Moonshine and Malice

by J Lee Mitchell

  Q’Bita made her final comments and passed her cards down the line with the other judges. The results would be tallied and announced by the Social Proof Moonshine CEO, Carter Hawkins. After what seemed like an eternity, Carter made his way to the stage followed by the Miss Moonshine contestants that had participated in the final round. Each held an envelope in their dainty, manicured hands.

  “Hello again, folks. First, I’d like to thank you again for coming out and enjoying this amazing party. Social Proof Moonshine couldn’t ask for better hosts than the Block Family, and we’re so grateful to be part of their book launch. Can I get a round of applause for our contestants?”

  The crowd clapped enthusiastically and a few of the rowdy ones hooted and hollered.

  “As you may have noticed, we like to do things a little differently at Social Proof Moonshine, so I won’t be announcing our winners in the normal fashion. I’ve given each of these beautiful ladies an envelope containing a check. There are two checks for $1,000 for our fourth and fifth place finishers, one check for $2,000 for our third-place finisher, and one check of $2,500 for our runner-up. One of our lucky contestants will find a check for $10,000. This lucky winner will also be offered a year-long culinary ambassadorship and become the face of Social Proof Moonshine’s new culinary program.”

  The applause of the crowd was deafening, and Q’Bita could feel her heart pounding with anticipation. She stole a glance at Jock and was thrilled to see he now seemed less tense and looked like he was finally enjoying himself. He even gave his Miss Moonshine partner a high five when she reached his side.

  The male contestants insisted on letting Constance and Connie open their envelopes first. Both had received $1,000 checks. Cletus went next and he seemed genuinely thrilled to see the $2,000 third-place check. Q’Bita could hardly breathe as she realized that Jock was in the top two. Carter Hawkins asked Jock and Lyle to come up to the stage before opening their checks. They were now standing just feet from where Q’Bita sat. Jock looked back over his shoulder and winked at her.

  “Okay, fellas. On the count of three, I want both of you to open your envelopes at the same time and we’ll see who our new ambassador is.”

  Lyle shot Jock a snarl and Q’Bita saw Jock chuckle in reply. She held her breath as Carter counted backwards from three. As soon as he reached one, both men tore at the envelopes in their hands. A split second later, Lyle turned pale as a boiled chicken and Jock let out a booming whoop. Q’Bita jumped up so fast she knocked her chair over. Jock scooped her up in a bear hug and spun her around in a big circle.

  “Congratulations, Jock. This is amazing.”

  Before Jock could reply, Lyle cut in, “Amazing? It’s not amazing! It’s utterly and completely unfathomable. I’ve never lost a competition, and to think that this scruffy hillbilly could best me on the culinary stage is, well, it’s just criminal. Where is Carter? I am going to file a protest.”

  “On what grounds? Jock won this contest fair and square,” Q’Bita said.

  “I don’t know how you did it, but you must have coerced or brainwashed the other judges into voting for this man. It’s the only reasonable explanation.”

  Carter appeared next to Jock, and Lyle didn’t waste a second launching into his protest. Carter cut him off a few seconds into his tirade and told him that the rules clearly state that all judging decisions were final and if he wished to pursue the matter further, he was free to take it up with Social Proof’s legal counsel. By the end of their conversation Lyle was purple as a beet and madder than a wet hen. He turned to face Jock, tore his second-place check to pieces, then threw the pieces in Jock’s face.

  “This is not over, old man. I will have my revenge.”

  Lyle was so incensed as he spoke that spittle flew from the corners of his mouth. He then turned and stomped back to his station, where he quickly gathered his personal belongings and stormed off toward the Red Herring Inn.

  Carter Hawkins apologized to Jock and then stole him away to take publicity photos. Q’Bita pulled out her phone and noticed a missed call and a voicemail from Andy.

  “Hey, sweetheart. It doesn’t look like I’m going to make it to the party. I just got a call from the state police. There’s been a multi-vehicle accident with fatalities out on Thompson Road. They need us out there to assist. I’ll be back as soon as I can. If you get a chance, tell my pap that I’m rooting for him and I hope he knocks it out of the park with that BBQ sauce.”

  Q'Bita thought about texting him the good news but decided it was better if he heard it from his pap in person. She spent the next few hours mingling with her family, wishing Andy would get there soon.

  Chapter 11

  It was after midnight when Andy finally got to the Red Herring Inn, and he looked tired. Q'Bita pulled out the leftover brisket she’d saved him, and he shoveled it in so fast she thought he might eat the plate too.

  “Wow, that was really good. So, how’d Pap do?”

  “Are you sure you want me to tell you? Don’t you want to wait and let him tell you in person?”

  “Tell you what, why don’t you tell me now, and I promise to act surprised when he tells me later.”

  “Oh, you’re going to be surprised alright. Not only did Jock do well, he actually won first place.”

  Andy let out the same booming whoop his grandfather had when he'd won. Q’Bita loved how similar the two of them were.

  She got up to get the peach cobbler she’d smuggled home and was startled by the sound of her house phone ringing.

  “Huh, weird. I wonder what the front desk wants at this time of night.”

  Q’Bita picked up the phone and felt her stomach drop as Mike Collins' voice came through the phone.

  “I sure am sorry to disturb you this late, Miss Block, but I was wondering if I could come up and talk to Andy for a few minutes.”

  “Of course, Mike. Is everything okay?”

  There was a pause, and then Mike’s voice cracked.

  “I’m afraid not, Miss Block. That’s why I need to speak to Andy in person.”

  “Okay, come on up. I’ll meet you at the door.”

  Q’Bita hung up and turned to Andy, who was rocking back in his chair, rubbing his tummy.

  “I guess if we’re getting company, that means dessert has to wait.”

  “For now, yes. I’m not sure what’s going on but that was Mike Collins, and he says he needs to speak to you in person. It sounded serious.”

  The chair rocked forward with a thunk as Andy stood and followed Q’Bita to the door. When she opened the door, Mike was already standing on the other side. He looked pale and had obviously been crying recently. His voice cracked again as he greeted them, and Q’Bita noticed that he wasn’t making eye contact with them. She invited him in and asked if he wanted anything. He asked for a glass of water as Andy showed him to the living room.

  “Okay Mikey, you’re freaking me out a little bit. What’s going on?”

  Q’Bita returned with his water and took a seat beside Andy on the couch. Mike was seated across from them on the loveseat, nervously messing with his hat.

  His hands were shaking and Q’Bita could see tears welling in his eyes.

  “Andy, I hate having to be the one to tell you this, but your pap is gone.”

  Andy shifted in his seat and looked at Q’Bita with confusion.

  “What do you mean, gone, Mikey?”

  Mike started to speak but broke down sobbing. After a minute or so, he pulled himself together and placed a hand on Andy's knee.

  “I was on my way back to the station and came across his truck out on Crane Road. The door was open, and the engine was still running. There was no sign of Jock, so I started looking around and found his body a few feet off the road in the field.”

  “Oh my God. Was it a heart attack?” Andy asked.

  Though Q'Bita wouldn’t have thought it possible, Mike suddenly looked even more uncomfortable than when he’d first arrived at her door.

  �
�No, not a heart attack,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “Then what?” Andy asked.

  “Andy, your pap was murdered.”

  “Murdered? You can’t be serious. Who would want to hurt my pap? Everyone who knows him loves him.”

  Q’Bita could see Andy start to shake and knew he was about to melt down. She slid over and put an arm around his shoulder as he buried his face in his hands. He sat that way for a few minutes until the silence became uncomfortable. When he looked up again his face showed more anger than upset.

  “If you’re here, who’s working the scene?”

  “I thought it might be best if I called the state police. I don’t have enough experience to do right by you or your pap, and you can’t go within a hundred feet of the scene if we hope to convict whoever did this.”

  “Honestly, Mikey, a conviction isn’t exactly what I have planned when I catch whoever did this.”

  “Which is exactly why you need to stay as far away from this case as possible, Andy.”

  “I appreciate your concern, Mikey, but I think we both know you’re wasting your breath.”

  Mike nodded in agreement and went back to looking at his feet.

  Q’Bita tightened her grip on Andy, and he gave her a weak smile as tears streamed down his face. She felt like the world was spinning and she didn’t know what to say.

  “Andy, the most important thing I’ve learned from you since joining the department is that being the law doesn’t make you above the law. I promise you, when we figure out who did this, they’ll get what’s coming to them, but we have to let the court be the one to make that happen. I’ve known your pap since I was still on the teat, and it’s what Jock would want.”

  Andy didn’t answer.

  “If there’s anything I can do just say so, but if not, I’m going to head back out to the scene and make sure the staties don’t miss anything.”

  Andy cleared his throat and looked up at Mike. “You said murdered but you didn’t say how.”

  “It looks like a robbery gone wrong. There was a struggle just off the side of the road. From what I could see he was pretty banged up, but the cause of death appears to be stabbing. They left the knife behind, and it looked pretty fancy, so hopefully that will help with the case.”

  “Fancy? How do you mean?”

  “It was long and silver with dimples in the metal and some kind of Asian writing on it. Can’t be many of those around Castle Creek.”

  “I don’t want to discourage you, Mike, but what you’re describing is a high-end chef knife, and at least half the contestants competing in the cooking contest were using something similar,” Q’Bita said.

  Andy straightened up and looked at her.

  “Wait, wasn’t there a significant money prize for winning that contest? Did my pap have that money on him when he left?”

  “There was a $10,000 prize, and as far as I know he had the check with him.”

  “Mikey, get out there and see if the staties have located the check. If it’s not there, we’ll need to get the check info from the Social Proof Moonshine folks and get it out to all the banks in case the killer tries to cash it.”

  “I’m on it. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

  Mike stood and started towards the door with Andy on his heels. As Andy opened the door, Mike paused and looked up at him. Q’Bita had never noticed the size difference between the two before but with Andy now standing in the doorway tower over the smaller deputy, the size difference was almost comical as Mike drew himself up and gave his boss another stern warning.

  “Boss, you know I respect you, and I’m not saying this to cause you any more pain than you already got, but you need to hear this again. You have to distance yourself from this investigation. You haven’t had time to even process this yet, and when it hits you that temper of yours is gonna kick in and I don’t want you doing something stupid that will compromise the investigation.”

  Q’Bita appreciated Mike’s efforts to keep Andy calm but she wasn’t so sure that Andy felt the same.

  “I hear you, Mikey, but I think we both know that I have no intention of sitting around on my ass waiting for answers. The best thing you can do right now is get back out there and help them figure this out, and stay out of my way while I do what I have to do.”

  A ripple of fear ran through Q’Bita as Andy spoke and she had no doubt he meant what he was saying. She also knew that nothing anyone could say was going to keep him from trying to find Jock’s killer.

  After Mike left, Andy spent the next few minutes pacing and muttering to himself as Q’Bita sat quietly, giving him some space. When Andy finally stopped pacing, he turned towards her and asked a question that caught her off guard.

  “If my pap won, then, obviously, everyone else lost. Did you notice anyone who seemed overly upset, or whose reaction might have indicated they’d want to do something about losing?”

  Q’Bita hadn’t even considered that it might be one of the contestants because she’d been too focused on the tense exchange she’d witnessed between Jock, Earl, and Beanie. She stayed quiet for a moment as she wrestled with how much to tell Andy. Part of her wanted to spill everything all at once and part of her wanted to stay quiet until he’d had time to calm down.

  “Q’Bita. What aren’t you telling me?”

  She spent the next half hour telling him everything about Lyle Chalford’s threat and what she’d witnessed between Jock, Earl, and Beanie. She wasn’t surprised that Lyle hadn’t taken the news well.

  “Is this Chalford guy staying here at the Red Herring?” Andy asked.

  “Yes, but I agree with Mike, we need to let the state police handle this, Andy.”

  Andy hadn’t even waited for her to finish her sentence before he was out the door.

  She ran to catch up with him. “Andy where are you going?”

  “Front desk. If you aren’t going to tell me what room he’s in, I’ll go find out myself.”

  Q’Bita caught up to him and grabbed his arm. “Okay, then what?”

  “Then I'll give him a not so pleasant wake-up call and he’s going to tell me whatever I want to know.”

  Q’Bita knew there was going to be no talking him out of this.

  “Okay, but can we at least go to the front desk and have them call his room and ask him to come to the office? I’m worried this might get heated and I think it would be better to do it as far from other guests as possible.”

  Andy sighed and raised his hands in submission.

  “Yep, you’re right, and you have my word that I’ll try to be as calm and professional as I can.”

  “Thank you.”

  Julie Burke was working the desk. Q’Bita asked her to ring Lyle Chalford’s room for her.

  “I can but he isn’t there. He’s been in the bar for hours, drowning his sorrow and whining about how he was robbed of his rightful title.”

  Q’Bita felt a whoosh of air as Andy bolted past her and headed for the bar. She had to run to catch up with him. By the time she reached the bar, Andy already had a hold of Lyle by the shoulder. Lyle could hardly stand, let alone speak, which seemed to just frustrate Andy even more.

  “Andy, maybe you should let me handle this.”

  “I appreciate you wanting to help, Q’Bita, but the only thing I need right now is for someone to ply this piece of crap with coffee until he sobers up enough to answer my questions.”

  “Good luck with that. He’s been here since the cooking contest ended and he’s had enough to drink to kill three guys his size. I have no idea how he’s still conscious. I’ve been giving him water on the rocks for the last hour and he hasn’t even noticed.”

  “Wait, you said he’s been here since right after the cooking contest ended? Are you sure about that, Claude?” Q’Bita asked.

  “Yep, positive. He’s been there in that same stool since right after my shift started. Has quite the chip on his shoulder about losing.”

  Q’Bita tur
ned to Andy, who still had a hold of Lyle.

  “Andy, if he’s been here this whole time, there’s no way he killed Jock.”

  Andy let go of Lyle and sunk down onto the closest barstool. He ran his fingers through his hair as Q’Bita watched his shoulders slump in defeat.

  Lyle stumbled forward and slapped his hand on the bar. “Barkeep, get me surly friend here a beer and I’ll take…” his words trailed off incoherently and Q’Bita had to reach out to steady him back onto his barstool.

  “Lyle, I think you’ve had more than enough for one night. Claude, can you call Julie at the front desk and ask her to have Hector escort Mr. Chalford to his room?”

  “Sure thing, Miss. Miss Block. I’m getting ready to close up soon anyhow.”

  Q’Bita placed her hand on Andy’s shoulder and she could feel he was still shaking slightly.

  “Andy, you’ve been through a lot for one night. Maybe we should go up to bed and figure this out in the morning.”

  “I love you for trying, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep until I get to the bottom of this. Pap stopped by my office the other day and was worried about Earl Dunn and Beanie Fox causing trouble. I’m going to head out and see if I can track those two down.”

  “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  “No, it’s a terrible idea, but I’m going to do it anyhow.”

  Andy stood up and wrapped her in a hug then kissed her on the top of the head. She held on for as long as she could until Andy gently pulled away. She walked him to his SUV and watched until his headlights disappeared.

  ***

  When she returned to the kitchen, Q'Bita was surprised to see her nana putting on a kettle of water for tea. “Nana, what are you doing up at this hour?”