Full Bloom (11 page)

She hesitated. “Okay, I’m going to tell both of you something I’ve never told anyone, only you’ll have to keep quiet about it because I don’t want to frighten the others.” She spoke quietly. “My grandmother used to talk to herself. At least I thought she was talking to herself, but when I finally asked her about it, she told me there was a woman, a ghost, trying to communicate with her.” Annie paused and looked at Destiny. “You were right. There were many times I felt a presence. Some of my guests have reported seeing things, some sort of apparition, and sometimes I would see something out of the corner of my eye.”

“I don’t know why you’re trying to hide it from Theenie and Lovelle. They’ve suspected for some time. As for your fears that it might hurt your business, I think it could draw people. Do you have this place listed on a Web site?”

Annie shook her head.

“Lucky for you I know someone who might be able to design one for you,” Destiny said. “You’ve met Jamie’s editor, Mike Henderson.”

She nodded. “What does he charge?”

“He worships me; he’ll do it for free. But you have to be willing to give
all
the facts about the house, because that’s what is going to draw people.”

Annie wondered how much Destiny knew.

“You mean the part about it being a brothel at one time?” Wes asked.

“How did you find out?” Annie asked. “Not that it’s a secret. Most people know the history.”

Wes avoided a direct answer, but he grinned. “The house pretty much speaks for itself, Annie.”

She nodded. “Supposedly it closely resembles the way it looked back in the eighteen fifties. My grandmother had an old photo album of pictures taken after it was built, but I haven’t seen it in years. I suspect it’s somewhere in the attic.” She gave an eye roll.

“This spirit was one of the women who lived here when it was a bordello,” Destiny said. “Unfortunately, I can’t get any information from her because she’s mute.”

Wes cocked a brow, and Destiny went on. “In most cases, spirits who hang around long after they’ve died have suffered a tragic death. Most of them are still in shock; sometimes they don’t even know they’re dead. In the case of this particular spirit, she was strangled to death. She has the marks on her neck.”

It was the first time Annie had heard about the marks, and she shuddered. “You’re right,” she said. “If you read the history of this house you’ll learn that her name was Lacey and she
was
a prostitute. She was murdered by her lover, who was promptly hanged.”

Destiny pondered it. “I think she may have witnessed the hanging,” she said. “That, combined with her murder, may have traumatized her so badly that she can’t speak. Or,” she added, “her vocal cords may have been severely damaged in the strangulation.”

Wes shook his head. “This all seems pretty farfetched. Why are you able to see the spirit so clearly and the rest of us can’t?”

“Because I’m psychic and more open to this sort of thing,” Destiny said. “She wants to communicate with me, but she can’t, which leaves her frustrated and angry. Which is why she sometimes throws things, mostly my stuff,” she added, “and that, combined with almost no sleep, pisses
me
off. I’m usually more patient with spirits.

“Anyway, I recently began having visions of what it was like back then. I see women dressed in corsets and gartered black stockings and wearing heavy rouge; I see well-dressed gentlemen following them upstairs.” She suddenly sneezed. “Only the wealthy could afford to visit. Does the name Fairchild mean anything to you?” she asked Annie.

“Oh yeah. The Fairchild family settled here before the Revolutionary War. They were wealthy and highly respected. Some became politicians. There are still a few descendants living here, but most of them moved to Charleston.”

“For some reason I keep seeing that name in my mind.” Destiny shrugged. “By the way, the house
does
look much the same as it did back then.” Another sneeze. Annie went for the box of tissues. “Except for the kitchen and some of the furniture,” Destiny added, yanking a couple of tissues from the box.

Wes looked intrigued by what Destiny had to say, but it was difficult to tell how much, if any, of it he believed. “How often do you have these, um, visions?”

“I can’t predict them,” Destiny said. “Sometimes they’re very clear; other times they’re vague and I spend hours trying to decide their meanings.” Destiny sipped her coffee in silence for a moment. “Having this spirit around could work to your advantage,” she told Annie.

“How?”

“Spirits are not limited by time or space. I’m willing to bet Lacey knows who murdered your husband. She probably saw the whole thing.”

Annie gaped.

“Which is why I wish she would communicate with me,” Destiny went on. “I probably shouldn’t have yelled at her for getting into my stuff. I’ll probably have to start sucking up to her if I hope to get her to cooperate. I hate sucking up to dead people.”

Annie laughed. “Could you imagine me marching into Lamar Tevis’s office and telling him some ghost had solved the murder?”

Destiny shook her head. “No, but if this spirit could tell us who the killer is we might be able to point Lamar in the right direction.”

Annie heard a noise at the top of the stairs. “We need to drop the subject for now. I don’t want the others to know.” She barely had time to get the words out of her mouth before Lovelle came down, dressed in gray slacks, a silk dove gray blouse, and a cream-colored cashmere sweater.

“Good morning, ladies,” she said brightly.

“Boy, you look nice,” Annie told her. “What’s the occasion?”

Lovelle patted her hair. “I’m having breakfast with a friend, and then we’re driving to Savannah for an art show.”

Annie smiled. Although Savannah was only forty-five minutes away, she could not remember when she’d last been. “Sounds fun.”

Lovelle draped her sweater over one chair. “I wish I could find my fuchsia scarf. I always wear it with this outfit.”

Destiny looked up. “It’s in my room. I meant to bring it down and ask who it belonged to.”

“Well, how in heaven’s name did it get there?” Lovelle said.

Destiny shrugged. “Probably the same way my lingerie ended up in Wes’s bathroom.”

“Hey, you didn’t hear me complaining,” Wes said. “I like having women’s lingerie hanging over my shower rod. I have a thing for lacy black garter belts.”

All three women looked amused. “Let me grab that scarf,” Destiny said.

Lovelle looked at Annie. “This is getting out of hand. Every time I turn around I’m missing something. Yesterday Theenie accused me of taking her favorite nightgown. You’ve seen it, that flannel thing she wears with blue dogs and pink kittens. As if I’d be caught dead in old lady flannel,” she added.

Someone knocked on the door. Annie answered it and found Lamar Tevis on the other side. “Good morning, Annie,” he said. “Sorry to stop by so early, but I thought we might talk a bit.” He glanced about the room. “Preferably in private.”

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No, no. I, um . . .” He paused and cleared his throat. “I need to discuss a few things with regard to your husband’s, um, remains.”

Wes got up from his chair. “I’d like to listen in if you don’t mind.”

Annie led Wes and Lamar into a large sunroom that had once served as a sleeping porch. Windows lined the room and had offered relief during hot summer months before fans and air conditioners were invented. Wes and Annie took a seat on one of several sofas; Lamar chose a chair opposite them.

Lamar pulled his small notebook from his shirt pocket and thumbed through several pages. He wore a sad smile as he regarded Annie. “I don’t suppose this will come as a surprise to you,” he told her, “but all the evidence we found on or near the remains that were discovered on your property proves without a doubt that they are those of your husband.” He paused as though waiting for her to take it all in. “I’m sorry, Annie.”

Wes reached for her hand. “You okay?”

“Yes.” But she wasn’t. Not really. She felt a deep sadness that the man she’d been married to had lost his life at such an early age.

“What was the cause of death?” she asked.

Lamar hesitated. “I’ll get to that in a minute, but first let me tell you what we
do
know. The coroner faxed his findings to me; in laymen’s terms, your husband suffered a broken neck and head trauma.”

Annie realized she was holding her breath. “Did he suffer?”

“I suppose he could have been unconscious at the time, but the head injury didn’t penetrate the skull, so there’s no reason to suspect that’s what killed him.”

“So he died from a broken neck,” she said.

Lamar wiped his hands down his face. “We don’t really know at this time.”

“You
don’t know
?” she asked.

“The coroner claims the vertebra was still intact, so it’s highly unlikely there was damage to the spinal cord or any kind of obstruction that would have interfered with normal breathing. I know we don’t have all the answers, but I’m pretty impressed with what the coroner
was
able to come up with, seeing as how he’s not one of those experts. I can’t think of what they’re called at the moment; it’ll come to me.”

“Forensic anthropologists,” Wes said.

Annie looked perplexed. “Why wasn’t Charles taken to the Medical University in Charleston, where their methods are more advanced? I thought that was the normal procedure for suspicious deaths.”

“That’s true,” Lamar said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, “but our coroner insisted on taking a look, since we don’t get many cases like this. Some of our law enforcement people stood in on the exam, so it was a learning experience for them.”

Once again, Wes and Annie exchanged glances. She frowned. “You’re saying my husband’s remains were not immediately sent to Charleston because the local coroner decided to use them for teaching purposes?” She didn’t give Lamar a chance to respond. “Good grief, Lamar, the man isn’t even a bona fide medical examiner. Did you not consider Charles’s family or how anxious we might be to find out what happened to him?”

Lamar shifted uncomfortably in his chair and stared at the floor. “Annie, I’m sorry to say it gets worse.” He shook his head sadly, and it was obvious he did not want to tell her.

“Why don’t we stop beating around the bush here and get to the point?” Wes suggested to the man.

Lamar continued staring at the floor. “Annie, I regret to have to tell you we’ve, uh, lost your husband’s remains.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Annie sat there for a moment, unsure she’d heard Lamar correctly or even understood what he’d just said. “Would you run that by me again?” she said.

“An employee from the morgue left for the Medical University in Charleston last night with the remains, and, well, to make a long story short, the vehicle was carjacked.”

“What?” she shrieked.

“You’re not serious,” Wes said. “How could something like that have happened?”

“A passing motorist found the driver unconscious on the side of the highway. He’d been robbed and hit over the head. The van was gone.”

Annie gave an enormous sigh. “Do you have any idea what this is going to do to Charles’s mother?”

“I plan to go over there and break the news to her once I leave here. I know it’s a lot to ask under the circumstances, but I was sort of hoping you’d go with me.”

“Forget it,” Annie said. “She blames me for Charles’s disappearance and refuses to speak to me, especially after I told her he left me for another woman. I seriously doubt she’d even let me in the door.”

“Do you know who he was seeing?”

Annie shook her head.

“Hold it, Lamar,” Wes said. “I don’t think this is a good time to question Annie, but if you insist, then I’m going to advise her not to answer without an attorney present.”

“I am
not
afraid to answer questions,” Annie said, “and the sooner we get it over with the better.” She looked at Lamar. “What do you want to know?”

Lamar glanced from Wes to her. “Would you mind describing your relationship with your husband?”

“I was planning to file for a divorce, if that tells you anything.”

“Did Charles know?”

“We hadn’t discussed it, but I don’t think he would have been surprised. Our marriage had been deteriorating for months because I refused to sell this house. Charles obviously thought I’d change my mind if someone offered enough money, so he began looking for a buyer behind my back. He found one willing to offer top dollar for it, but I refused to budge. The marriage pretty much went to hell after that. It wasn’t long before I learned he was seeing somebody.”

“How did you find out?”

Annie was not going to drag Danny into it. “I just knew.”

“And you can’t think of anyone it could have been? A friend or co-worker maybe?” Lamar added hopefully.

“Annie has already answered that question,” Wes said. “I think she’s been through enough for one day. Besides, you and your officers have a missing corpse to find.”

As Lamar closed his notebook and stood, he avoided looking at Wes. “I’m sorry to have been the bearer of bad news, Annie, and I appreciate your answering my questions. I’ll call the minute we find, uh, you know. I’ll just see myself out.”

Theenie entered the room a few minutes later with Danny right behind. “Is everything okay?”

Annie stood and forced a smile she didn’t feel. “He just wanted to touch base with me, let me know how the investigation is going.” She wasn’t ready to discuss all she’d learned.

“Are you sure that’s all it was?” Danny asked, his gaze going to Wes.

Annie was amazed that Danny could read her so well. “I wish you’d stop worrying,” she said.

Danny slung one arm over Annie’s shoulder as they walked toward the kitchen. “Good news. I plan to finish the floors today,” he said. “But you know how I hate to work on an empty stomach, and I just happened to notice you were getting ready to make your famous blueberry waffles.”

Wes arrived at Eve Fortenberry’s house later that morning. She still wore her bathrobe, and her eyes were red and swollen. “I thought I’d stop by and see how you’re doing,” he said.

She shrugged and stepped back so he could enter. “I’ve been better,” she said, “but that shouldn’t come as a surprise.” She motioned for him to sit as she sank into a lumpy chair. “Chief Tevis came by earlier.”

“I figured he would.” Wes paused. “You didn’t mention our arrangement to him?”

“Of course not. I’m counting on you to do the job he’s incapable of.” She shook her head. “I have never seen such incompetence. How am I supposed to give my son a proper burial if there are no remains?” She reached for a cigarette. Her hands trembled so badly she could barely get it to her mouth to light it. “You can bet I told Lamar exactly what I thought of him.” She shook her head and smoked in silence. Every once in a while she swiped at a tear. “I think I’m still in shock.”

“Is there someone I can call to come stay with you?”

“No. I’m better off dealing with it in my own way.” She looked at him. “Does Annie know?”

“Yeah. She was as mad as hell, but she insisted on answering any questions Lamar had, because she’s as eager to get to the bottom of this as you are.” It was clear Eve didn’t believe him. “You know Annie has always been convinced Charles was seeing another woman.”

Eve hitched her chin high. “If he was, then Annie has no one to blame but herself. She broke her word. She promised to get rid of that monstrosity of a house, and then changed her mind after Charles went to the trouble of finding a buyer.”

“Are you sure that’s the way it was?”

“Charles sat right there in that chair and told me the whole thing. I’ve never known him to lie to me.”

“Annie claimed she never agreed to it,” Wes said.

“And you believe her?”

“The only thing I know for certain is that Annie Fortenberry is incapable of murder.”

The woman made a sound of disgust. “I should have known she’d get to you. Annie has a way with men. Believe me, I tried to warn Charles, but he wouldn’t listen.” She studied Wes. “You’re falling for her.”

“Eve, think for a minute. As much as you dislike Annie, she may be telling the truth about another woman being in the picture. What if it’s true? What if that woman had something to do with your son’s death? Wouldn’t you want to know?”

“The only thing I know for sure is that you’ve lost your objectivity, which means you’re not going to do me any good. But let me warn you, you’re going to look foolish when Annie gets tired of you. The only thing she cares about is that house. It’s all she has now that her grandmother is gone. Her own parents didn’t want her.”

Wes’s eyes became flat and emotionless. “I only have one goal,” he said after a moment, “and that is learning the truth.”

Eve’s grief turned to anger. “I don’t need your services anymore. You’re fired. You need to go back to Columbia where you belong.”

Wes shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. I intend to stay as long as it takes to find the real murderer.” He stood, reached into his pocket, and handed her an envelope that had been carefully folded in half. “You’ll find my note of resignation inside,” he said, “as well as a full refund of everything you’ve paid me. I’m really sorry about your son.”

He let himself out the door without another word.

Annie was throwing on her clothes when she heard Wes leave on his motorcycle the next morning. She had slept fitfully, tossing and turning, finally dozing off as dawn approached, only to awaken after 7:00 AM, two hours behind schedule. She was still buttoning her shirt as she hurried down the hall toward the stairs. She had the mother of all headaches, and she could feel the tension in her neck building, the muscles so tight they felt as though they’d snap.

Theenie was up and about when Annie rushed into the kitchen. The woman had already made a pan of homemade biscuits, scrambled a bowl of eggs, and was in the process of slicing the ham they’d had for dinner the night before.

“Goodness,” Annie said. “You’ve already done everything.”

“I figured you could use a little help, what with all that’s going on. Now, sit,” Theenie ordered, pointing to Annie’s usual chair. “I’ll get your coffee. From the looks of it, you could use some.”

Annie was only too happy to oblige. Theenie poured a cup and carried it to the table. “Lovelle and I had a talk last night,” the woman said. “From now on we’re going to start pitching in more.”

“Don’t be silly. You two do enough around here as it is. Besides, it’s my job. That’s why you pay rent.”

“You have far too many duties for one person, and Lovelle and I know darn good and well you don’t charge us near enough to live here.”

The doorbell rang. “Who on earth could that be?” Annie said, checking the wall clock.

“It’s probably Danny,” Theenie said, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “He said he’d stop by on his way to another job to see how the floor looked. I don’t know why he’d use the front door, though.” When Annie made a move to get up, Theenie motioned for her to sit. “I’ll get it,” she said.

Annie kept her seat and sipped her coffee and wondered what she’d done with the tablet she made her daily to-do list on. She had started to get up when an anxious-looking Theenie walked into the kitchen with Lamar. Two officers followed. One was middle-aged and balding, the other one much younger. He wore a buzz cut and looked as though he was fresh out of police academy.

“Good morning, Lamar,” Annie said, noting that Theenie was already gnawing her bottom lip. “I assume you’re here to tell me you found what you were looking for.” She was deliberately being vague since she hadn’t told Theenie.

He blushed. “We’re still working on it.” He glanced at the toe of his shoe. “I’m here on official police business, Annie.”

“Meaning?”

He raised his head. “I just came from the magistrate’s house. I have a search warrant here,” he said, handing her a sheet of paper. “Me and the boys need to check the premises.”

Annie stared at the warrant in disbelief. “You’re going to search my house? Why?”

“We’re looking for anything that might help us in the investigation of your husband’s murder.”

“And you think you’re going to find it
here
?”

“Excuse me,” Theenie said, squaring her shoulders, “but this is beginning to sound like harassment to me, waltzing in here at seven-thirty in the morning.”

“Just doing my job, Miss Theenie,” he said.

“Eve Fortenberry is behind this, isn’t she?” Annie said. “You’re trying to pacify her because she flipped out when she learned you’d lost Charles’s remains.”

“What do you mean he lost Charles’s remains?” Theenie asked in a bewildered tone. She looked at Lamar. “Did you forget where you put them?”

“I’d rather not go into it right now,” Lamar said.

“You’re wasting your time,” Annie told him, “but feel free to search all you like.”

“But don’t you dare mess up Annie’s house,” Theenie said, looking from Lamar to the officers. “She works very hard to keep things nice and orderly around here.”

“I’ll need you to round up all your guests,” Lamar said.

Annie frowned. “You mean wake them?”

He sighed. “I’m sorry, Annie. Please ask them to come down.”

She gave him a hard look. “You’re really desperate for leads, aren’t you?”

Once again he looked away. “I’m as eager as you are to get this over with.”

“I’ll wake the others,” Theenie said in a huff as she hurried toward the stairs.

Lamar and his men were quiet as they waited. Annie ignored them and poured another cup of coffee. She found her tablet and sat down at the table, where she began making her list, but her hands shook so badly she could barely hold her pen, much less write.

Destiny was the first to enter the kitchen, shrugging on her bathrobe. Lovelle and Theenie were right behind her. “What the hell is the meaning of this?” Destiny demanded in a hostile voice. “Why would you even think of barging into Annie’s place with a search warrant?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Lovelle said, also wearing a bathrobe. “What could you possibly hope to find?”

“I’ll tell you what he’s looking for,” Destiny said. “He’s trying to find anything he can so he can pin a murder rap on Annie because he has no other leads. Fat chance, Lamar.”

“I would appreciate it if you ladies cooperate and remain in the kitchen while my men conduct the search,” Lamar said, not bothering to address their questions.

“We’d like to start with your bedroom if you would just show us where it is real quick, Mrs. Fortenberry,” the older officer said.

Annie shook her head but stood and led them to the stairs. After reaching the second floor, the officers paused at the open door to the bathroom and glanced inside. “My room is at the end of the hall,” she said as they followed her.

“What’s behind these doors?” the younger officer asked, nodding toward two closed doors that were on opposite sides of the hall.

“They’re bedrooms,” Annie answered, not bothering to stop. “Both are presently rented. This is where I sleep,” she said once they’d reached her room. “Don’t let the frills and ruffles fool you; it’s also where I hide my murder weapons.” The younger officer looked amused.

“This is the room you shared with your late husband?” the other one asked.

“No. I moved out of the master bedroom once he, um, disappeared.”

“We’d like to have a look inside that room as well.”

“I just told you it’s rented. The tenant isn’t here at the moment.”

“We’ll be careful not to disturb anything,” he said. “You may return to the kitchen,” he added politely.

Annie knew it was useless to argue, so she did as she was told. She found Lamar sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in front of him. Destiny sat at the other end, glaring. Lovelle sipped her coffee quietly.

Theenie looked at Lamar. “When I lose things, which is often, I usually have to write down each place I went that day.”

“I beg your pardon?” Lamar said.

“I was referring to Charles Fortenberry’s remains.”

Suddenly a door slammed upstairs. Peaches raced down the stairs, her fur standing up on her back. She jumped onto one of the empty chairs and curled into a tight ball.

“Who else is in the house?” Lamar asked.

“Nobody,” Annie muttered.

“I clearly heard—”

“It’s the spirit,” Destiny snapped. “If you don’t believe it, go look. You won’t find anyone up there. Anyone who is alive,” she added.

Lamar just looked at her as if unsure what to say or do. He took a sip of his coffee, eyeing Destiny over the rim of his cup.

An hour passed. Annie thrummed her fingers on the table. “How much longer is this going to take?” she said, clearly annoyed. “I have a lot to do.”