Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Rare Catch Cozy Mystery

by Liz Turner

  At least we have the same opinion about death, Veronica thought.

  Instead of a dead body, there were several people wearing dark overalls, all of whom were distinctly alive. Veronica had learned long ago they were the forensic technicians for the Meloda Police Department laboratory, or the “lab rats” as Max liked to call them. They wore latex gloves and safety glasses and were picking up little bits of everything with tweezers. Things from blades of grass to strands of hair and pieces of trash all went into evidence bags, which were then labeled and put away into briefcases.

  “How’s it going?” Erica asked one of the technicians.

  “Fairly well,” he replied. “We’ve gathered lots of samples, so we should have a good set of data once it’s all processed.”

  “Good to hear,” said the Chief of Police. “Anything specific you’ve found?”

  “A couple of prints but many of them might be the deceased’s,” the tech answered. “And we got a sample from her coffee.”

  “Good. Get it all to the lab and run it as quickly as you can,” Erica instructed. “I’ve got some doubts this is simply a heart attack.”

  “Julia seemed to be in pretty good shape, and she wasn’t so old a heart attack would be common,” Veronica deduced. “I’m no expert, but a heart attack seems really unlikely.”

  “You and I are of the same mind, Chef Koche,” Erica concurred. “Given her age and fitness, Julia Palmer was probably not likely to have a heart attack. We can’t rule out anything until the autopsy’s done, but I like to treat suspicious circumstances like a murder case until proven otherwise.”

  “Doctor Lansome is one of the best in his field,” Max described. “He’s both thorough and quick. We’ll probably have the autopsy report by tomorrow morning.”

  “You’ve told me about him before,” Veronica said. “You said he goes out of his way to get murder autopsies done as quickly as possible.”

  “The sooner we have this information, the better,” Erica said.

  “Does this mean he’s not going to get any sleep tonight?” Sakura wondered out loud.

  “Probably,” the detective said with a laugh. “He’s pulled all-nighters before. That’s why I bet the report will be done tomorrow morning.”

  “I hope he doesn’t do that too often,” Veronica said with a concerned tone. “It could really hurt his health if he’s not careful.”

  “I tell him that all the time,” Chief Maerune stated. She continued to look around the tent as the forensic technicians began to pack up their equipment. “Better leave this as we found it. We might need to come back to it later.”

  “What’s this?” Sakura asked, picking up the half-empty mug on the desk and taking a small sniff. She immediately pulled back and cringed. “Whoa, strong! Who drinks coffee at a Renaissance Fair? She should drink ale or mead, something that fits with the atmosphere of the times.”

  “Don’t touch that!” Erica shouted, nearly making Sakura drop the mug in question. She grabbed it from the younger chef and put it back on the desk. “Don’t touch anything. We can’t contaminate the crime scene!”

  “It’s okay, Chief,” another technician reassured her. “We’ve already got multiple samples of the coffee, including prints and pictures. It should be fine.”

  Erica appeared to visibly relax at this news, and her glare softened, but she still didn’t look happy with Sakura’s behavior. “Weren’t you the one who knows about not contaminating a crime scene?”

  “Sorry,” Sakura said sheepishly.

  Veronica pressed her lips together as Sakura ducked behind her. She glanced around the scene again, partly to get her mind off Erica’s outburst and partly to see if there was anything the forensic technicians may have missed. There didn’t seem to be anything out of place. The chair was where it was expected to be. The remote for the television somehow balanced on top of the screen. The papers on the desk were impeccably methodical. Not even a pencil was out of place.

  “There doesn’t seem to be any sign of a struggle.”

  “You’re right,” Erica agreed. “If Miss Palmer’s death was a murder, it was a silent murder.”

  “Wouldn’t this mean it was something like poison?” Sakura suggested.

  “If so we can test for traces of poison in Julia’s blood and coffee,” Max concluded, gesturing to the mug that had caused such a problem moments ago.

  “This probably wasn’t the only thing she consumed today,” Erica contradicted. “Breakfast, lunch, other drinks…It could be a lot of things, and poison can be easily hidden. Not to mention some poisons take a few days before killing someone.”

  “So she might not have even consumed it today,” Max concluded.

  “Or at the Fair,” Sakura added.

  “She had a chicken sandwich at our booth earlier,” Veronica reported. “But it’s the only thing I know of.”

  “We’re finished, Chief,” the forensic technician informed her. “We’ll get this all back to the lab and call you when we have preliminary results.”

  “Do that. Thanks.” Erica waved them away and then turned to Max. “Better go check on the supplies for everyone here.”

  “What do you mean?” Sakura asked.

  “Right. You weren’t here for that part of the conversation,” Max recalled. “The Fair is closed off.”

  “What?”

  “No one’s allowed in or out until our investigations have been conducted,” Erica repeated. “We have people bringing in food, extra tents, cots and sleeping bags for everyone who has to stay.”

  “That could be a lot of people,” Veronica commented.

  “You’re telling me,” Max agreed. “It’s been a mess trying to make sure everyone’s accounted for.”

  “That’s a lot of people who aren’t going to be happy.”

  “I know, but it’s the best way to make sure the criminal doesn’t get away,” Erica debated. “Especially with so many people at this Fair, we need to narrow down the suspect list as much as possible and as quickly as possible.”

  “You don’t want all of Meloda to be on your list,” Veronica summarized.

  “Exactly.” The Chief of Police glanced down at her watch. “I better get back to the station. Head there after you’re finished up here, Max.”

  “Aren’t you going to question anyone now?” Veronica inquired.

  “Not at this time,” Erica contradicted. “I prefer to have solid forensic evidence before I talk to anyone. That way I have something to go on.”

  “But you could find out while you wait for the lab results,” Veronica rationalized. “Talk to Sandra! She probably knows a lot about what happened, maybe even have an idea of why Julia died.”

  Erica shook her head. “I’d prefer to wait. Trust me. I’ve done this type of investigation for years. Leave this to the professionals, all right?”

  Veronica, Sakura and Max all watched the Chief leave the tent and listened to her footsteps as she walked away. Sakura’s face twisted into an expression of pure confusion. Her eyebrows were simultaneously raised and furrowed, and her mouth was half-open with a thick smirk. She stared back and forth between Veronica and Max for several seconds and then blew a raspberry.

  “What is she thinking, not interviewing anyone yet?” Sakura hollered. “That’s got to be the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard of! What investigator doesn’t, you know, investigate?”

  Max shrugged and led the two women out of the tent before a response could be said.

  “I don’t know, but I do need to go check on those supplies. Don’t want a riot on our hands as well as a possible murder.” He made sure they were a couple feet away from the crime scene, well in the sight of the guarding police officers before he gave Veronica a little kiss. “I’ll make sure you two have everything you need at your tent before you go to sleep. Until then, you’re free to do what you want.”

  They watched as Max walked away, glimpsing at them over his shoulder as he went. Veronica and Sakura stared at each other, and the
n at the crime scene.

  “What we want, huh?” Veronica whispered.

  Chapter 7

  Even with the shortened days of autumn, there was still a bit of daylight remaining. Veronica watched as the sun was heading for the mountains, but she was sure it wasn’t going to set for a while.

  The question was what were they going to do with what was left of the day.

  “So now what?” Sakura asked her friend and boss. “So much for helping with the investigation, huh?”

  “Not necessarily,” Veronica replied. “Max said we could do what we want, as long as we don’t leave the Fair.”

  Sakura caught on almost immediately. “You want to go talk to Sandra?”

  “Of course! She’s the best person to start with. She was Julia’s assistant after all.”

  “Why do I get the feeling Miss Police Chief Erica Maerune isn’t going to like that?” Sakura crossed her arms with a smirk.

  “Just because she doesn’t want to interview anyone yet doesn’t mean we have to wait,” Veronica declared tensely. “And when we show up with a bunch of knowledge she doesn’t know, she’ll have to take us seriously.”

  Sakura’s eye widened. “Wow, you’re pretty worked up about this, aren’t you?”

  “What gave it away?”

  “You’ve never been so determined to do a case before.”

  “I can’t stand to see someone’s murderer evade justice.”

  “Uh-huh,” Sakura hummed. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  Veronica gave her an incredulous look. “What are you talking about?”

  “Never mind.” Sakura lowered her arms and shrugged. “You know, we’re not even sure Julia was murdered. Maybe we should wait until that autopsy’s done before we jump to conclusions.”

  “I find that incredibly unlikely,” Veronica debated, and she started walking away. “Come on. I think Sandra’s tent is this way.”

  “How do you know?”

  “It’s the only other one guarded by officers,” Veronica said, pointing to a tent across the way that was indeed the only one with two policemen at each side of the tent. She and Sakura headed for the guarded area, and sure enough they were stopped by the officers standing there. “Hello, officers. Remember me?”

  “Veronica Koche,” one said, and she gave a smile. “Max’s girlfriend. Is it true he’s going to propose soon?”

  Veronica jumped back a little. “We’ve only been dating a few weeks!”

  “Okay, okay. Sorry,” the woman responded. “It’s just the only bit of juicy gossip we’ve had at the station in ages.”

  Sakura couldn’t help but laugh, and Veronica cleared her throat. “Anyway, we’re helping Detective Bernard with his investigation here, and we heard Sandra Freberg is being kept here until further notice. Would it be possible to talk to her?”

  “I don’t see why not,” the policewoman stated. “As long as you’re okay with me being there. Just in case, you know?”

  “No problem.”

  The officer pulled back some of the canvas to reveal Sandra sitting in a chair, picking at her fingernails and biting her lip. Her tent was nearly the opposite of Julia’s. Where hers was organized, Sandra’s was cluttered and jumbled. Julia’s had a fairly advanced computer and television, while Sandra’s only had a small laptop, which Veronica was sure was several years old. Sandra’s chair, or what could be seen underneath her, was old plastic, and what little padding was present was torn in multiple places. Several used cups were on the tiny desk, and Veronica recognized the slight scent of stale soda pop in the air.

  She probably thought she needed the caffeine to stay awake, Veronica thought. “Hey, Sandra.”

  The woman glanced up from her hands and smiled when she saw who it was. She stood for a minute, and the chair gave out a creak as the air rushed back into the flattened cushion. The officer took a spot in the corner of the tent, where she could watch all three women at once. Sandra put out her hands, which both Veronica and Sakura immediately shook.

  “Hello Veronica, Sakura,” she greeted them. “How are you?”

  “We’re doing well,” Veronica answered. “But we heard what happened…with Julia. Are you all right?”

  Sandra swallowed deeply. “You heard about it? Of course, you did. Word gets around everywhere. I just hope Shen hasn’t heard yet.”

  “I haven’t seen her, so I can’t say,” Veronica said. “Sakura?”

  “I haven’t either,” the young Japanese woman answered. “Sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” Sandra said. “I just hope she’s okay. I don’t want her to worry about what happened.”

  “We wanted to ask you about that,” Sakura added. “Was it really a heart attack?”

  “That’s what I told the police.” Sandra took a glance at the female officer out of the corner of her eye. “I don’t think they believe me. They think I did something to her.”

  “What makes you say that?” Veronica asked.

  “Why else would they keep me here?” Sandra asked, raising her voice a bit. “If they thought it was a heart attack, I’d be allowed to go home!”

  “Everyone’s being kept here, though,” Veronica informed her. “The Fair’s closed off until this whole thing is figured out.”

  “It’s because they want to keep me safe, I’m sure,” Sandra said dryly. “I’m always to blame for things going wrong. Even from the grave she blames me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Sandra gave out a long sigh. “Julia always said things that went wrong were because of something I did. Never mind what the circumstances were or if Julia was making it up. It had to be my fault!”

  “Miss Freberg, please calm down,” the officer said, and Sandra plopped herself down on her chair again. “Thank you.”

  Sandra took several breaths, and Veronica and Sakura waited until her breathing smoothed out before speaking again. They glanced at each other before turning their attention to her.

  “What happened when Julia died?” Veronica inquired. Sandra sighed again.

  “We were fighting about the budget, again. Julia wasn’t happy about how the Fair was going. She kept talking about how it wasn’t bringing in enough money, even with the increased admission fee and the cut in ‘superfluous’ events,” she explained. She made fake quotation marks in the air with her fingers at the word superfluous. “It wasn’t going how she wanted it, and she blamed me.”

  “I know Julia was really worried about the money behind this Fair, but I didn’t know it was that bad,” Veronica stated. “Why would she be so worried about how much money was being brought in?”

  “She said it was about making sure the Fair could continue for years to come, but I’m not so sure anymore,” Sandra continued. “We were arguing about it, and that’s when she had her heart attack.”

  “And she was blaming you for that?” Sakura asked.

  “She was spouting a bunch of nonsense about how she had been having problems all day,” she said. “And that somehow all of it was my fault, as usual.”

  Sakura paused and poked Veronica in her arm. She nodded to her Sous Chef.

  “What was it like?” Sakura inquired. “The heart attack I mean. What was it like?”

  Sandra paused for a moment. “She was really agitated, but then again, when is she not? She seemed confused about things. She was sweating and complained of a headache all day. Then she started twitching and spasming, and then she fell unconscious.”

  While she was describing all this, Sakura was writing all this down in her little notebook she carried nearly everywhere with her. Veronica smiled. Typical Sakura. Not that this was a problem. It was actually incredibly helpful. She would be able to look back on Sakura’s notes later.

  But something wasn’t right. “Did she say anything about chest pain?”

  “I don’t think so,” Sandra replied. “If she was, she didn’t mention it to me.”

  “Did she grab her chest or anything?” Sandra shook her head solemnly, an
d Veronica’s eyebrows furrowed. That doesn’t sound like a heart attack.

  “Was there anything else?” Sakura asked.

  “No, that’s it.”

  “And you were the only one there when it happened?” Veronica asked.

  “That’s right,” Sandra responded. “I called nine-one-one when she collapsed.”

  “Didn’t you try CPR or something?” Sakura inquired.

  “I don’t know CPR or any kind of emergency care,” she said, staring down at her hands again. “And I didn’t want to make things worse, so I didn’t try.”

  Didn’t try? Veronica wondered. Why wouldn’t you at least try?

  “Couldn’t the doctors have helped with any injuries from botched CPR?” Sakura wondered aloud.

  “Maybe. I just didn’t want to risk it,” Sandra protested. “She still had a pulse when the ambulance came, but the police told me she died before they could get her to the hospital. If she could be saved, they should have been able to do it without my help.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Veronica added. “Well, you’ve been Julia’s assistant for a while, right? She said she was on some kind of medication and had to watch her diet because of it. Was she unhealthy at all? Any heart problems?”

  “Not that I know of. I took care of my grandparents in their later years, and they needed lots of different medicine,” she explained. “Julia did make it my job to make sure she took her vitamins and antidepressants regularly, but other than that she didn’t take anything.”

  “Antidepressants?” Veronica echoed. “She was depressed.”

  “I guess?” Sandra shrugged and shook her head. “I never noticed a difference between when she was on them or not.”

  “What was she taking?” Sakura asked.

  The assistant glanced at her messy desk and then at the officer in the tent corner. “Can I go through my desk?”

  “Sure, but only to get the medication name,” the officer replied.

  Sandra stood and headed for her desk, shifting through piles and piles of papers and post-it notes she had scattered all around. Veronica and Sakura watched as she searched, and cringed when she let out a loud swear. Veronica pressed her lips, having never seen this side of Sandra before.