Whispering Pines Mysteries Box Set 3

by Shawn McGuire

  My gaze slid from him to the vigilante table. Only Lindsey and Kendra were there. Darryl and Cheryl were still in the little dining room at the back. Sundstrom and Didi were now at a table in the back corner. He was holding her hands across the table as though trying to calm her down.

  They’d split into groups. What was going on? Was the division into couples simply a matter of ticked off partners needing attention? Or was this part of the plan Marcel was worried about and they had stationed themselves around the pub to take action?

  Jagger was talking to Lindsey now. Probably telling him to back off or he’d be out the door. Clearly happy with this development, Gloria and Melinda were laughing and devouring pieces of pie, cheesecake, and cookies. Tavie was drinking something from a mug, probably mulled cider. And Silence was . . . Where was Silence?

  I scanned the main room. She wasn’t there.

  “Where is she?” I murmured out loud.

  I took a few steps toward the front of the pub, planning to check the other dining rooms for her, when she appeared at the far end of the bar. She must’ve gone to the ladies’ room. My stress level, which had been rising and falling like a rollercoaster all night, dropped again. Maybe there was nothing going on and I was simply being paranoid.

  “Sheriff?”

  I turned to see Sundstrom standing next to me. “Mr. Sundstrom. What can I do for you?”

  He pointed toward the door that led to the deck and had to raise his voice over the noise of pub patrons and music. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  What could he want to talk to me about? Did he have information about Lindsey’s agenda?

  “I think they locked that door,” I told him. “We can get out, but won’t be able to get back in.”

  He grabbed an unoccupied chair from a nearby table. “We’ll wedge it open. It’s so loud in here. This will just take a minute.”

  I squeezed my elbow tight against my side, letting the feel of my Glock comfort me and give me confidence. Then I held a hand out toward the door for Sundstrom to take the lead. “All right.”

  My plan was to prop the door open with my body instead of the chair while he stood out on the deck. That way, if he was up to something, I’d simply step back inside the pub. That was my plan. But as often as not, plans had a way of going off the rails.

  Chapter 9

  Before I could even register what had happened, Sundstrom had grabbed me by the arm, yanked me out onto the deck, and was back inside Triple G with the door closed.

  I grabbed the door handle, twisted, and pulled, but the door was locked.

  “Hey! Let me in!” I yelled and pounded on the windowless door. This was a waste of time. No one would hear me. I’d have to run around to the front.

  As I rounded the building, I passed the doggie play yard.

  “Meeka, come!” Noting the urgent tone in my voice, she didn’t hesitate and ran right over to where I stood by the fence. I reached over and snatched her up. Blue, the village cat, was the only other animal in the yard.

  “Sorry,” I called to Blue as we sprinted for the main entrance. “Meeka’s on duty now.”

  With Westie in hand, I took the pub’s porch steps two at a time and then tugged on the front door’s handle. It was locked as well.

  What was going on? A hostage situation? They weren’t going to hurt people, were they? Was it some weird cult thing where Lindsey was trying to turn the village against me?

  I peered through the door’s window and saw what looked like a bar fight about to break out. I pounded on the door and screamed for someone to let me in, but no one heard. Where was Jagger? Why wasn’t he at his post by the door? Maybe he’d gotten caught up in the fight. He’d been talking to Lindsey last I saw and that’s where the crowd was gathered, near Lindsey’s table. Had Lindsey been stupid enough to pick a fight with Jagger?

  Even though I couldn’t hear what was being said, I could tell by the hand gestures and facial expressions that people were angry. As I watched, people gathered from other areas of the pub. A few tried to get in the middle of the melee to break things up. Still others appeared to be joining the fight, making things worse by adding an additional layer to whatever was going on. Most people hung to the fringes, leaving distance between themselves and the fight. This wasn’t good. I had to get in there.

  “It’s going to be chaos any second now,” I said to Meeka as I pounded on the door, trying again to get someone’s attention.

  I was about to break the window pane closest to the dead bolt when I saw Tripp skirting the edge of the crowd. He was looking around, probably for me. I pounded harder on the door and screamed his name. Finally, he looked our way, his brows furrowing with confusion. I waved him over and pointed at the doorknob.

  “What are you doing out there?” he asked, holding the door open as I lurched inside.

  “Sundstrom locked me out on the deck.”

  The people clustered at the center of the main room were becoming more agitated. Bodies were pressing closer together. Voices were rising. Tempers were flaring. Finally, I spotted Jagger in the middle of it all, desperately trying to break things up.

  In an attempt to get everyone’s attention, I climbed on top of a table and hollered, but they couldn’t hear me. Fortunately, after years of calling closing time at the end of the day, Maeve had one of the loudest whistles I’d ever heard. She got on the table with me and let loose an ear-piercing blast.

  “That’s enough,” she shouted. She had to whistle once again before the chaos finally settled.

  As she climbed down, I took over. “All of you, on the floor right now. Sit cross-legged with your hands on top of your heads and your fingers laced.” Only a few people obeyed, so I added, “Don’t think I could have been any clearer. That was in order. All of you, on the ground now.”

  Slowly, everyone sat and placed their hands on their heads as told.

  From the middle of the cluster, someone cried out, “Oh God, no!”

  With everyone on the ground, my line of sight was clear. Tavie was kneeling next to Silence, who lay on the ground, a knife with a striped wood handle protruding from her lower abdomen.

  Gloria screamed, and Melinda dropped down next to Tavie.

  “Is there a doctor?” Melinda called and then louder, “Is anyone a doctor?”

  “Oh my God.” I glanced at Tripp, who was equally shocked. When he stepped forward to help, I grabbed his arm, holding him back. “No, I’ve got this.”

  I handed a squirming Meeka over to him and zigzagged my way through the people sitting in a circle around the women. By the time I got to them, Jola had emerged from the crowd to assess the injury.

  “Well?” I asked her after a few seconds.

  “I’m not sure how long the blade is—”

  “Between four and five inches. I’ve seen it before.”

  I locked eyes on Lindsey. He looked as surprised as everyone else that his knife was sticking out of this girl. He didn’t do it?

  “Okay, then.” Jola appeared to be going through a mental anatomy book as she tended to Silence. “It’s down low, so probably missed most of her major organs but could have sliced or nicked her intestine. Possibly, if it went in deep enough, it hit her spine. Either way, she needs to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.”

  I scanned the room, looking for Maeve or any of the other pub employees. Maeve was the first I found. “Call for an ambulance.”

  “No,” Jola insisted. “There’s no time for an ambulance. You know they’ll take an hour to get here. The faster we get her treatment, the better her chances of recovery.” Jola inhaled deeply, settling her nerves, and then hollered, “Drake? Are you here?”

  From the line of people sitting on the ground near the front door, a man in his early thirties with buzzed blond hair leapt to his feet. “Right here.”

  “Get the van,” Jola ordered. “Drive up as close to the pub as you can.”

  “On it,” Drake said and darted out the door.


  “Unity’s van isn’t the same as an ambulance,” Jola explained while tending to Silence who had turned a scary shade of pale. “It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but it’s stocked with supplies and is a far better option than waiting. I need something to cover her with and something to put under her head.” She glanced at me, worry etched into her face. “Let’s try to make her as comfortable as possible.”

  Someone in the crowd produced a heavy jacket to serve as a blanket. Someone else handed over a sweater to use as a pillow. While Jola took care of Silence and talked with Tavie and the others, I pulled Tripp and Jagger off to the side. “Jagger, you man the front door. Tripp, I want you to cover the back door.”

  “What exactly do you want me to do?” Tripp asked, Meeka still fidgeting in his arms. The Westie’s focus was on Silence. She really wanted to go to her.

  “Just make sure no one leaves the pub until I clear them.”

  “What about the windows?” Jagger asked. “There are a ton of them, and it’s a single-story building. People can jump out without a problem. I’ve seen it happen many times.”

  He was right, we needed more than three of us to control this crowd of close to two hundred.

  “Time to rally the renovation guys,” I told Tripp. “You’re sure they weren’t involved with this?”

  “Positive. We were watching the game at a table toward the back of the room when the fight broke out. I came up here when I heard the commotion.”

  The look in his eyes said, to make sure you were okay.

  “All right, ask them to spread out through the pub and keep people from leaping out windows.”

  Tripp stared at me instead of walking away.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You’re going to interview all of these people?”

  I glanced around at the dozens of patrons, mostly villagers, sitting on the floor. They looked scared, like they wished they would’ve left after the Packers’ game.

  “What choice do I have?” I responded.

  “You can let me help.” When I hesitated, he said, “You’ve been telling me about your job for the last six months. Remember the discussions we had out on the sundeck about interview procedures? I worked a lot of different jobs before landing in Whispering Pines. Most of them were at restaurants and involved dealing with the public. I may not have formal training, but I can tell if someone’s lying to me.” When I still didn’t jump at his offer, he sighed hard. “We’re going to be here until two in the morning if you don’t let me help.”

  “Me too,” Jagger said. “Keeping an eye on a crowd is pretty much my job. I know of at least thirty people who weren’t anywhere near this when it started.”

  My fear over letting a guilty party walk away warred with my desire to get through everyone quickly and efficiently. My gut told me it wasn’t a villager. It had to be one of the vigilantes.

  “Fine. You two interview people at the door. I’ll deal with this cluster in the middle. If you’re certain they weren’t involved, let them leave but take down their names, so I know who was here and how to contact them if I need further information. If you’re not sure or if they want to make a statement, have them stay and I’ll talk to them when I can.”

  While Tripp and Jagger got to work slowly emptying the building, I hovered near Silence. Until Drake returned with the van, I kept things calm and quiet, which was a challenge with Lindsey a few feet away. He was belligerent and kept hollering about how he didn’t do this and how it wouldn’t have happened if a man was in uniform.

  “It wouldn’t have happened,” I said, “if your buddy hadn’t manhandled me out the door.” I pointed at Sundstrom. “Prepare to be charged with assaulting an officer.” To Lindsey, I said, “Sit there and be quiet or I’ll cuff you and lock you in the walk-in cooler.”

  I wouldn’t really, but oh, I was tempted.

  While we waited for Drake, I asked Maeve for a plastic bag and masking tape.

  “You can’t pull it out,” Jola blocked my hands when I reached toward the knife. “It’s acting as a plug.”

  “I’m not going to pull it out,” I told her as I placed the bag over the knife’s striped handle and secured it with the tape. “I’m preserving evidence. There might be fingerprints. Make sure they don’t remove the bag at the hospital. Someone will come get it.”

  “Someone who?”

  Good question. I couldn’t leave with all this going on. Reed was of no use. I really couldn’t send a civilian. Deputy Atkins over at the county station popped into my mind. “Tell them Deputy Evan Atkins will be by sometime. Not sure when.”

  A few minutes later, Drake was back with a stretcher.

  “I turned off the highway and drove behind all the cottages,” he said to no one in particular. “The grounds crew will have to do a little landscaping repair. I’m parked right out front.”

  Moving her as though she was made of the finest, most fragile glass, Jola and Drake put a neck brace on Silence first to keep her stable. Then they slid a backboard beneath her before lifting her onto the stretcher. Moving slowly to keep the jostling to a minimum, they carried her out to the van.

  “Come on, girls,” Tavie said to Melinda and Gloria. “We’re following.”

  I stopped her before they left the pub. “Are you okay to drive? I’m sure I can find someone to take you. I’d do it myself, but I need to sort through these people.”

  Tavie closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. When she opened her eyes again, a look of steely resolve was there. “I’ll be fine. I need to be with Silence. You figure out who did this to my girl.”

  “I will. Are you sure you can keep it together?”

  She pushed her shoulders back. “She needs me.” Her nostrils flared, and her eyes glistened. “I have to keep it together at least until we get back to the bed-and-breakfast.”

  The look on her face showed her strength. It also showed me she’d need someone to be there for her later. “I’ll be waiting whenever you get there.”

  Jola and Drake had already left, so I gave Tavie directions to the hospital and walked her to the front door. Before leaving the pub, she paused and turned back. To the entire room, she said, “I don’t know who did this, but I want you to know that Silence is the most innocent of the innocents. You don’t know her background. You don’t know why she does the things she does. She’s a really good kid, though. For whatever reason, you felt this was the answer to your problem, which tells me your problems run very deep. I will pray for you. Eventually, I’ll forgive you. Right now, I’m far too angry.”

  As Tavie spoke, I kept my focus on the group of vigilantes and villagers sitting in the center of the room. One of them did this, but who? As I scanned the group, pausing on each person. Those who gave no visible signs of guilt faded away like shadows being taken over by the sun. Once I’d gone through the group once, I did it again with the remaining folks. After that, I was left with a couple of villagers I wanted to talk to along with all of Lindsey and his group.

  I turned my focus back on Lindsey. It was definitely his knife, but his initial reaction to seeing it in Silence’s abdomen told me a lot. Either he was innocent or a really good actor. I didn’t think he stabbed Silence, but I did believe he was guilty of instigating this fight so would charge him with inciting a riot. That left me with five vigilantes, all of whom would stick up for each other.

  As I watched them, Darryl caught my attention next. He appeared genuinely upset over the events of the last twenty minutes. The others in the posse sat there with looks on their faces that basically said, Shame about the girl, but bad things happen. And then there was Lindsey. He stared directly at me with a look that said, Bad things happen when you got a little girl playing sheriff. Was I too quick in assuming his innocence? It was possible he’d been putting on a good act. I mentally rescinded my earlier declaration and added him back to the suspect list.

  “Who’s the weak point?” Jagger asked quietly after closing the door behind Tavie. At my surprised
look, he explained, “I saw you staring down the group in the middle.”

  Jagger intrigued me. “What kind of training do you have?”

  He lifted a massive shoulder in a shrug. “I had a job as a bodyguard during college.”

  This guy had layers. “No offense, but you went to college and you’re working here as a bouncer?”

  “Life is way more laidback here. Usually. Plus, Maeve gives me free food which makes the pay pretty decent.”

  Not sure I could live off pub fare, but to each their own. “See the man with the Chicago Cubs hat on the outer rim of the cluster?”

  Jagger actually growled. “That hat alone means he’s guilty of something.”

  I laughed despite the seriousness of the situation. “His name is Darryl Allen. He’s the only one of his group showing any emotion. Not sure about the scrawny one with the goatee, Gavin Lindsey. My decision on him keeps flipping.”

  “Then you need to push the two of them hard.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Maybe,” he said, agreeing with a question I hadn’t asked.

  “Maybe what?”

  “Maybe I’ll fill in for Reed if you need help and he’s off at deputy school.”

  That’s not what I’d been thinking. I’d been wondering how deep and dark his layers went. His offer was an excellent option, however. With a guy Jagger’s size, all I’d need him to do is stand in front of people and scowl.

  “I’ll keep that in mind. For now, let’s get through this crowd.”

  He got to work on his group waiting to be released, and I turned to deal with mine.

  Chapter 10

  The fight inside Grapes, Grains, and Grub had started around seven thirty. It was a little after ten by the time Tripp, Jagger, and I finished sorting through everyone. Few patrons could tell us anything; most of them had been in one of the other dining rooms, alibied by the family or friends with whom they’d been celebrating the holiday. Others reported they hadn’t even noticed the vigilantes or boarding home girls until after the fight started.