“That’s not what they said,” I replied. “They were actually really adamant about us coming to talk to you.”
Erin remained calm. “I’d like to say I’m surprised.”
“But you’re not?” I asked.
Erin shook her head. “No. Let me guess. Nick Madsen was the one who pointed the finger of blame at me.”
David nodded. “As a matter of fact, he did.”
Erin shook her head. “It figures.”
“Why?” David asked.
“Nick has had it out for me ever since I rejected him,” Erin said.
“Wait. Nick was interested in you romantically?”
“Oh yeah. He has a huge crush on me.”
I laughed.
Erin’s nose crinkled. “What’s so funny?”
“Just that Nick told us we needed to speak to you because you’re in love with Rick, and now you’re telling us that Nick’s opinion is biased based on the unrequited crush that he has on you,” I said.
“Look. I know it just seems like we’re pointing fingers at each other—” Erin started to say.
I interrupted her. “Let me guess. Here comes the part where you tell us that you’re trustworthy and Nick is not.”
“I’m telling you the truth. Nick hasn’t been able to get over the fact that I’m not interested in him,” Erin said.
“How about you? Are you going to tell us that you weren’t romantically interested in Rick?” I asked.
“I wasn’t. We broke up years ago,” Erin said.
“And you’re completely over him?” I asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Why should we believe you?”
“Because I’m telling you the truth.”
“Say you are,” David replied. “There’s another reason to be suspicious of you.”
Erin’s eyebrows knitted. “What are you talking about?”
“The promotion that you were after. That you believed you deserved. That ended up going to Rick instead,” David said.
Erin scoffed. “Come on. I wouldn’t kill Rick over a promotion.”
“I’ve seen people killed over less,” David said. “After all, you’ve been working at the tour company four years longer than Rick. Why wouldn’t you be upset over him getting the promotion?”
“I already told you, I had nothing to do with Rick’s death—”
David interrupted her. “Yes. We heard you before. The question is, why should we believe you?”
Erin opened her mouth to reply, but David kept speaking.
“You don’t have an alibi for either of the last two nights. And, after being passed up for a promotion, there is a cloud of suspicion hanging over you.”
“I understand why you’d have a difficult time believing me. All I can say in my defense is that I’m innocent,” Erin replied.
“You don’t have any more to give us than that?” David asked.
Erin shook her head. “I wish I did.”
David groaned. “I wish you did also.”
Chapter Twenty
David and I asked Erin a few more questions, but we got nowhere. Finally, when we grew tired of going around in circles with her, we returned to Nick’s house to question him about the allegations that Erin had put forward.
As expected, Nick gave us nothing to work with. It was like talking to a brick wall. Since we had no hard evidence to speak of to be able to charge Nick with a crime, David and I had little choice but to move on.
By then, my level of frustration was off the charts. If that wasn’t bad enough, my stomach was growling with distracting ferocity.
“We took a unique route to get here, but we’re in a familiar place once again,” I deadpanned.
David gritted his teeth. “I hate being lied to.”
“In that case, you picked the wrong profession,” I cracked.
He groaned. “Some days, I think you might be right.”
“During times like this, I’ll bet you wish you could hook every suspect up to a polygraph machine. Oh, the things we’d be able to find out then, huh?”
“At least, in theory. The problem is, if you’re a good enough liar, you can beat one of those tests.”
“I know. But do you think these suspects are good enough liars to be able to do that?”
His eyes widened. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”
I winced. “I was afraid you would say that.”
“It doesn’t really matter, though. We both know that point is moot. Polygraph tests are completely voluntary, and I don’t see any of these suspects as the volunteering type.”
“No. A woman can wish, though, can’t she?”
“Go for it. Although, if you’re going to dream, why not go crazy and shoot for the moon? Ask for the killer to walk into the police department and turn themselves in,” David joked.
“Because that’s just totally nuts.”
“True, but it has as much chance of happening as getting these suspects to agree to lie detector tests. Face it, wishes are only worth so much.”
“Tell that to Gavin. His lottery wish made him eighteen million dollars richer.”
“It sure did. And it made the whole town jealous of him,” David said.
“The town? Don’t you mean the whole world? Who doesn’t want to win the lottery?”
“True.”
“But, before winning the lottery, no one was jealous of Gavin. I mean, for the longest time, the only luck he seemed to have was bad.”
“So, you’re saying that all we need to do is win the lottery and everything will change for us?”
“No, although I’m going to still keep wishing for a lottery win of our own,” I said. “My point is that you never know when a lucky break is going to come around. We’re certainly due for one. Especially when it comes to this case.”
“I don’t disagree. But with a killer on the loose, I can’t just wait around, hoping to get lucky. I need to be more proactive than that.”
“Fine. What do you want to do now? I’m all ears.”
David put his hand on his stomach. “I wish I could tell you I had some bright ideas, but when I’m this hungry, all I can think about is food.”
I laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You aren’t the only one who has a rumbling stomach.”
“I’m glad to hear that I’m not alone.”
“You know what they say—great minds eat alike.”
David chuckled. “Sabrina, no one says that.”
“Give me a break. You can’t expect me to be witty on an empty stomach.”
“Fair enough. It’s time to get some brain food,” David said.
Chapter Twenty-One
When David and I arrived at my friend Shannon’s sandwich shop, we were surprised to see her standing behind the counter looking distraught.
“Did we come at a bad time?” I asked.
Shannon turned to me, looking completely stressed out. “No…yes.” She exhaled. “I don’t know.”
I grimaced. “I’ll just take that as a yes.”
“It has just been a really confusing few days.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
“No. I just want Joe to stop acting so strange,” Shannon said.
“When you say ‘strange’—”
“He has just been really awkward around me,” Shannon said.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Do you know why?”
Shannon stared out the window, but didn’t answer my question.
I waited a few seconds for her to reply. When she didn’t, I broke the silence.
“Shannon,” I said.
“I have an idea why, but I don’t want it to be true,” Shannon said.
My eyebrows knitted. “Would you mind clueing me in?”
“I’ll get back to you on that.” Shannon’s gaze moved from me, to her fiancé Joe, who approached the front door of the shop from the street. “Excuse me for a second.”
S
hannon came out from behind the counter and walked toward the front of her shop. She met up with Joe in the doorway.
Shannon then pulled Joe aside. Even though she spoke with him in private, they talked to each other just loudly enough that I could make out what they were saying from where I was standing.
“Hi,” Shannon said.
“Hey,” Joe replied.
“There’s something really important I need to talk to you about.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say.”
“Oh. Okay. You first then,” Shannon replied.
“Well, I mean—” Joe began to say.
Shannon’s impatience got the best of her. She blurted out her feelings. “Are you having cold feet about our wedding?”
A shocked expression came to Joe’s face. “What? No.”
“What is it, then? Because there’s something going on. And it’s worrying me. You’ve been acting very strange.”
“I’ve just been thinking.”
Fear came to Shannon’s eyes. “It is cold feet, then.”
He shook his head. “For the last time, no.”
Shannon threw out her arms. “What else could it be then?”
“It’s Gavin,” he replied.
Shannon squinted. “What about him?”
“What do you mean? The guy is a millionaire now.”
“Yeah. But I don’t see what that has to do with us.”
“A few years ago, if you had chosen differently…if you had picked him instead of me…you’d be rich.”
“But Joe, I chose you,” Shannon said.
“I realize that, and I’m so happy that you did. I just can’t help but wonder if you regret your decision,” Joe said.
“Don’t talk like that.”
“I’m just telling you what’s been going through my mind. I mean, I’m not a millionaire. Nor does it look like I’ll ever be one.”
“Joe, I care about love, not money. And I love you.”
“I love you too. I just want to make sure that I’m still the man you want to marry.”
“Absolutely.”
“Really?”
Shannon didn’t hesitate with her reply, “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Joe wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
With Shannon and Joe clear about their feelings for each other, David and I were able to order our dinner. As usual, the sandwiches that Shannon made for us were fantastic.
Unfortunately, once we finished our meal, David and I remained stumped when it came to the murder case. We could have pressed on with the investigation, hoping for a lucky break to fall into our laps, but instead we decided to call it a night.
When I arrived at Daley Buzz the next morning, desperate for caffeine, I figured there would be no way to avoid discussing the murders that had occurred.
I was wrong.
My mother, Elizabeth, and my grandma, Betsy, were both behind the counter. They were joined by my tall, pear-shaped stepfather, Luke Norton.
The topic of the Olson murders was nowhere near any of their lips. That was actually a pretty troubling discovery in itself. Had so many murders taken place in town that people were becoming desensitized to them?
I refused to believe that. The members of my family were some of the most empathetic people I knew. If anything, the topic of murders taking place in their hometown was usually emotionally devastating. Perhaps the news of two murders occurring back to back hit them so hard that they wanted some form of distraction from the grisly reality that Treasure Cove was staring down.
All it took was my grandmother opening her mouth to make me realize that I was wrong again.
“Drats,” Betsy said. “It looks like we’ll have to wait another week to hit the jackpot.”
Apparently, there was no escaping lotto fever. With Gavin’s recent jackpot win, a multimillion dollar prize was no longer just some abstract concept. It felt like an actual possibility.
Even though the odds of winning were just as long as they always were, there was now local proof that they could be overcome. The prize suddenly felt winnable. Considering how it only took a dollar to buy a ticket to fantasize about striking it rich, it was not surprising that the residents of Treasure Cove had decided to buy a few more lotto tickets than they usually did.
Unfortunately, for my family, the results were disappointingly familiar.
Elizabeth groaned. “Losing is overrated.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Betsy said.
“I’m sure you have a more colorful way,” Elizabeth said.
“Yeah. It stinks.”
“You can say that again.”
“I’d rather not,” Betsy replied. “I’d much rather just hit the jackpot already. Doesn’t the universe realize that I have big plans for that money?”
“I’m pretty sure the universe has some other things on its mind,” Luke joked.
“How selfish of the universe,” Betsy cracked.
I chuckled. “You always know how to make me laugh, Grandma. Thanks. I really needed that.”
A look of concern came to my mother’s eyes. “Why? What’s the matter? Is the case going poorly?
“There’s an understatement for you,” I said.
“Oh no. Is it turning into a nightmare of an investigation?” Elizabeth asked.
“Thankfully, no. Instead, it’s just going nowhere fast,” I said.
“I’m sorry, dear. Do you want to talk about it?” Elizabeth said.
“Not unless you have some sort of amazing lead that can help me find Valerie’s and Rick’s killer,” I said.
Elizabeth grimaced. “I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”
I winced. “That’s a shame. The rumor mill has really let us down lately.”
“What can I say? Everyone is just so caught up in lottery fever,” Elizabeth said.
Luke shrugged. “Am I the only one who isn’t?”
Betsy did not hesitate to reply, “Yes. By the way, what’s the matter with you, anyway? Don’t you like money?”
“I love money. I just don’t like two hundred and seventy million to one odds,” Luke said.
“No. Instead, you just like betting on horses,” Elizabeth said.
“You can’t pretend like the odds at the track aren’t better. I’ll take sixteen to one odds any day over the lottery,” Luke said.
“Yeah. Except that you can’t win eighteen million dollars from a one-dollar horse bet,” Elizabeth said.
“True. But you haven’t won eighteen million dollars. You haven’t won any money playing the lottery—” Luke started to say.
“Not yet,” Betsy said.
“Or maybe not ever,” Luke said.
“Mom, he isn’t wrong,” Elizabeth added.
“You don’t know that he’s right, either,” Betsy said. “You don’t know the future.”
Elizabeth bit the corner of her lip. “That’s also true.”
“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you guys so heated over something as cheap as buying a few lottery tickets,” I said.
“That’s your fault, Mom. You keep talking like winning is inevitable,” Elizabeth said.
“Hey. You’ll thank me later,” Betsy said.
“I say stop now while you’re only a few bucks behind. Frankly, you’d be better off pooling your lottery money together to buy some tasty desserts,” Luke said.
Betsy waggled her pointer finger. “Don’t listen to him.”
“I thought you’d appreciate my dessert suggestion. When has anyone in this family ever turned down sweets?” Luke asked.
“That’s a good point,” Elizabeth said.
“When millions of dollars are up for grabs, that’s when,” Betsy said. “We can’t give up now.”
“Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?” Luke asked.
Betsy scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m way too stubborn fo
r that.”
“At least you’re honest about yourself,” Luke said.
“Besides, consistency is key,” Betsy said.
“I thought luck was key,” Luke said.
“That too. But all the luck in the world isn’t going to help you if you don’t buy a ticket,” Betsy said.
“Except that you’re plenty consistent. You’ve been playing the lottery for sixty years,” Luke said.
“Which means I’m long overdue to win,” Betsy said.
Luke chuckled.
Betsy gave Luke the stink eye. “What’s so funny?”
“That’s what guys at the racetrack say all the time before they place yet another losing bet,” Luke said.
“I feel bad for them. But this is different. I have a system,” Betsy said.
Luke laughed again. “I overhear that a lot at the track too.”
“Guess what? This isn’t the track,” Betsy said.
“Don’t I know it? And let me tell you. I don’t miss the smell of cheap beer or desperation in the air at all,” Luke said. “But I do love watching those ponies race.”
“You realize that if we won the lottery, you could buy your own horse, right?” Betsy asked.
“Betsy, I see what you’re trying to do,” Luke said.
“You mean, get you to come to your senses?” Betsy said. “You could even name the horse ‘Jackpot’ if you want. Tell me that wouldn’t be amazing.”
Luke scratched his chin. “It’s a very tempting thought.”
“We’re just a few measly numbers away from that becoming a reality,” Betsy said.
Luke became pensive.
“Come on. Throw a couple bucks into the pool,” Betsy said.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re awfully persuasive?” Luke asked.
“Does that mean you’re back on board?” Betsy said.
He exhaled. “You wore me down. I’m in for one draw.”
“It’s a good thing I have a system to make that draw count,” Betsy said.
Elizabeth held her hand up. “Wait a minute, Mom. Back up the hype train for a second. We tried your system. It didn’t work.”
“That was the old system. This is Operation Mega Moolah Version 2.0,” Betsy said.
“How is it different than your old system?” Elizabeth asked.
Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 100
