Cast Iron Cover-Up (The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries Book 3) (13 page)

Annie still hadn’t put her phone away. As she dialed a number, I asked her, “Are you calling Kathleen after all?”

“She needs to get someone out here,” Annie said. “Even if this isn’t related to Bones’s murder, no one should be out here.”

“Even Timothy?” I took a chance of suggesting.

“Even him,” she said.

A minute later, she hit something on her phone and put it back into her pocket.

“No luck?” I asked her.

“It went straight to voicemail. I’ll just tell her when she brings the troops out to my place.”

I glanced at my watch. “Which is going to happen sooner rather than later. Shouldn’t we get going?”

“Yes, but I’d still like to snoop around here a little more,” Annie said. “I’ve got a hunch this land has more secrets to give up if we’re just smart enough to find them.”

“According to some old stories I’ve heard, folks have been looking for Jasper’s treasure for a great many years. A few days shouldn’t matter much, one way or the other.”

“I’m not talking about treasure hunting,” Annie said a little too severely. “I’m looking for the killer.”

“And I’m not?” I asked her sharply.

She frowned, and then it slowly transformed itself into the hint of a smile. “I’m sorry, Pat. You’re right. I get carried away sometimes.”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” I said, smiling in return, showing her that all was well between us.

“Let’s get going,” Annie said.

As we got into the truck, I asked, “Is there anything I can do to help when we get to the cabin?”

“You can start a fire,” she said.

“It’s not that chilly yet,” I replied as she carefully turned around and drove back down the path we’d come up so recently.

“Maybe not, but it will be later this evening. Besides, this fire isn’t going to be strictly for warmth. I’ve decided that my cabin’s going to be crowded enough when we all finally go to sleep tonight, so I’m going to use the great outdoors as our kitchen, dining room, and living room this evening.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me,” I said. “In answer to your question, I’d be delighted to start the fire.”

“Of course you would,” she said, grinning. “Has a man been born yet that wasn’t a pyromaniac the second he popped out of his mother’s womb?”

“Maybe so, but if there is, I haven’t met him yet, and I’m not sure that I’d like to. Fire brings out the primitive side of our nature. There’s something elemental about it that I can’t explain, but I know its pull when I feel it.”

“Timothy acts the exact same way,” she said, and I could see a hint of sadness in her gaze as she spoke. It would be difficult for her to mend fences with him after this was over, but if anyone could do it, I knew that Annie could. At least I had been spared that much. Jenna was still out of town, and one way or the other, by the time she got back to Maple Crest, our investigation would be finished. I couldn’t imagine the circumstances that would keep our four main suspects in town after the next morning, so Annie and I had to work quickly. There had to be a way of figuring out who the killer was.

I just wished we had a single clue as to how to go about it.

At least we had some time alone with our suspects, which may not have been the best thing for our prospects of achieving long-term health. After all, the odds were pretty good that one of them was a killer, and we were about to enter into a situation when our very lives were going to hang in the balance. If we got too close, the murderer might consider us threats that had to be eliminated. On the other hand, if we missed this opportunity to figure out exactly who had done it, we’d never get another chance.

Either way, I had the feeling that Annie and I were in for a long night.

Just how long, I had no idea at that moment, but I would find out soon enough.

Chapter 21: Annie

W
hile Pat started working on getting the fire started in the pit out by the pond, I went inside to prep the night’s meal. At least I knew that none of our guests were vegetarians, since they’d all eaten at my grill before. That was a real plus, since nearly all of my cast iron meals tended to be meat centric. It wasn’t that I couldn’t make anything without including meat in it; it just wasn’t my preference. The evening’s meal was going to be a fairly standard stew, one that I would feel comfortable serving to just about anyone. Since my exterior Dutch oven had three legs to keep it elevated above the coals, I tended to brown my meat inside when the opportunity presented itself with one of my standard skillets at the stovetop. That would come later, though. Once I had everything set up inside, I walked outside to see how the fire was coming along.

“That looks great,” I said as I joined Pat. He had a decent fire going, and I could already see some coals starting to form.

“I expected Kathleen to be here by now,” he said.

“Should I call her?” I offered as he added a few more medium-sized logs to the fire.

“No, let’s use the time we’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do,” he said.

“I thought we’d already decided on a game plan. First we feed them, then we entertain them, and just before bed, we pounce.”

He laughed. “I was thinking we’d try something more subtle than that.”

“What did you have in mind? Are we going to play good cop/bad cop? I’ll do it, but only if I get to be the bad one.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of us sowing doubt in everyone’s minds about their compatriots. If we can get them to turn on each other, we might just see a crack in someone’s armor.”

“Do you think that could work?” I asked him.

“It’s better than grilling them again. Kathleen’s already exhausted that routine, so I feel as though we need to plant a little doubt and then step back and see what happens when they start dealing with their own issues without outside interference.”

“When did you get so devious?” I asked my brother with a smile.

“It’s what naturally happens when you grow up with two devious sisters,” he answered with a chuckle.

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” I said.

“Good, because that’s how I meant it.”

Pat poked at the fire as I heard someone driving up my lane. That was one of the good things about living at the end of a pretty extensive driveway. Nobody could sneak up on me there, at least not on four wheels. Kathleen came around the corner in the police van, carrying our overnight guests, a group that just happened to include all of our most viable suspects.

“Thanks for doing this, Annie,” Kathleen said loudly. “Everyone was happy to take you up on your generous offer.”

“Not everybody,” Marty said. “I still can’t believe that your deputy left town with the keys to the lockup where our IDs and wallets were stored. What kind of Mayberry nightmare kind of town do you live in here?”

I could see Kathleen wasn’t pleased with the criticism, but she did her best to smile. “As I said before, I apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing any of you. You have Maple Crest’s most sincere regrets that this occurred.”

“The only thing I regret is coming here in the first place,” Marty said.

“You didn’t have to, you know,” Peggy said a little defensively. “We’d have been perfectly fine with just Henry to interpret the map he found.”

Henry didn’t comment, but I could see that he was trying to hide a smile and failing pretty miserably at it.

“Peggy, Marty’s important, too,” Gretchen said, coming to his defense, which definitely got the surly man’s attention.

“Thanks,” he said. “It’s good to know that at least someone appreciates me.”

Henry shook his head. “Marty, Peggy knows as well as I do that you’ve pitched in more than your share. Right, Peggy?” he asked as he turned to her.

“Of course,” she said without making eye contact with Marty. It was clear to everyone there that her apology was less than sincere, but evidently Marty decided to ignore that fact.

“I thought we’d be eating soon,” Peggy said as she looked at the fire. “Is it inside?”

“I haven’t started cooking yet,” I told them. “We have to let the fire die down more before the coals will be ready.”

“I’m hungry now, though,” she said.

“We could always start with dessert,” I said. I’d snagged an apple pie when we’d left the Iron, figuring that it might make a nice ending for our meal.

“I’m all for that,” Henry said.

“Sounds good to me, too,” Peggy added, and the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

“Stay right here, and I’ll grab the pie and plates,” I said.

“Do you need a hand?” Peggy asked.

“Sure. That would be great.”

“I’ll help, too,” Gretchen added.

“Thanks, but we’ve got it,” I said. I wanted to get Peggy alone. Otherwise, it would be hard to plant any doubt in her mind about her companions. Gretchen looked disappointed, so I added, “You can help me with the meal prep later if you’d like.”

“Cool,” she said.

Kathleen looked at me steadily before she said, “If you’ll all excuse me, I’d better get going. I’ve got rounds to make this evening.”

“Will you be coming back by the cabin tonight?” Pat asked her.

“It’s doubtful,” she said, something that we’d arranged with her earlier. We wanted this group to be relaxed and confident that it would just be the six of us, without any signs of law enforcement there, even if it was our sister. Kathleen would come back later, but only if we called her. Otherwise, she was going to set up camp at the end of our driveway, just a minute away if things got ugly at some point and we needed her. She’d kept a sleeping bag for herself in the police van, and though Pat and I had argued with her about the arrangements, she’d insisted.

After Kathleen was gone, supposedly for the night, I said, “Let’s go, Peggy.”

We walked into my cabin, and I started gathering plates and forks.

“What can I do to help?” she asked me.

“You can grab the pie,” I said. “I cut it earlier, so we should be fine.” Pretending to just realize that we needed something else to drink so I could stall for a little time, I asked, “Does everyone in your group like coffee?”

“Oh, yes,” she said.

“Then let’s make some,” I volunteered. “It won’t take long.”

Without even waiting for her to agree, I started a fresh pot. At least that way, I’d have a little time to talk to one of our lead suspects. After all, Pat and I had already realized that Peggy could have killed Bones and then reported finding his body on the dig site. But I knew that questioning her about that would get me nowhere. This situation called for a little more subtlety than that. “Henry seems to be quite a fan of yours,” I said. “Have you two been dating long?”

She flushed a little before she replied, “Oh, we’re not going out.”

“But you’d like to, am I right?” I asked her.

“Let’s just put it this way. If he asked me out, I wouldn’t say no.”

“Why would you? He’s a nice-looking young man, and he seems sweet as well. You should have seen him with Gretchen while you were in the hospital. He was really nice to her, too.”

“What? He was with Gretchen?” Peggy asked, clearly alarmed by the prospect.

“They were both concerned about you,” I said. “I think it helped them bond a little.”

“But she likes Marty,” Peggy protested.

“I’m sure you’re right,” I said, doing my best to sound as unconvincing as I could. “How did you get along with Bones?”

“He was all right,” Peggy said.

“No sparks there, though?” I asked her.

“Romantically? No. Ewww.”

“How about on his end?” I asked.

She hesitated too long before replying. “Not really.”

“Peggy, that’s not what I heard earlier. It was quite a bit more intense than that, wasn’t it?” It was a shot worth taking, and I was pleased to see that it hit home.

She frowned for a moment, and then she started to cry. “He said he wouldn’t say anything. I can’t believe that he told you about it.”

“Wouldn’t you feel better if you told me about it yourself?” I asked her, since I had no idea what she was talking about.

“I thought Henry must have told you about it,” she said, puzzled.

“No, he didn’t breathe a word of it to me,” I answered.

“It was really no big deal. Bones thought everyone was away from the main dig site, so he tried to make a move on me. I shut him down, but he had a hard time getting the message. I don’t know what would have happened if Henry hadn’t come back for some water. He saw what was going on, and he warned Bones that if he tried anything else, he’d have to answer to him. It was really kind of gallant when you think about it.”

“So, Henry was jealous of the way Bones was acting? Is that what you’re saying? Did it make him angry to see him pressing you?”

“It wasn’t like that, Annie. He was just looking out for me, that’s all.”

I could see that I’d pushed her as far as I could manage. “I didn’t mean to stir anything up. Would you mind taking the pie and the plates outside to the picnic table? You can send Gretchen in for the mugs, the napkins, and the forks.”

“Okay,” she said, but then she hesitated at the door. “Don’t say anything to the others about what happened, okay? I don’t want anyone else getting the wrong idea.”

“What might that be?” I asked her.

“Henry was just trying to help me out, but I was perfectly capable of shutting Bones down by myself. I’d rather not talk about it anymore, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Got it,” I said with a smile.

Peggy left, and as I waited for Gretchen to show up, I wondered about a new set of possibilities. Could Henry have killed Bones trying to protect Peggy? Or had she led me to that conclusion to draw suspicion away from herself? Then again, it might not be true at all, since she’d asked me not to say anything to the rest of the group about Bones’s alleged behavior. I wondered if Henry would have a different story entirely if I managed to corner him and ask him about it myself. I was still trying to figure out if I’d actually learned anything useful at all when Gretchen came in.

“Peggy said you needed a hand,” she said.

“If you’d hang back until the coffee is ready, you can take the tray out. That way you don’t have to help me prep our dinner.”

“I really don’t mind,” she said.

“I appreciate that, but I’ve been doing this for so long, I could just about cook with cast iron in my sleep. What’s going on with you and Marty?”

“What do you mean?”

“You jumped to his defense pretty fast a few minutes ago,” I said. “Is there something between you two, or are you just going after Henry?”

Gretchen shook her head. “I’m not interested in either one of them,” she said.

“So, was it Bones you liked?” I was trying to drive some wedges in, but so far, at least with Gretchen, I wasn’t having any luck.

“Bones? No. No way. He wasn’t a very nice guy, to be honest with you.”

“Did he make a hard pass at you, too?” I asked before I realized that I’d just told her something Peggy had asked me to keep in confidence. In my defense, I hadn’t meant to do it, if that counted for anything, which I suspected it wouldn’t, at least with Peggy.

Gretchen surprised me with her response. “He hit on Peggy, too? I know you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead and all, but come on. That’s just crazy.”

“So, I take it you didn’t reciprocate his affection.”

“No. All Bones had going for him was his daddy’s money. He was determined to find the Blankenship money and lord it over his father after we found it.”

“Do you think he would have shared it with the rest of you if he’d found it first?” I asked.

Gretchen frowned. “I asked Marty that same question a few days ago. He assured me that it wasn’t going to happen, so I shouldn’t worry about it.”

“How could he promise you something like that?” I asked her.

“He said he was keeping an eye on our team leader, so if anything untoward happened, he’d know about it.”

“Does that mean that he saw Bones make a pass at you? He likes you, you know.”

“I’m sure that it’s nothing,” Gretchen said.

“Maybe not as far as you’re concerned, but I’m fairly certain that he has strong feelings for you.”

“If he does, then I’ll set him straight, just like I did Bones. I just got out of a long relationship. I’m not looking for anybody at the moment.”

“Just treasure, right?”

Gretchen frowned. “Annie, I don’t have a trust fund like Bones did or rich parents like Peggy and Henry must. I’m working my way through school. If we found something, I was going to use my share to pay off my student loans.”

“What were the others going to do with their shares?” I asked her.

“Henry was going to use his portion to feed his research on other buried treasure. He believes he has a lead on where some of the lost Confederate gold disappeared to. Do you know about that?”

“It’s hard not to, living around here. Most folks believe the treasure was found and spent a long time ago.”

“Not Henry. He claims that he has a new lead from reading some personal histories of the gold shipment’s escorts, and with some funding, he’s sure he can find it.”

“Why didn’t he get Bones to finance it?” I asked.

Gretchen frowned. “He tried to, but Bones said that we had to find a smaller stake first, and then he’d consider it.” She leaned forward as she added, “If we found anything here in Maple Crest, Henry wasn’t going to let Bones in on the new excavation at all. Finding the Blankenship treasure is as important to his dreams as mine are to me.” She glanced over at the coffee pot. “Is that ready yet?”

“It is,” I said reluctantly. I wasn’t finished talking with Gretchen, but my coffee pot had other ideas.

“I’ll just take this out to everyone else. Are you coming, too?”

“Let me prep the meal, and I’ll be right out. Does your offer to help still stand?” I was going to do whatever I could to get her to linger a little longer so we could chat a little more.

“I would be glad to help, but from the sound of things, I’d probably just get in your way,” she said.

After Gretchen was gone, I decided to prep the meal as quickly as I could so I wouldn’t miss anything outside. Adding a few tablespoons of olive oil and butter to one of my larger cast iron skillets, I put it on a burner and set it to medium heat. While the oil and butter were heating up, I took the stew beef I’d taken from the Iron and coated it in flour, lightly enhanced with salt and pepper. After they were prepped, I browned the chunks of beef in the skillet, and once they were finished on all sides, I transferred them to my Dutch oven. While the beef had been browning, I’d added a can of beef stock, two sliced onions, four cubed potatoes, six carrots cut into broad chunks, and a green pepper thrown in for good measure. At the last second, I added a few bay leaves and a bit of minced garlic, and it was ready for the fire once the meat had been added.