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

by Madison Johns

  “He seems to really look after his sister, Janice,” Eleanor added. “I’m surprised he didn’t go along with them last night.”

  “Why didn’t he tell you that they were going to Tuttle Marsh, or planned to?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll sure ask him. He’s waiting in an interview room.”

  “Why an interview room?”

  “He was visibly upset and I thought it would be better to fill out the paperwork there while I set up arrangements for the search dogs.” He stood up. “I’ll take you to him.”

  We followed Peterson down a hallway and into a room where Brian was staring down at the desk. He didn’t glance up until a few moments after we came into the room.

  His eyes widened. “Oh, good. I was hoping to catch up to you two since you’ve already been on the case.”

  “Case? You think your sister and her friends being missing has something to do with Donald and Mary’s accident?” I asked.

  “What else could I think?”

  “I thought they said they wanted to go out to Tuttle Marsh last night,” Eleanor reminded him.

  “They decided against it since I thought it was a bad idea. I don’t want my sisters tramping out in the middle of a marsh at night. It was only thirty-eight degrees last night.”

  “So, when was the last time you heard from your sister or realized she was missing?” I asked.

  “When she left the room for ice.”

  I frowned. “So, you share a room with your, sister?”

  “Yes. It’s cheaper than paying for two rooms.”

  “Where exactly are you staying?”

  “At the Tawas Beach Resort.”

  “With those high festival rates?” Eleanor asked.

  “I can more than afford the room.”

  “So why weren’t the other members staying in your room, too?” I wanted to know.

  “With my sister?”

  I inhaled sharply as Eleanor asked, “Surely, you have some idea where the men were staying?”

  “In their car, for all I know. We parted ways back at the restaurant we saw you at.”

  “Okay, your sister didn’t have any plans with her friends last night after dinner?”

  “No. They said they’d be heading to Barnacle Bill’s, but I told Janice she should get a good night’s sleep and Aaron and Darin agreed.”

  I wasn’t buying that. “And you never thought Janice might have met up with them at the bar?”

  “No. She wasn’t even dressed.”

  “Oh, she wasn’t?” Eleanor asked with raised brow. “What was she wearing?”

  “Her bathrobe.”

  “Did she have shoes on, at least?” I asked.

  “Yes. I’d hardly expect her to waltz down to the ice machine barefoot.”

  “Why didn’t you get the ice for her?”

  “She insisted on doing it herself.”

  I turned to the sheriff. “I’d check Tuttle Marsh for sure. I’ll head over to Barnacle Bill’s to find out if anyone remembers them. Do you have any pictures of the club together, Brian?”

  “I could text you a few pictures, if you like.”

  “Please.” I gave Brian my number and waited until the pictures were sent before I said, “We’ll be in touch, Peterson.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  We hurried out of the room while the sheriff stayed behind. I still wanted to know who ran Donald and Mary off the road, but now I was actually worried about what may have happened to the rest of the club. So far it seemed like they’d been getting picked off one by one.

  Eleanor hopped behind the wheel this time and off we went as she screeched the tires, heading to Newman Street. Cars lined the streets, but Eleanor managed to park between two cars, smacking into each of them as she parallel parked.

  I nervously got out of the car, but so did a young lady in the car behind us.

  “What is the meaning of this?” she asked.

  “What? I wasn’t driving, you know.”

  Eleanor appeared just then, making her way across the street. I shrugged and left as the woman threatened to call the cops. Fat chance getting them to respond to a minor parking accident when I knew Eleanor did no more than tap the cars.

  The door to Barnacle Bills was opened by a couple that was leaving and we headed inside. Eleanor and I stared down both ends of the bar and walked past the tables filled with patrons. It wasn’t quite noon yet and people were already drinking. I knew that bird watching was a big event this weekend, but for me alcohol wasn’t called for before six at night.

  After we had checked out the whole bar and didn’t see any of the birdwatchers we were looking for, I approached a server who walked past. “Excuse me,” I tried to get her attention, but she only smiled and said, “I’ll see if we have another table.”

  Eleanor shrugged. “It might be the only way we can question anyone, if we get a table.”

  The bartender waved us over to two available barstools. Once we sat, he said, “You’re Martha’s mother, aren’t you?”

  “Yes and this is—”

  “Eleanor. I know all about you, too. Are you on a case?”

  “Yes, and we can tell you all about it if you can find us someone who worked last night.” I showed him the picture of the birdwatchers, pointing out Janice, Aaron, and Darin. “We’re looking for them. We have reason to believe that they might have been in here last night.”

  “Actually I worked last night and they were in around eleven, but didn’t stay all that long.”

  “Did you happen to overhear where they might have been going after they left?”

  “No. They told me Tuttle Marsh and I told them not to go out there at night. With the rain we’ve gotten lately, they could drown out there if they walked in the wrong spot. Nobody would ever come looking for them either, unless they knew exactly where they were headed. If they didn’t come back, I mean.”

  “Well, it seems that’s exactly where they went. The sheriff plans to head out there with search dogs.”

  “Would you two like a drink?”

  “No, but we would like to know if they were acting strange at all.”

  The bartender put his hands on the bar. “The woman was really upset. She told me her boyfriend was killed in an accident.”

  “Boyfriend, eh?” Eleanor said. “How about the men?”

  “They didn’t seem to be upset at all, they were just talking about how excited they were for more festival activities today. They were enrolled in a few seminars.”

  “Thanks. Is there anything else you can add? Like, did they seem okay?”

  “Was anyone else talking to them, or watching them?” Eleanor asked.

  The bartender rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I was so busy I can’t say I noticed.”

  “Did they mention the name Brian?”

  “No, sorry. I wish I could help you out more. I can’t wait to tell my mother I actually met you two. You’re somewhat local celebrities, in case you weren’t aware.”

  “I imagine we are,” Eleanor said. “After all, we’ve solved many cases in town.”

  “What my partner meant to say was, thank you.”

  “She doesn’t like us to get smug about solving cases, even though we had solved a cold case once.”

  “Thanks again and come along, Eleanor. We have another case we haven’t solved yet.”

  I led the way out the door and Eleanor reluctantly followed from the distance. It was then that a woman was pointing a finger in our direction. “It was them. They’re the ones who smashed into my car.”

  Trooper Sales shook his head at us when we walked over to meet the group of onlookers. “What is the meaning of this?” I asked.

  “You smashed into my car.”

  “I most certainly did not,” I declared. I looked down at the rear of the Cadillac. “I certainly don’t see any damage.”

  “Not to your car, maybe, but you smashed my headlights.”

  I glanced over at the woman’s front e
nd and winced. “I hardly think I did that. I wasn’t driving.”

  “I’m suing you, I say.”

  “Well, go ahead, but you do know us older gals only have a meager amount of social security to live on,” Eleanor insisted with a nod of her head. “And don’t bother trying to sue my insurance company because I don’t currently have any.”

  “Or legal tags for your car,” Sales pointed out. “It seems that you neglected to purchase them when you came back from Las Vegas.”

  “If you just came back from Vegas, you can’t be that poor,” the woman choked out.

  “And there’s no way to prove we damaged your car,” I said. I rubbed the back of the Cadillac. “I don’t see anything that looks like the Cadillac struck your vehicle. There’s no paint from our car on yours or the other way around, and if we smacked into your car like you said, it would have damaged your bumper and not the headlights.”

  “What are you trying to say?” the woman raged at me.

  I glanced at the crowd now surrounding us. “That you broke your own headlights to try and get us into trouble.”

  “And why would I do that?”

  ‘To try and get even with us because we bumped your car a little. Believe me, you certainly didn’t have any broken lights on your car before we headed across the street.”

  Eleanor came over there and leaned over, looking at the headlights. “How on earth could I have smashed those headlights so bad that the glass is perfectly piled on the ground and nearly all of it?”

  The woman’s face reddened. “If you had stopped to speak to me before, you wouldn’t be in this fix.”

  “And you are wasting the trooper’s time for nothing.”

  Trooper Sales cleared his throat. “These two ladies are investigators and are smarter than two monkeys in a three-ring circus.”

  Laughter was heard from the crowd. “Do you happen to have any witnesses?” I asked.

  The crowd backed up and the lady finally relented by saying, “Fine. Maybe someone else broke my headlights.”

  Trooper Sales shook his head. “I’ll let it go this time, but if you ever call in a false report again, I’ll arrest you.”

  The crowd clapped and we got back into the Cadillac, with me behind the wheel this time. I easily pulled away from the curb as Eleanor chuckled. “Can you believe that woman trying to have us ticketed?”

  “What’s even more surprising is that she completely distracted Sales from ticketing you for no insurance and an expired plate.”

  I drove into a parking lot not far away and I sent Eleanor to go inside and get her insurance renewed. We then drove over to the Secretary of State and she renewed her tags. “I can’t believe I had to pay extra.”

  “That’s what they do when you don’t get it when you’re supposed to.”

  “How much did your insurance cost?”

  “The same. I kinda already had insurance. I just forgot to pick up my proof.”

  “You do know that will earn you a driver’s responsibility fee, right?”

  “I think I heard something about that from the lady at the insurance company.”

  Eleanor drummed her fingers in her lap and I informed her, “We’re heading to Plank Road.”

  “Are we ever going to Oscoda, today?”

  “If we have time. I’d just like to make sure there aren’t any accidents that we’re not aware of.”

  “Do you really think those birdwatchers are involved in an accident?”

  “No. I think they’re lost in the marsh.”

  “So why not head there?”

  “I hardly think Peterson needs us interfering with their search. He’s bringing in the dogs, remember?”

  “I know, but—”

  “Have you ever met a police dog in action?”

  “No, have you?” she sneered.

  “No, and I’m not planning to, either.”

  I made the turn on Plank and rolled past Elsie’s house, wishing that I hadn’t opened my mouth about Jack. Elsie was my friend and I didn’t mind that she was with Jack. I just knew watching him in court would be good entertainment. He’s the one who landed himself in more trouble.

  I slowed down when I spotted the first set of skid marks, then another. I held my breath as I drove up another half mile where there were two more sets. The only thing is that this time they went to the gravel and arched sharply back onto the road and fifty feet ahead there were two more sets.

  “Pull over,” Eleanor exclaimed.

  I pulled the Cadillac over and we both got out, examining the side of the road where bits of red plastic littered the road. “It looks like the tail lights of a car were smashed out,” Eleanor said.

  “I think you might be right, but it looks like someone got away this time.”

  “Do you think it was Janice and her friends?”

  “I’m not sure and we won’t know unless we find them.”

  A police cruiser came rolling up. “Do you need any help, ladies?” Deputy Ellis asked. He was a newcomer from Flint, Michigan, who had learned the hard way that he’d rather not work as a city cop.

  “No. We were wondering if there were any more accidents reported.”

  “No. It’s been pretty quiet today.”

  “Then what about those skid marks? I hadn’t noticed them yesterday.”

  He frowned and stared at the marks. “They weren’t here an hour ago.”

  “So you’ve been patrolling the area?”

  “Yes, the sheriff told us to.”

  “Why aren’t you searching for the missing birdwatchers?”

  “The sheriff doesn’t want to be caught unaware. You can’t have all your deputies busy in the same place.”

  “I’m glad the sheriff has patrols in the area. I just wanted to make sure there weren’t anymore accidents in the area.”

  “None of us do, Mrs. Hart.”

  I frowned. I think this is the first time anyone has called me Mrs. Hart. I still haven’t officially changed my name to Agnes Barton Hart. “Good to know.”

  “Do you usually patrol this area?” Eleanor asked.

  “Sure. It’s part of my regular patrols.”

  “Ah-ha, so the sheriff never beefed up patrols here?”

  He sighed. “He did tell us to make sure we keep a better watch on this road.”

  “Since you patrol the road so good, have you seen any red GMC trucks with a lifter racing up and down the road?”

  “No GMC trucks at all that are red that I know of.”

  “How about Betsie Sue who lives up the road? You know the one who lives back in the woods?”

  “I know who you mean and I can’t say one way or the other what she drives. She never goes to town.”

  “How does she go shopping?”

  “Heck if I know. You’ll have to ask her that yourself. I better get back on the road now and I suggest you do the same.”

  “Before you leave,” I said. “Did you happen to know any of the accident victims?”

  “No. Why? Do you think I’m the one running people off the road?”

  “I never said that. It was just a question.”

  “I’m perfectly aware of what you meant by asking me that. I don’t own a GMC truck, either, or any other kind of truck, just so you know. I want to catch whoever is responsible for running those birdwatchers off the road.”

  He walked away and off into his cruiser he went. “At least we’ve cleared him now,” Eleanor said. “I had wondered when he was here, since I never thought the sheriff had any of his deputies patrol this road.”

  “I think we should go to Oscoda before the Coffee Mill closes,” Eleanor insisted. “They’re only open until three.”

  “I’m aware of that and I’ll go along with that suggestion. That way we can come back here and check out Betsie Sue, Stephan, and Jimmy.”

  “So, do you think we’re close to the end of this case?”

  “If we can’t find anything further out, we might not ever figure it out. I hate to a
dmit that this case has me stumped. I know the deaths have to be related, but I’m not sure how. I only hope the sheriff finds those bird watchers.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  We took the back roads to Oscoda—they consisted of mostly farmland—and we pulled up to Katherine Watkins’ house. I knocked gently on the door and she opened it. Her hair was stringy and dark circles marred her face.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Katherine,” I said.

  “But we got her in the nick of time,” Eleanor murmured. “Are you here all alone?”

  “Yes, come inside.”

  “If you could show me to your kitchen, I’d be happy to make you a cup of tea,” Eleanor said.

  “Or you could go with us to The Coffee Mill,” I suggested. “We were going there to ask if anyone could verify that your daughter met up with Donald there when his mother had a doctor’s appointment in town.”

  “How will that help?”

  “We had hoped to find out if Donald’s mother is lying about her son driving her car. He borrowed June Crawford’s car and we couldn’t understand why.”

  “June told me all about it, that poor dear. She must be having a fit about not having a car to drive. She’s quite the go getter, you know.”

  “At her age?”

  “Oh, yes. Her son never knows where she’ll be, as she often goes off to Traverse City to gamble. She’s quite lucky, too.”

  “So, do you know June well?”

  “Oh, yes. She doesn’t live far from me and I check on her regularly. A woman that age living alone, there’s no telling what could happen.” Now that was something I could agree with. “And that Mrs. Patterson is a real hoot.”

  “We know all about Mrs. Patterson,” I said with a smile.

  “The imaginary one or the real one?”

  “Both.”

  “She had Agnes here thinking she was lost in her own little world,” Eleanor explained.

  “June has fun doing that to people. Pretty good trickster, if you ask me.”

  She eased down on the couch. “I didn’t realize how much I relied on Mary for company. It gets pretty lonely here.” She sighed. “I guess I could go along with you, but only if we check to see how June is making out without a car.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that.”