by Linnea West
"What about the gun?" I asked. "Was there any evidence on the gun?"
"We didn't find any fingerprints," he said carefully after giving it some thought. "We didn't think we would since this happened outside and it's been so cold that everyone was likely wearing gloves."
I got the distinct idea that Max was holding something back. The car was finally starting to warm up, so I took my hat and mittens off while I thought about whether to say something to Max or not. If I poked him too hard, I'd just regret it because he would get mad. Mandy might be our only hope at more information and Max seemed like he wanted to say more. I sat and waited to see what Max would reveal.
Chapter Fourteen
We sat in the car, each of us waiting for someone else to talk. I reached over and turned the heater down a bit more so that it would be easier to hear each other. It was warm enough now that we didn't need my poor car to work overtime pumping out heat.
Mandy glanced at me, her eyes seemed to ask what she should do. While I frequently came to her for help when I was trying to solve something, she hadn't really been this involved before. The thought of how much she loved Trevor came rushing into my mind again and I tried not to scowl. You know how some people can talk with their eyes? Mandy and I can do that, so I answered her with my eyes and said she needed to take the lead. As always, she understood and gave me a little nod.
"Max, tell us more about the gun," she said. Mandy was so quiet and gentle that I think most people would tell her their deepest, darkest secrets.
Mandy folded her hands in her lap and looked straight at Max. She wasn't staring at him and her facial expression was neutral, but she was exuding an air of 'tell me right now' that I envied her for. I glanced out the window, not wanting to break the spell with my big, dumb facial expressions.
A very light snow shower was passing and we seemed to be surrounded by falling snow in the station wagon. It felt like we were the only three people in the world right now. Snow was always something that I loved to see. It didn't matter if it snowed on the high school football game, at Christmas time, when it was below zero, or even when it was late in spring. Snow always has a magical quality for me. Right now, it felt like the snow was providing a gentle backdrop to our morbid investigation. I turned back to look at Max as he started to answer.
"Well, there was something a little curious about the gun," Max said carefully. "Obviously there were no fingerprints on it, but there were some fibers by the trigger."
"Fibers?" Mandy said. "What do you mean by fibers?"
I squeezed my mouth shut even though I was dying to ask questions. I just needed to wait this time. Mandy was turning out to be a more shrewd interrogator than I was, despite her quiet nature. Hopefully there wouldn't be a next time for this sort of investigation, but if there was I'd be bringing Mandy along.
Max looked like he wasn't sure whether he should say anything else, but he was slowly lured into Mandy's quiet, unassuming trap. I could see him weighing things back and forth in his head, trying to figure out if telling us would be helpful or not.
"We aren't sure what they are from, but there were purple and yellow fibers on the gun," Max said. "They looked like they were from some sort of outerwear, like mittens, scarves, or a hat. I suppose they could be from a sweater, but it has been so cold that I think anyone wearing a purple and yellow sweater would have a jacket on over it. Gerald wasn't wearing anything with those colors, so we are assuming that they are from the killer."
Purple and yellow fibers. Whoever it was must be a fan of football. Unfortunately, it was the color of the professional football team of Minnesota which meant many, many people wore those colors. It was a helpful tip that also was not helpful.
"Thank you for telling me," Mandy said. She looked Max in the eyes and smiled. "That is an interesting clue to all of this."
Max shrugged and ran his hand through his blond hair. I couldn't help but smile at him. We had grown up since high school but right now he looked like a teenager again, wearing his conflicted emotions on his sleeve. I leaned back to the backseat and gave his hand a squeeze. He squeezed my hand back with a little smile. I was hoping that was a sign that he had forgiven me for my thoughtlessness the other night, but he quickly pulled his hand away as if he had suddenly remembered that he was upset with me. I tried to catch his eye and see if I could send him a silent apology, but Max seemed to be avoiding my gaze.
"I should get back to work," Max said. "I will need to call a few guys to come take a look at that bootprint."
"Thanks Max," I said.
Max gave one more shy smile and climbed out of the car. He walked towards his squad car but before he got in, he turned and waved his hand to tell us to go. He didn't want us to be at the park when the rest of the officers got there.
I didn't really know where we should go. We needed to talk a little about everything we had seen and thought about, but we couldn't go to the B&B where everyone was basically on top of each other. We couldn't go to Mandy's because Trevor would be there.
We drove around the lake in silence a few times. The lake was frozen through and dotted with ice houses. It was a weekday, so there wasn't much happening out there but a few of the houses had a car parked next to them. On the weekends, there would be lots of fishers both in their houses and just next to an open hole. Snowmobiles would be racing back and forth and there might even be a few ice skaters or a pickup hockey game happening out there.
"Why don't we go to the Loony Bin?" Mandy suggested. "We'll be able to grab a small table at the back and be able to talk without too much interruption. Plus, I'm hungry."
On our next go-around the lake, I steered off towards downtown. I was a little disappointed because I would have preferred to get one of Mandy's donuts at the Donut Hut, but I suppose I could get a dessert. Or I could follow Mandy's example and get something healthy for lunch.
Chapter Fifteen
We settled ourselves into one of the more private tables at the back of the Loony Bin and soon enough we were tucking into our food. Mandy had ordered a sensible lunch of a salad and a bowl of soup. I ordered a large grilled cheese sandwich with an appetizer of fried mozzarella sticks. After briefly considering a healthier lunch, I had settled on something comforting instead. Winter called for warm, comforting food. I'd save that healthier stuff for warmer weather. Plus, a little self care in the form of melty cheese was in order after realizing that Max was still mad at me.
The Loony Bin was in a bit of a lull right now as it was after lunch but not quite happy hour. Right now Mandy and I were the only customers in the place. Charlie was polishing glasses behind the bar and I assumed Rich was in the kitchen cooking and preparing for happy hour and dinner. That meant it was the perfect time to sit and discuss the investigation.
"I think the next thing we need to do is make a suspect list," I said. I dug in my large purse and pulled out a pen and a pad of paper, which I handed to Mandy. She had neater writing and if I was working with someone else, we would need to be able to read the list instead of using my usual chicken scratch.
At the top, she wrote SUSPECTS and then made three columns, one for names, one for pros and one for cons. Mandy looked at me. I was apparently the lead investigator in this, so I jumped right in and took the lead.
"First we should list the names," I said. "Put Trevor on there. Even though we think he is innocent, the police don't and we have to think like them. Lennie was threatening Gerald at the kickoff ceremony."
Mandy was carefully writing all of the names down. I dropped my voice down to a lower volume.
"Write down Charlie too," I said, trying not to glance over at him. I didn't want him to think I was being suspicious, especially if he was the killer. "He was threatening Gerald also."
"Anyone else?" Mandy said. She started chewing on the end of the pen. If she hadn't been eating lunch, she would have definitely been chomping on a piece of gum instead, but the pen would have to take the brunt of her nervous energy for now.
"Put down Donna Grand," I said, thinking back to our conversation at the royalty coronation. She seemed to be a bit of a stretch as a suspect, but she had been really serious about winning the prize money.
Mandy gave me a questioning look, but wrote her name down in the suspect list.
"Let's start at the top," I said. "Trevor was really into the medallion hunt. And he doesn't really have an alibi."
"But he doesn't own anything purple and yellow," Mandy said quickly, jotting down the pros and the cons.
"Lennie and Charlie both threatened Gerald in front of everyone," I said. "But I think we need to do a bit more looking into them."
"Agreed," Mandy said. "Now what about Donna?"
"Donna told me that she was quite desperate for money," I said. "She said she was working hard for the medallion hunt so she could win the money to help her with the bills."
Mandy looked like she didn't really believe me, but she wrote it down anyways. I understood because Donna looked like she wouldn't hurt a fly. But her passion about winning that prize money seemed to make her a suspect in my eyes.
Then we tried to think of a few reasons why they wouldn't be the murderer. I assumed that Charlie would be here at the Loony Bin at that time of night. He is the main bartender and seems to spend a lot of his time back behind the bar where he was right this minute. I'd have to figure out a way to make sure he was actually here that night. I would also have to check Lennie's alibi. He stays at the B&B with us, so I'd be able to ask around and see if he had been seen around that night.
The next thing we thought about was motive. While Donna had a motive, it wasn't a very strong one. Killing someone over the $500 reward that came with finding the medallion? That doesn't seem likely. There had to be something else behind it. Plus Donna had a young child. Where had Bobby been if she had been the one out in the middle of the night medallion hunting and murdering?
By the time we were done thinking about our list, happy hour was about to start and the regulars were trickling in as they got off of work. Each time someone came in, the crowd would greet them with loud cheers and energetic waves. When Chelsea came in, she greeted everyone enthusiastically, but managed to still throw a glare my way. I was a bit impressed that she even saw me here at the back. She was able to pick me out of the crowd and make sure I got her disapproving look. She didn't like me to invade the Loony Bin, which she seemed to think was her space.
The Loony Bin had really filled a gap in the social lives of many young Shady Lakers. I can't say I approve of going out drinking every night, but The Loony Bin also provided entertainment in the form of local musical artists, trivia nights and during the warmer months, outside sports. Having a place like this around would certainly help the young people stick around, which had been a problem for a while. I really shouldn't be one to talk, though, since I had left too. I just happened to come back.
I grabbed the list and folded it up, sticking it into my purse. As more and more people came in, I didn't want it to potentially be seen. Besides, I had a sandwich to finish. I had gotten so into the suspect list that my poor grilled cheese was almost cold.
Mandy went back to her salad. She had wisely eaten her soup before it could get cold and now just had her healthy salad left. The only problem was that each time she started to take a bite, someone would call her name from across the bar to say hello. She would wave and I would turn and the person would usually offer me a lukewarm, second hand hello also. That's how it was when you didn't stay and become a townie.
The next time the door opened, Clark was the one who walked in. He technically wasn't from town, but he was greeted like a townie. The rules of who is and who isn't a townie don't really make sense. Clark strode in, smiling and waving at his adoring fans. He must have come straight from school. The women in the bar were especially drawn to him and I couldn't blame them. Clark was literally tall, dark, and handsome. He also had only been in Shady Lake for a few years, which qualified him as new blood, unlike all of the boys we had known since preschool.
He seemed to spot me and give me a little wave of his hand. A wave of grief hit me suddenly as a picture of Peter doing the exact same thing flashed into my mind. Peter and I had spent a lot of time out at trendy bars with our friends. We would frequently meet after work and I always loved the moment when he spotted me across the bar.
Clark slowly made his way to our table, fending off physical affection from the ladies and giving high fives to the men. Chelsea in particular tried to hang on him as he walked by. He gave her a hug, but politely dodged a kiss from her, letting it land on his cheek instead. Chelsea's face flushed red for a moment before she turned back to some other men. She and Clark did date occasionally and as annoyed as it made me, they were free to date each other.
"Well hello there Tessa," he said, his dark eyes flashing as he reached our table. "Hey Mandy."
"Hi Clark," Mandy said as she tried to finish up her salad before someone else came to greet her.
"Clark, I'm so glad you're here," I said. While I had remembered to come up with ideas for the snow sculpture we were going to make for the competition, I had kind of forgotten to tell him my ideas. "We need to finalize our ideas for tomorrow."
Clark grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it up at the end of our table. He reached over and grabbed a mozzarella stick and gobbled it down, not seeming to care that it was hardly warm anymore.
"I'm not going to lie to you Tessa, I don't have any ideas," Clark said. "I had the best intentions to come up with some, but then I was told that I needed to teach an additional class at school now and so my snowman idea time became lesson planning time."
I smiled at him because for once, I had actually done more work than he had. Usually I was so busy that something like this snowman competition would unfortunately fall by the wayside until I would need to think about it spur of the moment.
"That's okay, Clark," I said. "Because I actually have three ideas. None of them are revolutionary, but they are doable."
Clark smiled at me and I got all giddy inside, but I tried to play it cool. As always, I am not quite sure what Clark sees in me. He could have the pick of any woman in Shady Lake and while he does date others just like I also date Max, somehow he keeps coming back to me. I tend to not have much confidence in myself when it comes to my appearance, but Clark's interest in me does help. It does not help me to be able to put together a cohesive thought sometimes.
As I sat and made goo-goo eyes at Clark, the bar erupted in another cheer of welcome. I tore myself away from Clark's beautiful face and saw that Trevor had walked into the bar. Mandy's eyes lit up and she abandoned the rest of her salad to dash across the bar and run into his arms. I found myself smiling, a real, genuine smile. Ever since Trevor had let me in on his secret studying, I found myself feeling a bit more positive towards him.
I glanced back over the bar to see what others were possibly thinking. I wasn't sure who else knew that Trevor was a suspect and had been questioned by the police in Gerald's murder. No one seemed to think one way or the other.
Except for Charlie, whose face darkened when Trevor stepped through the door.
Chapter Sixteen
As Trevor and Mandy made their way towards the bar, the mood seemed to shift a little bit. Things got just a bit quieter. Eyes started to shift around just a bit. It seemed that maybe the other townies did know about the questioning. But Trevor was one of them and they seemed to stand on his side.
Charlie's face was dark and I wasn't sure what he was thinking. Did he know something about Trevor or the murder? I had to get closer so that I could hear him better.
I abruptly stood up and my chair almost fell over before I caught it. Clark gave me a startled look and I felt bad because I had gotte
n so into what was going to happen between Trevor and Charlie that I kind of forgot he was sitting there.
"I'll be right back," I said, dashing off towards the bar before Clark could do anything besides give me a confused look before grabbing another mozzarella stick.
The crowd around the bar was thick, but I gently pushed my way through, giving a smile to anyone who tried to glare at me. I made my way to the front just as Trevor and Mandy got there from the other side so that I was standing next to Mandy, who gave me a confused look at my sudden appearance. Apparently her heart eyes for Trevor was totally missing Charlie and the storm that seemed to be brewing.
For a while, Charlie worked around Trevor, taking drink orders from anyone and everyone except for him. Finally, the crowd seemed satisfied for drinks and had floated back a bit to sit at the tables, leaving only Trevor, Mandy, and I pressed up against the bar.
"What do you want?" Charlie growled. He looked straight at Trevor, ignoring Mandy and I.
"I'd just like a beer," Trevor said flatly.
"Yeah? You sure you haven't come round just to ruin something else?" Charlie said. He sounded angry and he was getting louder.
"What are you talking about?" Trevor asked. He looked genuinely confused. I was kind of glad because I certainly didn't know what was going on and I didn't want to be the only one.
"I'm talking about you killing Gerald and ruining the medallion hunt," Charlie snarled.
The bar fell silent and I glanced around. Everyone was doing the thing where they were all listening, but trying very hard to make it look like they weren't listening. So no one was looking at Charlie and Trevor, but they were all listening.
"I didn't kill Gerald," Trevor said. He was talking firmly, which was very out of the norm for the laid-back, former skater boy.
"Oh sure you didn't," Charlie said. He threw the towel he had over his shoulder down onto the counter forcefully enough to make a loud cracking noise. It made several people jump and anyone who hadn't already been watching, now turned their attention towards the ruckus. "Then why have the police questioned you? I really could have used that prize money. You ruined that for me."