Foul Play at the Fair (23 page)

“Sometimes your mind scares me,” Ted said.

Liv shrugged. “The devil is in the details. An event planner’s motto. You have to see the pieces without losing the whole picture—ever.”

“So you’ve told me. You didn’t mention, however, that they take being proactive to the next level.”

“Is that a euphemism for buttinsky?”

“Let’s leave it at overly curious.”

“Well, if those detectives would light a fire under their butts, or if Chaz Bristow would rouse himself to help, I wouldn’t have to do it.”

“Chaz?”

“Yes. Did you know that he used to be an investigative reporter?” She held up her hand. “No, don’t say it. ‘It
is
Celebration Bay, Liv,’” she mimicked.

Ted chuckled. “And you asked him to help?”

“Yes. He turned me down flat.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons.”

She gave him a tight smile. “And I’m sure you know what they are.”

“Leave it alone, Liv.”

She rolled her eyes. “I do have more important things to worry about, like who stole the check. And when.”

“Well, the checkbook is locked up every night. So it had to be during the day. And it could have been last year, for all we know. That’s when we got the new checkbook. We only discovered it this week because we’d finally gotten to it.”

“True, but it was made out to Pete and he didn’t arrive until last week,” she reminded him.

“If he was the impetus for the theft.”

“Which seems likely. I wonder…” She fanned through the remaining pages but didn’t find any more missing checks. “Well, that’s a relief, sort of.

“So who had access?”

“The mayor?” Ted guessed. “And wouldn’t that just cut it?”

“Actually, anyone could walk right into this office. The mayor, his secretary. Anyone on town business. Anyone just passing through. Committee chairs, vendors. What were we thinking to leave such a temptation out in the open?”

She hadn’t been thinking. She’d become enamored by her new life, was enjoying the laid-back, easy lifestyle, and she’d forgotten there were crooks and, unfortunately, murderers, even in the smallest town. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“It’s usually in a desk drawer. Someone would have had to look for it.”

“Or know where it was kept,” Liv added. “Which brings us to…”

“Janine,” they said simultaneously.

“You think so, too?” Liv asked.

“Seems crazy. She doesn’t need the money. Her ex-husband paid a bundle. But she had access to the checkbook before you came. And probably afterward, too.”

“But why? She was just a kid when Pete left town. Why would she be paying him blackmail? Or was she just being spiteful? Trying to derail the festivals?”

“Sounds extreme.”

“It does. Even for Janine. But who else could it be?”

“I don’t know, but we’re not going to confront Janine and risk a lawsuit. I suggest we let the detectives deal with catching the thief, if they are so inclined.”

They spent the next hour coordinating the following weekend’s activities. Made location grids for the food tents, which would be located in the town green, at the Waterbury farm where the Haunted Hayride was held each year, and at Andy’s Maze of Madness. Other farms and households were participating with produce stands, yard sales, u-picks, and yards turned into private parking.

“I’d better run out and make sure the maze is ready and that Andy has taken care of who will be running the hayrides. I should have done it sooner, but with the funeral and Joss’s arrest, it just seemed like an insensitive thing to do, not to mention downright rude. Now I feel irresponsible for not having done it.”

Ted chuckled. “You could just call.”

“I know. But a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Ted nodded his agreement. “In that case, I suggest we close the office early. This is not strictly festival business, but I want to talk to Bill and tell him Roseanne’s story.”

“We promised not to tell.”

“You did. But I mean to run it past Bill before I hand Donnie and her over to the detectives.”

“I supposed it has to be done.”

“Yes. And besides, it might help get Joss out of jail.”

“I think I’ll come with you if that’s okay.”

“What about Andy and the Maze of Madness?”

“I’ll go tomorrow.”

“Vacation?” Ted exclaimed. “Bill hasn’t taken a vacation for as long as he’s been sheriff.”

The desk sergeant quickly looked around and leaned forward. “He’s not the only one thinking about taking time off. Since those muckety-mucks from the state came, we haven’t had a minute of peace. They don’t need our help in the investigation; they just want us to step and fetch. The head guy told Bill to stick to parking tickets.” He glanced at Liv. “I won’t repeat what Bill said.”

Ted blew out air. “And then he put himself on vacation leave.”

“Pretty much,” the sergeant agreed.

Liv was speechless. How could he just walk at a time like this when there was a murderer loose in their town, when Joss’s freedom was hanging in the balance, when they needed him to keep things running smoothly?

The sheriff’s office door opened. Detective Devoti stepped out, saw Ted and Liv, and after a piercing look, began walking toward them.

“So,” Liv said loudly to the sergeant. “I just wanted to let you know that my dog has been found, so no worries, but thanks anyway.”

The sergeant looked confused, then got it. “Glad to hear it, and you just keep him on the leash when you’re out. We do have wild animals that come into town sometimes. Wouldn’t want the little fellow getting mauled.”

The detective arrived at the desk.

“Good morning, Detective…Devoti, isn’t it?”

He didn’t condescend to answer.

Liv started to turn away, then turned back. “Oh, while we’re here. Did you find out who forged the check from my office?”

“It’s under investigation.”

“Maybe handwriting analysis?”

Devoti gave a slight snort. “This isn’t television, Miz Montgomery.”

Liv gritted her teeth and smiled. “If only we had their budget.” She turned to the desk sargeant. “Thanks again. Have a nice day.”

With that, she strode toward the front door, half afraid the detective would call her back and destroy her exit. But she and Ted were on the sidewalk, before she stopped.

“That officious little pr—so-and-so.” She took off toward Ted’s car, which was parked at the curb.

Ted blipped the locks and opened the door for her. His mouth was going through a series of contortions. Liv glared at him and got in the car.

When he got in the other side, he was laughing. “I’m sure the lieutenant was relieved to know you found your lost dog.” He started the car. “Really, Liv. That was awfully close to false reporting.”

Liv shrugged. “Just a little stretch of the truth. Whiskey did run out in the garden last night. It took me forever to get him back in.”

“You are one cool cookie.”

Cool cookie?
“Why, thank you, Ted. I think.”

“Grace under pressure. You didn’t miss a beat.”

“I’ve dealt with brides more outrageous than Detective
Devoti and handled them without breaking a sweat.” She paused. “Besides, you don’t jerk my town around and expect me to take it lying down.”

Ted’s smile broadened. “Good.”

They drove to the north side of town and stopped in front of a small white cape with green shutters. The yard was immaculately trimmed and mowed. The bushes were shaped into perfect cubes. Liv had learned from BeBe that Bill was divorced, lived alone, and had two grown children who lived on the West Coast. He sure took good care of his home.

Ted rang the bell, waited, rang the bell again. When no one answered, he walked around the side of the house, Liv following on his heels.

The backyard was enclosed in a chain-link fence. At the back of the long yard was a vegetable garden. And sitting on a step stool was the Celebration Bay sheriff weeding a row of bushy green plants.

Ted marched toward the garden. Liv had to make a couple of running steps to catch up to him. “Bill.”

Bill looked up, hesitated with a clump of yellowing leaves grasped in his hand. Then he tossed the weed into a woven basket and pulled at another clump.

Ted didn’t stop until he was standing right over his friend.

“Of all the stupid, asinine—we’ve got serious trouble here, and you’re weeding your garden.”

“Might as well get something useful done.”

“You might as well have kept your temper with that arrogant jackass from the state.”

“Why bother.” Bill yanked another clump of grass from the ground and tossed it toward the basket. “My guess is they’re just some screwups that someone higher up sent to get them out of the way. All posturing and not a brain between them.”

“Which is why it was even more important for you to stick around.”

Bill grunted and heaved himself to his feet. Gardening
was probably not the best activity for a man who suffered from sciatica.

“Parking tickets. That’s what he said. Stick to parking tickets.”

Ted growled in frustration. “And you got on your high horse over that? He was baiting you. You have more sense than to walk into that kind of manipulation.” He stopped. His eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t that. Why did you put yourself on vacation leave?”

“Aw, hell, Ted. Don’t start surmising. I don’t know nothing you don’t know. But I’ve been a cop here for almost twenty years, run folks in that deserved it, helped out a few who needed it. I’ve even given out my share of parking tickets. I know my job.”

Ted nodded slowly. “You’re upset that someone felt they needed to call in the state.”

Bill picked up the basket of weeds and walked over to the fence where he dumped them into a pile of drying clippings. He carried the basket back, moved his step stool farther down the row, and sat down.

Liv was pretty sure she was about to see Ted lose his temper for the first time. He was vibrating with suppressed frustration.

“And you call Devoti a jackass. You’re the one that needs a swift kick.”

“Your opinion.”

Liv couldn’t stand the tension. “Bill, we need you to find this killer.”

Bill looked up, smiled a half smile, and shook his head. She knew just how Ted felt; she felt like giving the sheriff a swift kick herself.

“Liv, when you’ve been around awhile longer, you’ll see that folks usually end up doing the right thing.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nobody’s gonna let Joss go to jail for something he didn’t do.”

“And if it’s an outsider?”

“We’ll just have to hope that Mutt and Jeff can figure it out.”

“I don’t get it,” Liv said. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I don’t believe you’re just going to weed beans or whatever those things are and let your good friend rot in jail.”

Bill flinched. “It’s out of my hands, and if I act on my own, there will be hell to pay, not to mention that anything I find will not hold up in court.”

Ted snorted. “Then I guess you don’t want to know that Roseanne recognized Pete from pictures of her dad. She sought him out and he convinced her to unlock the store for him.”

Bill straightened up, suddenly interested. “And you know this how?”

“She told Liv.”

“Liv?” Bill turned to Liv. “She came to you?”

Liv sighed. “She thought that since I was from Manhattan, I could solve the murder.”

“Of all the—” Bill said fondly. “Maybe you better tell me the whole story. I’ve got some cider in the house. Something tells me this is gonna take a while.”

They followed him through a back porch crammed with cast-off machinery, old bicycles, and piles of newspapers and into an old-fashioned kitchen as clean and well kept as his yard.

While Bill poured out three glasses of Waterbury Farms cider, Liv and Ted told him about Roseanne’s midnight visit and the second visit at the office.

“So, the door was unlocked. Donnie never relocked it. Anybody could have walked right in.”

“Huh,” Bill said.

“Which,” Liv continued, “has to be good for Joss. Right?”

“They have until tonight. Forty-eight hours or they have to charge him. I wasn’t privy to much of the investigation
even before they pulled the plug, but I did get a chance to talk to Joss before then. He swears he didn’t know Pete was back. And he swears he didn’t kill him. That’s all anybody needs to know.”

He looked at Liv to make sure she was getting it. As if he were speaking a foreign language, and maybe he thought he was. To him, Liv was still an outsider.

And she’d had enough. “Maybe you should take a page from Roseanne Waterbury.”

Both men looked confused.

“She came to
me.
Not just because I’m from the city, but because she trusted me. It’s about time the rest of you did, too.”

“Beg pardon?”

“Don’t give me that innocent look, Bill, and don’t you, either, Ted. The whole town is depending on me to keep the festivals going. Yet you’re all talking to each other all over town but not talking to me.”

“Now, Liv.”

“You both clammed up and skulked away the other night after the committee meeting. Fred tried to keep me from talking to Dolly. Ted keeps telling me to stay out of it.”

“I didn’t,” Ted began.

Liv quelled him with a look. “And now you’ve decided that’s all I need to know.”

Ted sighed. “Only because we don’t want you to get hurt.”

Liv narrowed her eyes at him. “By whom? You think someone out there is planning to kill again?”

“Aw, hell,” Bill said. “Ted doesn’t know nothing. And neither do I. But someone is a murderer. Anyone who discovers him—or her—might get more than they bargained for. That’s all Ted means.”

“So you guys really don’t know who killed Pete Waterbury?”

“Of course not,” said Ted in an offended voice. “What kind of folks do you think we are?”

“Ones who are very loyal and care deeply about your town and friends.”

“But not enough to protect a murderer from the justice he deserves,” Bill said.

Liv looked from Bill to Ted. She believed them, strangely enough. “And if you learn something, you won’t hold out on me?”

Ted rolled his eyes to the top of his head.

Bill crossed his arms. “Liv, if I learn something in the course of the investigation, I can’t tell anyone. Not you, not Ted, or anybody else.”