Sugared Demise

by Kate Bell

“Devon Graves? You mean Dr. Graves, the dentist?” I asked him. “Why do you say that?”

  He nodded. “Because Eldon represented Devon in his divorce case and Eldon was sleeping with Devon’s wife, Jane.”

  I gasped. Jane hadn’t said a word about her being that close with Devon even though I had suspected they were more than friends. “Are you sure about that?”

  He nodded. “It’s well known around town. Of course, you haven’t been back in town for very long so I guess you probably missed all the excitement. But Devon confronted Eldon at the grocery store one day. He lost just about everything in the divorce settlement. His wife ended up with the house, the cars, the kids, and a nice fat alimony check every month.”

  “That’s terrible,” I said. “I don’t understand people who have affairs. If the marriage isn’t working, then separate first before getting involved with someone else.”

  “Right? He was supposed to be representing Devon and making sure his interests were protected, but there he was, sleeping with his soon-to-be ex-wife, and taking money from Devon to handle the case.”

  This did complicate things. Jane had led me to believe that she and Eldon were merely friends. That threw up a red flag in my mind. Maybe Jane thought her relationship with Eldon wasn’t as well known around town as Benjamin said it was.

  “That is interesting,” I said to Benjamin. “I’m wondering if the police know about all of this.”

  “Aren’t you dating Ethan Banks? I imagine if he didn’t mention it to you, then he doesn’t know. And that’s information that he really does need to know. I’m telling you right now Mia, I think Devon needs to be questioned.”

  “Do you know Devon well?”

  He shrugged. “I guess it depends on what you mean by ‘well’. I’ve been a patient of his for years and I occasionally run into him in certain social circles. We’re not best friends by any means. And I guess it probably sounds like I’m jumping to conclusions on this, but it really makes me wonder. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything, but the police need to speak to him.”

  “Do you think he could actually kill somebody?” I asked him. Devon Graves was a mild-mannered dentist and I couldn’t imagine him dressing as a werewolf and plunging a knife into someone’s chest. It didn’t add up.

  He looked at me uncertainly. “Now that’s a hard question to answer. The truth is, I really couldn’t see Devon killing someone. But, you had to know Eldon. He was so smug and so full of himself. It just makes me so angry what he did to me. I imagine Devon feels the same way. Anger builds up in a person and makes you do things that you never thought you would do.”

  I studied Benjamin as he spoke. Was he speaking of himself or Devon? I didn’t know much about Devon other than he was my dentist. I needed to figure out a way to get him to talk to me and not just about my teeth. But, Benjamin made me feel like he might have killed Eldon himself. Matthew Barnes may have been right about him. He bore watching as well.

  “Benjamin,” I said cautiously. “You didn’t do anything to Eldon, did you?”

  A stunned look came over his face. “Me? Mia, I couldn’t hurt a fly. Sure, I get angry about what he did. And I suppose part of that is because I keep thinking about it and going over and over it in my mind. But I couldn’t hurt anyone, much less kill someone. You don’t think I did it, do you?”

  I gave him a smile. “No, I absolutely don’t think that. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even asked that. I know how things can be when someone does something wrong to you. I’ve had situations in my life where I got so angry I thought if I were the sort of person who could hurt someone, I might want to actually do it.” I was exaggerating just a bit. I had never considered hurting anyone regardless of what they had done to me. But one thing was true, I’d had situations in my past where people had done me wrong and I had stewed over it for weeks.

  He nodded. “Good. I don’t want you thinking I’m capable of doing anything as terrible as killing someone, no matter how much they might deserve it. But I will tell you that I’m not sorry it happened. I probably shouldn’t say that either, but it’s the truth. He had no business doing what he did to me, nor what he did to Devon Graves.”

  I agreed with him on that. I hoped Ethan was coming up with some answers on his end. I picked up a couple of books and followed Ben up to the front counter to purchase them.

  Chapter Seven

  “So here’s where things get tricky,” I said as I set the bananas Foster on fire. The fire went up with a whoosh and I took a step back. I had always wanted to try this recipe and on a whim, I had picked up everything I needed from the grocery store earlier in the day.

  “Have I ever told you how much I admire your talent?” Ethan asked with a chuckle. “Not only are you a talented candy maker, but you also set dessert on fire.”

  I glanced at him while trying to keep an eye on the pan of flaming bananas. “My mother’s the talented one with the candy, I just copy what she does. However, these flaming bananas are all mine.”

  It was date night, and we had opted for an evening in. I had made a rack of lamb, roasted new potatoes, creamed peas, and now for dessert—the highlight of the meal. I kept an eye on it as the flames died down. “I think we’re just about ready to enjoy our dessert.”

  “I’ll get the plates,” he said and headed over to the cupboard.

  I had set out the vanilla ice cream to soften, and I opened the carton now. “So have you heard anything new about the case?” I asked him as I got the ice cream scoop from the drawer.

  “Eldon Howell is dead.”

  I waited a moment for him to continue and when he didn’t, I looked over at him. “Smarty. Okay then, well I guess we’ve got a lot of work to do then, don’t we?”

  He narrowed his eyes at me but couldn’t keep from smiling. “No, as a matter of fact, I have a lot of work to do. You, my dear, just have to stand there and look pretty.”

  “As much as I would like to do that, I’d actually rather be a bit more involved. And don’t tell me, I already know. The chief of police would rather I did not get involved.”

  He brought the plates over and set them on the counter. “The chief of police would have my hide if he had any inkling that you knew anything about any of the cases I’ve worked on.”

  “And that’s why we're going to keep it our little secret,” I said, taking a plate from him.

  I knew Ethan got nervous about me asking around about his cases, but I tried to keep a low profile and not draw attention to myself. It was a small town and people talk after all, so I wasn’t doing much different than everyone else in town was doing. But I did enjoy finding out what information I could for him. Some people didn’t like to talk to the police, and it was easy for me to get them to open up. I had been born and raised here in Pumpkin Hollow, and even though I had been away at school for a while, I still knew most of the people that lived here.

  “Whoever killed him, was either a very good aim or very lucky, because the knife hit him in the heart and killed him instantly.”

  “I guess we can be thankful it was instant, maybe he never even knew what hit him,” I said.

  “Let’s hope not,” he said.

  “What about that watch you found?” I scooped ice cream onto each of the plates and then spooned the quartered bananas onto the ice cream, finishing by drizzling the warm sauce over each dessert.

  “It was in his hand, so I’m assuming it may have come from the killer. He may have pulled it off when they struggled. In his other hand were fibers from the werewolf costume. We honestly don’t have much more than that.”

  “And it was a Rolex, something most people around here wouldn’t be able to afford,” I said and got two spoons out of the drawer.

  “It was,” he said. “But it wasn’t one of the most expensive in the line.”

  “Does the local jewelry store sell Rolex watches?” I asked, turning to him.

  “I already checked with them,” he said leaning against the front counter. “They don’t
sell Rolex watches.”

  I nodded. It probably didn’t matter. The killer could have gotten a Rolex somewhere else.

  “I spoke to Benjamin Cartwright at the bookstore today,” I told him. “He seems very bitter and angry, just like Matthew Barnes told us he was. He did say that he didn’t kill Eldon even though he doesn’t feel the least bit sorry that he’s dead.”

  “He’s glad he’s dead?” he asked me. “I’ve asked around and most people don’t feel strongly one way or another. Except for Matthew of course, and now Benjamin doesn’t seem to be a fan of Eldon’s either.”

  “Well, you know a lot of people aren’t crazy about lawyers. Whether they’ve had negative personal dealings with them, or it’s just things that get spread around. I also have to wonder if it’s just bitterness because Benjamin’s brother got the lion’s share of the inheritance. I mean, we’re kind of taking him at his word that his mother actually intended to leave the property to both of them equally.”

  He nodded. “That’s exactly the thing. We don’t really know for sure what happened there. I’ll have to stop in and talk to him and see if I can get him to give me any more information.”

  “He did tell me something else,” I said. “Oh, would you like coffee?” I had nearly forgotten the coffee.

  “I would love some coffee,” he said and went to the cupboard to get some cups down. The coffee was already made, and he poured us each a cup. “What did he tell you?”

  He said that Devon Graves was being represented by Eldon in his divorce and Eldon made sure that Devon’s ex-wife, Jane Graves, got the better end of the deal.”

  Ethan looked at me questioningly. “What do you mean he made sure that his ex-wife got the better end of the deal?”

  “He said Eldon and Jane were having an affair at the time that Eldon was supposed to be representing Devon.”

  My cat, Boo, rubbed up against my leg, wanting attention. Boo was an all black cat and when I had moved into my new house, he had been hanging around the neighborhood and Ethan had been feeding him. Ethan lived across the street in an identical little white bungalow with black shutters.

  “Talk about a conflict of interest. Is he sure they were having an affair at the same time the divorce was going on?”

  I reached down and scratched Boo’s head and then straightened up. “Let’s go into the living room,” I said and picked up both plates. Ethan followed me into the living room with the coffee and we sat on the couch. “I don’t know. It’s quite possible that Eldon and Jane got together after the divorce was final. And maybe Devon just thinks they were having an affair and is bitter about what he received in the divorce settlement.”

  “Do you think his wife really got the better end of the deal?” he wondered.

  I picked up my dessert plate and fork. “Benjamin said Jane got the house, the kids, and a big fat alimony check each month. Who knows how much they actually had before the divorce went through? Maybe it really was a fair settlement, but Devon thought he should get to keep everything and was angry about it.”

  He took a bite of his bananas Foster and groaned. “This is awesomely good,” he said. “It’s certainly something to speak to Devon about. I can see where Devon would be angry if he really believed it was true that they were having an affair at the time of the divorce, not to mention unethical. If it’s true, why didn’t he report it to the California Bar Association?”

  “That’s a good question. Another good question is why didn’t Jane mention that Eldon was more than a friend when I spoke to her the other day? She led me to believe they were only friends.”

  “That’s something else we’ll have to look into. Correction, something that I’ll have to look into,” he said and took another bite of his dessert. “This is really good.”

  I took a bite of mine and I had to agree with him. The ice cream lent the dessert creaminess, and it was wonderful and warm on top of the cold, just the way it was supposed to be. “I’ll just be your shadow in crime solving that no one has to know about.”

  He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee. “Shadow, huh?”

  I laughed as Boo jumped up onto the couch. “You can’t have any of this, Boo. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it, anyway.”

  “So we’ve got, Benjamin Cartwright, Devon Graves, Matthew Barnes. All people that were unhappy with Eldon Howell. And a lot of things that need to be looked into.”

  “A lot of angry, unhappy people, except for maybe Jane Graves. And now that I think about it, they’re all very similar in height and build,” I said looking at him.

  “I would think any of them could fit into a size large werewolf costume. Even Jane is kind of square and boxy isn’t she?”

  I nodded. “I bet she’s about 5’8” tall.”

  All of these were people that held a known grudge against Eldon. All except for Jane.

  Chapter Eight

  The following day I baked up a batch of pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I made cute marzipan pumpkins and fall leaves and put them on the top. They were adorable when I finished them and I decided to take some by Eldon Howell’s mother’s house.

  I had forgotten that Mrs. Howell had been the librarian at the county library when I was in grade school. She had retired more than 20 years earlier and I couldn’t recall seeing her out around town after she left the library. Maybe she was a recluse, or maybe our paths just hadn’t crossed by chance, but her son was dead and I thought she might appreciate a sympathetic ear if she needed someone to talk to.

  I pulled up to her house and the cute white cottage with its white picket fence impressed me. The lawn was neatly trimmed and great oak trees with fall colored leaves shaded the front yard. Mrs. Howell had to be in her mid-eighties or possibly older and I thought she probably didn’t do her own yard work, but whoever was taking care of things knew what they were doing. It had to be the neatest yard in town.

  Mrs. Howell opened the door when I got to the front step. She peered at me over her frameless glasses, trying to place me.

  I gave her a warm smile. “Good morning, Mrs. Howell,” I said trying not to sound overly cheery. “It’s Mia Jordan. I don’t know if you remember me, but I used to spend an awful lot of time at the county library when I was in grade school.”

  She smiled. “Of course I remember you, Mia,” she said nodding. “Your parents own the candy store. I never forget a child. Especially one that loved books as much as you did. Tell me, Mia, do you still love them?”

  “Oh yes,” I said. “I absolutely love books. It’s harder to get time to read these days now that I work full-time, but I sure love them. I just wanted to stop by and tell you how sorry I was about your son dying.”

  Her eyes watered for a moment but the tears didn’t fall. “Why thank you, Mia, that’s kind of you to say. And taking time out of your busy schedule to come and visit me—you don’t know how much I appreciate that. Would you like to come in?”

  “I would love to come in,” I said. She stepped aside to let me pass. I followed her in, and she showed me to an over-stuffed chair next to a loveseat.

  The inside of Mrs. Howell’s house was like a time capsule from previous decades. There was an old wooden German cuckoo clock on the wall ticking loudly. Old-fashioned lace doilies sat on the coffee table and end tables, and the sofa was a bold floral pattern. Antique lamps sat on the end tables and a worn Oriental rug lay in front of the sofa. The room gave off a warm, comforting feel.

  “Why don’t you have a seat,” she said to me as she sat down on the loveseat.

  “Thank you. I know it isn’t much, but I made you some pumpkin spice cupcakes. I hope you like pumpkin spice.”

  She clapped her hands together and smiled. “I love pumpkin spice! Eldon always said it was so overdone these days, but I love it anyway.”

  “Well, I’m glad you do,” I said and set the covered cupcake carrier down on the coffee table. “I’m just so sorry for your loss and I wish I could do more.”

  “I’m s
till in shock, I think,” she said sadly. “It was the last thing I expected to hear. As a parent, you never expect your child to go first. And now they say that some werewolf killed him?”

  “It was a costume,” I said. “With it being Halloween, the killer wore it so no one would recognize them.”

  She nodded. “That’s what the detective told me. He’s a nice young man. I’m just at a loss. I don’t know what my grandkids are going to do without a father. They had to move away from Pumpkin Hollow several years ago to live with their mother, but Eldon kept in close contact with them. He was always telling me how he had just talked to one or the other and what all they were doing.”

  “I’m glad he stayed in close contact with them. It must have been hard with them not living in Pumpkin Hollow anymore,” I said. “I know this is going to be very difficult for them.”

  She nodded absently. “I don’t know why he ever divorced Peggy. She was a nice young woman, and she always took good care of those children. I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter daughter-in-law.”

  “It makes life a lot easier when you have sweet in-laws doesn’t it?” I asked her.

  “Oh yes, very much so,” she said thoughtfully. “Recently Eldon was seeing a woman named Jane Graves. Do you know her?”

  “Yes, she worked for my mom years ago at the candy store. She seems like a nice enough person although I don’t see her as often these days as I once did.”

  “Well, I don’t like to gossip, but I’m not so sure about her. It seemed like she really tried to monopolize Eldon’s time. And there was just something about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.” She looked at me and shrugged. “I guess there’s no pleasing everyone. And maybe I just couldn’t be pleased after losing Peggy. Because that’s the way it felt. Like I had lost Peggy when they got divorced.”

  “It’s hard when you have someone that you’re close to move out of your life,” I agreed. “Even if it wasn’t very far away, you get used to having them around and you look forward to seeing them.”