“David told me that there is someone watching the candy shop too,” Karissa chimed in. “Just in case the arsonist comes back to the scene of the crime, I suppose. Everyone around town is terrified.”
Moira sighed. Somehow, the story had made into the local newspapers. She had thought that the police had wanted to keep news of the arson secret, but everyone seemed to know. What Karissa had said was true. Everyone was terrified that they might be the next target. Theories abounded, from it being a freak accident, to some crazed maniac targeting all the small businesses in town, and even to Candice having started the fire herself to collect on insurance. The last one made Moira’s blood boil. Her daughter would never be so dishonest to do something like that, and she also would never have hurt her husband. Moira didn’t like to think about what sort of person would light a building on fire with people still inside. She couldn’t imagine a worse way to go than being burned alive. She supposed the fact that Matt had succumbed to smoke inhalation before the building had collapsed around him was a blessing in disguise.
“Poor Candice. All of this must be so terrifying for her. I would be a wreck if something happened to Dominic, and I’ve only known him for a few months.”
Denise and Moira exchanged glances at that. Neither of them had mentioned seeing Martha’s boyfriend at the restaurant a couple of days ago. It had completely slipped Moira’s mind—she had been so busy with everything else that she just hadn’t had time to think about her friend’s new relationship. She felt bad for not telling Martha She deserved to know that there was something going on with Dominic.
“What is it?” Martha asked, catching their looks.
“Well,” Moira said reluctantly. “A couple of days ago, Denise and I met at that diner just outside of town for lunch. While we were there, we saw Dominic. He was standing in the parking lot, just leaning against his vehicle, when someone else pulled up. They exchanged something, then they both went their separate ways. At the time, we both thought it was suspicious, but neither of us said anything to you, I guess. We were just too busy. How much do you really know about the guy?”
“What are you saying? You think Dominic is selling drugs or something? That’s ridiculous.”
Martha sounded more amused than angry. Moira was relieved. She was worried that her friend might be angry at them for their accusations, even though she thought that they were justified. Martha didn’t date often, and Moira didn’t want to wreck something good for her if Dominic turned out to be a perfectly honest man.
“I have no idea,” she said. “I just think it seemed a little bit weird. He’s, what, a life coach? Why would he need to meet someone in the parking lot for that?”
“I don’t know. He did just move here, after all. He’s been talking about selling some of the things he doesn’t need anymore. That’s probably all it was. It’s better to meet someone in a public parking lot than invite a complete stranger over to your home.”
“That’s true,” Moira said. “Well, we just thought that we would tell you about it.”
“Neither of you like him, do you?” Martha asked. She looked a bit crestfallen.
“It’s not that…”
“If I’m being honest, there’s something about him that just doesn’t sit right with me,” Moira said after Denise trailed off. “It’s probably not anything important. I’m sure he’s a wonderful man. I’m just being silly.”
“Well… thank you for being honest with me. Maybe you’ll come around in time. He really is a good guy.”
“We’ll have another barbecue sometime,” Moira promised her. “After all this blows over.”
“So, there are still no suspects?”
“No,” Moira said. “None of us can think of anybody that would want to hurt Candice.”
“No one was angry at them at all?” Martha asked. “I know she’s your daughter and all, but she’s only human. She must have had some people that just didn’t like her.”
“I can’t think of anyone…” The deli owner trailed off, her eyes growing wide. She did know of someone who had gotten angry at her daughter just before the candy shop burned down. Denise’s new chef, Julian. Hadn’t they gotten into a huge argument about Matt leaving the Redwood Grill just days before the candy shop burned down?
“What is it?” Karissa asked, catching her expression.
“It’s not—well, I don’t know if it’s anything important. Denise, didn’t you say something about Julian being upset with Candice?”
Her friend frowned. “He was pretty upset, but I don’t think he would do something like that. He would have had to be completely insane.”
“Well, do you know where he was the night of Candice’s party?”
“He was supposed to be at the Grill. I can call to make sure he was there whole time if you want.”
“Yes, please. Just to put my mind at ease.”
They waited while Denise made the call. Moira sipped her coffee, which had finally cooled off enough to drink comfortably. She hardly tasted its sweet sugariness.
“Okay… thank you,” Denise said. She hung up her phone and looked over at Moira. Her face was pale. “He left for an hour, from about five-thirty to six-thirty. He said that he had to run an errand, but no one knows what it was.”
Moira gazed at her friend, her words slowly sinking in. It looked like they had found a suspect after all: the Redwood Grill’s new chef.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
* * *
Moira and Denise exchanged a long glance, then the deli owner reached for her cellphone. She had to call Detective Jefferson, right away. They could have just solved the case.
“Is he working today?” she asked as she dialed the number.
“Yes, he’s supposed to be in in about an hour.”
“Okay. I’m going to contact Jefferson and I’ll tell him Julian will be at the Grill. Can you go and make sure that he’s where he’s supposed to be?”
“I’m on my way right now. Let me know when you get in touch with the detective.”
“I will. And you call me if Julian does anything suspicious.”
“What if he’s innocent?” Martha asked.
“What if he’s not?” Moira replied. “We can’t take a chance.”
Her friend hesitated, then nodded. “I guess this is one of those times when it’s better to be safe than sorry. What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing, yet. I need to get in touch with the detective, then I need to talk to David. I’ll call you and Karissa when this is over and tell you what happened.”
She grabbed her purse and followed Denise out the door. She pressed the call button and was relieved when Detective Jefferson answered almost immediately.
“I have a possible suspect for you,” Moira said. “He has motive, and he was missing at the time of the crime.” She told him about Denise’s new chef, their argument, and the fact that he had vanished during the time the crime had been committed. She was relieved when he seemed to agree with her.
“We can bring him in for questioning.”
“Good. He’s supposed to be at the Grill in about an hour,” Moira said. “Denise is going to make sure that he’s there and nothing weird happens. I’m going to go to the hospital and keep Candice company.”
“Okay. Please don’t tell anyone else besides her and David what’s going on. If the chef hears something, he might decide to make a run for it.”
“They’ll be the only ones to know,” she promised.
She called David next. He listened quietly as she explained what was going on, then promised to meet her at the hospital as soon as possible.
And that was that. Things had happened so quickly, that Moira had hardly any time to think about it. Not fifteen minutes ago, she was sitting at the coffee shop having a drink with her friends. Now, they might very well have solved the arson case. She had no idea why she hadn’t thought of Julian before. It seemed obvious now. He had had such an issue with Matt leaving that he’d decided to take it out on
the candy shop. Whether or not he meant to kill Matt and hurt Eli, she didn’t know. Either way, it was obvious that he was unbalanced. She wished that her friend had fired him long before this, or better yet, not hired him in the first place. Of course, she couldn’t say that to Denise. Denise would have had no way to know that he would do something like this. No one could have. He had seemed normal enough when she met him, if a little bit brusque.
She called Candice on the way to the hospital. Not wanting to worry her daughter without being there to comfort her, she didn’t say why she was coming over. Instead, she simply told the young woman that she would be there in a few minutes.
“But Mom, Eli’s in surgery right now. You won’t be able to see him anyway.”
“Is the police officer still there?”
“No, he left a little bit ago.”
“I’ll be right over. Don’t let anyone in the room, okay, Candice?”
She drove through town as quickly as she dared, screeching onto the nearest parking lot she could find, and running into the building at full speed. She was directed upstairs to Eli’s room, and found her daughter sitting on a chair just inside the door, confusion written across her face.
“What’s going on?” Candice asked.
“We think we know who the killer is,” Moira announced. “Denise’s new chef. His name is Julian Vogel. He got into a huge argument with her when Matt left the Grill to work at the candy shop. Not only that, but he was missing during the time that the fire started. Detective Jefferson is heading over to the Grill now to find him. I’m going to wait here, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course. I’ve just been sitting here, trying not to think about him being in surgery.”
“What are they doing?”
“Well, with his leg broken so many places, they had to go back in and reset some of the pins. He should be out soon, and once he’s recovering okay, they’ll send him to the rehabilitation center downstate.”
“Good. I’m glad he’ll be out of town.”
“Me too. Do you really think this guy did it?”
“I do,” Moira admitted. “Everything fits.”
“I hope they catch him. I’m so tired of worrying about everything. It would be a sort of closure for everyone, don’t you think?”
Moira’s cellphone rang before she could answer. It was Denise.
“Moira, I’m so glad you answered. Julian just called. He canceled at the last minute. He’s not coming in today. I already called the police. Detective Jefferson is going to head over to his place immediately. He said he would call you soon. I just wanted to let you know. You have to keep a good lookout. He might be coming after Eli.”
“I will,” Moira promised. “David will be here soon, and Eli’s in surgery right now so he’s probably safer than he would be otherwise. I doubt they’d let just anyone back there.”
“I hope they catch him quickly. Good luck, Moira.”
After hanging up, the deli owner turned to her daughter. “Julian isn’t at the Grill like he’s supposed to be. If he’s guilty, then he might be coming here. Eli is the only witness, after all.”
“My goodness,” Candice said. “We have to warn the doctors.”
“I’ll go do that. You stay here in case David comes, okay?” Her daughter nodded. “Remember, don’t let anyone in. Julian is a big man with a scruffy beard and blue eyes. You’ll recognize him, I’m sure. He’s hard to miss.”
“I won’t open the door,” her daughter said. “Be careful, Mom. I don’t want him to hurt you either.”
Moira gave her daughter a quick hug.
“Everything will be all right,” she promised.
She left the room, and wondered if she had been right to make that promise to her daughter. She didn’t know if everything would be all right. Eli was in surgery right now, and there was a man on the loose who might or might not be the killer. If she was wrong about Julian, that meant someone else was still out there, someone whom she might never recognize. If Julian had done it, then he very well might be after Eli this very second. Would they be able to prevent him from reaching Eli if he was really determined? For all she knew, he might have walked past her already. There were so many doctors, nurses, and other patients in the hospital that he would easily be able to slip by her with the right disguise. He could already be in the other room looking for Eli, for all she knew.
“David,” she said. “Where are you?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
* * *
She hurried down the hall to the nurses’ station. “I need to talk to someone in security,” she said.
“Your name?”
“Moira Darling. I’m here with my daughter Candice and her husband, Eli Rothberg. The person who put him in the hospital might be on his way here to finish things. I need to let the doctors and security guards know.”
“Do you have a physical description of the suspect?”
Moira described Julian to her. “The lead on the case is Detective Jefferson. I have his number if you need to verify anything.”
“Thank you. I will alert the security team,” the woman promised. “Don’t worry about anything. We won’t let anyone in without your daughter’s consent.”
“Thank goodness. Would there be any way to let the doctors working on him know that there might be trouble?”
“I’ll page one of the nurses and let them know.”
“Thank you so much,” Moira said.
Her cellphone rang again. Ignoring the dirty looks from the nurse—they were in a no cellphone zone—she answered it. It was Detective Jefferson.
“We just got done searching Julian’s house,” he said. “No sign of him.”
“That’s not good,” she said. “I’m at the hospital now. I’m keeping an eye out for him.”
“I’ll send a couple of men there to help you,” he promised. “We’ll keep Eli safe. I’ll let you know once Julian has been found.”
She thanked him, hung up, then called her husband. “Julian is missing,” she said. “I’m still at the hospital. Detective Jefferson is looking for him, and he said he would send a couple of officers here just in case. Where are you?”
“I’m on my way there. What do you need me to do?”
“I’m not sure. Is there any way you could help them track down Julian?”
“Maybe. If you give me Denise’s number, I’ll see if she knows what make and model his car is. I can cruise around the hospital and look for him. It will be an extra set of eyes, at least.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
After texting him her friend’s number, she walked back down the hallway, examining every face that she passed by in case Julian was there in disguise. She wished that she could go past the doors into the surgery wing, but knew that was off limits for good reason. Any distraction to the doctors working on Eli would do more harm than good. She would have to wait out here with Candice.
She returned to the room and pushed the door open. Her daughter was still sitting on the chair, looking anxious.
“Any sign of him?” she asked.
“No,” Moira told her. “Sorry, sweetie.”
“I can’t stand doing nothing. We have to—”
There was a knock on the door. Both women froze. Moira felt her heart begin to pound. Was it Julian? She had her phone out and was about to call the police when she realized that it was probably one of the officers that Jefferson had promised to send.
She went to the door and pulled it open. It wasn’t Julian, but it wasn’t a police officer either. It was a woman with a gift basket.
“Oh, sorry. I was looking for Candice?”
“I’m here,” her daughter said, coming to stand beside her mother. “Oh, Ms. Canterbury,” she said. “Thank you for stopping by again, but now isn’t the best time.”
“I was just bringing the two of you a gift basket. We’re leaving the hospital today, thank goodness, and I wanted to check in on you one last time.”
“Well, thank yo
u. Eli is going to be moved to a rehab facility soon. I think he’ll end up healing well. The doctor said that he might have a slight limp for the rest of his life, but compared to what might have happened, that seems like nothing.”
“I’m so glad for you.”
“Hold on… I recognize you,” Moira said. “You stopped in the deli a week ago, didn’t you? Your son was in the hospital. How is he?”
“He’s going to be fine,” the woman said, sounding relieved. “He’s been cleared for release. He just has to keep a closer eye on his blood sugar levels, and be more careful of what he eats going forward.”
“I’m glad. Did you figure out what happened?”
The woman blushed. “Yes. At first, he told me that he had been sold the wrong thing, but it turns out that he just wasn’t paying attention to what he was buying. I was pretty upset with him for trying to blame someone else, as you can imagine, but it was hard to be mad for too long considering that I almost lost him.”
“I’m sorry again for that,” Candice said.
Moira frowned. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“I sold him the candy,” her daughter said. “He comes in my store a lot with his friends. Usually he buys sugar-free stuff, but last time he came in he bought some of the regular candy. I didn’t think anything of it, I just sold it to him. I didn’t realize he was diabetic. Then when I saw his mother here, and she explained to me why they were here, I realized what I had done.”
“I realize now that it was his mistake,” the other woman said. “I’m sorry for snapping at you that first day.”
“It’s fine. Trust me, with everything else that has happened, I’ve forgotten about it already.”
“I told him that he’s going to apologize to you himself once he’s out. He tried to pin his mistake on you, and that is not okay.”
“Like I said, it’s fine. You’ve done more than enough already. Thank you for the gift basket, it looks magnificent.”
Shrimply Murder Page 5
