Death by Chocolate Cake--A Short Read

by K. J. Emrick

  “On second thought,” Jack said, “you can leave without finishing the coffee.”

  “Boy,” Kyle said, “is it just me or do these two really not like each other?”

  Miranda didn’t disagree, but she didn’t think all the male testosterone in the room was helping, either.

  “Okay, guys,” she said, trying to calm things a bit. “Maybe you should both take a breath and focus on the matter at hand. Somebody you both cared about, at some stage, has just died, and maybe I don’t have all the information but I think that’s what we should be focusing on. Don’t you?”

  Jack finally found a little smile for her. “That’s my Miranda. Always getting right to the heart of the matter. Fine. What I want to know, Marvin, is why it’s you here delivering this news to me?”

  “To be honest, Jack, I wouldn’t have. There hasn’t been any love lost between us ever since the whole deal with Anya. The thing of it is, I don’t think she died of natural causes. I think there’s foul play involved. When that thought hit me, I had to ask who I could turn to in order to find out the truth. You were my first thought. You and that Boy Scout attitude of yours.”

  “And you drove all the way over here, just because you needed someone to talk to.”

  “Yes.”

  “All right,” Jack pushed aside his untouched coffee and stepped away from the table, motioning toward the front door. “Well, thanks, Marvin. Maybe I’ll see you in another decade or so.”

  Slowly, Marvin got up from his chair, shaking his head at Jack. “Look I know you and I have done our fair share of arguing in the past, but I’d like to say that I’m sorry for it and I think it’s time to bury the hatchet and move on.”

  “Do you believe this guy, Miranda?” Kyle said, as he floated over to look Marvin up and down. “He’s hiding something. There’s something really off here.”

  She had to agree. “Before you go, Marvin, why don’t you tell us why you really come by here today?”

  Jack stood beside her, arms crossed, waiting for Marvin to answer. Or, maybe he was urging him to leave. Miranda wasn’t sure which.

  “You’ve seen through me then,” Marvin said, embarrassed. “Look, the police are there at her place right now, but the police in Raven’s Falls are even more rinky-dink than you guys here in Moonlight Bay. No offense.”

  “How could I possibly take offense at that?” Jack snarked.

  “Look, my point is I don’t think they’ll be able to solve it. You were always one of the best cops I’d ever seen, Jack, and I know you’re personally invested in getting the right result here whether you want to admit it or not. I came here hoping you’d take it upon yourself to go over there and at least take a look.” He paused, waiting for Jack to say something, and when that didn’t happen his shoulders slumped. Taking a little slip of paper out of his pocket he set it down on the kitchen counter. “Fine. That’s the address where she was living. Do what you want, Jack. You always did. I’ll see myself out.”

  He walked out the door, into the night, to his waiting car.

  When he was gone, Miranda cocked an eyebrow at Jack.

  “What?” he asked, in that oblivious way that men had.

  “Well, we need to decide about going over there, like Marvin said, but more than that…” She placed her hand against his chest. “I think maybe Marvin just spilled a story you weren’t ready to tell me.”

  He cupped her cheek gently. “I was going to tell you. I swear I was.”

  “It’s your past,” Miranda said. “It’s your story to tell how and when you want to.”

  “Sure, but after you told me your big secret, about being psychic, this seems kind of trivial.”

  She waited, sensing that he was working up to sharing this with her. She didn’t want to ruin the moment. Still, she couldn’t help looking over to where Kyle floated, his face turned away, acting like he wasn’t listening when he so obviously was. When would she be ready to tell Jack about him?

  With a sigh, Jack took Miranda’s hand, and brought her to the living room to sit with him on the couch again. “It’s a long story, but here’s the quick version for now. I was working in the Northern Territory at the time. I was young and hadn’t been a cop for all that long and still thought I could change the world. I was happy up there. Anya and I had been together for six months or so. We were happy together, or so I thought. Then I found out that she’d been seeing Marvin while she was with me, and I went a little crazy over it. I kicked her out. That’s where the story should have ended.”

  “I’m guessing it didn’t end there?”

  He chuckled. “No. I’m afraid not. See, a little while later, Marvin and I ended up at the same bar. It wasn’t planned or anything, but it happened. He said some stuff, I said some stuff, and the next thing I knew our fists were flying. I ended up with eight stitches. Marvin had a dislocated shoulder.”

  “Ouch,” Miranda said in sympathy.

  “Yeah. Well, I’ve had worse.”

  “So what happened next?”

  It took several long seconds for him to gather his courage to tell that part. “I had a chair in my hand at one point. I was going to break it over Marvin’s back, I swear I was. That’s how angry I was over what he and Anya had done to me. I lifted it up—” He raised both arms up in imitation of what he had done that night. “—and brought it down like this, only some guy who was just trying to help stop things got in my way and I actually hit him instead.”

  Silence hung heavy in the room. Butter had his eyes open, watching them, like even he wanted to know the end of the story. Kyle stood watching as well, and for once he had nothing to say.

  There was a hitch in Jack’s voice as he continued. “The guy went to the hospital. He was in traction for two weeks and it was a year or more before he could walk again but from what I understand he’s fine now. The Department investigated me for criminal charges, there were hearings and meetings with lawyers…” He took a slow breath, and blew it out again. “Anyway. I was asked to leave. Quietly, of course, but it was final just the same. I was no longer welcome in the Northern Territory. I gathered all my stuff up, and took a position here in Moonlight Bay, and I’ve never looked back.”

  “Until today,” Miranda said, her tone comforting.

  “Right. Until today. So I guess we need to make a decision. Do I go and help a man I can’t stand find out if a woman I was hoping to never hear from again died of natural causes or murder, or…”

  “Or do you stay here and forget the whole thing?” Miranda finished for him. After a silent moment she said, “Well, what do you think?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I should just leave it to the police in Ravens Falls and not get involved. They probably won’t open up to me just because I used to date the victim.”

  The victim? That was cold, Miranda thought. “But if you do still care for her…?”

  He sighed, holding her hands in his. “Well, I did care for her. I cared for her a great deal. Thing was, with Anya, love was always a one-way street. She never gave back what I gave. Oh, I fooled myself into thinking she loved me as much as I loved her but that delusion was busted when I caught her cheating on me with Marvin.”

  “You caught her…?” Miranda was really beginning to understand now why he had kept this secret to himself for so long.

  “Yes, I did. Don’t worry about it. Or me, okay? All of that is over. I’ve got no more feelings left for her. I haven’t in a long time. I’m just shocked, that’s all. I mean, I deal with death as a police officer all the time. This one… well, I guess it feels a bit personal.”

  “Then why don’t you investigate it?” Miranda pushed gently.

  He blinked at her. “Well. You are a rare woman, aren’t you Miranda Wylder? How many women would encourage their boyfriends to come to the belated aid of a woman they used to be with?” Jack looked into her eyes so intently that she felt like he could see right into her soul. A smile tugged at his lips. Well. I suppose it couldn’t hurt to go to Raven�
�s Falls and at least talk to the police there.”

  She leaned in close to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll go with you. That way you won’t be alone.”

  He kissed her back, a real kiss that she savored. “Thank you, Miranda. I’m glad you’ll be there with me.”

  Kyle floated closer even as Miranda closed her eyes. “And I’ll be there for you, Miranda. After all, what are friends for?”

  Chapter 3

  As Jack drove and Miranda sat beside him, Kyle appeared in the back seat, humming a little tune. For the most part he just watched out the window as they made their way from Moonlight Bay.

  It was the next morning from when Jack had gotten the fateful news. They’d started out right after sunrise and now they had just passed the Raven’s Falls town limits sign. Usually this was a two hour trip but Jack had never been accused of driving too slowly. An hour and a half later, they had arrived.

  “I’ve got to tell you,” Jack said to Miranda, “I’m not happy about this one. I don’t know if it will bring closure to an old episode in my life or open old wounds.”

  “Oh, tell him to relax,” Kyle said waspishly. “He’s a cop. Someone got killed. It’s his job.”

  Miranda did nothing of the sort. This was going to be hard enough on Jack as it was. She was proud of him for being here.

  When they finally pulled up outside the home of Anya Westfield, they rolled up to a stop at the curb behind two police cars. Miranda let out an appreciative whistle.

  “Wow, nice big house,” she said. “I mean, it’s no Ragged Rest, and there’s no view of a lighthouse from your couch, but Anya must have been doing pretty well for herself to afford this. What was it she did for a living?”

  “Honestly?” Jack said, a little guardedly. “She jumped from one man to another. Whoever she thought was going to take care of her better. I’m willing to bet it was more like this new boyfriend of hers, Thomas Crowe, was doing well and she was living off his bank account.”

  As Miranda studied the home behind its row of trimmed hedges, she saw a banner strung from hooks over the front door. Attached to the hedges and shrubs were many streamers and several balloons, all of which conveyed the Happy Birthday message.

  “Looks like it was somebody’s special day,” Miranda said, and turned to Jack for confirmation.

  Jack looked down at his watch, and Miranda got the impression that he was checking the date on the digital display. “Yeah. Guess it is. I’d forgotten all about it. Anya’s birthday was yesterday.”

  She reached over to put her hand on his leg. “It’s okay, Jack. Sometimes the past belongs in the past.”

  His hand settled over hers. “I much prefer the present, anyway. Let’s go see if the police here will extend me a little professional courtesy.”

  As Miranda stepped out of the car, she stopped. In front of her, down the long paved walkway from the street, Anya Westfield’s home appeared to tip sideways, pitching at a severe angle to one side, dropping below ground level until it all just slid away...

  It made her feel dizzy, and she had to grab hold of the car door to keep from falling over.

  “You all right?” Jack asked her.

  “Miranda?” Kyle asked at the same time. “What’s wrong?”

  She answered them both at once, but kept her gaze on Jack. “I just… feel something. Sorry, it’s one of the things that sometimes happens to me as a psychic. Feelings, portents, call it whatever you want. A premonition, maybe, but I don’t know if it’s from the past or the future. I just get the feeling something bad is going to happen here.”

  When she looked back to the house, everything was just like it should be. It stood there, grand and immovable, with a police officer stationed at the front door to guard the active crime scene.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Jack pressed.

  “I’m fine,” she said, putting her hand in his. She nodded to Kyle to reassure him, too. Whatever she had just seen might not come to pass for years yet, or it might have been an event from the past, perhaps the death that happened here yesterday, or hey… it might have been caused by low blood sugar. She had skipped breakfast this morning, after all.

  But what could it mean, the house tilting precariously like that? Maybe it was just metaphorical, letting her know that things here were off kilter.

  They made their way up to the house, watched like a hawk by the young officer in his blue police uniform. He had a rather pinched face for someone who was probably ten years younger than Miranda. Like he’d already grown jaded to the world around him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said to Miranda and Jack, even though he didn’t sound the least bit apologetic. “Can’t let you inside. Come back later.”

  “It’s all right,” Jack told him. “I’m a police officer. I know the drill.”

  He showed the man—Constable Simpson, according to his nameplate—the badge he carried in his wallet. Simpson studied it, raising one eyebrow. “Good to know you, Detective Travis, but we’re not in Moonlight Bay. That badge means you’re a good guy, maybe, but it doesn’t get you access to a crime scene. Not in Raven’s Falls.”

  Miranda saw Jack nod, and put the badge away in his back pocket. She honestly thought he was about to leave without trying any harder but then a man came walking out of the house, escorted by another officer.

  “I’ve got everything I needed, Constable Simpson,” the man said. He was tall, and muscular, and considering his shirt was two sizes too small, he obviously liked showing off his body. “Thanks for letting me get a few things.”

  “Our pleasure, Mister Crowe,” Simpson told him. “We’ll let you know when you can move back in permanently. Probably later today after we wrap up.”

  Crowe? Miranda studied the man closer, from his short-cropped brown hair to his expensive shoes. This must be Thomas Crowe, the current boyfriend of Anya Westfield. Jack had been right, then. This was Crowe’s house. He’d been the one who could afford all this. Not Anya.

  She saw Thomas’s eyes go wide as he looked past the officers, to them. “Well, well, well. Jack Travis. You’re just about the last person I thought would show up here today.”

  Jack narrowed his eyes. “I’m pretty sure we’ve never met, Thomas.”

  “True, but Anya told me about you. She still had some pictures.”

  That news affected Jack. Miranda saw the way the lines around his eyes tightened. His lips pressed into a thin line, holding back whatever retort he’d been about to give.

  “She would have liked this, you know,” Thomas said to Jack. “Having you here for her birthday. Did you bring her a present?”

  “That’s not funny,” Miranda told him. “She’s dead.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Thomas growled. “I’m the one in pain here, and you two just show up on my doorstep like this? I’m the one who had to find her dead like that. I’m the one who will have to fill the hole in my heart.”

  His gaze very purposefully turned to Miranda. “Looks to me, Jack, like you already found something to let you forget our Anya.”

  Miranda and Jack both started to say something in response to that but Constable Simpson held his hand up instead. “All right, all of you. This is a crime scene, and I really don’t feel like arresting any of you. There’s been enough tragedy here. So. Move it along.”

  Thomas stared at him, and then stared at Jack. “You really want to know what happened, since you’re such a crackerjack cop?” he asked, his tone less than complimentary.

  Miranda expected Jack to just walk away at that point, but instead, he nodded. Once.

  “Then come on,” Thomas said as he stepped down off the porch. “You can follow me. I know the perfect little coffee shop where we can talk.”

  Chapter 4

  “And had the party started when she… when it happened?” Miranda asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

  She had to admit, it was a very good blend. The Cup of Joy coffee shop was just as good as Thomas had promised despite
its goofy name and tacky interior. Inside, on shelves that lined almost every wall, were ceramic coffee cups with different sayings printed on each of them. Most of them were not family friendly.

  They had found a quiet table at the back and the three of them—no, the four of them, including Kyle—were talking over the events surrounding Anya’s death. Odd that someone would die at their own birthday party, maybe, but Miranda knew all too well that Death kept its own schedule.

  “Yes,” Thomas said, staring down into his cup and finally showing his emotions over Anya’s death. “It was me who found her. The guests had all arrived, and then I couldn’t find Anya, and when I went to look for her… there she was. Lying on her side, not moving. I just couldn’t believe it. So, I just pulled her out of the way and hid her.”

  “Hid her?” Jack demanded, nearly choking on the words. “You hid her? She was dead, and you just shoved her aside?”

  “Heartless,” Kyle agreed, folding his arms over his chest, his blue hazy aura becoming momentarily sharper with his emotions. “I’ll bet he killed her.”

  But Thomas seemed unfazed by Jack’s outburst. “I found her in the kitchen. She was just lying there, kind of curled up like a baby. It took me a few moments to even believe she was actually dead.”

  “You bastard,” Jack hissed. “Why in God’s name would you hide her body? Why wouldn’t you call for help?”

  For all that he had just admitted to messing up what could have been a crime scene, Thomas only shrugged. “I didn’t want anyone to know I had found her, and I didn’t want anyone else to discover her. I wanted it to stay quiet until I managed to get the police there. I didn’t want anyone to run away before they showed up. I just pulled her into the utility room, and put on a smile, and dialed 000.”

  “But why move her?” Miranda said.

  “Because as far as I know nobody came into the house. She was dead, and if she didn’t die of natural causes, then whoever killed her was already there, in the house with us, at the party.”