“Boy howdy, do I! And don’t you all forget that we’re going into town for a casual dinner on me.”
Charlotte grabbed a couple pans and walked around the house to the cellar doors. When she arrived, she put down the pans and took her cell phone out of her pocket. She located the piece of paper that Alice had given her and punched in the numbers.
“Hello, Annabel—it’s Charlotte Finn. I heard that Serge was home, and I wanted to check on you both to see if there was anything that you needed.”
After a pause, Annabel finally replied, “How kind of you to think of us at our time of need. My dear Serge is home and on the mend. And I’m trying to cope with all the worry and trauma. I’m afraid that I’ve been tossing and turning at night and have really turned my muscles into painful knots. I’ll have to go to the yoga studio in town on Monday as soon as they open.”
Glad you remember that you can’t use the farm, Annabel.
“I can only imagine how you feel, but he’s safe now, so you can relax, Annabel. I do hope that you’ll come to the barbecue tomorrow. The lake is open, and a swim will do you a world of good. And maybe sometime next week we can set up another lunch date?” Charlotte added.
“I’m not—”
“One other thing, Annabel: you’d mentioned a Mexican restaurant that you liked. I’m taking my entire crew out to dinner tonight as a thank-you for all their hard work. I was hoping that you could give me the name of the place so I can call ahead because there’ll be so many of us.”
“Oh, you mean you’ll all be going into town for dinner tonight?”
“That’s right.”
Annabel proceeded to give Charlotte the information.
After Charlotte rang off, she used the key to open the padlock and the doors. She picked up the pans and, as she started down the steps, shouted, “Diane? It’s me I’m coming down the back stairs with the food for tomorrow. And I’m going to need your help.”
* * *
By six o’clock, everyone was well rested, washed up, and gathered in the foyer of the farmhouse.
“This is going to be an early night, but given all the hard work you’ve done over the past few days, I thought that it would be a nice break to relax and have someone else do the cooking tonight. My treat!” Charlotte told them as Horse stood beside her, listening intensely.
“And do the margarita mixing?” Beau asked.
“Silly not to.” Charlotte smiled. “Beau, would you mind driving my station wagon? It will be able to accommodate you, Samuel, Joe, and Alice. Diane and I will be right behind you, but please go ahead and order anything you like—don’t wait for us. I’ve called the restaurant, and they’re expecting our party of six. I’m texting you the address,” Charlotte concluded, gently ushering them out of the farmhouse.
Beau gave her a hug and whispered, “I hope I’m not going to miss all the fun.”
“I wouldn’t think of it!” Charlotte kissed his cheek.
Just as soon as the wagon had disappeared down the hill, Charlotte phoned the chief.
“Give it three minutes, and then you’ll be clear to drive up,” Charlotte told her. “As soon as you arrive, we’ll leave.”
“Roger that. We should have ample time to get in place. I can’t imagine anyone trying anything before it gets dark, which won’t be for another hour,” the chief said.
“And so it begins,” Diane said to Charlotte as they linked pinkies.
“Horse, I need you to do something for me, and I promise that when I get back, I’ll bring you out to witness the conclusion of this murder nightmare. But for now, I want you and Mrs. Robinson to go wait in my bedroom. Come along.”
Horse cocked his head at Charlotte. His corkscrew tail was wagging, but he had a wary look on his face.
“Shall we do a pinkie swear?” Charlotte asked, and extended her little finger toward his front right hoof.
That gesture produced a big smile on his face as he raised his leg up to her pinkie. Once that was done, Charlotte led him into her bedroom. After Horse entered, she closed the door and locked it from the outside.
“What’s that for? Are you afraid that someone will go in and steal him?” Diane asked.
“No, I’m afraid that he will open the door and escape before we need him.”
“But he’s only—” Diane bent down and held her hand about a foot and a half from the floor.
“Trust me. I know my pig. He’d figure out a way.” Charlotte heard dirt and gravel crunching outside. “Time to go.”
They got outside just as the police van was pulling up. Charlotte watched the chief get out along with four officers.
She stuck her head back in the van and said, “Drive the vehicle back down, and park it where no one will see it, and then walk back up.”
The chief nodded to Diane and Charlotte and gave them the “okay” sign. Moments later, they were driving down the hill just behind the police van.
* * *
As Charlotte had requested, Diane parked in the center of town, and they walked from there to the restaurant, making sure that they greeted and were seen by everyone in their path. Diane even handed out more of Beau’s fliers, making sure that everyone knew that their party was the next day.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Charlotte saw the gang seated at a large round table at the back of the room. The decor was done in true Mexican tradition, with stone and cement walls, arched entries from one room to the next, and folk-art tiles cemented into designs along the walls. An elder woman was mixing dough and pressing tortillas at a station placed among the diners.
As they approached the table, Diane slipped Charlotte the car keys.
“I’m so glad that you didn’t wait,” Charlotte said, grabbing a tortilla chip and dredging it through a clay bowl of guacamole. “De-lish! I could see this place becoming a regular hangout. Along with the Cold Spring Tavern,” Charlotte added, grinning at Samuel.
A server handed menus to the two new arrivals as he placed the first of the entrees in front of a guest. Another server delivered the other three.
Charlotte looked up and then pulled her phone out of her purse.
“Oops, it’s the chief calling,” she said to the table. And then to the server, “Is there a back door? I have a call I have to take, and I’d rather not traipse through the restaurant.”
He nodded and motioned Charlotte to follow him.
“I’ll be right back. Please eat your delicious-looking food while it’s hot.”
They all watched Charlotte disappear into the kitchen, and then Diane and Beau exchanged looks that could only be deciphered by siblings.
Charlotte heard Diane declare, “I’m ready for a margarita!”
Chapter Thirty
Charlotte parked Diane’s car behind Joe and Alice’s house, where it was out of sight from the main farmhouse. She quietly crept along the strawberry fields as the last remaining rays of sunlight disappeared like a warm blanket being slowly pulled over your eyes. As Charlotte approached the back porch of the house, she heard a twig snap and froze in place. She looked around but saw nothing until an officer partially revealed himself from behind a tree trunk. He gave her the “okay” sign. She nodded and continued on through the back French doors and into the house. When she reached the cellar door, she opened it and took out a penlight that she’d had in her pocket. She flashed it three times before descending the stairs.
Charlotte found the chief and Officer Maria staked out in the room where she’d found the loose rock and damaged sewer line hidden behind the stacks of hotel pans she’d brought down, with tomorrow’s food cooling in them. From that vantage point, they could see anyone approaching from the outside cellar doors.
Charlotte took up a spot just outside the room and behind some wrought iron gates so that she could alert them if she saw someone entering the cellar via the house. It had been arranged in advance that all communication would be done via flashing lights.
As Charlotte sat on the cool stone floor, al
one with her thoughts, she wondered who would be making an appearance in the cellar. Am I right about this? It seems to make sense given all the clues and evidence that we’ve uncovered. But this is a crazy situation, involving money, family, and love, so isn’t anything possible?
Charlotte shivered and hoped that this would be over sooner rather than later. It didn’t take long for her wish to come true. Or so she thought.
A dim bit of moonlight reached down into the cavern as Charlotte, the chief, and Officer Maria heard the outside cellar doors being pulled open. Someone’s fallen for the trap I set by leaving the padlock open and in plain sight.
Charlotte knew who it was just by that sound. She remembered from earlier in the day that she didn’t have a big enough arm span to reach and pull both doors at once. They were so wide that she had to open one door at a time. Only someone with long arms and a wide reach could accomplish this.
Someone like Wade.
Charlotte glimpsed a quick flash of light come from the chief and saw that the chief had her index finger up to her lips. Charlotte understood and remained silent.
Sure enough, the big lug came clomping into the room, shining a large flashlight at the place where the loose stone hid the compromised sewer pipe. The plan had been to catch the killer in the act of covering up any evidence of destruction. Charlotte watched Wade shine his light all over the space. He even had the nerve to grab a jam jar off a shelf and shove it into a pocket of his windbreaker. For that alone, Charlotte was ready to jump out and bop him over the head with a shovel.
But he walked right past the area behind the trunk where the destruction had been hidden. When he entered the main room and started poking around, the chief and Maria revealed themselves, with guns pointed, but motioned Charlotte to remain hidden.
“Wade Avery, you are under arrest. Put your hands behind your back and you’d best be quick about it. I’m tired of being in this damp dungeon!” the chief yelled at him.
“What am I being arrested for? I haven’t done nothin’,” Wade whined.
“Really?” the chief asked as Officer Maria grabbed his wrists and cuffed them.
“Really.” He sniffled.
“What do you call this? Roaming around the Finn’s root cellar? You going to tell me that Charlotte cordially invited you to visit at any time, day or night?”
“I saw that the doors were unlocked, and I got concerned. I came down to make sure that everyone was okay.”
“Sweet Jesus, Wade, even you can do better than that. You saw that the lock was off while you were snooping around here again looking for your fantasy will. When you saw an opportunity to search the basement of the farmhouse, you jumped at it.” The door up to the house opened, and a male officer descended into the cellar. “Ah, good. Officer Pindar, would you please escort this sorry gentleman into the living room and watch him.”
“Yes, Chief,” Pindar said, and shoved Wade toward the stairs. He matched Wade in size but came up short in weight, although every ounce on the officer was pure muscle.
As soon as they’d gone, the chief motioned everyone to get back into place.
They had to wait another agonizing hour before activity started up again in the cellar. This time the door from the house opened, and Charlotte could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. She sent a flashlight message to the chief, who acknowledged it by flashing back.
This time the person was moving with purpose, and the light beam was held steady on the back wall of the cellar. Charlotte could make out the shadow of a figure that appeared to be dressed in black from head to toe. Including some sort of hood over the head and part of the face. The person walked directly to the locker box and slid it out of the way. Two gloved hands reached around a large stone and pulled it away. The stone.
The figure peered into the space, held the flashlight up, and began rubbing the area all around it with a damp cloth. That light exposed the figure’s identity, and Charlotte gave the chief the signal by dropping a couple pebbles onto the floor. The intruder looked up, sensing someone nearby but when silence followed, relaxed.
As the chief and her officer made their presence known, with guns raised, Charlotte appeared from behind the wrought iron gate.
“What is this—some sort of setup? You said that you were taking everybody out to dinner. Clark told me he saw you in town.”
“Right on both counts. But then the chief called me for a little help.”
“Clark didn’t see you leave the restaurant.”
“So, you were spying on me?”
“I have a harmless reason for that.”
“A harmless reason for rubbing my cellar wall to get rid of your fingerprints? Do you also have a harmless reason for why your prints and DNA were all over a wineglass taken from Marcus Cordero’s room?”
“You’re making a fool of yourself, Charlotte. I have never given permission to anyone to take samples of either!”
“We didn’t need to. You gave them yourself the day you threw down your water bottle in anger when I informed you that the barn was no longer available for your yoga class. I can’t wait to hear your excuse now.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Annabel Andersen, we have enough evidence to take you in for questioning,” the chief calmly said while making swift work of cuffing her.
“Hah! You don’t know what you’re talking about, Chief. This is a serious mistake,” she said, giving Charlotte an angry, squinting stare. “One that will probably cost you your farm, missy. My husband and I are respected citizens of Little Acorn.” Annabel acted indignant.
“That’s your best response to these accusations, Annabel? And here I thought that you were the creative type.” Charlotte shook her head in disgust.
“We’ve spent the better part of two hours down here, and I need to sit down and drink a cup of strong coffee,” the chief said, and nodded to Charlotte. “Shall we repair to the living room, everyone?” The chief motioned for Maria to herd Annabel toward the steps.
“This is all Wade’s fault—he’s the one you should be arresting,” Annabel said in a vengeful voice.
“Funny you should mention that.” The chief grinned at Annabel.
* * *
When they opened the doors and entered the living room, Annabel looked at Wade and said, “Ah good. Now, uncuff me immediately.”
The chief ignored her and radioed the two officers who’d been stationed outside the farmhouse. “Boys, I need you to pick up Clark Avery and Serge Andersen and bring them over here as soon as possible. And be careful with Serge. I promised the hospital that I wouldn’t do anything to cause him to return. They’d prefer to never see him again.”
“Charlotte, you seemed like a decent person—a little dumb perhaps, but kind. Tell the chief to get her head on straight,” Annabel ordered her.
“I’m sorry, were you talking to me?” Charlotte asked.
“While we wait for the usual suspects to be rounded up, I’d love a cup of joe, Charlotte.”
“Coming right up, Chief.”
Charlotte shut the doors to the living room before leaving for the kitchen, just in case anyone got any bright ideas. While the coffee was brewing, she unlocked the door to her bedroom and was greeted immediately by her beloved Horse.
“Hello, handsome, are you ready for the big show?” He squealed with delight. “And how about you, Mrs. Robinson?” She stood up on her tiny, reedy legs and stretched her wings.
“Fantastic. The show is about to start.”
Charlotte went into the kitchen and loaded a wooden tray with the pot of coffee, mugs, and cream and sugar. When she stepped back into the foyer, she saw that Diane and the gang had returned.
“How’d it go?” Diane asked Charlotte, taking the tray from her.
“Pretty much as planned. Have you explained what’s going on to everyone?” Charlotte asked Diane, looking at the worried faces in front of her.
“To the extent of what I know,” she replied.
�
�Should I change for the occasion, or will this do?” Beau asked, clad in a tuxedo shirt and red pants resembling those of a flamenco dancer.
“You’re perfect, Beau. After I’ve laid out the facts, you all are welcome to add anything that may help the case, but keep your statements brief. That request came from the chief. She doesn’t want the defense to have anything that could backfire on us when the case goes to court.”
“We’re saddled up and ready for the rodeo, pardner,” Samuel said to her, looking like a kid in a candy store.
“You are so brave, Charlotte, and I am proud to know you,” Alice said, and Joe nodded deeply.
“Shall we?”
Charlotte opened the living room doors, and she and her entourage entered the room. Horse was among them and gave an angry grunt to Annabel as he trotted past her chair.
As coffee was dispensed and each person was adding the desired sweet and dairy accompaniments, the other officers returned with Serge and Clark in tow. They were not in cuffs, and Clark was taken aback, seeing that his brother and sister had been restrained.
“Okay, now that we have a heavy police presence in the living room, I’m going to ask that your cuffs be removed, but if anyone in here is stupid enough to try anything, they’ll be put back on immediately, and you’ll wait it out in the back of a squad car. Understood?” the chief asked to a room of reluctant nods from the opposition. When Annabel poured herself a mug of coffee, Charlotte thought that she saw her hands shaking a little.
“This is ridiculous. I demand that you let my wife and me leave immediately. Do you know that I’ve just been released from the hospital?” Serge shouted.
“Charlotte, how about you start us off. And so that you’re all aware, I’m recording what is said here.” The chief sat on a sofa and placed her cell phone on the coffee table, set to record.
Charlotte stood. “On the night that I arrived at the Finn Family Farm, sometime between midnight and four in the morning, Marcus Cordero was murdered in a field of tomato vines out back. The cause of death was the cowardly act of piercing his neck with a pitchfork. Some of my staff and I discovered the body the next morning. The chief was called in and a case was opened.”
Dead on the Vine Page 25