The Blue Butterfly: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery

by Dianne Harman

  “You heard what I said. I want to talk to Lewis for a moment, but first I’m going to escort Gertie to the van. I’ll be right back.”

  “Liz, need to talk to ya’,” Seth said. “Don’t know what bee’s gotten into his bonnet. Anyway, this one looks like it’s gonna be a tough one, him bein’ from outta town and all. You’ve gotten lucky before and helped me solve a case or two. Probably could use yer’ help on this one. Deputy’s on his way. We’re gonna look for the weapon, and Wes is gonna take the body in his meat wagon. I’ll talk to you later.”

  After taking Gertie back to the van, Roger walked over to where Lewis Jefferson was standing with several of his lumberjack employees. “Roger, this is a mess. Remember when I told you about that blue butterfly thing. Well, this is where it was spotted. I wanted to get this land cleared before some radical enviro activist got a cease and desist order from a friendly judge. Now the police chief says we have to halt all work on this section, because it’s an active crime scene. I can’t believe it. I think I’m snake bit with this section of land, plus I’m not looking forward to seeing Jefferson Lumber in the media as being the scene of a murder. If it gets out that some endangered species butterfly was also sighted here, all the enviro wackos in Northern California will be breathing down my neck. What can I do about it?”

  “I’m going to give you the same advice I gave Gertie a little while ago. I’m your attorney and simply say that any and all questions should be directed to me. Tell them you have no comment. Hopefully this won’t be a crime scene for too long, and you can continue to harvest the timber on this land before some enviro gets a court order.”

  “Well, that will have to do for now, I guess. That fat police chief wants to talk to my men who were in the area yesterday and find out if any of them know anything. From what they’re telling me, none of them saw anything.”

  “All right. All we can do now is keep our fingers crossed. Let me know when Seth says it’s okay for your men to resume work. One last thing. Are these all the men who were here yesterday?” Roger asked.

  Lewis walked over to where his men were standing and talked to them for a moment. He came back to Roger and said, “Evidently Mark Bailey took a vacation day today. Something about some dental work he had to get done. His foreman expects him back tomorrow. Do you want me to have him call you?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “One more thing, Roger. I couldn’t help but overhear that woman tell the police chief he needed to talk to George Myers. I think I mentioned him to you when we met yesterday. He didn’t show up for work today. Do you know anything about him?”

  “No, but anything that’s out of the ordinary probably needs to be looked into. I’ll tell my wife.”

  Lewis looked confused. “I may be missing something here, Roger, but I don’t understand why you need to tell your wife something like that.”

  “I understand your confusion, Lewis. Liz seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to solving murders. She’s been able to solve several local murder cases, and I’m sure she’ll be helping with this one. Even though she’s not formally trained, she’s been very successful in the past.”

  “Glad it’s your wife and not mine. I don’t think I’d like my wife to be involved in anything like this. I have some meetings scheduled for this morning, so I need to take off. Call me if you hear anything,” Lewis said as he walked towards his SUV.

  “Same for you,” Roger said. He walked over to where Seth and Liz were talking. “Liz, are you about ready to go? I’d like to take Gertie back to the lodge. This has to be very hard for her.”

  “Yes.” She turned to Seth and said, “I’ll call you later. I’d like to know if you find the murder weapon.” She walked to the van where Gertie sat stony-faced looking away from where her step-brother’s body was being lifted into the coroner’s van.

  CHAPTER 12

  After they’d made sure Gertie was comfortable, and Roger had left to tell the staff at the diner what had happened, Liz made a list of things she thought needed to be done. She walked into the great room where Gertie was looking out the window, apparently deep in thought.

  “Gertie, David had a uniform on when I saw him at the diner yesterday. You told me he had something to do with the Forestry Service. Who exactly did he work for?”

  “Worked for the California Forestry Service. Oh my gosh, I need to call their local office here in Red Cedar. He was working with them on that blue butterfly thing. They need to know he’s…dead.”

  “I’ll call them for you. You just sit here and rest.”

  Liz returned a few moments later. “Gertie I called the office, and they were shocked and saddened. Evidently your step-brother was very well liked. The manager of the office asked if there was anything he could do, and I told him no, and then he said something I think is kind of odd. He said he thought it was very strange that both David and another woman that works there hadn’t shown up for work today. He went on to say David’s death certainly explained why David wasn’t there, but he wondered where the woman was since she hadn’t asked for the day off or called in sick.”

  Gertie was quiet for several minutes and then said, “Liz, do you remember when I tol’ you about Ruby, the woman David lived with in Sacramento? ‘Member I tol’ you how she left David and moved to Red Cedar, and about six months ago she married George Myers? She works for the Forestry Service. That’s how they met. Do you suppose that’s the woman who didn’t show up for work today?”

  “I have no idea. I’ll call the manager back and ask him. I also need to find out if he knows what David was doing out on the Jefferson Lumber Company property. I wonder if it had something to do with the blue butterfly. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Can I get you anything?”

  “No thanks, honey, I jes’ appreciate everything yer’ doin’ fer me. I don’t think David was ever at yer’ cottage, but I probably better see if he stopped in and left some stuff. I also need to call the Forestry Service in Sacramento and tell ‘em. Ya’ know David and I didn’t have no other relatives. He never married and never had no kids. I probably better get someone to clear out his apartment in Sacramento. Don’t know if he had a Will.”

  “I’ll take care of all of that. The only thing you need to do is take care of yourself,” Liz said, making more notes. “I’ll be in the other room making some calls.” She walked into her office and closed the door. She didn’t know what she was going to learn from the calls she was about to make, but whatever it was, she preferred to not have Gertie overhear her conversations.

  “Hello, this is the Sacramento office of the California Forestry Service. How may I direct your call?” the young woman asked.

  “My name is Liz Langley, and I’d like to speak with the person in charge of your office. It’s a personal matter. Thank you.”

  “That would be Mitch Stevenson. Just a moment please, and I’ll connect you.”

  A few minutes went by and then a deep male voice said, “This is Mitch Stevenson. I understand what you want to talk to me about is a personal matter. How may I help you?”

  “Thank you for taking my call, Mr. Stevenson. I’m sorry to tell you this, but one of your employees, David Sanders, was murdered late yesterday. His step-sister is with me, and she asked that I call your office.”

  “Oh no! That’s horrible! I can’t believe it. What happened?”

  Liz relayed what she knew and then said, “Can you recommend someone who might be able to clean out his apartment? His step-sister is his only living relative, but she owns a diner here in Red Cedar and can’t take the time off to do it.”

  “Of course. I’ll call you back with a name. Actually, my wife and I have a cleaning lady we’ve used for years. She’s very trustworthy, and I think she could use the extra work.”

  “That would be wonderful. I understand David never married and didn’t have any children. I wonder if there’s a Will or the name of an attorney somewhere in his residence.”

  “David lived in an apartment,
and I’m sure the apartment manager would have a key. The name of the apartment is probably in David’s personnel records. I’ll find out the details and ask Ellie, that’s my cleaning lady, if she’d be willing to do it. I’m sure she would, so plan on me calling you once she’s had a chance to go out there. May I have your phone number?”

  “Of course.” Liz gave it to him, thanked him, and then said, “I have a question about something that’s bothering me. I understand at one time David was romantically involved with a woman who worked in your office a couple of years ago. I don’t know what her maiden name was, but her first name is Ruby. Does that ring a bell with you?”

  It was very quiet on the other end of the phone, and then Mitch began to speak. “That was a rather delicate situation. We have an office policy that employees are not supposed to be romantically involved. Ruby and David were both very good employees, and I overlooked the situation once it came to my attention. For whatever reason, they ended the relationship and shortly thereafter, Ruby requested a transfer. There was an opening in Red Cedar, and she transferred there. I had misgivings about sending David to that office yesterday knowing she worked there, but I figured they were adults, and their relationship had ended two years ago. I sincerely hope their past relationship didn’t have anything to do with his death.”

  “I have no idea, however I do have one more question, if you don’t mind. David mentioned something about a blue butterfly to his step-sister, and that was apparently the reason he came to Red Cedar. Can you tell me anything about that?”

  “Yes. I sent David there because our department received a letter along with a photograph that a Lotis Blue butterfly, which is on the Endangered Species List, had been spotted in a forest on the Jefferson Lumber Company’s land. I asked him to see what he could find out. Things like this are very difficult for us because we often get caught in the middle of disputes between big business and environmentalists. If a Lotis Blue butterfly had been sighted, and if an environmentalist was able to get a cease and desist order from a judge, it could result in the lumber company having to stop all timber harvesting activities for often what becomes a prolonged period of time or possibly forever. I wanted David to determine if the reported butterfly sighting was valid.”

  “Do you know if he found out anything?”

  “No, I talked to the manager of our Red Cedar office late yesterday, and he mentioned David had spoken to his employees yesterday afternoon about the possible sighting, and then he left the office to go out to the site.”

  “Do you know if anyone went with him?”

  “No. If someone did the manager didn’t mention it to me.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for your help. Please give my phone number to Ellie and tell her I look forward to hearing what she’s found out. I imagine this will involve several days of work on her part. I’m sure David’s step-sister will want his personal possessions donated to non-profit organizations, and she will want Ellie to oversee that as well. I’ll wait for her call. Again, thanks.”

  Liz called the local Red Cedar forestry office back and asked to speak with the manager. “I’m sorry to bother you again. I just got off the phone with Mitch Stevenson over at the Sacramento office where David Sanders worked. He mentioned he had spoken with you late yesterday, and that David was going to the area where a Lotis Blue butterfly had allegedly been sighted. Do you know if anyone else from your office went with him?”

  “I don’t think so. Everyone was here in the late afternoon, oh, everyone except Ruby Myers. She told me she had some personal business she had to attend to and needed to take the rest of the afternoon off. I think that accounts for everyone.”

  “Thanks. So you don’t know whether or not David was able to spot a Lotis Blue butterfly.”

  “No, I don’t. I probably better talk to Mitch and see if he wants to send someone else over here or if one of my staff should go out there and see if they can spot the butterfly. I know he wants to get some resolution on this before all heck breaks loose.”

  “Yes, that’s pretty much what he told me. Again, thanks. I really appreciate your help.”

  Liz walked down the hall to Bertha’s office, knocked, and opened the door. “Bertha, I have some bad news. David Sanders, Gertie’s step-brother, was murdered late yesterday.”

  “Oh, no!” she said, rising out of her chair and gripping the edge of her desk. “That’s terrible. Poor Gertie. How’s she doing?”

  “She’s here at the lodge. She wanted to go back to the diner, but Roger was very firm in insisting she stay here and rest today. I don’t think her step-brother ever came to cottage number one, but on the off chance he did, would you have someone check and see if there’s anything of his in there? Thanks.”

  “Of course. I’ll see to it immediately. What else can I do?”

  “I can’t think of anything at the moment. I need to get ready for tonight. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

  “Liz, is Seth going to be in charge of this case?”

  “It’s in his jurisdiction, so technically, yes.”

  “Reading between the lines, I’m getting the impression that you’re going to be involved in it, and Roger probably will be as well. Am I right?”

  “Yes, I suppose your impression is correct. See you later.”

  CHAPTER 13

  “Is there anything I can do for you?” Liz asked Gertie.

  Gertie turned away from where she’d been idly looking at the ocean and said, “No, honey. You and Roger have been so good to me. Thank you. I’m gonna call Suzie down at the diner, and she can pick me up. I know it’s gettin’ near time fer ya’ to feed yer’ guests, and ya’ got better things to do than wait on me hand and foot. Is Roger gonna be here soon? I’d like to thank him for helpin’ me today.”

  “No, he had to go into San Francisco for a partner’s meeting. He told me he was having dinner with a couple of them, and he’d drive home after that. Let me know when Suzie gets here. I need to tell Gina what to do in order to get ready for dinner tonight.”

  “How’s she workin’ out? I know you were purty sorry to lose Emily when she went to that fancy schmancy culinary school in San Francisco. Gina gonna be able to fill her shoes?”

  “Yes, she’s been great. Actually, Emily was the one who recommended her, and I’m glad she did. That knock on the door you hear is probably her.” Liz walked over and greeted Gina. “Gina, you know Gertie. She’s spending a little time with me.”

  Gina greeted Gertie, turned to Liz and asked, “What would you like me to get started on?”

  “We’re having catfish primavera with fettucine and a large tossed salad. I’d like you to prep the vegetables. The recipe’s on the counter in the kitchen. You can get started while I answer this call.”

  She walked over to her phone and answered it. “This is Liz Langley.” She listened for a minute and said, “Seth, start over. What’s the problem?” Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Gertie was sitting very still, trying to hear what Seth had to say. “Seth, I need to take this call in my office. Hold on for a moment.” She walked into her office and closed the door, not sure what Seth was going to tell her, but not wanting Gertie to hear the conversation.

  “Had my deputy trace that ‘noymous call I got from a woman this mornin’ tellin’ me ‘bout David bein’ dead. Traced it to a number in Pleasantville.”

  “I’ve never heard of Pleasantville. Where is it?” Liz asked.

  “It’s ‘bout twenty miles from here. Kinda small, like don’t blink or ya’ gonna miss it when ya’ go thru it. Anyway, that telephone number belongs to a woman named Joyce Samuels. Here’s where it gets interestin’. That guy George Myers I tol’ you ‘bout last night who kept callin’ concernin’ his missin’ wife, well, he called a coupla more times today. I finally took his call, and he tol’ me he’d driven over to Pleasantville to his mother-in-law’s house to look-see if his wife was there, since he ain’t findin’ her anywhere else. Said he saw Ruby’s car in t
he driveway, but nobody answered the door when he rang the bell. Here’s the kicker. Turns out the phone number we got the call from ‘bout Gertie’s step-brother is registered to George Myers’ mother-in-law. Didn’t tell George ‘bout it. Wanted to run it by ya.”

  “Seth, do you think Ruby was the one who called you about David’s death? Maybe she was at her mother’s home and called you from there.”

  “Dunno, but it sure is a heck of a coincidence.”

  Yeah and I know what Roger thinks about those, and I have to agree, that’s quite a coincidence.

  “What are you planning on doing with the information?” Liz asked.

  “Well, Liz, here’s the thing. I gots me a lot of reports to fill out tomorrow ‘bout this murder and all. Wonderin’ if you could go over there and talk to the mother and Ruby, if she’s there. Figure bein’ women, they’d probably talk to ya’ a little easier than they would to a police chief,” Seth said in a voice filled with self-importance. “You know, lots of people are skeered to talk to people in uniforms.”

  Right. You just don’t want to do this, and you’re trying to pass it off to me, Liz thought.

  “I can’t do it today, Seth. It’s almost time for my nightly dinner for the cottage guests, but I could do it in the morning.” Liz admitted to herself she was curious what the two women would have to say.

  “Great. Call me after ya’ finish and lemme know what ya’ find out. Here’s her address, course being a little town like that ya’ won’t have any problem findin’ it.” He gave her the address, and she ended the call.

  CHAPTER 14

  Liz held the front door of the lodge open as the last guest started to leave after dinner. “Honestly, Mrs. Langley, that was the best pasta I’ve ever had, and it had to be healthy since it was made with fish. I loved it. Would you mind giving me the recipe?” the attractive woman asked.