The body grew a little colder at the Beech Tree Library Saturday night as library staff awaited the arrival of a group of local detectives. They would be investigating the untimely demise of librarian Melinda Carey.
The scene was set for the Rockin’ Mystery Night at the Burns Library where Sharon Mikesell and Lara Wilson were joined by the Batson and O’Connor families to try to solve the murder. Well-fed by library staff, the six detectives listened as the night’s events were laid out and a list of suspects reviewed. Kaleb O’Connor, a huge fan of the game "Clue" couldn’t wait to begin gathering evidence and spinning his theory of what happened.
The gist of the tale of intrigue was this — Carey was heading up a local Battle of the Bands. A tad snobby in her assessment of what good music was, she was the target of ill feelings from more than one person. Carey was found dead on the floor of a meeting room, notes on the table alongside a cup of tea where she had been preparing to meet with the committee.
Though there were no witnesses to the murder, the detectives learned there were nine suspects. After hearing descriptions of each suspect, the detectives minds were racing to eliminate some from the start of the investigation, each taking notes to aid in making an arrest.
Moving to the scene of the crime Shelby Batson and Leah O’Connor searched the floor beneath the table for clues while Tracy and Lane Batson and Kaleb and mom, Tammy took turns reading from notes strewn on the table. Tammy read the lyrics to a rock song and noted its not-so-pleasant subject matter — death and hell. The group noted the tea cup was missing, its saucer left behind.
Adjourning to the meeting room again, the group took turns reading aloud the alibis given by each suspect. All were in agreement "Ruth Hynde" was not the criminal, as her whereabouts were clearly confirmed.
On the desk in "Carey’s office." were folders with more correspondence and another set of lyrics, similar but not exactly the same as the first set. Hooked by what they read, the detectives moved to the "police office" finding on the desk of a fellow detective two dictionaries with definitions for two words clearly marked — strychnine and plagiarism. The teacup was encased in a Ziplock baggie, a teaspoon of the now-cooled liquid sloshing within. On a legal pad were notes linking one suspect to an order for strychnine and noting the two versions of the same song. There was also a letter from a record executive expressing interest in obtaining rights to the song.
Once all the information was gathered the Burns detective squad again headed to the conference room to make a final deliberation. Just who was the culprit?
Two suspects rose to the top — Kay Etheridge and Luke Petty — as both wrote songs. Discussion about the suspects faded as each detective began to get serious about making a determination on "who-dun-it."
Postulations were gathered and the two — Tammy and Tracy — listing Etheridge as the guilty party were awarded cups for their efforts. Turned out Etheridge knew Carey had proof of lyrics being plagiarized. Worried her future in the music industry would be ruined, she ordered strychnine from her father’s business and poisoned the librarian with it.
The announcement that the correct information was gathered and the mystery solve was greeted by whoops and arms raised in victory. The participants were excited about having been a part of the evening, expressing how fun it was.
The library will be hosting a number of other events throughout the summer as part of its summer reading program. Pine Bluffs and the main library in Cheyenne also have events scheduled. Local events will be listed in the Pine Bluffs Post community calendar. For more information one may visit any of the libraries or www.lclsonline.org
