A Crying Shame: A Jesse Watson Mystery (16 page)

“Carl’s an investor. We rarely discussed his job, but when we
did, it bored me to tears.”

“Let me clue you in on a few things about your husband,” Abby
said. “When you left him, he partied all the time and had a hoard of women
coming in and out of his house, until a few weeks ago. Since then, the only
woman he’s been seeing is
that
woman. I’m sure you know which one I’m
talking about. You left him because of her.”

“Sherry, the slut; I remember her well,” Claire said, raising
an eyebrow.

“Did you also know that her husband was killed in a fiery car
crash two months ago? She inherited everything, and then she publicly took up
with your husband. I never did think they stopped seeing each other, but who am
I to say anything? It was none of my business. Two weeks ago, she brought over
some luggage. Might that be her in the body bag?”

“That would mean…”

“That Carl probably killed her,” I said, finishing Claire’s
sentence.

“If that’s true…”

“Then Carl’s still alive, he’s a killer, and he’s out there
on the loose,” Abby added. “I always thought that he was a little unstable.”

The three of us looked at each other and didn’t say anything.

“Why would Carl kill her if they were an item?” I asked.

“People have fights and sometimes it gets out of control.
Perhaps that’s what happened here.”

“Abigail, what are you getting into now?” a woman asked as
she walked into the room.

Abby turned to look at her and then introduced Isabel to us.
“Isabel is so nosey. She watches me like a hawk.”

“I have to,” Isabel said. “One of these days you’re going to
end up in jail. If the police knew you were spying on your neighbors…”

“I’m not spying; I call it my very own private Crime Watch
program.”

“I don’t care what you call it; it’s not right.”

“Isabel, go take a pill or something,” Abby said. “You’re
getting on my nerves.”

Isabel quietly left the room.

“Don’t you think you were a little hard on your sister?” I
asked. “She seems to care about your welfare.”

“We’re sisters; we fuss at each other.”

“Where have I heard that before?” Claire asked as she looked
over at me. “There’s plenty of truth in that statement.”

“Isabel’s husband died two years ago, so she moved in with
me. This house is surely big enough for all of us. It helps that Pete likes
her. I’d hate to have to choose between the two of them.”

“Abby, you’re in a class all by yourself.”

“I know… and I’m rich. Don’t you just hate people like that?”

“I do if they’re bad people, but you’re not a bad person.
You’re just a little eccentric.”

“You don’t hesitate to say what’s on your mind. I like that
about you.”

“I don’t mean to put a damper on this little party, but I
think we need to call home,” Claire interjected. “We need to let Billy know
what we found. If that body turns out to be Carl’s, Billy’s the first one
they’ll be coming after.”

“Ah, I remember your husband now,” Abby turned to me and
said. “He’s a handsome man. So that’s why you asked about the tapes from a week
ago. He was here and he had three men with him. I thought they might be
brothers because they looked so much alike… dark skin, long, black hair, and
big muscles. One of the guys hid out in the bushes; I figured he was the
lookout. I knew what was going on the minute I saw Carl with his kids earlier
in the day. Claire wasn’t with him, so I figured he snatched the kids, and
those guys came to get them back. I was going to call the police, but decided
to hold off until I could investigate further.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“I saw two of the guys carrying your children. I figured it
was a rescue. I zoomed in on the kids faces and they looked happy to be with
those guys. Carrie was asleep with a smile on her face, but Benny was awake. He
had his arm around the guy’s neck and kept trying to talk to him. I could tell
that he knew the man, because I heard everything they said. The man placed his
finger over his mouth as if to quiet the child down, and it worked. Benny
buried his head in the guy’s chest. I also remember the day I called Claire at
her mother’s house right after Christmas. I wanted to wish her a Merry
Christmas. She’s the only neighbor that I ever liked around here. The rest are
old, stuffy hags… money or not. Anyway, we had a pleasant conversation. I
talked to your mother, Minnie, for a short while. All she could talk about was
her Jesse finally getting married. She said you married a great guy named Billy
Blackhawk. When I saw those men, I put two and two together. I’m pretty smart
for an old lady. Of course, I got on my computer and fed in the pictures of the
four men into my data bank… actually it’s a back door into… well, I won’t say,
but I came up with their names, addresses, and all pertinent data I needed. I
knew it was the right thing they were doing, so I kept my mouth shut.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for your neighbor on the other side. She
has to stick her nose into everything, and she never gets anything right. I
think she exaggerates just to make herself look good. She’s not the shiniest
apple on the tree. I’d say she’s got a few screws loose, that ditzy broad.”

“Are you talking about Babs Creamer?” Claire asked.

“Now what woman in her right mind would go by the name of
Babs at her age? She’s seventy-two years old, for God’s sake. In her younger
days, she used to be a stripper.”

“Oh, Abigail, that’s not true,” Claire corrected her. “She
was a professional dancer. She was well-known for some of her performances on
Broadway. She was a real celebrity at one time. Hey, she might still be one for
all I know. She sure had a lot of tales to tell.”

“Don’t you mean lies? She’s filled your head full of them.”
Abby laughed out loud. “Claire, you have a good heart, but you’re so gullible.
She was a stripper in one of those seedy nightclubs until she met Rex. He took
her out of that joint and made a respectable woman out of her… or, at least, he
tried to. I always believed that you were born with class; it wasn’t something
you could buy. Poor Rex did his best, but sometimes you just can’t change what
a person is. She’s a real loser, but he made her better than what she was.
Trailer park trash; that’s what I call her.”

“Easy, Abby,” I said. “Just because someone lives in a
trailer park doesn’t mean they’re trash. I have friends who live in trailers
and they’re not trash; it’s all they can afford right now. I also have an
elderly friend who lives in a trailer because she can’t keep up a house by
herself. She lives alone and doesn’t have any family.”

“A defender of the underdog!” Abby said. “I love this girl!”

“That’s a bunch of bull,” Claire said. “I talked to Babs a
few times and she told me all about the famous people she’d met and worked
with. Did you know that she danced on stage with Fred Astaire once?”

“In her dreams,” Abby responded. “The closest that woman ever
came to Fred Astaire was watching him on television.”

“You really dislike her, don’t you?”

“I despise her,” Abby said with an eyebrow raised. “She made
a pass at Pete at a Christmas party a few years back. After that, I added her
name to my list of despicable people. I blackballed her, and she hasn’t been
invited to a party in this neighborhood since. None of the woman will even talk
to her. She was also thrown out of our Women’s Club.”

“Boy, I sure would hate to have you get mad at me,” I said.

“I can be your best friend, or I can be your worst adversary.
Get ready, ladies,” Abby said, pointing up at the screen. “Detective Trainum
and his entourage are headed this way.”

“Already?” Claire asked. “It’s only been…”

I looked over at the Grandfather clock in the corner of the
room and asked,” Is that clock right, Abby?”

“Of course, it is, my dear. It’s a masterpiece and was
hand-made especially for me by my dear friend, Hans, in
Switzerland
. He’s the best clockmaker in the
world. The clock is a one of a kind. I had it shipped here last year. Isn’t it
a work of art?”

“It’s fabulous,” Claire said. “I’d love to own one like it.”

“Well, according to it, we’ve been in D.C. for four hours,” I
deduced. “I need to call home, just in case we wind up in handcuffs.”

“My, how time flies when you’re involved in a murder,” Abby
said as she chuckled under her breath. “Don’t worry, my dear. You’re not going
to jail; I’ll see to that.”

“Stall the detective for a minute,” I said to Abby. “Tell him
that we’re upstairs resting. Drag the conversation out long enough for me to
call home. Then you can come get us. Oh, I need to get my purse from the
parlor. My cell phone’s in it.”

“You can use my phone, silly. The first room on the right is
a guest room. Use the phone in there.”

“Okay, but you need to keep the cops out of the parlor, or
stash the handbags. I have my gun in mine.” I turned to Claire and grabbed her
by the wrist.

“This is so exciting!” Abby said. “I love a good mystery.”

“If you think this is exciting, you should see what Jesse has
strapped to her ankle.”

As a teaser, I pulled up my pants leg just far enough for
Abby to see the gun, and then fled upstairs. We left her standing in the study
with the most intriguing look on her face. She had no fear of what was to come.
I guess she’d been around long enough, or either she had enough money to make
others fear her. Either way, she was having the time of her life.

As Claire and I ran upstairs, she confided in me that she was
terrified. I tried to calm her down by telling her we had nothing to worry
about. We hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Just let me do all the talking,” I said. “You have a
tendency to offer information that hasn’t been asked for, and isn’t necessary.
You’ll get us into trouble if I let you handle the show. When you get nervous,
you don’t know when to shut up and when to talk.”

“That’s not true.”

“Forget it, Claire. We can argue about it later. Right now, I
need to talk to Billy.”

“Aren’t you scared,” Claire asked as we walked into the
bedroom and closed the door. She sat down on the bed.

I picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed my house.
“I’m about as scared as a skunk being chased by an elephant.”

It took a few minutes for Claire to get my meaning. She had a
baffled look on her face. “Why would a skunk be afraid of an elephant? All the
skunk would have to do is spray…”

“My point exactly,” I said.

“Then you’re not scared?”

“Nope,” I said. “When we found out that there was a dead body
in your wine cellar, I was terrified, but now, the only thing that would scare
me would be if that body turns out to be Carl’s. Then I’d worry for Billy. But
I don’t think that’s the case here. I think the body belongs to Sherry, the
slut. I’m beginning to feel like Abby. We have nothing to fear.”

“Maybe she knows something we don’t.”

“If that’s true; she’ll tell us when the time’s right.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do,” I said as I placed the phone to my ear. “I trust
her. She talks a lot of talk, but she has her head together.”

“I trust her, too, but I wonder if maybe she has her own
agenda. Maybe she just likes to be the center of attention.”

“I’m sure she does, and she can afford to be. People with
money usually get what they want. I think all she wants is company.”

Mom’s voice echoed in my ear. “Hello,” she said.

“Mom, is Billy there?”

“No, he’s not, Jesse,” she replied. “He’s working on Brian’s
case. He said he had to do something while you were gone. He’s worried sick
about the two of you. He didn’t want y’all to go, but he knew he couldn’t stop
you. He said you were a stubborn `ge ya, and there was no stopping you when you
made up your mind about something. Sarah and I are watching the kids while
Chief Sam takes a nap. They wore him out. And little Maisy is such a sweet
thing. Benny and Carrie love her to pieces. Even the dogs and the cat like her.
They’ve stuck beside her ever since you’ve been gone. They’re all having such a
good time. What’s going on with you and Claire? Did you find out anything?”

Even though I didn’t want to upset Mom, I knew I had to tell
her the truth. “Claire and I found a body in the wine cellar. As soon as we
went into the house, we smelled a terrible odor. I knew what it was right from
the start. I knew it was a dead body; I just didn’t know where the body was
located. It didn’t take us long to find it.”

“Was it Carl?” Mom asked. Her voice was a little shaky.

“We didn’t get to see,” I said. “When Claire opened the
hidden doorway in the library, the obnoxious odor ran us out of the house. The
neighbor next door, Abigail Morgan, came up to us and then called the police.”

“I remember her,” Mom said. “She called Claire at Christmas.
I talked to her for a few minutes. She’s a nice lady.”