by K. M. Morgan
Logan glared, looking like he wanted to kill her in that moment. She didn’t step back however.
Daisy called him out. “What’s the matter? Did that question cut a little too deep for you?”
Logan appeared to be on the verge of erupting. Daisy was ready if he did. She pulled the can of pepper spray out of her purse and held it up, prepared to squirt Logan if need be.
Logan backed away slightly at the sight of the pepper spray.
“Why don’t you really tell me what happened last night?” Daisy asked.
“Stay away from me,” Logan insisted.
Logan started walking backwards towards the restaurant.
“Where are you going? You don’t have to run. I’m only after the truth,” Daisy said.
Logan ignored her and kept making his way to the back door of the restaurant.
“There’s no reason to run if you don’t have anything to hide,” Daisy continued.
Logan then reached the back door of the restaurant. He gave it a knock.
“Emily, let me in,” Logan yelled.
Emily Dunning opened the door and let Logan in. Emily then slammed the door after Logan was inside.
Now alone in the parking lot and out of danger, Daisy let out a big sigh. She put the pepper spray back in her purse. Wow. That got hairy in a hurry.
Sometimes Daisy got so caught up in trying to solve the case that she lost sight of the danger involved. She got an abrupt reminder of that. Now what she needed most was a breather to try and process things.
***
She didn’t get one. Instead, her phone rang. Daisy almost decided to ignore the call. In the end, she was glad she didn’t.
As she looked at the number of the incoming caller, she realized it was Detective Crumple.
Daisy took the call. “Hello.”
Detective Crumple answered on the other end of the line. “Daisy, Crumple here. Do you have anything for me?”
“I have a whole bunch of guilty-looking suspects trying to keep secrets from me.”
“Sounds like you’ve had a fun day,” Crumple joked.
Daisy replied sarcastically. “Oh yeah. It’s been a blast. I hope you have something better for me.”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“What have you got?”
“I have Crystal Pellington here at the station for questioning,” Detective Crumple revealed.
Daisy’s eyes opened wide. She had a feeling the case was about to get blown wide open.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Crystal Pellington looked as nervous as could be. She was in her early thirties, with a pleasant face, freckles, shoulder length black hair, and blue glasses. Crystal wore a light blue dress that fit loosely over her athletic frame. She kept chewing her gum loudly with her mouth open like a nervous tick.
It was obviously her first time in a police station. Hopefully that could work to both Daisy and Detective Crumple’s advantage. When a person was more focused on calming their nerves than anything else, they had a tendency to let things slip.
Detective Crumple let Daisy sit in on the questioning. Daisy was happy to be given more access with this case. It was hard enough shaking down suspects without adding in competing with the police.
Crumple tried to get right into the questioning.
Crystal had other things on her mind. “Why am I here?”
Detective Crumple leaned across the table in the interrogation room. “I’m the one asking the questions here, got it?”
Surprisingly, Crumple actually looked intimidating for once. Then again, he hadn’t put his foot in his mouth yet. Although the interrogation room seemed to be doing some of the leg work in rattling Crystal. It was an imposing situation being locked away in the back of the police station sitting in a windowless room across from a homicide detective.
Crystal stopped chewing her gum for a second.
Crumple continued. “Tell me about the nature of your relationship with Adam Dunning.”
That question made Crystal swallow her gum. She went into full denial mode.
“We don’t have a relationship” Crystal replied.
Her stammering gave her away. Was everyone allergic to the truth all of a sudden? Daisy knew Crystal was lying instantly. Luckily, Detective Crumple was able to spot that as well.
“Really?” Crumple asked.
Crystal shook her head. “Nope.”
“Are you seriously going to lie to a police officer?” Crumple wondered.
“Look, we don’t have a relationship…at least not anymore,” Crystal insisted.
“Of course not. He’s dead,” Crumple said.
“I meant that we don’t have a relationship anymore because we broke up a week ago,” Crystal clarified.
One question immediately came to Daisy’s mind. “Did you break up with him, or did he break up with you?”
Crumple folded his arms. “Very good question.”
“I broke up with him,” Crystal answered.
Daisy followed up. “Why?”
“I got tired of waiting for him to leave his wife. Especially when I realized it would never happen,” Crystal explained.
“No. As it turned out, it was his wife who decided to leave him,” Daisy said.
“Yeah. Sometimes life is ironic that way. It figures he was about to become single just as I got over him.”
The bigger irony to Daisy was the fact that Adam apparently had not one, but two mistresses who both had waited a long time for him to leave his wife. Talk about one big hot romantic mess.
“Were you really over him?” Daisy asked.
Crystal nodded. “By the time I broke up with him, I’d put the hurt behind me. You can only give your heart away and be strung along for so long before--”
Daisy finished her sentence. “Before you snap.”
Crystal shook her head. “No. Before it’s time to move on.”
Crumple stepped back in. “You know, in my experience, it’s the heartbroken women that are the most dangerous.”
“I told you I was over Adam,” Crystal said.
“You say that, but maybe that’s just an act to get you off the hook,” Crumple replied.
“Wait a minute, am I a suspect?” Crystal asked.
“That depends. Where were you between eleven and midnight last night?”
“My roommate and I had just gotten home from the bar. Call and ask her. She’ll tell you.”
“We’ll do that,” Crumple said.
Daisy latched on to another part of Crystal’s latest answer. “When you say you were getting home from the bar, you mean Sudsy Scott’s, right?”
Crystal’s eyes opened wide. “How did you know that?”
“There was a matchbook from Sudsy Scott’s with your name and phone number written in it found at the murder scene. We know for a fact that Adam was at the bar last night, and now we know you were too,” Daisy said.
“It’s not what you think,” Crystal insisted.
“Yeah? Then what is it?” Crumple asked.
“I didn’t give that matchbook to Adam. He already had my number,” Crystal explained.
“Who’d you give it to then?” Daisy wondered.
“Benjamin Kotter,” Crystal revealed.
Daisy and Detective Crumple’s eyes opened wide.
“Things just got a whole lot more interesting,” Detective Crumple said.
“So what, you two just met at the bar and hit it off?” Daisy asked.
“Actually, Ben had been pining for me a while, but I was hung up on Adam during that time. When I ran into Ben at the bar last night though, he seemed like the perfect guy to move on with,” Crystal explained.
Daisy was having trouble with one thing. “So let me get this straight. You go to Sudsy Scott’s, hit it off with Benjamin Kotter, and then give him your phone number on a matchbook. Yet this whole time, your ex Adam is in the same bar, and you don’t see or talk to him?”
“Not exactly. Adam did see Ben flir
ting with me,” Crystal revealed.
“And I’ll bet he wasn’t happy about it,” Daisy added.
“He wasn’t the only one. Ben didn’t know Adam and I had a history together. Adam was quick to bring that up—and to mention that he wanted me back,” Crystal said.
“So you had both Adam and Benjamin fighting over you in the bar last night?” Detective Crumple asked.
Crystal nodded. “Yeah. It got really uncomfortable. To the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. So I grabbed my roommate and we left.”
Detective Crumple wasn’t convinced that was the end of the story. “Is that all?”
“That’s everything,” Crystal insisted.
Daisy and Crumple both stared at Crystal, thinking over what they’d just heard.
“Look, that’s the truth. You have to believe me,” Crystal said.
“We do,” Detective Crumple replied.
“So, what happens now?” Crystal asked.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Detective Crumple and his deputies drove over to Benjamin Kotter’s house and arrested him, then brought him back to the police station for interrogation. Daisy expected Benjamin to be more nervous than Crystal had been in the interrogation room. Instead, he was defiant. He had an explosive anger.
“I didn’t do it,” Benjamin said.
“The more you say it, the less I believe it. Especially after what we just found out,” Crumple replied.
“I know what this looks like,” Benjamin said.
“It does more than just look like you killed Adam Dunning. You lied about your alibi and got in an argument with Adam over his ex-mistress. If that wasn’t enough, we found the matchbook that Crystal gave you at the murder scene. All that’s left for you to do is confess,” Crumple replied.
While Crumple came on strong like a battering ram, Daisy stayed back. She watched Benjamin carefully, focusing on his reactions and body language.
Benjamin shook his head, still defiant. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Look, the jig is up. We caught you. Why don’t you do us all a favor and confess?”
“Why would I? I didn’t kill him.”
“We’ll let the jury decide that.”
Benjamin’s defiance turned into panic. “I can’t believe you’d arrest an innocent man.”
Detective Crumple pressed on. “What reason do I have to believe you’re innocent?”
“Alright, so I argued with Adam at the bar, then in the parking lot of Tres Chic. We had words, but then I left.”
“Obviously you did more than just have words if you dropped the matchbook at the scene without realizing it.”
“He was alive when I left,” Benjamin insisted.
“Alive, but bleeding from a stab wound to the back you mean,” Crumple continued.
“For the last time, I didn’t do it.”
“Suit yourself. Deny it all you want. Either way, you’re under arrest for the murder of Adam Dunning,” Detective Crumple stated.
***
Daisy kept wondering why she didn’t feel more satisfied with Benjamin’s arrest. She seemed to be the only one. Crumple was downright jovial. There was a buzz in the police station. Daisy was the last holdout. Something just didn’t sit right with her. Despite appearances, she had a feeling this case was far from closed. Even worse, she worried the wrong suspect had been arrested. Unfortunately, she only had a feeling to go on. She needed more than that.
In the meantime, Detective Crumple wanted to commiserate.
“Thanks again for your help Daisy. I guess they don’t call you a decorator detective for nothing,” Crumple joked.
Daisy sighed, emotionally drained from the day. “Tell me about it.”
“Donut?” Crumple asked.
Daisy shook her head. Crumple saw her furrowing her brow.
“That face is a little too long for my liking. Especially considering how there’s donuts present,” Detective Crumple said.
“Don’t you feel like there’s something not right with this case?” Daisy asked.
“You mean other than the fact that a man was murdered and most of the people close to him are happy about it than sad? Go figure, some people are better at making enemies than friends. But look at it this way, another lowlife scumbag is off the street.”
“Here’s the thing. I’m not sure we got the right scumbag.”
“I know you were hoping to get a confession,” Detective Crumple said.
Daisy nodded. “That, or at least not such a vehement denial.”
“The good news is, you don’t need a confession to get a conviction. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have one, but the matchbook at the scene and Crystal’s testimony of what happened at the bar prior is enough to take this to trial.”
“I’m glad you’re confident about this. The only thing I’m pretty sure about is that you arrested the wrong person.”
“If not Benjamin Kotter, then who is the right person?”
“I’m still working on that.”
“Don’t waste your time. Just be happy. This case is closed,” Detective Crumple said.
“We’ll see about that,” Daisy replied.
“Go ahead, overthink things all you want. In the meantime, that leaves more donuts for me,” Detective Crumple said.
Chapter Thirty
Sweet Tooth Bakery was practically Daisy’s home away from home. After leaving the police station, Daisy stopped in to the bakery see her old friends. It wasn’t long before Daisy dug in to a piece of Samantha Johnson’s mouth-watering double fudge cake.
“Wow. This really is something,” Daisy said.
“You deserve it,” Samantha replied.
“Yeah. They should start calling you Daisy McDare, master sleuth extraordinaire,” Granny Annie suggested.
Daisy played down her achievements. “I’m neither a master sleuth, nor am I extraordinary.”
“What, it’s not enough that you cracked the case? Are you trying to be the most humble woman ever too?” Samantha deadpanned.
“Most humble woman ever? That sounds like an oxymoron,” Daisy joked.
Granny Annie got in on the wise cracking. “Who are you calling a moron?”
Daisy and Samantha laughed.
Granny Annie continued. “Being humble is overrated anyway. When you’re awesome, let people know it. That’s been my motto for eighty years, and I’m sticking to it.”
“You can’t argue with success,” Daisy said.
“You know a thing about success. By now, you’ve probably solved more cases than anyone in Cozy Creek history,” Samantha added.
Daisy shrugged her shoulders. “You could be right. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure about this one.”
Samantha was dismissive of Daisy’s doubt.
“You’re just tired. You’ve had a long day,” Samantha insisted.
Daisy raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t that the truth?”
“It was a productive one though. In addition to catching the killer, you also convinced Trevor to look for a new job,” Samantha revealed.
No wonder Samantha was in such a good mood. If her boyfriend was able to find a cook position somewhere else, it could be a boon for their relationship.
“Really?” Daisy asked.
Samantha nodded.
Granny Annie then chimed in. “Good. It’s about time Trevor get out of that den of drama. Maybe now he’ll finally get off his duff and down on one knee to pop the question.”
Samantha tried to cool her granny’s jets. “One thing at a time Annie.”
Granny Annie was on a roll however. “Hey, there’s a job opening at the retirement villas.”
“Oh yeah?” Samantha replied.
Granny Annie nodded. “One of the cooks at the villa restaurant was fired for stealing.”
“Really?” Samantha asked.
“Oh yeah. It turned out he was taking entire cases of food home with him at night when he closed up the place,” Granny Annie revealed.
“You’d be surprised what some people do when they think no one is looking,” Granny Annie said.
Daisy’s eyes opened wide as she heard that. “Wait a minute. Repeat that.”
“It’s just that sometimes people do the craziest things when they think no one is watching,” Granny Annie said.
Just then, a lightbulb went off in Daisy’s head. That was it, the break she needed. Daisy didn’t know why it took her so long to see it. Now the truth was staring her in the face.
“Except here’s the thing—sometimes someone is watching,” Daisy replied.
Granny Annie was confused. “What are you talking about?”
Daisy got up to leave. “I have to go.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Samantha asked.
“Crumple arrested the wrong suspect,” Daisy replied.
***
Daisy’s hunch was correct. There was something wrong with this case. Now she had a chance to make it right. The real killer was still out there. She was going to bring them to justice. She knew she had to get a confession out of them. It wouldn’t be easy. At the same time, she was confident she was up to the task.
As Daisy drove over to confront the suspect, she got an unexpected phone call.
“Daisy, are you busy?” Gavin asked, on the phone.
“There’s an understatement for you. I always have time for you though,” Daisy replied.
“That’s so sweet,” Gavin replied.
“Especially because I’ve been worried about you. I called you twice and you didn’t pick up.”
“I was busy digging up dirt for this case you’ve been working on,” Gavin insisted.
“About that--” Daisy started to say.
Gavin was so excited that he cut her off. “I have news.”
“So do I.”
“Me first. Guess which one of the suspects has an interesting connection to Crystal Pellington?” Gavin asked.
Daisy smiled. “I have a good feeling I know the answer.”