Brett shrugged. “No idea. I haven’t heard anything about it since the problems were resolved. I did think it was odd Blake had Shane come down. Maybe Blake knows more than he’s letting on.”
“The gambling thing did come up in their fighting today. After witnessing his behavior today, I wouldn’t trust Shane.” I shook my head. “The brothers weren’t too happy with his responses either.”
“That’s what Peabody said. I’m going to get going. I have a meeting with him in about an hour. Hopefully, he got more out of Caleb or Luke or Blake. Heck, maybe someone confessed.” He laughed and Brett walked him out.
We got dinner on the table and I called for Maddie. She hesitated at the door, Bella in her arms, Charlie at her feet.
“What’s wrong?”
“I fell asleep and … and Bella had an accident.” She looked about ready to cry.
Brett chuckled. “She’s a puppy and you have to train her. For now, put her in her crate and wash your hands. After dinner, we’ll start crate and house training.”
With Bella in the crate, Charlie took her place next to the crate as if to keep Bella company.
***
After dinner, I cleaned up and let Brett explain how to crate and house train Bella. It was still early and not too hot. I was feeling a bit restless.
“How about we take both dogs for a walk to the neighborhood park? Bella might get tired and you might have to carry her some, though.”
“Yes, let’s do that!”
Brett agreed and we leashed both dogs. I was pretty sure Bella’d never been on a leash. She kept trying to catch it. We hadn’t gotten very far and Bella lay down. For now, she wasn’t heavy and Maddie picked her up.
Brett patted his pocket. “Hold up. I forgot my phone. Must have laid it down somewhere.”
“Bella isn’t exactly walking. We could all go back.”
“No, I want to take Bella to the park and Charlie needs her walk.” Maddie pouted.
“I’ll go back and get it and meet you at the park, okay?”
“Sure.”
He turned and set off for home. In the meantime, Maddie and I arrived at the park. I heard someone and stopped. I recognized Mrs. Chantilly’s voice.
“Shane Miles Buchanan, you shame your family. Your father is beside himself, never mind your mother.”
“You asked me to meet you here to yell at me? You don’t know anything, old woman.” He chortled.
Realizing it was Shane, I took both leashes and whispered, “Maddie, run back and tell your dad to hurry, okay? Be quiet.” She nodded, put Bella down, and took off. I edged forward so I could see them and hoped neither dog barked.
“No respect. That’s why I prefer dogs most times to people. You got yourself hooked on opioids, didn’t you?”
“So what? I was in pain and my doctor prescribed them. They made me feel good even when I didn’t need them any more. Easy enough to get doctors to prescribe them.”
“And then you started dealing drugs? To pay for your habit. Or were you already dealing?”
“You don’t get it. Used to be I could make money selling pot. Once they legalized it even for medical, that avenue wasn’t going to last. I needed money and dealing coke was profitable.”
“You mean you gambled too heavily and lost. You owed someone money and they offered you a way out. Your banking tells a story as good as any.”
“How’d you…? Doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. This will all blow over, you’ll see.”
“Did Stories not mind his own business? Is that why you killed him?”
“He was one of those liberals. Help the poor. Help the disabled. Help the addicts. Stories wasn’t a Buchanan and he had it in for me. He got on Caleb’s case. Somehow figured out the boy was hooked. He threatened to tell my father, get him involved. Not happening. I set up the meeting with him. Stories thought I was going to agree with him – the two of us would get Luke and Caleb out of this mess.” He snorted.
“I guess he was surprised to find out you were the one who got him hooked and kept him supplied. Your father’s figured it out already. And by extension that you were some how involved in their dealing. He’s still trying not to acknowledge you’re the person responsible for Stories death. It’s going to kill him when he finds out.”
He shrugged. “Manipulating my father is my favorite past time. I’ve about got him convinced Stories was the distributor and it must have been a drug deal gone bad. He certainly had easier access to those two than I do. I live an hour away from here in a different county. So I gave Caleb opioids when he was thrown from a horse. How was I supposed to know he’d get hooked and turn to illegal means to support his habit? Take my word for it, those two won’t say nothing, and they weren’t there when I killed him.”
“But they think you killed him?”
“Heck, no. I ducked into the tree line when I heard someone coming. Caleb ran into the trees and puked. Luke too. Once Caleb called the cops, I hightailed it out of there. They’d told me about the kids they set up. I took advantage of their mess with that other kid and dumped the gun. Then called in the anonymous tip. They’re psyched it looks like Stories was into drugs, too.”
Mrs. Chantilly threw up her arms and shook her head. “You don’t even care about the fall out. If this old woman figured it out, don’t you think those detectives will?”
With a maniacal laugh, he commented, “It was icing on the cake, his daughter was part of their set up. But seriously, you really shouldn’t be confronting people. Not very smart. Not too many people here tonight – too hot.” He pulled out a gun. I instinctively backed up and gasped as I collided with Brett as Charlie barked his greeting. Zabry was there, too.
“Did you hear that, Shane. Someone else is here. How many people you going to kill?”
Much to my dismay, after a slight pause Brett stepped out in the open, his gun drawn. “Let her go, Shane. You’re drugged up and probably can’t shoot straight.”
I watched as Shane looked from Mrs. Chantilly to Brett. He snorted again. “It’ll be my pleasure to kill you first, Detective.” He laughed again.
I heard a shot and screamed. Shane was holding his arm and Brett was still standing. Nobody dead. Zabry emerged from the trees. He handed Brett his weapon and cuffed Shane. Brett picked up Shane’s gun. I tried to join them and had to pick up Bella. She was curled up fast asleep. Mrs. Chantilly sat down on a bench. Tears streamed down her face and Brett gave her his handkerchief. Zabry called Peabody and we waited.
CHAPTER 25
The weekend came soon enough and with it, a visit from Kim and Marty. We decided to postpone the trip to Lake Chesdin until Bella was trained and able to travel with us. Instead we hosted an end of summer and “murder solved” celebration. The news hadn’t broadcast a lot of details. Blake Buchanan had the social capital to limit what went public. I’d only shared the ending with Kim over the phone.
We were able to reserve some tables and a grill at one of the town parks south of us. A short drive and the park had plenty of trees as well as swings, a volleyball court, horseshoes, and bocce ball. Maddie was the sentry with Charlie and Bella to direct others as they arrived.
With everyone carrying something, chips and dip, garden salad, fruit salad, and cole slaw were set up along with condiments, rolls, paper plates and plastic forks. Brett and Marty got the grill going with hamburgers and hot dogs. Eric Pinsky joined us much to Marty’s delight. After introductions, Eric didn’t waste any time.
“Before everyone gets here, can someone fill me in on the rest of the story?” Once Alex and Maddie were cleared, he hadn’t been in the loop on the rest of the situations.
Kim chimed in with “Us too. I only got the tail end,” and Marty nodded. I tipped my head to Brett.
“Luke and Caleb set Alex and Maddie up for theft – and inadvertently for drugs. That’s where this all started. They stole the pizza money and then called in the anonymous tip. They also called in the accusations against Angie and the tip Al
ex’s father had murdered Stories. Some of that may have been helped along by Shane, but we’ll never prove it. It was Shane who left a box with ‘goodies’ in it for Maddie.”
I shuddered. “What about taking Karla’s walker?”
“Nothing to do with any of this. A new orderly thought it didn’t belong there and put it in their equipment closet.”
With everyone’s nods, he continued. “It was Shane, with Caleb in the car, who tried to force us into a ditch. When the boys spotted Maddie in Lynchburg, they called Shane. He was afraid somehow Sheridan and Maddie being there had something to do with the drug set up and told them to steal a car and run them off the road. By then both boys were in too deep to Shane so they followed his directions.”
I interjected, “Shane’s problem was that while Caleb was an addict and that made him an easy target, it also made him the weak link. He admitted to driving the Highlander and to being addicted.”
“So how did Stories fit in, aside from being a Civil War buff?”
“Nothing to do with the Civil War, Marty. At some point in his business training, he worked with a drug rehab group and spent time with addicts. That’s why he was so vocal about their needs and rehabilitation. On the few family occasions he interacted with Caleb, he suspected he was addicted. He’d also heard rumors about Luke’s behavior and both boys dealing drugs, probably from his sons. At some point, he managed to talk to Caleb and tried to get him to rehab. Caleb told Shane he’d threatened to tell his grandfather, Blake. That put a target on Stories’ back.”
“Didn’t Shane realize it was all a house of cards?”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? Keep in mind, Eric, that Shane was on opioids and who knows what else. He had huge gambling debts and couldn’t refuse when the people he owed money told him to do something. His wife suspected the drug problem and the gambling. She told him to get help or get out. He told her to leave if she couldn’t live with him. To his surprise, she did. When Blake called her, she told Blake about the erratic deposits and withdrawals in their bank account. She’d also discovered he had a bank account he had money hidden in. The feds are looking into all of that in case he was laundering money.”
“I still don’t understand how Mrs. Chantilly knew about all of that and other stuff.” I shook my head.
“You told me she mentioned growing up with Blake. Zabry said he looked into her background at some point with the same questions you have. She grew up here and the high school yearbook at least has her and Blake an item. Her mother and she moved away after she graduated and Blake went to college and got married. When her grandmother died and left her the house and dogs, she moved back. Even in high school, they were not in the same social class and by the time she returned, he was married and the mayor. She became a recluse, having more contact with the stray dogs and the volunteers who helped out than anyone else.”
“So how did she get her information? Neither Melina nor I were giving her these details.”
Brett smiled. “Obviously, since the woman is rarely seen outside of the house, no one can say for sure, but it seems she and Blake still talk frequently. From what his wife told Zabry, Blake consulted with her on town issues when he was mayor. They only disagreed when it came to how he raised his sons, especially Shane.”
“Is there a Mr. Chantilly some place? Melina didn’t think she had any children of her own.”
“Chantilly is her maiden name. The ‘Mrs’? Her choice, I guess. The other tidbit Zabry found would resonate with you, Eric. She routinely would take in youth who got in trouble with the law. One every few years. Lacie was her most recent before Luke.”
Shouts and whistles interrupted the post mortem on Stories’ murder. Angie, Alex, and Karla arrived, along with Duke. Nedra, Melina, and Vincent arrived at about the same time. Introductions over, the males took over the grill and the kids headed for activities. Duke accompanied Karla, while Charlie and Bella hung out with us. We discussed my new job, even if it was temporary. I was sure something would come up in the next year.
Eric chimed in, “It sounded like Chief Peabody also may be calling on you for assistance, if not the State Police. That might keep you out of trouble.
Brett snorted. “More likely it will keep her in trouble. I’m hoping the teaching position at the college will keep her busy.”
Marty gravitated to Eric, no doubt to talk law, politics, and their shared acquaintances. I overheard mention of the Civil War reenactment at the historical park. Kim, Angie, Melina, and I played with the dogs. As everyone ate and chatted, I looked around and decided I was going to like this new place. One thing for sure, I was never going to complain about being bored again.
Author’s notes
I hoped you liked the first in the Sheridan Hendley series. Although it is a spinoff of the Cold Creek series, each book can be read as a stand alone. New fan of Sheridan? You may want to check out the Cold Creek series if you haven’t read it to see how she ended up with Brett and Maddie.
About Christa Nardi
Christa Nardi is an avid reader with her love of mysteries beginning with Nancy Drew and other teen mysteries. Her favorite authors have shifted from Carolyn Keene and Earl Stanley Gardner to more contemporary mystery and crime authors over time. Christa has been a long time writer from poetry and short stories to mystery series. Christa Nardi is a pen name for a professor/psychologist from the Northeast.
You can find Christa Nardi at:
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00G8SBCKK
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7257539.Christa_Nardi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christa.nardi.5
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristaN7777
Email: [email protected]
Blog: Christa Reads and Writes (www.christanardi.blogspot.com), for spotlights and reviews – mostly mystery, but occasionally a romance slips in. You can check out the Cold Creek Series or updates on the new Sheridan Hendley series.
Sign up for the monthly newsletter with updates and sale/new release announcements http://smarturl.it/NardiNewsletter
Series by Christa Nardi:
Cold Creek Series featuring Sheridan Hendley
Murder at Cold Creek College (Cold Creek #1)
Murder in the Arboretum (Cold Creek #2)
Murder at the Grill (Cold Creek #3)
Murder in the Theater (Cold Creek #4)
A Murder and a Wedding (Cold Creek #5)
Sheridan Hendley Mystery Series
A New Place, Another Murder (Sheridan Hendley #1)
Stacie Maroni Mystery Series
Prestige, Privilege and Murder (Stacie Maroni #1)
Foundations, Funny Business and Murder (Stacie Maroni #2 – not yet released)
Teen/Young Adult Mystery Series with Cassidy Salem – The Hannah and Tamar Mystery Series
The Mysterious Package
Mrs. Tedesco’s Missing Cookbook
The Misplaced Dog
Malicious Mischief
A New Place, Another Murder (A Sheridan Hendley Mystery Book 1) Page 12