by K. M. Morgan
“Nice of you to show up. I was worried you’d been eaten by jaguars,” Daisy joked.
Colin cracked a smile. “Not quite.”
It was nice to know Colin had a sense of humor. The last thing Daisy needed in her life was a stick in the mud.
Daisy ended up channeling her nervous energy into another joke. She couldn’t help herself. It was one of her romantic coping mechanisms. “Why were you late then? Freak marshmallow accident?”
Colin cracked up this time. “You’re very funny. I love a woman with a good sense of humor.”
“I love a man who shows up on time. But sometimes life has other plans. Is this one of those times?”
“Look, I’m sorry I’m late. It was an interesting day,” Colin explained.
Daisy quickly thought over the events of her day. “It seems that life wanted to make things interesting for all of us today. So, did your boss work you overtime?”
“Actually, you wouldn’t believe what happened.”
That was an interesting thing to say to someone who spent her day trying to crack a murder case. Then again, Colin didn’t know Daisy had been busy playing decorator detective.
“Try me,” Daisy replied.
“Do you believe in fate?” Colin asked.
What an odd start to an explanation. Daisy had no idea where this conversation was going, but it seemed to be taking a very peculiar turn all of a sudden.
“Why do you ask?” Daisy wondered.
“I’ve never been one to believe in big, sweeping cosmic notions like fate or destiny--until today.”
Daisy got tense. Colin was hunky and everything, but Daisy couldn’t pretend this talk of fate and destiny wasn’t putting her off a little. Mostly because she had no idea where he was going with it.
“Uh…ok,” Daisy muttered.
“Then I saw Julie Jones at the tattoo parlor today,” Colin continued.
Wait a minute. Back up. Hold your horses. Screech those tires for a second. Julie? Why was he talking about another woman all of a sudden?
Daisy furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry. I’m not following you.”
“There’s this cook at the restaurant I’ve been working with for a while. I thought she was nice and we’d chat from time to time, but I always thought we’d be nothing more than co-workers. Then I went into Trip’s Tattoos today and saw Julie outside of her chef uniform for the first time. She looked completely different with her hair down. I’m talking super hot. Anyway, it turned out she had just gotten the same tattoo I had planned on getting—the Chinese symbols for luck. Freaky, huh?” Colin said.
Daisy grimaced. “Oh yeah, that’s freaky alright.”
“So we got to talking and really hit it off. It was amazing. I could hardly believe this was the same woman I’d been working in the kitchen with at the restaurant this whole time. She was so cool in every way. I really feel like we have this connection. She’s really something. I haven’t felt this strongly about a woman in a long time. Unfortunately, eventually she had to head off to the restaurant, but we decided to meet up when she got off work. Which brings me to why I was late coming over here. I wanted to stop by Francine’s Flower Shop to pick her up a bouquet before I take her out tonight,” Colin explained.
Daisy’s jaw dropped almost as quickly as her heart sank. Was this for real? Because Daisy felt like a camera crew from some prank-based reality show was about to jump out of the bushes at any time.
That was crazy talk. What were the odds that Coin would make a romantic connection with another woman the same day he was supposed to take Daisy on a blind date? What did Daisy do to deserve such rotten luck? There were so many questions in her mind, but Daisy was pretty sure she wouldn’t like the answers to any of them.
Daisy stammered as she replied, not able to keep the shock from her face. “So wait, you’re going out with this other woman tonight?”
“I know it sounds weird.”
“It sounds crazy. And the fact that you drove all the way over here only to tell me you had a romantic run in with this other woman is even more maddening.”
“I didn’t want to just leave you hanging. I know I could have just texted you, but my ex broke up with me over text message, and I vowed to never do something that rude.”
“I guess I should say thanks for having the manners to give me this horrible news in person,” Daisy wise-cracked.
“Look, I didn’t mean for things to work out like this. I was really excited for our blind date. But you know how love is sometimes. It works in mysterious ways. It turns your life upside down. It spins you around in a whole new direction when you least expect it too,” Colin explained.
Daisy shook her head. “Tell me about it.”
“I know it’s probably of little comfort right now, but I was in the dumps for a long time, and now look at me. Who knows? The same thing could happen to you,” Colin said.
Daisy scoffed. “Fat chance.”
“I used to think the same thing myself. I spent all this time searching for the right woman for me, complicating things, but sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one. Julie was right under my nose at the restaurant. I just needed to open my eyes and see what was right in front of me all along,” Colin explained.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daisy couldn’t get what Colin said out of her head, no matter what she did. It was a completely surreal night. Colin had all the right words and all the right feelings—for another woman.
Daisy tried blocking out the night with an ice cream and wine-filled blitz. It was all to no avail. She ended up feeling no better.
Colin could say whatever he wanted. Life was complicated, and Daisy didn’t know how to make it any easier.
When she was done feeling sorry for herself, Daisy hit the hay early. She figured maybe she could sleep off her sorrow. It just didn’t seem fair. Colin ended up living out a scene worthy of a romantic comedy—with another woman.
Fooey.
Daisy couldn’t think of anything else to say. Unfortunately, she found sleep was hard to come by. She ended up tossing and turning, her mind picking a horrible time to refuse to shut down.
If thoughts of the romantic rejection weren’t bad enough, they started intermingling with nuggets about the murder case too. It was an unlikely stew.
Then everything boiled over at once in the middle of the night. Certain phrases Colin said kept repeating, like a catchy pop song she couldn’t get out of her head. About love working in mysterious ways. About how love could turn someone’s life upside down. How it spin someone around in a whole new direction when they least expected it too. How sometimes the simplest explanation was the right one. How the answer was right under his nose. And how he just needed to open his eyes and see what was right in front of him all along.
Daisy’s mind was usually a pile of mush at that hour, but suddenly a moment of absolute clarity came her way. Colin was talking about love, but he may has well been talking about the murder case. It all applied. It made sense the more Daisy thought about it.
Finally, everything came together in Daisy’s mind. It was just the crack in the case she’d been looking for. She felt like a light bulb had gone off in her head.
Suddenly, Daisy realized exactly who the killer was.
***
In the morning, Daisy made her way to Whistling Wind ready to confront the killer. It wouldn’t be easy, but she knew she had to get a confession out of them.
When she arrived at the Longwell estate, Daisy put her plan into action. Anna Antonelli was setting the table for breakfast when Daisy approached her.
“Anna, I’ve been looking for you,” Daisy said.
Anna looked surprised and as tense as could be. “Oh really? What for?”
“I wasn’t able to get your mother-in-law’s casserole recipe yesterday.”
Anna loosened her muscles. “Right. Of course. Remind me later and I’ll write it down for you.”
“Your husband is a lucky man, having a c
ook like you for a wife. I know Italian men are really passionate about their food.”
“They are.”
“Among other things. They’re also really passionate about their women. Especially making sure the woman in their life is staying faithful to them,” Daisy said.
Anna got a cold look in her eyes. “Ms. McDare, what are you getting at?”
“I know you were having an affair with Luke Longwell.”
Anna narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know anything. Don’t be accusing people of things you can’t prove.”
“It was no secret—at least to the people living in this house. Everyone here knew you were sleeping with Luke. I knew the minute I saw him flirt with you right in front of Kara. It seems like the only one who didn’t know you were cheating was your husband back home,” Daisy explained.
Anna’s face got red. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you to mind your own business?”
Daisy kept pressing. “You know, it was right in front of me this whole time—the key to solving this case. The answer was right in front of my nose. It was all about the painting Luke was working on at the time of the murder. Everyone knew Luke had been creatively blocked for a while. He hated doing landscape paintings. At the same time, he’d promised Kara that he’d stopped paintings models. So when I heard that he was painting a woman at the time of his death, I knew something was funny.”
Anna meanwhile tensed up more than ever.
“Sleeping with you obviously stirred Luke’s muse again. So much that Luke didn’t even need you to model for him. He just started painting you from memory. You didn’t know he was doing that though—not until you walked into his studio yesterday and saw the canvas. I’ll bet you really lost it. You probably got an enraged look on your face, much like you have now,” Daisy continued.
Anna tried to keep her emotions in check, but to no avail. She was simmering with rage.
“You knew if Luke was allowed to finish the painting and release it to the public, your husband would immediately realize the painting was of you and know you’d been having an affair. You couldn’t have that. It would be the end of your marriage—or worse. I’m sure you tried to plead with Luke to scrap the painting, but he obviously refused. After all, he’d been stifled so long that he didn’t want to bottle up his creativity any longer. He’d finally found his muse again—in you. So you took desperate measures. You went outside, grabbed the gardener’s shovel, came back to the studio, and killed Luke. Then you planted the shovel back in the shed to frame Matthew. It was a good plan, and it probably would have worked if Bridget hadn’t have corroborated Matthew’s alibi,” Daisy explained.
Anna had heard enough. She’d been exposed. She took desperate measures and grabbed one of the knives from the pile of silverware she was using to set the table and held it up as a weapon.
“You couldn’t just mind your own business, could you? Well, now you’re going to pay,” Anna said.
Before Anna had a chance to attack Daisy, Detective Smiley and two of his deputies emerged in the dining room doorway.
“Freeze,” Detective Smiley said. “Put the knife down.”
Phew. Daisy was so glad she’d called Detective Smiley before heading to the Longwell estate that morning.
Anna looked over at the doorway and saw that the detective and his deputies had their guns pointed at her. She dropped the knife.
Kara, Eric, Bridget, and Matthew all stood outside the dining room doorway and watched the scene unfold.
Daisy meanwhile breathed a sigh of relief.
Anna however had a complete emotional meltdown. She spilled her guts out. “Luke and I were deeply in love. We talked about leaving each other’s spouses and starting a new life together, but every time I asked him if when he was going to divorce Kara, he dragged his feet. I started to worry that he only looked at me as mistress material, and not marriage material. I loved Luke too much to just be his woman on the side—to just be used for sex. If that wasn’t enough, I found out he was doing that painting of me. I got so afraid of what would happen if that painting got out—Kara would know, my husband would know, the whole world would know we were having an affair. I begged Luke not to finish the painting, but no--his art always came first. He said he was tired of stifling his muse. So when Luke refused to scrap the painting, I knew I had to kill him. I had no choice.”
“What do you mean you had no choice?” Daisy asked.
“My husband is a possessive man--a violent man. If he found out I was cheating on him, he would have killed me,” Anna replied.
“I hope it was worth it. Now you’re going to be spending the rest of your life in jail,” Daisy said.
Detective Smiley had heard enough. He’d gotten the confession he needed. Smiley signaled to his deputies. “Take her away boys.”
The deputies handcuffed Anna, then hauled her out of the dining room.
Detective Smiley then turned his attention to Daisy.
“It looks like I owe you a thank you,” Detective Smiley admitted.
Daisy couldn’t help but notice the detective’s usual snarl was nowhere to be found. He actually seemed to be in a good mood for once.
“Is that an actual smile on your face?” Daisy asked.
“Well yeah. Don’t sound so surprised. My nickname isn’t Smiley for nothing.”
Daisy laughed. “Somehow I imagined they’d have a different nickname for you.”
“I have to say, that was some fine detective work.”
“Thanks.”
“Do me a favor though and stick to decorating from now on. I don’t want you putting me out of a job,” Detective Smiley deadpanned.
“I can’t promise anything,” Daisy admitted.
“Anyway, I should be getting that Anna back to the station. There’s a lot of paperwork to do and I have a date with a donut later that I don’t want to be late for,” Detective Smiley cracked.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Two Days Later
“It looks great,” Kara said.
With the murder investigation all wrapped up, Daisy was able to get back to the decorating she’d been putting off. She beat feet, putting her décor designs into action. Finally, after two days of adding the new furnishings to the parlor and moving around accent pieces so they were just right, she finally showed off Kara’s new party room.
Her old friend was thrilled. It brought great joy to Daisy seeing the smile on Kara’s face. Sure Daisy had some sleuthing skills in her, but interior decorating would always be Daisy’s first love. There was no better professional feeling than the satisfaction on a client’s face after a decorating job well done.
“I know it’s a couple days late, but I think your party room turned out exactly according to plan,” Daisy replied.
“To be fair, you did encounter a few unexpected bumps in the road,” Kara said.
“Talk about a whale of an understatement.”
Kara laughed. “I know. That’s not like me. It’s probably because I haven’t had a cocktail yet.”
“You have something to look forward to then.”
“Anyway, thank you for doing such good work.”
“Of course. Decorating is my job.”
“I didn’t mean just with the decorating. With the case too. You’re a better detective than the local police,” Kara insisted.
“Thanks, but I won’t be quitting my day job anytime soon,” Daisy said.
“I can see why. This room is ready to party, all thanks to you.”
Daisy smiled. “Enough about me though, what’s next for you now?” Daisy wondered.
“With the lawyers going over Luke’s will with a fine tooth comb, I’m thinking I could use a little vacation. A little St. Tropez, sil vou plait,” Kara said.
“Oo la la. Have yourself a good time now, you hear?”
Kara smiled wide. “Trust me, I plan to.”
***
While Kara turned to cocktails for celebration, Daisy was far more interested in satisfying her sw
eet tooth. When Daisy arrived back in Cozy Creek, her friend’s dessert shop was her first stop.
“If it isn’t our favorite decorator detective,” Samantha said.
Granny Annie then put a cake on the counter in front of Daisy. “You make cracking cases seem like a piece of cake.”
“How long did it take you to come up with that line?” Daisy asked.
“A word magician never reveals their secrets. Now cut the cake already. It’s meant to be eaten, not stared at,” Granny Annie insisted.
Daisy took a bite. “It’s delicious.”
“Well yeah—look who baked it,” Granny Annie boasted.
Samantha couldn’t help but notice a wistful look in her friend’s eyes.
“Why do I get the feeling your taste buds are far happier than your mind is right now?” Samantha asked.
“Dig in. You’ve earned it,” Samantha insisted.
“It’s just that who knew solving a murder case would be far easier than solving the mystery of my love life?” Daisy asked.
“You only had half a dozen murder suspects to wade through. Finding the one prince for you in a dating pool of frogs is the hardest case you’ll ever have to crack,” Granny Annie said.
“That’s a little bit more food for thought than I was looking for,” Daisy insisted.
“Don’t worry, the right man for you is out there somewhere. In the meantime, you have plenty of cake to keep you company,” Samantha said.
There was no more delicious truth than that. Daisy didn’t know exactly what the future held, but with her good friends and delectable desserts, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t get through.
The End.
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