The Turtle Mound Murder Read Online Free PDF

Penny Sue shut the door before
anything got out. “Laa, I have a headache.” She brushed past us to
the kitchen for a glass of water and four ibuprofens.
    Ruthie and I followed her into the living
room where Penny Sue stretched out on the couch. No one said
anything for a long time. Ruthie sat with her eyes closed and her
hands in her lap—palms up, thumbs and forefingers lightly touching.
I supposed she was trying to meditate and find her center.
    I knew my center was hopelessly lost and
there was no sense looking for it. My world in Atlanta was in
shambles, and now Penny Sue was about to get me—us—locked up. With friends like her, who needs —I started angrily, then
caught myself.
    I glanced at her lying on the sofa, holding
her head, looking like a pitiful little girl, and my anger
dissolved. Penny Sue was an exasperating flake, but a person would
be hard-pressed to find a better friend. She’d been there for me
when the kids were born, when I broke my ankle, when Zack, Jr.’d
almost died of pneumonia, and other times too numerous to count.
Well, she needed me now and I was going to stand by her.
    But, a gun? When in the world did she start
carrying a revolver? And why? I broke the silence. “Geez, Penny
Sue, I didn’t know you carried a weapon. What brought that on?”
    She answered without looking at me, her hand
still covering her eyes. “I’ve carried one for ages, for
protection. Daddy gets death threats all the time. He’s locked up
his share of druggies over the years.”
    I knew I should probably drop it and let her
rest, yet couldn’t. “What possessed you to wave your gun at those
men? Why didn’t you let them fight it out?”
    “Rick seemed like a nice guy. After all,
he’s into saving the turtles and everything.” She spread her
fingers and peeked at me. “Of course, that has proven to be a gross
misconception.” She closed her fingers over her eyes. “I was merely
trying to break up the fight. I thought the redneck was going to
hit Rick in the head with that chunk of concrete.” She sat up and
folded her arms across her chest. “I wish I’d let him do it,
now.”
    “I know.” I moved to the couch and patted
her shoulder. Penny Sue’d always had a weak spot for the underdog.
In college she was constantly bringing stray cats, injured dogs and
troubled men back to the sorority house. I’d hoped she’d outgrown
it. Apparently not.
    “What were the guys fighting about?” Ruthie
asked.
    “The turtles, I suppose. Rick said he was on
the Turtle Patrol that ropes off the nests. They’re an endangered
species and the county has banned driving on the beach to protect
them. A lot of old-timers are angry about the driving ban.”
    I nodded. “The ‘turtles-make-good-soup’
crowd,” I said, remembering the pickup’s bumper sticker. “Rick’s
certainly not the average environmentalist. Aren’t they usually
pacifists?”
    Penny Sue’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, and they
generally don’t have foul mouths. That’s what set me off. Bitch!
The nerve of that guy.” She puffed up as she spoke, gaining
strength from her indignation, then, just as quickly, deflated like
a punctured balloon. “I don’t suppose being called a bitch is much
of a defense for aggravated assault.” She pulled on her lip
nervously.
    Ruthie moved to the couch and hugged Penny
Sue. “Don’t worry, we’ll stand by you.”
    “Thanks,” Penny Sue said with a sigh. “I
guess I can always claim PMS. I think it’s a legitimate defense for
murder, now.”
    Ruthie and I both did a double take. Penny
Sue was serious.
    * * *
    The New Smyrna Beach police could not find
Rick or A-1 Pest Control, for that matter. Woody Woodhead
speculated that A-1 Pest was operating without proper licenses (a
serious offense for a business utilizing dangerous chemicals), thus
Rick would never come forward to press charges.
    Another round of interviews with the
neighbors also seemed to corroborate Penny Sue’s story of intending
to