Comic Sans Murder

by Paige Shelton

  “Right. Anyway, that might be some sort of connection. Maybe Creighton liked her. Maybe Lloyd did too, and Harold. Do you suppose Sarah is the connection, but not in the way we’ve been thinking?”

  “And that Creighton or Harold is killing the men who he’d thought were in the way of his true love all those years ago?”

  “It sounds really ridiculous if you say it that way, but there might be something there.”

  “When you’re right, you’re right, Clare. We were definitely trying to find a connection between Creighton and the others and we had nothing. That’s at least a little something. Who knows? It might lead somewhere. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be talking to Creighton tonight, in about ten minutes if I’m correct.”

  “Has he been arrested?”

  “Just detained.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “He’s here in the station, Clare, and we’ve asked both him and Howard to stay put. It might be more for their safety than because we suspect them, but we don’t want them going anywhere.”

  “Right.”

  “I want everybody to be on their toes. We’ve a killer in our midst, and the fact that the two victims were in our high school class means you should be diligent too. Got it?”

  I blinked and goose bumps rode up my arms. “I’ll be careful. You too.”

  “Will do, but I have a gun. You watch your back.”

  We ended the call, but I began another one right away.

  “Clare?” Jimmy said as he answered. “What’s up?”

  “Where are you?”

  “At Mom and Dad’s. I’m cleaning out their garage, so they have a place to put things.”

  “They’re coming back to Star City now?”

  “Yeah. Well, in three days. Oh, I forgot I wasn’t supposed to tell you. Don’t give me away. Act surprised when you see them.”

  “I can do that. Want some help?”

  Jimmy hesitated. “Absolutely, but is there something you need?”

  “A sister can’t offer to help her brother clean out the garage without ulterior motives?”

  “It would be a first.”

  “I have some questions.”

  “Bring me a Slurpee or something. I’m working up a sweat in here.”

  Slurpees had always been my older brother’s drink of choice. It was always strange to catch him in a business suit, holding a domed icy drink as the inner part of his lips turned red or blue.

  “All right. We’re on the way,” I said.

  Seth was already cleaning up our dinner paper boats and napkins.

  24

  “I was too old to pay attention,” Jimmy said. “You were my little sister and while I would have fought for your honor, I was not interested in spending any time with you. At all.”

  My parents had purchased a house halfway between Star City and Heber almost thirty years earlier. Those were the days when their house was considered out in the woods, not part of the town. They’d purchased the large cabin because the town had announced that electrical, plumbing, and running water would be available in the area. They’d been one of a few that had jumped the gun, and they spent the first two years using a generator for their electricity, drawing water from their distant neighbor’s well, and using an outhouse. They often said it was worth it because they liked the solitude of being surrounded by trees instead of buildings.

  By the time Jimmy came along, all the modern amenities had been added and our closest neighbor was only about a hundred feet away, not a quarter of a mile.

  It wasn’t really a cabin anymore either. It was slightly larger than that, made for a family of four, though we fit tightly inside. The driveway had seen more cars than the garage, which was where my parents kept all their toys: things like four-wheelers, kayaks, trailers, and even a boat or two over the years.

  They’d decided to become snowbirds and get away to Arizona during the cold and snowy Utah winters. Soon enough, they realized that they weren’t meant for the snowbird life and that one of the reasons they moved to Star City in the first place was the snow, and the outdoor activities that came along with it. Jimmy and I had both known they’d figure it out.

  However, I didn’t know they were on their way home soon and had asked my brother to make some space in the garage for “a few things.”

  “Okay, do you remember when Creighton and I started dating?” I asked him as I lifted a deflated raft from one of the shelves along a side wall. Underneath, I found a lantern and a flashlight that looked like a dog had chewed off the handle.

  “Of course, you were . . .” He looked at Seth. “Of course.”

  Seth laughed. “It’s okay, Jimmy. I not the least bit threatened by their past romance.”

  “They were all gooey-eyed over each other,” Jimmy said.

  “Oh. Well, gooey-eyed. That’s different,” Seth said with a half smile at my brother.

  They got along very well, but sometimes Seth had to remind my brother that they actually liked each other. I wouldn’t say that Jimmy was a narcissist, but he leaned that way. Chester always said that Jimmy simply couldn’t handle his surprise single parent gig. His wife left shortly after Marion was born. He wouldn’t talk much about it, and I still didn’t know all the details, but I remembered the rough times. I also saw how difficult it was to be a single father to a beautiful, intelligent, and talented young woman who’d probably be competing in the winter games someday.

  “Yeah,” Jimmy said. “They weren’t right for each other, though. You could see that from the start.”

  “You could?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but what gooey-eyed teenage girl would ever listen to that sort of thing from her big brother?”

  “Good point. Do you remember anyone from my class other than Jodie?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Donte Senot, Lloyd Gavin, Howard Craig?”

  “I know Lloyd’s family but none of the others. And you and Lloyd were friends when you were kids, weren’t you? I might only remember him because of his recent murder. I can’t believe there’s been another one, but no, I don’t remember Donte or Howard.”

  Seth and I had filled him in on the recent tragedies. Jimmy worked a lot, so he missed out on many current events, but he had heard about Lloyd.

  “You remember the dance?”

  “Of course, you stole my thunder with your gracious go-to-his-house-instead-of-the-dance move. I’d just made the baseball team, but you were the star that week.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Clare, I’m kidding. Kind of. I mean, you did steal my thunder, but that was an awesome thing. It got talked about. The baseball got talked about the next week.”

  “Lloyd didn’t want pity. I hope it didn’t come off that way.”

  “No. Just cool.”

  I put my hands on my hips and sighed. “Where are all the pictures? The ones from when I was in high school?”

  “Probably in your room, under the bed. That’s what Mom did with the pictures. Separated them, boxed them, and slipped them in each of our rooms.”

  “Do you mind?” I asked.

  “I didn’t think you’d even lift the raft and pretend to help, and you did bring the Slurpee. You are dismissed.”

  “Come on, Seth,” I said.

  They probably didn’t think I caught their shared shrug, but I did.

  My room was the one at the back corner of the wide “cabin.” My parents’ room was on the other side, and Jimmy’s was in the front corner on the same side as mine. Seth had been to the house with me a few times as I’d checked to make sure nothing had flooded or had been set aflame, as well as make sure no wild animals had found their way inside and set up a housekeeping or hibernation spot. We’d found a curious moose out back once, but he’d kept his distance as we watched him from the back deck doors.
/>   My room didn’t look much like mine anymore. The bed was still there, but any posters I’d put on the walls were gone along with the old quilt I’d used since I was a little girl. It was threadbare by the time my mother found the perfect opportunity to throw it out when I wasn’t looking. I was still thinking about forgiving her, but I wasn’t sure I ever would.

  I reached under the bed and pulled out two long boxes, placing them on the bed and lifting the lids.

  “Wow, did you organize any of these?” Seth asked.

  “No, Mom did. She loves organizing photos. She’s not a fan of leaving things on the computer. Even with the digital age, she prints out pictures and organizes all the time. It’s just what she does.”

  “An enviable obsession.”

  “I know. Okay, I’m trying to find some pictures from a sophomore winter dance I went to with Creighton.”

  “Everything’s labeled. Should be easy.”

  Seconds later we found my sophomore year, and then the subset folder that contained the dance pictures. I dumped the folder on the bed and spread them out.

  “You two made a great-looking couple, I must admit,” Seth said.

  “Right. Okay, I’m looking for something specific here,” I said. “Sarah. She’ll look just like she does now, but even prettier and younger, of course.”

  “This one?” Seth handed me the picture.

  “No, but she looks good there. Dang, she was—is—pretty.”

  We kept looking.

  “Here,” he said as he handed me another picture.

  “That’s the one! And I did remember correctly. She and Howard went to the dance together. Look.”

  “That’s Howard?” Seth said. “With all that red hair?”

  “Yes, he’s gone gray way prematurely, but he used to have the brightest red hair.”

  “It’s not just the hair.”

  “Yeah, he was preppy, buttoned up, no wrinkles. I’m sure his head never saw a cowboy hat until he moved to Wyoming.”

  Seth appraised the picture and then squinted at me. “You know, even I went to a few dances, with friends. I didn’t really date anyone. This might just be a friendship thing. They weren’t dating people and they hung out in the same crowd, so they went together. It happens, and it doesn’t usually mean very much.”

  “I agree, but I think I need to tell Jodie about it. And then we need to scour those yearbooks for signs that Sarah might have been closer to Howard, or maybe Lloyd.”

  “So, you think maybe this is a jealousy thing on Creighton’s part?”

  “I have a hard time believing that,” I said. “But we’re at least finding more connections. We had over two hundred people in our class; they came from here and surrounding small towns; we weren’t a small class. There’s a reason someone invited those specific people to some meetings, and it’s difficult not to think it had something to do with something that happened back then.”

  “I agree, but I do think it would be strange for someone like Creighton to hold a brokenhearted grudge all these years later, unless it was about you.”

  I half rolled my eyes.

  “No, seriously, Clare. He was crazy about you, there’s no refuting that. From all indications, there’s nothing at all to think that he felt that way about anyone else.”

  “Actually, Creighton wouldn’t hold a brokenhearted grudge about anyone, but he’s up to something, Seth. Or at least Jodie thinks so,” I said.

  “Well, I don’t know what good it will do, but do you want to give her a call, or should we run this picture down to the police station and give it to her in person, and maybe have the chance to ask if there’s anything new?” Seth said with a conspiratorial smile.

  “I could kiss you for that idea,” I said.

  And then I did.

  “Howard and Sarah are standing next to each other in a picture from a high school dance. I don’t think that means much of anything. I’m sorry, Clare, but thanks for wanting to help us out,” Jodie said as she frowned at the picture. In fact, her face had been in a perpetual frown ever since Seth and I walked into her office. Well, the frown was probably there before, but it got deeper when she saw us.

  “I know, but there’s a connection here,” I said.

  “I agree,” Jodie said, “but if we started using pictures from high school dances, we’d be going in many different directions. Maybe these murders are because of something from high school, but we still need more.”

  Seth and I both inspected her a long moment.

  “That was the first time all these people came together. You know something else?” I said.

  “I don’t, Clare. I just think we might have exhausted that angle. Creighton said he never had one moment’s interest in Sarah. In fact, he said that he didn’t even really remember going to school with her.”

  I pointed at the picture. “And yet we were all at this dance together. I was there with Creighton. And just last night he accused Howard and someone who looked like Sarah of slashing his tires.”

  “He made that up to see if he could get anything out of Howard. He said it didn’t work.”

  “I’ve had funny memory moments the past couple of days. Not like I’m losing it really, but realized I forgot stuff. Maybe he forgot.”

  Jodie looked back and forth between Seth and me. “He wouldn’t have forgotten that, Clare. It was all about you back then. That might be something you’re forgetting. There was no Sarah in his life. No Lloyd, no Howard or Donte. There’s a connection, I’m sure, but we still don’t know what it was. I think we have to move the high school connection to the back burner. There has to be something else.”

  I handed her the picture. “Take this. Show it to Creighton and Howard. See what they say.”

  Jodie hesitated but took the picture. “All right.”

  “Where are they—Howard and Creighton?”

  “Howard’s back at his hotel and Creighton is home. There was no reason to hold either of them, but I’ve got officers watching them both for their protection as well as to make sure they don’t skip town.”

  “How’s Sarah?” I asked.

  “A mess. They had no kids, but she has some family in Salt Lake City. I didn’t know her or Donte’s families. I had to ask her to tell me who to call for her. It’s rough.”

  “Any leads at all, Jodie?” Seth asked.

  “Nothing substantial. There were many sets of fingerprints in the press room at Donte’s building, and we’ll have to eliminate employees, past and present. We’re hoping that might give us something, but we’ll have to see.”

  “Can we go grab you some food, coffee, something?” I said when I couldn’t think of any other questions to ask.

  “No, I’m leaving in a minute too. Just finishing up things here.”

  Her dismissal was uncharacteristically gentle and she sent us a forced smile as we waved from the doorway.

  “Do you want to go talk to Creighton?” Seth asked when we were out of Jodie’s earshot.

  “I don’t know.”

  “If you want to talk to him, I’ll take you there. I’ll wait outside too if you’d like, but I want him to know I’m there. Well, that you aren’t alone. Want to?”

  I thought about it all the way out to the car.

  “No,” I said as he turned the key. “I don’t know what I’d say and I don’t know what he’s really told Jodie. He might be lying, he might not, but I’m not the one to figure that out. Thank you, though.”

  “No problem. Home, then?”

  “That’s the best idea of the night.”

  25

  “We’re still hanging on to it for her?” Chester said as he straightened. He’d been leaning over and peering into the compartment under the counter.

  “I had a moment of unguarded weakness,” I said.

  “I’d say,” Che
ster said. “Well, we’ll just keep it locked up until things settle, I guess, and then make sure she gets it back. I don’t really understand why she brought it to us.”

  “She said for safekeeping, but I’m with you, I don’t understand very much myself. We’re not friends really, and she knows what we do here at the shop. I was going to call her today and ask, but now . . .”

  “Of course,” Chester said. “I suppose it’s okay to keep it for a while.”

  “I’d consider buying it from her,” Nathan said. “Believe it or not, I’m not much of a book collector, but that would be a true treasure, and one any horror writer would happily own. I’ll ask her if I think it’s appropriate.”

  Chester and I both nodded our agreement.

  The front door swung open. Janise and Evan Davenport were back, but this time with a much different demeanor. Janise led the way forward, and she sent me a small smile that I read to mean that we weren’t going to dislike this visit as much as we might have disliked the last one.

  “Hello there!” Chester said cheerily.

  “Hi,” Janise said as she and Evan reached the counter.

  “Hi,” Evan said with a sheepish smile. He looked at his wife and then back at Chester and me. “I’m so sorry about my behavior.”

  “Not a problem,” I said.

  “Not at all,” Chester said.

  “I was under much more stress than I thought. Of course I was upset about my mother’s death and the fact that I’d destroyed her beloved typewriter, but still. I’m sorry. We’re on our way home, and I didn’t want your last impression of me to be bratty behavior.”

  “Oh, we know all about that sort of thing,” Chester said. “Truly, not a problem at all.”

  “Thank you,” Evan said.

  “Oh, the Splendid folks,” Nathan said.

  “Yes, that’s . . . Wait,” Janise said as she took a good look at Nathan. “Wait, you aren’t? Well, there’s no hat and scarf, but you aren’t Nathan Grimes, are you?”

  “At your service.” He extended his hand.

  “Nice to meet you,” Janise said. “Evan, it’s Nathan Grimes.”