A Sinister Slice of Murder: A Jessie Delacroix Murder Mystery (Whispering Pines Mystery Series Book 1)

by Constance Barker

  She nodded and turned to the Sheriff now, but I had been the only person in the world when she was talking to me.

  “Sheriff, you will speak first and tell them the state of the investigation. Try not to give the impression that we are still totally clueless, and tell them that you are following up several leads. And don’t forget to give the phone number for the tip line. Keep it short.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Then I’ll say a few words – a brief eulogy for the deceased, condolences for the family, and a firm resolve to find the person or persons responsible. We’ll open it up for a few questions, and if I don’t like the question I will refer it to you. When I put my hand on your arm after about five minutes, you will tell them it’s over and we will leave. Any questions?”

  “None, ma’am.”

  “Good. They will start warming up the helicopter when we begin, and I’ll be out of here by 6:15.”

  What a pro. Just like that, she was off to talk to her chief of staff.

  “Will we be able to open the Inn soon, Sheriff?”

  “As soon as the bigwigs are out of here, Miss Delacroix, it’s all yours – except for the murder scene and the backyard.”

  I let Arthur off his leash, and watched granny emerge from his little body. Mom immediately came and pulled her to a spot on the wall near the ceiling.

  “Where have you been, Mother! I’ve been worried sick. I thought you had crossed over, and I was getting ready to go there myself.”

  “Oh, now, Kat, I just went for a little walk with Jessie and the mutt.”

  Mutt! He’s a purebred beagle!

  “You have to tell me when you’re going to pull a stunt like that, Mother! Or better yet – just don’t do stupid impulsive things like possessing a dog!”

  I left them to their bickering and texted Alicia to come over after 7:00. Then I found Lexi and Kyle at a table in the Tea Room. Maddy came in and sat with us too just as the news conference was beginning. We heard the helicopter start up out back.

  “Aren’t you going to watch it, Kyle?” I asked him as Ashley set down cold glasses of sweet tea for Maddy and me.

  “Watch what? There’s nothing to report. No clues, no real suspects…”

  “Let’s talk about that. Who are the potential suspects, do you think?”

  “All of us who were at the séance table, for starters,” Lexi said.

  “And everybody who can remove somebody’s head and run into the trees or somewhere in a few seconds,” Maddy added. “And, of course, the ghosts of the Carlisle children, or any other ghosts…”

  I shook my head at Maddy and opened my eyes wide. I didn’t want Kyle or anybody besides the three of us plus Carlo to know about Mom and Grandma Dixie.

  “Yeah, I guess there is the possibility of a supernatural culprit.” I sipped my tea and then squeezed a little lemon in it. “But let’s come up with a real list of real people. I mean, the nine of us who left the table with our noggins still attached didn’t have a head in our laps or a way to dispose of it before the lights came back on.”

  Ashley was making the rounds with a pitcher of iced tea and topped off the glasses of Lexi and Kyle. “So, that leaves me, I guess,” she said with a concerned look.

  “You didn’t have a head in your pocket either, Ashley,” Kyle said with an encouraging smile, “So I think we can cross you off the list.”

  That brought a glimmer of a smile to her face, but then she got serious again. “I think a ghost or a ninja was waiting in the courtyard, swooped in to cut off his head, and then rushed out right past me and disappeared into the swamp.”

  “Thank you, Ashley.” Kyle raised his full glass towards her, and she was off to the next table. “That squares with what we know too.”

  “That’s true,” I said. “There was a light trail of blood leading out the back and some blood on Ashley’s apron too.”

  “What else do we know, Kyle?” Lexi asked her husband.

  “Just that Lionel fumbled his way to the wall switch and turned the dimmer all the way up, but that didn’t do anything. So he groped his way to the main electrical box outside and found that the main switch had been shut off. It’s on the opposite side of the doorway from where Ashley was standing. He’s the one who turned the lights on again, which means that the killer must have turned them off.”

  “And Ashley felt someone, or something, rush by her twice – presumably to run in and cut off his head and then to run out with the head and disappear into the night.” I was feeling frustrated. “So we’ve got ghosts, aliens, ninjas, and a lot of people who couldn’t possibly have done it.” There has to be something we’re missing.

  “And,” Kyle said with his index finger poised, “an unknown subject with an unknown motive and an unknown cutting device who knows how to be stealthy and can probably run real fast.”

  Ehhhh…I suppose it could be something that reasonable and practical.

  “Well, it’s still early.” Kyle pushed his chair away from the table, kissed his wife on the cheek, and stood up. “I’m going over to the morgue in Stony Point and see if the body has given up any more clues about the crime.”

  “And I’m going with you.” I stood up too.

  “What are you talking about, Jessie? I’ve got law enforcement clearance. You…”

  “I am your secretary. The sheriff brought someone to take notes for him, and I will take notes for you.”

  “But…”

  “I’m coming.”

  “Honey, don’t fight it. You’ve known Jessie as long as I have, and you’re not going to talk her out of it. Besides, you’ll have someone to keep you company.”

  One man, two women. He caved.

  “I’ll have to get some things out of the car to make room…”

  “Don’t bother. We’ll take the ATVs over the back route to the ferry landing by the horse ranch. It’s Saturday – they’ll be running till midnight. Let’s saddle up!”

  Kyle’s face lit up. “Now you’re talking. You should have led with that.”

  “Oh, Maddy – Alicia St. George is coming back for the suite tonight. I already promised it to her.”

  “Good to know. I’ve got a waiting list from the press groups, so I’ll get the other rooms filled right now. Peak season rates kick in tonight, don’t they?” she asked with a sly grin.

  Ah, what the heck – they’re on expense accounts. “That’s your call. I’ll have Lionel get the four-wheelers fired up, Kyle.” I sent him a text.

  All-terrain vehicles are a lot of fun – kind of like a cross between a motorcycle and a go-kart with four big low-pressure tires that will go over anything, like a miniature open-air monster truck.

  The whir of the helicopter passing right over the Nirvana filled the place, and it looked like Sheriff Muldoon was rounding up his team for a quick departure too.

  “No FBI, Kyle?’

  “Oh, they were poking their noses around here earlier. I don’t think they’ll be back at the Inn, but they seemed to have a real interest in figuring out how Mr. St. George’s head was removed so quickly and cleanly. We might run into them at the morgue, but they haven’t claimed jurisdiction over the case.”

  A text came in from Lionel.

  “That was fast. He will have two of them gassed up and ready to go in front of my carriage house in five minutes.”

  I excused myself on the premise that I wanted to get a heavier jacket for the ride across the swamp and river, but I had something a little more in mind.

  “I’ll meet you at the ATVs in a few.”

  The sun was sitting just above the horizon behind the pines, and it looked like it would be another dark night…but hopefully not too dark for us to shed a little light on this most unusual murder.

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  Chapter Ten

  “Last one there buys brunch tomorrow!”

  I took off like a shot pas
t the yellow tape toward the pines, since we couldn’t cut through the courtyard.

  “No way! You know I can’t keep up with Jessie Knievel!”

  I threw my head back and laughed as I turned behind the first row of pine trees. Who’s the girl now? I flew over the bumpy terrain in the dusky twilight and emerged onto the rolling hills once I got past the taped off area. Kyle was in hot pursuit as I splashed through some soft, muddy puddles and then onto the two-rut road that used to be the main path to the ferry landing. I slowed down as I approached the old hacienda, which was under new management now as a horse-riding ranch.

  A tall man walked out of the office 20 yards in front of me, which was in the big ranch house. He was in the shadows and wearing a Stetson hat as I rolled slowly toward him with Kyle pulling up next to me now. He stepped under the light of the lamppost with the Office sign attached just as I stopped in front of him.

  “Evening, folks. Welcome to Starlight Ranch. I’m Travis Yates. Lookin’ for a romantic moonlight ride this evening?” He looked at the sky. “I guess it would be more like a starlight ride tonight.”

  My jaw was practically on my chin, and I just looked at him. He took off his hat to reveal a full head of luxuriant blond hair. His teal eyes sparkled in the lamplight, and his jaw was strong and firm with three days growth of beard on his rugged face. I was the girl this time, but that’s just what I wanted to be right now.

  Say something, Kyle! Thank God he did.

  “No, nothing like that. Just taking the back road to the ferry.”

  “Well, you’re welcome to leave your vehicles here. The ferry landing is just down that footpath. It’ll bring you right to the new main road and the park-and-ride lot.”

  Tall…blond…maybe this is the cowboy that Esmeralda promised me! I looked slowly down toward his boots. Please be snakeskin, please, please, please! Drat. Beat up old buckskin boots.

  I faded back into reality. “Thanks. We’ll do that. Much appreciated. I’m Jessie Delcaroix.”

  “From the Haunted Inn Delacroixs?”

  “That’s me!” Wow. He knows the place. This might be a good time to let him know that I’m available. “And this is Kyle Carnigan, the chief of security in Whispering Pines and the husband of my best friend. I’m just helping him with a little police work in Stony Point.”

  His smile seemed to indicate possible interest. Maybe I should try to look behind his eyes and into his head. Uh…no.

  There was a lot of wiggling and wriggling under my jacket, and then Arthur stuck his head out above the top of the zipper and looked at Travis.

  “Whoa. Now that’s a real man.”

  “Not now, Granny.”

  “Too bad he’s gay.”

  A woman poked her head out of the office door and waved. “Hi, Jessie!”

  The dim bulb near the door lit her face just enough for me to figure out who it was, after a little squinting.

  “Oh…hi, Irene. Nice night.” I looked at Travis. “I see you know Irene. Is she doing a reading for you?” Please say yes.

  “No, nothing like that. She brought some cookies over to welcome me to the neighborhood. Third time this week.”

  “Well, let’s get a move on Jessie. We’ve only got an hour before they lock the place up over there.” Kyle was getting impatient.

  “Just roll ’em up to the house under the light. They’ll be just fine here.” Travis walked alongside me. “Come by again, ma’am, and I’ll take you for a ride down some trails you’ve never seen before.”

  That’s a ride I’d love to take. I’m pretty sure you could take me somewhere I’ve never been.

  “And you should stop by the Nirvana Tea Room at the Inn and experience one of Carlo’s famous lunches.”

  He nodded, and Kyle and I ran to catch on the 6:45 ferry just before it left.

  The air was cool, and I was glad I had my big jacket. We sat near the back of the big flat boat that could hold 20 people, but there were only a dozen of us on it. The boat lifted up off the water, and the huge fan behind us pushed us ahead.

  “Jessie, what are you thinking, bringing that dog with you? They’ll never let it in there.”

  “They will if I tell them it’s my service dog, Kyle.”

  He chortled. “First of all, you’re not blind, and second, it’s a little beagle.”

  “It’s my cuddle dog. I need it to calm my nerves when I’m in stressful situations – like looking at a headless corpse.”

  He shook his head and then shrugged. “Well, if anyone can pull it off, you can…but we’ll see.”

  “No pets allowed, ma’am. Sorry.” The stone-faced middle-aged woman guard at the desk would be a hard sell.

  “It’s my psychiatric service dog. I suffer from anxiety.”

  She wasn’t buying it.

  “Ma’am, service animals have to be trained. We can’t have barely full-grown animals like this running around the halls. I’m sorry.”

  I put Arthur on the floor, still on his leash.

  “Arthur, sit.” He sat.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Stand up and raise your left front paw.” He did.

  She gained interest.

  “Look to your left. Look up. Look to your right.” Check, check, check.

  She still looked skeptical. “Go ahead. Give Arthur a command.”

  She gave me a crafty smile, thinking she could trip us up. “Arthur, take three steps forward and two backwards, bark softly three times, and then stand on your hind legs and turn around in a full circle.” She looked at me with a condescending confidence and then turned to my possessed little beagle.

  Arthur nodded at her with a little “arf” and then looked straight ahead. He took the prescribed steps, yipped three times, and then did the two-pawed pirouette. This time the guard looked at me with wonder instead of skepticism.

  “Arthur, come here boy. Up.”

  He jumped into my arms, and I smiled smugly at her.

  “Would you like him to sing Swanee River and tap dance for good measure?”

  I felt an elbow in my ribs from Kyle, so I curbed my enthusiasm. She handed me visitor passes for myself and Arthur, and we strolled to the elevator.

  “Good job, Granny!”

  Kyle seemed quite impressed and curious, but didn’t say anything.

  We went to the fourth floor. Kyle was well known there, and they let us into the behind the double swinging doors at the end of the hall.

  “St. George?” Kyle asked the young doctor in a white lab coat who was cutting open the chest of an old woman.

  “Drawer 33, Officer.” He pointed to a bank of body drawers behind him and then went back to work, speaking all of his observations into a voice recorder.

  Kyle opened the drawer, and the toe tag indicated that we had the right body. So did the lack of a head. He looked at the neck and then went to the active file bin to look over the notes and transcript of the autopsy.

  “Granny?”

  “Shhh.”

  Several minutes later, Kyle came back and looked at the neck again, more closely examining certain areas of it, it seemed. Then he handed me the file.

  “Take a look and then file it.” He walked over to the man doing the autopsy.

  “Excuse me, Doctor…” He looked at the man’s nametag. “…Olson. Did you perform the autopsy on Mr. St. George?”

  “I assisted.”

  “Do you have a minute?” They walked over to the headless corpse.

  Arthur took several sniffs and then nodded at me. He was done, so I walked away and read over the report. It was a lot of medical jargon, and nothing I didn’t already know. I put the file back in the rolling bin of active files.

  Through the small windows on the swinging doors to the autopsy lab and morgue I could see an open room with two men sitting at a table, deep in conversation.

  “I’ll be out here, Kyle.”

  Their black jackets said FBI on the front. I tapped on the door and put on my best smile.

&nb
sp; “Excuse me gentlemen.” Their look indicated that I was bothering them. “I wonder if you could keep an eye on my service dog while I run to the ladies room.”

  Fortunately, the heavier man nearest me was a dog-lover.

  “Sure thing, lady. Come here boy! Or is it girl?” He looked at me.

  “Boy. His name is Arthur, and he’s very well trained. I’ll be back in a few. Thanks!”

  I went and stood by the vending machines and waited for Kyle. I wanted to give Granny as much time as possible to get any “intel” those FBI guys might have.

  The ride back was quiet, although I did have one question for Granny when we got on the ferry.

  “What did you mean, ‘too bad he’s gay,’ Granny?”

  “Huh? Oh…the cowboy. Well, a man will always look at a woman’s body, like Wally did at the bakeshop. Even nice guys let their imaginations run wild a little bit. But this guy was just looking at your face – your eyes, your smile, your hair. It’s just not normal for a man who likes women.”

  “Doesn’t sound all that gay to me, Gran. Besides, I had a big jacket and a dog covering me up.”

  “Well, I don’t know, Jessie, but his first thoughts weren’t about sex. I’m going to take a nap now.”

  Arthur enjoyed the wind in his face on the boat and barked at squirrels on the path back to the horse ranch. The ranch house was dark, and there was no sign of Travis when we picked up our ATVs. I wondered if Irene was still in there with him. We took the front way back to the Inn on the street, since the back way was too dark now, even with our little headlights.

  Kyle and Lexi headed for home. I woke Granny up, dropped Arthur off in the lobby, and walked through the Tea Room. There were still several tables, mostly filled with reporters from the Inn, sipping on coffee or soft drinks. Wally and Molly Lambert were in the corner booth after a long day at the bakery. Ashley looked exhausted, so I sent her home. I poked my head into the kitchen, and Carlo was fast asleep on a folding chair. Mom was there too with her finger to her lips telling me to be quiet so I wouldn’t wake him.