The Mother's Day Murder (7 page)

“Which of you would like to go first?” Officer Malcolm asked when I joined them.

“Why don’t you, Chris? I’ll take Eddie outside. You spent a lot more time with Tina than I did.”

That was certainly true. I waited till he and Eddie had gone out, then turned to the young man in uniform. “What would you like to know?” I asked.

“I’d like to get your recollections while they’re still fresh. A detective may come by later but I want to know when you last saw the deceased.”

“Last night,” I said. “We all had dinner together and she went upstairs before we did.”

“Did you hear anything during the night?”

“I thought I did. I got out of bed, checked my son, and saw that Tina’s door was closed. I didn’t look inside. The door was still closed this morning when they found her body.”

“So she could have left at any time.”

“Yes.”

“Is she a friend of yours? A relative?”

“I never saw her before Thursday when she turned up on my doorstep.”

“Can you tell me about that?”

I told him of my connection to St. Stephen’s and of Tina’s. I didn’t say a word about Joseph or about Tina’s crazy story.

“Did she tell you why she wanted to see you?”

“She was having problems. She’d heard of me and I guess she found my address at the convent. She wanted to talk to me and find some resolution for her troubles.”

“What were these problems, Mrs. Brooks?”

I took a deep breath. It was rare that I was on this end of an interview in a homicide. When I asked questions, I expected to be given answers, complete answers. Now I was the one holding back and I knew he would not be happy. “They were very personal. I really can’t talk about them. I’m sorry.”

“We need to know as much as possible to find the killer,” he said calmly.

“I know you do, and I’ll help you in any way I can. But she described something that is little more than a fantasy and it involves other people. I can’t discuss it.”

“Do you happen to know where we can find her family?”

I felt relieved that he didn’t press me. Probably when they brought the detectives in, I’d have a harder time, but for the moment we were moving on to simpler questions. “I do. Tina gave me the names and address of her parents. I’ll get it for you.” I got up and found my notebook.

He copied from it into his. “Have you spoken to them?”

“No. I called the Superior at St. Stephen’s, the convent where Tina was a novice. She’s on her way down here now to identify the body.”

“Any idea how long it’ll take for her to get here?”

“Less than two hours. Do you know where they’ve taken Tina?”

“To the local hospital. We can drive over when the Superior comes.”

“OK.”

“So you don’t really know anything about this girl.”

“Very little. She rang my doorbell and introduced herself. I told her she could stay a few days, but no longer than that. She said she’d go back to the convent today.”

“You have any idea why she might have been out early in the morning?”

I told him what I had told Mel, that she might have said her morning prayers outside and then gone for a walk. “Do you have any idea how long she was dead before she was found?” I asked.

“No idea at all.”

Not that he would have told me if he did know. “I don’t know what else I can tell you. She left her bed unmade so I assume she intended to come back and make it. We were going to go to early mass this morning and then I was going to drive her back to the convent.”

“That’s a long trip for you, almost two hours each way.”

“By train it’s longer and you have to change. I didn’t mind and she was happy that I offered.”

“I guess that’s it. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave her room as she left it. The crime-scene detectives will want to have a look at it. If you decide to tell us anything else, you know where to find us.”

We went outside together and Jack and I traded places. I was sure the officer wanted to make certain we didn’t
exchange any remarks. I didn’t think Jack would tell him about the Joseph story, which was the only thing I cared about. I took Eddie back inside and upstairs to change his clothes into something he could run around in. We had just come home from church and weren’t wearing our running-around clothes.

Officer Malcolm didn’t spend much time with Jack, either. By the time Eddie and I had changed and were out back, Jack joined us. I heard the police car leave a moment later.

“I refused to tell him what Tina’s problem was,” I said, not asking.

“I told him anything I knew was secondhand and if he didn’t get it from you, I didn’t think I should say anything.”

“Thanks.”

“Is Sister Joseph coming?”

“She’s on her way. I suggested she bring an overnight bag in case she wants to stay. The only problem is, she’d have to stay in the room Tina used.”

“I’ll get her a room at the motel. She won’t mind that, will she?”

“I don’t think so. Officer Malcolm,” I added, “said a detective would probably question us.”

“I’m sure they’ll dig one up, maybe from the county. Are you going to tell Sister Joseph what Tina said?”

“I think I have to. It could be connected with her death.”

“Not if Kovak did it.”

“There’s so much going on here, Jack. How is it possible for a man to become so enraged over a tree that he would murder a girl who saw him cut it down?”

“Mr. Brooks?”

We turned around. Coming toward us from the driveway was another Oakwood police officer.

“I’m Jack Brooks. Something up?”

“Do you folks have an ax?”

“I think so. It’s in the garage. Why?”

“I’d like to see it, if you don’t mind.”

“No trouble.”

I checked Eddie, who was sitting on the patio and playing with toys. Then I followed them to the garage.

“You know where the ax is, Chris?”

“Along the right-hand wall somewhere. It should be hanging so that Eddie can’t reach it.”

“I don’t see it.”

I felt myself becoming impatient. What did this policeman want with our ax and why couldn’t Jack just find it? I walked in alongside my car and looked up. We had other tools hanging from hooks that Jack had installed after Eddie was born and we became more careful, a spade, a hoe, a rake, a leaf rake, even a pitchfork, which I had teased him made him look like a Russian peasant at work. I couldn’t find the ax.

“Any reason you’re looking for it?” Jack asked the officer.

“Mr. Kovak’s ax is in his garage and so is the Greiners’. We’re trying to find out where the ax that cut down the tree came from.”

“Well, it didn’t come from here,” Jack said, and I could hear irritation in his voice.

“But you own one?”

“Yes, we own one. I had to cut down some small trees last summer and I bought one. It should be right here.”

“On that empty hook?”

“Yeah, on that empty hook.”

“If you find it, will you give me a call?”

“I’ll do that,” Jack said. He wasn’t using his friendly, suburban homeowner voice. He was sounding more like a put-upon New York cop.

“This is not possible.”

We looked at each other, both of us too confused and surprised to know what else to say. “Was the garage door locked last night?” I asked.

“I don’t know. You don’t know either, I can tell.”

He was right. Although Jack is very security conscious, we weren’t very careful about locking the garage. Our garage is not attached to the house so it’s not a way inside. It’s very old, the lock might qualify as an antique, and we frequently have trouble locking and unlocking it. Usually, I park my car inside and Jack parks his just outside the garage door. The only things inside that can be stolen are garden tools and a couple of Eddie’s outdoor toys. So we don’t worry about it very much.

“You know what he’s driving at, don’t you?” Jack said.

“I don’t want to think about it.”

“Did you see the ax that was used to cut down the tree?”

“I saw it lying there but I didn’t go over to look at it.”

“You think it was ours?”

“Jack, it was an ax. It had a long handle and an ax blade. I’m not an expert on tools. I have no idea who the manufacturer of our ax is. I’m just starting to feel that we’re in the middle of something terrible.”

“That’s an understatement.” He looked as angry as I had ever seen him. “I’m going in and changing. Let’s
get Eddie fed and off to his nap so we can go through the garage. Maybe I put the damn thing somewhere else, like the basement. I wish I could remember the last time I used it.”

We went inside and I got Eddie’s lunch started. While I was setting things out, the front doorbell rang. What now? I thought as I went to answer it.

“Flowers for Mrs. Brooks,” the young man holding a large box said.

“Oh.” Everything inside me melted. I forgot the missing ax, poor Tina, Joseph on her way to make a terrible identification. My husband had sent me flowers and as always happened, I felt teary.

“Enjoy them,” the young man called as he went back to the van parked in front of our house.

I opened the box in the living room and found a dozen yellow roses and a small card. I told Eddie I’d be right back and I carried it all upstairs to our bedroom. Jack was pulling a sweatshirt over his head when I walked in. As he looked at me, he smiled.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling tears tumble down my cheeks.

He took the box, put it on the bed, and put his arms around me. “Best mommy in the world,” he said.

“Thank you.” I kissed his neck. “Thank you, thank you.”

“Let me put my sneakers on and I’ll be right down.”

“They’re just beautiful.” I kissed him again and went downstairs.

Joseph arrived soon after Eddie had gone to sleep. Jack was out back looking for our missing ax and I was starting to think of this as a sick comedy rather than
a tragedy, until I looked at Joseph’s face. She looked awful.

“This is not the kind of news I have ever gotten before,” she said when she was sitting in our family room. “I haven’t called Tina’s parents yet. I thought I’d like to see her first.”

“Sure. Let’s have a light lunch and then I’ll call the police. They’ll drive us over.”

“You don’t have to come, Chris.”

“Yes, I do.”

She looked at the vase with the yellow roses. “It’s Mother’s Day, isn’t it?” She smiled. “And someone remembered you.”

“Yes. He’s very good at remembering. He’ll be in in a minute.”

The door closed just about then and Jack came in. He’s very formal with Joseph, very respectful. They shook hands and he asked if she had had a good ride up. Then we sat down to our lunch.

“I hope you’ll stay overnight, Sister Joseph,” Jack said. “I’ve made a reservation for you at our local motel and I’m cooking dinner for us.”

“Let me see how the afternoon goes, Jack. Thank you very much.”

As soon as we were done, I called Officer Malcolm and he came over. I introduced him to Joseph and he apologized to have taken her away from her work.

“We have a detective on his way right now. He’ll be coming over to look at the room Miss Richmond slept in and to talk to you.” He said this to Jack who replied that it was fine; he had no plans to go anywhere at the moment.

We went out and sat in the back of the police car.
Officer Malcolm assured us this would take very little time.

“Have you notified her parents yet?” I asked him.

“No, ma’am. I’d like her identified before we make the call.”

“I’ll call them,” Joseph said. “I think that would be much better than their hearing it from a police officer.”

He said nothing else for the rest of the drive, which took only ten minutes. I didn’t tell Joseph what I wanted to discuss with her, deciding that could wait till we were back at the house with no strangers present.

“I’ll drop off you ladies and park the car,” Officer Malcolm said as he entered the hospital complex.

“We’ll be glad to walk,” Joseph said, but he swung around the front of the building and stopped at the main entrance.

“Won’t take a minute.” I closed the door and he drove off.

“Thank you for coming, Chris. This is a terrible thing to have to do.”

“I wouldn’t have let you come alone. And besides, I want to make sure this is the person who stayed with us for the last few days. I didn’t see her face this morning.”

Officer Malcolm returned and led us through the hospital as though he knew the way, which surprised me. There weren’t many mysterious deaths in the Oakwood area.

I knew this hospital myself because until a few years ago my cousin’s home for retarded adults was housed in a wing and I visited him there frequently. I had even had an experience in the basement, where we were now headed, that I would be happy to forget.

“They know we’re coming,” Officer Malcolm said. “They’ve got her ready.” We were standing in front of a door that said
MORGUE
and I was feeling very jittery. “You ladies OK?”

We nodded and he opened the door. Inside there were two pallets with covered bodies on them. A woman in scrubs was sitting at a desk and turned when we entered.

“Officer Malcolm?” she said.

“Yes, ma’am. This is Mrs. Brooks and Sister Joseph.”

“I’m Dr. Kenworthy. You’re here to see the girl who was shot this morning?”

“Yes,” we both said.

“I’m sorry we’re not set up with TV cameras to make it easy on you. I’ll draw the sheet back and you can see her face.”

We walked closer and Dr. Kenworthy turned down the sheet.

“That’s Tina,” I said, feeling the horror of seeing a young person lying stiff and without color.

Joseph moved a little closer. She took her glasses off and rubbed them on her habit, her eyes never moving from the still face. She put her glasses back on and stood for another moment. Then she shook her head. “I’ve never seen her before,” she said.

“That’s not Tina?” I asked.

“No. She’s about Tina’s age, but Tina doesn’t look anything like that.”

“Would you like to walk around and look at her from the side?” the doctor said.

“No. I’m sure. That’s not Tina Richmond.” She turned away from the body and I could see the distress in her face.