Kilt at the Highland Games (11 page)

She glanced out through the plate-glass front window as she crossed the sales floor. There were still a few people out and about on this mild July evening. They were only dark shapes, but she could tell that a couple sat on the adult-size swings in the playground. Their heads were close together, as if they were exchanging secrets. She'd bet money they were teenagers. Anyone older than that had better options for privacy when they were courting. A solitary figure—she couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman—passed them on one of the paths that crossed the square.

Farther away, Liss saw Patsy stick her head out of the door to her place and look all around before ducking back inside. Liss supposed she was getting ready to close up for the night. Patsy owned a lakeside camp not too far out of town and spent some of her time there in the summer months. Liss wondered if she'd choose peace and quiet tonight. It was a toss-up, she decided. Patsy had to be up at three to start baking. It would probably make more sense for her to spend the night in her apartment above the café, her year-round home.

Reminded of the imminent fireworks display—the reason she was in the darkened Emporium at this odd hour in the first place—Liss hurried to the stairwell door behind the sales counter and hauled the dogs after her up the steep flight of steps. She had just unhooked their leashes and handed over the promised treats when the first explosion filled the night sky with pinwheels of color.

Dandy cocked her head, but didn't seem at all disturbed by the sudden loud noise. Dondi never even looked up from his dog yummies. After checking to be sure the Scotties had kibble and fresh water, Liss left the apartment and scurried back downstairs. Dan was just pulling in at the curb in front of the Emporium as she stepped off the porch.

“Need a lift, lady?”

“I don't know, mister. My mother always told me never to get into a car with a strange man.”

“Strange, am I?”

“Delightfully so.” She settled herself in the passenger seat, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek before she buckled up.

With the windows open wide to the soft night air, Dan drove west along Pine Street. The hotel was situated on a height of land off to their right. It was just a couple of miles distant, but the only way to get there was via a twisting roller coaster of a road.

They had barely passed the post office when the next round of fireworks went off. Liss stuck her head out of her window in time to catch a breathtaking glimpse of the five white-walled towers at The Spruces, bathed in red and blue and green light.

She felt a little thrill of excitement course through her. She'd always liked fireworks, and this particular display kicked off this year's Western Maine Highland Games, an annual event that had always been important to her and her family. Every year, the occasion marked a celebration of their Scottish American heritage.

Italians from Cremona indeed!

As a girl, she'd attended the games as a competitor. Now she went as a vendor. And, of course, six years ago tomorrow, she had been married in the midst of the festivities. Liss was already smiling when another boom and another burst of color turned her expression into a grin.

Dan drove slowly, so they could see the fireworks display through the windshield. He applied the brakes as they approached the four-way stop at the corner of Pine and Lowe, even though there was no sign of any other traffic on either street. He was about to hang a right when Liss heard another bang, followed seconds later by more fireworks.

She frowned. There had been something off about that first sound. She twisted around in her seat so she could look behind them.

“Dan?”

“I know. That wasn't all pyrotechnics.” He had already turned the corner onto Lowe, but instead of continuing on, he pulled up to the right-hand curb.

“Car backfiring?” She didn't hold out much hope for such a mundane explanation.

The idling engine sounded loud in the silence. Dan turned it off just as the next set of fireworks went off. “You
know
what it sounded like.”

As one, they turned to stare at the darkened house on the corner of Pine and Lowe.

It belonged to Jason Graye.

The front porch faced Lowe Street, but there was another entrance on Pine. Out of the corner of her eye, Liss caught a flicker of movement in that direction. She squinted to see better, but all she could make out was a dark shape crossing the open space between Graye's house and that of one of his neighbors. A moment later, the shadowy form had vanished into the neighbor's backyard.

“Did you see—?”

But Dan was already out of the car and heading for Graye's front porch. Liss fumbled with her seat belt, which at first refused to cooperate. She was several yards behind her husband by the time he reached the house.

“Stay back,” he cautioned, his voice grim.

“In your dreams.”

“The door is open.”

That announcement only spurred Liss on. It was barely ajar. That inch or two somehow seemed even more ominous.

As soon as Liss came up beside Dan on the porch, he gave the heavy wooden door a push. Slowly, the gap widened until there was room for him to step inside. Liss was right on his heels. When he stopped, she clutched his upper arm and peered around it.

The only illumination in the foyer came from a night-light plugged into the baseboard. It was more than sufficient to confirm what Liss had dreaded to find.

That lone explosion had not been part of the fireworks display.

It had been a gunshot.

Chapter Nine

O
utside, more fireworks lit the night sky, adding eerie flashes of color to the scene. The erratic lighting gave Liss the sense that she was looking at a series of freeze-frame images. The body. The blood. The startled expression on Jason Graye's face, as if he couldn't believe someone had just killed him.

Swallowing convulsively to keep nausea at bay, she watched Dan kneel beside the still form on the carpet and touch his fingers to Graye's neck in search of a pulse. After a moment, he looked up, met Liss's eyes, and shook his head. There was nothing he or anyone else could do to bring the realtor back to life.

Silence descended following the latest series of fireworks. It was suddenly so quiet that Liss could hear the brush of Dan's hand against the inside of his pocket as he pulled out his cell phone.

She wanted more than anything to retreat onto the porch and escape the sight of their horrific discovery. Her feet refused to cooperate. She stood there, paralyzed, as incapable of closing her eyes or looking away as she was of moving. Only with a tremendous effort did she finally force her body into motion. She staggered a little as she backed up, inching out of the house with excruciating slowness. She supposed only a few seconds had passed, but that little bit of time had seemed like an eternity.

Dan followed her onto the porch, leaving the door open behind him. He looked as rattled as she felt, but he still had sense enough to phone Sherri Campbell directly instead of going through the dispatch center that took over emergency calls to the Moosetookalook Police Department at night. This was not the first time that his ability to remember phone numbers had come in handy. If he hadn't reached Sherri on her cell, he'd have been able to try Pete's or their landline in less time than it would have taken the 9-1-1 dispatcher to notify the proper authorities.

“Sherri, it's Dan,” he said when she answered. “We've got a situation here.”

As he described what they'd found, he slung an arm around Liss's shoulders and tugged her close against his side. He gave her a reassuring squeeze when he ended the call.

“Sherri's on her way. We lucked out. She was still in her office. Shouldn't take her more than a few minutes to get here.”

Feeling too numb to do anything else, Liss nodded to show she understood. Slowly, his words sank in. Her mind began to function again.

This wouldn't be Sherri's case. The state police took over when the crime was murder.

The fireworks continued, filling the night with sound and color, but Liss barely noticed. She fished in a pocket for her own cell phone and speed-dialed her aunt.

Margaret answered on the first ring. “Are the dogs okay?”

For a moment, Liss went blank. Dogs? It seemed eons ago that soothing scared Scotties had been her most pressing concern. She had to swallow convulsively before she could answer.

“Dandy and Dondi are fine, but Dan and I won't be coming back to the hotel after all.”

“Liss? What's wrong?”

“Nothing. I just didn't want you to be looking for us.”

“There's something the matter. I can hear it in your voice.”

Margaret fell silent as the next salvo exploded. It was the beginning of the finale, to judge by the number and size of the pinwheels. By the time the noise quieted enough to hear someone speak, Liss had spotted Sherri coming toward them at a dead run. It would have taken longer to get the police cruiser out of the parking lot behind the municipal building and drive over.

“Margaret, I have to go now. I'll talk to you later.” She disconnected abruptly.

“Stay outside,” Sherri ordered as soon as she arrived on the scene.

She entered the house to confirm what Dan had told her on the phone. She was back outside in time to see the very last of the fireworks fade way. She ignored the display, using her portable radio to call for reinforcements. That done, she looked first at Liss and then at Dan.

“Why are you two here?”

Dan gave her a terse account of the reason they'd stopped to investigate and what they'd found.

“Liss? Anything to add?”

“I thought I saw someone on the Pine Street side of the house. A person running away.”

“Don't move.”

Although it was clearly too late to catch anyone, Sherri circled the building to check on the other entrance. Moments later, she returned. “The kitchen door is standing wide open. It looks like Graye's killer left that way just as you were pulling up to the curb. You're lucky you didn't walk in on him.”

Liss knew she ought to be horrified by the very idea. Instead she had to fight an insane urge to giggle as the images from a movie chase scene, with comic characters dashing in one door and out another, popped into her head.

“Liss?” Sherri asked. “You okay?”

She didn't dare answer until she had herself under control. Then she said, in a dry voice, “I think I finally get the concept of cop humor.”

When things were truly awful, making bad, often tasteless jokes, allowed emergency workers to keep doing their jobs. They knew, as Liss did, that death wasn't anything to laugh about, but there was still something to be said for comic relief. It was a lot healthier to crack wise than to dissolve into tears or have hysterics.

“This person you saw,” Sherri said. “Was it a man or a woman?”

“I couldn't tell.”

“Headed which direction?”

“Through the backyards toward the town square.” The corner of Pine and Lowe was only one block away.

“He probably took the same shortcut you used to get here,” Dan said.

“That would be my guess,” Sherri agreed. “In that case, he's long gone.”

“There was a couple in the square just a little bit ago,” Liss offered. “On the swings. If they're still there, maybe they got a look at him.”

“Do you know who they were?”

Liss shook her head. “I wasn't close enough to see faces, but they looked like they were really into each other.”

“Like most couples who sit on those swings after dark,” Dan said.

“If that's so, chances are slim that they noticed anyone else, but I'd better see if they're still there. The only problem is that I can't leave this place unsecured.”

Liss grabbed her friend's arm, struck by a sudden thought. “What if the killer saw that couple? He wouldn't want any witnesses.”

Sherri swore softly.

“We're stuck here anyway,” Dan said. “Liss and I can guard your crime scene while you go check on them.”

Sherri didn't argue. She was running again even before Dan finished making the offer.

* * *

By the time Sherri reached the playground in the town square, she was out of breath.

There was no one on the swings.

There was no one anywhere in sight.

The powerful beam of her Maglite confirmed that there were no new bodies, either. The courting couple had watched the fireworks, swinging gently side by side, and then gone on their way. She breathed a sigh of relief. Tomorrow would be soon enough to track them down and interview them.

At an only slightly slower pace, she headed back to Jason Graye's house. She wanted to be there before officers from the sheriff's department and the state police arrived and wondered where she was. She popped out onto Lowe Street just as a half dozen vehicles, blue lights flashing, converged on the scene of the crime.

Sherri made her report to Gordon Tandy, the state police detective who had been assigned to Carrabassett County for the last six years. Since he was nearly a foot taller than she was, she had to crane her neck to meet his eyes.

Gordon spared a glance for Liss and Dan, still standing off to one side, but did not try to speak to them. Not just yet. Sherri knew from past experience that he liked to take a look at the scene before he heard what witnesses had to say.

“It might be a good idea to have Dan move his car,” Sherri said.

Gordon nodded, but there wasn't sufficient light to read the expression in his dark eyes. He had a history with both Liss and Dan. “Ruskin may as well drive it over to their place.”

“Do you want to interview them here or at the house?”

“Tell him to walk back. I'd like them to stick around for a bit.” He hesitated, then asked, “How's she doing?”

“Shaky.” While Sherri had gone to look for the couple on the swings, Dan had stood guard over the side door, leaving Liss alone at the front. She'd looked a little green around the gills by the time Sherri returned.

“Stay with her,” Gordon ordered as he started up the steps to the porch.

Sherri resisted the urge to salute.

She relayed his instructions to Dan and Liss and stuck close to her friend after Dan drove away. Liss heaved a deep sigh as she watched the taillights disappear.

“How did Gordon take it when you said I was the one who found the body?”

“I couldn't tell. He had his cop face on.”

“He doesn't like it when I meddle in murder, but it isn't as if I've ever had any choice. I never
mean
to get involved.”

“Not your fault,” Sherri agreed.

It was just plain bad luck that Liss had encountered more than her fair share of murder victims. Gordon Tandy knew that perfectly well. Besides, he and Liss were friends, after a fashion. They'd even dated for a short while, back before she married Dan. Now that he had also taken a wife—the sheriff of Carrabassett County, no less—there was no reason for any animosity between them.

Liss's face was dimly illuminated by the pool of light from a nearby street lamp. That was more than enough to show Sherri how exhausted she was. Standing around doing nothing after the adrenaline-producing trauma of finding a murder victim was hard on the nerves. Sherri felt the strain herself, although to a lesser degree.

“This time I'm determined to stay out of it,” Liss said. “I'll give my statement, and that will be that.”

“Good idea,” Sherri said.

As for herself, she couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. She would not be part of the investigation. As the local chief of police, she would be kept in the loop as a courtesy, but her role would probably be limited to crowd control. Even that small contribution would not last long. Once the body had been taken to Augusta for autopsy and the crime scene unit was finished with the house, there would be nothing for gawkers to see and thus no need for an officer to stand guard.

Neither Sherri nor Liss felt much like talking as they waited for Dan to return and Gordon to reappear. Sherri watched neighbors begin to drift home from The Spruces, where they'd gone to watch the fireworks display. They weren't happy about being questioned before they were allowed to enter their own houses. Anyone else who showed up was kept at a distance.

When Dan rejoined them, he didn't have anything to say, either. Hands in his pockets, his expression wary, he stared at the yellow crime scene tape that had been strung around Graye's house.

After a television news van from one of the Portland stations showed up, Sherri herded her friends into deeper shadow. The last thing any of them wanted was to see their faces splashed across every wide-screen TV in the state.

A cute and perky-looking reporter, a regular on the evening news, hopped out of the van. She had a reputation as a real barracuda when it came to getting information out of a source. More often than not, people she interviewed came off sounding like babbling idiots.

In less time than Sherri expected, Gordon and a uniformed state trooper emerged from Jason Graye's house. Gordon took one look at the reporter and her cameraman and dispatched the trooper to escort Sherri, Liss, and Dan to a secure spot that was not only behind the crime scene tape but also shielded by a large spruce.

He addressed Sherri first. “Can your department keep an eye on the house for the rest of the night?”

“No problem.”

Sherri intended to take on the job herself. The other Moosetookalook officers—two full-timers and three part-timers—were either at The Spruces already or off duty, getting a good night's sleep in preparation for working at the Highland Games in the morning.

Gordon delegated the other officer to question Dan, although the two of them didn't go very far. Then he tugged a small, spiral-bound notebook and a pencil out of his inside jacket pocket. His pointed look at Sherri told her more clearly than any words that he did not intend to conduct his interview with Liss until she'd moved on.

Reluctantly, she stepped away.

She felt much better after she'd sent the news crew packing.

* * *

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Liss said in a futile attempt to lighten the mood.

“You want to tell me what you and Dan were doing here?”

“We weren't
here,
exactly. We were driving past on our way to the hotel. The car windows were open. We heard what sounded like a gunshot.”

A look of surprise flickered across Gordon's face so quickly that she wondered if she'd imagined it.

“What time was that?” he asked.

Chagrined, Liss had to admit that she hadn't thought to look at the dashboard clock. “The fireworks had only just started.” She tried to remember how many explosions there had been, but she hadn't been paying close attention. “If you want, I'll clock myself running downstairs from Margaret's apartment and driving from the Emporium to here.”

“Why were you at your aunt's place?”

“To check on the dogs. You remember Dandy and Dondi?”