Pumpkin Smoothie Murder (Harmony Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Anna Lakewood

  Once again, Guy appeared reluctant to elaborate. “I don’t care if Mineral Springs believes in the alien attacks,” he admitted.

  Autumn’s brow lowered. “Then who are you trying to convince?”

  Guy crossed his arms. “My own followers.”

  “You’re afraid that the Cosmic Keepers don’t believe the theories they promote?”

  “It’s not that exactly,” Guy said. “It’s just that I was afraid if the events didn’t play out here as they do in the comic book then they would lose faith.”

  “The comic book?” Autumn prompted, deciding that playing dumb would be the best way to get all of the information. “What comic book?”

  “The Cosmic Keepers are based on a great comic book where there are alien abductions and signs left around the town just as I’ve done here in your town.”

  “So, you’re following the storyline of a book?”

  Guy nodded.

  Though she’d already discovered this piece of the puzzle, Autumn’s amazement that a person could be so zealous about creating hysteria was renewed. She wondered what on earth Guy had said in the first place to convince all of his followers to become so devoted when the facts they were basing their work on were clearly far-fetched.

  “It’s strange that Mick’s murder was perfectly aligned with the comic book if you didn’t kill him, isn’t it?” Autumn realized that she might have found a way to corner Guy and entice the truth from him. “Are you saying that he just happened to be murdered just like the first victim in the comic book and placed in a crop circle? It seems pretty coincidental to me.”

  Guy’s hesitation made Autumn sure that she was right. She’d found the bit of information that he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of. When the police arrived, she would have evidence that proved his guilt.

  “I told you, I didn’t kill him!”

  “Then how do you explain the coincidence?" Autumn said, raising her voice and praying that the police were seconds away. "Is there another fanatic out there who is trying to convince us all that aliens exist?”

  “Mick was already dead when I found him,” Guy blurted out. He obviously regretted his words the moment they escaped his mouth, but Autumn refused to let it go.

  “What do you mean? You found him dead and decided to use him as a prop to promote your fairytale story about alien abductions?”

  Guy grimaced at her summary but nodded. “You wouldn't understand.”

  “His head was stitched up when he was found,” Autumn pointed out.

  “I didn’t do that," Guy confessed. "He was already like that. All I had to do was make the crop circle and stage his body.” Guy shuddered. “I was as scared as anyone when I first ran into his corpse. But, then I realized….”

  “It was a perfect crime,” Autumn finished dryly. “You would have something to show your followers and, in turn, you got to keep your hands clean.”

  “Stop making it sound like I’m the criminal here,” Guy demanded.

  “You may not have actually killed anyone, but staging a dead body and drugging an innocent bystander is pretty bad—morbid if you ask me."

  “They're nothing compared to murder,” Guy responded.

  “Well, what do we have here?” a voice called from behind Guy.

  Autumn breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Detective Green and two police officers. Guy’s expression had turned to one of sheer panic, and he looked ready to make a run for it.

  “I have some information for you,” Autumn said. “Mr. Horne and I had a very enlightening talk.”

  “I didn’t murder anyone,” Guy said, backing away. “This is all a big misunderstanding."

  “I'll be the judge of that,” Detective Green said. “The evidence doesn't look to be in your favor.”

  “Mick was dead when I found him," Guy confessed to the police. "You have to believe me. All I did was make a crop circle."

  Detective Green glanced at the police officer to his right. “We’re taking him back to headquarters.”

  “No,” Guy exclaimed, finally attempting to make a run for it when the two officers closed in on him. “I’m innocent!”

  In a flash, handcuffs had been secured around the frantic man’s wrists, and he was being escorted back down the hill.

  “Do you believe him?” Detective Green asked of Autumn.

  “I don’t know,” Autumn said. “Can we walk and talk? I’m worried about how out of it Nikki was when I left her.”

  The pair started swiftly up the trail.

  “Apparently, Guy is responsible for the graffiti all over town.”

  “And the murder?" Detective Green inquired. "How does he expect us to believe that he wasn't the killer?”

  “He says that Mick was already dead when he found him and that he simply moved his body into the crop circle to make everyone believe that there’d been an alien abduction. The reason he went after Nikki was because she saw him painting the symbol on the church door. He drugged her so that she wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  Detective Green’s brows rose as he processed the story. “Well, I don’t know about all of that. It was definitely a good move to take him to headquarters for the time being. Until we learn differently, he’s still our prime suspect.”

  “I agree,” Autumn said. A rush of relief flooded through her when she saw that Nikki was sitting up when they arrived back at the spot she’d been found.

  Nikki still looked relatively disoriented and blinked owlishly up at Autumn and the detective. “I’m a little confused about what happened.”

  “Don’t think too hard about it right now,” Skye said, placing a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “See, Detective Green is here now, and he’s going to take care of everything.”

  Autumn knew that she’d need to explain about her encounter with Guy Horne just minutes earlier, but she decided to wait.

  “How are you feeling?” Detective Green asked.

  “Just a little dizzy,” Nikki answered. “But, not too bad other than that.”

  “Do you think you can walk?”

  Nikki nodded.

  Gwen and Skye helped her stand, and the group made a slow dissension down the hill. Detective Green stayed behind to put up crime scene tape and take a look around.

  “You missed the shelter benefit,” Nikki exclaimed when she realized the time.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Gwen said.

  “Your mom was worried when you didn’t show, and I got no answer from your cell phone,” Skye said. “So, we all came looking for you.”

  “I’m sorry to have been so much trouble,” Nikki replied.

  “Don’t even think of apologizing,” Skye interrupted. “We’re just glad you’re alright.”

  “Aren’t we going to go to the benefit?” Nikki asked when she realized they were headed in the opposite direction.

  “I think we’d better get you home,” Gwen said.

  “No, I feel alright. This is your big moment, Mom."

  After checking one more time with her daughter that she for sure felt well enough, Gwen agreed to stop by the event.

  Autumn checked her watch. “The race is almost over, but I’ll still run it to raise money.”

  “That’s kind of you, Autumn, thank you.” Gwen smiled.

  “Starting this late means you’ll lose the bet with Dan,” Skye pointed out.

  “I can probably still beat him,” Autumn joked. “Even if I don’t though, I lost for a good reason.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Skye said. “It would have been a treat to think up some awful Halloween costume for him though.”

  “Can’t deny that.” Autumn laughed. “Oh well, next year.”

  “Nikki, will you be alright sitting at the booth for a little bit while I just make sure everything’s under control around here?” Gwen asked.

  Nikki said that she would be fine. Gwen got her comfortable in a chair and gave her a cup of water. There was a paramedic nearby, so she asked him to exami
ne her daughter to make sure everything was alright.

  Autumn was about to head to the starting line to get going on the race when she noticed Gwen scratching at her ankle.

  “Are you alright?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Gwen was quick to respond.

  Autumn saw a rash on Gwen’s leg. It looked just like Skye’s rash. “That looks pretty irritated. It must be poison ivy.”

  Gwen shrugged. “Yeah, I must have gotten it from the trail up there where we found Nikki.”

  Autumn took a step closer, examining the mark. “It looks a little older than that. Were you up on the trail another time during the last couple of days?”

  “No," Gwen answered.

  “Okay,” Autumn said. But, Gwen’s suspicious countenance said it all. “Gwen, do you have anything that you need to tell the police?”

  The question set Gwen off. She turned, ready to run just as Guy Horne had. Autumn caught her arm.

  “Let me go,” Gwen demanded, her voice low with fury.

  “Nah, I don’t think so,” Autumn said. “Though I’m not a fan of Guy Horne, I wouldn’t want an innocent man to be accused of murder. I think it’s best you talk with Detective Green. He should be down from the trail soon. We’ll wait for him at headquarters.”

  Gwen panicked and threw a fist at Autumn. Mochi barked as Autumn dodged it just in time.

  “Skye, call a police officer!” Autumn yelled.

  Thankfully there was a police officer close by as Autumn nearly had to tackle Gwen to the ground to keep her from running. By the time the officer came over to take hold of Gwen, Autumn was down to her last ounce of strength.

  “How could you accuse me?” Gwen snapped as the officer secured handcuffs around her wrists. “You really believe that I would hurt my own daughter?”

  “Perhaps you didn’t think of it as hurting her, but it did,” Autumn said. “She loved Mick even if you didn’t care much for him.”

  Gwen’s mouth popped open in shock before the police officer directed her toward headquarters.

  * * *

  Autumn rejoined Nikki and Skye after Gwen’s arrest.

  “What on earth was that about?” Nikki asked. She was pale a sheet and Autumn could only hope she wouldn’t faint since her system had already undergone a good deal of trauma.

  “Your mom has been arrested, Nikki,” Autumn said, trying to be as gentle as possible. “There’s a chance she might have something to do with Mick’s death.”

  Nikki’s face fell. “It can’t be true,” she whispered.

  Though her words were spoken with genuine sadness, Autumn could tell that the young woman wasn’t completely shocked, confirming Skye’s words about Gwen’s open dislike of Mick.

  "Are you okay?" Skye said.

  “I never thought she would go that far,” Nikki went on, her voice clogged with tears. She jolted suddenly. “Did she drug me too?”

  “No,” Autumn was quick to assure her. “That was Guy Horne.”

  Skye gaped. “What? I'm sorry. I really can't remember much.”

  “You saw him vandalizing the church,” Autumn commented.

  “It's all coming back to me now,” Nikki said.

  “Sorry,” Autumn answered. “Guy was afraid you would break the news to the town, and it would shatter any confidence his Cosmic Keepers had about the idea of alien abductions.”

  Skye shivered. “You’re even more fortunate than we thought,” she said. “You could have been seriously hurt, Nikki.”

  “Like my mom hurt Mick,” Nikki said, sounding on the verge of crying again.

  “I'm sorry,” Autumn replied. “How did you know to look for the symbol at the church? Did you run into Guy by chance?”

  Nikki shook her head.

  “You were investigating too?” Skye guessed.

  Nikki nodded. “After you told me about the comic book you’d bought from Deano, I decided to have a look at it myself. It seems we came to the same conclusion about where to search for the next sign.”

  “Thank goodness,” Skye exclaimed. “I was so afraid that you’d been the one who’d painted the symbol.”

  Nikki’s laugh was bitter. “No. I wish I hadn’t followed the story though and just left the situation alone. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

  “Maybe, but we’re closer now to finding the culprit and bringing justice after what happened to Mick,” Autumn said.

  “But, what if it is her mother?” Skye asked, her voice low.

  “If that is truly the case, we’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

  * * *

  “Autumn,” Detective Green said in surprise when the café owner entered police headquarters. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering if I could talk to Gwen,” Autumn answered.

  The detective put his pen aside, leaning back in his chair. “Haven’t you had enough for one day?”

  Autumn shook her head. “A lot of information was confirmed this afternoon, and I want to check on some of it with her. Is that possible?”

  The detective raised his hands in welcome. “Be my guest. I’ll thank you in advance. You might be doing us a great service if she proves to be more yielding with you than she has been with us.”

  “She hasn’t given you any information?” Autumn asked.

  “Not a single thing.”

  Though she wasn’t completely sure she’d have any better luck, Autumn knew that she had to try.

  Gwen was sitting in a separate room, looking deflated.

  “Hi, Gwen.”

  The shelter owner’s eyes were blank as she looked back at Autumn. “You turned me in.”

  Autumn seated herself in a hard, metal chair across from Gwen. “Yes, I did. It’s for the good of your daughter. You have to understand that.”

  Gwen didn’t respond.

  “Just tell me what happened,” Autumn urged her.

  Gwen exhaled, crossing her arms. "Why should I?"

  “I know that you didn’t like Mick. Skye told me.”

  Gwen huffed. “She’s got that right.”

  “It’s pretty clear at this point you had a motive,” Autumn said.

  No answer.

  “You brought Mick to the trail?” Autumn guessed.

  Gwen hesitated for a few moments before shaking her head. “I saw him on his morning jog.”

  “Then what happened?”

  It took some time, but finally Gwen answered, her voice barely audible. “I hit him over the head with a rock.”

  “And the stitches?” Autumn went on.

  “After I hit him on the head, I thought maybe I could repair the wound a little. It was too late though because he was already dead.”

  Autumn figured it must have been an act of desperation when the reality of what she’d done had hit her.

  “Where did you get the materials from?”

  Gwen wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “I went back to my house to get them. I figured it would help with the bleeding. I kind of stitched him up without thinking. When I was done, I realized he was already dead.”

  "So, you didn't mean to kill him?"

  Gwen shook her head. “When I started out, I was so sure that this was the best thing to do to keep my daughter from ruining her life and running off with the wrong man, but I only wanted him to back off. I didn't mean to hurt him. It just happened.”

  “You knew that Nikki and Mick planned to elope that night?”

  “Yes,” Gwen confessed. “Nikki left her phone on the table one day when she was visiting me, and a text message from Mick popped up while she was out of the room. I knew then that I had to save her from doing something foolish.”

  “It was a pretty drastic measure,” Autumn pointed out. “Why couldn’t you just talk to her about it?”

  “She wouldn’t have listened,” Gwen said, moisture gathering in the corners of her eyes. “All we ever did was argue about Mick. He wasn’t the right man for her. Nikki is my pride and joy thoug
h, and there was no way I was going to let her sabotage her future like that.”

  It was all becoming clearer now. It was a sad situation, and Autumn felt for everyone involved. She knew that the relationship between Gwen and her daughter would take a long time to repair itself, or possibly never be repaired at all.

  “Remember what I said about coming clean being in Nikki’s best interest?” Autumn asked.

  Gwen nodded, looking very much like a lost child. "Yes."

  “That’s still the case and let me tell you why. Even though you weren’t a fan of Mick, Nikki loved him. It’ll still take time for her to get over his loss, but knowing what happened will help.”

  Gwen offered little more than another nod and Autumn could only hope it meant she would relay the same information to the police. If she did, that would mean the case was solved, and Nikki would know for sure what had happened to her fiancé.

  * * *

  Autumn entered the Harmony Café to find Skye nervously awaiting her arrival. She hadn’t opened the shop and Autumn couldn’t blame her. Skye had washed off her face paint but still wore her running clothes. The fact that she hadn’t changed directly into stilettos and a mini skirt at the first opportunity spoke volumes. She really had been worried.

  “Where’s Nikki?” Autumn asked.

  “She’s taking a nap upstairs in your apartment. Did you talk to Gwen?”

  Autumn nodded, seating herself at the counter after pouring herself a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. “The story is pretty gruesome.”

  “Then Gwen did kill Mick?” Skye exclaimed.

  Autumn offered another nod. “Not in so many words. But, I asked her about when she’d encountered Mick that day, and she said she’d hit him over the head and then stitched him back up.”

  Skye looked disgusted. “That’s awful.”

  “Yeah, sure is.”

  A brief silence elapsed.

  “Skye, I think it’s best if you break this news to Nikki when she’s feeling better,” Autumn said to her sister. “She might take it better if it comes from you.”

  Skye looked grief-stricken. “This is going to crush her.” She massaged her forehead with her fingers. “How could she? How could she do this to her own daughter?”