Lurleen turned the laptop in my direction. “Now, let me show you what I’ve found out about Josephine. It seems Josephine took a world-wide cruise for several months before Luke was born. For some reason it made the news in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, I suppose because the Strouts were such a well-known family in Atlanta. She was said to be looking for opportunities to expand elderly care facilities in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and other U.S. held territories. Nothing came of it apparently and she returned home a month or so after Luke was born.”
“Boy, Lurleen, this is a bombshell,” I said. “She could have been Luke’s mother with a great cover story, but surely everyone in the family must have known about it. And why would she have given Luke up to be raised by her brother? She had the resources to raise him with plenty of help, didn’t she?”
Lurleen clicked on a new screen. “As it turns out she was having big financial problems,” Lurleen said. “Her assisted-living facilities weren’t profitable and that’s partly why she was looking for new opportunities outside the Atlanta area where labor might be less expensive. If she didn’t find new business opportunities, she was considering bankruptcy.”
“How do you know that, Lurleen?”
“Goodness, Ditie, I don’t challenge you when you make a diagnosis. Why would you challenge me about financial information? I was an accountant for years and I still read the Financial Times.”
“So the bankruptcy was common knowledge?” I asked.
“Not in the least, and she never declared bankruptcy, but you learn how to interpret certain words if you’ve been in the financial world for long. People knew she was in trouble, but it looks as if her brother bailed her out.”
“I see,” I said. “You’re suggesting they may have made a devil’s bargain. Mr. Strout could raise Luke as his son in return for enough money to keep Josephine’s business afloat.”
Lurleen seemed to be reading through more material on her computer. “I think what happened was that Josephine merged her business with her brother’s. That also made the news. Her brother wiped out her debt, and she became a senior vice president for his company. When he died she inherited the business and became the CEO. It might not be as extreme a decision as it sounds. Josephine could be the doting aunt, always nearby, but still able to run her business under the financial umbrella her brother provided.”
“What she couldn’t do was keep Luke safe,” I said. “She let her brother raise him as his son, and then she watched Luke die in a hospital her brother owned.”
“It’s hard for me to believe her brother would kill a child he was raising as his own,” Lurleen said.
“Me, too,” I said, “but what if Josephine believed some kind of malpractice happened in her brother’s hospital, an incompetent doctor or improper treatment? She could have held her brother responsible for that. Her brother died a year later on the exact date of Luke’s death, and that might be more than a coincidence.”
“Yes,” Lurleen said, “but why would Jonathan be run off the road on that same date six years after Luke died?”
“I can’t explain that,” I said, “unless our murderer got new information that Jonathan was somehow involved with Luke’s death.”
“But Jonathan wasn’t even in the country when Luke died,” Lurleen said, “and by all accounts he adored Luke.”
“You’re right, Lurleen. We have a conundrum, maybe more than one.” I looked at my watch. “I need to get ready for work.”
My cell rang and it was Vic.
“I’m on my way,” I said before she had a chance to say anything.
“Then I’m glad I caught you. It’s quiet here, so I don’t need you this afternoon. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I hung up. “I’m off for the rest of the day.”
I called Mason and filled him in on all our theories. He said he’d pass them along to Kevin.
“Why don’t we try a new venue to clear our minds?” Lurleen suggested. “Come to my house and we’ll see what Danny can fix us for lunch.”
That sounded good to me. As it turned out, Danny had an assignment to track someone’s activities during the lunch hour. He was leaving as we drove up.
“Does it ever bother you that Danny spends so much time watching people do the wrong thing?” I asked Lurleen.
“You mean the seedy side of being a private investigator like chasing down cheating husbands or wives? Sometimes it bothers both of us, but I’ve been able to get Danny involved in investigating financial scams, and that has saved a lot of victims from financial ruin, like older folks or lonely women who can be too trusting at times.”
Lurleen opened the refrigerator to see what we might have for lunch. “There’s some cheese and broccoli soup Danny made two days ago. Will that work?’
“Perfectly,” I said.
“And Anna Hayes insisted I try her bread,” Lurleen said, “made from a new recipe at the school. She said one of her visiting chefs came up with it.”
“I’m in,” I said.
I always loved to taste someone else’s cooking, and while I loved to bake bread, I rarely had time to do it.
We sat in Lurleen’s breakfast nook and shared some soul-warming food on a crisp October day. We didn’t talk much, simply savored the food. Then we cleaned up and settled down for more work.
“Let’s start by assuming some of our theories are correct,” I said, “like the idea that Josephine was Luke’s mother and that she blamed her brother rightly or wrongly for his death.”
Lurleen nodded along as I spoke. “That would mean you think she murdered her own brother.”
“It would,” I said.
“If that was true why wasn’t that the end of it?” Lurleen asked.
“My question exactly. What new information did she get that made her think other people were involved?”
“And from whom?” Lurleen asked.
“Josephine chose the participants for the book club,” I said. “Then, let’s say she wore the mask with the intention of seeing who might freak out about it. Maybe she wore a brown wig with a ponytail, so if anyone saw her, she still wouldn’t be recognized.”
“But why would she ask us to attend the book club?” Lurleen asked. “That doesn’t make sense . . . unless she thought we could point her in the right direction and lead her to the person responsible for Luke’s death.”
“Round and round we go,” I said, “with so many questions, and we still don’t have an explanation for the threats against Jonathan’s wife.”
“Maybe those threats don’t relate to what happened to Luke,” Lurleen said. “Maybe they relate to what Jonathan did to Adeline Morgan.”
“If that’s true why was he run off the road on October 26th?” I said, “That’s the date that seems to link everything back to Luke’s death.”
I stood up. “I don’t know about you, Lurleen, but I don’t think we’re getting anywhere. Can we take a drive, do something, get out of the house?”
“A drive, good idea! Where shall we go?” Lurleen asked.
“I would like to talk to a few people, people who were around for all of these deaths.”
“You mean like Stephanie?” Lurleen asked. “I know you’re not popular with Stephanie at the moment, but maybe I’m still her friend.”
“She definitely won’t want to see me,” I said.
“I’ll tell her how upset you were about bothering her this morning and you can apologize.”
“Worth a try,” I said.
“Better yet, don’t speak,” Lurleen said, “you’re not a good liar. Bring her some cookies and leave the rest to me. Shall I call first?”
“That might let her slip out the back door, don’t you think? Why don’t we pop over with some of my cookies and call that my effort to make amends.”
That’s what we did. I stopped off at home to let Hermione out while I packed up some cookies from my latest batch of seven-layer bars. Majestic ambled into the kitchen to see if I might offer him something better than his usual cat food.
“Not now,” I said.
Lurleen scooped him up, petted him, and we both listened to his contented purring.
“You don’t want a cat of your own?” I asked.
Lurleen shook her head. “Not at the moment. I can give my love to this one, the same way I love and help take care of your kids.”
We drove a half mile to Stephanie’s house. A car I didn’t recognize was in the driveway. I took the cookies and put on the most apologetic face I could muster as Lurleen rang the bell.
Stephanie came to the door looking flushed. “Oh it’s you,” she said to both of us. “Now is not the best time for a visit.”
“You have company?” Lurleen asked.
“No.”
“Then perhaps we can come in,” Lurleen said. “Ditie really wants to apologize if it seemed she was grilling you this morning. She’s not like that and wants to make amends.”
I smiled and handed the cookies to her.
“We won’t stay long,” Lurleen said when it appeared Stephanie was still hesitating at the door, “just long enough to clear the air.”
Before she could say anything, Big Tom appeared at the door. He sniffed at the screen and purred loudly.
“See,” Lurleen says, “Big Tom is hungry for our company.”
“Very well,” she said at last. “Jonathan is coming home tomorrow, so I have a lot to do to get ready.”
“I didn’t recognize the car,” Lurleen said. “Is it new?”
“Mine’s in the shop. A . . . friend let me borrow it.”
Stephanie ushered us into her living room. Everything looked as immaculate as it had when we had last been there for the book club.
I saw nothing out of place but Lurleen did. She picked up a Garden and Gun magazine.
“Do you like this?” she asked. “Danny loves it, but I always thought it was more geared to men.”
Stephanie snatched it away and put it on the coffee table. “It actually has great recipes in it. Jonathan likes it, and I guess I’m reading it because I miss him so much.”
“Naturally,” Lurleen said.
“I’m surprised they aren’t sending him to rehab,” I said. “He must be healing well.”
“Very well,” she said with what looked like a genuine smile. “The physical therapist will come to the house.”
“So there’s no more talk about sending you to a secret location?” Lurleen asked.
“No,” she said, “we made other arrangements.”
Lurleen and I settled ourselves on the couch. “I’d love to hear about how you’re doing,” Lurleen said. “I’ve been so worried about you, especially after the break-in.”
Lurleen crossed her legs and settled back on the couch as if to make it clear she had plenty of time and wasn’t going anywhere.
Stephanie sighed. “Would you like coffee?”
“I’d love it,” Lurleen said, “and wait until you taste these cookies! They’re to die for, so to speak.”
“I’ll be right back,” Stephanie said.
I offered to help but Stephanie waved me away. “It’s a small kitchen and I can handle this. Make yourselves comfortable.”
She walked through what looked like a butler’s pantry and into her kitchen. We heard the kitchen door close
“What’s she up to now?” I whispered.
“Calling someone,” Lurleen suggested.
“Did you get the feeling she wasn’t alone when we knocked?” I asked.
“Yes.”
A moment later Stephanie reappeared but without coffee.
“You can stop whispering now,” she said.
Nate, from the book club, was behind her.
“By the look on your faces,” Stephanie said, “you remember Nate. He’s our alternate plan to keep us safe. He’s going to stay with us and protect us until this whole matter is cleared up.”
“I thought you were close friends with Nicole,” Lurleen said to Nate.
“I’m friends of the family.” Nate sat across from us and took a bite out of one of my cookies. “Delicious,” he said. “I do what needs doing in the family. I was an aide for Mrs. Strout until she passed and then I stayed on at the estate as a gardener, bodyguard, general handyman.”
“Garden and Gun is your magazine?” I asked.
“Yeah, love it.”
“It didn’t sound like something Jonathan would be into,” I said.
“Jonathan doesn’t read magazines,” Stephanie said, “unless they’re research journals.”
I wondered why she’d lied about it in the first place, and then I wondered if she’d hoped we wouldn’t spot Nate in the house.
“You and Jonathan are friends?” Lurleen asked Nate.
I had the same question I suspected Lurleen had. How did Jonathan feel about having this very good-looking guy living in the house while he was in the hospital.
“I wouldn’t say we’re friends exactly, but Jonathan understands the necessity of my being here. I can do double duty, care for him when he gets out of the hospital and protect the family.”
“It must be a great relief not to have to move,” Lurleen said.
Stephanie nodded. “A great relief!”
“Are you getting support from other people?” Lurleen asked. “Ditie and I both saw how close you were to your aunt.”
“For now, we have no contact with anyone. The police advised us not to talk to people, but that will change soon.”
“What makes you say that?” Lurleen asked. “Do you know who’s threatening you?”
“No,” Stephanie said a little too quickly, “but I think it may all be a misunderstanding. Someone thought we did something we didn’t do.”
“It sounds as if you have some suspicions about who is making the threats,” I said. “You don’t need to tell us but have you told the police?”
“I don’t need to tell the police when I’m not sure of anything,” Stephanie said, “that’s why we have Nate.”
“I’m very good at my job,” Nate said.
I wanted to say he wasn’t very good at protecting Nicole, but Lurleen said it for me.
“At the book club, I got the feeling you had a special relationship with Nicole. I didn’t think you were that into cozy mysteries.”
Nate laughed. “I haven’t read a book in ages and if I did it would be a thriller not some soft-boiled girls’ mystery. No offense.”
“None taken.” Lurleen smiled sweetly. “This might be indiscreet, but you and Nicole seemed very close. Were you involved romantically with her?
Nate laughed again. “I knew all about Nicole. She was bad news for men. Besides, she liked her men rough, and I’m not like that.”
“Then what was your relationship with her?” Lurleen asked.
“I was supposed to protect her from Ben until the divorce was final and she knew Ben was out of the picture.”
“Oh,” Lurleen said.
“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking,” Nate said. “I did a crummy job of it, but Nicole kicked me out of the house, said the tarot cards told her not to trust me. I thought she was kidding and I laughed, but that only made her madder. I knew Crystal was staying with her, so I didn’t worry much. Ben Ash is a bully, but like most bullies he’s a coward. He doesn’t beat up people with a witness nearby.”
“So you don’t think he’s the one who murdered Nicole?” I asked.
Nate shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him, but I never saw him near the house.”
“What did you do when Nicole kicked you out?” I asked.
“I spent the night in my car to keep an eye on things, and like I said, I never saw Ben Ash come near the place.”
“Now, if we’re done here,” Stephanie said, “I need to get Jonathan’s room ready for him. He has to be on the ground floor and I’m waiting on a hospital bed.”
“Yes, of course,” Lurleen said. “Please call me, Steph, if I can help.” She stood and I followed suit.
Lurleen hugged Stephanie as we said goodbye. I shook her hand, which was limp in mine and a little sweaty. I suspected she was relieved to see us go.
We climbed into Lurleen’s Citroen, drove a block down the street when Lurleen pulled over to the side of the road and parked.
“What are you thinking, Lurleen?” I asked.