Hiking Sticks, Hawks, and Homicide: Riley Creek Cozy Mystery Series, #1

Chapter One

As Martha Sloane emerged from her well-worn Subaru station wagon, she quickly took in the piles of leaves dotting the roadside and blowing in swirls around the side yard of Aunt Lorna’s cottage. Glancing up at the familiar wraparound porch, Martha felt a sense of relief tinged with melancholy. She was relieved to finally have arrived at the closest place to home she’d ever known, yet full of sadness because the person that made it home was no longer there to greet her. Aunt Lorna, just seventy years old, had died from a massive heart attack and been found face down in her flowerbeds five days ago. Martha was here to say goodbye to her, goodbye to Riley Creek, and return to Boston as soon as possible.

Martha had left the city around lunchtime the previous day, but now that she’d arrived, the whole drive was nothing but a blur. You had to pay attention to get to Riley Creek, but as usual her muscle memory had steered her home. Nestled in the Paris Mountains, it was a rugged area in southern Tennessee that was hard enough to get to that it escaped the throngs of tourists that flocked to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Martha always knew she was close to Riley Creek when her spotty cell service became nearly non-existent.

Martha had carefully calculated how many days she would need to settle affairs here and be back at work at Berry College; she’d estimated seven.

Clock starts now, she told herself with a deep breath and a quick glance at the time on her iPhone.

Martha had been leaning on the doorframe of the car and contemplating where to start, but was brought back to the moment by the slow unwinding of the little dog on the passenger seat. The salt-and-pepper miniature schnauzer gingerly stepped over the stick shift and onto the indentation in the driver’s seat. As she moved, she stretched each back leg as if she’d just awoken from her winter hibernation rather than a nap that stretched only as far back as the most recent rest area.

Good afternoon, Penny, Martha said, letting her hand rest on the dog’s head. We finally made it. Martha leaned over to take the keys out of the ignition and Penny cautiously climbed down and out and headed to the green grass of the front yard. They had been traveling for over fifteen hours, stopping overnight at a Red Roof in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The night had not been too restful, with a thunderstorm buzzing the hotel’s old metal window frames and too few blankets to make for a comfortable sleep. Instead of the buzzing hotel windows, Martha could now make out the din of the Little Pigeon River that flowed down from the Great Smoky Mountains and past the back of the cottage.

Just as Martha was contemplating whether it was more efficient to unload her car first and then open the front door or vice versa, she heard a distant, Martha? Is that you? in the slightly quaky voice of an older woman. At the sound of the voice, Penny took off like a much younger version of herself.

Penny! Come back here! Martha yelled as the dog ran down the street like a shooting black star. She ran straight into the arms of the voice’s owner, who picked her up and stood outside her fenced yard and next to her mailbox about a half block down the street.

Martha jogged over as quickly as her clogs could carry her. Mrs. Ritzenwaller! I’m so sorry. I should have put her on a leash.

Don’t be silly, child. Why put a dog on a leash on a beautiful fall day like this? And you know to call me Delores. Delores moved to pull Penny’s muzzle away, halting the wet and beardy kisses Penny was planting on her. She leaned over and gently placed the little dog inside the fence and on the pathway up to her cottage, and Penny quickly went to work catching up on all of the doggie news of the day.

Oh, my girl, said Delores, pulling off her work gloves and taking Martha into her arms for a long and heartfelt embrace. I am sorrier than I can say. I don’t know what we’re going to do without her. They parted and Martha could see tears in Delores’s eyes, which was enough to break the dam in her own heart. Tears began to fall in earnest now, and Martha did her best to soak them up into her shirtsleeves as Delores held each of her hands in hers.

Delores lived in a beautiful A-frame cottage, slightly larger than Aunt Lorna’s, a small brown hip-high picket fence lining an eye-catching yard that featured sturdy Virginia pines, massive tulip trees, and naked but healthy redbuds, as well as artistically laid-out beds of native plants. The canvas tarp, rake and wheelbarrow that lay just to the side of the cottage made plain what Delores had been doing this cool October day.

Delores was as Martha always thought of her: eighty-something, sturdy and practical, yet elegant and well put together. She wore sensible tan work pants, a denim shirt that looked soft and lived-in, and a corduroy barn jacket with felted elbow patches, and had her gray hair done in a single long braid that disappeared down her back. Her only nod to whimsy was the bright purple gardening clogs covered in clusters of white daisies.

Delores, the town librarian when Martha was small and had spent her summers there, was as much a fixture in Riley Creek as Martha’s Aunt Lorna had been. Many a day had Martha run down the steps of Aunt Lorna’s front porch in her swimsuit and towel, heading the three blocks to the library to get a pile of books and sneak in a visit to Mrs. Ritzenwaller on the way to splash in the river. To this day, Martha had a hard time thinking of her as Delores.

It had been over eighteen months since Martha had visited Riley Creek. It had always been home, more than her own home with her parents in northern Ohio. Each time she’d visited in more recent years as an adult, it had been hard to head back to Boston. Now fifty-one years old, she’d lived and worked in Boston for almost thirty years, yet she hadn’t ever really found it a place of true comfort as she had Riley Creek. The impersonal hustle and bustle of big city life—making work acquaintances who, it turned out, were only passing through on the way to their real lives—had made it difficult for Martha to establish roots. Losing Aunt Lorna made the ground shift beneath Martha’s feet as she wondered what the future held. Now that Aunt Lorna was gone, where was home? Did she even have one?

She shook the thought from her mind. This was not the time for emotions. It was time to accomplish what she needed to do and get back.

Just as her mind became lost in a swell of emotions, Penny’s high-pitched barking brought Martha back to the moment. From around the back of the house came Mr. Ritzenwaller, as always walking perfectly erect and wearing a warm wool cap with the ear flaps folded up, wide-wale loden-green cords, a tan chamois shirt with a white turtleneck beneath, and comfortable-looking work boots. Walking close to him was Fritz, the couple’s sturdy caramel-and-black German Shepherd, his ears pointing forward and on high alert. Penny, whose temperament was nowhere near as aloof, ran straight for Mr. Ritzenwaller, and then flopped down onto her back, eager for tummy rubs and to show Fritz that she was definitely not the boss. Mr. Ritzenwaller bent down and gave Penny some vigorous snuggles as Fritz heeled and watched, but once the tall man stood back up and uttered a low, Free dog, Fritz and Penny immediately ran off in a jumping, snarling, happy dog reunion.

Those two, Mr. Ritzenwaller muttered, shaking his head as he approached Martha with his hand outstretched.

Martha took his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Hello, Jimmy, she said, feeling no less relieved to see this old friend, even if he held his emotions closer than did his wife Delores. Martha knew the emotional expanse that lay under his reserved exterior, having spent many childhood days with him fishing at Audra Lake, learning to whittle, and even smoking a pipe once (that was still their secret). It bothered her not one bit that he preferred a shaken hand over a bear hug.

Hello there, Martha. Wondered what time you’d roll in today.

Well, I wanted to get here earlier, but I had so many work things to rearrange, this was the fastest I could manage. And I wanted to drive, so... She let her voice trail off, unsure how to explain the need for her own car this trip when so many other times she’d flown into Knoxville and rented a car to enjoy the winding roads to Riley Creek. No Uber driver was going to take her to the secluded little village that was no more than a dot on most published maps.

Jimmy nodded in understanding. I was just going to walk down to the shop to check on things if you want to join me, he said.

I’d love to, but Penny probably needs a good stretch, Martha said regretfully. Perhaps another time?

Penny is fine with me. I’ll be out in the yard trying to corral these leaves for another hour at least, said Delores. You two go on. She took out her gloves and slid them on. Martha eyed her, trying to gauge if she really wanted to have the little dog around or not. "Go on, stressed Delores. It’s no bother to have Penny around. It’s good for Fritz. Reminds him he’s actually a dog."

Coffee should be ready. Shall we take some along? Jimmy said, stiffening his shoulders at the nip in the air. Then he winked. It’s from the shop so it’s the good stuff.

Well... sure. I wouldn’t expect you to drink anything else, said Martha. A cup of coffee might clear her head after the long day on the road. Not to mention needing a clear head for all that I’m going to have to think through.

Give me half a sec, Jimmy said, and disappeared up the porch and into the house. The screen door slammed before the thick wooden door clunked behind him.

He’s as upset as I’ve ever seen him, said Delores, her voice lower. Finding Lorna took a few years off of him, I’m fairly sure. She stared after her husband, shaking her head slightly, her brow furrowing with concern.

Delores, I’m not totally clear on what happened when, said Martha. She wanted to know more about Aunt Lorna’s death than the little that had been told to her over the phone four days ago, but wasn’t sure how to ask or if she could ask without starting the tears streaming again. Everything since that day had been a blur, but now that she was in Riley Creek, she wanted to know every detail.

You know Jimmy. He’ll tell you what you want to know when you want to know it, Delores said quietly. Only, please go easy on the asking. He may not show it, but he was very attached to your aunt and is heartbroken at losing her. We’d been neighbors for over thirty years and came to be close.

Before Martha’s tears could start streaming again, the screen door slammed and Jimmy came down the front steps, a to-go cup in each hand. Martha’s read Reading is For the Birds and featured a bluebird kicked back in a recliner, reading Shakespeare. Jimmy’s light blue one read Gone to the Dogz and was covered in tiny paw prints of various shapes and sizes.

C’mon, he said. Martha took a small sip as they turned to go, the coffee’s powerful richness hitting her bloodstream like liquid lightning.

Whoa, she said, shaking her head to help her taste buds recover.

Italian Roost, Jimmy said simply, and Martha recalled that being the blend Aunt Lorna had sworn by when a jumpstart was needed. There’s a coffee for every occasion, Aunt Lorna always said. Martha had never been a big coffee drinker, but this steamy brew hit the spot indeed.

The two walked along the roadside path toward the downtown of Riley Creek, though downtown might have been an overstatement. The outskirts of the village had started to grow (there was now a full-size Kroger’s about a twenty-minute drive away, something that hadn’t existed when Martha was a kid), but the main square of Riley Creek was still home to just the basics: the hardware shop, the bank and post office, Toad in a Hole Bookshop owned by crazy old Mr. Bennett, the market and various other small businesses that provided for the foothills community and the seasonal influx of tourists. Only one new storefront caught Martha’s eye; Fins to Fur, from the looks of it a pet shop that had not been there the last time she’d visited.

Looking across the square, Martha spotted the familiar flapping yard flags that proudly—and loudly—announced Aunt Lorna’s coffee and birding shop, Birds ‘n’ Beans, nestled between Silent Sisters antique shop and Threaded Needle needlework store. It was distinguished by the visually frantic activity going on in the front. In addition to around fifteen bird-themed house flags hanging from the top of the awning, birdhouses and birdfeeders dangled from its sides and swirled in the breeze. Three quaint bistro tables huddled together under it, as if trying to shelter from the wind, and a small wrought-iron fence enclosed the entire scene. Where the adjoining shops were austere and genteel, Lorna’s shop was colorful, loud and bombastic. Martha reflected that everything looked normal, except for the darkened windows and what looked like a bunch of wilted daisies lying on the Dirty Shoes Are For the Birds mat just outside the front door.

As they made their way across the square, Jimmy gently guided Martha by the elbow to a bench with worn wooden slats that was oriented with a view toward Birds ‘n’ Beans.

Sit down a minute? he asked. Martha only had time to glimpse the Charlton Riley, Father of Riley Creek 1918–1950 etched onto a brass plate before she eased down onto the memorial bench. I know you probably need a moment before we go into the shop. Just to catch your breath.

Martha sat and admired the lovely fall baskets hanging from each light pole that encircled the square. Potato vine that had long since seen its best summer days and various shades of purple and green coleus tumbled down around the sphagnum moss that cradled each huge basket.

And I’ll tell you as much as you want to know, Jimmy said softly.

Tell me everything, she said, taking a sip from her sturdy cup as if bracing herself with a shot of whiskey.

OK, he said, in doing so honoring the no-nonsense way of coping with the world around them that they both shared. "I was walking Fritz down to Toad in a Hole around eight to get my usual newspaper, and it was Fritz who alerted me. He looked over toward Lorna’s house and whined, which he rarely does. I glanced over and there she was, lying across the coneflowers out front. I recognized her gardening dungarees and ran as fast as I could, but she was already gone.

It had to have been fast. I can tell you that her face registered no pain, and Delores and I stayed with her until the ambulance took her. They were very respectful with Lorna every step of the way.

The idea that Lorna had died in her front garden had felt somehow peaceful to Martha. At least Jimmy and Delores were with her, she thought. What was I doing at that moment? She knew the answer instantly; she had been working. Aunt Lorna had not even been on her mind at the time.

The tears came again and Martha was slightly embarrassed. Her relationship with Jimmy was one part familiarity, another part companionable silence. Crying didn’t usually feature in the equation. But she had no choice; the tears had a mind of their own and kept on flowing.

I can’t take it in, Martha said, trying to keep her voice calm even as she wept. She was strong as an ox and I had no sign she was unwell. She didn’t say anything to me and I talked to her every Sunday!

Well, almost every Sunday.

Well, Martha, at my age, with as many friends and relatives as Delores and I have had pass away, you get used to things just happening. Sometimes because someone is ill, and sometimes because their time has come. Doesn’t make it any easier, it just is. Why, half of the folks that were at our wedding are no longer around. Jimmy shook his head.

Martha sniffed. She’s all the family I had left. This all feels... surreal. On the edge of her mind was the similarly disorienting loss of her parents in a car accident the summer before her freshman year in college. It was Lorna who had comforted her and encouraged her to put one foot in front of the other.

"My girl, she’d always say, there’s only one thing to do. You gotta keep on keepin’ on."

And keep on Martha did. After the funeral, she had taken a semester’s leave from college, and she and Lorna had stayed in Ohio for a few months to handle the sale of her parents’ real estate holdings. Lorna, as executor of the estate, had eventually sent Martha back to stay in Riley Creek while she arranged the sale. When she returned to Riley Creek, Lorna had been driving a U-Haul truck with all the things from the house that Martha had wanted to keep.

The following weeks were spent setting up her room in Lorna’s house. Lorna insisted on Martha arranging it however she liked so that she’d always have a comfortable place to come home to on college breaks. Martha had pushed to skip college and stay in Riley Creek; it had been Lorna who’d insisted through her own tears that Martha follow her dream of becoming a writer.

The money from the sale of her parents’ house and rental properties was more than enough to cover the cost of college, but by then, Martha’s dream had dissipated. The sparkle and promise that higher education had held for her was gone. Instead of studying to become a writer, she decided she needed to become more practical, to prepare for a life that could drop a boulder of disappointment and grief on her head at any moment. It was time to grow up and put her feet on the ground. She focused her writing talents on a degree in Communication Studies, accomplished in record time.

All through college, Martha confided to Lorna her every achievement, disappointment, and anything in between. Even though they’d been close during Martha’s childhood, their bond grew unbreakable through those years. Having helped her fight through her grief and persist to graduation, Lorna later persuaded her to go on to graduate school. She had sent care package after care package while Martha finished her thesis and finally graduated with her Master’s in Business Communications.

And it was Lorna who helped her pick up the pieces years later, after Brian.

Fast forward and she was now the Director of Communications for Berry College, a small school on the outskirts of Boston. Moving through a succession of progressively more responsible roles after graduating with her Master’s, Martha perfected her no-nonsense approach. She was a keen listener, and by keeping an ear out, picked up on each organization’s internal squabbles. She became adept at learning what made people tick, and used that knowledge to coax her various bosses toward business strategies that addressed the internal issues and created external success.

As she’d climbed the proverbial ladder, Aunt Lorna had been the single part of her life that connected Martha to her past, to a carefree time when all things were possible. And now she was gone.

Coming back to herself, sitting next to Jimmy, Martha realized that Lorna had also made sure she would never be completely alone. Jimmy and Delores had been constant fixtures at the dinner table; on the porch in the evenings; waiting with open arms every time Martha returned home from Boston. Though they were not blood relations, they had watched her grow up through her visits to Riley Creek as a child, and then as a young woman, and shared with her a love for Lorna. Those shared memories now became a shared grief.

Now, now, said Jimmy, clearly not knowing the right words to ease her sense of loss. You know Delores and I are here, and there are so many others that loved Lorna and are ready to help you with anything you need. Jimmy cleared his throat. Do you want to go check the shop with me or would you rather wait for me here? Plenty of time for you to go in later. PJ and Helen thought it best to close for a few days, but I told them I’d keep an eye on things and pop around for the mail.

I think I’ll wait. I’m tired from the drive and don’t think I can handle going in right now. Do you mind?

Sure. I’ll be just a sec.

Martha watched Jimmy walk the few hundred yards to the storefront, stoop to pick up the flowers, and put the key in the door, all in one fluid up-and-down motion. He disappeared into the darkened store, and she could vaguely see his shape moving around in the light that streamed in through the picture windows that ran the length of the back wall.

Though Jimmy had almost three decades on her, Martha could easily see what might have drawn Delores to him. Not only was he quietly thoughtful and tall, but he still had a full head of hair, now moving nicely from dark brown into thick salt and pepper. He had been an aerospace engineer and had traveled a good deal during much of his and Delores’s marriage, which could be why they had never had children. Martha briefly wondered at the motherly figure Delores had been to the many young readers in town, slipping snacks to those who looked hungry or giving a stern look to those who needed one.

In about five minutes, Jimmy was back out, with a handful of mail tucked under his arm. He locked the deadbolt in the glass front door and came strolling across the green to the bench where Martha sat, feeling the fall sun on her swollen face.

They walked in companionable silence the three blocks to the cottages, Jimmy offering to go get Penny and bring her back to Lorna’s. While he headed up the small road, Martha opened the hatchback of her wagon and pulled out her Osprey backpack that doubled as a suitcase, an overstuffed canvas briefcase, and Penny’s pillows, water bowls, leash, and toys. It occurred to her, not for the first time, that Penny traveled with more accessories than she did.

She had just got everything in through the front door when Penny came bounding up the steps and pushed right past her into the house.

Thanks, Jimmy, Martha said, turning to see him standing at the bottom of the steps. I’ll see you at the funeral. She’d been able to make most of the arrangements with Floyd Funeral Home over the phone. Her aunt had wanted to be buried in a plain pine box that would eventually decompose and, as the consummate gardener always said, become one nice pile of compost.

"We’d like to