Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Rare Catch Cozy Mystery

by Liz Turner

  “No,” Veronica declared. “We’re looking for an adult.”

  Chapter 8

  “I’m going to make another call.”

  “To whom?”

  “The lab,” Max replied. “I want to see if they’ve figured out any of the prints on the body, or if they have any idea what the murder weapon is.”

  With that excuse, Max headed back down Delta Avenue, leaving the ladies and the puppy at the park. With the hot sun having long passed midday, the dew on the grass had completely evaporated, leaving the lawn to appear drier and more yellow. A couple of trees there provided some welcome shade, which was probably a few degrees cooler than the rest of the park. The wood that made up the benches was comfortable, but the metal that bolted them together had become hot to the touch.

  The pair took a seat at one of the benches near the center of the park so they could enjoy the fresh air.

  “You know, it’s nice to not be stuck inside the restaurant all day,” Veronica commented. “Maybe I should add an outdoor patio to The Rare Catch.”

  “It would be good for the customers and the waiters at least,” Sakura partially agreed. “We wouldn’t get to enjoy it much, though.”

  “But it’s great being in the kitchen right? I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.”

  “Won’t argue with you on that.” Sakura looked up as Amber bounded away. “Oh boy. Where’s she heading now?”

  Where Amber was headed was a small patch of shade on the other side of the park, some distance from any of the benches. Next to the trees were two large cardboard boxes, each large enough to fit a dining room table, if it had been broken down into parts. Round holes were unevenly cut in the sides of the cardboard, and along with that crayon and paint decorated the boxes, making the cardboard look like waves at the bottom and slabs of wood at the top. Sticking vertically out of each box at the top was a large branch, approximately two feet tall. Tied to both branches was a large white bed sheet, which started to turn yellow with age and use (and lack of cleaning). Two boys ran around on the boxes, carrying plastic swords in their hands.

  “Surrender your treasure map!” one of the children yelled. On closer inspection Veronica realized it was Rupert. “Or face the fury of Captain Longsword!”

  “Arr, you’ll never get my treasure!” It was Cale, playing the role of the opposing pirate. “On my parrot’s word, you’ll have to fight me for my map!”

  “Aye, then I will make you walk the plank!”

  Rupert and Cale each jumped out of their pretend boats and began a little swordfight with their plastic weapons. Veronica and Sakura laughed heartily at the sight.

  “I don’t think pirates actually talked like that,” Sakura joked.

  “Nah, but that’s what kids are supposed to do,” Veronica said. “Play together and have fun.”

  “Wasn’t Pietro really worried about how Rupert was doing?” the other wondered out loud. “About how he was dealing with Leo’s death?”

  “Arg, you got me!” The women looked over again to see that Rupert had ‘stabbed’ Cale through the heart with his sword, and Cale held the sword under his arm as he pretended to be defeated. “You got me! Tell my parrot…I leave everything to him!”

  Cale continued to pretend to die, rather dramatically, Veronica noticed, gasping and sputtering before falling on his back, the plastic sword sticking straight up. She knew it was play acting, but Veronica never took the sudden silence for granted. She jumped from the bench and rushed over to the fallen child, taking in his prone form. His eyes were closed, and his face was peaceful.

  “Cale?” she called. “Cale? Are you all right?”

  The child opened his eyes and gave the chef a smirk. “I’m okay. No worries.”

  “You didn’t really think I would hurt him, did you?” Rupert asked as he joined them.

  “Sorry,” Veronica stated. “Just wanted to make sure.”

  “I’m okay,” Cale declared, his role-playing forgotten as he stood.

  “I’m not sure that’s the most appropriate thing for them to be playing right now,” Veronica proclaimed. She stood and walked over to the children, with Sakura and Amber right behind her. “Hi, boys. How are you doing?”

  With a little bit of shock, Cale and Rupert turned to see the women and puppy head their direction. Cale gave them a small smile.

  “Hi, Chef Koche!” At that moment, he spotted Amber and gasped playfully. “Amber!”

  In response, the puppy leaped over to the boys and rolled over. Rupert and Cale both started petting and wrestling with the puppy, and even though Amber was on her own it was still an even match of two against one. Having four legs must have given Amber an advantage somehow. She barked and whined as they played. Veronica let them have their fun for a few minutes before she spotted something on Cale’s elbow.

  “Are you all right, Cale?” She bent down and took a better look at his arm. “That’s a pretty bad bruise. What happened?”

  Cale glanced at the green and yellow bruise on his elbow and shrugged. “It’s fine. That happens when you’re a pirate!”

  “You were playing kind of rough, weren’t you?” she asked.

  “Nah. Nothing bad happened.” Cale glanced at his friend. “Right, Rupert?”

  “Yeah. We bump and bruise each other all the time,” Rupert stated. “Dad’s always got this lotion he gives us after. It’s no problem.”

  “All right. Your father would know, being a pharmacist,” Veronica relented. “So, how are you boys doing? With everything going on and all?”

  Rupert was quiet for a bit, nibbling his bottom lip. “I’m okay I guess. I miss Uncle Leo.”

  “You liked him a lot, huh?” Sakura spoke, at last, kneeling as well.

  “Yeah. He was cool. Lots of fun and always had a joke,” Rupert replied. “It’s not so bad right now, though. Cale told me what death means, so I think…I’m okay.

  Veronica turned to Cale again. “And what did you tell him?”

  “Dad says death’s a part of life, and it’s not something to be worried about,” Cale explained. “Leo’s going to be watching over Rupert from Heaven, and it can’t be bad to have a guardian angel, right?”

  “Right,” Rupert agreed. Veronica and Sakura smiled.

  “That’s a good philosophy,” the elder woman said. “You’re a good friend, Cale.”

  “That’s because we’re best friends!” Cale declared, giving Rupert a hug that was quickly returned. “And that’s what best friends do!”

  “We do everything together,” Rupert announced pride in his voice. Although Veronica doubted they were literally together all the time, it was certainly not something she would discourage. “And Cale’s good at cheering me up.”

  “Mom says it’s the people left behind who we worry about, not the person who died,” Cale continued. “That’s why I thought Rupert could use some pirate action!”

  Rupert thrust his sword into the air. “Arr!”

  “What about you, Cale?” Veronica asked with blunt concern. “You found Leo…I can’t imagine what that must feel like.”

  Rupert gave his friend a sympathetic glance, but Cale simply smiled again. “You sound like my mom. She talks about what’s going to happen to me since I found a dead guy.”

  “And what do you think?”

  “She's mom.” His statement was so frank Veronica couldn’t find anything more to say about it.

  “But you understand the difference between dying and someone killing another person, right?” Sakura added, and Veronica wanted to groan at her friend’s lack of sensitivity…again. “That this isn’t a normal part of life, right?”

  “We know that,” Rupert confirmed. “It’s different from what we were playing.”

  “Really different,” Cale agreed. “But we don’t need to worry, right? You and that police officer guy will figure out who did it, right?”

  He must mean Detective Bernard. Veronica comprehended. “Yes, we will. This is a horrible thing to do, an
d we’re not going to let whoever did this to Leo get away with it.”

  “I knew you were cool,” Rupert stated, and Veronica blushed a little. “They always figure out who the bad guy is on those TV shows.”

  Veronica chuckled a little at his logic. “That’s true.”“Have you guys found anything yet?” Cale asked. “Clues and stuff like that?”

  “A few things,” Sakura replied. “We’ve been interviewing a lot of people. Why?”

  “I bet you don’t have what I’ve got,” he teased. “I’ve got a clue!”

  “A clue?” Veronica repeated. “What do you mean?”

  Cale gave her an amused smile before darting away into the bushes. Not wanting to miss out on what this “clue” was, Veronica and Sakura raced to follow him. Being several inches taller than either of the boys, they were able to see what was behind the bushes in which Cale hid.

  It was almost adorable. It was some kind of play hideout inside a circle of shrubs. Along with more cardboard boxes that acted as houses, the boys had set up a small fire pit (which looked to have never been lit, thankfully) and a couple of piles of crisscrossed wood. The shade from the trees provided more cover, but that didn’t stop rays of light from entering the secret hideaway. There were a couple of toys there as well, which Veronica assumed came from their own homes, but they looked to be bleached by the sun and rain, and their colors were faded. Still it was great to see such a place when so many children opted to stay indoors and watch television all the time.

  I hope these two spend a lot of time here! Veronica thought. The fresh air is good for them!

  Cale had ducked inside one of the cardboard houses for only a split second before he came out again, carrying a small slip of paper. He spotted the two women watching him from above, and he blew a raspberry at them.

  “I don’t think he likes that you found our secret hiding place,” Rupert informed them.

  “Don’t worry,” Veronica replied. She put her index finger to her lips, dropping her voice to a whisper. “It’ll be our little secret, okay?”

  Cale finally left the circle of bushes and handed the paper to Sakura. Veronica looked over her shoulder so she could get a look at it as well.

  “That’s another piece of the photograph!” she declared, taking the picture out of Sakura’s hands. “Where did you find this, Cale?”

  “It was in our hideout,” he answered. “It wasn’t there before, but I found it a few minutes before we went pirating.”

  Veronica held her hands up to her mouth and yelled. “Max! Max! Come here! We have something!”

  “Whoa, that was loud,” Rupert joked, putting his hands over his ears.

  “Tell me about it,” Sakura joined in the teasing. “Why’d you have to shout so loud?”

  “What’s going on?” Max asked as he ran to them. “What did you find?”

  “Look! Another piece of the photo!”

  Max’s eyes widened, and he pulled the other pieces out of his suit pocket. Sure enough, with the comparison, all the shards came from the same picture. This one showed more of the bench and the tip of a small blue shoe. No details about the shoe could be seen other than the light cobalt color, but it was still another piece to the puzzle they needed.

  “This is great!” Max proclaimed, looking at Rupert and Cale with a wide grin. “You boys found this? Great job!”

  “Cale said it wasn’t in their hideout before,” Sakura added. “Right, Cale?”

  “Right,” he verified. “And I didn’t put it there.”

  “I didn’t either,” Rupert stated.

  “Someone must have put it there before you got here,” Veronica deduced. “The same person who put the piece in Henry’s bag.”

  “It looked like something my uncle would’ve taken,” Rupert suddenly commented. “Remember? Dad told you he takes a lot of pictures.”

  “We remember,” Max confirmed. He let Rupert have a better look at the pieces. “You say Leo took the photo?”

  “I think so. It looks like one of his,” the boy echoed. “He showed them to me a lot. Dad would fight with him a lot about taking pictures all the time. He said Uncle Leo didn’t take it seriously or something.”

  “Or something?” Sakura repeated.

  “Are you my parrot?” Rupert asked.

  “Your dad and uncle fought a lot?” Veronica asked.

  “All the time!” He threw his arm up in the air for emphasis.

  Max hummed. “Maybe we need to have another talk with Pietro. There’s something he didn’t tell us before.”

  Chapter 9

  “Okay, I know what you’re thinking.”

  “Really? Because I’m thinking a murdered man’s brother has been keeping secrets from an investigating officer,” Detective Bernard declared. “I’m not leaving until you start telling the truth. What did you and Leo argue about?”

  “You said Rupert told you about our fighting?” Pietro asked, dodging the question. “I told him to stay in the house until the investigation was over!”

  “It’s not healthy for a boy his age to be locked up during such an emotionally trying time,” Veronica chastised him with a shake of her head. “Now’s the time he should be around someone who can cheer him up.”

  “She’s right,” Rupert agreed from his seat on the Amatos’ living room couch. “Hanging out with Cale helps me feel better. It’s not like I have a brother or a cousin I can play with.”

  Pietro stared at his son for several minutes before putting his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, Rupert. I was just trying to make things easier for you by not having you think about what’s happened.”

  “Maybe it would be better to include Rupert in our conversations about Leo,” Lorenzo suggested. Pietro glanced at his father across the room. “He seems to be handling it pretty well.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re not worried about his emotional state!” Pietro proclaimed.

  “I’m right here, you know,” Rupert protested, pursing his lips. “Look, I’m sad about Leo…Really sad. I can’t even begin to describe it. But it kind of helps to talk about it.”

  “He’s much older than his seven years would suggest,” Lorenzo commented with a chuckle.

  Everyone was silent again. Veronica and Sakura stared at each other as they waited for someone to say something, anything. The silence bounced off the white walls, stopping at the various picture frames, and Veronica could only watch as Pietro continued to mentally beat himself up for how he had treated his son. At least, that was the impression she got based on the tormented expressions dancing across his face.

  Finally, Max cleared his throat. “Now, back to my questions. Tell me about this fight.”

  “Fights. Plural,” Pietro corrected him. “Leo and I had lots of arguments. Leo never took things seriously around here.”

  “You were always jealous of his happy-go-lucky style,” Lorenzo announced, his voice showing he was attempting to make a joke.

  Sadly, his son didn’t see it that way.“I’m not jealous! I’m just stressed. I work hard at my job, I failed to make my marriage work, and I’m trying to be a good father…” Pietro rubbed his temples with his fingers. “It just…got on my nerves that Leo wouldn’t take responsibility for things, like contributing to the house and our expenses.”“That’s not true, Pietro,” Lorenzo contested. “And you know it.”“Leo was entirely dependent on you, Dad,” the older son debated. “You pay all the bills, manage the mortgage all these years, and cover grocery shopping. Leo only cared about his pictures. It was never going to be a career that would allow him financial independence.”

  “So the fight was about money?” Max summarized. “And Leo wasn’t pulling his weight?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Pietro, you know it’s important that your work is something you love to do,” Veronica described, her tone gentle. “Even if it doesn’t make a lot of money. Money doesn’t buy happiness.”

  “What do you know, Veronica?” Sakura teased. “You’re doin
g what you love, and you put yourself through school.”

  “Hush you!” Veronica returned, still lighthearted despite the context.

  “You’re wrong, you know.” Everyone turned to look at Lorenzo. The older man left his spot next to the stairs and sat down on the couch. “Leo was contributing. He saved up some money every month to pay off his student loans, and then what was left he gave to me.”

  Pietro straightened up. “What?”

  “Where do you think Leo got the cash for that fancy camera of his?” Lorenzo inquired. “And he paid for those vacation weeks for me at the Starlight Resort last year, remember?”

  “He did? I thought you paid for that yourself.”

  “No, Leo financed it all. Said I deserved a break for taking care of him and Rupert.” Lorenzo’s head tilted to the side. “I thought you knew that. He didn’t tell you?”

  “No.” Pietro shook his head, slowly at first but then more quickly. “But…what about that whole problem with the gardener? He was in charge of paying her, and his checks kept bouncing.”

  “The bank had printed the wrong account number on the checks,” Lorenzo informed him. “I thought he told you all this…otherwise, I would’ve said something.”

  Pietro shook his head again and bit his lip. “I thought he was wasting money on his photography so he never had enough money in his account.”

  “Why would you automatically assume that?” Sakura asked.He stared down at his hands before leaning forward to look at his feet, placed squarely on the ground. Rupert started clicking his tongue, glancing around while his father was quiet again.“I get it.” Rupert stopped his clicking at the sound of Veronica’s voice. “You are jealous…but not in a bad way. You just wish you could be as carefree as him. Like you said, you work so hard at everything and Leo seemed to have it so much easier…at least to you he did.”Pietro gave her a small smile but said nothing. For the first time, she noticed the crustiness around his eyelids. He must have been crying a lot recently.