Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 03 - Smoky Mountain Mystery (11 page)

She gave Mally a reassuring pat before stepping outside.  The only thing she could think to do was call Paul.

Thankfully, he picked up right away.  “I thought you forgot about me.”

Gloria burst into tears at the sound of his voice.  “Mally’s been shot!”  She quickly became hysterical as she babbled on. 

“Gloria, you need to calm down,” he ordered.  “Where’s Mally now?”

The sound of his firm voice calmed Gloria.  She took a breath and hiccupped loudly.  “The doctor is taking the bullet out of her paw now.”

Paul released the breath he’d been holding.  At least Mally was going to be alright.  But now he had another concern.
How on earth did Mally get shot?
  “Is everyone safe?”

Gloria nodded.  “Yes.  Yes.  We’re alright.  I should go be heading home tomorrow.”

Paul let out a sigh of relief. 

Gloria glanced back inside.  The doctor was in the waiting room, walking around, as if searching for someone.  He was looking for her.

“I have to go.  The doctor’s looking for me.”

Before he had a chance to say good-bye, Gloria was gone.

Gloria rushed through the doors as she made her way over to the doctor.  “How is she?”

He patted her arm.  “She’s going to be just fine.  The nurse has some pills to give to help with the pain.  At least for the next few days, Mally’s paw is going to be pretty sore.”

Tears sprung up in her eyes again.  This was all her fault!  “Thank you so much.  I-I just can’t tell you how grateful I am.” She glanced around at the people waiting to be looked at.  “I’m sure you don’t get many animals come in here…” Her voice trailed off.

The young doctor laughed.  “Actually, you’d be surprised.”

The nurse was wheeling Mally through the corridor doors and over to where they were waiting. 

Gloria bent down to pat her head.  Mally slurped halfhazardly at her face and ended up licking her hair.

The nurse laughed.  “She’s probably going to feel a little loopy for a couple hours ‘til the anesthesia wears off.”

“If you want, I can help you get her into the car?” the young nurse offered.

Gloria was confused.  “But what about paying?”

The doctor shook his head.  “No charge for this one.” He pet Mally’s head one last time.  “I had a Springer Spaniel when I was a boy.  She reminds me a lot of my Sassy.”

The Lord sure was looking out for Gloria.  She stood there in stunned silence as she stared at the two angels that saved her dog.  “I-I don’t know what to say,” she stammered.

A nurse burst through the ER doors, rushed forward and grabbed the doctor’s arm.  “We have a code red in room 4!”

With a quick wave of his hand, the doctor turned on his heel and bolted out of the waiting room, disappearing moments later behind the large metal doors.

Gloria led the nurse and Mally out the front doors to the side of the truck, still parked in the unloading area.  She quickly unlocked the passenger door and grabbed a rag off the floor.  She wiped the puddle of blood before she swung the door wide open.  The nurse gently lifted Mally out of the wheel chair and carefully set her on the seat. 

Gloria impulsively hugged the nurse as she straightened up.  “Thank you so much!”

She smiled sheepishly.  Gloria reminded her of her own grandmother.  “You’re welcome.” She patted Mally and with a small wave, made her way back inside.

Gloria climbed into the driver’s seat and switched on the ignition.  Her phone began ringing inside her purse.  It was Liz.  “You gotta get back here.  We have a problem,” she blurted out.

Gloria pulled onto the road in the direction of Aunt Ethel’s.  “I’m on my way.  Why? What’s going on?”

It was too late.  She was talking to herself.  Liz had already hung up.

Gloria drove as fast as she dared.  She glanced over at her beloved dog.  Mally didn’t seem to be in too much pain at the moment.  She was sprawled out on the passenger side of the truck and her eyes were closed.  Just once she let out a low moan as the truck jostled up the rutted path leading to the house.

Gloria pulled the truck around the back side, as close to the house as possible.  Thankfully, someone inside thought to turn the porch light on so Gloria could see in the dark.

She carefully lifted Mally from the passenger seat and gingerly walked around to the back porch door.

The girls must’ve been waiting for Gloria’s arrival.  Margaret held the door open as Gloria and Mally squeezed through the doorway. 

The first thing Gloria noticed was Liz sitting in a nearby chair.  Her face as white as a ghost. 

Margaret’s face was expressionless.  She pulled out a kitchen chair for Gloria to set Mally down.

It was then Gloria noticed Aunt Ethel.  She was in one of the kitchen chairs.  Her body bent forward.  Her face resting on the kitchen table.  “Is she alright?”

Liz’s eyes were wide open.  She shook her head violently.  “No.  She’s not alright.  She’s dead!”

Gloria said the first thing that popped into her mind.  “Did one of you murder her?”

“Of course not,” Margaret snapped.  “She was sitting in the chair, fine and dandy.  All of the sudden, she said her chest hurt.  Next thing you know, her eyes rolled back in her head and she flopped over like you see her now.”

Gloria took a step towards Aunt Ethel.  “You haven’t touched her?”

“I tried shaking her.  She wasn’t moving or anything so I tried to take her pulse.” Liz shuddered.  “I’ve never touched a real live dead person before.”

Gloria didn’t dare touch her.  She took a step closer.  Ethel’s right arm was hanging at her side and it was pale.  Too pale.  “What about 911?  Did you call 911?”

Liz glanced uneasily over at Margaret who shook her head.  “No.  We wanted to wait until you got here to decide what to do.” 

At first, Gloria was shocked that they didn’t call the police but the more she thought about it…  After all, they
did
break into her house.  How could they explain that?  On the other hand, what if they could tell that Aunt Ethel had been dead awhile.  They’d want to know why they didn’t call 911 right away…

The whole situation looked bad.  Real bad…  “We better call 911 now.”

The words were no more out of Gloria’s mouth when she heard a
tap tap
on the front door.  Her eyes froze as she stared in the direction of the dark living room.  Her feet froze, unable to move. 

“Someone needs to answer that,” Liz whispered.

There was a second knock, this one a bit louder than the last.  A muffled voice echoed through the crack in the door.  The only word Gloria caught was “police.”  The color drained from her face.  She swallowed hard before plunging forward into the darkened living room. 

A shadowy silhouette was standing outside, the outline illuminated by the front porch light.  Gloria took a deep breath and yanked the door open.  The first thing she noticed was the badge and then the gun, still in the holster attached to the officer’s hip. 

“Evening ma’am.” The policeman tipped his hat.  “Is Ethel here?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Can I talk to her for a minute?”

“Probably not,” Gloria answered truthfully.

“She called a few hours ago, said she thought someone had been in her house.” The cop sighed.  “I was over in another county and couldn’t get here ‘til just now.”

Gloria opened the door wider to let him in, all the while her mind was spinning as she tried to find the right words to say before the officer saw Ethel for himself.

“She’s in the kitchen.”  Gloria whirled on her heel and headed in that direction.  Her mind was blank.  She couldn’t think of a single thing to say that might help.

When they reached the kitchen, Gloria noticed that Margaret and Liz were now standing awkwardly off in the corner by the fridge. 

“Evening ladies.” His eyes scanned the room, finally settling on Ethel still slumped over the table.  “Is she okay?”

Gloria shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  I haven’t technically checked but there’s a good chance she’s dead,” she speculated.

The officer made his way over to Ethel.  He bent down and put two fingers on her wrist.  Gloria’s heart froze in her chest as she stared at the officer’s back.

“No pulse.” He let go of her wrist before straightening up.  “How long has she been like this?”

The dreaded question.  One Gloria was pretty sure would put them all in the worst possible light.  She glanced nervously at Liz. 

“A-about an hour and a half.” Liz swallowed the large lump in her throat.  “Maybe two, tops.”

He focused his sharp eyes on Liz.  “Did you call 911?”

Liz wilted under the officer’s steely stare.  “No.”  Her eyes filled with fear. 

The officer didn’t say a word as he stepped off to the side of the kitchen.  He pulled his police radio to his mouth and pressed the button.  “Yeah, this is Officer Peyton. I need some backup out here at the old Henderson place.  The one off Thornbush Road.” He looked directly at Gloria.  “It looks like we have a murder investigation on our hands.”

Murder investigation! 
Her gaze darted to Margaret and Liz still hovering in the corner.  The color had completely drained from Margaret’s face.  She clutched her chest and sank to the floor in a stupor. 

This was all a terrible misunderstanding.  None of them killed the old woman!  “We didn’t…” Gloria’s voice trailed off.  She remembered from watching all the crime shows that anything she – or the other girls– said could be used against her, against them.  Twisting their words to make it seem like they did something wrong. 

She made her way over to Margaret and Liz.  She bent down so she was eye level with Margaret.  “Don’t worry about, Margaret.” She spoke in a low voice.  “The autopsy will prove she wasn’t murdered.  She probably died of a heart attack.”

“What happens in the meantime?” Margaret whispered.

Gloria wasn’t certain about that part.  She didn’t really want to think that far ahead.

A mob of police was soon swarming the kitchen.  Gloria turned her back as they placed Ethel on a stretcher and covered her body with a white sheet.  She blinked back tears as she said a small, simple prayer for her aunt’s soul. 

After the body was gone, Mally limped out from under the table and over to where Gloria was standing.  Gloria gently patted Mally’s side as the dog slumped down beside her.

One of the officers stopped what he was doing when he noticed Mally.  “What happened to your dog?”  He bent down to inspect Mally’s bandaged paw. 

Beads of sweat formed on Gloria’s brow.  How was she going to explain this?  “She got shot.” 

“By who?”

Gloria glanced uneasily at Liz.  “Aunt Ethel.”

The officer’s gaze shot up as he studied Gloria’s face.  This case was getting more interesting by the minute, he decided.  The officer rose to his feet.  “Where’s the gun?”

Liz pointed to the back door.  “We propped it on the wall just outside the door over there.” The hole kept getting deeper and deeper for the girls.  “We didn’t want it to go off again by accident.”

By now, Gloria could read the lead officer’s name tag.  Officer Pete Peyton.  He nodded his head at another uniform who headed out the door in search of the weapon.

“So you got into an argument with Ethel, she shot your dog and then you killed her?” the officer in charge speculated.

Gloria opened her mouth to speak and instantly shut it back up as she reminded herself anything she said could and would be used against her.

The officer who headed out back for the gun suddenly reappeared, shotgun in hand.  “Is this the weapon?”

Liz nodded.  “Uh-huh.”

The younger uniformed man turned to Officer Peyton.  “We’ll need to take this with us as evidence.”

Margaret gasped. 
Evidence! 

The officer holding the gun looked at the three women.  “What about them?”

“We’re going to take them down to the station for questioning,” Officer Peyton answered gravely.

“But we didn’t harm her!” Margaret protested.

Gloria grabbed her arm and shook her head warningly at Margaret. 

His words sunk in.  They were going to jail. She glanced down at Mally.  “What about my dog?”

Officer Peyton hadn’t considered that.  It wasn’t the dog’s fault they were in this predicament.  “We’ll try to keep her with you but I can’t promise anything for sure,” he warned.

At least that was something.  The next hour was a complete blur as the women were handcuffed, read their rights and loaded into the back of the cop car. 

Gloria could hear Paul’s voice ringing in her head. 
See?  I told you you were going to get in hot water one of these days. 
He was right.  She glanced at Margaret. Guilt filled her as she realized this was all her fault.  They never should’ve done the stakeout, never should’ve broken into the house. 

This was all a terrible misunderstanding.  Surely once the autopsy was done they would be released from jail.  Of course, it did look really bad that they didn’t call 911 after Ethel died. 

Gloria wished they were alone for a minute.  She needed to find out what the others did with the coins. 

Liz must’ve read Gloria’s mind.  “Hidden in the kitchen,” she mumbled under her breath. 

Gloria let out a sigh of relief.  She couldn’t imagine the police finding the valuable gold coins in their possession.  That
would
be a motive for murder.  They’d lock them up in the state penitentiary and throw away the keys!

The local police station was a small, brick one-story building on the edge of town.  An unassuming structure the girls had passed by more than once and never even noticed. 

Gloria’s cuffs were a tad bit tight. She wiggled her wrist, which only made them pinch her skin even harder. The officer reached out and grabbed hold of the side of her arm, helping guide her out of the back seat and onto the pavement. 

Liz was sandwiched in the middle.  It took a little more wiggling around for her to slide to the edge of the seat and climb out.  Margaret was already out and waiting on the other side with a second officer.  She looked none too happy as she glared at Gloria over the roof of the car. 

Mally was still curled up on the floor of the patrol car, her sad face gazing up at Gloria as if to say, “What’s going in?”

“Can someone help my dog out?”  She was near tears, feeling completely helpless with her hands cuffed behind her back. 

“Someone’s coming around in just a minute.  She’ll be fine inside,” Officer Peyton reassured her.  “I’ll keep her in my office.  I have a small sofa she can rest on.”

He felt sorry for the poor woman.  He doubted she’d ever been arrested in her life.  He could see she was deeply concerned about her dog and could just imagine how helpless she was feeling. 

But he was torn.  It was his job to uphold the law.  He couldn’t just release them onto the streets until they were cleared of any charges.

Gloria hit one of the lowest points of her life as she looked over at Margaret.  She mouthed the words “Sorry” but Margaret didn’t notice. The officer was already leading her up the steps and inside the front door. 

The inside of the lobby was just as drab as the exterior.  The plain walls were a dull white.  The countertops a faded brown. The whole placed looked very cold, very bleak. The kind of place where could easily lose all hope.

The young gal behind the counter glanced up as they stepped through the doors.  Her mouth fell open at the sight of three mature, grandmotherly-type women wearing handcuffs being led inside.  She started to speak but promptly shut her mouth and pressed the buzzer to allow the small group to make their way to the back of the station house.

Officer Peyton stopped at the first open door.  He motioned them in.  “Have a seat.”  He pulled some papers out of the top desk.  “Let’s start with you.”  He pointed at Gloria.  I need your full name, address, date of birth and occupation.”  After she answered the questions, a young officer tapped her on the shoulder.  “Follow me.”

He led her further down the hall to another room where he removed the handcuffs.  Pain from the too tight cuffs shot down her arm.  It didn’t help with her arthritis and the fact her hands had been stuck in an uncomfortable position behind her back.

She rubbed them gently as he motioned her over to a wall. 

“We need to get a picture now,” he explained.

Gloria’s eyes grew as large as a full moon during fall harvest.  She was having a mug shot taken!  She could only imagine the expression on her face as the man snapped the picture.  The last thing he did was take her fingerprints. 

Finally, he led her out of the room to the end of the hallway and to another door.  There was no doorknob, just a small key pad.  He entered a code and the door swung silently open.  Gloria stepped inside.