Whispering Pines Mysteries Box Set 3

by Shawn McGuire

  This woman was confident and comfortable with herself and her life. What more could a person need than that?

  “That’s when you opened the boarding house?” I asked.

  “That’s when. I take in no more than four girls at a time, despite Stephanie’s insistence that we could fit more. I don’t want them crammed in like sardines in a can. Those already living with me get a say in who joins us. Any new girl needs to fit in with our vibe. Anyone can fall on hard times, but that doesn’t mean you need to let your life spiral or turn into a thug, so anyone new also needs to meet our standards. My house has three large bedrooms. The girls use one for sleeping. It’s long and narrow and comfortably fits four beds. They’ve got portable screens set up between the beds to give the illusion of privacy. The second bedroom is set up for them to do their schoolwork or just hang out. The third bedroom is mine.”

  We grew quiet again and sat in companionable silence, watching the trees swaying slowly against the star-filled sky.

  “You’ve got a beautiful place here,” Tavie commented.

  “Thank you. I just hope I get to keep it.”

  “Why wouldn’t you?”

  Since I’d unintentionally opened the topic, and because she’d shared so much about her own life with me, I told her about how my grandparents left the land and the house to my dad and how he wanted nothing to do with any of it.

  “In the three months we’ve been open, Tripp and I have done better than we had anticipated with this B&B. Which is great because we did a ton of renovations before we opened. My parents have given us one year to make back the money we spent on renovations. They said that will prove if we can be profitable or not. If we are, my parents will let us keep Pine Time open. If not, they’re going to sell it all.”

  “Define ‘all.’” Tavie angled her body to face me squarely.

  “The house, of course.” I blew out a shaky breath. “And the two thousand acres that Whispering Pines occupies.” I paused as my voice threatened to break. “If that happens and the person who buys it doesn’t want a village on their property, all eight hundred plus villagers will have to leave.” A tear trailed down my cheek.

  “The villagers are who you feel responsible for? They’re the reason you need to slay your demons?”

  “I can’t fail these people. They need this place. For many reasons, this is where they belong.”

  “That’s quite a burden for such a young woman to carry.” Tavie took my mug and set it on the coffee table. Then she clasped both of my hands in hers. “Do you trust that what you want will happen?”

  Unable to speak, I nodded, then shrugged.

  “You need trust. Unfailing, unbreakable trust. What’s your motivation?”

  “To succeed?” I inhaled, pushing my emotions back down deep where they belonged. “I love this place. I honestly can’t imagine myself anywhere else.”

  “That’s a good start, but that’s about you. If you want to succeed for these people, so they won’t lose their homes, you need a motivator that’s big enough for all of them. Think about it a minute. What or who motivates you? What does Jayne O’Shea stand for? That’s where you’ll find your success.”

  What motivated me? The people here. Truth and justice. Helping good conquer evil. I laughed.

  “What’s funny?” Tavie asked, smiling.

  “Conquering evil.” I pulled my hands free from hers and propped them on my hips, elbows to the side. “I’m Superman. Well, Superwoman.”

  “That you are.” She winked at me. “You asked about taking care of your own demons first. This is a big goal you’ve set for yourself, and it’s going to take a lot of stamina to succeed. If you're not as strong as you can possibly be, you’ll run out of steam. If you have demons, you absolutely must exorcise them first. You can only serve one master at a time.”

  I considered her words. “Put on my own oxygen mask first?”

  “Exactly. So now the question is, do you know what your demons are?”

  “I do. I made a list last month.” Morgan and Briar had encouraged me to work on my unresolved issues during Samhain. I crossed off the first item last month when I repaired my relationship with Rosalyn. It looked like, since I was being plagued by a dream, the next one was dealing with the Frisky situation.

  “Very good.” She yawned. The poor woman was exhausted.

  “You need to go to bed.”

  “I do. Pray for Silence with me first.”

  My gut squirmed at that request. “I’m not really one for prayer, Tavie. Not that I have a problem with you doing it. I just—”

  “Wasn’t raised that way?”

  “Right. Ours was an agnostic house.”

  “Then sit here with me, hold my hands, and think good thoughts for her.”

  “That I can do.”

  Chapter 12

  My five o’clock chirping birds alarm came way too quickly. I’d hoped we could push the start time of the council meeting to eight o’clock since it was the off season. Today was Black Friday, though, and people were coming to the village to shop. That meant a six o’clock meeting.

  I opened my room door and immediately smelled coffee. Then I saw Melinda sitting at the dinette.

  “What are you doing up?” I asked softly as I opened the patio door to let Meeka out.

  She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Couldn’t sleep.”

  A quick glance at the clock told me I still had forty minutes before the meeting started. I had time so took the seat next to her. “She’s still alive, so you need to remain positive. Don’t mourn her while she’s still with us.”

  I felt like Morgan had just taken over my body. Wherever the words had come from, they were true.

  “It’s not just that.” Melinda’s hands were wrapped tightly around the coffee mug sitting in front of her. “It’s death in general. The people I love, they tend to die.”

  “Tavie told me about your parents.” Melinda nodded, indicating it was okay that I knew. “I understand how it feels to lose someone close to you. This was my grandparents’ home. Living here makes it hard sometimes because I think of them every day. All the villagers knew them, too, so I’ve got to talk about Gran and Gramps all the time with them.” I was focusing on death, exactly what I didn’t want her to do. “What I’ve learned is that when you least expect it, and usually when you most need them, new people will come to you. Tavie, for example, and Gloria. Silence is still here too.”

  She contemplated this while taking a drink and made a face. “Coffee’s cold.”

  I refilled her mug while getting a travel mug for myself. She made good coffee.

  “You will find who did this, right?” She took the fresh mug from me.

  “That’s my focus for today. I’ve got people in custody, and I’m positive one of them is guilty.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help? Not like with the investigation, but I’ve got money. Lots of it that I don’t do anything with. Tavie won’t let me pay her for rent or anything, so I buy groceries. Anyway . . .”

  I understood. She needed to do something for Silence, and this was the only thing she could think of.

  “I’m going to say no, only because money won’t help with what I need to do. Save your money for when Silence gets better. There will surely be a ton of things she’ll need during her recovery. Cozy socks and a cuddly bathrobe, for example. Put all sorts of positive energy out there surrounding her. It’s got to help.”

  Once again, I’d opened my mouth and Morgan came out.

  Melinda brightened a little behind her sadness and anger. “Silence likes to read. I could get her one of those pillows with arms that help you sit up in bed.”

  “There you go. Great idea.”

  I gave her a hug, which was honestly like hugging a bag of sticks. The girl was so skinny. I told her I needed to leave for a meeting but that they could do whatever they wanted in the kitchen. Then I gave her directions for getting to Sundry if they wanted something we didn’t have and
wrote down the phone numbers for Ye Olde Bean Grinder and The Inn.

  “You’ve probably figured out that cell phones don’t work here.”

  She scowled. “Just with WiFi. Kinda sucks.”

  “It does sometimes. If you hear from the hospital or need me for anything, call one of these places. They have walkie-talkies and can get word to me right away.” I glanced at the clock again. Twenty minutes. “I’ve got to go.”

  I filled two more travel mugs for Tripp and Gino before I left. I wanted to check in with them before going to the meeting, and Melinda’s coffee was way better than the stuff the pod maker at the station brewed.

  Meeka wasn’t at all happy about her morning routine being disrupted. I filled her travel bowl with kibble and promised she could eat her breakfast at the meeting. She turned her back on me as soon as she was in her cage in the back of the Cherokee.

  “It’s not like I’m not feeding you at all.”

  She responded by dropping to the floor of her cage, too weak from hunger to continue standing. Drama queen.

  We dashed over to the station and had about two minutes to check in with Tripp and Gino.

  “No problems,” Tripp reported, gladly taking the coffee I’d brought for them. “We played cards and ate. We set up that cot in your office. Gino’s catching a few z’s right now.”

  “Where’s our coffee?” Lindsey demanded for himself and Sundstrom. “And we want breakfast.”

  “We gave you food before,” Tripp told him.

  “Leftover leftovers at one in the morning,” Lindsey complained. “It was all cold.”

  “The more you grumble,” I said, “the less compelled I am to feed you.” I pointed at the coffee maker in the corner and told Tripp, “You can make them some. Just be sure it’s not too hot. Don’t want them complaining that we burned them.”

  I gave Tripp a kiss and hurried off to the meeting. Before going into the boardroom behind The Inn’s registration desk, I ran up to the top floor to see how Jagger and Emery were doing with our other detainees.

  “Where’s Emery?” I laid a hand on the empty chair next to Jagger’s.

  “Ran to the bathroom and is ordering breakfast.” One corner of Jagger’s mouth turned in a grin. “He’s one cool little dude. Wicked pressure point skills. He’s going to teach me. I’m thinking about taking classes.”

  They’d lived in the village together for years. Funny how a new friend can be so close and still so far away.

  “Where is his school?” I asked. No one in the village taught martial arts.

  “Somewhere near Superior. It’s an hour drive but worth it to learn that stuff.”

  “And how about our prisoners?”

  “They’re driving me crazy,” Jagger said with a blank stare.

  “Why? What are they doing?”

  “Kendra keeps demanding that someone has to go over to the hotel and get her makeup bag and clean underwear. She wants to fix her hair. I’m a little worried Didi might actually be losing her freakin’ mind or die from separation anxiety or something. She’s so upset about being away from Lars, I swear, she’s like an addict going through withdrawal.”

  “What about Darryl and Cheryl?” I asked when Jagger didn’t supply info on them right away.

  “Dude’s going crazy in there. I can hear him pacing back and forth and mumbling to himself. Cheryl’s been fairly quiet but keeps insisting she and Darryl didn’t do anything and that she can prove it.”

  “Excellent. I’m pretty sure he’s our weak link. Maybe we’ve got another with her.” I gestured toward the stairs. “I called an emergency village council meeting. We gather in the conference room downstairs. Are you okay hanging out here a little longer?”

  He sat straight in his chair. “I am a professional. Or used to be. When Emery’s here, I walk the stairs a few times once an hour or so to keep the blood flowing. I’m good.”

  I added “compensate all four guards for their time” to my mental meeting itinerary.

  Downstairs, Gardenia, one of Laurel’s housekeepers, was stationed at the front desk.

  “Do you work this position often?” I asked. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

  “No, not often,” replied the tiny woman with Asian features and straight jet-black hair pulled into a high ponytail. “I’d rather be moving around, not sitting here, but Emery can’t work all the time. At least, that’s what we try to tell him.”

  I crossed behind the desk, went through the door there, and found all twelve council members waiting for me. Flavia immediately spoke up.

  “If you’re going to call an emergency meeting, the least you can do is be on time.”

  “Sorry to keep you all waiting”—I checked my watch—“for two minutes. I had guards and detainees to check on. This shouldn’t take long.”

  “Did you say guards?” Creed asked.

  “Detainees?” Reeva asked. “Maeve told us there was an incident at Triple G last night. How many people are you holding?”

  I explained about our vigilante tourists upstairs and at the station. “I noticed them two days ago driving along the highway and assumed they were simply passing through the village. Then I saw them again later that afternoon at the campground with tents pitched. I explained the campground was closed, sent them over to the hotel, and hoped that was the end of it. But they showed up at the pub for the buffet last night and now we’ve got problems.”

  Maeve, Jola, and Laurel nodded and murmured agreements, backing me up about the problems. Those who left the pub before the fight started were shocked to learn about what had happened.

  “I’m not sure what their plan was exactly, but two of the eight told me the group’s leader seems to be on a vigilante mission to save the village.”

  “Save the village from what?” Sugar asked.

  “Like I said, I’m not sure exactly. This guy has a clear bias against women and said numerous times he doesn’t think a woman can be sheriff.”

  This, as I’d hoped it would, brought immediate outrage from the women in the group. Being gender fluid, circus ringmaster Creed joined the protests. Mr. Powell, the only man on the council, was also upset but in a quiet, supportive way.

  “That’s absurd,” Morgan stated.

  “How could he say such a thing?” fortune teller Effie grumbled.

  Violet controlled herself by saying only, “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. There’s no one better for this position.”

  Flavia, tickled pink by anything negative about me, sat back in her chair looking like she might self-combust from joy. She mumbled something about those closest to a situation sometimes couldn’t see the truth. Reeva, sitting next to her, looked ready to attack, but I wasn’t sure that had anything to do with her insulting me.

  “The problem runs deeper than vigilantes trying to run me out, or whatever they’re up to.” For the next ten minutes, I explained about Tavie and the girls and what had happened to Silence at the pub.

  “Why are we having a meeting about this?” elder Original and chief crabby pants Cybil asked. “You’re the sheriff, taking care of incidents like this is your job, right? You could’ve given us a report at the next regular meeting.”

  “Gee, I don’t know, Cybil.” I sighed and signaled for Violet to pass one of the carafes of coffee she brought from Ye Old Bean Grinder over to me. “I thought vigilantes starting bar brawls, stabbing innocent citizens, and trying to rally militia troops to patrol our village might be something the council would want to know about.”

  Cybil clamped her lips shut and sank back in her chair.

  I motioned at the box of scones Sugar brought from Treat Me Sweetly next, and Violet slid it my way. Brown sugar with pecans. Simple and delicious. Just what I needed this morning. Simple.

  “Of course we want to know,” Reeva said with a slight scowl at Cybil.

  “Do you have a plan for dealing with this?” Jola asked.

  “That’s the other reason I called a meeting. I need help.
I don’t have room to lock up six people.”

  “I thought you said there were eight of them,” Flavia said as though catching me in a lie.

  Reeva swatted her arm. “Don’t be so petty.”

  Flavia swatted back. “Don’t hit me.”

  “Oh, that’s rich.” Reeva removed the scarf at her neck, exposing the finger marks Flavia had left there. “Shall we talk about who’s responsible for physical abuse?”

  “That’s it.” Laurel went to the sisters at the head of the table and pushed their chairs three feet apart. “You’ve been at each other from the second you got here. Behave or I’ll push you to opposite sides of the room next.”

  Maeve gave her a thumbs up.

  “There were eight,” I continued, addressing Flavia’s objection, “but the two who told me about the leader’s plans left town when they realized they were up to something potentially nasty. I’ve got Jagger and Emery watching four of them upstairs here. Tripp and Gino are over at the station with the other two. I need four more people to rotate in so they can leave.”

  “If Martin was here,” Flavia said offhandedly, “he would help you.”

  The room went silent as half of the council members looked at each other.

  “What?” Flavia glanced around the table. “Why do you all look like that?”

  “Martin is in the village, Flavia,” Violet said.

  “He’s been here since Wednesday afternoon,” Maeve agreed.

  Spots on both of Flavia’s cheeks flamed bright red, and she spun to face her sister.

  Reeva held up her hands in defense. “I didn’t know either.”

  “He’s living on your property,” Flavia objected.

  “Technically, that half is no longer mine,” Reeva reminded her. “Either way, I didn’t know he was in the village. There’s a tree line between the two cottages, so I can’t see when he’s there.”

  “Holy cats,” Violet whispered, which meant when Reed dug himself a grave, he dug deep.

  As though all of this was my fault, Flavia asked, “Why isn’t he helping you? Did you ask him?”

  “I asked. He’s only interested in drowning his sorrows right now.”