Foul Play at the Fair Read online

  “Of course not,” Amanda assured him.

  “When I heard the police call, I was afraid Joss had gotten hurt or somebody was sick. I thought I could help out. I know how much we all depend on this weekend, and I figured if for some reason you couldn’t open the store today, I’d come over to offer you space in my stand at the farmers’ market. I had no idea that it would be…this.”

  He swallowed hard. “And that still goes. I’ll be glad to take cider and doughnuts and any goods you want, put ’em in my stand. It won’t be as good as having the store open, but you won’t lose out on everything.”

  “That’s so thoughtful of you, Andy,” Amanda said.

  Andy looked down at the table, his face working. “Hell, you’d do the same for me. Have done. That’s what neighbors—friends—are for. Being there for each other when the going gets rough.”

  Joss finally stopped pacing and turned to the others.

  Liv’s breath caught at how much Pete Waterbury resembled his brother, even in death.

  “I appreciate it, Andy, but I doubt if they’ll even let us back into the store, much less load anything out.” He heaved a sigh. “I thank you just the same.” He stared past them, a man utterly deflated; then he banged both fists on the table.

  Everyone jumped; silverware and china rattled.

  “Thirty years. Thirty years he’s never showed his face here, and when he finally comes back, he brings trouble with him.”

  Roseanne burst into tears. Donnie bit his lip, looking as if he might explode. And looking very much like his father.

  “We’ll get through this,” Andy said.

  Liv looked at Ted. He nodded toward the door. She stood up.

  She stopped by Amanda’s chair. “Bill is putting up the chain and the Closed sign. Would you like me to add something? Due to bereavement?”

  “That’s a joke,” said Joss and leaned heavily on the table, his head drooping. “Damn him. Damn him to hell.”

  Chapter Five

  “Whew,” Liv said when she and Ted were outside.

  Ted didn’t comment, just looked toward the farm shop where the police photographer had arrived to take pictures.

  “I guess he didn’t get the message to park around back,” Liv said.

  “You’re not going to keep this from spreading.”

  “Well, I can try.” Liv took out her cell phone. “Who is the least gossipy person we can rely on to put a strike-through on the posters?”

  Ted frowned. “Besides you, me, and Joss, I guess that would have to be Fred Hunnicutt.”

  Liv pressed a few keys and Fred’s number came up. It took a while for him to answer.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked in a sleep-groggy voice.

  Liv realized it was only six o’clock. “You might say so. I can’t explain now but the Waterbury store has to close for the day. I need you to get someone to strike out the venue on the posters. Just say, ‘Closed for family reasons.’”

  “What’s wrong? I can’t remember a time when Joss closed the store. Even when he and Amanda went on their second honeymoon to Niagara Falls a few years back. Something happen to the store? Not a fire?”

  “No, no. Nothing’s wrong with the store. It’s just a family issue. I’ll explain when I get to town, but can you just get this started for me?”

  “Sure. I’ll round up a couple of teenagers to help.”

  “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

  “Is everything all right? Where are you?”

  “I’m on my way.” She hung up before he could ask any more questions. She turned to Ted.

  “You’d better get back.” He nudged her toward her car. “Things will spread like wildfire. Andy isn’t the only person with a police scanner. I’d say every other house has one, and if they’re still listening, which I’m sure they are, they’ll know more about what’s happening than we do.”

  Liv pressed her fingers to her forehead.

  “Liv, if you can manage without me, I’ll stay here for a while. I imagine Bill will want to talk to me. Then I’ll help Andy load up his truck if Bill will release any of the goods. Otherwise, Joss will lose a bundle of money this weekend.”

  “Sure. Take whatever time you need.” Liv hesitated.

  Ted frowned at her. “What? If you need me in town, just say so.”

  “You’re indispensable, but stay here and do what you can. I’ll manage.”

  She had a sudden déjà vu. Ted telling her to go ahead without him and returning to the park to confront Pete Waterbury. Was he doing the same thing today? Getting rid of her because he had something specific to do that he didn’t want her to know about?

  She gave herself a mental shake. Of course not; he just wanted to be there for his friends. This was what violence did. Made you doubt everyone, even your closest friends.

  “Joss doesn’t seem to like his brother much. I get that, but why is he still so angry? The fight over Dolly was decades ago and Joss seems happily married; he has a great family.”

  “People around here have long memories.”

  That was something she didn’t want to contemplate. She’d been in Celebration Bay for only a few weeks, and already she was getting to know the people, considered some of them friends, and didn’t want any of them to turn out to be murderers.

  And most of all, she didn’t want to have to admit that there was a serpent in her newly found Eden.

  “I’ll see you in town.”

  Ted started. “What? Oh, yes, I’ll try to move things along here and…Later.” He turned and strode back to the house.

  Liv waited until he was inside. The door closed and Liv was stabbed by the knowledge that she was an outsider. Of course the others had known one another for years, and she had no desire to be catapulted into their private lives. Besides, they were depending on her to keep this under wraps and make the weekend a success. And the first thing she needed to do to make that happen was talk to Bill. She headed toward the parking lot.

  Bill Gunnison was coming out of the farm store with another man. He was not in uniform, but considering he was wearing dark trousers and a sports shirt, Liv surmised he was a detective, not a neighboring farmer. The two men stood talking for a minute, then shook hands, and the detective walked around to the back of the building.

  “Bill?”

  Bill looked up with a frown. “Bad business, this,” he said.

  “It is,” Liv agreed. “I know you must be busy, but I need to ask you some questions.”

  “Liv, you know I can’t discuss—”

  Liv held up her hand, stopping him. “I don’t want details, but I do need to know if you think it’s safe for people to be in Celebration Bay today.”

  “Not much way of keeping them out. At least not without ruining a lot of folks’ weekends, not to mention the financial loss to the town.”

  “And the town’s reputation,” Liv added. “But if there’s a murderer loose…”

  Bill sighed heavily. Gritted his teeth. “Well, between you and me, it looks like a crime of passion, though I’d be beholden if you don’t pass that around.”

  “It did seem rather symbolic, didn’t it? The scarf over the eyes, the apple in the mouth, like the monkeys.”

  “Monkeys?”

  “You know—see no evil; speak no evil.”

  “Hmm.” He frowned at her. “Funny you picking up on that.”

  She shrugged. “Attention to detail. It’s an event planner’s bête noire.”

  “Come again?”

  “It’s a pain in the butt, but I can’t help it. It comes with the territory.”

  Bill nodded. “Well, if you notice anything else, please bring it to me before you say anything to anybody else.”

  “Of course. But do you think people will be safe? Do you have enough staff to investigate the”—she swallowed— “murder and provide security for the festival? Should I ask the traffic volunteers to be extra vigilant?”

  “Good God, no.” He glanced at his watch
. “I’ll handle it, but you’d best be getting into town. Things are bound to get out even if everyone’s sworn to secrecy. I’d appreciate it if you’d do what you can to keep it under wraps until tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow, when most of the tourists would be gone. “Absolutely. I—”

  He opened the car door for her. “And even then, no details. Mum’s the word. If we want to catch the killer.”

  “Of course.” She suddenly had a hundred questions, but she could tell Bill was anxious for her to leave. Reluctantly she climbed into the car. He shut her door and strode over to where a chain rested on the ground.

  She would do what she could to staunch the gossip. It would be a disaster if Celebration Bay got the reputation of being a dangerous town.

  Bill gave her a two-finger salute as she turned onto the road, then pulled the chain across the entrance behind her. As she drove away, she saw him heading for the house.

  While Liv showered, her mind chewed at the events of the morning; the phone call, the shock of seeing Pete Waterbury pinned by the apple press. Joss’s reaction.

  The man disappeared for thirty years and came back now? Of all days, of all weekends? Liv had a hard time not taking his reappearance personally, which she knew was ridiculous. There were people in town who might have real reasons to be upset by his return. She just hoped—hell, she prayed—that none of them had murdered the man.

  To her mind, the most likely suspects were the Zoldosky brothers. All four of them looked perfectly capable of committing murder. But she’d watched enough CSI and Criminal Minds to know that killers had a way of camouflaging themselves. Sometimes hiding away and sometimes hiding in full view until the geniuses of television prime time caught them.

  As much as she liked Bill Gunnison, even without his sciatica, he just didn’t seem like the high-tech, high-IQ, sophisticated profiler that always caught those malefactors. And Bill and a few deputies and officers had to patrol the whole county and the festival as well as investigate. She’d have to look into hiring special security for future events.

  Especially in light of what had happened.

  She dried her hair while she tried to organize the coming day, but she just kept coming back to the murder. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Why? Why now? It just kept nagging at her. It was the strength as well as the bane of event planners, the attention to detail, predicting problems and solving them before they arose, being able to anticipate complications and prepare for the road ahead. And in the worst case, dealing with problems beyond her control before the ramifications became too monumental to fix.

  But Liv was at a total loss to understand or fix the events of this morning. She’d just have to wing it, because nothing, not even murder, was going to mess with her town, her festival, her new life.

  She grabbed a granola bar and opened the door to the garden. “Whiskey, I gotta go. Come here, buddy. Come on.” Whiskey bounded out of a rhododendron bush and shot past her into the kitchen. She put her recharged batteries in her walkie-talkie and grabbed her canvas bag. When she got to the door, Whiskey was already there.

  “Sorry, baby, but you have to stay home again. We’ve got trouble in Celebration Bay. I’ll ask Miss Edna to take you for a walk later.”

  She squeezed out the door and locked it, and when she turned around she saw a little terrier face pressed to the living room window, looking pitiful. “Sorry,” she said again. Even though he got more attention and exercise here than he ever did in Manhattan, he could still make her feel guilty.

  Before she reached the end of the driveway, she heard her name being called. Miss Ida was standing on the front porch of the main house, her arms crossed over a light green twinset.

  “Morning, Liv. We heard you go out early this morning and—”

  Miss Edna opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. “Sister, Liv is busy. Get to the point.”

  Miss Ida pursed her lips. Liv knew what was coming.

  “We were listening to our police scanner this morning,” she said. “And heard there was a commotion out at the Waterbury farm. They sent the sheriff out.”

  “That was just after you left,” added Miss Edna, looking formidable in a tweed jacket and blue jeans. “But twenty minutes later they called for the CSI unit. What happened? And don’t tell us you weren’t out there. Where else would you have gone at that hour?”

  “Now, Sister. It might not be any of our business. We just want to be sure no one was hurt. And if we should call Amanda to see if she needs help.”

  “None of the Waterburys were hurt,” Liv said. “I can’t say more. I have to get back to town.”

  “A robbery?” asked Miss Ida.

  “I don’t think so. We’ll have to wait to hear from Bill Gunnison.”

  “I suppose so,” Miss Ida said.

  “Now I really have to run.” Liv waved. “Can you let Whiskey out for a bit? I may be gone late.”

  “Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll take good care of him.”

  “Thanks,” she said, heading for the street.

  Miss Ida waved and smiled, but Miss Edna scowled after her. Ida might be satisfied with Liv’s prevarication, but it was obvious that Miss Edna wasn’t so easily fooled.

  As Liv walked to downtown, she noticed that the posters had already been altered to reflect the closing of the Waterbury farm store, the name crossed out in thick black marker and replaced with: Closed Today, Family Emergency.

  Fred had given just enough information to quell the complainers without raising suspicion or alarm.

  A handful of vendors were setting up, getting an early start before their cars and trucks were banned from the area. None of the stores were open, though she could smell something delicious wafting from the direction of the bakery.

  She glanced at her watch. Nearly seven. Two hours had passed since Ted’s phone call. Such a short time in which so much had changed.

  She shuddered and crossed the street. Dolly’s wasn’t open yet, but the lights were on at the Buttercup.

  “It’ll be another second,” BeBe said. “I just turned on the steamer a few minutes ago. Didn’t get to talk to you yesterday, but Ted said that you’re the one that spotted Dolly’s Peeping Tom.”

  “I just saw him running across the lawn.”

  “Probably one of those kids from the hills. They’re always coming down into town to do their mischief.” She opened a spigot and the steam screamed.

  Liv jumped.

  BeBe shot her a look as she placed the milk carafe under the spigot and the milk bubbled to the edges. “I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot, but are you sure you need the caffeine this morning?”

  “Positive,” Liv said over the steamer. “I’m just feeling the stress. Caffeine helps stress.”

  “If you say so.” When the milk was foamy, BeBe reached for a medium-size paper cup, pressed a double shot of espresso into it. “Do you know what is going on out at Joss and Amanda Waterbury’s?”

  “Some family emergency,” Liv temporized.

  “Someone sick? Not Amanda, I hope. She had really bad pneumonia last winter.”

  “No, Amanda’s fine. I don’t know the details. Just that they had to close today.”

  Her new job, her new home, and already she was having to lie. Liv’s stomach turned sour. Even though she had done her share of hedging the truth in her old situation, she’d really hoped to avoid it here. Of course, she hadn’t had to deal with murder back in Manhattan.

  Sometimes life was just weird.

  “Well, let me know if you hear anything.” BeBe waved her out just as Fred Hunnicutt, wearing the orange vest of the traffic patrol, came in the door.

  “Morning, Liv. What’s going on up at Joss and Amanda’s? I tried calling but no one answered. Nothing too terrible, I hope.”

  Depends on how you felt about Pete Waterbury, Liv thought.

  “Joss ain’t sick, is he? I saw him last night, and he just didn’t look like himself.”

  Liv’s at
tention perked up. She knew she shouldn’t ask. Too much curiosity could set off a flood of speculation, but she couldn’t miss this opportunity.

  “How did he look? The flu, maybe?”

  “No, I don’t know. Just not like himself.” He stopped to give his order. “Two medium house blends with milk, one black with two Sweet’N Lows.”

  BeBe nodded and began to pour coffee, but she stayed close enough to overhear anything they said.

  “Kind of distracted, like maybe he was worried about something. It could be the flu, but the flu wouldn’t close him down.”

  “When was this?” asked Liv.

  “Well, let’s see. It was toward the end of the evening. He came to pick up Donnie and Roseanne. They were supposed to meet him by the Methodist church. Joss was standing out front, but the kids were late. Roseanne came up while we were talking, but she hadn’t seen Donnie. They took off across the park looking for him. I had to get on over to the bakery to pick up Dolly. Didn’t want her going home alone.”

  So Joss was looking odd; maybe he was worried about his son or maybe he’d seen and recognized his brother.

  “Hope it wasn’t nothing with Donnie.”

  “Oh, no.” Liv caught herself. “I’m sure someone would have heard if Donnie was hurt or something.”

  “More than likely.” Fred reached in his pocket for money. “Hard to keep secrets in Celebration Bay.”

  They parted at the sidewalk. Liv dissected their conversation as she walked to her office. A strange choice of words. “Keep a secret,” as if Donnie might be doing something he shouldn’t. And maybe he was, but at that point, at least it hadn’t been murder.

  Which made her think of Ted saying that Pete Waterbury had left right after high school, that he and Joss had fought over Dolly. How would Dolly feel if she knew he was back and that he’d been murdered here?

  She came to an abrupt stop, and coffee spurted through the container opening. What if the Peeping Tom had been Pete Waterbury? She thought back to that night, and Dolly saying that he didn’t look human. Black holes for eyes and mouth.