Chocolate Fudge Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 20 (A Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries)

by Summer Prescott

  “That, my dear one, is precisely what I was doing. I took it upon myself to go explore the hometown of the Lieberman family in hopes of finding out more about them,” he confided.

  “Oh, that’s so sweet,” Echo exclaimed. “We thought you were off taking some personal time or maybe letting Carla violate you in ways that made us nauseated to think about,” she teased. “And you were out trying to figure out what was going on. You really are a dear!”

  “In regard to Carla…please, give me more credit. Enough said. As to the rest of it, yes, I’m wonderful, helpful and kind, but what I discovered, most decidedly, is not,” he said gravely.

  “Oh my,” Missy said, refilling their coffees and setting the pot back on the burner. “I found some strange things out about the family too. You tell us yours and I’ll tell you mine and we’ll see whose is weirder. But, why didn’t you just tell us where you were going in the first place?” she asked.

  “Dear lady, you are the wife of a law enforcement professional. I’m sure that Mr. Chas would not be too keen on the idea of a citizen like myself taking an investigation into my own hands,” he raised his eyebrows to underscore his point. “And there may or may not have been some tactics and techniques that I used to gather information that may or may not have been technically legal,” he shrugged sheepishly.

  “Oh, Kel,” Echo groaned. “What did you do?”

  “My dear, it’s not what did I do…it’s what did he do…that is the question,” the artist shuddered.

  “What did who do?” Missy asked, wide-eyed.

  “You’re not going to believe this,” Kel replied, and launched into his tale, spewing everything, even the goriest of his findings.

  “I know who killed Paul Lieberman now,” Missy nodded. “It makes perfect sense.”

  Chapter 13

  Dolly Lieberman opened her eyes, blinking at the bright lights and pale colored walls of her hospital room. Her family had begun to give up on the chances of her ever recovering from her stroke, so they leaped up in shock and joy when her eyelids began to flutter. There had been precious little joy in their world ever since Paul’s death, and to see the family matriarch coming out of her deep sleep brought a tear to every eye in the room.

  “Where am I?” she rasped, one corner of her mouth not moving. Her throat was painfully dry, so she didn’t try to speak again until her son, Samuel held a straw to her lips, allowing her to drink.

  “It’s okay, Mother. You’re in the hospital,” he soothed. “But you’re going to be okay,” he promised, having no idea whether he was telling her the truth or not.

  “What happened?” she whispered, clutching his hand, her blue eyes clouded with tears.

  “You had a stroke,” Sam said softly. “You’ve been asleep for a few days. How do you feel?”

  “I’m fine,” she said shakily. “Where’s Paul?” she looked around the room, trying hard to focus.

  “He’s not here right now,” Samuel answered hesitantly, exchanging a worried glance with his wife and wondering if his mother had sustained permanent brain damage which had affected her memory.

  The doctor came in then, and shooed all visitors from the room so that he could examine his patient. The family filed out, wondering how in the world they’d be able to break the news of Paul’s death to his mother for the second time.

  Chapter 14

  Echo, Missy and Kel were sitting around the bistro table in shock, having figured out who killed Paul Lieberman, when Chas walked in and strode directly to Kel.

  “You could be arrested for what you did, you know,” he spoke sternly to the artist.

  “I…I’m sure that I…have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kel stammered, intimidated by the lantern-jawed detective looming over him.

  Chas grabbed a chair and sat beside his wife, across the table from the artist whose guilt was written all over his face. “Did you know that when you rent a car, the license plate can be traced back to you?” he asked casually, staring Kel down.

  “I had no idea,” he blinked, not understanding what Chas was getting at.

  “I know where you were the last few days, I believe I know what you were doing, and I don’t want to know what methods you used to accomplish your tasks, but I need the information that you discovered. Now,” he directed. Detective Beckett played fair and conducted his police work by the book, but dire circumstances sometimes dictated employing looser definitions of legality. If Kel had broken the law, but discovered something important, he would find out what he needed to know and worry about the letter of the law later.

  Kel sighed, knowing that what he was about to divulge could end up with him being taken to jail, but he decided to be honest with Chas Beckett anyway.

  “Chas,” Missy said quietly. “Before Kel tells you what he found, can I tell you what I found?”

  Her husband looked at her, utterly baffled. “Of course,” he replied, regarding her quizzically.

  “I’ll go make more coffee,” Echo said, rising from the table. “We’re going to be here a while.”

  Chas looked at Missy and Kel. “I’m guessing that the two of you came up with some rather strange information about the Lieberman family.” They both nodded.

  “I think it should be pointed out that while it would seem that our efforts were concerted, your lovely wife had nothing to do with my travels. I took it upon myself to go explore. She should be in no way implicated in any of my activities,” Kel took it upon himself to fall on his sword.

  “Noted,” Chas replied. “On the surface, they seem like a relatively normal, privileged family. My investigation was focused on Samuel of course, after seeing the way that he interacted with his brother. He seems to have little patience for anyone who doesn’t conform to his definition of normal. His wife and kids treat him almost deferentially, and from what I’ve gleaned from him, despite being the youngest, he’s accustomed to making major decisions when it comes to family finances. His mother relies on him heavily for his advice, and he seems to shoulder that burden fairly well,” the detective explained, while the other three paid rapt attention.

  “Samuel’s late father’s will included the provision that his fortune would go entirely to his wife for the rest of her natural life, with his sons inheriting only after their mother’s death. He, of course provided the seed money for each of them to start their own business. Paul chose to buy his book store and travel the world in search of rare books for a couple of years, and then, seemingly content with his collection, became a recluse, almost never leaving his house other than to man the book store which rarely saw a patron cross its threshold,” Chas continued.

  “Wow, that sounds both lonely and boring,” Echo remarked.

  The detective nodded. “And then we get to Samuel – the baby of the family who was his mother’s favorite. Friends of the family describe him as having been a bit of a coddled, spoiled brat, who grew up with the best of everything. He did well in school, earned his degree in finance, and became a well-respected member of the community. When he received his seed money, he invested it in the stock market and doubled it many times over, amassing enough to live on for the rest of his days.”

  “Sounds like he had it all,” Missy mused. “Why would someone like that kill his brother?” she asked rhetorically.

  “Exactly. Clearly there was more to the story, despite the accounts that Samuel never mentioned his elder brother and became visibly uncomfortable whenever anyone else did,” Chas replied.

  “Yes,” Missy sighed. “There’s definitely more to the story,” she nodded sadly.

  “Your turn,” her husband said, lifting his mug for a sip of coffee.

  Chapter 15

  Missy didn’t know quite how to fill her husband in on what she’d discovered, so she just plunged in, figuring she’d let her story take on a life of its own.

  “When I started my search, I mainly found lots of society page articles about the family. Dolly in particular, has been pretty involved in chari
ty work, a practice started by her husband when they were a young couple. Dolly gave the largest amounts of her money and time to charities involving animal rescue. We’ve obviously seen around here how much she loves dogs, but it turns out that she actually loves all sorts of animals and has a special spot in her heart for cats,” she explained.

  “She kept a trainer on staff who would show her cats in shows worldwide, and they won several awards. The sweet thing about that is that, although the animals were bred to show, Dolly raised them as dearly beloved pets. She had somewhere around 30-40 cats living with her at any givne time, and she knew every one of them by name. There are magazine photos of an entire room in the Lieberman mansion full of walkways, scratch posts, ramps and tunnels for the cats to play in, alongside a “dormitory” featuring a wall of faux lambskin-lined cat beds. Rumor had it that most of the cats slept with her on her own bed after her husband passed. Apparently, he was severely allergic.”

  “Awww…a lonely old lady with her cats,” Echo said softly.

  Missy nodded. “Her efforts on behalf of animals weren’t always so benign though. She gave money to protesters of the fur industry, and it was rumored that she may have partially funded a group who released test subjects from a pharmaceuticals company, which endangered thousands until all of the animals were either killed or trapped and taken back to the lab,” she sighed.

  “None of which sounds terribly strange, until you take into consideration what Kel found,” she nodded at the artist, letting him know that it was his turn. Chas had been taking notes while his wife spoke, at times nodding as though she had confirmed something that he’d already discovered, and when Kel began to speak, he flipped to a new page in his notebook.

  “I, like all of you, suspected that Samuel was the murderer, once we determined that Carla had nothing to do with Paul’s demise,” he began, hating the subject matter, but rather enjoying being the center of attention, even if it could put him in jail ultimately. “So I set out to find out what I could about him,” he paused to pop a bit of cupcake into his mouth and chewed slowly, thinking.

  “I have to say…Samuel Lieberman has to be one of the most boring chaps from a lifestyle standpoint,” he shook his head. “I dug and dug, and found no dirt on the man, aside from several reports that he was obnoxious, pretentious and an insufferable snob. I spoke with his household staff, poor dears, his country club fellows, and his masseuse, which was the most entertaining part of my trip by far, but turned up nothing that would make me think that he was a homicidal maniac who was capable of killing his own brother,” Kel sighed, sounding disappointed.

  “Then…” the artist paused dramatically. “I went to a house, and what I saw in the house changed my perspective significantly. He described the once lush, but now worn fabrics and furniture, and talked about his thinking and procedure as he moved through the house, making certain to leave out the specifics as to his mode of entry.

  “What was in the freezer, Kel?” Chas asked grimly, pen poised.

  “A head, my good man, and some hands, and I believe a foot. I didn’t leave it open long enough to take inventory,” the artist swallowed, grimacing at the memory.

  “Male or female?” the detective demanded.

  “Female…I think. The brief glimpse that I caught of the frost-covered features looked delicate,” Kel paled.

  “And what did you find when you dug up the ground in front of the shed?” he persisted, despite the artist’s obvious discomfort and pallor.

  “Bones, Chas. Lots and lots of bones.”

  Chapter 16

  “Mr. and Mrs. Lieberman,” Chas nodded to Samuel and Sasha when he came into Dolly’s hospital room.

  “Detective,” Sam nodded back curtly. “Has there been any progress on the case?” he asked, glancing sideways at his mother to remind the detective that she had forgotten about her son’s death after her stroke.

  “I’ll bring you up to speed in a moment,” Chas assured him grimly. “For now, I’d appreciate some privacy while I speak with your mother,” he looked at them both, then at the door.

  “Absolutely not,” Sam insisted. “Anything you have to say to her can be said in front of us. We’re family for crying out loud,” he huffed.

  “They can stay, Detective, it’s alright,” Dolly’s sweet voice came from the bed.

  “Suit yourself,” Chas gave the couple a pointed look and moved to the bedside.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Lieberman,” he greeted the patient. “Are you feeling well enough to talk with me for a few minutes?” the detective asked kindly.

  “Oh yes,” she smiled with one side of her mouth. “I’m feeling much better, and please, don’t be so formal, call me Dolly,” she insisted.

  “Alright then, Dolly. We’ll just make this go as quickly as we can. You’re aware that your son, Paul has passed, is that correct?” he asked.

  “Now you just wait a minute,” Sam sputtered from behind him. His mother raised a hand to still his protest, and nodded sadly.

  “Yes, I know that,” she said, much to her son’s astonishment.

  “And you know how he died, don’t you Dolly?” Chas persisted gently.

  Dolly Lieberman looked at her son, then back at Chas. “Yes, Detective, I know how he died,” she said finally. Samuel and Sasha exchanged a puzzled look.

  “Can you tell me about it?”

  “He left the party early, and I took him a plate of fudge on my way to bed. He thanked me for it, and I kissed him goodnight for the last time,” her eyes filled with tears.

  “Was there anything special about the fudge?” Chas asked quietly.

  “Yes, dear. That’s where I put the poison,” Dolly nodded.

  “Hold it right there, Detective. I’ll not allow you to question my mother any further. I want an attorney present right now,” Sam leaped from his chair.

  “Oh, Sammy, simmer down,” his mother ordered. “I’m a tired old woman and I don’t need some slick lawyer coming in here and putting words in my mouth. If you can’t sit down and be quiet, you’re welcome to leave this room so that the detective and I can continue our discussion,” she reprimanded her son, blue eyes steely.

  “Don’t say another word, Mother. I’ll be right back,” Samuel decreed, dragging Sasha from the room with him.

  While Samuel was in the hall in a fierce conversation with the family attorney, Dolly poured out her story to Chas, consenting to having the conversation recorded digitally.

  Chapter 17

  “That sweet old woman killed her son?” Ben exclaimed. He and Cheryl had joined Missy, Kel and Echo for morning coffee, while little Cammie slept soundly under Sarah’s watchful eye. “Why on earth would she do that?”

  “Well, sadly, there are a couple of reasons,” Missy said. “The bones that Kel discovered at Paul’s house when he searched it, were the bones of several of her prize-winning cats. He’d been poaching them one by one for years,” she explained.

  “But why?” Cheryl’s hands went to her throat.

  “Well, there are lots of theories on that one. When his brother Samuel was told about it, after his mother’s arrest, he figured that it was because he was jealous of the cats.”

  “Jealous of the cats?” Ben was incredulous.

  “It seems that Paul had always felt like the outsider, the one who didn’t quite measure up, so when he saw his mother lavishing her prize cats with love and praise, he resented them. According to Dolly though, she seemed to think that he gained some sort of perverse pleasure from tormenting and torturing them to death slowly. The “slice and dice” shop that was found in his back yard would support that claim,” Missy shuddered.

  “But why would he choose his mother’s cats for his sick little hobby?” Cheryl asked. “That seems awfully personal and hurtful.”

  “Well, it turns out that he’d been blackmailing her for years.”

  “Blackmailing her? How? Why?” Echo asked. This was news to her. The information that Missy and Kel had shared with C
has indicated nothing about blackmail.

  “When Chas found out for certain that Dolly had murdered Paul, because she confessed, he continued his conversation with her and found out some astonishing things,” Missy shook her head in disbelief, still trying to process what her husband had told her.

  “Like what?” Kel’s interest was piqued.

  “Well, for one thing…Paul wasn’t Dolly’s first victim. She confessed to poisoning a furrier in Manhattan, and a research scientist in Atlanta, both with her famous fudge. No one would ever suspect a sweet old lady who offered homemade fudge of being a killer, so both of those cases remained unsolved until Chas got her confession. Paul had read the headlines when he was with her in those two cities and put two and two together. He used the information to bleed money from her for years, and his brother knew nothing about it,” Missy explained.

  Everyone around the table stared at her, shocked and horrified at the most unlikely of serial killers.

  “Not to be gross or anything…” Echo began. “But…did they ever find out who was in the freezer at Paul’s house?”

  Missy nodded. “Paul had murdered his girlfriend Dolores, and later regretted it, so he cut her up into freezer sized pieces and kept her with him,” she shivered in revulsion, as Echo paled at the thought.

  “How do we know that?” Ben asked.

  “Because he told his mother about it about a decade after it happened. He held it over her head as blackmail too, threatening to besmirch the family name with her murders and his if she didn’t give him the money that he requested. Dolly wrote all of it down in a diary and told Chas exactly where to find it in her house. The local authorities went in and found it before Samuel could fly home and stop them, and it corroborated her story. They discovered that, with all of the murders, which were all planned in advance, she thought that she was doing society a favor by removing people who killed harmless animals,” Missy explained.