Banana Split and Bodies

by Allyssa Mirry

  She looked around the shop. It was close to closing time, and the customers that had been inside the building had been dealt with. Mona was showing Jeff a card trick by the counter.

  “That’s right,” Lydia said. “It’s just about time to close.”

  “Hey. Come look at this magic trick,” Jeff said, waving them over. “Mona is really good at this.”

  “Well, when you work for a psychic, you come in contact with magicians too,” Mona said. “Or at least that’s what happened for me.”

  She repeated the trick she showed to Jeff and correctly revealed the card that Lydia had picked.

  “I still don’t know how she does it,” Jeff said, shaking his head in amazement.

  “Those card tricks might help us sell some of our novelty cards,” Lydia said. “We have several in the trinket section of the shop. Most of them have pictures of the Jersey Shore on the opposite side of the hearts and spades.”

  “I’d be happy to do some if you think that would help. I’m very grateful for this job,” Mona said. “And it’s already much better than my last one. No one here is trying to trick anyone. I mean, the card tricks are just for fun.”

  “Mona,” Lydia said as a thought occurred to her. “I know that your last boss turned out not to be the most ethical person.”

  “She was a blackmailer,” Mona said. “But I didn’t know anything about that at the time. You have to believe me.”

  “I do,” Lydia assured her. “I believe you. But I was wondering if your boss ever mentioned anything to you about Dune Investments. I think it’s related to something that is blackmail worthy and she might have begun looking into it. And anything you know could help me with a case.”

  Mona thought about it. “She did say something. It was in passing, and I only remember it because of a moment of confusion. But she called it Sand’s Dune Investments. Like it was someone’s name. But, of course, it sounds like the sand dunes you’d find on the beach.”

  “Sand’s Dune,” Lydia repeated. “You know, the mayor’s assistant has the last name Sand.”

  “He might be involved,” Jeff said. “Could he be the killer?”

  “Possibly,” Lydia said. “But he might have been doing illegal activities on behalf of the mayor and not on his own. He had a very nice watch on that he said was a gift from the mayor.”

  “What sort of watch is it?” asked Kelsey. “I know some things about watches because of my talks with costume designers for the theater shows I’m in.”

  “Well,” Lydia said, trying to remember details other than it looked expensive. “It was black and had four circles of time on the front. And it had a logo that looked like a horse.”

  “Actually, I know it,” Kelsey said. “The costume designer showed me all these magazines. I never would have thought that this would come in handy. But you’re right. That logo and the four circles means it’s very expensive. Like the cost of a car expensive. And it’s new too. There used to be three circles on it until two months ago.”

  “Two months ago?” asked Lydia. “Are you sure?”

  Kelsey nodded. “That’s what magazine said. Why?”

  “Because Gary Sand said that watch was a Christmas present from the mayor, but it couldn’t have been if it came out that recently,” Lydia said.

  “What does this mean?” asked Mona.

  “It means that Gary Sand wasn’t just lying about the big things like not knowing anything about the money disappearing. He was also lying about the small things to cover his tracks,” Lydia said, considering it. “It means that he’s likely involved in what Norman uncovered.”

  “He’s behind it?” asked Kelsey.

  “Gary is most likely the thief who stole the money raised for the community center,” Lydia agreed.

  “Wow,” Mona said. “I see what you guys mean about how exciting working on these cases can be. You just solved the mystery!”

  “This also means I need to call Leo,” Lydia said. “I’ll warn Brie that I am going to, but it’s time that Leo knew what we uncovered. It doesn’t look like the cover-up extended to the police station, and regardless, I trust Leo and Detective Grey. And everything we’ve deduced is circumstantial right now. He’ll have to find some hard evidence to get charges to stick.”

  “It was really mean to rob the community like that,” said Jeff. “Hopefully your brother can find the money and make sure that the community center still gets it.”

  “I just hope that he’ll be so happy that I’m telling him about a murderer before they come after me that it makes him forget how long I took to tell him what I learned,” Lydia said.

  She braced herself as she took out her cell phone and made the call, keeping her fingers on the other hand crossed for good luck.

  15

  Motives

  “And that’s all there is?” Trina asked on the phone.

  “That’s all there is,” Lydia agreed on her end of the call.

  Lydia was home relaxing on the couch with Sunny and some banana split taffy after a long conversation with Leo. Though he wasn’t thrilled with Lydia keeping Norman’s research quiet for so long, he did appreciate that she told him about the culprit without going off and setting a trap on her own. She’d had mixed results with facing killers in the past and had found herself in dangerous situations. Leo seemed glad that he would be the one to track down the final needed clues and catch the killer in a by-the-book manner.

  “So, you just told Leo what you discovered, and that was the end of it?” asked Trina. “You didn’t try and trap the killer into saying something and ignite his wrath? And you weren’t nearly killed?”

  “You’re sounding better,” Lydia said instead of answering.

  “I’m feeling better,” Trina agreed. “My sneezing has abated, and I don’t feel as weak. I bet after one more night of sleep, I should be back to my not-so-old self. We could have a girl’s night. That is if you don’t have plans with Brie.”

  “I told you that working with Brie was just because of the case,” said Lydia. “You’re irreplaceable as my best friend. And we didn’t even go out to celebrate the solving of this case. I’m home sitting with a sleepy dog and Brie is getting some quotes for her article. She’s meeting Dory for some background on Norman’s research process.”

  “I’m glad I’m not replaced,” Trina said. “And for the next case, I want to be really helpful. I’m not sitting the next one out.”

  “I’m not sure I want there to be a next one. But if there is, I’d love for your support.”

  “I could start tomorrow,” said Trina. “In fact, if there are any last-minute things you need to be done for this case, I could do it. I won’t sneeze or wheeze on anyone. I promise.”

  “I told you. I’m finished with this case. Leo is going to find the proof to link Gary Sand to Dune Investments. The theft will be obvious, and that provides the motive for Norman’s murder. Leo and Detective Grey have it under control,” Lydia said.

  “I guess you’re right. This Gary guy was keeping very busy, stealing money and keeping tabs on people who might have found out. And then murdering them.”

  Lydia heard a whistling sound in the background of her call.

  “That’s my hot water,” Trina said. “I’m going to have some sleepy time tea and tomorrow I should wake up all better.”

  Lydia expressed that she hoped that this was the case and bid her friend good night. However, the relaxing feeling that Lydia had started to feel, knowing that the case was done had disappeared. Something that Trina had said bothered her.

  Lydia got to her feet and started walking around. Sunny watched her and listened, and Lydia talked through her thoughts.

  “I’m overthinking it now. I’m sure I am. But… Trina might have just raised a good point. How did Gary Sand know that Norman was on to him? Could he really have been keeping tabs on everyone who might have had a suspicion about the community center money? It is possible, but is it likely?”

  Sunny rolled ove
r to a more comfortable spot but kept watching Lydia.

  “Maybe Gary Sand is guilty of the theft, but not of the murder. Maybe he did embezzle the money and worked to cover it up. But maybe this cover-up didn’t include murder.”

  Sunny barked.

  “I know,” said Lydia. “If it wasn’t Gary Sand, then who is the killer? I don’t know the answer to that. But it’s all right. I don’t need the answer. Leo and Detective Grey can solve it. I told Leo that I wouldn’t interfere with his cases unless I needed to, and I don’t need to. Brie and I finally decided it was safe to share Norman’s work with the police. They have all the clues now. They can figure it out.”

  Having decided this aloud, Lydia sat back down on the couch, ready to cuddle with Sunny and watch some TV. However, as soon as she sat, a terrible thought entered her mind. As soon as it did, more pieces of the puzzles began to fit together. She suddenly knew that Gary wasn’t the killer.

  “Norman’s note,” Lydia murmured. “He said that he was handing Brie the code. But he never actually did. It was in his locker. And the book…”

  She suddenly knew exactly who the killer was, and this realization didn’t fill her with any joy.

  “I need to call Leo,” she told Sunny frantically. “Brie is in trouble.”

  16

  The Rescue

  Lydia tried to quiet her ragged breathing. The library was within walking distance from her house, but she had run the entire way there. She had called Leo as she raced there and explained the situation. He had commanded her not to go inside alone, but she had hung up before answering him. She knew that Brie’s only chance might be having another witness at the scene.

  She tried the main entrance and was grateful to discover that it was unlocked. She entered quietly, trying to get her bearing on the situation before she was noticed. She thought that she might only need to distract the killer for a little while. Leo and Detective Grey were on their way. However, they had been on the other side of town looking into the embezzlement.

  Lydia heard a cry and crept toward the sound.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Brie said.

  Lydia peeked through the bookshelves and saw that Dory was wielding a knife. Brie looked terrified. Lydia knew that she needed to help her.

  “You’re the reason I have to do this,” Dory said. “It was all your fault.”

  She moved the knife closer to the cowering Brie. Lydia wasn’t sure what the best move was, but she knew that she had to take some sort of action. She pushed the books in front of her off the shelf, so they fell with a thundering thud. Then, she hurried out of sight.

  Dory jumped and then went to investigate.

  “Don’t try to run,” she warned Brie.

  Lydia managed to evade Dory and stay out of her view. However, she positioned herself so that Brie could see her.

  “Get her talking,” Lydia mouthed. “Stall.”

  Brie looked as if she might pass out from fright, but she followed the instructions as Dory left the pile of fallen books.

  “You killed Norman?” Brie asked. “But you were his friend.”

  “That’s right,” Dory said. “His friend. I should have been more than his friend. We were meant for each other. If you saw the way we were together, you would have agreed. But he was obsessed with you. And why? You were awful to him. You used him. And he still wanted to impress you. I thought he finally came to his senses when we started doing research together. But he couldn’t get out from under your spell. I saw him waiting by the closed ice cream stand, hoping you would be there and it sickened me. I called him out on it, and he didn’t care. Suddenly, I couldn’t look at him anymore. And I just started hitting him.”

  “And you had a cane?” asked Brie.

  Lydia was impressed with Brie’s follow up question. However, Lydia was putting another plan into action as well. She grabbed a heavy book and walked as quietly as she could down the aisle.

  “I took it from the lost and found,” Dory said. “People leave the strangest things here. I guess I must have had some thoughts of what I was going to do when I left the library with it. But I hoped that Norman would prove me wrong. He was supposed to love me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Brie said.

  “You should be.”

  “But killing me isn’t going to fix things. It’s only going to make it worse. You won’t be able to get away with it.”

  “Yes, I will,” said Dory. “I’m not stupid. I’m not going to kill you here. We’re going to go someplace where it will look like the same people who killed Norman attacked you to cover up what they did. Thank you for telling me it was the mayor and his assistant. The question is: should we leave your body by their office or should he have murdered you on the boardwalk too?”

  Lydia didn’t let Dory reach an answer to the question. She raced around the corner and caught Dory by surprise. Using the book, she knocked the knife out of her hand.

  Dory cried out in pain, but Lydia didn’t stop. She hurried to pick up the knife first.

  “Stay right there,” Lydia said. “The police are coming.”

  “But Brie has to die,” Dory said, beginning to sob. “She’s really the one who killed Norman. I had to do it. Because of her. It’s her fault.”

  Dory’s sobs were soon interrupted by the arrival of the police. Leo and Detective Grey entered with their weapons drawn. Lydia dropped the knife when she saw them.

  “We’re all okay,” she reported. “We’re not hurt.”

  Leo slapped some cuffs on Dory who was having trouble remaining silent despite being warned of her right to do so. She kept screaming and cursing Brie’s name. The two detectives worked together to escort her out of the building.

  “You saved me,” Brie said, walking towards Lydia.

  “I just wish I had realized she was the killer earlier,” Lydia replied. “Before you went to meet with her.”

  “How did you figure out it was her?”

  “Well, Trina said something to make me doubt Gary Sand’s guilt as the murderer. And then I started thinking about the message we decoded. It was written as if Norman had given you the message like a letter. And then I realized that must have been what he intended to do if he had met you at Cones and Cola that night.”

  “I still don’t understand.”

  “I think he would have given you the flash drive and he would have handed you the book so you could decipher the code,” Lydia said.

  “I guess that does make sense based on his message. He would have felt like a spy handing me the book and coded message. He would have thought I would be impressed.”

  “When I realized that they weren’t found with the body, I had to figure out what happened to them. The killer must have taken them. Dory took them. The librarian in her wouldn’t let the Lyndon Malcolm Wallace book be ruined. She placed it on the return shelf at the library. And she put the flash drive in his locker, hoping someone would find it.”

  “She wanted the police to blame the person that Norman had uncovered as a thief,” said Brie.

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, I don’t think I’m going to make a habit of investigating anymore,” Brie said. “This was too close a call for me.”

  Lydia nodded. “Though I can’t wait to see what you write up in the newspaper about this.”

  Epilogue

  Lydia folded up the local newspaper gruffly and set it aside with a huff.

  “Bad news?” Leo asked.

  Lydia had been sitting on the front porch, reading the paper, but stood up to greet him. Sunny waddled over to say hello and to sniff the potted plant that he was carrying.

  “It’s not necessarily bad news,” Lydia said. “But I wasn’t mentioned in Brie’s article about the murder at all.”

  “Do you think she was respecting your privacy?” asked Leo.

  “I think she didn’t want Amber to see in writing that I acted heroically and saved Brie’s life.”

  “About that,” Leo said, setting dow
n the pot and allowing Sunny to better sniff the flowers. “I’m glad that no one was hurt and I know your actions helped secure that outcome, but I really can’t have my little sister rushing off after murderers. That’s my job, okay?”