S7E2 A Scent of Murder

Mysteries to Die For

Welcome to Mysteries to Die For.

I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you in the heart of a mystery. All stories are structured to challenge you to beat the detective to the solution. These are arrangements, which means instead of word-for-word readings, you get a performance meant to be heard. Jack and I perform these live, front to back, no breaks, no fakes, no retakes.

This is Season 7, Games People Play. Games are about competition conducted according to rules with participants working toward a goal. Games are a part of every culture and are one of the oldest forms of social interaction and engagement. Games can be fun, challenging and exhilarating. They can also be intense, cutthroat, and lethal. This season, our authors have fashioned deadly games for your entertainment.

This is Episode 2, cow flop bingo is the featured game. This is A Scent of Murder by Paul A Barra.

PRE-ROLL

This week’s author is Paul A. Barra. The author of "A Scent of Murder," today’s story, Paul A. Barra has written and published five novels. His latest was WESTFARROW ISLAND, a finalist for the Silver Falchion. One of his short stories was selected for the award-winning MWA anthology WHEN A STRANGER COMES TO TOWN. His historical juvenile adventure, SAMSON AND THE CHARLESTON SPY, will be published by Level Best Books in August 2024.

DELIBERATION

Before we get into the who and why of the story, I want to let you all know that Mysteries to Die For remains ad free. In exchange for not making you move to hit the fast forward button, support our authors by digging into their backlists and picking up a title. This week is Paul A Barra. Check out his catalogue on his website and your favorite book retailer. Now…

Deputy Sandy Buford has been doing a lot of running around but doesn’t seem to be getting any place. Let’s see if we can help him out. Here are the people who were in Emory James’s house when he could have been killed:

• Adele James, the wife who was broken by her husband’s murder

• Susan James, eldest daughter, thin and pale, probably not strong enough to plunge a knife into a big man.

• Sarah James, younger daughter, stayed up witnessing the two pols get drunk.

• Frank Burns, lobbyist #1, spent his time eating and drinking with his friend Sam (below)

• Samuel Cohen, lobbyist #2. Both lobbyists looked as if they'd just gotten out of bed when Adele's scream woke the house.

• Mutt James, Emory’s brother

• Beauty Barnes, the caterer working the weekend at the James house, wife of Jasper.

Here are the facts as we know them.

• With the exception of Beauty Barnes, all others stayed up late together strategizing on Emory’s political future. Beauty arrived at six-thirty in the morning using her key to the kitchen door.

• Emory James did not open his hip-pocket loan operation at eight, as was normal. There had recently been a news article about his business.

• A crowd of would-be borrowers had assembled outside the door to Emory's office before 8 a.m. They all knew there was a box of cash on Emory's desk, and many of them were probably already in debt to Emory James.

• Adele James was a gambler who lost. She had recently paid her debt off.

• Adele schemed with Mutt James to win the Cow Flop Bingo, paying Beauty’s husband, Jasper, to seed the field on their squares.

• Adele knew her husband had money in his safe, including the Cow Flop Bingo money, but claimed not to know the combination. It was found in her jewelry box.

• Beauty Barnes picked up the James job for the extra money. Her husband was seen leaving the house by the kitchen door. He had delivered drinks and was seen leaving with a satchel, although Beauty said they had not been paid yet.

On whose feet should Katie Hammit’s cow flop the next bingo? Who done the crime?

The companion book for the past three seasons are available in e-book and trade paperback from online retailers. This season’s book is being released in two parts. Part one will be released in March 2024 and Part two in September. Buy one for you and one for a mystery lover you love. The dimes and quarters from books sales do support the podcast and keep Jack in tacos and headphones.

Season Anthologies on Amazon

ABOUT Paul A Barra

Paul A. Barra is a chemistry teacher, a former newspaper reporter, and Naval officer. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V and other decorations for his service on the rivers of the Mekong Delta. He is married and has eight children with his wife, the former Joni Lee. They reside in Columbia, South Carolina.

Help support Paul and make writing for Mysteries to Die For the best decision he’s ever made by going to his website and buying his books. Then write a review and help other mystery lovers find him.

https://paulbarra.com/

ABOUT Cow Flop Bingo

Also known as cow plop bingo and cowpie bingo. There are several videos on YouTube, see the link in the show notes. From my (not) extensive research, cow flop bingo is often played as a fun way to raise money for a charitable cause with the winner splitting the pot with the charity. When did cow flop bingo originate? No idea. Couldn’t find anything on it. I suspect it wasn’t long after humans domesticated cows that some bored cowhand bet the other bored cowhand where a particular cow would poop next. It seems like something guys would do. Turns out, this game can be more than a walk in the field. First, it can take hours for a cow to get down to business. Then there is the complications of the cow pattie landing in more than one square. In Connecticut, cow flop bingo is regulated under state code 17-231 An Act Concerning Municipalities and Bingo Games, Bazaars, and Raffles where qualifying organizations can conduct a cow-chip raffle once a calendar year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz7FgPZSMSA

https://www.cga.ct.gov/2017/act/pa/pdf/2017PA-00231-R00HB-07070-PA.pdf

WRAP UP

That wraps this episode of Mysteries to Die For. Support our show by subscribing, telling a mystery lover about us, and giving us a five-star review. Check out our website TGWolff.com/Podcast for links to this season’s authors.

Mysteries to Die For is hosted by TG Wolff and Jack Wolff. A Scent of Murder was written by Paul A. Barra Music and production are by Jack Wolff. Episode art is by TG Wolff. Join us next week for a Toe Tag, which is the first chapter from a fresh release in the mystery, crime, or thriller genre. Then come back in two weeks for our next original story, Cards Against Jake by Jim Winter where Cards Against Humanity is the featured game.