“I’m Kevin. Kevin Bell,” he said as he took turns shaking our hands. “Are you two starting tonight?”
“No, we’re just snooping around,” Star replied.
“What my friend is trying to say is that we are investigating the crime scene.”
“Crime scene?” he repeated. “Are you referring to the lady passing out last night?”
“Yes I am. We have reason to believe it wasn’t an accident. So we wanted to look around a bit.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. How can I help?”
“Do you not have a waste basket behind the bar?”
“I do, but we take those back every night for cleaning. I haven’t brought it out yet.”
“Where do you usually put it?”
“Over there in the corner,” he said while pointing. “On the other side of the sink.”
With no time to waste, I dropped to my hands and knees and crawled in the direction of the corner. In Kevin and Star’s eyes, I likely looked idiotic. Probably so. But I refused to leave even one inch unsearched.
“Ah ha,” I exclaimed.
Hidden under the bar was a small white cap. The cap was sitting behind where the trash can normally sat. The cap almost proved difficult to reach, but I stretched my arm just far enough to reach it.
After I retrieved it, I rose to my feet and lifted my hand in the air. “Yes. I found it.”
Noticing me shouting like a yokel, Detective Beaux hurried over to join us.
“What did you find?” he asked.
“The plastic cap to the extract bottle,” I said before I put the cap in front of his face. “See?”
“How can you be sure?” Star asked.
“Simple,” I said as I pulled the extract bottle out of my pocket. “Only one way to find out.”
I placed the cap on the bottle and screwed the lid on. The cap fit the bottle perfectly, like the glass slipper fit Cinderella’s foot.
“Interesting,” Beaux said as he retrieved his notepad from his pocket. “The evidence you’ve discovered leads to an interesting theory.”
“The extract was used at the bar,” I interrupted.
“Indubitably.”
“So, the butler didn’t do it,” Star replied as she smiled. “Not the butler, but the bartender.”
“Hold the phone,” Kevin replied, startled by the accusation. “You’re not accusing me, are you?”
“If the cap fits, you must convict,” Star said as she held back from laughing.
“She’s messing with you. That’s Star’s way of being funny,” I replied, trying to calm the man down. “No one’s accusing anyone.”
After I thought about it a moment, she did have a point. At the very least, one must consider him a suspect. Questioning him wasn’t exactly out of the question.
I glanced over at Detective Beaux. As our eyes met, I realized he was thinking the same thing.
“Mr. Bell, no one is accusing you of any wrong doings, at least not yet. The fact of the matter is anyone behind this bar last night is a suspect,” Detective Beaux said.
“A number of different people passed behind the bar last night,” he explained as his voice began to crack. “Myself, the bar back, the servers…even the Mayor himself stepped behind this bar yesterday evening.”
“The Mayor?” I asked. “I talked to him yesterday afternoon at Grove Park. He told me he declined the invitation and wasn’t attending. Are you sure it was him?”
“Mayor Boss Hog isn’t exactly hard to miss,” Star quipped.
“It was definitely him,” Kevin said in a matter-of-fact fashion. “He drank a few glasses of champagne too many. Before I knew it, he slipped behind the bar and began pouring drinks for people. He attempted to show off to the other guests. He tried performing bar tricks, like flipping bottles in the air and stuff.”
“You try to stop him?” Beaux asked. “I’d imagine the rules forbid non-employees from going behind the bar.”
“Oh, he broke the rule. No question about it,” Kevin said. “But it was the Mayor. I mean, who am I to question the man. He basically rules the town.”
“That’s not exactly how it works,” I mumbled under my breath. Mayor Roy served as Mayor, but not as a king or dictator.
“Look here,” Kevin said as he turned to Detective Beaux. “I’ll be honest with you. I like bartending, don’t get me wrong. But I strive to do something more meaningful with my life.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I put in an application with the Sunny Shores Police Department last month. The job fair is in September, and I need all the help I can get. The last thing I need is to get on the Mayor’s bad side. His influence could make or break my chances. So I decided to let him be. I figured it was harmless fun.”
“Fair enough,” Beaux responded as he wrote a few notes down. “I need a list of everyone who went behind the bar last night.”
“My boss hired a few new people over the last few days. I don’t know all their first and last names, but I can ask my boss to send you a list. He’s running late but should be in later today.”
“I suppose that’ll work,” Detective Beaux said as he handed Kevin his business card. “Let me offer you a bit of free advice.”
“What’s that?”
“Give us your full cooperation and no funny business, ok?” Beaux said as he stared Kevin in the eyes.
Kevin shook his head in agreement. He offered his hand to Beaux to shake. Beaux swiftly gripped his hand.
“Trust me, Mr. Bell,” he said as he tightened his grip and pulled Kevin closer. “If anyone has the power to block an applicant to the department, it’s me. I’d stay on my good side, if I were you.”
The three of us walked away and left through the front of the building. Detective Beaux walked Star and me back to the car. Before getting in he tapped me on the shoulder.
“As much as it pains me to admit it, nice work. That was a good find in there.”
“Thanks. I guess it’s in my blood,” I replied. I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry, kid. You’ll get ’em next time.”
“Funny,” he said, not looking amused. “I’m not leaving empty-handed. I found this nice diamond earring.”
“Wait, what?”
Chapter 9
The next morning, I called an emergency staff meeting a few hours before opening. By now, Star and Ty realized the purpose of the meeting. I wasn’t fooling them. The two and only emergency staff meetings I’d held had nothing to do with the actual business.
As I walked over to the dry erase board containing the daily menu, Ty stopped me. I made an annoying habit of using the menu board for my list of suspects. After spending too much time writing them out, Ty apparently had enough.
“Hold it right there,” he said as he took the eraser out of my hand. “I have a present for you.”
“A present?” I asked.
With his other hand, Ty reached behind the dessert cooler. He pulled out a brand new dry erase board, with the words suspects written at the top.
“I bought this so you’d stop erasing the menu board every time you go into detective mode,” Ty said as he handed me the board.
“You know me too well,” I said as I smiled. “Let’s get started.”
I picked up a marker and began to lightly tap my head. As I ran several possibilities in my head, one potential suspect stood out. I wrote his name first.
Kevin the Bartender
“We have to start with the most obvious one,” I said after scribbling his name. “He worked that night and had access to all the drinks. Not to mention, I found the cap to the extract bottle under the bar.”
“Too obvious,” Star replied as she shook her head. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned this summer working with you, is that it’s never the obvious suspect who’s guilty.”
“I think you meant to say the one thing you learned, besides how to cook and prepare delicious food.”
“No, that’s about it.�
�
To prevent getting my feelings completely hurt, I changed the subject.
“Who do you suspect?” I asked as I handed the marker to Star.
The Mayor
“Ol’ Boss Hogg himself,” Star said with a smirk on her face. “Bonnie May and Roy despise each other. The love lost between the two is no secret.”
“And according to what you told me, Roy drank himself into a stupor last night,” Ty said as he agreed with Star for once.
“In addition to that, he also went behind the bar that night,” Star added. “That puts him directly at the scene of the crime.”
“I can’t argue with any of that,” I said as Star and Ty both provided good points.
“Not to mention he’s as greasy as your Gun Shot Tator Tots.”
????
I wrote a series of question marks under Mayor Roy’s name. Star and Ty both stared at the board.
“Who’s that, the Riddler?” Ty asked.
“It’s a mystery,” I said.
“Umm…we know it’s a mystery. That’s why we’re trying to solve it. Are you positive you’re feeling ok?”
“I’m saying the next suspect’s identity is a mystery. It’s the person responsible for purchasing the extract.”
“How do we figure that out?” Ty asked.
“We go right to the source,” I said as I picked up the bottle of extract. “The bottle of blueberry extract is from Mulberry Farms. The address says Shell Bluff, Florida.”
“Shell Bluff’s only about thirty-minutes southwest of here,” Ty said.
“Star, start the car,” I said as I tossed her car keys to her.
“Why?” she asked, fully knowing the answer to come.
“Road trip.”
Star and I got in her car and headed to Mulberry Farms. Ty volunteered to stick around the truck and help finish the prep work. This allowed us to have a couple hours to kill.
After a thirty-minute drive, Star and I arrived at the entrance to Mulberry Farms. Mulberry Farms wasn’t an actual farm, but a distribution center. They purchased items from local farms and sold them direct to vendors and businesses, not the public. Mulberry Farms provided a one stop shop for vendors.
The security guard at the front gate stopped us and asked our business. Once we explained the situation, he directed us to the main office.
We parked and walked inside. The front office contained a small lobby in the front, with a main desk and a few offices in the back. The only people inside were a lady at the front desk, and another working in the back office.
“Hey, y’all. Welcome to Mulberry Farms. How can I help ya?” said the young woman working at the front desk.
The woman looked to be in her early twenties. She twirled the gum in her mouth with her finger, while she waited for us to respond. Being the germaphobe that I am, this made me want to vomit. Regardless, we had a mission to complete. Bonnie May’s life depended on it.
“We need to find a little information on this extract purchased here,” I said as I placed the empty bottle of blueberry extract on the desk.
“No problem, hon. I’ll print out a price list and spec sheet for ya.”
“Actually, I’m not looking to buy. I need a list of who purchased this item recently.”
“Why on earth would ya need that?” she asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“Our friend, Bonnie May, fell ill from being poisoned by this extract. We believe the person responsible purchased it here.”
“I’d love to help you, but my hands are tied,” she replied.
“Your hands seem open to me,” Star said.
“It’s company policy,” she replied as she picked up her company handbook. “I’m not allowed to share information on our vendors, such as purchase history. It’s confidential.”
“How about making an exception,” I pleaded. “Please. Just this once. She might not make it through this.”
“Hon, I told you my answer already,” she said. “I feel for your friend Bonnie May, but the answer’s no.”
The woman working in the back of the office behind her perked up. She stopped working and walked up to the counter.
“Excuse me,” she said. “Are you referring to Bonnie May Calloway? From Sunny Shores?”
“Yes, that’s her,” I replied. “You know her?”
“Oh yes, dear. Bonnie May and I go way back,” she replied. “Bonnie and I were best friends growing up. My name’s Angela Bowling, but you can call me Angel for short.”
“Nice to meet you, Angel. I’m Kara Summers and this is Star Daniels. We’re both friends of Bonnie May as well,” I replied. “That’s why we’re here. Bonnie May’s condition is stable, but still critical.”
“Oh my, critical?” Angel said as she placed her hand over her heart.
“Because she’s old,” Star responded before realizing Angel and Bonnie shared the same age. “I mean…aging…”
“It’s ok, dear. We’re old,” she replied as she smiled. “You can’t outrun father time.”
“We believe the person responsible purchased the extract here.”
“Brynn, dear. If you’d like, you can go ahead and take an early lunch. I’ll take over for a bit.”
“Sweet,” Brynn replied.
Brynn gathered her purse and left the office. Angel watched her through the window as she got into her car and drove off. After the coast was clear, she sat down at the desk and began typing on the computer.
“Bonnie May’s one of my closet friends and I adore her. When my husband passed away, his life insurance covered only half the costs. Without blinking an eye, she offered to pay the other half. I tried to refuse, but she insisted.”
“So, you’ll help us?” I asked.
“Of course,” she replied.
Hearing Angel’s story warmed my heart. Although Bonnie May earned her reputation, there was more to her than most people knew. Those close to her knew Bonnie May’s heart was the size of a watermelon.
“Brynn’s a dear, but she’s a few apples short of a bunch,” she said as she reached out her hand. “May I see the bottle, dear?”
“Here it is,” I said as I handed her the bottle. “Thank you so much for helping.”
“It’s my pleasure,” she said as she turned the extract bottle around to retrieve the item number. “If someone intentionally hurt Bonnie May, they deserve to be caught and punished. If that means bending a few company policies, then so be it.”
“Will it be hard to figure out who purchased it?” Star asked.
“Shouldn’t be. The blueberry extract is one of our slower moving items, so it shouldn’t be hard to track. In general, we sell very few cases of any of our extracts. Most vendors shop with us for our fresh produce,” she said as she tapped the keyboard. “I’ll run a search for the last thirty days on it.”
“According to our system, one vendor purchased a case two days ago. Besides that, I don’t show another purchase,” she said as she pressed the button to print the report.
Once the report printed, she ripped it off the printer and handed it to me. I looked over the document until I found the line containing the name.
“Fresh Market Food Supply,” I read out loud.
“Wait a minute,” Star said as she perked up. “Is that the same service who delivers to us?”
“Yep,” I replied, still in shock. “Is there a way to verify who made the pickup?”
“Let me pull the file,” she said as she stood up.
As she walked to the back, Star and I continued to look at each other in disbelief.
“Here’s a signed copy of the invoice, dear,” Angel said after she handed the invoice to me.
“Oh my,” I said as I read the name in my head.
“Who is it?” Star asked.
“Ray Robins.”
After leaving Mulberry Farms, the ride back started off quiet. Neither one of us spoke a word, as we both continued to process what we had learned. Star kept it from being quiet for too long
.
“So, you’re telling me it’s Ray Robins? The same person we let into our food truck is the same person guilty of attempted murder?” Star blurted out.
“Yes, but technically he’s guilty of nothing. No charges have been filed by the police, at least not yet.”
“That honestly doesn’t make me feel any better,” Star replied, not sounding convinced. “So, what’s the plan? Do we interrogate this guy? Force a confession out of him?”
“It’s 9:30, Star. It’s time to go to work,” I replied.
“This doesn’t sound like the Kara I know,” she replied. “Let me feel your head. Are you coming down with a fever?”
“I’m healthy as a horse,” I said.
“But stubborn as a mule,” Star said quietly under her breath.
“I’m going to pretend not to have heard that,” I said before continuing. “For once in my life, I’m going to take heed of Beaux’s advice and butt out. The last few times I’ve confronted a criminal, they threatened my life. This time I’m going to stay back and let the police handle it.”
“You’re really going to let this go?”
“I’m not letting go completely. I’ll drop by City Hall later today and pay Sam and Beaux a visit. I’ll hand over the two pieces of evidence we discovered and let them confront Ray Robins. Besides, there’s other potential suspects to consider. For instance, we’ll question Mayor Roy when he stops by the truck today. It’s suspicious since he showed up last minute and went behind the bar.”
“That’s the Kara I know,” Star said as she smiled. “Welcome back.”
Chapter 10
A hurricane off the coast of South Carolina had pushed a storm system to the coast of Florida. We were accustomed to getting pop-up afternoon thunderstorms, but these were different. The storms were stronger and lasted longer, which hurt business that week.
“What a crummy day,” I said as I counted the money in the register. “It’s been so slow that I think I’ve lost money today.”
Blueberry Pie White Lie - a Cozy Mystery: Sunny Shores Mysteries Book 3 Page 5