Blueberry Stars & Stripes Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 51

by Susan Gillard

  “I only saw her for a moment,” Heather said. “But my guess would be a gunshot.”

  “It’s the right night for it,” Amy said. “With all the fireworks going off, a gunshot could be hidden in the soundscape.”

  They walked towards the house.

  “Before we get embroiled in another case, I need to ask my bestie whether she liked the potential house.”

  “It’s definitely on the top of our list,” Amy said. “No glaring defects. It looks like it had enough space. Dave and Cupcake were instantly comfortable there.”

  “I’m sensing a but.”

  “But, maybe it’s a sign not to take it if we get called away to a murder scene.”

  Heather chuckled. “Maybe it just makes it more like home. That’s bound to happen once you move in.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Amy said, chuckling right back.

  They contained their laughter as they crossed the threshold into the house. The body had been removed, but there was still blood on the floor.

  Heather would have thought it was impossible for anyone to keep an appetite in this setting, but she underestimated Ryan’s partner Detective Hoskins. She found Hoskins to be somewhat inept as a detective and knew about his hankering for candy bars at a crime scene. However, because this was a holiday, he must have updated the menu. He was standing by the edge of the scene, finishing his last bite of a hot dog. That might not have been so shocking if he didn’t pull a Tupperware container out of his pocket and begin to eat potato salad right after.

  Amy wanted to make a comment, but Heather pulled her away to look for Ryan. It didn’t look like they would get any information from Hoskins, but Ryan had enough time to make some discoveries about what had happened.

  They left the living room with its chalk outline of the body and found Ryan in the kitchen.

  “I’m glad you could both make it,” Ryan said. “Hoskins won’t stop reminding me that his holiday was ruined.”

  “Yours was too,” Heather said. “And a woman was murdered. Finding justice for her takes precedence over fireworks and hotdogs.”

  “Hear, hear!” Amy cheered.

  “What did you find out so far?” Heather asked. “Was there anything useful in the kitchen?”

  “Not related to the case, but in the kitchen, I discovered that the dog’s name is Curtis, and he likes lamb flavored dog food.”

  “That poor little dog,” Amy said. “Do you think his owner was killed in front of him? Or that he found the body? Either way, it’s super sad.”

  “We’re not sure yet. The victim’s name was Lacy Gwynn. She was divorced and lived here alone. Or with the dog.”

  “We’ll have to look at the ex-husband,” Heather said. “They’re always a viable suspect.”

  “We’ll talk to him tomorrow after we track him down. We’ll have a lot of interviews to conduct tomorrow. There were some preliminary talks with the neighbors, but it’s getting late. I’d like to talk to them again tomorrow when everyone is a little more alert.”

  “We can help with the interviews tomorrow,” Amy said. “Definitely.”

  “And the neighbors might have some good information,” Heather agreed. “The houses are so close that they might have heard what happened without realizing it yet. I’m sure if they knew they heard a murder, they would have contacted the police.”

  “Do you know what the cause of death was?” asked Amy. “Heather’s gut said it was a gunshot.”

  “Never doubt Heather’s gut,” Ryan said. “It was a gunshot that killed her. We’ll know more about the specific type of gun after the autopsy, but it looks like a handgun was used.”

  “What about the time of death?” Heather asked, sticking to business instead of accepting compliments about the reliability of her gut feelings.

  “You might have noticed that the temperature in here is a little funny,” Ryan said.

  “I was hurrying around all night, so I found the air conditioner cool,” Heather said.

  “That’s sort of the point,” Amy said. “A cool air conditioner.”

  Ryan shook his head as he realized. “You haven’t been in the house as long as we have. It’s been going on and off all night. It seems to be on the fritz. Based on the heating and cooling business card by her phone, I’m guessing she was in the process of having it fixed.”

  “What am I missing?” Amy asked. “Did the lack of a working air conditioner make the killer hot headed?”

  “I hope not,” Ryan said. “What I meant in regards to the case was that with an inconsistent temperature in the house, it makes it a little more difficult to determine the exact time of death. At first glance, the coroner thinks this could have occurred between six and nine p.m.”

  Heather thought about the order of events that night. “The sunset at about 8:20 and the fireworks began soon after. If the killer wanted to cover the noise of his crime up with the sound of fireworks, it does fit into our timeframe.”

  “There was the firework that was set off early by those boys,” Ryan thought.

  “You’re right,” Heather said. “That was about 7:30, I’d say.”

  “I know I suggested the fireworks as a cover idea before,” Amy said. “But is it possible that the killer killed earlier before all this explosive excitement went down?”

  “We’ll have to check with the neighbors and see if they heard anything suspicious,” Ryan said.

  “Is there anything else we can learn from this crime scene tonight?” Amy asked.

  “Fingerprints were collected, but they need to be analyzed. We’re checking the blood to make sure it all came from the victim. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence of a break-in, so the victim either invited the killer in.”

  “Then she’d know the killer,” Amy said.

  “Or the killer snuck inside when the door wasn’t locked.”

  “Like I did before when looking for Curtis’s owner,” Heather said.

  Amy nodded and then yawned. “I’m sorry. It ended up being a long day.”

  “That’s all right,” Ryan said. “We’re almost done here for tonight. We’ll begin talking to witnesses in earnest tomorrow.”

  “Well,” Heather said. “There’s one witness we’ll have to talk to tonight.”

  Chapter 7

  There was an uneasy peace in Heather’s living room. Cupcake had climbed up on a bookcase to get away from the new dog. Dave and Curtis were on opposite sides of the room staring at each other. The humans were acting as referees and making sure that everyone was playing nicely.

  Heather felt bad as she entered the room. It was late at night, and Eva and Leila had not been able to go to bed because of all the animals in the house.

  “I’m sorry it’s so late,” Heather said.

  “It’s quite all right, dear,” Eva said. “You can’t control these things.”

  “And we don’t need that much beauty sleep,” Leila said, striking a dramatic pose.

  Jamie picked Curtis up and suggested that they decide what to do in the front yard. Heather agreed but made sure to give Dave and Cupcake a little love before joining Jamie and Amy outside. She needed them to know that they were her furry babies and that she would never replace them.

  Amy and Jamie were whispering when she came out. She snippets of the conversation including Amy saying “It’s fine so long as it’s temporary. We don’t have our house yet.”

  Heather cleared her throat.

  “Sorry,” Amy said. “We were just talking about the dog.”

  “What are you going to do with him tonight?” Jamie asked.

  “I’m not quite sure,” Heather said. “How did he get along with Dave and Cupcake when you brought them home?”

  “They were surprised to find another animal in the house. There was some barking and hissing, but it quieted down,” Jamie said. “I think eventually they’d become friends.”

  “But you think it might take a little while.”

  Jamie nodded.

&
nbsp; “Maybe someone would be willing to take him home---“ Heather started. She expected the answer that followed but not that it would be so excited that it would cut her off.

  “I can take care of him,” Jamie offered.

  “I think that would be great,” Heather said with a smile.

  “But it’s not forever,” Amy said. “It’s just while we’re caring for him while he’s a witness. I’m sure someone related to the victim will want to adopt him.”

  “Right,” Jamie agreed. “But until then, we can take care of him. Amy mentioned he liked lamb dog food. And he’ll need someone to give him special attention because he’s sad about what happened to his owner. And I can give him a bath and groom him.”

  “He is a professional,” Amy said.

  A thought occurred to Heather. “If you do groom him, see if there are any traces of evidence in his fur. It’s a long shot by now, but maybe there’s something there that can help put us towards the killer.”

  “I finally get to help with a case,” Jamie said, excitedly. “And such a sweet and handsome part of the case too.”

  Curtis licked Jamie’s nose in response. He smiled, and they could tell his heart was melting.

  “Temporary,” Amy said again.

  Ryan pulled up to the house and joined them.

  “A pow-wow outside?” He asked.

  “Keeping the pets separated,” Heather answered.

  Jamie explained how he was going to take Curtis home with him and how he planned to check the fur for evidence.

  “That’s a great idea,” Ryan said. “A professional groomer might find something helpful to the case. After all the traveling this dog has done, it might not be admissible in court due to the chain of evidence command. However, anything you find could sure be useful in pointing us in the right direction.”

  “Maybe I should have thought of this before and kept things in the proper chain of command,” Heather said, kicking herself mentally.

  “It’s all right,” Ryan said. “This is a living breathing animal that you wanted to get away from an upsetting situation. It’s different than tampering with evidence. You were thinking about what was right for the dog’s wellbeing.”

  “And his wellbeing will be very taken care of with me,” Jamie said.

  “I’m sure it will,” Ryan said. “Now do we have any other questions we’d like to ask of this witness or could we let him go to sleep?”

  “I think we can let him go,” Heather said. “Though maybe we can figure out a way to communicate with him later on.”

  “Woof,” Amy said.

  Jamie said goodnight and left with Curtis. Ryan looked at the house.

  “I think I’ll check on the kids and then turn in,” Ryan said.

  “Eva said that they fell asleep surprisingly early for a sleepover. It must have been all the excitement,” Heather said. She gave Ryan a kiss before he went in. Then she turned to Amy, thinking she’d have a few more words with her bestie before they went to bed. Amy was staring off after Jamie.

  “What?” Heather asked.

  “He better not fall in love with that dog,” Amy said.

  “I think you were right about a family member or someone who knew the victim that might want to adopt him,” Heather said. “And besides you would love a dog.”

  “One step at a time,” Amy said. “We need to get a house before we get a dog.”

  “You might have found your house tonight.”

  “Might have. Not a definite.”

  “And if the right dog falls into your lap.”

  “I think you are also perfectly aware that if we give in and adopt a dog, pretty soon we’ll have a whole pack. Jamie loves animals too much. And it would be like donuts.”

  “Are you saying dogs are delicious?”

  “I’m saying you can’t have just one. Or at least I don’t think Jamie could.”

  “Okay. But I’m just saying that sometimes things happen in unusual ways but that they work out the way they’re supposed to. Like how we adopted Lilly.”

  “And sometimes things happen in unusual ways that are terrible. Like how that lady was shot today.”

  “That was terrible,” Heather agreed. “But we’re going to catch whoever is responsible for it soon.”

  “Preferably before Jamie falls in love with the dog?”

  “I think we might already be too late for that.”

  Chapter 8

  “I can’t believe she’s dead,” Larry Ronson said. “It seems like only yesterday that she was bringing her trashcan to the curb. Actually, I think that was yesterday.”

  Heather and Amy exchanged a look. It didn’t look like they were getting very far with the first neighbor they were interviewing.

  “We understand that this can be upsetting for you, Mr. Ronson,” Heather said. “But we need you to focus on whether there was anything suspicious that happened yesterday.”

  “Nothing seemed suspicious at all. That’s what’s so surprising,” he continued. “It seemed like a normal day. The trash went out. The lawn was watered. Lacy’s dog came out for a bit. What was his name? Kirk? Curt?”

  “Curtis,” Amy said.

  “That’s right,” Larry Ronson said. “He was a friendly little dog. Loud occasionally. But a friendly thing.”

  “He’s loud?” Amy asked with a grimace.

  “Not all the time. Just regular dog stuff. Barked at the mailman. It’s just that the houses are so close that you could hear him whenever he did bark. I would have thought it was good security for the neighborhood, except that it didn’t help us realize something had happened to Lacy.”

  “Did he bark at all yesterday in a way that might have given you a clue something was wrong?” Heather asked.

  Amy took out the tablet so she could record notes about anything interesting that Larry Ronson might have heard that could help with the case. Heather wondered if all the notes would be about the case or if some of them might be tidbits that she would learn about the dog she was afraid would move in with her.

  “He was barking yesterday, but I thought it had to do with the fireworks. Some kids set off a firework around here yesterday. It was loud and scared me. Would have scared the dog too.”

  “But you didn’t hear any barking before then?”

  Larry Ronson thought long about it. “I might have,” he said finally. “But I didn’t think anything of it. So it didn’t really register. I’m not positive.”

  “So there was definitely barking after the fireworks started, but you’re not sure if it started beforehand?” Heather asked, trying to clarify.

  “Right,” Larry said. “I’m sorry I’m not more helpful. If I had known a murder happened, I would have paid more attention. But I just thought that everyone was excitable about the fireworks.”

  “Do you know if Curtis would go out onto the porch often?” Heather asked.

  “He’d go in and out all the time. I think her air condition was on the blink too, so he might have been trying for a different temperature outside. Of course, that little dog loved Lacy. He wouldn’t be far from her side for long.”

  Hearing that made Heather feel sad, but she decided to barrel ahead and focus on solving the case.

  “Did you hear anything else strange yesterday?” Heather asked.

  “Like a gunshot?”

  “Anything strange.”

  “I didn’t hear a gunshot,” Larry said. “There was one loud bang earlier that turned out to be a firework set off by kids. Then there were dozens of bangs that night that were the scheduled fireworks. I didn’t hear any other loud noises that day.”

  Heather nodded. It was looking more and more like the time of death was during the fireworks, but she had to double check.

  “Are you certain that you would have heard a gunshot? I know the houses are close, but do you always hear what’s happening next door?”

  “I would have heard a gunshot. I don’t mean to sound creepy, but I could hear her when she sang in the show
er. She used to try opera. Wasn’t a bad singer,” he said.

  “Do you know anyone that would want to hurt Ms. Gwynn?” Heather asked, changing gears.

  “He ex-husband, maybe. They used to fight all the time,” Larry Ronson said. “I didn’t mean to overhear it, but you couldn’t help it. They would argue all the time, and he would make her cry. It’s been much better since they got the divorce and she got the dog. It was a much healthier relationship.”

  “Had you seen the ex-husband around recently?”

  “No,” Larry Ronson said. “I definitely didn’t hear him. I don’t always see what’s happening with the neighbors, but you can usually hear it. There wasn’t any fighting recently. Maybe a phone call, now that I think about it. But I couldn’t hear any details about that.”

  “Is there anything else that comes to your mind that you think might be helpful in finding the killer?”

  “I’m sorry. Like I said if I knew I had to pay attention I would have paid attention. The only thing I can think of is that I might not have paid attention to a heating repairman. I think I saw one around here this week. I can’t really remember.”

  “If you do remember, will you please contact us?”

  “Of course,” Larry Ronson said.

  They thanked him for his help and walked away towards another neighbor’s house. As they walked, they talked about what they learned.

  “I can’t believe the dog is a barker,” Amy muttered. “I’ve been spoiled because Dave is so well behaved.”

  “Dave isn’t perfect,” Heather admitted. “We just love him.”

  “I guess that’s true. What do you think about what Mr. Ronson said?”

  “I guess it seems likely that the killer made his move during the firework display.”

  “And the ex-husband is seeming more and more like a prime suspect.”

  “Definitely. But let’s see if the other neighbor heard anything else.”

  Chapter 9

  “I’m going to miss her,” Marcy Mabel said. “She was my good neighbor.”

  “Your good neighbor?” Amy asked.

  “Yes,” the middle-aged woman replied. “Lacy Gwynn would bring me extra vegetables if she and Curtis went to a farmer’s marker. The neighbor on my other side is a musician.”