by R A Wallace
Caitlyn glanced over at the catering truck and thought about Doug. He wanted her to keep an eye on the new employees and see how well they were doing. Based on what Doug had told her about the setup, it looked like they were doing okay so far. They had their tables near the truck with some trays of food in warmers and others on ice, depending on the food. The portable smoker was nearby tantalizing everyone with the smell. It looked like one man was primarily handling the food and serving it to the guests. The other floated between handling the smoker and serving. Caitlyn hadn’t officially met either of them yet, which meant they didn’t know she was dating one of their bosses.
She began working her way over to the catering truck, speaking with people along the way. Many were now forming a line near the truck to get food and then taking their plates to a table to eat. Caitlyn joined the line and talked with others as she waited her turn. She continued watching how Alvin and Tyler handled both the food and the party guests while she waited.
She saw Janice speaking with one of the new catering employees and wondered what that was about. She seemed to be smiling a lot, so it couldn’t be too bad. Caitlyn was about to step out of line and get closer to find out when Janice finally moved away. Phillip and Sunny Barclay were next in line after Janice left. Caitlyn was behind them. Once it was her turn, she got two plates of food and then went to find her mother.
“This looks good,” Susan said as they sat at a table.
“Have you seen the groom-to-be yet?” Caitlyn asked as she dug into her food.
“I thought I saw him going toward the house a while back,” Susan said. “He didn’t look very happy.”
Caitlyn shrugged. “Parties like this have to be stressful.”
“Have you thought about one?” Susan asked.
Caitlyn nearly choked on her food and quickly took a drink from her bottled water. Susan grinned at her. Caitlyn shook her head at her mother’s obvious attempt to glean information from her. Caitlyn couldn’t complain. Her mother had been completely supportive of Doug.
Caitlyn was about to form a reply when she thought she heard screaming. She looked around and noticed that others were also looking around in surprise.
“Did you hear something?” Caitlyn asked.
Susan motioned vaguely around them with one hand. “It’s hard to tell over the music.” There were outdoor speakers playing country music.
Then the screaming got louder. Both Caitlyn and Susan stood as others around them did also. Following the screams, they walked down toward a stream on the other side of the house. There, they found Jill. She was standing next to a body on the ground.
Caitlyn took out her phone and called Erica.
Chapter Seven
The smell of the smoker still wafted through the air. Rhys waited for the woman in front of him to finish her story for the second time. She hadn’t been able to add much information to what they’d already gleaned from the other guests at the engagement party, and he knew there were still dozens of people to interview. Rhys looked over at the crowd of them. They were all waiting impatiently for their turn.
“Ma’am?” Rhys interrupted the woman in front of him before she began repeating her story again. “Thank you, ma’am. I have your name and contact information. We may need to speak with you again at a later date to follow up. You’re free to go home now.”
Diane Lewiston followed the policeman’s gaze to the crowd of people. “Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to babble. It’s just that I’ve never been involved with a murder before.”
Rhys watched Diane walk away toward the area where the party guests had parked their cars. He glanced over at Erica and Jerry and saw them trying to separate the twins who were now embroiled in an argument.
For the past hour, they were either holding each other as they cried or shouting at each other. Rhys would have liked to be in on the interviews of the twins but knew that his role interviewing the other guests was important also. He jotted one last note for Diane, then he motioned to the next person to approach him and he began the routine all over again.
Erica shot a look over at Jerry. He nodded, then turned to the twin closest to him.
“Miss Swindell?” Jerry said loudly. They both stopped speaking and turned to Jerry. He focused his gaze on Janice Swindell. “Would you come over here with me, please?” Jerry motioned for Janice to walk with him to the other side of the house.
“Wait, where are you taking her?” Jill Swindell said anxiously.
“Miss Swindell?” Erica said loudly to get Jill’s attention. “I’d like to ask you some more questions inside the house.”
“Inside the house?” Jill repeated as she drew her brows together in confusion. Her eyes tracked her twin as Janice was led out of her sight. “Where is he taking my sister?” Jill repeated stubbornly. She made no move to walk toward the house.
“He just wants to ask her some questions without interruptions,” Erica said.
“Interruptions?” Jill narrowed her eyes at Erica. “Pardon me for being upset when my fiancé is murdered at my engagement party.”
Erica stifled a sigh. “Miss Swindell. I’d like to sit inside with you and ask you some more questions.”
“And if I don’t want to?” Jill swiveled her head in the direction she’d last seen her twin.
“We can go downtown, and you can answer my questions there,” Erica said firmly.
“Oh. I guess I wouldn’t mind sitting.” Jill led the way to the house. They both took a seat in the living room.
“Does my sister need a lawyer?” Jill plucked at the fringe of a pillow absently.
“What makes you think your sister needs a lawyer?” Erica watched Jill closely.
Jill jerked her head up and locked eyes with Erica. “No reason. I was just asking.”
Erica flipped the page on her notebook and began asking Jill questions again. Forty minutes later, she slammed the notebook closed and stood up.
“I’m sure we’ll be in regular contact with you throughout the case. We may have additional questions soon.” Erica watched Jill Swindell as she stood slowly.
“Can I see my sister now?” Jill asked in a small voice.
Before Erica could respond, they heard Janice calling for her twin as she entered the house.
Jill burst forward calling for Janice and the two women embraced in the hallway. Erica walked around them and met Jerry outside. They moved away from the house and other people.
“Did you get anything else?” Jerry asked.
“Just that Jill thinks her sister may have done it,” Erica said.
“Did she say that?” Jerry asked.
Beads of sweat worked their way down his dark face. He mopped at the moisture on his face with a handkerchief, then took a swig from a water bottle. He had found a chair for Janice Swindell to sit in the shade while he’d been questioning her, but it had left him standing in the sun the whole time.
“No. Just a feeling I got.” Erica looked over at the progress Rhys and the other cops were making on the guests. There were a lot of technicians moving around the property as they worked the crime scene.
“Yeah, me too. I got the impression Janice thought Jill did it.” Jerry took off his hat and rubbed his head before resettling the hat.
“Huh. What do you suppose the odds are one or both of them really had something to do with it?” Erica mused out loud.
Jerry shook his head. “Early days yet.”
***
Erica smelled the food as soon as she entered her house. She felt herself begin to salivate. She made a beeline for the kitchen where she found Brad taking a plate from the microwave. He set the plate on the table and tossed the oven mitt next to it. Then he held out his arms and Erica walked into them.
“Mm, you smell good,” Erica said into Brad’s chest. She felt the vibrations of his chuckle.
“You smell the food on me.” Brad held Erica away from him and looked at her face. “How’s my family doing?”
Brad pulled the chair out and Erica sat, an eager look on her face as she picked up her fork and attacked the food.
“Oh, wait.” Brad went over to the refrigerator and took out a jug and a plastic container. He set both on the table then got two glasses from the cupboard and a spoon from the drawer. “I stopped at Megan and Dan’s today. They were making cider.”
Erica’s eyes locked onto the plastic container. “Is that applesauce?” She didn’t wait for an answer. She pulled the container toward her and ripped the lid off. Grabbing the spoon from Brad, she leaned back in her chair and dug into the applesauce.
Brad shook his head as he poured two glasses of cider and slid one over to Erica. “These kids are going to be apple freaks, I can tell.”
Erica pointed a spoon of applesauce at Brad. “There’s worse things.”
“Yeah, you’re right about that. How is the case?” Brad sipped his cider while Erica talked and ate.
When she finished, she pushed her plate away. “How about you? How was your day?” It was something she’d rarely asked him the first time they’d been married. She was trying to do a better job this time around.
Brad smiled. He understood why she’d asked. “I stocked up on applesauce and cider. Everyone at Megan and Dan’s said hi. That was quite an operation actually. Have you ever been out there when they made the cider?”
Erica nodded. “Whenever I could, I’d go to help. Josh never hung around for it. Megan always did most of the work. Others would pitch in to help, like Tom, and her parents before they retired to Florida.” Erica thought about her brother’s selfish ways. She was glad that Megan was with Dan now. She deserved the happiness.
“It was pretty cool. I helped for a little while but then I came home and finished some code I was working on.” Brad watched Erica’s eyes go distant and knew she was thinking of her brother. “You can go stretch out and I’ll take care of this.”
Erica looked down at the dirty dishes in front of her. “I can help clean. Then we can both stretch out.”
“Do you think either of the sisters did it?” Brad asked as he handed the dinner things to Erica.
Erica put them into the dishwasher. “I thought about it. We’re just starting to sift through what we have. But both Jerry and I get the feeling that there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle.”
“You sound like Megan now,” Brad said with a grin.
“She’s actually been handy sometimes,” Erica acknowledged.
“Have you thought about asking for her help?” Brad turned off the lights in the kitchen.
“Jerry asked the same thing. I’m still thinking about it.”
***
Madison checked the security video then opened her front door to Jerry. He held up a bottle of wine.
“You look tired,” Madison said as she moved away from the door to let him in.
Jerry followed her to the kitchen and watched her take out two glasses. “I am tired. I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have until this case is over.”
Madison poured a glass of wine and handed it to Jerry. “Oh, don’t you worry, Officer Jerry. I’ll still be here when you solve the case.”
Chapter Eight
Megan ended the call on her phone early Monday morning and set it on the table next to her. She picked her coffee cup back up and curled her feet under her as she sat on the rattan porch sofa watching Dan. He tossed a soccer ball to the miniature donkeys, Flora and Dora, then turned back to the house. He had already fed and watered the chickens. Henry, the resident rooster, had escaped from the coop and was looking for his own breakfast in the barnyard. Emma was curled up on Megan’s lap, her green eyes closed in contentment.
Dan joined Megan on the porch and sat next to her. She’d refilled his coffee mug also and he lifted it from the table near the sofa and smiled his thanks before taking a sip.
“Who was that on the phone?” Dan asked as he watched the donkeys play.
“Erica.” Megan held her mug between her hands and shifted her weight to lean against Dan while trying not to jostle Emma too much.
“Did she give you any more details about the murder?” Dan shifted and put one arm on the back rest behind Megan to help her settle against him.
Megan thought about what Caitlyn had told her late yesterday then added what Erica had and hadn’t said today. “Not really. Mostly, she just said that when I get involved I should be careful.”
Dan nodded slowly. “I agree with that. Why did she think you might get involved?”
Megan considered it for a moment. “I kinda got the impression that she wanted me to.”
“Really?” Dan glanced over at Megan. “Did she say that?”
“No. But she did say when not if. And she said it more than once.”
“Okay,” Dan said slowly. “But she didn’t give you any details?”
“No, but she mentioned me speaking to the twins.” Megan finished her coffee and straightened her legs, setting her bare feet on the porch and causing Emma to open accusing eyes.
“What are you going to do?” Dan straightened to adjust for the loss of Megan’s weight and rubbed Emma’s ears. Emma must have sensed that she would be losing her comfortable lap soon. Her green eyes narrowed at Dan, as though he had something to do with it.
“I’m going to go speak to the twins and see what Erica is hoping I can learn.”
***
Jill looked down at the full cup of coffee in front of her. She had used her favorite cup, hoping that somehow it would comfort her. Though she treasured it, she rarely used it because of its fragility and significance. It had always evoked happy childhood memories before. This time, the happy childhood memories failed to offer any hope for the future.
The coffee was cold. She’d poured it hours ago and hadn’t touched it since. She hadn’t done much of anything since but sit in the dark kitchen and think. She couldn’t stop the thoughts she was having. She hated that she was having them, but she couldn’t stop. Finally, she heard the telltale creaking of the old wood floor and knew what that meant. Her twin was coming. Jill didn’t think she was up to speaking with her but after sitting still for so long she couldn’t move quickly enough to leave the kitchen before Janice arrived.
Janice walked into the room and went over to the coffee pot. She smelled the coffee in the carafe then dumped it and began making a new pot. “Are you okay?”
Jill glared at her twin’s back. “How could you do it?”
Janice glanced down at the carafe she was filling with water and shrugged. “It was old. You must have made it hours ago.”
“I’m not talking about the coffee. I’m talking about Blake. How could you do it?” Jill demanded.
Janice whirled around in surprise, forgetting the carafe in her hands. The water continued to pour from the spigot in the sink. “Me? What about you?”
Jill opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. The two women stared at each other in shock before looking toward the doorway.
“Go answer it,” Jill hissed. “It might be the police. And be careful what you say!”
Megan wasn’t surprised to see that the woman answering the door looked flustered but she wasn’t certain why she was holding a coffee carafe. It took her a moment to remember the hint for determining the twin. “Janice?”
“Yes,” Janice said cautiously. She was glad that the police hadn’t returned but she was still surprised to find Megan Parker standing on her doorstep. Until she remembered Megan’s involvement in some of the recent mysteries in Teaberry. Then she reached out with her free hand, grabbed Megan’s arm, and began dragging her to the kitchen.
“She can help!” Janice said excitedly as she thrust Megan into the kitchen.
Jill looked at her twin in surprise then focused her gaze on Megan. “How?”
“Don’t you remember? She just figured out who killed Jonah Simms. And before that, it was Phil Porte
r.” Janice motioned excitedly with her hands as she spoke, the coffee carafe spraying small droplets of water as she did.
Jill narrowed her eyes at Megan and considered it before turning back to Janice. “Are you telling me you didn’t do it?”
Janice opened her eyes wide in surprise. “Of course, I didn’t do it. At first I thought you did.”
“Me, why would I kill him? We were in love.” Jill demanded. Then she remembered how angry she had been with Blake for calling Janice selfish. Jill slumped in her seat then turned back to Megan who had been watching the drama quietly.
“You should take a seat,” Jill said, motioning to a chair at the kitchen table. “Janice, finish making the coffee and then turn that water off.”
Megan sat where Jill had indicated and looked at her sympathetically. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Jill teared up and nodded her thanks, not trusting herself to speak.
“Do either of you want to talk about it?” Megan asked.
Janice turned from the coffee maker and looked at her sister. She could tell Jill was too upset to speak at the moment, so she took a seat by Jill and spoke for her.
“Neither one of us killed him though we both certainly gave the police enough reason to believe we did,” Janice said. Jill looked up Janice sharply. Janice shook her head and patted Jill’s arm. “You know we did,” she said gently.
“I was afraid you had because you didn’t like him, and you didn’t want me to marry him,” Jill blurted out.
“I was afraid you did because he insulted me and, oh, I don’t know.” Janice paused and pulled a non-existent thread off her shirt. “I thought maybe you’d finally come to your senses.”
Megan could see that the two of them were about to begin another argument and suddenly understood why Erica had lost her patience with them.
“Let’s focus,” Megan said quickly. Both women turned toward her. “Tell me what you know about Blake Vargo. When did you meet him and how did you meet him?”
