by R A Wallace
The commotion seemed to be getting louder. Nigel stopped and turned around, wondering what Charlotte was up to now. He was surprised to see her doubled over. Regis was standing next to her with a phone in his hand. Nigel thought about walking over to see what was wrong until he saw Charlotte beginning to get sick. Heather rushed over with a trash can. Nigel decided to stay on his own side of the multipurpose room.
***
Charlotte LaMonti felt like death warmed over. She had never been so sick. She’d been taken to the hospital by ambulance. The doctors at the hospital had given her fluids and something to settle her stomach. They’d asked her what she’d eaten, and she’d wanted to scream at them that she was a food judge but didn’t have the energy.
The doctors said that she should be stable now and it was okay for her to go home. Charlotte wasn’t sure what to do. She was in an unfamiliar town. She’d tried calling her husband, but it had gone straight to voice mail. That man was never around when she needed him. She was about to call the nurse again when the mayor and her husband arrived to take her back to the bed and breakfast. Charlotte allowed them to bundle her into their comfortable car and then complained to them all the way there.
***
Megan got the text from Mayor Reynolds and was waiting at the front door when they arrived. Barbara and Matthias helped Charlotte into the house. Charlotte went upstairs on her own, saying that she wanted to clean up. Megan turned to Barbara and Matthias with her eyebrows raised.
“What happened?” Megan asked quietly as they stood in her hallway by the front door. The rest of the judges were on the back porch, drinking wine and sharing stories about their day.
Barbara shook her head. “They said it was probably something she ate.”
“They don’t know what?” Megan asked.
“Not for certain at this point in time. She had everything documented, obviously, but had left her notes at the school when the ambulance took her to the hospital. Either way, I asked the police to check the list and to take the most recent samples just to be on the safe side. Having the samples tested sounds prudent in the event anything further arises from the incident.” Barbara glanced back at her husband. They were both tired.
Megan saw them pass a look between them. “I won’t keep you. If you learn anything else or if I can help, please let me know.”
Megan watched them leave and then returned to her guests. She was surprised to see Charlotte join them not long after. Megan was glad that she’d made a snack. Charlotte complained that she was starving.
“Do you have any idea what made you sick?” Megan asked Charlotte once she’d finished eating.
“Well, there were several entries that I didn’t feel were appropriate for this level of competition.” Charlotte made a face to demonstrate her disappointment. “And of course, I was so very, very sick. But one of the last things I remember were those Nutmeg Cookies. Too plain for my tastes.”
Chapter Fifteen
The guests left Megan’s shortly after breakfast Sunday morning to finish their judging at the school. Charlotte was with them. She insisted, multiple times, that she would be brave and complete her duties. The judges needed to have everything finalized by late morning so that the winners could be announced at one o’clock. The announcement phase of the contest was to be held in the auditorium at the school. Megan spent the rest of the morning cleaning the house, changing bedding in the guest rooms, taking care of the animals, watering her flowers and plants, and getting ready to go to the baking contest.
Megan wasn’t surprised to find that most of the contestants, along with a large group of spectators, were already there when she arrived even though there was still almost an hour before the announcements would be made. She saw Lauren seated across the room near the end of one row of seats and headed in her direction. As she walked across the room and began navigating her way through the row of seats toward Lauren, she started to catch some of the conversations. Most appeared to be about Charlotte’s illness while taste testing the previous evening. They were speculating on whose food had made her sick. Megan had already called Lauren that morning to tell her the bad news.
Lauren took the seat next to her cousin and kept her voice low. “Are you okay?” She glanced over at Lauren to see that she was sitting very still, her head held high, and her face composed in a pleasant demeanor.
“Of course I’m not okay. That woman is saying my food made her sick,” Lauren said with a pleasant smile for the people who were staring at her. Her voice belied her calm exterior.
“That doesn’t make it true,” Megan tried consoling her cousin.
“Of course it isn’t true. But that’s what she’s saying and that’s what people will believe.” Lauren took a calming breath and recomposed herself.
Megan looked around the large auditorium. Several people were glancing their way before turning back to their conversations. Lauren was right. It was what people were talking about. She was about to say something to Lauren when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out to check it. There was a text from Erica. Whatever it was, it had to be important. Erica said she was outside of the school building and she wanted Megan out there now.
Trying not to share any of her concern with Lauren, she excused herself. “I’ll be right back,” Megan promised. She wasn’t about to let her cousin deal with this on her own. Rushing out of the building, she found Erica in the front of the school, her police car nearby. She was in full uniform. Megan’s concerns amplified.
“Is Lauren inside?” Erica asked.
“Yes, why?” Megan’s eyes narrowed at Erica.
“Just asking. I’m a little worried about her.” Erica glanced around at the people milling in front of the school, waiting for news of the contest winners. She motioned to Megan to move further away from the building.
“Erica, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong and what does it have to do with Lauren?” Megan asked as she followed Erica.
When they’d made some distance between them and the other people, Erica turned back to Megan and removed her sunglasses. “There’s been a death.”
“What? Who?” Megan’s stomach dropped. “Don’t tell me Charlotte LaMonti…” The thought of having another of her guests die was not a pleasant one. And what did that mean for Lauren? Charlotte had just claimed that Lauren’s food had made her sick.
“No, it’s not Charlotte. It’s Gladys Hawkins.”
Megan immediately chastised herself for feeling relieved. It didn’t last long when she looked back at Erica’s face. She could tell there was more bad news. “What?”
“She had some food samples with her when she was found.” Erica watched the crowd near the school with cop eyes.
Megan closed her own eyes and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to hear what she knew was coming next.
“She had a sample of her own.” Erica turned back to Megan. “Along with a sample of Lauren’s.”
Megan shook her head. “How is that even possible? Who even has access to the high school after it’s locked up for the night?”
“That’s what I need to find out. Listen, there were a lot of people involved with this baking contest. I’m not saying any of them had anything to do with this. But it’s our job to find out and it’s going to take us a long time to speak with everyone. That means the judges will probably be spending another night with you. We’ll need to speak with everyone before they leave the area. And Megan, I need you to promise me that if you learn anything, anything at all, you’ll tell me right away.”
“Does that mean I have your okay to talk to people and ask questions?” Megan asked.
“I can’t stop you from doing that anyway. Just let me know what you learn.” Erica turned from Megan and began walking back to her police car. Then she stopped and faced Megan again. “And, whatever you do, be careful.”
***
Megan returned to the auditorium and her seat next to Lauren. She had been running different conversations through her brain on h
er way back to the auditorium, trying to figure out the best way to share the news with Lauren. None of the scenarios had worked out well.
Lauren smiled brightly when she saw Megan but waited until Megan had regained her seat before speaking. “I can tell from your face that something is wrong. Just tell me what it is.” Lauren smiled and waved to a group of women on the other side of the auditorium.
“It isn’t good news,” Megan began.
Then she told Lauren the rest of it in pieces as other contestants filled into the auditorium. They had to stand several times as others moved past them to get to empty seats in their row. By the time Megan was done explaining what Erica had told her and answering Lauren’s questions, there was activity on the stage below. The judges were about to make their selections of the winners public.
Chapter Sixteen
Megan and Lauren filed out of the auditorium with the rest of the contestants at the end of the event. As the winners for each category were announced, they had been asked to go to the stage to receive their ribbons for first, second, and third place in each category.
Lauren recognized one of the winners as they left the building. They’d given his name as Niles Abbott when they’d announced his first prize award for his pie. Other contestants were standing around him, congratulating him. Lauren and Megan stopped. Megan thought that the congratulations sounded a little forced. Niles sounded very humble about his achievement and even made a comment about not remembering that he’d put cinnamon on the pie. Apparently, that had been the added touch that had elevated his entry to the top of the list.
Lauren and Megan continued walking out of the building toward the parking lot. “Do you want to go to the auction?” Megan asked as they walked. It had been announced at the very end of the show. Many of the remaining entries were to be auctioned, the proceeds going to charity.
Lauren shook her head. “I should get home.” Lauren stopped at her car and looked at her cousin. “You are going to look into Gladys’s death, aren’t you?”
Megan had been expecting this. “The police will be looking into it. You know Erica is on your side.”
“I know that, but I rely on what I sell to our community. No one is going to buy my baked goods if they think I made one of the judges sick or had something to do with Gladys’s death. My food was involved in both instances.” Lauren looked upset.
Megan couldn’t blame her cousin. “Tell me what you know about the other contestants and what you remember about submitting your entries.”
Lauren told Megan everything she could think of.
“So, you were the last person in line? And Trina Cantrell checked you in?” Megan asked.
Lauren nodded then turned to her car. “I need to get home to the kids. Promise you’ll let me know as soon as you learn something.”
Megan looked down at the ribbons in Lauren’s hand. “Congratulations.”
Lauren smiled her thanks before getting into her car. The smile hadn’t reached her eyes, they were filled with concern.
Megan thought about everything Lauren had told her as she drove home from the school. There had been several local contestants and a few local judges. She’d need to speak with each of them. Someone may have pieces to the puzzle. Megan had discovered that was often the case. Even though some small detail may seem unimportant, it had often been a critical puzzle piece that enabled Megan to see the whole picture.
Megan knew that there were additional plans for the judges after the baking contest was over. The mayor and her husband had an early dinner planned with them before they left the area, giving the media another photo op and more press for the town. She wasn’t surprised to see a car pull into her driveway in the late afternoon. Looking out her window, she saw it was Nigel Reese and went out onto the porch to greet him.
“Hello. Your room is ready for you if you’d like to stay another night,” Megan said with a smile when he got out of his car.
“The police spoke with us and asked us to stay until tomorrow,” Nigel confirmed, looking relieved at Megan’s greeting. “Of course, we all wanted to help the police with whatever we could.”
“Of course,” Megan said as she watched Nigel get his bag from his car. Before they could take a step, another car pulled into the drive. Megan waved a greeting to Regis and Heather Slater. In a short period of time, all of her weekend guests had returned and were sharing a bottle of wine on the back porch.
Megan took the opportunity to ask a few questions. “Charlotte, I hope you’re feeling all better?”
“Yes, but I’m not surprised. I’ve always had a healthy constitution,” Charlotte said as she reached toward a cheese and cracker platter.
“What did you all hear of the death?” Megan asked.
Eric answered first. He’d taken the time to change into shorts and a tee and he looked totally relaxed in the deeply cushioned rattan chair. “Not much. We knew it was one of the contestants who was killed but, because none of the entries are labeled, we have no idea what she may have submitted.”
Megan thought for a moment. “So, the judges wouldn’t know that. Who would?”
The judges looked at each other, thinking, before Heather answered. “The intake people would I suppose. They’re the ones at the door who checked in the entries for each contestant. They entered them into their computers, I believe, and tagged the entry so that it was meaningless to us but was tied back to the database on their computers somehow.”
“The other contestants would know,” Nigel said.
Megan had noticed during the weekend that although Nigel was very observant, he didn’t speak much. “You think they pay attention to what the others submit?”
Charlotte snorted. “Oh my, yes. Some can be pretty competitive.”
“And some are just genuinely interested in food and enjoy seeing what others who share the same interests have come up with,” Nigel added diplomatically.
Megan felt her phone buzz and checked it. It was a text from Erica. “The police will be here shortly after breakfast to finish their questions with you. You’ll be cleared to go after that.”
“Well, that’s good to know. You wouldn’t mind if I stretch my legs, would you?” Eric asked. “I’d like to check out your farm a little more, maybe take a walk in the orchard, see the animals.”
Regis and Heather stood also. “That sounds like fun,” Heather said.
Megan heard them laughing at Henry a few moments later as they reached the paddock. They’d never seen a rooster perched on a miniature donkey. She went in to get another bottle of wine and return Erica’s text. She hoped Erica had something new to tell her when she saw her in the morning.
Chapter Seventeen
Breakfast went well Monday morning. In addition to a typical array of eggs, potatoes, huckleberry pancakes, sausage, and various baked goods, Megan had also made homemade granola. She had discovered that Nigel preferred it for breakfast with fresh fruit and soy milk. She had some fresh local strawberries to go with it. The rest of the breakfast had also been sourced from either her farm or others nearby.
As promised, Erica and her partner, Jerry, arrived shortly after. Erica and Jerry split up and spoke with the judges, one at a time. Megan thought they must have had a great many questions. It seemed to take a while before they were cleared to leave. Erica and Jerry joined Megan on the back porch after the others had gone.
“That took quite a while,” Megan said as they sat down.
“We’re trying to ascertain if the incident with Charlotte was in any way connected to the murder,” Erica said.
“We spent the rest of yesterday questioning everyone close to the victim. We have a long list of people that we’ll be interviewing all day today at the high school. It’s basically everyone involved in the contest,” Jerry said. Like most cops, Jerry had perfected the ability to keep any emotions or clues from appearing on his face or in his mannerisms as he spoke. But Megan had always found him to be a kind man and she liked him very much. She was glad th
at Erica had such an able partner. In his mid-twenties or so, he was around five foot ten and muscular, with a very handsome face, dark hair and skin, and he had amazing tech skills.
“Can I assume that you’ve gained access to the computer records that were made when the contestants dropped off their entries?” Megan asked.
Erica tilted her head but kept her face impassive. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Well, if there is some connection to the contest, and if there is some connection to Charlotte’s illness, it’s possible that means someone knew which of the entries matched up with the contestants or even which of the entries would be tested by specific judges, right?” Megan asked.
She looked first at Erica then at Jerry. “I mean, if they wanted to make Charlotte sick, they’d have to know which of the foods she’d be sampling. That’s the only way they’d know which food to tamper with. Unless it was just totally random.” Megan had another thought. “And you don’t yet know if the baker tampered with the food or if it happened after it got to the school and was done by someone else.”
“There are a lot of things we don’t know yet. That’s why we’re questioning everyone,” Erica said.
“I’m sure you’ve already checked to see who had access to the school?”
Erica nodded. “We were speaking with them most of last night but I’m sure we’ll have more questions to ask them as we move forward.”
Megan thought about Lauren. “Charlotte said that she got sick after eating Lauren’s Nutmeg Cookies. Did you check against Charlotte’s list to see what else she judged just before Lauren’s cookies?”
Jerry looked over at Erica. At her nod, he answered, “It was an entry made by Gladys Hawkins.”
Megan looked at Jerry then turned to Erica. “That’s quite a coincidence.”
Erica tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “We were thinking the same thing.”
