by Cindy Bell
“I’m so sorry.” Harriet sighed. “I didn’t want to cause this kind of trouble.”
“It’s all right.” Ally smiled slightly. “I understand why you had a meeting with them. I understand why you want to protect Blue River. There are times that I think I would do anything to protect it.”
“Me too.” Harriet nodded. “And to think at the time Gary was being killed, I was at a friend’s house not far from that alley. He’d invited me over for dinner.” She shook her head. “We were so distracted by conversation that he burned the roast he made for us. He probably tossed it out in that very dumpster. The smell was so rancid, it was giving me a headache.” She frowned.
“You were having dinner with a friend? Who?” Ally’s eyes narrowed as she realized the burnt roast might have been the source of the terrible smell.
“Just a friend.” Harriet pursed her lips. “It doesn’t matter who.”
The bell over the door rang, and Eric stepped inside. He stopped short at the sight of Harriet.
“Oh, I didn’t know that you’d be here.”
“It’s okay, Eric.” Harriet smiled. “I was just leaving.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll go.” Eric started to back out, but his eyes remained locked to Harriet.
Ally’s eyes widened as she recognized the anguish in his expression.
“It was Eric?” Ally’s heart began to pound. “That’s who you were having dinner with, Harriet?”
“No!” Eric glared at her.
“It’s all right.” Harriet sighed. “It’s the truth, Eric. I never should have asked you to lie.”
“Why would you?” Ally frowned. “Eric’s been the main suspect this whole time, and you were his alibi!”
“Stop Ally, please.” Eric sighed.
“Maybe it’s time you both told the truth.” Charlotte looked between them.
Chapter 16
“The truth is, Eric and I had just started dating before all of this happened. I asked him not to tell the police that I was there, because I didn’t want the rumor mills to start working overtime about our relationship. He burnt the roast, and then went to get a quiche from his bakery for dinner. There is no way he did anything to Gary. I was hoping for just a little bit of privacy. I only recently lost my husband and people are very judgmental.” Harriet frowned. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Anything but lie.” Ally glanced between the two. “Eric, you were almost arrested, you still could be. All you have to do is tell Luke that you were with Harriet, and you will have an alibi.”
“I won’t.” Eric cleared his throat. “It may seem crazy to you. But it’s important to me that Harriet’s privacy is respected.” He shook his head as he backed up towards the door. “I’m going. Ally, Charlotte, I hope that you can keep this between us.”
“Eric, wait!” Harriet followed after him.
“So much for a private tasting.” Charlotte picked up one of the chocolates and took a bite.
“It looks like we have ourselves a bit of a problem.”
“A bit of a problem?” Charlotte sighed. “I think that’s an understatement.”
“I’m going to call Luke, I want him to know that Eric has an alibi. I want him to know that he is innocent.” Ally reached for her phone.
“Don’t bother, sweetheart, Luke is walking up right now.” Charlotte caught her hand, then looked into her eyes. “It’s the right thing to tell him the truth, Ally. You can’t be expected to protect their lie.”
“Thanks Mee-Maw.” Despite Charlotte’s reassurance, Ally’s heart still fluttered as Luke walked through the door. She glanced back at her grandmother in time to see her disappear into the kitchen. When she turned her attention back to Luke, he had already crossed the shop to reach the counter.
“Morning. It smells so good in here.” Luke rested his hands against the counter and leaned forward to kiss Ally. He leaned back and sighed. “And, it’s so good to see you.”
“You too.” She poured him a cup of coffee. “I have something to tell you. Eric has an alibi.”
“What?” Luke met her eyes. “That’s news to me.”
“I know.” Ally handed him the cup. “He was with Harriet at the time of Gary’s murder. He’d made her dinner, or attempted to. You know his house is right behind his shop.”
“Yes, I know that, and you’re sure he was with Harriet?” Luke’s eyes remained locked to hers.
“Yes, they both just admitted to it while they were here. Apparently, Harriet asked him not to tell you, because she didn’t want their relationship to become public knowledge. But Luke, Eric could go to prison over this, I couldn’t keep it from you.” Ally shook her head. “I guess that narrows down the suspect list.”
“Actually, it doesn’t.” Luke pursed his lips, then continued. “It only makes Harriet and Eric more likely to be the culprits. Both Harriet and Eric stood to lose something if Gary succeeded with his casino. Maybe they decided to work together to get rid of the body.”
“I don’t understand.” Ally frowned. “They were having dinner, Eric burned the roast and tossed it out in the alley. I remember smelling it, I know that part of the story is true.”
“I don’t doubt that, but the reason why he tossed it in the dumpster at the time might be different. If they wanted to cover the smell of the body that they dumped, they might have hoped the burnt meat might cover it.” Luke slapped his hand lightly on the counter. “I can’t think of a better motive than to protect each other, while also adding to that, the knowledge that they were in a romantic relationship. Maybe Eric tried to prove his affection for her by fixing her problem.”
“Luke, do you really think that’s possible?” Ally squinted at him as she tried to assess his expression. “This is Eric, and Harriet we’re talking about.”
“Ally, I can only follow the evidence. You can’t expect me to do anything other than that.” Luke rubbed the heel of his palm against one eye. “This hasn’t been an easy investigation, I can assure you.”
“I know it hasn’t.” Ally caught his hand as it fell back to his side and held it. “I’m sorry, Luke. It’s just so shocking to me that Eric, or Harriet could even be considered suspects.”
“I know.” Luke frowned and trailed his thumb along the back of her hand. “None of us want to believe it either. But they had motive, and they had opportunity. When we checked Gary’s phone, one of the last calls he made was to Harriet. But of course, she claims that she never received it.”
“Maybe she didn’t.” Ally met his eyes. “She’s a very busy person.”
“Yes, she’s busy. But the call lasted five minutes. She claims she didn’t speak to him, and that he didn’t leave a voicemail.” Luke squinted at her. “So, what went on for those five minutes? The line was active. Even if he just breathed into the phone that would have been recorded on the voicemail. It doesn’t strike you as odd?”
“Maybe if Blue River had the best service in the world, I would find it strange. But there are times when my calls don’t go through or my phone acts funny. Isn’t it possible that it was a mistake of some kind? A glitch?”
“I suppose it’s possible. But if this were Rick’s phone records I’m talking about, would you even question it?” Luke brushed a few strands of her hair back from her face. “I’m sorry, Ally, but I have to be unbiased.”
“I’m not biased.” Ally sighed, then closed her eyes. “Okay, maybe I’m a little biased. Every time I think I have an idea of what’s happening here, everything changes.”
“I know the feeling.” He ran his hand back through his hair. “I’m going over to speak with Jasmine again later. I’ll let you know if I make any headway. I’m hoping that she can tell me a little bit more about Gary’s connection with Harriet. If he really did con her, that last call to her might have been what set her off to attack him.”
“You must be exhausted.” Ally cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes. “Remember to breathe, Luke.”
“You are my br
eath of fresh air.” Luke smiled, then leaned close for a kiss.
Ally returned the kiss, then watched as he left the shop. She would do anything to take the stress off his shoulders. But it seemed to her that she’d only made it worse with her theories.
“Did you hear all of that?” Ally glanced over her shoulder as her grandmother peeked around the corner of the kitchen door.
“Every word.” Charlotte stepped out into the front of the shop.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to be able to figure this out.” Ally frowned.
“I have been considering something. Luke said that Jasmine had an alibi because of a meeting with Rick. What if they were working together?”
Ally raised her eyebrows as she glanced at her grandmother.
“You mean the two of them worked together to kill Gary?” She shook her head. “How would they even come up with a scheme like that?”
“I think it’s pretty clear that Jasmine is very young for Gary. Maybe she wasn’t really in love with him, and instead got involved with one of his business partners?” Charlotte shrugged. “It’s possible, don’t you think?”
“I suppose it is. Then when Rick and Phil came to collect on their investment, Jasmine convinced Rick to collect in a different way.” Ally narrowed her eyes.
“I find it pretty odd that Jasmine’s alibi is Rick. I think we may need to dig into that a bit more as well.”
“I agree. Especially after I saw them arguing. They certainly didn’t look like two people that could sit together and have a meal.” Ally frowned. “But their alibi is solid. The waitress confirmed it.”
“Maybe, but there’s one more thing we can do. We can verify it ourselves.” Charlotte picked up her purse. “We need to go to that diner, and speak to that waitress, and find out if she’s telling the truth. As of now, Jasmine and Rick have an alibi. If they were involved in the murder, then that means the waitress must be lying.”
“That’s true.” Ally followed after her out of the shop and locked the door behind them. “But if the police couldn’t crack her, what makes you think that you can?”
“Not me, you.” Charlotte looked over at her as Ally started the car. “You’re going to find out whether she really saw Jasmine and Rick there.”
“I’m not sure that I’ll do any better than Luke could.” Ally frowned.
“Oh yes, you can.” Charlotte met her eyes. “Luke is a detective, even if he doesn’t flash his badge it’s easy to guess from his personality. You’re one of the easiest people to talk to that I’ve ever known.”
“I’m not so sure about that, but I’m willing to try.”
Chapter 17
The diner itself was set far back from the main road. Ally had a hard time finding it, though she had been there before on occasion.
“This is certainly an out of the way place for two out-of-towners to meet up.” Ally frowned as she finally spotted the parking lot.
“Yes, it is. Especially since there’s a diner a few minutes away from Jasmine’s house in Blue River.” Charlotte studied the small building as Ally parked the car in front of it.
“My guess is that Jasmine didn’t want anyone local to see them together.” Ally stepped out of the car.
“I think you’re probably right. But why?” Charlotte followed her to the front door of the diner.
“I hope this conversation will help us find out.” Ally held the door open for her and glanced over the interior of the diner. Booths filled most of the space, while a few tables dotted the back wall. A wraparound counter ran the length of the exposed kitchen. A waitress stood at one end of the counter near the cash register. Ally hoped that this was the waitress that served Jasmine and Rick. “Hi there.” She sat down at the counter and smiled at the woman who was about her age. “How are things going?”
“Pretty quiet.” She smiled in return. “What can I get for you two?”
“I’ll have a coffee, and some french toast if it’s not too late for the breakfast menu, please.” Ally’s stomach rumbled at the thought.
“Sure, we can still do that.”
“I’ll take the same.” Charlotte patted Ally lightly on the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Ally watched as she walked towards the bathroom. When Ally turned back, the waitress had two mugs of coffee in her hands. She set them down on the counter.
“It’ll just be a few minutes for the french toast.” She passed her hand lightly over her rounded stomach.
“Congratulations are in order?” Ally braced herself, hoping that she wasn’t wrong.
“Yes, thank you. A few more months to go.” The waitress laughed and shrugged. “I guess it’s pretty hard to hide it now.”
“I think it’s wonderful.” Ally gazed into her eyes. “Do you know what you’re having?”
“A girl.” She grinned. “Unless they got it wrong. But I’ll be happy either way. I just can’t wait until she’s here.”
“I guess you’ll be out of work for a bit.” Ally glanced around the diner. “Are they taking care of you with some time off?”
“No, of course not.” The waitress rolled her eyes. “Jobs like this don’t give you maternity leave. But it’s okay, we’ll be just fine.” She patted her stomach.
“I’m sure you will be.” Ally tilted her head to the side and softened her voice.
“Yes, the Daddy works two jobs already, but I got very lucky.” The waitress winked. “Sometimes good things happen to good people.”
“I imagine so.” Ally studied the woman. “Sounds like you deserve it.”
“You just need to have a little faith.” The waitress smiled. “Out of the blue the perfect opportunity landed in my lap. Now, I have enough money to take at least a few months off and give my baby a good start. I don’t have to stress.”
“That is so great, what happened?” Ally’s eyes narrowed. “I need a good story to brighten my spirits.”
“Well.” The waitress glanced around the diner, then leaned closer to Ally. “Let’s just say, sometimes it pays to do favors for others. All I had to do was say the right thing to the right person, and I got a nice chunk of change for it. You have to do what you have to do when you are bringing someone into the world. Don’t turn any opportunity down. Trust me.” She winked at her, then walked over to the warmer to pick up the plates of french toast.
Ally stared after her. She didn’t need the waitress to spell it out for her to know what had happened. She’d been paid to say that Rick and Jasmine were there. But who had paid her? Rick? Jasmine? Ally guessed that she would never be able to get that information out of her, nor did she want to. She was very aware that if she told Luke the truth about this woman’s statement, she could be arrested for obstructing justice, or making false statements to police. Ally couldn’t let a young, soon-to-be mom, end up in jail, even if she did make a terrible choice.
“Oh, that french toast smells amazing.” Charlotte sighed as she sat down beside Ally just as the waitress set their plates in front of them.
Ally picked at hers, but she wasn’t able to take more than a few bites. Now, there were two alibis in question, and five potential murderers back on the table. Harriet, Eric, Jasmine, Rick and Phil. But it seemed to her the most likely suspects would be the people that were willing to pay off a waitress to give a false alibi.
“Ally, are you okay? You’ve barely eaten.” Charlotte leaned closer to her. “Did you talk to her?”
“Yes. I’m ready to go.” Ally stood up from the counter. She left behind the remains of her french toast and payment for the meal. As she headed for the door, she called out to the waitress. “Thank you!”
“Have a good day.” The waitress waved.
“You seem friendly with her.” Charlotte pulled open the door as her eyes widened.
“Yep, I got us some information.” Ally filled her in as they drove back towards Blue River.
“So, someone paid off the waitress.” Charlotte shook her head.
“
Yes, I think it must have been Jasmine that paid off the waitress. Don’t you? She would have the means. Maybe Rick would, too, but Jasmine certainly had access to plenty of money.” Ally turned down the street that led towards Blue River.
“I suppose that could be true. It’s hard to say which one would have more motive to pay off the waitress. It was kind of a big risk to take, since there was no way to guarantee that she wouldn’t tell the truth.” Charlotte frowned. “Maybe they both paid her off.”
“I think Jasmine is the best place to start. Maybe we could get her to confess to the murder? In fact, I say we pay her a visit right now.” She glanced over at her grandmother. “Are you up for it?”
“Sure, let’s go.” Charlotte nodded.
Ally pulled the car to a stop a short distance from the large house at the end of a dead-end road.
“Why don’t we take a look inside of Jasmine’s house?” Ally peered up at it. “It’s so big she probably won’t even notice that we’re there.”
“Probably?” Charlotte laughed as she shook her head. “And what if she does? What if she has a state-of-the-art security system? What if she has well trained attack dogs out the back?” Charlotte crossed her arms. “It’s too risky, Ally.”
“Yes, you’re probably right.” Ally frowned as she continued to study the house. “But what if we don’t sneak in? What if we have a reason for being there?”
“What do you mean? What reason could we have to be there?” Charlotte watched as the sunlight glinted off one of the top floor windows.
Ally gazed through the windshield for a moment, then looked back at her grandmother.
“She never made it to the chocolate tasting. Why don’t we give her some of the chocolates? We have some in the car.”
Charlotte and Ally had planned to drop some chocolates off at Mrs. Bing, Mrs. Cale and Mrs. White so they wouldn’t be upset that they weren’t invited to the tasting.
“Perfect. You can say you brought them to cheer her up.”
“Good idea.” Ally nodded. “I’ll drop by, say I’m checking on her since she didn’t come to the tasting, I will keep her talking. Maybe she will tell me something.” Ally narrowed her eyes. “It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”
