Domestic Affairs (Tiara Investigations Mystery) by Lane Stone Page A

Paul’s car and the others went back to Buford Dam Road.  
    The helicopter returned and banked to the left, over West Bank Park. I drove us back to the road and an officer flagged me down. “The pilot sees movement over there.   If he gets any closer he might scare her.”  
    “We’ll go.” I made a left onto Buford Dam road and stopped in front of Bryn Marie. “Hop in.” We drove the few hundred yards to West Bank Park, which is on the lake side of the road. Vic and Tara were out before I could come to a good stop.  
    Bryn Marie handed me a small radio. “Remember how to use this?”
    “Yeah.”  
    “Radio up what support you need.”
    We half-ran and half-slid along the pine straw path.   Bryn Marie waited for us at the top of the hill.  
    “Kelly? Is that you?” Bea’s voice was weak and we ran in that direction.
    She was standing in a clearing. I grabbed Victoria and Tara’s arms to stop them. The only sounds I heard were the slap of the water against the bank, occasional police radio squawks, and the far off whir of the helicopter blades.   A quick scan of the area told me she was alone, so I let go of their arms.  
    “It’s us,” Tara called out. “Leigh, Tara and Victoria!” She looked in our direction, but it took a beat before she recognized us. She seemed disoriented. The only light we had was the full moon reflecting off Lake Lanier but from what I could see, she’d be able to walk out on her own steam.  
    Tara took her hand. “Oh, Bea! Let’s get you home.”
    We started walking back up the hill to Bryn Marie and the police officers. “Bryn Marie, come in.”
    “I’m here.”
    “We’re walking out.”
    “Leigh, I have an ambulance standing by.”
    I held back and telephoned Kelly to update her, then joined the others in the parking lot. Bea had a blanket around her shoulders and was standing behind the ambulance, arguing about going to the hospital.   
    “Is there anything you can do?” The older of the Forsythe County Police officers looked over at me.
    “Bea, I think someone drugged you and brought you here. If you go to the hospital they might be able to tell what it was and that will help them find out who did it.”
    She held my gaze for a long minute, then turned to climb into the ambulance.  
    I looked over at the waiting EMT’s and nodded.   They helped her in and put a blood pressure cuff on her arm.  
    The officer rolled his eyes and shot me a look saying I’d let him down. He looked inside the ambulance and then turned his back to the open door. He leaned over to speak to me without Bea hearing what he said. “She’s an older person who got a little confused. That’s all we have here.”
    I ignored him and climbed in. “I’ll ride with her.”
    I tossed Tara Paul’s car keys so they could follow.    She promptly tossed the keys to Victoria.  
    “What about Bea’s car?” I asked the officer.
    “It’ll be impounded and gone over.” If you can verbally roll your eyes, he had.  

CHAPTER 9

    Continuation of statement by Leigh Reed.   I woke up alone. My husband’s note said he’d called a car to take him to the plane. I was burrowing under the duvet to go back to sleep rather than think about how hard all this was when it hit me. It was Monday and Julio would arrive any minute.
    Fifteen minutes later, teeth brushed, hair in a ponytail on top of my head, and having tripped again over the putting matt Jack had left on the bedroom floor, before rolling it up and propping it next to his putter, I welcomed Victoria and Tara to my humble abode.   They were dragging too.
    Tara reached down and gave Abby a pat, then headed for the kitchen. “How about a glass of tea before Sweet Cheeks gets here?”
    Victoria yawned.   “Don’t you have coffee?”
    “Don’t know what that is.”                       
    “Do either of you ever look at Julio’s butt when the workout gets really tough?” The doorbell chimed before I could