When I crawled into bed in the wee hours of the morning, my mind whirled with thoughts. I reached over and unplugged my cell from the charger and called Brad. It went straight to voicemail. “Hey, it’s just me. Um, something happened tonight.” I told his voicemail the condensed version of what had transpired. I figured I’d get more detailed when we spoke next. We had out date night scheduled at Amelia’s, and I could fill him in beforehand. When I disconnected the call, I felt better. I lay there, staring at my ceiling and beginning to second-guess myself. Had I really seen the candlestick? When I’d asked Mother before leaving the house, she said she didn’t recall it ever being in the room. And Gran said she never notices such things. How could I be the only one to have seen it? I tossed and turned and tried some deep breathing exercises. I needed to get a few hours of sleep. I closed my eyes and waited.
Late Saturday, I woke to my phone ringing. Melanie was calling to announce she was outside my front door, because I’d neglected to hear her pounding. She stomped over from her identical fifteen-hundred-square-foot, two-story, cookie-cutter, white-washed brick townhouse that had the same open floor plan: a living room, a kitchen, and a dining room on the main floor, and a bedroom and bath on the second floor. It wasn’t my dream home or anything, but it was comfortable and close to work.
“Why are you beating my door down?” I asked as I swung the door open. “I thought you had my spare key.”
“Not since you had your locks changed.” She waltzed past me. “I spoke to Harper this morning. She told me she asked you to come by.”
I yawned as my current predicament came whirling back to my mind—the events of yesterday and then Harper calling me at seven this morning, asking me to come over.
I scrubbed my face with my hands. My eyes felt like there was sandpaper under my lids. “Sorry. Yes, Harper called and asked me to come by and have a chat.”
Melanie slung her purse onto one of my bar stools. “She said the police mentioned something about cause of death to her.”
I felt my brow furrow. “Poor thing. Harper didn’t mention that to me. I guess she must have received the call between the time she spoke with me and when she called you.” I tied my robe together. “And it was probably the preliminary report. Nothing official yet. But from the condition of the body, I guess it was cut and dry for the coroner. Did she say if they had any suspects?”
“No.” Mel shook her head. “I can’t even imagine the nightmare she’s living through.” We both sighed and gave a commiserating head shake. “Anyway, before Harper told me about your meeting, I suggested bringing by some food so she wouldn’t have to worry about cooking. She seemed to like the idea and said she wouldn’t mind if we all just came together. I already called Amelia, and she’ll meet us here after her last showing today.”
Since Harper didn’t have any family close by, I could see her wanting friends near, but it did surprise me that she didn’t wish for some privacy during our conversation, because she came off as such a private person. And I’d gotten the impression she had something serious to discuss with me. Maybe she’d decided that the desire to be surrounded by friends outweighed her privacy needs. I could see that.
“Wow, you do look wiped. Your eyes look awful.” Mel’s meticulously groomed brow wrinkled with concern.
“Thanks, Mel.” I patted my puffy eyes.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I shouldn’t have woken you the way I did. I should have considered how tired you were. After I did my shopping, I assumed you were up and ready to go.”
I swatted the air. “It’s fine. I should have been up.” I yawned yet again. “I need a strong cup of coffee before I can go into this again or go anywhere. Is Wyatt coming with you to Amelia’s tonight?”
Mel smiled a little. “Yes. I don’t want to talk too much about it just yet. You know how superstitious I am, and it might jinx the relationship.”
I laughed. “Okay. You let me know when the planets align just right, and we can chat about it.” I made the universal sign for crazy just to mess with her. Mel was one of a kind.
“Stop!” she scolded, but she laughed along with me. “You said that the detective wanted to go over your statement again. Why?”
I put a pod into my Keurig and hit the button for a strong brew. “I found the body. That’s the way these types of investigations work. And Mel, if you’d seen Leonard.” I shivered. “All I can say is that anyone with eyes could see his death was no accident. And the more I think about it, the more the robbery angle bothers me.” Last night, the indelible image of Mr. Richardson had haunted my dreams. In one frightful nightmare, the man had even sat up and started talking to me. I shivered at the memory while I waited for the coffee to finish brewing.
“So now you think somebody didn’t rob him?”
“No, someone robbed him. But if there was some petty thief in attendance, why wouldn’t he rob other people besides Leonard? Robbing just one guy—I don’t believe it would be worth the risk.”
“Unless it was some drug addict. They lash out like that.”
I cocked my head to the side. “I think someone in such a desperate state, one that would bring the person to attack a man, whether he was an addict or not, would have stood out in that crowd. I mean, I could be wrong, but I’d think the desperation would show in some form. There has to be more to it. Like maybe the robbery simply covered up the real motive.”
Melanie kept shaking her head at the bar. “Crazy. When you first told me, I could tell this rattled you. I mean, it would have rattled me.” She lifted both hands. “And I’m not discounting the fact that the murder took place in your childhood home, but later, I thought it probably affected you even more because of Harper.” Mel tilted her head, considering. “Now, I see this has really got a grip on you for all those reasons plus the mystery of the case.”
I sipped from my mug. Mel knew me well. And even I hadn’t considered all that. “You hit the nail on the head. It does have to do with Harper and that it happened in my childhood home, not to mention the ripple effect it will have in our community.”
Mel shivered. “Well, it goes without saying, I’m here for you. Harper didn’t sound like she’s gotten much sleep either. I don’t think she’s even slept more than a couple hours in total.”
“I’m not sure I’d be able to sleep in her position either.” I turned with my mug in hand. I’d been surprised when I’d received her call earlier today. She’d insisted that I come by, and her tone told me how desperate she felt. In her place, I probably wouldn’t know what to do. What worried me was that she mentioned speaking with my mother before she called me. Originally, after Mother’s insistence that I should keep silent, a move entirely out of character for her, I feared the worst. Now what I feared more was that she might be getting sucked into a situation she didn’t understand. Not that I’d mention any of this to Mel. Yet.
Mel studied me, rubbing her temples. “Hmm. Okay. Now I’m processing this. Just saying, if this was just a robbery, crazier things have happened, but no one else saw anything?”
“Not to my knowledge. And since I’m the one who found the body, it appears not. But I agree; somebody would have had to. The struggle would have drawn attention. The man was just lying there dead when Gran and I showed up. Everyone kept going on about their business. I won’t describe the scene since it’s someone we both knew. No one should have images like that in their head.”
“I appreciate your discretion. But since you believe it’s more than a robbery, you’re worried about Harper.”
I nodded.
Mel’s gaze sharpened. “Okay. Well, I’m going to lay this out here. Harper told me she and her husband argued beforehand. Not at your mom’s, but before they left the house. And he avoided her at the event.”
I nodded again. “Harper mentioned that to me and Gran too.” I raised my brows and added, “Right after.”
Mel scrunched up her face. “The police aren’t going to like that. She’d have to know that, right?”
“Of course, but it would be nearly impossible for her to be involved in the crime directly. The … um, the scene made that fact evident. Not that the police won’t run down other options concerning where she theoretically could be. It’s good that she does seem to be avoiding being seen in public right now. She mentioned taking a leave from work. Though I wonder if she shouldn’t be requesting a consultation with an attorney just to be on the safe side.”
“Mm-hmm.” Mel went to my refrigerator and got a bottle of water. “We should mention that to her. She isn’t popular with his family. You know, the Richardson family.”
“I got that impression too. The aunt and daughter were at the event, and they weren’t rushing to console her.” We both shook our heads. “Poor Harper. I bet she feels so alone. Did she mention asking me to locate her family? She did to my mother.”
“No. But I figured if Harper invited us to all come over together, she would. Or”—she paused and took another sip—“maybe she’s discombobulated by everything.” Melanie shrugged. “She did ask me if the detective spoke to me or anyone else in the club.”
My skin broke out in goose bumps. If Melanie or one of the other club members had mentioned to the police what I’d told them about Harper requesting help locating her family, I’d have some explaining to do. I could say I didn’t think the two situations were related. They wouldn’t buy that, but I could. Or I could say that she was approaching me as a client, and our records were confidential. But no money had changed hands, nor had any documents been signed, so that would not stand up in court. I’d have to come clean, sounding as casual as I could manage. Then there was Amelia; she had her own story about how Harper wasn’t so happy in her marriage. I’d have to speak to my mother. There was no way I could keep my word about withholding information. My reputation was on the line.
I took a deep breath to slow my spinning mind. I needed to take this one step at a time. I’d begun to see this like one of the Jane Doe cases up I-85 and had become obsessed with finding the answers. I’d always been obsessed with true crime cases. So much so that my parents made me see a therapist for a while. Stupid, if you ask me. They make docuseries about criminals for a reason—people are interested. But I won’t deny the fact that my interest had been the reason Quinn and I had ended. I believed that had a lot to do with my mother’s influence since Quinn was in law enforcement, but whatever. I’d moved past that now.
I couldn’t care less about those who found fault with my desire to work in the field. Finding the truth was something I needed to do. And the Jane Doe cases needed someone to care—to restore their stolen identities. But right now, no one had asked for my help. And this was not one of those Jane Doe cases. Still, I had difficulty halting my speculations, perhaps because Harper had requested a visit.
“Yoo-hoo! Earth to Lyla!” Melanie waved her hand in front of my face.
I blinked. “Sorry. I got lost in my thoughts.”
“It’s okay. I get it. I’d be the same if I stumbled on our friend’s husband’s body at my folk’s house and the entire Sweet Mountain social elite was there.” She rolled her eyes and added, “Not that anyone would’ve crossed the threshold of the pathetic excuse my parents had for a place when they had one.”
I put my hand on her shoulder. Some people should not procreate. My sweet best friend had lived the childhood from hell. Both her parents were drunks and self-centered jerks who’d spent every dime they managed to make or steal on themselves. Scum is what they were. Mel had spent most of her time at my house, and Mother had made sure she had what she needed when Children’s Services placed her in her grandmother’s custody. Mel adjusted as well and even began calling her grandmother mom. God only knew where her parents were now. Mel hadn’t heard from them in nearly fifteen years. And I for one believed that was a positive thing.
Mel gave me a small smile and shook her head, her signal that she wanted to let the topic about her parents drop.
I would respect her wishes. Always. “I think one of Mother’s concerns is that this could potentially make national headlines. I mean, think about it: with the writer snooping around and all, the twisted tale he weaves could be a New York Times bestseller.”
“Hold. The. Phone.” Mel’s eyes widened. “What writer?”
I paused with my mug halfway to my lips and explained what I’d learned about the man. “And it’s not as exciting as it sounds. And I haven’t exactly spoken with him directly, so nothing more to report on that front.” I shoved the idea off for now for fear of how the writer might portray the town—the fallout unimaginable. “What I can tell you is that the detective who is in charge of the case is sharp. And from my interaction with the man, he’ll have no compunctions asking the difficult questions and ruffling a few feathers, including those of our Sweet Mountain’s elite. The nosy writer is the least of their worries.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Get that, will ya? I’ll run upstairs and throw myself together. Won’t be fifteen minutes.”
We took my car, Amelia and I in the front seat and Mel in the back. We’d already picked up a fried chicken family meal with all the fixings plus dessert at a local Southern food restaurant. While we waited in the drive-through, Amelia had been fascinated with the presence of a writer in town and could hardly contain her giddiness.
Melanie suggested that if indeed he turned out to be more of a friend than a foe—foe in the sense of disparaging our town instead of balancing the gruesome events from the other night with Sweet Mountain’s better qualities—we ask him to come and speak with our book club.
We’d never had a budding author discuss a work in progress with us before. And I had to agree it would be exciting. I didn’t share that something about the man gave me the willies or that he’d been outside Mel’s cookie shop just hours before the ordeal. I didn’t want to add fuel to any rumor fires until I knew what he was up to for sure.
The chatter in the car continued. It consisted of concern, speculations, and gasps as Amelia and Mel shared theories. I avoided describing the scene and explained tactfully, the best I could, that we needed more information before leaping to judgments. Amelia reached out and squeezed my arm as the GPS instructed me to take a left turn in four hundred feet. “How haunting. I probably would’ve fainted on the spot.”
“A little, yeah.” I nodded. “I operated on pure adrenaline, thinking Leonard possibly could be alive and might need aid. When I realized he was no longer with us, I went down like a ton of bricks.” I turned on my left turn signal as I took a deep breath, remembering. “I didn’t lose consciousness, but I sure felt woozy. The scene was like something out of one of our true crime case logs.” I shifted in my seat. “I won’t be able to enjoy the new addition without thinking of it. Even after a thorough cleaning.”
“No, I wouldn’t imagine you could.” Amelia looked sympathetic. “I bet your parents won’t be able to either.”
“Your poor parents.” Melanie shook her head. “Your mom spent a fortune on the tranquil space.” Melanie had a soft spot for my family.
“Yes. And knowing Mother, she’ll probably spend another fortune to renovate the renovations to erase the horrific memory. If they stay in the house.” No one had mentioned a move to me; they’d lived in the same house since I was born, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the idea of moving came up in the foreseeable future.
“Well, the good news is, in the state of Georgia they wouldn’t be required to disclose the death to potential buyers, like they have to in other states.” Amelia shifted to face me. I caught the move in my peripheral vision as she continued, “I will be glad to help if they do.”
“Interesting,” Mel said from the back seat.
“I’ll be sure to mention you if they decide to go that route.” I shrugged. “You never know. This is uncharted territory in the Moody family. My mother didn’t even like me watching horror movies growing up.”
Mel snickered. “It’s true, Amelia. Lyla and I hauled her TV into the closet to watch the old Halloween movies one year. Her gran nearly scared us to death when she swung open the door.”
“I bet Daisy didn’t rat you guys out.” Amelia smiled back at Mel.
“Nope. She joined us and brought popcorn.”
I smiled at the memory. Gran was something else.
Rosa’s ID came up on my navigation screen. I hit the “Answer” button on my steering column, still smiling. “Hey, Rosa.”
“Hey. You busy?” Her voice sounded strained. “I hear car noise.”
“I’m driving, but I can talk.” I cast a glance to Amelia, who lifted her brows. “We’re all here,” I informed Rosa. “Mel and Amelia are in the car with me. We’re on our way to see Harper.”
“Oh. Hey, y’all.” Rosa cleared her throat. “Harper is the reason I’m calling.”
All of us shared a wide-eyed glance while we waited for the traffic light to change.
“Okay,” I said slowly.
“I only have a few minutes. I’m sitting in my car on my break. Something’s up with her husband’s case. Something, um, big.”
“Define ‘big.’ Has there been a break in the case?” I swallowed and instantly thought about the missing candlestick. Amelia had said when she’d spoken to Rosa last night, she’d been shocked at the calm way Rosa discussed the murder. When questioned, Rosa explained her time in the army had desensitized her to a lot of things. I’d admired Rosa for her strength and fortitude. That was the reason her nervous tone alarmed me so much.
“Or does this have to do with the cause of death?” Melanie leaned forward. “Harper mentioned something about it over the phone to me.”
Amelia asked, “Do you all have a suspect in custody?”
“Cause of death hasn’t been determined. There is no suspect in custody. But yes, to answer Lyla’s question, there has been a break in the case. I can’t go into much detail, but I wanted to give y’all a heads up. It’s been a madhouse around here. An all-hands-on-deck situation. Chief Daniels is walking around like he was castrated by the detective taking over the office. And he’s the one who put him in charge of the case. I have no idea why he’s behaving that way. Unless it’s the detective’s methods he doesn’t care for.”
“What do you mean?” I turned up the volume.
“Detective Battle is hell-bent on closing this case, and fast. From what I gathered, he has a close relationship with the DA, and their success rate is off the charts. And—oh. Hold on a sec. Hey.” We heard Rosa’s window roll down and a few muffled sounds. She hadn’t put us on “Mute,” and we all sat deadly silent at the intersection, trying to discern the tiniest clue from the sounds. “Okay, I’m back. Sorry about that. I have to be careful. Leonard Richardson’s sister-in-law, brother, and I think the brother’s son came in this morning. And whatever they handed over to be submitted into evidence created a flurry of activity unlike I’ve ever seen in this department.”
“What?” My mouth gaped.
“Oh my God!” Melanie let out a huge gasp. “What kind of evidence?”
“I don’t know. But I heard the words ‘search warrant’ being uttered in the same sentence as Harper’s name.” I let out a little breath. Not the candlestick. Why would they search Harper’s house if they found Mother’s property, potentially covered in the victim’s blood?
I blinked and noticed Amelia staring at me oddly.
I gripped the wheel. “I’m sorry, what was that, Rosa? I missed that last part.”
“I said Detective Battle is all geeked up about the evidence.” She got silent for a breath before she said, “Guys, are we sure Harper had nothing to do with Leonard’s murder?”
Rosa’s question left the car speakers and encompassed us. Street noise and the sound of the tires on the pavement seemed to get louder. Amelia fiddled with her nails, making a little ticking sound. I kept my eyes on the road and slowly hit my brakes at the next traffic light.
It was Mel who broke the silence, which felt like it had lasted a century but was probably more like less than a minute. “Yes!” Melanie threw her hands in the air, and one of them hit the back of my seat. “We’ve all spent time with the woman. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. Not a single one. I can’t believe you’d even ask such a thing, Rosa!”
“Calm down, Mel.” I cast a quick glance in the rearview mirror. “Rosa is giving us information, and we are so grateful for the heads-up.”
Amelia shifted in her seat. “I do find it difficult to believe Harper would be capable of such involvement. She’s the one who found homes for all those stray kittens someone dropped on my door last spring. She’s adamant about volunteering her time at the animal shelter with me. And we’ve all seen her shy away from confrontation at the library.”
While I waited at the stop sign for my turn to go, I listened to Rosa and Mel go back and forth, Rosa hemming and hawing, and I began to wonder what else she might be privy to. She wouldn’t divulge anything that would compromise her job, and I respected the limits of friendship in relation to her position on the police force.
“Okay, take a chill pill, Mel. I was simply asking a question. People aren’t always as they seem, so I’d be careful being cavalier in your assumptions.” Rosa’s tone came out as authoritative.
Amelia shook her head slowly as if she couldn’t wrap her head around such a notion. And I could understand the struggle. Mel crossed her arms across her chest. Her face said she wasn’t too happy with being spoken to that way. Emotions were running high.
I cast another quick glance in my rearview mirror to see Mel’s brow wrinkle and then smooth. “I didn’t mean to lash out like that, Rosa. I’m sorry. It’s just, y’all didn’t hear Harper on the phone. She sounded devastated.” I didn’t remind Mel that I’d seen Harper when it occurred. And I had to agree in that respect. The poor woman had seemed devastated.
“This is it; I believe.” Amelia pointed to the next street on the right just as the robotic voice of the GPS said, “Turn right and you have reached your destination.”
With a sigh, Rosa said, “All right. I gotta go anyway. Just please be careful. Something is mighty strange about that family.”
“We will. Thanks, Rosa.” I disconnected the call.
“I love Rosa to bits, but I wonder if her perspective is a little skewed because of the detective’s influence.” Mel tightened her high ponytail.
“What’s he like, anyway?” Amelia asked.
“He’s a man you wouldn’t want to come after you. I got the impression he trusts his instincts for good reason. And I think Rosa’s just looking out for us. We’d be remiss not to consider her perspective.”