Blogging is Murder: A Jade Blackwell Mystery

by Gilian Baker

  It was such a beautiful day, even though the wind had picked back up. I was glad I’d added a windbreaker to my layering before heading off. The sky was a bright blue with big, white fluffy clouds, but it looked warmer than it was. I had to work against the wind, since it was coming straight at me, and I was breathing harder than I would like to admit after only about a half a mile.

  I needed to add exercise back into my routine. It’s so easy to get out of the habit. And during the long, snowy winters in Wyoming, adding exercise into your life, like cycling over to a friend’s house, was darn near impossible. I snuck a little peek at my watch again and sped up.

  By the time I arrived in Liz’s driveway, I was sweaty and gasping for air. Not attractive. Thank goodness, I’d regained some composure by the time the kids arrived on the bus. I waved a hello to Myrtle Byers-Cope, who’d driven the school bus since Ellie had ridden it years ago. How could she stand all the screaming? She’d no doubt lost her hearing long ago. I smiled to myself. That would make the job easier. I’d never have had the patience. I would have killed someone by the end of the first day.

  In unison, the kids asked where their mom was, but accepted my explanation without further question. They chattered about this and that as we walked to the front door, talking over each other so I didn’t have a clue who was saying what. It didn’t seem to matter to them if they got a response to their communication, so I tuned out and made ‘uh-huh’ noises and nodded every once in a while.

  I got them into the house, gave them the snack Liz had left and sent them outside to play. I got a list of work tasks off to Geena, detailing which client project I wanted assigned to each contract writer, in between breaking up squabbles.

  When I heard crunching in the driveway, I looked up to see it was already getting dark. Where had the time gone? More importantly, where had the kids I gone? Sigh… I tried to jump up to go outside, but my legs had stiffened up while I’d been sitting. I hobbled to the door and was almost walking normally by the time I got outside.

  Liz looked beat. She climbed out of the car while the three kids gathered around her, all talking at once. I didn’t envy Liz at that moment.

  Come to think of it, I’m not sure I ever have envied her. I think I would have been in the loony bin if I had three young children and tried to work from home. Not just work from home, but start, grow and maintain a small business that kept those three kids in shoes. I don’t know how she managed it all.

  She took it all in stride, but once I got on the scene, I told the kids to let their mom catch her breath. I suggested they pick up their outside toys and if they didn’t argue, could watch some TV while their mom and I had a cup of coffee and talked.

  I took Liz inside the house and started the coffee pot. The rich smell of the dark brew filled the kitchen as the coffee pot dripped into the carafe. Liz plopped down on a kitchen chair.

  “So, tell me. What did they say?”

  “Well, they don’t know what happened yet, but they’re calling it suspicious. I guess the pathologist said by the look of it, she was poisoned. Can you imagine? The reason they wanted me to come in was because they found her iPad in the kitchen opened to my blog. She’d made one of my recipes for supper last night, an herb and pork pie. That, along with the fact we’d filed a complaint about her was enough for them to ask me some questions.” Liz buried her head in her hands while leaning her elbows on the kitchen table.

  “It’ll be okay, Liz. They’ll figure it out. It’s possible she could have accidentally poisoned herself isn’t it?” It had sounded less lame in my head.

  “How do you accidentally poison yourself?”

  After pouring us both a cup of coffee, I placed the sugar and cream on the table within arm’s reach. We stopped talking long enough to doctor our coffee.

  “I don’t know.” My mind whirled, trying to come up with an example. “How about like during the Salem witch trials? Ergot poisoning. They didn’t know they were poisoning themselves. And, don’t you have a bunch of homemade herbal recipes on your blog?” A horrifying thought flashed in my mind. “They can’t come back on you if she poisoned herself using one of those, can they? Her family can’t sue you for negligence or anything?”

  “No, I covered myself with legal disclaimers before adding recipes to the blog. There are statements everywhere saying I’m not responsible for the way the recipes turn out. You have to when you add food or homemade remedies to your site. But so far they’ve only found a brother in Montana, but they haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone there. They don’t have a cell number, just a home phone.”

  “So where does everything stand right now?” The lump in my throat was back, as was the sinking feeling in my stomach.

  Liz groaned before answering the question. “Ross said they called me in because they had no other leads. Like I said, they haven’t been able to get ahold of her brother. Her parents are long dead and no other friends or family members have come forward. He didn’t tell me not to leave town, like they would in an Agatha Christie novel, if that’s what you’re asking, but I could tell he was struggling with how to handle it.”

  “No doubt it was weird for both of you.” I drank the last of my coffee. “I’m sorry about all of this, Liz. And I’m sorry that I didn’t even think to make supper or at least get it started for you.”

  “Are you kidding? It was such a relief for me to know you were here with the kids. Don’t worry about supper. I’ll call Ron and ask him to bring home take out. The kids would love to have something other than a home cooked meal.” We both laughed, understanding the appeal of getting a rare treat out of the blue.

  “Can I ask you for a favor now?”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “Will you drive me home? I rode my bike, and it’s too dark now for me to ride it back without a light on it.”

  “Sure. I’ll go tell the kids. Be right back.”

  What I didn’t admit to with Liz was that my legs hurt so bad, and I was so tired from the ride over in the wind, peddling as fast as my little legs would carry me, that I didn’t think I could make it home on my bike. She may have deduced as much from the way I was hobbling, but she was too polite to say anything.

  Chapter Four

  I slept later than usual the next morning, but when I got up, I still felt groggy. Plus, my legs were so stiff and sore from remaining immobile overnight I hobbled when I first got out of bed. I made my way to our master bath and filled the Jacuzzi tub with steaming hot water and some lavender bath oil that Ellie had gotten me for Christmas. Once ready, I lowered myself into the tub, making pitiful whining noises all the way down. After a while I turned on the jets and let the bubbling water do its magic to relax my aching leg muscles. Even the tops of my feet were sore. How does that happen?

  I lay there until the water got lukewarm, thinking about my schedule for the day. Today was my appointment with Gabby. Which reminded me—I hadn’t heard from Liz confirming she was still coming. I’d text her when I got dressed. Feeling much better, I took a long, steamy breath and got out of the tub. Even my head felt clearer. And I could move much easier.

  Tommy and Tuppence followed me down the stairs, winding around my feet. I was still moving slower than usual, and every few steps one or the other looked back to make sure I was still following them. Their breakfast was late.

  Since they would only meow and act pathetic until I fed them, I did that before pouring a big, steaming cup of coffee.

  Christian was up and drinking coffee while reading the newspaper. He looked so handsome with his tussled hair and stubby growth of beard. He had given in and gotten bifocals to read with, and they were perched on his nose. Is there anything sexier than a man of a certain age with tussled hair and reading glasses?

  While I poured granola in a bowl, he asked about Liz, and I told him what I knew. When I told him how uneasy I was about her being called into the station, he smiled at me and said, “I think you’re just worried about your friend. Ross is a sm
art guy and a great detective. He’ll figure it out, whatever it is.”

  “You’re right. I’m worried for nothing.” I still had a funny feeling. Best to shake it off. Liz would see to it and that would be that. Thinking about her reminded me to text her. Having done that, I stuck my phone back in my pocket and finished my breakfast while Christian got ready for work.

  I went to give him a quick kiss goodbye, but he gathered me in his arms. Relaxing into his arms, I wondered if I should suggest making him late for work. He gave me a squeeze and a kiss on the top of the head and then let go of me, all before I asked. Shoot! He was already in work mode.

  The cats were both already hard at work in the office. Well, they were in the office, anyway. They both opened their eyes into slits and yawned.

  “Okay, Tupp, you have to get up out of my chair now,” I said to her as I stroked her glossy gray fur. It was glinting in the bright sun shining coming in through the office window. It looked like a nice warm day, but I’d bet my last dollar it was colder than it looked. As I continued to pet the cat, I peeked down to see how my spring flowers were fairing. Not too bad. I could see buds on every stem. A few of them were even opening.

  I plowed into my work, checking my email to see if there were any from clients who needed a quick reply. Nothing that couldn’t wait until later. I completed a client project, sent it to the client and closed my laptop

  Even though I hadn’t been in the office long, but I had gotten a few things done and out of the way. I stood up and winced. After limping down the stairs, I filled my Tervis cup with fresh iced tea and lots of ice, snapped on the lid, grabbed my purse and keys and headed towards town to meet with Gabby.

  As I drove, I mused over the fact I still hadn’t heard anything from Liz. I should have called her when I didn’t hear back via text, but I had gotten distracted by work. Well, I shrugged to myself, she knew about the appointment, and she would come or make another appointment if she needed it.

  By the time I got to the entrance of Langdon and Langdon, I was almost walking upright. I realized then that even if I’d been able to get my suggestion out to Christian before he let go of me this morning, I might have been too sore to follow through with the plan. Another good reason for committing to an exercise program.

  Gabby was on the phone at the reception desk when I walked in. She signaled for me to sit down, so I did. I took that opportunity to pull my little notebook out and scan over my questions. These were basic, so I hoped Gabby had an agenda for our meeting. Once she finished making an appointment for someone, she hung up and sighed.

  “Thanks for waiting. Lucy called in sick this morning, so I’ve been fielding calls. But dad said he would take over while we meet. I’ll just knock on his door to let him know he needs to keep his ears open for the phone. Would you like coffee or anything?” she said as she moved to her dad’s office door.

  “No, I’m fine. I brought my iced tea with me.”

  She grinned. “I should have known.” She knocked on the door, opened it and said something I couldn’t hear to her father.

  Tall and graceful, she closed the door and moved towards her office in one sleek movement. Gabby was beautiful enough to be a model, but had followed in her dad’s footsteps as a lawyer. She seemed to love it and appeared to be content to be back here in the little town where she’d grown up.

  She’d gone away for college and then stayed in the city to work in criminal law. But after a few years, she’d come back home to hang out her shingle with her dad. She had confided in me that the cut-throat world of criminal law wasn’t something she could do long term. Between the grueling hours and shady clients, she decided it was better to live a simple life in Aspen Falls than to always be stressed and scared.

  Gabby glided over behind her desk and plopped down in her office chair. Anyone else would have looked ridiculous doing it, but she somehow made it look ladylike.

  “Is Liz on her way?” She shifted files around on her desk.

  “I don’t know. She said she would let me know about coming, but even after I texted her this morning, I haven’t heard from her. I’d hoped she’d called you.” That wasn’t like the Liz I knew at all. But, maybe with all that has been going on, the meeting just slipped her mind.

  Gabby looked up at me. “Well, she may still show up. It’s just a few minutes past 11:00. But I thought she was the one who wanted this meeting. Why wouldn’t she show up?”

  I filled her in, ending with the sudden death of the hacker.

  “Liz is so relieved, although she hates that a human being died, that she can get back to business as usual, but I don’t know…”

  “What’s wrong, Jade? You don’t think Liz had anything to do with the woman’s death.”

  I shook my head to dislodge my distressing thoughts. “No, of course not. I just have a strange feeling that this isn’t all over like Liz seems to think it is. Christian thinks I’m worrying for nothing, but I can’t help it. I get anxious when I think about it. And poison is a great way to kill someone from afar. Whoever did this could have planted the poison in Connie’s food stuffs somehow, and then just sat tight until she ate the tainted food. But the timing looks bad for Liz.”

  “Hold on, Jade. Murder? We don’t know she didn’t commit suicide. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

  “I know, but I keep coming back to the question: would someone so devious and self-important kill herself? It seems unlikely.”

  Ever the professional, Gabby said “Poor Liz,” with a sigh. She looked at her watch and said, “Well, let’s get started. If need be, Liz can always come in another time.”

  “Yes, let’s get to it.” I shifted in my seat, pulled out my trusty notepad, along with my favorite pen, took a healthy drink of iced tea and settled in. Gabby opened the lavender folder on her desk and taught me what I needed to know about protecting myself and my business from the Connies of the world.

  ***

  An hour and a half later, I had a long laundry list of things to do and decisions to make to protect my business. So now, not only did I have my normal work to do, but also a bunch of other stuff to worry about. I thought I wouldn’t need to do much, but my naiveté as a fledgling business owner was now coming back to bite me.

  Feeling the need for comfort food, I headed towards Tea & Sympathy on a whim. I purchased two loaves of crusty French bread and a decadent-looking triple chocolate cake. As I drove home on autopilot, around the twists and turns of switchbacks to our secluded cabin, my mind went back to my conversation with Gabby, which led to outlining the pros and cons of online business ownership for the millionth time.

  With all there was to do with a business, there were days when it felt futile. But before I got down about the decision I’d made, the one that had forever derailed my professional life, I thought it through one more time. I had a home office I loved. I didn’t have to deal with office politics, though there were still people to please—clients, readers, but I figured no one could get away from needing to please someone in a job. I set my own hours. I got to take off time when Ellie was home. No more grading. Plus, I could say what I thought on the blog because I had no English department chair to appease.

  In the last four years, I’d learned a lot. As a lifelong learner, so I appreciated the opportunity to attempt new things. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d gravitated towards marketing and social media and all of it. But once again, after going through my mental pro and con list, I determined that I had, in fact, made the right decision to leave my lofty tenured professorship at the university and start my own business. I’d lost out on security, but I was happy. Quality of life was more important.

  Tommy and Tuppence met me at the door, starring up at me. I set down my purse, the folder of papers that Gabby had given me and the goodies from the bakery, all the while telling the cats how good they were, how pretty they were. They meowed their appreciation (or maybe they were begging for a treat). It was always nice to be met at the door by
someone who loves you, even if they were furry and four-legged.

  Smiling, I grabbed their favorite treats from under the sink, and amid wild yowls that would rival any wild animal, I gave them each a few. After that, I washed my hands, refilled my iced tea and set to shredding carrots and celery. I added it all to the soup I had put in the slow cooker that morning. The smell was heady. As my stomach growled after taking in the aroma, I made a plate of sharp cheddar, crackers and grapes and headed upstairs to roll up my sleeves and get more work done before Christian came home, and I needed to switch hats from savvy entrepreneur to happy housewife.

  Once in the office, I got out the paperwork Gabby had given me and went through the list of local cyber-security companies. I Googled them and narrowed the list. One of them was just way out of my price range, even though this was important. I’d just have to do this security thing just like everything else… in stages.

  One company, Girls’ Security Crew, stood out. The prices were reasonable, and the owner understood the correct use of an ‘S’ apostrophe, which warmed the heart of any English professor. The clincher was that the owner was a woman, and she did all the initial security checks, plus she had an all-female crew. I liked the idea of women helping women in any way, and when I could find a female who was capable and whom I could work well with, I admit to choosing the female hands down. That might be sexist, but there you have it. They had outstanding reviews on Yelp and Facebook, too.

  I bookmarked the website page, making note of their phone number. I stopped, thinking about how often I put important things off because of other more immediate issues. Isn’t that in part what had gotten Liz into her situation? It was an ongoing battle to prioritize in my business. Everything seemed important and urgent. Not this time.