There were two main issues that now faced the DEA investigation: (1) Was anyone else involved in Derek’s scheme (i.e., Krissy, Melissa, Cheryl, or anyone else employed at Cheryl’s restaurant or Melissa’s bakery); and (2) Who was responsible for the death of Derek McCallie? Based on all available information, Agent Garland reasoned that Logan and/or Tanner could also be involved since they had gone to such lengths to locate the young man for their friend Krissy. All this sounded preposterous to everyone but the DEA agents. Even the local cops had voiced their disbelief to their Federal counterparts. Janice urged their lead representative to listen to the Kill Devil Hills police on this matter. Derek may have been an unsavory character recently come to town, but the folks the DEA were targeting in their search were good and upstanding citizens.
Melissa looked out the small window of the interview room to see her one other employee, Maddie, being brought in for questioning. “Poor Maddie,” she thought. “To think she took this job just to have something fun to do during her retirement. She certainly didn’t count on being dragged into these circumstances.” As she walked by, the elderly woman gave her a smile and a wink.
The DEA didn’t have any evidence to hold anyone after initial questioning so they were released to go in the mid-afternoon. One thing had been made abundantly clear – the DEA had nothing but suspicions regarding everyone they hauled in that day. However, as far as Melissa was concerned, they were certain Derek was responsible for the accidental drug overdoses and Mrs. Burnside’s death. They just needed to determine if someone helped him and if that someone killed him in the end.
Chapter 15
Later that evening, the somber group crowded into Cheryl’s beachside condo to celebrate Ronnie’s release from the hospital. Despite the ordeal he looked great. A little pale from his usual dark tanned self, but definitely in good spirits. He recounted how sick he had been and his experience seeing their other friends and some tourists in the hospital with the same symptoms. He was grateful almost everyone recovered so quickly, but lamented how sad it was that the little Vega girl had lapsed into a coma. The doctors weren’t very optimistic at this point for her recovery.
After being at the police station most of the day, Cheryl’s plan for a huge feast of homemade delicacies had been thrown out the window. Instead they ordered pizza and relaxed on the deck overlooking the ocean. Krissy was not in the mood to celebrate anything. No one blamed her either. In addition to her boyfriend being found dead in the wee hours of the morning, the DEA had questioned her the longest. She knew Agent Garland suspected she was aware of what Derek had been doing. At this point, Krissy wouldn’t blame them if they suspected she killed him too. Deciding she needed to be alone, she thanked Cheryl for the food and started to walk back home. Jason didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be alone, but Melissa realized the poor girl needed some time to herself.
It was an early night as Melissa, Jason, and Logan returned home shortly after 9 p.m. Ronnie had tired easily after his whole ordeal and everyone needed some much deserved sleep. After everyone went off to their respective rooms, with Logan on the sofa, Krissy emerged quietly from her room. She motioned for Logan to join her on the back patio. Confused, he followed her outside.
Even in the pale moonlight that peeked through the clouds, he could tell Krissy was frightened. Without a word, she handed him a note on a shred of yellow lined paper. “I found this in my room when I got home,” she informed him.
Logan read the brief note. Chills ran up his spine as his eyes scanned over the poorly scrawled words. “Your boyfriend was a scumbag and deserved what he got. Unless you keep your stupid mouth shut about anything you think you may know, you will end up just like him.”
The young man read and re-read the short warning. What precisely was Krissy supposed to know that would earn her such a threat? When he asked her, she simply shook her head. She swore that she had not known Derek was back to dealing drugs until after everything happened. She didn’t know his contacts or his friends, if he even had any. Her voice trembled and her hands were visibly shaking. Logan stood up to go get Jason. Her father needed to know Krissy was being threatened. He was a cop. He should be able to do something. However, she grabbed his arm to prevent him from taking another step.
“Krissy, we HAVE to tell your dad!” Logan insisted. “This is serious!” The young woman, however, was adamant to keep silent. She argued that by telling her dad, she was telling the cops. The note warned her to keep her mouth shut and she intended to do just that. The two teenagers brainstormed what they could do about the situation. Not only was the DEA on their case, but now someone apparently on the opposite side of the law had Krissy in their sights.
After a while, Logan decided to consult with Tanner. He didn’t expect to get much insight from the beach bum with a heart of gold, but they needed another perspective. Krissy was against calling the other boy, but didn’t stop Logan when he dialed the number. Tanner agreed to sneak out later to join them in Jason’s backyard. Technically, he was still grounded until the end of time, but he was confident he could get out of the house. By the time he arrived, Krissy and Logan had exhausted all known possibilities about who would threaten her and why. However, Tanner had a theory. According to him, no drug dealer ever really worked alone. His supplier probably considered Derek’s little girlfriend a liability to his operation in town. It was unclear by the note whether the person doing the warning was responsible for Derek’s demise, but he wouldn’t rule it out.
Logan still thought they should tell Jason about the note, but neither Krissy nor Tanner agreed. In fact, young Tanner was now intent on doing some detective work of his own. Inwardly, he hoped to win the gratitude of the blue-haired beauty. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize the danger he would be placing himself in. No one else thought his plan was a good idea. Actually, the word Krissy used was “insane”. Although hesitant to go along with it, Logan agreed in the end. Despite the adults already being fast asleep inside the house, the night was still young, so they put the plan into action immediately.
Tanner texted several of his former pals when he was still an official “stoner”. He now mostly just pretended to be one, but had dabbled in the stuff briefly a year or two ago. After some back and forth with a dude named “Hoss”, he found out what he needed to know. Several of the guys working for the same moving company as Derek were known to deal in this new drug fad, known as X15. They apparently were the only connections in town to get a hold of the stuff. Hoss and his crew tried breaking into the business but had received several beatings until they backed off and returned to just pushing pot. The small group was known to be ruthless and territorial. Even Hoss voiced his concern that Tanner should not associate with that particular group of thugs. No high was worth that.
Despite his friend’s warning, along with Logan and Krissy’s pleads to forget about it, Tanner took off claiming he just intended to scope the guys out. If things got hairy, he’d bolt. However, if he did find out anything useful then he could give the cops an anonymous tip. The bad guys would be arrested and Krissy would be safe. Logan thought his friend was taking this gallant hero act a bit too far, but there was no stopping Tanner when his mind was made up.
After he left in search of the X15 pushers, Logan and Krissy kept a vigil on the back patio until they heard back from Tanner. Hours passed and they didn’t hear back from their friend. As the sun started to rise and turn the sky varying shades of purple and then pink, Logan fretted that Tanner had gotten himself into trouble. Texts and calls went unreturned. By this point, Krissy had worn out a patch of grass from pacing and her nails were bitten down to nubs.
Deciding against waking up Jason or his aunt, Logan took off in search of his friend. Using the phone finder app, he tracked the young man down to an abandoned stretch of beach just southeast of The Surf Shack. What he found shocked and scared him. Tanner was stumbling around swapping at imaginary objects in the sky. From his rantings, it appeared the boy was seeing swarms
of unusually large insects. There could be only one reason he was hallucinating – drugs. Logan ran over to him to calm him down. “Dude,” Tanner slurred, “you got some industrial strength Raid or something? These bugs are HUGE!”
Although it was too early for anyone to be out on the beach except for the most dedicated sunrise watcher or surfer, Logan knew he had to get Tanner out of there quickly before someone reported seeing an intoxicated or high teenager roaming aimlessly. The last thing they needed was for the cops to discover him. The DEA could certainly use this situation to hammer the final nail in their case if Tanner was found with X15 in his system and Logan with him. Not knowing what else to do, Logan called his girlfriend Emily. Without explaining the full story, he begged her to drive out to the beach to pick them up. Within minutes she was there in her mom’s Lexus SVU.
After getting Tanner settled into his own bedroom and assuring himself that his friend was sleeping the whole thing off, Emily drove Logan back to Jason’s house. She was less than thrilled he was out at that time of the morning and even less enthused that Tanner was in such a state. After promising to call her later that morning to explain the whole sordid story, Logan snuck around the back of the house to find Krissy waiting, half asleep with her head on the wrought iron table. Unfortunately, Aunt Mel exited the house just as he ran back up. Deciding it was time to be 100% honest, he told her everything. Krissy was horrified that Logan would confess all to his aunt. However, after hearing what transpired with Tanner, she begrudgingly agreed it was best.
Considering the severity of the situation, Melissa insisted that Krissy talk to her father as soon as he woke up. She promised the distraught young woman that they would all work together to keep her safe and to figure everything out. A short while later, Jason joined them on the back patio. Melissa and Logan went back inside to give father and daughter time to talk alone. In the meantime, she called Janice. The young attorney was certainly going to earn her wages this summer.
Chapter 16
As Krissy and her father had a good heart to heart talk later that morning, Melissa fielded a call from Agent Garland with good news for her. The DEA had wrapped up their investigation of her business and home. She was free to move back into her own house, and her bakery was now back in her control. He didn’t reveal if the DEA found anything in either location to help with the investigation, but she assumed they didn’t since she and Logan were innocent of any wrongdoing. As soon as she hung up the phone with the agent, she excitedly called Cheryl. Her friend had also spoken with the agent earlier that morning. She was cleared to move back into her own home too, but Cheryl’s Seaside Sundries remained closed by government mandate.
The aroma of turkey bacon and cinnamon crepes brought Logan back to the kitchen. He had been on the phone with his dad for some time attempting to explain the situation. He left out a few important details like crashing an illegal party and getting hauled into the police station. Logan also failed to mention breaking into the morgue. That information could wait until Dad came out to visit next weekend, or never.
Looking around at everyone, it was evident to Melissa that they were all running on fumes. No one had slept more than a couple hours a night since this whole thing started. Jason sported more grey hairs, even in his beard stubble. Melissa found it added to his attractiveness. However, she made a mental note to check her own reflection for additional signs of grey. She wasn’t ready to relinquish her light auburn locks to grey just yet, even if she was 46 years old.
It was a quiet group that convened around the small kitchen table. Melissa tried to lighten the mood by announcing that she and Logan could move back to her cottage and she could re-open the bakery. The only one that appeared happy about the news was Logan. After overcrowding Jason’s tiny townhouse for quite some time, she figured he’d be ready to get rid of his guests. Even if he wasn’t happy, she assumed Krissy would be gung-ho to get the place back to herself. However, both father and daughter seemed downright sad.
Melissa went on to explain that it would take a day or two to get the bakery back up and running, but she looked forward to getting back to work. With everything going on, and with Cheryl’s restaurant still closed, she offered Krissy a job helping her out in the meantime. She knew Jason wouldn’t want his daughter simply hanging out at home or the beach, especially now with the threatening note she received. Surprisingly, Krissy smiled and readily accepted the offer. They hadn’t known each other long, but that was probably one of a mere handful of smiles she had ever received from the girl.
As Logan and Krissy cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast, Melissa and Jason retreated to the back patio with cups of coffee. He only had a few minutes before he needed to leave for work, but he was anxious to discuss the current situation. “You know that you don’t have to leave so soon. I’ve really enjoyed having you and Logan here,” he said while looking into her eyes. “Even Krissy seems to have adjusted well to your presence here.” Melissa reassured him that she appreciated him opening his home to her and her nephew, but she really needed to be back in her own place. After being an independent woman these last few years, she rather craved her own space at times. However, she affirmed that it didn’t mean she didn’t love him and want to be with him. He shook his head in understanding and offered to help her move back in later that afternoon. Then a strange look came over him as if he just had a brilliant idea. “With the situation with Krissy, I really don’t want to leave her alone at all until we find the creep threatening her,” he stated. Melissa nodded in agreement. She didn’t think it was a good idea either. That had been part of the reason she asked the young woman to work at the bakery with her until Cheryl could re-open her place. Unfortunately, that would still leave evening hours where the girl may be alone with Jason working. Then it hit her! She proposed the idea, even though she realized Jason already had the same thing in mind. Krissy would move in with her and Logan for the time being. She just hoped the young woman would agree. Strangely enough, when the idea was presented to her, she readily agreed. The threesome would move back to Melissa’s that very morning.
With Melissa, Logan, and Krissy busy getting settled in at Melissa’s cottage, Jason went back to the police station feeling a bit better about the situation. However, he knew he had to fill in his partner and Agent Garland about the threatening note and find a way to tell them about the X15 dealers that Tanner found without implicating the young man in anything nefarious. The boy had been wrong to seek out the dealers by himself, but he appreciated his courage in doing so. Logan had called Tanner just before Jason left the house to check on him. Although dealing with a nasty headache and severe nausea, he was okay. The young man explained that he ended up in that dreadful condition because the dealer had insisted on watching Tanner snort the drug to ensure he wasn’t some snitch. He had spent the next few hours hallucinating different things – large bugs, glowing neon waves, and sand that tasted like sugar – before Logan found him. After all the young man had done to help out his daughter, he owed it to Tanner to try to mitigate the legal situation so he wasn’t hauled in for doing drug use.
His partner, Cory, was waiting anxiously for him. Agent Garland had been asking for him all morning. The two detectives knocked on the Chief’s door since the lead DEA agent had taken over his office. Surprisingly, Chief Monroe now ran the local police department out of a cubicle. The old man didn’t appear to mind though. With everything that had happened in Kill Devil Hills over the last few summers, he was eyeing retirement. He’d a slight change of mind concerning all his ‘professional guests’, and decided letting the Feds take over suited him just fine.
DEA Agent Garland was on the phone but motioned them to come in and sit down. If possible, he seemed even grimmer than usual with his forehead creased in frown lines and dark circles under his eyes. Jason wondered if the man ever left the station to sleep. By the looks of him, he doubted it. Tersely ending the call, he looked across at the two detectives. “Fellows, I’ve cleared Mrs. Maples to
return to her home and business because we could not find anything else to connect her or her nephew to the case. However, we have multiple bags of bread bowls taken from the dumpster behind her bakery and from the dumpster behind Cheryl’s Seaside Sundries. Forensics is running tests to find out how X15 got into the bread.” He continued, “So far, it appears only bags of Thyme Bread Bowls contained the drug. All other bread products from the bakery have come up clean. Receipts from Cheryl’s restaurant indicate everyone that became ill ordered soup with that particular bread bowl. Apparently, it’s very popular.”
Jason nodded in agreement. Dating the baker, he knew how scrumptious her artisan breads were and most everyone in Kill Devil Hills would agree the Thyme Bread Bowls were perfection! The agent continued his debrief. “However, the only bags found at the bakery to have come into contact with the drug were the ones found with Mr. McCallie’s body. All others were accounted for at the other lady’s restaurant. Right now, we are going on the theory that the drugs were introduced to the breads in transit from the bakery to the restaurant or shortly after arrival.”
Cory interjected, “So Logan Jones – Mrs. Maples’ nephew – usually delivered the breads, right?” Jason resisted the urge to kick his partner at that moment. They both knew very well that Logan would have nothing to do with drugs. Why his partner was bringing his name up again, he couldn’t imagine. Agent Garland nodded, but added that, according to previous testimony, he was not the only one who delivered the breads. Sometimes Krissy Payne picked up the breads on her way into the restaurant in the mornings or in the evenings. She was also the employee responsible for inventorying the breads at night before closing to make sure they had enough for the projected sales the next day. In addition, the young woman had a known relationship with the now deceased drug dealer, Derek McCallie. Jason really didn’t like where this was going. Before the conversation went much further, he requested that Cory leave so he could talk to the agent in private for a few minutes. His partner didn’t seem too pleased with the request, but left anyway.
A Time to Live and a Thyme for Murder! (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 3) Page 7
