A Tangle in the Vines

by Anna Celeste Burke

  “There!” I pointed and Jim took off. Dahlia was speaking into a mic.

  “Don’t touch her!” she ordered as I knelt beside Mrs. Lincoln. “I ordered an ambulance and EMTs. I understand something like this happened last night when Jim and another officer went to her house to tell her we’d found her daughter’s body. They took her to the ER and, by her behavior today, I’m assuming she was given some heavy-duty medications. Wine would not have been a good idea.”

  “What was she doing here if you knew she wasn’t well?” I asked.

  “She wanted to see where we found her daughter’s body, and we want her to tell us which of several items we found belonged to her daughter.”

  “Why put her through that if what she wanted to do was visit the site where her daughter had been buried all these years?”

  “You know why,” Dahlia snapped. “We’re trying to keep the lid on this mess.” Rikki had come up on stage.

  “What Dahlia means is it’s the same reason we interviewed Brandy and her family here. We’re hoping to protect Rachel Lincoln’s privacy and the rest of the family members involved in this terrible ordeal.” Rikki knelt beside the woman who hadn’t moved since she hit the stage floor.

  “Since you’ve decided we’re all a bunch of conspirators, that’s not such a good idea.”

  “I’m sorry I lost my cool yesterday. It’s not just your privacy we’re concerned about. If you believe what Dustin told you, you’re a target, Lily, and the Sitter’s a very dangerous man.” Mrs. Lincoln stirred as Rikki took her pulse. I leaned in as Rachel Lincoln murmured.

  “Too old for a sitter,” is what I was almost certain she said. Rikki wasn’t paying attention as EMTs came racing toward us.

  “That was quick. I didn’t hear an ambulance,” I said as I scooted out of the way so they could examine Mrs. Lincoln. I hadn’t realized that her hand was touching me. When I moved, she roused from her stupor and reached for me. I bent down and squeezed her hand, and then Rikki and I left the stage.

  “After what went on with the elusive Numbers Man yesterday, Dahlia put one on call in the winery parking lot across the road.”

  “You can do that?” I asked.

  “We share rescue vehicles with the Fire Department,” Dahlia responded. “If they needed it for an emergency, they could still use it.”

  “From what Austin told us about the fire at the Watkins’ place, we’ve also got a fire truck on standby. Thanks for getting the information to us. You could have called me directly, though. I wish you would, Lily. Even minutes might make a difference with a man like the Sitter.”

  “I hear you, Rikki. Brandy’s dad said she couldn’t tell you much about Ms. Wainwright’s boyfriend. According to Billie, there were a couple of men at the school when he ran into her. Since you’re still asking questions about who Brandy’s teacher was seeing, I take it she wasn’t there to meet either of them?”

  “I wish that had been the case. They both gave us alibis for the evening Ms. Wainwright was killed. Before you ask, yes, she was there for a meeting with the choir instructor—a woman, not a man.”

  I nodded. It made me a little sad to think that they might have been there to plan another performance by Brandy and her classmates for Ms. Wainwrights’ sixth-graders.

  “Her sister was wrong if Ms. Wainwright making plans as if she expected to be teaching rather than packing her bags for a Vegas wedding and Hawaii honeymoon.” I was mostly talking to myself. Rambling really when another question suddenly seemed important to ask. “Rikki, when you and Dahlia spoke to Mrs. Lincoln earlier, did you ask her if she’d ever had a sitter for her daughter?”

  “We asked her generally about supervision, but not specifically about a sitter. Why?” I repeated Rachel Lincoln’s words for the two policewomen.

  “I guess she could have thought we were asking her a question about a sitter for Penney when she heard me say ‘sitter.’ She was out of it,” Rikki shrugged.

  “Either that or she’s deliberately trying to be evasive. Do you believe the drama you just witnessed onstage?” Jim joined us as Dahlia asked that question.

  “I had trouble following some of her rant, and there were contradictions in what she said. She admitted she’d seen the same black Camaro Jesse saw Penney get into out in front of her school, but I couldn’t understand why she believed Penney was leaving with a friend and her parent, or if she was saying that was the last time that she ever saw her daughter.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Dahlia said. “We tried several times to get her to clarify issues like that before she took off. What’s not clear to me is if she’s confused or holding out on us. The confusion could be an act. Why doesn’t she want to do everything in her power to help find the killer? Passing out on stage got her out of here, didn’t it?”

  “Rikki can tell you that Rachel Lincoln was out cold, so I don’t believe she was faking it. The fear on her face seemed real too. What could she have seen that scared her?”

  “Nothing as far as we can determine,” Jim replied. “We searched the entire area. There wasn’t a soul around other than the police officers on duty today. Members of the crime scene cleanup crew are all accounted for, and there’s only one investigator at each dumpsite to oversee the cleanup in case they missed something while collecting the evidence. Jesse says he and his field hands were in a completely different area of the vineyard. So, there’s no obvious explanation for what caused her to faint.”

  “By that, do you mean faint as in pass out or feint as in create a deception to distract us?” I shook my head and waved goodbye giving Dahlia the last word.

  Dahlia could be right that Mrs. Lincoln still wasn’t being completely truthful, but why not? Or maybe the fainting spell was related to a medical problem or the drugs prescribed for her at the hospital last night as Dahlia had also suggested. I could have been wrong to assume she was staring at something in the distance. Last night, Doctor Kennedy had appeared to be looking at the horizon when, in fact, he was peering into the past. Had an old memory or a new revelation been responsible for Mrs. Lincoln’s swoon?

  16 Another Lincoln

  The Lewis family had departed by the time I walked into the kitchen. Judy was still in the process of explaining all that had gone on to those who’d missed the events. I was glad to hear that Billie and Brandy had been so excited about being part of the opening night show, they’d hardly mentioned Rachel Lincoln’s dramatic entry. They’d missed her fainting spell, although when the ambulance left, the driver had used the sirens. Judy had explained that Mrs. Lincoln must have become ill and was being taken to the hospital.

  Billie had gone upstairs to put away his clothes and schoolbooks. Jim Brady had dropped them off before he’d escorted us to the theater. I’d snooped through Billie’s belongings, hoping his notebook was among them. No such luck. If they’d found the notebook, the police already had it.

  I filled everyone in on what had gone on after Judy left. They all agreed that Rachel Lincoln had to be distressed about her daughter’s death. Judy and my diva pals also had no qualms about insisting that Penney’s mother was hiding something—maybe the same something that had her frightened out of her wits. Zelda was emphatic.

  “Mrs. Lincoln can’t pretend anymore; she knows what happened to her daughter. She’s not just scared, but atterorizado!”

  “What’s that mean?” Billie asked as he bolted into the kitchen in worn jeans and a baseball jersey that was a size too large for him.

  “Terrified,” Zelda responded. Then she threw her arms up and made a face as if she was scared. “Like Andra Weis will be in our play.”

  “What should we have for lunch?” I asked, redirecting the conversation to a more pleasant topic. I admired the smooth way in which Zelda had avoided lying to Billie without having to go into the details about Penney Lincoln’s fate.

  In all the excitement of the morning, I hadn’t worried too much about the fact that Austin hadn’t called yet. I wanted him to
call so I could hear what he’d learned, but I also wanted to find out when he’d be home. Now that things had quieted down, I began to worry. I called him, but his phone was switched off.

  I kept busy by making a list of all the grocery items we needed. Unless we were set free soon, I’d have to get Doctor Kennedy to send Jim Brady shopping for us. He’d need a truck to do that at the rate we were eating our way through everything in the pantry, freezer, and fridge.

  When my phone rang, I grabbed it. Someone pounded on the backdoor, and Carrie dashed to open it. The angry look on Jesse’s face softened when Carrie smiled at him.

  “Hello, Austin,” I said as Jesse stepped inside and greeted Carrie. Despite Carrie’s soothing effect, Jesse was still all worked up.

  “What the heck is wrong with that woman?” Jesse bellowed.

  “What woman?” Austin asked. We had an echo in the house as Melody and Zelda asked Jesse the same question.

  “I think Jesse’s asking about Rachel Lincoln. She showed up here, escaped from Dahlia and Rikki, and then pitched a fit before passing out center stage. The EMTs hauled her away to the ER in an ambulance.” Then Billie rushed into the kitchen with the dogs.

  “Lily, Marshal Rikki’s at the front door. She needs to speak to you.”

  “Thanks, Billie. Please tell her I’ll be right there.” I hadn’t heard the doorbell ring or seen Billie leave the kitchen, so I’d missed my chance to hide.

  “As you heard, I’ve been summoned to the front door. Can you all answer Jesse’s questions about what happened to Rachel Lincoln?”

  “Austin, did you call to warn me Rikki’s ticked off with me about something? She told me I should call her directly rather than passing information to you first, but she didn’t seem mad at me.” I hustled down the hallway as I spoke to Austin.

  “No. In fact, she said the information you got from Dr. Kennedy was helpful. Dahlia already sent a team of officers to the Watkins’ place to see if there’s anywhere Dustin could be hiding.”

  “That’s good, I take it they didn’t find anything, or you’d be more excited than you are.”

  “I haven’t heard anything from them one way or another. You’ve had a busy morning. Did Brandy Lewis and her parents show up too?”

  “Yes. I’ve got plenty to tell you about their visit. Some of it’s even happy if you can believe that. First, I got to see what I’ve done to perturb my jailers.”

  “Yes, Rikki, what can I do for you?” I asked.

  “Are you expecting a delivery? There’s a moving van at the gate and a guy following him in a car that shouldn’t be on the highway as jampacked as it is. He says he’s not afraid of a serial killer, so we should let him onto the property.”

  “Gosh, he got here quick. That’s our set designer, Mick Daley. The sets are in the van. Let them in, please and tell them to turn off onto the road leading to the theater.”

  “I’m not a traffic cop. What I should do is turn them away.” Until then, I hadn’t noticed that Dahlia was standing on the porch, off to one side. It wasn’t her words, but the condescending tone in her voice that set my teeth on edge. She couldn’t have made me cringe more if she’d scraped her fingernails across a blackboard.

  “Are you kidding me? This is private property. I get to say who comes and goes. In fact, Dahlia, you’ve had all the time you get to pretend you’re running the Calla Lily Vineyards. They’re cleaning up the slime pit, so I don’t see why you even need to remain on my property. I want you and all your equipment out of the vineyards by midnight tonight. That also goes for the winery property. If you still need to get into the woods, ask one of the other property owners around here to help you out. Better yet, there must be a public access road somewhere, find it, and use it.”

  “Jesse!” I shouted. He came running with an entourage following him. “Will you call the gate and tell whoever’s time is being wasted by the police to let the moving van and the car behind the van in through the gates? Tell them to turn off onto the road leading to the theater and follow the signs for deliveries.”

  “Just so it’s clear, she’s the woman I was talking about, not Rachel Lincoln.” Jesse was on his phone as he pointed at Dahlia. It took twenty seconds to end the standoff at the vineyard gates. “After we spent almost an hour searching for a nonexistent intruder, Dahlia made me do a roll call. She checked every man on the work roster. We’re at least a couple of hours behind.”

  “Are you getting all this?” I asked Austin, turning away while Jesse vented.

  “Most of it. Just once, I’d like to call you without a knock-down-drag-out battle going on in the background.”

  “You and me both,” I replied.

  Dahlia was about to protest. I have no idea what she planned to say because it no longer mattered. Apparently, Rikki didn’t want to hear it, either. She put out an arm to keep Dahlia from stepping forward.

  “If you’ll let me speak, the main reason I came here was to tell you that we’re clearing out at the end of the day,” Rikki said. “I’m still advising you to take extra precautions given the points you just made about the gaps in security. You’ve got your friends and the child to worry about now.”

  “I agree, Rikki. I know you mean well. I’ll call my security consultant and see what else we can do. We’re going to be open to the public soon, so I don’t want it to look like an armed camp. If you want us all to be safe, find the killer.” I didn’t slam the door, but I did shut it.

  “Let’s all go meet Mick. Julie, will you make sure Mick parks near the door that leads straight into the basement? He’ll avoid most of the stairs that way. I’m going to lock up the house, and then I’ll be right there to see if I can talk the movers into hauling the stuff from the garage over there.” When everyone stood there, Judy spoke up.

  “We’re free to go, people.” That snapped everyone out of it.

  “Jesse, I know you’re incredibly busy, but you should go with us, so we can introduce you to Mick Daley. He’s going to be here the rest of the year.” She took his arm. “You heard what Rikki sad about gaps in security, we need you to come with us.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to be around until the end of the year, too?” He asked.

  “I don’t see why not. A Christmas in wine country would be fun, don’t you think?” Carrie asked looking over her shoulder at the other divas. Melody rolled her eyes, and Zelda put her fingers together into the shape of a heart, making Billie snicker. When they all took off, I spoke to Austin as I locked the door in the kitchen.

  “All clear, Austin!”

  “Woo-wee, woman, remind me never to rile you up like that!”

  “It’s taken several days before I finally lost it. Well, lost it again since you put an end to mudwrestling in the slime pit. They can’t say I didn’t try since then. What is it about Dahlia? Does she hate me because I love you?”

  Oops. Did I just say that? Austin was silent.

  “I love you too. I wish I was there to show you how much, Fire Lily.” I could see the smile on his face and the way he looked at me as though there was no one else in the world but me. I realized I’d taken a long pause.

  “The sparks were flying, weren’t they?” I asked.

  “Here, too! I do love feisty!”

  “So, you’ve said. That’s good because there’s plenty more where that came from, Cowboy,” I said, in a teasing way that left him speechless. I giggled, and then restarted the conversation.

  “What news do you have for me?” I asked as I slung my purse over my shoulder and tossed the keys into it after locking the front door. I searched around me, anxiously, as I hustled to catch up with the others.

  “I’ve already texted the information to Rikki. Maybe Dahlia’s upset because you’re a step ahead of them even while they’ve had you under lock and key. Anyway, the Chief said he told the police that the homeless man had been burned in a fire.”

  “Then it had to be Dustin,” I said, excited by his news. “Did your informant hear any
one call him by his name?”

  “No, but this is interesting. The girl with him called him ‘Rain Man.’”

  “Like the character Dustin Hoffman played opposite Tom Cruise in the movie?” I asked.

  “That’s what the Chief figured. Maybe it was a play on the fact that his real name is Dustin and she knew it, or maybe it was her version of a name like the Numbers Man.”

  “That couldn’t have been their first meeting is she knew him well enough to be aware of his interest in numbers, and to have a nickname for him.”

  “I agree. The Chief only saw him them together once, but Jesse saw Penney getting into the Camaro at school, so it’s possible she’d met Dustin on at least one other occasion.”

  “Chief Little Bigmouth has a good memory for names.”

  “Penney’ name stuck with the Chief because of the famous Lincoln penny, which is still popular among coin collectors. Stealing coins and other collectibles is among my pen pal’s favorite targets. He stole a very valuable penny which is what landed him in prison—especially since he never returned it.”

  “His retirement plan, I assume. If he’s ever released from prison.”

  “You could be right,” Austin responded. “They tacked on more years for his escape, but he’s been a model prisoner since then. Anyway, here’s the information I wanted to pass along to you before I get home because it’s related to the identity of the Sitter. The Chief claims Penney wasn’t the only Lincoln talking to the homeless man that day. The Chief says he never saw the guy because he was behind the wheel of a shiny black Camaro yelling at Penney. Penney called him Uncle Link.”

  “Are you kidding me? If he was her uncle, that means he must have been her stepfather’s brother, right? Can’t they track him down using that information?”