“No, she loved her son. She wouldn’t have left Bum-Bum behind unless she died.”
“We just don’t know.” Todd’s voice is grim. “His foster parents said he never mentions her. Gets upset if anyone brings up her memory. I know your mom asked him to stay, but under the circumstances …”
“I know, it was better for him to go to a foster home. I wish we could have helped him more, but he’s too proud to accept help. Dad was going to make him a loan, and he turned it down.”
“He would think it’s blood money.” Todd wipes his hand over his forehead and sighs. “I’m going to get a search warrant for Evan’s room, just letting you know, and then talk to Diana and my uncle separately.”
My phone buzzes with an incoming text message.
“I have to get back to the guests.” I tap on the message to read it, and my eyes widen. “Oh, look. It’s from Larissa. She says she’s okay.”
“She is?” Todd looks over my shoulder. “Oh, ahem, that’s too much information.”
“Glad someone’s spending the day in bed and not sleeping.” I chuckle and text her back, asking if she’ll be joining us for trick or treating.
She replies that she will, and I’m relieved.
“I’m glad she’s safe,” Todd says. “You’re having dinner with me tonight?”
“Of course, after our Trickvenger Hunt game.” I give him a come-hither wink and then push him out the door. “Duty calls, Sheriff. Go find the killer.”
By the time I return to the dining room, breakfast is over, and my HEX sisters are busy with a pumpkin carving activity. I let them know Larissa texted me that she’s with a hunkazoid spending the day in bed.
“Seriously? And she’s not sharing?” Suzette squeals. She immediately grabs her phone and calls.
“No fair,” Rosalie says. “You hired only one Bigfoot, and she snagged him.”
“Wait, are you saying she’s with Bigfoot?” Bonnie’s eyes pop wide. “She might be in danger. Clifton and I think Bigfoot killed Viola.”
“But he seemed so nice,” Suzette says and frowns at her phone. “She’s not answering.”
“If she’s with Big Dick, she’s got her mouth too full to answer.” Rosalie chuckles. “Bon Bon, why would you think Bigfoot killed Viola?”
“Because he left his mask, and I took a picture of it. The sheriff gave our phones back after uploading all the pictures. See here?” She brings up an image of Todd’s mask.
Everyone gasps and makes sharp exclamations, and I have to join in, but they’re wrong, because I know Todd was Bigfoot. Could Larissa have gone home with Chad? He was notably absent at the after-the-crime scene.
“If the mask was there, why did it go missing later on?” I ask to keep my mind on the evidence. “Who would have removed it?”
“The murderer, of course,” Bonnie says.
“Was there anyone who showed up to the scene that we don’t know?” I need to deflect them from Bigfoot.
“We don’t know any of the deputies,” Suzette says. “Your assistant knows everyone. You can ask her.”
“You’re right. Molly does know everyone,” I agree. “Actually, I need to talk to her about the program for the evening.”
After leaving the dining room, I text Molly and ask her to go over the updated haunt effects with me. She doesn’t reply, so I call her.
The call goes to voicemail.
Someone has to know something, and the diner’s the place to go for gossip. Maybe she’s hanging out there and getting a free lunch.
Linx’s sister, Joey, comes out from behind the register and hugs me tight. “I heard what happened. You must have been scared out of your wits.”
In a small town, everyone wants to be in on everything, so a crowd gathers around me, murmuring their condolences for Viola and wondering if Todd has found the killer.
“Not yet. He’s working on it. It was horrible. I feel so bad.” I try to answer all the questions peppering around me. “Yes, yes, they’re following all the leads. Poor Viola. I can’t imagine. Has anyone seen Molly? No, it’s okay. Larissa is fine. My parents are okay. They’re going to be checking out. We’re good. Thanks.”
The well-wishers follow me to a booth where Linx is sitting with Chad and Vivi.
“Tami, how are you feeling?” Linx gets up to hug me, her face full of concern. Over her shoulder, I notice Chad has a black eye and a swollen bruise across his forehead.
Looks like he didn’t get lucky, and Molly wasn’t lying about him shirking his duty and going home with a coven of witches.
“What happened to you?” I ask him.
“I told Todd already,” he says, holding the side of his head. “I got conked last night and missed everything.”
“We think he got hit by a baseball bat,” Linx adds. “He was patrolling the grounds right before the fireworks, and someone knocked him out.”
“Did you see anyone right before you were hit?” I try not to sound like I’m interrogating him, so I put a hand on his shoulder for comfort.
“No. I felt a presence, but it was more an absence of light, than me seeing anyone. You know, like a car driving without headlights and you only know they’re there because they block the lights behind them.”
“I told him he was seeing things, like maybe a ghost,” Vivi, who is Linx’s younger sister, says. She’s always been the impressionable one prone to flights of fancy.
“A ghost wouldn’t have beaned him,” Linx, ever the sensible and practical one, says. “Anyway, we called Chad to see if he wanted to watch the fireworks with us, and there was no answer.”
“We went looking for him after the show,” Vivi adds. “We kept calling until we heard his cell phone ring. That’s how we found him.”
“Did you see him with any witches?” I ask to verify his alibi, if any.
“We were the witches,” Linx says. “Vivi, Becca, and I. We went to sit in Chad’s truck to watch the fireworks. He was supposed to meet us there.”
“There was another witch,” Chad says. “She asked me to walk her to her car.”
“What did she look like?” I’m quick to pick this up. “Did she have a green painted face?”
“She did.” Chad rubs his jaw and stares at me. “Do you think that was Viola?”
I gasp at the implication. “Did you tell Todd you might have been one of the last people to see Viola alive?”
“You’re not accusing Chad, are you?” Linx elbows my side. “He was knocked out.”
“Exactly. The murderer saw him talking to Viola and hit him, then somehow got Viola to meet him near the dumpster.”
“That’s not what happened,” Chad says. “The witch met a wolf at her car, so I left them to go look for my sisters.”
“You have to tell Todd.” I grab Chad’s arm. “How big and tall was the wolf?”
“Taller than the witch.”
“Description?” I grab a paper napkin and start scribbling. “Height. Weight. Details of costume?”
“He had a wolf’s mask with glowing eyes, a flowing black cape that went down to the ground, and white gloves.”
“A black cape as large as a tablecloth?” My voice is too loud, because everyone in the diner is gathered around, and I notice the deputies edging closer. The Vice Squad left their corner booth whereas the Drunk Tank came in a few minutes ago, and they’re all watching and listening intently.
“Diana Van Dirk was wearing a wolf mask with red eyes,” Corny says. “I took a picture with her.”
“She’s not the only wolf last night,” her nephew, Dillon, says. “She had a red cape, not a black one.”
“Didn’t Al say someone stole his black cape?” Johnson asks. “That’s what the fight at the Sixty Miners was about.”
“Wasn’t a black cape,” Justin speaks for Al. “It was a black tablecloth with eye holes.”
“But still. It could be used for a cape,” I point out. “What if Diana ditched the red cape, knowing it’s conspicuous?”
“I
’ll have to ask Uncle Chip if she had a black or red cape,” Vivi says. “What about the white gloves?”
“I saw someone with white gloves talking to a witch,” Justin says. “That was earlier, right after the kids left.”
“Whoever hit me wasn’t wearing white gloves,” Chad says. “Otherwise, I would have seen them coming.”
“Was the baseball bat painted black?” Linx asks.
“Yes, I believe it was black.” I shudder at the glistening blood on its shiny surface.
“She could have taken off her white gloves and put on black gloves,” Justin, who is the brightest of the drunk tank, says. “Didn’t you say your aunt and Viola were arguing about something?”
“Viola argues with everyone.” Dillon backs away from the group, sounding defensive. He wheels around and points a finger at me. “In fact, Viola has proof the mine underneath your property belongs to our family.”
“There’s a mine underneath the property?” I gape at him, disbelieving.
“If anyone wants Viola killed, it’s you,” Dillon yells. “You’re the one who found her body, and you were covered with blood.”
“No, no, there was someone there,” I exclaim. “I already told you. A figure dressed in dark clothes who attacked me when I found the body.”
From the corner of my eye, I spot lanky Randy, Molly’s half-brother, shuffling into the diner with his hands in his pockets.
“Who?” Dillon gets in my face. “I heard there was no one on the security camera except for Viola and then you.”
“He must have gotten there earlier. He was hiding behind the dumpster.” Or Molly or Evan could have tampered with the video feed. I whirl toward Randy and ask, “Where were you? Weren’t you supposed to stand guard?”
I remember he was wearing a fur-covered costume with brown grease paint on his face. He could easily have been a wolf by adding a mask and black cape. And Molly would have no qualms covering up for him.
“I was out and about, doing my job.” He shrugs. “Keeping the crowd safe.”
“Did anyone see you?” I’m not going to let him get off so easily. “Where were you patrolling?”
“Here and there. Seriously, Tami, there were so many people milling around watching the fireworks, anyone could have killed someone without being seen or heard.”
Twenty-Nine
~ Todd ~
I hang up the call with the medical examiner and scratch my jaw, jotting down key points as fast as I can. Shane and I are back at the station to coordinate our next move.
“What did he say?” Shane asks, looking up from his notes.
“He confirmed time of death, just before Tami found the victim. However, the baseball bat wasn’t the murder weapon. Based on the shape of the trauma and the way it was applied, he thinks it was a side-handle baton, like the ones we carry and issued to the deputies. Whoever hit her was right-handed, not that it helps except to eliminate any lefties.”
“I’m a lefty,” Shane says. “But a police baton? Well, I’ll be darned. Are you saying one of our guys did it?”
“One of our guys lost his baton. Remember I told you Chad was knocked out and he says he can’t find his baton?”
“That changes things.” He picks up his pen in an obvious move with his left hand and waves it at me. “It could be one of the old guys.”
“Or the guys doing community service. I gave everyone basic training.”
“Viola would have trusted a deputy,” Shane says. “Especially if it’s one of the older guys.”
“Half of them had their wives with them. Besides, I doubt any of the old guys would have dared take out Chad. Did you find Evan?”
“Got the search warrant for his room,” Shane says. “Took the judge out of a pumpkin carving contest to get it.”
“Good. Let’s get over there. Did you keep tabs on Molly?”
“Can’t find her,” Shane says. “She’s not answering her phone.”
“About the murder weapon. Don’t let this information get out. Everyone thinks it’s a baseball bat, so we’ll leave it be for now. Let’s search Evan’s room first. Did you get anything from the mayor?”
Shane scratches his jaw and smirks. “He claims he was with Diana all night, although I don’t believe him. He might have taken her to his room, but she wasn’t there in the morning. He admits he was pretty soused.”
“He was staying at Pickaxe Polly, right? And Tami tells me Diana was shown to Baja Angel’s room in the basement. I can ask Tami to check if Diana slept in her room.”
“Okay, let’s get back to the Bee Sting.” Shane leads the way out the door, and this time, we ride over together in the Tahoe.
Tami is sitting out on the balcony where the Weeping Widow ghost took flight during the fireworks show. One of the employees dressed in white went down the zipline. There were lots of video of this, and I wonder if the murder happened while everyone was busy following the widow’s flight to pay attention to any other commotion.
We wave to Tami, and she waves back. I ask Shane to show her the search warrant while I take another look at the control room.
As soon as I enter the lobby, I spot Neil who is back at the concierge desk. He clears his throat nervously and picks up the movable counter to step out to my side.
“I hope you don’t think I had anything to do with the control room audio,” he says in a low voice.
“I’m actually wondering why you came back. I thought you were leaving to go home.”
“I forgot the box of chocolate Tami gave me for the grand opening, and I wanted to share it with my wife,” he says. “When do you think the murder happened?”
“Can you tell me again where you were during the fireworks show?”
“I was over there, standing next to the window.” He points to a tall window in the lobby with a view. “I couldn’t leave my spot.”
“Someone could have snuck into the control room if you were looking at the fireworks. Is that correct?”
“Yes, but I’m sure no one did then. Tami was the only one who went into the control room. That was before I walked her to her car.”
“Did you see anyone when you came back?” I walk around the counter to the location Neil would have been standing. “Where was the chocolate?”
“In the control room. There’s a closet where we put our coats and backpacks.”
“The employees?”
“Yes, and now that I think about it, I remember wondering why Molly left her costume in the closet.” He waves me into the control room and shows me a witch’s costume. “She was wearing it before the fireworks show, but when I came back for the chocolate, she’d already left it here.”
“Which means she was inside the control room and that she changed costumes, maybe so she wouldn’t be identified easily?” I take a picture of the costume hanging there. “Have you seen her today?”
“She said she was spending the night with Evan, but Evan told me he was leaving right after the fireworks show to go back to San Francisco where he’s hosting a ghost hunt at the Tower of Reeds Haunted Halloween Party.”
“Both can’t be true, and I can easily check Evan’s whereabouts.” I reach for my phone. “If you think of anything else, let me know.”
I call the Tower of Reeds to inquire about the Halloween Party events, and sure enough, Evan Graves is scheduled to do a ghost hunt. I leave a message on his room phone asking him to call, then I meet up with Shane and Tami to search his room.
“I don’t know why you think Evan has anything to do with this,” Tami says. “He wouldn’t be so stupid to keep incriminating evidence.”
“Did he check out?”
“No. He wants to come by tomorrow to see how the haunt effects held up.” Tami unlocks the room. “There’s a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door handle designed to keep maids out, so whatever was in here should still be here.”
She steps aside to let us in, and I can see by the set of her jaw and the lines around her mouth that she’s nervous.<
br />
The room is a mess. Drawers are open, and the bed is not made. Papers are scattered on the table as if someone rifled through them. A cup of coffee is spilled on the table, and a brown stain soaks into the rug.
I put on gloves and bag the coffee cup in case we need DNA evidence. There’s no sign of the costume Evan was wearing last night, but when I pick up the bedspread, a slip of paper flutters to the carpet.
I pick it up and show it to Shane. “Looks like Viola’s phone number. Let’s bag it.”
“Wonder why he asked her to write it down when she could have texted it to him?” Shane asks. “Or are people here old-fashioned?”
“Viola doesn’t have a cell phone,” Tami says. “She doesn’t want the phones to spy on her.”
I call the phone number, and it goes to the library’s answering machine. “Looks like she gave him her library phone number and not her home.”
“Makes sense if she was looking up information for him or holding a book,” Tami says. “Are we done here?”
“You don’t have to stay. We can lock up.” I feel between the sheets for anything I might have missed. “It’s obvious someone else was searching. Did Evan take out two keys or one?”
“I’ll ask Neil,” Tami says and goes outside to call.
I pick up the mattress and find a large brown envelope. I blink, unbelieving, at what I see. It’s photos of Tami—naked.
Quickly, I stuff it into my jacket before Tami comes back into the room.
“Will you look at this?” Shane whistles from the direction of the bathroom.
I almost run into Tami as she makes a mad dash to the bathroom where Shane is picking up a bloody and matted mask.
He swings it by the hair and drops it into an evidence bag. “Looks like we found Bigfoot’s face. Did you find out anything about him from that agency Tami hired him from?”
“He actually left before the fireworks started,” I explain while Tami has a caught-red-handed look on her face. “Threw his mask away and left.”
“Oh, I didn’t see it in your notes.” Shane gives me a hard look. “What’s his name? We can easily check it out.”
All You Want Page 21
