by K A Goodsell
I shushed Elgort as I walked towards Kyle who stopped when he saw me. “What’s up?”
“Pancakes.” I said again. “With sprinkles.”
“I can’t do that. I’m in the midst of a large order for a room service group.”
I sighed at him. “I promised a guest we would do that.”
Kyle leaned over the side of the grill and handed me a spatula. “All you, buttercup.”
I tried to remember the recipe that mom used to make her pancakes. I hoped it would be half as good as what she did, but we would see, I supposed.
They looked okay when I was finished. I plated them with whipped cream, sprinkles, and two cherries for decoration. They weren’t perfectly circular, but they looked brown and delicious.
Rebecca seemed to like the way they looked, which was a relief.
“Sit with me and have some of your pancakes.”
“I ate a while ago, I’m okay. I want you to enjoy these.”
“I’d enjoy them more if you sat and chatted with me…” Her sentence lingered as she waited for me to respond.
“Sure.”
The chair across from her moved quickly from out underneath the table. She had kicked it backwards for me.
We sat for a moment in awkward silence until she cut a bite of pancake and chewing. She seemed to enjoy it. Great, I won’t give her food poisoning, that’s good.
“How’s life?” I asked. “You know, apart from the obvious.” Such a broad question, but I figured she’d enjoy that more than a question about her brother at the moment.
“Okay,” she said, taking another bite. “Living in New York City is nice, and I’m enjoying being able to eat pizza at any hour of the day or night. Sucks that my brother died, though.”
It was abrupt, and I wasn’t expecting the comment, almost choking on a sprinkle. I coughed quickly and cleared my throat. “New York is nice.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled at me and put down her fork. “I have a weird question.”
I nodded as I took a huge bite. I make damn good pancakes.
“Do you think—” She paused, swallowing. “Do you think he died quickly?”
Another abrupt question. Some people deal with death this way. I just hadn’t experienced it as much as my mother had.
“I don’t know, to be honest.” I put my fork down. “I haven’t heard how he passed yet.”
“I heard you were there at the scene.” She stared at her silverware. “Your dad’s the coroner, right? I heard you’re helping to figure out who did this to him.” She tapped the fork against the plate. “Do you have any leads?” With that question she looked up at me. It wasn’t a sad look, nor was it inquisitive.
I shook my head. “I haven’t found anything yet. I’m sorry.” Now it was my turn to swallow nervously. “I hope to find something soon.”
She nodded, now looking sorrowful. “Please let me know if you do. Answers are very important. My parents would have wanted them.”
“Completely understand, and I will.”
“I think he was murdered,” she said bluntly. “He said he was feeling tense lately.”
“Over what?” I leaned closer to her.
“I think there was a feud or…” she started. “I don’t know. Maybe he just slipped and fell—”
“Paislee!” Raimy yelled from the lobby. Her mother hushed her, and she waved her off. Raimy hustled toward us. “Rebecca, hi, how are you?”
Rebecca leaned back into her chair and sighed. “Raimy, I don’t want to do the obituary interview now, okay? Mrs. Grimes told me you’d be looking for me, and it’s just not the right time.”
“That’s fine, are you free later this afternoon?” Raimy asked and Rebecca nodded hesitantly. “Great, I’ll come by the Inn around, let’s say, six tonight? I have to file it into the portal by eight if you want it printed in tomorrow’s paper.” Rebecca nodded again. “I came here to ask you politely to not drag my brother into any of this.”
“Excuse me?” Rebecca leaned forward in her chair again, suddenly defensive.
“You heard me,” Raimy said, wavering slightly. “I don’t want you hanging out with him while you’re in town. I covered for him Friday night, and that was enough.”
“Friday night?” I cut in.
Rebecca stood. “You just need to shut up. I’ll email you the obituary before your deadline. I don’t want to speak with you anymore.” She put her napkin on the plate, crumpled up in a ball, and looked at me. “Thank you for the pancakes. That was thoughtful.” Her final word hit home as she walked out of the room, nudging Raimy with her shoulder.
I waited until Rebecca left the room and then looked up at Raimy. “Are you freaking kidding me? What the hell was that?”
“I’m sorry.” Raimy put her hand on her forehead and slumped down into Rebecca’s chair. “I just don’t want Tag to get wrapped up in this mess.”
“You were just so rude to her, and I was just about to hear about her brother from her,” I hissed and then took a deep breath. “Whatever, the conversation is done now. What were you saying about covering for him Friday night?”
“He was out the night of the murder after work,” she said. “I think he was with her.”
“I bet she was in the van.”
“What?”
“There was a van next to us that was leaving when Elgort and I got there. Tag said it was a noise disturbance. I bet they saw each other there.”
“That makes sense.” Raimy nodded and then beamed. “You’re getting good at sleuthing and putting the pieces together. I’m proud of you. It’s almost like you want to be a crime writer like me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Quite the opposite.”
“Look, I’m sorry,” Raimy said and held her keys in the air. “Want to go hang out? I can drive you and Mitzy home. I know you have your dad’s truck here, but we can come grab it later?”
I nodded.
We piled into Raimy’s car, the Mini Cooper she could never stop talking about, and headed back to the house with Mitzy.
“I know that my journalism thing is super annoying, and I understand why you wouldn’t want to talk to me about some things because of it, but I just really want you to know that you can tell me things off the record, and I would understand and not put any of what you say in any of my articles.”
I already knew I wouldn’t be able to talk to her about anything despite the promise, and I really didn’t want to. With everything that happened in such a short time, I didn’t even know how to properly process it.
“I know, I just I don’t think I’m going to be ready to really talk about it for a while,” I told her. “It’s a lot.” It was a lot, and a newspaper was not where it belonged. Not yet.
“I understand that, but if you need anything at all, please let me know. I’ll help with anything I can.”
I sat thinking for a couple of seconds. I had an idea. “Actually…” Raimy sat straighter in her seat, looking curious what was going to happen or be said. “You could go with me while I look around the crime scene.”
“Is that even something you’re allowed to do?” she asked, genuinely wondering.
“Are you allowed to do all the things you do?”
Raimy made a face but nodded, conceding the point.
“I really need to know what happened that night for the sake of my investigation for the mayor, but also for myself. It’s going to eat me alive if I don’t at least try on my own. I just need to do it.”
Raimy nodded in understanding. They would investigate, and they would solve this murder. Gage would help me with Daniel Lockwood, and Raimy would help me with Teddy.
Perfect. Best of both worlds.
Steam rose off Driftwood Lake in a way that looked like a horror film or an indie film set in upstate New York. Weird comparison, but true. What if there were clues that were missed the first time around? What if I found something else that could help?
Getting out of Raimy’s Mini Cooper, I walked to the dock and
sat for a minute, taking in the surroundings. I looked back toward the entrance of the parking area. We had parked there and climb underneath the caution tape. I’m technically on this investigation, I should be allowed to enter. Right?
The area was quiet again, the same quiet as when I’d seen Teddy underneath the dock for the first time. I tried to think of all the noises I was hearing the other night with Elgort and if I had heard anything out of place.
When nothing came to mind, and the silence continued, I stood up to walk around to where Teddy was pulled out of the water.
Raimy broke the silence. “So, you and my brother have been getting along pretty well.”
“Yeah, we went to the drive-in the other night and talked. I guess he’s not so bad when I really get to know him.”
Raimy nodded. Looking at her watch, she made a face. “I can’t believe he died here,” she said, her gaze drifting to the water below.
“Yeah,” I said, almost allowing a hint of sarcasm to slip through. Yes, someone died here just days ago, Raimy. It’s not like you were me and saw him. That’s a whole other level. You think death is fun and games until you see someone murdered. That changes you. I walked over to the spot where he was found and stopped at the water’s edge next to her. “Right here.”
I glanced down at the water and wondered if everything was found. Maybe there was something there that could help with my investigation. Maybe there wasn’t, but I wouldn’t know until I checked.
I watched the water lap against the rocks. I could picture him there, water surrounding his body, his arm moving as if in the wind, but it was just the water.
I shook my head and saw only rocks staring back at me. Nothing looked out of place or abnormal, other than what my father’s team had already picked up. But the more I looked, the more signs were everywhere. Brain, you need to stop it, no playing games on me in such a fragile state.
There was some red left on a rock next to her right boot, tucked up against the drier side of the dock. Maybe he fell on his own that night. Was it possible that he was with the group of people in the van, including Rebecca, and was intoxicated, slipped and fell into the water to drown? That would explain the slip mark I’d seen. That rock could have caused an injury if he fell hard.
The waves pushed around the rock and I noticed something flapping with the water. Something was there under the rock. A piece of paper?
Suddenly, I felt colder.
What are the chances that there was a note underneath a rock here? Odd that the water didn’t take it, since the waves from the wind were choppier than normal.
I crouched down carefully and took hold of the rock, sliding it to reveal a piece of paper.
I picked up the soggy sheet and felt the note between my fingers. It was a thin paper. Almost like the paper in the black book.
Quickly, I unfolded the paper that was crumpled up in a sopping ball to reveal a handwritten note.
This is to avenge the death of Daniel Lockwood
That was odd. It was the same note as what was in the book. A little smudged at the end of the sentence, but that was from the water trailing off fresh ink.
I read the note again.
“Raimy, come look at this,” I called without turning around, analyzing the piece of paper for anything I could find.
“What?” She walked over and sniffled before realizing what I had. “Oh, shoot! Is that a clue? Where did you find that?”
“Okay, calm down, Nancy Drew,” I said sarcastically. “It was down in the water underneath that red rock. Is that blood, you think?”
She looked where I was pointing and then reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a pair of latex gloves.
“No way you just carry around gloves.”
“This week I do.” She crouched down and picked up the rock. I moved closer to her, and we looked at it. Sure enough, there was a deep red stain, along with what looked like a few strands of hair. “I think we may have found the murder weapon.”
I looked back at the note with my mouth open. “What about this, though? This is identical to what was in the book.”
Wait. No, it’s not. “Lockwood is spelled wrong. This piece of paper was ripped out, wadded up and thrown into the water.”
I pulled the baggie out of my back pocket and took out of the book. Opening the front cover, I confirmed that a page had been ripped out. I should have opened it earlier. I would have noticed that.
“We’re looking for someone who can’t spell and takes people out with rocks. Got it,” Raimy said looking out toward the lake.
She wasn’t wrong.
My father’s office was brightly lit with two new lamps he had stolen from our living room. Since he had been working overtime to get the autopsy completed so the mayor could put Teddy to rest as soon as possible, he said he needed extra light to keep him awake. Now it was just too bright, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was in an interrogation room.
“So, can you go over with me again where you found these items?” Chief O’Moore sat in my father’s chair as he looked over the note, and the rock that was resting on top of a small tarp brought in from the evidence lab.
“Raimy and I were at the docks—”
“Whoa, whoa.” He stopped me, lowering his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “You’re not supposed to be there—”
“I’m a part of this investigation—” I started, but he interrupted my interruption.
“—you are when you have a deputy with you. Paislee.” He pushed his glasses back up. “I want you on this investigation; in fact, I was the one who requested you. Not the mayor. But it’s my way or the highway. Okay?”
I nodded quickly. He looked over at Raimy, who rolled her eyes, then nodded. “Press.” He muttered under his breath. “You’re all the same.”
I could tell Raimy wanted to say something, but I stopped her with a sharp side-eye.
“Now.” He looked back at the evidence. “Where exactly did you find these?”
“Right where the body was. Maybe a foot to the right towards the first pillar of the dock.”
He shook his head, and this time took off his glasses. “There’s no way. My team searched, no, scoured, those waters. You’re telling me that it was right there, in the open?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you because that’s where we found them.” I point to the paper. “That was found underneath the rock right by the first pillar of the dock. Maybe it was protected, and that’s why the team didn’t see it?”
He shakes his head. “It seems a little fishy that we didn’t see it that day. The lab is processing the hairs that were on top of the rock now. It’ll at least tell us if they are Teddy’s. I’m a little off that a piece of paper could end up directly below the rock which you’re calling the murder weapon.” He looked over at Raimy.
“I’ve seen CSI. I think that’s it.” She nodded assertively.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll mark these down as evidence, and if you hear anything or see anything else, please let me know. But do not—” his voice raised, “do not go back to the scene without alerting me first. If you hurt yourself or mess with the scene, all of this could go to hell. Understood?”
“Understood.”
He looked over at Raimy when she didn’t answer.
“Understood. But don’t you dare call me press again. I am press, but we are not the same, and we will not be silenced. We will tell the stories to the general public. They deserve to know what’s happening in their community.”
“Agreed.” He intertwined his fingers and looked back at me. “Thank you for bringing these directly to me.”
“Of course.” I stood. “One final note. Can you ask Tag was in the van on Friday night? I’m wondering if maybe Teddy was with that group. He has a history of drinking a lot at parties, and I wonder if maybe he wasn’t murdered? Maybe he was drinking and then ran when Tag came to break up the noise disturbance? You saw at the crime scene how there was a slide mark in the m
ud as if someone slipped and then no more footprints before the water. Is it possible he slipped and fell headfirst into the water, hitting his head on that rock?”
“Then how did the paper get there with the notepad?”
“Maybe he was writing it? He’s taking AP history. Is it possible he was working on an assignment?”
Chief O’Moore’s eyebrows rose. “Your father is wearing off on you. I’ll consider it and discuss with my team.”
“Thank you.” I nodded at him and turned to leave.
“Tell your father to get rid of some of these lights. I feel like I’m in the Bahamas but without any wind. It’s awful,” he called after me.
Raimy and I walked down the hallway of the sheriff’s office toward the front entrance to turn in our visitors’ badges. Whispers fell quiet as we approached the welcome desk.
“All set, ladies?” Velma smiled up at us from the aerobics ball she uses as a chair. She bounced up and down lightly as we handed her our badges.
“All set,” I confirmed and smiled back at her as she added our names to the list of people coming and going from the building. The bright red ink was easy to read even from so far away. “Change your ink color? Normally it’s purple.”
“Just wanted a change.” She picked up her hand and looked at the base of her wrist, where some red ink had smudged onto her left hand when she wrote. She laughed to herself, wiping the ink off onto a tissue and letting it sit on top of a large stack of papers, then handed us back our driver’s licenses. “Have a great rest of your afternoon!” With that she shut the sliding glass door in front of us. That was very unlike her.
“Thank you, you too,” I said through the glass. She wasn’t even looking up at us, now typing something into the computer in front of her. Okay, then.
My phone beeped, and I pulled it from my back pocket while Raimy passed me to head toward her Mini Cooper.