Caramel Fudge & Murder

by Susan Gillard

  “Like her best friend and boyfriend,” said Heather.

  “So, finding the boyfriend’s prints there might not prove he did it,” said Ryan. “But it is still worth checking.”

  “And I’d still like to talk to Eric in the morning,” Heather said.

  She told him everything she had learned from Darcy, including that Eric could be jealous and possessive. She also told him about the shoving match the Eric and Leon got into at the restaurant.

  Ryan agreed that Eric was shaping up to be a prime suspect and said that he would invite him to the station in the morning so they could question him there. Then, Ryan told her how talking with Angela’s boss had not yielded much information. Angela Fiat had been an ideal employee, working hard to support herself. No one at the store had any complaints about her, and they all had alibis anyway.

  “And I have other bad news too,” Ryan said.

  “Worse than dead ends with leads?” asked Heather.

  “That reporter Hope has been sniffing around the station, looking for a story.”

  Heather groaned. That was bad news – or, at least, annoying news.

  Reporting for Duty

  Heather and Amy were headed into the police station the next morning, ready to interview the victim’s boyfriend, when they were sidetracked by a reporter.

  “Heather,” Hope said, enthusiastically. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  “Well, my husband works here,” she responded, trying to sidestep any questions about an investigation. Her tactic didn’t work.

  “Are you working a case?” Hope asked. “I heard a young woman was killed. I wrote her obituary for the paper. It was very sad. But I don’t know all the details of her death yet. Was she murdered? If you’re here, that points to a murder case.”

  “Maybe she’s just here, delivering donuts to her husband?” Amy suggested. “Did you ever think of that?”

  “Then, where are the donuts?” Hope asked.

  Heather stifled a groan. She usually did bring donuts with her to the station, even if they were investigating a case and it wasn’t a social visit. However, she and Amy had been in a rush to get to the station and didn’t stop at Donut Delights that morning.

  Amy thought of an excuse. “I ate them all.”

  Hope crossed her arms, not buying it.

  “Look,” Heather said. “We can’t comment on ongoing police investigations. If you’d like to know about any potential cases, you’re going to have to talk to the police officially.”

  “I tried,” Hope said. “Peters gave me such a cold shoulder that I got frostbite. I don’t know what he’s mad about. If anyone should be mad, it’s me. But I’m trying to be a professional.”

  “We have to get inside,” Heather said, trying to walk around her.

  “Please,” Hope said. “Don’t people deserve to know what’s going on?”

  Heather looked at the reporter and actually felt a little bad for her. She was sweating, which indicated that she had been waiting outside in the hot sun for quite a while.

  “Fine,” Heather said, relenting. “But I can only tell you the bare minimum.”

  “I’ll take it!” Hope said.

  “Angela Fiat was murdered, and the fine detectives on the force are investigating,” Heather said.

  Hope waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, Hope still shook her hand and thanked her.

  “Now, we really do need to get going,” Amy said. “We need to talk to an interesting person.”

  “Is that code for a person of interest in the case?” Hope asked, perking up.

  “I didn’t say that,” said Amy.

  Heather grabbed her friend’s arm, and they entered the station. They headed towards Ryan’s and Peters’s desk area.

  “I’ll let her chew on that for a while,” Amy said, chuckling.

  “It’s going to drive her crazy,” said Heather.

  “She drives us crazy most of the time with her questions,” Amy said. “It’s only fair.”

  Peters stood up when he saw them and greeted them. Then, he asked, “Did you see the vulture outside?”

  “You mean the reporter?” asked Heather.

  “What is she reporting on?” Peters asked, angrily. “She wrote nice things about the play so I’d tell her about our investigations. Well, it’s not going to work.”

  “Will you tell us about your investigation?” Amy asked.

  “Oh, sure,” Peters said. He shook his head and smiled, releasing some tension. “There’s not much to update you on though. I spoke to some other people on the street, who didn’t notice anyone going to Angela Fiat’s house that evening. Of course, no one was paying particular attention.”

  “That’s a shame,” Amy said. “It would have been nice if someone saw her boyfriend go to her house that night.”

  “Did you make any progress with tracking the tie?” asked Heather.

  “I think we’ve identified the logo,” Peters said. “So we can contact the boutique and see if they know who they sold it too.”

  “Aren’t all ties pretty similar?” asked Amy.

  “This has a unique design,” Peters said. “And it’s a large size. But you’re right. It’s still a long shot that we can find the owner.”

  He leaned on the desk, looking a tad forlorn at the possibility of another lost lead.

  “Maybe we won’t need to,” Heather said. “Maybe our interview with Eric will yield results.”

  “Ryan was seeing if he would come in. They should be in any—“ Peters stopped talking as Ryan entered.

  He was accompanied by a young man with short hair and an angry expression on his face. As he was lead towards the interrogation room, Heather couldn’t help looking at his thick neck – the type that might need a specially made tie.

  The Boyfriend

  Eric stared at the four investigators as they sat down across the table from him in the interrogation room. Peters already had his notebook out, and Amy was taking her tablet out of her bag to record notes as well. Heather tied not to keep staring at the suspect’s neck.

  “Why do you need so many people here?” Eric asked. “I thought you said this was going to be a friendly talk.”

  “We’re all perfectly friendly,” Ryan assured him. “But we do have some serious questions to ask.”

  “I was afraid of this,” Eric said. He gripped the table. “I thought if you didn’t say it out loud, then it might not be true. But it is true, isn’t it?”

  “You’re going to have to elaborate,” Amy said.

  “Angela,” he said, looking down. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

  “Yes,” said Ryan.

  “Are you sure?” Eric demanded, pressing his fists on the table.

  “Yes,” Ryan said again.

  Eric looked like he wanted to jump up from his seat, but after a moment he slumped back. He held his head his hands.

  “I thought that’s what was going on. I tried to visit her because she wasn’t picking up her phone, but there were all these police cars on the street. Her neighbor told me that she was killed, but I didn’t want to believe her.” He gestured to Ryan. “Even when you said you had some questions about her, I wanted to believe it was a mistake.”

  “Sadly, the neighbor was right that she was killed,” Ryan said. “And we’re trying to figure out who was responsible.”

  “You were her boyfriend, weren’t you?” Heather asked.

  Eric nodded.

  “How long had you been dating?” she asked.

  “About three months,” Eric said. “But we knew each other a lot longer. We were friends in high school.”

  “And she was best friends with Darcy Simmons?” Heather asked. “Who you also dated.”

  “That’s right,” said Eric. “But Darcy and I are friends now. It wasn’t serious between us like it is… was with Angela and me.”

  Peters was taking notes on this complicated friendship/relationship situation and trying to maintain a neutral face.
r />   “How serious was it?” Heather asked.

  “We were in love,” Eric said. “And we were already talking about moving in together. She didn’t like living alone anyway, and I was looking to get out of my parent’s basement. I wish I had already moved there. Maybe I could have protected her from what happened.”

  He looked away sadly. Heather thought that his emotions seemed genuine, but she had been in a theater the other day convinced that the actors on stage felt what they portrayed. Eric was still their prime suspect, and they needed more information.

  “Do you know if Miss Fiat had any ties in her house?” Heather asked.

  “What sort of ties?” Eric asked. “Like twist ties to close things?”

  “Ties like are worn with a suit,” said Heather.

  “No. I don’t see why she’d have any,” said Eric.

  Ryan removed a picture of the tie found at the crime scene from his folder and showed it to the young man.

  “Have you ever seen this tie before?” Ryan asked.

  “No,” Eric said, shaking his head. “Why all these questions about ties? Did the killer leave that behind?”

  “That’s one way to put it,” Amy said to herself.

  “You’re sure you’ve never seen this tie before?” Heather asked. “It’s not yours.”

  “No,” Eric said. “I don’t wear ties. I don’t need to for my job on a boat.”

  Heather watched as Ryan put the picture of the tie away. It was clear that if Eric did recognize it, he didn’t plan on telling them about it.

  “Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Miss Fiat?” Peters asked.

  “Well,” Eric said with a sigh. “It had to be Leon, right?”

  “What?” Heather and Amy asked in unison.

  “Leon. He used to be my friend in high school, but then we grew apart.”

  “He was also Angela’s ex-boyfriend,” Peters said.

  “So you do suspect him,” Eric said. “He was so mad when we got together at lunch that I should have realized he might have done something evil. He better hope I don’t find him before you do. I’ll beat him up worse than at the restaurant.”

  “Beat him up worse?” Heather asked.

  “I didn’t mean to threaten him, officers,” Eric said, holding up his hands. “But you have to understand me being mad if that guy killed the love of my life.”

  “You fought at the restaurant?” Heather asked. “We just heard it described as a little shoving match.”

  “Whoever said that was being nice,” said Eric. “We knocked over a table. We would have fought more, but the manager stopped us. Leon stormed out.”

  Heather frowned. This certainly seemed like more motive for the two men to hate each other. Why hadn’t Leon mentioned this to her before? He had said nothing about the fight. Was he keeping other secrets from her too?

  “And while he was leaving, he yelled something,” Eric continued. “He called me a backstabber. And he told Angela that he’d see her again soon. He said that really angrily.”

  “Can you think of anyone else who would have wanted to hurt her?” Heather asked, hoping he would provide another alternative.

  “No,” Eric said. “Everybody loved Angela, and everyone was nice to her because of how suddenly she lost her parents. She was really sad most of her senior year and didn’t want to engage with others. Then, she started to come out of it. Dated a few people. She was more like her old self this past year. Then, we started dating when I broke up with Darcy. Because we were better as friends. We both knew it. And she was happy that I was good for Darcy. Everyone liked to see her do well. Except for Leon. He was mad that we were together.”

  “Mr. Sattler, where were you on Sunday evening between 5 and 8 p.m.?” Ryan asked.

  “You can’t think that I would have done something to hurt Angela,” Eric said. “We loved each other.”

  “We heard you could be jealous,” Heather said.

  “I didn’t kill her!”

  “Then, tell us where you were Sunday night,” Ryan said.

  “I was at work,” Eric said. “I was on a boat that night for an evening trip. Some people like to go fishing at night. I assist the captain who takes them out. It’s just a small boat.”

  “What’s the name of it?” asked Peters.

  “The Kitten Ca-Skuttle.”

  “What?” asked Amy.

  “Well, I didn’t name it,” Eric said. “Captain Roo did.”

  “We’ll be speaking to him,” Ryan said.

  “Good,” said Eric. “Then you can see that I didn’t do this, and you can focus on finding the person who did. But you shouldn’t have to look far. Just look for Leon.”

  Heather frowned. She sure hoped that he was wrong about that.

  Luz and Leon

  Heather and Amy stopped at Donut Delights to see how the shop was doing today. She was pleased to see that the Caramel Fudge Donuts were doing well and that online orders were on the rise. She was less pleased to see the sad look on Luz’s face behind the counter.

  “Luz, what’s wrong?” Heather asked.

  “Don’t tell me you’re out of Caramel Fudge Donuts,” Amy said.

  “No,” Luz said. She prepared the chocolate donut on a plate and handed it to her. “What’s wrong is that I heard that Angela had been killed. That’s very sad news.”

  Heather moved closer and put an arm around her. She had forgotten that Luz could have known the young woman too.

  “Angela was a sweet girl,” Luz said. “She and Leon dated in high school. She would come over to our house. She was always polite to me and complimented my baking.”

  “Well, how could you not compliment it?” Amy asked. “Your cupcakes give Heather’s donuts a run for their money.”

  Luz shrugged. “I just made them to have new snacks for my family. And I haven’t invented nearly as many wonderful flavors as Heather has. She’s made dozens and dozens of delicious donuts.”

  “I started out like you did,” Heather said. “Just experimenting with flavor combinations.”

  The store wasn’t busy at the moment. Nina offered to take control of the counter so the others could talk. Luz accepted the offer and sat down at a table. Heather and Amy joined her, though Amy made sure to grab another donut before sitting.

  “I can’t believe that poor girl was murdered,” Luz said. “And I heard that you were questioning Eric about it.”

  “How did you hear about that?” Heather asked, before realizing the answer and groaning. “Hope.”

  “She saw him entering the station with Ryan and then came over here to see if we had heard anything,” Luz explained. “But I told her that I couldn’t see how Eric could have done it. He was such a nice young man. Though I suppose people can change. It seems that he wasn’t a good friend to Leon lately.”

  “You heard that Eric was dating Angela then?” Heather asked.

  Luz nodded. “Leon told me. And it’s a shame. Leon and Angela were very serious for a high school couple. I think they might have gotten married one day if it weren’t for the tragedy that befell Angela. It changed her. She didn’t want to be close to anyone at the time. It hurt Leon that Eric was dating her now. I think it might not have been so bad if Eric had talked to him about it. But to spring the information on my Leon like that was a mean thing to do.”

  “I think he was trying to get a reaction out of him,” Heather agreed.

  “Was that because of the soccer captain position? I don’t know. But they had become competitive,” said Luz. “Still, I wouldn’t have thought of Eric as a killer. Tell me, are there any other suspects?”

  Heather and Amy exchanged a look. Heather didn’t have the heart to tell Luz that Leon had also become a suspect, so she told her that the police were looking at several different angles of the case.

  Realizing that she might have an opportunity to clear Leon of suspicion right there without alarming Luz, Heather asked about when Leon had come home on Sunday under the guise of c
hildren being home for dinner.

  “I’ll have to figure out some good meals to have when Nicolas is visiting,” Heather said. “Lilly is very excited about it.”

  “That boy is just happy to see his friends,” Luz said. “Anything you make will be fine.”

  “But it is always nicer when you can plan it,” Heather said. “Have you planned dinners for Leon being home?”

  “I did make his favorite dinner yesterday,” Luz said with a smile. “Arroz con pollo.”

  “What about the night before?” asked Heather.

  “He wasn’t home for dinner,” Luz said. “He stopped home, but decided to go out again.”

  “And what time was that?”

  “I suppose around 5:30 in the evening.”

  “And he didn’t come home until the middle of the night?” Heather asked.

  “That’s right,” Luz said. “But why are you asking these questions?”

  Luz looked her right in the eyes, and Heather knew she didn’t want to lie to her. She sighed.

  “I don’t want to think it, but I have to do my job as a private investigator,” Heather said. “Eric accused Leon of the murder, and I needed to check his alibi.”

  “But why would he accuse Leon?” Luz asked getting upset. “My Leon would never do something like that.”

  “It’s because Angela was his ex-girlfriend,” Heather said. “And I’m afraid he was keeping secrets from us.”

  Luz took her cell phone out of her apron pocket and began pressing buttons angrily. “I’m just going to call that boy and tell him to come over here and tell you everything. I know that you always get to the button of these things. But he needs to be honest about things if he wants to get this matter cleared up.”

  Though she had been upset while dialing, Luz was as sweet as frosting on the phone when she talked to Leon. It was a surprise to him when Leon walked into the shop and saw the three women staring at him seriously.

  “What’s going on?” Leon asked.