Gin Jones - Helen Binney 01 - A Dose of Death (21 page)

“
It’s not all that interesting,” Helen said. “They’d probably rather hear from people who
don’t
know what it was like. The stories I’ve read about my life were always more interesting than the reality.”

“
See?” Sam said. “That’s exactly the sort of comment that would make you such an interesting addition to our line-up. We could try it for a few weeks, and see what the response is before we make any long-term commitments.”

“
No, thanks,” Helen said. “I like my privacy too much to risk becoming a ‘personality.’”

“
It may be too late for that,” Sam said. “Wharton is a small town, and people are already talking about you.”

“
It’s not my fault that Melissa got killed,” Helen said. “And my attorney would insist on my adding that I didn’t kill her. Just in case you were wondering.”

Sam chuckled like the trained radio announcer he was.
“No one thinks you killed Melissa. And that’s not what they’re talking about. It’s the way you talked back to Judge Nolan, in open court. We’re all amazed she didn’t have you tossed into a cell for contempt.”

“
I didn’t back-talk her,” Helen said. “I just asked her a question.”

“
Same thing, in her court,” Sam said. “I’m not saying she’s a bad judge. She does a lot of good for this community, on and off the bench. But she’s been a judge for two decades now, and she might be just a little too used to getting her own way all the time.”

“
Sounds like a good topic for one of your station’s call-in shows.”

“
That would be one heck of a show. The ratings would probably be worth the cost of the lawyer we’d have to hire to defend against the judge’s defamation suit,” he said. “Are you volunteering to moderate it?”

“
Still not interested.” Even if she did want the job, she couldn’t take it now, not while the judge held Jack’s fate in her hands and might blame him for Helen’s actions. “I’d just as soon let my notoriety fade away.”

“
Yeah,” he said. “That’s how everyone feels after they’ve dealt with Judge Nolan. But if you change your mind, just give me a call.”

That wasn
‘t going to happen, but she didn’t want to antagonize anyone else in town, at least without provocation. Sam Johnson might not be a reporter, but he obviously knew a good deal about the behind-the-scenes working of the town. He’d be a good addition to her Rolodex.

“
I’ll get one of your business cards on the way out,” she promised.

Helen glanced out the window of the taxi as it turned onto her street, trying to concentrate on what she’d learned at the radio station, but all she could think was how much she missed having Jack in the driver’s seat.

The current cab driver was everything he was supposed to be
—polite, careful, efficient—but he wasn’t Jack.

It was annoying to realize just how much she
‘d come to depend on him. Not just the transportation around town, which the taxi company had adequately replaced, but Jack himself.

If Lily were here she
‘d be saying, “I told you so. Everyone could use a little help.”

Fortunately, her niece didn
‘t need to know about this little epiphany, if Helen could just get Jack out of jail and make sure the real killer got put there instead.

Except that to get Jack out of jail, she needed him to already be out of jail, and giving her feedback on her impressions of the radio station employees. As far as she could tell, no one there had cared enough about Melissa, positively or negatively, to have a motive to kill her. No one was obviously in mourning, and no one was obviously gloating over her demise. But Jack knew the community better than she did, and he might have had some deeper insight into the station
‘s employees that would have given her a reason to doubt them.

The taxi turned smoothly into Helen
‘s driveway and bumped along the gravel surface. Once the vehicle had stopped, the driver hopped out and held the rear door for Helen while she struggled to climb out. He offered his hand, the way Jack would have known not to do, and Helen ignored it to struggle out on her own.

It was only after she
‘d handed the taxi driver his fare and tip, that she noticed another vehicle was parked in front of the garage. An expensive car, the sort she associated with her ex-husband’s cronies. It didn’t belong to Tate, who would never waste that much money on a second car when he could have spent it on wood. So who else might be visiting her uninvited?

She turned to ask the taxi driver to wait a minute in case the newcomer was someone Helen wanted to avoid by leaving again, but the taxi was already halfway to the end of the driveway. Jack wouldn
‘t have left without saying anything, and he’d have known she might want to make a fast getaway.

Helen dug in her pocket for her cell phone, in case she needed to call 911, and headed for the cottage, hoping to get inside before the unannounced visitor could come out from wherever he was hiding.

She had only taken a couple steps before a woman—it took a moment for Helen to recognize Judge Nolan in a classic beige skirt suit instead of the formal black robes—came around the far corner of the garage. Her beige pumps were getting grass stains, and the heels that narrowed to a tiny point were sinking into the spring-rain-softened ground.

“
Oh, there you are,” Judge Nolan said. “I thought maybe you’d be out in the back yard somewhere on such a lovely spring day.”

“
I went for a drive instead.” Helen dropped her phone back into her pocket and waited at the foot of her front steps. “What can I do for you?”

“
I didn’t get a chance to talk to you at the funeral home,” Judge Nolan said as she approached. “I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for what you went through. You must have been traumatized by finding Melissa’s body.”

Not as traumatized as I
‘d been by the living Melissa.

But that was old business, and, while the judge
‘s face didn’t reveal any emotion, her presence indicated that she was truly upset about the consequence of her decision. From what the radio station manager had said, it wasn’t common for the judge to admit to a mistake, and here she was, not just admitting it to herself but saying it out loud. Not in writing, of course, and there were no witnesses to her admission, but still it had to have been difficult for the judge to say the words. Helen wasn’t sure she, herself, would have had the courage to do it.

In any event, Melissa
‘s death hadn’t been the judge’s fault, and there was no need to make the woman feel any worse than she obviously did. Plus, she needed to keep on the judge’s good side as long as Jack was the prime suspect. “I appreciate your concern. I’m fine now.” 

“
If only…” Judge Nolan looked away.

Helen finished the thought: if only the judge had issued the restraining order, Melissa might still be alive. Of course, the restraining order might not have changed anything. Melissa might well have ignored the court order, the way she
‘d ignored everything else she hadn’t wanted to hear.

Judge Nolan smiled ruefully.
“Judges aren’t supposed to admit to any regrets. We all have them, though. It doesn’t make any difference now, but I thought you’d want to know how sorry I am. I hope this whole business doesn’t scare you away from Wharton. It’s really quite a nice little town.”

“
I’m not going anywhere. You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

Judge Nolan laughed.
“I’m glad. Strong women are always good for a community.”

“
You’re the only person around who thinks I’m strong.” Helen tapped her cane on the walkway beside her. “The police took one look at this thing and assumed I was a doddering old fool. Even when they were here, having to admit they got the wrong murder weapon and searching for the right one, they couldn’t acknowledge that they might be wrong about other things in this case.”

“
Did they find what they were looking for?”

Helen nodded.
“They originally thought the murder weapon was a branch, but it turned out to be a cane. My cane. The one I had before this one. They were here with a search warrant this morning, and they found it out there.” She used her cane to point toward the woods across from the back deck.

“
I signed the warrant, but I didn’t realize the police had been here already,” the judge said, glancing in the direction Helen had pointed. “They don’t usually act this fast on non-emergencies. They’re understaffed like police departments everywhere.”

“
All municipal departments are struggling, I’m told,” Helen said. “I heard that there have been some cutbacks at the town’s nursing home.”

Judge Nolan shook her head irritably.
“I don’t know why people keep saying that. The nursing home is in solid financial shape. Fully staffed and no problems paying them what they deserve. I’m on the board of directors, you know, and my mother lives there. I wouldn’t let anything happen to that place or its residents.”

“
That’s good to know,” Helen said. “I’ve met some nice people there, and I’ve read too many newspaper stories about people taking advantage of the elderly and the frail.”

“
Good thing we’re both strong women,” Judge Nolan said. “No one will ever take advantage of us.”

“
Right,” Helen agreed.

As the judge got into her car and drove away, Helen couldn
‘t help thinking that Melissa had been a strong woman too. Stronger, at least physically, than either Judge Nolan or Helen. And yet, Melissa was dead.

*  *  *

After the judge left, Helen wandered from her built-in desk to her recliner to the kitchen island and then around the room again, unable to settle anywhere while trying to think of who else might want to kill Melissa. Even without Jack’s input, she was fairly sure that no one at the radio station was even worth adding to her spreadsheet of possible suspects, and Betty and Josie were still being held incommunicado in their rooms at the nursing home.

Eventually she heard Tate
‘s car coming to a stop outside the garage, followed a few minutes later by the sound of his lathe. She’d thought he’d left for the day, but he’d apparently just taken a late lunch. It was tempting to go out and see if he agreed with her about the unlikeliness of the radio station employees as suspects, but Tate deserved a little uninterrupted time to do his woodworking. Better to save her interruptions for when she had a solid lead to discuss with him.

As Helen went past the kitchen island one more time intending to make a cup of tea, a movement out on the back deck caught the corner of her eye. She blinked and looked again, and there was Jack, waving to her through the glass door.

What was he doing out of jail?

Helen limped over to the door and let him in.
“Are you all right?”

“
I’m fine.” Jack scurried over to the kitchen island where he’d be out of the line of sight for anyone who might be looking in through the glass doors. “The court-appointed attorney got me out on bail. She said they don’t have enough evidence to hold me on the murder charge, and the judge agreed. But I’m supposed to stay in Wharton where they can find me if the situation changes.”

“
I’m afraid it is going to change,” Helen said, returning to the sink to fill the kettle with enough water for a whole pot of tea. “They found the real murder weapon this morning, and it’s probably got your fingerprints on it.”

“
That’s not possible,” Jack said from his seat on the far side of the kitchen island. “I didn’t do it. You know I didn’t do it.”

“
I’ve been telling everyone that you didn’t do it, but they aren’t listening to me,” Helen said as she set a mug in front of Jack. “The problem is that the murder weapon was actually my other cane, and I’m pretty sure you held it for me a few times. Unless they can affix a timeframe to the fingerprints and compare it to the time of the murder, it won’t look good for you. I’m so sorry you got involved in this.”

“
It isn’t your fault,” Jack said, slumping deeper in his seat until he was barely visible over the island’s top. “I should never have stolen all those remote controls. They wouldn’t suspect me otherwise.”

“
I still feel responsible. I was the one who figured out you’d stolen them.”

“
But you didn’t rat me out. It had to have been Tate.” He sounded resigned, rather than angry.

Helen shook her head.
“Tate wouldn’t do that. It’s against the rules for lawyers, I think. Even if it weren’t, he’s too busy with his woodworking to bother turning you in as long as he didn’t think you were going to commit any other crimes.”

“
I’ve completely given up burglary,” Jack said, straightening a little for emphasis. “Trust me, there’s no way I’m risking jail again. Some friends of my cousins—the ones who didn’t hire Tate—have done time in state prisons, and they said it wasn’t so bad, but I’m pretty sure now that they were lying. The holding cell was bad enough, and I’m absolutely sure prison is worse. They wouldn’t even let me have my smartphone so I could play games on it.”

Helen poured the boiling water into the teapot.
“I’ll do what I can to make sure you don’t do any time for the burglaries.”

“
I’m not so worried about that,” Jack said. “My attorney said I should be able to get a plea bargain that’s nothing more than probation and restitution. Probably a fine too, but no jail time. It’s a whole ‘nother story if they charge me with Melissa’s murder.”

“
I’m working on that. Tate is too.” The sound of the lathe in the garage contradicted her. “The woodworking helps him to think.”

The lathe stopped, and Jack glanced in the direction of the garage.
“Are you sure he didn’t turn me in?”

“
I’m sure.”

The garage door opened, and Tate walked out into the yard carrying a four-foot length of wood toward the front of the cottage.

“I’d better go,” Jack said, sliding out of his chair but remaining crouched down low, as if that made him less visible. “I’m not actually supposed to be here. Condition of my bail: stay away from you and the scene of the crime. All the crime scenes. But I couldn’t stay away from here. I had to be sure you didn’t think I’d killed Melissa. I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“
I know,” Helen said. “And I’m glad you’re here. Before you leave, I need to know everything you can tell me about the people who work at the local radio station. Anyone there who has a history of violence or any motive for killing Melissa.”

Jack was silent as he slunk over to the glass doors. When he reached them he shook his head.
“I can’t think of anyone who’s ever been in trouble. They talk big, but it’s just words. They’d never
do
anything.”

“
That’s good to know.” Helen saw Tate approaching the front steps. “Don’t worry about anything. Just take care of yourself. And stay away from here until we get everything cleared up. Tate is here most of the daytime, and he’d probably have to report you if he knows you’re not supposed to be here.”

Jack hesitated with his hand on the back door.
“How are you going to get around town without me?”

“
I’ll manage,” Helen said, pushing him back out onto the deck. “Just until you return to work, I promise, and then I’ll be calling you again. Now go.”

Jack had just disappeared into the woods on the other side of the cottage from where the murder weapon had been found when Tate knocked on the front door of the cottage. Helen moved as quickly as she could, hoping to convince Tate to come inside, where there was no chance of him catching a glimpse of Jack. Otherwise, Tate might feel obliged to turn Jack in for violating the terms of his bail.