Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
“We ought to go in and poke around,” Gertie said.
“To what end?” Ida Belle said. “Unless you think Carter is incompetent, anything worth finding is currently sitting in an evidence bag.”
“Carter’s not necessarily looking for the same things we are,” Gertie argued.
“We’re on the real estate fraud thing. He’s on the potential contribution to a death thing.
And if he’s looking for drugs or any indication that the gun belonged to Zion, he wouldn’t have taken a hard look at other things that might be what we’re looking for. He didn’t find the bugs.”
“That’s true enough,” I said, “but after that search, my guess is that anything left that is remotely personal or incriminating has been removed and stashed. Sapphire probably took stuff with her when she left last night, and who knows where Zion is. Not like there’s a shortage of places to hide things around here either, and Carter would have a hard time getting a search warrant for the entire place, not to mention rounding up enough staff to do a good sweep of the facilities alone, much less the forest.”
“You know that idiot Calahan would never let him get away with that request,” Ida Belle said.
Gertie shook her head. “It’s like that man doesn’t even care about the actual crime or the victims.”
“My guess is he doesn’t,” I said. “None of us are real people to him. We’re just pawns he can use to forward his own agenda.”
“Maybe we should get rid of him,” Gertie said.
“They’d just send someone else,” Ida Belle said.
Gertie shrugged. “But the gap in replacing him would buy us some time and besides, it would be fun.”
I grinned. “Let’s keep that thought in reserve for now.”
Gertie perked up. “But you’re not ruling it out.”
“I would never do that. Now, let’s go see how Zion plans on leading us in meditation when the world is crumbling around him.”
“If he doesn’t have high blood pressure by now, he’s either a sociopath or he needs to use all this as a marketing tool,” Gertie said.
The Barbies were already at the bayou when we arrived but so was Zion, so I didn’t have an opportunity to talk to them about anything that had happened the night before.
I could tell Purple gave me a slight head lift as we approached, and I knew she had something she wanted to talk about.
I figured we’d get an opportunity while Zion was preparing breakfast as it seemed he was on his own.
Zion smiled as we approached but I could tell it was forced. The dark circles under his eyes let me know he hadn’t seen much sleep the night before, and I could see the tension in his body.
“Good morning, ladies,” he said. “I trust you slept okay?”
“Like a log,” Ida Belle said. “Had a pack of M&M’s after dinner and chased them with a couple shots of whiskey. That got me a solid eight.”
“A couple shots?” Gertie asked. “There was barely enough left for me to fill a mouth-rinse cup.”
Ida Belle waved a hand in dismissal. “The bottle I brought wasn’t full.”
“The heck it wasn’t.”
Zion looked aggrieved. “Sister, you’re supposed to be cleansing your body. The meditation and yoga will allow you to transcend to a different plane of relaxation. Deep sleep is a natural effect of that.”
Ida Belle gave him an indignant look. “I’m not looking to transcend anywhere but the Pearly Gates, and preferably not today.
I’ve prayed hours every day for forty years and still can’t sleep right.
I figure if the Lord saw fit to provide us with Kentucky and the best bourbon in the world, who am I to question him? ”
Pink giggled. “I feel the same way about designer purses.”
“And cheesecake,” Blue said. “I really love a great slice of cheesecake. I bought a rowing machine because of it.”
Zion stared for a moment but apparently realized he’d lost us before he ever had us.
“Okay, let’s do some meditation and light stretching then,” he said. “It will allow our bodies to wake up from our rest and center us for the rest of the day’s events.”
“Are we still on for everything today?” Purple asked. “We weren’t sure given that whole cop thing last night.”
Zion managed a somewhat blank expression, but I could tell it was forced.
“They merely had some questions for me because of my partnership with the lady and because I’d given a class that day at her retreat.”
“Did she really die?” Pink asked.
“I’m afraid so,” he said, and I could tell he desperately wanted this conversation to end. “If everyone will take a seat. Sister Gerianne, I brought a lawn chair for you today.”
He gestured to the chair set up behind him.
“More things to be thankful for,” Gertie said as she headed over and plopped down. “Might make up for Sister Selfish shorting me on the whiskey.”
Zion led us through the meditation and stretching but I could tell his mind wasn’t on what he was doing.
He kept glancing up the path to the main building, probably afraid he would see Sapphire or the cops or both.
I wondered why he hadn’t just issued refunds and cut his losses, but given the occasional nervous glances he sent my way, I assumed he was still hoping to work the Florida angle for his business.
The stakes had probably been upped about a hundred notches given that he appeared to be barreling toward homeless.
And even inheriting Eleanor’s cabins wouldn’t immediately help that situation, as Mildred could tie her cabins up in the legal system for years if she wanted to.
And I had a feeling that’s exactly what she would do. I would.
When class was over, he lingered for a bit, and I figured he was hoping to have a walk with me again and discuss my real estate. But the Barbies stuck around and since none of us showed any signs of separating, he finally said breakfast would be ready in twenty minutes and headed off.
“I thought he’d never clear out,” Purple said.
“Probably hoping to get Sister Britney alone and get his hands on her property,” Pink said.
Blue shook her head. “That sounds so much dirtier than it actually is.”
“Oh, it’s dirty all right,” Gertie said. “Just not the good kind.”
Purple nodded. “I talked to my guy last night. He called back right before we headed out this morning. It’s like I thought—this property is in a trust. It’s been in Sapphire’s family for decades.”
“So Zion can’t get his grubby hands on it if Sapphire divorces him,” Gertie said.
“No,” Purple said. “But he has a contract with the trust to lease the property for the retreat. According to my guy, her attorney tried to talk her out of it, but she was in love and believed in her man and all that emotional nonsense that gets you into trouble.”
“I like the way you think,” Ida Belle said.
“It was drilled into me by my father,” she said. “And it’s also self-defense. I’ve seen too many people lose family assets over bad relationships. I’m not about to let it happen to me.”
“So Zion can’t force her to sell,” I said, “and I assume he can’t get his hands on any of her other inheritance either, but as long as he has a contract for the yoga retreat, he doesn’t have to vacate the property.”
“Nope. And I’m going to hazard a guess that the rent is probably way below market.” Purple shook her head. “I’ve known men like this before, and I’d bet that place in Montana with the really hot cowboys that Sapphire will have to pay to get rid of him.”
I nodded. We already knew as much from what Ida Belle and I overheard the night before, but it helped that Purple had provided confirmation and filled in some details on exactly what Sapphire’s legal position was.
“I appreciate the information,” I said.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually feel sorry for Sapphire,” Pink said. “Being married to a cheater is bad enough, but a cheater who used you for your inheritance and who might have contributed to another woman’s death is next level.”
“I’m going to give you one of my cards before we leave,” Purple said. “If you need any more real estate information, give me a call. If I don’t know, I usually know someone who does.”
Blue nodded. “She’s literally like Yoda. She can find out anything.”
“And if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to hear how this all turns out,” Purple said and shook her head. “That poor woman…”
The rest of the retreat was uneventful. The food was less than stellar although the grilled chicken we had for lunch was decent.
Zion took us through all the scheduled classes, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it.
There was no opportunity for him to corner me about my beach property the rest of the day, so when it was time to check out, I told Ida Belle and Gertie to hang back and let me start loading up alone.
I figured if he was watching, he’d take the opportunity to give his pitch again.
I figured right.
I had just opened the back of the SUV when he came out of the main building.
“Sister Britney,” he said. “I’m glad I caught you before you left. Oh—are you all right? Your hands. I didn’t notice the scratches at class this morning. I suppose I was distracted.”
I put on what I hoped was a polite smile. “It’s nothing. I picked some berries this morning on our walk. Got a few scratches, but it was worth it. The blackberries behind our cabin are wonderful.”
He matched my smile and nodded. “Yes. They are indeed. I often pick some for meals.”
He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to me.
“I wanted to give you my contact information. I know the retreat wasn’t as relaxing as you’d probably hoped given the unfortunate interruption, but I wanted to let you know that I’m very interested in pursuing a lease for your property in Florida.
I think a retreat would be the perfect compromise between maintaining your aunt’s property and not having to be involved with the day-to-day work yourself.
I’d love to talk to you about it more. I’m happy to meet you in New Orleans to discuss matters. ”