Repossessed

by Morgana Best

  Russell snatched the cheese wheel out of my hands. “And today isn’t a dress up day, don’t you know?” He glared at me and stormed off.

  “I should have left that man’s cheese wheel alone,” I lamented, “but I didn’t know it was his. Besides, we got some good information, Basil. Celia and Russell are together. I spotted them kissing just before the race. I guess Russell is as protective of his girlfriend’s plants as he is of his cheese wheels.”

  Basil nudged me in the ribs. “Someone is waving at you.”

  I turned around. It was Jeremy Duggins, and he was blowing me kisses. Basil pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and made to walk over to Jeremy, but I managed to stop him.

  “He’s just excited because I helped him win the cheese race,” I said, my cheeks burning.

  “No man should be that excited over cheese,” he replied.

  “Maybe it’s the witch’s costume?” I was doing my best not to laugh.

  Basil looked at my legs. “Let’s get you home and into more appropriate attire.”

  “I was thinking of going home with Jeremy, actually,” I teased him.

  Without a word, Basil threw me over his shoulder and marched to the car, while we both laughed and laughed, and I flashed the Witch Woods Brickthrowing Contest my knickers, which were bright orange and covered with black cats.

  Chapter 17

  I had no idea what I was going to say to Cameron Kerr, but I figured I would wing it. I had run through several scenarios and over thought it to the point that my head was spinning. I figured I would just turn up at his place and make up something on the spur of the moment.

  I thought I should check on Dylan before I went. He and Ian were sitting in mum’s living room, playing hymns on a pipe organ. I had never seen the pipe organ before. I figured Dylan had bought it, but I didn’t want to ask. In fact, I didn’t want to spend any time with Dylan or Ian, so I beat a hasty retreat.

  I didn’t have any trouble finding Cameron’s house, but I drove past it so I could look at the long fence on one side. It did indeed look like an expensive fence. Tom’s driveway was covered with white, ornamental gravel. I figured that would have cost a pretty penny too, but I expect he hadn’t tried to make his neighbours pay for it. As I did a U-turn and came back, I saw what looked like the detectives’ car driving down Cameron’s driveway before driving away. I slowed down and then came to a stop on the street. I walked up the front path, which was rather steep and winding, and then knocked on the door.

  Cameron opened the door with a wide frown, which changed to a smile when his eyes focused on me.

  “Sorry, I thought you were the police again. Can I help you?”

  “I’m Laurel Bay from the funeral home,” I told him.

  He looked shocked. “Oh, I don’t want to enrol in one of those pay now, go later schemes.”

  I held up both hands, palms outwards. “No, no, no. I’m not here to sell you anything. I saw the detectives driving away. I wanted to have a chat with you about Tom Trent’s death. Maybe we could help each other.”

  He quirked one eyebrow. “How so?”

  “The police suspect you and Russell Reed, and they also suspect Eliza, Celia, and my mother,” I said. “I thought we could discuss it and come up with an idea as to who did it.”

  “All right. Please come in.” Cameron ushered me into a living room which smelt quite musty. I noticed the curtains were pulled over the windows and I wondered when the house had last seen sunlight. He indicated I should sit on a large leather couch. “I don’t know if I can be much help. Would you like a cup of herbal tea?”

  “Yes please, that would be good, thank you.”

  As he left the room, I took the opportunity to study it. It was furnished rather unusually. A large cowhide lay across the floor under a roughhewn coffee table. Rabbit traps hung from the wall, and more disconcertingly, heads of stuffed deers lined one wall, and in a large glass cabinet appeared to be a whole taxidermied sheep. The vibe, helped along by the high wooden beams, screamed hunting lodge.

  Cameron returned holding two steaming mugs. He put one in front of me. “My father was a hunter,” he told me. “He was a hunter in New Zealand. He shot that sheep there.” He gestured to the taxidermied sheep.

  “Oh,” was all I could manage.

  Cameron beamed at me and pushed on. “Well, I could never harm an animal of course, but my father left all these things to me. I had them brought over from New Zealand when I moved to Australia years ago. Since he was going to shoot the sheep, it was better to have it taxidermied rather than leave its remains in a paddock, don’t you think?”

  “Um, I suppose so,” I said. I fought the urge to run out of the building. At least there were no rifles hanging on the walls.

  “I’ve hung some antique rabbit traps as decorations,” he continued.

  I nodded. “I can see that.” I felt as though I had walked into the lair of a serial killer.

  “Anyway, I hope you enjoy your tea. It’s a mixture of lavender, liquorice, lemongrass, and ginger.”

  “Thank you.” I sipped the tea. It tasted like unflavoured boiling water to me, and I wondered if he had forgotten to use the teabag. “Um, it’s nice,” I lied.

  He beamed at me. “The police keep questioning me. They think I murdered Tom Trent over the fifteen thousand dollars he was trying to get from me, but I told them it wasn’t legal. Legally, Tom should have told us before he built the fence, and even if he had done so, I only had to pay half of the cheapest fence on my side. He didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. I keep telling the police that, but they keep questioning me.”

  “They keep questioning me too,” I told him. “My mother is out of town, but the police think I’m lying about it. They seem to think she murdered Tom Trent and has gone into hiding.”

  He shot me a calculating look. “Yes, they did ask me if I knew where your mother was, but I don’t know your mother. I doubt I’ve ever spoken to her.”

  I sipped some more boiling water before speaking. “I have no idea where my mother is, and the detectives keep giving me the third degree. It’s obvious they think I’m lying,” I said. “Would you have any idea who could possibly have murdered Tom Trent?”

  He sat down in the oversized leather wing backed chair opposite me and sipped his herbal tea. “Oh that’s strong,” he said, setting it aside.

  I suspected he had put two teabags in the one cup. I simply nodded. He pushed on. “I expected the police would find out who did it at first, but now that they keep questioning me, I’ve begun to consider the matter. I know I didn’t do it, and I know Russell didn’t do it. Russell is the other neighbour.” He gestured in the direction of where I imagined Russell’s house would be. “Tom was trying to get fifteen thousand dollars out of him as well.”

  “I think apart from you, Russell, and my mother, the only other suspects they have are Eliza Entwistle and Celia Watson,” I said. “Eliza and Celia were on the Birds of Pray Community Church Garden Committee along with my mother and Tom Trent. Eliza and Celia were upset because he grew his corn and overshadowed the sun-loving plants, and apparently he was very difficult to deal with. Nobody liked him being on the committee. That’s hardly a motive for murder, so there must be something else that we don’t know. Still, I can’t think of any other possible suspects.”

  Cameron picked up his tea, sipped it, pulled a face, and then put down his cup once more. “Tom didn’t have any friends because he wasn’t well liked. I would have thought his son, Angus, did it, but his son obviously had a good alibi.”

  “Why did you say obviously?” I asked him.

  He shrugged. “Because if it wasn’t a good alibi, the police would have done something about it by now.”

  I nodded. “Oh, of course. I also heard he had an ironclad alibi.”

  “You see, Tom and Angus didn’t get on at all. Tom was really nasty to that kid, and so Angus left home as soon as he could. Why, he even left the country!”

  “Can you thin
k of anyone else who might have murdered Tom?”

  He rubbed his forehead hard. “It could have been one of the many women Tom fooled around with, but he fooled around with them years ago, and they would have murdered him by now.”

  “What do you mean?” I had already heard this, but wanted to prompt him to expand.

  He looked surprised. “Didn’t you know? Tom dated most of the women in this town. He dated Eliza for years—went to Europe with her, he did—then he dumped her and dated Celia for a long time. While he was dating those women, he was also having affairs with married women. A lot of the husbands in town were out for his blood.”

  “Do you think one of the husbands finally took revenge?” I asked him.

  Cameron shook his head. “I doubt it. Why would they wait for so many years?”

  “Murder is a dish best served cold,” I said.

  He seemed to be thinking over my words. After an interval, he said, “Maybe, but they would have been waiting quite a long time. He hasn’t been a man about town for many years now.”

  “I didn’t know he dated both Eliza and Celia,” I said. “That’s interesting.”

  “If you’re thinking Eliza or Celia murdered him, well, they would have done it years ago and not waited until now,” he said. “How rude of me. I haven’t offered you anything to eat.”

  “Thanks, but I ate a lot before I came here,” I said. Actually, I hadn’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to serve me rabbit or snake or something equally abhorrent.

  “So did Tom have any other children apart from Angus?”

  Cameron laughed. “He probably has illegitimate children all over town, but Angus actually isn’t his child.”

  I leant forward in my chair, almost spilling the contents of my mug on the cowhide on the floor.

  “Tom was in Europe for a while and then he came back with a child,” he said. “He seemed pleased to have a son, but he ruled that child with an iron rod and drove him away. He sent Angus to a primary school out of town. It was weird that he didn’t let him go to the local primary school. He did let him go to the local high school, though.”

  “How strange. I wonder why?”

  He chuckled. “Tom was strange. I’m afraid I haven’t been any help to you, have I?”

  “Yes, you have,” I said. “I had no idea that Tom dated as Eliza and Celia many years ago. There could be a clue in there somewhere.”

  “If there is, I can’t imagine what it could be.”

  I stood up. “Well, thanks for your time.”

  “Not at all,” he said. “I wasn’t doing anything. I was just watching Murder She Wrote.”

  “I love Jessica Fletcher,” I told him. “Wouldn’t it be good if we could have a Jessica Fletcher moment!”

  He screwed up his nose. “What do you mean?”

  “You know, near the end of the episode, somebody says something obscure, something that isn’t related to anything else in the episode, and that prompts Jessica to realise who the murderer is.”

  His face lit up. “Yes, I see what you mean.”

  I thanked him again and headed for the door. I walked down the winding path and got in my car. I turned on the engine.

  Just as I did, the Bluetooth in my car showed an incoming call. I pressed the button to answer it as I pulled out onto the street.

  “Laurel, where have you been?” Dylan demanded in Mum’s voice.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  “Honestly, Laurel, anybody would think you were adopted.”

  And that’s when I had the Jessica Fletcher moment.

  Chapter 18

  Adoption. Europe. Tom wouldn’t let his child go to the local primary school.

  I was fairly certain I was right, but I needed to speak with Basil. He didn’t pick up, so I left a message on his voicemail to come to the funeral home as soon as possible.

  I had a brewing headache, so I stopped at the supermarket on the way home to buy some Advil. As I rounded the corner and came upon the health food section, I saw Eliza and Angus talking. When they saw me, Angus hurried away without acknowledging me at all, and Eliza walked over to me. “Hi, Laurel. I haven’t seen Angus for years. He seems such a nice young man, nothing like his father.”

  I came straight to the point. “When did you get back to Witch Woods?” I asked. “You went away to Europe, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I’ve been to Europe many times,” she said. “Why do you ask?”

  “No reason, just curious,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. I smiled at her and shoved some healthy food into my basket. Maybe I could feed it to Basil’s two pet sheep later. I hoped I hadn’t made her suspicious, but I had to know.

  I drove straight to the church. I hoped I would catch Pastor Green in the church office. It seemed I was in luck. He looked up, startled to see me. “Sorry Laurel, I was a million miles away. Has your mother been in touch?”

  “No, not at all,” I said. “Pastor Green, do you have a key to the greenhouse full of the poisonous plants?”

  “Yes, it’s hanging up over there.” He pointed to a wooden rack with keys on it. The keys were not labelled.

  “So there’s that key there, and then Eliza, Tom, Mum, and Celia all had their own keys to the greenhouse?”

  “Yes, that’s right,” he said. “What’s this about, Laurel?”

  “I’m fairly certain one of the community garden members is the murderer. I’m trying to piece it all together. Do you know anything about Angus Trent being adopted?”

  Pastor Green frowned. “Yes, I believe that’s fairly common knowledge.”

  “And do you know who his mother is?”

  “No, probably even Tom himself didn’t know that.”

  My spirits sank. I was hoping the pastor would know. “I know Tom had a bit of a reputation with the ladies, so I thought perhaps Angus was his child and that he’d threatened the mother and taken the child for himself.”

  “But why would he threaten the mother?” Pastor Green asked me.

  I shrugged. “Maybe she had left him.”

  I thought Pastor Green would disagree with me, but to my surprise, he nodded. “You know, that’s the sort of thing Tom Trent would have done. Have you told the police, Laurel?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t have any proof. I’m going to go home and make some notes, and then I’ll go and see them. I think I know who did it, and a DNA test will help.”

  “Please don’t take any chances, Laurel,” the pastor admonished me. “There’s still a murderer on the loose.”

  I walked out of the building and almost ran into Eliza. Had she heard what I’d said? Her expression was impassive. I nodded to her and hurried to my car. I had to get this thing figured out quickly.

  I drove to the funeral home and let myself in, but instead of going straight to my apartment, I thought I should check on Mum first.

  “Thank goodness it’s you, Laurel,” Ernie said as soon as I walked into the foyer. “That annoying ghost won’t leave me alone. Can you talk to him?”

  “He won’t listen to me either, Ernie, but I think I’ve solved his murder. That will make him cross over.”

  “Thank goodness, the sooner the better.” Ernie floated a little and then landed with a thud. With that, he vanished. I continued on down to the preparation room to check on Mum. I didn’t really like to look at her, but I wanted to make sure the mortuary cabinet was working fine.

  I opened the mortuary cabinet door just a little to give Mum some air, all the while averting my eyes. Dylan seemed quite happy now, and if mum’s spirit went back into her body while she was trapped inside the mortuary cabinet, she would panic.

  I sat down at the desk to write some notes. I was fairly certain Eliza was the murderer. What if Angus was her child?

  Eliza was a retired primary school teacher, and that would explain why Tom had not allowed Angus to attend the local primary school. I thought through the scenario. What if Eliza had become pregnant with Tom’s child w
hile in Europe, and Tom had wanted the child for himself? Maybe they had even broken up. Maybe Tom came back to Australia with Angus, along with legal adoption papers, and had threatened Eliza in some way to stay away from Angus.

  It was pure speculation, but the pieces did fit. Eliza took trips to Europe on a regular basis. If I was right, then Eliza and Angus could have been in it together. Eliza had the means and the opportunity as well as the motive. Tom stood to inherit everything, and he had the perfect alibi.

  Yes, that was it. I called Basil again, but it went to voicemail once more. I sighed aloud. “Basil, where are you!” I said to the phone.

  I was certain it was Eliza. If the police ran a DNA test, they would find out she was Angus’s mother. Still, that wouldn’t prove she was the murderer, but it would certainly throw new light on the case, and the police could investigate that avenue. I stood up and pushed mum’s cabinet back in. I didn’t want to leave her unfrozen for too long.

  I opened the door to the preparation room, but before I could take a step, Eliza barged in. She was holding a rifle.

  “Where did you get that?” I said, alarmed.

  “I live out of town on a farm, Laurel. I’ve had it for years and the police don’t know I have it. I use it for shooting snakes. All kinds of snakes,” she said in malevolent tones. “I see you figured it was me.”

  “So it was you!” I said. “Ernie, go and get Basil!”

  “Who is Ernie?”

  “The resident ghost.”

  Eliza snorted rudely. “I followed you from the supermarket. Not a smart move, Laurel. I overheard what you said to Pastor Green.”

  “The police can’t prove it was you though,” I said, desperately hoping Ernie had heard me.

  “Yes, but they can easily prove I’m Angus’s mother and then they’ll soon figure out we were in it together.”

  “So, what exactly happened?” I said.

  “When I was in Europe with Tom, I found out he was having affairs. I was pregnant at the time, but I left him just after the baby was born. He took Angus from me and said he would kill me if I ever tried to claim him as my own.”