by R A Wallace
Susan handed him two wine glasses and an opener. “The food is ready whenever we are, but we can sit out on the deck for a while with the wine first.”
“That sounds great.” Ross filled both glasses before following Susan out with them.
After settling into the deck chairs, Susan asked Ross about his day.
“I met with another group about a possible new business. It’s early days yet, but there might be some potential there.” Ross liked Susan’s back yard. She obviously had a green thumb and she knew how to plant a variety of flowers and shrubs that bloomed at various times from spring to fall so that there was always something to look at.
“I understand Ava’s doing well with her Maid in Teaberry business.” Susan took a relaxing breath and sat back in her chair, resting her head on the back of the chair. It felt good to sit down.
“She is doing very well. How about you? How was your day?” Ross turned to look at Susan’s profile.
“It was hectic at the shop. I covered so Caitlyn could make some deliveries. There were several people that stopped in just to talk about the murder though.” Susan lifted her head and turned toward Ross. “Have you heard about that?”
Ross nodded. “I feel so bad for the twins. This must be a difficult time for them.” He had found them both to be little flamboyant, but their business acumen was spot on.
“There’s a lot of talk about who may have done it.” Susan hesitated and slowly turned the wine glass in her hand.
“That seems pretty normal,” Ross prompted Susan.
“Yes, but the talk is about maybe one of the twins being the culprit.”
Ross looked out into the yard and thought about it for a few moments. “I don’t really see it, do you?”
Susan shook her head slowly. “No, not really. I mean, I can understand that Janice may have been upset.”
Ross turned back to Susan. “You and Caitlyn were at the party when it happened. Did you see or hear anything that leads you to believe it may have been one of them?”
“Caitlyn and I talked about that today. Neither one of us could come up with anything. Yes, the twins seemed to be arguing. Still.”
“They seem to do a good business with Tea & Thyme,” Ross said more to himself.
“Caitlyn finally got me to try one of the energy drinks there. All these years and I’ve never been brave enough to try one.” Susan made a face indicating that she hadn’t wanted to.
“How was it?” Ross asked. He hadn’t been brave enough to try one either.
“It was actually really good. I couldn’t believe it.” Susan shook her head and chuckled. “I wonder what other good food I’m missing out on because I’m too much of a chicken to try it.”
“You were brave enough to try it. That proves you weren’t a chicken. I figured it must be horrible after I saw Blake throw his out.” Ross turned to watch a male cardinal fly into one of the bushes near him. The female landed next to him.
“What do you mean?” Susan asked with a frown.
Ross turned back to look at Susan. “Blake, Jill’s fiancé. He must have hated them. He made a face like it was horrible and dumped it out.”
“That can’t be. He was always telling everyone how much he loved them,” Susan said slowly.
“What are you thinking?” Ross asked.
Susan looked at Ross then stood up. “I think we should call Megan. This sounds like one of those puzzle pieces she always looking for.”
“You think it might be important?” Ross asked.
“I don’t know, but Megan will.”
Chapter Fourteen
Megan parked the four wheeler by the barn early Tuesday morning then carried in the box of apples she just picked. After putting them in a refrigerator in the barn for overflow produce at times like this, she put the four wheeler away. As she walked back to the house, she mentally planned what she needed to do with the apples. She needed to make more applesauce at some point. She also needed to clean and freeze more apples to give to Lauren for her baked goods. The apples would keep in the fridge until she had time to do that.
For now, she planned to focus on the puzzle. She found a message on her phone from Linda Spelling, the librarian at the Teaberry library. Linda asked Megan to stop in and see her the next time she was in town. Megan planned to go to town and speak with more people who had attended the engagement party.
Linda Spelling wasn’t one of the names that the twins had given her, but Megan would make the time anyway. Linda had helped Megan with two puzzles recently. One involved the death of a hair stylist and another the death of a janitor from the old elementary school.
She cleaned up quickly and drove the short distance to town. She found Linda working in one of the aisles returning books to their shelves. There were several people over near the magazine and newspapers. They were sitting in comfortable chairs. Some were reading and others were chatting quietly. There was a gas fireplace that could be lit once it turned cold and several wingback chairs and sofas arranged for people to gather.
Linda looked up when Megan approached. “Oh, Megan. Thanks for stopping.” Linda looked around to see if there was anyone nearby.
Reflexively, Megan did also. Aside from those near the magazines, the only other people in the library were in the computer room. It was full. Megan could see them through the glass wall, but their focus was on the computer screen in front of them.
Linda lowered her voice. “There may be nothing to this. I probably shouldn’t have bothered you.”
Megan lifted her eyebrows in a silent question.
Linda looked around again then took a step closer to Megan. “It’s about the murder.”
Megan was surprised. She hadn’t thought Linda was at the party. She asked her as much.
“Oh, no. No, I didn’t go to the engagement party. What I want to tell you is from before the party. In fact, it was before the engagement,” Linda whispered. It wasn’t just the kind of whisper that librarians tended to prefer in libraries. Her eyes seemed to dance with excitement.
Megan thought back to what Jill had told her. She’d met Blake around six months ago. “How long ago?”
Linda thought for a moment. “Well, it would have been around six, maybe, seven months or more.” Linda’s eyes scanned the library to monitor where everyone was.
Megan scanned it also as she thought. “You saw Blake here?”
Linda nodded. “He came in a few times actually.”
Megan thought it was a little odd, then looked over at the computer room. “Was he using the computers?”
Linda nodded again. “Sometimes. He was also very interested in our maps.”
“Maps?” Megan asked.
Linda motioned for Megan to follow her. They reached an area of the library that had large tables with cabinets nearby. The cabinets looked like antiques and Megan imagined they may have been part of the furnishings when the old building was first built. The drawers in them were very wide but only a few inches high. Linda pulled out a few large maps of the area and set them on a table.
“See, these were printed at different times and they each focus on different sections of Teaberry for different reasons,” Linda explained.
Megan looked at the first map on the top of the pile Linda had made. It was of the town proper. She could see where the library was, all of the streets in town, and many of the other buildings original to the town. She slid the first map to the bottom of the pile and looked at the second map. It was of some of the areas outside of town to the north and east. Sliding the map over a bit, she could see that the third map focused on the south and west.
Megan looked up at Linda with a puzzled look on her face. “Do you know why he was interested in these?”
“No, but he definitely was interested. He spent quite a bit of time looking at them. He would often leave them out on the table, then work on one of the computers for a while. Then he would come back to the maps.”
Megan looked more closely at the maps sho
wing the areas outside of town. She recognized her own farm on one of the maps. That gave her an idea, so she looked for the Swindell farm also. She pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures.
“Do you think it’s important?” Linda whispered. “I didn’t want to bother the police with it if it wasn’t. But I just didn’t know what to do. That’s why I called you.”
“I appreciate that,” Megan said. “And I will pass it along to the police. If they think it’s important, they’ll follow up on it with you.”
Linda nodded in agreement. “That’s what I was hoping you would say.”
Megan looked back at the computer room. “You said he worked on a computer. Do you know what he looked up?”
Linda thought about it and shook her head slowly. “No, but I know someone you might ask. Archie Travis was sitting next to him at least one of the times Blake Vargo was here. He may have seen something.”
***
Megan found the old gentleman at his home. Archie Travis was in his seventies. He was a small man with a big personality. Although the house seemed warm to Megan, Archie was wearing a sweater over his flannel shirt. He was happy to have a visitor and invited Megan in, offering her a drink. She declined, but took the seat he indicated. Megan explained the reason for his visit.
“That was him?” Archie said, scratching his bald head covered in dark spots. The remaining hair rimming his head curled wildly around his ears. “I heard about the death, but I didn’t know it was the guy from the library.”
“You remember him?” Megan asked.
“He was the type,” Archie nodded.
“Type?”
“That you remember. He had that flashy smile, that easy going personality. You know, the kind that always has something to say. I can see why women would have found him good looking.” Archie leaned forward and grinned, his bushy eyebrows dancing. “Though, he’s not as good looking as me, of course.”
Megan grinned back.
“I use the computer in the library to email my grandkids. Linda is there to help when I don’t know what to do,” Archie explained.
“Do you remember what he was using the computer for?” Megan asked.
Archie scratched his head again. “That was the funny part. I figured he must have known someone who died recently.”
“What made you think that?”
“He was studying the inheritance laws. You know, what happens if you die without a will or what happens if you have a will and you want to contest it.” Archie thought for a moment. “And he was pretty thorough about it too.”
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t just look up Pennsylvania’s laws. He looked up our specific county too. You know, to see if there were any differences between the county and the state. And then there were the business laws.”
“Business laws?”
Archie nodded. “He was looking up what happens if you own a business and you die.”
***
Megan ended her call with Erica and sat in her truck in front of Archie’s house thinking. She’d passed along what she’d learned so far, but she was still wondering what it all meant and why anyone would look up inheritance laws. She couldn’t come up with any good ideas, but she knew someone who might.
Chapter Fifteen
Jennifer Parker looked at the two spreadsheets displayed on her monitor side by side. She had been analyzing them for the past thirty minutes, but the numbers were beginning to run together. Glancing at the time on the screen, she realized that it was getting close to lunch time. Maybe a shot of caffeine would help get her through the rest of the morning.
She had just grabbed a cold cola from the small refrigerator she kept in another room when she heard the bells on the front door of her office. Walking to the outer room, she found Megan.
Megan smiled a greeting at the tall, dark-haired woman. Although technically related to Dan, they were several times removed on the genealogical chart, and the serious Jennifer was older by around seven years.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Megan said.
“Not at all. I could use a break actually. I was just about to have a cola.” Jennifer held up her can. “Can I get you one?”
“No thanks, but go ahead. A little caffeine boost to get you through the morning is a good thing.” Megan followed Jennifer back to her office.
“My thoughts exactly.” Jennifer took the seat behind an attractive antique desk. “What can I do for you? Are you here about a will?”
Megan took a seat on the other side of the desk. She hadn’t considered it, but now that she and Dan were married, it made sense.
“No, but I guess I should,” Megan said slowly. “That’s actually what I wanted to speak with you about.”
Jennifer looked perplexed. “I thought you just said no?”
Megan smiled. “Right. What I meant was, I wanted to speak with you about wills and inheritance laws in general. I hadn’t considered that I should be doing something about it too.”
Jennifer took a sip of her soda and waited for Megan to explain.
“What if I did die without a will naming Dan. What would happen?” Megan asked.
“Well, each state handles it a little differently but, to put it in the simplest terms, there are some general laws of succession,” Jennifer said.
“What about with someone like the twins?” Megan asked.
Jennifer nodded once and set her cola on her desk. “I wondered if that was where this was leading. What are you asking specifically?”
“Someone saw Blake Vargo at the library investigating inheritance laws just before he and Jill met. Can you think of any reason why he would do that?” Megan asked.
Jennifer tilted her head to one side and took a deep breath. “There are a lot of reasons. Perhaps he just wanted to get his own affairs in order and he was doing his homework before speaking with a lawyer.”
“Did he speak with you?” Megan asked.
“No, but I did see him, now that you mention it.” Jennifer frowned.
“What do you mean?” Megan asked.
Jennifer thought for a moment. “It was earlier in the year. I was in the courthouse, down in the records room. The public can go in there and ask for copies of deeds and things like that.”
“You saw Blake down there?” Megan thought about how that tied into research on inheritance laws.
Jennifer nodded slowly. “It was before I knew he and Jill were an item. It was a cold day outside. I still had my coat with me. So, maybe six, seven months or so ago? I was down there doing some research too. He spoke to me about something. I think he asked how to use the computer to look things up. Ginny came in then and helped. She works down there. I forgot about it after that and, of course, I didn’t know him at the time.”
“And you think he was looking up deeds?” Megan asked.
“I think I heard him asking Ginny about property ownership, yes,” Jennifer said slowly, trying to remember. “It wasn’t anything in town. I think it was some rural property, outside of town.”
Megan frowned as she considered this new piece, wondering how it might fit into the puzzle.
Jennifer watched Megan for a moment. “Why are you asking?”
“Linda saw him looking up maps of the area outside of town in the library. Archie Travis saw him looking up inheritance laws. And you saw him looking up deeds. All of this was just before he began dating Jill out of the blue,” Megan said, almost to herself.
“You think it means something?”
Megan made a face. “Maybe. But I hope not. Man blows into town, figures out who owns what and who might inherit, and then picks the love of his life based on the information.” Megan shook her head.
“Yeah, I see what you mean. Not good news for Jill,” Jennifer agreed.
“Especially not if one or both of the twins figured it out,” Megan said. She hoped she was wrong, but she knew it was possible.
“Motive,” Jennifer agreed.
Megan gla
nced at Jennifer’s computer monitor. “I should go so you can get some work done before lunch.”
Jennifer grinned. “I’m craving barbeque.”
Megan returned the grin, knowing that the attractive lawyer had been dating one of the owners of the Station Pub & Grill. “I hear they have a new catering truck and a couple of new employees to run it.”
“First time out was at the engagement party. Hopefully, the next catering job for Alvin and Tyler won’t be as stressful,” Jennifer said.
Megan stood to leave. “Hopefully, they aren’t questioning their idea to move to Teaberry.”
“I’m sure they have their share of problems in Ohio too,” Jennifer said absently as she glanced back at her computer monitor.
Megan stopped and turned back to Jennifer. “Ohio? I thought one of them was from Kentucky?”
Jennifer refocused on Megan and frowned. “No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure they’re both from Ohio. Alvin is for sure. I kept him company at the bar while he waited for his interview with Jim. Based on what he told me about his previous work, he must have been in Ohio.”
“How can you tell?” Megan asked.
Jennifer shrugged. “Each state is a little different with employment laws and minimum wage. Based on what he told me, he sounded like he was from Ohio.”
Megan thought back to her conversation with Diane Lewiston. She’d said the man she was trying to attract told her he was from Kentucky. Could he have just told her that when he was trying to blow her off? Maybe she’d just misunderstood?
Megan looked back at Jennifer. “Do you think you could check with Jim and ask?”
“You think it’s important?” Jennifer reached for her cell phone. She texted a question to Jim.
“I don’t know. At this point, any information I can get might be helpful.” Megan heard Jennifer’s phone buzz as she received a message.
Jennifer looked up at Megan in surprise. “Alvin told Jim he was from Kentucky. Huh. Maybe I was wrong.”
Megan wondered what it meant if Jennifer were right.
Chapter Sixteen
