by Nan Sampson
Ellie wasn’t going to argue. “Great. We’ll be over later. You don’t have to meet us, just leave the clothes in a paper sack behind the front desk, we can just zip in and pick it up.”
“Okay. Gotta run!”
She hung up with Bella feeling like she’d made a major discovery, but when she told Charlie, he seemed less enthused.
“Ellie, those spots could be anything.”
“They could also be blood. Do we know what Margaret was wearing when she was found?”
“We, as you put it, know nothing about it.”
“Then she could have been wearing those jeans and that coat. They were covered in blood and mud though, so the killer left them outside Margaret’s room, hoping that Bella would wash them – which she did – thereby erasing evidence.”
Charlie wouldn’t stop being negative. “Why on earth would the killer have removed her clothes? Why bring them back to the inn? Why not just ditch them somewhere, the same way he did with the boots?”
“I don’t know. Look, just humor me. Examine them. If it turns out it doesn’t look like blood, then—”
“Whether it does or not, we’re turning it all over to Bill. Got that?”
“Fine. But please, just use your expert eye on them first, okay?”
She ended the call as he was saying something about not being a forensic expert. She didn’t want to hear it. She felt they were finally close to an answer, and she refused to let any negativity spoil her mood.
The grocery sack that Chloe handed them when they got to The Birches that night held three items of clothing – a gaudy red sweater that even Ellie recognized Margaret having worn, a very expensive pair of jeans, and the elegant wool Burberry coat. There was also a note taped to the bag in an envelope. Ellie opened it, scanned it and smirked. “Bella is insisting we stay for dinner.”
Charlie was more than amenable. “It’s either that or left over macaroni and cheese.”
They opted to stay, and after a lovely dinner of eggplant parmesan with crusty French bread and a delightful bread pudding for dessert, Ellie was practically dozing in her chair. “If we keep up all this socializing, I’m going to gain fifty pounds. I haven’t even been running lately.”
Charlie gave her the once over. “You’re nicely round in all the right places, so don’t change on my account. But I hear that running increases libido, so if you want to start running in the frigid cold then at least you’ll be more likely to let me warm you up when you come back.”
She felt herself blushing again. “You are incorrigible. You’d think you were sixteen.”
She quickly changed the topic, still feeling very uncomfortable even thinking about their sex life, much less talking about it. “So what do you think about the clothes?”
“From the cursory glance I had before we were shepherded off to dinner, I’d say… I don’t know. Might be blood. Might be hair coloring. Could just be mud.”
“Isn’t there some kind of test you can do? What about that stuff they spray things with in all those forensic shows?”
“Luminol? I’m no expert, but I don’t know how well that would work on an item that’s been dry cleaned. If had just been washed, it would still show up. In any case I don’t happen to have a bottle of it in my trunk, nor do I have an ‘alternate’ light source to use with it.”
She was about to object, but he held up his hand, and continued. “What I can promise you is that Bill will send the items off to the state crime lab and they’ll do their thing. Anything I might do would be inadmissible in court anyway and likely be considered tampering with evidence.”
She frowned. “I don’t suppose you could send it to some of those men in black that keep coming round. Wouldn’t they do a better job?”
“I doubt it. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab is excellent at what they do. I don’t think the folks in Virginia could do any better.”
“Would that be Quantico, Virginia?”
He gave her a cryptic smile. “I can say with all honesty that the answer to that question is no.”
That surprised her. She was sure those guys that had come several times to visit Charlie had been Feds. “Okay, then—”
He interrupted her. “Ellie, just take it on faith that both Bill and I will make sure those items of clothing are tested thoroughly, okay? Sometimes,” he leaned forward and captured her gaze, “just sometimes, you actually have to let other people do the job and trust them to do it well.”
She sat back in her chair and harrumphed. “That’s not something I’m particularly good at. In my experience, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself.”
He sighed and shook his head, but there was a still a twinkle in those remarkable blue eyes. “You are… a completely unique and fascinating creature, Robin Elspeth Gooden.”
She let it go, only because she had no grounds upon which to argue further. She could only hope that the clothes would lead them somewhere, anywhere, away from Josh being the killer.
Still, she had to have the last word. “Fine, but don’t ever call me Robin again or I’ll shave off all your hair while you sleep.”
The next evening was the monthly meeting of the local shop owners. Ellie arrived a little late, having closed up for Marg – she’d been filling in for Ellie way too much lately.
There were about four of the regulars there when Ellie arrived. Ellie’s friend and fellow pagan, Laura Lincoln was there, along with the proprietess of the gift shop across the way, Sarah Kreiger. Jon-Peter, the town’s green grocer was at the bar, getting a round of drinks, and Millie Hepplewhite, a Brit ex-pat and the owner of Plantopia, the ‘alternative chemist shoppe’ was just coming back from the lady’s room.
Ellie sat down at her place at the table and accepted the Old Peculiar that Jon-Peter handed her, noting who was here and who wasn’t. “Where’s Dusty?”
“Got stuck taking Sierra to basketball practice because Rayne got called into work.”
“Poor thing. One more reason to avoid ever having kids.” The minute she said it, she regretted it. “Sorry,” she said to the pregnant British expat. “That didn’t come out right.”
Millie still looked a bit green, even after her trip to the restroom. “No offense taken.” She pulled a home-made tea bag out of her purse and the wonderful smell of mint wafted across to Ellie, as Jon-Peter passed her a pot of hot water and a tea mug.
Laura Lincoln was sipping at a dark red Guinness. “Okay, I can’t wait any longer, I don’t care who isn’t here yet. Ellie, you’ve got to fill us in on everything.”
She looked surprised. She’d been hoping to use tonight to learn what everyone else knew. “Me? Why am I the appointed expert?”
“Because you’re practically shacking up with tall, dark and ‘I used to be a cop’. Marg says Bill Gruetzmacher has been spending a lot of time with him.”
She nearly said something about how Marg should know, as she’d been spending a lot of time with Bill too. “Well, you know what they say about cops’ significant others. Always the last to know.”
“Oh, come on, Ellie. Spill it.”
She took a gulp of beer. She didn’t like being the center of attention. She much more preferred sitting in the corner and soaking up the local chit chat. “Fine. I’ll tell you everything I know, and maybe suspect, but in turn you guys have to tell me everything you’ve been hearing. Deal?”
Everyone nodded eagerly.
Ellie licked her lips and took, a moment to organize her thoughts, realizing for the first time how little time she’d actually spent thinking about the crime, and how much time she’d spent reacting to it instead. Then she laid it out for her audience.
“Okay. First, we know that Link Fairweather was a schmuck of the first order. He was rude and inconsiderate to the people that he worked with, and apparently to his own relatives as well. I’m assuming you all heard about what happened that night at dinner, with Alphie Mueller.”
There were nods. The Horizon gossip network was unbelievab
ly efficient.
“So just to make sure we’ve all got it straight, Link sold the old Mueller property out from under Alphie and he was able to do that by being in control of his mother’s finances.” She didn’t want to reveal anything that Charlie had learned, or that she thought Alphie might have told her in confidence, but that much at least was true and easily verifiable. It might even be common knowledge among the locals.
“So why didn’t Chief Gruetzmacher arrest Alphie?” Jon-Peter asked. “Sounds like she’d be good for this.”
Laura Lincoln shook her head. “Because not only was the body found on the Mough’s farm, but Josh’s fingerprints were on the murder weapon.”
“They were?” Ellie felt her heart skip.
“Well, that’s what I heard.”
“From who?” Ellie demanded.
“From Les Proud. He said he heard it from Seth’s nephew, Marcus, who saw it himself on the report from the crime lab.” Laura fixed Ellie with an incredulous look. “You mean you didn’t know?”
“I didn’t know they’d confirmed it. I knew Josh had touched the weapon.”
Jon-Peter shook his shaggy blond head. “Don’t understand why the kid would do that. Just plain stupid. Anybody knows not to touch the murder weapon.”
Ellie felt the need to defend Josh, but Millie beat her to it. “He was probably in shock, finding Link like that. I heard the shovel was on top of Link, so the boy probably moved it to see if Link was still able to be helped.”
Laura looked to Ellie. “Is that true?”
Ellie didn’t feel like an expert anymore. “It’s what Josh said happened, and I don’t doubt him.”
Sarah finally put her two cents in. “Well, I was hoping it would turn out to be The Odious Margaret. I hate to admit it, it’s not a very nice thing to say, but I can’t say I’m sad that she’s gone.”
Millie nodded. “She was a horrible woman. I don’t know what Karl Howard saw in her.”
Jon-Peter scoffed. “Karl saw someone who laughed at his jokes and would sleep with him - and probably more the latter than the former.”
Laura gave an exaggerated shudder. “Ew. Please do not put that image in my head.”
Sarah giggled. “Oh, I can’t even imagine.”
Millie got them back on track. “So if the Odious Margaret didn’t kill Link – and I can’t think of a reason for her to do it anyway – just the opposite in fact – then, who did?”
“You’re saying the two murders related?” Jon-Peter aksed.
All eyes turned to Ellie, who shrugged. “I don’t know why you’re all looking at me – you seem to know everything I did and then some, but if you want my opinion, they have to be related.”
Millie looked relieved. “Well, then, that’s good, right? I mean, for Josh? Because he couldn’t have killed the Odious Margaret if he was in jail for killing Link. Right?”
It would have been a nice thought, but except for Ellie’s theory. “Unless Margaret was killed the same night as Link.”
Jon-Peter was nodding, and asked, “What makes you say that?”
“Well, think about it. Everything I’ve heard, even on the news, says that her body was found after a pile of snow on top of her melted. Well, the snow melted the day after Link’s body was found, and no one saw Margaret’s face after the dinner at The Birches that night.”
“What about the pile of clothes with the nasty note to Bella?” Laura asked.
Ellie shook her head. “There was a pile of clothes left outside her room, but there was no note to Bella. The only note left was by Bella, to Margaret, telling her to wash them herself.”
“Oh. I’d head that Roesch left Bella a nasty note in which she demanded that Bella take care of them.”
Millie nodded. “I heard the same thing.”
“Well, that’s not what Bella told me, and she ought to know.”
Jon-Peter waved at the bartender, who tonight was Big Al’s nephew, Roger Loritz, to bring them another round. “So you’re saying that Margaret stripped off her dirty clothes, left them outside her door and then…”
Ellie shook her head. “No. I’m saying that the killer left those clothes outside her door, to make it look like Margaret was still alive and well.”
“But why?”
“I think to delay anyone hunting for her body.”
Laura was beginning to see. “So you’re saying that Margaret would have been found in her underwear. Or even less.” She made a face. “Ugh. Can you image? Stripping a dead body?”
Ellie refrained from mentioning that she hadn’t been completely naked. There had been the one shoe…
“Unless she were already naked,” Jon-Peter said. “Hey, maybe Karl Howard killed her. Konked her on the head after sex.”
Sarah put a hand over her mouth. “Ew! Damn it, JP, I can’t unsee that. Now I’m not going to be able to eat. Thanks alot.”
“Hey, I’m just saying. It makes more sense than Josh killing Margaret.”
Laura shook her head. “He had a perfectly good reason to want Margaret dead. The Odious One was trying to poach his parent’s land. You know what kind of financial straits they’re in these days. Heck, Josh’ll probably have to have a public defender if this thing goes to trial.”
Millie held up a hand. “Right, so let’s back up a tick. We all believe that Josh is innocent, right?”
There was some hesitation, Ellie noticed, but everyone eventually nodded their agreement.
Millie continued. “So, despite the evidence, let’s put him aside as a suspect. We’ve already said that Alphie probably had a motive. She’s an absolute fanatic about that property, even though she hasn’t lived there for years, and it’s a run-down wreck. Could she have done it?”
Laura brought up the question that Charlie had asked when Ellie proposed Alphie as a suspect. “What would it have gotten her? The property was already sold, as I understand it. Right, Ellie?”
“As far as I know. But it’s not like I’ve seen the deed or anything.”
Millie continued. “Maybe she thought that if she killed Link that the property would revert to her.”
“Or maybe,” Laura interjected, “she didn’t care. She just wanted revenge.”
Jon-Peter was shaking his head. “Alphie? Little old Alphie Mueller? Good Lord, that woman couldn’t pick up a shovel, much less hit somebody over the head with it.”
Ellie had to admit that was the flaw in her line of reasoning. “Yeah, I can’t picture her having the strength either. What I’d really like to know is how Margaret was killed.” She leaned closer to them, trying to keep her voice pitched low. “I have it on good authority that there is blood from two different people on the shovel found on top of Link’s body. That means—”
Laura met her eyes and gave a triumphant grin. “That the shovel was used on both Link and the Odious One.”
Jon-Peter shook his head. “Or that the killer hurt himself with it. Or it was used to whack a rat or a mouse. I use my shovel to beat the stupid moles that dig in my garden.”
Everyone else but Sarah, who’d grown up on a farm, made a face. Millie, who had never self-identified as a pagan, but who was one nevertheless, gave Jon-Peter a hard look. “There are other ways to get rid of unwanted animals in your garden, JP. Stop by my shop come spring and I’ll set you up with some coyote urine.”
Jon-Peter rolled his eyes. “Bleeding hearts.” He let out a huffy breath. “At any rate, it’s all just guessing unless somebody here knows how Roesch was killed.” He scanned their faces, stopping at Ellie. “Well, Gooden? I mean, what good is it you shacking up with an ex-cop if you can’t give us the real scoop?”
She frowned. “Charlie—”
Laura was quick to rescue her. “Charlie can’t tell her anything. Bill Gruetzmacher would probably have him arrested for leaking confidential information to the public. He can be such an asshole about rules. Do you know he fined me for jaywalking? For jaywalking, for pity’s sake.”
“Whatever. It sti
ll doesn’t answer my question. How did the Odious Margaret die?”
Ellie shrugged, glad to no longer be the focus. “I don’t know.” She turned to Laura. “Do you think you could have a chat with Les again? Maybe Marcus has told him something else?”
Her friend pressed her lips together. “Good Lord. If I do that, then Les will think I’m interested in him. He’s been after me for months to go out with him.”
Ellie could understand Laura’s predicament, probably better than most at the table. Couples were always trying to fix up their single friends and Laura was perfectly happy being single at the moment. “Sorry. Never mind.”
Laura paused, then pulled her cell phone out of her purse. “Oh, hell, I can’t stand not knowing. But I’m counting on all of you to get me out of whatever date Les proposes.”
She dialed and they all grew quiet, as they listened to the exchange. Ellie felt a bit like a voyeur.
“Hi, Les, this is Laura. Laura Lincoln?”
Laura rolled her eyes at the group, as Les spoke at length.
“Well, that’s so… nice of you. Actually, I called with a strange question. I’ve been talking to Herb Tarry, and he was wondering if he would be responsible for preparing Ms. Roesch’s body… uh huh…uh huh… well, the only reason he’s concerned is that he didn’t know how much reconstruction he’d have to do to make her look presentable for the family… oh, I see…really?… just the back? Well, that shouldn’t be too bad then…” She paused, clearly listening. “Oh. Well, certainly, I can do that. Um, under things too?” She gave the group a strange look, clearly surprised by what she was hearing. And then she said, “Herb and I? Well, you know, we’re just…friends.” Laura gave them all a pained expression. “Oh, gosh, Les, I don’t know about that. I wouldn’t say we’re exclusive, but…”
Ellie listened to Laura dance around Les’ solicitations for another minute, then couldn’t take it anymore. She said loud enough that Les could hear, “Laura, come on. We’re going to be late.”
Laura grinned. “Well, thanks, Les, but I really have to go. I have people waiting for me.”