Teaberry Invitational

by R A Wallace

  “When was that?” Megan asked.

  “From what we have ascertained, around nine in the evening.” Erica frowned.

  “Do you have a window of time for his death?” Megan asked.

  “It’s still a sizable window,” Erica conceded, the frown still on her face.

  “But obviously after everyone else went back to their bungalows,” Megan guessed.

  “It helps with the window a bit, but not as much as we’d like,” Jerry said.

  “You’re trying to figure out what he was doing between nine and his death,” Megan said mostly to herself.

  “We’re working on it.” Erica stood. “In the meantime, if you hear anything at all…”

  “I’ll let you know,” Megan promised.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I don’t understand why you’re stressed about it,” Rhys said. “You did fine the last time, right?”

  Ava looked down at her untouched lunch. She knew he was right. To a point.

  “I could have done better,” she said.

  “And you will. You’ll do a little better this time. You’ll do a little better than that the next time.”

  Her eyes widened. “Next time? I just agreed to presenting in Ross’s entrepreneurial class because he’s competing in the golf tournament this week.”

  “The first time you covered for him wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I mean, the students seemed to be okay with it. They asked a lot of questions after.” She frowned.

  “What?” he took another bite of his sandwich.

  “I didn’t get to cover as much as I’d originally planned to.” She reached over a picked up her drink.

  “Because of the questions?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Maybe if I plan for the same amount of time for questions, I could talk about the things I wanted to do the first time but didn’t get to.”

  “That makes sense.” He lifted the sandwich to take another bite.

  Her frown deepened.

  “What now?” he asked.

  “What if they were just asking questions because they were tired of listening to me talk?”

  “You’re driving yourself crazy. That doesn’t even make sense. If they didn’t want to know the answers, they wouldn’t have asked.” He looked down at her food. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat something?”

  She shook her head and reached for it to wrap it up.

  “I’ll save it and eat after the class,” she said.

  “I still don’t get why you’re so freaked out about being in a college class.” He cleared the debris from his lunch and threw it in the trash.

  “It bothers me that they have more education than I do. I was lucky to get a high school diploma.”

  “Would you feel better if you took some college classes?”

  Her eyes widened again. “Take classes?”

  “Yeah. Maybe Ross could recommend something that he thinks might help with running your business.”

  When she didn’t answer him, he stood and leaned over the desk to kiss her forehead.

  “Give it some thought. Okay?”

  As she watched him walk out of her office, she was really glad she hadn’t eaten her lunch. The thought of taking college classes made her stomach churn just as much as taking high school classes had when she was younger. Maybe even more.

  ***

  Susan spotted them in the crowd first and waved.

  “There’s Bev and Vince.” She turned to Ross then pointed at the crowd.

  He found them in the crowd and waved also then turned back to Susan.

  “We have a few minutes before our tee time.” He took a deep breath. “Are you starting to question our sanity yet?”

  She laughed. “Now’s a fine time to ask. Are you suggesting we make a run for it?”

  He grinned at her. “The thought had crossed my mind.”

  “No, we’re not taking the easy way out. I’m sure we aren’t the first tournament participants to have a panic attack at tee time.” She looked around them. “I’m actually pretty impressed with us for making it this far. I say we go out and do whatever we do and try to have as much fun as possible doing it.”

  “Brave words. I like them.” He glanced behind them to see who else was lining up to tee after them. He saw a familiar face beyond the two players behind them. “Is that Megan?”

  Susan turned. “Yes. She’s with the press. Oh, this is it! We’re up.”

  “Okay. Go out and have fun. We can do this,” Ross muttered. “No panic attacks allowed.”

  Susan laughed as he’d intended her to and stepped forward.

  Megan watched as Susan and Ross moved into position. She could hear the next couple speaking to each other as they waited to tee off next. She knew there would be several minutes before that would happen. Based on what she had found online, she could tell that the next two were Wes Lowry, the golf instructor, and Maya Lin, the fourteen-year-old phenom. She knew that Maya hadn’t competed much in the past. It was only recently that she’d made her splash in the golf world. From what she could see now, Maya was suffering a serious case of nerves.

  “I can’t do this,” Maya said.

  “Yes, you can,” Wes said as he turned to face her. “You can do this better than most of the people on the planet.”

  “I’ve never competed with a camera pointed at me the whole time,” Maya said.

  “Forget about the camera. Just focus on the game. That’s what you need to do, Maya? Okay?” Wes glanced at the group in front of them as they moved off then turned back to Maya. “You and I are going to step up and tee off. Once you swing the club, you’re going to forget about everything else. I promise.”

  “But…”

  “No, buts. We’re partners. I need you to trust me on this. Okay?”

  Maya nodded hesitantly.

  “Just try to think about all the people who said you’d never get this far. You showed them all, Maya. You’re going to show them again. Ready?”

  The nod was less hesitant this time.

  “Okay. Let’s get our game face on.” Wes took a step forward. Maya quickly caught up.

  “She’s too young to be here,” a voice beside her said.

  “Excuse me?” Megan turned to look at the man next to her. He was wearing a press pass like hers. She could only make out the first name. It said Avery.

  “The little melt down. It shows she’s too young,” Avery said.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I think most of us have those kinds of moments and not just when we’re young. They sneak up on you when you least expect it. It’s one of the main benefits of having friends and family around us when it happens.”

  He laughed at her. “You can’t be serious.”

  “It’s also how you can tell your true friends. They never make fun of you for it afterward,” Megan said. She looked over his shoulder and saw two friendly faces in the crowd. “Excuse me.”

  She worked her way over to Bev and Vince.

  “Well, look at you. A press pass,” Vince said.

  “I know. I feel very professional. Are you going to follow Susan and Ross?”

  “We are. Do you want to walk with us a little way?” Bev gave Megan a worried look as they began to walk. “You aren’t planning to spend the whole day here, are you?”

  “The nice thing about the press pass is that I can come and go,” Megan said. “I’m not planning to post any scores on the town web site so I don’t need to be here for every swing. I figure everyone already has their sports apps to track that.”

  “Makes sense. You should get some rest,” Bev agreed. “It’s hard to be on your feet all day when you’re pregnant.”

  “I was thinking about running over to Lauren’s to see how she’s doing.” Megan looked around to orient herself.

  “Are you working on the puzzle of Jay’s death?” Vince asked.

  “I did tell Erica and Jerry that I would report back anything I learned while I’m here,”
Megan said. “Did you watch all the players who went before Susan and Ross?”

  “There were quite a few. They have this thing seriously organized, that’s for sure. They were teeing off like robots,” Bev said.

  Vince laughed. “Can you tell we were never serious players?”

  “I think some people are more prone to take up golfing than others,” Bev said. “I can’t imagine Vince wanting to spend eight hours a day walking to deliver mail for the postal service and then go home to a couple rounds of golf.”

  “By the time I was ready to retire, I couldn’t wait to get my feet up at the end of the day,” he said.

  Megan smiled as she walked. “I’m not sure it’s for me either. It’s beautiful here though.”

  They paused when they reached another group of players. Megan recognized one of the couples but not the other one.

  “I think that’s Rudy and Lacey Corbett,” she told them quietly. “I listed them on the town web page. From what I can remember, he is an editor for an online technology magazine. She’s a doctor.”

  They watched as the hole was played. Even from the sidelines, Megan could tell that Lacey Corbett wasn’t happy with her performance.

  “She doesn’t look like she’s having a good day,” Bev whispered.

  “Happens to the best of us,” Vince whispered back.

  ***

  Lauren looked at the sink full of burnt cookies and began gently rubbing Grace’s back.

  “It’s okay sweetie. Mommy can change her clothes. I know you didn’t mean to lose your lunch on me. I hope your tummy feels better now.”

  Lauren wet the corner of a towel and began wiping Grace’s face. She was on her way to the bedroom when the doorbell rang. She glanced down at herself then headed for the front door. She opened it as soon as she checked the security video.

  “You couldn’t have come at a better time,” Lauren said.

  Megan looked at her cousin and automatically reached for Grace.

  “No, let me get her changed first so you don’t get it on you. Then you can have her and I’ll get cleaned up,” Lauren said as she led the way to Grace’s bedroom.

  “Do I smell something burning?” Megan asked as she followed.

  “Yes. I heard her fussing over the baby monitor and ran to get her. When I remembered the cookies in the oven, it was too late. I dumped them in the sink so we’re good for now.”

  Lauren laid Grace down on the changing table.

  “There we go, sweetie. We’ll get you all cleaned up.” Lauren reached for the wipes that Megan passed to her. When Grace was in clean clothes, she handed her over to Megan. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  Megan carried Grace through the house to Lauren’s work kitchen to check on the cookies. She held Grace with one arm and began cleaning up the burnt cookies with the other. She had them in the trash can when Lauren came in.

  “I’ll get that. You can sit down. It will be easier on you to hold her.” Lauren rushed around the room to finish cleaning it. “I thought you were going to the golf tournament?”

  “I was there. I’ll go back when I leave here. I want to see how Susan and Ross do.”

  “It is pretty exciting out there. Not that I saw much as early as I was there.” Lauren turned the water off in the sink and crossed over to Megan. “Do you want me to take her?”

  “No, I’m good.” Megan kissed the top of Grace’s head. “Did you see anything at the golf course this morning?”

  “You aren’t working on another puzzle, are you?” Lauren stopped in the process of taking out more ingredients to start another batch of cookies.

  Megan shrugged. “I am going to be there all week. I told Erica and Jerry I would pass along anything I learn.”

  Lauren began working again. “I’m not sure I can help. Well, not really.”

  “What does that mean?” Megan shifted Grace a little to make her more comfortable.

  “I saw Pat with a man. I’m sure it wasn’t anything.”

  “Pat?” It took Megan a minute to place the name. “She’s the manager at the restaurant there, right? I talked to her before when I was working on another puzzle. Who was she talking with?”

  “A man. I didn’t recognize him.”

  Megan pulled her phone out and pulled up the web site she’d created.

  “Look at the pictures on here and see if you recognize him,” she said as she pushed her phone across the table toward Lauren.

  “Seriously?” Lauren wiped her hands and crossed over to pick up the phone. She scrolled through fairly quickly. “Here. I think it was this one. It says his name is Paolo Russo. Oh.”

  “Oh?” Megan repeated.

  “It says he’s married.” Lauren put the phone back down on the table and returned to her work island.

  “Yeah. To Angela Russo. So?” Megan asked.

  “I probably misunderstood. It just seemed like Paolo and Pat were pretty, you know. Friendly.”

  “Friendly?”

  “Well, they were standing really close together. It looked like he was telling her a secret or something.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The crowd at the golf course was just as large, if not larger, than it was in the morning. Megan found a parking space and began working her way through all of the people. Most were spectators. Some were employees of the golf course, players in the tournament, or members of the press and television crews.

  She definitely wanted to speak with as many people as possible during the course of the week. Not just for the town web site, but also for the puzzle surrounding Jay Kerns’s death. She was still confused about Cole’s behavior. She wondered why he was so worried that his friend, the golf instructor, would be arrested for murder.

  Knowing that Wes had already played for the day, she opted to look for him first. It was no easy task. After walking what felt like miles, she finally tracked him down. He was with a group of spectators, watching another group of competitors play a hole.

  “Wes? Wes Lowry?” Megan approached him from the side.

  “Yes?” He turned and glanced down at her press pass.

  Megan introduced herself. “I’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

  “Shoot.” His gaze returned to the course.

  “How was your game today?” she asked.

  He gave her a curious look. “You didn’t watch?”

  “I saw you tee off. You were pretty impressive,” she said.

  He gave a wry smile. “I was okay. Nothing spectacular.”

  “I meant your pep talk for Maya.” Megan watched for his reaction. It was immediate.

  “You aren’t going to write about that, are you?” His face showed concern.

  “If I do, I would say that her indomitable spirit was evident in her game today,” she said.

  “I like that.” His focus returned to the game, but he was smiling now.

  “I’m glad to see so many people here for the tournament. I was worried that the death of one of the sponsors might keep people away. Did you know Jay Kerns well?”

  He kept his focus on the game. “I knew him, sure.”

  “Did you see him the night he died?”

  “Who did you say you work for?” he asked.

  “The town of Teaberry. The mayor asked me to be here.”

  It obviously wasn’t the answer he was expecting. He turned to her again.

  “Yes, I saw him. I told the police that. He was drinking at the bar in the restaurant here.”

  “Were you there the whole time?” she asked.

  “Yeah, unfortunately. I don’t usually hang out there like that but the management here made it clear that they’d prefer the employees to be visible once the players, media, and the spectators began arriving.”

  “I can understand that. Did you notice Jay speaking with anyone in particular that night?” she asked.

  Crowd noise caused him to turn back to the players to see what had happened.

  “Oh, man. He’s goin
g to have trouble getting out of that,” Wes said. He watched for several moments before remembering Megan. “What was that?”

  “Did you see Jay…”

  “Talk to anyone? Jay talked to everyone, even if they weren’t listening. I didn’t pay that much attention to him that night though. No more than any other time.” Wes turned to her. “Listen, I want to follow these guys to see how they do.”

  “Yeah, sure. Thanks for talking with me.” Megan walked away from the spectators and headed to the restaurant. It was mid-afternoon. With any luck, they restaurant wasn’t as swamped as it would be during lunch or dinner. She found Pat at the front station when she entered.

  “I remember you,” Pat said as she glanced down at Megan’s press pass. “Megan.”

  “Yes. I was wondering if I could speak with you about Jay Kerns and the night he died.”

  Megan glanced into the restaurant. It was pretty full. Another couple came in behind her. Megan waited until Pat led them to their table and returned to the front station.

  “It was packed that night and he was in the bar. I was busy on the restaurant side. I’m not sure how much I can tell you.”

  Given the number of people in the restaurant now, Megan could picture how crowded the place would be on the Friday night before the tournament.

  “Are you normally here that late?” Megan asked.

  “No, and I wasn’t here all the way until closing that night. I did stay a lot later than usual though. Management wants a visible presence of the staff during the tournament. There was an overlap of several hours when both Emily and I were here,” Pat said.

  “Emily?”

  “She’s the assistant manager that works evenings and weekends. She was here until closing that night.”

  “The night Jay died was before the tournament began. Were there a lot of people from the tournament here that early?” Megan asked.

  “Not nearly as many as there are now, obviously.” Pat took a stack of menus from a waitress and added them to the pile on her station. The waitress went back out on the floor.

  “Can you remember any names of the players that were here Friday?” Megan asked.

  “Not really. It wasn’t just the players, though. There were media people and announcers also.”