Fleece Navidad Part 5

"You can't run away from the police ! They're right behind me," Sheila called, stepping away from the table as if to follow Claudia.

Kelly immediately jumped to her feet, blocking Sheila's path. "I don't think that's a good idea, Sheila. Why don't you sit with us for a while?"

"Yes, please." Lisa spoke up in her calm therapist voice. "We want to know what's caused this trouble. Tell us, please."

"Yes, Sheila, please tell us, help us understand," Mimi pleaded in her soft maternal tone. "Let me get you something warm to drink." She motioned to one of the shop girls hovering in the doorway, eyes wide.

Kelly also noticed someone else hovering in the doorway. Hilda . Watching and listening with obvious interest.

"Please sit, Sheila. It looks like you need to talk." Kelly gestured to a chair at the other end of the table.

Sheila hesitated for a minute before sitting. "I'm . . . I'm sorry if I disturbed your customers. It's just that I've been tracking Claudia for two months and to finally find her laughing and talking as if nothing ever happened . . ." She stared at the bookshelves. "It just tears me up inside."

"When did your father die, Sheila?" Lisa asked, her fingers busy.

Sheila's thin lips pursed. "Almost a year ago. I was out of town on a business trip when it happened. I'm a research consultant with a legal firm so I travel regularly. I had to hear about my father's death over the phone from that . . . that woman ," she said bitterly. "I was devastated." She crossed her arms tightly under her b.r.e.a.s.t.s as she sat ramrod-straight.

Kelly felt a twinge of sympathy for Sheila. She'd lost her own father years ago to cancer. But at least she had been with him until the end. And she'd been able to say goodbye.

"I'm sorry, Sheila. I lost my father several years ago, too. I still miss him," she said. "I'll bet you were really close to your father."

Sheila darted a wary look to Kelly, but her stiff pose started to relax slightly. "Absolutely. He was my best friend. My mother died years ago, and ever since it's been just my father and me."

"Do you have any other family, Sheila?" Mimi probed gently.

"My father and I were family. We didn't need anyone else. We were so close. I was his closest confidante until she came along." Sheila's body tensed up again. "Claudia seduced my father away with sweet talk and lies. It would never have happened if I hadn't been away on a three-month research trip abroad. She never would have gotten past me." Sheila gave a stiff nod.

"Maybe he was lonely, Sheila," Mimi said. "I know what it's like to live alone."

Sheila shook her head several times, as if she was trying to convince herself as well as Mimi. "No, no, Claudia seduced him away. My father was old and in poor health. That's why she chose him, I'm sure of it. She probably thought she'd get a large inheritance, but I took care of that."

"How?" Lisa asked.

Something resembling a smile tweaked the corners of Sheila's mouth. "Fortunately all of my father's estate was in a trust, and I was still the sole beneficiary. All of it went to me. And I made sure Claudia didn't get a dime."

Kelly exchanged glances with her friends. "Well, at least you have all of your father's things."

"That's not enough!" Sheila snapped. "She needs topay ! Claudia stole my father twice and I'll never forgive her, ever!"

"Twice?" Jennifer echoed, looking at Sheila.

"Once when she tricked him into marriage, and again when she killed him."

"Careful, Sheila," Kelly warned.

Sheila turned an intense, dark gaze around the table. "She did it for the money. Iknow she did. His death was no accident. Dad always listens to the radio when he's bathing. It relaxes him. She must have dropped that radio into the water. I'm sure of it."

Kelly caught the quick, astonished glances of her friends. It was clear that Sheila was focused on Claudia. She hated her for splitting up the cozy little family arrangement she had with her dad. But deliberately dropping a radio into the water to electrocute someone . . . whoa.

Sheila continued, her voice as intense as her expression, clearly trying to convince her audience. "She married him for his money. That's what Claudia did before. I've searched into her past and those other two husbands of hers. They were both older men, and they both died under strange circ.u.mstances." She gave a righteous nod. "She got away with it those other times, but she's not getting away with it now. I'm seeing to it that justice will be done."

The table fell silent while the cafe waitress brought a tray with pots of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Mimi busied herself with pouring cups for everyone. Meanwhile, Kelly considered what Sheila said.

Strange circ.u.mstances. True, it was unusual for a widow to lose three husbands in a row to accidental deaths, but to a.s.sume that Claudia had played a part, well, that was a stretch.

Noticing that Sheila chose a mug of hot chocolate, Kelly hoped the warm milk would mellow out the woman's mood. Hot chocolate had a wonderful calming effect. Instead of challenging Sheila on her a.s.sumptions about Claudia, Kelly decided to keep her questions to a subject that was less inflammatory-and give the hot chocolate a chance to work.

"You said you'd been tracking Claudia for two months? How did you manage that? Did you hire an investigator?" She allowed admiration to fill her voice.

Sheila brightened, her pinched face relaxing. She appeared to be in her forties, but it was hard for Kelly to tell. "Oh, no, I did it all myself," she said proudly. "I'd been checking into Claudia's past for several months after my father's death. I even went to the towns in Missouri and Texas where she'd lived and interviewed anyone who remembered Claudia or her former husbands."

Kelly caught the incredulous gazes of her friends and gave them a spare nod, hoping they'd pick up her line of questioning. "Wow, that must have taken months," she said. "How'd you manage your job and all that interviewing at the same time?"

Sheila shrugged and took a drink of her hot chocolate. "It wasn't easy. I was driving around all day talking with people and working practically all night. But it was worth it. By the time I returned to Florida, I'd compiled an entire file of d.a.m.ning evidence."

"What kind of evidence?" Lisa picked up the thread.

Sheila's body relaxed even more as she leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. "Well, Claudia's first husband, Frank Morgan, died in a car crash, and there was no sign of drinking or anything else. It was unexplained. Happened in broad daylight on a road that wound around the river. I kept asking everyone who knew the gentleman if they remembered the accident. He'd been the beloved school princ.i.p.al for years. Most everyone I interviewed didn't remember a thing. But one man was the mechanic who worked on Morgan's car, and he recalled that he'd told Claudia the car's brakes were bad and needed service. He told her the week before the accident." Sheila looked around the table for emphasis.

"Whoa . . ." Jennifer said in a dramatic tone.

"What about her second husband?" Kelly prodded.

Sheila drained her cup and Mimi immediately hastened over to refill it. "Claudia moved to Texas after Morgan's death, and the ladies of Tyler, Texas, still remember Claudia, indeed they do." Something resembling a smile softened Sheila's mouth for a moment. "They were most forthcoming. According to them, Claudia dated every eligible bachelor in town before settling on Fred Baxter, who was a prosperous rancher. Or so she thought. He lasted five years." Sheila took another deep drink of chocolate.

"How did this man die?" Megan asked in a soft voice.

"He was found in a heap in the farmyard, right beneath the barn's hayloft. Claudia's story was that Baxter, an experienced rancher for over sixty years, had somehow fallen out of the hayloft door above and dropped twenty feet to his death. He broke his neck."

"Merciful heavens," Mimi drew back, looking shocked.

Sheila looked around at her entranced audience. "Turns out Baxter wasn't as prosperous as everyone thought. Once he died, the ladies said Claudia was more distraught that most of Baxter's ranch was tied up with creditors than she was at losing her husband. She only received a small insurance annuity. So, you can see that by the time Claudia settled in Florida she was on the lookout for a wealthier target. And that was my father."

Kelly nodded. "Well, I can understand your concern."

Lizzie's trembling voice spoke up then. "Kelly, how can you say that? You know Claudia. Why . . . she's a gentle person. She couldn't kill anyone. Why isn't anyone speaking up for her?" Lizzie cast a frantic gaze around the table.

Kelly felt slightly disloyal, but her encouragement had enabled everyone to hear the past history of Sheila's resentment of Claudia. They also could understand better how Sheila had come to her conclusions. Rash as they appeared to be. Kelly was about to say something rea.s.suring to Lizzie, when Sheila spoke first.

"I'm sorry to bring you bad news, ma'am. I can tell you're one of Claudia's friends. But sometimes people are not what they seem." Sheila's tone was markedly changed, more deferential and polite. Clearly respectful of her elders.

Kelly noticed Hilda still stood in the cla.s.sroom doorway. Still listening with obvious interest to the dramatic tale. Her face fairly radiated "I told you so."

"But I'm sure those men's deaths were . . . simply unfortunate accidents," Lizzie said plaintively. "They couldn't possibly be deliberate. I've been with Claudia every day for a week, and I've never seen her angry or even raise her voice to a single soul. She could never harm someone. She's sweet-natured and kind."

Sheila's smile turned scornful at the edges. "Claudia's an excellent actress. She can be very charming. In fact, that's how she ingratiated herself into that elderly woman's good graces at the Sarasota retirement home. My informant at the home said Mary Ann Howard was old and in poor health and clearly her mental faculties were slipping. Obviously that's why Claudia targeted the woman. I'm told she started spending a great deal of time with Mary Ann. Then one day, Claudia suddenly disappeared, and so did Mary Ann's car and credit card."

Lizzie looked crushed, and her pale blue eyes turned watery as she ducked her head and stared at her yarn. "Oh, my . . ."

Kelly, however, couldn't ignore the word that had dropped out of Sheila's mouth. "You had an 'informant' in the retirement home? How did you manage that?"

Sheila drained the mug of hot chocolate. Mimi motioned to pour more, but Sheila waved her away. "I went to the home and started discreetly asking questions of the staff. I made friends with one of them, and she kept an eye on Claudia for me. That's how I learned she'd suddenly disappeared. Claudia gave notice one afternoon that she'd be moving out, and the next morning she was gone."

Sheila ran her fingers over the edge of a pink crocheted baby blanket that lay on the knitting table. "Apparently Mary Ann's family didn't even discover the missing car for a couple of weeks after her death. And they didn't learn about the stolen credit card until the credit company's bill came in the mail." She stroked the pink yarn. "Imagine their shock at seeing credit charges on their dead mother's account. Of course, when I heard about the missing car, I put two and two together and came up with Claudia. She already knew that I was checking into her past and had found out about her previous husbands' deaths. I'm sure that's why she ran off."

Lisa exchanged a glance with Kelly. "Wow, you're one heck of an investigator, Sheila. How did you track Claudia to Colorado? Gas receipts?"

Sheila continued to fondle the baby blanket. Kelly noticed Mimi observing Sheila's motions with great interest. Seductively soft fibers could tempt even the th.o.r.n.i.e.s.t person.

"The gas receipts showed she was driving west, but it was the phone bill that gave her away. When it came in, there was a collect call from Fort Connor, Colorado, to Mary Ann Howard the day before she died. I figured that had to be Claudia."

Lizzie's head bobbed up again, and she looked absolutely petrified. "Do the Florida police think Claudia stole the car?"

Sheila frowned as she reached both hands into the baby blanket this time, slowly stroking the fibers. "They should be contacting the Fort Connor police any day now, I'm sure of it. I mean, I called them four days ago when I tracked Claudia to that seedy little motel near the interstate. I told the Sarasota detective that I'd located Claudia and the car in Fort Connor, Colorado, and gave him the exact address where to find her. All the Florida police have to do is start the process. They said the stolen car report would be entered into a national computer database with the car's VIN number and description." A self-satisfied smile appeared.

Kelly had to hand it to Sheila. Sheila's sleuthing efforts matched her own. Her previous sleuthing efforts, that is. Last winter, Kelly promised all her friends she would put her investigatory instincts on hold, and she had. Kelly hadn't done any snooping around for months. Nine months, to be exact. But who was counting?

"What will happen to Claudia?" Megan asked in a quiet voice as she knitted. "Stealing a car is a serious crime."

"A felony," Sheila supplied helpfully. "It was a 1999 Taurus and was definitely worth over five hundred dollars."

"You said the Florida police haven't charged her yet. Why do you think they're waiting?" Kelly probed.

Sheila hunched her shoulders and frowned. "I don't know. I check with them every morning. I'm sure it will be any day now. That's why I'm keeping track of her. I don't want Claudia slipping away again."

Mimi shot Kelly an anxious look. Sheila was calling the Sarasota police every morning? Kelly was about to zero in on that admission when Sheila suddenly pushed the soft blanket away and rose from the table.

"I have to go back to my hotel. I've got tons of computer work waiting for me. Here's my card with my cell phone number. Please call me if you learn anything, anything at all." Sheila pulled several business cards from her pocket and dropped them on the table.

"Why don't you drop by again tomorrow, Sheila? I've got a cla.s.s in crochet that's working on those very same blankets," Mimi said with a big smile. "I think you'd enjoy it."

Sheila turned in the archway and glanced back at the blanket, then to Mimi. "Maybe I will. My mother used to crochet." Then she was gone.

Kelly wondered at Sheila's abrupt departure, but couldn't voice it because Hilda's booming contralto filled the silence as she steamed through the room on the way to the door. "It's time for us to leave, Lizzie. Good afternoon, ladies."

Lizzie stuffed her knitting into her bag and meekly followed after her elder-and righteous-sister without a word.

"Whoa," Jennifer said softly when the spinster sisters had left. "I wouldn't want to be Lizzie tonight. Hilda will be haranguing her for hours, I'll bet."

"Oh, yeah."

"For sure."

"Poor Lizzie."

"Poor Lizzie, h.e.l.l. Poor Claudia."

Kelly caught Mimi's worried gaze. "Mimi, would you and Burt like to join me for breakfast tomorrow morning? I'd like to ask him some questions."

Mimi nodded. "I'm sure Burt would be glad to join us for breakfast, Kelly. Meanwhile, I'm not going to wait. I'll start asking him questions tonight."

Six.

Kelly lifted a forkful of cheesy scrambled eggs and devoured it, followed by a bite of crispy bacon and a homemade biscuit. She voiced her enjoyment with a loud "yum."

"It's a good thing I don't come over for breakfast every day, Pete," she said to the cafe owner as he refilled her mug. "I'd weigh a ton."

"One little breakfast every now and then won't hurt you, Kelly," Pete said with his genial smile as he filled Burt's cup as well. Mimi waved Pete off with a smile.

Kelly glanced at Burt. "So, did Mimi fill you in on yesterday's shop melodrama? She said she was going to grill you last night."

Burt chuckled. "She sure did. I have to admit, that is one weird story Sheila told. I've only seen Claudia occasionally around the shop, so I don't know her. But I respect your opinions. Both of you are good judges of character. What do you think?"

Mimi toyed with her empty cup. "I don't know, Burt. I've spoken with Claudia several times at the shop, and she seems to be a genuinely open and friendly person. A little flighty and flirtatious from what I've heard about her dating activity, but good-natured and kind. I cannot imagine her doing all those terrible things Sheila accuses her of. And yet, Sheila's account of Claudia's actions are . . . well, they make me wonder."

Kelly took a deep drink of Eduardo's black nectar before answering. She caught the grill cook's glance and held her mug high in salute. Eduardo grinned behind the grill, flas.h.i.+ng a gold front tooth.

"I'm with you, Mimi. I don't know what to believe. I can't agree with Sheila's conclusion that Claudia murdered her two previous husbands or Sheila's father. But she does paint a d.a.m.ning picture of Claudia's activities at the Sarasota retirement home. That leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Since the elderly woman is no longer alive, she cannot corroborate Claudia's version of the story. Did she lend Claudia the car and the credit card? Or did Claudia steal them?"

"That's the issue," Burt said, swirling his coffee. "It'll come down to Claudia's word against the family's."

"What would happen then?" Mimi asked.

"The police would go with the family's version of events. After all, they know their mother. If she didn't tell them about lending the car, they'll make a reasonable a.s.sumption that Claudia stole it. And the card. After all, she's been located in a state two thousand miles away in possession of a car and a credit card that belong to someone else." Burt gave a sigh. "She looks guilty as h.e.l.l."

Mimi bit her lip. "I'm afraid you're right. What if she's innocent? How would Claudia prove it?"

Burt shrugged. "I don't know, Mimi. She may not be able to prove it. And if she can't, she'll be charged with auto theft and theft of an electronic device. That's the credit card."

"Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my . . . I feel so sorry for her," Mimi murmured as she rose from the table. "I have to get back. Holiday hours, you know." She hurried off.

Kelly mulled over what Burt said. "What would happen if the Florida police charged Claudia with stealing the car? Would she be arrested here? Sheila mentioned the report would be placed on some national database."

"Yeah, that's exactly what happens. Once Florida officially charges Claudia with auto theft and files a warrant, then the Fort Connor police can locate the car and arrest her."

"Would she be jailed?"

"It all depends. After she was arrested, she'd be taken to the jail to be booked. If a judge is in court, then there'd be a hearing. That's when the judge would state the charges and set bond. For most out-of-state warrants, the bond would be ten thousand dollars. If she can't post bond, she'll go to jail."

Kelly pictured the flirtatious Claudia standing before a judge. If the sight of her stepdaughter Sheila scared Claudia, what would happen in front of a judge?

"Whoa, that sounds pretty scary to me, Burt. I'm wondering if Claudia has enough money to post bond. Apparently she has insurance policies from her previous two husbands, but thanks to Sheila, Claudia got nothing from her last husband."