by K. M. Morgan
“She hung out sometimes at Sudsy Scott’s. I’m surprised you haven’t run into her there,” Daisy said.
“What makes you think I’d go to a place like Sudsy Scott’s?”
Cameron acted offended, like he’d never be caught dead at a dive bar.
Daisy called him out. “Maybe because you were spotted there getting into a fight with Adam Dunning last night shortly before he was murdered.”
Daisy got her wish. Cameron’s façade was down. He dropped the fake smile he used with customers and gave her a stern stare.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Cameron said.
“Not before I get answers.”
“What makes you think I’m going to talk to you?” Cameron scoffed. “You don’t have a badge.”
“No, but I can call someone who does. The fact is, you lied to the police and told them you were here all night doing paperwork. Only the owner Scott told me he broke up a fight between you and Adam at his bar. That makes me wonder what else you’ve lied about.”
Cameron stared her down. “I have a business to run, and you’re not welcome here. Now get out.”
“Oh no you don’t.”
“Don’t make me remove you by force.”
“Try to run me out of here all you want. I’ll yell rat so loud, they’ll be able to hear it at the health department.”
Cameron scanned the crowded restaurant. He groaned. “Fine. What do you want?”
“I want to know who killed Adam Dunning.”
“You’re in the wrong place then.”
“Oh really? Does that mean you know who did it?”
That put Cameron back on his heels. “I know it wasn’t me.”
“How can I believe that? Not only did you lie to the police, you had a fight with Adam shortly before he was murdered,” Daisy said.
“I admit it. I lied to the police about doing paperwork all night, but only because the fight would make me look guilty.”
“On top of that, there was arguably no one that hated Adam more,” Daisy reasoned.
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“It doesn’t prove you did it, but it does make you look really guilty.”
Then, just as it seemed like things were about to swing in Daisy’s favor, the most unexpected thing happened—the sprinklers went off inside the restaurant. That was followed by the sound of the fire alarm beeping loudly.
Cameron was as surprised as he was relieved. Daisy meanwhile was beyond frustrated. Part of it was because she felt like she was so close to getting answers. The other part was that she hated getting drenched. She wasn’t alone.
The whole restaurant cleared out in a hurry, Cameron O’Doul and Benjamin Kotter included. Benjamin was in such a hurry to leave that he managed to dart from the kitchen to the front door of the restaurant ahead of Daisy. That really stood out to Daisy. Everyone wanted to get outside where it was dry. Only Benjamin was so desperate to make an exit that he nearly tackled a little kid on the way out.
Once outside, Daisy turned back to the restaurant and only became more puzzled. If there had been a serious blaze, she’d see smoke hanging in the air alongside the sprinkler water. She saw no sign of any smoke whatsoever. That led her to believe it was a small fire. That could come from a number of sources. The most common was kitchen error. Only in this case, Daisy had a hunch it wasn’t an error.
Daisy got a sneaking suspicion that Benjamin might have set off a small fire. One that wouldn’t be enough to cause any real damage, but would provide a great diversion to get everyone out of the restaurant—Daisy included. Of course she couldn’t prove this theory. She just had a really bad feeling. Backing up Daisy’s suspicion was the fact that Benjamin had seemingly disappeared to parts unknown all of a sudden.
Daisy wasn’t going to get any answers from Cameron O’Doul either. Cameron was surrounded by angry and confused customers wondering why their meals had been cut short by an unwelcome sprinkler bath. Daisy could wait around for things to clear up, but she had a feeling that could take as much as an hour. At the same time, there were still a number of other suspects to question. Daisy decided to turn her attention to them.
Chapter Twenty-Five
As Daisy walked back to her car, she saw something odd. There was a light on at Tres Chic. The restaurant wasn’t open, that was for sure. There was someone inside however. The question became who—and why? Daisy had heard that Adam Dunning was notoriously stingy with his restaurant keys. Only his wife and daughter had a set other than him. Surely one of them couldn’t be at the restaurant.
Apparently, Daisy was wrong. Just as she reached her car, she saw Emily and Sasha Dunning emerge in the doorway to the restaurant. Emily gave her mother a hug, then went back inside. Sasha meanwhile started walking to her car. This was a golden opportunity for Daisy.
Instead of a confrontational approach, Daisy decided to offer Sasha her sympathy. She was a widow now after all.
“Mrs. Dunning,” Daisy said.
Sasha turned to Daisy, clearly having no idea who she was.
“Yes?” Sasha replied.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I’m sorry. Who are you? More importantly, how did you know my husband?”
Talk about a pointed question. So much for the soft glove approach. Sasha was talking to Daisy in a scorned tone as if she believed Daisy was her husband’s mistress.
Daisy assured her that wasn’t the case. “Don’t worry. There wasn’t any hanky panky going on. Adam just hired me to redecorate the restaurant.”
“Oh.”
Sasha looked so relieved. It must be so much stress having the suspicion of her husband being unfaithful constantly weighing on her mind. She already knew about Adam’s mistress Jessica Mitchell, but clearly Sasha worried that her husband had another woman on the side. Perhaps he did.
Maybe that’s how Crystal Pellington fit into this. Had Sasha mistaken Daisy for Crystal just now? Daisy had to find out.
“Enough about me though. Let’s talk about you. It’s incredible what you’ve been through. You must be so sad,” Daisy said.
Sasha tried to play the role of the grieving widow, but she wasn’t fooling Daisy. Grief was nowhere to be found on Sasha’s face. She looked like a robot reading off a script with no real emotion behind her words.
“It’s just awful,” Sasha replied.
Sasha was a horrible liar. Daisy loved that. It would make it so much easier to read between the lines when Daisy asked the tough questions.
Daisy played along, trying to get Sasha to open up to her.
“How could someone do such a horrible thing?” Daisy asked.
“I’ve been wondering that myself.”
“Do you have any idea who might have killed your husband?”
Sasha tensed up and became evasive. “I’d really rather leave that to the police.”
“How about Crystal Pellington?” Daisy asked.
Sasha furrowed her brow. “Crystal? Why would you bring her up?”
Interesting. Sasha was familiar with the name, but hearing it didn’t set off her mistress radar.
“So you know Crystal then?” Daisy asked.
“Of course. She’s my daughter’s best friend.” Sasha furrowed her brow. “Why are you even bringing her up?”
Things were getting mighty interesting. This new revelation opened up a whole world of possibilities. On top of that, Sasha was trying to play dumb about what Crystal could have to do with this. The revelation that Crystal was Emily Dunning’s friend gave Sasha an even stronger motive.
If Adam was the one to get Crystal’s phone number on that Sudsy Scott’s matchbook, not only was it gross, but it meant that Adam was hitting on his daughter’s best friend. Yikes. Talk about a way to get on his wife’s bad side.
“A matchbook with Crystal’s phone number written in it was found at the scene of the crime,” Daisy revealed.
“Wow. That’s news to me,” Sasha sa
id.
Daisy wished Sasha would drop her naïve act. Daisy couldn’t tell how much Sasha knew, but it was definitely more than she let on.
“Is it really news to you?” Daisy asked.
Sasha acted offended. “I don’t like that tone you’re taking with me.”
“And I don’t like that there’s a murderer on the loose. Last time I checked, you had a seriously killer motive.”
“You have a lot of nerve,” Sasha barked.
Daisy set a trap. “By the way, how was ladies night at Club Pulse?”
Sasha fell right into the trap. “Fine.”
Daisy smiled. “Nice try, but ladies night is Wednesday at Club Pulse. Last night was Dueling DJ’s.”
Sasha’s face went completely white.
“Where were you really last night?” Daisy asked.
Sasha huffed away and got into her car. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“What’s the matter? Did I hit a nerve?”
Sasha had enough. She completely ignored Daisy.
“The truth will come out eventually,” Daisy said.
Sasha then turned on her car and pulled out of her parking spot, forcing Daisy to step aside or get run over. As Sasha drove away, Daisy let out a big sigh.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The questioning was far from over. The Crystal Pellington revelation made Sasha’s motive stronger, but it did the same for Emily Dunning as well. Not to mention Emily was inexplicably at work the day her father was murdered. So much for remorse.
Daisy knocked on the back kitchen door to the restaurant.
The windowless door opened shortly after.
“Logan, I’ve been thinking--” Emily Dunning started to say.
Clearly Emily thought someone much different was on the other side of the door.
Emily corrected herself. “You’re not Logan.”
“Very true,” Daisy replied.
Emily was confused. “Who are you then? And why are you here?”
“I’m Daisy McDare. Your father hired me to redecorate the place.”
“Oh. Well, I’m really busy right now. I should be getting back to work,” Emily insisted.
Emily was in a hurry to get rid of Daisy. She couldn’t let that happen. There was no telling if—or when Daisy would get another face to face opportunity like this alone with Emily.
“I actually wanted to ask you about that,” Daisy said.
Emily furrowed her brow. “About what?”
“Your father paid in full for the decorating. I was curious if you wanted me to continue the job.”
“How much did he pay you?”
“Five thousand.”
Emily was floored. “You got five thousand dollars out of my father?”
“Does that mean you want me to continue the job?”
Emily was still trying to process the fact that Daisy had gotten her father to write such a large check when Emily couldn’t ever get her father to do anything.
“Of course. It was my idea to get this place redecorated in the first place,” Emily said.
“He didn’t tell me that,” Daisy replied.
Emily grumbled. “That doesn’t surprise me. He never gave me credit for anything.”
“I noticed that.”
Emily was unclear on how Daisy could know that. “How did you--”
“I saw you two arguing yesterday. It seemed pretty heated.”
Emily was outraged. “You were listening in on our conversation?”
Daisy deflected. “You were talking loud enough for everyone to hear. Besides, that’s not the point.”
Emily folded her arms. “What is the point then?”
“That you got what you wanted. Now that your father is gone, the restaurant is yours.”
That put Emily back on her heels. She acted offended, but deep down Daisy could tell Emily was happy about having her father out of the picture.
“That’s a cold thing to say,” Emily replied.
“It’s no colder than what you’re doing. Here you are, the day after your father’s murder, and you’re at work. To a lot of people, that would look like you don’t have any remorse.”
“We all grieve in our own way.”
Daisy pressed on. “You don’t look like you’re grieving at all. You actually look relieved—happy even.”
“I want you off this property right now.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’ll call the police and tell them you’re trespassing,” Emily threatened.
“Go for it. I’ll bet they’d love to hear how you’re best friends with Crystal Pellington,” Daisy replied.
Emily tried to play dumb, but Daisy could see Emily’s rage building.
“So what?” Emily snapped.
Daisy laid out bait to see if Emily would bite on it.
“Oh come on. Who do you think you’re fooling? There were plenty of reasons to hate your father, but were any of them worse than finding out your dad was hitting on your best friend?”
Emily glared. “Why would you bring that up?”
“Because it’s a killer motive.”
“How dare you. Are you accusing me of murder?”
“You tell me. You and your boyfriend were sure having a hard time getting your alibis straight. Where were you really last night?” Daisy wondered.
Emily was defiant. “That’s none of your business.”
“You were in a big hurry to call the police earlier. Why don’t we call them now?”
Emily panicked. “You are so fired from this decorating job. Don’t ever come near this restaurant again.”
Daisy went to reply, but Emily slammed the door in her face.
“You’d be better off telling me the truth,” Daisy said.
Daisy could hear Emily yelling through the door. “This conversation is over.”
It was frustrating to get so close, yet not get a confession. Badgering suspects was never easy, but there was no other way. Even with a clue and a few leads to work with, the investigation was always slow going. Daisy had to do whatever necessary to get a confession though. Without fingerprints or hard evidence, there was no way to convict without a confession.
Daisy sighed. What an exhausting day. She had to take the small victories where she could. On the bright side, at least this was the first door that had been slammed in her face today.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Daisy walked back towards the parking lot to regroup. Instead, she found herself thrown into the action again. Before she had a chance to catch her breath, she saw Tres Chic’s sous chef Logan Walsh park his car. Logan was the last suspect on Daisy’s list.
Even though Daisy really wanted to take a breather, she’d be a fool to let an opportunity like this pass her by. She was used to having to chase suspects down. This time, one came to her. What an unexpected break. Even better was the fact that Logan had no idea what he was walking into.
Or maybe she had it all wrong. Instead of walking towards the restaurant, Logan headed directly towards Daisy. He was angry as ever.
Daisy reached into her purse for her pepper spray. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
“How dare you accuse my girlfriend of murder,” Logan said.
Emily Dunning must have called Logan after slamming the door in Daisy’s face. So much for small talk.
“I didn’t accuse her of murder. I just asked her where she really was last night and she got all offended,” Daisy replied.
Logan powered on. “I don’t know who you think you are. You’re just an interior decorator.”
“Yet everyone is always in such a hurry to run away from me.”
“Because you have no business going around flinging accusations at people.”
“Why don’t you give Detective Crumple a call at the police department and ask what business I have?”
Logan expected his aggressive behavior to get Daisy running scared. She held her ground however. Partly it was out of pure mox
ie. Mostly it was because she had one of her free hands on the can of pepper spray in her purse. One wrong move and Logan would get a face full of trouble.
The calmer Daisy stayed—at least on the surface—the more furious Logan became.
“I’m warning you. Stay away from me and my girlfriend,” Logan said.
Daisy got a firm grip on the can of pepper spray in her purse. She had a feeling she’d have to use it before the conversation was done. She really wanted to take a step back, but if she backed down even slightly, Logan would taste blood in the water.
Daisy stayed strong. “I know your game. You figure if you can put me far enough back on my heels that I’ll be too overwhelmed and disjointed to ask you any tough questions. Sorry, but you’ll have to try harder than that to throw me off.”
Surprisingly, Logan was the one to take a step back.
“How did you know that?”
“Never underestimate an interior decorator,” Daisy said.
“I haven’t,” Logan insisted.
“How does it feel to be the last person to see Adam Dunning alive?” Daisy asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You were the last one to leave the restaurant last night, and Adam Dunning was murdered right here in the parking lot.”
“Nice try, but the killer was the last one to see Adam alive, not me.”
“That’s right. You were driving home for work at the time of the murder…or maybe you made a quick stop at Sudsy Scott’s first where you saw your girlfriend’s father hitting on her best friend. Then you followed Adam back here and killed him.”
“You have a crazy imagination. The key word being crazy,” Logan said.
“It’s funny you should call me crazy. I’m not the murder suspect here,” Daisy insisted.
“Just because I’m a suspect doesn’t mean I did it.”
Daisy tried to throw him off his game. “You know, I’ll bet you need to have some really good knife skills to be a sous chef…or to stab your hated boss in the back.”
Logan narrowed his eyes. “I’m going to tell you for the last time. Stay away from me and my girlfriend.”
“Or what, you’ll kill me?”
