So Weeps the Willow - 26. Salix Babylonica 4 - Impressions

Salix 4 – Impressions

When Ben opened the door, he was expecting a courier or a UPS deliverer, not a woman in her late thirties, looking bedraggled and twitching. She was a large woman, rather thickset. In her hand was an enormous leather tote stuffed with papers. Hanging off her shoulder was a huge purse, bulging and looking weighty.

“Can I help you?” Ben asked, stepping out onto the front step. The woman chewed her bottom lip nervously.

“Are you Romer?” she asked.

“No, I’m Ben, Rush Romer’s partner,” he answered. “Are you here about a case?”

She shifted and nodded her head.

“We have an office now, but I think Rush will be home shortly. Would you like to come in?” Ben asked, cordially, stepping back into their entryway.

The woman snorted and coughed. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out at first.

“Come in.” Ben now gestured inside. The chilly air was giving him a tickle in his throat.

The woman’s breath was thick and white in the early spring air. Finally she said, “I’m Twyla Smith, and I need your help.”

***

“Here’s your tea,” Ben said, handing Twyla a steaming cup of chamomile.

“Thank you,” the woman said, brushing her eyes with a tissue. Ben had set a box of Kleenex next to her chair because the tears had ebbed and flowed. It came and went as they talked waiting for Rush.

Ben wondered about the ethics of talking to a former adversary about a civil case. Technically, the suit was merely suspended and could resume at any time. However, Twyla had talked about her brother, the case, and what she needed in spite of his warnings. She simply ignored him.

“Jake was always a determined kid, very loving, but also rowdy. He would flit from friend to friend like it was nothing. I am pretty much the opposite.”

Ben wasn’t surprised, since Twyla had pulled out a ball of yarn and some needles and was now knitting away only pausing to wipe tears now and then.

“We should wait for Rush, because I’m pretty sure we can’t help you.”

She continued, ignoring his remark. “It’s been so stressful with my husband having cancer and my mother becoming a loon over this whole thing. I’m actually glad the court case is suspended. I never believed it from the beginning.”

“I think I just heard Rush drive up. Let’s hold on for a minute,” Ben urged and walked into their front hall. He fidgeted as he waited for his partner to walk up to their entry.

Rush came through the front door with a gust of cold air. “Well, hello,” he exclaimed after seeing the paralegal.

“We have a visitor,” Ben cautioned. “It’s Jake’s sister. She’s come to hire you.”

Rush squinted in disbelief at Ben. “What? I can’t work for her. There’s an obvious conflict.”

“I know,” Ben said. “I tried telling her that, but she keeps talking about Jake and how she needs someone to bring to justice.”

“How did she--?”

“I didn’t know who she was at first. I asked her into the house thinking she was a new client, and then, um, she keeps crying,” Ben finished. His eyes were a bit moist, Rush noticed.

“Let’s see what she has to say and get her out of here. This could be a serious problem,” Rush said, struggling out of his coat.

In his head, he was screaming because legal professionals can’t represent one side and the other at the same time. He considered the situation. Twyla was a plaintiff in a civil suit and he had been a defense investigator. This was crazy. But, he turned and followed Ben dutifully.

Rush marched into the living room and said loudly, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Smith. I’m afraid I can’t speak with you because it would be unethical.”

Twyla stopped knitting. She placed the needles and yarn in her bag. Slowly, she lifted her face, tears streaming down her cheeks and said, “I think my mother killed my brother, and I need help.”

Rush’s mouth closed with a snap.

After Ben got Rush a warm drink and himself a can of pop, the three of them settled down. Twyla had calmed herself and Rush led the questioning. After a few minutes, he asked her a simple question.

“Why do you think your mother killed Jake?”

Twyla pursed her lips and shuddered as she answered. “She confessed it to me that very night. Probably.”

“Really?” Ben asked, astonished. “Why didn’t you go to the police with this?”

“You’ve been trying a case against my employers. Now you say your mother killed him, and you knew about it.” Rush was flabbergasted.

Twyla waved her hands in the air. “I didn’t know it was a confession at the time. I thought it was an accident, in the moment, and that it was just the drunken ramblings of my mother. Never in a million years I would have thought she actually did it.”

“I’m confused,” Rush said. “Did she confess or not?”

Twyla answered. “It’s complicated. Can I explain?”

Ben and Rush nodded and the woman began.

“My mother has always been needy and manipulative. Our father was a bit flighty and so she took advantage of the only ones around her she could -- of Jake and me.

“I got married and started my own family, but Jake never did. So, she would get him to take care of her. Jake would help her with bills, drive her around, and otherwise listen to her constant demands and drunken outbursts. I would fill in here and there, but she became dependent on Jake. He became her caregiver, basically.”

Twyla paused and took a sip of her tea.

“Every so often, Jake would get an independent streak and try to get our mother to back off. This always threw her into a rage and Jake gave in. He paid for her rent or whatever she needed. Usually, she’d threaten to hurt herself or imply she’d kill herself. It was always very dramatic and overblown.

“The last couple of weeks,” she paused and then said, “before he died, he didn’t back down. For the first time in his life, Jake found his balls. He told her to leave him alone and pay her own rent or find somewhere else to live. I got the calls so I know how furious our mom was. I spoke with my brother, and he was determined to let her sink or swim this time.

“The night Jake died, my mother called me and left a slurred, ranting message. She said Jake would suffer the ultimate price for abandoning her. Winnie said he was dead to her, and then said he deserved everything that was coming to him and that he’d pay.

“I didn’t think much of it at the time. They were the ravings of a drunken lunatic, but then I’ve gotten other calls since then. She calls and apologizes all the time. Last night she called and left a message saying, she hated doing it but what choice did she have?”

“That does sound damning,” Rush admitted.

“It’s very general though,” Ben added. “I don’t know your mother, but is she capable of something like this? I mean, the experts are saying the heater had been tampered with. Your mother isn’t a mechanic or something is she?”

Twyla shook her head. “No. That’s why I didn’t think much of her comments and apologies. But now my attorney admitted she doesn’t think it was an accident. Kind of. Maybe my mother felt like she was pushed to her limit. I just don’t know what to think.”

“You need to go to the police with this information,” Ben said. “They need to know about these confessions.”

“It’s my mother,” Twyla said, shaking her head. “And she’s a drunk and half out of her mind. I’m not sure she could do such a thing, like you said.” She considered telling them about the little wad of paper she’d found in the drawer, but then decided it probably didn’t add up to anything. It was just a receipt from a hardware store.

“Why come to me?” Rush asked quietly.

Twyla sat up straight and answered, “Because you could eliminate her as a suspect or confirm she did do it. I’d know what to do then.”

Rush shook his head. “I really can’t do that. I’m working as a consultant for the police as it is. I’ll need to report this to them.”

“Oh God,” Twyla gasped. “No, please don’t do that. My mother will kill herself.”

Ben placed his hand on Rush’s knee. “It wouldn’t hurt to report this later rather than now. You really don’t know anything positive, just the drunken ramblings of a bereaved mother.”

Rush sighed in resignation. “I guess this interview could be confidential, for now. Otherwise, it will end up in the criminal case files. I would have preferred you speaking with a police officer who wasn’t part of your previous case, but that’s water under the bridge.” He considered his statement to her and added, “But you should tell the police your suspicions. In my humble opinion.”

“Thank you,” Twyla said, gushing gratitude. “Do you have any other questions for me? I did know my brother pretty well and Detective Hammond wasn’t too curious when he interviewed me.”

“Yeah,” Rush brightened. Maybe this was a break of sorts. “I do have a couple of questions.” Pulling out a notebook and placing his recorder on their coffee table, he switched it on and started.

“Who wanted your brother dead?”

Twyla thought for a moment, surprised at the question, and then shrugged. “I can’t think of anyone else. Except my mother.”

“Tell me about his ex-boyfriend.”

“Eddie? There’s not much to tell. They were together and apart a few times. Jake once told me Eddie didn’t just have a wandering eye, but wandering hands. I think that meant he cheated on my brother.”

“So, it was no great love story?” Rush asked.

“No, not after a while. I remember when Jake first met Eddie, the guy was the love of his life. They would get into these massive fights, break up, and then seek each other out. Jake said Eddie was like a drug, one he couldn’t kick.”

“Then he got sober,” Ben said. The dual implications seemed to give the three of them pause. Twyla finally spoke, and shattered their reveries.

“Yeah, I guess he did. I know Eddie was pretty upset the last time I saw him, but I don’t see the guy killing Jake. That would be too much work for a loser like him.” Twyla concluded, holding out her chin firmly.

Ben looked at Rush and shrugged. Rush then asked Jake’s sister a question.

“What about the woman who found your brother, Natalie Howe?”

Twyla looked bemused by the question. “Nats? I think she is probably mourning more than anyone else who knew my brother. They were best friends and told each other everything, I think. At least, that’s what Jake always said to me. According to Jake, she was making the rounds at that bar they always went to after work. It was some place called Gallivants. She was quite the operator, at least that’s what Jake said.”

“According to the blog, Ms. Howe and your brother were on the outs when he died.”

“That’s true,” Twyla admitted. “She couldn’t stay mad at him though.”

The woman thought for a moment, and then smiled. “Nats is probably kicking herself for being pissed at him … apart from him. Last time I spoke with her, she was deeply depressed. She said it was a boon to her art though.”

“Her art?” Ben asked.

“She’s a potter. She has a wheel and a kiln and everything. Most of her stuff is pretty out there, but they’re lovely pieces. I’ll give Nats that. Her work may be bizarre, but it’s visually pleasing, not that I’d buy something that different.”

Twisting in her chair, she said, “Jake had a piece of hers, but I don’t know what happened to it. After they released his apartment, I cleaned it out and the vase she’d made and gave to him was gone. I wonder where it is?” The heavy-set woman seemed at a loss.

Neither Rush nor Ben answered her. Rush did make a note to look at the inventory and pictures for a handmade piece of pottery art. He didn’t remember seeing anything like that either.

“Did your brother date anyone else recently?” Ben asked.

“Not that I’m aware of. Wait!” she shouted. “There was a guy, a little bit before he died. He was seeing someone on the sly, as I’ve read about, on the down low I think.”

“Why do you think that?” Rush asked, perking up.

“He wouldn’t tell me anything about the guy. Jake was usually quite open about his dating life. Jake hinted about some of Eddie’s proclivities. No, he joked about them, but he wouldn’t talk about this new guy.”

“You don’t know a name or maybe where they’d met? Does the name Chad mean anything to you?”

“No. Nothing.”

“When was Jake seeing this mystery guy?” Ben asked, getting a sharp look from Rush.

“About a month before he died, I think. He only talked about him a couple of times, but they were hot and heavy, I think. Then, it’s like the guy disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Interesting,” Ben said. “About a month before Jake was killed.”

“I think so,” Twyla answered.

Rush held a finger to his lips, stilling his partner’s exuberance. He whispered. “This is now getting good.”