The Perils of Peaches (Scents of Murder Book 3) (14 page)

“Really? Great. Get me that warrant and we’ll roll.” Jerry hung up the phone and looked at both of us. “We’re bringing someone in for questioning. It’ll probably make the news, so you may as well know.”

Barkha and I looked at each other. I found my voice. “Did you find more evidence?”

“We got some prints on the medicine cabinet. Not good ones, but good enough to get an ID.” Jerry frowned. “So we have a person of interest after all.”

“Who?”

He remained silent.

“C’mon, Jerry. Just a name.”

“Terrance Higgins.”

Oh, poor Mia!

We headed back to the office, our spirits a little deflated.

I broke the silence. “Mia told me Terrance has been in a lot of pain. I think he’s got a slipped disk or something in his back.”

Barkha said, “In the past, I’ve heard patients crying and begging the doctor for a refill of their pain medicines. There’s a fine line between honest pain and narcotic dependence.”

I sighed as I pulled my Jeep into the parking place next to Barkha’s BMW. “Well, it’s not quite one yet. You should have enough time to catch your breath before you go in for your appointments. I’m going to check something out in Dr. Bradley’s office.”

We entered the office. The blast of air conditioning prickled my arms. A few patients glanced up at us from their magazines.

“You’re back. Good.” Eunice had hit her office manager mode.

“I’m going to work in Dr. Bradley’s office for a little while. I never finished with those charts that needed filing,” I said. Barkha headed for a stack of charts, but Eunice eyed me curiously.

“Thank you, dear. I haven’t had time to organize that desk. If you find any bills, just bring them out here.”

“I sure will.” My heart pounded as I entered Dr. Bradley’s office one more time. I wouldn’t have more chances like this. Yet again I sat in his desk chair, and tried to picture that night. Dr. Bradley, droning along dictating. A boxed supper from Oat Grass on his desk. The stack of charts, now filed in their proper places. I gathered up the envelopes scattered on the desk and sorted them. A few bills, an envelope from a medical supply store.

The bathroom behind me. Someone had to have hidden there, and done something to him. If the perp had approached from the main reception area, Dr. Bradley would have seen him right away and challenged him. If only Jerry had more information on any other substances found in Dr. Bradley’s system. It felt like he had plenty of information, but he wasn’t telling me, not in front of Barkha, anyway.

But I could still reconstruct what happened. I slipped into the stark white bathroom and the tiny closet behind the door. Yes, I could fit. Maybe not a man, though. He’d be mighty crunched inside the space. A medium-framed guy might be able to close the door on himself. Certainly not a guy Ben or Jerry’s size.

Yet I’d found an earring that Eunice had said didn’t belong to her.

So, whoever this was swooped out of the bathroom at an opportune time, came up behind Dr. Bradley, and—? I stared at his leather chair.

“C’mon, Andi, think.” A murderer needed motive, means, and opportunity. I’d found the opportunity on that section of dictation tape. Someone had lain in wait, tucked inside the bathroom closet. Jerry had pooh-poohed at the broken earring. Motive would come the more we looked at the suspects.

I would have to find out from Eunice who had appointments the day before Dr. Bradley died, and who’d stopped by the office. If someone had planned this murder, he’d make sure he had easy access to that closet. Most patients didn’t know the floor plan of the practice.

Someone knew this place well. I picked up the stack of bills along with another stack of papers. Eunice would enjoy going through them, and feel as if she were contributing to getting the doctor organized at last.

I glanced at my watch. Time to pick up Hannah

Twenty minutes later, I drove up Momma and Daddy’s driveway to find it empty. Momma had mentioned going to her diabetic education class, and she didn’t mind toting Hannah along with her. Which made me feel guilty that I hadn’t taken Hannah with me. Momma had shushed me, saying she loved showing off her granddaughter. The class was supposed to be over at twelve-thirty, and, giving Momma thirty minutes to drive home from Corinth and drop off one of her friends, she should have made it back at one-thirty, the very latest. My watch said one-fifty.

I called Momma’s cell phone, which went straight to voice mail. I didn’t call Daddy, because he was away in Memphis and probably had his phone off too. This left me time to sit and wait in the driveway, and let the thoughts gallop through my mind.

What if Momma had gotten sick, or gotten in a wreck? She’d complained of dizzy spells when her blood sugar dropped. If that happened while she was on the road . . .

I got out of the Jeep and tried not to pace. Time crawled. I couldn’t bother Jerry with this. My mind wouldn’t shut off, so I stilled it in the best way I knew how.

“Lord, I know that You know exactly where Momma and Hannah are right now. Please help me be calm as I wait. I can’t protect them myself, but You can.” My mind quieted some, and I listened to the breeze whispering in the pines.

A vehicle passed on the main road. Not Momma’s car. I slumped with my back against the Jeep, and tried dialing once more. I should have driven back to town and run another errand, but didn’t want to waste the gas.

Finally, Momma’s Buick turned into their driveway. She parked next to my Jeep.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Momma said when she got out of the car. “Didn’t mean to worry you.”

I didn’t bother telling her I’d been sitting in their driveway for over half an hour, and getting her cell phone voice mail the entire time. “What happened?”

“Poor Maisey. I gave her a ride to class today, and she was so upset I had to stop and help her when we got back to her home.” Momma shook her head. “She couldn’t find some of her medicine. One of her pill bottles was missing. So I helped her call in a refill.”

“Now that could be dangerous, losing her medication.” My heart rate had finally slowed to a more normal face instead of a jackrabbit’s cadence. “Does she have anyone help her?”

“Her niece comes by to help her a few afternoons a week. Sweet girl. Vacuums, sets out Maisey’s pills, makes some meals and freezes them. All Maisey has to do is pop them in the microwave.” We took Hannah from her car seat, and I put her seat in the back of the Jeep while Momma held her.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. My imagination was going wild.”

We headed for the back door, and Momma pulled out her keys. “I know. You’ve got too much imagination for your own good. And I had your little girl with me, too. I can promise you one thing . . .”

She paused while she turned the key in the lock. “I can promise you this. I’m going to take good care of myself. I know you and your sister worry about me. And if I’m ever on my own, well, I know you’ll be there just like Maisey’s family is for her.”

“We just . . . we just don’t want anything to happen to you.” The air conditioning hit us with a blast when the door swung open, and I shivered. Hannah squealed in Momma’s arms.

“Something will always happen to us, but we’re never out of God’s hands. And I’ll take good care of myself so I can help you take care of this little dumplin’.” The pitch of Momma’s voice went higher, and Hannah responded in kind and reached for Momma’s face.

“I know you will.”

“Oopsey, I left the diaper bag in my car.”

“No problem. I need to get little Hannah-B home, so I’ll just grab the bag on my way out.”

Momma hugged and kissed us both good-bye, and we left her with the promise we’d come for Sunday dinner.

“You’d better come. I have some new recipes I want to try for y’all. And don’t tell Ben it’s health food.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word.”

Chapter Twelve

After what felt like a few blinks, the weekend came and went, along with Monday and Tuesday. Two more stops with Hannah, and I could go to the store for Mommy’s Morning. I had the file of typed medical reports next to me on the front seat to drop off at Bradley Medical, along with copies o-f the file on CD as Franklin had requested. Ben had taken the news better than I thought he would.

“We’ll do okay. God’s taking care of us. We’ve got food, shelter, and each other.” With that, he pulled me into his arms and that was comfort enough. Still, being cast-off stung.

I pulled away from the drive-through line at the bank after making the deposit for Tennessee River Soaps. “How about some croissants and fruit for Mommy’s Morning, Hannah? Does that sound good?”

She squealed from her car seat. One thing she inherited from her daddy was a healthy appetite. I drove toward Finley’s Market, since it was closest to the store and I didn’t want to keep anyone waiting for longer than necessary. Ben and I didn’t usually shop at the family-owned grocery store, but Finley’s was closer to my shop than Wal-Mart, so I’d make an occasional trip here for one or two things.

What Finley’s did have was an amazing bakery and deli.

This morning Hannah’s car seat refused to unbuckle, so I tried to unclip the thing. I glimpsed a familiar sedan across the aisle from our Jeep. Eunice. She stood at the rear of her vehicle, and a young man was helping her put a grocery bag in the trunk. Then she pulled out something small—a plastic lunch baggie?—and handed it to him. They shook hands, and it seemed like she received something small and folded up in the exchange. The young man stuffed the bag or whatever it was into his jeans pocket and trotted back to the grocery store.

Eunice glanced my way, and her jaw dropped in recognition. “Hey, Andi.”

“Hello.” At last. The buckle cooperated. I pulled Hannah from her seat. “You’re not at the office yet?”

“No.” Maybe she didn’t realize I’d seen her. “I had to pick up some cleaning supplies.”

I met Eunice in the middle of the parking aisle. “I didn’t know Finley’s helps take your bags to the car for you.”

She nodded. “It’s new, I think. What a nice young man. I gave him a tip for his trouble. All that cleaner and bleach and scrubbing pads and polish can get pretty heavy. You take care now.” She waved and headed back to her car. Hannah wiggled in my arms. At this rate, she’d be running all over the place by her birthday. “Hang on, Eunice! Take the reports and the CD, and save me a . . . stop”

She was already backing out and driving off. I continued on my way to the store.

What I’d just witnessed replayed itself in my head. I had no idea why she’d acted so jumpy when I saw her.

Hannah and I entered the store and beelined toward the smell of baking bread. Luscious pastries lined a glass display case, and someone had stacked baguettes and Italian loaves for easy access at the end of an aisle. Not a good department for someone on a low-carb diet. Which, thankfully, I wasn’t.

We found the croissants and I picked up a fresh fruit tray. This should go nicely with fresh coffee, and wouldn’t damage anyone’s diet too badly.

I wanted to get another look at that young man before we left the store. Something didn’t seem right. Eunice claimed she’d given him a tip, when actually it appeared to me that he’d tipped her. I’d felt rather scatterbrained sometimes since becoming a mother, but not clueless.

“Justin, wet cleanup in aisle five,” came over the store speaker. I drifted toward aisle five, with Hannah leaning across my body and reaching toward the basket I held. Yep, there was Justin. He hurried with a mop and a be-careful-not-to-slip sign. Nothing odd or criminal there.

“Honestly, Andi,” I muttered to myself as I headed toward the registers at the front of the store, “you’ve got too much imagination.” Appearances could be deceiving. If Ben were with me, he’d say the levelheaded thing: Quit worrying about what everyone else is doin’, Ands. We’ve got enough going to worry about.

Soon it was my turn to check out. Evidently the rational part of my brain hadn’t caught up with my mouth, because I heard myself ask the clerk, “Do you have carryout service now?”

“No, we don’t.”

“Oh, I was just talking to one of my coworkers, and she mentioned that you did. For tips.” Now Hannah was doing her baby-lean toward the brightly colored gum packets. I took a step away from the display.

“Well, maybe she asked for a hand taking things out to her vehicle. My boy, Justin, always likes to show off how much he can lift.” The cashier eyed my two items. “You, um, aren’t wanting help carrying this to your car, are you?”

I glanced at the croissants and fruit tray in front of me. “No, no. I was only askin’. You sound very proud of your son.”

She beamed. “Yes, I sure am.” She reached for one of Hannah’s hands and played with her fingers. “Wasn’t so long ago he was little like this. Can’t believe he’s going to be a senior.”

“They grow fast, so I hear.”

The woman nodded. “Do you follow the Greenburg Wildcats?”

I shook my head. “None of my friends have high schoolers.”

“Justin’s on varsity defense. I’m so excited. I hear that some college scouts will be visitin’ the team practices later this summer. They’re talkin’ Division One schools too. You know, you ought to get season tickets for this fall. It’s a great date night with your hubby and the school spirit can’t be beat.”

“I’ll have to mention that to my husband. Thanks.” I paid her for the croissants and fruit. Sure, he’d love the whole football night out thing. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be stuffed shoulder-to-shoulder in a stadium, with my face painted and wearing Greenburg green.

Yet the whole encounter with Eunice left me wondering all the way to Bradley Medical. Once again the voice of reason whispered that what I’d seen had a simple explanation. But she had lied about her tipping him. He’d given her a folded-up bill, or something that looked like it. I shrugged off the odd encounter.