Cranberry Glazed & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 10

by Susan Gillard

  “What happened?” Heather asked.

  “I’ve been by the park all this time,” Jamie said. “I was waiting for her owner to come, but it got so dark and was so late, I figured it was time to come home. I had water and a few treats, but I didn’t have dog food for a meal in the van. I thought she might be getting hungry.”

  “I’ll show her where the food is,” Lilly said.

  She showed their four-legged guest to the kitchen, followed by Dave who was eager to show off his food bowl.

  “Is it possible she was abandoning the dog with you?” Ryan asked.

  “I wouldn’t think so,” Jamie said. “You should have seen how devoted she was to the dog when she dropped her off for a bath. They had been playing at the park and then saw the van. She said it worked out because she could run her errand and then pick up the dog, instead of having to drop her off at home first. I think the dog is actually a bit spoiled.”

  “Well,” Heather said. “Many of us end up spoiling our pets. I can’t resist giving Dave donuts when I see his puppy dog eyes.”

  "Miss Marshmallow has a tag on her collar, but it only says the dog's name and a phone number. I called and left messages, but she never picked up," Jamie said.

  “So, you decided to bring her here?” Amy asked.

  “I think I’ll go back to the park tomorrow so she could find me again,” Jamie said. “I have flyers around town, but I don’t know if she knows how to get in contact with me.”

  “I think returning to where she last knew you were is a good idea,” Heather said.

  “But I also wanted to check in with you, Ryan,” Jamie said. “I was afraid something might have happened to her. You haven’t heard anything, have you?”

  “I’m not investigating any murders right now if that’s what you mean,” said Ryan. “First thing in the morning, I can check with hospitals and make sure that she isn’t there. And I’ll make sure that she hasn’t contacted us.”

  “Right,” Amy said. “She might be afraid that her pup was dognapped.”

  “I did wait for hours,” Jamie said.

  “What you’ve done makes perfect sense,” Ryan said. “And I’m sure we’ll get it all sorted out in the morning.”

  "I hope so," said Jamie. "I don't know her name or anything about her except that has a dog and doesn't answer the phone number on the license. She paid with cash, so I don't have any credit card information in my system."

  “We might have to change your business plan,” Amy joked. “We can’t have you getting paid with abandoned dogs.”

  “I just don’t think she abandoned Miss Marshmallow,” Jamie said. “You can tell when people really care about their pets and she really did. Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe she just got held up and will find Miss Marshmallow tomorrow.”

  “This does make for an exciting first day,” said Amy. “I hope the second day is calmer.”

  “Me too,” said Jamie. “I hope we don’t find out bad news.”

  Heather was also starting to get a bad feeling about what had happened, but she pushed the feelings away. She told Jamie that they would be happy to feed Miss Marshmallow, but that it might be better for her if she stayed upstairs. That way Dave wouldn’t bother her by trying to impress her. Amy reluctantly agreed.

  “Let’s take care of the dog and not say anything to upset Lilly tonight,” said Heather. “We’ll figure out what happened in the morning.”

  They made sure that Miss Marshmallow was fed and then Amy and Amy started to leave with her.

  “I just hope this isn’t a trick,” Amy said to her friend.

  “I just hope it isn’t foul play,” said Heather.

  Lost Owner

  “They say cranberry juice is very good for you,” Leila said. “Let’s assume that the donuts are too.”

  “I don’t need an excuse to eat these wonderful treats,” Eva laughed.

  Heather was happy to see her favorite customers at Donut Delights. The two senior ladies had moved from Texas to Key West to continue being her neighbors, and they were now all good friends. The ladies were also huge fans of Heather’s donuts and were not shy about complimenting them.

  Amy usually joined in the donut discussions of deliciousness, but today was yawning.

  “Are you all right, dear?” Eva asked, taking a moment away from her snack to inquire about her friend.

  "Just tired," Amy said. "That Marshmallow mutt kept me up all night. She didn't seem to think the blankets we put down were soft enough. She kept pawing them and looking up at me with disdain."

  “A dog was looking up at you with disdain?” Eva asked.

  “This one was,” said Amy. “And she kept looking out the window and whining. I guess she misses her owner, so I could kind of understand it. But why did she need to make us miss her all night too?”

  “Ryan said he didn’t have any luck tracking her down at the local hospitals,” Heather said.

  “Which sounds like a good thing,” Leila said. “That she’s not in the hospital.”

  “Right,” Heather said, hoping that was true. “Do you know if Jamie had any luck at the park? Maybe she did return this morning.”

  "I haven't heard anything," Amy said. "But I might have told him not to talk to me until he got rid of the furball."

  “So, she probably didn’t come in yet,” Heather thought aloud.

  “Are we sure there even is an owner?” Amy asked. “Did anyone see her besides Jamie? Maybe this is all a big charade in order to get me to welcome to poor lost puppy into our home.”

  “I thought you were warming up to the idea of your own dog,” Heather said.

  "I am. But warming and not boiling over with enthusiasm," Amy said. "I always loved Dave. And after that case that Jamie and I had to dog-sit a witness, I've been more open to the idea. But I don't want to rush into anything. What if a dog would get in the way of our investigations? And what if I want to move cross-country again?"

  “Well, last time I moved cross-country I took my pets and all my friends along," Heather said with a smile.

  “You can’t keep us away,” Eva agreed.

  “And this dog is not the right dog for us,” Amy said.

  “What’s wrong with her?” asked Leila.

  “She’s prissy, and caring for her hair takes longer than caring for mine,” Amy began.

  “But Jamie is a professional groomer,” Heather pointed out.

  “And,” Amy said. “I tried to give her a donut to quiet her. And she wouldn’t take it.”

  “She wouldn’t take it?” asked Eva in shock.

  “She doesn’t like donuts?” asked Leila, equally aghast.

  "All right," Heather said. "I think we need to find this owner. Let's check in with Jamie, and if she hasn't arrived yet, we're going to do what we do best."

  “Eat the donuts that the dog doesn’t want?” Amy suggested.

  “The other thing we do best,” said Heather. “Investigate.”

  “I’m worried,” Jamie said. “If you had seen her when she dropped off Miss Marshmallow you’d be concerned too. She wouldn’t have abandoned her dog.”

  “Yes. But we didn’t see her,” Amy said. “Did anybody else see her?”

  “I’m not trying to trick you,” Jamie sighed. “Don’t you believe me?”

  “Fine,” Amy said. “I guess I trust you. But maybe it’s nicer to think that you were trying to con me into getting a dog, rather than something bad happened to a nice lady that puts up with a prissy pooch.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t waste the police’s time on something false,” Heather said. “But so far, Ryan hasn’t found anything to help. The cell phone was a burner phone. It can’t be linked back to the owner.”

  "I wish there were more information I could give," Jamie said. "But all I have is the phone number and description. She was thin and average height. Blonde hair. I'd guess in her thirties."

  “Is there anything else that you think might be helpful to add?” Heather asked.

>   "Well," Jamie said, thinking about it. "I did think at the time that was a little dressed up to be playing fetch in the park. She was wearing a dress, and her hair was pulled up in a fancy sort of bun. But after I met Miss Marshmallow, I thought maybe the two of them were just always at their most fashionable."

  Miss Marshmallow made a noise when she heard her name. Amy walked up to the fenced-in area of the Mobile Groom Room van.

  “Yeah. We’re talking about you,” Amy said. “It’s all going to be all right though. Don’t worry.”

  Miss Marshmallow laid down, sadly with her head on her paws. Amy grudgingly started patting her back.

  Heather tried to focus on their case. “And she said she was going to run some errands?”

  Jamie nodded. “She didn’t say what it was. But she said it would be helpful if she could leave her dog here for a bit.”

  “Which direction did she go?” asked Heather.

  “I think it was that way,” Jamie said.

  “Not towards the parking lot?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Jamie said. “Now that you mention it, I didn’t see her head towards the cars.”

  “Then she didn’t drive to her errand,” Heather said. “It had to be somewhere within walking distance.”

  Amy scanned the area. “If we move away from the dog park, then she was either heading to that palm tree grove or to those shops down the road.”

  “Let’s get moving,” Heather said.

  After visiting all the shops within walking distance and not finding out any information, Heather and Amy were feeling discouraged.

  "I know it wasn't a thorough description," Heather said. "But I would have thought that someone would have recognized her if she went into a store yesterday."

  “Maybe she didn’t go into any of them,” Amy said. “Maybe she walked that way and met someone on the street. Or she took a taxi. Or she did go to her car and Jamie didn’t see her.”

  “You’re right,” Heather said. “She could have headed anywhere. We don’t know anything about her to inform our opinion of where she went.”

  “She might even have been headed towards those palm trees,” Amy said.

  “It’s worth checking it out,” Heather said.

  “But what errand could she be doing there?” asked Amy.

  "If we find evidence that she was there, then that's something we'd need to figure out," said Heather. "And if there's no evidence that she was there, we'll have to think of something else. It is also possible that she was lying to Jamie."

  They started walking among the trees. The ground was uneven, so it was hard to see too far in front of them. They rounded a bend and Amy said, "I think we found the evidence that she was here."

  Then, Amy turned away, but Heather surveyed the scene. A blonde woman in a nice dress lay dead on the ground.

  “You better call Ryan,” Amy said.

  “In just a moment,” said Heather. “I think there’s one other call I should make first.”

  She took out her cell phone and dialed the number that had been listed on Miss Marshmallow’s collar. They heard a ringing sound coming from the dead woman’s purse.

  “I will call Ryan,” Heather said. “And tell him that unfortunately, we found the missing owner.”

  Crime Scene Among the Palm Trees

  Ryan and his partner Detective Peters arrived at the scene quickly.

  “I can’t believe you found her like this,” Ryan said. “I should have taken the tip that Jamie gave us more seriously. I should have begun the search for her that night instead of in the morning.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Heather said. “At the time, she could have just been a late owner.”

  “But Jamie was suspicious,” Ryan said.

  “The medical examiner will tell us more,” Heather said. “But I have a strong feeling that she was killed earlier in the afternoon. I think she only expected to be gone a little while and then would pick up her dog, but someone killed her and stopped her from following through with that plan.”

  “That does sound right,” Ryan admitted. “The medical examiner took the body to conduct the autopsy. He should be able to give us a time of death soon.”

  “What do you know so far?” Heather asked.

  “It looks like strangulation was the cause of death,” said Ryan.

  “It didn’t look like there were marks in the shape of hands on her throat,” Heather said.

  “I agree,” Ryan said. “The killer used a rope of some sort. Probably flatter than what we usually think of for rope.”

  “But why was she strangled?” Amy asked. “What was she doing here? She told Jamie she was going to run an errand, but what errand could she be running by these palm trees? Collecting coconuts?”

  “She might have just said that she was running an errand,” Heather said. “But it does appear that she came here on purpose. And coming here led to her death.”

  "I don't have any ideas on this one," Amy said. "Was she planning on bringing her dog here and then decided against it? Was she really going to bring her dog home first and so she was supposed to come here later? Was she meeting someone? Did he kill her? Did she stumble onto something and that was the reason for killing her? I have a million questions and no answers. I don't like that."

  “I think I have an answer,” Detective Peters said, responding to them as he approached. He had been expanding the search around the crime scene for clues, and it looked as if he had found one.

  “Did you find a clue to tell us who the killer is?” Amy asked.

  “I think I found the murder weapon,” Detective Peters said proudly. He was a young detective and was always pleased when he could prove that he was worthy of his badge.

  “What is it?” Ryan asked.

  “It’s a dog leash,” Detective Peters said. “I marked where it was dropped over there. I think the killer thought it might have been hidden in the sand and brush, but he didn’t count on my keen eye. Because I keenly saw it. With my eyes.”

  He was afraid that he was talking too much and quickly handed the bag over to the other investigators to look it over.

  “This isn’t just any leash,” Heather said. “I think it’s Miss Marshmallow’s. It matches her collar.”

  “Because Miss Marshmallow is a small dog, Jamie would give her a bath in the smaller tub. I don’t think he would have kept her on the leash,” Amy said.

  “So most likely the victim had the leash with her,” Heather said. “And then the killer took it and used it kill her.”

  “Do we know what the victim’s name is?” Amy asked. “I don’t like calling her the owner or the victim all the time.”

  “The identification in her purse says her name is Melanie Grayson,” Ryan said.

  “Was there anything else in her purse to give us a clue?” Heather asked.

  "I'm afraid not," Ryan said. "She didn't keep very much in there. Most of what she had related to her dog. She kept dog brushes, treats, and baggies in there."

  “Have we found anything that could help point us to her killer?” Heather asked.

  “We did find some footprints,” Detective Peters said.

  "Unfortunately, the killer must have realized that he left footprints in the sand and tried to smear the prints. There are only partials left now," said Ryan. "However, if we have a shoe to compare them to, they might still be helpful."

  “I’ll keep examining the scene,” Detective Peters said. “I already found the murder weapon. Maybe I’ll find something just as exciting.”

  He went back to his search.

  “I should join him,” Ryan said.

  Heather nodded. “Let us know what you find. We’ll catch Jamie up on what’s been happening. And then we can both look more into Melanie Grayson’s life and see who would have a motive to kill her.”

  “Hopefully we can find out what she was doing here and then discover who the killer is,” said Ryan. He said good luck and goodbye to Heather and Amy, and then went to
join his partner.

  "There are already so many questions in this case," Amy said. "But two are rising to the top for me."

  “I’m guessing one is who killed her,” said Heather.

  “Right,” said Amy. “And the other is what do we do with Miss Marshmallow?”

  Going to the Dogs

  “I think it’s fun,” Lilly said. “It’s almost like a party.”

  Heather didn’t quite share the same sentiments. She and Amy had been failing at finding something that would make Miss Marshmallow eat. While she had deigned herself to eat Dave’s food the night before, today she would not be bothered.

  Heather and Amy had tried several different types of dog food and treats that they had in the house, and then had resorted to human food. They had tried many foods that Dave and Cupcake had been overjoyed to sample, including chicken, fish, hamburger, and donuts. However, Miss Marshmallow had turned her nose up at all of them.

  There was definitely enough food for it to be a party, and there were more animals in the house to make it seem like there were guests. However, the mood was not festive. Amy was getting cranky, and Heather wasn’t far behind.

  Heather forced herself to take a deep breath and then said, “She might just be sad because she misses her owner. Maybe she’s not hungry right now.”

  “Fine,” Amy said. “If we can stop focusing on what the dog is going to eat, then it’s my turn. Hand me a donut.”

  Heather obliged and grabbed a donut for herself too.

  Dave wasn't sure where to direct his attention. Torn between tasty meat dishes, his favorite donuts, and a pretty lady dog, he was spinning in circles. This did little to impress Miss Marshmallow.

  Cupcake had been very leery of the new dog at first, but when Miss Marshmallow didn't seem eager to either bark or chase, she had calmed down. She was enjoying the food most of all.

  “Ryan should be home any minute,” Heather said. “And he might have some updates on the case.”

  “It will be nice to focus on the case again and not on the spoiled dog,” said Amy. “If she doesn’t want to eat, she doesn’t have to.”