“Walk me through the events that led to you finding Delilah’s body,” he said.
Kelly took a deep breath. “Well, I got here about half an hour ago. You see, I had an appointment to get my aura cleansed this morning.”
David’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah. Unfortunately, it looks like Delilah was the one who really needed to have her aura cleansed.” She took a deep breath.
“When you got here, did you see anyone around?” David asked.
She shook her head. “No. There was only one car in the parking lot. I’m guessing it was Delilah’s.”
“Probably,” he said. “So you got here, saw one car in the parking lot, then what happened?”
“I walked up to the front door and went inside the shop. That’s when I saw…”
Kelly couldn’t finish her sentence.
David attempted to fill in the blanks.
“Delilah’s body?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Was she already deceased when you found her?” he asked.
She nodded again. “Uh-huh. At first, I hoped that maybe she was just unconscious. But when I rushed over to check on her, she wasn’t breathing at all.”
He looked at her with sympathetic eyes. “I’m very sorry.”
“Not as sorry as I am. All the memory eraser enchantments in the world won’t make me forget that horrifying image.”
“Again, you have my sympathies,” David said. “Just a few more questions and we’ll be done. Now, are you certain that you didn’t see anyone around when you arrived?”
“I’m positive,” Kelly said.
“Did you happen to hear anything strange?” he asked.
Kelly shook her head.
David winced.
“I’m sorry. I wish I had more information to give you,” Kelly replied.
“Don’t worry about it. Now, after you realized that Delilah was dead, what did you do?” he asked.
“I rushed outside and called Sabrina. I mean, I couldn’t just stay in there. Seeing Delilah’s body made me…” Kelly began to breathe heavily. “It was too much for me to take.”
“I understand,” David said.
Kelly winced. “Are we done?”
“Yes. Thank you for the information. I’ll have a deputy drive you home,” David said.
Chapter Twelve
As David spoke with the medical examiner, I looked around the shop for anything odd that stood out. Or, more appropriately, anything bizarre that related to Delilah’s murder. There were certainly plenty of strange objects around the shop. Between the racks of crystals, display cases filled with jewelry and gemstones, and plenty of New Age knickknacks, almost everything that was sold here was out of the ordinary.
A few minutes later, David finished up with the medical examiner and approached me.
“What have you got?” I asked.
“The examiner puts the time of death between nine and ten o’clock last night,” David said.
I looked at the sign on the front door indicating that the shop closed at nine every night.
“So the murder took place after hours, then,” I said.
He nodded.
“Was forensics able to pull any prints from the murder weapon?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I groaned. “Of course not.”
“Although, there are plenty of fingerprints around the shop.”
“I’ll bet. But they could belong to any number of customers. How about the doorknob? Let me guess. No prints.”
“None,” he said. “Looks like the killer wiped it clean on the way out.”
I grimaced. “This killer sure knew how to cover their tracks.”
“They also chose an interesting murder weapon.”
“That’s what I thought too. But the truth is, that crystal has to weigh ten or twenty pounds.”
“That isn’t what I meant,” David said. “Get this. The crystal used to kill Delilah is citrine. It’s known as the prosperity crystal.”
“Prosperity, huh? Talk about irony. It makes you wonder if the killer knew the meaning behind all the crystals and intentionally decided to use a citrine block to kill Delilah as a cruel joke.”
“It’s not a bad guess.”
I scanned the shop. “Of course, if this shop had any security cameras, it would be a lot easier to determine if I’m right.”
David let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, there isn’t a single camera in this place.”
“Crazy, huh?”
“Frustrating is more like it.”
“Delilah probably counted on a sphere of protection enchantment to keep watch over the place,” I said.
David’s forehead wrinkled.
I continued. “It’s one of the wacky services that they provide here.”
“Oh. Well, clearly this protection enchantment didn’t work.”
“No. It sure didn’t.”
“And, since there are no cameras in here, it means we’ll have to solve this case the hard way,” David said.
I groaned.
“My sentiments exactly,” David said.
I winced.
“So much for life getting back to normal around Treasure Cove,” David said.
“With all the murders that have taken place here, I have almost forgotten what normal is,” I replied.
“I know what you mean. And this case appears to be even more unusual than ever.”
“I don’t disagree.” I took a deep breath. “I guess we should talk about potential suspects.”
“We should. And I know just who to do that with,” David said.
Chapter Thirteen
Saffron Conklin had arrived at the shop a few minutes ago. The diminutive, bespectacled, wavy-haired, thirty-seven-year-old was Delilah’s assistant manager here at Treasure Cove Crystals. David had assigned a deputy to follow her around, in search of anything that might be out of sorts with the shop. Now that Saffron had surveyed the entire place, David and I spoke with her.
“Do you see anything missing, Ms. Conklin? Any crystals, jewelry, or knickknacks?” David asked.
Saffron nodded. “As a matter of fact, I don’t see Delilah’s logbook.”
“Logbook? What was in it?” David asked.
“A list of all the customers who have had enchantments performed on them.”
“Can you think of any reason why someone would want to steal that?”
She shook her head. “No. I mean, it’s just a list of names and enchantments. It doesn’t have any value.”
I scratched my chin. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
Saffron’s nose crinkled. “What are you talking about?”
“What if the killer was a current or former customer who was unsatisfied with one of the enchantments that was performed on them? Maybe they took the logbook in hopes of concealing their identity from us,” I replied.
David bit his lip. “That’s possible.” He focused on Saffron. “Ms. Conklin, can you think of any angry customers who came by the shop recently?”
“Actually, an irate man happened to storm into the shop just yesterday,” Saffron replied.
David’s eyebrows rose. “Is that so?”
Saffron nodded.
“What was he so upset about?” David asked.
“An enchantment that Delilah had performed on his ex-girlfriend a few days before,” Saffron said.
“What kind of enchantment?” David asked.
“The ex-girlfriend requested a memory eraser enchantment,” Saffron said.
David held his pointer finger up. “Wait a minute. Memory eraser?”
Saffron nodded. “The ex-girlfriend wanted her mind scrubbed of every memory she had of her former boyfriend.”
“But that’s not possible. Memories can’t just be erased,” David said.
“Detective, you may not believe in the power of the enchantments that are provided here, but our customers certainly do,” Saffron said.
“Delilah picked up the phone and threatened to call the police if he didn’t leave the shop immediately,” Saffron said. “Thankfully, the man backed away and left the store without further incident.”
David pulled out a pen and a small pad of paper from his pocket. “This irate guy. Do you happen to know his name?”
She nodded. “Matt Tilden.”
“Was Delilah having problems with anyone else? Either personal or professional?” I asked.
“Well, she was in the middle of a divorce,” Saffron said.
“That’s a big yes, then,” I said.
Saffron’s eyebrows rose. “I’ll say.”
“What’s the name of her estranged husband?” David asked.
“Justin O’Keefe,” Saffron replied.
“Do you know why they were getting divorced?” David said.
Saffron nodded. “Delilah found out that her husband was cheating on her.”
“No wonder she was divorcing him,” I said.
“It gets worse,” Saffron said.
“Oh really?” I asked.
Saffron nodded.
“How so?” I asked.
“Justin was fooling around with Delilah’s sister,” Saffron said.
My jaw dropped.
“We’re going to want to pay that sister a visit,” David said.
“For more reasons than one,” Saffron said.
“What do you mean?” David asked.
“Delilah and her sister Harmony had a falling out,” Saffron said.
“I’ll bet,” David said.
“Not just over Justin, but this shop as well. You see, Delilah and Harmony used to be business partners here.” Saffron grimaced. “As you can imagine, things got rather messy at the shop recently.”
I took a deep breath. “There’s an understatement for you. Talk about a scandal of cosmic proportions.”
“I know, right?” Saffron said.
“That scandal aside, I have a few more questions for you,” David said.
“Such as?” Saffron said.
“Can you think of anyone else who would have a reason to want Delilah dead?” David said.
Saffron became pensive for a moment then shook her head. “No.”
“All right, then,” David said. “How about you? Did you and Delilah get along well?”
“Yes. We got along just fine,” Saffron said.
“So you two didn’t have any problems?” David asked.
“No,” Saffron said. “Why are you asking me these questions?”
“It’s all just standard procedure. For example, for my report, I need to know where you were last night. Can you please tell me?” David said.
“Sure. I was at home,” Saffron said.
“Doing what?” David said.
“A number of things,” Saffron said. “I made dinner, took a bath, and then did some reading before heading off to bed.”
“Were you alone the entire time?” David said.
“Why does that matter?” Saffron asked.
“Please just answer the question,” David said.
“Yes. I was alone,” Saffron said. A pained expression came to her face. “Are we done here? This has been a really traumatizing morning.”
“I understand,” David said. “Thank you for your time. You are free to leave.”
Chapter Fourteen
Saffron had certainly given David and me plenty of information to work with. We decided to pay Justin O’Keefe a visit first. Justin was a trim-bodied, long-haired, fifty-two-year-old yoga instructor who had blue eyes and a full beard.
David and I approached him at his yoga studio. Shortly after introducing ourselves, David revealed to Justin that Delilah had been murdered. Justin got choked up as he heard the news.
“Poor Delilah. I hope you find the person who did this to her,” Justin said.
“That’s the plan,” David said.
I spoke up. “That’s actually why we’re here.”
Justin’s nose scrunched. “I don’t understand.”
“We were wondering if you could help us,” David said.
“I’d love to, but I don’t see how I could be of any assistance,” Justin said.
I folded my arms. “Really?”
Justin nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t know anything about what happened to her. I didn’t even realize she was dead until you just told me.”
“We just figured that you might be able to help us because you were her husband and you probably knew her better than anyone,” I said.
“Oh. Right. Of course,” Justin said.
“So, was Delilah having problems with anyone?” I asked.
“Uh, let me think—”
I interrupted Justin. “How about Delilah’s sister?”
“Yeah. I suppose you could talk to Harmony,” Justin said.
“You seem a little reticent about that suggestion. Why is that? Are you worried that we’ll find out that you cheated on your wife with Harmony? Because we already know about that,” I said.
“Just like we know that Delilah had filed for divorce,” David added.
A look of outrage came to Justin’s face. “Hey, wait a minute. What’s the big idea?”
“We already told you. We’re trying to find Delilah’s killer,” David said.
Justin’s eyebrows rose. “So what, you think that I might have had something to do with it?”
“I can’t rule that possibility out,” David said.
“Well, I can assure you, that’s not the case,” Justin said.
“I’m afraid that I’m going to need more than just your assurance,” David said.
“Look. I get it. The significant other always becomes a suspect in a murder case. And it doesn’t help that Delilah and I were about to get a divorce,” Justin said.
“It sure doesn’t,” David replied.
“But you’re just wasting your time suspecting me,” Justin said.
“Why is that?” David said.
“Simple,” Justin said. “I had no reason to want Delilah dead.”
“Mr. O’Keefe, you said it yourself. You two were about to get a divorce,” David replied.
“True, but that was her idea. I didn’t want to divorce her,” Justin said.
“Really?” David asked.
Justin nodded. “Absolutely. If it were up to me, we’d still be together.”
“Did you tell her that you wanted to stay married?” David asked.
“Many times,” Justin said.
“And yet she still decided to go through with the divorce?” David said.
Justin sighed. “Unfortunately.”
“Mr. O’Keefe, you do realize that you’re just building a stronger case against yourself, don’t you?” David said.
A puzzled look came to Justin’s face. “What are you talking about?”
“The fact that your wife refused to take you back despite your desperate pleading is a very strong motive for committing murder,” David said.
“Except that I didn’t kill her,” Justin said.
“Like I said before, I can’t just take your word for that,” David replied.
“Why aren’t you listening to me? I’m clean,” Justin said. “How can I prove to you that I’m innocent?”
“You can start by telling us where you were last night,” David said.
“Simple. I was at home reading,” Justin said.
“I take it that you were alone then,” David said.
“Why does that matter?” Justin asked.
“Because your story is only as believable as my ability to verify it,” David said.
“I can tell you what book I was reading. It was this wonderful story about forgiveness—” Justin began to say.
David held his hand up. “Save your breath. You either have
someone who can verify your alibi or you don’t. Now, were you alone?”
Justin took a deep breath and remained silent.
“Mr. O’Keefe,” David said.
“Yes. I was alone. But I’m telling you the truth,” Justin said.
“That part still remains to be seen,” David said.
Chapter Fifteen
After spending a few more minutes unsuccessfully trying to get additional information out of Justin, David and I finally gave up and headed over to Harmony Reardon’s place on Cove Drive. We pulled up in front of the blue Victorian-style house and knocked on her front door but received no answer. If her purple station wagon wasn’t parked in the driveway, I might have believed that she wasn’t home. Instead, I wondered if she was trying to ignore us.
David gave the door a few more knocks, but Harmony still didn’t answer. Before leaving, we decided to head around back. That was when we spotted the curvy, round-faced, wavy brown-haired, fifty-year-old doing yoga in the backyard.
Harmony stopped in the middle of a pose when she spotted us. David flashed his badge at her, introduced himself, and then revealed the news about Delilah’s death.
I watched Harmony’s reaction closely. She appeared to be genuinely broken up by the news. Although, it could have just been an act.
Like all the other suspects David and I had spoken with, Harmony claimed not to have had anything to do with Delilah’s death.
From there, David asked Harmony about her whereabouts last night. Amazingly enough, she provided an alibi for the time of her sister’s murder.
David stepped aside and called Harmony’s friend, Julie Monroe, in an attempt to verify the alibi.
A few minutes later, David returned with a stern look on his face.
“Can I get back to my yoga now?” Harmony asked.
David shook his head. “Not quite.”
“Why not?” Harmony said.
“Ms. Reardon, do you want to tell me where you really were last night between nine and ten o’clock?” David asked.
Harmony’s eyebrows knitted. “What are you talking about? I already explained to you where I was.”
“Yes,” David said. “Unfortunately, your alibi isn’t nearly as solid as you seem to think it is.”
Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 90
