Mysteries of Treasure Cove Cozy Mystery Boxed Set

by Meredith Potts

  “That’s hard to believe,” David said.

  “Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth,” she said. “Now, I have answered all your questions. I have nothing more to say.”

  “I’m afraid we’re not done here.”

  “Yes, we are. Forget yoga class.” Megan turned around and headed back toward her front door.

  “You can’t just walk away,” David said.

  “What are you going to do? Arrest me?” Megan asked.

  David shook his head. “No. But I could detain you for further questioning.”

  Megan stopped dead in her tracks. “Do what you need to do. I’ve already told you everything.”

  David remained quiet for a moment as he tried to think about what to say next.

  Megan grew impatient. “So, am I free to go or not?”

  David took a deep breath and then replied, “You are not to leave town under any circumstances. Got it?”

  Megan’s eyebrows knitted. “Where would I go?”

  “That was a yes or no question,” David said.

  “You really think I would try to skip town?”

  “You wouldn’t be the first suspect—”

  She interrupted him. “Please stop calling me a suspect.”

  “Megan, whether you want to admit it or not, you are a suspect in Ryan’s murder. And if I catch you trying to leave town, I won’t hesitate to haul you into the police station. Is that clear?” David said.

  Chapter Twelve

  Megan agreed to David’s terms. My husband and I then headed back to downtown Treasure Cove. A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Dynamic Cove Landscaping.

  I desperately wanted the next suspect interview to go better than the last one had. It didn’t seem like that would be the case. Especially after I spotted something eye-opening in the parking lot. On the other side of the lot, two middle-aged men were shaking hands beside the back entrance of the office building.

  They weren’t just any men, however.

  They were Owen Gilroy and Scott Schlosser.

  Why was that so striking?

  Because of all the people to be meeting with Owen Gilroy right then, Scott Schlosser was the last person I would have expected. It looked odd for the two of them to even be in the same parking lot, much less for them to be shaking hands.

  I had a very good reason to be so surprised. Namely, that Scott was the owner of Treasure Cove Landscaping, which was Dynamic Cove’s main competition.

  The rivalry between the two companies was well-known in town. So, for Scott and Owen to be so chummy only a short time after Ryan’s murder was highly peculiar.

  After spotting Scott and Owen, David could have easily fired up the ignition of his car and sped over to their location. Instead, he elected to hang back and observe the men.

  Unfortunately, there wasn’t much more to observe. Owen and Scott finished their handshake, smiled at each other, and then parted ways.

  From there, Owen went back inside the building while Scott walked toward his car.

  It was then that David and I decided to take action.

  We booked it over to Scott and caught up with the businessman shortly before he reached his vehicle.

  The fifty-three-year-old had short brown hair, a tall lean frame, and an angular face.

  “Scott Schlosser. You’re the last person I’d expect to see here,” David said.

  Scott furrowed his brow as he stared at David. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

  “Apparently, not. But I sure know who you are. You’re the owner of Treasure Cove Landscaping.”

  Scott puffed his chest out. “I certainly am. And I have some work to do. So if you’ll please excuse me—”

  David held his pointer finger up. “I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.”

  “What do you mean, let me leave? Who do you think you are?” Scott asked.

  “My name is Detective David Carlson.” He pointed at me. “And this is Sabrina.”

  Scott squinted. “I’m sorry. Did you just say detective?”

  David pulled out his police badge. “I sure did.”

  Scott’s eyes widened.

  David continued. “Now, before I can let you go anywhere, I need to ask you some questions.”

  Scott shrugged. “I don’t understand. Why would a police detective want to speak with me?”

  “Actually, I’m the one asking the questions here,” David said.

  “I’m sorry,” Scott said. “But I’m afraid that I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “Ryan Davidson was murdered,” David said.

  A look of shock came to Scott’s face. “That is unbelievable.”

  “You may not believe it, but it’s the truth. Now, back to my questions,” David said.

  Scott held his hand up. “Actually, I have to interrupt you again. I must say, I’m more confused than ever as to why you want to talk to me.”

  “That shouldn’t be so difficult to comprehend, considering that you were Ryan’s biggest rival in town,” David said.

  “So, we had a business rivalry,” Scott said. “I didn’t want him dead.”

  “That’s what you say—”

  “Don’t you believe me?”

  David scoffed. “Are you kidding? You’re a murder suspect.”

  Scott shook his head. “No. You have it all wrong. I had nothing to do with Ryan’s death. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know that something had happened to him until you just told me.”

  “I’d really like to believe that—”

  “Good. It’s settled then,” Scott said.

  “Not quite,” David said. “Why don’t you let me finish my sentence this time?”

  “All right. Go ahead,” Scott said.

  “I’d like to believe you, but I can’t take anything you say at face value unless you can provide some proof,” David replied.

  Scott gave David a blank stare. “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “To start, you can tell me where you were last night between nine and ten o’clock,” David said.

  “I was at the office,” Scott said.

  “Working late, huh?”

  Scott nodded.

  “Were you the only one working late last night?” David asked.

  “Yes,” Scott said.

  “That’s a shame.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “I wish there was a way to verify that.”

  “And I wish you would leave me alone. After all, I answered your question. Now, can I go?” Scott asked.

  David waggled his pointer finger. “Nice try, but we’re just getting started.”

  Scott groaned. “Are you serious?”

  David nodded. “Dead serious.”

  Scott threw out his arms. “What else do you want from me?”

  “I want you to tell me why you were just meeting with Owen.”

  “Detective, that’s confidential.”

  “Mr. Schlosser, you’re a landscaper, not a spy. So, don’t try to pretend that the information is too confidential to tell me.”

  “We were talking business, all right?”

  David hated vague responses. The more secretive Scott was, the more David was determined to get the truth out of him. David pressed on.

  “You want to buy Dynamic Cove Landscaping, don’t you?” David said.

  A look of surprise came to Scott’s face. “How did you know that?”

  “I’m a detective. It’s my job to know things,” David said. “Now, back to your meeting with Owen. You came here to make him an offer, didn’t you?”

  “I came here to try and negotiate a deal,” Scott said.

  “Were you successful?” David asked.

  “Let’s just say that negotiations are ongoing,” Scott replied.

  “Mr. Schlosser, that was a yes or no question,” David said.

  “Detective, the world of business is a little more complicated than you seem to think it is.”

  “Fine.
I’ll keep this next question very simple. Did you ever make an offer to Ryan?” David asked.

  Scott shrugged. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I was just testing you to see what you’d say. You see, I have it on good authority that you wanted to buy Dynamic Cove Landscaping. The problem was, Ryan refused to sell. Am I right?” David asked.

  “Like I told you before, negotiations have been ongoing,” Scott said.

  “Why can’t you just give me a straight answer? Or are you afraid of admitting the truth?” David asked.

  “Fine. You want the truth? I made both Ryan and Owen an offer. Owen loved it, Ryan didn’t. So, last night I worked late to come up with a new offer. And I’m convinced that Ryan would have loved this one,” Scott said.

  “If he was still alive, you mean?” David asked.

  “Yes,” Scott said.

  “Now that Ryan is gone, is Owen going to sell you the business?”

  “Nothing is definitive.”

  “You’re being vague again, Mr. Schlosser,” David said.

  “That’s because I don’t have specifics to give you,” Scott said. “Besides, isn’t this conversation supposed to be about Ryan’s death? Yet instead we’re talking about a possible business deal.”

  “Because the two might be related,” David said.

  Scott shook his head. “I assure you, they’re not.”

  “You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t take your word for that,” David said.

  “Do you have any proof that I did something wrong?” Scott asked.

  “Not at the moment.”

  “All right. Can I go then? I have a lot of work to get back to,” Scott said.

  David stared Scott down. “You’re free to go…for now. But don’t even think about leaving town.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Scott got into his car, pulled out of the parking lot, and drove off.

  Meanwhile, David and I went inside the building and told the receptionist at the front desk that we wanted to speak with Owen Gilroy. A few seconds later, the black-haired bespectacled receptionist led us back to Owen’s office.

  Owen was a short, pear-shaped man in his late fifties who was desperately clinging to the last bit of brown hair that was on his head.

  David quickly showed Owen his police badge and got down to business.

  When David told Owen the news about Ryan’s murder, the businessman responded with shock. Whether his emotions were genuine or not was yet to be determined.

  “Do you have any idea who might have done this?” Owen asked.

  “We’re trying to figure that out,” David said.

  “I hope you do,” Owen said.

  “I’m glad you feel that way. Because we have a feeling that you can help us with that.”

  Owen’s nose scrunched. “How so?”

  “To start, why don’t you tell us what were you just speaking with Scott Schlosser about?” David said.

  “We were just discussing a business matter.”

  Once again, David had received a vague answer to a straightforward question. What was especially frustrating was that it was an easy one. After all, if Owen was going to be evasive with that softball question, it didn’t bode well for the rest of the interview.

  “By a business matter, you mean the possibility of selling this company to him, right?” David asked.

  Owen opened his mouth to reply.

  Before he was able to get a word out, David was quick to throw out a warning.

  “Choose your words wisely,” David said.

  Owen squinted. “I’m sorry. I thought you were here to talk about Ryan.”

  “We are.”

  “Then let’s talk about him. Not some private conversation I had with Scott.”

  “Mr. Gilroy, I see what you’re doing,” David said.

  “Putting the conversation back on track—”

  David interrupted Owen. “No. You are trying to downplay the importance of this potential business deal. When in fact, the details of this deal might be the key to everything.”

  “Especially the fact that you wanted to sell the company and Ryan didn’t,” I added.

  Owen narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute. I don’t like where this conversation is going.”

  “Why? Because I’m off base or because I’m dead on?” I asked.

  Owen scoffed. “You’re completely off base.”

  “Really? I mean, with Ryan now out of the picture, you are free to sell the company to Scott. You’re in line for a big payday,” I said.

  “I’d be careful about making wild speculations if I were you,” Owen said.

  “Why? Am I wrong?” I asked.

  Owen nodded. “You sure are. I know where this conversation is headed and I didn’t have anything to do with Ryan’s death.”

  “If that’s true then prove it,” David said.

  Owen squinted. “How do you propose I do that?”

  “Simple. Just answer this question. Where were you last night between nine and ten o’clock?” David asked.

  “I was watching the Marauders game on television,” Owen said.

  “At a sports bar?” David asked.

  Owen shook his head. “At home.”

  “Did you have some friends over?”

  “No. It was just me.”

  David grimaced. “That’s a pity.”

  Owen stared blankly. “What are you talking about?”

  “If you were watching the game alone, it means you have no one to verify your story.”

  “It’s not a story. I was watching the game. What do you want to know about the broadcast? The score? Who was the winning pitcher—?”

  David held his hand up. “Stop right there. All that information is freely available on the internet.”

  “Wait. Do you think I’m lying to you about watching the game last night? Do you honestly believe that I made up that story and looked up a game summary online to cover my tracks?” Owen asked.

  “I don’t know. The only thing I’m certain about is that there’s no way of corroborating your alibi.”

  “Yeah? Well I’m certain about something,” Owen said. “That I need to get back to work.”

  David shook his head. “Your work will have to wait. At least for a few more minutes.”

  “Look. I didn’t have anything to do with Ryan’s death. I don’t know what else there is to say,” Owen replied.

  “I can think of a few things,” David said.

  Owen groaned. “I don’t know why you’re hassling me, anyway. There are a number of other people you should be talking to right now.”

  “Such as?”

  “For starters, Ryan’s ex-wife.”

  “We already spoke with Megan Davidson.”

  “How about Scott? If you’re going to pester me with questions, you should do the same to him.”

  “We have questioned him as well,” David said.

  “Is there anyone else you’d like to point the finger of blame at?” I asked.

  “I bet you haven’t spoken to Kristin McLaughlin yet,” Owen said.

  “As a matter of fact, we haven’t,” David said.

  “You really should,” Owen said.

  “Why her?” David asked.

  “Kristin has always had a thing for Ryan, ever since she started working for him.”

  “Did Ryan know that Kristin had feelings for him?” David asked.

  Owen nodded. “Oh yeah. But since Ryan was in the middle of a messy divorce, he wasn’t about to start something up with a new woman. Much less, his own administrative assistant.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Ryan told me,” Owen said. “So, as you can see, there is someone else you should be speaking to right now.”

  “We’ll be talking to Kristin, all right.”

  “Good,” Owen said.

  “Once we’re done with you,” David said.

  Owen shrugged. “What do you mean, once you’re done? What
else is there for us to talk about?”

  “We just have a few more questions for you,” David said.

  Owen shook his head. “This is ridiculous.”

  “I disagree. Don’t worry. It’s just a few more questions. If you’re truly innocent, you don’t have anything to worry about,” David said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Thankfully, Owen answered the rest of our questions without putting up an argument. Unfortunately, those replies did not yield any case-breaking insights. So, instead of throwing any further questions Owen’s way, we decided to interview Kristin McLaughlin.

  Owen pointed us in the direction of Kristin’s desk, but the administrative assistant was not there. After a moment of befuddlement, Owen approached the receptionist and asked her if she knew where Kristin was.

  Apparently, Kristin had just stepped out to take a break. I found the timing of that to be quite curious. Of all the moments for her to have taken a break, she just happened to choose one right before David and I went over to her desk to question her? It was more likely that she got up to take a break to avoid having to speak to us. What she failed to realize was that we would track her down.

  Thankfully, it wouldn’t take very long to do that. The receptionist at the front desk informed us that if we were quick enough, we might be able to catch Kristin before she reached her car. According to the receptionist, Kristin had just left, only to be followed by her coworker, Paul Richler.

  David and I immediately darted out to the parking lot.

  That was when we discovered that we were in luck. We spotted Kristin standing in front of a green sedan. The forty-five-year-old had long brown hair and a full figure. What she didn’t have was a pleasant expression on her round face as she spoke with a tall geeky man in his early forties. I assumed the man was Paul Richler.

  David and I were too far away to hear what Paul and Kristin were saying, but their body language spoke volumes. For example, Kristin looked highly uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Paul wasn’t tense at all.

  David and I suddenly had an interesting choice. We could walk across the parking lot and interrupt Paul’s and Kristin’s conversation, or we could hang back and observe.