Turkey, Pies and Alibis (Sweetfern Harbor Mystery Book 5)

by Wendy Meadows

  Tim said nothing. She turned and marched from the room. At first, she started downstairs and then decided against that. She needed time alone and so hurried to her apartment at the far end of the passageway. Once inside, she stood at the window and rested her forehead on its cool glass pane, gazing at the stars overhead. She wished her father had never come and hoped he was packing at that very moment. She couldn’t believe how cruel his words were, how judgmental he was against someone as good as Mac. Despite the holidays, Tim Sheffield had managed to ruin everything for her. She plopped across her bed and let the tears flood her pillow.

  The next morning, Brenda was grateful for the morning clouds that softened the light coming in through the windows. As she got ready, she carefully dabbed a little extra make-up around her eyes to cover the evidence of her breakdown the night before. She had slept restlessly, and did not feel rested at all.

  After breakfast, she discreetly checked the computer and saw that her father had not checked out yet. There was so much to do that she simply decided to put it out of her mind. If Tim Sheffield was going to spurn his daughter for making perfectly acceptable adult decisions, then Brenda told herself that she should feel free to ignore him and live her life.

  One full day was left before the big Thanksgiving parade and celebrations. Brenda and Mac worked feverishly on the final touches for the float. They talked about the huge dinner waiting for them Saturday night at William Pendleton’s home.

  “It will be nice to have someone cook that big meal,” Mac said as he helped her hang a colorful banner along the side of the float. “I hear William’s chef is going all out.”

  “It won’t be as scrumptious as my pie, right?” she teased Mac, who smiled warmly at her and promised hers would be the first dessert he would try. They bantered back and forth as they worked until they were satisfied with the results. Brenda stood back to admire the effect: harvest cornucopias overflowing with gourds and autumn flowers stood in the front corners of the float, which was decorated to look like the perfect Thanksgiving feast.

  Many tourists came and went through the workshop to admire the outstanding floats before the parade. As Brenda and Mac tidied away their supplies, they overheard several people mention they were sure the judges would choose the Sheffield Bed and Breakfast float as the winner. Brenda beamed, and she and Mac exchanged exuberant smiles. His handsome smile seemed to illuminate the surroundings and she caught her breath at the sight of him. Every one of his features spoke handsome. She was very lucky indeed to have a good-looking man to marry and one with a personality that matched his looks.

  They were deeply in love with one another. Anyone could see that as the two worked closely together that day, smiling and laughing. The atmosphere of celebration and anticipation around them helped sweep away the bitter argument Brenda had had with her father the night before.

  Later that night when Mac took her home, she did not see Tim. He still had not checked out, but Phyllis and Allie didn’t mention him, and Brenda was grateful not to have to deal with him. She was tired from the long day at work finishing the float. However, something told Brenda that someone had probably heard the shouting coming from Tim’s room the previous night, and she knew rumors ran rampant among staff. She shrugged and realized the estrangement between her and Tim Sheffield had run its course and there was nothing more to be done. When Mac kissed her goodnight, she climbed the stairs to her apartment with only one thought in her heart – gratitude for the soft bed awaiting her. This time, she fell into a deep sleep right away.

  Chapter Six

  Parade and Discovery

  Everyone awakened the next morning to bright sunlight in a brilliant blue sky and a crisp, cool day. Once the guests finished breakfast, Brenda hurried to the workshop. She stood gazing in amazement at the float. It was perfect. Peter and Mac had replicated her dining room table and chairs, though smaller, to fit the float base. The large turkey in the center of the table was incredibly realistic, thanks to Mac’s expert whittling. She wondered how long it had taken him to get it so life-like.

  “Do we have plenty of candy to throw to onlookers?” she asked.

  “There is a large bin right in the middle full of candy,” Mac said. “Hope made dozens of hard candies for us. And there is an extra bin of candy under the trap door here in case we run out.” He tapped the hidden door with his foot.

  “That’s ingenious,” Brenda said. A low stool was placed on one side of the float at the front, for her. Mac had a spot on the opposite side. He filled a large bag of candy for her from the bin and they got ready for the parade to start.

  “Don’t eat all of the extras,” Mac called to her.

  “I don’t see that happening, though tempting,” she said. Phyllis and William sat at the table opposite one another as if indulging in the Thanksgiving feast.

  Mac noticed circles under Brenda’s eyes when he looked at her in the sunlight. He brushed it off as lack of sleep leading up to the big day. He knew her competitive nature and surmised she hadn’t slept very well the night before. He smiled at her before settling into his position, ready to toss candies. The parade drew crowds of children and families, both locals and tourists, every year. Finally, the whistle blew, and the floats began to move down Main Street.

  The refreshing air and cheering crowds lifted Brenda’s spirits. She wondered if her father would at least stop by the parade to see their finished float. Then she recalled the argument of the night before, and her heated words. Knowing his solitary nature, she guessed that he had waited for everyone to leave for the parade, and then left, checking out with one of the maids who had volunteered to stay behind to monitor the front desk.

  Brenda put those thoughts behind her. She listened to the lively high school band leading the parade and looked around the miniature bed and breakfast to see Chief Bob Ingram following behind them. He waved to her with a broad smile on his face. Behind him, Jenny and Bryce followed on the Blossoms float. Brenda knew Blossoms and Sheffield Bed and Breakfast were in for some stiff competition between them. The Blossoms float was decorated with what had to be thousands of flowers, with pots of autumn mums and asters arranged in an autumn-hued rainbow.

  Mac laughed happily as he tossed another handful of candies into the crowd, who cheered and waved to Phyllis and William as the float passed. Brenda smiled even bigger to hear the man she loved having such a good time. She flung candies out in cascades over the crowd, happy to see everyone celebrating together.

  The parade route was a long one and the bin between them began to empty. Brenda called to Mac over her shoulder. “I’m going to get some more from our extra stash, Mac. Do you need more candy, too?”

  He called back that he still had plenty in his bag. Phyllis and William were in their element, waving to everyone on either side of the street. Brenda opened the bin and reached in to fill her sack with more candy. Something other than candy reached her fingers. She moved her hand over the obstacle and looked down for a closer inspection. Her blood-curdling scream drew immediate attention from Phyllis and William. Mac jumped up and climbed across to reach her.

  “What is it, Brenda? Did you hurt yourself?” Mac’s eyes filled with concern.

  She pointed down into the open container. The crowds, oblivious to activity on the float, continued to clap and applaud the spectacle as it passed them by. The noise of the marching band was so intense that Brenda’s scream was not heard by many, but Phyllis and William stopped their charade, their smiles fading.

  Chief Ingram wondered what was going on with the float in front of him. He saw his detective leap from his position to Brenda’s side of the float. If someone was hurt, Mac would surely call him immediately and get help. Then he saw Mac talk quickly with William, who signaled the truck driver to veer off onto a side street as soon as possible.

  Chief Ingram followed them and motioned for the Blossoms float and the rest of the parade to continue behind the band.

  “I hope there’s nothing wrong with
the float,” Jenny said to Bryce. “There’s no doubt theirs is the winner.”

  “They’ll get it fixed fast and get back into the parade. We only have a block or so to go,” Bryce said. The Blossoms float and the rest of the parade swept by on the planned route through town, but the Sheffield float drove a little way down the side street to a quiet block where there were no crowds.

  The float came to a halt. Mac bent to look into the trap door. Under the candies he saw the unmistakable shape of a body.

  He looked at Brenda and nodded to confirm what she already knew. Chief Bob Ingram hurried over to the halted float. Brenda sat motionless on the side of the float, trying to catch her breath. Mac showed Bob the discovery. He donned gloves and pushed the candy off the body.

  “Do you have any idea who that is?” the chief asked.

  “I know exactly who she is,” Brenda spoke up. “It’s Rachel Bernard. She and her husband were guests of mine before I had to evict them so my father would have a place to stay. Her husband’s name is Nick. They were tourists who had been traveling for several months and Sweetfern Harbor was near the end of their journey together…”

  No one spoke how true those words were. Detective Rivers called the coroner, who as luck would have it was several blocks back along the parade route. After speaking with Mac, he hurried to the float to do an initial examination of the dead body in the candy bin. He summoned a crime scene photographer to carefully catalogue the surroundings and after a half hour gave approval for the body to be removed. The crowds remained more interested in the final floats that made their way down the street, but just to be sure, the chief made a call to the police station and had one of the officers on duty come down to cordon off the block where the float was parked, so no onlookers would gather.

  Brenda numbly watched the coroner supervising the removal of the body, which was loaded into a van under a white sheet. She realized that by now, the parade’s judges would be determining the winner of the float contest. She felt nauseous realizing that the float had started the parade with its sickening cargo hidden away beneath the trap door.

  “Mrs. Bernard’s body must have been placed in the bin sometime last night,” Mac said to Brenda. “Do you know who else was there?”

  “You and I left at the same time,” Brenda said. “If you recall, we left the large bags of sweets with one of Wally’s workers. Johnny told me he would make sure the bins were ready for us today. We’ll have to ask him about it all.”

  The chief told them to make inquiries right away. “It will take a while for the coroner to examine the body and give us a full report on cause of death. I think we can assume foul play,” Bob Ingram said grimly. “In the meantime, make sure you interrogate as many people who may be involved with this float before they all scatter.”

  William asked if he could do anything. Mac told him to keep his eyes and ears open. “I’m wondering where her husband is and why he hasn’t reported his wife missing.”

  This case was one that already had many facets to it, thought Brenda. Her mind raced as she realized a lot of people had access to the floats overnight, too.

  Meanwhile, Mac directed the truck driver to take the float to the back lot of the police station where his officers would stake yellow tape around it and gather more evidence. Then he turned to Brenda. “Let’s start at the workshop.” Winning the float contest was the last thought on their minds, though at that very minute, it was taking place at Wally’s workshop.

  In the large workshop, the judges scanned the fleet of floats, reviewing the scores on their clipboards. One judge questioned where the Sheffield Bed and Breakfast one was. Jenny went to them and said the float had experienced problems and had to veer off the parade route a block away. Perhaps the float had not been able to return to Wally’s due to technical problems? The judges conferred and then announced the winner to the crowd gathered there. There was a silence, and no one stepped forward to claim the prize. Jenny searched behind her to see if she could see Brenda and her father.

  “I wonder what’s keeping them,” she said to Bryce. “Should I accept the trophy and money for them?”

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll go back down there to see what’s going on.” Just at that moment, the runner-up was announced.

  “The runner-up is Blossoms,” came over the loudspeaker. Everyone clapped for the winners and Jenny Rivers stepped forward to accept both awards and pose for a photograph with the judges. Bryce waited until she left the podium and then headed out to the street.

  When Mac and Brenda arrived at Wally’s, Bryce was just leaving. Mac wouldn’t say anything, but instructed him where to find the chief and that they all had work to do. Bryce set his jaw and set off toward his destination as Mac and Brenda headed inside.

  Wally directed them to one of his younger workers who had helped guard the shop and the floats the previous night. The young man, Johnny, was all too happy to cooperate with the detective. Mac didn’t mention why he had so many questions, but the young boy seemed eager to be singled out.

  “Two of us went to the back to have a sandwich around ten-thirty last night. We hadn’t eaten anything since around three.” Mac nodded patiently. “I told Mike that before we left I just had to fill the bins with candy, so they’d be ready for you in the morning. He offered to stay and help me since the sacks of candy were large and hard to maneuver. There was enough candy to fill three-fourths of one bin and to the top of the other.”

  “What time did you leave?”

  Johnny shrugged and then said, “It must have been after eleven or so.” Mac asked him to remember if he had heard anything unusual, and the young man offered, “While we ate we thought we heard someone out in the workroom. It was pretty late, and people had been coming in and out all day to see the floats, but the shop was supposed to be closed. But when we looked around, we didn’t find anyone, so we figured it was an alley cat or something. Why, did something get stolen?” Mac reassured him there was no theft. When asked how long a break they took, Johnny looked at his shoes. “We were worn out. It had been a long day. We were probably back there forty-five minutes or maybe a little longer. Mike likes to tell his stories and I like to listen to him.”

  “When your break was over, was anyone out here in the open work area?”

  “No, but there was a car that took off from the parking lot when we came out to shut the gate, kind of squealing its tires, you know? I think it was a teenager, who else is out that late?”

  “Did you see the driver of the car? Can you give specifics about him? Anything at all that you may remember.”

  “He was tall and somewhat skinny. He had a T-shirt on and I could see muscles in his arms. He was kind of stooped over the steering wheel.”

  When asked about the car, Johnny stated that it was a small, dark-colored four-door car with an out-of-state license plate. “That was the weird thing. I didn’t catch the license number or anything, but I remember thinking I’d never seen a license plate like that before.”

  Brenda’s heart stopped. Her father’s car had out-of-state plates. What if it hadn’t been a tall, skinny teenager peeling out of the parking lot, but a lean, muscular man? Johnny described her father’s likeness, after all. Could he have had something to do with the murder?

  Brenda remembered the strong resemblance between herself and Rachel. What if in the darkness he had mistaken her for Brenda? What if, in a moment of disappointment and rage, he had taken out his anger on an innocent woman? Her pulse quickened, and she wiped the moisture from her hands onto her slacks.

  “What’s wrong, Brenda?” Mac asked. He knew she had had a shock, but she had solved murder cases alongside him before. He couldn’t recall any time that a dead body affected her as it seemed to be doing now. Her face was strangely pale and she had not spoken up at all during the questioning.

  Brenda shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s been a long day and I’d like to go home now.” Mac didn’t mention that it was barely after the noon hour, but he nod
ded, understanding that she needed time alone.

  He took her arm and thanked Johnny for the information. “Stick around. We’ll need to talk with you and Mike again soon.” Mac was not so sure that Johnny was describing a teenager.

  The young man grinned, happy to help with police work. Wally confirmed he would be happy to help with any further questions as well, and saw them out to the parking lot.

  Mac offered to drive Brenda home, but she preferred her own car and told him she would talk with him later that day. He kissed her through the open window and watched as she drove off. This was one case he dreaded looking in to.

  Chapter Seven

  Suspects

  When Brenda parked at her bed and breakfast, she saw her father stuffing his luggage into the trunk of his car. He glanced at her and said nothing. His strong hands shoved the last small overnight case in alongside the larger one. Brenda steeled herself and walked up to him.

  “I have to tell you what has happened this morning,” Brenda said. Tim looked at her wordlessly and then started toward the driver’s seat. “You may be a suspect in a murder that happened in the last twenty-four hours.” He stopped and stared at her. “Were you at the workshop late last night?”

  “I was there two nights ago with you, if you recall.” He didn’t move, annoyed at her pointed stare. “Don’t tell me you are using your snooping skills to paint me as the murderer. Is this your idea of revenge?”

  “That is a preposterous notion. I knew after our…discussion…the other night that our relationship is beyond repair. You’ll always be my father, but I guess the ties that bind us have been forever broken. I’ll live the rest of my life wondering why.”