“911, what’s your emergency?”
“Um, I found a body,” I said into the phone.
The responder didn’t miss a beat. “What’s yourlocation?”
“The Rose Palace, front of the house.” I didn’t have to explain. In a map search, the estate came up right away as both a business and a residence; besides, anyone within a hundred miles knew about our house.
“A team is on the way,” the responder said, her voice steady. “Is the person conscious?”
“No,” I breathed into the phone.
“Male or female?”
“A man,” I clarified, before beginning to ramble. “He is—or was—supposed to officiate my friend’s wedding. I was picking up a case of wine for the rehearsal dinner and found him in the bushes. He was shot and then he fell or?—”
I almost said “was pushed”, though I knew that couldn’t be the case because Charlie was the only one who’d for sure been in the room with him. Charlie didn’t push him. That was impossible.
I held the note in my hand, the one that said those terrible two words:blame Charlie. But blame him for what? Charlie was the one who solved crimes, not committed them. I also knew that I didn’t need to explain all of this to the emergency responder, but I couldn’t help myself. The words were pouring out like a rushing stream.
“My boyfriend is here at the house. He’s the sheriff, and he heard the man in his room and went inside, but please don’t think that he had anything to do with…” My mind trailed off, not quite knowing where to go from there. It wasn’t like the responder was going to arrest the local sheriff.
“What’s your name?” the woman on the other end of the line asked me, trying to bring me back to some semblance of rational thinking.
“Dakota,” I answered. “Dakota Green.”
“All right, Dakota. I’m going to stay on the call with you until the ambulance arrives. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
Tears sprang to my eyes and the back of my throat clenched. I nodded, unable to speak.
“Are you still with me?”
I coughed back a cry. “I’m here.”
“Good. You’re doing a great job.” The responder paused for a beat as if listening to the other end of a conversation. “The ambulance is about seven minutes away. You just stay near the body, but don’t touch anything, okay?”
I didn’t have the energy to explain that I’d already put my hands on Todd’s throat to check the pulse, and I’d already rifled through his pockets. I supposed that the investigators would see as much, but at least I would have an explanation. Kind of.
Minutes passed, and I remained on the phone, occasionally letting the woman know I was still there and I wasn’t further disturbing what was likely a crime scene.
Charlie had already hung up with Deputy Wright and was sitting on the stone steps, wearing an expression of disbelief at the situation in which he’d found himself. He didn’t have to tell me that he knew how this looked. No one else had been in Todd’s room when Charlie burst inside earlier and there was a note blaming Charlie for God knew what, both of which made my boyfriend appear guilty. Unless we found evidence of another person nearby or the actual gun that had seemingly killed the man with one shot, this didn’t look good for Charlie.
“Is Jill on her way?” I asked, referring to his deputy, the second-in-command.
Charlie nodded but couldn’t speak. Thankfully, he didn’t have to because just then the medics arrived, immediately springing into action. They prepared to resuscitate, but as soon as they lifted the sheet Savilla had lain over the man, they knew it was too late. Still, the head medic and his team assessed the body for several minutes, examining the pupils, recording the skin color, and eventually determining that Reverend Todd Anderson was indeed dead. He estimated the time of death as very recent, perhaps a half-hour to an hour ago, which matched my arrival on the scene, as well as Charlie’s account. It took all of ten minutes, and we looked on, wishing they could do something to revive theman.
“How did you find him?” the head medic finally asked Savilla, once they’d finished. She motioned for me to answer.
“I was going into the house when I spotted something in the bushes,” I said. “It took me a second to realize it was… a body.”
“He was shot and then fell from the balcony,” Charlie said, pointing to Todd’s room. The railing was still intact. “I was in his room… after.”
The medic looked up and nodded once. “Law enforcement will be up there soon, I’m sure.” His eyes flitted back to Charlie, who was well known around these parts. The man seemed confused as to why Charlie wasn’t already on the case, but he didn’t ask any further questions.
When Jill arrived, she brushed past me, immediately pulling Charlie aside to question him.
I wanted to listen, but I knew it was more important that I reach out to Lacy to let her know what was happening—as gently as possible. I considered calling her directly but then thought of an alternative. I could let Aunt DeeDee know, and she could relay the news in person at the end of the rehearsal dinner, before everyone headed back to The Rose. This weekend had been anxiety-inducing enough for Lacy. She didn’t need a call out of the blue saying that we wouldn’t be returning with the wine because of a dead man.
The phone rang three times before Aunt DeeDee picked up on the other end. “Dakota, you okay?” Her voice was filled with worry, almost as if she had a sense of foreboding.
