It wasn’t just because he was super cute. Although, he was that in spades. The sway he had over my emotions was undeniable. In all my life, I’ve never met someone with such a knack for melting my heart. I’ve had a soft spot for him from the moment I first laid eyes on him at the Hollywood Animal Shelter a decade and a half before. He was a young pup back then. He’d been abandoned in a moving box in a convenience store parking lot. I brought him home from the shelter on a Wednesday morning and never looked back.
Buster and I had been through a lot together. He was the only thing remnant I still had from my old Tinseltown life. My acting career had come and gone, as had three boyfriends, but Buster was still by my side, as loyal as ever.
To this day, every night, he still waited by the door for me to come home as if his life is put on hold when I’m gone and doesn’t resume again until I return. I knew he’d do anything for me, so even in my emotionally ragged state, the least I could do in return was scrounge up some energy to give him some attention.
“Hi there, boy.”
He wagged his tail and barked at me, bursting with energy.
“I know. It’s been a busy day. Not that you care about that.”
He bounced around even more.
“I know, I know. You want food and a walk, pronto.”
I opened up a can of wet dog food, put it down in front of him, and you’d think I’d just given him filet mignon. He was in complete heaven, wolfing it down like the food was in danger of expiring if he didn’t gobble it up in the next thirty seconds.
Even though this was how he behaved during every meal, as I watched him this time, I took particular note of it this time. After the maze-like day of complications I just had, it was a relief to see something so staggeringly straightforward.
A smile crept across my face as I watched Buster.
“A dog’s life is simple, indeed.”
I normally abhorred zapping food in the microwave. Things always tasted better when cooked on the stove, but I had neither the time nor the energy to cook a full dinner on the oven. With Buster’s food already making the rounds through his digestive tract, his mind turned to the next big item on his itinerary—to beg for a walk.
I plowed through my microwave meal and obliged, taking Buster to the boardwalk. It was a change of pace for him: new sights, new smells, and new fire hydrants to sniff. I’d like to say I went to the boardwalk for the people watching; one of my favorite pastimes was gazing at the good, bad, and the ugly that humanity had to offer.
This trip was investigative in nature. Mark Butler’s bait and tackle shop was right off the boardwalk. During the daytime, suspects were wary of making any bold moves or doing anything that drew attention to themselves.
Under the cover of night, often they felt emboldened or safe to try and cover up any evidence that may be out there. With Buster’s keen sense of smell at my disposal, we perused the exterior of the shop, in search of clues or anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, we ended up finding nothing of the sort.
Not content to leave things at that, I then brought Buster over to Mark Butler’s house to sniff around. I still had an abundance of hope, or maybe it was desperation, but either way, I refused to rule out anything that could potentially give me the break I was looking for. A certain amount of luck was needed in a situation like this, but with enough grit, I hoped to be able to forge my own luck.
Buster sniffed to his heart’s content, but ultimately, yielded no results. I told myself it hadn’t been a waste of time, that I was just exhausting every possible angle to solve the case, but really, I was exhausting myself in the process. What little energy boost my microwaved meal had given me was now long gone.
It was time to head home. I’d like to be able to tell you that my tail wasn’t between my legs, but there was no denying the fact that I was no closer to cracking this case than I was an hour before. I supposed I could console myself with the knowledge that I was doing all I could, but when my friend’s freedom was at stake, a moral victory was of no use to me.
In terms of solving the case, the walk had proven to be a fruitless endeavor. In Buster’s eyes, his out on the town was a raging success. He got to see new corners of his hometown and became intimately familiar with their smells. Buster returned home completely satisfied. The more important detail to me was that it tuckered him out.
He wasn’t alone. We both returned home ready to crash out. There was no fighting off the urge to snooze now. That was fine by me. While the case was still very much up in the air, I was confident I’d be tackling it with clear eyes in the morning.
Chapter Twenty-Four
In the morning, I stopped into Bill’s Buzz for a caffeine boost and then headed over to Penelope’s Pastries, the neighborhood one-stop shop for gossip and baked goods.
I happened to be in the market for both. Penelope Willett, the curly-haired, voluptuous, bespectacled owner of the bakery, who also happened to be one of my dearest friends, was happy to oblige. Although, the vivacious smile I’d grown so accustomed to seeing on her face with stunning regularity was surprisingly absent all of a sudden. Something peculiar was going on with her. Before I had a chance to delve into it with her, she spoke up first.
“Uh oh. Here comes trouble,” Penelope said, playfully.
I played along by turning around and looking over my shoulder. “I’m sorry, did trouble follow me in here? It’s been doing that a lot lately. I just can’t seem to shake it.”
Penelope chuckled briefly. “Right. Because you’ve never stirred up any trouble of your own.”
Penelope knew me so well. Some might even say too well. She stuck with me through my days as a starry-eyed wannabe starlet, then the rise and subsequent fall that followed. Come to think of it, I had put her through a lot. Although, wasn’t that the point of an old friend, to know someone’s deepest secrets and still enjoy their company anyway?
“I don’t know about you, but it’s a little too early in the morning for me to want to take an elaborate trip down memory lane,” I said.
She nodded in agreement and then pivoted the conversation. “You think this is early? I’ve been up since three.”
Penelope looked like she could use another joke.
Only one sprang to my mind. “Such is the glamorous life of a baker.”
She glanced down at her well-worn apron and let out a belly laugh. “Glamorous? That’s rich. I pictured the glamorous life covered in a lot less flour.”
“At least you have all the muffins in the world to console you.”
She raised her eyebrow at me. “It sounds like someone has a hankering.”
“Guilty as charged,” I said. “Send a blueberry my way.”
Oddly, I didn’t get a response from Penelope. As I looked up from the display case, I noticed that the concerned look on her face was more pronounced than ever.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
She sighed. “It’s just that when you said guilty as charged, it reminded me of the awful murder that just occurred.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty terrible,” I said.
She corrected me. “Insane is more like it. No offense, but I’d expect this kind of thing to happen in Hollywood, California, not Florida.”
“Trust me. I’m not taking any offense. My days of defending Tinseltown are over.”
“This is like something out of a bad movie,” she said.
Now it was time for me to correct her. “No. You can shut off a bad movie at any time and find something else to watch. This nightmare isn’t going to end until the killer has been caught.”
She grimaced. “I know, that’s the problem. Let’s just hope your brother catches whoever did this sooner rather than later.”
Penelope didn’t know I’d gone gumshoe on this case, nor was I going to tell her right now. I had a limited amount of time to work with, and this was a topic that could veer into dangerously verbose territory with very little effort. For the sake of keeping things concise, I
let her go on thinking my brother was the only sleuth on the case. Of course, I added my own little twist.
“Speaking of, have you heard anything that might be able to help Joe find the killer?” I asked.
Her eyes got as wide as saucers. “Me?”
“Yes, you. What’s the point of knowing everyone’s business if you’re not going to spread the gossip around with one of your oldest friends?”
“I hope that’s not your idea of buttering me up. If so, we’re going to have to work on your sweet-talking skills.”
“Leave it to a baker to bring up butter.”
“What can I say? All good bakers have butter on the brain.”
“You’re not just a good baker. You make the best muffins I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve eaten food by top Hollywood chefs.”
“That’s how to butter someone up,” she replied.
“It’s more than just butter, it’s the truth.”
“You’re so sweet. Tell you what, this muffin is on the house.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” I grabbed the muffin from her and immediately took a bite. It was enough to send my taste buds into a frenzy. My mouth was happy as could be. If only I could say the same for my intellectual curiosity. With the focus shifting to baking and culinary delights, I knew it was time for some course correction. “So, what have you heard about the murder?”
“It’s funny that you should mention that because I saw something crazy yesterday.”
“How crazy?”
“So wild that at first I didn’t believe it. Then, after doing a double take, I looked closer and saw that it was really happening.”
The buildup was tantalizing. I just hoped that all the teasing had a worthy payoff.
“You’ve got my attention. What was it?” I said.
“Are you ready for this?”
By that point, I couldn’t be any further on the edge of my seat without falling off. The time for delays was over. I had to know now.
“Yeah. Tell me,” I said.
“All right.” She took a deep breath. “When the afternoon rush finally ended yesterday, I stepped outside to get some air. That’s when I saw Tyler Howard in his car across the street, kissing Kristal Stanton.”
For a moment, I was completely speechless. Of all the bombshells that had been dropped on me in the last few days, that one ranked near the top. It was so jaw-dropping that I needed to hear it again to believe it myself.
“Wait. Did you just say that you saw Tyler and Kristal kissing?”
She nodded and pulled out her phone, showing me a photo that made me do a double take. The picture was of Tyler and Kristal kissing. “Something like this needs to be seen to be believed.”
“So they really were kissing,” I said, still reeling at the news.
“Briefly. Then Kristal got out of the car in a huff. It’s some crazy stuff, huh?”
Penelope wasn’t kidding. This was earth-shattering news. I knew that the world worked in more mysterious ways than I could ever hope to figure out, but this left me more stunned than usual. It wasn’t just the revelation that hit me so hard, but the circumstances surrounding the discovery.
Here I’d gone all around town chasing down leads yesterday only now to realize the biggest one of all unfurled in front of my friend while taking a work break. Up until now, neither timing nor luck had been so kind to me, but now they came together in a magnificent way.
I had to take a moment to let all this new information sink in. This was a lot to process. Deep down, I knew this was more than just a casual observation. The more I thought about it, the clearer it became that this was the break I’d been looking for to solve this case.
As I began piecing together how or if it related to Mark Butler’s murder, I reached a moment of clarity. Suddenly, the muddled haze that had taken up residence in my brain dissipated. I had more than a hunch. What was so confusing to me before made perfect sense now. All of the frustration I’d wrestled with yesterday was no longer a concern to me anymore because I’d finally figured out the truth.
With my silence going on for so long, my friend began to worry about me. “Hope, are you ok?”
I turned and reassured her. “Actually, I’ve never been better.”
She furrowed her brow, confused as could be. “What do you mean?”
“That’s it. I have the answer I’ve been looking for. I know who killed Mark Butler.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Now that I knew who the killer was, I put my disguise back on and went over to Boardwalk bait and tackle shop to confront him. When I entered, Tyler Howard looked just as unhappy to see me as he did the day before. If he thought he was grumpy now, wait until I got started in on him.
He barked at me immediately after spotting me, trying to get me to go away. “You’re not welcome here. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
If he thought that would be enough to get me out of his sight, he was crazy. I was just getting started. “Is that any way to talk to a customer?”
“I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason, and I have a good reason when it comes to you.”
I looked deep into his eyes and saw nothing but contempt. With such bad blood still boiling from our previous talk, I decided it was best to get them right out in the open.
I stated the obvious. “Still upset about our talk yesterday, huh?”
He snarled at me. “You have a lot of nerve coming back in here after accusing me of murder.”
I fired right back. “You’re the one with the nerve, thinking you could actually get away with murder.”
Tyler looked like he was about to blow his top. He managed to get a lid on his temper before it erupted. “You’re crazy.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not the crazy one here. I know what you did, Tyler, and you almost managed to get away with it.”
He played dumb. “What are you talking about?”
“Stop playing around with me. I know you killed Mark Butler, and I’m not going to let you get away with it.”
He lost all grip on his temper. “You’re just making things up now.”
“No, you’re the one who has been making things up. Like how you told me yesterday you couldn’t stand Kristal Stanton, when in truth, you’re actually in love with her.”
My statement was able to throw him off guard. I could see him struggling to piece together in his head how I knew about him and Kristal.
He went on the defensive. “I don’t know where you’re getting all these lies, but you’re dead wrong.”
“Am I?”
Before leaving the bakery, I had Penelope e-mail me the photo of Tyler and Kristal kissing. I held out my phone now and pulled up that photo.
Tyler’s eyes filled with panic the moment he saw the picture. Even though he was a wreck on the inside, on the outside, he acted dismissive.
“That doesn’t mean I killed Mark.”
I threw down the gauntlet. “As a former actress, I can admire the show you put on for me yesterday, but there’s no way you can act your way out of this one. It’s time to quit playing make believe and come clean.”
He remained defiant. “So you have that picture, you still don’t have any proof.”
“Tyler, it’s time to stop denying the truth. You pretended to hate Kristal, but it was all just a front, an act. Deep down, you always wanted to be with her. The one thing you failed to realize was that even after Mark dumped her and you started dating her, she never really stopped having feelings for Mark. Your business partner was a pain in your side in more ways than just your love life, though. You and Mark couldn’t see eye to eye on the business either, which cost you both dearly financially. So you formulated a plan to solve both of your problems. Even more, when you saw Paige Richardson arguing with Mark in his garage that night, you figured she’d be the perfect person to frame.”
“I’m telling you to stop right now,” he said.
I pressed on. “What’s the ma
tter, am I cutting too close to the bone? You went into Mark’s garage that night, killed him, and then placed that anonymous call to the police to frame Paige. With Mark dead, you’d own the entire business and could make whatever decisions you saw fit. If that wasn’t enough, you figured Kristal would finally get over her feelings for Mark and give herself completely over to you. But it didn’t work out that way, did it? That’s why shortly after the picture of you was taken, she huffed out of the car, because instead of Mark’s death making her forget about him, it only made her realize how much she missed him. Am I right?”
Tyler went dead silent for a moment. I felt like I was watching a volcano on the verge of erupting. Then, he completely lost it and blew up in my face.
“Yeah, I did it, I killed Mark, and because of your meddling, you’re going to be next.”
Tyler reached over and grabbed some fishing line from behind the counter and lunged at me, looking like he wanted to strangle me with it.
Before he had the chance to do so, my brother stormed into the bait shop with his gun drawn.
“Freeze,” Joe yelled.
Tyler stared down the barrel of the gun and tensed up, paralyzed with fear.
I breathed a sigh of relief as the gravity of the situation hit Tyler like a sledgehammer.
Realizing that there was no escape, Tyler had an emotional breakdown and let the truth spill out. “Mark was a fool. He not only took this business for granted, but Kristal too. I knew how to turn this place around, and I knew how to take care of Kristal. That’s exactly what I would have done. But even after he was gone, Kristal still cared more about him than me.” He expressed the entire weight of his frustration in one loud groan. “Sometimes life isn’t fair.”
I couldn’t believe how twisted his logic was. “Fair? You killed a man and thought you could get away with it. Was that your idea of fair?”
Tyler lowered his head, not interested in saying another word.
I, meanwhile, had something very important to say to my brother. “Cutting it a little close there, weren’t you, Joe?”
Meredith Potts Fourteen Book Cozy Mystery Set Page 36
