Tragic Toppings (26 page)

“Her boss decided to make it a three-day meeting, so she’s staying overnight in Charlotte.”

Jake stared at me for a second before he spoke. “Hang on a second. She’s less than two hours from home and she’s staying in a hotel?”

“The best place in Charlotte, as a matter of fact. She explained it to me on the phone. It’s got something to do with the company having too much cash and her department being under budget for their fiscal year. If they don’t spend it this time, they won’t get as much the next.”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Neither do I, but it makes sense the way she explained it.” I took a few steps, and then asked, “What do you make of Stu showing up like that?”

“I expected as much,” he said. “I’m just sorry he slipped between my fingers like that.”

“Jake, is there something you’re not telling me?”

He appeared to think about it, and then said, “Suzanne, there’s something in my gut telling me that Stu is the killer. I’ve been wrong before, but not often enough to matter. I’m not a fan of Orson’s alibi, and I think any of the three women are capable of it, but I’m going to go after Stu until I uncover something better.”

I stopped in my tracks. “You honestly still think Angelica could have done it? She has an alibi, and what’s more, she’s our friend.”

“Just because we’re close to her doesn’t mean we can ignore her as a suspect. Who is giving her the alibi, really? Her daughters.”

“You’re telling me you can see her hoisting a body up that tree by herself,” I said.

“She could do it, especially if she were motivated. But that’s something else I’ve been thinking about. I’m beginning to think that whoever did this had to have had help. It takes a great deal of effort to hang a man that way. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

“Okay, you’ve got me curious about how you actually know that,” I said as we approached his car.

He didn’t want to tell me, I could see it in his eyes, but he finally gave in. “While you were selling donuts this morning, George and I tried a little experiment. I didn’t want to tell you about it before the funeral, but I can now. We took sacks approximately Tim’s weight and hung them from the same branch where you found him.”

I couldn’t imagine such a morbid test, but I could see the validity of it. “What did you discover?”

“George couldn’t do it because of his leg, and to be honest with you, it wasn’t all that easy for me. One woman couldn’t have done it, but two working together could have.”

I watched the three girlfriends break up, and wondered if Betsy and Gina could have done it together. Before the funeral, I wouldn’t have bet they could do anything that required cooperation, but I wasn’t so sure now. “Could it have been a woman and a man?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not, but it’s just idle speculation right now.” Jake’s phone rang, and I’d watched him turn it off when the funeral started, so he must have turned it back on when I hadn’t been watching.

“I’ve got to get this,” he said as he stepped away. “Hello? Hello? There’s lousy reception here. I’m going to walk down the hill a little.”

As soon as he was gone, I was surprised to see Betsy walking quickly toward me. “Suzanne,” she said, just a little out of breath. “We need to talk.”

“Again, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said almost automatically.

“That’s fine. There’s something I need to tell you. I’ve been afraid to say anything up until now, but I can’t live my life this way.”

“What is it?” One look in her eyes told me it was deadly serious.

“It’s about what happened to poor, sweet Tim. He didn’t deserve the end he got. Something has to be done to correct it.”

“Betsy,” Gina said as she approached. “There you are.”

Betsy said quickly, “Meet me at the Patriot’s Tree in an hour. There’s something I have to show you.”

Gina was with us then, and she put an arm around Betsy’s shoulder. Was it protective, or was it intended to secure her silence?

“We were just talking about what a lovely funeral it was,” Betsy said, clearly trying to distract Gina.

“So many people came out for it,” I said.

“He was loved by many, but no one loved him more than the three of us.” Gina turned to Betsy and added, “Come on, the car’s waiting for us. We’re going with the Hargraves family.” Gina turned to me and added, “Thanks for coming, Suzanne.”

“This was something I needed to do,” I answered.

As Betsy was led away to the car, she looked back at me one last time.

She didn’t look sad, though.

She looked scared.

CHAPTER 17

“I’ve got to go,” Jake said when he came back up the hill. “There’s been a double homicide in Greensboro, and they need me right away.”

“Jake, Betsy just told me that we need to talk at the Patriot’s Tree in an hour. Is there any way you can wait that long and go with me?”

He bit his lip for a second, and then said, “I wish I could, but this is critical. Evidently the victims were friends of the governor, so my vacation has been officially cancelled. Suzanne, promise me that you won’t go alone. I’m not crazy enough to ask you to skip it entirely, but you have to be safe.”

“Who am I going to take with me? Grace is in Charlotte, remember?”

“I’m not sure what kind of backup she’d be anyway. Call Chief Martin. No, that won’t work, he’ll scare Betsy off if she sees him with you. Besides, he’s out looking for Stu, so he doesn’t have time to go. You could always take George.”

What he said made sense, and I knew he had no choice but to leave. “I’ll do it, for you.”

“Thank you.” He kissed me quickly, and then said, “This may be kind of corny, but I got you this.”

He took a greeting card from his suit jacket and handed it to me. “Open it later when you’re alone.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and then asked, “Can you get a ride back to your place? I need to be there as soon as I can manage it.”

I spotted Momma talking to the preacher who’d delivered the eulogy. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will.” I was happy he took the time to kiss me again, no matter how fast he did it. “I’ll call you when I can, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Be careful,” I said, as he got in the car.

“Right back at you,” he said with a smile.

I watched him drive off, and then I found my mother. After she finished speaking with the preacher, I stepped up. “Can I have a ride home?”

“What happened to Jake?” she asked as she looked around.

“He got called in on a case in Greensboro,” I explained. “Duty called.”

“Of course you can ride with me.”

By the time we got back home and I changed, Momma was off on one of her errands. I never asked where she was going, and she never volunteered the information. I’d been trying to call George since the funeral was over, but I hadn’t been able to reach him.

When it was finally time to meet Betsy, I considered just not showing up at all to appease Jake, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’d be careful, but there was no way I was going to stand Betsy up. She had something important to tell me, and I didn’t want to let her down.

*   *   *

As I neared the tree, my gaze went to the upper branches almost involuntarily. Would I ever be able to look at this tree again without seeing Tim hanging from it? Looking back to the ground, I saw that someone was sitting in the shadows, leaning up against the trunk of a nearby tree that was well away from the main part of the park. Perfect. Someone had chosen the worst time in the world to take a break at my rendezvous site. Should I try to run them off, or just wait there patiently for Betsy? As I approached, I suddenly realized that it just might be the woman I was supposed to meet. “Betsy? Is that you?”

There was no response. Could she have come here early and fallen asleep? I didn’t blame her if she had. The past few days must have been horrible for her, and from the look of her at the funeral, no amount of concealer would hide those dark circles under her eyes. I thought about letting her rest, but she’d asked me for the meeting, so I couldn’t just leave her there.

“Betsy,” I repeated, much louder this time.

When she didn’t respond, I felt a tingling on the back of my neck.

As I walked around the tree, I found her there, her eyes shut, but not from napping. There was an empty pill bottle on the ground, and a note pinned to her blouse.

It said, “I’m so sorry. I killed him, and I can’t live with the pain.”

*   *   *

I backed up, horrified, and tripped over a tree root. A few leaves and twigs caught in my blue jean cuffs, and I scratched one hand on a rock as I tried to catch myself. Stumbling back to my feet, I called 911.

“I found a body at the Patriot’s Tree,” I said breathlessly.

“Again? Don’t touch anything. Someone will be right there.”

The chief showed up three minutes later, and I pointed to Betsy’s body.

He took the scene in, and then shook his head sadly. “She couldn’t live with what she’d done. I guess that takes care of that.”

“How could she have done it?” I’d meant the murder, not the suicide, but the chief misunderstood.

“It happens, Suzanne. I’m just sorry you had to find another body.”

Officer Grant came up behind us, and Chief Martin said to him, “Walk her home, and then seal off the area. I’ll call the coroner.”

As the officer, who was becoming a friend of mine, walked me back to the cottage, I said, “I don’t think she killed herself.”

“Why not?”

“She asked me to meet her here,” I explained. “Why would she do that if she was just going to end her life?”

“Maybe she wanted to confess to you what she’d done,” Grant said. “It wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Can you imagine how low you must be to kill another person?”

“I can’t,” I said. “I just didn’t think Betsy was the type.”

“I’m not sure there is a type,” Grant said as we got to the porch. “Can you call someone to stay with you? I noticed your mom’s car isn’t in the driveway. Is Grace anywhere around?”

“She’s in Charlotte. Don’t worry, I’ll be all right.”

He looked at me for a moment, and then said, “It’s bad enough finding one body, but you’ve found two in one week. I’m truly sorry you had to see that. If you need to talk to someone, you can always give me a call.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I just might take you up on it.”

When I walked into the house, it all felt surreal. Why had Betsy done it? Had jealousy driven her to murder, and then the guilt of her action forced her into killing herself? It was hard to believe. I tried to call Jake, but his line was busy. No doubt he was already working the case. I left a voice mail, then lay down on the couch, blue jeans, shoes, and dirty T-shirt from my fall, and tried to wrap my head around what had happened.

I never believed I could do it, but I must have nodded off at some point. The next thing I knew, my mother was standing over me with a frown on her face.

“Suzanne, why did I just see three police cars leave the park?”

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “Betsy Hanks killed herself at the Patriot’s Tree, and I found the body. Again.”

Her harsh expression instantly softened as she said, “You poor child. That’s horrible.”

“I don’t believe it’s true,” I said.

Momma looked confused by the statement. “That you found them both? Are you in some kind of denial?”

“No, I’ll never forget seeing the bodies. I just don’t think Betsy killed herself. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Does it ever? Let me get you a glass of lemonade and we can talk about it.”

After we spent a little time sitting together on the couch, I started to feel a little better. To her credit, she hadn’t said a word about the state of my outfit.

“Thanks, Momma,” I said. I glanced at the clock and asked, “Isn’t it time you started getting ready for your date?”

She looked surprised by the suggestion. “I’m not going.”

I got up from the couch and stretched. “Yes you are.”

Momma wasn’t going to budge. “Suzanne, your system had another big shock this afternoon, added to attending Tim’s funeral. I’m not about to desert you in your time of need.”

I patted her shoulder. “I’m not having a time of need. Was I shocked to find Betsy like that? Of course I was. Do I need you here to hold my hand? I’m okay. I promise I am.”

“I can’t imagine that you really are,” she said.

I wasn’t getting anywhere. It was time for a different approach. “You haven’t called your date off yet, have you?”

She frowned. “No, I was just getting ready to call Phillip, though.”

I took her hands in mine. “Do me a favor and go through with it. Momma, I know you’re having trouble getting back into dating. I’m afraid if you stop now, you’ll never try again. This is important.”

“So are you,” she said. I could swear I saw tears start to form in her eyes.

“I know you love me, but you’ve got to trust me on this. Even if the real shock of everything that’s happened hasn’t hit me yet, I need some time alone to come to grips with everything. You’d be doing me a favor by going out with Chief Martin tonight.”

She looked a little flustered, almost as though I’d taken away a perfect excuse for her to delay her date. “I’m sure he’s busy with the new case.”

“He doesn’t think it was murder, remember? I’m sure he thinks it’s all wrapped up now.”

Momma looked long and hard at me. “But you don’t. That much is clear.”

“I could be wrong. Stranger things have happened. I can’t see Betsy killing Tim or herself, but do we ever know why people do what they do? I’m just not sure, and I don’t want to overanalyze it. If you stay, we’re going to dissect this up and down, and in the end, I’ll be no closer to accepting it than I am right now. I just need some time, and a little space.”

“I’ll call to see if we’re still on, then,” she said as she reached for the house telephone. I was surprised when she didn’t have to look up the number of the police in the phone book before she called. “Phillip, do you need to cancel tonight? No? Are you certain? I don’t want to pull you away from anything important.” She lowered her voice, and then said, “No, she says she’s fine.” After a moment, her volume was back to normal. “Very well, I’ll see you soon.”