Death by Chocolate Cupcake

by Rose Pressey

  Of course curiosity got to me and I wanted to know who had sent the text message and what they wanted. Watch, it was probably just some kind of spam message. Nevertheless, I pulled over at the side of the street and shoved my car into park. I picked up my phone to check the text.

  How’s my favorite co-host? Wondered if you could meet me at the park on Evans Street. I want to talk about the case.

  What was up with Finn? This seemed kind of strange.

  I messaged back: Is everything okay? What do you want to talk about? Can’t you call me?

  I’m in an area with bad phone coverage. It would be easier to meet you.

  Still I had a strange feeling about this. In spite of that feeling I typed out the message: Okay, I can be there soon. Is ten minutes all right?

  Great. See you then.

  I tossed my phone into my bag. Shifting the car into gear, I tried to push the anxiety to the back of my mind. I hoped I was making the right decision. There was no way to know for sure. The message from the cameraman to Finn last night had left me with a bad feeling.

  The park wasn’t far away. Admittedly I was a bit skeptical about why he wanted to meet me there. Why not just talk at the studio? Or meet at the coffee shop? Of course, my nerves were on edge the entire drive there. I pulled into the parking area next to the playground. A pond was at the edge of the park with a few people feeding the ducks. Across the way I spotted the tennis courts and beyond that was a walking path. No one was playing tennis, but people were walking or running on the path.

  At least I wasn’t alone here in the park. Not to mention it was light out. I didn’t want to think that Finn was luring me here to do something nefarious, but I had to keep that option in my mind. Better safe than sorry.

  After parking the car, I got out and headed toward the walking path. I hoped Finn spotted my car and knew that I was here if he didn’t see me right away. I wasn’t sure if he would look around on the path for me or drive away if he didn’t see me. Maybe I should’ve just stayed by the car until he arrived. But I was so antsy that I wanted to walk off my nervousness. That was probably pointless. The nerves were here to stay until someone was arrested for the murder.

  Regardless of my current feelings, I decided to go back to the car and wait there. Just as I turned around a horrible squealing noise rang out along with the gunning of an engine. Looking to my left I saw the black car headed toward me. I jumped out of the way. It all happened so quickly. I hit the ground hard, landing on my side and my arm. I hoped it wasn’t broken. I also hoped that the car didn’t come back for me.

  I needed to get up and out of here before the person ran over me. I looked up to try to see the car, but it had all happened so fast that I didn’t get a good look. Much less the license plate number. The car was just too far away now. The only thing I noticed was that the car was black. I knew that for sure. Was it like the one the cameraman drove? There was no way to know for sure. A few people ran over to me.

  “Are you all right?” a brown-haired woman asked.

  Physically I thought I was okay, but mentally I wasn’t sure about that. What had happened chilled me to the bone. I got the strange feeling that I’d almost been hit on purpose. A woman with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing jogging clothing helped me to my feet.

  A gray-haired man rushed over. “I’m a doctor. Do you need medical attention?”

  “I’m fine. I just landed on my arm, but I don’t think it’s broken or anything. Did you get a look at that car?” I asked.

  The ponytailed woman shook her head. “Not really. I just saw you going down. When I looked toward the car it had sped away. I saw that it was black. The car sure was headed out of here quickly.”

  “It almost seems as if they went for you on purpose,” the man said.

  My stomach twisted at his words. “That’s what I thought too. I think I should leave now.”

  “Do you want to call the police?” the woman asked.

  “Unfortunately, I have a direct contact and I’ll let them know what happened.”

  I received a few strange looks with that comment. They had no idea that I’d been wrapped up in a murder investigation for some time now. I wanted desperately to get out alive too.

  “Are you sure I can’t call anyone for you?” the man asked.

  “No, thank you, I’m fine. I appreciate your help.”

  Leaving the group still staring at me, I hurried over to my car. All I wanted right now was to be inside the locked doors of my car. At least I’d feel a little bit safer there. No one could run over me. Though I supposed they could run me off the road or possibly shoot at me. This was getting more dangerous by the minute.

  The small group of people watched me as I got into the car. I waved to let them know that I was all right. Once inside I immediately looked the doors. I just wished that they’d seen the car. I had no proof that it had come for me on purpose, but it sure seemed that way. They thought so too.

  As I pulled out of the parking lot, another text message came through. Was that Finn? Where was he? He was supposed to meet me ten minutes ago. Now I needed to pull over again to check the phone. This was getting ridiculous. He should’ve just met me. Maybe then I would’ve avoided that car encounter. I pulled over to the side of the street again and grabbed my phone.

  Finn’s message read: Where are you?

  My response: I had to leave.

  Before I got a chance to talk to you?

  Well, since I was almost run over by a car, I decided it was best to leave.

  What? Are you kidding?

  Not kidding, I replied.

  Immediately my phone rang.

  “Scarlet, what are you talking about? Where are you?” Finn asked. “I’m at the park now.”

  I sighed. “I just left there because some car came out of nowhere and almost hit me. I jumped out of the way.”

  “Did the man do it on purpose or was it an accident?” Finn asked.

  “I have no idea,” I said. “But I think it was on purpose.”

  Finn had said ‘man.’ How did he know if a man was behind the wheel?

  “Did you get a look at the car?” he asked.

  “Only that it was black. The driver took off so fast it was impossible to see.”

  “You should call the police,” he said.

  “Yeah, well, apparently, I have direct contact with a detective, so I’ll do that.”

  “You have the detective on speed dial?” he asked.

  “Well, I did discover a murdered woman.”

  “Right,” he said as if he was disappointed.

  I couldn’t tell by the sound of his voice what he thought. Right now, I had other things to worry about.

  “Are you coming back to the park?” he asked.

  “I don’t think I can now,” I said.

  “I’m worried about you,” he said.

  I was worried about me too.

  “I’ll be all right,” I said. “I’ll call you soon, okay?”

  Finn paused. “Yeah, all right, I’ll talk to you soon.”

  After ending the call I put the phone back into my bag. I sat there for a moment staring straight ahead. I had to wrap my mind around this. I really wanted to know more about Kristen and the cameraman. They were at the top of my list, but I had no idea how to go about finding out about either one. Adam had asked me to have coffee with him… maybe I could accept that offer.

  No, no. I couldn’t. I shook my head as if someone was actually there to see me responding. Or could I? It would be a public place. That would be safe, right? Just the thought of meeting him sent a chill down my spine. The way he looked at me was so creepy. I wasn’t sure if I could handle being with him in such close proximity. And then having to talk with him. All I would want to do was ask if he was a murderer. What connection would the cameraman have to Corina? Other than the fact that she worked at the studio. Had he made an advance on her and she’d turned him down? Had he stalked her?

  After s
itting there for a couple minutes, I pulled out onto the street. Perhaps I needed to just go home and relax for a bit. I was putting a ton of pressure on myself to solve this crime. It was kind of out of my control. There was only so much that I could do. I thought about calling the detective right away, but what could he do? I hadn’t gotten the license plate number or a good description of the car. As far as I knew there were no surveillance cameras in the area. The other witnesses hadn’t gotten a look at the car either.

  As I drove down the street, I glanced in my rearview mirror and noticed a car zip around a few cars behind me. A dark car. Was that the car that had tried to hit me? Fear spiked through me at the thought. Was this car following me? I had no idea what to do now. My only option was to get away from this car right away. That seemed impossible though. When the street light up ahead turned red the car would be right behind me. If this person wanted me, then I’d be right there unwillingly waiting.

  Chapter 22

  As I looked in the rearview mirror, I realized that Finn was the one behind the wheel of the car directly behind me. He waved and flashed his gorgeous smile. I supposed now I had to pull over and talk to him. He just wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  When the light turned green I made a left into a parking lot. I whipped my car into one of the spots and Finn followed me, parking next to my car. Checking my reflection in the rearview mirror I realized I looked a mess. My mascara was bit smudged and my lipstick had long since faded. Wisps of my hair stuck out from my head in all different directions. Since there was no time for a makeover, I got out and met Finn at the back of my car.

  He looked me up and down. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. “It just scared me a little, but I managed to get out of the way fast enough. If it had been a couple seconds different I might not have escaped serious injury.”

  Finn ran his hand through his hair.

  “I just have a feeling that it was on purpose,” I said.

  “You think it was the killer coming up to meet you?” he asked.

  “Yes, I think that’s what happened.”

  “I don’t know if you’re safe,” Finn said.

  I had been a bit suspicious of Finn, but now he seemed genuinely concerned. He wouldn’t be concerned if he was the killer, right?

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked.

  “I just wanted to get your opinion on something.”

  And he couldn’t do this over the phone?

  “I’m listening,” I said, leaning against the car.

  “What about this cameraman? All of a sudden, he started texting me.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What does he say?” I wasn’t going to admit that I knew anything about this.

  “He was asking about you and that was what sent the red flags up.”

  “Well, he did want me to have coffee with him. Plus, he was following me, I’m pretty sure. He may have been at my house.”

  “I’ll have a talk with him about that,” Finn said.

  “I’m not sure, maybe talking with him would just make things worse,” I said.

  Finn stared off into the distance as if he was contemplating my words. “I just want him to know that it’s not okay. If you don’t want to talk to him then he needs to accept that.”

  “Well, he hasn’t been bothering me since, so maybe that’s over now. Although I have to admit he’s at the top of my suspect list now. Along with someone else,” I said.

  “What are you going to do now?” Finn asked.

  I tapped my foot against the pavement. “I have an idea. But I can’t tell you.”

  He frowned. “Why not?”

  “It’s just top-secret, that’s all. I’ll tell you soon. Right now, I have to go.”

  “Wait,” he said, stepping in front of me. “I don’t think you should do whatever it is that you have planned.”

  “How do you know I have something planned?”

  “You just said you had a plan.”

  “I said I know what I’m going to do.”

  “Don’t get technical,” he said.

  “I promise I won’t get in trouble. I’ll call you soon.”

  I got back into my car and started to back up. Finn stood there for a second. I honked the horn and he moved out of the way. Luckily, he saw I wasn’t giving up on this. I had to get in touch with the cameraman. And if nothing came of that, then I would go back to Kristen. But why had she had his number written on her notepad? I thought maybe they could be connected and in on this together.

  As I pulled out of the parking lot, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Finn still standing by his car watching me. At least Finn hadn’t followed me this time. Yet. I supposed he knew I was serious about doing this alone. He would’ve tried to stop me from meeting Adam, so he just couldn’t be involved with my sleuthing.

  After pulling into the coffee shop parking lot, I stared at my phone for a moment, wondering if I had the nerve to actually follow through with this. My stomach twisted into a knot and my nerves were on edge as I touched the phone’s screen and dialed the number.

  After a few rings Adam answered. “Hello?”

  “Adam, this is Scarlett Baker,” I said.

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Yes, it’s me. I wondered if that offer for coffee still stood?”

  There was no answer for a few seconds. “Are you serious?”

  Okay, this wasn’t going well. What if he said no? What would I do?

  “Yes, I’m serious. I just thought maybe we should get to know each other better since we’re working together. I think things were left kind of awkward between us,” I said.

  This was better. Maybe he would believe me now.

  “Yeah, sure, I guess we could meet for coffee,” he said a bit unenthusiastically.

  He still sounded skeptical. But a skeptical yes was better than a no.

  “When would you like to meet?” he asked.

  “Well, I’m at the coffee shop now if you have some free time,” I said.

  There was another long pause.

  “Yeah, sure, I can be there in five minutes,” he said.

  “Okay, I’ll see you then,” I said, trying to sound cheery.

  In reality, my nerves were completely at the max. I ended the call and then sat there wondering if this was truly a good idea. I guessed it was too late to turn back now. Though I could just leave and not be here when he showed up. No, I was pushing through with this. It was something I had to do.

  I listened to music while I waited, checked my email on my phone and tried not to think about what was in store. True to his word, five minutes later, his car turned into the parking lot. It wasn’t the black car, but the car I’d seen him in originally. I needed to ask him about this. I got out of the car and headed over toward him.

  “Wow, you really are here,” he said with wide eyes.

  “You didn’t think I would be here?” I asked with a smile.

  I hoped he couldn’t tell that was I faking it.

  “I had my doubts,” he said.

  “Well, I’m here, so should we go in and have coffee?” I gestured.

  This guy really gave me the creeps. Just walking beside him gave me chills all over. Surprisingly, he opened the door for me.

  "Thank you,” I said.

  I stepped inside, but I didn’t like that he was behind me. We headed into the coffee shop and up to the counter. I placed an order for an iced latte.

  “It’s on me,” he said, pulling out his beat-up leather wallet.

  “Oh, no, I called you. Let me buy.”

  “Fine with me.” He shoved his wallet back into his pocket.

  Well, he didn’t hold out that fight for long. After ordering I paid for the drinks while he walked over and took a seat at the table near the door. That was fine by me because the closer we were to the door the faster I could get out if I needed to escape. As much as I wanted to stay at the counter, I reluctantly forced my legs to move and head
ed toward the table to sit down. He watched every move I made. I sat down across from him. My body trembled a bit, but I tried to hide it. I sat up straight in the chair and looked him in the eyes.

  “You said you thought we should get to know each other better?” he asked, leaning back in the chair.

  “Things have been tense around the studio since the murder and all.” I studied his face for a reaction.

  Okay, I hadn’t been subtle at all. I’d just moved right into the subject of murder. But what could I say? I wanted to get down to business. The faster I got to it the faster I could get out of there. I had chills all over just having him stare at me with his beady eyes.

  “I suppose,” he said nonchalantly.

  That wasn’t much of an answer.

  “Did you know the murdered woman well?” I asked.

  “Not really,” he said.

  “Do you have any idea who may have done it?”

  He frowned. “What are you, a cop?”

  I laughed nervously. “Of course not. I work on the show, silly. I’m just making conversation.”

  “I think there are better topics of conversation than that,” he said. “Like do you have a boyfriend?”

  Not that I wanted to talk to him about. No way would I answer his question.

  “By the way, I thought I saw you the other day in a black car. Do you have two cars?” I asked.

  This was a risky question. Maybe he’d know that I was suspicious of him.

  He stared at me as if he was clueless about what I’d just asked. “Oh, yeah. No, Kristen borrowed my car for a bit. When the boss asks I saw yes.”

  The coffee shop employee called out our order. Adam looked at me. Did he want me to collect his coffee too?

  “I’ll get that,” I said through a forced smile.

  As I walked across the room I felt his stare on me. However, I didn’t bother to turn around because I didn’t want to make eye contact with him unless I absolutely had to. Now with the drinks in hand I knew I had to go back over to the table. Perhaps I should make up an excuse and just get out of there.

  Chapter 23

  An awkward silence fell over us as Adam stared at me from across the table. I needed to get out of there. This had been a bad idea. One, he could be the killer, and two, he was just plain weird.