Chocolate Hazelnut & Murder_An Oceanside Cozy Mystery Book 27 Read online

  She finally thought she was getting a handle on the situation, while maybe not the murder.

  Then, she heard someone enter the police station. When she saw who it was, she and Amy rushed to meet him.

  “You’re in the Beach Detectors Club,” Heather said, intercepting the man. “Are you Jeffrey Grossman?”

  “That’s right,” he said, looking worried. “Have you arrested Kaylee?”

  “She’s being questioned now,” Heather said.

  “I have some information that I need to give. She didn’t have anything to do with the murder. I can explain all of it.”

  “I think you can,” Heather said, turning to get Ryan and Detective Peters.

  “Can he?” asked Amy. “I’d sure appreciate that.”

  Heather suppressed a smile. She knocked on the door to the interrogation room, and Ryan opened it.

  “I think JG has just entered the station,” said Heather.

  Ryan and Peters hurried out to meet him. The four investigators were all eager to hear what he had to say.

  “This is all my fault,” Jeffrey said, running a hand through his hair. “Not the murder. I need to make that clear. We had nothing to do with the murder.”

  “What did you have something to do with?” asked Amy.

  “Kaylee and I were having an affair,” he said. “I’m in love with her, but I didn’t want to hurt Nadine’s feelings. I also didn’t want to lose my house in a divorce settlement. Kaylee was keeping quiet about the affair to protect me, but I have to protect her now. You think she might be a killer, and that’s just crazy.”

  “Your affair might be true,” Ryan began.

  “It is,” Jeffrey said. “We’ve been together for almost six months. I don’t know what the next step is for us, but it shouldn’t be jail.”

  “But,” Ryan continued. “That doesn’t mean that one of you didn’t kill Brian Silver.”

  “Covering up this affair could have been your motive,” Peters said.

  “We did find the blackmail note that Brian Silver sent Kaylee,” Heather explained.

  “It was because of the note that we couldn’t be the killers,” Jeffrey protested.

  “You’re going to have to explain that one,” Amy said, tapping her foot.

  “You see, we didn’t think anyone knew about our affair. We were careful. We never called or texted. Then, Brian sent that note to Kaylee, and we learned that someone did know about us. Suddenly, it made sense why he was always wearing binoculars. He wasn’t looking for treasure. He was looking for secrets. But, anyway, Kaylee got that note. She told me at the Egg Hunt that we needed to talk. Right after Gilbert gave his speech, we left the beach so we could talk without being overheard. We needed to figure out what to do about the blackmail.”

  “What did you decide to do?” asked Heather.

  “Not murder him,” Jeffrey said, firmly. “But we didn’t reach a decision. We should have had an hour more of time during the egg hunt, but it ended early because Brian was killed and found. I got a million calls from Nadine, and I realized that something was wrong. Her final message told me just to meet her at home because the police would question everyone more in-depth later on. I told her that my sandal had broken and that I needed to buy a new one. That’s where I went.”

  “Where did you really go?” asked Heather.

  “Kaylee and I went walking and talking. It’s a hard decision to make. I didn’t want her to pay a blackmailer, but we didn’t want Nadine to know either. We stopped at an ice cream shop though that’s within walking distance. I think they should remember us. It was slow because it was a little before lunchtime.”

  “We’ll look into that,” Ryan said.

  “Will you let Kaylee go?” asked Jeffrey. “She’s really not a killer.”

  “We have a few more questions for her,” Ryan said. “But if her answers pan out, then we can release her.”

  “Thank you,” Jeffrey said, breathing a sigh of relief. However, then concern returned to his face. “I hope Nadine doesn’t find out about this because I came here.”

  “I’m pretty sure she already knows,” Amy said.

  “What do you mean?” asked Jeffrey.

  “Nadine Grossman gave us a tip about who the killer was,” Heather said. “But now we realize, it might have been more emotionally driven than fact-driven.”

  Jeffrey groaned. He looked torn between staying to see Kaylee released and leaving to talk to his wife. He stood on his toes, trying to make a decision. Eventually, he dejectedly began moving towards the station exit door.

  The investigators looked at one another.

  “Do we believe him?” Amy asked.

  “The affair makes perfect sense,” said Heather. “It explains JG in the blackmail letter and explains Nadine’s behavior. She either knew about or suspected the affair and wanted to see Kaylee arrested.”

  “She’s lucky we don’t arrest her for hindering a police investigation,” Peters said.

  “As for whether Jeffrey and Kaylee actually are involved in the murder,” Heather said, continuing to sort her thoughts aloud. “This should be a simple thing to corroborate. We can check on the kid with the rod in his leg from Kaylee’s story to make sure that she didn’t have a metal detector when she left the beach. And we can check on their alibi by visiting the ice cream shop.”

  “I volunteer for that assignment,” Amy joked.

  “Could Nadine be involved in the murder?” Ryan wondered. “Maybe she found the note and decided to face Brian Silver herself. She killed him in a fit of rage and then tried to blame her crime on Kaylee.”

  “It’s possible,” said Heather. “But Kaylee had the blackmail note at her house, and she’d have to very uncareful to let the person she would have paid blackmail for to keep from knowing see the letter.”

  “And in Ethel and Leila’s pictures, Nadine is by the tents and not by the trees,” added Amy.

  “There’s something else to consider too,” Heather said. “Nadine is rather short, but the person in the bunny costume was average-sized like most of the other club members. It couldn’t have been her in the costume.”

  “Unless she was on stilts,” said Amy.

  “Where does this leave us?” Peters asked aloud.

  “With more questions than answers,” Amy said without missing a beat.

  “Following this lead did turn out to be a red herring,” Heather agreed.

  “A red bunny rabbit?” Amy suggested. “A red dyed egg?”

  “Whatever you want to call it,” Heather continued. “These people were covering up an affair and not blackmail. But this does still help us with the case.”

  “I guess so,” Amy grumbled.

  “We believe it had to be someone in the Beach Detectors Club because they had access to the metal detectors and knowledge about the event,” said Heather. “Well, we began with ten club members.”

  “One was the murder victim,” Ryan continued. “And we know that Jill Stanton couldn’t be the killer because she was on the beach with us at the time of the killing.”

  “And it couldn’t have been Mr. Rankle,” Peters added. “He couldn’t currently carry out the physical act, and it sounds like he was also seen on the beach.”

  “So, that would bring us down to seven club members,” said Ryan.

  “If we discount the three people covering up the affair instead of committing murder,” Heather began.

  “And we will check their alibis in just a moment,” said Ryan.

  “Then that brings us down to four club members,” said Heather. “Or four suspects.”

  “I guess that is good news,” Amy said.

  “Yes, but I also have some bad news,” said Heather.

  “What?”

  “I think I know what our next move in the investigation needs to be,” said Heather. “Ethel wasn’t at Mr. Rankle’s side during the entire egg hunt. We saw it in the pictures.”

  “You think that sweet on lady could have bashed Br
ian Silver on the head with that heavy object?” Peters asked, allowing his disbelief to show through.

  “I don’t really think so,” said Heather. “But depending on where she went during the time she wasn’t in the pictures, she might have seen something that could tell us who the killer is. But that means—”

  “That we have to visit Mr. Rankle,” Amy said, sighing.

  Catching Up

  “I still think we should wait until Ethel is on her own,” Amy said. “She doesn’t live with Mr. Rankle. She’ll have to leave at some point. We could stake out the place until she leaves and question her then.”

  As tempting as that was, Heather knew they couldn’t do that. “The longer we put this off, the longer Brian Silver’s killer is loose in town.”

  “Fine,” Amy growled.

  They walked up to Mr. Rankle’s door and were greeted by a cheerful Ethel.

  “We have guests,” she called.

  “Who would be visiting us?” Mr. Rankle asked, wheeling himself into the room. He grimaced when he saw them. “And why?”

  “We had a few questions about the Easter Egg Hunt,” Heather said.

  Ethel showed them into the living room where they all had a seat. Mr. Rankle glared at them.

  “Ah, yes. The Easter Egg Hunt. Where a murder occurred. My club never had any trouble like this until you showed up.”

  “We didn’t cause the murder,” Heather reminded him. “The murderer did.”

  “Still,” he persisted. “There were never any murders at the Beach Detectors Club until you came.”

  Heather realized there was no point arguing about this with Mr. Rankle. He was going to blame them no matter what she said.

  “But, they are trying to solve the case, darling,” Ethel said. “They want to catch the killer.”

  “It’s like picking up the broken pieces after they already broke the teapot,” Mr. Rankle said. “And she told me that nothing like this would happen after I allowed them to stay at the event.”

  “Allowed us to stay?” Amy asked, indignantly. “You don’t own the beach.”

  “Maybe I should,” Mr. Rankle said.

  Heather tried not to sigh.

  “What can we help you with?” Ethel asked. “What do you want to know?”

  “Well,” Heather said. “We wanted to speak to you, Ethel.”

  “Me?” Ethel asked. “Can I help with a case?”

  “We hope so,” Heather said.

  She began to explain how she wanted to know where Ethel had traveled during the Easter Egg Hunt and which of the other club members she saw.

  Mr. Rankle didn’t look pleased with these questions. He seemed to think that Heather was bad luck and didn’t want her to rub off on Ethel.

  Heather was glad that Mr. Rankle had recently adopted a cat. (It was only partially by choice as Heather came across the cat in need of a home while investigating a case, and Nick decided that his uncle needed the company.) The tabby cat had come to sit on Mr. Rankle’s lap. He was petting it, and it seemed to relieve some of the old man’s tension.

  After Heather finished talking, Ethel sighed. She looked at Mr. Rankle. “I’m just going to have to tell them.”

  Mr. Rankle grumbled but told her to continue. Heather wondered what he meant and briefly wondered if Brian Silver had tried to blackmail Mr. Rankle.

  She tried not to laugh as Ethel revealed the real reason. “I was going to get some donuts from the dessert tent when I was away from Mr. Rankle.”

  “Well, some snacks,” Mr. Rankle said. “Not donuts, specifically.”

  Ethel rolled her eyes. “Fine, dear. I was just getting some snacks before there would be a rush after the egg hunt finished.”

  “And who did you see?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t know these people as well as he does,” she said, indicating to Mr. Rankle. “I only just met them.”

  “You’ll get to know them soon enough,” he said. “They’re good people. Well, aside from this murderer. If he really is a member of the club. We only have these bakers’ word that he is.”

  Ethel ignored the outburst and continued, “I saw that young man. The one who looked so sloppy.”

  “Ben,” Heather said, supplying the name.

  “He was by the snack tent when I left. The small woman with the red hair was over there too.”

  “Nadine,” Mr. Rankle said, not wanting to be shown up by Heather in naming club members.

  Ethel thought back. “There was a man with a bit of a belly and glasses. He was carrying a long bag with both hands.”

  “That must be Al Jessum,” said Mr. Rankle.

  “What sort of bag was it?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t know,” Ethel said. “It just looked long. He was headed towards the trees.”

  Heather nodded. “Did you see anyone else?”

  “Oh. The man with the bowl cut. He wasn’t looking happy when he was near the dessert tent. It looked like something was bothering him.”

  “Tony,” Mr. Rankle said, supplying the final name.

  “I wonder what upset him,” said Amy.

  “Mr. Rankle, we do have a question for you too,” Heather said.

  “Really?” Mr. Rankle asked. Sitting in his chair and stroking his cat, he looked like a movie villain.

  “Do you know anyone who would have wanted to hurt Brian Silver?” asked Heather.

  “He was a bit of an odd man,” Mr. Rankle said. “You got the sense that he was always watching you. He was the oddball in the club. But I don’t know who would want to kill him.”

  “Looks like we still have four suspects then,” Heather said to her partner.

  Al’s Treasures

  Because Ethel had mentioned that he was headed towards the trees, Heather and Amy decided to talk to Al Jessum first. They stood on his porch, waiting for him to answer his door.

  “He sure likes to recycle,” Amy said, indicating to the large pile of cardboard in a blue recycling can by the side of his house. They looked like the remains of mail packages to Heather.

  She tried to remember the last time that she had received a gift in the mail, but could only think of donut ingredients arriving on a truck.

  Al Jessum opened the door and looked at them. Heather remembered that he had been one of the people who had entered the tent while she was setting up the donuts. He had walked in with the sloppy young man.

  “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “We certainly hope so. I’m Heather Shepherd, and this is Amy Givens. We’re private investigators, working with the Key West Police on the case of Brian Silver’s murder. May we speak to you?”

  Al nodded and showed them inside his house.

  “Wow,” Amy said, as he led them into the living room. “These are amazing.”

  Heather wanted to focus on the case, but she had to admit that she found the treasures that Al had on display distracting. There were coins of pirate gold, antiques, and pieces of old ships.

  “This is very impressive,” Heather said. “It looks like it belongs in a museum.”

  “It probably does,” Al said, proudly. “But I can’t part with my treasures. I’ve collected them all on the island with my metal detecting over the years.”

  “I should really pick up that hobby,” Amy said. “I’d love to have gold in my living room too.”

  “It takes a good deal of patience,” Al said. “But it’s an amazing feeling to find a buried treasure.”

  “It is a wonderful collection,” Heather said. “But we’ve come here to talk about Brian Silver’s death and not treasure.”

  “Of course,” Al said. He led them to some seats in his living room. Both women tried to ignore the shiny objects on display right next to them and focus on the case.

  “We’d like to establish your timeline for the day of the murder after Gilbert’s welcome speech,” said Heather.

  Al nodded. “All right. Let’s see. I helped hand out some of the metal detectors. Jill was there too. And then
I checked out the dessert then. And then, I sort of wandered around until I heard all the commotion.”

  “We heard that you were carrying a bag that afternoon,” said Heather. “Towards the tree.”

  “That’s right,” said Gilbert. “But it ended up being a misunderstanding.”

  “It was a misunderstanding that you were carrying a bag?” Amy asked.

  “It was a carrying case for a metal detector,” Al explained.

  Heather tried not to mention how even more suspicious this made the long bag. She allowed Al to continue.

  “Gilbert had said that he needed a bag earlier. I thought that he meant a bag for a metal detector. That’s usually what we need bags for when we’re traveling with extra metal detectors so they won’t get damaged. However, he had actually wanted a bag to keep his bunny costume in so it would be safe by the trees. He must have gotten a bag earlier in the morning, and he clearly didn’t need such a huge bag for that furry costume. Once I realized the misunderstanding, I put the bag back in my car.”

  “I see,” said Heather. “So, the reason you were by the trees--?”

  “Was because I was looking for Gilbert,” Al finished.

  Amy had taken out her tablet to take notes on during the interview. She was recording this information, dutifully.

  “When I saw you at the beginning of the event, you and Ben McFee were going to take a break,” said Heather. “We’ve been having trouble accounting for Ben’s whereabouts that day. Do you know where he was?”

  Al shook his head. “No. I don’t. Actually, we lose Ben at a lot of events. He doesn’t have the best attention span.”

  “Mr. Jessum, do you know who would have wanted to hurt Brian Silver?” Heather asked.

  “Nobody liked Brian,” Al said. “Everyone in the club had a problem with him at one point or another. He liked to make others feel uncomfortable. But I don’t know who escalated to murder.”

  “Did you know anything about possible blackmail?” asked Heather.

  “No,” Al said. “But now that you mention it, Tony had been acting strangely around Brian recently. Maybe it was because he was being blackmailed.”