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WYATT HAD ALREADY CALLED Ramsay, Meadow’s husband and the chief of police in Dappled Hills. By the time Beatrice reached Gerald’s business, a factory that manufactured pimento cheese, named Dappled Hills Pimento Cheese, Ramsay was already grimly cordoning off the business so that any arriving employees wouldn’t disturb the crime scene.
Wyatt was pale and looked shaken. He gave Beatrice a hug as she approached.
“That must have been awful,” she said, squeezing him tightly.
“It was. It was just the unexpectedness of it. The fact that I was going in for a meeting and then, this.” His face was drawn.
“And you said it didn’t appear that Gerald’s death was natural?” asked Beatrice.
He shook his head. “No. I mean, I didn’t see exactly what could have killed him. He wasn’t bloody, and there wasn’t a weapon nearby that I could see. But he’d been . . . tied up,” he said a bit shakily.
“Tied up?”
“To his office chair. Obviously, there was no way that he could have done that himself,” said Wyatt.
Ramsay came back out to them and sighed. “What a way to start a day. I have the state police on the way out here, but I wanted to get a statement from Wyatt first.” He hesitated and then said, “Wyatt, you know I don’t think you have anything whatsoever to do with this, but I have to ask you some questions. And the state police may, too. It’s just that you were the first on the scene here. What were you doing before you came out here?”
Wyatt said ruefully, “Sleeping. Oversleeping.”
“Indeed he was,” said Beatrice. “He was scrambling to get here on time to meet with Gerald.”
“You were together before he drove out?” asked Ramsay, jotting down notes.
Wyatt quickly said, “Beatrice left to pick up muffins for a while.”
Beatrice raised her eyebrows. “Maybe for ten minutes, round-trip, from our house to June Bug’s bakery. I hardly think you could have driven down here, murdered poor Gerald, and then ended up back at the house to get ready in that amount of time.”
Ramsay said, “Neither do I. What were y’all meeting about, by the way?”
Wyatt said, “It was about the church renovation project.” When Ramsay frowned, Wyatt continued. “We’re putting a new HVAC system into the Sunday school building. Gerald was in charge of hearing quotes . . . I suppose it was more like bids, since it’s a big project. He was to report back to me this morning.”
Ramsay nodded and jotted down a few notes. “Was Gerald very involved in the church?”
“He was. He was an elder, actually. And he had good business acumen. When he offered to oversee the bids, I was happy to let him take it over.”
“Was the door locked or unlocked when you arrived?” asked Ramsay.
Wyatt considered this. He said slowly, “At first, I just knocked. I saw Gerald’s car here, and I thought it would be better to knock since it was his office and not a public place. When I didn’t get an answer, I thought maybe he was on the phone or something and couldn’t answer so I tried the door. It opened right up.”
Ramsay jotted down more notes and nodded. “All right. Well, this is quite a mess. And Gerald is one of our most prominent citizens, so there’s going to be a lot of local attention focused on this case. I’ll need to notify the family. And Wyatt, since the family is so involved with the church, I’m sure you’ll be busy, too.”
Wyatt said slowly, “It was mostly Gerald who was involved, although I saw his wife with him quite often, and sometimes his son. I’ll make sure to stop by and visit with them after you’ve notified the family.”
Ramsay said, “Oh, and if you can both keep the method of his death quiet, I’d appreciate it. At least the part about him being tied up.”
“Of course,” said Wyatt.
Cars had been driving up and been redirected by Ramsay’s deputy as they spoke. But one car simply parked farther away instead of leaving. A tall man wearing a crisp white shirt, pressed gray pants, and a red tie walked briskly up to them.
“Mark Carpenter, Gerald’s son,” said Ramsay in a sad voice. “This is the worst part of the whole job.”
Cutting to the chase, Mark quickly said, “What’s happening? Ramsay? Wyatt?”
Ramsay said, “Mark, can I have a few words? Maybe over there?” He pointed to a table and chairs under trees that apparently served as an employee break area.
Mark shook his head. “Here is fine, thanks.” He was clearly the kind of man who didn’t have much patience with formalities or people trying to be sensitive.
Ramsay said, “I have some bad news. I’m very sorry. Your father died sometime early this morning, after he arrived at work. Wyatt discovered him when he arrived.”
Mark turned to Wyatt who said gently, “We were supposed to have a meeting this morning on the church renovations.”
Mark pressed his lips together and then took a deep, steadying breath. “I see. Was it a heart attack? I always told Dad that he was working too hard. He was the kind of man who never took a vacation and rarely even took breaks during the day.”
“I’m afraid his death wasn’t natural. We’re opening a murder investigation,” said Ramsay somberly.
Mark’s face was a study of confusion. “Murdered? Dad?” He took a small step back and then stood perfectly still as if to prove that he was fine. “That’s quite a shock.” But to Beatrice, he seemed more taken aback than truly shocked. But he definitely seemed confused and as if his mind was going in a million directions.
Mark put his hand to his head as if it hurt. “That’s going to be terrible for the business.”
Beatrice and Ramsay glanced at each other.
Mark continued, “Sorry. That must have sounded very unfeeling. It’s actually the first thing that my father would have said if the roles were reversed. Let’s see if I can explain. It’s just that part of the appeal of the business is the family aspect of it. The social media campaigns that our marketing gal runs and that sort of thing. If you have ever eaten the pimento cheese, you’ll know that there’s a black-and-white family portrait on the lid of every container. Marketing is centered on the happy family approach. This is going to be hard to gloss over.”
Ramsay’s brows arched just a little in recognition of Mark’s statement then he said, “The state police are on the way. We’ll be sure to find out who’s responsible for your father’s death.” The grim way he said it made Beatrice wonder if it was a threat or a promise.
Ramsay added, “Speaking of the family business, how were things going over there? I’d imagine it would be mighty hard to work with family all the time. Business doing okay?”
Mark said briskly in a practiced way, “The business is doing very well. We’ve had lots of retailers ask to partner with us in selling to the public and we’ve stepped up our distribution accordingly. We’ve also had a lot of excellent media coverage lately.”
“Was it hard to work with your father?” pressed Ramsay. “It’s just that spending all day with someone that you’re closely related to can be challenging, I’m sure.”
Mark gave him an unwavering, direct look. “Of course not. We were lucky to have the founder of the business so invested in the company and its growth. Dad was good for the company. He was the face of the company and having him around and having the employees see how hard he worked was motivating for everyone who worked for him. Including me.”
Ramsay changed tack. “What were you doing this morning?”
Mark shrugged. “Nothing remarkable. Until a few minutes ago, it was about as normal of a day as you could possibly imagine. I took the dog out, showered, dressed, drank coffee, and looked over my schedule. I answered a few emails, ate two eggs for breakfast, brushed my teeth, and hopped into the car. The usual.”
Ramsay said, not unkindly, “And your wife can verify all that?”
Mark shook his head. “I’ve been divorced for the last year. My former wife lives in Florida now.” He paused. “Look, what’s the plan for today? I need to know what to tell the employees.”
Ramsay said smoothly, “I’m afraid the business is going to be closed for the day, likely tomorrow, too. We’ll have forensics guys here and other investigators. But we’ll get you up and running as soon as we can.” He paused and then continued, “It’s hard to imagine, but did your father have any enemies? Did he maybe make folks unhappy in the business world? Competitors?”
Mark considered this a second and then shook his head decisively. “No. Dad had lots of peers, instead—fellow businessowners who were growing in their own field. Sometimes he advised other people, especially those who were up and coming or new to owning their own businesses. But there wasn’t any sort of competition for him, really, in terms of pimento cheese.” Mark’s voice ended up on a proud note before he became somber again.
“On a personal side, then?” pressed Ramsay. “Is there anyone whom he’d upset? Someone who held a long-term grudge or who he’d recently made angry?”
Mark didn’t have to consider this as long. “Well, you know Dad. He did pretty much whatever he wanted to do. Sometimes he rubbed people the wrong way. He could be blunt, which is a trait that I admire, but I know it could sometimes come across as abrasive. When you asked the question, there was one particular person who did come to mind, although I’m not saying that she had anything to do with it.”
“Who is that?” asked Ramsay.
“Her name is Salome Hewitt. She used to work for Dad; actually, she worked for him for many years,” said Mark.
Beatrice said slowly, “I know Salome. She’s helping Posy part-time at the Patchwork Cottage.”
Mark said, “Is she? Well, it’s good that she has work somewhere.”
Ramsay asked, “What makes her an ex-employee? And what are her feelings about your dad or not working for the company any longer?”
Mark sighed. “Dad was a good businessman, but he didn’t have a lot of people-skills and he could sometimes be fairly miserly. Salome has a small child and asked Dad for a raise in pay to feed two mouths instead of one. I doubt that she’d had a raise in all the years she’d worked for him, but he fired her instead for her impudence in asking him.” He shook his head.
Beatrice and Wyatt glanced at each other.
Ramsay said, “I see. So clearly, she wasn’t happy about that. Getting the axe after years of loyal service.”
Mark shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure she was completely shocked. She went into Dad’s office expecting a raise and left without a job. Dad told me that there were plenty of people who’d love to have her job. And it didn’t take him long to find one of them. Although I don’t think he’s been nearly as happy with her as he was with Salome. Salome was used to all of Dad’s idiosyncrasies and knew how he liked things organized in his office. Dad was always very particular about his files.”
Ramsay nodded and closed his notebook. “Thanks for this, Mark. I’ll be asking you some more follow-up questions later on, but that’s all I have for now.” He walked over to greet the state police, who’d just pulled up.
Mark blew out a breath and said to Wyatt, “I’m glad you’re here, Wyatt. Could you be sure to reserve the sanctuary for us for Dad’s funeral?”
Wyatt said, “Of course I will.” He pulled out his phone. “When should I reserve it for?”
Mark said, “One second.” He hurried back over to Ramsay and consulted with him and then walked back. “Let’s plan for four or five days from now, to be on the safe side. I’ll have to check in with Laura, Dad’s wife, of course. Do you think there’s availability?”
Wyatt peered at the calendar on his phone. “It looks like there is, although I’ll check in with Edgenora, our church admin, to make sure.”
Mark said, “Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”
A few minutes later, Wyatt and Beatrice were walking to their cars.
Beatrice saw how quiet Wyatt was and gently said, “That must have been very hard, seeing Gerald like that.”
He sighed. “It was. In fact, I think I’m going to head straight home and regroup. I originally thought I might run by the store for more groceries to make for easy meals, but I think I need to sit down.”
“I can run by the store after I drop Piper off later. I’ll follow you back now, since it’s too early to meet up with Piper.”
Wyatt nodded absently as he unlocked his car and Beatrice followed him back home, walking into the house behind him as he sat down in the living room.
“What do you make of all that?” he asked Beatrice. “I mean, you’ve seen Ramsay run investigations before. Do you think he thought Mark had something to do with his father’s death?”
Beatrice said slowly, “I think Ramsay is just asking all the questions that he has to ask. The police always say that the most likely culprits are people who are closest to the victim.”
“I don’t suppose it was some sort of random crime?” asked Wyatt, rubbing his temples.
“It would be nice to think so, wouldn’t it? Except it doesn’t make any sense. Why would a stranger kill Gerald Carpenter?”
“A theft gone wrong?” asked Wyatt.
Beatrice shook her head. “A factory isn’t the kind of place that has money on hand. And Gerald was more of a penny-pincher, remember? He wasn’t the sort to have fancy computers and monitors there. No, it’s more likely to be a family member or an employee or someone Gerald did business with.”
Wyatt said, “Mark mentioned a woman who used to work for Gerald. You know her?”
“I wouldn’t say that I know Salome, but she’s helped check me out when I was buying fabric at the Patchwork Cottage. She seems really sweet and knows a good deal about quilting, too. Posy recently hired her for extra help; I guess Salome must have started working there when she lost her job at the factory.” Beatrice added, “It sounds as if Gerald was a tough person to work for.”
Wyatt said, “I think he was a tough person altogether. I know that he was used to people doing whatever he wanted them to do, which was why I didn’t say anything when he offered to handle the bidding for the air conditioning and heating work. Besides, with all of his business experience, I figured he was a good guy for the job. He was also always incredibly organized and stayed on top of tasks well.”
“That’s probably why he was able to be so successful when starting his own business,” said Beatrice. “People like him are completely driven.”
“I forgot to ask whether or not you were able to get hold of Dale about the work,” said Wyatt, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands as if he was exhausted.
“Oops. No, unfortunately, he didn’t answer—and then I ran over to the factory when you called me. I’ve totally forgotten about the kitchen until now, but I can give him a call.” Beatrice pulled out her phone.
“Honestly? I know this is awful, but I think I’d rather deal with eating yogurts out of the living room fridge again than deal with the construction racket today. My head is already pounding. If Dale ends up stopping by, that’s fine. But I don’t think I want to try to get him over here, if that makes sense.” He walked back to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet for an ibuprofen and then joined Beatrice again. He had a worried expression on his face. “What did you think about Mark?”
Beatrice said, “I don’t really know Mark all that well. I mean, I see him at church sometimes, but he’s not exactly a regular. I think he was surprised by Gerald’s death, but I don’t think he was very upset by it. And I might be completely wrong; I know that grief is expressed in different ways by different people.”
“That’s true. There doesn’t seem to be a really standard grief reaction. I thought he seemed stunned, but you’re right—I got the impression that he was more concerned by the impact on the business. But maybe that’s just his background—always to worry about the business side of things. He does have a lot of employees that are depending on the company to do well and Mark likely feels very responsible toward them.” Wyatt sat down again.
Beatrice said, “It makes sense. But it did come off as slightly cold. Maybe he and his father didn’t get along very well.”
Wyatt said, “It might be that they had a good business partnership but simply didn’t have very much in common and weren’t all that close.”
Beatrice smiled at him. “You always have such a generous mindset toward people.”
Wyatt grinned back at her. “As a minister, it’s part of the job.”
The doorbell rang and Wyatt made a face. Then he chuckled. “Why aren’t I in a generous mindset right now?”
Beatrice sighed. “I suppose it’s Dale. With any luck, maybe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel with this kitchen project. Unless it’s the light from an oncoming train.”
She opened the door, and Dale stood there with an apologetic expression and his arm in a sling.
“Dale! What on earth happened?” Beatrice ushered Dale inside.
The young man looked abashed. “Well, I somehow managed to fracture my shoulder when I was out four-wheeling with my cousin. I reckon that’s the last thing you want to hear from me, but it’s the truth.”
Wyatt said, “If you had an accident on an ATV, you’re fortunate that a shoulder fracture is all that happened.”
Dale nodded. “Ain’t that the truth? My mama always told me not to go four-wheeling with Duane. She never thought he had any sense. And we was lucky the thing didn’t flip on top of us. Anyways, I won’t be doing that again.” He paused and looked at them apologetically. “The doctor says I gotta have this arm in a sling to keep it still and let the bones heal the right way. I’m sorry, y’all. I know you was counting on me to finish up the job.”
“If you can’t do it, you can’t do it,” said Beatrice. She looked at Wyatt. “We’ll just have to find someone who’s available to complete the kitchen.”
Dale said, “My cousin does a lot of construction work. Of course, he mostly works for a business, but he’s starting to do some stuff on the side.”
Beatrice raised her eyebrows. “Not Duane? The four-wheeling free spirit?”
Dale laughed. “Nope. I wouldn’t recommend Duane for much of anything. He’s kind of reckless. But I have another cousin, Len, who knows his way around a kitchen. I can send him out to talk to you this afternoon, if you like. I feel bad about leaving you in a spot.”
Wyatt said, “If Len can come by this morning or afternoon, that would be great. I’m going to be here.”
Dale gave them Len’s contact information and a few more apologies before he left.
Beatrice leaned back against the front door after Dale had gone out of it and closed her eyes. “It’s the never-ending project.”
“With any luck, maybe Len has some references or can inspire confidence in some way,” said Wyatt. “Unfortunately, I think we’re starting to run out of options. Whoever is available is probably going to be key.”
“I think you’re right.” Beatrice glanced at her watch. “Okay, it’s about time for me to go pick up Piper. Do you want me to drop off Noo-noo at Posy’s in case Len comes over and is ready to immediately start?”
Wyatt hesitated, looking at Noo-noo, who had a hopeful expression on her face. “Why not test it out and see how it goes? Maybe it would be better to try a Patchwork Cottage visit in short spurts.”
Beatrice nodded. “Good idea. Then I can pick up Noo-noo after Piper and I have lunch and see how it went.”