A Frosty Mug of Murder Read online

  “See, there ya go. You’re in line for a big pay day. Getting a big check isn’t going to kill ya.”

  “That’s what is supposed to happen. But with Donna’s engagement to Robert, it’s way more complicated than you know. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “Ah, you’re just upset and that’s understandable. You’ve had a pretty traumatic day. But don’t worry, it’ll all work out.”

  “We’ll see. Can I have another one?” Elias waggled his empty glass.

  “You sure? You’ve had a few and your tab is getting pretty big?”

  “Give me another.” Elias plunked the empty glass on the bar like a judge hammering a gavel, just to make it clear he was sure.

  Then I saw Bessie Houston enter with empty hands and it looked odd. She always carried some project to work on while she talked. Even more strange, Stitch N Bitch didn’t start until seven o’clock – Bessie was not known to be early.

  “Ginger, dear, can we talk.” Bessie was fidgeting with her hands while she spoke.

  “Sure.”

  “With all that’s happened, should we cancel tonight?”

  I was paying more attention to the customers being served, but now Bessie had my full attention. “Why, most of the time we chat and exchange gossip anyway. This would be a perfect night for Stitch N Bitch.”

  “Oooo. Sorry, but you know I don’t like that name.” She even grimaced at hearing it. “I know you do a lot of work to get ready for us, but Carl and I were talking. We don’t want to seem disrespectful.”

  I held both hands up. “Bessie, look around, the place is packed. People are looking to get out and talk to each other. It’ll be fine.”

  “Well, that’s just it. No one wants to talk about crafting. They want to talk about ... who did it.”

  “That’s probably true.”

  “So why don’t we just cancel the function and Carl and I won't seem like we are trying to profit from Donna’s death.”

  “I see now.” I was so focused on my hectic day, I stopped being a considerate human being. She had a good point.

  Bessie smiled. “And besides, we have something that doesn’t happen very much around here. There’s a mystery to figure out.”

  My voice raised a little when I said, “A mystery? It’s an actual murder, not an episode of Murder She Wrote.”

  “Well, you know how the boys are around here. A pool will start before too long, if it hasn’t already, and they’ll make silly bets on who did it. And there will be four or five theories that are popular, but a bunch of wild ones too. That is where everyone will be focused – who did it and why. And they will all think they have solved the mystery and argue over who is right. It is better for us to cancel, just step aside, and let things play out.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We’ll pay for the food you’ve prepared, that’s not what you’re worried about, is it?

  “No, Bes. I’m not worried about that. I just wanted to keep things, well, normal.”

  Bessie laughed. “Sweetie, that’s out of your control today. Things are about as abnormal in Potter’s Mill as can be today.”

  “I guess you’re right. Okay, we’ll cancel.”

  “Great. Carl and I will still be coming tonight. What are you making?”

  “Buffalo wings.”

  “Yummy! Love your wings. Oh, and one more thing sweetie, Carl and I have a large whiteboard we used before we installed the new flat screen to show our specials. You can have the old whiteboard if you want, it might be of use to show your specials.”

  “That is very kind of you, thanks. But ...”

  Bones was bussing a nearby table and overheard us talking. “Hey boss, maybe you can put that whiteboard up on that big blank wall outside the office, ya know next to the walk in cooler.”

  “And what am I going to use it for there?”

  “Well, things we need to get, like a shopping list. And planned menus. And to do lists. So, stuff like that. Or maybe we can even list the odds that Dog is coming up with for the murder suspects.” Bones paid attention more than I thought.

  “Bones, you know as an established business we can’t even seem to have a part in gambling. And why would I do anything like that when it’s one of our own that’s been murdered? It’s disrespectful.”

  “Ginger O’Mallory!” Guardrail always used my last name when he thought he had a good idea or wanted my attention. He must have been eavesdropping. “Bessie has made a generous offer. And Bones is right, we can use it to work on solving the whodunit.”

  “For such a big guy, sometimes I wonder about the size of your brain. I can’t do anything that will look like we are gambling or taking advantage of the situation.”

  Guardrail pointed. “Look at Dog Breath and Digger over there. They’re arguing about whether Amber did it. Digger says Amber did it, but has no idea why other than she was outspoken. And Dog says there’s only a zero to one percent chance she did it because he’s certain it’s a professional hit man. My fool of a partner has seen too many movies and thinks only assassins commit murders. Well, that and maybe too much time with the degreasing solvent at the shop.”

  I retorted, “Dog also thought the pub was haunted by General Sherman after he watched the PBS special on the civil war. What’s your point?”

  “People want to talk about this, exchange ideas. They’re not being disrespectful. It’s only natural to want to know who did it, and why. You would be doing a service and just giving the people what they want.”

  “No, that’s not something I can do. How would you like it if your name was on a board for all to see as a potential murderer? We know these people.”

  “What? Are you saying I’m a suspect, too?

  I chuckled. “See, not a good feeling is it? But come to think of it, maybe we should take a closer look at where you were this morning. You do seem to be acting a little odd.” I eyed him, then smacked my forehead. “But what was I thinking, that’s not unusual for you.”

  “You think you’re funny?” Guardrail tried to sulk at me, but his attempt failed.

  I tried to hide my laughter, “Alright. Sorry, didn’t mean to offend, just messing with ya.” I turned back to Bessie. “But however, Bessie, I’ll take the board. I can use it in the pub to post things to do, specials, stuff like that.” I couldn’t let the offer go. I knew we could use the board, just like Sew Fabric used it, and there was no way I could afford to buy one on my own.

  Bessie replied. “Okay. Glad to see it used. It’s just collecting dust in our backroom now.”

  Guardrail volunteered, “Me and Dog will go get it, put it up for ya.”

  “I said it wasn’t for solving the crime, got it.” I knew Guardrail had an idea and the whiteboard was part of it. I may have made a mistake by accepting Bessie’s hand-me-down.

  “Got it.” Guardrail spun and yelled over the crowd noise. “Dog, drink up. We got a quick job to do!”

  Dog looked up, foam still on his lip. “I just ordered another one.”

  “It’ll be there when we get back. Dixie, put that beer for Dog on hold till we get back.” Guardrail waved at her in thanks, then he and Dog headed out.

  I continued with Bessie, “Do you have an opinion on who may have done it?” I was curious if she was also caught up in the mania. Carl and Bessie were long time residents, and usually level headed, making them good test subjects to see how deeply the town was obsessed with the murder.

  “Oh yes. I think it may have been suicide. No one in this town could have done it. Me and Carl know everybody, and everyone here is just too nice to have done it.” Bessie smiled after presenting her theory.

  I had no idea that the town wasn’t only obsessed with the murder, it was losing its mind. “Well, that is ... is ... different Bessie.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  Without warning, there was a strange buzzing sound and everything went dark. A deafening high pitched “Gharrrrrrrk!” filled the pub. And after only a few second
s, the lights came back on. The dining room noise went from loud crowd noise to silence in a heartbeat. I realized Bessie was hanging on to my arm.

  After a long pause, a lone quivering voice broke the silence, “Ghostly poultry!” Lily’s eyes were wide and her jaw hung.

  “That’s the first time the chicken has squawked in the dining room. And during the day!” Digger was looking at the ceiling for some reason as he spoke.

  “Bones, check the fuse box.” I waved at him to go and look. “It’s alright, everyone, this is a real old building. It’s probably just an overloading of the fuses from the new deep fryer.”

  “Ginger, we all heard it. That was the sound of a chicken spirit. And it sounded like it’s head was being lopped off.” Edith’s face was white.

  “No, it sounded like an electrical fuse burning out. I’m sure Bones will find it.”

  Bones yelled from the rear of the pub. I barely heard him. “Boss, you should see this!”

  “Excuse me.” I went into the kitchen and moved to the rear of the building. Bones met me outside the old walk-in cooler.

  “Take a look at the wings.” Bones’ voice was more of a whisper now and he pointed at the cooler door.

  “Okay.” I entered the cooler and bent over the bucket filled with thirty pounds of brined chicken wings. They were a vibrant lime green and a few wings floated on surface in an unnatural way.

  Bones walked in behind me. “See that Boss? That’s the weirdest green I’ve ever seen. I just checked these last hour and they were fine. And there is no smell.”

  “What is ... is that an ‘R’ on top formed by some bubbles? That can’t just be a coincidence.” I stuck the tip of my index finger into the green brine then raised it to my nose and sniffed the liquid. It smelled like fresh chicken.

  “I don’t know what it is. And there’s no way I’m touching it. It’s cursed now. You shouldn’t touch it either, Boss.”

  “Thanks for sharing that now that I stuck my finger in it.” I glared at Bones. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Say a fuse blew in the panel. Actually, did any fuses blow?”

  “Nope. All just fine.”

  “Well if anyone asks, a fuse blew and made the lights go out. The noise was the fuse failing. Got it?”

  “Sure. If you say so."

  We heard a clamor outside of the cooler, and exited to find Guardrail and Dog already back with the large whiteboard, plus a box full of markers and erasers. They brought the load through the back door and set it down.

  “Where do you want it installed?” Guardrail was apparently ready to use the new toy.

  “Hang it right here, for now.” I pointed to a large blank space on a wall just outside the office.

  “Can do. We know where your tools are and it will take ten or fifteen minutes.” Guardrail was talking fast. He always talked quickly when he worked.

  “Doesn’t have to be put up in record time. Just do it right. I don’t want it falling off the wall.”

  “Come on! It’s me and Dog, you couldn’t have two better installers.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m worried about. How many beers has Dog had? And you too. Come to think of it, there was only one sign that fell over when the last tropical storm blew through here. Wasn’t that the sign for your shop?”

  “Yeah, but ‘we’ didn’t install it.” Guardrail glared sideways to Dog Breath.

  Dog shot back, “What? I did it myself because you weren’t around.”

  Chapter Eight

  Guardrail and Dog finished installing the whiteboard in fifteen minutes. And true to their word, it was done right. The wall would fall over before the whiteboard would fall off.

  “So can I break her in?” Guardrail looked like a child substituting a broad smile for the word please.

  I held out my hand towards the newest addition to the pub. “Go ahead, you big kid. You earned it. But keep it clean.”

  “I always do, well most of the time.” Guardrail took a marker from the box and wrote something real fast.

  Dog laughed at it and shook his head. “You got it all wrong, man.” Then he picked up a marker, and added something of his own.

  I glanced at what they were so intently marking on the board. “You sons of a beer can! I said no gambling!”

  Dog jerked back. “It isn’t gambling. We’re just listing the odds on who’s the killer.”

  I took an eraser from the box and tried to erase the list of names, along with odds. But they stubbornly refused to come off. “Why won't this erase?”

  Bones said, “Old board and markers, I guess. You’ll have to use some water and a rag.” He followed up on his own suggestion by getting a wet dish cloth from the sink and cleaning the board. “See, it just needs some TLC.”

  I pointed to a spot on the board. “I can still see what they wrote.”

  Guardrail chimed in, “That’s whiteboards for ya. Sometimes the faint image of what you wrote just stays.”

  “So a custom motorcycle slash repair guy is also a whiteboard expert?”

  “You don’t have to be so crabby. Don’t get worked up about it, you can hardly see it. Plus it’s in the back where only you can see it.”

  “Come to think of it, you’re right. Thanks for hanging the board. Now you and Dog need to go back to the bar. This is an employees only area.”

  “Ah, don’t be mad at us – and we’re here so much we’re almost employees. Who’s the likely killer is what everyone is talking about anyways.” Dog was too fixated on this odds making thing.

  “Git!” I waved toward the swinging door out to the dining room.

  Guardrail and Dog Breath left the kitchen and went back to their drinks and gossip. Bones and I stared at each other for a few seconds.

  “Well, Boss, what are we going to do with all those chicken wings?”

  “Can’t use ‘em. We’ll just have to throw them out.”

  Bones raised his eyebrows and made a long face. “Wow! That’s a lot of meat to waste.”

  “What else can we do? Just do it. And if anyone asks why we decided to take the wings off the menu tonight, just tell them the bin got knocked over and we had to trash them.”

  “Can do, boss. But I’m not touching the wings or liquid.”

  “Just dump it in the dumpster. Alright?”

  “Kay.” Bones grabbed the bucket and took it out back to dispose of the wings.

  I went into the office to think and undid the rubber band holding my pony tail. I brushed my hair a few times, then pulled it into a pony tail again and tied a fresh white ribbon around it. Then I went into the kitchen and checked the grill to make sure there were no forgotten orders or anything burning. After filling a couple of orders, I walked back to the dining room to find the crowd noise was back, louder than before. And the number of people seemed larger. But I noticed an empty spot where Elias Holland sat earlier. “Dixie, did Elias square up before he left.”

  “No! And he stiffed me on the tip.”

  “That’s not like him. But we’ll just have to make sure he makes it up to ya some how.”

  Dixie waved me over closer to her, behind the bar. Once I got there, she whispered to me. “Ginger, what the hell was that lights business, and that noise?”

  “Don’t know, but let’s not get crazy. Nothing is broken and no one got hurt, so don’t worry about it. It might scare some of the customers if we fixate on it. And by the way, does ‘hell’ count as a cuss word?”

  Dixie glared at me. “Really! That’s what you are going to focus on, my cussing and the dollar jar? And what is don’t worry about it? Are you serious? That’s just horse ...”

  “Ginger!” Edith’s voice somehow made it over the noise and she was waving to make herself visible. So I took her invitation to leave Dixie to her drink making.

  “What can I do for you two young ladies?” I picked up some empty glasses off the table.

  “We were just talking, about what you and Edith saw today.” Lily looked deep in thought.

 
; I may have made a mistake coming over to talk with them. “Well, it wasn’t much.”

  Lily continued “I don’t like that Amber girl. Always thought she was off.”

  “How so? Think about it, Amber has a lot on her dinner plate. Her father was thirty seven years older than Donna. And even Amber is twelve years older than her. It was an odd engagement if you ask me. And Amber was worried that her father would become Donna’s dead husband number four.”

  Edith added,“But she seemed to be really upset and incoherent at the murder scene. Yelling at the police and all.”

  “Yep. She was upset. But I don’t think she murdered Donna.” I wasn’t going to tell them about the alibi the police were privy to.

  Lily huffed. “Well who did it then?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Edith pondered, “What about Elias. We saw him in here earlier, drinking too much. And he was saying he was in danger of being killed himself. Amber and Elias didn’t get along at all and now he is afraid of her? Seems to me like she is the prime suspect.”

  “No. He just said he could turn up dead, too, and it would be Amber’s fault. That’s different from being afraid of her. Honestly, I don’t think it’s her, but who knows. And what do we know about Elias? He’s real upset too.”

  Lily paused to consider the thought. “I guess. And we are talking about a lot of money he stands to inherit.”

  “See! ... Wait a minute. That’s a good point. Even Elias said he didn’t know if things would go as he expected. What did that really mean? And what do we know about him?”

  Edith replied. “He’s lived here a while, now. And since the death of his father, we never see him much. He plays those stupid video games all day.”

  “Exactly, we hardly ever see him except when he comes to the pub for a few drinks. What’s he been up to?” I swiveled my head, and found the two I people I needed. “Excuse me, ladies, I need to talk with Piper and Ida.”

  In unison, the sisters kvetched. “We’re boring you?”