Along Came A Needle: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery (3 page)

I wanted to laugh because you couldn't have scripted a better disaster sequence. The trip that should have been the most relaxing vacation of my life, added more stress to not only me, but to our hosts.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call karma.

Those seated across from me shifted uncomfortably in their seats as they watched and listened to Flynn. I couldn't focus on my minute serving of roughage because I knew at any second I'd have to either save Flynn from Chip or save myself from a plate full of cheese, falling into my lap.
Why didn't this place have a kid's table?

“Don't be modest. From what your daughter told me on the phone, you are some kind of hero in your community.” Flynn slurred his words.

“Well, that's sweet of her to say, but you weren't with us on the car ride over here. I'm sure those wouldn't have been the words she would have chosen to describe me then.” I said, bracing myself for a fall I could see coming in his immediate future.

On the other side of me, Jessica sat quietly, observing with eyes wide. Every few minutes, she'd say, “Oh my!”

The wait staff returned again as soon as Chip sounded the bell. This time, they cleared our plates and replaced our salad morsels with bowls of delicious smelling soup.

“This is our house specialty. Enjoy!” Chip encouraged us while keeping one eye peeled on Flynn. “Our chef always gets a lot of requests from guests for the recipe.”

Jessica backed her chair up after her soup was served. “Excuse me one moment.” She said.

I figured Flynn's antics were probably a bit much for her. I couldn't blame her. If I'd never seen behavior like his before in my life, I would have wanted to find an excuse to leave the room too.”

Flynn leaned his head forward, clutching the seat with one hand and my wrist with the other. “Help me,” he begged.

I went to his aid immediately, standing up and telling Ruby to grab my bag.

“Okay, let's breathe. Nice and slowly to get your heart rate down,” I said as I monitored his pulse.

Just then, his head completely flopped down on the table in front of him, his nose landing in the bowl of hot soup. I grabbed his head and pulled it back right away, while Ruby rushed past us to get up the stairs and grab my emergency medical kit.

“Should I call an ambulance?” Chip asked.

I nodded, just as Flynn exhaled a large amount of air from his lungs and his body slumped on the table in front of him.

Chip yelled, “Is he dead?”

Annie and Paul jumped up out of their seats. Diana yelped.

My heart rate increased as I assessed Flynn. He wasn't breathing and his heart had stopped suddenly.

Not again!

Ruby returned with my bag and took the phone from Chip so she could relay to the dispatcher what had happened.

Chip yelled again, “Is he dead?”

Jessica reentered the room, clutching her chest as she noticed what happened. “Oh my!”

“Everyone just calm down. The medics will be here soon. Give me some room, so I can lay him down on the ground.” I ordered them.

Diana walked around the table and knelt down beside me as I started CPR.

“He's dead?” She asked, her hands beginning to shake.

Ruby rubbed Jessica's back as she continued speaking to the dispatcher, telling the operator, “His respirations were at twenty-six per minute. Pupils dilated. He sweat profusely. Cheeks were flushed. Lethargic. Speech with pronounced lisp, garbling his words...”

I couldn't focus on her. My only concern was to revive him and to start this whole miserable day all over again. I wasn't supposed to be here. This was supposed to be my time to relax.

Ruby informed me, “The ambulance is on the way. Keep doing compressions until they get here, Mercy.”

Everyone else stood around us, horrified by the scene. No one said another word until the paramedics arrived, then everyone suddenly had a different version of the same story to tell.

“Poor Mom, she's never going to get to sleep,” Diana whispered as I left the room for the thousandth time. Being questioned by the police wasn't how I envisioned that my night would end. All I wanted was to lie down and close my eyes and pretend none of this ever happened, but as luck would have it or not, have it, the sleep gods weren't so inclined to indulge me and the dead man downstairs in the dining room took precedence.

“It doesn't matter. There's no way that I could sleep after all this. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this. When will I learn that no matter how well laid out we think the plans are, something always goes awry.” I complained.

“Mercy, this isn't awry. This is a man dying while he ate dinner at our welcoming dinner. That's different. You know how these things go, no one ever plans to die when they wake up. It just happens. When our number is called, there's nothing we can do about it.” Ruby tried to talk some sense into me.

“You think what we witnessed downstairs was a man whose number was called? C'mon, Ruby, I love you lots, but that wasn't a man having a heart attack and you know it. Something else was happening there.” I couldn't figure out what had happened, but death by natural causes definitely didn't fit the description.

Diana threw herself back on my bed. “Please, don't do this. Don't make it a thing. I'm just as freaked out as the two of you are, but I'm not willing to say that what I witnessed was anything more than a man about my mom's age collapsing and dying.”

Maybe I was being melodramatic. Perhaps it was a mixture of my extremely negative attitude and my exhaustion that made me think I saw more than what actually happened. Diana was right. I was blowing things out of proportion and there was no excuse for it.

“Sorry. You're right. A poor man has lost his life and another has lost his best friend. I can't imagine how horrific that must be. I'm being selfish and cranky, neither of which makes me proud.” I apologized.

Jessica walked past the room, wiping tears from her face. While I was busy fretting about inconsequential things, I had also forgotten about all of the other patrons that had witnessed Flynn's death.

“Oh, darn.” I walked out of the room to check on Jessica.

“How are you holding up?” I asked.

Jessica startled. “You scared me.” She turned to face me. “I'm as good as anyone would be. This is all so sad, don't you think?”

I nodded. “It is. Did they police speak to you too?”

She sighed. “Yes, I just spoke with them. I wish there was something more I could tell them, but aside from his odd behavior, there wasn't really anything I could say to them.”

“That's pretty much what any of us would have mentioned. He was acting rather peculiar, wasn't he? Sometimes, we just don't see what's right in front of our faces, but I'm beginning to think that we're not supposed to see everything.” I said, hoping that I'd one day believe that, but my hunch told me something wasn't right. While no two people presented with the same symptoms, I did find it odd that his symptoms were so all over the place. He could have been suffering from any number of common ailments. There was no reason to be too concerned until he specifically requested my assistance. Those words would be etched in my memory for the rest of my days.

“Well, this definitely wasn't what I had in mind when I decided to take a solo vacation,” Jessica mused. “I do hope that this won't ruin your vacation. It seems like you really are in need of some time off from your busy schedule. I wonder if Chip will ask us to leave or if he'll expect us to continue on without him and the classes he has scheduled for all of us.”

Please, send me home! I'll walk if I have to.

I put my hand on her shoulder. “I'm sure whatever he decides, will be for the best.”

“Well, dear, I suppose I should try to get some sleep. These old bones aren't what they used to be,” Jessica grinned, patting my arm.

“Sleep well. I'm right down the hall if you need anything.” I told her before returning to my room.

“Is she okay?” Diana asked.

I nodded.
About as okay as any of us are.

Ruby clapped her hands. “What do you say we call it a night and try to salvage what's left of our day and our spirits? Meaning, go to bed and forget our troubles for the night.”

For the first time all day long, I wanted to hug her. She'd finally said something I could get behind wholeheartedly.

“Yes, the bed has been calling me since 1976.” I joked.

Diana snorted. “That was like a century ago. No wonder you're so grouchy.”

“I'm not grouchy.” I protested.

Diana and Ruby both laughed.

“Okay, so I'm a little grouchy, but at least I'm not as bad as I was this morning, right? By the way, I'm really sorry about all that.” I offered them an apology.

Ruby rolled her eyes. “I refuse to get into this discussion with you right now. If a man hadn't died right in front of us a few hours ago, I'd be all over you for your memory issues, so consider yourself lucky. Get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day. Let's hope no one dies.”

“Yeah, let's hope.” I repeated her words, hoping that by repeating them all the bad omens would go away and I'd finally be able to get some sleep.

“Good night, Mom. Please, try and relax and let all this stuff go. This isn't our concern.” Diana said.

I hugged her, but we both knew that letting anything go wasn't something I did easily. I held on to friends for decades. I never really let go of anything or anyone. That's part of the reason why my ex-husband and I had remained close friends following our divorce.

Neither of us saw any reason why we couldn't be friends. We'd just grown apart. I still loved him and respected him. I knew that he felt the same way about me. We made a commitment to raise our daughter together and to ensure that she never felt like she was missing something in her life. Although, our friendship continued, I did have a hard time watching him move forward in his love life. That was a work in progress, but nonetheless we remained close friends.

That may have been an extreme example, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. My Honda was my most prominent example. I loved that girl. She'd been with me through all the good and bad. Yes, she. Her name changed frequently, depending on how well she was running or not running on that day. You see, choosing to get rid of her would feel like a betrayal. I just couldn't do it. Sure, she required more repairs than I'd ever be able to pay for. She may not of been as pretty as she used to be, but who among us actually still looks like they did when they came into the world? Whatever the case, she was mine. Outright. She was my first major purchase and my most loyal companion – a companion that didn't speak, that is.

Ruby and her husband Hank were my oldest and dearest friends. Like so many other things in my life, letting go of them was not an option – ever. I loved them and they loved me unconditionally. Since long before my marriage and long before Diana was born, Hank and Ruby had seen me through all the dramatic affairs of young adulthood and had remained steadfast by my side through all that life had thrown at me and them.

“Good night, sweetheart. Sleep well.” I hugged the love of my life – Diana. “I'll see you in the morning.”

I thought a hot bath would help to ease the tension I felt in my body. It was better than the alternative, although the alternative – wandering the halls – would be inevitable. I had the nagging feeling that what we witnessed wasn't a simple heart attack or anything of that nature. His behavior was off. The signs I would naturally look for just weren't there.

“Sleep, Mercy.” I reminded myself.

Just as I'd drawn a bath, I could hear a new, fresh set of voices speaking on the floor below. I thought I knew who would be speaking. It would have been necessary to have informed Flynn's loved ones. The thought of that broke my heart.

I hadn't known him for longer than five minutes, aside from our hike, which left no room for an actual conversation between us, but I got the sense that he was an interesting, albeit unique, person and that fact alone made me like him. Unique was my middle name. I didn't always play by the rules. I had trouble following direct orders unless they were in alignment with what I found morally obligated to do and was the absolute right thing to do.

The commotion downstairs had gotten louder since I'd jumped into the tub. It almost sounded like Chip had invited several people over for a talk. I'd hazard a guess and say that a few of those folks were police officers, but I couldn't imagine that all of the voices belonged to investigators.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't take a few minutes to investigate further. I promised not to get involved with the actual murder, nor the events that played out afterward.

With a comfy sweat suit on my body and bunny rabbit slippers on my feet – they were easier to sneak around in – I made my way past the closed doors belonging to Ruby and Diana's rooms and down the beautiful, wide staircase to the main level. Considering the throng of voices, I would have expected every light in the house to have been on, but the main level was surprisingly dark, save for a hint of light emanating from under the closed pocket doors leading to the main parlor room.

Standing on the front landing, staring at the closed door leading to the dining room where only a few short hours earlier, we'd all been getting to know one another and watching Flynn go from one extreme to another, cold chills ran up my spine. How quickly life could be taken from a person. I'd seen it before, plenty of times, but this felt different. Nothing about what I'd witnessed earlier remotely resembled a natural death.

Behind me, down the hallway, a voice boomed loudly. “Have you lost your mind? You can't seriously believe this is a good idea, Chip!”

The door was pulled open suddenly. Instinctively, I retreated, taking cover behind a large bureau that sat adjacent to the front stained glass door.

Chip's voice was the one I heard next. “I will do this. He would want me to. We'd always agreed that if anything happened to either one of us, that the other would continue on and keep our business going. What could possibly be wrong with that? It's not like I suddenly decided to create these murder mysteries. We've been doing that since the day we opened. Why not just help add to the ambiance? I think Flynn would get a kick out of it.”

A woman followed behind Chip. “No, I don't think this is a good idea. I think we should take some time to regroup and mourn. It wouldn't be right to continue on just yet.”

Chip sighed, his feet, inches from where I was crouched down, doing a horrible job of hiding my ample frame behind the bureau.
Please, don't look down. Please, don't look down.

“I'm not sending these people home. They paid for the experience and that's what we'll give them. If you don't like that, then maybe you should consider finding another job. I'm sure there are plenty of B & B's that are in desperate need of a mediocre cook and her staff of minions, who wouldn't know a green bean from a jelly bean, if you paid them. Oh, and by the way, I do pay them and you.” Chip threatened the cook. I was impressed. He had a point. The soup and leaves I'd been fed earlier weren't all that impressive. I could do better in my sleep, but since there was no chance that I'd be getting any sleep anytime soon, I don't suppose that mattered.

I didn't see the others with Chip, the cook, or the other gentleman, but I could hear them gasp and giggle at Chip and the maid. They thought themselves immune, I supposed, but I wasn't naive enough to believe that if I listened to my protesting joints and stood up where I stood that I wouldn't have to incur Chip's wrath either.

The group retreated to the room they'd walked out of, pulling the door shut behind them. That was my chance to get out and back upstairs before someone spotted me. If only, my knees would work with me and not against me, I'd have made it up the stairs in a flash, instead of the hours it seemed to be taking me to get back up the stairs.

Once I finally reached the top of the stairs, I took a couple of deep breaths while I decided what my next move would be. Now, here I could have taken the easy route and gone back into my room, climbed into the big bed, and forced myself to sleep, but no one ever accused me of making things easier. Why should I turn over a new leaf now? I'd managed to survive this long, teetering on the edge of the things I should have done and the things that I did that ultimately led to more trouble, but sure were a lot of fun at the time. Call me crazy or call me curious, either way, I am my own person and wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't take the road less traveled.