What's the Catch?

Foreword

Advice to budding writers is often given to write what you know. I, like Susie, know no gossip about any of my friends and acquaintances. I am an optimist who knows how to play amateur golf and am describing from experience only the good qualities of people. Any other details are strictly imagined!

Thanks to Mary Roach, author of Stiff, the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, for her detailed and interesting description of the decaying human body. And thanks also to Detective Juan Lopez of the Peoria Police Department for Crime Scene 101 and Ron Marmion, who is retired from the New York Police Department, for their expertise.

What’s The Catch?

Cast of characters

Marnie and Pete Johnson own homes along both Desert Hills Country Club and Mountain Meadows Club fairways.

Keith and Anne Elizabeth Bemiller, who live next door to the Johnsons, are also members of DHCC. Anne Elizabeth knows great details about members of DHCC.

Susie and Harry Montrose, members of DHCC recruited by the Bemillers, are avid amateur golfers and naïve about the intricate relationships of club members.

Bill (retired police officer) and Karen (nurse) O’Brien

Chuck and Helen Pitts

Chapter One

“I don’t know how we can be expected to play golf under these conditions!” said Harry Montrose as he relaxed, waiting for the group ahead of him to get out of his range so he could drive his ball. A Harris hawk soared overhead, riding the wind currents. Both cottontail and jack rabbits lounged in the grass. A bee buzzed the group briefly and then flew toward trumpet vine blossoms on a neighboring fence. The foursome sat quietly watching a flock of Gambel’s quail. The mature quails’ short black plumes curved forward from the tops of their heads and bobbed as they scurried along the ground. Beside the two parents trouped eight tiny fluffs of feathers not much bigger than walnuts. The precosial chicks, recently hatched, had left the nest immediately and could already fly. But one was straggling far behind the group. An adult noticed the lagging chick and began to circle back for it. Before he could reach it, a great-tailed grackle swooped down from the clear sky and snatched away the baby. Although the parent flew a short way after the attacker, it was too late. One of his chicks was gone.

Shuddering, the golfers turned back to each other. Anne said, “Oh, my, that was awful! I didn’t know grackles were omnivorous. I’m going to see that in my dreams tonight!”

The fairway grass on the fourth hole was green and lush in contrast to the parallel hole which had been scalped back in preparation for over seeding. An out-of-season rain from a storm off Baja Mexico had stopped the cutting of the grass on this particular hole the previous Tuesday afternoon before it could be taken down to the ground, and the grass had grown vigorously since then. Since the ground was too wet for the cutting machinery, the grass had been temporarily spared.

When Harry hit his bright orange ball, it arced through the sky and hooked to the left into the slightly longer grass, narrowly missing a sand trap. “I didn’t get past the trouble, but at least I can find my ball,” he said. “Ben Hogan was right—you can talk to a fade but a hook’ll never listen.”

Second up on the tee box, Keith Bemiller drove his ball slightly to the right into the rough. His shoulders drooped. “The fairway is wide open for you, ladies,” said Keith.

Harry, Susie, Keith and Anne played golf together at least once a week at Desert Hills Country Club. In addition, they were members of a larger group called the Wynners which was named after the founders, Paul and Lou Wynn. Today, though, just two foursomes of the group were playing. The second foursome was finishing up the hole behind them.

Taking a deep breath of the dry, warm desert air, Susie stretched and appreciated the cloudless blue sky and the sparkling pond slightly to the right of the nine-holer’s tee box. A light breeze just whispered in the trees. She looked down the fairway, decided where on the rolling slope of the grassy fairway she wanted her hot pink golf ball to land and took a practice swing.

Keep your eye on the back of the ball and don’t be stingy, she thought to herself.

Just as she began her back swing, she heard her husband laughing with Keith and Anne Elizabeth. Unable—or unwilling—to abandon the swing, she flailed at the ball, sending it slicing off to the far right. The wild ball didn’t even splash into the water but came to rest somewhere behind a heap of lawn trimmings.

Exchanging her driver for a three iron, she couldn’t even work up an angry stomp. The day was too pretty, and she was trying not to let the stolen baby quail spoil it. She knew she should have stopped the swing because of her lapse of concentration anyway. Susie strode down the slanted edge of the box toward the tall pile of grass. I hope the ball cleared this mess, she thought as she followed the shore line of the water glinting in the warm sunlight. In the shallow water across the pond a blue heron was stalking fish. My allergies will really bother me if I have to search for my ball in that drying grass. And I hate to lose a ball too much not to search.

“I’ve got it!” she called to her group. The ball had rolled into a drift of scarlet bougainvillea leaves in a narrow space between the bushes and the mound of clippings. At least she had room to swing her club. She’d have crossed her fingers if she could have done so while hitting the ball. The ball sailed high and long, clearing the water and bouncing onto the fairway.

Triumphantly, she turned to accept congratulations on such a great second shot. Simultaneously, she became aware of a dreadful odor and the buzzing of insects. In horror, she stared down at the ground and was unaware of the shouted encouragement of her husband and friends.

Chapter Two – Some time earlier

Pete Johnson finished packing his suitcase and took both it and his laptop to the side door with him.

“I’m leaving now, Marnie,” announced Pete.

Marnie, still angry because Pete hadn’t particularly enjoyed his over-cooked eggs she’d gotten up early to make for him, just mumbled, “See you in a week or so.” She didn’t even look up from the computer where she was e-mailing a friend.

Pete shrugged and went outside to wait for the Sun City Express to take him to the airport. The way Marnie was acting, he’d be glad to spend a week at their Mountain Meadows Club home. He had business matters to attend to and thought perhaps Marnie would be happy to see him when he returned. “Something about absence making the heart grow fonder,” he muttered.

He set his luggage down next to the house and went to check on his rose bushes in the back of the house. After a few minutes Marnie heard the neighbor’s back door open and looked out to see slender, blonde Bernice Carlson entering her home. Then she noticed her husband’s luggage was still outside her own door and regretted the unpleasant exchange with Pete. She rummaged in the freezer and found a frozen bottle of water she’d take to him. Several frozen pieces of meat slipped out the door and landed on her foot. Wincing, she replaced them as she clutched the bottle of water. She knew he’d appreciate it on the trip to the airport and perhaps the gesture would begin to mend their quarrel. However, when she returned to the door, the luggage was gone. Sighing about the missed opportunity, she returned the bottle to the freezer. Catching sight of the clock on the oven, she thought she’d just have time to make a quick trip to the grocery store before her housecleaner was due to arrive. The rest of the e-mail could wait.

Chapter Three

Stunned, Susie began backing slowly away from the thing on the ground. She’d seen enough crime shows to know she shouldn’t touch anything. Even if she hadn’t been a nurse, anyone would have known that this person was beyond help and hope.

“What’s the matter, Susie?” shouted Anne.

“Anne,” she called, “do you have your cell phone with you? Call 9-1-1! Don’t come down here!”

The breeze was bringing an awful odor to her. Carefully, she retraced her steps back to the tee box.

“Okay, I’ve trusted you and made the call. Sheriff Joe’s people want to know why I’m calling,” said Anne, holding out the phone.

“On the fourth tee box of Desert Hills Country Club are the remains of a dead body. Please send officers!”

“Yes, I’m positive the person is dead.” Susie handed the phone back to Anne and began to shiver. Harry sat her down in the golf car and poured her a cup of cold water from the thermos they filled before every golf outing. He wrapped one of the big, fluffy golf towels around her. It had been washed and dried this morning and hadn’t been used to clean any dirty clubs so far.

After a moment, Keith dialed the pro shop to tell them to expect the posse and probably the Sun City Fire Department. The emergency squad wouldn’t be long because the fire station was less than a mile away.

“Who died? What happened?” asked Anne.

Susie took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know who it is. I think it’s a man because of the haircut.” Anne ran a hand through her own very short hair.

Susie said, “Yes, I know you’re thinking the length of hair doesn’t indicate man or woman, but I think it was a man. I can still taste that horrible smell in the back of my throat. Yuck! Could I have some of those nuts please? Maybe they’ll take the taste away.” Harry retrieved the can from the glove box and offered her some.

“What’s the holdup?” asked Bill O’Brien, one of the foursome who had been playing behind them. “Did Harry hit it into Mrs. Moscowicz’ back yard or into the pond?”

“Neither,” said Harry. “We’ve found a man’s body. Or at least that’s what Susie says. It’s right down there.”

“Oh, you poor thing!” exclaimed Karen, Bill’s wife. Like Susie, Karen was a nurse and knew immediately how upset Susie must be.

“I’m all right—just a little shaky,” said Susie.

“Who is it?” asked Helen Pitts. “Did you recognize him? What killed him?”

“I couldn’t tell. In fact, I just think it’s a man. The body is swollen and decomposed and…well, it looks as if something’s been eating on it. He didn’t just die today.”

“Yes, but what do you think killed him?” Helen asked again.

Bill, a retired police officer, was the only one not shocked into silence. “What killed him? Someone could have done him in or he could have died of natural causes. No one will know until after the autopsy and the toxicology report. The medical examiner could report back in a day or two or it could be weeks. I hope you’ve called 911. You all haven’t been tramping around down there, have you? ”

Anne said, “I called 911 and while I’d like to get a look at him to see if we can identify him, no one except Susie has been down there. Since we live on the course, we know lots of people. But if he’s been dead several days, someone must be missing him.”

In the distance they could hear sirens and then the echo of sirens in a chorus of coyote howls. And along the cart path came several golf cars carrying the club pro, the general manager and the grounds superintendent.

“What’s all this about a body on my golf course?” demanded Jerry, the golf pro. “Where is it?”

“Susie found it down by that pile of grass,” said Harry.

“What was she doing clear over there? Was she pulling weeds again?” asked Jerry.

“No, I wasn’t!” Susie said, getting out of the golf car. “I hit a really bad shot, and that’s how I found him,”

“Who is, err…was it?” asked Jerry.

“I don’t know. I think it’s a man, but the body is swollen, and he’s lying with his face hidden. I don’t think there’s much of his face left though,” replied Susie.

The newcomers blanched. Their shocked silence was broken by the sirens of the arriving Maricopa County Sheriff Department car. Its two volunteers, looking professional in their crisp tan uniforms, arrived and bustled out of the car.

“The body is between the pile of grass clippings and the bougainvillea bushes,” offered Keith.

“All right. Then let’s move those golf cars off the path and over to the property line. Could everyone please take a seat in your vehicles? I’ll start getting your names,” said the male officer. The female officer, after a short exploratory walk toward the body, confirmed to the dispatcher, “We’re on the scene of the 9-18, and we’ve begun securing it.”

As all six golf cars obediently parked in a line 15 feet farther away from the paved path, the Sun City Fire Department paramedics came to a stop next to them. A captain and a paramedic retraced Susie’s steps which were faintly visible in the damp grass. Having ascertained that the victim was really beyond help, they returned to their vehicle and prepared to leave the scene.

The volunteer officer began to record the names of the golfers as the rest of the group sat in silence.

After a while, Susie began speaking slowly and quietly. “The body was bloated and bluish, and I could see what looked like tiny slivers under the skin. The hands looked as if they had rubber fingers on them. It was really awful!”

Bill said gently, “It must have been dead several days to have the bloating occur and for the skin begin to slough off. The pathologist will be able to date the time of death by the insect stages. It has to be less than a week since bloat is short-lived.”

“But what were those slivers?” insisted Susie.

“Insect larvae,” Bill replied.

The discussion was too much for Anne, and she slipped out of her golf car and walked into the yard adjoining the course.

Chuck Pitts said, “Well, I don’t suppose we’ll be finishing our round today.”

“Chuck!” his wife Helen exclaimed, “How can you think about….”

“Look at this!” called Anne. “I think I know who the dead man is!”

“Ma’am! Don’t touch anything! What did you find?” shouted a new arrival.

“Hi, Tony,” responded Anne. “I’m really glad you’re here. Since you’re a club member, I was hoping you’d show up!”

Detective Sergeant Tony Morales apologized, “Sorry, Anne. I didn’t recognize you. Let’s see what you found.”

“See, right here in the grass is a man’s ring, and since the man who wears it is our neighbor, I know who he is. He’s Pete Johnson, and he’s supposed to be out of town at their other home on business. At least that’s what Marnie told me.”

Tony looked at, but didn’t touch, the distinctive silver and turquoise ring that had obviously been made by a Navajo Indian. He surveyed the scene and then said, “We don’t know what else we’ll find scattered around so I want all of you to make a U-turn right along here and go back to the clubhouse. Don’t tell anyone about who you think it is. Would all of you please wait in the lounge for me to come in? Thank you.”

“What about the golf balls?” inquired Chuck.

“Are there four out there? I’ll pick them up and return them to you.”

Dutifully, the six cars paraded back along the concrete path and headed for the club house with the fire department vehicle following them.

As they left, Tony called over a technician who planted a yellow numbered “tent” next to the ring and took several pictures. Tony then donned vinyl gloves, retrieved the ring from the grass and dropped it into a clear plastic bag. Directly across the course he could see both the Bemiller and the Johnson houses.

“Think I’ll check to see if Marnie is home. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he called to the posse and sheriff’s department uniforms. Watching carefully for any evidence that might be in his path, he circled the houses and came out on the street. Although no vehicles were in sight, he approached the front door of the Johnson house and rang the bell. The cars must have been in the attached garage because in a few moments the front door opened.

“Tony! What brings you here?” asked Marnie.

“Official business, I’m afraid,” replied Tony. “May I come in?”

“Of course! Anyway, I don’t want to waste my cool air standing here with the door wide open.”

Marnie directed him to a comfortable wing chair in the living room in front of a large faux fireplace and took the opposite one. “What’s this all about?” she asked.

Tony hesitated for a moment and then extended the ring encased in the bag. “Do you recognize this ring?”

“Why on earth do you have Pete’s ring in that bag?” she exclaimed. “He always wears it. He must have lost it somewhere, right?”

“How can you be so sure it’s Pete’s?”

“A grateful customer made it for him. See the initials ‘PJ’ inside opposite the stone?”

Tony examined the inside of the ring through the plastic and could just barely make them out. “When is the last time you saw Pete?”

“Let’s see—it’s been four days since he went to our other home on business. Sun City Express picked him up to go to the airport.”

“Have you spoken to him since then?”

“No,” said Marnie. “We don’t talk every day when he’s gone, and, besides, he was angry with me when he left.”

“Angry. Why?”

“I wanted him to stay home to go to the party at the club with me last night. And then I burned his eggs.”

“Could you please try now to reach him either at your other home or his business?”

“Not until you tell me what this is all about. You’re beginning to scare me!”


Chapter Four


Reconvening in the cool, dark bar, the eight golfers sat at a large round table while the pro, the general manager and the grounds supervisor huddled a short distance away.

Bill broke the silence. “I can’t place Pete Johnson. What does he look like?”

“Well, he’s semi-retired, and he’s in his early sixties. He’s fairly attractive and always thinks of himself as a ladies man. I know! He and Marnie won first in a nine-hole event last month, and there’s a picture of them in the current club magazine,” said Anne.

Keith said, “There’s a copy in the lobby. I’ll get one.”

“No, I’ll get it,” said Al, the general manager. “And I’m sure it would be okay if Jerry, Floyd and I got back to work. We didn’t find the body, and I’m sure we don’t know anything helpful. Anyway, Detective Morales knows where to find us.” He quickly retrieved the publication and left it with the golfers where it was passed from hand to hand.

Harry said, “I recognize Pete from the pool at the recreation center, but that’s definitely not the woman who talks to him every evening there!”

“I’m not surprised,” said Karen. “When his wife wasn’t around, he hit on any one who would talk to him! He was worse after having a bit much to drink at dances and parties. Maybe a jealous husband didn’t like the attention being paid to his wife!”

“What I don’t understand is why his wife wouldn’t have reported him missing,” wondered Susie.

“Maybe Marnie killed him!” exclaimed Helen. “I know how I’d feel if Chuck was flirting with everyone in sight or having an affair!”

“That’s not going to happen, Babe,” said Chuck. “But Pete’s a member of the men’s golf group that I play with on weekdays, and he confided to me that he was going to stir up a bit of trouble. Remember how I was telling you that Al’s been paying $25 a pound wholesale for steak for the club? Well, Pete called the supplier and pretended to be pricing meat for his own business. He was quoted at $14 a pound. He told me he was going to see if Al was getting kickbacks of $11 a pound.”

“I can’t believe meat is wholesaled at even $14 a pound,” said Karen, “but I can see where that accusation would really upset Al. He’d lose his job and probably never work in the club management business again.”

Keith said, “I’m in that group too, and I played with Pete a couple of weeks ago. Because Pete was recently appointed to the club operations committee, he told me something else. He’s been looking into the club’s finances. And he told me he couldn’t understand why the pro shop isn’t making money. All of us buy golf clubs, shoes, balls and clothing there on a regular basis, but every report from Jerry says it’s losing money, despite his firing the woman employee who was ordering all the clothes. Pete was planning to meet with Jerry and go over the budget and earnings with him. The pro shop should be making money.”

“Do you think Jerry fired her because she was figuring out why the shop wasn’t profitable?” asked Susie.

“That could be,” replied Anne. “He said we couldn’t afford to keep her and then hired some guy who can’t even ring up a sale price properly or remember to order something for me.”

“The selection of women’s clothing styles certainly has deteriorated since there isn’t a woman who knows what to order,” said Helen.

“In addition,” said Chuck, “there are several course maintenance employees related to Floyd, the grounds superintendent. But those employees either aren’t here much or don’t do much, according to Pete. Hey, here’s Tony! Tony, can we go finish our round?”

“No, I’m afraid not, but I have brought your golf balls back. One each of pink, orange, yellow and white—it looks as if you’re playing with Easter eggs! I left the volunteers at the scene until a few more regular deputies arrive to relieve them and went to see Marnie. She insisted Pete was out of town even though she hadn’t heard from him for four days. She says he left for the airport on the Sun City Express. She tried calling both their other home and his office but couldn’t reach him. However, she did identify the ring as having been made for Pete. His initials were on the inside.”

“I knew it!” exclaimed Anne.

“Since we’re fairly sure we’ve identified the body and have contacted next of kin, you don’t need to hang around here any longer,” said Tony.

Bill said, “I know I’ve been retired for a few years, but I know you’ll want to look into who would have wanted Pete dead. In addition to some personal issues, it seems he’s been doing a little muckraking at the club.” On his fingers he ticked them off one by one. “Al may have been accepting kickbacks on supplies. Jerry may have been playing with the books in the pro shop. Then we have Floyd who’s practicing nepotism.”

“Okay,” said Tony, as he made notes. “What about those personal issues?”

Harry said, “He’s been cozy with women other than his wife. I’ve seen him at the recreation pool with a slender blonde, and Karen said he flirted with women at the club too. So perhaps his wife or the other women and their husbands might have wanted him dead.”

“Anything else from you amateur detectives?” inquired Tony.

Bill’s face froze, and the rest of the group shifted uncomfortably in their plush chairs.

Looking at their reactions, Tony apologized, “No offense intended. It just seems as though all of you are pointing lots of fingers at quite a few—what may be—innocent people.”

Eventually, Anne broke the silence. “We’re just telling you what we’ve discussed. Come on, Keith. I have laundry to do since we can’t play golf.”

“And I have groceries to buy, “said Harry.

Their empty chairs replaced at the table, the group members quietly paired off and returned to their golf cars.

Susie called to Anne, “I’ll go get that book to return to you. Okay if I bring it right by?”

“Sure,” said Anne. “That laundry will keep me busy at home for a while.”




Chapter Five

As Harry and Susie drove home, Harry cautioned Susie, “Honey, I know you solved the burglary case of who broke into our old house, but that didn’t involve someone’s dying with a possible murderer on the loose. I want you to stay out of this investigation.”

Susie said, “I have no intention of getting ‘involved’ with this case. Tony acts as if he doesn’t want any help, anyway. I just want to return Anne’s book. I’ll be home in a bit. In case you decide to have a nap before you shop, I’ll come in quietly through the garage when I come back. Let’s put the golf car away since I don’t think we’ll play any golf the rest of today!

“You know what keeps running through my mind? ‘As coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, and she’s not only dead, she’s really most sincerely dead!’”

Harry thought a moment. “Oh, that’s from the ‘Wizard of Oz’ which we watched a couple of days ago. It’ll be harder to find the cause of death for Pete though. After all, a house didn’t fall on him!”

Susie collected the book and found Anne enjoying the sunshine in her front walled patio.

“Thanks for bringing the book, and I’ve got a couple more for you. Want some iced tea? I brought out an extra glass in case Keith came out to join us.” As Anne poured the sun tea, she noticed someone coming up the front walk. “Come on in, Marnie! I’ll pour some tea for you, too.”

Marnie said, “Tony said you were the one who found and recognized Pete’s ring. I just couldn’t stay at home. How could Pete lie dead just a few feet from my back fence for four days? Why, oh why, did I have to send him away being angry at him?”

“You couldn’t have known he was going to die when he left. He must not have taken Sun City Express to the airport. Did you actually see him get into the van?” asked Susie.

“He went outside to wait for the van and left his laptop and carryon bag at the door. I saw the bags sitting there after he’d been outside for a few minutes and went to get a frozen bottle of water for him. By the time I got back to the door, his bags were gone. I assumed the van had come for him. Then I left for the grocery store. Why wouldn’t the Express have called if they didn’t pick him up?” asked Marnie. “Detective Morales said he plans to check on that.”

“Wasn’t there a message when you came back from the store?” asked Anne.

“No, let me think about that day. When I got home I found my cleaning lady, Eileen, watching television and drinking some of my bourbon. I pay her by the hour so I fired her. She’d recently been fired by Chuck and Helen, too. Helen told me Eileen had gotten lax and that she’d noticed her alcohol was disappearing. If the Express called, Eileen probably didn’t give me the message. Now I have to find a new cleaning lady. Is yours available, Anne?”

“She has a waiting list, if you can believe that! Keith thinks we’re paying her too much so I may be looking soon too. The last time she came she drove up in a brand new Cadillac! We were shocked.”

As the women sat quietly chatting and sipping their tea, a cell phone began to ring. Marnie stood up, fumbled in her pocket and walked back to the gate. “Hello?”

Susie said quietly to Anne, “But if he didn’t get picked up, what happened to his bags?”

Anne replied, “And if he did get picked up, he wasn’t due back home for a few more days unless he decided to come home early. You’re right--it still leaves the question of what happened to his bags. Why is Marnie worried about replacing her cleaning lady just after she’s discovered her husband is dead?”

“I think it hasn’t really sunk in that he’s gone. A bit of denial. She’s also probably thinking about the state of the house and the relatives who will be coming. Does she have children who live here or somewhere else?’

Before Anne could answer, Marnie clicked the cell phone shut and rejoined them. “That was Detective Morales. He had two pieces of information for me. I was right about Eileen—she did take the call from Sun City Express that Pete wasn’t waiting for them. She thought it served me right for firing her not to give me the message! Oh, that makes me so angry!”

Waiting a beat, Susie asked, “What was the other information?”

“Oh,” said Marnie, “the Sheriff’s department recovered Pete’s suitcase and laptop at the Grand Avenue Swap Meet yesterday. Apparently, a gardener saw the luggage just sitting outside my house and stole the two pieces. Look, I’ve got to go home and make some phone calls. Thanks for the iced tea.” And Marnie strode out the gate and down the sidewalk.

Chapter Six

“Well,” said Susie, “seems as if Pete never left Sun City. He must have died on the golf course. He didn’t have any clubs with him. Why would he have gone out there?”

Anne said, “Maybe Pete caught the gardener taking his luggage, and the gardener killed him. But then why would he take the time to hide the body on the golf course?”

“At least the sheriff has the gardener in custody so we’ll know if he’s charged with murder.”

“Murder—who said anything about murder?” asked Tony Morales at the gate. “Mind if I come in?”

“No, come right ahead,” said Anne. “This patio is busier than Grand Central Station! Would you like some iced tea?”

“No, thanks, but about this so-called murder, we don’t know the COD—cause of death. There are four options—natural causes, accident, suicide or homicide. The manner of death could have been homicide—one human killing another—but not murder. Murder requires criminal intent and takes into consideration what was done to carry out the plan.”

“But,” said Susie, “the body was so well hidden between the bougainvillea bushes and that huge pile of grass clippings that I would have thought it was murder.” One look at Tony’s face, and she conceded, “Okay, I suppose he could have died there from a heart attack, but it looked fairly well hidden to me! Why would he go there to die?”

“The body is so traumatized that only the medical examiner’s findings will tell us the COD, and we’ll go from there. The coyotes, turkey vultures, grackles and whatever else lives on this course have complicated matters. The toxicology report could take as long as six weeks. In the meantime we’ll be gathering eyewitness testimony and physical evidence. That’s what makes cases. Anyway, Anne, since you live next door, I’ve come to ask you what you saw the day Pete supposedly left town.”

“Ordinarily I wouldn’t mention this because Marnie and Bernice are both friends of mine, and I don’t want either of them angry at me. It would make living near to them very uncomfortable. But, since you’re asking, Tony, I saw Bernice meet Pete at the back of their yards and walk out onto the golf course. Contrary to what usually happens, Bernice came back alone very quickly. Within two or three minutes. She was carrying her tree pruning saw.”

“Anne, are you saying that Bernice and Pete were having an affair right behind his own house?” demanded Susie. “How is that possible?” She turned to Tony, “Are you going to get a search warrant for Bernice’s house to look at the tree saw? She’d probably just let you search! If she didn’t kill Pete, maybe her husband did! Did you have to get a search warrant for the club grounds?”

“Hey, slow down! In answer to your search warrant questions, we didn’t need a warrant for the club grounds because there was not the expectation of privacy on the course that Bernice and her husband would have for their home. She can’t just allow us to search because she could always claim later we didn’t have permission and then that evidence would be inadmissible. If we’d had a complaint about a problem in a house, we could take a ‘look see’ but we don’t have that now.

“Anything else that you can add, Anne?”

Anne said, “As Bernice was re-entering her back yard, I saw one of the employee carts coming along the path. I don’t know who was driving it though. My cats were begging for treats so I went to get some for them.”

“Well, I’ll send a detective along to take a formal written statement when I can spare him. Perhaps you’ll remember more about that day before the detective gets here. Meanwhile, I’ve other things to do. If the coroner says the COD was manslaughter or murder, I don’t want to have wasted time assuming it was a natural cause or accidental death. And, no, I’m not going to tell you what the ‘things’ are,” he said in response to Susie’s attempts to ask more questions. “Bye!” said Tony as he closed the gate behind him.

Chapter Seven

Susie turned to Anne, “I told Harry I wouldn’t try to investigate on my own, but let’s just see who our suspects can be. Let’s write them down.”

Anne quickly went into the house and returned with a pencil, paper, Keith and a glass for iced tea for him. “I thought maybe he could help us remember everything we want to list.”

Keith said, “Well, according to all the crime shows I’ve ever watched, the first suspect is the wife so that makes Marnie number one on the list. And I think both Bernice and her husband belong here too. I heard you tell Tony about Bernice and Pete’s meetings on the course. I was thinking that one of us would surely have to do that since I’ve seen them walking on the course together.”

And Susie added, “Anne, you saw the club golf car coming down the path, so I think we have to add the three club employees Pete thought were mismanaging the club—Al, Jerry and the grounds superintendent. Isn’t his name Floyd? And don’t leave off that yard worker who stole the suitcases—Tony didn’t tell us his name. That’s seven, so far,” she said, looking over Keith’s shoulder.

Anne looked toward the gate and said, “I’ll get another glass—here comes Harry!”

“I might have known the temptation to piece this puzzle together would be more than the three of you could stand! So I’ve come to help,” said Harry. “Maybe I can keep you out of trouble if I know what you’re doing. Besides, in all this uproar, I thought you might have forgotten the general membership meeting scheduled for this afternoon. We have an hour or so before we have to be there.”

Glancing quickly at Anne, Susie said, “Keith, you’d better add the board members and the club president to the list. The last thing any of them would want is someone digging up dirt and announcing it in the meeting!”

Harry said, “Keith, I’d like to take a look at that list, but I’ll wait until that bee that’s landed on it takes off. I’m allergic to bee stings.” He stared at Anne and Susie as they exchanged a light-bulb look.

“Do you know if Pete was allergic to bee stings?” asked Susie.

“I don’t remember that either Marne or Pete mentioned any allergies, but I think we should add bees to the list anyway.”

Harry added, “There was a nest of killer bees cleaned out in a building near the recreation center pool a month or two ago. The nest was only spotted because the honey was dripping down the outside wall!”

Anne said, “Can you think of anyone—or anything—that should be added to the list of suspects?”

When no one answered, she went on, “I’ll bet Pete had planned to be back in time to attend. We’d better get moving if we plan to make the meeting.”

Keith said, “I’ll take the list of suspects with me. Maybe we’ll see someone at the meeting who should be added to it! Maybe we should share it with Tony next time we see him.”

Chapter Eight

Despite their being at the main dining room at the club nearly 45 minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting, Anne, Keith, Susie and Harry had to take seats near the back. Club employees were hurriedly setting up more chairs behind them for the few members still arriving. Scanning the room, Anne remarked, “I don’t see Al or Jerry—they usually attend these meetings. Oh, here are Bill, Karen, Chuck and Helen. Come sit with us!” she called.

“Do you think this huge turnout is due to Pete’s death?” asked Helen.

Bill replied, “I’m certain of it. Every person in this room must know the body was found near the fourth tee box. What’s that you have in your hand, Keith?”

Keith shared the list of suspects with the group, and the Wynners quietly discussed just who should be added to the “persons of interest” names.

Fifteen minutes after the meeting was scheduled to start, the buzz of conversation was quieted by the Margaret Eby, the president, banging her gavel for order.

“The general meeting of the Desert Hills Country Club is now in session! I’m sorry for the delay in starting the meeting, but we were waiting for Al since he has a report to give soon. As I’m sure you are aware, there was a death on our golf course. May we please have a moment of silence?”

After a few seconds of complete and utter quiet, Margaret cleared her throat and continued, “However, we’ll go ahead with the approval of the agenda, the minutes from the last meeting and then the treasurer’s report while we wait for him to arrive.”

The agenda and minutes were summarily approved, and the treasurer handed out copies of his report. Expecting a motion to approve the treasurer’s report, Margaret acknowledged Chuck’s raised hand. Despite his wife’s insistently whispered discouragement, Chuck stood up and said, “Before we approve this report, I’d like to know why the golf shop and the dining room aren’t making money, and why our expenses for the grounds are so high. And where is Al? He should be here to explain these deficits.”

An excited babble rose from the audience, and Margaret was forced to gavel the crowd back into relative quiet. “About half an hour ago he told me he’d go check number four to see when the Maricopa County Sheriff’s people thought we could play golf again. He wanted to be able to announce it at this meeting. Jerry was just coming in from the driving range so I sent him out about 20 minutes ago to see what was holding Al up. They should be here any moment….”

She interrupted herself, “Here’s Tony Morales. For those of you who don’t know him, he’s a club member who hasn’t retired yet. He works for the Sheriff’s Department. I sent Jerry out to look for Al. Have you seen either of them, Tony?”

At the podium, Tony looked out over the audience. “Al and Jerry won’t be joining you for this meeting. May I speak with you just a moment, Madam Chairman? Upon adjournment, we’ll need to talk with some of you.” His murmured “Thanks” was all but drowned out by crowd noise.

After a brief conference with Tony, Margaret again pounded to regain control. “Let’s adjourn now so the Sheriff’s Department can continue their investigation and we can have our golf course and club open again. I’m requesting a motion and second for adjournment. Please remain in your places, and Tony will direct you to the interview area.”

The meeting quickly adjourned, and Tony spoke at the podium, “If any of you drove your golf cars here along the first hole within the last half hour, please come with me.”

Heads craned this way and that, but no one moved toward Tony Morales. Finally Margaret said to him, “Everyone has been here for at least half an hour. The last chairs were set up then, and no one has arrived since. Why, what’s happened?”

“I came upon Al and Jerry having a heated argument. They’d nearly come to blows, but neither of them would talk to me about the cause of the argument. I thought perhaps one of you might have heard the start of the discussion.”

The buzz of conversation started again, but it was accompanied by head shaking, and no one came forward. Finally, Tony said, “If any of you have information to add, I’ll wait around for a few minutes, but I don’t see any reason to continue to hold all of you here.”

Helen and Chuck turned to the other Wynners and Chuck said, “Tony needs to see this list. I know he wasn’t very open to our comments, Bill, but we can’t hold this back.”

Bill reluctantly agreed, and the group approached Tony.

It was apparent that Tony wasn’t enthusiastic about the group’s list, and as he came to the end of it, he began to laugh. “Now I’ve heard it all—everything from jealous husbands to irate club employees—but killer bees? Please!”

As he began to turn away from the group, he was tapped on the shoulder. Turning, he discovered Bernice at his shoulder. Instantly serious, he asked, “What can I do for you, Mrs. Hunter? Do you need to speak to me privately?”

“No, they may as well hear what I have to say since they already know I was meeting Pete on the course. I heard them talking about the names on their list. I don’t suppose I have any hope of keeping our relationship a secret anymore. Pete was a few minutes early for the Express, and I wanted to tell him we couldn’t see each other any more.”

Pausing, she took a shaky breath. “I had my tree saw in my hand—no, I didn’t hit him with it!” she stated emphatically, noticing the glances being exchanged. “But I feel guilty, none the less.”

“Please continue, Mrs. Hunter,” said Tony, after scowling the group members into submission.

“Well, I had the saw in my hand, and I was nervous about what I had to say. I started tapping the saw on my back fence, and a swarm of bees was instantly around us. I ran into my house, and Pete ran the other way. I had no idea he didn’t get away from them. I think he was stung to death.”

Harry broke the shocked silence. “The rec center posted a notice about bees and killer bees in particular. I read that they will nest in trees, bushes or fences. In the fall, when they’re swarming and setting up new homes, killer bees can be very aggressive and chase an intruder up to 150 yards. If Pete was found by the water, maybe he thought he could escape them by submerging himself in the water. However, killer bees will just wait around and attack when their enemy emerges.”

Before anyone could respond, Detective Morales’ phone began to ring, and he excused himself to take the call.

After a brief conversation, he clicked off his phone and turned back to the group. “The coroner didn’t want us to waste the Sheriff Department’s resources looking for a murderer when he found the cause of death was accidental. The killer bees stirred up a hornet’s nest of trouble for this club. While Pete may have had a massive reaction to the numerous stings he received and died from it, I hope the club doesn’t have a lethal reaction to the probable criminal activities of the club employees. And I owe the Wynners an apology for my doubts. Thanks for your help, but I hope the only times we meet in the future will be during rounds of pleasant golf!”