Mint Crisp & Murder Read online

  “That’s right,” Norma said. “I caught them kissing at the theater one day. They tried to play it off as if they were rehearsing. But I know the scene the two of them have. It’s nowhere near as spicy as what they were rehearsing.”

  Heather and Amy thanked her for her help. This rehearsal had given them new leads in their investigation.

  The Wife

  Thank you so much for visiting,” Mrs. Sales said, leading Heather and Amy into her home.

  “We wanted to express our condolences,” said Heather. “But also to see if you could shed any insight into your husband’s work with the theater, Mrs. Sales.”

  “Please, call me Jen. And I wish I could help, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about Willie in this play. I always come to see his shows, but this one hadn’t premiered yet, so I didn’t get a chance to see it.”

  “Did he talk to you about this play?” asked Heather.

  Jen Sales ushered them towards a table to sit.

  “He would mention things about it, but I’m afraid I still don’t know much about the play. It sounds somewhat confusing.”

  “I could agree with that,” said Amy.

  “Did your husband mention that he needed to eat or drink in this play?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t believe so,” Jen said. “But it wouldn’t be uncommon if he did. In many plays, he takes a sip of something that’s supposed to be alcohol. In one play he ate a hamburger in a scene.”

  Amy turned to Heather. “You should find a play that needs a character to eat donuts. Convince a theater to put it on, and you can sell them donuts for every show.”

  Heather smiled, but then got back to the questions at hand. “Have you ever been to that theater before?”

  “I think so,” Jen said. “But it’s hard to be sure. Willie performed in many places. He loved performing.”

  “But you’re not sure that you’ve ever been inside that theater?”

  “I think I was,” said Jen. “But all the theaters look somewhat alike.”

  Heather frowned. So far, their interview with the widow wasn’t yielding any results. Jen claimed to know nothing about the show or the theater. If that were true, then she couldn’t have planted the poison in the right spot.

  “Do you know anything about the other people involved in the show?” asked Heather.

  “I know Stanley Saymor was the director,” Jen said. “Willie really liked working with him. They had done a few shows together. I liked seeing them.”

  “What about anyone else in the show?” Heather continued.

  “I think he mentioned having troubles with some others in the show.”

  “What sort of troubles?” asked Heather.

  “I thought it was just actors being vain sort of troubles,” Jen said. “I didn’t even take it seriously when he said that a woman was stepping on his lines or that someone wanted his part.”

  “The first person is Norma,” Amy said. “Who’s the second? It can’t be Digby.”

  “Maybe it’s Pat,” Heather whispered to her friend.

  “Maybe I should have taken his complaints more seriously. I would never have guessed that they could lead to his death,” Jen said. “These sort of things happen with every show. Some squabbles and vanity. But Willie was always able to come home after rehearsal. I can’t believe someone killed him over something so petty.”

  “We’re still looking for a motive for why the killer did what he did,” Heather said. “Can you think of any other reasons why someone might hurt him?”

  “No,” Jen said. “But it had to be something related to the show. I’m just not sure what. Willie was conscientious. He was always on time. He knew his lines. He used to make me run lines with him to make sure he was memorized. He knew every line perfectly for this show. And he did his best to support a cast. No one should have wanted to kill him, but obviously one did.”

  “Do you know a woman named Eve Ferguson?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t think so,” Jen said. “Who is she?”

  “She was in the cast with your husband,” Heather said, slowly.

  “Would she have had a reason to hurt him?” Jen asked.

  “We’re not sure,” Heather said. “But you’re sure that you’ve never heard of her?”

  Jen nodded. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know who that is.”

  Heather tried to think of the most tactful way she could ask the question that she needed an answer to about Willie’s infidelity.

  “Mrs. Sales, do you know if your husband ever had an affair?”

  “He most certainly did not,” Jen said. “Willie was a wonderful husband.”

  Heather could tell that their interview was drawing to a close. Jen was getting upset, and she didn’t seem to have any other information to share. She thanked her for her time and allowed her to shown them out.

  “What do you think?” Amy asked as they walked to the car.

  “If she’s telling the truth about not knowing about the play or theater, then she’s not the killer,” Heather said. “I think we should talk to the other woman now.”

  “The other woman other woman?” Amy asked.

  Heather nodded, and they set out.

  The Other Actress

  Sure,” Eve Ferguson said, opening the door and walking into her house. Heather and Amy followed her inside as she plopped down on a chair and picked up a box of tissues.

  “Thank you for letting us in,” Heather said.

  “I want you to find the killer,” Eve said, sniffling. “I’ll do what I can to help. Right now, I feel like I’m the only one who wants this killer found. I feel like I’m the only one upset by Willie’s death.”

  “You were close?” Heather asked.

  Eve nodded and then began to cry. She pulled a tissue out of the box. “We were very close. More than scene partners. But everyone should be upset by his death. Why isn’t anyone else upset?”

  “Others might up upset,” Heather said.

  “I don’t see anyone else crying over it,” Eve said, sobbing some more.

  “Different people deal with grief differently,” Heather said.

  “And we are surrounded by actors,” Amy pointed out. “Some actors could be upset but are acting like they are okay. And others could just be acting like they are upset.”

  “I’m not acting,” Eve said. “I loved him.”

  “You were seeing each other?” Heather prompted.

  “That’s right,” Eve said. “I knew he was married, but he was so charming and wonderful. I loved him, and I thought he loved me. We’d see each other as often as we could.”

  “If you loved him so much, why did you agree to move his body?” Amy asked.

  “I didn’t know he’d been murdered then,” Eve wailed. “I thought he had a heart attack. But by the time we registered what was happening during the bows, he was dead. And then, Stanley said that if we called anyone about a dead body that they might close down the theater. I guess that ended up being right.”

  “Kind of,” Amy said.

  “And Willie cared about the show so much. He wouldn’t have wanted it to get canceled because of his death. That seemed like the most disrespectful thing to do to his memory. So I agreed to move the body to his house. It would look like he had a heart attack there. Now I see that it was stupid. But I was too upset at the time to think straight.”

  “Are you thinking straight now?” Amy asked.

  “Yes,” Eve said, patiently. “I can think better now, even though I’m still upset.”

  “Did anyone know about your affair with Willie Sales?” asked Heather.

  “I think only Norma did,” said Eve, grabbing another tissue. “She walked in on us before. It was awkward. We told her we had been rehearsing, but I don’t think she believed it. The funny thing is that we had been rehearsing. Until we started kissing. But we did rehearse a lot.”

  “I’ll bet,” said Amy.

  “I mean it. Willie really cared about the show and wante
d his performance to be perfect. He was off book so early.”

  “Meaning he knew all his lines?” said Heather.

  “Right,” agreed Eve. “He knew his lines early and then didn’t even need to bring his script around anymore. He could leave it at home. That backfired with the situation with Norma though. If we had at least been holding our scripts, she might have believed that we were working on the show.”

  She dabbed her eyes with the tissues.

  “Did his wife know?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t think so,” Eve said. “He discouraged her from coming by the theater so she wouldn’t catch us.”

  “Romantic,” Amy muttered.

  “Hey,” Eve said. “I’m not the only one who fell for his charms.”

  “What do you mean?” Heather asked.

  “I mean that someone else also had a fling with Willie. But before I started seeing him, of course.”

  “Someone involved with the show now?” asked Heather.

  “Someone very involved with the show,” Eve said. “The one who was managing it. The stage manager Poppy.”

  “She used to date Willie too?” Heather asked.

  “This guy gets around,” Amy said.

  “Willie told me all about it,” Eve said. “He thought that I knew about it and he didn’t want me to feel jealous. He said that it was all over. He had ended it over a year ago.”

  “Poppy seemed to have forgotten to mention that last time we spoke to her,” Heather said.

  “She outright denied it,” Amy said. “I have it in my notes.”

  “I think we’ll have to have another talk with her,” Heather said.

  “Whether it’s her or someone else, I hope you catch them,” Eve said. She started tearing up again, but her box of tissues was empty. She flung it against the wall. “This is all too upsetting.”

  A Second Visit

  This time when Poppy opened her door for the investigators, she wasn’t drying her hair. However, she was still unhappy to see them.

  “What are you doing back here? Did you come to tell us we can’t use the donut shop anymore? Because I don’t know where else we could rehearse.”

  “You’re still welcome to use Donut Delights to rehearse,” Heather said.

  Poppy looked a bit less irritated. “Then, what are you here about?”

  “We’d like to see if you’d like to revise your earlier statement.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Poppy said.

  “We heard that you and Willie used to date,” Heather said. “That contradicts what you told us before.”

  Poppy opened her door and ushered them inside. She led them to where they sat before. She crossed her arms.

  “Where did you hear that?” Poppy asked.

  “From Willie’s newest flame,” said Amy.

  “Eve?” asked Poppy.

  “You knew about them?” Heather said.

  “It was fairly obvious,” Poppy said. “At least to me. I knew all his tricks.”

  “So, you did date him?” asked Heather.

  Poppy sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Yes. About a year ago. We were seeing each other when we did a show together. But I didn’t know he was married. As soon as I found out, I broke it off.”

  “Willie was telling it another way,” said Amy.

  “Well, he wouldn’t want to admit he was in the wrong to his new girlfriend,” Poppy said. “He later said that he thought everyone knew he was married. But I wouldn’t have dated him if I knew. He didn’t wear a ring. I accused him of being devious. He said he didn’t wear his wedding ring if his characters weren’t married.”

  “Sounds like a cop-out to me,” Amy said.

  “Thank you,” agreed Poppy.

  “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?” Heather asked.

  Poppy looked down at the floor. “I was embarrassed. I tried to pretend it never happened. Willie and I never acknowledged it again after that show. I was professional and nice. I thought no one needed to know.”

  “But we do when it relates to a murder case,” Heather said. “And you keeping this a secret doesn’t look good. It looks like it could be a motive.”

  “How?” Poppy asked. “If I wanted to kill him, it would have been when I first found out when he lied to me. Not a year later. But, I’m not a killer.”

  “There’s still motive there,” Heather said. “Maybe seeing him with his new girlfriend pushed you over the edge. You felt so betrayed when you saw them together that you wanted to kill him.”

  “No,” Poppy said, standing. “I didn’t kill anyone, and I won’t let you send me back to jail for something I didn’t do.”

  “You did have access to the tea that Willie Sales drank from, didn’t you?” Heather said, pressing on.

  “So did the whole cast,” said Poppy. “I didn’t think it was one of them, but I know for certain it wasn’t me. Maybe one of them did do it. Or maybe someone off the street did come in to poison Willie. Maybe he cheated with someone else, and she couldn’t take it.”

  “It had to be somebody who knew the show and Willie Sales’s role in it,” said Heather. “And this was a brand new show. It couldn’t be someone off the street. It needed to be someone who was involved with the production.”

  Poppy sat back down, looking sad. “So it was definitely one of my friends who is a killer?”

  “Many of them are actors,” Amy said. “They might have been acting like a nice person all along.”

  “Maybe Eve did it,” Poppy suggested. “Maybe she got tired of being the other woman.”

  “Maybe,” Heather said. “Is there anyone else in the cast who it could be?”

  “Well,” Poppy said, thinking about it. “Maybe it could have been Pat.”

  “Why do you suspect him?” asked Heather.

  “Because he wouldn’t drink from his glass,” Poppy said. “He poured the iced tea into another glass during the scene and was supposed to drink it, but he always pretended. He said he was afraid of germs, but I’ve seen him doing things through the course of rehearsals that don’t make it seem like he was really afraid of them.”

  “Like what?”

  “Not washing his hands before he ate. Nothing crazy, but enough to make me doubt it when pressed,” said Poppy.

  “The detectives found the glass that Pat drinks from during the show,” Heather said. “It was empty.”

  “That makes sense,” Poppy said. “He brings his glass and the teapot off the stage at the end of his scene. I think he empties it after he exits so there’s no chance of it spilling.”

  “He brings the teapot offstage too?” asked Heather.

  Poppy nodded.

  Heather thought about this. If Pat took the glass offstage and emptied it during every rehearsal, then it wasn’t strange that Ryan and Detective Peters found it empty. However, that didn’t explain why the teapot was missing.

  “And I just remembered something,” Poppy said, frowning at the memory. “Last week I heard Pat and Willie fighting. They were yelling at each other when I came in. They stopped when I was there, so I don’t know exactly what it was about. Willie said it was nothing at the time. Artistic differences. That’s why I didn’t remember. I didn’t think it was important. But maybe it was.”

  Heather had to agree. Maybe it was important. Maybe the argument between the two actors had been a motive for murder. Maybe Pat was the killer, after all.

  Heather decided it was time that they had another talk with him.

  Actor Questions

  I can’t say I’m happy to be back in the police station,” Pat said.

  “At least you’re not behind bars again,” Amy said. “Yet.”

  “Why am I back?” Pat asked.

  He stared at the four investigators across the table from him in the interrogation room.

  “We have some more questions for you,” Ryan said.

  “But why?” asked Pat. “You can’t think that I killed Willie. There’s no reason w
hy I should.”

  “You wanted his role, didn’t you?” Heather asked.

  “But I wouldn’t have killed over it,” Pat said. He looked to Detective Peters for help. “You’re in the show now. You’re getting to know me. You know I’m not a bad guy.”

  “I know that as a detective I need to follow the evidence,” Peters said. “And right now we have some questions about it.”

  “What do you want to know?” Pat asked, throwing his arms up in frustration.

  “We’d like to know more about your drinking glass in the show,” said Ryan.

  “My character is supposed to drink tea in a bourbon glass,” Pat said.

  “But you don’t actually drink it, do you?” Heather said. “Your stage manager said that you pretend to drink the tea. Why is that?”

  “Because I don’t like iced tea,” Pat said.

  “That’s not the reason you gave her,” Heather said.

  “Yeah. I told her I was a Germaphobe who couldn’t drink from other people’s glasses,” Pat said. “But I knew that was because if I told her that the only reason I didn’t want to drink it was because I didn’t like it, she would have told me to drink it anyway.”

  Heather wasn’t sure she was buying this. She looked to Ryan, inviting him to ask about the glass they had found.

  Ryan began his questions by saying, “We found the glass you used during the dress rehearsal. It was empty.”

  “I always empty it after my scene,” Pat said.

  “Why?” asked Amy.

  “Because I’m finished with it, and I don’t want it to spill,” said Pat. “What are all these questions about the tea for? Don’t you have a murder to investigate?”

  “We are,” Heather said. “We believe that Willie Sales’s tea was poisoned and that’s how he was murdered.”

  “His tea?” Pat asked. Suddenly, he became very upset and began shaking. He was close to hyperventilating when he said, “So, I could have died too?”

  “It’s why we’re so interested in the tea,” Ryan said. “We want to make sure that we know all the facts.”