A Criminal Celebration in Hillbilly Hollow Read online

  I was a little upset at not having time to savour every bite of the gorgeous cake, but I knew there would be enough left over to last a long time to come, and I also knew it was much more important to deal with an actual murderer running loose at my wedding than it was to finish the piece of cake slowly.

  I finally finished the last bite and stood up.

  “Would you excuse me for a moment?” I smiled. “I’ve just spotted someone I’ve been dying to catch up with.”

  Billy nodded, barely looking up from his conversation with his brother, which was a good thing as I cringed when I realized I had used the word dying. One look at that expression on my face would have had him watching me to see who I was going to talk to and to make sure I was okay.

  I moved away from our table quickly, before Billy could ask me anything about who I wanted to see. I had barely covered five steps when my grandma and Margene Huffler waved me over to their table. I couldn’t very well pretend I hadn’t seen them. They weren’t stupid. And if my grandma got even the slightest inkling that I was doing anything except enjoying my wedding reception, she would be so angry. Probably even angrier than Billy would be if he found out. The decision made for me, I went over to their table.

  “Are you enjoying yourself, dear? You look a little lost,” Grandma said.

  I noticed Snowball sitting beneath their table being fed treats from both of them and from my Grandpa, who was deep in conversation with a couple of his farming buddies but who kept looking away long enough to hold out a tasty morsel or two to Snowball.

  “I was just wandering around, taking in the atmosphere and doing a bit of people watching,” I lied.

  “That’s so much fun, isn’t it?” Margene said. “It’s surely one of the best things about parties. That and the scandals and gossip you hear.”

  My grandma frowned and Margene rushed on.

  “Not here, of course. Dorothy has made it very clear that’s not what today is about. I know that, of course, I just meant in general. And by the way, I didn’t get a chance to tell you how stunning you looked in your dress.”

  “Thank you,” I beamed, not really sure if I was thanking her for the compliment about my dress or for the promise that she wouldn’t turn my wedding into next week’s hot gossip topic.

  “Are you both enjoying yourselves?” I asked.

  Margene nodded. “Oh yes, dear,” she said.

  My grandma finished up the last bite of her slice of wedding cake and grinned at me.

  “How could we not be enjoying ourselves when there’s cake this delicious?” she said.

  I leaned in closer and whispered to her and Margene, “There’s plenty left. Go on up and get yourself some more.”

  They didn’t need telling twice, and I was once more free to roam around trying to spot Autumn. I couldn’t see her anywhere. Suddenly, I felt myself getting angry. This was my wedding day. I shouldn’t be spending it chasing down a murderer. Not for Summer, not for anyone.

  I made my decision. I was in no mood to confront a killer. Not here. Not today. Instead, for once, I was going to have to put my faith in Tucker. I would give him all of the information he needed, and let him chase Autumn down and get a confession out of her. That might not solve the case quickly and efficiently, but it would surely pacify Summer’s ghost if she saw me talking to the sheriff and giving him everything he needed to see justice done.

  I nodded to myself, my decision made. I looked around the crowd again, this time searching for Tucker. I felt a deep sense of frustration when I realized I couldn’t spot him either. What was with this day? People were meant to be gathered in one place and they should be around when I needed them.

  I told myself to stop being such a brat. It was not as though Tucker even knew I was looking into Summer’s murder, let alone that I had solved it and needed to find him to tell him about it. I kept looking, weaving between the tables, constantly getting stopped by guests wanting to say hello or ask me if I was having a good time, or one of a million other small questions. I tried my best to answer each person with a genuine smile, a genuine response, and not to look like I was trying to just move away from them. I reminded myself they had all turned out here today for Billy and me and the least they deserved was a smile and a few words.

  I still hadn’t spotted Tucker or the pretty blonde he was with earlier when I reached the far side of the field. I did, however, spot Betty Blackwell. If anyone knew where Tucker was it would be her.

  “Betty.” I smiled as I walked up to her. “Thank you so much for organizing the cake slicing.”

  She smiled back at me. “What are friends for, Emma? It was no trouble at all. It made me feel useful.”

  I said, “You’re always useful Betty. There’s nothing you won’t do for this community.”

  She waved my praise away, blushing slightly.

  “You haven’t seen Sheriff Tucker, have you?” I asked, trying to make it sound casual.

  “Is something wrong?” Betty asked, instantly suspicious.

  I shook my head, giving her what I hoped was a genuine looking smile.

  “No, not at all. I just wanted to ask him to keep an eye on the farm while Billy and I are on our honeymoon. Not that I think anything will happen or that my grandparents aren’t more than capable of taking care of themselves. It’ll just give me peace of mind, that’s all.”

  “Oh, you’re such a sweetheart.” Betty smiled.

  I wasn’t entirely sweet as I was standing here lying to her face, but if she got wind of what I really wanted, I could imagine her organizing a man hunt for Autumn and I wasn’t about to risk her or anyone else getting hurt.

  And it wasn’t a total lie. I did want peace of mind while Billy and I were away. Betty didn’t need to know I had already called Tucker yesterday and had that conversation with him.

  “I’m only doing what anyone would,” I said.

  “I’m not sure about that, Emma. Not everyone cares enough to do something like that, you know. You should give yourself a little more credit.”

  I smiled and felt myself blushing at her words.

  “So? Have you seen him?” I asked, not able to think of a more subtle way to drive the conversation back to my original question.

  “Yes, in fact I have,” she said, frowning. “He went for a walk and headed off in that direction.” She stopped and pointed out through the next field. “With that blonde girl,” she added meaningfully.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, I’ll try and catch up to them.”

  There was no question of postponing my conversation with Tucker. This was too important.

  I managed to slip away without being stopped again, which wasn’t a huge surprise as the field I had to cross wasn’t really part of the party.

  When I rounded the screen of a few trees along the fence line it quickly became obvious that Tucker and his companion were nowhere in sight. I peeked around the far side of the barn and, again, there was no sign of them. Looking up at the old barn itself looming over me, I decided to duck my head in the door just to make sure they hadn’t gone inside.

  I slid the barn door open a crack and stepped in. I heard footsteps to my right and turned in that direction, opening my mouth to speak. But my mouth went dry and my heart started racing as I found myself looking, not at Tucker, but straight at Autumn Martin.

  11

  I stood frozen to the spot for a moment as Autumn and I stared at each other. I wondered if maybe there was an easy way out of this. There was at least a chance that Autumn still had no idea that I knew her secret. It was unlikely but I had to test the theory. Even if she suspected I knew, I could perhaps convince her otherwise.

  “Are you alright?” I asked, trying to sound as normal as I could, concerned even. “It’s just that I noticed you were missing and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

  As I spoke, Autumn moved slightly, circling me without taking her eyes off me. She moved to stand in front of the barn door, and even before she spo
ke, I knew that she knew I’d put the pieces of the puzzle together. Why else would she try to block my escape route?

  I could still wangle out of this by feigning ignorance, though. If I could convince her I didn’t know anything, surely she wouldn’t push it in case she inadvertently confessed everything to someone who didn’t actually know what was going on.

  “You can drop the act, Emma,” she replied.

  Her tone was resigned, quiet. Not venomous or angry. I had to try and respond how I would if I knew nothing and was really here because Autumn had bailed on me.

  “Fine,” I replied. “I don’t really care if you’re alright. I’m paying you a lot of money to make sure my wedding reception goes off smoothly and you disappeared when the cake needed cutting. What’s going on?”

  Autumn laughed sadly. “If I didn’t know better, you could have almost had me fooled there. You should think about taking up a job as an actress,” she said.

  “I don’t understand what you mean,” I said.

  “Quit it,” Autumn snapped. “We both know you’ve figured me out. I saw the knowledge in your eyes when I handed you the knife to cut the cake. In that second, you realized the truth.”

  I didn’t correct her or explain that it was only a funny feeling I’d had during the cake cutting. The actual revelation hadn’t come until a few minutes later. Still, there was no point in playing dumb either. Autumn clearly knew I’d worked it all out, and I figured my best course of action was to keep her talking. Billy would notice I was missing eventually, and Betty would remember sending me toward the barn. They would find me in time to stop Autumn from harming me. I had to cling to that hope.

  “Why did you do it?” I asked.

  “Why do you think?” Autumn asked, rolling her eyes. “You heard the way Summer talked to me. I couldn’t take it anymore. I snapped.”

  “Now who’s playing games?” I asked. “You didn’t snap. You planned it. That’s why you were feeding me lines about Derrick the photographer and stirring up suspicions about Doris the florist, so I could pass that information on to Tucker and give you a few potential suspects.”

  “Oh, whatever. I might as well tell you,” Autumn said.

  She tried to make herself sound bored as she said it, but I could see she was dying to tell someone how clever she had been. I could use that knowledge to draw the conversation out and make it last.

  “Maybe it will do me good to get it all off my chest,” she went on. “You’re right. I did plan it. Summer was getting worse, treating me more horribly by the day. And it didn’t hurt that I knew if I got her out of the way without being blamed for her murder, that I would get full ownership of the business. But Derrick was a happy accident. I honestly wasn’t trying to make you suspect him when we talked about him. It was just chatter. I had already decided to frame Doris Young for the killing. I’m sure you know her motive. That Summer ripped her off on a deal?”

  I nodded. Again Autumn had surprised me with her revelation about Derrick and how he was never meant to be a suspect.

  “Doris was rightfully angry at Summer. Even I was angry with her when I found out what had happened. But Doris never did believe me when I told her that I wasn’t involved in the deception and she blamed me equally for it all, even though I wasn’t involved. I was dating a lovely man, my soul mate, but he knew Doris and Doris told him what happened and implicated me. He ended our relationship. So who better to frame for Summer’s murder than Doris, right? It meant I could get revenge on two people who had wronged me.”

  I was curious and I found myself itching to ask Autumn some questions. She must have seen that in my face.

  “Come on, out with it. It’s obvious you have questions. You might as well ask them,” she said.

  “Why did you hide the notes in Summer’s office? You knew Sheriff Tucker wouldn’t look there,” I said.

  “But you would. I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep your perfect little nose out of it.”

  I raised an eyebrow and Autumn laughed.

  “You have quite the reputation in this town, Emma, if you know who to ask. Detective extraordinaire and all that. For what it’s worth, I’m genuinely sorry this had to happen right on top of your wedding, but I had everything in hand. I had been paying very close attention to all of your wedding prep and knew I could step in and take over. Which I did, right?”

  “Right,” I agreed, unsure what else to say.

  “I had no intentions of bailing on you today, but then I saw during the cake cutting how the wheels were turning in your mind as you put it all together. If you hadn’t felt the need to poke your nose in, I would have gotten away with it. And you wouldn’t have had to deal with your own cake.”

  “I had to ‘poke my nose in,’ as you so delicately put it. Somebody had to see that justice was done.”

  She looked up at me, a puzzled expression on her face. “I just have one question,” she said.

  I nodded. If it would keep her talking, I would answer anything she asked me.

  “What gave me away? I covered my tracks perfectly. How did you know?”

  I thought about it for a moment.

  “It was a lot of little things. You didn’t seem particularly upset at Summer’s death, but at first I put that down to shock and grief. The same with how you had very little interest in what I’d found in Summer’s office. See, I thought you didn’t want to know because you were hurting. I thought of how I would have reacted in your situation, and my first thought was that I would have gone absolutely crazy asking you questions. But then I decided maybe I wouldn’t have. Maybe I would have been too upset to want to hear all of the sordid details. Of course you had a solid motive for murdering Summer. But again, I dismissed that because Doris looked to be a much better suspect after I found the notes. Well played.”

  Autumn smiled and shrugged like it was nothing. Like she planned murders all the time. Maybe the wedding planning had made her more aware of catching every little detail. Or maybe murder was her speciality. Who knew?

  I continued, “All through the investigation, I could feel something niggling at the back of my mind, a clue I had missed. And then, around the time I realized you had gone missing from the reception, it all began to come together. But I guess that was just a lucky coincidence.”

  “So I turned out to be your niggling doubt?” Autumn asked.

  I nodded.

  “That makes sense, I suppose. But it doesn’t really answer my question. What convinced you that you were right about me? You said you had dismissed the suspicions. What finally made you see that I wasn’t in shock, only pretending to be?”

  “The notepaper you used to forge Doris’s threatening notes on,” I admitted. “The note paper had her new logo on it. Summer ripped her off a long time ago, so it should have been on the old note paper from before her rebrand.”

  Autumn narrowed her eyes. “You’re lying to me,” she said. “There’s no way you could know the exact date of her rebrand. I considered every aspect of this murder and even I didn’t know that much.”

  “But you’re not the graphic designer who redesigned her logo, are you?” I asked.

  Autumn threw her head back and laughed. “And you are? Wow. You really couldn’t make this up, could you? I had everything covered down to the tiniest detail, and something completely out of my control, something that no one would ever consider, is what tipped you off?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

  “So maybe you’re not quite the detective you think you are. Maybe you just got lucky,” Autumn said.

  Her words angered me. Who was she to stand there doubting my skills at anything? I had proved time and again that I was a pretty good detective. And if a bit of luck was involved, then so be it.

  “Maybe I did, but I still got to the right answer, didn’t I?” I reminded her.

  She conceded the point. “You did. And I guess rather than saying you got lucky, we would be more accurate in saying you got unlucky.”

>   “How’s that?” I asked.

  She smiled, a cold smile that sent a shiver down my spine.

  “Because now I’ll have to kill you too,” she said, like this should have been obvious to me. In some ways, it was. I had known it would come to this. “You know too much. You are literally the only thing standing between me and my freedom.”

  The same was true of her. With her body still blocking the barn door, she was standing between me and my freedom every bit as much as I was standing between her and hers.

  “You’ll never get away with killing me,” I said. “You haven’t planned on this.”

  “Really? Because you said it yourself. Sheriff Tucker is hardly the best detective, is he? He will have no real chance of solving this without you around.”

  My heart sank. She was most likely right about that one.

  “But just to be clear, you’re wrong. I do have a plan for this one too. Don’t you worry about that. I had to have a plan in case you got too close to the truth. When I disappeared when it was time for you to cut the cake, I didn’t come away empty handed.”

  With a movement of her wrist, she revealed for the first time something she had been hiding behind her back—a sharp-looking knife that was identical to the one I had cut my wedding cake with. There hadn’t been time for her to snatch the real cake-cutting knife from the table, not underneath everybody’s noses, so I knew this one must be only an extra from the same set. But the fact that it was decorative made it no less sharp and deadly.

  Autumn continued to speak. “Sheriff Tucker coming across this way with his date gave me the last part of my idea. I knew you would search for him—the look on your face back at the cake table left me in no doubt you’d take action soon – so I sneaked out here, knowing it was only a matter of time until someone told you he had come toward the barn.”