Solve-it-yourself mystery

Marlys Winslow was the first to arrive at Parkview Lanes Bowling Alley and was changing into her bowling shoes for the seniors’ league tournament when a panicstricken pin-setter mechanic, Barton Frey, ran past her toward the main office.

“Mr. Burr, there’s been an accident in the back!”

The co-owner, Jason Burr, hurried after Barton. Marlys eagerly followed. Upon entering the pin-setter room, Marlys saw Jason’s business partner, Earl Biggins, laid slumped over a machine, his skin a chalky shade of blue. “Jason,” Marlys croaked. “Call nine-one-one.”

“Mrs. Winslow,” Barton said. “You shouldn’t be here.”

She ignored him. After all, Parkview’s Mystery Book Club didn’t call her the “Queen of Sleuths” for nothing.

A bowling pin lay nearby and there was blood on the back of Earl’s head. Minutes later, the police and paramedics arrived, confirming as she had expected…that Earl Biggins was dead.

“Give them room, everyone,” Marlys said. “We can’t disturb the crime scene.”

“Crime scene?” Taffy Bonello gasped behind her. Marlys turned to find the pretty bartender gnawing on the edge of her red acrylics, her elaborate up-do appearing suspiciously disheveled.

“Taffy,” Marlys said. “Aren’t you a little early for your shift? It’s only nine a.m.”

“Two hours early,” Jason confirmed. “She came in to ask Earl for an advance, and they got into a vicious fight.”

Taffy scowled. “Yes, we argued, but don’t look at me— I didn’t hurt him! You and Earl weren’t on the best terms, either. I heard you accuse him of mismanaging funds.”

“He was a lousy business partner,” Jason admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I killed him.”

“What were you arguing about?” Marlys asked Taffy.

“My paycheck bounced, and now I can’t pay my rent.”

“Taffy was pretty upset,” Barton said. “I was out back having a cigarette when she ran outside crying. She told me she got into a fight with Earl, and it made me really angry.”

“When did you come back inside?” Marlys asked Barton.

“After Taffy calmed down, about a half-hour later. I wanted to give Earl a piece of my mind, which is why I came on back here. But when I walked in, I found him slumped over a pin setter. I admit I was mad at him for upsetting Taffy…but I sure didn’t kill him.”

“Ha!” Jason scoffed. “You were always a hothead. Earl asked you to fix that broken pin-setter last night, but it still wasn’t working this morning. Last time I saw Earl, he was heading back here to fire you and fix it himself.”

Marlys noticed a camera mounted in the corner of the pin-setter room. “Perhaps the murderer was caught on video.”

“Good thinking,” Jason said. “I’m sure the police will want to see the security footage. I’ll be in my office, getting it set up.”

“Mind if I join you?” Marlys asked.

“Not at all.” Jason motioned for her to follow. “We have cameras over the cash register, lobby and the building’s perimeter. The lens on the camera in the pin-setter room has been broken for weeks, so it only records audio. But I’ve never told Barton that. He’s got a record for petty theft, and I like him thinking that I’m watching him at all times.”

Waiting for the police, Marlys viewed the videos and listened to Earl and Taffy’s fight. The outside camera showed Barton having a cigarette, as he’d claimed, and Taffy bursting out the back door. The two of them left for the parking lot, as Barton consoled Taffy.

No other sounds, except the clunk of machinery, were noted in the pin-setter room between the time Taffy left and Barton re-entered through the back door, 30 minutes later.

Piecing everything together, Marlys excused herself, and met the police outside Jason’s office. “Officer, I think I know who killed Earl Biggins.”

Q: Who was the murderer? A: Turn to pg 51