Mint Crisp & Murder Read online

  “At the theater, of course,” Stanley said.

  “I’m afraid that’s impossible right now,” Ryan said. “The theater is a crime scene.”

  Stanley stood up and pounded on the table in a dramatic gesture.

  “Mr. Saymor, please have a seat,” Peters said.

  “Please, officers,” Stanley said, changing from anger to despair. “Please don’t punish the theater for my lapse of judgment. Willie’s death was due to a heart attack. The reasons for my actions were only to protect the show.”

  “You’re welcome to rehearse the show in another space,” Ryan said. “And as soon as the stage has been cleared as a crime scene, you can use it again. We’ll try and sort this out quickly.”

  “Before opening night?” he asked.

  “You do know that you made their jobs harder by trying to move the body, right?” Amy asked. “It might have been cleared up right away if you hadn’t done that.”

  “Whose idea was it to move the body?” Heather asked, wondering if Stanley would admit it was his idea like Digby told them.

  “I suppose it was mine,” Stanley said. “I panicked.”

  “Why did you want to move it?” asked Heather.

  “I was afraid that if we called someone to examine his body that they would close the theater while they investigated,” Stanley said, miserably. “I need this show to do well.”

  “Why do you need it to?” Heather pressed.

  Stanley looked down and tapped his fingers on the table. “Well, a director always wants his artistic endeavors to do well. And it’s a moving piece of work that everyone should see.”

  “I sense there’s another and,” Amy said.

  “And I need a lot of tickets to be sold in order for me to get paid for this gig,” Stanley admitted.

  Heather nodded. That might explain his desperation that led to moving the dead body of an actor.

  “Tell us more about the others in the cast,” said Heather. “And about Willie Sales.”

  “Well, Willie was a great actor. That’s why I cast him as my lead. He also had the right look for this show. A sort of rugged handsomeness. He seemed very healthy. I wouldn’t have expected this to happen. I wonder if I’m going to have to have my actors fill out health questionnaires before I cast them in the future.”

  “Did he get along with everyone else in the show?” asked Ryan.

  “Of course,” said Stanley. “We were a very tight-knit cast. We all got along and cared about each other and the show.”

  “So much so that you didn’t call for a doctor when Willie Sales was dying,” said Amy.

  “He fell and then he was dead,” Stanley protested. “If I could have done anything to help him, I would have. But I couldn’t. So I tried to protect the show. He would have wanted the same thing.”

  “So no one had trouble with him in the cast?” Ryan pressed.

  “Maybe Norma wasn’t his biggest fan,” Stanley said. “She thought he was upstaging her at points. Sometimes they would bicker. But it wasn’t anything serious.”

  “She’s the actress with curly hair?” Heather asked.

  “That’s right,” Stanley said. “She played his sister in the show. And Eve played his love interest. She’s the young blonde actress. She and Willie were close friends.”

  “How close?” asked Amy, raising an eyebrow.

  “Not that close,” said Stanley. “Willie was married. I met his wife Jen before. She seemed nice enough. She’s not involved with theater at all though.”

  “Who else is in the cast?” Heather prompted.

  “Two men. Pat and Digby. Pat has done multiple shows with me before. I think he really wanted Willie’s role, but he didn’t have the right look for it. He understood. And Digby is relatively new to the theater. He was the understudy for the role. I suppose he has the role now. That’s all the more reason that we need rehearsal. Digby has got to practice the new part. I wonder if he’ll fit in Willie’s costume.”

  “Let’s assume that you’ll need a new costume,” Amy said. “Even if it fit, you can’t use the clothes that Willie Sales died in on Digby.”

  “Fair enough,” Stanley said, relenting. “I’ll get Poppy to help me find something for him to wear.”

  “Poppy is the stage manager?” Peters asked, consulting his notes.

  “That’s right,” Stanley said. “She knows all the ins and outs of the theater, and she knows how to get things done.”

  “Did she get along with Willie Sales?” asked Heather.

  Stanley nodded. “She could be firm, but she got along with all the actors. She and Willie were very amicable.”

  Amy typed these notes into her tablet, while Peters recorded his on his notepad. Heather was pleased that they were officially treating this as a suspicious death until they heard otherwise.

  “Mr. Saymor, it seems like you were willing to do anything to make sure that this show went on,” said Heather.

  “Quite right.”

  “Would that have included murder?”

  “Murder? Willie wasn’t murdered,” Stanley said. “And it wouldn’t make sense for me to kill an actor. It creates trouble for me. Now I have to fill a role.”

  “I thought Digby was the understudy,” Amy said.

  “That’s right,” said Stanley. “For Willie. But if Digby is playing Willie’s role, then I’m going to have to find someone else to play Neighbor #2. And I don’t know how I’m going to do that. I’d have to find someone on short notice. Someone who can look serious. Someone who could have a firm voice. Someone young.”

  Stanley stopped talking and stared at Peters with an inquiring glance. Detective Peters was still writing in his notebook and didn’t realize he was being analyzed.

  Stanley rubbed his chin. “It just might work.”

  Unexpected Roles

  I know I mentioned that I once wanted to be an actor, but not like this,” Peters said.

  Heather brought out a box of Mint Crisp Donuts for them to enjoy by Ryan’s desk. They were discussing the strange circumstances of the night before and the subsequent interviews with Ryan and Amy. They certainly had a “cast” of suspects if there was foul play in the death. Everyone involved with the show was there that night, and most had decided it was all right to move a dead body.

  “Have a Mint Crisp Donut,” Heather said.

  Peters accepted one but still looked conflicted. As if on cue, the chief of police joined them. Chief Chet must have heard the mention of donuts and used that opportunity to check on the case. Chief Chet was a laid-back leader who rarely worried about things. He was confident that his team would see justice served. He was also a big fan of Heather’s donuts.

  “Did I hear Mint Crisp Donut?” Chief Chet asked.

  “As if he wasn’t lurking in his office waiting to hear the donuts served,” Amy muttered.

  Heather ignored her and offered the chief a donut. He happily accepted and told her that the dessert was in “mint” condition. They all chuckled.

  Then, when his snack was all finished, Chief Chet asked, “Now what’s going on with this new case? Is it a real case?”

  “Right now we know that the actors were willing to move Willie Sales’s body,” said Ryan.

  “Except for Digby,” added Heather. “He called for help.”

  “They claim that it looked like a heart attack, but the medical examiner is looking for proof of that,” said Ryan. “The circumstances look suspicious, but it might have been a case of everyone panicking and accepting a bad suggestion as a group.”

  “And now they want me to join the cast,” Peters said.

  “What’s that?” asked Chief Chet.

  “The director asked him to take over a role in the play,” Heather said. “They need to move some parts around. Digby is going to play the main character, and the director wants Peters to take Digby’s part.”

  “Are you going to do it?” Chief Chet asked.

  “I don’t know,” Peters said. “Part of me
is flattered that I was asked.”

  “As well you should be,” Chief Chet said, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Even if they were desperate,” Amy teased.

  “But I don’t know if want to do it,” Peters said. “Besides how scary it would be to perform with less than a week of rehearsal, the situation regarding the show is strange. A man just died.”

  “It might be a good reason for you to accept the part,” Heather said. “If we find out that a murder has been committed, it would give you a front row seat to all the suspects.”

  “Better than front row,” Amy said. “That’s a backstage pass.”

  “I’d be a spy?” Peters asked.

  “I guess that’s one way to think of it,” said Ryan.

  “That’s an even bigger acting challenge,” Detective Peters said. “I’m not sure I’d be up to it.”

  “I’m sure you’d be great,” Chief Chet said. “And it would be good to have our officers interacting with the community in a way they can be seen. We could all come and cheer you on.”

  Peters still looked hesitant. He turned to Ryan. “What do you think, partner?”

  “I don’t think it’s a conflict of interest if you join the cast,” Ryan said. “If it was just a foolish idea to save the show as they said, then I think they learned their lesson from a night in jail. Digby stopped them before they could do anything damaging. And if there is anything to investigate, then like Heather said, you’d be perfectly poised to find out information. But you don’t have to do it either. I guess I’d ask whether you thought doing a show would be fun.”

  Peters thought about it. “I guess I always wondered what it would be like. I would like to try acting. Despite the circumstances, it might be worthwhile.”

  Chief Chet clapped his hands. “How exciting! One of my detectives as a star.”

  The phone rang, and Ryan answered it. Heather was distracted by Chief Chet’s compliments towards Peters’s decision to hear what it was about. However, Ryan had a serious look on his face when he hung up.

  “Looks like you’re going undercover when you go to that rehearsal,” Ryan said.

  “Willie Sales was murdered?” Heather asked.

  “That’s right,” said Ryan. “The medical examiner rushed some tests because he was afraid of this. Willie Sales was poisoned. The actors were right that it looked like a heart attack. That’s the effect that this poison has on a body.”

  “Did the poison need to be ingested?” asked Heather. “Or was it administered another way?”

  “It was ingested,” Ryan said. “And it only takes about ten minutes until it takes effect.”

  “So it had to happen while he was at the theater,” Heather said.

  “This is dramatic,” Chief Chet. “A moment ago, I was so excited about Peters in a play, but now it seems like it’s time to get back to work.”

  Heather nodded. “I think we need to find out more about this play, and then we can find out who is playing the role of a killer.”

  The Play’s the Thing

  I can’t believe you spent the night in jail,” Nina said.

  “Everyone knows what a tough guy I am now,” Digby joked. “No one mess with me.”

  “How can you be so calm about this?” Nina asked. “Somebody just died.”

  Digby shrugged. “I am really sad about losing Willie, but I think I’m repressing those feelings along with all the panic I’m feeling about performing the role with so little practice. Especially if we don’t have a place to rehearse tonight. What am I supposed to do?”

  Heather watched her two assistants buzz around behind the counter. Digby had come in to finish the closing shift with Nina, and Heather had come in to check on them. She also wanted to talk to Digby about the play, but that would mean telling him that his cast-mate had been murdered – most likely by someone else in the show.

  “If you spent the night in jail, it means that they are taking this seriously,” Nina said, scrubbing the counter with a rag. “And you should too.”

  “I am,” Digby said. “I know to call Heather at the first sign of someone plotting to move a body now. I won’t wait until someone looks for a rug.”

  Nina grimaced.

  “Digby, can I talk to you for a minute?” Heather called.

  “Sure, boss,” Digby said, coming over to the table where she was seated with Amy.

  “Do you want to tell him or should I?” Amy asked.

  “I will,” said Heather, figuring that she would be more supportive than her friend. “Digby, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

  “What is it? Should I be afraid?”

  “I’m afraid that Willie Sales died because he had been poisoned,” Heather said.

  “He was murdered?” Digby asked. “Well, this just goes from bad to worse. Do you have any idea who did it?”

  “We need your help with that,” Heather said. “We’d like to know more about the play and the actors.”

  Digby took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll tell you everything you want to know if it will help. Even the twist ending.”

  “Who did Willie Sales play?” asked Heather.

  “The character I’m going to play now. His name is Doug, and he feels all alone in the world. He’s this handsome guitar player who lives in a small town. He feels alienated and like no one understands him. But then, in the end, you realize that Doug made up this whole town in his head. Even in his imagination, no one understands him. He’s created the alienation himself.”

  “Deep,” said Amy.

  “Did Willie get along with everyone?” asked Heather.

  “I think so,” said Digby. “Norma could be short with him, but she was like that with me too. I think she was a bit of a diva. Pat didn’t talk to him too much. And he really got along with Eve. I think they were together offstage as well as on.”

  “The director said that they weren’t having an affair,” said Heather. “He said Willie Sales was married.”

  Digby shrugged. “It looked like they were together to me. I guess it’s possible I was misinterpreting things. Maybe it’s just because of how close they were in the play. They played lovers, but Eve’s character didn’t really understand his music.”

  “Who were the others in the play?” Heather asked.

  “Norma played his sister who was always putting him down. Pat and I played his neighbors. Pat played a manly guy who was always forcing him to talk about sports. I was the neighbor who complained about his lawn.”

  “I’m not sure I’m going to like this play,” Amy said.

  “Did Willie get along with the director?” asked Heather.

  Digby nodded. “Stanley was a good director. Maybe a bit eccentric, but he was kind. Everyone liked him. Maybe Norma gave Stanley a bit of a hard time, but never Willie. I think Willie and Stanley worked together before and were friends.”

  Heather tried to absorb all the information she had just been given. It was a lot of data, but she didn’t know how helpful it was yet.

  “Did you have a break at all last night?” she asked. “Where Willie might have eaten or drunk something.”

  Digby shook his head. “The play is short and doesn’t have an intermission. We ran straight through it without stopping. Poppy doesn’t allow food or drinks backstage so he couldn’t have had it during the show as a break.”

  Heather frowned. If he didn’t eat or drink, then how could he have ingested the poison? It was fast acting, so unless the play was so short that it only ran ten minutes, then he couldn’t have eaten the poison before the dress rehearsal began.

  “I’m so stupid,” Digby said, hitting himself in the head. “We didn’t have a break where he could have had it, but he could have been poisoned during the show. His character drinks from a teacup near the end of the play.”

  “Is that right before he forgot his final lines?” asked Heather.

  “Yes,” Digby said. “I thought he might have been sick, but really it was because he had been poisoned.�
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  “Tell us everything about this drink,” Heather said.

  “If only he could tell us everything and knew who poisoned it,” Amy said.

  “In the play, the character Doug pours himself a cup of tea. Neighbor #1, played by Pat, teases him for using the fancy teacup. Neighbor #1 has some tea too, but pours it into a glass that’s meant for bourbon.”

  “And Doug slash Willie drinks it?” asked Heather.

  “That’s right,” Digby said, nodding.

  “Does Pat drink from his?”

  “I’m not sure,” Digby said, thinking about it. “I’m not on stage at that time, so I haven’t watched that scene in a while.”

  “But the timing fits,” Amy said.

  “Right,” Heather said. “That’s most likely what poisoned him. I’ll tell Ryan and Peters to check the theater for a teacup.”

  “I’m glad I could help,” Digby said.

  “I just have one more question for now,” Heather said. “Who had access to the tea?”

  “Well,” Digby said. “The stage manager Poppy is the one who prepares it.”

  “Then, I think I know who I want to talk to next,” Heather said, getting to her feet.

  The Stage Manager

  Heather and Amy tracked down where the stage manager Poppy lived while Ryan and Detective Peters searched the theater for evidence of poison. Ryan reported that he had found the teacup just as the Private Investigators were arriving at Poppy’s house.

  “What did he say?” Amy asked as soon as Heather had hung up.

  “They found a teacup on the stage,” Heather said. “They’re going to send it out for testing, but Ryan thinks it has the scent of the poison.”

  “It’s funny,” Amy said. “I never would have thought as a teacup as a murder weapon.”

  “Really, it was what was inside the teacup that was the weapon,” said Heather. “And now we need to figure out who put it inside.”

  They walked up the door and knocked. Poppy glared at them as she opened the door. She was drying her wet hair with a towel, but that didn’t undermine the anger she was directing towards them.