Murder, Malice and Mischief

by Quinn, Lucy

  “I’ll be sure to keep my ears open too.” Iris looked up as she placed the cookies in the boxes.

  “You’re the best.” I took a step over to her and hugged her. “You know as well as I know that Mac didn’t kill anyone.”

  I headed down the hall of my little farmhouse to my bedroom so I could change into my jeans, Sugar Creek Gap sweatshirt, and tennis shoes.

  “I know that you are passionate about it, and I’m going to help you.” Iris’s words put a big smile on my face. “Tell me what you know.”

  “Great!” I hollered out the bedroom door, quickly changing. Rowena had followed me into the room and was sitting on my dresser when I turned around to sit on the bed and put on my tennis shoes. “Too bad I can’t have your keen sense to solve this crime,” I told her and gave her a couple of scratches on the head.

  My little ranch had been perfect for my little family of three. We had two bedrooms with a Jack-and-Jill bath between them. One room was mine and Richard’s, the other Grady’s. The hallway opened up into a large family room with a big stone fireplace and open kitchen.

  I had a very comfy sectional couch with big slouchy pillows and quilts to snuggle up next to the fireplace on cold winter nights. There was a big-screen television mounted above the fireplace, where Grady and Richard had spent many Sundays watching NFL while I made chili and baked a sweet treat.

  The farm table separated the kitchen from the family room. I had open shelves with very few dishes on them, since my family of three had dwindled to one.

  I sat down at the farm table with my iPad in my hand. I scrolled to the top of my notes and started to read what I’d already written. “Let’s go with the suspects one by one and their motives.”

  “Sounds good.” Iris hit the timer button to stop it dinging when it went off. She took out the other cookies and scooped them off the sheet to put on the cooling rack.

  “First we have Mac Tabor.” I got goose bumps even thinking I had to keep him on the list for obvious reasons. “He had been seen having an argument with Chuck not only outside his house but also at Madame’s.”

  “What?” Iris’s mouth dropped open. She knew the bar visit was out of character as well as I did.

  I shook my head.

  “The murder weapon was found at his house.” I used the pad of my finger to scroll down. “Ashley Williams is my next suspect. She’s on the city council that’s leading the charge for the citizens to stop the sale and the condos. She lives in the neighborhood, and she mentioned how she felt like their little community would be in for a lot of new traffic. She also said something about property values going down and how the dream of her daughter growing up in a great neighborhood is being shattered. She also got what she wanted with Chuck Shilling dead. No commissioners’ meeting, and the sale is obviously on hold.”

  I remembered what Vick had told me in front of the radio station before I’d gone to give my statement to the sheriff’s department and before talking to Mac.

  “You mentioned something about laying at the door of the lawyer’s office?” Iris inquired, making me happy that she was listening to me.

  “Yes. Mac said Ashley had threatened him and Chuck.” I nodded and typed it into the notes so I wouldn’t forget. “Oh!” I snapped my fingers. “Ashley said that Mac had everything he got coming to him.”

  “What did she mean by that?” Iris put the last cookie in the box and closed it.

  “I don’t know, but if she knew Chuck was dead…” My thoughts started to put some theories together. “She killed Chuck and knew it looked like Mac did it, so he would be charged and the deal would fall through.” I smacked my hands together. “And she spray-painted the golf course.”

  “Spray-painted the golf course?” Iris had yet to hear that little bit of news.

  I quickly told her about how Angela had come to Mac’s while I was delivering the mail and before I found the body and mentioned how someone had called into Lucy’s radio morning show about seeing Mac and a woman at Madame’s.

  “A woman?” Iris’s eyes popped open. “Who?”

  “Yeah.” Even after the few hours that’d gone by, my heart was still a little stung by that information.

  As I told her about it, I grabbed the scarf Grady and Julia had gotten for me and used the guardian angel pin to secure it in place. We put all the boxes of cookies in my minivan. “Be good, Rowena!” I hollered back toward the bedroom, though I knew she didn’t pay me any attention.

  “Nice pin.” Iris smiled.

  “Thanks. The front porch ladies gave it to me in honor of Richard’s ten-year anniversary.” I ran my finger over it and truly believed I was being watched over.

  Chapter 8

  The high school stadium lights could be seen all over Sugar Creek Gap. I dropped Iris off at the pep rally so I could get on over to the field to give the cookies to Eileen Dade, the booster president.

  The campus consisted of all levels of education, with buildings for the preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school. All the buildings were connected by an open-air walkway covered by a metal awning.

  The sports complex, which spanned all four buildings, included a basketball gym, tennis courts, a baseball field, a softball field, and a football field that also was turned into a soccer and lacrosse field during those sports’ seasons.

  But it was football that made everyone crazy around Sugar Creek Gap, and tonight was our big rival game. Since I’d not heard from Grady, especially since it was our day-of-death anniversary, I knew he must be really stressed.

  I pulled into the school complex and drove around to the back gate, where the ambulance waited for those just-in-case injuries. I quickly prayed there’d be none tonight or any night for that matter.

  Eileen darted around the corner of the concession stand building and waved when she saw it was me.

  “Let me help you.” She came around the back of the van and put her arms out. She was the mom of a current football player, Samuel. Grady really liked the young man.

  I took her up on her offer and loaded her up with a couple batches of cookies.

  “These smell so good.” She put her nose up to one of the cardboard boxes. “I might buy a whole box.”

  She smiled and turned around. Eileen’s hair was long and black. She had the standard Southern girl look. If I didn’t know Eileen was close to forty years old and had one child in high school and one in college, I’d have thought she was a college kid herself.

  “Who are you kidding?” I took a couple of boxes myself and followed her inside the concession stand. “You might have a nibble, but I’ve seen you out here walking the track when Samuel is out there on the field for practice.”

  I remembered a few years back when Grady had said how he couldn’t wait until Samuel got to be a junior and senior because he was on a whole different playing field athletically than the other boys.

  “I have to keep up with these boys.” Eileen took out a cookie and took just a pinch, just like I thought she would. “Tonight is a big night.” She sighed.

  “I know.” I reached out and touched her. “I know I’m not supposed to know, but Grady told me.”

  “Samuel is so nervous.” Eileen shook her head. “A big scout coming, and it would mean so much to his future if he would be recruited by a college and his entire school paid for.”

  “I know.” I squeezed her arm. “He’s smart and really talented. I’m sure once he gets on the field, his memory will take over, and he’ll get out there to get the job done.”

  “I sure hope so.” Her eyes grew big. She let out a deep sigh and clapped her hands. “Let’s get the rest of those cookies.”

  “All right.” I gave a hard nod and followed her back out to my minivan.

  There were a few men on the boosters who had already fired up the grill. Soon the air would be filled with good-smelling beef burgers from the local cattlemen’s association. The thought of them literally made my mouth water.

  “Emmalynn
Simpson won’t be here tonight. She and Kenneth had some sort of argument.”

  When Eileen mentioned Kenneth Simpson, my ears perked up.

  “Oh no. I hate to hear that.” I was about to lay it on thick. “I thought they never fought.”

  “All this talk about Kenneth being the reason the country club went bankrupt has taken a toll on her.”

  “I heard the country club was going bankrupt, but I’d not heard anything about Kenneth.” This could be a good motive for Kenneth Simpson to have killed Chuck Shilling. “Plus now that Chuck has been…” I hesitated as I remembered his body lying there.

  My heart started to beat a little faster. There were so many questions rolling around in my head that wanted so desperately to slide off my tongue and out of my mouth that I literally had to pinch my lips together.

  “Oh God, Bernadette.” Eileen shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot my husband told me it was you who found Chuck Shilling.”

  “It was awful.” I piled a couple more boxes in her arms and grabbed a couple myself. I continued to talk as we walked back to the concession stand. “Needless to say, it was the last thing I thought was going to happen today. Especially since it’s ten years ago today that Richard was killed.”

  “Geez, I can’t believe you’re here, much less still standing.” Eileen gave me that look.

  “I’m fine. Life still goes on.” Not for Chuck, I wanted to say, but instead turned the questioning back to Kenneth and Emmalynn. “Why did Kenneth and Emmalynn have a fight? Is Kenneth a suspect or something?”

  I figured if Emmalynn knew something about Chuck’s murder or murderer, that would be good cause for them to have an argument.

  “I have no idea.” She looked out the door when we heard the band in the distance. This meant we only had a few minutes to get this concession stand open for business. “You think?”

  “I just can’t believe they wouldn’t be here to see Teri cheer.” I wanted to lay it on thick that my disbelief was of epic proportion. “I can’t help but wonder if Kenneth is the killer, since he’d been accused for making the country club go bankrupt.”

  I decided to let that linger between us. I could tell by the blank look on her face that she was trying to process what I was saying. She took another cookie, which was completely out of character, and did something that was really eye-opening to me: she ate the whole thing without even realizing it.

  “You know, Kenneth was spending so much money on redoing the course, he didn’t even take into consideration what was needed for the pool or the restaurant. There are so many repairs that need to be done to the pool, I don’t even think they will be able to reopen it.” She shook a finger at me and leaned her hip on the counter of the concession stand. “Come to think of it, Emmalynn did say something about needing a lawyer for something.”

  “She did?” I put my hand up to my mouth as if I were in shock. “Oh no.” I shook my head. “Poor Emmalynn.”

  Now that I’d planted a little seed in Eileen’s head, I knew it was something I’d be able to come back and revisit in a couple of days. She was sure to ask Emmalynn. After all, Teri and Samuel were boyfriend and girlfriend.

  “Here they come!” we heard someone yelling outside the concession stand.

  We hurried back out to my car and grabbed as many of the cookie boxes as we could so we’d be ready for the crowd of fans walking behind the football team, who were walking behind the cheerleaders, who were chanting the high school fight song being played by the band.

  The booster members lined up across from each other on the field next to the goal posts along with the early fans who had come to the game instead of the pep rally to grab a good seat.

  Before I went to join them out on the field, I took my phone out and clicked on my notes, thankful the app synced to all my devices, and added Kenneth Simpson to the list. Now I had four suspects, all with good motives.

  As I cheered my loudest, I could see that Grady’s face was stern and serious. My gut fell to my knees as the pride swept across my face. I could’ve just cried looking at my strong, handsome boy. He had his game face on. When we made eye contact, I could still see the worry deep within his gaze. I gave him a Mom wink filled with love, causing a very slight upward curve on each side of his lips only a mother would notice.

  He knew I had him in my heart no matter what the outcome of the game was going to be.

  “We need to talk.” Someone grabbed me by my arm when I wasn’t looking.

  “Mac.” I gasped with relief when I saw it was him. “You’re free.”

  “Yeah. Do you really think I killed Chuck?” His brows furrowed as his eyes searched my face. His jaw slightly dropped. “Are you serious, Bernie? I had to use my business as collateral to make bail.”

  “Of course I don’t think you did it,” I whispered. I walked away from the line of fans cheering on the team as they made it onto the field for the warmup. “That’s why I have a list of suspects.”

  The band was playing the Grizzly fight song, and the crowd was doing its best impression of growling bears. It was so loud I could barely hear myself think, much less make my whisper audible to Mac.

  Instead of trying to talk above the crowd, I motioned for him to follow me to my minivan, where I could use the excuse that I needed help with the rest of the cookies if anyone asked.

  “Get in,” I told him and walked around to my side.

  “This is a nightmare,” he started off as soon as we got into the van. “I have an alibi. I was...” He stopped and looked at me. “Suspects?”

  “You have an alibi with a woman when Chuck Shilling was murdered?” I asked.

  “How did you know?” He jerked his head around.

  I wasn’t sure why, but having him admit it made it feel like a betrayal to me even though there was nothing between us. He had been Richard’s best friend, and there was no way after ten years that I was going to take it as anything but a charity-case friendship, though I did believe he loved Grady as much as Richard and I did.

  “Harriette told me this morning how she’d seen you and Chuck arguing right before a lady left crying.” I smiled when I noticed he was really bothered by me knowing. “Do you think you have to keep your love life from me?”

  “Love life?” He rolled his eyes. “Some love life. I can’t even find her to prove she was my alibi.”

  “One-night stand?” I knew she wasn’t. Harriette had said she’d seen the lady coming there for quite some time. But if he didn’t want to tell me, I wasn’t going to beg him for the details.

  “I’ve known her a while, but we had an argument that I’d rather not talk about.” He looked down at his hands and picked at a hangnail. “I just want you to know that I didn’t kill Chuck Shilling.”

  “Why did you and Chuck have a fight?” I wanted to know because I wanted to tell him that I was looking into who else could’ve had motive to kill Chuck.

  “After the city council meeting last night, Chuck came over. Tasha was there.” The muscles in his face tightened as he clenched his jaw.

  So her name was Tasha. Ugh.

  “He told me he wasn’t sure if he was going to sell his part of the country club to me after all. He mentioned how he was getting some pushback from not only Dennis Kuntz but members of the community.” He continued staring out the windshield.

  The referees were walking onto the field with two football players from each team.

  “Tasha and I…” He slid his eyes to me. There was a haunted look there that put a chill into my bones. “We…” He gulped.

  I couldn’t help but feel as if he was going to tell me something about his love life, but then he stopped.

  “I…” He shook his head. “I just don’t know.”

  “What don’t you know?” I asked. I watched Samuel clap his hands and jump up in the air after they did the coin toss in the middle of the field.

  My heart jumped. I knew Grady would be thrilled they had gotten the ball first. He had said
that was how they would win: get the first touchdown and stay ahead. At least it had been his plan at the beginning of the week.

  “I don’t know what happened.” Mac lifted his hand to his head and rubbed it. “I just know I didn’t see Chuck after he left my house until the officer came and got me this morning.”

  “You had an alibi with Tasha?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

  He nodded a few times.

  Mac didn’t have any good reason for me to believe him without any concrete evidence to back him up, but for some reason, I did believe him.

  He might’ve been telling me the truth about Chuck Shilling, but I had a feeling he wasn’t telling me everything.

  “I believe you.” I reached over just as the other team kicked the ball. “And I’m going to keep my ears open during my route.”

  “I appreciate it.” Mac turned to me and smiled. “You’re a good friend, Bernie.”

  “You, Mac Tabor, are family.” I gestured toward the field. “And if we miss any part of this game, Grady will kill both of us.”

  I noticed Mac didn’t find my little joke as amusing as I did.

  “Too soon?” I winked.

  “Let’s find the real killer first.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes and put his hand on the door handle. “I guess you better get out there before the Grizzlies score the first touchdown.”

  “Me? What about you?” I asked.

  “I’m not too popular around here right now. I’ll watch from my car.”

  “Mac.” I said his name to stop him.

  “Yeah.” He jerked his head around, his body half in and half out of the car.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Tasha?” I asked. “Not that you had to.”

  The blood drained from his face. He took a hard swallow.

  “It’s not like Grady or I expect you to stay single and never have companionship. I’m just not sure why…” I could tell my words were making him uncomfortable. “…you would want to keep it from me. It’s not like you didn’t know I saw those letters. And they smelled pretty good.”