Library

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I took my coffee and headed out onto the porch, figuring that would give me the best place to potentially engage my suspects in a final conversation before they left. And I was now considering them exactly that—suspects. Because whoever went out that window was hiding something. Maybe it was a crime. Maybe it was just personal and embarrassing. But whatever it was, they were willing to risk entering a crime scene to make sure it remained hidden and a life-threatening climb down the side of the house during a storm.

The entire situation was beyond sketchy.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to quiz any of the others individually because they all came out within minutes of one another, some in pairs. Daniel and Brittany were first, both of them checking their watches every ten seconds, looking impatiently at the door. They’d given me the briefest of nods and a mumbled ‘Good morning,’ but I figured I was still on their strike list because of the whole punch fiasco.

“Your hair looks great,” I said when it was clear that neither of them planned on speaking to me. “I’m really sorry about last night. My aunts have a way of getting into trouble. It’s why I try to get out of taking them places, but they’re old and I love them…”

I shrugged and Brittany sniffed, but her shoulders relaxed a bit.

“It’s all right,” she said. “I have a grandmother who I adore but she’s not without challenges, especially the older she gets.”

“I’m happy to pay for the robe,” I said.

“It was actually Nicole’s and she said it was an old one and not to worry about it,” Brittany said. “She’d planned on donating it when she did her annual closet clean. I guess we’ll just consider it an early donation.”

She gave me a small smile, which I returned.

“I’m not sure the donation benefited anyone,” I said, “but I’ll graciously accept her generosity. And yours. But I’m happy to replace it if you need one for the reunion. Oh, but you live in Houma, right?”

She gave me a nod and I could tell all was forgiven.

“Yes, but we’re all staying at the reunion hotel the next two nights. I tried to encourage everyone attending to book rooms since there would be drinking. I negotiated a discounted rate.”

“That’s smart. Hopefully everyone will take advantage and the rest of your reunion will go off without a hitch.”

Tyler and Nicole came out next, and I noticed Tyler was carrying Nicole’s bag. I figured he’d probably waited at his door until she’d exited her room, then rushed forward to offer his services. His crush on Nicole was so obvious, but Nicole never gave any indication that she was aware or that they were anything other than just friends. I wondered if that was her way of turning him down gently. Given that high school was ten years ago, and it looked as if Tyler’s torch was still burning, I didn’t think the gentle option was getting the point across all that well .

Morgan and Amanda were right behind Tyler and Nicole, and then Corndog came out after them.

“Who wants to go first?” he asked. “I figure I’ll take three at a time to make it even.”

Brittany and Daniel headed down the steps and Nicole lifted her bag. “I’ll go with them,” she said.

Tyler watched as she headed away, the disappointment clear in his expression, but then he realized I was watching and grabbed his bag to hurry after them. “I’ll just wait at the dock. Maybe I’ll see some alligators.”

He hurried off and Amanda came and sat down next to me. “I see my sister’s hair is back in full bloom. Guess you and the aunts are off the hook.”

“Thank God,” I said. “I’ve never been so exhausted by a mini vacation in my life.”

She laughed. “Are you staying all weekend?”

“No. We’re actually leaving sometime today, but we’re not headed home right away. I have the weekend off and there’s a couple other places they wanted to check out. Apparently, there’s a bar in Meditation where you have to sit cross-legged to curse?”

They both laughed.

“I know that place,” Amanda said. “We used to sneak in back in high school to video them.”

Morgan nodded. “It was one of the few times I was happy to have that fake ID.”

“That’s because it didn’t work for buying beer in Houma where everyone knew our parents,” Amanda said. “And the only place Justin and Tyler wanted to go was to New Orleans to stare at boobs.”

Morgan blushed a bit. “Well, I’m not going to say that I never joined on the New Orleans jaunts, but the company definitely put a damper on the view. ”

Amanda shook her head. “I can’t imagine trying to corral Justin and Tyler drunk and in NOLA. I don’t know why you bothered. There’s easier ways to see boobs.”

He shrugged. “Mostly because Daniel asked me to and I didn’t figure it was fair to leave him with it, even though they were more his friends than mine.”

Amanda smiled. “You always were a good guy, Morgan. I think I’m going to head out to the dock myself. Corndog shouldn’t be long, and I’m ready to hit the café and have the biggest chicken-fried steak they offer. You ready?”

“Go on ahead,” Morgan said. “Petunia baked some of those chocolate cookies I loved so much and is going to pack some up for me as soon as they are cool enough to go into a bag.”

She nodded and pulled out a card and handed it to me. “My cell phone’s on the back. I meant what I said about our girls’ night bitch sessions. You ever want to get out of the house and kick back without having to worry about men hitting on you, then come join us. Our booth is private and my girls are the best.”

“I really appreciate it,” I said. “I might just take you up on it.”

She headed off with an overhead wave and Morgan shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and watched her go before turning back to me.

“She meant the offer,” he said. “In case you were wondering. Amanda doesn’t do grand gestures. If she invited you to her private girls’ thing, it’s because she likes you.”

“I didn’t take her for one who postures, but it’s good to know I was right.” I watched as Amanda stepped into the woods and bit my lower lip, hoping it conveyed nervous thoughts. “Are you guys going to be all right? With the death, I mean?”

Morgan’s smile dissipated as he seemed to consider my question. “I think so. Some of us more than others. To be honest, I feel worse for Corndog and Petunia than I do our group. That sheriff was a clown, and I’m worried that he can cause them trouble.”

He gave me a small smile. “I guess you’ve figured out that some of us weren’t exactly broken up over Justin’s death. In fact, some might even feel he had it coming.”

“Why? I mean, high school was a long time ago.”

Morgan locked his eyes on mine. “Some acts are so egregious that the suffering and the desire for retribution have no expiration.”

I nodded. I certainly understood that sentiment. It was one of the many reasons I was glad Kitts was dead.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing his death was accidental,” I said. “Otherwise, you might all find yourself suspects.”

“Not all of us.”

The front door opened, and Petunia came out with a freezer bag stuffed with cookies. Morgan’s serious expression was replaced with a genuine smile.

“This is incredible,” he said as he gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I didn’t expect so many, but no way I’m turning them down. Thanks so much, Petunia.”

She flushed as she passed him the bag. “I put the recipe in there as well. It will have a bit of chocolate on it but if it gets too smudged to see it, then you just give me a call and I’ll help you out. Voodoo Island is a long way to go to get good cookies. I figured a smart young man like yourself might try baking some on your own.”

“That’s a great idea!” He turned to me and stuck his hand out. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Rose. I hope the rest of your weekend is less, uh, eventful.”

“Your mouth to God’s ears,” I said as we shook. “It was nice meeting you too. Have fun at the reunion. ”

Petunia and I watched as Morgan headed off, then she smiled at me.

“Those two ‘aunts’ of yours are in the kitchen pouring coffee,” she said. “It won’t take Corndog long to get those kids across, then you can tell us both what you’ve discovered.”

I nodded. “And I want to get a look at that room.”

“If that idiot sheriff doesn’t call soon, we’ll just let you in and say we forgot. That’s one of the beautiful things about getting older. You just do whatever the heck you want and then claim you didn’t remember you weren’t supposed to.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Petunia.”

Ida Belle and Gertie were already on their second cup of coffee by the time we walked into the kitchen. They both looked over and nodded.

“Saw you on the front porch,” Ida Belle said, “but we figured we’d stick inside and let you do your thing. Morgan seems to have taken a liking to you.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. At least it wasn’t Tyler. Good Lord, he’s exhausting.”

Petunia waved at a stool. “You just hop on up there and I’ll whip up some eggs. Corndog carried a biscuit and sausage with him on the way out, so this way, we’ll be ready to talk as soon as he gets back.”

“Homemade biscuits?” I said as I sat next to Gertie. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

“I can get you started on those now,” Petunia said as she pulled a plate of biscuits out of the oven where she’d been keeping them warm. “And here’s the sausage. It won’t take me any time to scramble up those eggs. ”

“Don’t even bother,” Ida Belle said. “The biscuits and sausage are plenty and smell incredible.”

I lifted a biscuit and slathered it with butter before dropping a sausage inside it, then topped the sausage with homemade strawberry jelly. I took the first bite and sighed.

“These might just be the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten,” I said.

Gertie nodded. “And your jelly is excellent. Mine is pretty good but borders just on being too sweet. I don’t suppose you’d give me your recipe?”

“Oh my,” Petunia said, clearly flattered. “I surely can. It was my mother’s recipe. Never modified a single teaspoon of it.”

“Why would you?” Gertie asked. “It’s perfect.”

By the time we’d all polished off a second biscuit, we heard Corndog whistling in the entry. A few seconds later, he entered the kitchen.

“Well, we’re all alone now, so you can tell us what’s been going on,” he said as he took a seat on a stool. “Me and Petunia’s been about to burst from wanting to know.”

“I don’t have solid answers,” I said. “But I do have a lot of weirdness.”

I told them about everything we’d heard and seen over the last day and when I got to the part about someone going out Justin’s window, they both stared at me in shock.

“Good Lord, why would anyone go out the window, much less in a storm?” Corndog asked. “Those trellises are strong, but it’s still a dangerous thing to do, even if it wasn’t raining.”

I nodded. “The climb wasn’t easy even though the trellis is definitely solid enough to hold someone. But unless the person who went out the window tested it beforehand, they couldn’t have known that. Then you’ve got navigating down it in a storm and avoiding people on the front and rear porches to get back into the house. Assuming, of course, it wasn’t either one of them who was our climber. The whole thing was a huge risk.”

“Two people were outside?” Petunia asked.

I nodded. “Tyler claims he was sitting on the back porch, and he did come into the entry from the back hallway with a damp head. And Amanda was on the front porch and damp as well.”

“And then there’s Brittany, who could have bypassed both of them by sneaking in through the kitchen door,” Ida Belle said. “We’re not buying her water story. Not when there’s plenty of cold bottles in the library and she knows good and well where to find them.”

Corndog’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t even thought about that. My nephew was right. Nothing gets past you ladies, and that situation with the punch was genius. I can’t believe you had the ghost-hunting cover story ready to go just like that.”

“It’s not our first time to invent things on the spot,” Ida Belle said. “And won’t be the last.”

“Have you heard anything from the sheriff about accessing the room?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Not a peep, but honestly, I’m not really expecting to. That boy is about as useless as they come. He’s made a career out of avoiding work and this situation falls squarely into that category.”

Petunia nodded. “You should have heard him complaining when he was here the other day. He’d had to take his boat down to the launch, and had to put in fuel, and the mosquitoes were bad, and it was humid. He made it sound like that poor boy had died just to inconvenience him.”

“Well, then I guess we move on to plan B, which is you two forget that you weren’t supposed to allow anyone in the room,” I said .

“That’s not a bad plan,” Corndog said. “I’m good at forgetting things.”

I laughed. “It was your brilliant wife’s idea. So let’s get up there and you can walk me through everything that you saw, and if you heard the others’ statements about the night before, I’d like to get all of that as well, but first, I want to get your account of events that night.”

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.