Fe Fi Fiddle Die

by Wendy Meadows

  Chapter 4

  Body at the Gate

  Before they reached the side path that took them home, Brenda mentioned to Mac that she felt odd about her constant curiosity about her guests. “Maybe it’s the amateur detective in me…there’s just something odd about vacationers that makes me want to know more about their private lives. People leave their regular jobs and towns and lives behind and come here, and we don’t know what they’re like unless they tell us. For all we know, they could be lying. We’ve certainly had liars stay here before. And worse than liars.” They both grimaced, thinking of bad events that had happened in the past at the bed and breakfast.

  Mac pulled her closer. “I know you have this driving curiosity in you, Brenda, to discover things about guests’ lives. Honestly, as long as you’re not stalking them, there’s no harm if you’re just accessing public information, right? So why not just go for it?” His arm around her shoulders warmed and comforted her and they strolled along together quietly for a bit longer.

  As they turned the corner on the path, Brenda’s cell phone rang. The breathless voice on the other end caused her to stop. Mac waited until she told the caller they were almost home.

  “The Haas couple found someone at the edge of our driveway, lying on the ground. Something, some kind of liquid is coming out from under the person. They don’t know if he’s dead or not.”

  “Did they check for a pulse? Who is it?” Mac asked. Their steps already quickened into a near run as they spoke.

  “Alan called 911 before he called me. He couldn’t find a pulse. He was shaken up, but he said it looked like Mason Eads.”

  Without words, they hurried the rest of the way to Sheffield Bed and Breakfast while Mac phoned the dispatcher to let them know he would be on the scene and to send backup. “Get Detective Bryce Jones. Tell him to get here right away,” Mac said and hung up.

  They rounded the bend and came up the driveway to find Alan Haas, pale and shaken, standing a few yards away from the dark shape on the lawn. His wife had evidently already fled inside the bed and breakfast. Brenda spoke to Alan to get a few more details while Mac approached the motionless figure on the ground; upon closer inspection, there was no doubt it was their guest Mason Eads. Mac felt for a pulse and found none, so he started chest compressions in hopes of resuscitating him with the help of the paramedics, yet he knew in his gut there was no life in the man. Within minutes, two police cars were at the gate and the ambulance arrived. The paramedics took over and tried a defibrillator, but no pulse ever returned, and they pronounced Mason Eads dead. The coroner arrived next and confirmed it, signing the paperwork. He stated that at first glance it looked as if the man had died from multiple stab wounds. Mac noted the coroner appeared slightly inebriated from attending the downtown jamboree celebrations, but he was coherent.

  “I’ll have to take a much closer look once we have him down at the examination lab,” he said.

  Sara and Alan watched the calm proceedings from the porch. Brenda walked over to them again and asked if anyone else was around when they found Mason. At first, they both said no and then Sara recalled the shadow or shadows she saw running toward the backyard trees. She pointed the area out to Brenda. The scene of the crime was taped off by the time the rest of the guests arrived to peer at the bright flashing police lights and commotion on the driveway. The looks on their faces signaled to Brenda that it was time to calm everyone down.

  “We want all of you to go inside. There is tea and coffee and other things to drink in the all-night snack alcove, please wait in the sitting room. We will need to take some statements. Officers will be in soon to talk with you.”

  While police and technicians gathered and marked evidence, Brenda called Phyllis to give her the grim news. Phyllis insisted she and William would be right there to help calm the guests. “You are a good observer, Phyllis. Pay attention to everyone and their remarks and reactions. Mac and I will begin taking statements, along with Bryce.” She paused and, as an afterthought, said, “Keep everyone as calm as you can manage, please.”

  The coroner’s helpers had removed the body on a stretcher and were closing the van doors by the time Phyllis and William drove into the back driveway. They entered through the back door near the kitchen, so she could don her housekeeping apron first, and then went down the hallway. William poured himself a cup of coffee and followed his wife. Phyllis quickly looked at the faces of everyone gathered in the front lobby and sitting room. The Reverend Thomas Kelly and young Jake the fiddler talked aside from everyone else in low tones. Several guests’ faces were ashen, most of all the faces of Sara and Alan Haas.

  “We had no idea it was Mason until we got close,” Sara said. Her voice quivered. “We had been down on the beach and were ending a perfect night. I thought it was just something someone had accidentally left behind…”

  One of the guests stood up and hugged the young woman. “I’m sure it was quite a shock for you,” said the older woman. Millie and her husband Chet were retired and touring the eastern seaboard. The warmth of Millie’s touch helped Sara to relax.

  Brenda came inside and spoke with the group. “Did anyone see anything unusual when you came back to the bed and breakfast?”

  All shook their heads in the negative. Sara and Alan didn’t repeat what they had seen, at the earlier advice of Brenda. She asked them to keep that to themselves until the police were further into the investigation. Mattie and Drake sat in easy chairs in the corner, apart from the others, quiet and watchful. Jake Smith remained standing next to the Reverend Thomas Kelly and the others waited for their next instructions. Detective Mac Rivers came inside with his young detective, Bryce Jones. He announced that each guest would be interviewed to take their statements and determine their whereabouts that evening. Brenda saw Drake open his mouth to protest but then he stayed silent and refrained.

  Mac suggested to Brenda privately that they should begin with the couple who found Mason on the ground. Detective Bryce Jones selected the older couple Millie and Chet first. He felt they were the least likely to have been involved but also may be more observant than the younger guests.

  Sara and Alan sat in the secluded alcove off the main hallway, across from the antique cherry desk, as the lead detective sat down and Brenda sat next to him. Mac explained Brenda’s position with the police department as a special deputy for investigations.

  “Tell us the exact events, from the time you left the festival until you found the body,” Mac said.

  Sara shuddered at the term he used. Alan spoke first. “We left the park after we packed everything from our booth back into the car—we saw you two sitting together with Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton. We wanted to leave the car behind and just enjoy the success of the night. We walked along the waterfront and down along the beach together. We wanted a little leisure time to enjoy the success we’ve had since coming to Sweetfern Harbor.”

  “Did you know Mason Eads before you arrived here?” Brenda asked.

  They shook their heads no vigorously. “Not at all. We met him that first night like everyone else,” Alan said. “I knew right away he was someone who liked the outdoors, mainly because of his fit and tanned appearance. That was the first time we met him.” Sara agreed with her husband.

  “I’m sorry you were the ones to find his body,” Mac said after gathering a few more details about times and their path of approach up the lawns to the house. “I know it’s been a bit of a shock, but you are important witnesses. We will probably have more questions later. You are free to go to your room or back to the sitting room. Do not leave the premises until further notice, and please do not discuss the case too much with the other guests.”

  Jake Smith was next in the room. Again, Mac explained Brenda’s status. He asked Jake the same initial question about Mason Eads.

  “I recognized him as someone I met a long time ago while out in California. I didn’t know him well…certainly we weren’t friends…and I was surprised to see him here. It was a crazy
coincidence, to say the least.” Jake’s demeanor was respectful.

  “He didn’t seem very impressed with your talents,” Mac prodded. “Did he know you played fiddle when you met in California? And when was that, exactly?”

  “I believe toward the end of high school. He enrolled in the same school as me when we were both seniors. That was long after I’d moved away from my grandfather’s hometown after his death. Anyway, Mason knew several of us played fiddle for fun, so I suppose that answer is yes.”

  “Had you run into one another since that time?” Brenda asked.

  “I don’t recall that we did. I know I seem young, but high school feels like a long time ago.” Jake was in his twenties, though he had done a lot of traveling and seemed sincere in his recollections.

  Brenda felt curious about Mason’s long ago move to Jake’s town and decided to research more into the backgrounds of both young men. Detective Rivers left the room with Jake to summon the Reverend. When the men returned, Thomas Kelly stumbled slightly at the threshold and quickly regained his balance. His left eye twitched a couple of times and Mac told him to sit down, worried for the older man’s wellbeing. The Reverend passed it off as merely fatigue after a long day of walking in town and at the festival and apologized.

  The detective asked him if he had remained downtown from the time he left the bed and breakfast until he came back with the others.

  “I was there the entire evening. Most of my time was with two friends of mine who were at the clergy meeting earlier.” When asked if he noticed any guests leave before the others, he said, “I didn’t notice. Other than the young couple. They had a booth set up, and I saw young Alan boxing things up and loading their car again when the other vendors started packing up. I suppose they came back here, but I can’t be sure of that.”

  Brenda asked him how long he had known Mason Eads. The twitching returned in his left eye and the man apologized again, passing a weary hand over his face. “I met him the day I checked in at Sheffield Bed and Breakfast. I thought he was perhaps an angry young man looking for a fight, so I did my best to step in that first night when he had such rude manners. I wish I could have done something more for him, God rest his soul.” Brenda nodded and realized perhaps the clergyman had taken more of an active interest in Mason than she previously believed.

  After Thomas Kelly left the room, Mac said, “I don’t think he had anything to do with it, Brenda. He’s a minister, after all. An Episcopal Priest.”

  “He’s also human.” She paused for a few seconds. Mac waited as she worked something out in her mind that had been bothering her all evening. “He said he was with his clergy friends all evening, but we both saw him standing in the audience with Mattie and Drake Cabot. The other people around them were townspeople we both know. Did you see anyone we didn’t know?”

  Mac leaned back in his chair, thinking. “I don’t recall. I only glanced over at him when you pointed him out with the Cabots. I really can’t say. Perhaps he meant he was with his friends before we saw him with the Cabots.” They agreed to follow up with Thomas a little bit later.

  The next called in were Mattie and Drake. “I hope this won’t take all night,” Drake said. “We’ve had a long day and would like to get to bed.”

  “What did you do that made you so tired?” Mac asked conversationally.

  “I mean the salt air and this climate has really slowed us down. That’s what we wanted. It is the only chance we’ll have to get caught up on sleep and then it’s back to work again.”

  “What kind of work do you do?” Brenda said.

  The couple glanced at one another and seemed to signal that the answer would be up to Mattie. “We own our own marketing business in American-made crafts and products from different states. We buy from various states and travel quite a lot.” Brenda pressed for the name of their business.

  “What does that have to do with the investigation?” Drake said. Mattie smiled and patted his arm.

  “The name of our business is Handmade Appreciated.” She smiled tiredly at Brenda. “We want to promote products that are truly made with love in America and appreciated.”

  Mac asked their whereabouts from the time they left the bed and breakfast and throughout the evening during the main part of the jamboree. Both stated they’d stayed downtown at the park and shopped the booths looking for more inventory as well as keepsakes for themselves. Mattie said they walked back behind several other guests who opted to leave when things were winding down at the festivities.

  “Did you know Mason Eads before you arrived here?” Brenda said after a pause.

  “We met him for the first time at that dinner,” Drake said. “He was a disgruntled sort, if you ask me.”

  “I think his interest lay only in surfing,” Mattie said. “He must have found it boring to interact with everyone else here for that reason.”

  Brenda decided to withhold a remark about how the Cabots seemed to also be bored by and detached from everyone else. Mac excused the couple and told them, as he did everyone else, not to leave the premises or discuss the details of the interviews until further notice. The other guests completed their interviews for statements and most went to their rooms and to bed. Sara and Alan were the last to climb the stairs and Brenda heard Sara murmur, “I’m sure I will be too shaken up to fall asleep until well past midnight.” The couple yawned and disappeared up the stairs.

  Though the hour was late, Brenda told Mac she was going to get onto her computer while matters were still fresh in her mind. He kissed her goodnight and told her not to stay up too late.

  Brenda searched for information about the young musician first. Jake Smith had told the truth about his grandfather, and Jake himself merited several mentions in music performances reviews about his rising star in the world of fiddling. He studied under his grandfather the Shredder, of course, but also with other renowned fiddlers. Brenda gained an appreciation for Jake’s world; she realized she had no idea how big such a career could be for someone with the inclination to entertain that way. The musician biographies she found online contained a lot of detail. She continued down one page about his childhood and how he had been drawn to the fiddle from a very young age. He traveled across the United States and into the Eastern Canadian provinces to compete with some of the best. He even had a few first place prizes to his name, despite his young age. However, nothing suspicious turned up at all, so she set Jake aside for the moment.

  She moved next to the Cabots. Brenda searched for their Handmade Appreciated business and was surprised to find nothing. There were several companies with variations of that name but none with an exact match. She was sure she heard Mattie correctly, but perhaps Mattie left out a word in the title, or perhaps they were just hard to find. Then she searched just for Drake Cabot’s name and discovered a number of public records: She found out he was born and raised in Santa Monica, California, and so was Mattie. They attended the same college. Brenda did a double-take when she read the last paragraph in a news article: It stated the Cabots filed a lawsuit against a business for infringement. The name of the former business partner was Mason Eads. Brenda felt floored. When she looked up the court record, the lawsuit claimed Eads had committed a trademark infringement on their company concept, resulting in a loss of income in the six figures. The Cabots apparently lost the lawsuit, but she could not find any more details about the business partnership they had once shared with Mason Eads. One thing was clear—the couple were lying and now loomed as prime suspects in Brenda’s mind.

  There was still more to discover, however. When she brought up Mason Eads, his public records, too, indicated he was born and raised in Santa Monica and graduated from the same college as Mattie and Drake, though a number of years after them. There was little else concerning his background and upbringing, but a brief mention on an alumni website stated he was in partnership with the Cabots for a short period of time and planning to “move on to new ventures,” whatever that meant. As for the infringement l
awsuit, the only thing she could puzzle out was that his business name must have been too close to the one the Cabots used: He was exporting California-made products and at one point seemed to use the Cabot’s information to claim his business was larger than it really was. The issue was complex, but it seemed Mason had essentially lied and claimed they were all working together, when of course they weren’t.

  Brenda heard Mac’s bare feet patter across the hardwood floor. “Do you know what time it is, Brenda? Come on to bed and get some rest.”

  “You’re right, Mac. I’ll get some sleep and then return to what I’ve found so far.” She filled him in on her discoveries. “The Cabots have been lying to us. They did know Mason Eads quite well before they all came here. I don’t know why they would choose the same weekend, unless it’s a bad coincidence, since it looks as if their business relationship with him ended badly.”

  “You may be onto something, Brenda. We have to bring them back in for more questions, but it would be good to get more background information. Do you think you can find more?”

  “I think so. There’s a way to look up court records from Santa Monica online but it’s very confusing…” She let out a big sleepy yawn and Mac chuckled.

  “Start again tomorrow when you are rested, and you’ll see things in a much clearer light. I’ve learned that the hard way over the years.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “Keep me updated on what you find, and I’ll start looking at things in a new light, too, once I have Bryce’s input. He can be astute when needed. And, I’m curious about the final report from the coroner. Perhaps we’ll learn something if the coroner can narrow down what kind of murder weapon it was.”

  The next morning, a few guests came downstairs early. It seemed no one slept well. In hushed tones, they discussed the horrific scene they witnessed just inside the wrought iron gate the night before, trying to avoid specifics, as instructed by the detectives.