Road Trip (Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery Book 6)

by Shannon VanBergen

  20

  As another Uber driver took us back to the theater, Greta turned around in the front seat and looked at me.

  “I appreciate what you tried to do back there with the caramel. But next time, leave the advanced interrogation techniques to me.”

  When we arrived back at Archer’s theater, we saw Hattie and Irene walking up to the door. We got out and followed them in. I had never heard them sing before and was curious to see if they could pull it off. I was equally curious to see if Greta, Virginia, and I could do the same thing.

  We opened the door to the big theater, and I froze, my heart stopping in my chest. There, on the stage, was Willie playing the guitar, and Grandma singing. She beamed brightly as she bopped along beside him. She was a natural. Suddenly, it hit me. I had never seen her perform before.

  The other grannies gasped beside me. Greta leaned over to me. “She doesn’t even sing in church anymore. When she gave up singing, she really gave it up.”

  Irene laughed. “She’s going to be hoarse tomorrow.”

  When they finished their song, Willie waved us over. “Let’s do our blocking on our stage since that’s where we’ll be performing. That way, it will make more sense to you gals tonight.”

  We followed him back out of the big theater and into the room where we would be performing. He asked us about our ideas, and we each told him what we had.

  “Perfect!” he said. “We’ll call this ‘Willie’s Variety Hour’!”

  We got to work and, hours later, we were as ready as we were going to be. The costume department had lined up country dresses for us to wear—each one frilly and in a different color, complete with cowboy boots. Hattie didn’t have hers on for five minutes before she was saying she wanted to eat a steak.

  Finally, the hour arrived. I went over and over in my head what I needed to do and when I needed to do it. I couldn’t believe I was about to perform in front of so many people. I looked at the grannies as we all stood in the hallway outside the dressing rooms. There was a nervous excitement buzzing around them. Even Virginia, who had been melancholy all day, was smiling.

  Willie disappeared for a minute, then came back. “We’ve got a full house tonight! You ladies ready?”

  I wanted to say no and take off running out of the building, but Grandma took my hand and smiled at me. “You’re going to be great,” she whispered.

  “Thanks,” I said back. “You are too. And it’s an honor to share the stage with you.”

  Grandma got tears in her eyes. “I never thought I’d be on a stage again. It’s even more special that you’re here with me.”

  Just like that, my anxiety left me. Instead of feeling full of fear and dread, I felt thankful. This was one of the biggest blessings I’d had so far in my life. Not that I was going on stage to perform for the first time ever, but that I was doing it with Grandma Dean—world traveler, a one-time European superstar, and the woman who had turned into my best friend.

  I stepped out on the stage and took in the lights and the applause. This was it. And I was ready.

  We started off the show with a song that Willie had taught us. We sang and did our simple little dance routine. Then he and Grandma did a duet which was beautiful. Next up were Hattie and Irene. They had blown us away during the rehearsal, and somehow, they were even better now. I don’t know how those Mennonites did it, maybe it was a true act of God, but they had somehow taught two crazy ladies how to praise a cappella style, and to do it like professionals.

  After two hymns from them, Virginia, Greta, and I were up. We walked to the front of the stage and did a little skit on married versus single women. Then we got ready for our last joke.

  Virginia frowned and looked at her body, then looked over at mine. “Why is it that married women are heavier than single women?” Greta laughed. “Because a single woman goes home, looks in the fridge, then goes to bed. But a married woman sees what’s in bed and goes to the fridge.”

  The crowd laughed at our jokes, and we took our places at the back of the stage, getting ready for the next song we were all going to sing. Thankfully, it was one we all knew, so it was easy to clap along and not worry we were going to mess something up. And that’s how our hour went. A song we all sang, then a duet with Grandma and Willie, a hymn or two from Hattie and Irene and a skit from Virginia, me, and Greta.

  It went by so fast, and I couldn’t believe it when it was over.

  We took our bows, and I absorbed all of the applause. Grandma took my hand and squeezed it. This had been the best night of my life.

  21

  We sat at the diner, and all lifted up our root beer floats.

  “To Branson’s newest performers,” Archer said.

  We lifted our glasses and then took a swig. Roxy sat across from us and smiled. “I heard you guys did great! I’m proud of you.”

  Grandma looked at me, surprised. We filled her in on the ride over about our conversation with Roxy, but none of us really expected this change in attitude toward us. If anything, I thought maybe she’d be upset we had stolen the show for the night. But maybe that’s why she wasn’t upset—she knew it was just for the night.

  Kodiak and Casius came in late, and I was happy to see them. I pulled out a chair for Casius and took his crutches so he could sit down.

  “I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it,” I said to him.

  He laughed. “I was starting to wonder too. Kodiak came by and picked me up after my show, and we swung by and saw Madison Paige after the Seven Sven show got out. I had to sit there and endure those two making out before I finally got Kodiak to let her go.”

  “Ah, young love.” Roxy smiled.

  “It makes me sick,” Casius grumbled.

  “Oh, come on,” I said, nudging him. “You’re jealous, and you know it.”

  He gave me a look that made my stomach do a flip-flop. “Maybe I am.”

  Kodiak was still standing at the head of the table, and he reached over to pat Grandma on the back. “I heard you gals tore up the stage tonight!”

  “They were amazing!” Willie gushed. “I was real proud of them. Real proud for sure.”

  Everyone moved over so Kodiak had room to sit, and he took a seat next to Hattie, who was thrilled to have him sit by her. Virginia, however, looked far from thrilled.

  “Are you okay, Virginia?” I asked.

  She looked up at me, sadness in her eyes. “I feel so bad for Billie. I wish he was here celebrating with us.”

  The table was suddenly silent, all the excitement and energy sucked out when we were brought back to reality.

  “I think we should all have a discussion,” Roxy said. “Lay it all out on the table. Let’s talk about what we know. Maybe if we work together, we can come up with something. We loved Lou together, and we can work together to figure out who killed him.”

  I thought that was a good idea, and judging by the nods around the table, I think everyone did.

  “Ok,” Grandma said. “This is what we know . . .”

  Between her and Archer, they explained the little evidence the police had. The grannies and I explained our trip to Kodiak’s ranch, and Roxy shared why she dated Lou. It was the first time Archer had heard the whole story, and I could tell he was upset, but he managed to keep his emotions at bay.

  “The missing key is this—who knew about the applesauce? Who knew he put his medication in it every night and took it without fail?”

  The group was quiet for a moment.

  “We all teased him about not swallowing pills,” Casius finally said. “And we did it all the time. The guy couldn’t even take a Tylenol without having to crush it and put it in something. Anyone could’ve heard us teasing him.”

  “That’s true,” Kodiak said. “The man could swallow oysters whole and drink down a bottle of whiskey in three giant gulps, but you couldn’t ask him to swallow a pill. We gave him a lot of flak for that.”

  Everyone went silent again.

  “So, are
we still having a little memorial service tomorrow afternoon at your theater?” Roxy asked Archer.

  Archer looked around the table. “Should we still do it?”

  “Why wouldn’t we?” Casius asked.

  “Well,” Archer answered. “We’ve uncovered some unsavory things about him. Should we still move forward with it?”

  “You’re probably going to uncover some unsavory things about me when I’m gone too,” Roxy admitted.

  “We’ve all got skeletons in our closets,” Casius said. “He was our friend. I think we should do it.”

  “If not for him, then for us,” Roxy added. “It’s our way of letting him go.”

  “Okay, then,” Archer said. “It’s still on.”

  “I have a song to sing,” Roxy said. “What about you guys?”

  Archer looked at Grandma. “Would you like to sing something with me?”

  Grandma laughed. “If I still have a voice tomorrow, I’d love to.”

  Kodiak put his arm around Hattie, and she giggled.

  “I heard you’re quite the entertainer,” he teased. “Are you going to sing something too?”

  “Maybe Irene and I could come up with something.” She smiled. Then she sighed. “You know, we’re going to be leaving soon, and I still haven’t gotten my dang peach cobbler. I’ve been craving it since we got here.”

  Kodiak started telling her about a restaurant in town that had the best cobbler, and suddenly, Grandma leaned forward. “Hattie, hug Kodiak.”

  We all looked at Grandma like she was crazy.

  Hattie didn’t need to be told twice, and she threw her arms around the big, burly man.

  Kodiak laughed. “What’s going on?”

  “Okay, Hattie . . .” Grandma said. “Hattie, let go!”

  Hattie pulled away, and Kodiak had to adjust his shirt

  “Does that make you want to eat anything?” Grandma asked.

  Grandma got more crazy looks from us, and Hattie looked up at her and smiled. “Peach cobbler.”

  “And do you remember exactly when you first started craving peach cobbler?” Grandma asked her.

  Hattie thought for a minute. “At the pizza place, I think.”

  “Yes,” Greta said. “I remember you saying you wanted steak and peach cobbler after . . .”

  Suddenly, it hit us.

  “What’s going on?” Kodiak asked.

  “Yeah,” Roxy said. “What are you ladies thinking?”

  I didn’t want to be the one who said it, so I looked up at Grandma.

  “Hattie has this strange thing where she smells things and then craves them,” Grandma said slowly. She explained the koi pond and the trip to the leather store.

  “What does that have to do with smelling me?” Kodiak asked nervously. “You still don’t think I had anything to do with Lou’s murder, do you?”

  “No,” Grandma said, not wanting to break the news. “I think it was Madison.”

  Kodiak was shocked. “What? You guys are crazy. There’s no way she would do that.”

  Grandma looked at Hattie again. “You mentioned peach cobbler for the first time after she walked away. You must have smelled some kind of body spray or perfume on her.” Grandma glanced around the table at the rest of us. “When did Hattie talk about peach cobbler again?”

  My mind was racing. I knew she had mentioned it several times, but I couldn’t remember exactly when.

  “After Lou was found dead in his dressing room,” Virginia said, excitement rising in her voice. “Remember, she had walked in, and when she walked out, she said she wanted some.”

  “And in the barn,” Greta added. “After she tried on Madison’s scarf!”

  Grandma looked at Kodiak. “And just now, after she hugged you,” she said. “And you were with Madison tonight.”

  “That doesn’t prove anything!” Kodiak yelled. “This is ridiculous!”

  Archer looked at his friend. “Kodiak, did she know about the applesauce?”

  “Everyone knew about the applesauce!” Kodiak defended.

  Roxy reached out and touched his arm. “Did she sing for Lou? Was she in that theater?”

  Kodiak was speechless. I could tell his mind was running through a thousand things at once. His mouth hung open, and he looked at each of us.

  “She wouldn’t do that,” he finally said.

  I felt bad for Kodiak. I wanted to somehow prove that we were wrong. “That still doesn’t explain the horsehair,” I said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Virginia said. “If we can prove that she played for Lou, and she was in the theater . . .”

  “Wait a minute,” Roxy said. “You said ‘played for Lou’.”

  “So?” Virginia said, confused.

  “She plays the violin, right?” Roxy asked.

  We all nodded.

  “And what are violin bows made of?” She smiled, already knowing the answer.

  The rest of us had no idea, except for Grandma.

  “Horsehair,” she answered.

  “And remember,” Greta said. “She told us after her show the other night that she was planning on moving on to bigger and better things.”

  Kodiak was still refusing to believe it.

  “Call her up,” Archer said. “Invite her to join us here tonight. We’ll see if she’ll talk.”

  “No!” Kodiak yelled. “I’m not going to put her in that position!”

  Roxy touched his arm again to calm him down. “If she’s innocent, then we’ll find out. If she isn’t . . . wouldn’t you want to know?”

  Kodiak sat there defiant for a moment, then finally slumped over.

  “Fine,” he said, pulling out his phone. He was shaking as he sent her a text. He looked up. “She said she’s excited, and she’ll be right over.”

  Of course she’s excited, I thought to myself. She thinks she’s finally being invited into the inner circle, something she had apparently been trying to break into for weeks, if not months.

  Nervous, quiet chatter took over our table until she finally arrived fifteen minutes later. She walked in all smiles, perfectly put together . . . and smelling like peaches. Kodiak noticed it immediately, and his smile fell. She kissed him and turned to look at the rest of us “My oh my, what a solemn group!”

  She sat down, and her scent wafted across the table. I thought it was interesting that one could douse themselves with body spray, and it was okay, but if one did so with a spray that killed ninety-nine percent of bacteria, it was a faux pas.

  We tried our best to act natural, but I thought we were all failing miserably. Archer took the lead on this one. “Welcome to the group, Madison. We’ve heard so much about you.”

  She beamed. “Thank you! That was so nice of y’all to invite me!”

  “Did you hear how our preshow went tonight?” Archer asked her.

  She looked up at Willie. “Was it a one-man show?”

  Interesting, I thought. She knew that Billie had been arrested.

  “Nah,” Willie said, pulling Greta closer to him. “These ladies stepped up, and we put on our own variety show! It was a big hit.”

  “Really?” she asked, her voice cracking a bit.

  “Such a big hit,” Archer said, leaning forward, “that I decided to have them stay on and do it full time.”

  We all watched for her reaction, and we weren’t disappointed. She tried to force a smile. “But you ladies don’t have any experience. You’re just here on vacation.”

  Archer pointed at Grandma Dean. “She used to be famous in Europe. I think she and her group will be quite a treasure to Branson.”

  “And unique,” Roxy added. “There’s no other group like them.”

  “Well,” she said through gritted teeth that tried to resemble a smile. “Good for you, ladies. Welcome to Branson.”

  Kodiak couldn’t take it anymore. He looked at Madison and took her hand. “Madison, did you play for Lou? Did he promise you a part in his group if you went out with him?”

  M
adison was shocked and instantly nervous. I could tell she was about to clam up, and I think Roxy noticed it too.

  “He did the same thing to me,” Roxy said, her voice lowered. “I think he strung a lot of women along. It’s not your fault.”

  Madison was surprised by this turn in the conversation. Her eyes flitted across the table, but it didn’t look like she was actually looking at any of us. She was trying to think of her next move.

  Roxy continued. “We think you might be one of his victims, and we wanted you to know that if you are, we’re all here for you.”

  Madison’s demeanor changed, and she took a breath. I still felt like she was guilty at this point, but she thought she was going to play us. And Roxy had done a great job of leading her right into our hands.

  “It’s true,” she said, feigning sadness. “He promised that he could get me my own show.”

  “How long did you two see each other in secret?” Roxy asked.

  “A month, maybe,” Madison said. She looked up at Kodiak. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I got sucked into his promises.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Roxy assured her. “I dated him for nearly two months. He would have me come to the theater to sing for him. Did he have you do the same?”

  She nodded. “Sometimes on Archer’s stage and sometimes in Lou’s dressing room.”

  This was it. I could feel we were close to a confession, even if she said it by accident.

  “When was the last time you played for him?” Roxy asked.

  Madison closed her eyes, thinking. “A few days before he died.” Her eyes suddenly filled with tears, and I was impressed with her acting skills.

  “I . . . I played for him in the big theater, and he told me he was sure Willie and Billie would want me to play for them too. He kissed me and said it was finally my time. I left there feeling like it was actually going to happen. I got about halfway home, then I realized I had forgotten my bow, so I went back to get it.”

  She stopped talking, and Roxy handed her a tissue. Madison dabbed at her tears, then continued. “I knew I left it in his dressing room, and when I started down the hall, I could hear singing. At first, I was confused, but then I knew I had been played.”