Eat, Drink and Be Wary

by Devon Delaney

  For Sherry

  She reached for the envelope at the same time she heard footsteps by the door. With a shaky hand, she snatched the envelope and filed it in her back pocket.

  “Sherry? This is a surprise. What are you doing in here?” Ginger made her way in and out of the shafts of light to reach Sherry.

  “Ginger? You in here?” A voice called out from outside the far door. “Did you find it?”

  Ginger eyed the object on Oxana’s table. “That’s what we’re looking for.”

  Sherry stepped back, and Ginger grabbed the garden clippers from off the table.

  “Don’t know why Oxana would be using these. She doesn’t do any of our garden work.” Ginger shrugged. “Found ’em,” she called out.

  “I’ll meet you back at the maze,” the male voice responded.

  “Addison and I are securing that darn maze. Better be a popular attraction this year. Right now, the labor alone doesn’t seem worth any profit.” Ginger faced Sherry. “What did you say you’re doing in here?”

  “I didn’t, actually.” Sherry reached back with one hand and patted the pocket with the envelope. “I’m trying to get ahold of Oxana. She’s not answering her phone, and I don’t leave messages. No one listens to voice mail these days. I texted her but no reply. We have a cooking lesson on Tuesday, and I’d like to adjust the time a bit. Have you seen her today?”

  “I gave her some extra time today, knowing she had to make up a class this morning. She’s not due in until closer to dinner. If you want to leave a note, she has a mailbox. Hardly ever gets mail, but she checks it for her pay envelope, once a week at the very least.”

  “That’s okay. Hopefully, she’ll answer her phone soon.”

  Ginger wiped her garden-gloved hand across the dust on Oxana’s desk, leaving a streak of clean wood. “I’m not very good at keeping secrets.”

  Sherry studied the woman under the sunhat. Her hair was spilling out across her neck in various shades of grays and blonds. The glaring light she stood under emphasized the creases the years had etched around her mouth and neck. “Something you want to tell me?”

  “Pep. He’s been here every day for the last few days. With a girl. A pregnant girl. She’s checked in as Charlotte Knight. Did you know any of this?”

  “He shared the news about two hours ago. I’m sure he appreciates your discretion in the matter.”

  “Thank goodness. You know, I’ve been privy to some wacky information as a hotel manager. I learned early on to keep my nose out of my guests’ business. But, your family is different, and I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. Especially since Detective Bease was asking me so many questions about Pep. I was afraid he thought Pep was Fitz’s killer.” Ginger broadcast a brilliant smile. “Listen, how about the Oliveris come for dinner tonight? We have so much leftover food from the weekend, I don’t know how we’ll ever get through it all. You, Erno, his gal pal Ruth, Pep, Charlotte Knight, and be sure to bring a special someone for yourself. Everyone’s welcome. Six o’clock. What do you say?”

  Try as she might, Sherry couldn’t come up with a valid reason why the family, which was set to dine together anyway, couldn’t dine at the Augustin Inn. “Sure. Sounds nice.”

  Chapter 21

  Ginger clutched the garden clippers with her gloved hands. “I wouldn’t give the notion of Pep being the murderer another thought. Roe is guilty. He killed Fitz.”

  “Can you be one hundred percent certain? What did Roe have against Fitz that would lead to murder?”

  “If Uri says he’s certain, so am I. He needs a bit more time to prove his theory.”

  “That’s quite an about-face from Uri. And from you. He and Roe seem awfully tight. You seldom see one without the other. You’re probably one of the few who’s seen Uri without Roe.”

  “Not as much as I’d like. But you’re right. They appear joined at the hip sometimes. Hard to wedge between the two of them.”

  “There must be some physical proof of Uri’s claim?”

  Ginger peered over her shoulder. “Oxana saw something in one of the rooms and informed Vilma, who, in turn, confronted Uri, who admitted he suspected Roe.”

  “I’m skeptical of anything Vilma says. I’m having a hard time trusting her motives.” Again, Sherry’s hand traveled to her back pocket. “Why doesn’t Oxana go to the investigators with whatever she discovered?” As soon as she finished her question, there was a commotion in the far corner. “What was that?’

  “A mouse. We have to get pest control in here. What am I saying? Addison and I are our pest controllers. Maybe a barn cat is the answer.”

  The dark corner yielded a scratching noise followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. “I don’t think we’re alone.”

  “Oxana’s treading lightly, trying to stay in the country. The girl doesn’t want any undue attention, especially from investigators. Finding the body was about all she could handle.”

  “Vilma, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have any problem throwing Oxana to the wolves.”

  Ginger lowered her voice. “What do you mean?”

  “Afternoon, ladies,” a voice sang out. “Addison said I could find Ginger in here. Bonus, I also found you, Sherry.” The hazy lighting of the barn was bright enough to showcase the silhouette of the large-framed woman heading in Sherry’s direction. When she could make out the purple swath painted above the approaching woman’s eyes and the reading glasses poised to slide down her forehead, Sherry sighed.

  “Afternoon, Vilma. Did you make it to the lunch service in time?” Ginger seemed to add an extra dash of sweetness in her voice.

  “Just iced tea for me. I’ve packed on a few pounds the last couple of days. Time to take control.” Vilma cackled. “Ginger, I’d like to extend my stay one extra night. I’m sure you have room. I’ve seen so many people check out this morning.”

  “No problem. You can stay put in the room you’re in,” Ginger responded with a hint of sour tempering the prior sweetness.

  “Vilma, I have a question for you,” Sherry said.

  Ginger cleared her throat. “Look at the time. Are we done here, Sherry? I’d like to turn off the lights in the barn. Might deter the mice.”

  “Rats thrive in darkness,” Vilma said.

  “Vilma,” Sherry spoke through a clenched jaw. “Do you know where I can find Oxana? And do you have any information on Roe being the guilty party in Fitz’s murder?”

  Vilma sneered at Ginger. “Oxana doesn’t want to be found. As for our friend, Uri, he certainly didn’t pass the confidentiality test. Seems he couldn’t wait to share with his new girlfriend what I told him about Roe.” She lowered her voice. “That’s going to be a nice twist in my story.”

  “Well, Vilma?” Sherry urged. “Any new info?”

  “Our dear Oxana let me know that, while tidying up Roe’s room, she straightened up a pile of papers that the open window had strewn about the room. It was a report with page numbers, so she was able to organize the pile in proper numeric order. She said the front page was titled ‘Maine Course Foods Inspection Report.’ The kicker is, the inspector was listed as Albert Roe Trembley.”

  Sherry let the information sink in as she watched a daddy longlegs scurry down an elaborate web.

  “There is something else.” Vilma’s purple lids swallowed her beady eyes as her eyebrows caved in. “When the time was right, I asked Uri if Roe worked for him under any other capacity besides being his go-to fishing expert, which no one believed in the first place. Before he could answer, I told him I knew Roe was a food inspector and found it interesting he could inspect the very company he is contracted for in another position. A conflict of interest, no?”

  “Aren’t you concerned that if Uri put two and two together, he and Roe would figure out Oxana was the one who told you she found the report, and you might be putting her in danger? Is that why she’s suddenly gone AWOL?” Sherry’s words tumbled out with increased intensity.

  “I don
’t like what you’re insinuating.” The words echoed throughout the cavernous space from a different direction.

  Sherry’s head jerked in the direction of the voice. A wave of panic washed over her.

  Vilma gasped. “Uri, you scared the life out of me.”

  “Didn’t mean to interrupt your very interesting conversation. Roe’s not answering his phone. I don’t pay him the big bucks to not be at my beck and call. He’s mentioned so often how he’d like to check out this barn, I thought he might be in here.”

  Uri stepped closer to the women. His hair was disheveled, as if he had rolled out of bed and couldn’t locate his toupee’s hairbrush. The collar of his polo shirt was crumpled under. One of his pant legs was cuffed higher than the other. Sherry lifted her gaze from his askew pants alignment and met his stare.

  “Obviously not in here, so I’ll leave you cackling hens to your party.” He turned, but not before sending Ginger a wink. “This place makes my skin crawl.”

  Sherry sucked in a deep breath. “Uri?”

  Uri ran his hand through his hair before facing the women. His hand slipped down to his shirt collar. He unfolded the fabric and set it straight as if he were standing in front of a mirror with a perfect view of himself. “Yes?”

  “Is Roe a food inspector who reports on the quality of Maine Course Foods and also works for you as a sustainable fishing expert?” Sherry’s voice trembled as she posed the question.

  “You’re very inquisitive, Ms. Oliveri. I’d hate to think you went into someone’s room and snooped through their personal items to satisfy your lust for amateur sleuthing. Don’t cook-offs give you enough satisfaction? Some might agree you’ve broken the law.”

  “Sherry didn’t go in Roe’s room, Uri. Oxana was cleaning the room and had to pick up a report that had scattered around from the open window breeze,” Ginger said. “It’s her job to keep the rooms tidy.”

  “To answer your question, yes, Roe is contracted by me to share his knowledge. He’s an independent inspector, who I hired to report on our high-quality products.” Uri plunged his hand into his pants pocket, pulled out a phone, then raised it high overhead. “Speaking of conflict of interest, is it one of Oxana’s jobs to snap a photo of something that doesn’t belong to her and text it all around like headline news?” He put the phone screen up to his face. “Wait, not that picture.” He blushed before swiping the screen. “This one.” He held up an image of the title page of Roe’s Maine Course quality report.

  “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, stealing Oxana’s phone is breaking the law.” Sherry reached her hand forward, toward the phone.

  Uri put the phone gently in Vilma’s hand. “Stealing? Hardly. Tell the young lady, in order to succeed in her future life of crime, she needs to be more mindful of leaving hard evidence at the scene. Roe did the right thing when he gave me this phone he found in his room. You and Vilma can quit calling. Oxana’s not answering. There are a total of six missed calls on her phone between the two of you.”

  “Not the best way to do business, Uri,” Ginger said. “You know we’re in it together now.”

  “Sweetie, trust me. I know what I’m doing. It’s short-term. Saving a business takes some creative measures.” Uri eyed Ginger, who lowered her chin. “I’m going to continue my search for Roe.” He produced an outburst of laughter. “He may have taken his loyalty to Maine Course a bit too far. I better put the brakes on his enthusiasm before someone else gets killed.”

  “What does that mean?” Ginger called after Uri.

  He left the building without responding.

  “Roe killed Fitz. No doubt about it.” Vilma dusted her hands together.

  “Not so fast, Vilma,” Sherry said. “There’s evidence Roe’s on the shady side of the law, but where’s the evidence he’s a killer?”

  Vilma shrugged. “Time will tell. Mark my words. Even if there’s no smoking gun so far, there’s one out there, and Roe pulled the trigger, so to speak.”

  Rustling in the far corner assaulted Sherry’s ears. “I need to go find Pep. This barn is haunted, for sure.” Sherry headed across the wide plank floor, each step announced by rising dust and creaks.

  “You dropped this.” Vilma trotted up behind Sherry and delivered an envelope. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear that’s Oxana’s handwriting.” She glared at Sherry’s name on the front.

  Sherry whisked the envelope from Vilma’s hand and, without an acknowledgment, walked out into the sunshine.

  “Pep. Over here.” Sherry held the envelope tight and raced over to her brother, who was leaning on the car. “Did you get a chance to talk to Uri? He was in the barn, and he had some interesting tidbits to say.”

  “I ran into him. He’s such a smooth operator.”

  “Did you know that, besides working for Uri, Roe is a food inspector? He wrote a report on Maine Course and gave it a very good grade. Doesn’t seem completely above board.”

  “Might be the tip of the unethical iceberg.”

  “Unethical business practices. What did Fitz have to do with any of that?”

  Pep eyed Sherry’s hand. “What’ve you got in your hand?”

  Sherry tucked the envelope under her arm. “Let’s get in the car. I feel like there are eyes and ears all over the place. Did you ever hear the barn might be haunted?”

  Pep poo-pooed Sherry’s suggestion as he got in the passenger seat. “Rumors. What’s in the envelope? Hopefully not another hotel bill.”

  Sherry wrestled with the seal of the envelope, attempting not to rip the paper. “This was on Oxana’s little desk in the barn. How in the world did she know I would come looking for her?” She slid a card out. Her eyes darted across the handwriting. “I was wrong. If this is from Oxana, I’ll eat my hat.”

  “What does it say? Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  “Sherry. I know how hard you’re working to clear Pep.”

  Pep huffed, and the card waved in the midst of his breath storm. Sherry tried to steady the paper. She read on.

  “Check the box.”

  “Let me see that.” Pep guided Sherry’s hand closer to his face. “Oxana didn’t write that. She’s a pawn in this game, and it’s not going to work out in her favor. I hope she’s okay, wherever she is.”

  “More like a puppet, and I know Vilma is pulling the strings, but how far is she willing to go? She’s creating a story here, and the worst offense is Vilma’s crafting the ending because it’s not happening fast enough for her in real time.” Sherry stuffed the note back in the envelope. “Let’s get home. I need to call Ray.”

  “You won’t have to wait until then to talk to him.” Pep pointed out the windshield. “Over there.”

  A man in a blue-gray windbreaker, rumpled hat, and khakis was heading up the path leading to the maze.

  “Come on. Let’s catch him.” Sherry slid out of her car. She slammed the door behind her, muffling Pep’s response. She didn’t wait for him to join in her jog toward the detective.

  “Ray! Ray!” Sherry called out. When Ray turned her way, Sherry saw glistening eyes and a mouth twisted into a frown. “You okay?”

  “One of my favorite memories of my mother was visiting corn mazes with her every fall. And I mean every fall for twenty years. Now, she can’t remember my name.”

  “I’m so sorry, Ray. But what great memories you have. You have to look at it that way, at least.”

  “Hey, Detective Bease,” Pep said as he approached.

  Ray tipped the brim of his hat. “Figuring out these mazes helped inspire me to become an investigator.” He touched the side of the impenetrable cornstalk wall. “How far inside the maze were you when the wall collapsed?”

  “Hard to say. I lost my bearings pretty quickly. Only about three to four minutes in. I’m pretty sure I’d made at least three turns and maybe two semi-loops, hit a few dead ends, and made a couple U-turns.”

  Ray nodded. “Got it. No idea where you were.” Ray focused on Pep. “And you’re
expecting a baby?”

  “How can you be so matter-of-fact, Ray? The news is so exciting,” Sherry gushed. “How in the world did you know? I just learned a few hours ago.”

  “I’m a detective. Gathering information is what I do.”

  “Sorry ’bout that,” was all Pep said to Sherry.

  “Congratulations. Circle of life and all that. Some are nearing the end of their life while the lucky ones are only beginning theirs,” Ray added.

  Pep cracked a guarded smile. “Thanks. We’re excited. Sorry about your mother. Sherry told me you’re doing an amazing job looking after her.”

  “Thanks. And thanks, Sherry.” Ray cleared his throat and brought forth his on-the-case detective inflection Sherry had come to recognize, which meant no emotions allowed. “Back to business.” Ray pulled a notepad from his jacket’s inside pocket, along with a pen. “Oxana was advised not to leave the area. Now she’s gone. Any idea where?”

  “My fiancée and I have known Oxana for a few days and that’s it. She helped me sneak into Charlotte’s room when I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing, including the night of Fitz’s murder. We offered to help the girl with navigating the red tape her country wraps around every citizen who leaves the country for an extended length of time. I know she had a class to make up this morning. Turns out she never made it there.”

  “Any chance your fiancée is ready to answer a few questions?” Ray asked.

  “I told you, she’s off limits. I can’t risk involving her and the baby.”

  Ray poked at his notepad with the pen tip. “I’m a patient guy up to a certain point. If the investigation doesn’t keep moving forward, I’ll have no choice but to force the issue. Now, Oxana’s gone. She could have been helpful for your cause.”

  Sherry’s stomach settled back down after a wave of nausea. “Fiancée? You didn’t tell me that, either. Your exact words describing Charlotte were, ‘special friend.’ I need to launch an investigation to learn what else I don’t know about you, dear brother.”