Southern Greed Read online

  CHAPTER 19

  I had a false sense of security and felt like this extreme happiness would last forever and that my grandmother would continue to improve but it was not to be.

  As my grandmother had improved, I had forgotten about finding her a new doctor and she told me she didn’t want any more doctors for awhile. Time went by so fast with me in a state of such happiness and then the holidays were upon us.

  Mrs. Hildebrandt found my grandmother and me in the garden just before Thanksgiving and asked about what size turkey she should get, were we planning on having any guests for Thanksgiving, and which china and crystal we wanted to use.

  My grandmother threw up her hands, “No guests, fix what you want, use any china you want, paper plates will do. Kathy and I don’t have time for all that. It’s not important.”

  Mrs. Hildebrandt went away in a huff and we giggled like two school girls when she left.

  “You know, Kathy, I used to think things like that were important. But now that I have you back and have my health back I realize what is important.”

  “Me too, grandma, I have everything I want and I don’t have anyone trying to make me ashamed of having what I have.”

  “Is that what they did to you, Kathy, tried to make you ashamed?”

  When I nodded she went on, “After the holidays we need to go see your mama and find out what happened. How they ended up with you and why no one could find you.”

  “Can’t we just leave things alone and be happy with the here and now?”

  “We could, we could bury our heads in the sand but let’s see that they have to answer for what they’ve done. There should be consequences.”

  I nodded, “All right, grandma, after the holidays.”

  Adam was working long hours just before Thanksgiving and I didn’t get to see him much. He would come home after I was asleep and leave before I got up in the morning.

  Then one day he came home early and started packing saying he had to go out of town on business. He said he would be going to Memphis and was taking his sister, Susan with him.

  I felt hurt that he didn’t ask me to go with him but he said I should stay with my grandmother and that they would be gone through Thanksgiving.

  “But, Adam you won’t be doing any business on Thanksgiving day.”

  “I know but I have meetings all day the day before and the day after.

  Nurse Rachael had left a few days earlier after telling my grandmother that she wanted to go down to Macon to spend time with her family. Of course my grandmother gave permission.

  The professor and Ronnie were still there with us. Eugene had resumed writing my grandmothers memoirs.

  My life was so full, gardening with my grandmother and swimming with the professor and Ronnie. I had also started sketching clothes and decided that I would look into some fashion designing schools after the holidays.

  For three days before thanksgiving, the kitchen was filled with wonderful smells and Ronnie kept going in there and coming out with cookies. He always brought one for me, grandma and his daddy.

  I walked into the kitchen one of those days to thank Mrs. Hildebrandt for all the hard work.

  “Bless you child, but you don’t have to thank me. It’s my job. And I love my job.”

  I saw a coconut cake, a chocolate cake, pecan pie, pumpkin pie and mince meat pie, and various cookies.

  I must have made a face when I looked at the mince meat pie because she laughed, “Miss Gracie is the only one that likes it. I make it just for her.”

  On Thanksgiving Day we all dressed up to go to the table. Ronnie was so cute dressed in a suit and tie but, when I saw him pulling at the tie, I took it off him and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

  Everything was delicious and I noticed grandma eating several slices of the pie.

  “I want some of granny Grace’s pie,” Ronnie said.

  Grandma laughed and put a tiny piece on his plate, “I don’t think you’ll like it, sweetie,” She said and laughed at the face he made when he gulped down one small mouthful followed by a half glass of iced tea.

  “That’s gross, granny Grace. How can you eat that?”

  We all laughed at him. I felt so happy. Little did I know that my world was about to come crashing down around me.

  CHAPTER 20

  Ronnie woke me up in the middle of the night saying he didn’t feel good.

  I turned on the bedside lamp, “What’s wrong, Ronnie?”

  “I feel sick, like I’m going to throw up and I keep having to go to the bathroom.”

  “You probably just ate too much. You want to sleep with me the rest of the night?” I asked as I pulled the covers back.

  He nodded but just as he was getting into bed, he jumped out and ran to the bathroom and bent over the commode and was sick.

  “My belly hurts so bad, Kathy,” he said as he bent over from the waist.

  “I’m going to go wake up your daddy,” I said, putting on my robe. “You get into the bed.”

  When I knocked on the door to their suite, Eugene came out looking confused, “Kathy? What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Ronnie. He’s in my bed and he’s very sick.”

  Eugene was wearing pajama bottoms and didn’t bother with a robe or anything on his feet. He ran to our suite and went in.

  Ronnie was sleeping and we didn’t wake him up. “I think he might have eaten too much,” I said. ‘But do you want to take him to the emergency room to get him checked out?”

  “Yeah, I think I should,” he said and left to get dressed.

  I threw on a skirt and blouse and a pair of flip flops and was ready to go when he came back.

  “I’m going with you,” I said and he nodded and picked Ronnie up and carried him down the stairs.

  Of all the bad luck, Dr. Sims was working the emergency room when we got there but she was gentle with Ronnie.

  “How much has he thrown up?” she asked and Ronnie said, “A lot.”

  “He’s probably dehydrated. I’m going to start an IV line and give him some fluids. I want to keep him overnight and keep an eye on him.”

  She turned to me, “How is your grandmother?”

  “She’s doing really well. We’ve been gardening and she’s up and about, coming to the table,”

  Before I could finish she nodded and stuck her head out the door to call a nurse to get him admitted.

  When we got Ronnie to his room Eugene said he would take me home and come back and spend the night with Ronnie.

  It was four in the morning when I got back home. I paused halfway up the stairs and decided to check on grandma.

  She was lying on her back with her mouth open and, as I got closer, I tried to see her breathing but I couldn’t detect it.

  I went over to her bed and gently shook her, “Grandma, grandma?”

  She didn’t respond. I picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed 911. I told them I couldn’t wake up my grandmother.

  The paramedics came within seconds and then came detectives, Phillips and North, some uniformed police, and the coroner. My grandmother was dead. She was dead and I no longer had anyone on my side.

  The detectives took me into one of the small sitting rooms and questioned me. I was in a state of shock

  I couldn’t prove who I was. I had dismissed my grandmother’s doctor. Miss. Gracie had written a new will naming me the beneficiary. I had the most to gain by her death.

  I was arrested for murder and locked up in the county jail.

  Adam and Susan came back into town and said that I had told them I was the granddaughter. They denied that Adam had come to Rehobeth and found me.

  Since I had told no one back home about Adam and since I had left without notice to my job or my apartment manager, I didn’t have anyone to back up my story.

  Nurse Rachael came back into town and verified that I had dismissed the doctor and then the doctor herself confirmed it when questioned.

  Arsenic was found in the mince m
eat pie and Mrs. Hildebrandt said she had told me that my grandmother was the only one who would eat it.

  The professor was the only one who didn’t turn against me. He said he knew I loved Ronnie and didn’t believe that if I knew there was arsenic in the mince meat pie, that I would have let Ronnie eat any of it.

  I was arraigned and the bail was set at one million dollars but I had no money. I couldn’t collect on my inheritance. I was held over for trial.

  CHAPTER 21

  Life in jail was worst than anything I could imagine. I had to wear a gray drab dress and ugly slippers. I was made to sleep on a thin mattress with a thin scratchy blanket and a thin pillow.

  I had to use the bathroom in front of the guards and in front of my roommate. My roommate was in for armed robbery and grand theft auto. She and her husband had held up a liquor store after stealing a car. She had bleached blond hair and was extremely thin. She was a chain smoker and her teeth were yellow. She looked at me like she hated me and would hit me if I looked at her the wrong way.

  Once she beat me up and was put into solitary confinement, so I had a few days respite. When she got out she was a little nicer, but I was still scared of her.

  She told me her name was Ross but didn’t tell me if that was her first or last name. I was afraid to ask.

  I was hoping that Colin Baker would defend me since he had told me he believed I was Miss. Gracie’s granddaughter. He didn’t but he hired a Mr. Quincy. They came together for the first visit and it made me feel better that Colin Baker still believed in me.

  I told my story to Mr. Quincy and he told Colin that he wanted the pictures of my real parents. He said he was going to get the woman who raised me down there and get her to testify for me, but I didn’t have any hope in that department. She had believed Reverend Jacobs over me.

  It took several months before my case went to trial and before both the prosecution and the defense attorney were ready.

  I had to spend Christmas in jail but Eugene came to see me and brought a Christmas card from Ronnie. “Don’t give up hope, Kathy. I am on the list of witnesses for the prosecution but he will be disappointed in me. I think you were framed by Adam and his sister and lover.”

  I was surprised on the day of the trial when Mrs. Hildebrandt showed up with one of my dresses and a pair of high heels for me to wear to court.

  They didn’t let her see me for long but she did have time to tell me that she believed me and that she was scheduled to testify on my behalf.

  I was given time to change into my own clothes before they came and handcuffed me and led me upstairs and in front of a closed door. They took the handcuffs off me and opened the door into the courtroom.

  Mr. Quincy shook my hand and asked me to sit down. He seated himself and patted my back. There was a loud buzzing in my ears and I couldn’t hear what was going on.

  At one point, Mr. Quincy took my arm and helped me to rise as a tall man in a black robe entered and seated himself in a seat above us.

  I had never been in a courtroom before and the roaring continued in my ears. We sat back down after the judge did and he was addressing me.

  I could see his mouth moving but all I heard was buzzing. Mr. Quincy leaned over and said something to me but I couldn’t hear him.

  I turned my head toward him and saw my mama, the one who raised me, out of the corner of my eye and that’s when everything started spinning and I blacked out.

  CHAPTER 22

  When I came to, I was lying on a black leather sofa. I opened my eyes and saw the judge and Mr. Quincy standing over me and I realized I was in the judge’s chambers.

  “Can you hear me?” the judge was saying.

  “Yes, sir, I can hear you now,” I said as I tried to sit up. Mr. Quincy pushed me back down.

  The judge was tall and thin with a thick head of snow white hair and light blue eyes. He smiled at me and said, “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

  “I guess it was just nerves, sir. All of sudden I couldn’t hear. My ears had a roaring like sound, and then I saw the woman who raised me and I blacked out.”

  “A doctor is on the way. It’s Doctor Sims. If you don’t feel comfortable with her, we can have someone else.”

  I thought about how she had been with Ronnie and I agreed to see her.

  She came in and examined me without looking me in the eye, after the judge and my lawyer left the room. She told me I was pregnant. She finally looked me in the eye and said, “After you have the baby in prison, they will take it from you.”

  I was so shocked that I couldn’t respond and she briskly left the room. The judge told me that he had called a recess until the following day and then called for someone to take me back to my cell.

  I was in a state of shock. I had a baby growing inside me, Adam’s baby, and I didn’t understand how I felt about it. I was terrified of being sent to a women’s prison and having my baby there and then having it taken from me.

  Doctor Sims had written a prescription for some pills for my nerves and one of the guards brought me one the next day as I was getting ready to go to court.

  Assistant District Attorney, Gloria Miller was prosecuting the case. She was a large woman with dirty blond hair that was thin and needed washing. She called Adam as her first witness.

  After he was sworn in, she began her questioning, first having him state his name and address and his relationship to me.

  “How did you and your wife, Kathy Kramer, the defendant, meet, Mr. Kramer?”

  “I met her when I was passing through Rehobeth on my way to Athens. I stopped to eat at a small diner there and she was eating there too. I asked if I could join her as there were no more available tables.”

  “How did the relationship progress from there?”

  “I would stop off in Rehobeth every time I went through there and we would have lunch together, but I fell in love with her. I invited her to Savannah and let her stay in a condo that I have listed and soon took her out to the mansion.”

  “You’re talking about the mansion owned by Grace Boston, the deceased?”

  “Yes, Miss. Gracie was very sick by then and when I introduced her to Belinda, she thought she was her granddaughter, Kathy.”

  “Why did you go along with Belinda Jenkins pretending to be Kathy Boston?”

  “I really loved Miss Gracie and thought it would make her happy. I didn’t realize Belinda would try to cash in on it.”

  My lawyer jumped up, “Objection, your honor, request that the last statement be stricken from the record.”

  “So stricken,” He turned to Adam, “Just answer the questions, Mr. Kramer. Don’t add your own thoughts to what you’ve said.”

  Ms. Miller continued her questioning, “Mr. Kramer did there come a time when you began to notice that Belinda Jenkins started spending more time with Mrs. Boston?”

  “Yes, she spent almost all of her time with her and less time with me.”

  “Like she was trying to ingratiate herself with Mrs. Boston?”

  Mr. Quincy jumped up, “Objection, your honor, calls for speculation.”

  “Sustained, Ms. Miller, you know better than that.”

  Ms. Miller nodded, “I have no more questions for this witness.”

  Mr. Quincy rose and approached the witness while buttoning his jacket. “Mr. Kramer, you stated that you met Kathy for lunch several times in Rehobeth when you were passing through on your way to Athens.”

  Adam had a smug look on his face and I wondered how I ever was so taken in by him. “That’s correct.”

  “So, in a town as small as Rehobeth, other people would have seen you two together, correct?”

  “Yes,” He said without hesitation.

  “Did she ever introduce you to any to these people?”

  He hesitated, like he didn’t know how to answer that question. Finally he smiled, “No, she never did.”

  “As your relationship developed, didn’t you find that strange?”

  “I gue
ss I did then but, later after I realized what she was after, I didn’t.”

  “Isn’t it true, Mr. Kramer, that you did, in fact, go to Rehobeth to seek out my client for the sole purpose of bringing her back to Savannah and trying to pass her off as Mrs. Boston’s granddaughter?”

  “No sir, that’s not true.”

  “And in fact, you knew, from the beginning, that she was the true granddaughter of Grace Boston, isn’t that true?”

  “No, sir, that is not true.”

  The prosecution objected and my lawyer said he had no more questions for this witness.

  He had planted a seed for the jury to think about.

  The judge looked at his watch and said we would break for lunch. Mr. Quincy had sandwiches delivered to a small room off the main courtroom where there was one small table and two chairs. We ate there and he tried to give me encouragement.

  “You’re going to tend to get discouraged as the prosecution calls her witnesses but just keep in mind, we will have our turn and I think we have a real good chance a beating this.”

  CHAPTER 23

  When we got back from lunch, the prosecution called Rachael Frazier, the nurse.

  After being sworn in, giving her name and address and how she knew me and the victim, the prosecution asked, “When was the first time you met the defendant?”

  “When Adam brought her to the mansion right after they were married.”

  She told the court about how I had spent time with Grace Boston, how I had fired the doctor and how that I had never hired another doctor. She told about Mrs. Boston calling in her lawyer and how she had overheard her making Belinda or Kathy or whatever my name was, the sole inheritor.

  On cross examination my lawyer asked her, “Ms. Frazier, isn’t it true that you and Mr. Adam Kramer were lovers?”

  “Yes, but that was before he married her,” She said pointing to me.

  The prosecution brought witness after witness and it looked worse and worse for me. Ms. Miller got Mrs. Hildebrandt to admit that she had told me Grace was the only one who ate the mince meat pie.

  Mr. Quincy asked Mrs. Hildebrandt if she saw me putting anything in any of the pies. She said no. He asked her who else had been in the kitchen while she was baking the pies and she said everyone had come in to take a look at what she was cooking.