Murder at the Tremont House (A Blue Plate Cafe Mystery) (25 page)

“
But no admissible evidence. It will be hearsay. I imagine we’ll get a confession out of her now though. The big thing is that you’re all right, Kate. That’s the only thing that matters.” He looked over at David. “It’s one of many things he and I agree on.”

“
Jess?”

“
Report I got while driving is that she’s bruised, scraped, and scared, but she’ll be all right. The scrapes and bruises will heal. The scared may take longer.”

The one I was afraid to ask.
“Chester?”

“
Lucky. Broken leg, I think. Maybe contusions. Ambulances should be here any minute. David was a master of communication while I drove, even up to the last-minute report on Chester.”

Somehow I managed to stammer,
“That was Carolyn’s ‘dread in her bones,’ wasn’t it?”

He grinned.
“I guess so, if you believe in that sort of thing.”

I didn
’t want to sound accusing, but I couldn’t resist asking, “Why did it take you so long to follow us.”

He looked sheepish.
“She locked me in my own jail cell. Barged into the office, gun drawn. I didn’t have a chance.” He glanced at David. “He came and got me out.”

“
He didn’t answer his phone, and I was desperate. Ran all the way to his office,” David added.

I was still shaking hard
. Rick spoke softly, putting one arm around me as though to still my shaking. “David, take her into town and get her some coffee.”

“
I need to see Carolyn,” I said.

“
She will have been notified, and no doubt she’ll beat us to the hospital.”

Sirens announced not one but two ambulances, just before they roared to a stop, one by us and one by Chester.

“I need to do something for her.”

“
Stay out of her way right now. She knows you care. She knows too that Chester was trying his best to protect you. It’s not the kind of thing that happens in Crandall.”

I shook my head.
“That’s what she kept saying.”

Rick practically pushed me into David
’s arms—was that a symbolic gesture? “Take her and warm her up,” he said enigmatically. “I’ve got work to do. In fact, after you give her coffee, take her back to Wheeler. I’ll get a trooper to bring me. We’ll take her statement later.”

“
You sure?” David asked.

“
Sure,” Rick nodded. “I bet she wants to go straight to Jess.”

I did, and I suggested we bypass the coffee, so we headed for Wheeler. I knew there would be questions, lots of them, but I was prepared to answer. Gradually my shaking diminished. David turned the heat on in the car, in spite of the warm day. I
’m sure he was sweltering, but he never said a thing.

We drove straight to Tom and Donna
’s, and I barged in the back door, leaving David to trail behind me, unsure of his welcome. I didn’t care about mine at that point. I went through to the living room, where Tom and Donna hovered over Jess who lay on the couch. Henry and Ava hung back in awkward silence, though Ava came forward and gave me a huge hug, and then Henry followed with a more tentative hug. But, hey, a hug from Henry was an accomplishment.

I rushed to the couch and asked,
“Jess, are you okay?”

A quavering small voice said,
“Yes, Aunt Kate. Are you?”

“
I’m okay, honey. I’m just worried about you.”

She reached out for a hug, and I gathered her in my arms.
“I was really scared,” she said. “That lady is mean.”

“
She won’t hurt anyone ever again, Jess.”

“
You sure?”

“
Yes, I’m sure. Once she gets out of the hospital, she’ll go to prison maybe for the rest of her life.”

Tom straightened.
“I guess we better hear the whole story. Let’s go into the kitchen.” Once there, he got out beer for him and David, poured white Zin for Donna and asked me if I need something stronger. “You have bourbon?”

“
Sure.”

“
Two fingers, neat, please.” I felt I deserved it, and it would banish the rest of the shakes.

The children had followed us, but Donna turned to them, and in a kind voice said,
“We don’t mean to say this is for adults only, and I promise to tell you all we find out. But would you stay with Jess, so she doesn’t feel we’ve all abandoned her?”

“
Yes, ma’am,” they chorused.

It struck me that a near
tragedy had wrought a change in this family. If I’d been thinking about it, I would have expected Donna to rail at me for putting her child in harm’s way, but she was calm, concerned, and even put an arm around me and said, “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“
Thanks, Don.”

In the kitchen, I recounted the whole story, with occasional comments from David, one to compliment my skill
in driving.

When I finished, Tom said,
“Damn! I’m sorry I missed all that action.”

“
Don’t be,” David said, his tone dry. “My heart was in my mouth the whole time.”

Suddenly I asked,
“Did anyone call the café?”

Donna jumped up.
“No. Done right know.” I heard her punch buttons and say, “Marj, she’s okay. She’s here at the house.” Pause. “No, I don’t think she’ll be in the rest of the day. But tomorrow.” She looked at me and I nodded. “Yes, she’ll be there tomorrow.” Another pause. “Yes, I’ll tell her. Thank you all for your prayers.” She hung up, but I needed no explanation of the call.

Epilogue

When it was all straightened out, Bonnie Smith faced two charges of murder, two charges of aggravated kidnapping (Jess and me), assault of a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon, endangering a child. The list seemed endless.
The gun with which she threatened me was a match for that used on both Sara Jo and Sally, which led me to believe she wasn’t a smart murderer—or hadn’t thought things through. She had a fractured ankle and a broken wrist and was under guard in the hospital at Canton. Rick told me he doubted she’d get the death penalty—in spite of a couple of notorious cases, Texas was still leery of executing women. But she’d probably get concurrent life sentences for premeditated murder and other sentences for the lesser charges, which were still serious.

I endured hours of questioning by Sheriff Halstead and the sheriff of Kaufman County where Crandall was located. I was completely exonerated, and I don
’t know how they did it—perhaps threatening to charge Cary, but Bonnie confessed with even more detail than she had told me.

Roger and
Cary came into the café several nights later, after the crowd, and asked if I would join them for supper. The both looked exhausted, even haggard, as though they hadn’t slept in nights. They probably hadn’t. I did join them, eating a hamburger, which was a rare indulgence for me, and wishing we had a beer and wine license.

“
Cary and I talked it over,” Roger said slowly, “and we’re going to stay in Wheeler, at least for the time being. It wasn’t an easy decision, but he wants to finish school with his friends. When he goes to college, I may move to Tyler to get rid of the commute.”

“
Will you be embarrassed, Cary?” I asked bluntly.

He ducked his head and thought for a moment.
“No. My friends are cool about it. They just don’t talk about any of it. Sure, I sometimes feel that it’s almost awkward the way they dance around what happened and pretend not to know. But they mean well. I’m okay.” He honestly looked less worried than he ever had before, and I sensed somehow that he was relieved. Awful as the circumstances were, Bonnie had taken a great burden off him by removing herself from his life. Did he love her like a son should a mother? We’d never know, but I doubted it. Maybe he always sensed she wasn’t really his mother—she tried too hard. And maybe Sally Vaughn was a problem to him too. Maybe he’d gotten in over his head and didn’t know how to extricate himself. “I’m glad,” I said. “With you two batching it, you must come to the Blue Plate more often.”

Roger laughed a little too heartily.
“I’m used to a home-cooked meal, and I doubt Cary’s going to provide that….”

“
I can heat pizza,” the boy exclaimed.

Roger rolled his eyes as if to say
, “See what I mean.” Then he said, “I expect you’ll see a lot of us in here. I’d have been here before, but Bonnie didn’t like to go out. Wouldn’t go to church either, and that’s something we’re going to do. And I’ll find some kind of men’s group I can join.”

“
I’m sure my brother-in-law will help you,” I said.

I had a good feeling about them when they left.
They were going to claw and climb their way to a normal life, something neither one had had.

****

Tom and Donna went to Dallas and spent two days seeing doctors and two nights, while I kept all the kids. It went smoothly from my end, and as I found out, smoothly from their end as well. The internists prescribed antidepressant medication for Donna and gave her a weight-gain diet to follow, telling her he wanted her to gain at least twenty pounds by the next time he saw her. Telling me about it later, she said, “I’ll be fat as…well, I don’t know what. Bet I’ll have to wear those oversize clothes—muumuus and tent dresses.

“
I bet you’ll be a perfect size ten instead of a size four,” I said. “And I’ll still be jealous.”

The doctor
warned that the medication would take three-to-four weeks to take effect and we shouldn’t expect instant results. But Donna already seemed calmer to me. Maybe happy would come next.

Tom reported the doctor had also recommended a counselor in Canton, and Donna had agreed to go for joint counseling.
“If she decides not to go, I’m going myself,” he said resolutely.

Tom later told me they stayed at The Mansion
on Turtle Creek, had dinner in the formal dining room, and the last night they were there they went to Fearing’s, the great restaurant run by renowned chef Dean Fearing, who had been at The Mansion for years. Tom said that he deliberately avoided the Adolphus, where Irv used to take Donna and Ava, but he said, “I know Donna enjoyed it. It’s that upscale world she’d like to live in. Lord knows, I can’t afford it very often, but I’m resolving to take her for a weekend every once in a while. Tell David to find me some other hotels.”

The Brysons settled in to learning to be a family again, and Donna came back to the café for more cooking
lessons. Benny groaned, but I told him she’d be coming in the afternoons for dinner prep, and I’d handle teaching her.

“
Thanks, boss. I’ve done all I can with her about breakfast.”

“
Her husband tells me she’s fixing pancakes and sunny side up eggs for them and quite proud of herself.”

Benny paused after flipping an egg and looked at me with a grin.
“That’s good news.”

Business at the B&B seemed to pick up, since Donna had relaxed some about it. She had two or three couples every weekend, and with the end of school looming, she had several family bookings for a week. At my suggestion, she compiled a list of area attractions.
“Great idea, Sis. I’ll get right on it.” And she did.

One day she wandered in for coffee and asked,
“You still want to take over the books?”

Not really, but I will.
Aloud, I said, “Of course. When do you want me to start?”

“
This morning,” she said, and pulled up a bag of files and papers and a ledger. “It’s all right here.” And with that, no further explanation, she left.

It took me three long evenings to make heads or tails of her entries, but I finally did and found she was doing better. I
’d have to teach her about quantity ordering and the like, but she was on her way.

****

I went to see Chester and Carolyn Grimes, with forewarning, of course.

Carolyn said,
“Oh, Kate, please do come. I can’t bear having this grumpy man to myself anymore.” But there was a lilt of laughter in her voice, and I knew she was glad to have him any way at all after his close call.

When I got there, Chester was grumping about the house, complaining a man on crutches can
’t do “a blasted thing. Jesse James and his gang could come roaring through Crandall, and I couldn’t do anything.”

“
It isn’t going to happen, Chester,” Carolyn said serenely. “I don’t have a dread in my bones anymore. I know now what it was—I was afraid for you and for Kate. Now you’re both safe, and I can relax.”

“
Maybe you can, but I can’t with this cast on. It itches.”

Carolyn turned a deaf ear to his complaints and pour
ed us each glasses of a light white wine. Looking at Chester, she said, “No beer. Doctor has you on a diet. Says you’ll walk better on that leg if you lose weight.” She served us tuna salad with raw vegetables—carrots, broccoli, celery on the side.