Chapter Nine

Nell Preston set a cup of tea in front of me and poured Scotch over ice for Gus.

She had already explained she was Meredith’s sister and had come into town to stay with Gus to help him with funeral arrangements and to adjust to his wife’s passing.

“Again, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said to both of them as Nell set her own cup of tea on the table in front of her. “I only met her once, and she seemed like a lovely person.”

I hoped I wouldn’t be struck down dead for telling the whopper of a lie.

“There was nothing lovely about her,” Gus said.

“Now, Gus,” Nell said, reaching over to pat him on the knee. “Mare did right by you for a lot of years. She took good care of you when you couldn’t work anymore.”

It was then I noticed the cane by his chair. Could he have struck his wife in the face with it?

“What did you do for a living?” I asked.

“Do you know what a flibbergasper is?” he asked.

“No.”

“Neither do I, but I ran a forklift at a lumber yard for over twenty years.”

I glanced at Nell. She closed her eyes and shook her head. I suspected she had her hands full with the man. “Gus and Mare haven’t lived here very long,” she explained.

I pulled out my card and handed it to her.

“I’m a private investigator. Meredith called and wanted to meet me this past Monday morning. She said she was thinking of hiring me. Do you have any idea why that might have been?”

Gus looked up from his drink and said, “She probably wanted you to follow me, so she could find out who I was having an affair with.”

Nell shook her head and sighed loudly. “You weren’t having an affair. Don’t start telling your stories.” She turned to me. “I don’t have any idea. She was bitter after she lost her job at the prison. We haven’t kept in touch much this past year.”

I hadn’t yet run a background check on Meredith, so I didn’t know about her past. The prison comment intrigued me. “She worked at a prison?”

“She gave conjugal visits to the prisoners without women.”

“Gus, that’s enough,” Nell said sharply. “She did no such thing. She maintained a library for the inmates. She loved books, so it wasn’t a surprise when I found out she was working in a bookstore here.”

I couldn’t let on that I thought Meredith had been murdered, but the thought crossed my mind she might have made an enemy at the prison – someone who wanted to hurt her.

“Was she at Mansfield?” I asked.

“No, Gary,” Nell said.

“Gary, Indiana?” I asked.

Nell nodded.

“We lived in Gary ‘til Mare went off the deep end,” Gus said. “She said Buxley was one of the top five places to live in Ohio, and she moved us here. I hate it, and now that she’s gone, I’m going back to Gary.” He looked at Nell and said, “Hurry up and get her in the ground, so I can go home.”

It was painfully obvious the relationship between Gus and Meredith was difficult – at least since moving here. I didn’t feel I could ask any more questions without raising their suspicions.

I scooted forward in my chair and set my cup in the saucer on the table next to me. “Thank you for your time,” I said.

Gus gulped the rest of his drink and grunted. Nell stood and walked me to the door.

“Mare wasn’t always an unhappy person,” she said. “Gus has always been a grump, but Mare was kind and wanted to help people. Something happened at the prison. She said she wanted to get away and leave Gary behind. I had no idea how the two of them were getting along here, and I’m shocked she died in such a bizarre way.”

“Peggy said the spear was in the shop because Meredith wanted to start a storytime for adults.”

“That sounds like her. She used to do storytime at the prison. She said the guys seemed to like it.”

I thanked her again for her time and left.

This was interesting. I now knew of three transplants from Indiana – Bubba and the two Duncans. The Duncans were from the northern part of Indiana, while Bubba was from the southern part of the state. It was highly unlikely they had ever crossed paths, but I intended to ask the mayor when I saw him again.

My cell phone rang. I dug it out of my bag but didn’t recognize the number.

“Baranski and Ravens Investigations. Jo Ravens speaking.”

A voice whispered loudly, “Aunt Jo, it’s me – Keith.”

I whispered back. “Hi, Keith. Do you have something for me?”

“We’re at the grocery store, and Bubba’s here. He got me away from Mom to take me to the candy aisle. Can you believe she let me go with him?”

I held back a laugh. He made it sound like the mayor was a child predator.

“He didn’t even want to buy me any candy. He asked me if I found a copy of Treasure Island at the book sale. I told him no, but I don’t think he believed me. Is he one of the bad people looking for the map?”

The mayor was a pain in the rump. He definitely thought I was lying if he tracked Keith down to ask him about the book.

“I don’t know if he’s a bad person, but I do think he’s looking for the map. You did the right thing telling him you didn’t find a copy of the book. Just stick to the plan, and thanks for letting me know he asked you about it.”

He talked in his normal voice. “Ok. I have to give Kelly her phone back. Thanks.”

I hoped I was doing the right thing. I wasn’t ready to let anyone know we had the map. I wanted to find out who Bubba really was, what he was up to, and what he intended to do with the map if he found it.”

I drove back to the office. Pain waves to the brain or not, I was doing paperwork this afternoon.

 

~ ~ ~

 

The furnace came on, and it didn’t frighten me.

Not much.

My hair only stood up a little, and the full-body shudder wasn’t as intense as the first time the furnace ran about forty minutes ago.

I glanced around my new murder room space. It wasn’t as bad as I first thought. Glenn and Clay had hung a long, fluorescent light fixture from the ceiling. It shed bright light on my area and eliminated shadows from the room. As long as I didn’t open the doors to the creepy areas of the basement, I would be able to adjust to working in the space.

I flopped onto my loveseat and stared at my whiteboard.

I had a column for the laundromat. I didn’t want to write the FBI job off just yet, and now that I had a license plate number and a name, plus the photos of the mayor getting into the vehicle with the man … well, there might be something there that Arnie could use to smooth things over with Agent Roberts.

The second column was for the mayor. I had listed variations of the name he was using, and the information we knew about him from Indianapolis. I noted he was looking for a map that might reveal the location of the legendary Confederate gold.

A thought popped into my head. I could run down to the courthouse and request a map of the area at the time of the town’s founding. I should be able to pinpoint the exact location of the X on Keith’s map.

I glanced at the door to the furnace room. When I came home from Pepper’s last night, I had slipped the map into a zippered plastic bag and slid it between cracks in the wall behind the water pipe leading to the hot water heater. It took every bit of courage I could muster to go into the room and look for a hiding place. It was a tight fit for my hand, but the map was completely hidden.

I stood and drew a line from the mayor to the man in the black Escalade, Geoff Marina. There was obviously a connection. I plopped back down on the loveseat and considered the third column. It was for Meredith Duncan.

I had listed the obvious suspects first with Peggy being at the top of the list. Her actions screamed guilt, and I knew I needed to discuss her with Sergeant Rorski. I already had my photos from the bookstore in a folder on the desk. He needed to see them tomorrow when Jackie and I returned from talking with Tabitha.

Tabitha was the number two suspect on my list. She was in the bookstore when Meredith was murdered. She either saw something, heard something, or she did it, but there was no way she didn’t have any information.

As much as I hated to do it, I put Gus’ name on the list. He had exhibited a complete lack of regard for his wife, and it was entirely possible he went to the bookstore and killed her. And he, too, wanted to leave town as soon as possible.

I had also written someone from the prison. That would be a rough trail to follow, and I hoped I didn’t have to go down it.

I had considered putting Bubba on the list, but checking the bookstore every day for the book he wanted wasn’t any reason to commit murder. He seemed fond of Meredith and Peggy, and he had called Peggy as a friend to tell her of Meredith’s accident.

I added his name to the list anyway and drew a line to connect him to every column. No one was going to grade my work, and it made me feel better to convict him in my own court of law.

I turned the lights off and ran up the stairs. The toilet gurgled as I flew past. I know it did it on purpose, and I couldn’t help swearing under my breath.

After changing into pajamas and slipping into my fuzzy orange slippers, which were looking pretty ratty these days, I made a cup of hot cocoa, turned on the Christmas tree lights, and settled on the sofa to watch a sappy Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel.

I couldn’t help wishing Glenn were here with me. He would be happy to snuggle up and watch a chick flick. He was sexy and manly, but he had a feminine side instilled in him by his grandmother.

When I had come home from work, his note on the counter let me know his car was in the shop for a new alternator, and Clay was giving him a ride to work. He had left a salad and grilled chicken in the refrigerator for my dinner.

Clay had added his own note to the bottom of the paper. I adjusted the water heater, and I’m still taking cold showers against my will. Please buy a new one.

I smiled. Poor Clay. Glenn had already told me the water heater needed replaced, and I kept forgetting to call someone. I’d take care of it tomorrow.

I sipped my cocoa and allowed myself to escape to a winter wonderland movie, where I knew true love would find a way.