Murder Can Confuse Your Chihuahua Page 2

  I spotted the river up ahead as the sun sparkled off the water’s surface. Gravel in shades of gray and white made up the rocky shoreline. Small waves lapped at the water’s edge, with knobby driftwood nearby. Trees hemmed the flow of the water. The only sound came from the creak of the tall trees swaying with the wind, the drone of insects, and the gentle lap of the water against the shore.

  “How beautiful, Van,” I said.

  He barked, his four legs lifting off the ground with the motion.

  “What is it, Van?” I asked as he tugged on the leash.

  Obviously, he wanted me to see something. He dragged me closer to the water. I caught a glimpse of something on the ground up ahead. It was partially hidden behind one of the trees. As I grew near, I soon realized the legs on the ground were sticking out from behind the tree’s trunk. Someone wearing white tennis shoes was there.

  “Oh my gosh, Van. Someone’s hurt.” I scooped him up and rushed toward the person.

  As soon as I came upon the woman, I knew she was more than just hurt. She was dead.

  CHAPTER 2

  Be aware of your surroundings. You never know when a customer or a killer might pop up.

  “We have to get help right away, Van.”

  I couldn’t believe this was happening. I ran away from the body, almost tripping over branches and pine cones as I tried to reach someone for help. Too bad I didn’t have my phone with me. I’d left it back at the trailer. I needed to take my phone with me all the time in case something terrible like this happened. But I’d thought we would be alone out there and things would be fine. I was wrong.

  Every little noise captured my attention, and I kept glancing over my shoulder as I ran away from the river. It felt as if someone watched me and was chasing me. But I was sure that I was just paranoid because of what I’d discovered. I wasn’t sure what had happened to the woman, but it didn’t appear to be an accident. I hoped I was wrong.

  Just as I came to the end of the path, a tall, dark-haired man popped out in front of me. I screamed. His dark eyes penetrated me. I just knew this was the killer. The woman had been murdered, and this man had done it.

  “Are you all right?” the man asked in a creepy voice.

  I tried to steady my breathing, but it seemed almost impossible. Why was he asking if I was okay? He probably knew that I’d discovered the woman. Of course, I wasn’t okay.

  “There’s a woman in danger back there by the river. Actually, she’s more than in danger. I think she’s dead.” My voice shook, along with the rest of my body.

  The man stared at me. “Is that right?”

  “You don’t believe me?” I gestured for the man to get out of my way. “Excuse me, but I need to go get help.”

  It had taken a lot of courage to stand up to that guy. At any second, he could have attacked me too. I moved around him and raced toward the area where the booths were set up. I had to get Caleb right away. As I neared the area, I spotted Caleb. I yelled out to him, and he made eye contact with me. He probably knew by the expression on my face that something was terribly wrong.

  Caleb noticed Van in my arms as he ran toward me. “Is everything okay with Van?”

  “He’s fine. There’s a woman by the river. I think she’s dead,” I said breathlessly,

  Caleb stared at me as if what I’d said wasn’t computing.

  After a few more seconds, he asked, “Can you show me where she is?”

  “Follow me,” I said.

  Caleb and I took off running toward the area. I hoped that it wasn’t too late for her, but I was almost positive that it was. We hit the dirt path again, and it felt as if it was an even longer trip to the river this time. Plus, the terrain seemed even rougher. Had more branches been knocked over since the last time I came down the path? They really needed to clear this out. Where had the man that I’d encountered on the path gone? He had acted so strangely that I worried he might be waiting for us.

  When Caleb and I came to the river, I pointed to the tree. The woman’s legs were still visible from behind the trunk.

  “There she is,” I said, trying to catch my breath.

  I followed Caleb the rest of the way to the tree. We came to a halt when we reached the woman.

  Caleb knelt down to check the woman. “She’s been dead for a while. Probably at least several hours.”

  My stunned expression probably said it all, which was good because I was speechless right now. Caleb pulled out his phone and placed a call. I stepped away in the opposite direction. The strange man was nowhere around. Watching the flowing river instead of the dead woman, I listened to Caleb as he talked with the police.

  When Caleb got off the phone, he asked, “Do you think you can go back and wait for the police to arrive?”

  “Yeah, I can do that,” I said.

  Actually, I was relieved to get out of there, although I hated leaving Caleb alone.

  “Just be careful,” he said. “I need to stay here with the body.”

  “There was one other thing,” I said before walking away.

  “What’s that?” he asked with a frown.

  “A man was on the path and popped out in front of me. He confronted me right after I found the body.”

  Caleb’s brow pinched together, and he said, “What did the man say?”

  “He asked me if I was all right. I told him about the body I’d found, but he just acted as if I’d told him that I was going for a stroll. It was very strange. After that I took off to find you. I didn’t wait for him to say anything else.”

  “Did you see where he went?” Caleb asked.

  “No, I didn’t, and I’d never seen him before.”

  “Okay, just be careful, all right? Text me when you get up there,” he said.

  “I will,” I said, moving away toward the path.

  I raced back down the path toward the arts and craft area, hoping the entire time that I didn’t run into that man again. After all, he could be the killer. I just knew that the woman’s injuries weren’t consistent with an accident. Not with the way her neck was twisted.

  When I reached the area, I went over to the spot where the police would park. As I stood there, it felt as if someone was staring at me. Glancing to my left, I spotted the man who had been on the path. Frantically, I typed out a text message to Caleb.

  That strange man I saw on the path is close by. He is staring at me.

  Just stay away from him. We’ll have the police speak with him.

  Even though I thought the man was creepy, I still wanted to know who he was. So instead of doing what Caleb asked me to do, I walked over to the weird guy. He had been watching me, but when I walked toward him, he acted as if he didn’t know I was anywhere around. This guy was strange. Maybe Caleb was right, and I should stay away. The weirdo wouldn’t murder me right out here in the open, though, would he?

  The man kept his focus in the opposite direction as I approached him. As I neared, I realized he was working on his art project. Instead of looking toward me, he continued putting paint on the canvas in front of him. So he was a painter too, huh? His work was much darker than mine—blackness surrounded fire, monsters, and hideous beasts. It was quite disturbing.

  “Excuse me,” I said.

  “Yes?” His voice dripped with irritation.

  “I told you there was a woman injured back there, and you ignored me.” I gestured toward the path.

  He swiped the paintbrush across the canvas in an angry motion. “What do you want me to do about it?”

  “Nothing now. I called for help.” I narrowed my eyes. “Are you a vendor here?”

  I knew the answer to that by the fact that he was sitting at one of the booths and had his artwork all around. Nevertheless, I wanted details straight from his mouth.

  “Obviously,” he said.

  Well, he had a sweet demeanor. What a nice guy, I thought, and I meant that in the most sarcastic way possible.

  “The police are on their way,” I said as a warning
to him.

  “Good for them,” he said, swiping his brush across the canvas.

  “I believe someone murdered that woman.” I placed my hands on my hips.

  A startled expression came over his face. The sirens caught my attention, and I spotted the police cars as they pulled up. I studied his face for a second. He had nothing else to say, so I hurried away to meet the police.

  Several police cars pulled up, with lights flashing and sirens blaring. This had captured the attention of quite a few of the vendors. They had no idea what had just happened. Who was the dead woman? Had she been a vendor here too? I was surprised to see Detective Pierce Meyer as he got out of a car. He wore his usual black slacks and button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up at the forearms.

  Pierce had recently become an agent with the FBI. He’d said the change had been in the works for some time, but I wondered if it had anything to do with Caleb. Did he not like working with Caleb? They were competitive, and this only seemed to escalate the more I got to know the two men. Pierce made eye contact with me right away as he walked toward me. Why had they sent the FBI?

  “Celeste, are you all right?” Pierce asked.

  “I’m fine. I’ll show you the body. Caleb is staying with the woman until you arrive.”

  Pierce quirked an eyebrow, but he didn’t comment about Caleb being here at the craft fair with me. It was a bit strange to have so many police officers following me. My brothers would no doubt have made a ton of jokes about this if they’d seen me. Thank goodness they weren’t around. Though they would be here soon enough. My entire family would show up for the farewell picnic at the end of the craft fair. No doubt something chaotic would occur. It always did when they were around.

  Soon we reached the entrance to the pathway that led down to the river. Pierce and the officers followed me down the path. The sound of their steps as they crunched over the dead branches and pine needles echoed through the hot air. The water came into view.

  I pointed toward the tree. “She’s right over there.”

  Caleb was nowhere around, and panic took over. What if the killer had been here and gotten him? Relief washed over me when I saw him step out from behind the tree.

  Officers reached for their guns, but Pierce said, “Stop. He’s a police officer.”

  Pierce and the other officers moved toward Caleb. An officer stayed with me, and we waited back a few steps. Already they had the crime tape out and were blocking off the area. Pierce and Caleb spoke with each other while glancing over at me. I knew I had a lot of questions to answer. I checked the time on my phone. I’d miss the opening of the craft fair. Would the coordinators be mad at me for that? Surely, they would understand under the circumstances. A few more seconds passed, and the men walked over to me.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through this,” Pierce said, touching my arm.

  “I was here with her right after, so she felt safe after that,” Caleb said.

  Pierce frowned at Caleb. Caleb ignored him.

  “It was shocking,” I said.

  “We can go back to your trailer if you’d like. I need to ask you a few questions.” Pierce gestured.

  “Okay,” I said.

  Caleb offered me a comforting grin. Or was it his way of saying he didn’t want me to leave with Pierce? Reading the men was difficult. Pierce walked beside me as we made our way back to the trailer. Caleb stayed behind to speak with another detective. He’d have to talk to Pierce at some point.

  We’d just reached the trailer when a woman approached.

  “Is Erica okay? It’s her, isn’t it? She’s the one in danger?” Her voice was full of panic.

  I’d seen the grayed-haired woman earlier at a nearby booth when I’d been stuck in the mud.

  Pierce directed her to step closer to us. “Ma’am, you’re searching for someone?”

  “Yes, Erica Miller. She had the booth beside mine. When she didn’t come back last night, I got worried. I thought maybe she decided to spend the night somewhere else. Now, with all the police here, I got worried that something had happened to her.”

  “Can you describe the woman?” Pierce asked. “What was she wearing when you last saw her?”

  “Blue shorts, white shirt, and white tennis shoes. She is such a pretty young girl.”

  As soon as she gave the description, I knew that the Erica this woman was searching for was the same woman I’d found by the river. I supposed the grimace on my face said it as well.

  “Oh no, something happened to Erica,” the woman said, staring at me. “Are the rumors true? They found a woman’s body by the river? Did she drown?”

  “Are you related to her?” Pierce asked.

  “No, I just met her last night. She was so nice, though. This is terrible.” The woman twisted her wrinkled hands.

  “Can you tell me when you saw her last?” Pierce asked.

  “It was around seven. Just before dark. She said she was going for a walk. I told her to be careful. I never thought something like this could happen. Did she drown?” the woman asked again.

  That means she had to have been murdered sometime between seven p.m. and eight a.m. the next morning. Who would want to strangle her? Was it a random attack by a predator or someone who had it in for Erica? A shiver ran down my spine to think that a killer was out there somewhere. Was it the man I’d discovered on the path? I needed to find out more about him.

  I hated to tell the woman that it didn’t appear as if Erica had drowned or as if she had been in the water at all.

  “We’re not sure what happened yet,” Pierce said.

  “She made the most beautiful metal sculptures. She had a lot of talent. Such a shame,” she said.

  “What’s your name?” Pierce asked.

  “Sarah Jane Winchester,” the woman said.

  Pierce wrote down her name. “We may have more questions for you later.”

  “Certainly,” she said.

  “I’m Celeste Cabot,” I said, sticking out my hand. “I have the booth here.”

  She shook my hand. “Nice to meet you, Celeste. I’ll be at my booth if you need me.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Pierce said.

  When the woman walked away, Pierce focused his attention on me again.

  “Erica was murdered, wasn’t she?” I asked.

  The expression on Pierce’s face was the answer I had expected. I knew by the injuries that it wasn’t an accident.

  “We’ll know more once the coroner arrives,” he said.

  Movement caught my attention.

  “There’s the guy,” I said, pointing to the man who had stopped me on the path.

  “I’ll talk with him. Stay here, and I’ll see you before I leave.” He touched my arm.

  Did he think I was going for another walk? That probably wouldn’t happen for a while now that this had occurred. As Pierce walked away, I felt the sensation of being watched. I checked to my left and saw the woman at the booth next to me staring.

  When she realized I was watching her, she stepped over to me.

  “Good morning. My name is Karla Dean.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, stretching my hand out to her.

  “I heard what happened. You discovered the body?” she asked.

  Word certainly traveled quickly. I briefly explained what had happened.

  “That’s when I encountered that guy over there,” I gestured with a tilt of my head.

  Unfortunately, his attention was fixated on us, and he saw me call him out. Plus, he realized that Karla was staring at him too. Pierce was still there, asking him questions, yet the man was glaring at me. I supposed he wasn’t happy that I’d sent the police over to talk to him. I couldn’t help it, though. He had been near the scene of the crime, and that was something they needed to know.

  “I know him,” Karla said. “His name is Danny Manslick. I’ve seen him at other art shows.” She rubbed her arms. “He gives me the creeps, and I try to avoid him.”

  “I get
that same vibe. He just popped out in front of me on the path.” I scanned the area. “Obviously, it’s not as safe as I thought around here.”

  “I’ve never heard of anyone not feeling safe here. Though I guess that’s all changed now,” she said.

  “I hope we get some answers soon,” I said. “Were you here last night, or did you arrive this morning?”

  “I stopped by last night, but I left. I came back this morning,” she said.

  “Celeste?” Caleb said.

  Caleb had walked up to my booth.

  “It was nice talking to you, Karla,” I said with a wave.

  “You too,” she said as she eyed Caleb.

  After a couple of seconds, she went back to her booth. I was glad to see Caleb. Maybe he had more answers. I still couldn’t shake my uneasy feeling. I supposed it would hold on to me for quite some time.

  “How are you?” I asked. “Do you have any news for me?”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “Nothing definitive yet. I believe she was strangled.”

  “That’s what I thought,” I said.

  My attention floated over to Danny. At least he wasn’t watching me now. Pierce certainly had a lot of questions for him. Maybe they would arrest him soon.

  “Do you think that guy did it?” I lowered my voice so Danny wouldn’t hear me.

  “It’s too early to say if that’s what happened. We have no evidence yet. I’d say he’s a person of interest, though. Of course, this isn’t my case,” Caleb said,

  “I’m surprised they sent the FBI,” I said.

  “Well, it is federal land. The church only owns the land to that tree line over there.” Caleb pointed toward a large oak tree. “The rest including the river is part of the national park.”

  When I felt someone staring, I checked to the right. Pierce had finished talking with Danny and was headed our way. Caleb peered down at his shoes as if he’d been dreading this time.

  “Aren’t you arresting him?” I asked when Pierce joined us.

  He chuckled. “I don’t have reason for that just yet.”