He stared at me intently. “Are you speaking from experience, Trixie?”
Ouch. I glared back at him. “I don’t see what that has to do with this, Sheriff. Are you going to tell us who it is?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
You’re wrong on both accounts. “It was neither Miranda Tatum, nor Sueleigh Dalton. Nor Dee Dee.”
“What?” I exclaimed.
“You heard me right, Trixie.”
I was so happy. I would be glad to extend my gratitude to anyone who solved the case. If that was Sheriff Wheeler, then so be it.
“Thank you Sheriff. Does this mean Dee Dee is free to go?”
I looked at Dee Dee. She stared straight ahead, her eyes blank. Then a great big smile covered her face. It must have registered—she was free!
“Who did it?” I asked. “And why did they do it?”
“I can’t tell you who it is at this point, but it appears that someone was blackmailing Tatum. We found a large amount of cash in John’s pocket and more on the floor. The museum was their meeting place for the cash exchange. Something went wrong this time, and the perpetrator lost it. This person grabbed the pickaxe and used it as a weapon to kill John. And, we have a confession.”
“We told you all along Dee Dee didn’t kill him,” I said with great satisfaction.
“Since Dee Dee was found holding the murder weapon, we had to consider her a person of interest. When we found a large amount of cash on Tatum, we wondered if there was more to this murder than first met the eye. We pursued some tips and hit the jackpot.”
When Dee Dee spoke I could barely hear her. “I can’t believe it’s over.” She began to cry as she reached and grabbed my hand. Tears pooled in my eyes, too.
“You can believe it, Dee Dee. You’re free to go. On the way out, please leave your addresses with the officer at the front desk. We might need you to come back and testify at the trial.” He stood up, indicating the meeting was over.
“Thank you, Sheriff.” The words almost stuck in my throat, but I hoped I looked sincere, anyway.
“One more thing.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I want you to lay off the sleuthing before you get someone killed.”
“Sure thing,” I said. I was so grateful we didn’t need to.
We thanked him, and high-tailed it out of his office. As soon as we got out the front door, we hugged each other and let the tears flow.
“Come on, Dee Dee. Let’s go tell Nana. I’m so glad this is over. I’m going to call Beau as soon as we get back to the Inn. He saw something in Sheriff Wheeler we didn’t see. I didn’t think he was trying very hard to find the right person. This is one time I don’t mind being wrong.” I hooked my arm through Dee Dee’s and lead her towards the car.
“I’ve been so scared. I knew I was innocent, but it’s kinda hard to prove when you’re found standing over the body with the murder weapon in your hands. I’m so grateful for all your help. I have no doubt, Sheriff Wheeler wouldn’t have looked further than his nose to find Tatum’s killer if you hadn’t insisted he look elsewhere. I can’t wait to thank Beau, too. He’s such a sweetheart.”
Yes he is, I thought.
It was afternoon, and the streets were crowded with people enjoying the festivities. I had an urge to shout at them to stop and join in our celebration.
With a silent thanks to Sheriff Wheeler, I was relieved when the car started right up this time. We traveled at a snail’s pace as we precariously made our way through the throng of tourists. We pulled into the parking lot and walked to our room.
“What’s going on with you two?” Nana asked as we entered through the door, our grins a dead giveaway. “Good grief, you two look like a couple of raccoons! Where have you girls been?” She handed me an envelope. I assumed the pictures were inside. “Go ahead and open it up.”
I did. It was full of pictures, as well as a CD, exactly as I’d asked. “Good job, Nana.” I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Nana, we’ve got great news to tell you. Go ahead, Dee Dee. Tell her.”
“You’re not going to believe this. I’ve been completely exonerated. They’ve found out who killed John Tatum.” She gave Nana a big bear hug, and Nana hugged her back. She stepped back and did a little jig. “I’m free, I’m free!”
While we danced around and acted like we didn’t have any good sense, someone knocked on the door. I opened it to see a distraught Sueleigh Dalton standing in the doorway. Her blouse was unevenly buttoned, and her hair stood askew. She was crying. “You’ve got to help me, Trixie. You’ve just got to help me.”
“Sueleigh, what’s the matter?”
“Don’t just let her stand there. Ask her in,” Nana quipped.
“Uh, sure. Come on in, Sueleigh.” I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the room.
“I’ll get you some tissues.” Dee Dee headed to the bathroom.
I had visions of Dee Dee holing up in the bathroom in order to escape the inevitable. She wasn’t getting off that easy. “That’s a great idea Dee Dee, but don’t get lost,” I called as she hurried off. My attention turned to the distraught young woman.
Nana led her to one of the beds and wrapped a grandmotherly arm around her. “There now, dear. Dry up those tears. We can’t understand a word you’re saying through all that hiccupping.”
Dee Dee reappeared. Sueleigh took the tissues and blew her nose, honking like a sick penguin. I didn’t realize an attractive young woman could make such a disgusting sound.
Dee Dee and I sat on the bed across from them.
Nana gave Sueleigh a minute to wipe her nose and dry her eyes, then launched in. “All right, young lady. What is it that you think Trixie can help you with?”
“They arrested Daddy. They said he killed John,” she managed to get out between sobs. “I know he didn’t do it. You’ll help me prove it, won’t you?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
What makes you think I can help?”
She sniffed and snorted before answering. “You helped your friend, and I thought you might help me, too. You seem like such a nice lady.”
I wanted to help, but I had a deadline to meet.
“Sheriff Wheeler told us someone gave a confession. I didn’t know it was your father. I don’t know what I can do to help.”
“He confessed to blackmailing John. He never confessed to murdering him,” she said.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. My head spun, and I struggled to breathe. The room was out of focus. A minute ago we were celebrating; now it felt like the air had been let out of my balloon. I imagined Dee Dee wasn’t feeling much better because she grabbed my arm and gave it a death squeeze.
Thoughts swirled around in my mind. If Frank Dalton didn’t kill Tatum, who did? Would the focus turn back to Dee Dee? I had been riding an emotional roller coaster since this had begun. I didn’t know how much more I could stand.
“Sueleigh, what makes you think he didn’t kill John?” It was a practical question, so I couldn’t understand why she looked at me like I’d gone around the bend.
“Because he told me he didn’t,” she sputtered with indignation.
“I realize he’s your father, Sueleigh, and you love him dearly. Of course, you want to believe him. Just because he said he didn’t kill Tatum doesn’t mean he didn’t do it.”
“That’s right,” chimed in Dee Dee. I dared to glance over at her. All the happiness I’d seen a few minutes ago had vanished and had been replaced by eyes as wide as saucers.