Mint Fudge & Murder Read online

  “You knew he was so secretive that no one else would have seen his design early,” said Amy. “As long as he wasn’t around to say that you stole his idea, no one would know.”

  “You went to his house and went inside the tent to look at his sandcastle. When he came outside to confront you, you killed him with a shovel. Then, you destroyed the castle and covered up the body, hoping it just might look like an accident.”

  “Didn’t work,” said Amy.

  “You used the sand to disguise your footprints as best as you could. Then, you went into his house. His door would have been unlocked from when he came outside. You wore gloves so you wouldn’t leave any prints.”

  “But you did leave threads,” said Amy. “On the lock that you broke.”

  Heather nodded. “You broke into his locked box and stole what was inside. You took the blueprints and the plans he made for designing his castle and the remote control for his drone.”

  “Then, you used them to recreate your castle,” Amy said. “Using Mac’s plans, you thought that you would have the winning entry.”

  “But you made a mistake,” said Heather.

  “A mistake?” Rusty asked.

  “You said that you almost made a dragon castle, but that the wings were too hard. I bet that’s what Mac’s original design was. He was making a dragon castle, but you weren’t able to recreate it perfectly.”

  “That’s why the dinosaurs are all four-legged ones, and there are no T-Rexes,” said Amy.

  “You figured that dinosaurs were just as good as dragons. You thought that you were appealing to a child audience,” said Heather. “But the reason why Mac was creating a dragon castle was that he discovered who the celebrity judge is.”

  “It’s Mia Milo,” said Amy. “And she would have loved to see a castle covered with dragons.”

  “I didn’t know he found out who the judge was,” said Rusty.

  “And you didn’t know that Mac had taken pictures of all the castles,” Heather said.

  “Another mistake,” Amy agreed.

  “We’ll see if you were just as careful with your footprints when you left the shovel in Brogan’s shed. I have a feeling you weren’t,” said Heather. “And when we match the thread to the gloves you were wearing, it will be an airtight case.”

  “And I bet now you just expect me to confess,” said Rusty.

  “That would be nice,” said Amy.

  “You made a mistake in coming here,” Rusty said, with an evil smile. “I killed once for this money. What makes you think I won’t do it again?”

  He lunged for the shovel and prepared to swing it. Heather and Amy were ready to fight back, but it was unnecessary. Ryan and Peters ran into the yard with weapons drawn, ordering Rusty to drop the shovel.

  He complied, and they arrested him. As the detectives left with the killer, Heather let out a sigh of relief.

  “That was close,” said Amy.

  “On two counts,” Heather agreed. “He almost whacked us with the shovel. And he almost saw that the trees in his yard didn’t appear in the picture I was holding.”

  “You sounded very convincing,” Amy said.

  Heather shrugged. “I knew he was guilty. It was the only thing that made sense.”

  “Yeah,” Amy quipped. “I get the picture.”

  Playing in the Sand

  After Heather cleared Brogan’s name, he rewarded her with a hammock. She didn’t solve crimes for gifts, but it was so comfortable that she did accept this one.

  She was happy she did too because the portable hammock provided the perfect seating for the S.A.N.D. Castle competition. The giant sandcastle competition wouldn’t be judged until that evening. Heather hoped that Brogan would win despite being an underdog. Amy hoped that Ariel would win so she could afford to have her home cleaned after having the sandcastle in her room.

  However, Heather was much more interested in the current competition she was watching. A junior sandcastle competition was taking place where contestants had two hours to build a castle. Lilly was enjoying creating her entry, and the adults were enjoying watching.

  Heather and Ryan were sitting in the hammock. Amy and Jamie were on lawn chairs, while Josh and Josie shared a blanket. Eva and Leila had brought chairs to sit on and watch but were spending most of their time, standing up and cheering.

  “Should we tell them?” Josie asked.

  “Sure,” Josh agreed.

  “What is it?” asked Amy. “You better not have signed us up for that fifteen-minute castle competition.”

  “What’s that?” asked Ryan.

  “It’s for any age group. It’s a silly competition. You only have fifteen minutes to try and build a castle.”

  “No. I didn’t sign you up for that,” Josh said.

  “Good,” said Amy. “Because I did sign us all up. Surprise!”

  They all laughed. It would be amusing to try and create something in that timeframe. Heather thought about it. She could decorate donuts very quickly. Maybe she could come up with an impromptu castle.

  “That sounds fun,” Josie said. “But we have a different sort of announcement.”

  “We’re getting married,” said Josh.

  “We knew that,” said Amy.

  “No. We mean that we’re going to get married here. In Key West.”

  “We love how beautiful it is,” said Josie. “And we love all of you.”

  “We’ve decided to go simple,” Josh agreed. “We’ll get married at the courthouse and have a party after.”

  “And since there won’t be that much to plan, we can have the wedding pretty soon,” said Josie. “In a week or two!”

  “And I thought building the castles was a short timeframe,” Amy joked.

  “We’re very happy for you,” Heather said, and the couple beamed.

  Heather was very happy, in general. She was surrounded by friends, and love was in the air. Also, unless she was very much mistaken, her daughter was about to win a sandcastle competition.

  The End.

  Want FREE Donut Recipes?

  SPECIAL OFFER:

  Click here to get 4 yummy, easy to make donut recipes from Heather herself!

  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

  [email protected]

  Also by Susan Gillard

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  * * *

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  * * *

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

 

 

 
ook with friends