“I’m just a pub owner. You sure you want my John Hancock?”
“You own The Grumpy Chicken. People know it’s rumored to be haunted and love the place. Including my daughter. She would really appreciate it. So would I.”
I stared at the stern-faced officer with a little girl waiting at home. How could I refuse? He held out a Sharpie ready to go so I signed the shirt and laughed at how bad it came out. I never signed a piece of cloth before. “I’m just a hard working girl that grew up helping my parents run the family business. I’m no TV star, but I hope your daughter enjoys this gift from you.”
He gushed, “Thank you.” He looked at the signature and ran his hand over it. “By the way, there is one more thing. If you buy moonshine to sell on the side, it’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. But if you do, be careful. Shiners stick together and if word gets out that you're messing with them, it’s not good for you, your business, or your family.”
I shuffled my feet to get more comfy. The concrete curb was hard and uncomfortable, but so was this conversation. “It was very nice of you to come out to talk to me and let me know about the moonshiners. Thank you. And I really hope Jessica likes her t-shirt.”
“Oh, I know she is going to love it.” He held up the shirt as he spoke.
The horn tooted twice and I saw the powder blue car that belonged to Piper. My two friends waved out of the open windows as the pulled up.
Ida leaned out the passenger window. “Hello officer, you detaining my friend?”
The sergeant chuckled. “No, just the opposite. Asking for a favor. And you can’t park there.”
Ida waved at me to get in. “We’re just picking up Ginger. Not parking. We’ll be on our way and you have a nice day.”
He nodded. “You too.”
I climbed in and we took off. I was in the back seat now next to a pile of bags.
Ida babbled. “We found some good deals at the outlets. You should have seen...” She stopped and you could sense her mind resetting. “But get this. We also found out that Rotgut is out of town.”
I cocked my head. “How did you find that out while shopping?”
Piper used her snarkiest voice. “We asked.”
“While you were shopping you simply asked someone?”
Piper continued. “Well, we were looking at the posted menu for a pub in the strip mall we were at. You know, to compare to The Grumpy Chicken’s menu when one of the waiters came over to talk to us. He babbled about this and that. But then he bragged ‘I can even get a taste of shine for ya if you want’. So I asked if he knew Rotgut.”
“Wow. That’s kind of amazing but scary too. Seems everyone knows this man.”
Ida snorted. “That’s what the waiter said, everyone knows Rotgut. And he also noted that Rotgut is rumored to be out of town for a while.”
I sighed. “Well, nothing went as we thought it would today, but still productive.”
Ida twittered. “Yeah, very productive. I got a new pair of pumps at ninety percent off for the awards show!”
I sighed. “Piper, can you pull over so we can drop her at the curb?”
Piper shushed me. “Be quiet. She’s in love. And with someone in showbiz. She’s having fun. Plus the shoes were a good deal.”
“I guess. But we really should pull over at a rest area or someplace so we can swap. I'm doing no good sitting back here with the computers.”
Ida spun around. “Just hand it up to me. I’ll get back to work.” She squinted at me playfully. “Slave driver.”
“I deserved that I guess. But we need to know more about Belanger and Brown and the sooner you start the better.”
Piper shifted in her seat to look at me in the back seat. “So what did Detective Vader talk to you about?”
“You’re not going to believe this. But he tried to help me, told me to be careful because Rotgut is involved.”
Ida huffed. “Nothing else?”
“Well, he thought he would be grilling me about the insurance policy, and my finances, but learned more about me after our first meeting and realized he was wrong. And he admitted as much. Then he asked that I keep him informed and not poke around in Savannah. Gave me the usual it's dangerous speech.”
Piper turned the radio off then looked in the mirror again. “I’ve been thinking. We know that someone tried to frame you. So if the insurance policy naming you as beneficiary is a ruse, that means the real money might be changing hands someplace else. And Belanger and Brown both stink like low tide on trash day.”
I blinked a few times. “I don’t know what low tide on trash day actually smells like, but yes, they’re hiding something. That’s for sure.”
Ida was clicking away on her keyboard and contributed without looking up, “I’m working on it. They say follow the money, so that’s what I’m trying to do. I couldn’t find payments from the customer, namely Jacob, to the insurance agency. But maybe I can track it backward. From the agency to the customer.”
Piper nodded. “That’s pretty clever. Sounds like it should work.”
“What else do we need to do with what we learned today?”
Ida cut in. “I need to eat. That pub menu looked really good and we didn’t have time to eat lunch. I’m starving.”
Piper took the next exit with a blue sign displaying the fork symbol. We found a local diner just off the highway and went inside. It was almost empty and so we had our choice of spots. We took a booth with plenty of room to spread out and work. Ida found an outlet and plugged in her laptop, then talked to her computer screen. “Let’s see how good my web crawlers are.” She plunked a few keys.
Piper looked over at me. “You alright after meeting with the detective? It was odd to find you sitting on the curb with a cop hovering over you.”
“You’re not going to believe this, he asked for my autograph, for his daughter.”
Piper’s jaw hung. “That’s so exciting. Piper is dating a cameraman and you’re a TV star. Wait, where does that leave me?”
I laughed. “Your a serious journalist. I’m just a waitress slash bartender slash cook. It was silly. But the sergeant also said some of the cops might be taking bribes from the moonshiners. It was strange, but he felt like he needed to warn me about it.”
Ida popped. “Holy cow! Look at this. I found a copy of a life insurance policy from Bev Serve. Seems Brown sent it to Belanager. They covered Jacob ‘as a key employee to prevent large corporate losses in the untimely event of his death.’ The amount is two million dollars. And get this, Jake Belanger is the beneficiary as the owner of Bev Serve.”
Piper sat up straight. “The policy that paid to you, Ginger, how much was that for?”
I couldn’t stop the reflex and my eyebrows raised as my eyes got bigger. “Fifty-thousand dollars. I thought that was a lot. Till now.”
Piper leaned on the table. “Well, well. Would you say two million reasons is enough to call it a motive Ida?”
“For two million, you can use any word you want. That’s a lot of money.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to seem dumb, but is it legal for a corporation to take a life insurance policy on an employee?”
Piper answered. “I think it is, but there are regulations that limit its use. And I think Jacob has to sign, too.”
I mused. “So if it’s regulated, wouldn’t it be easier if you had an insurance agent in your pocket?”
Piper smiled. “And the easiest way to get the insurance agent to issue a shady policy, pay him off.”
Ida smirked. “Does this mean you’re okay letting me hack their bank records?”
My face went long. “No! Not even close. But there has to be an easier, less risky way. I’ll bet old Chris Brown has a new boat or some shiny toy in his driveway or garage.”
Piper gushed. “Well, now we’re getting someplace. We should celebrate a bit, get something nice to eat.”
Now it was Ida who had the long face. “No, I’m paying, remember. I can’t afford to splurge afte
r buying my new Jimmy Choo pumps. Even if the shoes were on sale.”
I teased, “No one made you buy those shoes.”
Piper and I laughed, but we resisted the urge to order the more expensive items. Both of us ordered the blue plate special to be considerate to Ida. Our food arrived and we dove in. We reviewed the day’s events while we ate and it was still fresh in our minds.
After we finished dinner, we ordered coffee and relaxed, taking some time to unwind. Piper asked, “So, what’s next?”
I squinted. “I’m not sure. Belanger may be running some kind of insurance scam. Rotgut is the likely suspect for putting the device on Jacobs car. So the next question in my mind is are they working together? And why?”
Piper replied. “Rotgut makes and sells moonshine. Belanger sells liquor. Do you think Belanger knows him through the business? The waiter said everyone in Savannah knows Rotgut.”
I nodded. “That may be true. But we don’t know Rotgut. We need to get to know him, somehow, and this Belanger guy, too.”
Ida asked, “Hey, I meant to ask, but in all the excitement of today, it got lost. Why did you have that large envelope when you came out of the police station?”
“It’s for Aunt Mae. Eckart asked that I bring it back from the Savannah station to her.”
Piper chuckled. “Ah, so this big meeting was a courier pickup.”
I smiled. “You could say that. It all just worked out that way. Like everything else today, it didn’t go as expected but we kept things moving forward.”
Piper eyed me. “You know when we show up with a package for Deputy Owens from Savannah, everyone is going to know we were sleuthing today. What do we tell everyone back home about what we were doing today?”
“First, we can be discreet with the envelope. And just tell anyone who asks that you came to go shopping and I had a meeting with the detective. It’s not a lie, it’s just not the whole truth. If we tell them everything, they’ll get involved and there is no need for that. We don’t need any more people running around, it would just create more problems at this point.”
Ida snorted. “Well, we might need some help to learn more about this Rotgut guy. I am starting to get the distinct feeling he doesn’t have a big presence on the net.”
Piper’s eyed twinkled. “So maybe it’s time for some old-fashioned work. You know the kind where you look at pieces of paper and talk to actual people.”
I smiled. “You miss the good old days, do ya, Piper?”
“No, not really. But every now and then it’s nice to get out and read something printed on paper and converse face to face.”
Ida huffed. “I converse with people all the time.”
Piper shook her head no. “Typing in little boxes on a computer screen doesn’t count. Not for this. This man wants to stay out of sight and is not going to let information regarding him slip out. Especially on the internet.”
Ida slumped. “You might be right. As far as I can see, he’s a ghost.”
“So, are we done here? I’m stuffed and ready to get home.” I wiped my mouth one last time with the napkin.
Ida sipped her coffee. “No, first you need to see my new shoes!” She sprung out of the booth and sprinted back to the car. She had the shoe box under her arm when she returned. After retaking her seat in the booth, she plunked the box on the table and took the lid off. “Look at those babies.”
I had to admit, they were nice shoes. We ended up spending the next hour just chatting, nothing serious just girl talk. It was nice to forget the odd events that consumed us the last few days and just be friends.
Piper finally sat up straight. “Well, this has been fun, but time to go home. Let’s roll. I’m ready to get back.”
Ida did pay our bill, as promised, and I left a nice tip. I guess I have a soft spot for hard-working waitresses. When I was younger and waiting tables for Mom and Dad, I hated tending a table above and beyond, and then receiving a small tip. I never forgot that lousy feeling and refuse to make someone else feel that way.
We sauntered out and loaded into the car. We were tired but still faced some distance to drive, and then we needed to deal with the gang back home. I had no doubt they would be waiting for our return.
Chapter Eleven
WE ARRIVED BACK AT the pub at nine o’clock p.m. I expected a lively crowd, but instead found things calm due to the dwindling people. The dinner crowd was gone and most of the remaining patrons hovered at the bar. Dad tended to them and kept busy wiping glasses while waiting for drink orders. Guardrail, Dog, and Digger sat on their usual stools and Edith and Lily held court at their customary table. The gang occupied their preferred locations, as anticipated, waiting for our return.
We, the three exhausted travelers, trudged for the table next to Lily and Edith. Dog Breath hollered at us as we entered. “Welcome home. The travel team has returned in triumph!”
I stopped to eye the three men perched on stools. “Triumph? How much have you had to drink?”
Guardrail shrugged and bellowed back. “Not much. We’re just tired of waiting for ya and we want to know how you made out. And you know Dog has said things far more unusual when he’s bored.”
Dog Breath retorted with a reflexive, “Hey!” to Guardrail. But it did not deter his enthusiasm and he popped off his perch to dash over to us before we could settle at our table. He left his spot at the bar, beer in hand, to escort us to our seats. “Did you learn anything? I told Guardrail you might even solve this while you were in Savannah.” As Dog spoke, he pointed over to the big man on his stool drinking a beer. Digger and Guardrail took that as an invite to come over to the group assembling at the two dining tables.
I locked eyes with the motorcycle mechanic while he took a sip of beer. “Dog, Piper and Ida just went shopping, as evidenced by Ida's new footwear. And I attended a requested meeting with a Savannah based detective. Why do you think we did anything else?”
Dog licked the foam off his upper lip. “You leave without telling anyone why just after what happened to Jacob. Come on, we’re smarter than that.”
I forced a wry smile. “I love small town life, but I still wish for privacy on many occasions.” I crumbled into a seat at the table adjacent to Lily and Edith. Ida and Piper did the same.
Lily said, “Ginger, dear, so who are our suspects?”
Ida placed one hoof on the table. “Look at this beauty! We went shopping I tell ya. No way you'd spot a pair of these in this one horse town.”
Lily persisted. “Don’t give us that ballyhoo about shopping. We know what you were doing today. We waited for you to come back so we could offer our help.”
Dog Breath agreed with an exaggerated nod.
After leaning in my general direction, Edith spoke soft and slow. “Ginger, Beth Givens was here earlier. Spewing all kinds of gossip. She claimed you went to Savannah because you’re the prime suspect in Jacob's attack. Said that the police there want to arrest you.”
“I’m not surprised. Beth has a gossip gene and would break her neck to spew her falsehoods. I hate it, but right now there’s not much I can do about her chatter. So it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
Lily cleared her throat and persisted. “Well, don’t make me repeat myself again, who are our suspects?” She emphasized her query by flicking her eyebrows in the universal sign of ‘well tell me.’
The gang knew we did some digging into the Jacob mystery, that was clear. And Beth was spreading horrible rumors about me being arrested. So I gave in. “Someone named me as a beneficiary....”
Piper roared. “Hey! Hey! What happened to the plan to be discreet?”
I smiled. “It’s clear that was a bad idea and it’s better to prevent Beth’s false gossip from spreading. Things get so blown out of proportion. We might as well spill the beans and get the truth out.”
So I told them the whole story, ending with the dinner meeting held just hours ago. However, I omitted the part concerning Ida’s shoes to get to my summary. “This gu
y Rotgut is bad news and he is the prime suspect for setting the device on Jacob’s car. There’s also an insurance scam which we think involves Jake Belanger, the owner of Bev Serve, and the insurance salesman, Chris Brown. But we’re not sure how the insurance scam and attempt on Jacob are connected. We’re assuming Belanger hired Rotgut to murder Jacob, but there is no proof of that.”
Dad came over and sat next to me. He kissed my cheek softly. “Sweetie, glad you’re home. That’s quite a story, but I’m surprised that Jacob’s girlfriend isn’t of interest.”
Ida couldn’t resist. “Oh, she’s of interest. But for different reasons.”
Digger scowled at Ida. “What does that mean?”
“If a fit blonde woman with eyes that literally sparkle, working as an aerobics instructor, intrigues you, then she’s of interest.” Ida looked down at her own body after she finished.
Guardrail picked up on her tone. “Ah, you got Scooter. You’ve got nothing to be jealous of. She should be jealous of you.” Ida smiled at Guardrail and he returned the gesture. “See and such a pretty smile. So now that that’s resolved, what do we do next?”
I whined. “Nooo. I shared the whole story so you would know what’s going on. But now you know I’m telling the truth when I say there’s not much for us to do. Detective Eckart is all over the insurance scam and every policeman in the state is looking for Rotgut. There is not much we can do but let them do their job.”
Digger held his index finger in the air. We all fell quiet and focused on the odd site of the town’s gravedigger trying to buzz into the discussion. But it worked, he had the floor. “There may be one thing. I know the moonshiners around here, and they know me. You all know that because I help get shine for The Grumpy Chicken regulars. And you might also know that the mule kick crowd is a pretty tight bunch throughout the south. If there’s something going on with this Rotgut character, my friends with stills will know. I can talk with my shine contacts and see what they’re hearing.”
I pinched the corners of my mouth. “So that would mean meeting with Gator. Is there any chance I could go to that meeting with you?
A Highball and a Low Blow (Grumpy Chicken Irish Pub Series Book 3) Page 7