Murder to Go (The Heights Bed and Breakfast Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)

by Susan D. Baker

  Carolyn stared at her. “Really? I never knew that.”

  “Don’t you ever think about stopping your blog,” Beatrice told her. “It’s the best thing in the world.”

  “Thanks,” Carolyn exclaimed. “I had no idea.”

  “Now you know,” Beatrice replied. “Why do you think you get so much traffic and so many sponsors?”

  “I always tried to give good reviews,” Carolyn told her. “I didn’t know it meant so much to everybody.”

  Beatrice laid her hand on Carolyn’s arm. “It’s you. Your personality and your wit shine through with every post.”

  “Thank you, Beatrice,” Carolyn exclaimed. “You don’t know how much that means to me right now. I had just about given up.”

  “You can’t give up now. I’ve been waiting for ages to get a review from you, and now I'm going to get it. If you want to give up, just wait until after Saturday to do it,” Beatrice quipped.

  Carolyn burst out laughing. “All right. I definitely won’t give up before then.”

  Beatrice turned back toward the kitchen. “Great. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

  Chapter 7

  Carolyn let herself into her room at Stan’s Motel. She put her laptop away and changed into her pajamas, but when she got into bed, she stared at the ceiling in restless thought. The murder case, the catastrophic argument between her and David, her crumbling marriage with Karl—too many things cluttered her mind. She couldn’t let go of the world to let herself slip off into sleep.

  She slipped out of bed and paced around the room for an hour or more. Three or four times, she got out her laptop, but instead of plugging it in and turning it on, she ended up pushing it into its case in disgust. Couldn’t she be free from that infernal machine for one night out of the year?

  She looked out the window at cars gliding in and out of the motel parking lot. Stan certainly was doing well. His establishment wasn’t fancy, but he offered clean, comfortable rooms and excellent food. No one could fault him for that.

  She turned away from the window when she heard a thump through the wall. Kat Coeur d’Alene must be getting ready for her nightly act. She should have been performing at The Heights instead.

  Carolyn decided she would benefit from listening to some music. She threw on her clothes and rushed down to the bar. Kat was just getting behind the microphone. She spotted Carolyn in the back of the bar and smiled at her. Carolyn sat down and listened to the music. Kat’s throaty voice sent chills up Carolyn’s spine. She relaxed back into her chair and let her cares drift away. Maybe she was making too much of all this murder case stuff. She should let Babs do her job and stick to her blog. That’s what she was good at. Maybe she should go home to The Heights after all and make up with Sarah and David.

  On the other hand, she made the mistake of overstaying her welcome in their apartment in the first place. She should rent a place nearby for herself and Karl. She would still be able to see Sarah and David whenever she wanted and share their lives.

  Then again, Karl might refuse to live in the place rented with money earned on her blog. He was just stubborn enough to take a stance like that. He was an old-school male. If he wasn’t the primary breadwinner with everyone depending on him, he felt useless. Carolyn knew that about him. She never should have told him about her money. Then none of this would have happened.

  Kat finished her set to rousing applause and took a break. To Carolyn’s surprise, Kat came over to her table.

  “That was sensational, Kat. You are too good for a small town like this. When are you taking your act on the road?”

  Kat laughed and sat down across the table. “Just as soon as my agent gets me a booking. What are you doing, slumming it here at Stan’s?”

  “I really wanted to hear you sing,” Carolyn remarked.

  “How’s Karl?” Kat asked.

  “Not good,” Carolyn replied. “He’s taking it hard, but that’s to be expected when you’ve been arrested for a double murder.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Kat exclaimed. “I had one of the lunchboxes Karl made that day, too, and there was no poison in mine.”

  Carolyn stared at her. “You..... what?”

  “I got one of Karl’s lunchboxes,” Kat repeated. “I picked it up at the service window before I went down to the lake. I’ll tell you what. That was the best turkey sandwich I ever ate.”

  Carolyn shook her head, but it didn’t help to clear her thoughts. “Are you really sure it was a turkey sandwich?”

  Kat snorted. “I think I know what I had for lunch. Every detail of that day is permanently etched into my memory. I ate that lunch right before I found Porky and Monica’s bodies.”

  Carolyn held up her hand. Her voice shook. “Don’t play games, Kat. Just tell me straight. Are you absolutely certain it was a turkey sandwich?”

  “Sure, I’m sure,” Kat replied. “How could I not be sure? What’s the big deal?”

  Carolyn leapt out of her chair and threw her arms around Kat’s neck. “You’re the best, Kat. Thank you so much. You’ve saved my life.”

  Kat stared back in surprise. “Hey! What did I do?”

  Carolyn raced out of the bar without answering and dashed back to her room. She almost tore her laptop case getting the computer out. She plugged it in and drummed her fingernails on the desk while she waited for it to boot up. She finally got her Internet browser open and found Phillip Sawyer’s blog post about The Heights having a murderer in the kitchen.

  She scanned down to the middle of the page, to where she left off reading. There it was. ‘Don’t go to The Heights unless you want your ham sandwich topped with poisonous mayo for lunch’. Carolyn could barely control her fingers. She saved the page to her bookmarks and slammed her laptop closed. Then she grabbed her phone and hit speed dial. Her daughter answered and Carolyn shouted, “He made turkey sandwiches!”

  Carolyn heard her daughter stiffen through the phone line. “What do you mean?”

  “I can prove your father is innocent,” Carolyn exclaimed. “I found out who killed Porky and Monica.”

  Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s great! How did you do it?”

  Carolyn laughed out loud. “It’s right there in the middle of Phillip’s blog post. I can’t believe someone would be so careless. It is right there in public for anybody to see.”

  “I don’t understand, Mom,” Sarah replied. “What did Phillip write that makes you think he killed the couple? How can you prove he did it?”

  Carolyn face froze with shock.

  “You are right. I need proof. I don’t have time to explain everything right now,” Carolyn shouted over the phone. “I have to run. She’s probably about to leave the stage.”

  “Mom, who is about to leave the stage? What is this all about?”

  “I will call you later to explain. Hopefully, the next time I see you, I’ll be bringing your father home.” Carolyn froze with the phone pressed to her ear. “If you’ll have us back, that is.”

  “You know you and Dad are always welcome back here. Go catch up with her. Explain it to me later. Good luck, Mom.” Sarah laughed as she ended the call.

  Carolyn tossed her computer on her bed. She watched it slide off and fall to the ground as she closed the motel door but her own excitement over what she discovered wouldn’t let her slow down. She clutched her phone in her hand and raced back to the bar.

  Kat stood on the stage serenading the crowd with a beautiful melody. Carolyn rushed up to her.

  “I did it, Kat!” she cried interrupting Kat in the middle of her song. “I found out who killed Porky.”

  A rumble of discontent arose from behind Carolyn as the crowd became upset at the interruption.

  Kat’s eyes widened. She covered the microphone with her hand and bent over to whisper to Carolyn. “That’s great, Carolyn. Congratulations.”

  “Yeah!” Carolyn panted. “Now I can get Karl out of jail. But I need you to testify that you ate a turkey sandwich from him the
morning of the murders. Will you do that for me, Kat? I’ll be in your debt forever if you do. I need you to come down to the police station and tell the detective in charge of the case what you know.”

  Kat glanced around. “I’ll be happy to come down to the station with you, Carolyn. But do you mind if I finish my set first?”

  Chapter 8

  Babs stared at her computer screen as Carolyn and Kat hovered over her desk. Babs turned to them and frowned up at Carolyn. “Just exactly what are you saying? I would love to help you, I’m just very busy.”

  “Don’t you see?” Carolyn asked. “Kat got a lunchbox from Karl the same morning Porky and Monica died.”

  “Yes, I understand that,” Babs replied. “Is that supposed to tell me something?”

  Carolyn took a deep breath. “Kat is willing to testify that she got a turkey sandwich in her lunchbox. Karl wouldn’t have made more than one kind of sandwich. That would have taken too long and been too much work. All the lunchboxes that left The Heights would have contained the same type of sandwich.”

  Babs nodded. “But what does this have to do with the case? Karl might have only spread the poisonous mayonnaise on the victim’s sandwiches.”

  “Because the sandwiches that killed Porky and Monica were ham sandwiches,” Carolyn blurted. “Your lab report should have told you that.”

  Babs’ gaze drifted from the two and her lips parted. She looked down and went through the folders on her desk. Opening the folder she was looking for, she ran her finger down the page. “Yes, you are right, it was a ham sandwich. How did you know about that? We never released that information to the media. We only reported on the poisonous mushroom mayonnaise found in the lunchboxes.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you.” Carolyn replied, opening up her laptop and placing it on Babs’ desk. “Take a look at this blog post.”

  Babs peered at the screen. “What am I looking for?”

  “Right here,” Carolyn pointed. “This is Phillip Sawyer’s blog. He owns Sawyer B & B. He wrote this blog post the morning after you arrested Karl. He even offered a ‘Karl’ discount to all The Heights’ guests to come over to his B & B instead. Look right there. He wrote, ‘Don’t go to The Heights unless you want your ham sandwich topped with poisonous mayo for lunch’. There is even a link to the news report but he probably missed the fact it didn’t include any mention of the sandwich.”

  Babs read the page with a furrowed brow. “Hmm. All right. I understand now. I better go talk to Karl.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Carolyn blurted.

  Babs held up one hand. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You know Karl isn’t very happy with you right now.”

  “I’m coming,” Carolyn insisted. “I just cleared my husband of a double murder. I want to see him when you confirm it.”

  “You haven’t cleared him yet. Karl has to corroborate your findings first.” Babs sighed as she looked up at the excited women in front of her. “All right. You can come, but you’re going to sit there and not say a word. Do you hear me? Not one single word. I’m doing all the talking. Do you understand that?”

  Carolyn could scarcely contain her excitement. “I understand.”

  Babs turned to Kat. “You can go now, Kat, but I’ll need to take another complete statement from you before the day is over.”

  Kat nodded and headed for the door. “You can find me at The Heights when you’re ready.”

  Babs stopped. “The Heights? I thought you were staying at Stan’s?”

  “I was,” Kat replied. “I’m moving back to The Heights just as soon as I get my bag packed.”

  “You’re booked to perform at Stan’s for the rest of the week,” Carolyn pointed out. “You can’t back out of your commitment.”

  “I talked with Stan,” Kat replied. “He thought it was a good idea for me to go back to The Heights. He said he would pick me up for my last two performances. After that, I think I’ll do a week-long ‘Welcome Back’ performance at The Heights—free of charge—just to make up for all this confusion.”

  Carolyn squeezed Kat’s hands. “Thank you. I’m sure Sarah and David will really appreciate that.”

  Kat hugged Carolyn and walked out the door. Carolyn turned back to Babs. “I’m ready when you are.”

  Babs regarded her. “Is there anyone in this town you aren’t friends with?”

  “Yeah,” Carolyn replied. “Phillip Sawyer.” She stared at Babs. “I feel like a fool that I didn’t know more about you, too.”

  “What for?” Babs asked. “I’m just a run-of-the-mill homicide detective. If someone else arrested Karl that night, I never would have met you. You probably never would have known I existed.”

  “I have to admit,” Carolyn remarked, “I didn’t think much of you when I first met you. I thought you unfairly singled out Karl for this murder and didn’t do enough to investigate the other possible suspects.”

  Babs shrugged. “I’ll make a confession. I didn’t think much of you when I first met you, either. I thought you were stepping out your area of expertise by looking into this murder, and I didn’t think you were smart enough to solve it.”

  “I’m glad I proved you wrong,” Carolyn replied.

  “I’m glad, too,” Babs told her. “I never liked arresting Karl, so if he can convince me he just made turkey sandwiches, I will make sure he is out of jail by the end of the day.”

  Carolyn touched Babs arm. “Thank you so much, Babs.”

  “I’m the one who should be thanking you for doing all of this work for me,” Babs returned. “If anybody else in Evergreen Cove turns up dead, I’ll know where to come for help.”

  “I would love to help in any way I can,” Carolyn replied. “But I’m not a sleuth.”

  Babs unlocked the door to the holding cells. “You are now.”

  She led Carolyn into an interrogation room adjacent to the holding cells. A guard brought Karl into the room. He glared at Carolyn. “What’s she doing here?”

  “Sit down, Karl,” Babs told him. “I have some questions to ask you. When I finish, you just might like to apologize to your wife for being such an insufferable boor.”

  Karl’s eyes shot up. He frowned at Babs. Then he sank into his chair. “Ask me whatever you want to ask me and let me go back to my cell.”

  “After these questions,” Babs returned, “you might not be going back to your cell.

  Karl raised his eyebrows.

  “Really… then, by all means… ask away,” He stammered, smiling at this opportunity.

  “Let’s start at the very beginning,” Babs told him. “Tell me exactly what you did on the morning of the murders. Start from the very moment you woke up.”

  “I woke up before sunrise, like I always do, and went into the kitchen to make coffee,” Karl replied.

  “That would be the kitchen of the manager’s apartment, I guess,” Babs interrupted. “What was the exact time you woke up in the morning?”

  “Yes, I was in the manager’s apartment kitchen. I always like to have a pot of coffee ready for Carolyn and the kids,” Karl informed her. “I woke up at five o’clock, there is a lot of prep that I need to do before I can make breakfast for the guests and get the day’s baking started.”

  “All right,” Babs prompted. “Please continue.”

  “I sat at the table and read the paper and drank my coffee until twenty after five,” Karl went on. “Then I went into the kitchen—the B & B kitchen, that is. I turned on all the ovens and unlocked the walk-in. I did some paperwork until about quarter to six. Then I started the baking. At six-thirty, I started cooking breakfast.

  “Okay, we can skip breakfast,” Babs replied. “After breakfast, what did you do?”

  “At eight-thirty, I cleaned up the kitchen, and I got ready for lunch,” Karl told her. “That’s when I made the lunchboxes for 9am pick-up at the service window.”

  “How many guests requested sandwiches that day?”

  “It was
only three people. Porky, Monica, and Kat,” Karl recounted.

  “Did you see who picked up the lunchboxes?” Babs asked.

  “Nope,” Karl replied. “I made all the sandwiches and sliced up some apples, and I packed a bag full of potato chips that I had made in the fryer that morning. For dessert, I bagged a chocolate chip cookie that had cooled on the baking sheet. I placed the boxes up on the services window and started cleaning up. I noticed the lunchboxes were all picked up when I finished. I didn’t give it another thought until I heard Kat run in from the lake.”

  “With only three people, do you make specific lunchboxes for the guests?”

  “No, I make the same lunch for everyone. It saves me a lot of time.”

  Babs nodded. “And can you tell me what kind of sandwiches you put in the lunchboxes?”

  Carolyn sat on the edge of her seat. This was the moment of truth.

  Karl didn’t blink. “They were turkey and stuffing sandwiches with cranberry sauce. I like to include cranberry sauce with turkey. Turkey goes best with cranberry sauce. Don’t you think?”

  “It certainly does,” Babs nodded smiling. “All right, Karl. You’ll be released just as soon as we process the paperwork. I’m sure your wife will be waiting to take you home.”

  Carolyn clapped her hands and wiped away her tears of joy. “Oh, Karl!”

  Karl frowned at her. “Maybe I should get a motel room instead.”

  Babs spoke up before Carolyn could answer.

  “Don’t even think about it. Your wife is the reason you won’t be sharing a cell anymore. She was the one who uncovered this discrepancy. I hope she holds this over you head for a long time,” Babs smirked as she saw Karl’s mouth drop open.

  Karl lowered his eyes. “I didn’t know that.”

  Carolyn rushed to Karl, threw her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. “I think a champagne dinner will make us even.”