PoisonBuried Punch (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 6)

by Lyndsey Cole

  Samantha leaned between Jason and Annie, sliding a plate of mozzarella sticks onto the table. “Don’t look now, but Dennis and Kyle are arguing. I think Dennis fired Kyle.”

  “Why?”

  “Dennis accused Kyle of bringing attention to the pub because of the empty arsenic bottle.”

  Annie’s eyes popped open wide after hearing that comment. “Aren’t you living with Kyle?”

  Samantha filled her tray with empty mugs. “Convenience. We aren’t even very good friends.” She headed back to the bar, stopping to check on customers at another table.

  “What do you make of that revelation?” Annie asked Jason.

  “You’d better find out if Tyler found any fingerprints before jumping to conclusions. Samantha could be trying to steer you in the wrong direction.”

  Martha bumped Annie on her shoulder. “What are you two whispering about over here?”

  “Sorry Martha. Where’s Harry tonight?”

  She flicked her wrist. “He hates crowds. Says he gets claustrophobic. Between you and me? He’s probably watching old westerns. He knows I hate them and he binge watches when I go out.” She nodded her head toward the bar. “Camilla seems to be enjoying herself. She always gets the handsome ones.”

  Samantha returned with drinks for Annie and Jason. “Someone at your table ordered these in honor of your engagement.”

  Annie looked at Leona, who was grinning from ear to ear. She held her mug up and winked at Annie, mouthing, ‘It’s about time.’

  A crash and a scream made everyone turn toward the bar. Dusty tore himself away from Camilla’s beguiling smile and rushed to separate Kyle and Dennis before more fists were thrown between the two.

  Kyle’s angry voice carried through the now mostly quiet pub. “You’ve got it all wrong, Dennis, and I’ll prove it. It was Eddie and Samantha planning to double-cross you.”

  Annie stood up, searching for Samantha. She had been right next to Annie when the commotion began. Annie wanted answers from Samantha about what Kyle meant. Her head twisted around, back and forth, but Samantha was nowhere to be found in the pub.

  Jason held Annie’s arm. “I know what you’re thinking, but you aren’t leaving to look for Samantha. She’s been feeding you information and now she’s disappeared. Something doesn’t add up with her stories. It’s time to let Tyler handle everything.”

  “Samantha could think she’s in danger—maybe even the next victim. What did Kyle mean about proving Dennis had it all wrong? Had what wrong?”

  Jason held Annie tighter. “I don’t know, but this is escalating to a dangerous level.”

  Annie felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned away from Jason to see Christy at her side. “I didn’t think you were coming tonight.”

  Christy twisted her head back and forth, searching the pub. “It wasn’t my plan but Tyler texted me to meet him here. What’s going on?”

  Chapter 23

  “Chaos,” Annie said. “Dennis fired Kyle and they got into a fight. Dusty broke it up and now Samantha has disappeared. Did Tyler discover something?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, but here he comes to explain.”

  The customers in the pub were all back to laughing and drinking as if nothing had happened moments earlier. Dennis’s offer to everyone for a complimentary beer helped to ease the transition. For almost everyone.

  Christy pulled Tyler to a corner table. Annie and Jason slid in too.

  “Okay, what’s going on?” Christy asked. “Why did you tell me to meet you here?”

  “I found a small notebook tucked under the mattress in Eddie’s apartment. I don’t know how we missed it the first time. Anyway, it’s filled with lists of phone numbers, and your number is on the list.”

  Annie noticed Christy flinch and tense her jaw muscles. She shrugged. “So what? Eddie knew my number. I never changed it when I left him.”

  “We think the other numbers are people who were scammed. There are dollar amounts after the phone numbers. Where’s the money?”

  Christy stood up but kept her hands flat on the table as she leaned mere inches from Tyler’s face. “The. Money. Is. Safe. When this spectacle is over, you’ll get the money.” Her head nodded slightly toward the bar. “They have to think I still have it or we won’t be able to flush them out.”

  Tyler and Christy stared at each other, neither one wanting to be the first to back down. Christy won.

  “I don’t like it, but short of arresting you, I’ll go along with your plan. For now.” He checked the time on his watch. “I’ll give you the rest of today to come up with something solid. That’s only a few hours.”

  Christy scowled and left.

  Annie touched Tyler’s hand, hoping to relieve some of the tension. “Does she know what she’s doing?”

  Tyler’s shoulders sagged. “I hope so.”

  “There’s more bad news. Samantha has disappeared.” Annie filled Tyler in on the drama behind the bar before he arrived.

  He ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair. “Don’t they live together, Kyle and Samantha?”

  “They do, but Samantha told me they aren’t even friends. It’s just for convenience.”

  Tyler’s hand traveled from his hair to his chin. “I need a shave.”

  Annie took notice of the dark circles under his eyes. “Not getting much sleep?”

  “I’ve barely even been home with all that’s happening.” He stood up. “With any luck, maybe I can round up Kyle and Samantha at their apartment. Any idea where else they would go?”

  Annie shook her head. “Do you think they could be running together?”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me. We did find prints on the arsenic bottle at Christy’s house. Kyle’s. I’ll be back to question Dennis and Dusty after I find those other two.”

  Jason and Annie joined the rest of their group at the big table. They were barely missed with all the talking and eating. Camilla returned to the table with a big smile on her face.

  “I think things are back on track with Dusty,” she whispered to Annie.

  “Oh? How so?”

  “He invited me for dinner tomorrow night. What do you think?”

  “Sounds nice.” Annie answered half-heartedly, her mind on other problems.

  The pub was beginning to thin out. Dusty busied himself wiping tables while Dennis stayed behind the bar. Annie didn’t have the heart to tell Camilla that with Kyle and Samantha missing, there was a good chance Dusty would be working instead of taking her to dinner.

  Jason bumped Annie with his elbow. “Hey, ready to go?”

  “Is there any pizza left?”

  Jason opened the box. One cold piece sat inside. “Are you still hungry?”

  Annie nodded.

  He took her hand. “Come on, there’s still plenty of food in my refrigerator. You can have some dessert and we’ll take Roxy for a walk.

  It took longer to leave with all the goodbyes and hugs, but finally they made it outside into the crisp night air.

  “I wonder where Christy is,” Annie said more to herself than to Jason.

  He put his arm around her. “She’s probably curled up on the couch in your apartment with her two dogs. Did you ever find Smokey?”

  “No. That will be my first priority when we get back.”

  “Okay. I’ll make a fire while you find Smokey and bring him over.”

  Annie dashed ahead of Jason. “Last one to the car has to do the dishes.” With her head start, she easily beat Jason to the car, leaning on it while laughing and trying to catch her breath. “Loser,” she taunted.

  “I let you win this time,” he said and wrapped her in his arms. “I’ve already won the best prize.”

  “Nice try, Mr. Hunter, but I won fair and square.”

  Jason unlocked the car doors and opened the passenger side for Annie, whispering in her ear, “You can believe whatever makes you happy.”

  Jason pulled into his driveway next to Christy’s car.

>   Nodding toward Christy’s car, Annie said, “I wasn’t sure she would be here. She seemed pretty mad after her conversation with Tyler. I think I’ll look for Smokey and leave Christy alone to sort out her problems.”

  “Good idea,” Jason answered as he headed to his door and Annie walked toward the lake.

  Roxy bounded out when Jason opened the door, catching up with Annie. “Come on Roxy, help me find Smokey.” She lit the path with her flashlight, swinging it from side to side, hoping to see Smokey.

  Annie called to her kitty, not convinced Smokey even wanted to be found. Not far from her apartment, Annie heard a faint mewing. She pushed branches aside, inching her way along the Lake Trail searching under all the bushes. The mewing got louder and the bushes got denser.

  “Smokey, here kitty, kitty,” Annie called. She could hear Smokey but couldn’t see him in the thick, dark brush. She got down on her hands and knees and shined her light into the tangled mess where she thought Smokey was hiding. She crawled in as far as possible.

  Annie’s bottom was sticking out into the path and her hair got tangled in the sharp branches as she reached toward Smokey. His eyes reflected in the flashlight but he wouldn’t budge.

  “Are you all right Annie?”

  This is awkward, she thought to herself. “Um, sort of. Is that you Dusty?”

  “It is. What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to rescue my kitty but I can’t reach him.” Her fingers touched Smokey’s fur but she couldn’t get a grip on him to pull him out.

  “Let me try. My arms are longer.”

  The branches moved and poked into Annie as Dusty crawled in next to her. “I see him.” Dusty reached toward Smokey and was rewarded with sharp claws in his hand. “Ouch! But I have him. I’ll pull him to you and you can get him out the rest of the way before I lose too much blood.”

  Smokey yowled in protest. Dusty managed to move him enough so Annie could wrap her hands around his body and wiggle back out from under the bush.

  “Thank you so much, Dusty. I’m not sure I could have gotten him without your help.”

  “No problem.” He brushed twigs and leaves off his jacket and wiped his bloody hand on his jeans.

  “Is your hand okay?”

  He inspected it. “It’ll be fine. Just a couple of puncture holes. Why was he hiding in there anyway?”

  Annie cradled Smokey and started to walk back toward Jason’s house. “Christy’s staying in my apartment for a day or two and Smokey, here, wasn’t too crazy about having her dogs as roommates.”

  Dusty laughed. “I don’t blame him. Do you know where Christy is? I need to talk to her.”

  Annie looked in the driveway. “That’s strange. Her car was here when I got back, maybe a half hour ago. I didn’t talk to her so I don’t know where she went. Did you discover something new?”

  “I think so. I’ll check at her house. Do you want to come with me?”

  “Sure. Wait a minute while I put Smokey and Roxy inside.”

  Annie called Roxy and carried Smokey into Jason’s house. Smokey wandered around sniffing, investigating the new surroundings before he jumped into the recliner and curled up. Annie heard the shower running so she scribbled a note for Jason and tucked it under the bottle of wine sitting on the counter. Be right back. Checking up on Christy. There, now he can’t accuse me of skedaddling on him, she thought proudly.

  Dusty had the car on and the heater blasting when Annie slid into the passenger seat. “What’s going on?”

  “I need Christy’s help to find Samantha and Kyle.”

  “Tyler didn’t find them?”

  Dusty backed the car from the driveway. “Apparently, they bolted.”

  Annie willed the car to go faster but Dusty poked along at the speed limit. Were Kyle and Samantha at Christy’s house?

  Chapter 24

  Christy’s street was quiet, her car in the driveway as Dusty slowly drove by. Slivers of light showed at the edges of her curtains. Dusty turned off his car and coasted to a stop just out of sight of Christy’s house. “We can walk in the shadows, so in case anyone is watching, they won’t see us.”

  Annie nodded. She wrapped her fingers around the flashlight in her pocket. Just in case. She didn’t know what to expect and she was glad to have Dusty in front of her as they silently tiptoed closer to Christy’s house.

  Since she couldn’t see much, her ears worked overtime. A rustling in the bushes made them both pause and hold their breath. A skunk wandered in front of them, but hurried on its way without coating them in its perfume.

  Annie kept one hand on Dusty’s back for reassurance. A car crept along the street. Annie thought it looked like Samantha driving.

  Dusty whispered, “I think that’s Kyle’s car. We’d better hurry inside.”

  Annie forced herself to breathe and wondered why on earth she was even here instead of sitting with Jason in front of his fire. But Christy was her friend and might need help. Wasn’t that what friends were for?

  They reached Christy’s back door. Through the window, Annie could see Christy at her kitchen counter, absorbed in front of Eddie’s computer. Dusty tapped softly on the glass until Christy heard the noise. Her eyes were wide with worry until she saw who it was and she quickly let them in.

  “What are you two doing here? I thought I’d be able to work out this puzzle alone.” She stood with her hands on her hips, not exactly the welcome Annie was expecting.

  “I was worried,” Dusty explained. “Kyle and Samantha could be out there cooking up something.”

  “What about Dennis?”

  “He’s still at the pub, cleaning and closing up.” Dusty looked over Christy’s shoulder at the computer. “Find anything?”

  “Yeah. I’m starting to think Eddie was the mastermind of the scam which would explain why he held onto the money. Listen to this.” Christy opened a new recipe labeled Grandma’s Stew. “ ‘Sam is leading the way. Conned a new one today out of ten thousand. At this rate, we can move on soon.’ Every recipe in this folder is actually a new amount of money they conned someone out of.” She looked up at Dusty and Annie, shaking her head. “This makes my blood boil.”

  Suddenly, the back door was pushed open.

  Three pair of eyes turned to see Samantha holding a gun on them.

  “Samantha?” Annie asked in total shock.

  Dusty inched away, leaving Christy and Annie between Samantha and himself.

  “Nice work, Dusty. I wanted both of them together. Get the money and finish them off,” Samantha sneered.

  “Dusty?” Christy asked in disbelief. “You’re working with her?”

  He slid Christy’s gun off the table. “Sorry. Tell us where the money is and no one will get hurt.”

  Samantha waved her gun between Christy and Annie. “That’s not how we planned it, Dusty. They know too much.”

  “No! You killed Eddie, that’s enough. No more killing.”

  Annie felt her knees go weak. Her brain could not process this turn of events. She thought Samantha was the one in trouble. What a fool she was to believe her stories. Jason was right about Samantha manipulating her with all her tears and suspicions about the others.

  “How’d you do it Samantha?” Christy asked in a low, almost hypnotizing voice. “How’d you kill Eddie? Did he plead with you? Promise you the world?”

  “That fool. He was still in love with you. It was so easy, especially when you helped him along by stabbing him. At the rate the arsenic was working, he would have lasted a few more days. And that stupid dog of yours. I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough.”

  “And the arsenic bottle in my house?” Annie knew what Christy was doing. Keep Samantha talking, stroke her ego, and make her feel smarter than she was.

  “Ha, I pressed Kyle’s finger on the bottle when he was passed out drunk one night. Brilliant, right?”

  Christy nodded.

  Annie watched Dusty from the corner of her eye. He pulled rope from his jacket pocket
.

  “Enough talking. Come over here you two.” Dusty directed Annie and Christy to sit in two kitchen chairs with their hands around the backs of the chairs.

  Annie felt the rope tighten, almost cutting off her circulation, then it slacked a bit. What was he doing?

  Samantha closed Eddie’s laptop and slid it into her backpack. “You won’t be needing this anymore. Now, the money.”

  “Shoot me,” Christy said. “You’ll never find it.”

  Annie almost wet her pants. “I don’t want to die. Tell her where you buried it.”

  Samantha laughed. “Buried it, huh? No problem. We can start digging up your yard.”

  “There’s no time for that, Samantha. We have to get out of here,” Dusty said. “Where is it Christy? You don’t want to watch Samantha shoot Annie first, do you?”

  Christy lashed out at Dusty with her foot but missed. “Samantha leaves and I’ll tell you. I don’t trust her. She’ll get the money and shoot us anyway.”

  “I might too,” Dusty threatened.

  “I’ll take my chances.” They stared with angry eyes at each other.

  “She stays but I’ll hold the gun.” Dusty took the gun from Samantha and aimed it at Annie. “Where is it, Christy?”

  “I wish you would learn to listen better, Annie. I told you to stay out of this.” She twisted her shoulders, making the chair tip precariously on one leg, but it landed upright.

  “Are you done with your temper tantrum?” Dusty asked.

  “It’s in the closet.” Her head nodded toward the door at right angles to the stove. “Buried under all the dog food.”

  Annie’s mouth fell open. “You said it was buried in your raised bed.”

  “No. You said it was buried there, I never agreed with your assumption.”

  Samantha dashed to the closet and yanked the door open. A large plastic tub sat under the bottom shelf. She slid the tub from the closet and threw the lid off, tipping the base so dog food spilled all over Christy’s gleaming kitchen floor.

  “Where are the dogs when I need them?” she said. “They’d have a field day with this mess.”