Strawberry Kiwi and Slayings

by Allyssa Mirry

  “Lydia, I don’t need your help. I’m a detective, and I did notice that something was in the victim’s hand. But you’re wrong. It’s not a page from the script. It’s one of the programs that says who is performing in the show. And the victim wasn’t leaving us a message. I’m pretty sure that the killer put it in his hand.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because a message was scrawled on it that read: who’s next?” Leo said. “And now my next move, as the detective, is to finish looking at the crime scene. And your next move, as my civilian sister, is to go straight home and forget about meddling with this case.”

  Lydia bit back a response, but she knew that Leo was wrong on both counts. Firstly, she couldn’t go straight home because she needed to return Trina’s car. And, if Leo thought that she could forget about this case, he was crazy.

  5

  Kiwi Concerns

  “I’m glad Kelsey is all right,” Trina said. “Well, that’s she wasn’t hurt. You don’t feel all right after finding a dead body. I was a mess after I stumbled across one, remember? This has really been an awful summer in that respect.”

  Lydia sighed. “It has. And I’m still very worried about what happened at the theater. I don’t like the threat that was found in the victim’s hand.”

  “You really think it’s a threat?” asked Trina.

  The two women were in Trina’s living room. She had insisted that Lydia come inside after Lydia dropped off her car. She wanted to hear everything that happened and to lend moral support if she could.

  Lydia took some of the strawberry kiwi taffy from the emergency reserves in her purse. She needed something sweet after such a shock. She handed one to her friend and slowly unwrapped her own.

  “I don’t know how else we are supposed to interpret the question: who’s next? Not when it was found in a dead man’s hand,” Lydia said. “I think someone wants us to think that this phantom of the Ocean Point Theater is involved and that he is displeased with the show and willing to kill.”

  “And he might do it again?” Trina asked with a shudder. “And to think that this night started off so well. I thought the double date went great.”

  “I am sorry that I had to run off,” Lydia began.

  “There’s no reason to apologize. We all understood. Though Daniel was much quieter after you left. I think he was disappointed that you didn’t want him to go with you.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t want him to come. It was that Kelsey said to come alone. I think she really just meant not to bring Leo because she was afraid of the police, but she said she only trusted me. She wanted to tell me that she suspected the phantom was involved before anyone could say she was crazy.”

  “Is she crazy?”

  “She was upset by what she saw, which is understandable. And I think that someone went out of their way to set the scene, so it looked like the phantom was involved.”

  “Pun intended?” Trina joked.

  Lydia let out a little laugh, which finally dispelled the tension she had been carrying around. “I didn’t realize I did that. But, yes, the killer really did set the scene and the stage. He spilled water and laid seashells around.”

  “I’ve heard of some ghost stories surrounding the theater,” Trina said. “I’ve done some hair for the performances there in the past. But I don’t really know the details.”

  “I’m not sure anyone does,” said Lydia. “It sounds like there might be a few variations on the story. However, I don’t think there’s ever been a real dead body on the stage before.”

  “I’m really sad that someone was killed, but I’m also disappointed that the show is most likely canceled. I know everyone worked really hard on the show, and I was looking forward to going to see it with Carl. He was so charming tonight at dinner, and he made sure that my house was safe and secure when he dropped me off – because he didn’t know what made you run off, but he knew you'd been involved in murder investigations before.”

  “I guess it is starting to become a habit…”

  “I wish Carl could be as good a boyfriend every night as he was tonight,” Trina said quietly. “But I guess while we’re making wishes – I wish that no one had been murdered tonight. It creeps me out to know that there’s a killer loose in town. You wouldn’t want to sleep over, would you?”

  “I wish I could, but I have to check on Sunny before bed. But I feel nervous about this killer being out there too. It’s clear he has a flair for the dramatic. Who knows what he’ll do next?”

  “That settles it,” Trina said, getting up. “We are having a sleepover.”

  “But…”

  “We’ll go to your house. I’d feel better with a guard dog around anyway.”

  Lydia chuckled at the idea of her lazy pup as a guard dog, but she knew that she also would feel safer surrounded by her two best friends.

  * * *

  The next morning, after breakfast with Trina and Sunny, Lydia headed to her shop. She was still feeling worried but decided she would focus on making taffy for the summer crowds and would let Leo work on catching the killer. She planned on visiting Kelsey in the afternoon to check on her, but she wanted to give the girl a chance to sleep late after a terrible night.

  She had started on a batch of the kiwi taffy when Mona and Annette arrived for their morning shift. For the strawberry kiwi taffy, Lydia created the two separate flavors and then rolled them together. She thought this made the two tastes more even in every bite, and using the two colors was definitely more eye-catching.

  “Is it true?” Mona asked as soon as she saw Lydia. “I heard a rumor that someone was killed at the theater last night. A phantom might be involved. Did that really happen, or is this some kind of macabre marketing scheme to attract attention?”

  “It did happen,” Lydia said, placing the green taffy on the pulling machine and turning it on. “I’m sorry to tell you that Kelsey was the one to find the body.”

  “That poor girl,” Annette said.

  “We’ll just have to be as supportive as possible when we see her,” Lydia said. “I’m planning on visiting her this afternoon, and I can pass on any messages you have. I was going to bring her some taffy as well.”

  “I know we don’t really use ocean saltwater in the recipe, but there is a little salt in the taffy,” Mona mused. “They say that salt keeps ghosts away. That seems like a good present.”

  Lydia had never considered the supernatural properties of her treats. She shrugged. “I just thought that they would taste sweet. Taffy makes for a nice pick-me-up when I’m feeling down. And since Kelsey will know that we made it for her, it will show that we care.”

  “I’ll get started on the strawberry section,” Mona said, heading further into the kitchen.

  Annette had already taken out her yarn and was crocheting one of her sea creatures to keep her hands moving when she felt so concerned. Lydia was trying to think of something reassuring to say when Jeff raced into the shop.

  “Did the phantom really kill Stephen Mills?” he demanded.

  “No,” said Lydia. He started to breathe a sigh of relief, but then she continued, “Someone tried to make it look like his death was caused by the phantom. But it must have been a human who acted.”

  “Was there seaweed left all over the theater?” Jeff asked, nervously.

  “Seashells,” said Lydia.

  “And water,” a new voice at the door added. Kelsey had snuck in after Jeff and addressed them all.

  Jeff turned around and gave her a big hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “But what are you doing here?” asked Lydia. “You were supposed to have the day off anyway. You were supposed to rest up before your opening night tomorrow, and now you really should be resting after what happened.”

  Kelsey shook her head. “I couldn’t stay home any longer. My mom kept babying me, and my sister kept asking me questions about the body. I told them I was supposed to work and that it would help to make things feel lik
e they were going back to normal.”

  “You’re always welcome here,” Lydia said. “And we were just starting a new batch of strawberry kiwi taffy so we could bring you some.”

  “I appreciate it,” Kelsey said with a small smile. “But I also came here because I needed to tell Jeff something and I had to ask you something as well.”

  “What is it?” asked Jeff.

  “Peter is calling a meeting this morning to discuss whether the show should go on or not. He wants everyone to gather at a breakfast place near the theater,” Kelsey explained. “I wanted to see if you would come with us, Lydia.”

  “If you want me to, of course, I will,” she replied. “But why? What do you think I could add?”

  “You might have some insight as to when we could be allowed into the crime scene,” said Kelsey. “And if you hear more about the phantom, you might find there’s more to the story than first meets the eye.”

  Lydia nodded and agreed to go, but it was for other reasons than what was mentioned. Since the playwright was killed at the theater, it was most likely someone who was involved with the show who committed the crime. Lydia also wanted to keep an eye on Kelsey and Jeff if there was anything to the warning about “who’s next?”

  “Thank you,” Kelsey said. “We should probably head over there soon.”

  “We can go now. That is if Annette and Mona will be all right without me.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Annette assured her. “I’ll feel better knowing that you’re looking into this.”

  “I’m just going to the meeting,” said Lydia. “Leo made it quite clear that he doesn’t want me investigating, and we’re finally getting along again. I don’t want to rock the boat. However, nothing is going to stop me from keeping an eye on my friends.”

  They headed to the door as Jeff was shaking his head.

  “I don’t think I really understand the theater. It all seems so violent. Actors tell each other to break a leg before they go onstage. There are ghosts and phantoms. And now there’s a dead guy. I’m not cut out for the stage.”

  “Come on,” Lydia said. “Let’s see what your director has to say about the performance commencing.”

  She waved to Annette and Mona and walked outside with her actor employees. They only got a few steps outside when they ran into Daniel.

  “I wanted to see how everyone was doing,” he said.

  “We could be better,” Kelsey admitted.

  “We’re on our way now to see if the show will go on,” Lydia explained.

  “Do you want me to come?” he offered.

  Lydia shook her head. “I’m already crashing the event.”

  “And I already don’t want to go,” said Jeff.

  Daniel looked disappointed but nodded. Lydia said that they would talk soon and then she hurried off with Kelsey and Jeff. She thought there was a high likelihood that she might soon be having breakfast with a killer.

  6

  A Theatrical Brunch

  Lydia had been to this breakfast place several times before, but she had never seen it look like this before. The cast and crew of the show had pushed several tables together and appeared to have commandeered the whole eating area. Several people were dressed from head to toe in black. Others appeared to be partially in costume. They were all animated, but there were many emotions on display. One woman was hysterically crying. A few people looked angry. Others were scared. One man was singing a song in Italian.

  When they saw Kelsey enter, many of them ran to her and hugged her. They started asking her questions, and she did her best to answer them.

  “Was it really the phantom?” asked the man who had been singing.

  “It might have been,” Kelsey admitted.

  “Is the set ruined?” asked a young woman with a brace around her wrist and scratches on her face.

  “I don’t think so. Though everything did look wet.”

  “Wet,” said one of the women, biting her nails nervously. “That sounds like the phantom.”

  The woman who had been crying looked at Kelsey. “Did it look like he suffered?”

  Kelsey stumbled in her response, and Lydia went to her side.

  “This has been very hard on Kelsey, and I think we need to give her a little space,” she said.

  “Thanks,” said Kelsey. “This is my boss and friend, Lydia. She came to support me today because she was there right after I found Stephen.”

  “Poor Stephen,” said the crying woman breaking out into a fresh wave of tears.

  “Delighted to meet you,” said the man who had been singing as he grabbed Lydia’s hand and kissed it. “Though I do wish it weren’t under such tragic circumstances as these. Please, call me Cosmo.”

  “Hello,” Lydia said, not sure what the proper response was to getting one’s hand kissed so dramatically. She turned her attention back to Kelsey, who was looking at the woman with the brace on her wrist.

  “Are you all right, Samantha? What happened?” asked Kelsey.

  “I don’t want to complain after what happened to Stephen,” Samantha said. “But I hurt myself when I was leaving this morning. A tile was loose on my step, and I fell. My wrist took the brunt of it, and some of my shrubbery is worse for wear, but I’ll survive. I was more disappointed that I wouldn’t arrive as early as I usually do than I was concerned with being in pain.”

  “Samantha is our stage manager,” Kelsey explained. “She makes sure that the show runs smoothly – that people and props are where they are supposed to be. She does a great job.”

  “I thought I was,” Samantha said, frowning. “But no one died under another stage manager’s watch at our theater before.”

  “You can’t blame yourself for what the phantom did,” said Cosmo with a wave of his hand. “If that creature wanted to extinguish the life of our dear, local playwright, there was nothing to be done.”

  The crying woman sobbed again. She moved closer to Kelsey and pulled her into a big hug, taking advantage of her shoulder to shed her tears on. Kelsey gestured to Lydia that this was all right with her, and Lydia headed closer to Jeff.

  Jeff admitted that he didn’t remember everyone’s name because he had just joined the cast. He knew some of their character names better than their real ones. However, he did his best to explain who everyone was to Lydia.

  The crying woman was named Brooke Hart, and she was an actress. Cosmo played the lead in the show. The play was about a fictitious family, so the rest of the cast played Cosmo’s relatives. He pointed out Robert who had told Jeff about the seaweed aspect of the phantom.

  “And that’s my wife,” Jeff said, indicating to the woman biting her nails. “I think her name is Elaine. I mean, her real name. And she’s just playing my wife onstage.”

  “I understand.”

  “I don’t have any scenes with her. I only have one big scene with Kelsey where I give her advice. But I am an important character,” Jeff said. “Everyone is wondering what will happen to my money and where it will go after I die. One relative even considers poisoning me to speed it up. But he’s not successful.”

  “And who are those quiet people at the end of the table?” Lydia asked, indicating to a trio that Jeff had not mentioned. They were all dressed in black and looked miserable.

  “They’re not in the show, but they came to one of the dress rehearsals, so I do know who they are,” Jeff said, trying to remember. “I think the man and woman with blonde hair were part of Stephen Mills’s family, and the other guy is his friend. They must have been asked here to say what they think Stephen would have wanted. Besides, you know, not to have been murdered.”

  “How much longer is this going to take?” the blonde man that they had just been talking about asked, standing up. “There are arrangements that my family needs to make.”

  “Calm down, Hugh,” said the woman next to him. “This was important to Stephen.”

  “Why should I be calm, Melinda,” he retorted. “Someone killed our brother, and now we�
��re sitting around eating pancakes and pretending that his killer isn’t someone in this room.”

  “We don’t know that,” said the third person with them, absentmindedly playing with his car keys and letting the luxury car logo on the chair dangle. “We’ll leave as soon as this is decided. Let’s not make a scene. Let’s leave that for the actors.”

  “Well said, Eddie,” Melinda agreed.

  Hugh sat down but stared at his watch pointedly.