One Dog Too Many (A Mae December Mystery) (9 page)

“I’ll get my men on it first thing tomorrow.”

“You might want to go over there tonight. They’re only open for dinner.”

“Right. I’ll finish up this drink and go over there now.”

“With me?” Mae heard the hope in her voice and looked away to disguise the warmth that flooded her face at her forwardness.

“No, by myself.” His eyes showed some regret and a bit of
amusement. “Before I go, is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“Before I brought the phone to the station, I read some of Ruby’s emails to her brother. There were also some to her husband and to another man. At least I assume so. They were pretty spicy. I think Ruby had a new boyfriend.”

“Somewhere in all this there’s a motive for murder. I’d better get going.”

She walked him to his car and touched his shoulder as they said goodbye. He drove away. It was a beautiful evening, and Mae didn’t want to be alone. She had given Ben her word, though, so she couldn’t follow him to the Bistro. What are friends for? Mae
thought and called Tammy.

Tammy called Mae back on her way home. She had arrived at the Bistro before Ben. The hostess and a waiter remembered the reservation because they thought Arlen Hunter would be dining. When Ruby arrived with another man, the staff had been disappointed. Tammy got a description. He was tall, dark haired, and wore glasses. The waiter thought he might be a member of Hunter’s band, but the receptionist thought the server was dreaming. She insisted he was a local businessman.

B
en started his staff meeting that morning by asking everyone for their reports. Deputy Fuller informed the group that he located Ruby’s purse and had given it to the lab for testing. Although the M.E. informed Ben the previous day about Ruby’s pregnancy, he announced the information to the rest of the staff. He also told them that on the night she died, Ruby had dinner at the Bistro with a tall, dark-haired man wearing glasses.

Robert
volunteered to take a photo of David Allison to the restaurant to see if the wait staff could identify him as Ruby’s dinner partner. Ben asked him to get the receipt for dinner to see who paid for the meal. He had asked for it the night before, but nobody could find it. Perhaps they had paid with cash? The sheriff asked Detective Nichols to summarize their progress to date.

“As I see it, there were plenty of motives for someone to want Ruby dead. Her ex, or soon-to-be-ex, David Allison, told us he dined with people fr
om work that night. We’ll be asking for corroboration of his alibi. He may not have wanted Ruby to have a child. If it turns out that David had dinner with Ruby on the fifteenth, he might have been the last person to see her alive. We’re going to get a cheek swab and then we’ll know if he fathered Ruby’s child.”

He paused for a moment.

The sheriff nodded. “Go on, Detective.”

“In interviews with her neighbors, we learned that Ruby had two visitors the night she died. Lucy Ingram saw a sedan parked in her driveway around eleven and then a pickup truck around one in the morning
. Eveline Ryan identified the sedan as David Allison’s car.”

“We’re considering several suspects at present,” Ben said. “As Detective Nichols mentioned, the most likely is David Allison. Our second suspect is the road commissioner, Mr. Stillwell. Everyone knows that he was furious with Ruby. There have been articles in the paper detailing their feud. We also plan to investigate the people who stand to inherit money from Ruby’s estate. Her attorney might be involved, too. What do we know so far about these primary suspects, Wayne?”

“Most of them have alibis for the fifteenth. Commissioner Stillwell’s alibi seems solid. He played contract bridge with eleven other couples over at the Hilton. His wife told us they left the hotel at about ten o’clock and went home. He wasn’t feeling well so she took care of him until around one, at which time they both went to bed.

“Ruby’s attorney, James Connolly, also seems to have an alibi. He and his wife were at the symphony in Nashville with another couple and, according to them, he never left the group. They all went home after having a few drinks,
arriving shortly before midnight. However, the grapevine says Ruby had some sort of hold over Connolly, since he continued as her attorney after the increasingly contentious road decisions. He also owns a pickup truck and two neighbors said there was a pickup in Ruby’s driveway that night.”

“Ruby’s brother, Silas Mead, moved away years ago,” Ben said
. “However, since he benefits financially from her death, we’re trying to get in touch with him.

“We’re also keeping an eye on Joe Dennis, the contractor working over at Mae December’s house. He and Ruby were high school sweethearts. He’s married now and has four kids. So, we know he’s capable of being the father of Ruby’s unborn child
,” Wayne said.

Eyebrows went up around the table. “Oh, and according to Joe, he was working at his mother’s house the night Ruby died. Nobody was with him, though, so he has no alibi. And Joe drives a pickup,”
Phelps added.

“Okay, here are the assignments
, everyone. George, I want you to go over Ruby’s property again with a fine-toothed comb. We need the murder weapon.

“Wayne, I’d like you and Emma Peters to go to the Connollys’ and get James’ clothes from the night of the murder. I’ll talk to Allison and get a cheek swab. We need one from Joe Dennis and James Connolly, too. Johns, you’re with me. We’re returning to see David Allison.”

Detective Nichols cleared his throat and said, “I’ll also start checking out those pickups after Emma and I get James Connolly’s clothes.”

“Good. One last thing
. We know Ruby sued Lucy Ingram. The argument was about drainage, but Ruby also wanted to purchase a lot that Lucy owned, which Lucy refused to sell. I’m going to check on whether Ruby was involved in any lawsuits with the other residents on Little Chapel Road. Who knows how many folks she stirred up.”

On his way out, Deputy Phelps came over to Ben. “Sheriff, I sure hope you didn’t upset the December woman. We loved her coffee. I hope you don’t mind m
y saying this, Boss, but the guys and I were talking and they thought I should remind you that you haven’t had a date in months.”

“No comment.”

Ben felt a bit sheepish. His deputy was right. He hadn’t felt much like dating for a long time. Mae was single and hot. Would she go out with him if he asked? Probably not now thanks to his rude behavior, first at the staff meeting and later at her house. He had been angry enough that she had apologized profusely. What happened then? Did you say you weren’t mad at her anymore? No, Mr. Sensitive, you drove away, even after she offered to go to the restaurant with you.

Sheriff Bradley and Tech Johns drove to Steven Fanning’s residence on Little Chapel Road. They knocked on the door. David Allison answered.

“Good morning, Mr. Allison, you’ve already met CSI Tech Johns. May we come in?”

“All right,” David said reluctantly and backed away from the door. He led the men over to the kitchen table.

“Mr. Allison, were you aware your wife was pregnant?”

David’s throat moved as he swallowed. “Yes. Do I need an attorney?”

“That’s entirely up to you. At this point, we only need to ask you a few more questions and get a cheek swab.”

David’s eyes widened. “What for?”

“To determine whether you’re the father of Ruby’s unborn child through DNA analysis.”

David Allison flinched but allowed the technician to take the sample. Tech Johns used a large Q-tip on the inside of Allison’s cheek. He put the swab inside a glass tube and capped it competently.

“Are you the father?”

“I … yes, of course.” David hesitated. “Well, I guess I’m not sure.”

“Was your wife seeing other men? I need to know if you have any information that might clear you of suspicion.” The sheriff deliberately softened his voice. “I appreciate how difficult this must be for you.”

David was quiet for a moment. “I really don’t know. I wanted to reconcile with Ruby. I still hoped we’d have a family. I went over to the house about a month ago to talk to her. There was a car in the driveway I didn’t recognize. When she opened the door, I could hear music playing in the background. She didn’t invite me in, so I assumed there was a man in the house.” David grimaced at the memory. That really made him angry, Ben thought.

“Why do you think Ruby was opposed to the road widening? You were still together when all this started, so you must have some idea.”

“Ruby didn’t want to lose even a foot of her property. That land was all she had left from her father. She wanted to limit development as much as possible. She is, I mean she was, a real fighter. She saw ‘eminent domain’ as an injustice and an attack on the residents of the street. I think she probably would have made a fine lawyer.” The sheriff noted a faint look of pride on David’s face.

After a brief silence he added, “Ruby wasn’t as successful financially as she wanted to be. She also thought she might get more money from the county for the easements if she held out longer.”

“Were the two of you having financial problems?”

“Not really, but she would have had trouble keeping the place up on her income alone. The house needs a lot of work.”

“Why were you divorcing?”

“She was a difficult woman to live with, Sheriff.” David sounded
resigned. Despite the long silence that followed, he said nothing more.

Johns asked David Allison if he had any other laundry from the evening in question. He followed Allison out of the room and when they returned, Hadley had a pair of sweats, socks and underwear bagged.

“We’ll be getting back to you.” Sheriff Bradley said.

A
fter their early morning meeting, Detective Wayne Nichols called James Connolly’s home. A woman answered and he asked her if Mr. Connolly was at home. She told him her husband was at his office.

He introduced himself and said,
“Actually, I’d like to stop by and ask you some questions, Mrs. Connolly.”

“Me? What’s this about, Detective?”

“We’re investigating Ruby Mead-Allison’s murder. I have a few questions for you.”

“I don’t know that I should answer them.”

“This is very informal, Mrs. Connolly.” He kept his tone light and reassuring. “Could we stop by in about fifteen minutes? We won’t stay long.”

“Well, I guess that would be all right.”

Detective Nichols and CSI Tech Emma Peters arrived shortly thereafter at the imposing residence. Emma was in her early twenties with dark curly hair. She was skilled at the tedious work of DNA analysis, but always seemed pleased if she was asked to do a site visit. Connolly’s housekeeper answered the door and showed them in. At a gesture from Wayne, Emma engaged the woman in conversation and the two of them disappeared down a wide hallway.

At that moment a tall, thin woman, wearing what looked like designer exercise clothes walked into the foyer. She wore her blond hair tightly pulled back from her face.

“What’s going on here?” Laura Connolly’s voice combined tension and belligerence in equal quantities.

“I want to reassure you, Mrs. Connolly, we’re only here to eliminate your husband as a suspect in this investigation.”

“My husband?” She seemed surprised but then rapidly changed her attitude. “Oh, fine then.”

She closed the door behind
them and led Wayne into the living room, where she gestured to the dark leather couch and they both sat down. Laura Connolly sat at the edge of the sofa, her back ramrod straight. Tightly wound, Wayne thought, or she has something to hide.

“Were you with your husband on the night of March fifteenth? We already talked with your husband’s secretary. That was the evening you went to the symphony, correct?”

“Oh, yes, you’re right.”

“Did your husband wear a suit to the symphony?”

“Yes, he did.”

“I assumed so, and that’s why your cleaning lady and the crime scene tech are talking. We need to get his clothing from that night. Again, this is merely to eliminate him from suspicion.”

“She should be able to get his suit and shirt. I haven’t taken them to the cleaner’s yet.”

“Thank you.” Wayne heaved an inward sigh of relief.

“Do you and Mr. Connolly have children?”

“Yes. We have two children. Our son
Clayton is seven and Marie, our daughter, is three.”

“Who took care of your children the night of March fifteenth?”

“Nora Takichi sat for us that night.”

“How did she get home?”

There was a brief hesitation. “James drove Nora home. Nora had some trouble getting Marie to sleep so she put her down in our bed. I went in and slept with her. James slept in the guestroom after he got back from taking Nora home.”

“Did your husband change his clothes before taking the babysitter home?”

She hesitated again. “No, they left right away.”

Emma returned with the clothing. Wayne thanked Laura Connolly and they
departed.

“I’m going to drive over to see Joe Dennis,” Wayne said. “Are you free to go along? We can get that cheek swab.”

“That’s fine. I’m pretty much caught up with my lab work at present.”

“At present.” He grinned at Emma. “But not for long. We’ll have plenty for you to analyze soon.” Emma was dressed casually, in a lab coat over tshirts and jeans. Very cute. Way too young for him though.

They drove to the address that Dory had given them for Joe Dennis. Joe’s house was on the small side for a family with four kids, Wayne thought. It was a white, ranch-style home with dark red shutters and a three-car garage. Beside the house stood a dog run with a large black lab in it. Nichols rang the doorbell.

A small-boned redhead with a baby in her arms answered the door. “Yes?”

“Mrs. Dennis?”

“That’s me.” She turned to look at a toddler, who was walking determinedly toward a nail polish bottle sitting on the kitchen counter. “Bobby, stop. Leave that alone.”

“I’m Wayne Nichols, Sheriff Bradley’s Detective and this is Tech Peters. Is your husband home?”

“Sorry, Detective. He’s on a job site.” She glanced back into the kitchen, took a step away from the door
and scooped up the toddler in her other arm. “It’s over on Little Chapel Road, his mother’s place. The fourth house on the right from the River Road end.”

“Thank you.” They went back to the car.

“Busy woman,” Wayne said.

“How many kids do they have?” Emma asked.

“Four, all under the age of five, I think.”

They drove in companionable silence to Little Chapel Road and found the property easily. Joe had parked his truck on the gravel verge by the driveway. He was unloading four-by-eight sheets of plywood. Was it Joe’s truck that Mrs. Ryan and Lucy had seen the night Ruby died? Joe looked up as they drove in.

“Joe Dennis?”

Joe was on the short side, tan with a wiry build. “Yes.”

“I’m Wayne Nichols, Sheriff’s Detective. This is Emma Peters. She’s from the lab. I have some questions for you. Can we go inside?”

Joe nodded and they walked up to the older home. As they passed through the entryway, Wayne noted all of the construction material stacked neatly on the floor in the kitchen. Despite the ongoing remodeling, there wasn’t a speck of sawdust in the room.

Joe gestured to the kitchen table and they sat down. “Sorry I can’t offer you anything. The water’s turned off.”

“No problem. We need to get a cheek swab and clarify some information you gave the sheriff. Can we get that now?”

“Sure.”

“Open your mouth please, sir,” Emma said.

Joe did and she expertly obtained a cheek swab and placed it in a labeled envelope.

“Thank you
,” Emma said.

“
Joe, I know it’s been a while, but I need to take you back to your high school days,” Wayne said. “You and Ruby Mead-Allison were high school sweethearts, correct?”

“Yes.” Joe looked pensive. Wayne saw both nostalgia and regret in his face.“We were a couple in high school. Ruby was a free spirit, always a lot of fun in those days. Toward the end of our senior year, she got pregnant. A few weeks later, she told me she had lost the baby, but I think she may have had an abortion.” Joe looked down, not meeting Wayne’s eyes.

“Is that why you two broke up?”

“In a way. She didn’t seem the same after that and when she left for college, I started dating another girl, a friend of Ruby’s.”

“Have you stayed in touch since?”

“On and off. She contacted me when she got engaged to David Allison. She thought I’d be upset about her marriage. Maybe she wanted me to be upset. I don’t know. Anyway, I told her I was also getting married. After that, every now and then Ruby would call or send me an email. Sometimes we would have coffee or lunch. My wife … didn’t know.”

“So I’m thinking you resumed your sexual relationship at some point.” Wayne’s voice conveyed acceptance and understanding. Joe started to protest, but the detective held up his hand. “I know Ruby and her husband couldn’t get pregnant. She had conceived a child once with you. I imagine she thought she could again.”

“Yes, that’s what she thought, that I could get her pregnant, but I’m married now and I love my wife. I didn’t want to jeopardize that.” Joe’s voice strengthened as he said this.

“I imagine it’s pretty hard to turn down such a striking woman who’s determined to sleep with you.” Wayne raised his eyebrows inquisitively.

“It was. Now she’s dead. And I
…” His voice faltered. “I’ll miss her.”

“Well, we’ll soon find out if you were the father of her child.”

Joe looked as if he were about to protest but didn’t.

“You knew she was pregnant, I assume.”

“She called to give me the news when she got back from Hawaii.” Joe’s face was awash with confusion and remorse.

“Ruby was pregnant and in the middle of a divorce. What did you think she really wanted when she called? For you to leave your wife and marry her?”

“She didn’t say that outright, but I gathered that was the purpose of telling me.”

“I’d like to believe you, Joe, but if Ruby was pregnant with your child,
it could have destroyed your marriage, a marriage you obviously value. Did you go over to talk to her that night? Did things get out of hand? Is that what happened? Was it an accident?” He deliberately kept his voice low and supportive.

“I didn’t kill Ruby.” Joe
leaned forward. “It wasn’t my child she carried. I could tell she was in over her head, though. She seemed afraid and wanted me to save her.”

“You were the white knight. You were supposed to waltz in and rescue her. Maybe there was someone she needed help with? Someone she was afraid of,
perhaps? If it wasn’t her husband’s child, he would have been furious.”

“Probably, but I told her I couldn’t get involved. Although I considered her a friend, she was a ticking time bomb. I didn’t need it. I never could save Ruby from herself.”

Again, he saw the unhappiness writ plain on Joe’s face.

“Thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Dennis. We’ll show ourselves out.”

They left him sitting in silence at his mother’s table.

“I don’t think he did it,” Emma said, looking at Wayne over the roof of the car as they opened the doors to get inside.

“We need to find out if Joe was the father of the child, and I also want to ask Mrs. Ryan if it was Joe’s pickup she saw the night Ruby died, but, at a gut level, I agree with you. He doesn’t look like the killer to me.”