Treachery on Tap Read online

  “Now, I want to ask you something.”

  “Shoot.”

  “How did Zach get the powder?”

  “I saw Denise, the sound girl that is sometimes special effects, give him the vial.”

  “Why?”

  “Zach liked to pull pranks and he was going to fake foaming from the mouth and nose to play a prank on the crew. Denise helped him set it up.”

  “And how did it get into his respiratory passage ways?”

  “I saw him turn around. I think he snorted it.”

  “OK, that is similar to what is being reported by the TV crew members. Do you remember how long it took for the powder to choke him?”

  “Not really. Time seemed to stop and it could have been a few minutes or more. Time just didn’t seem to matter or register when it happened.”

  “That is not very helpful, but it is just like you, sweetie. Honest as can be.”

  “Aunt Mae, why are you asking me all this? The Sheriff already asked me most of those questions.”

  “I need to speak with someone I think I can trust to confirm some of the things the TV crew told me. And if you can’t trust your family, who can you trust.”

  “No one!”

  “Exactly. So thanks for the information and honesty.”

  “Well, I don’t want to exaggerate or mislead you.”

  “I do have one more question. Did you see the vial before Denise gave it to Zach?”

  “No. And that’s the big question, isn’t it? Who had access to the vial and put the slush powder in it?”

  “Sure is. If we know the answer to that, we know who is responsible and probably why this happened.”

  I paused, then decided to just ask what I was thinking. “Did you find anything on the vial, like a fingerprint or something?”

  “I’m not supposed to tell you that. But no. And no DNA either. The state lab looked at the vial every which way. But remember, you don’t know that!”

  “Okay. I appreciate you sharing, thank you. So how are we going to find who filled the vial with slush powder?”

  “I was hoping to talk to you about how to answer that, sweetie. That’s why I’m really here, to be honest.”

  I stared blankly at her. My Aunt Mae, Deputy Owens, was actually asking for my help.

  I rubbed my tired eyes. “I will do anything I can to help, you know that. But that question is above my pay grade.”

  “Maybe not. You have to promise to keep this under wraps and we never talked today. Understand?”

  “Sure.”

  “The TV show gave us a copy of the video from when Zach died. They put a file online for the police to review. But like with the powder, you and your friends are pretty resourceful and I am hoping that if I give you access to the video, you might find something. The state police say there is nothing there, but I need to know for sure that’s the case. I am thinking Ida and Piper might take a look. They cannot tell anyone about it and must report directly to me what they find. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  “Give me a napkin to write down how to access the file.”

  I took a bar napkin and placed it on the bar in front of Aunt Mae. At that very moment, Lily and Edith came into the pub through the front door. Edith raised her voice while waving me over and said, “Ginger, you better come out here, there is something you need to see.”

  I smiled at Aunt Mae as a way of saying please give me a minute and went to the front door to see what Lily thought was so important. On stepping out onto the sidewalk, I could see there were protesters assembling and organizing. It seemed there were varying opinions as evidenced by the plethora of signs they carried. It appeared that some wanted to come visit The Grumpy Chicken and honor Zach. Then there were others that appeared to hate the pub, because they claimed it killed Zach.

  I could not help but think about how Cecil had accused my father Tom of setting up his co-host. But how could the fans know of Cecil’s accusation? I spotted Deputy Wise making an attempt to coral the protesters and keep them out of the street. But his attempts failed, and for now, Main Street was closed. I looked at Lily and Edith. “Well, this is first for Potter's Mill.”

  I made my way back into the pub and back to Aunt Mae at the bar. I sniffed and rubbed my nose. “I know this is going to sound strange. But you may want to give Deputy Wise a hand out front. Protesters are shutting down Main Street.”

  “What? I was out there ten minutes ago.”

  “I know. Not much like anything I have seen here, but go look for yourself.”

  Aunt Mae handed me the napkin with some writing now on it. “Take a look at the video and let me know what you find. And remember, no one is to know you took a look, or even that you know about this copy.” She put her hat back on. “Now let’s see what in the world is going on outside.”

  “Well at least we don’t have to worry about people running the one stop light. No one can drive on Main Street with the number of protesters.”

  Mae looked at me and smiled. “The Sheriff never had an excuse to mount up and ride down protesters on Main Street. He always preferred a horse to his car and I bet he is here in ten minutes on a horse.”

  Dog replied from the end of the bar. “I’ll take that bet.”

  I stared Dog down. “Dog, do you think betting with a police officer on duty is a good idea? And I think you forget I don’t allow gambling in the pub.”

  Mae said, “It’s okay sweetie. It will give me a chance to get my twenty dollars back from him I lost last week.”

  My jaw hung. “Auntie! I didn’t hear that! I’m shocked.”

  Mae chuckled. “I’ve lived here longer than you, honey. I know people and what goes on inside the Chicken. It’s fine. When you were a little girl, your father used to make more money taking bets than selling drinks.”

  Tom heard that and piped up. “Still know how to place a bet better than any man in town!”

  I yelled back at him, “Yeah, but times change and we have to be more careful now. Just saying.”

  Mae gave me a hug and whispered. “See you soon! See what you can find in the video.”

  I replied in a low voice. “You seem pretty sure we’ll find something even though the state police didn’t find a thing.”

  “Just a hunch I have. You do have more at stake than them with your kitchen closed. And you’re more resourceful. Don’t let me down.” Mae released me and patted my shoulder, then turned and left.

  Chapter Eight

  I took the napkin with the web site address and password to the office. I opened the door and entered to see Ida and Piper doing research. “I got something else for you to look at. But you have to promise not to mention anything about it. To anyone!”

  Ida looked at me like my ex-husband used to when I told him to take the trash out. She finally said, “Well, no hellos but you have more work for us? Sounds like someone is getting too big for her britches.”

  I smiled at her. “You’ll like this one even though it is more work. The show put a copy of the Zach choking video online so the police could inspect it. And Mae just gave me the information to access it.”

  Piper leaned back in her chair. “Wow. She asked us to take a look?”

  “I know, but only the three of us can know about this. Got it?” I stared at both of them for a moment to wait till they nodded yes. “I was surprised she asked us to help, too, but not as much as I was to see protesters out front.”

  Ida sat up straight. “What? Protesters here in little ole Potter's Mill? That’s something you don’t see everyday.”

  Piper added, “Um. That’s not something you see in Potter’s Mill, like ever.”

  I waved my hand at the door. “Go take a look if you have to, but they are here. Out front and they've shut down Main Street. But after a quick look, I need you to take a real close gander at that video. Maybe you two can find something the police missed.”

  Ida went back to work. “I’d rather analyze the video. I tried to find a copy of
it already. This makes things easier.”

  Piper rose. “I would like to see the protesters and get some photos for the paper. Maybe even interview a few. But I’ll be back, Ida.” And she left to go outside.

  Ida typed in the information and opened the file. She started to play the video and noted, “The quality is good. But from what I am seeing, it shows pretty much what we saw with our own eyes that night.”

  “Play it again.”

  Ida restarted the video and we watched for a while. After a couple of minutes. I asked, “Can you stop it there? Go back a few seconds.”

  Ida scowled. “What? This is about the end of the video.”

  “I know. But I want to see something one more time. Go back, please.”

  Ida complied and restarted the video. I blurted out, “Stop! Right there.”

  Ida scratched her head. “So what are we looking at. Zach is already on the floor and Tyler just went to help him.”

  “Exactly. Look at Cecil. He is still trying to ignore the whole scene. Just for a couple of seconds right after Tyler sprinted to Zach, Cecil should have responded too. But he didn’t.”

  “I think you’ve been getting too little sleep, Ginger. That is pretty thin.”

  “Yeah. But it still strikes me as odd. I was thinking Cecil wasn’t our guy. But this is odd and increases his chances, in my mind at least, of being guilty.”

  Ida tilted her back and exhaled. “I have to admit it’s a tad weird, but it doesn’t prove a thing. It’s not even significant.”

  “You’re right. But there are two significant things I do see. One, even though he is out of the shot when he does it, it’s pretty obvious Zach snorted that powder. And two, Zach was playing a prank. He displays all the signs of someone fooling around. And he loved himself far too much to consider killing himself.”

  “So?”

  “So that means he didn’t substitute something on his own to commit suicide and he sniffed the powder in the vial given to him by Denise. So either Denise put something other than seltzer and food color in the vial, or someone changed it.”

  Ida huffed. “That question again. It keeps coming up. But I have to agree it’s the one question that needs to be answered.”

  “So how do we figure it out?”

  Ida shrugged. “Start with Denise. You haven’t spent a lot of time talking to her, but she gave the vial to Zach. I would think we should try to find out when she filled it. If it was left unattended, and for how long. Then that might give you an idea of who could of had the access to switch it.”

  I laughed. “Wow. Some decent answers and for once you didn’t have to use a computer.”

  Ida was not as amused. “I have a brain too, you know.”

  “Yes, you do have a brain, but it is always occupied with a computer screen. But for once you put that bad boy to use the old fashioned way. Thanks for that! Now, have you or your electronic creepers found any dirt on Denise Anderson. Seems she is next on the list of things to do.”

  “Of course. She’s a bit of a stereotype. Appears she spends tons of money on clothes even though her salary doesn’t support it. She must have someone giving her money to buy her wardrobe.”

  “What? Why did you wait to tell me that?”

  “Just found out. Her credit history revealed a lot. And I have to tell ya, I noticed she seems to be wearing some expensive jewelry. But I haven’t found anything online to show she bought the shiny bobbles herself.”

  “You know, you’re right. When she first talked to me, I saw an expensive tennis bracelet on her wrist.”

  “Wow! I didn’t think a pub owner that sometimes displays tomboy tendencies, knew what a tennis bracelet was.”

  I blinked a couple of times, feeling like I had been slapped. “I don’t have tomboy tendencies!”

  “Not really, and I like the ribbons you have been using lately to tie your hair back. Very pretty and feminine. But you border on being tomboy when you’re being bossy. And you should wear something other than generic brand jeans once in a while.”

  “I’m just focused and need to get my kitchen back. You’re taking things too personal.”

  Ida laughed out loud. “Well, then everyone takes things too personal because I have heard just about everyone say you can be bossy.”

  “Ouch. I’ll work on that. Thanks for telling me.”

  “It’s alright. Someone has to lead us. And I know I give you a hard time, but you do a pretty good job.”

  I eyed her closely. “Do you need to borrow money? I’ve never heard you give a compliment before.”

  Ida sipped her coffee then smiled. “Don’t get used to it. You may never hear one again.”

  “Well, thanks. But now I should go have a chat with Denise. I’m not sure if she’ll talk to me, but only one way to find out.” I turned to leave with new purpose.

  Ida yelled and her words chased after me as I left. “Good luck.”

  IT WAS ABOUT TWO THIRTY and I knew Denise would be back at the The Fluffy Pillow. Dottie, the B&B owner, met me when I entered and told me Denise was up in her room. Dottie called her from the front desk phone and then handed me the phone. Denise agreed to come down and meet me in the lobby. It took about ten minutes, but she finally appeared. She looked different. Her normally coiffed hair was held back with a blue head band, her face had no makeup, and she wore a white robe instead of designer jeans.

  I started, “Thanks for meeting me with no notice. I hope this is not a bad time?”

  “No. I was sleeping. We usually sleep during the day to be fresh for the night time shoots.”

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you. But I did want to ask you a few questions.”

  Denise smiled. “Sure. I told you before to let me know if I could help with anything.”

  I saw she was wearing a ring with huge diamonds. “That’s real generous of you. Thanks.” Denise smiled in response, and after a short pause, I continued. “The vial of powder is of interest to everyone, as I’m sure you know.”

  Her smile disappeared. “Of course. It’s all the police wanted to talk about the last couple of times I met with them.”

  “So, when did you fill it?”

  Denise was now frowning. “Wow. You sound just like the police. Why do you care about any of this?”

  “Because I need to reopen my kitchen and clear my father’s name. And as a bonus, I also need to get rid of the protesters that are now keeping my customers away. I’m just trying to stay in business. And best way to do that is to figure out what happened to Zach.”

  She stared at me. “I never met anyone so focused and...” She paused a moment. “...and tough. Okay. Ask your questions.”

  “Thanks. So when did you fill the vial?”

  “That morning, the day Zach died. I bought some seltzer tablets and food coloring at the pharmacy. Then I crushed the tablets and filled the vial in my room. Left it there till that night, when we started shooting.”

  “Was your room locked?”

  Denise shrugged. “Yes. Of course.”

  “Did anyone else have access to your room?”

  “No. Not that I know of. I slept in the room for a good portion of the day, like usual.”

  “And when did you get up?”

  “About five. To shower and clean-up, then get something to eat. Then I went over to the pub.”

  “Did you take the vial with you?”

  “Yes. I had it my pocket.”

  “Was it in your pocket the whole time, till you gave it to Zach?”

  “No. I took it out at the pub and put it on the table where I was working. You know, a lump in my Calvin’s is unsightly so I had to empty my pockets to look good.”

  “Denise, this is real important. Where did you put the vial when you were at the pub?”

  “On the table with my copy of the script. I put it in a paper bag so no one would see what it was.”

  “Did anyone move the bag, or open it?”

  “No. I don’t think so.”


  “Where was your table that night? Do you remember?”

  “You were there and saw me. I always set up a place to work during a shoot, away from the action. I used a table in the corner of your dining room.”

  “I remember that. You’ve been a doll. This was very helpful. Thanks.”

  “I’m not sure why it’s helpful. I've told the police all this.”

  “I know, but sometimes it helps to go over things one more time. Thanks again. See you tonight.”

  “Alright. Thanks again. See you later.” She waved at me as I rose and left.

  I HEADED BACK TO THE pub. I had too much to think about and was in my own little universe when walking back into the Chicken. But Dixie’s voice shattered it all. “Ginger, these son’s of a camera lens are wrecking everything!”

  I looked around and saw technicians crawling all over one end of my bar. The end where the boys sat. Then I heard drilling and yelled, “Stop! What do you think you're doing?”

  One of the technicians replied. “The big guy told us we could do whatever needed to monitor this area. To set the meters and hide the wires, I have to drill through this part of the bar.”

  “You can’t drill my bar. Stop it now.”

  Dad appeared from the kitchen. “Ginger, it’s okay. I told them it’s alright. We need to document the chicken ghost and they are just setting up to do that.”

  Tyler was there directing the work. “EMF and sound meters have to be set. We're just drilling some small holes to keep everything out of sight and safe. We’ll repair everything good as new before we leave. I promise.”

  “I hope the damage will be repaired better than new.”

  Tyler nodded. “Yes. Our craftsman are the best and you’ll never know we were here.”

  “Thanks.” But I wanted to say more, ask him questions. So sometimes you have to just trust your gut, and this was one of those times. I was not sure why, but I blurted out, “Say Tyler, can I have a word with you, in private?”

  “I guess. But why?”

  “I want to ask you some questions. And I’m not sure when we might be able to talk alone again.”

  He shrugged. “Okay, lead the way. I’m not sure there is a private place in here to be had to be alone, though.”