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

“They’re not needed. I just want to hear your memory of what was said. That’s good enough for me.”

“Armie did say that he doesn’t understand why the person Diantha was meeting in the park has not come forward. He mentioned that Duffy was an animal lover and had a dachshund. After eating, he walked me to my Jeep and mentioned that Lanta had an attraction for Black men. Lanta and Ms. Lacecap’s brother were a couple when they were young. He told me to look into Lanta’s background regarding the Lacecap Hydrangea Murders. That’s all I can remember unless you want to hear about minor details.”

“Throwing suspicion on to someone else is a classic sign of guilt. What minor details?”

“Armie’s fingernails were dirty, and the last button on his shirt was broken in half. He smelled like turpentine, even though he had told Lemmonee he would clean himself up before meeting me. Lemmonee set up the appointment for us to meet. He was experiencing left knee pain, though he tried to hide it. His right hand. . . .”

“Vett, stop! Gee whiz. Is there anything that you didn’t notice about the man? Anyway, I have what I need.”

“It’s the color of the bouquet of hydrangeas, isn’t it? Once I said the color out loud, it came back to me that the color was redacted from the police report.”

“Nobody, I mean nobody knows the color except for Sybil, the Sheriff’s Office, and the murderer. The sheriff detectives working the case at the time asked Sybil to keep that information a secret, and I believe she has because no one we questioned has mentioned the color before now.”

“What about the joggers who found Diantha?”

“They were traumatized. To this day, they have never mentioned seeing a bouquet of blue hydrangeas at the murder scene.”

“Sybil said Diantha had the blue hydrangeas with her before she left for the park?” I asked.

“Yes, she did. The day of the murder, she was in the kitchen when Diantha walked in from the outside carrying a bunch of blue lacecap hydrangeas. Diantha walked to their ribbon drawer and retrieved some white ribbon, which she wrapped around the hydrangeas stems. As she walked out of the kitchen door with the hydrangeas, she told Sybil she was on her way to the park. Sybil heard Diantha’s car startup. That was the last time Sybil saw Diantha alive. Sybil had moved back into the house on the hill with Diantha after Ms. Lacecap was murdered. Before then, she had her own place. Diantha had always lived with Ms. Lacecap.”

“But how do you know for sure the bouquet of blue hydrangeas were Diantha’s. Someone else could have dropped it there,” I said as the answer dawned on me before I said my last word.

“That’s the beauty of you, Vett. We didn’t know for sure until now. Outside of Sybil and the Sheriff’s Office, only the murderer would know the color of the hydrangeas and that she had a bouquet of blue hydrangeas with her. Until now, no one has ever come forward saying they saw Diantha in the park with a bouquet of blue hydrangeas.”

“But why? Why did he murder her? What is the motive?”

“She was breaking up with him. Diantha told a girlfriend this, though the girlfriend did not know when this would happen. The girlfriend is willing to testify to this in court.”

“Why would Diantha take a bouquet of hydrangeas to break-up with him?” I asked.

“To help make the break-up process easier, I guess. I really don’t know. It was Ms. Lacecap, Sybil, and Diantha’s signature trademark thing to do. All three of them gave away hydrangeas all the time.”

“Do you need me to testify in court, too?”

“I need something more alarming from you. I want you to meet with Armie again and get him to repeat what he told you.”

“What! He’s probably realized his mistake and won’t make it again,” I said, dreading the three-hour drive to Attribute.

“I don’t think so. He’s too cocky. He doesn’t realize what he has told you. He probably thinks a lot of people saw her with the blue bouquet. All you have to do is make the call and get him talking about Diantha. My people will be recording the conversation.”

“So I don’t have to drive to Attribute to face him?”

“No, no, I think that would be dangerous.”

“Okay, when do you want to do this?”

“Tomorrow, he’s not working then. Say around 10:00 am. Where do you want to make the call from?”

“My restaurant office.”

“We’ll be at your restaurant by 9:30 am to set up things. We’ll have a list of questions for you. Do you have any questions?”

“Not now, possibly I will tomorrow morning.”

“Vett, this will go smoothly. If Armie doesn’t mention the color of the hydrangeas, we’ll have your testimony that he mentioned the color to you. So don’t worry. The questions will be general questions to get him talking. If at any time you are uncomfortable, we’ll end the call.”

“I’m okay with it.”

“Whether he mentions the color or not, Armie will be picked up tomorrow afternoon, after your phone call, and brought in for questioning and will be arrested. We’ll have people outside his house while you are on the phone with him. Now, are you ready for my other news?”

“Yeah, it’s got to be more uplifting than what we just talked about.”

“I’ve gotten a copy of Diantha’s birth certificate. It took some doing, but a copy finally surfaced. Sybil Lloyd is her mother. It doesn’t say who the father is, but I have confirmation on who he is. Remember, I mentioned I was waiting for a document to be authenticated. Well, it is authentic. It is an agreement between Holt Pruitt, Sr. and Mildred Lloyd, Ms. Lacecap, regarding their children Holt Pruitt, Jr. and Sybil Lloyd.

“I am so excited about getting a copy of this document. Gosh, Vett, Ms. Lacecap was a brilliant lady. To sum up the document, for keeping the secret forever that Holt