Ellie's eyes widened. Cherish had been the one to call in the body, but only after she had been hit by a car. She had been hit by a car because she had been literally fleeing from the building, in such a panic that she hadn’t looked before she crossed the road. She had also flip-flopped on the park idea, and had somehow managed to make it so that there was a good chance the park wasn't going be happening at all.
“Shannon…” She told her friend her idea. Shannon frowned.
“Why would Cherish want to kill Jessica?”
“I don't know, but most murders are committed by someone who knows the victim. The two of them worked together for years. They were friends. It could have something to do with that.”
“I wonder if they've had any issues,” Shannon said. “You know what, her name sounds familiar, and not just because I interviewed her. I think someone did another story about her a few years ago. I'm going to check the archives.”
The two of them found a small alcove just inside the doors to City Hall to sit in as Shannon pulled out her laptop and logged into her account for the local newspaper. Ellie waited while Shannon clicked through the screens. A few minutes in, her friend gasped.
“I knew her name sounded familiar. Look at this.”
Shannon turned the screen so Ellie could read the article’s title; Local Fisherman Missing, Presumed Dead.
What followed was a story about Cherish and her husband, who had vanished over eight years ago. His shoes had been found in the marina and it was assumed that he had drowned. His body was never found, and he was eventually declared dead, allowing his wife to collect on a large life insurance policy.
“They used to live right by the park, too,” Shannon said. “There are records of her old address here.”
“So do you think it's possible that she killed him and buried his body in the park?”
“It certainly makes sense,” Shannon said. “It would explain why she doesn't want anyone digging there. It would also explain how the park has been delayed all these years. She's the assistant head of the parks department. She could have easily caused all the issues they were facing. She would have had access to everything.”
“And then when it finally looked like the park was going to be built, she snapped and killed the head of the parks department so that she could end the park once and for all.”
“What do we do?” Shannon asked.
“I should call Russell,” Ellie said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
It rang through to voicemail. She left Russell an urgent message, asking him to call her back.
“What should we do?”
“I don't know,” Ellie said. “We don't actually know if we’re right, and the police are already busy with Jeremy. I don't want to call them if I’d just be wasting their time. We need to figure out if she's guilty or not.”
“But how?” Shannon said.
“I have an idea,” Ellie said. “I think it's pretty likely that people are going to vote for Cherish’s proposal. But maybe we could somehow fake the votes and make it look like she lost, and the park will be built anyway. We might be able to tell by her reaction whether or not our theory is right.”
“One of us would have to volunteer to read the vote,” Shannon said. “I would be happy to do it, I guess. You can watch for her reaction.”
“It sounds like a plan. Let's go in, I think they're about to start,” Ellie said.
Shannon approached Cherish at the front of the room before she called the meeting to order. Ellie watched as the other woman nodded, and saw Shannon give her a subtle nod. They were in. Shannon was going to read the vote.
It took an achingly long time, first for people to cast their votes and then for Shannon to count them. She wrote something down on a piece of paper and stood up. Ellie kept her eyes glued on Cherish’s face. She looked nervous, more nervous than Ellie thought someone ought to look, given the circumstances.
“All right, I've finished my count,” Shannon said. “It was close, but the vote to keep plans as they are and build the park in the originally designated area passed by a small margin.”
There was a mix of reactions, but the vote really must have been close, because no one questioned it. No one besides one person.
“No,” Cherish said, just loudly enough for Ellie to hear. She stood up, her voice shaking. “You're lying. That can't be true. Recount the votes.”
Shannon looked over at her, startled. The other woman was moving toward her and Shannon moved the paper back out of reflex. Cherish grabbed it and shoved Shannon, who stumbled back. Her foot caught on the edge of the stage and she tumbled off, letting out a shout.
People gasped and Ellie ran forward. Joanna was already there, making sure Shannon was okay. Cherish had a murderous look on her face as she read the paper on which Shannon had written the real vote.
“You,” she said. “You were lying. Do you know what I went through to get here tonight? And here you are, prepared to lie to get the result you wanted. You dirty little –” She aimed a kick at Shannon just as she started to get to her feet.
“Cherish, calm down,” Ellie said, stepping forward. “Joanna, Shannon, call the police.”
“You tricked me,” the other woman was saying. She sounded near tears now, and her face was red with anger. “I thought we were on the same team.”
“Just like you thought you and your husband were on the same team?”
Cherish blinked, her face stricken. “How…?”
“We had a theory,” Ellie said, inching herself between the other woman and Shannon. “We just wanted to see if we were right. There’s something in that park you don't want anyone to find, isn't there?”
The other woman paled even more. “What – you can't – how do you know?”
“We put the pieces together,” Ellie said. “Your missing husband… He's not really missing, is he?” There were murmurs in the crowd behind her.
The other woman took a stumbling step back, then sank to her knees. “You don't understand. He was cheating on me. He was going to leave me with nothing and marry some dirty floozy. After all the effort I put into helping him build his career, he was going to leave me with nothing. I don't even know how it happened, I just remember picking up the knife and then everything went blank. When I came back to myself, he was dead and I knew I had to hide the body. I buried it deep in the center of the park and tried my best to forget about it, but then people kept trying to develop the land. For years I stood in the way, and I thought this would be it, I'd finally shut down the park once and for all, I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.”
“So you killed your friend?”
“I told her why I wanted the park to stay as it was,” the other woman whispered. “I told her my husband was buried there. We were friends for so long… I thought she would understand. But she picked up the phone and was going to call the police. I had no choice. I took the money to make it look like a robbery and fled, then that stupid car almost hit me and I lost the lockbox somewhere. People were starting to gather thanks to the accident, so I went across the street to call the police and told them I found the body and that the lockbox was missing. When I went back to look for it, it was gone.”
“The police are on their way,” Joanna cut in from behind Ellie. Other people were milling around, some looking frightened, some angry.
“Please, I don't want to go to prison,” Cherish said. She was shaking.
“You murdered two people,” Ellie said to her. “I don't think you have much of a choice.”
Epilogue
Ellie gave Russell a tired smile as she folded up the table and slid it into the back of her car. The second fundraiser for the park had gone off without a hitch. The new land had been cordoned off and they were due to start groundbreaking within six weeks. The new area for the park was located on the outskirts of town, along a lovely, rocky stretch of beach. There was room for a fenced-in dog park, a lovely play area, as well as a fishing dock and a small bait
shop.
Ellie had supplied the pizzas again and had donated some of her own money. If it somehow got stolen again, she was going to throw up her hands and swear off philanthropy forever.
“We found the body,” Russell told her as he approached. “It was right where she said it would be, buried under a large pine.”
“That's good. At least her husband will finally get laid to rest and his family will have closure.”
“As soon as we had her in custody, she cooperated,” he said, helping her gather up the last of the trash. “I think part of her was almost relieved to have it out in the open. Living with a secret like that can’t be easy.”
“I wonder how many other bodies are hidden out here?” Ellie said, suppressing a shiver. “How many missing people are right under our feet? It's frightening, how someone can act like a normal member of society while hiding something so huge.”
“It is,” Russell agreed. “But people like that, they almost always get caught. It's not part of human nature to keep such a big secret for so long, and I think she was starting to be affected by it.”
“What happened to Jeremy?” Ellie asked.
“He returned almost all the money he took, along with the personal checks, all of which have been canceled. He's going to be doing some community service and will be on probation for a while, but other than that he'll be okay. I think he was unsettled to learn that Cherish was a killer after working with her on that nice speech he gave at the meeting.”
“I can definitely see how that would be disturbing,” Ellie said.
“Have you had enough of small town politics?” he asked, shutting the trunk.
“Definitely,” she said. “From now on out, I think I'm just going to stick to running the pizzeria.”
“Well, I have to thank you and Shannon,” Russell said. “Your idea worked, even though I really would've preferred that you called me first. You know, you could have just told me your suspicions later that night and I could have questioned her the next day.”
“I thought she would just look frightened or something when we lied about the results of the vote,” Ellie admitted. “I didn't think she'd try to attack Shannon.”
“Thankfully it turned out all right,” Russell said. They shut the car doors and walked slowly down to the beach, where the surf was lapping at the rocks. “We solved a murder and an old missing persons case, and we won't have much else to do until we start court proceedings with Cherish’s case. I think I can swing a few extra hours off. Do you want to grab a bite to eat?”
“Sure,” Ellie said, smiling. “I happen to know a lovely little pizza place…”
Also by Patti Benning
Papa Pacelli’s Series
Book 1: Pall Bearers and Pepperoni
Book 2: Bacon Cheddar Murder
Book 3: Very Veggie Murder
Book 4: Italian Wedding Murder
Book 5: Smoked Gouda Murder
Book 6: Gourmet Holiday Murder
Book 7: Four Cheese Murder
Book 8: Hand Tossed Murder
Book 9: Exotic Pizza Murder
Book 10: Fiesta Pizza Murder
Book 11: Garlic Artichoke Murder
Book 12: On the Wings of Murder
Book 13: Mozzarella and Murder
Book 14: A Thin Crust of Murder
Book 15: Pretzel Pizza Murder
Book 16: Parmesan Pizza Murder
Book 17: Breakfast Pizza Murder
Book 18: Halloween Pizza Murder
Book 19: Thanksgiving Pizza Murder
Book 20: Christmas Pizza Murder
Book 21: A Crispy Slice of Murder
Book 22: Lobster Pizza Murder
Book 23: Pizza, Weddings, and Murder
Book 24: Pizza, Paradise, and Murder
Book 25: Meat Lovers and Murder
Book 26: Classic Crust Murder
Book 27: Hot, Spicy Murder
Book 28: Pork, Pizza, and Murder
Book 29: Chicken Alfredo Murder
Book 30: Jalapeño Pizza Murder
Book 31: Pesto Pizza Murder
Book 32: Sweet Chili Murder
Book 33: A Melted Morsel of Murder
Darling Deli Series
Book 1: Pastrami Murder
Book 2: Corned Beef Murder
Book 3: Cold Cut Murder
Book 4: Grilled Cheese Murder
Book 5: Chicken Pesto Murder
Book 6: Thai Coconut Murder
Book 7: Tomato Basil Murder
Book 8: Salami Murder
Book 9: Hearty Homestyle Murder
Book 10: Honey BBQ Murder
Book 11: Beef Brisket Murder
Book 12: Garden Vegetable Murder
Book 13: Spicy Lasagna Murder
Book 14: Curried Lobster Murder
Book 15: Creamy Casserole Murder
Book 16: Grilled Rye Murder
Book 17: A Quiche to Die For
Book 18: A Side of Murder
Book 19: Wrapped in Murder
Book 20: Glazed Ham Murder
Book 21: Chicken Club Murder
Book 22: Pies, Lies and Murder
Book 23: Mountains, Marriage and Murder
Book 24: Shrimply Murder
Book 25: Gazpacho Murder
Book 26: Peppered with Murder
Book 27: Ravioli Soup Murder
Book 28: Thanksgiving Deli Murder
Book 29: A Season of Murder
Book 30: Valentines and Murder
Book 31: Shamrocks and Murder
Book 32: Sugar Coated Murder
Book 33: Murder, My Darling
Killer Cookie Series
Book 1: Killer Caramel Cookies
Book 2: Killer Halloween Cookies
Book 3: Killer Maple Cookies
Book 4: Crunchy Christmas Murder
Book 5: Killer Valentine Cookies
Asheville Meadows Series
Book 1: Small Town Murder
Book 2: Murder on Aisle Three
Book 3: The Heart of Murder
Book 4: Dating is Murder
Book 5: Dying to Cook
Book 6: Food, Family and Murder
Book 7: Fish, Chips and Murder
Book 8: Deathly Ever After
Tails of Alaska
Book 1: Mushing is Murder
Book 2: Murder Befalls Us
Book 3: Stage Fright and Murder
Author’s Note
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my books, the storylines, and anything else that you’d like to comment on—reader feedback is very important to me. My contact information, along with some other helpful links, is listed below. If you’d like to be on my list of “folks to contact” with updates, release and sales notifications, etc.… just shoot me an email and let me know. Thanks for reading!
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