Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery (11 page)

As she began the drive to
Cassie’s house, Liz checked her odometer. When it showed she’d gone three miles
she saw a mailbox with a scraggly rose bush next to it. She slowed down and
checked the name on the box. Just as Cindy Lou had said, the mail box was
Cassie’s. She turned into a gravel lane and was glad she’d seen Cassie go into
the lodge earlier, so Liz knew she wasn’t home.

Liz saw a
house up ahead about fifty yards. Cindy Lou hadn’t been kidding. The front
yard, if one could call it that, was covered with brown stubble. If there had
ever been grass, it had been replaced by weeds long ago. The small brick house
had been severely neglected. Paint was peeling off of the front door and
shutters. The two steps which led up to the front door were badly cracked and
had weeds growing out of them.

She stopped
the car and rolled down the window. Liz heard the sound of a large dog barking
furiously, but she didn’t see one at the fence at the rear of the house. She
gingerly got out of the car and walked over to the fence. The barking seemed to
be coming from a small detached garage next to the house.

Whew
, she thought,
Cassie
must have locked the dog up in the garage
. She looked around to see if
there was anyone nearby. Satisfied she was alone, she walked over to the front
window and looked in. She gasped with astonishment. Every square inch of wall
space was plastered with posters such as “Save Our Children” and “A Fetus Is a
Living Thing,” but what really caused her concern was the large poster behind
the couch in the living room. Evidently Cassie had taken a photo of Milt Huston
and had it enlarged. White concentric rings had been painted on Milt’s upper
torso with a red bull’s eye over the center of his chest. Liz was mesmerized
and frightened, both at the same time, as she stared through the window at the
bizarre scene in front of her.

She took her
phone from the pocket where she’d put it and photographed the poster with Milt
displayed on it. She couldn’t wait to show Roger the photograph she’d taken. It
didn’t mean Cassie was the one who murdered Milt, but it sure made a case that
she could have been the one who did it. Cassie was now definitely at the top of
Liz’s list of possible suspects. Liz decided she’d spent enough time at
Cassie’s house, and she didn’t want to have to answer a nosy neighbor’s
questions about why she was there, so she turned around and headed back to her
car. Once she was in her car, she made a U-turn, and drove back down the gravel
lane that led to the highway.

So Cassie’s
husband died under suspicious circumstance and so did his lover, the chicken,
as Cindy Lou called her. Now a guest at the hunt club where Cassie works also
dies under suspicious circumstances. Sure sounds like a lot of strange
circumstances. I wonder if Stanley Gordon from the mortuary in Riley knows
anything about those two deaths. I have to go through town on my way back to
the lodge, so I might as well stop by the mortuary and see if he can tell me
anything.

A few minutes
later Liz pulled into the Gordon Mortuary parking lot. There were two parked
cars in it. She hoped one was Selene’s, and that the other one belonged to
Stanley Gordon. When Liz entered the mortuary she saw Selene sitting at her
desk. “Hi, I don’t know if you remember me, but I brought some things in
yesterday to be shipped to California with Milt Huston’s body. I was wondering
if Mr. Gordon is in, and if so, if he could spare me a moment of his time.”

“I’m sure he
can, Mrs. Langley. As a matter of fact, Nick, one of the employees here, just
left for El Paso. He’s putting Mr. Huston’s body on a flight that leaves for
California late this afternoon. His widow’s father called and made the
arrangements. I’ll tell Mr. Gordon you’re here.” She called him and then said,
“He’ll be happy to see you. His office is through that door.”

Liz knocked on
the door, and it was immediately opened by Stanley Gordon. “I understand one of
your employees has taken Milt’s body to the airport in El Paso to be flown to
California,” she said. “I’m glad that’s taken care of. I spoke with his widow
this morning, and she was devastated. Her father got on the phone and told me
she was pregnant, but Milt didn’t know about it. She was going to tell him
about it tonight.”

“I am so
sorry. Having a loved one die is tragic enough, but a circumstance like that
makes it even worse. My heart goes out to her.”

“Mine too, but
that’s not the reason I’m here,” Liz said. “I was talking to someone who told
me that the husband of a woman who works at the Big T Lodge, Cassie Sowers,
died several years ago. This person also told me that evidently her husband had
been having an affair with a woman who died about the same time. Both of them
died in their sleep. I’m wondering if you handled the funerals or if the
families used your mortuary.”

Stanley looked
at Liz for a long time and then said, “That’s a very odd thing for a stranger
like you to ask about. Why do you want to know?”

Liz wondered
how much she should tell him and then realized that sooner or later the cause
of Milt’s death would be made public. That being the case, she decided to tell
Stanley everything she knew. She took a deep breath and began. She told him
about finding the liquid in Milt’s room, how she had it analyzed, her
suspicions about some of the guests, and then what she had just seen at
Cassie’s home.

Stanley sat
quietly and listened as Liz talked, his fingers steepled under his chin, his
elbows on his desk. His grey hair was thinning, and that, along with his
rimless glasses and large paunch, made him look like the quintessential small
town mortuary owner.

When Liz was
finished he sat for several moments seemingly lost in thought, and then he
began to speak. “Yes, my mortuary was where both of those bodies were brought.
There were no signs of foul play on either of them, but something didn’t seem
right to me. I remember thinking at the time that I wished we had someone here
locally who could conduct an autopsy and a lab that could analyze the contents
of their stomachs. I suspected that both of them had been poisoned, but as you
know, in rural counties like ours when there’s no sign of foul play, a judge
signs the death certificate, and that’s that. He never has to even see the
body. That’s what happened in both of those cases.”

“How well did
you know Paul and the other woman?”

“I’m about
twenty years older than they were, so I’d have to say I’d known them all my
life. I’ve also known Cassie all her life. I always wondered if Cassie had
something to do with their deaths. It was just too coincidental. Cassie really
changed after that. I don’t know if you heard, but she became extremely
religious, actually a zealot, although Billy Bob, the pastor at her church
doesn’t mind much, because she really helps him. I always wondered if Cassie’s
sudden conversion to becoming a religious fanatic had something to do with
their deaths, but I couldn’t prove it. Cassie never pursued finding out the
cause of their deaths, and the other woman, whose name was Julia Walker, didn’t
have a family. She lived by herself, and one of her neighbors noticed her
blinds were drawn for several days, which wasn’t normal. Her neighbor was the
one who discovered her body, so there really wasn’t any reason to do anything.
Seemed like no one cared.”

“Stanley, if
you don’t mind, I’d like your opinion on something. Do you think Cassie is
capable of murdering someone?”

“I don’t know.
The person I knew when she was younger, no. The person she’s become, possibly.
Now let me ask you something.”

“Of course,”
Liz said.

“What do you
intend to do with this information?”

“I don’t know.
I’d like to know if her husband, Paul, and the woman named Julia were poisoned,
but I don’t know how that can be done.”

“Actually, I
might be able to help you,” Stanley said. “Both of them are buried in the
Gordon Cemetery. According to Texas law, if someone has knowledge or suspects
that someone was poisoned, the sheriff has the authority to order that the body
be exhumed and examined by a forensic medical pathologist. It seems to me
there’s sufficient evidence concerning Milt’s cause of death that the sheriff
might be willing to make such an order. He’s a very good friend of mine. I’d
like to tell him what you’ve found out, if that would be all right with you.”

“Yes, sooner
or later the truth about Milt’s death will have to be told, although I don’t
think Jack will be very happy about the fact it occurred at his hunting lodge.
If it’s determined that Paul and Julia were poisoned, there would be a nexus to
Cassie, although how that could be determined I’m not sure. How long would it
take? I rather doubt there’s someone qualified to conduct a forensic
examination of the two exhumed bodies from around here.”

“That’s true.
The sheriff would have to request that someone from El Paso come here to Riley
to conduct the examination. Actually, it could probably be done tomorrow if I
call him now, but I’m concerned about one thing.”

“What’s that?”
Liz asked.

“Cassie comes
to the graveyard every day and puts a flower on Paul’s grave. She’s been doing
that since the day he was buried, even in the worst weather imaginable. She’s
obviously going to find out his body has been exhumed for one reason or
another. If she suspects that your information had anything to do with it, and
if Cassie is the murderer, you could be in danger. I just want to make that
clear to you before I place the call to the sheriff.”

Liz sat
quietly for several moments. “I see what you’re saying, but sooner or later
she’s going to know I was involved when the sheriff makes it known I was the
one who discovered that Milt’s death was caused by a fatal dose of poison, not
from dying in his sleep.”

“Liz, my
family has been in this business for several generations, and I take this
profession and my title as owner of the Gordon Mortuary very seriously. I have
no choice, given what I now know, but to request that the bodies of Paul and
Julia be exhumed and examined. Failure to do so would be unethical. However, I
also feel this is your decision, because you’re the one whose life may be in
jeopardy. I want you to be very sure this is what you want me to do.”

“Stanley, I
don’t think I could live with myself if I had knowledge that there’s a good
chance two people were murdered, and I chose to do nothing with that
information. I promise I’ll be very careful. As a matter of fact, if you look
out the window, you’ll see a huge dog in the car I’m driving that’s kind of
adopted me. He’s with me during the day at the lodge, and my husband is with me
at night. Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be fine. Go ahead and make the call
to the sheriff while I use the bathroom.”

When she
returned Stanley said, “I talked to the sheriff, and he said he’d arrange for
the bodies of Paul and Julia to be exhumed tomorrow. He’s having a forensic
pathologist come and examine the bodies and test them for the presence of any poison.
He said he’d make it a top priority, and we should have the results late
tomorrow or first thing day after tomorrow. I just want to tell you how much I
admire you for doing this, but again, I want to caution you to be careful. I
know there are a lot of guns at the lodge, but do you have your own?”

“No. I have
one at my home in California, but there certainly didn’t seem to be any reason
for me to bring it on this trip.”

He stood up
and walked over to a glass gun case at the rear of his office. He took a
keychain out of his pocket and opened the case. A moment later he walked over
to her and said, “Take this gun. It’s small, and I’d like you to keep it with
you at all times. I’m assuming you know how to shoot a gun, right?”

“Yes. There
have been several times when my husband insisted I carry one with me. I’m no
stranger to them, and I really appreciate your concern. Thank you, but isn’t
there some requirement that I need to have a license to carry the gun?”

“No, here in
Texas our gun laws are very liberal and almost nonexistent. It’s perfectly
legal under Texas law for me to give the gun to you and for you to carry it.
There’s no need for registration or anything like that.”

“Again,
thanks. Here’s my cell phone number,” Liz said. “When you learn something I’d
appreciate it if you’d call me.”

Stanley stood
up and put his hand out. “Trust me, you’ll be the first to know anything.
You’re a very brave woman. Tell your husband he’s a lucky man.”

“Thanks,” Liz
said smiling, “although there have been times when I’m not so sure he’d agree
with you.” She shook his hand and walked out to her car where Sam was patiently
waiting, the late afternoon sky beginning to turn grey, the forerunner of the
night sky.

When Liz returned to the
lodge she was glad she had about half an hour before the hunters would be
returning. Sam followed her to the kitchen and laid down in front of the door.
She knocked on it, and Wes immediately opened it. “Come in, Liz. I’ve been thinking
about you. What did you find out this afternoon?”

She looked
around the kitchen and whispered, “Where’s Cassie?”

“We have a
little building close by where we keep our non-refrigerated items. I sent her
over there with a long list of things we need. I was hoping she’d be there when
you returned. She won’t be back for a half hour or so. If you can kind of
summarize what you found out, I’d appreciate it, because I’m a little under the
gun this time of day.”

“I’ll make it
quick and simple.” She briefly told him what she’d found when she’d searched
the rooms, her visit to Cindy Lou, and concluded with the revelation that the
bodies of Paul and Julia were going to be exhumed.

He stared at
her for a moment with a look of disbelief on his face. “Do you really think
Cassie was involved?”

“I have no
idea, but we’ll certainly be in a better position to make an educated guess
after tomorrow, not that I know where we’ll go with it. I’ll talk to Roger
later on and see what he has to say. His background is in criminal law, so I’m
sure he’ll have some thoughts on it.”

“You mentioned
Stanley had given you a gun. I agree with him that you could be in danger. I
really do need to get this dinner going, but I’d like to talk to you at length
tomorrow, say after breakfast?”

“Yes, and I’d
like to pick your brain some more. I’m kind of at a loss as what to do at this
point.”

“I don’t blame
you. Maybe a few hours away from it will give you some insights.”

As she left
the kitchen she heard the ATVs pulling into the circular driveway of the lodge,
signaling that the guests had returned from the afternoon hunt. Sam hurried to
find Jack, so he could be served his evening meal. Liz saw Roger entering the
lodge, and she joined him. “Well, Mr. Hunter, how was your afternoon?” she
asked as they walked up the stairs.

“It was
fabulous. I’ve got the hang of it now, and I really did well. The man I hunted
with this afternoon, that dentist you talked to last night at dinner, and the
guide both really complimented me. I’ll probably never do this again, but it’s
been the experience of a lifetime. I always wondered what it would be like to
hunt at a premier lodge, and now I know. Plus, I’m not even addressing the
fabulous food we’ve had. To change the subject, what did you do this
afternoon?” he asked as he pulled his key out of his pocket, put it in the
lock, and opened the door to their suite.

“I’ll tell you
all about it after dinner when we get back to the room. It’s a long story, and
I don’t want to be late for dinner. We only have tonight and tomorrow, and as
good as Wes’ food is, I don’t want to miss it.”

“So it’s Wes
now?” Roger said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, and as I
said, I’ll tell you all about it after dinner. It was quite the day, and you
can lower your eyebrow,” she said laughing.

“Sweetheart,
where you’re concerned, that doesn’t surprise me in the least, but I definitely
want to hear all about it.”

They changed
clothes and walked down the stairs to the sound of convivial voices telling war
stories about the day’s hunt. Sam was waiting for Liz and accompanied Roger and
her into the great room. She smiled at several people and once again silently
complimented Jack for not decorating the walls with stuffed animals. His taste,
or whoever had done the interior design, resulted in a look best described as
chic hunt club elegance.

They went into
the dining room and found their name cards along with the evening’s menu. Liz
looked at it and saw where the main entrée was going to be a skillet roasted
chicken breast with mushroom gravy, along with creamy risotto studded with
pancetta, and garlic brussel sprouts. Her mouth watered just reading about what
was to come.

Her dining
companions were delightful. The man on her left, Rich Jessup, was a cosmetic
surgeon from New York who had wanted to come to The Big T Lodge for years, but
only recently had found the time to get away from his busy medical practice. On
her right was David Noyes, the owner of an insurance company which specialized
in insuring private aircraft. He was from Miami and had flown to the lodge in
his private jet. David said if he was going to be the president of a company
which insured private planes, he might as well assure his customers that he
thought private planes were not only an easier way to travel than flying
commercially, but that they were safer. He told her most airplane crashes
weren’t the fault of the plane, but the fault of the pilot.

When dinner
ended Roger looked across the table and with his finger, pointed upward,
indicating he wanted to go up to their room. Liz told Rich and David how much
she’d enjoyed talking with them and walked up the stairs with Roger and Sam who
had joined them as they left the dining room. As soon as they walked into their
room, Sam laid down on the colorful braided rug and promptly fell asleep.

“Liz, I don’t
know if your dinner was as good as mine, but please ask Wes, as you now call
him, if you can have the recipe for the risotto. That was fabulous, and the
pancetta in it was a nice touch. I’ve never had anything quite like that.”

“Nor have I,
and yes, I will ask Wes for the recipe. We’re best buds now, so I imagine he’ll
give it to me.”

“Best buds?
With the chef? Why am I not surprised?” he asked.

“Roger, it’s
been quite a day. Why don’t you sit down? I’ve got a lot to tell you.” She
began with the email she’d received from Sean late that morning.