Murder in the Courthouse (31 page)

There was something sad and aching and . . . venomous lurking there. And it wasn't the home itself.

Tooling down Victory Drive, Hailey glanced over when her iPhone buzzed and lit up. It was Billings. She put it on speaker.

“Good morning! How are you?” She had a smile on her face.

“Good morning, Miss Hailey Dean! What trouble are you stirring up today? And how do you feel?”

“I feel great. A little achy, but overall great! Thanks for asking. Oops, hold on. A cop's on my tail and I don't want him to see the phone in my hand!”

“Just tell him you know somebody . . .”

“But what if he asks who? He may not like you!” Hailey started laughing as a Savannah cop cruiser passed her and kept going.

“You're in the car? Where are you?”

“Victory Drive heading back to downtown.”

“Really? What interests you on Victory Drive?” Hailey could hear the curiosity in his voice.

“You'll never guess. Eunah Mabry. Name ring a bell?”

“It does, actually. Eunah Mabry . . . Eunah Mabry . . . who is she?”

“Judge Bill Regard's secretary. None other.”

“Hailey! Are you out investigating a case in my jurisdiction?” She could actually see the twinkle in his eye and the smile playing the corners of his lips.

“I take the Fifth!” She just made it under a yellow light and kept going.

“Well, it just so happens that I'm at Victory and Abercorn. Let's get coffee.”

“I don't drink coffee. Unless I have to.”

“Then you watch me drink coffee and I'll get you hot tea. How's that?”

“One condition,” Hailey answered, checking her rearview.

“What's that?”

“We get it to go. I'll even let you drive.”

“Deal! Where are we going?” He was an unusually good sport.

“The Savannah Country Club. There's a ladies' tennis tournament I want to watch.”

“Uh-oh. I smell trouble.”

Hailey could tell he was still smiling, even though she couldn't see him. He was smart, too. That was a dangerous combination, as far as Hailey was concerned. Good-looking, smart, and a good sport.

Within just minutes, Hailey spotted Billings in her rearview mirror. He put on the blue lights for effect and Hailey started laughing.

Her cell buzzed again. “You're headed to the Savannah Country Club? Is that what you said?” Billings asked immediately, no hello.

“Yep. That's where I'm headed!”

“OK. That's what I thought you said, but I was a little afraid to ask why.” She caught his eyes in the rearview.

“I told you! There's a tennis match I want to see! Come join me! Maybe it will help me get in. And I bet you can get a cup of coffee there, too.”

“I bet I can,” Billings answered. She could see in her rearview that he was still smiling. That was good.

“Hey, you're a lawman. They may even give it to you for free. Now that's incentive . . . right?”

“From what I know of the Savannah Country Club, the last thing they want to see is a sheriff showing up . . . that means trouble. Blue bloods don't like even the suggestion of cops . . . or trouble. They'll give me a gallon of hot coffee to leave!”

“I hear you. But they'll be way too polite to actually come right out and ask you to leave! Agree?” Hailey had a point.

They certainly weren't club members, but Billings's uniform could get them in the door and to the tennis courts. Hailey had the idea she was on to something and she didn't want to slow down now. She had to get a closer look at Bill Regard and his wife.

“Yep . . . they only want a cop uniform on the premises if he's directing parking for a society event. You know the deal, Hailey. It's all right. I get it. It's not like I could afford the membership fees anyway.”

“I know the deal, Billings. I know the deal for sure.”

“So, Hailey. What's with the tennis match?”

“How about I tell you over our free coffee? Or in my case, tea? I'd hate to get busted for driving while distracted by cell phone. Hee-hee.”

“OK. I guess I'll have to trust you. But let me in front. You just took a wrong turn.”

“See? You distracted me!”

Billings pulled around in front, and in no time they were there. A guard in a security house waved them through as soon as he saw Billings's patrol car. Hailey noticed the security guard began speaking into a walkie-talkie when they passed. Probably alerting the club a cop had showed up.

Hailey parked beside Billings and hopped out of her car, locking it instantly with her keychain remote. “This place is pretty swanky, huh? I looked it up at a red light. It says it's the oldest golf club in the
country. 1894. Could that even be true? It says the golf course was actually built along old Confederate war fortifications.”

“Thanks for the history lesson, Hailey. But I don't think you came here for the historical value. So what's up?”

“Well, you know Judge Bill Regard was having an affair with Eleanor Odom. You saw the autopsy report, right?”

“I saw it.” His smile faded.

“She died of a severe reaction to a pretty serious nut allergy, and I'll bet your bottom dollar it came from that coffee cup, the one with her lipstick on it. She was fine when she walked in . . . she hadn't eaten a bite, she got a cup of coffee, and then, boom . . . she's dead.”

“Yes, I recall you gave me that scenario over the lost-and-found bin at the courthouse.”

“Well . . . in case she didn't
accidentally
poison herself . . . then who did?” Hailey's question dripped with sarcasm, and it wasn't wasted.

“I know. I've already been working it. The state crime lab got me a rush on the cup . . . it was simple coffee . . . with a large helping of almond milk.”

“I knew it! So either Elle accidentally used almond milk versus regular milk at the coffee bar, or somebody switched the canisters or somehow doctored her coffee itself. Or they could have simply added almond milk to the milk sitting out at the coffee bar. But it's too late to test those, right? They were probably cleaned out by the time we figured out the real cause of death wasn't a heart attack or stroke.”

“Exactly.”

“What about cameras in the cafeteria? Any trained on the cash register?” Hailey stopped mid-stride.

“I hadn't thought of that, but I can find out right now.” Billings pulled his shoulder radio out and radioed to the courthouse, asking a bailiff to check the cafeteria. “So what does the courthouse cafeteria have to do with a tennis tournament at the Savannah Country Club?”

“Well, if the rumors of Elle's affair with the judge are true, I wanted to see Mrs. Regard . . . in action. She's playing today. I got it from the horse's mouth.”

“You talked to her?”

“Nope. I heard it from the judge.”

“Her husband? Bill Regard? I'd call him more of a jackass than a horse. You talked to him?”

“
I
didn't talk to him . . . Eunah Mabry did and I heard every word.”

“Hmm. I'm not even gonna ask how you managed to overhear
that
. And if any laws were broken in order for you to eavesdrop . . . I don't even want to know about it.”

“Don't worry! No laws were broken . . . that I know of.”

Billings shot her a look just as the two rounded the corner of a huge stucco building with a pinkish-red tiled roof. They'd headed toward the sounds of tennis balls and they were right. Laid out beautifully in front of them were at least a dozen USTA tennis courts, seven Fast-Dry clay courts, and four Novacushion hard courts. Benches surrounded the courts, and for the tournament today, low bleachers had been erected.

The two blended in as best as they could. Climbing up to the back row, they actually managed to wedge in behind a group of female tennis players in tennis skirts and visors. At first, Hailey thought their constant chatter would be distracting in her search for Mrs. Victoria Regard, but it only took a matter of minutes to realize their play-by-play covered more than an analysis of the tennis game in front of them.

On the court nearest them, four women gathered at the net. They quickly dispersed, and as the shortest of the four turned to the baseline to serve, Hailey immediately recognized Victoria Regard. She was slim and muscled. Her dark hair swung when she moved. Her makeup was perfect, even in the morning heat at a tennis match, and her tennis outfit was coordinated, bearing a Nike logo on every spot possible. Facing the stands, she flashed a perfectly even, bright white smile at the crowd.

“I saw Vickie managed to drag Bill here today,” one of the women, a brunette with her long, silky hair pulled back in a severe ponytail flipping out the back of her visor, commented. The sound
of the tennis ball being slammed by Regard's racket punctured the air. “Nice serve.”

“Seriously? He's here? He managed to get away from all that
work
at the courthouse?” a blonde whose hair was bleached almost white answered, sarcasm dripping nastily from her words.

“Yes . . . all that work is just
piling up
. . . if you know what I mean. It takes lots of late hours working to attend to it all . . .” All four of them started laughing at the inside joke.

“Hey. Didn't you guys read the paper? There's one less . . . let me say . . . legal problem the judge has to worry about . . . she's dead!” The blonde on the end couldn't wait to share the news.

The tennis match was heating up. It seemed like Victoria Regard and her doubles partner were winning. Hailey was straining to hear the rest of the conversation in front of her while appearing to be intent on the match, but the four women were so oblivious to everything but themselves, Hailey needn't bother acting.

“What?”
the other three exclaimed almost in perfect unison.
“Dead?”

“As a doornail!”

Hailey had to suppress a grimace as the four ghouls in front of her nonchalantly laughed off Eleanor Odom's death. But that certainly didn't stop her from eavesdropping a second time that day. Her ears were practically aching she was straining so hard to hear over the crowd in the stands.

“What happened?” Ponytail asked first.

“I think she had a stroke or an asthma attack or something like that. I don't really know. It happened at the courthouse. But I do know one thing, it's a good thing the girl had an asthma attack . . . or whatever she had . . . because Vickie would have killed her!”

“I believe it! Nothing is going to get in between Victoria Regard and the governor's mansion, and I mean nothing. And certainly not some little secretary at the courthouse. No way.”

“You know her parents were dead set against the marriage and she's going to prove them wrong come hell or high water.”

“Oh, I heard the two of them have it out last Saturday,” Ponytail piped up again.

“What happened?” the short one with curly brown hair on the end asked. A ripple of applause went through the crowd and Hailey glanced up to see the other side had won a point. Victoria Regard didn't look quite as cool, calm, and collected as she had at the beginning of the match.

“They were out on the patio . . . you know the one outside for casual dining, it looks out over the big pool?”

“That one looks out over the kiddie pool.”

“Right . . . the kiddie pool one. Well, anyway, whatever pool, they were out on the patio and she was letting him have it about being embarrassed he chases every skirt that walks by and if he didn't end it pronto, she'd blow it all to the
Savannah Morning News
and divorce him to boot.” Ponytail spoke so rapidly and with such enthusiasm about Victoria Regard's potential divorce, she actually sprayed spit on the tanned leg of the woman next to her. But it didn't stop her.

“As if she'd ever divorce him. Fat chance with the primaries coming up. This is her ticket and she's going for the ride.” They all nodded in unison, not wanting to derail the gossip train with interruptions.

“So she cursed him out and he acted sorry, but he never really admitted to anything. Said he loved her and blah, blah, blah, you know the drill . . . things would be different and he wanted to start over . . . you know, the same things they all say.”

“So, she knew about it the whole time? She never let on a thing and I play bridge with her in the ladies' lounge every Thursday! She didn't even tell me!” Mousy Brown actually acted hurt.

“Knew about it?
She's known about them all!
”

Hailey and Billings gave each other a meaningful look. They obviously both thought the same thing.
Knew about them all?
The implications were countless. But just then, a loud crack came from the court and all eyes were back on the match. Victoria Regard had just thrown her racket onto the court in anger. The match was over. She lost.

Without bothering to get her racket or speak to the other players, she abruptly turned and flounced off the court in a show of bad sportsmanship.

Hailey watched as Vickie Regard stalked out of the tournament area. Bill Regard appeared from somewhere in the stands and followed behind her for a few moments until she turned. Even at a distance, Hailey could tell his wife rounded on him and said something. Regard immediately took a right turn toward the parking lot and let her go off on her own.

Trouble in paradise. To put it mildly.

CHAPTER THIRTY

“W
ell, that was some tennis match!”

Hailey and Chase Billings sat through the next match, but the Chatty Cathys sitting in front of them disbanded. Two went to play in the following match and the other two wandered off together, headed toward the bar.

Hailey and Billings didn't say a word about what they'd seen and heard until they slammed the door shut to Billings's squad car. “That's an understatement!” Billings responded, cranking up the ignition.