Chapter 29
Dear Natasha,
At our last family funeral, half my cousins were chewing gum like cows chewing their cud. I like to have died from embarrassment. How do I avoid that at the next funeral in our family?
Brought Up Right in Possum Grape, Arkansas
Dear Brought Up Right,
I feel your pain. At the next funeral, choose a family member to hold a spittoon and collect gum from the boorish side of the family.
Natasha
I knew Big Daddy’s Bakery fairly well and spotted Bettina right away. She had taken a table partly hidden in the back.
I bought a box of pastries and indulged in a cup of hot tea in spite of the heat outside. I brought them over to her table and sat down. “Thank you for meeting with me.”
She was an attractive woman with even features in an oval face. But her lips pulled back into thin lines. She spoke in a very low voice. “I have no reason to think this has anything to do with the murders.”
Murders? Plural? I waited for her to continue.
“You know that guy Angus who died?”
I nodded.
“I came back to the office one night around nine o’clock because I’d left my cell phone there by mistake. I heard voices. You know how it is when it’s so quiet at night? Everything seems slightly amplified?” She closed her eyes in pain and huffed air out of her mouth. “It was wrong of me, I know. I don’t know why I did it. Self-preservation? Some kind of weird instinct? But I hid. I turned off the lights and pretended I wasn’t there. And then I waited to see who left the building. It was Angus. Parker left a few minutes later.”
“Have you told the police?”
“No. Wouldn’t they think that was meaningless?”
“You thought enough of it to tell me. And you made sure you didn’t talk about it in the office.”
“It doesn’t mean Parker killed him,” she said. “For all I know they could have been talking about the plumbing in Parker’s house.”
“But you don’t really think that or you wouldn’t be telling me all this.”
She hid her face in her hands briefly. “Parker is a very generous person. He’s been so good to me and trusts me completely. He’s always giving clients a break on their bills, especially women without a lot of money. Neither Hollis nor Gage ever did that.”
“A break?”
“Sure, he writes off part of what they owe. I think that’s so kind and wonderful of him. I was a single mom for a long time. I know what it’s like to count every penny and be broke before payday.”
“Do you think Angus might have been a client?”
“I can’t tell you who is or isn’t a client.” She shook her head in the negative, though, which told me all I needed to know.
I watched her carefully. While it was a possibility that Parker was doing Angus a favor, it seemed obvious to me that Bettina didn’t really believe that. If she hadn’t been suspicious, she wouldn’t have hidden and spied on her boss. “I’ve heard from someone else in the firm that the atmosphere changed after Gage died.”
“It was a huge blow to us all. Gage was the consummate Southern gentleman. He was sort of nerdy—an intellectual. Sometimes I thought it irritated Parker that Gage was more scholarly and precise than Parker. I think in a way, Parker wanted to be Gage. Hollis, on the other hand, was the jolly one. The warm guy who made jokes and smiled a lot.”
“Other than being sad about Gage’s death, did you notice any changes?”
“You mean other than Madison poking around? Poor thing. She just could not accept that Gage fell into the water and drowned.”
“What did she think happened to him?”
“I honestly don’t know. I guess she thought someone had killed him. She wanted names of clients who might have had a beef with Gage. But that’s all confidential information. We can’t just hand that out.”
“Do you know someone named Fawn Fitzhugh?”
I caught a glint of recognition in her eyes. “I’m really not allowed to say who was or wasn’t a client.”
“But she wasn’t an employee?”
“No, that I’m certain about,” she said.
“Did someone have a beef with Gage?”
“With Mr. Perfect? Hardly.”
“How about his coworkers?”
“You want me to say that I think Parker murdered Hollis.”
“Not at all! I’m after the truth. Someone killed Hollis and Angus, and you were obviously somewhat wary or you wouldn’t have hidden in the office when you went back for your phone.”
“I don’t want to be next.” She seized her purse and ran out of the bakery in such a frenzy that everyone in the shop watched her leave.
I sat back and sipped my tea. I had thought that Cindy suffered from the divorce. She was certainly bitter about it for someone who had had an affair. Gavin’s true parentage must have been the can of worms Hollis had referred to when they argued at the underground dinner. But why murder him? If Cindy wanted to be with Parker, then it was Trula they would have to get rid of. Cindy was already divorced from Hollis.
Still, it was good to know there was a connection between Parker and Angus. It probably didn’t mean anything, but maybe it did. Meeting alone in the office at night was a little bit odd. There could have been a leak, and Angus was kind enough to come fix it after hours. We certainly couldn’t ask him.
Poor Kelsey. She had married into a spiderweb. I didn’t have any answers yet, but everything kept going back to the same group of people, the ones involved with the law firm—Cindy, Parker, Trula, and I guessed I should add Madison.
I took my box of pastries and headed down the street to The Laughing Hound. I walked past the host and through the restaurant to Bernie’s office.
His desk was piled with papers. He looked up when I rapped on the open door.
“Soph! Come on in. I’m just setting up the employee schedule.”
“Sorry to interrupt your work. I came by to see if you’ve heard of a waitress named Fawn Fitzhugh.”
“Fawn! Everybody loves Fawn.” He glanced down at the paper in front of him. “I should give her a call. Wonder where she’s working these days.”
“Do you know where I can find her?”
He typed on his keyboard and looked at his computer screen. “The last place I have for her is on Fayette Street.” He jotted down the address and handed it to me. “I hope she’s not in trouble.”
“Not at all. I overheard her in a brief but tense exchange with Parker. I’m wondering what that was about.”
“Tell her to give me a call. I could use Fawn around here.”
I blew Bernie a kiss and hoofed it over to Fayette Street.
Fawn lived in a large house that had been divided into four apartments. The name Fitzhugh was on a little nameplate next to the door. I rapped on the red front door and tried the handle. It swung open.
Her apartment was on the second floor. I walked upstairs and knocked. “Fawn?”
An older woman opened the door of the other unit. “Haven’t seen her in days.”
“Thank you.” I walked back downstairs, out of the building, and crossed the street. By my calculations, the big bay window on the second floor belonged to Fawn’s apartment. I could have sworn I saw her looking out. But just like a ghost, when I blinked, she was gone.
I returned to her apartment building. I found a tiny notepad in my purse and wrote, Bernie said to tell you to call him. He has a job for you. Would like to talk with you, please. Sophie Winston. I left my address and phone number. I shoved the paper underneath her door and left.
Maybe it was time to pay Gavin a visit. I made a quick phone call to get Cindy’s new address. I had planned to share the pastries with friends, but they were the perfect thing to bring to Gavin. I walked the five blocks to their apartment.
It was in a very pricy and in-demand neighborhood. Someone had converted a white brick two-story building into apartments. In spite of the excellent location, when I walked up to the door I couldn’t help feeling as though it wasn’t as fabulous as their house had been. No wonder Gavin wanted to sit in his tree house and pretend he still lived there.
The front door opened without a buzzer, and I found their apartment in the back on the left. I rapped on the door.
Cindy opened it. “Sophie! What are you doing here?”
I held up the bakery box. “I thought I’d check on Gavin. How’s he doing?”
“He’s miserable. I guess I can’t blame him.” She showed me into a white bedroom with green linens and teenage boy décor. He was propped up on the bed playing a game on a TV when we walked in.
“Hi, Gavin! How are you feeling?”
His forehead was wrapped in a bandage, and his leg was in a cast. Poor kid!
“Mrs. Winston! Have the police arrested Kelsey yet?” he asked.
“No, honey. They haven’t.”
“What’s taking them so long?”
I looked at Cindy, unsure how much I should tell him. I tried to keep it simple. “You know that guy Angus whose house you were in?”
“I hope you’re not going to lecture me, too.”
“How did you get in there, anyway?” I asked.
Gavin shrugged like only a teen can. “The door was unlocked.”
“Do you walk into every house with an unlocked door?”
He made a face. “No.”
“Gavin, he was inside the house. He could have had you arrested for trespassing. Even worse, he could have clobbered you, thinking you were a thief.”
He turned his head away. “You sound like my mom.”
“What did you expect to find in his house?”
“I don’t know. His name?”
“His name was Angus Bogdanoff. Does that help you?”
“No. Why did the one-who-shall-remain-nameless go there?”
“As it turns out, she was once in a mess kind of like you are in now. And he was very kind to her and helped her out. So when he was stung by all those bees, she felt like she owed him and went over there to help him when he wasn’t well.”
The expression on Gavin’s face softened. “That doesn’t mean she didn’t murder my dad.”
“You’re right about that. I brought you some goodies from Big Daddy’s to make you feel better.”
“Thanks. Hey, Mrs. Winston? I’m sorry I messed up. I should have listened to you.”
I gave him a big hug. “Gavin, sweetheart, everybody makes mistakes. But you probably should listen to your mom.”
He grabbed my arm. “You’ll prove that she did it, won’t you? I can’t do it now that I’m stuck here with a broken leg. You have to do it for me. Promise?”
I looked into his young eyes. I knew how desperately he wanted the villain in his life to be the killer of his father. “I promise you that I’ll do my best to find your dad’s murderer.”
“Gavin,” said Cindy, “did you reach Chadwick yet?”
“He hasn’t called me. I’ll be okay. I’m not a baby.”
Cindy smiled at me and closed the door to Gavin’s room behind us.
“I have a meeting at the library tomorrow night. I’m hoping his friend can come over and stay with him while I’m gone.”
“Would you like me to stay with Gavin?”
“I’d love it! But he’d claim you were a babysitter and be angry with me.”
She gestured toward the living room sofa, which was clearly being used for a bed. I didn’t see any other doors, except to a bathroom. They had moved to a one-bedroom apartment.
“Besides, I was going to give you a call. We’re planning the fall fund-raiser, and we just don’t have any brilliant ideas. I was hoping you might come to the meeting to help us brainstorm.”
“The meeting is tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow night. I’m afraid it’s quite late. Not until nine fifteen because the library closes at nine. We’re a busy group of people, and it’s so hard to find a good time to meet. We have learned through trial and error that meeting while the library is open is pure chaos.”
“I’d love to come. How are you doing, Cindy?”
“I’m worn-out. Wolf has been by to interview me twice. Of course, that only agitates Gavin. I understand I’m the prime suspect now, even though I didn’t do it.”
“Do you have an alibi for that night?”
“Are you kidding me? You think I murdered Hollis, too?”
In a conciliatory tone, I tried to make amends. “Cindy, that’s not what I said. You were here all night, waiting for Gavin to come home, right?”
She averted her gaze and looked toward the floor. “No one was here with me to corroborate that. I can’t prove it!”
I was thinking of the way she had pretended not to know that Hollis was in the hospital. I played dumb. “Did Kelsey call you to tell you what happened to Hollis?”
Cindy sank onto the sofa and buried her face in her hands. Her voice was muffled when she said, “It’s all going to come out eventually, isn’t it? No matter how hard I try, someone will ferret out the truth. I was trying to protect Gavin.”
I sat down next to her, worried about Gavin. “What are you talking about?”
She faced me, her normally placid expression distorted into one of grief. “I told you Gavin sneaked out that night. I assumed he was with his friend. But early in the morning, around five o’clock, I think, a neighbor called and said an ambulance was at my old house and she thought they were loading Hollis into it.” She winced when she said, “I was scared to death that Gavin had done something terrible. I went straight to Hollis’s house. No one was home, so I let myself in with my old key. I could smell the lingering fumes. I found the four foggers in the master bedroom. I . . . I thought Gavin had set them off. So I took them and hid them in the library, where no one would find them. Then I went to the hospital. Everyone there was talking about Hollis and his bizarre symptoms. I was so afraid that Gavin had tried to kill his dad.” She winced. “I can’t believe I’m saying that about my own child. He’s not like that. You know what a sweet person he is. He was just so disturbed that night at the underground dinner. Seeing Kelsey there with his dad upset him. No, it angered him. And that’s partly my fault. I shouldn’t have taken him to the dinner to begin with. And I could have been more nurturing of a relationship with Hollis. Instead, I festered in my own misery, blaming everything on Kelsey, and that impacted poor Gavin. It was wrong of me to take glee in bashing Kelsey in front of him.” She rubbed her eyes. “Seriously, Sophie, no one ever goes through the items on that shelf in the library. They could have been hidden there for a decade without anyone knowing.”
“Is that what you told Wolf?”
“No. I’d sooner go to prison for a murder I didn’t commit than have Gavin stand trial for murder.”
I figured most moms would feel that way. “You’re a good mother, Cindy. But you probably ought to come clean and explain this to Wolf. He’s really a very perceptive and understanding guy.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Her eyes met mine and she whispered, “But what if Gavin did it?”
“You said the truth would eventually come out. I suppose he could have waited until Kelsey left, then set off . . . No! If Gavin had set off the bombs, he wouldn’t have been able to follow Kelsey to Angus’s house. He could have returned and set them off.” I peered at her. “Would Gavin even know what a fogger was? Seems like a fourteen-year-old who was angry would have hit Hollis over the head with something heavy. Gavin isn’t strong enough to have overpowered Hollis. And to be frank, I think Gavin might have broken down and cried if he got that close to Hollis.”
“You have more faith in my child than I do! But you’re probably right. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
I wondered if I was sitting with a killer. One who was making a fuss about her son to distract me from her own involvement. “Let me get this straight. You were out running in the dark?”
She gave me a quizzical look. “No, it was dawn when I went over to Hollis’s house.”
I searched her expression. Was she lying? “What if I told you that someone saw you?”
Cindy’s eyes opened wide. “Then I would be highly suspicious of that person because it’s not true. Not at all. I did not set off those foggers.”
I tested her ability to lie with a straight face. I didn’t know quite how to ask, so I just blurted it out. “Cindy, is Gavin’s biological father actually Parker?”