Teaberry for Two

by R A Wallace

  Megan motioned toward the back porch. “You have plans with Ross today?”

  “Yes, we’re going to have lunch together and maybe go out to the lake,” Susan explained as she mounted the steps to the porch.

  Megan wondered how Parker would fit into those plans but decided it wasn’t her problem. “Can I get you some iced tea?” Although still morning, it already was promising to be another warm, humid day.

  “No, thanks. I’d like to take advantage of the men being away and talk with you.” Susan sat in one of the rattan chairs and turned to face Megan.

  “About Ross?” Megan guessed. She hoped Susan wasn’t going to ask Megan to intervene with Caitlyn and Jax. They needed to work out their issues with their mother dating on their own.

  Susan nodded. “I’d like you to look into the murder.”

  That was not what Megan had expected to hear. “You do? Why?”

  “I don’t want anyone thinking that Ross did it, for one thing.” Susan looked toward the paddock for a moment before turning back to Megan. “I also don’t want a killer to remain that close to my children. Caitlyn was right next door. What if the killer had gone into the florist shop instead?”

  Megan wondered if it really had been a random killing. “You don’t think the killer targeted Phil Porter?”

  Susan shrugged and shook her head. “I can’t imagine why. I mean, even if someone didn’t like how much he charged them for a car, that’s no reason to kill him, right?”

  “What about his family?” Megan didn’t know much about the man really.

  “Phil and Carla divorced several years ago. It’s probably close to two decades now. They’d never had kids. She remarried shortly after. I’m pretty sure she was the one who initiated the divorce and that she was happier without him. She has two kids with her second husband.” Susan watched the four wheeler in the distance as the men moved from the orchard into one of the fields.

  “He never remarried?” Megan asked.

  Susan looked back at Megan and then dropped her eyes quickly.

  “What?” Megan asked, narrowing her eyes.

  Susan sighed. “He made it no secret that he was interested in me.”

  Megan sat back in surprise. That didn’t sound good, not with Ross being the one to find the body. “Do the police know this?”

  “They haven’t asked me yet, and I didn’t volunteer it.” Susan met Megan’s concerned gaze defiantly, then her shoulders drooped. “I know, I know. In this town, they’re going to find out eventually, right?”

  Megan tilted her head and returned Susan’s look but didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. They both knew the answer was yes. The four wheeler was circling around the field and Dan had picked up some speed. It was too far away to see their expressions. She hoped Ross was enjoying himself. The most she could say about Parker was that he was still in his seat thanks to the seat belt.

  “I’m not sure what I can do,” Megan said hesitantly.

  “You can ask questions. You’ve done it before.”

  Megan still wasn’t sure. “The police are looking into it.”

  “Please?” Susan asked. “I mean, I don’t want you to take any chances. But maybe you can learn something to help the police solve it more quickly.”

  Megan had just nodded her head when she heard another vehicle in the drive. A moment later, Tom Jenkins appeared. One of her closest neighbors, Tom had been a friend of Megan’s parents and had been acting as a surrogate parent since her own had retired to Florida.

  “Hello you two. Megan, I brought you some sweet corn. Susan, I thought that was your car. How are you doing?” Tom joined them on the porch and leaned against the banister after setting the bag on a table.

  “I’m fine, all things considering.” Susan smiled. Tom was several years older than she was. She had always liked his calm, intelligent presence. The sound of the four wheeler caught her attention again. “I’m going to go down and open the gate for them.”

  Tom and Megan watched Susan walk across the barnyard toward the paddock. “You aren’t going to get involved in this, are you?”

  Megan turned a guilty face toward Tom. “Susan just asked me to.”

  Tom shook his head. “I was afraid of that.”

  “Do you know anything about Phil Porter?” Megan asked.

  Tom took a seat. “You mean, why anyone would kill him? No, I can’t say that I do.” He looked over at the hummingbird feeder Megan kept on the far end of the porch. One of the tiny birds was perched on the hanger above the feeder. Whenever another hummingbird approached, he attacked them. Tom shook his head. “You would think they’d all just appreciate what you give them and share.”

  Megan followed his gaze. She’d often wondered the same thing, but she understood that the birds were fighting for the one thing they considered most important. Sharing it just wasn’t an option for them. They both turned when they heard another vehicle in the driveway. Megan was wondering who it could be when Erica and Jerry rounded the corner of the house. They were both in uniform and both had their cop face on.

  “We’re looking for Ross McMann,” Erica said in lieu of a greeting.

  Both Megan and Tom looked over toward the paddock. “I’ll go get him,” Tom offered.

  Erica and Jerry mounted the porch steps as Tom headed in the other direction. Megan looked closely at Erica. She was wearing reflective sunglasses that hid her eyes, but nothing could hide the translucent color of her skin. She was beyond pale.

  “Are you okay?” Megan asked.

  “Don’t ask,” Erica answered curtly.

  “She isn’t keeping anything down,” Jerry said. He ignored the scowl his partner flashed him.

  “Have you tried Teaberry Tea? That’s what Lauren uses,” Megan suggested.

  “I’ll get some for her,” Jerry said, looking relieved that there might be something to help.

  “What brings you here?” Megan asked.

  “We need to look at Ross McMann’s phone,” Jerry answered.

  Megan raised her eye brows. “Why?”

  “He claimed that Stan Jiblonski had texted him and told him to meet him at the studio,” Jerry said as he leaned against the banister.

  Erica sat gingerly on one of the seats, one hand resting on her belly.

  “Let me guess. Stan says he didn’t text him,” Megan said.

  “Bingo,” Jerry answered.

  “You aren’t planning to get involved with this are you?” Erica asked.

  Megan hesitated then shrugged. “Susan asked me to.”

  “The police will handle this. You didn’t even know the man, there’s nothing you can add,” Erica said more sharply than she’d meant.

  Megan lifted her eyebrows.

  Erica sighed. “You know something, don’t you?”

  “You need to speak with Susan,” Megan said.

  Erica glanced at Jerry then looked back at Megan. “What, why?”

  “There’s something that she hasn’t told you yet about Phil Porter.” Megan watched what little color Erica had drain from her face before Erica pushed herself from the seat and bolted into the house.

  Jerry moved toward the door. “I’ll go check on her. I swear she’s twice as sick as any of my sisters.”

  Megan took out her phone and texted Lauren then watched as Susan and the men walked back to the house.

  “Does this mean my lunch plans have changed?” Ross asked as he reached the porch.

  Megan offered him a smile. “Maybe I can throw something together for everyone?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Dan and Megan ended up having a quiet lunch alone Sunday afternoon once everyone had gone. In the end, Ross had handed over his phone to Erica and Jerry. They had spent some time asking Ross more questions in another room of the house. Then Ross and Susan had left together for a late lunch. Parker said he had plans elsewhere and Tom headed over to Caro’s. That left Dan and Megan and a bag a fresh-picked sweet corn.

  “So where are y
ou going to begin?” Dan asked, after Megan had explained Susan’s request.

  “I think I should start with Mayor Reynolds,” Megan said as they cleaned up after their lunch. “What are you going to do this afternoon?”

  “I can hang around here in case anyone comes back,” Dan said as he put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. “I have some paperwork to do for the store and I saw some more web worm in the fruit trees when we were driving around on the four wheeler.”

  “How did that go, by the way?” Megan asked.

  Dan shrugged. “Ross seemed to enjoy himself. I’m not sure about Parker.”

  “I haven’t had a chance to really speak with him yet,” Megan said absently as she thought about the situation with Phil Porter and what to ask Barbara Reynolds.

  “I have but I can’t say that I’ve learned much. He was in the corporate world with Jax and Ross. I guess Ross acted as a mentor for both of them. Jax was the reason why Ross came here. Apparently, Parker followed Ross to check on him but I learned most of that from Ross. That’s all I really know.”

  ***

  Matthias Reynolds answered the door and smiled when he saw Megan. “You’re early. You aren’t due here for a few more days but I see Dan isn’t with you. Does this mean you’re here about the death?” Matthias guessed.

  “Yes, sorry to bother you on a Sunday. Does Mayor Reynolds have a moment to speak with me?”

  “She’s in the study. Follow me.”

  Barbara looked up when Matthias and Megan entered the room. “I wondered if you’d stop by.” She got up from her desk and motioned for Megan to take a seat on the sofa. Matthias and Barbara sat in the wingback chairs opposite her.

  “I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Phil Porter,” Megan said.

  “I’ve been thinking about that. The only thing of any substance that happened recently involving Phil was the controversy surrounding the sale of the building on Main Street. There was a group of people opposing it. Phil was one of them,” Barbara explained.

  Megan had known there were some who wanted more stipulations placed on the use of the building but hadn’t known specifically that Phil was one of the people involved. “Can you give me some more names?”

  “You want to speak with some of the others?” Barbara asked with a nod before giving the list to Megan.

  “Teresa Wilton was one of the more vocal members of the group,” Matthias added.

  “Yes,” Barbara agreed. “You’ll want to speak with her and her husband, Chris.”

  “She’s the one who has mentioned she might run for mayor in the future?” Megan asked.

  “Yes. She’s young and we certainly need to keep the younger generation interested in our communities but I’m not certain that Teresa is aware of everything involved in holding a public office yet.” Barbara offered a wise smile. “But that’s a discussion for another day.”

  ***

  Chris Wilton finished scanning the online media outlets for anything mentioning Teaberry and the recent death. He shook his head before pushing away from the computer desk to search for his wife. He found Teresa in the living room, her focus on her phone.

  She looked up briefly when he entered the room. “Did you find anything?”

  Chris sat on the couch near her. “No, I haven’t seen any mention of the mayor or references to a concerned citizen group wanting to place stipulations on the sale and use of the building.”

  Teresa set her phone down in disgust. She hadn’t found anything either. She had been certain that it would be picked up and made public that she had been an advocate. It was obvious to anyone that the mayor was responsible for the death. If Mayor Reynolds had just listened to Teresa, none of this would have happened.

  They both looked up in surprise when the doorbell rang. Chris moved to answer the door while Teresa waited. Maybe it was someone from the media. She was suddenly glad that she had put on makeup, even though it was a Sunday.

  Chris returned to the living room with Megan Bennet trailing after him. Teresa didn’t try to suppress a frown. “What brings you here?”

  “I’d like to ask you some questions about your interest in the sale of the building,” Megan said. She watched the frown lift from Teresa’s face. They hadn’t offered Megan a seat, but she took one anyway.

  “Oh, are you going to publish what I say on the town web site?” Teresa asked hopefully. This might be her chance to get the word out that she was better qualified to handle the affairs of Teaberry.

  “Um, no. No, I was hoping to keep this off the record,” Megan said. She watched the frown return to Teresa’s face.

  Teresa thought about her options. She could ask Megan to leave and not answer her questions. But that wouldn’t help her in the future. If she answered Megan’s questions, even if her responses aren’t publicized now, they may be in the future depending on what happened. Plus, she may end up working with Megan in the future when she became mayor. Perhaps this could work to her benefit anyway. Her face brightened at the thought.

  “Okay, what did you want to know?” Teresa asked.

  “I understand that you were spearheading the effort to have stipulations placed on the sale of the Main Street building. Was that an initiative you originally devised or did someone else come to you with it?” Megan asked.

  Teresa drew her eyebrows together. She hadn’t come up with it, not exactly. Ken DeVille had because he was concerned about the young girls in town. His granddaughter had been stalked by the former owner. How could she spin that, so it sounded like it was her idea?

  “Well, a member of the community came to me with his concerns and I took it from there and expanded on it. With my involvement, it became a bigger project and others started jumping on board. They knew that I had the leadership skills to see it through.” Teresa glanced over at Chris and nodded once. She thought she’d handled that fairly well.

  “Was that community member Phil Porter?” Megan asked.

  Teresa barked out a laugh, then quickly covered her mouth when she remembered that Phil was now dead. “No, no it wasn’t. Poor Phil. He was concerned about the tenants in the building. He didn’t want them to be evicted from the building once the sale went through.”

  Megan thought that made sense, given his interest in Susan. “So, who did initiate it?”

  Teresa frowned again. “Well, Ken DeVille mentioned that he was worried about his granddaughter. I took it from there.”

  “Was anyone upset about your group wanting stipulations placed?” Megan asked.

  Teresa’s eyes opened wide in surprise. It hadn’t occurred to her that anyone might think Phil’s death was a result of her actions regarding the building. She had only been trying to help. She shook her head vehemently.

  Megan spoke to Teresa a few moments longer but didn’t learn much more. She returned to her truck and headed to the next person on her list. She wasn’t surprised to find Jackie Forster home alone on a Sunday afternoon. Jackie invited Megan in for iced tea and Megan accepted gratefully. They sat in the cool air conditioning and Megan explained the reason for her visit. She asked Jackie many of the same questions she’d just asked Teresa.

  “What exactly were the stipulations you wanted placed on the sale of the building?” Megan asked.

  “Well.” Jackie pulled her brows together in thought. “We didn’t want another stalker to buy the building.”

  Megan nodded. “Who came up with the idea originally?”

  “To be honest, I’m not sure how the group got formed,” Jackie said. “It just seemed like Teresa was always calling us and asking us to appear at public functions whenever the mayor was there.” Jackie leaned in conspiratorially. “She wants to be the next mayor you know.”

  “Really?” Megan asked hoping to prompt a flow of information.

  Jackie nodded. “She is always coming up with ideas to make the mayor look bad. She was hoping to use the sale of the building to prove that she’s a better candidate for the future.”

&
nbsp; “What about Phil Porter? What was his interest?” Megan asked.

  “Oh,” Jackie nodded knowingly. “That’s a different story. He just wanted to impress Susan Anderson.”

  Megan was glad she’d convinced Susan to tell the police about Phil’s interest in her before they heard it from someone else.

  “Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Phil?” Megan asked.

  “The police asked me the same thing,” Jackie said as she set her empty tea glass down. “I can’t think of a single person. Phil just wasn’t the type to inspire a lot of emotion.”

  ***

  Megan had learned that much of Phil’s day was spent at the golf course. If that were the case, the people that he spent time with there might know more about him. Megan pulled into the long drive of the Teaberry Golf Course and parked her truck near the clubhouse. She knew that they had their own restaurant there and diners didn’t have to be a member of the club to patronize the restaurant. It was open to the public and they did a nice Sunday buffet brunch starting in the morning and running into the afternoon.

  By the time Megan arrived, the brunch crowd was winding down. A woman in her forties approached Megan as she entered the restaurant. Megan saw that her name tag said Pat and that she was the manager.

  “Good afternoon. How many in your party today?” Pat asked. She was around Megan’s height which put her at five foot five. Her mid-length blonde hair was pulled up in an attractive loose twist that looked deceptively simple.

  “Oh, I’m not really here to eat. I was hoping to speak to someone about Phil Porter,” Megan said. She watched Pat’s eyes shift toward a table across the room where three men who looked to be in their sixties sat.

  “Are you with the police?” Pat asked.

  “Um, no. I work with the mayor’s office on their web site content. I was thinking of posting something of an obituary but wanted to know more about his life. I understand he spent a lot of time here,” Megan said smoothly.

  “You should speak with his friends,” Pat said nodding her head in the direction of the three gentlemen. “Those four spent nearly every day together.”