Dropping Like Pies (Apple Orchard Cozy Mystery Book 11) Page 9

My mind flashed back to a few minutes prior. Sheila had asked us to stay outside so she could clean her office. What if she was actually removing those frames from the wall?

  “Can we see them?” I asked. “As an interior designer, I have a fascination with office décor.”

  “Nope.” Sheila gave me a tight smile.

  Miss May reached out for one of the frames. “Come on. Just one.”

  Sheila held out her hand to block Miss May from grabbing a frame. “I said no, lady. These photos are not ready for display. I’m particular about this kind of thing. Come back in a couple weeks and I’ll show you anything you want. But I need to think about it first. Need to get it just right.”

  Miss May backed off. “OK. I understand. Chelsea is the same way.”

  I nodded, attempting to ease the tension. “She’s right. I need things to be perfectly arranged before I show them to anyone.”

  “Great. Well, I have to get back to practice.” Sheila jumped up and held the door open for us to leave. Then the four of us shared a polite goodbye and Sheila charged back into the gymnasium.

  18

  James and the Giant Date

  I spotted James as soon as we exited Lakeland High School. He was approaching from the parking lot and, thanks to his gargantuan height, he was hard to miss.

  Teeny spotted him too. “Look, Chelsea. Your big boyfriend is here.”

  “He’s not her boyfriend,” said Miss May. “Germany Turtle is. And we promised we would leave her alone with that kind of teasing.”

  Confession: I hadn’t told Teeny and Miss May about what had happened with Germany the night prior.

  I wasn’t quite ready to admit that Germany and I were over. Besides, I didn’t want to relive that hard and painful conversation so soon after it happened. So I ignored Miss May’s comment and kept my tone even.

  “What could James be doing here?” I said. “He didn’t go to Lakeland. He went to PGHS.”

  Teeny shrugged. “I’m not sure. But he looks good. I love that leather jacket he’s wearing. And his pants fit perfect. It’s hard to find a man who knows how to purchase a pair of pants that fit. Has anyone else noticed that?”

  “Of course I’ve noticed.” Miss May shook her head. “Very few men have any idea how to dress themselves.”

  “Don’t you two think it’s weird that James is at Lakeland High School?” I said.

  “Definitely a little weird,” said Miss May. “Maybe he should move up our list of suspects.”

  “Worth considering,” said Teeny. “But shh! Here he comes.”

  James gave me a big, affable smile as he approached. “Chelsea! Hey. How’s it going?”

  “It’s going well,” I said. “So well. Swell, even. I’m swell.” Yeesh. Good thing I didn’t actually wanna date this guy.

  “What are you three doing here?” asked James.

  “We’re investigating Coach Thornton’s murder,” said Miss May. “We’re amateur sleuths, in case you haven’t heard. Anytime there’s a mystery, we solve it.”

  I shot Miss May a look. Why had she revealed our investigative goals to James? As far as I knew he had no awareness of investigative prowess. I thought it would have been good to keep things that way. But Miss May must have disagreed. She did not return my gaze. Instead, she remained fixated on James’s face.

  He smiled even wider. “Oh man. You three are the detectives! I’ve heard all about you ladies. Word is you take down all the bad guys. And easily, too! That is so cool. Congratulations on your awesome work.”

  It took all the strength I had in my soul not to classify James as a typical dumb jock. I had learned through our investigations that it didn’t help to stereotype people, at least not usually. But whenever he said words like “awesome” in his happy, bro-ish accent, I felt myself lumping him firmly into the jock category.

  “That’s us.” Teeny placed her hands on her hips in ‘superwoman pose.’ “No killer is safe in Pine Grove as long as we’re around.”

  “Awesome,” said James. “Totally awesome.”

  “What are you doing in enemy territory?” asked Miss May.

  “Great question, yeah,” said James. “So, the thing is, Coach Sheila and I have always been good friends. Sheila is awesome. So I figured I’d pay her a visit since I’m back in town. She coached my summer league team one year. Sheila’s a tough lady but she gets results. Gotta respect that.”

  “That’s so sweet,” said Miss May.

  “Every kid deserves an awesome coach in his or her life,” said James. “The coaches I’ve had have made me who I am today. I’m mega proud of that.”

  “Are you including Coach Thornton in that statement?” asked Miss May.

  “Of course. Thornton was the toughest of all tough cookies. Some might even say he was a burnt, inedible cookie. But there’s always a place for that. And if you have enough milk any cookie is delicious.”

  “I like the way this guy thinks,” said Teeny. “No cookie left behind. That’s my policy.”

  James laughed and nodded his head. “Awesome.”

  I cringed. Was eating burned cookies really awesome? Did James know any other words to describe positive emotions?

  Miss May clasped her hands together. “I have a great idea. James, you and Chelsea should move your date up. You scheduled for Saturday, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well I’m sure you’ve heard, we’ve got this big storm coming in. We’re lucky we haven’t been snowed in already. Why don’t you two go out tonight before the storm hits? That might be your best chance to get to know each other.”

  “We’re not ‘getting to know each other.’ I’m just showing him some new stuff in Pine Grove.”

  “I mean, we might get to know each other a little.” James smiled. His teeth were big and ultra-white. Kind of cute. Kind of weird. “It would be strange if we didn’t learn anything about one another all throughout the tour. You know?”

  “Sure,” I said. “I guess.”

  Miss May shot me a look.

  “Actually, yeah. You’re totally right,” I said, adopting James’ vernacular. “Of course we’ll get to know each other. It sounds…awesome.”

  “Chelsea is free any time” said Teeny. “She has no life other than solving murders with us two old ladies.”

  “Yeah,” I said, attempting to outmaneuver Teeny and Miss May, “but James is busy until Saturday. Remember? I told you that was the earliest he can do it.”

  “As it happens, my schedule has opened up,” said James. “So if you really are around tonight…”

  The wheels in my brain turned, searching for an excuse. But Teeny had already insisted I was free. I didn’t have much of a choice. “Yeah. I’m around.”

  “Text her to confirm the details!” said Teeny.

  James grinned. “Awesome.”

  19

  To Date or Not to Date

  I exploded as soon as we got back into Miss May’s van. “You two ambushed me! The date was supposed to be Saturday. We had an agreement.”

  “So you admit it’s a date.” Teeny climbed into the back of the van.

  I’d barely had any time to process my breakup with Germany. And I wasn’t in the mood for Teeny’s good-natured teasing.

  “It’s not a date!” I slammed my door closed and buckled my seatbelt with a loud click.

  “Whoa. Sorry,” Teeny said.

  “You know what? Chelsea’s right to be a little bothered.” Miss May put her hand on my arm. “We shouldn’t have interfered. It was my fault. But it’s strange that James was visiting Coach Sheila. We were lucky to run into him today. I wanted to take advantage of the moment and I got caught up.”

  “I got caught up, too,” said Teeny. “Sorry.”

  “Will you forgive us?” asked Miss May.

  I looked over at Miss May. She gave me a small smile.

  “You know I always forgive you,” I said. “Honestly, had the three of us had time to discuss moving the date up, I woul
d have agreed. James’ visit to Sheila is suspicious. And we should try to get more information from him as soon as we can.”

  “You don’t buy his story about summer league basketball?” asked Miss May.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. The story isn’t implausible. Lakeland is close to Pine Grove. And I think those summer league teams are regional. So it’s not out of the question that the Lakeland coach would be in charge of one or two Pine Grove kids. But James’ demeanor was suspicious to me. Why was he so relaxed?”

  “That’s what I thought,” said Teeny. “Even after the big giant learned we were investigating Thornton’s death, the guy wasn’t the least bit bothered.”

  “Some might suggest his calm demeanor is evidence of his innocence,” said Miss May.

  “But he was too calm,” I said. “Why did you tell him we were investigating the murder, anyway? He had no idea we were amateur sleuths. When you told him, you sacrificed the element of surprise.”

  “Actually, I didn’t sacrifice anything,” said Miss May. “I overheard James talking to Mayor Delgado at the memorial. Delgado told him all about how the three of us solve mysteries. And she pointed us out to James.”

  “So James already knew we were amateur detectives?” Teeny yanked her seatbelt and buckled in a flurry. “He acted surprised!”

  Miss May buckled her own seat belt much more calmy than Teeny. “He definitely knew. I only mentioned it to gauge his response.”

  “OK,” I said. “That’s suspicious.”

  “Not necessarily.” Teeny squirmed in her seat. “Maybe he didn’t feel like telling the whole story of how he talked to Mayor Delgado about us. I’ve done stuff like that. In fact, I find it’s often easiest to play dumb in conversation. Whenever anyone talks about a movie they’ve seen I pretend I’ve seen it, no matter what. It saves me a lot of annoying explaining!”

  “You’re right,” said Miss May. “By itself, James’ feigned surprise doesn’t interest me. But he was also visiting Coach Sheila, which I still find odd. Together those two facts feel like clues.”

  “Do you think Coach Sheila and James might have been co-conspirators in the murder?” I asked. “James hated Thornton because Thornton cut James from the team. Sheila hated Thornton because he cheated her out of glory.”

  “Not a bad theory,” said Miss May. “Maybe you can find out more on your not-date tonight.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I said.

  “See if he knows what’s up with those frames that were turned backwards in Sheila’s office, too,” said Teeny. “That was so weird. She definitely went in there ahead of us to turn all the frames around.”

  “I can’t believe we haven’t discussed that yet!” Miss May started the car and pulled out of the lot. “We need to figure out what was in those frames. That was so weird.”

  “Maybe her story was true,” I said. “I hate showing people my interior design work before I’m finished with a room.”

  “But you’re an interior designer,” said Teeny. “Not a basketball coach.”

  --

  Twenty minutes later, I was sitting on the big, overstuffed chair in my bedroom, petting Kitty and trying to relax. I had a big mug of creamy hot chocolate on the table beside me, alongside a bowl of pretzel twists. But both treats remained untouched. Kitty and I were deep in thought.

  What was up with Coach Sheila? I thought. More importantly, what was up with James? Why was he visiting a rival coach? And was it really a good idea to go on a not-date that night with a suspected killer?

  As I often do at times of uncertainty or anxiety, I grabbed my phone. Normally, I would have started scrolling through pictures of friends and funny images. But that night, I wanted my phone for a different reason…

  I opened my web browser and searched the name James McGregor.

  There were over five hundred thousand hits. Duh, it was a common name. So I refined the search….

  James McGregor: Pine Grove, New York.

  I scoured through a couple pages of related links. Then a startling headline caught my attention:

  “Local Plumber Acquitted of Murder Charge.”

  I clicked the link, which led me to a long article about a man named James McGregor who was tried and acquitted for murder near Orlando, Florida.

  My first thought was that the Orlando man must have been a different James. But the article had a photo of the acquitted murderer up top. And it was unmistakably the James McGregor from Pine Grove, New York. The guy looked a few years younger but he had the same odd, relaxed look in his eyes, like his only thought was “awesome,” even in dire circumstances.

  The article emphasized the fact that James had not been found guilty of any crimes and that the people of the Orlando metro area should not hold any biases against his plumbing services. But then, at the bottom of the article, the reason for the acquittal was revealed…

  James McGregor was suspected of murdering his boss, who’d disappeared one day after James was fired. James had been the main suspect in the case. But the case was dropped…

  …because the boss’s body was never found.

  20

  Missing Pieces

  …the boss’s body was never found?

  Thud.

  I dropped my phone. My mouth went dry. My heartrate quadrupled.

  “No way, no way, no way.” I reached my trembling hand down to the floor and picked up my phone. I scrolled through the article two or three more times. I couldn’t focus on paragraphs or even sentences. But keywords popped out at me.

  “McGregor.”

  “Murder.”

  “Body not found.”

  Kitty stood and stretched, then looked up at me, obviously aware of my increased anxiety. I patted her back to calm her down. OK, it was also to calm me down.

  “It’s OK, Kitty. Everything’s OK. Think about what Miss May says. When you’re feeling nervous or scared it’s best to take action. That’s the only way to address bad feelings.”

  Kitty didn’t break her gaze from mine. So I slid out from under her stare and shuffled out of my bedroom, phone in hand.

  I called down the stairs. “Miss May? Teeny?”

  The sounds of laughter and music echoed up from the kitchen. There was no way they could hear me. I descended the stairs one creaky step at a time. My mind raced. James was going to arrive at the farmhouse in less than an hour to pick me up. And I had no idea how to cancel or if I even should.

  Teeny and Miss May stopped talking as soon as I entered the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong, Chelsea?” Miss May snapped the music off. “You’re pale.”

  I handed Miss May the phone. As Miss May read, I summarized the article for Teeny. Then I sat at the kitchen table and buried my head in my hands. “What am I going to do now?”

  “You’re going to cancel.” Teeny stood and paced. “Simple. The man’s a killer. Let’s get Wayne on the phone and tell him this case is solved.”

  I looked up. I hadn’t thought about calling Wayne. Though I’m not sure why not. “You’re right. We should at least make sure the police know about McGregor’s past. What do you think, Miss May?”

  “I’m not sure. This article doesn’t make me feel good. But people are falsely accused of murder all the time. We know that better than anyone.”

  “Still...” I sat down. “How often do those suspects find themselves in the middle of a second murder investigation?”

  “You know what? You’re right,” said Miss May. “Let’s get Wayne on the phone.”

  Wayne’s phone rang twice. I grabbed the edge of the table as I waited for an answer. Then a voice greeted me. It was not Wayne. It was Chief Flanagan.

  “Chelsea Thomas. Are you calling my detective for restricted information? Sorry. No luck today.”

  I whispered to Teeny and Miss May. “It’s Flanagan. Should I tell her?”

  Miss May nodded.

  “Actually I was calling to share information I learned,” I said.

  Flanagan
replied with a sarcastic bite in her voice. “Oh what an honor! The hot shot sleuths want to loop the police in on their investigation.”

  “Do you want me to tell you what I know or not?” I said.

  Flanagan kept up the snark for a bit. Then she finally let me speak and I told her everything I had learned about James. When I finished, I expected Flanagan to be shocked. But when I finally stopped talking, she scoffed loudly.

  “I thought you were supposed to be an expert sleuth.” Flanagan said.

  “I never said that,” I countered. “I mean, I am. But I—”

  “Whatever,” said Flanagan. “Clearly you did not do all your research. Six months after James was acquitted of that murder, the Orlando Police Department apprehended another suspect who confessed to the crime.”

  I closed my eyes with relief. “Really?”

  “Don’t make me repeat myself, Chelsea. Stop wasting my time. And stop calling Wayne. He’s not going to share any confidential information with you, no matter how many butterflies flap in his stomach when he’s in your presence.”

  Wayne protested in the background. Flanagan snapped at him to shut up. Then she ended the call.

  I told Miss May and Teeny what Flanagan had said about the killer in the Orlando case. Then I confirmed Flanagan’s story with some Internet research. The chief hadn’t lied. The Orlando killer had been caught and it wasn’t James.

  “So what we do now?” Teeny asked.

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Just because James didn’t commit murder in Florida doesn’t mean he’s innocent in Pine Grove.”

  “I agree,” said Miss May. “And who knows the truth of what happened in Orlando? James still may have been involved in some way.”

  “So should I go on the date or not?” I asked, growing impatient with the hypotheticals.

  “This is a tough one,” said Teeny.

  “What do you think, Chels?” Miss May trained her big, blue eyes on me. “What do you want to do?”

  I took a deep breath, then exhaled. The future of our investigation hinged on my bravery. So I summoned all my courage, then stood big and proud. “We need more information about James. The cops aren’t co-operating. And I can’t get through to Wayne’s phone. So our best choice is for me to do some good old-fashioned detective work. I’ll make sure James and I remain in public places throughout the evening. I won’t get too close to him. And I won’t eat or drink anything he brings me.”