by R A Wallace
Megan smiled. “Well, I’ll keep that information in mind. Maybe the piece will fit into the rest of the puzzle at some point.”
***
Megan found her mother in the living room. She threw some more logs onto the fire and sat down on the couch next to her.
“Did you and Dad get to see all of your friends today?”
Sharon smiled at her daughter. “Not all of them. Not yet. But we have time. We’ll be here for a while longer. How was your day?”
Megan heard a commotion in the kitchen and looked over at her mother.
“The men were out in the barn. They were, uh, taking care of the animals.” Sharon smiled brightly.
Megan narrowed her eyes at her mother. Apparently, she was part of the special projects task force. Her mother’s mission was to help keep Megan in the dark about her Christmas presents. The men came into the room a moment later smelling of the outdoors.
Dan stood at the entry to the room. “Can I get anyone something to drink?”
“That does sound good,” Sharon said. “Some of that wine from last night would really hit the spot.”
Eric and Megan added their requests. Dan returned a moment later with the drinks.
“Megan was just about to tell me how her day went.”
Megan filled them all in on what she had learned.
“Do you think there’s anything to the notes?” Eric asked.
Megan shook her head slowly. “I don’t know yet. But it would be an awfully big coincidence if there weren’t.”
Sharon shot her husband a troubled look. “This isn’t dangerous, is it? You aren’t doing anything that could put you in harm’s way?”
Megan saw Dan giving her a pointed look. “I don’t think so. Normally, I would share everything with Erica. I don’t want to bother her now that she’s so close to having the babies, though.”
“What about Jerry?” Dan asked.
Megan nodded in agreement. “I’ll touch base with him.”
Chapter Fifteen
They’d selected their songs for this year’s competition last year after losing out to another group but after Colin’s death, they had decided to add one more song to their practice session. It was the song they’d originally sung with Colin. They had the sheet music that Leah had saved. Emmet set his equipment to record, then walked over to Vince and Daryl. Daryl acted as maestro to start the men on cue. Once they’d finished singing, Emmet went over and stopped the recording. Then he played it back.
Vince rubbed his chin absently as he listened. At the end, he said, “Not bad. I think I need to change my timing at that one point.”
Daryl nodded in agreement. “I caught that too.” He looked over at Emmet, his brows raised in question.
Emmet shrugged. It wasn’t as good as when Colin had sung it with them, but he hadn’t expected it to be. “It needs more practice.”
Vince glanced at the time. “I could use a little break.” They’d been practicing the different songs for hours.
***
Megan parked her truck on the street in front of Emmet’s house. There were already two vehicles in the driveway and another on the street. Megan assumed it was Vince and Daryl. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Jerry. Although she didn’t think she was in any danger as her mother had mentioned the previous evening, she still felt it was best to touch base with someone. Since Erica had stopped working, Jerry had agreed to be her contact. Someone that she could pass information along to, just in case it might help. She was hoping he’d be able to meet with her soon. After pocketing her phone, she zipped up her coat and climbed down from the truck.
Emmet turned when he heard the doorbell. “Sounds like you’re about to get a break.” He left the basement and went up the stairs. He found Megan at the door and quickly invited her in, hoping that she had news to share. After hanging her coat up in the hall closet, he led her back downstairs to the others.
Vince looked at her expectantly. “Well, have you learned anything?”
Megan looked around at the sound equipment. It was a pretty impressive setup. “Is this for your practice?”
Emmet moved over to the equipment. “Yes, we use this to record ourselves. That way, we can hear where we need improvement.”
“My parents love the competition. That’s one of the reasons why they visit me at this time of the year.”
Daryl and Vince shared a smile. Emmet gestured to a grouping of furniture on one side of the room. Megan followed the men over and took a seat. They waited for her to speak.
“When you visited me, you told me that Colin had mentioned being followed. Do you have more information about that? Did he say why or who?” Megan could tell by their expressions that the answer was no.
“Why do you ask?” Vince said, his eyes narrowed at Megan.
“Both Alaina and Nicole told me about notes that they’d found.”
Emmet leaned forward in his seat. “What kind of notes?”
“I’m not really sure. One note said I’m watching you. The other one said I know who you are.”
The three men shared a look.
“That sounds threatening, don’t you think?” Vince said.
Daryl and Emmet nodded agreement.
Megan couldn’t argue the point. She’d thought the same thing.
“You know, I did see Colin upset, now that I think of it,” Vince said slowly.
“When was this?” Emmet turned to Vince.
Vince gazed blankly across the room as he thought. “It was about a month or so ago. Maybe a little longer. I only remember because it was so out of character for him. I couldn’t ever remember seeing Colin that upset before.”
“Was he talking to someone? Did you hear what he was saying?” Megan asked.
Vince shook his head. “No, sorry. He was pretty far away from me. He was on his phone. He yelled into his phone, then pocketed it. I got the impression at the time that he’d just hung up on someone.”
“That is odd,” Daryl murmured. “I don’t ever remember seeing Colin upset.”
“Was Colin ever a member of your group?” Megan asked.
Emmet chuckled. “No. We did sing one song with him once a while back. That’s the song we were practicing just before you got here actually. Colin was the one who suggested that we call ourselves the Tea Tones.”
“He really had an amazing voice. Have you ever heard him?” Daryl asked.
Megan frowned, trying to remember. “I guess I would have had to. His group won the contest last year, didn’t they? I was there with my parents.”
Emmet jumped up. “He was singing with a group then. I have a recording here with Colin by himself.” Emmet clicked around on the computer connected to his sound equipment. A few moments later, they heard Colin singing.
Megan watched as the men smiled. She had to admit, Colin was good. She could see what Alaina and Nicole had meant. When the music stopped, Emmet returned to his seat.
“You’re right. He was good,” Megan said honestly. “Do you think the members of his group might know anything?”
The men glanced at each other and then looked back at Megan, the hope evident on their faces.
“Moira and Shawn. That’s a great idea,” Daryl said. “He would have been spending a lot of time with them before his death to prepare for the competition.”
“The McCallums. Do you know them?” Vince asked Megan.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. But if you give me their address, I’ll see if they’re home.”
“I can do better than that,” Emmet said. “I’ll call them and let them know you’re coming.”
***
Megan read Jerry’s text while she waited for her truck to warm up so that she could safely see through the windows before driving. She arrived at the police station soon after. Martha at the front desk called back to Jerry and he appeared in the waiting room a few moments later.
Megan followed him back to the main office area and took a seat at his
desk. Rhys was at a nearby desk working on a computer. He looked up when Megan entered and gave her a friendly smile, then turned back to his work.
“Thanks for seeing me,” Megan said as she took her seat.
Jerry flashed her a wide grin. “My pleasure.” He pointed toward Rhys with his chin. “We just got back from a call out. Rhys offered to handle all the paperwork to free me up for you.”
Rhys stopped typing and tossed Jerry a look over his shoulder. After shaking his head, he returned to typing.
Megan could hear him mumbling about animals as he did. She raised her eyebrows at Jerry in question.
Jerry shrugged. “I’m with Rhys on this one. We were called out to Cy Douglass’s place. He said his animals were acting funny.”
Megan frowned as she considered his comment, but Jerry continued.
“He claims someone must have been on his property when he wasn’t there.”
“Oh, I can see that. My animals would probably be spooked too depending on what the people did when they were there,” Megan said.
Rhys stopped typing again and turned around to look at Megan. She looked at Rhys and then back at Jerry.
“Really?” Jerry asked. He and Rhys had thought it was some sort of joke or something at first, but Cy had been adamant. So they’d duly taken a statement. One that said the animals were acting funny.
“Well, it would depend on what happened, but… yeah.” Megan considered it more. “And Cy isn’t there as much now. He spends most of his time at the twins’ place since he married Jill.”
Rhys shook his head and began typing again.
Jerry sat back in his chair. “What brings you here today besides having to explain animal psychology to us?”
Megan described the situation with Colin Boswell and his three wives. Half way through her story, she realized that Rhys had abandoned his report. He had swiveled his chair around and was now focused completely on her story about a man with three wives.
“Please tell me you are making that up,” Rhys said when she was done.
Megan offered him a wry smile.
Jerry wiped his palm across his face, then pressed his fingers into his eyes and kept them there. “Okay, let me get this straight.”
He pulled his hands from his face and held them out in front of him. “You’re saying that you don’t think his death was an accident?”
Megan took a breath. “Well, at least two of his wives think something was going on.” She explained about the notes they had found. “And the guys say Colin mentioned being followed just before he died.”
Jerry looked over at Rhys. Rhys shrugged.
“I’ve also had several people tell me that they heard him on the phone arguing with someone. In one instance, they heard him say something about no more money. In another instance, it had something to do with singing. That he wasn’t going to give it up.”
“What does his wife think?” Jerry made an impatient gesture with his hand. “You know, Hilary Boswell. What does she think?”
Megan shrugged. “To be honest, she’s been pretty confused these last few days. You can’t blame her, really. I’m hoping to speak with her again tomorrow.” Megan glanced at the clock on the wall. “I need to go. I’m meeting with Colin’s singing partners next. I’m hoping he may have said something to them. The guys said that Colin should have been practicing with them a lot before his death.”
Jerry sighed. “Okay. Keep us in the loop. And Megan.” Jerry offered a smile. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Megan smiled back. It was exactly what Erica would have told her.
Chapter Sixteen
The noise emanating from the speaker could only be described as shrieking. The look of disgust on Moira’s face deepened the lines between her eyes and at the sides of her mouth. Shawn didn’t have to ask his wife what she thought of the submission. He quickly stopped the recording.
“You would think we’d be able to find at least one good submission.” Moira glared at Shawn as though it were his fault that they had yet to replace Colin.
He scrolled through the list to find another one that they hadn’t listened to yet. “Maybe the next one will be better.”
Moira paced the room as Shawn sat at the computer. They’d posted a notice on some of the more popular online forums that they needed a harmony singer to replace their former partner. Applicants were told to submit a brief sample of their singing for them to review. If any sounded promising, they would be contacted for a face-to-face interview that included a live demonstration. Moira had hoped they’d have someone in place by now and would have begun practicing. There was no way they could win the upcoming competition in Teaberry without another singer. Not only had they not found a submission worthy of an interview, they hadn’t received as many submissions as Moira had hoped for.
“I still can’t believe we didn’t receive more submissions. You would think people would be jumping at the chance to team up with us.” Moira continued her pacing.
“In their defense, the upcoming competition is more of a local event. It also was extremely short notice.”
The doorbell rang before Shawn could find the next submission in the list. Moira stopped her pacing and watched her husband leave the room to answer the door. He returned with a woman that appeared to be around their own age. Moira waited to hear why Shawn had brought her into the house. Perhaps she was hoping to apply for the open position with their group? She must think a lot of her voice if she’d skipped the online submission process and hoped to go straight to an interview.
Megan looked at the woman standing in the middle of the room. “Hi, I’m Megan Parker. I was hoping to speak with both of you about Colin Boswell.”
Moira flashed Shawn an impatient look. She’d forgotten that someone had called Shawn earlier.
“This is the woman that Emmet called me about earlier,” Shawn explained.
Moira crossed her arms and waited.
Megan glanced over at Shawn.
He motioned to some furniture at one end of the room. “Why don’t we sit down.”
Megan followed his lead and took a seat. Moira remained standing.
“I understand that Colin was a member of your group for a few years?” Megan formed it as a question, but it was what Emmet, Daryl and Vince had told her previously.
“Yes, that’s right,” Shawn agreed.
“I remember your group from the contest last year. You were very good.” Megan tried to include Moira in the conversation.
Moira shrugged. “We won.”
“It must be difficult for you to lose Colin,” Megan continued.
Moira made a sound that resembled a snort. Her hands went to her hips. “It was very inconvenient that it happened so close to the Teaberry harmony competition. We may not be able to replace him in time.”
Megan tried not to look surprised at the statement.
“Of course, our thoughts are with Hilary during this difficult time.” Shawn frowned, then muttered, “And the other wives.”
Megan remembered seeing Shawn and Moira at the funeral. They would have seen both Alaina and Nicole at that time though, at this point, the news about Colin’s multiple wives was all over town.
“Are you hoping to replace him that quickly?” Megan asked.
Moira sighed and her shoulders slumped. “It’s not looking promising so far. We posted something online asking for submissions so that we could review them. So far, nothing is at the level of quality that we need. We do have high standards, of course.”
“Is that how you found Colin?” Megan asked.
Shawn nodded. “Basically, yes. Of course, we didn’t have the time restraint that we do now. There were a lot of submissions to wade through.”
Megan narrowed her eyes as she considered the process. “Did anyone complain that they weren’t chosen?”
“No, why?” Moira asked impatiently. Then she turned to her husband. “Wait. Didn’t we get a letter?”
Shawn scratched at his f
orehead as he thought back. “Yes, now that you mention it. We did get an odd letter. I don’t even remember what it said now. Something about regretting our decision.” Shawn looked at Megan. “We didn’t think anything of it at the time. We certainly didn’t connect it to Colin. It didn’t have his name on it or anything.”
“Did Colin say anything unusual to you before his death? Or did his behavior seem to change?”
Shawn and Moira turned to each other, then shook their heads slowly.
“Not that I can think of, no.” Shawn looked at Megan curiously. “Why are you asking us all of these questions?”
Megan didn’t think it prudent to tell the McCallums too much at this point. She thanked them for their time and left. As she drove away, she wondered if they would find a replacement for Colin before the harmony contest.
***
Megan was setting the table in the dining room when her parents returned from visiting their friends for the day. Her mother came into the kitchen after changing her clothes to something more comfortable.
“What can I do to help?” Sharon asked.
Eric appeared in the kitchen a moment later. Megan smiled at her parents then turned back to the stove.
“There’s some wine and beer in the fridge. I think that’s Dan’s truck I hear in the drive. Dad, can you grab a beer for him too, please?”
“Sure can. How was your day?” Eric said as he went to the fridge while Sharon went to the cupboard to take out glasses.
Megan waited until Dan arrived in the kitchen before she explained about what she had learned.
“How about you two? Did you catch up with all of your friends today?” Megan turned the stove off and covered the pot with the lid. It would keep for a few minutes while they relaxed.
“We managed to catch up with a few, yes, including Lauren. We stopped to drop off some presents for the baby.” Sharon sat down at the kitchen table next to Eric.
“You did? How was she?”
“Very pregnant,” Sharon laughed. Then she shot her husband a look. “We also stopped at Erica’s to drop some presents off there. She mentioned that she hasn’t decided on names yet. Her parents weren’t there when we stopped though.”