Миранда Джеймс - Fixing To Die

Benjy had joined her. “Peanut will probably need to do his business,” he said to An’gel. “Officer, Peanut is the dog, and he’ll need walking for a few minutes.”

“I’ll ask, if you’ll wait a moment.” The officer turned and opened the door. He stepped into the hall, leaving the door open, and called up the stairs for someone named Thornton.

An’gel couldn’t see who responded but she did hear a voice from the direction of the stairs who asked the officer what he wanted. The policeman explained, and the other voice called out, “I’ll get someone.”

The officer returned to the dining room. “Someone will be here in a moment to go with you,” he told Benjy.

Benjy smiled. “Thank you, sir.” He and An’gel moved back to the table to wait.

They had to wait several minutes but finally another policeman came into the room. Another youngster, An’gel noted, but perhaps older than the first. Not nearly as tall, though. He beckoned to Benjy. “I’ll go with you,” he said, and Benjy followed him out.

An’gel resumed her seat. Thank goodness for Benjy. I’d forgotten all about poor Peanut and Endora . The pets hadn’t been part of the family long, and she was still getting used to them and their needs. She and Dickce hadn’t had animals around the house in many years, and she had forgotten what it was like.

A few minutes after Benjy departed the room with the second policeman, the dining room door opened to admit Marcelline, Serenity Foster, Truss Wilbanks, and Primrose Pace. Accompanying them was another police officer, evidently a senior man.

“Please take a seat, everyone.” He waited by the head of the table until the newcomers were seated.

An’gel regarded Primrose Pace with a frown. Had the medium been in the kitchen all along?

“Now, I’m sure y’all are wondering what’s been going on,” the officer said. “First, I’m going to introduce myself. I’m Lieutenant Steinberg. I appreciate y’all’s patience while we’ve been checking out the situation upstairs. Before I can explain that, though, I’d appreciate if y’all would introduce yourselves and tell me your relationship to the deceased. Mr. Catlin we already know. Are you Mrs. Catlin?” He nodded toward Mary Turner.

“Yes,” she said. “The deceased was a distant cousin of mine.”

“Thank you,” the officer said. “And you?”

An’gel introduced herself, and the others in turn did the same.

Serenity Foster was the last person to answer. “I’m Serenity Foster, and the deceased was my brother. Nathan Gamble.” She turned in her chair to point to Mary Turner. “She’s the one who killed him, Lieutenant Steinberg.”

CHAPTER 19

An’gel would have thought Serenity Foster had more sense than to make a statement like that without even knowing how her brother had died. Evidently her animosity toward Mary Turner overruled her caution and good judgment, had she any.

“I told you to stop saying things like that.” Truss Wilbanks fairly hissed the words at his client.

“I don’t care,” Serenity said hotly. “Lieutenant, you heard me.”

“Miz Foster, I can understand you’re real upset right now with your brother dying so suddenly and him being a young man,” Steinberg said. “But that’s a strong accusation you’re making. Do you have any reason to believe your brother’s death was the result of premeditated murder?”

Before Serenity could answer the officer, Truss Wilbanks spoke up. “As I explained in my introduction, Lieutenant, I am Mrs. Foster’s attorney, and I have to advise her to be careful in making these statements without any facts whatsoever to back them up. They could result, if she persists, in a lawsuit.” He glared at Serenity, and An’gel was surprised that the young woman didn’t fire back at him. Instead, she seemed to wilt under his glare.

He turned back to Steinberg. “So to answer your question, no, there is no reason to believe this was premeditated in any way.”

The lieutenant gazed blandly back at Wilbanks. “I see, Mr. Wilbanks, but I was asking Miz Foster. Do you stand by your earlier statement, ma’am?”

Serenity shook her head. “No, I was just upset.”

An’gel hoped that would be the end of it, at least for now. Poor Mary Turner continued to tremble beside her, whether from rage or fear or another emotion altogether, An’gel wasn’t certain. She was afraid her young friend might break down if she had to face another onslaught of her cousin’s spite. They all felt raw and on edge, she had no doubt, and Serenity’s behavior was no help.

She glanced at Primrose Pace and saw that the medium was gazing intently at Serenity. A half smile played around Mrs. Pace’s lips, and she continued to watch Serenity while An’gel watched her. What was the interest? An’gel wondered.

“Very well, then,” Steinberg said. “I can’t tell you a lot at the moment, and that’s because we don’t know a lot. The doctor can’t sign the death certificate because he’s not familiar with the deceased’s medical history.”

“He wouldn’t be,” Henry Howard said. “He’s a friend of ours and lives nearby. That’s why I called him.”

Steinberg nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Catlin. Now, Miz Foster, can you tell us who your brother’s doctor was, if he had one?”

Serenity shrugged. “He never mentioned one to me. As far as I knew, he was in perfect health. He was too cheap to go to a doctor most of the time, unless he was really, really sick.” She named an urgent care clinic, evidently in Vicksburg, where she had known him to go in the past. “He had the flu really bad last year, and for that he went to the doctor.”

“Thank you, ma’am, we’ll check with the doctors there,” the policeman said. “We have no reason to treat this death as anything other than natural at the moment, unless somebody has further information they’d like to share.” He looked around the room.

Primrose Pace suddenly pushed back her chair and rose. “I have information, Lieutenant. I communicated with the spirit of the deceased not long after it left his body, and I will be happy to share that communication with you.”

An’gel had to admire Steinberg’s self-possession after that startling announcement. His bland expression never wavered, though An’gel thought he blinked a couple of times. Then it dawned on her that she had been right about the medium’s whereabouts. Mrs. Pace had been upstairs, probably in the room with the body, before the authorities arrived. Snooping around, no doubt, but why?

“I see. Mrs. Pace, isn’t it?” He waited for the medium to affirm that. “Are you in the habit of communicating with the spirits, ma’am?”

“I am a psychic medium,” she responded with a bit of hauteur. “I have helped police in similar cases before.”

An’gel wondered what the medium’s angle was in this display. She didn’t really believe Mrs. Pace had communicated with Nathan Gamble after death. She was making the whole thing up. She had to be, An’gel decided. The question was, why? Maybe the woman was simply delusional and needed medical attention herself.

“What did he tell you? That he was murdered?” Serenity Foster’s harsh tones brought everyone’s attention back to her.

Wilbanks immediately remonstrated with her, but Serenity ignored him and started repeating her questions to Primrose Pace.

Steinberg’s voice rang out. “Quiet, everyone, please.” He nodded to the medium. “Go on, ma’am.”

“As I was trying to tell you, Lieutenant,” Mrs. Pace said with a hostile glance at Serenity, “I have helped the police before. With missing persons mostly, but those cases often entailed suspicious deaths. This death, however, was nothing like that.” She paused, and the silence lingered.