Down Home and Deadly (30 page)

“What you’re doing is illegal, too. I confessed to a serious crime. You have to question me.”

“Fine. What were you doing the night of the crime?” John spoke in
an official tone.

“Drat it, John. I’m serious.” Bob glared at him. “I killed a man. I’m confessing to it. You have no choice but to lock me up.”

“Bob, go on home. Your daughter is fine.” John patted him on the shoulder. “Things will look better in the morning.”

Bob’s sudden lunge was so unexpected that John had no time to react. I leaped to my feet. Two officers rushed into the room in response to the shouts, or maybe to the noise the chair and desk made when Bob turned them over. They cuffed Bob a little roughly, but their chief was nursing a bruised eye, so I couldn’t blame them.

“Jenna
.
 
.
 
.
” Bob turned his head as they shoved him out of the room. “Go by and tell Wilma what happened.”

Thanks a lot, boss.

Wilma didn’t take it any better than I thought she would.

“This is so crazy. First my child
;
now my husband. What is John thinking? Bob could no more kill someone on purpose than I could.”

“Um, Wilma, to be fair, Bob didn’t give him much choice. He sort of slugged John.”

“
Oh
my goodness. This is making Bob so crazy. He’s never hit anyone in his life. He was all about the ‘peace and love’ thing. What was he thinking?” She twisted the towel in her hands. “I have to do something. Let me see. What do I need to do?”

“Why don’t you lie down?” I suggested. “I’ll get you a cold glass of water.”

“Lie down?” She stared at me as if I’d suggested she leap off a cliff. “Why would I lie down? And I’m not thirsty, thanks. I need a plan.” She twisted the towel harder then stretched it out. She looked up at me as if she’d forgotten I was there. “Jenna, run along, honey. I’ve got things to do.”

This family was in serious need of therapy. I left before I needed it, too
,
and headed back to the gym
,
where I spent the rest of my shift fielding questions about Bob from Gail and Dave.

*****

“This better be good,” I muttered. I hated being awakened by a ringing phone. My heart was in high gear and my brain wasn’t engaged. Never a good scenario.

“Hello?”

“Jenna?” A voice I didn’t recognize. I struggled to see caller ID, but my eyes were blurry from sleep. “I need your help.”

“Who is this?”

“Oh, sorry. This is John. Could you come to the station, please? I can send a car for you if you wish.”

“I have a car, thanks.” This was a strange conversation, but I tried to be polite.

“Did I wake you up?” John’s voice was tinged with amusement.

“What time is it?”

“Um, about
6:00
.” He sounded a little sheepish.

“Then you woke me up.”

“Sorry. I’ve got a little situation down here
,
and I thought you might help me handle it. I didn’t look at the clock until just now.”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” I rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

I was only a couple of minutes late, and I knew I looked like a contestant for the police lineup. I was ushered straight to John’s office where Wilma occupied the chair I’d sat in yesterday. Compared to how she looked, I was ready for a beauty contest. Her hair stood out every which way
,
and her eyes were swollen and bloodshot. Almost as bad as John’s eye, I noticed.

And she was crying. Not loud wails, just a soft, hopeless weeping. I took the chair next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

“Wilma?” My mind went blank. What do you say to a woman whose husband and daughter are both in jail?

“She came to confess
.
” John spoke wryly. “Tell us one more time what happened, Mrs. Pryor.”

“I was mad at J.D. for breaking up Lisa’s marriage. I followed him to the diner and shot him with Lisa’s gun.” She spoke in a monotone
,
and her voice was so low I had to strain to hear it.

“Will you sit with her just a minute, Jenna?” John left the room but returned shortly leading Bob. When Bob realized Wilma was in the office, he stepped forward and took her hands.

“Honey, what are you doing down here? Didn’t you read the note I left?”

“Note? No. I didn’t find a note.” She glanced at me and back to him again. “Jenna stopped by and told me where you were. I came to turn myself in.”

“Turn yourself in for what? What are you talking about?” Bob looked at Wilma as if she had morphed into an alien. Or at least grown an extra head.

“For murder. I killed J.D.”

“Wilma,” Bob fairly roared. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly
,
and we all know it. Don’t we, John?”

“Do we?” John retorted. “The way I remember it, if someone confesses, I have to take them into custody and question them. Isn’t that the way you heard it, Jenna?”

How unfair. Leave me out of this. I tried to send telepathic messages to John, but he wasn’t picking up my signal.

“Isn’t that what Bob said yesterday?”

He didn’t get to be
c
hief of
p
olice by not being persistent, obviously.

“Wilma couldn’t have done it.” Bob cut John off. “We left the diner and went straight home to watch that ‘bad boys’ cop show.” He turned to look at his wife. “We watch it every Friday night. She was with me the whole night
,
and I’ll swear to that in any court of law you want to take us.”

“Is that right, Wilma?” John asked gently.

“Yes. He’s right, of course.”

“Well, Bob, congratulations. You’ve given Wilma a good alibi.”

“Now, honey, go on home and let me handle things
.
” Bob gave Wilma a peck on the cheek and guided her to the door.

“Just a minute, Bob.” John’s voice hardened. “You do realize that when you alibied Wilma, you also alibied yourself?”

Bob looked stunned. I guess a night in the slammer had diminished his thought processes.

“Now, why don’t you both go on home and leave the police work to me?” He shook his head as he walked out of the office.

*****

Dear Pru,

My boyfriend and I have been dating for three months. I have always known that he smokes dope now and then, but the other day he offered me a joint. I said no
,
thanks, and he laughed at me. He said I need to learn to live. I said it was more like learn to die. He hasn’t called me since. Should I call and apologize?

Who’s
t
he Dope?

*****

Dear Who’s,

It’s not you. Unless you call and apologize. Then there will be two dopes in this equation. What you should do is thank your lucky stars that he quit calling you. Go out and make friends who have fun without depending on substance abuse.

*****

*****

It’ll all come out in the wash
.

Funny how I’d thought it would be perfect if Bob would sell me the athletic club. I’d just never imagined that Lisa would have to be arrested for murder in order to make it happen.

Bob had spent all week trying to get her out of jail
,
and I’d spent all week trying to get the paperwork through. I felt guilty that I’d succeeded and he hadn’t. But however it had happened, the bank called at four and said my money was ready. I had an in with the lawyer
,
so after I picked up the check, Alex stayed open late for Bob and me to meet at his office. Together we’d transferred ownership.

Five minutes before closing time, I pushed the double doors open and stepped into
t
he Lake View Athletic Club—finally mine.

“Hey, boss, is this a sign of things to come? Showing up right before we close?” Gail
asked
jokingly as I walked by where she was gathering her things. “Bob told me. Congratulations.”

I nodded. “Thanks.” No matter how overbearing and annoying Lisa had acted, it was hard to enjoy the victory knowing she was sitting in a jail cell.

“There are a couple of stragglers. Want me to stay around? Or are you going to lock up?”

“I’ll lock up. I’m not staying too long.”

Seth and Ricky came by from the showers, gym bags in their hands. “Hey, Jenna. How’s it feel to finally own the place?” Seth asked, his cocky grin firmly in place.
I hoped
he’d gotten over his misplaced affection for me.

“Good. Thanks.”

Ricky nodded. “Congrats on your new venture.”

“Does this mean you’re going to be too busy for all those questions?” Seth asked.

Ricky cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. “We need to go, man.”

“Aw, don’t be shy around Jenna. In between her amateur investigating, she’s been real curious about you, too.”

My face grew hot. Seth and his jealousy. He thought I’d been asking about Ricky because I was interested in him romantically. Amelia was going to kill me. So much for being subtle.

“I—”

Ricky flashed me an easy smile and slapped Seth on his shoulder. “Your jealousy is showing, man. But I’m pretty sure she’s taken
,
and so am I. So let’s get going.”

Seth followed him out
,
and I turned to Gail with a grimace. “What is it about men? Once you’re attached, they suddenly find you irresistible.”

“I wouldn’t know,” she muttered.

I frowned.

Her face reddened. “Sorry.”

“
Marco
?”

She nodded. “Not that he knows I’m alive. As anything other than a good friend.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s missing.” But he would pretty soon if I had anything to say about it.

She gave me a wry grin. “Who needs men? I think I’m going to go get some New York Super Fudge Chunk and drown my miseries in ice cream.”

“Good idea. I’m going to go see if the office looks any different now that it’s really mine.”

In the office, I glared up at the wall. Lisa had once again replaced my beach scenes with modern art pictures. I sighed. At least I knew where to find them this time. She’d done the same thing when
I was away
in Branson
,
and I’d had to search the whole place before I finally found them in the janitor’s closet next to the pool
.

As I jogged down the well-lit, but deserted, hallway, I slipped my cell phone from my pocket and into my hand. The emptiness of the huge building creeped me out. It was the same way when I was at the newspaper office late at night. So many tiny unexplained noises punctuated the quietness.

When I opened the door to the pool area, shadows from the underwater lights rippled across the surface of the Olympic
-
size swimming pool. The familiar sound of the pumping system soothed my nerves. Maybe some people would consider that creepy, but my mood lightened
,
and I slowed to a walk, smiling at the blue octagon of water. This was one place that I didn’t need other people around
—
this was my safe place. Suddenly
,
the realization that I actually owned the pool surged through me. I fought the urge to run to the locker room, get into my swimsuit
,
and dive into the deep end. There’d be time for that after I retrieved my pictures.

I unlocked the janitor’s closet and pulled the string to turn on the lone lightbulb. Without wasting any time, I squatted down to look behind the shelves. Sure enough
,
there were my pictures. Same as before. But never again. Unless I decided to retire them and redecorate. And even then, I wouldn’t put them in the chlorine-saturated air of the pool closet, something Lisa had no doubt done on purpose.

Still squatting, I put my cell
phone on the floor behind me and gently slid the wooden frames from their hiding place. A manila envelope tumbled out with them. I propped the pictures against the wall and sank down cross-legged in the open doorway. With Lisa’s penchant for hiding things here, there was no telling what the envelope contained. And with my penchant for being curious, there was no chance I wouldn’t open it.

When I turned the envelope up, two newspaper clippings fluttered into my lap. I caught the first one and held it up to the light. It was from a
Memphis
newspaper,
The Commercial Appeal
.

Foul Play
S
uspected in Death of Cop’s Wife
,
blared the headline. I scanned the article. Judy Richardson had been found dead at the bottom of a stairwell in the apartment building where she and her husband, detective Eric Richardson, resided. Bruises on her shoulders and back indicated that she had possibly been pushed. Although not officially a suspect, Mr. Richardson was listed as a person of interest. Investigation was ongoing.