“Some friend she was,” Stacy said as she continued to point the gun straight at me. “She took everything from me. My city council seat, the health inspector job, and my man. Our whole life she’s competed against me and taken what’s rightfully mine. Enough is enough. I couldn’t stand it anymore.”
“Why kill her, though? Why couldn’t you just stop being friends?”
“All I wanted was him, but he kept holding on to the possibility she’d marry him. I was content to share him until I received the note.”
She handed me a note that she pulled out of her front pocket.
Stacy,
You’ve always told me life was short and I should do what makes me happy. With your help, I realized the one thing that truly makes me happy is Perry.
I’ve decided that I do want to marry him, and it’s all because of you.
I’m going to tell him later tonight, after the city council meeting.
The reason for this letter is that I want to cordially invite you, and I want you to be my maid of honor.
Your friend,
Margaret
“I couldn’t take it anymore. That was the last straw, so I decided to do what needed to be done.”
“So, you murdered her?” I asked. I felt shocked by how she rationalized her crime.
“Look, it’s not like I didn’t do this town a favor. No one liked her around here,” she said as she started to twitch. “Hell, she even shut down your business, due to spite. Why the hell do you care if she’s dead or not? You should be thanking me.”
For the second time in a few weeks, I stood face-to-face with death. If I died before giving my mom grandkids, I’d never hear the end of it. Although I didn’t know how, I just knew she’d find a way to nag, even beyond the grave.
I closed my eyes and hoped for the best.
“Freeze,” a voice shouted from the distance. Out of the shadows, Detective Beaux emerged, holding a firearm of his own. “I’m not going to ask you a second time, Miss, put down the weapon and put your hands up.”
For a moment, Stacy held her ground. She refused to comply but changed her tune when two police cars arrived on the scene. Realizing she had nowhere to run, she gave in and placed her weapon on the ground.
Sam stepped out of the squad car and walked up to the scene. “Ms. Perkins…Perry, what’s all this about?”
“She’s the one who killed Margaret Pettyjohn,” I told Sam. “She just confessed to the murder five minutes ago.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all day,” Stacy said as she shook her head. “We were trying to have a nice evening on the beach, until Little Miss Sunshine here ambushed us.”
“She’s lying, and I can prove it,” I said.
“What are you talking about, Kara?” Sam asked. “I thought we were clear on this. I told you to stop interfering in the investigation.”
“She cut her hand on the sharp edges of the arrow shaft while she stabbed Ms. Pettyjohn,” I said as I pointed to her bandaged hand. “Unwrap the bandage and see for yourself, unless you have something to hide.”
“I don’t need to prove a thing, especially to you.”
“Ma’am, would you please unwrap that bandage,” Beaux said. “You can either do it now, or at the station when we take you in.”
“Fine,” Stacy said after huffing her breath in frustration.
She peeled back a piece of the bandage and unwrapped it from her hand. I watched with great anticipation as she uncovered her wound. As expected, her palm had a large gash.
“I told you,” I called out. “I knew it wasn’t carpal tunnel.”
“Big deal,” Stacy said as she shrugged. “I cut my hand. So what? That proves nothing. People cut their hands all the time. What real evidence do you have?”
Before we knew it, we heard a strange sound from behind the sand dunes. The police turned their flashlights and guns in the direction of the sound. Out of the darkness, Sandy Heart, a local town photographer, stepped out.
“Sandy, what the heck are you doing back there?” Sam asked as he withdrew his weapon. “You trying to get yourself shot?”
“I’m terribly sorry, Chief, I didn’t mean to startle you. I set up my camera here to take video of the fireworks. This is normally a quiet area of the beach…normally.”
“Move along then,” Sam replied. “You’re standing in the middle of a crime scene, and we need it clear.”
“I may be of assistance,” he said as he handed Sam his camera. “My camera recorded everything. Including her confession.” He pointed angrily towards Stacy.
“Busted,” I shouted.
“It’s dark out here,” Stacy said as she grinned. “Even if you had this supposed footage, it’d be too dark to even see a thing.”
“When I noticed something was up, I switched the camera to the night vision setting.”
Sam and Beaux watched the video on the camera. The confession, all of it, was there. Sam instructed the other two officers to cuff and arrest Stacy and Perry. Stacy stared darts at me as the officer put her in the back of the police cruiser. If looks could kill…
“Impeccable timing,” I said as I turned to Detective Beaux. “How’d you find me?”
“I did what every great detective does.”
“So you stalked me,” I replied as I smiled.
“I’d prefer the term, following,” he said as he smirked.
Chapter 23
The next night, the Sunny Shores City Council decided to meet at the last minute. As soon as I heard the news, I decided to attend. One last chance to plead my case to the council. It was worth a shot.
Before the town council meeting that night, I stopped by Sam’s office. He called and left a message on my voicemail to come by his office. I had no idea what to expect. Another lecture was the last thing I needed.
His office door was closed. I held my breath as I knocked on the door.
“It’s unlocked,” he said.
I entered the room and both Sam and Detective Beaux were sitting down.
“Hey Kara,” Sam said as he stood up to greet me. He pointed to the empty chair beside Beaux. “Come on in and have a seat. We called you here tonight because we both had something important to tell you,” Sam said. “It’s something that’s not easy to say and should be told in person.”
A thousand thoughts rushed through my mind, most of them bad. I didn’t know the penalty for interfering in an investigation, but it couldn’t be good. I wouldn’t last a day in prison. I looked awful in orange.
“Both Detective Beaux and I wanted to apologize to you,” Sam said. “Because of your actions, an innocent man was spared from spending his life in prison. Without the effort you put in, Margaret’s killer would be free.”
“He’s right,” Beaux added. “You proved us both wrong.”
“Do you think there’s enough evidence to convict?” I asked.
“This is an open and shut case,” Sam explained. “Not only do we have the confession on tape, the two of them turned on each other. They both ratted each other out. So much for love.”
“When we booked her, we found another note in her back pocket,” Beaux said.
“Another note? Besides the letter from Margaret?” I asked.
“It was a suicide and confession note that she was going to plant on the body.”
“Whose body?”
“Apparently, she planned to shoot Perry and stage it as a suicide.”
“Wait,” I said as I sat there shocked by the news. “You’re implying that she planned to murder him.”
“She confessed it. Although she claimed she had second thoughts.”
That explained why she was carrying a gun that evening. It also made sense to shoot him during the fireworks on the beach. With all the loud noise, the sound of the gun would be drowned out.
“I’m confused as to why she planned to kill him. She murdered her best friend because she loved Perry and wanted him for herself. It doesn’t make sense to m
e.”
“I’ve seen this kind of thing before. It’s not too uncommon,” Beaux replied. “Think of it this way. Maybe she hated Margaret more than she loved him.”
What Beaux explained made sense, in a way. I found it hard to totally understand her point of view. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t in her right mind. Crazy people are known to do crazy things.
“When someone commits a murder, it changes them,” Sam explained. “The fear of going to jail and atoning for what she’d done motivated her. At that point, he just became a pawn in her grand scheme. She had one object at that point. She wanted to cover her own butt.”
“When I called her up to tell her what we found out about him, I bet she panicked. She feared he’d confess and bring her down with him.”
“We don’t know if she actually would have gone through with it,” Sam said. “But we will never know for sure. By you showing up, you prevented her from having a chance. You saved his life.”
“I underestimated you, kid,” Beaux said. “You did a great job. I’m impressed.”
“I told you so,” Sam said as he patted Beaux on the back. “She’s a chip off the old block. Her father would be proud.”
Later that evening, Star, Ty, and I attended the city council meeting. As nervous as I felt, I had one thing on my mind. I wanted my food truck re-opened.
While it was nice to get recognition for my part in solving the murder case, an empty feeling remained inside of me. My passion of cooking and building my new business rivaled my passion for solving mysteries. I knew deep inside that focusing on one or the other was the smart thing to do, but I wanted both as a part of my life.
I held a smile for as long as I could. Who knew that it took more muscles to retain a fake smile than a real one?
At the end of the meeting, the Mayor opened the floor up for citizens to speak. That was my chance to plead my case one last time.
Before I could stand up and speak, a gentleman in the back stood up.
“I have something to say,” the man said as he walked up the aisle. It was none other than Billy Sims.
“Mr. Sims, you have the floor,” the Mayor said before leaning back in his chair. He turned to the councilman on his left and whispered, “This should be good.”
“Mayor and council members, I wanted to bring attention to one citizen this evening. Because of this young lady, I’m a free man. When no one else in town had faith in me, she opened her heart. I wanted to show her recognition and thank her on the record.”
Billy turned around and pointed to me. “Kara Summers, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
I turned red but mustered up enough courage to stand. To my surprise, the citizens in the crowd not only clapped, but gave a standing ovation. Even the council members stood up and clapped. Mayor Roy stayed in his chair with his arms crossed.
I sat back down. After hearing Billy talk, I realized my business plans could wait.
“Mayor, if I may offer the council a suggestion?” Sam said as he turned to him and the other members of the town council. “As an award for the bravery and unselfish acts performed by Miss Summers, I suggest lifting the temporary ban on her business license. We’ve all heard Miss Summer’s statement regarding the incident that occurred prior to the inspection. It isn’t fair to prevent her from earning a living during the busiest part of the summer.”
After listening to Sam’s plea, the Mayor and the remaining council members talked quietly among themselves. Sam turned to me and smiled. His smile was reassuring and helped calm my nerves. However, my calmness and reassurance faded each minute the council continued to discuss my fate.
“We’ve come to a decision,” the Mayor said as he settled back into his seat behind the microphone. He let out a loud sigh before continuing. “The council agrees to reinstate your business license.”
“Yes!” I shouted out as I clapped my hands like an idiot.
I failed to contain all the joy and relief that overcame my body. My head gave in to my heart as I rushed over to Star and Ty and hugged each one tight. The thought of putting this behind us and moving on relieved me.
“However…” Mayor Roy said as my heart sank back into my chest.
“What now,” I thought as I looked Roy in the eyes. “There’s always a catch.”
“Under my advice, the council agreed to temporarily lift the ban until a re-inspection can occur,” Mayor Roy said as the defeated look on his face quickly turned to a smile. “Until a permanent inspector is found, I decided to appoint a replacement.”
“Who?” Star, Ty, and myself all asked in unison.
Mayor Roy devilishly grinned as he pointed to the door behind us. We all turned around to look, only to discover a certain someone standing in the doorway. My heart began to race as I stared at the one person I tried avoiding more than anyone.
“My son, Dustin, will assume the role of town health inspector for the remainder of the summer season. He’s a third-year law student and more than qualified to assume the role until a replacement is found.”
“Of all the people in the town, why did it have to be him?” I thought as I tried to make heads or tails out of the situation.
As the meeting adjourned, I quickly darted out of the room and headed toward the exit. As I rushed out through the crowd, the only thought that occurred in my mind was to get the heck out of dodge. I wanted to avoid making eye contact with Dustin at all costs.
I shot through the door and stood only a few steps from freedom until I felt a slight tap on my shoulder. I ignored my instinct to keep running, unfortunately. Instead, I foolishly turned around.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry, Care Bear?” Dustin asked as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
My voice cracked as I responded with the first thing that entered my mind. “I have to go number 2.”
I felt like slapping myself right then and there. Why did I still get so nervous around him? Why did he still intimidate me after being broken up for months?
He smiled. “When you gotta go, you gotta go, right?”
My face turned red. “Goodbye Dustin,” I said as I turned to walk away.
Before I wandered too far away, Dustin shouted, “I’ll be seeing you soon. Real soon.”
I muttered under my breath, “Great.”
Chapter 24
The next day, the Burger She Wrote food truck opened its doors for business again. Well, technically its window. My business was up and running again, and nothing else could get me down.
During lunch, Bonnie May showed up to see how we were doing. It was rare to see her in the park during the day, since she was busy running her café.
“I must admit, I’ll miss Star working at the café. Although she’s sassy and spunky, she’s a hard worker as well.”
“I told you, you can’t have her,” I said jokingly.
“There’s something I wanted to show you, dear. Can we talk in private?” Bonnie May asked. The look on her face shifted to serious. “Walk with me.”
“Star, can you take over the register for a bit?” I asked as I took off my apron and exited the truck.
“Is everything ok?” I asked as we walked behind the truck.
Bonnie May took a deep breath and turned to face me. She opened her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. It looked old and had a tint of yellow.
“All of these recent tragedies have brought up a few bad memories of my own. Some of these I’ve stored away all of these years.”
“While your father and I served on the city council, we both received one of these,” she said as she handed me the note.
I couldn’t explain why, but I felt nervous as I slowly unfolded the note. The deeper I dug, the stranger the details around my father’s case became.
Ms. Calloway,
Tonight’s council meeting is a pivotal one for the future of Sunny Shores. As a council member, you swore an oath to vote with the greater good of this town in mind. To ensure the safety of you and your fa
mily, vote yes to each item tonight. If not, grave actions will be taken.
Sincerely,
A deathly concerned citizen.
“You must’ve been scared out of your mind,” I said as I folded the note back. “I’m sorry.”
“Nah,” she said as she smiled. “Joke’s on them. I don’t have a family. Plus, I’ve made enough enemies in the town. I always have one eye opened. Even when I sleep.”
“Did you ever figure out this person’s agenda? What vote was that important to them to threaten killing someone?”
“I’m not sure. We voted on about ten items or so that night.”
“So, what did you do?
“I voted no on all of them.”
We both laughed. I attempted to give her the note back, but she refused.
“Keep it. Maybe this can help you in the search to find your father’s killer. If there’s anyone who can figure it out, it’s you.”
As Bonnie May walked away, I put the note back into my pocket. I took a second to regain my composure. I wiped a tear from my eye and smiled.
“What took you so long?” Star asked as I stepped back into the truck. “We’re dying in here.”
The entire time Bonnie May and I talked, the line for the truck grew longer and longer. Star had fallen behind.
“We still have a bit of unfinished business to discuss, involving Mr. Whiskers.”
“Oh yeah,” Star replied. “It totally slipped my mind. You know, with all the craziness going on around here.”
“Really, Star?” I said as I raised my right eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe, especially given how much you care for him.”
“Okay, you’re right. I didn’t forget. I’ll admit, I tried to stall the situation out. I attempted to find him a home, but as of right now…nothing.”
“I’ll admit it,” I explained. “I have a confession, myself. Over the last few days, I’ve grown more accustomed to him being around. It’s not the worst thing ever…I guess.”
“Wait,” Star said. “Are you saying you’re going to keep him?”
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