Leann Sweeney - The Cat, the Lady and the Liar

Belle cast a glance at Ritaestelle. “This is a tad awkward.”

“Do not feel that way,” Ritaestelle said. “I have come to understand that something went quite wrong with my family a long time ago. I chose to pretend. I chose to look the other way. I can no longer do that.”

Belle cleared her throat. “You want to know what I saw? Or what my cousin told me?”

“Both,” Tom said.

“Guess we should start with my cousin Ronnie.” Belle looked at Tom. “He’s the one who married Muriel. Loved her, too. He never cared about the family money, but apparently Ritaestelle’s sister-in-law Justine accused him of just that. Said who else would marry Muriel if it wasn’t for her money?”

Oh boy. Why not get right to the heart of the matter, Belle? I thought. But if this bothered Ritaestelle, she didn’t let it show.

“Anyone else have issues with your cousin?” Tom asked.

Belle didn’t look at Ritaestelle when she said, “Ronnie was the one with the issues. He felt like Ritaestelle wouldn’t give him the time of day. Same thing with her brother, rest his soul.” She looked Ritaestelle straight in the eye. “He never felt part of the family. You were just too busy.”

Ritaestelle closed her eyes and nodded slowly. “I have come to contemplate that very issue. I reached out to the needy in the community when the neediest of all were right next to me every day.”

Belle’s already rosy cheeks turned a deeper shade. “Please don’t take what I’ve said the wrong way. You have done some fine things. Ronnie could have chosen another path. Sought guidance from our pastor. Seen a marriage counselor. Cheating on his wife? There’s no excuse for that. I told him as much, too.”

“What else did you observe about the family?” Tom asked.

Belle pondered the question for a few seconds. “I must say Augusta was always ready to tell it like it was. I appreciated that about her. But I also sensed some jealousy on her part. She was bothered that Muriel landed a husband and she hadn’t.”

“Did the cousins seem jealous of Ritaestelle?” I asked.

“You want my take, they were scared and jealous,” Belle said.

“Scared?” Ritaestelle sounded genuinely surprised.

“Scared you’d cut them off. You and your brother held the purse strings, plus those two did like to be in your company. Lord knows they weren’t the prettiest or most popular girls in school, were they?” Belle laughed, her gaze far off. “When you’re not pretty or popular, you tend to want to hang around those that are. And you and your brother were certainly the most popular pair in Woodcrest.”

“Probably because of the family name, not because of our personalities,” Ritaestelle said.

“Why, I never thought I’d hear you sell yourself short. You must feel very troubled,” Belle said.

“These past few months have worn me down, Belle,” Ritaestelle said. “My reputation as an honest woman has been tarnished. All I can say is, some person knew exactly how to get to me.”

“And had the access to do it,” Tom said. “That limits the possibilities. I know that you don’t want to go home, but can you call one of your cousins and ask that the people who live in the house be available for interviews?”

“I’ll telephone George. He will make sure you have access to anything you need,” Ritaestelle said.

“I forgot about the butler and the housekeeper. We’ll need to talk to them.” Tom looked at Belle. “Let’s get down to some real dirt, now. What have you heard?”

Belle’s lips twisted into a pucker as she bit the side her mouth. She glanced at Ritaestelle.

“Come on. This woman is tough. She can take it.” Tom lifted his cup and drained what was left of his coffee.

“People think you did it, Ritaestelle,” Belle said softly. “They say you killed Evie Preston because she wouldn’t cover up for your shoplifting anymore.”

“Do you believe that?” Ritaestelle said.

“No. And here’s why. If you put up with that bunch of freeloaders living with you, and you never murdered one of them, why in the heck would you kill a girl you’d only known for what? A year, tops? Doesn’t make sense.” Belle nodded. “And that’s the truth.”

Ritaestelle smiled. “I always did like you, Belle Lowry. Thank you for your honesty.”

“We’ve got to get answers,” I said. The thought of helping Tom no longer seemed quite so daunting. I could always count on Belle to say things that just plain made sense.

We finished our breakfast and coffee and walked outside, with Tom supporting Ritaestelle. This day promised to be a scorcher. The sign above the bank across the street told us that even though it was a little after ten in the morning, the temperature was already eighty-five degrees.

Just as Tom was helping Ritaestelle into the front passenger seat of his Prius, Candace and Chief Shelton hurried toward us.

“Glad we caught y’all.” Candace eyed me and mouthed the words, “We’re okay.” She certainly looked less stressed than she had when she left my house last night.

“Caught? That could be taken more than one way,” Tom said.

“Don’t be funny, Tom. We’d like to talk to Miss Longworth for a few minutes,” Candace said.

“Is something wrong?” Ritaestelle said.

“Not any more wrong than it already is,” Shelton said. “But I don’t think you want to discuss matters outside in this heat.”

I wouldn’t want to either if I were wearing a blue suit like you are, I thought. Bet she wore those slacks to avoid the whole pantyhose thing.

“I believe I have told you everything I know,” Ritaestelle said.

“She’s done talking.” Tom looked down at Ritaestelle in the passenger seat of his car. “Buckle up, Miss Longworth. Wouldn’t want to give these officers any excuse to haul you down the street to the police station.” He shut the car door.

Candace, hands on hips, looked steaming mad. “What is this about, Tom?”

But Tom matched her with some anger of his own. “This is about the two of you bullying this woman. Do you honestly believe she had the strength to hit a vital young woman so hard that she knocked her out? Where’s the common sense in your investigation, huh, Candace?”

Candace’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

Shelton blurted, “Okay, so you’ve got a point. Plus we know she was drugged. Her urine test proved it.”

“How did you get access to her medical test results?” Tom said.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Maybe now they’d start listening to Ritaestelle.

“We had a warrant.” Candace’s tone was flat. “Remember that little thing called probable cause from your police days, Tom? Miss Longworth found a body. Regardless of what you think or what Miss Longworth thinks, I’m doing this the right way. I’m collecting and following the evidence.”

“I know you are, Candace.” I looked up at Tom. “And you know that, too, right?”

Tom smiled. “Yeah, I do know. Not easy, is it, Candace?”

She squinted at him for a second, and then cracked a smile herself. “Tom Stewart, you are gonna pay for this one day.”

“You’re doing a damn fine job, Deputy Carson. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have this little PI assignment.” Tom turned to me. “Come on. We’ve got another stop to make.”

I opened the back passenger door, and Tom started for the driver’s side.

Shelton said, “Wait. When will Ritaestelle be coming home? Her family has been asking after her.”

As Tom opened the car door, he said, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Chief? But she’s staying away from Woodcrest for now.”

As we drove away, Ritaestelle said, “I am unclear about that particular interaction, but I do appreciate you speaking up for me, Mr. Stewart.”