Murder Of A Snake In The Grass (31 page)

“Who knows? Anyway, I’m not calling him at home about this. Just leave a message.” Skye outlined what she had found out, and then said, “Anything new on Grady?”

“They recovered the car he stole, but so far they haven’t found anything that could be called evidence in or on it.”

“Darn, I was hoping the missing watch back and letter would be in it.”

“Nope.” May changed the subject. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Simon and I are going out.”

“What about Luc?”

“I told him good-bye. He’s ready to leave town as soon as Wally gives him the green light.”

“Good. Maybe I’ll nudge Wally a little. The sooner Luc goes back to New Orleans, the better.”

“Right. Talk to you later, Mom. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Skye looked at the clock on the microwave. It was five thirty-seven. Simon was due in twenty minutes. She
hurriedly changed clothes, freshened her makeup, and brushed her hair.

When Simon arrived, she was pacing the foyer, and flung open the door before he could knock. “Could we take Uncle Charlie with us to dinner? I really need to talk to him. He knows all the town gossip.”

“Does this have anything to do with solving Iazetto’s murder and getting Luc out of town?” Simon questioned.

“Yes.” Skye explained what she had already figured out and what she still needed to know.

“Okay, let’s go see if Charlie is free for dinner.”

C
harlie agreed to have dinner with them if they went to Rabbit’s, his favorite restaurant in Laurel. It was owned by a buddy of his, and the minute they stepped inside, Charlie was thronged by old friends.

The walls were decorated with murals of a goofy-looking rabbit dressed in various costumes and posed with a selection of racecar drivers, golfers, and other sports stars.

Skye and Simon were shown to a corner booth. They ordered drinks while waiting for Charlie.

Simon tucked a curl of Skye’s hair behind her ear and whispered, “Let’s blow this joint and check into the Holiday Inn.”

She shivered and kissed him, pulling away reluctantly. “Good idea. But I have a better one.” She trailed her fingernail down his chest, stopping at his belt. “Let’s clear Luc and get him out of town, then check into a nice hotel in Chicago for a whole weekend.”

He captured her hand and brought it to his mouth. “One slight adjustment to your plan.” He pressed light kisses into her palm. “I’m making that hotel reservation for next Saturday, whether we’ve solved old Luc’s problems or not.”

“Oh.” The single syllable escaped her lips in a breath.

Before anything else could be said, Charlie slid into the
booth opposite them. “You two look flushed. Is it too hot in here? I can have Rabbit turn down the heat.”

“No, we’re fine.” Skye felt herself getting redder.

“Then let’s order. I’m starved.” Charlie signaled the waitress, not bothering to ask if Skye and Simon had made up their minds. “Honey, I’d like the walleye, french fries, salad with Thousand Island, and a beer.”

The server looked at Skye. “I’ll have the walleye too, baked potato, and coleslaw.”

“Make that two.” Simon handed the woman the menu.

Charlie grabbed his water glass and took a long gulp. “So, why are you wasting your Friday night with me?”

“Besides the fact that we enjoy your company?” Skye squeezed a wedge of lime into her Diet Coke.

“Yeah, besides that.”

“I needed to talk to the one person in town who knows what’s happening behind all the closed doors.”

“Why?” Charlie took a swig from the beer can that the waitress had just put in front of him.

“Same reason as before. I need to figure out who the real killer is because Wally won’t let Luc leave town until the murderer is exposed, and I want Luc on a plane to New Orleans ASAP.”

“And who do you think it is?”

“I’m acting on the assumption that the murderer thought he or she was killing Gabriel Scumble, and Snake Iazetto has nothing to do with the case.” Skye paused, unsure how to proceed. Both of her suspects were old friends of Charlie’s, and she wasn’t sure how he would react to her accusation. She took a deep breath. “If we eliminate Iazetto from the equation, I think the murderer is either Mayor Clapp or Fayanne Emerick.”

“Makes sense.”

Skye nearly choked in surprise on the cracker she had just bitten into. “It does?”

“Sure. Except for Miss Letitia and me, they were the only
ones to have any contact with the man before he arrived in town. Plus, both were seen with him later that night. And one of them, Fayanne, was seen fighting with him. But…” Charlie gave her a sharp look. “Why don’t you think that Nelson boy is the killer? After all, he shot his father.”

Skye summarized all she had found out about Grady’s activities that night, including the letter and watch back he had stolen. “Wally talked to the boys who were with him Friday, and they all corroborate his story.” Skye twirled her straw. “The thing is, I just don’t think he would have brought Nanette to the bandstand or taken the car for a joy ride if he had killed the guy. He may be emotionally disturbed, but he isn’t stupid.”

As the waitress served their dinners, they all fell silent. As soon as she left, Charlie asked, “Is there any physical evidence against either the mayor or Fayanne?”

“In Fayanne’s case, that handkerchief that was found by the bird-watcher had both blood and her lipstick on it. And as for the mayor, the watch back could belong to his ancestor.”

“How about the letter? Who was it written to?” Charlie asked between bites.

“Grady claimed he didn’t read it. And considering his comprehension level, I believe him.”

“Then we’re back to the mayor and Fayanne.” Charlie salted his fries. “And you want me to tell you if either of them had a reason to kill Gabriel Scumble.”

“Right.” Skye casually moved the saltshaker out of Charlie’s reach. He was supposed to limit his sodium intake because of his high blood pressure.

“Well, Fayanne is greedy and mean. She’d do almost anything for a buck.” Charlie paused to fork a piece of fish into his mouth. “But I don’t see how she’d profit from Scumble’s death.”

“Could she be a woman scorned?” Skye asked. “Maybe
they carried on a flirtation over the phone, and then when he saw her he turned her down.”

“She is mighty sensitive about her looks.”

Simon had been silent throughout Charlie and Skye’s exchange, but now he spoke. “I did a little checking on the mayor and Fayanne’s financial situations. Fayanne is one of the wealthiest women in town, whereas Mayor Clapp is in a lot of trouble.”

“I did hear his auto dealership had been running in the red for a while,” Charlie added.

“Not only that, but he’s borrowed money against his insurance and taken a second mortgage out on his house. If he doesn’t get some money real soon, he’ll have to declare bankruptcy.”

“How did you find all that out?” Skye asked.

“Easy.” Simon smiled. “Xavier’s cousin is his bookkeeper.”

“Still, how does killing Scumble get him out of the hole financially?” Charlie wiped his plate with half a dinner roll and popped it into his mouth.

Skye nodded. “That’s the million dollar question, all right. Let’s hope Miss Letitia comes up with the final answer, because I’ve run out of lifelines.”

Saturday was a perfect fall day—bright sunshine, crisp air, and a few reddish-gold leaves starting to color the trees. Too bad Skye couldn’t enjoy it.

She put down the book she had been trying to read on her patio and stroked Bingo. The cat had been curled up on her lap and now stretched, then kneaded her leg with the tips of his claws. The pinpricks of pain were almost welcome. Her frustration level was at an all-time high. What to do?

Patience had never been her strong suit. Still, she hated to go to Wally without more evidence. If only Miss Letitia would call.

Maybe she should go talk to the mayor or Fayanne.
Neither option was very appealing. The liquor store owner scared her, and she had no idea what she’d say to the mayor that would convince him to confess.

She decided to wait until noon, and if she didn’t hear from Miss Letitia by then, she would go shopping. A small smile lifted her lips. After all, she did need a new nightgown for next weekend.

Meanwhile, she would finish doing laundry. The load had just started the rinse cycle when the phone rang. Skye dropped the bottle of softener and ran into the kitchen.

Her breathless hello was met with, “I’d like to speak with Miss Skye Denison, please. Miss Letitia North calling.”

“This is she—her—er, I mean this is Skye Denison.”

“Hello, dear. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time.”

“No, not at all. Did you find something?” Skye was dying to reach through the phone line and shake the information out of the older woman.

“Why, yes, I believe I have. Is it convenient to speak about it now?”

“Please.” Skye ground her teeth. Was that genteel laughter in the background? Was Miss Letitia teasing her?

“I found the original records of the coal mining operation. As I mentioned yesterday, Pierre Scumble, Dewey Clapp, and Dolly Emerick were all partners, at least at the beginning.”

“Did something happen later?”

“Yes. According to the papers I have here, it took a while for the mine to show a profit.”

Skye tried to contain her agitation. “That sounds reasonable. You have to recoup your initial investment before you start making money.”

“While that is correct, sometimes people act hastily without being fully informed.”

“And in this case, that would be who—er, whom?”

“Both Dewey Clapp and Dolly Emerick sold their interest in the mine to Pierre Scumble about a week before Mr.
Scumble announced that an enormous vein of coal had been discovered,” Miss Letitia answered.

Skye’s heart rate speeded up. “Were you able to tell if Scumble knew about the vein, or if Clapp and Emerick had really bad timing?”

“Mr. Scumble was well aware of what he was doing. The vein had been reported to him several days before Mr. Clapp and Miss Emerick sold their shares of the mine to him.”

“So, Scumble got rich, and the other two got screwed.” Skye suddenly remembered whom she was talking to and felt her face redden in embarrassment.

“Exactly, my dear.” Miss Letitia tittered. “And that would be a great motive for murder.”

Skye thought over what she had heard. There was still one flaw. “But why wait two hundred years?”

“Perhaps the circumstances have never been right before. Also, I do remember that copies of these papers were among those given to the Scumble River Historical Committee for the bicentennial. Mayor Clapp and Miss Emerick might not have been previously aware of their ancestors’ claim.”

“I think I’d better take this information to Wally.”

“Yes, tell Chief Boyd that I’ll have copies of these records available for him by this afternoon. He may call for them at his convenience.”

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help.”

“You are very welcome, my dear. Come visit me anytime. You may be surprised at all I know about Scumble River and its citizens.”

Skye hung up and stared into space. What was Miss Letitia getting at? She’d think about that later. Right now she needed to find Wally.

Wally turned out to be more difficult to locate than she had anticipated. She called the police station and his home with no luck. Finally, she asked the dispatcher to page him.

Fifteen minutes passed before her phone rang, and it
seemed as if Wally was having difficulty focusing again.

“This is Wally, you wanted to talk to me?”

“Are you okay? You sound funny.”

“I’m fine. Just tell me what you want.”

“Sorry to bother you. I guess it can wait.”

Wally sighed. “Go ahead.”

“I think I know who the murderer is. I’m pretty sure it’s the mayor.”

“Pretty sure?” He sighed again. “You’d better start at the beginning.”

“Well, to begin with, it looks as if Pierre Scumble cheated Dewey Clapp and Dolly Emerick out of a lot of money.”

After she laid out the facts, Wally seemed a bit more interested. “That’s enough for me to at least have a little chat with the mayor and the current Miss Emerick. But why do you think it’s Clapp and not Fayanne?”

“Call it intuition, but I think Fayanne would have covered her tracks better. Mayor Clapp is a lot more impulsive.”

“Good point.”

“When are you going to talk to the mayor?” Skye asked.

“I’ll call him now and have him meet me at the station in half an hour.” There was a brief silence. “I’ll tell him it’s a town emergency. You meet us there, too.”

“Really? You’re letting me sit in on the interrogation?” Skye couldn’t believe her luck.

“Yes. I want you to lay out the case against Clapp, just like you did for me. We need to rattle him into making some false move because there really isn’t any evidence.”

Wally and the mayor were sitting in the chief’s office when Skye arrived. Both looked disheveled. Wally got up and met her at the door. As he guided her to the chair next to the mayor’s, he whispered in her ear, “Be sweet.”