“I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, Ms. Montgomery. I must admit, the museum grapevine informed me of your visit. I suppose now that such a tragedy has occurred, you’ll want to put your research off indefinitely?”

Ha! Sammy didn’t have a clue when it came to Harv. If a story involved murder and mayhem, he anticipated the scoop more than ever. My editor isn’t unfeeling, but he’s a journalist, and that means he thinks like a reporter. Get the story, no matter what! is his rallying cry.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen, Mr. Brooks. The decision will be up to my editor.” For a mere second his smile faded, but he quickly replaced it with blinding white teeth.

“Yes, of course.”

He turned to Doc. “I’m going to talk with the officers to see if there’s anything else I can find out. I need to inquire when we’ll be able to open again for business. I’ll call you later.” He gave Doc a manly pat on the back. “Ms. Montgomery, it’s been a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry to make your acquaintance under these horrendous circumstances. I hope we’ll have a chance to talk later.” He left us standing alone. Two lost souls in a raging storm.

“Come on, let’s go find somewhere to sit down.” Gently guiding Doc by the elbow, I led him toward the sitting area in the foyer. Officer Debra hurried after us.

“Ms. Montgomery, I want to remind you Detective Bowerman needs to talk with you shortly.” She hitched up her pants and settled her hand on her gun.

“I remember. We’re just going to sit down for a while.” I pointed toward the couch.

“Fine. But don’t wander off too far,” she warned.

I helped Doc get comfortable and sat down beside him. The silence between us was palpable. None of this made sense. Doc’s face drooped, and his bottom lip quivered. I said a quick prayer. Please Lord, don’t let him cry. Embarrassed to observe such an intimate moment, I looked up at the ceiling, down at the floor and anywhere else but his face. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I gave his hand a consoling pat.

“Doc, I’m sorry you found the body. It must have been a shock.” He looked over as if he’d just noticed me.

“Yes, yes. It was a terrible shock.” He dropped his head into his hands.

“Do you know who the victim is?” I glanced around. Everyone was busy doing their jobs. No one paid attention to us.

“His name is Jacob Wallace. He’s our handyman. Or rather, he was our handyman. We had to let him go. I was told he’d been making inappropriate advances toward some of the volunteers.” Doc’s face turned a bright shade of red. “What am I going to tell Penny? She’ll be terribly upset. She’s been functioning on her last nerve ever since these crazy incidences began.”

I agreed. If Penny was the nervous type, this would really upset her. But, from my brief observation, I think someone, long ago, had stepped on her last nerve and ground that sucker to a pulp. Like Doc, I feared this might send her over the edge.

“What in the world was he doing in the museum?” I was thinking out loud and jumped when Doc said, “I don’t know. Jacob was madder than a bull stung by a nest of hornets after I let him go. He said the accusations were all lies and I’d be sorry. He was right. I am sorry. Maybe if I’d investigated a little more before I fired him, the problem wouldn’t have come to this.”

“Don’t blame yourself. I’m sure you made the best decision at the time.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

That surprised me.

“He’d been harassing Susan Gray, one of our board members who frequently volunteers. She happens to be the fiancé of Jeffrey Jones, who’s also on the board. When Susan told Jeffrey what happened, Jacob’s fate was sealed.”

Before I could get more details, Officer Debra arrived and escorted us into Doc’s office.

Shortly afterwards, Dee Dee followed Detective Bowerman into the room. “Good, we’re all here.” Columbo leaned against Doc’s desk, studying his notes.

I sidled up to Dee Dee for comfort. Her frazzled appearance indicated she hadn’t fared his inquisition any better than me or Doc.

Unlit cigar pointing at us each in turn, Bowerman’s tone was somber. “We’ve ruled this death a homicide. I’m going to need you all to stay close by. Please leave any contact information with one of the officers so we’ll be able to get in touch with you. I’m sure more questions will come up as the evidence is processed.”

“Ms. Montgomery – Ms. Lamont, I realize you’re from out of town, but I’d prefer you stay around for a few days. I’m sorry if this is an inconvenience to you.” We nodded our heads yes in unison. He gave us one last once over as he chewed his unlit cigar. I almost confessed right then and there. He definitely had this Columbo thing down. “You’re free to go now.”

After he walked out of the room, I grabbed Dee Dee’s arm. “Come on, Dee Dee! We have to go to the hospital.”

“Ms. Montgomery! Not so fast,” Officer Debra said. “I need to get some information from y’all first.” We hurriedly gave her our cell phone numbers with the promise to call and tell her where we’d be staying. We also exchanged numbers with Doc and told him to let us know if he needed anything.

“What’s Nana done now? Is she okay?” Dee Dee knew Nana way too well.

“Yes, thank God. It’s her friend Dora. She fell at the bowling alley and broke her hip. She’s in surgery right now.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

As soon as we settled in the car, I called Nana to find out the name of the hospital. Fortunately, the paramedics took Dora to Kennestone Hospital on Church Street, not far from the museum.

We found Nana camped out in the surgery waiting room. She stood in the corner talking with the most handsome specimen of human flesh I’d ever laid eyes on.

“Hi, Nana,” I said. My heart pounded and my chest beat like a jackhammer.

“Hello, Sweetie.” She gave me a big hug and pulled me right up next to the doctor. What gorgeous eyes you have and what luscious lips. I mentally slapped myself. Girl, what are you thinking? You’re here to check on Nana and Dora.

“Dr. Rossi, this is my great-niece, Trixie. And she’s single. Isn’t she something?” As Dr. Hotty looked me over, I felt the heat travel from my neck to my ears. Nana moved to the top of my naughty list, knocking my ex-husband, Wade Montgomery III, down to second place.

“Hi. I told your aunt that Dora is out of surgery. We decided to go ahead and replace her hip. We’ll keep her in ICU overnight, and if she does well she’ll move to a room tomorrow.”

“Has anyone been able to get in touch with her son?”

“I talked with him, and assured him she was doing fine and there was no need to fly back to the states at this time.” His dreamy eyes scanned a whiteboard over my shoulder.

“She’ll be in a regular room for four to five days. After her strength returns, we’ll transfer her to the rehab floor where she’ll stay another two weeks. If everything goes as planned we’ll assess her progress and decide when she can go home. Ladies, do you have any more questions?”

Oh, yes! Questions like, Are you married? How old are you? Where did you get those beautiful eyes? Alas, my Southern upbringing wouldn’t allow me to inquire out loud. Instead, I asked when we could visit Dora, and I was proud of myself for being able to focus while he told us we’d be able to visit her during the evening visiting hours. When he turned and walked down the hall, I noticed Dee Dee’s gaze glued to his backside.

Nana smirked. “I told you. Admit he’s one hot hunk.” I swanny, I thought she licked her lips. I reached over and gave her a bear hug. “What’s that for?” she asked as she straightened up her clothes.

“I’m so relieved you’re not hurt. And yes, he is one hot hunk.” Currently, that’s how Nana described the men she found attractive. Lately, anyone who could grow a mustache seemed to pass her hunk radar.