A Ghostly Murder (16 page)

Tinsie made her way over to the bar. She poured herself a shot of whiskey. Without taking her eyes off me, she slung back the tan liquor, crunching her face up as the elixir slid down her throat.

“Ahh.” She shook her head from side to side.

She opened the cabinet.

“Aw man,” Junior shuffled his feet. “I thought I had a shot with that little cutie.”

“Just like you did Junior Mullins,” I stated. “Why Beulah Paige? She wasn't going to leave a cleaning lady any sort of money.”

“You have your little snooping to blame for that.” Tinsie wiggled the gun to the left, telling me to scoot. She pointed to the floor. I slid down the wall and sat down with my legs bent. “Emmitt told me you came around asking all sorts of questions about Mamie. We knew we had to do away with you.”

Tinsie laid the gun on the counter of the bar. She pulled out a ­couple of vials of a powdery substance and held them under one of the can lights.

“This will kill you in an instant.” Her eyes slid from the vial to me. “Just enough of this sprinkled into . . .” She took a jar of moisturizer out of the cabinet, leaving the doors wide open. I could see her little lab of death inside. “. . . this little jar like this.” She unscrewed the lid of the jar and sprinkled in a little bit of the powder. Slowly, she mixed the two and continued to tell her sordid tale. “If you apply our wonderful cream to your face as instructed, you will die a slow death. A death that will go undetected unless a little snooping bitch like you gets involved. That is why I have my dearly beloved boyfriend, Emmitt, waiting for me and my momma, along with a case of cash from Junior Mullins's estate and Mamie Sue's.”

“I get why you killed your grandmothers, but why Junior?” I had to ask.

Junior sat in the corner with a sad look on his face. He needed answers before he crossed over. Pattie and Mamie Sue stood in the corner, hugging each other.

“Men are men. No matter what age.” She grinned. “I don't mind using my girly figure to get more money from a horny old man like Junior Mullins. I saw his bank statement while I was cleaning. A girl can never have enough cash.” She winked, sending shivers up my legs.

“I'm not a horny old man!” He stomped. I noticed the smoke from his toupee was no longer there.

“He would watch me clean his apartment in my skimpy maid outfit.” She giggled in a sick, perverted way. “I made sure I bent way over to dust his TV while he was watching.” She wiggled her way down into the pose she was talking of. “I gave him my sad story of being born from a whore who could never afford to give me a life outside of cleaning other ­people's toilets. And I had this wonderful cream that would clear up his eczema. You should have seen him get all excited when I rubbed some cream on his arm. Oh, he wanted me to rub more.” She swayed back and forth. “I told him I have always been looking for a man like him. You can only imagine my surprise when he told me he wanted to marry me and leave me the fortune he got from playing the stock market.” Her eyes hooded. “I told him I had a great lawyer, Emmitt Moss, who would discreetly change his will before we got married.”

I glanced over at Junior. He hung his head in shame.

“What?” he chimed in when he looked up and saw the look on my face. “I'm still a man that believed in love.”

“That's all it took, besides a ­couple weeks of him using my cream.” Tinsie screwed the lid on the jar.

I wanted to jump up and grab her, but there was too much distance between us. She would have the gun in her hand and the trigger pulled before I got halfway there.

A cell phone chirped out a typewriter ringtone. A ringtone I knew well . . . Fluggie Callahan's.

“Oh God,” I cried out and flung my head back. “You are the one who tried to kill Fluggie. And you took her phone?” Tears streamed down my face.

“Too bad she keeps all her notes on her phone and no one is ever going to read them.” An evil grin pressed on Tinsie's lips.

My tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard I tried to mentally stop them. They were tears of hate-­filled anger. It was more than personal. Everyone I had come in contact with was on Tinsie's death list.

“What about my granny and that plaster you gave her?” I asked. My stomach knotted in fear at her answer.

The thought of me not having my granny was too much to bear. I wanted Tinsie to shoot me now.

“Just kill me! Kill me now!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

A shot rang out. I crunched down and squeezed my eyes shut. A loud ringing beat in my ear. When I realized it was the sound of my heart beating loud, I squinted. Gun smoke hung in the air, parting a little. Like an angel, Dixie Dunn stood over the top of her own daughter, pointing a gun directly at Tinsie Dunn.

 

Chapter 26

D
o you think you are going to be okay?” Jack Henry grabbed the last box out of Charlotte Rae's office.

“Yeah.” I smiled on the outside, but my insides were aching. I still couldn't believe Charlotte had taken the job at Hardgrove, even after she knew about the deal I had with the clients of Happy Times Retirement Community.

Jack Henry stood next to me, holding the box and looking at my face.

“New beginnings,” I assured him. “Plus I might be able to talk freely to my Betweener clients.”

“Let's hope you don't have any more of those.” He kissed my cheek. “I'm going to put this in the moving truck, then I'll meet you over at the Inn?”

“Yeah.” I plopped down behind the empty desk in what used to be Charlotte's chair. “I'm going to sit here for a minute and look around. You know,” I hesitated. “I always wanted this to be my office.”

“And you look beautiful in it.” Jack Henry darted out the door.

I leaned way back in the chair and propped my feet up. It was the first time I had been alone since the takedown of Tinsie Dunn at Mamie Sue's house.

I felt sorry for Dixie Dunn. She hadn't known her real momma was Mamie Sue. Tinsie had told Jack Henry how she had overheard Pattie Dunn talking with Mamie Sue Preston. Actually, they'd been arguing. Mamie Sue had had one sexual encounter with Eugene Brown—­Pastor Brown—­before he'd left for seminary school. That one encounter had gotten Mamie pregnant with Dixie.

Mamie's parents hadn't allowed her to keep the baby, and they'd sent her away to work on part of their coal mine business on the clear other side of Kentucky. Mamie had been smart and had kept in touch with Pattie Dunn throughout the years.

Pattie hadn't had a lot of money, but Mamie had. So Mamie had paid for all of Pattie's needs. When Dixie had ended up pregnant, like her real momma, Pattie had made Dixie get a job cleaning houses. Dixie had been good at making homemade creams and facials, since they hadn't had a lot of money, and she'd begun to make the moisturizer on the side.

Pattie had still refused to tell Dixie about her real momma, and that was the conversation Tinsie had overheard. Tinsie had had Emmitt Moss look into it. She and Emmitt had hit it off after coming to an agreement about the millions of dollars Mamie Sue had had.

With Pattie Dunn out of the way, Dixie Dunn had been able to work for whomever she'd wanted, including Mamie Sue Preston, who'd been in dire need of a housekeeper.

It had been great for Mamie. Her daughter had finally been under her own roof. She'd even had her will changed to give everything to Dixie, except for the million dollars she'd given the church. Tinsie had never understood why Mamie never told Dixie about who she was. Waiting on the money, Tinsie and Emmitt had started to get antsy.

That was when they'd devised the plan to put arsenic in the moisturizer Dixie had made for Mamie. Little by little, Mamie had gotten sicker and sicker. It hadn't been enough arsenic to show on an autopsy. Emmitt and Tinsie had perfected the dose.

It had been bonus money, with all the properties Mamie had owned.

“You got it all figured out.” Mamie sat on the edge of my new desk with her cane dangling off her thigh.

“Dixie is why you left the million dollars to the Sleepy Hollow Baptist Church?” I asked.

“Yes.” She let out a long sigh and hopped off the desk. “I couldn't bring myself to tell Eugene I had his baby. I couldn't bring myself to date another man.”

“He could've married you and helped you raise Dixie.” I couldn't wrap my head around her reasoning.

“It was a different time back then. Ask your granny.” Mamie smiled. “She was in love with Eugene. She hated it because he was in love with me. That's why she holds a grudge against me. It doesn't have anything to do with what funeral home buried me.”

I could see Granny getting her panties all curled up about a man.

“Zula Fae and I were in competition all our lives. But look at her now.” Mamie stood next to the window, looking out over the square.

The Inn was filled with ­people. Granny had forgiven Charlotte Rae and was giving her a going-­away party. It was against my better judgment, but no one ever crossed Granny.

“My only regret was not telling Dixie I was her momma.”

“Her eyes.” I shook my head. “I swear she and Tinsie have Pastor Brown's eyes.”

“Did you say my name?” Pastor Brown stood at my new office door.

“Pastor.” I jumped up from the chair. “Do you like my new office?”

“I do.” He smiled and walked in. Mamie Sue stood next to him. Her face lit up. She was obviously still in love. “I wanted to come by and thank you before I headed over to the Inn for the big party.”

“Thank me for what?” I asked.

“For figuring out what really happened to Mamie Sue all those years ago.” He didn't have to say much for me to know what he was talking about. “Now I know where the anonymous donation of one million dollars came from. I had my hunches, but I wasn't going to spend a dime of it. Thanks to Mamie, I can spend some money on updating the church and getting to know my daughter.”

“You know about Dixie?” I asked.

“She can't deny she looks a lot like me.” He smiled. “I only wish Mamie would have come to me when it happened. Things would have been a lot different, and I would have been happy with it.”

A tear slipped out of Mamie's eye and down her face.

“Can I make one suggestion?” I asked.

“Sure.” He folded his arms.

“Maybe you should have some pew cushions made for those hard pews.” I shrugged.

“I'll think about it. I'll see you at the party?” he asked.

“See you there.” I waved 'bye.

When I saw him dart across the square, I knew it was safe to talk to Mamie.

“If it weren't for that smart boyfriend of yours, you might be dead too.” Mamie reminded me of how Jack Henry had found us at Mamie's house.

After Dixie had shot her own daughter in the leg, she'd called the cops. Luckily, Jack Henry had been on to the murders, because Vernon Baxter had called him after the poison tests I had asked him to do had come back proving the moisturizer had been laced with arsenic.

Plus the hospital had told him Beulah had a case of arsenic poisoning. Unfortunately, Junior Mullins and Beulah were rich, and Tinsie and Emmitt had wanted more money. The more money they'd wanted, the greedier they'd gotten. Tinsie had only taken jobs with wealthy ­people. She'd had no plans to make Dixie Dunn's dreams of producing a moisturizer come true.

Now, with money in the bank and Tinsie in jail for the rest of her life, Dixie had decided to keep her cleaning company but move forward with the moisturizer company as well.

Poor Fluggie Callahan had been paid a visit by Emmitt Moss, leaving her bloody and beaten, but alive.

“You sure did good.” Mamie turned back to the window and watched Eugene in the distance. “Now.” She nodded her head and pointed her cane to the door. “We have some settling up to do.”

“Settling up?” I asked.

“I told you I was paying you for helping me.” She tilted her head for me to follow her.

“Don't you have the other side you need to get to?” I asked.

“Grab your hammer.” She pointed to the hammer lying on the ground where Jack Henry and I had taken Charlotte Rae's things off the wall. “Hettie Bell is over at the Inn helping Zula, and we need to get into her studio.”

What was one last gig with Mamie Sue Preston going to hurt before she disappeared on me forever?

Junior Mullins had quickly passed over with Pattie Dunn once Tinsie had been discovered as the killer. It was how I knew the real killer had been found.

Pose and Relax was locked up tight. Mamie pointed to the window on the side of the building, the one facing the funeral home. It was pushed up a little, and I opened it a little more.

“Go on over and find that creaking board,” Mamie instructed me.

The board that had mysteriously stopped creaking was creaking again.

“I made it creak when you were standing on it so you would know that is the board I want you to pull up and hammer back down,” she said.

I bent down and did like she told me to. If I didn't, I was afraid she was going to stay on this side forever.

Once the board was up, I looked into the hole. There was an old paper bag. I took it out and looked in it.

“That's ten thousand dollars.” Mamie stood over me. “It's yours. Don't tell no one.”

“But I can't take your money. Someone will know.” My mouth and eyes popped open.

“No one knows I put it there. I want you to have it. If you don't, I will haunt you forever,” she warned. “You need help with the funeral-­home bills, and that should help a little.”

“Thank you so much, Mamie. But it is unnecessary. It's my job to help you get to the other side by seeking justice,” I said, looking back at her.

It was too late. She was gone.

 

Chapter 27

S
o you think you can do this alone?” Charlotte Rae elbowed me.

“Think?” I let out a puff of air. “I know I can, and I can do it better.”

­People milled around the Inn, eating and drinking all the delicious food Granny had made.

“Hettie.” I grabbed her arm to stop her when she went flying by with a few drinks in her hand to give to partygoers. “You need to go to Happy Times Retirement. They are wanting to get a yoga program for their residents there.”

“Really?” she asked with excitement. “Then I can quit working for Zula Fae.”

“No you can't.” Granny moseyed up to us. “Go take those drinks around before the ice melts,” Granny warned Hettie.

“I'll look into it. Thanks, Emma Lee.” She smiled and worked her way through the crowd.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Granny asked Charlotte Rae.

“Yes,” Charlotte and I said in unison. We let out a big laugh.

Both of us seemed to be getting what we wanted. Almost everything I wanted. I glanced over at Jack Henry and his momma. They were having a piece of Dixie Dunn's famous chess pie.

“Excuse me.” I wanted to give Granny and Charlotte some time alone, and I wanted to see my boyfriend.

Beulah Paige and Fluggie were exchanging war stories about Emmitt Moss and Tinsie Dunn. They talked about the court date and what they were going to say while they were on the stand.

“There is our hero.” Jo Francis held her glass up to me and tilted her head to the side in a little Southern toast.

“Yes, she is.” Jack Henry pulled me tight. “Are you okay?”

“I'm great.” I smiled. “Fantastic.”

“Well, I hate to bring this up here,” Jo Francis said, then she turned to Jack Henry. “Have you made a decision about your new job?”

“I'm so glad you asked, Mother.” He took a deep breath. “I turned it down this morning.”

Her face dropped. Her eyes bugged.

“Sleepy Hollow needs me. And I have to keep her out of trouble.” He draped his arm around my shoulder. “I love you,” he said to me.

“I love you too,” I said back to him. I grabbed a glass of champagne off Hettie Bell's tray when she walked by. “Can I have everyone's attention please?” I yelled into the air.

The room fell silent, even the sound of the squeaking screen door. Once everyone was jammed into the Inn, I knew it was time.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to wish Charlotte Rae a happy new beginning of her life,” I began my toast.

Even though Charlotte Rae and I never saw eye-­to-­eye, she was still my sister. After all, family was like fudge, sweet with a few nuts.