Chapter 14 #2
“Told her you was comin’,” Henry announced proudly while dusting gravel off his jeans. He hooked both thumbs through his belt loops and stood squarely in front of the bungalow steps again. “I held the line.”
“You sure did,” Hank replied while unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile.
The governor immediately stepped forward.
“This has gone far enough,” the governor snapped while straightening the cuffs on his navy suit jacket. His jaw clenched tightly beneath the campground lights. “My wife is leaving with me now.”
“No, sir, she is not,” Al answered firmly while planting both hands on his duty belt. His voice cracked slightly halfway through the sentence, but he powered through it anyway. “Not until we finish questioning everybody involved in this investigation.”
“This is political harassment,” the governor argued while glaring toward Al.
“This is a homicide investigation,” Tucker corrected calmly while stepping beside the sheriff. He folded his arms across his chest, studying the situation carefully.
The campground went silent for several long seconds. Even the campers standing near the tiki hut lowered their voices. Waldo immediately shoved his phone higher into the air.
“Sheriff Hemmer,” Waldo called loudly while squeezing closer through the crowd. “Is it true the First Lady of Kentucky is now considered a suspect in the Florence Sparks murder investigation?”
“Oh my gosh,” Dawn whispered while clutching Mary Elizabeth’s arm tighter.
Tara gasped loudly from inside the bungalow. The governor’s face darkened instantly. Al pointed directly toward Waldo.
“Turn that thing off!” Al barked, jabbing one finger toward the phone.
“Freedom of the press,” Waldo argued as he clutched the phone protectively against his chest. His trench coat swayed around his knees while he repositioned himself for a better angle.
“Freedom of me throwin’ you in the lake,” Dottie snapped while stepping directly in front of the live stream again. She waved both hands wildly in front of the camera lens, blocking nearly the entire screen. “Ain’t nobody needin’ to see this campground lookin’ like a circus.”
“Dottie,” Waldo complained while sidestepping around her. “You are obstructing journalism.”
“I’m protectin’ business,” Dottie argued, moving directly back in front of him again.
The silver-haired man standing beside the governor looked toward Tucker and Al with visible irritation.
“This entire situation is unnecessary,” the silver-haired man stated smoothly as he adjusted his tie. “The First Lady has cooperated fully.”
I immediately stiffened beside Dottie, who glanced sideways at me.
We both recognized him instantly. The loafers, his silver hair with the same expensive suit from upstairs at the Milkery.
Dottie slowly leaned closer toward me without taking her eyes off him.
“Well, ain’t that interestin’,” Dottie muttered quietly beneath her breath.
“Mm-hmm,” I murmured back while keeping my face neutral.
Neither Al nor Tucker had a clue.
Meanwhile, Dottie and I were standing there knowing full well that Mister Fancy Pants and his friends had been tearing apart rooms at the Milkery an hour earlier while we hid in a bathroom, trying not to breathe too loudly.
Honestly, the whole thing almost would’ve been funny if it weren’t attached to a murder investigation.
“You okay?” Hank asked softly, noticing my expression.
“Oh, I’m just peachy,” I answered while watching the silver-haired man too closely.
Tara suddenly shoved open the bungalow screen door so hard it slammed against the railing.
“I did not kill Florence Sparks!” Tara yelled as she stepped onto the porch, even with Alice trying to stop her. Tears streaked down both cheeks while her expensive blouse looked wrinkled from being shut inside all morning. “Do you hear me? I did not touch her!”
The governor immediately moved toward her.
“Tara,” the governor hissed sharply while reaching for her arm. “Inside. Now.”
“No,” Tara snapped while jerking away from him. “I’m tired of everybody acting like I’m unstable.”
Standing just behind Tara near the bungalow steps was Brittany Dales, her scheduling director, clutching a leather portfolio tight against her chest while she scanned the growing crowd with pure panic in her eyes.
Her blond hair was pulled into such a severe bun it looked painful, and she wore a cream pantsuit that somehow didn’t have a wrinkle in it despite the chaos unfolding around her.
Even now, Brittany kept trying to inch closer toward Tara protectively, exactly the way Queenie had described her, guarding the First Lady tighter than Fort Knox while acting like she could organize this entire disaster back onto a clipboard.
“How did she get in there?” Dottie asked about Tara’s assistant.
“She did threaten Florence,” I admitted carefully, looking toward Al and Tucker and ignoring Dottie’s observation. “I heard her myself during the tea party.”
The campground went silent again. Even Waldo stopped talking for once.
Tara pressed one trembling hand against her chest.
“You don’t understand what that woman did to my marriage,” Tara whispered shakily while wiping beneath her eyes.
The governor closed his eyes briefly.
“Well, now we’re gettin’ somewhere,” Dottie muttered beneath her breath.
Tara pointed suddenly toward her husband.
“She humiliated me,” Tara snapped, her voice cracking loudly. “She followed us everywhere. She threatened to expose private messages. She called constantly. Every fundraiser. Every public event.”
“Tara,” the governor warned quietly, glancing nervously toward Waldo’s live stream.
“No,” Tara argued, shaking her head hard enough her earrings swung wildly. “I sat beside that woman, smiling for cameras while she acted smug the entire afternoon.”
Waldo slowly lowered his phone about two inches. Even he looked stunned.
“But you had an alibi,” I pointed out carefully while studying Tara closely. “Brittany Dales stayed with you after the tea spill.”
“Yes,” Tara answered immediately, nodding hard. “She stayed with me the entire evening. Ask Mary Elizabeth. Ask Alice.”
Everyone turned to look at both women, and both were nodding.
“You never left the campground?” Tucker asked while watching her closely.
“No,” Tara answered firmly, folding both arms around herself.
Alice suddenly stepped forward beside her.
“She’s telling the truth,” Alice said firmly, planting her hiking boots wider apart. “Brittany stayed with Tara the whole time.”
“And I’ve never been with that shirtless chiropractor Tex either!” Tara yelled, which was a good defense against her putting the poison in his rollers.
Tucker looked directly toward Alice next.
“And what about you?” Tucker asked calmly.
Alice’s jaw tightened instantly.
“What about me?” Alice challenged while crossing both arms.
“What about bribing Queenie French ten thousand dollars to sit at Florence’s table?” I asked, staring directly at her.
Alice looked genuinely stunned for one quick second before anger replaced it.
“That wasn’t illegal,” Alice answered sharply, lifting her chin.
“No,” I agreed carefully. “But secretly meeting Tex in the woods for weeks before Florence ended up poisoned sure looks suspicious.”
The entire campground gasped again.
Even Mary Elizabeth looked horrified now.
Alice stared directly at me.
“How would you even know that?” Alice demanded sharply.
Dottie immediately jumped in.
“Mae knows everything,” Dottie answered while waving one hand dramatically. “That woman can sniff out secrets quicker than a bloodhound.”
“That still doesn’t explain stolen teacups,” I added before I could stop myself.
Hank closed his eyes briefly beside me.
“Mae,” Hank muttered under his breath.
Alice’s face flushed bright red.
“I did not steal those cups,” Alice argued, uncrossing her arms angrily. Her cheeks flushed red beneath the campground lights while she pointed toward me. “And I’d really love to know how you think you know anything about cups in my room.”
“Klepto.” Dottie slowly folded her arms tighter across her chest.
“Probably because Buck Davis writes prices on the bottom of everything in that sloppy chicken scratch of his,” Dottie answered, her head tilted slightly. “Hard to miss.”
Alice’s eyes narrowed instantly. “My room?” she repeated.
Oops.
I jumped in before Dottie could say another word that landed us both in jail.
“Cheryl mentioned teacups had gone missing from the Tough Nickel,” I explained quickly, trying to sound far calmer than I actually felt. “And when you started acting squirrelly just now, it wasn’t exactly hard to connect dots.”
The silver-haired man standing beside the governor suddenly narrowed his eyes toward me and Dottie.
Just briefly.
But enough.
And standing there beneath the campground lights while Waldo live streamed, Tara cried, Alice glared, and the governor’s cleanup man slowly started realizing Dottie and I knew far more than we should, I suddenly got a very bad feeling we’d become part of this investigation in a way I hadn’t planned.
And that was when Al broke up our little finger-pointing party and hauled Tara and Alice down to the sheriff’s department with the governor and his cronies in tow.