Thirty and a Half Excuses (25 page)

“Oh, no.…” Bruce Wayne’s voice trailed off as two Henryetta police cars pulled up to the curb. Detective Taylor got out of one car and Officer Ernie got out of the other.

My head went fuzzy as I scoured my brain for what I could have done to make the police show up at a minister’s house looking for me. Then I had a moment of panic that they were there for Bruce Wayne. He must have considered the possibility as well. His face paled, and he took several steps backward.

Neither of us considered a third scenario, even though I had reason to. Detective Taylor’s mouth pinched tightly when he saw Bruce Wayne and me, but his gaze quickly lasered in on Jonah. “Reverend Pruitt?”

Jonah froze on the steps, sweat beading on his forehead. “Yes?”

“We’d like to talk to you about the death of Mrs. Gina Morton.”

Who was Gina Morton?

Jonah’s face paled, and he stumbled before regaining composure. “Gina’s dead?”

“Yes, sir. Her daughter found her body early this morning. We understand you spent the afternoon with Mrs. Morton yesterday.”

“Well…yeah…” he stammered. “Gina invited me over for lunch after church.”

Taylor’s face puckered with disapproval. “We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Jonah’s hand shook. “Yes, of course. Would you like to come inside?”

Taylor nodded and followed Jonah into the house.

Officer Ernie stood to the side, eyeing Bruce Wayne and me. “Are you two colluding with a murderer?”

I put my hand on my hip. “Are you allowed to ask questions like that?”

Bruce Wayne moved closer to me, looking like he was about to lose his breakfast.

I’d just about had enough of the Henryetta law enforcement thinking the worst of me. “Isn’t that slander? Accusing someone of something when you don’t have any proof?”

Ernie’s jaw jutted forward as though he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.

I looked over my shoulder at Bruce Wayne. “You haven’t done anything wrong so don’t let him make you feel like you have. And whatever you do, don’t answer any questions.”

Bruce Wayne swallowed and nodded.

I shot Ernie my meanest glare. “Some of us have actual work to do.” I looped my arm through Bruce Wayne’s and tugged. “Let’s get started on the back.”

When we got to the side of the house, Bruce Wayne lowered his mouth next to my ear. “Jonah didn’t say nothing about working on the back.”

“I know,” I whispered. “But I don’t like Ernie looking at us like we’re criminals.” I opened the gate and pulled Bruce Wayne with me. “And I hope to find out what Jonah and Detective Taylor are talking about.”

Bruce Wayne’s eyes widened. “You want to snoop?”

I tried my best to sound offended. “I can’t believe you asked that of me, Bruce Wayne.”

He snickered, the first sign I’d seen that there was a bit of spunk in him. “So, do you?”

“Well, yeah…”

We walked around the backyard, staying close to the house. There was a little landscaping here and there, and a set of windows in the middle of the house looked out onto the large backyard. When I got closer I could see Jonah sitting at a table with the detective.

“I want to get under that window to see if I can hear something.”

Bruce Wayne looked worried. “I’ll keep a lookout in case Ernie decides to come back here and check on us.”

“Thanks.”

Curtains hung on either side of the windows and would block any sight of me from the men inside, but the windows were higher off the ground in the back of the house. I spun around looking for something to stand on, but Bruce Wayne was a step ahead of me. He handed me a bucket.

“How did you know I needed this?”

He gave me an apologetic grin. “I’ve got some experience.”

I didn’t have time to stop and dwell on Bruce Wayne’s former life of crime, nor the fact that I was possibly dragging him back down that road. But then again, I wasn’t sure this was illegal. Rude? Yes. But illegal? Besides, most of the people in town already thought I was guilty of this very crime—eavesdropping. I might as well at least try it
once
.

I turned the bucket upside down and climbed on top, pressing my ear to the glass. I could barely make out their words. I had to close my eyes and concentrate.

“…roast beef and potatoes.” Jonah said.

“Then what happened?”

“Should I call my attorney?”

Taylor’s voice lowered. “Have you done something that warrants calling a lawyer?”

Jonah didn’t answer him.

“Did you discuss Mrs. Morton’s money or her will?”

“I don’t see why it matters what we discussed.” Jonan tried to sound indignant, but his voice was shaking.

Detective Taylor’s voice turned menacing. “We can do this down at the station if you’d prefer.”

Jonah sounded like he coughed. “We did discuss how she planned to handle her affairs after she passed through the pearly gates. She was about to redo her will. She asked for my advice.” Jonah sounded defensive and seemed to be regaining some of his confidence.

“Did you convince Dorothy Thortonbury to give you her inheritance?”

“No, definitely not.”

“Her niece brought me her will, and it shows that you get everything. And wouldn’t you know it, she signed it about a week before her death.”

“I don’t know anything about that.” Jonah sounded panicked.

“What about Laura Whitfield? What’s your connection to her?”

“She… she was a member of my church.”

“How’s your church doin’ financially, Reverend.”

“We’re doing very well.”

“I see you hired the new nursery to work on your church grounds. They did a lot of work. That had to cost a pretty penny.”

“The church’s financial records are available for church members to review. We have nothing to hide.”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit coincidental that you hired a multiple offender to work on your property right around the time the elderly women in this town started dropping like flies?”

Jonah cleared his throat. “Jesus made himself available to the tax collectors and the prostitutes. A doctor doesn’t treat healthy people. I’m here to help the downtrodden and the misguided. If some of my parishioners happen to have less than spotless records, well, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“I’m talking about one in particular. Bruce Wayne Decker. In fact, I hear you’re so taken with him that you featured him in a video in your service yesterday.”

“Well, yes…” Jonah said. “I’m fascinated by his relationship with Rose.”

“Rose Gardner?”

My heartbeat pounded in my head. I didn’t like where this was going.

“Yes,” Jonah drawled. “They have a loyalty to each other I’m still trying to understand.”

“Yeah,” Taylor said, sounding puzzled. “I’m trying to figure those two out too. Do you want to hear my theory?”

“Sure.” But Jonah didn’t sound so sure.

“Rose Gardner and Bruce Wayne Decker are part of your dirty little scheme.”

“What scheme?” Jonah asked.

I gasped as my anger rose.
How dare he!

“Is that an admission that they are?”

“There’s no admission of any kind, Detective. I hired the Gardner Sisters Nursery to work for the church. Bruce Wayne is their employee.”

“So what are she and Decker doing here now?”

“They’re working on the church parsonage.” Jonah sounded ruffled.

“How convenient that they’re here the morning after a murder.”

I couldn’t believe him. How could he think of pinning this on me? And how dare he assume Bruce Wayne was involved without any evidence.

“Am I under arrest, Detective?”

Taylor paused for several seconds. “No, but don’t leave town, Mr. Pruitt.”

“That’s Reverend Pruitt.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The edges of my vision blackened, and I tensed. Now was a terrible time to get a vision.

I was in the police station, and Bruce Wayne stood in front of me pale as a ghost.

“I didn’t do it. I swear.”

I laughed, but it was an ugly sound. “Once a criminal, always a criminal, Decker. It was only a matter of time before I put you away again. Ever heard of three strikes and you’re out?”

Bruce Wayne started shaking, backing up into a police officer standing behind him. “I’ve been good. I promise. I’m gettin’ my life together.”

“Yeah, tell it to the judge.”

Jonah’s backyard came into focus along with Bruce Wayne’s panicked face.

“You’re gonna get arrested.” I said.

His mouth dropped open then he grabbed my arm and pulled me down from the bucket. “Ernie’s comin’ back here.”

I bent over, pointing to a plant as Officer Ernie rounded the back corner. “This needs some serious attention, Bruce Wayne.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Bruce Wayne nodded. “I’ve added that to the list.”

Ernie spread his feet apart, hooking his thumbs in his waistband. “Whatcha you two doin’ back here?”

I straightened. “What’s it look like we’re doin’?” I hoped I sounded belligerent, because at the moment I was freaking out.

My question stumped him for several seconds. “It looks like you’re poking around in some bushes.”

“Since I own a gardening center, does it seem suspicious that I’d be poking around in some bushes?”

His forehead wrinkled. “Well, no…”

“Can we help you with something, Officer? Or were you just planning to watch us work?”

Ernie’s face reddened, and he spread two fingers into a V, pointing them at his eyes then in our direction. “I’m on to you two.”

Bruce Wayne trembled.

I went from intimidated to ticked off. How dare they do this to him? I put my hand on my hip, lifting my chin in defiance. “You’re onto the fact that we’re the best landscaping team in southern Arkansas?”

“No, that you’re abetting a murderer.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Especially when you take into consideration that I’ve turned in every murderer I’ve ever come across.”

Ernie’s jaw worked again.

I turned to Bruce Wayne. “I think we’re done here for now. Let’s head back to the nursery and collect what we need.”

He nodded, looking incapable of speech.

I marched past Ernie, offering him a syrupy smile as I passed. Bruce Wayne followed, slouching as though he hoped to sink into the ground and disappear. When we got to the front yard, I lowered my voice. “Get into my truck.”

“Okay.”

Detective Taylor appeared in the front door, Jonah standing behind him. Taylor watched as I drove off.

“They think Jonah murdered Miss Laura, Miss Dorothy, and the woman this morning.” I shot a glance to Bruce Wayne. “And they think you and I are part of it.” Had the autopsy results come back? What could have made them change their minds so suddenly about Miss Laura and Miss Dorothy’s deaths? I might as well tell Bruce Wayne the rest, since I’d already blurted part of it into his face. “And at some point they are going to arrest you.”

As soon as we turned the corner Bruce Wayne began to hyperventilate. “Why do they think that?”

“Do they really need a reason?” I sighed. “Their only piece of evidence connecting us to the deaths at this point is that we started working for Jonah at around the same time the women started dying.”

“But we started working for him after they died! Well, except for this latest one.”

“I know. We’ll get this straightened out. I got you into this mess, and I’m going to get you out.”

I drove to the town square and pulled into a parking spot close to the courthouse.

“What are you doing
here
?” Bruce Wayne asked, his voice rising.

“I’m going to find Mason.”

“
The assistant district attorney
?”

I grabbed his hands and tugged. “Bruce Wayne, calm down. Panicking won’t fix this.”

“I can’t help it.” He started wheezing.

I believed it. Panicking had gotten him into his previous murder charges. If you overlooked the fact that he’d intended to rob the hardware store, it had been a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was noticing a pattern. “Mason is my friend. There’s no way he believes I had anything to do with this.”

“What about me?”

“Mason trusts my judgment. He told me so. If I trust you, then he will too.”

He nodded, swallowing. “But I still don’t want to go to the courthouse. It makes me itchy.” He began scratching at his neck.

I understood. As far as I knew the last time he’d been in a courthouse was for his trial. “How about you wait at Merilee’s? We’ll order you some coffee and a breakfast, and I’ll go talk to Mason and come back and get you.”

He nodded with tiny, nervous bobs. “Yeah. Okay.”

We went inside the restaurant and sat down at a table. “You go ahead and order whatever you want. I’ll pay for it.”

“You don’t have to do that, Miss Rose.”

I handed him the menu. “I know, but eating something might make you feel less lightheaded.”

He squinted at me. “How did you know I felt like that?”

Telling him I felt the same way wouldn’t exactly be confidence inspiring. “I just do. Stay right here, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Bruce Wayne nodded, but he didn’t look happy about it. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“You can tell me when I come back.”

“No. I saw something.”

I rested my arms on the table and leaned closer, lowering my voice. “Saw something where? When?”

“At the church last week. I didn’t think anything of it until this morning.”

“What did you see?”

The waitress filled his empty coffee cup and took his order.

His hands shook as he tore the corner off a sugar packet and poured it into his cup.

“Bruce Wayne. What did you see?”

He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Nope. I don’t think I should tell you.” His hands lowered, and his eyes turned glassy. “They already think both of us are a part of this thing. If I tell you, they might use it against you.”

“No. We’re in this together. You can trust me.”

His looked down at the table, his eyes peeking out through scraggly hair. “You’re the one person I know I can trust, which is why I have to protect you.”

I sat back in my seat, running my hand through my hair in frustration before turning back to him. “Just tell me this: Were you at the church when you saw whatever you saw?”