Murder Turns the Page

by Thea Cambert

  “Lunch. I believe they were arguing about lunch.”

  “Is that all? That’s disappointing,” said Owen.

  “Lawrence was a selfish individual,” said Blanche. “My impression was that they had plans to go to lunch together, and that he’d blown Addy off for the millionth time. She just . . . lost it. Like people do sometimes. Poor girl.”

  “Thank you, Blanche,” said Alice. “Enjoy your time in the meadow. We’ll see you later at breakfast.”

  With a curt nod, Blanche pulled a journal out of her bag and went to sit on an obliging fallen tree at the meadow’s edge.

  After they’d enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air for a time, Alice, Owen, and Franny ambled back down the trail, emerging from the trees just in time to see Michael climbing into Ben’s police cruiser. He glanced at Alice, Owen, and Franny as Ben gently closed the door and got into the driver’s seat. Alice was sure she saw a tear rolling down Michael’s cheek.

  Chapter 11

  The post-hike breakfast at the Lodge included hot coffee and a decadent selection of thick griddle cakes drizzled with wild berries and syrup, biscuits smothered in sausage gravy, and omelets made to order. But as delicious as it was, Alice, Owen, and even the usually ravenous Franny only picked at their food.

  “Poor Michael,” said Alice.

  “He didn’t kill anyone,” said Owen. “How could they arrest him?”

  “I called Luke,” said Alice. “He’ll be in touch soon.”

  They sat in silence for a little while, scooting their food around their plates. Alice had just checked her phone again when she looked up and saw Luke walking toward their table. She felt an immediate lump form in her throat when she saw the look of compassion on his face. He sat down next to her and took her hand.

  “I came to let you all know that Michael is just fine,” he said.

  “Thank goodness,” said Franny.

  “How could he be fine if he’s in jail for a murder he didn’t commit?” said Owen testily.

  “He’s not in jail,” said Luke. “He’s in questioning.”

  “Hadn’t he already answered all of your questions?”

  “Owen, he’s a person of interest. As you know, the murder weapon belonged to him, and he was the last person we know of who spent time with the victim. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this, and fast. And anyone who had motive and means has to be questioned and re-questioned until we do.”

  “But you don’t think Michael killed Lawrence?” Owen asked.

  Luke paused. “It doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what the evidence tells us.” He stood and put a hand on Owen’s shoulder. “Please try not to worry. Enjoy the day, and we’ll let you know when we have something to report.”

  Luke held onto Alice’s hand and she could tell by the look on his face that he wanted her to walk him to the door. She jumped up and told Franny and Owen she’d be right back.

  When they got outside, Luke pulled Alice a short distance away from the stone walkway. “I just needed to check on you and make sure you’re not . . . well, that you’re not doing that thing you usually do, where you become Alice the private investigator and end up putting yourself in danger.”

  Alice looked at the ground and rocked from one foot to the other.

  “Alice . . .”

  “We haven’t been in any danger,” she finally said.

  “But you have been snooping around?”

  “Well . . .”

  Luke shocked her by asking, “And?”

  Alice looked at him in surprise. “Are you saying you want to know what we’ve learned?”

  “Alice Maguire, I can honestly say that it’s rare to come across someone with your sharp instincts about people. And even though I can’t condone you taking it upon yourselves to investigate crimes, I also can’t deny that you, Owen, and Franny have been able, at times, to wiggle your way into nooks and crannies that we, as the police, can’t.” Luke cleared his throat and squared off his shoulders. “So if you’ve managed to learn something that you think is relevant in any way, I’d love to hear about it.”

  Alice felt her cheeks glowing at Luke’s heartfelt compliment. “Do you know about the Lookout Mountain Writers Guild?”

  “The Lookout—no.” Luke took out a small notebook and pen.

  “They don’t really like to talk about it, but twenty years ago, before any of the authors who came here from the Chattanooga area were famous, they were all in a writers group together. Phillip Bennet, Saladin Raeve, Addy Bachman, Blanche Miller, and Lawrence Spraggins.”

  “We knew those five were acquaintances and colleagues,” said Luke. “Why didn’t any of them tell us about the group?”

  “They don’t like to talk about it,” said Alice. “It’s like a chapter of life they’ve collectively closed. But it means they have a past together—and that could mean there’s a motive to kill back in their history somewhere.”

  “Absolutely,” Luke agreed, snapping his notebook shut. He looked at Alice and sighed. “I suppose I could give you one small piece of information in return for yours.”

  Alice’s face broke into a grin. “Yes?”

  “The murder weapon—that skull doodad? It was wiped almost clean of prints. We did find Michael’s fingerprints on the top of it. But the base, where someone would’ve held it . . . There were no prints there at all. Now, in my opinion, if Michael was our killer, he would’ve wiped the whole skull, because he knew he’d handled it. The killer, though, only needed to touch the base to wield it, so they only wiped off the base.”

  Alice nodded, wide-eyed. “That’s definitely a mark in Michael’s favor.”

  Luke bent down and kissed her. “Definitely,” he said, stroking her red curls. “You know what? I’ve missed you these past few days. Work has been crazy, and I feel like I’ve barely seen you.”

  “I’ve been busy too, with the festival.”

  “But we’re going to the ball together tonight, right?” Luke said, grinning.

  “Yep,” said Alice.

  “Then I’ll be thinking about that all day.”

  He kissed her again, then went on his way. Alice went back inside feeling far better.

  “So,” she said, taking her seat at the table again. “I have some good news.”

  She quietly told Owen and Franny about the murder weapon, and how things might be looking up for Michael.

  “Let’s list the suspects,” said Franny, opening her bag and taking out a pad of paper and a pen.

  “Good idea,” said Owen.

  “But if we’re going to list the suspects, let’s list them all,” said Alice “Even the ones we like.”

  “You’re right,” said Owen. “Because we have to think like the police. And then, we have to prove that Michael didn’t do it.”

  “So Michael has to go on the list. The murder weapon was his, and he was very angry at Lawrence and could’ve conked him in the head in a fit of rage and killed him without meaning to,” said Franny, writing Michael’s name down.

  “And then there’s Helen,” said Alice. “Assuming Blanche is telling the truth about the Nashville conference, Helen lied when she said she didn’t know Lawrence.”

  “That’s right,” said Owen. “The woman had had a fling with him, and he ditched her in a very nasty way.”

  “She could’ve come into the room and whacked him with that skull after Michael left,” said Franny, writing down Helen’s name.

  “Which leads us to Addy,” said Owen.

  “Right,” said Alice. “Addy definitely argued with Lawrence right before he died—apparently sick of being blown off by him.”

  “And don’t forget Saladin,” said Owen. “He wanted to date Addy, but Lawrence was in the way. Maybe he saw his chance and got rid of him for good.”

  “Plus, there’s Blanche and Phillip—or really any of the Lookout Mountain group,” said Alice. “If Lawrence was going around saying they’d stolen his work, maybe they were afraid their reputations could be imp
acted. I mean, what if people believed him?”

  “So, we’ve got six suspects,” said Franny slowly.

  “Too many,” said Owen.

  “You’re right,” said Alice. “We need to narrow down the list.”

  “Then let’s get cleaned up and head over to the Smiling Hound,” said Owen. “At noon, Phillip is hosting the Taming of the Page editing workshop.”

  “There’s one sure way to get started.” Alice stood and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder. “We have to pinpoint where every one of these six were when Lawrence died.”

  Chapter 12

  “It smells amazing in here! I’m starved,” said Franny as they entered the Smiling Hound a few minutes before noon.

  “Glad to see your appetite has returned,” said Owen. “All is right with the world.”

  Participants in Phillip Bennett’s editing workshop were filtering through the door and Patrick, who was standing at his usual post in the pub’s entryway, was directing them upstairs to the rooftop garden.

  Alice, Owen, and Franny slipped into the bar, which was just to the left off the entryway, and waited until most of the group had moved on up the stairs. Taya, the bartender, waved at them when she saw them.

  “Hey! How are you three doing today?” she said. “Can I get you anything?”

  “We’re about to head up to the roof for the workshop,” said Alice. “But there is something you could do for us.”

  “Sure,” said Taya, wiping down the bar. “I hope this is about the murder.”

  “How’d you guess?” said Owen with a laugh.

  “The workshop’s about to start,” said Patrick, walking over.

  “We’re just about to go up,” said Alice. “We wanted to ask you and Taya a few questions.”

  Patrick nodded and lowered his voice. “Any leads?”

  “A few,” said Alice. “Actually, we’re trying to figure out who was where and when yesterday.”

  “Who was . . . what, now?”

  “I know you’ve already talked with the police, but all we want to figure out right now is who was in this pub around the time of the murder yesterday.”

  Patrick and Taya looked at each other.

  “Let’s see . . .” said Patrick. “Well, like I told you, I saw Michael go into the room that Blanche and Patrick were using around lunchtime.”

  “And Addy was here,” said Taya. “She had to sit in the bar for a while after Lawrence was found. She was so upset. I got her a glass of water.”

  “That’s right!” said Patrick. “And of course, Blanche had been here around that time. She was sharing the room with Lawrence, and Addy, Phillip, and Saladin were in the second room, right next door.”

  “They came out at lunchtime,” said Taya suddenly. “Yes! I remember the three of them all came out together. Blanche had already come out and was sitting at that table over there.” Taya pointed to a small table in the bar area. “She didn’t order anything. I asked if I could get her a drink, but she said she was waiting for someone. And it must’ve been those other three, because she got up to go with them. They were going down to the park, and then Addy said she was waiting for—I think, for Lawrence Spraggins. They were all like, ‘Let’s go, Addy,’ and she was saying something like, ‘You go ahead. I’ll get Lawrence.’ Because Lawrence wasn’t done with his appointment yet.”

  “With Michael,” said Owen.

  “So, you saw Blanche, Phillip and Saladin leave the pub?” asked Alice.

  Taya thought about this, then nodded slowly. “Yes. I’m sure of it. They were laughing really hard about something. I laughed myself.”

  “You know what?” said Franny. “This actually matches up with what we saw. Remember? We were down at the park, and we saw Saladin and Phillip arrive together. But was Blanche with them?”

  “I can’t remember,” said Owen.

  “So, Addy definitely stayed behind. Now we’re getting somewhere,” said Alice. “Thanks Taya and Patrick.”

  “Anytime,” said Patrick with a little salute.

  Alice, Owen, and Franny walked slowly toward the staircase.

  “We need to double-check on Blanche’s movements at lunchtime, but we can definitely scratch Saladin and Phillip off the list,” said Alice.

  “And then there were four . . .” said Owen in an ominous voice.

  Just then, the front door opened and Ben and Luke came in. Ben spotted Franny and hurried over.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  Alice could tell he was trying his best to sound casual, but when he took off his glasses and wiped them with the corner of his shirt, he gave himself away. Alice grinned at her brother. Since their childhood, he’d had this nervous habit. He was watching Franny as though she was a ticking timebomb, and doing a decent job of hiding it.

  “Fine,” said Franny. “We were just headed upstairs to eat and listen to a talk by Phillip Bennett.”

  Luke smiled at this. “I’m enjoying my autographed copy of Between a Rock and a Wild Place, Alice. Started reading it last night.”

  “Good!” said Alice. “What brings you two into the Hound?”

  “We’re picking up lunch to go,” said Ben, waving at Patrick who nodded and hurried off in the direction of the kitchen.

  “How’s Michael doing?” asked Owen.

  “We released him,” said Luke. “He was very cooperative. We’re getting closer to an answer.”

  “Did you figure out why Lawrence’s room at the Lodge had been ransacked?” asked Alice.

  “Well that’s the reason we took Michael in this morning, you know,” said Ben. “We’d gotten a call that a couple saw Michael leaving Lawrence’s room, and the person who called told us it was pretty clear that someone had been in there and wrecked the place.”

  “Who was this informant?” asked Owen.

  “You know we can’t tell you that,” said Ben.

  “A couple . . .” said Alice.

  “And the person could see into Lawrence’s room . . .” said Owen.

  “Phillip,” said Alice, snapping her fingers. She looked at her brother, who just sighed.

  “Ah ha!” she said. “We’re right. Of course it was Phillip. He has the adjoining room. The doors were open. Michael told us they were. He also told us Phillip looked into the room while he was in there. He’d gone to—”

  “Deliver a gift basket for Phillip, we know,” said Ben.

  “But you said a couple had seen Michael,” Alice continued.

  “Look at those wheels turning,” said Luke, kissing Alice on the cheek. “We’d better be going.” He took two large bags from Patrick’s hands and thanked him.

  “Blanche was the other person, right?” said Alice.

  “I love you!” called Luke as he pushed the door open.

  But Alice caught her brother’s eyes as he passed. “Right?” she asked.

  Ben nodded microscopically and followed Luke out the door.

  “So, this call would’ve been before the hike this morning,” said Alice.

  “Had to be,” said Owen. “Because both Blanche and Phillip were on the hike, and Michael was being arrested before they got back to the Lodge.”

  “I’m betting Blanche and Phillip were down in the lobby having coffee or something, and maybe they went up to his room. And Michael had just delivered those gift baskets when we saw him at the front desk.”

  The pub door opened and Ben came back in. “Franny,” he said, hurrying up to his wife. “As Luke and I were walking back to the station, Pearl Ann stopped me and told me to tell you not to eat onion rings for lunch.”

  Pearl Ann Dowry owned the Blue Beauty Spa, just up Main Street, and was generally full of interesting advice.

  “Why?” asked Franny.

  “Because it can cause you to go into premature labor,” said Ben.

  “Honey, I’m about to pop here. If I went into labor right this second, it wouldn’t be premature.”

  Ben thought about this. “She also said onion r
ings can give the baby heartburn.”

  “I won’t order onion rings,” Franny assured him.

  “Ben, before you go . . .” Alice said.

  “Oh no. What now?”

  “Do you have any idea why someone would ransack Lawrence’s room? I mean, was anything missing?”

  “Nothing obvious,” said Ben. “I know what was there, but I don’t know what wasn’t there. But I can tell you this: we checked that room early as part of our investigation. It was spick and span. After we got that call from—” He looked at his sister and rolled his eyes. “From the people who called in the tip, we went and checked it again, and found the mess.”

  “You said you released Michael?” asked Owen.

  Ben took a step closer to Owen and patted him on the back. “We know now that Michael couldn’t have ransacked the room,” he said quietly. “Luke found out he was with Chad in the office all morning until he went up to deliver those gift baskets. And when he did, he needed help carrying them, so Chad went with him. Chad then went back downstairs while Michael dropped the baskets in the rooms. Michael was alone up there for maybe three minutes. Believe me, it wasn’t long enough to do that kind of damage.” He looked at Alice. “Does that make you feel better?”

  “Much,” said Alice.

  “Of course, the fact that Michael didn’t ransack the room doesn’t mean he couldn’t have killed Lawrence. But it’s another point in his favor. Meanwhile, we have to process Michael just like we would any viable suspect,” said Ben, turning toward the door and opening it. He looked back at Franny, then at Owen and Alice. “Watch her. And call me if you need me. Pearl Ann says more babies are born when the moon is full, and it’s full tonight.”

  Chapter 13

  The All the World’s a Lake party at Town Dock was set for two o’clock. Alice, Owen, and Franny drove to Franny and Ben’s house in Owen’s SUV, as Franny was well past the bicycle-riding phase of her pregnancy.

  From the house, they could easily walk over to Town Dock, which was just out from the opening in the trees the locals affectionately called the Clearing.