A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(66)

They waited for her to say more but she was digging in the bags looking for food. She didn’t seem to like anything she found.

“So Janet offered you a new life?” Kate asked.

“I think it was more me asking her,” Zelly said. She picked up a banana, looked at it as though she’d never seen one before, then tossed it back into the bag. “Janet told me about Gil’s job and showed me photos of the kid’s birthday party. He’s cute and he looked real happy. And I saw pictures of Gil’s new house.” She looked at Jack. “Did you know that he built that house himself?”

“Yes.”

“So anyway, by the time Janet was ready to go back to Florida, I wanted to go with her. She said yes, but I thought...”

“Thought what?” Kate asked.

“That I was going to live with her but she said no.” Zelly leaned forward. “Between you and me, I think she had some secrets she didn’t want anyone to see.”

“So you moved onto my boat,” Jack said.

“Janet said it would be all right because you were Gil’s best friend and you were so busy with your red-haired girlfriend that you never used your boat. Janet said it was sad to waste housing when I needed a place so very much.”

Suddenly, her face began to turn red with anger. “Janet and I were going to work things out with Gil. We had a plan. I was going to move to Lachlan and live with him in his big new house. Janet said that I’d be so happy that I wouldn’t miss Mom anymore. So happy that I wouldn’t even want drugs. Janet said that I’d had post-something after the baby was born.”

“Postpartum depression,” Kate said softly.

“Yeah, that’s what Janet said I had, and if Gil hadn’t taken my baby away from me, I would have got over it and Mom and I would have been happy.” Zelly’s hands were in fists. “But then I saw a newspaper. Janet was murdered!” She shouted the word. “Who could do that to such a nice and kind old lady? Only my mother ever cared for me like she did. She said that Gil would love me when he got to know me, but no matter what, I’d always have her. Always have Janet. She—” Zelly put her face in her hands and began to cry.

Jack and Kate looked at each other in silent communication. This time, it was one word: Gil.

Did Gil kill Janet Beeson when he heard that she’d brought his son’s newly sober mother to Lachlan? Or when he heard that Janet had told the woman that she was going to live with Gil in his “big, new house”? Was it an act of passion? Uncontrollable rage? Gil would have seen that there would be a bitter custody fight coming. A judge would hear that the mother had suffered from postpartum depression and decide that Gil had used that illness to steal the baby from her. No doubt a lawyer would say that her doing drugs had been caused by what Gil had done. But she was now sober and wanted her son back—at Gil’s expense. At the very least, Zelly would be given joint custody—or maybe full custody since Gil would be called a thief, maybe even a kidnapper.

What would Gil do to keep his precious son out of this woman’s clutches? Anything? Everything?

Jack turned the boat around. He didn’t need to ask Kate what she wanted to do. They both wanted to go back to Lachlan and...and... What could they do about this? Go to Gil and ask him if he’d murdered Janet? Used poison, and a knife, then shot her?

“What’s he doing?” Zelly sounded alarmed.

“We’re going back to land,” Kate said. “So tell me more about your plans for you and Gil and Quinn. Don’t you think you’d be bored staying home all day?”

She gave a smirking smile. “I do have a plan, a good one. As soon as Florida legalizes marijuana, I’m going to open a shop. I know lots about grass and I could help cancer patients, and people like that choose the best brand.” She leaned forward. “I know some really important dealers and I have some good contacts. A few of them are dead now but there are enough left that I could make it work.”

Jack was near enough to have heard this and he was staring at her in silent horror.

Zelly looked from one to the other. “Listen, I’m sorry that I messed up your time away from that old woman you two live with. Smart of you to do that because she’s so rich. But if you want to go downstairs and do it, that’s fine by me. In fact, if you want me to, I’ll join you.” She looked at Jack. “No? Well, I just thought I’d ask. I’m pretty good with my mouth. Had a lot of practice, if you know what I mean.” When Jack took a step forward, Zelly stood up and moved away from him. “Hey! I meant no offense. It was just an offer. Janet said—”

Jack’s voice was calm, low. “You either sit down and shut up or I will throw you over the side. No one knows you’re here so no one will miss you. Do I make myself clear?”

Zelly nodded and sat back down.



Fifteen


BY THE TIME they got back to land, Jack was utterly sick of the woman. She was a chatterbox, never stopping to think about what she was saying. Also, she seemed to be controlled by her mother and Janet, always quoting their opinions on everything from what she should eat to where she should live. The fact that they were both deceased didn’t seem to hinder their influence on her.

She constantly disparaged Florida. “Mom said the state was full of really weird people and Janet wondered if I really and truly like palm trees. She said coconuts and foxes fall on people’s heads. Sometimes, it kills them.”