I glanced over the fields and gripped tight to the hand grip so that I was flung around the cab of the truck less.
I was still trying to figure that out. There had only been a few posts on the thread after Dan's, but they were all from other members teasing him and trying to discredit the first murder he'd 'solved.'
I took a deep breath. "I think Dan was so desperate to solve a crime, to prove himself to his online peers, that he orchestrated one himself." I looked at Pippa. "He killed Eden so that his trip would have a real outcome, not a fake one. So that he could return saying he solved a real murder."
Pippa frowned, like she wasn't entirely convinced.
"Come on, we have to find Ana's windmill," I said, burying the phone in the inside pocket of my coat. "I have a feeling we'll find Eden's missing money and jewelry there as well. Dan probably stashed it there after he did the deed. He's probably gone back for it."
"Poor Julian, accidentally stumbling into this whole thing," Pippa murmured.
"Yes...Julian..." I wasn't sure just how 'poor' Julian was. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket again and re-read Kenneth's text. "Pippa, Kenneth says that Julian and Garry are in a relationship, together."
"Huh?" Pippa asked, slamming her foot on the brake. I was lucky I didn't go straight through the windshield. She leaned against the steering wheel. "Well, I guess that explains why we saw them exchanging jewelry in the cab of the train."
I suppose it did.
We both sat there in silence for a few minutes. "But Julian clearly wasn't in a relationship with Eden," I said. "So what was he doing, pretending? Why did he confess to her murder?"
"Hey," Pippa said, pointing ahead of her to a tiny dot in the distance. "Is that the windmill?"
I nodded. "Let’s go, Pippa," I said, pulling my seat belt back on. "Let's go perform a citizen's arrest on my good friend Dan. Only one person is solving a mystery today, and it's not him."
Pippa glared at me.
"Oh, right. Two people."
She shook her head and started the engine. "We really do need to arrest Dan. Before your ego gets so out of control it actually bursts."
Chapter 12
"Stop the truck," I called out when we were right behind the hill. "It's better we walk from here. We might stand a chance of sneaking up and surprising Dan before he runs again."
Pippa looked a little unsure about stopping but she finally nodded and un-did her seat belt. "I'm feeling kinda flushed anyway. I need the fresh air."
"Again?"
But I climbed down from the cab, unable to worry about that right then. "I hope Dan didn't hear the engine," I said, creeping toward the windmill.
"How do we even know he’s here?" Pippa asked, still looking a bit green.
"Where else would he be hiding?" I pointed out. "It's the only place he can be. Besides, he waited until everyone was back on the train, including the cops, before he went back to the windmill to get his stolen stash."
Pippa stopped walking. "I'm not sure, Rach..."
"What, you're still not feeling well?"
Not that. She still wasn't walking. "It's just that, when Eden was killed, Dan was in the carriage with us."
I shook my head. "No, we don't know that for certain. I didn't see him..."
"Yeah, because you had your head buried in your magazine. But I was sitting backwards, remember? And I could see the whole carriage. And I had one eye on Dan—or more like his powdered donuts. Those powdered donuts did not leave the carriage."
I stopped walking as well. "Okay...well, maybe he killed Eden before that? Poisoned her or something?"
"I think you're clutching at straws now," Pippa said, staring at the windmill ahead of us. There was a face staring down at us from one of the top rooms. One of Ana's daughters.
I stared at it as well. "Maybe Dan had help," I said slowly. "After all, it's not like he doesn't have a lot of murder knowledge. He might even know a couple of murderers."
Pippa took a step backwards. "Are you talking about Ana? And her family?"
"Maybe," I said. "Maybe they are all in it together. Or maybe they hired Dan to help them out."
Pippa's eyes were wide. "Was Ana a suspect in the murder thirty years ago?"
I shook my head. "She would have only been a teenager when her grandparents were killed in this windmill. She wasn't listed as a suspect in the newspaper articles, but maybe she got away with it...just like she's going to get away with it now, if we don't catch her."
"How did they even get in contact with Dan?" Pippa wondered as we hurried along through the fields again.
"Oh my gosh, do not tell me it is about to rain," I said, glaring up at the blackening clouds swirling above the windmill.
I stopped for breath and to answer her question. "I suppose Ana uses the same forums as Dan does—perfect place to find the sorts of creeps who are obsessed with murder."
"Ooh, Rachael!" Pippa suddenly squealed. "Look what I just found!" She stopped still in her tracks and bent over.
I assumed she'd found a clue, or one of Eden's necklaces, or maybe even a drop of blood.
She plucked something out of the earth then stood up and showed it to me. "Look, it's a four leaf clover!" She grinned at me. "Do you know how rare these are?"
I nodded. "One in ten thousand…or so I’m told. Well, maybe we're about to get lucky."
It might not have been used to farm wind, but the blades of the windmill were spinning rapidly thanks to the approaching storm we were about to be trapped in.
This time we were not met by a smiling face at the door and offers of homemade cookies and lemonade. This time we were greeted by a pistol in the face.
"What are you two doing here?" Ana snarled, as we both put our hands up and stumbled back onto the grass.
Oh, shoot. It was the same gun that Garry had dropped the night before. Thanks a bunch, Garry. Even when you're not here, you're a pain in my side.
I kept my hands up. "We're looking for Dan." Darn, I had no idea what his full name was. "Dan's the man," I said, trying not to roll my eyes. "I don't suppose you know that name?"
Ana looked confused. "Who is that?"
"Your little internet friend," I said. "The one you talk to on the murder forums."
Ana dropped her gun just a little. "Murder forums?" she whispered. "What are they?"
"Don't play dumb. You and Dan have been in contact on the internet?"
"Who is Dan? That nice young man who was here yesterday?" she asked. "Why, has something happened to him?"
"Oh, you didn't just meet him yesterday!" I shouted. "You met him ages ago, on the internet."
"Internet? We don't have any internet out this way, dear," she said in a creepy voice. She even laughed lightly. "We barely even get two stations on the TV. There's no computer in this house."
I peeked over her shoulder. "Mind if I come inside to look?"
Ana lifted the gun again and aimed it right in the middle of my face. I gulped. "Come on," I said. "I just want to know if my friend Dan is here, that's all."
"I am really not feeling well," Pippa said suddenly, gripping at her stomach. "What was in that eggs and bacon you cooked, Rachael?"
"It was just...eggs and bacon!" I said.
For a second, I assumed she was just pretending to be sick to cause a diversion so we could run, or kick the gun out of Ana's hand, or both.
But she was either really committed to the part, or really sick, because she hurled into the grass.
It did give me time to grab the gun, though. Having no clue what to do with it, I wildly waved it around. It had the desired effect, I supposed, because Ana, looking startled and shocked, took off like the wind across the fields.
"Come back!" I screamed, trying to run after her. But she was fast, and the rain started to come down in buckets and I quickly retreated, realizing there was no way I was going to catch up with her.
"She's gone, Pippa," I said, collapsing against the side of the windmill. I dropped the gun.
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"Let's go inside," Pippa said, still doubled over. "I need some water."
She stumbled in and went straight to the sink while I stormed through the windmill, screaming, "Dan! Where are you?" and looking inside every room and nook and cranny for him. "I know you are in here!" I said, checking under the kitchen table.
"Darn it!" I cried out. "I really don't think he's here!" I kicked the table and then jumped when I heard footsteps coming into the kitchen.
I knew it was Dan. And I'd stupidly dropped the gun.
I picked up a chair to protect myself, but lowered it when it wasn't Dan who came in. It was Garry.
He was out of breath and dripping wet from the rain. "Where is Dan?" Garry asked, his eyes wild as he approached first me, then Pippa.
"I— We don't know," Pippa said, almost speechless. "What are you doing here? You know Dan is guilty?"
"Oh, I know he is guilty all right. I've been trying to catch that little creep for the last twenty-four hours. Why do you think I was here at the windmill last night, snooping around? Why do you think I agreed to stay in a room with him?"
I was a little out of breath from all the excitement. "And did you manage to find anything last night? Anything incriminating?"
He shook his head. "Just chickens and eggs. Some very loud chickens."
"We're looking for Dan as well," Pippa said. "But he's missing."
Garry looked like he was about to explode.
"Garry," I said, keeping my voice even. "We know about you and Julian. We know that Julian wasn't really in love with Eden. What is going on?"
Garry's face dropped. "I knew you two overheard everything we said in the cab!" He took a step toward me. "Just how much did you hear?"
He pulled the pistol out of his pocket and aimed it right at me. Great. Why had I dropped that in the grass again?
"Put the gun down!" Pippa screamed, coming at him with the chair I'd dropped before, trying to protect me. Garry just rolled his eyes and turned the gun on her.
She dropped the chair, trembling. "Uh oh, I think I'm going to be sick again."
Then, outside, there were sirens.
Chapter 13
"We caught this guy hiding in the grass," Officer Green said, guiding Dan along, his hands cuffed behind his back. "Haven't even had a chance to read him his rights yet." She wiped her brow, wet from both the rain and the exertion of chasing after Dan the Man.
I noticed her police car parked near our truck.
"How did you know he was here?" I asked Officer Green.
"I didn't. We had reports of a truck being driven illegally through the fields," she said.
"Oh."
"But when I saw this guy doing a runner...." Green stopped and winked at Garry. "Well, this guy told me everything. About how Dan arranged the whole murder of Eden Foulkes."
Dan struggled to get free. "You don't understand!" he cried out. "You don't know the full story!"
"Save it," Green said, struggling to gain control of him. "You're under arrest for conspiracy to murder," she said, before reading Dan his rights.
"But I solved the case!" Dan shouted. "Julian did it! He's already been arrested!"
Pippa and I looked at each other. This guy couldn't actually be serious, could he?
"You didn't solve anything," I said, stepping up to him while his hands were tied behind his back. "You blamed an innocent man."
But Dan wasn't focused on me. He was only glaring at Garry. "Are you going to tell her the truth, Garry? Or am I?"
Garry lunged at him and he knocked Dan to the ground. "You shut up, you little punk."
"Hey!" Green called out, while Dan lay on the ground, spluttering for air, almost being choked by Garry's hands. "Get off him!"
Garry stood up. "This guy's crazy," Garry said to Green. "You can't believe anything he says."
"I'll decide on that," Green said, suddenly turning cold against Garry. "What do you have to say, Dan?"
Dan was shaking as he spoke.
"I wanted to check out the murder scene. At the windmill. But the train doesn't stop anywhere near it...so I told the conductor I'd pay him five hundred dollars if he stopped the train all the way out here, make it seem like there was something on the tracks."
I turned slowly toward Garry, whose face was turning a deep crimson.
"Is this true?" Green asked.
Garry didn't answer.
"Of course he agreed," Dan said. "People always do when you offer them money."
Oh my goodness. I stepped forward and cut him off. "But you didn't stop the train slowly enough," I said, realizing what had happened. "It came to a halt way too quickly."
I spun around and looked at Pippa. "Remember? You hurt you neck?"
She nodded. “It still hurts, actually,” she said, rubbing it. “Maybe that's why I haven't been feeling well for the past twenty-four hours.”
I turned back to Garry. "But you didn't come to a sudden stop because Eden had been killed." I let out a slow, bitter laugh. "Eden was killed because you came to a sudden stop."
I turned around to see Officer Green with her mouth wide open.
But I wasn't done yet. "Eden fell, didn't she? Hit her head.” It was starting to come together for me now.
Garry looked as though he was about to burst. “No,” he said, shaking his head firmly. “This is just what Dan wants you to think.” He was almost convincing. Almost.
Dan was standing there, looking smug. Maybe he had reason to be smug in that moment, much as I didn't want to admit it. Garry had tried to throw him under the bus. Well, the train, I suppose. And Garry was finally exposed.
“Eden died right there, all thanks to your negligence and the fact that you took a bribe from this idiot." I pointed at Dan, who looked slightly less smug. "How was it going to look when the authorities found out that the conductor, the person who is supposed to be in charge of health and safety, was responsible for the death of a passenger?" I shot a look at Officer Green. "And he was using you, gaining your trust and making sure you suspected everyone but him. Only to save his own bacon."
Garry's face wasn't just red, it was purple. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." He took a step toward me. “Don't you think I checked on my passengers after I hit the brakes too quickly? I did a full check of all the carriages, starting at first class—” Of course. “—and Eden was fine, albeit a bit shaken up. She was alive.”
I gulped. And I had that sickening feeling you get when you know you were wrong.
I turned slowly toward Dan. That sickening feeling was replaced by that amazing feeling you get when you know you've got your man cornered.
“That's very interesting, Dan, isn't it?” I said slowly, watching the way his face changed, the way the smugness faded. “Because you were one of the first people on the scene after Eden was found dead, weren't you?” I frowned and moved closer to him. “You didn't hop off the train, run straight over to the windmill to check out this so-called old murder scene. Even though that was, allegedly, your plan. You stayed on the train.”
Everyone stopped to face Dan, who was wriggling like a worm on the end of a fishing hook.
I groaned and threw my head back, thinking about how stupid I'd been. That map that had just happened to fall out of Dan's bag, which had just happened to be on top of my bag. I shook my head. It had all been a set-up.
“It was a slight of hand,” I said to Dan. “Wasn't it? You knew all the details about the windmill murders, so it was easy for you to create the distraction. To give yourself an alibi. To even throw the blame on someone else by making it look like someone else's negligence was to blame.” I nodded toward poor, foolish Garry, then turned back to Dan. “And if your fingerprints were found at the crime scene, oh well, you could just use the excuse that you were investigating. But why, Dan? Why did you do it?”
I already knew the answer. So did Pippa. We'd been right. We looked at each other, and then she spoke up. “You wanted to solve a real murder mystery, not a cold case,
even if you had to commit it yourself. You just didn't count on two real amateur detectives showing up and figuring it out.”
“You two should never have been on the train!” Dan shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. “And Garry was never supposed to tell anyone about the money! Or I would have gotten away with it... I would have been celebrated by the online crime solving community!”
Poor, poor Dan. I did almost feel sorry for him. “I have to give you this, Dan. You really are a genius. And you really knew how to set up a mystery. I just about believed that Garry was responsible.” So did Green, though I didn't point that out right then.
Dan glowered at me. “I just never thought you'd be clever enough to figure it all out.” He laughed while Green led him away. “And you just about fell for that map trick!” he called over his shoulder.
I turned my attention back to a very sorry looking Garry.
“And you got taken along for a ride, Garry. Kind of ironic, really. You were supposed to be taking all of us for a ride.”
Garry bit his lip. “I was worried that my heavy handedness on the brakes really had killed Eden. Dan kept telling me I was responsible. I kept thinking, what if I was?”
"And what about poor Julian?" I said. "You were going to just let him take the blame, so you wouldn't get caught?"
"Of course not!" Garry cried. "I tried to help him escape. And I promised him that if he was caught, I knew enough people in town to get the charges dropped because I knew there was nothing that actually tied him to the crime. And then I came here last night, trying to find out if he said anything to Ana that might help his case."
I shook my head. "You mean, if he said anything to Ana that might have incriminated you? Wow, Garry, you're a really loyal boyfriend."
"Julian deserved it!" Garry cried. "He was only planning to marry Eden for her money! And he stole her jewelry after she was dead!"
I had a feeling Garry was still going to face consequences for what he had done, but in that moment, I just felt bad for him. Hopefully, the transport committee wouldn't go too hard on him.
Murder Train: A Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery Page 9
