Beeline to Trouble

by Hannah Reed

  Her husband rushed over to save her, accomplished the heroic feat, and rejoined us.

  “Holly,” Nova called out after assuming a possessive position next to Max, “you’re missing out on all the fun.” Then to Max, “Is she always like this?”

  “Holly,” I hollered, “you better get over here right now!”

  “In a minute,” she answered. As if.

  My sister really needed to get with the program and defend her turf. I, in turn, would do my sisterly duty by keeping a watchful eye. Max, however, didn’t seem to notice that Nova was making a play for him. Men can be so dense.

  “If you’re not interested, then why don’t you run along home?” Nova called to Holly. “That staff of yours could use some watching over. They need someone who actually knows how to train them properly.”

  Well, wasn’t that nasty!

  “Nova!” Max said, a warning in his tone.

  “I didn’t mean that,” Nova said to Holly, who was scowling, then to Max with a steamy smile, “I really didn’t.”

  Then she went back to her preoccupation with hovering over Max, who was standing right beside me, fearless in the face of thousands of miniature insects. A few honeybees landed on Nova, too, but she didn’t seem to mind, or else she was trying to impress Max. Or possibly she figured her stinger was more lethal than theirs.

  Sting her good, I silently put out into the honeybee universe, hoping my little friends would get the message. Sadly, they didn’t.

  My backyard isn’t very wide but it’s long—perfect for plenty of hives—and it leads right down to the Oconomowoc River, where my kayak rests on the bank when I’m not out exploring river life. My favorite way to spend an evening is paddling along, taking in the calls of the wild and breathing fresh, fragrant air.

  “What’s that little place used for?” Max asked, pointing at my honey house, the small building where I process honey for packaging under the Queen Bee Honey label.

  “Let me show you,” I said, heading that way.

  “I’m going down to the store,” Holly called to us. “Meet me there later.” And with that, before I had a chance to drag her into the group, she vanished around the side of the house.

  My sister is denser than her husband when it comes to handling dangerous women. But lucky for Holly, it turned out that Nova had other things on her mind at the moment.

  “I’m not feeling well,” Nova said to Max as I opened the honey house door and caught a whiff of that wonderful nectar. “I think I’ll wait out here.”

  She did look flushed. I pointed out a bench down at the riverfront, and Nova walked toward it.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Max called after her.

  “I just need a minute,” she said without turning. “A little nauseated, that’s all.”

  The atmosphere became a few degrees lighter with her gone. Camilla and I weren’t speaking directly to each other, though our eyes suggested continuing hostility, but even with that added stress, I was relieved that Nova wasn’t inside with us. Everyone seemed to breathe easier (or was that just me?) while I showed them the equipment I used and let them sample some of my products, which included my latest experiment with adding rose petals to honey. A successful experiment I might add. It’s delicious on scones.

  We must have been in the honey house less than fifteen minutes, but when we came out, Nova wasn’t in sight.

  “Maybe she’s waiting in the car,” Gil suggested, heading for the driveway. “I’ll go check.”

  Max gave me an appreciative smile. “Thank you for taking the time to show my associates your truly amazing apiary.”

  “The pleasure is mine,” I told him and realized I meant it, even with Nova stalking Max and my issues with Camilla. I really loved showing off my work to people who appreciated it.

  “Nova isn’t in the car,” Gil said, coming back.

  “My kayak’s still on shore, so she can’t be out on the water,” I said, walking toward the river, thinking she might have strolled farther up- or downstream on the bank.

  As it turned out, I was sort of correct.

  Nova wasn’t on the water.

  She was in it.

  Arms spread, like she was doing a front float, facedown in the shallow water.

  As I rushed toward her, I thought I saw a flash of movement on Patti Dwyre’s part of the river frontage.

  But when I looked again, nothing was there.

  Except Nova was still in float position.

  Max and Gil waded in right behind and overtook me. Camilla and I moved out of their way so that they could pull her out while I called 9-1-1 on my cell phone.

  CPR turned out to be useless, even though the two men kept at it long after we all knew they couldn’t save her. One hundred pumps per minute, more slowly as they realized the hopelessness of the situation. Not that it mattered. She wasn’t responding to their efforts.

  I couldn’t help feeling guilty, because I’d gotten my careless wish.

  Nova Campbell was gone for good.

  Seven

  We formed a tight circle around Nova, staring as if her eyes might flutter and she would sit up any second. While we waited for the emergency response I’d called in, Max and Gil continued to take turns trying to spark life. It must have been all of five minutes but it felt like five hours before sirens wailed. My numb brain realized I probably should have called Hunter to inform him of the dead body in his new backyard, but I still couldn’t believe it was really happening.

  Camilla and I weren’t doing dagger eyes anymore. More important things had cropped up.

  At some point Patti Dwyre appeared, and I noticed that the bottom half of her black sweatpants were soaking wet and her black sneakers squished with water, but I promptly put that information out of my mind, storing it for later.

  “Who drowns in two feet of water?” Camilla wanted to know.

  Who does drown in two feet of water?

  “Suicide?” Patti suggested. “Was she unhappy enough to do this?”

  Everybody shrugged, although that wasn’t much of a possibility. I mean come on, would Nova really take her own life while all her colleagues were inside my honey house? While I hadn’t liked her, she hadn’t seemed either depressed or unbalanced enough for that to make sense.

  Max had another idea, one that seemed more likely. “Maybe she had a brain aneurism and stroked out, falling face-first.”

  Everybody considered that.

  The sirens were loud now, right out front.

  “Or a heart attack,” Gil added. “Those health nuts drop like flies.”

  Just then, Officer Sally Maylor pulled into the driveway and got out of her squad car. Sally is a good cop and a regular customer at the store. For a second or two, I expected Chief Johnny Jay to drive in right behind her. Then I remembered about his vacation. Thank God for small miracles. He would have ripped me up and down over what had just happened. This situation was definitely beyond my control, but he wouldn’t have cared. He’d have been in my face so close I’d have been able to count his nose hairs.

  “Back off, everybody,” Sally said, and we cleared out to give her room.

  An ambulance arrived right behind her. The emergency professionals took over, and the rest of us moved up to the house and watched the proceedings with heavy hearts and stilled voices.

  Other cops started cordoning off the front yard to keep the gawkers under control.

  Jackson Davis, the medical examiner, showed up in a white van. We’re friendly, so he nodded to me in acknowledgment as he headed toward the ambulance crew.

  Pretty soon, we saw a stretcher and empty body bag going past us toward the river. A few minutes later, it went the other way. The body bag wasn’t empty this time. I felt sick to my stomach. It still seemed surreal.

  Sally came over to us to get our statements, but first she pulled me aside and in a low voice asked, “Who are these people with Max?”

  “Houseguests.” I explained about the apiary tour. There was
n’t much to tell.

  “Looks like she drowned in water only up to her knees.” Sally shook her head, as confused as the rest of us. “We’ll know more after Jackson does an autopsy.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “He’s going to work on it immediately. We should have a preliminary report soon.”

  “She obviously must’ve had some sort of a serious medical condition and unfortunately had an attack of some kind at the river. Then she fell in and drowned.”

  “A medical explanation would make everything nice and clean,” Sally said optimistically, before heading over to the others to do her job.

  If only Nova had called out, I thought. If only we hadn’t all been inside the honey house. If only . . .

  At least my mother hadn’t been standing right next door when it happened. Mom has a habit of showing up at the most inopportune moments, times that make me appear to be part of the problem, so it was a relief to have her out of the picture. Although she’d hear about it soon enough.

  For once, Holly was going to be part of this particular equation, and she just might soften the blow. Then I realized that my sister hadn’t actually been here when it happened. Like always, she was off the hook, leaving me to dangle alone.

  Eight

  I went over to The Wild Clover and found Holly in the back room finishing up a phone conversation with Max. She hung up.

  “What a shock,” she said, actually sounding sincere. “I mean, I didn’t like her—I knew what Nova was up to, you know? She was making a run for my husband—but this is still terrible.”

  “It looked that way to me, too.”

  “I trust Max. Our relationship has been based on honesty and faith. It’s especially important since he travels so much. Still, it bothered me.”

  “Well, she’s gone now,” I said, pretty shocked myself at what had happened right under my nose, at how quickly a living breathing human being can come to an end. But I barely knew the woman and what little I’d seen hadn’t endeared her to me.

  “I just wish this had happened someplace else,” Holly said. “Another time, a place far away.”

  “I’m with you on that one. Max has to be major upset.”

  My sister nodded. “He took the others out for a late lunch,” she told me. “He said I should stay here with you.”

  “I thought Grams was making lunch for them.”

  “Miscommunication. She thought Mom had taken the casserole out of the oven, and Mom thought Grams had. It burned up while they were out and about.”

  “Those two are like a comedy act.” I took a deep breath, feeling weighed down by today’s events. Which reminded me. “Mom’s going to move in with Tom,” I announced. “Can you believe it?”

  “That’s nice for Mom.” Holly wasn’t fazed one bit. “I’m happy for her.”

  “Am I the only one in the family who finds this disturbing?”

  “Mom’s moving forward with her life. You have to accept that.”

  “Are you psychoanalyzing me?”

  Holly shrugged. “You’re easy to read. Even though Dad’s been gone over five years, you’re still grieving for him, so you’ve created a world where Dad still exists on some level. Seeing Mom with another man is like the final nail in Dad’s coffin.”

  “But they’re going to move in right next to me! Lori has them all ready to sign papers. They were over there looking at it this morning. For all I know, they already are my neighbors.”

  “That,” Holly agreed, “would be a total disaster.”

  “Mom’s always been concerned about what the neighbors are going to say about everything. What happened this time?”

  “Well, in this case she doesn’t care, since you’re her only neighbor.”

  “Very funny. You know what I mean.”

  “You’ll adjust to the idea.”

  I changed the subject to discussing that night’s dinner.

  “How can you even think about food at a time like this?” Holly sighed. “Is anybody going to feel like eating anyway after what happened?”

  “Are you kidding?” I said. “Why do you think a big meal is served right after every funeral?” Which was true. There’s nothing like a big meal to ease some of the pain of loss. “Tonight’s gathering will be like a wake. People also need to talk through their feelings.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Unless you want to do a carry-out or something.”

  Holly made a face.

  “I have an idea. Max likes to barbecue,” I said. “How about having him grill some steaks? And Milly said she’s going to whip up a nice salad with vegetables from her garden, and popovers.”

  My sister glanced at me and frowned. “If Max is doing the entree and Milly’s supplying the sides, then what’s your role? Aren’t you supposed to be handling the meal?”

  “I am handling it. I’m the manager. You should try it sometime. Delegating really works.” Suddenly I realized that Holly already knew how to delegate—she’d pawned everything off on me!

  Right then someone tapped on the back room door, and after my shout to come in, Sally Maylor appeared in the doorway. She didn’t look happy. “Story, Holly, there you are. I have a few more questions for both of you. Mind if I sit down?” She closed the door behind her.

  “Sure,” I said, popping up and unfolding an extra metal chair. “But I can’t add any more to what I already told you.”

  “Maybe not, but Holly might be able to clear up a few things.” She sat down and turned her attention to my sister. “Exactly how well did you know the deceased?”

  Holly looked surprised at the question. “Not well at all. She worked for my husband, but I met her for the first time last night.”

  “And how did you two get along?”

  Holly hesitated, then said, “Fine, I guess.”

  “Hold it!” I said a little louder than I expected. “Why the twenty questions? What do you care about Holly’s relationship with one of her husband’s employees?”

  “It’s standard procedure.”

  It certainly was not standard in the case of an accident. Were they thinking . . . murder?

  Holly’s cell phone rang. “I have to take this. I’ll be right back,” she said, hurrying out and leaving me alone with Sally.

  “You might as well tell me what’s going on,” I said. “Or I’ll call Jackson Davis myself.” The medical examiner and I are good friends. He’s shared details with me in the past, and I hoped he would this time, too.

  Sally gave me a hard look.

  Neither of us said the obvious, that I was also living with a cop who had inside connections. Between Hunter and Jackson, I’d get to the truth in no time flat.

  “I won’t tell a soul,” I promised.

  “We’re just following up,” Sally said, still dodging. “Looking at every angle. What was your opinion of Nova Campbell?”

  “I didn’t have one,” I sort of fibbed. “I only just met her today. What do you think happened?”

  “The ME has his suspicions, that’s all I’m saying. More samples are going to the lab for testing.”

  “If she didn’t drown, then what?”

  “I really can’t say.”

  “So she didn’t drown? No heart condition?” I asked. “How about a brain clot?”

  “I really have a few more questions for your sister. If you think of anything to add to your own earlier statement, the smallest detail, let me know.”

  Geez, Sally was being difficult. And I’d given her discounts at the store, too.

  She stood up, ready to track down Holly, and said, “This should be handled by the police chief. I tried to contact Chief Jay to tell him to turn around and come back, but he’s out of contact range already. That’s why he decided on the Boundary Waters in the first place, so he’d be incommunicado the whole time. Talk about poor timing.”

  “That’s too bad,” I lied. As far as I was concerned, Sally was wrong; the timing couldn’t be any better.

  �
�Until we can locate him, I’ve asked the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department for support. They’ll assist with the investigation.”

  Suddenly, I grew wary. My premonition kicked in. “Who’s been assigned to the case?” I asked.

  “Not Hunter Wallace, if that’s what you think,” she said, reading my mind. “But he’s looking for you, and he isn’t happy.”

  Uh-oh. The honeymoon was definitely over.

  Nine

  “What the hell happened here?” Hunter demanded over the phone. He sounded just like Johnny Jay. As if this were my fault.

  “She just keeled over dead while the rest of us were in the honey house,” I said.

  “Shouldn’t I have been one of the first to know?”

  “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  “Please don’t tell me you gave her anything to eat or drink.”

  Okay, that was totally uncalled for! “What is that supposed to mean? Like my cooking is deadly?”

  “Did you or did you not feed her anything?”

  “I’m not even answering that.” I was so mad at Hunter, I almost missed the implication of what he was saying. “Wait a sec, does this mean Nova was poisoned?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. The ME suggested the possibility, but that’s between you and me, okay?” A slight pause then he said, “Say, ‘Okay, Hunter, I promise.’”

  “Okay, okay, I promise.”

  “So, did Nova Campbell eat anything?”

  I could have mentioned the breakfast I’d taken over, but I wasn’t even sure she ate any of that, and I didn’t appreciate Hunter right this minute, so I said instead, “And I still resent that. Geez. You eat my food. Are you dead?”

  Hunter had on his professional work voice and an attitude I didn’t care for one bit. “Did anybody act suspicious?” he asked.

  I could have answered that Nova herself had been the only one acting suspicious, but I figured that didn’t count. “Her death doesn’t have to be murder, you know,” I said. “She was a health nut, probably ate something she found outside, thinking she was Euell Gibbons. You remember, that outdoor guy who said a pine tree was edible and actually gnawed on the bark to prove it?”