Detectives Carson stared at her, contemplating her challenge. With a glance at Sheriff Green, he saw the older man give a slight nod. His breath came out in a gust of anger before he turned back to Megan.
"Because you're a witness, you can stay – but only until I can get all the information I need from you. Do not mistake my asking for your cooperation as an invitation to stick your nose into my investigation. As to your knowledge of Citrus Beach, I would assume the police department can fill me in there. I will use them for any information I need pertaining to the citizens of the town. Although your cooperation is appreciated, it's unnecessary." Turning back to Sheriff Green, Detective Carson seemed to notice for the first time the man was sitting in the chair.
"Sheriff, I hope you’re not straining your knee. As soon as I can get your statement and you give me any input you feel necessary, I'll have someone take you home. I know you have surgery scheduled for the morning and you're supposed to be resting. Will I have an officer assigned to help me as I investigate this case?"
The sheriff nodded his head, part him relieved he would be in surgery tomorrow and would not have to deal with the fireworks that were sure to come between Detective Carson and Megan Cassidy. She wouldn’t sit quietly behind as he knew from experience.
"Yes, I will assign Deputy Young to work with you. He's been working with me closely and will be a great asset for you. A word of caution, Detective Carson, don't dismiss what the citizens of Citrus Beach can offer you."
The younger man looked as if he wanted to comment, but instead he turned back to Megan and Aiden. After all, they were witnesses, and he needed to get their statements. Now, while everything was still clear and in focus – and before they talked to any other witnesses.
Before he could ask his first question, there was a knock. When Detective Carson looked over at the glass door, he saw the ridiculous figure of a young keystone cop. Thinking it was a nosey bystander, he ignored the figure in the window and looked at Megan, ready to take her statement and get rid of her. Irritation flashed as he saw her expression of amusement.
“Does murder amuse you, Miss Cassidy?”
"Of course, not. I find it horrifying and shocking that something like this can happen in our town. But it can, and it does." Again, there was a knock on the window, and Megan's face now held an open grin as she delivered her statement to the detective with maybe a touch of maliciousness in her tone. "I think you might want to let him in, detective. That is Deputy Young, here to assist."
Even Aiden had to smile at the distressed expression on Detective Carson's face when he realized the young man in the ridiculous costume was assigned to him to help him solve a murder. The detective seemed to realize they were watching him for his reaction. His face became a blank mask as he walked over to the door and opened it for the waiting officer. Sean Young had been informed earlier in the day that he would work with the sheriff’s replacement and didn’t seem to find the situation unusual. With an old-fashioned gesture that went along with his costume, he tipped his hat to Detective Carson and then waited for his instructions.
Seeing this as an opportunity to get rid of Megan, the detective instructed Sean to take her out of the room and get her statement.
So, that’s how it’s gonna be? She thought to herself. Then Megan showed the other man she was no fool. “Don’t you think you might want me to examine the body? Maybe I can identify her for you. That might be information you could use, Detective Carson.” She couldn’t hide the sarcasm from her tone.
“That won’t be necessary, Miss Cassidy. I will rely on the sheriff and Mr. Tory. I would not want to subject you to such a gruesome task.” Almost coy, he answered, pointing to the door at the same time.
Megan had no choice but to follow Sean out the door, but she watched what was going inside the room as she gave her statement. Megan knew the deputy felt bad about her treatment, and she assured him she understood.
“He’s being a bit premature, dismissing me so fast, but hey, like he said, it’s his investigation. I’ll get any information from Aiden about what goes on in there. And the sheriff will keep me informed too, I’m sure. When he gets out of surgery.”
Megan’s voice trailed off as she watched what was taking place on the other side of the glass. Aiden and Detective Carson had walked up the side of the car and were examining the body. After a few moments, she watched the detective reach over the door to the car and move the body back against the seat from its slumped over position. Carson looked up at Aiden and asked a question. Aiden shook his head, and the sheriff said something as he also shook his head. Then the detective moved and Megan had her first full view of the victim’s face. She gasped out loud, realizing why the woman had seemed familiar. She had only meet her a short time ago. It was the staff member that she’d bumped into after she had finished talking to James earlier.
At her gasp, Sean looked at her and asked if she knew the victim. Her nod was a sharp contrast to the reaction Detective Carson had gotten from Aiden.
“Come on Megan, Detective Carson will want to talk to you after all.”
Chapter 9
Detective Carson looked anything but pleased when Megan and Deputy Young re-entered the room.
"If you've got her statement, Deputy, I have no reason to talk to her. You can escort Miss Cassidy out with the other guests. Then report back to me –"
"Megan can identify the victim, sir." Sean interrupted him before he finished his next order. He admitted to himself that it gave him pleasure to watch the man ask Megan for help.
"How do you know this woman Miss Cassidy and the other two men here don't? Are you sure you're just not trying to stick your nose into the investigation?"
"Do you want my help are not, Detective?" Disgust filled her voice, and without even realizing it, Megan stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, stance defiant.
The detective hesitated and recalculated his thinking. Maybe antagonizing the woman in front of him wasn't the best idea. Besides, if she could identify the woman it would save hours of detective work.
"My apologies. Any help you can offer, I will gladly take. Do you need to see the body?"
Megan waved off his apology since it wasn't sincere she would not waste her time with it. Instead, she stepped forward to look more closely into the car and at the body. By now she should be used to seeing dead bodies, but it still bothered her. She closed her eyes for a moment to send a brief prayer heavenwards before she opened them to survey not only at the body but at the area around it.
She was right. The view she had gotten from the other side of the glass was not misleading. There in front of her was a young woman she had met earlier. Or rather whom she’d ran into earlier. Megan remembered bending over to pick up her clipboard. The woman had seemed nervous when they met in a hurry, but she left an impression on Megan. Not only was she beautiful, but she’d also carried an air of desperation around her.
"I met her earlier tonight, upstairs outside Joe’s office. She works for the party planner. Her name is Lisa Fox."
As Megan spoke, her eyes took in details quickly and efficiently. She noticed that Lisa’s discreet name tag was gone. Peering a little closer, she saw a slight rip in the dress where a name tag should be. Somebody had pulled off in a hurry, or it had gotten snagged on something and ripped off when she pulled away. The clipboard she had clutched to her chest, as if it had held precious secrets, was no longer clasped in her hands. From this angle, she saw it under the beautiful feathered fan. The force of beaded necklace breaking had scattered a few of the beads to mix with the feathers, creating a rather artful tableau. As if it had all been posed, along with the champagne and glass, for a still-life painting. But this wasn’t a scene for a painting, it was real, and she looked in haste for more clues before the detective interrupted her.
"That's wonderful Miss Cassidy. Thank you, this is a good starting point." His tone was dismissive, but Megan ignored him.
Peering inside the car, she wa
s careful not to touch anything, but took in as many details as she could about the woman's appearance and positioning.
"Detective Young, please escort Miss Cassidy from the room. I want nothing disturbed, and Miss Cassidy you're getting far too close to my evidence."
"Have you noticed anything unusual about the body, Detective?"
“You mean other than the strangulation marks around her neck,” he asked sarcastically.
"If you worried less about staking the claim for your case and searching for evidence, you might notice what's right in front of you." From the tone of Megan's voice, it was clear she was losing patience with the man. Aiden took a step forward, not sure if he would have to referee, or forcibly remove her. Turning to him she pointed at the woman.
"Aiden, you look and tell me if you don't see the same thing I do," she commanded determined to have at least one man in the room on her side. The two men examined the body a little closer, even Sean Young stepped forward. But it was obvious that they couldn’t find what she was referring to on the body.
Inpatient with all of them, Megan grabbed the pen from Detective Carson’s fingers and pointed to a slight bulge at the top of the woman's long black gloves.
"There. Those gloves should fit smoothly but something is prohibiting that smooth appearance. Pulled back the glove and I think you'll find something."
Detective Carson took the pen from her fingers and used it to ease the glove down the woman's arm about an inch. Crossing her arms with self-satisfaction, Megan watched the expression of astonishment cross his face. The detective glanced at her and then looked back down the glove. With careful movements, he used his own gloved fingers to reach down and pull out a piece of paper that hidden in the top rim of the woman's evening glove. As he pulled out the paper, he also felt something hard wrapped inside it. He set the paper on the hood of the car as he gently unwrapped it. Inside was a small flash drive. Written on the piece of paper was a single name: Colonel Heart.
“Well done, Megan,” Deputy Young all but cheered for her.
The look of reproach from his superior officer had him take a step back, but he still discretely shot Megan a thumbs-up gesture. It was clear the detective would not thank Megan, so Aiden spoke up, drawing Detective Carson’s attention back to the flash drive.
“That could be a valuable clue, Detective. Obviously, the victim was trying to conceal the flash drive. It might be worthwhile to examine the contents immediately.”
The other man looked at Aiden and curtly agreed, saying he would need to get to a computer.
“Megan knows how to run the computer system in this room. I’m sure she could pull up whatever is on the drive without corrupting the files.” Aiden didn’t bother to let Detective Carson know he also knew how to run the system. Megan shot him a grateful smile. She was aware what Aiden was doing; by suggesting she open the file, he was prolonging her involvement in the investigation. The deeper she got into it, the harder it would be for the detective to dismiss her.
There was tension in the air as they waited for the detective to decide. After a few moments of hesitation, he begrudgingly agreed. He pulled a pair of white latex gloves from his pocket and ordered her to put them on before he held out the small flash drive to her. Megan deliberately kept her expression neutral. This was not the time to gloat, she knew it would take little for her to be escorted out of the room.
“This will just take me a second,” she assured him as she walked over to the podium that held the computer system. Megan typed in her password and opened a program that would allow her to read the drive. Moments later they were looking at the screen, searching for some clue to the murder. Unfortunately, there were only four files on the drive and as Megan opened them one by one, they discovered each was written in code. Megan tried everything she could think of to make the files readable, but with no success. Finally, she had to admit defeat. At least for now.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t make heads or tails out of this. Maybe, with your FBI sources, you would have better luck, Aiden.” Her quick thinking found a way for them to still be included in the investigation. There was no way that the sheriff’s office had the same capacity to translate the codes like the FBI would. And if Aiden was involved, he would be sure to keep her informed about any new leads or breaks in the case.
“Fine. We’ll take it from here, Ms. Cassidy. Thank you for your efforts.” Detective Carson took the flash drive from her, turned away and addressed Sheriff Green.
“Sheriff, you’re looking a little green around the gills. We need to get you home where you can rest before your surgery. Deputy Young, can you find someone to take the sheriff home?”
The younger man jumped to his feet and was out the door before anyone remembered that he was supposed to escort Megan out of the room as well. Rather than draw attention to herself, she moved out of the detective’s line of sight at held her tongue when he asked the sheriff his next question.
“Before you leave, do you know who this Colonel Heart is? Can you give me any details about the man, or hazard a guess why his name is on this paper?”
The sheriff shifted in the chair, a grimace of pain furrowing his forehead with the motion. He waited a moment for it to pass before he answered the other man’s question.
“Let’s see… The Colonel is a retired navy man who spent more years at sea away from Citrus Beach than he lived here. However, his family has been part of the community from the early days and their influence has been felt across all aspects of the town. Some of his family were active in farming, others more active in politics. The Colonel himself is a hardheaded, but fair man. I would say his only weakness is his granddaughter, whom he dotes on. She can do no wrong in his eyes, and the two are very close.”
The detective’s interest was caught. The knowledge such a strong man had a weakness could be an advantage if he needed it.
“I will want to question the Colonel. Who is this granddaughter? I will probably want to question her too.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Mark. You’ll meet Miss Heart, and it will be you who gets questioned, more than likely.”
Megan tried, she really did. But there was no controlling the snort that came at the sheriff’s words. She couldn’t look the sheriff or Aiden in the eye, for fear she would burst out in full laughter. Thankfully, Deputy Young showed up with another officer and a wheelchair to help the sheriff home.
After getting the injured man in the wheelchair, Sean turned to escort the sheriff out. Detective Carson stopped him quickly.
“Deputy Young. Now would be an excellent time to remove Ms. Cassidy from my crime scene. Thank you for your help Ms. Cassidy. The deputy will take your formal statement for me.”
Walking across to the door, the detective stood there waiting. Megan had no choice but to follow Sean out the door. She was surprised to find that several people had followed the wheelchair back into the room on the other side of the glass. She smiled to see her family and friends among those standing there. Detective Carson followed her glance and frowned at the group of people. He was ready to order their dismissal when the words seemed to choke him. Someone out there had caught his attention, and Megan looked to find out who it might be. But Sean's large frame blocked her view and she looked back at the other man, wondering if she had been wrong. By now his face was a controlled mask, devoid of emotion. With a shrug of her shoulders, she walked out of the door, past the man. As she did, she swore she heard him mumble something that sounded suspiciously like, “What is she doing here?”
Chapter 10
Megan and the group that had gathered followed Deputy Young as he pushed the sheriff’s wheelchair to the side entrance where there was a patrol car waiting. At this point, the sheriff’s pain was too intense for him to care who saw him in the wheelchair. All he wanted was to 1) get his leg elevated and 2) take one of the pain pills the doctor had prescribed. Once in the car, he rolled down a window and spoke to Megan.
“Try not to irrigate Detect
ive Carson too much, Megan. Let the man do his job. If he decides he needs Aiden’s help, then you work your magic from that angle. I don’t want to hear when I get out of surgery tomorrow you’ve been arrested for obstructing a police investigation.”
Megan smiled at the man, and impulsively bent and kissed his cheek through the window.
“I’ll try. Now you go take care of yourself and stop worrying.”
The sheriff shook his head as his driver put the car in gear and drove away. He knew he would worry until the murder was solved.
“Come on, Megan. Let me get your statement first, and then I’ll get to the rest of you. Joe, can I use your office?” As soon as the car left, Deputy Young took Megan by the elbow and led her back into the building. Joe, Charlotte, and Mrs. Purdy were standing by the door, and Joe nodded his head in agreement to the man.
Regardless of how dismissive the new detective had been of Sean, he was professional and thorough. In no time, Megan had given her statement, paving the way for Joe to give his.
“Are you all right, Megan?” Mrs. Purdy asked her in concern, leading her over to sit on the sofa outside Joe's office
Charlotte looked her young friend over carefully, then got up and brought her a drink of something alcoholic.
“Drink this, it’ll put color back in your cheeks. And then you can tell us what went on in there. I take it Aiden is still with the detective?”
Megan nodded yes to the question as she took a healthy swallow of the golden liquid. Peering at the glass in her hand with surprise, she laughed out loud.
“Only you would use Champagne for this purpose, Charlotte. I’m fine. But before I tell you what happened – did Paul and Lucy get everyone in place to help the police?”
“Yes, we did; it’s under control,” Paul answered for Charlotte as he and Lucy reached the top of the stairs in time to hear Megan’s question.
The Flapper Caper Page 5
