100 Proof Murder

by Mary Ellis

  ‘I’m fine, but I have another favor to ask. Are you busy right now?’

  Feeling Michael’s stare boring holes in her back, Jill walked out onto the balcony. ‘Michael wants to drive to Jim Beam to finish our distillery article.’

  ‘Could that possibly wait another day? One of the security guards at the distillery just called. Apparently, my new half-brother is wandering around the plant, asking questions.’

  ‘How did he get inside? I’m sure you didn’t issue him a pass.’ Jill glanced back at Michael, who was drumming his fingers impatiently.

  ‘I certainly did not,’ Alexis said. ‘Apparently he showed his ID, flashed some kind of letter from his lawyer, and the security guard gave him a pass. Could you meet me at my office? Considering Kevin might end up a major shareholder at Parker Estate, I don’t want to make a scene in front of employees. I thought we could keep an eye on him on the monitors. I have a bad feeling about this.’

  ‘And you want me, not Mr Bradley or your mother?’

  ‘Goodness, I don’t want either of them here. My mother would turn this into a three-ring circus, while Bradley would probably make sure the police or the media shows up. Any kind of publicity is good for his law firm. What do you say, Jill? I’ll owe you one or maybe two dozen favors.’

  ‘You owe me nothing. I’ll be there in ten minutes.’ Jill walked into the suite, ready to face the music.

  However, Michael took the news he would be driving to Clermont alone fairly well. He even promised to take plenty of notes on the tour for her to spin into a story. All she had to promise was dinner on her, along with the price of a bottle of Jim Beam’s Select and a set of snifters with their logo. Even though this might cost half a week’s salary, Jill agreed. It was too late to call Alexis back and she was in no position to negotiate.

  ‘Could you drop me off at Parker Distillery on your way out of town?’ she asked, pouring her frosted flakes into a to-go cup.

  ‘Sure, as long as this trip to see Alexis doesn’t involve dead bodies or any kind of violence.’ Michael picked up his keys and wallet.

  ‘You worry too much.’ Jill grabbed her purse and followed him out the door. ‘Alexis only wants to keep an eye on her half-brother. We’ll be in the safety of her office the entire time.’

  At the entrance to the corporate headquarters a guard waved her in and offered to escort her to Miss Scott’s office, but Jill declined since she remembered the way.

  Alexis bounded from her chair the moment Jill arrived. ‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ she said, pulling another chair to her desk. ‘Grab yourself a coffee and watch the security monitors with me. Right now, my new relative is walking through every room on the tour, reading each signboard and studying every display. Kevin is apparently determined to learn bourbon production in one day.’

  Jill carried over a cup of coffee and for several minutes they watched the half-brother study pie charts of grain percentages in each type of distilled bourbon. ‘Maybe he hopes to become a master distiller after one self-guided tour.’

  ‘I have no idea what he’s planning, but I told security not to intervene. For now, we’ll just keep an eye on Big Brother to make sure he doesn’t sabotage the equipment.’ Alexis sipped coffee without taking her eyes off the screen.

  Jill scooted her chair in closer. ‘Maybe he just wants to learn the business.’

  ‘Maybe, but a phone call would have been nice. Instead he just wormed his way into the building.’

  Suddenly Kevin moved out of camera range. ‘Where’s he going now?’ Jill tapped the screen as though a mechanical malfunction caused him to disappear.

  Alexis jumped up. ‘I’m not sure, but there are no cameras in the mixing room since certain processes are proprietary. Let’s see where that sneaky trespasser shows up next.’

  But after they checked each live-feed monitor twice, Kevin Scott still hadn’t shown up anywhere. Alexis slipped off her high heels and pulled a pair of sneakers from her desk drawer. ‘Ready to track down a varmint?’

  ‘You bet I am. I’ve got pepper spray in my purse and Detective Grimes on speed dial in case things turn ugly.’ Jill headed to the door but stopped when Alexis uttered an expletive.

  ‘I found him. A camera picked him up in the hallway by marketing and publicity.’

  Jill rushed back to the monitor. ‘Who’s he talking to? Isn’t that the new master distiller, Mr Rossi?’

  ‘It sure is. What is that nutcase talking to him about? He’s had exactly one tour of the plant. I wish we could hear what they’re saying.’ Alexis bent over to tie her sneakers.

  As Jill continued to watch the grainy video, Anthony Rossi suddenly staggered, reached out for Kevin’s arm, and crumpled to the floor. Not unlike Jill’s own inglorious collapse three days ago. ‘Oh, no, look!’ she cried, pointing at the screen.

  Alexis refocused in time to see Rossi sprawled across the tiles with Kevin looming over him. ‘What has that crazy person done? I must get down there. Call an ambulance, Jill.’ Alexis bolted out the door.

  Jill dialed 9-1-1 and gave the dispatcher specific directions. She took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator and caught up to Alexis just as she reached the surreal scene. Kevin Scott had his ear pressed to Rossi’s chest.

  ‘What on earth have you done?’ Alexis shouted, dropping to her knees. ‘Get away from Mr Rossi! What are you doing?’

  ‘He’s not breathing, Alexis,’ Kevin said calmly. ‘I haven’t done anything to him, but Rossi isn’t breathing. Somebody call nine-one-one.’

  ‘I already did. The cops and an ambulance are on their way.’ Jill pulled out her pepper spray and aimed it his face. ‘I believe Alexis told you to back off, buster.’

  Kevin peered up at her. ‘It’s Miss Curtis, right? I need to start CPR or the man will die. You can spray me if you like, but I mean no harm to Mr Rossi … or Alexis.’ Without waiting for her reply, Kevin locked his hands one over the other and began to press on Rossi’s chest at rapid, regular intervals. Promise me this trip won’t involve any dead bodies or violence. Michael’s cryptic words floated through Jill’s brain just as a security guard burst through the door with his gun drawn.

  ‘Are you all right, Miss Scott?’ The aim of his weapon vacillated between Jill and the would-be heir.

  ‘Could you not point that at me?’ Jill asked, hearing the sound of sirens in the distance.

  ‘Holster your weapon, Randy,’ Alexis ordered in a strangled voice. ‘Please make sure the paramedics and police find their way here.’

  ‘No, wait.’ Kevin stopped his ministrations on the inert master distiller. ‘Instead, Randy, go to my car in the employee lot. It’s a white Chrysler 300 in the first row. You’ll find Narcan in the glovebox. Bring it here at once, along with a defibrillator if the distillery has one.’ Kevin tossed the guard a set of keys and resumed CPR on Rossi.

  ‘What?’ Alexis screeched. ‘Isn’t Narcan used for opioid overdoses?’

  ‘It is. And I’m sure that’s what we’re witnessing here.’

  ‘What should I do, Miss Scott?’ Randy shifted his weight from one hip to the other.

  ‘Get the Narcan or this man’s death will be on you,’ Kevin roared.

  ‘Go to his car, Randy,’ Alexis shouted, her eyes filling with tears. ‘Just in case we need it.’ Alexis picked up Rossi’s hand as soon as the security guard had bolted through the double doors.

  With a gun no longer pointed at her, Jill put away her pepper spray and dropped to her knees. ‘How can I help?’ she asked, looking from one to the other.

  Kevin was first to answer. ‘Watch what I’m doing in case I need you to take over. Sometimes my hands cramp up due to neurological problems. If we can’t revive him, we’ll need to maintain compressions until the paramedics arrive.’

  Jill tried to locate a pulse in Rossi’s neck to no avail as she memorized the procedure of CPR.

  ‘I don’t know how Rossi could possibly overdose.’ Alexis spoke in an almost-childlike voice.<
br />
  ‘Why is that?’ Kevin stayed focused on what he was doing. ‘Addiction can affect every age and every walk of life.’

  ‘I know that, but Rossi worked for my … our father for a long time. It was no secret that he’d suffered breathing problems his whole life. He takes so many meds and herbal supplements for asthma he won’t even pop an aspirin for a headache. He knows how drugs can adversely interact.’

  Kevin met her gaze. ‘I believe you, but I’m also familiar with the signs of opioid overdose.’ He patted both of Rossi’s jacket pockets, extracted a nasal inhaler, and handed it to Alexis. ‘Make sure the police bag that as evidence. If Rossi didn’t take opioids willingly, maybe someone tampered with this.’

  Jill made a mental note. If Kevin Scott’s fingerprints weren’t already on the inhaler, they certainly were now. There was plenty of time when the two men were off-camera. ‘What will happen to Mr Rossi if you administer the antidote and he’s not OD’ing?’ she asked.

  Kevin didn’t answer right away. ‘I don’t think it’ll have any effect at all.’

  ‘You don’t think but you’re not sure?’ Alexis asked as Randy burst through the door with the nasal spray in hand.

  ‘Not for certain, no, but the guy’s not breathing, right?’ Kevin looked at Jill for confirmation.

  Jill checked for the third time. ‘I still can’t find a pulse.’

  ‘Give that to me and check on that ambulance,’ Kevin said to the guard, who promptly did as instructed. Then Kevin looked to Alexis to make up her mind.

  ‘All right, go ahead.’ She sat back on her heels.

  As three people held their breath, Kevin unwrapped the package, pulled out the inhaler and depressed the plunger up one of Rossi’s nostrils, delivering a full dose.

  Jill silently counted to sixty. ‘Nothing’s happening,’ she whispered, whereupon Alexis started to cry.

  ‘Give it another minute or two. The stuff doesn’t work instantly.’ Kevin resumed the chest compressions.

  Before Jill reached sixty a second time, Rossi suddenly bolted upright and began to cough.

  ‘Take it easy, sir,’ Kevin cautioned, supporting him with an arm around his back. ‘Paramedics are almost here.’

  ‘What the heck happened?’ Rossi asked. ‘One moment we were talking, the next moment the world went dark.’

  ‘The hospital will have to run tests, but I think someone might have tampered with your inhaler.’

  ‘My inhaler?’ Rossi immediately felt his shirt pocket. ‘I used it right before I ran into you and now it’s gone.’

  Kevin stilled his flailing arm. ‘Alexis has it. She’ll give the inhaler to the police so they can have it analyzed. They’re on their way.’

  Eager to do something useful, Jill scrambled to her feet. ‘I’ll try to see what happened to that ambulance.’ Just as she reached the main lobby, several paramedics burst through the front doors with a gurney, followed by two police officers and the ever-helpful Randy.

  ‘Did it work?’ he asked.

  ‘It did. You did well,’ Jill said to the security guard as they led the first responders back to Rossi. For the next few minutes, she watched medical professionals at their finest, while the police took statements from both Alexis and Kevin Scott. Since Jill had witnessed exactly the same as Alexis, she remained in the background. Once the paramedics had loaded a conscious and alert master distiller into the ambulance, Alexis climbed in beside him for the trip to the hospital.

  Jill and Kevin Scott stood on the sidewalk, watching the ambulance pull away, sirens blaring, while office workers behind them whispered and speculated what had happened. ‘Looks like you were right, Mr Scott,’ Jill said after a moment.

  ‘I got lucky, Miss Curtis.’ The would-be heir pulled out a cigarette and lit up.

  ‘This is a non-smoking facility,’ she admonished, sounding like her grandmother.

  ‘I’ll keep that in mind should I get the honor of working here.’ Kevin inhaled deeply before giving her a long perusal. ‘You’re my sister’s best friend.’

  It was more of a statement than a question. ‘I doubt I’m her best friend, but I might be her newest,’ Jill clarified.

  He exhaled a plume of smoke. ‘Even after a brief amount of time, I could tell that Alexis trusts your judgement. So I hope you and I can also be friends.’

  ‘Let’s get one thing straight – I’m not jumping ship.’ Jill arched one eyebrow. ‘You might have a legitimate beef against the late Mr Scott, but Alexis doesn’t deserve to be denied her inheritance.’

  ‘I agree. That sideshow was my lawyer’s idea, meant to throw off that viper Rose Parker. I wish to take nothing away from Alexis.’ He took another drag on the cigarette.

  Jill stared up at him, confused. ‘You do realize that Rose Parker’s grandfather started the distillery and her father built it up? Your dad, if he is your dad, William Scott, married into the business.’

  Kevin snorted with contempt. ‘That’s what the PR department wants you to believe. Yeah, it was old man Parker’s distillery, all right. But Grandpa poured all the profits into creating that mansion stuck in the middle of nowhere. It had been a working farm when his father was alive that grew the best corn, barley and rye in the county. But Grandma Parker didn’t like being a farmer’s wife so she leased out the productive acres and got rid of the chickens and cows. Then Grandma Parker insisted on tripling the size of the house. Parker Farms soon became Parker Estate.’

  Jill stared at him. ‘Who told you all this?’

  ‘My father, who else? What Grandma Parker didn’t spend on expensive furnishing to impress the garden club, she spent on entertaining, trips to Europe and turning her daughter into a debutante. That’s how Rose Parker got to be the snob she is today. The money should’ve gone into capital improvements at the distillery, but by the time Rose married my father, the company was bleeding red ink. William not only saved the distillery, he made the brand into what bourbon lovers enjoy today. He had also been buying shares from Grandpa Parker for years. That old man couldn’t live within his means. Those shares were not a gift.’

  Jill blinked several times. ‘You should explain everything to Alexis, not a travel writer from Illinois.’

  This time Kevin’s chuckle sounded genuine. ‘You’re exactly right, but for some reason, you’re much easier to talk to. My little sister intimidates me.’ He stubbed out his cigarette on a lamp pole and slipped the butt back into the pack. ‘It was nice meeting you, Miss Curtis.’ He started walking in the direction of the employee lot.

  ‘Wait!’ Jill called and quickly caught up to him. ‘Since we’re so comfortable talking to each other … how did you know Rossi was overdosing on opioids?’

  Kevin looked down his Romanesque nose while considering. ‘For several years, my mother was married to a man with a son from a previous relationship. The son was nice enough, but unfortunately Justin developed a drug problem. It started with pain relievers after a football injury. When the doctor cut him off those, he turned to street drugs that often were laced with cheap fentanyl.’

  When Keven remained silent, Jill filled in the blanks. ‘This stepbrother OD’ed?’

  ‘Several times paramedics or the cops brought him back to life with Narcan. So my mother bought one to keep at home and I started carrying one in my car. One day Justin decided to call his girlfriend instead of me or nine-one-one.’

  ‘What about those dry-out clinics like Betty Ford?’

  Kevin produced a patient smile. ‘We tried to get him into rehab, but private clinics are expensive and the state-funded rehabs have long waiting lists. He was on the list when he died.’

  ‘I know you did everything you could,’ Jill said, even though she didn’t know anything.

  ‘Thanks. You’re a nice person, Jill.’ Kevin stepped off the curb and kept on walking.

  ‘Likewise. See ya around.’ At least, she hoped he was a nice person.

  Since Alexis was at the hospital with Rossi, Jill had no choice but t
o call Uber for a ride to the hotel. It wasn’t until she had got out of the cab that Nick called to let her know he was back in town.

  ‘What’s up, pretty girl?’ Nick drawled.

  ‘Why didn’t you call me half an hour ago?’

  ‘I guess I could have, but what’s the big deal?’

  ‘I just paid eleven dollars for an Uber ride.’ Jill released a long-suffering sigh.

  ‘Let me make it up to you with a nice dinner.’ Nick purred like a cat.

  ‘Sounds marvelous, but Michael will be joining us. He’s on his way back from Clermont and this meal will be on me. I have plenty to tell you, but let’s wait until we’re together so I don’t have to chew my food twice.’

  ‘What? I’m not following your analogy.’

  ‘You’ll understand everything later. Tell me what happened at the family pow-wow. I’m glad you didn’t have to stay in Lorraine another night.’

  ‘That’s because my sisters had already decided what to do with Mom on the phone along the way.’

  ‘Uh, oh. Sounds like they left little brother out of the loop.’

  ‘Yes, but I’m not unhappy with their decision. This stop-gap might make Mom’s transition easier.’

  ‘Not unhappy isn’t the same as happy, Magic Man.’

  ‘Nothing we do will be perfect. They decided Mom will move in with my oldest sister’s family. Sarah’s kids are older and more independent. Sarah plans to hire a caregiver for the eight hours while she and her husband work and the kids are in school. We’ll split the cost four ways. In the meantime, we’ll also research possible nursing homes for when the situation becomes unmanageable at Sarah and Bob’s.’

  ‘How did your mom take the news?’ Jill asked, afraid to hear the answer.

  ‘She loved the idea, because she enjoys being with her grandkids.’

  ‘What about your mother’s house?’

  ‘Right now, my sisters are packing up the food I had delivered and all her clothes. Then they’ll lock the place up. We’ll deal with a permanent solution down the road.’