Pecan Nut Crunch Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 35 Read online

  He chuckled and inserted the pen between his lips. He sucked on the end then removed it and swirled it around in the air. “Would’ve been useful if there’d been someone up top to witness this.”

  “Wait, you said only two people,” Heather replied.

  “Oh yeah, and the other librarian,” he said. “Lady in glasses. Her name is, gosh, what’s her name?” He flipped through his notes again. “Sorry, it’s been a long day. This happened at 9 am, if you can believe it.”

  “That’s not exactly a prime murder time,” Heather agreed. She’d investigated enough murders to qualify that they usually occurred in the evening, though, in truth, murder didn’t fit any molds.

  Other than the dark, seeping kind. Blegh.

  “The other librarian was Martha Rizzo. She said she was placing returned books on the shelves at the time of the murder. She heard the crash, but she didn’t see what happened. She was the one who called the cops,” Ryan said.

  Heather licked her lips. She hadn’t brought out her tablet to take notes just yet. Ryan would forward her a dossier with all the relevant information later in the day or the very next morning anyway.

  For now, she could work hands-free.

  “Do we know anything about our victim? Any information which might help us pin down an enemy, a potential murderer?”

  “That’s the thing,” Ryan said. “We know nothing. She was from out of town, and her co-librarian said she wasn’t exactly the talkative type.”

  “Huh. Out of town. Which city?”

  “No clue,” Ryan said. “But we did find something interesting on her arm.”

  “What was that?”

  “A diamond tennis bracelet,” he replied. “And there was a shaded outline of what looked like a ring on her left finger.”

  “An engagement ring that’d been removed?” Heather asked.

  Ryan shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. But I’ll put this to you, a woman who works in a library shouldn’t be able to afford a diamond tennis bracelet.”

  “Unless she’s got a rich family,” Heather said. “Or has her own business one the side.”

  “Sure, but then she wouldn’t be anonymous,” Ryan replied. “We wouldn’t struggle to pin down her identity.”

  Heather conceded the point with a smile. She loved sleuthin’ with her husband. They had an easy repartee which helped Heather brainstorm ideas and solutions to their challenges.

  “Fingerprints?” Heather asked.

  “Yeah, they’ve already dusted,” Ryan said. “We’ll have the results back when we have them back if you know what I mean.”

  Heather dropped into a crouch beside the fallen bookcases and examined the underside of the shelf closest to her. A series of scratches scarred the wooden underside. Parallel white lines scraped on the brown. “Take a look at this,” she said.

  “What is it?” Ryan’s standard issue shoes thumped on the carpet and came to a halt beside her. He crouched too, and bathed her in the scent of clean, starched shirts and used paper.

  “Markings,” Heather said. “I’d be willing to be anything that the killer used some form of leverage.”

  “So we’re looking for a crowbar,” Ryan said.

  Heather ran her fingers through the grooves. “Anything which could’ve made these marks.” That didn’t exactly narrow down their suspect list, but it was the best she could do, given the circumstances.

  “I’ll make a note of it,” Ryan said.

  Heather sighed and rose from her crouch. This would be interesting, to say the least, and she doubted a self-defense case would stand here. Pushing over a shelf didn’t scream, “Help me, I’m under attack.”

  At least she knew where to start, this time.

  Chapter 4

  Eva flapped her hands at the crowd of assistants around her table. “Please, dears, I’m fine, I’m fine.”

  “We worry about you, Eva,” Maricela said, her hands tucked into the front pocket of her Donut Delights apron. Jung mirrored her sentiment with a doleful bob of his head.

  “I assure you, I’m quite all right,” Eva said, and patted her blue-colored hair do. “Heavens, I haven’t had this much attention all at once in ages.” Two bright pinks spots appeared on the apples of her cheeks.

  “All right everyone,” Heather said, from her seat at the table across from Eva. “It’s time to get back to work and give Eva some breathing room.”

  A day had passed since Eva’s questioning at the police station over the strange murder in the Hillside Public Library, but she’d recovered from the shock pretty well.

  The assistants hurried off to their stations – Ken and Maricela behind the counter, and Emily, Jung, and Angelica back into the kitchen. Amy kept her seat, for now – she’d just started her break.

  “You want to know what happened,” Eva said, immediately. “I’m happy to talk about it dear. It didn’t scare me at all.”

  Heather exhaled – she’d worried Eva would’ve been scarred by the trauma of the murder, but then, as she’d said yesterday, Eva was a strong woman. She’d been through worse and lost more than a few hours in a police station.

  Heather dragged her tablet out of her bag and placed it on the tabletop. “Gosh, I’d never thought I’d interview you like this, Eva.”

  “Me neither, dear. But I’m happy to help.”

  Amy chewed on a donut and swallowed, loudly. “We’re just glad you’re okay. We freaked out yesterday when you didn’t come in at your usual time.”

  “I wish I could’ve called to let you know what’d happened,” Eva said. “But at least I get my donut now.” She picked a pecan off the top of the caramel glaze and popped it into her mouth.

  Heather grinned at her oldest customer and tapped on her Evernote App. She couldn’t get over how much the tablet had helped her during her investigations. She’d messed up a few leads here and there, missed a connection or two, but boy, at least she didn’t waste paper and blot her fingers full of ink anymore.

  “Let’s start from the beginning,” Heather said. “You went to the library yesterday.”

  “Yes dear, I went at about 8 am and collected a few of my favorite books. I checked them out with the lovely lady at the front,” Eva said.

  “Which one?” Heather asked. “What was her name?”

  “Oh, I can’t recall what her name was, but it wasn’t the poor woman who died,” Eva said. “The other librarian, Helena, was packing books away. I went to sit down at a table quite close to her, but my back was to the shelves.”

  “And then what happened?” Heather asked, and typed notes on her screen.

  Eva rolled her top lip over her bottom. “I read for a while. I like to settle down with my books and work up a bit of an appetite for when I come through to Donut Delights.”

  Heather waited for Eva to continue. She used the pause to take a sip of her coffee.

  “Then I heard the woman, that Helena, say something like, oh what was it?” Eva scratched her temple. “No, I’m not leaving. I’ve told you a hundred times.”

  Heather typed that onto her notepad too. Amy arched her eyebrow and scooched forward on her seat. “Sounds like she knew the murderer.”

  “Or she knew someone in the building,” Heather said. “How long after that did the shelf fall over?”

  “About five minutes, I would say, though I wasn’t exactly keeping track of the time,” Eva replied. “I heard a shuffle and a creak. I didn’t think anything of it. But then there was this horrendous scratching noise, and then it happened. A bang.” Eva shuddered – a delicate shake of her shoulder.

  Amy offered her a bite of her donut.

  Eva smiled but didn’t take her up on the offer.

  “Did you see anything else, Eva?” Heather asked, her fingers hovering above the tablet’s screen and the mix of words – some misspelled – scrawled across it.

  “Not really,” she said.

  “Who was at the library?” Amy asked, and licked the glaze off her fingers. “What
types of people did you see?”

  “It’s usually empty on a Monday morning, that early,” Eva said, and screwed up her eyes, trying to grab at a memory. “Oh wait, I did see one strange guy hanging around. Oh yes!”

  “A strange guy?” Heather asked.

  “Yes, I remember him specifically because he stood out. He hovered around outside the library as I entered.”

  “What made him strange?”

  “He had a black Mohawk,” Eva said. “I’m not one of those super conservative types, but I do believe a man should cover his head all the way around, or else, shave it off completely. This hair looked to be a fashion statement.”

  Heather typed it all out.

  “Oh, and he had a diamond ring in his nose.”

  “A diamond ring,” Heather mused. Diamonds had come up a lot in the last two days. Diamond tennis bracelets. An engagement ring. And now this, what did it all mean?

  “Heather,” Amy said and downed the last of her coffee. “We’ve got another meeting in a few minutes.”

  “Right!” She’d totally forgotten about their appointment with Col Owen in his tea shop. Hopefully, Kate Laverne wouldn’t burst in on them on foreign ground. The last time had been memorable, to say the least.

  Shoot, if only she’d planned better – now, she didn’t have enough time to finish off the interview with Eva.

  “Don’t worry, dear, I’ll be here if you need anything else,” the old woman said and patted her on the arm. “You go ahead and plan your fair. I can’t wait until the day it starts.”

  Chapter 5

  The inside of Col Owen’s Tea Shop had that same cool, green vibe which soothed Heather. She’d been on edge ever since she’d interviewed Eva in Donut Delights. The case sat in the back of her brain, brewing like the tea in the china pot in the center of their table.

  “- this Sunday,” Col said.

  “What now?” Heather sat up straight and stared at him. “Are you talking about the date?”

  “That’s right,” Col replied, he glanced at the empty chair beside him. Mona had gone out to run a few errands. It was strange seeing him without her. They’d been glued to each other’s sides for the weeks that Heather had known them.

  “This Sunday is too soon,” Amy said. “Way too soon. We haven’t even contacted the committee yet. We haven’t spoken to the high school for the band. Or advertised it. We can’t do this Sunday.”

  “I want this up and running as fast as we can achieve it.” Col set his jaw.

  “What’s the problem?” Heather asked. “Why’s there such a rush to get it done?”

  Col massaged his left shoulder with one hand and rolled his head from side to side. “I’ve got a few things on my mind. A deadline. I guess you could call it that.”

  “What kind of deadline?” Amy asked.

  Col’s scratched the back of his neck this time and looked out of the green glass window. He cleared his throat, twice. “I’m going to ask Mona to marry me,” he said. “Soon. I want to do it real soon.”

  Amy clapped her hands together. “That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.”

  “Me too,” Heather said and squeezed Col’s forearm. “I understand why you want to get the fair out of the way, but I don’t think this weekend is plausible.”

  Amy bit her bottom lip. “The man’s got to propose, Heather.”

  “I know,” Heather replied. “We can try to hustle it along and do it next Sunday.”

  “I could work with that,” Col said. “Maybe I’ll even propose then.” He lifted the teapot to pour a little more tea into his cup. He weighed it and shrugged. “I’ll brew us another pot.”

  Col creaked out of his rickety chair and shuffled to the counters at the far end of the ‘service area’ of his store, teapot in hand.

  Amy watched him go, then leaned toward her friend. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

  “Got the case on my mind,” Heather replied and tapped her temple. “As always.” She’d had issues with her one track mind for a while. She could only focus her attention fully on one thing at once, and sometimes the other areas of her life and business suffered as a result.

  But she’d work on it. She’d try, at least.

  “The case. Have you found out anything else? Gotten your dossier from Ryan yet?”

  “No,” Heather said. “But I’m sure he’ll give it to me today sometime. I just think the whole set up is strange. Why did the murderer kill Helena in the library? Why not somewhere more discrete? It’s like they were looking for attention.”

  “Why?” Amy asked.

  “That’s what I’ve got to figure out. And get this, the victim had a diamond tennis bracelet on,” Heather said.

  “Oh gosh, that’s my fantasy item. One day when I’m rich and famous I’ll have one,” Amy said and clasped her hands in front of her chest. She batted her eyelids. “That’s weird, though.” She dropped the act. “She was a librarian. Why did she have a diamond tennis bracelet?”

  “That’s not all. There was evidence that she’d worn an engagement ring but had taken it off. A tan line, apparently.”

  “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, right?”

  “What are you two talking about?” Col asked, and strode back, teapot in hand. He placed it in the center of the table.

  An awkward silence fell. Heather discussed cases with Ames because she was her assistant. Her partner in crime, excuse the pun. She couldn’t share with her joint venture partner.

  “I see,” Col said. “Well, I heard diamonds and tennis bracelets. Does it have anything to do with the robbery at Krakowski’s?”

  “A robbery?” Amy asked.

  “Yeah, you know that jewelry store down the road. They’re just off the main street. Jones Krakowski is the owner. He’s always lobbying the town board for something or the other. A real shouter.”

  “Shouter?”

  “Yeah, wants it done his way or the highway.” Col shrugged and put down the teapot in the center of the table, next to the arrangement of flowers at its center. “Apparently, someone broke into his store and made off with a whole bunch of stuff. Cops didn’t catch them, and Krakowski had a fit because they thought he did it to get the insurance money.”

  “And he doesn’t need the insurance money?” Heather asked.

  “No way, no how. The guy is loaded. He’s got a mansion on the outskirts of town. His wife stays there all day long,” Col said.

  “Interesting,” Heather said and tapped her chin with the side of her index finger. “Very interesting. I think I should pay this Mr. Krakowski a visit.” At worst, she’d find out more about who might’ve stolen the diamonds from his store.

  Ryan hadn’t mentioned the robbery to her, and she hadn’t picked up a newspaper in ages, simply because of the joint venture and the cases. Between that and looking after Lils and the animals, there wasn’t much time for keeping abreast of current events.

  She’d have to change that.

  “Now, about next Sunday,” Col said.

  But Heather’s mind had already drifted back to the case. Luckily, she had Amy to step in and organize for her.

  Chapter 6

  Krakowski’s name stood out in sparkling silver print on the brick overhang above the caged entrance. Behind the box windows, a collection of watches and rings, bracelets and golden, tear drop necklaces sparkled on red velvet cushions.

  A Tag Heuer advert, Leonardo DiCaprio as the subject, stood behind the display.

  “Don’t hate me because you ain't me,” Amy said.

  “Pardon?”

  “That’s what Leo’s advert says. Get a watch and be cool like him,” Amy said. “As if anyone could be cool like Leo DiCaprio.”

  “I hear he’s doing a lot of good things for the environment,” Heather replied and strode toward the front gate of the jewelry store.

  “Yeah? Tell that to the bear in the Revenant.” Amy followed her to the cage door.

  Heather pressed a pearlescent knob beside the
door, and a buzzer sounded inside. Two minutes passed, and a man shuffled out of the back room, dressed in a tuxedo and a top hat.

  A top hat.

  “Wow,” Amy said. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve lost my will to be sarcastic.”

  The man swept his hat off his head and strode through the center of his store. He halted in front of the second gate and glared at them. “And who, may I ask, are you?”

  “Mr. Krakowski?” Heather kept her hands at her sides. This guy had to be jumpy after the recent break-in at his store.

  “Who’s asking?” The man said and narrowed his ice blue eyes to slits. He was handsome in his own way, silver-haired with a neatly trimmed beard. “You a thief?”

  “No, Mr. Krakowski. I’m Heather Shepherd. I’m a private investigator working as a consultant for the Hillside Police Department.” She’d practiced the words over and over again. They slipped from her tongue as easy as ‘donuts.’

  “Investigating what?” Krakowski asked, in gravelly tones. “You didn’t do anything when I was robbed. So, what have you got to investigate now?”

  “The murder of Helena Chadwick,” Heather replied, evenly.

  Krakowski stiffened. “Helena,” he breathed and gripped the bars of the second cage door in his fists. His knuckles turned white from the pressure. “Helena Chadwick.”

  “I think he knows her,” Amy said.

  “Oh, I knew her, all right. That little miss was the woman who stole from my store. She’s the one who needed to be arrested,” Krakowski said. “Guess it’s too late for that now.”

  Heather readjusted her tote’s straps on her shoulder. Clearly, Mr. Krakowski didn’t plan on letting them into his store. “You think she stole from you?” She asked.

  “I know she stole from me. That woman was a thief. She came into to town in the middle of the night. I’m sure of it. And she got that job in the library to make it seem like she was an innocent. But I knew the truth.”

  “What made you think she did it?” Heather asked.

  “She used to hang around in the street outside and stare at my rings.”

  “The engagement rings?” Amy stepped to one side and peered at that particular selection. Diamonds glimmered against platinum and gold bands.