Middle River Murders (2 page)

“I guess I’d better keep a sharp eye on her then.”

“You have nothing to worry about, `ge ya. I’m all yours.”

“I sure hope so. We have two kids who need both their
parents. Speaking of which, where’s Maisy? I thought your mother was watching
her.”

“She’s down in the lobby with Claire’s two young ones. Adam
is watching them,” Beth said as she walked back into the room. “I need to get
back down there so he can come up to see you. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course, not.”

“I know you’re about to fall out, but could you just hold on
a little longer? You know Adam thinks the world of you. He says you’re perfect
for Billy.”

“He’s a good man.”

She leaned down and whispered in my ear, “We’re going to have
a baby. I haven’t told anyone yet, so don’t say anything until I get a chance…”

“You don’t actually think your husband can keep a secret, do
you?” Sarah said as she walked back into the room. “I found out the minute he
did. He told me to keep it hush-hush until you had a chance to tell me, but you
know how that goes. He’s so proud that he just couldn’t wait to tell someone,
and I was the lucky one he told.”

“She hears everything,” Beth said, looking from me to her
mother. “I guess that means everybody knows, huh, Mom?”

“Sure does,” Billy said. “I found out last night but I was a
little too busy at the time to call you. Congratulations. I’m so happy for you
and Adam.” He gave Beth a hug. “I know that both of you have wanted a child for
a long time. Now you’ll have one.”

“Two,” Beth said. “We’re having twins.”

“Oh, my goodness,” Mom said, walking into the room. “Twice as
much fun!”

“I think one at a time is enough for me,” I said, adding my
two cent’s worth. “I don’t know what I’d do with two infants.”

“What do you mean? You have two little ones,” Beth said.

“I don’t consider Maisy an infant anymore. She’s a toddler.
There’s a big difference.”

“You have that right,” Billy said. “She’s like a miniature
adult. She really keeps us on our toes.”

“I must run,” Beth said. She looked at her mother, Sarah.
“After Adam comes up for a visit, we’ll meet you back at the house.”

Thirty minutes later, everyone had gone home except Billy. It
was all I could do to keep my eyes open as he talked to me. Just when I was
about to fall asleep, the nurse came in pushing a cart with our baby in it.

“Someone’s hungry, Mama,” the nurse said.

I perked right up. It was time to breast-feed Ethan. The
first time I tried, he didn’t want to cooperate. He took a couple of gulps and
then fell asleep. This time I was determined to get him to feed. Women do it
all the time, and if they can do it, so can I. This was something I was looking
forward to. I’ve been told that nothing brings a mother and child closer
together than this.

Billy picked up Ethan and handed him to me.

I put Ethan to my breast and he latched on like a pro. I
cried the whole time.

The nurse looked over at Billy and noticed the concerned look
on his face. “Don’t worry, Mr. Blackhawk. It’s normal for a new mother to cry.
It’s their maternal instinct kicking in. She’s bonding with her child.”

“Thank goodness,” he replied. “I thought something was
wrong.”

“Don’t you remember what it was like when Ruth had the boys?”
I asked him.

“I don’t remember her crying, but then again, I wasn’t with
her the whole time. Remember, I told you that I wasn’t around a lot. I was busy
making a living for my family.”

“This family has enough money to survive without your being
gone all the time.”

“That’s true,” Billy replied. “Besides, I made a big chunk of
change, as you would say, on the last case I worked.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “That’s the one you wouldn’t let me work
on with you.” I looked up at the nurse and said, “I finally get my P.I. license
and just because I’m pregnant, my husband wouldn’t let me work on a case with
him. He said it was too dangerous. What do you think of that?”

“She didn’t tell you that she was eight months pregnant at
the time and could barely get out of the chair let alone run around chasing
after a thief. You worked on several cases until you got too big.”

“I think you should quit while you’re ahead, pal.”

The nurse laughed and said, “Press the call button if you
need anything. But I don’t think you will. You and your son seem to be doing
fine.”

“My wife’s a natural, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is, Mr. Blackhawk.” The nurse winked at him and
then left the room.

“You need to burp him, don’t you?”

“He’ll let me know when he’s ready,” I said. I looked up at
Billy and saw a tear in his eye. What a sensitive man! Life couldn’t get much
better.

“Look at the size of my breasts, Billy. They’re so big.”

Billy looked down and smiled. “They are rather large,” he
said. “It’s Mother Nature’s way of providing nourishment.”

“Does that mean when I no longer nurse Ethan they’ll go back
to their regular size?”

“I think so. I think I read that in one of those books your
mother gave you. It was mentioned in the chapter about after the baby comes
home and what to expect next.”

“I don’t remember reading anything about that. I must have
missed that chapter. What a bummer! I was just getting used to the idea of
having big boobs. After all I went through, I think I should get to keep them.”

Billy laughed and said, “I like you just the way you are.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better. I know how
you ...”

Cole walked into the room.

I looked up, covered my exposed breast with Ethan’s blanket
and said, “Oops, I wasn’t expecting more company. I thought you left.”

“I’m sorry to intrude like this, Jesse, but I was in the
parking lot and… Billy, you need to come with me. Something’s happened that
needs your immediate attention.”

Billy looked into Cole’s eyes and the fear that reflected
back at him caught my attention.

“Hey, what’s going on? What happened?” I asked.

The atmosphere in the room no longer felt calm and serene,
nor did it have that pleasant feeling.

“Billy can tell you later, but right now, we have to go.”

Billy kissed me on the cheek, rubbed his hand over Ethan’s
small head and said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t stay too…”

Billy and Cole turned and fled the room before I had a chance
to finish my sentence.

I looked down at Ethan who was busy doing what babies do, and
I promised him that his daddy would be right back… or else.

Two hours had passed and Billy still hadn’t returned. Ethan
was in the nursery, but it was almost time for another feeding.

That’s one thing I found strange about breast feeing—babies
eat every two hours. Why? I thought you only had to feed babies about every
four hours like we did with Maisy, but the nurse said it was because breast
milk is thin, or something like that. Her explanation wasn’t important. It was
one of those questions you ask, but the answer doesn’t really matter. I was
busy admiring my son. I’d have plenty of time to ask questions later.

I sat up in bed and reached for the phone two seconds before
Billy walked into the room. His face was pale and he had blood on the front of
his shirt. I felt sick at the sight.

“Oh, no! What happened, Billy?” Tears began to flow down my
cheeks as all kinds of visions went through my mind. “Where did all that blood
come from? Did someone cut you? Say something fast before I freak out.”

“Our family has suffered a terrible hurt.”

“What do you mean? Come over here and let me look at you.”

I felt as if I were going to choke. My stomach was doing a
flip and my heart starting beating a mile a minute.

“It’s not my blood,” Billy said as he walked over and sat
down on the bed. “Jonathan was walking to his car when someone walked up to him
and shot him in the chest.”

“Why would someone do that? Is he okay?” I asked slowly.

“He makes many enemies in his line of work.”

“Is he going to live?”

“He’s been in surgery for almost two hours,” Billy said,
hanging his head. “I knew you were worried when I left the room in such a
hurry. I didn’t want you to hear about it from anyone else. It doesn’t look
good, Jesse. I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

This was the first time I’d ever seen Billy so devastated.
The pain he was suffering tore me apart. I put my arms around him and hugged
him tightly.

“It’s going to be all right, Billy. I promise. Jonathan’s a
tough guy. He’ll pull through this. I know he will.”

If Jonathan died, it wouldn’t be all right and I knew it, but
it was all I could say. I held onto Billy and prayed. I prayed as both of us
tried to comfort each other.

Finally, I let go of Billy and said, “Go see about Jonathan.
He needs you. I’ll be all right.”

Billy looked at me through tear-filled eyes and calmly said,
“Yes, I must go be with him.”

I tried not to cry as Billy left the room, but I couldn’t
help myself. It broke my heart to see him in such pain. A sinking feeling hit
me in the pit of my stomach and my heart ached at the thought of losing
Jonathan.

“Dear God, please don’t let Jonathan die. Please,” I begged.
“I’ll do anything you want!”

The automobile pulled into the driveway and parked under the
large tulip poplar tree as she stood by the window and watched. The darkness
kept her from getting a good look at the car, but she just assumed it was her
guest. She wondered why her friend would call so late in the evening and want
to come over for tea.

But she was a sister in her club. She had to be there for
her.

She watched and pondered on what her actions would be when
her guest entered. Would she have to entertain her for long? She was tired and
wasn’t in the mood to stay up late and talk about silly stuff. She needed her
rest.

Even though her eyesight wasn’t what it used to be, she found
it odd that her friend looked so different in the darkness. Even with the porch
light on she had to strain to see the figure in the night.

The woman’s shadow seemed much larger than it should have
been. Her friend wasn’t as big as this woman appeared to be.

Maybe her friend thought it was okay to intrude in her
privacy because she wanted to discuss the feuding between the women in the club
and how it was threatening to tear the group apart. Did her guest have
information she wanted to share or was this going to be a gossip session?

Everyone knew it wasn’t Daisy’s fault that Pat died after
eating dinner at her house, but the women were getting antsy. It wasn’t as if
they blamed her, but after the incident, they shied away from visiting their
old friend. It was only a matter of time before there would no longer be a
Stanardsville Social Club.

Maybe that’s what her friend wanted to discuss.

Pat Johnson’s death had hit everyone hard. When a member dies
and everyone is fighting, that’s usually a sign that the party is over, but
being the gracious hostess that she is, it would be rude of her not to open her
home to a club member and offer comfort to a distraught friend.

She was perturbed that her peace and quiet would be
interrupted, but tried to put it out of her mind. She knew the visit would be
over soon. She would only have to endure the woman’s company for one very short
evening. She could do that.

Tomorrow would be another day.

Fortunately, her husband, who was hard of hearing, was sound
asleep. That was a good thing on both accounts, because he didn’t approve of
gossipy women and had very little tolerance for their behavior.

He was a good husband, but sometimes she thought he was being
a little bit difficult. He should just ignore her friends and not cause a fuss
every time she tried to talk about them to him. Husbands should be attentive to
their wives.

She had always been a trusting soul. Never, in a million
years would she think that an innocent gathering of two friends would turn out
to be her last, or that the person she thought was her friend would turn out
not to be a friend at all.

She had no idea that the man she’d just thought of as being
troublesome would no longer have her in his life. He would live out the rest of
his days in loneliness.

However, the meeting of two friends over an innocent cup of
tea didn’t happen. Instead, confusion and chaos filled her moments.

The minute she opened the front door, she knew something
wasn’t right. The sight of her visitor was disturbing.

This person was not her friend. She was not her sister. She
was a stranger and the look on the woman’s face was that of pure evil.

The woman rushed her and slammed her to the floor. She jumped
on top of her with a brute force not common in a woman her age. She held her
down and tried to pry her lips apart.

The two women struggled as she was forced to drink a large
amount of vile liquid. Her mouth was pried open and a hand forced her to drink
from the small brown bottle.

She swallowed the awful tasting stuff so that she would be
able to catch her breath. The more she drank, the more she was allowed to
breathe.

Twice she almost choked on the nasty stuff. When that
happened, the woman put her hand over her mouth and nose and sealed off her
oxygen.

Her breathing was slowing down as she felt the light in the
room grow dim. She was helpless. She knew she was being poisoned by someone she
didn’t even know. Why? What had she done to make this person do this to her?

She could lay there all night in agony and no one would hear
her cries.

If she could only hold out until her husband woke up. He
would save her. He’d take her to the hospital and then they could go on with
their lives as if this never happened. She was a forgiving woman.

She prayed that the woman had gotten her revenge or whatever
it was that she had come here for and would leave her to her misery, but
instead, she was hit by a swift and forceful blow to the head that sent a
crushing pain throughout her skull. One she never saw coming.

She could feel the life drain from her body and knew that it
was only a matter of time before she would be rendered unconscious.

She lay on the floor bleeding from her head wound. Her
insides felt as if they were being eaten away by acid.

She prayed that her husband would come to her rescue as she
heard the woman’s footsteps going down the wooden steps of the porch.

The woman didn’t even bother to close the door when she left.
She had done the deed she had come to do.

She slipped into darkness. The pain was gone.

She was found by her husband in the wee hours of the morning.

The medical examiner found a lethal dose of arsenic in her
system and determined this to be the cause of death. The blow to the head had
not been fatal, but it had rendered her unconscious long enough for the poison
to do its job.

Another member of the Stanardsville Social Club was no more.