Whispering Pines Mysteries Box Set 3

by Shawn McGuire

  “I promised Tavie I’d be here when she got here. I intend to keep that promise.”

  I sat in the great room and stared out at the moonbeams sparkling off the lake while reviewing the events of the night. The village council needed to know what was going on. I’d seen a few of the council members at the pub, but was pretty sure Jola, Laurel, and Maeve were the only ones there when the trouble started. I called Violet first and then Morgan, the two at the top of our call tree, and asked them to spread the word for an emergency meeting the next morning.

  “What happened?” Morgan asked. “River just left, by the way. He’s on his way there.”

  I told her about the fight and the stabbing and how I now had six people in custody.

  “Oh my Goddess,” she gasped, “how awful. That poor girl.”

  She grew quiet almost as quickly as she’d become upset. I imagined her floating around her cottage, gathering herbs and amulets to cast a healing spell of some sort for Silence.

  “I wish Tavie would get back soon. I’m dying to know what’s happening with her.”

  “And what to charge your detainees with?”

  “That too. Right now, I’m charging four with disorderly conduct, one with inciting a riot, and another with assaulting an officer and obstruction of justice. The charges for those last two will stick, but I still need to figure out who did the actual stabbing. Unfortunately, I had to issue fines to a few villagers involved too.”

  “Is anyone standing out to you?”

  “The easy guess would be a man named Gavin Lindsey. He seems to be their leader. Also, the knife Silence was stabbed with happens to be the one he was waving around at the campground while trying to intimidate me.”

  “You don’t sound sure.”

  “It’s his knife, I’m sure of that. The easy answer isn’t always the right one, though. There are three women with this group—Kendra, Didi, and Cheryl. They were obviously unhappy with Silence tonight.”

  I explained the reason behind Silence’s flirting.

  “That can be upsetting to a woman,” Morgan said, “but upsetting enough to stab someone?”

  “Possibly. You know how women can be.”

  Morgan laughed, a throaty sound. “If a man said that, you’d be all over him.”

  “I would be.” I laughed with her.

  “You are right, however. Women are quick to anger and can hold on to even the most minor of grudges. It’s very unhealthy for the psyche. Not to mention their karma.”

  “But that doesn’t mean one of them stabbed Silence. I really should be over at The Inn and the station questioning them all. I’m tired, though, and want to be fresh and clear when I do.”

  “One of the benefits to running your own station is that you can occasionally bend the rules to suit your needs.”

  Something I’d get raked over the coals for down in Madison. And something that was playing right into Lindsey’s claim that I wasn’t the right one for the job.

  There was nothing wrong with letting them sit and stew for the night. They’d all be ready to talk come morning. I could only do so much as a force of one.

  When I tuned back in to our conversation, Morgan was saying, “I’ll call the council members on my list. I agree with you. They should know about this.”

  “Thanks. See you in the morning.”

  I was sitting at the dinette, meditating as Morgan and Briar had taught me, hoping something important about tonight would rise to the surface, when the front door opened. I jumped to my feet, expecting Tavie, and was disappointed to find River entering the great room.

  “Good evening, Proprietress.” He frowned and looked around. “You appear distraught. Where is Tripp? Has something happened?”

  He removed his duster, draped it over a chair, and sat across from me. Despite my earlier complaints about how much time they spent together, it comforted me to know how close he and Tripp had become. It also unexpectedly comforted me to know he would be in the house with me and our guests tonight. Even though I’d never seen River be anything but mild-mannered, he looked like a demon slayer. His appearance alone was enough to scare people off.

  “Tripp is fine. Something has happened, though.” I gave him the short version of events and explained that Tripp was spending the night at the station. “It’s good that you, Morgan, and Briar didn’t come tonight.”

  “Indeed. They requested that I extend their apologies. Morgan and I planned to join you, but during dinner, we began discussing my suitability to become a more permanent fixture in my lady’s life. This turned into quite an inquisition. Lady Briar has a need to poke and prod at every detail of my past and present. If possible, she’d go into my future as well.”

  We both paused, knowing that with Briar looking into the future might be possible.

  “You are the father of her granddaughter. And you are attempting to steal Morgan from her.”

  “I have no intention of stealing her daughter. I’m happy to give them their time together. I do have a business to run, after all.” He stood and strode into the kitchen while saying, “Lucy, tea kettle on.”

  I’d completely forgotten about the voice commands. It turned out that River made his literal billions from his family-owned tech company. His father started it just as home computers became the rage in the late seventies. Now, they developed computer security and smart home software. River had set up a satellite office in his room upstairs, and boxes of prototypes arrived via private courier multiple times per week. We were currently testing voice-activated household appliances that were connected to a local network instead of the internet. We named our system Lucy after my grandmother. I liked that we had fun toys like this that didn’t involve possible monitoring by Big Brother.

  “How is the young lady who was stabbed?” River asked while waiting for his water to heat up. “Have you heard anything?”

  I shook my head as I sipped the last of my tea. “That’s why I’m sitting here caffeinating myself at almost eleven o’clock at night. I told Tavie I’d be here if she needed to talk when they got back.”

  He returned to the table with his mug, refilled mine with hot water and a fresh tea bag, and we discussed the option of Briar casting spells to reveal River’s true self.

  “I’m not concealing anything,” he insisted. “What you see is what you get.”

  I gave him a squinty-eyed look. “Yeah, but you’ve got to admit, what we see is sort of dark and mysterious.”

  He laughed, a baritone sound from deep in his chest, but didn’t deny my accusation.

  A few minutes later, the door opened again, and three shell-shocked-looking women walked in.

  Melinda spoke first, sounding robotic. “The blade nicked her intestine. They operated and were able to repair it. They’re worried about infection now.”

  “She’s in the ICU,” Gloria added, “on antibiotics. Since we're not relatives, they won’t let us in. They told us there was no reason to stay at the hospital and promised to call if anything changed.”

  Melinda crossed her arms angrily. “We just have to wait.”

  “Go on to bed, girls.” Tavie gave them both big hugs.

  “You should come too,” Gloria insisted. “You’re exhausted.”

  “I’ll be up shortly,” Tavie promised. “I need to talk with Jayne first.”

  River took that as a signal to leave as well. He kissed my cheek and then placed a comforting hand on Tavie’s shoulder before heading to his room at the top of the stairs. As soon as she heard his door click-clack into place, Tavie collapsed into my arms.

  Chapter 11

  I held Tavie as she cried for Silence until her tears dried up. Then, following the example Morgan had taught me, I settled her onto one of the two great room sofas beneath a blanket, turned on the fireplace, and made her some herbal tea. Meeka lay on the couch between us, leaning against Tavie and letting her stroke her fur. First Silence and now Tavie. When had my dog become so sensitive to others?

  I told Tav
ie what happened at the pub after they’d left and that I’d be interviewing all the detainees in the morning.

  “I’ll clear Silence’s things out of her room upstairs before we head back to the hospital.” She blotted her eyes with tissues and drank from her mug. “I hope you’ve got space for us for a few more days. We’ll merge into one room if we need to, but we’d like to stay until Silence is through this.”

  “We’ve got a couple bookings scheduled but not until late next week. You’re fine where you are. Those rooms are yours for as long as you need them.”

  She gave me a grateful smile.

  “Are you ready for bed?” I asked.

  “Not yet. Let’s talk.”

  “All right. What would you like to talk about?”

  “Anything. Pick a topic.”

  My tired mind spun for something that would make her happy and landed on her other boarders. “You told me about Silence’s background, what about Melinda and Gloria? What are their stories? If you don’t mind telling me.”

  “I’ll tell you, but for it to make the most sense, we need to go back a little further first. This whole boarding home venture started about five years ago with my niece Stephanie. Her mama, my sister, got herself into a bad situation. She got hooked on drugs and couldn’t keep a job. After a nasty marriage, followed by a nastier divorce, I’d been happily single for nearly thirty years. The last thing I ever expected at age fifty was to be the mother figure for a teenage girl. There was no way I could let the state put her into foster care, though, so I asked to adopt her. That decision changed my life, literally, in so many ways. Stephanie has become the light in my world.”

  “How did that lead to you taking in the others?”

  “Stephanie.” She’d said the girl’s name as though it explained everything. “She went out wandering one day, probably looking for her mother, and came across Gloria.”

  I cringed. “I’m assuming this wasn’t a good area for her to be wandering in?”

  “Not good, no, but you can’t tell my iron-willed Stephanie anything. No one can.” A proud smile brightened her face. “Gloria was eighteen at the time, she’s twenty now. Her parents had kicked her out of the house for no better reason than they couldn’t afford to feed three people. They figured at eighteen she could make her own way in the world.”

  “I hate to ask, because I think I know the answer, but how exactly did she make her way?”

  “Same way Silence did, walking the streets.”

  I was quick to anger lately, and it was rising in me now. “Some people have no right to procreate.”

  “Amen to that, child.” She raised a hand in the air as though appealing to her higher force.

  “Where is Stephanie now?”

  “My darling niece got herself a big scholarship and is off at college. She wants to be a nurse. Gloria just got her GED and has no idea what she wants to do. She’s going to start classes at the community college at the start of the next session. Something will click with her before long.”

  “Who came next?” I asked and held out my hand. “No, let me guess. Melinda.”

  She touched the tip of her nose. “Right you are. Stephanie found her on the streets, too, and begged me to bring her in.”

  “Is that a thing for her?” I turned toward Tavie and pulled my legs up onto the sofa to sit crisscross. “Wandering the streets looking for girls in need of help, I mean.”

  Tavie nodded her head. “I nicknamed her Mercy, because she calls them her Mercy Missions. Not every girl is open to receiving help. It’s mostly that they don’t trust people, not that they’re happy with their situations. Stephanie talks with them for a bit but doesn’t pressure. Those who come via pressure are likely to run, so she moves on until she finds someone who jumps at the chance.” Tavie beamed with pride, but I could see the weariness and worry beneath the surface. “What made you guess Melinda came next?”

  “Because she seems so comfortable with you, like you’ve been together for a long time.”

  “Melinda showed a big personality the day I met her.” Tavie chuckled. “I’m guessing she’s been that way since birth.”

  I chuckled. “I’d believe that.”

  “Her story is a little different in that she has no one else. Her parents died in a car crash when they were overseas on vacation. She literally has no one except for a ninety-year-old aunt in Bavaria she’s never met. She received a nice inheritance from her parents and is expected to inherit her aunt’s estate as well, so wasn’t walking the streets to support herself. She got messed up with all kinds of illegal substances.”

  “Is that why she’s so thin?”

  “Partly. She’s recovering from anorexia too. It’s amazing the girl is alive. The anorexia started before her parents died. She says they demanded a lot of her, and not eating was her way of having control over herself. Did you notice how she ate at dinner last night?”

  “I did. She took tons of salad and just a small spoonful of meat. No bun. I figured it was one of those trendy diets.”

  Tavie shook her head. “She pushes the food all around the plate to make it look like there isn’t so much of it. That’s something she used to do to try and trick me into thinking she’d eaten more than she had. She still does the pushing thing but now clears her plate, as long as that plate holds mostly vegetables.” A sad smile turned her mouth. “She said she was real angry at her parents before they died. The drugs happened because of her grief and guilt.”

  “Guilt? Let me guess, she was supposed to be in the car with them?”

  She touched the tip of her nose again, the signal that I got it right. “She told them she hated them and just wanted to go home.”

  I blew out a breath of empathy. “Guess she got her wish.”

  “Just not the way she wanted it. We’re getting there. One day at a time.”

  “Well, this seems like a natural fit for you. You’re really good with them. Respect and love flow between all of you.”

  Tavie pointed at me. “Respect. That’s what we all need.” She sipped from her tea. “They’re all young and not always so easy to have around. They treat each other like sisters, which means they fight a lot. There are tears to counter the laughter. Way too many hormones. But beneath it all, we love each other. I wouldn’t change my life for anything.”

  We grew quiet then, and in that quiet, I realized how tired I was. So did Tavie.

  “You look tired, Miss Jayne. Why don’t you go on to bed?”

  I rubbed my eyes, yawned, and shrugged. “Doesn’t seem to matter lately. I won’t sleep anyway.”

  “That almost always means something’s weighing on you.”

  She didn’t ask what that might be, but the question was hanging out there between us.

  “Do you think,” I ventured, “that a person has to take care of their own demons before they can be responsible for others?”

  She didn’t answer me right away. I’d turned my attention to the fireplace and when I looked back, her eyes were squarely on me, head tilted, eyebrow arched as though wondering if that was a serious question.

  “Child, I’m living proof that you do.”

  “Demons? You? You’re so together. You drive a nice car and wear nice clothes. You didn’t even ask how much it would cost to rent four rooms in my B&B for a few nights.”

  “Everyone deals with a demon at some point in their life,” she said without hesitation. “It was Stephanie that forced me to take care of mine. No one was more shocked than I was when the court said they would give me custody of her. The stipulation was, I needed to get myself together first.” A faraway look filled her eyes for a flash. Sadness? Shame? Whatever it was, it was quickly replaced by a look of pride. “My life had been nothing worth talking about to that point. I’d been living on scraps. I never let anyone come into my awful little apartment because I was too embarrassed by it. I’d pick up whatever odd job I could find to pay my rent and buy a little food. As dissatisfying as it was, I had no ambition an
d no direction to do more than I was doing.”

  She seemed to grow taller before my eyes.

  “Turned out what I did have was a deep love for my niece. For her sake, I decided it was time to get myself together. I finished the degree I’d been two classes from completing for ten years. Time had run out on some of my credits, so I needed to take a full semester. During that time, I joined a community church so I’d have people behind me pushing me to stay on track for this girl. That degree let me get a psychiatric nursing job at a hospital in Milwaukee.”

  I smiled, feeling proud for her. “Is that why Stephanie chose nursing?”

  “I think so. She’d hang out in the hospital cafeteria every day and do her homework until I was done with my shift.” She chuckled and shook her head. “That girl hated being alone. Anyway, after busting my butt for a year to fix my life, the courts decided I had proven I was serious about caring for this girl. After a few paychecks, I found a better apartment, one with two bedrooms, so Stephanie could have her own space.”

  Little cheers went off in my head. “Good for you.”

  “Best day of my life was the day I was awarded custody of that girl.” She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her tunic. “And as the powers that be tend to do, they rained down blessings on me all at once. Turned out I had an uncle that I’d met when I was little and saw maybe half a dozen times in my life. Honestly, I’d forgotten all about him. He hadn’t forgotten about me, though. The man was a miser and had a nest egg the size of your car. He left everything to me. As grateful as I was for what that money could do for me and Stephanie, my life was already golden. I decided to use it to make life better for others as well.”

  I was in awe of this woman, as I was of anyone who did whatever they had to do to build themself up after a fall. “Tell me you used some of that money for yourself.”

  “You said it yourself, honey. I drive a nice car.” She stood and did a slow turn, showing off her deep-teal silk tunic and flowing black silk pants outfit. “I wear beautiful clothes. And I now live somewhere I’m proud of.”