LOWCOUNTRY BOOK CLUB (5 page)

“No one. I'm very security conscious. We've got the best deadbolts made. Only Shelby and I had keys. There's a spare set hidden in each of our cars, and one in the safe deposit box.”

“With respect, even the best deadbolt locks can easily be picked by anyone who Googles how. There're YouTube videos demonstrating how it's done.”

“That's why the locks are backed up by floor-mounted door barricades when we're home. And of course we have a security system, which was armed in ‘stay' mode when I went upstairs. No one could've opened either door except Shelby.”

“Who set the alarm? You, or Shelby?” I asked.

“I did.”

“
Would it be in Shelby's character to let someone in the house she didn't know well? Someone new at the shelter?”

He shook his head.
“
Absolutely not. Shelby had a heart of gold, but she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't have opened the door for someone she didn't know. We had an incident a few years back. Someone showed up begging at the door. Shelby was here by herself. She called me and I came home and got the guy a cab to the shelter.”

“
But what if it was someone she knew from the shelter?”

“
A
client
?
”

“
Yes.
” Or her client's husband.

“
She wouldn't let them in. We talked though all of that. We had protocols.”

“
So by process of elimination, Shelby was killed by a friend or family member.” I looked at him directly.

“
So it would seem.” His words came out bitter.

“
Any thoughts on that?”

“
None. Everyone we knew loved Shelby. It's impossible for me to imagine any of them would hurt her under any circumstances.”

“
Something unimaginable happened here,” I said.
“
I need the names of everyone you can think of who Shelby would've let in the front door.”

“
All right…well, her parents. Williams and Tallulah.”

“
Did she get along well with them? Do you?”

“
Yeah. They're great people, warm, down-to-earth. Like Shelby. She was close to them. So am I. We had dinner there most Sundays.”

“
That Sunday?”

“
No. Tallulah had a cold. She missed church. Seems like they had a church dinner planned that night anyway.”

“
You all attended church together?”

“
Well, we're all members of the same church—St. Michael's. And we typically sit together, so I guess, yeah.”

“
What about Shelby's brother, Thomas?”

“
She wasn't close to him. He's all about power, position, money. He lives in San Francisco. Hasn't been home in years. Until the funeral.”

“
Are the family financial arrangements such that he would benefit from Shelby's death?”

“
No. They both have trusts. Shelby and I jointly owned hers. I'm the only one who benefits financially.”

“
Who established the trusts originally?”

“
Shelby's parents. Hers was modified after we were married.”

“
What about their estate?”

He took a long swig of coffee, then set his mug down, raised an eyebrow. “They're both in good health. But when they pass, a chunk of the estate goes to various charities. The remainder is owned by a trust. Shelby and Thomas were beneficiaries. But Shelby's share…I don't see that going to Thomas. They'll probably divert that to charities important to Shelby—One80Place. The church. Charleston Library Society. Animal Rescue.”

“
Any other family?”

“
Shelby's grandparents are at Bishop Gadsden retirement home—her mom's parents. Her dad's parents passed five years ago.”

“
That's it?”

“
She has a few cousins in Atlanta. Aunts, uncles. But they don't stay in touch.”

“
None of them ever asked her for money?” Family that didn't stay in touch might reach out if they needed something.

“
They all have plenty of their own.”

“There are no deep dark family secrets? I'm not going to find out that Shelby had a dramatic childhood incident with an uncle—nothing like that?”

“Oh God, no.”

“So in your opinion, no one in Shelby's family had a motive to kill her?”

“I'd bet my life on it.”

I looked at him for a long time. I didn't have to tell him that was exactly what he was doing.
“
What about your family?” I'd already profiled Clint and his family. But I wanted to hear what he had to say.

“
What about them?” He took a long drink of coffee.

“
Are they still in California?”

“
My parents are. I have a brother, Cliff. He's stationed at Fort Benning.”

“
Are the two of you close?”

“
Yeah. He has a wife and two daughters. They were all crazy about Shelby.”

“
Did you see them at Christmas?”

“
They were here for a week. Santa came here to see the kids.”

“
You didn't see your parents during the holidays, neither you nor your brother?” I asked.

“
No.
” His face went hard.
“
Shelby made damn sure my parents were taken care of. Against my wishes. But they aren't much on family.” Clint'
s parents
, Bill and Brenda Gerhardt, had both been to prison on drug-related charges. He and his brother had been in and out of foster care growing up. I knew this. It was in the file.

“
Any chance they would show up here looking to be taken care of better?”

He was quiet for a long moment.
“
I wouldn't rule it out.”

“
What about friends?”

“
Shelby's best friend is—was—Jane Kinloch.”

“
Kinloch? She married to Charles Kinloch?”

“
That's right.” He looked away.

“
Any idea where Paul Baker got the idea Shelby was having an affair with Charles
?
”

“That would've been me.” A pained look crept across his face.
“
They had coffee together a lot. And he had a way of watching her I didn't care for. We had dinner with them about once a week.”

“
He was in London when Shelby died. If he had anything to do with it, he would've had to've had an accomplice or hired it out. That doesn't feel right to me. Do you disagree? Is there any reason I should give him a closer look?”

“
No more or less than anyone else we knew,” he said.

“
You socialize with Fraser Rutledge and his wife as well?”

“
Yeah. Shelby and Fraser were tight since the schoolyard. His wife, Constance, I'm not sure she was happy about that, how close they were.”

“
She the jealous type?”

Clint made a face.
“
I don't know. Maybe. Fraser's all talk. He acts like he's always chasing something, but my take is he's a family man. They have five kids. She would destroy him in a divorce. No one knows that better than Fraser.
”

“
Who were Shelby's other friends?”

“
Delta Tisdale. She
's the secretary of the book club. Mariel Camp, Anne Spence, Erin Guidici, Liz Bell, and Mary Bernard. They're in the book club too. So's the lady next door—Evelyn Izard. She and Shelby weren't close, though. Evelyn is a notorious lush. The other women in that club I don't know. Jane or Delta could tell you.”

“
What about your neighbors on the other side?”

“
The Vennings? Nick and Margaret. We don't—we didn't—spend much time with them.”

“
Some of the neighbors told the police detectives they'd heard you and Shelby arguing.”

“
Fraser mentioned that. Honestly, I don't know what they were talking about. Maybe they heard the TV. Shelby and I didn't yell at each other—ever. And the Izards…it's as likely as anything the Vennings heard the Izards fighting and thought it was us. But who knows? The most likely way any of us could overhear any of the others would be outside in the courtyards.”

I mulled that for a minute. “Does your courtyard back up to the lot behind you?”

“Yeah. There's an old carriage house on the other side of our courtyard wall. I don't think anyone's living there.”

I made myself a note to follow up to be sure.
“
Any other friends you can think of?” Had he known Shelby was close to Sonny?

He shook his head slowly.
“
That's it. The staff at One80Place—that's all online. Shelby talked about most of them at one time or another.”

“
How about folks she knew at church?”

“
There's overlap there. Jane and several of the book club ladies go to our church. Shelby had so many friends. But the one she spent most of her time with, that would be Jane.”

“Was Shelby a member of a gym?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No.”

“Was she a part of any other group that you can think of? Did she stay in touch with friends from college?”

Skepticism twisted Clint's face into a scowl. “Not really. She exchanged Christmas and birthday cards with a few of them. Emails, an occasional phone call. But for one of them to show up here, that would really be out of the blue.”

“But possible?”

“Highly improbable, but possible, I suppose.”

“I need every name you can recall.”

“Her roommate was Lark Littleton. The other names are in her address book. I'll get it for you before you leave.”

“
What about friends from Georgia? Your Army buddies?”

“
We were close with the guys in my unit and their wives. But I've been out for nearly eight years. We see them all once or twice a year.” He shook his head, drew back his lips in something that approached a sneer.
“
No. Just, no.
”

“
Are they still active duty?”

“
Two of them are.”

“
May I please have their names, phone numbers, and current cities just so I can eliminate them?” Military records—recent ones—were virtually impossible for me to access legally. I had no inclination to access them illegally.

“
It's pointless, but fine.” He called out five names, looked up the phone numbers in his phone. I took everything down.

“
Can you think of anyone else Shelby would've opened the door to without coming to get you?”

He was silent for a long time, stared at nothing over my right shoulder.
“
No. That's it. But you'll never convince me one of our friends or someone in our family killed her.”

“
I really hope you're wrong about that. Let's switch channels for a moment. Why would she've had the french doors open in December, do you suppose?”

“
It had been a warm day—in the low seventies. Shelby's hot natured. She was always opening those doors to let in fresh air,” he said.

“Are the library doors not tied into the alarm system?”

“Yeah,” he said. “She punched in her code and bypassed them.”

“Is it possible she just turned the alarm off before she opened the doors?” I asked.

“No. Every time one of us types in a code, it's recorded at the alarm company. She bypassed the library doors right after I went upstairs. She disarmed the system at 8:55 to let someone in.”

“
I know this is obvious, but I have to make sure I'm asking the right questions, which means I need to ask them all. Was Shelby having trouble with anyone?”

He looked at his coffee, shook his head.
“
No. Nothing serious.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I'm about to step into it, I know. Women…you get a group of them together, and there's always squabbles.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“
You know exactly what I mean.” He sounded exasperated.