“We’ve been ordered up here to have our statements taken by Deputy Young.” Lucy walked over to sit by her best friend. But she wasn’t there for support, she was as eager as the others to discover what was happening.
“Hurry and tell us what happened. It won’t be long before more people are up here to give their statements. One officer has a list, and he’s directing those on it to come up here to see Deputy Young.”
“Really? By who’s orders, I wonder?” Megan thought out loud as she looked over at her cousin.
“It seems that Detective Carson is quite organized. He’s divided the guest up into nice little groups and has different officers taking statements. I find it interesting that he is keeping the hired staff away from the guests and the organizers away from everyone.”
Megan seemed taken aback by Paul's assessment. Then, she remembered the detective texting with his phone several times while they were examining the dead woman. Megan had assumed he was arranging for the removal of the body, but it seemed the detective was quicker on his feet than she gave him credit for. With a wry little smile, she tucked that knowledge away for future reference. Without hesitation, she told her friends what had happened.
When Joe came out, it was Paul's turn. As they rotated through the statement process, they filled each other in on what Megan had said and threw around possible scenarios for the murder. But when the first of the next group of guests arrived for questioning – Kim Heart and her grandfather – they instinctively talked about something else. Megan didn’t want either of them to hear about the flash drive before the detective talked to them. She realized if he thought she was interfering, she would be out of the loop completely.
To fill the awkward silence, Charlotte attempted to include the new arrivals, asking if they’d seen anything out of the ordinary. Megan watched Kim’s response, but the young woman seemed sincere when she said she didn’t have a clue about what was going on downstairs. She was angry that the police were interfering with her ability to report about the murder and investigation. The woman seemed to have a hard time keeping her anger in check.
"You can bet I'll be checking this new detective's background. He’s blocking my right to report the news. I have the perfect opportunity to give a first-hand report and beat my competition to the headline. Instead, I'm sitting here like a common criminal, waiting to give a statement." Kim looked around her for support. Once she had their attention, she continued her complaint.
"And if our statements are so important, why isn't the detective himself taking them? Not that Sean isn't capable, but I would love the chance to ask some of my own questions."
"Now, Kim," her grandfather interrupted, attempting to calm her down and lower her rising voice. "I'm sure the man has his hands full at this moment. Try a little patience."
"Kim, no one gave you any details yet?" Megan butted in to ask.
"Not a word, only that there had been a death – why, what do you know?"
The younger girl looked at Megan with suspicion sure she was being kept out of the loop, again.
Megan hesitated for a moment before she answered. With a quick decision, she told her that a member of the party planner’s staff had been murdered. Megan figured that if she gave her a bit of information rather than playing dumb, Kim wouldn’t press her for anything more. Besides, it was only a matter of time before somebody else let it slip that it had been a staff member and not a party guest found murdered in the display car. Because of this, she didn’t feel like she was stepping over any boundaries.
"I understand it was one of the staff hired to help out with the party. They found her behind scenes. With the sheriff out for surgery, I'm not sure how much the new detective will be willing to share. But Kim, I bet he would be more forthcoming with you than me."
Kim Heart looked at Megan, not sure if her leg was being pulled or if she was serious. However, Megan was serious. She had struck out with the detective, so why not let Kim have a go at him? Maybe he would respond to somebody younger and a member of the press, a profession known for sharing information with the police. Kim slowly nodded her head in agreement and straightened her shoulders, ready to take on the new detective and find her answers.
She was disappointed when she walked into Joe's office and found it was Detective Young taking the statements. But she simply smiled at the deputy. The time would come when she could question the new detective and get the answers she was looking for. It always did.
One by one they gave their statements to Detective Young. Megan hung around for a while until she got a text from Aiden telling her to go on home when she got the opportunity. He would be tied up most of the evening working with the new detective.
"Well at least he hasn't kicked you out like you did me," she mumbled to herself. She responded with a quick text to inform him she would be going straight home.
Charlotte and Mrs. Purdy had left as soon as their statements were completed. Paul and Lucy were waiting to see what Megan would do. Telling them to go ahead and head out, Megan walked back into Joe's office to see if Deputy Young needed anything else.
"Not unless you can get the sheriff back on the job quickly," the younger man said with a grimace. "I have a feeling this won’t be an easy couple of weeks ahead of me."
"Well, hang in there, Sean. Aiden's there to help and I'll do whatever I can from behind the scenes."
"Yeah? Well, don't go and stick your neck out so far that it gets chopped off. Megan, you won’t have the support from the sheriff like you’re used to having. I wouldn't put it past Detective Carson to throw you in jail if he thinks you're interfering too much."
Megan nodded her head in agreement and thanked the young man. She was a little uneasy, knowing his words were true.
"I'm going to head home too. You know how to reach me if you think of anything or need anything, Sean. Good luck working with Detective Carson."
It wasn't much longer before Megan got behind the wheel of her car, kicking her shoes off as she did. She was grateful to finally be out of the high heels. And as much as she loved her costume, she couldn't wait to get home and get out of it as well.
It wasn't a long ride home. Soon she was opening the door to the excited barks of Barney and Gypsy as they greeted her. With the single command, she kept both dogs from jumping up on her dress. With a few words of love and a couple of biscuits, they calmed right down and she hurried to her room to change. Ten minutes later the elaborate curls were gone, shorts and t-shirt were on, and she was rummaging through her refrigerator looking for something chocolate.
Chocolate was her biggest weakness, and whenever she was stressed, that's what she turned to for comfort. How she ever kept her slim figure was a mystery, but she was thankful that she didn't have to fight the weight. Finding a stash of chocolate that Aiden had missed, she settled down at the kitchen table, content to relax for a few moments. But as soon as the last bite of candy disappeared, she jumped back up and grabbed a notebook, ready to make a list of all that occurred earlier that night. Megan found it worked best when she had a list in front of her; it helped her outline details and connect the dots from one item to the other.
Chapter 11
Sunday
When Aiden let himself in the door a couple hours later, he found Megan still working diligently, trying to make connections. She had moved from a simple notebook to multi-colored Post-It Notes. She was using the sliding glass door that led to the pool as her work surface. The door was covered with sticky notes, sectioned off by color in a way that only made sense to Megan.
"Hey there," Aiden whispered, giving her a kiss on the neck. She returned his kiss absentmindedly, her thoughts on the work in front of her. She had questions that needed answers, but she wasn't sure where she would get the answers.
"Have you been puzzling this out since you got home?"
"Pretty much,” she answered. Turning to him, she noticed how tired he looked. “How did your evening go?”
“Well, Detective Cars
on definitely has a different way of approaching things than Sheriff Green. It reminded me of when I worked in the bureau. And the reason I left. The man is so worried about losing control over his case, that he ignores help when it's right there in front of him."
Megan moved closer to him and put her arms around his waist. Looking up at him, she accepted his second kiss with much more enthusiasm.
A short time later, after walking the dogs for the evening, they stood once more in front of the sliding door looking at Megan's notes.
“Right now, there two things that are glaring out at me. Why was Colonel Heart's name on that piece of paper? And what was on the flash drive? And where was that clip board that Lisa Fox was so possessive of when I met her earlier?"
"Sweetie, that's three questions. I also think that's enough for tonight, we're both tired. Let's go over everything again in the morning with fresh eyes. I'm going to take Gypsy home and get a shower. I'll be back in the morning. If I get here before you're up, I'll make sure I put the coffee on to brew. By the way, you looked gorgeous tonight."
With a quick kiss, Aiden called to Gypsy and before Megan even knew it, they had left. Deciding he had the right idea, she locked the door behind him and then, with Barney following, headed to her own room, ready a good night sleep.
The next morning Megan woke to the smell of coffee brewing. She had intended to be the first one up and have breakfast ready for Aiden, but she was more tired than she thought when she went to bed. As a matter fact, she was exhausted. All the work and effort it took putting the gala together, combined with the aftermath of the murder had hit her like a ton of bricks. She’d fallen asleep before she'd even gotten comfortable in bed. She had slept deeply and dreamlessly, which she was thankful for, because the first thing she thought of when she woke up was Lisa Fox’s slumped figure in the car.
Grabbing a quick shower, she wasted little time getting downstairs to the welcoming smells of scrambled eggs and coffee. Normally she wasn't a big breakfast eater, but this morning she was starved.
"This is a nice way to start my day. Good morning."
Megan kissed him good morning, stealing a piece of egg out of the frying pan as she did so. “Is there any bacon to go with those eggs?” With a laugh, Aiden assured her he had breakfast under control and giving her a cup of coffee, ordered her to go sit at the table and wait for him to finish.
They deliberately didn't talk about the murder while they ate. Instead they talked about the success of the opening for the museum. They compared notes on who said what, and who was with who. They laughed over some of the costumes, and agreed that, until the murder, the night had been a perfect success.
As they finished tidying up the kitchen from breakfast, and mopping the floor to get rid of soap bubbles they had splashed at the dogs while they were washing the dishes, the sound of a car honking out to the front gate caught them both by surprise. Walking over to her desk to peer at security camera, Megan was surprised to see two cars at the gate. She didn't recognize the first car, but the second one was Charlotte. Then the driver of the first car stuck her head out the window and waved at the security camera. It was Kim Heart.
"Well this is not how I expected my Sunday morning to start," groaned Megan to Aiden when he asked who was there.
Pushing the button to open the gate, she watched as the two cars drove up the drive to park in front of her house. By now both dogs were aware someone was arriving and were at the front door barking and jumping with excitement. Megan met the new arrivals at the door, hands on her hips, not sure what to expect. She was surprised to see the passenger door of each car open and watched as Colonel Heart got out of his granddaughter’s car and Mrs. Purdy emerged from Charlotte’s car.
Hushing the two dogs, Megan welcomed her guests by holding the door open as she motioned for them to enter the living room. Aiden came out of the kitchen just as everybody was settling down and he shot Megan questioning glance. But she didn't have a clue what was going on either and decided to just settle back and let the others explain what they were doing here.
Charlotte was the first to speak in her usual direct manner, she apologized for showing up unannounced and so early in the morning.
"I had a feeling it you would be up, especially after last night. And if you weren't up, then you should be. Sit down, you two, we’ve got a lot to go over."
"Has something new happened since last night?" Megan looked at her guests, waiting for somebody to answer. She didn’t wait long. Kim Heart jumped in to the conversation, it was easy to see she was upset.
"Oh, something new has happened all right. It’s most ridiculous thing I've ever seen or heard. That incompetent detective was out at granddad's house this morning with more questions. Questions that bordered on accusations."
Megan and Aiden exchanged looks they had expected Detective Carson to question the Colonel to determine why his name had been written on that piece of paper. But they hadn’t expected him to move so fast or to accuse the Colonel of anything. Aiden spoke first, trying to calm down Kim.
"Kim, I'm sure the detective will be asking a lot of questions. It's his job, and it’s going seem like accusations until he finds the answers he's looking for. Now, what did he say?"
Rather than letting Kim answer, the Colonel spoke up for himself.
"It seems my name was on a piece of paper found in the possession of the dead girl." The older man gave Aiden a look of scrutiny before he continued. "But I think you knew that, didn’t you, Aiden? No matter, I understand you’re acting as a consultant and doing your job. But I can honestly say I've never seen that girl before. I don't remember seeing her last night at the party. Why she would have my name, I have no idea."
While the Colonel was speaking, Charlotte had been looking back and forth between Aiden and Megan and had caught the knowing looks they’d shared. Deciding that they all needed to work together, Charlotte addressed the two of them.
"It's obvious to me, that you, Megan, were kicked out of the investigation an early stage last night. Aiden, you've been asked to help, and that will work towards our advantage. Because together, we will figure out who killed this woman and clear Colonel Heart’s name.” She paused for a beat. “Well, what have the two of you come up with so far?"
She leaned against the back of the sofa, waiting to hear their answer. Megan knew at once she would share what she had learned, but she waited for Aiden's answer before she opened her mouth. She didn't want to step on his toes and had no idea how much he could reveal to the others.
Aiden had learned in his short time in Citrus Beach that you didn't hold out on Charlotte Potter. She knew all that happened in the town, and even if she wouldn't admit it, still had a lot of control over the decisions made for the town's benefit. He smiled to himself, he – like Megan – was more than willing to share what he knew to help clear the Colonel's name and find the killer. Last night's experience with the detective had reminded him all too well how workforce politics hindered investigations. He wanted nothing to do with it, and as a private citizen he didn't have to. He had made no promises to Detective Carson about keeping any information confidential. Oh, he was aware the detective did not want civilians involved. But the man needed to learn a valuable lesson about Citrus Beach and how the citizens stuck together through thick and thin.
Aiden settled himself down on the loveseat, and he pulled Megan down the next to him. With a smile for Mrs. Purdy, who had yet to make a comment, Aiden told the others what had taken place the night before between him and the detective. There were few interruptions as he talked each person too intent on hearing every little detail. Once he finished, they sat silently, each going over in their own heads what they had just heard. Then one by one they began to speak and ask questions.
The conversation seemed to circle a few key questions, several the same ones Megan had also been asking. Finally, Megan stood up to get everyone’s attention. As the talking halted, she invited the others to follow her into the kitchen. Once
there, she stood in front of the sliding glass door that was playing the role of a murder board, like she had seen in all the best detective shows.
“I spent some time, really a lot of time, going over the same questions we all were just trying to answer. Let’s look this over and make sure I’ve included everything we know so far.”
One by one, her guest came forward to stand in front of the glass door, complementing her on her thoroughness. Most of the answers, at least as much as they knew, were there for them to examine. While they were busy with that, Aiden brewed a fresh pot of coffee and Megan got out cups and spoons. Putting everything on a tray, Aiden carried it all over to the breakfast nook and poured the first cup for Megan.
"Who was Lisa Fox? And why was she killed?"
Mrs. Purdy spoke for the first time, and it was the most obvious question. This question needed an answer before anything else. Aiden had learned a long time ago to know the victim; more times than not that information would give you the reasoning behind the crime.
One by one, they came over to grab their own cup coffee and take a seat at the table. Before anybody could answer the question about who the murder victim was, the Colonel looked at Aiden and after taking a tentative sip of his coffee asked the question he’d been thinking about.
"Do we have any idea what was on that flash drive? Was Lisa Fox supplying the information to somebody or taking the information from somebody. That can make all the difference. Maybe if we knew what that information was, we would know whether it was worth being murdered over."
In a matter of seconds, they were all tossing out ideas and possible scenarios for the murder. From under the table where they sat hoping for a few table scraps, Barney and Gypsy’s heads went back and forth as each person spoke. It was almost as if they were following to conversation too.
While everyone else had joined the discussion, adding their thoughts and comments, Kim, for once, had been unusually quiet. A couple of times Megan looked in her direction when she normally would have expected the girl to jump in. She was puzzled by her silence and eventually couldn't take it any longer.
The Flapper Caper Page 6
