“I need to speak with Chef Gourdaine, ma’am,” Brody said.
“Oh, I’m afraid Andrew is out looking for some oak branches for his smoked oysters. Can I get you a cup of tea, Sheriff?”
“Ma’am...Ms. Steward, I just heard your conversation with him a moment ago. So, unless you want to be charged with obstruction of justice and an accomplice to any misdeeds, I would suggest you bring me to him right now.”
A moment passed. I would love to have seen the diva’s face when Brody stared her down, as I’m sure he did. I could hear the authority in his voice, and I knew the look on his face that went along with that tone. Then we heard a man’s voice.
“Don’t ever threaten my wife again, Sheriff.”
It was Andy Gourdaine, coming to the rescue of his wife. We heard Brody tell the chef that he had to bring him in for questioning. When Gourdaine protested, he gave him the choice of coming voluntarily or leaving in handcuffs in front of all the cameras. He decided to come peacefully but called his lawyer. Brody agreed to let him change his clothes and walk unescorted over to the crime scene and ride in an unmarked car – probably mine.
Brody had just come down the steps of the RV and put his hat on when we heard a woman’s cry for help coming from the woods by our campsite. We all took off running.
Chapter Eleven
There were already several people there when we got to the spot in the woods where the cries were coming from. Randy and Jackson were at the bottom of a small, rocky ravine, fifty feet off the trail, and Nancy Lu’s wheelchair was at the top. It was tipped over, lying with the front side on the ground.
“Oh, my gosh!” I was horrified and looked at Deloris while Brody went down into the ravine. “She must have hit a rock or something and gone flying into that rocky hole,” I said to Deloris.
The waitress patted my arm, and we walked to the edge of the little ravine. Then we heard Nancy Lu’s voice below us.
“Git yer gol’ derned hands off me! I got myself into this pit; I can get myself out of it!”
“Sounds like she’s all right, Mercy,” Deloris said with a smile.
Randy paid no attention to her complaints and picked her up in his arms. Jackson and Brody followed him up the steep slope, and I set her wheelchair upright.
“Now, put me down, you big galoot. You should be over yonder cooking your squirrel-on-a-stick for the contest. Now let me be. I’m just fine. No one needs to be fussing over an old woman like me.”
Randy put her in the chair. His face was as white as a sheet as he set her down. He was close to tears, and I rubbed his arm to comfort him. Nancy Lu’s face was full of scrapes and scratches, and she was holding her arm. My nurse instincts took over.
“Randy, get her back to your RV.”
I remembered her mentioning that she had a first aid kit and some other supplies in her backpack, so I zipped it open. It was empty except for a bottle of water and a candy bar.
“I’ll get my first aid kit from my car and tend to her abrasions and contusions. She’ll be fine.” I gave him a wry smile and patted his arm.
Deloris somehow had Nancy Lu out of her camouflage shirt and covered with a shawl so I could tend to her arms too.
“Well,” I said, after a quick examination, “nothing’s broken. But I need to clean off your scrapes. You’ve got some deep scratches, Nancy Lu. We don’t want them to get infected. And that’s quite a bruise on your arm, too.”
“It ain’t nothing for a woman who grew up in the hills. I’ve been kicked by billy goats, fallen out of trees, and been in fist fights with my brothers all my life. This is just another day in paradise for me. Now, that’s enough doctorin’ for these little scratches. Scoot, now!”
“The old girl’s fine,” Randy said as he walked up with a smile. “I appreciate your looking after her, Mercy. Now I need her to bake up some goodies for the contest.”
Brody strode over and flipped his sunglasses down. “There’s not going to be any contest,” he said, “at least not today. I just got off the phone with the governor, and we’re going to clear the area until we can collect all the evidence.”
“But the murder must have happened up on Big Bear, Sheriff,” Randy complained. “There’s no need to shut down the kitchens.”
“The plot was probably hatched right here, Randy. There are a lot of things we need to investigate. It’s already decided. Everything stays, except the people. There will be an announcement soon. Everybody has to be out of the tournament and racetrack area in an hour, but no one can leave the park until they’ve been interviewed by one of my deputies.”
Randy shook his head and wheeled his aunt off toward the kitchen to make preparations for leaving.
“Is EATS-TV okay with this, Brody,” I asked him.
“They’re fine. They’ve got the only TV cameras inside the crime scene area, so they’ll have exclusive coverage from here tonight. We’ll give them an exclusive on our first news briefing too. We’ll have to let all the big media crews in tomorrow, on Saturday. We told EATS we’ll try to be done by the end of the day tomorrow, so they can still have some kind of cook-off on Sunday, if they want to.”
“Do I still have consultant status with your department, Brody?” I asked. “I want to look around.”
“I was hoping you’d be willing to help out, Mercy. You were right next to Big Bear when the murder happened, so your input will be helpful.”
“And I always have good insights that help you solve crimes.” He smiled, but I could see that he wasn’t in the mood for my competitive bickering. He knew I was right, though. “I’m going to start by seeing if I can figure out which ATVs were on Big Bear Hill.”
“Stay off the main path, Mercy. We don’t want any new tire tracks or footprints to throw us off the killer’s trail. I want you to try to prove that Gourdaine is innocent, not guilty. I never try to build a case around a suspect or person of interest. The evidence has to speak for itself.”
“That’s good advice,” I said. “We want justice, not just any old conviction we can get.”
I was proud of my guy. He looked like a superhero in his sunglasses, and he had the heart of one too.
“But, Brody,” I said, “didn’t Gourdaine kind of confess to the murder when he was talking to Margot in the bus?”
“Listen to your recording again, Mercy. He said a lot of things, but he never really said he did it.”
I wasn’t so sure. I would have to listen to my recording later, before I turned it over to the investigators.
The announcement came over the speakers. Everyone was to leave everything where it was and give their name to Deputy Doggerty on their way out to the public area. They would be let back in to sleep in their campers. A team of deputies was knocking on RV doors and whisking people to the exit.
Gourdaine walked up in a stylish gray suit. “I’m not getting into a squad car, Sheriff.”
“Of course not,” Brody said with an understanding smile. “You’re not a suspect at this point. But you were by Big Bear when the murder happened, and you knew Flye better than anyone else here.”
“You can take my car, Brody,” I offered. “It’s by Ruby’s RV. I’m going to get her and have her look around with me. I don’t want to be in the woods alone.” I also wanted to get my little pistol out of my purse.
Brody told Gourdaine that he might be able to question him right there, and they walked away.
I looked at Nancy Lu’s pink ATV. It was parked by the tree where she always parked her wheel chair. It was full of brush and leaves and scratches, which I hadn’t noticed when we saw the little vehicle on Big Bear Hill. It was positioned as though it had come in from the woods. That seemed a little curious, but she had probably taken a shortcut through the woods instead of following the road back.
Maybe she saw someone out there, I thought. I knew it would be a challenge, but I decided I had to talk to her later. At least, I wanted to know what ATVs and people, if any, were still on Big Bear Hill when she left.<
br />
I followed the tracks and flattened brush behind the ATV into the woods. I noticed that they came right around the ravine that Nancy Lu had fallen into. The narrow wheelchair tracks went in a straight line from the tree she parked it by, and they led right to the little pit.
Hmh. I wonder why she didn’t remember that it was there. It was kind of hard to see from this side, though, with some tall grass along the edge.
Ruby was in her RV, recovering from the shock of the murder.
“Mercy, I think I’m bad luck. Wherever I go, somebody turns up dead. Maybe I should have never moved to Paint Creek! I should have stayed in the city.”
“You’re not bad luck, Ruby. People started dying before you moved to town. Besides, we’re not even in Paint Creek. Your bad juju doesn’t work this far from town.”
Chapter Twelve
It took a little effort, but I talked Ruby into joining me for a walk to Big Bear Hill to do some investigating before it was swarming with CSI teams. It’s hard to get her out of her dress and high heels, except for jogging and walking her dog. But she has a fear of going into the woods. Junior stepped inside the RV just as she agreed.
“I’m going with you,” he said. “The Sheriff wouldn’t want his two favorite girls out in the woods all alone with a killer on the loose.”
“I’m pretty sure the Sheriff just has one favorite girl, Junior,” Ruby said, reading my mind.
“Well, I know he’s in love with Mercy. He says that all the time, when we’re out bowling or having a beer...”
Really? That’s so sweet.
“...but he thinks of you like a little sister, Ruby. You’re both his favorite ladies.”
“We’ll be just fine by ourselves, Junior,” I said, patting my little Beretta .22 in my pocket.
Ruby grabbed Junior’s big arm. “But it would be kind of nice to have a man along with us, Mercy.”
“I have some ideas about the case I can share with you while we’re out,” Junior said. “And I took some pictures that I think you might find interesting too.”
Now he had captured my imagination. “Let’s go!”
We cut through the woods. It was a lot shorter than following the race trail, and we wouldn’t disturb any tire tracks or add footprints on the way.
“I’m pretty sure Chef Gourdaine is the killer, Mercy,” Junior said as Big Bear Hill came into our view in the distance.
“I think so too,” Ruby said. “I mean, the way he talked about Chef Flye right in front of us. And he was right there when it happened.”
“You two might be right,” I said, “But Brody says that the best investigators try to prove that their main suspect is innocent, not guilty. That way, you don’t just pile up evidence that can frame an innocent person. A lot of people came through here, so we’ve got to keep an open mind. Let’s sit down on those rocks before we go the rest of the way. I’m not used to this much exercise. Tell me your theory, Junior.” I was ready for one of his hair-brained conspiracy theories.
He took out his phone and thumbed through some pictures. “Look here,” he said, pointing to a picture of Gourdaine’s campsite. “I was out snapping some pictures of celebrity buses and things while you guys were out racing.”
“What about it?” Ruby asked. “That’s Gourdaine’s bus and a table and some chairs.”
“Exactly.” Junior said. “I took this picture when I first started walking around the cook-off kitchens, just after the race started.” He thumbed through several more photos. “And this one I took on my way back.”
“They look the same,” I said.
“Look closer.” Junior tapped his phone three times.
I was looking for something that he might think was the shadow of a flying saucer or a werewolf hiding in the trees behind the camp. “It does seem like something is different, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Right here,” Junior said, rubbing his index finger along one side of the small screen.”
Ruby leaned in. “Those look like tracks from one of the ATVs,” she said. “This must be after the race.”
“Nope.” Junior looked at Ruby and then at me. “This was maybe a half-hour before the murder. Look...” He went ahead to the next picture. “I took a picture of the three deer hanging at the end of the zipline. There’s no dead body there yet.”
“Interesting,” I said, “though I’m not sure what it means yet, or if it means anything at all.”
“It might mean that Gourdaine came back here to get a rope to string up Flye and send him down the zipline,” Ruby said.
“That’s what I was thinking too,” Junior added.
“I don’t know.” I looked at the time stamp on the picture. “This was a little bit after Deloris and I got to Big Bear Hill, and we saw the chef out in the woods with Jackson around this time.” Something was still bothering me about the photos. “Junior, show me that first picture again.”
He went back to the original photo he showed us, without the ATV tracks.
“There!” I pointed, excitedly. “Gourdainne did come back here. That little army shovel is right there, leaning against that tree. That’s what was missing from the second picture. He had that shovel by his ATV when we got to the top of Big Bear Hill!”
Junior went ahead to the second photo, and sure enough, the shovel was gone. “So, he came back to get the shovel...” Junior said.
Ruby completed his thought. “And maybe he got a rope at the same time.”
“That would be pretty stupid to use a rope that can be traced back to you in a murder,” I said. “Besides, he got the shovel to dig up the cleaver, not to kill Flye.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Ruby said. “But either way, it’s an important clue.”
“Yes, it is,” I agreed. “Good work, Junior. Maybe with a few more clues, we can tie this thing to Gourdaine after all.”
Junior looked at me with wide eyes. “But, I thought that you were supposed to prove he didn’t do it, Mercy.”
“Well, that could be hard to do if all the evidence points to him,” I countered. “I’ll just keep looking for clues and let Brody decide if the evidence leads to Gourdaine or not.”
We got up and continued toward the big hill. My mind was churning all of the clues around in my mind, but I still couldn’t say that we had found the killer. I must have had a pensive and confused look on my face when we arrived at the bottom of Big Bear Hill.
“What is it, Mercy?” Ruby asked me. “It looks like something is bothering you.”
I shook my head slowly. “Not really, Ruby. It just...well...” I looked right at her. “Deloris and I got to the hill maybe fifteen minutes after we got the envelope full of clues. Gourdaine was a minute or so ahead of us, but I don’t see how he could have gotten to his campsite and back before we arrived at Big Bear. He would’ve had to have gotten the Mile 6 clue just a few minutes after we passed Mile 2 in order to read the clue, figure it out, get the shovel, and get back to dig up the cleaver before Deloris and I got there. I just don’t know.”
Junior had been looking around the bushes at the base of the big hill and came to join us now. “Maybe he paid one of the local teams to collect the clues fast and text them to him. Maybe they even figured out the answer for him.”
“Maybe.” I thought for a minute. “But nobody was that far ahead. What did you find in the bushes, Junior?”
“Oh, not much really, Mercy. I just looked around the spot where Flye was killed. It looked like there wasn’t much of a struggle, and not too much blood.”
I couldn’t believe it. “You found the place he was killed, Junior! Show me. Are you sure it’s the spot?”
“Uh, yeah. Has to be. The tall grass and weeds are all flattened out, and there’s some fresh blood. You can see where they dragged him up the hill to the zipline over there.” Junior started to walk up the hill.
“Stop!” I pulled Junior and Ruby toward me. “We can’t go up the hill or get any closer to the zipline. We don’t want to contami
nate the crime scene. You didn’t disturb the spot you found in the bushes, did you, Junior.”
He gave me look. “You think I’m a dummy, Mercy? Of course not. I used to watch Matlock all the time. I know how these things work.”
“Of course, you do, Junior. I’m sorry. Where is it?”
He motioned with his head for us to come along, and we followed him around the curve of the hill. “Just a little further,” he said.
“Ouch!” Ruby exclaimed, holding her ankle and hopping on one foot.
Junior quickly reached out and put his arm around her waist, and then he scooped her up into his arms.
“Are you all right, Ruby?” I asked her, taking a hold of her arm. “What happened?”
Her face was twisted in pain and there were tears in the corners of her eyes.
“Oh, I’m okay now, Mercy. I just stepped on a stupid rock or something.”
“Should I put you down, Ruby?” Junior asked her, clearly concerned for his friend.
“No!” She put both of her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. “I should probably stay off my ankle for a while, Junior, if it’s not too much of a burden for you.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
I couldn’t believe that Ruby seemed to be reveling in the warmth of Junior’s arms, but I’m sure she was just in pain.
“Be careful that you don’t trip over the same rock, Junior,” I warned.
“It’s right here,” he said, kicking it out into the short grass where we could see it. We looked at the rock, about the size of a grapefruit, but rough with jagged edges. Then slowly our jaws dropped, and we raised our heads until our eyes all met.
“It’s covered with blood,” Ruby said with a tremble in her voice.
I pulled out my phone to call Brody, but the CSI team appeared with one of the deputies at the top of the hill. I waved for them to come to us and pointed toward the rock on the ground. “It looks like the murder weapon,” I hollered to them.
“What is it, Miss Howard?” Deputy Starnes asked, a little out of breath from his jog down the hill. I know most of the deputies from visiting Brody at the Sheriff’s office in Calhoun. He followed our gaze to the large rock near our feet.
Murder, Basted and Barbecued Page 6