Murder in Marietta (A Trixie Montgomery Cozy Mystery Book 2) (13 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY

H
ello, Ms. Montgomery. Ms. Lamont. What can I do for you, I’m very busy?” He wasn’t wearing a jacket today, but Bowerman’s shirt was as rumpled as usual. I didn’t spot his cigar. He looked kind of naked without it.

“We’ve been robbed,” Dee Dee exclaimed.

“So I’ve heard.” He hiked up his pants. “Come on in my office.” He sounded reluctant, but motioned us to follow him down a hallway into a dingy cove filled with the scent of male – stale cigar smoke and sweat. The interior decorator had gone for early utilitarian. A large desk pitted with numerous dings and scars sat center stage. No pictures adorned the wall. Two ragged chairs sat in front of the desk. On the desktop sat a picture of a middle-aged woman with two teen-aged children. I was taken aback, I’d never pictured the detective with a family.

“Your family, detective?” He actually smiled, revealing smoke stained teeth.

“Yes, ma’am.” He turned the conversation back to the reason for our visit. “What’s this about a book robbery?” He unwrapped a cigar and stuck the pacifier in his mouth.

“We went to the National Cemetery to take pictures for my article. Some strange man jumped out of a truck and ran up to us. He insisted we give him the book.”

“Could you describe this book?” The detective removed his cigar and twirled it between his fingers.

“I bought it at the Magnolia Books and Antiques Store downtown,” Dee Dee said. “A Union soldier, one of Andrews’ Raiders, wrote the book. I don’t understand why the robber wanted it.”

“For some reason he wanted this book bad enough to hold us at gunpoint.” Dee Dee scooted to the edge of her chair and put her elbows on the detective’s desk. “And would you believe he threw my favorite purse on the ground?”

His caterpillar eyebrows crawled up. “Did you get a good look at the assailant?”

“He wore a ski mask, detective,” I told him. “He sped away in his truck, but I memorized the first three letters from the tag – PAT . The truck was red and had one of those oversized diesel engines with the double tires on back. I think they’re called duelies.”

“Did he hurt either one of you? Threaten you?”

“He brandished a gun.” Dee Dee announced.

“What kind of gun?” Now we had his interest. He moved several stacks of paper from one side of his desk to the other. He scrounged around until a pen hovered over a notepad. “Tall? Thin? Did you recognize him?”

We told him everything we could recall, and he took copious notes. When we couldn’t remember any more details, he looked up. “You never said if it was a pistol, shotgun?”

I glanced at Dee Dee. “We didn’t exactly see the gun.”

Dee Dee held up her hand, finger pointed like a gun barrel. “Kept it in his pocket.”

Bowerman’s chair groaned as he leaned back. “Never saw a weapon.” He tossed his pen down. “I suppose you were smart to believe it was a gun. Ladies, with all due respect, I’m too busy to spend any time tracking down a book robber.” He stood up, stogie motioning to the door. “And I’m sure this has been stressful for you.” He hurriedly escorted us to the door. “I’ll call you if we learn anything. The results from the crime scene at Dora’s should be in shortly.”

We left him shaking his head, and I doubted he’d take any action at all. For all intents and purposes, our book thief did not have anything to do with Doc’s troubles.

“Come on, Dee Dee. I need to go home and prop up my leg. I’m exhausted and my knee is killing me.”

“It’s about time you decided to take care of yourself. I’ll get you to Dora’s as soon as I can.”

All I wanted was to go home and see Mama and Beau. I missed them so much. First, I had to finish this article and leave the investigation to the professionals. We were getting close and it scared me.

We stopped by the hospital and picked up Nana. When we arrived at our temporary home I propped up my leg and crashed.

“Wake up. Detective Bowerman’s on the phone. He wants to speak to you.”

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and squinted up at Dee Dee holding the receiver under my nose. I grabbed it from her. “Hello? This is Trixie.”

“I wanted to inform you we made an arrest in the robbery. Susan Gray master-minded the break in.”

“What? Why?” I sat up, my head spinning with the sudden movement, and the astonishing news. Why would she go to such lengths to steal a book?

“The Civil War book Dee Dee bought at her store is a one of a kind. Susan claimed it’s a first edition, signed by the author. It’s worth a lot of money. She never intended to sell the book in her store. An employee mistakenly placed it with the sales stock. When she found out her assistant sold it to Dee Dee she panicked. Fear of losing the book prompted the break in at Dora’s. We have her fingerprints, and Susan admitted she searched Dora’s house for the book.”

My head reeled, wheels spinning. “Detective, do you think she’s connected to the murder?” It would be a great relief if Susan’s arrest set Doc free from suspicion.

“I don’t see any connection.”

“We’re not close to making an arrest in the case. But you don’t have to worry. I just wanted to call and inform you of Susan’s involvement. This should put your mind at ease concerning the break in. Now you take care of your knee and leave the investigating to us.”

“Thank you for calling. This definitely makes me feel safer.” The click on the other end of the phone did not make me feel any better about Doc.

“What was that all about?” Dee Dee stood so close to me I could smell toothpaste on her breath.

“You’re not going to believe this.” Nana sashayed in my bedroom dressed in a Victoria’s Secret nightie. “Susan Gray was behind the robbery yesterday. She hired those two men to steal the book from you.”

“Why in the world did she want an old book?” Nana vied for a place beside me.

“The book is old. It’s a signed, first edition and it’s extremely valuable. The author was one of the Andrews’ Raiders. She wanted to sell to the highest bidder to bolster finances for the bookstore. The detective said she’s the one who broke into Dora’s the other night. I can’t believe she was so desperate.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Dee Dee said. “Come on, girls. Let’s get dressed and ride into town for a big breakfast. We deserve a little pampering.”

Nana gingerly sat down so as not to jostle. “Trixie, how are you doing today? Is your knee any better?”

“It’s sore, but better than yesterday. I can’t wait to get home and see the orthopedic surgeon.”
Did I really just say that?

“Well, take your time getting ready, and we’ll go have a humdinger of a breakfast.”

An hour later we pulled onto the road. Though my knee was better, I still wasn’t up to driving. I’d have to endure another day of Dee Dee’s racecar antics. We voted unanimously to eat at Kountry Kousins. Velma seated us and took our orders.

“I’ll have eggs, grits, bacon, toast, and coffee.” Nana said. How did Nana eat like a dog with worms and never gain an ounce.

“You want to share with me?” I asked.

“No, I don’t. You can get your own.” She unwrapped her utensils and floated her napkin into her lap.

“In that case, I’ll take the same thing she’s having.” They say a hearty breakfast starts your day off right.

“Just make that three, Velma,” Dee Dee said.

“What do y’all think about Susan being the killer? She’s got my vote.” Dee Dee spread strawberry jam on her toast.

“I’m not so sure she’s involved. Robbery is one thing; murder is a whole different ballgame. I’m not counting her out though. As we’ve said before, people will kill for the most insignificant reasons.” I grabbed my fork and scraped my plate, foregoing etiquette. Hands down, this had to be the best breakfast I’d ever tasted.

“Ahhh, a good breakfast, the case is almost solved and while I rested last night I came up with a hook for the article. Things are really going well, except for the old knee.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

L
et’s head over to the museum and tell Doc the news about Susan. This could be the break we’ve been looking for.” Dee Dee reached for her pink flowered purse and withdrew her new lipstick, Pink Pansies. She swiped her lips and pursed them together. Her pink lips matched her pink outfit. I smiled.

“You girls go on out to the car,” Nana said. “I need to visit the little girl’s room. I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.”

We paid our bill and stepped into the bright sunshine. I looked forward to having a productive day.

“Look how this van parked,” I observed. “They didn’t have to park so close.”

“Yeah, crazy drivers. Let me help you in.”

Dee Dee came around to my side to assist me. The door on the white van next to us flew open and a man jumped out and grabbed me. Another grabbed Dee Dee. Before we could shout for help, someone shoved us rudely into the back of the van. Another man pointed the barrel of a gun at us.

“Jeffrey? What are you doing?” Dee Dee asked incredulously. “Where are you and Sammy taking us?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Now shut up.” It seemed like forever, but it could have been a few minutes. Time moved in slow motion.

Dee Dee and I exchanged frightened glances. What would Nana think when she couldn’t find us? Were they going to grab her, too? It was all starting to make sense. I knew without a doubt these two men were involved in the murder.

When the van stopped, and the door opened again, we were in an old warehouse, darkened windows kept out any light. A dim glow came from bare light bulbs dangling from the ceiling. The building was empty, save for a few wooden crates scattered here and there. Within minutes we were forced to sit in straight back chairs with our hands tied behind our backs and our legs bound at the ankles. My knee throbbed.

Dee Dee whispered the obvious. “Trixie, I think we found the killers.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Y’all need to keep your traps shut. Your big mouths got you in trouble in the first place.” Jeffrey stomped over and tested the ropes wound around our wrists.

“Hey, you didn’t have to pull so hard,” Dee Dee said. “That hurt.”

“It won’t make any difference in a little while. Your pain will be irrelevant.”

Yikes
. I didn’t like the sound of that.

“Sammy, why did you kill Jacob?” I thought I knew the answer, but I wanted to keep him talking. Hopefully Nana recognized something terrible had happened and called 911.

“He didn’t kill Jacob. I did.” A chill ran down my spine; I recognized that voice. I turned my head to confirm my suspicion. There stood Steven.

“Jacob’s death was most unfortunate. I never planned on killing anyone.” He walked in front of us. He didn’t appear so handsome now that I’d discovered he was a murderer.

“Then why did you?”

“Shut up! You don’t have to tell them anything.” Sammy hadn’t said much up until now. I couldn’t believe these three successful men had thrown away their futures.

“It’s doesn’t matter. They won’t be able to talk to anyone when we finish with them.”

I had to keep them talking. Our lives depended on Nana attaining help in time. “Sammy, I think I’ve figured out why you and Jeffrey are
involved, but I don’t understand why Steven would kill Jacob.”

“Go ahead and tell us why,” Sammy said. “I’d love to hear your theory.”

“I haven’t put all the puzzle pieces together, but I’ll give it a try. Sammy, you told us you owned a majority of the downtown property. I think you wanted the museum for the property it sits on. And since Jeffrey is a loan officer, he planned to give you a loan to buy it.”

“She thinks she’s pretty smart doesn’t she, Sammy?” Jeffrey’s sneer filled me with fear.

“Steven, you seemed like such a nice young gentleman. How did you get mixed up with these two?” Dee Dee asked.

“It’s your fault.” Wasn’t it just like a crook to blame someone else? “I was there to scare you off the night you were at the museum. I never intended to kill anyone. When I discovered Jacob at the museum he startled me. I couldn’t take a chance on him telling anyone I’d been there.” He clinched and unclenched his fist. He resembled a wild animal.

“We were in the Andrews’ Room, so I grabbed the gun with the bayonet on it from the display. It all happened so fast. But what’s done is done. I can’t bring him back.” As Steven paced back and forth in front of us, I wondered if he’d be the one to kill us.

Sammy took the floor. “Y’all just had to poke your noses in our business.” He looked directly at me. “You insisted on asking questions like you were some kind of cop. If you hadn’t shown up, our plan might have worked. We tried to convince the board to sell the museum so I can build some condominiums. With a loan from Jeffrey’s bank and our investor we could have made millions.”

Jeffrey waved his gun around like a crazy man. “Yeah, women. They’re no good, two-timing, low-down scum.” I had a feeling he referred to Susan. I thought it sounded more like my ex-husband, Wade. I suppose it all depended on which side of the fence you were on.

I knew it was time for a prayer.
Lord, please protect us and let Nana
find help.

The door burst open and two of the biggest hombre’s I’d ever seen charged in. Before I knew what happened, the two mountain men slammed Jeffrey and Sammy on the floor and handcuffed them. Steven escaped.

But not for long. In marched Detective Bowerman, with a small army of police officers. They had Steven in tow. Suddenly the group of officers parted like the Red Sea and Nana walked through.

“Thank God you’re all right.” She rushed over and kissed my cheek. “I was so afraid we wouldn’t make it in time. Girls, meet my friends Mad Dog and Viper.” She motioned toward the two burley, tattooed guys who’d come to our rescue.

“Ladies.” Bowerman looked toward us. “If it wasn’t for your Nana here, we wouldn’t have found you. You can thank her for keeping her wits about her.” That was too funny. Wait until Mama heard that one.

“Detective, they’re behind the murder. Steven’s the one who killed Jacob.” I suspected I’d be giving a full statement later.

“Oh? How so?” Caterpillar brows shot up.

“How does a full confession sound to you?”

“Mirandize all of ‘em!” Bowerman barked.

“Nana, how did you know where we were?” Dee Dee asked.

“When I came out of the little girls room, I saw them push you in the van. Mad Dog and Viper were inside eating. I ran in and told them I needed help. Bless their pea picking hearts. They believed me.” She blinked her eyes and shot a smile toward the two men.

Mad Dog pointed his fingers covered with heavy metal rings at Nana. “By the time we ran out to our motorcycles she was already on the back seat. I didn’t have time to argue with her about how dangerous it was to ride through traffic chasing a van. We got to the warehouse and called for backup. When we received the word we came in.”

They must have noticed the inquiring looks Dee Dee and I wore.

“Take them on out,” the detective ordered. Officers escorted the three handcuffed men out of the warehouse, and Bowerman joined us. “Good job guys” He met my questioning look. “Viper and Mad Dog are two of our best men. They’re undercover cops. They’re on our side. And I believe God must have been on your side today.

“I do, too, detective. I do, too.”
Thank you God, for saving our lives.

A month has passed. I’m sitting here among friends and family. It’s my first day home from the hospital. When I returned from Marietta my doctor arranged for knee surgery as soon as possible. I’ve been staying with Mama and Nana until I can manage stairs.

Detective Bowerman charged Sammy, Jeffrey, and Steven with kidnapping. They spilled their guts in hopes of receiving a deal. Their sentence put them away for a long, long time. And it wouldn’t be in condos.

Susan’s indictment included breaking and entering as well as robbery. She lost her freedom, as well as her bookstore. The book she desperately wanted became evidence. Doc recovered nicely from the disruption to his life. He decided to give another year to the museum and then retire. Penny couldn’t be happier.

There is one person involved in this whole fiasco I felt sorry for. I knew Gloria never expected things to turn out the way they did. She hired Jacob to steal artifacts from the museum, determined to make things look bad for Doc in hopes of having Steven step in as director. Jacob was there that night under Gloria’s direction. How ironic that her son killed Jacob.

As for our ghostly visitors that dreadful night at the museum, that mystery remains unsolved. Did they appear to warn us, or were they a figment of highly charged imaginations? We’ll probably never know, and I don’t think Dee Dee plans on going back to determine the answer.

Harv raved about my story. The best I’d ever written he said.
Where
past meets present
is the new motto for “Georgia by the Way.” Beau and I have grown closer than ever. When you come through the other side of a life and death situation it’s amazing how everything becomes crystal clear about what is really important. Like the people you love. I glanced at Beau.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He gave me the sweetest kiss I think I’ve ever tasted. It was a wonderful day to be alive.