Old Bones: a Hetty Fox Cozy Mystery (Hetty Fox Cozy Mysteries Book 2) (9 page)

He shook his head. “I was so young. I had no idea who some of the people were who showed up. They claimed they knew my parents. I’d seen them around town, sure. But know my parents? How would I know. Plus, I was so confused. I might not be a demonstrative person, but I loved Mom and Dad. I had no idea how I’d ever fill the void their deaths cut down deep inside me.”

“There’s your answer then.”

“Answer to what?”

“That little voice inside that wonders whether your parents loved you. Think of your loss and how badly it hurt. Maybe you never hugged them. Maybe they never hugged you. But just because you and they didn’t openly show emotion doesn’t mean their love... and yours... didn’t run deep.”

“Huh. I never thought of it like that.”

“Maybe, you should.”

He turned a grateful eye on me. “Maybe, I will, now.”

I felt my cheeks flush. “But let’s get back to Eva, if we could?”

He took another bite of sandwich and nodded.

“How did she seem to take your parents’ deaths?”

“It’s funny, now that you mention it. She cried and carried on like losing them hurt almost beyond bearing.”

“So much for an unemotional clan.”

Damon chuckled softly and pushed his plate away. “I just wish now that I’d paid more attention to her.”

“You were still a child.”

A
ndrew popped home about six that night. He arrived just as I was settling myself into my living room with my knitting. “He’s an interesting dude,” Andrew told me by way of greeting.

I stabbed my knitting needle into the first loop on the other needle. “I assume you’re speaking of Lawry.”

“That’s the man.”

“What’s he like?” I must admit I was curious. This was the man in whose attic Eva’s body had been hidden. He might have moved away by then, but he could have been home for a visit — just as Eva was. Perhaps, he was the killer.

“He keeps a remarkable house. You could fit twenty of this place inside his and still have room left over for an additional bathroom or two.”

“Good for him.”

“It’s beach front property.”

I raised my gaze to take in Andrew’s face. “So he really has done well for himself?”

“Or his folks left him a pile of money when they passed.”

“No wife?”

“Not that I saw. He does have a framed photo on his mantle. I wondered if it might not be of Eva?”

“Really?”

He nodded. “If you could lay your hands on a photo for me, I’d know if it was she.”

“There are pictures of her in the high school yearbooks, of course, but I don’t want you anywhere near the school. I think it might be interesting to see a later picture of her.”

“What about Damon? Wouldn’t he have one?”

“Exactly. Let’s see if I can turn something up.” I grabbed my cell phone from the small table beside me and called Megan.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, dear. I need a favor.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know if Damon has any photos of his aunt. I’ve seen what she looked like in high school. I’m interested in any snaps that might have been taken closer to when she died.”

“I can’t say if there are any off the top of my head. But I’ll flip through the photo albums for you.”

“Thank you, my dear. Are my grandsons around?”

“Sorry, they’re already in bed.”

I bit back a brief round of disappointment. “That’s fine. Let me know what you turn up on the photo.”

“Will do.”

We signed off and I replaced my phone onto the table. Glancing up at Andrew, I I pulled free more yarn from the skein. “So what is Lawry like?”

Andrew folded his arms over his chest and laughed. “He’s a balding, playboy in his sixties, who thinks he still  looks thirty-five.”

“How could you tell that?”

He leaned in toward me and lowered his voice. “I’m a guy. We know these things.” He straightened back up. “Actually, he’s also that same strange, off beat little kid that he was in highschool, trying to score with the cool girls. Only now he’s older and has to try even harder.”

I set my knitting aside. “That sounds rather sad.”

Andrew shrugged. “I suppose it is. At least he’s got brains.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Well, I’d say you’ve heard right. There were a couple of plaques in his study from his employers, recognizing him for meaningful triumphs at work. They didn’t mention anything so simple as mopping floors.”

I sighed. “Well, that’s something. Still, it doesn’t really rule him in or out as far as being a killer goes.”

“Sorry, I can’t read minds, and Lawry refused to confess for me. So what’s been happening here?”

“Sam Hillman’s wife is dead. She was murdered.”

If a ghost could stagger, Andrew almost did at that news. “You’re kidding me.”

“No, I’m not. Her body was found in a stand of woods behind their house.”

“ Do you think her death is related to Eva’s?”

“I would think so.”

“That rules out Lawry then. I’m a witness. He was home chasing pretty young things around the whole time I was out there.”

“There is a slim chance the two murders aren’t related.Somehow, whoever killed Eva had to get into Lawry’s house to dump her body in the trunk. Plus. Lawry might not have killed Willa, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t play some kind of a role in Eva’s death.”

“What can I do to help?”

“How about  you visit Hillman? Hang around his house. See what his reaction is to his wife’s death, and what he’s saying about her and their relationship.”

“Do you think he killed Willa?”

“With his wife’s death, I now think he’s our most likely suspect.

***

The next morning, Andrew took off for Hillman’s farm before my eggs finished cooking. Eager beaver was a term I was certain that had been invented just to describe him.

I scurried around the kitchen pouring myself a cup of tea and slipping a slice of bread into the toaster. After carrying the tea and my breakfast outdoors, I sat and watched the sun’s rays reflect off the gently flowing river water.

Behind me, Blackie mewed. I returned the kitchen and grabbed a can of tuna fish from the cupboard. “Good morning, Blackie. How’s my best boy today?”

It was a relief to be able to speak our old, familiar greeting out loud without worrying about how Andrew was going to react.

Blackie wound himself between my ankles and purred. Later, as he was grooming himself, I could have sworn I saw a look of contentment cross his face. I chuckled and dismissed the thought. My experience with cats told me they revealed very little through facial expressions.

Back to work, I told myself, and I’d just finished cleaning up my breakfast mess when my cell phone rang. I glanced at the display. It was Megan calling. “Hi, dear.”

“I found a couple of photos for you. I can’t imagine what they can do for you or your efforts on Damon’s behalf. I’ve discussed it with him, though, and he says whatever you want, you can have.”

I chuckled silently. I liked Damon more and more with each day that passed.

“I’ll be right over, and thanks for tracking them down.”

“You’re welcome. See ya.”

So after a quick shower and jumping into a T-shirt and a pair of cropped pants, I took off for Megan’s house.

The sun was bright. The traffic was light. Slamming the car door closed behind me, I strode up the sidewalk. Megan must have been watching for me, because she had the front door open before I reached the porch.

“Good morning,” she crooned.

Hugh rushed out from behind her and tackled me mid-knee. “Thanks for coming Gram. Can you take me to the park?”

I bent forward and wrapped my arms about him. “Not just now. I have some errands to run. But I’ll come back this afternoon. We can go then. Will that do?”

He gave me one of his widest grins. “Sure.”

“Hugh, would you please unhand Grandma so she can come inside?”

He let go of me and dashed back into the house.

“Really,” Megan said, “you spoil that boy.”

“That’s a grandmother’s job.”

She muttered something under her breath and led me to the kitchen, where she poured me a cup of coffee. On her way to the table, she paused and picked up a large manilla envelope. “The photos,” she said, wagging the envelope at me.

As soon as it hit the table, I opened the flap and withdrew the pictures. I sat there flipping through the assortment for a moment before settling on one.  “She was a beautiful woman, wasn’t she?”

“Uh-huh, I see a lot of her best features in Damon.”

“Yes, I can see what you mean.”

I pushed the photos out in a line before me. It was a more mature face that I gazed at than the pictures I’d seen in the high school yearbooks. Somehow it looked as though Eva, over the years, had become not quite so full of herself. “I’ve talked to a woman who was her secretary,” I told Megan. “She spoke highly of Eva. Your might tell Damon that. She also said she wanted to know who killed her.”

“How in the world did you ever track her down?”

“As they used to say in days gone bye, ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.”

“Mercy, what do you do with yourself when my back is turned?”

“So far it’s hopefully all for Damon’s good. Speaking of the man, how is he holding up?”

“You saw him. He’s coping. He stays busy at work, but I must say he’s making it a point to come home earlier than before. I like that part, but I wish this were over for him. I’d like our lives to return to what they were.”

“Keep the faith. You’ll get there.” I paused for a moment. “I know we all feel Willa’s death takes some of the pressure off Damon. But I still hope he has an alibi for the night she was murdered?”

“He was at his job until about ten. Then he was home with us.”

“I hope there’s someone at work who can vouch for him.”

Megan stared at me. “I just want this nightmare to end.”

I patted her arm. “ I suspect he is in the clear. Because I thought it might help Megan to know, I decided to share the rumors I’d heard. “As it turns out, Sam had a crush on Eva in high school and he met with her on the night she died. It was even said that Eva and he had planned to run off together. So II can’t help but believe he played a part in both deaths.”

“Good grief. Where did you hear that?”

“From various sources. And that’s not to be shared with anyone. either.”

“Well, I’m happy to tell you that Damon was either at his office or here with me and the kids the whole night. He’s gone practically no place else since this whole mess began.”

I nodded. “That’s good.”

W
ith the packet of photos resting on the seat beside me, I pulled away from Megan’s house intending to do a little exploring of my own. At Carroll Street, I pointed my car’s nose east instead of west and headed toward the farm fields beyond Hendricksville’s borders.

I hadn’t driven in the country for some time, so I was startled by how tall the corn had grown and how quickly. At one time, farmers hoped corn would be knee high by the Fourth of July. Now, it was more likely to be taller than a man’s shoulders by that date.

As I drove, I kept an eye on the road markers. The county had a system that numbered the county highways starting on the south side. The north/south roads were numbered with high numbers running from east to west. I found the system highly confusing,

I struggled to find my destination, which was 6391 North 743th Road. It might sound simple, but I found the system endlessly confusing. I could only wish I’d been around when this formula was proposed, I would have raised all sorts of opposition. But after driving around for about twenty minutes, I finally stumbled on the place.

It was a handsome-looking farm. A large white, clapboard house with green shutters at the windows sat proud and tall atop an impressive hill. A stand of walnut and oak trees spread out behind the dwelling. To its right and left were fields stuffed full of corn and soybean plants, all green and looking extremely healthy. Farmer Sam Hillman appeared to know his stuff.

Surrounding the house were several buildings, including a barn and some metal grain bins. The lane leading from the road to the house had about five cars parked along its edge. I assumed they belonged to people who were now inside offering Sam their condolences.

I suppressed a smile. I knew that inside the farmhouse, Andrew was hard at work collecting names and the details of what was being discussed. I longed to pull into the driveway and join the crowd, but I had no excuse to do so. The best I could do, I decided, was to stop at the store on my way home and buy some ham, which I could then convert into a dish of scalloped potatoes to deliver to the the widower tomorrow.

I pulled into a neighboring lane. It led to a long, low ranch house. I pulled my car up in front of it’s front door. A bed with a mixture of daylilies danced a gay welcome. I braked and switched of the ignition. Grabbing my purse, I exited the car and strode up to the door.

A young woman, looking to be somewhere in her middle thirties responded to the doorbell. She cast an appraising glance over me. “If you’re looking for the Hillman house, it’s across the road.”

“No, I don’t know the Hillman’s.”

The woman blushed. “Sorry, I thought maybe you were one of those ghouls who’ve been driving past eager to see where poor Willa Hillman was murdered.”

“You knew her, then?”

The woman nodded. “Of course. We were neighbors.”

“I feel sorry for the husband. It must have come as such a shock.”

The lady took a step back from the doorway. “You’re not a reporter, are you?”

I laughed. “Hardly. Haven’t you noticed all these wrinkles? I”m just a woman who was running an errand for my daughter. She gave me some photos she wanted delivered to a couple named the Harrisons. Only I can’t find the house. Do you by any chance know them?”

“I can’t say that I do.”

“Drats. My daughter gave me detailed instructions, but obviously I’ve messed them up somehow.”

“If you want to come in, you could use my phone to call her.”

Believe it or not, I considered that option for a moment. I finally dismissed it when I thought of Megan’s response. I’d confuse the heck out of her asking her to clarify  instructions she’d never given me for people whose name she’d never heard.

No, if I were going to pump this woman for information, I’d have to come up with something better than that. “That’s okay. I have my cell phone with me. She should be home soon. I’ll try her then.”

“In that case….”

“Aren’t you nervous out here with a murder having taken place so near your house?”

She cast a quick glance around her front yard. “Sure. A little. My husband, Al, has taken the shotgun from the closet and is keeping it next to the bed. We’ve got three children. We’re not going to let anything bad happen to them.”

“Well, maybe the murder was specific. Maybe the killer only wanted to kill Willa.”

“I can’t think why. She was a friendly, outgoing person. She didn’t deserve to die.”

I compared that description to my memory of the one who’d turned up and my house and blinked. Maybe Willa’s tiger-like qualities only came out when Sam was involved.

“How did she and her husband get on?” I asked.

“Ah, that’s just it isn’t it. I’ve read that nine times out of ten, it’s the spouse that’s done it. I don’t think that’s true in this case, though. Sam treated Willa very well.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. I hate it when one spouse kills another.”

The woman nodded. “Me, too.”

***

Andrew popped in at around eight that night. I was assembling the ham casserole to take to Sam’s house tomorrow.

“It was mostly women,” he chortled.

I glanced up. “Who were?”

“The friends showing up to comfort Sam on his loss. I think most of them were hoping they’d one day step into Willa’s shoes.”

“Nonsense,”  I said, although I knew he was probably correct. I had read about this happening, this habit of widows to turn out for a freshly minted widower. Most thought it was done in hopes of snagging his affections, although I couldn’t imagine a worse moment to attempt such a thing. I mean the gentleman was grieving.

Andrew watched me as I poured the cream and cheese mixture over the potatoes and ham. “What are you up to?”

“I’m making a casserole to take over to Sam.”

“You’re not.”

“I am.”

His face looked suddenly pinched. “Don’t tell me you’re going to throw yourself at him, too?”

“Of course not. I just want to see his face. I want to hear what is said.”

“What about my report? Are you going to dismiss it? I’ve been with him all day.”

“No, I want to know what you’ve learned. It’s just my curiosity, I guess. I can’t stand to stay away.”

Andrew scoffed. “Curiosity my foot. He’s a good looking man. You’re going to start throwing yourself at him, too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not after anyone.”

Andrew shook his head, his mouth downturned. “Somehow, I believe you when you say that.”

“Well good, because it’s the truth.”

I’d loved my life with my husband. I had no intention of stepping into a new relationship at my age. “So what have you learned?”

Andrew folded his arms over his chest and scowled. “Sam is well liked by his neighbors... both men and women. Lots of his fellow farmers came by to give him their condolences.”

“So it wasn’t all women?”

“No, but there were enough of them, heaven knows.”

“Did you hear anything that might give us a clue as to the murder?”

“Not really. Sam did talk about finding Willa’s body in the forest. He sounded pretty broken up.”

“He might be a good actor.”

Andrew nodded. “That’s possible.”

I slid the casserole in the oven. “Didn’t you hear anything suspicious?”

“There was a phone call. I have no idea what it was about. but after it, Sam seemed visually upset.”

“Do you have any idea who’s the caller was?”

“I think it might have been Oberton, but I can’t prove it.”

I glanced up at him. “Tomorrow then, while I’m at Sam’s place, why don’t you give Oberton’s office a visit? Stay for about an hour. Learn whatever you can. Then, when I’m ready to return home, you can go on and watch Sam for the rest of the day.”

“You’re not staying long?”

“No. why would I? I just want to get a feel for what he’s going through, and how he’s treated by his friends and neighbors. I’ll rely on you to pick up the important stuff.”

Andrew appeared to cheer up at that news.

“I have something for you.”

His head jerked up. “What’s that?”

I picked up the manilla envelope from the table containing the photos Megan had given me.I spread them out on the table. “Come take a look at these.”

He drifted nearer.

“Do those photos look at all like the one you saw at Lawry’s home?”

“Yes, that second shot is an exact copy of the one I saw in his living room.”

***

Again the next morning, Andrew was gone bright and early. Apparently he couldn’t wait to get back to his tasks. I puttered about in the kitchen, making toast, meeting Blackie’s needs, and at the end of all that, I slipped the casserole from the refrigerator into the oven to warm. Then, I filled a mug with tea and wandered out onto the porch.

The day was muggy. There was rain in the forecast. I cast an eye over the flowers and was pleased with what I saw. A variety of blossoms bobbed on the morning air. I would soon need to deadhead again, and weeding was a constant battle. I took a sip of tea and nodded.  In the end, it was worth the work. I can’t say I had a green thumb, but at least it didn’t appear to be a black one either.

Now, if only my efforts on behalf of my son-in-law would go nearly as well, I’d be a lot happier. Poor Damon. I couldn’t imagine the toll he was laboring under. I was determined however, not to let my grandson’s father go under. I would do whatever I could to keep my son-in-law out of jail, and I was pleased to think that on some level he knew that.

After making myself presentable, I loaded the casserole into my car and took off. Having discovered the way yesterday, my drive to Sam’s place today took me only ten minutes.

Ominous clouds hung over my head as I pulled into his driveway. Thunder rumbled in the distance. I would try to return home before the storm struck. Blackie was terrified of bad weather.

A woman looking to be about my age opened the door at my knock. “May I help you?” she asked.

“I brought a casserole,” I answered.

“How thoughtful of you.” She reached out and accepted the dish. “Do I know you?”

I had the good grace to blush and introduce myself. “I’m new to the area. I’ve only met Sam and Willa recently. But I had to come. I’m so sorry for his loss.”

She introduced herself, explaining that she was Sam’s sister. She dredged up a feeble smile. “Please come in. Sam is in the living room. I’m sure he’ll appreciate your sentiments. If you’re hungry, there’s food and coffee laid out in the dining room. Help yourself.”

I spotted Sam sitting in the far corner of the living room. He appeared lost in conversation with the two people seated beside him. I knew neither of them, so I peeled off to the dining room to grab a quick cup of coffee.

“Hetty,” someone said from behind me. I turned and found Laura Day standing there.

I shook my head in amazement. “Is there anyone you don’t know?”

“When you grow up in a town as small as this one, it’s unlikely”

I poured myself a coffee.

“What are you doing here?” Laura asked. “I didn’t know you knew Sam.”

“Of course, I didn’t know him well. But we had come in contact just recently. I would think you were a little too young to know Sam and Willa well.”

“Actually, we were cousins. Willa and I. That’s also not uncommon in small towns.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. But Sam is my cousin, not Willa. I’m sorry for her, but I’m worried about Sam. How are you coming with the knitting group problem?”

“I haven’t made contact with Valerie yet. She was supposed to call me when she returned from her trip, but I’ll try phoning her when I get home.”

“Please do. I’d like to have the question resolved before our next session.

I nodded and wondered how I could possibly succeed.

“I’d better get going,” Laura said. “I have a bunch of errands to run before I get home.”

“Glad to have run into you.”

“I bet you just can’t wait to tear into this kitting issue,” she teased as she walked away.

I watched her proceed through the living room, saying her farewells to Sam and a number of other people as well.. Noting that his two prior visitors had moved on, I walked over and joined Sam, seating myself in a small chair to his right. “I was so sorry to hear about Willa.”

“That’s kind of you,” he answered. “Ah… I guess Willa came to see you?”

“Yes, she did. She told me that you and Eva had made plans to run off. That’s not something you mentioned when I first talked to you.”

He blinked. “She told you that?”

I nodded. I felt a little bit guilty. The man had just lost his wife, but my mind was still focused on murder.

He scowled. “I didn’t kill Eva, if that’s what you’re thinking.”