Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Rare Catch Cozy Mystery

by Liz Turner

  She’s under a lot of stress, she reminded herself. Can’t really blame her.

  Finally, Sandra found what she was looking for. She pulled a post-it note from the outer rim of her laptop and read it. She nodded as she turned and handed it to Sakura.

  “Isocarboxazid,” she read, and Sakura wrote the name down…slowly since it was such a long and strange name. “It’s supposed to be pretty common for depression.”

  “Do you know what it does?” Veronica asked. If they knew that, it might answer whether it was connected to Julia’s death or not.

  “Sorry, I don’t. All I know is she needed to take it four times a day, and she could never remember it so she left it to me. She’d get angry if I forgot to give her a dose.” Sandra suddenly began to chuckle. “Honestly, she needed medication for more than just depression…”

  She quickly stopped herself, trailing off from her joke. Her eyes fell to her feet again.

  “Sorry. I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead.”

  Time to change the subject. “Julia didn’t take anything else?”

  “No, nothing else,” Sandra informed. “And she was very careful about her diet so her medicine wouldn’t have any bad side effects. Do you think she didn’t die of a heart attack?”

  “I’m not sure,” Veronica said, partially lying. “But the police are thinking it might be something more sinister.”

  “…Like murder?”

  “Like murder. Is there anyone who might want to do Julia harm? Even if it was just to make her sick?”

  “Trying to not speak ill of the dead again, but lots of people disliked Julia,” Sandra reported. “She’s been arguing with a lot of people lately, both on and off the committee, but I know there are two who Julia had it out for, so maybe…”

  “Who are they?” Sakura asked.

  “There’s Liana Mikhailovna. She was the committee’s financial advisor before Julia fired her.”

  “I can guess why that happened, considering how much Julia worried about money,” Veronica understood. “Is she at the Fair?”

  “She’s the violinist for The Celtic Stags,” Sandra informed them, and Sakura continued to write. “I don’t know where she is, though.”

  “And the second one?”

  “Renata Moller. She’s the committee’s history expert. Julia kept throwing out her suggestions, and maybe she didn’t like that. I’m not sure where she is either.”

  “Why don’t we go talk to them?” Sakura asked Veronica. “They might have an idea of what’s going on.”

  “Will you let me know if you learn anything?” Sandra requested. “I really need some relief from all this.”

  “We’ll let you know,” Veronica said as she stood. Sakura moved to follow. “Thanks for your help.”

  “I’ll escort you out,” the policewoman said, and she did exactly that.

  The two chefs left the tent, passing the police officers to guard the tent as they had been.

  Sakura closed her notebook. “So, we have two possible suspects, but we don’t know where they are.”

  “Since they’re connected to the Fair, maybe their names are on the program?” Veronica suggested. “Do you still have yours?”

  “No, I left it at the booth,” Sakura answered. “But we can get another at the information booth.”

  “Veronica? Sakura?” The women turned to see Shen walking up to them, her face solemn and with tear streaks down her cheeks. “Did you just talk to Sandra? How is she?”

  “She’s all right,” Sakura responded. She glanced at the young Chinese woman up and down. “What about you? You look like a wreck!”

  “The police came and took Sandra away!” she declared. “I just learned that something happened to Julia, and they think Sandra did it! They haven’t let me talk to Sandra since! Have you talked to them? What did they say?”

  “Whoa, slow down!” Veronica said, holding up her hands. “Relax. Sandra’s fine. They just haven’t had the chance to question her yet.”

  “The cops won’t let me talk to her!” Shen proclaimed. “She needs me now more than ever! Why can’t I talk to her?!”

  “Shen, we just came from talking to her,” Veronica said. She put her hands on the young archer’s shoulders. “She’s okay. I’m sure the police will be done with her by tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

  “I just don’t like the idea of her being in custody,” Shen argued. “Especially overnight.”

  “Listen, I have connections with the police,” Veronica informed her. “I can’t get her out of custody, but I’ll make sure to request that her interview is done soon. It’ll all be okay. I promise.”

  Shen sighed. “Okay. Sorry. I’m just…”

  “Worried. I know. It’s okay,” Veronica said. “Trust me.”

  Chapter 8

  “This thing is much more complicated than the one I got this morning?” Sakura complained as she tried to read the new Fair pamphlet she and Veronica received at the information booth.

  The brochure Sakura started with had been the same as the kind given to all the Fair visitors, and it consisted of a map and a schedule of all the events taking place over the next three days. This time, however, Sakura asked for a more comprehensive list of everything and everyone involved in the program. The ladies at the booth had been a little skeptical of her motives at first, but once Veronica explained what they were doing they were more than happy to provide an entire list of all the employees at the Fair.

  “We want to leave just as much as you do,” one of them had said.

  After checking their own names were in the proper place under the “Food Employee” section, Sakura started searching for the names of the two suspects they were searching for: Liana Mikhailovna and Renata Moller. They weren’t in alphabetical order, so it took more active looking through the pamphlet to find them.

  “Didn’t Sandra mention that Liana was a member of a band?” Sakura asked.

  “The Celtic Stags,” Veronica recalled. “Is there a list of bands in there?”

  “Yeah. Right here.” Sakura pointed to one of the pages. “They’re probably at the concert stage. I think the bands spend most of their time there practicing.”

  “And where’s the concert stage?”

  Sakura searched the pamphlet more, occasionally turning it upside-down so she could try to get her bearings on the map. Veronica shook her head with a smile as she waited for her friend to find out where they were supposed to go.

  “It’s that way,” Sakura eventually said, pointing towards a pathway heading west. “…I think?”

  “Okay,” Veronica replied. “When we get lost we can try to use the map again, or ask for directions.”

  Sakura grumbled as they started walking. She put the pamphlet away and pulled out her notebook, reading her scrawled notes as they traveled. She pulled out her cell phone and checked the screen.

  “Aw man, only one bar of reception,” she complained as she started pressing a few buttons. “I hope it’s enough for a connection.”

  “What are you doing?” Veronica asked.

  “Looking up this antidepressant,” Sakura replied. “Seeing if it has any bad side effects.”

  “Most medications have warnings, but most don’t cause death, right?”

  “Unless you horribly overdose,” the younger chef stated. She frowned at her phone. “Nope. This doesn’t say anything about it causing death unless it was an overdose, but you can overdose on a lot of things.”

  “Really? Like what?”

  “You can overdose on cough syrup. Did you know that?”

  Veronica chuckled but then saw that Sakura wasn’t smiling. “You’re serious? Cough syrup? Really?”

  “It happened to my cousin a few years ago,” she said. “I didn’t believe it either, but he was dizzy, restless, breathing slowly and vomiting. It doesn’t directly kill someone, but…”

  “Sorry,” Veronica said. “I didn’t know.”

  “It’s okay. He was fine after a stay in the
hospital,” Sakura continued. “My point is even if it was an accident, Julia could have overdosed whether she knew it or not.”

  “Or had a bad interaction with something she ate,” Veronica contributed. She barely missed tripping over a rock on the path. “I’ve done lots of research on how diet can affect medications and their side effects, but I’m no doctor, and I have no idea how hers might be affected.”

  “It might not have anything to do with her diet, though,” Sakura added. “I mean, Julia was picky about her diet, sure, but what are the chances that it caused a bad reaction to her medication?”

  “We won’t know until the autopsy is done,” Veronica concluded. “We just have to be patient until then.”

  “I’m really not good at being patient,” Sakura joked.

  They arrived at the concert stage, which seemed to look more like a Greek amphitheater than anything remotely medieval. There was a large circle in the center, made up of dirt and sand, with a black backdrop behind it. Starting at about halfway around the circle were the abundant seats, some made of plastic and some carved right out of stone, making a semicircle around the center. The seats incrementally rose as they continued away from the center, giving it a tiered appearance. A couple of trees were scattered amongst the seats, providing shade for a select few. There wasn’t anyone in the audience at the time.

  In the center circle was a couple of groups practicing their various instruments. There was a string quartet, a couple of singers, and one group of pipers playing something that looked like Scottish bagpipes but without the large, cumbersome bags. All of them also appeared to be in traditional Renaissance dress, even though their surroundings were distinctly Greek. The women wore long dresses with fluffy sleeves as they danced and moved around with their instruments. Veronica spotted another one of them playing a bass and sitting primly on a stool.

  I wish I were that balanced! She thought. She continued to look around. “See The Celtic Stags anywhere?”

  “No, haven’t seen them...Wait, never mind! There they are!”Sakura tapped Veronica on her shoulder and then pointed to a band off in the corner. They played their instruments next to several boxes that were clearly shaped to hold their equipment when it was not in use. The containers had a logo with the profile of a male deer’s head on it. Above that, on a banner, was written the name “The Celtic Stags.”

  Upon seeing the band in question, Veronica realized they were the same band which passed by her booth earlier that day. Unlike before, each musician was much more in sync with each another, and Veronica listened for a minute as she enjoyed the sound washing over her ears.

  They sound so much better than before! She thought.

  Sakura beat her to the punch and walked up to the group, not bothering to wait until they were finished with their song.

  “Excuse me?” she asked. The musicians ignored her. She tried a little louder. “Excuse me?”

  Still nothing. Sakura growled and took a deep breath. “Excuse me!”

  That made nearly everyone in the amphitheater jump, and all the bands stopped playing. Sakura glanced around blushingly and smiled, shrugging helplessly. After taking a few moments to regain their bearings, the bands started to play again. Only The Celtic Stags remained quiet. All four members stared at Sakura; their expressions wordlessly asking what she wanted.

  “Sorry,” Veronica said, deciding to take over for her friend. “We’re looking for Liana Mikhailovna.”

  “That’s me,” the violinist answered. “What is it?”

  “Would it be okay if we spoke with you in private for a moment?” Veronica requested. Liana frowned at her fellow band members. “It’ll just be a moment.”

  “Don’t keep us waiting too long,” the lute player said, and the rest of the group left to practice on their own without Liana.

  “Let’s get away from this noise,” Liana said.She snapped her fingers and pointed to an area behind the stage backdrop, where the cloth gave only a little privacy and no silence from the rest of the music. Veronica glanced over her shoulder to thank the other band members, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw them all glaring at the back of Liana’s head. The lute player didn’t want to be kept waiting, but the angry expression on his face clearly showed that another part of him didn’t want Liana to come back. The faces on the clarinetist and tambourine player weren’t any friendlier.

  Once they were behind the stage backdrop, Liana turned to the investigators and propped her violin against her hip.

  “So what’s going on?”

  “We want to ask you about Julia Palmer,” Veronica said. “Do you know her?”

  “Julia Palmer? Do I know her?” Liana burst out into a dark laugh. “Now why would I know her? I only try to forget she exists on an hourly basis.”

  “That’s not very nice,” Sakura commented.

  “Neither is Julia if you’ve ever met her,” Liana argued. “But since you’re asking, I assume you haven’t.”

  Better not mention Julia’s dead; she might celebrate Veronica realized. “Are you on the Meloda Renaissance Fair Committee? Julia works with them too.”

  “Bosses them around, more like,” Liana responded. “She’s the Chairwoman, and I was the financial advisor for several years.”

  “Was?” Sakura repeated. “Past tense?”

  “Palmer fired me,” the violinist continued. “I was in charge of the budgeting, grant writing, advertising and fund-raising for the Fair. I was darn good at it but Palmer didn’t think so apparently.”

  “So she fired you and didn’t tell you why?” Veronica inquired, and Liana nodded. “Normally you have to be told why you’re being dismissed. Didn’t she tell you?”

  “Some advice,” Liana proclaimed. “Never try to get a word out of Palmer. She’ll either ignore you or insult you. She’s no good for anything else.”

  “I’m starting to see why,” Sakura whispered to her friend.

  Liana huffed loudly, thankfully not hearing the comment. “Why are you asking anyway? Why do you care?”

  “We’re looking into some things,” Veronica said. “How the Fair is run and how well it’s accepted. Can you be more specific about what Julia was like for you?

  “Then why is it your business whether or not I liked my former boss?” Liana sneered. “I was fired. You shouldn’t ask me anything about it. Keep your big nose out of it!”

  “Hey!” Sakura jumped in front of Veronica and put her hand up to the violinist. “Don’t talk to her like that! She hasn’t done anything to you!”

  Liana sighed and took a step back. She lowered her violin so that it hung at her side.

  “Okay, look,” she said. “Palmer’s the new Chairwoman of the committee, and she changed around a lot of people when she took office; most for no reason at all.”

  “Seems like Julia’s got some power a Chairwoman wouldn’t normally have,” Veronica commented. “I don’t know of any Chair, who could do that without a vote or other approval from their board.”

  “That doesn’t matter to Palmer,” the musician continued. She rubbed her temples with one hand. “I’ve got the best credentials for a financial advisor for any organization. I’ve got a master’s in finance. I’ve worked with numerous companies by making them more efficient financially and without sacrificing quality. But that didn’t matter to Palmer. She doesn’t care about credentials. She only cares about numbers. So she fired me.”

  “That doesn’t sound like it would be good for the Fair,” Veronica added.

  “It’s not.” Liana looked up again. “If you’re really interested in Palmer, why don’t you talk to her scapegoat?”

  “Scapegoat?” Sakura echoed. “Who’s the scapegoat?”

  “That assistant of hers. The one who was always messing things up, at least to Palmer,” Liana clarified. “I have my doubts, but I didn’t know her very well. Sasha? Or something like that?”

  “Sandra?”

  “Yeah, that’s it.” Liana flipped her wrist to check her
watch. “Look, I need to get back to my band so we can finish practicing before we leave the Fair for the night. Go talk to that Sandra person if you want to know about Palmer.”

  Without so much as a goodbye, Liana turned and strode back to the front of the amphitheater to meet the rest of The Celtic Stags. The two chefs watched her go, and Sakura snorted once she was out of sight.

  “Well she’s a lovely person, isn’t she?” she remarked. “Maybe Julia fired her because she was so unpleasant to be around.”

  “She does have a short fuse, huh?” Veronica observed. “I think the only time she looks even remotely relaxed is when she’s playing her violin.

  Chapter 9

  “Okay, so now that we’re done with that ‘enlightening experience’ of interviewing Liana,” Sakura joked with false quotation marks. “Why don’t we get out of here? Thank goodness she’s not a singer. I couldn’t stand to listen to her voice anymore.”

  “Okay, Sakura, calm down,” Veronica said with a laugh. “Maybe Liana was just stressed…which in turn, would explain why Julia was stressed out so often.”

  “I’d be stressed too if I had to work with someone like Liana!” Sakura declared. “And that doesn’t excuse how Julia treated Sandra!”

  “Won’t argue with you on that.” Veronica sighed as they left the general area of the concert stage. “But we did learn something. I bet a lot of people were mad when Julia rotated people out of the committee.”

  “You’re right. That’s pretty good motive,” Sakura concurred. “Although, I guess someone would be pretty angry if they were forced to work with Julia too.”

  “Like Sandra?” Veronica suggested. Sakura cringed and bit her lip. “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “Can a Chair fire a bunch of people on a committee?” Sakura wondered out loud. “I don’t really know how those things work?”

  “Whether that’s how they work or not, Julia was doing it,” Veronica concluded. “When did she become Chairwoman? How many people were upset about losing their position?”