Elementary in Teaberry

by R A Wallace

  “Sorry. I caught you at a bad time.” Megan stood next to Leah and watched the activity.

  “I beg to differ.” Leah’s smile was genuine. “This is a great time. Look at all of this.”

  Megan laughed as an antique wall table was carried in. “I see your point.”

  Leah scanned her list then made a note next to one of the items. “You’re here about the puzzle?”

  “Uh, no. I’m supposed to touch base with you on Caitlyn’s idea.”

  “For marketing the whole town?” Leah looked up as the main part of a chandelier was carried in. “We’re all in. In fact, I’m hoping that this is just the beginning to more initiatives involving marketing Teaberry businesses.”

  Megan watched as a box labeled prisms was carried in. “Yeah, I was just thinking about that too. How to funnel people drawn into town out to my farm.”

  Leah pointed at Megan with her pen. “Exactly. This is just the beginning. There needs to be a lot more done.”

  “But since you mentioned it, what can you tell me about Gregg?”

  Leah held up a hand and took a step forward as a small upholstered armchair was brought in. “Take that over to my husband please.”

  Leah stepped back to join Megan. “I spoke to the police already. Erica and Jerry were here.”

  Megan lifted her brows hopefully.

  Leah waved the next delivery past them and jotted a note on her clipboard. “This was at the beginning of the investigation. I mentioned that I saw Gregg and Kirk arguing.”

  “A common theme, from what I can tell,” Megan said.

  Leah nodded absently as she made a note next to another item on her list. “I also told them about Kirk’s wife.”

  Megan couldn’t come up with the name.

  “Salina,” Leah supplied. “She’s been a customer here in the past. She said something about Gregg pulling the bids out from under her husband.” Leah looked up at Megan. “Salina seemed to think it was pretty funny.”

  “Interesting.”

  Leah made a noise of agreement as she jotted another note when a box labeled miscellaneous was carried in. “I’m not sure I have much more to tell.”

  Megan watched as more boxes were carried in. Each had labels written on the side. “Is Rhonda Waters one of your customers?”

  Leah was busy writing down notes for all of the boxes. “Uh, yeah. And we sit on the council together.”

  “How would you say she interacted with Gregg?”

  Leah stopped writing and looked up again. “Why do you ask?”

  Megan grimaced. “I admit, I’m on a fishing expedition.”

  “Okay, well. Let’s see.” Leah waved past another box. “I guess they usually voted the same way, but that’s not usual. Most of us do.”

  Not helpful. Megan saw a box marked toys go past.

  Leah motioned toward the box. “I did see the two of them together in an unexpected place once. I was at an estate sale. I was doing a walkthrough of the building to see what I wanted to bid on. I found them together in one of the rooms.”

  “Did they see you?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.” Leah waved another box past but her pen hovered over her clipboard. “If I wrote about finding them together in a mystery book, I would describe them as looking a little guilty when they saw me. They took a quick step away from each other.”

  “They did?”

  Leah made a face. “I don’t know. Maybe. It was a long time ago. I wasn’t watching them with that kind of filter on my thoughts. I just saw them as two acquaintances that happened to run into each other.”

  “It’s something to think about anyway,” Megan said. “I should let you go. I need to stop in and see Caitlyn.

  “Hang on.” Leah motioned for Megan to follow her. Leah stopped at the box labeled toys and opened the top. “These are for Caitlyn.”

  “Some of the alphabet blocks from Elementary in Teaberry.” Megan took them from Leah. “She’s going to be thrilled.”

  Megan left Leah to deal with the rest of her new inventory. She walked past Olde Tomes and Ross McMann’s business incubator then entered Anderson Florist. She found Caitlyn in her workroom in the back.

  “I have a gift from Leah.” Megan held up the alphabet blocks then set all but one down on Caitlyn’s work island in the middle of the room.

  “Hey! She found some.” Caitlyn lifted one and examined it closely. “And there is the tiny stamp of a sprig of teaberry. Amazing.” Caitlyn turned the cube around in her hand.

  “What are you going to do with them?” Megan finished examining hers then set the block down with the others.

  “I would like to display them, but I’m not sure exactly how just as yet. Maybe on a shelf though I’m not sure that would give enough clues about their origin.”

  “You want people to know that they were made by a family that used to live in Teaberry,” Megan guessed.

  “Who used to own this shop,” Caitlyn agreed. “I’ll have to keep thinking.”

  Megan leaned back against a counter to watch Caitlyn work. “Most of the people I spoke with are on board for your new advertising idea.”

  “That’s better than no one being on board.” Caitlyn reached for another flower and began working it into her arrangement. “How is your puzzle going?”

  “You were right about one thing. Telling everyone that I was meeting them about your advertising idea was a good excuse to ask them about Gregg Eastman.”

  Caitlyn flashed a grin. “I thought as much. He was a local businessman. I figured someone would know something.”

  “They did.” Megan crossed her arms. “The problem is, I’m left with a gut feeling about who the killer might be and very little to back it up.”

  “Do tell.” Caitlyn selected another flower from the pile next to her.

  “First I have a question. How well do you know Rhonda Waters?”

  Caitlyn’s eyes widened. “She’s your gut feeling?”

  Megan grimaced. “I know. Everyone including me would say she’s a nice person.”

  Caitlyn started working her flower into the arrangement. “Well, now that you mention it.”

  “It’s like a worm, right? The idea gets stuck in your head.”

  Caitlyn hummed agreement. “Rhonda did say something odd to me. I didn’t think much of it at the time, of course.” Caitlyn reached for another flower. “Let’s see. I think we were at our last council meeting.”

  Caitlyn looked up at the ceiling for a moment then slowly began working the flower into the arrangement. “Rhonda said something out of the blue. As though it had just come to her.”

  “Yeah? About what?”

  “Something about killing two birds with one stone.” Caitlyn lifted her arrangement to examine it.

  Megan ran the phrase around in her head.

  “I talked to Gregg that day too. He was all excited about a job he was working on. He was pretty upbeat about being the one to win the bid on it.” Caitlyn turned the arrangement around to examine it from every angle. “It was that one at the park. You know, the addition on the activity center?”

  “Yeah, I remember that one. I created some web pages for the town website for that,” Megan said. “The job went out for bids. Gregg must have been the lowest bidder if he got the job.”

  “I remember now. Rhonda said sometimes those old sayings really are the wisest.” Caitlyn set the arrangement down. “Then she said that getting rid of two birds with one stone sounds temptingly efficient.”

  “You said this was the last business council meeting?” Megan took her phone out to check her calendar app. “That was right before Gregg Eastman was killed.”

  “And right before Grady Waters looked good for the murder,” Caitlyn pointed out.

  “Yeah.” Megan stretched the word out into multiple syllables. “Two birds.”

  “Only if you can tie Rhonda and Gregg together,” Caitlyn said.

  Megan thought about what Leah had just to
ld her. The bells on the front door interrupted her thoughts. “I should get going.”

  Caitlyn followed her out of the workroom. “Are you going to call Erica?”

  “In a bit. I want to think about things first. You need anything from Tea & Thyme?” Megan smiled at Ward Beecham. “Hi.”

  “Hello. I hope I’m not interrupting.” Ward held a bag in his hands.

  “No, I’m on my way out.” Megan lifted her eyes at Caitlyn.

  Caitlyn waved her off. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

  After passing through the door, Megan turned to ensure it had closed securely behind her. She saw Ward pull a framed photograph from the bag in his hands. The look of delight on Caitlyn’s face told her it must be a very interesting photo indeed.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Megan walked down to the other end of the building and into Tea & Thyme. The twins were busy waiting on customers in the main part of the shop. She took a seat in the addition.

  “You look like you need a cup of tea,” Janice said as she appeared next to her.

  “I definitely need something to give me some brain power,” Megan agreed with a smile.

  “I’ll be right back. Jill and I have been expecting you.”

  “You think that you have a puzzle piece?” Megan asked hopefully.

  “We’re fairly certain this time,” Janice said smugly.

  Megan hoped so. She was in need of some puzzle pieces. She pulled out her phone while she waited for the twins to come back. If Gregg won the bid for the activity building addition in the park, it must have been one of the jobs he was working on shortly before he was killed.

  “Here she is.” Janice waved her hands toward Megan with a flourish.

  Jill set a tray on the table. Megan lifted the delicate bone china cup and admired it. “Very pretty.”

  “Thank you.” Jill slid into a seat across from the table then looked up at her twin. “Did you tell her anything?”

  “No, I wouldn’t do that.” Janice looked miffed that Jill would even suggest it. “I knew you’d want to be here.”

  “It’s true.” Jill patted the seat next to her then turned to Megan. “We feel awful that we haven’t been able to help you with any of your puzzles recently.”

  “We had to think for a long time to come up with this one,” Janice said as she took the seat.

  “We didn’t think anything of it at the time, of course,” Jill said.

  “It was only after the murder happened,” Janice added.

  Jill turned to Janice. “Well, the murder and Grady being under suspicion for murder.”

  Janice patted Jill’s arm. “You are correct. That was what prompted the thought. It was when Grady’s name was involved.”

  “I never would have given this a second thought if it weren’t for that,” Jill said.

  “Just an easily forgettable event,” Janice agreed.

  Megan blew on her tea.

  “Of course, it might still be unimportant,” Jill said.

  “Oh, don’t even think it. I’m sure this will help Megan this time.” Both twins turned to Megan and nodded.

  “This involves Grady Waters?” Megan guessed.

  “And Rhonda,” the twins said in unison.

  Megan set her teacup down. “What about Rhonda?”

  “We heard her talking one day when she was in here,” Jill said.

  Janice looked around then leaned across the table and lowered her voice. “She was on the phone.”

  “Okay,” Megan prompted.

  Jill nodded. “It sounded very intimate.”

  Megan frowned. “Well, she is married.”

  “That’s the thing,” Janice said. “We could see Grady.”

  Megan was confused. It must have shown.

  Jill waved her hand at her twin. “Let me try. We were over in the main part of the shop.”

  “We could see Grady sitting in his truck in front of the shop,” Janice said.

  “Rhonda had just gotten out of the truck to come in here,” Jill said.

  “She immediately called someone as she walked around the shop looking at tea,” Janice said.

  Jill turned to Janice. “Which is odd because she only ever buys the one kind.”

  “I know. She does. She knew right where it was too,” Janice agreed. She turned back to Megan and made air quotes with her fingers. “She was obviously having a private conversation.”

  “Very private,” Jill said.

  “But we could see Grady through the front window,” Janice explained.

  “Rhonda obviously wasn’t talking to her husband.” Jill sat up straight and tapped the table. “What do you think?”

  Megan reached for her teacup again. “It could mean something.” She took a sip. “Rhonda needed to walk around the store looking at tea to make it look like she needed the time.”

  “So Grady wouldn’t wonder what she was doing,” Janice said with a nod.

  “Because she was talking to another man,” Jill agreed. “And she didn’t want her husband to hear.”

  “I imagine it would be hard to have an affair when you work with your husband,” Megan said slowly.

  “They would be together a lot,” Janice said.

  “She would have to find ways to meet her lover somewhere else,” Jill said as stood from her chair. “I need to check on things.”

  Megan smiled her thanks as Janice stood also.

  “What do you think?” Janice clasped her hands together. “A good puzzle piece?”

  “I think it is, yes.” Megan returned to looking on her phone when the twins left.

  Her mind went back to what Jax and Trina had told her. There were often other vehicles at Gregg Eastman’s work sites. Was it possible that was what Rhonda was doing? Megan felt sure it had to be. She worked and lived with her husband. The only way she could have an affair was to meet someone somewhere else. She looked down at her phone and mentally crossed her fingers as she texted Erica with a range of dates and a request to meet.

  A short time later, she was following Jerry through the police station. “Were you able to get that video?”

  “From the camera outside of the activity center in the park?” Jerry paused at a cross hallway to let a group of officers pass. “Not yet but I’m expecting it soon. The range of dates you gave me covers two full days.”

  “From the information I posted on the town website, that was when Gregg would have been there working.”

  “If he was, we’ll see it,” Jerry said as they reached the main office. “A lot of kids use that activity center in the park. That’s why there is a security camera there.”

  Megan’s eyes automatically went to the murder board as she took a seat by Erica’s desk.

  Erica swiveled around. “What have you got?”

  “A gut feeling,” Megan said. “If this doesn’t pan out, I’ll apologize and leave.”

  Erica grunted an agreement as she pressed her palms into her eyes. “The thing with this case isn’t that we don’t have enough suspects.”

  “There is more than one that looks good for it,” Jerry agreed.

  “But the best one is Grady Waters.” Erica motioned toward Jerry’s computer. “You have the video yet.”

  Jerry wheeled his chair closer to his desk and checked. “No. Not the video from the activity center in the park. I was looking at the video of the neighbor sneaking over to sabotage the truck just before Megan got here.”

  “Yeah. Show her that one.” Erica pointed. “Another good suspect but this one is trying to kill Grady Waters.”

  “Seriously?” Megan stood and moved closer to Jerry to watch over his shoulder. “Who is this?”

  “Ralph Stanko,” Jerry said.

  “Oh, good. I’m glad you didn’t say Rosie Godsey. I just spoke with her,” Megan said.

  “What for?” Erica asked sharply.

  “My mom remembered a recipe that Rosie had,” Megan said.

  Erica narrowed her eyes at Megan.

&nbs
p; “I was planning to tell you about it. It appears that Rhonda Waters stole Rosie’s recipe for some new product that Waters Food just came out with. They’re really pushing it in all the advertising. It’s eggplant parmigiana.”

  “That smell!” Erica pointed at Jerry. “That was that Italian food smell.”

  “Rosie let me taste some. It was so good.”

  “She didn’t give any to us.” Erica said.

  Megan lifted both hands then turned back to Jerry’s computer. “What was that?”

  “What was what?” Jerry paused the video.

  “Go back about a minute. Okay, run it again.” Megan put her hand on Jerry’s shoulder. “There.”

  Jerry made a noise of frustration. “How did I not catch that?”

  “What?” Erica wheeled her chair over. “What are you seeing?”

  Jerry pointed at his monitor. “It’s several minutes after Ralph is seen sabotaging the truck. There’s a slight jump in the video. It’s barely perceptible.”

  “So?” Erica looked from Jerry to Megan. “What does that mean?”

  “The video may have been edited. Maybe some part was cut out or something?” Megan guessed.

  “I have to look at this,” Jerry muttered.

  Megan crossed back over to the chair by Erica’s desk. Erica followed Megan on her chair.

  “Leah found the alphabet blocks that Caitlyn wanted.” Megan sat down.

  Jerry swiveled around from his computer. “What?”

  “Nothing. It’s just these old alphabet blocks. A company from Teaberry used to make them. Leah finds them in estate sales around here a lot. She gave some to me for Aaron and just found more for Caitlyn.” Megan narrowed her eyes at Jerry. “Why did that get your attention?”

  “It’s probably just a coincidence,” Erica said.

  “You don’t believe in coincidences,” Jerry and Megan said at the same time.

  Erica reached for a folder on her desk and opened it. She pulled out some photos. As she shuffled through them, Jerry turned back to his computer.

  “I have copies on here too,” he muttered.

  Erica held one out to Megan.

  Megan stared at it without moving to take it. “This is a crime scene photo?”

  Erica waved the photo. “This one is just of the alphabet blocks.”