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

Nancy’s emotions may be all over the place. I figured the best way to proceed with her is to offer my condolences, be sympathetic, and make sure this is not an inopportune time to speak to her.

The minute I rang the doorbell, I heard a dog barking. The door opened immediately after that, which told me she had been waiting for me.

“Mrs. Nancy Radley?”

“Yes, I’m Mrs. Radley.”

“I’m Vett Brayborn. You’ve agreed to speak to me this morning.”

“Yes, come on in.”

“Mrs. Radley, it’s nice to meet you. I am so sorry for your loss,” I said as I walked into a beautiful decorated earth tone living room, then outstretched my right hand. Her grip was as limp as a noodle and just long enough to expose a weak inner-being. I equate this type of handshake to people who are insincere and lack confidence. I looked around the rooms I could see—the dining room, the hallway, and the living room—the rooms’ beauty belied the shabby outside.

“Thank you. You can have a seat on the sofa. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, thank you. I’ve just had a cup of coffee with breakfast.”

“If you change your mind, let me know. I told Jackson it was okay to hire you, but it still doesn’t quite make sense to me why he wants to find out before the police. The police will find out who murdered my husband,” Nancy explained as she sat on the camel color loveseat across from me, then crossed her legs.

“Mrs. Radley, I thank you for agreeing to meet with me, but if this is not a good time, I understand. Perhaps, you should speak to Jackson again before talking with me. I’d be agreeable to setting up another appointment with you at a later date.”

“Oh no, that isn’t necessary. You are here now. I don’t know Jackson that well. I guess he is looking out for his employee and the company, like he said. Duffy liked him. So I guess it can’t hurt having someone besides the police looking into who murdered Duffy. I don’t want Jackson thinking he can pull the wool over my eyes, though.”

With that last statement, I saw how frightened she was. She wrapped her arms around herself, her breathing accelerated, and sweat beads glistened on her forehead and upper lip.

The red jeans and white blouse she wore had been starched and pressed. The four-inch red spiked heels she had on were brand new. The bottom of the shoe that I could see still had that shiny new look—no scuff marks. Her bleached blond curly hair was piled on top of her head, with a few curly strands hanging to her shoulders. Her smooth oval face contained dark brown eyes, and they were lined with jet black eyeliner. Her long eyelashes were fake, and her eyebrows were arched too high for my liking. The pink lipstick on her small mouth had been poorly applied. She was my height, five feet six inches tall, and weighed about 190 pounds. She had tried to make herself look attractive on the outside. But it wasn’t her outside that concerned me. It was her inside that was beginning to worry me.

“Pull the wool over your eyes? I’m not sure I understand.”

“You know, try to deceive me somehow, and I do not get what is rightfully mine.”

“I don’t see why he would do that or any way he could do that.”

“Companies always find a way to screw you over, especially where insurance money is concerned. How long have you been an investigator?”

Nancy didn’t seem to be warming up to me. I could tell by the way she was side glancing at my attire—unstarched jeans and a green blouse. She thought I was not dressed professionally. My clothes were little a wrinkled. I guess I should have taken the time to iron them this morning. I chose to overlook her glances. What I couldn’t do was ignore her mention of insurance money. I didn’t want to discuss insurance money with her, but I made a big mental note to mention her concern to Jackson.

“Actually, I’ve had the gift to investigate all my life. In my early twenties, I fully understood what I could do with things shown to me. I call them revelations.”

“Yeah, I looked you up,” Nancy said, her face a blank stare. She didn’t elaborate on what she read about me or thought about me.

“Mrs. Radley, may I call you Nancy?” I said, reaching into my bag, pulling out my black and white notebook. I turned to one of last night’s note pages and held my pen in my hand.

“That’s fine.”

“Is it okay for me to take notes as we talk?”

“Sure, not a problem.”

“Are you aware that I was on Duffy’s tour trip to Tennessee?”

“Yeah, Jackson explained how all of you were sequestered on the bus Friday night.”

“It was quite an ordeal,” I said. I let my eyes travel down the left page of my notebook. I wanted Nancy to think I had more information on her and Duffy than I had. “Do you know of any reason why someone would do this horrible thing to Duffy?” I then turned my full attention on her.

She didn’t hesitate to jump right in with an answer. “The police and Jackson asked me that same question. I don’t know who would do this. I’ve only know Duffy for three years. We dated a year, and we’ve been married for two. Duffy is a good man, uh, I mean, was a good man. He loved me very much, and I loved him very much. He was a funny guy, always making me laugh and generous to a fault. He helped anyone who asked for it. We had a good life together.”

“When was the last time you heard from Duffy?”

“He called me several times while in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The last time was just before leaving the hotel headed back home. Duffy loved to talk about the people he met on his trips