Maid in Teaberry

by R A Wallace

  Megan moved to the door to help Ava. She realized that the door had an automatic opener, so she hit the button and then stepped into the hallway to get out of Ava’s way. As she did, she spotted a man at the other end of the hallway with his back to her. She immediately ducked back into the restroom, pushing Ava and the cart into the room as she did.

  Ava looked at Megan in surprise.

  Megan held up her hand. “There’s a man at the end of the hall.”

  Ava’s eyes opened wide.

  “Is anyone else supposed to be here?” Megan asked.

  Ava shook her head vehemently and pulled out her phone. She found her list of recent calls and pressed one to return the call. Rhys answered a moment later. Ava explained where they were, and Rhys told her to stay there until he called her, saying that he was only a few minutes away. Ava and Megan remained in the restroom for several minutes until Ava’s phone rang.

  “I’m at the end of the hall. You can come out now,” Rhys said.

  Ava and Megan went out in the hall and found Rhys. “Did you see him?” Megan asked.

  “No. I checked the rooms, but no one is here. Can you tell me what he looked like?” Rhys asked.

  Megan thought back and shook her head. “I didn’t see his face. He had his back to me.”

  “Do you know how tall?” Rhys asked. He watched Megan think. “Where was he?” Rhys asked.

  Megan pointed. Rhys went to stand in the same place. “He wasn’t as tall as you,” Megan said. “He was maybe a couple of inches shorter.”

  “Okay, so around five ten or so, that’s good. What was he wearing?” Rhys asked as he walked back toward the women.

  “Dark clothes. He was wearing all black,” Megan answered.

  “Did you see him?” Rhys asked Ava.

  Ava shook his head.

  “Okay, I’m going to call this in,” Rhys said. “They can be on the lookout for anyone matching what you do know.”

  Ava returned her cart to the supply closet while they waited for Rhys to call it in. He turned back to them when he was done and looked at Megan.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to test a theory about the voices,” Megan said. “I was just about to try it.”

  “I don’t want either one of you alone in the building. How about we try it together?” Rhys said.

  Ava looked relieved. Megan smiled and led the way back to the office area. She walked over to a paneled wall and reached her hand out to clasp a small metal ring. Pulling it open revealed a unit built into the wall.

  Rhys looked over her shoulder as she studied the ancient sound system in front of her.

  “It’s an old sound system built into the wall,” Rhys said almost to himself.

  “It looks like it has an old magnetic tape in it,” Megan said as she reached toward the panel. “My theory is, if we push this button Ava won’t have to be afraid of the voices any more.”

  There was some static at first, but eventually they could hear distorted voices.

  Ava’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “That’s it! That’s the voices I heard.”

  Megan pushed a button to stop the tape. “I think the magnetic tape has been warped or damaged somehow. That’s why you can’t tell what the voices are saying.”

  Rhys started chuckling then saw Ava’s face fall. “C’mon. You have to agree, it’s kind of funny. The whole town has been scared of this building for decades because of this.”

  Ava felt the corner of her mouth twitch. “Okay, you have a point. Why would the tape play only at certain times?”

  “It looks like there’s a clock tied into the system. It might be pulling from that somehow,” Megan suggested.

  “Makes sense. And the time is wrong on the clock, so maybe that’s why it seemed like it was going off at odd moments,” Rhys said.

  Ava looked at Megan with relief.

  “Okay, it’s official. You have solved the mystery of the scary voices at the old elementary building,” Rhys said with a smile before his face became serious. “But now I have to go look for the man who came into the building when he shouldn’t have.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  After returning home the previous evening, Megan had explained to Dan what happened with Ava at the old elementary building. She had barely finished telling Dan when Erica called to get more information about what had happened at the old elementary school. Caitlyn called a few minutes later to touch base on the baby shower for Erica and Lauren and agreed to go to the retirement community with Megan this morning. Caitlyn explained that she had flowers to deliver there anyway.

  Megan and Caitlyn pulled into the parking lot at the retirement community office early the next morning in Caitlyn’s van. Caitlyn pulled her cart out of the van and loaded some arrangements on it before wheeling it into the main office. They were greeted by the same woman Megan had met on her first trip. Megan remembered that her name was Gina.

  “Caitlyn! I wasn’t expecting you. What do we have today?” Gina said happily when they entered the office.

  Megan looked at Caitlyn in surprise. She hadn’t realized that Caitlyn was a regular visitor here. Gina turned to Megan and explained. “Caitlyn is so kind. She brings some of her arrangements to us when they’re no longer needed. We always enjoy them so much. Flowers just brighten everyone’s mood.”

  Caitlyn transferred the arrangements to Gina’s desk and then returned her cart to the van while Megan spoke with Gina.

  “I’m here to visit with Laura Davidson again,” Megan explained.

  “Do you remember the way?” Gina asked and watched Megan nod. “I’ll just call her and let her know you’re coming.”

  Megan thanked her and climbed back into Caitlyn’s van. “I didn’t realize you bring flowers here so often.”

  “Sure. Sometimes the bride or bridesmaid will do it after a wedding, sometimes they ask us to do it. There are a few different circumstances where flowers get donated,” Caitlyn said as they parked in the same area Megan had used before.

  Laura was waiting for them at her villa door. “You have someone with you today,” she greeted them with a smile. Leading them into her living room, they found that Laura also had a visitor. Josie Klingerman, the retired cook, was visiting with Laura.

  Megan introduced Caitlyn and waited while the three talked about Caitlyn’s mother, Susan.

  Finally, Laura turned to Megan. “So, what brings you back today. More questions?”

  “If you don’t mind,” Megan said with a smile.

  “Actually, we were just talking about you.” Laura glanced at Josie and they both turned back to Megan. “We started to remember more about the day that Jonah died.”

  “Good, that’s what I was hoping. I was wondering if you could describe the old school a little more for me now,” Megan said. “I’m interested in learning some more details about what it looked like back then.”

  Josie and Laura shared a look.

  “Anything in particular?” Josie asked.

  “The supply closet, for one. What details can you tell me about it? For instance, you thought maybe the switch was on the outside of the closet back then. Are you sure about that?”

  “The light was on the outside of the closet,” Laura said firmly. “That’s why we couldn’t turn it back on ourselves. And, of course, it locked from the outside which was why we couldn’t get out.”

  “But Ronnie let you out?” Megan asked.

  Laura nodded. “Yes, I remembered more about that. It was Ronnie. He seemed upset at the time.” Laura drew her brows together in thought. “Flustered might be a better word. He was all sixes and sevens and not making any sense. We were so late for our classes at that point. We just ran.”

  Megan thought about that for a moment. “I was just at the school last night. I went down to the janitor’s area.” She smiled at Laura. “I did check out the supply closet.”

  “Does it still have the ugly green door?” Josie asked.

  Megan looke
d at her in surprise. “Green?”

  “Oh, yes,” Laura said as both she and Josie nodded. “It was definitely green. And the light switch was definitely outside in the hall.”

  ***

  Caitlyn drove in silence for a short while after leaving the retirement community giving Megan time to absorb what she had learned. Finally, she interrupted Megan’s musings.

  “I can’t believe the voices all these years have been from an old tape in an old sound system everyone forgot about,” Caitlyn said.

  Megan nodded distractedly as she continued thinking.

  “It doesn’t explain all the other odd things that have been happening though,” Caitlyn said.

  Megan glanced over at Caitlyn in surprise. “Like what?”

  “Well, let’s see. The chairs in the classrooms are often moved around in the mornings.” Caitlyn slowed as she rounded a bend with bad visibility. “There’s the ceiling dust they keep finding everywhere.”

  “I’ve heard some of this from Bev,” Megan said with a frown as she tried working those pieces in with the others that she had. Something still wasn’t fitting quite right.

  “And the popcorn maker,” Caitlyn said as they reached Main Street. Megan had parked her truck in front of the florist shop. Susan was watching the shop, waiting for Caitlyn to return.

  “Popcorn maker?” Megan asked.

  Caitlyn nodded as she parked the van behind Megan’s truck and unbuckled her seat belt. “Yeah, Bev brought a popcorn maker to the Kids Camp to demonstrate things like volume to the kids. She thought it would be fun. She found it in pieces in the garbage can.”

  Megan sighed as the final puzzle piece finally fell into place. “I need to find Erica.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Megan watched from her porch as Ross and Susan beat Seth and Jessilyn at another game of quoits. Since learning how to play, Ross had become a huge fan of the game. Farther down, another game was about to begin with Caro and Tom squaring off against Bev and Vince. Barbara, Matthias, Jax, Jerry, Madison, and Trina stood on the sidelines cheering everyone on and waiting their turn to play. Brad, Doug, Justin, and Dan were at the grill.

  “So, the police were able to arrest Ronnie and charge him with murder?” Caitlyn asked.

  “There’s no statute of limitations on murder,” Erica answered as she looked over at the children.

  Most of them were near the paddock petting the miniature donkeys who eagerly poked their noses through the fence looking for attention. She noticed that Trina kept her daughter close by her much of the time. It was something she was trying to pay more attention to. She’d had to ask how old Trina’s child was. That was something else she was trying to get a better grip on. Apparently, when they’re two you don’t let them run loose with the bigger kids as much.

  “Did he say why he killed Jonah?” Lauren asked.

  “They honestly believed there was treasure,” Erica said. “Ronnie found Jonah at the top of the ladder and assumed he’d gotten to the treasure before he could. He said he knocked the ladder out from under him in a fit of rage and was surprised that Jonah actually died. He realized afterward that he didn’t really want to hurt his friend, but by then it was too late. He panicked and ran.”

  “That’s how he ended up in the hallway by the supply closet,” Megan guessed.

  “Yes, he heard them pounding on the door to get out, so he opened it without thinking when he was fleeing. But he was so scared he’d get caught he never told anyone about it afterward,” Erica said.

  “And they were so scared they’d get fired, they never told anyone that they were there and that Ronnie had let them out,” Megan said.

  “Exactly. He moved away because he was always afraid of getting caught. But he couldn’t stay away from the lure of the treasure.”

  “He befriended Jonah’s sister, Liz?” Lauren said with a shake of her head. “How sad is that?”

  “She honestly thought Ronnie was visiting her over the years because of their shared love for Jonah’s memory,” Erica reached over and took a spicy deviled egg from the plate next to her. Her appetite had come back with a vengeance as soon as the nausea had ended. “Turns out he was just coming back to ransack the old elementary building as he continued to search for the treasure.”

  “How was he getting into the building all those years?” Caitlyn asked.

  “He still had his keys from when he worked as a part-time janitor. No one ever thought to re-key the building,” Erica said. She saw Brad tip his head back and laugh with the other guys over at the grill.

  “I’m still not certain how you figured out it was Ronnie,” Lauren said to Megan.

  “It was the inconsistencies,” Megan explained. “There were things he knew that he shouldn’t have.”

  “Like what?” Lauren asked, tilting her head.

  “The popcorn maker, for one thing,” Megan said. “When I was with Liz, the subject of the Kids Camp came up and he specifically mentioned the popcorn maker. He knew about it because he’d been going up into the ceilings in the classrooms looking for the treasure in the ceiling. He accidentally broke the popcorn maker by knocking it off the shelf. And the robots. How else would he have known about those?”

  “What else?” Caitlyn asked. “You seemed pretty interested in the color of the supply closet door.”

  “Exactly. He knew that it was brown now. He’d also forgotten that the light switch was on the outside of the room back then. It’s on the inside now. The only way he could know those things were if he’d been inside the building recently.”

  “He was the reason why people saw lights in the building over the years? He was going in at night to look for the treasure.” Lauren guessed. “But he didn’t have anything to do with the voices?”

  “No, that was just a random thing with the old speaker system in the building,” Megan said. “At first I wondered if Ava flipping the light switches had something to do with triggering it, but it seemed to just be on a timer that didn’t keep the correct time anymore.”

  “I still can’t believe Ava was forcing herself to work in the building all alone in the evenings,” Caitlyn said.

  “I can’t believe my mother-in-law didn’t tell me about the ghostly happenings during the day,” Lauren said as she looked over at Bev with a fond smile. “We had a long talk about that. Bev promised not to keep any secrets from me in the future that may involve my children.”

  “You’re lucky you have her,” Erica said.

  Lauren lifted her brows briefly in agreement. “The teachers were all afraid to say anything because they weren’t entirely certain what was going on. At first, they thought it might be Ava slacking on her cleaning job for some reason and they didn’t want to get in her trouble. After that, they just hoped Megan would figure it all out.”

  “I have good news about that. Ava is starting her own business,” Caitlyn said.

  “She is?” Lauren asked. “That’s great. Is Ross helping?”

  “Yes, Ava’s business is the first one launched with his new incubator. She’s going to hire staff to help her with all of her jobs and allow her to accept even more customers.” Caitlyn reached for a spicy deviled egg.

  “She’ll actually have time to be with Bella now,” Lauren pointed out.

  “These deviled eggs with hot peppers are amazing,” Erica said to Megan as she inhaled her fourth.

  Megan smiled at her friend. When Megan had suggested the gathering of friends at her place for a baby shower, Erica had told Megan that she was craving spicy food. Megan made a variation of deviled eggs using her own canned hot peppers. She used the pickling juice instead of vinegar in the recipe and diced the hot peppers, adding dried mustard to give the mashed yolks more depth to the taste.

  “You might want to go easy on spicy food until you find out if the babies like it,” Lauren cautioned.

  Erica froze with her hand stretched toward the deviled eggs. “They have a preference over food?” Erica looked down at her stomach. Sh
e was never going to keep this all straight.

  “What did you think of your presents?” Caitlyn asked Erica.

  Erica held up the impossibly tiny baby clothes and stared at them again in wonder. Then she rested one hand on her stomach. “I can’t believe how tiny they are. I guess the babies aren’t going to be as large as I thought in there.”

  Lauren snorted then quickly covered her mouth to hide her smile.

  Erica narrowed her eyes at Lauren.

  “I saved my present for last,” Megan said as she handed both Erica and Lauren a card.

  Erica ripped hers open first and held up the gift certificate she found inside. She looked up at Megan, wrinkling her forehead in confusion.

  Lauren opened hers. She glanced at the gift certificate with a graphic of a house tied up in a bow and started laughing. “Having a clean house with two children and a newborn would be a gift indeed.”

  “It’s Ava’s new business,” Megan explained. “These are gift certificates for cleaning services. I thought it would be helpful when the babies come.”

  Erica looked down and read the name of Ava’s new company out loud. “Maid in Teaberry.”

  Megan’s Recipes

  Pineapple Cake

  1 can (20 ounce) crushed pineapple and juice

  2 cups flour

  2 cups sugar

  2 eggs

  2 teaspoons vanilla

  2 teaspoons baking soda

  1 cup chopped nuts

  Mix in bowl by hand. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).

  Icing

  1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese

  1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 stick butter or margarine

  Add all ingredients, mix until smooth, and spread over the cake.

  Notes: Keep refrigerated.

  Spicy Deviled Eggs with Hot Peppers

  6 hard cooked eggs

  3 tablespoons (approximately) of mayonnaise or salad dressing