Candy Canes and Cadavers

by Angela K Ryan

  “I think we’re all set,” Connie replied. “We have the same seats that we had last night, and I think I remember how to get there. Besides, I’d like to stand for a few minutes since we’ll be seated for the performance.”

  “I don’t blame you. Please let me know if you change your mind, and I’ll be happy to walk you down.”

  Dottie started to leave, but Connie stopped her. “Dottie, I noticed you’re not wearing your candy cane earrings tonight. I hope you didn’t lose one?”

  Dottie nervously touched her ears. “Um, no, they are at home. I just decided to wear a different pair tonight instead.”

  Connie smiled. “They are lovely. With everything that’s been going on, I admire you all for pulling together and doing the play, despite last night’s tragedy.”

  Dottie nodded solemnly.

  “I know you were a big fan of Damian as an actor, but did you know him well?” Connie asked.

  Dottie stared at the ground as if she were pondering the question. “I considered him a good friend.”

  If what Eloise said was true, Damian didn’t return the sentiment.

  “Are you friends with his wife, Sophie, as well?” Connie asked. “I met her at a party. She is a lovely woman.”

  At the mention of Sophie’s name, Dottie looked as though she had been punched in the stomach. “I’m sure she’s very kind. I never met her.”

  Jo, apparently getting into the spirit of interviewing Dottie, decided to chime in. “Damian was a very handsome man. You know, if I wasn’t a married woman…”

  Connie and Gianna exchanged a surprised glance. Connie really hoped her mother was bluffing.

  To Connie’s relief, Jo winked at her daughters while Dottie was looking away.

  Jo’s instigation seemed to have done the trick. Dottie’s hands flew onto her hips. “Well, you would have to have gotten in line.” There was a bitter edge in her tone. “I’ll bet Sophie knew that she had some competition. I’ve been thinking about this since last night. If Damian was going to leave her, and rumor had it that she was, maybe she killed him so that nobody else could have him, or so that she could inherit all his money instead of ending up with just an alimony check.”

  Was Dottie implying that Damian was going to leave Damian for her? They couldn’t be more different. Maybe Eloise was right. Dottie was delusional.

  “That’s an interesting theory,” Connie said. “I understand that you were seen backstage before the performance. May I ask what you were doing there? As far as I know, ushers don’t normally wander backstage.”

  Dottie’s lower lip trembled. “I just went backstage to… um… wish Damian luck. I didn’t get far though. William Deveaux saw me back there and threatened to report me. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I just left.”

  “While you were back there, did you notice anything unusual?” Connie asked. She wasn’t sure how reliable Dottie was, but perhaps she saw something.

  Just then, a middle-aged couple presented two tickets to Dottie. “Excuse me a moment,” she said, then escorted the couple about halfway down a side aisle.

  While Dottie sat the couple, Connie and Gianna ribbed their mother.

  “We had no idea that you were so into Damian,” Gianna said. “Maybe we should warn Dad about your wandering eye.”

  Jo waved off her daughters. “I was just trying to get her talking about Damian. It’s not like you girls could have done it. Damian’s more my age, and nobody would believe that one of you had a crush on him.”

  “I’m impressed,” Gianna said. “Maybe Connie gets her detective skills from you.”

  When Dottie returned, Connie picked up where they left off. “So, did you see anything unusual backstage last night?”

  Dottie narrowed her eyes. “Why do you want to know? The police questioned all of us. I don’t see how it’s any of your business.”

  Connie remembered from the night before how much of a fan Dottie was of Concetta. “You’re right. It’s really not my business. But my Aunt Concetta was good friends with Damian, and I can’t help but wonder what happened to him.”

  Dottie appeared to consider Connie’s dilemma.

  “Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Connie tried to press Dottie for more information, but there was no use.

  Just as they finished their conversation with Dottie, Grace, Stephanie, and Elyse arrived, and the women took their seats.

  “Whatever could you have been discussing with Dottie?” Elyse asked, unable to keep a straight face.

  Jo chuckled. “You are one of my daughter’s best friends, so I’m guessing you know exactly what Connie was asking her about.”

  Despite everything, the play was a resounding success. William did a wonderful job as Scrooge, and Stevie gave a first-rate performance as Tiny Tim. Whatever reasons had motivated Eloise to get Stevie involved in acting, one thing was certain: The boy had talent.

  After the performance, Elyse, Stephanie, and Grace decided to go home, but Connie managed to convince Jo and Gianna to go to Surfside Restaurant for some appetizers and a drink.

  “This has become one of my favorite spots,” Connie said, after they were seated on the outdoor deck. “Stephanie, Elyse, and I have had many a girls’ night out on this very deck.”

  “I’m so happy that you have made such wonderful friends here in Sapphire Beach,” Jo said. “We miss you back home, but it comforts me to know that you are living in my sister’s former condo and have such good friends.”

  “This time last year, moving to Sapphire Beach wasn’t even on my radar,” Connie said. “It’s amazing how quickly life can change.”

  The women ordered some frozen drinks and nachos and listened to the band playing sixties and seventies music. While the band took a break, the women’s conversation drifted toward the events of the past few days.

  “I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that, despite my occasional interrogating, I still have mixed feelings about your consistent involvement in these murder investigations,” Jo said. “Between your humanitarian work and your Fair Trade business, you’ve always had this innate sense of justice. It’s part of who you are, and I love you for it. But you don’t have to jump into every murder case in southwest Florida.”

  Connie laughed at her mother’s dramatic tone. “It’s not like I go looking for them. They just seem to find me.”

  Jo took a sip from her frozen daiquiri. “It’s hard for me to argue, because if my sister were still alive, she would be right here with us discussing the investigation. She was never one to sit on the sidelines.” Jo’s gaze settled on Connie. “The two of you are so much alike in certain ways.”

  Her mother was right. Connie and Concetta not only shared a name, but they were kindred spirits, even it wasn’t always evident on the surface. Concetta had been a glamorous and wealthy actress, while Connie was more low-key and had been far from wealthy until she inherited her aunt’s condo. But they both had the same adventurous spirit. Concetta had left her hometown of Boston for Hollywood after high school to pursue her dream of being an actress, and Connie had left Boston after college to volunteer in Kenya. They had chosen different paths, but both women shared a common passion, generosity, and drive, and they had always loved and supported one another.

  This meant that any friend of Concetta’s was friend of Connie’s. She had to find out who killed Damian.

  Despite her mother’s concern, Connie had a feeling that Jo and Gianna would continue to be her trusty sidekicks. It would be fun having them around.

  “Let’s go over everything we know,” Connie said. “There’s no danger in doing that.”

  “At the crime scene, there were two glasses, one with a red lipstick stain, plus an opened bottle of antacid and a candy cane earring,” Gianna said, reaching for a nacho. “And you smelled bitter almonds, which indicates cyanide.”

  “Yes, and Zach also told me he had reason to believe poison was involved,” Connie said. “So, I think it
’s a safe bet that Damian was poisoned.”

  “Dottie was wearing her candy cane earrings last night, but not tonight,” Jo said. “That could be just a coincidence, but it’s worth noting.”

  “And we know she was backstage around the time Damian would have been poisoned,” Gianna added.

  “It’s possible that the earring belonged to a random person who stopped into Damian’s dressing room and not the killer,” Connie said. “Anyone could have dropped it there.”

  “Since a lot of people had access to Damian’s dressing room,” Connie said, “let’s try to narrow it down to who had a motive.”

  “There’s Dottie, an obsessed fan who was reprimanded for sneaking backstage,” Jo said.

  “Dottie said that she considered Damian a good friend, yet, according to Eloise, she annoyed Damian,” Gianna said.

  “Let’s keep her on our short list,” Connie said. “Then there’s Eloise. When I spoke with Rick this afternoon, he implied that Eloise and Damian had a romantic history.”

  “Sophie seemed to tense up when Eloise joined our group at the Christmas party,” Gianna said.

  “I noticed that, too,” Jo said.

  “Speaking of Sophie,” Connie said, “Rick thinks their marriage was in trouble. He said that Damian was planning to move out.”

  “If that’s true, Sophie stood to lose her extravagant lifestyle. That could also be a motive,” Gianna said.

  “Grace spent some time with her in the theatre last night while the police were questioning people,” Jo said. “She said Sophie looked genuinely distraught.”

  “But don’t forget, Mom, Sophie is an actress.” Connie sighed and drained the last sip of her frozen mudslide. “From what we know so far, Dottie, Eloise, and Sophie had the strongest motives.”

  “There’s also the question of the Sapphire Beach Playhouse potentially closing,” Gianna said.

  Connie nodded enthusiastically. “I was thinking that, too. If someone believed Damian was responsible for the theatre potentially closing, or if he was planning to make any unpopular changes, perhaps somebody wanted him out of the picture.”

  “Speaking of the theatre,” Jo said, “did you ever find that key Rick was looking for?”

  “I did find two keys that were labeled PH and PH offices. I didn’t know what they were for before, but after seeing the key that Rick showed me at the party, I’m guessing one is for the playhouse and the other for the playhouse offices.” Connie said. “Thanks for reminding me. With everything that happened, I completely forgot to tell Rick.”

  Connie’s eyes flew wide open as an idea suddenly occurred to her.

  “Mom, that’s brilliant!” Connie said.

  “Wait a minute,” Jo said. “I wasn’t suggesting…”

  But Connie didn’t let her finish. “If we can get into the offices, maybe we could see for ourselves how bad the financial problems are or find some type of clue about who Damian’s enemies were.”

  “Since Dad’s an accountant,” Gianna said, “he’d be the perfect person to take along. He could make quick sense of the financial reports.”

  Jo was shaking her head back and forth. “It’ll never happen.”

  Connie motioned for their server to bring the check. “Let’s go home and see if we can sweet talk Dad into it.”

  Chapter 7

  “Absolutely not!” Greg said, when his wife and daughters presented their idea to him at 10:30 that night in Connie’s living room.

  Gary turned off the movie he and Greg had been watching and turned his full attention to the scene unfolding in the living room. “This is better than the movie. We were watching a comedy, but this is way funnier.”

  “Come on, Dad,” Connie said. “It’s our best chance to learn who might have had a grudge against Damian.”

  Greg put both hands on his head. “Let me get this straight. You want me to break into the playhouse offices with you, hack a dead man’s computer, and spy on the financials of the Sapphire Beach Playhouse? Are you out of your minds?”

  “Well, when you put it that way…” Jo said.

  “There’s no other way to put it,” Greg said.

  “The man has a point,” Gary chimed. “How would you explain it to your cop boyfriend if you got arrested for breaking and entering?” he asked Connie. “And I’m not comfortable taking the twins to visit their mother in prison. Or their aunt for that matter.”

  “Thank you, Gary,” Greg said.

  “Oh my gosh, you two are so dramatic,” Gianna said, rolling her eyes. “Connie, you were right. I did marry Dad.”

  “Told you,” Connie said triumphantly. “I knew that before you even married him. Most of the time that’s a good thing – except when Dad’s being a scaredy-cat like tonight.” Connie batted her eyelashes at her father. “Normally, he’s the kindest, most generous, loving man in the whole world.”

  “No amount of sweet talk is going to persuade me to break into the playhouse offices,” Greg said.

  “First of all, Dad, we’re not breaking in.” Connie held up a key. “I have Aunt Concetta’s key. Secondly, we’re not going to hack Damian’s computer. The police probably already took it to search it. But we do need to know how serious the financial problems were. If Rick was correct, and Damian was about to make some decisions that would affect everyone’s career, that could be a motive for murder. The killer might have gotten rid of Damian so that another executive director could be hired, one who might fight harder to save the playhouse. Connie gave him her best Daddy’s-little-girl expression. “Please, Dad. It would be a good father-daughter bonding experience.”

  Connie and Gianna looked at him with pleading eyes.

  Connie knew they almost had him, so now was the time to play her last card. “Don’t make us do this alone, Dad.”

  Greg looked to Gary for help, but only found an amused smirk. “How do I let these three women talk me into these things?” he asked.

  Connie hugged her father. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Greg said, returning her hug. “Just for the record, I think this is a terrible idea. And after an evening with those two little monkeys,” he said, pointing toward the bedroom where the twins were sleeping, “all I want to do is turn in. But since I know I won’t have any peace unless I go, let’s do it now, while it’s late and we’re less likely to get caught.”

  “The fewer people who go, the better,” Gianna said. “We’ll wait here, and you can give us a full report when you get back.”

  Connie changed out of the dress she wore to the play and into more practical clothes, which consisted of navy capri pants, a dark t-shirt, and dark sneakers. She slipped the office key into her pocket and left with her father before he could change his mind.

  They parked on a side street so their car wouldn’t be seen by passersby and walked around to the front entrance of the small administrative building attached to the theatre. To Connie’s delight and Greg’s dismay, the key did indeed open the front door.

  “Let’s get this over with,” Greg said.

  They entered the office suite, which contained a reception area, a couple of rows of cubicles, and a glass-enclosed office in the back. Connie used the flashlight application on her phone to avoid turning on the lights and attracting unwanted attention. She opened a door on the far right side, next to a long hallway, which she assumed led to the theatre. Behind the door was a room that contained a rectangular mahogany table surrounded by chairs upholstered with blue and gray fabric. She paused for a moment and imagined her aunt, seated at the head of the table, leading board meetings.

  The large wall outside the boardroom contained a display of framed photos from various productions throughout the years. Although Concetta had never acted in any of the plays, preferring to stay behind the scenes during her retirement years, there were several photos of Concetta in group shots with various actors.

  Connie snapped a closeup of the photos with Concetta, including one of Concetta and Damian posing in fron
t of a giant Christmas tree. Connie guessed that it had been taken at one of Damian’s infamous Christmas parties, but their younger-looking faces told her it was from years ago.

  “Let’s hurry up so we can get out of here,” Greg said.

  “Okay. I’ll start in Damian’s office, and you look around out here.”

  Connie turned on a small desk lamp, since she doubted its light would be visible from the street, and began to search Damian’s desk. Unable to find anything interesting, she moved on to the file cabinets, opening each drawer. She found mostly contracts, invoices, and receipts until she finally came to a folder that was labeled “Budgets.” Connie grabbed a copy of the last few years’ budgets and brought them to her father. “Do these tell you anything?”

  After a period of silence that felt like an eternity, Greg confirmed what Connie had hoped wasn’t true. “It looks like the Sapphire Beach Playhouse is significantly in the red.” He flipped through a few more pages. “It also looks like they have a loan that they are close to defaulting on. According to this, things are pretty bad.”

  Connie sighed. “So, it’s true. The playhouse may have to close. Auntie Concetta would be crushed.”

  “It looks that way, honey. They are behind on their loan payments, and I don’t see how they can keep up with that, plus cover their other expenses, with what they are currently bringing in from ticket sales and donations.”

  Connie snapped a photo of each page of the most recent budget, in case she wanted to refer to it later. “Let’s look for a few more minutes to see if we can find anything else.”

  Connie brought the budgets back to the filing cabinet and placed them back in their file folders. She was about to close the drawer when she noticed another folder entitled “Proposal.” There was only one document in the folder, and after scanning its contents, it appeared to be a proposal written by Damian to try to save the playhouse. It included a whole lot of layoffs.

  Connie returned to the reception area where her father was anxiously waiting to leave. “Dad, check this out. It looks like Damian was planning to drastically cut staffing.”