“I didn’t exactly think we were peashooters,” Heather grumbled.
“I know,” Amy said. “We did catch a bunch of killers. Almost sixty, I think. But we can’t do everything. We’re only human.”
“I still wish we could catch Clarke before we go,” said Heather. “But that seems unlikely with only three days before our flight takes off.”
“You could always stay in Hillside,” Amy teased.
Before Heather could respond, her cell phone rang.
“Shepherd,” Heather said, answering.
Her husband Ryan greeted her and then said, “I have a case if you and Amy want to come and investigate one more before we go.”
“Of course,” Heather said.
“Before you get too excited,” Ryan said. “It looks like a pretty cut and dry case of robbery.”
“Good,” Heather said. “Because we only have three days to catch this killer.”
Chapter 3
Heather and Amy arrived at the victim’s house. Their eyes were greeted with a surprising sight, but it was one that pleased Heather. She had thought Ryan’s partner Detective Hoskins as a lazy worker, but today he seemed to be pulling his weight at the crime scene. Admittedly, he was still eating a candy bar at the scene, but he had a notebook out and was actively looking for clues. It looked like having his wife wrongly accused of murder recently had inspired him to be a more thorough sleuth. Heather was very happy to see this because it meant that Hillside would still have capable investigators after the Shepherds left.
“One last case before you go, eh?” Detective Hoskins asked when he saw her.
“It looks like it might be,” Heather said.
“It’s a shame that this one looks pretty straightforward,” Hoskins said. “Not that I’m looking for the easy answer with this one. I’m making sure not to overlook things. But right now, it does look straightforward.”
“Ryan said it looks like a robbery?” Heather asked.
Hoskins nodded. “The back door has a broken window. The first floor looks rifled through. It looks like some small valuables are missing. The big TV and electronics are unplugged. The robber might have been planning to take them, but got interrupted by the victim.”
“It seems strange for this robbery to happen at this time of day,” Heather commented.
“I thought of that too,” Hoskins said.
Amy raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Maybe the robber thought the homeowner was at work,” Hoskins continued. “The victim parked in the street instead of his driveway. The robber might have thought the house was empty.”
Heather nodded but was still thinking. The victim’s house was in the middle of the street. Why would this house be targeted? Why skip the other houses and come straight here? If the robber was looking for a crime of opportunity, he should have been more careful about checking whether anyone was home. The other option was that this house was chosen specifically because it was the victim’s home. Did he have something worth killing for?
“Is it sad that this is going to be your last case together?” Hoskins asked, trying to interpret Heather’s silence.
He was not trying to be unkind, but his comment struck a nerve.
“We’re not thinking of it as our last case,” Amy said. “We’re still best friends. We’ll still talk every day. We’ll still help each other with cases and baking. It will just be a little further apart. But it might even be like we’re working on double the cases that way.”
“Right,” Heather said. “There’s no reason to be sad.”
Despite this declaration and the list of how they would still work together, the two friends were still a little sad. Things were changing. However, what wouldn’t change was their dedication to a case they were working on and their friendship. They needed to focus on these things and find some more clues to solve the case.
Hoskins was saved having to respond to their hidden emotion by Ryan joining them.
“Hey, partner,” he said, moving quickly over to him. “What did you find out about the victim?”
Ryan greeted his wife and Amy but knew they were also interested in the victim and so he continued straight to business. “The victim’s name was Rick Barrow,” he said. “He had a business in town. He was a widower with no children. He lived in this house alone.”
“Hoskins was mentioning signs of a robbery,” Heather said. “But how was he killed?”
“He was shot,” Ryan said.
“Where?” asked Heather.
“Please tell me the body was moved,” Amy said. “And please don’t say he was shot in the face.”
“I meant where in the house,” said Heather. “But the location of the fatal wound could be an important clue.”
“The body was removed. The medical examiner says the cause of death appears to be a gunshot wound. He’ll try and recover the bullet so we can examine it,” said Ryan. “And the victim was shot in the back.”
“He wasn’t facing the killer?” Heather asked. “I thought that you believed he interrupted the robbery.”
“He could have interrupted him and then tried to run when he saw the gun,” Ryan said.
“That’s true,” Heather agreed.
Ryan then showed her where the body was found. There was still some blood on the living room floor.
“He was facing that way,” Ryan said, pointing. “We were thinking that he was trying to escape through the window.”
“Because the killer would have had to be blocking the entrance from the living room to the rest of the house?” Heather asked.
“Right,” said Ryan.
Heather frowned. “But how could Rick Barrow have come in and interrupted the robbery if he was inside this room? The killer would have been behind him.”
“We have to remember that both the killer and the victim could have moved during the altercation,” said Ryan.
“I know,” Heather said. “But something about this robbery doesn’t feel right to me.”
“We’re happy to follow all leads,” said Ryan. “And I know we should trust your instincts. Just try and make sure that your instincts aren’t clouded by a desire to have a more exciting last Hillside case with Amy.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Heather assured him. “And I’m not positive that it wasn’t a simple robbery turned murder. But something does feel off to me. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“But once she figures it out, she’ll put her whole hand on it,” Amy joked. “Or maybe a fist if it’s a real dangerous killer.”
Heather looked around the living room. She stopped by the entertainment unit. She peeked behind it too.
“You mentioned the TV being unplugged,” she said.
“Right,” Hoskins said. “We thought he was going to take the electronics but got interrupted.”
“Look back here,” she said, pointing at the electrical outlet.
“What is it?” Amy asked, unable to see over the other heads.
“There’s blood on the outlet,” said Ryan.
“Which means,” Hoskins said, thinking aloud. “That the plugs were unplugged after the murder? Because if they were unplugged earlier, the blood wouldn’t be back there?”
“I think so,” Heather said. “The killer must have gotten some blood on him. Maybe if he checked to see if Rich Barrow was really dead. And then he transferred the blood to the outlet when he unplugged the TV.”
“No chance of there being a fingerprint in the blood?” Amy asked, hopefully.
“It doesn’t look like it,” Ryan said. “But we’ll get the forensics team back to check behind the system. Maybe the killer left some of his own DNA as well as the victim’s.”
“So,” Hoskins asked, “does this mean that the robber started to continue to rob after he killed the guy?”
“That’s possible,” Heather said. “Or it’s possible that the killer came here to kill Rick Barrow, and then tried to make it look like a robbery.”
“That explains why he chose this place instead of another house on the street,” said Amy.
“You mentioned that he didn’t have children,” Heather said. “Do you know who benefits from his death?”
“Most likely his business partner,” Ryan said, checking his notes. “Tormund Brown.”
“Well, I think it’s time we paid a visit to this partner,” said Heather.
Chapter 4
Heather and Amy left the detectives to continue their work at the crime scene while they went to visit the business partner at his office. They arrived at the office unit that housed Brown & Barrow Buildings.
They had to sign in with a security guard who gave them the cryptic greeting of “You’re sure your appointment hasn’t changed?”
“We don’t have an appointment, but they’ll want to see us,” Heather assured him.
The security guard admitted them, but as they left they heard him mutter, “I can’t believe we’re still open today.”
Heather and Amy exchanged a look. They entered the main area of Brown & Barrow Buildings. There were only a few people in the office.
“Excuse me,” Heather said to the first person she found. It was a young woman with dark curly hair in a purple suit. “We’d like to speak to Tormund Brown. Could you tell him some investigators are here to see him?”
“No,” the woman said, slowly.
“Why not?” asked Amy.
By way of a reply, the woman started sobbing. She ran down the halls with tears streaming down her eyes.
“Well, that wasn’t the response we were hoping for,” Amy commented.
They saw a young man who still appeared to be in his teen years entering the room. His button-down shirt looked too big for him, and he had a slightly frightened look in his eyes. Heather decided to approach him with a more commanding presence than last time.
“What’s your name?” Heather asked.
“Phil.”
“Phil, I’m Heather Shepherd, and this is Amy Givens. We’re private investigators working on a case with the Hillside Police. It is urgent that we speak to Mr. Tormund Brown. Please, let him know that we’re here.”
“Well, I…” Phil started nervously. “The thing is that I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say about this. Because I’m also very new. And I’m just an intern. And I don’t know if this is something that we’re not supposed to say to clients. Or if this is the sort of public knowledge thing that we could actually talk about.”
“We did mention we were working with the police, right?” asked Amy. “I think you can tell us.”
Phil gulped, but then he was rescued by the arrival of another employee. This was a stocky man with a mustache.
“What’s going on here?” the man demanded.
“Mr. Ackers, they were asking about Mr. Brown,” Phil said.
“And what did you tell them?” he asked.
“Nothing,” said Phil.
“All right. This is very suspicious,” Amy said.
“Agreed,” said Heather. “Now, we’re investigating the death of Rick Barrow, and we need to question Tormund Brown.”
“Rick is dead?” Mr. Ackers asked.
“No way,” said Phil.
“How?” Mr. Ackers asked.
“He appears to have been killed during a robbery at his home, but we are suspicious about some of the details,” Heather said.
“You suspect foul play?” Mr. Ackers asked.
“We have to suspect many things until the evidence leads us to a conclusion,” said Heather.
“I can’t believe he’s dead,” Mr. Ackers said. “How can this all be happening?”
“That’s what we’d like to find out,” said Heather. “Now, please, we’d like to talk to Mr. Brown.”
“You think he could have something to do with Rick’s death?” asked Mr. Ackers.
“No way,” said Phil. “It’s impossible.”
“Where is Tormund Brown?” Heather asked again. She was starting to lose her patience.
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Ackers said. “You won’t be able to speak to him.”
“And why not?” asked Amy.
“Tormund is dead,” said Mr. Ackers.
“Dead?” Heather and Amy repeated at the same time.
“How?” asked Amy.
“When?” asked Heather.
“This morning,” Mr. Ackers said, sadly. “And right here in this office. He had a heart attack and passed away. We’ve been trying to carry on as best we could, but it was so shocking and terrible. And now you’re telling us that Rick is dead too. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We’ve lost both Brown and Barrow.”
He shook his head sadly. Heather thanked him for the information. She told him that they would probably have more questions for the staff, but that she had some other inquiries to make first.
“Who do you want to talk to first?” Amy asked. “The coroner?”
“Exactly,” said Heather. “I’ll call Ryan and have him talk to the medical examiner. He has to perform an autopsy on Tormund Brown and check for signs of a crime. He should definitely look for poisons.”
“You think both business partners dying on the same day is too much of a coincidence?” Amy asked.
Heather nodded. “I think they were both killed for a specific reason. We just need to figure out what that reason is.”
“Well,” Amy said. “Our last case just got a whole lot more interesting. Now there are two murders to solve!”
Chapter 5
“You look as puzzled as we do, dear,” Eva said.
Heather smiled at her two favorite customers, Eva and Leila. The two older ladies had started out as loyal Donut Delights fans but they were now close friends of hers.
“I’ve been thinking about a murder case,” said Heather. “But what’s puzzling you?”
“How many donuts we should order, of course,” Eva said.
“We love the new Cinnamon Sugar Donut,” Leila said.
“And we want to celebrate the last Hillside-created-donut,” Eva said.
“There will still be new flavors that I create coming every week,” Heather protested.
“Still,” said Eva. “We want to make sure that we stock up on these donuts from when you’re here.”
“But,” Leila admitted. “And we hate to say it. There might be a limit to how many donuts we can eat within the week. I’m not sure we could finish ten dozen.”
“That is over a dozen per day,” Eva said. “That’s a lot. But they’re so delicious.”
“I promise that Maricela will take care of you and will make sure you always get your donuts,” Heather said.
“We do trust you,” Eva said.
“Right,” said Leila. “What about nine dozen?”
They all laughed. Heather made sure that they each got another Cinnamon Sugar Donut for the time being.
“Well, you’ve helped us with our sugar fix,” said Leila said. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
“What sort of case is this one?” asked Eva.
“Two business partners died this morning. One in a robbery at his house and one had a heart attack at his office. “
“You don’t believe that was a coincidence?” Eva asked.
“No,” Heather said. “But I’m waiting for Ryan to get back to me with the official coroner’s report. I need to know for sure what killed the heart attack man before I begin accusing people of his murder.”
“And so you came here to visit while you waited?”’ asked Eva.
“I’m going to miss it here,” Heather said. “And I thought I might run into you both.”
“You can see us in our natural setting,” Leila joked.
Heather laughed and then agreed that she did love seeing her two friends in her shop. She looked around the shop again, knowing that no matter the distance this shop would never stop being important to her.
However, as she cast her eyes around the shop, she noticed that Emily Potts was looking downcast
. Heather excused herself for a moment to check on her assistant.
“Is everything all right?” Heather asked, concerned.
“Oh, it’s silly,” Emily Potts, said.
“If it’s bothering you, it’s not silly,” Heather assured her.
“It’s just that everyone around here seems to have exciting things going on in their lives. I was looking for a small change too. My friend’s dog just had puppies, and I was thinking of adopting one. I already picked him out,” Emily Potts said.
“What’s his name?” Heather asked.
“He’s the cutest little fella. He has dark brown fur and a happy puppy smile. He’s the runt of the litter right now, but he’ll grow. When my friend found out I was interested in him, she named him Chip,” said Emily Potts.
“What’s the problem then?” asked Heather.
“My current rental. I thought because he was a little guy I would be able to bring him home, but my landlord decided I can’t have pets. It’s not really a big deal,” Emily Potts tried to say. “I hadn’t brought him home yet.”
Heather touched her arm to show support, and then an idea occurred to her.
“Emily Potts, you adopt that puppy,” Heather said. “I just had a thought, and it would help both of us out.”
“What’s that? If I can adopt Chip, I’ll do it,” said Emily Potts.
“You can move into my house after I move out,” Heather said.
“Really?”
“We’ve been debating what we should do with it. We weren’t planning on selling it right away. It makes perfect sense to have someone we trust to look after it. And, obviously, we don’t mind having animals there,” Heather said.
“It sounds perfect,” Emily Potts said. “If you’re sure.”
“There’s just one thing you’ll have to do if you are adopting a dog,” Heather said.
“What’s that?”
“Be careful about feeding him donuts!” Heather said. “I started with Dave, and now he can’t stop eating them.”
Emily Potts thanked her profusely and then went to make a quick phone call to her friend. Amy entered the shop.
Cinnamon Sugar Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 60 Page 2
