Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 03 - Smoky Mountain Mystery (12 page)

One whole walls was filled with cells.  Empty cells.  He plucked a ring of keys from his front pocket.  He easily inserted the key in the lock and with a firm click, the lock released and the door opened. 

“I hate to do this to you,” he said gently.  “Unfortunately, I have to put you in here.”

Gloria glanced inside the cell.  The space was small.  A metal sink and white porcelain toilet crowded the back corner while a long, narrow, metal bench jutted out from the opposite wall.  She stepped inside and he immediately pulled the door shut.  The door closed with bleak finality. 

Gloria slumped down on the hard metal bench and closed her eyes.  It was time to strike a bargain with God. 
Please, God.  Get me – get us –out of this mess and I promise to never, ever stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong,
she promised.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gloria’s eyes flew open just in time to see Margaret barrel through the door and she looked none too happy. 

The same young officer was leading Margaret to the cell next door.  He wasn’t quite as kind to Margaret as he was to Gloria but that was probably because Margaret was giving him a bit of a fit.  “This is the most horrid, filthy place I have ever been.  You expect me to stay in there?” She pointed at the open cell.

Apparently the officer had heard enough.  He refused to answer her question as he popped the door open and motioned her in.  She took her sweet old time as she sauntered into the cell.  He slammed the door shut, tugged on it just to make sure it was securely locked and made his way back out without saying a word.

Margaret plopped down on the bench and frowned at Gloria.  “What a fine mess you got us into!” she snapped.  She glanced around the cell in disgust.  “This place is probably going to give us some kind of incurable disease!”

Gloria thought that highly unlikely but she had to agree it wasn’t the nicest of places.  She wondered how Mally was doing.  Her shoulders slumped as she worried about her poor dog being in a strange place with people she didn’t know.  Her paw was probably really bothering her.

As soon as the officer came back, she reminded him that the dog needed a pain pill.  “It’s in my purse.”

“Yes, ma’am.  As soon as I leave here, I’ll check on your dog,” he promised.

Gloria believed he would.  He seemed like such a decent fellow.  It wasn’t his fault he had to lock them in a jail cell.

He led Liz to the last cell on the end.  After he shut the door and made his way out of the room, Liz walked over to the edge of the prison and leaned against the bars.  “How come you got the biggest cell?” she griped.

Margaret whirled around to face Liz.  She couldn’t believe her ears!  “We’re in jail, probably going to be charged with Ethel’s murder and your biggest concern is that my cell is larger than
yours
?” she asked incredulously.

Margaret jumped off the metal bench and strode over to where Liz was still standing. She reached through the bars, grabbed the front of Liz’s shirt and yanked her to within inches of her face.  “Listen you nincompoop!  I told you we should’ve called 911 as soon as ole Ethel keeled over but
NO
you insisted we wait for Gloria to come back.  Now look at us!”

Margaret’s face turned beet red as she let Liz have it.  Gloria was torn between trying to smooth things over or let Margaret vent.  She decided on the latter.  After all, if she had called 911 right away, there was a good chance they wouldn’t be in this mess.

“I was confused,” Liz wailed.  “If Gloria hadn’t taken so long to get back!” Her eyes narrowed and she stared at Gloria accusingly.

Gloria threw up her hands.  “Oh no you don’t!”  She glanced around.  There was no one in sight but that didn’t mean there weren’t hidden cameras recording everything.  In fact, there probably were cameras. 

“Girls, this is all a misunderstanding.  We
know
we didn’t harm Ethel in any way,” she reasoned.  “As soon as the autopsy comes back and they figure out she died of natural causes, we’ll get out of here.”

“I’m going to sue!” Margaret threatened.  It must’ve dawned on her at that exact moment that there were probably cameras in the holding area.  She stared up at a small round ball in the corner of the ceiling.  “You hear me?  I’m gonna sue the pants off you people!”

That seemed to make her feel slightly better.  Like a deflated balloon, she collapsed on the hard metal bench and closed her eyes.

The door suddenly opened and the young officer stepped back in the room.  He ignored the others and walked straight over to Gloria’s cell.  “I found Mally’s medication.  We slipped the pill into her food. She’s resting comfortably,” he added.

Gloria opened her mouth to thank the young man but instead she burst into tears, grateful for his kindness and compassion towards her and her dog.  “Thank you so much,” she whispered through a cracked voice.

He glanced down the row at the other two girls.  “We’re fixin’ to bring you some food in a minute.  You’ll probably feel a lot better once you eat something.”

True to his word, he returned a few minutes later carrying three brown paper bags in one hand and holding three bottled waters in the other.  Gloria reached through the bars and grabbed a small bag and drink.  “Thank you!” she said gratefully.

Next, he handed Margaret a bag and drink.  “Thanks,” she mumbled grudgingly. 

When he reached Liz’s cell, she stuck her hand through the bars and reached for the final brown bag.  “I hope mine doesn’t have lettuce,” she said.  “I’m allergic to it.”

Gloria stuck a hand on her hip.  She couldn’t believe Liz’s nerve.  “Just peel it off, Liz.  It won’t kill you!”

Inside Gloria’s bag was a ham and cheese sandwich and a small bag of chips.  Despite all the trauma and stress, Gloria surprised herself with how hungry she was.  It had been hours since they ate.  She wasn’t even sure what time it was now since the officer took her watch and all her other personal belongings before locking her up. 

The young officer returned a short time later.  Gloria watched as he picked up the empty bottles and bags they placed just outside the cell doors.  He seemed like such a nice, clean-cut young man.  She imagined one of her grandsons looking just like him when they were older. 

“What’s your name?” She asked as he stopped by to pick up her trash. 

He flashed her a dimpled smile. “Nick.  Nick Baird.”  No one ever really cared who he was.  Most of the time, the people he brought in here swore at him, called him names.  Sometimes they even threatened him. 

He overhead the Lieutenant say these ladies were involved in a death, possibly a homicide.  He’d seen enough people come in and out of these cells in the five years he worked here and figured he was a pretty good judge of character.  These women weren’t killers, especially not the one here on the end.

“I have to run back up to the front for a while.”    He pointed to a small, round button on the wall, just within Gloria’s reach. “You can ring the buzzer on the wall if you need anything before I come back.”

She smiled warmly at Nick as he made his way back outside.

After the door shut, Liz piped up.  “You’re laying it on pretty thick, aren’t you Gloria?”

She turned to Liz. “What do you mean?”

Liz waved towards the door.  “Don’t mind me.  Go ahead.  Butter him up.  Maybe that’ll help get us out of this dungeon quicker,” she decided.

Gloria stuck a hand on her hip and grabbed a metal bar facing Liz.  “It’s not that young man’s fault that we’re stuck in here!” 

Disgusted with her sister and aggravated with the entire situation, she plopped down on the metal bench, her back to her sister.  She vowed not to get sucked up into a battle with her.  At least not right now when they were trapped in the same room.

The hours dragged on.  Gloria tried lying on the metal bench but every time she shifted, even just a little, pain would shoot down her leg and she’d have to shift to a more comfortable position. 

Margaret seemed to be doing a little better.  A couple times Gloria heard her snoring softly from the bench next door. 

Not Liz.  She paced the entire time.  Back and forth, back and forth.  She was mumbling under her breath.  Gloria didn’t bother asking what she was saying.  It would probably just tick her off if she knew.

It seemed like they’d be stuck in the cells forever.  Finally, the door swung open and Officer Pete Peyton stepped inside, a set of key jingling in his hand. 

He walked to Gloria’s cell first, jabbed the key inside the hole and unlocked the door.  The sound was music to Gloria’s ears.  He grinned as he stepped to the side.  “Today is your lucky day.”

Margaret was awake now.  She sat upright and slowly slid off the hard bench. “Let me guess.  You found out that Ethel died of a heart attack.” 

He nodded as he unlocked Margaret’s cell door next.  “Yeah.  All charges have been dropped in light of the coroner’s report.”

Last but not least, he freed Liz.  They followed him to the exit door.  Before he opened it, he turned to face the three.  “I’m sorry for having to lock you up but want you to know we’re just doing our job.”

“You’ll be lucky if we don’t sue you!” Margaret snapped.

Gloria thought that all a bit much.  She touched Officer Peyton’s arm.  “We know it’s not your fault.  Thank you for watching over Mally.”

He smiled at Gloria.  She seemed like such a nice lady.  “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you!”

Mally was happy.  When she saw Gloria standing in the doorway, she struggled to her feet and limped over to where she was standing.  Gloria knelt down on the floor and gently wrapped her arms around the dog.  She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as she sent up a silent prayer of gratitude. 

Officer Peyton smiled at the reunion.  “She was as good as gold.  Makes me miss my own,” he added.

Gloria turned to face him.  “You have a dog at home?”

He smiled sadly.  “I did.  My German Shepard, Thor, died a few months back.” He paused to pet Mally’s head one last time.  “He was a good ole dog.”

“Maybe you should get another one,” Gloria suggested. 

“I’m thinkin’ I might just do that.  Being with Mally made me realize just how much I miss Thor.”

He handed each of the women a manila envelope containing their personal belongings before leading them to the front entrance.  “You leavin’ town soon?” 

Gloria wasn’t sure if he was just making small talk or if he was more concerned the girls might get into more trouble…

She nodded.  “Probably first thing in the morning.”

Margaret shuddered.  “The only thing I want to see of this town is it in the rearview mirror!”

Officer Peyton laughed.  “Can’t say as I blame you.”

They made their way out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk.  When they were out of earshot of the officer, Liz whispered.  “We have to go back to Ethel’s to pick up your car.”

Liz was right.  Hopefully, Anabelle was still parked in the field next to the property. 

Thankfully, it was a short walk from the police station to the hotel where Liz’s car was still parked.  Gloria slid into the front passenger seat.  She dumped the contents of the manila envelope on her lap. 

Everything appeared to be there.  Her watch, cell phone, car keys, a note.  Hmmm.  She unfolded the single piece of paper.  On it was written a single sentence.  “Meet me at the Henderson place.”

Margaret leaned over the seat.  “What’s that?”

“There was a note stuck in my envelope,” Gloria explained. “It says, “Meet me at the Henderson place.”  The writing looked vaguely familiar.  Gloria reached into her purse and pulled out the small piece of paper they found under her windshield wiper at the restaurant the other day.  She laid the two small pieces of paper side-by-side on her lap.  The writing was identical.

“You’re not seriously thinking of going back to that house…”  That was the last thing Margaret wanted to do.  She shuddered as she remembered the cold, damp jail cell they left only moments ago.

“We can’t just leave those gold coins in the house!  Those are ours!” Liz was shocked Margaret would even consider leaving them behind.

The two bickered back and forth as Gloria pondered the note.  She was certainly curious to find out who this person was.  “Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

“Uh-uh.  As a matter of fact, I’m not! And I am NOT going back in that house!” Margaret was adamant.

Liz shrugged.  “Suit yourself.  If you don’t go, you don’t get to share in the spoils.”

Margaret crossed her arms, clamped her mouth shut and glared out the window. 

Gloria slowly folded the notes back up and shoved them in the bottom of her purse.  The mystery of it all was just too tempting.  Perhaps this was the same person that let the air out of their tires, too.

Gloria let out a huge sigh of relief when they rounded the corner and she spied Anabelle sitting in the same spot they left her just a day earlier.  It seemed like an eternity ago.

The girls parked Liz’s car at the end of Ethel’s drive and made their way over to Anabelle.  Gloria pulled on the handle.  It was still locked.  She peeked in the window.  Nothing looked out of place.