Ax to Grind

by Tonya Kappes

  Duke trotted over and shoved himself against Lonnie. He’d always loved having Lonnie at the department because Lonnie didn’t do anything but sit there and pet Duke all day.

  “She’s clinging on to life. But I didn’t come here to discuss her health status.” He put his paper-thin elderly hands in his front pockets. The bags under his eyes spoke of his stress and lack of sleep. He stalked over and stopped when he saw the evidence marker where she’d lain. He spoke in a husky voice. “If you think you are going to send your goon to the hospital to make sure I keep my head on straight, you have another thing coming to you, Kendrick Lowry.”

  “Lonnie,” I said in a calm and reasonable voice, “I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. You know how this works.”

  “I have the mind to beat the living crap out of you right here.”

  Poppa put up his fists and danced around on his toes like he was going to knock Lonnie out. “You think you’re gonna come in here and corner my Kenni, you got another thing comin’, buddy,” Poppa warned.

  I cocked a brow and rolled my eyes at Poppa.

  “I gave you that deputy job when you needed a job.” Poppa cussed and mussed and danced around Lonnie. “You forget that you came to me begging for a job. Enough money to pay the bills. I gave you that job. And now you repay me by trying to take Kenni-bug’s job.”

  Duke danced around with Poppa and Lonnie gave him a cross look. I tried to ignore them both.

  “You and I both know that I’m waiting for Paige to wake up. I sent Finn over there to see if there was any change in her status and to make sure that you didn’t interfere with the investigation,” I stated so he couldn’t leave here saying I said something else.

  I did my best to ignore Poppa, who’d taken a swing at Lonnie and must’ve hurt himself because he was rubbing his shoulder and cursing under his breath.

  “I didn’t think it was fittin’ for me to stop by since you and I are running against each other,” I continued. “But I am very sorry, and it’s my number one priority to find out who did this. And you need to stay out of it. From what Finn said, you came in there guns blazing and hell bent on catching the killer yourself. You and I both know that’s not the way to go about things.”

  “You can’t keep our town safe.” There was hate in Lonnie’s eyes. “We have less than five thousand people in this town and there’s been two murders and Paige…”

  “Whoa, back up.” My eyes narrowed and my brows crushed together. “Two murders?”

  “Almost two murders,” Lonnie corrected himself. “Paige was as close to death as you could get.” His voice cracked. “If it weren’t for you...” He hesitated and a wall of tears formed on his eyelids. “If it weren’t for you and Finn playing kissy face out there for the town to see, then I guess no one would’ve found her until it was too late.”

  Kissy face? I closed my eyes and wondered who on Earth had seen Finn and me. It had been late and dark. Regardless, I was the sheriff and there was no time to get into a pissing match when he clearly was taking his feelings about his wife and her attacker out on me.

  “I’m sorry that Paige has become an innocent victim in this, but I’m going to have to ask you to stay away from the crime scenes and let me do my job while I’m in office.” I kept my voice calm to let him know that I meant business. “The more information you give me, the quicker we can solve who did this to Paige.”

  He jerked his shoulder back and away from me, causing my hand to drop back down to my side. His eyes slid from my face to the blood spots next to us.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked, giving control of the situation to me.

  “What was Paige doing down here so late?” I asked, trying to determine where she’d gone from the time Mama said Paige had left the church to the time she was attacked.

  He said in a quiet voice, “She called to tell me that she was going to be a little late because the Inn was full, and it’d taken her all day to get the rooms cleaned since she was used to cleaning one to two rooms every few days.” His eyes looked hollow. “She just doesn’t have the stamina to get all those rooms cleaned as fast as she used to.” He shook his head. “She’d called earlier asking if I knew of any other antique shops in the towns surrounding us because the guests had asked her.”

  “So she was talking to the guests about different attractions?” I asked, and he nodded.

  It made me more sure than ever that I needed to interview all the guests at the Inn. If she’d overheard someone or someone had said something to her and she even mentioned that she worked for Beryle years ago, they might’ve thought she knew something.

  “She also had her weekly church group meeting, so she was going to go there after she left the Inn. Which means she was at the church until late,” he said.

  “That would be a good reason for her to be over this way,” I said. The church was just a block or so down the street. I still wanted to follow up with Preacher Bing on what he knew about Beryle and the whole cremating thing since Cecily had mentioned something about her being murdered. Not to mention the small memorial service she’d brought up.

  “I heard that she left the church meeting after she got a phone call. Do you know where her cell phone could be? Finn looked in her car last night, but there wasn’t anything in there but her purse. Nothing missing. Her wallet and money were still in there.” I decided to tell him everything Finn had found. It was best going in with all the information when it came to Lonnie because he’d ask me anyway.

  “I have no idea where her cell phone would be. The hospital gave me all her belongings and it was only her clothes.” He shrugged.

  “All those years ago when Paige worked for Beryle—”

  “How did you know about that?” he asked with force, interrupting me. His eyes shot up at me and bore into my soul.

  Duke looked over at us. He ran over to my side as if he didn’t like Lonnie’s tone.

  “Is it a secret?” I asked.

  “How did you know?” he demanded me to answer, standing a little taller. Duke walked between Lonnie and me. “Only four people in this town knew that Paige worked for Beryle. Beryle, me, Paige, and your poppa.”

  His demeanor had turned odd and alarming.

  “Who told you?” This time his voice made me tremble and made the hair on Duke’s back stand up.

  “I’m not telling you, but one thing I can tell you is that more than four people knew she worked for her. Why is it such a secret?” I asked.

  “Beryle was a private person. She didn’t like anyone knowing her business.” Lonnie’s shoulders softened. His eyes shifted down to Duke. He reached his fingertips out for Duke to smell and when Duke wagged his tail, Lonnie patted his head. “She paid Paige good money, and as you know, being a deputy isn’t the best-paying job, but we do it for the love of the work.”

  A knowing look passed between us, and I couldn’t help but give a sympathetic smile.

  “I guess it don’t matter now. I do want this solved.” His chest puffed out as some of his anger started to subside. “Beryle didn’t want anyone to know her business. Paige had to bring Beryle’s garbage to our house because Beryle said that she feared someone would go through it.”

  “Did you know anything about a tell-all book that Beryle had written about her life? In particular, a tell-all about someone in Cottonwood that they wouldn’t want to get out?” I asked.

  “Not that I know of.” The edges of his eyes dipped with sadness. “She was a real nice woman, and she took care of Paige. She took care of a lot of people.”

  “People?” I asked wondering, who he meant.

  “You know, her charities and all. When Ruby came to see Paige this morning, she said that all Beryle’s money was going to charities, which didn’t surprise me a bit since she didn’t have kids or anything,” Lonnie said.

  The front door lock clicked and the doo
r flew open. The fall breeze blew in. I looked down and felt a tickle across my pant leg. Next to my shoe was a feather. A big long stiff green feather.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Kenni, did you hear me?” Ruby Smith asked over the loud beeping alarm sound.

  She rushed past Lonnie and me to the counter and jabbed at the alarm keypad on the wall next to the phone. Lonnie followed her.

  “If I’d only had a camera, right?” she said.

  “Yes, then I wouldn’t be in this predicament.” Lonnie sighed deeply. “I can’t promise that I won’t stop looking into this.”

  “Kenni?” Ruby called my name. “Are you listening to us?”

  “I do wish you’d had some cameras,” I muttered and waved my hand for Duke to move.

  He’d taken just as much of an interest in the feather as I had. Only he wanted to play with it, and I wanted to see if there was any DNA on it because it definitely came from Kiwi.

  I tried to hide the feather from Lonnie and Ruby. I needed to get it into an evidence bag, but I didn’t want Lonnie or Ruby to know since it had blown out from underneath the piece of furniture next to where Paige was found. They didn’t need to know what evidence I had, and this seemed like a key piece.

  “Do you have any furniture from the Inn or Darby here?” I asked, just in case Darby had brought in the feather on a piece of furniture. Kiwi did have the run of the Inn.

  I shooed Duke away and moved my foot over top of the feather and let it hover over it so I wouldn’t touch it.

  “No. She’s such a tightwad that if you shoved a piece of coal up her keister, within an hour you’d have a diamond.” Ruby’s nose curled as though she smelled something awful.

  Lonnie and I laughed. It was good she confirmed that the feather probably hadn’t been brought in by a piece of furniture.

  “Thanks for making me smile,” he said.

  Ruby called Lonnie over, leaving me standing there with Duke next to me.

  “I’ll be darned.” Poppa had ghosted himself over and stood next to me. “Does that belong to Kiwi?”

  “I think so,” I muttered under my breath just loud enough for Poppa to hear me.

  I bent down, dragging an evidence bag out of my pocket and swiftly picking up the feather and placing the bag back in my pocket.

  I grabbed my flashlight off my belt and laid on the floor to get a good look up under the piece of furniture. There wasn’t another feather, only jagged edges, which made me wonder if the killer was someone from the Inn and a feather had been on their shoe or clothing. Possibly when Paige tried to fight back, the feather was knocked off the killer and swept under the piece of furniture and caught on the jagged edge.

  Incomplete thoughts of the feather swirled as I stood up. And the only way to narrow down who’d come to Ruby’s was to go to the Inn and talk to every single guest, along with Darby. I headed back over to Ruby and Lonnie.

  “Lonnie, I think it’s best for you to stay by Paige’s side, and let me know as soon as she wakes up because we both know that her memory is crucial.” My right eyebrow rose. “I need to hear it from her lips and not yours.”

  “I’d tell you everything she said.” Lines creased his forehead as his brows dipped. “But I do understand that you can’t use what I say as evidence. I don’t want to leave her side, but I don’t want the first forty-eight hours to go by without a single soul in custody.”

  “Let me do my job.” I ran my hand over the outside of my pocket.

  I had a feeling Kiwi had seen more and the feather wasn’t just a coincidence.

  “Can I have my shop back or not?” Ruby asked. “And I called my lawyer about all your questions. We’ll be down at Cowboy’s sometime this afternoon. He said he’d call Betty with a time.”

  “Wally Lamb?” I asked.

  “Yep,” Ruby snapped and strutted past me turning the CLOSED sign to OPEN. “I’m assuming it’s okay to open?”

  “Finn did a good job sweeping the place and taking photos. I was just here to go over the evidence and make sure he got it all.” I put my hands on my hips and took one more look around.

  I walked around and picked up all the evidence markers. The bell over the front door signaled someone had come in.

  “Are you open?” A tall lanky woman with brown hair coiled up in a bun on the top of her head walked in. She had on a long black turtleneck dress and a pair of sensible black shoes.

  “Am I?” Ruby grunted. Her brows arched in a triangle. Lonnie stood next to her, anticipating my answer.

  “Yes, but don’t sell anything of Beryle Stone’s.” I grabbed my bag and put the evidence markers in it.

  I took another glance around the shop, feeling sure we’d gotten all the evidence that was there.

  “Don’t go behind the alley.” I looked at my watch and knew that the reserve officer should be back there by now to stand guard so no one would disturb the crime scene. “It’s still an active crime scene.”

  Lonnie’s cell phone rang and he scurried away to answer it.

  “Don’t go doing anything,” I warned and pointed at Lonnie before he disappeared and I headed out the front door. I stopped with my hand on the handle and turned around. “Ruby, I’m assuming a lot of guests staying at the Inn have come in here the last twenty-four hours. Did you happen to get any of their names?”

  Her lips thinned across her face and she shook her head.

  “If you do remember something, please let me know.” I pushed the door open and Duke followed.

  Even though Finn had looked around the front of the building, I thought I’d take another quick look to satisfy any worry of missing something important.

  The activity on the sidewalk on both sides of Main Street was already picking up. The shops had tented their chalkboard signs with their sales and daily specials. The city workers were busy watering the mums hanging from the carriage lights, and the sun was trying hard to warm the chilly morning.

  I stood in front of Ruby’s store and looked in to see what I could see from the outside. Had someone seen Paige in the shop? How did Paige get in the shop? My eyes focused on Ruby, who was talking to the customer. Had Ruby let Paige in?

  I pushed my walkie-talkie.

  “Betty,” I said into the mic.

  “Go ahead, Sheriff,” Betty answered.

  “Wally Lamb is going to call to set up a meeting with him and Ruby. If you don’t hear from him in an hour or so, can you call him?” I wanted to make sure I got the answers I needed from Ruby.

  “Got it, Sheriff.” Betty was quick to answer. “I’ve also confirmed the reserve officers have taken their posts, including outside of Paige’s hospital room.”

  “Thanks, Betty,” I answered back. “And can you keep me posted if Paige wakes up?”

  “I heard she took a turn for the worse a half hour ago,” Betty said. I didn’t want to know how she’d heard. If I had to guess, it was probably one of the Sweet Adelines talking gossip. No wonder Lonnie ran out of the store.

  I had resisted telling Lonnie that I’d asked for an officer to be placed at Paige’s door for the simple fact that I didn’t want to hear him grumble and complain that he could keep her safe himself. If she’d taken a turn for the worse and he was on his way back to the hospital, he’d know soon enough.

  “Can you call Darby at the Inn and get a list of guests that have been checked in for the last week?” I added, “And a list of where they live?”

  “I sure can,” Betty said.

  I clicked off and squatted. My eyes scanned the pavement and every nook and cranny of the front of Ruby’s store.

  “Out of the way.” Mrs. Kim nearly knocked me over. “Oh, Kenni. Duke.”

  I looked up, catching an unexpected look of concern on Mrs. Kim’s face.

  “Another dead body. Might be two.” Her voice was tight as she spoke. “
I thought moving here keep me safe. Not dead.”

  Duke sat in front of Mrs. Kim as though he was trying to understand her thick accent.

  “You are just the person I was waiting to see.” I pushed myself up to stand. “I see that you have a security system in the alleyway. I’m going to need to see your feed.”

  “I know my rights. You need subpoena. But I like Cottonwood, so I give it to you.” Mrs. Kim pulled her purse closer to her. “I vote for you, but I don’t know now.” She shook her head. “It take Gina a couple hours to get film. You come by before dinner.”

  “Great. I’d like to catch up with Gina.” I was glad Mrs. Kim didn’t fight me on getting a warrant. Not that I couldn’t, but the time it would have taken might’ve held up the investigation.

  Unfortunately, Lonnie was right. The first forty-eight hours was crucial to a murder investigation, and I didn’t have time to wait for Paige Lemar to wake up to tell me what happened. If she did wake up.

  “Morning, Bartleby,” I greeted Bartleby Fry, the cowboy of Cowboy’s Catfish and the landlord of the sheriff’s department. Duke rushed past me and sat at Bartleby’s feet with his big brown eyes fixed on Bartleby’s hands.

  “Mornin’, Sheriff. You like a cup of coffee? I’ve got a fresh pot brewing.” He wiped his hands down the front of what used to be a white apron. He pulled a dog treat out of the front pocket and tossed it up. Duke stood up on his hind legs and snatched it right out of the air. “He’s such a good dog.”

  “He is, and I’d love a cup,” I said, standing by the door that led back to the department. I opened the door and let Duke in the office. It was about time for his nap, and he’d stay in his dog bed for as long as I’d let him.

  “It’ll be done in a sec.” He held up his finger and went back to taking someone else’s order.

  “Any news on who killed that woman?” someone at a booth next to me asked.

  “We don’t have anyone in custody, but we’ve got some good leads.” I smiled. “Won’t be long.”

  In the corner booth in the back of the restaurant, Leighann Graves was all snuggled up with Manuel Liberty. I moseyed on over.