Cinnamon Sugar Murder

by Susan Gillard

Ryan nodded. “Hoskins checked today. The neighbors didn’t see anyone at his house last night or this morning. And one granny-like neighbor admitted she kept an eye on him to see if he was bringing too many young ladies home with him.”

  Amy laughed.

  “It looks like Tormund Brown was alone,” said Ryan.

  “Then his food wasn’t tampered with before he left his house,” Heather said. “It had to poisoned while he was at work. But any of the three employees who went by the fridge could have done it. We’ll have to keep questioning them.”

  “I’m glad you have a list of suspects though,” Ryan said. “Because on my side of the case all I’ve got to go on is a black not-truck.”

  “Are you talking about the getaway vehicle?” Hoskins asked, joining them.

  “Yes,” Ryan said. “Did your side of the street turn up any new information?”

  “One person thought the letters JK were in the license plate,” Hoskins said. “They thought that was funny for some reason. Do you know why?”

  “Yeah,” Amy said. “Just kidding.”

  “If you don’t know, just say so,” Hoskins said.

  “It stands for “just kidding” in… Oh, never mind,” said Amy.

  “That might be helpful,” said Ryan. “If we can find a black car that was in the area, we could see if it has those letters in the license plate.”

  “I got a description of a man who got into the car, but he was average height, average build and---“

  “Average everything,” Amy said.

  “Brown hair,” said Hoskins.

  “Still average,” said Amy.

  “The only other information I discovered is that the car seemed to be heading west down Windsor Drive,” said Hoskins. “But that road could lead anywhere.”

  “Wait a second,” Heather said, trying to get a handle on her Hillside geography. “Windsor Drive. Does that have the bank on the corner?”

  “Right,” Ryan said. “It’s a local bank called Hillside Banking.”

  “They weren’t very original with their name,” Amy commented.

  “Nevertheless, I think you should contact them,” Heather said.

  “Why?” Hoskins asked.

  “Because many banks have cameras on their ATMs,” said Heather. “It’s possible that they could have caught the killer’s car on camera.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Hoskins said. “I’ll get right on that.”

  True to his word, he headed out to follow this lead with only a short detour to grab a cup of coffee.

  “He really does seem to be stepping up his game,” Heather said.

  “I think the last case we worked on really affected him,” Ryan said.

  “Or maybe working with a partner as good as you is finally rubbing off on him” Heather smiled.

  “Thanks,” Ryan said. “I suppose I should prove I’m still a good partner and start following some leads on the poison. I’ll see how difficult it is to obtain and who could have gotten some.”

  “Focus on our co-worker suspects,” Amy said. “One of them applied the poison.”

  “There’s something else you could look into for us too,” Heather said.

  “What’s that?”

  “Mortimer Ackers mentioned that someone tried to buy Brown & Barrow Buildings and that the offer was refused. He didn’t know who it was though. We’ll keep questioning the other office workers, but maybe your police resources could discover it faster. Who wanted to buy them out?” asked Heather.

  “That’s a good question,” said Ryan.

  “And it might just be a motive for murder,” said Amy.

  Chapter 9

  “I’m going to miss this place,” Heather said.

  “You say that now,” said Amy. “But soon you’ll be lounging on the beaches of Key West.”

  “I’ll never get tired of Hillside Park,” Heather said. “With the beautiful trees and the pond. It’s a place to feel relaxed.”

  “I don’t know how relaxed you can feel with an animal on leash on one hand, keeping an eye on two kids in front of you, and balancing two murder cases on your brain,” said Amy.

  “Well, at least all that is in a pretty location,” Heather said.

  She and Amy were walking Dave and Cupcake in the park. The animals were enjoying the sights as much as they were, and were enjoying the smells even more than the humans did.

  “I wonder what Dave and Cupcake will think of the move,” Heather said.

  “I’m sure they’ll love it,” said Amy. “And as long as they’re with your family and have access to donuts, they’ll be happy.”

  “Shhh,” Heather said. “Don’t say the “d word” in front of him.”

  It was too late. Dave looked up at them expecting donuts and Cupcake followed suit. Heather held up her hands to show they were empty and the offended animals went back to sniffing the grass.

  Heather and Amy chuckled.

  Then, Heather said, “I think you’re right about them. It will be different, but they’ll like it. There should be beaches that they can visit, and they should like the new house. Oh my goodness.”

  “What?”

  “I need to sit down with Ryan and decide what house we want to take from Rudolph Rodney. With the two cases, I’ve been so distracted, I haven’t talked to him about it,” said Heather.

  “Well, you’ll have to be distracted a little while longer,” said Amy. “We have a suspect to talk to.”

  “Right,” Heather said. “Let me just make sure that Lilly is all right.”

  Heather walked ahead to where Lilly and her friend Nicolas were playing. With Lilly wanting to spend as much time with her friends before they left, Heather hadn’t wanted to cancel the play date. It turned out that the intern Phil hadn’t want to talk about his house because he didn’t want to upset his mother with talk about murder, so Heather had suggested that they talk in the park.

  Heather reminded her daughter and Nicolas that they needed to stay within her line of sight. She made sure they had a cell phone on them, and that they were staying vigilant. Heather didn’t think that Phil was dangerous, but she would rather be safe than sorry when it came to the children she cared for.

  “We’ll be fine, mom,” Lilly assured her.

  After a moment’s thought, Heather handed Cupcake’s leash over to Lilly as well.

  “I don’t think a suspect will find the kitten very threatening,” Heather said.

  “Then they’ve never had Cupcake jump on them from a bookcase,” answered Lilly.

  “Well, then here’s an attack cat to keep you company,” said Heather.

  The children giggled and then started playing with the cat while the adults got down to business.

  “Are you ready to help us out, Dave?” Heather asked.

  Dave wagged his tail in response. Then he barked announcing that Phil Hunter was nearby.

  “He’s helping already,” said Amy.

  Phil eyed them nervously.

  “I’ll help however I can since a murder happened and all, but I don’t know what I can tell you. I just started there,” said Phil. “Is that dog friendly? I didn’t know there was going to be a dog here. Does it bite?”

  “Dave is a sweetheart,” Heather said. “As long as people tell the truth.”

  “Well, what do you want to know?” Phil asked. “As I said, I don’t know much.”

  “An outside eye might be very helpful,” Heather said. “Did you notice any friction in the office? Anyone who wasn’t getting along with Brown or Barrow?”

  “Mostly things seemed good,” Phil said, keeping one eye on the dog. “Maybe Mr. Ackers was a bit impatient about some projects, but I think he was friends with the bosses. And Ms. Auel was a little funny. Like she’d giggle too much sometimes. But they both knew the bosses better than I did. Maybe they had a reason that I didn’t know about. I mean, you wouldn’t tell the intern that you hate your boss and want to kill him, right?”

  “Did you hear anything
about someone wanting to buy Brown & Barrow?” asked Heather.

  “No,” Phil said. “I never heard anything about that.”

  He was inching away from the dog. Dave was still wagging his tail happily.

  “Did you visit the break room at all today?” Heather asked.

  “Yes. I put my lunch in the fridge,” said Phil. “I didn’t get to eat it though because of what happened.”

  “So, you put your lunch in the fridge?” Heather said.

  “Yes.”

  “But it wasn’t as soon as you arrived,” Heather pointed out.

  “I forgot about it right when I came in,” said Phil. “I was focusing on the work for the day, but then I put it in the fridge once I remembered.”

  “Was anyone else’s food in the fridge when you put yours in?” asked Heather.

  “There was someone else’s lunch,” Phil said. “But I wasn’t sure whose it was. I didn’t touch it though. I wouldn’t eat someone else’s food.”

  “Did you like Mr. Brown and Mr. Barrow?” Amy asked.

  “I didn’t know them very well,” said Phil. “But I liked them.”

  “Thank you for your time,” Heather said. “If we have more questions, we’ll be in touch.”

  “You’re welcome to pet the dog if you want,” said Amy. “As long as you were telling the truth, he won’t bite.”

  “No, thanks,” Phil said, leaving.

  “What do you think?” Amy asked. “He seemed nervous.”

  “It might be because he’s a killer,” Heather said. “Or it might be because he’s young and doesn’t know how to deal with death.”

  “He also could have been afraid of this vicious beast here,” said Amy, as she scratched Dave’s tummy.

  Heather made a motion for Lilly and Nicolas to join them, and they started over. Heather helped her friend pet the happy dog’s belly.

  “It’s going to get dark soon,” Heather said. “I’ll have to take the kids home. But tomorrow morning we’ll need to talk to the third employee.”

  “Joy Auel who seemed so sad,” Amy chortled. “Was she really upset or was it an act?”

  “We’ll have to find out fast,” Heather said. “If we want to make our flight, we only have two days left to solve this.”

  Chapter 10

  “I remember you,” Joy said to Heather and Amy when they arrived at her door. “I’m sorry I wasn’t in a state to answer any of your questions yesterday. I’ll answer what I can today.”

  “Thank you,” Heather said, as they were shown inside.

  “Is it true that you think Tormund was murdered as well as Rick?” Joy asked.

  “That is what we are investigating,” Heather said. “Do you know anyone who would want to harm them?”

  “No,” Joy said, threatening to tear up again. “They were the most lovely men. Each one of them. They were both just wonderful. Talented architects and best friends. They were yin and yang in some ways. They completed each other.”

  “Everyone thought this?” Heather asked.

  “Anyone who knew them,” said Joy. “They were just the best.”

  “Did they feel the same about you?” Heather asked carefully.

  “Oh,” Joy said, blushing. “I was an employee there. I’m sure that even if one of them did have feelings for me, he couldn’t act on it. It wouldn’t have been appropriate.”

  “Of course,” Heather said, reassuringly.

  “Sure,” Amy said with less vigor.

  “Was anyone in the office acting strangely recently?” Heather asked after elbowing Amy.

  “No,” Joy said. “It seemed like a normal week. It was normal and fine until it became so terrible.”

  “And you had no reason to be angry with either Rick Barrow or Tormund Brown yourself?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Joy said. “I loved them. I could never hurt them. I’m just lost now that they’re gone.”

  “Ms. Auel, the day of the deaths, you went into the fridge in the break room, didn’t you?” Heather asked.

  “I guess so,” Joy said. “I wander in there most days.”

  “That day you looked in the fridge but you didn’t take anything out,” said Heather.

  Joy looked confused and then realized, “Oh, you must have checked the cameras. I suppose that’s what I did.”

  “Why did you look in the fridge for so long and not take anything out?” asked Amy.

  Joy thought about it. “I hadn’t brought in anything that day, but I wanted to see if there was any food that was meant for anyone in the office there. There were some vegetables on a platter that were left in there from the other day. I was debating whether they were still good or not. I was debating whether I should throw them out. But then I thought someone might still want to eat them, even if I thought they were starting to pass their prime. I decided to wait another day before I tossed it.”

  “What else was in the fridge?” Heather asked.

  “There’s the usual milk and creamer for coffee,” Joy said, listing the items. “There were the vegetables. There was some salad dressing and ketchup. Tormund’s salad was there. He was always so healthy. He’d bring a salad into work every day. He loved the crunchy croutons. Then there was another lunch in a big lunchbox. I think it was the intern’s.”

  Heather nodded. Then, she switched gears. “We heard that someone was trying to buy the business but that Brown and Barrow said no. Do you have any idea who the buyer was?”

  “Yes, actually,” said Joy. “Rick talked about how crazy it was that someone would make an offer like that, but he told me how they had refused it. It was a man named Roger Davens. Did he have something to do with this?”

  “We need to follow all leads,” Heather said. “It might be important, or it might be nothing.”

  “Please tell me that you’ll catch whoever did this,” Joy said, this time allowing the tears to fall.

  “We will,” Heather promised.

  “After interviewing everyone, I still don’t know who did it,” said Amy, as they started driving away in Heather’s cherry red Chevy Spark.

  “I think talking to Joy was very productive though,” Heather said.

  “Because we learned how wonderful the victims were?” Amy asked.

  “Because she knew the name of the potential buyer,” Heather said. “I’ll get Ryan to do a background check on Roger Davens. Maybe a motive will emerge if we can find out more about him.”

  “Good idea,” Amy agreed.

  “She also told us what was in the fridge when she looked into it. We can compare that to what was there when the police arrived. They should also have figured out whose fingerprints are on what by now,” said Heather.

  “Hopefully, no one was able to tamper with the evidence,” said Amy. “There was some time when everyone thought it was a heart attack and the office wasn’t being processed as a crime scene.”

  “Fingers crossed,” said Heather.

  “But not while you’re driving,” Amy joked. “Oh, turn left there.”

  Heather followed the directions and waited to hear the rationale.

  “We’re right by Jamie’s job,” said Amy. “Let’s surprise him with some donuts that we have in the car.”

  “That sounds nice,” Heather said. “It would be great to see Lawless’ Pets ‘n Things Boutique one more time too.”

  The pulled into the boutique and entered the store with their surprise donuts. The owner of the shop Geoff Lawless was brushing a contented dog’s fur when they came in. Heather and Amy had a complicated history with Geoff Lawless. He had been both an enemy and an ally in the past. However, now he had moved firmly into the “ally” side of things. They were happy to see his pet-grooming boutique being so successful, and that Jamie had been able to find a job there.

  Geoff was a man of few words. After nodding his “hello,” he commented on the changes to come with, “You’re moving?”

  “Yes,” Heather said. “We’re moving to Key West in just two days now. It
’s daunting but exciting.”

  Geoff nodded. “Won’t be the same.”

  Heather was touched by the sentiment and knowing that he would miss her too. “Thank you, Geoff.”

  “Is Jamie around?” Amy asked. “We brought donuts.”

  “Went out,” said Geoff. “Said he had a meeting.”

  Amy frowned but then covered it. They gave Geoff a fond farewell and left a donut for him on the counter to enjoy when he wasn’t working with a doggy client.

  They exited the boutique.

  “That’s weird,” Amy said. “He had a secret meeting before too. I wasn’t worried about it. But I didn’t know it was continuing.”

  “I hope we don’t have a third mystery on our hands,” said Heather.

  Chapter 11

  Heather and Amy arrived at police headquarters to compare notes with Ryan and Hoskins again. Juggling two cases at once was proving to be tricky. They needed to make sure that they didn’t let any evidence slip through the cracks.

  “There’s so much to discuss. I don’t even know where to start,” Heather said.

  “Why don’t we start with some donuts?” Amy suggested. She presented a box, and the investigators all grabbed a Cinnamon Sugar Donut.

  “Good idea,” Heather said, as they all munched on their snacks. “I think we all needed a boost in order to keep working quickly under this deadline.”

  “I have something exciting to share,” Hoskins said. He licked the cinnamon-y sugar off his fingers and then presented them with a flash drive. “This contains the bank’s security camera footage. I hope you’re right and we can find the car from it.”

  They started playing the footage on a station computer. However, they couldn’t stop themselves from talking about the other case while they watched.

  “What did they find in the fridge?” Heather asked. “Any fingerprints on the container for Tormund Brown’s salad?”

  “Only Tormund Brown’s,” Ryan said. “It’s possible that the killer wiped his fingerprints from the container, and then Tormund Brown left his fingerprints when he picked it up to eat it.”

  “Or it’s possible that the killer touched something else,” said Amy.