Murder on Sugar Hill

by Claire Sweeney

  “Thanks, Miss Matilda. You’re a lifesaver,” Carl called after them.

  “Hmm, I wonder what flavor you are, Miss Matilda? I think maybe sour lemon,” Trixie said as they walked toward the Bronco. “And why would you lend him Bozo?”

  Matilda just smiled.

  “Okay, be that way. Keep your secrets. But when you want my help, I’m going to remind you how badly you treat me,” Trixie said.

  “That you can say that with a straight face convinces me that you should move to Hollywood. You are a born actress,” Matilda said as she climbed into the Bronco. “I’m sure by now you would have an academy award,” she added as she turned the ignition key. The engine roared to life and then died.

  “When are you going to trade this pile of junk in for a new SUV?” Trixie asked.

  Matilda tried the ignition again and the engine caught and remained running. “When I need a new SUV. This one is good for another five years.”

  Trixie shook her head. “You do know Ford stopped making Broncos twenty-two years ago, don’t you?”

  “Yes, and what’s your point?” Matilda asked. “Hmm your manipulation of numbers is very impressive. I guess you will be doing the bookkeeping at the inn soon.”

  “You’re hopeless. Just wait until you break down. When you do, I’ll remind you of this conversation,” Trixie said.

  “Will that be before or after I call AAA?”

  Chapter Four

  "Get in your cage! Get in your cage!" Tara screamed the moment she saw Matilda.

  "What did she do now?" Matilda asked as she approached the check-in desk.

  Smiley brushed a lock of hair from his face before he picked up a pad of shredded check-in slips.

  "Bad bird! Bad bird!" Tara screamed.

  "Tara!" Trixie demanded.

  "Accident! Accident!" Tara calls out.

  "I don't think so!" Matilda said tapping her walking stick. "Say you’re sorry!"

  "Tara bad. Tara bad bird."

  "Okay, I'm not going to make you get back in your cage this time."

  "Give me a kiss. Give me a kiss," the parrot squawked.

  "Oh, Miss Matilda," Smiley said, "Jack McGurin's daughter is in the solarium."

  "Why?" Trixie asked.

  "She brought flowers to put where Buggy's body was found."

  "Jack isn't going to be pleased. He's had it in for Buggy ever since Nicole had to go into rehab. He blamed Buggy for her drinking problem," Matilda said.

  "And rightly so," Trixie said. "They were always sharing a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 outside the convenience store. Until Nicole hooked up with Buggy, she had a 4.0 average at junior college."

  "I better go and see her," Matilda said. She turned to leave but stopped and looked at the parrot. "Tara, you be a good bird, don't be a bad bird."

  "Tara pretty bird, pretty bird," the parrot squawked.

  "Right!" Matilda said shaking her head. "Everyone is perfect here at Franklin Inn including you, Tara."

  "Hope you aren't directing that comment at me, Miss Matilda?" Trixie said.

  "Now, why in heaven would I do that?" Matilda answered as she walked away.

  Returning to the scene of Buggy's murder made Matilda wonder again who could have killed him. She didn't put much faith in Sheriff Dudley solving the case. Still, it would be nice to know what the autopsy report revealed and what the state police forensic team's report contained. The problem was how to obtain the information. Sheriff Dudley wasn't going to give it to her.

  "Miss Matilda," Nicole said as she looked up from where she knelt beside the chalk outline of Buggy’s body. The dark-haired girl had tears running down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the sleeve of her sweater. Matilda could easily see why Buggy had been attracted to the young woman; she was exceptionally beautiful with her high cheekbones, pert nose, and perfect lips. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by to pay my respects. I just had to bring him flowers."

  "No, it's all right. We all loved Buggy. It's just too bad he didn't love himself enough to straighten up."

  "He was trying. He was trying hard!" Nicole said before bursting into tears. "It's all my fault?"

  "What do you mean, Nicki?" Matilda asked with arched eyebrows.

  Nicole shook her head.

  "Tell me, child," Matilda said as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder and took a critical look at her.

  She's gained weight, Matilda thought. Oh, my word, she's pregnant! The thought took Matilda by surprise. With the pill available why would a young woman with her whole future ahead of her take the risk of getting pregnant?

  "Did Buggy know?" Matilda asked.

  "Know what?"

  Matilda nodded at Nicole. "You know what, child."

  Nicole tried to speak but a fit of crying hampered her efforts.

  "Go ahead and cry. Let it all out," Matilda said softly. "Let it out."

  Finally, Nicole took a deep breath and gained control. "Yes, he knew. We were going to get married. He came to the house after he got back from Dartmouth and asked my parents if we could get married. He told daddy he didn’t have anything now but in the future, he would have the means to support me. My father flew into a rage. He told Buggy that he would never consent to me getting married to the town drunk. He said that Buggy had already ruined his life and, now he wanted to ruin mine. That it was his fault that I had to go to rehab for six weeks."

  That's when Buggy told him that I was pregnant. My father turned and slapped me. "How could you, Nicole?" Daddy yelled at me. "I didn't raise you to be a drunken slut."

  I thought Buggy was going to attack my father. I stepped between them as daddy demanded that Buggy leave…" A flood of tears kept Nicole from saying anything else.

  "So, that's why Buggy started drinking so soon after getting out of rehab?"

  "Daddy told him he would kill him if he showed his face around the house again!" Nicole paused to take a deep breath. "Miss Matilda, do you think my father killed Buggy?"

  "I hope not but leave it to me. I’ll find out who killed Buggy. But I'll keep in mind what you just told me as I nose around and ask a few questions."

  "Thanks, because Sheriff Dudley doesn’t inspire me with much confidence. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn't mean any disrespect, but he never liked Buggy, Miss Matilda."

  "Yes, I know he didn't!"

  "Nicole! What are you doing here?"

  Matilda glanced up and saw Trixie with Jack McGurin at the door of the Solarium.

  "I brought flowers for Buggy!" Nicole said.

  "Save your flowers for someone that deserves them. Let's go home!"

  "Aren't you being a little hard on the girl?" Matilda asked. "She was in love with Buggy."

  "What did you tell Miss Matilda?" Jack demanded.

  "Nothing, Daddy! Nothing!"

  "Miss Matilda, Nicole hasn't been herself since she returned from Dartmouth. I'm going to send her down to Boston to live with my sister. She needs a new venue to get her head straight. Please disregard anything she might have told you," Jack said as he forced a smile. "Come along. Time to go home."

  Yeah, at least until she has the baby, Matilda thought.

  Nicole looked at Matilda pleadingly.

  "I'll see that Trixie puts fresh flowers here daily, Nicki," she said. "Now run along with your father."

  "Thanks, Miss Matilda," Nicole said as she turned toward the door. Halfway across the room, she paused. "You know that Buggy thought the world of you, Miss Matilda."

  "Yes, I know, child."

  "Come on, Nicole," Jack said sharply as he took hold of her elbow. "You have bothered Miss Matilda long enough."

  "What was that all about?" Trixie asked.

  Matilda glanced at the door before answering. "Nicole is pregnant with Buggy's child."

  "Really! No wonder Jack had a bee in his bonnet! At her age Nicole should be on the pill," Trixie said. "I was at her age."

  "Hmm, you think Honest Jack would condone such loose activity from his dau
ghter that taking the pill implies?" Matilda asked.

  "Yeah, I see what you mean."

  "Before you arrived with Jack, Nicki told me that her father had threatened Buggy's life if he came to his house again," Matilda continued with a tap of her walking stick.

  "Wow, you don't think Jack McGurin killed Buggy, do you?"

  "I think a father trying to protect the reputation of his only daughter is capable of most anything. However, I've known Jack since the first grade. He has a temper, but he's a good, honest man."

  "So, you don't think he’s a suspect?" Trixie asked.

  "I didn't say that, now did I," Matilda answered as she walked past Trixie. She stopped at the door. "See that a single red rose is placed on the chalk outline every day."

  "I don't think it’s wise to leave the outline of a murder victim on the floor of the solarium, Miss Matilda. It will upset the guests. It's bad enough that Buggy was murdered at the inn without drawing daily attention to the fact."

  "Oh, I guess you’re right for once. Have one of the chambermaids scrub the floor. However, I still want a rose laid on the spot where he died."

  "If you insist," Trixie said in resignation as she followed Matilda.

  "Tara, where are you and Bozo going?" Matilda asked as she spotted the parrot walking beside Bozo.

  “I need a cape!" Bozo declared.

  "Bozo, you go on to the laundry and get your towel. Tara, you come to the lobby with us," Trixie scolded.

  "Tara, Smiley needs help checking in a guest. It's your job to say hello to people as they enter the inn," Matilda said.

  "Bozo!" the parrot complained as she turned around and waddled like a duck back down the hall.

  "Everyone admires you so much when they enter and see you," Trixie said.

  "Tara pretty bird. Tara pretty bird!"

  "Of course, you are," Matilda said as she and Trixie followed the parrot back into the lobby.

  "Here comes the second smartest person in Franklin Inn," the tall white-haired man called out in greeting as he turned from talking to Smiley.

  "Sheriff Wilson," Matilda said. "What brings your ancient bones away from in front of the fireplace at your house on the overlook?"

  "Nice of you to call me sheriff, but must I remind you that I haven't been sheriff for ten years."

  "No, the years under the protection of your nephew Dudley Do-Right are etched in my memory," Matilda said.

  "Hello, Tara. Has Matilda been giving you enough sugar cookies?" the old man said looking down at the parrot.

  "No sugar cookie! No sugar cookie!" the parrot squawked.

  "That's not true," Trixie said. "I give you sugar cookies...oops," Trixie said glancing at Matilda.

  "You know better than to feed Tara cookies," Matilda scolded mildly. "And Sheriff, which one of us were you referring to as the second smartest person at Franklin Inn!"

  "Why Tara, of course," Sheriff Wilson said while he fought to look serious.

  "With that answer, I’m afraid to ask who you think is the smartest person," Matilda said.

  "Bozo of course. He's the brains behind the scene, isn't he?"

  "Okay, for a moment there I thought you were going to say it was Smiley," Matilda said.

  "Miss Matilda!" Smiley said in mock shock. "I'm mortally wounded."

  "Go and take one of your special cigarette breaks," Matilda said.

  "Miss Matilda, I don't..."

  "Sure, you don't. Just go," Matilda said.

  "If I were still sheriff I would have to investigate your accusations against the hippy," Sheriff Wilson said.

  "What? Investigate if he has better weed than you?"

  The old man smiled.

  "So, what brings you out to brave the icy roads?" Matilda asked.

  "Buggy."

  "Yeah, I thought so." She turned to Trixie. “Go and find Bozo. It's time for his morning nap."

  Trixie glanced from Matilda to Sheriff Wilson. "Sure, I'll go and play babysitter."

  Matilda waited until Trixie was out of the room before she nodded at Wilson. "Why are you really here?"

  "I'm feeling a little guilty about what happened to Buggy ten years ago," the man admitted.

  "Regretting not charging Charley Lovett with DWI?" Matilda asked.

  "No, covering up for Dudley," Sheriff Wilson said shaking his head.

  "What do you mean?"

  The old man took a deep breath. "He was riding with Charley when he hit Buggy."

  "But he was the first deputy on the scene of the accident. He called the ambulance," Matilda said.

  "Charley drove him to the station. I saw Dudley get out of Charley's car and run over to his cruiser. I got suspicious of what was going on, so I followed him and Charley. I saw Buggy lying beside the road. A little while later Dudley called in the accident."

  "Why didn't you do anything?"

  "Dudley is my nephew. What could I do? I was retiring, and he was running for sheriff. It would have ruined his career. And then when Charley told me at the hospital he would pay all the kid's hospital expenses and look after him, I thought it was better to do nothing. Anyway, the damage was already done. There was no undoing what happened," the old man said.

  "Why are you telling me this after all these years of silence?" Matilda asked.

  "It's Buggy's murder," the old man said.

  "What does what happened to Buggy ten years ago have to do with finding him dead in my solarium?"

  "Ah...Probably nothing. It's just that Charley told me he confessed everything to Buggy while the kid was in the rehab center at Dartmouth. He told him that Dudley was the one driving the car when they ran over him."

  "Dudley was the driver?"

  Sheriff Wilson nodded. If you believe what Charley said."

  "But why would he take the blame?" Matilda asked.

  "Charley... Well, Charley has a hidden side. He’s a switch hitter. I think Dudley threatened to reveal his proclivities for young men if Charley didn't take the blame. And he said he could make sure that Charley wouldn’t get charged with DWI. At least that's what Charley told me last week."

  "And now he's in a coma, and nothing can be proved," Matilda said.

  "Yeah, but Buggy finally knew the truth..." The old man's voice trailed off. "And as far as I know, Buggy didn’t tell anyone what Charley revealed to him about the accident."

  "You aren't implying that maybe Sheriff Dudley killed Buggy?"

  "Heavens, I hope not," Sheriff Wilson said. He shook his head. "But to tell you the truth I'm not sure of anything."

  "So, he's a suspect in Buggy's murder."

  "Matilda, I just had to get this off my chest. I thought telling you was my best choice since you’ve been like a second mother to Buggy, and you and Charley had your moments in the sun. And I don’t want to go to my grave with this secret on my conscience."

  “Is something wrong with your health?”

  The old man hung his head.

  “What is it?”

  “Cancer of the liver,” Sheriff Wilson admitted.

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Oh well, I’ve lived a full life. A person can’t ask for more than that.

  "Thanks for coming clean with everything. I'm not going to say that this absolves you of what you did ten years ago because it doesn't. But it just might help me find who killed Buggy."

  Chapter Five

  "So, why did Sheriff Wilson drive all the way from Littleton?" Trixie asked as she and Matilda sat in the solarium drinking coffee.

  "Mum’s the word on what I'm fixing to tell you," Matilda said as she put down her cup. "Loose lips sink ships."

  "And what war are we in now, Miss Matilda? Maybe I missed it on the morning news."

  "I guess a smart mouth is a side effect of all the purple dye," Matilda said as she glared at her niece. "Do you want to know or not?"

  Trixie smiled and nodded.

  "He came to unload a guilty conscious he's been carrying for ten years," Matilda said and then fell
silent.

  "Come on tell me the rest, or do I need a crowbar?"

  "To sum up what happened ten years ago and what Charley Lovett confessed to Sheriff Wilson last week is that Dudley was driving Charley's car the night they hit Buggy."

  "What... Wow, that's serious. If word got out Sheriff Dudley would have to resign," Trixie said as she shook her head.

  "Seems that after Dudley hit Buggy they drove to the sheriff station and Dudley got his cruiser. They both returned to the scene of the accident. Dudley called it in pretending to be driving by and seeing Charley's car in the snow bank and Buggy lying beside the road."

  "But how did Sheriff Wilson know that Dudley was driving the car?"

  "Charley confessed to him last week that Dudley was behind the wheel and not him," Matilda explained. "Sheriff Wilson also said Charley told Buggy the truth when he was in the Dartmouth rebab center."

  Trixie shook her head.

  "I don't understand why Charley would cover for Dudley?"

  "And I'm not going to tell you. Let’s just say he had a very good reason to take the blame and leave it at that?" Matilda said in a tone that brooked no argument.

  "You and your little secrets, Miss Matilda," Trixie said with a sigh. She took a deep breath. "Now we have two suspects, Jack and Sheriff Dudley."

  "It would seem so. The boy's death has laid open some of Sugar Hill's secrets, and I have a sense that more skeletons will emerge from deep inside closets before we solve the case," Matilda said.

  "Solve the case? You’re taking this investigation seriously. I thought you were just pulling my leg when you suggested that we try to solve Buggy's murder," Trixie said.

  Matilda looked at her over the top of her coffee cup. "You don't expect Sheriff Dudley to put his heart into solving Buggy's murder do you, Trixie? I think he's secretly glad that Buggy is dead."

  "Yeah, if I were him, I might be glad too and that Charley Lovett is in a coma. Where do you go from here? Investigate the Sheriff and Jack?"

  "I'm not sure that either of them killed Buggy. Yes, both men might have had a reason to. However, it’s a big leap from that to either of them killing Buggy."

  "Miss Matilda, must I remind you that you never know everything about another person. As far as I'm concerned, either one could be the killer. Both had motives," Trixie said. "And I hate to sound repetitive, but what's next Sherlock?"