Full Bloom

  Norm nodded as though it made sense. “Donna and I were both saddened to learn of Charles’s death,” he said as though loath to use the word murder, “and the charges brought against you. I don’t know what Lamar Tevis is thinking. If he weren’t related to half the big shots in this town he never would have been hired in the first place.”

  “Honey, what are you doing home this time of day?” Donna interrupted.

  “Kevin has his six-weeks checkup in half an hour,” Norm said. “I thought I’d go with you, see how the boy is doing. Don’t tell me he’s napping again. You promised to keep him awake as much as possible today so he’d sleep tonight.”

  “It’s not as easy as you think,” Donna said.

  Annie heard the tension in their voices and suspected the couple wasn’t getting much rest these days, what with a newborn in the house.

  “That boy eats every two hours like clockwork,” Norm said. “By the time we finally fall asleep again he’s crying to be fed.”

  “I have a cat like that,” Annie replied. She glanced at her watch. “Wes and I should be going so you and Donna can make your appointment.”

  “Why did you want to see me?” Norm asked.

  “Huh?” Annie blinked. “Oh well, it’s probably going to sound silly. It’s about Charles,” she said. “I just wanted to ask you whether you know if he was having problems with anyone at work. Or any of his customers,” she added, wondering if Norm would fall for her story.

  “You want to know if he had any enemies,” Norm said. “Absolutely not. He was well liked at the office, and a genuine asset to the company.” Norm looked thoughtful. “We miss him, Annie, even after all this time.”

  She smiled. “Thank you. It’s nice to hear. But if you think of something that might help—”

  “I’ll call right away,” he said.

  Donna and Norm walked them to the door. Norm put his hand on Annie’s arm. “Annie, I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but now that Charles has been officially declared dead, I want you to know he had a sizable life insurance policy. Once you get this legal business behind you, and I have no doubt you will, you’ll be eligible to collect.”

  Wes drove the motorcycle to a small park and pulled into an empty slot. “Why are we stopping?” Annie asked once he’d cut the engine.

  “Climb off. I want to talk to you.”

  Annie did as she was told. “If this is about Charles’s life insurance policy, I know nothing about it.”

  “How can you not know about your husband’s life insurance?”

  “I mean, I knew he had it, but I don’t know what Norm means by ‘sizable.’ Charles was in perfect health. I can’t see him paying out-of-pocket for a larger policy than what his company provided.”

  Wes remained silent.

  “Think about it, Wes. If I was hoping to collect on Charles’s insurance, why would I have buried him in the backyard, where he wasn’t likely to be found? If I had killed him, knowing there was money to collect, I would have put his body in his car before driving it to the Savannah airport. You can’t collect insurance on a person who has been listed as missing. Jeez, even I know that. And why all these questions?” she demanded. “I feel like you’re accusing me.”

  “Because sooner or later you may have to face a jury. You’d better get used to it.”

  Jimbo and Otto from Otto’s Cabs managed to rouse Erdle. “Man, you look like shit,” Otto said.

  “I think he’s still drunk,” Jimbo said. “I probably shouldn’t have given him anything else to drink, but he had a bad case of the shakes.”

  “You’re killing yourself, Thorney,” Otto said. “Come on; let me help you up.” Together the men managed to get Erdle outside and into the cab. “You’re not going to puke in my cab like last time, are you?” Otto asked.

  Erdle shook his head.

  Otto took his place in the driver’s seat and started the engine. “I’ll have you home in no time.”

  “My lan’lady is goin’ t’kick me out for sure this time,” Erdle managed weakly.

  Otto gave a grunt. “I doubt it. She has too many problems of her own.”

  “Huh?”

  Otto glanced at Erdle in the rearview mirror. “Don’t you ever read the newspaper?” When Erdle shook his head, Otto went on. “She’s been charged with murdering her husband.”

  Erdle just stared.

  “Yeah, man. They took her to jail. She’s out now, but there’s going to be a trial and everything.” When Erdle didn’t respond, Otto glanced up at the rearview mirror once more. “You’re sweating like a pig. Hang in there, okay?”

  “Take me to the p’lice department,” Erdle said.

  “Say what?”

  “Take me,” Erdle demanded. “I got t’clear up some biz-ness. I’s impor’ant.”

  Ten minutes later Otto pulled up in front of the police station. Erdle opened the back door, stepped out, and tripped on the curb. He fell facedown on the sidewalk. Blood spurted from his nose.

  “Dammit to hell!” Otto said, slamming out of the car. He pulled Erdle to his feet. “Hold on.” Otto yanked the door open on the passenger side and grabbed a box of tissues. He yanked out several and handed them to Erdle. The blood soaked through the tissue in a matter of seconds. “Here, take the box,” Otto said, frowning. “Man, I ain’t never seen you look this bad.”

  Erdle swayed. “I’m ’kay,” he said. He turned and slowly staggered toward the double doors.

  Inside, the dispatcher gaped as Erdle stepped up to the counter. “Sir, are you okay?”

  Erdle swayed again and grabbed the ledge to keep from falling. “I need to see Tevis.”

  The woman sniffed. “You have been drinking.”

  “I know who murdered that fellow.”

  On the other side of the counter, an officer looked up from a file cabinet. He joined the dispatcher. “What’s your name, sir?”

  “Erdle Thorney. T-h-o-r-n-e-y.”

  “And you’re here to discuss a murder?”

  Erdle nodded, the box of tissues tucked beneath one arm, a wad of tissue pressed to his nose. His bottom lip was beginning to swell.

  “The victim’s name?” the officer asked.

  “Fortenberry. Y’all just dug him up the other day.”

  The dispatcher picked up her phone and punched a number. “Chief, you need to get out here. There’s a guy says he has information on the Fortenberry case.”

  Tevis wasted no time. “Erdle?” he said. “What in tarnation happened to you? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

  Erdle shook his head. “You arrested the wrong person. I’m the man you want.”

  Tevis frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m the one who did it. I murdered Charles Fortenberry.”

  Theenie raced out the front door and down the steps the minute Wes pulled up on his bike. From the look on the woman’s face, Annie could see that something was terribly wrong.

  “Erdle’s in jail!” Theenie said.

  “In jail?” Annie groaned. “Please tell me he wasn’t driving drunk! He knows better.”

  “No, nothing like that. You’re not going to believe it. He confessed to murdering Charles.”

  “What!” Annie almost fell off the bike. “But that’s impossible. He wasn’t even here that week.”

  “Well, of course he wasn’t,” Theenie said. “Don’t you see what he’s trying to do?”

  Annie slumped. Finally, she climbed from the bike. “He’s taking the rap so the charges against me will be dropped. What did Lamar say?”

  “I didn’t talk to him. Delores, the dispatcher, called me with the news. She and I used to play bingo together at the VFW once a week, until people started getting greedy and buying five and six cards at a time. I can barely keep up with one card. There’s just no fairness in that if you ask me.”

  Annie went on before the woman could go off on a tangent. “Has Erdle actually been charged?”

  “Delores said he was
too drunk to answer questions. Said Lamar put him in a cell to sleep it off. After Erdle threw up in the lobby.”

  “Oh, Jeez. I suppose I should go get him.”

  “Won’t do any good,” Theenie said. “Delores says he’s out cold. Said she’d call when he woke up. After Lamar questions him,” she added. “You ask me, they ought to take him over to the hospital and throw him in the detoxification unit.” Theenie began to fidget with her hands. “Oh, and Jamie called. I told her you and Wes were checking out a lead.” She looked from one to the other. “Did you find out anything?”

  “Still looking into it,” Wes said.

  Danny Gilbert pulled into the driveway and parked his truck. “What’s going on?” he asked, making his way toward them. “How come everybody looks worried?”

  Annie told him what was going on.

  Danny shook his head sadly. “I’m not surprised Erdle would try to protect you,” he said.

  “I need to call my attorney,” Annie said. All three followed her into the house, where Tchaikovsky blared from the ballroom. Annie did an eye roll. “Lovelle’s practicing her dance routine.” She dialed Nunamaker’s cell phone number and got his voice mail. After explaining the latest events, she hung up.

  The music stopped and Lovelle came into the room in a hot pink leotard and skirt. “Guess you heard the news,” she said to Annie, shaking her head in disgust. “I’m beginning to think Lamar earns bonus fishing days for everybody he locks up. Too bad he can’t find the real killer.”

  Wes excused himself and went upstairs.

  “This is probably bad timing,” Danny said to Annie, “but I was thinking maybe you’d like to see a movie tomorrow night. Might take your mind off your problems,” he added. “I’ll even buy you dinner beforehand.” When she didn’t respond, he leaned closer. “Annie?”

  “Uh? Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about Erdle. I need to drive over to the police station and find out what’s going on.”

  “I would drive you myself if I had time,” Danny said, “but I’m in the middle of a job. What do you say?”

  “You should go,” Theenie said. “You haven’t done anything fun in a long time. Maybe Lovelle and I will go out for a bite to eat.” Lovelle nodded in agreement.

  Annie smiled. “Sounds great, Danny,” she said, although it was the last thing on her mind at the moment. But she knew Danny wouldn’t give up until she agreed, and she had promised. “I should be paying your way after all the work you’ve done,” she said. “We had a deal.”

  He ruffled her hair playfully. “I just told you that so you’d agree to let me take care of the floors,” he said, “so I’m covering it.” He checked his wristwatch. “I’d better run. How about I pick you up tomorrow around five-thirty so we’ll have plenty of time to eat before the seven o’clock movie?”

  “I’ll be ready,” Annie said as Wes cleared the stairs. His camera hung from his neck.

  “I’m going out for a while,” he said. “Thought I’d take a few pictures since it’s such a nice day.”

  “What about lunch?” Annie asked.

  “I’ll grab a hot dog if I get hungry.” He started for the back door.

  “I’ll follow you out,” Danny said, telling the others good-bye. He waited until they’d cleared the back stairs. “You got a minute?” he asked.

  Wes paused and turned. “What’s up?”

  Danny hesitated. “I know it’s probably none of my business, but is anything going on between you and Annie?”

  Wes’s gaze turned cool. “Why do you ask?”

  “Simple. I don’t want to see her hurt. She’s been through a lot.”

  “What makes you think I’m interested in hurting her?”

  Danny frowned. “Do you always answer questions with a question?”

  “I appreciate your concern for Annie, but even if we were involved, I wouldn’t discuss it with you.”

  Danny’s jaw hardened. “I’ve already had to clean up after one man,” he said. “You have no idea how hurt Annie was when she found out Charles was cheating on her.”

  “Yet you didn’t waste any time telling her,” Wes said, and walked away.

  Wes parked his bike and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number, and a woman answered from the other end.

  “Hello, gorgeous. Do you miss me?”

  “Yeah, like a gunshot wound to the head,” she replied.

  “I need you to run a check on several people.”

  “And I’m going to do this because?”

  Wes grinned into the phone. “’Cause you’re hot for me.”

  “That would mean I have exceptionally bad taste in men. Give me their names.”

  Shortly after lunch, Annie walked into Lamar’s office without an invitation and found him admiring a new rod and reel. She planted both hands on her hips and gave him a no-nonsense look that told him she was not in a good mood. “I’ve come for Erdle.”

  “Look what my brother sent me for my birthday,” Lamar said, holding up his new toy. “Got a seventy-five-pound test line. Can you imagine pulling in a seventy-five-pound fish?”

  “Nope. And I don’t want to.”

  “Well, it would probably have to be a shark,” he said thoughtfully.

  Annie simply looked at him, thinking how scary it was to have someone like Lamar Tevis protecting the town. “I don’t have all day, Lamar.”

  “Oh boy, I can tell you’re still mad over that incident several days ago.”

  “Incident?” she said in disbelief. “You mean the one where you searched my home from top to bottom or the part where you arrested me for murder?”

  “Aw, Annie, I was just doing my job. Do you think I enjoyed it?” He shrugged when she remained silent. “Hey, if you’re here to yell at me I may as well tell you that Jamie Swift beat you to it. She and the mayor have already given me an earful.”

  “Frankie Fontana visited you?”

  “Oh yeah. I’ll probably lose my job before this mess is over. ’Course I’ll have more time to pursue my dreams.”

  Dreams? Lamar? Annie blinked. “That’s real special, Lamar, but why did you lock up Erdle?”

  “The man could barely walk when he came in, so one of my officers suggested he lie down. He confessed to your husband’s murder, but he couldn’t remember the details. When he woke up he had no idea where he was or how he’d gotten there.”

  “So you don’t consider him a suspect?”

  Lamar practiced casting his rod. “I’m undecided. I know how protective he is of you. If he thought Charles Fortenberry mistreated you in any way—”

  “You’re barking up the wrong tree, Lamar. Again,” she added. “Have you bothered to investigate the case further or are you just going to pin the murder on me and be done with it?”

  “The DA was the one who insisted on bringing you in, not me. It’s all about politics, Annie, but you didn’t hear it from me. As for your question, the answer is yes, I am considering other possibilities.”

  “But I’m still the main suspect.”

  “Technically, yes. But you got a dang good lawyer, so I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. Which reminds me, Cal Nunamaker said he has a ton of friends who love deep-sea fishing, and that I should dock my boat over on Hilton Head because people are willing to pay whatever it costs to catch the big one, especially if it’s business-related and they can write it off.”

  “Great. In the meantime, have you found my husband’s remains? And when are you going to take down that ugly crime scene tape? I’m losing business; I’ve got strangers running through my yard taking video—”

  “Annie, do you have any idea how much stress I’m under?” he said. “Eve Fortenberry calls some three or four times a day, yelling in my ear as loud as she can because she can’t have a funeral for her son without his remains. And when she doesn’t feel like yelling, she blows a whistle into the phone, and now I think I’ve got tinnitus. And did you know she’s offering a ten-thousand-dollar reward to the person who finds
her son’s, um, body parts?”

  “I could use ten grand,” Annie said to herself.

  Lamar pressed one hand against his forehead. “I’ve got TV and newspaper reporters hounding me day and night, crackpots calling saying aliens took Charles’s remains, and now CNN wants to do a special on me. They’re tired of focusing on big-city crimes and gangs. They want one of those touchy-feely stories about small towns with low crime rates, only we’re going to look bad on account everybody thinks you killed your husband and buried him in the backyard. That’s the kind of coldhearted big-city stuff CNN is trying to get away from. Dang, I wish this had never happened.”

  Annie sank into a chair and covered her face. Lamar leaned his fishing rod against the wall and paced. Annie wondered if Lamar would consider bringing in extra manpower to help with the investigation, wondered if he had even thought about the investigation. She sighed. “So what’s the plan?”

  “I’m going to let my agent handle it.”

  Annie looked up. “What?”

  “The CNN deal. If they want me they’re going to have to fight for me. They aren’t the only big dog in town; know what I mean?”

  Annie just looked at him, noted his gun. She wondered if he was allowed to keep real bullets in it. “I’d like to take Erdle home now.”

  Lamar shrugged. “You may as well. He’s so hung-over he can’t think straight, and he’s too sick to think of leaving town. I’ll question him once his stomach settles.”

  Ten minutes later, a slow-walking, slow-talking Erdle Thorney followed Annie to her car.

  “Are you out of your damn mind?” she demanded when he climbed into the front seat beside her and closed the door.

  “Please don’t yell,” he said, leaning his head against the side window. “I’ve had a rotten day. I think.”

  “It’s going to be a whole lot worse if you end up in prison for confessing to a crime you didn’t commit. Not that I don’t appreciate what you were trying to do,” she added.

  “How do you know I didn’t do it? I had just as much opportunity as you did. I never liked Charles anyway.”