Sequestered with the Murderers

died in May of 2003. We were infatuated with each other from the start. His six-foot slender physique, brown skin, flat abs, well-groomed salt and pepper hair, and non-callused large hands drew me to him like a cyclone. He has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for twenty-six years, and we’ve been married for almost a year and a half. I kept my maiden name after we were married.
He hugged me tightly, then said, “That murder up there on interstate 81 is the talk of the office. I stopped in for a bit after my workout. There is something so extremely unsettling when a murder happens like this.”
“I agree with you. Duffy’s murder is so chilling because it was unexpected. Not that any murder is expected. We were all huddled beside the bus waiting for him to appear at any moment and open the bus door for us.”
I poured a cup of coffee for Gam and one for me, then carried the steaming hot cups to the table. I sat back in my seat and looked at him. He sat in the chair across from me and asked, “What is it?”
With him, there is no point in belaboring what I have to say. He has this uncanny ability to read me so clearly that it gets on my nerves at times. I know having this ability is part of what makes him an excellent detective. But it is still nerve-racking when he knows I have to tell him something before I tell him.
Gam didn’t look fifty-one, but he would be next month. He sat there, his handsomeness causing my heart to fill with love for him. Calmly, he waited for me to speak.
“Brightness Bus Tours has asked me to look into Duffy’s murder, and I agreed to do it,” I said finally.
“What’s so compelling that Brightness wants you to investigate? Don’t they trust the police up there?”
“Of course they do.” I then relayed my conversation with Jackson to him.
“Well, there is no need for me to try to talk you out of it. Your stubbornness is well known to me,” he said while smiling at me. “I hope this case doesn’t turn out to be like Hollice and Mary’s case that you worked on last October where the murderer was in the family. Please be careful, Vett.”
Now I was a little perplexed. On every case I had worked on since that case in October, Gam tried to talk me out of taking the case. Did he know something about Duffy’s case already that I did not? There was no need in barging him with the obvious questions about what he knew. He would not answer them anyway. He never discussed any of the cases he was working on or any police business he was told to keep under wrap.
The October case had scared him because a hit had been put out on my Aunt Mary and her boyfriend, Hollice. They were both murdered. Gam thought that since I was working to solve who murdered them, a hit would be put on me, too.
“I’ll be careful. I’ll drive up tomorrow afternoon. The countryside is so beautiful this time of year.”
“Yeah, it is. As always, call me when you get there,” Gam said as he got up from the kitchen table and began putting away the items from the bag of groceries.
“I will.”
I picked up my cup of coffee, then walked into my home office, intending to call Aunt Clove to check on my restaurant. She was the head cook and perfectly capable of managing the restaurant in my absence. As Vett’s Place’s owner, I thought it showed good leadership skills to consistently demonstrate interest and concern for the business, whether I am there or not. I set the cup on my desk, and instead of picking up the phone, I turned on my computer. I keyed into my browser Lacecap Hydrangea Murders.
I was engrossed in the first article when the phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Vett. This is Solardette. How are you this morning?”
“Hey, Solardette. Tired is the word. What an ordeal we went through last night.” Solardette Wilkes is the president of our Purple Calla Lily Investment Group. We love being called the Purples.
“Absolutely, it was. I’ve never been sequestered before in my life. I never knew I could sit in a seat for so long. And never want to do it again.”
“I’m with you on that.”
“I’m calling to see if you have heard any news on the murder this morning. Last night you were very helpful to Lemmonee. I figured if any information surfaced, she would let you know.”
“Actually, Jackson called me this morning and asked me to investigate who murdered Duffy. I accepted.”
“Well, well, great minds do think alike.” I could hear Solardette smiling.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard something last night on the bus that has me all bewildered, flustered, and unnerved. I’m calling to tell you about it, and I was going to ask you to look into the case. Since you’ve solved every case you’ve worked on, I know you can get to the bottom of this one.”
“What is it that you heard?”
“You know Jean and I were sitting toward the back of the bus. About twenty minutes after we left the rest area, Marjorie came back to talk to the two spry older ladies in the seats in front of us. Before she said anything, she scrutinized Jean and me. Jean was asleep, but I wasn’t. I was just resting my eyes. I pretended to be asleep when I saw her studying us.”
“Why was she doing that?”
“I think she wanted to be sure we were asleep before she started talking to the ladies in front of me. When she was satisfied Jean and I were asleep, she started whispering to the two ladies in front of me. I swear I heard her whisper, ‘Where is the gun now?’”
“What! Are you sure about this?”
“I am, Vett. I couldn’t sleep all night thinking about this. That’s why I am telling you.