Melanie, Amelia, and I sat in the corner booth at the Trail Head Grill. We’d just finished our meal, and I told Mel about LJ driving the Hewitt Electric van.
“Wow.” Mel leaned back and pushed her plate away. “Do you really think it’s dangerous for Amelia to go over to the Richardson house alone?”
“Yes.” I shook my head. “No. I don’t know.” I turned to Amelia. “I may have overreacted. Seeing LJ in the van freaked me out, and I may be just a little overprotective. Just take someone with you to be on the safe side.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt to be safe.” Amelia seemed to be pondering. “I could take my assistant along. Yes. That’s what I’ll do.”
“Good.” I let out a little sigh. “Although—”
The waitress came by and took our plates, leaving the bill behind.
“What?” Amelia asked after we split the cost of the meal.
“I wonder if LJ is authorized to sell the property. Last I heard from Mr. Jenkins, the will hadn’t been probated, and the bank accounts were frozen.”
“Oh. I wouldn’t know about that. But it’s something I will ask when I go out to the property.”
I took a deep breath. “I have one other thing to tell y’all.” Their eyes were wide as I told them what had happened in the office. My conversation with Charles was a real point of interest, but they were both stunned into silence when I told them how my uncle had reacted.
“Wow. What’s your read on the writer? Do you think Calvin is onto something about him? Or maybe he was lying?” Amelia asked as she took a sip from her glass.
I glanced off, considering her question. “Honestly, I think Charles told me the truth. He knows something about the Richardsons, and I think”—I took in a deep, shaky breath—“my family too.”
Amelia reached out and took my hand, and Mel said, “You poor thing. Not only do you have to deal with Harper’s case, but you’ve also had an attack on your life. You are my hero. How you’re managing to stay upright is astounding.”
“Mel’s right, Lyla. You are as tough as nails.”
Mother would be pleased.
I smiled. “Y’all, I appreciate the support and encouragement. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” I glanced down at my watch. “And I have to go in a minute. I’m planning on running by and seeing who exactly was the technician on the Ross job the night of the murder.”
Amelia nodded. “Good idea. Maybe Mrs. Ross will let you see a copy of the work order.”
“Exactly what I’m hoping for. That should be more inconspicuous than calling the company. If LJ is involved, I don’t want to make him suspicious that we suspect him until I have something more solid to go on. Then I’ll be lighting that company’s phone lines up.”
“I had a bad feeling about him from the get-go.” Mel pushed up the sleeves of her pink sweater. “The whole family is whacko. Harper married a crazy man and moved into his insane asylum.”
She’d get no arguments from me there.
“Since Rosa isn’t here, I have to play devil’s advocate.” Amelia leaned closer, glancing around, and then whispered, “And please, don’t hate me for bringing this up. What if Harper, in her desperation, perhaps let something slip to LJ that she wished Leonard dead?”
Mel opened her mouth to argue, but I held up my hand. “No, Mel. This case is going to be tried in open court. The prosecution has tons of evidence against her. Until we have something solid to present even a plausible case for reasonable doubt, she’s up the creek.”
Mel scrubbed her face with her hands. “Okay, okay. So if we consider her as the guilty party, just like the cases we look at in our club meetings, we can rule her out.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay.” Mel dropped her hands. “That makes sense to me.”
“Let’s examine what we know. One, Harper was unhappy in her marriage. She was having an affair with her stepson.”
Amelia shivered. “Sheesh, that sounds creepy.”
“Stepson her age,” I added.
Melanie nodded. “Yes, that sounds better.”
“She asked me to locate an aunt who, by all accounts, seems to have vanished into thin air.” I leaned over and grabbed my bag, pulling out my tablet and stylus. Everyone waited while I jotted down what we’d listed so far.
“And not to sound absurd,” Amelia said, “but most of the time, someone close to the victim in a case like this is the guilty party. And just like in Crooked House, sometimes it’s the most innocent-looking one in the family.”
I nodded. “And Harper did say that Beatrice brought her the cup of tea, and it was the only thing Harper ingested before her arrest.”
Mel pointed at me. “Lyla, didn’t you say that Beatrice was at the charity event?”
I nodded.
“You saw her, Mel. How could she have pulled off something like that? She weighs eighty pounds soaking wet.” Amelia shook her head.
“What does that have to do with anything? Leonard was poisoned,” Melanie pointed out.
“But the candlestick is still missing.” Amelia shifted in the booth.
“True, but it isn’t the murder weapon.” I scribbled on the tablet. “And Harper nearly died of an overdose of the drug. Leaving the cops to believe she couldn’t handle the guilt of her crime. But to Amelia’s point, and having seen the body firsthand, it looked like someone wanted to make sure he was dead. Even after he dropped from the overdose.”
Mel leaned closer to the table. Amelia and I mirrored her as Mel said, “Maybe we should discuss this somewhere else or at a better time.”
I glanced around and noticed that we’d started drawing attention. A couple at the table across from us were whispering and staring our way—time to go. The three of us hurried out of the booth and exited the restaurant, keeping how heads low.
“They added some extra decorations this year,” Melanie commented as we stood by Amelia’s car. “I’m glad things here still feel sane.” The square was lit beautifully, and all the fall decorations were complete for the pub crawl this weekend. I loved our town so. I nodded and wrapped my arm around my friend’s shoulder as she sniffed and dabbed at her eyes. She hurt deeply for Harper.
“Yeah. It is good to have a little peace to enjoy.” Amelia opened her car door and tossed her purse inside.
“Yes.” As I smiled at the sights before us and looked forward to the pub crawl, despite the tragedy that had befallen our friend and town, Charles’s words came back to me: “All families have secrets. Some are benign, and others are dark and sinister. I wonder if you know which your family harbors.”
A car alarm went off, and Melanie giggled. “Talk about a jump scare.”
We all laughed. It sounded high-pitched and nervous.
Amelia’s phone rang. She glanced down at her smartwatch. “That’s Ethan. I better run; he’ll be worried.”
We hugged her and waved as she pulled out of the parking lot.
Mel looped her arm through mine, and we crossed the street to our cars. “I know it sounds stupid, but I still can’t get the story Crooked House out of my head whenever I think of that family. We have to do our best to get Harper off this ridiculous charge and out of that family for good.”
“I’m doing my best, Mel.”
“I know you are.” She gave me a sad smile. “Have you thought about asking Rosa for help? I know you want to know more about Charles Hammond, not only about his connection to the Richardson family but also to yours. If she helps you, Calvin won’t find out.”
I nodded. “Yes. I plan to see if Rosa can help me do a little digging. But only if it won’t hurt her position in the police department. And also because she might be beholden to the detective, and that man is hell-bent on putting Harper away for good.”
“That’s a good idea. What about this Spider fella? Any news on that front?” Melanie leaned against her car. I’d parked right next to her.
“No. Last I heard, he was still nonresponsive. Who knows if he’ll ever wake up? The doctors say he will, and Quinn said a sketch of the man behind the money would be sent to me, but it hasn’t been yet. I don’t think Atlanta PD has any real leads other than hearsay and Spider or whatever his name is. Calvin and I went through our records today after things cooled down, and no one rang any bells. The cases we’ve handled lately haven’t been the type to leave disgruntled exes seeking revenge.” I shrugged. “No one has made another attempt, and I’m keeping my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. I haven’t seen the sedan again, but whoever is after me won’t catch me unawares again.”
“You’re packin’?” Mel asked, her voice implying she hoped I’d gone there.
I patted my purse with a smile.