by Sonia Parin
Abby looked at the trees and then up at the sky. “It’s the time of year. Isn’t it too cold for bees?”
Faith shrugged. “I don’t know. Is it?”
It had to be. Otherwise, why would the idea come to her? Did bees hibernate? No, she didn’t think so. But they probably huddled up to keep warm. She must have picked up the tidbit somewhere, probably the same place where one acquired all the other useless information that filled up the cavities of the mind.
“I knew there was something odd about the bee sting story. There has to be.” Striding into the vet’s, Abby asked to speak with Pete Cummings, the vet. “Oh, and Katherine. Don’t take this the wrong way, but could you maybe use a shampoo that doesn’t smell so pretty?”
“Detective Inspector Joshua Ryan, please.” Abby tucked her hair back and tried to ignore Faith. She could only take so many eye rolls. “My name? Hermione Granger.”
The receptionist sighed. “Are you sure about that? Didn’t you call five minutes ago claiming to be Angie Dickinson?”
Why wouldn’t Joshua talk to her? Abby had tried his direct line. She’d left a message. Okay, she’d left several messages. She’d also asked Faith to call on her behalf, and then she’d decided to pretend to be someone else.
“Would you like to leave a message?” the receptionist asked.
“Tell him I know about the bees.”
“Hermione Granger knows about the bees,” the receptionist said.
Abby sighed. “It’s actually Abby Maguire.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“It’s been me all along.” Abby heard chatter in the background and could have sworn someone snickered. “Actually, is Detective Inspector Quentin McNamara available?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll put you through.”
Really? Abby did a victory dance on the spot. She’d met Quentin McNamara for the first time at the picnic. He’d come across as the quiet type. Observant. Vigilant. Yet somehow unsuited to his job. He actually looked out of place in this alpine town. Abby didn’t want to stereotype him but his blond hair and suntanned skin, broad shoulders and narrow hips made her think he’d be more suited working as a lifesaver at Bondi beach.
“Abby Maguire. What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Hello, detective. I have some questions and I was rather hoping to bounce them off Joshua, but he hasn’t returned my calls.” There, she’d said it.
“I’ll be happy to pass along any pertinent information or answer questions. What’s on your mind?”
“Bees. It’s too cold for them. You tell Detective Ryan I’m onto him. Have a nice day.”
Abby swung toward Faith who sat at her desk trying to hide her smile. “Can you believe Joshua? Why do you think he’s not taking my calls? It’s not as if I’ve made a nuisance of myself. I thought I’d earned his respect.”
“What makes you think you haven’t?”
Abby lifted her hands and shoulders. “Who knows? Maybe because he doesn’t want to talk to me.”
“He might be busy.”
Either that or he was on the trail of something and he didn’t want to share the information with her in case she decided to do her own investigating and stepped on his toes. “Come on. We have more important business to take care of. The next issue doesn’t go out until the end of the week and we have to have something solid to include in it.”
“Where are we going?” Faith asked.
“To the lake. Remember to grab the camera. We’ll have a look around and then come back. Doyle’s pampering should be done by then.”
“I told you. The area has been sealed off. If we disturb the crime scene tape, Joshua will know to point the finger straight at you,” Faith said.
They both sat in the car staring at the now empty picnic site. The crime scene tape had been wound around several trees, blocking off the path leading back to the private cove in the lake.
“It doesn’t matter. We can still walk around the perimeter and see if we can find Kitty’s button. She dropped it somewhere.” And it would be a bad news day for Kitty if they found her button anywhere near the trail leading to the boat. “Let’s try and be methodical about it.”
“Are you suggesting we start at one end and work our way to the other?”
Abby nodded. “Side by side. It’s how the police do it when they’re trawling for evidence. Yes, I’ve seen them do it on TV.”
“What makes you think we’ll find something? I’m sure the police have already trawled through the area.”
“They didn’t know about the button.” Every now and then, Abby glanced up toward the lake. The water lapped gently against the shore. She supposed the light breeze had something to do with that. All the boats had been tethered to the jetty. She couldn’t help wondering if the one Miranda had been on was among them.
“What now?” Faith asked when they finished scouring the area.
Abby glanced over at the crime scene tape. “That’s like waving a red flag.” She couldn’t see anyone around and she couldn’t see the harm in walking along a path that had been trodden by dozens of people. Then again, she didn’t want to be personally responsible for disturbing evidence. There had to be a reason why the police had made the area out of bounds.
She strode over to the shore. “I think we could wade our way around the overhanging bushes and over to the little cove. I’m guessing if we stick close to the shore it won’t even be knee deep.”
Faith gave a brisk shake of her head. “It’s too soon for me, thanks. We spent our lunchtime talking about deadly critters. Reason tells me I have nothing to worry about, but fear doesn’t listen to reason.”
Abby had to agree. Personally, she didn’t feel that keen to set foot in the water either. “There is an alternative.”
“I’m listening,” Faith said, her tone wary.
“We could get on a boat and row our way there.”
“We could but it’s getting late. I’d say we only have about fifteen minutes before the sun disappears behind those trees. I vote for coming back tomorrow.”
“I’m not cut out for a life of adventure,” Faith apologized.
“Does that mean you won’t come with me to the lake tomorrow?” Abby asked, her attention fixed on the road.
“How about I sleep on it and let you know. I wouldn’t want to hinder your investigation.”
“It’s a fact finding mission, Faith. My curiosity’s been piqued.” Pete Cummings had given her some basic information about bees, confirming her suspicions. When temperatures dropped into the 50s, honeybees headed to the hive and formed a winter cluster. While it wasn’t the middle of winter, it still remained cool. Now, more than ever, she needed to get answers, mostly from Joshua.
Abby pulled up outside the pub just as Joyce was crossing the street.
“I brought the photos I took,” Joyce said. “What are we getting up to tonight?”
“We’re knuckling down and piecing together the scene of the crime,” Abby said. “I’m over the initial shock of seeing Miranda dead and now that I see there are questions needing answers, I have to find those answers. I don’t care what Joshua said. There is something odd about this death. But first, I have to get Doyle. You two go ahead and get started. I won’t be long.”
As Abby crossed the street, she thought she caught sight of Joshua driving by. “I have a bone to pick with you,” she said under her breath.
At the vet’s, she went through to the back room where Katherine and her assistant carried out the pet grooming side of the business. She was just finishing up with Doyle who appeared to look indifferent at Abby’s appearance.
Regardless, Abby gave him a scratch under the chin. “You smell nice… in a manly way.”
“I used a shampoo with a musky scent,” Katherine said. “He doesn’t seem to mind it. I also did a bit of clipping.”
“I can see that. He looks very handsome.”
Katherine hummed under her breath. “I heard you talking to Pete about bees earli
er. Have there been any new developments?”
“No, not really. I was just being curious. I seem to be forever on my cell phone researching and I wanted to cut corners and ask a professional.” Abby didn’t want to be responsible for putting the locals on edge or feeding the rumor mills with misleading information.
“The detective came by earlier. He too wanted to know about bees and their habits.”
Really? “After I spoke with Pete or before?”
“After.”
As it turned out, Joshua had come by after Abby had left a message for him saying she knew about the bees. “I now have a huge bone to pick with him,” she grumbled under her breath as she made her way back to the pub.
Noticing Doyle had a light sprint to his step, Abby smiled. “I guess you don’t mind the musky scent.” Looking up at her, he gave her one of his doggy grins. “Now I’m thinking you didn’t like the idea of being left behind. I promise to make it up to you tomorrow.”
Distracted by her conversation with Doyle, she strode into the pub and didn’t notice Joshua sitting at the bar, and if Mitch hadn’t called out to her, she would have missed him altogether.
“The girls ordered some tea and cookies. Do me a favor and take the tray up,” Mitch said.
“My pleasure,” Abby said and gave Joshua a nonchalant nod.
Joshua took the tray and followed behind as she strode up the stairs. “I guess I’m in your bad books.”
Abby didn’t want to appear to be too eager to mend fences so she counted to ten before answering. “We seem to be headed in the same direction.” Looking over her shoulder she saw him smile.
“I hear you’ve been working the case,” he said.
After a measured pause, she nodded. “The police have been short on details so we thought we’d combine our talents to see what we can come up with. Some of us believe there might be more to Miranda’s death than meets the eye. Some of us, and I’m not naming names, also believe you are withholding vital information.”
“It’s part of my job description.” He chuckled. “By the way, I got your message today.” Joshua opened the door for her and, balancing the tray, stepped back.
Doyle trotted inside and made the rounds of the apartment before settling down on his doggie bed to watch Joyce and Faith who were both busy adding more photos to the ones already on the wall.
“Here she is,” Faith said. “Oh, and she’s not alone. Hello detective.”
“I see you’ve all been busy.” Setting the tray down on the coffee table, he studied the collage. “When did you take these photos?”
No one answered.
He frowned and pointed at a piece of paper with Kitty’s name on it. “Missing button?”
“Yes. Did the police happen to find a mother of pearl button?” Abby asked.
Joshua crossed his arms. “No.”
“Did they actually search the area for evidence?”
He smiled. “What you’re really asking is if I classified this incident as a murder case from the start.”
“In a roundabout way. Yes.” Abby sighed. “In theory, bees don’t wander away from their hive when it’s cold, but there is a chance that one stray bee did.”
“An outlier bee?” To his credit, he didn’t laugh, but his eyes glittered with amusement.
“Yes,” Abby said. “It would be hard to prove one way or the other.” Unless… someone deliberately introduced the bee… Abby gasped.
“What?” they all asked.
“Give me a minute.” She didn’t want to blurt out something that would sound ludicrous so she ran the idea through her mind first. “If I wanted to kill someone and leave no trace of evidence leading straight to me…” Abby brushed her finger along her chin. “I would try to find the person’s Achilles’ heel.”
“Now you’re thinking like a killer,” Joyce said. “Someone close to Miranda could have known about her allergy to bees.”
Abby turned to Faith. “Did you? After all, you belonged to the same theater group so you liaised with her regularly.”
Faith’s cheeks colored slightly. “I didn’t notice the engagement ring and I didn’t notice the first-aid bracelet. Does that make me self-absorbed?”
“You and the vast majority of the population,” Abby offered. “I constantly need to have things pointed out to me or explained.”
Joyce nodded. “Yes, I still remember how puzzled you looked when you saw my menu for the first time.”
“Your extraordinary menu.” Abby laughed. “You should put it in a time capsule for future generations to find and puzzle over.”
Joshua cleared his throat. “Tell me about the button.”
Abby began telling him about it when she remembered she had a bone to pick with him. “Hey. Give and take.”
He appeared to think about it. Nodding, he sat down. “I had my suspicions from the start. Miranda didn’t look like the type to go out on the lake by herself.” He shrugged. “Call me chauvinistic, I just couldn’t imagine her rowing. So it got me thinking. Why was she alone on the boat?”
They all waited for an explanation, but Joshua didn’t provide one. Instead, he looked at Abby. “Any thoughts?”
“She might have had an argument with her fiancé… I mean, her husband.” Abby turned to the wall. “I haven’t been able to spot him in any of the photos. Maybe she was angry with him for not going to the picnic.” Abby looked at the photos again. “Where did she set up her picnic?”
“At the other end of the grounds, diagonally opposite Kitty Belmont,” Joshua pointed. “About the button…”
“Hang on. Regardless of how the bee got to Miranda, why didn’t anyone hear her? She must have panicked and screamed.” Abby knew that if a bee came within buzzing distance of her, she’d scream. Well, she would now that the bee had become public enemy number one.
Joshua shook his head. “She had a severe reaction to the sting. According to the coroner, her airways would have been affected immediately. Now, are you going to tell me about the button?”
“I was going to all along, but you made it difficult.” Abby sat down and helped herself to a cookie. “When I tried to get to the boat, my shoe got stuck. I bent down to rescue it and tore my blouse. What if Kitty exerted herself and popped a button on her skirt? Yes, Miranda had a slim frame but it would still take some effort to… I don’t know, haul her onto the boat?”
“Or she might have had too much lunch,” Joshua reasoned only to shake his head. “Forget I said that.”
Abby silently agreed. Miranda had died well before lunch.
“Have you questioned Kitty?” Abby hadn’t seen Kitty around town, but it had only been a day since the picnic.
“I’m talking to everyone associated with Miranda.” He looked at Joyce and Faith.
“You can’t possibly think I had anything to do with it,” Joyce said. “I run a business and can’t afford to alienate my customers. Why would I go around killing them?”
“What time did you arrive at the lake?” Abby asked.
“Abby! You don’t seriously think I had anything to do with Miranda’s unfortunate end?”
“No, but since we’re in the presence of an officer of the law, I thought we should all take the opportunity to offer him our alibis.”
Faith volunteered her alibi by mapping out her schedule for the morning of the picnic. The day had started with a chat with her neighbor when she’d dropped off her dogs. “She’ll happily collaborate this.” Shortly afterwards, she’d driven to town, stopping at Joyce’s to grab a coffee.”
“Yes, I can vouch for her,” Joyce said. “And in turn, she can vouch for me.”
“Then I went straight to the Gazette,” Faith continued. “Mitch saw me going in at nine o’clock. My online activity until Abby turned up to collect me covers the rest of the time. And, no, I didn’t have any reason to want to kill Miranda. If, indeed, she was killed.”
They all turned to Abby.
“What? I’m still new in town. Why would I
want to harm her?”
“Because you’re secretly a cold-blooded murderer,” Joyce said. “After you witnessed the altercation between Kitty and Miranda, you decided to take advantage of the opportunity.” She turned to Joshua. “Are you sure her background check cleared?”
He grinned. “Yes. It did.”
Joyce shrugged. “There’s always a first time. Maybe you should run a psychological profile and see if she’d be capable of killing someone without motive.”
“About that altercation you mentioned,” Joshua said.
Abby realized he might not have heard all the details. “For once, I feel I have the upper hand.” She filled him in. “So, you see, Kitty might have been pushed too far.” Abby leaned forward. “Give and take.”
Joshua checked his watch.
“Oh, no, you don’t.”
“What? I was only thinking it’s close to dinner time.”
“We’ll order room service.” Abby got the menu from the kitchen and handed it to him.
“Okay. I do have some information you weren’t aware of.”
They all leaned forward.
“After you all left the picnic grounds, William Matthews arrived.”
“Is he coming back?” Faith asked.
Just as Joshua had been about to tell them about William Matthews, his cell phone had rung and he’d stepped out to take the call.
Abby unclenched her jaw. “If he doesn’t, I’ll use whatever influence I have with Joyce to get him banned from the café.”
They all stood staring at the collage they’d put together to recreate the day of the picnic.
Abby tilted her head. “I don’t remember seeing William Matthews and I don’t believe Miranda went to the picnic alone. Where is he?” Or, rather, where had he been?
Faith nudged her. “You’re the only one who’s seen this William Matthews character. He has to be in one of these photos.”
“This is interesting.” Abby pointed to a photo. “This is one of the first photos I took when we arrived.” And Kitty appeared to be coming from the path that led to the secluded area where they’d found the rowboat, she thought.
