“I’ll take that,” Vonnie said, holding out her hand.
She wasn’t actually filling the doorway. For a second, it just seemed like she did. It was probably the pistol in her hand.
“Where did you get that?” I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was huge and gray and looking down the barrel, I could almost see a bullet with my name on it.
I’d been shot once before. It hurts. When Vonnie wiggled the gun suggestively, I handed over the paperwork without demurring.
She glanced at the front page, and her mouth curved. “Thank you very much.”
Very polite of her. I couldn’t bring myself to return the favor and tell her she was welcome. “You didn’t answer my question,” I said instead.
“What...? Oh. Have you seen the crime rates in Tallahassee lately?” She shook her head. “The town’s going to hell in a hand basket. Hoodlums everywhere, with guns and knives. You can’t be too careful.”
I guess you couldn’t. “Is that why you killed your sister?” Because she had to have killed Frenetta, if she was up here with a gun. Why else would she be threatening me?
“I don’t know what you mean,” Vonnie said. “I caught you burglarizing one of my guest rooms.”
Well, yes. Technically, she had. And technically, that was a defense of sorts.
“So you didn’t kill your sister?”
“Why would I kill my sister?” Vonnie wanted to know.
“I don’t know. Maybe because she was selling the house—this house, the one you both grew up in—and you didn’t want her to?”
Her eyes flickered. I pressed the advantage I figured I had. “She got the house when your mother died. You didn’t, even though you were the eldest.”
Pure guesswork. I had no idea whether she was older than Frenetta or not, but I thought she might be, since she’d married first. At any rate, she didn’t contradict me.
“Frenetta was always mother’s favorite. Even when we were small. Mother always liked her better.”
“You must have hated that,” I said sympathetically, even as I wondered whether Mother liked Catherine better than me.
She probably did. Catherine hadn’t gotten herself knocked up out of wedlock and ended up marrying Rafe Collier. Although if Mother had a favorite among her children, I was pretty sure it was Dix. I’m certain she liked Sheila, Dix’s late wife, better than either me or Catherine.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. I turned my attention back to Vonnie and the gun. “She shouldn’t have treated you differently. You were sisters. Equal. But Frenetta got the house, and what did you get?”
“Nothing,” Vonnie said through clenched teeth.
“It wasn’t fair.”
She shook her head. “And she didn’t just live in it. She rented it out! Strangers, sleeping in my room!”
She directed a fulminating glance over my shoulder, into Gloria and Hildy’s room. Gloria and Hildy must have been here already when Groot and Vonnie showed up, so Vonnie couldn’t have her old room for the weekend.
“And then you realized she was thinking of selling.”
“She called me,” Vonnie said bitterly. “Out of the blue. We hadn’t spoken to one another in years, and she calls to tell me a real estate developer had made an offer for the house and the land. She was going to sell my house, and for a lot of money!”
Good for her.
I didn’t say it, since I figured the sentiment wouldn’t go over well. I did endeavor to keep her talking, since the longer we stood here, the better the chances that someone would come up the stairs and see what was going on. Or that Rafe would wake up and notice I wasn’t in bed, and come looking for me.
In fact, there might be something I could do about that. I still had my phone. I’d put it in my pocket before picking up the sales contract from the bedside table. It was still there. If I could speed-dial Rafe’s phone by touch, without looking at the display, and wake him up...
I slipped a hand into the folds of my skirt, and from there into the pocket. To distract Vonnie, I used my other hand to point to the papers in her hand. “What’s up with that? If a developer from Atlanta wanted to buy the place, what’s that contract all about?”
“Everyone wanted to buy it!” Vonnie shrieked, practically frothing at the mouth. I kept my eyes on her, while inside my pocket, I was frantically trying to push the right buttons on the phone. Which, let me tell you, is a lot harder to do when you can’t see what you’re doing.
Eventually, I thought I had done it, and pressed the slick screen in the area where I thought I was making the call. And then I peeled my ears for the sound of Rafe’s phone ringing in the other room.
I used to have my phone set to play the Hallelujah Chorus. That was last year. Now, I’ve programmed different ringtones for different people. Detective Grimaldi’s is the theme from Hawaii Five-O. Mother’s is a certain melody snipped from The Wizard of Oz, better left unnamed. And Rafe’s is the wedding march, at least this week. Now that we were married, I should probably program something else.
If I ever got the chance.
This was a hell of a way to start married life. Being held at gunpoint during the honeymoon.
I listened for the sound of Mendelssohn from across the hall, but heard nothing.
Dammit, if not Rafe, who had I called?
Or maybe I hadn’t called anybody. Maybe I’d just started a scroll through my images, or an ebook, or something like that.
But just in case someone was listening, I kept the phone on. If Vonnie shot me and buried my body in the sand, at least someone would know what happened. I had no way of knowing who, but somebody.
“You sister signed that.” I pointed to the contract. “She sold the house. So why did you say that you wouldn’t? It’s already done.”
“Not after I burn the contract,” Vonnie said. “Then it’ll be their word against mine. And without my sister’s signature, what can they do?”
Not a whole lot, I imagined. If Vonnie had possession of the house, and Gloria and Hildy didn’t have possession of the contract, they might not be able to do anything. Unless there was another copy somewhere.
“So you killed your sister so she wouldn’t sell the house,” I said. “When did you find out that she’d sold it already?”
Vonnie looked like she was grinding her teeth, but the gun didn’t waver. “I thought I was stopping her from agreeing to sell the house to that little rat Chip. She kept saying no, but I was afraid, sooner or later, she’d give in. She always wanted children—” her expression said that she couldn’t imagine why, “and he was ingratiating himself. He could be charming when he wanted to be.”
Her expression was grim. I’d take her word for it, although you couldn’t prove it by me. I hadn’t seen anything remotely resembling charm in Chip.
“And when you thought she might give in, you killed her.”
There was a sound in the hallway, and I glanced that way. Vonnie smiled unpleasantly. “Don’t get any ideas about someone coming to save you. Chip and Nina are gone. Groot is keeping the ladies occupied downstairs. He’ll make sure they don’t come up here. And I’ve taken care of your husband.”
A chill crept down my spine. “What do you mean,” I asked, and it took effort to keep my voice steady, “you’ve taken care of him?”
“A couple of pills in the mint julep,” Vonnie said with a shrug, “and he’ll be sleeping like a baby.” Her eyes turned angry again when she looked at me. “You were supposed to drink, too. But you didn’t.”
“I’m pregnant,” I said. Maybe it would make her think twice about shooting me.
Then again, she hadn’t thought twice about killing her own sister, so probably not.
“That’s too bad.”
Yes, it was. “What are you going to do with me? I mean, it isn’t like my... my husband—” I stumbled over the word, “is going to believe that I walked out on him.”
Rafe would never believe that. Just as, a week ago, when he didn’t show up to our (first) wedding ceremony, I hadn’t believed he’d walked out on me. Mother had been convinced he did. Everyone else had been open to the possibility, even if they’d had doubts.
I had refused to believe it.
Mostly.
And Rafe would absolutely refuse to believe I’d left him. He’d know I wouldn’t.
But that wouldn’t make me any less dead.
“I think you must have decided to take a walk on the beach,” Vonnie said, “and unfortunately you got caught in a riptide.”
“I see. And how do you plan to get me out of the house, past Gloria and Hildy, without them suspecting anything?”
“I’ll leave that up to you,” Vonnie told me, as she backed slowly through the doorway. “I imagine we’ll be able to work something out.”
The gun dropped a few inches, from my chest to my stomach. I put a hand on it, automatically. There was nothing my hand could do to protect the contents if she fired, but the threat was effective. Certainly enough to make me determined to draw as little attention to myself as possible on the way down the stairs.
Vonnie passed through the opening and into the hallway, and that’s when it happened.
A banshee yell—or war cry—made me jump what felt like a foot in the air. Vonnie jumped too, and thankfully did not discharge the gun. A well-placed foot in a tennis shoe kicked it from her hand, and then a hundred and eighty pounds of irate female landed on Vonnie and knocked her flat. I heard her head hit the floor with a thunk. Luckily she managed to land on the hallway runner; if she’d hit the hardwood floor, she might not have gotten up again.
Not that she got up. Gloria landed on her and kept her down.
Yes, Gloria. Not Rafe. He was there, too, but not in any kind of position to subdue a suspect. He had to lean against the wall to keep upright, and his eyes were practically crossed. For once, sheer willpower was unequal to the task. I’d seen him sideline pain and fear and a lot of other things when necessarily, but Vonnie’s sleeping pills had proven to be too much for him.
“I called Lou,” he muttered, his eyelids at half mast.
I went over to him and put an arm around his waist. “Thank you.”
He looked at me, but I’m not sure he saw me. Not clearly. “Got your call. Just couldn’t save the day.”
“It’s OK. It all worked out.” Hildy had Groot under control downstairs, I assumed, and Gloria was certainly on top of things here. Literally. “Let’s go back to bed.”
Even half asleep, he managed a grin. “Yes’m.”
Gloria snorted, but it was a humorous sort of snort. She looked up at me and winked.
“And maybe we’ll put some clothes on, too,” I added.
Rafe blinked. Slowly. And peered down his own front. “Shit,” he said.
“I know.” I led him back toward the door to the bedroom, while he attempted—in vain—to cover his exposed parts with one hand. He has big hands, but not big enough for the task. “It’s all right. I don’t think Gloria cares. And you probably gave Vonnie a thrill.”
“Did I give you a thrill, darlin’?”
“Always,” I said, guiding him through the door. “Here we go. Just crawl back into bed. That’s good...” I pulled the blanket over him. I think he was probably out cold by the time his head hit the pillow. I was frankly amazed that he’d managed to drag himself out of bed and out to the hallway in the condition he was. He’d even been coherent enough to call the sheriff. Or at least he’d managed to dial the number. Whether he’d made himself understood was another matter. God only knew what he’d told her.
Right on cue, there was a knock on the door downstairs. Gloria lifted her head, and Vonnie stirred feebly.
“I’ll get it,” I said, as a voice hollered, “Sheriff’s deputy. Open the door!”
It took me thirty seconds to get down the stairs and through the house. By then, Lou Engebretsen was going crazy on the front porch. When I opened the door—and took a prudent step back—she burst into the foyer with gun drawn, sweeping the room from left to right before turning to me.
It took a second for her to recognize me, I think. At first, it looked like she didn’t know who I was. Then her eyes cleared. “Good. You’re alive.”
I nodded.
“What’s going on?”
“I was snooping,” I said. With a grimace, since I figured I knew how the sheriff would feel about that. “Rafe fell asleep, and I went out in the hallway to call my sister.” Whom I still hadn’t called, incidentally. “I knew nobody was upstairs, so I tried Chip and Nina’s door.”
Lou tsked, but not in a serious way.
“They’re gone. I assume you already know that?”
She nodded. “David caught up with them before they crossed the county line. They’re cooling their heels in jail.”
Good to know. However— “They actually didn’t do it. I guess they just freaked out when they came under suspicion. Vonnie said that Chip had been trying to convince Frenetta to sell. I got the sense he might have used some undue pressure.”
Lou nodded. “He admitted as much. But swore up and down he hadn’t had anything to do with killing her. They both swore they’d been together all night, except for the few minutes when Nina came downstairs to open the door for you.”
She hesitated a moment before she added, “They’re still trying to blame you for it.”
“We weren’t here,” I said. “And really, I should have figured it out a long time ago. Chip wouldn’t have needed to drug Frenetta to kill her. He was a young, strong, big guy, and she was a smallish, older women. He could have twisted her neck and been done with it.”
Lou nodded.
“Hildy is the follower in their relationship, and Gloria the leader. If one of them was going to kill Frenetta, it would be Gloria. And she’s also big and strong. Bigger and stronger than Frenetta.”
“Gym teacher,” Lou said.
“I don’t think she would have bothered with the sleeping pills, either. I also don’t think she’s the type.”
“So who did it?”
“Vonnie,” I said.
“Vonnie?”
“She’s the only one of us who’d need Frenetta sedated in order to kill her. Not just because she’s older than Frenetta, and probably weaker—Frenetta worked all day, every day, and Vonnie doesn’t look like she does much except go to the hairdresser and have her nails done—but I’m sure she wouldn’t want Frenetta awake and cognizant of what was going on while Vonnie killed her. They were sisters, after all.”
Lou nodded. “Makes sense. Can you tell me why?”
“Frenetta wanted to sell the place,” I said. “Vonnie didn’t want her to.”
“And that’s why she killed her?”
“Frenetta wasn’t interested in selling to Nina’s father. But she had agreed to sell to Gloria and Hildy. My guess is, they wanted to keep the B and B as a B and B, and weren’t going to develop the land. They told me they fell in love with the place the first time they came here.”
“So what happened tonight? Your husband was asleep and you were snooping.”
I nodded. “I didn’t know until later, but Vonnie put something in his drink. When we came home from dinner earlier, all four of them were in the parlor watching TV and drinking mint juleps.”
Lou glanced at the door to the parlor, from behind which we could still hear the sound of the TV.
“Vonnie gave us each a drink. I didn’t drink any of mine, since...”
She nodded. “But your husband did?”
“He finished it. I think it tasted weird, though, because he grimaced. I figured it was just too sweet—he prefers beer—but now I wonder.”
“So you went upstairs, and he fell asleep?”
“Eventually. We’re on our honeymoon, as you know.”
“Right,” Lou drawled. “So he fell asleep, and you decided to snoop.”
“I actually decided to call my sister. I was going to do it earlier, but I forgot. She was the one who booked us in here. She was here with her family once. I figured I ought to tell her what had happened.” And pick her brain. But it was probably better not to mention that. “And I didn’t want to disturb Rafe, so I got dressed again, and took my phone out on the landing. And then I had the idea to check whether the doors were locked.”
“And what did you discover?”
“That Chip and Nina were gone. You already know that. That Vonnie and Groot have lots of medicine bottles in their toiletries bag. You probably know that, too.”
She nodded.
“And in Gloria and Hildy’s room, I found a purchase and sale contract between the two of them and Frenetta, for the B and B. Signed and ratified. I was looking at it when Vonnie came upstairs and found me. She had a gun.”
Lou’s eyes narrowed.
“She made me give her the paperwork. But when she backed out of the room, Gloria kicked the gun out of her hand and landed on her. I assume they’re still upstairs.”
“And Hildy and Groot?”
“In there,” I said, pointing to the parlor. “Or so I assume. You knocked, and I didn’t take the time to check.”
“Leave it to me.” She headed for the door.
I trailed behind, of course.
Yes, they were there. Groot red-faced and furious on the sofa, and Hildy standing over him, armed with a fireplace poker.
Lou took in the scene in a single glance. “You can put that down,” she told Hildy. “Evening, Mr. Jenkins.”
Hildy lowered the poker reluctantly. “He wanted to go upstairs and check on his wife.”
“I’ll go check on her in a minute,” Lou said, at the same time as I told them, “She’s fine. Gloria’s on her.”
Literally.
Lou glanced at me, but didn’t say anything. “Just sit tight,” she told Groot.
“I wanna see my wife!”
“I’ll bring her down in a minute. Try to be patient ‘till then.”
She nodded to Hildy, who took a better grip on the fireplace poker and tried to look fierce.
I didn’t think there was anything I could do upstairs, so when Lou went to the bottom of the staircase and headed up, I stayed where I was. “What happened down here?”
“As soon as you left,” Hildy said with a grimace, “Gloria told Vonnie that it didn’t matter whether she wanted to sell the house or not; it was already a done deal. Vonnie didn’t like that. Gloria said she could prove it, that she had the paperwork upstairs on the bedside table. Vonnie said she’d go look for herself, since she was cold anyway, and wanted a sweater.”
“Why didn’t she leave the gun with Groot?”
“She didn’t have a gun when she went upstairs,” Hildy said. “She must have picked it up on the way.”
And I hadn’t even noticed her stopping off in her room. Some detective I was.
“When she didn’t come back down,” Hildy continued, “Gloria decided to go after her. Groot tried to stop her—he even got physical, and Gloria had to put him back in the chair—and then she gave me the fireplace poker and told me to keep him there. So I did.”
She glanced at Groot, who glowered at her.
“They killed Frenetta,” I said.
She nodded. “We figured that out.”
Groot muttered something, and I turned to him. “What?”
He raised his voice. “It wasn’t fair. She getting the house and Vonnie getting nothing.”
“Maybe not. But it wasn’t fair to kill her, either.”
He had no response to that. Outside in the hallway, we could hear steps on the stairs. Lou came down with Vonnie in front of her, while Gloria made up the rear.
“C’mon, Mr. Jenkins,” Lou said, herding Vonnie through the foyer. “Out to the car.”
Groot heaved himself to his feet. “Where ya taking her?”
“Just over to the office so we can talk.” She passed through the front door with Vonnie in front. Groot lumbered after.
“Do you need help?” I asked.
Lou shook her head. “We’re fine. Stay here with your husband.”
No problem. Although if Groot and Vonnie overpowered her on the way to the sheriff’s office, I was totally going to remind her of this.
“I’ll talk to y’all tomorrow.” She closed the door. All that was left was silence, and a bit of an anticlimactic feeling. I looked at Gloria and Hildy. They looked back at me. I daresay we all looked a little shell-shocked.
“So you own the place,” I said. It explained a lot. Or at least it explained why Gloria was making breakfast tomorrow. “Congratulations.”
“It isn’t ours yet. We haven’t exchanged the money.” She glanced at Hildy. “Now it might not be.”
“It’s all right.” Hildy took Gloria’s hand. “We still have the money. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll find another place to buy.”
“I liked this one,” Gloria said, but she leaned against Hildy, who leaned against her. I guess they needed the comfort.
Comfort sounded pretty nice, actually. In another minute, I intended to crawl under the covers with Rafe and be comforted, too. Even if he was dead to the world. But first—
“She might need to sell. I don’t know how much money they have, but a good defense attorney doesn’t come cheap. Not in a murder trial. And anyway, isn’t there some rule about not benefitting from a crime?”
“I don’t know,” Gloria said, but she looked a little more cheerful. “I guess we’ll have to look into it tomorrow.”
“After we cook breakfast,” Hildy reminded her.
“I’m going upstairs,” I said. “I want to make sure Rafe is all right and is sleeping off the medicine.”
They both nodded. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Breakfast at eight.”
“We’ll be there,” I promised, and headed for the stairs.