by Cindy Bell
“Of course. I know you two are good friends, but even good friends fight sometimes. She seemed so upset by what you were about to tell me. I just want you to know that anything you say to me, stays between us, all right?” Ally smiled as she met the woman’s eyes. In some ways Mrs. Bing, Mrs. Cale, and Mrs. White, had been like extra grandmothers to her. She’d known them since she was a young girl, and though she didn’t always understand their behavior, she knew they had very good hearts.
“That’s sweet of you, Ally. I get these ideas sometimes, and yes, I know that they are a little strange, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong, does it?” She popped another chocolate into her mouth.
“No, it certainly doesn’t. I have some pretty strange ideas sometimes myself. So why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind? You said it had to do with Austin, right?” She leaned against the counter.
“Yes, it does. I saw the boy, he was in that store, whether Mrs. White believes me or not. He was so handsome, I’ll admit, I was a little smitten.” She smiled. “So, I kept an eye on him after he helped me. I saw him following around this man. I thought it was very strange. So I followed him, and the man he followed.”
“Did you know the man that he was following?” Ally’s heart skipped a beat.
“Yes. It was Gregory Marris. Do you know him?” She met her eyes. “He’s one of the three men that own that collectible car place in Geraltin. The high-end one?”
“Dolphin Collectibles or something like that?” Ally frowned. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t think I’ve ever met Gregory. I couldn’t even imagine walking through the doors.”
“Exactly, it’s very high-end. Anyway, Gregory lives in Mainbry, even though he works in Geraltin. We shared a coffee once at the diner, and he said that he likes the slower pace of Blue River. He’s a very nice man. At least, he seems that way. I was curious about why Austin would be following him, so I stayed on his tail. When Gregory got in line to check out, Austin hung back and pulled out his cell phone. I thought he was texting, but when I peeked over his shoulder, I saw it was some kind of document. He typed in the time, and the name of the store. Then he snapped a picture. But if I hadn’t been looking I never would have known that he did. He barely moved his phone. It was like he knew how to do things secretively. Strange, right?” She frowned. “So yes, I was being nosy, but I had good reason. Why would Austin need a picture of Gregory?”
“I don’t know.” Ally shook her head, though her mind was churning with reasons. Was Austin investigating Gregory for some reason? Why would he be following him? Or was Mrs. Bing just being overly paranoid?
“Mrs. White says it’s silly, that I’m just being suspicious. But I think Gregory might have found out that Austin was following him. I think he might not have liked that, and I think he might have killed him.”
“But I thought you just said that he is a nice man?” Ally’s eyes narrowed.
“He is. But rich men don’t get rich from being nice you know. Maybe Austin knew something about him he shouldn’t have. I don’t know.” She shrugged.
“And you told the Mainbry police this?”
“Well, I tried to. But they didn’t really listen, I don’t think. They just had me fill out a form and then told me they would call if they needed more information. They treated me like some silly old lady.” She sighed. “It’s not the same as having Luke to turn to.”
“No, it’s not.”
“It’s possible that I was just being overly suspicious.” She pursed her lips, then nodded. “It really is.”
“I think you had every reason to be suspicious, I would have been suspicious, too. Thanks for sharing that with me, Mrs. Bing.”
“Thanks for listening.” She picked up a couple more chocolates. “And for these.” She smiled. “They are delicious.”
“Anytime.” Ally smiled as she watched Mrs. Bing walk out of the shop. As excited as she was to have some new information she still wasn’t quite sure how it would piece together. When her grandmother stepped back out of the kitchen, she filled her in on what Mrs. Bing had to say.
“Gregory Marris?” She narrowed her eyes. “Interesting.”
“Why? What connection could he have to Austin?”
“I don’t know what connection he might have to Austin, but I do know that he has a connection to Harris. His business partner was there at the farm the day Austin died. He drove past us when we were on our way there, remember? The big red car that sped past us.”
“Oh, I didn’t even recognize him.”
“You wouldn’t, he isn’t well known in Blue River. He has always lived in Geraltin in the wealthier section and keeps to himself. His name is Matthew Carter. I find it very interesting that Austin was following Gregory around, and was also at the farm around the same time as Matthew Carter. I’m just not sure what that means.”
“Me neither.” Ally bit into her bottom lip as she considered it. “Two wealthy men, that Austin was somehow connected to. Then Austin ends up dead. Maybe Austin was planning to steal from Gregory? I mean, he has to fund that lifestyle somehow, and we’ve yet to figure out what he does for a living. He’s a ghost. Maybe that’s because he’s a criminal.”
“Maybe.” Charlotte snapped her fingers. “That makes sense. Maybe he was planning to rob Dolphin Collectible Cars or the owners.”
“And Gregory found out?” Ally raised an eyebrow as she followed her grandmother’s train of thought. “Or Matthew? Maybe one of them sabotaged the parachute pack to get rid of the threat?”
“That’s possible.” She nodded slowly. “But I’m not sure why they wouldn’t just go to the police? It’s not normal to just murder someone, even if they are planning to rob you.”
“That’s true. And these are businessmen, not criminals. So that would be a big leap.” Ally sighed. “Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
“Yes, I think we might be.” Charlotte tapped her fingertips on the counter. “The only real clue we have are those keys.”
“Which I have to turn in.” Ally crossed her arms. “If Luke finds out that I have them and didn’t turn them in right away, he’ll be pretty upset. Even though he’s not working the case, he’d expect me to respect the investigator enough to turn in any information.”
“Then I say we dig into them a little further, before we turn them in. It’s almost closing time, so let’s start closing up for the day. I’ll head to the realtors, and you can check out the cabins. At least we’ll know that we investigated all of the possibilities. Sound good?”
“Yes, it does.” She smiled with relief. “I’m so glad that we can do this together. You always know how to figure things out.”
“Sweetheart, the only way I ever figure things out is by putting my head together with yours. We make a great team. Now, let’s just hope that’s enough to get a killer behind bars, hmm?” She patted her granddaughter’s cheek. “Be careful. At this point we have no idea what we’re dealing with.”
“I will be. You too.” Ally gave her a quick hug.
Chapter 8
It seemed like a wasted trip to Ally. There was no reason for Austin to have a key to a cabin. However, she agreed with her grandmother that they needed to be thorough. It took some time to drive out to the cabins as they were right on the outskirts of Mainbry, deep in a state forest reserve. When she reached the main office, she noticed a light was on inside. She parked, then walked towards the office. When she stepped inside a tall man in a plaid shirt with well-worn jeans and a baseball cap stood up to greet her.
“Hello there.” He smiled. “Are you interested in a cabin? Or out for a hike?”
“Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something.” She smiled in return. He struck her as a kind man, and he seemed vaguely familiar to her. That wasn’t uncommon in Blue River as she knew just about everyone she ran into. “I’m Ally Sweet.”
“Ally!” He grinned. “I thought it was you, but I wasn’t sure, it’s been so long.”
“It
’s me.” She laughed, then lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry, I know I remember you, I just don’t know how.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ve dropped about one hundred pounds, I wouldn’t expect you to remember me. Chubby Charlie from middle school? We were in music class together.” He patted his firm stomach. “That was quite a long time ago.”
“Oh wow!” She stared at him in amazement. “I had no idea it was you. How are you?”
“Good, the outdoors agree with me.” He shrugged. “Once I got out here and started hiking, the weight started coming off. It was great.”
“I’m so glad for you.”
“You know, I have to say, Ally, you were one of the few people that was kind to me in school. I had so many bullies I couldn’t keep count, but you were one of my friends, and I want to take the chance to tell you how much I appreciated that, and still do.”
“Absolutely Charlie. I had so much fun with you in music class. You were always so talented and took pity on my attempts at being musical.” She grimaced as she recalled some of her epic music class failures.
“You had the heart, just not the technique. But I have a feeling you have plenty of other talents. I’m just glad I got the chance to see you again. So, what can I help you with?”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the set of keys. Her heart pounded as she displayed them to him. She knew that if she lost the keys she would be in even more trouble than she already was.
“I found this set of keys, and I really want to get them back to the right owner. If I turn them in to the cops they’ll just sit there unless someone comes looking. Do any of them look like they belong to one of the cabins?”
“Oh, sure.” He picked up the keys and took a close look at them. “Yes, this one is one of ours.” He singled out the key with the initials on it. “Hmm, should be cabin five.”
“How do you know?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, it’s the only one rented out right now. It’s off-season. Not too many people like to camp as the cold weather approaches.” He gestured to a pegboard behind him that had several keys hanging from it. “So, it must belong to cabin five.”
“Do you remember who rented it out?” Her heart slammed against her chest. This was it, the first clue, one she’d almost overlooked. It might just lead to more information about Austin.
“Uh, his name was Austin. A real friendly guy. A little strange in my eyes, but then who am I to judge? He asked for the cabin deepest in the woods, and that’s cabin five. As far as I know he’s still staying there.” He shrugged. “If you want to give them back to him, you’ll have to drive. It’s quite a ways down the trail. I’ll give you a map.” He pulled out a pamphlet and began outlining the way to the cabin. “This is real nice of you. I’ve lost my keys before and it’s a pain. Strange, it looks like he has his motorcycle key on there, too.”
“Hmm?” She glanced up at him.
“That one there.” He pointed to the smaller key on the key chain. “He must be going crazy looking for them.”
Ally realized that Charlie might be the only person in town who didn’t know about Austin’s death. She thought about not telling him about it as his lack of knowledge could be used to her advantage. If she told him that Austin was dead he’d want to call the police and she might never have a chance to look inside the cabin. However, she couldn’t deceive him like that. She decided that she needed to tell him the truth and hope he would still let her look inside the cabin.
“Charlie, I’m afraid…” Ally was interrupted by a female voice shouting from outside.
“Charlie, the foxes are back!”
“Oh no! Not again.” Charlie frowned. “Sorry Ally, we’ll have to catch up later. You’ll have to come out and hike sometime. It’s really breathtaking.” He started backing up towards the back door. “The foxes are trying to get the chickens again.”
“Thanks so much, Charlie. It’s good to see you again.” She called out as he ran through the back door.
As Ally closed her hand around the keys and picked up the map she decided that she would have a quick look around the cabin then come back to tell him about Austin.
As she inched the car along the dirt trail she wondered if she would even make it to the cabin. The roads weren’t designed for travel. Austin had a motorcycle, maybe that was why he’d called a taxi. Maybe he thought there would be bad weather, or he just didn’t want to leave his motorcycle where anyone could mess with it. As she pulled up to the cabin she noticed that the motorcycle was parked alongside the cabin, probably close to a rear door. She parked in front, and stepped out of the car. For a split-second she expected Austin to be there. Maybe by some miracle he’d faked his own death. But she knew better than that, she’d seen him fall.
Ally glanced nervously over her shoulder as she approached the door. She was only going to look around. She wouldn’t touch anything. She wouldn’t contaminate what would surely be a crime scene once the police were alerted to the fact that Austin had stayed there. As she slid the key into the lock she held her breath. Then she turned the knob. When she stepped inside the first thing she noticed was the smell. What was that? Chemicals? She looked around the room. There were sparse furnishings. A chair, a bed, a small table, and a dresser. There wasn’t much else, not even a television. Through a narrow doorway there was a small kitchen, and off to the side of that a tiny bathroom with a shower. It certainly wasn’t a glamorous place, but she imagined it could easily suit one person’s needs.
When Ally stepped back into the sleeping area she could smell the chemicals again. It was probably nothing, but she decided that she would tell Charlie about it on her way out. She scanned the room. From what she could tell there was nothing personal to be found. No suitcase, no toiletries, not even an old newspaper or magazine. However, as she peered at the small bedside table she noticed a corner of a photograph poking out of the drawer. Careful to cover her hand with the sleeve of her shirt she eased the drawer open. The picture stared up at her. She didn’t recognize the face right away, but it did seem familiar. She snapped a photograph of the photograph.
Just then she heard an engine outside of the cabin. Her heart lurched, and then raced wildly. Who could be outside the cabin? Whoever it was, she knew she wouldn’t have a good explanation for being inside. Her car was parked out front, there was no way she could get out the door and to the car without the person noticing. Even worse, she hadn’t locked the door behind her. The knob began to turn. With her heart in her throat she ran for the kitchen door that led to the side of the cabin.
“Hey!” The stern voice alerted her to the fact that the person inside had seen her. She wouldn’t be able to get to her car fast enough, but the motorcycle was right there beside her, and she had the key. As sweat broke out along her skin, she realized that whoever was inside might just be the killer. Who else would have been able to track Austin down? The police! But it didn’t look like the police.
“Get back here!” She jumped at the fury in his voice. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
This man had a gun. Her heart raced.
“Stop!”
It was now a matter of life or death, and even though she had no idea how she would explain any of this to the police, or Luke, she felt like she had no choice. She jumped on the motorcycle and turned on the ignition. The engine roared to life, as a figure burst out through the side door. She didn’t dare to look, she had to get out of there. Based on the small amount of knowledge she’d gained from dating a guy with a motorcycle for about two months, she managed to get the bike rolling.
Charlotte pulled up to the realtors and saw a giant open sign in the front window. She parked the van and headed inside. Two men sat behind desks and both stood up as she entered. She noticed right away that they were about her age, and both wore a smile that reminded her of a shark.
“Charlotte!” The taller man smiled. “Good to see you out and about.”
“Thanks Edward.” She returned his smile. They’d
met frequently over the years at community events and fundraisers.
“I thought once they had you locked up in Freely Lakes you’d be a goner.” He chuckled.
“A goner?” She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Oh, you know, once you go to a retirement home, that’s it, your life gets boring.” He shrugged.
“You couldn’t be more wrong.” She laughed.
“Ignore him, he has no class.” The second man stepped forward. “I’m Blake.” He offered his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Blake. You’re not from around here?”
“No, I’m not a local. I just come here to work.” He glanced over at Edward. “And he never lets me forget it. What property are you interested in today?” He looked back at her.
“Actually, I’m sorry to waste your time, but I’m not interested in any property. In fact, I’m only here because I thought you might know a man named Austin.”
“Austin? The guy that died?” Blake’s smile faded. “No, I didn’t know him.”
“Me neither.” Edward piped up. “He wasn’t a local, was he?”
“No, he wasn’t. But my granddaughter Ally and I had a chance to meet him, and he was a very nice man. I thought maybe he’d been here, because he had a key with the initials AVC on it.”
“Hmm, none of our keys have that on it. So, I’d say probably not.” Blake slipped his hands into his pockets. “Why did you want to know?”
“I guess, I’m just trying to make sense of all of it. You know, find out who he really was.” She shrugged. “Sorry to take up your time.”
“No bother.” Edward flashed a smile. “Have a good day.”
Charlotte left the agents with a sense of disappointment. She had hoped that it would lead to something, instead it was another dead end. She didn’t think Ally would be faring much better. As she climbed back into the van she hoped she hadn’t steered her granddaughter in the wrong direction. She often considered herself a mentor to Ally, but lately she wondered about whether she was fit to give advice. She’d been the one to drag her onto that plane, and she’d just told her to hold on to evidence that should have been immediately turned into the police. How could she expect to be a good influence on Ally if she was making poor choices? She was annoyed with herself for a second, but then she reminded herself that she had never shied away from adventure and always tried to find out the truth. She wanted to live her life to the fullest and she wanted Ally to do the same. She started the van. Before pulling out, she decided to send a text to Ally letting her know that they should turn in the keys as soon as possible. There was no use holding onto them if they were leading nowhere. Maybe the police would get somewhere with them.