Toasted Almond & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 17 Read online

  “Pun intended,” Amy quipped.

  "That was quite a break for you. You not only misled us about how much you knew about Johnny Javits death but also told us about his mysterious money. You led us down the wrong path, hoping we’d find someone suspicious to pin the crime on.”

  “And it might have worked,” Amy said. “If he weren’t the chief’s little brother.”

  “But it was you all along.”

  “This is incredibly insulting. I don’t have to stand for this,” Jessie said.

  “You don’t have to,” Heather said. “But it’s only a matter of time until the detectives follow us with receipts to prove what you did.”

  “Receipts?” Jessie asked.

  “You should have spread out your shopping,” Amy said. “The knife and the earrings.”

  “If the knife came from Sun and Fun Novelties, then anyone could have gotten it,” Jessie said.

  “Could have, but they didn’t,” said Heather. “And you bought the earrings from the store.”

  "No. Johnny bought them for me. I told you that. It was the last gift he gave to me, and they're priceless."

  “Mr. Rankle sells them for nine ninety-nine,” Amy said.

  “He couldn’t have given them to you,” Heather said. “He was already dead when you made the purchase. You bought yourself a gift so you could say it was from Johnny Javits. But the truth is that he was having doubts about your relationship. And you didn’t like that.”

  “Would you?”

  “No,” Heather said. “But I wouldn’t kill anyone for it.”

  "They really found receipts?" Jessie asked.

  "Receipts and DNA?" Jessie said.

  "They're running a DNA test on it now," said Heather.

  "When you hugged me that day I remarked how nice your breath was," said Amy. "I bet you chew minty gum a lot."

  "There was gum found by the scene too," Heather said.

  She paled as she saw Ryan and Detective Peters drive up and park. They got out of their squad car and approached her.

  “I want to cooperate,” Jessie said. “Yes. I want to get off for good behavior. Yes. I did it, but I was forced to.”

  “You were forced to stab your boyfriend and stage it like a robbery?” Amy asked.

  “He wanted to break up,” Jessie said. “Can you believe that? I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

  "So, you followed him on his rounds?" Heather prompted.

  “After he tried to break up with me Saturday night, he told me that he had to work early making deliveries the next day. He mentioned the street, so I knew where he would be. I took his knife when he wasn’t looking just in case. All night, I thought he might call and tell me that he made a mistake. But he didn’t. And that was his mistake. I saw him outside the store and stabbed him. I thought he'd be carrying money on him, but he wasn't, so I took the package he was carrying instead. To make it look like a robbery. Then I planned on telling the police about his sketchy job. I was sure you'd think one of those people killed him."

  "This sounds very premeditated,” Amy said.

  Ryan and Peters led her off to the squad car, arresting her.

  "She won't be able to hurt anyone else," Heather said.

  "But what a performance!" Amy said.

  Back at the Shop

  “That sounds like a very exciting case,” Eva said.

  “But it must have been confusing not knowing the man’s name for so long,” Leila agreed.

  They were seated at their usual table at Donut Delights, joined by Heather, Amy, and Lilly. A plate of Toasted Almond Donuts was being quickly devoured by the group.

  “It was,” Heather agreed. “And it’s sad to think that with all the precautions Johnny Javits took against strangers hurting him for money, it was his girlfriend who decided to kill him.”

  "Well, Mr. Rankle must be thankful that you solved the case for him,” Eva said.

  “Don’t hold your breath,” said Amy.

  “He did his version of being thankful,” Heather said.

  “Did it involve saying thank you?” Leila asked.

  “That doesn’t sound like Mr. Rankle,” Lilly giggled.

  “When the crime scene tape came down, he gave us a wave,” Heather said.

  “A wave?” Eva asked. “After all the good work you did?”

  “It’s progress,” Heather said, shrugging. “Maybe now waving will become a daily occurrence.”

  "I still think he'd like to wave goodbye to us permanently," Amy argued.

  “Baby steps,” said Heather.

  "I can't wait to tell Nicolas all about this," Lilly said. "And some of the girls at school. I think they might like to hear about how my parents are awesome crime solvers.”

  “Donuts?” Digby asked, bringing some more to the table.

  “You don’t even have to ask anymore,” Amy said. “The answer is always yes.”

  “But do you have an answer for us?” Heather asked, crossing her fingers. “Did you get cast in the play?”

  “Yes!” Digby said, excitedly. “And I have a very important and wonderful part.”

  "Was it that handsome, muscular part you were talking about before?" Amy asked.

  “No. I have an even better one. I’m going to play Neighbor #2!”

  There was a brief pause, and then everyone at the table clapped and told him how wonderful the news was.

  “We can’t wait to see it,” Heather told him.

  "And actually," Digby said. "I'm going to be an understudy too. I'm going to learn all the other male character parts in the play, and if for any reason someone can't go onstage, I'm going to do it."

  “How exciting,” Eva said.

  “We’ll be able to say we knew him when,” Leila agreed.

  "Of course, it is a lot to learn," Digby said. "I'm going to have to practice a lot. Even at work sometimes. In fact, maybe I should start practicing now.”

  He went off in search of his script.

  “Are you prepared for this?” Amy asked. “It’s going to be a long rehearsal season.”

  "It will be fine," Heather said. "It will be like a free theater show every day."

  Heather smiled at her happy employees, friends, and family. She knew that she was already surrounded by her own perfect cast of characters.

  The End.

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  About the Author

  Susan Gillard is a lover of all things mysterious. She grew up in Kansas City, Missouri where her love of murder mystery novels grew.

  Now she travels the country in search of the best baked goods and engaging with the locals who often become the inspiration for her wacky characters.

  Get in Touch with Susan

  SusanGillard.com

  [email protected]

  Also by Susan Gillard

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