Caramel Fudge & Murder

by Susan Gillard

  “Heather is a private investigator and one of the best,” said Luz. “She’s going to help clear your name, but you’re going to have to help her and tell her everything.”

  Leon sat at the table, much less excited about this visit than he thought he would be.

  “What do you mean clear my name?” Leon asked.

  “You’ve been accused of murder,” Luz said.

  “Not officially,” Heather said. “But a witness did suggest it was you, and we need to investigate it.”

  “Plus, you were her ex-boyfriend, and you did just arrive back in town,” Amy said.

  “I didn’t kill her,” Leon said. “And I’ve already told you everything.”

  “Everything, hijo?” Luz asked in her stern mother voice.

  Leon looked at the floor. “Are you talking about the fight?”

  “Yes,” said Heather.

  “A fight?” Luz said. “Why were you fighting?”

  “Because of what Eric did. He was supposed to be my friend but was dating a girl I used to love. He never asked me how I’d feel about it or even told me. He sprung it on me in public to try and upset me. I pushed him, and he pushed back. We knocked over a table. We might have fought more, but the restaurant manager told me to leave. And I did. I tried to walk it off and then I went home.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Heather that before? Why did she have to hear it from someone else?” Luz asked.

  “I was embarrassed,” Leon said. “I don’t usually fight.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” said Luz.

  “After the fight, you told Angela that you would see her again soon,” said Heather. “Did you?”

  “No,” Leon said. “I wanted to talk to her alone at some point. To see how she felt about everything, but I didn’t get the chance.”

  “So, you never went to her house that night?” Heather pressed.

  “No,” Leon said.

  “Where did you go after you left your parents’ house?” asked Heather.

  “I just walked around some more,” said Leon. “I wanted to tell Digby what had happened but I figured he was getting ready for the closing night of his show. I walked around, thinking and then went to the show.”

  “But you were late,” Heather said. “I saw you come in during act two.”

  “I know,” Leon said. “But, please, don’t tell Digby. He’d be upset that I wasn’t there for the whole show. Even if I was there the night before. It would still hurt his actorly feelings. And part of why I was late was because I got lost walking around. I wouldn’t have thought that was possible because I grew up here, but in the dark, I was getting confused. I guess some things do change in a year. But Digby would mock me mercilessly if he knew I got lost.”

  “We don’t have to tell him,” Heather said.

  “Even though there’s a lot of things you could tease Digby right back about,” said Amy. “Like the vocal warm-ups he does before a show.”

  Heather thanked Leon for answering their questions this time, but she still felt a bit uneasy. She knew Luz and trusted her implicitly, but she had only met Leon the other day. She wasn’t quite sure that she could trust him too.

  On A Boat

  Heather wanted to believe that Leon was not a killer. However, this meant that she needed to determine who the real killer was. If she ignored Leon as a suspect, then her potential suspect list boiled down to the unknown man who the tie belonged to and Eric.

  She decided that she needed to check on Eric’s alibi to see if he could have committed the crime. Heather booked a ride on the Kitten Ca-Skuttle with Amy, Eva, and Leila.

  They arrived at the pier and saw that it was, indeed, not a large boat. A sign advertising the boat proclaimed it could fit a party of ten on its deck, but Heather was glad it would just be four of them onboard.

  On older gentlemen wearing a sailor’s cap approached them. “You must be my Shepherd party. I’m Captain Roo.”

  He tipped his cap to them, revealing unkempt gray hair. Heather introduced her group, and he kissed all the ladies hands. Leila giggled when he kissed hers.

  “What?” Leila asked her friends. “I like a man in uniform.”

  “This is my boat. A fine lass, she is,” said the Captain. “We specialize mostly in fishing trips. Was that what you wanted to do too?”

  “Yes,” Heather said.

  “Well, I can rent you some gear,” he said. “Unless one of you is hiding a fishing rod in your purse.”

  He laughed a little too long at his joke. The others indulged him, eager to get onboard.

  “Now, let me just see where my shipmate is,” said the captain, looking around. “Charlie!”

  A freckled young man appeared and helped them gear up with fishing rods. As Heather accepted a rod and some fishhooks, she started up a conversation.

  “We learned about your fishing tours from your other shipmate, Eric. He’s not working today?” She asked, knowing full well that he would not be there.

  “I’m glad to hear he encouraged you to come,” Captain Roo said. “But I only need one mate onboard at a time. Charlie and Eric switch off.”

  “Was he working on Sunday?” Heather asked.

  Captain Roo moved around the gear and picked up a ledger. He consulted and said, “Yup. It looks like Eric was working Sunday. We took a fishing boat out from 5 to 9 on our usual route. You’ll see that today. It looks like someone caught a big fish that day. Do you lovely ladies think you can beat their catch? It might not fit in your purses if you do.”

  He laughed again. Amy muttered to Heather, “Why does he keep making purse jokes?”

  Heather shrugged. She and her friends boarded the boat and once they were far enough out at sea, accepted Charlie’s help with casting off their fishing lines.

  Even though the captain had confirmed that Eric had been working the night of the murder, Heather wanted to see how a usual boat trip worked. Maybe Eric had accepted his usual shift, thinking it would give him the perfect alibi, but had a secret plan. If it was possible to sneak off of the boat and get to Angela’s house that night, Heather was determined to find out.

  Eva and Leila had agreed to come along and provide a distraction if necessary. They were keeping the captain and Charlie talking by telling them about how they were completing their bucket list of things and how they had always wanted to go fishing.

  Amy looked at the bucket of fish bait and commented on how they should change their bucket list.

  “No. You wouldn’t want to put that bait in your purse,” Captain Roo joked.

  Amy rolled her eyes.

  After some small talk, Captain Roo and Charlie left the women on the deck alone. They said that they were nearby if they had any trouble, but the sailors knew that often friends wanted to talk without strangers nearby.

  When they were alone, Heather nodded at her friends. Eva and Leila began to speak loudly and address Heather and Amy, even as the other two were sneaking away.

  Heather and Amy searched the deck and looked out at sea.

  “What were we hoping to see at sea?” Amy asked.

  “A way for Eric to have gotten to land,” Heather sighed. “But the lifeboats are in clear view of the guests, and we’re way too far out for Eric to have swum to land. I guess he would also have to get back on the boat without being missed.”

  Captain Roo saw the two women and waved for them to join him at the helm.

  “Enjoying another view of the sea?” he asked. “Or did one of you lose a purse?”

  “Seriously?” Amy asked.

  “Just looking around,” Heather said. “We were wondering if you could see if anyone were to fall overboard.”

  “Of course,” Captain Roo said. “I can see everything from here. If anyone were in the water, I would know it. And you don’t have to worry about that. No one is going to fall overboard.”

  There was a commotion on the deck, and they all hurried to see what was happening. Heather smiled when she saw it was good ne
ws. Eva had caught a large fish. Leila was helping her reel it in, and Charlie stood by to put in in a net.

  “That might be the largest fish that’s ever been caught on one of our tours!” Captain Roo said.

  “Reel him in!” Amy cheered.

  “Congratulations, Eva!” Heather called. Though, secretly, Heather wished that they had caught a break in the case instead of a fish.

  Station Surprise

  “Hi Heather, how’s the case going?” Hope asked, brightly.

  Heather sighed. She felt like the case wasn’t going very well, but she didn’t want to tell the reporter that. She also was afraid that after an evening on the boat, she still smelled like fish, despite a shower that night and this morning. She was used to smelling like sugar and spice, so she didn’t like the feeling.

  “You’ll have to ask the police how the case is going,” Heather said.

  She and Amy had just arrived at the station to see if there were any developments in the case. This time they had come prepared with Caramel Fudge Donuts.

  “I can’t ask thee police,” Hope said. “Detective Peters is having them all stonewall me.”

  “I guess he didn’t take kindly to your attempt to bribe him,” Amy said.

  “I wasn’t bribing him,” Hope said, stamping her foot. “I’m offended that you think so. My pen writes the truth. That’s why I’m always looking for a good story because I only write what’s really happened. Everyone who I said was good in the play, I thought was good in the play.”

  “Really?” Amy asked.

  “Yeah,” said Hope. “Maybe I’m not a Broadway reviewer, but those were my honest impressions of the play.”

  “But after the show, it seemed like you were pestering him for future stories,” said Heather.

  “I do that to everyone anyway,” Hope said. “I wasn’t trying to get a kickback.”

  “I guess she does do that to everyone,” Amy said.

  “And now I can’t do my job because the police don’t want to talk to me,” Hope said, sitting down on the steps of the station, dejectedly. “I’m always going to be a junior writer.”

  “You really liked the play?” asked Amy. “And Peters in it?”

  “Yeah. That’s why I saw it twice. My article was already published when I saw it the second time,” said Hope. “And I thought Peters looked cute in those big glasses.”

  Heather considered it.

  “Maybe we can put in a good word for you,” Heather said.

  “Could you really?” Hope asked, jumping to her feet.

  “Yes,” said Heather. “But I’m also pretty sure that they’re not going to want to tell you much until after the case is solved.”

  “Can’t be too much longer if you’re working on it,” Hope said with a wink.

  Heather wasn’t feeling so confident, but she smiled back, so Hope wouldn’t think that “Killer on the Loose” would be a long-running story.

  Peters peeked his head out of the station. “What are you doing talking to her?”

  “Trying to make peace,” Heather said. “We think she was sincere with her review of the show.”

  “Really?” asked Peters.

  “Yes. Like I tried to tell you,” Hope said, crossing her arms. “And I don’t appreciate you questioning my journalistic integrity like that.”

  “Well,” Peters said, trying to think of a comeback. “I don’t appreciate thinking that you were questioning my integrity as a police officer and trying to bribe me with kind words.”

  “I wasn’t,” Hope said. “And maybe you should be more confident so that if someone compliments you, you don’t think that they’re up to no good.”

  “Well,” Peters said, still not sure how he felt about this exchange. “Maybe you shouldn’t be hanging out outside the police station all day.”

  “Hey, Peters,” Amy said, walking up to the door. “Is there something that you should be doing now? Maybe in related to a murder? Instead of arguing with a reporter?”

  “Oh,” Peters said. “Ryan wanted me to see if you were here yet. He just got some results back.”

  “What sort of results?” asked Hope.

  “The none-of-your-business kind,” Peters said to the reporter.

  They probably could have continued bickering back and forth, but Heather didn’t stay to listen. She hurried inside to find Ryan.

  When she did, she was sure she was going hear news that she didn’t want to hear. He was looking solemn. Amy and Peters soon joined them.

  “What is it?” Heather asked.

  “We’ve had some matches to the fingerprints found at the crime scene,” he began.

  “And Eric’s are there?” prompted Heather.

  “Yes, but that’s to be expected,” Ryan said. “They were dating. But you already ruled him out as a suspect. Darcy Simmons’s fingerprints were also there, but that was also to be expected.”

  “Then, what’s not to be expected?” asked Amy.

  “Leon’s prints were also inside,” said Ryan.

  Heather felt her heart sink. Leon had lied about being inside the house. The most probable reason for this was that he really was the killer.

  Attempted Explanations

  Heather didn’t like seeing Leon across from her at the interrogation table, but he had earned a place there by lying to them.

  “Leon,” Amy said. “Why couldn’t you tell us the truth when your mom asked you to?”

  “What do you mean?” Leon asked though he was avoiding eye contact. Heather suspected he knew what they were talking about.

  “You did go to Angela’s house,” Heather said.

  Leon didn’t say anything. Ryan pushed a lab result towards him.

  “You left fingerprints in her house.”

  Leon sighed. “I didn’t kill her, but I thought that if I told you I had been in her house, it would look suspicious.”

  “It does,” Amy said. “It looks even more suspicious that you didn’t tell us.”

  “Do you want to explain why you were there now?” Heather asked.

  “Third time’s the charm?” Amy suggested.

  Leon looked up at them, appealing to them to believe him. “I went to Angela’s house to talk to her. That was where I went after I left my parents’ house. I wanted to apologize for the fight at the restaurant. I was in love with her in high school. We didn’t break up because of anything we did. It was the circumstances at the time. I always thought there was a chance we would get back together when she wanted to date again. I know she dated this guy Harry at the end of senior year, but it wasn’t serious. I didn’t think she was seriously dating anyone now. And I didn’t expect it to be my former best friend.”

  “What did she say when you saw her?” Heather asked.

  “She let me come inside, but I was only there for about ten minutes. I realized the reason she never wanted to get back together was because I reminded her of her life before her parents died. It was painful. My being there was bringing back memories for her. So I wished her luck with Eric and left.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us this before?” asked Heather.

  “I got scared when you told me she died,” Leon said. “I figured the fight at the restaurant looked bad, so downplayed that and didn’t tell you about going there.”

  “It does look bad,” Amy said.

  “The rest of what I said is true though,” said Leon. “After I talked to her, I just walked around for a while. And I did get lost heading to the theater.”

  “What time did you leave her house?” asked Heather.

  “It must have been a little after six. And she was definitely alive at the time,” Leon said. “You do believe me, don’t you?”

  “We’d like to,” Ryan said. “But right now the evidence is pointing to your guilt. I’m afraid we’re going to have to hold you.”

  Heather and Amy left the interrogation room as Ryan and Peters stayed with the suspect. Heather sighed. She wasn’t sure what to feel. Part of her was afraid
that they were making a mistake and about to arrest her friend’s son for no reason. However, another part of her was afraid that she had been too emotionally invested in this investigation and couldn’t see that Leon’s guilt was real.

  The door to the station opened, and Heather looked up, expecting to see Hope eager for more details on a potential story. Instead, it was Luz.

  “I’ll tell Ryan and Peters that she’s here,” Amy said, before leaving her friend.

  Luz walked straight up to Heather. “Are they arresting Leon?”

  “I’m afraid so,” said Heather.

  “I just can’t believe he could have done this,” Luz said. “Leon couldn’t have hurt that girl. Do they really think it’s him?”

  “It’s not conclusive, but there is evidence pointing to him, and he did lie to us.”

  “Heather,” Luz said, grabbing her hand. “I know you’ve solved many cases. Please, do the same here. Please, find the real killer. I know Leon isn’t a killer. I’m not saying that just because I’m his mother. It’s because I know him. I know he couldn’t have done it. Please, say that you’re not giving up on the case.”

  Heather was moved by her words. “I didn’t say I was done with this case yet. I’ll keep looking until I’m sure who the guilty person is.”

  “Thank you,” Luz said, sincerely. “Thank you.”

  Peters and Ryan emerged from the interrogation room with Amy hiding behind them.

  “Don’t worry,” Luz said. “I’m not going to cause a scene. Heather has assured me that she isn’t finished investigating yet. I know Leon will be proved innocent.”

  Ryan gave his wife a look, silently telling her that she had promised too much. Heather shrugged.

  Peters took a step away from them. He headed over to his desk and picked up a fax. He smiled.

  “Heather might be onto something, partner,” Peters said. “The chief must have put this on my desk when it came in. The boutique that sold the tie that was used as the murder weapon got back to us. They traced the order. It was to a Harry Hauser.”

  “Didn’t Leon just tell us that Angela dated a Harry in high school?” Heather asked.