CHAPTER 57
MICHELLE’S PHONE RANG again. They had been waiting two days now to hear back from Sean’s Army buddy, but apparently getting records on AWOLs in three states was not an easy matter.
“Who is it?” Sean asked as he leaned back in his desk chair.
“Same number who called me before but I didn’t know who it was.”
“Might as well answer it. We’re just sitting in neutral here anyway.”
Michelle shrugged and punched the button. “Hello?”
“Michelle Maxwell?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
“I’m Nancy Drummond. You left me a message about your mother. I was a
friend of hers.”
“But the area code on your phone number isn’t Nashville. And the caller ID said Tammy Fitzgerald.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think about that. I’m using my daughter’s cell phone. Fitzgerald is her married name. She lives in Memphis but she’s staying with us for a while. It’s cheaper to use the cell for long-distance calls. I only have a hard line.”
“Oh, right, sure. Why didn’t you leave a message?”
“I get flustered with cell phones and voice mail.” She added bluntly, “I’m old.”
“That’s okay. Sometimes I get flustered by them too.”
“I was out of town when your mother died. I’m so sorry about her.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Michelle sat down at her desk while Sean doodled on a legal pad. “I was calling you because, well, I guess you heard my mom’s death wasn’t by natural causes.”
“I heard that someone had killed her.”
“Who told you that?”
“Donna Rothwell.”
“Right. Look, Mrs. Drummond.”
“Please call me Nancy.”
“Okay, Nancy, I was calling because I wanted to know if you had any idea about who could have wanted to hurt my mom.” Michelle expected the woman to issue a resounding “no” in a shocked, breathless tone, but she didn’t.
“When I said I was sorry your mother was dead, I meant that Michelle. I liked her. But I can’t in all honesty say I was surprised.”
Michelle sat straight up in her chair and motioned at Sean, who stopped doodling. Michelle hit a button on her cell, turning it to speakerphone mode.
“You say you’re not surprised that someone killed my mother?”
Sean put down his pen and walked over to Michelle’s desk and sat on the edge.
“Why would you say that?”
Nancy Drummond’s mellifluous voice swooped into the room. “How well did you know your mother?”
“I guess not all that well, actually.”