by Ella White
The two women instantly stopped their petting and took their hands away. Tyler perked his head up and looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering why on earth they had stopped lavishing him with attention. He meowed in annoyance.
“Sorry, buddy, but we really need to work right now,” Vickie stated.
Tyler gave out a lower meow before going over to the computer’s keyboard. Rachel giggled at him.
“Thanks, Ty. I needed that.”
“Anyway,” Vickie redirected. “Back to the mystery.”
“Okay, so the crime scene is not exactly identical to the book,” Rachel continued. “In the book, the victim was killed in public at a local bar he visits every Friday, and he actually died from poison found in his drink.”
“So the stab with the shears was postmortem?” Vickie wondered. “Was Anthony the same?”
“I’m not sure. The coroner apparently hasn’t finished the autopsy report yet.”
“And toxicology can take a while before results are available,” Vickie concluded. “We’ll just have to wait on that I guess.”
Tyler meowed and Vickie grinned at him.
“I know, but it’s important to be patient.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t work on narrowing down the suspect list,” Rachel recommended. “There are too many suspects as it is.”
“So who is there?”
Rachel flipped through her notebook, and Vickie could tell that her hand had not written many of the details. The handwriting was messier than hers. Vickie had spent a lot of time helping her children learn to write in a legible manner, so she knew someone else must have taken these notes. It most likely had been James. He should have been a doctor based on his handwriting.
“I have a list here of the suspected culprits,” Rachel informed. “I have a strong feeling Anthony was not a planned victim. I think whoever did this was really after Harrison Bell. They wanted to frame him for the murder.”
“So we just need to think about who would benefit the most from having Harrison out of the picture?” Vickie deduced.
“Right. First, we have his competing author, Blake Jones. Harrison’s book bumped his best seller down to the number two spot. Maybe he wanted revenge?”
Vickie turned to her computer only to be faced with the expectant face of her cat again. “Tyler, I need to use the computer.”
He continued to stare at her. The keyboard wasn’t very soft, but it was certainly nice and warm, and Tyler had no intention of moving. He did however like it when his human began to scratch him behind the ears and under his chin, and he purred again.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a more affectionate cat,” Vickie complimented.
“Considering how much time he spends around lots of other people,” Rachel reasoned, “I’d call that a good thing.”
“Come on, buddy.” Vickie reached for one of his giant fish-shaped toys, which made noisy bell sounds as he jumped from the keyboard and tackled it all around the room. The women laughed at him.
“He’s more of an amusement than anything,” Rachel said with a shake of her head.
Vickie started typing away at her computer, researching this Blake Jones character and where he might have been over the past few days. She did not recall seeing him at Harrison’s book reading last night, but it was still possible he was in town. She groaned at the first search result.
“No such luck. Blake Jones is at a writers’ convention in Munich, Germany. He’s been there for two weeks, and he was giving a lecture at the same time as the murder,” she reported to her daughter. “There’s no way he could have come here, killed Anthony, and then flown back in time.”
“So no dice on that one.” Rachel scratched his name off her list with her pen. “Next are his fans Kate told us about: Matthew Bae, John Grayson, Logan Michaels and Louis McGuire. We don’t know where they are though.”
“We can interview them if we can find them.”
“I’ll see if I can track them down, but I’ll need to be at the office.”
“Let’s finish this first. Who else is there?”
“Annabelle Chambers, Mr. Bell’s ex,” Rachel read from her pad. “Kate mentioned she was trying to sue him, but Harrison was ignoring her. Maybe she got tired of trying to get to him through legal means.”
“That’s very possible, but where is she?”
“This is getting to be a lot of work. Give me a second.” Rachel pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. Setting the phone on speaker, she placed it on the table and waited for it to stop ringing.
“Hi, Rachel,” a light voice answered. “What’s up?”
“Hey, James. I need to delegate some research to you.”
“Is it the Anthony Lee murder?”
“That’s right.”
“No problem. What do you need?”
Rachel held her notebook to her face. “Annabelle Chambers. She’s Harrison Bell’s ex-girlfriend, and apparently they broke up on bad terms. His assistant even mentioned a lawsuit. I need to know where she lives and where she’s been in the last thirty-six hours.”
“You got it!” James sounded really eager for the work. “I’ll get back to you ASAP.”
“I’ll be in the office later, so maybe you can share what you’ve found with me then?”
“And if I find anything sooner, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, James. You’re an angel.”
“Aw, it’s nothing. Talk to you later.”
“Bye, James.” As Rachel hung up the phone, she spotted her mother looking at her with an amused expression. “What?”
“Oh nothing.” Vickie just shook her head. “Is that everyone?”
“Well, I had Harrison Bell’s publishing company on the list too.” Rachel raised an eyebrow at her writing. “But I don’t know. Why would they want to kill Anthony, or anyone for that matter, and then frame their best-selling author for it?”
“Publicity maybe?” the older woman reasoned. “I mean, having the crime from his book actually happen would attract a lot of reporters. No offense.”
Rachel smiled. “None taken.”
“And increased publicity always leads to more money.”
“Seems a bit of a cop out answer though.”
“I agree. The book is already a best seller, and you would think the publisher would just encourage him to write a sequel if the first one was so well received.”
“Yeah, seems off to me.” Rachel crossed out the publisher’s name as well. “It’s hard to convict an entire company of a single murder anyway.”
“You aren’t up to the challenge?”
“I’d be up to it if I thought it were possible.”
“So where does that leave us?” Vickie asked.
“With the girlfriend and the four fans,” Rachel recalled. “I’ll need the paper’s resources to look up any of their information.”
“Anything I can do?”
“I don’t think so. I just need to head down to the office for a bit.” Rachel grabbed her notebook, putting it in her purse. “Really, Mom, just having you supporting me this way is helping a lot.”
“Of course, sweetie.” Vickie stood as well. “Let me walk you out.”
The commotion in the café had calmed down by the time they returned, and Kimberly was counting inventory for the half-day period. She glanced up as she heard the two women approach and waved.
“I’ll call you when I’m done,” Rachel told her mother, giving her one last hug as she left the café.
Vickie walked over to Kimberly. “Everything still going okay?”
“Yup. Things have slowed down a lot.”
“Has anyone had their lunch break?”
“Yes. I made sure everyone had a chance to eat.”
“What about you?” Kimberly’s face turned red, and Vickie clicked her tongue at her. “Here, I’m back for a while at least. Why don’t you take a long lunch break now?”
The young cashier gave out a long sigh
. “That sounds great.”
Vickie smiled as Kimberly took off her apron and headed to the back room. She took up the vacant spot at the cash register just in time for another customer. Tyler jumped onto the counter and distracted the customer long enough for Vickie to finish getting ready. Once she was oriented back into her shop, she smiled at the patron.
“Good morning! What can I get you today?”
Chapter 4
There was a lunch rush at the Sip and Read Café while Kimberly was on her break, but this allowed Vickie to see first-hand just how efficient her team was under pressure. They were able to serve every customer in a timely fashion, and there wasn’t a single incorrect order that needed to be replaced.
Tyler was either being a playful companion or making a nuisance of himself, depending on the observer’s perspective. Many of the regulars who would often spend most or all of the day at the café were heaping pets and cuddles on him, as well as various treats. Vickie was beginning to worry she would have to put him on a diet soon to make sure he didn’t gain too much weight. Tyler had always been a thin cat, but she would like to keep him that way.
Right now he was curled up on Harry’s lap as the elderly man read one of the many books from the bookshelves. Harry had been very lonely after his wife passed away, but he found some solace in Tyler’s company. As a war veteran, it was good for him to have someone to give and receive that sort of comfort from, and Tyler was never one to judge a person. Vickie couldn’t help but smile at the pair.
Maybe it was because she had so much else on her mind, but Vickie thought the day was passing very slowly, even though it had only been a few hours since Rachel had left. By this time the television news had already reported on Anthony’s murder, and the newspaper put out a preliminary story. Both were asking for any information regarding the murder, although any evidence regarding the case was being kept secret, as ordered by Chief Miles. Vickie had laughed when she’d heard that. The fact that Susan had shared even a little bit of information with her earlier that day was a shock.
Of course the greatest surprise for the rest of the town came from the revelation that Harrison Bell had been arrested for Anthony’s murder. Everybody was shocked by this news, and they just couldn’t stop talking about it. It was the most common topic among Vickie’s patrons. A few of them even spoke to her about it.
“Wasn’t Anthony Lee with your daughter at Harrison Bell’s reading last night?” Nancy asked her after placing her order.
“That’s right. They’d been dating for a while.”
Nancy gave her a sympathetic look. “She must be really upset about his passing.”
“She is,” Vickie said with a light nod. “But Rachel’s a strong girl. She’ll be okay. I’m making sure she takes care of herself.”
“Good. Please give her my best wishes.”
“I will. Thank you, Nancy.”
Vickie passed Nancy’s drink and cake to her before greeting the next customer. “Hello, Alex. Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”
The young man smiled. “I’m doing well, thanks. Can I get just a regular coffee?”
“Regular coffee on its way.” She rang him up and gave the order to Jason to complete. “You know the price.”
“Yeah, I’ve done this enough times.” Alex laughed. “Hey, I heard about Anthony. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” Vickie replied as she took his money, and she realized something. “You were at the reading last night, weren’t you?”
“I was. I’m surprised you remember with all the people there.”
“Do you remember anyone named Matthew Bae there? He was asking a lot of questions?”
Alex thought for a second before shaking his head. “I remember someone doing that–hogging all of Harrison Bell’s attention–but I haven’t seen him since. Sorry.”
“That’s okay,” Vickie responded as she passed his drink to him.
She finished off the line of customers and let out a sigh of relief. After taking a moment to get herself a glass of water Vickie, watched as Kimberly returned from the back room. She put her apron back on and walked to the front cash register.
“Thanks for the break, Vickie,” Kim said with a grin. “Ready to get back to work now.”
“Are you sure? I can stay here for a while.”
Kim gave her a look. “Don’t you have something else you need to do?”
Vickie stared at her for several moments before she recognized what she meant.
“You saw the news, didn’t you?”
“You know it.” Kimberly nearly pushed Vickie out of the front spot. “We’ve got this.”
Vickie thanked her again before heading for her office. She sat at the desk and looked at her copy of the list of suspects who could have killed Anthony. At the top of the list was the ex-girlfriend, but she knew she should leave her to Rachel. She wished she had kept a record of who had come to the book reading, but she hadn’t thought it was necessary. Still, what were the chances she could do some of her own research of the other suspects? Matthew Bae wasn’t a local—Kate had said as much—but perhaps Logan Michaels and Louis McGuire were from Carriage Cove. They should be listed online.
She typed the names into her computer, and sure enough she was able to pull up the names and phone numbers for the two of them. She wrote down the numbers before grabbing her desk phone.
The first number was a cell phone, and Logan answered it. “Hello?”
“Hello. My name is Vickie Matheson. Is this Logan Michaels?”
“It is. Aren’t you the woman who owns the coffee shop?”
“That’s right. Is there any chance I can meet with you? I’d like to ask you a few questions about last night.”
“Um, I would say yes, but I’m not in town right now. I left for a flight to Denver late last night.”
Vickie paused. “When did you leave?”
“Right after the reading, actually,” Logan replied. “My flight was at midnight, but I had to get my bag at home and drive to the airport. It took a long time.”
“Okay, thank you for your time.” Vickie had to suppress her sigh.
“No problem. Bye.”
He hung up the phone before she had the chance to say anything more, and she crossed Logan off the suspect list. He couldn’t have been the culprit if he was on the road heading for the airport. There wasn’t anything to prove this alibi, but she was going to take his word for it until she heard from Rachel again.
The second number was for Louis McGuire, and the only number for him was a home phone. Vickie dialed the number and waited for it to stop ringing.
“Thank you for calling Louis McGuire, ghost hunting extraordinaire. I’m unable to answer my phone right now. I’m probably off investigating a haunting. Please leave your name, number and type of ghost activity, such as poltergeist, ectoplasm left behind, apparitions and so forth, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks!”
Vickie stared at the phone in utter confusion as it beeped to indicate it was time to leave a message. Instead she slowly placed the phone back on the hook, bringing her hand back just as gradually and carefully.
“I don’t think I want to know.” She scratched that name off the list. “Back to where I started.”
She looked down at the list of suspects, wondering what else she could do while she waited for her daughter to get back. The next person on the list was John Grayson. He was supposed to be some sort of businessman, although Vickie had never heard of him. Deciding that looking into John was her best option right now, she did a search of him online as well.
It turned out that John Grayson was one of the most successful businessmen in the whole nation. He was the descendant of the inventor of the automatic machine that wrapped the paper around straws, and he inherited the fortune that came with that legacy. He was invited to parties, conventions, celebrations…he was almost a celebrity with all the publicity he got, and with pretty much no effort! Vickie sighed.
“What a fortunate life,” Vickie muttered under her breath.
She searched for a bit more information. If John was as renowned as he seemed to be, then his whereabouts should also be well-known. It took a little bit of probing, but she finally found a news report on how he had been arrested last night at about 10 p.m. for driving under the influence. He was currently in custody at the Drayden Police Department.
“I guess his privileged life wasn’t enough.” Vickie shook her head. “Drayden is miles from here. He couldn’t have killed Anthony.”
After crossing John’s name off the list, the only people left were Annabelle Chambers and Matthew Bae. She had no idea where either of them were or how to get in touch with them. She racked her brain, thinking about how she could find information on them. Maybe Rachel had had more luck with one of them.
She decided to give her a call and see. “Hello, Rachel.”
“Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”
“Just fine on this end. The shop’s doing well,” Vickie replied into the receiver. “Have you managed to find anything on any of the suspects?”
“Nothing yet,” Rachel informed. “Logan Michaels took a flight at midnight to Denver, John Grayson was arrested in Drayden last night for a DUI, and Louis McGuire is off on some ghost hunting expedition in Seattle.”
“That fits with what I was able to find out,” Vickie answered with a laugh. “You should have heard Louis’s answering machine. It’s really strange.”
“James and I are still looking into Annabelle Chambers and Matthew Bae,” Rachel stated. “We found a little on Annabelle, but Matthew is nowhere to be found. It’s almost as if he doesn’t exist.”
“That’s very odd.” Vickie’s eyebrows furrowed in thought.
“Well, I’ll keep looking for information on my end. Let me know if you find anything.”
“No problem. You keep me updated too.”
Mother and daughter said goodbye and Vickie leaned back in her chair, wondering what her next move should be. A few moments later a light bulb went off in her head: Kate had mentioned that Matthew would frequently post on Harrison Bell’s blog!
She typed in Bell’s book title, “Power, Wealth & Murder,” and she was easily able to find the blog. It was just as huge as Kate made it out to be. There were what seemed like thousands of different threads of various topics, including, but certainly not limited to, the novel’s plot, characters, mystery, crime scene, evidence, satire, political meaning and symbolism. There also appeared to be just as many bloggers as there were threads, and Vickie’s eyes widened at the sheer mass of information on the website.