Treachery on Tap Read online

  Dog shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think so. You’ve sat there for years and it has worked just fine. I’m not going to mess with the seating order now.”

  Digger burped, then added, “You have pets. That’s nice Guardrail. Why would you want to move?”

  The big man’s voice went up a few octaves. “Because there are real ghost mice under my feet. I can’t sit there drinking beer knowing that.”

  Dog shot back, “Well, maybe they don’t like you either.”

  Tyler spoke again. “Gentlemen. If I can break up this little meeting, the four spots are small. They could be apparitions, but this building is old and they may just be some cold spots. I need to do a little more analysis. We were just trying out the camera and moving kind of fast. It will take a little more analysis to confirm that this was an apparition.”

  Guardrail spoke quickly. “Well, are you going to do the additional work now? I need to know if there are ghost mice under my bar stool.”

  Tyler rubbed his chin. “Let me look at the rest of this video first. We stopped when we saw these four spots, but there is more to the video. Let’s have a look.”

  Tyler went back to the keyboard, plunked a few keys and restarted the video. After a minute he popped up again, but this time he not only knocked the chair over, he was holding his head with both hands and exclaimed, “Holy moly. Now that’s unusual.”

  We all saw it too and Dixie’s voice rose from behind the bar. “What the fungus is that thing?”

  Tyler answered, “I don’t know.” Then he flipped through this portion of the video frame by frame. Eventually he stopped on one frame with what appeared to be the clearest image of the anomaly.

  I was mute. The image I saw was disturbing. But the most upsetting part of it was that the blue pattern this time was larger and shaped in such a way that it could only be a chicken. A chicken with a limp.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning I woke in my bed feeling groggy. I heard Dad in the apartment kitchen making coffee. I slept little and felt a headache trying to form. The creepy image from yesterday filled my thoughts and I knew this was going to be a problem. Everyone saw it and I was sure it would make it harder to stay focused on solving the mystery of Zach’s death.

  I rose, and studied my face in the mirror. I hated my brown eyes and they looked worse with signs of fatigue. Using makeup was never my strong suit and I didn’t wear it too often. But today I used a little to try and hide the ugly black rings under my eyes. I detested my wavy, red hair too and it was a mess. I brushed it out and pulled it into a pony tail, tying it off with a fresh, white ribbon. Then I dressed and noticed the only good thing with this investigative work, I seemed to have lost a little weight and my jeans were a little looser. Yeah for the silver lining!

  Dad yelled from the tiny apartment kitchen, “Ginger, I made some coffee. Come join me...have a mug with me. I want to talk with you about how we use this proof of the ghost chicken in the pub to help us make more money.”

  Just as I thought, the blue image that looked like the limping grumpy chicken’s ghost was going to be distraction. I joined Dad and drank a couple of cups of Joe with him. He said, “What do you think about running some commercials? We can show that picture of the chicken those silly ghost hounds found.”

  “Dad, it’s not a picture of the chicken. It’s a blue blob.”

  “Nonsense! You always want to explain our spirit clucker away.”

  “I just don’t want to exaggerate anything, Dad. Look, I need to go check on something in my office. Figure out how we're going to pay the bills with a closed kitchen.”

  I finished the last dregs of coffee and kissed my father on the cheek. Then I headed down to my office to think and be alone. But when I got there I found a surprise. Ida was there working. “What are you doing here? Did you stay here last night? You’re wearing the same clothes.”

  She looked at me puzzled and I think she blushed. “Yeah. That’s it. I stayed here last night. Don’t you know hackers keep odd hours sometimes? I was finding out a lot and didn’t want to stop.”

  “Well, then. What did you find?”

  Ida spun her laptop so I could better see her screen. “Look at this. I found it on Youtube.” She hit the space bar and the video started.

  I saw Zach and Cecil inside what looked like a child’s bedroom. They were shooting a scene from the Ghost Hounds. Zach said, “Hey Cecil, this looks like it could be your bedroom.”

  Cecil scrunched his face and asked, “What? This is a little girl’s room.”

  “Exactly. Just like I imagine your bedroom would be.”

  Cecil huffed and sprinted out of the shot. Ida sighed. “This an outtake from the show. I found dozens of them. Seems Zach was pretty hard on Cecil. And on camera. The show didn’t air any of Zach’s degrading behavior, but outtakes are all over Youtube. Zach did not treat Cecil very well.”

  “So, are you saying Cecil might have some motive to murder Zach?”

  “Duh, yeah!”

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t see that as being enough to want to kill someone. So keep your duhs in a jar.”

  “Oh don’t be so sensitive. And look at this next video.”

  I complied with her request. This time I saw Zach humiliate Cecil in front of a girl I didn’t recognize. “So Zach acted awful on other occasions, you already told me that.”

  “Yeah, but I also found an email from Cecil, about the girl in the video. Seems Cecil liked her and wanted a date with her, but it seems Zach pulled that stunt just to make sure Cecil would never get the chance.”

  “Well, that was mean.”

  Ida nodded. “Zach was a mean man. I also found that Zach had an affair with Scooter’s wife. And it led to a divorce for Scooter. The court records tell of some nasty business between the two of them. Seems Zach has a pattern of being a womanizer and stealing other men’s girlfriends or wives.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well that complicates things. I was thinking Denise had the best access to the vial. After all, she gave it to Zach. And I could tell Tyler harbors resentment for him. So I was thinking they were the two strongest suspects, but what you’re telling me is, Scooter and Cecil might have more motive than we thought and might be prime candidates too.”

  “It’s clear Zach was demeaning to other males and he wanted every woman for himself. I’m not an expert in the male universe... Hmm, maybe that’s why a looker like me is still single?... Anyhoo, I do think Zach’s behavior might cause some dangerous enemies.”

  “Ida, first, your humility is overwhelming and we can talk about why you’re still single later. But second, you’re right about the male ego thing. Men get so irrational when a woman is involved. And they do the most stupid things when jealous or humiliated.”

  “And get this, Denise once dated Zach. I found a bunch of emails that read like love letters. I’m not sure why they split up yet, but they did and the love emails stopped suddenly. And the few sent after that, let’s say, they were not very friendly.”

  “Zach was just making friends everywhere.” I paused. “Seems you found a lot all of a sudden. Did you get lucky or something?”

  “Yeah, sometimes you find things quick. Sometimes not. These Hollywood types try to stay private and are pretty good at it. But I figured out how they like to work. So a bit lucky I guess.”

  “Hmm. So he dated Denise. I guess I’m not surprised, she is a looker. But that means messing with men’s egos was not enough for Zach. He invited a women’s scorn, too. And you know what they say about a woman scorned?

  Ida chuckled a little. “Yeah, don’t do it!”

  I looked her square in the eye. “You were more right than you knew last night when you said we may have to investigate the whole crew. He was a real son of a biscuit.”

  “That is one way to put it. But the whole crew is going to take a ton of time to check. I still don’t even know the names of all of them. Okay, if I’m hearing you right, Denise, Tyler, Cecil an
d Scooter are strong suspects. I notice Stan the director has not popped up in anything yet. As well as the crew members Kenny and Cory. It appears for now, we have four strong suspects. That sounds right to me and I can start more detailed background searches on all four.”

  “Okay. That sounds good. But keep your eyes open. I think we have to assume that it could still be anyone.”

  Piper entered the office and plunked down in a chair. “My head is killing me. I didn’t sleep a wink after seeing that blue dollop last night.”

  I replied, “I don’t think that’s our biggest problem. Piper, how can we find out what kind of powder could kill a man like that?”

  “The closest we have to a chemist in town is the pharmacist and Star.”

  I wrinkled my forehead. “Star?”

  Piper shrugged. “Yeah. She knows about some herbs and potions I think. She even sells some. You know that. Remember she was telling you she had some sort of powder to help you with those bad headaches when you were going through your divorce?”

  “I remember now. And she seemed to know a little about the chemistry of how it worked. You’re right.”

  Piper raised her eyebrows. “You want to go have a visit with her? See if she knows anything about a powder that could swell and become solid enough to choke a person to death?”

  “I sure do. And after that, we should visit the pharmacy counter at the general store and inquire there as well. I want to know what kind of powder could do something like this. And how hard it would be to obtain.”

  SO, THERE WE WERE KNOCKING on the front door of the new age store just before Star opened for business. She unlocked the door and could not hide the surprise on her face. “What are you ladies doing here so early?”

  I answered, “We would like to have a word with you.”

  She giggled a little. “Okay? Well, that sounds almost official.”

  Piper responded, “In a way it is. We have lots of questions about the recent accident and you might be able to help us with some of them.”

  “Sure, come on in.” Star opened the door all the way as she spoke and held her hand out, inviting us in. We entered, then she closed the door and led us into the store.

  We followed and saw shelves filled with odd trinkets and books. Eventually, we took seats at a round table covered with a ruby red cloth in the middle of the store. On it sat a crystal ball and what I think were tarot-cards. Star spoke first. “I am so happy to have you here. We should do a reading sometime.”

  I answered. “That will have to wait. I need to know if you are aware of any kind of powder that would swell and become solid in a person's nasal cavities. Enough to choke them to death.”

  Star put her hands down gently on the table. “I wondered the same thing. So, I consulted some tea leaves last night to see what they would tell. But it was not much. And then I remembered back to when I studied magic, to learn how the fake psychics out there pull off some their tricks.”

  “You studied magic?” Piper asked.

  “Of course. I study lots of things. And I remember one book talked about a powder that could make water turn solid. It was used by magicians to create the illusion of water disappearing. The magicians call it slush powder, I think.”

  Piper interrupted. “So could it kill a man if it was snorted?”

  “It actually did on one occasion. I remembered reading that obscure magician’s reference in the book because I also saw a TV show not too long ago where two crooks were robbing a magician. They found some slush powder and thought it was cocaine. They snorted it and they died, very similar to Zach.”

  Piper leaned on the table. “So do you remember what show it was?”

  “Of course, 101 Unique Deaths.”

  I sat up straight, ready to leave. “Thanks Star. That’s real helpful. By the way, are you still able to play this Friday night? I can only sell drinks right now and may hold a special event to highlight your music. You know, make it more of a night club experience.”

  “I love that. Maybe you could create a makeshift dance floor for the event? I would like to see people dancing to my music.”

  “That’ll be easy. I’ll just move the dining room tables. No one is eating at them now.”

  Star smiled and reached out to touch my hand. “You’re so sweet. And I am so glad you came by today. And really, I would love to do a reading for you. Your aura is unparalleled.”

  “Thanks for the help Star. But I need to take a rain check on that reading. We have a lot of work to do now. I need to get my kitchen back open and can’t afford to waste any time.”

  “I understand. See ya around. Thanks for coming by.”

  I stood. “Thank you for the information. Bye for now.”

  We left and canceled our trip to the pharmacy counter. We instead headed straight for The Grumpy Chicken. Television shows seemed to be a major part of my life all of a sudden and I needed to know more about 101 Unique Deaths. At least one episode in particular.

  Piper and I returned to the office to find Ida chatting with Lily and Edith. As we came in, I heard Ida say, “The crew was saying the image was so unusual and interesting. They want to use a Ouija board tonight to try and communicate with the spirits.”

  Edith said, “Oh my, that’s so interesting. I remember those boards from when we were kids. I didn’t think anyone took them serious.”

  Ida shook her head and replied, “Well the older guy, Tyler, agrees with you. He argued with the director and made the case it was only a toy with no scientific value. But Stan chewed out Tyler for being difficult and told him that the board was going to be used – to the delight of the chubby host, Cecil.”

  I interrupted. “Ladies, the Ouija board is an interesting topic, but I need to look at something a little different if we can.”

  Lily shifted in her seat and said, “Sweetie, you’ll never get another man if you keep commandeering conversations.”

  “I’m not looking for a man right now, I want my kitchen back and I want strangers that don’t know my father to stop making accusations. Ida, can you find a particular episode from the TV show, 101 Unique Deaths?”

  “Of course, what episode you want?

  “The one where two thieves die because they snorted a magician's powder they robbed thinking it was cocaine. They both died in a similar manner to Zach.”

  “So would you call that episode Thugs N Drugs?”

  I glared back at her and replied, “That’s not funny. Please find the episode so we can learn about it.”

  “You don’t have to be so bossy!”

  “I said please.”

  And as if she wanted to show off, in what seemed like a few seconds she spun her screen for all to see and played the episode on her laptop. It showed exactly what Star described. The powder was indeed called slush powder and it killed in the same manner as we witnessed with Zach, with one exception. The color of the solid foam that killed the two thieves was white, not orange.

  Chapter Seven

  Deputy Mae Owens worked on the Potter’s Mill police force for twenty plus years, but she has been my aunt her entire life. I recently realized how I viewed her simply as my aunt, until last week when I saw her in action as a police officer. She was impressive and good at it. Aunt Mae came into the pub wearing her campaign hat and I knew that meant she was working on something serious. I was behind the bar and she moved over to meet me. Aunt Mae sat down on one of the bar stools. “Ginger, sweetie, how are you doing? The place looks strange with no one eating in the dining room. I guess the food is more a part of this place than I thought.”

  I walked out from behind the bar and over to her as she talked, then gave her a hug. “Auntie, glad you came by. But as you noted, you’re not going to get any lunch here today.”

  Mae took her hat off and set it on the bar. “I’m not here for the food. I wanted to talk to you. Maybe you can help me with some questions I have. You know, since you saw the accident in your kitchen?”

  “Sure, whatever you nee
d.”

  Mae thought for a moment, then asked, “We found out what the substance in the victim’s nasal passages was...”

  “Slush powder!”

  Mae looked puzzled, “Well, the lab said sodium polyacrylate. But they did say it had some slang names too.”

  “It’s used by magicians. And it’s the same thing as that sodium poly thing. Ida looked it up for me.”

  “And tell me sweetie, how did you find this out?”

  “Just some luck, I guess. Star knew of a TV show that showed how two crooks were killed in a similar manner.”

  “What?”

  “They were thieves, robbing a magician. They found his slush powder when they robbed him. The performer used it to make it look like water disappeared. But the crooks thought it was cocaine and they snorted it, dying in a way very similar to what we saw with Zach Black.”

  Mae tilted her head back and chuckled. “You were faster then the state labs I think. That’s actually impressive sweetie. But what did I tell you about interfering with police business?”

  “It’s dangerous, don’t do it.”

  “Right! So what part of that is hard to understand?”

  “The part where I am losing sales because my kitchen is closed. I need this matter resolved and my kitchen reopened.”

  Mae pinched her lips. “I’m sure that’s a problem for you, dear. I know your margins are thin and the food business helps to make ends meet. But I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “Auntie, do you know that Cecil, one of the show's hosts, also told the Sheriff that Dad is the one that should be under scrutiny?”

  “Yeah, I do, honey.”

  “You know I can’t have that. Even though it might be a little dangerous for me, I need to help clear this matter up ASAP for both reasons. You know that.”

  “I know you want your kitchen back to normal. And you love your father and want to protect him. But trust me on this one, the police don’t see him as a suspect.”

  “OK, thanks for sharing that.”