Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (40 page)

All too often Fae had had to fight her own
internal war between being compassionate versus being effective.
While she had long ago accepted that as one of the hazards of the
job, it had never gotten easier. Especially when something in the
other person's voice reached right into her heart.

She took a deep breath and tucked her
emotions away. She finally had something to work with. Now was not
the time to be emotional.

Charlie had a stash of cookies in her room
that the girls made short work of before it was time for Starr to
get back to the cabin.

"Do you want to get together after dinner?"
Starr asked as they walked out onto the porch of Charlie's
cabin.

"Sure. If it's too buggy at the gazebo, we
can come back here."

"Okay. I'll see you then."

Starr walked slowly back to her cabin.
Despite what she had told Charlie, she did feel bad that her father
had taken off without a word and never called or even tried to see
her. When he had first left, she had thought about it a lot. Now
she didn't think about it.

At least most of the time.

Starr stopped walking as she suddenly
understood that she didn't
want
to think about it. Every
time she thought about her father, she felt really crappy. So she
didn't. If he did show up or call, though… Starr knew that she'd be
thrilled beyond anything. But she also knew that he never would. So
she resolved again not to think about him any more.

She would never admit any of this to anyone.
More importantly, she didn't want Charlie to feel bad just because
she had a great dad and Starr didn't.

As she returned to the cabin, Starr was
looking forward to a nice hot shower. Her clothes were sticking to
her and a little trickle of sweat was making her back itch. The
lemonade at Charlie's house and soothed her parched throat, but she
was already craving more. Maybe there's be time for a glass before
her mother showed up.

After they finished their drinks, Fowler had
intended to go straight to the dining room to make sure he would be
early enough to see the kid and her mother and follow them back
home. But the visit from the sheriff had set his nerves on
edge.

He charged the drinks to his room and put the
slip on the tray for the waiter to pick up, then leaned across the
table and quietly told Viv to follow him out to the car.

"Now what are you doing?" Her lips thinned in
a brief flare of irritation.

"Just do it. I'll explain later."

Her face blank, she picked up her purse, and
followed him obediently.

At the car, Fowler grabbed the suitcase
holding his casual clothes and handed Viv the cases with Diana's
things.

"We're staying?" Viv asked as she followed
him back inside.

Fowler didn't respond. When they got to the
room, he pulled the note off the door and tossed it in the waste
can. After closing the door, he tossed the suitcases on the
bed.

"I thought we were leaving," Viv
persisted.

"The sheriff said he wants us to stick
around. If we have our things here, then they'll think we're still
here. That'll give us a couple of days. Besides, we're going to be
filthy rich. We can buy new things later. Put whatever you aren't
going to need back."

He start unpacking his suitcase.

Viv watched him for a moment, her hand on her
hip, then unpacked Diana's things. "Do you still want me to wait
back at the motel?"

"First we'll do dinner. I need to watch
someone and I'll probably take off before we're done. You finish up
normally and then slip out the back way. Go to the motel and get
packed. If everything goes well, we'll be back in the Cities
tonight."

"And if not?"

"Then we'll be here for a few more days."

He double checked the pockets of the clothes
he was leaving to make sure there was nothing to link him to the
room. All anyone would have after today was Diana's information. In
the unlikely event they did investigate, by the time they got to
St. Paul, he and Viv would be long gone.

Starr was still thinking about her trip to
Ruby Cove when she got back to the cabin. She put her key in the
lock, but the deadbolt didn't make the little click it did when it
was unlocking. She turned the knob, feeling as if her lungs were
being squeezed by a giant hand. The door was unlocked and opened as
she pushed. She was sure she had locked it when she went to
breakfast. Starr hoped the unlocked door meant her mother had
gotten here early.

Her mind was still on the unlocked door as
she came in so it took a moment before she noticed her mother
standing in the living room, her arms folded in front of her. The
look on her mother's face was all too familiar. Starr was so
focused on her mother's face that she didn't see the sheriff
standing off to the side.

Starr stopped abruptly just inside the door,
wondering what she had done now. She couldn't think of anything,
but that didn't mean a lot. She couldn't seem to do anything right
as far as her mother was concerned. "Mom?"

"The sheriff is here and wants to have a word
with you." Her mother gestured and then Starr saw the sheriff who
seemed to take up most of the living room.

"Hi," Starr said, relaxing. "I came by this
morning, but you weren't there." At least she knew now why her
mother looked so pissed.

"That's why I'm here," he said. "Why don't we
go in the kitchen and sit down. I'd like to ask you a few
questions."

"OK." Starr slipped her backpack off and was
about to put it in the hallway when her mother grabbed her arm and
propelled her into the kitchen. Starr pulled away. "Geez, mom. I
was just taking it off."

"Sit," her mother hissed, pulling out a
chair.

Starr sat, letting the backpack slide to the
floor. Her mother stood behind her, her hands on Starr's shoulders
as if to hold her in place. Starr stared at the sheriff as he came
in and sat down opposite her, putting his hat on the table.

"Why don't you tell me what you think you saw
at the park," the sheriff said.

"I don't
think
I saw anything," Starr
retorted hotly. "I
did
see it. Mr. Fowler pushed his wife
into the Devil's Cauldron. I saw him do it."

Starr felt her mother's hands bite down on
her shoulders, but she kept her gaze on the sheriff's face. She had
reported a crime, but now they were making her feel as if
she
was the one who had done something wrong and it was
making her really mad.

"Now here's the thing," the sheriff said. "I
spoke to Mr. Fowler and his wife a little while ago at the Lodge.
She seems to be just fine."

"That's not his wife," Starr said.

"She had her driver's license."

"That's not his wife," Starr repeated. "It's
someone who looks a lot like her. I saw her this morning. She's
staying at the Bide-A-Wee in Ruby Cove. But she's not the same
person he pushed into the Cauldron."

"That's enough, Starr," her mother
snapped.

The sheriff held up his hand. "Mrs. Nelson.
Please. I'd like to hear what she has to say."

"But it's ridiculous."

"Maybe, but please sit down and let me
conduct this interview." He kept his eyes on Starr's face as he
said it.

Starr felt the pressure from her mother's
hands ease and then they were gone. Her mother stepped back and
leaned against the counter, her arms folded.

"So you saw this other woman at the motel
this morning," the sheriff said.

"That's right. Mr. Fowler went into the room
and they were talking about getting the look right and he told her
to go to Duluth to get better makeup."

"How do you know what they were talking
about?"

"I listened at the window," Starr admitted.
"I know I'm not supposed to do stuff like that, but after he killed
his wife, I thought it was important."

"I see." The sheriff leaned back and eyed her
as if she was an exotic bug. "You know it's wrong to make false
accusations, don't you?"

"Of course. But I'm telling the truth."

The way the sheriff was staring at her made
Starr feel as if she was being looked at under a microscope.

"I don't have the lab report back yet on the
Devil's Cauldron," he said finally. "But since I met someone Mr.
Fowler introduced as his wife, I have to believe you either made a
mistake or you're making it up. I find it hard to believe he'd have
a fake wife stashed in a motel room in Ruby Cove."

"Then check the end cabin at the motel and
see," Starr said hotly.

"So you're going to stick to your story."

"It's not a story. It's the truth." She
stared back at him, defiant.

"Do you have any proof?" the sheriff
asked.

"Not really," she said. She wasn't about to
tell him that Charlie had been with her. She didn't want her friend
to get into trouble, too.

"I thought as much," he said with a little
nod. "Now I'm prepared to believe you really think you saw David
Fowler push someone in the Cauldron, but at the moment it doesn't
look as if he did." He held up a hand as Starr started to reply.
"Let me finish. Accusations like this cause a lot of trouble.
Especially if they're not true. I'll be looking into things, but in
the meantime, it would be a really good idea to keep this to
yourself. Do you understand?"

What Starr understood was that he didn't
believe her and would probably not do anything at all. She also
understood very clearly that Fowler was going to get away with
murder and there probably wasn't anything she could do about
it.

"Starr," her mother said. "Tell the sheriff
you understand and that you'll stop accusing that man of
murder."

"I understand," Starr said quietly, her mouth
set.

"I'll make sure she doesn't cause any more
trouble," her mother said. "You have my word on that."

"It sounds like she's just got an overactive
imagination," the sheriff said. "She probably did see something and
thought it meant more than it did. Now that we've had a chance to
talk, I'm sure she realizes it was a mistake. I'm sure there won't
be any more trouble."

He stood up and picked up his hat. "Thanks
again, Mrs. Nelson."

Stunned, Starr remained in the chair while
her mother followed the sheriff to the door. She heard the door
close and then her mother came back to the kitchen and stood in the
door, her lips thin with fury.

"I've had it with you." Her mother spat the
words at her. "I've done everything I know how to do and yet you're
nothing but trouble. And this! To cause trouble for a guest at the
Lodge. Where I work!" She walked over to the window and stared
outside as if she would find some kind of solution lurking in the
pine trees surrounding the cabin.

"But I'm …."

"Not one more word. I can't do this any more.
I've already called your father's parents. They said they'd take
you in if you can't behave yourself here. And I'm sure that once
you're there, they'll appreciate having an extra hand around the
place. At least they'll be able to keep you busy and out of
trouble."

"You can't," Starr cried, jumping up.
"They're horrible." She saw the look on her mother's face and
melted back into her chair.

"Oh yes I can, missy. And furthermore, you're
grounded until you leave."

"But I'm telling the truth," Starr protested.
"I saw him push her in. Why won't you believe me?"

"Did you hear the sheriff?"

"Yes."

"Do you not understand that you can't fling
wild accusations around and cause trouble for people just because
you're bored?"

Starr realized that nothing she said would
make any difference. "I wasn't trying to cause trouble," she said
quietly. "And I promise I won't tell anyone else what I saw. Just
please don't make me stay with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson."

"Too late," her mother said flatly. "You
should have thought about that before. Now get washed up so we can
get dinner. Afterwards, you're coming right back here. And I don't
want to hear another word from you. Do you understand?"

Starr nodded. "Yes."

"Then get going."

Starr picked up her backpack and took it to
her room. She had to figure out how to contact Charlie and let her
know what happened.

When they got to the dining room, Fowler made
sure to get a table by the window that also gave him a good view of
the employee dining area. He had anticipated a few roadblocks as
they arrived, but those never materialized. As he took his seat,
the girl's long red hair was like a beacon. Even better, she was
sitting with her back to him, so he didn't have to worry that she'd
see him watching her. The mother turned out to be gorgeous with
finely drawn features that were currently set in a tight mask. Even
from across the room he could see that she was on edge. He wondered
if perhaps the sheriff had had a little talk with her and the
brat.

He smirked as he took the menu from the
waitress. When she had gone, Viv leaned closer.

"What's that for?" she asked, intrigued.

"Very casually, turn your head a little and
check out the kid with the red hair."

She turned as if looking for something in the
room, and then looked back at him. "What about her?"

"She has something I need to get back," he
said. "If you see her leave, nudge me. I need to find out where she
lives."

She gave him an uncertain frown. "What are
you trying to get?"