Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 02 - Apple Pots and Funeral Plots (13 page)

Chapter 14

The first thing I did was call my computer expert, Justin.

He answered on the first ring.
“Hello, Teach.”

“You’re the fastest phone-answering person I’ve ever met.”

“That’s because I have an earpiece for my phone.
After one ring, it picks up.”

“You and your technology.”

“It’s the only way to go.”

“Speaking of technology, is there any way to know whether someone has turned on your computer and looked at your files?”

“Yeah, but it’s pretty complicated.
You have to go into a master log to see what’s been going on.
Why?”

“I don’t know.
I thought I put my computer away but it was out on the table when I got back to the inn.”

“Maybe you just forgot.”

“It was also warm, like it had just been on.”

“Then probably someone turned it on and looked at it.”

“It was on the table.
Maybe the sun warmed it up.”

“Is the top or bottom warm?”

I picked up the computer and felt it.
“On the bottom.”

“Then somebody has looked at it.
If the sun beat in on the computer, it would be hot on the top.
When it’s being used, it heats up on the bottom.
Are you close to solving your case?”

“No, I don’t have any idea who killed Danielle or why.”

“Someone must think you know something.
I know you don’t like to hear this, but you’d better be careful, Teach.”

“I know.
Have you found out anything new for me?”

“As a matter of fact, I was going to call you in a few minutes.”

“What have you learned?”

“First off, there is no way that Sodium Pentothal would accidentally get into a body when it’s embalmed.”

“Then it was administered to find out something that she knew.”

“Or something that someone just thought she knew.”

“That’s true.
How easy would it be to get?”

“Anyone who could write a prescription could get it, and it’s also easy to get in
Mexico
, like any other drug.”

“Well, the apple pots came from
Mexico
.
Maybe someone ordered it and it came in with them.”

“I guess it’s possible, but I’d think you’d have to go and get it in
Mexico
rather than just ordering it.
Most of the boxes that are shipped from
Mexico
would be checked for drugs.
I’d think they’d find a bottle of Sodium Pentothal stuck in between a few pots.” Justin replied.

“I suppose you’re right,” I shrugged.
“Anything else?”

“Yes.
I found a small announcement in a
Seattle
newspaper thanking Danielle Slammers.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know.
I couldn’t figure it out.
It just thanked her for helping them find closure.”

“Closure to what?”

“I have no idea, but I’ll keep researching.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out already.”

“Me too.
But it’s weird because the announcement only had the first names of the people thanking her, so it’s made it difficult to find out what it’s all about.
But trust me – I’ll figure it out.”

“I know you will.
I have complete faith in your computer abilities.”

“That’s right, I’m the Super Cyber Sidekick, remember?”

“I’d never forget that.
Anything else?”

“Not really.
Danielle was a pretty private person.
I’ve also been trying to get a lead on her sister, but that hasn’t proven easy either.”

“What do you know?”

“Her older sister’s name is Jamie.
Up until the time of Danielle’s death, she was a high school counselor in the same district.”

“What happened to her after Danielle was killed?”

“That’s just it, I can’t find her anywhere.
It’s like she just disappeared.
The best I can figure is that she took a leave of absence when Danielle was killed.”

“Maybe she went home to
Minnesota
.”

“Nope.
I called the aunt’s house and asked for Jamie.
I told them I was from her school district.
The aunt told me she hadn’t spoken to Jamie for the last five months and that puts her disappearance a month after Danielle’s death.”

“That’s strange.
Maybe she just wanted to get away after her sister died.”

“It’s possible,” Justin said.

“I know I’d want some time off if my sister, Jordan, was killed.”

“Since she’s an assistant District Attorney in
New York
, that’s always a possibility, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, she gets a lot of threats, but she’s such a strong person that she doesn’t let it bother her.”

“Well, that’s all the news I have at the moment.
I’ll call you again if I find out who put the thank you in the
Seattle
paper.”

“Thanks, Justin.
You’re the best.”

He laughed heartily, “Don’t I know it!”

I hung up the phone and glanced at my watch.
It was only
two o’clock
; another hour and Ted would be competing in the runoffs for the hotdog-eating contest.
I didn’t want to miss that.
But I had time to give Tom a call.

I dialed his number and it rang ten times before he answered it.

“What?”
He whispered, between gasps of air.

“Well, hello, Tom.
Why are you whispering?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, honey.
I’ve been chasing a new K-9 puppy around the back lot for the last thirty minutes.
He likes to play the ‘chase me game,’ but I don’t.”

“I never could understand why you and the other officers want to see the puppy before it gets trained.
Why don’t you just wait until they are trained and then get the dogs?”

“We like to see the dog’s personality before it goes through the training.
It gives us better insight into the animal.”

“I think you just like to be in control from start to finish.”

“Cops are just like teachers,” he laughed.
“We both like being in control.”

“That’s true.
Why a new puppy now?
Are you thinking about replacing Duke?”

“Yes.
He has really slowed down since his accident.”

Tom’s German shepherd was shot while they were investigating a break-in.
It took Duke several months to recover.
“The puppy will be
off
to training school next week, thank God!”

“How long before he’s ready to come back and be a police dog?”

“Several months.”

“Does that mean you’re going to get rid of Duke?”

“Oh, no.
Duke and I are a team.
David, one of the other officers,
will
take the new dog.
Duke and I will still patrol together, but we won’t be chasing any bad guys.”

“That’s good.”

“Hey, I talked to the coroner and he said there is no way that Sodium Pentothal could accidentally get into a body.”

I’d already heard that from Justin.
“Thanks, Tom.
I appreciate your looking into it for me.”

“No problem.
Any progress on your case?”

“Not really.”
I decided not to share the fact that someone had come into my room and read the files on my computer.
“I’ve asked a lot of questions but don’t seem to have many answers.”

“That’s the way it is sometimes.
You ask a million questions to get one answer that helps.”

“Well, as far as I know, I haven’t found that one answer yet.”

“Sometimes it helps to write down all the information.
I always keep a log when I’m doing an investigation.
It helps to keep the facts right in front of me.
Sometimes something jumps out at you.”

“Good idea.”
I thought about my new journal.
Sometimes great minds think alike.

Then Tom screamed.
“Chase!
Come back here!”

“What’s the matter?”

“The puppy’s gone under the back fence.
I’ve got to go.”
He
panted
.
I could tell he was running with the phone.

“Goodbye, Tom.”

“Bye!”

A police dog named Chase?
That wasn’t very inventive for a name.
I closed the phone, grabbed a Diet Coke and a few black licorices from the refrigerator.
I changed into a red long-sleeved
shirt
.
The nights in
Oregon
were cooler than at my house and I hated to be cold.
But my feet never get cold and since I spend so many days with my feet crammed into shoes for school, I always wear flip-flops during the summer time.
Then Shelby and I drove back to the fairgrounds.

A massive crowd stood
by the eating contest tables.
All of the usual men were there: no-necks, Latinos and Asian groups.
I spotted Ted and Kate and walked up to them.

I patted Ted on the shoulder.
“Are you ready?”

He shook his head and grinned.
“I am totally ready.”

I glanced at Kate.
“Is he?”

“Oh yeah.”
She turned her back and rolled her eyes so Ted couldn’t see her.
“He’s been marching around chanting ‘I can eat more hotdogs than you!’ for the last half an hour.”
She patted Ted on the back.
“I’d say he’s geared up and ready to munch!”

“Great!”
I replied.
“How much longer before the contest begins?”

“About five minutes,” Kate answered.

Just then Mayor Galan’s voice boomed over the loudspeakers.
“Contestants, are you ready to eat?”

Everyone screamed, “Yes!”

The contestants went to the right of the table where Mayor Galan stood.
He held out a bowl.
“These numbers will tell you when you’ll be participating in the contest.”

The contestants walked single file past the mayor and collected their numbers.
Ted ran over to us, his face beaming.
“I’ve got number ten.”

“And that’s good?”
I asked.

“Yeah.
It means I’m not in the first round.
I want to watch them and see how many hotdogs they eat.
It will help me know how fast I’ll need to go.”

“Wouldn’t a later number be better?”
I asked.

“No, by then you’re so nervous your stomach is all tied up in knots.
It’s hard to eat without throwing up then.”

I patted him on the shoulder again.
“Great!”

“Okay, I’ve got to go and get ready.”

Kate leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll be out front cheering for you.”

He blushed and then smiled.
“Thanks.”

Ted left us and went into the huge tent behind the eating contestant tables.
Kate and I stood with the rest of the crowd that had gathered to watch the contest.

The first five contestants came up to the platform and sat at the table.
A huge plate of hotdogs was placed in front of them.

Mayor Galan stood holding a large stopwatch.
“Contestants, don’t forget — you must eat the entire hotdog.
Do not leave any pieces of the bun or meat on the table.
Are you ready?”

All of the contestants nodded.
Then the mayor looked at the table in front of the contestant’s table, where five men sat.
Each had a legal pad in front of them.

“Judges, are you ready?”
The mayor asked.

The judges’ nodded their heads and the mayor looked back at the contestants.

He grinned and slowly spoke the three words to start the contest.
“Then … let’s … go!”

At that point, all five men started stuffing hotdogs into their mouths.
Kate was right; it was gross.
Pieces kept falling out and the men just stuffed them back in.
If the kids in my class ate like that, I’d be giving them a long speech about etiquette.
I guess manners don’t count during eating contests.