Sequestered with the Murderers by Dr. Tanner (books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

“And you, Lanta? How well did you know Duffy?”

“I knew him better than Montgomery. Since I handle the payroll, I have more contact with our employees than Montgomery. I didn’t associate outside of work with him, but as far as I know, there was nothing in his current life that would lead to someone murdering him. That business with the Lacecap Hydrangea Murders was ten years ago. I don’t believe by any stretch of the imagination that the two are connected,” Lanta explained, smiling thinly.

Well, she is quite sure of herself. I immediately thought she knows something about Duffy’s current life but is unwilling to go into details in front of her brothers. I couldn’t get a good reading on her personality, but I knew I would.

I guessed her age to be late sixties to early seventies. She looked like a rich woman who had more money than she knew what to do with it. Her hair was dyed an appealing silver and cut into a most appealing boy cut. Her resemblance to Jackson was not as striking as Montgomery’s was. She had a small nose, high cheekbones, small lips painted red, and blue eyes. Her designer jeans and white blouse fit her taut 125 pounds, five feet seven inches body perfectly. It was the overabundance of jewels she wore that made me believe she had money to spare. An emerald necklace was around her neck, emerald dangling earrings were in her ears, large gold bracelets with emeralds in them were on each wrist, and a sizeable emerald-cut emerald and diamond ring was on her wedding ring finger. These pieces were not costume jewelry. The stones had no bluish or yellow tones. These tones are a dead giveaway that the stone is a fake. As Lanta moved around, there was neither brilliance shooting from the emeralds like the brilliance from diamonds nor the emittance of hues of rainbow colors when the light hit upon them—all signs of the real thing.

I answered her thinly veiled outburst with, “They could be connected. I am going to look into every aspect of Duffy’s life. Someone or several people wanted him dead. The seven bullet holes suggest to me that this was a crime of passion. The words rage and fury comes to my mind. Other than the Lacecap Hydrangea Murders, are you aware of him upsetting anyone?” I said, then drank the last of my coffee.

They all chimed, “No.”

“Let me get another cup of coffee.” I wanted to give them another few seconds to think about my question. I slowly walked to the breakfast bar, poured the coffee, and then returned to my seat.

As I sat down, Lanta looked straight at me. Her body was still as a statue, and her blue eyes glared into mine. “Vett, what is your take on all this? Do you really think you can find out information ahead of the police?”

So that was it. I was leaning toward her demeanor as her way of looking out for her employee. Clearly, she wanted the same thing as Jackson—to protect the company.

“Yes. I’m sure I can. I have done it many times before. I’ll need to talk to some of the passengers. So I’ll need a copy of the passenger list, and I would like to see Duffy’s personnel file.”

“We can get you those things. You can call any of the passengers to set-up a time to meet with them from the office. As you know, the passengers are from the Christiansburg, Martinsville, and Danville areas. Before we get those things, would you provide us with some information on how you solved a few of your cases? I’m sorry I don’t know much about your background as Lemmonee and Jackson. Lemmonee said you receive revelations from God. How does that work? Both Lemmonee and Jackson sing your praises. Lemmonee will be available to help you in any way you need, and she’ll make copies of anything you need,” Montgomery explained.

For the next hour and a half, we discussed the subject of me. I provided detailed information on how I found the murderer in the Hollice Nichols/Mary Gilbryant case, the Semmy Barrels case, the Hannah Thronely case, and how my revelations helped me. In addition, I did my best to remove the trepidation they had shrouded themselves in. Duffy had been dead going on three days, but their level of fear was too much. I began to think that perhaps there were immediate concerns about their company or within it that they did not want to come out.

I had worked on enough homicide cases to know that those who show nervousness, fear, anxiety, and the likes usually have something to hide or know more than they are telling. My approach, for the most part at the beginning of a case, is not to react. I take the information and work to put the puzzle pieces together.

When they were finished on the subject of me, I asked, “Are there any forms you want me to complete or written reports you want me to provide?”

“We’d like to work on a handshake if you are agreeable. Time is clicking by. We want to get ahead of this thing before the police. The quicker you find out who murdered Duffy and why the better we will feel. We have agreed to pay your going rate and expenses. We will give you a $1000 retainer today. All we ask is that you contact me every other day with a brief update. Today is April 10. If by next Friday, April 21, you haven’t found the answers, then we will regroup and decide on whether or not we want you to continue with the investigation.”

Jackson stared straight into my eyes as he said that last sentence. I got the message loud and clear. If I didn’t get an answer for him by April 21, Jackson was done with me. There would be no regrouping, no matter what he just said.

“We do understand that