by Maci Grant
“Alright, I’ll check it out tomorrow.” Blu yawned. “Wow, it’s been a long day.”
“Yes, it has. Good night, Blu.”
“Good night, Maddie.”
Blu curled up in her bed and tried to sleep. The more she tried to sleep the more she thought about the case. It was exciting to think that Chief Pitman was really going to allow her to be openly involved in the investigation. That would make things a lot easier than trying to sneak around behind his back.
As she drifted off to sleep her thoughts were on horseshoes.
The next morning Blu woke up early and prepared a hearty breakfast for the kids. Rachel was already gone for the morning, as she had a meeting with the organizers of the end-of-summer blast—a party that just about everyone that owned a beach house was involved in.
Blu settled a war between the children after breakfast. She washed the dishes, made sure the kids were dressed, and then sent a text to Maddie.
Wish me luck today with Chief Pitman.
A moment later Maddie texted her back.
Good luck. I’m going to do some digging of my own.
Blu wasn’t sure what Maddie meant by that, but there wasn’t enough time to find out. She had to get to the ice cream shop to meet up with Chief Pitman.
On the drive she looked in the rearview mirror at the children.
“How would you two like to spend some time playing with AJ this morning?”
“Yes!” Joey rocked back and forth. “He is so much fun!”
“Beach Bum!” Marley grinned.
“Yes, well he might prefer to be called AJ, Marley.” Blu grinned into the mirror.
She parked near the ice cream shop. Right away she noticed AJ’s jeep in the parking lot. He stood beside it and watched as they piled out of the car. Blu tensed a little at the thought of leaving the kids with him, not because she didn’t trust him, but because it was her job to look after them.”
“Are you sure that you’re up for this, AJ?”
“Always. I love hanging out with these two. I have just one question.” His expression grew serious.
“What is it?” Joey looked up at him.
“Who is ready to bury me in the sand?”
“Me! Me!” Marley barreled toward him.
“Is your uncle here yet?” Blu scanned the parking lot.
“He’s running a few minutes behind, but he’ll be here.”
“I’ll walk down to the beach with you for a few minutes, then.”
She followed the eager kids, who ran toward the sand. As it was still early, the beach was fairly empty.
“Look, a clue!” Marley pointed to the shoe she’d found two days before.
“No, Marley. That’s not a clue. Remember? It’s just a smelly old shoe. I guess nobody is going to come back for it.” Blu picked it up off the ground. As she did, she heard a car pull into the parking lot behind her.
She turned back to see that it was Chief Pitman’s car.
“Oops, I’d better go meet him.”
“We’ll be right here when you’re done.” AJ waved to her.
Chapter 16
Blu carried the shoe with her with the intention of throwing it in the garbage. As she walked up to Chief Pitman she wondered for a moment if she should tell him about the horseshoe.
“Just give me a second. I want to throw this out.” Blu held up the shoe.
“I’ll walk with you.” He fell into step beside her. “Where did you find that worn-out thing?”
“Oh, it was on the beach. Actually Marley found it two days ago, but we left it there in case someone came back for it. It was still there this morning, so I thought it was time to throw it away.”
“Hm. Can I see it?” He reached for the shoe.
“Sure.”
“Look at this.” He pointed out purplish staining on the sole of the shoe and around the toe.
“I don’t know. It looks a bit like marker. But these shoes look like they would belong to a grown man,” said Blu.
“Interesting.” He turned the shoe over in his hand. “Blu, I’m starting to think that you’re my good luck charm.”
“Is that so?” She smiled. “Why is that?”
“Because I don’t think that’s marker on this shoe. I think it’s blueberry. I’ll have to have it tested at the lab of course, but I’m pretty certain that’s what it is.”
Blu stared at the shoe. Marley’s sweet voice rang out in her mind. She called it a clue twice and Blu had been clueless.
“Wow, I can’t believe I almost threw it out.”
“You said you couldn’t find the other shoe?”
“We didn’t see it anywhere on the beach during our hunt.”
“Okay. Why would someone leave one shoe on the beach?”
“I don’t know.” Blu shook her head. “It doesn’t make much sense—just like the rest of this case.”
“Well, I hope that you can help me with that. It’s your insight that I think will make a difference.”
“I’m not sure how I can help, but I’ll certainly try.”
“First, take a deep breath. I mean, a real deep down in the bottom of your belly breath.”
Blu did as he instructed. For the first time since she found Martha’s body she began to relax. “Okay.”
“Now, just think back to the playground. The kids are playing…what are you doing?”
“Talking to Maddie.”
“Okay. Anything in particular?”
Blu caught herself before she mentioned AJ. “Not really—just talking. Then I had to use the restroom, so I asked Maddie to keep an eye on the kids. I walked back here to use the restroom. I didn’t see anything unusual in the alley on the way in.”
“So, do you think Martha wasn’t there at that time?”
“No. It wasn’t that. It was the angle. When I came back out of the restroom I could see her, whereas when I’d gone in, she was sort of behind the dumpster and not visible when I was walking the other way.”
“Okay.” Chief Pitman walked over to the dumpster. “So, she might have been standing here.” He angled himself slightly behind the dumpster.
“Yes.”
“What does that look like to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, does it look like someone who was enjoying ice cream, or does it look like someone who was trying to hide? Why in this whole alley would she be ducked behind the dumpster?”
“Was there any evidence of her being moved?”
“No. There were no drag marks. Her clothes were in place. I don’t think that she was moved. I think this is where she passed out.”
“Okay, then she was hiding.”
“But why?” Chief Pitman shook his head. “She owned the shop, she could have been inside it. She knew plenty of people in the area. She could have even been down at the beach. Why was she behind this dumpster?”
Blu frowned. She walked around behind the dumpster. “I don’t see anything strange.”
“It’s been well searched. We even took soil samples.”
“No footprints?”
“Sand and pavement don’t offer much.”
“So, we know that she didn’t make the ice cream herself. Someone gave it to her, with her not suspecting that it contained the very thing she was deathly allergic to. We know that she would have passed out pretty quickly after ingesting it. That means she was likely here eating her ice cream.”
“She threw the container out in the dumpster.”
“Or did she?” Blu crouched down low beside the dumpster. “Did you see this?”
Chief Pitman looked at the spot on the side of the dumpster that Blu pointed to. There were tiny flecks of ice cream.
“No, we must have missed that.” He pulled out his phone to snap a picture and then send it with a text. “I’ll get my guys to get a sample and confirm it’s the same ice cream.”
Blu was thoughtful as she worked to get a picture of what might have happened in her head. “She’s
eating her ice cream—here behind the dumpster. She passes out, falls to the ground, and the cup hits the ground—which caused some of the ice cream to splatter up against the side of the dumpster.”
“Yes, that makes sense.” Chief Pitman nodded. “We already know that someone put the shawl over her face. Now we also know that someone threw that cup into the dumpster.”
“Someone took the time to cover her face and throw out the cup.” Blu shook her head. “This is so clearly a frame.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you were Gill and you wanted to kill your wife, would you make her blueberry ice cream in a cup from your shop? Would you give her that ice cream at your shop? Would you then throw the cup out in the dumpster to be found? Clearly someone wanted us to point the finger at Gill.”
“I have to say that I agree with you, Blu. But that still doesn’t explain why Gill would confess.”
“That’s why I’m looking forward to speaking with him. I’d like to do that now, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, that’s fine. We need to clear the scene. I’m going to have this whole area processed again.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Maybe they’ll find some trace evidence of who might have been here with Martha.”
“Maybe. I’ll drive you over to the station if you’d like.”
“I have the kids, remember? I can’t leave them with AJ for that long.”
“I’ll meet you there. I’ll give the little ones a tour of the station while you talk with Gill. I’m hoping that you can get something more from him. I want to know what he knows.”
“Me too.” Blu frowned. “I’ll meet you there.”
Chapter 17
Blu walked back to the beach, where the squeals of the children’s laughter alerted her to their location before she’d had the chance to spot them. She could see Marley and Joey, but she didn’t see AJ anywhere.
“AJ?” She walked up to the kids.
“Help, please don’t step on me.” AJ laughed as he looked up at her from a mound of sand that was piled on top of him. “They take this burying thing very seriously.”
“I see that.” Blu laughed. “Oh, the things I could get away with right now.” She grinned.
“Don’t even think about it!”
“Fine.” She sighed dramatically. “Let’s see who can unbury AJ the fastest.”
The kids went to work digging away the sand that they’d piled on top of him. Once AJ was free, he stood up and brushed off his chest.
Blu did her best not to notice the rippling of his skin as his chest muscles shifted.
“How did the walk-through go?”
“We found a few things. Your uncle said that I can speak with Gill at the station.”
“Oh, well, I can keep the kids a bit longer.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll bring them with me. He offered to give them a tour.”
“See.” AJ grinned. “All bark, no bite.”
“But still plenty of bark.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
AJ walked Blu and the kids to the car.
“Well, it won’t be too much longer. Summer comes to an end, you know,” said Blu.
AJ met her eyes across the top of the car. “It does. But I assume you’d be back next year?”
Blu made sure the kids’ car doors were closed before she answered. “I hope to be, but with a job as a nanny you never know what might happen. The family might want a change, they might decide against a nanny, or I might be offered a better position.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t come back.”
Blu smiled at him as she climbed into the car.
AJ lingered a moment, then walked away.
Blu started the car.
“Alright, you two have to be on your best behavior because we’re going to a police station!”
Blu couldn’t help but wonder what kind of stories they would tell their mother about their day. If she wasn’t careful she might really be looking for a new position.
At the police station the activity was just as amplified as it had been the day before. Blu could see that Chief Pitman was using all of his resources to investigate the case.
“There they are! My junior deputies!” Chief Pitman walked over to the kids. “Ready for the grand tour?”
“Yes, please.” Joey beamed.
“Blu, you can go right in—third door on your left. See if you can get him to talk to you. He’s not telling me anything.”
Blu nodded.
When she stepped inside the room she was stunned by how thin and small Gill looked. He was dwarfed by the long wooden table he sat at.
“Hi, Blu.”
“Hi, Mr. Peddle.” She sat down across from him.
“Please, call me Gill. After all, you’ve gone to so much trouble to help me.” He frowned.
“That’s because I don’t think you did this. I don’t understand why you keep claiming that you did.”
“It’s not something that you need to understand, Blu. I appreciate your support, but it’s terribly misguided.”
“I don’t believe that.” Blu met his eyes across the table. “I’m not sure why you can’t tell me the truth, but I will find out.”
“Blu, please.”
“What about the horseshoe on the roof of the store, Gill? Why did you put that there?” At the same time that Blu was asking the question about the roof, she saw a small part of a tattoo on Gill’s arm that she’d never noticed before. The part that wasn’t covered up by his sleeve looked like two ends of a horseshoe.
He laughed a little. “Oh, that.” He shrugged. “It’s just for luck—to bring in good steady business. Martha and I put it there on a lark.”
“But why did you hide it?”
“I didn’t want people to get the wrong impression and think that we were superstitious. It was just something that we did as a little tradition for ourselves. We didn’t think that anyone else needed to see it.”
“I see.” Blu studied him. “Did you really mix blueberries into ice cream and serve it to your wife, Gill? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Gill closed his eyes.
Blu could see the pain in his face as the lines in his cheeks and around his eyes deepened.
“I don’t have anything to say to you about that.”
“Okay.” Blu frowned. “Then is there anything that you need? Anything that I can bring you?”
“I could use a book. And my shoes. They brought me in with my work shoes on and they’re a bit tight on me. My old pair of shoes would be nice. Thank you.”
“I’ll get those for you. Is there anyone I can contact for you? Family? Friends?”
Gill’s expression darkened. “Martha and I kept to ourselves. We got used to that lifestyle. So no, I don’t think there would be anyone to contact. That makes your effort all the more valuable to me, Blu. Thank you again.”
“I just wish you would tell Chief Pitman the truth.”
“I am. I am.” He sighed heavily. “It’s something you probably won’t ever understand, but I am.”
Blu wanted to question him further but she could see the exhaustion in the droop of his eyelids. “Alright, Gill. We’ll talk more tomorrow. Okay?”
“Sure.”
Chapter 18
As Blu left the room her heart was tugged in several directions. A part of her wanted to be able to walk him right out of the police station with her. Unfortunately, a small part of her had begun to wonder if Gill might be guilty after all.
“So? What do you think?” Chief Pitman stood near the door.
Blu looked past him and saw the kids playing with tin badges.
“I’m not sure. He didn’t tell me anything more than what he told you.”
“Well, great. It’s not like I want to keep an innocent man in jail, but if he doesn’t even claim his innocence, then I don’t know what to do. We’re going to have to keep him at least until the end of the hold, then charge hi
m.”
“I’ll see what I can come up with.” Blu frowned. She knew that there wasn’t much chance that she’d find anything solid, but she could hope. “He did ask for me to get him a few things from his house.”
“I have a key. The house is part of the investigation, but it’s already been processed. I can lead the way over if you want.”
“Yes that would be great. Hey, thanks for giving the kids a tour.”
“Sure, no problem. I think they enjoyed it.”
“Put your hands up, Blu! You’re going down!” Joey pointed his fingers in the shape of a gun at Blu.
“No. No, don’t do that, Joey!” Blu laughed. “I think they learned a lot.”
“Oops—is that not allowed any more?” Chief Pitman grinned. “When AJ was a boy I used to play cops and robbers with him all the time. Of course, I always had to be the robber.”
Blu smiled at him. Prior to that day she would never have been able to picture Chief Pitman chasing around a young AJ for the fun of it. Now she understood the Uncle Paul that AJ saw. He wasn’t as gruff and cold as he pretended to be at times.
“I’m sure it will be fine. If he gets kicked out of school, I’ll blame it on you.” She laughed.
Blu led the kids out to the parking lot. “Well, you’ve had quite an adventurous morning. Was it fun playing with Chief Pitman?”
“He locked me up!” Marley hopped into her car seat. “Like a bad guy!”
“Oh boy.” Blu cringed. “I wonder what your Mommy is going to say when she hears about that.”
Once the kids were buckled in Blu got into the driver’s seat. She was about to start the engine when her cell phone rang. She glanced around the parking lot but did not see Chief Pitman’s car just yet.
When she saw that it was Maddie calling, she answered the phone. “Hi, Maddie. What’s up?”
“While you were with the chief I did some searching for you. When I searched the Peddles’ name, I found nothing—which isn’t entirely surprising, as most people over a certain age don’t leave much of a digital footprint. However, when I searched the name of the ice cream shop—Peddle’s Ice Cream Shop—I found something strange.”
