Текст книги "Chilled in Chattanooga"

Автор книги: Deborah Malone

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 10 страниц)

CHAPTER TWELVE

I left Nana in Dee Dee’s care while I went to see what Detective Sams wanted. During the drive downtown my thoughts swirled like the leaves in a whirlwind. Being unfamiliar with the streets, I circled around twice before I turned on the right road. The station was located at the bottom of The Bluff, so it didn’t take but a few minutes to arrive.

The station was small with sparse furnishings. I assumed it was a satellite to a bigger facility. A young lady in uniform sat behind a battered desk talking on a two-way radio giving instructions to someone on the other end. She offered me a genuine smile.

“Hi, I’m Trixie Beaumont, and I’m here to see Detective Sams,” I said when she was finished.

A look of sympathy quickly replaced her smile.

“Detective Sams is expecting you.” She jumped up from her chair and opened the office door, stuck her head in and announced my arrival. The detective indicated for me to enter. My heart rate quickened as I entered her sanctuary.

“What did you call me in for, Detective?” I noticed Sergeant Gary Sargent sitting in front of a desk that took up most of the room.

“I’m afraid it’s not good news.” Detective Sams pointed toward a chair. “Would you take a seat please?”

Grateful for the offer, I sat down before I fell down. The air crackled with tension while I waited for her to tell me the fateful news.

“Please tell me why I’m here.”

“Annie’s death is officially a murder.”

Duh, that was a no-brainer. She didn’t jump into the freezer herself.

She placed her arms on the desk-top and leaned in. “We know Annie was poisoned and we know it was in her tea, we just haven’t narrowed it down to the particular poison. But that will come out in due time.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

“It seems she had a liking for a very unusual tea. One she special ordered.” The detective gave another pregnant pause. Why in the world couldn’t she talk faster? My bottled blonde hair was going to turn gray if she didn’t wrap this up.

“What does any of this have to do with me?”

“Trixie, we found a bag of Rose Petal Green Tea in your room. They’re running tests on it now. We also found your fingerprints on her teacup and teapot.”

“But we had tea together, and I was helping her serve. Of course my prints were on the teacup.” Oh – my – goodness, my breaths came erratically. The room began to spin, and the detective’s voice sounded far away.

“Put your head between your legs.” It wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish, but I managed. My breathing slowed and the room stopped spinning. I righted myself and braced for the rest of Detective Sam’s speech.

“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t look good for you. It’s important that you not leave the area until we give you the go ahead.”

“I don’t understand. I didn’t have any reason to kill Annie.”

“That’s one thing we haven’t figured out yet,” Sergeant Gary Sargent said. “But we’re working on it.” He actually had the audacity to smile. Maybe it was payback for me laughing at his name. He seemed to be enjoying my discomfort way too much.

What was I going to do? Would I have to find the killer myself? My mind flashed back to the conversation I’d had with Dee Dee earlier. I knew she’d do anything she could to help.

“Trixie,” Detective Sams stared at me with a look of concern, “are you all right? I was talking to you, but you didn’t seem to be hearing me.”

“I’m sorry. This has been a shock to me.”

“As a person of interest I’ll be questioning you again, soon.” The detective shuffled through a file. “Let’s see, you’re staying at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Be sure and let us know if you decide to stay somewhere else.”

I nodded my head and hoped the end of this conversation was near. I didn’t believe the discussion could get any worse. It did. Detective Sams wasn’t through with me yet.

“Oh, one more thing. Your reputation precedes you. I’m aware of your amateur sleuthing skills. However, I do not want you to even think about getting involved like that with this case. I assure you my department will do everything in our power to treat you fairly. If you’re not guilty, then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

Easy for you to say when it’s not your freedom on the line.

“That’s all for tonight. You are free to go.”

I left the station wondering what hit me. I didn’t see that one coming. I knew I’d discovered the body, but I had no reason to be worried about being a person of interest or more plainly put – a suspect. How and why did the tea end up in my room? The word framed popped into my mind.

That had to be it. I’d been framed. The question was “why”? I yawned several times driving back to the hotel. The stress of the past couple of days hit me full-force making it hard to keep my eyes open.

I stealthily opened the door to the sound of Nana’s snores. I wondered if Dee Dee was asleep, when her head popped up from her pillow. She stage whispered. “Hey, girl. I waited up to see what the detective wanted. By the look on your face it wasn’t good.”

I took off my outerwear, slipped off my boots and tip-toed to Dee Dee’s bed. She scooted over and I sat beside her. She gave my arm a hearty squeeze. “Come on. Spit it out, girl. What did she say that made you look like you’d just lost your favorite camera?”

“Annie’s death is officially considered a murder and I’m a person of interest.” A lone tear slid down my cheek.

“Oh, no. How in the world did they come up with that theory? I know you found the body, but surely they aren’t basing their beliefs on that alone.”

“Sams said during the sweep of my room they discovered a bag of the specially ordered tea that Annie drinks. And it didn’t help my fingerprints were on her tea cup and the tea kettle.”

Dee Dee shook her head. “How did the tea get in your room? It almost sounds like someone was trying to set you up.”

I sat up a little straighter. “I thought the same thing, Dee. I think somebody tried to frame me, but I don’t know why.”

A loud snort startled me, and I gave Dee Dee a questioning look. I feared we’d woken up Nana, but she turned over and the snoring pattern started again.

“We’d better try to get some sleep. I don’t think we can figure this out tonight.” My thoughts were jumbled as a batch of scrambled eggs. I’d have to wait until tomorrow to call Harv and Beau.

“Okay, we can talk about it in the morning when our brains are fresh.” Dee Dee reached over and gave me a quick hug.

Unfortunately, I was afraid morning wasn’t going to look much better.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Morning arrived as gray as my mood. I looked over to discover Dee Dee smiling at me. She held a book titled “Cowgirls Don’t Cry.” Nana was still asleep, and I supposed the pain medicine they’d given her at the hospital kept her from waking at her usual dawn-thirty.

“Hey, Trix. How ya’ feeling this morning?” Dee Dee’s greeting reminded me of summer birds chirping as the sun came up.

“Not much better than last night. I feel like I dreamed all night. But the real nightmare is now that I’m wide awake. What am I going to do?” What in the world was I going to tell Mama and Beau? Poor Beau, he was going to wish he’d never married me. Who wanted to be married to someone who discovered dead bodies for a past-time?

Nana stirred and emitted a little moan. Bless her heart; she didn’t need a broken arm. Her eyes flew open. “Oh my goodness! What time is it? I must have overslept, the sun is shining so bright.”

“Nana, you need your rest to heal. Don’t worry about over sleeping. Remember, we’re on vacation and we can lie in bed all day if we want.” Dee Dee had such a calming effect on Nana.

“I guess you’re right. Oh, my arm is aching. It hurts more than it did last night.”

I gave Dee Dee a knowing look. I figured the pain would catch up with her. She’s not as young as she thinks she is. I caught a glimpse of the hot pink cast and smiled. I had to admit Nana had a way of making the most of life. Though she’d stepped on my last nerve more than once, I was proud of the way she took life by the horns and lived like there was no tomorrow. She had never been one to be preachy about her faith, but the fact that she got up every morning, depending on God to be her companion during the day, had been an example I yearned to follow.

“I’m sorry Nana, do you need more pain medicine?” Before she could answer, Dee Dee jumped up and retrieved a glass of water and the medicine bottle.

“Here ya’ go, Nana.” She handed her a pill large enough for a horse and waited on her to take it.

“Thanks, Dee. Says right here on the bottle not to take on an empty stomach. Guess we’d better hurry and get Nana some breakfast.”

We spent the next thirty minutes getting dressed and helping Nana get ready. She insisted on wearing a hot pink outfit to match her cast. We headed downtown in my P.T. Cruiser to scope out a good place to eat. We settled on McDonalds.

I opted for an egg biscuit, Dee Dee decided on an Egg McMuffin, and Nana chose a pancake breakfast. Coffee was the drink of choice. We chose a table by a window. Even though it was cold outside, the sun had burned off the fog. Sitting inside someone could easily mistake it for a spring day. No ice from the night before remained. I was thankful for that. We didn’t need Nana falling again – or me either.

As I looked out the window I felt like an elephant sat on my chest. Despair cloaked me like a winter shawl.

“Trixie, do you want to talk about it?”

I looked at Dee Dee, then at Nana. Did I want to involve Nana in the latest turn of events? I figured there was no way around it since she was staying with us. I needed to talk to Dee Dee about helping me and it would be a moot point trying to leave Nana out of the loop.

“Talk about what?” Nana asked.

Dee Dee nodded her head. “Last night Detective Sams named Trixie a person of interest in Annie’s death.” She went on to tell her more about the tea and circumstantial evidence against me. I was glad she could tell her. I fiddled with my biscuit, listening to my life described like the six o’clock news. I prayed I wouldn’t cry in front of Nana. I didn’t want to worry her. Lord give me strength.

Her posture stiffened. “What? Why would they do that?” I thought I saw smoke coming from Nana’s ears when she realized the gravity of the situation.

Dee Dee reached over and patted Nana’s hand. “Don’t worry Nana. I’ll make sure Trixie’s found innocent. No way will I let Trixie take the rap for something she didn’t do.”

“Worried? I’m not worried. She didn’t do anything, and she has nothing to hide! I don’t see any reason why we can’t solve this case just like the others. Tell me what you need me to do.” Nana held up her injured arm. “Just because I have a cast doesn’t mean I can’t help.”

That’s what I was afraid of. Yes, Nana helped solve a couple of crimes, but she was kidnapped when we got a little too close to the culprits on Tybee Island and I didn’t want that to ever happen again.

“Well, Trixie, what do you say. Should we make out a suspect list? Surely the murderer had to be someone staying at the bed and breakfast,” Dee Dee said.

“That would be the logical place to start.”

After we cleaned up our table, we decided to go back to the hotel and make a list. The pain medicine Nana had taken kicked in by the time we arrived back at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and she opted for a nap while Dee Dee and I worked in the lobby. I knew she must be tired if she was going to miss out on anything concerning Annie’s murder.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

We scoped out a corner in the expansive lobby where we’d be out of the way and out of earshot. Off-white wingback chairs stitched with delicate red flowers sat on a red and beige area rug. The sun shone through an abundance of windows, filling the atrium with shards of sunlight. A couple holding hands were at the counter, making goo-goo eyes at each other. I assumed they had reservations for the honeymoon suite. My cheeks heated at the memory of mine and Beau’s honeymoon.

I waited for Dee Dee to visit the ladies room. I picked up a brochure boasting the history of the hotel.

The Terminal Station was erected in 1908, with its centerpiece – a magnificent dome – that rose majestically over the concourse. Built of steel and concrete and buttressed by huge brick arches, the dome rested on four steel supports 75 feet apart. Suspended from the ceiling were four brass chandeliers, each with 40 lights circling an 18-inch opal globe. From an architectural standpoint, this dome over the entire 68 × 82 foot general waiting rooms was the most attractive design feature of its time.

It was on the underside of this dome, the part in view above the waiting room, that the only attempt to decorate in colors was made – artistic plaster embellishments of heraldic emblems, which are now fully restored. The dome was truly lavish and beautiful in its different prismatic colors, especially when lighted at night.

I looked up and studied the splendor of the paintings.

“What ‘cha doing?” Dee Dee came back and followed my gaze.

“I’ve been reading about the history of the hotel. Isn’t the dome beautiful? I read where John Staten of Boston opened Stanton House in 1870. It was ahead of its time with the placement of a recently invented telephone in the lobby. And it had electric lights.”

Dee Dee laughed and sat down in a chair next to mine. “You sound like a history lesson.”

“Since I’ve been working for the magazine it’s in my blood. Anyway, let me finish. By the end of the century it wasn’t doing so well, so Stanton sold it to the Southern Railroad in 1905 and they leveled the old hotel in 1906 to make way for the railroad station.”

She craned her neck to take in the entire ceiling. “It really is beautiful. Now,” Dee Dee pulled out a tablet from her gigantean bag, “let’s get down to working on this list. We don’t have a minute to waste.”

“You’ve got that right. And I’m supposed to be working on the Ghoston murder for Harv. I don’t know how I’m going to finish it before the deadline he gave me.” I separated the branches of the fern and looked out into the lobby. I had a great view. “I feel sorry for Tilly. She was beside herself over Nana’s fall.”

Dee Dee guffawed.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry Trixie,” Dee Dee snorted. “I had this picture in my mind of Tilly standing beside herself.”

I smiled. “Well, put that way I could see how you’d think it was funny. Unfortunately, I’m not in a funny mood right now.”

“I understand. I was just trying to lighten the mood. We have to laugh some, Trix, or we’ll end up crying and that won’t do anybody good.” She reached in her bag and quickly retrieved a pen. I was in awe. “Tell me who all the other participants in the workshop were and a little bit about them. We’ll have to find out where they’re staying. Got any ideas how to get that information?”

“Detective Sams?”

“See, you made a funny. Good for you.” She wrote something on the paper and underlined it with a flourish. “Now, tell me a name.”

I lifted my head and stared into space trying to remember my classmates. Bodene’s name popped in my head first. “Okay, Bodene Tate.”

Dee Dee looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Sounds like a good Southern name.”

“Yeah, I hope he doesn’t represent all Southerners because he’d give us a bad name. He’s this big, burly guy and he’s all tatted up.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Dee Dee said.

“No, but it’s what he said that got everyone’s attention. He told the class that he’d been in prison and he wanted to write his memoir of prison life. According to him, “he didn’t kill nobody,” and he wants to write a book to clear his name. He said he didn’t have any writing experience, but he thought it would be pretty easy.”

“Wow, he sounds like a character. Were all your classmates of this caliber?” A giggle escaped Dee Dee’s lips.

“No, it was a very eclectic group. There was Lori Wilson, not only is she cover-model beautiful, she’s smart, too. She’s the editor of an ad driven magazine, The Tennessean. She has aspirations of being an editor for a women’s magazine, and with her ambition and gorgeous presence, I believe she just might.”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a killer.” Dee Dee shook a cramp from her hand.

“You and I’ve both learned you can’t go by what someone looks like to finger them as a killer.”

“Yeah, we learned the hard way didn’t we?”

“There’s something about her though that raised my hackles. Annie asked if they had ever met and Lori told her “no.” But the look Lori gave Annie could have melted butter. I think there must be some bad blood between them. Why else would she look at her like that?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to put a star by her name.”

“I think she mentioned living in Chattanooga. She might be a good suspect to start with.” I separated the leaves of the fern for another check and staring back at me was a pair of dark, beady eyes. I yelped, jumping from my chair.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Dee Dee followed suit, and sent pad and pen flying. “What in the tarnation’s going on, Trix. Why’d you do that?”

“Somebody was spying on us.” I grabbed the arm of a uniformed staff member for an explanation. The older woman’s head seemed crooked, and then I realized it was because her hair was leaning sideways. I hoped it was a wig. She reached up to straighten it, now it leaned the other way. “Why were you watching us? You could get in trouble for that.”

A Cheshire Cat grin spread across her face. “Yeah, well everyone around here is a little jumpy and I heard you mention poisoning someone.” She tugged at my hand. “Let me go. I should tell my supervisor about this. Come to think of it, I might just bypass my supervisor and go straight to the police.”

“Go ahead, we don’t have anything to hide.” I let go of her sleeve and gulped, that wasn’t exactly true. I suspected it wouldn’t bode well for me with Detective Sams if she discovered what we’d been discussing. Too late to worry about that now. “Wait!”

She scurried off like a squirrel chased by a dog. Dee Dee stood totem pole still with her mouth agape.

“My goodness,” I turned toward Dee Dee, “what do you think she really heard?” I sat back down before my legs gave out.

Dee Dee found her voice. “I don’t know, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Let’s get back to our list.” With her bottom turned heavenward she retrieved her pen and tablet. She sat, scooted around for comfort, and placed the tablet on her lap with aplomb. “Shoot.”

I stuck my finger and thumb out and pulled an imaginary trigger. “Bang.”

“Funny, Trix. Very funny.” She tried to keep a straight face, but failed miserably. Her laughter echoed in the large, open lobby. “Thanks for the comic relief. We needed that. Just hope nobody was spying on us.”

“That’s for sure. All right, who do we have on the list so far?” My shoulders relaxed a bit and my breathing settled to almost normal. I had a feeling it would be short-lived.

“We have Bodene Tate and Lori Wilson,” Dee Dee said.

“There’s Tippi ‘with-an-i’ Colston.” I gave Dee Dee the queen’s wave. Tippi’s a gorgeous redhead. The problem is she knows it and she holds her nose just a little higher than most. I tried being friendly with her, but she didn’t warm up any.” I recalled something about her I’d forgotten until now. “Hey, I just remembered she was outside Annie’s door when I was in the hallway. I need to tell Detective Sams about this.”

“Yeah, that might take the investigation in another direction – away from you. Why don’t you call her now?” Dee Dee reached in her bag and pulled out her phone. It always amazed me how fast she could find something in her mammoth bags. “Here, you can use mine.”

I rummaged around in my purse for the detective’s business card. I finally located it on the bottom. I handed it to Dee Dee. “Can you read the number; I don’t have my reading glasses on?”

Dee Dee reached for the glasses she’d pushed up on her head and pulled them down into place. “Here ya go – 555-4582.”

I punched in the numbers and put it on speaker phone so Dee Dee could hear. After two rings a woman answered. After I asked for Detective Sams, she informed me that the detective was away on business and asked if I wanted to leave a message. I’d be sitting on pins and needles until she called back.

I handed Dee Dee her phone. “Write down George Buchanan as well.” It was painful to remember the scene where Annie berated him. “I believe if I was George I’d want to kill her.”

“Why?” Dee Dee asked with raised eyebrows.

“It was terrible Dee. Annie had asked each of us to write a paper. She read them out loud and then critiqued them. After she read George’s paper she said “this is an example of how not to write” and then shredded it. Everyone just sat there in shock. Poor ole’ George didn’t take it so well. He threw back his chair, threatened Annie, then fled the room.”

“Sounds like another candidate for a person of interest. I swanny, I don’t know why the detective focused on you. I’m putting a star by his name, too.”

Dee Dee tapped her pencil on her tablet. “Getting back to George. When you tell Detective Sams about Tippi, you need to tell her about George, too. Who else do we need to write down?”

“Amanda Holbrook. She reminds me of myself when Wade divorced me. Instead of a chip, she has a boulder on her shoulder.” Dee Dee grinned at my rhyme. “She’s been put in a position where she has to find a job to support herself and her children. She wrote for pleasure, now she wants to write professionally. Sounds a lot like me, doesn’t it.”

“That may have been you when you first moved back to Vans Valley, but it isn’t you now. You’ve grown so much Trixie. I’m real proud of you.” She rewarded me with a wide smile.

“Thanks Dee. I couldn’t have done it without your help and support.” I reached over and squeezed her hand. I had no doubt Dee Dee would be there for the long haul.

“Anyway, Amanda definitely harbors a lot of anger, but it seems to be directed at her ex-husband. I don’t see any reason she’d take it out on Annie.”

“Yeah, but she was in the bed and breakfast so we need to write her down.” Dee Dee wrote her name with a flourish.

“The only other person I can think of is Ladonna, the housekeeper. She was in the room when Annie told us she was feeling sick. I wonder if she’s staying at the bed and breakfast? If so, it’d be easy to find her.”

“Looks like we have us a bonafide suspect list. So far we have Bodene, Lori, Tippi, George, Amanda and Ladonna. Wow, that’s six people.”

I looked over Dee Dee’s shoulder to see none other than Detective Sams and Sergeant Gary Sargent heading our way. “Quick, hide the list. Here comes the detective.”