Daisy McDare And The Deadly Restaurant Affair (Cozy Mystery) (Daisy McDare Cozy Creek Mystery Book 6)

by K. M. Morgan

Scott’s eyes opened wide. “Wow.”

  “Did you know him?”

  “I know of him. It’s hard not to. His staff comes in here three or four times a week with nothing but bad things to say about him.”

  Daisy laughed. “There’s a lot of that going around. Has he ever come into the bar?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Really? Was he here a lot?”

  Scott shook his head. “Not very often. Although he was here last night.”

  This time, it was Daisy’s eyes that opened wide. “Are you serious? When?”

  “It was really busy last night. It’s hard to give you an exact time. Normally I wouldn’t be able to keep track of individual customers, but last night stands out because I had to break up a fight between him and Cameron O’Doul.”

  The plot thickened. Daisy’s mind started racing.

  “Interesting,” she said.

  “A business downer is more like it. I can’t be having fistfights in the middle of my bar.”

  “I meant in terms of the case. It’s interesting that those two got into a fight not too long before Adam was murdered. Do you know what they were fighting about?”

  Scott shook his head. “I didn’t care at the time. I just threw them both out of the bar, then went back to work.”

  “Were any of Adam’s employees here last night?”

  Scott thought it over. “None come to mind.”

  “How about Benjamin Kotter or Jessica Mitchell?”

  “Ben was here. Jessica—I had never seen in person until she started chewing out Ben out of the blue in the middle of my bar a few minutes ago. By the way, she looks much different in person than she does on her real estate billboard.”

  “I’m not really focused on that part.”

  “How could you not be? It’s a night and day difference. I hate people who pretend they’re something they’re not.”

  Daisy needed to bring the focus back to the case instead of letting Scott got off on a rant.

  “I don’t know. I’m more interested in the fact that both Cameron O’Doul and Benjamin Kotter were here last night.”

  “Right. Of course. I just wish people wouldn’t try to put on such a front. Their true nature always comes out eventually.”

  “I’m hoping to dig up some truth of my own,” Daisy said.

  “I wish I could help you more,” Scott replied.

  “Maybe you can. Before Adam got into the fight with Cameron, did you see him with a woman?”

  “I don’t remember anyone.”

  “Do you know anyone by the name of Crystal Pellington?”

  Scott shook his head. “I’m sorry. I have no clue who that is.”

  Daisy sighed. “That’s ok. You’ve given me plenty to work with.”

  “Let me know how this all turns out.”

  Daisy nodded. “Ok.”

  “By the way, I just realized I never got you that drink.”

  “That’s for the best. I have work to do,” Daisy insisted.

  Just then, the door to the bar opened. Carl Blanton, the fired bartender from Tres Chic entered.

  “Scott,” Carl said.

  Scott turned to Carl and moved towards him at the other end of the bar.

  “The usual?” Scott asked.

  Carl shook his head. “Actually, I was wondering if you had any job openings.”

  “I heard about what happened to Adam. I figured with him gone, you’d want to stay at Tres Chic now—not leave.”

  Carl was visibly uncomfortable with the conversation. “Look, do you have any job openings?”

  Scott shook his head. “Sorry. We’re all stocked up on bartenders.”

  “How about servers…busboys…dishwashers even?”

  Carl must have been desperate if he was willing to suggest something as lowly as a dishwasher position.

  Scott grimaced. “Sorry. I have nothing available.”

  Carl groaned.

  “Hey man, you look like you could really use a drink,” Scott said.

  “That’s because I could,” Carl replied.

  “What can I get for you?”

  “Hold that drink for later. I have some job hunting to do.”

  Carl then left the bar.

  Daisy got up as well. She approached Scott.

  Scott sighed. “He looks awful. Poor guy.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Daisy said.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Was Carl at the bar last night?”

  Scott nodded. “Yeah. But he didn’t mention anything about a job until just now.”

  “No. He probably had other things on his mind.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Daisy didn’t have time to explain. “Thanks for your help.”

  Daisy then left the bar.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Daisy caught up with Carl in the parking lot. Carl was taking a puff from a cigarette.

  “Need to take the edge off?” Daisy asked.

  Carl looked grumpy as can be. “What I really need is to be alone right now. So no offense, but I’m not in the mood to make small talk.”

  “How about we cut right to the heart of the matter then? I know why you’re so on edge.”

  “Didn’t I just tell me I wanted to be left alone?”

  Daisy pressed on. “Getting fired does crazy things to people.”

  Carl narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know when to mind your own business, do you?”

  “Not when there’s a murder investigation going on.”

  Carl’s eyes opened wide. “I’m out of here.”

  Daisy went to tail him.

  “Don’t even think about following me,” Carl warned.

  “You know, running away just makes you look guiltier.”

  Carl stopped and glared at her. “I don’t have to talk to you. I don’t even know who you are.”

  “You should. I was there when you got fired yesterday. I saw how mad you were.”

  “Of course I was mad. Anyone would be if they’d just gotten fired.”

  Daisy shook her head. “No. This was above and beyond a normal level of anger. The look in your eyes could only be described as a murderous rage.”

  Carl stared her down. “This conversation is over.”

  “Innocent people don’t run. Especially if they have nothing to hide.”

  “I told the police everything I know.”

  “You didn’t tell them you were at Sudsy Scott’s last night…around the same time Adam Dunning was.”

  Carl gritted his teeth in disbelief. “I don’t know how you found that out, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Actually, it means you lied to the police,” Daisy insisted.

  Carl backtracked. There was a cracking in his voice. “I didn’t kill Adam.”

  “You already lied to the police. Why should I believe you’re telling me the truth?”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s none of your business anyway.”

  “Did I mention I’m helping Detective Crumple with this case? He won’t be very happy when I tell him you lied to him. Now, do you want to tell me why I should believe you didn’t kill Adam Dunning?” Daisy pulled out her phone. “Or do you want to explain it to the detective?”

  Carl’s face looked like it was going through a tug of war. Finally, he sighed.

  “I was with a woman,” he admitted.

  “Why didn’t you tell the police that this morning? They could have called this woman and verified your alibi.”

  Carl’s face tensed up. “It’s a little more complicated than that.”

  Daisy continued her thought. “Unless the woman you were with wasn’t your wife.”

  Carl lowered his head. “How’d you know that?”

  “Just a hunch.”

  “I didn’t mean for it to happen. This other woman, Kayla Jenkins, we got to talking at the bar last night. We had a few drinks, then before I knew it, one thing led to another.”

  D
aisy folded her arms. “No wonder you didn’t want the police calling her to corroborate your alibi.”

  “That, and I was worried Kayla’s husband would pick up the phone.”

  “Let me get this straight. Yesterday, after getting fired, you cheated on your wife with a married woman?”

  Carl exhaled. “Yeah. It was a horrible day for me.”

  Daisy looked deep into his eyes. “Now that, I believe.”

  Carl replied sarcastically. “Thanks.” He then groaned. “Talk about the worst day of my life.”

  “That being said, I know someone who had a worse day. Look at it like this, at least you didn’t end up dead.”

  “True. At the same time, I’ve made it abundantly and embarrassingly clear that I didn’t kill Adam Dunning,” Carl said.

  “Yeah. It’s safe to say this conversation went a little differently than I expected,” Daisy replied.

  “Alright, I’m going to go now. I have a job to find.” Carl fumbled for his pack of cigarettes in his pocket. “But first, I’m going to need another cigarette.”

  Carl wasn’t the only one who needed to relieve some stress.

  Daisy would have reached for emergency cupcake, but she came up with a better idea.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It was rare that Daisy was actually able to eliminate a suspect during an investigation. After Carl Blanton’s adulterous admission however, Daisy no longer had him on her radar. Instead, she moved on to the next suspect on her list, and he was a big one. Right now at least, no one looked guiltier than Benjamin Kotter. That meant some detective dining was in order.

  Daisy’s trip to Ooh La Lunch promised to be interesting, and not just because of the sleuthing that was in store. On a personal note, Daisy wondered how Ooh La Lunch’s food stacked up against Tres Chic’s. Now she’d get to find out.

  Daisy’s usual approach was to bull rush suspects, cornering them, and catching them off guard. She did things differently this time. She decided to be more leisurely. Daisy entered Ooh La Lunch as just a regular customer. She ordered her food, kept a low profile, and enjoyed her meal.

  What a tasty lunch it was too. The French Onion Soup was delicious, as were the potatoes and filet she had as a main course. It was no surprise why Ooh La Lunch was doing such a good business. It offered delicious food that didn’t break the bank. That was more than Tres Chic could say.

  Daisy loved her meal so much, she even forgot about the case for a brief moment. When her waiter came by her table to ask if she’d enjoyed her meal however, Daisy went into full sleuth mode. She hatched a plan.

  “It was fantastic,” Daisy said.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” the Waiter replied.

  “It was so good in fact that I’d like to give my compliments to the chef.”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  “I’d actually prefer to do it in person,” Daisy insisted.

  “I’ll see if the chef is available,” the Waiter replied.

  The stage was set. A few minutes later, Ooh La Lunch’s head chef Benjamin Kotter approached Daisy’s table. He looked like he had cooled down significantly since the blow up he’d had earlier with Jessica Mitchell outside Sudsy Scott’s.

  “Hello. I heard you enjoyed your meal,” Benjamin said.

  “Absolutely. I loved it,” Daisy replied.

  Benjamin smiled wide. “That’s good to hear.”

  Daisy had seen Jessica Mitchell try the battering ram approach with Benjamin earlier outside of Sudsy Scott’s. She only succeeded in making him extremely angry. Daisy decided to try and take a different approach with him now.

  It was time to get creative with the truth.

  “My friend Crystal Pellington recommended this place,” Daisy said.

  Benjamin’s wide smile immediately turned into a nervous one. “I’m glad she did.”

  There was a slight crack in Benjamin’s voice. A lot of people wouldn’t have picked up on it. Daisy’s keen observation skills heard it immediately.

  Daisy knew it wasn’t the first time Benjamin had heard the name Crystal Pellington. The question was, how well did he know her—or would he pretend he’d never heard of her?

  “Do you know her?” Daisy asked.

  Benjamin fumbled his words as he answered. “Uh—no.”

  He was a terrible liar. Daisy saw right through that. She decided to test him again.

  “Really? Are you telling me you don’t know Crystal Pellington?”

  Benjamin shook his head. His mouth said one thing while his eyes said another. “Nope.”

  Benjamin’s lies only stoked Daisy’s curiosity even more.

  Benjamin meanwhile was anxious to change the subject. “She clearly has good taste in food though. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed your meal.”

  Uh oh. Benjamin was already trying to put an end to the conversation.

  Suddenly Daisy was left with a small window to work with. She had to make the most of it. That meant there was no time to dilly dally. She needed to get a visceral reaction from Benjamin. Luckily, she knew just how to do it. Maybe the battering ram approach wasn’t so bad after all.

  “I can see why Adam Dunning got so angry that you left Tres Chic. Recipes this good are enough to sue over,” Daisy said.

  Daisy saw Benjamin’s eyes light up with rage. She could tell Benjamin wanted to blow up at her. Unlike earlier however, when Benjamin unloaded on Jessica outside of the bar, he couldn’t afford to do that in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

  It would draw too much attention. And at that moment, the last thing Benjamin wanted was for all eyes to be on him.

  Benjamin did his best to keep his emotions in check. “I don’t know how you know about the lawsuit, but I’m trying to put the past behind me.”

  Daisy tried to provoke him again, hoping he’d let something slip.

  “I can see why, considering you’re in the middle of a murder investigation,” Daisy said.

  Benjamin narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He was ready to blow his top. Then, he looked around the room and saw customers beginning to look at him. He then started backing away towards the door to the kitchen.

  “I have to get back to work,” he replied.

  Daisy knew if Benjamin was able to make it back into the kitchen, she’d have blown her best opportunity. She had to make her move now. The more distracted a person was, the more likely they were to make a mistake.

  “I’m starting to think Jessica Mitchell was right about you,” Daisy said.

  Benjamin kept backing away towards the kitchen. He was losing his ability to keep calm. By the look in his eyes, it wouldn’t be long before he boiled over. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

  Daisy got up from the table and followed Benjamin step for step. She could tell she was pushing all the right buttons. The problem was, Benjamin was only ten feet away from the kitchen door now. Daisy had to make her move.

  “I’m just trying to find out the truth. For example, where were you really last night? I have a feeling after you left Sudsy Scott’s, you went over to Tres Chic,” Daisy said.

  “Stay away from me,” Benjamin insisted.

  “Come on, prove me wrong. Unless you did it,” Daisy replied.

  Unfortunately, by then Daisy had run out of room. Benjamin had reached the kitchen door and didn’t hesitate to enter it. Daisy had lost her chance to break this case wide open. What a letdown.

  Part of Daisy wanted to bust through that kitchen door and confront Benjamin. Of course, that would get her thrown out of the restaurant in a hurry. Not to mention, they had knives back there.

  Still, Daisy felt like she was close to getting answers. She felt like pressing her luck. Just as she was about to open the door, a man snuck up behind her. It wasn’t just any man however.

  “What’s going on here?” Cameron O’Doul asked.

  Daisy turned around and saw the outrage on Cameron’s face. Busting into the kitchen was definitely out of the question now. By then,
Benjamin was already back cooking on the line.

  Benjamin Kotter may have slipped through her fingers, but she had a new opportunity on her hands. After all, Cameron O’Doul wasn’t just the owner of Ooh La Lunch. He was also a suspect in this case—one that happened to get into a fight with Adam Dunning just hours before the murder.

  Daisy put on a ruse. “Your chef was very rude to me.”

  “I don’t know what got into him. I’m very sorry about that,” Cameron said.

  Daisy knew she didn’t have time to use the slow burn approach with Cameron. She had to get right into her interrogating. Her ruse gave her the perfect jumping off point.

  “You should be sorry. It took a real leap of faith coming here after I saw that Ooh La Lame ad in the paper,” Daisy said.

  Daisy saw anger erupt in Cameron’s eyes. Cameron was clearly just as burned as ever from the attack ad Adam had taken out. He tried not to let it show, especially in front of an angry customer like Daisy.

  Cameron calmed himself down and answered with as even of a keel as he could manage.

  “Don’t believe everything you read,” Cameron insisted.

  “I actually think the ad was wrong. The food here is great,” Daisy said.

  Cameron let the flattery go right to his head. “Thank you.”

  With Cameron caught up in having his ego massaged, Daisy was able to set him up.

  “It’s not me you should be thanking.”

  “Oh no?”

  Daisy shook her head. She decided to use almost the same line with Cameron that she had with Benjamin. Would she get the same reaction?

  “My friend Crystal Pellington was the one who recommended I come here,” Daisy revealed.

  Cameron was taken back hearing that name. Daisy could tell he’d heard it before. The question became, would he admit to it.

  Cameron tried to pretend like he’d never heard of Crystal. “Oh. Well thank your friend. It’s always great when customers recommend the place.”

  Daisy wasn’t about to let him get off that easy. “Wait. Are you saying you don’t know Crystal then?”

  “I’m sorry, but we have a lot of customers. I’m not on a first name basis with all of them.”

  Cameron was slick. Daisy had to find a way to break down the façade.