Death of a Wolfman (A Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Book 1) (10 page)

Laughing, I said, “You think someone would stalk  me out here in the woods? Why?”

Ben gripped his hair in both hands. “What do squirrels do, Lily Gayle?”

Huh? What the hell kind of question was that? And what did it have to do with me coming out here to meet LizBeth? “Well, they climb trees. They store nuts for the winter. And speaking of nuts—”

“They chatter, Lily Gayle. That’s what they do. They chatter. I think that dead squirrel was some kind of warning to you not to be running around chattering.”

Pulling myself up to my full height, I said, “I do not run around chattering.”

Ben gave me a disgusted look. “We don’t have time to argue about this right now. Come show me where you found the body.”

Backing away from him, I said, “Uh-uh. I’m not going back out there. Once was more than enough, thank you very much.”

“Then how am I supposed to find the spot?”

Memory struck. “My bike. I left my bike behind a group of trees right off the driveway where the path is. Besides, it’s the only path I saw. It’s right before you round a big curve in the driveway. You can’t miss it. Just follow the path to the end. There’s a gazebo there by a pond.” I shuddered, remembering the scene in the gazebo. “You’ll see her as soon as you get to the end of the path.”

Beginning to feel a little woozy from the unaccustomed drinking, I turned to face Bill in the Jeep. “Bill, will you take me home? I just want to lay down for a while.”

Bill looked over his shoulder at me, then shifted his gaze to Ben.

“Go on. Take her home. At least I’ll know where to find her later.” Giving me his best sheriff look, he said, “Don’t you dare leave the house again today.”

I had no intention of leaving the house again today so I nodded. All I could think about was my bed and how comfortable it would be to lie down and sleep for a while. Let myself forget what I’d seen. Ben had a key, so if he wanted to talk to me before I woke up, he could just let himself in to the house.

Climbing into the Jeep, I gave Bill a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

Riding along the road home, I couldn’t get LizBeth out of my mind. Who would want to kill the woman and why?

CHAPTER NINE

Sunlight streaming through my bedroom window woke me. A taste resembling the smell of something rotten had me heading toward the bathroom and my toothbrush. As I brushed, I realized Ben had never come back yesterday and I must have slept the clock around.

Well, I’d not gotten any sleep the night before so I’d already been tired; then combine that with the shock of finding LizBeth and the unaccustomed whiskey and that mixture would make anyone sleep around the clock. Once I had the offensive taste flushed out of my mouth, I felt much better. Next up, a hot shower to wash away the last of the muzzies in my head.

As the hot water struck my injured knees, I almost howled. Leaping from the shower brought a protest from the abused knees. With a quick flip of my wrist, I shut off the water and opted for a sponge bath at the sink. It turned out to be only a marginal improvement because my palms weren’t in much better shape than my knees.

Now for a cup of hot tea and some breakfast. Once I’d fortified myself with the basics, I’d chase down Ben and find out what information he’d uncovered while I slept.

Elliot waited for me in the family room, still harnessed to the table where I’d left him the day before. I ran to him. He hissed and turned his back. Poor kitty. He must be starving. But I’d been afraid to let him roam around yesterday. I unhooked the leash from the table and led him to the kitchen, where I dumped kibble into his bowl. While he was busy eating, I attached his leash to the refrigerator door. I still didn’t want to let him roam around loose.

I’d just finished breakfast and was making my way to the telephone when I heard a car door slam in my driveway. Hobbling into the living room, I saw Ben getting out of his cruiser and coming up the walk. Good. That saved me having to track him down.

Knees throbbing, I hustled to open the door. I didn’t quite succeed in stifling the exclamation of dismay at the sight of my cousin. Dark circles bloomed below both bloodshot eyes and his clothes looked like he’d worn them for days, to judge by the wrinkles.

“I know. I look like hell. Have you got some coffee in there? I could really use some right about now.”

“There’s not any fixed, but it’ll only take a few minutes. Come on in and sit. You look like something the dog dragged in and the cat wouldn’t have.”

He noticed my limp as we made our way to the kitchen. “Knees stiff this morning?”

I nodded. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

He motioned me to a chair when we reached the kitchen. “You take a load off. I know where everything is and can fix the coffee.”

Sinking into my chair, I watched him move with familiarity around the kitchen. With economical movements, he filled and started the coffeemaker and removed two cups from the cabinet, leaving them next to the dripping machine. The scent of vanilla roast rose into the air.

Ben wrinkled his nose. “Don’t you have any normal coffee around here? I feel like I’m at Starbucks or something. Used to be I could get a good strong cup of decent coffee here.”

I sniffed. “If you want coffee at my house, you have to drink what I’ve got. I got started on the flavored coffees after Stan died.” I’d changed a lot of things after he’d died. I hadn’t been able to continue buying the same things I’d bought when he’d been alive. My hands had refused to pick up those brands and products in the early days of adjusting to the loss. So now I had developed tastes that didn’t necessarily coincide with what everyone else around here might have in their kitchens.

The coffeemaker gurgled to a stop and Ben poured two cups. He placed one in my hands, then sat across from me with the other one. He sipped without speaking, his gaze out the window to the trees at the back of my property, a frown creasing his brow. I sipped my own coffee, waiting for him to start the conversation. He must need the quiet time. Yesterday and last night must have been bad.

At last he turned his eyes to mine. “Word is out all over town about the murder. Reenie used the radio to send me out to you yesterday, and so many people around here have scanners, it ran like wildfire all over town.”

Now I frowned. “Didn’t she use the ten codes to let you know?”

Ben barked a humorless laugh. “Yeah, she did. But you know as well as I do that the folks with scanners know the ten codes as good or better than the police department.”

He had a point there. My heart ached for him. He must be going through hell now, with two murders in as many days and nothing to go on. Unless… “Did you find anything out at the gazebo to give you a clue about who might have killed LizBeth?”

He shook his head. “Not a damn thing. Whoever cut her tongue out took the knife with them.”

I gulped. “Her tongue was cut out?”

“I thought you realized that yesterday. You did see her.”

I made patterns on the table with my coffee cup as I remembered the scene. The pretty little gazebo placed next to the quiet pond in the woods. A peaceful place for introspection or just some time away from the cares of the day. Then finding LizBeth with the blood streaming onto her shirt. A shudder traced its way across my shoulders and I pushed the memory away. “I saw a lot of blood around her mouth, but I didn’t realize her tongue was cut out. I got the heck out of there as soon as I realized she was dead.”

Ben blew out an exasperated breath. “Yeah. The whole path to and from the gazebo was scuffed up pretty bad. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t find anything useful.”

Indignation welled up in me. “Well, I’m sorry I messed up the path, but preserving evidence wasn’t exactly the uppermost thought in my mind at the time.”

Ben put his elbows on the table and cradled his head in his hands. “Of course. That’s what anyone would do. I’m not blaming you for anything.” His fingers clenched against his scalp. “I’m just so frustrated with this. I can’t imagine who’d do something like that.”

I reached over and touched his arm. “Did you talk to her family?”

Still looking at the table, Ben said, “Yeah. And that was a nightmare all by itself.”

“What did the old man say?”

“I didn’t see him. I talked to the son and got an earful about the incompetency of the police force in this county, etc., etc.” Raising his head, he looked me in the eye. “That son is a piece of work. Said he’d hire a private investigator if I didn’t find the culprit right away.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s a piece of work all right. He snuck up behind me at the library, and when he saw I was working on the history of his family, he insisted I stop immediately.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t tell me he threatened you.”

I waved my hands in the air. “It wasn’t a threat like that. He just said his father was very ill and if he found out what I was doing it would upset him. I explained that his sister had hired me to do the search and he whipped out his checkbook quick as you please and offered me double what his sister was paying for me to stop.”

Ben’s eyes glinted with interest. “Really. I reckon you told him what he could do with his checkbook.”

I grinned. “You bet I did.”

He drained his coffee cup and pushed away from the table. “I better get back on the case. Wouldn’t want Alexander Mitchell to drive by and see my car out in your driveway and accuse me of taking a break instead of finding his sister’s killer.”

I stood too, wincing at the pain in my knees. Ben quickstepped around the small table. “Are your knees hurting that bad? Maybe you need to go in to Doc and have him take a look at you.”

I smiled. “Nah. I’ll be fine. I’m just not as young as I used to be.”

Ben scooped me up, strode to the living room and set me in my favorite chair by the window. He went back to the kitchen and returned with two bags of frozen corn and a couple of kitchen towels. “Here.” He wrapped the frozen bags in the towels, swung my feet up onto the ottoman and placed a covered bag on each knee. “You sit here for an hour with these on and then take them off and apply warm cloths for an hour after that. It should help. I’ve got to get back out there and see what I can find on these murders.”

He wiped his wet palms down his pant legs and something crackled in his pocket. “Oh. I almost forgot to give you this.” He pulled a plain white letter-size envelope from his pocket and handed it to me. “Doc found it in LizBeth’s pocket when he was doing the postmortem. I don’t think it’s got anything to do with her murder so I’m giving it to you.”

Taking the envelope from him, I turned it curiously in my hands. The outside didn’t have any writing on it and something lumpy rested inside. “It’s not addressed to me.”

“There’s a letter, a check and some kind of necklace inside. The letter is addressed to you and the check made out to you too. I don’t think you’ll be able to cash the check for a while. Her accounts will be frozen until we figure out what happened.”

I opened the envelope. A note card slid into my hand along with a necklace. I set the necklace aside and opened the card.

Dear Lily Gayle,

Please accept this check in advance for your services with
the family history search. I’ve also included a necklace I’d like you to have. It may help you find the answers you seek.

LizBeth

I fingered the check. Two thousand dollars. A shiver chased down my spine. I didn’t know if I’d ever cash it. Money from a dead woman. I picked up the necklace for a closer look. A winged dragon about two inches long dangled from the chain. They both looked like silver and the detail on the dragon was exquisite. The dragon’s tail curled around what looked like a milky-white marble. As I rested the dragon against my palm, the cold marble began to warm, and as it did colors danced inside. Cool. I wondered where she’d gotten it. Dixie would love to have one too.

“Thanks, Ben. I appreciate you giving this to me.” I sighed. “I just can’t figure out who’d do that to LizBeth. The whole family keeps themselves away from everyone in town. It couldn’t have been anyone local. Could it?”

Ben shrugged. “I can’t rule out anybody at this point. She did have contact with people in the town as a midwife. It could have something to do with that.” He motioned to the frozen vegetables on my knees. “Remember: Keep those on for an hour, then change to warm cloths.”

Knowing it would be useless to argue with him, I let him have his way. Besides, I needed to be in top form if I was going to help him solve these crimes. Watching him back the car out of the driveway, I vowed to march up to Mitchell Manor as soon as my knees allowed and give Alexander Mitchell a piece of my mind.

Nobody treated my family that way. Nobody.

CHAPTER TEN

Snapping out of a doze, I saw Ben pulling into my driveway again. Who did he have in the car with him? I couldn’t quite make out the person in the glare from the sun on the windshield. Ben went around the car and opened the passenger door, assisting someone from the seat. Had I hit my head when I fell yesterday? Please let this be a bad dream. Surely that couldn’t be Miss Edna coming up to the house with her cane and Ben next to her to make sure she didn’t fall. Ben wouldn’t do that to me…would he?