Chapter 57
Beatrice and Jon were walking back from the grocery store when they noticed the police cars and ambulance at Sheila and Steve’s home. Beatrice dropped her bag of groceries and ran toward them.
“Bea!” Jon said, picking up her bag, as well as holding on to his own, following her as best he could.
Beatrice didn’t bother asking the group of neighbors gathered what was going on; she barged through the line of officers and onlookers.
“Ma’am,” one officer said, stepping in front. “You can’t go in there.”
“The hell I can’t,” Beatrice said.
The officer was visibly taken aback. “What’s the relationship?” he said.
“Very good personal friend. She’s like a daughter to me,” she said. She looked at the officer. How old was he? Sixteen? She took a closer look. “I know your mama, boy.”
The officer grimaced.
“Now step aside,” Bea said.
Bryant came to the front door, which was open, and nodded to the officer to let Beatrice come up the front porch stairs. Jon followed with the bags of groceries. “He’s with me,” she told them.
“What’s going on?” she said to Bryant, who shook his head in resignation.
“Beatrice, I’m glad you’re here. Sheila has passed out. The medics are looking after her. I’m sure she’d like to see you,” Bryant said.
“You’re here because Sheila has passed out?” she asked, confused.
“No, I’m here”—he lowered his voice—“because there’s a body in the basement.”
“What? Who?”
He lowered his gaze. “We’re not sure yet, Beatrice. The crime techs are down there now. After they’re finished we’ll search for ID.”
He stepped aside and let Beatrice and Jon enter the house. Sheila was on the floor, her husband and children close by while the medics talked with her, took her pulse, and so on. Annie sat on the couch and her eyes found Beatrice’s. Annie was pale and her eyes held fear.
“What’s going on? Why are you here?” Beatrice said, and sat next to her.
“We were in Bryant’s office when the call came in,” Annie said.
“We?” Beatrice said.
“The FBI officers and myself. I think they are downstairs,” Annie said.
“Bea?” Sheila said when she saw her. “Beatrice!” She was still groggy.
“I’m here,” Bea said, feeling a sudden welling of emotion. “I told your mother I’d keep an eye on you. I guess I haven’t done a good job of that.”
“There’s a body in my basement,” she said, amidst the activity around her, ignoring what Beatrice said. “Can you believe that?”
“Can you please be quiet?” the medic said. “Don’t talk. Save your energy. Please.” He listened to her heartbeat.
“She passed out after she came up here and told her husband and kids to call the police,” Annie said to Beatrice.
“She discovered the body?” Beatrice asked.
Annie nodded. “From what I’ve been able to piece together, she was looking for her purse and thought she left it in the basement.”
A couple of uniformed police officers left the room after muttering something in the medic’s ear.
“Okay,” the medic said. “We’re going to sit you up. Nice and easy.”
One of the medics and Steve helped Sheila to sit up on the floor. Steve kept her propped up.
“You okay?” he said.
Sheila nodded. “I think so.”
“Let’s just sit here a while,” the medic said. “You’ve had quite an exciting morning. We need to get those clothes off you, dear.”
Sheila looked at the young woman like she was daft.
“Looks like your bad luck followed you home,” Beatrice said.
Sheila’s eyes and mouth narrowed as she looked at Beatrice.
“It’s a precaution, but there was some poison found on the premises,” the medic said. She looked at Steve and continued. “You all need to take your clothes off and place them in a plastic bag. It would be a good idea to shower.”
Steve whispered something in the medic’s ear. The medic nodded. Sheila gasped.
“Rusty, please go get a few trash bags,” Steve said.
“Why would someone even be in our basement?” Gerty spoke up. She had been sitting in the chair next to the Christmas tree, taking in the scene. “You wouldn’t go in a basement to rob people.”
“Was it a robbery?” Annie asked.
“What else?” Steve said.
Annie started to say something, then appeared to change her mind.
“Anything taken?” Beatrice asked, after a beat.
“Not that I know of, but I haven’t been downstairs,” Steve said as he and Sheila took the empty trash bags that Rusty had handed them and the family left the room to shower.
The rest of them sat in silence as the medics busied themselves filling out reports, gathering supplies, and the police moved through the house and talked to one another via walkie-talkies. Soon, Sheila and Steve and their children came back down the stairs, all with wet heads from the showers. Funny what these situations did to break down social mores; Sheila would not have been caught dead in public with wet hair on an ordinary day. Here she was, in front of half of Cumberland Creek as well as the police and EMTs.
Detective Bryant walked back into the room. “The site has been secured, finally. We can’t bring the body out yet until we get hazmat in here. Sheila and Steve, do you think you can look at the body to see if you know the person? I have a photo here on my phone.”
“Why would we know the person?” Steve questioned.
“Just bear with me,” Bryant said. “It will rule out a lot of possibilities if you know them.”
“Well, okay,” Steve said after a moment. “I’ll take a look, but I don’t think Sheila’s up for it.”
Beatrice took her in. Her coloring was coming back and her brows knitted together.
“You’re damned straight I’m going to take a look at the body,” Sheila said.
Steve wrapped his arm around her and Rusty stood on her other side.
“Do you think she can wait until later to view the body?” Beatrice asked Bryant.
“If she needs to, but it’s better as soon as possible. It will help the investigation,” he said, looking at Annie. Something was exchanged in their looks—Beatrice was certain there was more going on here than a robbery. She decided to sit tight and observe. She watched as the two FBI officers who had been to her house last week entered the room and then walked out the door.
“Come outside. I think this picture will show better.”
Sheila and her husband and son walked out onto the front porch. Annie got up from the couch and followed. Jon sat with their bags of groceries on a chair next to Gerty. They were chatting.
Bryant pulled out his phone and showed it to Sheila.
“It’s him!” Sheila screamed. “It’s the creepy guy from the cruise!”
Beatrice shot up from the couch and ran to the porch.
Sheila fell back into Steve’s arms.
Annie placed her hand on Bryant’s shoulder and leaned into him. “That was the same man I saw the other day,” she said.
He nodded.
“What the hell was he doing here?” Beatrice asked.
“Can’t really ask him that, can we?” Bryant looked up at her with a smirk.
“Always a smart-ass, ain’t you, Bryant?” Beatrice said.