by K. M. Morgan
“The job of an owner is never done.”
“I don’t supposed you have anyone to corroborate your alibi, do you?” Detective Crumple wondered.
“I was doing paperwork in my office deep into the night. I wasn’t done until well after one in the morning.”
“So you have no one to verify your story then?”
“Technically, no.”
Detective Crumple scribbled something down in his pad once more. He then looked up and addressed the entire group. “So you’re telling me I have a dead body over there and eight people in front of me, each with a reason to want Adam Dunning dead, all who swear they didn’t do it?” He shook his head. “Something doesn’t add up. Rest assured I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Now don’t any of you think of leaving town on me.”
Crumple then dismissed the suspects.
Chapter Fifteen
“Detective Crumple,” Deputy Stark said.
“Yes,” Crumple replied, scribbling in his pad.
“I have Daisy McDare here. Apparently she was hired to do some decorating for Tres Chic,” Deputy Stark said.
Crumple turned around and raised his eyebrows. Daisy had no idea how Crumple would react. It had been six months since they’d last seen each other. After Daisy solved the real estate affair murder, Crumple seemed to have started warming up to her. Did he still have that goodwill, or would he look down on her sleuthing skills once again?
“Daisy, long time no crime scene,” Crumple said.
Apparently Crumple was in a playful mood. Daisy responded in kind.
“Believe it or not, it’s been eight decorating jobs since my last crime scene,” Daisy said.
“That is hard to believe. Rumor has it, crime follows you on vacation.”
Detective Crumple was referring to how Daisy’s weekend away had gone badly three months ago, which saw the murder of washed up rock star Blaze Billick. Daisy was fortunately able to crack the case and help bring the killer to justice.
“It’s safe to say I need a vacation from that vacation. By the way, thanks for vouching for me,” Daisy said.
“It would be hard not to. You’ve saved my neck more than a few times,” Detective Crumple replied.
This was a different Crumple than Daisy had seen before. He didn’t have the same ego. He had even cleaned the jelly donut stain off of his badge that had been there as long as she’d known him. Daisy liked this competent Crumple.
“Anyway, I’m in a real pickle here,” Crumple continued.
“I can’t believe someone killed Adam Dunning.”
“You can’t? From what I can see, he had plenty of enemies.”
“Trust me, I know. But murder is an extreme act.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. And those were some extremely desperate people.”
“Except Trevor Thompson you mean,” Daisy said.
Detective Crumple nodded. “How refreshing that was to see someone with a verifiable alibi. You don’t see that every day.”
“No. That would be like having a murder case with a clear cut killer,” Daisy said.
“That never happens,” Detective Crumple insisted.
“So, how was Adam killed?” Daisy asked.
“He was stabbed in the back.”
“Are you serious?”
Detective Crumple nodded. “Dead serious. With a restaurant knife no less.”
Daisy winced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Talk about a painful way to go. So, what do you think?”
“It sounds painful to me,” Daisy answered.
“I meant, what do you think about the case?” Detective Crumple asked.
Daisy wasn’t sure she heard that right. Crumple usually tried to keep information about the cases away from her. He never asked her opinion before. Maybe he truly had turned over a new leaf. Before she got too excited, she wanted to make sure.
“Are you serious?” Daisy replied.
“You’d better believe it. You can only play ol’ Chris Crumple for the fool for so long before he wizens up. I figure with you on my team, maybe the media will stop calling me Chris Crumble.”
“They really call you that?”
Crumple nodded. “Oh yeah. Chris Crumple, the detective that crumbles under pressure. The press can be so mean.”
“Ouch.”
“Anyway, I’m in a tough spot. Seeing as you’re supposed to be redecorating the restaurant, you have a great inside track. So what do you say, will you help me crack this case?” Detective Crumple asked.
Chapter Sixteen
“What have you got so far?” Daisy asked.
“You mean other than seven guilty-looking suspects and the murder weapon?” Detective Crumple replied.
“Yeah.”
“Not a whole lot.”
“Were your men able to pull any prints from the knife?”
“Unfortunately, no. That would make things too easy.”
Daisy sighed. “I can’t stop thinking of the knife.”
“It seems like a dead end to me. It’s a standard kitchen knife commonly used for dicing and other general chef activities. Nine inch long by two inch tall blade. The same kind of knife that you’d find in any kitchen in this country.”
“I meant, I can’t help but think of the metaphorical meaning of the knife. The killer could have offed Adam in a number of ways, but they chose to stab him in the back.”
“You might be reading a little too much into it. Guns are hard to get on short notice. Kitchen knives meanwhile are widely available, easy to wipe the prints off of, and don’t point to any one suspect one way or another,” Crumple explained.
“True, but Adam specifically mentioned he felt like he’d been stabbed in the back by Benjamin Kotter leaving Tres Chic for Ooh La Lunch.”
“And you think Benjamin may have literally gone and stabbed Adam in the back?”
Daisy bit the corner of her lip. “When you say it like that, it does seem a little bit too obvious. Maybe the killer knew that and chose to stab Adam in the back to point the blame at Benjamin.”
“That’s a whole lot of speculation.”
“Well, it’s just a theory I’m working on.”
“I prefer to deal in facts.”
“And what facts do you have?”
“I’m working on digging up some more,” Detective Crumple insisted.
“It sounds like we both have a lot of work to do,” Daisy said. “Do you mind if I check out the crime scene?”
“Be my guest.”
Daisy walked past the yellow police tape towards Adam’s car, where the chalk outline of his body was.
“What are you looking for?” Crumple wondered.
“Anything that can help us crack this case.”
“My deputies already went over that area.”
Daisy looked intently at the ground. Her eyes then narrowed as she focused hard.
“Looks like they missed something,” Daisy said.
Crumple was taken back. “What?”
Daisy bent over and picked up a matchbook that was under the car, just behind the driver’s side wheel.
“What is it?”
“A matchbook.”
The matchbook had the logo from Sudsy Scott’s Dive Bar on it. That wasn’t all. When Daisy opened the matchbook, she saw a woman’s name and phone number scribbled inside. It said “Crystal, 555-2312.”
Crumple furrowed his brow. “It’s strange that you found a matchbook under Dunning’s car. As far as I know, he wasn’t a smoker. My deputy’s found no cigarettes on him. Besides, I thought Adam’s mistress was Jessica Mitchell. Is it possible he was cheating on his wife with two different women?”
“I think it’s more likely that this matchbook belongs to the killer. It might have fallen out of their pocket or purse.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right.”
“By the way, how many of the suspects are smokers?” Daisy wondered.
“I’ll have my deputy’s look int
o that,” Detective Crumple replied.
Daisy then switched gears. “At the same time, maybe all the answers we need are just one phone call away.”
Crumple looked at the phone number on the matchbook. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Chapter Seventeen
Crumple put his phone on speaker as he dialed the number scribbled inside the matchbook. After three rings and no answer, the call went to voice mail. A recorded message played: “This is Crystal Pellington. I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave a message after the beep.”
The phone then beeped.
“This is Detective Chris Crumple with the Cozy Creek police department. I have some very important questions I need to ask you. Call me back as soon as possible. My number is 555-9834.”
Crumple then hung up. He sighed. “I was really hoping she’d pick up.”
“That would be too easy,” Daisy said.
“When have you ever known life to be easy?” Crumple grumbled.
“You sound like you could use a donut.”
“What I could use is a break in this case…and a jelly donut.”
“Look, if this Crystal woman is in some way connected to the killer, I’m sure she’s screening her calls.”
“That makes sense. I’m going to catch up with her one way or another though. I’ll have my deputies try to pull her address from our database.”
Daisy bit the corner of her lip. “There’s something really strange going on.”
“Of course there is. A man has just been murdered,” Crumple replied.
“No. I meant about the phone number. Who scribbles their digits down in a matchbook in this day and age? Everyone I know puts numbers in their phones.”
“Unless they purposely didn’t want the number in their phone.”
Daisy thought it over, then nodded. “Like maybe the person was worried someone might check their phone. Most people wouldn’t think to check inside a matchbook though.”
“I have a feeling there’s more to this murder than we realize,” Detective Crumple said.
“In that case, it’s time to start doing some digging. Give me a call when you track down Crystal Pellington’s address.”
“Wait. Where are you going?”
“I have places to go and people to interrogate,” Daisy said.
“So basically just another day in the life of an interior decorator?” Crumple joked.
“Very funny, but I’m planning on getting back to décor as soon as possible,” Daisy insisted.
“You’d better get to cracking this case then,” Crumple said.
Chapter Eighteen
Sudsy Scott’s Dive Bar was only a few blocks away from Tres Chic on Main Street. It was easily in walking distance. Daisy needed to stretch her legs anyway. Besides, there were a number of thoughts bouncing through her head.
Daisy walked out of the parking lot and moved on to the sidewalk in front of Tres Chic. That’s when she realized she’d been so caught up with the murder that she’d overlooked something important—Trevor Thompson.
Crime scenes were becoming surprisingly commonplace in Daisy’s life. The same could not be said for Trevor. This was clearly his first run-in with murder. He didn’t seem to be taking it well.
Trevor’s car was parked in front of Tres Chic. He sat in the driver’s seat looking completely rattled. In addition, he had a spooked look in his eyes. He appeared to be doing breathing exercises to calm himself down.
That gave Daisy flashbacks of her first crime scene. She had been a complete wreck too. It felt like she had an out of body experience. It was bad enough seeing a dead body. Being questioned by the police made things even more nerve-wracking—and she hadn’t even done anything wrong.
Trevor Thompson looked like he was going through the same shock Daisy once had. She knew she had to go over and comfort him.
Daisy tried to lighten the mood with a joke. “Interesting morning, huh?”
“More like terrifying,” Trevor replied.
“Just remember to take deep breaths,” Daisy said.
“Any other advice?”
“Just know that the worst is over.”
“Well yeah. I don’t know how things could get worse. It’s not every day your boss gets murdered and you get questioned by the police.”
“Look, I know from experience how hard it is to be questioned by the police,” Daisy said.
“I know. What I don’t get is how you manage to stay so calm during these investigations. I’m a complete wreck here,” Trevor replied.
“You get used to it after a while.”
“I’m pretty sure that would never happen with me. Then again, this isn’t something I’d want to get used to. I prefer a little more peace in my life. This is just a nightmare.”
“Let me tell you something, things could always be worse.”
“They can always be better too—in this case especially.”
“Think of it like this—at least you have an alibi. I can name seven people off the top of my head that can’t say that,” Daisy replied.
“Tell me about it. Who knew Adam Dunning wasn’t the only raving lunatic I worked with?” Trevor said.
“At least you don’t have to work with them anymore,” Daisy insisted.
Trevor was confused. “Them? Don’t you mean him?”
“You were right the first time. Obviously you won’t be working with Adam anymore. At the same time, I wouldn’t keep working at Tres Chic either if I were you.”
“It’s not like I want to. The problem is, I have more bills than job offers right now.”
“Trust me, there has never been a better time to look for another job. This restaurant has more bad publicity than a politician trying to get re-elected in the middle of a sex scandal.”
Trevor laughed. “I can’t deny that.”
“Plus, there’s my motto,” Daisy added.
“What motto?”
“Life is too short to work with homicidal maniacs.”
“Words to live by,” Trevor said.
“Besides, I thought the only roadblock in your relationship with Samantha was the pressure of this job,” Daisy added.
“True.”
“So imagine where you could take your relationship if you worked in a kitchen where the knives were only used to cut food instead of stabbing each other in the back.”
“What a novel concept. Alright, you sold me. The question is, do you have any job leads?”
“That, you’ll have to take care of yourself. I have an appetizer platter full of murderous maniacs to deal with,” Daisy explained.
“You’re right. By the way, I’m really sorry I recommended you for this job.”
“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” Daisy joked.
Trevor nodded. “At the same time, it could be worse.”
“That’s good advice. I wonder where you got it from,” Daisy hinted.
“What I meant was, at least you’re not Detective Crumple right now. He seriously has his hands full with this one. So many suspects, so few alibis.”
“Speaking of the detective, he’s asked me to help him out with this case.”
Trevor was surprised. “Are you seriously going decorator detective again?”
Daisy nodded. “That’s why I need your help.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I’m no good at solving mysteries. Now if you need someone to manage your fantasy football team, I’m your guy.”
“I’m not asking you to crack this case. I just need some more information on the suspects.”
“That, I can do. What do you want to know?” Trevor asked.
“You can begin by telling me who hated Adam Dunning the most.”
“I thought you were going to start me off with an easy question. Instead, you went straight to the hardest one of all.”
“I know there’s plenty of people to choose from,” Daisy said.
Trevor laughed. “Isn’t that the truth?”
Trevor thought it over, then revealed his answer. “Benjamin Kotter.”
Daisy had a hunch Trevor was going to pick the former sous chef of Tres Chic turned head chef at Ooh La Lunch. She was interested in Trevor’s rational for picking Benjamin.
“Why?” Daisy replied.
“He spent all those years feeling overworked, underpaid, and utterly lacking in appreciation. He had a huge chip on his shoulder. To the point that he went to work for Tres Chic’s rival Ooh La Lunch. Finally when Ooh La Lunch started crushing Tres Chic thanks to his recipes, it seemed like maybe he finally got the chip off his shoulder. Until Adam Dunning slapped a lawsuit on him and threatened to take all his money. Suddenly, Benjamin was angrier than ever,” Trevor explained.
“It’s funny that you picked Benjamin Kotter. Adam Dunning was literally stabbed in the back. At the same time, Adam also felt figuratively stabbed in the back when Benjamin went to Ooh La Lunch.”
“And you have a hard time believing that’s just a coincidence?”
Daisy nodded. “Not to mention he has a lousy alibi.”
“That’s a whole lot of strikes against him.”
“It certainly doesn’t look good. You need more to convict than that though. Speaking of, have you ever been to Sudsy Scott’s?”
“Of course. Haven’t you?”
Daisy shook her head. “I don’t make a habit of going to dive bars.”
“You should give Sudsy’s a try. You might like it there. It’s the go-to hangout spot for Tres Chic employees.”
Daisy wanted to make sure she heard that right. “What?”
“A lot of nights after work, my co-workers and I go to Sudsy Scott’s for a little nightcap.”
“Were you doing this back when Benjamin Kotter was still working for Tres Chic?”
Trevor nodded. “Oh yeah. This has been a tradition for years.”
Daisy’s thought ran wild. “Do you happen to know how many of the suspects are smokers?”
Trevor laughed. “Are you kidding? It’s the restaurant business. Almost everyone smokes—except me that is. Samantha would kill me if I smoked.”