The Birthday Murders

by Mary Maxwell

  “But didn’t you just say that Zoey’s death triggered something in both of them?”

  “I did.”

  “Do you think it’s a good idea to poke the bear?” Dina said. “Wynona has the reputation for being a little…let’s call it aggressive for now.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “I’m not going to accuse her of anything. But if she doesn’t mention being Todd’s sister, then don’t you think it might be time to invite her down to the station for another chat?”

  “I do,” Dina said. “Although maybe I’ll go to her office instead. This place probably won’t smell right again until tomorrow. The stuff that Trent eats is pretty potent. It has a tendency to linger in the air for a good four or five hours.”

  CHAPTER 34

  “Good afternoon,” Wynona Bergen said when she saw me approaching her desk. “Did you have an appointment with Mr. Lambert?”

  “No, I came to see you,” I said. “And I promise to be quick since you weren’t expecting me.”

  Her smile was a blend of ice, impatience and cherry lip gloss. “Good,” she said. “Because I really don’t have time for anything that isn’t already on my schedule. It’s been a very busy day. Mr. Lambert is out of the office, so I’m doing a few of his regular tasks for quality control and such.”

  “Well, I do apologize for dropping by without a call,” I said. “I was hoping you could put me in touch with Todd Sutton. I can wait until his next break, or come back—”

  “No need for that,” Wynona said crisply. “He isn’t here today either.”

  I smiled, hoping to thaw at least a little of her frosty resistance. “Any idea where I could find him?”

  “He was talking about going camping with a couple of other employees yesterday,” she said. “So if he isn’t at home, then I’d guess maybe that’s where he’s gone. Do you want me to call his supervisor to find out if she knows?”

  “That’s not necessary,” I said as her desk phone chimed. “But I appreciate the offer.”

  When she shifted in her chair and reached for the phone, something metallic glinted around her neck. I hadn’t noticed it before because it blended into her patterned blouse, but she was wearing a pendant on a silver chain. While she explained to the caller that Ed Lambert was not available, I moved slightly to Wynona’s right side for a better view of the accessory. When I realized what she had around her neck, I felt a chill crawl down my back. I’m not an expert in gemstones, but the pendant appeared to be an identical match to the one found in Dixie Corcoran’s house on the day that she was killed. Dina had shared the photo with me when I asked about evidence found at the three other crime scenes related to Walker Oldham’s murder.

  That’s no coincidence, I thought as Wynona finished the phone call. It might be circumstantial, but it’s also potentially incriminating.

  “Sorry about that,” she said. “Was there anything else?”

  I’d decided before walking through the door that I wasn’t going to mention Wynona’s brother or sister. Not many people in town knew about their early years in foster care or their adoption by Mr. and Mrs. Sutton so many years ago. I was also concerned that it would derail my mission. I was there to see Ed Lambert, not to potentially rekindle painful memories for Wynona.

  As she began to fidget with the stapler on her desk, I pointed at the pendant. “Is that for your health? I’ve heard that crystals might ease my chronic lower back pain. I’m on my feet most of the day, and it’s really been acting up lately.”

  She reached for the necklace. “This one is really good for adding radiance and positivity to your spirit while it reduces and eliminates negative emotions. If you’re looking for something to help with your back, I’d suggest amethyst, black tourmaline or bloodstone.”

  “Let me write those down,” I said, taking out my phone and making a quick note. “And do you mind if I get a picture of yours?” I took it before she could say a word. “I really like that one a lot!”

  Wynona frowned slightly. “Well, thanks. I wish it did a better job of keeping pests away.”

  “Like ants and roaches?” I said.

  “Among other things,” she replied with a frown. “Like bad-mannered and self-interested people.”

  CHAPTER 35

  As soon as I was back in the car, I sent a text to Dina with the picture of Wynona’s pendant attached: Look at this! Pretty sure it matches the one found w/Dixie in Houston. When she called a few seconds later, I already knew what she would ask first.

  “How in the heck did you get that picture?”

  “I stopped by the office,” I said. “While we were talking, I noticed the necklace and asked her advice on crystals to help with my back pain.”

  Dina sighed. “Only you, Katie. I don’t know if we can use that for the case.”

  “Why not? I’ve been to Dr. Redman a handful of times about my back. It was a legit question.”

  “But maybe not a legit photo for court,” she said.

  “Can’t you work around that? If Wynona is involved in these killings, then—”

  “I thought you were going over there to talk with Todd Sutton,” Dina said.

  “He’s not working today,” I told her. “Wynona said there’s a chance he went camping with some friends from work.”

  She laughed. “Did she tell you when he left?”

  “I didn’t think of that,” I said. “Do you want me to go back inside?”

  Another soft snicker came over the line. “No,” she said. “And there are two reasons that you don’t need to do that. First of all, someone identified Todd Sutton as the man in the Crescent Creek Laundry uniform the day that Walker Oldham was killed.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I asked.

  “Because it wasn’t confirmed until about twenty minutes ago,” she said. “The eyewitness took some time off work after Oldham was killed. She works in the building, so his murder left her fairly well traumatized. She and her husband went to a friend’s cabin, so we had no idea where she was for the past few days. Tyler talked to her briefly this morning, and then we both met with her again just now to confirm that Todd was the man she saw getting off the elevator near Oldham’s office that day.”

  “What’s the second reason?” I asked.

  “For what?”

  “You just told me there were two reasons that I didn’t—”

  “Oh, right! The other one is that Denny Santiago saw Todd at Food Town about an hour ago.”

  “Why was he following Sutton?” I asked.

  “He wasn’t,” she said. “Today is Denny’s day off. He was buying groceries. He knows Todd Sutton from playing darts at one of the bars in town. They were just shooting the you-know-what in the store. But Denny remembered me talking about a possible connection between the Oldham case and the Sutton siblings.”

  “Okay, so that confirms two things,” I said. “Wynona wasn’t being truthful and Todd isn’t on a camping trip. I’ll drop by his place after this to see if I can have a word with him.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” she replied.

  “Although I suppose there’s still a chance he was buying food for the trip,” I said.

  Dina snickered again. “Pretty limited imagination if that’s the case. Denny told me that Todd only had one thing in his shopping cart.”

  “Let me guess,” I said. “Flamin’ Hot Doritos?”

  CHAPTER 36

  Charlene Delmonico was standing on her front porch holding a small brown dog when I arrived a half hour later.

  “Looks like Bixby came home,” I said, walking up the sidewalk.

  “The little rascal,” she said with a huge smile. “We were just talking about how much trouble he’s in for that stunt.”

  I reached out and rubbed the dog’s head. He tried to bite my hand, so I pulled it back quickly.

  “Stop that right now!” Charlene said, lightly tapping one finger on Bixby’s nose. “This is a nice lady, not a bad one.”

  “Thank you,
” I said. “I haven’t had a compliment like that in a while.”

  “Oh, that’s hard to believe,” she said. “As many people as you please with the food and whatnot at your café.”

  I nodded. “It’s the whatnot that gets me into trouble.”

  “Pshaw, Katie!” She giggled and made a face. “I bet that you and trouble have never even met!”

  “Tell that to my mother,” I said. “She’d gladly provide a few dozen examples of the mischief my sister and I got into when we were kids.”

  “I doubt it was anything like the trouble Todd must be in,” she said, nodding toward his house. “The police were back again this morning. That makes the third time this week.”

  “What do you think he’s been up to?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Beats me. The fool has pretty good luck so far. He came back about an hour after they left, tossed some things in his car and got out of here lickety-split.”

  “Any idea where he might be now?”

  “He’s probably in his tree house again,” she said.

  I smiled. “His tree house? Is that code for something else?”

  “It’s where he goes when he’s really frightened,” Charlene explained. “He’s been doing it since he was a little runt and his first foster parents got angry about one of his pranks. Todd would misbehave. They’d go ballistic. And he’d climb up into the attic with a big bottle of Mountain Dew and a bag of—”

  “Doritos?” I smiled. “Is that what he took along?”

  She shook her head. “It was Fritos back then,” she said. “But these days it’s those really spicy Doritos. How’d you know?”

  “Lucky guess,” I said. “Do you know whose attic he’s in?”

  “I do,” Charlene answered. “And I told Todd that she was pure evil, but he’s got a thick skull and undying devotion to family. No common sense or worthwhile advice can get in.”

  “Is it Wynona Bergen?”

  Charlene groaned loudly. “Can I tell you how much I hate that name?” she asked. “Other than that country singer with the red hair.”

  I smiled.

  “But you’re right,” she said. “He went to his sister’s place to clear his head up in the tree house.”

  As soon as I finished the brief call with Charlene, I dialed Dina’s office at the CCPD Headquarters.

  “I know where you can find Todd Sutton,” I told her. “Check the attic at Wynona’s house.”

  “The attic?” she said in disbelief. “Are you sure?”

  “I am.”

  “Why is he in the attic?” Dina asked.

  “I can’t get into that right now,” I said. “We’re in the final countdown to the Longview party, but I’ll be happy to go into it later tonight or tomorrow morning.”

  “Sure thing,” Dina said. “Thanks for the tip, Katie. Good luck tonight! I’ve seen Mitzi in party mode before. I wish you strength and patience.”

  “Right back to you,” I said. “I hope Todd surrenders peacefully.”

  “I can’t argue with that,” she said.

  CHAPTER 37

  I’d just seated two burly truckers at a table in the Sky High dining room the next morning when Harper walked over and whispered in my ear.

  “Detective Kincaid’s on hold for you,” she said. “I’ll take over here.”

  One of the truckers raised his hand.

  “Yes, sir?” I said.

  “Are you gonna let us in on the joke?” he asked. “Or were you two whispering about how handsome we are?”

  Harper put two menus in the middle of the table.

  “I’ve got this, Katie,” she said, pulling an order pad from her apron. “Go on and take that call.”

  “Aren’t you going to answer my question, Katie?” The guy smiled; there was something dark caught between his two front teeth. “I mean, I asked nicely and everything.”

  “You sure did,” I said. “Knock, knock?”

  He laughed. “Who’s there?”

  “Scott,” I answered.

  The other trucker said, “Scott who?”

  “Scott nothing to do with you,” I said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Harper will be ready to take your order as soon as you decide.”

  I turned around and walked to the phone behind the counter as both of the broad-shouldered men chortled with delight.

  “What took so long?” Dina asked once I was on the line.

  “Couple of bozos,” I said. “What’s going on?”

  “You were right about Todd Sutton,” she said. “He was in the attic at Wynona Bergen’s house.” She paused for a second or two. “With a bag of Doritos.”

  “That’s a nice touch,” I said.

  “Hang on,” Dina replied. “He also had the Glock that was used to kill Walker Oldham and Lawton Gleave. I had a hunch when we found it in his backpack, but it was confirmed by the lab techs an hour ago.”

  “Did Todd admit his role in the murders?”

  “He didn’t exactly come right out and confess,” Dina said, “but he was moving in that direction. I’ll let you know how it goes at the station once we get him transported, processed and booked.”

  “That’s such good news,” I said. “I’ll look forward to hearing the next update whenever it’s ready.”

  “Same here,” Dina said. “Todd reeks of cigarette smoke, body odor and moth balls.”

  “What about Wynona?” I asked. “Did he incriminate her?”

  “You bet he did,” Dina answered. “I don’t know if she’s aware of this or not, but Todd’s the suspicious type. He didn’t trust Wynona, so he apparently recorded most of their conversations after she proposed that they get revenge for their sister’s death. They’re both convinced that Zoey wouldn’t have killed herself if she hadn’t been tormented when she was in school with Dixie, Natalie, Lawton and Oldham.”

  “So it was all about revenge?”

  “That’s what it sounds like,” Dina said. “The bond that was formed between Todd, Wynona and Zoey when they were in foster care was unbreakable.”

  “And just a touch wicked,” I said.

  “Well, according to Todd, they make a blood oath,” Dina explained. “They’d each suffered quite a lot in previous foster homes, so when they all landed with the Sutton family, they pledged to always take care of one another.”

  “No matter what?” I said. “Including murder?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Dina replied. “Once we found Todd in the attic, I asked if he was involved in the Oldham murder. Before I could get to my second question, he was off and running. Well, his mouth was anyway. He cursed Wynona; claimed that he didn’t really want to hurt anyone but she threatened to frame him along with Ed Lambert and Danny Cargill.”

  “Oh, so Wynona booked travel to Sacramento, Atlanta and Houston in Ed’s name but her brother actually took the flights?”

  “That’s what Todd told us,” said Dina. “He apparently bought a counterfeit driver’s license and passport on the dark web, although we haven’t recovered those yet. I suppose there’s a possibility he or Wynona burned them after Oldham’s death.”

  “Who paid for the flights?” I asked.

  “The online reservations were traced to Wynona’s home computer,” Dina said. “She made the travel arrangements from there and charged them to Lambert’s corporate American Express card. Ed never looks at the statements, so that part of the plan was flawless.”

  “Too bad the rest wasn’t quite so foolproof.”

  “No doubt,” Dina said. “Tyler and a couple of uniformed officers picked her up at the office about twenty minutes ago.”

  “That’s good,” I said. “Maybe now she’ll realize that her smoky quartz necklace won’t keep her safe after all.”

  “Yeah,” Dina said. “She’ll understand that little fact right after she realizes that murder is never a good choice.”

  CHAPTER 38

  A week after Wynona Bergen and Todd Scott were arrested for the murders inspired by the
ir sister’s suicide, I walked into Tea & Treasures on Prentice Street. The cozy shop in downtown Crescent Creek was a serene oasis of antique furniture, vintage collectibles and baked goods that occasionally made me jealous. The shop’s owner was a charming British woman named Dixie Stanhope, and I attributed her baking expertise to the fact that she was born and trained in the culinary arts much closer to Scotland, which was usually cited as the native land of the delicious biscuits.

  Two of the dozen tables were occupied, so I made a beeline for a table in one corner that I hoped would be private enough to discuss the Walker Oldham case with Dina. While I waited, I read through the list of featured sweet treats on the weekly menu: Linzer Torte, Amandine Rosette Cookies, Engadiner Torte and Basler Leckerli Bars. Yes, I thought as my mouth began to water. One of each would be perfect! I was daydreaming about the relaxing ambiance in Dixie’s shop when I heard the front door open.

  “Thank you for meeting me here,” Dina said as she hurried across the shop. “I really needed to get away from the office for an hour or so. After staring at case files about five murders, it’ll be refreshing to enjoy a cup of tea and something sweet.”

  “This was a great idea,” I said, sitting across from her at a table in the corner of the room. “I haven’t been in to see Dixie for a couple of months.”

  “She’s not here today,” Dina said. “I called ahead just to make sure they’d be open.”

  “Is she okay?”

  Dina nodded. “She sprained her ankle a couple of days ago. The doctor told her to keep it elevated until at least tomorrow.”

  I smiled. “She’s actually following the doc’s orders? That’s a change of pace. She’s usually Little Miss Defiant when it comes to things like that.”

  “Sounds familiar,” Dina said with a laugh. “We three tend to downplay advice now and then.”