by Susan Harper
“So, earlier today, you were the one who took my sister’s phone and wallet?” Iris questioned, her arms crossed.
Mick eyed the two sisters for a moment and then huffed. “Lilly snagged your necklace,” he said. “Yeah, most people find it kind of funny, and while Donald is apologizing for whatever Lilly took and distracting his customers, I would go digging for goods. I dropped your phone and wallet off in Donald’s bag he keeps nearby and went on my way like I always do.”
“When was the last time you saw Donald?” Bonnie asked.
“Um…must have been around dinner,” he said. “Maybe six? He normally calls it a day when the crowds start dying down in the streets and it starts to get dark. He told me to come back by here later on for me to get my share for the week because he had made some sales online.”
“And, that’s the last time you saw him?” Felicity questioned, and Mick nodded.
“Well, thank you for your help tonight, ladies,” Bonnie said to Felicity and Iris. “But I think we are going to have to reconvene in the morning. I got to take this creep to the station.”
“Am I being placed under arrest?” Mick asked.
“What do you think?” Bonnie asked and then began spouting off his Maranda rights.
“What are we going to do about the bird?” Felicity asked.
“Ugh, I got to find someone to watch after it, I suppose,” Bonnie said. “Until someone claims it.”
“We could keep it in our cabin,” Iris said. “They have a pet friendly policy.”
Felicity frowned, not particularly pleased Iris had volunteered to watch after a parrot. “I’d actually appreciate that,” Bonnie said. “One less thing I have to deal with tonight.”
Felicity sighed, and she and Iris went back to the trailer where they retrieved the bird, a cage, and some food before parting ways with Bonnie. “I can’t believe you volunteered to look after a parrot!” Felicity whined as they placed the bird in the back of her car. “If this thing poops in my car, you will be the one cleaning it up.”
Iris laughed. “Well, Bonnie is your client, remember? Got to keep your clients happy, and she sure was happy that she doesn’t have to deal with the bird tonight.”
The sisters headed back to their cabin, where they set up Lilly’s cage in a corner. They filled her water cup and food bowl, and then decided they were hungry again. They had had dinner at the food truck, but they had split a small meal as they weren’t in the mood to stuff themselves while partying and swimming. “I think I saw a place that overlooks the river that is open kind of late,” Felicity said, and Iris agreed to give it a try.
They drove back into town, leaving the bird behind. Eventually, they were able to find the restaurant that Felicity had seen. It was called Café International. It was an old, somewhat rundown building with mostly outdoor seating. The enormous porch-like section of the venue overlooked the river which, even at night, made for a lovely view. The two of them elected to sit outside so that they could take full advantage of it.
“This is kind of cool,” Iris said once she was handed a menu. “Look at the flags over the side.”
Felicity glanced over the railing near where they were seated and could see flags from various countries lining the side of the building. The menu was very diverse and divided up by countries: America, Italy, France, and Germany all had their own spots and own dishes. “I might just get a burger,” Iris said, and Felicity nudged her sister from under the table.
“Lame!” Felicity exclaimed. “You can get a burger anywhere. Order off the Italian, French, or German plates.”
“Probably not German tonight,” Iris said. “There are plenty of German places to try around here, and I’d rather go to one of the more authentic German-owned places for that.”
“Excellent point,” Felicity said. “I’m going for the French Dip.”
“I think I’ll do…their Italian stuffed cheesy shells. That sounds pretty good, actually,” Iris said, and it seemed that the two of them had decided.
They didn’t have to wait too long for a server, so they went ahead and ordered their food before sitting back and relaxing a bit. “I feel bad that I’m working while we’re supposed to be on vacation,” Felicity said, sighing a bit.
“It’s okay,” Iris said. “It’s kind of my fault, really. I’m the one who whipped out that business card for Officer Bonnie and booked you the job.”
“Yeah, why did you do that, exactly?” Felicity asked.
“Just trying to be supportive,” Iris said. “Plus, if you’ve got something to distract you here, you’re less likely to constantly pester Jefferson and Jack the whole time we’re gone.”
Felicity laughed. “That does sound like something I would do.”
“You called them several times tonight,” Iris said. “Jefferson was about to lose his mind.”
“Yeah…well… I can’t help it. I’m used to working constantly,” Felicity said, sighing. “And all I can think about is this case now.”
“Well, we can talk about that some,” Iris said. “I really don’t mind. I think what you do is really interesting, Felicity. I’m kind of excited that I get to watch you work a case up close and personal.”
Felicity smiled. “Thanks.”
“So, what’s your first move?” Iris asked.
“Well, thankfully, we have a cop working with us on the case. There’s been some cases I’ve really bumped heads with the local police on, so this is a good change of pace. She’ll be able to get us more information on Donald and on Mick that we wouldn’t be able to. But, while she’s working Mick, I think tomorrow our first goal should be to talk to some of the local shop owners. Donald definitely has a reputation around here, so maybe one of the local business owners would be able to tell us who has the most serious vendetta against him.”
“I can’t imagine being a full-time pick-pocket in such a small town makes you a very popular guy,” Iris said. “Do you think he has been dumb enough to target locals or does he just hit up tourists like us?”
“Lonnie did say he suspected Donald of robbing him once,” Felicity reminded her. “But he hadn’t been able to prove it was him.”
“It could have been Mick,” Iris said. “I wonder how many shop owners knew that Donald had a partner? If they knew he was notorious for theft, they’d be keeping an eye on him and not on Mick. Donald’s mere presence would be enough of a distraction if shop owners were worried about him stealing from them. Then Mick could rob them all blind while they were busy with keeping an eye on Donald.”
“Good point,” Felicity said. “We should see if anyone knows about Mick. I think our most likely culprit is going to be someone who has been victimized by Donald in the past.”
“What about Mick? Do you think he could have done it? He could have seen Bonnie’s car and decided to play it off like he was oblivious to what happened,” Iris suggested.
“Discontent amongst criminal partners is another good motive,” Felicity agreed. “Especially since Donald was the one handling the money. If Mick found out that Donald was cheating him on his share, they could have gotten into it, and Mick could have killed Donald. We don’t have a murder weapon to go off of. We just know it was something sharp.”
“The murder weapon is probably lost in the river somewhere,” Iris said. “And, since Donald floated down the river, we don’t even know exactly where the scene of the crime is. It could have been at the party for all we know, or it could have been miles upriver.”
“This is going to be a tougher case to crack than I initially thought,” Felicity said, shaking her head. “We don’t have hardly any evidence at all.”
“Just the dead guy’s pet bird,” Iris said. “And even though it’s a parrot, I don’t think she’s going to tell us much.”
Their dinner arrived, so the two of them decided to stop talking about the case for the time being. Instead, they talked over dinner about more personal things—still catching up on lost time after almost a year apart. Felici
ty was so glad to be spending this time with Iris; she just wished she wasn’t constantly thinking about her shop back home.
8
The following morning, Felicity and Iris headed into town, locating a local breakfast hotspot—a pancake house. The place was packed with both locals and out-of-towners, and it smelled like maple syrup. “Perfect,” Iris said to Felicity as they entered. They were thankfully awarded a booth fairly quickly.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Felicity said.
“We literally had two dinners last night,” Iris said, smirking.
“Something about being on vacation,” Felicity said. “It’s like my stomach knows it, and it wants me to try as much local cuisine as possible.”
“Local cuisine? We’re in a pancake house,” Iris said.
“Yes, but have you ever had pancakes from Helen?” Felicity asked.
Iris laughed. “I suppose not. They just might be different from pancakes made in Coweta County, right?”
“Exactly.” Felicity laughed, and as soon as the server made her way over, the two young women each ordered themselves a stack of pancakes, keeping it simple that morning.
When the food arrived, Felicity coated her pancake tower in the pancake house’s specialty strawberry-syrup blend, and it was positively delicious. Iris, on the other hand, opted for the classic maple syrup option. “So, what’s our first move this morning for the case?” Iris asked.
Felicity sighed. “I don’t know. I was thinking about telling Officer Bonnie that I’m on vacation with my little sister and don’t need to be working.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Iris said. “You’ve already put in a good bit of work on this case, and I’m confident we can solve it quickly and then get on with our vacation.”
“That is quite a lot of confidence,” Felicity said. “You realize we only have two more days left in Helen, right?”
“Right, so we better get going on this thing.” Iris said, grinning. “So, seriously, what’s our next move?”
“I say we head into town and start talking to people,” Felicity said. “Try to get to know our victim a little better in a way that doesn’t involve rooming with his pet parrot. That thing squawked all night last night, and I don’t appreciate you offering to bring it in.”
“Oh, who are you kidding? I saw you with your cup of coffee this morning sitting there talking to Lilly and feeding her bits of seeds,” Iris said. “Admit it, you like that little birdie.”
“Whatever, Iris,” Felicity laughed, finishing up the last of her pancakes.
The two women paid then headed out the door, taking the car into town and finding a good parking spot before they began their walk. “Hey, check it out, it’s the mime,” Iris said, nudging Felicity and pointing up ahead to the silent man in the colorful garb.
He was standing aside, counting some money. He had probably just done a street performance of some kind and gotten a few tips, although he didn’t look at all satisfied with how little he had made. The two sisters approached the man, and he suddenly perked up, returning to his playful character. “We’re not looking for a performance,” Felicity said, but she offered him a smile. “Jurgen, right?”
The man sighed. “Look, I’m working.”
“Ooh, the mime talks,” Iris teased, and Felicity nudged her.
“We were hoping you could tell us about the other local street performer, Donald the Pirate?” Felicity asked.
“I’m sorry, but he died,” Jurgen said.
“We’re aware. We were at the party. I’m a private investigator, and I’m working with the police on the case,” Felicity said. “Were you at the river party?”
“I was,” Jurgen said. “But I went in my day clothes and not the clownish mime costume.”
“Did you see anything?” Iris asked.
“No, not really,” Jurgen said. “I didn’t even really see what happened to Donald. What did he do, hit his head on a rock or something?”
“No, someone assaulted him and drowned him in the river,” Felicity said.
“Geez,” Jurgen grumbled. “That sucks.”
“Can you tell us anything about him?” Felicity asked. “It seems that he had a sort of reputation around here as a pick-pocket.”
Jurgen huffed. “Yeah, you’re telling me. The man just about ruined it for me because of that crap. He got busted a handful of times. There was a town meeting. People were wanting to ban street performers all together. There was talk about adding an outlandish city-wide tax on anyone who did what we do. Anything to deter street performers. Thankfully, nothing stuck, but that could have been the end of my career. I know I’m just a street mime, but I actually make decent money doing this. This place is always full of tourists, so I can usually make enough to get by. If they had added all those stipulations because of Donald, it would have been the end of it for me and just about everyone else around here.”
“So, sounds like Donald didn’t make too many friends, especially not with other street performers,” Felicity said.
“Definitely not,” Jurgen groaned. “The man’s stupid bird even stole money out of my tip jar once, and of course Donald denied it, even though I saw it with my own eyes. It was only a couple of bucks, so I let it go. But, still, I never forgot that mess. It’s hard enough keeping an eye out on kids to make sure they’re not taking money out of my tip jar, let alone watching out for birds.”
“I imagine that was very frustrating,” Felicity said. “So, you say you were at the party? Do you have an alibi?”
Jurgen puffed out his chest. “You suggesting something?”
“No, not at all. Are you?” Felicity asked, and the man backed down.
“I was helping out at the food truck,” he said. “You can ask the owner. I was there most of the night, and I only went down to the river once to dip in the water, and there were plenty of people who saw me there.”
“Well, I appreciate you talking to us,” Felicity said.
She spotted a familiar horse-drawn carriage a short distance away. She shook hands with Jurgen and obtained his phone number before she and Iris headed toward the carriage.
“So, did you really learn anything from that interview?” Iris asked.
“We learned that Donald almost ruined it for all the street performers in Helen,” Felicity said. “That creates a large suspect list. Maybe we can talk to Bonnie about getting a list of all the known street performers. I didn’t want to push Jurgen too hard. He was talking and being helpful, and if I need to ask any follow-up questions, I didn’t want him to not answer my calls.”
Iris nodded like she understood, and once they reached the carriage, they spotted Sam. Sam smiled and stood upright. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my little Senoia girls,” he said. “Back for another ride?”
“We’d love one,” Felicity said, and after petting the horse, the sisters climbed into the back of the carriage.
Sam snapped the reins and the carriage began to move. “So, how are you ladies enjoying Helen?” he asked.
“It’s been nice,” Iris said. “Except for that party by the river.”
“Yes, I heard,” he said. “Jurgen told me earlier this morning about Donald. A real shame.”
“You weren’t at the party?” Iris asked. “I thought you said you were planning on going?”
“I was,” he said. “But by the end of the day, my back was hurting me. I stayed home. At my age, riding on this hard seat all day gets to be a bit much. I should really get me a better cushion.”
“Can you tell us anything about Donald?” Felicity asked. “Namely, what did people think about him?”
“Nothing good, honestly,” Sam said, sighing. “You know, I caught him trying to untie my tip jar once?” Sam pointed next to his seat where a jar was strapped to the front seat of the carriage with a small bungie cord. “His bird tried getting at it once, and when Lilly couldn’t take it, he tried to himself. I called the police, and they wrote up a report, but ultimately, I
chose not to press charges.”
“Why is that?” Felicity asked.
“I suppose as someone who also makes his living off nothing but tips, I felt bad for the guy,” Sam said. “His act was never that good. He made more money selling balloon swords than on his little magic tricks. He would always fumble and ruin his tricks, and his tricks were never that impressive. And he could only make swords and birds—pirate-themed balloon-bending, you know? I told him before he needed to learn to make more stuff, more animals. Not every kid wants a balloon pirate sword or a parrot.”
“Sounds like Donald had a beef with just about everyone in this town,” Iris said.
“He was a mess,” Sam said. “Not a bad guy. A thief, but he wasn’t a horrible person. But, you know who I would talk to if you ladies are looking into this thing?”
“Who?” Felicity asked.
“Lonnie Egrit,” Sam said, and Felicity and Iris both sat up right. “You know him?”
“Yeah, we met him after we came into his shop. Did he and Donald have a serious problem?” Felicity asked.
“That’s an understatement,” Sam grunted.
“When we spoke to him, he did mention Donald. He was not a fan,” Iris said, and Felicity nodded in agreement.
“Definitely not,” Sam said. “He chased Donald off so many times. Wouldn’t let him perform in front of his shop because he would always steal from potential customers. It was hurting his business. In fact, the two fellas got into an altercation that put them both in jail for a night. Pretty sure Lonnie broke Donald’s nose, and once, Donald keyed Lonnie’s car. The two had quite a feud going.”
“That definitely sounds like something we should look into,” Felicity said. “Anything else you can tell us about Donald?”
“Only that he was always in some sort of trouble,” Sam said. “He always managed to weasel his way out of it, though. Especially when it came to his pick-pocketing. He always got away with it. He was good at hiding his stashes. The police investigated him several times, but he rarely got busted with anything.”
