Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

to the Lumbee. I didn’t see Natalie’s medical records for a long time. Fletcher’s a paranoid man and he keeps his old case files locked up securely at home. But when he asked me to watch his place while he went on a golfing trip, I discovered where he hid his keys.”
    “Some house sitter,” Millay said but Judson ignored her. He was too wrapped up in his own story.
    “When I saw Natalie’s chart, I looked up MH and knew I’d found a way to get my house back. I stole the inhalants from a Lumbee veterinarian. I told you that I like walking the dogs in my spare time.” He uttered a single, humorless guffaw. “Willis’s went into a clove cigarette and Talley’s into her inhaler. Munin got rattlesnake venom in her syringe—easy to buy online, by the way.”
    Millay had balled her hands into fists. “She wasn’t a Locklear. Why punish her?”
    “She tried to keep Calvin’s son from me, but I got all the old-timer Lumbees to trust me and slowly, over many, many years, I learned that Munin had borne Calvin a son and when she got wind of my daddy’s vow, she hid him in plain sight and then took off, just like my whore of a mother.” His mouth twisted into a crooked smile.
    “So what’s with all the time poetry?”
    Judson examined his nails. “After Mama sold the farm, Daddy and I rented rooms in a run-down shotgun house facing the highway. That’s where he began to drink himself to death. After he succeeded, I got dumped into the foster care system. I only had a few possessions from my old life. A photo of our farm and Mama’s favorite book of poems. I was drawn to the ones about time and I needed something to think about while my world went to hell.” He held out his finger to silence Millay. “No. No more questions. I’m tired of the sound of your voice.”
    Olivia quickly closed her eyes and tried to formulate a plan. She could call out a command to Haviland and knew that he’d respond by pulling down on the bathroom door handle with his teeth. Even if it were a knob and not a handle, Haviland could turn it and get out. However, he’d been schooled since puppyhood not to open a door in such a manner and only an emergency could get him to break the ingrained rule. At the moment, he was alarmed and agitated, but if he thought Olivia was in immediate danger, he’d be out of the bathroom in a streak of black fur and bared teeth.
    And yet, Olivia hesitated. Judson had a nasty-looking knife and she couldn’t risk Haviland being injured. She’d rather tackle Judson herself than have that happen. On the other hand, if she could create a distraction, perhaps Haviland could disable Judson without getting hurt.
    She opened her eyes a sliver and saw that Judson was in the midst of gagging Millay. He stuffed a bandana in her mouth as she bucked in the chair, her voice rising in a stifled shout as she twisted her head back and forth, her face full of fury.
    Olivia knew that she had to act now. Judson was preparing to leave. And if he escaped, Talley would spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. She would never be safe. Perhaps none of them would.
    Very slowly, she ran her fingers across the carpet, reaching for the pair of shoes on the floor. She didn’t want to attract Judson’s notice, and having to move her muscles with such control was extremely difficult. Her head rang and the light from the desk lamp sent little needles of pain into her eye sockets, but she grabbed hold of the shoes and pulled them to her. Then she drew in a deep breath and yelled, “HAVILAND! ATTACK! ATTACK!”
    Several things happened at once. The scratching from the bathroom stopped and Olivia knew that Haviland had the handle or knob between his jaws. Judson swiveled, startled to hear Olivia’s voice, and picked up the knife. He positioned it loosely in his hand, the gleaming blade pointed right at her, but before he could take a single step in her direction, she launched the first shoe straight at him.
    The shoes were leather with a solid rubber sole. The left one hit Judson square in the chest, stopping his forward movement while his mind tried to grapple with what had struck him. Olivia aimed higher and released the right shoe, the pain blooming in her head.
    She heard an “umph” as the shoe connected with Judson’s chin and then Haviland was there. Mouth open in a ferocious snarl, he leapt onto Judson’s chest, knocking him backward onto the floor. The knife came loose and Olivia crawled forward