Carrot Cake & Murder: A Sweet Treats Cozy Mystery

by Woods, Lori

  Despite the fact that half of the audience had left, and they were still having to clean up the arena, the announcer came over the speaker to announce the best in show. “We’re going to announce our winner. The Savannah Dog Show would like to apologize for the unprofessional behavior, and assure our viewers that this was no fault of the owners or dogs, but rather the result of some bad treats given out to our show dogs tonight. That being said, we’re going to wrap this up quickly so that all of our dog owners can get their canine companions home to be treated properly for their stomachaches. No other awards, with the exception of best in show, will be given out tonight due to the unfortunate circumstances of this evening. The judges are giving me their decision now… Jojo, the golden retriever, and her owner, Lilith, will be taking home best in show this evening!”

  The few people left in the stands clapped, and Lilith was not even in the arena to take the award. One of the judges had to go back and get her and Jojo to bring them out on stage. Molly stared down into the arena. Lilith seemed rather flustered; Molly recalled watching her backstage, helping out some of the owners whose dogs were experiencing their bad reactions to the treats, so she had probably been backstage helping. The woman didn’t even look proud to have won; much like everyone else, she was probably eager for this day to be over.

  At last, Whip exited the bathroom. He was gripping his stomach still, and his face was a little green, with the exception of his cheeks that were burning red in his humiliation. “Can you please just take me home?” he pleaded.

  “Of course,” Molly said. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “Everything come out all right?” Braxton teased, and Whip glared at him. “Sorry, it’s not funny,” Braxton said.

  “What did I miss? Have they announced any of the winners yet?” Whip asked as they began walking down the stairs towards the back room once again.

  “Lilith’s retriever won. But you missed a lot more than that. Dogs getting sick, not to mention someone hanging themselves with a leash,” Dazzle said.

  “What?” Whip questioned.

  “I don’t think he hung himself,” Molly said. “I was one of the ones who helped get him down. There was blood under his fingernails like he had scratched at someone. Someone else strung him up like that.”

  “Aw man,” Whip said. “Who was it?”

  “Oscar—the one who owned the really big German shepherd,” Dazzle said. “Someone hanged him by a dog leash.”

  “That’s messed up,” Whip said as they made their way through the back exit.

  Just when they were about to step out the back door, they were stopped by one of the on-scene officers. “Molly Jenn?” the man questioned.

  “Yes, that’s me,” Molly said.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to remain here for a bit. We have some questions for you,” the officer said.

  “Oh,” Molly said. “Well, is it okay if I just come back? I’ve got a sick employee I need to get home.” She pointed a thumb in Whip’s direction.

  The officer grimaced slightly at Whip’s appearance, but he shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’m going to have to insist you stay here for questioning.”

  “Questioning?” Molly asked. “About what?”

  “About your poisoned fudge, that’s what,” he said. “I don’t know whether that and what happened to Mr. Oscar is connected, but—”

  “Whoa,” Braxton said sharply. “Are you accusing Molly of hurting Oscar?”

  “Well…” the officer stuttered a bit.

  Molly pulled her keys out, handing them to Braxton. “Drive Whip and Dazzle home and then go back to the shop,” she told them. “I’ll be fine.”

  Braxton had a somewhat dirty look on his face as he took the keys and led the others out. Molly turned to the officer, a look of dissatisfaction on her face. “Okay, what do you need me for?” Molly asked, and he merely led her over to the other on-scene officers who were all wanting to take her statement.

  Jeffrey was among them, looking just as annoyed as she felt. “Sorry, Molly, but your fudge was what made the dogs sick, so the other officers want to talk to you,” he said. He did pull her aside before she had to face all the badgering from them. “Some of them are suggesting you might have had something to do with what happened to Oscar as well.”

  Molly stiffened. “Of course I didn’t! What sort of motive would I have for poisoning a bunch of dogs and killing Oscar?”

  “My point exactly,” Jeffrey said.

  Molly sighed. It looked like she was going to be helping Jeffrey out with this case after all.

  Chapter 5

  Molly wound up sitting around and talking to the police for several hours. They seemed very eager to catch her making an inconsistent statement, but eventually they relented. Jeffrey apologized to her profusely for the behavior of his fellow brothers in blue, but she waved it off. “I’m just glad they seem to be done badgering me,” she said with a slight moan.

  “I’ve got to file some papers for this case at the station,” he said. “Are you going to be okay by yourself for a bit?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said, but almost as soon as Jeffrey was gone, she found herself regretting not having asked him for a ride back to the shop since the kids had taken her van.

  She glanced around the back room. Several dogs and their owners were still there, talking to dog show staff as well as to the police who were all still trying to piece together exactly what had happened. Just when Molly was thinking about talking to some of the owners, she was tapped on the shoulder. She spun around, surprised to see Whip and Dazzle staring back at her. “What are you two doing here?” she questioned, looking at Whip specifically. “You look a little less green than you were earlier.”

  Whip nodded. “Feeling better. A lot better,” he said.

  “Good,” Molly said. “But that still doesn’t answer why you’re here.”

  “We want to help,” Dazzle said. “Bonnie and Braxton told us about how they’ve helped you with some of Officer Jeffrey’s cases before. And this was our first event with the shop. We feel really bad that it didn’t turn out so great. We want to do what we can to help you guys.”

  Molly crossed her arms, looking at Whip again. “You really feel up to being out and about after earlier?”

  “I told you, I feel fine now,” he said. “And, like what Dazzle said, I want to help you out. So, where do we start?”

  Molly glanced around the room again, spying George and his poodle, who were finally packing up their prep station. “I say we start with George,” Molly said. “We have a little bit of repertoire built up with him from before the show, so maybe he’d be willing to talk with us.”

  “Great!” Dazzle said. “Let’s go before he is finished packing up.”

  They hurried over, and he glanced up as they approached. “Crazy day, huh?” he said, scowling, his eye constantly glancing at the top of his prized poodle’s scalp.

  “I’d say so,” Whip said.

  “I know it looks like you’re about to leave,” Molly said. “But I was wondering if I could ask you a few quick questions?”

  George shrugged and placed his tote down on the table in his prep station. “Okay, but let’s make it quick. Lilith went to pull the car around, so she’s probably waiting on me.”

  “Of course,” Molly assured him. “Well, you see, the police are sort of looking into me about the whole poisoned dog treats thing. I have no reason to want to hurt anyone’s dogs, you know? So, that’s the only reason I’m asking around to see what everybody knows. I was wondering if you could tell me why Oscar would accuse you of having poisoned my fudge?”

  George huffed. “He and I have… an interesting relationship. And it’s probably because I didn’t give my poodle any of your treats. I don’t normally give Reggie too much to eat before a show for the very reason of not wanting him going to the bathroom when he’s supposed to be looking all poised. And I guess my gut instinct there was spot-on today. So, since Reggie didn’t get sick
, Oscar started pointing fingers at me. He’s never liked me.”

  “So, you two know each other fairly well?” Molly asked.

  George sighed. “I mean, somewhat. He used to date Lilith.”

  “Whoa! Drama,” Dazzle said.

  “Yeah, you’re telling me,” George moaned. “They had gone on just a few dates when I met the two of them at another dog show. I asked Lilith out and she told me she was dating Oscar, so I backed off. I’m not really that kind of guy, you know? But they eventually broke up. And when I bumped into her again at another dog show, she was quick to tell me she was single. I asked her out on a date, and the rest is history. We’re engaged now, and I could tell that really got under Oscar’s skin today. It’s the first time we’ve seen him since the engagement. I mean, when Oscar saw what Isaac did to Reggie’s head… you should have heard the way he was laughing at me. He was eating it up!”

  “I’m sorry about your show dog,” Dazzle said.

  “I suppose I overreacted, and probably owe Isaac an apology,” George admitted. “We all put a lot into these shows, you see. It’s a very expensive investment to compete in dog shows. This one actually had a decent cash prize I was hoping to get. Well, at least my girl took home the prize this time, though it’s a little less satisfying, I think, when the show was such a flop like this one.”

  “Yeah, she did look pretty embarrassed coming out there to take first prize,” Molly said. “I hate to ask this, but can you tell me where you were when Oscar was found?”

  George grunted. “Let’s see… I was helping some of the staff clean up the mess the other dogs were leaving behind. So I was just running around like everyone else back here. And it’s really stinking back here now, so I’m probably going to head out.”

  “Understandable,” Molly said, and asked to exchange information with him in case she had any follow-up questions. She watched George leave, his bald-headed poodle walking alongside him, running around him somewhat playfully as they went.

  “What are you thinking, Molly?” Whip asked.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. “George is definitely a big guy and could have probably one-upped Oscar. Plus Oscar and him got into it at the show and they have a long-standing rivalry. So he’s definitely a prime suspect in this case, I’d say.”

  “This is kind of exciting, isn’t it, Whip?” Dazzle asked, clasping her hands together. “What next?”

  Molly looked around. Most everyone was clearing out at this point. “Hmm… maybe we just do a little bit of snooping around and see what we can find,” she said. “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to interview anyone else today since everyone is pretty much gone.”

  “Looking for clues!” Dazzle exclaimed. “I feel like a real Hollywood detective.”

  Molly laughed. “Okay, whatever you say, Dazzle. How about we split up and see what we can find?”

  “Whenever they split up on Scooby Doo, things don’t turn out so great,” Whip said, and Dazzle nudged him.

  “Seriously, Whip?” Dazzle questioned. “This isn’t Scooby Doo.”

  Molly laughed again. “Just look at all the prep stations. See what you can find. We’ll start there, okay?”

  “Sounds good,” Whip said, and the three of them split off to look around.

  Molly was laughing to herself, trying to remain serious. She imagined she was going to have a very interesting experience working this case if Whip and Dazzle were going to be working the case as well. They were quite an entertaining pair, those two. Molly entered into one of the prep stations and began digging around, hoping that she found something useful for the case other than droppings from a sick dog. “Watch your step!” she called back to Whip and Dazzle after almost stepping into a pile of excrement herself.

  “Too late!” Whip called back, laughing in such a way that suggested he was not the unfortunate party. Molly could hear Dazzle wailing in the distance about her best pair of shoes.

  Chapter 6

  Molly searched several prep stations and did not come across anything that even remotely resembled evidence. Most everything had been cleared out, so it was not as though there was much more to look at, other than some trimmed bits of dog hair and nail clippings. As she found herself on her hands and knees, looking under another one of the grooming tables, she suddenly spied a pair of familiar looking shoes. Jumping up, a bit embarrassed to have been caught crawling around on the floor, she saw Officer Jeffrey standing over her.

  She blushed a bit as she stood. “Um… Molly… what are you doing?” he asked, clearly having just returned after delivering some paperwork to the station.

  “Looking for… well… I don’t know exactly, but Whip, Dazzle, and I are just searching the area for anything that might give us an idea of what all transpired here today,” Molly said. “I’m just a little concerned, you know? It looked like some of your fellow officers were pointing fingers at me, and I don’t want to get myself into any trouble. I’m just looking to see if there are any clues that might point them in the right direction—away from me.”

  Jeffrey nodded, smirking at her a bit. “You know they haven’t mopped these floors yet since… well… you know.”

  Molly cringed. “I should go wash my hands,” she decided. “Be back in a sec!” She darted off, quite eager to clean up after Jeffrey had essentially suggested she was crawling around in excrement. Once she was cleaned up, she returned promptly to the last prep station she had been examining, where she found that Jeffrey was still waiting for her.

  “Better?” he teased.

  “Very funny,” she said. “So, what do you got for me? Have you found anything out yet?”

  “Not a whole lot, I’m afraid. They swept the area around where Oscar was found and checked out his prep station, and so far there’s not much evidence left behind. We did find that bit of blood under his nails, but the forensics team isn’t sure if it’s going to be enough for a proper test. They’ve taken Oscar’s body away now, so the forensic pathologist on call is going to have a look at the body to see if there is any additional evidence the on-site team missed,” Jeffrey explained. He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Just a little annoyed is all. I mean, if anything, you’d think I’d be in trouble for serving bad food—not for hanging someone by a dog leash! Why do they think the two things are even connected?”

  “Could be just a coincidence,” Jeffrey said. “Are you sure you didn’t accidentally drop anything into the fudge?”

  “I’m sure. Someone other than myself or my employees put something in the fudge to make the dogs sick,” Molly insisted. “I’m telling you the truth. I mean, why would any of us want a bunch of dogs to get sick? This is going to be terrible for my business if we don’t find out what happened. Everyone’s going to think I made a bad batch of fudge.”

  “Don’t worry. I believe you,” Jeffrey assured her. “For now, I’m still waiting on results from the lab to find out exactly what was in that fudge of yours.”

  Molly winked. “Okay, but don’t steal my recipe, all right?”

  Jeffrey grinned. “After what it did to Whip? No thanks.”

  Molly gave him a friendly punch in the arm. “I should probably go check in on those two. We split up to cover more ground,” she said. “You going to be around?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be here,” Jeffrey assured her, and the two of them parted ways.

  She eventually spied Whip and Dazzle standing close together inside one of the prep stations, and they seemed to be whispering in alarming tones to one another. “Hey!” Molly called, and Whip spun around and waved her over. “What did you guys find?”

  Whip helped up a bag full of grooming materials. “I think it’s Isaac’s,” Whip said.

  “Yeah, well, he was the groomer for the event,” Molly said.

  “Yeah, but this was inside it,” Dazzle said, handing Molly an envelope.

  Molly opened the envelope and looked inside, her
eyes widening in surprise at all the cash. “Whoa,” she said.

  “We counted it. There’s two grand in there,” Whip said.

  “Why would Isaac be walking around with two grand in cash?” Molly questioned.

  “Ahem,” a voice behind them said, and Molly spun around to see Isaac standing there with his hand out. “I believe that belongs to me?” he said, snatching the envelope from Molly. “Why are you digging around in my grooming kit?” He snatched the grooming kit from Whip and stuffed the envelope full of money into the case. “It’s tip money, in case you were wondering.”

  “Two thousand dollars in tips?” Molly questioned.

  “Wow. You people are really nosey!” Isaac exclaimed. “You dug through my bag, found a wad of cash, and proceeded to count it? That’s none of your business.”

  “Well, there was a lot that happened here today. A lot of accusations being thrown around,” Molly said. “We just felt it was a little suspicious.”

  “Yeah, a lot did happen today!” Isaac exclaimed, pointing a finger in Molly’s face. “Your fudge spewed out of me, taking the scenic route! Thanks for that, by the way.”

  “Ew,” Dazzle said.

  “Yeah, exactly!” Isaac snarled. “Stay away from my stuff!”

  He attempted to turn around and storm off, but evidently Jeffrey had overheard Isaac’s shouting. He had arrived on location, ready to break up whatever commotion had gotten underway. “Everything all right over here?” Jeffrey asked, eyeing Molly.

  Molly would have let it go until after Isaac had left, but Whip was not so willing. “That guy has two grand in cash in his bag,” Whip said.

  “Tip money!” Isaac snapped. “I told you, I get a lot of tips at these things!”

  “Really? Because you bald-ed an award-winning show dog today,” Dazzle said under her breath.

  “You three went digging through my personal belongings!” Isaac retorted. He looked at Jeffrey. “Aren’t you going to do something about it? That’s an invasion of privacy. For all I know, they were talking about dividing up my tip money before I caught them red-handed.”