James, Miranda - Out of Circulation (CAT IN THE STACKS MYSTERY)

We both sat, and I watched her warily. Was this an official visit? I presumed it was, since she was in uniform.

“I’m not part of the investigation into Mrs. Cassity’s murder.” Kanesha stared right at me. “So this is all off the record, all right?”

Surprised, I nodded. “Fine with me.”

“Despite the evidence to the contrary, the sheriff is insisting on treating my mother as the chief suspect.” Kanesha’s nostrils flared, a slight crack in the facade. “It’s absolutely ridiculous because it would have been physically impossible for Mama to push that woman down the stairs.”

“I know,” I said, and Kanesha’s eyes gleamed. “She was locked in at the bottom of the stairs—the narrow stairs—and there was no way she could have pushed Vera down from above and then gotten herself to the bottom without trampling all over the body.”

“Exactly.”

“Is the sheriff that dumb, that he can’t see the obvious?”

“No, but he’s using Mama to get at me.”

“I thought he was the one who promoted you in the first place. Why would he want to get at you?” I couldn’t figure that one out.

“Because I’m too good at my job.” Kanesha shrugged. “Next year he’s up for reelection, and he has this crazy idea that I’m going to run against him.”

“Are you?”

“Not yet.”

Neatly, coolly said. I admired the woman’s sangfroid. “Even so, he’s not going to be able to railroad Azalea on this. When it comes to court, he’d be a laughingstock.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to push it as far as he can, do his best to humiliate me and my family. I am not going to let that happen.”

Tidwell had better watch his back. He’d made an enemy now, an implacable one.

“It won’t. Your mother has some powerful allies, you know.” I told her about the Ducotes’ visit, and she relaxed, almost imperceptibly.

“That’s good to know. And I appreciate the fact that you are willing to stand up for Mama, too.”

“I am,” I said and decided it was time to get everything out in the open. “One thing puzzles me, though. I know your mother despised Vera, but I don’t know why. I can’t imagine Azalea has a strong enough motive to want to kill Vera.”

“That’s just the problem.” Kanesha’s tone was cool. “Mama and I both have reason to want that witch dead. Vera Cassity as good as murdered my cousin.”

SEVENTEEN

“Murdered your cousin ? How horrible.” That was the last thing I expected to hear. I felt a paw on my shoulder—the tone of my voice made Diesel anxious. “It’s okay, boy, I’m all right.” I patted his paw, and he settled back down.

“He didn’t die by her hand,” Kanesha said. “But he might as well have.”

“What happened? I’m sorry. I know it must be painful for you to talk about.” I hated to make her dredge up sorrow-laden memories, but I needed to understand the situation.

Kanesha shrugged, but her gaze hardened. “Johnny Golliday was my mother’s sister’s only son. Her only child, as a matter of fact. He started getting in trouble when he was thirteen or fourteen, nothing too serious. At least, no felonies. But my aunt was always there to bail him out. He was in his twenties when he got mixed up with a rougher crowd, started getting into bigger trouble. Spent some time in jail.”

Suddenly Kanesha got up from the chair and began to pace. “Johnny going to prison like to’ve killed my aunt. My mother, too. They’re both proud women, and Johnny was the first one in the family who ever spent time behind bars.” She came back to the chair and gripped the back of it with both hands as she looked at me. “But he was doing better, had a job, was living at home, helping his mother take care of his father who was a quadriplegic.” Her voice cracked slightly.

She let go of the chair and turned away a moment. When she faced me again she seemed to have regained her composure. Behind me, Diesel moved restlessly on the windowsill. He muttered in that peculiar way of his, and I knew he was unsettled by the tension emanating from Kanesha.

I felt at a loss, because I had never seen her this vulnerable. In my way I was as uncomfortable as Diesel. My normal response would have been to go to her, give her a hug or at least a friendly shoulder squeeze, but Kanesha and I didn’t have that kind of relationship. My heart went out to her, because I could imagine how painful all this was for her.

Kanesha resumed her seat. “One day nearly ten years ago, Johnny went to the bank with a couple of his so-called friends. What they didn’t tell him was they were planning to rob the bank.”

“Oh, no.” The words slipped out before I could stop myself. I could see the scene unfolding in my mind, and I didn’t like the picture.

Kanesha didn’t appear to have heard my comment. “When they reached the bank, one of the men pulled a gun and told Johnny he was going to help them. Johnny tried to get away, but he was terrified they would shoot him. So he went into the bank with friend number one while number two waited in the car.” She paused for a couple of deep breaths. “Johnny wasn’t too coordinated, always dropping things, stumbling, and the idiot with him made him take a gun. He was terrified of them. Johnny said he was shaking so hard he dropped the gun three times.”

“What happened when they made it into the bank?”

“Stupidity, that’s what happened.” Kanesha’s tone turned vicious. “Idiot number one was trigger-happy and ended up shooting one of the tellers and pistol-whipping a customer.”

“Oh, my Lord,” I said, appalled. “Did the teller die?”

“No, thankfully,” Kanesha replied. “It could have been worse in so many ways, if Johnny’s so-called friend wasn’t so inept. Johnny stumbled all over the place, and it was his bad luck he tripped and fell onto another customer. Vera Cassity. Knocked her down and she banged her head on the floor. At the trial she claimed he threatened her with his gun. Said he’d kill her if she made a sound.”

Kanesha slumped back in the chair, eyes closed. “The police arrived in less than two minutes. Caught them still inside the bank. Johnny was sentenced to thirty years in the state pen. Wasn’t eligible for parole because he was convicted for armed robbery. Might have received a lighter sentence—not that it mattered in the long run—but Vera Cassity, egged on by the prosecutor, made it sound like the only reason she wasn’t killed was because the police arrived so quickly.” She opened her eyes and stared at me, though I wasn’t sure she actually saw me. “Johnny insisted he dropped the gun right after he entered the bank, but nobody could attest to that. With Vera swearing he threatened her with it, nobody believed him.”

“Except his family,” I said softly. I had to consider that Kanesha was prejudiced in her cousin’s favor, but if he was truly uncoordinated and afraid of guns, I could see him dropping the thing and not bothering to pick it up again.

Kanesha nodded. “I knew my cousin, Mr. Harris, and I believed him. I knew what a klutz he was and how scared he would have been. If he said he dropped the gun and only stumbled into Vera Cassity, then that’s what happened.”

“Where does murder come into it, then?”

“Two and a half years after Johnny went to the state pen, he was killed by a couple of the other inmates.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, knowing the words were completely inadequate.

“Aunt Lily was devastated, and so was my mother. They blamed Vera Cassity—mainly because she was so nasty in the courtroom. He would have gone to prison regardless, but the way Vera talked him down, well, they just couldn’t forgive her.” She threw up her hands. “The whole thing was so freakin’ stupid, from beginning to end.”