Purrfect Poison

by Louise Lynn

  Hazel grinned and took a long sip of the iced tea. Thankfully, it was unsweetened and just strong enough that the flavor, both bitter and minty, came through. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind that either. And you’re right; it’s not easy running a business alone. But, I think she does have people to fall back on. Regardless of how this turns out with Marcus, she has me, and you, not to mention her workers are great. And from what I can tell, business is booming. I don’t think you have to worry about it.”

  Rosalie smiled and patted her arm. “Well, that’s a relief. Now, what is this about you solving murders? It’s all I’ve been hearing from Celia for the past few months, and I see you brought a computer out to a crime scene. That’s not normal behavior, is it?” she said with a raised brow.

  “Define normal. You brought iced tea to a crime scene,” Hazel said with a wide grin.

  Rosalie Parks laughed. One would think her laugh would be light and delicate like the rest of her, but it wasn’t. It rang like church bells, loud, clear and full of joy, and always lightened Hazel’s heart. “Fair enough. Now, let’s see what you’re working on; I’d be lying if I didn’t say how curious it makes me.”

  Hazel nodded and opened the computer. She gave a truncated version of the case to Rosalie, hitting the most important facts, and then brought up the two videos.

  Anthony Ray hopped on Hazel’s lap and blinked, his green, orb-like eyes glinting in the light.

  Rosalie watched with great interest. “You think that Ms. Stratford didn’t do it? The sheriff seemed pretty sure when he was dragging her away. It’s always a shame to see a proud woman stoop so low.”

  Hazel nodded, and wondered if she felt the same. And if that was the reason the idea of Candace being the killer felt so wrong to her.

  Hazel played the videos for both Rosalie’s benefit and her own.

  The woman bent over, pulling out a pair of reading glasses and adjusting them on her nose. “That’s odd,” she said after the second video ended.

  Hazel scrunched her nose. “What part?”

  “That reflection in the darkness,” Rosalie said.

  Hazel scrolled back to the part of the video mentioned. She’d noticed it the first time she viewed it too, but she had no idea what it was. “Glass of some kind?”

  Rosalie’s lips pursed. “The other video is just slightly different. There are more lights on, for one. This seems like it was shot under different circumstances. You know, I love those ‘find the difference in the pictures’ puzzles, and this is what that reminds me of.”

  Hazel nodded. It was like that. “Well, in the second one, I’m pretty sure someone else is the camera person. It looks like Monica might be the one holding it.”

  They went back and reviewed the first video again, and sure enough, when the camera scrolled by that same dark corner, nothing glinted. There was nothing there to reflect on the large crates.

  Yet, when they went to the second video, the two orbs of shining light were there, plain as day, but only for about five seconds before the camera panned past them.

  “Weird,” Hazel said.

  Rosalie nodded and pulled the specs off her nose. “I’d say so. Maybe whoever is in that video is the one who did it,” she said and took a long sip of her tea.

  Hazel blinked. “Wait. That makes sense! But did Monica steal the drugs, or did she catch the thieves on video? Someone with good reason to be in the warehouse and who wears glasses.”

  Rosalie’s eyes brightened. “Glasses! Yes. That’s what the reflection probably is. And the second one makes a lot more sense than the newscaster girl doing the stealing. From what you told me of her, she didn’t sound like the criminal type. Too self-righteous for that.”

  Hazel agreed with that assessment and stood up. Monica might threaten people on phone calls, but she wasn’t going to steal two million dollars worth of meth. But that didn’t mean someone close to her wouldn’t.

  Someone who also wore glasses.

  Someone like Pablo.

  Hazel’s stomach clenched. “Can I leave this with you for a moment?”

  “Go on ahead, Hazy. You want me to keep Anthony Ray company too?”

  Hazel shook her head. “He needs his exercise. I promise, I’ll try not to be long,” she said and hurried back toward the Lakeside Inn.

  She hoped she wasn’t too late.

  Chapter 20

  The shadows grew longer as she neared the inn. The building itself was still bustling, though she noticed it seemed as if half of the guests had already departed. Her heart throbbed.

  What if she was too late? She hoped not.

  Candace Stratford didn’t wear glasses, which meant that wasn’t her in the video. But it also wasn’t proof Hazel’s hunch was right.

  She glanced around the bottom floor of the inn and didn’t spot who she was looking for, so she turned and took the stairs as quickly as she could, rushing past all of the people who bustled down, laden with luggage.

  By the time she arrived on the fourth floor, she was out of breath, and a thin film of sweat covered her brow. Maybe she needed to join Esther at the gym. Or she needed to stop chasing down killers. The first seemed far worse than the second.

  When Hazel arrived, she knocked on Pablo’s door, and was greeted with a long moment of silence. Then someone rustled inside, and the door creaked open.

  Pablo blinked at her, eyes still red-rimmed, and Hazel forced herself to catch her breath. “Thank goodness. I was afraid you’d gone.”

  She was also afraid he might be a killer, but she didn’t say that.

  Pablo glanced behind him at his half-packed suitcase. “I have time off for the honeymoon, so I don’t have to be back at work like everyone else. Only, I’m not sure I feel like going now. Stan has been trying to convince me otherwise,” he said and shook his head.

  Hazel took a tentative step into the room and glanced around. It looked empty, and Pablo was so out of it he didn’t even seem to notice the cat sniffing his bed.

  “Why does Stan want you to go on the honeymoon?”

  Anthony Ray hopped onto the bed, making himself at home.

  Pablo stopped packing and squeezed what Hazel hoped was a shirt, but feared were boxers. “He’s trying to help me get over this. As if it’s a bad break up and not… But he means well. I can’t blame him. I might go.”

  She came here for a reason, so she might as well get it over with. “Where are your reading glasses, Pablo?” Hazel asked.

  Pablo glanced up at her and his lips quirked. “How did you know? I never wear them on air. Monica hated them, but I can’t help if my eyes suck. They’re here!” he said and pulled out a black case. He even popped it open, revealing the black framed reading glasses.

  Hazel felt her heart freeze. She really wished she’d been wrong this time. “I know you lied to me,” she said softly.

  Pablo froze. “What?”

  Hazel looked at the open door. How fast could she run if she had too? Not fast enough. Why hadn’t she called Sheriff Cross first?

  “You lied to me,” she said with more conviction than she felt.

  Pablo licked his lips. “Wait. Is this about that call the night of the rehearsal?”

  Hazel blinked. Right. The florist! “Uh, yeah. I talked to Ronan Kelly, and he said he never talked to Monica on the phone that night. So, why lie about it?” She hadn’t done that, but a little lie couldn’t hurt—as long as it caught a killer.

  Pablo sat on the bed with a heavy thud and put his face in his hands. “I’m so sorry. My poor Monica. I put her through all of that, and now…she’s gone forever.”

  Anthony Ray rolled on his back and batted at Pablo’s side. Here she thought her cat could read people!

  “You were there that day, weren’t you? At the warehouse. You saw all the drugs and just couldn’t help yourself. And when Monica found out—”

  Pablo’s head snapped up, his eyes wide. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Hazel frowned. “Y
ou just said you killed her!”

  Pablo shook his head franticly. “Me? No! I never said that. I—I didn’t kill her. And what warehouse? I was talking about the call. It was me. I got cold feet, and Stan said I could just run for it. I didn’t have to go through with the wedding. He kept going on about how I had my whole life ahead of me, and that Monica was awful for me. I was so scared I believed him for a while. So I called her and tried to call it off.” The last bit was a pained whisper.

  Hazel stared at him. “You tried to call off the wedding at the last minute, and she threatened you?”

  A slight smile touched his eyes. “Yeah. That was my Monica. She wouldn’t have let me walk away, and when I hung up, I realized I didn’t want to. So I came back in and told Stan I was going to marry her. That’s it. But you thought I killed her?”

  Hazel nodded sheepishly. “Sorry. But everything added up. So you didn’t know about the warehouse or tape 206?”

  Pablo ran his fingers through his unkempt hair. “Everyone at the station knew about it. Why? All the video went missing months ago.”

  “I found some new information about the bust that went belly up, do you remember that?”

  Pablo’s eyes cleared, and he nodded slowly. “Yeah. Monica believed that story was going to make her a star investigative reporter. No matter what anybody else says, she fancied that more than she did sitting behind a desk. Though, it obviously didn’t end up that way. What did you find?”

  Hazel chewed on her bottom lip. “I found the missing video. Monica had it stored on a secret cloud drive, and I watched them. Did you know anything about it?”

  Pablo’s shoulders slumped, his hands limp at his waist. “She kept that a secret from me. It’s not surprising, but do you think she’s the one who erased them from the station’s computers?”

  Hazel hadn’t thought about that yet, but— “No, actually I don’t. Someone else did. Who went to the warehouse with her that day? She was with a man. And I thought that man might have been you, but it wasn’t.”

  “Why would I shoot a news video? Stan went, but—oh, I do remember something. He got sick from a bad fish taco and went home early. Monica complained about having to shoot extra b-roll.”

  Hazel frowned. “Stan went home early? Are you sure?”

  Pablo nodded. “That I know of, but…”

  “But what?”

  Pablo rubbed his face. “He’s my best friend, but in the last few months he’s been acting weird. I thought it was about the wedding, because my brother was the best man and not him. He even offered to come with me on the trip so I won’t be alone the whole time, and he got tickets last minute.”

  Hazel furrowed her brows. “To where?”

  Pablo blinked. “The Maldives. Monica loved tropical islands, but she thought the Bahamas were too cliche.”

  That sparked a different memory. That joke the sheriff made the day before about non-extradition countries and the Maldives.

  “He made plans to go with you at the last minute?” Hazel asked, and heard the incredulous tone in her own voice.

  “He thinks I need a break, and after everything that happened, I agree with him,” Pablo said.

  Hazel thought Stan might not be as loyal a friend as Pablo believed, and that turned her blood to ice. “Did Stan have access to this room before the wedding?”

  “Yeah, he helped me get the bow tie right. Why?” Pablo said, and new tears glistened in the corners of his brown eyes.

  Stan was at the warehouse with Monica. He wore glasses. He even told Hazel that poison was a ‘woman’s weapon,’ whatever that meant!

  “Do you know where Stan is now?”

  “Waiting for me, probably. You don’t think he had anything to do with this, do you?”

  She couldn’t bring herself to outright say no, so she shrugged instead.

  “The sheriff already arrested Candace. She’s the one who—” His voice broke into a sob.

  “I know, but I think it’s best to make certain. Did he have a degree in something related to chemistry?”

  Pablo’s head snapped up. “Chemistry? I don’t think so, but—wait. He used to work as a pharmacist before he became a cameraman.”

  Hazel nodded. Odd change of careers, but she figured Stan Baker had his reasons. “Thanks. If you see him before I do, can you call the front desk? I really must speak to him before you leave town.”

  Pablo nodded, though he looked uncertain.

  Hazel left.

  She knew who the killer was, but now she had to find him.

  Chapter 21

  There were even fewer guests at the Lakeside Inn now, and the parking lot was nearly empty.

  As she rounded a corner to step onto the patio, she ran smack into Marcus Banks and nearly stumbled back. His strong hands caught her by the shoulders, and he smiled at her. His teeth were white next to his dark skin. “Whoa, there, Hazel; what’s the rush?”

  She was panting again, and shook her head. Anthony Ray sniffed Marcus’s shiny oxfords and looked at her as if to say—ask him.

  “Have you seen the guy with the glasses and a Hawaiian shirt?”

  Marcus smacked his lips slightly while he thought, and Hazel wondered if she should submit that to Celia as a flaw. “Yeah, I did. He was asking me some of the same questions you were about Monica.”

  Her heart beat faster. “He was? What did you tell him?”

  Marcus ushered her toward one of the patio tables. “I told him the same thing I told you about the cloud drive. Why?”

  Oh no.

  “Did you show it to him?”

  Marcus’s eyes widened. “Yeah. Should I not have? I thought they caught the killer. Didn’t the sheriff arrest a woman?”

  The bile rose in Hazel’s throat, and she swallowed it. “He did, but he got it wrong. Do you know where the guy with bad taste in shirts went?”

  Marcus’s eyes narrowed keenly. “He was looking for you. And one of the members of the staff said they’d seen you hurrying out to the beach, so I’m assuming that’s where he went. What’s going on?”

  Hazel leaned forward and squeezed Marcus’s forearm. It was pleasantly muscular, and she made a note to tell Celia about that too. “You need to contact Sheriff Cross right away. Tell him to get back here because he got the wrong person. You got that?” she cried and turned to run through the gardens.

  Thankfully, Marcus didn’t charge after her or ask for further explanation.

  Her feet slid on the sand as the little pebbles worked their way inside of her sandals. Anthony Ray thought it was all a game, and darted in front of her, scaring away a group of robins in the process.

  As she skidded to a stop outside the tent, she swore her heart was going to burst.

  “Rosalie?” she called.

  Celia’s mother didn’t answer.

  Instead, Stan Baker sat in the seat she had vacated, and Rosalie was gone.

  Chapter 22

  Hazel glanced around, half expecting to see Rosalie’s crumpled body somewhere in the tent, but thankfully she wasn’t there.

  “Where’s Rosalie?” Hazel panted and stood several yards from Stan.

  Now that she faced him, she wondered how it never occurred to her that this was the killer. He’d seemed so nice. Unassuming. He even pointed her and the sheriff at Candace Stratford. And she’d taken all of that for granted.

  He gave her that friendly grin and pushed up his glasses. They caught the light and glinted at her. “Oh, the nice older lady? She went to get more tea. I didn’t ask her to, but she insisted. How are you doing, Hazel? You look stressed.” His voice had a certain edge to it that she had never noticed before.

  “Fine. I just came to get my computer.” She edged toward him.

  “Oh, this is your computer?” He tapped on the keyboard. “Interesting thing you have here, by the way. These videos; that lawyer told me about them, and boy was I surprised. Who knew Monica wiped the drives at the station and kept these for herself? That’s a little bit incriminating,
isn’t it?” he said and shook his head.

  Now that he was speaking, Hazel knew for certain he was the one in the video. The voice was a match. She’d recognize it anywhere. “Yeah. Amazing that she was going to expose you for what you were. A thief.”

  Stan had the gall to laugh, then look offended. “Me? I’m not sure what I stole.”

  Anthony Ray tugged at the leash, and Hazel let him go. If he wanted to get somewhere, it was usually best to let him do so.

  “Really? You’re in the video, so I think that’s pretty incriminating.” She took another step closer.

  Stan’s smile hardened. “You think I’m in these videos? Wow, I watched them, and I didn’t see my face. But I saw Monica and heard some random guy speaking off camera. I’m not sure what that proves.”

  “And that wasn’t you shooting the video for her?”

  “I mainly shot in the studio.”

  Hazel shook her head. “That’s you with Monica before the drugs disappeared. Then, to Monica’s great annoyance, you got sick and took off. That’s why the second video is shakier. Monica was shooting it solo, but she accidentally caught you in the background. That’s why you killed her. She found out your secret.”

  Stan snapped the top of the laptop closed. His fingers drummed on it. “And what secret would that be?”

  Hazel swallowed. “You stole the drugs. You hid in the warehouse and waited for them to lock you inside, so you could clear them out. And the next day, when the Reno PD came back to get them, they were gone. Because of you. You thought you got away with it. You’d taken the hard drives from KQTV, but you didn’t know Monica had the files on a secret cloud drive. She was so close to that big break she always dreamed of. Outing a colleague in a citywide drug scandal would have been huge for her. She was ready to turn you in and collect the reward, but you stopped her before she could”

  Her words seemed to hang in the air between them.

  Stan didn’t even deny it.

  Instead, he gave another crisp laugh and clapped. “Good job. You know, Candace said you were some kind of super sleuth, but I didn’t believe it. I decided you were fumbling around and putting on a show for your boyfriend, but you’re pretty good. Not even the Reno PD figured me out. Do I look like a killer? A drug kingpin? Of course not! Plus, you don’t have any proof.”