by Liz Turner
In one of her true crime books, she and Michael had followed up on a seemingly bizarre case. A woman had been murdered inside her own diner, the day before it was to open. She had clearly known the murderer because she had let him or her in. But there was no one who could profit from her death. Or so it seemed.
The murder had seemed unsolvable at first. The woman was a simple accountant who had saved enough money to start her own diner. But once she and Michael had begun digging into the case, they found that the sweet little town she had stayed in had been filled with all sorts of mysteries. The woman was involved in a land scam, for one, that had made her a lot of money. Her parents were involved in a cult that stood to gain if she died. So, for a long time, the police had suspected them.
Yet, in the end, the murderer had only been the wife of an ex-lover, who was jealous that this woman had come back to town.
Victoria remembered meeting the slight woman, barely five feet in height, and thinking her to be perfectly normal. Yet, she had been capable of committing murder.
So could it be that way here? Karen herself had been frustrated at Victoria for assuming she knew this town and its people. What was hidden below the surface?
She looked up and stopped suddenly. Ahead of her, Angus stepped out of a truck, and a large man stepped up behind him and put a hand around Angus’s shoulders. A normal enough thing to do, except Karen, saw the look of fear flash through Angus’s face.
She followed surreptitiously as the large man pulled Angus into an alley. At the corner of the alley, she stood listening.
“So where is it, buddy? I heard your uncle left you fifteen thousand dollars. That’s not nearly enough to cover your debt to the boss.” The large man said.
“Tito, I... Look, I’ll get the money, OK? I just got to...”
“Got to what? You’re done, Angus. The money’s gone. So where’s the stuff you promised us? You can pay it back two ways. Either in a body bag, or by doing the job.”
“I can’t go back to jail.” Angus pleaded. “Please, Tito, I can’t do the job.”
“You think the boss cares? You owe him money, you pay him money. He’s sick of waiting around for you Angus.”
“It’s all her fault,” Angus said, his voice now heated. “She, she cheated me out of it.”
“Yeah, you’re some idiot, aren’t you?” Tito laughed. “Letting someone just swoop in and steal your money like that. Me, I’d be annoyed.”
“I’ll, I’ll get it back, Tito. He was my uncle. I’m the one who…” His voice trailed off. “I’m the one who grew up with him. I’m the one who had him there for all my birthdays. That woman already has a family of her own. Why did she have to come in and steal mine?”
“Look, Angus, I'm real nice right now. Maybe you can go to her and be real nice too. Maybe she’ll lend you some. Otherwise, when I come see you next week, Bubba and Karim will be with me, and they aren’t as nice, you know.”
“I tried.” Angus was almost tearful. “I tried, but she told me she didn’t want to see my face again. She told me I got what I deserved.”
“Man, you just let her say that to you? What use are you going to be if you can’t stand up to some...?” Tito broke off when his phone rang. “Boss calling.” He picked up the phone, listened in, and hung up. “Sorry Angus, boss says you got a week to decide how you’ll repay, and I gotta give you a little incentive. No hard feelings alright?”
“No please, I...”
There was a horrible crunching sound, and then a cry from Angus. There was the thud of a boot as it sunk into flesh, and then, before Victoria could move, Tito was out of the alley, shaking his hand and pressing it into a handkerchief. He gave her a sideways look as he jumped into a car and drove off.
Seconds later, Angus walked out too, his face tear-streaked, his nose bloody. He saw Victoria and gave her a look of utter hate.
“You enjoy the little show?” He spat.
“Angus,” Victoria didn’t know what to say.
“I’ll see you,” He said. “I’ll see you again and maybe that time, I won’t be the one bleeding.”
Chapter 26
Dinner that day was baked macaroni and cheese, with orange and rosemary chicken thighs in an aioli sauce.
“Leg’s getting better,” Karen smiled. “The doc said I’d be healed in maybe another week. So I made us this to celebrate.”
Their father took a small helping and chewed it slowly, then nodded. “Used to be I could have a good glass of wine with this kind of food, and I’d take second helpings of everything.”
“Well, Mom was a better cook,” Karen said. “How’s your day been, papa?”
“Been alright. I got that historical society meeting coming up tonight. Alan’s going to give a talk about Jebediah Larch this time.”
“I always thought those meetings of yours were just an excuse to get together and gossip,” Victoria smiled.
“Oh no, we have a lot of discussions.” Her father said. “Mostly, it's talking about the town’s history, but sometimes it’s about the town’s future too.”
“All of you own businesses in town, don’t you?” Byron asked. “That’s pretty cool, growing up together, working together and still wanting to hang out and talk about history together.”
“Yep. We know a lot.” Her father smiled. “Alan and Troy for example. I’ve known them since I was in kindergarten. I remember Alan as a kid used to get bullied all the time. Then he became friends with Boyd and me, and we put a stop to all that. But we aren’t all business owners. Nathan Gordon doesn’t own a business.”
Boyd’s name was one that had never gotten mentioned around the house after the events of his will-reading. Victoria held her breath as her father casually tossed it out. She saw him wince as if he suddenly remembered.
“Well, Nathan’s wife BeeBee owns a business,” Byron said. “She owns the pancake house, doesn’t she?”
“You always know anything to do with food, Byron.” Karen laughed, passing him the macaroni.
“Normally, yes, but in this case, I know it because BeeBee is one of the people who found the doll in her shop,” Byron said.”
“Oh, that doll.” Karen rolled her eyes. “It’s just a silly teenage prank.”
“But it’s making the town really popular,” Byron said, “I’ve heard a big time TV producer is coming to town next week.”
“Really?” Victoria’s father looked enthusiastic. “A Hollywood man?”
“Yeah,” Byron smiled. “He’s thinking of using us as a location to shoot his next film.”
“Well, that should be good for us,” Karen smiled. “More tourists, more money.”
“I know.” Her father smiled broadly. “I always told people that we needed publicity. That’s how the money comes in.”
“Well, the tourism industry isn’t doing so badly,” Victoria said.
“Oh, the tourism industry is mostly in Banff. Larch needs a local legend that will help it attract tourists.” Her father replied. “Well, in any case, I’m glad this Hollywood man is coming over.”
Annie was feeding the dog under the table, and Byron gave her a little kick. “Don’t do that, Annie. You’re teaching her all the wrong habits.”
“But she’s so cute.” Annie protested. “She’s hungry all the time. Look at her beg.”
“You have to be disciplined,” Byron said. “She’s greedy, and she’ll use those puppy dog eyes to get you to feed her the entire table. It’s not good for her.”
“Mom… can’t I feed her just this once?”
“Listen to your brother, dear,” Victoria said.
“Byron knows best,” Byron smiled. “Hey, maybe we can all get jobs as extras if the movie starts shooting here. Imagine that, Annie? We’ll see ourselves on the big screen.”
“All thanks to the dolls,” Annie said, screwing her face up. “I don’t know. I think it’s scary. Everyone in my school says it’s a ghost who did it.”
“Ghosts don’t exist, silly,” B
yron said. “It’s just some psycho.”
“Enough about the dolls anyway.” Their father said. “Let’s have a less morbid conversation. Annie, how was school today?”
“Oh, it was good. We learned about Romans today.” Annie said. “They used to have fights in big arenas. The Egyptians used to worship cats.”
“Heard you spoke to Angus lately,” Victoria said to Karen. They were both washing up in the kitchen.
“What?” Karen looked shocked. “No, I didn’t.”
“He told me so himself,” Victoria said. Not strictly the truth, but she didn’t want to explain how she’d eavesdropped.
“Oh, that. Yes. He came over to the restaurant and told me he needed money. I told him that it wasn’t up to me.” Karen shook her head. “He scared me. Told me that if I didn’t give it to him, I’d regret it. Of course, I got angry. How dare he threaten me? I told him I didn’t want to see him around again, and that I’d call the police.”
That wasn’t how Angus had phrased it. Not exactly. “He said you told him he deserved what happened?” Victoria asked.
Karen looked annoyed. “Well of course I did. He did deserve it. He was just waiting like a parasite, looking to suck the blood from a dead body. Nothing irritates me more. No, I don’t think he deserves any of Boyd’s money.”
“And you?” Victoria asked. “Are you keeping it?”
“Well, it’s a lot of money, and someone has to keep it,” Karen said. “I was thinking, if you stayed a little longer and handled the café, I could maybe go and start working at Boyd’s store. I’d have to decide soon, you know.”
“Boyd never told you, did he?” Victoria asked. “About about you being his daughter?”
“Never did,” Karen said. “Though I talked to the Turners, and Bill told me Boyd had planned to tell me real soon. He said that’s the real reason Boyd called you down here. So that I’d have … support. I think maybe he felt guilty about how Papa would feel, and calling you down here was his form of penance. He’d be glad to have you back, Boyd thought. You were always Papa’s little doll.”
Victoria felt like a bolt of lightning had gone through her. Dropping the sponge into the sink, she wiped her hands on a towel and said. “Karen, I need to go.”
“What happened?” Karen exclaimed.
“I just… I feel like there’s something I didn’t see all this while. Now I see it. I have to go. I have to meet Alan and Troy.”
Chapter 27
The meeting of the historical society was held at Alan’s home that day. It was very informal with just a few old men gathered around a table with a bottle of scotch in front of them.
Victoria knocked on the door, and a surprised Alan opened up.
“Good to see you,” He said, looking confused. “Did you decide you wanted to join us after all?”
“No,” Victoria said. “I came by to run a little theory by you all. A theory on how someone can disappear from inside a locked room.”
The men all looked at her keenly.
“It was Byron, who made me think of it, really,” Victoria said. “He was the one who put it all together. I just connected the dots before he or anyone else in town did.”
“What is it?”
“All this time,” Victoria said. “I thought that Boyd’s death was connected to the dolls that were placed in your stores. I thought that one person was responsible for breaking into each of your stores, and placing the dolls, and vanishing. I thought, if I caught this person, I’d catch the murderer.”
Alan paled. “You better sit down.”
“I prefer to stand, thanks.”
“Then you better talk clearly, Victoria.” Her father said.
“Alright. Byron showed me a map of the stores where the dolls had been placed. There was no real connection I could think of between the stores. One doll would have been easily dismissed as a hoax, but five dolls? That was harder to dismiss.”
“It’s no hoax,” Alan said. “I found the doll myself.”
“Of course, you did,” Victoria said. “But then, Alan, you placed the doll there yourself, too.”
There was a sudden hush in the room. Chairs scraped as the men turned around to face Victoria.
“What are you trying to say?” Victoria’s father asked.
“You accusing me of murdering Boyd?” Alan was speechless with rage. His face was slowly turning purple.
“No,” Victoria said. “Like I said, I thought the dolls were connected to the murder. But I was wrong. I was very wrong. The dolls were only ever used for one thing. Profit.”
“What?”
“When did the idea take root?” Victoria asked. “Was it when you found Amelia’s diary in the library, Alan? Or was it when you realized that finding wood and material that was hundreds of years old was easy. After all, you all live in old houses that have been occupied for generations. Scraps of wood and yarn that were around hundreds of years were easy to find, weren’t they?”
“You’ve gone mad.” Victoria’s father stood up, pushing his chair back. “I’m taking you home.”
“Oh no,” Victoria said. “I see it all too clearly. All of you own businesses except Nathan whose wife BeeBee owns a business, and my father, whose daughter owns a business. All these businesses were suffering because of the low tide of tourism in the town. One of you figured out that a nice ghost story was the best way to attract tourists and national media. It worked too. A Hollywood producer is coming to town soon.”
She saw the briefest crack of a smile on Alan’s face and felt justified.
“So I’m right,” Victoria said. “It wasn’t the work of one man, but five men together. All of you placed the dolls in your own stores and then found them the next day. It was a bit tougher for Dad, of course, but you had a lucky break of sorts when Karen broke her leg and Papa had to handle her business for a while. I even wondered whether it really was an accident.”
“Of course, it was.” Her father said angrily. “You think we’d ever hurt our own!?”
“No,” Victoria said. “I suppose it was just luck then but I’m right, aren’t I? You five plotted to place the dolls in your own shops and then spread rumors of the haunting so that there would be more publicity in town. The only thing I don’t understand is how you managed to put a doll in Boyd’s store too. That’s the only reason I first connected the dolls to Boyd’s murder.”
“Well, that was easy,” Troy said. “Your father is an expert with the Haas Locks, and Boyd had original Haas Locks in his house. His house is connected to the store. It was harmless. But we swear to you, Victoria, we had no hand in Boyd’s murder. We only wanted to plant the dolls and get more tourist traffic. Boyd was too honest to approve, but we knew we had to be slightly unethical to fill our stomachs. Our businesses were dying, but the new wave of tourists will revive them.”
“So it will,” Victoria said, feeling sick. “But it threw the police off track, and it threw me off track. Boyd’s murderer is still out there, and we have no idea who he is.”
“Enough.” Victoria’s father rose up. Nodding his head to the others, he said, “I’m taking my daughter home. I’ll talk to her about this.”
“Please, don’t reveal it as a hoax,” Alan said. “It isn’t harming anyone. It’s just a silly game, really and if tourism dies here in Larch, why the town might die too.”
“Please, Victoria.” Troy pleaded. “Our businesses are in your hands.”
“Karen’s too.” Her father said. “Don’t forget that. It isn’t just for us that we did this hoax. It’s for our children.”
“That’s what you say,” Victoria smiled. “You always say that. Everything you’ve ever done is for your children.”
“Come on.” Victoria’s father took her hand and pulled her out. “We need to go back home.”
Chapter 28
It took them fifteen minutes to reach home, and Victoria stayed silent all the while, refusing to speak until they had taken the elevator up to her father’s room.
Her father, meanwhile, kept on and on about how the hoax had been his idea, and she had to stay quiet if she valued the town.
When Victoria finally broke the silence, she had only one thing to say.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Victoria asked. “It was always you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He replied, turning away, refusing to meet her eyes.
“Why, Papa?” Victoria’s voice shook. “That’s what I want to know. I’ve solved the how of it anyway.”
“I told you why.” Her father replied. “We were just trying to revive...”
“I’m not talking about the dolls anymore,” Victoria said. “It was you, not the ghost. Not Hanson, not Angus, and certainly not Karen. You were the man who killed Boyd.”
Her father gasped.
“Alan all but incriminated you. He told me that you know how to handle the Haas Locks. You could slip in and out of Boyd’s home without anyone knowing. You’re dying, but you’re powerful enough at six foot five inches to kill a man. You killed Boyd, and you let the Mounties think it was Karen.”
“I hated when they questioned her.” Her father said, turning back around. “Everything I’ve ever done, all my life, it’s been for my family. For you girls, and your mother.”
“But she cheated on you,” Victoria said. “She cheated on you with the man you’d trusted more than any other. Did it burn you, papa? Did you carry that seed of hatred in your heart for years? So why did you kill Boyd the way you did?”
“I’d warned him.” Her father said, then, his eyes suddenly bright with suspicion, he asked “Those new fangled phones of yours, they record things too, don’t they?” He pulled away from her. “Because I’m going to repeat that I didn’t do it.”
Victoria bought out her phone, placed it on the table. “I’m not recording this, Papa, I just… I needed to know.”
He looked at her suspiciously, then said. “You were always like this. Couldn’t let things be. Even with your mother. You two would argue, and I’d calm her down, then just when I thought it was all over, you’d say something that started the fight up all over again. Couldn’t you just have let bygones be bygones?”