Murder and Mega Millions: A High Desert Cozy Mystery

by Dianne Harman

  The dogs happily followed her into the house, walked over to their dog beds, and promptly went to sleep. She changed into a casual outfit consisting of a loose gauzy white top over khaki cotton pants. Given the shocking events of the morning, she didn’t feel like eating lunch and started in on the packet June had sent her. June had also sent her the appraisal as an attachment to her email, well aware that Marty liked to edit a print copy and then use that to correct the digital copy for final preparation. Marty knew that most appraisers didn’t take the extra print copy step, but she felt it was essential. Too many times her brain had told her a word was there when it wasn’t.

  Several hours had passed by when Marty heard voices coming from the courtyard. She glanced at the bottom of her computer screen and realized it was 5:30, the time the residents of the compound started to congregate outside to share a bottle of wine, one of John’s fabulous dinners, and catch up on the events of the day. Marty fed the dogs and walked over to the long table where John, Max, Laura, and Les were seated.

  “I peeked in on you a little while ago,” Laura said, “but you were concentrating so hard, I didn’t want to interrupt. Hear anything from Jeff?” she asked.

  Before Marty could answer, the gate opened and a deep voice said, “I heard that, and no, she did not. I was waiting until I got home to share an update. And Laura, I want to talk to you. Give me a minute to change.”

  “Yeah, I had the television on in the Pony while I was prepping lunch,” John said, “and I heard that Melissa Ross had been murdered. Figured Jeff caught the investigation. So, you two were also involved?” He turned to where Marty was now sitting beside her sister.

  “Yes, we were,” Marty said. “Actually, Laura and I were the ones who discovered her body. I was supposed to start an appraisal there today, but I’m on hold at the moment.” Marty gave the group a brief recap of the scene she and Laura had encountered on their visit to Melissa’s home that morning.

  Jeff walked up to the table as she finished and poured himself a glass of wine. “Cheers,” he said, holding up his glass, “although my day wasn’t one to celebrate. I need to give Marty some direction on the appraisal, and I can also tell you what happened on the case. It will be public information pretty soon if it isn’t already.”

  “I’m all ears,” John said. “Dinner is on hold, but I think I was able to create those appetizers you had at the gala. I’ll get them and you can tell me what you think. Don’t start without me.” A few minutes later he returned with a platter in his hands and passed it around. “Well, Marty, Jeff? What do you think? Pretty close to what you had?”

  “Better, definitely better,” Marty said, wiping a crumb from the side of her mouth. “These are delicious.”

  “Agreed, John. Nice job.” Jeff took another stuffed mushroom and popped it in his mouth. “Okay, here’s what we have so far. There was a puncture wound on the victim’s body. The coroner thinks she was probably poisoned, but has no idea by what. He said he needed to do some research on it, because none of the usual signs of the type of poisons he’s familiar with were present.”

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Les asked, his mouth full of a shrimp and grits puff pastry.

  “Les, didn’t your mother ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full?” Laura asked.

  “She did, and she also told me to never try to make a career of painting. When I sold my first painting for more money than my college education had cost, I threw out all the mother knows best things. Mother definitely didn’t know what was best for me.”

  “To answer your question, Les,” Jeff answered, “it can go either way. If the poison is something rare and difficult to obtain, that could help us find the murderer by trying to locate who would have access to such a substance. Then again, it could be so rare that there are no similar cases to go by, and that would definitely be a bad thing.”

  He turned to Marty. “We’ll be finishing up with the crime scene tomorrow. I spoke with Melissa’s attorney, and he wants you to go ahead with the appraisal. He said he’ll need it when it comes time to distribute the estate, and he said he would use the values you establish.”

  “Okay,” Marty said as she reached for another mushroom and then continued, “Jeff, I took Isabella home and naturally, she’s pretty shaken by this. Did the attorney say anything about her continuing to work in the house? I have no way to get in, and she mentioned that the police had taken her keys. Know anything about that?”

  “Yes, he said Melissa’s trust stipulates that the house is to be sold upon her death. She made a special bequest to Isabella and said that she is to continue working in the house and be paid until the sale of the house is complete. I called her this afternoon and told her you’d be meeting her the day after tomorrow at the end of the driveway, the same place you met her this morning. The house is off limits tomorrow, so I’ll give you her keys and you can return them to her.”

  “Jeff, I understand Melissa Ross was the winner of a Mega Millions jackpot,” Les said. “I’ve read articles in the paper about her, but there was little mention of any family. I think one article I read said something about her being raised by an uncle outside of Barstow, because both of her parents had died at a young age.”

  “That’s true, Les. In her trust and will she specifically disinherits her uncle and her brother, if, in fact, either one of them is living at the time of her death. She had no other relatives. Tomorrow I’ll start with the actual investigation and have one of my men working on finding out if either one of them is alive, and if so, where they are, because they could possibly be considered suspects in her murder.”

  “Jeff,” Marty said, “you used the word murder. Is that official or your take on it?”

  “Until the coroner’s report comes back, it’s my take on it, but I think it’s pretty solid. Before it’s officially called murder, he needs to rule out natural causes, but everyone is pretty sure she didn’t die from natural causes.” Jeff turned towards Laura. “So, dear sister-in-law, what caused you to be so pale today? Have another ghost sighting, did you?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Sorry, Jeff, as a matter of fact I did.” The table became completely quiet as the others turned and looked at Laura. “I know you’ll ask for a full description, so here’s what I saw, or more accurately, sensed.” She closed her eyes for a moment, and Marty could tell she was deep breathing. “There was a pale, ghost-like figure next to Melissa’s body,” Laura said eventually. “Actually, the figure was kind of surrounding Melissa like she was trying to protect her. It was as if I could hear words coming from the shape, or aura, but of course I couldn’t. It was more like I sensed the ghost, for lack of a better word, saying ‘Someday, someday. I knew when she won the money it would happen someday. I just didn’t know when or how. All these years I’ve been able to protect her, but not this time. I didn’t have the antidote.’ And Jeff, it’s like I absorbed the words rather than having them spoken to me. I didn’t hear them through my ears.”

  Jeff was quiet for several moments, as they all were. “Coming from anyone but you, Laura, I’d be rolling on the floor with laughter. Please notice I’m not laughing. Do you think the ghost was talking about people from the past or the present?”

  “I wish I could tell you, Jeff, but I have no idea. What difference would that make? Murder is murder.”

  “Yes, it is, but it sure would help me in my investigation. According to the attorney, she had a brother and an uncle. What if they didn’t know she’d disinherited them, and one of them killed her? What if it was someone who knew her after she became rich.” He turned to Marty. “Remember how angry Tammy Crawford was about the donation Melissa gave to the Charity for Children?”

  “Jeff, you may be onto something. I didn’t mention it last night, but I stopped by my friend Carl’s antique shop after Laura, Melissa, and I finished lunch the other day.” She told them about her conversation with Carl and his gossip about Rhonda Taylor.

  “Stop right t
here,” John said. “I think I peaked with my appetizers and the desserts tonight. You’ve already sampled the appetizers, but for dessert you have a choice of Jack and Coke cake or a butterscotch brownie with caramel sauce, both of which, may I add, are scrumptious. For the main course we’re having a skillet sausage pasta, because I was tired from cooking the rest of the meal. It’s time to serve it. Don’t say anything more, and I’ll be back in a minute. Come on, Max,” He motioned to his co-worker. “I could use a couple more hands.”

  The table was quiet as they enjoyed the meal, the silence broken when all of them heaped accolades on John, not only for the desserts, but also for the sausage pasta. Everyone said it was really unusual and understood why it was such a hit with his customers at The Red Pony.

  Max brought out a tray with a coffee pot, mugs, cream and sugar on it. “Help yourself. Didn’t think anyone would want to leave until we hear what Jeff’s plans are for the investigation, if you can tell us,” he said nodding towards Jeff.

  “I’ve been thinking about it while we’ve been eating. We should know something more definitive about the cause of death by tomorrow, so we’ll probably get some additional information there. As I mentioned, presently we’re looking into the whereabouts of the brother and uncle, if they’re even alive.” He turned to Marty.

  “I know I tell you how I don’t want you to get involved in my cases, but since you were the one, along with your sister, who discovered the body, I have a thought on how you might be able to help me.”

  Marty looked up. “Of course, what would you like me to do?”

  Jeff stirred his coffee before lifting the cup and taking a sip. “It involves Carl. Do you think he’d be game for a little sleuthing?”

  “As much as he likes to be involved in what the rich and famous are doing, I’m sure he’d love to be involved,” Marty said with a laugh. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’d like him to call Rhonda Taylor and tell her that you’re a friend of his, and he happened to mention that she had the best art and antique collections in the area. Tell him you’d like him to ask her if he could bring you to her home to see her collections. For the most part collectors love to show off their collections, or so you’ve told me, so I’m hoping she’d be game. When you’re with her, you might just happen to mention that you were going to do an appraisal of the Ross collection and did she know anything about it? Play dumb. You can say that it’s been delayed because of her death. I’m more interested in seeing if you can find anything out or sense anything.”

  Marty considered the idea. “Sure. I’ll call Carl tomorrow morning. Knowing him, we’ll probably have an appointment set up with her by the afternoon. The people who do business with him absolutely love him. I also had a thought during dinner. Tammy gave me her business card the other night and said since I dealt with a lot of rich people, maybe I could send someone her way who could make a donation to one of the charities she’s involved in.

  “I was thinking I could call her and tell her I have an idea for getting more donations for her charities. I could donate my services for a complimentary art and antique appraisal. I’d have to set up some parameters, so I don’t get stuck doing a two-week appraisal for free. Maybe like a day or two or just one collection. That way, I could talk to her and see if I get a sense of anything there.”

  “That’s a great plan.” Jeff turned back to Laura. “Have you ever seen this ghost, or whatever it was, other than when you’ve been with Melissa?”

  Laura was quiet for several long moments and then said, “No, I haven’t. I have a sense it was someone who’s trying to protect Melissa. Something occurred to me that may sound pretty strange. Melissa told us at lunch that her mother always said the word ‘someday’ as when she would have the beautiful things she wanted or enough money to donate. The ghost, for lack of a better term, used that same word. I think that’s a little strange. I’m wondering if the ghost is her mother, and has been protecting her.” She took a sip from her cup and sat back, steeling herself for what she was afraid they would say, possibly even thoughts concerning her mental state. Given the long relationship she’d had with Les, his was the opinion she most valued. Fortunately, her fears were unfounded.

  “Laura, I think you may have something,” Les said. “I know things happen in life that can’t be explained rationally. They certainly do to you, and I say that in all honesty. I’ve seen them. With your perceptive powers, Melissa’s mother’s spirit may feel comfortable with you. Yes, I very much think it could be her mother.”

  “Well, what I’m going to say next has nothing to do with police protocols,” Jeff said, “but here goes. I think this ghost has things to tell you, Laura, things that may help solve this murder mystery. I think the ghost will only talk or communicate in whatever way you want to call it, with you.” Jeff took a deep breath and continued, “I know I’m going out on a limb here, but would you be willing to go to the coroner’s office tomorrow and see if you can contact the ghost?” He shook his head in surprise. “Man, I can’t believe I even just said that. I hope to heck the chief never hears about it, because I’ll definitely deny it.”

  All eyes were now on Laura. She again seemed deep in thought for several moments and then she spoke up. “Yes, I feel certain the ghost has things to tell me. Keep in mind that the two times I’ve seen the ghost, other people were around. I’m going even further out on the limb here. Could you arrange for me to be alone with Melissa’s body?”

  It was Jeff’s turn to be quiet for a few moments, and then he said, “The coroner and I have had some conversations in the past about strange things. He’s from New Orleans and mentioned once that his mother was what they call a conjure doctor. He said it’s part of the practice of hoodoo and that it involves mysticism and things of that nature.

  “He went on to tell me how I’d never believe the things his mother could do. She was born the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and sons or daughters who are the seventh from the seventh are the ones designated to carry on the practice. Someone came into the room when we were talking that day and our conversation was interrupted, but I think he’d be willing to look the other way, although he’s not supposed to ever leave a corpse alone with someone. Definitely against procedure. Anyway, I’ll go see him tomorrow and let you know what he says. And once again, Laura, I owe you. Thank you, and if nothing comes of it, I’ll at least know I tried. I’d always wonder what would have happened if I didn’t let you give it a shot.”

  CHAPTER 12

  “Hi, Carl,” Marty said when he answered her phone call to him the following morning. “Bear with me, but I have a rather odd request for you. First of all, have you ever thought you’d like to be involved in solving a crime?”

  “Of course.” Carl chuckled at the other end of the line. “I have my very own Superman cape in the closet just waiting to be called so it can be taken out and put into action. Every boy and man wants to do that, but Marty, you’re already making me nervous. I’ll never forget how your sister brought that big kitchen knife into the bedroom, sliced through the Styrofoam wig stand, and pulled out that missing diamond ring. Darling, I have to tell you if it involves Laura and that woo-woo stuff she does, the answer might very well be no. Let me ask you a question. Does this have anything to do with the death of Melissa Ross?”

  Marty sighed. “You’re never going to let me forget that wig stand episode, are you? Almost every time I see you, you bring it up. No, Carl, Laura is not involved in this, although it may have something to do with Melissa’s death.”

  At least Laura’s not involved in what I’m going to ask you to do, and she won’t be with us, Marty thought, internally justifying her response.

  “You told me about Rhonda Taylor when I stopped by your shop the other day,” she continued, “and how she more or less defines herself as being the top art and antique collector in the Palm Springs area. I’d like to meet her. I was thinking maybe you could call her and tell her that you have a good friend who�
�s an appraiser, and you were telling me that she had the best art and antique collection in the area. That should feed her ego. Anyway, I’d like you to ask her if you could show me her collection, and the sooner the better.”

  “I can do you one better than that, Marty. I have a perfect excuse to go there. She bought quite a few pieces at the auction Tuesday night, although your deceased client got the best of them,” he said with a catty undertone. “Unfortunately, l couldn’t attend the auction. Anyway, I can tell her I’d like to see the new additions to her collection. She and I talked last week about the auction, so it would be very natural for me to want to see what she got.”

  “I was hoping you would say something like that,” Marty said with a smile. She looked out the window to where Duke and Patron were frolicking in the courtyard. As if they could sense her looking at them, they turned and approached the door.

  “Knowing Rhonda, her ego is so tied up in her collections, I’m sure she’ll invite us over,” Carl was saying. “I’ll call her this morning and get back to you. I’ll see what I can do to get us in to see her collections as soon as possible. Are you available this afternoon?”

  “Yes. Thanks, Carl. I’ll wait to hear from you.” She ended the call and went over to the door where the two dogs were standing. “Think it’s time for a little walk in the desert. What do you say, guys?”

  The answer to her question was two tails enthusiastically being wagged. Now that Duke had shed his aversion to putting his feet on the desert floor, and they’d been able to get rid of his pink booties, he loved to go see what kind of interesting things he could smell and see with Patron right behind him. And if a dog was lucky he might just be able to find a lizard to chase. The possibilities were endless.