Ax to Grind (3 page)

Chapter Five

Despite protests from her mother, Meg left work early to follow up on her hunch.  She drove by Ethan Wakefield’s house first.  It was even worse than her mother had described.  It seemed like the entire Enchanted Bay police department was on the scene.  Except Connor, that was. 

How odd. 

Where was he?  That question would have to wait until later.  Right now, there were a number of other things Meg wanted answers to.  Yellow police tape was blocking off the scene, so Meg couldn’t get close enough to see everything that was going on. She did, however, see a forensics team, a coroner's van, and plenty of commotion on site.  By the looks of it, the investigation appeared to be winding down.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t gather any further information without drawing attention to herself.  She wasn’t prepared to do that.  She decided to move on.  The less police activity in her life, the better.

Besides, she had a hunch she was needed elsewhere.  Before she drove away, she couldn’t help but be struck by an eerie feeling.  There was a new disturbing trend in town.  Crime was clearly on the rise.  What a shame.  The last thing her quaint hometown needed was big city crime.   

As Meg drove away from the scene, she knew exactly what her next step was.  She needed to get to Liz Donnelly’s house and figure out why she wasn’t answering her phone. 

***

When Meg arrived at Liz’s place, her suspicions were confirmed.  She saw something that sent a shiver down her spine.  A police cruiser was parked in the driveway.  What kind of trouble was she in?  Did this have a connection to the swarm of police officers that were at Ethan Wakefield’s house?  Meg’s head was suddenly swirling with questions. The problem was, she feared she wouldn’t like the answers. 

She approached the door and knocked with a sudden queasy feeling.  Her stomach was in so many knots that she almost wanted to cast a quick spell to calm herself down.  Before she had the chance to do that, the door opened. 

Liz looked like she’d been through the emotional ringer.  That wasn’t the only troubling sight.  Meg noticed Connor standing in Liz’s living room with his notepad out.  Suddenly, there were plenty of concerned faces to go around. Meg let her emotions take hold. 

“What’s going on?” she blurted out. 

As worried as Liz was, Connor suddenly had the most troubled look on his face.  It was clearly a nightmare scenario for him, having his girlfriend show up while he was trying to question one of her best friends. 

“I’m just asking Liz some questions,” Connor replied.

His damage control efforts didn’t work.  Not only did Meg not buy his attempt to understate things, but Liz was quick to point out exactly why he was here. 

“Ethan Wakefield has been murdered, and your boyfriend thinks I’m a suspect,” Liz revealed. 

It took all the willpower Meg had to keep her jaw from hitting the floor.  Ethan murdered! And the revelation that Liz was a suspect in this case was what really floored Meg. 

She found herself in an emotional tug of war.  Meg was shocked and downright furious that her boyfriend had come to question Liz without telling her first. 

Just as Meg opened her mouth to unload on Connor, he pulled her aside.

“Can I have a word with you in private?” he asked. 

She nodded.  “Yeah.  We have a lot to talk to about.”

Chapter Six

Meg expected her boyfriend to be apologetic when they stepped outside onto Liz’s back porch.  Instead, he was combative with her.  She couldn’t believe it.  Meg wanted to rip into him but instead remained calm while letting her displeasure be known. 

“I can’t believe you,” Meg said. 

“I was about to say the same thing to you,” Connor replied.

She shook her head, trying not to let her frustration boil over.  “You should be ashamed.”

“Meg, this isn’t personal.”

“We’re talking about one of my best friends here.  How could it be more personal?”

Connor didn’t answer her question.  He tried to stick to his own script.  “I’m a homicide detective, and this is an official police investigation.  You shouldn’t be here.”

“Don’t give me that standard police jargon.  I’m not just some random stranger off the street.  I’m your girlfriend, and that’s my friend in there you’re questioning.”

“I know that.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me you were going to come over here?”

He exhaled.  “Because I knew you’d try to get involved, which would make it harder for me to do my job.”

Meg tried to get a word in, but Connor wasn’t done. 

“Don’t forget, I have a job to do.  A man has been murdered, and it’s my responsibility to find out who did it.”

“You’re wasting your time talking to Liz Donnelly then.”

He disagreed.  “I wish I was.” 

“Connor, this is Liz we’re talking about here.  She made me turn off an episode of Detective Danger once because it was too gruesome for her, and yet you’re honestly considering her as a suspect?”

“Meg, I don’t like this either.  Murder investigations are hard enough when friends and loved ones aren’t involved.  You keep telling me how hard it is for you, but it’s difficult for me as well.  Don’t you see that?”

Meg looked deep into his eyes.  Connor was noticeably torn up inside.  She took a step back and tried to see things from his perspective.  He was in a no-win situation, caught between his girlfriend and his job, with both demanding for him to see things their way.

“You’re right.  I know you’re just trying to do your job.  I just have a hard time believing why you think Liz Donnelly should be a suspect in this case.”

“As a detective, it’s my job to find out the truth, and the truth is not in Liz’s favor with this one.”

Meg still refused to believe that her friend could have had any part in this.  “Oh, come on.  What do you really have on her?”

Connor remained tight-lipped.  “I already told you; this is an official police investigation.”

She stared him down.  “Hasn’t anyone ever warned you about the perils of making your girlfriend angry?”

He gulped.  “Are you really going to pull the girlfriend card?”

She nodded.  “This is my good friend we’re talking about here.”

He sighed.  “All right.  You want motive?  Ethan Wakefield just canceled the show Liz worked so hard to land the lead role in.” 

“There were a lot of people irate that Ethan canceled the show.  Most with far more to lose than Liz.”

“True, but there’s more. Ethan was killed with the same prop pick ax that Liz’s character carries around in the show.”

Enchanted Bay was a former gold rush town.  Since the musical centered on the town’s early days, naturally a pick ax was used as a prop in the musical.  No one could have ever imagined it would eventually be used as a murder weapon. 

Meg was having a hard time wrapping her head around it all.  “Ethan was killed with an ax?”

Connor nodded.  “The killer dug it right into his back.”

Meg winced.  “Ouch.  It’s bad enough being stabbed in the back, but with an ax.”  She shook her head. 

“Yeah.  It’s pretty grisly.”

Meg switched gears.  “Wait a minute.  How do you know he was killed with the same ax from the show?”

“It was found at the scene.”

Meg took a deep breath.  “Oh, boy.”

Connor nodded.  “On top of that, Liz doesn’t have a verifiable alibi.”

“She does have an alibi, though, right?” Meg asked. 

“According to her, between eleven and midnight she was at home getting ready for bed.”

“And you don’t believe her?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe her.  Every suspect has a story.  The only way to really separate fact from fiction is if they have someone to verify that story.”

Meg took a deep breath, then groaned. 

“Do you see why I can’t eliminate her as a suspect?  I mean, on a personal level, I hate to consider her a suspect.  On a professional level, you can’t ignore the facts.”

“That’s just it, though.  Facts can be misleading.” 

Connor furrowed his brow.  “What are you talking about?”

“One thing doesn’t make sense to me.  Liz is a smart woman.  Even if I bought into the ridiculous theory that she could have committed this murder, why would she kill Ethan, then leave the murder weapon lying around at the scene of the crime?  It just screams guilt.”

“People panic in the heat of the moment.”

Meg shook her head.  “No, she would have brought the ax with her, or at least disposed of it somewhere other than at the scene.  Leaving it next to the body is like asking to get arrested.”

“So, what are you suggesting then?”

“That someone swiped the prop after the last performance knowing it would point the finger of suspicion at Liz.  Then, once the killer murdered Ethan, they left the ax beside the body to frame her.” 

“That’s an interesting theory,” Connor said. 

“It’s more than just a theory.  Did you find any prints on the murder weapon?” Meg asked. 

“Now that you mention it, the weapon seemed to have been wiped clean.”

“Just as I thought.  The killer had to wipe the prints. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to frame Liz.”

“Or, Liz could have wiped her prints off the ax.”

Meg shook her head.  “That doesn’t make any sense.  So you’re telling me she took the time to wipe the prints off the weapon but didn’t have the awareness to bring it with her as she fled the scene?”

Connor bit the corner of his lip.  “Look, we could go around and around like this all day.  In the end, we’re just speculating.”

Meg switched gears.  “Who found the body?”

“Our 911 operator got an anonymous tip.”

“Anonymous?”  She scoffed.  “The case against Liz gets shakier with each question I ask.”

“I never said she did it, just that things aren’t looking good for her.”

“How many more holes do I have to poke before you’ll eliminate her as a suspect?”

“Meg, I really care about you.  That’s why I’m begging you to just let me do my job.  Please, it’s hard enough already.” 

Meg could see the turmoil in her boyfriend’s eyes.  As much as it pained her to do so, she backed off.

Chapter Seven

When Connor and Meg returned from talking outside, Liz quickly jumped on the defensive. 

“I didn’t do this,” Liz declared.

Unfortunately, her voice was filled with more panic than confidence. 

Both Connor and Meg could see the desperation and fear in Liz’s eyes.  For Connor especially, just hearing Liz say she was innocent didn’t mean anything.  Suspects never volunteered their guilt.  Most of them pleaded complete innocence even after being put behind bars. 

Connor tried to focus on the work at hand instead of getting sidetracked by Liz’s proclamation.   

“I’m just gathering the facts,” he said. 

Liz’s eyes got as wide as saucers.  “Are you going to arrest me?”

As Connor looked out the corner of his eyes, he saw Meg staring him down.  He took a deep breath, then turned to Liz. 

“Not at the moment,” he answered. 

Liz breathed a huge sigh of relief.  As Connor kept talking, she realized she wasn’t quite out of the woods. 

“I still have a number of other suspects to investigate and some test results I’m waiting to hear back on.  At the same time, don’t go leaving town on me,” he warned. 

Meg saw her friend starting to tremble.  She leaned over and gave Liz a hug to try and soothe her.  It was clear that as long as Connor was in her living room, she’d remain a basket case. 

Meg turned to the detective.  “Can I have some time alone with her?”

Connor nodded.  “Sure.  I have some work to be doing anyway.”

Connor then made his exit, leaving Meg and Liz alone in the living room. 

Chapter Eight

With the detective gone, Liz no longer had to put on a good face anymore.  She could let her true emotions out.  As expected, Liz was a jittery mess.  While Meg completely understood her friend’s feelings, she needed to find a way to calm her down.  There were enough problems to deal with already without having to worry if Liz was going to have a complete meltdown.  Besides, Meg needed some answers from her friend in order to try and make sense of the situation.  In the meantime, Meg had serious damage control to do. 

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Liz said.

Meg gave her friend a hug.

“You’re not the only one,” Meg replied. 

“Connor actually thinks I could have done this.”

Meg sighed.  “He’s just doing his job.  And, given the circumstances--”

Liz didn’t let her friend finish.  “I didn’t do this.”

“Of course you didn’t.”

“Meg, I’m being serious.  I didn’t murder Ethan.  I could never kill anyone, no matter how terrible they happened to be.”

Liz locked eyes with Meg, staring at her long and deep.  Meg didn’t doubt her friend in the least.  She could say with a hundred percent confidence that Liz was telling the truth.   

“I know you didn’t,” Meg replied.

Liz breathed a sigh of relief.  “Good.  Now I just have to find a way to convince Connor of that.”

Liz started trembling.  She was coming unraveled.  This wasn’t something words or a hug could fix.  Meg had to call on something more powerful—a spell.  This would take some finagling. 

“I know just what you need.  A cup of tea always calms me down,” Meg said.

Liz was critical of that suggestion.  “Tea?  Meg, you know I usually love your advice, but it would take a horse tranquilizer to calm me down right now.”

Meg smiled.  “Trust me.” 

Meg excused herself, then headed into Liz’s kitchen, where she began to prepare some tea.  This wouldn’t just be any old cup of chamomile.  It would be spiked with a special ingredient. 

Meg prepared the tea, then whispered under her breath as she stared at the cup. “Tranquillitas, tranquillitas, tranquillitas.”

Liz would never taste the difference, but Meg had just cast a calming spell on the tea.  One sip and Meg’s friend would feel like she just finished a day of meditating. 

***

The spell worked like a charm.  As expected, it only took one sip of the enchanted tea for Liz to calm down.  Now, Meg could get down to the most pressing matters. 

“Wow.  That actually worked.  Maybe I should make tea more often,” Liz said. 

“I know it’s hard to believe it now, but I’m going to get you out of this,” Meg insisted. 

Liz furrowed her brow.  “How are you going to do that?”

“By finding the real killer myself.”

Liz’s eyes opened wide.  “Really?”

Meg nodded.  “Unfortunately, I don’t see any other way.”

Liz still wasn’t convinced.  “I know you solved that other case, but this could really be dangerous.”

“I can take care of myself.”

Liz sighed.  “I can’t ask you to do this.”

“You don’t have to ask.  I’ve already made my decision.”

Liz smiled.  “You’re such a good friend.  I can’t think of anyone else that would do something like this for me.”

Meg corrected her.  “I’m not doing this alone.”

“Who are you doing this with then?”

“We’re going to do it together.” 

Even a calming spell wasn’t enough to keep the concern off of Liz’s face now.  “You want me to investigate this case too?”

Meg nodded.  “You know these suspects better than I do.  I want you to hop on the computer and dig up all the dirt you can on them.”

Liz furrowed her brow, and then smiled.  “Right…from the computer.  Will do.”

“Who knows?  We may get lucky.  You never know what people are going to post on the internet.”

“That’s so true.”  She bit the corner of her lip.  “I still can’t believe you’re doing this.”

“Trust me, I’d much rather be sitting this one out, but that’s not an option,” Meg said. 

Liz gazed at her friend, trying to hide her concern.  “Good luck.”