Black Butterfly Read online

  I placed the sandwiches in the refrigerator so they’d stay fresh while we were gone.

  Oh, Lord, I silently prayed, give me patience. I think I’ll need it.

  Chris walked down the street with purpose, which meant he was stomping and hurrying. I tried to keep pace with him.

  The ladies stood on the front porch with Mikey, waiting for us.

  “What’s going on?” Chris asked.

  “Good afternoon to you, too,” Jasmine said.

  “Hi,” Chris replied. “Now what’s going on?

  Jasmine squared her shoulders. “We were driving Ace home – “

  “In the car,” Lila interrupted.

  “Mikey was in the back with me,” May added.

  Jasmine sighed. “We were driving Ace home when he saw that the drapes were open in this house. Then we all noticed that the front door was slightly ajar.”

  May picked up the story. “Ace said the house was supposed to be vacant – “

  “And that’s when we decided we’d better stop to check it out,” Lila said, nodding emphatically.

  I glanced at Chris who was studying the front door. “Did you go inside?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Jasmine said. “What else would we do?”

  “Come get me?” The muscles in Chris’s jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t have gone in the house.”

  Jasmine had seen the muscle action. “I’ll pray for your jaw. Does it hurt?”

  He sighed before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

  Mikey look sheepish when he spoke up. “Someone’s been in there, Dad. There’s food on the island in the kitchen. Well, leftovers, anyway. And you know the drapes are always closed.”

  “We’ll talk when we get home, Ace. You know you shouldn’t have gone in there.”

  Mikey hung his head and Addie, the fourth Church Lady whom they’d apparently picked up on the way to lunch, finally spoke up. “It was our fault, Mr. Cross. We encouraged him. He was going to tell you about it, truly, but we said why bother you when we were right here, just driving by.”

  My husband excused himself and entered the house, returning with a sour look on his face. He’d seen that they were right about the food. “No one’s been in there in over a year. The Realtors don’t even bother showing it anymore. It needs too much work.”

  All four women started chattering at once.

  Chris waved them off and left, walking toward our house with Mikey trailing him.

  I thanked the ladies for their concern and, glancing up, saw Mary watching us through the front window.

  “I have to go home now,” I said. “I’d just fixed Chris and me some lunch when Mikey called.”

  I figured they’d be on their way and we’d have some peace and quiet.

  “We’ll meet you there,” Jasmine said over her shoulder, heading for her car.

  “Wait,” I said, but I was too late.

  They were already scrambling into the car.

  I shook my head and walked home.

  Jasmine pulled up next to me. “You know, Mikey has always wanted to find a mystery of his own. At least this is just a few doors from your house.”

  I nodded and kept walking.

  “I’m sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the woman who lives next door,” she added.

  My jaw muscles clenched just as Chris’s had done.

  Lord, have mercy, I thought. Apparently Mikey had told them about Mary, or at least as much as he knew about her and her cousin.

  So much for hoping my son would stay out of trouble and away from Mary.

  Chapter Nine

  Jasmine stepped on the gas and zipped past me and into our driveway. I watched as the women piled out of the car. Since I didn’t actually know their ages, I guessed they were all in their mid to late seventies.

  Jasmine was definitely the ringleader. She was still blonde, with never a hair out of place, and it suited her even at her age. Does age really make a difference? She was five feet four or five, about my height. She wasn’t really overweight, but not small by any means – maybe somewhat buxom. And she was always impeccably dressed.

  Not all that long ago, Lila had short gray hair and dressed like an old woman. I’d heard her friends, on more than one occasion, tell her she shouldn’t age herself with her clothes and that she should have her hair styled and color it. However, she has the most sincere, joyful smile I’ve ever seen. When she started singing at Bogey Nights, she’d taken her friends’ advice and updated her appearance. The fact that she’d started dating our lunch chef, Nate, didn’t hurt any. I saw years disappear from her appearance and demeanor.

  May was tall and slender, and her salt and pepper hair was usually pulled back in a ponytail. She enjoyed jogging and tennis, and seemed to be the most athletic of the group. Except on Sundays, you’d be lucky to find her in anything other than sweat pants and tennis shoes.

  And then there was Addie, the one they’d stopped to pick up for lunch. A very small woman with short gray hair, she seemed to be the group’s anchor. For such a tiny woman, she had guts and moxie, and had once been involved in a murder-for-hire plot. No, not really involved, but privy to information she shouldn’t have heard.

  Even though I was within a few feet of our driveway, I felt like I was walking the long mile to my destiny, a destiny I wasn’t sure I wanted. There had to be some way to talk these women into minding their own business.

  Good luck with that, I thought.

  I watched as Chris opened the front door and heard the buzz of conversation when the women walked past him and into the house.

  Mikey stuck his head outside and smiled at me. He still had that crafty look on his face and I knew we’d be having a heart-to-heart talk after the women left. I had a feeling that Chris would be joining that conversation.

  I walked into the house and heard Jasmine speaking to my husband. “Don’t let us get in the way. Eat your lunch, and if you feel like it, say grace first.”

  I hung my head, trying not to laugh at the look of confusion and fear on Chris’s face.

  “I’ll just go eat in the kitchen while you ladies talk to my wife.” He picked up his plate and glass and left the room quickly.

  I heard the back door open and clicking sounds when the dogs ran inside. They adored these women, but I wasn’t sure why. I guess it was the attention the ladies showered on them.

  After making over the dogs, the Church Ladies turned in my direction and started chattering at me.

  I held up my hand for silence.

  “I don’t know what my son has told you, but we don’t have a situation you need to get involved in,” I said. “You know he’s always looking for a mystery to solve, and sometimes he gets a little carried away.”

  Mikey started to speak but I held my hand up again.

  “We’ll talk later,” I said.

  He quietly left the room and joined his father in the kitchen. Smart kid.

  “Now,” I said, “tell me what you saw in that vacant house – one at a time, please.”

  Jasmine smiled at me. “I wish we’d seen your husband in church this morning, but that’s neither here nor there. We saw wrapping paper from a fast food place, and there was a folding chair sitting by the window, facing the house next door. Let me think.”

  She paused for a moment, which left an opening for Addie.

  “There was a key sitting on the kitchen counter by the wrappers. It looked like a key to the house,” Addie said.

  “Well, someone could have broken the lockbox,” May suggested.

  Lila looked thoughtful. “From the placement of the chair, I would think whoever was in the house might have been watching Mary’s house.”

  “Mary? You know our neighbor’s name?” I asked.

  Yes, Mikey and I would definitely be having a discussion.

  Jasmine sat ramrod straight in her chair. “You know, if someone thinks Mary is actually Meredith, they could be… Um, would ‘stalking’ be the right word to u
se? Or maybe they’re keeping track of what they see her do. Oh, yes, I guess that would be stalking. I guess we need to alert her to the situation.”

  “Wait!” I said. “Back up. I don’t mean to be rude, but Mary’s situation has nothing to do with you ladies. You need to stay away from her. There’s a possibility that some dangerous people could be involved.” I exaggerated a little, but I didn’t know enough yet, to be honest, and it certainly was a possibility.

  “Oh, piffle,” Addie said. “We’ve encountered dangerous people before, so that’s nothing new.”

  My mouth dropped open before I could roll my eyes.

  “Excuse me? Does anyone here remember how much danger you were in last time? We all could have been killed. That’s not a small detail.”

  The phone rang and Sherlock ran to the kitchen. I heard a thud when he slid into the wall. Would he never learn?

  Before I could continue bawling out my friends, Chris called me.

  “You’ve got a phone call,” he said, leaning through the doorway. “It’s, um, a neighbor. She says she needs to talk to you.” Apparently he didn’t want to stir the pot and call Mary by name.

  I excused myself and took the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Pamela, this is Mary. Who were all those people at the vacant house a while ago? They kept looking toward my place. Is something going on?”

  “Oh, Mary, I’m sorry. Those are some women I go to church with and when they were driving by, Mikey noticed that the drapes were open and the front door was ajar. I love these women to pieces, but they’re kind of nosey. They stopped to check it out.”

  “Did they see anything?” she asked.

  “Someone’s been in there, but I can’t tell you much more than that. By the way, what’s Meredith’s last name?”

  She hesitated before replying. “Lunsford. It’s Meredith Lunsford. Why?” She sounded suspicious.

  “Chris wants to do a little research.”

  “He won’t find much, if anything. Will he tell me if he finds anything? Maybe we should just leave it alone.”

  “Mary, on the one hand you asked us to help you. On the other hand, you sound like you don’t want us to do much digging. Do you want our help or not? You sound a little like you’re regretting coming to us.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line, and I waited patiently. She had to resolve things in her own mind.

  She sighed loud enough for me to hear. “Yes, I’d like your help. I’m not used to telling people personal information about me or my cousin. It’s hard.”

  “I know it is, but if we’re going to help you, we’ll have plenty of questions as we get into this. Chris told me he saw someone pull up in front of your house while I was at church, and when he saw my husband, he left in a hurry. Did you see the man?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did it look like the man from the restaurant last night? Or did you recognize him?”

  “I have to get used to answering questions. I’ve mostly been a loner throughout my life. This is difficult for me.”

  “I understand that, but would you please answer the question?”

  “Yes, it was the gent from the restaurant. The funny thing is, he does look slightly familiar, but I can’t figure out where I might have seen him before.”

  “Give it some thought and let me know if anything comes to you. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can do about the women who were at the vacant house. Don’t be surprised if they show up at your door though. They’ve been known to try to take things into their own hands.”

  Mary chuckled. “Don’t worry. I can take care of them.”

  I hoped she was right – and I hoped she’d leave her gun in the closet while dealing with them.

  We hung up and I gave Chris the information about Meredith’s surname. He thanked me and that’s when I noticed he was done with his lunch. The big chicken was hiding out in the kitchen.

  “Chris, I could sure use your help out in the living room. Those women are just warming up. You know how they are. They’ll needle us until we give in, and you have your son to blame for that. He’s the blabbermouth.”

  Father turned to son and gave him a strange look. I wasn’t sure if he was upset with him or if he thought it was kind of funny, in a way.

  Mikey sat quietly, trying his best to look innocent.

  I headed for the living room and, when I reached the doorway, I turned back and motioned for my family to follow me.

  The women, who’d been talking quietly, closed their mouths and, with their hands in their laps, tried to look contrite. They couldn’t quite pull it off.

  Then Lila spilled the beans. “We’ve decided to stop at Mary’s and tell her about the vacant house. Forewarned is forearmed.”

  Those were words I’d spoken only the night before.

  “She already knows,” Mikey said. “Mom told her.”

  “Well, phooey,” May said.

  “Spoilsport,” Jasmine added.

  “You’re ruining our fun,” Addie said.

  I rolled my eyes, big time.

  Chapter Ten

  A sudden and horrifying thought struck me.

  “Mikey, you didn’t spill the beans to Grandma Judy last night, did you?”

  “Mooother, I promised I wouldn’t say anything, and I didn’t.”

  I studied his face intently before I took his word for it.

  “Ladies, I want the same promise from you. Lila, you spend time with my mother-in-law, so you really need to keep all of this close to the vest.”

  Four hands popped into the air with two fingers held up in a scout salute.

  “We promise,” Lila said. “Mum’s the word.”

  Did I believe them? “Because if you were to say anything…”

  Jasmine appeared irritated. “We said we’d keep things quiet. Are you trying to say you wouldn’t trust four Christian women?”

  “Your religious beliefs have nothing to do with this. A slip of the tongue could be disastrous.” I needed them to know I meant business.

  The phone rang again and Watson whipped her head around to watch her brother race into the kitchen.

  We all heard the thud.

  Watson laid her head down on her paws and ignored Sherlock.

  “That poor dog,” Lila said. “Maybe he’s damaged his brain. Why else would he keep running into the wall over and over again?”

  Chris laughed and left to answer the phone.

  The women had barely begun to discuss Sherlock’s antics when Chris called to me.

  “Pamela, it’s for you again.”

  I left the room and took the receiver from Chris.

  “Hello?”

  “Would you and Chris hurry down here?” Mary’s voice sounded strange, but not frightened. “That man was here – the one from last night. He said he needed to talk to me about Meredith. I told him to go away and slammed the door. He left something on the porch but I’m afraid to open the door to see what it is.”

  Okay, so maybe she was a little frightened after all.

  “Is he still hanging around?”

  “No.”

  “We’ll be right there.”

  Chris raised his eyebrows in question.

  “Mary said the guy from last night came back and wanted to talk to her. She – “

  Before I could say anything else, Chris was on his way out the door.

  “Wait for me,” I called, and raced after him.

  We hurried down the street. Unfortunately, I heard voices behind me. The Church Ladies hustled their little bustles right along behind us. Mikey led the way.

  I stopped in my tracks while Chris kept going.

  “No! Go back to the house and wait for us there.”

  “There’s safety in numbers,” Jasmine said.

  “And we’re those numbers,” Addie added. “If anyone knows what it’s like to be threatened, it’s me.” She folded her arms across her chest and slightly spread her feet apart in a defiant att
itude.

  “How do you know Mary was threatened?” I asked.

  “Your demeanor tells the whole story.” May tapped her foot impatiently.

  “You’re not coming inside with me,” I said.

  “We’ll stand guard out front,” Jasmine said.

  I threw up my hands in resignation and hurried on to Mary’s house.

  “Mikey, you sit down on the porch steps and wait for your father and me. You will not eavesdrop. Understand?”

  He nodded and followed me as far as the steps.

  I turned and glanced at the women. They stood in formation along the sidewalk, all of them with their arms crossed, and surveyed the neighborhood.

  “What kind of car do we need to watch out for?” May called.

  “A brand new Mercedes,” I said. “If you see it, call for Chris and don’t approach the driver.”

  My shoulders slumped a little. There was no winning with these women.

  I knocked on Mary’s door and entered without waiting for an invitation. She and my husband sat on the couch, staring at a box.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  Mary placed her hand on the package. “It’s what that man left on my porch.”

  “Oh.” I watched, waiting for one of the two people on the couch to open it.

  Chris finally reached over and lifted the lid. He glanced inside before sitting back and crossing his legs. “Duchess, I don’t know what these things are. You’d better eyeball the contents.”

  Mary smiled. “Someone, back in the old days, used to call me duchess.”

  “Do you want me to call you something else?”

  “No, I kind of like it. It brings back happy memories.”

  I sat down and waited while Mary started lifting things out of the box.

  Her face paled. “Oh, my. These look like things that belonged to Mer. How would this man get his hands on them?”

  She set a music box on the coffee table, staring at it and looking misty-eyed.

  Chris and I quietly watched her lift out a neatly folded scarf. It was yellow with a picture of a black butterfly on it. She held it against her cheek.

  “Mer had this specially made. The butterfly was her trademark, so to speak.”