by Cindy Bell
“The land that Josh inherited when Mr. McArtle died. They thought they’d turn it into a wilderness adventure type of place for the kids in the area.” He shrugged. “I didn’t think it was a bad idea, there’s not much for kids to do around here.”
“When were they planning on doing that?” She stared into his gray eyes. It was hard not to notice the thick wrinkles that caused them to permanently look squinted. He was a man that had worked hard all his life.
“Well, they couldn’t start anything up until Josh got rid of that lawsuit.”
“Lawsuit?” She took a step closer to him. “What lawsuit?”
“Eh, I’ve probably said too much already. It’s not good business to gossip.” He grabbed the last bag of leaves and tossed them into the back of the truck. It landed with a soft thump among the other bags.
“I can assure you, I’m not interested in gossip. All I’m interested in is figuring out what happened to Josh. I hate to think that something like this could happen in our community. It’s important to all of us business owners that we have a safe and welcoming environment. Don’t you think?”
“Sure. But aren’t the police handling it?” He walked around to the front of the truck.
“They are. But sometimes people are more willing to share information with a regular person. Not everyone wants things on record.” She shrugged as she followed him to the front of the truck. “I’m just trying to help out.”
“Well, like I said, I can’t tell you much more. Good luck on finding Frank.” He climbed into the driver’s seat without another word. She sighed as she watched him go. She was hoping for a bit more information, but the property was a start. She guessed it was the expanse of land that Josh posted pictures of on his social media. The business idea he and Frank had was a good one. If there was one thing Blue River lacked it was activities for teens. But with Josh gone, the plan could never happen. She headed straight for Duke’s. If Frank was there, he probably wouldn’t be sober.
Chapter 5
Duke’s wasn’t a place that Ally frequented. Other than a few glasses of wine now and then she wasn’t much of a drinker. But she knew of it because it had been a bar in Freely longer than she had been alive. She parked near the door. There was plenty of parking available as it was still fairly early in the day, and most people were staying at home. She walked up to the front door and pulled it open. Her heart beat a little quicker as she entered the dimly lit interior. A strange mixture of beer, cologne, and fried food struck her senses. After her eyes adjusted, she spotted Frank at the end of the bar. He was the only one seated at the bar, though there were a few other people at wooden tables scattered throughout the small space. She walked up to him and in the warmest tone she could muster, greeted him.
“Hi, Frank.”
“Frankie.” He took a swig of his beer. “Everyone calls me Frankie.”
“Sorry. Hi, Frankie.” She settled on the bar stool beside him. “How are you holding up?”
“How do you think?” He frowned, then shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m not doing well.”
“It’s all right. It was a stupid question.” Ally tilted her head to the side as she studied him. “I just wanted to check in with you. If you want to talk about anything that happened, I’m available.”
“Why?” He met her eyes with a shadow of skepticism. “Why are you really here?”
“I am concerned about you. But I was also hoping that you might be able to tell me a little bit more about Josh. I didn’t know him that well, and I wish I had taken the time to get to know him better.” Ally waved away the bartender as he offered her a drink. “What happened today, we need to make sure it’s never going to happen again. Don’t you think?”
“What happened today?” His eyes moistened as he stared at her. “What happened today is that my friend was murdered. One second he was there, laughing at me, splashing me with his paddle, and the next he was gone. How?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.” Ally searched his already bloodshot eyes. “Is there anything you can remember? Anything that you can tell me about those last few moments? There were only three of you on the water. Weren’t there?”
“Yes.” He sighed and ran a hand across his face. “If Christian hadn’t entered, we never even would have been on the water.” He gritted his teeth and fought back a wave of emotion before he continued. “He never should have been on the water. None of this would have happened.”
“Do you think Christian had something to do with it?” She leaned a little closer to him.
“It’s not his fault, not really. But it’s all his fault at the same time. First, he joined the race, so we had enough people to have the race. Then, as we rounded this bend, Josh noticed that Christian wasn’t just behind us anymore. I didn’t care, I told him that just meant we would win. But Josh wasn’t like that. He was worried that something might have happened to him. He was a little further ahead, so I told him to keep going, and I doubled-back to see if Christian was in trouble. The water can get a little rough around that one corner. I never should have let him get so far ahead of me. Maybe if I had been there with him, whoever did this wouldn’t have been bold enough to shoot that arrow.” He wiped at his eyes and shook his head. “I never should have turned back.”
“There was nothing you could do, Frankie,” Ally said. “You couldn’t have known what would happen. If you had been right there with him, you might have been killed as well.”
“That’s not what the police think.” He took another long swallow of his beer. “They think I knew exactly what was going to happen. They think somehow I was involved.”
Her heart lurched at those words. Could there be some truth to that? Was Frank just turning on the waterworks to cover up his role in the murder? No one else was out on the water. No one could have heard what any of the canoeists said to each other. One thing she knew was that if Frank was on the defensive she wasn’t going to get any more information out of him.
“Don’t worry about that. They’re just doing their job. It’s important that they know as much as they can about the last few minutes before Josh’s death. Even the most innocuous detail could be important.” Ally leaned on the bar. “I’m so sorry that you lost your friend.”
“He was a good guy. He wasn’t out to take advantage of anyone. He was as shocked as everyone else when he inherited that land.” He burped, then took another swallow of his beer.
“What land?” She studied him. She didn’t want him to know that she’d already heard some information.
“The McArtles left him some land, and some old furniture. He was thinking of building on the land, then we came up with this idea for an adventure park. There aren’t any nearby. He thought it would be a good way to honor the McArtles’ memory. But he’ll never have that chance now, will he?” He pushed his beer away and tried to stand up from the stool. As he rose to his feet he swayed back and forth for a moment. Ally slipped her arm through his to keep him from tipping over.
“Easy there, Frankie. Do you have your footing?”
“You’re so sweet.” He leaned heavily on her, so heavily that she almost lost her balance. The bartender stepped out with a huff.
“Frank! I told you that you had too much.” He grabbed Frank roughly under the shoulders and held him as upright as he could. “I’m going to have to get him a cab.”
“Thanks.” She smoothed out her hair and studied Frank with concern. “I didn’t realize he was so far gone.”
“Sure. He’s not a bad guy, just needs to sober up.” The bartender eased him towards a nearby chair.
Once Frank was seated, he slumped over and began to snore. Ally studied him for a few more minutes. Was he a good guy? Had he really turned back to look for Christian, or did his supposed absence have a deadlier purpose? The police might be able to figure out the position of the shooter based on the trajectory of the arrow. However, she presumed that since the boat was in motion, it would only be their best guess. No one witn
essed the moment when Josh was hit with the arrow, which made their job so much harder. But she assumed there was only a small amount of time between the last moment Frank saw Josh, and when his body was discovered. Could Frank have shot at him from his canoe? Was it enough time for Frank to pull his boat to the river bank, climb out, and fire off an arrow? She wasn’t sure, but Frank certainly couldn’t be eliminated as a suspect.
* * *
“Charlotte, are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” Jeff set his tea cup down in the saucer and looked across the table at her.
“No it’s fine, Jeff, really.” Charlotte smiled at him. She loved the fact that he would offer, and that he wouldn’t insist. He allowed her to be strong and independent, but never let her forget that he was there to support her.
“I have to say all of this has me a little concerned.” He frowned as he stood up from the table. “It unnerves me that it could have been you, or Ally, who was struck by that arrow.”
“But it wasn’t.” She stood up and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. “There’s nothing to be frightened about.”
“I’m not so sure that I’m frightened. I think I’m more angry than anything else. The thought that someone could invade our town, our home this way, bring fear and uncertainty to every person that lives here, infuriates me.” He pulled away from her enough to gaze into her green eyes. “Am I going overboard?”
“No, I don’t think you are. I feel the same way.” Charlotte bit into her bottom lip. “I know Ally is already off and running with her investigation. It’s how she copes with anything that doesn’t make sense to her. She has to solve it, has to find a way for it to make sense. But if this really was just a random killing, with no actual motivation, then it’s never going to make sense.” She turned away from him to clean up the tea cups, and also to hide the emotion that welled up in her eyes. “This is certainly not the Blue River that Ally was raised in. Things were far simpler back then.”
“Perhaps. I haven’t been in the area too long. But from what I can tell, the spirit of that Blue River is still here. The only way to keep that alive is to keep believing in it.” He took the cups and saucers from her hands and set them in the sink. Then he hugged her again.
Charlotte released a heavy sigh of relief as the warmth of his embrace eased the tension in her muscles. Never did she believe that she would be in a relationship again, and then in walked Jeff, to change everything. Sometimes she still wondered what she was doing getting herself tangled up in romance, but moments like these reminded her of just how wonderful it was to have someone to lean on.
“Thanks, Jeff. I needed that reminder.” She kissed his cheek, then met his eyes. “I’m a little tired. I think I’m going to lay down for a bit.”
“All right, I’ll leave you to it. But if you need anything, just call me. All right?” He raised one finger in the air. “And although I know it will do no good to say stay out of this, as you and Ally will do whatever you please, do exercise caution. Hmm?”
“We will, don’t worry.” She walked him to the door.
“Oh, I’m going to worry.” Jeff looked into her eyes for a moment and then turned and headed out the door. Once he was gone, she turned the lock, and hurried over to her cell phone. She had no intention of letting Ally do all of the investigating on her own. She was sure that Jeff knew she wasn’t going to take a nap, she wasn’t the type to sleep during the day. But he knew better than to push, or question. She was as headstrong as her granddaughter, and nothing would keep her from finding out the truth. But first she wanted to let Anita know that her trays wouldn’t be returned for a few days. And find out if maybe she had heard some gossip. She dialed Anita’s number.
After a few rings, she answered.
“Afternoon, Charlotte.”
“Afternoon, Anita.” It always annoyed Charlotte a little, that unless you made a point of changing something on your phone, which she found too difficult to do quickly, phone calls were so transparent these days. With your name or number announced along with the first ring, it was hard to catch someone off-guard. But that wasn’t her intention with Anita. “Anita, I just wanted to call to apologize because I haven’t returned your trays yet, but I promise I will get them to you. The police evacuated us from the park before we could get everything cleaned up.”
“Oh, I understand completely, don’t worry about that. What a horrible, horrible incident.”
“Yes, it was.” She took a deep breath and was about to ask if she knew anything when Anita spoke first.
“Did you notice anything? You were there, weren’t you? Did you hear any good gossip?”
“Not really. All I know is that no one knows anything. It’s quite frustrating.”
“What about Ally? Isn’t she dating that cop?”
“Luke, yes, she is. But he can’t tell her much, rules and policies and so forth.” Charlotte sighed. “I’m sure the police will do a good job of investigating, though.”
“I’m sure they will, too.”
“Did you manage to make it down to the picnic at all?”
“No, my appointment didn’t go well, so I went for a bike ride.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Is it anything you want to talk about?”
“No, it’s all right. Nothing important enough to discuss. Riding always helps clear my head.”
“I wish I could still ride a bicycle. To be honest, I never quite got the hang of the balance. I can ride, but it’s not very relaxing for me.”
“It’s something you have to learn young if you’re going to learn it at all.”
“True, true. Anyway, I wondered if when you were on your ride, did you notice anything unusual.”
“No, I didn’t notice anything. It’s such a shame this happened.”
“I know. Now, everyone’s frightened about the possibility that someone is targeting random people.”
“They should be. Too many people around here are under the illusion that somehow Blue River is this special place protected by some kind of bubble. It’s a special place all right, but nothing protects us from the rest of the world. Violence is everywhere, including Blue River.”
“That’s true,” Charlotte said, even though she didn’t want to believe it.
“Anyway, stay safe, Charlotte. We’re too old to be dodging arrows.”
“Isn’t that the truth.” Charlotte laughed some, then hung up the phone. She was disappointed that Anita didn’t have more to tell her, but then she knew it was a long shot before she even made the call. She and Anita were not especially close, but they were the same generation, which afforded them a special bond that couldn’t be shared with younger people. They knew a town that the kids just becoming adults would never know.
Chapter 6
By the time Ally returned to the cottage she was very tired. Mostly, it was the emotion she’d experienced while talking with Frank. It was hard not to feel compassion for him, and yet at the same time she couldn’t cross him off the list as a suspect. He had the opportunity, but what could his motive be? She recalled her meeting with Christian earlier in the day. Frank never said whether he caught up with Christian, or found out why he’d fallen behind them. Did Christian have a reason to attack Josh? She couldn’t think of one, since according to Christian they’d just met that day, but maybe there was a hidden connection between them that she didn’t know about. She decided she would dig into that theory a little more the next day.
Ally began preparing dinner for herself. She always made enough for Luke just in case he was able to make it. Sometimes he had to work late hours, and she guessed that tonight would be one of those times. Still, she set out a plate for him just in case.
“What do you think, Peaches?” She glanced down at the cat as she wound around her legs. “What really happened at that picnic?”
Peaches was a great listener, whenever Ally had something to work out, she shared it with her feline friend. Although she couldn’t talk back, Peaches somehow help
ed her to see things more clearly.
Tonight however, Peaches seemed far more interested in the smell of chicken that filled the air, than anything else. As she was taking the chicken out of the oven there was a light knock on the door. She set the pan on the stove just as the door swung open. Luke was welcome to come and go as he pleased, but he always knocked. She’d given him a key, and told him he didn’t have to knock, but he still did. She guessed it was because he didn’t want to startle her.
“Hey, Ally. That smells delicious.”
“I hope you’re hungry.” She smiled as she filled his plate with chicken, vegetables, and a biscuit.
“Absolutely. Today was a very long day.”
“Would you like some iced tea?” She glanced over at him.
“Sure, that would be great.” Luke sat down at the table. “It’s so good to see you. No matter what, you always brighten my day.”
“Aw, that’s sweet, and I’m sure not entirely true.” She sat down across from him. “We certainly have our moments.”
“Even when we do, I still enjoy it.” Luke patted her hand, then sighed as his body relaxed into the chair. “I am worn out.”
“I bet you are. What a rough day.” Ally gnawed on her bottom lip. Luke was great at his job. His inquisitive nature and attention to detail made him an excellent investigator. She was sure he had all kinds of information about the case rolling around in his head. But she had to respect that he had rules to follow. He couldn’t tell her everything that he knew. But at the same time, she was dying to find out even one small detail. She managed to make it through most of dinner before she steered the conversation back to the picnic.
“I was surprised when the park was evacuated today.”
“I wasn’t. It’s protocol. We couldn’t find the shooter, so we had to make sure that everyone was safe.” He shrugged as he carried his plate over to the sink. He rinsed it off as he continued. “What did surprise me was how resistant some of the people were to leaving.”