Powdered Grape & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 29

by Susan Gillard

“And secondly, you’re not sure that was Josh.”

  “Fair points,” Amy agreed.

  They decided to focus on making their delivery but were fairly certain this would be a distraction on their minds for the rest of the day.

  It wasn’t until they arrived at the Seaview Hotel and saw crowds gathering for a different reason that they found a new source of distraction. There were police cars and an ambulance outside the hotel. Something bad had just happened.

  The Seaview Hotel

  Heather wasn’t sure whether to bring the donuts to the hotel or not. There were so many people there that some of them were sure to be hungry. She could also give the emergency workers a snack when they finished their work if it was desired. However, because she didn’t know what had happened at the hotel, she wasn’t sure whether bring boxes of donuts would be in bad taste.

  She hemmed and hawed for a moment, but then realized that she needed to take action.

  “The donuts will become mushy if we leave them in the heat of the car,” she said. “Let’s bring them into the lobby and see if we can determine what is going on.”

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said Amy.

  “I don’t feel great about it myself,” said Heather. “But it can’t have been a murder that was committed. Ryan would have called us if there was a case to investigate.”

  “I guess that’s the perk of being married to a detective,” Amy joked. “You’ll always know if a murder has happened.”

  “It’s not a great perk for everyone, but it allows for us to be more helpful as P.I.s,” said Heather. “Now, we should get moving.”

  They moved towards the hotel. Heather noticed that the architecture and décor were very similar to the Seaside Inn, but of course, that building had been missing the caution tape when they arrived earlier. It looked to be five stories tall, which was a floor higher than the other hotel. Both had a look that invited peace and relaxation. However, it was currently being undermined at the Seaview Hotel.

  They carried the boxes inside the lobby. Guests were milling about, unsure what to do. Toni was behind the check-in counter, leaning on it and looking miserable.

  “Toni?” Heather asked.

  “I should probably change my name to Toni the Jinxed or Toni the Cursed.”

  “Maybe Toni the Dramatic would be fitting,” Amy retorted.

  Toni looked up. “Oh, you sweet dears. You brought the breakfast. You don’t know what happened. But then again, how could you? It only happened a half hour ago. Can you believe that this horribleness happened only a half hour ago?”

  “I believe these boxes are getting heavy,” said Amy.

  Toni pulled herself off of the counter and gestured toward her breakfast nook. Despite the unknown circumstances outside, Heather was happy to put her donuts out to eat. The granola bars look pitiful and unappetizing on the large table.

  She hurriedly set the donuts out in case guests wanted to grab some. Even though she wasn’t sure what was happening, she knew it was important to eat. Satisfied with her quick makeshift display, she handed a Powdered Grape Donut to Toni.

  “Take a bite of this and see if the sugar helps,” said Heather. “Then, I want you to tell us what happened.”

  Toni complied. There was a little more color in her cheeks after she ate the snack, but she still looked distraught. “When I opened up this morning, I thought my biggest problem was not remembering to order a replacement breakfast. I was feeling so happy after finding you. But now it seems inconsequential after what happened.”

  “What did happen?” asked Amy, getting impatient.

  “One of my guests died,” Toni said, frowning and taking another donut. “She was here on spring break.”

  “That’s terrible,” said Heather. “How did she die?”

  “She fell from the balcony area on the top floor,” said Toni. “We have guardrails, and everything is up to code. It’s supposed to be a nice view of the ocean. That sort of fits into our name. But she must have fallen.”

  “And this makes you Toni the Cursed?” asked Amy.

  “I’m going to have this on my conscience forever,” said Toni. “There must have been something I could have done to stop it. And this isn’t going to look good for the Seaview Hotel either.”

  “Well, I guess I could start calling you that if you really want me to.”

  “I’m not quite sure what’s going on,” said Toni. “They’re still with the body and examining things. Do you mind if I pay you for the donuts tomorrow? And I guess I’ll still order them for the week. The people that are here will still have to eat. Even if that young guest won’t anymore.”

  “Of course,” Heather said, trying to soothe her. “Tomorrow would be fine for payment, and we’ll continue to bring more donuts in.”

  “I’m afraid I’m not very good at planning ahead,” Toni admitted. “I wish I knew what I was supposed to do now. But I guess I should wait until the EMTs and detectives finish up anyway.”

  “Detectives?” asked Heather.

  Toni nodded. “I forget their names. One is a tan-skinned young man who looks a little young to be a detective.”

  “Must be Peters,” said Heather.

  “And the other detective is tall and handsome.”

  “And that must be your hubby,” said Amy.

  “I think we better find out what is going on,” said Heather.

  Amy agreed, but not before she had taken one of the donuts if not “for the road,” then “for the hall.”

  A Deadly Fall

  “Hi, Heather. Wow, you sure get here fast.”

  “Hi Emmitt,” Heather said, greeting the EMT that they had met under both deadly and life-saving circumstances. He was sitting by his ambulance, waiting to be relieved.

  “The medical examiner is with her now,” Emmitt explained. “She was dead before we arrived. Even I know that the fall killed her.”

  “Is Ryan around?” Heather asked.

  “I think he and his partner were finished on ground level by the body. I think they went up to the top floor to do some investigating.”

  Heather thanked him. She turned back to Amy, and the two friends headed back inside to talk the elevator up to the fifth floor.

  “I’m glad we don’t have to look at that body,” Amy said. “I don’t imagine it would be too pleasant a sight. Now that most murders aren’t terrible.”

  “I know what you mean,” said Heather.

  The easy listening of the elevator’s music clashed with the sense of tragedy that had occurred so close by. Heather was happy when they emerged and were on the fifth floor. There were several rooms on this level, but most of the floor was taken up by a large balcony with chairs and decorative plants on it.

  Heather and Amy hurried past the rooms and stairwell to reach the balcony.

  “I knew we should have put up crime scene tape,” Peters said, before noticing who it was. “Oh, hi Heather and Amy.”

  “Crime scene tape?” said Heather.

  “I wanted to keep civilians away from here,” said Peters. “But not my partner’s wife and her partner who have helped with a ton of cases.”

  Ryan marched over to meet them as well. “I’m happy to see you. But before you say anything, there is a reason why we didn’t call you to help with this case.”

  “What?” Amy teased. “You got tired of how easily we solve them?”

  “I wouldn’t say most of our cases were easy,” Heather said to her friend. Then she looked at Ryan. “But I do know that this just happened within the hour.”

  “They are fast,” said Peters.

  “The EMT just told us the same thing,” Amy commented.

  “But the reason I didn’t call you is because we don’t know if this was a crime or not,” said Ryan.

  “You mean it might be an accidental death and not a murder?” asked Heather.

  “Exactly,” said Ryan. “There don’t appear to be any witnesses on this floor. It sounds as if the victim wa
s here on the balcony by herself.”

  “Of course, a killer might not admit to being here with her,” said Amy.

  “True,” Ryan agreed. “And unfortunately, there are no video cameras up here.”

  Heather looked around the balcony. Even knowing what had happened, it looked peaceful. The chairs looked comfortable. There was shade, and the tropical flowers let off a pleasant scent. There was a beautiful view of the ocean in the distance, and a gentle breeze was blowing.

  The railing was tall but didn’t obstruct the view. She moved closer to the railing. Amy joined her. They weren’t the tallest women in the world, but it came up to their chests in height.

  “Don’t look down,” Amy muttered. “Not just for being scared of heights, but we also don’t want to see the body.”

  Heather turned to the detectives instead of looking down. “Was the victim very tall?”

  “I see what you’re thinking,” said Ryan. “But no, she was average height. Average build.

  “Average hair color too,” added Peters. “But it was curly. She was young in age though. A senior in college.”

  “She wasn’t so tall that the railing couldn’t have stopped her from falling off,” said Ryan.

  “Doesn’t that point to murder then?” Heather asked. “That somebody pushed her off of the building.”

  “It’s possible,” Ryan said. “But it also could have been because she wasn’t behaving safely.”

  “You mean like she tried to do a high wire act routine on the railing?” asked Amy.

  “Maybe not anything so dramatic,” said Ryan. “But there is that.”

  He pointed to something shiny on the edge just behind the railing. Amy tried to reach for it but found the shape of the bars didn’t allow her hand to fit through.

  “You think she might have been trying to reach that coin and lost her balance?” asked Heather.

  “That’s one possibility,” said Ryan. “And just because a death is tragic doesn’t mean that it’s murder. This might be an unfortunate accident.”

  “Her name was Teresa Ray,” Peters said, looking at his notes. “She came here on spring break with a few friends. It seems like they had been partying a lot.”

  “So, she might not have been in the right state of mind when she decided to grab that coin,” said Heather, trying out the theory.

  “The medical examiner can tell us if there was anything in her system after he completes his autopsy,” said Ryan. “He can also tell us if there are any signs of trauma besides those caused by the fall. So far, he hasn’t detected any.”

  “So, right now, there is no evidence that she was pushed?” said Heather.

  “Right,” agreed Ryan. “We’re calling it a suspicious death, as we try to confirm what happened. But right now, it appears that this was an accident.”

  Heather frowned. She knew the importance of following the evidence, but she also knew to trust her gut. Right now, her gut was telling her that this wasn’t an accident. She suspected foul play.

  The Friend

  Heather and Amy left the balcony and headed down to the first floor in the elevator. Heather kept thinking about the death. Her gut was telling her that there was something amiss about the fall, but there wasn’t clear evidence of a murder happening. Should she keep searching for clues? She didn’t want to let a killer go free because he was successful in disguising his crime. However, it was possible that the death truly had been an accident. Maybe her gut was misleading her because she had encountered so many murders before. She didn’t want waste time chasing killers that weren’t there when she should be focusing on how busy her business was.

  As they exited the elevator, Heather noticed that Amy looked deep in thought too.

  “Are you thinking about the fall too?” Heather asked.

  Amy wrinkled her nose in embarrassment. “I probably should have been thinking about it. A woman did just die. But I was actually thinking about Josh being in town. Do you think Jamie could be asking for help for a proposal? I’m sure Josh would be his best man if we got married.”

  “That is a happier thought than someone falling to their death,” Heather said, patting her friend on the arm. “But I’m not sure what Josh and Jamie are up to. I know Jamie is crazy about you. It would be wonderful if they were planning a proposal. But maybe they’re getting together for another reason.”

  “Like for a baseball game or something?”

  Heather shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Amy frowned. “That’s the wrong sort of diamond for me to get excited about.”

  Heather couldn’t help smiling at her bestie’s joke. They headed towards the breakfast nook. Some donuts had already been taken despite everything that was going on. Heather thought that if it was that busy there, then it must be swamped at Donut Delights. She was set to head to the exit when a young woman entered the room.

  She was a young brunette with large sunglasses hiding most of her face. Though Heather couldn’t see her eyes, she knew that the young woman was crying because of the sniffling sound she was making. She walked past the donuts and grabbed some of the napkins to dab her face.

  Heather reached into her purse to pull out some tissues.

  “Here,” Heather said, handing them to the woman. “These are softer than the napkins.”

  “Thank you,” she said, accepting them. “It’s been a very difficult morning.”

  “Did you know the woman who died?” asked Heather.

  The young woman stopped trying to hold her tears back and let them flow. Heather handed her the whole pack of tissues from her purse. Amy picked up the napkins that were originally going to be used because she figured they might end up being necessary.

  “Her name was Teresa. She was my friend.”

  “What’s your name?” Heather asked.

  “It’s Marigold,” she said in between sobs. “Teresa and I came here for spring break with our other friend Jess. We were supposed to have a great time. But this is the worst thing that could have happened.”

  “I don’t know,” said Amy. “Maybe there are some things that could have made it worse.”

  Heather elbowed her friend.

  “We had a good time going out last night. It felt vacation. Then, I left this morning to go and get some breakfast. There wasn’t anything here. And I ended up walking the beach for a while. I didn’t realize that Teresa could have been in danger. Now it all feels like a nightmare.”

  “Did Teresa go on the balcony often?” Heather asked.

  “We only arrived here two days ago. We all liked the balcony. We sat at the tables and admired the view. Of course, now I hate the balcony. I don’t think I’ll be able to go up there again.”

  Marigold used up the last of the tissues and accepted the napkins. Heather ushered her to a chair to sit down and collect herself.

  “I’m sorry to carry on like this. We don’t know each other at all.”

  “If it makes you feel better to know us, we’re Amy and Heather. We brought the donuts.”

  “They look beautiful. I bet Teresa would have loved them,” Marigold said, bursting into tears again.

  “You’ll love them now,” Amy said, handing her one. She gave a look to Heather that suggested she was giving the young woman the snack to try and quiet her down.

  Heather understood the impulse. However, she wanted to hear more about what Marigold had to say about her friend. There wasn’t an easy way to make this segue, so Heather outright asked, “You said Teresa would have loved the colorful donuts. Was she attracted to shiny things?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think she is any more than anyone else. Why?”

  “I know the detectives who were searching the scene,” Heather explained. “In fact, I’m married to one of them. And Amy and I have helped with a few cases. When they were examining the scene, they discovered a shiny coin on the edge of the balcony. They think that Teresa might have been trying to grab it, but lost her balance and fell.”

&nbs
p; “That doesn’t make any sense,” Marigold said, stopping her tears. “Not at all.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Heather.

  “Teresa wouldn’t have done something like that. She wouldn’t have gone over the railing so high up.”

  “You said you were partying last night,” Amy said. “Is it possible there was still something in her system that could affect her judgment?”

  “I don’t think so. Jess had a hangover most of the morning, but Teresa seemed okay when I left.”

  “You shared a room?” Heather asked for clarification.

  “We got two adjoining rooms for the three of us,” Marigold explained. “That gave us enough space for our things. We were traveling together, so we wanted to see each other, but an extra room meant someone could have privacy one night if needed. Mostly we picked adjoining rooms because there was a deal.”

  “I guess we did something similar with our living arrangement,” said Amy. “We live in a three-family home to be close together.”

  Heather nodded at her friend but then asked Marigold. “You said Teresa was fine?”

  “She was just waking up when I left and said she planned to take a shower so I shouldn’t wait for her. But she seemed normal and happy. But even if she had still been drunk, she wouldn’t have climbed over the balcony.”

  “One night when I had been drinking I ordered a hundred dollars-worth of cheese online,” said Amy. “We don’t always do things that make sense.”

  “But Teresa didn’t like heights. She wasn’t scared of them enough to not go on the balcony, but she didn’t like getting close to the edge. I can’t see her climbing over the rail.”

  Heather raised her eyebrows as a signal to Amy. What Marigold had just told them made it sound less like an accident had happened.

  “Did Teresa have any enemies on the island?” asked Heather.

  “How could she? We just arrived here,” Marigold said, as she began to cry again. “Unless you think Jess or I could have wanted to hurt her. But we were friends.”

  Heather handed her some more napkins to catch her tears. This sounded like a murder case to her, but it also seemed like it might be difficult to crack.