Iced Pumpkin Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 26

by Gillard, Susan

  Sofia sighed and reached up to massage her shoulder with one hand. “Because he was a poacher. He hunted animals for their fur or skin. He decimated the local populations around here.” Sofia ground her teeth until they squeaked. “I despised him.”

  “Is that what you fought about on the morning of his murder?” Heather asked.

  “That’s correct,” she replied, without shame. “He was outside my pet store, and I chased him off.”

  “Why?” Heather asked.

  “I believe he was the one who stole my coral snake,” Sofia replied.

  Her coral snake. The snake had definitely come from the store then. It was too much coincidence bundled into one scenario. “Ma’am, are you aware how Mr. Jones was murdered?”

  “No,” Sofia said. “Jamie mentioned something happened to him, but I’m not one for reading the papers. Too much bad news. I get anxiety from them.”

  She could totally relate to that. “He was bitten by a coral snake.”

  “I knew he stole it,” Sofia hissed and made a fist.

  “The snake was removed by the Hillside Snake Removal services, so you might want to give them a call,” Heather said.

  Sofia moved to grab the receiver of her phone, but Heather held up her pen, and she stopped.

  “But it’s become quite clear that this wasn’t an accidental death. It was a murder. The snake was slipped into Jones’ home by someone else.”

  Sofia’s brow wrinkled again. Her liquid brown eyes danced in their sockets. “Who?”

  “That’s exactly what I intend on finding out.” Heather flipped her notepad and shut and slipped it into her back pocket. “Miss Lopez, do you have an alibi for the time of the murder.”

  “What time was it?”

  “Late afternoon, around about this time,” Heather replied.

  “Oh, that’s easy. I was right here in the store. I always am until closing time,” Lopez replied. “I had a few customers too. You’re welcome to call them to confirm that they saw me.”

  “That would be very helpful,” Heather replied.

  Sofia scribbled down a few numbers on a piece of paper. “They’ll have receipts for their purchases too, so you know I’m not lying.” She handed the information over to Heather.

  “Thank you,” Heather replied, and accepted the paper. Strange, she was used to a struggled when it came to interviewing suspects.

  So far, everything had fallen into her lap.

  “I’m going to call my husband,” Heather said. “He works at the station and he’ll check whether your break-in was reported or not. If not, we’ll check it out and make sure that snake gets back to you.”

  “Thank you,” Sofia said. “It belongs here. Well, it belongs in the wild, and I’ll feel a lot more comfortable letting it go free, now that I know that poacher is gone.”

  The woman had definitely had the motivation to murder Jones.

  “Don’t get me wrong.” Sofia tucked her hair behind her ear. “I despised him, but I’m not the type of person who could ever hurt –”

  Lilly darted up to the front of the store and help up a little squirming bundle of fur. “Please, Au-Heather. Please, please. Dave needs a companion.”

  “What is that?” Heather asked.

  “It’s a kitten,” Lilly replied, and indignation crept into her tone. How dare Heather not recognize a cat?

  “Oh no. No, no, no.” She’d never been a cat person.

  “Please!” Lilly whined. “Dave would love a friend.”

  “A dog friend,” Heather said. “Not a kitty.”

  “I’ll look after her, and feed her and I’ll make sure they don’t fight. Oh, please!” Lilly clasped the kitten to her chest and kissed its furry head.

  Heather could kind of see the appeal. It had big blue eyes and soft white fur.

  “Fine,” Heather said, at last. “But you’re going to have to explain this to Ryan.”

  “I will,” Lilly said and dashed past her toward the counter.

  Amy stepped up beside Heather, her arms folded. “You realize what that cat looks like, don’t you?”

  “Huh? No?”

  Amy’s lips twitched, and she pressed them together. “My white fur carpets.” And she burst out laughing.

  Chapter 7

  Heather rearranged her coat and clutched it to her chest. She stamped her feet in her boots and stared up at the sign of the pet store. The early morning wind whipped against her cheeks.

  Ryan knocked on the front door of the store, and Sofia appeared behind the smiling cat sign. She waved once, then unlocked and let them in.

  “Thanks for coming,” she said. “I appreciate it. The sooner I can get my snake back, the better.”

  “That’s a strange opener,” Ryan said. “You’re welcome, ma’am.”

  Sofia beckoned for Heather to come in and she did. She blew hot air into her hands, then shook them out. “Can you show us where the snake, uh, lived?” Heather asked. “The snake’s tank, I mean.”

  “Right this way,” Sofia said. She swept toward the back of the store, past the shelves of food, supplements, and toys then stopped in the snake section.

  Tanks surrounded them. A few bore red lights to warm their hosts, others plain white. The tops of the tanks were firmly secured and padlocked.

  “Padlocks,” Heather muttered.

  “Yeah,” Sofia replied, then pointed to an empty tank. “This is where we kept the coral. The padlock is totally gone. Either they broke it and took it with them, or someone had the key. Except the key isn’t missing.” Sofia wriggled her lips from side-to-side.

  “Who else had access to the key?” Ryan asked, and walked to the cage. He bent and examined the empty insides, then whipped out his flashlight. He clicked it on and shone it on the glass at an angle.

  “Jamie, my assistant. But he wouldn’t steal a snake. He’s terrified of going near that cage at the best of times,” Sofia replied. She scratched the back of her neck, then folded her arms and leaned against a shelf.

  “Heather, take a look at this,” Ryan said and crooked his finger.

  She hurried forward and examined the glass under his flashlight. “Smudges everywhere,” she muttered.

  “We try to clean the cages as often as possible, but we kinda neglected that one after the break-in. Didn’t want to tamper with the evidence.” Sofia shrugged. “Honestly, I expected you guy’s way sooner.”

  Except Jamie Purdue hadn’t actually reported the break-in, according to Ryan.

  “Smudges,” Heather muttered and interlaced her fingers. “Interesting.”

  “You know what it means?”

  “Smudges mean fingerprints,” Heather said. “And fingerprints are solid evidence.”

  Ryan nodded once then clicked off his flashlight and rose from the crouch. “We’ll have to get a team down here to dust the tank.”

  “Sofia,” Heather said, and licked her lips. “Do you have any idea how the thief got into the store?”

  “Oh yeah! They broke in through the back window,” Sofia said and pointed toward a door which provided them a glimpse of an office beyond. “I don’t have a lock on the office door because we don’t keep anything in there but a couple chairs and paperwork.”

  Heather chewed her bottom lip. “I see. I think I’d better take a walk around the back.”

  “Sure,” Sofia said. “Be my guest.”

  Ryan followed Heather back out the front of the store, then down into the side alley. They rounded the back of the building and stopped beside a broken window.

  “She’s awfully helpful,” Ryan said, in a monotone.

  “Hush,” Heather whispered, and pointed toward the open window. The woman could be on the other side, and she was definitely still a suspect, helpful or not.

  Heather bent and examined the dirt beneath the window. A shoeprint remained, dried in a bit of mud beneath it, though it was the front portion only.

  “Looks the same to me,” Ryan said. “But we can’t be sure until we get
the results back. I’ll call this in. It’s obviously related to the murder. We don’t want to take chances with anything here.”

  Heather nodded but didn’t tear her eyes from the shoeprint. This killer had been careless. They’d left a trail behind and –

  Metal glinted along the base of the wall, near a dumpster. Heather pushed herself up and walked to it. She shook her head. Very careless.

  “I found the padlock,” she said. “Looks like it’s been cut with a bolt cutter or something.”

  “Good detective work as usual,” Ryan called back. “I have to call this in.”

  She gave her husband a thumbs up, then turned her attention back to the padlock. “Why were you so careless?” She muttered, under her breath. “Is it because you didn’t care? Because you wanted to get caught?”

  This was the hallmark of a killer who wanted attention, or one who had no idea how to commit a murder and cover their tracks.

  A desperate plea for help or a downright lack of care.

  Heather chewed the corner of her lip. Ugh, she had to get back to Donut Delights anyway. She’d think about it on the walk over there.

  Chapter 8

  Heather strolled down the road and turned her face toward the sun and let it warm her cheeks.

  The case confused her. It should’ve been straight up and down, simple to a fault. They had to find the person who’d stolen the snake and slipped it through the hole in the netting of Jones’ back window.

  Except, any person who stole a snake had to be very brave, very stupid or have a lot of experience with snakes.

  Which meant the two main suspects were Jamie, who hadn’t reported the break-in, but had told her about it straight up, and Sofia, who had a rock solid alibi.

  Ryan had called each of the people who’d seen her at the time of the murder, and they’d all had receipts for their purchases and confirmed her presence in the store.

  Heather pursed her lips and tucked her hands into her pockets.

  She stifled a yawn and her eyes teared up.

  Dave had kept her up all night, whining because the new kitten, Cupcake, had taken up a spot on Lilly’s pillow.

  Heather rubbed her eyes and bumped into a pole.

  “Ouch,” she said and stepped back a pace. She rubbed the bump on her forehead.

  A lamppost glared right back at her. Someone had pasted a flier to its metal side, and Heather had managed to crumple the bottom of it on impact.

  BEWARE THE POACHER!

  Heather raised her eyebrows at the bold font title. Interesting.

  She whipped it off the lamppost then straightened it out.

  “There is a poacher in our town. Keep your animals indoors. He will steal your cats and dogs for their fur. Call Penny Walsh to report sightings of the Poacher,” Heather read, out loud.

  The bottom of flier flaunted removable tabs, each with Penelope Walsh’s name and number printed in bold font.

  “Penelope Walsh,” Heather whispered. “Why is that name so familiar?” She cast her mind back, then froze.

  Of course! Penelope Walsh had been one of the judges at Lilly and Dave’s dog show. The elderly woman with the megaphone.

  “Hmm, I didn’t get a close enough look.” Heather rubbed her forehead again, then dug in her pocket and brought out her cell.

  She held up the flier and typed the number into her phone, then pressed the green icon.

  She placed the phone against her ears.

  Two rings, and then. “Hello?” Penelope’s voice brought back memories of cotton candy and nerves.

  “Hi, is this Penelope Walsh?”

  “That’s correct,” she replied. “May I help you with something?”

  “Penelope, my name is Heather Shepherd. I’ve just picked up one of your fliers in town and –”

  “Oh, about the poacher?” Penny asked. “I’m afraid I forgot to take those down. Unfortunately, the poacher has passed on from this world. There’s no need to report his movements anymore. Your dog or cat is safe.”

  “I have both now,” Heather said, though she hadn’t meant to. “And actually, I’m calling regarding the poacher’s death.”

  “Oh?” Penny hummed on the other end of the line. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to help much with that.”

  “Mrs. Walsh, I’m working with the Hillside Police Department to solve the murder case,” Heather said.

  “Please, call me Penelope,” she replied. “I’ll help in whatever way I can, though I don’t know I’ll be of any service.”

  “Did you know Mr. Jones, personally?” Heather asked, and continued her walk toward Donut Delights. She turned her head so the wind wouldn’t whistle in the phone.

  “Not personally, no. I may have met him once, but the conversation certainly didn’t last long. I don’t collude with people of his ilk if you catch my drift.”

  “You’re an animal enthusiast,” Heather replied. She pinned the cell phone between her ear and shoulder, then folded up the flier and tucked it into her pocket.

  “That’s correct. I prefer my animals living and happy, thank you very much,” Mrs. Walsh said.

  “I share that opinion with you, Penelope,” Heather said, and smiled, but her sleuth sense forced her to push a little more, a little further. “What made you decide to put up these fliers?”

  “I spotted that horrific man on one of my walks along the South Bosque. They keep me fit, you know. I often take Pebbles with me, for fun. He’s my Labrador.”

  “I see,” Heather said, then grasped her phone in her hand again. She checked up and down the street, then darted across and toward the road which led to her store. “What happened then?”

  “I saw him fiddling with something at the edge of the river. Pebbles went crazy, barking and whining at the end of the leash. Anyway, that horrible poacher heard and turned around. He had a – oh gosh. He had a bloodied knife in one hand. He’d obviously just murdered an innocent animal,” Penelope said and choked back tears. Or nausea.

  It might’ve been both.

  “I’m so sorry you had to see that,” Heather said. She truly was. That would’ve made her both furious and nauseous.

  “I am too. Anyway, I yelled at the man then led my Pebbles out of there before he could hurt the dog too. That man was a danger to society. He was a danger to us all,” Penelope said.

  Heather halted in front of Donut Delights and waved at Amy behind the counter. “What happened after that?”

  “Well, that was last week. After that, nothing. I didn’t see him or hear much, apart from some rumors about an argument with Sofia at the pet store. She’s a lovely woman,” Penny said, in a tone which could only be described as rambling. “Did you know she wants to start a fund for coral snakes? What a dear.”

  “I had heard that.” Penelope Walsh sure was well-informed. “Penelope, thank you so much for your time. I’ve got to run, now.”

  “Of course. If you need anything else, call me right away.”

  Heather hung up, and puzzlement crept through her mind. Everyone was so helpful this week.

  It was a nice change from the usual blustering angle her suspects implemented. The trouble was, it made them all look innocent as babies.

  Chapter 9

  Heather settled on the sofa and couldn’t keep the smile off her lips.

  Somehow, Lilly had done it. Her kitten, Cupcake, lay draped across the top of her pillow, and Dave had curled up in a ball at her side. All three of them snored and wheezed, in a deep sleep.

  “Lilly sure has got the magic touch,” Amy said and shifted on the couch beside Heather. “Two days and the dog and cat are already comfortable with each other.”

  “I wouldn’t say comfortable,” Heather replied. “Every time Lilly says Cupcake, Dave’s ears twitch. Look!”

  Dave’s ears flick-flacked at the mention of it.

  “Maybe that’s because he likes cupcakes,” Amy replied.

  “True. That’s kind of why I forbade Lilly from calling the cat donut.”<
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  Dave’s ears twitched again, then settled.

  “You know how the dog is with sweets and junk food.” Heather couldn’t keep the humor from her tone. Dave’s antics cheered her up, no matter the situation.

  She stretched her legs, then grabbed the remote and pointed it at the TV. She turned down the volume, then faced her bestie on the sofa.

  “Uh oh,” Amy said. “Am I in trouble? You look super serious.”

  “I’ve meant to talk to you.”

  “About the case?” Amy asked, and picked a popcorn kernel from the bottom of the plastic bowl in her lap.

  “Yeah, but not right now.”

  “Oh,” Amy said, then heaved a sigh. “What’s up?”

  “Amy, I kinda noticed you acting strangely at the beginning of this week. Around one person” Heather said.

  “Jamie,” Amy replied, immediately. “I know. I acted like a teenage girl. I have a crush on him.”

  “But what about Kent?” Heather asked.

  “Kent broke up with me on Sunday.” Amy forced a smile, then waved her hand at Heather. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine. I’m really fine. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. We drifted apart.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Heather asked, and scooched closer to her bestie. She grasped Amy’s hand and squeezed.

  “I swear, I’m fine. We’d really become friends more than partners. It wasn’t like you and Ryan at all.” Amy bit her bottom lip and glanced at the screen. The credits rolled on yet another dinosaur movie. She set down the popcorn bowl on the coffee table. “I want to find what you have, one day. But I guess that’s not going to happen anytime soon, and I’m okay with that.”

  “Oh, Ames,” Heather said and grabbed her bestie. She pulled her into a tight hug.

  “Don’t ‘oh, Ames’ me yet. It’s not like I’m eighty or something.” Amy chuckled and patted Heather’s back, then pulled out of the embrace. “Besides, I’ve got so much to keep me busy. The bakery, Lilly’s visits and being your assistant during investigations. Phew.” She wiped imaginary sweat from her brow. “It’s been a wild ride so far.”

  Heather chuckled and sat back on the sofa. She grabbed a warm blanket and tucked it around her shoulders.