German Chocolate Killer (Cupcakes in Paradise Book 11)

by Summer Prescott

  “Detective,” she replied, returning his nod.

  “What have we got?” he asked, figuring that he might as well start evaluating her performance, while getting the background on the case.

  “Thirty-two-year-old female, deceased. No visible signs of struggle in the house, no sign of forced entry. I didn’t get a chance to take a close look at the body because of a very territorial Coroner,” she commented.

  Chas nodded. “Timothy Eckels is the best in the business and an invaluable asset to the investigation. He likes to have a little room to work.”

  “He and his assistant, in particular, could use a lesson on procedure and protocol,” Robeson suggested, making a face.

  “Tim is as by the book as they come,” Chas frowned. “And Fiona McCamish, his assistant, knows that he wouldn’t stand for anything less than perfection, procedurally, so I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Sorry, I guess I’m just nervous since this is my first crime scene in Calgon and I’m being graded on my every move,” she admitted. “I may have been a bit defensive.”

  “Just relax and do what you’d normally do,” Chas suggested. “The Chief wouldn’t have agreed to interview you if he didn’t think that you had potential,” he encouraged, with a brief smile.

  “Thanks. Have you talked to the husband yet?” Robeson asked.

  “Is that who’s in the living room being interviewed?”

  “Yeah, I was one of the first responders and he seemed very twitchy,” she mused.

  “Well, I would assume so if his wife had just been murdered,” Chas shrugged. “I’ll talk to him.”

  “You’ll want to check out the dining room too,” Robeson suggested.

  “Oh?”

  “Looks like tonight was a special occasion. Rose petals, candlelight, wine, lamb…”

  “And the victim was found here…like that?” Chas frowned, glancing over at the corpse on the bed, which was clad in a sensible nightgown.

  “Yeah, and it wasn’t even time for bed. The husband said he came in around nine o’clock and found her like this.”

  “Some people go to bed around nine,” Chas pointed out.

  “Someone this age, who was celebrating a special occasion?” Robeson challenged, eyebrow raised.

  “Good point,” Chas nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go have a word with Tim,” he stepped past her.

  “He talks to you?”

  “We understand each other,” Chas flashed a brief smile and continued toward the quirky coroner.

  **

  “Hey, Boss Man, you’re gonna have to put that one back in the drawer,” Fiona McCamish announced, glancing down at the body that Timothy Eckels was preparing for a funeral on Sunday.

  “What are you talking about?” Tim frowned, resenting the interruption in his process.

  “Calgon PD just called. We’ve got a fresh one,” she informed him.

  Tim let out a deep sigh, surveying the work that he had yet to do on his current project.

  “Please tell me it’s not an auto accident or gunshot wound. I just do not have the time for that kind of repair work right now,” he grumbled, pushing his thick, horn-rimmed glasses up with the back of his wrist.

  “Nope, even better,” Fiona’s eyes brightened. “Possible homicide.”

  Tim went still. He was an absolute artist when it came to making the dead look as though they were merely sleeping, no matter what condition they happened to be in when he picked them up, but his true calling was deciphering the stories that corpses had to tell. He found details which escaped the notice of most, and provided clues that had helped to solve many tough murder cases.

  “Why don’t you just say these things immediately,” he huffed, springing to do the tasks that were necessary before placing the body back into the refrigerated drawer from which it had come.

  “Yeah, silly me,” Fiona rolled her eyes and went to load the hearse with Tim’s supplies and program the GPS.

  **

  “Pretty nice neighborhood for a murder,” Fiona observed, as the hearse approached the crime scene.

  “Criminals come from all segments of society,” Tim muttered, pulling into a spot in the driveway, as directed by one of the cops on site.

  “Yeah, but rich people sometimes have more interesting motives,” his assistant shrugged.

  He gave her a look and said nothing, his game face falling firmly into place. They stepped around the crime scene tape and were led to the deceased by a uniformed officer.

  “Whoa,” Fiona said in a low voice next to Tim’s ear. “She looks like she’s just sleeping.”

  The victim was on her back, with the covers pulled up to her chin, and the outline under the blankets indicated that her hands were crossed formally over her stomach.

  Tim waved her away, her closeness making him exceedingly uncomfortable. He refused to be distracted by anyone or anything when doing his job.

  “She was posed. The body doesn’t naturally fall into that death posture,” he mumbled, trying to peer around a tall woman who stood at the bedside.

  “Unless she’s a vampire,” Fiona snickered, receiving a withering glare from her boss.

  “Excuse me, young lady,” he frowned at the woman standing next to the bed. “You’re in the exact spot where I need to be,” he pointed out, snapping on a pair of nitrile gloves while his assistant stood nearby, her camera ready to start taking photos of the body.

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” the woman raised an eyebrow, clearly undaunted.

  “I’m the coroner, and every minute that you stand there gawking at me, the less accurate my estimated time of death is going to become,” Tim snapped.

  He was a mild-mannered man, as long as no one stood in the way of his work.

  The woman crossed her arms and stood her ground. “I’m conducting an investigation,” she replied coolly.

  “Oh, hey, do you need a translator? Because what he meant to say was, you need to move, honey,” Fiona stepped toward the woman, her eyes flashing.

  Fiona wasn’t mild-mannered by any means, and was fiercely protective of her boss.

  “Hey, Detective, can you come here for a sec?” a uniformed cop got the attention of the woman, who reluctantly nodded.

  “Watch your step, I’m not done here, and your work is not more important than mine,” she bent down to hiss at Fiona.

  “Bring it,” Fiona cocked her head and crossed her arms. Tim shot her a warning look, and mercifully the detective moved toward where the officer who had called her was standing.

  “That was highly unprofessional,” Tim remarked, beginning to examine the corpse as Fiona snapped pictures.

  “I agree, that woman needs to learn some manners.”

  “I was talking about you,” Tim sighed.

  CHAPTER SIX

  * * *

  Missy and Echo had recently hired a nanny for their two girls, who was working out swimmingly. Matisse was a rather plain, slightly plump young woman who came from a small town quite near where Missy was born and raised, in LaChance, Louisiana. Mattie took care of Jasmine and Kaylee at Missy’s house while the two busy moms worked. She’d had a few less-than cordial encounters with Spencer, head of security for Missy and Chas, because she felt that she didn’t need him checking up on things while she was at the house. The clever young man had grilled a steak for her at his place one evening, as a peace offering of sorts, and the two of them had formed a friendly version of an armed truce.

  “Hey Spence,” Mattie greeted the handsome young man from her seat on the carpet in the playroom.

  Kaylee was looking at a book, and Jasmine was bouncing happily in a brightly-colored activity walker.

  “Hey, Mattie,” he smiled down at her.

  Kaylee jumped up, wrapping herself around his leg and he picked her up, swinging her in a circle, while Jazzy giggled in delight.

  “Looks like I’m interrupting playtime,” he grinned at Kaylee, tickling her. The child writhed and wigg
led with delight.

  “Ya think?” Mattie shook her head with a smile.

  Toffee, Missy’s aging Golden Retriever, came trotting in to see what all the fuss was about, with her canine sister, Bitsy the Maltipoo, on her heels.

  “Doggies!” Kaylee exclaimed with delight.

  Spencer put her down and she ran to Toffee, wrapping her arms around the gentle soul’s neck.

  “Well, I guess I see where I rank in importance around here,” Spencer chuckled, bending down to tousle Jasmine’s coppery curls.

  “Yeah, I come in third, behind the dogs and you,” Mattie grinned.

  “Everything going okay around here?” he asked, as he did on a daily basis.

  “Everything is always okay around here. I told you there’s really no need to check up on us every day,” Mattie raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Procedure, sorry. I’ve been looking out for Chas Beckett and his family for practically my entire adult life. I’m not going to change that now,” was the easygoing reply.

  “Whatever floats your boat.”

  “Speaking of boats floating,” Spencer began, drawing a funny look from Mattie. “I’m planning on renting one this weekend and just spending some time out on the water. If you don’t have any plans, you’re welcome to come along,” he offered casually.

  “That might be fun,” Mattie nodded. “I don’t have any plans this weekend…or any other weekend for that matter,” she added wryly. “Would it be like an all-day thing?”

  “I thought I’d grab some coffee and head out Saturday morning, take a lunch with me and come back before dinner,” he shrugged.

  “Cool. What should I bring?” she asked.

  “I was planning on keeping it simple, just grilling some brats and burgers, so if you’d like to bring some side dishes, that would be great,” Spencer suggested.

  “What about dessert?” Mattie wondered.

  Spencer laughed. “Well, actually, Missy pretty much foists her unsold cupcakes on me every Friday, so I always have plenty of dessert on the weekend.”

  “Job perks, huh?” Mattie grinned.

  “Something like that. She’s like a mom to me, always trying to fatten me up.”

  “It’s because you look so undernourished,” she mocked, taking in his muscular form.

  “Yeah, that must be it. Do you want me to pick you up, or would you rather meet me at the marina?” Spencer glanced at his watch.

  “I’ll meet you there. I wouldn’t want to make you go out of your way.”

  “It wouldn’t be going out of my way, your apartment is between here and there.”

  Mattie’s eyes narrowed. “And how would you know that?”

  “You do realize that I provide security for Missy and Chas, right? Do you honestly think that I wouldn’t know quite a bit about you?” he raised an eyebrow.

  Mattie paused for a moment, thinking. “Stalker,” she muttered finally.

  “Yup, and I get paid for it too,” he flashed killer dimples. “See you around seven on Saturday?”

  “Sounds good,” she agreed.

  “Hey, guys,” Echo knocked on the doorframe, looking a bit harried.

  Jasmine lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of her mother and began jumping up and down in the walker, holding out her hands to be picked up.

  Mattie frowned at the watch on her wrist. “You’re early Mrs. Kellerman, is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything is fine, I just planned to go see Missy at the shop, so I figured that I might as well pick up Jazzy on the way,” she lifted the cooing child up and kissed her nose before holding her close.

  Spencer’s manner changed in an instant. “Is she okay? Do I need to go with you?” he demanded.

  “Settle down, Tiger, she’s fine,” Echo placed a hand on his arm and smiled. “I just have something to talk to her about, so I’m going to drop in, no worries.”

  The young man visibly relaxed at her assurance. “Good,” he nodded as Mattie repacked Jasmine’s diaper bag and handed it to her mother. “I’ll walk you out. I was heading for the door anyway.”

  “Bye, you two,” Mattie waved, and Kaylee crawled into her lap.

  “See you Saturday,” Spencer smiled and took the bag from Echo so that she could carry Jasmine with both hands.

  Echo gave him a speculative look and barely made it out the front door before asking, “Saturday, huh? Sounds like a date?” she grinned.

  “Nah, we’re just hanging out. Mattie’s nice,” he shrugged.

  “Well good, I hope you two have fun,” she tried to read him, but he turned away to put the diaper bag in the car.

  “I’m sure we will. Say hello to Missy for me,” he gave her a hug after she loaded Jazzy into her car seat.

  “Will do,” Echo promised.

  **

  Missy saw Echo come in the front door of the shop and reflexively looked at her watch. It was a strange time of day to see her friend.

  “Hey, girlie,” she came out from behind the counter for a hug. “What lovely reason brings you here to see me in the middle of the day?” she asked, giving Jasmine a kiss on the forehead. The little girl reached for one of Missy’s blonde curls.

  “Well, I wish it was good news,” Echo sighed, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.

  “Oh dear, do you need coffee for this? Cupcakes?” Missy’s eyes widened.

  “No, it’s not that bad, just weird is all,” Echo explained and Missy sat down across from her. “Did you see the paper this morning?”

  “No, I was running late because Toffee and Bitsy wanted to play in the sand a little bit longer today. Why? What happened?”

  “You know that gal that you met at the debate last weekend? Leigh Treadworth?” she asked.

  “Yeah, sweet lady,” Missy nodded.

  “She’s dead,” Echo announced, shaking her head.

  “Dead?” Missy’s mouth fell open.

  “Murdered,” Echo said in a low tone.

  “What? Why? Who?” Missy was flabbergasted.

  “They don’t know yet. The newspaper said that it was her fifth wedding anniversary too.”

  “Oh, how awful. Her poor husband must be devastated. Can you imagine losing your mate on an anniversary? I can’t believe someone would do that to such a nice person. Was she robbed or anything?” Missy wondered.

  “There weren’t many details in the article,” Echo shrugged. “Poor thing.”

  “That must’ve been the call that Chas went out on last night,” Missy realized. “We were at The Cove for dinner and his work phone rang.”

  “Yeah, people are going to be looking for answers. Leigh’s husband is a pretty high-profile kind of guy,” Echo commented.

  “Should I take him cupcakes or something? I feel so bad. I mean, I didn’t really know them, but we literally just talked to both of them just a few days ago.

  “I don’t know. I mean, I’m sure he’ll have tons of supporters and mourners. If I were in his situation, I think I’d probably just want to be left alone to grieve,” Echo pointed out.

  “Yeah, you could be right. I just hate the thought of him losing his beautiful young wife on their anniversary. Maybe I’ll ask Chas what he thinks, you know, get a male perspective.”

  “Good idea,” Echo agreed, then brightened. “Oh, but I do have a juicy tidbit of news…” she smiled like the cat who ate the canary.

  “Now we’re talking,” Missy grinned, relieved at the change of subject. “Tell me,” she ordered.

  “Spencer and Mattie have a date on Saturday,” Echo announced.

  “What? Those two are as different as night and day. I can’t really picture them dating,” Missy was skeptical.

  “Well, of course Spencer denied it and said that they’d just be ‘hanging out,’ but it sure sounded like a date to me.”

  “Hanging out sounds more like reality. Spencer guards his feelings like a fortress, and Mattie is a strong, independent young lady, I can’t see either one of them jumping into dating,�
�� she mused.

  “They’d be cute together,” Echo remarked.

  “Stop your matchmaking and let those kids have fun,” Missy chuckled.

  “Oh come on, do you really mean to tell me that you don’t want to see our Spencer in a happy relationship?” Echo challenged.

  “Honestly, sweetie, he’s been hurt so badly in the past, that I don’t know if he’ll ever go there again.”

  “He’s young and resilient. He’s lived through horrors that we can’t even imagine while he was in Afghanistan. He’ll pull through and get past all that, I just know it,” Echo encouraged her tender-hearted friend.

  “I hope so. You’re a hopeless romantic, you know that,” she accused with a smile.

  “Utterly hopeless,” Echo agreed. “Now, about that cupcake…”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  * * *

  “Mr. Treadworth, I’m so sorry for your loss,” Chas sat down in the grieving husband’s living room. “I’m Detective Chas Beckett, and I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

  “I already told the other detective and officers what happened,” Brock Treadworth sighed. “Is it really necessary to repeat all of it?”

  “I know this is a very difficult time for you, and I apologize, but it really does help to gather all of the information that we can as soon as possible after the incident. The more we have to work with, the easier it is to bring the perpetrator to justice,” Chas explained, gently but firmly.

  “Fine,” Brock shook his head. “What do you want to know?”

  “Walk me through the series of events that led to you discovering what had happened to your wife,” the detective directed.

  It was always better to ask open-ended questions. The answers contained far more information than a simple yes or no.

  “How far back in my day do you want me to start?” Brock asked, clearly exhausted.

  “Start with where you were before you arrived home.”

  “Okay. I left work on time today, for a change, because it’s my wedding anniversary,” Brock paused for a moment, swallowed hard a couple of times, then took a deep breath and continued. “I hadn’t gotten Leigh a gift yet, so I went to the crystal shop downtown. She collects figurines. I bought her a gift,” he gestured to a pink box with silver bows on it that was sitting on the coffee table. “It’s an elephant,” he stared at the box for a few seconds, seeming lost.