed her hand, leading Lizzie to the kitchen. “I'm just dying for an iced tea, sugar.” She sat at the table and waited to be served.

Lizzie smiled and filled two glasses. “Here you go, now tell all.”

“You first.”

“All right. I want to talk to Eddie Riser and ask if he had any dealings with Rafe Shannon. Are you in?”

Teensy wiggled in her seat. “Like a duck on a june bug. But it may not be important. Wait till you hear what I learned.”

Lizzie cocked an eyebrow at Teensy, wishing she'd get on with it.

“Okay. Now, I talked to Lily Lyman, Darla's mama, and at first she didn't even want me to mention Darla's name in her presence. That woman had no nurturing skills at all, I thought, and all I wanted to do was slap her silly. But I filled her in on all that had happened and she did a turnaround and got all concerned. She loves her baby and is worried about what's been going on in her life is all. Lily had a bad feeling about the amount of control Wade Morris seemed to have on Darla so she told her to break it off. Probably not the best way to handle the situation, and she certainly realizes that now. Seems that jerk was only part of the problem.

“Anyway”—Teensy leaned forward, her elbows on the table—“Darla has a bit of a gambling problem. She'd been borrowing large sums of money from her granddaddy, not Bob of course, the other one, to pay off her debts 'cause she's terrible at earning money. But then he up and died and her grandmamma, that would be Sue-Ann, told her to stop wasting money and to get a job. But then of course, Sue-Ann passed but that still didn't solve her money problems. So it all came tumbling down on the child. She turned tail and ran, owing money and leaving an upset mama behind.”

Lizzie sank against the back of her chair. “Oh boy. That poor kid. She's got a lot of trouble coming at her from all sides.” Lizzie sipped some tea. “Do you think Rafe Shannon came looking for
her? He worked for some casinos at times. Maybe he was an enforcer or a debt collector. Or whatever they're called.”

“Could be. But Lily didn't have any information about that. No one came looking for Darla at home or anything, so no direct tie-in to our dead guy.”

“Which is good for Darla. But seems like an awfully big coincidence, them both turning up here in town.”

Teensy nodded. “Well, I say it's time we talk to the drug dealer, then. We can try asking Darla, too, for all the good it will do us. By the way, did Molly happen to ask where I was?”

“No. She's been pretty wrapped up in events here.” Lizzie filled her in on what had happened to Darla.

“Oh, landsakes, that poor child. It must feel like the world is collapsing on her. Mind you, she should have been up-front about the real reason she's here.” Teensy sat silent for a few moments, then straightened the neckline of her low-cut, short-sleeved orange blouse. “Well, I guess the best thing we can do to help is go track down that Eddie Riser and have a little heart-to-heart with him.” She finished off her tea, grabbed her large purple handbag as she stood, and folded her arms across her waist. “Let's get going, sugar. Time's a-wastin'.”

Lizzie quickly stashed the empty glasses in the sink and grabbed her own handbag as they left by the back door.

“I'm blocking you but that's okay, we'll take my car,” Teensy said, climbing into the driver's seat of her Cadillac. Lizzie slid into the passenger seat and had barely buckled her seat belt when Teensy backed out.

“Where to?”

“That could be the biggest flaw with this plan. I'm not really sure. Let's try the community center for starters. It's easiest and we might just get lucky. If he's not hanging out behind the center, I'm pretty sure Bob said he followed him over to Dexter Street, where Eddie hung out in front of a bar.”

“You've got it.”

“Oops, that reminds me, Bob may be conducting surveillance once again. He probably won't like seeing us appear.”

“Tosh. What's the worst he could do to us? Ground us? I don't think so.”

Lizzie smiled and hoped that some of Teensy's confidence would wash over her.

“What did Bob say when he heard about Wade beating on Darla?” Teensy asked after a couple of minutes.

“Just what you'd imagine but he did manage to restrain himself. I think he's hoping that Darla will now come to her senses and leave the guy without any pressure from him.”

“That would be best. It certainly can't help Bob's relationship with her if he's already on her back about her boyfriend.”

Lizzie adjusted her position slightly so she could look at Teensy. “What is your sense about this gambling thing? Do you think Rafe Shannon tracked Darla down here, even if her mama said he didn't come by the house? But how would he know where she'd gone, or even that she'd left, unless he was keeping an eye on her? I wonder just how much she owes.”

“Lily either didn't know or chose not to tell me.”

“It doesn't make any sense otherwise, not with his car being found next door to Molly's. It was like he felt bold enough to let Darla know he was around but sly enough to want to surprise her. If he hadn't been killed, I wonder what he would have done to Darla.”