Cranberry Glazed & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 10

by Susan Gillard

  “You don’t have to,” Junior said.

  “Yes. I do,” said Jason. “We should all do whatever we can to catch this killer.”

  “That’s an attitude I like to hear,” said Amy.

  Jason nodded and led them to his office.

  An Office Romance?

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t speak with you the first time you visited,” Jason said.

  “We’ve been sickened by murder before,” said Amy. “Though not quite as literally.”

  Then she set up to take notes, as Heather began the questioning.

  “If you were so upset by her death, would you say that you and Melanie were close?” Heather asked.

  “She worked here about two years,” Jason responded.

  Heather realized she was going to have to go slow to get Jason to open up about his relationship with the victim.

  “And you were the one who hired her?”

  “Yes,” said Jason. “She was eager to find a job so she could stay in Key West. I can’t begrudge her that. And she seemed to really enjoy it here.”

  “You didn’t do a background check on her?” Ryan asked.

  "There was no need," said Jason. "I could tell right away that there was something special about her. She wanted to learn, and she had a good resume."

  “But you didn’t contact any of her old places of employment?” Ryan asked.

  “No,” Jason said. “I could already tell she was the right candidate. And I was right. She was great here. She thrived.”

  “But she didn’t talk about herself much?” Heather asked.

  “That’s right,” said Jason. “She was a quiet person, but very dedicated. And she had wonderful instincts. She could have been an architect herself, but she said she didn’t want to apply to school and take the classes.”

  Heather nodded. If Melanie Grayson was lying about her identity, she probably didn’t want to take any chances where her background might be looked up.

  Jason continued. "She was nervous. I got the sense that she didn't have a happy life before she came here.”

  “That’s one way of looking at it,” said Amy.

  “She was looking for something better and hoped to find it in the sand and the sun,” Jason said. “She helped us make other people their dream homes, and I think that made her glad.”

  “Mr. Burdey, were you and Melanie dating?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Jason said quickly. “Well, we weren’t. But I hoped we might.”

  “You liked her?” Heather asked, giving him a smile of encouragement to continue.

  "I think I fell in love with her the first moment I saw her," Jason said. "And through our time working together, I think she liked me too. Recently, she had begun to open up to me a little more. I was planning on asking out to her dinner soon and seeing if there was a way we could be together and still work together. I think she really liked her job. Sometimes I thought she liked it because I was there, but other times I thought that idea was arrogant. But I loved her, and that's why I was so upset when I heard she was gone."

  “When you said she started to open up you, what did she say?” asked Heather.

  "Little things. But it was still wonderful to know more about her likes and dislikes. She was so private at first. But then she did tell me that she had a big secret. Apparently, a man bothered her at work while I was out. He's lucky I was out."

  “What would you have done?” asked Peters.

  "I would have called the police and had him hauled to jail," Jason admitted. "I'm no fighter. But I would have done more than what was done. No one should have been able to bother her like that. I think her secret had something to do with that man. And I know she wanted to tell me what it was. She told me that we would talk soon."

  “Then things were getting more serious,” Heather said.

  “I hoped so,” Jason said. “I have a secret too. Telling you will either make me look crazier or more innocent.”

  “What is it?” asked Ryan.

  “I bought a ring,” Jason said.

  “Like a wedding ring?” Amy asked. “For a woman you never even went on a date with? I need to tell Jamie to step up his game and get me one.”

  Heather raised an eyebrow at her friend.

  “I’m kidding,” Amy said.

  "We hadn't dated, but we did know each other. And we understood each other. I know we would have loved each other," Jason said. "And I wasn't going to spring it on her right away. But I was certain about her, so I kept it in my desk drawer."

  “Were you the one who left her the heart note?” asked Heather.

  “What heart note?” asked Jason.

  “We found a note in her desk asking her to meet someone at the park when she got off of work Monday,” Ryan said. “Was that you?”

  “No,” Jason said. “I had to work after she left. I wouldn’t have left a note like that.”

  “Is it possible she thought the note was from you?” Ryan asked.

  “Was it written in block letters?” Jason asked.

  “Yes,” Ryan said.

  “Then it is possible,” Jason said. “I told her how I used to write letters in block writing to someone I had a crush on in school. She might have thought I was doing the same thing now. Did someone use our feelings for each other to lure her to her death?”

  “It might be a coincidence,” Ryan said. “Someone could have just written it that way to disguise their handwriting.”

  "Or you could have written it," Peters said. "You didn't like what she told you about her past, and so you killed her."

  “That’s ridiculous,” Jason Burdey said. “I was at work all that afternoon.”

  “You didn’t leave at all?” Heather asked.

  "No," said Jason. "I was working on a project all day. I had lunch brought in that afternoon, and I was working straight through. Kim was there. She helped me at the end of the day."

  “Still,” Peters said. “The romantic interest is always a strong suspect.”

  “What do you want from me?” Jason asked. “Do you want a handwriting sample? My blood type? DNA to test? I would never hurt her. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”

  “Well,” Amy said. “Since you’re offering, we’ll accept.”

  Biting Accusations

  “This walk is calmer than I expected,” Amy said to her bestie.

  Miss Marshmallow was joining in on their walk with Dave and Cupcake. At first, Dave had been trying to impress her by pointing out all the good things to smell. However, he lost enthusiasm when she bared her teeth at him. He began to sniff the grass with his friend Cupcake instead.

  “And she’s actually walking,” said Amy. “I was afraid I’d have to carry her around the whole time.”

  Miss Marshmallow began to pick up the pace as if she understood and was indignant with the remark. Heather and Amy hurried along.

  “I guess she’s not so bad,” Amy said.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been distracted during the walk,” Heather said. “You’re right. She’s a good dog.”

  “I didn’t go that far in my compliments,” Amy joked. “And I understand your distraction. This happens when we’re close to solving a case, but also we feel far away from answers.”

  "When Ryan gets the results of the DNA test back from the lab, we can see if Jason Burdey is the prime suspect," Heather said.

  “If it matches, it helps,” said Amy. “But Ryan and Peters keep reminding us not to get ahead of ourselves. The hair could have been lost by someone in the park earlier in the day. If it doesn’t match, then Jason Burdey could still be the killer.”

  "He does have an alibi," Heather said. "If we believe Junior and Kim that he was at work all afternoon. Jason said that he and Kim were working on a project together at the end of the workday."

  “She did tell us that without being prompted,” Amy said, thinking. “But I bet both of them would cover for him. They wouldn’t want him to be accused of murder.”

  “He was th
e person that Melanie slash Mallory liked,” said Heather. “She thought the heart note was from him.”

  “But was it?” asked Amy. “Did he write it and lie about it? Or did someone else leave the note and she just thought it was from him?”

  "And if someone else wrote it," Heather thought aloud. "Did they mean for the message to look like it came from Jason Burdey? Or were they just sending their message on a heart so that it didn't look threatening?"

  “These are very good questions,” said Amy. “And I don’t have any answers.”

  They continued walking. Miss Marshmallow was starting to look at the way Dave and Cupcake were enjoying strolling next to one another.

  “Who do you think did it?” Heather asked.

  "Scratch," said Amy. "He had the best motive. He and the victim were partners and she stole his share of the loot. He was really mad about it. He searched for her and followed her across the country to get the money."

  “But he’s never going to get the money now that she’s dead,” said Heather.

  “Then it was just a vengeance killing,” said Amy. “When he saw her again, he was so mad that needed revenge and he strangled her.”

  “Maybe,” said Heather.

  “Well, then who do you think it was?” asked Amy.

  Heather sighed. “I don’t know. There are some things that point to Scratch, but it doesn’t seem cut and dry to me. But our other suspect, Jason Burdey, has an alibi. They both had reasons to be mad at the secrets Melanie kept.”

  “Or Mallory kept,” said Amy.

  “But I don’t know who the strangler is.”

  Miss Marshmallow seemed to be getting jealous of how content Dave and Cupcake were. She moved closer to them and joined in on sniffing everything that they did. Dave wagged his tail heartily.

  They continued their walk in this happy formation. Heather wasn't too distracted by unanswered questions in the case to ignore the doggie dynamics. She smiled at their antics, and when the finished their route, they returned home. Ryan had just arrived home too.

  “It’s good to see you,” Heather said, giving him a kiss.

  “Are the animals getting along?” Ryan asked.

  “Better than expected,” said Amy.

  “Do you have any news?” Heather asked, wanting to hear more about the case.

  “Well, we ran the DNA test that Jason Burdey suggested,” Ryan said.

  “And was it a match?”

  “That’s the strange part,” said Ryan. “It was only a partial match.”

  “A partial match?” asked Amy. “Does that make any sense?”

  Suddenly the pieces all fit into place in Heather’s mind. “It makes perfect sense.”

  “How?” asked Amy.

  “He called her Mallory,” Heather said, hitting herself in the forehead. “Why didn’t I realize it before?”

  “Yeah,” said Amy. “Why did you realize before? And why don’t you tell me now?”

  Facing the Killer

  “I should stop saying “You’re back!” and being surprised about it,” Kim said, as Heather and Amy entered the office.

  “Unfortunately, we’re still not here about building a dream house,” said Amy.

  “Then you know who the killer is?” Kim asked. “Was I helpful? Are you going to catch him partly because of me? It was that crazy ex of hers, right?”

  “What you told us was very helpful,” said Heather. “And you can continue to help us some more.”

  “Did you decide you do want me to take Miss Marshmallow? Because I could really only take her for a few days,” Kim said. “I can’t take care of her forever. I loved when she visited the office, but I’m really more of a cat person.”

  “No. We don’t need you to take Miss Marshmallow,” Amy assured her.

  “Then what?”

  “We need you to think back to the day of the murder,” Heather said. “You were working here?”

  “That’s right. I was here all afternoon with the Burdey Brothers,” Kim said.

  “That’s what I need you to focus on,” said Heather. “Now you said you were working on a project with Jason Burdey.”

  “We were working on our own things at first,” said Kim. “I had some permits to look over before they were mailed. But then we did work on something together. It must have been around three-thirty. And we worked on it for the rest of the day.”

  “What was Jason doing before that?” asked Heather.

  “He was drawing a new design and was in and out of his office. He always wanders when he does that. And he was making some phone calls too,” said Kim.

  “So, you definitely saw him in the building?” Heather said.

  “Of course,” said Kim.

  “What about Junior Burdey?”

  “Well, he…” Kim trailed off as she thought about it. “He was in his office. And he had his door closed after lunch for a while.”

  “So, you didn’t actually see him?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Kim said. “I guess I didn’t.”

  Heather nodded and made a quick call to Ryan. Her hunch was right.

  “All right, Kim,” Amy said. “I think you’re going to want to leave the building for a bit.”

  “Why?” Kim asked.

  “Trust us,” said Amy. “We think you might not want to be here.”

  “What’s going on?” Junior Burdey asked, striding towards them. “How long is this going to go on?”

  “I don’t know,” Amy shrugged. “Twenty to life?”

  “What?” Junior asked.

  “Nothing,” said Heather, nudging her friend. They needed to wait for the police to arrive and make the arrest. She didn’t want Junior Burdey to flee and for her to have to give chase to a suspect again.

  “Junior, you didn’t have anything to do with Melanie’s death, did you?” Kim asked.

  Heather groaned inwardly. She didn’t want Junior to know that they were on to him.

  “How could I have?” Junior asked. “I was here at work with you the whole time. Wasn’t I?”

  Kim’s gaze dropped to the floor.

  “Well,” Junior said, covering. “If we’re not going to get any work done today, I might as well go home.”

  He headed to his desk in his office and began to pack up.

  “We have to stall him,” Heather whispered.

  “How?” asked Amy.

  Heather walked up to his desk, trying to block his escape.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Would you like to hear my theory about how the killer committed his crime?” Heather asked.

  "I'm sure it would be riveting," Junior said. "But I'd rather wait and hear what the police have to say than listen to some private investigator."

  “Don’t worry,” Amy said. “The police will be here soon.”

  “And why are they coming here?” Junior asked. “Besides to interrupt our work.”

  “Did you know that your brother volunteered to give us a DNA sample to clear his name?” Heather asked.

  “What?” Junior asked.

  "We compared his sample to a hair that was found at the scene, but it was only a partial match. Why was it partial?" Heather asked. "Because it wasn't from him, but it did belong to a family member of his."

  “Are you trying to say it was me?” Junior asked. “That’s crazy. I was here at work.”

  “You said you were here,” Heather said. “But you just closed your office door, and that allowed you the chance to leave through your window and strangle your employee.”

  “Why would I kill Mallory?”

  "Aha," Amy said. "That was your big mistake. You just did it again."

  “What?”

  “You called her Mallory instead of Melanie,” Heather said. “And I’m guessing that the reason you killed her had something to do with finding out her past. You found out about Mallory Gray’s thefts. Once you knew her real name, it was hard to keep track of what to call her.”

  “Circums
tantial,” Junior said.

  However, before he could leave, he was stopped by Ryan and Detective Peters. They read him his rights on their way to the door.

  Junior decided to waive his right to be silent and shouted, “Circumstantial. It’s all circumstantial! You don’t have anything on me. I didn’t kill Mallory.”

  Jason Burdey entered the room and saw his brother being arrested.

  “Mallory?” Jason asked. “Who’s Mallory? Why are you being arrested?”

  Junior just couldn't contain it anymore. "You idiot," he said. "I did all of this for you, and you have no idea."

  “Did what?” Jason asked.

  “I was saving you from yourself,” Junior said.

  “Who’s Mallory?”

  “Mallory is who Melanie really was,” Junior nearly spat at his brother. “She was a thief who lied about everything.”

  “That can’t be true,” Jason said.

  “You were so head over heels for her that you couldn’t see the truth, but I did the research. She was a robber and a con artist. She was a liar,” said Junior. “And you bought her a ring.”

  “How did you know that?” Jason asked.

  “I saw it in your desk. I knew you were going to make the biggest mistake of your life, and I knew you wouldn’t listen to anything that I said. So, I did what I always do. I took care of you. I saved you,” Junior said.

  “By killing Melanie?”

  “The thief Mallory.”

  "You wrote that note telling her to go to the park, so she thought it was from me," Jason said. "You used our love as a trap and killed her."

  “You should be thanking me,” Junior said.

  “I told you before I wasn’t much of a fighter,” Jason said. “Officers, can you take him away?”

  Ryan and Detective Peters obliged and took him away. Jason looked down-trodden.

  “Are you going to be sick again?” Amy asked.

  "No," Jason said. "I'm not. And I don't care what Junior says. Melanie, or whoever she was, wasn't bad. And she wasn't trying to con me. She was trying to start over. She was going to tell me about her past, and I would have forgiven her. We would have been happy together. Our feelings were real."