Killer Instincts and Savory Pie

by Angela C. Blackmoore

  Lanie nodded tiredly. “For you and me both.”

  Chapter 19

  Abby was never so happy to see the beautiful yellow house tucked into the woods on the island that she called home. It wasn’t a big island, but it contained a house and a few acres of woods sitting on solid rock in the middle of the large river that flowed next to the town. She recalled the scare they had a little while ago when Senator Clark tried to get the small bridge closed for good, citing some damage done to one of its posts by a small accident. They’d all been forced to use boats to get from the marina to the island.

  That’s where she’d first met Karl and his wife. In another disreputable act, the Senator had arranged for several of his wealthy friends to rent every boat in the marina, so there were none available. Karl had let them use his restored vintage Garwood which despite the hardship, was a beautiful wood boat that had been a joy to take out.

  As they crossed the bridge, she let her eyes wander over to the marina and the dock where the Garwood was stored, reminiscing tiredly about the boat. She was sad, in that Gabe was going to go back to the station and relieve Lanie, leaving Abby to sleep alone. She didn’t like it, but she also knew it was necessary and that she would sleep well tonight.

  As she opened the door, she smelled the wonderful aroma of her grandmother's tea and breathed in deeply. Walking into the kitchen, she was unsurprised to see Hazel just pouring two cups before turning to smile at her. “Welcome home, Abby. It looks like you had a day?”

  Abby nodded, taking a seat at the comfortable kitchen table while Hazel joined her, putting the cups on two coasters from the center round. Abby smiled, picking up the tea and holding it between her hands and blowing the steam off of the top before taking a sip. “Yes. It was definitely a day, Grandma. On top of Francine dying yesterday, John Tillsdale was killed this morning.”

  Hazel gasped, putting her tea down while holding a hand to her chest. “John Tillsdale? That’s terrible!”

  Abby nodded. “All of the remaining councilmembers received death threats. Most of them are over at the police station.”

  “Did you say most of them? Who isn’t there? That’s left, anyway.”

  “Joe Forsyth decided he was better off with his dogs and guns, but after seeing the dogs, I don’t blame him.”

  Hazel nodded. “They are not like Cheerio, that is for certain. Well, I bet Sheriff Pearson is just thrilled to be dealing with Ruby Anderson.”

  Abby sighed. “Except he’s in the hospital. He went over to talk to John Tillsdale, and apparently, the killer hit him on the back of the head, giving him a serious concussion. Lanie is in charge while he’s recovering.”

  “Oh,” Hazel said, chuckling softly to herself. “Lanie and Ruby. That’s a bit like water and hot grease. Pardon the wording but did they both survive?”

  “When we got to the station, they were in the middle of a full-blown screaming match, but Gabe stepped in thank goodness. He managed to calm Ruby down enough for us to deliver the food we’d brought and get food into Lanie. Oh, and we also volunteered to help run a carnival to boost the town’s moral.”

  Hazel raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything. Instead, she took a sip of her tea as she absorbed everything Abby had told her. “It looks like you’ve got a lot on your plate, but if anyone can handle it, you can. I have faith in you, dear. However, I also have some interesting news from Robert Carrington.”

  Abby swallowed and perked up, watching her grandmother carefully. It could only mean she had information concerning all of the deeds and will.

  “Yes, it’s about Kat. He looked into things as discreetly as possible and found out that there were lots of discrepancies with what’s recorded on many of the properties in Boston, and the will of Arrah Moore was declared lost, and Katherine pronounced dead. There was even a funeral for her, with a rather unassuming headstone. However, being as the estates of Arrah were awarded under unusual and suspicious circumstances, he believes there is a chance of contesting everything and making a significant claim against the Clarks. But-” Hazel said, taking a deep breath.

  “But what?” Abby asked. “Don’t stop now.”

  “But, we’ll have to travel to Boston with Robert Carrington, which will put us in the den of the lion, so to speak.”

  “Do you want to go?” Abby asked slowly.

  Hazel met her gaze for a long moment. “I don’t know. I don’t really want to cause problems, but I also don’t want to betray Kat’s legacy. For whatever reason, the Clarks know who we are, and have been causing us issues for decades. I don’t think they’re going to stop unless we do something to stop them.”

  Abby took a sip of her tea before standing. “I feel the same, and I’ve only had to deal with that family for a few months. Let’s sleep on it,” she reached over and squeezed Hazel’s shoulder before heading upstairs. Cheerio snuffled against Hazel’s thigh, getting a pat from the older woman before following Abby with a wuff.

  Chapter 20

  The next morning, Abby woke up early for her morning run. Cheerio bounced down the stairs behind her, wagging his tail in anticipation of their outing. Before she left, Abby stuck her head into the kitchen, smiling at the familiar form of her grandmother seated at the kitchen table and drinking some tea.

  “I’ll be back soon,” Abby said, putting her hair into a ponytail.

  “Okay, dear. I’ll have some breakfast ready for you when you get back.”

  Abby nodded, then turned around and headed for the front door, breaking into a jog at the bottom of the porch stairs and breathing in the crisp morning air. She couldn’t help looking up at the tall trunks of the trees that surrounded her while making her way to the bridge. Crossing over, she admired the water moving underneath before heading further into town.

  She had always jogged, but there was nothing compared to it when traveling through Red Pine Falls. Each house nestled within its own little sanctuary surrounded by tall trees and greenery gave the quaint buildings an even greater appeal. Despite the recent troubles, Abby still loved the town and its people.

  As she ran, she mulled over the current crises facing the town. Someone was killing councilmembers, and from the way the letter sounded, it was because whoever was doing the killings had lost everything. Once again, Abby cursed the senator and his scheme of promising money to people and then reneging on his promise after work had been done, leaving the people in the lurch.

  It had ruined lives, and Abby couldn’t think of a better motive. The problem was, that probably meant a quarter of the town could conceivably be guilty, so despite there being a clear motive, she doubted it would help unless they could find something else. The other thing that bothered her was what Lanie had said about the locks. Did John Tillsdale let someone inside his antique store or did they get in themselves? When she, Gabe, and Becky had gone to visit John, he hadn’t let them in so the likelihood of him letting anyone else inside would have been small.

  So that left the lock being forced open by someone else. Abby narrowed her eyes, concentrating on the problem. How could she possibly find out if that were true? The only other crime scene was the church. She remembered that the Association meeting had happened at night so whoever had killed Francine had to have gotten into the church. Truthfully, she didn’t know much about how churches might protect themselves at off hours. Did they lock up or did they keep their doors open? She’d seen plenty of movies and shows where people would go into churches at night, but was that real?

  The only solution was to go talk to someone who knew. So she made a decision and turned down a side street toward the church. It was only a few blocks away and didn’t take long for her and Cheerio to make it to the small compound. It was six thirty in the morning on a Monday, and she didn’t have a clue if anyone would be there, but she knocked anyway.

  A moment later, Chuck Peters opened the door, smiling at her with a question on his face. She remembered him from the search for Gabe when he’d been stranded out in the for
est. The man had helped organize the search although she hadn’t talked to him directly.

  “Abby? Abby Morgan? How can I help you?” Chuck said, breaking into a smile.

  “Hello Chuck,” Abby said as Cheerio moved forward toward the man, sniffing curiously. Chuck held his hand out, smiling down at the Australian Sheepdog before scratching under his chin. Cheerio waffled happily before sitting, looking up at the kind-hearted pastor. “I’m sorry for stopping by so early, but I wanted to ask you a few questions.”

  “Of course, come on in. I just got here myself,” Chuck said, opening the door wider so she and Cheerio could enter. They followed him through the carpeted hallway that led to what looked like a small, comfortable meeting room and took a seat.

  “Can I get you anything?” Chuck said before sitting.

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll have breakfast waiting for me when I get home,” Abby said. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but I wanted to ask you a few questions about the church.”

  “Oh? I’ve seen you on Sundays. Is this concerning something with the congregation?”

  “No, not at all,” Abby said. “Actually, I had questions about, well, if you locked the church doors at night or if you kept them open?”

  Chuck grinned. “Thinking of doing a little breaking and entering?”

  Abby laughed, shaking her head. “No, not at all. I… really it has more to do with the murder. How easy would it be for someone to have gotten in here that night?”

  Chuck’s smile evaporated, and he leaned back giving her a serious look. “Isn’t this something that the police should be handling? They already asked me a lot of questions about that night.”

  “I know, but right now they have their hands full with all of the councilmembers at the station. I was just there last night, and Lanie told me that someone unlocked the door over at the Antique Store where John Tillsdale was killed.”

  “And you are curious how whoever they were might have gotten into the church? Maybe if there was some sort of correlation?”

  “Yes, exactly that,” Abby said, glad that the pastor had understood her bad explanation.

  Chuck nodded, thinking for a moment before answering. “To tell you the truth, that was a question I had as well. We do keep the church locked after five-thirty. I was here that night and let everyone into the building.”

  “How do they get out?” Abby asked. “Well, other than through a door. I guess what I’m asking is, do you have to let them out?”

  Chuck shook his head. “Nope. They can leave whenever they wish. It’s only locked from the outside. I heard when most of them left, but they didn’t all leave at the same time. They didn’t have let anyone else into the building, however. They know the rules.”

  “Could someone have made a copy of your key?” Abby asked.

  “We checked on that,” Chuck said. “In fact, we replaced the locks on the doors about a week ago so I know for a fact there were only three keys and all of them were accounted for when the police were here a few days ago. No one made any copies. I figured that someone snuck in here during the day, and hid out in a closet somewhere.”

  “Who else has keys besides you? If that’s okay to know.

  “Well, I guess it won’t do any harm to tell you,” Chuck said. “I have one, of course. The other two keys are held by two longtime church volunteers. Claire Waters and Ben Martinez.”

  Abby blinked, remembering how upset Ben Martinez looked when he’d passed her in front of Calamities bookstore. In fact, she remembered that he was walking in the direction of the Antique store. With a gasp, Abby jumped up.

  “Abby? Are you all right?” Chuck said, alarmed by her action.

  “I… yes, I just thought of something. I have to go. Thank you for the information,” Abby said, moving toward the door and waving at the bemused pastor.

  “I hope I helped,” Chuck said, standing and giving Abby a half-hearted wave though she didn’t see it. She and Cheerio were already heading for the front door of the church.

  Chapter 21

  Instead of heading home, Abby ran to the police station, and by the time she’d arrived, she was sweaty and out of breath. When she made her way inside, it was still quiet since most of the people were still sleeping. However, she saw Gabe sitting at one of the computers, the blue glow on his tired face reflecting his smile when he saw who it was that had come in.

  “Abby? This is a bit early for you, isn’t it?” Gabe said in a soft voice, rising from the desk.

  Abby nodded, walking up to the counter that separated the entrance from the rest of the station. She put her hands on the wood, breathing hard but nodding to Gabe but not able to answer just yet.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked, walking quickly toward the counter.

  “I… think I know who the killer is,” Abby said, speaking as softly as she could between deep breaths.

  “Wait, what?” Gabe said, blinking hard. “What do you mean, Abby? Who do you think the killer is?”

  Abby took a breath, looking around to make sure no one else was listening before leaning over. “I think it was Ben Martinez.”

  Gabe visibly blanched at the name, almost shaking his head. “Ben Martinez? It can’t be Ben.”

  “I’m sorry, Gabe,” Abby said. “I just came from the church, and Chuck told me that Ben was one of only three people that had a key to the church. Also, the morning that John Tillsdale died, I saw Ben walking toward the antique store, and he didn’t look like his normal happy self. He was upset at something.”

  Gabe looked down, turning his head from side to side while trying to process the information. He’d known Ben for most of his life, and he just couldn’t picture the kindly face of his friend bent in rage as he strangled anyone. Despite his misgivings, when he looked up at Abby, there was only a look of support for her. “Okay, then what do we do?”

  Abby blinked, not having gotten that far in her thinking. “Maybe get some help?” she said. “When is Lanie coming in?”

  “She should be in soon,” Gabe said, yawning and blinking his eyes tiredly. “She was supposed to relieve me at seven-thirty. But enough about me, did you sleep okay last night? I know you were concerned about everything and I was worried you weren’t going to get any rest.”

  Abby smiled. “Hazel made me tea which always puts me to sleep. I was a little worried myself, but I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow.”

  Gabe leaned over and kissed her once on the lips and then once on the forehead. “Good. I’m glad you got some rest. You deserved it after yesterday.”

  “What about you?” Abby asked, looking at the rings under his eyes.

  Gabe stretched, buzzing Abby back through the doors that separated the front from the rest of the station. He smiled as he hugged her, shrugging at her question. “Well, I had been thinking all night about a nice, warm bed but I don’t think I’ll be seeing it any time soon. A damsel in distress needs my help.”

  Abby rolled her eyes and poked him in the ribs playfully. “Damsel in distress, indeed. Listen, Mister Forest Elf, I’m no damsel in distress. I will allow you to assist me, though, if you do as your told.”

  “Assist you?” Gabe said, faking outrage.

  “From the back,” Abby said, nodding up at him.

  “Oh, I see how it is,” Gabe responded, giving her another kiss. “My good looks aren’t enough anymore? Now you have to assert dominance?”

  “Pfft. I don’t think I need to assert anything, do I?

  “Not even a little,” Gabe said.

  They heard a door at the back of the station open that led to the garage. Lanie came in, keeping quiet and waving when she saw Abby and Gabe. She was carrying a small carrier with two cups of coffee which she brought over to them. Taking one out, she handed it go Gabe who took it eagerly, sipping it with a satisfied look on his face.

  “Did you come to get your boyfriend and put him to bed?” Lanie asked.

  “No, but I’m glad you are here,” A
bby said. The smell of coffee was permeating the station, and she wasn’t sure if it would bring anyone else out. After looking around, she turned back to Lanie who was giving her a curious look. “I think I know who the killer is, but I wanted to talk to you.”

  Lanie put her own coffee down and gave Abby a searching look. “Hurricane Abby comes through again. Who is it?”

  “I think it is Ben Martinez,” Abby said. “I was over at the church this morning talking to Chuck Peters. He told me that Ben was one of the only three people that had a key to the church.”

  “Abby, that doesn’t mean he’s the one that killed everyone,” Lanie said.

  “I know, but I also saw him the next morning walking by Calamities Bookstore. He was walking toward the antique store, and he looked upset,” Abby said. “I don’t want to believe it was him, but that’s where the facts point.”

  Lanie gave her a long look, rolling the facts over in her head. “Okay, it’s a possibility, but right now, that’s just circumstantial evidence. We need to find something more substantial.”

  Gabe and Abby exchanged looks before turning back to Lanie. “You’re the boss. What do we do next?”

  Chapter 22

  Lanie sat with Cheerio in the back of Gabe’s truck, ruffling his ears absently as they pulled up to Butter’s Ice Cream later that day. They had to wait until at least eleven in the morning as Butter’s wouldn’t be open until then. Abby took a nervous breath, looking over at Gabe who had a determined look on his face.

  “Okay, everyone just act casual,” Lanie said. “We just want to see if he’s in there and if he acts nervous around my uniform. Abby, if he does anything, you let Gabe and me handle it.”

  Abby looked askance at Lanie. “Lanie, I don’t know if you know this, but telling people to act casual just makes them more nervous.”

  Lanie sighed and threw her hands into the air before getting out of the truck. “Yeah, I know it sounded stupid but what else was I supposed to say? Anyway, let’s just see how he acts.”