Murder on Sugar Hill

by Claire Sweeney

  "Yes, I know that the board voted against Sheriff Wilson on the first go around. But later he brought the proposal before the board again, and it passed. It seems that Gary surprised everyone by changing his vote. Do you recall him talking about that board meeting?"

  "No," Stephanie said.

  "That's too bad. I was hoping you could shed some light on why Gary would have changed his vote, especially since he hated Sheriff Wilson."

  Stephanie smiled.

  "Why are you smiling?"

  "If he didn't talk about a meeting where he supported the sheriff, that means he did something wrong. You see, he tried to keep me in the dark about his business dealings. He bought properties all over the North Country and fixed them up and resold them," Stephanie paused and waved her hand around the room. "He made lots of money on his transactions, but to look at the furnishings, you would never know it."

  "What did he spend the money on?"

  "Gambling! He was addicted to it. He would visit the Indian casino in Connecticut as often as he could get away. Then when online gambling took off, he would sit at the computers playing poker for hours at a time. And if he wasn't doing that, he was playing the online slot machines."

  "What does that have to do with changing his vote on Sheriff Wilson’s zoning proposal?"

  "Money! Sheriff Wilson must have paid him to change his vote?" Stephanie said.

  "That's a serious accusation against your husband and Sheriff Wilson, Stephanie. I can't repeat it to the authorities without proof. Do you have any?"

  "He never let me see his bank account. He banked online the past few years, but I don’t think he was banking online back at the time that interests you. He kept his bank statements locked in his desk. I have his key now. I glanced through a few of his bank statements shortly after he died, and it made me sick how much money he lost gambling. I didn't bother looking again."

  "I'm not sure seeing his bank statements will help. I might find that a big deposit was made around the time of the second vote, but it won’t tell us who gave him the check," Matilda said shaking her head.

  "Oh, but he made copies of all the checks he deposited. If Sheriff Wilson gave him a check then it will be in with that month's bank statement," Stephanie said. "He went to college to be an accountant. He was meticulous when dealing with any business transactions," she added as she motioned for Matilda to follow her. "His office is in here."

  Matilda's walking stick tapped the floor rapidly as she followed Stephanie into a small room with a small oak desk and several gray metal filing cabinets.

  "His bank statements are in this one," Stephanie said pointing to the last filing cabinet. "They are arranged by year, of course."

  Matilda pulled on the top drawer. "It's locked. Do you have the key?"

  Stephanie walked over to the desk and picked up a small key and handed it to Matilda. "I do hope you find something incriminating," she said.

  "So, do I," Matilda said as she opened the filing cabinet. She had to pause and think what year she needed to search before she proceeded.

  "Use the desk," Stephanie offered.

  "Thanks, since my accident I find it difficult to stand for any length of time before the pain becomes annoying."

  "What happened? Did you break your hip skiing?"

  "Heavens, no. I slipped on the ice at the post office when I was picking up my mail. I must have crashed hundreds of times skiing, and I break my hip walking across the parking lot of the post office. Silly, when you stop and think about it," Matilda said as she located the year of bank statements that covered the period she wanted to search.

  "Why are you trying to find something on Sheriff Wilson?"

  "He recanted a confession he made. I think someone forced him to revise his story. Someone that knew he had bribed Gary to change his vote on the zoning board."

  "Change his story about what? And who is that someone?" Stephanie asked eagerly.

  "Stephanie, I’d rather not say. It's a delicate situation," Matilda said as she took an arm full of manila folders of to the desk.

  "Okay, I leave you to your search, Miss Matilda."

  "Thanks," Matilda said without looking up as she sat down at the desk.

  "More tea?"

  "No thanks, Stephanie."

  "You know, Gary was very good to me the first few years. He only became abusive when he got addicted to gambling. He was okay if he won but would turn mean if he lost.

  Matilda heard the woman talking, but her attention was on looking at the checks in the monthly bank statements. Stephanie’s voice sounded miles away.

  "Here!" she shouted as she held up a photocopy of a check. "The smoking gun!"

  "What is it?"

  "A copy of a check from Sheriff Wilson to Gary around the time of the second zoning board meeting. A check for five thousand dollars made out to Gary Peters. At the bottom of the check, your husband wrote, ‘For services rendered.’"

  "That's Gary for you. He made notes about everything," Stephanie said shaking her head.

  "Do you mind if I take the entire month's bank statements with me?"

  "No, I don't mind. Are you going to show them to the police?"

  "Probably not, as I am almost certain that the statute of limitations has expired. But I do know that I am going to confront Sheriff Wilson and tell him I know that he bribed Gary to change his vote. I'm hoping it will jog his memory. If he denies it, I’ll show him the photocopy of the check he gave Gary."

  "I hate to think that Gary was dishonest. That's the one virtue that I thought he possessed," Stephanie said.

  Matilda felt sad for Stephanie as she drove out from the spruce grove. I would never have put up with an abusive husband. Hmm, I probably would never have been able to live with a good husband either, she thought as she drove back to the inn.

  She desperately wanted to confront Sheriff Wilson again, but it was getting late, and it was snowing heavily once again. The accident had left her a little gun shy about driving when there were lousy road conditions.

  When she saw how busy the parking lot was, Matilda appreciated having her own parking space. Someone had recently shoveled the walkway. I guess Trixie is running a tight ship today.

  "Check in time!" John Paul squawked when he spotted Matilda.

  "John Paul has a toy!" Tara called out.

  "Why is she saying that, Smiley?" Matilda asked.

  The hippy shrugged. "I have stopped trying to figure out why Tara says things," he said shaking his head. "I haven't seen John Paul with a toy."

  "Oh, I hear that you entered Cannon's Senior Slalom Race."

  Smiley nodded his head. "Yeah, the season is almost over. If I break a leg, I won't miss much."

  "You aren't going to break a leg, Smiley. I've seen you ski. You're...you're okay."

  "Matilda," Trixie called out before Smiley could respond. "Bozo is missing!"

  "I'm sure he's playing caped crusader somewhere."

  Trixie shook her head. "No, he's not inside. I've checked in all his hiding places. And his coat and boots are missing."

  "Heavens, don't tell me he's out in this snowstorm?" Matilda said.

  "Bozo! Bozo!" Tara called.

  "Smiley, what does Tara know about Bozo?"

  "Ah, nothing. I mean I gave him two dollars to watch the birds while I went out back for a quick smoke."

  "You gave Bozo money?" Trixie said.

  "Yes, what's the big deal? It was only a couple of dollars," Smiley said.

  "He's going to Kelly's Grocery Store!" Matilda said. "Every time he gets his hands on any money he goes there to buy a chocolate bar, and he's allergic to chocolate!"

  "I knew you guys never paid him. I just didn't know why. Sorry! I didn't know."

  "I should have told you a long time ago why we don't give him money. It's more my fault than yours, Smiley," Matilda said as she tapped her walking stick. "Come on Trixie let’s go and round him up and drop him off at Doctor Gordon's office for a shot before he looks like a
strawberry."

  "I just hope he didn't get lost. It's snowing hard now," Trixie said as she pulled out of the parking lot.

  "No, he's like a homing pigeon," Matilda said shaking her head as she glanced out the window.

  "Oh, how did it go with Gary Peters' widow?"

  "Good once I got her talking. It seems that Gary wasn't the gentlemen we all thought he was."

  "In what way?"

  "He abused Stephanie."

  "Wow, I would have never guessed. I always thought they were the perfect couple."

  "And he was addicted to gambling."

  "That's bad. I think in ways it's worse than being an alcoholic," Trixie said.

  "Looks like everyone in Sugar Hill is shopping at Kelly's," Trixie said as she drove through the parking lot looking for space. "I just hope Bozo is here."

  "He's here," Matilda said.

  As Matilda waked carefully through the icy parking lot, Carl Lovett approached her.

  "Your idiot is in the store begging for money for chocolate," Carl said shaking his head. "He should be in a mental hospital," he added as he hurried to his gray Mercedes.

  "He's right at home in Matilda's home for the peculiar," Trixie called out.

  Carl lifted his hand.

  "I dislike him," Matilda said.

  "I think it’s a mutual feeling," Trixie said as she held the door open for Matilda.

  "I was just fixing to call you," Ruth Kelly said as she glanced up from the checkout-counter. "He's eaten half a dozen chocolate bars"

  "Thanks," Trixie said.

  "Bozo, time to go home," Matilda said as she walked over to the hunchback who was devouring a cholate bar. He had chocolate smeared all over his face.

  "Are you mad at me, Miss Matilda?" the man said in a high-pitched voice of a child.

  "No, I just needed you to do some figures for me and couldn't find you," Matilda said as he took hold of the man's arm. "Come along. We must stop at the doctor's office, so he can give you a shot. You know you’re allergic to chocolate."

  "I itch, Miss Matilda," Bozo said as he followed her.

  "Thanks, Miss Kelly," Trixie said as she walked out of the store. "You didn't say a word to Miss Kelly, why?" she asked Matilda. "Is there bad blood between the two of you?"

  "Yeah, she had Buggy arrested for stealing candy one winter. Buggy swore to me that he didn't steal anything. I think she did it because he humiliated her son in a downhill race at Loon Mountain."

  "Wow, that would be very petty," Trixie said as she opened the door of the SUV for Bozo. "Inside you go, caped crusader."

  "Mothers can be petty and worse when it comes to their children," Matilda said.

  "Miss Matilda," Bozo called from the back seat. "I don't like shots."

  "Then try to remember that if you eat chocolate, you have to get a shot," Matilda answered.

  Chapter Sixteen

  "How is Bozo?" Matilda asked as she looked up when she saw Trixie approaching her table.

  "The swelling is going down. He's still as red as a strawberry," Trixie replied as she took her seat. "What’s good this morning?"

  "The Eggs Benedict," Matilda said.

  "I'll take the Eggs Benedict, Alice," Trixie said as a young waitress approached and placed a cup of steaming coffee in front of her.

  "How do you keep track of their names? I no sooner learn who they are, and they’re gone," Matilda complained.

  "Maybe we should pay them more?" Trixie said.

  "It’s not the pay. They’re ski bunnies, hopping from one ski resort to the next one following the ski bums."

  Trixie sighed. "Maybe you’re right. They do make good tips here at the inn." She paused to take a sip of her coffee. "So, are you going back to confront Sheriff Wilson with the photocopy of the check he gave Gary?"

  "Yes, and I wouldn't doubt that old buzzard will meet me with a shotgun."

  "He broke the law. I don't know what the repercussions will be, but I'm sure there will be some when the zoning board learns that he bought Gary's vote," Trixie said.

  "He's got cancer," Matilda said.

  "Sorry, I didn't know that, but it doesn't change things. He broke the law, not once but twice. He covered up the fact that Deputy Dudley was driving the car when it hit Buggy. And later he bribed an elected official."

  "I think he's afraid that once the mayor finds out he bribed Gary, he will initiate eminent domain against the property and take it from him," Matilda said. "I would hate for that to happen because of my digging into his past."

  "No, he brought it on himself. He did the crime."

  "Yes, and I need his statement before I can go to the state police with the incriminating evidence that Sheriff Dudley might have killed Buggy."

  "Do you think he did?"

  Matilda pushed her empty plate back and took a deep breath. "Trixie I'm not sure. But I can't just keep the information under my hat."

  "That being your black pointed hat?" Trixie said with a snicker.

  "Doing this does make me feel like a witch. But it's got to be done."

  "You could go to the state police with what information you already have." Trixie said.

  "No first I’m going to get Sheriff Wilson to sign a statement that his nephew was the one driving the car the night Buggy was run down. Then I'm going to confront Sheriff Dudley with my suspicions that he killed Buggy to stop him from exposing him as the driver."

  "Even if he didn't kill Buggy, he's going to lose everything when word gets out that he covered up the fact that he was the driver," Trixie shrugged. "He might even go to jail for that? But maybe not as all this happened ten years ago."

  "I know. I know. But I must find out who killed Buggy. I owe it to him."

  "Be careful, Miss Matilda. You are backing both Sheriff Wilson and Sheriff Dudley into a corner, and anything can happen."

  "I know, but I don't want Sheriff Dudley to be blindsided. I want to give him a chance to confess," Matilda said as she stood up. "Enjoy your breakfast."

  When Matilda entered the lobby, she caught Smiley feeding Tara and John Paul pieces of a sugar cookie.

  "Smiley!"

  "I just give them one in the morning. If I don't, they both start squawking loud enough to wake the dead."

  "Yes, I’m sure they do it because they know it will get them a sugar cookie," Matilda said.

  "Tara is a good bird," Tara said.

  "Bad to the bone!" John Paul screamed.

  "Okay Smiley, I'm leaving the inmates in your care," Matilda said as she hurried out.

  This isn't going to be any fun; she thought as she cranked her SUV. Sheriff Wilson isn't going to be pleased to see me.

  As she drove up Sugar Hill Road, Matilda found herself feeling a little guilty about digging up Sheriff Wilson and Sheriff Dudley's skeletons, but the truth needed to be told.

  The view as she pulled into the drive of Sheriff Wilson's house was spectacular. Fog obscured the valley floor. Cannon Mountain and Layfette Mountain rose out of the mist like two snow cones.

  Matilda spotted Sheriff Wilson’s Jeep in the drive.

  He's home.

  Matilda knocked on the door and waited.

  Nothing.

  She knocked again and listened for sounds inside the house.

  Nothing.

  "Sheriff! I know you’re home. I'm not going away so you might as well come to the door!" Matilda called.

  Finally, she heard footsteps. The door opened a couple of inches.

  "I've said all I'm going to say to you, Miss Matilda!"

  Matilda pulled the photocopy of a check from her jacket pocket and held it up. "Are you sure about that?"

  Silence.

  "In case you can't read it without your glasses it's a check for five thousand dollars from you to Gary Peters for payment for him changing his vote at the second zoning board meeting."

  "Where did you get that?"

  "From Stephanie."

  "That idiot! Who in their right mind would make a copy o
f a payoff check?"

  "Oh, so you are admitting that you bribed Gary?"

  "Uh...I didn't say that!"

  "Oh, but you did, Sheriff."

  "Why are you doing this to me?"

  "I'm only trying to find out who killed Buggy."

  "You think my nephew killed him?"

  "Some evidence points to him," Matilda said. "May I come in? It's cold out here."

  The old man opened the door and stepped to the side.

  "You do realize that the city might take my house when they find out about the bribe?"

  "From my point of view, you should never have built the house on this tract of land. You stole a view for your own pleasure that was destined for public use."

  "Miss Matilda, what do you want from me?" Sheriff Wilson demanded.

  "I want you to sign a sworn statement about what really happened the night Buggy was rundown by Charley Lovett's car."

  "If I do that, will you forget about my bribing Gary?"

  "Sheriff Wilson, I can't do that. You broke the law. Here you were, the Sheriff of Sugar Hill for twenty years, and you bribe an elected official. What I will do is let you go to the mayor and confess. I'm sure he isn't going to snatch the house out from under you if you tell him you have terminal cancer. Anyway, it takes time to process eminent domain. So even if he doesn't wait until...well until your cancer runs its course, you will end your days here."

  "Don't you have a heart, Miss Matilda?"

  "Yes, that why I'm here talking to you instead of the mayor," Matilda answered. "You know the old saying: ‘You reap what you sow.’"

  "Okay, stop with the moralizing. God, no wonder you never got married! You nag too much!"

  "Do you need a pen and some paper?"

  "You are impossible!" Sheriff Wilson said as he turned and walked over to a room with a small desk.

  "Be sure you sign your name to that statement," Matilda said.

  "Darn it, woman, I know what I'm doing! Sit on the couch and kept quiet for a moment."

  Hmm, Matilda thought as she glanced around the living room, he sure has expensive furniture. I guess the town is paying sheriffs too much money.

  "You must have spent a fortune for some of these pieces," Matilda said pointing to French armoire.

  "Give it a rest, Miss Matilda. Here! You have what you came for, now please leave," Sheriff Wilson said as he handed the confession to her. "My nephew has a bad temper, so be careful."