Berried Alive

by Chelsea Thomas

  I threw up my hands, confused. “How could you know where Arthur is going?”

  “Remember what he said in the office? About the Massive Mart? And how he won’t let that store ruin our town, no matter what it takes?”

  I shrugged. “So you think he’s going back to town? To chain himself to the building?”

  Miss May shook her head. “I think he’s going after Rosenberg’s right-hand man.”

  My eyes widened. “Sudeer? That makes no sense. Sudeer is just following the orders of some big company. Killing him won’t solve anything.”

  “I don’t think Arthur’s thinking straight right now.” Miss May turned to Teeny. “Make your next right.”

  Teeny nodded and stepped on the gas.

  I remembered Sudeer’s little babies and sighed. “I hope we get there before it’s too late.”

  36

  Hasty Hastings Hating

  CRACK. BOOM.

  I’ll never forget the sound of that gunshot echoing across Hastings Pond.

  We were less than a mile away when we heard it. But we might as well have been on the other side of the Atlantic. That’s how helpless I felt. That gunshot could have meant that we were already too late.

  Teeny sped up as soon as the sound echoed. “Was that—”

  “A gunshot,” Miss May said. “Speed up.”

  Teeny squealed the convertible around a corner. “I’m going as fast as I can!”

  Crack. Boom. Another gunshot.

  Miss May set her jaw. “Chelsea, call—”

  “I’m already on it.” I called 911 with hasty, trembling fingers and reported the shots.

  Seconds later, Teeny screeched to a stop outside Sudeer’s modest home. Arthur had parked his bike out front. The vintage Indian suddenly seemed less like a sweet ride and more like a symbol of doom.

  I took a deep breath. “All right. Let’s get in there.”

  I moved to get out of the car but Miss May caught me by the arm. “Slow down. We need a plan.”

  Crack. Boom.

  Another gunshot.

  “There’s no time for a plan,” I said, barely recognizing the sound of my voice. No time for a plan?! I’m supposed to be the reasonable one! What was I saying? “Follow me!”

  Without thinking, I jumped out of the van and darted around the side of the house.

  Once around back, my eyes shot from the window, to the door, to the roof. Searching for a way in the house.

  Miss May arrived at my side seconds later. “See a way in?”

  I shook my head.

  “It’s quiet,” Miss May said. “Why don’t I hear anything?”

  That time, it was my turn to hold my fingers to my lips. I gestured at the back window. A bullet hole had pierced the center of the glass.

  I stepped toward the broken window and I could hear crashing and grunting from inside.

  The sounds of a struggle.

  I climbed onto a cinderblock ledge and looked inside. Sudeer and Arthur wrestled on the living room floor. Fighting for their lives.

  “They’re in there,” I whispered.

  “Who’s winning?” Miss May asked.

  I looked back. Arthur had Sudeer pinned to the ground. The gas station owner was older and smaller than Sudeer, but he fought like a killer. And I knew he’d kill again.

  “Arthur’s winning,” I said. “By a lot.”

  The gun laid on the floor a few feet away. Arthur shoved an elbow into Sudeer’s throat and reached for the weapon. Arthur’s fingertips grazed the handle, but the gun was too far away.

  I had to do something. So I jumped down from the cinderblock, crossed the lawn and yanked a lawn gnome from the dirt.

  “What are you doing? Miss May asked. “Chelsea, wait! Maybe... Maybe I was wrong. The police will be here in a minute. It’s not safe in there..”

  I looked inside. Arthur was centimeters from curling his fingers around that gun.

  ”We need to do something. Now.”

  Miss May sighed. “OK. But be careful. All right?”

  I nodded. Then I hoisted the lawn gnome above my head and...

  Crash.

  I shattered the window with the gnome. Then I used his pointy red hat to clear the shards from the window frame. Wordlessly, Miss May give me a boost and I climbed through the shattered pane.

  Arthur and Sudeer looked up from their scuffle as I entered.

  Arthur scowled. “Chelsea Thomas. You little idiot. You think you’re a detective? Well, this is your last case! And I’ll tell you how it ends.”

  “I already know how it ends,” I said. “You go to jail.”

  “I don’t think so.” Arthur jumped off Sudeer in a flash and pounced on the gun. Sudeer got to his feet. But then Arthur spun back and pistol whipped him across the jaw with the gun. Sudeer reeled across the room and rattled against a book shelf.

  Arthur spun and trained the gun on me. He laughed. “You think you’re smart just because you figured out my last name? Because you figured out that my greedy money-pig brother kicked me out of the family? You should be ashamed for snooping like you do! You and your nosy aunt.”

  Inch by inch, I tried to get closer to Arthur as he spoke. I hoped his monologue would keep him busy and he wouldn’t notice me.

  “If you stop me from finishing this you’re just as bad as Hank and his awful cronies,” Arthur said. “You want that? You want to ruin our wonderful town forever? Massive Marts don’t belong in Pine Grove. And neither did my brother. That capitalist swine. He turned my parents against me. And I retreated to this tiny little town, alone and angry. I hated it at first. But over the years? I came to love Pine Grove. The simplicity. The slow pace of life. I found a happiness I’d thought impossible after my brother ruined my life. But Hank? He couldn’t allow me to be happy. He couldn’t leave me alone!”

  Arthur gestured to Sudeer. “And this fool is even worse! He lives in this town. Ye he was ready to build that abomination of a store. And for that... He too deserves to die.”

  “Arthur,” I said. “I understand where you’re coming from. But—”

  Arthur put his finger on the trigger. “Sorry, Chelsea. It’s too late to talk your way out of this.”

  Sudeer cowered in the corner. “Arthur. You don’t have to do this.”

  Arthur’s eyes were ablaze with fear and fury. I could tell his animal instincts had taken over. I had no choice but to fight fury with fury.

  Good thing my inner animal knew karate.

  Thwap!

  With one swift spin, I roundhouse kicked the gun out of Arthur’s hand.

  Arthur stumbled backward, but he soon regained his footing and squared off against me. He smiled.

  “You think you’re the only person who knows karate? You forget. My horrible little brother was a champion martial artist. And I was at every one of those lessons.”

  Arthur lunged, but I sidestepped him. But he spun around without missing a step and drilled a karate chop into my arm.

  Ouch.

  I stumbled back and Arthur advanced.

  I blocked the next hit, but Arthur followed with a kick to my jaw and I careened into the wall.

  He laughed as I spat blood onto the carpet. But when I looked up, I had a realization.

  I had let Arthur back me into a corner. And I had tried to block and defend myself.

  But that was all wrong.

  I narrowed my eyes. Then I ran toward Arthur, ducked another hit, and delivered a roundhouse kick into his gut.

  Arthur fell over a table and I leapt onto him, pinning my forearm against his throat.

  “Your must have missed the most important lesson,” I said, hearing Master Skinner’s voice in my head. “Lean in.”

  SECONDS LATER, CHIEF Flanagan stormed through the front door with Wayne. Before I knew it, Flanagan had Arthur cuffed in the back seat of her squad car.

  I called out before Flanagan slammed the door, “Arthur!”

  He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “Ther
e’s one thing I don’t understand... You killed Rosenberg because of your family feud, and because he threatened Pine Grove. You wanted Sudeer dead because he was moving forward with construction. But what did Wallace ever do to you?”

  Arthur snarled like the mean alpha coyote in the woods. “Wallace was just another symptom of the decline of our town! He was a lunatic, unhinged and unpredictable. He kept staring at my motorcycle when I drove down Main Street, like he knew some secret about me. So I followed him one day to see if he was onto me. I saw he had stolen Arthur’s case. And I knew he had to go.”

  Flanagan slammed Arthur’s door closed, climbed into the squad car and drove away.

  Wayne joined me as I watched Flanagan pull away and for the first time that day I got a good look at him. He had a perfect 5 o’clock shadow. He stood tall. His muscular chest appeared to be made of steel. But I felt nothing.

  “Sounds like things got rough in there. Are you OK?”

  I turned to him. “Yeah. I used my karate. I leaned in.”

  Wayne smiled and nodded. “Amazing. You’re amazing. I just wanted to say... thank you. Thanks to you another bad guy is behind bars.”

  ”I didn’t work alone, you know.”

  I looked over at Teeny and Miss May. It had only been a matter of minutes since we’d narrowly escaped death, but they were already laughing about something over by the van. That’s so typical, I thought. Best friends forever.

  Shifting my attention back to Wayne, I remembered that I’d also had help from another unidentified source. The knocking cat that had appeared on my windowsill.

  Wayne smirked, and I suddenly realized where the cat might have come from...

  “Actually,” I said. “We may have had help from inside the police force, too.”

  Wayne raised his eyebrows. “Flanagan?”

  I shook my head. “Not Flanagan.”

  I mimicked the knocking cat motion with my fist. “We had help from a little kitty on my window.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” Wayne said. “But uh, hey... How would you like to grab dinner and a movie one night?”

  I laughed. “I’ve heard that’s how traditional, small-town people enjoy one another’s company in the Western world.”

  Wayne cocked his head. “What are you talking about?”

  I waved him off. “Never mind. Inside joke.”

  Wayne stood on one leg for a few seconds. “So... is that a yes?”

  I grinned. “That’s a maybe.”

  I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want to commit to a date with Wayne. I enjoyed teasing him. That was part of it. But maybe I also had a deeper motivation.

  Wayne and I had shared a big, romantic dance after the last case. But then he’d vanished for months. Sure. He had been a witness in a prominent murder case. But was that something I wanted to deal with long-term?

  I wasn’t sure. And weirdly, that uncertainty gave me confidence.

  “OK,” Wayne said. “Maybe it is, then.”

  Wayne walked back toward his car and drove away.

  Somehow, even though I’d left things in limbo with Wayne, I felt like I’d leaned in. And I was proud.

  Sure, I tripped and fell down on the way back to the van. But for the brief few seconds before that... I felt proud.

  37

  After Party

  AFTER SOLVING THE MYSTERY of Hank and Wallace’s murders, we planned to host one of our classic wrap parties. And word must have gotten out. Because when we showed up at Grandma’s the morning after Arthur’s arrest, over a hundred people had lined up outside, waiting to celebrate.

  Deb sat on a lawn chair, holding Sandra Day O’Connor in her lap. Big Dan and KP talked cars and donuts behind her. Master Skinner led a “waiting in line” meditation behind them.

  I also spotted quite a few people I didn’t recognize. A cluster of New York City hipsters crowded toward the end of the line, wearing flannel and cross-referencing their smart phones to make sure they had shown up at the right restaurant to meet the right sleuths.

  Oddly, Grandma’s was closed. Teeny was nowhere to be found. The doors were locked. And the lights were off.

  Miss May called out to the town lawyer, Tom Gigley, as we walked to the front of the line. “Tom, what’s going on here?”

  Gigley shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m hungry. These hipsters look hungry. I don’t know what the heck is up, but Teeny is dropping the ball on this one!”

  As if by magic, Teeny emerged from the restaurant with a smile. ”Maybe Teeny was waiting to open until her guests of honor arrived.”

  Miss May and I laughed.

  Teeny gestured to the crowd. “Can we get three cheers for our sleuths, people?”

  The mob responded with gusto.

  “Hip hip hooray!”

  “Hip hip hooray!”

  “Hip hip hooray!”

  The cheers embarrassed me. But Miss May spread her arms wide, soaking in the adoration. Until the fourth cheer started, and she’d had enough.

  “OK everyone. Enough cheering. I’m hungry!”

  Miss May stepped toward the restaurant, but Teeny blocked her path. “Slow down. The restaurant really is closed today.”

  Miss May looks confused. “But I thought you were waiting for the guests of honor.”

  “I just said that to be nice,” Teeny said. “But don’t worry. I have an even better idea for the big party.”

  Miss May and I exchanged a look. What could be better than Teeny’s cooking after a long, hard case?

  “I’m listening,” Miss May said. “But I was really in the mood for some Bodacious Berry Bake.”

  Teeny stepped outside, locked the door behind her and addressed the crowd. “OK people. You want to party with the sleuths? Follow me!”

  Teeny marched down main street with her hands on her hips. The crowd murmured in confusion. But then people drifted off behind Teeny. And a minute later, it looked like a full-blown parade.

  I smiled and jumped in line. But I couldn’t help but wonder... What did Teeny have in store?

  WE ARRIVED AT Peter’s Land and Sea about ten minutes later, out of breath from walking up the big hill.

  Petey must have heard us coming because he was waiting on the front walk when we approached. He smiled and gave Teeny a big hug.

  “Teeny! What’s going on here?” Petey asked.

  “Don’t worry about it, kiddo.”

  Teeny turned to the crowd, climbed up on a milk crate and addressed the confused and hungry masses. “People of Pine Grove. Fans of the sleuthing team of Chelsea, Teeny and Miss May. Hipsters that came up here to get a look at the local spectacle. You may not know this kid behind me yet. But hear you me, he is one of the best chefs in town. Nay! He is one of the best chefs on the east coast. And this place? Peter’s Land and Sea? It’s the most spectacular restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. We’re going to celebrate the end of the mystery here. And I want you all to come back often. This kid makes a killer bacon, egg and cheese. But lots of his food is fancy, too. I can’t even pronounce most of it. So come back for your birthdays, your anniversaries, I’m sure he does funerals too. I want you to promise me you’ll be back before we go inside. Do you promise?”

  The crowd cheered.

  KP called out from the back of the line. “Enough grandstanding! Let us in. We want to eat!”

  Petey gave Teeny another hug and thanked her with a tear in his eye. Then he opened the door, and the crowd entered his restaurant.

  Ten or fifteen minutes later, the restaurant was abuzz with happy chatter.

  Gigley loved the egg sandwiches so much he ate six in a row. KP ate seven to prove he could outdo Gigley. Petey kept the food coming, much to the delight of the crowd.

  Everywhere I turned, folks congratulated me and asked me to re-create my fight with Arthur. Miss May had exaggerated my karate skills, so I let people know the fight was no big deal.

  But then I scolded myself. I had played a critical role in apprehending Arthur, and my
karate skills had been vital. So I decided to demonstrate my sweet moves to anybody who asked.

  While I was showing off my roundhouse to the city hipsters, I noticed Teeny and Big Dan talking out of the corner of my eye. Teeny caught me looking and moseyed over to where I was kicking.

  “We’re just talking donuts, Chelsea, don’t be nosy,” Teeny said.

  “I’m not thinking anything romantic,” I said. “I was just wondering... Is he still going to open Big Dan’s Donuts?”

  Teeny was about to answer, but then the mayor climbed onto her table and clinked a glass.

  “Hello all. Can I have your attention please?”

  KP groaned. “More grandstanding. Great.”

  But the mayor demanded everyone quiet down, so we did.

  “Greetings people of Pine Grove,” she said. “I know you’re having fun so I’ll make this quick. It is my pleasure to announce that a Massive Mart will no longer be built in Pine Grove.”

  The townspeople clapped and cheered.

  But Miss May narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. ”Really?”

  The mayor nodded. “The builders don’t feel comfortable opening a new store in a town where their employees don’t feel safe. And apparently they experienced pressure to abandon the project from a couple federal agencies. So let’s celebrate! This is the one good thing these murders have done for Pine Grove.”

  More cheers erupted. Then Susan Rosenberg entered with Gwyneth and Alan Greenspan the Cat, and Miss May broke off from the crowd to meet them. I followed, egg sandwich in hand.

  Miss May approached with a soft smile. ”Susan. Gwyneth. How are you two?”

  Susan nodded. “Pretty broken up. But we wanted to thank you. However unpopular Hank was, he deserved justice. And you brought him that. I still have one question though... who was it that covered our home in roll after roll of toilet paper?”

  “It was a stranger,” I said. “An out-of-towner. Someone who was, uh...well, a fan of our sleuthing.” I hadn’t realized I knew the answer to that question until I’d blurted it out. But it all made sense as soon as I said it.