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

by Constance Barker

  My mood changed in a flash. Maybe it was the “fight” half of my “fight or flight” instinct, but I was having none of this. Pardon my French, but oh, Hell No! I am no Joan of Arc, and I’m not Luke Skywalker or a Jedi knight ready to fight Vader and the Evil Empire.

  I was not going to be intimidated or get all freaked out by some old scary dude with gold eyes. Just because he was three different people and a cat, that didn’t mean I was going to shiver in my boots and then say “okay, fine.” My mother taught me not to take candy from strangers and to scream if they touched me, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to jump into a windowless white panel truck from Transylvania with this guy. He was going to get a piece of my mind – or at least of my attitude. I wiped my hand down my face from my forehead to my chin, and…oh, rats. It was Anika again.

  “Hehe! Pretty spooky, huh? What do you think, Jessie?” She was wide-eyed with an anxious grin.

  “I…We can talk about it next time, Anika. It’s too much to think about right now. I have a lot on my mind at the moment…”

  “Oh, you mean that silly old murder?” She tried to brush off my concerns about it with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry, Jessica. You’re going to solve it tomorrow before lunch! You’re going to laugh when you figure out what really happened! Well, maybe not laugh, because it’s so sad, but you know what I mean.”

  I didn’t.

  “Moondance can give you some clues if you get stuck, Jessie. Goodnight!”

  She shrunk downward, and Moondance came out from behind the counter to escort me to the door. I waved my farewell to the cat and headed into the night toward my little home.

  Could this day get any weirder? I hope Arthur’s okay. Darn it, my bath is cold by now. How am I going to solve this crime tomorrow? Just breathe…that’s right. Don’t forget to exhale. Good girl

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  Chapter Fifteen

  “Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!”

  “Hmm…? Wha…?”

  “Ruff, Ruff!”

  “Mmmmm…Good morning, Arfur. What time is it? And why do you have your leash in your mouth?”

  “Ruff!”

  “Okay, okay. It’s time for a nice refreshing morning walk. I agree. We have an Inn and a Tea Room to run.”

  “Ruff!”

  “Right – and a murder to solve.”

  It was 6:15. I was a little groggy, but I had gotten to sleep before midnight. Of course, Arthur had been sleeping like a log since before I got in the tub last night, so he’s chipper and raring to go. I gave him a couple scoops of his favorite canned dog food, freshened up his water, and headed into the bathroom for my usual quick hot shower with an ice-cold rinse. That ought to wake me up. Well…that and a cup of coffee.

  “I wish you could make the coffee while I’m in the shower, Arthur. You need to start pulling your weight around here.”

  It seemed like he understood me, because he jumped onto the bathroom scale.

  “19 pounds. Pretty good, boy. Almost full-grown.”

  He looked at me.

  “Okay. It’s my turn.”

  I got “shower-ready,” even removing a couple of bobby pins before I stepped onto the demon scale. I opened one eye and peeked at the result. 112 pounds.

  “Not too bad, Arfy. But I’ve got two pounds to lose, so it looks like we’ll be running instead of walking. I’ll shower afterwards.”

  We jogged down Carlisle Avenue, headed south and took a lap around the Go-Kart track.

  “We’ll have to come back when they’re open sometime, Arthur, and drive around the track. I think you’ll like it!”

  We headed back to the main drag and ended our nearly three-mile jog at Wally and Molly’s.

  I was ready to collapse, but Arthur was ready for more.

  “Whew! 30 minutes is all you’re going to get out of me today, Arthur.” We went inside the bakeshop just before 7:00 a.m. “Coffee, Molly!”

  “Well, you’re full of energy this morning, Jessie. Would you like a nice fresh bear claw with that?”

  I would love one, but that lovely temptress would not steal my soul today. It looked like a delicious little breakfast treat, but it was really ten miles of hard labor and sweat in disguise. “Just coffee today, thanks. And a bag of your Mutt Morsels.”

  “Nice of you to patronize your competition, Jessie,” she said with a motherly smile as she passed me my coffee with just the right amounts of cream and honey.

  I grabbed a bag of morsels off the top of the display case and laughed a little. “Well, I guess we are competitors in a way, Molly. But if I have coffee at the Nirvana I could get stuck working all morning. You’re not going to put me to work, are you?”

  She looked like she was thinking it over. “Of course not, Jessie. But I could use someone to take over the afternoon shift for me. I’m getting too old for these long days. And, oh – by the way, our apartment upstairs has come open. Chad and Alice bought a house on Willow. Let me know if you run into anyone who’s looking. It’s just a one-bedroom, but it’s nice.”

  I was feeling pretty good after my shower and a protein shake…with just a small scoop of ice cream in it. Dairy has calcium and Vitamin D, right?

  The Tea Room was filled with the usual suspects, along with some of the guests. I grabbed a pot of coffee and started making the rounds for refills.

  “Good morning, Ralphie. How’s the plumbing business?”

  “Goin’ down the drain, Jessie,” he said with a crafty grin.

  He never gets tired of his puns, and I’m always happy to give him the opportunity to crack a joke. Tomorrow the answer will probably be “It’s a real pipe dream.” That’s my favorite.

  “More coffee?”

  “Please. Hey, Jessica, when are you going to get real breakfasts in this place anyway?”

  “Well, we’re a Tea Room, Ralphie. Don’t you like Carlo’s little bacon and egg rollups?”

  “Well, you know, everything that Carlo makes is real good. But I’m not much for dainty things that make me feel like I should I should eat ’em with my little finger stickin’ out. That’s okay if it’s a tea party with my little niece, but ,well…this might be a Tea Room, but it’s a Bed and Breakfast too. Says so right over the front door.”

  He had a point. “Let me think about that, Ralphie. The Inn guests would probably like that too.”

  “Jessie!”

  Lexi poked her head out of the kitchen and waved me in.

  “What’s up, Lex?”

  “Help me out?”

  “Of course.”

  “Could you make a pot of decaf, and then call Kyle and ask him to bring me my vitamins and folic acid? I have to run orders because Ashley’s working the noon-to-closing shift today.”

  “I can run to your house and get them, Lexi.”

  “Thanks, but…I’d kind of like to see Kyle anyway. It’s probably hormonal.” She smiled and headed out with a tray of food.

  I made the coffee, got a wink from Carlo when I grabbed a nibble on my way through the kitchen, and went to the solarium to find a quiet place to make the call. This was perfect, because I had to make sure Alicia was safe in her holding cell this morning.

  “Kyle, it’s Jessie.”

  “Oh, my gosh…”

  Kyle sounded like there was a problem, and my heart stopped. Did Alicia’s head fall off? “What is it, Kyle? Is everything all right?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing, Jessie. I just spilled the last swallow of my coffee when I picked up the phone. What’s up?”

  “Your lovely and charming wife would like you to bring her vitamins and folic acid to her if you can…and I think she might like a hug too.”

  “I think I can do that.”

  “How’s Alicia doing? Say ‘hello’ for me.”

  “Jessie says ‘hello,’ Alicia.” He put the phone back close to his mouth and spoke softly. “Wow. She seems fine, but your thoughtful
greeting almost brought her to tears. Say, is Freddy there in the restaurant?”

  “Yes, he was sitting at the end of the counter in his uniform a minute ago when I was making a pot of coffee.”

  “Great. He’s waiting for Alicia’s breakfast. When he gets back here with it, I’ll take off, so it shouldn’t be too long.”

  “I’ll tell her, Kyle.”

  “Okay, then…”

  “Oh…and Kyle…tell Freddie not to let anyone into Alicia’s cell while you’re gone.”

  “Well, I don’t know who would come here to visit her, but why?”

  “I had a…”

  “Oh. One of your dreams or premonitions. I know you have an uncanny way of feeling little things that are going to happen, Jessie, but it could just be stress this time too. But I’ll tell him to be careful.”

  The early rush was winding down into the mid-morning lull when Kyle came through the front door of L’Auberge Hantée. I was in the lobby chatting with Maddy at the front desk.

  “That was fast, Kyle. Did you take the Batmobile?”

  “Nah, it’s in the shop, so I flew.”

  I wouldn’t doubt it. He was a real superhero when it came to Lexi.

  “Go sit down in the solarium. I’ll get her.”

  “I’ll get her,” Maddy said, pulling an apron from the small linen closet behind her and fastening it around her waist. “I can handle Ralphie and Elmer for a while if you guys will keep an eye on the front door for me.”

  “Deal!”

  I slid the Queen Anne armchair back a little so I could see the front door, and Lexi and Kyle took the davenport. Moondance appeared out of nowhere and strolled by, giving me a knowing nod, and then he dashed into the pawnshop. He really is stealthy, and has the perfect disguise for a spy. Well, Granny and Arthur do all right in that department too.

  “Kyle, tell me about the interrogation with Alicia St. George. And what is the evidence they have against her?”

  Of course, he wasn’t supposed to leak confidential information, but he knew it was safe with us – and we were present during the crime, so maybe we could add something too.

  “Well, I’m afraid she’s guilty, Jessie. I know you have struck up a friendship with her, but it really doesn’t look good.”

  My heart sank a little. “Why?”

  “Well, they didn’t find anything in the room the night of the murder, but they did another sweep the next morning after everyone had checked out. The Feds didn’t find anything, but the Sheriff’s team found a cell phone in the access panel behind the bathtub.”

  “It was Alicia’s?”

  “Yes, well…it was one of those prepaid phones. They call them ‘burner phones’ when drug dealers and other criminals use them, because they are disposable – they can just use them and burn them…get a new one every week. And they aren’t registered in anybody’s name. It makes them very hard to trace.”

  “Yeah, I know what they are. I used to use one when I was an impoverished college student. You can just buy them with cash, buy a card with cash, and load the minutes on them. So what? It could have been under the bathtub for a couple years.”

  “Well, the messages tell a different story. There was a plot between two people to kill the “King,” which is probably the designer.”

  “But…”

  “And they talked about doing it at the ‘spookfest’ at the ‘Castle’ on Friday night.”

  I was a little deflated. “What else? What do you know about the actual killer?”

  “Well, we’re pretty sure it’s the father of Alicia’s two boys because he said he didn’t want his twin princes to be anywhere around when it happened.”

  I hated to admit it. “The noose is tightening.”

  “Yeah, and it gets even tighter when they talk about taking over the ‘Kingdom,’ which is for sure DSG…and the messages all match up with the ones on the phone Lionel found on the path the killer took to dispose of the head.”

  “I guess it’s over, then.” It looked like Alicia wasn’t in any danger of getting her head cut off after all. “Did they check the birth certificates of the boys to find out who the father was?”

  “Dead end. It was a phony name – Barney Fife, from an old TV show. I asked Hector to see what he could find out when he got back to Charleston. He said he would be coming back here today to talk about the job here. He texted to tell me that he’s got a couple of pictures from company parties with Alicia and a young guy.”

  “So why are these deputies keeping such a close eye on the daughter?”

  “Protection. Apparently Alicia was upset because he didn’t kill ‘Daddy’s little girl’ too. You know. She has a claim on the DSG company too, especially now that she’s an adult.”

  Oh my goodness. How could she even think about killing that young girl?

  Kyle pulled a couple of folded sheets of paper out of his pocket. “Here. Here’s the transcript. Take a look for yourself.”

  I heard several sets of steps coming down the stairway and went out to take a look. It was Rodney, Edgar, and Cassie St. George. She had her dark glasses on and looked very sophisticated in her white dress, oversized handbag, and large-brimmed navy blue hat.

  I didn’t know if I should speak to her or not after her brusque brush-by last night. But she quickly quelled my concerns.

  “Good morning, Miss Delacroix.” She smiled gently, and it seemed as though her mood had taken a definite change for the better. “I’m sorry if I was rude last night. It’s just that there’ve been so many things – big things and bad things – going on in my life.”

  “You don’t have to explain, Cassie. I can only imagine what you must be going through.”

  “Thank you. Yes, It was much harder than I expected. I’m just going to take a little walk through the shops, eat some fudge and baked goods on the way, and then stop in and visit Mom for a minute.”

  Ah, to be young again. Well, I guess I’m not exactly old at 25, but I can’t graze on sweets all day and still have a figure like Cassie’s.

  “You enjoy the fresh air, Cassie, and let me know if there’s anything at all I can do for you.” I opened the front door for them and then went back to the solarium.

  I plopped back down on the stiff but comfy button-tufted wing chair and looked at Lexi, then at Kyle. “So where did we leave off?”

  “We have to find out who she was having an affair with eight years ago,” Kyle reminded me. “She didn’t marry Dane until a year or two after the twins were born, but she was working in marketing at DSG for several years before that.”

  Aha! “Maybe the boys are Dane’s too!”

  “No. Thought of that, but Dane and Alicia both have blue eyes. The boy’s have brown eyes. And Dane didn’t plot to cut off his own head.”

  Oh, yeah. Tenth grade biology, dominant and recessive genes. Right.

  “Okay, then.” I started thinking out loud. “What do we know? It must have been someone with wavy brown hair and light brown eyes like the boys, who was an intern at DSG – so maybe it was someone who was an art student at CCAD eight years ago.”

  Oh my God. I was getting another really horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was looking at some ginger snaps brown eyes and curly brown hair recently – and at a CCAD duffle bag too. Then I saw Granny trying to get my attention by poking her head through the wall again. I really wished she would stop doing that.

  “Jessie…I took a little nap with Arthur…”

  “Granny! Stop bothering Arthur. And don’t bother me right now either. I’m busy!”

  “I know, Jessie, but this is important. I asked Arthur why he gave Mr. St. George’s head to Benji Wilkes, and he told me that it was his head. I didn’t understand what he meant right away, but he must have detected Benji’s scent on the path and on the head too, so he thought it belonged to him.”

  I nodded and signaled her to go. My body temperature fell a few degrees until I was chilly and had goose bumps on my arms. All the pieces of evidence
started coming together in my mind, one by one.

  “You guys…Benji is allergic to nuts. He’s the killer!”

  Lexi and Kyle looked at me like I had totally lost my mind.

  “Look you guys, the boys have wavy brown hair and light brown eyes, and Benji’s hair is almost the same, just a little curlier…but he has the same eyes.”

  “Jessie, that’s not enough…”

  “Wait, Kyle…and he has a duffle bag with the CCAD logo on it – that’s where he learned wood carving – and he would have been there at the right time to become an intern at DSG and meet Alicia a year before the boys were born.”

  Lexi looked interested, but Kyle was still skeptical.

  “And Arthur should have brought the head of Mr. St. George to me, but he stopped and turned and brought it to Benji – because he figured it belonged to him. He must have detected Benji’s scent on it.”

  Kyle began nodding very slowly and contemplatively.

  “And the twins wouldn’t take a coupon for a free Sundae from me because it had nuts on it – and they told me they’re allergic to all nuts!”

  “And?”

  “And last night when you said that Carlo’s sandwich had smoked almonds on it, Benji stopped in his tracks, ready to take a bite, and put it down. Then he took some carrots instead. He must be allergic to nuts too! He’s the father of the twins, so he has to be the killer!”

  Kyle stood up, almost convinced that my story made sense.

  “You guys, I saw Alicia in his shop two times, talking to Benji like they’ve know each other for a long time – and maybe plotting something because they stopped talking when I came in.

  He dialed his phone and asked Sheriff Muldoon to meet him at Benji’s shop.

  We got into Kyle’s car and drove the couple of blocks to Benji’s. Kyle was sensitive to the needs of the local shopkeepers, who were all his friends, and didn’t use any lights or sirens to distract or discourage the shoppers.