“How?” I asked.
“She didn’t like frogs. Joel found a frog and chased Amanda with it. It was not a nice thing to do. Christian and Sienna tried to stop him, but he yelled at them. He really scared Amanda with the frog. She fell twice. But the third time she fell, it was because Joel pushed her. That’s how she ended up in the poison bushes.” Theo sounded disapproving. “She got sick and had to go home. Christian was sad when she left. So was Sienna.”
“He’s right about that,” Zack added. “We all liked Amanda. And it was only a few days after she left when we began to make the wine. Only this time, we decided to use our nickname berries, instead of the blackberries Gordon had wanted.”
“You keep saying the rest of you wanted to make wine based on your nicknames,” I said. “But do you remember who first came up with the idea?”
I watched Zack’s expression slowly turn to one of revulsion. “Joel,” he said in a hoarse voice. “It was Joel’s idea. He was sick of the blackberry theme and thought we should be more creative. To be honest, he didn’t have to try hard to convince the rest of us. Making wines based on our berry nicknames did seem a more creative way to end the summer.” Zack shook his head. “Yet another reason we all feel so guilty.”
“When the police do contact Amanda Dobson, I bet she’ll tell them how Joel asked her about the different berries in the area. Especially which berries were poisonous. And once she told him what he needed to know, he found a way to get her off campus. Quick.”
Theo’s pale face grew even whiter. “Did Joel kill Sienna?”
“It looks like it. I think Joel was so angry at Sienna and Gordon that he waited to kill her all summer. For two months, he knew a poisoned wine was being made just for her.” A cold chill swept over me at the horror of what he had done. “Joel probably took sadistic pleasure out of it.”
Zack leaned against the island. “I feel sick.”
Because Theo didn’t look too good either, I steered him to a stool at the counter and made him sit. “Joel may have decided on such a method of murder because it took weeks to literally come to fruition. Had he been able to win Sienna back, he would have found a way to destroy her wine before she could drink it. Instead, she grew closer to Gordon, even announcing she was transferring to his college that fall. It signed her death warrant.”
With a cry, Zack looked up. “Then it was Joel who ran Christian off the road?”
“You did say it was he and Dawn who made certain all of you stuck to your decision to never tell the truth about Sienna’s death. You and Christian were the first ones to test him on how far he was willing to go to keep this secret buried.”
“The bastard. He killed Sienna and tried to kill Christian. I’ll murder him myself!”
“I think there’s been enough murder.” I welcomed the sound of Minnie singing “Ba-ba-ba ba-ba ba-ran” from the back of the house. At this moment, I needed a hint of normalcy.
“Don’t you see?” Zack said. “If Joel was insane enough to murder Sienna, he won’t stop at killing any of us to keep himself safe. Hell, Joel will punish us for simply trying to tell the truth.”
“But Joel is the one who needs to be punished.” Theo sounded as angry as Zack. “He should go to jail. Forever.”
“Agreed,” I replied. “Now we have to figure out a way to make that happen.”
“I know how.” Theo lifted his chin before saying something I thought I would never hear from his lips. “I’m going to call the police.”
Chapter 23
This time, I was the one who dreaded the call to the police. Theo and I faced hours of further questioning. And Sienna’s friends would be interrogated even more thoroughly. Now that I knew for certain one of them was a murderer, the prospect was daunting. When we all came face-to-face at the sheriff’s office, I felt as if I were looking at a firing squad. Until I realized Dawn, Gordon, Leah, and Joel were more frightened than I was. The secret they buried twenty years ago had finally been exposed to the light, just as Sienna’s bones had. Small wonder they appeared shell shocked. And defeated.
Zack repeated his story about how Sienna’s body was buried in the woods after she died from drinking the wine. Halfway through Zack’s confession, Gordon began gasping for air; within minutes, he was in the throes of a severe panic attack. Leah became physically ill when Zack described how they’d removed Sienna’s shorts and top in order to throw them into the lake. A livid Dawn accused Theo and me of stirring everything up. Of course, lawyers were called, which dragged out events until well into evening.
Throughout the endless day, Joel said little. But his hateful stare betrayed his seething rage. Only Theo was calm. It was as if now that the dark secret about Sienna’s death had been unearthed, his anxiety and fear had vanished. He spoke without hesitation about how he had seen Joel push Amanda into a poison ivy patch. This finally elicited a response from Joel, who remarked, “Are you going to arrest me for chasing a girl with a frog? Good luck with that.”
As the hours dragged on, I longed to be back in my shop, concerned only about how much raspberry jam I had in the back room, and whether I needed to place an order for more cranberry tea. Yet when the proceedings ended, I felt alarmed when no arrests were made.
“How can you let them leave?” I complained to Kit Holt, who had been part of the questioning. “They admitted that Sienna died in the woods after drinking baneberry wine. And that they threw her clothing into the lake to make it look as if she drowned. They admitted it!”
While Gordon denied Zack’s story at first, he soon broke down and confessed. As did Leah. Their confessions rattled Dawn so much, she felt compelled to give her version of events, one in which she tried to minimize Gordon’s involvement. Only Joel refused to admit any complicity in Sienna’s death. He did grow nervous when he was accused of having known baneberries were poisonous. Perhaps because the accusation caused the other members of the Bramble to react to the news with shock. Roused out of his anxious stupor, Gordon lunged at Joel, his face twisted with rage. It took two deputies to pull him away.
Zack was right. None of them thought Sienna’s death was anything but accidental. Except for Joel. He blanched when Holt informed him they were trying to track down Amanda Dobson during her research trip along the Amazon. If she confirmed he had knowledge of the toxicity of baneberries that summer, charges of murder would be brought against him. I watched all of them troop out of the station. Only Joel remained behind, huddled with the lawyer who had been hastily called. Although he pretended to be deep in conversation with his attorney, he probably stayed behind in order to make certain the others had left. I suspected Joel was afraid of what would happen when Sienna’s Bramble had him alone. When Joel did leave, he sent Theo and me a last hateful look.
Theo had noticed. “Joel wants to hurt us,” he said, “like he hurt Sienna.”
He was right. The man was a cold-blooded killer. And a madman. “Why can’t you arrest all of them for lying about Sienna’s death?” I asked Holt.
“That’s up to the county prosecutor’s office. It’s even possible they won’t be charged. Most of them were teenagers at the time. They panicked and did something terrible and stupid. But they aren’t responsible for her death.” He frowned. “The same can’t be said for Joel.”
Theo and I exchanged frustrated looks. “Joel should go to jail,” he said. “He killed Sienna. She would want him punished. So would her family.”
“We’ll do our best, Theo,” Holt reassured him. “But we need corroborating testimony, which Amanda Dobson may be able to supply. Meanwhile, I want both of you to be careful. Zack Burwell claims Joel has a violent temper. He’s feeling trapped right now, and a trapped animal is the most dangerous.”
“Don’t worry. Theo’s staying with me at the house, along with Ryan, Emma, and Alison. And I’ll make certain both of us keep busy at the store tomorrow. Theo can get another head start on the weekend baking.” I gave him a wink. “I’ll even bring Minnie to keep us company.”
>
This got a smile from Theo.
“Plus I’ll be taking part in the Blackberry Road Rally tomorrow night,” I continued. “There’s a mob of us competing in that, which is good. Safety in numbers.” A thought occurred to me. “Why don’t you join my team, Theo? You know Andrew and Dean. It will be fun.”
Kit nodded in approval. “Good idea.”
Theo took a moment to consider this. I was ready for him to turn my offer down. But he surprised me for the second time that day by replying, “Okay. I’ve never been in a road rally.”
I breathed an audible sigh of relief. Until the sheriff’s department arrested Joel, I would be peering over my shoulder. But with the road rally, I had an hour or two of carefree fun to look forward to. Although I feared Andrew and Dean would commit murder themselves if we didn’t win.
* * *
Despite the drama leading up to it, the Blackberry Road Rally was about to start. The Sienna Katsaros case had not led to its cancellation, and Piper had not been pushed off a bluff, as she had sarcastically suggested. Although Piper’s expression as she surveyed the dozens of cars lined along her sweeping drive indicated she wished all of them were lying at the bottom of the bluff that bordered the property. Piper maintained strict control over her gated estate, and too many strangers now intruded on her private domain.
Not that any of the rally participants would be able to get within twenty feet of her spectacular Italianate mansion; six servants stood guard on the perimeter. To make certain no one came close to Piper’s front door, her housekeeper, Carmen, stood on the porch with a surprisingly obedient Charlemagne at her side. Whenever he barked, I noticed Carmen had only to say a few words before he quieted down. Who knew the patrician housekeeper was also a dog whisperer? It was Piper who was misbehaving, shooing away anyone who even attempted to speak with her. At least her husband was more gracious, taking the time to greet each rally driver and wish them well. It was no surprise he had won his mayoral reelection in a landslide.
A horn beeped and I looked over at my car. One of the Cabot boys struggled to get my attention again. They had downed too many caffeinated drinks at Coffee by Crystal in preparation for the rally. And they were energetic enough without the added espresso.
I waved at Dean, who hung out the car’s back window. “Piper hasn’t passed out the clue envelopes yet!” I yelled. “Now stop beeping my horn!”
Shaking my head, I turned to Kit Holt. “You’d think the grand prize money was a million dollars. Heaven help us if we come in second or third. And if we don’t even place, I’ll have to go into the witness protection program.”
He chuckled, and I noticed the cute laugh lines around his brown eyes. I had to stop paying attention to things like that. Or that Kit looked even more attractive when not in uniform. Since he was off duty this evening, he wore khaki pants and a snug gray summer pullover that revealed more muscles than I would have guessed. I wished I was outfitted in something a bit more attractive than jeans and a purple BAS T-shirt. But everyone riding in my car had decided to dress identically to show we were team players. I also reminded myself I was engaged... and not to Kit Holt.
“I’m glad you’ll be driving with your friends tonight.” He glanced at my car, where Tess waited in the front passenger seat, with the Cabot brothers and Theo crammed in the back. “And I have news: We tracked Ms. Dobson down in Brazil two hours ago. She finally arrived at a town with Wi-Fi.”
“What did she say?” I crossed my fingers that whatever she said incriminated Joel.
“She remembered how Gordon Sanderling thought it would be fun if they made their own blackberry wine. More important, the day before Amanda got pushed into the poison ivy, Joel had a long conversation with her about the region’s berries: which ones made good wines, which ones didn’t.”
“Did she tell him about baneberries?”
“Yes.” His expression grew somber. “She told Joel that Sienna should not eat the berries she had been nicknamed after. Amanda warned him baneberries were poisonous. He also wanted to know how quickly a person might die after eating baneberries, which she thought morbid. Amanda said she was purposely explicit about the effects. She knew the group was excited about making berry wine, and she wanted to make certain they knew which berries should not be used.”
“Exactly what Joel wanted to hear. All he had to do was figure out how to get Amanda off campus. Being surrounded by all those woods made it easy.” I felt repulsed at how coldly he had planned the murder of Sienna. “It’s a good thing the rash from the poison ivy caused her to be sent home. Joel might have come up with a more lethal way of getting rid of her.”
Static crackled through the air. Piper stood on the top step of her flagstone porch, a speakerphone in her hand. Charlemagne let out several excited barks, only to be quickly silenced by Carmen. To celebrate the occasion, Piper had outfitted herself from head to toe in Blackberry Art School purple: purple silk blouse, purple capris, purple braided sandals, even a purple and white scarf, which flowed behind her in the evening breeze. It also looked like she was wearing every amethyst she owned. Piper’s impeccable sense of style and good taste had failed her tonight. I blamed all the stress leading up to the road rally.
“Attention, attention,” she announced. “It is almost seven-thirty. Drivers, please pick up your team’s envelope from the check-in table. Once you do, return to your vehicles and begin the hunt for the road rally clues. Keep in mind these envelopes do not contain your first clue; instead, they hold a clue as to where to pick up that envelope. This prevents cars from simply following each other for the entire rally.”
“Interesting,” Holt remarked. “I was wondering how road rallies got around that problem.”
Piper cleared her throat. “I do hope at least one person on each team has remembered to bring a camera phone, as was specified on your registration sheets. Photos will be necessary to prove you have successfully visited all ten clue destinations. For those who choose to drop out during the race, instructions can be found in your envelope. Everyone else will follow clues to the ten chosen destinations. When you reach a destination, there is a task to accomplish. After you have performed all ten tasks, you are not to return here.”
Holt leaned toward me. “You know she wanted to add ever.”
I elbowed him in the ribs.
“The road rally concludes on the campus of the Blackberry Art School, where a picnic dinner will be provided,” Piper continued. “The first three cars to arrive at BAS after performing the required tasks will be declared the winners. However, those not finished by ten p.m. should return to BAS. We don’t want cars careening about the countryside in the wee hours of the morning. Now drive carefully, put on your detective caps, and enjoy the Blackberry Road Rally.”
Before I could join the drivers streaming to pick up their envelopes, Holt took me by the arm. “Marlee, I have more to tell you. We assigned an officer to watch over Mr. Burwell, but Joel might try to lash out at you or Theo. It’s wise to keep a lot of people around you.”
I gestured to the dozens of cars. “I think I have that covered.”
“This is serious. After the sheriff’s office spoke with Amanda Dobson, deputies were sent to BAS to take Joel into custody. He was gone, along with his rental car and luggage. Because Sienna’s friends were instructed not to leave the area until further notice, we now have a warrant out for him. I hope he’s heading for an airport; that way he doesn’t pose a threat to you or Theo. But we don’t know where he is. Or what he has planned. I want you to be careful when you’re driving out there. A normal fugitive would be on his way out of the state, or trying to hide. But I don’t think Joel MacGregor has ever been normal. Or sane.”
“Marlee, why haven’t you picked up our envelope?” Dean shouted from the car.
Andrew opened the back door to add, “We can’t let the others get a head start. Not after all our studying.”
I smiled at Holt. “I’ll worry about the crazy Mr. MacGregor when I’m
finished with the road rally. Right now I have to deal with the crazy Cabot brothers.”
* * *
As soon as I returned to my car with the envelope, Andrew snatched it from me. “Start the engine. We’re wasting time.” He ripped the envelope open.
“Shouldn’t we read what’s inside first?” I asked.
“We can read it while we’re driving.” Dean peered over his brother’s shoulder.
Up to this moment, Theo had sat silent in the backseat. Now he leaned forward and said, “They call it a road rally race, Marlee. You should start racing.”
Tess grinned. “He’s got you there.” She buckled her seat belt. “Let’s go.”
With a shrug, I started my car, gunning the motor. We squealed out of our parking space.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Dean said.
Looking over my shoulder, I asked, “Where do we pick up the first destination clue?”
When I turned front again, I cringed. I’d driven too fast down the driveway and barely missed hitting Piper’s wrought iron gate post. I refused to let the fervor of the Cabot brothers push me into driving recklessly. The memory of Christian’s crumpled Jeep was too fresh.
“Pull over for a second,” Dean said once we reached the road. “We shouldn’t keep driving if we don’t know what direction to go in.”
After I came to a stop on the shoulder, I said, “Need I remind everyone that I wanted to read this clue while we were still at Piper’s house?”
He ignored me. “Okay, listen to this. ‘Your first clue will be found at a favorite spot for patriotic Audubon members.’ What’s going on? I thought all the clues were art related.”
“This isn’t fair,” Andrew said. “We read those art books for nothing.”
“John James Audubon was an artist,” Theo said.
The brothers looked at him with expressions of mild shock. They had been less than thrilled when I’d invited Theo to be part of our team. As far as they were concerned, Theo would be no help at all; even worse, they would be forced to split any prize money with him.
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