Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery (3 page)

Slim drove the big SUV up
the curved driveway and stopped in front of the lodge with its large two story
front doors made with wood casings and beveled glass. One of the doors had a
large inlaid stained glass replica of a mallard duck and the other door
depicted a Bobwhite quail in a similar fashion. It was an early winter evening,
and the lights from inside the house cast soothing rays of light through the
glass doors. The effect was one of total warmth.

Just as Slim
reached for the door handle, the door was opened by a tall man with white hair,
a plaid shirt, cowboy boots, and the largest silver belt buckle Liz had ever
seen said, “You must be Roger and Liz Langley. Welcome to the Big T Lodge. I’m
Jack Mercer, the one you spoke to the other day on the phone, and this is Sam,”
he said, gesturing to the big dog standing beside him. Jack shook their hands
and motioned for them to come in. “Slim, take their bags upstairs to number
ten.” Roger and Liz stepped into the lodge, and Liz looked around in complete
amazement.

“This is even
more beautiful than the brochure indicated,” she said.

“Thanks. Come
on, I’ll show you the general layout while Slim takes your luggage up to your
room. You’re the last guests to arrive, and as you can see, some of the them
are already enjoying the appetizers and the fireplace in the great room,” he
said gesturing towards a large fireplace at the far end of the enormous great
room located off the entryway.

“Follow me,”
Jack said with Sam by his side. “The dining room is through this door.
Breakfasts and dinners are served in there. Liz, I understand you own a lodge
and spa out in California, and since you won’t be hunting, you might want to
spend some time with Chef Jackson. You’re also welcome to walk the grounds. Sam
here can go with you. He knows which of the paths are okay for you to take, and
he’ll physically stop you if you happen to start down the wrong path.”

“I’d like
that, but he looks a little intimidating. Actually, he looks like a large
version of the big boxer dog we have at home. What breed is he?”

“He’s a
bullmastiff. Got him as a gift from one of the guests a couple of years ago.
He’s comfortable if I allow someone in the lodge, but he’s also very
territorial and makes a great guard dog for the lodge and surrounding premises.
He gets along fine with the two cats we have on the property, but he’s not best
of friends with the hunting dogs, so we don’t take him out to the kennel.
Naturally, since the hunting dogs are just that, they’re not allowed in the
lodge or on the grounds of the lodge. They have their own fenced-in space, so
it’s not a problem.”

Liz knelt down
and put her hand out, so the massive fawn-colored dog could smell her and
decide whether or not she was acceptable to him. When he licked her hand, she
petted the big dog who looked trustingly up at her with deep dark brown eyes.
“Sam, I’m going to be here for a few days, and I’d like to be friends with you.
I have to go now, but I’ll see you later.”

“Interesting,”
Jack said. “He usually puts up with the guests, but I’ve never seen him lick
one of their hands. He must have decided that you’re a special type of dog
person.”

“She is that,”
Roger said. “Jack, I think we’d like to go up to our room and freshen up a bit.
Even though the flights themselves were fairly short, it’s been a long travel
day for us what with getting to and from the airports and the layover in
Denver. We’ll be back shortly.”

“Take your
time and make yourselves comfortable. You’ll see a few of the staff around. If
you need anything, ask them. See you later,” he said as he turned and walked
into the great room to join the other guests. Sam started to follow Liz, but
Jack said in a loud voice, “Sam, here.” Sam turned around and joined Jack.

“Roger, he
never told us where our room is,” Liz said as they began to walk up the large
curving oak staircase.

“Hopefully,
the rooms will be numbered on the outside. Good, they are. Looks like we’re
down at the end of the hall. Yes, here’s the number ten in brass letters, and
look, our names are next to the door. After you, my love,” he said, opening the
door.

Liz walked in
and stopped in amazement. She turned back to Roger. “You are not going to
believe this. It’s not a room, it’s a huge suite. Look at that canopied bed. It
has to be bigger than a king-size bed, plus the room has upholstered chairs, a
chest of drawers, nightstands, and a desk. Wow! And look at this,” she said
walking through a door. “This must be kind of like a sitting room with a porch
outside. The view is absolutely gorgeous. Plus, since we’re at the end of the
building, they’ve wrapped the porch around it, and it extends along the side of
the building. I may stay here the whole time you’re out hunting.”

In keeping
with the hunting lodge theme, their guest suite had been decorated in tan and
grey colors with bright red and green accents. Plaid pillows on the bed
complemented the plaid chairs. A green canopy was above the bed. A dark green
spread covered the bed and prints of different birds were on the walls which
had been painted a soft green with an oak molding surrounding the doors. It was
very inviting.

“Yes, you
could stay in the room all the time, but I think Sam might be disappointed.
Looks like you’ve already found a friend. I don’t remember seeing these rooms
in the brochure. There were lots of pictures of quail and ducks, but not rooms.
That tells me they’re probably trying to appeal to hunters who care more about
what they can shoot than where they’ll be sleeping at night.”

“You’re
probably right,” Liz said. “Come to think of it, I don’t know any women who
hunt. I did see one woman in that group around the fireplace, but I have no
idea if she’ll be hunting, or if like me, she’s just accompanying her husband.
To change the subject, I need to wash my hands. I’ve been in too many public
places today, and the last thing I need to get when I’m on vacation is a cold.
Back in a couple of minutes.”

Roger was
opening his suitcase to retrieve his toiletry kit when he heard Liz exclaim,
“Roger, come here. This is just amazing.”

He hurried
into the bathroom to see what was so amazing. Liz was pointing at a large
copper claw foot bathtub positioned in front of a bay window. “Have you ever?”
she asked. “I’ve always wanted to take a bath in a tub like that, and it looks
like I’ll get my chance now. Plus, I should be able to have a great view of the
grounds at the same time. This is sheer decadence, and look at that shower.
It’s got more jets at more angles than I’ve ever seen. Slim wasn’t kidding when
he said the owner spared no expense when he built the lodge.”

“Okay, Liz,
now that we’ve seen our room, or suite, let’s go downstairs. After our long
day, I’d love a glass of wine, ready?”

“After you.”

When they got to the bottom of the
stairs and walked into the great room where the other guests had congregated, a
man detached himself from the group and walked over to them. He was holding a
bottle of red liquid in his hand and a glass.

“Milt, I didn’t see you
earlier. I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Liz,” Roger said. “Liz, this is
my friend from law school, Milt Huston.” They shook hands. “Milt, I’m sure I’m
not the first one to ask, but what in the world are you drinking that’s in the
bottle?”

“It’s something I picked
up from the USC basketball team. They’ve gotten great results from drinking
beet juice, so I usually have one at the cocktail hour and another one when I
go to bed. I mix it with ground almonds to make it even healthier. I have to
say it’s really improved my energy level, and when I run for governor that’s
going to be a big plus. Want to try some?” he asked.

“I would,” Liz said. “I’ve
never had beet juice before.”

Milt walked over to the
bar and got a glass. He poured a little bit of the beet juice in it and handed
it to Liz. She took a sip, grimaced, and said, “I think this must be an
acquired taste, but thank you anyway.”

“Speaking of elections and
politics, how was Dallas? Were you successful in raising some money for your
campaign?” Roger asked.

“Very. It was far more
successful than I’d even hoped. With my recent stand on water issues in
California and knowing how important water is here in Texas, I thought going to
Dallas might be an exercise in futility.”

“That’s great. So you’re
definitely all in for the governor’s race?”

“Absolutely. As I told you
at lunch the other day, I’m committed to it, but in all honesty, if I found out
I didn’t have the necessary financial support, and I wouldn’t be able to run a
very effective campaign, I probably wouldn’t run. However, having said that, I
think I’ll be fine.” He turned to Liz and said, “I understand you don’t hunt.
What do you plan to do during the day while we’re out hunting?”

“Nothing more important
than reading a book and taking walks,” Liz said. Just then she felt something
next to her thigh and looked down. Sam sat down next to her leg and looked up
at her. She heard Jack’s voice calling to the dog, “Sam, come. I’m sorry, Liz,
he never does this with guests.”

“Jack, I’m fine with
having him here. I already miss my dogs, so please, I’d enjoy it if he could
sit next to me.”

“Well, all right, but you
let me know if you change your mind. Now why don’t you two come over here and
get something to eat and drink. Everyone is way ahead of you and dinner will be
served in about half an hour.”

Liz walked over to a long
table which had several trays labeled “Charcuterie” and then individual small
signs in front of them. There was a duck sampler, duck prosciutto with ham, and
smoked duck biscuits. She turned to Roger who was pouring them a glass of wine
and said, “I’ve never had any of these things. How interesting.” She took a
bite of the smoked duck biscuit and said, “This is fantastic. My instincts were
right about the food we’re going to have during our stay here at the Big T
Lodge!”

“Well, sweetheart, your
instincts may have been right about the food, but I think mine were right about
the wine. Any place that serves Rombauer chardonnay is going to be just fine
with me.” He held his glass up and said, “To a great vacation.” She lightly
touched his glass with hers and said, “We made it here, and everything is going
to be wonderful.”

They spent the next half
hour chatting with the other guests. There was the usual: “Where are you from?”
“What do you do?” “Have you ever been here before?” It was the type of
conversation people have who are going to be spending the next few days
together in a special setting.

Their first dinner at the
lodge was spectacular, in Liz’s view. A few people were beginning to go to
their rooms when Roger said, “Liz, I think we need to get some sleep.
Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day for me, and I want to be ready for it.
They’re taking us out to the duck blinds before dawn. I’ll come back around
9:30 or so, and we can have breakfast together then.” With that they excused
themselves and made their way up to their room, looking forward to a quiet
night’s sleep in the middle of nowhere.

The digital alarm clock on the nightstand next to
their bed buzzed at six a.m. Liz rolled over in bed and said, “Roger, there
must be something about sleeping in a big beautiful lodge out in the middle of
nowhere. Honestly, that’s one of the best night’s sleep I've ever had. I really
don’t mind waking up early after I’ve slept so well.”

“You’re not the only one.
I never woke up once. I better get a move on, because I need to put on my gear
for duck hunting, and since I’ve never done it before, I don’t want to look
like a newbie. All of the hunters are supposed to assemble down in the great
room at six-thirty, so I’ve got just enough time to get suited up.”

“I think I’ll spend the
day reading, taking a walk, and just relaxing,” Liz said. “Don’t need a lot of
make-up and special clothes for that. I’ll get dressed and walk you downstairs
for your first morning hunt, plus I could use some coffee.”

A half hour later they
walked down the large curving staircase only to be met by Sam who seemed to
have been waiting for Liz. The big dog stood up as soon as she got to the
bottom of the stairs and wagged his tail in greeting. “Good morning, Sam,” she
said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you might have been waiting for me.”

Jack Mercer saw them and
walked over. “Have you seen Milt this morning?” he asked. “I’m guessing he
overslept. I better go up to his room and wake him up, although usually he’s
the first one down here in the morning. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

Jack returned shortly
looking grim.  “Roger,” he said, “would you please come with me?” He turned and
walked back up the stairs. Roger shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Liz
with a “what’s this all about?” look on his face and followed Jack up the
stairs.

“I didn’t want the rest of
the guests to hear this,” Jack said as they made their way up the stairs, “but
I know Milt’s a friend of yours. Unfortunately, he’s dead.” He opened the door
to Milt’s room, while Roger stared in shock at his friend who was lying on the
bed. A red drink similar to the one Roger had seen Milt drinking the evening
before was on the nightstand next to his bed. Roger walked over to the bed and
took Milt’s hand in his own. There was no pulse, and it was very apparent that
Jack was right. His friend, the Attorney General of California, and a candidate
for governor of that state, was dead. There were no signs of foul play. It
appeared Milt had died of natural causes, even though he was only fifty-three
years old.

Immediately Roger thought
of the recent death of Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court Justice.
Good
grief, this is just like what happened to him. He died in his sleep in at a
Texas hunting lodge.

“I assume you’re going to
cancel this morning’s duck hunt because of this,” Roger said.

Jack looked at him in
astonishment, and said, “Are you kidding? Even though the guests are very
wealthy, for many of them a trip like this justifies why they work so hard. No,
I won’t be telling anyone about it. I’ve decided to say that something came up,
and Milt had to leave unexpectedly, which in a way, is true. The hunts
scheduled for the next three days will continue as planned. I know Milt was
recently married, but I never met his wife. Do you know her?”

Roger was having a hard
time absorbing the fact that his host was planning on going about business as
usual. He couldn’t believe that although his friend had died, his host intended
to tell people he’d had to leave unexpectedly. “No, I don’t know her,” Roger
said. “She needs to be notified. Although I’m a lawyer, I have no idea what the
law is here in Texas regarding someone dying under circumstances like this.”

“I'd appreciate it if
you’d call his wife,” Jack said. “I really need to get back to the other
guests. It’s almost time for everyone to go out to the duck blinds. That
includes you. Since your wife’s staying here, maybe she could call Milt’s widow
and be here when the mortuary comes to pick up the body. I’ll call them now,
and they should be here in an hour or so. Matter of fact, I’ll talk to your
wife and see if she’ll take care of the situation.” He hurried out of the
bedroom and down the stairs.

Although Roger and Milt
had never been close friends, and their relationship was more like
acquaintances who shared lunch every couple of years, Roger felt very
uncomfortable about the way Jack was handling the shocking and sad situation
surrounding Milt’s death. He wondered if there would be an autopsy, and he
certainly didn’t feel it was Liz’s responsibility to be the one to call Milt’s
wife and deal with the mortuary, because the owner felt the duck hunt was more
important than the loss of a man’s life. He walked down the stairs, determined
to tell Jack it was his responsibility to call Milt’s widow, not Liz’s.

When he reached the bottom
of the stairs he saw Liz and Jack having an intense conversation off to one
side of the great room and away from where the other hunters had gathered as
they prepared for the morning duck hunt. When Roger walked over to them, Liz
looked at him and said, “Go. I'll take care of this. There’s no reason for this
to ruin your trip. I wasn’t planning on doing anything special today anyway.”

Within minutes Jack told
the guests the ATVs were in the driveway waiting to take them to the duck
blinds. He told them the dogs had already been taken to the blinds and if they
hadn’t brought their own guns, there were guns and ammunition in the ATVs. The
guests hurried out to begin the hunt.

Clearly torn between
participating in the duck hunt or staying with Liz, Roger turned to her and
said, “I’m so sorry to involve you in this. I really don’t feel good about it,
but I honestly don’t know what else to do. From what Jack told me upstairs, there’s
no justice of the peace in this county, and in cases like this, the body is
taken directly to a mortuary and then according to Texas law, a county judge
can sign the death certificate and release the body to the next of kin. It sure
sounds different from the way we do things in California, but I guess this is
how it’s done in Texas when the death occurs in a rural county with a low
population.”

“Roger, we both know this
isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with something like this, so try to have
a good time. I know that’s almost impossible under these circumstances, but
there’s really nothing to be accomplished by you staying here. I’ll take care
of it, although I’m certainly not looking forward to making the call to his
wife, or I guess I should say widow. I have to tell you the owner of this lodge
is pretty far down on my list of what constitutes a decent and caring human
being. Do you have Milt’s home number?”

“Yes, I have it as well as
his wife’s name on my cell phone upstairs. I left it on my desk. You’ll find it
there and again, I’m so sorry you have to be the one to handle this.”

“Don’t worry about me.
I’ll do whatever’s necessary, and I’ll see you when you get back for breakfast.
Jack said it would be about 9:30 or so. Good luck duck hunting.”