A Frosty Mug of Murder Read online

  Piper added, “Hmm, car accident. That could explain the limp. And sounds like she had a serious issue in that last semester of college. Like gambling or drugs?”

  The office door flew open. It was Dixie. “I hate to break up the sisterhood of the traveling thumb drive, but are you going to do any work today, Ginger? Bones and I are barely keeping up with the crowd out there that is growing with all the talk about Donna.”

  “Dixie, we had to check something out. Is Bones watching the register?”

  Dixie cocked her head. “Yep. Now what is so important to let so many customers wait.”

  Ida blurted out, “Amber may have killed Donna.”

  “Flash Gordon’s nipples!”

  The three of us stared at Dixie. I held my hands in the air. “Where do you get your cuss words? Do you stay up at night and write them down?”

  “No! I just say what comes to mind.”

  “And Flash Gordon and nipples was the first thing to enter your brain?”

  Dixie’s face went blank. “Yeah, not that bad eighties movie, the old TV series with the bad special effects. And you know, the news about Amber was kind of a news flash, so ... ”

  I couldn’t keep from chuckling as I cut her off, “Oh my goodness. You need help.”

  Ida had enough time to pull up a YouTube clip from the movie, and we heard music start followed by ‘Flash! Ahhhhh.’ All of us burst into a full belly laugh, except Dixie, and we probably let it go on longer than we should. “Oh come on, it’s funny, sweetie.”

  Dixie flinched, like she was going to stomp her foot, but she caught herself. “Bull sh.... shampoo! It’s funny only if you had all day off from work. Are you going to help us or play Inspector Clueso all day? Don’t forget, we got Stitch N Bitch tonight.”

  I wiped the tears from my eyes. I needed a good laugh. But I felt bad for Dixie. “You know what, you’re right. You’re right. We’re being silly.”

  Ida’s tone changed. “Oh my! This is interesting. I got some of Amber’s Facebook posts here. Seems she told some of her friends back home that she is very worried about her father’s safety. Accused Donna of being a murderer. And if anything happened to Robert, Amber said she would make Donna pay for it.”

  Piper noted, “It sounds like she was bad mouthing Donna everywhere.” Piper was thinking out loud and starting to see Amber as a suspect, I could see it in her eyes.

  I wasn’t laughing any more. “And it’s what she blurted out at the murder scene. She said Donna would pay for being a black widow. Seems she was fixated on Donna and the death of her previous three husbands. But nothing happened to her father, so why would she kill Donna?”

  “Simple. Preemptive strike.” Piper was in journalist mode now. “Well, that, and maybe she was getting money from her father, and that’s why she stays close to him. Maybe he’s the only reason she can make ends meet at all. If she lost him, she might go bankrupt again. Maybe? Took Donna out to protect her cash cow.”

  Ida chimed in. “Yeah. Her credit does stink. Looks like she has had serious money problems since the car accident. Maybe she is still an addict or something, and just managing it from day to day.”

  “Have you actually looked at the woman? She never drinks more than a glass or two of wine, and never hard liquor ... her eyes are clear and bright ... plus she’s still pretty smart if you actually talk to her. And if you asked her the difference between a football and a race horse, I honestly don’t think she could tell you. She isn’t an addict or a gambler.” I hated shooting them down, but I knew they were wrong. We had to look for something else.

  Ida typed some more. “I can dive a little deeper, but it will take me a few minutes.” She seemed to shrink into her laptop screen.

  Piper was fiddling with some coaster samples sent to me for evaluation. “These are nice. Why don’t you use these instead of those crappy cardboard ones?”

  “Because they cost ten times as much and I don’t have that kind of money.”

  “You shouldn’t be giving away drinks to old ladies then.”

  “Edith helped me out today. It was the least I could do to thank her.”

  “And did she help you?”

  “She shared some things Lily overheard.”

  “You trying to replace Beth as the town gossip?”

  “Heck, no. I’m just curious who could have done this. You know, after being the one to find Donna dead.”

  “I guess that’s understandable. But if the New York Times wants your story after you figure it out, you tell them you promised the exclusive to The Potter’s Mill Oracle.”

  “You know we frown on anything from the Big Apple here. I would give my story to the Washington Post. They scooped Watergate, so they should handle this with no problem.” I smiled, but she eyed me back like the fox in her hen house. I added, “Of course! I’m just teasing ya, Piper!”

  “Not – funny – at – all.” Piper could make a long face on cue like no one else.

  “Bingo!” Ida sat up and plunked her hands on either side of the laptop. “Look at this. She is being audited and owes back taxes. That would keep Sleeping Beauty awake at night.”

  “Ida, please tell me you did nothing illegal to find out about the taxes.”

  “No, I got into her email and saw an accountant asked her to confirm some information for the audit. Well hacking someone’s email might be technically illegal, but no one cares about getting into email. Usually.”

  “Okay, you found enough for today. Please stop. I don’t want the internet police tracing illegal activity back to my pub.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly, I bounced the encrypted connection through a special VPN that bounces the tunnel around. As long as the top level guys at NSA don’t get involved, we’re fine.”

  “I’m not sure what all that is. But you need to stop, now, please.”

  “Alright.” She sighed as if she was eight years old and I took her favorite toy away.

  Piper thought out loud again. “This is all interesting, but what do we do with the information? And are we the only ones who know?”

  “Well, Aunt Mae told me not to get involved. But we just learned something she may want to know. I guess I should go tell her to make sure the police have the information.” I was actually thinking out loud, too, looking for reassurance.

  “If you tell her, she might ask how you found out.” Ida was worried I would out her not so elaborate hacking operation.

  “Don’t worry. I will just tell Auntie that it’s things I heard in the pub.”

  “Well if you heard it in the Grumpy Chicken, aren’t the odds the police probably heard it too?” Piper seemed to be with Ida on this one.

  “No, we should help if there is any chance that the information will be useful. It’s our civic duty.”

  Ida scowled. “I’m not sure it is our civic duty. And I don’t like bringing information from a hack to the police.”

  “They will never know it was you, I promise.” I knew Mae would understand and not ask too many questions about who said what over drinks at the Grumpy Chicken. The decision was made, I was going to visit the police station.

  Chapter Six

  The police station sat at the very end of what we called the downtown strip. It was section of Main Street where most of the stores and businesses were located, including the Grumpy Chicken. I walked from the pub to the old building that housed our small police force in a little over ten minutes.

  Eunice Houston, the young daughter of Bessie and Carl who owned Sew Fabric, worked behind the reception desk. “Hello Ginger. What brings you here on this busy day.”

  “I need to speak to my aunt.”

  “Mae is speaking to someone in the conference room, but you can wait at her desk. You know where it is.”

  “Thanks Eunice.” I made it to Mae’s work station and took a seat on the side of her desk, then studied the pile of papers in the middle of the desktop. We don’t have many murders in Potter's Mill. Come to think of it this was the first
I knew of, and it seems the crime of murder creates a lot of paperwork.

  “Well sweetie, what are you doing here?” Mae approached from behind as she spoke.

  I spun to face her. “I thought you were talking to someone.”

  “I was just sitting in with the Sheriff during an interview. But I saw you come in. What’ya need, honey?” She made her way to the seat at the desk and sat.

  “Actually, I have something for you.”

  “Oh really?”

  “I overheard a number of comments in The Chicken, and I thought I should tell you about them. They might relate to the murder.”

  “First, no one has officially said it was murder. And second, I told you not to get involved.”

  “Sure, Aunt Mae, but everyone is talking about it. And I heard some things about Amber Harlow that you should know.”

  “Alright.”

  “Seems she has been real worried about her father getting married to Donna. That he may end up dead like her first three husbands.”

  “Honey, we all know that. Amber told anyone who would listen.”

  “Yeah, but in addition she has real serious money problems it seems.”

  “Oh?”

  “Also, she was being audited by the IRS. And I saw her at the Holland house not long after I found the body. She was irrational, emotional, and seemed kind of unhinged.”

  “Just what are you saying?”

  “Um, Potter's Mill doesn’t have a murder, well, never. Amber shows up with her father, with real bad money problems, worried about her father being dead husband number four claimed by the black widow. Seems like she might have had a reason to want Donna dead. And she is an emotional wreck, almost irrational. She might be a suspect. I just wanted to let you know.”

  “Ginger, you are a real sweet girl and I don’t want you getting yourself involved in this. It’s dangerous and you could get hurt. So just say no to anyone who wants to pull you into this investigation. Leave it to the police. The state police are sending some people to help us, too. We got this well covered.”

  “Auntie, I’m not getting involved. Just passing on what I heard.”

  “Sweetie, I’m a town deputy. I can put two and two together. You be careful what you do with that Ida who hangs around the pub. The FBI called us once, asked about her. Wanted to know if she ever got into trouble here. Seems they didn’t have enough to charge her, but they knew she might have hacked into an IRS computer.”

  “Well that’s troubling.”

  “Sure is. And I don’t want you getting hurt or finding trouble. Even worse, you might interfere with our efforts. You don’t want to hurt our investigation do you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Good. Now I know you found the body, but put this all out of your mind and don’t worry about it. We got it handled.” Mae patted the big pile of papers on her desk to emphasize her point. “And I don’t think Amber is a murderer.”

  “How can you say that.”

  “First, we know everything you told me. It’s normal for people to have a bad stretch in their life. Seems she had an extraordinary streak of bad luck in her last year of college, including a car wreck, and has struggled ever since. She has worked hard to stay afloat and is nice girl.”

  “You found all that already?”

  “We’re the police, it wasn’t hard, honey. And as for her bad mouthing Donna, wouldn’t you?”

  “What do ya mean?”

  “Donna was thirty six. Robert was seventy three. That means Robert was thirty seven years her senior. Kind of unusual, don’t you think?”

  “I think it’s gross, to be honest. Donna was only three years older than me.”

  “Right! And Amber probably did too. Plus Donna has three previous husbands now taking dirt naps. Seems to me I would worry about that, too, if my father was going to marry her.”

  “I guess.”

  Mae continued, “It makes perfect sense. And in addition, she was hurt, bad, in her car accident. I don’t think she is strong enough to choke herself, let alone another person.”

  “I didn’t think of that.”

  “See, leave it to us, the professionals. Please, honey. You need to stay out of this.”

  “Okay. I was just trying to do my civic duty and bring information forward that I thought would help.”

  “That’s sweet, sugar. But you need to run your pub and take what you hear in there with a grain of salt. The gossip in that place is awful.”

  “Tell me about it. And I’ve left Bones and Dixie alone almost all day. I feel bad and should head back to give them a hand.”

  “There ya go, good girl. I might see you tonight, but who knows. We’re pretty busy today.”

  “I understand. Hope to see ya there though.” I rose and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re always so patient and kind with me. Thanks Auntie.”

  “You’re welcome sweetie.”

  I left the station feeling like an idiot, a little more humble than when I had entered. But the days seemingly random events were not ready to leave me alone. Amber was sitting on a bench in front of the station and my new found humility was gone in a blink. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass and I sat down next to her.

  “Hello, how are you doing?” I was trying my best not to assume she was the killer and just chat with her.

  “How do ya think? My father’s fiance was just murdered. I hate her. But I don’t need this kind of aggravation.”

  “I know. This must be hard for you.”

  Amber snapped, “How could you know?”

  “I guess I couldn’t, you’re right. I never experienced anything even close. I’m sorry.”

  Amber sniffled. “I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have been curt with you. It’s been too much for me to take today, my nerves are shot.”

  “I can only imagine.” I tried to pick my words more carefully to prevent her from being riled again.

  “You want to ask me, don’t you? Everyone else does.”

  “What?”

  “You want to know if I killed her.”

  I studied her face for a moment, then asked, “Well, did you?”

  “Why do you care about that crazy cat lady enough to wonder who killed her?”

  “Well, for starters it means we have a murderer walking among us in Potter’s Mill.”

  “Why weren’t you concerned about Donna then. She killed three husbands.”

  “That was never proven and no charges were ever filed after thorough investigations.”

  Amber snorted. “Thorough! I don’t think so. She was as guilty as could be. You went to high school with her didn’t you?

  “Yeah.”

  “Doesn’t it bother you that your little town produced a serial killer? No! But you ask me if I killed her. They told me small town southerners stick together.”

  “It’s that this just happened. Everyone is wondering who killed Donna and wants to find the murderer.”

  “Well, it wasn’t me or my father. We are decent people who were just trying to move on with our lives and make a better place in the world.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset you.”

  “Really? You asked me if I committed a murder, but didn’t think that would upset me?”

  “Sorry, I should have thought that through a little more before asking. I tend to be pretty direct. I know I need to work on that.” I could feel the pain and confusion she was dealing with. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Just leave us alone. I can’t deal with all the staring eyes and questions.”

  “Then why are you sitting on a bench outside the police station?”

  “The Sheriff brought us in for questioning, I just got out and took a seat to wait for may father. He’s still talking to the Sheriff.”

  “I see, then I will respect your wishes and leave you alone. And seriously, if you need anything, please let me know and I will do whatever possible to help.”

  “That’s nice of you, thanks.”


  “By the way, we’re making wings tonight. Do you like Buffalo chicken wings? It will be supper time in an hour or two, can I bring some over to your place so you don’t have to cook or worry about dinner tonight?” I was overcompensating, but guilt for being so direct with her got the best of me.

  “We’re good, thanks. I was at Daryl Reid’s office all morning, finalizing some business with him for my father. He invited me and father over for dinner. I'm pretty sure we will cancel now, but ...”

  “Wait! You were at his real estate office all morning? Can Daryl confirm that?”

  “Sure. He already did to the police.”

  Now I understood why the police released her and why Mae was so confident Amber didn’t commit the murder. She had a strong alibi.

  Chapter Seven

  Customers trickled in all afternoon for a bite to eat and something to drink. But today the food and drinks were an afterthought. Locals knew The Grumpy Chicken was the prime spot to learn of Potter’s Mill news and it didn’t get any bigger than the murder of Donna Holland. I saw we were close to capacity in the dining room.

  It was just after five o’clock when I returned and all of the expected regulars were here, plus a few surprise guests. One I noticed in particular, Donna’s stepson, Elias Holland, sat at the bar chewing on Dixie’s ear.

  “You’ve no idea. It’s complicated, but there is only one person who wanted her dead – Amber Harlow.” Elias had been drinking as evidenced by a couple of slurred words.

  Dixie had her fake sympathetic bartender voice going. “Sweetie, I just serve the drinks. Let’s leave the detective work to the police.”

  “And that crazy woman has no idea that she probably killed me too.” Elias slapped the bar top and frowned. “How can life suck so bad!”

  “Easy, honey. It always looks bleakest before the dawn.” Dixie used that line a little too often.

  “No! Like I said, you don’t understand.”

  “What don’t I understand?”

  “My father was a great man. Well, I hated him like most sons do ... in some ways ... but he was a good man. I was supposed to get his money. But Donna made him change it so she got the money if he died. I only got the money if both of them kicked the bucket.”