A Frosty Mug of Murder Page 2

  Instead of a necklace, a cord was wrapped around her throat. I also detected weird purple dots on her neck and all around her ears. Her hands rested under her chin, in an apparent attempt to stop someone from choking her and remove the cord that was wrapped around her neck.

  I scanned the room from my knees. This space was originally a large study, but Donna now used it as a family room. A desk sat proudly off to one side with a full bookcase behind it, almost as if claiming squatter rights from the original study.

  Along another wall, a sofa and coffee table provided a nice place to sit and talk, or watch the large screen television directly across from the formal seating area. Far from formal, two bean bag chairs provided the only other seating and were placed right in front of the television; one had a wireless video game controller in the dent where someone had been sitting.

  The center of the hardwood floor was covered by a fine Persian rug, but the beautiful light oak showed all around the perimeter of the room. I could see faint scuffs in the freshly vacuumed surface that looked like feet dragging across the fibers of the carpet.

  Lighting came from a small chandelier in the center of the ceiling and from expensive looking floor lamps on either side of the sofa, but one of the floor standing lamps laid on its side. The only other source of light was from a banker's lamp on the desk, but it laid on the floor, broken.

  And, last but not least, there were two well occupied cat towers stuffed into a couple of the room’s corners. I couldn’t believe how many cats those things held. Then I noticed one of the towers sat at an odd angle, and would have fallen if the wall corner had not propped it up. That is also when I saw Trixie, she was laying just next to the leaning tower, licking a hind leg. She seemed to have hurt the limb.

  In spite of all the cats, I detected the smell of a cheap floral perfume, so I bent closer to Donna’s head. She wore an expensive perfume that smelled wonderful. But it was not the smell lingering in the room air.

  Then I saw pearls strewn everywhere. I even painfully knelt on one earlier when I checked for a pulse. It seemed Donna had been wearing an expensive necklace that was ripped from her neck. This reminded me to double check her neck again, I could see some small cuts and scratches near her fingertips.

  I decided to stand, careful to avoid stepping on anything. I walked slowly over to the coffee table to take a quick look. Two champagne glasses sat half full, one with lipstick on the rim. I glanced back to Donna, and noticed the color of lipstick she wore matched the color on the rim.

  Next to the champagne glasses, I spotted a folded letter sitting on the table top. I didn’t want to touch it, so I angled my head till I could see the letterhead. The correspondence was from a firm named Palmer Properties.

  Then the television grabbed my attention. Someone was playing one of those violent war games, and must have been interrupted. The message on the screen clearly showed the game was paused, with the sound off.

  And from my new vantage, I saw sitting on the floor next to Donna, opposite from where I knelt to check her, a lone cigar. It was still in the wrapper.

  I also noticed, sitting not too far from the television and game system, there was a set of golf clubs standing in the corner, snugly packed in a travel bag.

  My curiosity urged me to explore more, but I followed Mae’s recommendation and slowly moved back to the entry foyer to leave. Just then a police car pulled up out front, lights blazing. Aunt Mae jumped out and ran up to meet me at the front door. “Why are you still in the house?”

  “Aunt Mae, I didn’t touch anything, just like you said. I’m just waiting for you.”

  “Thanks, now go outside on the porch. Wait right there. I’ll be right out to join you. I need to ask you a few things. OK?”

  “That sounds awful formal, Auntie.”

  “It is. Just wait out there for a minute.” Mae moved into the old study slowly, and checked for a pulse. I moved out onto the porch, and Mae came out after a few seconds, just like she said she would. “Ginger, darling, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. Better than Donna.”

  Mae glanced back at the body. “You got that right. So what are you doing here at Donna’s?”

  “Gypsy, one of Donna’s cats, wandered into the Grumpy Chicken. So I brought Gypsy back home. You know we can’t have animals running around inside the pub.”

  “And when did you find the body?”

  “Just a minute or two before I called you.” I took out my phone, touched the screen a few times, and scanned a list of calls. “Looks like I called you at 12:24.”

  “Okay. And did you touch anything in the room.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “No. Well I think I knelt on a pearl when I checked the pulse, but that’s it.

  “Could you identify the spot where you knelt if you had to?”

  “Well, yeah. Just play the knee version of Cinderella. It’s the pearl right next to the body, in the impression on the rug that matches my knee ... And, um, I did touch Donna’s neck to take her pulse.”

  “Anything else? Ginger, think hard.”

  “Well, if you want to count my feet touching the floor?”

  “Sure. Walking around in there could have destroyed evidence, do you remember where you walked?”

  “Yeah, I went to the body from the front door, looked at couple of things on the coffee table in front of the sofa, and came back to the front door. Really Aunt Mae, are you interrogating me? Those stinking cats in there are contaminating way more than I ever could. And I was careful where I stepped.”

  “Sweetie, you stomped around in a crime scene. I don’t want you getting involved any more than you have to. So I need to know everything you did while you were in there. I wish you had come out of there as soon as we hung up.”

  “I’m sorry. But it was so shocking and I couldn’t help but wonder what happened.”

  “Let the police handle it, it’s not your concern. You have the Grumpy Chicken to take care of, and that is more than a full time job.”

  “Oh crap, you’re more right than you know. I need to get back there. It’s Stitch N Bitch Night. We still have a lot to do and I left Dixie and Bones all alone.”

  “Hang out till Sheriff Morrison gets here, he might have some questions, too. But it won't take long, and I think he’s almost here. So you should be able to get back to work in fifteen or twenty minutes.” She looked over the top of her nose in a loving way. “It’s alright sweetie, I’ll wait with you. Dixie and Bones are good employees and will take care of things just fine. And by the way, what’s being served tonight for Stitch N Bitch?”

  “Buffalo chicken wings, some veg and dip, crackers and cheese, I think some salad, and maybe another app. The usual chips, peanuts and pretzels. And the grill will be open for custom orders.”

  “Oooo, Buffalo wings. You haven’t made those in a while, maybe I should go tonight?”

  “Sure, would love to have ya.”

  “Can I do anything to help ya out?”

  “Wear some old clothes. Heavily sauced meats don’t go real well with knitting and sewing. It's why we don’t make wings that often. But people like them and half the attendees don’t craft anyway, they just gossip and drink.”

  Mae poked me on the shoulder playfully and added, “That’s what makes Stitch N Bitch fun, honey!”

  Chapter Three

  Sheriff Morrison asked the same questions as my Aunt, and after he was done, I hurried back to the Grumpy Chicken. It was now quarter to two and the day was flying by.

  When I entered, across the dining area I could see the bald dome of Guardrail towering over every other patron by eight inches. He was sitting at the bar, chatting with Dixie and they seemed awful cozy. I was sure they were talking about that stupid pickled egg jar. I walked over and leaned on the bar next to Guardrail. I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eye. “Hey Guardrail, how’s business?”

  Guardrail held up his huge right thumb, Caesar style. “Great. Thanks for asking.”


  I turned to my bartender. “Dixie, I hate to interrupt, but can I talk to you, in private?”

  Her eyes widened, just a bit. “Sure, what’s up? You seem a little frazzled.”

  “We should speak in the back.”

  After moving to the office in the back of the pub, I made sure no one was lurking outside the door, then closed it. “Sit. ... You’re not going to believe this, ... but Donna Holland was killed. I just found her dead!”

  Dixie gasped. “Holy sweet molasses crap! I should have sat down like you said. Are you kidding me? The black widow is dead?”

  “I touched her neck, took her pulse. She’s dead and the cops are there right now.”

  “Yuck! You better wash and disinfect your hands before touching any food.”

  “Dixie, focus. I had to tell someone and now I’m not sure I picked the right person.”

  “Alright! Dang, the rumors are she bumped off her first three husbands to get their money. But now she’s dead while getting ready to marry the forth. The irony.”

  “Donna was only a few years older than me. Took me thirty three years to work on one marriage and get divorced. Jeez. You know, I knew her in high school, she was a junior when I was a freshman.”

  “OK. Don’t wax poetic on me, time for you to stay focused. We got too much drama to deal with right now. So, what are you going to do?”

  “Aunt Mae told me to do nothing. So I guess for now – nothing. And you got to promise me to tell no one.”

  “Okay. I promise.

  “Good. Now we need to go on with things as usual, get ready for tonight.”

  “Me and Bones have it under control.”

  BAM, BAM! “Hey, you in there? I can’t do this all by myself! What’s going on in there?” Bones was panicking and as a result I guess he decided to break my office door.

  I yelled in response. “What are you doing, you left the register unattended?” I could hear him mutter something and shuffle off back to the dining area. Then I returned to the conversation with Dixie. “I am glad to hear you took care of things, thanks. Bones is right, we should go back to work and try to act normal as possible. Phew, I had to get it off my chest.”

  “I wish you had picked someone else to tell, to be honest. That is a heck of lot to think about.”

  “I know, Dixie. Thanks for listening. And by the way, you are doing good with keeping your New Year’s resolution not to cuss.”

  “You have no idea how close I came to breaking it.”

  I laughed because I knew she wasn’t kidding. We left the office and Dixie went back to tending bar. I raced to the kitchen for a quick check on Bones.

  “Bones, how many wings you got prepped?”

  “Thirty pounds.”

  “That should be plenty, great.”

  I moved out into the bar area. “Dixie, you got the citrus cut and ...”

  Dixie ran towards me, waving her hand in my face. “Ginger, shhh. We got a problem. Look!” She pointed to Beth Givens who was talking non-stop to Guardrail. Beth was the town gossip and had perfect attendance at Stitch N Bitch. She was either late for the early lunch rush, or very early for the upcoming evening’s event. “She knows about Donna, saw the cop cars at the Holland house. And somehow, she knows you were there, too! What are we going to say?”

  Guardrail saw us, and his voiced boomed over all the other noise. “Ginger, get over here, you pretty red head! I thought we had to talk about replacing the pickled egg jar. But that’ll have to wait. I hear you’ve been busy. Were you out at the Holland place this afternoon?”

  There are things I love about small town life. Actually I love most things about it. But juicy news gets around in a small town faster than a cold in a classroom full of kindergartners. And the way gossip spreads through Potter's Mill is definitely not one of the things I love.

  I stayed behind the bar with Dixie and moved over to face Guardrail and Beth. “There are no secrets in Potter's Mill, are there?”

  Guardrail shook his head. “Nope. Now spill!”

  “There’s nothing to tell. I went to return Gypsy, and to let Donna know we can’t have her cats getting into the pub.”

  Beth was smirking the whole time and was waiting to explode, I could tell, but she refrained herself. “Did you really find the body?”

  “Yep. No big deal.”

  That caused an explosion, not from Beth but behind me. Dixie burst, “Monkey farts! No big deal. You found a dead woman Ginger! Sorry. How can you say no big deal?”

  Dixie was not usually excitable, but I guess everyone has their limits. Guardrail and I both laughed because it was so unusual for her. Dixie was acting like the one who found the body, guess she was tired from covering both the bar and dining area while I was gone. “Dixie, calm down. It’s just something that happened and I was there at the wrong time. I made a phone call and the police are taking care of it. It has nothing to do with us and Deputy Owens told me to stay out of it. I told them what I saw and that’s the end of it.”

  Beth smiled, with pinched lips like she just bit into a real sour lemon. “My goodness, it’s been such a long day already. I just helped all the moms sign their kids for up soccer, and now this Donna thing. I could use an adult drink. Dixie, would you be a dear and make me a glass of sweet?”

  “Sure, Beth. I just made a new batch of sweet mix.” Dixie grabbed a plastic bottle full of mixer to make her drink.

  Beth liked margaritas, but for some reason called them sweet. I don’t know if it was some southern thing or what, but she was the only person I ever heard call a margarita ‘sweet.’

  Beth took a sip of her drink, and moaned. “Dixie, my goodness, you sure know how to make sweet. That’s good, thank you.” In response, Dixie nodded back to indicate you’re welcome. Beth continued, “And Ginger, you saw the body, I would love to know more about that. I already have my own list of suspects and would like to know any evidence you may have seen that points to one of them.”

  “Look Beth, my Aunt Mae was real clear on this, we should all stay out of this and let the police do their job.”

  “Ah, but you know I know more about the people in this town than anyone. I might be able to help. So you want me to go first, tell you my suspect list?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I have a feeling you are going to tell us no matter what I say.”

  Beth didn’t even hear me speak and just kept going. “I need to discuss it out loud, to think it through. You see, there are really only four suspects; Elias Holland, Robert Harlow and his daughter Amber, and last but not least, Silus Palmer.”

  Guardrail was leaning on the bar with his thick forearm, and pivoted on it to face Beth. “You figured all that out even though the body was only found a couple of hours ago?”

  “Of course, dear, it was more than enough time. You see, Robert was planning on marrying Donna. Most of us knew that. But not everyone knew that Donna’s stepson Elias would lose his inheritance if she remarried Robert. So, Elias stood to lose a lot if Robert married his step mother. But, if Donna died before getting married again, Elias would get his father’s money. So he’s definitely a suspect.”

  I nodded a little. “Okay that makes sense, I guess, but how can Robert and Amber Harlow be suspects?”

  “Robert was Donna’s lover, her future husband. The lover is always the first suspect. And Amber, whoa, that’s a feisty one. Seems she objected to the planned marriage of her father to Donna. On a number of occasions, Amber made her dissatisfaction about it well known, she hated Donna. And it was clear Amber felt her father might end up dead like the first three of Donna’s husbands.”

  Guardrail piped in. “But Amber wouldn’t kill someone just for that?”

  Beth raised her eyebrows. “She might, her objections were quite strong and some of her comments bordered on threats. She genuinely feared for her father’s safety.”

  I was getting tired of hearing Beth prattle on, so I tried to move her along. “So that’s three of your suspects. And the fourth, this Se
rious Palmer? What about him?”

  “It’s Silus Palmer, don’t you know anything, silly? He’s been trying to buy land parcels around Potter’s Mill for years. He’s trying to build a distribution center for some online retailer, or something. Rumors are swirling that Donna may have been blackmailing him or blocking his efforts to buy land and build. If Donna were blocking Silas’ efforts, maybe he finally had enough and retaliated. So he’s the fourth suspect.”`

  I took the empty glass in front of Guardrail and handed it to Dixie. “Well, Beth, I’m glad you figured that all out before the trained law enforcement professionals our town pays to do the job.”

  Guardrail interrupted, “She makes some good points, Ginger.”

  “Oh, but now I need your help, dear.” Beth repeatedly blinked her eyes at me like a robot rebooting. I think she was trying to say please and couldn’t get it out.

  I grew tired of waiting for the please from her, so I spoke. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I really didn’t see much. Donna was lying on the floor, I took her pulse, and called the police. End of story.”

  Beth shook her finger. “Au contraire. For example, I’m guessing you saw what she was wearing?”

  “Of course, but I really didn’t pay attention. And I spent most of my time standing out on the porch with my Aunt Mae. What I saw was a lot of cats. And not much else.”

  “Well, was she wearing a wedding dress?”

  “No.”

  “See, you do know some things. Do you remember what else was in the room?”

  “Look, Beth, I was told to stay out of this. And I’m not trying to offend you, but I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

  Beth sighed. “Such a party pooper!”

  “Sorry. But I have work to do. It’s a busy day for us in the kitchen.”

  Dog Breath, who was in the custom motorcycle and repair business with Guardrail, came into the pub and took a seat next to his partner. For once in his life, he showed up at a good time, providing cover for me to get away from Beth when he asked, “Ginger, heard you had another jar attacked by the spirit clucker.”