Dead Reckoning and Murderous Intent, A Red Pine Falls Cozy Mystery (Red Pine Falls Cozy Mysteries Book 4)

by Angela C Blackmoore

  Abby laughed, waving her hands at the women as Becky and she moved closer to the counter and looked at the piece of paper. There in bright, bold letters were the words that Abby had hoped not to see: Foundation for Oregon Urban Renewal Grant Application. Abby put her fingers right on the O in Oregon. “Exactly this kind of mischief. Where did you get it?”

  “We found this tucked into the door when we opened this morning. It’s some sort of application for a grant. It seemed legitimate at first, but we were having trouble finding out who’s behind it and if they’re not a scam.”

  Abby sighed. “We know who’s behind it.”

  “And whoever it is doesn’t make you happy?” Doreen asked. “Spill it, ladies. What do you know?”

  “Hazel and I were invited to a dinner about a week ago. Guess who was hosting the dinner?” Abby said.

  “Senator Clark,” Diana and Doreen said together.

  “We knew about that,” Diana continued. “Hazel told us at our monthly bridge night a few weeks ago. We had to cancel December’s because of the holidays, so we never heard how it went. Everyone is too busy to be playing games at this time of year.”

  “Are you saying this Foundation is the Senator’s doing?” Doreen asked, raising an eyebrow from behind her thick glasses before looking at her sister. “Seems not everyone is too busy to play games.”

  “That’s exactly what we’re saying,” Becky interjected. “The senator gave a huge speech about it to a room full of rich snobs. They lapped it up like a cat with cream. After he was done, he came back to our table and told us that Red Pine Falls was going to be the first community improved.” Becky said the last with air quotes around the word.

  The sisters both whistled in unison as Becky and Abby nodded. “We knew he was going to start in on things, but this is the first we’ve seen of how he’s going to go about it,” Abby said.

  “That, and we just saw Ruby Anderson over with a bunch of the other Clawsons celebrating,” Becky added. “Seems they’re already taking advantage of the money through Ruby’s connections with Don Buckshire. He’s apparently helping the Senator organize his efforts here in town.”

  “Are there any requirements?” Abby asked, trying to read the application upside down. To her, it looked pretty vacant of information to be filled out which seemed strange. Most government applications for anything were exhaustingly long.

  Doreen shook her head and turned the piece of paper. “Nope! Just have to fill out your basic information, address, phone, and requested reason for a grant. It lists several example reasons to be given such as a home or business improvement, street appeal, or even landscaping. Sounds too good to be true.”

  Abby read through where Doreen was pointing and could only nod. It did seem to be too good to be true, but from the way Ruby put it, several of the Clawsons had already received money to do exactly what the paper said. It made her more than nervous. Just how much money was the senator throwing around?

  “Can we have this?” Abby asked, picking up the grant application. “Becky, I think we should go talk to the Mayor. This is making me nervous. At the very least, he needs to know what we know.”

  Diana grinned. “See? Hurricane Abby. We’d just do research online and ask everyone we know, but you are going to charge in like a Bengal tigress. Woohoo!”

  “Just be careful of Don Buckshire,” Doreen cautioned. “You’ve not had to cross paths with him yet, but if he’s hitching his wagon to Senator Clark, then he might feel bold enough to challenge the mayor again.”

  Diane hooted and nodded. “He tried a few years ago and got his snout whacked like a basset hound trying to make off with the turkey. Gil Tomlin didn’t take too kindly to that man trying to use a smear campaign against him to become mayor. I’d keep your claws extra sharp and watch your back if he’s involved.”

  “I don’t mean to get neck deep in problems,” Abby said, looking pained. “I’m just trying to help.”

  “Dear, you are helping,” Diana said, patting her hand. “I’ve not been this entertained in years, but more importantly, you’ve brought a breath of fresh air into not only our lives but everyone else’s. Isn’t that right. Becky?”

  Becky nodded and gave her friend a hug. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. Abby, I was just about to die of boredom before I met you. Now, I may still die, but it won’t be of boredom!”

  Diane and Doreen both cackled before shooing the two out of the bookstore. Abby looked once more at the innocuous piece of paper she held in her hand before both ladies set their course for the mayor’s office.

  Chapter 9

  The mayor’s office was located in the largest municipal building in town. It was a beautiful, old colonial-style brick building with bright white shutters and simple yet graceful columns that stood guard before the doors into the hall. It was surrounded by some of the more open grounds in town, having bushy deciduous trees instead of pines and firs. Despite most of the leaves being down, leaving branches clawing for the sky, every tree had been decorated for the holidays. They were adorned with happy garlands, colored lights, and other decorations which prevented them from having the melancholy look that leafless trees always seemed to have in winter.

  Abby led Becky into the marble hallway and headed toward the mayor’s office. Opening the solid, carved wood doors, they entered the outer office and stepped toward the smiling secretary.

  “Hello, Claire,” Becky said, greeting the nicely dressed, older woman. “Is Gil here? We’d like to talk to him.”

  “He is, but he’s currently in talking to some folks. You can take a seat if you like? Can I get you some coffee or tea? Or maybe a soft drink? We have water too, of course.”

  Becky and Abby both shook their heads and turned, each taking one of the mismatched but comfortable seats arrayed around an old antique coffee table. Abby was just about to ask Becky something when they all jumped at the sound of a man’s voice raised.

  “Dammit, Gil!” yelled a man’s voice. “This is important! Why don’t you ever listen to a word I say!?”

  There was a response, but it wasn’t as loud or clear as the one who had yelled. Abby could tell the quiet voice was the mayor, but there was no way to tell what he said. Both sets of voices continued, but the first didn’t raise high or clear enough to hear what more the man said.

  “Who’s in there with him?” Abby asked, leaning forward and half whispering.

  Claire turned from looking nervously at the door and gave Becky and Abby an uncertain look before shrugging. “You’ll see in a minute, I think. It’s Don Buckshire and two men I’ve not seen before.”

  Abby frowned. Two men? Could those be some of the helpers that the Foundation had sent over? She had pictured them as high school or college students that one commonly saw putting flyers under windshield wipers in parking lots, but now she wondered. Her question was answered a moment later when the door to the mayor’s office opened, and three men walked out.

  One was short, pudgy, and very red faced. He was wearing a hat and a dumpy plaid jacket, but Abby suspected the man was balding underneath, as the hair was very short on the sides. The other two men were not college kids. They were somewhat rough looking and immediately gave Abby and Becky a considering glance before turning to look back at the mayor who had followed them out.

  “Don’t go making demands when you know very well something like this has to go through the full council,” the mayor said, his silvered mustache quivering in anger.

  “There’s not enough time!” the small rotund man, who Abby presumed was Don Buckshire, answered, just as hotly. “If we don’t jump on this now, then there’s no telling when the opportunity will go away.”

  “That’s enough!” Mayor Tomlin said, the note of finality in his voice stopping the other man in his tracks. “I’ll call a town meeting, and we’ll discuss it. It won’t take a month, either. We’re not like the big cities. I’m not going to turn into a dictator now, especially when I know so little about this Foundat
ion.”

  Don ground his teeth before looking around himself like a dog looking for a chew toy. His eyes seemed to lock onto Abby and then dropped to the paper she clutched in his hands. Obviously recognizing it, he narrowed his eyes before turning back to the mayor. “Fine, but make sure it happens quickly. If you screw this up, Gil, you won’t like what happens.”

  Mayor Gil Tomlin didn’t answer but simply stared back at Don with his steely eyes. Finally, the rotund man turned, stalking out of the mayor’s office with the two other men in tow. When the door shut behind them, the mayor seemed to deflate a little as he breathed out a sigh of relief.

  “I swear that man gets on my last nerve,” he said as he turned to the secretary. “Are you all right, Claire? Sorry about that. You know how Don gets when he gets something into his head. Like a dog with a bone.”

  Claire nodded nervously. “Yes sir, I’m fine though I wish he’d hold his temper.” She paused, then gestured toward Abby and Becky. “Some others here to see you, sir. More pleasant, I hope?”

  Mayor Tomlin looked at the two women, but he didn’t look terribly enthused. “Abby Morgan, I’m beginning to think the sheriff is right about you.” His eyes followed Don’s down to the paper and recognition sparked in his eyes. “Still, I’ll not turn you away if you’ve managed to work your magic and find out more about these grant applications that are appearing all over my town. Come on in.”

  Abby and Becky both stood, following the mayor into his office and sat in the two chairs in front of the desk. Instead of sitting behind it, he set his rump on the front of it and crossed his arms. “Well?” he asked and gestured at the paper.

  Abby wrinkled her face up, knowing she was just reinforcing the image she was always neck deep in everything odd that was happening in town. However, she did know more about it, and the mayor needed her help. “You would be right, Mayor Tomlin. We do know more about this. Becky and I came over to tell you. I don’t know how I keep getting thrown in the deep end about this, but my Grandmother and I were invited to a dinner by Senator Clark about a week ago. It turned out to be a fundraiser for this Foundation for Oregon Urban Renewal. He also told us he was starting with Red Pine Falls.”

  “What in the Sam Hill?” the mayor said, looking incredulously at Abby. “Why would he invite you to that?”

  “We don’t know,” Abby confessed. “He made it out to seem like a huge apology for what happened with the state police, but it can’t possibly be that, can it?”

  The mayor shook his head. “Not on your life. He’s got some angle going on. If it was just a week ago and he’s starting to shove money at us, that’s an unheard of speed for something like that to happen.” The mayor paused, putting his fingers up to the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. “It’s like he’s rushing us to take the money. Don was just in here trying to shovel this pile of manure onto my desk, saying how great it would be for the town but I’m not buying it. Still, it makes me nervous. Free money is usually never free, but it sure is hard to find the strings sometimes.”

  “It’s already happening, Mayor Tomlin,” Becky said and told him about the Clawson’s breakfast party along with everything Ruby said. The mayor kept his eyes closed the entire time, listening to Becky as she talked. When she finished, he opened his eyes and frowned.”

  “Okay, thank you for bringing this to my attention, ladies. I’ll start doing some digging and let the sheriff know. There's more going on than we know about, and it’s targeting the town council.” He blew a breath out before giving them both a stern look. “Listen, I know this usually doesn’t do any good, but please be careful. Let Bob Pearson or me know if you learn anything else. Whatever Senator Clark is doing, it feels awfully tricky.”

  “We will, Mayor,” Abby said and stood, followed closely by Becky. “Please let us know if you find anything else out? I don’t know what the senator has against my Grandmother’s family, but it’s clear there’s something there. I’m worried.”

  The mayor nodded and watched them as they walked out of his office. “I am, too, Abby,” he mumbled after the door closed. “I am, too.”

  Chapter 10

  Abby and Becky left the mayor’s office with frowns on their faces. Abby was glad they’d told the mayor what they knew, but it was clear that things were already escalating. The whole thing with the Clawsons was just the start. Whatever the senator was planning, he’d already begun.

  They had just exited the historic old building and begun to walk down the steps when a voice startled them both, making Abby stumble. “So you are Abby Morgan?” came the gruff voice of Don Buckshire.

  Thankfully, Abby was able to stabilize herself by grabbing onto Becky, but it also ended up with them both feeling off balance. “Do you have a habit of scaring people just when they’re about to walk down some stairs!?” Abby said a bit more angrily than she might have otherwise.

  Don Buckshire stood from where he’d been sitting on one of the wrought iron and wood benches that graced the front porch of city hall. His two helpers were also there, though they didn’t move from the wall where they were leaning. “Sorry about that,” Don said, smiling at the two women as he walked forward. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Well, you did,” Abby said, then straightened herself as she and Becky stepped back up onto the porch. She took the man’s hand as he held it out to shake. It was always a gamble with men as to whether or not they were going to try to crush your hand, but Abby found that Don had a flaccid, weak grip. She wasn’t surprised. “But to answer your question, yes, I am Abby. What can I do for you?”

  “My name is Don Buckshire,” he said. “I own the Food Emporium just down the street, and I couldn’t help but notice you had one of my fliers!”

  “For the Foundation grant?” Abby asked, holding up the orange and white piece of paper.

  “The very one,” Don said, smiling even bigger at Abby, but his smile never reached his eyes. “Though I’d like to ask why you were showing it to the mayor. I can tell you right now; he’s not part of this initiative. Shame really, since it’s going to be such a boon for our town.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Buckshire,” Abby said. “I really didn’t know who might know something about it, so I thought I’d ask the mayor about it. Is it new? It seems very generous. Is this something you are putting together?”

  Don nodded and smiled a bit more genuinely at this. It was apparent the man didn’t mind being complimented. “I wish I could take the credit for it, but no, it’s far larger than I am. At least, for the time being.” He smiled and winked before he continued talking. “No, I’m working with a much larger state-wide group. They want to help people, Mrs. Morgan. A very worthy cause.”

  “But the mayor didn’t seem so enthused, did he?” Abby asked innocently. “Why wasn’t he happy about this? It seems like such a wonderful thing.”

  Don’s smile vanished from his face as he looked back toward City Hall. “Mayor Tomlin wouldn’t know a good deal if it dropped on his head. He’s not a forward thinker. I swear if he messes up this deal for me, I mean, for our town, I am going to make him regret it.”

  “All he wants to do is put it to the city council, Don,” Becky said, putting her hands on her hips. “Is that so bad? This is still a democracy, isn’t it?”

  “Of course it’s a democracy, but you’ve also got to strike while the iron is hot!” Don said, turning to Becky and waving his hands in the air. “This is an opportunity that doesn’t come along every day or even every decade! I’m taking advantage of it, and I’ve already gotten funds to spruce up my Food Emporium. Several other people have also jumped on board, but who knows how long this will last.”

  “Haven’t they told you how long it’s going to last?” Abby asked. “If you’re helping to organize things, I’d think that would be the first thing to know, right?”

  Don looked at Abby and narrowed his eyes for a moment but quickly rallied. “That is true, but the people I represent said they are still gathering sup
port and donations, so there is an element of the unknown involved.”

  “Wouldn’t that argue for prudence?” Becky said, pointing her finger at the man’s chest. “I mean if you don’t know how much money you have to spend, doesn’t that suggest you should slow down until you know?”

  Don frowned, and his face began to get red as he looked at Becky. Abby noticed the other two men stood and moved closer. They had concerned, almost angry looks on their faces. “That is silly, small-minded thinking, Becky. Sure, balancing a budget while you buy groceries for yourself and your tiny little café is one thing, but this is the town’s future! This fund is for the entire state, and we’re the first ones to get a crack at it. Don’t be so foolish.”

  Abby turned almost without thinking, putting her arm out and stopping Becky from getting in the man’s face. “No, no, no, Becky,” Abby said, holding her friend back. “Come on, don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

  “Oh, I promise, I won’t regret it!” Becky said, staring angrily at Mr. Buckshire and pointing her finger at him. “Don’t you ever call my café tiny again, Don, or I’ll take the E out of your Emporium sign and shove it so far up…”

  “Becky!” Abby said, interrupting her friend.

  “It’s clear that Ms. Northridge doesn’t have the capability to deal with this type of opportunity,” Mr. Buckshire said frostily. “Perhaps you do, Mrs. Morgan? If you ever have any questions, please, feel free to drop by the Emporium on Tuesdays or Thursdays. I can answer any of your questions about the Foundation if you have them.” He paused, looking once more at Becky. “Just be sure to come alone.”

  Abby nodded before leading Becky down the steps and away from City Hall. She kept quiet, but Becky was fuming and muttering enough for the both of them.

  “I can’t believe what a chauvinist that man is,” Becky fumed. “Wait a minute, yes I can. He’s just like every other man who’s full of himself in this town!”