Gloria pulled Annabelle into a curbside parking spot, right outside the Montbay County Sheriff station in nearby Langstone. She checked one last time to make sure the note and charm were safely inside her purse.
Before she could change her mind, she jumped out of the car and made her way inside the double doors.
She hesitated before taking a first step in the direction of the tall, gleaming counter that filled the small room.
The man behind the counter lifted his head. “Can I help you?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure where to start. “Yes. Uh. I have some information about the Daniel Malone murder and I’m not sure who I need to talk to.”
The officer’s eyes narrowed. She had his full attention. He studied her closely. “Officer Kennedy is handling that case. Let me see if he’s in.”
The officer disappeared in the back. Minutes later, a tall, broad shouldered officer walked through the door. He looked to be about Gloria’s age. “I’m Officer Kennedy. I was told you have some information on the Malone murder?”
Gloria clutched her purse and nodded. “Yes.”
“Follow me.” He turned and made his way down a long hallway lined with glass partitions and rows of identical doors. He stopped in front of one of the few open doors and motioned her inside. “Have a seat.”
Gloria made her way just inside the room and gingerly sat on the edge of an empty chair. She picked the one closest to the door, as if at any second she might try to make a run for it.
He closed the door and made his way around the back of the desk. Officer Kennedy softened as he faced the woman in front of him. He could tell by the way she was clutching her purse she was very nervous.
He smiled gently and leaned back in his chair. “So what do you know about the Malone murder?”
Now that Gloria was here, sitting right in front of a cop, her tongue tied in a large knot. She had no idea where to start.
Instead, she pulled the charm from her purse and set it on the desk. “My friends and I went out to the scene of Mr. Malone’s murder last week. I found this wedged under a rock, just a few feet away from where the body was found,” she explained.
Officer Kennedy leaned forward and picked up the charm. He turned it over in his hand.
He glanced up at her. “The crime scene investigators missed this?”
She nodded. “It would appear so.”
He set it down and looked back at the anxious woman. His gut told him this wasn’t all. “Anything else?”
“I took it to some pawn shops in Green Springs. One of the owners recognized it. Said he sold it to a man that sounds like it might have been Daniel Malone.”
She swallowed hard and gripped the handles on her purse before continuing. “And a woman who looked a lot like Mr. Malone’s wife.”
Officer Kennedy folded his hands together as he rocked back and forth in his chair. “How do you know what Mr. Malone’s wife looks like?”
Gloria attempted a small smile. She was almost embarrassed to admit the next part. “Because my friend and I went to his funeral and I saw her there.”
Officer Kennedy shook his head in amazement. “Just out of curiosity, what on earth would possess you to go to the funeral of a man you never met?”
Gloria was getting a little irritated. He was beginning to sound just like Lucy.
He leaned forward. “Unless you knew Mr. Malone. Did you know Mr. Malone?”
Now she felt like he was starting to interrogate her! She shook her head. “No. I never met him.”
“So you took it upon yourself to do a little detective work on your own?”
Gloria nodded. “That’s not all.”
Officer Kennedy shook his head. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”
Gloria pulled the handwritten note from her purse and pushed it across the desk in Officer Kennedy’s direction.
“After I got back from the funeral and the thrift stores, I found this note tucked in my door.”
He picked up the note, slowly unfolded it and read the words.
He folded the note back up and set it on the desk. “How long have you had this?”
Gloria tugged on the edge of her tan blouse. “A-a few days now.”
He shook his head again. “The killer hasn’t been found yet. Has the thought crossed your mind that your life could be in danger?”
By now she was starting to feel pretty darn foolish. “Yeah. I’m not sure why I held onto all this so long. Maybe I thought that if I turned it in I’d be in even more danger…” she trailed off. She didn’t sound convincing, not even to herself.
He leaned forward and studied Gloria. “Is there anything else?”
She shook her head. “No. That’s everything.”
“Have you had any odd occurrences lately? Lights on in your house that you’re certain you turned off? Cars following you?”
She shook her head again. “Not that I know of.”
Officer Kennedy reached over and picked up the charm. “This is crime scene evidence. I’ll have to keep it.”
Gloria nodded. “I understand.”
He reached over and picked up the note. “I’ll have to keep this, as well.”
“No problem.”
Officer Kennedy stood up. “Let’s head back up front. You’ll need to sign a statement before you leave.”
He studied her for a moment. His kind gray eyes meeting hers. “I’m going to send extra patrol through your area now that we know someone is threatening you.”
Gloria nodded in relief as she jumped to her feet. It made her feel the tiniest bit better knowing someone would be keeping an eye on her.
The rest of the week flew by. Sunday was hectic - between church services, lunch with the girls and then visiting the week’s shut-ins. By the time she got home that evening, she was exhausted.
She popped a frozen dinner into the microwave and walked into the living room to turn on the TV. The 6 o’clock news was just starting. They were showing Andrea Malone being led away in handcuffs by two uniformed officers.
Gloria sat down in the chair as she grabbed the remote and cranked up the volume.
“Folks, if you’re just tuning in, we have breaking news. Based on new police evidence, Andrea Malone, the widow of local businessman Daniel Malone, has just been taken into custody for the murder of her husband.”
The phone on the end table next to her started ringing. She absentmindedly picked up. “Are you watching the news?” It was Lucy.
“Yeah.”
“Wow. That’s crazy! So it was Mrs. Malone.”
“It would seem that way.” But Gloria wasn’t convinced.
“What do you mean? Of course she did it!”
Gloria hopped out of the chair and made her way back to the kitchen. She pulled her dinner from the microwave and placed the piping hot mound of unrecognizable food on the counter. “I dunno Lucy. It just seems too cut-and-dried. Too easy for it to be Mrs. Malone.”
“Don’t go looking for trouble,” Lucy warned.
“No. No, I’m not,” Gloria assured her. “Look, I gotta run. My dinner’s ready.”
After Gloria hung up the phone, she slumped down in the kitchen chair. Puddles hopped up onto the seat beside her, butting his head against her leg for attention. She pet her furry friend while the wheels in her head spun out of control. This was just too easy…too convenient.
Later that night, she drifted off into a fitful sleep. She had another dream. She was back in the woods behind the school. There was another knife-wielding stranger lurking near the crime scene but this time, she could almost make out the menacing figure’s face. It was a man’s face – not a woman’s face.
She woke in a sweat, clutching her throat. Was she having some vision about the real identity of Daniel Malone’s killer? Was he coming back from the grave to tell her they had it all wrong?
She grabbed her Bible and turned to 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles …”
This whole thing had her really shook up. She offered up a quick prayer for peace, closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep. She tossed and turned for a long time before finally nodding off.
Gloria woke with a start. Sunlight was streaming in through her bedroom window. She glanced over at the bedside clock. It was 9:30 in the morning! She never slept that late.
She jumped out of bed and headed straight to the shower. Puddles hopped off the bed, determined to tangle himself around her ankles. It was way past his regular breakfast time! He wanted to be fed and he wanted to be fed right now!
Gloria did an about face and made her way to the kitchen. Puddles came first. She rewarded him for his patience as she opened a can of his all-time favorite dish. Canned chicken and salmon.
On her way back to the bathroom, she noticed the morning newspaper laying at the bottom of her porch steps. She popped her head out the door and looked around before stepping into the cool morning air. She clutched her gown around her as she made a mad dash for the paper.
Back inside she dropped the paper on the table and turned to go when something on the front page caught her eye. It was a picture of Andrea Malone. Her forlorn face staring straight into the camera. Gloria swallowed hard. This was all her fault. Even if she was guilty.
She turned the paper over so she didn’t have to look at her haunted expression. The feeling that something wasn’t quite right was nagging at her brain.
What if the real killer was still on the loose?
A thought popped into her head. Maybe not the wisest thought but a thought nonetheless. What if she attempted a stake out of Mr. Malone’s insurance office? If the killer was still roaming free, now that Malone was dead and his widow in jail, charged with his murder, the killer would feel free to do – well – more criminal stuff!
Gloria mulled the idea over as she showered. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. When she got to the closet, she stood there for several long minutes trying to decide what to wear. What does someone in a stakeout wear, after all? Any TV show she ever watched, they were wearing dark clothes. Yes, she should definitely wear something dark!
She threw on her outfit, grabbed her keys and purse and headed for the door. On her way out, she pulled a pair of binoculars out of the cupboard, just in case.
Gloria parked across the street from Daniel Malone’s office. She studied the building. It looked innocent enough. She slowly sipped the hot coffee she’d picked on the way and then pulled a breakfast sandwich from the bag. She chewed her sandwich as she zeroed in on her target. From where she was parked, it was hard to tell if the place was even open.
Gloria sat there for what seemed like an eternity. She glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time. Not one single person had even walked by the building and she was bored to death. This wasn’t very exciting at all! On top of that, she had to go to the bathroom after drinking all that coffee.
She reached down to start the car when a tall, thin man suddenly stepped through the doors and onto the sidewalk. Gloria squinted at him. He looked to be in his mid-40’s with dark, wavy hair.
She snatched the binoculars off the seat beside her. Maybe this was the business partner. He appeared to be holding the door for someone. Gloria put the binoculars up to her eyes and adjusted the lens. A petite blonde woman stepped into view. Gloria’s eyes widened in disbelief. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear it was Mrs. Malone! But it couldn’t possibly be Andrea Malone. She was in jail.
She zoomed in to get a close up of the woman’s face. She could be Andrea Malone’s twin! But wait, she had a mole on her cheek less than an inch from the corner of her mouth. Gloria wasn’t 100% positive but she didn’t think Andrea Malone had any moles. At least not that she could remember.
Gloria grabbed her cell phone and snapped a couple quick pictures of the woman before she moved away.
Her heart was pounding in her chest. What if this was the woman Mr. O’Donnell sold the charm to – not Mrs. Malone?
The tall, sharp-dressed man draped his arm across the woman’s shoulders as they strolled down the sidewalk. Seconds later, they rounded the corner and out of sight.
Gloria tossed her phone and the food bags in the passenger seat and quickly fired the engine. She slammed the car into drive and peeled out of the parking spot in hot pursuit. She gripped the steering wheel with one hand as she fumbled to click her seatbelt in place with the other. There was no way she was going to lose sight of these two – not now that she was finally on to something!
She rounded the corner just in time to see the couple disappear into a nearby coffee shop. Gloria crept along as she searched in vain for an empty spot. It was useless – they were all taken. She made a quick left as she searched for an opening Annabelle might be able to fit into when she spied an alley just ahead. Annabelle barely fit down the narrow two lane dirt path as she scraped against overhead branches and brush.
The alley ran directly behind the coffee shop. There was a small parking lot in the rear. She started to maneuver the car into the narrow entrance when she realized she might get into the small parking lot but there was no way she would ever be able to get back out.
Gloria slapped the steering wheel in frustration. “If you ever break down Annabelle, I’m trading you in for a Fiat!”
But Gloria wasn’t going to give up that easy. She circled the block a second time and her patience paid off. Someone had just vacated a front and center parking spot. Gloria quickly slid into the open spot and jumped out of the driver seat, keys in hand.
She furtively glanced around as she made her way across the busy street. For a brief second she wondered what on earth she hoped to accomplish once she was inside the restaurant. There hadn’t been enough time to think it all through. It just seemed like the right thing to do. The kind of thing any good detective would do.
Gloria stepped inside the front door and glanced around before spying a booth right behind her targets. She scooted in on the side closest to the couple before picking up the restaurant menu.
She turned her head ever so slightly as she bent an ear back in an attempt to eavesdrop on the couple behind her.
“So are you thinking about selling the insurance agency now that Daniel’s gone?” the blonde woman said to the tall man across from her.
“I’m not sure yet, Chels, what I’m going to do. I don’t want to make any rash decisions.”
The woman lowered her voice. “I was thinking if you did, maybe it’s time to start over, you know. Move away. Try something new.”
The male voice replied. “What about your family? Everyone lives in the area. Are you ready to just up and move?”
“Well, we can always come back for a visit,” she reasoned. “I just thought with all that’s happened, maybe it’s the perfect time for a fresh start.”
Gloria’s mind was whirling. Now why would a successful businessman even consider just up and moving away – unless he was trying to put some distance between himself or herself and something they had done….
By now the waitress was standing in front of her booth looking down at her. “Are you ready to order?”
Gloria shook her head, willing the waitress to leave ASAP so she could go back to her eavesdropping.
The waitress walked off. Gloria picked up the menu a second time. There was nothing but silence behind her. She shifted in her seat. Still nothing. She turned all the way around. The blonde woman was sitting in the booth all alone. What happened to the tall man that was with her?
She whirled back around and came face-to-face with the man. He was standing beside her table staring down at her, a puzzled look on his face. “Do I know you from somewhere?” his voice trailed off. “You look vaguely familiar…”
Gloria felt instant heat rush to her face. She shook her head. “No-no. I don’t think so. You must have me confused with someone else.” She fanned her face with the menu, praying he didn’t recognize her from the funeral home.
“I could’ve sworn…” He shoved a hand in his pocket. “Maybe it’ll come to me.” He shook his head, as if to clear it. “Well, sorry to bother you then…”
That was Gloria’s cue to leave if there ever was one. She jumped up out of the booth, leaving the lunch menu on the table. She scooted out the door and made a beeline for Annabelle. By the time she started her car, she remembered all the coffee she’d consumed and the fact that she really had to go to the bathroom. She’d gotten so caught up in her detective work, she’d forgotten all about it!
After what seemed like forever, Gloria pulled into her drive. She eased Annabelle into the garage, swung the door wide open and bolted up the steps. The morning paper was still sitting on the kitchen table, right where she left it.
First things first. She flipped the paper over. Andrea Malone’s pitiful expression was staring directly at Gloria. She slipped her reading glasses on and leaned in to get a closer look. Her complexion was smooth and flawless, not a single mole anywhere.
Gloria pulled the phone from her purse and scrolled to the first picture she’d taken of the mysterious blonde woman exiting the insurance agency. When she compared the two pictures side-by-side she could see small differences, including the mole but if one didn’t know better, it would be very easy to confuse the two.
After a much-needed bathroom break, she grabbed her keys off the counter and headed back out to the car, paper in hand. It was time for another visit to Mr. O’Donnell and his thrift shop.
As she stood waiting for Mr. O’Donnell inside his store, she had a chance to look around. She walked over to inspect an old banana seat bike, just like her kids used to ride. This one was pink. Jill had one just like it growing up. There was some cool, old nostalgic stuff in there.
“Good morning, young lady.”
Gloria whirled around. Mr. O’Donnell was standing behind the counter, his serious bespectacled gaze studying her.
Gloria walked over to where he was standing. She hesitated. “I-I’m not sure if you remember me…”
He slowly nodded. “Of course. You were here last week with the charm. You and your friend.”
Gloria nodded. “The lady and gentleman that bought the charm. You remembered them.”
“Mmmhmm. As a matter of fact, the police were in here a couple days ago, asking me to identify the lady.”
“They brought a picture and everything. Something about investigating the man’s murder.” Mr. O’Donnell shook his head sympathetically. “So sad.”
“Yes, it is,” Gloria agreed. “Very sad, indeed. I have a question for you…”
“Shoot.”
Gloria set the newspaper on the counter in front of him. Next, she placed her phone beside it with the picture of the mysterious blonde woman she’d snapped the photo of.
She dropped her elbows on the countertop and leaned in. “This kind of looks like the same woman, huh?”
Mr. O’Donnell bent down for a closer look. He gazed from the newspaper to the phone. “They sure do.”
Gloria stood up. “But they’re not.”
Mr. O’Donnell eyes shot up as she studied Gloria. He looked down at the pictures again. Surely they were the same person…
Gloria tapped on the phone screen to make the picture larger. “See, the woman here has a mole on her face.” She pointed to the spot. “But the woman in the newspaper doesn’t have one.”
He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“So let me ask you. The woman that came in with Mr. Malone. Did she have a mole on her face like the lady here?” She pointed at her phone again.
Mr. O’Donnell drummed his long slender fingers on the glass countertop thoughtfully. “Now that I think about it, she did. Yes, she did have a mole on her face. Right here.” He pointed to the side of his face.
“Well, I think we need to let the police know about this – don’t you?”
He agreed. “Yes, yes of course we do.”
“I’m going to run by the county sheriff’s department. There’s an Officer Kennedy I spoke with earlier. Hopefully he can help clear this up.”
Gloria headed to the door. She grabbed the knob and turned back to where Mr. O’Donnell was still standing.
“It’s quite possible you’ll be hearing from the police again.”
She jumped back in her car and drove straight to the Montbay County Sheriff’s station.
Gloria made her way over to the counter. “Is Officer Kennedy in this morning?” The guy at the counter was the same one she saw last time. He nodded. “I’ll go get him.”
Minutes later, Officer Kennedy strolled into the reception area. He wasn’t sure if he was surprised to see Gloria again or not. “You again.”
“I-I’m sorry to bother you,” she said. “I have some new information about the Daniel Malone murder.”
Instead of answering, he shook his head and motioned her to follow him to the back.
They stopped in front of the same office as before. He waved her inside. He waited for Gloria to take a seat before he made his way to the chair behind the desk.
There was a long pause as Gloria tried to figure out exactly how to put it.
“What new information do you have, Mrs. Rutherford?” he prompted.
Gloria repeated the same steps with Officer Kennedy that she did just a short time ago with Mr. O’Donnell. She set the newspaper with Mrs. Malone’s picture on the desk. Next, she set her phone with the picture of the mysterious blonde woman beside it.
He leaned forward and glanced from one photo to the next. “They look like the same woman.”
“Yes, they do,” she nodded. “But they’re not.”
He looked from one to the other again. He grabbed his glasses off the desk and slipped them on as he leaned in for a closer look. “You’re right.”
“Mr. O’Donnell from the thrift store said the woman that came in with Mr. Malone was the woman on my phone.”
Officer Kennedy’s head snapped up. Two sharp gray eyes peered at her from the rim of the glasses. “He’s positive?”
Gloria nodded. “You can ask him yourself.”
Kennedy was curious. He pointed to her phone. “Where did you get this picture?”
Gloria was almost embarrassed to admit it. “I snapped it in front of Mr. Malone’s insurance office.”
“So you just happened to be in front of Daniel Malone’s insurance office and this woman just happened to walk out of the insurance office. And you just happened to take a picture of her.”
“Not quite,” Gloria confessed. “I just wasn’t 100% convinced Mrs. Malone was the killer so I thought I’d take a drive over to his business. You know, see if I could pick up on anything unusual…”
“So you staked out the place.”
Gloria nodded.
“You’re quite the little detective.” Officer Kennedy crossed his arms and studied Gloria. “I appreciate you stopping by. We will certainly be looking into this new information.”
He felt a pang of sympathy for the woman sitting in front of him. She seemed like a nice enough lady. She was quite pretty now that he really looked at her. Maybe she was just bored. After all, what would possess a woman to take it upon herself to investigate a murder? She was running around acting like she was some sort of private investigator.
He led her back to the front of the station. “Before you start doing any more investigating, maybe you should give me a call. Run it by me.”
Gloria thought about it for a minute. It probably wasn’t very wise to be poking around when quite possibly there was still a killer on the loose. Not to mention whoever it was that was leaving her threatening notes.
She didn’t dare tell him that she’d followed the pair to a local coffee shop and proceeded to eavesdrop on their conversation. It wasn’t like she learned anything earthshattering anyways. At least nothing that could be used to solve Daniel Malone’s murder case.
“I promise I’m not going to do anything else,” Gloria assured him. “But if I think of anything, I can give you a call?”
He nodded as he fished a card out of his pocket and handed it to her.
Gloria made her way back to the car. Yes, she’d promised Officer Kennedy she wouldn’t do anything else, but what harm would there be in taking a quick look around the crime scene one more time - just in case the investigators missed something else?
She had darn near talked herself out of it when at the last minute, Annabelle seemed to have a mind of her own. It was almost as if the car was driving itself as it made a right hand turn and headed in the direction of the elementary school.
The school was dark and empty. It hadn’t been used in years – ever since Belhaven’s youngsters started getting bussed into the larger town of Lakeville. It was sad to see it all but abandoned. All three of Gloria’s children had gone to school there and there were many happy memories. Gloria herself used to volunteer as a playground monitor and would sometimes tag along on the kids’ field trips.
Gloria parked as close to the school as possible. She slid out of the driver’s seat and made her way down the sidewalk, towards the woods. She nervously glanced around. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. Maybe she should’ve brought Lucy with her…but it was too late. She was already here.
At the bottom of the hill, she headed in the direction of where she found the charm. The rock was still there but the leaves covered in blood were long gone. She kicked at the leaves on the ground, looking for anything that appeared to be out of place or like it didn’t belong.
Out of nowhere came a muffled crunch. It was the sound of breaking pine needles. As if someone nearby had stepped on them. She jerked her head up and swiveled around, praying she wouldn’t see anyone – or anything. The thought suddenly occurred to her. What if there was a coyote or bear wandering around in the woods?
Every fiber of her body screamed at her to get out of there. She didn’t want a real live version of her frightening dream from the other night. Her heart pounding, she stepped out of the woods and raced back up the hill. She didn’t stop until she was safely on the sidewalk. Only then did she look back. She stood there for just a moment as she studied the area. It appeared that her vivid imagination was getting the best of her. There was nothing there.
The wind began whistling through the trees. Gloria glanced up at the sky. Storm clouds were beginning to build. It was time to head back to Annabelle.
She turned on her heel and began walking in that direction when she had a sudden thought. The kind that any good detective would more than likely have. I wonder if the investigators bothered to check out the bushes in front of the school…
She ran a hand over the top of each bush as she began retracing her steps. Not even halfway down the sidewalk something caught her eye. She leaned over the bush and focused her attention in the direction of the tan brick wall. Yes, there was definitely something back there. She squeezed in behind the bush and dropped down for a closer inspection. Her eyes widened as she realized just what it was she was looking at.
She jumped back out of the bush, grabbed her cell phone and dialed Officer Kennedy’s cell phone number.
He picked up right away. “Paul Kennedy here.”
“Yes, Officer Kennedy, this is Gloria Rutherford. I met with you just a short time ago.”
Kennedy leaned back in his chair. Now what? “Yes?”
She went on. “I-I think I may have found another clue in the Daniel Malone murder.”
Kennedy shook his head. He wasn’t surprised. This lady wasn’t giving up….
“I think you might want to see this,” she added.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“At the Belhaven Elementary School, not far from where Daniel Malone’s body was found.”
Kennedy jumped out of his chair and grabbed his jacket. “Don’t touch anything. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”
Gloria nervously paced back and forth as she waited for Officer Kennedy to arrive. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She