Chocolate Cream Cupcake & Murder (A Dana Sweet Cozy Mystery Book 3) (7 page)

“Goldie, did Tierry ever tell you about his medical condition?”

“As a matter of fact yes he did. I know about it all. It was kind of unexpected. We knew that he wasn't that well. But then he got bad news. He told me to not worry about anything. But we really thought he had more time. And no, I don't think he was suicidal,” she added as if reading Dana’s mind.

“Tierry loved life too much,” Goldie continued. “He would more likely want to spend each last moment just having fun. In fact, he still wanted to have the engagement party. Because he knew that he might not be around for the wedding day. I think someone might have seen the note and speeded up the process.”

Goldie’s red lips formed a pout and her eyebrows furrowed. Dana noted she was probably wearing Maybelline. Why on earth did that thought slide into her mind at a time like that?

“Okay, so you think someone saw the note then?” Dana said getting back on track. “So you knew about the note, the delivery then?

“Yes, I did. He was very angry and he just ripped up the note and tried to burn it in the fireplace. I was there with him that morning. We had a little argument and I was due to go out and buy a the dress for the party, but then when I got back…” She swallowed hard.

“I see. I’m sorry you went through that.” Dana felt sorry for Goldie. How awful to have had an argument just before her fiancé was found dead.

“You know the police should know about this.”

“I already told the police everything about that morning. I was at May’s Boutique trying on a new outfit for the party. So you can imagine my surprise when I got back and well, he was found dead.”

“Of course it must've been quite a shock for you.”

“Yes, it was a shock.”

Well, this conversation made things a bit clearer, didn’t it? And narrowed Dana’s list of suspects.

The following day, Dana visited the Berry Cove Grocery Store.

“Don’t forget the watermelons and the baby spinach for the green smoothie,” Katie said over the phone.

“I won’t, cuz.” Dana pressed the end call button her smart phone. It was nice to do shopping in the evening on a mid weekday. The air was calm and quiet and the music played quietly over the speaker. You never knew whom you’d bump into, too. Dana always made sure she looked her best. Not that she was hoping to bump into Troy again, because she did once. They’d met at the baked goods aisle. He looked so handsome in his rugged shirt just coming off a shift and picking up some stuff to shove in the microwave. You could judge a single guy by his grocery basket. He was a health nut but he also liked to eat rich Italian comfort food like garlic bread or pizza or lasagna on a Friday night.

Dana should write down the watermelon before she forgot. That was a new ingredient. And Katie always liked to add a few new stuff to her green smoothies.

It was Dana’s time to do grocery shopping for the house and they were pretty much dry out of fresh produce. Because Katie’s been making tons of green smoothies with blueberries, bananas, baby spinach and apples. They don’t stay too long in the fridge. Not to mention, Truffles needed some fresh air.

Dana had way too many things on her mind. Detective Troy was busy on another case after the funeral and she didn’t want to bother him just yet.

The memorial service was beautiful yesterday. At least old man Renaldo would be laid to rest but she wished she could say the same about his case. That was a huge mystery.

“So you heard that Jackie Renaldo dumped that nice guy, Miles.” A woman said in the vegetable aisle.

Dana pretended not to notice and casually looked at the watermelon sizing it up with another. Jackie Renaldo dumped her beau? Poor thing. Did Jackie have something to do with her daddy’s death? She was now heir to a fortune, wasn’t she? Her dad never gave her anything while he was around—well not very much. He made it clear, according to Goldie that his kids would only get when he’s gone.

“Yes, it’s about time. He’s better off without that crazy family.” The other woman hissed.

Gossip. Gossip. Gossip. Still, it was very sad to hear. Maybe, Miles was better off without that wacky family.

Dana guessed they were customers from Bea’s Salon. That was probably where they got the news from. Half the women in Berry Cove got their news from Bea’s Salon.

The women stopped and glared at Dana and Truffles who was in her meshed stroller.

“Really now. Doesn’t she have a child?” the woman said to the other.

“What is a cat doing in a stroller?” the other woman kissed her teeth and they both walked off.

Dana rolled her eyes and carried on.

Just then Truffles hissed loudly.

“What is it, Truffs? Those ladies got you down?”

Dana jolted when George the butler appeared.

“Oh, George. You frightened me.”

Truffles hissed even more loudly and started to act wild and crazy in the stroller. George looked terrified at first. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked in his thick British accent.

“Oh, nothing. She’s probably just hungry. I was just getting some food for her.”

He glanced incredulously at the large watermelon in Dana’s hand.

“Oh, this. No. I wouldn’t give this to my Truffles.” She laughed nervously.

But she knew deep down that George was the killer. Truffles wouldn’t hiss so loudly at him, if he weren’t.

“So how are things at the manor?”

“Terrible. Thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me?”

“Yes. You have no business meddling in family affairs.”

“So it was you who sent the note?”

George said nothing for a moment. Guilt was written all over his face. “Mr. Renaldo probably poisoned himself. That’s what I told the police. He was suicidal.”

“So you read the note he’d received from his doctor?” Dana accused.

“Listen, Miss busy body, wanna-be detective. You know nothing about anything. And your riddles on your blog are just as immature as you are.” He walked off.

Dana felt stunned, burned, humiliated.

Well, how dare he?

Just then, Dana saw Miles walking in the next aisle by the breads and bakery. He looked very sad but she didn’t dare approach him. She’d had enough drama for one night. Right now, she needed to check her things out at the cashier and get in touch with Troy.

“So your cat hissed at George and you want me to take him in because of that, Dana.”

“Well…” Gosh, he made it sound so…silly.

“Really now?” He arched a brow. He looked so adorable when he did that.

Dana had told Troy everything she knew. About Goldie’s conversation in the powder room at the memorial and her meeting with George and how Truffles hissed uncontrollably.

“Listen. I’m sure you believe in your kitty. I love my dog, too. But let’s be reasonable here. We can’t arrest someone based on a cat’s response. Though I know cats are very perceptive.

“Yes, and it’s more than just perception, Troy.”

“What is more than just perception, Dana?”

Dana sat for a minute, pondering. She really didn’t want him to think she was nuts or anything, though it might be a bit too late for that now. But Truffles did seem to have a second sense.

“Wait a minute.” A thought struck Dana. Her spine tingled.

“What is it?” Troy leaned forward in his chair with the look of concern spread across his handsome face.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Nothing?” Troy asked dubious.

“Nope. Nothing at all.” The wheels were spinning inside Dana’s head. Of course. How could she not have seen it all before?

“Dana.” Troy probed.

“Really, Troy. It’s nothing.” Nothing that she wanted to bother him with yet, until she was sure of some information. Right now she had to make an appointment with Mac her laptop to dig up some info.

“Nothing. I just think I need to check on something…” Dana got up from the chair.

She was also planning to pay Bea a visit at the salon to verify some information, too.

Like the name of a particular cleaning company in Berry Cove?

Later, Dana looked up some of the contracts for the Berry Cove Night Office Cleaners. She was sure glad that Bea gave her the information without questioning her too much. The salon was super busy and she was already short staff so she didn’t have time to interrogate Dana about her questions. The last thing she wanted to do was to compromise her case. Er, rather, Troy’s case.

Dana sat in the living room in front of the fireplace tapping away on her MacBook while Truffles lay asleep cozy in her kitty basket with the stuffed pink cushions. Dana then glanced at the clock. It was 6 p.m. She grabbed her keys and went to have a chat with the manager of the company. She had a hunch about something and she wanted to act on it fast before it was too late.

Later that evening, Dana’s heart pumped hard and fast in her chest as she headed to her appointment. She could not believe the results of her research. It was absolutely unbelievable! Never in a million years would she have guessed it, if she didn’t find the missing pieces to the puzzle.

“Calm down, Dana. You can do it, girl,” she whispered to herself.

She’d made an arrangement to meet with Miles at the Berry Cove Sports Bar.

“Hey, Miles. Thanks for agreeing to meet me here.”

“No problem.” He sighed heavily without looking at her, then picked up his drink and took another mouthful. He had a five o’clock shadow stubble on his chin, something Dana had never seen before. He smelled of rich alcohol as if he’d had a few too many drinks. He’d better be calling a cab to go home. He looked as if he’d just had a rough night.

“Well, sorry about what happened to you and Jackie. I heard you guys broke up.” Dana tried to keep her cool.

“I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re getting at. I know you too well. Solving mystery puzzles. Go solve something else.” He was clearly intoxicated.

“You really loved her, didn’t you?” Dana persisted gently. “Bea told me that you two just broke up and you were devastated.”

“So what?”

“I just want to know, Miles. Why did you kill him?”

“What?” He turned around to face her.

“You work as a cleaner. I found out that you do night work at office buildings
and
pharmacies.”

He froze.

“You’re good, aren’t you?” He smirked.

“It must have been hard to be, as you say, struggling financially. But why? Why did you kill Mr. Renaldo?”

“Because he was a mean old git. He made his daughter suffer.”

“That’s no reason, Miles.  You thought that if he was out of the way, then she’d inherit her share of the fortune and as her fiancé and soon-to-be husband, you’d be set for life, too.”

“True, my smart little riddles solving friend. But…I’m afraid this is one mystery riddle you won’t be able to solve because I’ll deny everything…”

“You can’t.”

“Too bad you can’t prove any of it.”

Just then Troy came into the bar where they were seated. The look on Miles’ face was priceless. “I have enough evidence to prove it, Miles.” Troy said. “I’m placing you under arrest for suspicion of murder.”

“You two? Crap!” Miles said. “What does it matter? Nothing matters now anyway, the girl I love is gone and so is the money.”

Dana felt sorry for Miles but even more sorry for Mr. Renaldo and his family…

“How did you know?” Troy asked Dana in wonder, later that night. “It was a good thing, I took a chance in wiring you…though I had some doubts at first. I was worried about your safety. Luckily, it was approved by the team.”

“Well,” Dana said, “it was something that Miles said so confidently at the scene of the crime that ‘everything’s going to be all right now’ when Jackie was leaning over her father’s body and it then clicked later.”

“Just because he told his fiancée that everything was going to be all right?”

“Well, not just that. But the fact that he was stark broke and he desperately wanted a break. His fiancée wouldn’t receive any inheritance until her old man was out of the way. So that was his golden ticket. He was desperate and poor and didn’t get an allowance, unlike Jackie and her brothers. So he had a great motive. He had the means because like the rest of the household, he was there. Then the spoon. He liked to collect things. He belonged to the collectors and hoarders’ club. Bea mentioned that he was part of the club.”

“Yes, it was a good thing we got the search warrant. We found the spoon hidden in his collection of antique stuff in his apartment.”

“See? Then when Truffles hissed at the grocery store when I was talking to George, it all made perfect sense. I realized later that Miles was spotted there at the same time. So she wasn’t hissing over George, it was Miles who was behind me that Truffles was hissing at. She has a repellent thing for murderers or people who’ve done crazy things to hurt another person. It gets her hairs all up.”

“I see. Very clever. You really are observant, Dana. You should consider…”

“I know. I know. I should consider being a detective. I don’t think so, Troy. I’ll leave that to the pros.”

He grinned. “That mystery riddles blog is really rubbing off on you.”

“ I guess it is.”

“Why didn’t you suspect his sons?”

“I figured it would be too obvious for a chemist to poison him with the potassium chloride.”

“What about the delivery?”

“Mr. R. Received a letter from the doctor confirming that he might not have much time to live…he burned it in the fireplace…he was down…he grabbed a cupcake and his spoon and fumbled according to George. So Miles was the only one who was up after his late night work so he got another spoon but this time, as was his plan, he laced it with Potassium Chloride. He didn’t want to wait for eternity for Mr. R to go, not knowing it wouldn’t be long. He was impatient and sped things along. The night cleaning company also mentioned one of their pharmaceutical clients reported some containers of Potassium Chloride missing.”

“You really are something, you know that…”

She leaned in closer to him. “Do you really mean that?”

He leaned closer to her. “In the best possible way.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest and before she knew it, his lips were close to hers, almost brushing. A light tingle slithered inside her body.

But then his cell phone rang and interrupted them.

He looked very peeved as he reached to answer it. “I’d like to continue where we left off, Ms Sweet.”

She adjusted her top and straightened her hair.

So would I.