Murder at the Grill (Cold Creek Book 3)

by Christa Nardi

  “So, I gather you didn’t get a call from Chief Hirsch about Cold Creek’s latest murder.”

  Brett was a detective with the State Police field office in Appomattox and Cold Creek was in his region. We met when he was assigned to assist in investigating the murder of a colleague of mine. Then, with Justin Blake’s murder, Chief Pfeiffe didn’t waste any time calling the State Police and requesting Brett’s assistance.

  “What? Another murder? No, I didn’t know about it, though I’m sure it’s on the reports for the Division. Hirsch can handle it.”

  After I shared what Kim told me, he commented, “And no doubt you’re going to ask more questions and try to figure this one out too.”

  I heard him release a long breath. “You might want to stay out of it and let Hirsch take care of the police work, Sher. It’s not your job, you know.”

  I gasped and stared at my phone. He almost sounded like my mother!

  “Sher, are you alright?”

  “I… I’m fine. Fine.” I was sure my voice communicated the opposite but either he didn’t pick up on my reaction or intentionally changed the subject. He shifted the topic to his upcoming birthday and the small party we were planning. I didn’t listen to much of what he said and we didn’t talk too much longer.

  Deflated and distressed, I hung up the phone and hugged Charlie. His comment about staying out of it perturbed me. I’d thought we had mutual respect, and that he’d support whatever decisions I made. Maybe I was wrong about that. He’d certainly never let on he had a problem with my involvement when it was working to his advantage. I told myself I was over-reacting. What irked me was that he’d sounded so condescending. Not what I expected from him at all.

  CHAPTER 3

  The next day on campus, Jebediah Gruen’s death was all anyone could talk about. Amidst the grumbling over the Grill being closed and missed breakfasts, there were many variations of how Jebediah died. One of my pet peeves was the lack of facts available when we, as faculty, are supposed to engage in rumor control. This was no exception and the stories ranged from food poisoning to gunshot to assault. At least no one suggested aliens.

  The first summer session had already ended, so I had no classes, only the applicants and interviews to consider. Unfortunately, not being on campus or checking email for five days, meant a very full mailbox. Even my physical mailbox was overflowing, mostly with junk mail from publishers.

  Most importantly, I needed to review the applications of the Chancellor candidates. I wasn’t too sure what a Chancellor did other than serve as the ceremonial head of the college. When I’d requested a job description, the others on the committee more or less laughed. That left me looking for indicators of leadership and political savvy as specified in the job posting. Politics aren’t my forte and I was more than a little uncomfortable in this new role.

  Easily bored and curious by nature, I soon found myself searching the Internet for information on the Grill. I located an article, probably the one Kim recalled, from five years ago that talked about the family run business.

  Jason and Louisa Baxter opened the Grill and served as the management for the first 25 years. They likely still did. Their adult children, Zoe and Trevor, worked at the restaurant full-time. Trevor’s wife, Dawn, was also mentioned. Some grandchildren worked part-time as did some cousins. Although there were a few other employees, the focus of the article portrayed the Grill as a family run business. There was no mention of Jebediah in the article.

  “Sheridan, can you believe it? Another murder? I just can’t believe it!”

  Startled, I jumped and turned from the computer to see Max, another faculty member, in my doorway, his eyes wide, his dark hair wild, his voice loud. Typical Max. He bounced with excitement.

  “Hi, Max. Yeah, I saw that on the news myself. At least it doesn’t involve the college this time.”

  “Not yet. You never can tell though. That waitress is the obvious suspect, you know. They may have to close the Grill and we’ll only be able to eat pizza or Chinese.”

  Switching gears, he continued almost in a whisper. “Don’t tell anyone, but I think my experiment’s almost done. I have enough publications now to get to a bigger university where people understand the importance of research. It will be hard to replace me you know.” His head bobbed up and down as he said this last part.

  I bit my tongue and responded as tactfully as I could. “Keep up the good work, Max.” Working with mice and rats never appealed to me so I didn’t pursue discussion of his experiments. I turned back to my computer, hoping he would take the hint. Thankfully, he did.

  A few minutes later, Kim charged into my office. “Jebediah died from an allergic reaction – severe anaphylaxis. He was allergic to seafood and somehow there were seafood traces in what he ate. You’d think someone with that severe an allergy wouldn’t eat in a restaurant or would have an EpiPen. Anyway, with food poisoning ruled out, the Grill is open again.” She finally stopped and plopped down in the chair.

  “Kim, seafood in his meal? How? There’s no seafood of any kind on the Grill menu.”

  “I… I don’t know.” The lines in her forehead reflected my puzzlement. Now, it is very common in Virginia for some variety of seafood to show up on a menu, but not at the Grill.

  She shrugged and asked about my plans for the coming weekend. I told her I thought Brett was coming in and asked if she and Marty wanted to join us for dinner in Altavista on Saturday. Her face lit up at that and she said she’d check with Marty. I mentioned I was trying to put something together for Brett’s 50th birthday in a few weeks and she offered to help out.

  “So, you going to tell me why you’re wringing your hands and your face looks like you’re in pain? You’re talking about Brett and not smiling.” This was the upside and downside to being friends with a psychologist.

  “I don’t know. I’m… Brett sort of told me to stay out of the murder investigation. It surprised me and it bothered me.”

  “Fat chance! If he thinks you won’t try to figure this out, then he doesn’t know you very well. Did he say anything else?”

  I shook my head in response. “No, but… I don’t ever want anyone trying to control my life again. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. First and still with my mother, and then my ex. I’m capable of making my own decisions even if some of them are mistakes.”

  Kim reached over and took my now fisted hands in hers. “You know, Sher, he was pretty upset when you got beat up. That’s why he and Hirsch taught the self-defense class last spring. I bet he’s worried you’ll get hurt again. This time he isn’t even involved.”

  I nodded. That made sense, but still didn’t feel good. We chatted for a few more minutes and she went back to her office. With a sharp exhale, I tried to focus on the applications instead of my own insecurity.

  Easily distracted, that worked until I received an email from Rebekah Gruen. She introduced herself as Zoe’s daughter and asked if I would help her mother. Zoe’d been arrested for the murder of her father, Jebediah. She left her number. I stared at the email. Did I want to get involved? How would that affect my relationship with Brett?

  With some hesitation, I finally responded. I suggested that Rebekah and I meet to discuss the situation, without making any promises. I sighed as I hit send, wondering what I was getting myself into. Little did I know.

  Rebekah responded within minutes and asked me to meet her at the Grill for lunch. I decided not to ask Kim to come along and managed to leave without having to explain myself.

  Entering the Grill, I wondered how I’d know who Rebekah was. Then I spotted someone who looked like a younger and subdued version of Zoe. She had light brown hair, what some might describe as mousy. Her hair’s sheen gave it more of a butterscotch quality. She was medium to short in height and on the curvy side. She hunched over with a shy demeanor. I imagined she would blend into in a crowd and not be noticed.

  “Rebekah?” I asked as I approached her.

  “Yes. Dr. Hendley
?” I nodded.

  She continued, “Thank you so much for coming. Please, have a seat.”

  We exchanged pleasantries and I ordered. With fleeting eye contact, she brought me up to date. Zoe’d been arrested that morning. Hirsch and District Attorney Bergner told her they had a solid case. She didn’t have an attorney yet. In the meantime, Zoe was in the local jail waiting on arraignment and a bail hearing.

  “Dr. Hendley, my mother and father didn’t get along real well. He left when I was about three years old, some 15 years ago. He never contacted us and my mom never talked about him even when I asked. I tried asking my Aunt Dawn, but she clammed up whenever I brought him up or asked any questions.”

  “Any idea why he suddenly showed up after all this time?”

  “No. I think Aunt Dawn was the first to know he was in town. They tried to keep it from me, to not upset me, but they were all acting tense – like walking on pins and needles – the night before he died. We had a family dinner that night. That doesn’t happen a lot – the excuse was a great deal on shrimp. After dinner, my cousin Harrison and I were told to go the store and get dessert. My grandmother said she forgot, but she never forgets.”

  She shook her head before continuing. “That night, everyone was scowling and snapping at each other about everything. Then Aunt Dawn told me there’d been a change in the schedule, and I had the day off. I sensed something was up. They cancelled my shift, but I came in anyway. My mom was pale, almost gray, and looked more tired than I ever remember.” She wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “Rebekah, I’m not an attorney, and although I’m a psychologist, this isn’t therapy so I could have to testify to anything you tell me. Do you understand that?”

  She nodded, then asked, “Will you help her? Like you helped Mr. Johnson last spring?” Her eyes filled.

  I was a little surprised that she was aware I’d been involved or helped Mr. Johnson. Hopefully, she didn’t think I could work miracles. It wasn’t looking good for Zoe. If no one was talking about the divorce, the history between Zoe and Jebediah would provide motive. Nobody makes a secret of things that go well.

  “I’ll think about it. Most importantly, your mom needs an attorney fast.”

  “I know, Dr. Hendley. But lawyers are expensive and not many in this town handle murder charges. My aunt and uncle and grandparents are trying to figure that out. They don’t include me in discussions much.”

  From the first real eye contact and the grim set of her jaw, I sensed that she was put off about that. I could certainly relate. We talked some more and I found out that she’d graduated in May and was taking some time off before going to college. She didn’t really have any idea what she wanted to do or if she would go to college.

  Rebekah’d worked part-time at the Grill since she was 16, mostly on the weekends. With her mom in jail, she’d be working full-time, some in the kitchen and some as a waitress. She wasn’t so thrilled about the waitressing part. Although she resembled Zoe physically, she was not as outgoing, upbeat, or friendly.

  I finished eating and told her I’d get back to her if I came up with anything. I asked her to keep me posted. Not sure what I could do to help, I felt bad for Rebekah. She was losing both parents if Zoe was convicted. Besides, solving a murder was much more interesting than a Chancellor search. To be honest though, I suspected part of my interest was because Brett suggested I not get involved.

  CHAPTER 4

  Back on campus, I stopped at the main office to see what Terra and Ali had heard about the murder. Terra and Ali were the two administrative assistants in the Psychology Department. Terra usually was a wealth of information about what was happening, partly due to her personality and partly because her husband, Joe Janis, worked for the local newspaper, the Cold Creek Gazette. When I entered the office, Ali wasn’t there. Terra was the only one around and spunky as usual.

  “Hi, Dr. Hendley, did you have a good vacation? It seemed kind of quiet without you around.” There was a gleam in Terra’s eyes and the corners of her mouth twitched as she tried not to smile. Terra’s quick wit often kept me on my toes.

  “Yeah, right. What kind of trouble did you and Ali manage to get into while I was gone?”

  “Not much, though you missed the excitement. Bet you’re glad you’re not in the middle of this murder. The last one was plenty exciting and dangerous for you.”

  “At least now we’ve had the self-defense training, though I’m not sure I remember it all. With any luck, I’ll never need it.” Brett and Hirsch had set up the two-day training and it was very informative. But that was a couple months ago and my confidence waned.

  “Any chance your detective and Chief Hirsch would do another training? We probably could all use the review and more practice.”

  “Hmmm. I’ll mention it to Brett this weekend. Maybe you could prompt Ali to bring it up with Hirsch. Or maybe we should get together and practice? Schedule a time at the rec center?”

  Terra nodded and I jumped right in. “So what else do you ladies know about the murder?”

  “Well, you heard he died from an allergic reaction, right?”

  I nodded and Terra continued, “Well, he’d ordered chicken salad. From what Joe found out, Dr. Cantor was the one who questioned the allergic reaction to seafood. Hirsch wasn’t too thrilled with his giving his opinion.” Her eyes gleamed with this tidbit. Wayne was not very popular around the college.

  “Terra, how did seafood of any kind get into the chicken salad, even in traces. I mean it might make sense if the Grill served shrimp or some other seafood. Then cleaning the shrimp and cutting up the chicken on the same surface could contaminate the chicken. But there’s no shrimp or other seafood on the menu.”

  “See, that’s the thing. When he was married to Zoe, Jebediah worked in the office as the bookkeeper. It’s because of his severe allergies that the menu didn’t include seafood. Even the smell of seafood triggered a reaction for him. For whatever reason, although he’s been gone for 15 years, seafood was never added to the menu.”

  I had no idea someone could be that allergic, even to the odor of seafood. “So how did the seafood get into his food? And if he was that allergic, why didn’t he have an EpiPen?”

  “I’m not sure on either point. When medical records showed the allergy and they were able to confirm that was what killed him, the police checked out the kitchen while the Grill was closed down. They looked for seafood and didn’t find any with the other food stores. No seafood ordered or stored which makes sense with none on the menu. Unfortunately for Zoe, she’d brought her lunch – a shrimp salad – and it was in the fridge.”

  My best guess was she had this information courtesy of Joe. He tended to be very thorough in getting his information. Ali walked in and nodded as Terra finished. Ali was the quieter and less social of the two admins. Hirsch had pursued her for several months before she finally gave in and went to dinner with him. One dinner led to another, but she was still pretty quiet and private.

  I was less hopeful that Hirsch shared information with Ali but she chimed in, “She realized Jebediah would come in to eat, and purposefully brought in shrimp. She mixed some of her shrimp salad with his chicken salad and killed him. Premeditated murder.”

  The last part I suspected was from Hirsch or the District Attorney Bergner. “Didn’t anyone in the kitchen have the same opportunity to do that? Wouldn’t someone have noticed her doing something to Jebediah’s food? Wouldn’t he have noticed or tasted shrimp in his chicken salad?” It really wasn’t making sense to me.

  “But she was the one with the motive. I remember when he lived here and then he was gone, poof!” Terra snapped her fingers with the “poof.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. The bits and pieces certainly gave Zoe motive and opportunity. I answered my own question of whether others would have noticed her. She was a fixture in the restaurant. Not only that, she was family.

  We bantered a little longer. Other than the murder, they didn’t have much else t
o share. Summers were fairly quiet. Most faculty escaped unless they taught summer school classes. I’d taught first summer session and Kim was teaching this session. The exception was Max with his rats, mice, and research studies.

  Terra rolled her eyes as she related Max’s latest complaints about budget and his research. I was glad all I had to deal with for the next month was the Chancellor search and, of course, planning Brett’s birthday party. I felt my body deflate as I mentally added asserting my independence.

  Charlie and I took advantage of the beautiful July weather and went for a run in the park. Running always helped me recharge and I definitely needed the exercise. We’d gone all out on food on the trip and my pants felt tighter as a result. We took the path through the woods to keep out of the sun.

  I mentally went through what I’d learned about Zoe and what I suspected were family secrets. As a psychologist, all the obvious things the family could be hiding about Jebediah’s sudden disappearance came to mind.

  Based on my own experience with my husband’s infidelity, I wondered if that was behind it. Had Jebediah cheated on Zoe and she threw him out on his butt? Domestic violence was another possibility. Maybe she was the rare spouse who didn’t stand for it. Either way the family might be protecting her.

  I hadn’t picked up any vibes from Rebekah to indicate inappropriate behavior there. That didn’t mean anything. She was much quieter than Zoe. Contacting me showed some strength and initiative though.

  Back at home, I fed Charlie and scrounged around to feed myself. I didn’t get much enjoyment from cooking for one. Food doesn’t taste as good when you eat alone. I realized how lonely I was after a week with not only Brett, but Madison for company. Often, if he had a case to work in North Shore or Altavista or any place else nearby, Brett stayed with me and commuted from Cold Creek.

  Brett was not only great looking, but he was thoughtful, kind, and warm. I despaired that any involvement in the case could jeopardize my new found happiness.