Santa Sleuth (10 page)

We parked and I headed to the kitchen to check in with Ellie. Almost everyone in attendance was sitting at the long tables that had been set up, catching up on local events and enjoying the food that had been served. From the festive atmosphere in the room, you’d never guess there was a blizzard raging outside that had totally closed down all roads into and out of Ashton Falls.

The long-range forecast called for clearing after midnight. I just hoped the crews could get the roads clear enough for everyone to get home safely. Of course there was still the situation with the electricity. Those without either gas or wood-burning stoves were going to be in trouble if the power company didn’t get it back on.

“It looks like your first course was a hit,” I said to Ellie and the other women in the kitchen.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look like we’ll have leftovers,” Ellie commented. “I’m going to need someone to clear the empty serving bowls from the table and give them a quick scrub so we can make room for the casseroles and sides.”

“I’m on it,” I volunteered. “Have you seen or heard from Zak and the others?”

“A couple of the guys came in to warm up and grab some food, but I haven’t seen either Zak or Levi.”

“Knowing Zak, he won’t stop to take a break until everyone is safe and sound. I just hope the snow stops soon and the electricity is restored so everyone can go home this evening.”

“The plow guys who came in said the power company is working on the problem and hopes to have power restored by midnight. Still, that’s a long time to keep everyone entertained.”

“I’ll talk to Gilda about organizing some of the older kids to do a performance of some sort,” I offered.

Gilda Reynolds was the owner of a local gift shop and the leader of the community theater. If anyone could figure out a way to keep the masses entertained, it was Gilda.

“That’s a good idea.”

“There are some cards and board games in the basement. I saw them when I went to fetch the serving bowls. Maybe we can pass them out after we finish eating.”

I spent the next twenty minutes bringing empty dishes in from the first course and replacing them with delicious-looking casseroles and side dishes. I hadn’t had a chance to eat myself and fully intended to do so, but first I was going to take the opportunity I’d been provided to speak to Andrew Dover when he went out into the storm for a smoke.

Chapter 8

“It’s quite some storm,” I said conversationally when I’d bundled up and joined Andrew Dover under the covered entry.

“Biggest snow I can remember and I’ve lived here almost ten years.”

Andrew took a long drag on his cigarette, followed by a long exhale that filled the area with smoke. I tried not to cough but was unsuccessful.

“Smoke bothering you?” Andrew asked.

“No. It’s fine. I was in a fire a week ago and I’m still a little sensitive to smoke, I guess.” I took a step back.

“Heard about that fire.” Andrew took another drag on his cigarette but turned his head to blow the smoke away from where I was standing.

“I guess you know that Jason Overland died in the fire.”

“I heard.”

“I remember his girlfriend, Kelly, mentioning that he used to work for you.”

Andrew laughed. “Is that why you’re hanging out here in the blizzard, choking on cigarette smoke rather than being inside where it’s warm? You wanted to ask me about Jason?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I guess I did.”

“You think I killed him?”

“Did you?”

“Sherriff Salinger asked me that same question. I’ll tell you the same thing I told him: The guy was a complete and total moron. I gave him a job when no one else would and he repaid me by stealing from the site. I almost lost my job over that, and I’ll be paying my boss back for what Jason stole for the next year. I hated the guy, but no, I didn’t kill him. I was up on the mountain skiing when the guy was whacked. I was with four other guys; you can check. I already gave Salinger the list of names.”

“I’m sorry. I should have checked with Salinger before I bothered you. He didn’t mention that he’d spoken to you the last time I checked in with him.”

Andrew took one last drag on his cigarette, then tossed it on the ground before grinding it out with his boot. “Look, I get that you want to find out what happened. To be honest, I’m curious as well. There are three or four guys who come to mind as possibly having a motive. I gave Salinger the names. I know he’s out dealing with the snow situation, but maybe once this storm clears the two of you can sit down and have yourselves a nice chat. As for me, I’m heading in to get my share of the main course before it’s gone.”

With that, Andrew went inside.

I remained on the deck for a few more minutes, trying to clear my head. It was cold outside, but I had on knee-high winter boots, heavy jeans, a thick sweater, and a down jacket. I was quickly running out of suspects. If neither Dover nor Bram did it that just left Kelly, Tina, and Blugo on Riley’s list. Riley had seemed so confident that one of the five people was guilty of the murder. Of the three who were left, Blugo seemed the most likely, but so far I hadn’t been able to track him down. For all I knew he’d left town before the murder even occurred.

Riley had said that Blugo was angry at Jason because he’d cheated him out of money at a poker game. If that was true, there had to have been other people playing in the same game who had also been cheated. Maybe one of them knew where I could find Blugo or, better yet, maybe one of them was as mad as Blugo about getting cheated and had taken his own revenge. I had no idea how I was going to find out who those people were, but I had half the town sequestered in one place. It certainly couldn’t hurt to ask around.

Before returning inside I took out my phone. Still no response from Zak. It wasn’t like him not to return my texts, so I had to assume he was still out of range. I tried to call his cell, but it just went to voice mail. I decided to leave a message.

“Hey, it’s me. Just checking in. There’s a bunch of really awesome-looking food over here at the community center. You and Levi should stop by for a bite. Give me a call when you get this message. If you’re out of range to call, try a text. Love you.”

I knew I shouldn’t be worried about Zak. He was the most capable person I had ever met. But both the rescue crew and the road crew had been filtering in to warm up and eat, and the fact that neither Zak nor Levi had shown up was beginning to concern me nonetheless.

As I walked back through the crowd, I couldn’t help but smile. In spite of the less than desirable reason for the gathering everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. The room had been decked out in red and green and there was a twenty-foot tree standing in one corner, giving the room a festive air. Holiday tunes played in the background as neighbors caught up on the latest news.

“Good turnout,” the bartender from Lucky’s commented when I walked over to the buffet table.

“It is. It seems all you need to ensure a full house is a town-wide power outage. I take it the electricity is out at the bar as well.”

“Yup. Did you ever find out who whacked Jason?”

“Not yet. I did find out that he cheated someone named Blugo out of some money in a poker game.”

The bartender raised his eyebrows. “Takes guts to do that. Sounds to me like you have your killer. If Jason cheated Blugo, he was as good as dead.”

“Several other people have said the same thing. The problem is that I haven’t been able to track the guy down.”

“Trust me, little thing like you doesn’t want to try. The guy will eat you alive. Best you let sleeping dogs lie in this instance.”

“Perhaps.” I nodded. “But it occurred to me that if Jason was cheating at poker Blugo wasn’t the only one to fall victim. There had to have been other players.”

The bartender plopped an olive in his mouth and chewed slowly. “True. Still, if I were you I’d leave it alone.”

“You’re probably right, but if I did want to speak to the other men who were playing, any idea who I should talk to?”

The bartender stared at me. “You really aren’t going to leave this alone, are you?”

I shrugged.

“It’s your funeral. If you want to find out who participated in the game talk to Scully.”

“Scully?”

The bartender nodded toward an older man who was slight in stature and didn’t appear to have a violent bone in his body.

“The guy talking to that tall blond lady over near the Christmas tree?”

“Yup. Scully runs most of the illegal gambling in the area. If Jason was involved in a high-stakes game Scully would know about it.”

“Okay, thanks. You’ve been very helpful.”

“If by helpful you mean I just signed your death warrant by putting you on to the man who might know where Blugo is then, yeah, I’ve been real helpful.”

I had to admit at that point there was a little voice in my head telling me to leave things alone. I thought of Zak and how scared he’d been when I’d almost died—again. I remembered my promise to him, and in that moment I really wanted to be the wife he deserved. I took out my phone, called Salinger’s number, gave him Scully’s name, and then headed to the kitchen to do what I was actually there to do: help neighbors in need.

“Oh, good, you’re back,” Ellie greeted me as soon as I walked into the kitchen. “A group of emergency personnel are taking a break in the firehouse and I told them I’d send some food over there. I have it packaged up if you wouldn’t mind delivering it.”

“I’d be happy to.”

“The firehouse is just down the street, but I think you should take someone with you. I’m sure it’s possible to get stuck even with your monster truck.”

“I’ll grab Jeremy.”

“Why don’t you grab something to eat and I’ll find him?” Ellie offered. “You’ve been running around all day and I’m willing to bet you haven’t eaten a thing.”

Ellie wasn’t wrong, so I made myself a quick plate while she tracked down Jeremy and had the food she’d prepared loaded onto my truck. Combining a bite of this with a bite of that was delicious.

Alex approached from across the room. I hadn’t kept track of any of the kids since we’d been at the community center, but there were plenty of adults around and we were in a building full of friends.

“Did you check on the kittens when you went out earlier?” Alex asked.

“I did and they’re fine. Have you seen Scooter?”

“He’s hanging out with Tucker and some of the other kids in his class. I think they’re all going to help Mrs. Reynolds with some kind of performance.”

“And Pi?”

“The last time I saw him he was with Brooklyn and some of the other kids from the high school. I think they’re all in the little conference room in the back. I’ve been hanging out with Eve and Pepper, but when I saw you standing here I thought I’d ask about the kittens.”

I put my arm around Alex. “You’re such a good mom. Mrs. Broomsfield decided to stay at the house with the animals. She said she’d look in on them from time to time.”

Alex let out a long breath. “Good. That makes me feel better. They’re so little.”

“Jeremy and I are heading back out to take some food over to the firehouse. If you see Scooter and Pi tell them I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay, I will.” Alex trotted away.

I looked around the room for Jeremy. I wondered whether Zak and Levi might be at the firehouse. Ellie hadn’t said, but if the emergency crew was taking a break, maybe the volunteers were as well. Jeremy waved to me from across the room to indicate that he was all loaded and ready to go. I waved back and headed in his direction.

“It looks like the snow is tapering off,” he said as we drove slowly through the deserted town. “At least the visibility is a lot better than it was even a half hour ago.”

“Yeah, it’s quite a bit better. Maybe the plow guys can get caught up and folks can start heading home.”

“We still have no power,” Jeremy reminded me.

Jeremy had a point. Those with a wood fireplace or gas heat source would be fine, but Ashton Falls residents who depended on electricity to heat their homes would be better off staying at the community center for the duration.

It was an odd experience to drive through the middle of town when it was totally dark and completely deserted. I almost felt like I was in some post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. The drive between the community center and the firehouse was a short one. I supposed someone must have let the guys know that food was on its way because there was a parking space all plowed out for us near the side door leading into the kitchen.

The guys had done a nice job decorating the firehouse. There were red and green lights around the windows that actually shone because the firehouse ran on backup generators. There was a tall tree in one corner of the main room that was decorated with a variety of things, including old cans and pieces of silverware.

After Jeremy and I helped the men unload my truck, I looked around for Wiley Holt. He was in the kitchen, filling large pitchers with ice water while the rest of the group were serving up plates of food from the buffet we’d set up.

“Hey, Wiley,” I greeted him.

“Thanks for bringing the food. I think it’s going to be a long night.”

“Yeah, it looks like it. I know you’re busy and want to get some of the food I brought before it’s gone, but I wanted to ask you about the fire at Ellie’s.”

“Take a couple of those pitchers for me and we’ll drop them off. I’ll grab a plate of food and we can talk while I eat.”

“Thanks. That sounds good.”

I helped Wiley serve the water and then refilled serving dishes while he made up a plate. We found a place off to the side, where we could speak uninterrupted.

“So what’s on your mind?” Wiley asked as he dug into the food.

“I know you were with the first responders and I guess I was just looking for a little clarification as to how and when the fire started.”

He shoveled a few more bites of food into his mouth before he answered. I couldn’t blame him; he’d probably been out in the storm for hours, helping stranded motorists and shut-ins isolated by the storm.

Wiley swallowed and took a sip of water before he began. “It appeared as if the fire started on the grill and spread from there. It could have been intentionally set or it could have been an accident.”