Birds of a Feather (An Agnes Barton Senior Sleuth Mystery Book 9)

by Madison Johns

  Peterson went back to his cruiser and I pulled back on the road, causing the truck behind me to screech his tires and blast his horn, nearly taking out Peterson.

  “Agnes, that’s the third time today.”

  “Sorry, I was just nervous. Why do you think Peterson wants us in his office?”

  “I don’t know, but we had better get a move on. I don’t want to spend my night in jail.”

  I roared into town and parked behind the government building, where we exited the car and walked inside. There was a bustle of activity, with deputies and medical personal darting to and fro. I had no idea what was going on in town, but I certainly wanted to know.

  I walked into the sheriff’s department and the woman at the desk greeted us with a nod of her head. She then buzzed the door and we passed through to the back. “We’re here to see the sheriff.”

  “I know. He called and told us to expect you. You can sit in those chairs over there to wait for him. I was told to make sure you didn’t go directly into his office until he arrives.”

  That was no surprise. We sat down after each helping ourselves to a coffee with creamer. I stirred my coffee just as Peterson waltzed in. He didn’t say a word, instead only pointing in the direction of his office.

  I had plenty to say about being treated like this, but I kept my cool, for now.

  We sat down and Peterson eased into his chair with a squeaking of the wheels. “I didn’t know you were driving the Cadillac again. I almost missed you.”

  “Oh, no? How awful that would have been. What do want that is so important? We need to get to Oscoda before three.”

  “Too late, it’s half past five.”

  “Oh, bother. So what’s so important that you need to speak to us so urgently?”

  “I had a very angry call from Donald’s mother. She claimed you were out at her place asking all kinds of questions.”

  “So what if I was? Is that a crime?”

  “Can you imagine what it would be like if you just found out your son died in a horrific accident?”

  “It was important to question Donald’s mother. We want to find out if anyone would want to harm him.”

  “Did you or did you not insinuate that she had something to do with her son’s death?”

  “I don’t hardly think I said it that way.”

  “Well, from now on I want you both to stay away from Clara Downey and quit assuming there is more to Donald’s death than an accident.”

  “Oh, so you want to shut me up, do you? While a killer is out there somewhere, ready to strike again.”

  Peterson jumped to his feet. “Stay away from Clara. She threatened to go to the judge to file a protection order against the two of you.”

  “What you mean, two?” Eleanor asked. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Guilty by association, and you’re no better than Agnes.”

  I was shocked and beyond words, but sanity came to me. “How about Mary Watkins’ death? Is that also ruled a car accident?”

  “Who told you Mary was the other accident victim? It wasn’t released to the public yet.”

  “It came out in our investigation.”

  “We were told you went over to her mother’s house to give her the news,” Eleanor added. “Bad news travels fast.”

  “I’m not discussing this with either of you further, but I promise I’m at the end of my rope with you, Agnes.”

  Why was I singled out? “And I suppose you’re overlooking two sets of skid marks with Donald’s accident.”

  “It proves nothing. They could have already been out there.”

  “Oh, so since you’ve been to the scene of Donald’s accident, you know there were only two sets of skid marks, but when Mary’s car also crashed in nearly the same area, two more sets of skid marks suddenly appeared out of thin air?”

  Peterson’s face darkened. “I’m perfectly aware of that, but what I’d like the two of you to do is not speak to either of the accident victims’ families. They’re having a hard enough time as it is.”

  “You’re aware that Donald and Mary knew each other, right?”

  “No, but that hardly makes these accidents relatable.”

  “So I’m sure you’re also not aware that they were both in a bird watching club. They called themselves, the Bird Geeks.”

  Peterson was silent for a moment and took out his notebook and jotted it down. “Thanks, that makes sense now. All we have to do now is wait for toxicology reports to come back. It might explain why these accidents happened within a day of one another.”

  “I can’t wait to hear this.”

  “Donald might have been drunk when he hit that tree. We’ll find out if he was when the toxicology report comes back. Mary might have been so distraught about it that she intentionally crashed her car into that tree.”

  “What you’re suggesting would mean that they were at the very least romantically involved and that hasn’t been established.”

  “So, you questioned the families about that?” Peterson asked.

  “Yes, and Clara told us that Donald was too shy to ask Mary out on a date.”

  “Could it be that she rejected him and that’s why he drove into that tree and when she found out, Mary couldn’t live with herself?”

  “That’s quite a few of what-ifs, Peterson. With the skid marks on that road, I’m sticking with the run-off-the-road theory. We just have to find out who owns a truck big enough to have done it.” And I wasn’t about to tell him the pertinent details, not yet anyway.

  “Fine, but I think you’re wasting your time. Of course I know you’ll carry on, like you always do. Give me a call if you find any proof to back up your claims.”

  Sure. He wants us all do the work while he just sits back and takes the credit when it turns out that we were right all along.

  “So we’re not in any real trouble now?” Eleanor asked.

  “Not if you stay away from the victim’s families.”

  “Good, because it’s after six now and I’m starved, but should I be worried about all the deputies and emergency workers milling around in this building?”

  “It’s quite normal with a festival going on. We want to make sure everyone knows where they need to be.”

  “I see.” I reluctantly left. It was apparent I’d have to prove our theory. We walked back to the Cadillac and I said, “Do you think Peterson is hiding anything?”

  “Like what?”

  “Could it be that he’s actually also investigating the skid marks and just doesn’t want to tell us?”

  “He could be. I doubt he’d ever want to tell us we’re right.”

  “He’ll just have to, once we prove our case. Tomorrow first thing you need to get your insurance and tags for this car. Peterson really could have hit you with a substantial fine.”

  “Luckily he had more important things to talk to us about.”

  “I can’t believe Clara whined about us going out to her place. She’s trying to stop us from checking out that boyfriend of hers. Peterson never said we couldn’t talk to him.”

  “But we don’t even know where he lives.”

  “We’ll find out. Let’s head over to Elsie’s house. She has to know, being the social icon of Tawas.”

  Eleanor hung her head. “I was hoping that we could go back home and have dinner with our husbands.”

  “We could, but I’d really like to catch the three remaining bird watchers from that club so we could question them. I’d like to eliminate them as suspects.”

  “But I thought we were focusing on Stephan?”

  “We are, but if you were in some geeky bird-watching group, where would you be going to eat?”

  “Out at the lighthouse?”

  “No, too cold now.”

  “How about Northland Steak House?”

  “Do those kids look like they can afford that?”

  “Beats me, then.”

  “Let’s head to Augie’s on the Bay.”

  “I like h
ow you think, but it might be McDonalds, too.”

  I drove in the direction of Augie’s. It was a small brick building, but don’t let that fool you. Augie’s won a people’s choice award for one of the best places to have breakfast, which is why I like to head there in the morning if I can. Luckily their dinner is great, too. I pulled in and it wasn’t all that busy as of yet, but it was barely six now. Within three hours, I knew Tawas would look like a dead zone with most of the businesses closed, except for the bars.

  We walked in and a server wearing a tie-dyed tee, which had the name Augie’s on it, seated us near the window with a view of the Tawas bay.

  “Hello, Annette,” I greeted the server.

  “Where are your husbands tonight?”

  “Home,” Eleanor said. “And boy, will they be mad when they find out we were here and didn’t bring them.”

  “So, what can I do you for today?”

  “Fish dinner,” we chimed.

  “I’ll bring your diet pops, too,” Annette said.

  I sighed when I glanced around. I had hoped that the Bird Geeks would be here, but no such luck. Eleanor was probably right about McDonalds. They’d be on a budget, if what Clara had said about them were true.

  Our pops were brought and I sipped mine, while glancing at the formidable bay that I knew would still be ice cold. I felt hot suddenly and took off my jacket just as the bell rang over the door and I glanced over to see the Bird Geeks, who entered with Janice’s brother Brian.

  I took a sip of my drink, trying to not to be noticed. The young folks sat behind us and Janice sighed. “I can’t believe how many bird watchers are in town.”

  “This is the Birding Festival,” Brian said. “What did you expect, deer hunters?”

  “Actually, I thought we’d get the chance to at least get some good shots of the warblers. Not with that pack of bird watchers. I wonder if we should head out to Tuttle Marsh tonight,” Darin suggested.

  “Darin, you know we can’t do that. It’s a paid tour,” Aaron reminded him.

  “I know that Aaron, but they can’t stop us from checking it out since it’s a national wildlife area. They can’t stop us from going there.”

  I noticed that Janice didn’t say anything and appeared a little under the weather.

  “It’s not going to be fun without Donald. I still can’t believe he’s gone,” Janice whimpered.

  “Why did you even care about that dude?” Darin asked. “All he did was lead you on.”

  “No, it wasn’t like that. I guess my personality was just too strong for him.”

  “That’s what I like about you.”

  “Darin, stop. We promised that there’d be no romantic entanglement in this club.”

  “Then how come Donald didn’t live by the same rules as the rest of us?”

  Janice stood, shaking the table as she took ahold of it. “How could you say that? None of you even act like you give a shit that Donald’s dead.”

  “You didn’t act like that yesterday.”

  “We didn’t know he was dead then, now did we?”

  “We knew he was missing.”

  “Yes, but so was Mary. I just thought they were together, setting things up.”

  “You had to have known that they were hooking up,” Aaron said. “Sit down, Janice. There’s nothing we can do about it now. Donald wouldn’t want us to wallow in self-pity. He’d want us to do what we do best, bird watch. Think about it this way, he’s probably a spirit bird now. Every time you see a warbler, it’s Donald in spirit,” Aaron said.

  Janice sat and I moved into action. “Hello, again.”

  “What do you want?” Janice asked, her eyes narrowing. “Would you please leave us alone?”

  I was careful about what I said. I didn’t want her going on the defensive. “I’d like to do that, but I have a few questions I’d like to ask first. What was Donald really like? His mother didn’t go into details about his life and since you’re such good friends, I thought you might know him better.”

  “Why do you even care?” Janice asked.

  “I’m a private investigator and I’m looking into Donald’s accident.”

  “It was just an accident, so what’s the point?”

  “It looks suspicious to me, is what. We found empty shell casings, is what. There were two sets of skid marks at the scene, is what,” I exclaimed. I put a hand to my brow. “I’m sorry. I just get personally involved in cases and nobody seems to care about this one other than me.”

  “Us, she means,” Eleanor added. “You must have really cared for Donald, Janice.”

  Tears dripped from Janice’s eyes. “I loved that big dummy, but he was too blind to see it. All he could see was how great Mary was and I don’t think she cared about him at all.”

  “I can’t say, but I’m sure Donald considered you a good friend.”

  Janice shook her head. “Why is it that men ignore the women who care for them the most?” She took a drink of her water. “Donald was great. When he smiled, he could light up a room. He made sure whenever we came up north that we had a place to stay at his mother’s. Now I know his mother Clara is a strange one, but she put up with us and made sure we ate.”

  “Donald volunteered to go down to the elementary school and taught the students about bird watching,” Darin added. “You could say he knew his birds.”

  “And what a photographer,” Aaron added.

  “We saw the pictures hanging on his mother’s walls,” I told them. “There was a nice picture of the four of you on the mantle. That’s how we found out he knew you and that you were all part of a bird-watching club.”

  “How did you come up with the name, the Bird Geeks?” Eleanor asked.

  “It was Mary’s idea,” Janice admitted.

  “So, Mary was in your club the whole time?”

  Janice’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Yes.”

  “What was Mary like?”

  “She was a mousy thing. I was shocked when she put on waders and actively searched for birds in rugged areas,” Janice admitted. “I think I suggested those areas to show her up, but it backfired on me.”

  “She was interested in conservation, like Donald,” Darin informed us.

  “I heard Donald wanted to go to school to be a DNR officer. Is that true?”

  “Yes, he was accepted to Michigan and planned to attend in the fall.”

  “How did you feel about that, Janice? About Donald leaving?”

  “It would be hard with him in college, but he promised he’d keep in touch with the group.”

  “And how would you have felt about Donald and Mary if they were together?”

  “I’m not sure what you want me to say here. I wanted him to be happy even if that meant he and Mary would be together. It really killed me the way he looked at her, though.”

  “Do you know for certain they were romantically involved?”

  Janice put her hands on the table like she was trying to steady herself. She gazed into my eyes and said, “You know, I can’t say for sure.”

  “You’re delusional,” Darin said. “Or blind.”

  “Donald’s mother insisted that he hadn’t been involved with her.”

  “Maybe that was the case. Like I said, I don’t know for sure.”

  I paused. Janice really seemed to be affected by Donald’s death and I didn’t know what to think.

  “How did you feel when Mary died?” Eleanor asked. “Were you equally as upset?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Were you or weren’t you upset when you found out that she also died in an accident near where Donald lost his life?”

  “I wasn’t devastated. She was never really as friendly with me as she was with the guys.”

  “I hope you’re not insinuating that we were involved with Mary, too,” Darin said.

  I turned my attention to both Darin and Aaron, now. “That’s a strange way to say that, Darin. What kind of person was this Mary, really?”

&nb
sp; “I don’t have anything further to say,” Darin said, standing. “We lost two friends and it seems like you’re trying to pit us against one another.”

  ‘That’s not how it sounds to me,” Brian said. “They’re just trying to find out who Mary and Donald really were. It’s safe to say that Mary was playing the three of you.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Brian, and why are you even here with us? You’re not a bird watcher,” Darin spat.

  “No, but someone has to look after Janice.”

  “I’m quite able to look after myself, Brian,” Janice insisted. “Maybe you should go back to Caro.”

  He wasn’t backing down. “Not until you do.”

  “I’m staying to do what I came to do, which is take pictures of as many warblers as I can.”

  “I agree,” Darin said. “I think we need to stay right here and enjoy the festival. It’s what Donald and Mary would have wanted us to do.”

  “So, none of you had an ax to grind with Donald or Mary?”

  They shook their heads and I wasn’t a good enough judge of the character of people whom I didn’t know. “Thanks for all your help.”

  “One last question,” Eleanor said. “Do any of you happen to know the last name of Clara’s boyfriend?” When they gave her an odd look, she added, “You know, Donald’s mother.”

  “Oh,” Janice said. “Stephan, you mean?”

  “Yes, unless she has more than one.” Eleanor laughed.

  They looked at one another and Darin finally said, “Stephan Hasse.”

  “And do any of you happen to know how Donald got along with his mother’s boyfriend?”

  “We didn’t see the boyfriend all that much and when we did, he was guzzling beer,” Janice said.

  “Donald didn’t care for the guy,” Aaron added. “He was trying to get Clara to throw Donald out, said Donald was more than old enough not to be living off his mother.”

  “And did Donald have a job to support himself?” I asked.

  “He worked part time as a handyman, but I can’t imagine he was making enough to afford rent,” Janice said. “Then, we’re always traveling to find places to take the best pictures of birds so he was with us when he wasn’t working. This isn’t just a hobby for us. We take it seriously.”

  “I appreciate all the information.”