Bodies and Blueberries Read online

  “I’m not paying that rent hike you delivered this morning,” Greg called out as Fink slinked down the stairs. “Not until I talk to Mr. Wells about it.”

  “Larry Fink has Mr. Wells hidden somewhere; I’m sure of it now. He’s trying to make all the money he can with those fake tax bills and rent hikes and then I think he is going to disappear for good,” Tabby surmised. “I just wish I could figure out the drive-in angle.”

  “I think you’re right. I stopped at the deed office this morning. It seems Marsha Swanson died one month after her husband did and her brother was supposed to inherit the drive-in. Guess who was named the beneficiary in the will instead?”

  “It had to be Larry Fink,” Tabby stated. “Why would Marsha change her mind and leave the property to Fink?”

  “Good question,” Greg said.

  “What are you doing here? Isn’t your shop open?” Tabby asked.

  “I was on my lunch hour and decided to come see how things were going.”

  “I’m glad you did. Fink was getting a little too close for my liking,” Tabby shivered.

  Greg put his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

  “Miss Moon…uh, oh, sorry for the interruption,” the alarm agent said, looking down at his clipboard. “Mr. Stone, I’ll come back later.”

  “It’s okay. What do you need?”

  “I need her signature on the work order so we can start installing the system; it is in the paperwork she was looking over. It should take about two hours to complete.”

  “Are you going to feel safe with the system they are putting in?” Greg inquired, turning to Tabby.

  “Yes, it’s a good system. Where do you need me to sign?”

  He took the clipboard and indicated the places that required her signature.

  “We’ll get to work. I’ll collect the deposit when the system is up and running and I have shown you how to use it,” he confirmed, taking the clipboard back.

  Greg hung around for a little while longer. Tabby told him about the cable company cutting her loose so that she would be free to work on her shop.

  While they were working on the alarm system, Tabby descended the stairs and began boxing up some of the baseball inventory that Mr. Pierce left behind. She had stopped at Mac’s Market on the way home from the cable company and picked up some empty boxes. Greg told her to pile the filled boxes at the top of the stairs and he would carry them down into the cellar after his shop closed. He invited her to dinner and as she agreed, gave her a quick kiss and headed back to his shop.

  Since Tabby didn’t want Ghost and Marmalade to get out while the windows and doors were open, she hustled them into the bedroom. She walked down the connecting stairs to begin transforming the baseball shop into the Jellies, Jams, and Weddings shop.

  Tabby stood alone in the middle of the shop and realized that it was hers. Tears filled her eyes as her dreams were finally coming true. All that time scrimping and saving had at last paid off. Tabby was standing in what was now her own shop on Main Street. She was sorry Mr. Pierce had to die for her to be open for the busy summer season, but if she worked hard and kept at it, she just might have her grand opening the beginning of June.

  Mr. Pierce had filled the shelves to bursting; it was going to take several days to box things up and move everything downstairs. With him gone, Tabby would use the already installed shelving units and new counter. When she found out who everything would go to in his family, she would offer to pay for the fixtures to keep them in her shop.

  Suddenly, Tabby remembered the telescope and the listening devices. She ran for the back room where she had last seen them. The telescope was still there but the black recording box and headphones were missing.

  Fink must have taken them. Who else would know what they were being used for?

  Tabby returned to boxing up the baseball items. She was deep in thought as to what could have been on the recording devices when a knock on the front door made her jump. Sheriff Puckett was peering in through the glass so Tabby waved him inside.

  “You have a big job ahead of you,” he said, looking around. “What are you going to do with all this baseball stuff?”

  “Larry Fink, of all people, suggested I put it in the cellar,” Tabby answered. “The problem is, I don’t know what to do with the stuff afterwards. I have looked online and can’t find any information on Mr. Pierce or his family. The lease signed by him is still in Fink’s possession so I can’t see who he listed as his emergency contacts.”

  “I came to tell you that I pulled Fink in for questioning. He claims that Richard had a change of mind when he found out that pulling his business out of Fink’s office would bankrupt him.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” Tabby groused. “I’m not signing any lease or paying Fink a cent until Mr. Wells is found and I clear everything with him.”

  “I doubt it, too. But, without Richard being here, I can’t do anything. My hands are tied.”

  “Did you ask him about the fake tax bills he’s been handing out to everyone who rents in town?” Tabby inquired.

  “He claims that they are legitimate increases as Richard hadn’t adjusted anyone’s rents in years. Again, I can’t prove or disprove what he says. I have filed a subpoena to get Richard’s files and leases on the grounds of fraud and embezzlement. I’m waiting to hear back from the judge in Larsen.”

  Tabby told the sheriff what Greg had discovered at the deed office. Fink had inherited the drive-in property and quickly divided it and sold the bigger piece off to the developing company.

  “How the heck did Fink end up in the Swanson’s will?”

  “That’s what we were trying to figure out. Maybe that’s what Mr. Wells knew and that’s why they had to make him disappear,” Tabby suggested. “Speaking of disappearing, I also noticed that the recording device that Mr. Pierce had in the backroom is gone, too.”

  “I’m going to check into some things and I’ll get back to you. I am relieved that you are installing alarms in the entire building; it makes me feel better. I worry about you,” the fatherly sheriff replied. “Greg can’t be here all the time looking after you. Just want to say; you two make a nice looking couple.”

  Tabby blushed and didn’t say a word.

  “I’ll be in touch,” the sheriff confirmed, leaving Tabby to her work.

  Finally, the alarm system was installed and Tabby was instructed how to use it. There were two separate systems; one for upstairs and one for downstairs, just like at Jenny’s place. She set the alarm and then disarmed each level several times to make sure she was comfortable with what she was doing. As agreed, Tabby paid the deposit for all the equipment and the first month up front.

  The afternoon passed quickly as Tabby filled nineteen boxes with baseball merchandise. She decided to take the lighter boxes down to the cellar by herself. Before she knew it, she had moved all the boxes downstairs; and stacked them neatly in the far corner.

  The patches on the wall caught her attention again. She walked around, banging on each spot. They sounded solid and didn’t give way when she thumped on them. While checking out the walls, Tabby noticed the wood paneling under the stairs looked slightly different from the rest of the paneling in the cellar. She tapped on the discolored partition. This time, she heard a hollow echo coming from behind where she tapped.

  This paneling has been replaced. Let’s see why.

  She went upstairs to get her hammer and flashlight. Tabby pried the top left corner of the paneling away from the wall. As she turned on her flashlight she peered into the dark space; Tabby took a breath and realized the stench coming from the hole was revolting. She accidentally dropped the flashlight and left the hammer wedged between the wall and the paneling. Tabby couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough to pull out her cell phone and dial the sheriff’s number.

  Stan Puckett arrived in under two minutes, along with Deputy Small. The coroner’s wagon pulled up minutes later.

  “Tabby, are you okay?” the she
riff asked.

  “I’m fine; just a bit shocked. I wasn’t expecting to find another dead body,” Tabby replied, still clutching her cell phone.

  “Where is it?” the deputy questioned.

  “It’s down in the cellar under the stairs, behind the paneling. I think the hammer is still wedged in the wall,” Tabby replied as she shakily sat down on a box. “I’ll stay up here if you don’t mind. The smell is awful.”

  The two men descended the stairs and then she heard the paneling being ripped away from the wall. The coroner came in and she directed him towards the cellar. As a crowd was gathering outside, Tabby’s mom and Greg arrived at the shop at the same time.

  “Oh, Tabby, thank God you are all right,” her mom exclaimed, seeing her daughter seated on the box.

  Greg reacted more emotionally. He grabbed her hands, picked her up, and hugged her until she couldn’t breathe.

  “I saw the coroner’s wagon. All I could think of was Fink had gotten to you,” Greg lamented, his face riddled with fear.

  “I’m fine. But I will need the wagon if you don’t loosen your grip on me so I can breathe,” Tabby interrupted as she tried to inject some humor into the moment.

  “What in heaven’s name is going on?” her mom demanded to know.

  “I found a dead body down in the cellar,” her daughter answered.

  “I don’t know if I want you to stay in this shop, or even this building,” Samantha said, shaking her head. “It’s bad karma.”

  “Another body?” Greg repeated.

  “Yes, a woman’s body. I didn’t recognize her. But, then again, I didn’t stick around long enough to get a really good look.”

  Sheriff Puckett slowly climbed the stairs and walked to where Tabby was sitting.

  “I don’t know who she is. The coroner says she’s been in there about three months. He’s going to remove the body and then run her dental records and fingerprints.”

  “Well that rules out Mr. Pierce as a suspect. He had only been in the building a little over a month. Everything points right back to Fink again. He’s the only one, besides Mr. Wells, who had a key to this place,” Tabby reasoned.

  The coroner and his assistant walked by with the gurney and a body bag. They transported the bag down to the cellar and left the gurney at the top of the stairs. Several minutes later they returned, placing the now full body bag on the gurney and wheeling it out of the shop. The horrific smell from the cellar was slowly making its way upstairs. Tabby held her nose at the repugnant stench.

  “The smell will dissipate now that the body has been removed. There is nothing else in the hole behind the wall to help us figure out who she was. I think she was killed somewhere else and dumped there. No purse, no jewelry, no nothing,” the sheriff stated. “The place was empty except for the body.”

  “Can I close the hole back up again?” Tabby requested.

  “The deputies can close it up for you once the investigation is complete. The smell in the hole will eventually be absorbed into the dirt. Once it’s sealed up, the stink in the cellar should be gone in a week or so. It might benefit you to open the small windows in the foundation to help air it out.”

  Greg and Tabby looked over and Gladys Twittle had her face pressed against the front window. Her facial features were so distorted from being pressed flat against the glass that they both burst out laughing. She had no idea that they were laughing at her and continued her quest for the next batch of gossip she would share tomorrow morning at The Tilted Coffee Cup.

  Tabby’s mom absolutely refused to go near the cellar door. She didn’t want her aura penetrated by any evil residue that was left down there; her hippie way of thinking coming through again. Samantha kissed her daughter and left to reopen her own shop.

  Greg walked over to Tabby. He stared at her without saying anything.

  “What? What did I do?” Tabby asked, confused.

  “You have no idea how scared I was when I saw the coroner’s wagon come rushing by my shop and stop here. I don’t even remember telling Sally I was leaving. I ran out the front door and didn’t stop running until I came through that door and saw you sitting there, safe.”

  “I should have called you and told you I was okay. I’m sorry I didn’t. I wasn’t thinking too straight when I looked in the hole and a face was looking back at me.”

  Greg reached out and took both her hands in his.

  “I know it hasn’t even been a month since we have known each other, but I love you, Tabitha Flower Moon. I’m just like my Dad. We Stones fall hard and fast. I can wait for you to see we belong together, no matter how long it takes. You don’t have to say anything now. I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

  She reached up and stroked his face. His eyes told her he was telling the truth.

  They kissed. The world around them had faded away until it was just the two of them together; and Gladys Twittle, watching them through the window.

  Chapter 11

  * * *

  The next couple of weeks passed by quickly. Every morning when Tabby woke up, her first thoughts were of Mr. Wells. Before she climbed out of bed, she would say a little prayer for his safe return.

  The mornings were spent making batches of jelly and the afternoons, setting up her shop. She had passed out all her small thank you jars and the locals were counting the days until her shop opened. Orders from the Main Street businesses were pouring in and she wasn’t even open yet. She was going to have to hire someone to work the shop full time so she could make jelly every morning to keep up with the demand. She put a “Help Wanted” sign in the front window.

  Tabby put paper up in the front windows so no one could look in as she was setting up. She wanted the grand opening to be a surprise for everyone.

  Every night, Greg and Tabby ate supper together; sometimes at the diner and sometimes at her apartment. He never let her pay when they went out to eat. Being with Greg was so different from her time with Finn; Greg treated her like royalty. She wondered when the other shoe would drop and the special treatment would end.

  Tabby had free time during the day because of her store not being open yet. She would bring Greg lunch and they would eat next to the frog fountain. He loved the fountain more than she ever could have. She finally learned the frogs’ names. The top level was Bernard and Frederick. The frogs on the second level were William and Stanley. The level right above the lily pond had Roberto and Ulrich playing in the water. The lone frog sitting on a lily pad in the pond was Horatio.

  It was amazing how many people would come to the flower shop to eat lunch next to the frog fountain. Some days, there was nowhere for Tabby and Greg to sit. They would walk across the street and sit under the gazebo on the town green to eat. They had become a well-known couple around town.

  They were inseparable. Even Jenny told Tabby she had never seen her happier than when she was with Greg. Samantha Moon adored Greg; she couldn’t have been more thrilled that her daughter and the flower shop owner were a couple.

  It was the last meeting before Summer Kick-Off Weekend. The committee agreed to have the last meeting at the diner. They had added another fourteen volunteers since the first meeting and had outgrown the room at the library. Greg had been bamboozled by Tabby’s mom into joining the committee. He pretended to be angry, but was secretly enjoying the time spent with the locals getting to know everyone.

  Jenny sat on one side of Tabby and Greg on the other. Sitting on the other side of Jenny was her new boyfriend, Alex Keyes. They had been spending a lot of time together at the bookstore. Tabby really liked him and was happy that Jenny had found someone after her long-distance break-up with Damian.

  “Welcome to the last meeting before Summer Kick-Off next weekend,” Tom Montgomery, the owner of the diner announced. “Has anyone had any problems completing what they needed to get done?”

  A chorus of “no’s” filled the air.

  “Good. We will all meet on the green at seven o’clock Saturday morning. Stan and
some of the other guys are setting up the booths and fences on Friday night. Tabby and Jenny, you have three areas to set up. Let us know if you need any extra help. The weatherman says it is going to be a beautiful weekend; no rain in sight,” Tom happily proclaimed.

  “Mr. Montgomery, do you have the children’s compositions so Jenny and I can start reading them over the coming week?” Tabby inquired.

  “They are right here,” Tom replied, reaching into his briefcase and handing a pile of papers to Tabby.

  “Wow! There’s a lot of entries this year,” Jenny exclaimed. “Good thing we have a whole week to read them and some extra help,” she said, squeezing Alex’s hand.

  “Here are the ribbons that need to be hung near the winning compositions. Blue for first, white for second, and red for third. There are three different age groups that are listed on a piece of paper in the ribbon bag. This second bag of ribbons is for the other contests; quilts, pies, and canning.”

  The meals were served and Samantha said grace over the table. She asked that Mr. Wells be kept safe wherever he was, and that he be returned to the people that loved him. As everyone said amen, talk at the table turned to Mr. Wells and the fact that the sheriff still had no leads on his disappearance.

  Conversations turned to laughter and teasing as everyone enjoyed their dinners. Two hours later the meeting ended and it was another successful year on the books. Wes Garcia and Tommy Wilbur, owners of The Tilted Coffee Cup, volunteered to be co-presidents for next year.

  Jenny and Alex were going to Baily’s Bar and Grill for a couple of drinks and invited Tabby and Greg to join them. Greg said he had to decline their invitation as he had an early truck delivery arriving at five in the morning. Unlike the other three who lived in town, he had to drive to Larsen and then back first thing in the morning.

  He walked Tabby home and made sure she was safely tucked inside her apartment. He kissed her until she felt her heart would bust out of her chest and then mentioned that he would see her for lunch the next day. She set the upstairs alarm and sat down to drink a wine cooler. Sitting in the dark, she could see Fink moving around in his upstairs apartment. He was on his cell phone talking to someone. The lights went out and Tabby couldn’t see him anymore.