COZY MYSTERY: Lemon Pie Murder Series (Lemon Mystery Murder)

by Lorrie Bannett

  Lemon Pie Murder

  Sweet Cozy Mystery

  Lorrie Bannett

  Copyright 2016

  All Right Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Lemon Pie Murder (Book 1)

  Chapter 1:

  -The night of the murder-

  The lemon pie factory had just finished operating and everyone was looking forward to going home after a very long day. The owner, Mrs. Jones, had just finished cleaning the machines as she always did and was about to close down and head home.

  Even after being in the business for a very long time and being in a position to make millions in the process, it seemed rather impossible for her not to remember the humble beginnings that she started from a couple of years back. And that said, the only thing that would have made any sense would be for her to just kickback and ensure that she was in a position to work with the lowest employees in her lemon pie factory.

  A woman in her position always had lots of enemies and that said, the only thing that would have made any sense at that moment would be for her to be closed off and stay safe. But from the look of things, it seemed as though Mrs. Jones didn’t seem to care much about every single thing that was going on. Of course, she might have had plenty of enemies especially those people who didn’t want to see her prosper.

  But that said, it was also very important for her to keep a close eye on her business. Besides, what could her enemies do to her?

  And just like that, Mrs. Jones decided that maybe it would have been a good idea if she just chose to kick back and do whatever her heart told her to do. And at that moment, the only thing that she wanted to do was to ensure that she was in a position to enjoy life as it came and without having to worry about outside forces.

  Her business was doing much better than her competitors and part of the reason why it was so was because Mrs. Jones was humble and always did things with a clear head.

  Finally, the machines were clean and ready for the following day. And even though Mrs. Jones was tired after spending about an hour cleaning, she figured that in the end, she was happy with her work. Even at the age of seventy, it seemed as though she was still a very hard worker and any single time she did something incredible, she felt as though she was fulfilled indeed.

  But as she was leaving, Mrs. Jones spotted something out of the blue and she just couldn’t go out of the kitchen without checking out what it was. There were red spots on the white tile floor, the place that she had just cleaned and for a moment, she didn’t understand whatever the heck was going on. She was scared for sure, but for some reason, she decided that it would be a good idea not to do a damn thing about it for a moment and just wait.

  At first, Mrs. Jones was a little bit shocked. But that said, she decided that maybe it was a good idea for her to just kickback and do something about it. Holding on the broom as tightly as she could, Mrs. Jones decided to make a move, following the drops of blood to where she thought someone was hiding.

  Of course it went without saying that she was a little bit scared. But then again, she was the owner of the factory and if at all anyone had the balls to intrude her premises, then they had no other choice but to face her.

  Her heart kept on racing as she followed the fresh droplets of blood all the way, holding the broom stick in a position where she was more than ready to strike anyone who peeped through and tried something funny. But the place was cold and quiet and the only thing that she could get to hear was nothing other than the spooky sound of her footsteps.

  Once she got to the other end and checked under the machines, she saw where the blood trail had ended and it was next to the concrete wall. If someone was bleeding out, then there was no way that he or she could have been going on through the way. The only logical solution would have been walking towards the other end.

  And as soon as she got off her knees, Mrs. Jones realized that someone about seven feet tall was standing behind her, breathing heavily and that made her freeze for a moment, not knowing just what she was going to do at that moment. And that said, she couldn’t help but tremble like a leaf.

  “Who is this?” she asked in a timid voice, too afraid to turn and face the huge figure that she felt, judging from the shadow that was cast.

  The man didn’t move, he just kept on starting at the poor lady who was a couple of inches shorter than she was. Mrs. Jones felt the need of asking him one more time but this time round, she felt something going through her chest with lightning speed before she dropped to the floor, gasping for breath.

  ***

  Agent Beth Morris had just finished her lunch and needless to say, she was really looking forward to having a peaceful night with her husband and her nine-year-old son that she had missed so much. As a matter of fact, the only thing that she needed at that moment was some space as well as some air. And that said, she didn’t see the need to stay around and chat with her colleagues or go have a beer in as much as she had wanted to do it.

  But even before she had the pleasure of doing just that, she had the radio call and since she was a brilliant and very responsible law enforcer, Agent Morris had to receive it, trying as much as possible to ignore anything that would hinder her from doing so.

  “Agent Morris speaking.” Beth answered. She didn’t need to ask who was calling because she already knew that voice.

  And if at all the commander was calling her at that time of the night and sounding all official, then it meant that everything was not well. And that alone gave her a reason to worry.

  “We have an incident. And since you are the one who doesn’t have anything to do, could you do the courtesy of checking it out, please?”

  Agent Morris almost dropped the radio that she was holding. For sure, she didn’t really understand why bad things always happened to good cops. Every fiber of her body wanted to reject the offer. But from the look of things, it seemed as though she was the only one who could get everything all sorted out without further ado. And yes, in as much as she was starting to hate her life, it seemed as though she had a duty to fulfill.

  “You realize I was just about to go back home and tack my son to sleep before you gave me this call. Now I have to call him again and tell him that mommy isn’t going to be around any time soon.”

  “I know, and I am sorry. You know I love Zack very much. But from the look of things, it seems as though her mom is a superhero who has to be out there to look after other children. I am sure that he will understand.”

  Agent Morris hung her head in disappointment. In as much as she wanted to kill her commander, she knew that he had a point.

  The whole point of her being a cop was so that she could ensure the safety of the other children out there which was more or less an amazing thing indeed. As a matter of fact, the most important thing for her to do at that moment would have been to ask for the coordinates of the situation rather than trying her level best to find reasons as to why she wasn’t in the mood to become a cop.

  “Ok then sir, what seems to be the matter?”

  “There has been a murder in what seems to be the biggest lemon pie shop
in town. And since you are the best when it came to such matters, I desperately need you to take the lead on this case.”

  There was silence for a moment or two. The worst thing to ever happen had just happened and from the look of things, nothing Agent Morris was going to say would get her out of the hook that she had gotten herself into. The truth was that she hadn’t been assigned to a murder mystery case for almost half a decade and she was feeling as though she wasn’t going to make it.

  “You realize that I haven’t done this in a very long time.”

  “I know, but I also know that you are the best in the department. You have an incredible track record that not even the newbies can match. Look, I need you on this case.”

  The commander was a very proud human being. But when he got to the point where he was literally begging, then it meant that he was surely in need of her to come through for him. And since they had known each other for a very long time, Agent Morris felt as though she was obliged to proceed and take the case.

  “Ok, fine! I will take the damn case. But I want you to know that I am getting to do this only because you think I am the best. And also because I am a lover of peace and all the above. But remember, I need a raise after I solve this one.”

  And now it was time for the silence to amount from the side of the commander. It felt as though Agent Morris was asking for way too much. But if he compared to what he was asking of her, it actually seemed like a fair bargain.

  “I will make a point of talking to my superiors and see just how best we are going to get everything in this case sorted out without a problem. So, do we have a deal?”

  “Sure. We do have a deal. So, when are we going to start?”

  “Tonight.”

  Chapter 2:

  - The crime scene -

  The lemon pie factory wasn’t that far from the police station. And that said, it only took agent Morris a couple of minutes to get there. And just like she had expected, there was yellow tape all over the compound in a bid to keep off the curious civilians from checking out whatever the heck was going on in there. And that said, Agent Morris got from her police car and made her way straight to the house.

  There were few neighbors peeping behind the yellow tape and a couple of police officers were stations outside to make sure that they weren’t crossing the line hence giving the forensics people an ample time to go about doing their work without having to worry that much.

  The police officers keeping watch that night tipped their hats when they saw agent Morris coming past the yellow tapes as a sign of respect. She just nodded back as she was let into the small factory.

  And just like she had expected, the factory was very clean and smelled incredible. And despite the fact that she had just eaten, it seemed as though the smell of freshly prepared lemon pie was starting to give her an appetite all the same – something that made sure that Agent Morris was maintaining focus on the case since anything apart from that would clearly send her to start salivating and lose focus, something she couldn’t afford at the moment.

  In the end, the most important thing was making sure that everything was working out rather perfectly. And the latter only happened when Agent Morris left the forensic people to work on their collection of evidence while she took a detour of the crime scene, trying her level best to figure out whatever the heck that went down before the crime was committed and after the crime was committed.

  The good thing about the whole procedure was the fact that she had experience as far as such matters were concerned. And so she knew what to look at and where to look at. And so as soon as she had informed the chief forensic scientist of her arrival, Agent Morris decided to leave. She went around the crime scene and checked around the windows and doors just to see if there were any signs of a forced entry.

  Thankfully, nothing more than a broken window, which looked like it had been like that for a very long time. But still, Agent Morris knew way better than to ignore such kind of evidence.

  As far as she was concerned, the killer might have been responsible for breaking that window a very long time so that the police could have a difficult time knowing where he went through because they made a very wrong assumption. And that said, she took her gloves out, put them on right before making a point of putting them on. She had this incredibly weird smile on her face that she always had when she was on to something.

  Despite the fact that there was an old defenseless woman in the building and the aura was generally somber, it seemed as though anything that would help her solve the case would most definitely put a smile on her face without a doubt. And that was what was happening.

  She took a couple of photos right before leaning forward and scrutinizing the place. She wanted to see if she could find some blood residues which would most definitely mean that the case was a wrap. But unfortunately, nothing came up. And it was rather unfortunate but still, Agent Morris was going to make sure that she had informed the forensics people so that they could analyze the samples and make sure that they were on the right path at the end of the day.

  In the end, she went to the back door and tried to check the locks. And just like the unusual window that she had just checked, it seemed as though the door hadn’t been opened for a very long time as well. And so without wasting any more time, Agent Morris made a point of taking a couple of snaps.

  “Agent Morris. We are done. You can come in.”

  “Thanks.”

  After taking one last glance at the fence for any last clues, Agent Morris went into the small factory that had managed to make the old widow a fortune over the years. Once the forensic scientists were done, they took all of their equipment and went all the way to driveway to prepare for departure.

  Agent Morris decided to just kick back and check out how everything was fairing on. The poor woman was still lying in a pull of her own blood with a kitchen knife sticking out on her back. She tried not to look since she could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes and she didn’t want to cry. But it was such a sad sight to behold. Who would even think of doing this to an old woman?

  And so she decided to make the case personal. Agent Morris made a vow to the old woman that she was going to do all in her power to ensure that the people responsible were brought to justice without a doubt.

  ***

  As soon as they were done with the evaluation, the next order of business was starting off with the investigation. The whole point of doing this was to make sure that everything was getting all sorted out within the shortest time possible. And that said, the next order of business would be to ensure that a team was assembled.

  The morning that followed the examination of the murder scene, agent Morris had the task of selecting an incredible task force was that was going to ensure that the case was solved. And as far as her task force was concerned, they only had two things to bear in mind. First and foremost, the case was supposed to be solved and shelved within record time so that they can all avoid the pressure from the media and the public alike.

  Secondly, the team was to ensure that the person responsible for the murder of that poor old woman was going to be apprehended and put behind bars for as long as possible. And for this to happen, they needed to do things the right way, meaning that there shouldn’t be any room for making mistakes at all or else they were going to have a very difficult time sorting everything out in the end.

  The first order of business was making sure that she had found a team that would ensure work has been done in the first time possible. And that said, Agent Morris decided to call some of the best agents to work with her on the case. The good news was that they were all in the same post and that said, it was only a matter of finding out whether they were available or not.

  Seven out of ten agents that she called were free since they didn’t have any major cases to handle and that meant that Agent Morris had the team that she was so desperately looking to have and that said, the only thing that remained was for her to ensure that she was doing all the mag
ic that was necessary in order to stay focused and ahead of the game at all times.

  During her preliminary sweep, Agent Morris had managed to pick up some scrappy pieces of evidence. And even though she knew that it was only scraps until the real evidence was presented. But still, the most important thing to come would have been for the rest of them to at least have a vague idea of what they were to expect.

  As soon as the date and time of their first meeting was set, Agent Morris embarked on some serious bidding to find out how they were going to catch the people responsible for the death of one Mrs. Jones. She also came up with a list of possible suspects who might have made her life a little bit difficult than she had anticipated.

  Another very important thing that she knew she had no other choice but to sort out was none other than finding the stories on the blogs that dated the past twenty years.

  At first glance, a person would have thought that it was rather ridiculous but eventually, it seemed as though finding out the long-term rivalries would be a good way to kick start the investigations since motive is always a driving force in most murders. And Agent Morris figured that if she was going to get any luckier, then she needed to find as many people with the motive as possible. And that was what she did at the end of the day.