She picked up a phone, and punched a button. I wondered if she’d tell him, or pretend to and send us on our way. I couldn’t blame her. Who in their right mind would report a stolen book?

CHAPTER THIRTY

Hello, Ms. Montgomery. Ms. Lamont. What can I do for you, I’m very busy?” He wasn’t wearing a jacket today, but Bowerman’s shirt was as rumpled as usual. I didn’t spot his cigar. He looked kind of naked without it.

“We’ve been robbed,” Dee Dee exclaimed.

“So I’ve heard.” He hiked up his pants. “Come on in my office.” He sounded reluctant, but motioned us to follow him down a hallway into a dingy cove filled with the scent of male – stale cigar smoke and sweat. The interior decorator had gone for early utilitarian. A large desk pitted with numerous dings and scars sat center stage. No pictures adorned the wall. Two ragged chairs sat in front of the desk. On the desktop sat a picture of a middle-aged woman with two teen-aged children. I was taken aback, I’d never pictured the detective with a family.

“Your family, detective?” He actually smiled, revealing smoke stained teeth.

“Yes, ma’am.” He turned the conversation back to the reason for our visit. “What’s this about a book robbery?” He unwrapped a cigar and stuck the pacifier in his mouth.

“We went to the National Cemetery to take pictures for my article. Some strange man jumped out of a truck and ran up to us. He insisted we give him the book.”

“Could you describe this book?” The detective removed his cigar and twirled it between his fingers.

“I bought it at the Magnolia Books and Antiques Store downtown,” Dee Dee said. “A Union soldier, one of Andrews’ Raiders, wrote the book. I don’t understand why the robber wanted it.”

“For some reason he wanted this book bad enough to hold us at gunpoint.” Dee Dee scooted to the edge of her chair and put her elbows on the detective’s desk. “And would you believe he threw my favorite purse on the ground?”

His caterpillar eyebrows crawled up. “Did you get a good look at the assailant?”

“He wore a ski mask, detective,” I told him. “He sped away in his truck, but I memorized the first three letters from the tag – PAT . The truck was red and had one of those oversized diesel engines with the double tires on back. I think they’re called duelies.”

“Did he hurt either one of you? Threaten you?”

“He brandished a gun.” Dee Dee announced.

“What kind of gun?” Now we had his interest. He moved several stacks of paper from one side of his desk to the other. He scrounged around until a pen hovered over a notepad. “Tall? Thin? Did you recognize him?”

We told him everything we could recall, and he took copious notes. When we couldn’t remember any more details, he looked up. “You never said if it was a pistol, shotgun?”

I glanced at Dee Dee. “We didn’t exactly see the gun.”

Dee Dee held up her hand, finger pointed like a gun barrel. “Kept it in his pocket.”

Bowerman’s chair groaned as he leaned back. “Never saw a weapon.” He tossed his pen down. “I suppose you were smart to believe it was a gun. Ladies, with all due respect, I’m too busy to spend any time tracking down a book robber.” He stood up, stogie motioning to the door. “And I’m sure this has been stressful for you.” He hurriedly escorted us to the door. “I’ll call you if we learn anything. The results from the crime scene at Dora’s should be in shortly.”

We left him shaking his head, and I doubted he’d take any action at all. For all intents and purposes, our book thief did not have anything to do with Doc’s troubles.

“Come on, Dee Dee. I need to go home and prop up my leg. I’m exhausted and my knee is killing me.”

“It’s about time you decided to take care of yourself. I’ll get you to Dora’s as soon as I can.”

All I wanted was to go home and see Mama and Beau. I missed them so much. First, I had to finish this article and leave the investigation to the professionals. We were getting close and it scared me.

We stopped by the hospital and picked up Nana. When we arrived at our temporary home I propped up my leg and crashed.

“Wake up. Detective Bowerman’s on the phone. He wants to speak to you.”

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and squinted up at Dee Dee holding the receiver under my nose. I grabbed it from her. “Hello? This is Trixie.”

“I wanted to inform you we made an arrest in the robbery. Susan Gray master-minded the break in.”

“What? Why?” I sat up, my head spinning with the sudden movement, and the astonishing news. Why would she go to such lengths to steal a book?

“The Civil War book Dee Dee bought at her store is a one of a kind. Susan claimed it’s a first edition, signed by the author. It’s worth a lot of money. She never intended to sell the book in her store. An employee mistakenly placed it with the sales stock. When she found out her assistant sold it to Dee Dee she panicked. Fear of losing the book prompted the break in at Dora’s. We have her fingerprints, and Susan admitted she searched Dora’s house for the book.”

My head reeled, wheels spinning. “Detective, do you think she’s connected to the murder?” It would be a great relief if Susan’s arrest set Doc free from suspicion.

“I don’t see any connection.”

“We’re not close to making an arrest in the case. But you don’t have to worry. I just wanted to call and inform you of Susan’s involvement. This should put your mind at ease concerning the break in. Now you take care of your knee and leave the investigating to us.”

“Thank you for calling. This definitely makes me feel safer.” The click on the other end of the phone did not make me feel any better about Doc.

“What was that all about?” Dee Dee stood so close to me I could smell toothpaste on her breath.

“You’re not going to believe this.” Nana sashayed in my bedroom dressed in a Victoria’s Secret nightie. “Susan Gray was behind the robbery yesterday. She hired those two men to steal the book from you.”

“Why in the world did she want an old book?” Nana vied for a place beside me.

“The book is old. It’s a signed, first edition and it’s extremely valuable. The author was one of the Andrews’ Raiders. She wanted to sell to the highest bidder to bolster finances for the bookstore. The detective said she’s the one who broke into Dora’s the other night. I can’t believe she was so desperate.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Dee Dee said. “Come on, girls. Let’s get dressed and ride into town for a big breakfast. We deserve a little pampering.”

Nana gingerly sat down so as not to jostle. “Trixie, how are you doing today? Is your knee any better?”

“It’s sore, but better than yesterday. I can’t wait to get home and see the orthopedic surgeon.” Did I really just say that?

“Well, take your time getting ready, and we’ll go have a humdinger of a breakfast.”

An hour later we pulled onto the road. Though my knee was better, I still wasn’t up to driving. I’d have to endure another day of Dee Dee’s racecar antics. We voted unanimously to eat at Kountry Kousins. Velma seated us and took our orders.

“I’ll have eggs, grits, bacon, toast, and coffee.” Nana said. How did Nana eat like a dog with worms and never gain an ounce.

“You want to share with me?” I asked.

“No, I don’t. You can get your own.” She unwrapped her utensils and floated her napkin into her lap.

“In that case, I’ll take the same thing she’s having.” They say a hearty breakfast starts your day off right.

“Just make that three, Velma,” Dee Dee said.

“What do y’all think about Susan being the killer? She’s got my vote.” Dee Dee spread strawberry jam on her toast.

“I’m not so sure she’s involved. Robbery is one thing; murder is a whole different ballgame. I’m not counting her out though. As we’ve said before, people will kill for the most insignificant reasons.” I grabbed my fork and scraped my plate, foregoing etiquette. Hands down, this had to be the best breakfast I’d ever tasted.