Read and Buried (3 page)

Chapter Four

Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.

ALL ABOUT EVE
—JOSEPH LEO MANKIEWICZ

“H
ow long have you had a relationship with Derek Alton?” Officer Craig asked Lizzie.

Lizzie looked over at Mark, sitting in Nathaniel’s navy leather recliner beside the
dark oak fireplace. Because of the usual moderate temperatures in central Alabama,
the fireplace was seldom used. A tray of candles decorated the hearth, although they
were never lit, either.

She addressed her answer to Mark. “I did not have a relationship with Derek Alton.”
She directed her gaze to Officer Craig in time to see a small smile disappear. “I
met him at the Book Bin on Saturday and Jensey Pollard told Derek about our mystery
book club and one thing led to another . . .” She paused to stare down Craig’s smirk.
“I mean, she suggested he should be our guest at the next book club meeting. He agreed.
I bought his book, which he signed. Then he left.”

“And next thing, he’s in your living room being shot?” Officer Craig asked, her left
eyebrow arched. Lizzie found it as annoying as her smirk.

“That’s it exactly. He came to my house to talk about the book club.”

“And you just happened to be hanging mistletoe?”

Lizzie sat upright. “Yes. He came in and said to go ahead with what I was doing, he’d
just ask me some questions. He wanted to know more about the people who’d be at the
meeting. He said it would help him tailor his talk. I had been hanging the mistletoe
so I continued. I didn’t stop to think, should I really be hanging mistletoe when
this man is in my house, if that’s what you’re getting at. I had been struggling with
it, so I hung the damned mistletoe.”

“We’ve got that, Lizzie,” Mark said unexpectedly.

She looked over at him but couldn’t read his expression. Those dark eyes, usually
so expressive, could be quite unreadable at times. Like now. She wondered if he could
read the anxiety in her face. She must look a mess. She’d been wearing a Jaguars team
sweatshirt that had seen many washings, jeans and thick socks when Alton arrived.
She’d added pale blue Keds sneakers when she left the house. Her face lacked makeup
and her long, dark brown hair had been pulled back in a casual ponytail.
Real enticing. You can see why Derek would try to seduce me right then and there.

Officer Craig cleared her throat and spoke. “And you hadn’t met him before that day
in the bookstore?”

“No. Now wouldn’t it be more productive to ask if I saw anything or anyone outside
my house?”

Craig looked annoyed but asked, “And did you?”

“No.”

Craig’s look of annoyance deepened. “Just what are you trying to say, Ms. Turner?”

“That I know nothing about this man and why anyone would want to kill him. Nor am
I a good witness because I didn’t see anything. I had my back to him when he was shot.”
Lizzie could hear murmurs of Nathaniel and Molly talking softly in the next room.
She wished she were in there with them.

Officer Craig looked over at the chief, then flipped her notebook shut and stood up,
straightening her trouser legs as she did so. “That’s all for now. But we’ll want
you to stop by the police station tomorrow and bring down your statement. You know
the drill.”

Mark stood and said, “I’m afraid you won’t be able to stay at your place tonight.
You can come back now and get what you’ll need. We’ll still be looking around for
a few more hours and we’ll board up the front window when we’re finished. My office
will let you know when you can get back in.” He turned to go.

Lizzie asked, “And don’t leave town?” That had been Mark’s line the last time a murder
had brought them together. He’d been quick to smile after saying it.

This time he gave her that unreadable look . . . and left.

* * *

T
he last time. That had been only a few months ago. And now a second murder in quiet,
sleepy Ashton Corners.
It’s like a bad dream.
Lizzie shook her head and tried to pick up on the conversational thread taking place
around her. She looked around Nathaniel’s living room, grateful to have her book club
friends with her.

“This is unbelievable,” Sally-Jo Baker said, dropping onto the couch beside Lizzie
and patting her back. “What a terrible shock for you. You’re so lucky not to have
been hurt.”

Lizzie nodded and took another sip of her wine. Maybe she should lay off it. Her mind
felt wrapped in gauze and she didn’t feel quite as upset as the other members of the
Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society.
Must be shock.

The others had readily accepted Nathaniel’s invitation to gather in his house that
evening. They all wanted to hear the details of the demise of their anticipated guest.
So, Sally-Jo Baker, Bob Miller, Jacob Smith and Andrea Mason had arrived in short
order. Only Stephanie Lowe was missing.

“I do hope Stephanie is keeping her cell phone handy,” Molly commented.

Stephanie had been in town for a short while but hadn’t divulged much about her background
to anyone, even though it was increasingly obvious the unmarried nineteen-year-old
would soon be giving birth. She’d eventually told them about the abusive boyfriend
and his threatening phone calls, and her grandfolks who’d thrown her out. That was
just over a year ago and she’d moved to Ashton Corners. The book club members had
enveloped her into their protective fold and were eagerly awaiting the arrival of
the baby.

Andie nodded enthusiastically. “I’m so excited. She should be having her baby any
day now. Or maybe that’s any week now. And now another murder. This is way too awesome.”

Lizzie sighed. That didn’t quite describe her own feelings about the crime.

“Are we sure this Alton fellow was the intended target?” Bob Miller asked.

Lizzie gasped. “Of course he was. It couldn’t have been me.”

“Of course it couldn’t,” Molly stated calmly, passing around the required plate of
cheese straws, this time shaped as candy canes in honor of the season. “No one would
want to harm Lizzie. She has no enemies.”

Lizzie smiled gratefully at Molly. It was good to have a champion, because she didn’t
want to dwell on that possibility.

“I can’t quite get my head around it all,” Lizzie said. “But you know, it’s a real
shame he didn’t get a chance to talk to the book club, because I think he would have
been an interesting guest. I’ve just started reading his book
Judgment
, and it’s set in a small town in Alabama. Of course, it’s terrible he was murdered,”
she added quickly, feeling abashed that she hadn’t mentioned that first.

“Maybe it’s set in Ashton Corners,” Andie quipped while staring at Molly. She hadn’t
taken her eyes off the new version of Molly Mathews since she’d arrived.

“I’m sure Ashton Corners wasn’t even on his radar when he wrote this, Andie,” Lizzie
said.

“Well, I picked myself up a copy of the book on your say-so, Lizzie. Not sure if I’ll
even bother reading it now,” Bob said. “Especially since it says on the cover it’s
a ‘literary mystery.’ I take it that means it’s not a police procedural.”

Molly tsk-tsked. “Here we go again. It’ll do you right good to read a literary mystery,
Bob Miller. Especially for its setting. I had meant to stop by the Book Bin and pick
up a copy tomorrow. I wanted to be sure to have Derek Alton sign it.” She sighed.
“Such a waste. He must have been quite talented to win the Onyx all those years back.
I should have read it when it first came out, I guess. Sally-Jo, have you read it?”

Sally-Jo glanced up from her tea. Her short auburn hair had been brushed back and
tucked behind her ears. She wore little makeup, as usual, and even with glasses her
hazel eyes looked enormous. “No, not yet. I didn’t think I could make it to the meeting
so I actually hadn’t planned to buy it.” She bit her bottom lip and brushed a crumb
off the forest green sweater set she wore.

Lizzie glanced at her quickly. Sally-Jo sounded upset.

“You know, it’s okay, Sally-Jo. I wasn’t in any real danger,” she said.

Sally-Jo looked puzzled then smiled. “I know but it’s still a frightening thing to
have happen.” She turned to Molly. “Molly, I’m truly dazzled by your outfit tonight.”

“Why thank you, honey,” Molly replied. “You know, life goes on, even with death all
around.”

Lizzie couldn’t think of anything to reply to that. “I didn’t realize you’d been planning
to skip the book club meeting, Sally-Jo? What’s up?”

“My family,” she answered with a sigh. “I just got word yesterday that they’re coming
to my place for Christmas.”

“How many?”

“Fourteen. Only Megan and her family won’t be here. They’re going to visit Michael’s
folks in Dallas.”

“That’ll be a full house,” Jacob said. He sounded out of sorts.

Sally-Jo grimaced. “Tell me about it. I warned you I had four sisters, three of whom
are married with kids.”

“And what about your renovation plans?” Lizzie asked.

Sally-Jo shrugged. “Have to wait, I guess. Christmas was a bad time to be starting
on them, anyway.”

Lizzie glanced at Jacob. “What about you? Had you been planning on coming to the meeting?”

He nodded. “Sure, I was looking forward to it. I did some research on the guy, and
the review for his last book said it came nowhere close to being as well written as
Judgment
. Of course, that was the only mystery of the total of six books. I wonder what this
new one he was working on was about?”

“A sequel to the first, I’d heard,” Bob said.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

He shrugged. “Well, I did a little reading up on him, too, since Lizzie had talked
us into having him as a guest. Wanted to know what I was letting myself in for, expanding
my horizons and all.” He smirked at Molly. It took away about fifty years from his
aging face, making him look devilishly handsome, Lizzie thought. Even wearing his
trademark blue flannel shirt and worn jeans. His thick gray hair framed his craggy
face, curling in the oddest places.

Lizzie thought that over. She knew Alton had won the Onyx for Best Fiction, given
out by the Hawthorne Society, and that his second book had fallen far short of what
was expected. Many had wondered if he was a one-book wonder. But she thought he’d
managed to garner good reviews for the next four, although none of the others had
won awards.

“Well, I plan to finish reading
Judgment
, and if you agree, we’ll make it the book for my month. Which gives you until March,
we’re doing Molly’s choice this month.”

“And, I hope y’all are well into reading
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
,” Molly threw in.

Bob groaned. “Pass the cookies, please. And Molly, I have to ask, what on earth is
that you’re wearing, woman?”

“Do you like it? I’m branching out a bit, trying new looks and along with them, a
new attitude. Now, what are we going to do about this here murder?” Molly asked.

“Not a goddamn thing,” Bob said quickly. “I’d think you’d have had enough of sticking
your nose into murder and mayhem, Molly Mathews. You were just lucky you all didn’t
end up in jail as the number one suspect when Frank Telford was killed right outside
your house.”

“I wasn’t guilty, so that wouldn’t have happened,” she threw right back, but she shifted
uncomfortably in her seat, almost jarring one of the chopsticks out of her hair.

It had been close, Lizzie thought. Especially since the murder weapon had been an
antique gun that belonged to her long-deceased husband. She shivered. Another death,
so soon. She just couldn’t get her head around it. Better not to think about it too
much right now.

Nathaniel, who’d been invited to sit with the group but had been quiet most of the
evening, spoke up. “I can see whereas you’d like to find this here killer, since it
did happen at Lizzie’s.” He paused to accept a molasses cookie from the plate Sally-Jo
passed around. Lizzie waited to hear the litany of reasons they shouldn’t get involved.

“But the point is,” Nathaniel continued, “it did happen at Lizzie’s and who knows
what the killer has in mind. He may think Lizzie knows something or spotted him. Her
life could be in danger. And the way the police are thinking right now, that’s not
at the top of their priority list.”

Lizzie looked at him in awe. Not what she’d expected to hear. Not what she wanted
to hear. She’d not thought about any continued danger. That didn’t seem too likely.
Or did it?

“That’s freaking scary,” Andie shrieked. “We’ve got to figure out how to protect you.
You can’t go back to your house and you’ve got to borrow a car. The killer knows yours
and could end up firebombing it or something.”

Way too much Janet Evanovich in that girl’s life.
While Lizzie was pleased that Andie had suddenly taken to reading—she’d devoured
most of the Evanovich books in the last couple of months—Lizzie wasn’t sure about
this sudden channeling of Stephanie Plum, Evanovich’s sleuth. It was happening with
increasing regularity.

“Just a minute . . . let’s not get carried away,” Lizzie interjected. “The killer
must have had a view of my living room in order to shoot Derek Alton, after all, and
he, or she, must realize I couldn’t see a thing with my back to the window.”

“Just how well did you know him?” Jacob asked.

“Now you sound just like the police.”

“Sorry, that’s the attorney in me,” he answered with a small grin, which turned into
an inquiring glance.

“I’ve met him exactly three times. That’s it.”

“Three times?” Bob picked up on her statement. “That would be first in the bookstore,
right . . . and last in your living room. What about the second time?”

Lizzie shifted uncomfortably.

“As y’all know, I met him on Saturday morning at the bookstore and he called me later
in the day, inviting me out to dinner. To discuss the book club. He wanted to know
more about us and just what we might be looking for him to say. So, I accepted.” She
paused and chose her words with care. “We went to dinner but it didn’t go quite as
planned. He had too much to drink, talked mainly about himself and I left as soon
as we’d finished eating. When he stopped by today, he apologized and said that he
really did want to know more about each of us so he could tailor his talk.” She looked
around at them all, waiting for comments.