Bless Her Dead Little Heart

CHAPTER 9

For a moment An’gel wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. “Vaseline?” She shook her head. “No, no earthly reason that I can imagine.”

“That’s what I thought.” Kanesha’s mouth set in a grim line. “One of the techs found it moments after the body was taken away. I’m betting there’s also residue on the hands from where she clutched at the banister to keep from falling.”

An’gel felt sick to her stomach at the mental image. She could see Marla Stephens make a frantic grab for the banister when she first started to slip. Her hands encounter the Vaseline and slide right off, and the momentum of that desperate reach further unbalance her. So down she went, with nothing to break her fall except cold, unyielding marble.

“Miss An’gel,” Kanesha said, her concern obvious, “how well do you know these people?”

“Not well at all,” An’gel said, her throat suddenly dry. She coughed. “Dickce and I have known Rosabelle since our college days. We were sorority sisters at Athena College. I never met any of her family, however, until today, when they all just showed up here. Rosabelle first, then the rest of them followed right behind her.”

“Did you invite them here?”

An’gel shook her head. “No, Rosabelle came to us because she has a problem she wanted us to help her with. Her family turned up soon after because they’re worried about her.”

Kanesha frowned. “Can you tell me the nature of her problem?”

“I think you should ask Rosabelle about that yourself.” An’gel nodded in the direction of the sofa. “Let me introduce you, and then Dickce and I will make a discreet withdrawal so you can talk to her alone.”

An’gel turned and approached the couch. “Rosabelle, this is Chief Deputy Kanesha Berry from the sheriff’s department. She will be in charge of the investigation, and she needs to talk to you.” She turned to Kanesha. “This is Rosabelle Sultan, our old sorority sister.”

“Ma’am.” Kanesha inclined her head. “I know this is a distressing time for you and your family, but I’m afraid there are questions I need to ask you.”

Rosabelle stared at the deputy, and for a moment An’gel feared her old friend was going to be rude. She recalled that, when they were younger, Rosabelle’s attitudes about race hadn’t been all that enlightened. She could only hope that in the intervening years Rosabelle had become more tolerant.

“Of course, Deputy,” Rosabelle finally said. “I have much to tell you, and I can assure you that you’ll have my complete cooperation.”

“Then Dickce and I will leave you for now,” An’gel said, greatly relieved. “If you need us, we’ll be in the kitchen.”

Dickce didn’t say anything until she and An’gel reached the hall. “Do you think I should take the food I was bringing to the library right now?”

An’gel nodded. “While you do that, I’ll get started on a pot of coffee. I’m sure everyone could use a hot drink.” She glanced across the hall toward the library. The door stood open, and she could see a deputy she didn’t recognize standing in profile inside the room.

Dickce picked up the tray and headed for the library. An’gel watched for a moment before turning down the hall toward the kitchen.

Diesel greeted her with reproachful warbles when she stepped inside. She scratched his head, and the warbles turned into purrs.

“He’s been talking like that for five minutes, I swear,” Clementine said as she wiped her hands on a dishcloth. “What’s all the noise I keep hearing out there? I’ve been too busy to come take a look-see. Besides, I thought I’d best keep the cat in here out of the way.”

Diesel rubbed himself against An’gel’s legs while she gave the housekeeper a quick rundown of the events of the past hour. Clementine’s eyes widened, and she started shaking her head as if in disbelief. When An’gel concluded her summary, Clementine closed her eyes for a moment. An’gel could see her lips moving and figured Clementine was praying.

An’gel closed her own eyes and did the same, mentally sending a plea heavenward for patience, understanding, and protection. Beside her Diesel had stilled, and when she opened her eyes and glanced at him, he had his head down, too. She couldn’t decide whether the cat was also praying, imitating her behavior, or simply examining his front paws.

Then An’gel noticed an ant crawling across the floor. Diesel appeared intent on stalking it, so she left him to it while she got busy making enough coffee for nine people. She ate three cookies during the time it took for the machine to brew. Clementine helped by assembling cups and saucers, spoons and sweeteners, and a pitcher of half-and-half.

All the while Diesel toyed with the ant, until it finally escaped under a cabinet. The cat scratched at the woodwork until An’gel told him to stop. He turned his head in her direction and uttered a reproachful-sounding warble, and An’gel and Clementine exchanged amused glances. He really is a wonderful tonic when things are stressful, An’gel thought.

Clementine wheeled out the wooden serving cart, and An’gel poured the coffee into a large carafe. “Would you go ahead and make another pot?” she said to Clementine. “I’m sure we’ll be wanting more before too long.” She looked down at Diesel, who had climbed into the bottom shelf of the cart. He was so large he barely fit. His long plume of a tail hung out one end and his head the other.

“I really think you ought to stay here with Clementine. You’ll just be in the way of all that’s going on outside the kitchen.”

Cat and woman stared at each other for a moment.

An’gel put on a stern expression. “Come now, Diesel, be a good boy, and get out of there.”

Diesel chirped three times but remained where he was.

An’gel debated whether she should attempt to pull him out. She didn’t think he would try to scratch or bite, but she was reluctant to remove him forcibly. She really didn’t feel like getting down on her knees to wrestle the cat loose, and she certainly wasn’t going to ask Clementine to do it. Their knees were far too old for such antics, she reflected wryly.

“Oh, very well.” An’gel glanced at Clementine, who was smiling broadly. “I guess he’s going with me.” She took hold of the cart and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes for the second pot.”

Diesel’s tail stuck out of the back of the cart and swished against her legs as An’gel pushed forward slowly. Good thing I’m not ticklish there, she thought.

When they reached the library, the young deputy at the door moved aside to let her pass. He glanced down at the cat and grinned, but he quickly sobered. An’gel nodded politely.

Inside she surveyed the room for a moment, struck by the silence broken only by the muted sounds of breathing. Maudine and Bernice occupied the single sofa, while Wade sat behind the large desk that dominated one part of the room. Juanita and Junior accounted for the other two chairs, and Dickce and Benjy huddled together in the window seat that overlooked the front lawn. No one spoke, and An’gel felt the tension.

Three of the four walls were covered nearly floor to ceiling with bookshelves. The Ducotes had been readers and book collectors, one generation after another. Windows in the two outside walls offered the only breaks, except for the fireplace, which shared a wall with the room next to it. Several small, elderly Axminster rugs dotted the floor.

An’gel wheeled the cart, with its double load of coffee and feline, to the area in front of the window seat. “I’ve brought coffee. I thought we could all use a hot drink. Please, come and help yourselves.” She twisted the lid of the carafe and started pouring the liquid into cups.

Diesel climbed from his perch on the bottom shelf, stretched, and then jumped onto the window seat into the spot Dickce had vacated. He butted his head against Benjy’s arm, and the young man rubbed the cat’s head, his gaze averted from An’gel.

Maudine and Bernice crowded close and helped themselves to coffee. “Thank you.” Maudine dumped three heaping spoons of sugar in her cup along with a dollop of the half-and-half. Bernice did the same, then both women retreated to their spots on the sofa.

Juanita and Junior came next. Juanita carried the cup she prepared to her uncle and then returned to the cart to pour her own.

“This is just what we need.” The young woman smiled at An’gel. “We’re all still in a state of shock over this terrible accident.” She cut her eyes toward Benjy, still engrossed in stroking Diesel.

The young man seemed oblivious to what was going on around him, An’gel thought. She felt sorry for him. She wondered whether anyone besides Dickce had made any effort to comfort him over the death of his mother.

Dickce poured coffee and added a couple of spoons of sugar, then enough half-and-half to turn the brew light brown. “Here, Benjy, you should drink this.” She held the cup out to the young man, and he stared up at her.

An’gel wondered whether he had taken in what Dickce said. He nodded and accepted the cup. Diesel stuck his nose near the coffee, and Benjy smiled briefly. “I don’t think this would be good for you, kitty.” He sipped while the cat watched closely.

An’gel and Dickce took their own cups and stepped away from the window toward the inside corner of the front wall.

“Has anyone been talking?” An’gel asked.

Dickce shook her head. “Not at all. It seems strange to me, but maybe having the deputy in here with them has put them off.” She nodded in the direction of the young man at the door.

“Clementine is making another pot of coffee,” An’gel said. “I’ll go back in a moment to see if it’s ready.” She drained her cup.

Kanesha Berry strode into the room. All heads swung in her direction, and An’gel tensed as the deputy prepared to speak.

“Folks, my name is Kanesha Berry, and I’m the chief deputy in the Athena County Sheriff’s Department. I’ll be in charge of the investigation, and I’m going to need to ask you all some questions. I hope you’ll bear with me, because this is going to take some time. I know you are all distressed by what has happened, and I’m sorry for your loss.” She paused a moment to glance around the room. “I must inform you, also, that we are treating this as a suspicious death.”

Wade rose from his chair behind the desk, the shock evident on his face. An’gel feared that he would faint, the way he was swaying on his feet. “Suspicious? Do you mean you think this was deliberate and not an accident?”

“That’s what we have to determine, sir,” Kanesha replied.

“If it wasn’t an accident,” Junior said, his expression thoughtful, “then that means one of us is a murderer.”

An’gel was startled by a shriek. She turned in time to see Maudine topple off the sofa in a dead faint.