The Mushroom Mystery

by Agnes Lester Brown

  A deathly silence descended over the back yard. Lori looked at Istvan. He was moving around in his chair uneasily. He looked like he was about to say something, then stopped. He fidgeted with his tie and loosened it slightly. But she could see the inevitable was coming. Out of the blue, Mayor Riley jumped up so quickly his Panama hat fell to the ground. “I just have to say how happy, very happy I am…”

  A sharp voice interrupted the mayor so suddenly that he collapsed into his seat. Istvan. “I had to get rid of both of them,” Istvan said in a callous tone. “I strangled both Professor Sproutley and Dr. Pearce.” He shrugged. “But it was their own fault.”

  Everyone gasped.

  Ray took a step closer to Istvan, and Lori could see Chief Lambert cock his head to one side, listening carefully. Gillian was covering her mouth with both hands. Istvan continued as if he were having a casual conversation with someone. “I’d approached Professor Sproutley with a fantastic offer to sell the Halo mushroom and its data sheet to me. For the amount of money I offered him, he’d never have to work a day in his life again. But he kept on refusing despite me raising the offer several times, the stupid man.”

  “You mean the brave, honorable man,” Lori thought, peering down at her phone where she was recording his confession.

  Istvan put his hand on his throat for a moment, as if he were trying to stop himself from speaking. Lori held her breath, wondering whether he could get a hold of himself and stop confessing. She surveyed the guests, who all seemed to be in a trance, glued to their seats listening to Istvan with stunned looks on their faces. The only person who seemed out of place was Mayor Riley, who sat in his chair engrossed and smiling broadly, as if watching a piece of theater. He clearly still believed this was all put on for his pleasure.

  Istvan began speaking again. ”I was sure he kept the mushroom specimen in his room and would reveal it during the convention. So I broke into his room and searched for it while he was downstairs delivering his speech. But then he came back unexpectedly, and I hid in the closet. When everyone left the room, I overpowered him and smothered him with his pillow. It was so easy, and over in a few seconds.“ Istvan clicked his fingers. ”Because I’m a professional.“ His face twisted into an evil smile. ”Not a professional academic, no. I like to think of myself as an Agent 007 gone bad.“

  ”Why did you have to kill Austin?“ Felicity asked with a quiver in her voice.

  Istvan laughed. ”I thought he might have the mushroom, so I offered him a reward for it. Austin fell for it, but then it turned out all he had was the data file on the mushroom. He tried to double cross me, so I had to eliminate him. The only person left who might have the mushroom is her.“ He pointed to Lori. ”She and her family clearly have a reason to want the Halo mushroom very badly so they can use it in their.…“

  At this point, the Chief moved closer to Istvan, and on cue, Ray put his hand on Istvan’s shoulder. Istvan started, as if he’d awoken from a dream. He tried to get up, but the Chief and Ray were on both sides of him, holding him down. Istvan’s face contorted into a vicious grimace, and a few of the guests gasped. He started shouting at the top of his voice. ”And just so everybody here knows, the Whitewoods are…“ Lori held her breath. ”Are…“ Istvan seemed to be struggling for breath. Then he started coughing violently.

  Lori leaned over to Jasmine sitting a few seats away from her. ”Just how much of Felicity’s powder did you put on the seats?“

  Jasmine grinned. ”Enough to keep him quiet, clearly.“ Suddenly Istvan started struggling as if something had taken possession of him. He head butted the Chief, whose nose started gushing blood instantly. Then he pumped his elbow into Ray’s stomach, and the policeman collapsed to the floor, groaning. A second later he was free from their grips and dashing through the house to the front door. Pandemonium broke loose among the guests. A few of them helped Ray to his feet, and Gillian tended to the Chief’s nose, which had clearly been broken in the scuffle.

  Matt and Steve dashed past Lori. ”I’ll chase after him,“ Matt called out as he passed her. ”He won’t get away!“ Lori looked helplessly at the panic going on around her. Outside the house she heard Istvan start his motorcycle and roar down the street. Now she knew why he rode such a powerful machine —to make a fast getaway, much faster than he could in an ordinary car. She guessed he was on his way to the Misty Hills Inn to collect the data file, and then he’d flee as fast as he could. She hoped that was the case, else he’d be on his way out of town by now.

  ”Lori! Lori!“ Lori turned around to see who was urgently calling her. Then she spotted Fae standing at the far corner of the house, beckoning urgently. ”Come here quickly!“ She dashed over to her granny, following her around the house. What she saw was something so comical it almost made her laugh.

  Fae was standing with Trixi in one arm, and in the other hand she had a broom made from a roughly hewn stick and a bunch of straw tied together with a rather flimsy looking piece of twine. This was no ordinary broom; this was her witch’s broom that she kept hidden in the attic. Fae had clearly anticipated that there might be a need for it. She held out the broom to Lori. ”Hopefully my old broom, Miranda, still has some oomph left in her. The only way you’re going to catch him is get on and fly to the inn as fast as she’ll carry you! Istvan’s probably on his way there to collect his things and make a getaway!“

  Astonished, Lori looked at the broom. ”Granny, this is ridiculous! I can’t ride this!

  “Lori, I’m ordering you now to get onto the broom right now and fly!” Lori had never heard her Gran talk in such a commanding tone. She opened her mouth to argue with her crazy grandmother, then realized this was going to be her only chance to stop Istvan. She awkwardly swung her left leg over Miranda, and as if she’d been waiting for it, Trixi nimbly leapt onto her shoulder. ”Now what? Where’s the start button?“ Lori giggled.

  ”No time for training! Just will yourself upwards,“ Fae said in an urgent voice. ”This is serious, Lori! Do it now!“ She shut her eyes tightly, as if to help Lori along.

  Lori closed her eyes too and focused, visualizing herself flying over the roofs of the Fennelmoore homesteads, heading to the Misty Hills Inn. Nothing seemed to happen, although she could feel the air get colder. When she opened her eyes again, she was high up in the air in line with the church steeple, and some distance ahead she could see Istvan’s bike parked at the inn’s entrance. Moonlight lit up the streets, and she could make out two figures running towards the inn from two blocks away. She guessed those must be Matt and Steve.

  For a few seconds, Lori hovered in the air on her granny’s broom, unsure of what to do next. The next moment she saw Istvan emerge from the Misty Hills Inn front door and jump onto his motorcycle. He started the bike, swung it around, and roared down Main Street towards the highway.

  Lori pointed the broom downwards and raced to catch up with Istvan, the wind blowing back her hair and causing her eyes to tear up. All the muscles in her body tightened as she willed the broom to go faster and faster. It didn’t take long for her to catch up with Istvan, and as he negotiated a corner in the road she flew next to him, a few feet off the ground. He turned his head to look at her and laughed as he opened the throttle to pull away.

  Lori instinctively knew what to do next. ”Now, Trixi!" Trixi gave a blood-curdling screech and leapt into Istvan’s face from where she was sitting on Lori’s shoulder. Clinging for dear life, she dug her nails and fangs into Istvan’s face and neck. Lori saw Istvan’s eyes go wide with panic as he flailed wildly, trying to shake off the marauding cat.

  The bike’s thundering roar became a soft purr as Istvan lost his grip on the throttle, and it started heading for the curb as it slowed down. A second later it hit the curb with a dull thud, sending both Istvan and Trixi flying, and the bike after them. Lori struggled to follow all of this through the tears that clouded her vision. When she finally managed to wipe her eyes, Trixi was sitting on her shoulder again, and Istvan was lying motionless o
n the sidewalk, having collided with a lamp post after he was thrown from the bike.

  Lori banked higher into the air and hung there, surveying the crash scene. She looked over her shoulder to where they’d come from, and saw Matt and Steve running up to the spot where Istvan lay. She suddenly felt dizzy and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Matt was staring up into the sky where she hung. “Better get out of here,” she thought, turning Miranda around and heading back to Whitewood Manor.

  Fae and Hazel were standing right where she’d taken off, wringing their hands as she approached. Both hugged Lori tightly when she got off the broom. “I knew the old thing still worked!” Fae bubbled.

  “Mother! You could’ve gotten the poor girl killed,” Hazel scolded. She looked at Lori tenderly. “Are you okay, child? Did you manage to stop Istvan?”

  Lori smiled. “Trixi’s the heroine. She made mincemeat out of Istvan. I think Steve and Matt have him tied up by now.” She shook her head. “Did I just ride that thing?” she asked as she looked at the broom that was now leaning against the wall as if it hadn’t been used in years.

  When Lori returned to the backyard, she saw that most of the guests had left in the meantime. She poured herself a glass of red wine to steady her frayed nerves. The chief and Ray were probably making their way to the Misty Hills Inn right now. Steve would have called to let them know that Istvan had been apprehended. He got his man in the end. All he had to do was ask the right question. Sitting down at the deserted table, a wave of relief ran through her body. The hunt for the killer was finally over. As she thought back on the evening, she recalled Matt’s confession and felt an urge to call and invite him over. She looked at the glass in her hand and drank the last few drops. At least now the two of them could settle a few things without the specter of the unsolved murders hanging over them.

  With no more guests around, Lori walked into the house, ready to go to bed. But she found Rosie and Jasmine at the front door, saying goodbye to the mayor. He beamed when he saw Lori. “Once again, congratulations, Lori. You’re a master storyteller. I would never have suspected Istvan! Let me in on your secret, how did you come up with such a fantastic plot?”

  “Oh, I guess I just have a knack for thinking them up,” Lori said as the girls struggled to contain their mirth.

  * * *

  “Well, I have no doubt we’re going to be have a murder mystery game every year from now on,” Mayor Riley said before saying goodbye.

  “Over my dead body.” Lori said as soon as the mayor was out of earshot. The girls doubled over with laughter.

  * * *

  Chapter Fifteen

  For the first time in a week, Lori slept peacefully and without nightmares. The next morning, the sun was already shining on Lori’s bed when Trixi jumped onto Lori and tried to wake her with loud purring. She’d done that several times earlier on, but to no avail. This time, Lori opened her eyes a tiny bit and stroked Trixi’s shiny black coat.

  “Well done, Trixi. In the end, you turned out to be the star.” Trixi closed her eyes and purred with satisfaction.

  Lori propped herself up against her pillows and thought back on the previous night. It all felt like a dream to her. She took her daily journal from the night stand, opened a clean page and wrote:

  Last night I flew on a broom.

  She read the sentence a few times. Was it true, or did she dream it? For a moment, she thought of scratching the sentence out, but then simply closed the journal and put it away. Someone knocked on her bedroom door. “Lori!” It was Hazel. “Ray’s here to see you.”

  Lori threw off her duvet, and Trixi scampered out the window. She dressed quickly and gave herself a reassuring wink. It was the first time in many days she felt happy and filled with life.

  Leaving her room, she wondered why Ray was here. Perhaps Chief Lambert had sent him over to bring her to the police station to make a statement. Her plan had been to go over to the inn first thing in the morning and meet up with Matt. But that would have to wait now.

  She entered the dining room to find Ray and Rosie sitting next to each other at one end of the table having a cup of coffee. Ray stood uncomfortably when he saw Lori. He had a black eye and was clearly in some discomfort when he greeted her. “Hi Ray, are you still in pain?” Lori asked.

  Ray touched his stomach area gently. ”Still a little tender, but no damage,“ he said. He looked at Rosie. ”Thankfully, Rosie patched me up nicely.“

  ”Oh, I’m sure she has.“ Lori winked at a blushing Rosie.

  ”Chief asked me to come over and see if you had time to give a statement,“ Ray said, gathering his car keys.

  ”Sure. I guessed that’s why you were here, so let’s go.“ Lori wanted to get the police stuff over as quick as possible and put the whole sordid affair behind her. They walked out to his patrol car. He held the door open for her and they drove off to the police station.

  ”That was quite something you guys pulled off last night, Ray said. “I wish the chief had listened to you from the beginning.“ He shook his head. ”Did you know all the while Istvan was the guy who did it?“

  Lori shook her head and decided to keep it simple. ”I didn’t. It was just a hunch, with a stroke of luck thrown in.“

  ”I know you well enough to know that’s not the full story, but I’ll let it go,“ Ray replied.

  As Lori expected, she got a much friendlier reception at the police station than the previous time she’d been there. Chief Lambert’s secretary even offered her something to drink while she waited for him. Lori took out her phone and called up the recording she made of Istvan’s confession the previous night. “Ray deserves a better deal than he was getting under the chief’s dismissive and condescending attitude,” she thought as she emailed the recording to him.

  A few minutes later, Chief Lambert’s office door swung open, and Steve and Chief Lambert appeared, inviting Lori to join them. ”Morning, Miss Whitewood,“ Chief Lambert said in his usual formal tone as he settled behind his desk. ”Thank you for making time to come here on such short notice.“

  Now that’s a change of heart.

  Chief Lambert introduced Steve to her as ”Special Agent Caldwell.”

  ”Please, you can call me Lori,“ she said and Chief Lambert nodded sheepishly.

  ”As you’ve no doubt heard, um, Lori, Istvan Deklev was arrested at the Misty Hills Inn last night by Special Agent Caldwell here, with some help from members of the public.“ He opened a file lying in front of him. ”We’ve established that Deklev’s real name is Damon Bolt, and that he is a well-known international hitman and smuggler, famous for his ruthless methods. He was hired by a multi-national cartel with links to the medical industry to obtain the Halo mushroom for research purposes. We understand that someone needed a sample of the mushroom to complete the final stage in the development of a new drug a pharmaceutical company is developing.“

  ”So Gillian was right,” Lori thought as she remembered their conversation at the Wholesome.

  Steve took over from the chief and carried on talking.

  “Now, we found Deklev — or Bolt — in possession of the mushroom’s data file, but there’s no sign of the mushroom specimen.”

  “That’s what he said last night, yes,” Lori said, and then pre-empted the obvious question. “No, I don’t have it. And no, I don’t know where it is.”

  “Why would he have thought you’d have the mushroom specimen?” Steve said.

  Lori shrugged, silently thanking Felicity.

  Steve persisted. “Do you think Matt has it? He obviously stands to gain a lot from it, if he has the specimen.”

  “No,” Lori said firmly and looked at both men. “I’ve worked closely with Matt on the convention, and believe he’s an honest, principled individual who won’t let personal gain stand in the way of his career. He had the highest respect for Professor Sproutley and would never do anything to tarnish his institution’s name.”

  “Are you two dating?” Steve’s qu
estion rang in Lori’s ears.

  “No, but we may still. And that shouldn’t have a bearing on this case at all,” she snapped back.

  Chief Lambert closed the file in front of him. “Thanks for being straight with us, Lori.“ Lori got up to leave and walked to the door.

  Lori hurried back to the Misty Hills Inn. She now wanted desperately to speak to Matt and find out the truth behind the mushroom specimen before the policemen and Steve put him on the spot, if they hadn’t done so already. However, when she reached the inn she saw Matt deep in discussion with a group of delegates at the front of the convention hall. Many were already seated for the closing session of the event, waiting for the proceedings to start.

  “Is Matt presenting the closing address?” Lori asked Rosie who was standing by the door, directing people to open seats. She nodded, pointing to Matt who’d climbed onto the stage and was standing behind the podium, testing the microphone.

  Lori decided to sit down and listen to Matt’s speech. Maybe he would say something about the Halo mushroom. Despite what she said about Matt to Steve and Chief Lambert, she wasn’t completely convinced that he didn’t have the specimen, or at the very least knew where it was.

  Nick came and sat next to Lori. He held out his hand and shook hers. “I have to thank you for bringing this event to Fennelmoore, Lori. Truth be told, we were running on thin ice before the Mushroom Convention arrived. Now it looks like the inn is flush again.”

  “Just remember to pay those outstanding fines now,” Lori teased, and Nick gave her a thumbs-up as Matt started speaking.

  “Ladies and gentleman, I think we can all look back on a successful convention,” Matt began, going on to thank everyone who’d helped organize the event. When he mentioned the Whitewood family’s contribution, he looked straight at Lori. A few heads turned, and Lori blushed from ear to ear as Matt continued. “By now you know what led to the unfortunate deaths of two of our colleagues, and that the killer has been apprehended. The murderer’s motives revolved around this little fungus.” He turned as an image of Professor Sproutley holding the Halo mushroom appeared on the screen behind him. A wave of excited whispering washed through the audience. “The specimen of the newly discovered Halo mushroom has disappeared, but fortunately we have been able to recover this from the suspect.” He held up the Halo mushroom’s data file. This contains all the research done by Professor Sproutley“ A few academics nodded and whispered among themselves.