Middle River Murders

A Jesse Watson Mystery. What do three women who live on Middle River Road have in Common? They all died at the hands of deranged killer ... intent or revenge.

Middle River
Murders

by
Ann
Mullen

http://www.aftonridge.com

Copyright © 2007 by Ann Mullen

ISBN
13: 978-0-9828776-4-7

This book is a work of fiction. Any characters
portrayed, living or dead are imaginary. Any resemblance to actual persons is
completely coincidental. Any places, business establishments, locales, events,
or incidents in this book are the product of the author’s imagination, or used
fictitiously.

ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED

This
book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Prologue

It was a lovely, warm summer’s day. The skies were filled
with puffy, blue clouds and there was no sign that there would be afternoon
rain as predicted by the weather forecaster. If there was to be an afternoon
shower, it wouldn’t matter to sixty-two year old Daisy Clark, because by then
her luncheon would be over and she would have accomplished her goal. No one
would equate the illness that was about to befall Pat Johnson to the food
served at her gathering of the Stanardsville Social Club.

Each member of the Stanardsville Social Club took turns
hosting luncheons at her home. All members were invited (without their
husbands) because this was their time—a time for the ladies to get together and
share stories about the children, grandchildren, vacations, parties, future
plans, and to gossip about whoever was the topic of the conversation at the
time. They took trips and went out to dinner together at least once every other
month. There was no harm, no foul when these ladies got together. It was all in
good fun… until one day Daisy got a wild idea.

It was time to elect a new president of the club, a position
that Daisy yearned for, but everyone knew Pat Johnson was sure to be the winner
of this prestigious spot. She had truly earned it.

The president ran the show, and most importantly, had the
last say on everything. A new president served one year and was chosen
according to how hard she had worked during the past year to choose the best
restaurants in which to dine, places to travel, and functions to attend. It was
all about who could provide the most fun for the club members—and Pat Johnson
had definitely proven worthy of this title. If the president went beyond the
club’s expectations, she would usually be chosen to serve more than one term.

Rosemary Felder, the current president, had not lived up to
the expectations of the club and would not be reelected to another term. There
was even a rumor that she had planned to drop out of the club—an unheard of
act. So far, since the creation of this club a couple of years ago, no one had
ever dropped out.

Daisy desperately wanted the honor of being club president,
so she hatched out a plan to eliminate the competition. She thought it would be
fun and would only cause mild suffering; she never meant to cause real harm.

Mushrooms sautéed in real butter were the culprit. Just
before the sun came up, Daisy had gone out into the cow pasture, flipped over
cow dung and picked a handful of wild mushrooms for her intended victim. Each
member was served a large helping of store-bought mushrooms, except Pat—she was
given the
special
ones.

The idea came to Daisy while she was standing in line at the
grocery store. Two teenagers in front of her were busy discussing their night
of partying and how they really
got off
on magic mushrooms.

“I thought my head was going to explode,” the pink-haired
girl said. “Man, I was really jammin’. I was all over the place. Everybody knew
I was high. I kept bumping into things. Man, I felt good! But when I came down,
I felt like crap. I had a stomach ache all the next day—but it was worth it.
I’m just glad my parents weren’t around to see me. If they found out I was
high, I’d be banished to my room for a month. I was out of control, girl.”

Both girls snickered.

“Yeah,” the other girl with a ring in her eyebrow said. “It’s
kind of hard trippin’ without everybody knowing it. All I wanted to do was
dance with that hunky guy from the bar.” The girl made a bump and grind motion
with her hips. “I could’ve gone all night with that dude.”

“We need to get some more!”

“We’ll have to wait until my folks leave. We can’t be out in
the cow pasture, digging under cow pies with them around.”

Words spoken by two young fools was all it took for Daisy to
give it a try. What could it hurt? She wasn’t going to kill Pat, just feed her
something that would make her act crazy. The other women would think Pat was on
drugs and then her chance of moving up the ladder would be over. Nobody would
elect someone who had developed a drug problem. They’d pretend to be there for
her and help her overcome her addiction, but her chance of becoming president
would be zero. They would shun her and eventually she wouldn’t be invited to
their gatherings. Not being invited back as a member happened frequently. Some
people just didn’t measure up and were conveniently left off the call list.

A decision made in haste and without forethought of
consequences proved to be a fatal mistake. By the time Pat returned home, she
was stricken with severe diarrhea and began vomiting. She was taken to the
hospital and diagnosed with a case of E. coli. She died two days later.

Her husband, Wayne, told the doctor she had a terrible habit
of eating raw hamburger and that she had fixed a pot of spaghetti sauce earlier
that day. He was sure she had probably eaten some of the raw meat.

The doctor was convinced that the deadly bacteria came from
the raw hamburger and the medical examiner concurred.

Daisy was upset. She felt terrible when she overheard a nurse
tell another nurse that by the time Pat Johnson died, her insides had turned
into Jell-O. It was an ugly death.

However, regardless of how badly Daisy felt about Pat’s
death, she wasn’t about to tell the doctor that he had made a mistake. Pat
didn’t get E. coli from the hamburger, she got it from the special mushrooms.
Daisy knew the real truth, but she wasn’t going to confess her criminal act.
This would be her little secret; not even her husband could know. As she left
the hospital that day, Daisy quickly recovered from her guilt and even smiled
at the idea that she could get rid of someone so easily. The feeling of having
so much power was intoxicating and overwhelming.

Daisy’s mushrooms never came to light as a cause of death.
She was excited that she had gotten away with her little stunt and reveled in
the thought that she might be able to do it again. Why not? She asked herself
this question over and over as she thought about some of the people she didn’t
like. But maybe next time she would do it differently.

Even
though the mushrooms weren’t the real cause of Pat Johnson’s death, Daisy Clark
thought they were. Her attitude about life changed in an instant. A seed had
been planted and a killer was born.

There’s nothing more wonderful than the sweet smell of pine
in the warm, mountain night air in late August. I love all the wonderful smells
of summer, but there’s something special about the coming of fall and the
changing of the leaves. Labor Day was around the corner, and in another month
the landscape would be bursting in red, yellow and orange hues. I sat back in
the rocking chair on the front porch and took in the last of the summer
breezes. I rubbed my protruding belly as I read through the book on childcare
(one of many) that Mom had bought for me.

My pregnancy had started out a little rough (morning sickness
in the afternoon), but that passed, and so far it has been smooth sailing ever
since. I was surprised at how great I felt and how much I was enjoying being
pregnant. The thought of motherhood excited me.

“Just a couple more weeks little one,” I said. “Then you’ll
get to meet your daddy and your grandma and… whoa, what was that?”

A feeling of extreme pressure shot through me as a gush of
water soaked my jeans.

“No, not now!” I screamed. “It’s too soon.”

Mom walked out onto the front porch with a washcloth in one
hand and had Maisy propped on her hip, holding her with the other arm.

“This child gets heavier with each passing day... Jesse,
what’s the matter? You don’t look too good. Should I go get Billy?”

“My water just broke, Mom.”

“Billy!” Mom yelled. “Come quickly!”

Several hours later, on August the twenty-seventh, Ethan
Samuel Blackhawk came into this world screaming at the top of his lungs. Even
though he was two weeks early, he was healthy. He weighed in at six pounds and
two ounces, and had a head full of thin, black hair. His skin was an olive
color, just like his father’s. One look at this child and there was no doubt
about his parental lineage—which, according to one person was up in the air.

My name is Jesse Watson Blackhawk. I moved to a beautiful
little town in the mountains of
Virginia
with my folks a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, my dad passed away right
after we moved to Stanardsville, so that left Mom alone. Then my sister,
Claire, left her husband and moved in with Mom, along with her two kids, Benny
and Carrie.

I immediately got a job working for a private investigator
named Billy Blackhawk. One thing led to another and shortly thereafter, Billy
and I got married. Prior to marrying Billy, I had a brief relationship with
Cole James, a
Greene
County
deputy and Billy’s best friend—who was certain that the child I was carrying
was his. Fortunately, that thought was put to rest the minute Ethan was born.

After I married Billy, Claire had a bizarre relationship with
Cole that lasted about as long as a bad headache, and then she met Randy
Morgan. Now she spends most of her time in the house she once shared with Carl,
her adulterous husband, which surprises me because there once was a dead body
in the basement of that house. But that’s another story. Her house is next door
to Randy’s mother, Abigail Morgan—a wonderful woman who thinks I’m the cat’s
meow.

Actually, I don’t think Claire can make up her mind about
where she wants to live, here with Mom or at her house in
Washington
,
D.C.
But one thing is for sure; she only has eyes for Randy. She comes back to
Stanardsville and stays with Mom (when Mom isn’t at our house) for about two or
three days and then she’s off again to D.C. to be with him. On rare occasions,
she leaves the kids with Mom for a couple of days. But that doesn’t happen very
often.

Mom still has her house in
Dogwood
Valley
even though recently she has spent
most of her time at our house with us, waiting for our new arrival. She usually
goes home on the weekends so she can cavort with her new gentleman friend,
Edward… she calls him Eddie. She met Eddie one day when a storm knocked down a
tree in her front yard, causing part of the tree to land in the middle of the
road. Eddie stopped to help some of the other neighbors cut up the tree, and as
they say, the rest is history. He seems like a nice guy, but I find it hard to
see anyone with my mother except my dad, Mack. I’m sure I’ll get past that
feeling in time.

My brother, Jack, hasn’t been around for a while. His
significant other, Dennis, keeps him busy. They’re both lawyers and spend most
of their time in a courtroom, and when they’re not in a courtroom, they’re off
to some tropical island, soaking up the rays. Two weeks before Ethan was born,
Jack sent me a postcard from
Hawaii
saying, “Wish you were here,” which
I doubted very seriously. Who in his right mind would want his sister with him
on a romantic vacation? I had to laugh at that thought.

Maisy—it’s a long story about how she came into our family,
but to make it short—Billy and I adopted her after her parents died. Sometimes
I lay awake at night and wonder if some family member will crawl out of the
woodwork and demand we turn her over to them. It’s been a few months now and
nobody has shown up. She’s ten months old and a total delight to us all,
especially my mother, Grandma Minnie.

Mom has always been overjoyed at the prospect of having a
house full of grandchildren, so when I bought her a little wooden plaque I
found at the mall that said something to the effect that if she had known how
wonderful grandchildren could be, she would’ve had them first. She got a big
kick out of that.

“Ethan is such a beautiful little baby,” Mom said as we stood
in front of the nursery window at
Martha
Jefferson
Hospital
in
Charlottesville
. “He looks just like his father.”

Billy smiled and said, “He is a handsome warrior!” His pride
glowed like a bright star in the sky on a dark night. He reached over and put
his strong arm around my waist. “You have made me so proud, `ge ya.”

“I do my best,” I said. I kissed him on the cheek and then
looked over at Mom. “I can’t believe how easy the birth was. I’d heard so many
horror tales that I was scared to death at the thought of being in labor for
twenty or thirty hours, but that’s not how it was. Sometimes you just get
lucky, I guess. I know I did.”

“Yeah,” Claire said as she walked up to the window where we
were standing. She gave me a big hug. “I’m so proud of you. Mom called and said
you were in labor, but you had the baby before I could get here. Which one is
he?”

Billy proudly pointed to Ethan. “That’s my boy… the handsome
one over there.”

“Aw,” Claire cooed. “He looks just like you, Billy.” She then
winked at me. “I guess Cole will finally leave the two of you alone now.”

“Claire,” Mom said. “Don’t go and put a damper on such a
joyous occasion.”

“I’m sorry,” Claire replied. “I didn’t mean to…”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I’m so happy, nothing can bring me
down.”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Cole came around
the corner carrying a huge flower arrangement.

“For the new mother,” he said with a smile on his face as he
held out the flowers. “I just heard the good news.”

“And what was the news you heard?” Claire asked with sarcasm
in her voice. “Was it that Jesse had her baby, or the fact that it isn’t yours?
Did you have to come see for yourself?”

“I’ll take them,” Mom said, reaching for the arrangement.
“Jesse isn’t supposed to be lifting anything so soon after delivery.” Mom took
the flowers, grabbed Claire by the arm and headed down the hall. “We’ll be
waiting in your room, Jesse. I think the three of you need to talk.”

The three of us stood in silence.

Finally, I spoke up. “Have a look at our son and then tell me
you think there’s any remote possibility that you might be his father.” I
pointed to Ethan.

A surprised look came over Cole’s face. “I’m surprised and
truly embarrassed by my behavior. I guess it’s my turn to eat crow,” he said.
“I was just so sure…”

“I’ll go see if I can find you a spoon,” I said as I walked
away. I left Billy and Cole standing in the hallway as I walked away.

“Three hours!” Claire beamed as I entered the room. “I can’t
believe it! You’re so lucky!”

I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over me. I was
tired, sore, and still reeling about my easy delivery. I thought giving birth
would kill me, but it didn’t. Actually, it was much easier than I’d expected.
Maybe Chief Sam was right. He said I would give Billy many babies and if the
rest would be as easy as Ethan, I was ready to do it again.

“I was so proud of her,” Mom said to Claire. “I thought for
sure she’d be in labor for hours and hours and she’d raise such a ruckus that
we’d all be crazy before it was over, but that didn’t happen. She dropped that
baby like it was nothing. She’s a real trooper. Her water broke and the next
thing I knew, Billy was cutting the cord.”

“Were you in the delivery room?”

“I most certainly was,” Mom said proudly. “My, how things
have changed since I had kids. It used to be that you’d go in, be put to sleep
and then have the baby. Then the doctor would go out and tell the father. Not
anymore. Now anyone can be present. Well, almost.”

“I’m so sorry that I couldn’t get here in time. This is such
a special event,” Claire started to cry. “My little sister has had a baby.”

Mom started to cry, and by the time Billy walked into the
room, all three of us were crying.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We’re just so happy,” I said in between my tears.

“So are we,” Sarah said as she and Chief Sam walked into the
room. She walked over and hugged me and then Mom and Claire. “I can’t wait to
see my grandson. I bet he looks just like his daddy.”

“Let me take you to the nursery,” Billy said smiling, his
pride showing. “I have many great plans for our child. Shall we go?”

“Not until I give my special girl a big hug,” the chief said.
He walked over, leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “See, I told you.
Not as bad as you thought, huh? I knew you’d come through like the trooper that
you are. You are a fine daughter-in-law.”

“It wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected,” I whispered.
“You’re always right, chief. My son will be proud to have you as a grandfather.
I just wish my father could’ve lived to see…”

“Don’t be worrying about Mack not being here, honey,” Mom
said, reading my thoughts. “He’s in heaven right now, throwing a big party.”

“I say we throw a big party, too,” Jonathan said as he and
Billy’s other two brothers, Daniel and Robert, walked into the room. “Isn’t
that the way of the Cherokee? We throw shindigs for everything under the
stars.”

Billy’s two sisters, Jenny and Beth, followed their brothers
into the room, which was quickly becoming overcrowded.

“We just stopped by to see how you’re doing and to see our
nephew,” Beth said. “Mom says you weren’t in labor very long. How lucky can you
get? Every woman I know says their labor felt like it was never going to end. I
never hear about the few who have it easy. Now I can brag about your short
labor to all my friends.”

“I was stunned,” Mom interjected. “I thought for sure… well,
never mind. I’m just glad it was such an easy birth, because if it had been
bad, Jesse would never want to have another child.”

“You’ve got that right,” I said as my eyelids became heavy.

“You’re tired and need your rest,” Jenny said. “We brought
gifts for Ethan. I’ll put them over by the window. Let’s go see the new
addition to our family and let Jesse rest.”

“Let me lead the way,” Mom beamed. “He’s the most…”

After kisses and hugs everyone left the room except Billy. He
sat down on the edge of the bed and took my hand in his.

“You’re the woman I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” Billy
said as he kissed me gently on the lips. “I knew it the minute I laid eyes on
you… but I think I told you that before.”

“Yes, you did, and I think I told you the same thing.”

“I called my boys and they want to come see their little
brother. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Hey, you can invite Ruth if you want. You two still have a
decent relationship and I’d like for that to continue. What do you think?”

“When I called the boys, they asked if their mother knew and
I told them no. They suggested that I call her, so I did. She wants to see
Ethan and said she hopes the two of you can be friends.”

“Sure,” I said as I started to drift off. “I have my man and
I’m not afraid of losing him to his ex-wife. I’m the lucky one. Jealousy isn’t
in my bones.”

“Bull,” Billy replied. “It seems to me that it took you a
while to get over being jealous of your own sister.”

“That was sister stuff. I’m over that now. I have everything
I want. Invite Ruth for a visit and if she tries to take you away from me, I’ll
kick her butt.”

We both laughed.

“She’s put on a little weight and I think that might be
difficult. She was a strong woman before she gained the weight. My boys said
that she’s been depressed and that’s why she’s gained so much weight. Her
marriage is on the rocks.”