A Highball and a Low Blow (Grumpy Chicken Irish Pub Series Book 3)

by Constance Barker

  “No. Just the one he took out when I asked him to. You know just before we bought this place.”

  I rose and went to shake her hand. “Thank you very much for talking to us. I know this is hard. Please let us know if we can do anything to help. I hate that this happened and will do whatever I can. But for now, we’ll be on our way and let you get to work, and to the hospital later. We have to keep moving, too, as there’s lots to get done while we’re here in Savannah.”

  Piper and Ida looked at each other like they were about to call a penalty for a tea party foul, but they eventually stood too and said goodbye.

  I added, “Seriously, we want to help so don’t be afraid to ask for anything. We’re not that far away and want to make it easier for you to get through this, if we can.”

  Nicole smiled. “Thanks so much for that. Jacob has some good friends, it seems, that he kept hidden from me. It was really nice to meet you and I hope to see you again, soon.”

  I smiled back. “Somehow, I have a feeling we will cross paths again. I look forward to it. See ya around.” I gave a slight wave and opened the front door to leave. Piper and Ida did not speak but the looks they gave me as we walked to the car spoke volumes. They would have liked to stay a little longer, but we really did need to go.

  Chapter Nine

  WE BUCKLED IN ONCE again and I looked back to Ida in the rear seat. “So what time is Bev Serve expecting us?”

  “Twelve-thirty. Leaves us plenty of time before we have to drop you off at the police station.”

  Piper huffed. “So I’m the one who has to bring it up? Why did you cut the meeting with Nicole off?”

  “You know. She’s perhaps an interesting person, maybe. But she’s no murderer.”

  Ida cut in. “Yeah, her interesting personality was clearly showing in that tight outfit. I wish I could afford Lululemon.”

  I chose to ignore Ida and continued. “It’s clear Nicole loves her life and needs Jacob to afford it. She has no motive to kill him but does have a strong motive to keep him alive and kicking. And for some reason, I had assumed she was more insurance savvy when Ida found that she asked for a reciprocating policy from Jacob. But on their salaries, it’s obvious that a bank financed this place and the loan probably required life insurance policies on both of them since they weren’t married. To secure the debt.”

  Piper slumped in her seat. “Yeah. I know. I thought exactly the same thing. But I was enjoying my tea. That place was nice.”

  Ida chimed in. “Ginger, you should have seen your face when that blonde bombshell answered the door.”

  I said the first thing that came to mind. “Her hair was bleached. I bet you saw the dark roots just like I did.”

  Ida laughed. “Of course I noticed.”

  I asked Ida, “So, who’s meeting with us at the distributors?”

  “The Bev Serve email said someone from human resources. I had to call them a few times. They weren’t real happy about it but did finally send me an email to pick a time on Calendly.”

  I crinkled my nose. “What’s a Calendly?”

  “A website to schedule meetings where you can just pick a time out of the open slots available. It makes it easy and prevents sending a bunch of emails back and forth.”

  I rocked my head. “So that’s why I didn’t know. It’s a digital thing. I am so out of it when it comes to anything with a keyboard or mouse. I need to work on my computer skills.”

  Piper had already started the car and set up the GPS on her phone. We were on the way over to Bev Serve when she broke a moment of silence. “Can I be honest?”

  I nodded. “I would expect nothing less from the best journalist in Potter’s Mill.”

  “I expected the insurance agency to be greedy enough to sell the three insurance policies, but otherwise innocent. And I expected Nicole to be an important meeting, the real person of interest. But that didn’t happen and it’s actually the opposite. Nicole is innocent and this Brown guy is just screaming guilty.”

  I chuckled. “I know. But one thing doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Brown do it? He stands to gain nothing. He already sold the polices and that’s the only money he makes in this. He wreaks but there is no strong motive.”

  Ida’s voice drifted from the back seat. “I hate when you talk like the police. ‘Motive.’ You like to use that word. Why can’t you just say he had no reason to do it like a normal person.”

  “Because this is serious and deserves to be treated appropriately. Life has taught me to resolve riddles and loose ends and do it professionally if you can. If you leave them hanging, they end up haunting you like the grumpy chicken. So I try to treat things with the seriousness they deserve and act professionally.”

  Ida laughed out loud. “Okay Ms. Grouchy. Was just saying.”

  Piper cut in. “I hate to bring this up. But that sounds like you were saying you hate never learning what your mom tried to tell you before she died. I remember how much it gnawed at you. We get it and that’s why we're here for you. To help.”

  I looked at the dashboard, avoiding eye contact. “I know. And thank you.” I paused. “Mom’s death in the middle of my divorce did change me. And I know I can be a tad persistent when I want answers.”

  Ida roared. “Persistent? More like obsessed, or stubborn.”

  Piper cut her off. “Ida! We’re trying to help, remember?”

  Ida reached over the front seat to put her hand on my shoulder, still chuckling. “I’m sorry. I really am. Piper’s right. And remember, I’m paying for lunch.”

  “I’m so lucky to have such good friends.” My voice may have had a hint of sarcasm when I looked back at Ida.

  Piper fawned. “Awww, that’s so sweet, girls, but can we pause this lovely moment. We’re here and need to put our investigator hats back on.”

  I looked out the windshield to realize Bev Serve was huge. The office was a massive two-story brick building with two large metal warehouses behind it. Trucks were whizzing to and from loading docks and the office parking lot was near full. One truck coming from the gated courtyard that surrounded the warehouse area practically ran us over as he sped out onto the main road.

  We found a parking spot after some searching. All three of us got out and stretched our legs, then we entered and signed in, which included showing identification. A woman dressed in a professional looking pantsuit came out to greet us, after which she lead us to the human resource's office. We started the conversation slow and quickly realized this was going nowhere since her answer to every question was “that’s confidential.”

  Piper pressed her. “Look, I understand personal information about an employee is confidential. But we came here all the way from Potter’s Mill to try and find out why someone may have hurt Jacob. We just want to know if anything weird or unusual was going on with him. That’s more than fair for an ex-wife like Ginger to ask.”

  The HR lady studied me. “Are you the one that was on that TV show, the one with the pub in Potter’s Mill?”

  “Yep, that was me. But that has nothing to do with why we’re here. I was hoping to talk to Jacob’s boss. Can you at least tell me who he or she is?”

  The woman sighed. “I’m not supposed to tell you this. But you seem like nice people... and you being his ex. Plus I loved that episode so much.” She paused. “You could find out easy enough, too, if you wanted to. So okay, that would be Mr. Belanger, the company president. Jacob reported directly to him.”

  I shot a look to Ida and Piper. Ida nodded in confirmation. I asked, “What is Mr. Belanger’s first name?”

  “Jake.”

  Ida gulped. “Well, what would it take to get a meeting with Mr. Belanger?”

  “Mr. Belanger is a very busy man and he is out of town until next week. If you call his office, they might be able to set up a meeting.”

  Piper rose. “Thank you, we appreciate you taking the time for us.”

  Ida and I followed suit, shaking the woman’s hand, and we left. As we were
buckling back into our seats, Ida remarked. “Well, now we know who the Jake Belanger I found is. And this is not good. This place is a major business here in Savannah and this guy is probably connected three ways to Sunday.”

  Piper snorted. “I agree, that could be a problem. But we still need to find the truth here and my gut is telling me that something is definitely going on here. That HR representative was obviously told to say nothing and she made it clear it would be hard for us to get a meeting with this Belanger guy. It smells off.”

  “Well, this day is just full of surprises. And now I get to meet with Detective Eckart. I’m pretty sure he’s related to Darth Vader, but the detective has less personality.” I sighed and looked out the car window as we left the parking lot.

  Piper chuckled. “Stop being so dramatic. It’s not that bad. It’ll be fine. He’s just doing his job.”

  “Easy for you to say. You and Ida get to go shopping while I do a scene from The French Connection. And the detective thinks I’m the bad guy. That’s better than shopping, right?”

  Ida’s spoke softly, almost below an audible level. “Well, if it makes you feel better, we can pick up something for you.”

  I spun to look at the rear seat. “That’s nice of you, but it’s not necessary.”

  Piper smacked my arm with the back of her hand. “Hey, what do you think about this. Maybe your detective friend knows Rotgut. Maybe he can tell you something about him.”

  I chortled. “Him helping me, now that would be something to see.”

  Piper pointed out the windshield. “Well, we’re a tad early, but that’s the station. So you’re about to find out if he will or won’t.”

  “I guess it’s time for me to walk the green mile. Tell my father I went to the chair with my head held high.”

  Ida quipped. “Keep talking like that and I’ll put ya in the electric chair myself. Geeze!”

  Piper laughed. “Go. Do what you need to do. When should we be back?”

  “I assume this will take about an hour, so in sixty minutes?”

  Ida moaned and Piper nodded. “Well, that doesn’t give us much time for shopping, but we’ll be here.” To underline the point, Piper glared at Ida as she moved to the front seat.

  I walked up to the front door reluctant to go in. I was early but decided that maybe the charming detective would understand and be accommodating. After talking to the sergeant manning the front desk, I was surprised to find I was right. Detective Eckart was on his way out to escort me to his office.

  We walked quite a ways through a maze of desks and work stations, then I sat in a metal chair with uncomfortable green padding next to his desk. “Well, I’m not sure why, but I’m here like you asked.”

  Eckart opened a folder and took out a large black and white photograph. “See this man?” He handed the picture to me. “His name is Sammy Mason, but he goes by Rotgut. This man makes moonshine and runs numbers for a living. And we think he also kills people. This is the suspect for what happened to Jacob.”

  I shrugged. “I figured that out on my own just using the internet.”

  “Don’t get smart with me, I’m trying to help you here. This man will stop at nothing to hurt someone like you if it’s what he needs to do. And I think you poking around Savannah might lead him to believe he needs to do something about you. You don’t want that and neither do I.”

  “I appreciate your concern. But it’s surprising after our first meeting where I came away feeling like a prime suspect.”

  “Yes, you were a prime suspect two days ago. But now you’re a person of interest. But Rotgut is my prime suspect.”

  “I get the distinction, thank you.”

  “Look, I’ve seen a lot in this line of work. And I let the facts speak for themselves. A pretty young woman like you looks all sweet and innocent when I first meet her, but I know that doesn’t mean there isn’t a bloodthirsty killer lurking inside.”

  “Ouch!”

  “But I’m not stupid. I can see someone tried to frame you for this. In today’s world, with cell phones, email, texts, social media...all that crap, we can see into a person’s thoughts more than ever. And you, you were even on a TV show. So I’ve since learned a little about Ginger O’Mallory since we last met. When originally I asked for this meeting, I thought it was going to be a chance to grill you more on the insurance policy and your finances. But I was wrong.”

  “This day is just one surprise after another.”

  He tried to smile, but his stern face would not allow it. “So, where did you go today and what did you do?”

  So I told Det. Eckart that we had three meetings and explained our failed attempts to find Rotgut. But I left most of the good tidbits of what we learned out. He took notes as I talked, then he put the pen down and eyed me. “You tried to meet with Rotgut?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re braver than half the cops in here!”

  “I’ve faced murderers before.”

  “I know. The Potter's Mill police gushed about how you helped them on multiple occasions.”

  “It’s a small town. We have to stick together and help one another. Even the police.”

  “I grew up in a small town not far from here, so I understand. But Savannah is a different ball of muck. You can’t go poking around into things and not get into trouble. Or get dead.”

  “I understand. I was just trying to figure out why I’m named the beneficiary of an insurance policy I have no knowledge of taken out by ex-husband.”

  “Well, I can’t stop you officially, but take my advice and don’t do it.”

  “I appreciate the guidance.”

  “Here, can you take this back to Deputy Owens?” He threw a large manila envelope on the desk.

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “None of your business! She’s expecting it from you. It will get there faster this way.”

  “Okay.”

  He played with his pen. “Thanks for the favor. So, did you learn anything else today that you should tell me?”

  I paused, then just said it. “Maybe, Jake Belanger of Bev Serve looks like he may have had something to do with the three life insurance policies concerning Jacob. And the insurance agency, Chris Brown in particular, smells rotten. It was really interesting that this Brown guy assumed Jacob was already dead. It seemed like something is off with both of them.”

  He looked up at me, squinting. “You might have mentioned that part when you told me you met with them. But Maybe Sheriff Morrison was right. You have some talent for this investigation thing. So thanks for sharing, but I already know all that.”

  “Thanks, I think. Now I’ve told you everything, so are we done here?”

  “Yeah. I appreciate you coming by. And if there is anything you think of, or find out, let me know ASAP. Here’s my card.” He flipped the card over and scribbled a phone number on it. “That’s my personal cell phone. Call me anytime if you have to.”

  “Thanks. Now I feel guilty.” I tucked the business card into one of my bluejean’s pockets.

  “Why.”

  “Earlier I told friends I thought you were related to Darth Vader. But I was wrong. Sorry. You’re just doing a tough job. I know that now.”

  For just a moment, he laughed. “You made my day. I love your honesty. And by the way, I became a cop because I have relatives that made Vader look like a Boy Scout. But I wanted to do some good for society after seeing how much harm they did to others. So I joined the force.” He wasn't laughing now.

  I blankly looked at him and tried to say something but just stuttered a bit. Finally, I said, “I’ll let you know immediately if I learn anything. I promise.”

  “That’s what I needed to hear. Now get out of here. This conversation is getting too mushy for my liking.” He waved his hand towards the front of the building. “You know the way out. See ya around kid.”

  “Thanks. See ya.”

  I picked up the large envelope for Aunt Mae and walked out on my own, but I took
my time. This was not the Potter's Mill police station. There were dozens of uniformed officers mixed with detectives and almost as many civilians. Phones rang, people gushed to proclaim their innocence, cops yelled at perps to keep quiet, and noises I could not quite identify all blended to create a painful din. I had no idea how anyone got work done here but I found new respect Det. Eckart for being so focused in this environment.

  I was surprised when I realized the meeting lasted seventy minutes but that meant Piper’s car should be waiting out front. But as with everything I did today, I was surprised. Piper and Ida were absent when I got to the parking lot.

  Chapter Ten

  I SAT ON THE CURB WITH the envelope in my lap and waited. I didn’t know why my friends were late, but I had a pretty good idea. Ida was keen on getting in a shopping side trip and they must have found a good store or some great deals. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. The sun felt good on my face.

  “I don’t want to intrude. But I saw you here waiting. I couldn’t talk to you inside, would be too easy for the rest of the force to eavesdrop. There are rumors that some of the officers may be on the take from the shiners.” It was the sergeant from the front desk. “I have someone covering for me for a few minutes so I could come out to talk to you.”

  I shrugged. “Okay?”

  “I saw you on that TV show and loved the episode. You seem like a nice person and Eckart says the local police and you have a good relationship.”

  “That’s true, my aunt is on our small force.”

  “Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but the rumor is the moonshiners are acting up and causing all this trouble. Be careful, they’re dangerous and not to be messed with. I’m not sure Eckart would tell you, so I thought I would make sure you know.”

  “That’s kind of you, thanks.”

  “And, well this is embarrassing. Can I get an autograph for my kid? Her name is Jessica and she would just go nuts if I brought it home to her.” He held out a Ghost Hounds t-shirt.