Fe Fi Fiddler Die

by Wendy Meadows

  “I do hope we don’t have to hang around here all day long. I’ve been looking forward to a day shopping,” said one of the older women.

  “I believe they instructed us not to check out of here,” her husband said.

  Brenda walked in and heard the comments. “Detective Rivers said it will be fine if you want to get out and enjoy the day. Don’t check out early, however.”

  “You have our contact info from when we checked in, right?” the older husband said. “Guess if anyone runs, you’ll know where to find the guilty party,” he joked. His wife elbowed him, scandalized by his joke.

  Brenda smiled and ignored the commentary. “Mac will be back to let you know what happens next, before this afternoon.” She poured a cup of coffee and went through the door to the kitchen, needing some privacy from her guests.

  “I hope you weren’t up all night long with this terrible affair, Brenda.” Morgan was hard at work, and her eyes were filled with concern.

  “I did some research, but Mac stopped me from staying up the entire night. I can’t believe such a thing happened right out there.” Brenda gestured in the direction of the front driveway.

  “It’s not good for the reputation of the place, Brenda, but things will get solved and back to normal soon.”

  “I hope so. We have solid bookings for the next month.” She poured another cup of coffee and sat at the long work table. Morgan allowed her to enjoy her beverage in peace as she pulled a large stockpot from the cabinet and busied herself with kitchen tasks. Finally, Brenda took the hint and got up to leave. “Maybe I’ll go and have this cup with Phyllis. She had a long night, too. She and William helped keep guests calm until all could be interviewed.”

  Brenda came into the foyer just as Phyllis arrived, looking tired but determined. Together they went to the old apartment to discuss the events turning Sheffield Bed and Breakfast upside down.

  Chapter 5

  Evidence

  Sara Haas felt better the next morning. She and Alan came into the dining room fifteen minutes before breakfast closed. Chef Morgan and her kitchen staff allowed the guests to linger for as long as they wanted. She replenished the scrambled eggs and asked Sara if she preferred a southwestern omelet again. Sara smiled and told her that would be perfect. Alan dug into the scrambled eggs and the hash browns on the buffet. He picked up a dish of fresh kiwi and pineapple and sat next to his wife.

  There were only a few guests at the table. The elderly couple enjoying their coffee soon expressed a desire to walk along the shoreline and left. The young fiddle player Jake then stood up and stated he could be found down on the main street of town.

  “Despite the tragedy, some of us are going to play for Sunday strollers for a while.”

  After he left, Sara mentioned to her husband that it looked as if they were the only stragglers of the morning. Allie came into the room and greeted them. “Do you mind if I join you?” she asked. Allie hoped to hear more details about the dead body from the two who found him, though she didn’t wish to pry. Sara told her they were happy to have company.

  “I’m afraid we’re prolonging the chef’s work by coming down so late to eat.”

  “Morgan is happy to accommodate you, I’m sure. She understands how hard your night was.” Allie leaned forward with a conspiratorial tone to her voice. “Though I’m sure you don’t want to talk too much about that...anyway, enjoy your breakfast. I must have one of those cranberry bagels. It’s a new flavor Hope is trying out. I’m always happy to be her guinea pig. At least I tell her that since all of her baked goods are hard to resist.”

  Sara smiled. She switched the conversation to ask the young reservationist about the shops downtown. The more she talked, the more enthused her voice became. Allie was glad to see the guest was back to her old self but figured somehow the topic of Mason Eads would come back around. It didn’t take long for that to happen.

  “Can I just tell you…we were shocked when we found him crumpled like that on the ground,” Sara said. “I know it’s not a good subject while trying to eat, but there were things I put together last night when I couldn’t sleep that seem strange to me in some ways.”

  “Maybe you should take your questions to Brenda or Mac. They will be looking for anything to spur the investigation along.” Allie wanted Sara to spill the details right away, but she knew the rules of the investigation and the rules of politeness at the bed and breakfast.

  Sara nodded, thinking about it. “I’ll tell them my thoughts on the matter, but I have to say something or I’ll explode.”

  “Sara, don’t get yourself all worked up again,” Alan said. “Allie is right that we should talk with the detective again, and soon.”

  Morgan came out and set the fresh, hot omelet in front of Sara. She then poured herself a cup of coffee and sat next to Allie. “I overheard you talking about that poor man. I’m so sorry, dear. Are you the ones who found him?” the chef asked. Sara nodded her head yes.

  “I’m going upstairs to get freshened up,” Alan said. “I’ll leave you to your conversation.” He kissed his wife lightly on her cheek and reminded her they wanted to do more exploring around town. She nodded and then focused on her listeners.

  “I’ve been thinking about the personalities of the guests,” she said. “I’m very good at reading people. I don’t mean I’m psychic or anything like that, but I pay attention to how they act. If you consider Jake the musician, for example, you’ll recall how jovial he is. He never seems to be in a bad mood, and yet I’ve seen him huddled in corners or hallways talking in a low and serious voice to Reverend Kelly. I have to wonder what that’s all about.”

  She forked a bite of omelet and complimented Morgan. The chef thanked her for the kind words and ventured that perhaps young Jake was simply shaken by the news of the man’s death. Sara shrugged, not quite convinced.

  “Are there others you’ve noticed?” Allie asked. She ignored the warning look Morgan sent her.

  “The most intriguing is the couple from California. I’m talking about the Cabots. They barely speak to anyone. They stand apart from all of us. I haven’t heard one word about what they think of this beautiful ocean village or seen them around town or walking on the paths by the shoreline. What do they do all day long?”

  “How do you know they are from California?” Allie said. She was surprised, because the couple had not listed that state as their address.

  “I heard them talk about doing some kind of work on the Pacific coast before getting back home to Santa Monica. That’s the only state I’m aware of that has a Santa Monica in it, but I could be wrong. I wonder what kind of work they have going.” Sara did not volunteer details about how she had overheard this information if the couple indeed avoided keeping company with the other guests. Allie found this a bit odd.

  “I think the biggest mystery is Mason Eads,” Allie said, unable to hold back her curiosity about Sara Haas’ opinions now. Morgan gave up warning her and told them she had work to do. After she left, Sara continued. “He was an oddball. I don’t mean he was dangerous in any way. I just mean he definitely did not like any of us. You weren’t here the first night, but he put Jake down in a very rude manner.” She told the story of his disdain for fiddling when it came to appreciation of “real music,” in his words. “When Jake stood up for himself and his art, it looked like Mason was going to get really nasty, but the priest stepped in and settled them down. Jake apologized, and Mason never even attempted an apology. He was rather arrogant, and I can see that after only a short time most of us held him in low esteem.”

  “This is all very interesting, Sara. I’m not sure if personality traits will weigh heavily in Mac’s eyes, but Brenda may be interested and do something with what you’ve told me.”

  “That’s not all,” Sara said. “This has been bothering me…I overheard the Cabots arguing with Mason. They were on the walkway in the side garden. It was late afternoon, and I heard Drake’s voice. I could be wrong, but I thought I heard the w
ord ‘revenge.’ Mason started to say something back to him, but they were interrupted again because the Reverend Thomas Kelly walked up. I didn’t want to get caught listening. I took a pathway that goes off the main garden area and sat on one of the benches.” She hung her head slightly. “I was so curious, Allie, that I couldn’t resist staying within earshot of them all. The Reverend’s voice was too low to hear his response, but I figured he stopped an argument like he had done that night at dinner.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “I didn’t hear anything else. Mason turned and came back. Later, I saw him with his surfboard as he walked down to the water. The Cabots kept talking between themselves and I didn’t hear words, but I did pick up anger in their tones.”

  “Take all of this to Brenda this morning, Sara. Tell her everything you’ve told me.”

  “I feel so much better, Allie. I’ll do that. Where is Brenda now?” Allie told her she would call her boss to the foyer.

  When Brenda appeared, she and Sara went into the quiet library at the back of the house. Brenda closed the door to the hallway and they sat in the tufted armchairs by the sunny windows looking out on the side rose gardens.

  “I’ve been telling Allie about what I noticed about some people here. She told me to tell you.” Sara retold her observations and then said, “I did think of something else. I remember watching Jake sign autographs. He mingled with the audience after everyone started leaving the stage area to shop around at the booths. He was near our table and I noticed after signing one he walked toward the stage again. He wiped his brow with a checkered handkerchief and then I saw him leave the park.”

  “Are you sure he left, or did he just go around the other side of the stage to sign more autographs?”

  “I watched him. He totally left the park, along that lighted pathway that leads to the service parking lot. I presume he drove off. We were busy at our booth and I didn’t see him actually drive off, but later Alan told me he did see him leave in his car—he was disappointed because he had hoped to get an autograph before we left the jamboree for the night. However, Jake ended up coming back. We saw him about a half hour later, walking back onto the park grounds as we were walking towards the waterfront after we packed up our car and said goodnight to everyone.” She produced a lopsided grin. “I’m sorry, Brenda, neither one of us thought about these things last night, everything was such a shock. We were quite shaken over it all. I barely slept last night going over everything in my head and all of these things started to seem much more important.”

  “Often details surface some time after a trauma, just like you experienced. If you recall anything else, please let me know.” Brenda thanked her guest, contemplating what she had just heard. She needed more information.

  Brenda walked to the end of the driveway where police had the crime scene taped off and continued to search for clues. Bryce headed the operation and she approached him, asking if they had any preliminary theories.

  “We think the attacker surprised Mason and he had no time to defend himself. The attacker likely approached from behind because of how the knife first pierced his neck. The multiple stab wounds tell us there was something personal about it all. That one stab would have killed the man in seconds, yet the killer stuck around and took some extra time.”

  “Have you found the weapon?”

  “We haven’t found it yet. I’m going to send some officers to the back of your bed and breakfast, Brenda. We’ve seized and searched the trash and dumpsters for this whole neighborhood, and we have an officer combing the beach in case it was thrown down onto the rocks or got washed up with the tide. I also contacted your trash disposal service to let them know the police department will need to search everything before they can pick up the dumpster.” Brenda agreed everything had to be looked at.

  “It sounds like a huge operation, Bryce,” Brenda said, looking around at her beautiful bed and breakfast grounds marred by the tragic, violent crime.

  Bryce nodded, undaunted. “Mac and I compiled statements from your guests last night. As you know, there were no blood stains on anyone’s clothing or skin that we could see. Without a clear motive or probable cause for a warrant, we can’t go searching in people’s suitcases yet. We didn’t even see scratch marks on anyone, except for Jake Smith’s hand. He told us the wound came from when his fiddle case closed on his hand accidentally. The latch scraped the back of his hand as he was pulling it out. I think he’s telling the truth since truthfully, it didn’t make sense as a defensive wound from the way we think the murder played out.”

  “Sara Haas and her husband Alan told us they saw someone, possibly one shadow but could have been two, running toward the trees late last night. Maybe something can be found in that area that would give us a hint.” Bryce made mental notes while Brenda talked. “Jake Smith should be questioned more thoroughly about his statement and the timeline of last night. I’ll call Mac about that. I have some new information from one of my guests. He was seen leaving the park and then returning later—we need to know where he was during that time and if he has an alibi to cover his whereabouts.”

  She left the rest of the evidence gathering to Bryce and his team. Mac answered her call immediately. He told her to come down to the police station and they would question Jake together again.

  Jake was located on the corner near Jenny’s Blossoms with a few of his friends. They were playing to a delighted audience when his cell phone rang. He told his fellow fiddlers he would see them later and then walked the two blocks to the police station. Mac escorted him into an open interrogation room but did not close the door—he did not yet want the young man to think he was under suspicion. He and Brenda sat across from him.

  “Jake, we just need to clarify a few details before we finish filing your statement from last night. You were seen leaving the park after you performed last night and then returning. You told us you were at the park the entire evening until returning to the bed and breakfast with some of the other guests. Can you go over the timeline of your evening again?” Mac looked expectantly at the young man, not conveying anything more than friendly questions so far.

  Brenda leaned back and folded her arms. “Step by step, if you please,” she said.

  Jake shifted in his chair. “I forgot, I did leave. I wanted to get away from the crowds. I mean, I enjoy my fans and don’t mind giving autographs out, but I hadn’t had time to bask in my second-place win. I didn’t get to celebrate or talk to my fellow players at all. I guess I wanted time alone.” He went back over the timeline of his evening and thought hard about when he had walked away from the park. “The streets downtown were virtually empty, and I took advantage of the sparse crowds to do a little window-shopping, just strolling and thinking. It gave me time to reflect on my night and my grandfather and how much I appreciated what he had done for me.” He flashed a half-smile, sad and charming.

  “Tell us exactly which shops you walked in front of and how far down the street you went,” Mac said. “We might be able to get some footage from the bank camera downtown.”

  The fiddler shifted in his seat and thought hard and told them he walked only a block or two, not as far as the bank, and then turned around. “I think I was along about where Morning Sun Coffee is. There was a place with dresses in the windows—a bridal shop maybe? And that bakery, Sweet Treats. Everything was closed, of course, for the festival. The walk calmed me down.”

  After Jake left, Mac expressed the opinion that Jake gave them no good information to work with. He mentioned if no other clues turned up for them to follow, they should start entertaining the theory that it could have been an outsider who committed the murder. “With so many tourists around town, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but I guess we can start with some background checks at the local motels and hotels, see if something turns up.”

  “I don’t believe it was a stranger, Mac.” Brenda told him about Sara’s observations and how they fit with her own research about the
past business dealings with Mason Eads and the Cabots. “I’m sure the Cabots should be considered as suspects. Jake admitted he knew Mason a while back, and they spoke unfriendly words in front of all of us at dinner the other night.”

  “Are you saying more than one person held a grudge against the man?”

  “That is what I’m saying. I think one person killed him, but I also believe more than one might have knowledge of what happened.”

  * * *

  Jonathan Wright missed his star surfing pupil the morning after his body was found crumpled in a pool of blood near the gates of Sheffield Bed and Breakfast. When he discovered what had happened, Jon was in shock. He and Molly discussed the news when he went into her coffee shop for an early breakfast. Phyllis had told her daughter about the police activity at the bed and breakfast the previous evening. Molly comforted Jon, who had liked the man, but let him know that Mason Eads did not have a friendly reputation.

  “How do you know that, Molly?”

  “The few times he came in here, everyone who is a guest at the bed and breakfast looked at him with tension and resentment. I could tell they were angry about something to do with that man. I don’t mean he deserved death, but he clearly wasn’t liked.”

  Jon snapped his fingers. “Now I know what threw me off with him that first day.” He told Molly about the unnerving feeling he had about an interaction with the surfer the day he met him. “I have to get down to the police station and tell Mac about this.” Molly encouraged him to do it right away. “I have to go back down to the rental shop and set things up for the day and then I’ll tell him.”

  When Jonathan got to the police station, he was told to go straight into Mac’s office. He saw Brenda there and they were discussing someone they had recently questioned. Mac told him to sit down. He sensed the man had something important to say.