“She looks beautiful, tonight.” The voice, husky with age, spoke next to him and he looked down at the older woman and her companion.
Charlotte Potter smiled up at him, pleased at the state of their relationship, and felt she should take credit for pushing Megan towards him, when in the beginning, she had been so hesitant. Aiden agreed with her as he bent and gave a kiss to her wrinkled cheek. Then he did the same to the other woman, almost a match in appearance to Charlotte.
“Mrs. Purdy, I’m glad to see you made it up from Palm Beach. It’s wonderful to see you again,” he whispered to her.
“Charlotte and Megan insisted. And since Charlotte is giving me a room at her place to stay, there was no excuse not to come. You’re looking quite handsome tonight, Aiden.”
Aiden thanked her, and then with a slight bow, he offered an arm to each of the elderly ladies and escorted them into the main showroom. After being sure they were served a drink and were being looked after, he excused himself and went in search of Paul and Joe. By now the room was getting crowded with guests and it was time to formally present the new museum to the town.
A short time later the three men who worked so hard to bring the museum and all the priceless antique cars to Citrus Beach were being introduced by Megan. After thanking everyone for attending, Joe gave a brief history of the museum. Then Paul took over and described how the system worked, both for storage and displaying the cars to the public. When he got too technical, Megan stepped up to the podium.
“While we all appreciate the hard work and the engineering that went into putting this all together, I think this is something best seen with your own eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, if you will watch behind me, you will see firsthand what a fascinating design this is.”
And with a grand gesture and a wave towards the window behind her with her feathered fan, Megan pushed the button to bring the first vehicle down from the top level of cars. There was a hushed silence, filled with anticipation, throughout the room. When the car took its place on the turntable for all to see, a round of applause began. It was clear that everyone was impressed.
“We will have the system running all evening, bringing down different cars for you to exam and admire. For those of you who would like to enjoy the music and a bit of dancing, the outside courtyard has a dance floor and the band will take your requests. We hope you will enjoy the music, food, and these great pieces of our history.”
As Megan finished talking, she gave the signal for the wait staff to serve the light refreshments and the quartet to play. It tickled her when Charlotte and Colonel Heart walked out to the dance floor to be the first couple to sway to the first song of the evening. Yes, the event was turning out perfect.
Lucy made her way to join them and they spent a few minutes admiring the costumes and decorations. Then Paul pulled his wife out to the courtyard to dance. As Megan and Aiden made their way to follow, they stopped repeatedly to talk with others in the room.
Occasionally, she would hear someone exclaim over one of the cars being brought down through the lift system and was pleased that the real reason for the evening had not been forgotten.
Finally, Aiden pulled her into his arms for a slow dance. It was a perfect moment. The night air was scented with tropical flowers and the breeze carried it across the courtyard. The stars shone like the diamonds that so many of the women wore and the band went from one old romantic song to the next. Megan sighed with contentment. She was right where she wanted to be, in the arms of the man she loved so much. She rested her forehead against his chest as he caressed the bare skin of her back under all those beads.
Suddenly the night air was pierced by the sound of a terrified scream. It came from inside the building. Looking at each other, Megan and Aiden hurried in without hesitation. They were quickly followed by the other dancers and guests in the courtyard.
Coming into the main room they were greeted by an eerie sight. There behind the glass walls that separated the guests from the cars, they saw one of the Rolls Royce’s. It had just been put on the turnstile for all to admire and rotated slowly.
At first, Megan didn’t understand what she saw. But as the car rotated, she got a better look. There in the passenger seat, a woman sat, slumping forward. Her head was down and her arm hung out the door. At first glance, Megan thought she might have passed out, especially when she noticed the bottle of champagne and the half-filled glass next to it. But then she noticed the fan, like the same one she held in her hands, laying on the ground and the long strings of beads twisted around the woman’s neck.
Chapter 7
“Aiden, we’ve got to get back there and help her,” Megan hissed at her date as she tugged on his arm.
Even as she spoke Aiden was scouring the crowd, trying to find one of the security officers on duty. Instead his eyes locked on Deputy Young, and he waved the young man over frantically. Deputy Young was there as a guest, wearing a Keystone cop costume. As he worked his way through the crowd he managed to blend in with the other guests. While they waited, Megan was instinctively following the procedure she'd become all too familiar with in the past few years. Her fingers tapped in the sheriff's private number on her phone and she waited for his answer.
By the time the deputy had reached her side, Megan was hanging up the phone after speaking with the sheriff. Deputy Young took in the situation and headed to the parking area where he remembered there were off-duty officers working without a word. He would inform them of the new development, and they would ensure that no one left the grounds by car. They were all there as extra security or guests, so there was no way to communicate with each other without another guest hearing their conversation. The deputy knew it was important to keep the attendees calm, so he slipped off quietly.
Realizing that she wouldn't be able to do everything herself, Megan waved over Joe, Paul, and Lucy, who had all made their way towards them when they saw the commotion.
"Paul, we have to keep everybody from leaving but we also don't want them close to the scene. Do you think you can round up the waitresses and have them help gather everyone who isn’t in this room in one area?" With his nod of approval, Megan turned to Lucy and continued.
"Lucy, I need you to get hold of James, the party planner. Tell him to have his remaining staff man the door so that nobody leaves and to try to keep everyone calm."
Lucy barely acknowledged her instructions as she stared through the window, taking in the gruesome details.
"Sweetheart, we need to move quickly on this," Paul pulled her away from the sight in the window, giving her a little nudge towards the kitchen.
"Megan, keep in touch with the phone, it’s going to get crazy in here in a few minutes. Let me know if you need us to do anything else, and Aiden keep an eye on this one here before she gets in over her head again."
With a meaningful look at Aiden, Paul turned in the opposite direction of his wife to round up the waitresses.
The three remaining friends looked at each other before beginning their own self-proclaimed tasks.
"Ladies and gentlemen, can we please all move back out to the courtyard? We’ll have everything under control shortly. In the meantime, please stay calm and stay on the premises in case we need your help."
Joe took over the reins as host and directed his guests back to where they had come from before the scream had pierced the night air. His words kept people from panicking, and since everyone was curious about what was going, he figured the request to stick around would easily be filled.
While Joe was keeping everybody occupied and moving forward towards the courtyard, Megan and Aiden moved towards an obscured door. This was the door that led to the car staging and platform area of the museum. Megan quickly keyed the code into the security pad above the lock on the door. Following closely behind her, Aiden made sure the door closed behind them as they entered.
Megan's first instinct was to see if the woman was still alive. But experience had taught her not to trample a crime scene
blindly, rather to check it over first. There would be clues that others might miss and with two sets of eyes they had a better chance of seeing things. She let Aiden take the lead, because of his experience with the FBI.
While he went to verify the woman was dead, Megan walked around the revolving platform. The platform moved slowly enough, and she could take in many of the details as they passed her. The feathered fan lying on the ground drew her eyes. There was something forlorn and ominous about it lying there by itself. As the platform rotated, she again noticed the champagne bottle and half-full glass next to it. For some reason, it seemed odd to her there was a single glass with a bottle of champagne. Shouldn’t there be two glasses, considering it was a party?
While she was taking in the visual clues, Aiden had reached the body, and without touching it, was giving it a thorough inspection. The marks around her neck were clear. Individual little dots had formed due to one string of pearls wrapped around her throat. It had blocked the air from entering the beautiful woman's lungs, pulled taunt until it had snapped from the pressure. Small imitation pearls were scattered on the seat and floor of the car around the body.
The loud banging on the glass brought their attention away from their scrutiny and they both looked over to find Sheriff Green at the door waiting for entry. Megan walked over and punched in the code to allow him access into the room.
"Is she dead, Aiden?"
"I'm afraid so, Sheriff. If I had to guess, I'd say she's been gone for at least an hour. Her body is still warm."
The sheriff shook his head and made his way on crutches towards the turntable. Megan gave him a helping hand and then realized that she needed to turn the switch so the turntable table would come to a stop. Walking over to the computer podium, she typed in the keywords and the slow movement came to a halt. The sheriff nodded his thanks to her and then looked down at his crutches in disgust.
"I need to make this clear to both of you right now, I must turn this investigation over to someone else."
They both looked at him in surprise and waited for an explanation. With a rueful expression, he continued.
"The doctor said I have to go in tomorrow for surgery. I’ll be out of commission for at least six weeks. I was hoping it would be a quiet six weeks and I could handle everything from the desk. But with an active murder investigation, that’s just not going to happen."
"You know Aiden and I will do whatever we can and of course Deputy Young—"
"Deputy Young is not experienced enough to handle a murder investigation on his own. As much as I have relied on your help in the past, Megan, without my being an active part in the investigation... Well, I just don't think I can bend the rules that far. Aiden, I would appreciate any help you can offer.”
"But?"
"It's out of my hands. A detective from Palm Beach is already here in Citrus Beach. I spoke with him earlier today, and he starts – or he was supposed to start – first thing tomorrow morning. Now it looks like he'll be starting as fast as he can get here. I've already called him."
Megan looked closely at the sheriff, she had a feeling there was something he wasn't telling her. But the closed expression on his face clearly stated she wouldn't get any more information from him about his replacement. She would have to wait until the man showed up to take over the investigation. Instinctively she knew she needed to take in as much of the scene in front of her as possible. Megan pulled the chair from behind the podium and pushed it over to the sheriff for him to sit down, it was obvious he was in pain. Then, while he and Aiden talked about the body in the car, she walked around again.
She tried her best not to stare at the body, but she couldn't help the way her eyes kept turning towards it. The woman was dressed in the flapper-style costume that most of the wait staff had been wearing and there was something familiar about her. But without seeing her face, Megan couldn't be sure. And she certainly wasn’t going to lift the head up to find out who sat in the car. At least with her head down against the seat, she looked like she was simply sleeping. Her hair fell forward hiding most of her face and the feather in her headpiece stood up straight, almost waving. Megan's glance drifted once more to the feathered fan on the floor. She was positive she could see the corner of a clipboard protruding from one cluster of feathers.
But before she could look any closer, once again there was a loud banging on the glass. But this time it wasn't the glass door, it was on the glass display, and the pounding was loud and insistent. Megan looked up to find who was demanding the attention and locked eyes with an angry-looking man her own age on the other side of the glass.
Apparently, she wasn’t moving fast enough for him. He banged vigorously on the door one more time and held up a badge for her to examine. It looked like the replacement detective had arrived, and from the expression on his face he would not be an easy person to get along with. Megan suspected she would be excluded from this investigation before it even began.
Chapter 8
The man banged on the glass again, intent on forcing them into action. The anger behind the pounding on the glass made it vibrate, and Megan was grateful the panes were shatterproof.
"I wouldn't make him wait too long, Megan. I've heard that the detective is very impatient and doesn't bother holding his anger in check."
"Great, just what we need, a hot head," she mumbled as she moved towards the door.
"I think more impatient, than a hot head. He's got a good reputation as a detective. That’s why I agreed to have him come up from Palm Beach to fill in for me. Just don't antagonize him, let him do his job," cautioned Sheriff Green from his chair.
"He won't have any problems from my direction, if he does his job," she continued to mumble as she punched in the code to the allow the man in question through the door.
Aiden and Sheriff Green exchanged looks behind her back, wondering what kind of fireworks they were in for. Aiden remembered his own first encounters with Megan and knew from experience she didn't stand down to anyone. If the new detective wouldn’t include her in the investigation, Aiden worried about what the outcome might be.
Megan barely got the door open when the detective pushed past her with long strides, ignoring her look of astonishment. She tried to keep her balance, almost falling over from his haste. The detective walked to stand in front of Sheriff Green, looking around him before he addressed the senior officer.
"Sheriff Green. Sorry we must see each other again so soon and under such circumstances. I wasn't far away when you called; that's how I got here so quickly. Can you fill me in on the details?"
"Well we heard the scream–" without thinking Megan answered the detective, even though the question was directed at Sheriff Green. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. He turned to stare at her like she was an insect under his foot.
"Why are the civilians in here, Sheriff? Has the scene been contaminated by them?"
The sheriff quickly answered the younger man, trying to defuse what was sure to be a confrontation.
"This is Megan Cassidy, she had the code to get into the back room and was a witness. I trust her completely and I know she would contaminate nothing. This gentleman is Aiden Tory. He recently retired after 20 years with the FBI and still consults with them. I trust these two completely and they had both been instrumental in helping me solve cases in the past."
The detective looked them both over, not missing a detail. But before he answered Sheriff Green, Aiden was holding his hand out.
"As the sheriff said, we are happy to help the law enforcement of Citrus Beach. I'd like to offer our services – if we can be of any help to you with this case. Obviously, we can offer a lot of insight for you since you're not from Citrus Beach. I know from experience that Megan helped me when I first came here with a case; her insight and knowledge of the area was invaluable."
The other man had no choice but to shake Aiden's hand. And when Megan stood up straight, catching his attention, he nodded to her.
&
nbsp; "I'm Detective Mark Carson. I can appreciate that you’ve helped the sheriff in the past, but I don't work with civilians. However, Mr. Tory I would be happy to have you on as a consultant, if I need one."
Now he had done it. Dismissing Megan as unimportant in investigation was the wrong move, and Aiden's eyes opened a bit wider as he waited for Megan's reaction. Even the sheriff was holding his breath. They didn't wait long.
"Well Detective Carson, I'm sorry that you feel you don't need the help of a civilian. But I am a witness, so don’t be so quick to dismiss me."
Megan looked him straight in the eye not budging, not backing down, almost daring him to dismiss her again. During their stare-down, she couldn't help but notice he was a good-looking man and if he didn't have such a scowl on his face, he might even be handsome. He was around her age, maybe a year or two older which would put him about 47 years old. He dressed casually, but didn't appear comfortable in the casual clothes. Megan had a feeling he'd be most comfortable in a uniform which would show his obvious love of rules and regulations. His blue eyes were piercing, and she could well imagine a suspect squirming under that scrutiny, confessing just to get away from that piercing glance. But she would not let it affect her.
"Also, Detective Carson, I'm not only a witness but I am probably the best person for you to talk to about the layout of the museum, the staff on hand tonight, and the guest list. It's up to you. Of course, if you'd like to dismiss me and make me leave the room I can go. But I think you might find I have much more to offer than just giving you a list of who was in attendance tonight." Megan moved over towards the platform, and, to prove her point, she pointed down to the feathered fan.
"I think you'll find papers embedded in the fan on the ground which might pertain to what happened here tonight. The balls in your court, Detective Carson, do I stay or do I go?"
The Flapper Caper Page 4
