Murder at the Geo-Cache...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 3)

by Victoria LK Williams

  Chapter 6

  The four of them exchanged startled glances, they had forgotten about the ongoing contest.

  "What should we do, Sheriff Green? Do we need to shut down the games?" asked Megan.

  The sheriff glanced from the murder scene to the front area that had been staged for the geo-cache contest, judging the distance between the two locations. He pulled on his chin as he thought, then made a quick decision.

  "We need to eliminate the possibility of this murder being part of your game, Megan. I will allow the continuation of the game. I want as many details as you can give me about each location and the clues you've laid out for people to follow." Turning to his deputy, the sheriff gave quick instructions to send uniformed officers up to the front. He wanted to ensure nobody left the front area and wandered back onto of any other parts of Mary's property.

  Aidan nodded his head in agreement and suggested the sheriff also send help to get to each of the other locations as a safety measure.

  "I realize you have limited resources and manpower, Sheriff Green, but if you pull in some of the men and women from the fire department and just explain that you want them, as a precautionary measure, without going into detail, then we should be covered."

  The sheriff agreed and looked over at Deputy Young, telling him to start calling in reinforcements first. While the two of them were going over the details of the task, Megan was absent-mindedly scratching the chin of the puppy still in Aiden's arm. As he watched her, Aiden could see the wheels turning in her head as she pondered the situation they found themselves in. It was clear she was upset, but he also saw she was resigned to finding herself involved in yet another murder. Feeling his eyes on her, Megan looked up and gave a slight smile of reassurance. She would be fine, it seemed to convey. She waited for Sheriff Green to finish with his deputy before she offered her thoughts.

  “Sheriff, am I correct in assuming that you’ll want to talk to each of the geo-cache participants?”

  “That’s right. You know the drill, why?”

  “Well, I was thinking. Since you said it was not necessary to stop the game, maybe you also don’t want to tell everyone about the murder. Once word gets out about what has happened, some people may decide to come out here to Mary’s and mess up your crime scene.” She looked at him for confirmation, hoping he would follow her reasoning.

  “Go on.”

  “If the murderer is involved in the game, they’ll feel safe until there is an announcement of Mary’s death. The longer it takes for them to hear it, the more confident they’ll be that they are getting away with something. All the players have to meet at Carol Bloomquest’s at the end of the game, to turn in their score cards, change into party clothes and end the night with dinner and dancing.”

  Aiden and the sheriff looked at her, each following where her line of thinking was going. Aiden jumped in, encouraging her to continue.

  “All of suspects will be in one place at one time.”

  “It would be easy for you to take each person aside to question them. With your deputies there, you could ensure no one left the party until you completed your inquiries. Plus all of the volunteers and representatives of the different charities will also be in attendance, not just the players. I can provide you with a list of names. You could check them off, one by one, as you interview them.”

  “She’s right, sheriff. Plus, if someone has left the game midway, we have no way of knowing until the end. If someone has left, it will be glaringly obvious at Carol’s, giving you the perfect opportunity to pull them in for further questioning.”

  The sheriff looked from Aiden to Megan and back to Aiden. It might work. He respected the former FBI agent’s opinion. He knew from experience, once Megan became part of an investigation, it was best to keep her in the loop to benefit from her uncanny ability to find clues. It was far better to work with her then to let her loose on her own. More than once she had found herself in danger because she went off on her own to solve a crime.

  “It might work. However, how do your propose we keep the players from guessing what is going on here? With so many coming and going up front, someone is bound to get curious about the police activity back here. You know as well as I do that word spreads quickly through Citrus Beach.”

  They were each silent for a moment as they contemplated the sheriff’s words. He was right, the gossip mill in Citrus Beach ran fast and deep. Before anyone had a chance to comment, Megan’s phone buzzed as a text message arrived. She quickly read and responded to it. As she pushed the send button, she stared at the phone in her hand as if it had grown wings.

  “I can solve the problem, Sheriff!”

  The men’s attention was caught more by the excitement in her voice, than her words. Even the puppy lifted his head to see what was going on.

  “Texting! I can send out a text to all the players leading them away from this site. Mary was the only person here to represent the charity, she wanted it that way. I warned all the players that there would be texts throughout the game that would alter their destinations. This is perfect.”

  “It could work. Can you do it without explanation to the others who are monitoring the games? This includes your family, Megan. We want no one to be aware of anything about this yet.”

  Megan looked at the sheriff, ready to argue about not letting Lucy and Paul know what was going on, but she saw he wouldn’t budge on this issue. With a sigh, she agreed and laid out her plans.

  “I could tell the committee members Mary wasn’t up to all the excitement out here at the farm and wanted to withdraw from the game. We can skip the directions to this location for all the players, sending them to their next cache. I can even pull the drop box from the farm and bring it to the dinner party so it looks like it was planned that way.”

  Aiden nodded his head to the sheriff, he agreed it would work. Shifting the puppy in his arms, he glanced towards the entrance of Mary’s farm, noting there was only one car parked out front.

  “Megan, you need to do this right away before any more players show up. You and I should also get up front and push the players that are here on their way, before they ask any questions. I’ll also need to find something to put this little guy in. His fur needs to be combed through for any possible evidence. Any suggestions?”

  “Oh, that’s easy. Mary has pet carriers up in the main barn for animals that are in need of a vet visit. We can just grab one of them. Come on, I can text and walk at the same time. There’s no time to waste, it won’t be long before the next team figures out their clues and shows up at the front gate.”

  The sheriff agreed with Megan's plan, saying he would walk to the front with her. Before he left, Aiden stopped the sheriff and requested the crime scene be preserved for as long as possible. He wasn’t sure why, but he had the nagging feeling there was something which had been overlooked and he wanted to go over it again.

  Chapter 7

  It didn’t take Megan long to text the players directing them away from Mary's farm. She made her way with the sheriff to deal with the few players that had already made it to the farm. She knew that they would receive the text by the time she reached the front. The team would want to quickly move on to the next location, and proceed with the game. She wasn't sure how she would explain the presence of the sheriff with her, but something would come to her when she got to the front.

  As she expected, the team that had already arrived at the front entrance was getting ready to head off in the direction of the coordinates they had received. They laughed and joked with Megan when she greeted them and didn't seem at all phased by the changes. They took it all in stride, thinking it was just part of the fun. Thanking them for participating, Megan took a few pictures of the team, before shooing them onto the next site. Megan was aware that some of the local players had invited their friends and family from out of town to play and complete their teams. So she didn't give it a second thought when a couple of women, who were residences of Citrus Beach, introduced h
er to their guests.

  Following the car to the entrance, Megan waited until she could no longer see their tail lights and then pulled the gates together. With one hand, Megan pushed the padlock into place. Hearing the lock click, Megan was sure it would limit visitors to the site while the sheriff was conducting his investigation. Before she had a chance to turn away her phone rang. She glanced at the screen to see who was calling, not surprised to find her daughter's phone number. Answering her phone, Megan didn't even get a chance to say hello.

  "What's up with the changes, Mom? This wasn't in the schedule to alter directions. Did something happened?"

  "Emma, there's been an accident out here at Mary's and we need to keep everybody away. The sheriff's here with me now, and he doesn't want anyone to know what's going on until he's questioned people. I can’t give you many more details, but I'm counting on you to run with the show, so to speak. I think I will be tied up here for a while."

  "An accident? Mom are you okay? Is Aiden with you? Did you say the sheriff? Please tell me you're not involved in something - again!"

  "I'm fine, and perfectly safe here with Aiden, Emma. Unfortunately, I am involved in something again. I can’t think of why these things happen to me. But when they affect the people I love, I can't stay on the sidelines and not get involved. Listen, I've got to go. I'll fill you in on details later, just know that I am safe and counting on you to keep things running smoothly with the geo-cache."

  Megan didn't give her daughter a chance to ask more questions. Instead, she quickly said goodbye and hung up her phone. She turned to the sheriff who had come up next to her and shook her head.

  "Well, that's the first of the many phone calls, I'm sure I will be getting. I don't how I can to keep this quiet for very long Sheriff Green."

  "You did fine. We'll just keep it quiet as long as we can and hopefully solve this quickly. The coroner will be here shortly to remove Mary's body. While we're waiting, I’d like to ask you would a few more questions. Let's head back to the barn and found out if Aiden has found anything new."

  Megan nodded her head in agreement. She wasn't happy about having to go back to the barn and she certainly wasn't happy about the idea of Mary's body being removed while she was there to see it. But she knew that it was her duty to help where she could. Someone would have to answer for the death of the quiet woman whom, Megan had come to love over the years.

  By the time Megan and the sheriff walked back to the barn, they saw one of the deputies pointing in the direction of the road. The coroner had arrived. The sheriff left Megan with Aiden, walked towards the driveway, motioning with his hands where the coroner could park his car. After putting the puppy in the carrier that Megan had handed him, Aiden looked over at her. Seeing her distress, he put his arms around her and held her tightly offering his comfort and support. The strength of his arms reassured her that he was there for her, no words were needed.

  Within minutes, the coroner entered the barn and moved to the body. There was a new activity going on, a subdued detailed activity as he began his exam. Aiden pulled Megan aside so she wouldn't witness the coroner’s actions while he kept close eye on what was going on. The coroner quickly examined the body, took pictures and made his initial report on his mini-recorder. He then motioned to his crew to transport Mary back to the corners office for an autopsy.

  As the men lifted Mary's body onto the stretcher, a few folded papers fell out of her pocket. The uneven edges gave away that the papers had been folded hastily. The sheriff picked up the papers and looked over at Aiden, motioning with a nod of his head at what he had found. Megan saw the sheriff's nod and gave Aiden a subtle nudge to get him to moving towards the action, she didn't hesitate to follow. Now was not the time to be squeamish, she squared her shoulders and resigned herself to joining the investigation. The investigation of another murder. Sheriff Green didn't question her involvement, she had proven herself in the past. Instead he was grateful Aiden and Megan helping his department with the investigation. Aiden was still a relative outsider to Citrus Beach, and would examine the case with a clear perspective. Megan, would follow her heart and her instincts. Together, the two of them would be an asset.

  As the sheriff unfolded the papers to see what they were, Megan held her breath. She was hoping the papers would provide a simple solution to Mary's murder. Peeking over Sheriff Green’s shoulder, she was disappointed to find a basic Excel spreadsheet. There were three or four columns on each page, and at a quick glance, the printout made no sense to Megan. Holding the first page by the corner, the sheriff prepared to put the paper in an evidence bag. Aiden stopped him, quickly taking out his smart-phone, to take a picture of each page. He could examine it later and forwarded it to his contacts of the FBI for detailed analyzing.

  The coroner and his men lifted Mary's body into the ambulance and headed over to the next county, where there was a proper lab for an autopsy. Now that Mary's body was gone, Megan felt more comfortable poking around. While the sheriff and Aiden speculated about the papers, Megan looked over the floor, seeing many sets of footprints from all the technicians and officers who had been in the barn. As she observed closely, one set stood out. She hadn't noticed them before, she’d been too focused on finding out if Mary was alive. Now, Megan tilted her head, inspecting the footprints from a different angle.

  They were smaller than most of the footprints present, indicating that they belonged to a woman, and she was wearing unusual footwear. They were obviously not farm boots. They were quite a bit daintier, but they were not high heels either. Megan paced the area, searching for more of these prints, but they didn't seem to go much farther into the room than where Mary’s body had laid. Backtracking, Megan followed them to the entry. There, she found that they had veered to the left at one point, towards the shelf that held boxes of specialty vitamins Mary kept in stock for the animals.

  “Sheriff, Aiden, you might want to see this.”

  Looking up from their examination of the papers, the two men followed Megan's pointing finger and observed for themselves the footprints she had found. Moving towards her, they were careful not to step on the dusty prints, ruining them as many had already been with all the traffic in the barn. As they followed the prints with their eyes, Megan noticed that the dainty prints seemed to stop in front of the shelves before moving away. Reaching up to the stacked boxes, she inspected them carefully and saw that the dust had been disturbed. Before she could handle any of the items on the shelf, Aiden stopped her.

  “Fingerprints, Megan. Let the sheriff in there with his gloves on.”

  “Oh! You’re right, guess I’m too impatient to follow police procedure. Let me get out of the way so you can see what I’ve found.” Slightly embarrassed about not remembering a simple rule in an investigation, a rule anyone who ever read a mystery or watched TV would know, Megan took a step away from the shelving.

  The sheriff took her place, snapping his gloves in place, and began to examine the items on the shelf. Not seeing anything that seemed out of place, he reached out and pulled down a stack of boxes containing animal vitamins. As he placed the stack on the floor in front of his feet, Megan looked eagerly over his shoulder. At first, it looked like there was just another stack of the same boxes, piled identically to the first pile and the piles on either side of it. With a closer look, she saw that one box, in the middle of the stack, appeared to have been opened and then resealed with a bit of tape. When the sheriff appeared to be reaching for the entire stack, as he had with the first, Megan stopped him.

  “Sheriff Green, before you move them, check out the third box down.”

  The two men looked at her and then back to the box she had indicated, then back to her again.

  “Do you look for oddities, or do you just have a sharper eye than me?” asked the older man.

  Megan didn't reply, she simply grinned at him, and waited to see if the box would hold a clue, or the items it was intended to hold. Aiden sighed, he had not seen the tape either. Me
gan had a natural instinct for noticing details, and never failed to impress him.

  Reaching for stack of boxes, the sheriff took the first two down, shaking them. They heard the sounds of the pills bouncing around inside. The seal was still intact on both boxes. When the third box was picked up, it was obviously lighter and there was no rattling sound when shook. As she held her breath, Megan watched him carefully peal back the tape and peer inside.

  Chapter 8

  The Sheriff's eyes opened wide as he looked into the box. Looking over at Megan and Aiden, he had a large grin on his face as he reached in and pulled out stacks of hundred dollar bills bound with rubber bands.

  "My goodness, I can't believe Mary would hide money out here in the barn. It's not as though she couldn't trust the bank. For crying out loud, her family founded the bank," cried out Megan in disbelief.

  Megan and Sheriff Green looked at each other in astonishment, for both knew that Mary was a sound businesswoman and would never risk cash lying around like this. Before the sheriff could answer her, Aiden spoke up.

  “There has to be thousands of dollars in each stack!”

  "It doesn't make sense. Why hide the money in this old barn and risk it being damaged or lost," the sheriff asked as he shook his head.

  Megan was quiet for a moment as she looked from the pile of money, to the men, and then the money again. She didn't like were her thoughts were taking her, but she voiced them anyways.

  “What if the money isn’t Mary’s? Maybe someone is using the barn and Mary found out? What if that is why she was killed?”

  Aiden looked at her in astonishment, he had been leading up to that line of thought, but was trying to be a little more delicate to the feelings of Mary’s longtime friends. Since Megan had voiced the thought, he went ahead and pursued it.

  “If we follow that line of thought, then it would mean the money is worth killing for, and probably involved in some sort of illegal activity.”