Fatal Festival Days

by Jamie M. Blair

  • Nineteen •

  One thing we hadn’t figured out was how we were getting into Clayton’s house. Roy had made the call to Starnes saying he heard Jason had been arrested again, and since Richard and Robin had gone back to Lexington there was nobody to take care of Ginger. Starnes readily agreed to come and meet him here to get the dog.

  “Break the lock, not the window,” Logan told Roy, who was trying to wedge a tire iron between the upper and lower panes on one of the windows at the back of Clayton’s house.

  “You guy are ridiculous,” Anna said, taking her school ID from her pocket. She ran it between the back door and its frame, right where the lock would be beside the doorknob, and the door popped open.

  “How did you do that?” Logan asked.

  “I’m always locking myself out of the house, so my dad taught me,” she said.

  “Where’d he learn it?” Roy asked.

  She shrugged and went into the garage.

  Roy looked at me and raised his eyebrows. “Don’t turn your back on that one,” he whispered.

  “Girl after my own heart,” Johnna said and wandered in after them.

  “I just hope there’s no alarm on this house,” I said.

  Roy scoffed. “Metamorans don’t have alarms on our houses. The only reason the door’s locked is because Richard and Robin aren’t from around these parts anymore.”

  “I guess big city life got them to lock their doors.”

  Roy shook his head. “Darn shame. Now our young girl has to go and break in like that.”

  Ginger started barking. “Now that’s an alarm,” I said, hurrying inside and through to the house.

  Anna was feeding Ginger some bacon from her coat pocket, and Logan was already setting things up in the bedroom closest to the living room. “You guys have this handled,” I said, catching sight of Johnna on the sofa taking out her knitting.

  “It might be our last investigation with the Action Agency, so we wanted to take the lead on things,” Anna said. “Prove ourselves before we head off to college in the fall.”

  “You guys have all summer. We’ll have more to do before you leave.”

  “Probably not another murder, though. At least I hope not.”

  “We’ve had enough of those,” Roy said. “Let’s hope we get through this day without another one.”

  “You look about as nervous as a dog passing tacks,” Johnna told him.

  “We’ll be fine,” I said. “This will take maybe ten minutes. Why don’t you look around and make sure everything’s secure?”

  Roy wandered around searching—for what I didn’t know. But I’d given him a mission and he was going to do it. When he started opening cupboards, I knew he was searching for something else. Food and booze. “Don’t take anything, or Richard and Robin will know someone was in here,” I said.

  “Do they take inventory before they leave the house?” He snapped back.

  Anna hurried into the bedroom to see if Logan needed anything. Ginger followed her. I strode to the front window to keep watch for Starnes.

  I ran through our plan in my mind. Richard and Robin were with John. Lana was with Ben at the station. Jason was tucked away in a cell for now. Starnes would be by for Ginger. And none of them would be the wiser that they were being set up.

  Anna came out of the bedroom with Ginger at her side. “You better take the bacon, or she’ll want to be with me in the bedroom the whole time.”

  “Good idea.” I took the bacon, thinking that I should’ve brought some dog treats with me.

  I gave Ginger a little bit to let her know I was the one with the goodies now, then I sat down on the couch with Johnna and stroked Ginger’s fur. “Roy, come sit down and wait with us. He’ll be here any minute.”

  Roy sat in the chair that was most worn. I figured it had been where Clayton usually sat. It faced the TV and had a matching ottoman with indentations where feet would be propped. Ginger left my side and padded over to Roy. She placed her head on his lap and whined a little.

  “Now, now, girl,” he said, petting her head. “I know it’s hard. You’ll be okay.”

  I passed him the bacon, even though he didn’t seem to need it. “She likes you.”

  “All women do,” he said and gave me an exaggerated grin.

  Johnna snorted but didn’t bother looking up from her knitting.

  I heard the crunch of gravel outside. “I think that’s him.” I stood and got a look out the window. His truck was parked and the driver’s door was opening. “He’s getting out.”

  “Help us out, Ginger,” Roy said, getting up. “Do whatever you can. We want to find your daddy’s killer.” He took long strides to the front door and opened it. “Hey there, Starnes,” he said. “Come on in. She’s ready for you.”

  “Good to see you again, Roy. I’m glad you called me. I’m happy to take her back home with us.” Starnes stepped inside and stopped, seeing me. “I thought you were in jail,” he said.

  “I’m out on bail. I didn’t kill Clayton.”

  “What are you doing here?” He looked to Roy. “What’s this about?”

  “It’s about your best buddy, Clayton,” Roy said. “Come on in. We’ve got some bad news that you don’t want to take standing in the doorway.”

  “Bad news?” He came inside and Roy closed the door.

  “Sit down, Starnes,” Johnna said, patting the sofa beside her. “Roy, get him something to drink.”

  Roy gladly hustled from the room. Starnes looked around, like he was on Candid Camera, which he kind of was, except it was the audio-only version. Reluctantly, he took a seat on the couch. “What’s this about?”

  “I wanted you to hear it from friends instead of a cop,” I said.

  “You killed Clayton. You’re no friend of mine.”

  “I don’t know if you believe that or not, but that’s not what this is about.”

  Roy came back in with a glass of clear liquid. Water or moonshine, I couldn’t be certain. He handed it to Starnes.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” he said, looking up at Roy.

  “You know Cameron’s husband is the law in this town, right? So she hears some things.”

  “And?”

  Exasperated, Johnna took up the reins. “And Lana’s being taken into custody for killing Clayton,” she said. “It was her pills. She dropped them on the sidewalk after she poisoned him. Cameron only had the bad luck to pick them up after she fell and dumped everything from her handbag into the bushes.”

  “That’s not true,” he said, and I thought we had him. But then he said, “She’s in for questioning, but she’s not being held. She’s not a suspect.”

  “She is,” Roy said. “That’s why we met you here. You can take the dog if you want, but that was just a ploy. We wanted to break it to you easy.”

  “This can’t be happening. How did those pills end up there?”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “In the … handbag you were carrying.”

  I’d almost trapped him.

  “Unless you killed him,” he added.

  “Johnna just explained how they ended up in my bag.”

  “But that’s not—it can’t have happened that way.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Because it doesn’t make any sense. Lana didn’t have a reason to kill Clayton.”

  “Neither do I.”

  He took a sip of his drink and winced a little. It was moonshine. Good job, Roy, maybe it would loosen his tongue.

  “So where did Lana lose her medication?” Johnna asked.

  “Who knows?” he said. “They fell out of her purse somewhere.”

  “But they couldn’t have fallen out here?” I asked. “When was the last time she was here before Clayton died?”

  “We hadn’t been in town
for quite a while,” he said.

  “And she wouldn’t come on her own?”

  His eyes narrowed for a split second and he took another drink from his glass. “Why would she?”

  “The police seem to have evidence that puts her here more often than that,” Johnna said.

  “What evidence is that?” he asked.

  “The same that put Jason back behind bars.”

  “The murder weapon that was under this sofa?”

  “And the letters,” Roy said.

  “What letters?”

  What if he didn’t know? What if we were about to break it to him that his wife was having an affair with his dead best friend? “I think we should just all take a break, okay?” I said. “The police will explain the evidence. The important thing for you to understand is that Lana is being taken into custody right now as we speak.”

  “Then I need to get down there.” He got on his feet and headed for the door.

  “Wait!” I shouted.

  He stopped and turned around. He wasn’t admitting anything and he didn’t believe us about Lana. This whole plan was going right down the toilet.

  “We know it was you,” I said. “It’s just the four of us here. We know you took your wife’s pills and poisoned Clayton with them because he was sleeping with Lana.”

  Starnes didn’t say a word. His expression didn’t even falter. He stood there and stared at me. He wasn’t going to say one word in front of Johnna and Roy. They were witnesses. If it was just the two of us, he might. He could always say that I was lying to get myself off the hook, and I’d have no proof otherwise. Except I would, but he didn’t know it.

  “Johnna, Roy,” I said. “Would you mind waiting for me in the car?”

  Johnna’s eyes shifted around, like this was some kind of signal and she forgot her next line. Roy stood frozen to the spot, looking to the door and back at me, like it was a test.

  “Go ahead,” I said. “I just want to talk to Starnes alone for a minute. That’s it, just one minute is all I need.”

  Both of them puttered out the door, looking back a time or two.

  “Okay,” I said. “Listen. It’s just you and me. I think we both know I didn’t kill Clayton, but I can’t prove that. If the judge believes me then maybe I have a chance. But if I go to jail for the rest of my life for killing a man, then I want to know the truth. For peace of mind and that’s it. If you tell me the truth, there’s nothing I can do with that information anyway. Even if I told someone, it’s my word against yours. A murder suspect out on bail against the man who was Clayton’s best friend? Nobody would believe me.”

  I leaned against the wall in the foyer and waited for him to reply. What I’d said was from the heart. I needed the truth just to hear him say it. If, by chance, he confessed and Logan didn’t get it recorded, it would bring me peace knowing the truth even if I rotted behind bars. Not knowing would be worse.

  “You’re right,” he said. “You can’t prove anything. But I’m not taking any chances.” Starnes reached under his coat and pulled a gun from his waistband.

  I held up my hands and took a step or two backward.

  “I’ll shoot you first, then go out and get Roy and Johnna.”

  “You won’t get away with it,” I said. “Richard and Robin know you were coming to get Ginger. I’m sure they got word to Jason. Lana knows, of course. Maybe she’d keep it a secret that her husband is a serial killer.”

  “Serial killer? Hardly.”

  “Well, how many does it take to become a serial killer, anyway?”

  “More than four, surely,” he said.

  “But there are only three of us here.”

  “Three. I meant three.”

  “Starnes, you killed him, didn’t you?” I asked. “It’s got to be hard to carry that around with you. He’d been your best friend for your whole life. And then he and Lana … and you did what you thought you had to do. I can’t do anything with that information, so get it off your conscience. It has to be a terrible burden.”

  The gun shook in his hand. “Don’t tell me how it happened,” he said. “I know how it happened.”

  “Did you know about the letters from David? Did you know he found out and was blackmailing Clayton?”

  “He was blackmailing Lana! Not one cent leaves our bank account that I don’t know about. I found the letters when she was at church one Sunday morning.”

  “And you confronted Clayton about it?” I eased back another couple of steps.

  “He denied it at first, but I told him there was no reason to.”

  “And you couldn’t shoot him, could you? He was your friend.

  So you did it another way. A way that was less violent?”

  Starnes shook his head. “I wouldn’t shoot him. Not Clay.”

  “How did you know Lana’s medication would counteract his own like that?”

  “You can find everything on the Internet.”

  “Did you put it in the moonshine so he wouldn’t taste it?”

  “You could put a gallon of motor oil in my ’shine and not taste it.”

  “It’s that strong?”

  “Best around.”

  “So it must have taken about twelve hours or so to actually kick in, I guess.”

  “Seems like it. Knowing Clay, he spiked his morning coffee, though.”

  “That would do it.”

  He lowered his gun. “It does feel good to get that off my chest. Now I have a question for you.”

  “Okay.”

  “Does five murders make me a serial killer?” He raised his gun again. “Because I know you have someone in this house listening to every word I say, and neither one of you is making it out of here alive.”

  “What makes you say that? I sent Johnna and Roy outside. You can see them in the driveway sitting in my car.”

  I started to sweat and get chills at the same time. There was only so many near-death experiences a woman could take, and I wasn’t all that sure I’d walk away from this one.

  Starnes waved his gun back and forth. “You go ahead and open all the doors in each room. I’ll be right behind you.”

  I headed for the four-season room first. Since it was in the back of the house, I hoped it would give Logan and Anna enough time to sneak out the front door. “Nobody in here,” I said, standing in the middle of the room.

  “Keep moving.” Starnes waved his gun around again.

  Since we walked through the dining room and kitchen to get to the four-season room, there was nowhere left but the hallway with the bathroom and bedrooms. I started for the bathroom.

  “Skip it,” he said, walking by and looking in through the open door. “Nobody’s in there.

  The next door was the bedroom where Logan and Anna were set up. I grabbed the doorknob, but the door was locked. “This one’s locked,” I said, and took a step to move on to the second of three bedrooms, eager to get him moving along.

  “How’d it get locked if there’s nobody inside?” He pointed the gun at the doorknob and fired off a few rounds. I jumped out of my skin and my ears rang. For the limited amount of time I had left,

  I wouldn’t be able to hear a thing.

  Starnes kicked the door open, and I imagined Anna and Logan huddled together inside, but they were nowhere in sight. “Open the closet,” he ordered.

  I did.

  It was empty other than an old suit hanging on the rod and some Christmas decorations.

  Where had Anna and Logan gone? The bed sat too low to hide underneath. There was nothing else in the room other than a bureau of drawers.

  I looked around carefully. Both windows were locked, so they didn’t sneak out that way. Maybe they had made it out the front door and locked the bedroom to give them even more time while Starnes tried to figure out where they were inside. That would be a
brilliant idea that Logan would automatically do without even giving it much thought.

  “There,” Starnes said, jerking his gun toward the corner of the room. “See where the carpet comes away from the wall. Lift it up.

  I forgot that was down there.”

  What was down where?

  I crossed the bedroom and lifted the carpet to find a door in the floor, the same kind you’d find on a ceiling leading up to an attic. “Open it,” he said.

  I grabbed a metal ring and pulled, lifting the trap door and praying Logan and Anna weren’t down there. Unfortunately, they were.

  It wasn’t a large area, only a crawl space where the two of them were huddled. “Come on out,” Starnes said. “I didn’t expect three. One more notch for my gun holster, I guess.”

  “What will you do then?” I asked. “Go on the run for the rest of your life?”

  “I’ll have to, won’t I?”

  Logan and Anna climbed out of the crawl space. “It’s too late,” Logan said, stepping in front of me and Anna. “The police are on their way.” He held up his laptop. “I sent them the audio file I recorded. They have your confession.”

  “There’s no sense in killing us then,” I said, trying to get back in front of Logan. “You need to get out of here before it’s too late to get away.”

  A resigned look came over his face. “Go!” he shouted. “All of you get out of here!”

  He didn’t have to tell us twice. We bolted out of the bedroom, through the living room, and out the front door. It slammed and locked behind us.

  “What about Ginger?” I yelled. “Starnes, let Ginger out the garage door!”

  There was no response from inside. I had a bad feeling I knew what he was planning. I didn’t think Ben and Reins would take him out of that house alive.

  “Cameron!” Roy shouted. “Get over here!”

  Logan hooked his arm through mine and led me swiftly down the sidewalk to the car with Anna right in front of us. “We called the police,” Johnna said. She held up an old cell phone. “I keep it in my knitting bag for emergencies.”