Closer By The Hour: A Riveting New Thriller (The Bishop Smoky Mountain Thrillers Book 3) by Lauren Street

Author:Lauren Street [Street, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sterling & Stone
Published: 2023-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Mitch stepped through the door of the Ferguson Nursery and Lawn Care Service on the road between Gatlinburg and Dollywood and a little bell rang above him.

“I’m coming, I’m coming, keep your pants on!” came a voice from the back of the building, as if it were Mitch who’d summoned him and not the bell. “If you’re here cause your lawn ain’t been mowed, I’m working on it. Crew didn’t show up–”

An enormously large man lumbered through the door at the back of the shop and stopped talking when he saw Mitch and the uniform. Malcolm Cranston Ferguson — Crank to his friends and he didn’t have many — was the son of “Rosie” Ferguson, the woman who’d been murdered. He was the man Brandon had said pressuring Rosie to sign some kind of paper.

“About damn time you showed up,” he said as he made his way toward Mitch. The man was so large he had to turn sideways to get down the rows of merchandise he had for sale. He almost tipped over the display of yard art gnomes and elves. “Have you caught him yet? The man who killed Mama?”

“No, sir, we haven’t made any arrests in the case yet.”

“Why in the hell not? How hard can it be to catch somebody who kidnapped an old lady out of a nursing home? Surely somebody seen it happen.”

“There was one witness, yes, but she’d not a very reliable witness.”

“Yeah, you mean she was nuts. Ain’t nobody in that place dragging a full string of fish, and that goes for the staff, too.” He grunted. “I’m gonna sue their pants off.”

“You’re planning to file a lawsuit against the facility?”

“Damn straight I am. They couldn’t keep up with one little old lady. It’s their fault she’s dead and they’re going to pay for it.” He made the motion of rubbing money between his fingers. “As in pay.”

“I’m here to ask you some questions about your mother.”

“What are you bothering me for? You need to be out trying to catch the guy who done this.”

“When was the last time you saw your mother?”

“I went to see her two days before they lost her.”

“And before that? Did you see your mother often?”

“I’m a busy man, Sheriff–” he read the last name off Mitch’s name tag. “—Webster. I got things to do, places to go, people to see. I ain’t got time to be running over to that nursing home every time my mommy crooks her little finger.”

“Did she do that often? Ask you to come see her?”

“In the beginning, yeah. When me and Becky put her in that place she howled to high heaven about it, called five or six times a day, liked to drove my sister crazy. I told her, ‘just block her calls.’ But she wouldn’t. I did, but she wouldn’t.”

“When was the last time your sister—?”

“The last time my sister done anything was this spring and what she done was die. She had all kinda things wrong with her, surprised she lasted as long as she did.

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