Mystery at the Fair

by Connie Cockrell

  "Do you know anyone that might have wanted to hurt Ina?"

  Analise smashed a clove of garlic with the knife, startling Nick. He'd been writing and didn't see the loud bang coming.

  "The woman was a bubble-head. You know, nothing but soap bubbles. There weren't enough brains there to make her a threat to anyone."

  "You think she threatened someone?"

  The truck owner turned, knife still in hand, to face the Chief. She shook the knife at him. "Don't go puttin' words in my mouth, Nick White."

  His face darkened. "Don't go wavin' a knife at me, Analise Van Horn."

  She glanced at the knife in her hand and went pale. "Anyway," she went back to the garlic, "the woman was too stupid for words. I don't know what Arris saw in her."

  "What about Arris?"

  Analise sighed and rolled her eyes. "What about him?"

  "Do you know anyone that would want to hurt Arris?"

  "What a stupid question, Nick. Arris is just fine. Ina's the one who's dead."

  "I know." He waited for the statement to sink in.

  The chopping stopped halfway through the pile of garlic. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, would anyone want to hurt Arris?"

  Nick saw her left eyebrow twitch. She began to chop the garlic with more energy than the tiny cloves warranted.

  "Ridiculous. The man is infuriating. Way too in love with that miserable ranch. But why would anyone want to hurt him?"

  Nick used the end of his pen to scratch his forehead. "That's what I'd like to know." He made a final note and clicked the pen closed. "Sorry to take up so much of your time, Analise. Have a good day today." He stepped down to the ground. "Oh, yeah." He turned back to look at the truck owner. "I had a report of you arguing with a couple of men, yesterday?"

  He watched her throat work a swallow as her chopping stopped.

  "So?" she glared at him, both hands on the stainless steel counter.

  "Just wondered. Have to keep the peace, ya know. They causing you any trouble? You expect them back?"

  Analise took a deep breath. "No, they're not causing me any trouble." She stood up. "I can take care of myself, Nick White."

  "I'm sure you can, Analise." He tipped his hat and turned to leave. Before he'd gone ten feet, the door of the truck slammed shut.

  He tucked the notebook into his shirt pocket. "Yep, Jean was right. There's something going on."

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Jean walked around the livestock barns. Officer Tom trailed behind her. He had followed her home last night in his cruiser. She saw another officer, one she hadn't met, relieve him about seven pm. The new guy was still there in the morning but at 7am she'd seen Tom's cruiser pull up. She went to fix tea and breakfast, wondering if they should ride together. She'd decided against it by the time she finished dressing.

  It was too much to just sit in the Exhibits building all day. She needed to get up and move around. She had her little Olympus camera with her. It was both waterproof and shockproof; she called it her hiking camera. It was several years old now, but she still loved the pictures it took and was used to the controls. Her son, Jim, often chided her about it.

  "It's only got ten megapixels, Mom," he'd told her on a camping trip last year. "There are better cameras on the market now."

  "Maybe so," she'd admitted. "But this one works fine, it does everything I need it to do and I know the controls. I'll keep this one, thank you very much."

  She snapped a picture of a young 4-H'er brushing her steer. The girl was being gentle and the animal stood still, eyes half closed as it chewed its cud. He obviously liked being groomed. Pictures like this would look great on the fair's website and social media page. She didn't worry about getting the parents' permission to use the photos. All 4-H members signed those waivers at the start of every year.

  She walked around taking pictures of stall cleaning, goat watering and grooming, rabbits in their cages and chickens in all of their bizarre, feathered, top-knot finery. In the show ring, the FFA and 4-H kids were showing chickens. They were graded on how well they handled the birds and whether the chickens met the standards for their particular breed, among other things. Jean took some pictures of that show as well.

  It was nearly ten o'clock when she wandered back to the Exhibits building. "Jean!" she was greeted as she walked in. Karen waved her over to where she was standing with her daughter and a young man. Jean tucked her camera away and went to join the group. "Glad you're back. You remember my daughter, Peggy?"

  Jean shook hands. "I do. Nice to see you again, Peggy."

  "And this is her friend, Tyler."

  Jean studied his face. "Hello, Tyler. Nice to meet you."

  "They're walking around the fair and stopped in to say hi, so I'm glad you got back in time."

  "Enjoy the fair," Jean said.

  "I'll see you tonight, Mom." Peggy gave her mom a kiss on the cheek.

  "Have fun, you two." Karen waved to them as they wandered away.

  "What's he do for a living?" Jean asked as they watched the pair look at the wood crafts halfway down the building.

  "Odds and ends, handyman, nothing permanent." Karen sighed as she sat down and put her needlework in her lap. "Peg is studying to be a nurse. But now she's hooked up with Tyler I'm afraid he's going nowhere and will drag my daughter down with him."

  "I've seen Tyler before." Jean drew the folding chair over to Karen and sat down. "He was arguing with Analise yesterday. I couldn't hear any of their conversation, though she was pointing at him and apparently reading him the riot act."

  Karen stopped her needle in mid-air. She took a deep breath, eyes staring off to the end of the building. "He worked for her last winter. I don't know doing what, though. She doesn't run the truck in the winter but she does do catering." Karen looked at Jean. "Do you think he's involved in Ina's murder?"

  "I don't know." Jean fussed with the scarf she had over her head. It was a patterned scarf she'd picked up during a cruise to the Caribbean. Brilliant red and yellow flowers on an orange background with green leaves made the scarf quite loud. Jean had never worn it after she'd bought it, it wasn't her style. It did complement the yellow sleeveless blouse she had on though, so she wore it today. I should go have the scarf vendor tie this for me, she thought as she tugged the nylon into place. "That's what I told the Chief last night right before he insulted me." Just thinking about his snarky comment made her angry.

  "He stopped by last night, just after you left."

  "That's too bad," Jean snapped.

  Karen held up a hand. "I think he came by to apologize. He brought your tacos and my lemonade. A lemonade for you, too."

  Jean crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't be bought with lemonade." She scowled. "I think Analise is in this up to her plucked eyebrows. I don't care what Mr. Snarky Police Chief has to say."

  "I agree." Karen resumed her cross stitch work. "Too bad we can't ask her."

  "Hmm," Jean agreed. "I've only talked to the woman a couple of times and both times she was less than friendly. Is she always like that?"

  "Yep. I have no idea how Arris and Analise got together. Two totally different people. Following her around probably won't get us anywhere. She's here on the fairgrounds until closing. If she's like me, she just wants to go home, get a shower and drop into bed."

  Jean sat forward, elbows on knees. "But she had that argument with Tyler yesterday. Maybe that's got her worried." Jean turned her head to look at her friend. "She may be goaded into doing something."

  "Long shot, Jean. Tyler didn't seem uncomfortable when he and Peg came in to say hello. If he had a hand in the murder, I would think he'd act a little more antsy, especially here on the fairgrounds."

  "True." Jean fussed with the scarf again. It was hot in the building and sweat was forming at her temples. She jumped up. "I'm going to go see if the scarf lady will re-tie this scarf for me."

  Karen's eyes twinkled. "And then you're going to stand around where y
ou can watch Analise, aren't you?"

  "I am. Something is going on with that woman. I plan on figuring out what it is."

  "Have fun. And stay out of trouble," Karen called after Jean.

  Jean waved back. "Of course."

  Chapter Forty

  Jean walked with Tom to the midway, telling him she was going to hang around there for awhile. He nodded and Jean smiled at his quiet sigh. At the scarf lady's stall she not only had the scarf she was wearing tied smartly, but she also bought a scarf in a beautiful jewel blue for Karen for a Christmas present. Afterward she took her bag and bought a lemonade from the stand next to Analise's sandwich truck. She chatted with the vendor for a bit, asking how this year's fair was working out for him. He was happy. The hot weather was driving lemonade sales up, and there seemed to be a lot of people on the midway. He thought it would be a good sales year for him.

  She thanked him, then wandered to a picnic table where a nearby vendor had erected a canopy to provide shade. Jean sat at the far end of the table where she could see Analise's truck and stay in the shade, but not right out on the midway where she was easy to see.

  Jean sipped her lemonade only occasionally. She wanted to stay here and an empty cup would seem odd. Over the course of the rest of the morning, several people stopped and shared the table. An elderly couple sat down with iced tea to rest. A young family stopped by who needed a place to sit while Mom changed the baby's diaper and where the older child could enjoy her dish of ice cream. Jean was happy to hold the baby for the young woman as she dashed for more napkins and a bottle of water to wash the messy three-year-old's ice cream face and hands. It had been a very long time since Jim was a baby.

  All the while, Jean watched the truck. The sandwich business was steady. Analise sold breakfast sandwiches until eleven, then she switched to a lunch menu. Jean saw her step out and change the signs on her truck. Peggy and Tyler walked by, not noticing Jean off to the side. Arm in arm, they passed the sandwich truck and Tyler never looked in that direction. Analise, who was in the service window watching the people walk by, saw him. The woman scowled but didn't say anything.

  Well that was kind of a bust, Jean thought as Peggy and Tyler passed out of sight. If Tyler and Analise were in cahoots over Ina's murder, you'd think they'd be more nervous. She sucked up the last of the now watered-down lemonade. She pulled her phone out and dialed Arris.

  "Hi, just calling to see how you're doing."

  "I'm good. It's been kind of nice, having time to get some projects done around the ranch."

  "I'll bet it is." She covered one ear with her hand to block out the carnival noise. "I wondered if you know what project Analise had Tyler Siddons doing last winter?"

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. "I know she hired him for some catering work over the Christmas and New Year holidays. She does a lot of catering that time of year."

  "How about in January or February?" Jean wasn't sure when Ina had died but it had to be about then.

  "No, not that I know of. She likes to travel during those months. It's a slow period for her business."

  Jean's hopes were dashed. "Thanks, Arris. I was just wondering. Karen just introduced me to the young man and I wondered how he and Analise were connected."

  "He's a good enough boy, just no direction in his life. He's done some work for me now and then the last few years. Heavy stuff; some logging, replacing fence posts, that sort of thing. He likes to take a lot of breaks."

  "I appreciate the information, Arris." She pondered his statement. "You think Tyler was upset with you at all?"

  There was a long pause. "You're asking me if I was hard enough on him to set me up for a murder?"

  "Yeah, I am. Were you hard on him?"

  "Nah. Just told him the work wasn't going to do itself. I was working with him, Jean. Damn, if he was that mad, I think I'd have noticed. He's forty years younger than I am. I just nudged him along, is all."

  She sighed. It seemed like a dead end. "I guess you're right. We all miss having you here."

  "Once this clears up, I'll be back. It just seemed wrong to be under suspicion and running the fair."

  "Understand, Arris. You made the right choice. Talk to you later, okay?"

  "Sure, Jean. Don't forget to have fun."

  She smiled. "Tyler do, Arris. Bye."

  She clicked the off button on her phone. That didn't go the way she'd hoped. Jean got up and went to the lemonade guy to order two more drinks. Then she went to the sandwich truck window. "Hey, Analise. I'd like two sandwiches, please. A roast beef and a grilled chicken to go."

  Analise glared but started working.

  "How's business? Are you seeing enough traffic?"

  Analise gave Jean a stare, then went back to making the order. "It's okay. Not great, but I'll do all right by the end of the fair."

  "Glad to hear it."

  Jean saw an eyebrow rise, but Analise kept working. Two teens stopped to read the menu sign. There goes any chance of getting her to talk. Analise wrapped the sandwiches and handed them down.

  "Ten dollars."

  Jean passed a ten dollar bill up. "Thanks, they look good. I saw you talking to Tyler Siddons the other day." She saw the woman freeze.

  "And?"

  "Oh, sorry. It looked like you two were arguing." I won't tell her I was too far away to hear. Jean could see her eyebrows draw together.

  "He did some work for me over the holidays and claims I shorted him his pay."

  "That's too bad." She gathered up the sandwiches. "Have a good day," Jean said brightly and walked away. She could hear the teens ask Analise for two subs.

  That was a waste of time, Jean thought. It was hard to tell if she's hiding something or just crabby all the time. She went back to the Exhibits building and offered Karen her choice of the sandwiches and a lemonade. They'd have to think of something else to find out what Analise was doing.

  Chapter Forty-One

  After they ate, Jean wandered around the Exhibits building. She could do some things but the wide array of crafts and skills made her feel both inadequate and envious. Jean stopped to admire one of the miniature gardens in the Floriculture department that sported a Best of Show ribbon. It was in a large shallow pottery bowl with three legs. In the bowl was a tiny fairy house made of twigs, a ceramic fairy standing outside of the door. A flat pebble had been placed at the door as a doorstep. Miniature daffodils stood like trees a quarter of the way around the bowl while moss had been used to line a winding stream that ran around the surface. A tiny wooden pole fence ran from the right side of the house across a third of the bowl, and grass was planted and trimmed to resemble a pasture. A porcelain cow stood in the middle of the field. Jean was enchanted and wondered where the creator found such a small recirculating pump for the stream. I could do something like this, she thought. Not with a pump though, just a cute little dish garden. She knew from chatter the last few days that the local nursery sold many pre-made items for miniature gardens and terrariums. Maybe I'll try that, once things slow down a little.

  She found Chief White in the woodworking section, chatting with the volunteer on duty. The volunteer spotted a boy reaching out to pick up one of the displays. "Don't touch, please, young man," the elderly volunteer called out. The boy yanked his hand back and stared wide-eyed at the volunteer. "It's okay to look, son, we just don't want you to touch." He excused himself from Nick and walked over to the boy. "Would you like me to show you the piece?" The boy nodded and the man picked up the display and started to explain how it had been made.

  Nick was watching the interaction and didn't see Jean. She thought about walking on by without speaking but the whole Analise thing was bugging her. "He's doing a good job," she said behind Nick.

  He turned to see who was speaking. She was surprised to see a look of pleasure spread across his face. "Hi, Jean. What's that?"

  Jean nodded toward the man and the boy. "That's part of what the volunteers are in here for, to enco
urage new crafters. The boy is interested, and the volunteer is feeding that interest."

  "Oh, yeah, I see what you mean." He cleared his throat. "Uh, I wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday. That comment didn't come out the way I meant it."

  The reminder made her angry all over again. She reconsidered talking to him about Analise and Tyler. "It was snarky and mean-spirited, if that's what you mean." Jean saw him react as though he'd been slapped. "You aren't the only one in town with the ability to add one and one."

  Nick hung his head and backed up a step.

  "But, I'm willing to move past it if you are."

  "I'd like that."

  "Fine. I have another tidbit of information for you." She watched as his jaw worked under the skin. He's going to blow this off, too. If it wasn't for Arris I'd walk off and leave this yokel to fail on his own. She took a deep breath. "I called Arris. Seems Tyler Siddons has worked for Arris, on and off over the last few years. And Analise hired Tyler last winter for some work. I told you they'd argued in public. Anyway, I watched Analise this morning on the midway. She's hiding something. I don't know exactly when Ina was killed but they may have worked together at the time of Ina's disappearance." She jammed her hands into her shorts pockets and waited, watching his face.

  "Well, uh, thanks for the information." He reset his hat and scuffed his boots on the cement floor. "I appreciate you bringing it to me."

  "You don't think it's worth looking into, do you?" Jean was peeved and it came through in her voice.

  Nick waited until a family of four passed them by. "I don't know, Jean. Tyler has been known to work for Analise from time to time, so I have no idea how significant it is that he worked for her last winter."

  Jean could feel a trickle of sweat run down the middle of her back. She ground her teeth together. "Fine. I'll be on my way then." She stepped around him to go back to her usual spot.

  "Jean, wait."

  She turned around and stared him in the eyes.