CHAPTER 34
By eight thirty Abe and I were snuggled on the couch at home, me with a mug of chamomile tea and a novel, not that I’d opened it yet, him with his still-dark tablet. Sean, the dog, and both cats were in Sean’s room as he finished homework for tomorrow.
Abe had final exams later this week for his certificate in wildlife education and had said he needed to study. He already had a job lined up at Brown County State Park, but he’d told me acing the course would mean more pay and possibly better opportunities elsewhere, should he need them.
I covered my mouth as I yawned. Both Abe and I had had a full day in different ways. On our drive home, he’d said he understood why I hadn’t wanted to talk of homicide on our way to Adele’s. But he’d urged me to share the experience and what I knew about a suspect pool after we got home, which was now.
I first filled him in on the horror of a dead Evermina crashing out of our outhouse and what had happened directly after.
“You’re sure the shock didn’t affect the baby?” he asked gently. “You’re feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, Abe, truly. This little one is still very little, and he’s well-cushioned in there.”
“Or she.” He winked. “I keep imagining a mini-Robbie emerging next fall.”
“And I find myself thinking we’ll have a son.” We had agreed to do it the old-fashioned way and not learn the gender before the birth.
“Can we go back to the death for a minute?” Abe asked.
“Sure.” I didn’t particularly want to, but I’d said I’d share.
“Who do you think they’re looking at for the homicide?” he asked.
“You mean, besides me?’
“What?” He twisted to look at me. “No way.”
“Yes way, but I hope not seriously.”
“Wait. Is this because of that ridiculous ad campaign, where Evermina tried to smear your restaurant’s reputation?”
“Apparently. But since I didn’t kill her, here’s who else seems to be in the pool. Zeke Martin, her ex-husband. Wendy Corbett, his new girlfriend.” I ticked the names off on my fingers. “Maybe Camilla Kalb, who runs Cammie’s Kitchen.”
“Interesting. Is that all?”
“Unfortunately, it isn’t.” I cleared my throat. “Don apparently had more than one public argument with Evermina about a lot of money she owed him.”
“My Don?” His voice rose again.
“Your older brother, Don. Also impossible. But the thing is, I’ve also heard Isabelle Cooper’s name several times coming out of the mouth of a detective.”
Abe let out a low groan. “If she’s a murderer, that would destroy my brother. But . . . why Isabelle? What was her connection with the victim?”
“I have no idea. I hope to find out, maybe from Wanda or Buck. Do you know any of those first three names? Any connection with them, now or in the past?”
“Let me think.”
I took a sip of tea. The next time I glanced over at Abe, his eyes were as closed as my book. Good. He needed the rest. I was tempted to shut my own eyes and join him, but I knew that would make it harder for me to fall back asleep once I was in bed.
My store wasn’t going to open itself tomorrow morning at five thirty as the sun peeked over the horizon. And I doubted I could still this busy brain. Abe had a gift for relaxing completely, on the spot, when he needed to. He could take an evening snooze on the couch and still fall right to sleep when he went to bed. Me, not so much, my last two evening’s naps notwithstanding.
Sipping my tea, I left my book unopened. How could I find out what Isabelle’s connection with Evermina might have been? Don wouldn’t know, not if he’d been estranged from his stepdaughter. Octavia wouldn’t tell me if I asked, and I doubted Wanda would, either.
I picked up my phone and paired the two names in a search. Which yielded exactly nada. Okay. What about Isabelle herself? I removed Evermina’s name and added the name Covenant Hope church. Now we were getting somewhere. Sister Cooper was a deacon, whatever that meant, and head of the development committee. Didn’t that mean fund-raising?
Why would a big church like that need to raise funds? The building had looked fairly new. Maybe they had debt to pay off.
The melody from the Sister Sledge song, “We are Family,” played from Abe’s phone, which vibrated at the same time. It was the ringtone he’d set up for calls from Don.
Abe’s eyes flew open. He sat up, looked around, blinked, and grabbed his phone from the coffee table.
He poked at the cell. “Don?” Abe’s voice was gravelly. He listened, frowning.
It was after nine o’clock. This couldn’t be a casual call.
“What? Why?” He turned to stare at me. He listened for another few moments.
What had happened to Don? I had a terrible suspicion that it might be connected to the homicide.
“Calm down, now. Yes, I’ll call her, and I’ll be over there as soon as I can. Don’t say a word to them.”
Don’s raised voice came through the phone, although I couldn’t make out the words.
“No, not a single word,” Abe repeated. “Keep your mouth shut and shake your head. Promise?” He listened. “Okay. Sit tight. I’m on my way.” He disconnected.
“Has he been arrested?” I asked.
“No, but they insist on keeping him for more questioning. Or detained, or whatever. I have to call my dad’s lawyer and get over to Nashville.”
“I thought you meant call Georgia.”
“She’s out of town. Possibly because of marital problems.” Abe gazed at me. “And you know Don. He can make a disaster out of the smallest thing.”
“But this is already a kind of disaster. If they brought him into the police station instead of questioning him at home, that’s serious.” I held up a palm. “Mind you, I don’t believe he killed Evermina. But it’s naive to think that just because a person is innocent, the system won’t work against them.”
Abe stood. “Which is why I’m going to my clueless brother’s rescue. He obviously did something we don’t know about.”
“Who’s the lawyer?”
“That woman who helped my dad that Christmas, remember? When he was suspected of murder himself.”
“Good. Corrine gave me the name of a criminal lawyer not that long ago, in case your dad’s person is away or can’t handle it.”
“Thanks, sweetheart. You’re the best.” He leaned down to kiss me. “I don’t know how late I’ll be.”
“Are you okay to drive?”
“I had two beers hours ago, my sweet. I’m fine.”
I smiled at him. “Good luck.”
I heard him tell Sean he had to go rescue his uncle. Water ran in the bathroom, keys jangled, and the back door clicked shut.
What could Don have done to get himself in trouble with the cops? It might have to do with his nervous reaction to me coming in when his laptop was open. I wished I’d gotten a better look at it. Wishing would get me nowhere.
But preparing for bed and sliding into a deep sleep would accomplish what I needed. Abe could handle Don’s troubles. All I had to do was get my rest and gear up for the work week.