“And it would also be logical that the person or person’s hiding the money here was familiar with the area. They would have to know Mary’s normal routine, in order to access the barn without being detected,” added the sheriff.
“But, Sheriff that would mean that the killer is someone we all know. Someone who lives it Citrus Beach! That can’t be right, we both know everyone in town and I can’t think of a single person who is capable of murder,” protested Megan.
“Megan, everyone is capable of murder if pushed hard enough. Either to defend themselves or something they hold dear; dearer than life. For some that could be money,” said Aiden.
“No Aiden, I can’t accept that. There has to be another explanation, Mary may have been a bit of a recluse, but if someone was in trouble she would have helped them. There was no need for this senseless murder.”
Megan glared at both men, not accepting the theories either of them offered. Before she had a chance to listen to their response, her phone signaled that she had a text message. With a glance down at her phone she read Lucy’s message “Trouble at the dog park, can you help?” She showed the message to the two men and waited.
“I doubt if this trouble has anything to do with the murder, Megan. Listen, I want the two of you to continue with your responsibilities of the game. Go, oversee the different geo-caching locations and act as if nothing is out of the ordinary. But watch for anything that seems out of place. Someone might say or act differently than what you would expect today. Aiden, I’m going to ask you to head over to Carol Bloomquest’s. Inform her of what has happened. Then the two of you figure out a way to separate each of the players as they arrive to separate so they’re not gossiping with the other players.”
Aiden agreed instantly, and after a few moments of indecision, Megan agreed as well. Her agreement came with a contingency, the sheriff was to notify them if he found anything else as he searched every box on the shelf. Megan was sure he would find more, and that something in those boxes would give them a clue as to who Mary's killer was. Since the sheriff wanted to find the killer as quickly as possible, he did not hesitate to agree. After he gave them a few suggestions, the sheriff sent them out of the barn and onto their assigned tasks. Then he turned his attention back to the murder scene in front of him.
Together Aiden and Megan walked back out to where their car was parked at the back entrance. So much had changed since their early morning start. Gone was the excitement Megan was left with a feeling of deep sadness. Not only the sadness from the tragic loss of her friend, but also sadness over the possibility that Megan might be friends with the killer. Once they reached the car, Aiden suggested that Megan take him to Carols and then proceed onto the other geo-caching sites.
“Hang in there, Megan. We’ll get this figured out, and the guilty party will pay for their crime. Please promise me you will call me if you see or hear anything that might pertain to Mary’s murder. Do nothing on your own, or question anyone too deeply, you don’t want to arouse suspicion. Play it safe this time, please.”
“I promise, I will, Aiden. Believe me, I don’t want to put myself in any danger. There’s been enough of that to last a lifetime already. I’ll just swing by each site, talk to a few people, ask a few innocent questions and then I’ll head to Carol’s. When the sheriff questions everyone, I want to be there.”
Aiden gave her a gentle kiss and then held the car door open for her. Before he could close the door, they heard Deputy Young calling to him. Looking up the drive he saw the man running towards him, dog kennel in hand.
“Glad I could catch you before you left! The sheriff wants you to take the dog. It only seems to calm down when you’re holding it, Aiden. Sheriff Green suggested that while you’re waiting for the first of the players to show up at the Bloomquest residence, you comb out its fur really good. Oh, and save any evidence you might find. You can even give it a bath after that.”
The deputy was grinning mischievously as he put the kennel in the backseat behind Megan. Shutting the door, he waved off Aiden’s protest and turned, not wanting to give the other man a chance to give back the puppy. The animal had been howling since Aiden had left the barn, and the police were happy to have it removed from the crime scene before it gave everyone a tension headache. Megan couldn't help but laugh out loud at the look on Aiden’s face as he realized he was now responsible for one tiny ball of dirty fur.
Twenty minutes later, Megan was pulling up to the dog park’s entrance, pleased see all the activity at the site. The dog park was new to Citrus Beach, providing a place for residents to bring their dogs to allow them to roam freely and have playtime. There were two separate areas, one for larger dogs and one for smaller dogs. Benches had been placed along the fence line as well as within the dog park play areas for owners to sit and chat while they watch the dogs have the time of their life. The park’s construction was accomplished with donations and now they were raising money to build a unique pool for the dogs to play and during the hot summer months. Megan smiled as she remembered the diagram of the bone-shaped pool that would accommodate up to 25 dogs at a time. With so many of Citrus Beach’s residents owning dogs, treating them like they were part of their family, Megan felt this charity would easily reach their donation goals.
She was ready to put out fires and ask discrete questions that might provide some type of clue for why Mary had been murdered. She’d dropped Aiden off as planned and they had agreed to keep Mary’s murder quiet for as long as possible. Squaring her shoulders, and pasting a smile on her face, Megan got out of the car looked for Lucy to find out what she had meant by trouble at the dog park.
It didn’t take long for Megan to find her frazzled friend, and it was easy to see what she had called trouble. At one end of the display tables Megan could see the clash between players of the geo-cache and visitors to the dog park. The drop box for the donations was surrounded by growling dogs who were keeping the players from picking up their next clue. Owners of the dogs were trying their best to pull their pets away to the fenced play area. However, as fast as the owners would get their dogs into the play area, the pets would run through a tunnel that a large dog had dug to escape, promptly returning to the table. The dogs were not doing anything other than what came naturally to them; sniffing out a delicious smelling treat.
The smells attracting the animals were coming from the cache box. One volunteer had thought it would be a clever idea to wrap each donation around an extra-large dog bone biscuit. The donation would go to the charity and the biscuit would go to the rescue dogs for a treat. What they had all forgotten was that the public would still use the park at the same time. Those poor dogs just wanted to get a treat, too.
Walking into the thick of things, Megan was able to quickly access the problem and take action. Grabbing an extra box of treats, she motioned for one volunteer to follow her. Walking and calling to the dogs, Megan entered the play area and went to stand next to the tunnel where the dogs were escaping from. As the first dog in ran over to make his way out of the tunnel, Megan bent over and gave him a pet. Then with a sharp “fetch” she threw the biscuit off to her right, the dog racing after it. Telling her volunteer to fill in the hole, Megan made sure that each of the dogs entering the park got a treat. After things settled down, she handed the box to the volunteer, instructing her to be sure each new dog got a treat. Wiping her hands on the legs of her pants, Megan wandered back over to Lucy.
“Just how do you do that?”
“What?”
“Walk into a chaotic mess and turn things around in no time, with no effort.”
“Oh, Lucy, it wasn't that bad. It just seemed like it because you were in the middle of it. Everything is fine now. Tell me, other than the dogs, how has it been going?”
"Megan the responses have been so positive, we've got a winner here. I'm already taking notes on what needs to be improved because we are definitely doing this again next year."
Megan smiled at the excitement in Lucy's voic
e. As to next year, a lot would depend on what happened with the murder investigation. Not wanting to spoil Lucy's fun and excitement she simply nodded her head in agreement and motioned for Lucy to continue.
“I’m seeing people I haven’t seen in years. Not only are the players on the teams visiting each of the geo-cache sites, but their friends and neighbors are joining in to encourage them. These non-players are meeting the teams at the sites to participate in the fun. And what’s even better is that everyone seems to be making donations. I think we will exceed our goals, Megan.”
“That’s wonderful, Lucy, I’m so glad to hear this. Have you heard any specific comments? You know, anything that might be negative that we need to watch out for?”
“Not really. I think a few people were surprised by the change in coordinates to Mary’s farm. Especially so early in the game. But they took it as a challenge and worked their next clue. The only one who really seem rattled was Emma. But I think that was more because she didn’t understand why the change was made. So, what happened?”
“Oh, it was nothing. Mary just had a change of heart. A bit of a panic attack over having so many people at one time on her property. She was worried all the excitement would be too much for a couple of her newest animals. They haven’t gotten used to visitors coming out to the farm. You know Mary, animals before people.”
Megan felt guilty lying to her best friend and said a silent apology to Mary’s memory for the way she made her sound. Lucy understood what Megan was trying to say, she knew Mary as well, and knew without a doubt that Mary would always put the welfare of the animals before the comforts of any visitors coming to her farm.
They were interrupted by a few well-wishers excited about the game, wanting to tell Megan what a success they thought it was. She chatted with the players for a few minutes before making her excuses. The next table was where the players signed in as they reached the location and picked up their text clue. Megan wanted to check out the names of the players had already been through to see if there was anyone she didn't recognize, or that Lucy didn't know. Lucy had grown up in Citrus Beach and knew 99% of the residences and most of the guests they would bring. Megan was counting on Lucy's knowledge to help her figure out who stood out in the crowd as being a stranger. Megan picked up the clipboard, glancing down she saw one or two the names she didn't recognize. She pointed them out to Lucy, but Lucy dismissed some from her suspect lists.
"No you wouldn't recognize their names, Megan. A few of these people I grew up with, but they moved away from town when they became adults to pursue life outside of Citrus Beach, so you’ve never met them. It's nice to see so many people came back to support the town."
Megan nodded her head at Lucy's explanation and then glanced at her watch. She needed to get to the other geo-cache sites before too much time elapsed. The more time passed, the greater the chances of word getting out of Mary's murder.
"I’m going to head over to and see how things are going at the lighthouse. You’ve got things under control here, you’re doing a great job. Call me if you run into any problems. Don't forget to direct the players to the beach at Neptune's Trident for lunch. From that point they can head back out and resume the game."
Lucy assured Megan that she had everything well in hand, and shooed her on her way. She reminded her that Emma and Taylor would be at the citrus packing house, both wanting a reason why there was a change in the coordinates early in the game. Not giving Megan a chance to answer, Lucy gave her a little nudge towards her car and waved her on.
"Give Paul a kiss for me when you get to the light house," she called as Megan got into the car to drive away.
Chapter 9
Megan drove down the winding drive from the main road to the beach parking area at the lighthouse. As she got out of the car, Megan sighed, releasing the tension she felt as the warm salty air surrounded her in its playful embrace. There was just enough breeze to pull at her long red curls and ruffle her shirt. At first glance, it looked as if Paul had things well in hand, with no problems with any of the players or guests. Then Megan noticed two children getting ready to climb the outer staircase to the lighthouse, which they had roped off for safety reasons for the day. With a gesture to Paul, she indicated the potential problem and watched as he quickly got them under control and back to their parents. She grinned at him, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as he wandered over.
“That’s from Lucy. Other than our little adventurers over there, how are things going here?” she asked.
“I don’t know why we roped off the staircase. It’s like we dared the kids to try to get up them. I’ve even had a few adults try to wander up. What’s with women and high heels? There was one lady here in heels that looked like she was going to try and climb the stairs. In those shoes, she would have at least turned an ankle," he complained.
“You’re asking the wrong lady here. I would rather wear my flip-flops than be caught in a pair of high heels. Now your wife could easily answer that -I’ve seen her shoe closet!”
“You’re telling me. I bet she has some in that closet she’s never even worn.” Rolling his eyes, Paul changed the subject. “You’ve got people excited and talking. That’s not always so easy to do with a society so used to their traditional events. So, congrats, I think this will go perfectly.”
Again, Megan felt a pang of guilt as she kept silent about Mary’s murder, letting Paul think that things were perfect. Clearing her throat she looked over his shoulder so she didn’t have to look him straight in the eye and agreed with him. She was a terrible liar, and Paul had known her all her life, it would be a snap for him to see she was hiding something from him.
“I’d like to check the sign in sheet and see how many teams have made it this far. Are you finding that there is a lot of extra people showing up here to support the players? Lucy has had a tremendous amount of activity over at the dog park. The donations are coming in strong as well, and as you can tell everyone seems to be having a good time.”
Paul confirmed that the lighthouse was having just as much activity as the dog park, and yes there was a lot of supporters arriving along with the players. He handed Megan the sign-in sheet for her to inspect. She was thrilled to see that wasn't the same group of people that had signed in at the dog park. That meant that Emma had successfully scheduled the arrival times for the players to each site. This time she recognized all the names on the list, and she was sure in her heart none of these people could have murdered Mary.
Standing in the white sand at the base of the lighthouse, they enjoyed the sight of sailboats passing by as they chatted about some of the comments from the players. Everyone seemed excited to help raise the money to have the lighthouse painted and to install new children's playground equipment. Paul stopped talking mid-sentence, looked around, and then looked back at Megan questioningly.
"Hey, I just realize you're alone. Where's Aiden? I thought he would be with you today?"
"Oh, ummm. He got called over to Carol's. A couple of last details came up that he's helping out with. Listen, I really should head over to the citrus packing house and see how Emma and Taylor are doing. You’ve got my phone number, just send me a text or call if you run into any problems."
She decided it would be better to leave before Paul started asking any more questions. Megan hurriedly said her goodbyes and headed back towards her car. She knew the more questions Paul asked, the more she would have to fib and the deeper into trouble she would get. No, it was better to cut and run now before Paul's curiosity was aroused.
Honking her horn at Paul, she waved at him and then at the new team of players making their way into the parking lot. Relieved they would keep him occupied, Megan sighed. Now if she could be as lucky when she reached the citrus packing house where her daughter and Taylor were stationed. Since the girls knew the schedule of clues, they were well aware that routing players away from Mary’s was unexpected. They would insist on knowing what was going on. She crossed her fingers with the
hope that the girls would be too busy with the geo-cache to spend a lot of time questioning her. Moments later, Megan turned onto the main road and headed towards her next destination.
Megan drove past the quaint shops on Main Street, then turned on the same side street that Aiden's office was on, heading towards the oldest section of town. Here was where life had started in Citrus Beach many years ago, centralized along the railroad that Henry Flagler had built. The old citrus packing houses had been there as long as the town had existed. Many of the old pioneers had lived in shacks along the railroad's route, more concerned with getting the citrus crop picked and shipped than building their own homes. The oldest of the packing houses was still in existence and was still one of the highest producers of citrus being exported, not only across the United States, but internationally. The citrus industry had been the lifeblood of the town long before the tourist had begun to come to Citrus Beach to enjoy the winter weather.
Megan pulled into the parking lot of the packing house, parking in a designated area they have set up for the geo-cache. The rest of the parking lot was full with stacks of empty packing crates ready to be loaded onto the trucks and sent to the groves for the pickers to fill with the season’s first citrus crop. Megan was sure that workers were inside getting ready for the first of those trucks to come back to the packing house full of fruit. Because it was the busiest time of the year for the citrus industry, Taylor had set up a table in an area where they would be out of the way of trucks coming and going. Although the citrus industry was profitable, there was a charity set up for research on the disease problems plaguing growers. They were working hand-in-hand with the local university and any money raised from the geo-cache would go to this charity.
“Mom!”
Hearing Emma call out to her, Megan waved to her daughter and her roommate Taylor Jamison. Although their station looked busy, Emma excused herself from Taylor’s side and hurried towards Megan.
Murder at the Geo-Cache...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 3) Page 5
