Scandal in Tawas

by Madison Johns

  “I don’t have to listen to this,” she said, as she stomped across the room and grabbed a glass of wine, drinking it thoughtfully. “Brandy wouldn’t stand a chance with Nash. He’s in love with me.”

  “I most certainly am not,” Nash said, as he walked inside. “Gather your things. You should check into the Tawas Bay Beach Resort.”

  “What did these old crows tell you about me?”

  I grabbed Eleanor’s arm before she could put a hurting on Liv. “It’s not worth it.”

  “All I told Brandy was that she shouldn’t show up to Sara’s party and make a spectacle of herself with Roman.”

  “Brandy auditioned for one of Roman’s movies,” I explained.

  “I told you to leave Brandy alone. She doesn’t deserve to be bullied just because you’re jealous of her success.”

  “She’s not successful,” Liv shouted, as she advanced on Nash. “Always the playboy, aren’t you? Well, I don’t need you. You wouldn’t be anything without me.”

  I gasped. “That’s a lie.”

  Liv turned on me. “Be quiet, grandma, before I push you out of that chair.”

  Nash threw up his arms and said, “I don’t know what I ever saw in you.”

  “You know damn well I’m the best woman you’ve ever known,” Liv said, as she stomped into the bedroom.

  “You better watch her, Moraine,” I said. “I’d hate to see you blamed for trashing the beach house.”

  “Good point.”

  “I’m really sorry, Nash,” I said.

  “There’s not a reason to be sorry. I just can’t believe she drove Brandy off like that. I need to talk Brandy back into staying at the mansion.”

  “It’s too late. Tom Lewis and Damon Bronson checked into her vacated room at the mansion.”

  “That shouldn’t surprise me. I hope Sara won’t have any trouble with them.”

  “So, what’s their story?”

  “They both have criminal records.”

  “For what?” I asked, as I trembled.

  “Assault and battery.”

  “You don’t think they’d murder Laith, do you?”

  Nash frowned for a moment. “Now, I wouldn’t say that.”

  “You don’t have to. We saw them earlier today at the mansion. They might have been the last ones upstairs before Laith’s body was found.”

  Nash’s brow furrowed. “How was he murdered?”

  “He had a wound to the back of his head,” I said. “We’ll have to wait until the autopsy report to find out the cause of death.”

  “We believe he was murdered,” Eleanor insisted.

  “What do you know about Julian?” I asked.

  “I never got the chance to meet him. He wasn’t at the party from what I remember.”

  “Sara’s publisher wasn’t at the party?” I asked for clarification.

  “Nope.”

  I swallowed hard. “I hope he’s okay.”

  “And not the murderer,” Eleanor added. “Although at this point we can’t rule him out.”

  “You see the thing is that everyone we want to question we can’t find. It’s like the ground opened up and they all got sucked inside.”

  “I doubt that, but I’ll be sure to call you if I hear from any of them. It’s really unusual that Sara would disappear like that without telling someone where she went.”

  “I just hope it was of her own volition.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  THE NEXT MORNING, I could put weight on my ankle and managed to make it into the bathroom without feeling like I would collapse. It still hurt but the cane helped. Would it be possible to do without the chair today?

  I pulled on a comfortable summer dress. It would be easier to use the bathroom without having pants to pull down. It was a shame to have to think that way, but it was part of having an injury. I worked my swollen feet into non-slip shoes.

  I slowly made my way into the kitchen, the fragrance of coffee drawing me near.

  I smiled at Andrew as I took my place at the table.

  “Did you sleep better last night?” Andrew asked.

  “I must have or I’d have woken you up with all my tossing and turning.”

  “Oh, that. You don’t exactly wake me up. I just get so worried about you that I don’t sleep well. It’s part of being your husband.”

  “I know and I’m so happy to call you mine.”

  “Do you think it’s a good idea to leave the house without using a wheelchair?”

  “My mind says yes, but my body has other ideas.”

  “I could tell by your pained expression when you walked in here. Give it time and I’m sure you’ll be back to running from bad guys.”

  “Actually, I’d rather not run from bad guys ... I’d much rather run toward them.”

  “That’s what worries me.”

  “You mean you’re not ready yet?” Eleanor asked, as she walked in with Benny and Wallace.

  “If we had known you planned to have half of the town meet Nash Rivers, we would have joined you,” Benny said.

  “Yup, Benny hasn’t had a date in over a year.” Wallace chuckled.

  “Look who’s talking. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you with a woman.”

  “That’s because I don’t flaunt my love life the way some people do.”

  “Seriously, do either of you have any Hollywood gossip to share?” I asked.

  “That’s hardly fair,” Eleanor said.

  “What kind of gossip are you asking about?” Wallace asked.

  “Anything about Roman and Coco would do.”

  “I’d rather not bring Roman into this. He pays my bills.”

  “He does?” Eleanor asked.

  “He means he hires them to work for him.” I sighed. “Besides sending you two off to follow and film us, what other jobs has Roman hired you for?”

  “We’ve shot a few segments of a reality show, but Roman quashed it after he learned that the man being featured had a warrant for his arrest. There are only so many reality shows with twenty somethings running around in skimpy bikinis that people can take.”

  “I can agree with that,” Eleanor said. “I can’t even watch those shows anymore, but bring on the Little Women drama shows.” She laughed. “They are so entertaining.”

  “Sit down and have a cup of coffee,” I offered. “I’d like one cup before it’s time to go.”

  “Are you planning to head over to the Butler Mansion?” Andrew asked.

  “Not unless you know if Sara, Roman, and Coco are there.”

  “I’ll call Millicent.”

  I stirred in the vanilla creamer and tapped the spoon on the top of my cup. I felt a knot forming until Andrew walked over and said, “Sorry, but they haven’t returned yet.”

  I clenched my hands into fists. “That’s not good news. I should have told you to ask her about Tom and Damon.”

  “She mentioned that none of the guests are present.”

  “That’s great. I was hoping to question Tom and Damon today at the very least.”

  “We should be able to find Julian,” Wallace said. “He’s being interviewed today at a radio station.”

  WE ARRIVED AT THE RADIO station and stood at the counter while the receptionist was on the phone. I glanced around the small lobby that barely had room for the two padded chairs. I was wrong in thinking they’d have the walls covered with music posters. Of course the station was known for playing classic rock and the oldies, but on Wednesdays, country music was the theme of the day.

  “I’m sorry for your wait,” the receptionist said. “How can I help you?”

  “We’re here to give Julian Seals a ride back to his hotel after the interview.”

  “He called earlier and cancelled the interview. Apparently, his interview with Sheriff Peterson is more important.”

  “Really?” I asked. “I can’t believe he didn’t call us. I drove all the way from Oscoda to give him a ride.”

  “You drove? Isn’t that
hard to do from a wheelchair?”

  “I’ll have you know cars can be outfitted with equipment so drivers with physical limitations can drive.”

  “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to be offensive.”

  “That’s fine but you might want to take that into consideration the next time before opening your mouth dear.”

  I frowned when we were back in the car. “This is certainly going to be a challenge.”

  “Hopefully the sheriff hasn’t arrested him yet,” Wallace said. “Or you’ll never get the chance to question him.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “MAKE SURE YOU GET A good shot of Barbara,” I said to Benny. “She basically hates Eleanor and I, and she does whatever she can to prevent us from going through the locked door that will lead us to Peterson’s office. Her job is to keep people on this side of the door unless they’re allowed to entered the inner offices of the sheriff’s department.”

  When Benny pointed the camera at Barbara, she nervously laughed. “Why are you filming me?”

  “Oh. they’ve been following Agnes and me around town. I had no idea that we’d be in the middle of a murder investigation,” Eleanor gushed.

  “Shhh, the sheriff is still trying to keep that under wraps for now. He probably doesn’t want to scare off potential witnesses,” Barbara whispered.

  “I suppose you better let us go back and talk to Peterson, then, because I’m not known to be on the quiet side,” Eleanor said.

  “I’m not sure about the cameras,” she said, as we were buzzed in.

  Eleanor pushed my wheelchair in a hurry before Barbara changed her mind about letting us inside.

  We caught Peterson just coming out of his office with a tall man who had salt and pepper gray hair and was wearing a blue business suit.

  “That’s Julian,” Benny whispered.

  “It appears we’ve arrived at the right time. We’ve been hoping to ask you a few questions, Julian,” I said.

  “Who are they?” Julian asked the sheriff.

  “Your worst nightmare.” Peterson laughed.

  “Am I free to go now?”

  “Yes, but stick around town until this matter is cleared up.”

  “I have to be back to Los Angeles tonight.”

  “Well, you’ll just have to call and tell whoever is waiting for you back there that you’re in the middle of a murder investigation,” I said.

  “Just like I already told the sheriff here—”

  “I think it might be better if we spoke privately,” I said.

  “Yes,” Eleanor agreed. “You wouldn’t want to say something incriminating in front of the sheriff.”

  “I don’t see how I could do that because I didn’t have anything to do with Laith’s death.”

  We led Julian outside and scrambled into the SUV as it began to rain.

  “We’ll meet you back at the mansion,” I said.

  Julian didn’t respond, only hopped into his car and squealed out of the parking lot, heading north.

  “You might want to step on it,” I suggested, once we were all in the vehicle.

  “I’m on it,” Benny said, as he pulled out, giving chase.

  “Maybe he plans to get to the mansion before us,” Eleanor said.

  “That’s apparent, if he’s going to the mansion and not making a run for it.”

  “That would make him look guilty,” Wallace said. “Although he did say he had to get back to Los Angeles tonight.”

  “Why would he disobey a direct order from Peterson is the question?” Eleanor said.

  “Isn’t that him stopped at the light?” Wallace asked.

  Benny drove on the shoulder of the road to catch up with Julian’s car and I yelled, “You’re going to kill a tourist.”

  “But he’s getting away.”

  When Julian’s car turned on the road leading to the mansion, I sighed. I had worried for a moment that I’d have to call Stuart to try to stop Julian’s plane from taking off.

  We parked next to Julian’s car and once I was secure in the wheelchair, he asked, “Can we talk on the patio? It might be easier for wheelchair access.”

  “The mansion has a service elevator that I’ve been using, but the patio works for me, too,” I said as Eleanor pushed me along the sidewalk that led to the patio with Benny and Wallace bringing up the rear. It was deadly quiet without so much as a bird chirping. It really unnerved me.

  No guests were on the patio and we took a seat at an umbrella-covered table.

  “This is really a lovely setting for a party,” Julian said. “I wish I had made it in time to enjoy it with Sara. She really could have used my support. This book wasn’t easy for her to write or to publish. I was the joke of my group of friends for publishing Sara’s book.”

  “They won’t be laughing when they hear her book made it to number one.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “It was on the news last night. Even though the book is missing the page that would have revealed who Sara had a scandalous affair with, it seems to be a hit. Readers were picketing here in town about the exclusion, though.”

  “We had to talk Nash Rivers into meeting with them so they wouldn’t go postal,” Eleanor added.

  I frowned. “Where were you the last few nights?”

  “I was visiting a friend of mine in Alabaster.”

  “The ghost town.” I said.

  “What do you mean by that?” Wallace asked.

  “Alabaster mined gypsum. They still do on a small scale but the population dropped off. All you’ll find now is a historical marker for Alabaster. There are no businesses there, only a handful of residential properties,” Eleanor said.

  From the look in Julian’s eye, I had to ask, “What are you hiding?”

  “Because you most certainly weren’t in Alabaster for two days,” Eleanor added.

  “Especially with Sara’s book release day.”

  “Did you know about the missing pages? Is that why you stayed away?”

  “No. I didn’t want to create a scandal. Laith was threatening to—”

  “Tell people he was your lover.”

  Julian’s eyes widened. “Why, is that what he told Sara?”

  “No, that’s what I think, since he was murdered in your room.”

  “I’m as shocked as you that Laith was found in my room, because we were only business partners. Not lovers.”

  “So, what business deal could have gone wrong enough that you’d stay away?”

  “I was planning to pull my offer to have Roman direct a movie based on a book from a well-known author. The author refused to work with him.”

  “So, Roman would be a little upset. There’s no harm in that.”

  “Easy for you to say. I planned to explain it to him, but Sara’s party wasn’t the time.”

  “She must have been disappointed that you didn’t attend the party.”

  “I suppose she was.”

  “You mean you didn’t call her?” Eleanor asked.

  “If I called her she’d have persuaded me to come to the party. Sara is hard to say no to.”

  “How about after the party? Did you call her then?”

  “I tried, but—”

  “She didn’t answer?” Eleanor asked.

  I glared at Eleanor. “How about we ask the questions and he answers them.”

  “That’s what we’re doing?”

  “No, I’m asking the questions and you’re putting words in his mouth.”

  Eleanor’s hands slipped to her hips. “I’m so not doing that, but I suppose I should just shut up and let you handle the questioning.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “Like I was about to say, Sara hasn’t been taking any of my phone calls. I knew she’d be upset, but I had hoped she’d at least pick up the phone when I called.”

  “Did you leave a message?”

  “I tried but her mailbox was full.”

  “That’s what we found out as we
ll,” Eleanor said. “Did you call her today?”

  “Yes, with the same results.”

  “That’s what worries me. She hasn’t been seen since the night of her party,” I said.

  “Is anyone else missing?”

  “I don’t know who all the guests here are, but I know Roman and Coco must be with Sara.”

  “I wonder if they’re trying to protect her, Agnes,” Eleanor offered. “About the missing page to her book.”

  “She should already know about that. I asked her about the missing page at the party, but she wouldn’t answer me.”

  “She might have gone into hiding,” Julian said. “That’s what I had planned to do if I hadn’t been told to stick around town.”

  “You can’t ignore a problem this big. It has to be dealt with.”

  “I planned to get back to Los Angeles and just forget about this,” Julian said.

  “Well, that’s out of the question. You must be able to speak with someone in charge of the printing of the book.”

  “I’ll make some calls when I get upstairs.”

  “We’ll come with you. We’re not done questioning you.”

  “I’d rather do it here,” Julian said stiffly.

  “What are you trying to hide, another body?” I asked.

  “No, I don’t think my room has been picked up yet.”

  “Millicent has the housekeepers in early, so shall we?”

  JULIAN’S ROOM LOOKED much like it had yesterday, minus the dead body. It was hard not to remember Laith’s body laying there.

  “How long have you known Laith?”

  “I met him at one of Roman’s parties. About a year later there was a book that came across my desk that I knew screamed to be made into a movie. I needed a good producer to help me pitch it.”

  “So Laith pitched it to Roman.”

  “Yes, and Roman was very interested in the project, but as I think I already told you, I wanted to withdraw my proposal.”

  “You just didn’t want Laith to tell Roman before you had the chance to, got it.”

  “I bet he threatened to tell Roman,” Eleanor said, “and that made you very angry. Possibly angry enough to want to kill him.”