Coconut Cream Murder Read online

  Heather took a good look at the team players before she addressed them. They were the ones who had known the victim. If there was foul play involved, then they were all suspects.

  * * *

  Mitch Mallard was angrily beginning to pace and muttering, “We’ll sue the pants off of this woman. I can’t believe Gordon is gone.”

  * * *

  The man with glasses was keeping his gaze down on the ground and away from the body. The woman who Heather remembered they called Janet looked like she was about to cry. Her hair had been mussed from before, and she kept brushing it with her fingers, trying to keep calm. The last member of the team was a short man who looked like he wanted to shrink down into the ground, rather than be there.

  * * *

  “I know this is upsetting,” Heather said. “But we really should move away from the area.”

  * * *

  “How are we supposed to leave our team member like this?” Mitch asked.

  * * *

  “He won’t be here for long,” Heather assured him. “The police will come, and they will move him. Then they can investigate what happened.”

  * * *

  “We know what happened,” Mitch said.

  * * *

  “I’m not sure we do,” Heather said. “And I really think we should all head towards the cabin. Like I said before, we don’t want to contaminate anything.”

  * * *

  “Do you think we should?” Janet asked.

  * * *

  “Why are we listening to them?” The man with glasses asked. “They’re bakers. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

  * * *

  “You’re lucky I know you’re grieving or I might say something nasty,” Amy said. “But we do know what we’re talking about. We’re not only involved with a donut shop. We’re also licensed private investigators who frequently work with the Hillside Police to solve murders. So, yeah, I think we know what we’re saying.”

  * * *

  “You’re private investigators?” The man with glasses said, turning red.

  * * *

  “You stepped in it this time, Benny,” Janet said.

  * * *

  Heather didn’t want the argument to continue. She just wanted to preserve the crime scene. She and Amy showed off their identification cards that Ryan had made for them to prove their qualifications.

  * * *

  “So, can we please leave the area so that the police will be able to collect evidence?” Heather asked, politely.

  * * *

  This time Techy Tech Tech didn’t offer any resistance and moved away from the victim.

  * * *

  “Do you think this was murder?” Amy asked after they had left.

  * * *

  “I think I need to call Ryan,” Heather answered.

  * * *

  She picked up her phone and called her detective husband. “Hi honey,” she said. “Remember before when you said you were so glad that I wasn’t calling to tell you I found a dead body?”

  Chapter 7

  “Is there anywhere you go where people don’t die?” Detective Hoskins asked, biting into a candy bar.

  “Is there anywhere you go that isn’t sticky after you touch it?” Amy retorted.

  “Come on, both of you. Let’s play nice.” Ryan said. “A man has just died.”

  Heather held her tongue. She was not the biggest fan of Ryan’s partner. He was generally pretty lazy when it came to conducting police work, and he always tried to do the least amount of work possible. He was also known to eat snacks at crime scenes instead of investigating.

  Though based on how many people had been in the area before the crime, and then again after the body fell, there might not be a lot left for Hoskins to contaminate with his candy bars.

  “So,” Hoskins said. “Are we thinking this was an accident?”

  “The medical examiner said it looks like the cause of death is consistent with a fall from a height,” Ryan said.

  “I’m guessing that height is from that building up there,” Heather said. “In the obstacle, one player is supposed to zip line down with the flag from up there.”

  “How do we know he didn’t just fall?” Hoskins asked.

  “There is a safety harness while you’re up there,” Heather explained.

  “What if he jumped off on purpose?” Hoskins asked.

  “I admit I don’t know enough about him to truly know his mental state,” Heather said. “But the flag is missing from that box. The player standing up there is supposed to grab it and then zip line down. That’s what I did on my turn. And because the flag is missing that’s what I think the victim did too.”

  Ryan always tried to maintain a professional manner on a case, but he did frown a bit when he heard that. “I’d hate to think that it could have been you who fell to their death like this.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to say though,” Heather said. “Something about this feels intentional to me. I don’t think this was an accident.”

  “I know you don’t want to accept this,” Hoskins said. “But sometimes accidents happen.”

  Amy gave Hoskins a look. “Oh, I know accidents can happen.”

  “I think we should look for evidence of foul play,” Ryan said.

  “And I think we should start up there,” Heather said pointing up to the tall structures.

  The rest of the group sighed, but Heather was ready to do the climb again. She made sure that the rungs of the ladder had been dusted for prints first.

  “They were dusted. However, based on the wood, how it’s been exposed to the elements, and how many people use that ladder during the course of these activities, it’s unlikely we’ll find anything helpful.”

  Heather nodded and then climbed up. She was followed by the other three. They all just barely fit inside the small structure.

  “If anyone feels unsteady, we can use these safety harnesses to latch on. That’s what I had to do during the obstacle,” Heather said.

  “Yeah, but the dead guy was wearing a harness too,” Amy said. “So, I’m not sure how much safer that would make me feel.”

  “I don’t think it was his harness that was the problem,” Ryan said. “I think this was.”

  He pointed to a section of the thick cable in front of them. Part of it was hanging loosely.

  “So, he was just traveling along and then the rope wasn’t connected anymore, and he fell?” Amy asked. “That’s terrifying.”

  “But was this sabotaged?” Heather asked. “Or was it really an accident and it just broke?”

  “It looks like it was cut to me,” Ryan said, after close examination.

  “So, this was murder,” Heather said.

  “I believe so,’ Ryan said. “Someone made sure that Gordon Masters would fall to his death.”

  “Great work,” Hoskins said. “Can we continue this investigation on the ground?”

  They agreed and met up on the ground to discuss their findings.

  “Whoever cut this had to have done it after your Donut Delights group already went through the obstacle,” Ryan said.

  “And after Tessa did her check of the equipment,” Heather said. “She checked the look of the ropes and what I was wearing before I did my challenge. She said that she does it for everyone before they go.”

  “We’ll confirm that she did it this time too,” Ryan said. “This does narrow down when the killer could have done it. If it had to be between Tessa’s check and when Gordon Masters climbed into his spot.”

  “There is another possibility,” Heather said.

  “What’s that?” Ryan asked.

  “That the killer climbed up while Gordon Masters was already up there. With the door to the shed-like building closed, you can’t really see what’s going on in there. He could have been focused on the task and getting the flag. He might not have noticed someone sneaking into that building and sabotaging the cable,” she said.

  “Do you
think it’s possible for someone to sneak in so stealthily that he wouldn’t have noticed?” Ryan asked. “He’d be taking a big risk if he could be seen.”

  “I hadn’t thought of this danger while I was up there,” Heather said. “But in retrospect, based on the angles and the trees, I definitely think it’s possible.”

  “Well, there’s only one way to be sure,” Ryan said.

  “More climbing?” Amy asked.

  For once, she and Hoskins were in complete agreement. This was a test neither of them wanted to be a part of.

  Chapter 8

  “So, the killer could have snuck up behind the victim and sabotaged the rope,” Heather said as she returned to the ground. She was glad that their test had revealed something useful.

  * * *

  “This does seem like this was the most likely scenario for what happened,” Ryan agreed.

  * * *

  “The killer was still taking a chance that he would be seen. But it was unlikely the victim would have seen him, so long as he was being careful. It was also unlikely that the players that were manning the ropes in the woods could have seen anything. The point of their positions is that they can’t see exactly what is happening near the player in the tower. They’re supposed to work together by communicating which direction the flag needs to move,” Heather recapped.

  * * *

  “This is great that we figured out how the killer got in and set his trap,” said Amy. “But how do we figure out who did it?”

  * * *

  “That’s a great question,” Heather said. “There are so many people here that there is no shortage of suspects. However, there is one particular person that I want to check on now.”

  * * *

  “You’ve narrowed down a prime suspect already?” Amy asked.

  * * *

  “No,” Heather admitted. “But I want to check on Emily Potts and see how she is feeling now.”

  * * *

  “Well, if you are all going to take care of personal matters, I’ll make sure to do some real police work,” Hoskins said.

  “And what’s that?” Heather asked.

  * * *

  “I’m going to make sure that none of the suspects leave the area,” Hoskins said. Then, he hurried off to check on the other teams.

  * * *

  “That is a good idea,” Ryan said.

  * * *

  “I just hope he doesn’t use it as an excuse to stand by the exit and do nothing,” Amy said. “Then again, his doing nothing might be more helpful than his doing something.”

  * * *

  “Let’s just go check on Emily Potts,” Heather said.

  * * *

  Ryan told them he would join them as soon as he checked in with his superiors about the case, and so Heather and Amy went to the cabin. The rest of her assistants were there waiting for her.

  * * *

  “What did you find out?” Jung asked.

  * * *

  “Do they want me to take pictures?” Ken asked. “I would have taken more before, but I didn’t know if it was in bad taste because someone died. But I would only have used them to help solve a crime.”

  * * *

  “It was murder, wasn’t it?” Angelica asked.

  * * *

  “Did you already solve it?” Maricela asked with a wink.

  * * *

  “If you want her to answer anything, give her a chance to answer,” Amy said.

  * * *

  “I have an answer I want first,” Heather said. “How is Emily Potts?”

  Emily Potts must have heard them talking about her outside the door and went out to join them.

  * * *

  “How are you feeling?” Heather asked.

  * * *

  “Much better health-wise. I feel back to normal,” she said. “But is what I heard correct? Was there a murder here?”

  * * *

  “It looks like there was,” Heather said. “It looks like the killer climbed up to that shed-like building and sabotaged the line so Gordon Masters would fall.”

  * * *

  “How are we going to catch him?” Jung asked.

  * * *

  “We?” asked Heather.

  * * *

  “This was a day for team building,” Jung said.

  * * *

  “He’s right,” said Maricela. “And we’d love to help you on a case.”

  * * *

  “We have to be prepared for every eventuality when you’re gone,” Jung said.

  * * *

  She looked at their eager faces. “All right,” she said. “We will continue to work as a team while we do this. But under a few conditions. We’re not going to let you do any of the dangerous stuff.”

  * * *

  “But the dangerous stuff is the best part,” Maricela teased.

  * * *

  “I’d protect you,” Jung said to her before rambling. “I mean, if you needed it. I mean, I’d try. I mean, I’d protect all my coworkers here. Everybody.”

  “Thanks, buddy,” Ken said to him, hoping to cover up the awkward rambling.

  * * *

  “Amy and I will have to do most of the interrogations,” Heather continued.

  * * *

  “Why?” Angelica asked.

  * * *

  “It’s one of our perks for being licensed investigators,” Amy said.

  * * *

  “Maybe we should get our licenses,” Jung joked.

  * * *

  “No way,” Maricela said. “I remember how much work they had to put into their tests, and I have enough going on with my business courses at school.”

  * * *

  “But what can we do to help without questioning people?” Emily Potts asked. She had her notebook out again and was as ready to take notes on the case as she was when recording donut recipes.

  * * *

  “The police have searched the area, but they don’t know the obstacles like we do now. They might have missed something. Why don’t you search the surrounding area and see if you can find any clues?”

  * * *

  The assistants were all excited to help. Ryan joined them and noticed the enthusiasm.

  * * *

  “What’s going on here?” he asked.

  * * *

  “My team just agreed to search the area again and make sure that nothing was overlooked. Just as a precaution. Because they know how the game works.”

  “I suppose that’s all right,” Ryan said. “But if they do find anything, they’ll have to treat it as evidence. It will have to be documented and bagged.”

  * * *

  “We can do that,” Maricela assured him.

  * * *

  “But before we all go our separate way, let’s just quickly go over the groups of suspects,” Ryan said.

  * * *

  “Sure,” Heather said. “We were the first group to go through that flag grabbing obstacle. Then the Techy Tech Tech team was after us.”

  * * *

  “That’s the team that the victim was a part of,” Amy said. “And where things went so wrong.”

  * * *

  “Behind them was the 3T Tech team,” Heather continued.

  * * *

  “Did you notice how similar their names are?” Amy asked.

  * * *

  “Did you notice how unhappy the leader of Techy Tech Tech looked this morning when Tessa mentioned a second tech team was there?” Maricela commented.

  * * *

  “Was there an issue between the two tech companies?” Angelica asked.

  * * *

  “Could it have escalated to murder?” Jung asked.

  * * *

  “And why did they decide to come on the same day?” Emily Potts asked.

  * * *

  “These are great questions,” Heather said. “And I think we’ll have to talk to them to get some answers.”

  * * *

  “Who were the other teams?�
�� Ryan asked.

  * * *

  “Behind 3T Tech was a high school marching band. And then a craft store team from Chester’s Craft & Co,” said Heather.

  * * *

  “And anyone here had the opportunity to go and commit the crime?” Ryan asked.

  * * *