Death of a Wolfman (A Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Book 1) (13 page)

“Oh. Just here and there. Working the soreness out of my knees. They’ll only get stiffer if I just sit around, you know.”

Ben’s look told me he wasn’t buying it.

“Here and there, huh? That’s pretty vague.”

Better get this over with now. I put on my best innocent look. “Well, as a matter of fact, I did ride my bike up to the manor to offer my condolences and to find out about bringing food.”

Ben’s eyes went stormy. “You went up there by yourself?”

“Yes. Why not?”

Ben blew out a breath. “Why not? Why
not
? Because there’s a murderer running around loose and the last place you needed to be going alone was right past the place of the last murder. I thought you said you’d stay out of the murder cases.”

Indignant, I said, “I didn’t go up there getting involved in the case. I went up there for the reason I said. And do you know what happened?”

Ben scowled. “They probably threw your nosy ass out on your ear and now you’re convinced someone in the house was involved in LizBeth’s murder.”

Yikes. He knew me far too well. “As a matter of fact, I never got into the house. Alexander met me at the door and told me bringing food wouldn’t be necessary, and to make sure all the ladies in town understand that.” I banged my palms flat against the kitchen table. “I mean, how insulting is that? It’s traditional for neighbors to bring food when someone in the family dies. What’s the matter with him?”

Ben sighed, laying his hand over mine. “Lily Gayle. The Mitchells are not neighbors. They may live here, but they’ve never had anything to do with anyone in town and that’s the way they want it. Why would you think a death in the family would make them open their door to a bunch of strangers?” His fingers tightened over mine. “You know all that as well as I do and you went up there anyway. Nosing around. And now you’re acting all insulted because Alexander Mitchell wouldn’t let you in the door. You gave me your word about keeping your nose out of this.”

I pulled my hand away from his grip. “Technically, I promised to stay out of the wolf man murder.”

Ben glared.

I dropped my eyes. “OK. I know you want me to stay away from the Mitchell murder too. But Ben, you don’t understand…”

“Oh, I understand all too well. Your insatiable need to know everyone’s business is going to lead you straight into trouble again. I ought to take you down to the jail and lock you up for the duration of the investigations just so I’ll know where you are and what you’re up to.”

“You can’t do that. I haven’t done anything illegal.”

“I’d like to do it just on principle. Because I know you’re going to stick your nose in this even though you promised not to, and I’m worried you’re going to get yourself hurt. We’re dealing with a murderer here. Someone who’s killed before won’t hesitate to hurt or kill you if you get in the way, and you’re the only family I’ve got outside my parents.”

My heart softened. “Ben, I’m not going to get hurt.”

He frowned at me. “You don’t know that, hon. You could stumble across something and not even know what you’re in until it’s too late. Why don’t you stick to that family research you were so fired up about a couple of days ago and leave the investigating to me? Please?”

I sighed. “At least tell me what you’ve found out so far. Maybe I can help by being a sounding board for you. Todd and Mark may be your deputies, but they’re both young. They don’t know the county folks the way you and I do.” I put my hands out to him. “Come on. Tell me.”

Both hands went to his hair, pulling the short strands. “I’ve got zip. No one knows anything about the wolf man. No one ever saw or heard of him before. I went out to the Taylor place to talk to Samantha about the bullet and she was so scared she was shaking. Swore she hadn’t said a word to anyone. Her brothers stood there staring me down the whole time I was there. Neither of them knew anything either, but I know they make bullets for some of the hunters around here.”

His hands tightened into fists in his hair. “I don’t have any reason to suspect they’re the ones who made the silver bullets so I don’t have grounds for a search warrant, and they both pointed out that they aren’t the only ones around here who make bullets and that the bullet could have come from anywhere.”

He sighed and let go of his hair. “I have less than that on LizBeth. Because the Mitchells keep away from townfolk for the most part, no one knows any reason why someone would kill her. And her brother wasn’t any help either. Her father is on his deathbed and I didn’t even talk to him at all.” He stared into my eyes. “Well, where’s the insight you were going to provide? I don’t hear you saying anything.”

I could feel the waves of frustration rolling across the table. And I didn’t have any sage advice to offer after all. The Taylors had always been a surly bunch—one reason their sister was so hot to have a career and get away from family ties. The Mitchells had always kept apart from the town so I had nothing to offer on that score either. Feeling strangely helpless in the face of Ben’s frustration, I could only sit silent.

Ben stood up. “I’m sorry, Lily Gayle. I shouldn’t take out my frustrations on you.” He drained the cup of coffee he’d left on the table. “You know, once you get used to that stuff, it isn’t half bad.” He threw me a salute as he left the kitchen. I heard the front door close behind him.

My heart ached. I had to find a way to help him solve these cases.

I fiddled with a loose string on the plaid placemat in front of me.
Think. There’s got to be something.
A scratching at the back door startled me so much, I ripped the string loose. It couldn’t be Elliot. He’d just push his door open and come on in. His little cat brain had forgotten all about the dead squirrel, but mine hadn’t.

Was the back door locked? Glancing over to check the position of the dead bolt, I almost jumped out of my chair. A pair of brown eyes framed by black hair stared back at me through the bottom section of glass on the door. Before I could bolt screaming toward the front of the house, the person stood and I recognized Samantha Taylor.

I motioned her to come in. “Lord, Samantha. You ’bout scared ten years off me.”

Samantha’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Miss Lily Gayle. I couldn’t tell the sheriff, but would you help me?”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Thirty minutes later, I sent the now-calm Samantha back to work at the hospital and headed over to It’ll Grow Back. I had a mission. And I needed Dixie’s help.

The bells tinkled as I entered the shop. I scanned the room. Good. No one was sitting in any of the chairs. Dixie appeared from the back, drying her hands on a paper towel.

“Did you have an appointment today?” She tossed the wadded-up paper into the trash, went over to consult her book. “I don’t have you down.”

“Since when do I need an appointment to stop by to see my best friend?”

Dixie quirked an eyebrow. “When you use the phrase
my best friend
, that’s usually a prelude to getting me involved in something you think I won’t want to do.”

I did my best to look innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dixie snorted as she closed her appointment book. “Well. I don’t have anybody else scheduled till later this afternoon. What have you got up your sleeve?”

I studied my nails, noticing the polish was chipped on a couple of fingers. “Um. I need you to drive me out to the Taylor place.”

Dixie crossed her arms and leaned against the front counter. “When are you going to get over your fear of driving? The Taylor place isn’t more than fifteen minutes by car. And it’s all on back roads.”

I thought about the pretty, candy apple red Mustang sitting in my garage, gathering dust. Ever since Stan had died in a fiery crash on Interstate 40 coming home from Nashville, I’d been completely unable to drive a car. Every time I forced myself behind the wheel, my palms started sweating, and if I made it as far as cranking the engine and putting the car in reverse, my leg refused to mash down on the gas pedal. “Now isn’t the time to be discussing that. I’ll drive again when I’m ready. Right now I need a lift. Are you going to help me out?”

Dixie shrugged. “Darlin’, I know you’re having a hard time gettin’ past what happened to Stan.” At my stormy look, she continued. “OK. I won’t get into that right now.” She grabbed her keys and purse from the shelf below the cash register, gesturing toward the door. “Your limo awaits, my lady.”

Behind the shop, Dixie opened the back door to her beat-up Chevy and motioned me to get in.

“Very funny.” I opened the front passenger door and sat.

Dixie cranked the engine, then let the car idle. “Am I allowed to know why we’re going out to the Taylor place or is it some secret?”

“Samantha Taylor was just over at my place telling me she thinks her brothers may have made the bullet Ben’s looking for. I want to go out to their homeplace and check around to see what I can turn up.”

Dixie turned the ignition off.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

Dixie crossed her arms over her chest. “This car ain’t moving until you explain to me why Samantha Taylor didn’t give this information to Ben instead of you. And then why we’re going out there to investigate instead of telling Ben ourselves and letting him do his job. You know, the one where he gets paid to be shot at by good old boys for invading their private property? I’m not in the mood to get shot at today. Or any day, for that matter. Girl, you know that Taylor bunch will shoot first and ask questions later.”

Shifting in my seat, I explained. “Samantha came to me because she was scared her brothers would find out if she went to Ben.”

Silence reigned in the car. “I’m still waiting for the part about why it has to be us to go poking around out there instead of Ben.”

I blew out a breath. “Well, I can’t give the information to
Ben
. If the sheriff showed up out there, those boys would know their sister had set the law on them.”

“I see. So in what has to be some of the most convoluted thinking you’ve ever come up with, you’re thinking we can go out there and they’ll think we’re just stoppin’ in for a visit, and while we’re there we can just ask
oh, by the way, did y’all happen to be the ones who made those silver bullets that killed the wolf man?
and they’re going to tell us pretty as you please that sure, they made those bullets. Why didn’t we just ask before now?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, of course not. You’re going to wait down the road with the car and I’m going to act like I just came out there to see them. And I’ll figure out some way to look around while I’m there to find any evidence.” I flicked a curl out of my eyes. “Why, we’ll be in and out in no time.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Dixie cranked the car again. “I still don’t see why Ben can’t be the one to get in and snoop around.”

“Because he’s the law. He can’t just waltz into someone’s house and start looking around without a warrant.”

“But we can?”

“Yep. And when we get the goods on the Taylor boys, we can give the stuff to Ben and he can use it without having broken the law.”

Dixie pulled her car out of the alley, heading down the road out of town. “You are the only person I know who can say something like that and make it sound rational.”

As we neared the Taylor land, I told Dixie, “Pull over right up here. There’s a place where the trees break and you can put the car in there and no one will see it. We’ll go the rest of the way on foot.”

Dixie raised her eyebrow. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why would we do that?”

“Because I don’t want them to see your car parked big as life outside the house. We might have to make a run for it out the back and through the woods. This way they won’t know I have a ride out of here.”

Dixie pulled the car into the bare space between the trees and eyed me up and down. “Look. I’m not going to go up there if you think there’s going to be trouble. Running hell for leather through the woods with a couple of gun-happy country boys hot on my ass isn’t my idea of a good time.”

I opened the car door and got out. “Come on. Don’t be such a pain. I don’t want to take any chances so parking the car up here in the woods is just an insurance policy. Hurry up. Let’s get to the house, get the evidence and get back to town.”

Dixie got out of the car but didn’t shut her door. After scanning the woods for who knows what, she stared over the roof of the car. “I don’t want to take any chances either. That’s why I’m thinkin’ this is a really, really bad idea. I don’t know how you got me this far into it.”

I walked around the car and tugged her arm. “Let’s get this show on the road. The longer we fiddle around, the more spooked you’re gonna get.” I pulled her toward the woods with her dragging her heels.