Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery Boxed Set

by Meredith Potts

  I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to leave the dock and climb aboard the ship. Then again, it wasn’t like Jack had invited David and me aboard his ship. He would have to be awake to do that.

  It was safe to say that the detective was taking his retirement lying down. As David and I stood on the deck beside Jack’s ship, the gray-haired sixty-eight-year-old was crashed out on the deck of the boat with empty beer cans strewn around him. He was wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt that was completely unbuttoned, revealing a pronounced beer belly. To block the sun from his eyes, a captain’s hat was pulled down over the top half of his face.

  Unfortunately, there was no way to block out how loudly Jack was snoring. Then again, it didn’t really matter how much noise he was making. David and I needed information from Jack, and the only way to get it from him was to wake him up.

  I cleared my throat, hoping that would be enough to pull Jack from his slumber.

  Unfortunately, it was not. Jack kept snoring up a storm.

  David decided to go with a more direct approach.

  “Detective Pritchard!” David yelled.

  The volume of David’s voice was enough to wake Jack up.

  Jack groaned then removed his captain’s hat and squinted at us. He was groggy, but at least now he was awake.

  “Who are you, and what do you want?” Jack asked.

  David flashed his police badge. “I’m Detective David Carlson.”

  Jack wiped his eyes. “Morning, Detective.”

  “Actually, it’s the afternoon,” David said.

  He looked at his watch. “Wow. I guess you’re right. The day is really getting away from me.”

  “I’m sorry for waking you up,” David said.

  “That’s okay,” Jack replied. “What’s this impromptu visit of yours about?”

  I spoke up. “We have some questions to ask you.”

  Jack switched his focus from David to me. He looked at me long and hard. “Sabrina Daley?”

  Considering how Jack had only met me once, I was shocked that he recognized me. Especially since that meeting had taken place eleven years ago.

  My forehead wrinkled. “Wait. You remember me—?”

  “Wow. You’ve really grown up since the last time I saw you,” Jack said.

  “I hope so. I’m twenty-nine-years-old now,” I replied. “How did you recognize—?”

  Jack cut in. “It would be nearly impossible not to recognize you. Or any member of your family, for that matter. Considering all the time that I worked on your sister’s case…” He trailed off. After taking a deep breath, he continued. “By the way, I’m really sorry about how things turned out.”

  I tried not to break into tears. That was harder than it seemed. It wouldn’t be the last time my sister was mentioned during this case. I needed to find a way to keep myself together.

  I mustered just enough strength to keep my eyes dry. “So am I. That’s actually why we’re here.”

  Jack rubbed his forehead. “Where are my manners? Why don’t you both sit down?”

  I didn’t want to be rude, but I also didn’t want to go aboard Jack’s ship. The boat was just such a mess. At the same time, I wanted to turn him down without hurting his feelings, so I just made up a lie.

  I grimaced. “I’m not really a boat person.”

  Jack looked deep into my eyes. “Sabrina, you don’t have to lie.”

  “Who says I’m lying?” I asked.

  “I was a detective for twenty-seven years. Don’t you think I know when someone is lying to me?” Jack asked.

  “It’s just that—”

  Jack cut me off. “It’s because the boat is kind of a mess, isn’t it?”

  I remained quiet.

  “I’m sorry about that. I don’t get a lot of visitors,” Jack replied.

  “It’s no big deal. You didn’t know we were coming,” I said.

  Jack looked at his boat and started rambling. “You know, I always dreamed of living on the water. I thought it would be luxurious.” He chuckled. “Then again, I thought my ex-wife was pretty great when I married her, too. Then she took me to the cleaners. Ironically, this boat is practically the only thing she left me with.”

  The direction of this conversation made me feel very uncomfortable. David and I had come here to discuss my sister. Instead, Jack was going off on a very sad tangent. And while my heart went out to him about his divorce, I wanted to get back on topic as soon as possible.

  I decided to keep my response short. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Jack took notice of how uncomfortable David and I looked.

  “Anyway, I could go on and on all day about my money-grubbing ex-wife, but I know you didn’t come here to listen to me moan about my relationship problems,” Jack said.

  “Again, I’m really sorry about you and your ex-wife, but can we get back to my sister?” I asked.

  “Right. Of course.” Jack stared at the ground. “It’s such a tragedy what happened to her.”

  I nodded. “It is. That’s why we are going to do everything in our power to bring her killer to justice.”

  Jack was wrapped up in his own thoughts. “When the missing-persons case was first assigned to me, I knew the odds were long that Jessica would be found alive. But I still wanted to believe. Even as jaded as the job made me, for the longest time, I did believe that somehow she’d be found alive.”

  The more he spoke, the more emotional I became. It would be so easy to just let my feelings take over, but I knew where that road led—a bottle of wine, a box of chocolate, and a whole package of tissues.

  That was why I tried to veer away from that road as quickly as possible.

  “I believed that, too,” I replied. “Since she didn’t survive, it’s important to make sure that justice is served. That’s where you come in.”

  Jack stared out into the distance for a moment before he replied. “Of course. What do you want to know?”

  “What do you remember about the case?” I asked.

  “Everything,” Jack said. “Every little detail. This case is burned into my brain. I couldn’t forget it if I tried.” He looked at the empty beer cans strewn along the deck. “And trust me, I have tried.”

  I was beginning to think that we had come at a bad time. That said, I wasn’t sure that there was a good time to talk to him.

  But I wasn’t going to give up. For each of his frantic replies, I decided to address him as calmly as possible. “We’re wondering if you might have any leads. Is there any detail you can think of that might be able to help us solve this case?”

  Jack scoffed. “You don’t think I have chased down every lead already? If I had any information, I would have used it to solve this case years ago.”

  “Sometimes it just takes fresh eyes to be able to put the pieces together,” I said.

  “And sometimes a case is so cold that it chills you to the bone,” Jack replied. “Do you have any idea how much sleep I lost over this case? I obsessed over it. Gave it everything I had. But it wasn’t enough.” He took a deep breath. “Every detective has a case that pushes them to the limit. That haunts them. And let me tell you, this case broke me.”

  “It broke me, too,” I replied. “A part of me has never been the same since my sister went missing. Life knocked me down. Now, I could have chosen not to get up again. But you know what I did? I found a way to put myself back together because my sister deserves that. She also deserves justice. So if there’s anything you can tell us that can help us catch her killer, I want to know.”

  “Look. All the information. All my leads. It’s there in the case file at the police station,” Jack said.

  “I know,” I replied. “I’ve read it.”

  Jack’s forehead wrinkled. “Then why are you here?”

  “A file can only tell you so much. It’s an accounting of the facts. It doesn’t document your instincts. Or your hunches. That’s what I’m curious about,” I said.

  “That’s true,” Jack replied.<
br />
  “So tell me, Detective. While you were investigating this case, did anyone stick out to you?” I asked.

  Jack nodded. “Eric Tilden.”

  That made things a lot more complicated. I was almost certain that he would say either George or Kyle Lipinski. Instead, Jack threw a curveball my way.

  “Why Eric?” David asked.

  “Have you talked to him?” Jack replied.

  David shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “Make sure that you do. He’s a really creepy guy,” Jack said. “During the time of Jessica’s disappearance, he worked as a grave digger at Treasure Cove Cemetery. He also had an unhealthy fascination with Jessica. He was pretty much obsessed with her.”

  “That part I knew,” I said. “Eric is definitely a creep.”

  “The problem is, you can’t convict someone on suspicion alone. At the time, there was no body and no hard evidence against him. All I had to go on were my suspicions,” Jack replied.

  “What about George or Kyle Lipinski?” I asked.

  Jack shrugged. “What about them?”

  “Their names were mentioned in the case file, but it looks like you only spoke with them briefly. Did you ever have any strong hunches about them being suspects?” I asked.

  Jack shook his head. “Not really. Neither of them seemed to have a strong motive. Unlike Eric.”

  “Well, thank you for your time,” David said.

  “Good luck,” Jack said. “You’re going to need it.”

  “I don’t deny that. But we’re determined to find the truth,” I said.

  “Good for you. Just know that it won’t be easy,” Jack replied.

  “It never is,” I said.

  “This one is going to be particularly difficult. You’re talking about a killer who has been on the loose for eleven years. Who thinks they have outsmarted everyone. Who believes they have gotten away with murder. Someone like that isn’t going to go down without a fight,” Jack replied.

  “True. Then again, neither will we,” I said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Only about half of the tables at Conway’s Bistro were occupied when David and I arrived. That wasn’t much of a surprise. The breakfast crowd had already left, and the lunch rush was still a few hours away.

  Although, the smell of bacon and toast still wafted through the air. Setting my love of bacon aside, I spotted the manager, George Lipinski, standing at the back of the sparsely decorated bistro.

  The tall, pear-shaped fifty-seven-year-old balding man looked completely exhausted. Not just from the morning rush, but from life in general. Of course, I would probably be world weary as well if I went from owning my own bistro to having to work for someone else.

  The recession had not been kind to George. Business at his bistro ended up slowing down to the point where he couldn’t afford to keep the place open any longer. If shutting down his bistro wasn’t enough of an indignity to deal with, he still had bills to pay. To keep from losing his house, he swallowed his pride and took a job here at Conway’s Bistro, one of his old rivals.

  That morning, frustration was all over George’s face as he stood at a computer terminal. His aggravation only grew when David and I approached him. Before George snapped at us, David held up his police badge and encouraged George to take a little break outside.

  Thankfully, George didn’t put up a fuss. The three of us headed out to the back alley behind the restaurant to talk.

  Much to my surprise, George seemed genuinely heartbroken when David told him that Jessica’s skeleton had been found. Although, I was careful not to take George’s reaction completely at face value. One of the things I had learned during previous investigations was that suspects were often great at putting on an act.

  That said, I had to hand it to George. If he was acting, he was sure doing a good job of it.

  “That is truly awful news,” George said. “My heart goes out to you, Sabrina.”

  “I didn’t come here for sympathy. I came here for answers,” I replied.

  George shrugged. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any.”

  “I’m afraid that isn’t going to be good enough,” David said.

  “Look. I’m very sorry about what happened to Jessica, but I have no idea how her body ended up buried there,” George said.

  David gave him a critical stare. “Mr. Lipinski, do you really expect me to believe that?”

  George nodded. “Yes.”

  “Why?” David asked.

  “Because it’s the truth,” George replied.

  “So you’re saying that of all the places for the killer to have buried Jessica’s body, they just randomly picked a patch of your land?” David asked.

  “When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound good,” George replied.

  “It sure doesn’t. The most logical explanation is that either you or your son buried the body there,” David said.

  George shook his head vehemently. “That’s not what happened.”

  “Do you have any way of proving that?” David asked.

  George bit the corner of his lip. “Jessica was abducted on Route 32, right?”

  “Yes,” David replied.

  “Well, that patch of land isn’t very far away from Route 32,” George said.

  “Mr. Lipinski, you’re not helping yourself,” David replied.

  George waggled his pointer finger at David. “Just hear me out. Say you’re the killer. You decide to kill Jessica Daley, for whatever reason. But you can’t just leave her body on Route 32. It would be found too quickly. So you have to dispose of it somewhere. Only you don’t want to drive it too far. What if you got pulled over? Or what if someone spotted you with the body? So when the killer stumbled upon my vacant patch of land, it must have seemed like the perfect place to bury the body. After all, there were almost no houses in sight.”

  “Mr. Lipinski, you’re just building the case against you,” David said.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Despite how things look, you’re forgetting the most important thing of all,” George replied.

  David stared him down. “Which is?”

  “I didn’t want Jessica dead. She was a nice girl and a great employee. I have no motive whatsoever,” George said.

  “That’s your take,” David replied.

  George shook his head. “No. It’s the truth.”

  David stared George down.

  “Seriously,” George said. “What possible reason would I have for wanting her dead?”

  “We’re the ones asking the questions here,” David replied.

  “Then ask yourself this. Why would I have done something so heinous?” George said.

  I volunteered a few theories. “Maybe my sister saw something at the bistro that she shouldn’t have. Or overheard some sort of scandalous secret that you were desperate to keep from getting out.”

  George scoffed. “You’re just making things up now.”

  “You’re the one who asked us to speculate why you would have done something so heinous,” I replied.

  “I take it back,” George said.

  “It’s too late for that.” I bit the corner of my lip. “The bistro was largely a cash business. What if you weren’t accurately reporting your sales to the proper tax authorities?”

  George scowled at me. “No. That didn’t happen. I did everything on the up and up.”

  David took the investigative lead once again. “Mr. Lipinski, you keep claiming to be innocent. Well, there’s one way to prove it.”

  “Fine. Name it,” George replied.

  “Where were you on the morning of August tenth, eleven years ago?” David asked.

  George didn’t take very long to search his mind. “I was at the dentist’s office.”

  “That answer sure came to you in a hurry,” I said.

  “That’s because I had a root canal that day. And let me tell you, a procedure like that is not something you easily forget. Especially when you come out of the dentist’s office and
hear news that one of your employees has gone missing.” George exhaled. “That is a day that I will never forget.”

  “That’s your story, then? You were at the dentist?” David asked.

  George nodded. “Call up Dr. Kowalski’s office.”

  “I will,” David replied.

  ***

  David didn’t hesitate to step outside and check on George’s alibi. He immediately got on the phone with the dentist’s office and had them pull their records from eleven years ago. Thankfully, the information David was looking for was in the office’s computer system, so it only took a few moments to bring it up.

  A few minutes later, David walked back into the restaurant and revealed that the dentist’s office had confirmed George’s alibi.

  My jaw practically hit the floor when I heard the news. Despite all the cases I had worked on, I could count on one hand the number of suspects that had a verifiable alibi for the time the crime had occurred.

  While I was still processing what I had just heard, George was eager to put this conversation behind him.

  “See. I told you I had nothing to do with Jessica’s death,” George said. “Now can I get back to work please?”

  David waggled his finger back and forth. “Not yet, Mr. Lipinski.”

  George threw his arms out. “Why not? What else could you possibly want from me?”

  “There are still some questions that we would like some answers to,” David asked.

  “About what?” George replied.

  “The piece of land that you owned,” David said.

  George shrugged. “What about it?”

  “According to the city’s records, you bought the land twelve years ago. Yet during all the time that you owned it, the land sat vacant and completely undeveloped. Which begs the question, why did you purchase that plot of land in the first place if you didn’t intend to do anything with it?” David asked.

  George averted his eyes. “You don’t understand.”