Stirring Up Murder

by P. D. Workman

  “No… not that I can think of. It was all so fast. It’s not like it was a long conversation. He just told me to stay away from Charley. To stop causing trouble.”

  “I’d tell you that myself if I thought it would do any good,” Terry said in a teasing tone. Erin knew that he was partially serious. He had told her and would probably continue to tell her the same thing, but Erin had already proven that she wasn’t going to listen to his warnings. It was a source of frustration for Terry, but Erin couldn’t make herself abandon her sister just because her friends were worried she was going to get in some kind of trouble.

  “I don’t know who it was,” Erin said. “But it did kind of freak me out. I guess you’re right about the police knowing who I was, and maybe someone leaking the information… I was afraid it was someone I knew here in Bald Eagle Falls.”

  They were silent, thinking about it. They’d all had run-ins with various members of the community who were not as welcoming or pleasant as they ought to be. But no one was going to start throwing accusations around.

  “You’re sure it was a man?” Vic asked.

  Erin looked at Vic, disconcerted. The crisp line that she used to see between male and female had blurred since she had met Vic. Her experience with Vic and the few things that Vic had shared about her growing-up years and her gender identity made Erin reluctant to classify anyone’s gender without knowing how they self-identified.

  “Uh… no. I’m assuming it was the same person who warned Charley to get out of town before the Dysons showed up, and I thought that he was a man. But I only caught a glimpse and he was wearing a mask.

  Terry’s expression was almost comical. Erin realized she was telling the whole story out of sequence and he was getting more frustrated and angry with each revelation.

  “Oh… uh, yeah… Somebody came to Charley’s apartment… and…”

  “And warned her to get out of town,” Terry finished. “A man with a mask, apparently.”

  Erin nodded.

  “What kind of mask?”

  “Like a ski mask. I could just see the eye holes.”

  “And possibly that it was a man.”

  “I thought so, yes.”

  “Height? Build?”

  “It was just a glimpse, across the room, through a doorway…”

  “You saw him near a doorway? Did his head reach the top?”

  “No. Just… average height, I guess. A strong build… you know, not blocky or paunchy, but… not slender.”

  “All pretty average. That’s not very helpful in identifying him.”

  “I know. I wish I could tell you more…”

  “Any tattoos? Anything else that would help identify him? Something you’d recognize if you saw again?”

  “No.”

  Terry pondered the clues they had. “So he warned Charley to take off before the Dysons showed up. And he told you to leave town, to go home and forget about her.”

  “So it doesn’t sound like he was aligned with the police or the Dysons, does it?” Erin said. “That’s what I can’t figure out.”

  Erin pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. She told herself she was only checking the time, but she was checking to see whether Charley had called too. Charley had said she wasn’t going to involve Erin any more, because she didn’t want to put her in harm’s way. But Erin was hoping she would have changed her mind. Surely she would want to tell someone about what happened when she went to see Dwight Dyson, wouldn’t she? If she were still alive to tell the tale.

  “What is it?” Vic asked.

  “I was just hoping… Charley would have called me. I wish I knew if she was okay.”

  “Are you afraid that this masked man might have done something to her?”

  “No, the Dysons. She was going to talk to one of them… I don’t know if he’s the head of the family, or Bobby Dyson’s father, or both. But she said the only way she was going to be able to convince them that she hadn’t killed Bobby was to talk to him face-to-face.”

  “That’s a pretty dangerous proposition,” Terry commented.

  “I know. She was pretty scared about it. But she figured if she didn’t talk to him, they were going to kill her anyway. So I guess… she really didn’t have much choice one way or the other.” Erin rubbed her forehead. It was pulsing with fatigue. “I just don’t know what to do. It’s not like I can call the police to tell them what happened. She doesn’t want the police involved. And I can’t call the Dyson family to see what’s happened. Charley said not to contact her again. But how can I go through life not even knowing if she’s alive or not?” A few tears escaped Erin’s eyes and dripped down her face.

  Terry rubbed her back. Orange Blossom squirmed away from Vic and jumped back up onto the couch, where he climbed over Terry and Marshmallow to reach Erin and bump her face with the top of his head. Erin scratched his ears, sniffling.

  “This has been really hard on you,” Terry observed. “I never expected it to turn into something like this.”

  “You guys all said to stay away from her when you found out about the Dysons. I guess I should have. I would have been better off not knowing what was going on.”

  Neither of them argued with the statement, but they both looked sympathetic.

  “Should I call her?” Erin asked. “Do you think it would be okay?”

  “If she told you not to… maybe you shouldn’t,” Vic said tentatively.

  “How about Jack Ward?” Erin appealed to Terry. “Do you think we could call him tomorrow and see if he knows anything? Maybe he’ll give you a little more information about the murder… and he could check in on Charley, see if she’s okay?”

  “I suppose we could check,” Terry conceded. “But don’t expect to be able to get anything out of Ward. Chances are, he’s going to keep his cards pretty close to his chest.”

  “Okay.” Erin rubbed her eyes. “I just hope she’s okay.”

  There was a tap at the door, and the three of them looked at each other, startled. Terry put his hand on his holster, which he was wearing even with his casual clothes.

  “It’s not Willie,” Vic whispered, “he would have let me know if his plans changed.”

  It was too late for casual visitors. Terry got up and moved to the door. He checked the peephole and his stance relaxed. He opened the door and ushered their visitor in with a half-smile.

  “Adele!” Vic, unencumbered by animals, jumped up to greet her.

  Erin made a little gesture indicating that she would get up, but Adele motioned her back. “No need. I just saw your light on and popped in to make sure everything was okay. You’re not usually up this late.”

  “I just got back from Moose River,” Erin explained. She looked at her phone, and realized that quite a bit of time had elapsed since she had made it home. It was getting very late. “Oh… a while ago.”

  “You’re okay?” The tall, spare woman peered at Erin, looking like she didn’t quite believe it. “You look a little piqued.”

  “Things are… not so great. I’m tired and I’m worried and hyped up. My heart is still pumping like a train engine, I don’t know how I’m going to get to sleep tonight.”

  “Let me make you some tea,” Adele said, heading into the kitchen without an invitation. “Do you have any herbs?”

  Orange Blossom jumped down, figuring that anyone in the kitchen was fair game for him to beg for an extra treat. Erin moved to get up to help Adele, but Terry sat back down beside her, taking her hand to keep her seated. “Stay and relax. I’m sure she can find her way around. You two both need to relax and get some sleep before work.”

  Vic shrugged. “I’ll just take an Ambien and be out like a light.”

  “I’d be too dopey if I did that. I’d be hung over.” Erin knew her limits. She had a few herbal sleeping remedies, but anything pharmacy grade would still affect her in the morning.

  She could hear Adele putting the kettle on the stove and opening various cupboards to see where everything
was.

  “Should somebody be keeping an eye on her in there?” Vic whispered anxiously. “What if she… makes a potion?”

  “A sleeping potion?” Erin suggested, trying to keep a smile from her face.

  “No… I don’t know, something else…”

  “You’re the one who said that witches don’t actually perform magic,” Erin pointed out.

  “I know that… but she could still make something that… affected you the wrong way. She could poison you.”

  “With a policeman right here?”

  “She could poison him too.”

  Terry shook his head. It was clear from his expression that he was also trying to keep from smiling at Vic’s concerns. “I won’t drink anything, Vic. You and Erin can have it. I don’t need to be up as early as you do. I still have plenty of time to get to bed.”

  “I’m not drinking it!” Vic insisted.

  “Why not?” Adele was standing in the doorway. “Do you really think I would try to poison or magick you, Victoria?”

  Vic turned a brilliant red at having been overheard. “No! No, I know you wouldn’t do anything, I just mean… I just was worried that… I don’t know, you’re not exactly licensed.”

  “Does someone need to be licensed to serve tea now? I wasn’t aware of this new requirement.”

  “You can serve the tea,” Erin laughed. “But it looks like you and I will be the only ones who are having any.”

  “I’ll have it ready in a minute. Just waiting for the kettle to boil.”

  “Thanks, Adele. That’s really nice of you.”

  “Just want to do right by my boss. She’s a pretty nice person, you know.”

  Adele disappeared back into the kitchen. Vic covered her face and then dropped her hands back down to look at Erin. “I’m so embarrassed!”

  “I don’t know why you’re so worried about Adele. She’s never done anything to hurt any of us.”

  “It’s the way I was raised. I guess I still have a few prejudices I didn’t realize I had,” Vic admitted.

  In a few minutes, Adele brought a tea cup to Erin and sat down with one of her own.

  “Try to let your troubles go,” she advised. “Release them… tomorrow morning when you are refreshed, things will not seem as bad.”

  Erin nodded. “Yes… things are always worst at night when you’re tired.”

  “Let it all go tonight. Tomorrow is another day.”

  Erin smelled the tea before sipping it. There were many tins, bags, and boxes of teas of all kinds in Clementine’s cupboards. Clementine had been forced by her poor health to close the tea shop, but that had apparently not stopped her from enjoying a wide variety of teas herself. When Erin closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma, she could see her younger self helping Clementine in the tea shop when her mother left her there for Clementine to keep an eye on. Erin loved to identify each of the teas by smell, and was right ninety-nine percent of the time.

  “Is it okay?” Adele asked softly.

  “Chamomile and lemon balm,” Erin guessed. “Good Night Tea.” She opened her eyes again.

  Adele smiled broadly. “Yes, that’s right. You know your teas.”

  “The nose knows.” Erin tapped the side of her nose and took another breath of the steam before bringing the teacup up to her mouth to have a sip.

  Chapter Nineteen

  E

  rin and Vic had a bit of a rough morning getting up and getting prepared to open. Erin was still tired and found that it made her clumsy as well as a little bit irritable. Part of her irritability also had to do with her concern about Charley, and the fact that she still didn’t even know whether Charley was alive or dead.

  Vic seemed better-rested than Erin, though she too seemed a little thick-headed, having to write some of her labels twice and to pull out the calculator for math she could normally do in her head. Together, they managed to bungle their way through the pre-opening routine and eventually the morning rush as well. They normally took their lunch early, and Terry stopped by to see if he could take Erin away for a few minutes. She promised Vic she would be back soon, and went with Terry to the police department in the Town Hall. Terry closed the door to his office and turned on the speaker phone to call Jack Ward.

  It didn’t take him long to get past the receptionist, and then they heard Ward’s gruff voice over the speaker.

  “Jack, it’s Terry Piper in Bald Eagle Falls. I’ve got Erin Price with me.”

  Ward grunted. “You got something for me?”

  “Actually, we were hoping for a little information from you.”

  “It’s still an active investigation,” Ward said, his words clipped and impatient. “I don’t have anything to share with you.”

  “Erin might have a few things that you are unaware of,” Terry said. “But she would like a little information in return.”

  “It’s not a two-way street. We can’t release anything to a civilian.”

  “Which is why I’m the one calling you,” Terry said. “I figured you might be able to tell me…”

  “Not when it’s going straight to the ears of the public,” Ward countered, not giving an inch.

  “Do you know where Charlotte Campbell is this morning?”

  There was silence for a moment while Ward considered the question. Erin could hear papers being moved around.

  “Why do you ask?” Ward asked cautiously.

  “Charlotte was visited by a couple of the Dyson boys yesterday. Erin was concerned that something might happen to her.”

  “Then why did Miss Price not call emergency or call my number yesterday?”

  “I didn’t know what to do,” Erin protested. “She called them and was okay with them coming over… so I didn’t think it was an emergency. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “You should have called me anyway. I’ll have someone follow up with her, but it’s a little late now. If she was in any danger, it’s way too late to do anything about it now.”

  Erin’s stomach was tight, cramped up with the fear that Ward was right and it was too late to do anything for Charley.

  “There was apparently another man who came by Charley’s last night as well,” Terry informed Ward. Erin put her hand out to stop him, not sure she wanted anyone else to know about the masked man, but Terry ignored her and continued on. “He told Charley to get out of town, and Erin to go home and stay out of the way.”

  “Not bad advice for Miss Price,” Ward grumbled. “Who is this guy?”

  “Erin doesn’t know. He was wearing a ski mask. But he knew her name and where she was from.”

  “It’s a small community. Wouldn’t take much to find out who she was. Are you okay, Miss Price?” His voice was still gruff, but noticeably softer. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, I’m okay,” Erin found herself choking up at his more sympathetic approach. “He grabbed me and pushed me up against the car, but he didn’t really hurt me. Just scared me.”

  “You should have called me. You’ll need to file an official report.”

  Erin shook her head. “An official report of what? Like I said, he didn’t hurt me, and I don’t know who he is.”

  “It’s still an assault. Did he threaten you? That’s a second charge.”

  Erin tried to remember all of the man’s words to her. “No… I don’t think he said anything that would be considered a threat. He said he knew who my friends were. Told me to go home and stay away from the investigation.”

  “Like I said, that’s good advice.”

  Tears escaped the corners of Erin’s eyes. She wiped at them, trying not to let Terry see she was crying or to sob or sniffle so that Ward would be able to hear. Terry reached over and rubbed her shoulder, which didn’t help stanch the flow of tears.

  “Jack, how sure are your witnesses that it was Charley they heard fighting with Bobby Dyson?”

  “It was Charley. She was well-known to the neighbors.”

  “It couldn’t have been another woman? Bob
by Dyson might have been seeing others.”

  “Of course he was seeing others. But they didn’t come to his apartment. Charlotte was his official girlfriend and the others were kept out of sight.”

  “That doesn’t mean one of them couldn’t have shown up.”

  “We’re sure it was Charley,” Ward said flatly.

  “She said she had an alibi,” Erin protested. “She said once you checked her alibi, you’d know it wasn’t her.”

  Ward’s derisive snort carried over the phone line. “Her ironclad alibi? Yeah, that’s not going to hold any water.”

  “You think it’s fabricated?” Terry guessed.

  “She and her girlfriends were out enjoying chimichangas and margaritas. We have independent verification until about one in the morning. After that, everything falls apart. The party broke up and went their separate directions. Charley has a couple of the ladies saying that they went out together for a nightcap at that point, and then she went back to her own apartment to hit the sack.”

  “So she does have an alibi,” Erin asserted.

  “Until one. After that, no one saw Charley with the others. No surveillance cameras. No waiters or bartenders. Just her girlfriends. She’s asked them to cover for her.”

  Erin recalled how Charley had said she had no other friends. But apparently, she’d had friends that night. Maybe they figured they’d done enough for Charley and she couldn’t tap them for anything else.

  “Charley Campbell killed Bobby Dyson,” Ward growled. “She did it and we know it. The judge was stupid to grant her bail, but sometimes judges can be bought. The Dysons aren’t exactly short on cash.”

  “You think the clan paid her bond?” Terry asked.

  “I don’t know whether they paid it, or whether she paid it out of her own ill-gotten gains. Either way, you can bet it was originally Dyson money. And either way, she was stupid to bond out. She would have been a lot safer in isolation at the jail than on the outside.”

  Terry cleared his throat. “Is there any way you can follow up and find out if she is okay today?”

  “I already said I would. You should have called last night.”

  “Yes,” Erin agreed in a small voice. “I guess I should have.”