Murder in the Apple Orchard

by Sandi Scott

  “Excuse me,” she bustled in front of Georgie and took Stan by the arm. “Stan, I think you should see this.” She pointed to the barn.

  “What is it?” Stan asked as she tugged him into the old red structure.

  “It’s just something strange, the way the rope is tied,” Maggie whispered in Stan’s ear, but Georgie could still hear her as she followed them into the barn.

  “It’s okay. Georgie’s been to more crimes scenes than I can count. She knows the protocol,” Stan said, without looking at Georgie. Once inside, the smell of hay and dust and fertilizer was even stronger. Maggie pointed up the steps to the opening where the man had hung himself.

  “Oh,” Maggie sounded disappointed that Stan wasn’t sending Georgie away.

  Once they were all on the landing, Maggie pointed.

  “Well, I don’t know if this means anything, but do you see how this rope is tied? I thought that looked a bit suspicious.”

  Georgie looked at the rope but didn’t see anything odd about it. What she did see were some strange marks on the floor by the edge of the window Tony went out from. She stooped down and thought they looked like drag marks.

  In her mind she tossed around a couple of possibilities. Tony could have had second thoughts a minute too late and kicked at the edge trying to get a foothold. Or maybe he sort of took a running jump, and when he swung back and forth, his feet hit the wooden floor.

  As she leaned over the edge of the opening, Georgie looked straight down. She felt nothing but a severe case of vertigo. After taking a deep breath she inched her way backwards into the safety of the landing.

  “No. I think that rope would have been fastened that way anyway,” Stan said.

  “Oh. Well, I just thought I’d ask,” Maggie snapped a couple more pictures.

  “I’m going to get back to Aleta,” Georgie headed towards the ladder she had climbed to get up to the loft.

  “Georgie, I’ll need to talk to you about that thing we were discussing,” Stan said.

  “No. I think I can manage on my own. You go ahead and keep doing what you’re doing,” Georgie forced herself to reply with a smile.

  Once she was back on the ground, she searched around and saw Aleta standing by the ambulance. A hysterical young girl was in the back crying loudly, muttering to anyone and everyone who was nearby.

  Chapter 5

  “I can’t believe this is happening.” The woman at the ambulance sobbed over and over. Her cheeks were soaked with tears. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail but strands were coming loose around her face.

  “Did you have any idea he was in any pain?” Aleta soothed before Georgie approached.

  “No. No. We were going to get married. Our wedding was in two months,” the girl vehemently cried. “I don’t believe he’d do this. They won’t let me stay with him.”

  “Honey, they have to take all kinds of information and pictures. I’m sure they’ll let you ride with him to the... coroner,” Aleta shook herself mentally at her choice of bad words. “What is your name, honey?”

  “Veronica. Veronica Slute. This is my parent’s orchard. Tony and I met here when he took a job helping with the pumpkin patch. Tony had a green thumb. He could make anything grow. Why would he do this?” she continued to talk but was making very little sense. Aleta thought that was to be expected. The girl was obviously in shock.

  “My name is Aleta. My sister and I were here to pick apples. Do you have a sister or anyone you can call?”

  “My mom is on her way. She was up at the house. It’s on the other side of the orchard. She’s probably running the entire way and she’s got health issues.”

  “You’d be surprised at the strength mothers have when it comes to their children,” Aleta said. “Would you like me to wait with you until she arrives?”

  “We had plans,” Veronica cried while looking at Aleta. “We were moving to Seattle. We were going to be a little family. He wasn’t perfect all the time, but he was perfect for me.” Her eyes were drowning in tears. “He was perfect for me.”

  “It’ll be all right, honey,” Aleta took her hand just as a woman came running from the general store yelling.

  “Veronica! Veronica!”

  “Mom!” Veronica left Aleta and ran to her mother.

  Georgie slowly approached Aleta who had tears in her eyes.

  “That poor thing,” Aleta jerked her chin up.

  “What did she have to say?”

  “They were engaged. Supposed to get married in two months. He wouldn’t do this. The usual things people say when a tragedy like this happens.” Aleta looked at Georgie who was dry-eyed and rather ruffled. “What was that all about in the barn?”

  “Little Miss Photographer wanting to play detective. I think she just wanted to get Stan alone and didn’t realize that I was part of the team.”

  “That had to be a little uncomfortable.”

  “Yeah, a little,” Georgie turned around to see Stan heading towards the body that was still lying on the ground. Maggie hovered around taking pictures of anything and everything. Georgie saw Stan carefully pull something from the victim’s pocket and drop it into a plastic evidence bag. “I wonder what that is he’s got there?”

  “I don’t know. Laundry list maybe?” Aleta suggested.

  “Why would someone who knew they were going to kill themselves have a laundry list?” Georgie wrinkled her nose.

  “Good point,” Aleta shrugged.

  Stan stood up and made his way to Veronica and her mother. Georgie stood a little to one side but listened closely as Stan introduced himself, showed them his badge and began to ask a couple of questions.

  “Was Tony on any medication of any kind,” Georgie heard him ask.

  “He took Xanax. Uhm, and sometimes he had bad migraines that he took pills for. But he had a stressful side job. He was trying to make a name for himself as a graphic designer and so he had tight deadlines and difficult clients,” Veronica said.

  “Can you think of any reason he might want to kill himself?”

  “No! This is a mistake! He’d never do that!” Veronica started to cry again.

  “Detective, do we really need to go through this right now? My daughter is in shock.” Charlotte Slute stepped in. She was wearing jeans and a Halloween sweatshirt with elaborate pumpkins, glitter and sequins sprinkled randomly over it, making it sparkle.

  “Veronica, I will need to talk with you further,” Stan handed her a business card. “Would you please call me as soon as you are able to?”

  She took the card and with her mother’s protective arm around her walked back towards the general store.

  Stan walked up to Georgie and Aleta after Veronica was safely out of earshot. He had a piece of paper in his hands that he’d pulled from Tony’s pocket.

  “What have you got there, Stan?” Aleta asked.

  “It seems to be a suicide note. It isn’t much but it says good-bye,” Stan said, looking at Georgie.

  “Is it addressed to Veronica?” Georgie asked.

  “He didn’t address it to anyone,” Stan replied.

  “Well, that’s damn peculiar,” Georgie said. “He’s supposed to marry that girl and he doesn’t have the decency to address his good-bye letter to her.”

  “That is weird,” Aleta concurred.

  “I’m thinking this was an adverse effect of some medication. You never know how someone’s medication will act with a simple antihistamine or ibuprofen,” Stan said. “I don’t like having to tell them this but I’m afraid that is what happened. I won’t know for sure until the autopsy. But that’s my guess right now.”

  Maggie called to Stan to let him know she’d gotten all the pictures she could of the body and the area. So, Stan gave the paramedics the green light to go ahead and take the body to the coroner’s office.

  They loaded Tony onto the gurney and covered his head with a sheet. But, as soon as they loaded him onto the back of the truck, Veronica came running from the General Store.
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  “No! You can’t take him! You can’t!” she screamed. Her mother was crying and running slowly trying to catch up to her. Before she could throw herself in front of the covered body, Stan grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. She tried to swing and scratch but Stan held the woman tightly. The paramedics came with a shot of something that would calm her nerves. She fought and screamed and cried until her mother got close enough to take hold of the girl’s hands. She nearly collapsed with grief, crying into Stan’s chest as he patted her hair.

  Georgie didn’t want to like Stan right now. Watching him act so kind and understanding in this poor girl’s darkest moment made him look like a hero. She was aggravated with him and his new crime scene photographer.

  “Cover me,” she whispered to Aleta who stared at her in surprise.

  “For what?”

  Before Aleta could stop her, Georgie climbed into the back of the ambulance. She pulled the sheet back and saw the horrible ring around his throat. His eyes were still not shut. But that wasn’t what unnerved Georgie. Instead, it was the scratches around his neck.

  “You poor thing,” she said. He had obviously tried to get out of the noose by clawing at the rope after it was too tight around his throat. She looked at his fingers and saw something strange around his wrists. It looked as if they had been restrained. There was slight bruising around them that didn’t come from the rope but something thinner; some kind of twine maybe.

  “What are you doing in here?” one of the EMT’s asked, catching Georgie in the back of the ambulance.

  “He was so beautiful,” she pretended to sob. “An old soul. Too delicate for this world. A butterfly in a sandstorm.” She blubbered as she eased herself out of the back of the van. “You’ll be missed, Tony. You’ll be missed.”

  She slowly staggered to Aleta who was standing there with her hand on her hip. The EMT slammed the back door of the ambulance shut and, within seconds, it was pulling out of the parking lot.

  “Way to cover me,” Georgie snapped at her sister.

  “What was I supposed to do? As soon as you hopped in, the guys were on their way back to the truck. I had nothing.”

  “Well, it’s all right, because I saw a few interesting things on that body. Let’s go inside,” Georgie insisted. She looked at Stan who was standing next to Maggie. She was showing him some of the images she’d taken.

  Georgie thought it was ridiculous how close Maggie was standing to Stan. If she got any closer, they’d be wearing the same shirt. Every few seconds she touched his arm affectionately. It was aggravating.

  “Good idea,” Aleta said. She didn’t like how that Maggie woman was acting either, but she wasn’t sure if she really was unlikable or if it was because she wanted to take her sister’s side.

  The store was almost empty. Georgie took a seat at the small courtyard as Aleta went to her friend and got them two more ciders. But it took even longer than it had the first time. When Aleta came and sat back down, her eyes were wide.

  “Well, I got a little information for you, too,” she said, leaning across the table so she and Georgie could speak quietly and not be overheard. “You tell me yours first.”

  Georgie proceeded to tell Aleta about the odd marking on the body and that she wasn’t sure it was a suicide.

  “Well, according to Marvin, everyone knew Veronica’s fiancé,” Aleta inched even closer. “She is apparently a real sweetheart of a girl. Tony was known to be a hothead. Every once in a while he’d help here at the orchard. He wasn’t a regular employee. I don’t know if they even paid him, but he’d wear the sweatshirt and do what he was told. However, he and Veronica had some pretty ugly arguments in front of not just the staff but visitors as well.”

  “Well, to be fair, it can be hard not to make a scene sometimes when you are dealing with a guy who gets under your skin,” Georgie confessed, thinking of some of her more public disagreements with Stan.

  “Of course. But these were bad arguments where he’d call her names. Sometimes he’d pull her by the arm. Marvin said that a couple of the stronger guys who work out in the orchard had to step in and split the two up before things got out of hand.”

  “But, an abuser doesn’t usually commit suicide,” Georgie added. “Their narcissistic behavior prevents it.”

  “Right. But, Marvin said that after the incident with the outside workers, Tony went to see a doctor. He was put on anxiety medication and he was a totally different dude. Plus, his reputation as a graphic designer was starting to pick up some steam.”

  “So, it doesn’t sound like a guy who’d want to off himself.”

  “No. But Marvin said that in addition to the anxiety meds, Tony had been taking a painkiller for an accident he had when he fell off the ladder at one of the trees in the orchard.”

  “Did he say what kind of painkiller?”

  “No. All he knew was that, in passing, Tony had said he needed to take one of his painkillers. Just casually mentioned falling out of the tree and hurting his shoulder a little bit.”

  Georgie nodded, “So you think it was a bad combination of drugs?”

  “I’m saying that it’s a definite possibility.”

  “Well, that’s pretty heavy stuff. The autopsy report will certainly confirm if it was drugs. I’m just not sure about those marks on his wrists. They didn’t look normal and there was no explanation for them.”

  “I can see your point.”

  “So, what do we do now?” Georgie looked at Aleta.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I do.”

  Before Aleta could say Trick-or-Treat, Georgie had reserved a room for them at Betty’s Bed & Breakfast. They left the orchard grounds without speaking to Stan.

  Chapter 6

  Betty’s Bed & Breakfast was down a gravel road, not very far from the Apple Harvest orchard. When the ladies arrived, they pulled up in front of what looked like a castle.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?”

  “Does that sign say Betty’s Bed & Breakfast?” Georgie pointed at a lovely plaque affixed to the front of the house.

  “It does.”

  They both walked to the front door and used the insanely large doorknocker that had the face of an English bulldog with the round ring used for knocking in his mouth.

  The door opened and a man in black pants, knee high riding boots, a sword, and a hat with a huge plume sticking out of it, answered the door.

  “The ladies Kaye, I presume?”

  “Yes,” Georgie hesitated.

  “Welcome to Betty’s Bed & Breakfast. Please, come inside. Warm yourselves by the fire.” Georgie and Aleta stepped into the foyer and gasped. The floor was covered in elegant slabs of smooth stone. There were empty knight suits flanking every door. Just across from the fireplace was a long dining table with eight chairs each with embroidered seat covers and high backs. There were two silver goblets on the table as well as a plate of what looked like chocolate chip cookies.

  “I am your host, Sir William. Lady Betty will be back shortly. A short jaunt to market in search of spices keeps her away, but only temporarily,” Sir William smiled proudly.

  “Well, Sir William. We had no idea what to expect when we called. Thank you for making accommodations for us so quickly,” Georgie nodded.

  “It is our absolute pleasure to assist any weary travellers by offering them good food, a soft bed and perhaps even lively conversation,” Sir William boasted. “However, if solitude is what you crave, we have a small library upstairs you are welcome to. The grounds are particularly lovely this time of year, and there is a Jacuzzi just outside the back terrace that is very relaxing and very private.”

  “Well, sign me up,” Aleta smiled.

  “If you’ll just follow me we’ll get the King’s documents signed and get you to your room.”

  After a few more flowery sentences and an invitation to a splendid dinner of lamb chops, the ladies were left alone in their room. And what a room it was.

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sp; “Do you believe this?” Georgie gushed.

  “I would have never expected this in a hundred years. Betty’s Bed & Breakfast is amazing.”

  The ladies would be sharing a California king-size canopy bed that was covered with pelts of fur. The pillows were down-filled and the extra blanket was silk on one side and crushed velvet on the other. Magnificent imitation Persian rugs covered most of the floor that was made of the same stone as the dining area. The bathroom was constructed of smoothed stones along the floor and walls, making it look like the Kaye twins had stumbled into some fairytale. A bear-clawed tub was next to the shower that had a total of eight jets coming from random parts in the rocks.

  “I don’t even want to know how much this place cost,” Aleta gasped. “But I’m using that shower and, as soon as I’m done with that, I’m taking a hot bath in that tub.”

  “I don’t even want to leave the room,” Georgie said, turning on the television and flopping down on the big bed. “Do you mind if I have the side by the window?”

  “No. Do you mind if I go see what’s in the library?”

  “Go nuts. I’ll be right here.”

  Aleta left the room and headed down the hallway where Sir William had said the library was. There was a sign on the sliding glass door that read Shhh...the fairies are sleeping. Aleta slid the door open and began to look at the books. The medieval theme carried through to every book on the shelf. There was the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, all the Harry Potter novels, and dozens of stories about King Arthur, books on magic, fairies and dwarfs, dragons, and dozens of others ranging from the Black Plague to the Black Night.

  “Hello?” came a pleasant voice startling Aleta out of her trance. “You must be Miss Kaye.” The woman was dressed in a lavender maxi dress with a corset.

  “Milady,” Aleta curtsied. “I presume you are Betty, Mistress of the house.”

  “I am,” she laughed. “But you don’t have to talk that way. My husband takes his role as Lord of the Manor very seriously.”

  “This house is amazing. My sister and I were expecting a little farmhouse with squeaky floors and the smell of mothballs. Instead, it’s like we’ve gone back in time.”