by K M Morgan
Before long, they realized that it was too late. Nothing could be done to save Charlotte. She was dead. And there was no way of bringing her back to life.
It was such a depressing sight to witness. A feeling of helplessness made the rounds. Daisy was crushed. What a devastating loss. Granted, she had only met Charlotte a few times in her life, but she always seemed nice. Besides, Annie spent a great deal of time talking about her.
As difficult as this all was for Daisy, it was infinitely worse for Annie. Her only goddaughter was gone forever.
The weight of that loss was hard for Annie to shoulder.
At one point, Annie had to turn away. She couldn’t look at Charlotte’s lifeless body any longer. Daisy opened up her arms and wrapped them around Annie. Meanwhile, Daisy’s dear friend broke into tears.
“She’s gone. She’s really dead. This isn’t just some nightmare,” Annie said.
“I’m so sorry,” Daisy replied.
“How could this have happened?”
“I have no idea. I’m sure we’ll find out some answers in the next few days.”
“You’re probably right. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Charlotte is dead and nothing is going to change that.”
“I wish there was something I could say. I wish I had answers.”
“I’m sure answers will come. But right now, I’m just at a complete loss. This is so tragic,” Anne said.
Rather than trying to come up with the right words to comfort Annie with, Daisy leaned in and gave her friend another hug.
***
A few minutes later, a police car arrived at the scene. That seemed odd. What was law enforcement doing here? This was a matter for the fire department.
Or so Daisy believed. Had she missed something? Was there more to this story than she realized?
It turned out that the police car wasn’t being driven by any old officer. Detective Chris Crumple got out of the vehicle. The portly middle-aged detective was no stranger to Daisy. They had worked on a number of homicide cases together. At first, Crumple had put up some serious resistance to Daisy’s amateur sleuthing. When it became clear that Daisy had incredible investigative instincts, Crumple realized that Daisy’s skills could come in handy. With recent cases, Crumple had let Daisy do some consulting.
This particular situation was unique. After all, it wasn’t a crime scene. At least, not to Daisy’s knowledge.
Daisy left Annie’s side and approached Crumple.
“What are you doing here?” Daisy asked.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Crumple said.
“Charlotte Canfield was Annie’s goddaughter.”
“When you say was, does that mean she perished in the fire?”
“Unfortunately.”
“I’m very sorry about that.”
“It’s been really tough for Annie.”
“I can imagine. She has my sympathy.”
“Thanks. But what she’d really like is to get her goddaughter back.”
“I’m afraid I can’t help her there.”
“No. Neither can I,” Daisy said.
Crumple stared at the house. By that point, the firefighters had put out the blaze. All told, only about a quarter of the house had burned. While Daisy was happy that the entire house didn’t burn down, that was only a small consolation. Charlotte’s death was all that mattered.
Crumple grimaced. “What a mess.”
Daisy nodded. “It sure is. Speaking of which, you didn’t answer my question before. What are you doing here?”
“I need to meet with someone.”
“But why? Isn’t this strictly a fire department matter?”
“It’s too early to tell.”
“Wait. Is there a chance that this is a police matter as well?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I can’t help it if I’m curious. Besides, there’s no harm in wanting some answers.”
“Like I said a few seconds ago, I’m in the early stages of things right now.”
“The early stages of what? A case?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Daisy’s nose scrunched. “I’m confused. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Mrs. McDare—”
“It’s Mrs. Watson now.”
“Right. Sorry. Mrs. Watson, sometimes fires break out on accident. Other times, there’s a more dubious explanation.”
“You mean, arson?”
“That can’t be ruled out…yet. At least, not until the fire investigator releases his findings.”
“So, there is going to be an investigation?”
“During situations like this, a fire investigator always goes over the scene. If it is deemed that the blaze was due to an accident, the investigation will end there. If it is suspected that arson was involved, the case will really heat up.”
“In more ways than one.”
“Is the fire investigator meeting you here?”
“Yes.”
“I will be curious to see what the investigator finds.”
“Daisy, I know you have a seriously stubborn side to you, but you shouldn’t be concerning yourself with this right now.”
“It’s too late for that. I want answers.”
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. There’s a chance that this fire was an accident. Maybe the victim left a candle burning. Or it was an electrical fire. Most of the time, that is the case. It isn’t going to do you any good to jump to the worst-case scenario.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve done?”
“No. I’m here because it’s my job to consult with the fire investigator. I haven’t made any conclusions. As far as I’m concerned, this could be just an accident.”
“Fair enough. Let’s suppose this wasn’t an accident, though—”
“What did I just tell you?”
“A seed has been planted in my mind.”
“Before you get all worked up, let the fire investigator do his job.”
“All right.”
“Besides, your friend really needs you right now. Take care of her.”
“I will.”
Chapter Four
Daisy drove Annie back to her retirement villa. She made Annie a cup of tea and did her best to try and comfort her.
“If there’s anything I can do, let me know,” Daisy said.
“You just being here means a lot,” Annie said.
“Why wouldn’t I be? This is what friends are for. Besides, with Samantha out of town, I know you can really use the company.”
“Speaking of Samantha, I should probably call her. She’ll want to know what happened.”
Annie phoned her granddaughter. As expected, Samantha was devastated to hear the news. She also offered to cut her vacation short.
“Do you want me to come home?” Samantha asked.
“No,” Annie said.
“Are you sure?”
“That isn’t necessary. You’ve been working so hard. You deserve to finish your vacation.”
“All right. Well, if you change your mind, let me know.”
It said a lot about Samantha’s character that she was willing to drop everything and drive a thousand miles back to Cozy Creek. Annie was right, though. Samantha was better off remaining on her trip. Daisy could comfort Annie. Besides, even if Samantha did return home, it wouldn’t change anything.
A few minutes after Annie got off the phone with Samantha, the topic of timing was brought up.
“I just keep thinking, what if I had gotten to Charlotte’s place earlier?” Annie asked.
“That’s a dangerous path to go down,” Daisy said.
“I can’t help myself. I mean, what if I was there when the fire broke out? Maybe Charlotte would still be alive right now. I could have helped her get to safety.”
“I can see why you’d think that way, but there’s something you’re not accounting for.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s a chance t
hat you both might have died. That would have been tragic beyond words.”
“You’re right.”
“I know how you’re feeling right now. I’ve been down this road before. It doesn’t lead to a good place.”
Despite Daisy’s urging against it, Annie kept the conversation going.
“Then again, what if I had shown up a few minutes later? The entire house could have been engulfed in flames.”
“Annie, I know you have a lot on your mind right now. And that all sorts of questions are swirling around in your head. I also realize that we all grieve in our own way. But thinking about what could have happened isn’t going to change what actually did take place.”
Annie became very quiet. Too silent.
Daisy waited a few more seconds to reply. When she didn’t, Daisy spoke up.
“Do you know what we need?” Daisy asked.
“A time machine?” Annie replied.
“That would be nice. Since one doesn’t exist, we’ll have to go with another option.”
“Which is?”
“Cupcakes.”
“That was not the response I was expecting.”
“You know my old saying. You can’t go wrong with cupcakes.”
“I can’t disagree with that. The problem is that I don’t have any cupcakes here.”
“I can get us some.”
Annie put her hand out. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I won’t.”
“Good.”
“I have another plan.”
“What’s that?”
Daisy called Gavin. Thankfully, Gavin wasn’t in the middle of a big case. Instead, he was just hanging around his office, killing time.
After hearing about what happened, Gavin was more than happy to head over to Sweet Tooth to pick up some cupcakes.
When he arrived at the retirement villa, Daisy and Annie were both happy to see him. It didn’t take the three of them very long to devour the cupcakes that Gavin brought with him.
What an amazing treat they were. There was just something so delicious about cupcakes. They were instant crowd pleasers. Especially the chocolate ones. Daisy had a soft spot for them.
Even though the sugar rush from the cupcakes only provided a temporary boost in their mood, it was better than nothing.
As she finished eating, Annie became reflective.
“Charlotte was such a great woman. She had a kind heart. A generous soul. She was truly one of the good ones.”
“She will definitely be missed dearly.”
“Do you know what I’ll miss about her the most?”
“What?”
“She always appreciated the little things. She didn’t take anything for granted.”
“That’s a great quality to have.”
Annie nodded. “It’s one that she learned at a much earlier age than I did. Honestly, it wasn’t until my husband died a few years ago that I realized how important it was to live in the moment.”
“We can all use a reminder of that every once in a while.”
“We sure can.”
Daisy, Gavin, and Annie talked for a little bit longer. Then, shortly before nine, Annie hit a wall. She got up from her couch and decided to call it an early night. Daisy didn’t blame her. It was probably for the best.
Before Annie headed off to her bedroom, Daisy asked if Annie wanted her to stick around that evening. Daisy would be happy to sleep on the couch in case Annie woke up in the middle of the night feeling lonely. Annie thanked Daisy for the offer, but told her to head home.
***
Before Daisy and Gavin left, they decided to search Annie’s villa for any potential fire hazards. The chances of a second fire happening in Cozy Creek in the same day was pretty low, but they weren’t about to take any chances.
When Daisy and Gavin got back to their place, they took the same precautions. They were determined not to leave anything up to chance. Daisy started by gathering up all of the candles that she owned. She didn’t have many around the house, but she threw out the ones she did own. Meanwhile, Gavin checked for any fire hazards of the electrical variety.
“We’re not being overly paranoid, are we?” Daisy asked.
“Maybe. But I don’t care. It would be awful if our place caught fire due to something that was completely preventable,” Gavin said.
“That’s a good point.”
“I don’t know about you, but doing this little check gave me some serious peace of mind.”
“Same here.”
“So, what now?”
“This might sound crazy, considering how it’s only a little after nine o’clock, but I’m ready for bed.”
“I’m actually kind of relieved to hear you say that.”
“Why?”
“I’m so tired.”
“Same here. It feels like midnight to me.”
“That’s just the way life goes sometimes, isn’t it?”
“It has been quite a day.”
“There’s an understatement for you.”
“Fine. It was an absolute beast.”
“It was certainly the kind of day that I’d really like to forget.”
“In that case, let’s call it a night.”
As tired as she was, Daisy worried that she would spend a great deal of time tossing and turning that evening. She was dead wrong. Instead, when her head hit her pillow, her body gave in to exhaustion. She had devoted so much time and energy trying to make Annie feel better that she didn’t realize how ragged she was.
In one moment, it all caught up with her. She ended up crashing out almost immediately.
The next day, Daisy woke up and began to think about Annie again. She wondered how her friend was holding up. She would find out soon enough.
That particular morning, Daisy didn’t have an interior decorating job scheduled. Even so, she could have gone into her office anyway. There were always phone calls to make and paperwork to do.
Rather than tackling either of those tasks, she decided to take the day off. That proved to be a good decision. Not because Annie needed her. In fact, Daisy didn’t make it to Annie’s place.
Before she was able to walk out to her car, Daisy wound up getting a call that changed the complexion of her entire morning.
Chapter Five
When Daisy saw Detective Crumple’s name pop up on the caller identification screen of her phone, she knew she had to take the call immediately.
Crumple rarely phoned her. When he did, he typically had important news to share with her. Did he have an update about the fire investigation? Or had something else happened in town? Oh dear. What if another tragedy had occurred?
Instead of getting herself all worked up, Daisy wanted to hear from Crumple first. When Daisy answered the phone, she got straight to the point.
“Detective, I didn’t expect to hear from you so early in the morning. Do you have an update for me about the fire?”
Crumple had a question of his own for Daisy. “Can you meet me at the police station?”
“Sure,” Daisy replied. But why?”
“There’s something I need to tell you and I don’t want to do it over the phone.”
“All right. Is it about the house fire?”
“How soon can you be here?” Crumple asked.
“I’m heading out to my car right now. I could be there in ten minutes.”
“Good.”
When Daisy got off the phone, she was confused. It wasn’t like Crumple to be so mysterious. Granted, he wasn’t an open book, but he had never been this secretive either. Daisy couldn’t help but wonder why.
She came up with a number of theories as she drove over to the police station. Luckily, she didn’t encounter any traffic on the way. When she got to the station, a deputy led her to Crumple’s desk.
The detective looked incredibly troubled as he stared at a piece of paper. There was an empty box of donuts sitting on the corner of the desk. He also had an empty coffee mug in front of hi
m.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Please take a seat,” Crumple said.
“Is the news so bad that you want me to be sitting down when I hear it?”
“Please just sit down.”
Daisy followed Crumple’s orders.
“I have some terrible news to share with you,” Crumple said.
“Is it even worse than the fact that Charlotte Canfield is dead?”
“Unfortunately.”
“How bad are we talking?”
“The fire investigator finished his report.”
“Let me guess. The fire wasn’t an accident?”
“According to the investigator, there is no doubt in his mind that the fire was intentionally set.”
“Uh-oh.”
“It gets worse.”
“How so?”
“After discovering that the fire was due to arson, when I got done speaking with the investigator, I had the coroner run an autopsy on the body.”
“Did you get the results back?”
Crumple nodded.
“And?”
“Surprisingly, the victim did not die of smoke inhalation. Her burns also weren’t the cause of her death.”
“Then what was?”
“Strangulation.”
Daisy’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute. Someone strangled her?”
Crumple nodded.
“I can’t believe it,” Daisy said.
“Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth. Autopsy results don’t lie.”
“Wait. So, is your current theory that someone strangled Charlotte, and then set her house ablaze?”
“That’s exactly what I believe happened.”
“If that’s true, we’re dealing with someone who has a seriously twisted mind.”
“Someone who was determined to cover their tracks. They probably figured that all evidence of their crime would be turned to ash in the fire.”
“It probably would have been if the fire department didn’t get there quicker.”
“I’m so glad they did. If the fire raged on any longer, the body would have been incinerated. Then there would be no way to determine the true cause of death,” Crumple said. “I certainly wouldn’t have suspected foul play. Which means that the killer would have gotten away with murder.”
