by Lyndsey Cole
Christy closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. “Sounds delicious. I did wonder why the Easter bunny smelled like potatoes. Did he hop across the table or something?”
“He knocked a tray of the scalloped potatoes off the counter. He made quite a mess before dinner when it oozed over the floor and all over his feet.” Annie tried to figure out what Christy’s point was with all this talk of food.
“Any leftovers? I’m starving.”
Ahhh, that was the point. “Nope. Every pan is washed and put away. Dawn, the manager, took the leftover cake. I told you that already. And a vegetarian meal went to someone who didn’t come to the dining room.”
“Do you know whose office this is?” Christy asked, abruptly changing the direction of her questions, a strategy that Annie was quite used to—first some small talk, and then dig into the main point of her questions.
Annie shook her head.
Christy stood. “Sylvia told me that this is the secretary’s office,” she glanced at her notebook, “Gloria Knight. Do you know her?”
“I met her at the dinner. We talked for a few minutes because she had a special request, a vegetarian meal. She was friendly and gave me the impression that she spends more hours working here than she would like.”
“Did you notice when she left the dining room?”
“I gave her the extra vegetarian entree for one of the residents who didn’t come to the dining room.” Annie paused to rewind her brain. “I don’t remember exactly when she left. I was kind of busy, but I think most of the seniors left before Dawn and Gloria. And before Forrest, for that matter.”
Christy opened the door in the common wall. “Gloria and Dawn’s offices are connected without having to go into the hallway.”
Annie stood next to Christy and looked into the crime scene. “So someone could have left Dawn’s office through this door. But then what? They still would have to get out of here.”
Christy pointed to another door. “There is an outside door in this office. But Sylvia did admit that she was hiding in the closet next door when she heard the gunshot, which puts her at the crime scene at the time of the murder. Did you see anyone in the hallway or leaving this office when you entered Dawn’s office?”
Annie closed her eyes. She had been so focused on Sylvia’s urgent message that she didn’t pay attention to who else was around.
“Martha, Mia, and I ran from the dining room to the door of Dawn’s office after Sylvia texted that she heard the gunshot. I guess most of the seniors were in their apartments. I don’t remember seeing anyone.”
“And you burst right inside?”
“No, I opened the door and felt for the light switch, then peeked inside. It was quiet at first, then I heard a sob and rushed in to find Sylvia. I didn’t even see Forrest’s body until after I helped her out of the closet.”
“And the safe?”
“The door was open with a stack of folders inside when I came into the office.”
“Sylvia told me that Dawn kept quite a bit of cash inside.”
Annie nodded. “She told me that, too.”
“Do you know why Sylvia was even in the office?” Christy asked.
Before Annie could answer, Dawn Cross barged into the room. “What’s going on here? I was home, finally, and got a call from the police that a Detective Crank had some questions for me. I’m not happy.”
Annie felt the tiniest of a twinge of sympathy for Dawn when she saw Christy’s lip twitch at the edges. It wasn’t a twitch that would grow into a friendly smile. That was for sure. Not with her eyes darkened to a steely shade of gray as she walked toward Dawn.
“And who are you here in Gloria’s office?” Dawn pointed at Christy. She obviously was used to running the show at Golden Living, but Annie could feel a storm brewing and settling around Dawn for a rude awakening.
Christy let her butt rest against the desk. She crossed her arms. The silence settled like a dark cloud. “Dawn Cross?”
“That’s right. Who the heck are you?”
“Detective Christy Crank. I’m the one who requested your presence.”
Dawn’s body shrank a bit as she understood her blunder. Annie stood. “I’ll leave and let you two have some privacy.”
Dawn’s eyes darted between Christy and Annie. “Can one of you please fill me in on what’s going on? This place is over run with—”
“How about you take a seat, Ms. Cross, and let me ask the questions,” Christy said as she pointed to a chair. “Don’t leave yet, Ms. Hunter.”
Christy turned her attention back to Dawn and asked, “How was the cake?”
“Sorry?” Dawn scrunched her eyebrows.
Christy nodded toward Annie. “She wrapped up the leftover cake for you to take home. I’m wondering how you enjoyed it.”
“Oh, um, I forgot it in my office. I had a little distraction and, I guess, I just forgot to pick it up when I left.”
Christy sat behind the desk with her chin resting on one upturned palm. She stared at Dawn. “A little distraction. What was the little distraction, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“We do have a privacy policy here.”
Christy slammed her hand on the desk. Both Dawn and Annie jumped. “Tell me what the distraction was, please.”
“Sylvia May has some, shall I say, financial problems. She followed me into my office and kept nagging about giving her more time to pay.” She leaned toward Christy. “Listen, I have the CEOs on my back to make this place profitable and I can’t give every one of these seniors a special rate once their funds get low so they don’t have to move. Sylvia didn’t like the answer I gave. I asked her to leave so I could finish up some business and get home.”
“What business?” Christy tilted her head and kept her eyes on Dawn.
Dawn squirmed in her seat. “Writing some checks.”
“Checks for who?”
“I had to pay Forrest Spring for his Easter bunny role and,” she glanced at Annie, “the Black Cat Café for the dinner tonight.”
“Ms. Hunter, did you get paid?”
“I did not.” Annie hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “By the time I got to Ms. Cross’s office, she was gone.”
Christy smiled. “That is interesting. I wonder where that check is. Ms. Cross, can you explain?”
“No. This is ridiculous.” She stood quickly. Her chair scraped backwards as her legs bumped against it. “I don’t even know why I’m here. You ask me questions about cake, clients, and checks. I’ve had it up to here.” Her hand waved over the top of her head.
“Sit down,” Christy barked. “You want to know why you’re here? Because someone was found dead in your office and I intend to get to the bottom of it.”
“Dead?”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, Dawn’s chair was still close enough to her when her knees buckled. She landed right back where she had been. Her mouth hung open. “Dead?” she repeated again in a whisper. “Who?”
“Forrest Spring, Ms. Cross. The Easter bunny was found dead in your office. And we haven’t found the check you said you wrote for him.”
Christy was clever.
Annie was stunned.
Dawn fainted.
6
Christy winked at Annie after she propped Dawn securely on her chair and gave her some water to sip. “Are you feeling a little better now?”
Dawn nodded.
“I have your checkbook here, and before Ms. Hunter leaves, I’d like you to pay her the balance due on the account. From everything I heard tonight, the dinner was superb, the cleanup is done, and now it’s time for you to live up to your end of the bargain.” Christy handed Dawn a pen.
Without any flourish, Dawn wrote the check and handed it to Annie.
“And now a check for the money you owed Mr. Easter Bunny.”
“What? You told me he’s dead.”
“Make it out to cash and I’ll be sure his next of kin gets the money.”
Dawn wr
ote the check. “Is that why you called me down here? To twist my arm to write a couple of checks?” She stood. “I’m going home now.”
Christy placed her hand on Dawn’s shoulder. “Not so fast. We still have the matter of a body in your office.” Dawn fell back into the chair. “How about you tell me all about the safe in your office?”
“It’s a safe. I keep stuff inside.” Dawn’s tone had a belligerent edge to it.
“What exactly do you keep inside?” Christy leaned against the desk.
Annie felt forgotten and couldn’t decide if she should stand up and leave but curiosity over where this next line of questioning was headed won out and she stayed put. She sensed that Dawn was walking right into a trap.
“All the personal records of everyone who lives at Golden Living.”
“Anything else?”
“No,” she muttered.
Annie felt her eyebrows pitch up. No? What about the money that Sylvia had seen inside? Someone was lying.
Christy tapped her chin. “What time did you say you got home?”
“I don’t think I did say.”
“Right. Now you can tell me.”
Dawn pursed her lips. She took a quick glance at the clock in the office. Annie could tell she was trying to calculate what the ‘right’ answer was as Christy waited with her foot tapping the seconds away.
“I think it was somewhere around seven.”
Christy nodded. “And what time did you get to Dawn’s office, Annie?”
“I was just done cleaning up and headed to the office a little before seven. I was pretty sure Dawn wouldn’t have waited for me. To be honest, I was pretty annoyed with her attitude about paying the balance of the bill.” Annie looked at the check she still held in her hand. “Thanks for this.”
“You’ve got your check and you’re free to leave now while I finish up with some questions for Ms. Cross. Thank you for your patience, Annie.”
“How come she can leave? And what about Gloria?”
Annie paused in the doorway.
“Gloria?” Detective Crank asked in her I-have-no-idea-who-you-are-talking-about voice.
“Yeah, Gloria Knight. She’s the secretary and this is her office. She’s the one you should be talking to.”
“Why is that, Ms. Cross?”
“She had a problem with Forrest.”
“And you didn’t? I was told by a reliable source that he thought you might not pay him tonight. Why was he concerned about that?”
Dawn flicked her wrist. “Just a misunderstanding.”
Annie left Gloria’s office. Wow, she hadn’t fully processed what just happened but she was pretty sure that Detective Crank had some strong suspicions about Dawn Cross and what happened to Forrest Spring. She needed to find out all she could about that relationship.
Annie hustled down the hallway to Sylvia’s apartment.
“Pssst.”
Annie’s head swiveled to one side. Marvin stood in the shadows.
“Dawn didn’t leave when she told the detective she left.”
“Marvin? Were you listening to the whole conversation?” Annie was dumbfounded. How did he get close enough without a police officer seeing him?
Marvin grinned. “There’s a bathroom next to Gloria’s office. Those policemen didn’t pay any attention to an old man like me shuffling in to take a pee. I could hear everything through the wall.”
Annie grabbed Marvin’s arm. “You better come with me and tell me what else you know.”
Marvin shook Annie’s arm away. “I don’t think so, Missy. I have my show to watch. I never miss my crime show at nine.”
Nine already? Annie had expected to be home by seven-thirty at the latest. Jason would be wondering where she was. She sent a quick text to let him know she’d be home soon.
Marvin moved silently down the hall and turned into the apartment next to Sylvia’s. Annie had to admit that Gloria’s description of him being a creeper was right on the money. What else did he know? For that matter, did he follow Forrest into Dawn’s office and kill him?
Martha peeked around the door of Sylvia’s apartment. She made a circular motion with her arm, beckoning Annie inside. “Get in here and tell us what’s going on.”
The tea kettle whistled shrilly, giving Sylvia’s apartment a cozy feel. Almost, if it wasn’t for the dark cloud hovering above.
“What took so long?” Martha whispered as she filled a teapot covered with rabbits. “Chamomile to calm our nerves,” she added.
Annie settled on the loveseat next to her mother with her tea. “I’m still processing the conversation, but I have to admit, Christy is clever. Dawn arrived and she never saw the train wreck she ended up in.”
“Is she the murderer?” Sylvia asked.
“She has some explaining to do and Christy caught her in a lie. Dawn doesn’t know it, but I’m sure it will come back to haunt her.” Annie sipped the tea carefully. “Ahhh. I can feel the calmness already.”
“What lie?” they all asked at the same time as they leaned toward Annie.
“About the money in the safe. Christy asked her what she kept in the safe and all she said was personal records for all the people that live here.”
Sylvia jerked upright. “What personal records? She doesn’t have a right to keep records on us, does she?”
Annie shrugged. “I don’t know about that. I suppose it depends on what’s in the records. Maybe it’s just a spreadsheet about payments and things like that.”
“And anytime she writes up someone for an infraction. Marvin probably has the thickest file in there for all his rule-breaking.” Sylvia resumed rocking in her chair.
Annie set her cup on the small table next to the loveseat. “Speaking of Marvin, he told me that Dawn lied to Christy about what time she actually left.”
“How would Marvin know?” Martha sipped her tea and helped herself to a chocolate egg in a basket placed between all the women.
“He said he listened to the conversation from the bathroom next to Gloria’s office.”
“Have you considered that Marvin could be the killer?” Mia asked. “He seems to know an awful lot about everyone’s comings and goings tonight so he had to be in the vicinity of Dawn’s office.”
“It did cross my mind. He saw Sylvia go in before Forrest arrived. Did he follow Forrest in while Sylvia was hiding in the closet?” Annie finished her tea and carried her cup to Sylvia’s small but efficient kitchen. “My brain is overloaded with all this information. I’m going home to relax, get a good night’s sleep, and face tomorrow in a few hours.”
Mia and Martha stood also. “We’ll rendezvous at the Black Cat Café in the morning?” Martha asked.
“I could sure use your help with Leona gone until Friday. With Easter coming down the bunny trail, I have to stock up with lots of delicious baked goods. I’ll be there bright and early.”
Sylvia rinsed all the tea cups. “Thank you for keeping me company tonight. I’m not sure what that detective thought after I told her I was hiding in the closet and heard the gunshot. Do you think there’s any chance she might think I’m the murderer and made up the story about hiding in the closet?”
“Detective Crank is thorough,” Annie said, choosing her words carefully. “She’ll look at all the facts and clues before she makes a decision.”
Annie didn’t want to scare Sylvia but, yes, Annie thought there was a strong chance that Christy was suspicious of Sylvia’s story. And if the murder weapon turned out to be Sylvia’s missing gun, that would be even worse for Sylvia. Tracking down who stole the gun, if it was stolen, was important. And Marvin could very well hold the key to that information.
7
By the time Annie got home and told Jason the crazy events of her day, starting with Leona up and leaving on a vacation and ending with the dead Easter bunny, he suggested it might be time for her to call Leona to get home and take charge of the mess.
“No. I can’t do that. Leona and my mother have c
omplete confidence in me and I don’t want to let them down.” Annie stroked Roxy’s soft head as her terrier lay on the couch next to her. “I need to see this through to the end.”
“Well. I know you can do it. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
It made Annie feel good to know that her handsome husband had confidence in her abilities, even if she doubted herself at times.
“It’s just that I hate to worry about you, Annie.” He scooched close to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Please don’t put yourself in any dangerous situations.”
“The only danger I foresee is burning down the Black Cat Café.” She laughed. “That’s what pushed Leona over the edge to take a few days off.”
“There was a fire at the café?”
“No, but she burned the cake for the Easter dinner. You should have been there. I can laugh about it now—cake all over the floor with other baking utensils landing in the pile.” Annie tucked her feet up and twisted her body to face Jason. “I have to make this work. For Leona, and for myself, too, I guess. I need to know I can step in and take charge if she needs to get away.”
Jason’s fingers twisted through Annie’s curls and he stared into her eyes. Shivers traveled through her body. She tucked herself into the space between his strong chest and his muscular arm, the space that she filled perfectly. “There was a vegetarian at the dinner.”
“What did you make?”
“Stuffed zucchini, and it came out quite nice if I don’t say so myself. I’ll make it for you sometime.” She closed her eyes and let her body relax. The problems of the day drifted away in the safety of Jason’s arm and disappeared completely as they made their way to bed.
When the alarm screeched very early Thursday morning, the last thing Annie wanted to do was leave the toasty cocoon next to Jason. Her fingers found the snooze button but he threw the comforter off. “No going back to sleep. You have baking to do. Did you forget that you have a café to run?”
Annie groaned.
“No letting down your mother and your aunt. That’s what you told me last night.” Jason clapped his hands. “Chop, chop. Time to get up.”
“How can you be so cheerful this early?” Annie trudged into the bathroom for a quick shower, hoping to wash away the cobwebs and get motivated for the day.
