Chocolate Heart Killer: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 14

by Kathleen Suzette

  “Of course I noticed. You’d be beautiful no matter what, but your hair looks very nice.”

  “You know exactly what to say to a girl.” I cut a piece of fudge and placed it into a bag and handed it to him. “Funny thing about Amber is that she really couldn’t stand Logan. In fact, she’s been spreading rumors about his barbershop not being clean and customers getting lice from going there.”

  Ethan’s eyes went wide. “She’s been telling people that? How have I not heard about this?”

  I nodded. “When Mariah told me and Christy about it, that was the first I had heard it. I think you should talk to Amber. She’s really bitter about something and it might be something that helps with the case.”

  “I will. There’s no way anyone got lice from going to Logan’s barbershop. He kept everything clean.” He looked into the bag and pulled out a piece of the fudge and took a bite, then groaned. “I swear, your mother is a genius.”

  “I’ve been told that before,” I said. “So what’s going on with you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

  “It was just last night,” he reminded me.

  He was right about that. But unfortunately, he had gotten home so late and he was tired, I’d only gotten to see him for about ten minutes. He’d been so tired he hadn’t even noticed my hair.

  “How is the investigation going?”

  He shrugged. “It’s going. I talked to Logan’s parents again. Makes me feel terrible for them. They’re really good people.”

  I nodded. “They are. I hate when something like this happens. Did you speak to his girlfriend, Mariah?”

  “I have. Twice. I’m not sure if there’s anything there, but I’m keeping her in mind.”

  My ears perked up. “Is there a particular reason why you talked to her twice?”

  He shrugged and grinned. “You know how it is. I’ve got to keep some things to myself.”

  The bell over the door rang, and I looked over as Fred Tillman walked through the door. Fred was Mel Tillman’s father.

  “Hey Fred,” Ethan said, nodding.

  Fred smiled sadly at Ethan. “Hey Ethan, how are things going? Mel told me about Logan. I hope you’re going to arrest his killer soon. He doesn’t deserve to die like he did, and whoever did it needs to be put away for a long time.”

  “And that’s what I intend to do,” Ethan agreed. “I want his killer put away as much as everyone else does.”

  Fred came over and leaned against the front counter. “Hi Mia.”

  I nodded. “Hello, Fred.”

  He turned to Ethan again. “If I were you, I’d take a good hard look at Logan’s girlfriend, Mariah. That girl is something else.”

  Ethan arched an eyebrow upward. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Mel told me that those two fought like cats and dogs. Mariah threatened him the last time they broke up, saying she would pay him back for what he did to her.”

  “And what did he do to her?” Ethan asked.

  “Refused to marry him.” He chuckled. “Can you believe it? He refused to marry her and that’s what all the fuss has been about all along with her. But he wasn’t the kind of person that was going to be controlled, and he refused. So then Mariah would throw one of her fits and they’d break up for a couple of weeks, but she always came back, sweet-talking him. I told him he was crazy for taking her back, but he always did. But this last time—she told him it was the last time he would break up with her and he was going to pay for it.”

  I was surprised that Mariah would talk that way to Logan. I didn’t think she had it in her, but I couldn’t say that I knew her really well. Just well enough to hold a casual conversation with her from time to time.

  “What did Logan say to that?” Ethan asked.

  “He laughed at her. And that just made her madder than ever. Mel happened to be there that day, you know, and he was shocked at how angry Mariah got. He said he warned Logan that he needed to be done with her once and for all.”

  “That sounds kind of crazy,” Ethan said thoughtfully. “What did Logan say when Mel told him he shouldn’t get back together with her?”

  “Oh, you know Logan, he was kind of easy-going most of the time and he just shrugged it off. He said she would calm down and she would be back, and things would be like they always had been. He was right.”

  “That’s surprising that he would take her back if she was that angry,” I said. “Especially after she threatened him.”

  Fred turned to me. “You can say that again. If it were me, I’d have gotten rid of her long ago. That’s not a respectful relationship with her threatening him like that, and Logan deserved better. He was a good kid. I remember when he was twelve and he and Mel became friends. Logan was this shy kid, and it took a while for him to open up. But I kept working on him, asking him how he was and talking to him about the video games he played, and pretty soon he’d come in grinning when he came over to the house. I’m going to miss that kid.” Fred’s eyes teared up as he spoke, and it broke my heart.

  “I’m so sorry you lost someone that was so special to you,” I said.

  He looked at me with unshed tears in his eyes. “Thanks, Mia. I appreciate that. I feel a little lost since finding out he died. Poor Mel, he’s broken up over it. He’s beside himself with grief.”

  “I can imagine,” Ethan said lightly.

  Fred looked at him. “What am I thinking? You’ve got to be broken up with grief, too.” He reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

  Ethan nodded and looked away. “It’s hard for me to imagine him not being around anymore. We didn’t get together as often as we wanted to, but we did as often as we could.”

  “And I know you were important to him,” Fred said. He took a step back from the counter and looked into the display case. “Mia, why don’t you get me a quarter pound of the fudge with walnuts?”

  “You got it,” I said and went to the back of the display case and got the fudge out for him. I didn’t know who would be so horrible as to kill Logan, but I knew Ethan would do everything within his power to find his killer.

  Chapter Nine

  I saw Ethan pull up to his house across the street and I pulled on my coat. Ethan and I lived in matching white cottages that had black shutters. There were six on his side of the street and six on mine. Having him live so close was convenient to say the least. We got to spend a lot of time together making dinner and watching television.

  It was just after seven in the evening and I trudged across the street to his house.

  “Hey,” I called to him as he headed to his front door. He stopped, turned, and looked at me.

  “Well, will you lookie there,” he said, grinning. “My girlfriend is coming to greet me after a hard day at work.”

  I smiled and when I got to him, I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a kiss. “You’re right, I’m coming over here after a hard day at work. I missed you. How are you doing this evening?”

  He shrugged “I’m doing all right. I’m just beat, so I decided to come home early. How about we order some pizza? I don’t feel like making anything and I’ll be lucky if I can stay awake until it gets delivered.”

  I nodded. “I haven’t eaten anything yet, and I was just thinking about having a bowl of cereal. I know it’s not glamorous, but it’s food.” I had been lazy about taking down my Christmas decorations and I had spent the evening packing them up. Finally. It was the beginning of February and I was embarrassed about not doing it earlier. But now my poor living room was looking bare, and as much as I hated to do it, I couldn’t leave them up all year.

  “Pizza it is then,” he said tiredly.

  We turned to head inside his house when a car pulled up to his front curb. We turned back. “Who’s that?”

  Ethan squinted into the dark. “Looks like Mel Tillman.”

  We waited while he got out of the car and walked up the walkway. “Hey Ethan, Mia, how are you two this evening?”

  Mel wore a white and black plaid c
oat that he pulled tighter around himself. There was a breeze blowing this evening, and it was cold.

  “We’re good,” Ethan said. “What’s up, Mel?”

  Mel stood in front of us and looked from me to him. “I was just wondering what was going on with Logan’s murder investigation. Do you have any suspects in mind yet?”

  Ethan hesitated. “Well, I’m not at liberty to say, but we’re certainly working on it.”

  He nodded. “Good. Can I come in a minute?” He shoved his hands into his coat pocket.

  “Sure, we were just getting ready to order a pizza. You want to join us?”

  Mel grinned. “Sure, that sounds good. Oh, but I don’t want to intrude on you.” He looked at me.

  “It’s not an intrusion,” I assured him. We headed inside Ethan’s house and I took my coat off, tossing it over the back of the couch. “I’ll place the order. Any requests?”

  “Hawaiian for me,” Ethan said.

  “Hawaiian sounds good,” Mel said, nodding. He went and sat on the loveseat and Ethan went to the kitchen to get sodas.

  I placed the order and sat down on the couch. “How are you doing, Mel?” I asked him.

  He nodded as Ethan returned from the kitchen. “I’m doing about as well as can be expected. My best friend was murdered, and I really don’t know what to do with myself these days. I miss him.” He sighed. “I just can’t believe he’s dead.”

  “You and me both,” Ethan said, handing him a soda and then he sat next to me on the couch. “We’ll catch his killer though. There are a lot of people putting in a lot of extra hours trying to find the murderer.”

  Mel was quiet a moment, looking down at his feet. When he looked up, he said, “So, his brake lines were cut?”

  Ethan nodded. “Yes, the brake fluid leaked out, of course, and when he took that curve out on the highway there was no way for him to stop.”

  He nodded. “Well I’ll tell you something. You really need to have a talk with his girlfriend, Mariah. The two of them had a horrible fight back in December and I just know that she had to have killed him.”

  “I know about the fight,” Ethan said. “But they got back together, and according to Mariah, they were as happy as could be in the time leading up to his death.”

  He nodded. “Of course she would say that. But I’m telling you, I was there for that fight. She threatened him. Said she would get him back because he laughed at her when she demanded he marry her. She wasn’t kidding either, the girl was mad. I think she just lured him back to her until she had the opportunity to set him up to die.”

  Ethan considered this. “That’s cold-blooded if she did kill him. Do you really think she would do that?”

  “I know she would,” he said sounding sure of himself. “I told Logan he needed to get away from her. She was trouble from the beginning, always fighting with him, and demanding that he spend all his money on her. She wanted him to be with her all the time and resented it when he wanted to hang out with his friends.”

  “I’ll certainly take it into consideration,” Ethan said carefully. “Do you have any solid evidence that she did it?”

  Mel looked at him, and then reluctantly shook his head. “I guess I don’t. But if it wasn’t her, then the only other likely person is Amber Gleason. You know that she owns a rival business, right?”

  He nodded. “I do. She hasn’t owned the shop long though, has she?”

  He shook his head. “No, but she worked for Tangles and Bangs salon and that rivalry has been going on for a really long time.”

  “But why would she kill him? What about that rivalry would make her go to the extent of murdering someone?” Ethan asked.

  Mel stared at him. “Because at one time Logan and Amber were going to go into business together. You know how Logan was, he had a way about him, and people liked him. She knew he would be good for her business, but he backed out at the last minute, and instead of going into business with her, he took over his dad’s business.”

  I could see where that would disappoint Amber, but drive her to murder? I wasn’t so sure about that.

  “Logan had worked for his dad for a number of years, so the disappointment over a partnership most likely happened a long time ago,” I pointed out.

  He nodded. “That’s right. It was right after he graduated from barber college. I think it was about ten years ago. He and Amber were dating back then, so there was a lot riding on them going into business together. When he decided to take over his dad’s barbershop instead, she broke up with him and she’s been bitter about it ever since. That’s why she spreads rumors about his barbershop. She’s still bitter about him not going into business with her.”

  “But still,” I said carefully. I didn’t want to upset him or make him think I wasn’t taking what he was saying seriously. “Why kill him now?”

  “Because when Logan and Mariah broke up last December, Amber tried to make a move on Logan. She came by his house and tried to sweet-talk him into going out with her. Of course, he knew she was spreading rumors about him, so there was no way he was going to go back to her. She became livid when he turned her down.”

  Oh, I thought. And that was what would do it. If Amber was humiliated over Logan turning her down, then maybe she did have reason to kill him.

  Ethan took this in. “I think that’s something I need to check into. I had no idea they once dated, or even that she had any interest in him at all.”

  “She did have an interest, and that interest turned to bitterness. I keep going back and forth, thinking about it, and I think either Amber or Mariah had enough reason to kill him.”

  “You might be right about that,” Ethan said, settling back into the couch. He took a sip of his soda, thinking this over. “Logan told you about all of this?”

  He nodded. “He did. I’ll be honest with you, he laughed about it. I didn’t think it was right the way he treated Amber to begin with, but then when he came back and told me that she wanted to go out with him again, I was shocked that he laughed about it. He said she was a loser and there was no way he would waste his time with her.”

  Ethan frowned. “Logan said that?”

  “He did. I know, we all want to believe that Logan was a great guy, but sometimes he wasn’t.”

  I watched Ethan’s face and I could tell it bothered him that Mel had said it. “I guess we all can’t be perfect,” Ethan said lightly.

  “Well, I know Logan was a good guy. But he was a guy and sometimes we don’t act decent,” Mel said, glancing at me.

  “I’ll check into these things,” Ethan said. He was looking off into the distance when he said it.

  The doorbell rang, and I got up to get it. Now I wished that Ethan would let someone else handle the case. The investigation was wearing on him.

  Chapter Ten

  The morning of Logan’s funeral was dark and overcast. It was fitting for what we were about to do. Logan had been full of life, bright and happy, and so his funeral would be overcast and dreary, to match Logan’s loved ones’ moods.

  Ethan and I rode over to the funeral home in silence. Christy was going to meet us there with her boyfriend, Devon Brown. Mom and Dad would also be there. We had known Logan’s family for years, and they had been regular customers at the candy store. One of the advantages of a small town is that people are close. We ran into one another throughout our lifetimes, going to school together, working together, going to church together. It was only natural that grieving one of our own would be done together, too.

  Ethan parked his truck and turned to me before getting out. “Well, here goes.”

  I nodded, taking in his furrowed brow. “Here goes.”

  I got out and came around the side, taking his hand as we walked to the chapel at the funeral home. I gave Ethan’s hand a squeeze as we walked inside and were handed a bulletin. We signed the guest book and then found a seat. Christy and Devon walked in after us and came to sit beside us. I glanced around. I spotted Mom and Dad sitting across the
room and I gave them a little wave.

  Logan’s family sat on the front row, along with Logan’s girlfriend, Mariah. His mother leaned against his father and Mariah sat with her head down. I was sorry to see them so broken up. Losing a loved one, especially one that was far too young to die, had to be one of the hardest things to go through.

  I glanced around the room and was pleased to see the chapel was nearly filled. Logan would have been happy to see all these people, and I hoped they had all made an effort over the recent weeks and months to keep in touch with him. Sometimes, life got in the way and relationships slipped away.

  I leaned toward Ethan. “Do you think the killer might be here?”

  He looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “If it’s one of the illustrious citizens of Pumpkin Hollow, then I wouldn’t be surprised if the killer is here.”

  I nodded and kept my eyes moving around the room. I had a feeling the killer was here. I saw a lot of people that I knew, including Amber Gleason. She sat three rows from the front, all by herself. I wondered if what Mel had said about her and Logan was true. Had they dated? I had been away from Pumpkin Hollow for ten years, and even though I had come back to visit now and then, I wasn’t up on who dated who.

  I leaned over toward Ethan again. “Did you see Amber?”

  He nodded. “I did. I’m surprised she would come to his funeral after she’s been badmouthing Logan all over town.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” I whispered. I glanced around to make sure no one had heard what we’d said, but no one looked in our direction. “Do you think it’s true what Mel said? That she dated Logan?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know, but it makes me wonder.”

  I nodded. “I bet it’s got to be driving Mariah nuts that she’s here, and that she’s sitting so close to the front of the chapel.” It was rude, if she really was Logan’s ex-girlfriend. It was also rude because she had been so hateful toward him before he died. If she wanted to attend the funeral, she should have sat in the back. And it made me wonder if the reason she was behaving so brazenly was because she was the murderer. Maybe she thought she had gotten away with it and was sitting toward the front, basking in that fact. Or rather, what she thought was a fact. Because she wasn’t going to get away with murder.