Strawberries & Chocolate & Murder Read online

  “You look beautiful,” said Peters. “Like a painting.”

  “Could I have a dozen donuts?” Fire Frank asked.

  “All for yourself?” Janae asked.

  “Fighting fires takes a lot of energy,” Fire Frank said. “These donuts are a blessing.”

  “Solving crimes takes a lot of energy too,” said Detective Peters. “I’ll take two dozen.”

  “I’ll get them,” Digby said. “It gives me an excuse to walk away.”

  Amy whispered to Heather. “They were in full on competition mode outside. They were doing a jumping jack competition. Then I reminded them that they wanted to smell nice when they saw a lady.”

  “Janae was telling me how confusing she found their behavior,” Heather said.

  As she watched the two men, she could see that their current conduct wasn’t any better. They were talking about the flavors and how they helped them to do their very impressive jobs better.

  “Carrot Cake Donuts are great for me,” said Peters. “Being a detective, keen eyesight can be important. You never know when you might see an important clue that could break the case for you.”

  “That donut you had with the jalapeno jelly in the center was great for me,” Fire Frank added. “It had a kick. And being a firefighter you have to be able to stand the heat.”

  “Well, I like all the donuts here because they come in circles,” Janae said, trying to play along. “Just like the shape of my wheels on my bike.”

  Her gentlemen suitors laughed a little too long at that joke. Digby handed them their boxes of donuts, hoping that they would leave. His wish seemed to be granted when Detective Peters’s phone rang.

  He held back a grimace as he answered it. Heather could tell, based on his responses, that it was an update on the case.

  “I’m sorry, Janae. I have to go. Duty calls.”

  “Good luck,” Janae said.

  Detective Peters walked over to Heather and Amy.

  “The bad timing continues,” he said.

  “I know,” said Heather. “I got called away from my romantic candlelight dinner twice.”

  "I told Ryan that I'd tell you because we're at the same place. He tracked down another one of Stephanie Jordan's suitors. The Derek one. He agreed to come into the station to talk to us."

  “We’ll be right behind you,” Heather told him.

  Peters frowned but walked out of the shop. Heather checked in with Digby to make sure that they were still set to run the shop after she left. Then, she spared one final glance at Janae and Fire Frank to see what would happen.

  However, once the competition with the detective petered out, Fire Frank seemed to have lost his nerve.

  “Well, maybe I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, before hurrying out of the store himself.

  Janae threw her arms up in the air. “I give up!”

  “Sorry,” Heather said, before hurrying out the door herself. She had a suspect that she needed to talk to.

  The Fourth Suitor

  “Thank you for coming in to speak with us,” Ryan said. He offered Derek King a glass of water and then sat across the table from him with the other investigators in the interrogation room.

  “No problem,” Derek said. “I’d rather this all take place here than anywhere else if you catch my drift.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t,” said Detective Peters.

  “I’d like for this to stay within the station,” Derek said.

  “Are you going to confess to the crime?” Amy asked.

  “No. I just don’t want anybody outside to know,” he tried again.

  “Outside?” asked Peters.

  “I don’t want my wife to know about this!” Derek King said, finally just saying it outright.

  “So, you’re married?” Heather said.

  “Yes. Very happily married.”

  “If you’re so happily married, why are you sending another woman candy?” asked Amy.

  “Stephanie Jordan was a friend of mine since high school,” Derek said. “We were close.”

  “Were you a friend with benefits, as they say?” asked Peters.

  “Does my wife have to know any of this?” Derek asked.

  “We’re just trying to find a killer,” Heather said. “That’s all we’re interested in.”

  Derek sighed. “Yes. Stephanie and I would meet up occasionally, for old time’s sake.”

  “Romantically?” asked Ryan.

  “Yes,” Derek admitted.

  “Are you sure your wife didn’t know about this?” asked Heather, thinking they could have another suspect on their hands.

  "There's no way," Derek said. "I was very careful. And I'd tell her I was meeting an old friend from school, so I wasn't lying. I just called her Jordan when I spoke about her. My wife might have thought I was going to meet a male friend."

  “How did Stephanie Jordan feel about this arrangement?” asked Ryan.

  “She was fine with it,” Derek said. “We missed each other occasionally and wanted to meet up, but she didn’t want anything more serious. She had a lot of guys who wanted her attention. She could choose who she wanted when she wanted.”

  “What if she wanted to tell your wife about what was going on?” Ryan asked.

  “There would be no reason for her to do that,” said Derek. “We were happy with the way things were.”

  “But if she did want to tell your wife? That would cause problems for you?” Ryan persisted.

  “Yeah, but I wouldn’t have killed her,” Derek protested. “And honestly, there wasn’t a need. Stephanie would never have told her. She didn’t want people to think that she ran around with married men. There were already people who gave her a hard time about how many dates she went on. She wouldn’t have wanted them to think she was a homewrecker too. I was just a special case because we had a history.”

  “Who gave her a hard time?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t know specifically,” Derek said. “But she told me that it bothered her sometimes. She felt judged.”

  “If your wife had found out about this affair,” said Ryan. “What do you think she would have done?”

  “She would have run to her mother’s house and cried. But she wouldn’t have killed anybody.”

  "Do you know anybody who would have wanted to kill Stephanie?" asked Peters.

  Derek shrugged. “I guess it had to be one of the guys she was dating. That’s rough killing her right before Valentine’s Day. Not that it’s ever nice to kill somebody.”

  “Did she ever talk about any of the men she was dating?” asked Ryan. “Maybe she mentioned that someone was giving her a hard time?”

  "I guess she said that this one guy Perry was becoming a bit territorial," Derek said, thinking. "She told him that he couldn't come around every day anymore because he was becoming too clingy."

  “He thought that they were exclusive?” asked Heather.

  “She told me that she told him that she wanted things to be casual, but that he was acting like they were serious.”

  “Did he ever threaten her?” asked Ryan.

  “No,” Derek said. “She told me that he always said he didn’t blame her, but apparently he tried to fight another guy that she was seeing. She didn’t like it when that happened.”

  Heather nodded. This was fitting in with what they had already learned about Perry Rogers’s behavior.

  “Do you know if any of the guys she was seeing had the initials CDB?” she asked.

  “No,” said Derek. “But that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t someone. She didn’t tell me about everyone she was seeing. And I haven’t seen her in a few weeks.”

  “Why is that?” asked Ryan.

  “My wife and I went on a trip to visit some family,” Derek said. “We just got back a few days ago.”

  “Why did you send Stephanie Jordan the candy?” Detective Peters asked.

  "Because I'd been gone for awhile, but I thought I should send her something for Valentine's Day."
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  “You sent it in the mail?” asked Heather.

  “That’s right.”

  “And your wife didn’t see you with the candy box?” asked Ryan.

  “No,” Derek said. “I bought it at the store and sent it right away. There was no time for anyone to tamper with it.”

  “Unless you did it right before you sent it,” said Peters.

  "I didn't kill Stephanie," Derek said. "Her death is bad for me because now you're questioning me about it. There's a chance that my wife could find out what happened. This is bad for me."

  “It was pretty bad for Stephanie too,” Heather pointed out.

  The Fifth Box

  Heather and Amy walked up and down their street, hoping that the movement would get the gears in their heads going and help them figure out the case.

  “How many laps are we going to do?” Amy asked, starting to pant.

  “I’m sorry,” Heather said. “I feel like I’m close to something. I felt like if I were moving, I might trick my head into moving closer to an answer.”

  "Well, if we can't figure it out now, we'll have another chance tonight when we take Dave and Cupcake, and Miss Marshmallow for a walk."

  "That's true," Heather said. Then, she became distracted by a woman on the other side of the street. She was a senior woman who looked distressed.

  "Ethel Thornbrush?" Heather asked, recognizing her as a woman they had spoken to as part of a case before. They had briefly considered her a murder suspect before realizing the senior citizen wouldn't have been able to stab the victim to death.

  “Heather and Amy, hello,” she said.

  “I didn’t think you got out of the house very much,” said Heather.

  “Well, ever since you’ve given me that advice about the senior shuttle, it’s been very helpful. I met your friends Eva and Leila at the senior center and I’ve been involved in some activities. I have to admit all the new adventures have gotten me to bet on the ponies less.”

  “That’s probably a good thing,” said Amy.

  “And today, I thought I would venture out to Sun and Fun Novelties, but well, it’s all wrong.”

  “What’s the matter?” asked Heather.

  “There’s a young man working at the counter. It's not Mr. Rankle," she said. "I'm very embarrassed."

  Something clicked into place in Heather’s mind. “Did you send him a Valentine?”

  “That’s right,” Ethel said. “I know we didn’t know each other that well, but I used to be a regular customer and I always thought he was so handsome. I hadn’t left my house in a long time, but once I realized how I was able to do it, well, I wanted to take some chances. I thought I’d send him a Valentine from a secret admirer. But it looks as if he’s not here anymore. Did that young man read it instead of him?”

  “The young man is just covering for Mr. Rankle until he gets back,” said Heather. “He had a fall on the street and had to go to the hospital for a few days while they made certain that his leg would heal properly.”

  “Oh my goodness,” said Ethel. “How scary for him.”

  “I’m sure he’d love to hear from you and to know that you were his admirer,” Heather continued. “Maybe you could visit him while he’s there?”

  “I’d be happy to,” said Ethel. “Even if he’s surprised to find out it’s me who is his Valentine—"

  “He’ll be surprised,” Amy mutter.

  “I’m sure he’d still appreciate a visitor if he’s stuck at the hospital,” said Ethel.

  “Do you need a ride?” asked Heather.

  “No, thank you, sweetie,” Ethel said. “I think I’ve figured out this whole ride service thing.”

  “Could you do us a favor though?” asked Amy.

  “Certainly.”

  “Will you tell us if all the donuts in his room were eaten?”

  Heather laughed as Ethel agreed to tell them. She got into the senior shuttle that came to pick her up, and Heather and Amy continued walking.

  “You’re quiet,” Amy said.

  “Something about that is making me think about the case,” said Heather. “I think that if I could figure out what it was, I could figure out who the killer is.”

  “Want to check on Bernadette?” Amy asked. “Make sure nothing else is trying to scare her?”

  Heather nodded and they continued down the street until they reached the bookshop. Bernadette assured them that she was doing fine and then asked about the case.

  “I don’t want to tell you anything else that might scare you and make you jump,” Heather joked.

  “I’m fine,” Bernadette said. “Besides maybe I can help.”

  “The victim in this case was killed with a poisoned piece of chocolate,” said Heather.

  “That’s terrible,” said Bernadette.

  “We found four of the people who sent her a chocolate box, but we haven’t found the fifth yet,” said Heather.

  “Was there no card?” asked Bernadette.

  “There was, but only initials: CDB.”

  Bernadette giggled and then caught herself. “I’m sorry. Even with all the horror books I’ve been reading, a romance still popped into my head.”

  “What romance?”

  "Just that the initials CDB could stand for Cyrano De Bergerac," Bernadette explained. "He was a poet and a swordfighter that was cursed with a huge, ugly nose. He was afraid that no one woman would ever love him, so when he did fall in love, he helped a more handsome man who was also smitten with her to woo her. He would tell him what to say to her."

  “Yeah,” Amy said. “Somehow I don’t think Cyrano De Bergerac is the killer in this case.”

  “Wait,” Heather said. “Maybe it was.”

  “No way,” said Amy.

  “He’s from a play written in the late 1800’s,” said Bernadette.

  "Not literally," Heather said. "I don't think Cyrano De Bergerac did it. But maybe someone using a false identity did. Like Cyran. They were pretending to be somebody else. Or pretending to be anybody else.”

  “So, you’re saying that the killer signed the card with nonsensical initials?” Amy asked. “It’s not a real name?”

  “That’s right. They signed the note from another person. Or possibly a made-up person. That’s what was bothering me when I thought about Mr. Rankle. The card was signed from a secret admirer. It could have been from anyone.”

  “But wouldn’t Stephanie have realized this?” asked Amy.

  "Maybe," said Heather. "Or maybe the initials were generic enough that she thought she knew who it was from. The first letter is C? That might be from that Chris I met at work sort-of-thing."

  “It’s possible,” said Amy. “But doesn’t that make this all more difficult? If we’re not looking a CDB, then we could be looking for anyone that Stephanie ever dated. And how do we figure that out?”

  Heather’s enthusiasm for heading down the path she thought was right started to fade. “You’re right,” she said. “I think CDB is a fake name, but how do we find out who it belonged to.”

  “Maybe it was one of the people we already spoke to?” suggested Amy.

  “They do have potential motives,” said Heather. “And almost everyone had the means. It’s possible to make your own cyanide.”

  “Maybe this is going to become too scary,” Bernadette said. “Will you excuse me for a moment? I need to throw out the packaging from my latest book shipment before the trash and recycling trucks arrive.”

  “Wait a second,” said Heather.

  “Okay,” said Bernadette. “Is there something I can help with before I do that?”

  “The packaging,” Heather said. “How could I not have realized it before?”

  “My book’s packaging?” asked Bernadette.

  “I think this has something to do with the case,” said Amy. “She’s figuring it out.”

  “You even mentioned it before, Ames,” said Heather. “You wanted to know why the killer didn’t leave his address behind.”

>   “I was joking-complaining,” said Amy.

  "And Peters double-checked that the trash cans were searched," Heather continued. "But she received the boxes in the mail that week. And how can we get a confession? "

  “Does this mean she knows who the killer is?” asked Bernadette, confused.

  “I think so,” said Amy. “Should I call Ryan?”

  “Yes,” said Heather. “And it was someone that we talked to before.”

  The Stake Out

  “I know this wasn’t exactly what you wanted,” Ryan said. “But I thought we could still have some romantic candlelight even on a stakeout.”

  “Ryan, I love you,” Heather said. “And sometimes, I think you read my mind.”

  “Really?” asked Ryan.

  The two of them were seated in Ryan’s car on Stephanie Jordan’s street, keeping an eye on the house. They had put their plan into action, letting it slip to their suspect that the forensic team would be back the following day to examine some new evidence that had to have been left immediately before the crime. They hoped that the suspect would take the bait and try to return to the crime scene.

  While they were waiting, they were going to eat in the car. Ryan revealed a candle in a glass jar that he set up in a cup holder.

  "This small light shouldn't be seen from the house," he said. "I got us some fast food to eat. It's not as exciting as Bella's menu, but it will be nice to share that candlelight meal."

  “And I did get us Bella’s food,” Heather said.

  “What?”

  “We kept getting interrupted when we sat down, so I decided to get us carry out,” she explained. “They’re in these nice plastic containers so we’ll be able to eat them in the car.”

  She handed him his meal and they both dug in.

  “It’s as delicious as I thought it would be the first two times,” said Ryan.

  She laughed and then said, “This might be more fitting for us anyway. No matter what, we make things.”

  “Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you, Heather.”

  “I love you too.”

  This time they were able to finish their dinners and digest before they were called to action.