Murder in a Basket (An India Hayes Mystery) (10 page)

Chapter
Sixteen

When I got back to the booth, I half expected to find Ina hovering over another dead body. Instead I found Ina, Mutt, and Derek standing around my booth. They made a strange trio. Derek and Mutt’s backs were to me, but Ina, who faced me, did a little finger wave from across the field.

I suspected the other crafters found the trio a little
odd as well. Jendy and Beth watched them from the beaders’ booth. All the while their deft fingers sorted colorful beads. I noted Celeste was away from the booth. A few booths away, Lynette scowled at me before showing an elderly couple a raccoon tea cozy, or maybe it was a moose tea cozy. It was hard to tell. I wondered what the scowl was for. I thought she and Ina were friends, but apparently Lynette’s friendship didn’t extend to me.

Zach pulled on his leash, and I let it go. He ran ahead with a woof
, directly to Derek. Zach leaned on Derek’s leg and whined softly.

Slightly out of breath, I asked,
“What’s going on?”

Derek and Mutt turned around. Mutt looked as churlish as eve
r, but Derek looked like he’d gone three rounds with a champion boxer. Both of his eyes were black, but the left was worse than the right with a cut in the eyebrow. He had a fat lip and his nose was bleeding. Derek patted Zach’s curly head. The dog looked concernedly up into Derek’s bruised face.

“
For goodness sake, someone give Derek a tissue,” I said.

Ina rifled through her industrial
-sized purse and produced a crumpled tissue. “It’s clean,” she said. “Probably.”

I tried not
to think about the condition of the tissue as Derek pressed it to his nose.

“
What happened?” I demanded.

Mutt adjusted his belt.
“Your buddy started a brawl in his dorm. I got a call to run over there and break it up, and you know how much I like to run.”

I looked at Derek.
“Why?”

“
Why don’t I like to run?” Mutt asked.

“
No.” I directed my question to Derek. “Why’d you start a fight?”

Derek
’s eyes flicked at me before he returned his gaze to the ground. His right eye was beginning to swell. If he didn’t put some ice on the bruise, his eye would be swollen shut within the hour. When he didn’t answer, I looked to Mutt.

“
I can’t say I blame the kid. Apparently, he overhead some riffraff in his hall making fun of his mother’s murder, and he snapped. You should see the guy Derek decked. I hope his parents have dental insurance to cap his teeth,” Mutt said.

“
You punched someone’s teeth out?” Ina said, her voice full of respect.

I hoped she wouldn’t consult Derek for street
-fighting pointers.

“
Okay,” I said slowly. “Why’d you bring him here to me?”

Mutt shrugged.
“I had to get him out of the dorm. Those knuckleheads were set on pulverizing him, and I knew you were around. I really don’t have time to babysit. I thought you wouldn’t mind.”

Mutt’s radio crackled.
“Chief? Chief? You there?”

“
Ten-four. I’m here.”

“
Hey, chief, one of these punks threw a chair through the window.” The kid security guard’s voice squeaked. There was the faintest sound of yelling in the background.

Mutt patted his breast pocket. Despite the fact it was late October
, he wore a short-sleeve black T-shirt with
Martin Security
printed across his chest, and he was sweating. I knew he searched his pocket, hoping to find the candy bar he usually kept there. When he came up empty, he sighed. “I hope I don’t have to throw anyone out of the window today. I’m really not in the mood.”

I blinked.
“That rumor is true? You really did throw a frat boy out of a window?”

Mutt smiled.
“I’ll leave Derek in your capable hands. It would be best if he didn’t come back to the dorm for the rest of the weekend. He should let those dunderheads cool down a bit.”

Derek didn’t respond but scratch
ed Zach behind the ear.

After Mutt lumbered away,
Ina inspected Derek’s face more closely. “That’s a serious shiner. I hope you aren’t planning to be in any pictures any time soon.”

“
Ina, give us a minute?” I asked.

She
crossed her thin arms across her chest. “I’m not going anywhere. This is obviously related to the case, and I’m the sidekick. You can’t get rid of the sidekick. Did Sherlock Holmes say ‘get lost’ to Watson?”

“
Ina, please.” I was certain Derek wouldn’t talk to me about the fight with Ina there to chime in every three seconds.

She sniffed.
“Fine. I have some leads to follow up on my own.” She waggled her penciled-on eyebrows and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. As she stomped away she resembled a leprechaun training for the British royal guard. Not that I’d ever tell her that. Ina’d be horrified I compared her to anything British.

I
sat in one of the folding chairs. “Sit down, Derek.”

He sat
, and Zach snuggled beside him, resting his head on Derek’s knees. “What’s Zach doing here? I thought Lew took him. That’s what Jerry said.”

“
He did, but then Lew gave him to me to take care of. His wife doesn’t like dogs.”

“
Oh,” he said as if that were explanation enough.

I reached under my table for a bottle of water and my roll of paper towel
s. I poured water on a wad of paper towels before handing them to him. “Put this on your cut eye. It won’t stop the swelling, but it might help. You need to get some ice.”

“
I don’t care about my face,” Derek said glumly.

“
You will when you see yourself in the mirror. Trust me. You look awful.” I felt the beaders’ gazes. I glanced over, and the beading pair quickly looked down at their work. I lowered my voice. “Tell me what happened.”

He shrugged.
“I was walking down the hall, and I heard some guys making cracks about my mom. I don’t really know what happened after that until Mutt came and hauled me out of there.”

“
Did they know Tess was your mom?”

“
I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. She was someone’s mom, sister, daughter, or whomever, and they shouldn’t have been joking about her murder.”

“
You’re right, they shouldn’t have, but you’re lucky Mutt showed up. You could have been seriously hurt.”

“
I don’t care about that,” he said.

I folded my arms across my chest.
“Well, I do.”

He looked up at
me. His left eye was almost completely swollen shut. He needed an ice pack badly. In the one eye I could see clearly, I saw a glint of hope. I probably shouldn’t have told him I cared about him. He would more than likely get the wrong idea, but he needed to know someone worried about what happened to him. I changed the subject. “I just met with your uncle.”

Derek made a face.
“What did he want?”

“
To tell me he had nothing to do with the murder. Apparently you gave him and a lot of other people the idea I’m looking into the crime.”

“
I shouldn’t have?”

I sighed.
“It does take away the element of surprise.”

“
Oh.”

I lowered my voice even further.
“Who do you think did it?”

“
I have no idea. Definitely not my uncle. He’d never do something like that on campus.”

I noted Derek conditional
ized Lepcheck’s innocence with the murder being on campus, as if that were the only circumstance to stop the provost from killing another person.

“
It had to be someone she knew,” I said. “You said yourself she was waiting to meet someone that night. I’m willing to bet all the books in the library that person was the killer. Lepcheck mentioned Tess was part of the New Day Artists Cooperative. Tell me about it.”

“
They opened it when I was a kid. They converted this old horse barn into the main building. The horse stalls are artist workshops now. Both she and Jerry were members of it. My mom loved that place.”

“
She planned to donate some of Victor’s money to the co-op?”

“
Yeah, she said she wanted to do something good with the money after Zach goes.” He fondled the dog’s ear in apology. “She was going to give money to them and to an animal shelter. She wasn’t giving it all away. She said there would plenty left over to pay for my school and support us.”

“
The animal shelter is Hands and Paws?”

He nodded
again.

“
Did the shelter know about the donation?”

He shrugged.

“Did anyone disagree with these donations?”

“
Jerry was upset about it. He thought Mom should keep the money. And my aunt and uncle were upset, too, because they thought she should give them some of the money.”

I
didn’t think Derek realized it, but he had just revealed motive for three suspects. “Anyone outside your family care?”

He shrugged
again.

“
How’d your mom and Jerry get along?”

“
Okay, I guess. They’d been arguing a lot lately about Uncle Vic’s money, but before that they were fine.”

“
How do you get along with your stepfather?”

“
He’s okay.” A resounding endorsement indeed.

“
Tell me more about the co-op. Are there crafters here who are members?”

“
Oh, yeah, I think all of them are here. They tend to do the craft fair thing together.”

“
Who are they?”

“
Ummm . . . there’s my mom’s best friend, AnnaMarie. She’s a broom maker. There’s David the papermaker, Ansel the weaver, Celeste the beader.” He looked over at the beader booth. Beth and Jendy were entertaining customers and didn’t see him looking. “Celeste isn’t over there right now.”

“
I’ve met her. Who else?”

“
Carrington makes these crazy hats like the kind rich ladies wear to the Kentucky Derby. I don’t know what she is called.”

“
A milliner,” I said.

“
Oh.” There was a pause. “And my mom and Jerry.”

“
That’s it?”

“
Those are the full members. There are a lot of other artists who are in and out or rent space for a short period of time.”

“
Okay. So we’re talking about six members plus Tess.”

He nodded.

“Did your mom have problems with any of these people? Any little spat you knew about?”

He
shook his head.

“
What does that head shake mean? No, or I don’t know?”

“
I don’t know.”

“
What wild animal attacked you?” Bobby asked, interrupting our conversation. Erin was standing beside him on the other side of my booth. The two looked awfully chummy.

Chapter
Seventeen

Derek reddened.

“
There was a fight at the dorm,” I said.

“
I heard about that,” Erin said.

“
How in the world did you hear about it already?” I asked.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her
smartphone. “Campus text alerts.”

I pulled out my phone and looked at
it. “I didn’t get one.”

Erin
rolled her eyes. “The unofficial text alert system.”

“
Oh.”

Zach
crawled out from under the table. Bobby jumped. “What is that?”

Zach
yawned in reply.

“
That’s a labradoodle,” I answered.

Erin
’s eyes widened. “That’s not
the
labradoodle, is it?”

“
It is.” I told them how I’d gotten temporary possession of the dog.

Erin
scratched under Zach’s chin. “He’s adorable. I did a lot of research on designer dogs last night.”

Bobby squinted at her.
“When I was your age, I didn’t spend my free time researching topics that weren’t required.”

Erin
ignored him and kneeled next to Zach. “Did you know that when breeders started to breed designer dogs like a labradoodle, they bred a poodle to a lab. That’s the difference from purebred dogs, because a pug breeds with a pug to make a pug.”

“
Fascinating.” Bobby gave an exaggerated yawn.

“
And even though designer dogs aren’t recognized by the kennel clubs, they sell for as much as purebreds, sometimes even more. I researched labradoodle breeders in the state, and there are only three. The least expensive labradoodle went for seventeen hundred bucks.”

“
Good Lord.” Bobby put his hand to his chest. “Seventeen hundred dollars for a mutt.”

“
It’s not like Victor didn’t have the money. He left two million to the dog.”

Bobby blinked and looked at me.
“Is that true?”

“
Yep,” I said.

Bobby scrutinized Zach.
“He seems like a nice pooch, but why would he leave a dog all that money?”

“
That’s a good question,” I said.

Derek,
whose red face was now a shade of pinkish orange, which complimented his bruises nicely, chimed in, “Uncle Victor really loved his dog. He’s always loved dogs and has had one or more for as long as I remember. He wanted to make sure Zach was taken care of.”

Bobby looked dubious.
“Isn’t that a little bit of overkill?”

Derek frowned, and I changed the subject.
“I’m glad you two stopped by. Can you take Derek back to the library and put some ice on his eye?”

Bobby sighed.
“I suppose so.”

Erin
glared at him. “We don’t mind, India.”

“
Thanks.” I turned to Derek. “When you’re feeling up to it, you should go home.”

Derek shook his head.
“I can’t go to my mom’s house yet. I’ll go back to the dorm. It’s Saturday night, and I’ll be able to sneak inside my room unnoticed while everybody else is out at parties and on dates.

I bit my lip.

Bobby smacked Derek on the shoulder. “Sounds like a good plan. Until then we’ll stash you away in the library, preferably somewhere Lasha won’t see you.”

I smiled my thanks at Bobby.

After Erin and Bobby left with Derek in tow I had an onslaught of children wanting their faces painted. A half hour passed quickly, it wasn’t until the last youngster skipped away with a pumpkin on her cheek that I noticed Zach was missing. Great. I’d lost a two-million-dollar dog. I stepped over to the beaders’ booth. I noticed Celeste was still MIA, so I asked the two remaining beaders. “Have you guys seen Zach lately?”

“
He ambled that way a little while ago,” Jendy said and pointed to the right.

I thanked her but thought,
Why didn’t you tell me?

Several
church vans had dropped off their blue and gray haired parishioners, so the crowd was thick with slow-moving patrons. I wove through the festivalgoers’ canes and walkers. A spot of hot pink trampled into the grass caught my eye. It was a ball of yarn. Next to it was a tangle of orange. My stomach dropped. Bits of a yarn were strewn in the grass like tossed spaghetti. Then, I saw the half-eaten body of Lynette’s elephant tea cozy. Not good. Not good at all. I followed the destruction.

The screams came.
“Get that monster away from my booth! How could you?” The cry of outrage ended in a strangled sob.

I pushed through the crowd, which had
grown with Lynette’s outburst. When I was finally within view of the booth, she pointed her gnarled finger at me. “You! This is your fault.”

The scene wasn’t pretty. Zach
lay on top of Lynette’s booth with several former tea cozies hanging from his mouth. There was yarn everywhere, and Lynette’s teapots she used to show how well cozies worked lay in the grass. One was missing its spout, another its handle.

I held my
hand to my chest. “Me?”

“
Yes, I saw you bring this dog here today. This is no place for a dog. What are you doing with him anyway?” She frothed at the mouth and was at a real risk of stroke, especially at her age. “Damages! I’ll sue you for damages.”

“
Excuse me. I said excuse me,” I heard Carmen tell the crowd as she barreled her way through.

Oh
, no. Could this get any worse? I wondered.

Carmen appeared, pushing
the twins in their double stroller, and the crowd gave her a wide berth. “What’s going on—” Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Zach on the table.

The labradoodle yawned and displayed a piece of green
yarn tangled in his back teeth.

“
I’m ruined. Do you realize how many months it took me to make all those cozies, and that monster destroyed them in less than five minutes. I left for a minute to warm up my tea, and I came back to this.” Lynette broke into a sob.

Carmen looked at me.
“You brought this dog here.”

“
I—I, well, you see . . .”

Carmen closed her eyes and looked heavenward.
She was going to blow.

“
It’s your sister’s fault. I knew your nepotism would come to a bad end. I earned my place here, and since you let her in, look what’s happened.”

Out
of the corner of my eye, I noticed a gap-mouthed campus security guard radioing for help. He looked like he was a middle school student, not someone who was packing heat, and when I say heat, I meant a large flashlight. It was the most weaponry Martin would allow its security to hold.

Mutt didn’t have to make a path through the crowd.
People moved out of his way before being asked. When he got a load of the scene, he bent over in a belly laugh. “Oh, oh,” he chuckled. “This is too good. Seriously, Hayes, this job would be a complete snore without you around.”

I ga
ve him my best withering glare. “You’re not helping.”

“
Are you going to arrest her?” Lynette demanded. “She destroyed my property.”

Mutt picked up one of the uneaten cozies.
I think it was supposed to be a giraffe. “You make a living off these?”

She ripped it out of h
is hand. “Yes, and I demand she be punished for this.”

Mutt eyed me.

“Don’t even think about it,” I mouthed at him.

Carmen white—
knuckled the baby carriage. “India, do something with that dog. Now!”

I scur
ried over and pulled Zach off the table.

“
Get him out of here. No animals allowed, period.”

I nodded, stop
ping short of saluting her.

The
SOEC kids were there. “You have no right to keep a pet. That dog should be free to run wild. This is what happens when you tame nature—it backfires,” Dreads said.

His cohorts agreed.

I held Zach by the collar. “I’ll find someone to take him for the day.” I pulled Zach to my booth and stashed him under the folding table.

As I got my cell out, I told the dog,
“Zach, that was very bad, very bad behavior. Carmen was not pleased, and neither was Lynette.” Truth be told, I feared Carmen much more than I feared Lynette. I still had scars from our scratching matches as kids.

I called the only people
I could think of to come to my rescue.

Twenty minutes after my urgent call,
my parents showed up. Mom pushed Dad’s wheelchair across the lumpy grass. Her thick silver ponytail bobbed on the back of her head as they approached.

“
We meant to stop by the festival today to route the petition anyway, so we don’t mind dog-sitting for a bit,” Mom said.

Dad held out his hand, and Zach immediately
put his big fluffy head in Dad’s lap. All puppy-dog eyes. Dad fondled the dog’s ear.

“
Petition? What petition?” I asked.

Mom made a disgusted
sound. “The petition to save the bell tower. We need to get a levy on the ballot to do it.”

Oh
, right.

Mom reached into her ever-present backpack and pulled out a clipboard. “You can be the first one today to sign.”

“
The judge granted us a restraining order to stop the school board from demolishing the bell tower before we had sufficient time to route a petition,” Dad said.

Mom grinned.
“They don’t know who they’re messing with.”

I signed rather than argue
. “I don’t think Carmen will like it if you walk around the festival propositioning people for signatures. Trust me. She is not in a good mood.”

“
We’ll be discreet,” Dad assured me.

Ha, I thought.
That would be the day.

“
Hello, Mr. and Reverend Hayes,” Mains said as he approached the booth.

I inward
ly groaned. Mains would show up when my parents were here, wouldn’t he?

Mom sniffed.
“Ricky. I hear you have another murder on your hands. Please try not to arrest any innocent persons this time.”

He
was nonplussed. “I’ll do my best.”

Dad lifted his clipboard up to Mains.
“We’d like your support on saving the high school bell tower. Will you sign?”

Mai
ns took the clipboard and read over the petition slowly. Mom’s eyes narrowed. Mains looked at me and gave me a half-smile. He signed the petition and handed it back to Dad.

Mom pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. I think she’d been hoping he wouldn’t sign it, so she could give him a lecture.

“India, we’ll be on our way,” Dad said to me. He took Zach’s leash, and the three of them set off in search of more signatures.

Mains sat in Ina’s chair uninvited.
“Don’t tell me that was Victor Lepcheck’s dog with your parents.”

“
Okay, I won’t.” I opened my cooler. It looked like I would need some fortification for this conversation. It was after three, and I’d yet to eat my packed lunch. After Ina’s you’re-going-to-be-thirty-and-slow-metabolism speech the day before, I decided to lay off the fried food for the rest of the festival. I opened the bag of baby carrot sticks and offered them to Mains. Peace, brother. I come bearing carrots.

He took a carrot, and I figured that was a good sign.

“And why do they have Zach?”

I liked that
he called Zach by his name instead of “dog” or the other things I had heard the labradoodle called over the last couple of days. I also liked how there was the faintest hint of a smile in his eyes. Relax India, I warned myself.

“
Well . . .” I blushed, realizing I was staring at him. I swallowed. “Lew gave him to me until things are settled. His wife’s afraid of dogs. It’s temporary. And we had a small mishap with the festival earlier, so I asked Mom—”

“
Mishap? That wouldn’t be the tea cozy–eating incident, would it? Knute told me about it.”

“
It would,” I muttered.

“
Uh-huh.” Mains crossed his arms. “And you were the only person in town Lew could have given the dog to?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t entirely sure if convenience was Lew’s only motivation f
or entrusting me with Zach.

“
Are you up to something?”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I have a feeling you’re tampering with my investigation. Again.” Mains took some more carrots from the bag and our fingers brushed.