Barbara Graham - Quilted 05 - Murder by Sunlight (31 page)

Wade smiled gallantly. “So sorry.”

The sight of the handsome young man giving her his very best smile melted the ice in Mrs. Fairfield’s attitude. “Come in then.”

The moment they entered the living room, Tony realized Sheila had been right. Except the furniture in question did not sit along the wall, but had been moved into the middle of the room, and the fringed shawl was turned back to expose the dearly departed’s face. A white damask tablecloth was spread on the bottom half of the coffin and was set for a formal tea with an antique silver service.

Wade gulped several times before vanishing outside for a few moments.

Tony couldn’t think what to say. His mind went blank and he forgot why he stopped by her home. He backed toward the open door.

Speaking wasn’t necessary. Mrs. Fairfield chattered about everything going on in town. Then she patted the coffin, about where the gentleman’s chest would be. “He never was much of a talker. So really, it’s not much different since he passed.”

Leaving Mrs. Fairfield complaining about their manners, Tony drove out to the Jackson house with Wade as his passenger. They turned off the highway a little beyond Kwik Kirk’s, drove past the pig farm and the McMahon place, and just about dead-ended into a mountain. The house, the earthly residence of the late Hydrangea Flowers Jackson, was over a hundred years old but in pretty good condition. It had a new roof and the ladder-back chairs on the front porch were in pristine condition. Three of the chairs sat in a row. An old man sat in each of the end chairs, leaving the center chair empty. Hydrangea’s chair.

“Tell me about your wedding.” Tony had already extended his formal sympathy speech.

“I married Hydrangea when she was seventeen.” Tears welled in the old man’s eyes. “The purtiest woman I ever saw.”

Tony couldn’t help thinking about his twin girls. He certainly didn’t want them sharing a spouse. “And your name is?”

“U.Z.” His voice trembled. “Ulysses Zebulon.”

“We’re twins.” The other brother spoke. “I’m also called U.Z. for Ulysses Zacharias, and I married her on the same day. We all eloped. Went to two counties and had two ceremonies.” He smiled. “It was a glorious day. We got home and wrote all the names in the family Bible.”

“It would be harder for you to get away with that these days. Computers, more questions of identification. Passports.” Tony fell silent. He wasn’t going to ask why, but he wanted to know.

Wade studied the empty chair. “No one knew?”

“No,” U.Z. the first replied. “When we married, this was the end of the road. We used horses and wagons to get up here, and there was no pavement. We farmed a bit, growing tobacco and corn, kept a few hogs, and lived a quiet, simple life.”

U.Z. the second picked up the story. “Hydrangea spent at least one day a week with her sisters, riding a mule down the hill, and later drove herself in an automobile. The cousins canned fruit together and sewed or just sat and talked, but Hydrangea never told them about the two of us. We knew it was not right, what we were doing.”

“And no children?”

U.Z. the second shook his head. “She lost several before they was born. Doctor said there weren’t anything she could do different, but she did spread love on her nephews and nieces.”

“How did no one know?”

“I worked in town and U.Z. the second worked the farm.”

“But everyone knew you.” Wade mumbled. “Well, thought they did. Saw you at events, at church.”

“We alternated Sunday’s at church.” U.Z. the first broke in. “Religion’s important, you know. And all them massive Flowers family gatherings, it was a relief for us not to have to attend but half of them.”

U.Z. the second nodded vigorously. “You seen the way they was at the funeral home? Lawsy, the older women are a tough bunch. Our Hydrangea was a gentle soul.”

“What about the pink book?” Tony saw nothing but grief and devotion to their shared spouse on the old men’s faces. “The one Calvin Cashdollar handed you.”

“She come home with it one afternoon, just days before her death.” U.Z. number one reached into his shirt and retrieved it. “Said she took it from a neighbor’s burn pile and hid it in her treasure bag. Rescued it.”

“She wouldn’t put it down.” U.Z. number two ran a shaking hand over his face, wiping away the tears. “So we thought if it was so dear to her, maybe she should carry it with her to beyond, along with her Bible.”

“Mr. Cashdollar was powerful mad after the viewing.” U.Z. number one cut in. “He said he did keep her Bible with her and later he said he’d bury her and we could have a private service, but there was no way he was going to allow the family to destroy his business.” The old man wheezed as he finished his statement.

“So we had a few people at the church and the burial.” U.Z. number two picked up the story. “Mr. Cashdollar handed us the pink book because it got knocked out of the casket and onto the floor during the fight, and he didn’t find it until later.”

“I was there. I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed a fight quite like it before. May I see the book?” A gnarled, shaking hand held it where he could take it. Tony flipped through the pink book, feeling his heart beat faster as he read through the names. It was the solution to their puzzle. Candy was smarter than anyone had given her credit for. “Thank you for this.”

Tony looked at Wade. “Let’s have another little conversation with Kirk. I’ll drop you off so you can get your car. Meet me at the convenience store in ten minutes.”

It was closer to eighteen minutes by the time Wade walked into the store by his side. The antique cars were headed back to wherever they’d come from and created a traffic snag when they all stopped for gasoline and snacks on their way.

Tony watched Kirk handing a credit card receipt to his customer even as he checked the movements of others nearby. “If he didn’t kill her himself, I’ll bet he saw the killer, whether he realizes it or not.”

Wade nodded. “I agree. Kirk keeps a close eye on his customers and his store. He has to know when someone leaves a vehicle at the store and walks across the road to visit Candy.”

“It’s quieter out here in the winter, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it without a customer.” Tony absently tugged on the neck of the protective vest under his shirt, hoping to let in a little cooler air. It didn’t help much. At least the store was air-conditioned. Kirk was expecting them and had a pair of security recordings set up for them to watch.

They joined Kirk in his office. The two screens were a bit fuzzy, but it was possible to identify features and license plates. People coming and going. In and out of cars, shopping, pumping gas. “Wait a minute.” Tony leaned forward. “If you didn’t see the mustache and beard on that guy,” he said, pointing to a ponytailed customer walking out the door, “From the back would you immediately think male or female?”

“Depends on the body shape.” Wade’s eyes sparkled. “Although my first thought would probably be female.”

Tony nodded. “Both genders. All shapes and sizes. Did we just double our suspect pool?”

Wade said, “I remember when I took the law enforcement aptitude test, there was a series of sketches, and the object was to recognize people from an assortment of pictures using different hairstyles and glasses or no glasses. It’s tricky to look past the features easily changed by something like a mustache.”

Feeling like they were onto something important, Tony studied the people in the store and wandering outside. “So, maybe you’re an older person or have poor vision, or just get a glance at a person, you might get it wrong.” Tony glanced at Wade.

Wade pushed his sunglasses onto the top of his head. “I’m thinking I’ve seen quite a few bodies from the rear that could belong to either gender and not all of them had a ponytail, but longish hair.”

“A woman carrying some extra weight, a ponytail, and tattoos. Like Pinkie Millsaps or Santhe Flowers.”

“Or a man who sometimes wears his hair in a ponytail, and sometimes doesn’t.” Wade smiled and paused the playback. “And is married to this woman.”

Tony smiled. “Duke McMahon.”

“How much did you know about the coins?” Tony guessed they were the catalyst and decided to ask Duke about them in an informal setting, Duke’s family hardware store, but first he determined the man was unarmed.

Duke McMahon frowned, twitched, then sagged, leaning against the counter. He looked defeated. “My dad and Candy’s dad were friends. They went through a period where they were all into investing in the future. Gold and other coins were something they felt strongly about.” Duke snuffled into his handkerchief. “I went along once on their buying trip. They’d drive all the way into the city, buy a gold coin with their whole cash-stash, and take it home and lock it up somewhere safe.” He stuck his lower lip out in a pout. “We didn’t even stop for lunch.”

“Does your dad still have his coin collection?” Wade stood between Duke and the door.

“Yeah, as far as I know.” Duke narrowed his eyes and managed to look insulted, like someone else was guiltier than he was. “Would you steal from your folks when some junky has more than plenty enough money? After blackmailing me all these years, she could afford to miss a few coins and payments.”

“Did you ask Candy for the coins?” Tony tried to connect the dots in his head.

“Oh, yeah, and she acted all confused and claimed she didn’t know nothin’ about them.” Duke leaned forward. “There’s nothin’ worse than a liar, is there?”

“A killer,” Tony wanted to say, but forced himself to tamp down the angry words straining to jump from his throat. Somehow, he was sure Duke would believe his reason for killing was justified.

Tony kept his eyes on Duke, and when he saw the man realize what was about to happen, he said, “Wade, I want you to use your handcuffs now.”

Wade turned Duke away from the door. “Place your hands on the counter. Palms down. Feet back here.”

Duke followed instructions, almost as if he didn’t believe it was happening.

“What if she wasn’t telling a lie?” Tony’s question brought Duke’s head around just as Wade locked the second wrist to the first behind his back. The muscles in Duke’s shoulders showed the strain created by the uncomfortable position.

“No way.” Duke shook his head. “She had to know.”

“We, or more precisely, the church ladies, found some coins while they were cleaning.” Tony paused, letting the information hang in the air.

“See? I told you.” Duke lifted his handcuffed hands slightly and smiled in triumph. “I knew she had them. I’ll bet they were in her bedroom.”

Tony was fascinated by the hole the man was digging so deeply and putting himself into. “No. They were in the attic, sitting in a dusty box I’m sure Candy never knew about.”

Duke stared at Tony. “So what was worth so much out in the garden that she begged me to leave it alone? I had to whack her just to make her quit screeching at me.”

“What was she saying?” Tony felt uneasy. He hated the violence and unwarranted pain. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the details of what Duke had done.

“ ‘Leave Alvin’s plants alone!’ ” Duke shouted. “She screamed the words at me, and so I knew he had buried them in the garden. Isn’t that what people do with treasure? If she had just given me the coins, none of this would have happened. It was all her fault.”

The bell over the door rang, signaling the arrival of a customer. Tony glanced toward the open door. “Sorry, the store’s closed for a while.” When the door shut again, Tony said, “Let’s lock up and go to my office, shall we?”

“This better not take long.” Duke frowned. “I’m losing business every minute I’m closed. You want my vote in the coming election?”

Tony ignored him.

The transfer to the Law Enforcement Center didn’t take long. They ushered Duke into the interrogation room, ironically in this case, nicknamed the greenhouse, and turned on all their electronic recording devices. Tony thought there were a fair number of double meanings connecting the murder site greenhouse and their confessional.

Wade unlocked the handcuffs and settled their suspect on a chair facing the table, then stood near the door. He waited.

Tony settled onto the chair facing Duke. “You sure you don’t want a lawyer?”

Duke snapped at him, “Quit asking me. The answer’s still no.” Duke had refused an attorney no fewer than six times, on videotape and in a voice recording.

“Okay then, just tell me exactly what happened.” Tony glanced at Wade and tipped his head, indicating Wade should join them and sit at the table. His deputy’s fingers were wrapped tightly around the pen and edge of his notebook.

“It’s not like it matters, not now.” Duke sneered in the direction of the video camera. “She got what was coming to her.”

“And how did her death come about?” Tony hoped his expression merely showed his curiosity and not his revulsion.

“I went over there the night before,” Duke said. “We talked about the money thing. I said since the brat probably wasn’t mine and wasn’t even living with her any more, I wasn’t paying her another dime. Next thing you know, she threw me out of the house.” Duke’s eyes narrowed. “Nobody tells me what to do.”

“But you left.” Tony let the statement hang.

“Yeah, well, I decided I’d come back in the morning, in the daylight, so it would be easier to find things out in the garden. I knew better than to dig in the dark. Even the moon can’t light up her backyard, not with all those trees.” He jutted his chin out like a belligerent child refusing to admit being afraid of the dark. “I told her I’d be back and I left.”

“What time did you return in the morning?” Tony felt his tension in the strength of his grip on his pen. He was surprised the thing hadn’t broken in half. It did seem a bit curved in the center though. He carefully stretched his fingers.

“It was maybe ten-thirty. I went to the store and opened up first. There wasn’t much going on, so I told my part-time employee I was going out for coffee. I grabbed a bolt cutter off its hook on my way out, drove by, and picked up the wife.”

“You took your wife to visit your girlfriend?” Wade’s voice raised in apparent disbelief.