I hadn’t heard from Red all day, so I wasn’t surprised to see his truck at my house when Dixie brought me home. Dixie was under the misguided impression that Red and I would need some alone time. I pointed out that we would hardly be alone with Stephanie, Joe, Madison, and David. Not to mention Aggie, Rex, Lucky, Turbo, and probably Steve Austin in tow.
We went in, and after dropping off my purse, we immediately followed the noise and went out back, where the humans sat talking and the dogs were playing in the grass.
When we sat down with our adult beverages in hand, the conversation made its way to the murder.
“Dixon Vannover was strangled with something similar to the dog lead that was used on Naomi Keller,” Red said, “but we won’t know for sure until forensics is done.”
“Where was he found?” I asked.
“In their backyard. June found him when she stumbled over the body.”
“Ugh. What a horrible thing, to find your spouse dead.”
Red’s silence spoke volumes.
“What?”
“She claims she didn’t talk to him, but one of the neighbors heard them arguing.”
“You can’t believe June killed him? She was going to leave him. She’d sold some artwork and realizes now that she could be independent. She didn’t need to kill him.”
The silence that greeted me indicated that I was the only person who believed June was innocent. I turned to Dixie. “You can’t believe she did it? You saw how she looked today.”
Dixie hung her head.
“What?”
“Lilly Ann, we saw June with a handsome Superman lawyer, and we know she had a two-million-dollar life insurance policy on her husband.”
“What?” Red shouted.
David laughed. “I think you have some ’splaining to do, Lucy.”
I took a few minutes and told everyone about our trip to June Vannover’s and also what we’d learned while at Monica Jill’s house. “Oh, and Monica Jill is expecting.”
Both Stephanie and Madison’s faces lit up.
Madison clapped. “Wow! Is she excited?”
I hesitated. “I wouldn’t exactly call it excitement. I think she’s in shock and has a bit of fear, but I feel confident excitement will be her next emotional stop.”
“Well, I had a rather heated day.” Madison gave Red a sideways glance and continued after receiving a nod from him. “Naomi Keller and Dixon Vannover exchanged some very steamy e-mails.” She fanned herself.
“Really?” Dixie asked. “Anything fit for mixed company?”
“Nothing very original. Naomi’s messages were spent stroking Dixon’s ego about how amazing he was. How he was a better man and a better lover than her husband. Dixon’s messages were about how much he couldn’t wait until they could be together all the time. How his wife was just a stupid boat anchor who was dragging him down, but Naomi would be a credit to him and would make a huge splash in Washington.”
“That man’s opinion of himself was so large, it’s a wonder he could tolerate himself,” Dixie said. “His ego was bigger than the state of Tennessee.”
“It was certainly bigger than his IQ,” Stephanie said.
Madison leaned forward. “I know, right? It’s the twenty-first century. Why on earth would you put anything in writing you didn’t want broadcast all over the news.” She glanced at each of us. “I mean, the man was running for political office. His political opponents wouldn’t have had to search hard to find out that he was cheating on his wife.”
Stephanie sighed. “I’m sorry, Mom. I know you don’t want to believe that June killed him, but if she did, I certainly don’t blame her.”
“Actually, a pretty strong case could be made against her,” Red said. “In fact, I’d say the case against June is much stronger than anything against Dixie.”
“That makes me feel better . . . I guess,” Dixie said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Dixie had motive, means, and opportunity to kill Naomi Keller. They had a history and were seen fighting earlier in the day, but we can’t find that Dixie had a reason for murdering Dixon, and considering she was here with two TBI officers while Dixon was murdered, I’d say her alibi is sound.”
Dixie looked surprised. “Does this mean I’m off the hook?”
Red smiled. “As far as I’m concerned, you were never on the hook, but I do believe anyone would have a hard time making a case against you stick.”
Dixie held up her glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
“Let’s ask our legal expert.” Red turned to Stephanie. “What do you think?”
Stephanie thought for a few minutes. “It’s been hard to remain objective and not allow my personal feelings to color my judgment in this case, but I honestly think Red’s right.” She turned to Dixie. “It looks like the two murders are related. Aunt Dixie had no motive and no opportunity to kill Dixon Vannover, so I think she’s safe.”
“Woohoo!” Dixie cheered, and we all toasted and drank, to Stephanie’s assessment.
“I can’t wait to tell Beau.” Dixie rose. “Thank you, all. I hate to celebrate and run, but I think I’m going to have the first really good night’s sleep I’ve had in nearly a week.” She turned to me. “Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?”
I nodded.
“We’ll go take a look at the building and go to the wake, and then it’ll be time for your final walk-through.” She bid everyone good-bye and then hurried on her way.
Not long after Dixie left, David left to take Madison home. Joe had been unusually quiet, but he asked Stephanie and Lucky if they wanted to go for a ride downtown. So they left, leaving Red and me alone.
“So it looks like I’m going to meet one of your sisters tomorrow.”
“Which one?”
“Barbara.” I explained about the doggie day care and the possibility that Dixie might buy the building. “I wish I had the time to get my hair and nails done.”
He chuckled. “You look beautiful, and I’m sure Barbara will love you as much as I do.”
I smiled. “I doubt that. You’re her baby brother, and I’m sure no woman will be good enough for you in the eyes of your mother and sisters.”
He took my hand. “Stop it. I’m the one who’s lucky.” He leaned over and kissed me. “I’m not one of those romantic men who will walk around spouting poetry, and I’m not going to open my chest and start baring my soul. I’m pretty basic.” He paused. “Even before the war, I wasn’t someone who talked about their feelings, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
“I know.” I reached out a hand and ran it along the scar on the side of his face. “I know you went through a lot that you don’t want to talk about or relive, but one day I hope you will feel like you can trust me enough to share the burden of those memories.”
“I trust you with my life . . . and my heart, but there are things that no one should have to endure. There are evil people in this world. Not just bad or mean, but pure evil. I don’t talk about what happened when I was a POW and tortured, because there are demons I’m not ready to face yet.”
“When you are, I’m here.”
We kissed until Aggie hopped up on my lap and wiggled her way in between us.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say Aggie was jealous of the attention you were giving me.”
I laughed. “She definitely needs to be the center of attention.”
Red stood up. “I better go.”
I walked him to the door and spent more time saying good night. When he finally left, I felt breathless, and my heart was racing.
Experience told me that regardless of the amount of time they’d spent outside, Rex and Aggie would need a formal potty break before bed. So I let them outside one last time, and they quickly took care of business.
Inside, I let the poodles get into bed, while I took a shower and got ready for sleep. When I was done, I spent some time checking my e-mails. I had one from the agent at my mortgage company saying that, as far as she was concerned, I was good to go for my Friday closing. Before putting away my laptop, I logged into my bank to review the instructions for requesting a wire transfer so I would be set to initiate that tomorrow.
Once I had signed in to my account, I was shocked when I looked at my balance. There was more money than I expected. Significantly more. Reviewing the transaction history, I saw that a large deposit was made just two days ago. The information available online was brief and cryptic. I would need to find out where the money came from and why it was in my account.