A Real Pickle (3 page)

“I’m afraid that I have some bad news,” Sheriff Croft said when he walked into the diner a little later.

“Thanks, but we already heard,” I said.

He looked shocked by my admission.  “How is that possible?  I know that Jasper Fork is a small town, but somebody’s going to jail for this.”

“Take it easy,” I said.  “Jeffrey came by earlier to let us know that Curtis didn’t make it.  There’s no reason to lock him up for it.”

“Is that
all
that you know?” he asked me.

“What else could there be?”  What was the sheriff talking about?

“It was murder, Victoria,” he said softly.

“Murder?” I asked, no doubt much louder than he would have wanted.  I couldn’t help myself.  Someone had killed a friend of mine in my diner!  “Was it poison?” I asked softly.  That was every restaurateur’s nightmare, and I was no exception.  We could lose our business if someone had slipped something into Curtis’s meal.

“No, he was stabbed in the chest with a thin metal rod, and it went straight into his heart.  The poor man didn’t stand a chance.  Whoever did it left the weapon in, so there wasn’t very much blood at all, and with the red shirt he was wearing, it was easy to miss.  The EMTs found it on the way to the hospital, but I ordered them to keep a lid on what they found until I had time to investigate.  That’s why I was threatening to lock somebody up for telling
you
about it.”

“Jeffrey just assumed that it was cancer that killed his boss,” I said.  “Sheriff Croft, why would someone murder a man so close to death anyway?”

“That’s what I aim to find out,” he said.  “It’s probably crazy for me to even ask you this, but you’re not going to stay out of this case, are you?”

I shook my head.  “You know that I can’t.  He was my friend, and someone killed him in The Charming Moose.  What choice do I have?”

“You could be patient and let me do my job,” he said a little impatiently.

“Be reasonable.  Moose and I might be able to go places you can’t,” I said.  “You should trust me enough by now to know that if we find something significant, we’ll come to you with it.”

“I do, and I appreciate it, but this killer is something I haven’t seen before.  Killing Curtis Trane in front of a room full of people sounds sociopathic to me.”  He shook his head as he added, “I don’t know anybody who could get into the head of a killer like that.”

“I’m not afraid,” I said, though that wasn’t strictly true.

The sheriff looked at me skeptically.  “If you’re not lying, then I’m even more concerned about you.  Victoria, you should be terrified.”

“Well, maybe a little,” I said.  “Are you afraid?”

“Let’s just put it this way.  I’m glad that I’m armed all of the time.  I can’t tell you how strongly I recommend that you sit this one out.  Leave the investigation to people who have been trained and are paid to take the risks.”

Greg popped out of the kitchen, noticed me talking to the sheriff, and raised his eyebrows.  I blinked slowly, and he stepped back into the kitchen.  We were so in synch that we could communicate volumes with glances, and I knew that I’d be lost without him.  There was no doubt in my mind that he would be devastated as well if something happened to me.  Did I have the right to risk my life?  When I’d taken my vows with Greg, I’d made a promise to him forever after.  Was I breaking it now?

“Victoria, what are you going to do?” the sheriff asked me.

“I can’t make any promises one way or the other,” I said.  I couldn’t, either, at least not to him.

“I figured as much,” he said.  “Just be careful, okay?  And tell that crazy old grandfather of yours the same thing.”

“That I can do,” I said.  “Thanks for letting me know.”

“It will be out soon enough.  I’m not naïve enough to think that I can delay the news much longer.  Folks are going to react to this; you know that, don’t you?  Some will come by to see where it happened, but you won’t be able to get others within ten miles of this place.  You should expect rumors of poison to start surfacing, too.  After all,
we
know that he was stabbed, but most folks won’t let the facts keep them from telling a good story, and being poisoned to death in a diner is going to be too good to pass up, no matter what the truth might be.”

“We’ll deal with that when we come to it,” I said.  “Just catch whoever did this.”

“I’ll do my best,” he said.

Moose came in half an hour later.  “So, how are we going to tackle this?” he asked me with a grim expression on his face.

“Tackle what?”

“Haven’t you heard the news?  It’s already all over town.  Somebody stabbed Curtis Trane in our diner right under our noses.  We’re not going to let them get away with it, are we?”

“I’m not so sure we should dig into this one,” I said hesitantly.

“What?  Why not?”  He looked hard at me for a few seconds, and then my grandfather asked me, “Victoria, are you spooked by this case?”

“Aren’t you?” I asked him.  “The sheriff came by to tell me what happened, and he put some pretty dark thoughts into my head while he was here.”

“What did he say?  Did he scare you?” Moose asked.

“Let’s just say that he pointed a few things out to me that I should have seen myself.  Moose, the cases we’ve worked on in the past have been pretty tame compared to this.”

“Nonsense.  We’ve tracked down killers before,” Moose said.

“Yes, but they haven’t been psychopaths, either.”

“What makes you think this murderer is any different?”

“The killer acted boldly in a crowded diner,” I said.  “Doesn’t that strike you as someone who doesn’t care if they’re caught or not?”

“I think it was probably pretty savvy, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“When is the
only
time that you’ve ever seen Curtis without Jeffrey close behind him?” Moose asked me.  “I know for a fact that the only time it happened when I noticed was when Curtis was here having a meal.”

“Why would the killer strike in front of a dozen people instead of in plain sight of just one?  It doesn’t make sense.”

“Not if Jeffrey is everything that he appears to be, but what if he’s not?”

“What else could he be?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, but it’s something that I’d like to ask him.”

“I still don’t understand,” I said.

“That’s because my cynical old mind is working overtime on this.  I’ve got a hunch that Jeffrey is more than he’s shown us so far.”

“You honestly don’t think that he’s a bad guy, do you?”  The thought appalled me.  It went against the Jeffrey that I knew, but that didn’t mean that I might not be wrong.  I was a decent judge of character, but sometimes I ran into someone who could fool me just as much as he did everyone else.

“I’m not saying that.  All I’m saying is what if he was Curtis’s bodyguard as well as being his driver?”

“I suppose that it’s possible,” I said.

“If I’m right, which would you rather face?  A dozen uninterested strangers, or one very determined man trained to protect his charge?”

“You could be right,” I said.

Moose looked up, clearly surprised by what he saw.  “Well, speak of the devil and he appears.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Look,” he said as he pointed over my shoulder.

Jeffrey was headed toward the diner with a determined expression on his face.  It would give us the perfect opportunity to question him about his resume, but I wasn’t sure what purpose it would serve at this point.

After all, Curtis Trane was dead, and no new information we might get about his chauffeur would bring him back.

“Let’s see what he wants before we start grilling him,” I said to Moose as Jeffrey came in the door.

“I need to speak with you,” the chauffeur said as he approached us.

“This isn’t about the apartment, is it?” I asked, knowing in my heart that whatever Jeffrey wanted to discuss was a great deal more dire than his current housing situation.

“No, I’m staying right where I am, at least for now.  I already called Ms. Meadows and canceled our appointment.”

“That’s good news then, isn’t it?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter to me where I stay one way or the other, to be honest with you,” Jeffrey said.

“Can Moose hang around for this conversation, too?” I asked.  “I don’t have any secrets from my grandfather, or any of my family, for that matter.”

“As a matter of fact, I need him to stay.  He’s a part of this, too,” Jeffrey said as he waved an envelope in the air.  “Is there somewhere more private that we can talk?”

“Why not over there?” I asked as I pointed to a booth in the corner.  The diner had only a few customers at the moment, but that didn’t mean that I could just leave my post.

“It should do just fine,” he said.

As we walked to the booth, my grandfather asked casually, “Jeffrey, were you ever a cop, or maybe in the military, before you became a chauffeur?”

Jeffrey stopped and looked carefully at my grandfather before he spoke.  “What makes you ask me that?”

“I know it was one or the other,” Moose said with much more confidence in his guess than I would have ever been able to muster.

“Neither one, actually,” Jeffrey said with a slight grin.  “But I’ve been taking karate and other self-defense classes nearly all my life, so I know how to handle myself in just about any situation.”

“So then, you were more than just a chauffeur.”

Jeffrey shrugged.  “Let’s just say that Curtis was pleased with my particular skill-set.  Does that answer your question?”

“It does,” Moose said.  

“Now, what do you need from us?” I asked the chauffeur once we were all seated.

“It’s not for me,” Jeffrey said.  “I’ve got something for you both from Curtis.”

I was shocked by the news.  “Did he actually leave us something in his will?”  

“I’m afraid it’s nothing as straightforward as that,” Jeffrey said.  “To my surprise, it turns out that I’m his executor, so if you do inherit something from him, that will all come later.  This was in a bigger envelope marked URGENT, OPEN IN CASE OF MY DEATH, and I have to admit that I’ve been curious about it since it came into my hands.  I found the packet last week in my room, and I asked him about it.  All Curtis would tell me was that when the time was right, I’d know what to do with the letters inside, so that’s why I’m here.”

“Would you mind explaining what you mean by that?” I asked.

“There’s no need.  Curtis did that himself.  You both need to read this.  Take your time.  I’m not going anywhere.”

Chapter 3

Jeffrey opened the envelope and pulled out two single sheets of paper.  I thought it might be something long, but it was actually two copies of the same document.  Moose got one, and I got the other one.

To Moose and Victoria,

We haven’t known each other very long, but what is time when we weigh friendships?  We three have common spirits, a thirst for knowledge and a desire to see things made right.  I need you both to do something for me, and I beg you to take me up on my offer.

You see, if you’re reading this, I’ve been murdered.  What a surprising turn of events!  I expected cancer to rob me of my life, but it appears that someone has been a tad impatient waiting on the disease that has stolen so much from me already.

I know why I’ve been murdered, or at least I suspect I know.  You see, I’m in the process of changing my will, and it appears that one of my heirs didn’t like the changes I was about to implement.  You might think it simple for me to make the changes I sought, but I’m afraid that it’s much more complicated than that on the scale of my amassed wealth.

There are several people who would benefit from me dying early, I’m sad to say.  These include: my sister, Charlotte Trane; my niece, Sarah Harper; and my nephew, Tristan Wellborne.  Chris Crane, my business manager, must also be a candidate, as he’s been acting suspiciously around me lately. I can’t prove anything, though, so I’m hesitant to act just yet.

I realize that it’s not much to go on, but it’s all that I’ve got for you.

I hate funerals.  I always have, and the prospect of having something morbid held for my sake repels me beyond explanation, but I’m afraid that it’s the only avenue I have to offer you both further assistance.  I’m sure that Jeffrey will be shocked to learn of my plans for a memorial service, but once he reads this, I hope that he understands the necessity of it.

Victoria and Moose, I know of your past successes in solving murder, and I need you to solve mine.  It is a dying request, one that I hope you won’t refuse.  

You are cordially invited to my home for the next three days and two nights in Laurel Landing to bring my killer to justice.  Rooms have been set aside for you, and I ask that you leave immediately and return to my home with Jeffrey.  He’ll stop long enough for each of you to pack a bag, but then I ask that you stay until you find my killer, or until the final service is held, whichever comes first.  

I understand this will put your diner under some hardship, so I’ve instructed my bank to transfer more than sufficient funds into your account to make up for any potential income you’re about to lose.

Of course you can choose to ignore my last request, keep the money or give it back, but I have high hopes that you’ll respect my last wishes.

I wish you good luck, and happy hunting!

Your friend,

Curtis  

I read it twice before I spoke.  Moose was patiently waiting for me to finish it again.  Jeffrey just sat there, not giving anything away.

“Is this on the level?” I asked.

“I’ve received my instructions,” he said.  “You should also know that I’m staying on at the house now at least until after the services, so I’ll be in my little apartment over the garage.  
Your
accommodations will be a bit nicer.”  He said the last part with the ghost of a smile, and I wondered if it was some kind of private joke that he’d shared with his late employer and friend.  “So, what do you think?  I know that it’s asking a lot of you, but I hope you’ll do it.  Curtis was quite impressed when he learned that you had both solved murder cases before.”