Coconut Cream Murder

by Susan Gillard

  “It’s not necessary,” Tessa said. “I can handle everything myself.”

  “So, you’re not a team player…?” Amy asked.

  “You are the ones doing all the work,” Tessa said, trying to answer. “I just supervise.”

  “But,” Amy started.

  As interested as Heather was in this team building team of one, she had more important matters to discuss.

  “Is there anywhere that one of our team members can lie down?” Heather asked. “She’s not feeling very well after the car ride. I think if she can rest for a little bit, she’ll feel well enough to join us later.”

  “If you’re sure carrying her wouldn’t be a good team building exercise for your group,” Tessa said, and not getting any response to her suggestion continued, “Then she can lie down in my office in the cabin over there.”

  “Thank you,” Heather said.

  She and Maricela helped Emily Potts to follow Tessa to her office. They made sure that she was comfortable.

  “I’m sorry for all this fuss,” Emily Potts said.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Heather said. “You can’t help it when you’re not feeling well. We just want you to feel better. Hopefully soon, so you don’t miss out on all the fun.”

  “I’ll try my best,” Emily Potts said with a weak smile.

  They left her to rest.

  “Thanks for looking out for her before,” Heather said to Maricela.

  “No need to thank me,” Maricela replied. “It’s what needed to be done. Besides the staff is like family.”

  Heather beamed at her. She was about to reply when Maricela added, “Right, boss?”

  Heather shook her head. “Right,” she said. “And someday I’m going to think of a nickname that drives you crazy too.”

  Maricela laughed, and then they rejoined the rest of their team.

  “We should have made shirts,” Heather said, as she looked around.

  The other teams had assembled in the area as well. All of them did have matching shirts for their teams. Besides Techy Tech Tech, was another shirted tech company called 3T Tech. The high school marching band were wearing school shirts, proclaiming them to be Wildcats. The craft store had the most artistic of the shirts. They had their store name Chester Craft & Co emblazoned in calligraphy styled letter. The sleeves all looked like they were made of patchwork quilts. The six people on their team also each had their own special design added to their shirt. One person had used tie-dye, one had added sequins and sparkled, and another had stitched a design of a green plant with white flowers growing up from the bottom.

  “I do feel a little underdressed,” Amy said.

  “What we wear in the kitchen wouldn’t have been appropriate to wear here,” Heather said.

  “It’s okay,” Maricela said. “The important thing is how we work together. Not how we look doing it.”

  “Exactly,” said Jung, smiling at her. “You always have such a great way of describing things.”

  “I do?” Maricela asked.

  “It’s a real skill. Part of what is great about working with you’re always clear about what needs to be done, and when I should suggest what flavor to a customer,” he said. “I could listen to your explanations all day. I mean, when needed. If needed. As a work colleague.”

  He blushed, but luckily Amy covered by talking about the shirts again.

  “If we had to work together to make the shirts for the team building activity, then we’d have already worked on our team work by working on shirts as a team,” Amy said.

  “Did you work that out?” Heather asked.

  Then they had to pay attention to Tessa who was explaining how the day would work. The groups that had arrived earliest had already worked on the trust-fall exercise, but the groups that came later would do that at the end of the day.

  “There are several different obstacle stations here. I’m going to lead you around to the different areas and explain how each of them works. Then each team will start at a different spot, and we’ll go in a circle. It will be the responsibility of each team to remind the upcoming team of how to accomplish the task at each station. I will be walking around to all of the stations,” Tessa said. “So, let’s get started.”

  She led them to them to the first station. Heather had to crane her neck to look at the top of it.

  “Don’t worry, they’re not all this high,” Tessa said. “This is our tallest obstacle. I’ll need to pick a special group to tackle this first. How about you, Donut Delights?”

  Heather gulped.

  Chapter 4

  Heather had to admit that this was not one of those times when she enjoyed being the “fearless leader.” The reason was that she was about twenty feet off the ground.

  She considered that maybe this was for the best because they were doing one of the most difficult and tallest tasks first. After this, every obstacle should be a slice of cake. After that analogy, her mind started wandering to cake and desserts. How many donuts should her team be rewarded with eating after accomplishing this? She was considering what rewarding flavor she would like to bite into first and had just decided on her new Coconut Cream Donut when she was jolted back to reality – very high off the ground reality.

  It was a complex group task where everyone had a separate part to play, and yet they all had to work together. Heather realized that she had probably better focus on the task at hand. Her task was to grab a red flag with her hand. However, of course, there were complications.

  The flag was attached to a box in the air. This box was held up with four ropes that extended far out and away. Four players stood in different parts of the woods where they could not see the box, and yet they had to control the ropes that dictated how it would lower down. Of course, it was not a simple straight down drop for the box. There were some maze-like pieces that stretched out from tall trees and poles. The flagged box needed to be pulled to and from to avoid these obstacles and be lowered low enough for Heather to grab.

  Maricela, Angelica, Ken, and Jung were each holding one of the ropes. They were outside of the view of the box and needed directions on when to pull and release their specific ropes so they could maneuver around the aerial obstacles.

  Heather stood inside her own tall box in the air. She thought it looked like the Crow’s Nest of a pirate ship and enjoyed that thought because it would have meant that water was below her instead of the ground.

  She wondered why she had to be so high up in order to grab the flag, but decided it must be so that the one player who is grabbing the flag could not run and deliver directions to the other team members. She needed to shout her advice from the platform.

  Luckily, Amy was also there to help with providing directions on when to “heave” and when to “ho” with their ropes. They had joked that she had the biggest mouth and so would be able to best accomplish the talking task. She appreciated the good-natured ribbing but had commented back that she wasn’t the loudest. She was just the snarkiest.

  “How close are you?” Amy asked up to Heather.

  “It’s getting closer,” Heather replied. “I need it to get over that last bump. And then just a little closer to my right.”

  “Got it,” Amy said. “Jung and Angelica, you’ll need to loosen your grips. Then, Maricela, give it a good tug to get it over that bump.”

  Even though she couldn’t see them through the trees, Heather could tell her assistants were quickly following her advice because the box started maneuvering closer.

  “Okay, everyone, pull it taut again,” Heather called out.

  They did, and the flag was almost within reach. Amy scrambled into action.

  “Ken, release your rope,” she called. “Angelica, pulls yours. Jung and Maricela, just let it move.”

  They all said they understood and then heeded Amy’s advice. The flag moved towards Heather’s outstretched hand. She grabbed it and yelled out in triumph.

  The rest of her team heard her cheer and added their own “hoorays
!” They ran over to Heather’s tower in excitement. When the ropes were released, the box lowered down in the exact position that it was. It was clear that the box wasn’t able to travel anywhere on its own except slightly down. It wouldn’t be able to move around any of the obstacles without the dedicated team maneuvering it around. Heather was so proud that her team was able to do it.

  She smiled as she saw the pride on their faces as well. She realized what a strange experience it was to work on a project so closely with them all and not see them while they were hidden in the foliage.

  However, then came the most harrowing part of the obstacle. She still needed to get down from her perch.

  “You can do it, boss!” Maricela yelled.

  “Yeah. You’ve done much more dangerous things before,” Amy added.

  Heather realized that this was probably true, but it didn’t make her feel any better about how she had to get down. She tucked the flag she had just succeeded in getting into her pocket and then started to mentally prepare herself.

  Next to her platform was a small building. The platform she was on was open except for some railings. The building next to her was like a shed with three walls. The fourth wall was open and led out to what she was dreading: the zip line.

  Heather walked across the small bridge connecting her platform to the building. She was grateful for the safety line she had on, even though she still felt a little unsafe so high up.

  She opened the door and walked over the bridge into the small building. As she closed the door behind her, she realized what that motion did for her mentally. She felt as if she had just closed one part of the task behind her. She was now focused entirely on the next part of the obstacle.

  Tessa had shown her exactly what she had to do. She had also completed a check of all the ropes, lines and safety gear. Tessa had explained that she did this safety check every single time before a person attempted this stunt. Amy had explained that it would be nice to have a Tessa’s Treetop Team building team member with them for support as they completed this.

  Heather made sure that she was connected properly to the zip line. Her team moved in front of the building so they could see what she was doing. From the ground, they shouted up the items on the checklist that she had to make sure she completed.

  She finished the checklist. This was the final moment for her to change her mind about completing the challenge. She could technically still climb down the ladder that led up to this high building and was the way she had come up.

  However, instead, she took a deep breath and jumped. Heather raced down the rope leading from the tall building to the ground at an angle. She flew along it, alternating between terror and joy.

  Her team continued to cheer her on as she slowed to a stop much further down the line. They patted her on the back and helped her out of the harness.

  “We did it!” Angelica said. “We completed our first task as a team.”

  “I wish Emily Potts could have seen your face though,” Maricela said to Heather.

  “Don’t worry,” Ken said. “I took some pictures.”

  They all laughed, imagining what the photos would look like. Then they started over to the next obstacle. Heather was feeling very glad she was alive.

  Chapter 5

  The Donut Delights team decided a short break was in order before they started climbing up more obstacles. They each had one donut to give them some more energy and then had to make sure that their hands wouldn’t be sticky for the next task.

  Maricela and Angelica were going to check on Emily Potts, so Heather had a few moments to make a phone call. Jung and Ken were discussing archery, and Amy had put herself into temptation’s wake by agreeing to put the remaining donuts away.

  Heather decided to call her family and check in with them while she had a minute. Her husband Ryan picked up with his usual greeting of “Shepherd.”

  She told him about their challenge so far. She said it seemed like it was going to be a fun day, but she was probably going to need a hot bath when she got home.

  Ryan said that he was just glad that she was calling to tell him about her trip and her business, and not that she had stumbled across a dead body. Heather chuckled and responded that hopefully there wouldn’t be any murder cases to spoil her staff’s activities.

  Then Heather wanted to talk to her daughter Lilly. It seemed that Lilly was having a wonderful day. Inspired by Heather’s outdoor team building day, Lilly and her best friend Nicolas were creating their own obstacle course in the backyard. It sounded just as challenging as some of the challenges that Heather was going to face but was, thankfully, all on the ground.

  Lilly sounded excited about their game. She was also excited because Eva and Leila had promised to stop by and watch their championship round later.

  Heather felt happy as she hung up the phone, knowing that her family was having a good time.

  Then, Maricela and Angelica returned from checking on Emily Potts.

  “She’s sleeping,” Maricela said. “We can check on her again after this challenge.”

  “Maybe she’ll have slept it off by then and be ready to join in,” said Angelica.

  “We’ll just have to make sure that she’s not the one we send flying through the air,” Amy said.

  They all agreed and then started focusing on their new obstacle. This one was closer to the ground but still involved climbing.

  “My muscles might rebel,” Amy said. “If I don’t have the fear of running away from a killer, I’m not sure I can make it over all those car tires.”

  “I’m sure you can,” Heather assured her friend.

  “And we’ll do it all together as a team,” said Maricela.

  “I couldn’t have said it any better myself,” Heather said.

  “I could,” Amy joked. “I’d say the next challenge is going to be a team building sit down and eat more donuts obstacle.”

  They all laughed, but then focused on the challenge in front of them. A half hour later, they had completed all the climbing, crawling and cheering necessary. They sat together at the end of the course, feeling proud of all the work they had accomplished so far.

  They were just discussing the next challenge they were going to face and Emily Pott’s health when they heard the noise.

  It started out as a scream, but much more terrifying than before. This was someone in real danger. Then they heard a crash.

  They sped over to the source of the sound near the first obstacle they had faced. Even as Heather hurried over, she knew it was going to be too late. She was sure that someone had died. Her sleuthing sense also started kicking in early. With all the safety precautions in effect, could this be an accident she was heading towards? Or could it have been murder?

  Chapter 6

  Heather arrived on the scene, and she could tell right away that the man was dead. It was a sight she would have preferred not to have seen because the dead man’s neck was at an unnatural angle. She recognized him as one of the Techy Tech Tech Tech members. He was the blonde man who had been joking with the group.

  * * *

  She wanted to make some more observations that could help solve the mystery of what had happened, but first, she observed that there were some necessary steps that she needed to take. The Techy Tech Tech team was moving closer to their deceased friend, but other players from the day’s activities who also heard the scream were starting to arrive. She was going to have to protect the crime scene if they were going to be able to find clues there.

  * * *

  “What happened?” Tessa asked, looking pale as she neared the group.

  * * *

  “The question is how could this have happened?” Mitch Mallard said, angrily. “He obviously fell from your contraption. I thought this was supposed to be a safe place.”

  * * *

  “It is a safe place,” Tessa said. “I checked everything as he climbed. Everything was in order. It was safe.”

  * * *

  “O
bviously, it wasn’t,” Mitch said. “Gordon is dead.”

  * * *

  All the bystanders were starting to edge nearer, and the Techy Tech Tech team was starting to move around.

  * * *

  “But the equipment was safe,” Tessa insisted.

  “Then what do you propose happened?” Mitch asked with malice.

  * * *

  “I think that’s what we’d all like to find out,” Heather said. “And to do that, we’re going to have to move out of the immediate area. We don’t want to contaminate things any more than we already have. Then we can let the police and the medical examiner determine the cause of death.”

  * * *

  “You want to call the police?” Tessa asked.

  * * *

  “Are you afraid of going to jail?” Mitch asked.

  * * *

  “Please, let’s try and be calm,” Heather said. “And let’s move away from the body.”

  * * *

  Heather was proud to see that her assistants were taking charge of the situation as well. They were all herding the other teams away from the crime scene and towards the area where they had gathered together that morning. The high school band was more inquisitive than the rest and was trying to resist the instruction to leave the area, but Maricela soon got them headed in the right direction.

  * * *

  Tessa allowed herself to be led away by Jung.

  * * *

  Heather realized that getting the Techy Tech Tech team to leave would be harder. She and Amy went to talk to them.

  * * *