The BBQ Burger Murder

by Rosie A. Point

  “It’s no problem,” Shayna said. “Anything I can do to help free Mona.” She wore her locks in a ponytail that fountained from her head. She looked like a show horse. One that had been dressed up as a leopard and speckled with rhinestones.

  “Would you like to come in?” she asked. “We’re having a solidarity tea party.”

  “A solidarity…?”

  “Yeah. For our queen. We have to stick together and work this out, and since you’re on our team now, I’m sure the girls wouldn’t mind you sitting in on the meeting.”

  I choked on my own saliva. Aggy went as far as to back up a step, shaking her head.

  On their team? Oh, how the not so mighty had fallen. “We’ll make this quick,” I said. “If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to talk out here.”

  “Yeah, sure. Anything I can do to help.” Shayna smiled at me, and I tried not to read too much into it. I wasn’t here to accuse her of anything, but I couldn’t help my suspicions. Surely no one could be this sycophantic about another person? It had to be an act, right?

  Focus on why you’re here.

  “What can you tell me about Nadine Whitmore?” I tilted my head, studying Shayna’s reaction.

  Her brow wrinkled. “Nadine? Why do you ask?”

  “Just following a lead. Do you mind talking to me about her?”

  “Sure. I guess. Yeah… well, now that you mention it, Nadine has been acting strange the past few weeks.”

  “Strange how?” I asked, glancing past her at the clubhouse’s closed doors. The porch lights were on, casting glimmering light over the stone porch and columns.

  Shayna licked her lips. “I don’t want to be overheard talking about one of the other members,” she whispered. “There are rules we follow.”

  “We won’t tell anyone, right, Agatha?”

  Aggy nodded.

  Shayna’s nervous lip-licking continued. “So, Nadine isn’t here tonight. She was meant to attend the solidarity tea party with us but she decided that she had better places to be. We can’t understand what’s going on with her. Usually, she’s so devoted to Mona.”

  Interesting. “And that devotion is waning now that Mona’s gone to prison?”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” she replied. “I guess that, well, you see, it’s difficult for her.”

  “Difficult how?” I asked.

  “Nadine was very faithful to Mona. She was hoping to be Mona’s personal assistant so I think she’s taking this hard. I guess everyone deals with grief in different ways, but I didn’t expect this from her. She’s been avoiding me for the past couple of days. The only time we were in the same room together was when Mona asked us to talk to you.”

  “Why do you think Nadine’s acting strangely?”

  “I don’t know,” Shayna said, but the shy glance off to the right told another story.

  She was keeping secrets.

  “Shayna, you can trust me. I’m not going to do anything drastic.” Apparently, I was great at white lies now. “How has she been acting differently?”

  “She’s been seeing someone. A man,” Shayna said. “But I think that’s been going on for a while.”

  I knew it! Technically, Agatha was the one who’d come up with that connection. “A man? Do you know who?”

  “No. But she was pretty happy about it. She kept talking about the grand master plan they had to be together.”

  So far, it all lined up. “What else can you tell me about her behavior with this guy?”

  “Just that she made everything about him. She met him, what, like a couple of weeks ago and since then, she’s started changing. She got fired from her job at the paper last week.”

  “She did?” I asked.

  It has to be her! The two of them are working together. Parker and Nadine.

  “Yeah. She kept missing work and eventually they fired her. She didn’t finish any of her articles on time, and she was upset about it afterward.” Shayna had started and it seemed she couldn’t stop. “I just… like, it was stupid because she complained about how unfair it was that she got fired when she actually did the wrong thing. But if I told her that, she’d flip out and yell at me. She thought it made her more like Mona. That she was victimized. But it’s not the same.”

  “Why?” Aggy asked.

  I was proud that my cousin was taking part in the interview, and that she’d asked a relevant question.

  “Because Mona got fired for no reason. She’s been the editor of the paper for literal years and no one’s ever had a problem with her until now. It’s just because the paper’s been bought out by this big media company that they’re doing a revamp.”

  “Which media company?”

  “I don’t know the name, but the guy who owns it lives out in Tallahassee, so it’s not like he even understands how things work here,” Shayna continued, rolling her eyes. “They replaced Mona because they wanted full control of everything, and it’s shameful. Poor Mona’s sitting in prison and—”

  I waved a hand. “Shayna, tell me more about Nadine’s behavior, please.” If I let one of Mona’s followers start a verbal rampage, I’d be here for another hour and glean no useful information.

  “There’s not much more to tell. She’s been sneaking off with this guy she’s in love with and shirking her duties as part of the Gossip Circle. Which is weird since she’s basically Mona’s biggest fan,” Shayna said. “She cried all night after she found out that Mona was arrested.”

  “She did?”

  “Yeah. She blamed herself for the arrest.”

  There was something more to this. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “Has she been to see Mona since it happened?” I asked.

  “Not as far as I know.” Shayna glanced back at the doors a final time. “Look, I’ve got to go. I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. It’s against the rules for circle members to spread rumors about each other.”

  So they couldn’t spread rumors about each other. Just about everybody else.

  “Thank you for your time, Shayna,” I said.

  “Whatever I can do to help.” And then she hurried back inside, her heels clacking on the stone. The clubhouse’s doors clicked shut.

  “What do you think?” I asked, turning around and starting off down the path.

  “You’re asking me?” Aggy gnawed on her bottom lip.

  “Sure. It’s about time I let you in on these cases. Properly.” As much as I hated to relinquish control, Agatha had to learn sometime.

  “Uh. Yeah. Right. OK, so I think everything about Nadine is weird.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of all the contradictions,” Aggy replied.

  “Elaborate.” I’d been thinking the same, but I wanted to hear her ideas.

  “Well, Shayna said that Nadine was obsessed with Mona and cried after she was arrested, but then why is she running off and not attending the compulsory meetings? Especially if those meetings are about Mona and solidarity and stuff.”

  “Right.” Goodness, Aggy had been paying attention all along. “Anything else that stuck out to you?”

  “Not really.”

  “What about the fact that she only started acting strange after she met this guy?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah!”

  “It’s got to be Parker,” I said. “The ex-husband. They’re both involved in this somehow.” We got into the car, and I sat there for a second, thinking about next steps in the afternoon sunlight.

  “What do we do now, Christie?”

  I tapped my fingertips on the steering wheel, frowning. “We need to find more evidence against her. We need hard proof that she was involved.”

  “How?” Aggy asked.

  Good question.

  Maybe I could confront Nadine about what happened. That or… “Huh.”

  “What is it?”

  “I think it’s time we check out the crime scene.” I’d never gotten the chance, and now that we had a contact on the inside, it might be the perfect place
to gather the last pieces of information we needed.

  Or it would be a total loss, and I was setting us up for failure.

  “The crime scene?” Aggy shuddered. “But surely there won’t be anything there. I mean… the police did the whole investigating thing and it all got cleaned up, right? Right?”

  “There might not be anything there, but there might be someone who can help us. Can I borrow your phone for a sec?”

  “Y-Yeah, I guess.” Aggy fished it out and handed it over.

  A plan of action formulated in my mind. Let’s hope this works.

  18

  A half an hour later…

  * * *

  Thankfully, my hunch had been correct. Gail, the receptionist, was still at the office, though it was past 06:00 p.m..

  “Sorry to bother you like this, Gail,” I said, “but I was desperate.”

  “No problem at all, Christie.” She showed me her teeth. “I’m glad to help you out. Though, I’ve got to admit, I’m not sure why you need my help. I mean, Mona’s in jail where she belongs, right?”

  “That’s complicated,”I replied.

  Aggy and I stood in front of the reception desk in the offices of The Creeker Gazette. The room was large and spacious, with a glossy wooden desk that must’ve been an antique and that Missi would surely have gone over with a fine tooth comb if she’d had the chance.

  Gail had her purse slung over one shoulder and her keys in hand. “Complicated how? Mona wrote the note, right? Mona got arrested for the murder.”

  “I’m not entirely convinced that she wrote the note found on the victim’s body,” I said, touching a hand to my pocket where I’d stowed Mona’s final offer to me to take the case. Aggy and I had made a detour before coming here, just so I could fetch it and the clipping from the newspaper which showed the note that had been found on Emma’s body.

  “You’re not.” Gail arched an eyebrow. “Seriously? I don’t mean to be, um, discouraging to your case, but Mona’s a piece of work. Everybody who’s encountered her knows that she’s got no problem burying others in a ton of dirt when the occasion suits her.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I know. But that doesn’t mean she’s a murderer.”

  “I guess. But it all fits, right?”

  Leave the investigating to me. Now I was starting to sound like Liam. I shoved that thought aside because it hurt thinking about him. “Gail, I was hoping you could talk to me about another employee at the paper.”

  “Yeah? Who?” Gail jangled her keys.

  “Her name is Nadine Whitmore.”

  The receptionist visibly recoiled.

  “I take it you know her?” I asked.

  “Very well,” Gail replied. “Unfortunately.”

  “She was unfriendly?”

  “Worse than that. She was utterly insane,” Gail said. “She spent a lot of time making a bad name for herself at the paper so it was really no surprise when she was fired. Apparently, her articles were poorly researched and the paper had run into legal trouble because of her actions.”

  “Wow.”

  “Between you and me? I think the fact that Mona employed her and let her run rampant was a big part of the reason why Mona was fired as the editor.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, there were other reasons, but that was definitely one of them for sure.” Gail wriggled her nose. “Why are you curious about Nadine?”

  “I have some evidence that suggests she might be more involved in what happened to Emma than first thought.”

  “Really?” Gail perked up, tucking her keys into her purse. “Well, in that case, let me show you to her desk.”

  “Her desk?”

  “Work station, technically,” Gail replied. “It hasn’t been cleaned out yet because everything’s been super chaotic since Emma’s death. This way.”

  Gail led us through a set of glass doors and into a wide space with evenly spaced gray cubicles. We walked between the rows until she stopped and gestured toward one on the left. “That was her desk.”

  “Thanks, Gail,” I said. “Do you mind if we nose around a bit?”

  “Sure. Take your time. I’ll hang around while you check it out.”

  I didn’t particularly want Gail around while I was busy snooping through the cubicle, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I reached into my purse and withdrew a pair of gloves then put them on, just in case there was anything incriminating here.

  Aggy hung back and watched, her arms folded and her hat sitting perky atop her cherry red bob.

  The computer had a password that Gail didn’t know, but the desk drawers were unlocked. I slid them open and rifled through them until I found a notepad that had clearly belonged to Nadine. I placed it flat on the desk, staring at the handwriting.

  Got you.

  I withdrew the newspaper clipping from my pocket, followed by Mona’s offer scrawled across a scrap of paper. I placed the two items next to the third.

  “Look familiar?”I asked Aggy.

  She leaned in, eyes widening. “The handwriting! It’s so similar to Mona’s but… I can see it.”

  Gail gasped. “Look at how she wrote the letter ‘o’ on her notepad.”

  It was the same as the one in the threatening note that had been found on Emma’s body. This was definitely the work of Nadine. She had murdered Emma and framed Mona for the crime. But why? Why if she was so obsessed with Mona would she have—?

  The sounds of voices traveled from the reception area. “Oh, heck,” Gail said. “That had better not be Jimmy. My husband.” She rolled her eyes. “Ever since Emma was murdered he’s been coming down here to check whether I’m safe if I don’t immediately come home. I’ll be right back.”

  I barely registered what she’d said, my mind picking over facts.

  “Why frame Mona?” I murmured.

  “Maybe she wasn’t trying to frame Mona,” Aggy said.

  “Huh. Maybe. But then why—?” My eyes widened. “Look at the notes. They have similar handwriting styles, but they’re clearly different. Close enough to be mistaken for each other… but it doesn’t look to me like Nadine was trying to imitate Mona. Not to frame her. I bet she sent this note before she killed Emma.”

  “But why do it in the first place? I thought this was about Parker and their, um, forbidden romance stuff.”

  “I thought so too, but maybe we were wrong,” I whispered. “This note.” I pressed a finger to the newspaper clipping. “This note, the one found on the body, it was written as a threat, right? Nadine stabs Emma, and doesn’t realize that her note will be used against Mona. So then she—”

  A horrified scream rang out from the reception area.

  Aggy dropped down, clutching her hat, and I froze, adrenaline surging through my veins.

  I handed Aggy my purse. “Call 911,” I whispered. “And stay here.”

  “Christie, you can’t go out there. What if—?”

  “Do as I say.” And then I crept off toward the glass doors, keeping to one side so I was out of view of the reception area.

  19

  I kept low, darting between the cubicles, my gaze fixed on the people—there were several—out front.

  Gail had backed up, her hand clasping her throat as she stared at two figures in front of her. I dropped to all fours and crawled around a cubicle, then darted toward the wall and pressed my back to it. I inched along it and peeked through the glass front door, my breaths even, though my pulse raced.

  Parker was in the foyer of the building, his hands restrained in front of him with a cable tie, and his eyes wide and rolling from side-to-side, seeking an exit.

  Beside him stood Nadine Whitmore, her blonde hair as fluffy and out-of-control as ever. She had a knife, a small one, that seemed to have come from a kitchen, if my guess was correct. She held it out, pointing it at Gail.

  “—be here!” Nadine’s voice rasped, throatier than it had been before. She was hoarse? Why? Surely, she hadn’t been shouting wh
en she’d taken Parker captive.

  Facts swirled, but I focused on the action in the foyer. I didn’t need another murder in Sleepy Creek. No one did. And it looked like that was where this confrontation was headed.

  “Please,” Gail whimpered. “You don’t need to do this. I was just… closing up for the night. You can let me go. I’ll just go home. I won’t tell anyone I saw you here.”

  “Do you think I’m dumb?” Nadine countered, one hand on Parker’s shoulder. She had taped up his mouth. “No witnesses left alive. Sorry.”

  This was bad. Really bad.

  Gail let out a tearful cry. Nadine released Parker and moved toward her, swishing the knife.

  Do something, Watson!

  I couldn’t without endangering my life too. Nadine would see me exiting the glass doors. I couldn’t get the jump on her in this situation.

  “Help,” Gail cried.

  I got up and pushed the glass doors open, striding into the foyer like I owned the place.

  Nadine stalled in place, the knife out, shock slackening her features. “Wha—?”

  “Oh, hello, Nadine,” I said, gesturing toward Gail for her to get behind me. She didn’t need to be asked. The receptionist darted toward the glass doors and disappeared into the office building.

  “Hey!” Nadine started forward.

  “Don’t move,” I growled, putting every ounce of anger into my voice. I had to seem threatening, even if I was outmatched. It would throw Nadine off.

  She stopped again, blinking.

  “So, what’s the plan, Nadine? You’re going to kill everyone in the building to hide what you’ve done?” I asked, tucking my hands into the pockets of my jeans and shrugging my shoulders. “Doesn’t sound like it’ll work.”

  She ground her teeth but didn’t answer.

  I had to make her talk. Not for a confession but until the police arrived. “So, why did you do it?” I asked.

  “Shut up.”

  “No, I think I’ll keep talking.” I glanced at Parker, who stood there, horror in his eyes. “Let me see if I’ve got this right…” I kept myself between her and the glass doors in case she tried to get through them. I couldn’t risk her hurting Aggy or Gail. “You were mad because you got fired, and you were even madder when Mona was let go, so you decided to get rid of Emma Carte. Correct?”