If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that he’d just eaten some week-old sushi from the break room fridge. Unfortunately, I knew the sour expression was related to this case.
“Bad news,” he said.
I tried to find a silver lining. “Do you have any good news to balance it out with, or is this strictly just bad news?”
He pursed his lips before answering. “Unfortunately, it’s all bad.”
I braced myself for the worst. “All right, let’s hear it.”
“It looks like Carl’s alibi might actually check out.”
That was even worse news than I had imagined.
At first, I refused to believe it. “What?”
“I called the convenience store. When I asked about Carl, the store clerk recognized the name immediately. The clerk told me Carl had been in there a few nights ago and had bought a pack of cigarettes. Apparently, he then hung out in the parking lot for a few minutes before leaving.”
That news hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. With Carl behind bars, I really thought we had this case wrapped up. Now, it looked like we were stuck between the same rock and hard place. Out of sheer frustration, I tried to find a way to poke a hole in the clerk’s story but only came up with a weak rebuttal.
“Is there a chance this clerk’s memory isn’t as good as he thinks it is? That convenience store gets a lot of foot traffic.”
“We’ll go see for ourselves. The clerk is pulling the security tape for us.”
***
Disappointment awaited Joe and me as we arrived at the convenience store. The bearded, portly clerk led us into the back room and sat us down in front of a monitor. He then rolled the tape for us, letting us see the truth with our own eyes.
As the tape played, my stomach turned. There it was, as clear as day, camera footage of Carl in the parking lot of the convenience store doing a drug deal on the night of the murder during the exact time of death. The tape was as conclusive as it could be. There was no mistaking that Carl was the man on the tape. Nor was there any further questioning of his alibi. Whether I wanted to believe it or not, when it came to murder, Carl was innocent.
With that twist, I stumbled out of the convenience store with my spirit severely dampened. Suddenly, Joe and I were staring down a giant question mark again. It was right then and there in the parking lot that my frustration boiled over. I let out a big groan, which pulled Joe’s disheartened head out of the clouds.
“Hope—”
I didn’t let Joe finish his sentence, mostly because I had a feeling he was just going to throw a platitude my way, and I wasn’t in the mood.
“Don’t tell me everything is going to be all right,” I replied.
He corrected me. “I wasn’t going to.”
If I didn’t already feel enough like a fool mistakenly believing Carl was the killer, snapping at Joe for no reason just added to my embarrassment. I had to get my frustration under control. But first, an apology was in order.
“I’m sorry for being short with you. I just can’t believe our luck,” I said.
Thankfully, Joe accepted my apology in stride and tried to look on the bright side. “There is some good news.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Really? Where? I don’t see any good news.”
He explained his line of thinking. “We may not have caught a murderer, but Carl, his reckless driving, and the three pounds of cocaine he had stowed away in his car are now off the streets.”
It was a small victory, but at this point, we’d take anything. “Right. Of course.”
I’d been so caught up in the case that the drug charges had almost slipped off my radar completely. While it was better that Carl was behind bars rather than roaming free on the streets, it only gave me a minimal level of comfort. After all, in the grand scheme of things, a murderer was still roaming the streets, one who could strike again anywhere and at any time.
Thoughts like that put me completely on edge. They were what nightmares were made of. Uncertainty was on the tip of my tongue and became impossible to ignore any longer.
“None of this helps us with our case, though.”
Joe agreed, with one caveat. “That’s mostly true. Although, at least now we’ve eliminated one suspect.”
I nodded, then added my biggest concern. “It’s a shame all the other ones happen to look so guilty.”
Joe rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He looked as tired as I felt inside. It was in the quiet moments like these when the truth seemed so far away that exhaustion caught up with me. I was so tuckered out that the idea of even sitting at a restaurant to have a complete meal seemed too taxing. Briefly, I entertained the idea of grabbing a slice of pizza or a corn dog from the convenience store.
Thankfully, my taste buds vetoed the idea and talked some sense into me. What was I thinking? Convenience store food for dinner? That just went to show how emotionally wrung out I was.
We were both thinking it, but Joe was the one to vocalize his fatigue. “I think it’s safe to say we won’t be cracking this case tonight.”
“I can’t argue there.”
“Good. You should leave the arguing to the suspects. It seems to be their favorite pastime.”
Joe was just blowing off steam, but I couldn’t help but laugh at his statement, as it was probably the truest statement I’d heard all day.
“I wish that was just a joke,” I said.
“We’ll get the last laugh in the end,” he replied.
“In the end? Yeah. But right now I could use some rest and relaxation.”
He escorted me to his car. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
Chapter Seventeen
What a frustrating end to the day. For a moment, it felt like we were on the precipice of bringing this to a close. In reality, we were just as far away as ever. I could have harped on that point all night, lingering on how Carl’s alibi had pulled the rug out from under us, but it wouldn’t do me any good.
As Joe drove me home, I tried switching my focus. That ended up being easier than I thought. By the time I was halfway home, a wave of exhaustion and hunger hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d kept them both at bay all afternoon, but now they’d come back with a fury.
A new question entered my mind. What was more appealing to me, dinner, or sleep? Luckily, I had some leftover stew in the fridge that I could quickly reheat, so in the span of half an hour, I could fill up my belly then hit the hay right afterward.
When Joe pulled up to my place, I was happy to just shuffle up my driveway and head inside. Joe wouldn’t allow that. He insisted on walking me to my door. Just before I was ready to say a quick goodbye to him, I heard something highly peculiar coming from inside.
Most nights when I returned home, I could hear my dog, Buster, barking from the entryway, desperate for attention. That night, I heard Buster, all right, but the noise coming out of his mouth wasn’t a happy greeting, but a distressed, deep bark like he was trying to defend the place.
Surely, that couldn’t have been meant for me. He knew the sound of my voice and had never barked at me in anything but a light, playful way. Like all dogs, he was protective of his home, especially with strangers, but he knew the sound of Joe’s voice as well. He’d never given Joe any trouble. If anything, they’d become best buddies recently, mostly due to the dog treats Joe had started bringing over when he visited. So, why was he barking that way?
That question was quickly superseded by the sound of him letting out a deep menacing growl. I was absolutely shocked. What was going on in there?
Joe went on high alert. He turned to me. “Have you ever heard him growl like that?”
I shook my head. “Never.”
I briefly thought of calling out his name to calm him down, but reconsidered. He wasn’t an irrational dog. Not the kind of animal who just barked at the wind. Besides, there wasn’t any wind today. If he was growling like that, there had to be a good reason.
My mind immediately darted to the wo
rst-case scenario. There was a killer on the loose, and they knew I was determined to catch them. What if they’d decided to break into my house to make me their next victim?
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one worried about foul play. Joe’s hand instinctively moved towards the holster for his gun. He turned to me and whispered in my ear.
“Let me handle this.”
I was happy to comply. He whispered again to get me to unlock the door for him, which I did, then I took a step back.
Joe swung the front door open, then drew his gun as he yelled inside.
“Whoever you are, this is the police. Come out with your hands up.”
Joe’s warning didn’t yield the results that he wanted. I heard another bark coming from the back of the house, which was followed by the loud thud of a door slamming. Joe sprang into action, darting through my foyer. As he ran down the hallway and into my kitchen, he saw Buster barking at the back door.
When Joe peered through the window that took up the top half of the back door, he faintly saw the silhouette of a shadowy figure dressed in all black, booking it as fast as they could away from my house.
Joe gave chase, hoping to catch up with the figure. Unfortunately, they had a significant head start. By the time Joe had opened my door and bolted into the backyard, the figure had already gone entirely through the neighbor’s yard and was approaching the front of their house.
Joe didn’t give up hope. He ran as fast as he could after the figure. Meanwhile, I stayed behind and checked to make sure Buster wasn’t injured.
Chapter Eighteen
Luckily, Buster was just fine. His emotions were rattled, but physically, he was no worse for wear. That was such a relief to me. We’d been through so much together. I didn’t even want to think about what I’d do without him in my life.
A chilling thought then entered my brain. What if I didn’t own a dog at all? I would have said goodbye to Joe, gone inside, and would have had no warning that the shadowy figure was waiting for me. If it wasn’t for my little furry best friend, there was a good chance that I might not even be alive right now.
A shiver went down my spine as that grisly thought entered my brain. I gave Buster some pets as well as a few treats for being such a good boy.
“Thank you, honey. I owe you more than I even know.”
He panted as he wagged his tail. To him, he was just doing his job as a good dog. He’d protected his home, and his owner, just like dogs always did.
I thanked God that he wasn’t hurt in the process. He could have been seriously injured or even killed. As I rubbed his fur, there wasn’t a scratch on him.
***
While there was good news about my dog, I couldn’t say the same for Joe. My brother was a lot of things, but a lightning-fast sprinter was not one of them. Add to the fact that the shadowy figure had a significant head start, and it was no surprise that Joe returned five minutes later, huffing and puffing, completely empty-handed.
“Do I even have to ask how it went?” I said.
When Joe finally caught his breath, he broke the bad news.
“I did everything I could, but they just had too much of a head start on me.” Joe put his hands on his hips, his pulse still racing. “I’m afraid they got away.”
He looked at me, expecting me to be more upset upon hearing the news. When I wasn’t, he crinkled his nose.
“Don’t worry. They won’t get far.” I said.
He took a cue from my confident answer and responded with resolve in his voice. “That’s right. We’ll track them down.”
When I looked into Joe’s eyes, I could tell that he thought I was just trying to stay optimistic to keep our spirits from sagging. That was anything but the case.
I tried to clear up whatever confusion he had but did not succeed. “Of course we will. And I know just where.”
He furrowed his brow, still in the dark. “What do you mean?”
While Joe had been out back trying to chase down the shadowy figure, I took a look around my kitchen to see if the figure had left anything behind in their haste to get away. That’s when I’d found something. In the skirmish with my dog, the figure had dropped something.
I picked it up from the ground with a tissue to keep from compromising any fingerprints that may or may not be on it, then held it up for Joe. What was it? None other than a plastic employee key card that had a very recognizable restaurant logo on the front of it. This was the key to everything. The break we’d been looking all day for.
Suddenly, it became all-too-clear who the killer was, and it was time to bring them to justice.
Chapter Nineteen
Joe brought the key card back to the crime lab to get it run for fingerprints. As expected, the lab was able to pull prints from the card that incriminated the exact suspect that I had in mind. From there, a police deputy detained Steven Zell and brought him into the interrogation room at the police station for Joe and me to question him.
Steven was feisty and confrontational, a far cry from the subdued, robotic tone he’d given us at his bistro previously. “I don’t know what the big idea is.”
“Murder is the big idea,” Joe replied.
“I already answered your questions,” Steven argued.
Joe corrected him. “You mean, you already lied to us.”
Steven folded his arms. “I don’t have to talk to you.”
“Fine. Let us do the talking,” I said.
“I’m not saying anything else without a lawyer present,” Steven replied.
Joe put an evidence bag with the key card inside it on the table in front of Steven.
“Fair enough. But what good is a lawyer going to do for you when we have this?” Joe asked.
Steven’s eyes opened wide.
“This was found in my house,” I said. “I sure didn’t put it there. It seems you left it behind when you broke into my house. I’ll bet it fell out of your pocket when you were busy running away from my dog.”
Even though Steven had just gotten done telling us that he wasn’t going to say another word without a lawyer present, he looked ready to go back on his word.
Joe could sense an argument coming on, so as Steven opened his mouth to reply, my brother gave him a word of warning.
“Don’t try to deny it. The lab already ran the card and your prints are all over it.”
“That puts you on the hook for breaking and entering, but it’s the murder charge that will put you in jail for the rest of your life,” I said.
“You’ve got this all wrong,” Steven pleaded.
“Do we? So, let me get this straight. You just happened to break into my place last night for the thrill of it, not because you were worried that I was getting too close to cracking this case?” I asked.
Steven became tongue-tied.
The same could not be said for me. I had plenty more to say. “Let me tell you what I think happened. You killed Claude to get revenge for leaving that review that tanked your restaurant. Then, after we interviewed you yesterday, you could tell it would only be a matter of time before we discovered that you were the killer. So, you decided that your only course of action was to kill me too. When you were done with me, I’ll bet you had plans to murder my brother as well. Am I right?”
Steven averted his eyes. He couldn’t stand to make eye contact with me.
I prodded him again. “There’s nowhere to run now. You’ve been caught. It’s over. Just come clean.”
Finally, Steven looked up, his face wrestling with guilt. All the emotions that were absent when we first interviewed him were on full display now.
After a little hesitation, the truth spilled out of him. “Fine. I did it. I killed Claude, then I broke into your place to kill you, too. I thought I had it all figured out. Then again, I thought I had the restaurant business figured out, too. Everything was going just fine until Claude Giraud wrote that review. Suddenly, my whole life was turned upside down. After his review was published, my business immediatel
y tanked. I tried hard to get the customers back. I introduced all-day happy hour, constant specials, and half-off appetizers. But none of it worked. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, my bistro remained a ghost town.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “You know, people are wrong when they say that time heals all wounds. To me, as time went on, my hatred for Claude grew. It all came to a head when I got a letter from the bank the other day. I’d been behind on my payments, and the letter said if I didn’t pay up, they’d take my bistro. That was too much for me to take. I’d sunk every dime I had into that place. Then, with one bad review, that food snob ruined everything that I’d spent years building up. That wasn’t right. Claude had taken everything from me, so in return, I took everything from him. It’s funny because he won his award in part for lacerating my place. I figured it was fitting that he was killed with his own award statuette.”
There it was, the truth, every nasty word of it. Joe cuffed Steven and dragged him off to a jail cell while I absorbed everything I’d just heard.
Chapter Twenty
What a tragic end. If there was any bright spot I could take away from all this, it was that at least justice would be served. With the killer behind bars, I could finally take a deep breath. What I really wanted to do more than anything was to catch up on my sleep. With my adrenaline wearing off from the case, exhaustion had caught up with me. I had my brother drop me off at home, where an unexpected visitor was waiting on my front step. Thankfully, it wasn’t someone who had a vendetta against me.
Instead, it was my sweet boyfriend, who had brought over a bouquet of flowers for me. As I took a gander at the violet tulips, I couldn’t help but comment how stunning they were.
Hope Hadley Eight Book Cozy Mystery Set Page 39
