Map Skills Murder Read online

  I snapped a picture of the photo on my cell and sent it to Mom and Dad with a question mark.

  "Ms. Wrath?" Rex loomed over me. He always used my surname when he was working, even though everyone knew we were engaged. "Would you take Ms. Murphy home?"

  Edna Lou was still sitting on the bench, staring blindly into the distance. She looked like she was in shock.

  I nodded. "Of course."

  Edna got up and followed me to my car. She didn't mention her own vehicle, and I didn't ask because, frankly, she wasn't in any shape to drive.

  "We can come back later and get your car, if you want," I said.

  The woman stared at me for a moment before giving me her address.

  She lived two blocks away. So much for dealing with her car. This woman had walked here.

  Once inside, I left her on the couch and went to find some tea. She had a kettle on the stove, but I thought she needed it quickly, so I heated the water in the microwave and dropped the tea bag into it. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice.

  "Do you want any sugar or cream?" I shouted from the kitchen.

  "No" was all she said.

  Back in the living room, I set the cup on the coffee table and sat beside her. She looked different. Frail. And stoic. Not a single tear fell. That wasn't unusual. People were usually in shock first and then cried later.

  "I'm so sorry about Ike." I patted her hand.

  When she didn't respond, I looked up. The walls were covered with portraits from years gone by. Were these members of her family, or had Edna Lou brought her work home with her?

  "Those people didn't have homes," the woman said at last.

  I couldn't take my eyes off the rows and rows of serious faces from the past. "What do you mean?"

  She shook her head, as if to clear it. "Those people all lived here, in Who's There, at one time or another. Most of these didn't have any family. I found a whole file folder full of unwanted photos. I felt sorry for them, so I brought them here and framed them."

  It was kind of spooky. No one smiled in these photos. They were obviously staged, and the folks looked awkward. I felt a little pang of guilt that I hadn't learned more about my family's past.

  As I walked through the room, I passed hundreds of old pictures, all from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In a way, it was pretty cool, seeing the clothes and hairstyles. I wondered what they were thinking.

  Pets were in a few pictures. I thought of Philby, hair slicked to one side, scowling in a black and white background.

  And then I saw it. A large print of what had to be the Peters family. I'd never seen one of Theobald and Euphemia in their later years. He was a large, burly man with a friendly smile and giant eyebrows. She was short, heavyset, and looked like she'd spent the day sucking on lemons. Their daughter, Mimi and Eustace's mother, had been dead for a long time and was absent.

  Eustace stood behind his grandfather, his hand awkwardly placed on his granddad's shoulder. A teenaged Mehitable stood behind Euphemia, her hand on her grandmother's shoulder. None of them smiled. It looked like they were in a studio because the background seemed to be painted.

  The frame was very old—silver that was completely tarnished. Was it original to the picture? My eyes drifted back to Mimi. This would've been maybe ten years before she lost her mind. What had she been thinking when the photographer took the picture?

  I was pretty sure it wasn't wubble.

  CHAPTER SIX

  "Edna?" I had a thought. "In your files at the Historical Society, do you have information on who owned what land over the years?"

  The woman came out of her quiet little coma and thought about this. "I have the original plat maps. And I have some records of how the town grew. Is that what you mean?"

  I nodded. "I was just wondering who owned my house, or the land, before I did. I thought it might be a fun project for the girls in my troop—to find the histories of their houses."

  Mostly, I just wanted to find another piece of the puzzle and find out why the map had been buried in my Salute to Scotland garden.

  The woman stared at me for a moment, as if torn between grief for Ike and something useful to do. "Yes, I should have some of those records. We can find more at the library or county courthouse, if we need to."

  Perfect.

  "I'll set up a day when my troop can come by." Of course, that would have to be after the police were done with the murder site.

  "That would be nice." Edna Lou nodded. "It might be a good distraction from…from…" She struggled with the words. "What's your address?"

  I told her and then pointed it out in the map in the back of the phone book.

  She squinted. "Ah, yes. The town expanded in the 1950s. Your house was part of that."

  "That would make sense. My house was built in 1952."

  "I'm not entirely sure," Edna said slowly. "But I think that was part of Eustace Peters' farm." She nodded. "Yes, I'm sure of it. But I'd better check to make sure."

  Eustace's farm? That couldn't be right. According to the lore, he spent a few years looking for the treasure. How did the map end up buried on his land if he hadn't solved that problem?

  "If you don't mind, I need some time alone," Edna said.

  "Oh! Sorry! I should go. When would you like me to bring the girls by?"

  "How about the day after tomorrow?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

  I nodded. "I'll set it up." As I started for the door, I turned to her. "Again, I'm so sorry about your cousin Ike."

  Edna nodded but waved me off. Just before I left, I snapped a picture of the Peters family photo.

  I was driving the two blocks back by the park when I saw that Dr. Body and the ambulance were still at the cabin, which was surrounded by crime scene tape. It couldn't hurt to stop by.

  Dr. Soo Jin Body was our coroner and medical examiner, rolled into one. The beautiful Korean-American doctor had been a little bit of a thorn in my side. Now she counted herself as one of my friends. She also owned Bond and Moneypenny—Philby's two other kittens. My former CIA handler, Riley, had given them to her in an unusual moment where he was the one dazzled by her.

  As I got out of the car, I figured out a way to get info without looking like I was fishing for intel. That was the number one thing about being a spy—extracting information while seeming to do something else entirely. That, and Frisbee golf. Spies really like Frisbee golf.

  "Soo Jin!" I waved as I walked toward her.

  The doctor smiled, and the heavens opened, birds sang, and the world was at peace. I'm not kidding—she was that beautiful.

  "Hi, Merry! What are you doing here?"

  "I found the body and took the victim's cousin home."

  "Ah." She shoved her perfectly sleek bob behind one ear. "That explains it."

  "I was driving past and saw you. I've been meaning to ask you something."

  "Sure! What is it?"

  Prepare to be disarmed, Soo Jin. "Would you be a bridesmaid in my wedding in December?"

  To tell you the truth, I should've thought of her before. I didn't really have many options outside of Kelly and twelve little girls who'd all decided they were my flower girls. Soo Jin had helped out with a number of troop events. It was time to call her friend.

  "Oh! Merry!"

  The woman threw herself into my arms. That would've been nice if she hadn't been wearing white coveralls with red specks. But I wasn't squeamish.

  "Yes! Of course I will!" She pulled back, looking even more radiant.

  I'd heard that no one was supposed to upstage the bride on her wedding day, but that just went out the window. Dr. Body would look amazing in a burlap sack. Fortunately, I was above vanity.

  "Yeah? Great!" I smiled and then realized I genuinely meant it.

  Soo Jin looked down at her coveralls, just now realizing what she was wearing. "I'm sorry! I guess I got excited."

  I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Kelly is the matron of honor—whatever that is. And the troop are all f
lower girls."

  Soo Jin laughed. It sounded like soothing wind chimes that made me feel relaxed and sleepy. "Twelve flower girls!"

  "Actually," I said, "Kelly and I are taking them to pick out dresses tomorrow if you want to join us. I haven't decided on the bridemaids' dresses yet."

  That was technically true. I explained that my colors were green and white, and I had ordered my dress, but still hadn't done anything on other dresses.

  "Green and white?" Soo Jin's right eyebrow arched. "Girl Scout colors?"

  I nodded. "I didn't realize that when I picked them. That won't be a problem, will it?"

  "I love it!"

  Of course she did. She'd look good in green, taupe, blaze orange or puce—whatever color that was.

  "Meet us at A Storybook Tale, downtown at ten, if you can swing it."

  "I promise," she said.

  Adopting a casual air of what I hoped appeared to be indifference, I waved my hand at the cabin. "This is terrible. Poor Ike." Okay, I didn't really know Ike Murphy, but she didn't need to know that.

  "You said you found him?" Soo Jin asked.

  I told her the whole story.

  "It's definitely murder," Soo Jin said. "From what I've seen here, there was a trajectory that the weapon took. He'd been near the back wall, on the other side of the table, when someone in the doorway threw the axe at him. Death was caused by trauma to the skull."

  My jaw dropped. "Someone threw the axe?"

  Axes were big with long handles. I'd heard of hatchet throwing, but not an axe.

  "Are you sure it was thrown?"

  Soo Jin shrugged. "If it was, whoever did this had excellent aim." She stepped forward, holding a pen in her hand like it was a tiny, micro-scaled axe.

  I thought about this for a moment.

  "It was dark in the cabin when I went in. The shades had been pulled down. The murderer had good night vision."

  "Or," Dr. Body added, "he knew exactly where the victim would be."

  We stared in silence at the cabin. Pulling off this murder was an amazing accomplishment. It wasn't going to get the killer a trophy or anything. Still, it was impressive.

  "So…" Soo Jin wriggled out of her coveralls.

  A jogger passing by was staring at her and tripped over a stick. He righted himself and kept running.

  "Tomorrow at ten." She hadn't even noticed.

  "Tomorrow at ten," I agreed.

  * * *

  "What are you doing?"

  Rex's voice startled me, and the hatchet I'd been throwing at the big tree in my backyard bounced harmlessly off a branch and embedded itself in the ground near a very worried squirrel.

  "Um, I heard that there's a Buckskinners' Rendezvous coming up. I'm practicing."

  "A Buckskinners' Rendezvous that happens to have the same setup as the murder scene from today?" Rex pointed to the table between me and the tree, the duct tape wall cutout around me, and the dummy made to look like Ike Murphy and leaning against the tree. It wasn't a very good likeness. To be fair, it would have been hard to do that since his face was missing.

  "Yes," I said.

  Rex ran his hands through his short black hair. He was so adorable when he did that, because it gave him a slight vulnerable appearance that made me love him even more.

  "Merry, what are you doing?"

  I took a huge leap of faith. "I think this murder is related to Mehitable's murder."

  My fiancé stared at me. "You're serious?"

  "Absolutely." Frankly, I had no idea if it was linked, but that sounded good.

  He tried another tactic. "How did you know about the Buckskinners' Rendezvous?"

  My turn to look stunned.

  He had me and knew it. "The Buckskinners are in the state park, setting up for the annual event."

  My mind raced frantically as I tried to come up with a plausible lie.

  "You had no idea, did you?"

  "Do you think one of the reenactors killed Ike…" I mused aloud.

  He sighed, went to one of the lawn chairs, and sat down. That was when I noticed he had two bottles of beer. I took one and joined him. Normally I was a wine girl. But occasionally I could be found with beer. Philby and Martini trotted over to him, and after a heavy petting session (of the cats), they sat at our feet.

  "Merry," he said cautiously, "tell me you aren't investigating this."

  I clutched my chest, ignoring the damning evidence in my backyard. "Me? No. Why would you think that?"

  "Because Dr. Body told me you were lurking in the park after I'd gone."

  "I wasn't lurking. I was asking her to be one of my bridemaids, oh suspicious one."

  Rex's right eyebrow went up. "She said that too. So, I invited her over for dinner."

  My jaw dropped for the second time today. "You did what?"

  "Hello?" Soo Jin shouted from the side of the house. She came through the gate, a bucket of fried chicken in one arm, Bond and Moneypenny in the other.

  The kittens squirmed out of her grip as Philby and Martini snapped to attention. Martini made a mad dash for her siblings, and they collided into a three-way feline pileup, to the sound of three coconuts smacking together. The three cats collapsed, unconscious.

  Philby trotted over to where her kittens lay, then looked at me as if to say this was all my fault.

  "Are they alright?" Soo Jin stared in horror.

  "Oh yeah." I got up and pulled the table over to the lawn chairs. "They're fine."

  Soo Jin handed me the chicken before running back to her car and returning with three side dishes and a bottle of white wine. Now she was talking. I'd have had to kick her out if she'd just brought chicken. I had to maintain my standards, after all.

  While we ate, the cats all came to. Philby watched as the three kittens played with each other, each playing the role of vicious cougar. Every now and then, she'd swat one. That was the extent of her exercise and mommy time.

  "Thanks for dinner," I said to Soo Jin when we'd finished.

  You probably thought we chatted, exchanging pithy dialogue while we ate. But when it comes to fried chicken, and a dinner I didn't have to prepare or order, I was engaged in the business of eating. Why Rex and Soo Jin didn't talk was beyond me.

  "I'm so excited about being in the wedding!" Soo Jin said. "Thank you so much for inviting me to be your bridemaid!"

  "No problem," I said, while my brain finally realized what I'd done and made a sound that sounded like ayooooogah.

  "Are you just having two?" Soo Jin asked. "Besides all those flower girls, that is."

  I nodded and looked at my fiancé. "Rex, who are you going to ask?"

  He'd better not say Kevin Dooley.

  "I'm thinking about that," Rex said and said no more. "Do you think Kelly's husband would do it?"

  I shrugged. "I don't see why not. You and Robert get along well. Who else? You need two."

  "I'll think of something." He reached for his beer. "Don't worry."

  And I'll be investigating Ike's murder, I thought to myself as I buttered my fifth biscuit.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  If you've ever wondered what the most annoying sound in the world was, I had the answer. It was twelve little girls squealing as they looked at flower girl dresses. Kelly and the girls seemed to arrive en masse, and they swarmed the store before I could lay down some ground rules. Like no touching anything. No squealing. No fire accelerants…the usual stuff.

  "Ladies!" Kelly held up the Girl Scout quiet sign, and the girls calmed down. "Let's sit in a semicircle, please."

  We were in the room with a small stage and a three-way mirror. To keep the girls from tearing the store apart, we'd decided to have them sit down and one of them would model dresses. As we explained this, the room erupted.

  It turned out, to nobody's surprise, that every single girl wanted to be the model. As tomboyish as my troop was, they still loved girly stuff. Right now, the arguing could probably be heard in Des Moines.

  Soo Jin walked into the
room, and the girls didn't even notice her. Wow. They always swarmed the doctor whenever they saw her. She gave me a shrug.

  "They all want to be the model," I explained and added how we thought it would be good to have one girl try on the dresses.

  Dr. Body clapped her hands loudly, and the girls turned to stare at her.

  "I've got an idea!" She walked over to a notepad and tore off several pages. "Each one of you will nominate one girl to be the model." Kelly grabbed pencils off the counter and handed them out.

  "Will this work?" I whispered to Kelly when she rejoined me.

  "It might," my co-leader said unconvincingly.

  After a few moments of glorious silence, Soo Jin collected the pieces of paper and the three of us began to count.

  It didn't go well. Either every single girl voted for a different girl each, or they all voted for themselves.

  "Now what?" Kelly mumbled.

  I turned around and smiled. "The votes are in! Inez, you will be our model."

  My best friend hissed, "You lied to them."

  I nodded. "Yes, but they don't know that."

  As Inez was led away by Zelda, the store's one and I think only employee, the girls eyed each other suspiciously. Clearly, they knew that nobody but Inez voted for Inez, but they had no proof since I pocketed all of the ballots.

  "I'm not sure that was a good idea," Kelly mumbled.

  Here I'd thought I was being clever. "It worked, didn't it?"

  She couldn't disagree with me.

  I pointed in the direction of the dressing rooms, "Where's Betsy? She helped us before."

  Kelly shrugged. "Zelda said she quit."

  "When did you talk to her?" And why hadn't I noticed we had a different woman helping us? My brain wasn't what it used to be.

  "When I made the appointment to come in. Now focus."

  After a few moments, the excitement picked up again as the girls eagerly awaited the first dress. Soo Jin sat in the middle of them, and they peppered her with questions about what kind of shoes they might get.

  I was still amazed that the parents were down with this. When Kelly and I told them we wanted all the girls to participate, they were very enthusiastic. Each set of parents agreed to cough up the money once the dress was selected. That was touching. And a relief. Hell hath no fury like a little girl scorned.