Death of a Wolfman (A Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Book 1) (8 page)

Almost before I got the words
cat door
out of my mouth, Ben was racing up the steps and through the house. Following him at a slower pace, I found him kneeling by the back door, studying the gutted squirrel carcass attached to the cat door, a miniature noose holding it in place.

CHAPTER SEVEN

As Ben ran out the back door, flashlight dancing across the yard and woods behind the house, I retreated to the living room. Dixie appeared at the front door, which still stood wide open, as Ben had left it in the mad dash to the kitchen. Footed pajama bottoms were visible below the hem of her robe, her hair standing up in a dozen different directions, her eyes wildly searching the room. Under different circumstances I would’ve had fun with her and the pajamas. But not tonight.

Tonight I rushed straight into Dixie’s arms, still clutching the irate Elliot in my arms. Dixie hugged me hard, speaking into my hair.

“My God, hon. What’s going on? I’d lay money people as far away as Memphis heard that scream. I left Jack still trying to get his pants on and ran here fast as I could soon as I realized Ben’s car was headin’ to your place.” Dixie laughed, but it was a shaky thing, nothing like her usual robust sound. “Come on now, sweetie. Put Elliot down; he don’t want you squashin’ him like that.”

I shook my head against her shoulder. “Somebody might hurt him.”

“You need to let him go. He’s gonna scratch you to pieces.”

“Would you get his harness and leash out of the coat closet, please? I’ll put that on him and let him get down.” Tears streamed down my face.

“But…” Before Dixie could continue, her husband Jack appeared at the still-open front door. “Dixie! What’s goin’ on here?” His round face, framed by sandy blond hair, looked still half asleep, with sheet wrinkles pressing lines into his cheeks, but his eyes took in my condition with one glance.

“I’m not sure,” Dixie said. “She hasn’t told me anything yet. But could you get the cat harness and leash from the closet right there? She wants them ’cause she thinks someone might hurt Elliot.”

Jack’s sandy eyebrows shot toward his hairline, but he got the harness and leash from the closet and brought them to me. Dixie and I managed to get the harness on Elliot, then the leash, with only minor scratches to our hands while Jack looked on.

Elliot glared at me at this new indignity. He hated the harness and leash. Expressing just how disgusted he felt by the whole thing, he began chewing on the leather of the leash. But I didn’t plan to let him run free until Ben figured out why a dead squirrel had been left at Elliot’s door and my own.

Trembling so hard I could barely walk, dragging Elliot behind me, I settled into my favorite chair. Dixie and Jack stood watching me for a moment, then Dixie settled on the arm of the chair and began stroking my hair.

“Now, hon. You tell me what’s goin’ on here.” Glancing at her husband, she said, “Would you go in the kitchen and put the teakettle on to boil? She needs a good strong cup of sweet tea. Something’s put a shock into her.”

Without protest Jack left the room. He was good that way. Not asking a bunch of questions. Letting the two of us work this out together, he knew he’d find out the details from his wife later.

“Dear God, Dixie. There’s a dead squirrel, gutted like a hunter would, with a noose around its neck attached to Elliot’s cat door in the kitchen.”

Dixie’s eyes went round with horror. “No wonder you don’t want to let him run loose. But hon, I don’t think anyone would want to hurt your cat. It must be somebody’s idea of a joke because you were out there with Ben when he found that body.” She paused, watching me with cautious eyes. “Don’t you think that’s it? It’s meant to scare you this way, but it can’t be that somebody would truly hurt you or Elliot.” Her hand continued to stroke my hair in comfort.

“I don’t know what to think. Ben’s out there looking around. Maybe he can find some clue about it. I’ve never been so scared in my life.” As I shivered, Dixie put an arm awkwardly around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

“You must have been terrified to scream like that. But it’s OK now. Ben will find out who did this.”

Both of us twitched when the teakettle sang out from down the hall. “There, now,” Dixie comforted. “Jack will have your tea fixed in a jiffy. He’s pretty handy in the kitchen.”

Jack appeared from the kitchen with a large mug of tea, silently handing it to his wife. He sat in the chair across from me and said, “You’ll be OK, darlin’. You’re a strong one. One of the strongest I know, next to my Dixie.”

I gave him a grateful look over the rim of the shaking mug of tea. Jack had been wise enough not to fill it to the brim so even though my hands shook, I didn’t slop tea all over myself. The first sip of the hot liquid burned down my throat and settled in my stomach. The burning had nothing to do with the heat of the tea. He’d made it strong and sweet and added a hefty shot of whiskey, but it was just what the doctor ordered. I felt better right away and took another sip. With the tea sitting warm in my stomach and the hot mug taking the chill from my hands, my brain kicked back into action. Who could have put the squirrel carcass there? And why?

Reading my thoughts, Jack said, “Reckon who would’ve done this? Think it was maybe some kids playing a late Halloween joke?”

Dixie shot her husband a look that said she thought he was an idiot. “Why don’t you go check up on what Ben’s doin’ out there?”

With a long-suffering sigh, Jack rose to his feet and went out the door.

Dixie shook her head. “I swear, sometimes I wonder why I married that fool.”

“Because you’ve loved him ever since you were twelve years old and you fell out of that old apple tree and then cried because you broke your arm in the fall and he carried you all the way home to your mama. And he loves you more than anything on this earth.”

“Well. There is that.” Peering into my face, she asked, “You feeling better, hon? You’ve got some color back in your cheeks.”

Still cradling the mug, I nodded. “Yes. Better. As a matter of fact, I’m starting to get mad. How dare somebody put that thing on my door! Why, I’ve never harmed a soul in this town. Who would threaten me like that?”

Shifting to a more comfortable position on the arm of the chair, Dixie said, “Well, now. That’s for Ben to figure out, isn’t it?”

“I suppose you’re right. But it really pisses me off that somebody did it. He’d better find out who it was right quick or I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”

From the doorway Ben said, “You’ll do no such thing.”

Dixie and I jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Jesus H. Christ, Ben. Give a body warning you’re around, would you?” Dixie grabbed the mug of tea out of my hands and took a big swallow. “You ’bout gave us both a heart attack.”

Ben strode over to stand right in front of me, scattering dead grass from his shoes across the floor. “You will not take matters into your own hands. You’ll let me investigate this and solve it.”

“Well, be quick about it. I want to know who did this and why.”

“I didn’t find any footprints out back, and this time of year all the dead leaves on the ground pretty well cover any tracks in the woods. I’ll come back out tomorrow in daylight to look some more when I can see better. I bagged the squirrel to take a better look later, but I don’t think I’ll find anything there. It was killed with a through-and-through shot so there’s no bullet for any kind of comparison if I find somebody suspicious.”

Dixie stood up, hands on her hips as she squared off with the sheriff. “Well, that’s just dandy. Are you saying this can’t be solved? Poor Lily Gayle has to be afraid in her own home because you can’t figure out who did this?”

Ben frowned. “Don’t get all riled up. Of course I’ll find out who did this and why. I’m just saying it won’t be tomorrow when I solve it.” He looked at me. “Maybe you should stay the rest of the night at my place.”

“I’ll do no such thing!”

That’s right,” interjected Dixie. “You go on upstairs and get your nightgown and whatever you need for tonight and come on home with me and Jack.”

I looked from one to the other. “Y’all don’t understand. I’m not being chased out of my own house by that nasty trick. I’m spending what’s left of the night right here.”

Looking from one dumbfounded face to the other, I laughed. “If y’all could see the looks on y’all’s faces!”

“Now look here—” began Ben.

Dixie cut in. “You can’t stay here alone tonight. Be reasonable and come home with me. You won’t sleep a wink in this house tonight.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m staying here tonight and that’s my final word on it. Y’all just go on home yourselves.” When neither moved, I frowned. “Scat! Get on back to your own houses. I’m a big girl and I’m staying here.”

Ben looked at Dixie. “When she gets that look on her face and crosses her arms like that, you know we’re not going to be able to get her out of here short of tying her up and carrying her.”

Dixie sighed. “You’re right. But I don’t like it one damn bit.” Looking around, she asked, “What’d you do with Jack? I sent him out to help you look around.”

“He’s out on the porch waiting for you. Out of the line of argument.”

Dixie came over to me and hugged me hard. “Ben’s right. There’s no way to get you out of here short of hog-tying you. You be sure every window is locked and every door has the dead bolt on as soon as we leave. You hear me?”

“Yes, I hear you. I’ll be sure to lock up everything. I’m not an idiot.”

“I’ll have Todd drive by every half hour or so. He’s on patrol tonight. He can keep an eye on the house.”

I’d had enough. “Fine! Now y’all get on back to your own beds. I’ll see both of you tomorrow.”

I watched them leave, giving me concerned looks, but I refused to let them see just how nervous I felt at the prospect of being alone there tonight. But darn it, if I didn’t stay there tonight, I’d just be putting off the inevitable. I’d be nervous here alone for a while to come after this incident.

Going through the entire house, I checked window locks and door dead bolts. Then I did something I hadn’t done since right after my husband died. Removing his pistol from its hiding place, I lay it on the arm of my cozy chair in the bay window. There would be no sleep for me tonight. Dixie had been right about that much. I’d just sit here with all the lights out and the gun by my side until the sun came up.

Watching the night wind move the trees and bushes in my yard, I caught glimpses of Todd driving past the house every half hour, just like Ben had promised. Elliot lay fast asleep on the floor, his leash still in his mouth. Poor thing must have worn himself out trying to chew through that piece of leather.

Shortly after the old grandfather clock in the foyer had chimed three in the morning, my phone rang. Startled, my arm jerked, knocking the pistol to the hardwood floor with a loud bang. Elliot woke up and started yowling.

Who could be calling at that hour? The person who’d left the squirrel? Maybe to give me a spoken warning of some kind?

I stood and walked over to the phone. I glanced at the caller ID and didn’t recognize the number. Deciding to let the machine pick up in case whoever the caller was would leave a message, I went back over to my chair and picked up the pistol from the floor. Thank goodness I’d left the safety on or the gun might have discharged on impact with the floor. Then I’d’ve had yet another round with Ben about staying in the house alone.

As soon as my not-able-to-answer-the-phone-right-now message clicked off, the voice of LizBeth Mitchell echoed in the room.

“Lily Gayle, I know you’re home and something happened there earlier. On a quiet night a scream carries a long way, and I was looking out my bedroom window to see if I could figure out what was going on.

“I can see your house from my windows and I saw the sheriff drive up, and then a flashlight in the woods. We need to talk. But I don’t want us to be seen together. There’s an old gazebo by a lake about halfway between the road and my house. Come up the drive and you’ll see the path into the woods at a big curve in the driveway before you can see the house. No one will see you from the house; everyone will be downstairs at the time I want us to meet. Make sure no one sees you turn off the road on your end. Be at the gazebo at nine o’clock this morning.”

The phone clicked off, leaving me stunned. Did LizBeth have some information about who’d put the squirrel on my back porch? Or was it something more?