Shoes and Baby: Women Sleuth

by S. Y. Robins

  As Hannah walked to the pantry to get some of her ingredients, she saw Nick and knew he had been waiting for her while she was talking to the officer. Seeing an opportunity, she smiled at him. “Good morning Nick.”

  “Good morning. Everything alright?”

  “Yes, it’s fine. There was some poison in one of my ingredients so he wanted to give me some testing kits. Would you like to walk with me while I get my ingredients so I can test them while you're there? I’m not supposed to work by myself so you can be my extra set of eyes.”

  “Sure. I have to be up on deck to supervise the zip lining crew in a bit but I have a little bit of time. Which ingredient?”

  They had arrived in the pantry and the door had shut behind them so Hannah knew nobody could overhear them. “Chocolate.”

  Nick nodded as she took the chocolate she needed from the shelf before putting a little bit in the vial. She labeled it while they waited and smiled when it turned green. “Excellent, no poison. Looks like I can make my chocolate cake and it will actually be safe to eat this time. Let me get the rest of the ingredients real quick,” Hannah said as she pulled one of the small carts towards her, which would make taking the heavy bags of ingredients easier to move. As she moved a bag of flour onto the cart, it started moving and she stumbled, dropping the flour before stumbling into Nick who caught her easily. Thankfully, the bag of flour had landed on the cart instead of the ground, but as she tried to catch her balance, she tried not to appear to be too embarrassed at the fact she was currently leaning against Nick who still had his arms around her.

  She quickly stood back upright, knowing exactly how this would look if anyone walked in and without another word returned to what she was doing pretending like nothing had happened. It didn’t take her long to finish and Nick followed her back to the kitchen, where she realized she had forgotten the vanilla. She had run out in the kitchen the day before, and with a sigh she started back towards the pantry, seeing Alaina going into the pantry. “Nick, could you walk with me? I need something else.”

  Nick followed her to the pantry, where they watched Alaina coming out empty handed and heading towards her kitchen. Hannah looked at Nick, before going into the pantry and straight for the chocolate. She pulled out another vial, ignoring Nick’s raised eyebrow, and tested some of the chocolate.

  They both stood and watched the vial turn purple and Nick’s mouth dropped open. Hannah turned to Nick and held up the vial. “This can only mean one thing and you know it. Let’s go see that officer.”

  “Hannah, that is a big accusation you are making.”

  “And you can’t deny it. You watched me test it, you watched her come out with empty hands which is unusual when going into the pantry, and you saw me just test the same bag of chocolate positive. I didn’t take the full bag earlier, you know that. We need to tell him, she is sabotaging my work and I want to know why. Three people have died because of it and she clearly thinks more will die,” Hannah said as she closed the bag and picked it up, starting out of the pantry. She almost dropped it when Nick grabbed her arm, whirling her around.

  “Hannah, see some sense. You are about to accuse someone.”

  “She has already accused me and you know it. Now either you are in on it or you will let me leave.”

  “I’m not in on this and you know it! I’ve known Alaina for a long time and she wouldn’t do this.”

  “Are you sure? She’s had something against me from the start and you know it. Now let me go, I’m going to see the officer and he can figure it out. If I’m wrong I’m wrong but I want to figure this out.”

  “Fine, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. I will go with you and I will tell him what I saw but that’s it.”

  Nick followed Hannah to the officer’s room, hoping he would be there. They were in luck as he was there working on paperwork and he let them into the room. Hannah immediately handed over both vials and the chocolate. “You can see the time I wrote on each vial. I tested the chocolate when I went to get some, but realized I had forgotten a new bottle of vanilla so I went back to the pantry, asking Nick to come with me. He did, understanding why I wanted someone else there to verify I didn’t do anything and we saw Alaina coming out of the pantry empty handed. That’s not normal, as you usually don’t go in there unless you need something. I went in there and decided to check the same bag of chocolate again. It came back purple this time.”

  “Thank you for bringing this to me immediately. Nick, do you confirm the story?”

  “Yes, but I don’t think we should have rushed to you. Alaina would never do this.”

  “I’d hate to disappoint you but she is our prime suspect. You are not the only one who has seen her coming out of the pantry empty handed and on two occasions she had something small with white powder in her hand. When it comes to murder investigations, you can’t just rule someone out because you know them. You had no problem suspecting Hannah.”

  Hannah turned to Nick and gave him an accusing look. “That’s why you were following me!”

  “Look, you were the only new person here but I figured out quickly it wasn’t you. I didn’t know you and a lot of people were saying it was probably you. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions but it was originating from your kitchen.”

  “Stop following me around and maybe try to actually get to know someone before accusing them of murder. What is next? I’d love to know why she’d do this,” Hannah said, turning back to the officer.

  “She is actually being arrested as we speak. We found traces of the poison in her room early this morning, this evidence will just help. Thank you for your help.”

  Hannah smiled and left the room, Nick right behind her. Once in the hallway he pulled her to the side. “I’m sorry. Really, I’m sorry. I didn’t accuse you, I just said you were the head of the kitchen this came from and it was a logical conclusion. It wasn’t anything they weren’t already thinking but I should have defended you. I wasn’t following you because of that, I was following you because I’m interested in you.”

  “Interested in me? Nick, I was just told you accused me of murder. I thought you were a nice guy but right now I’m not too happy with you. Is that why you scolded me for the flirting that wasn’t flirting?”

  “Yes, I was jealous. I’m sorry for that, I was too hard on you.”

  “Just try to be friends first, please. Leave the jealousy and leave the stalking. Now I want to go see what Alaina has to say,” Hannah said as she pulled away from him and started leaving to go find out why Alaina would have done this. Even if she hated Hannah, why murder innocent people?

  She found her in the common area, officers with her. She was resisting arrest, claiming to be innocent. Hannah walked right up to her and looked at her. “Why? Why sabotage my kitchen?”

  “That was supposed to be my kitchen,” Alaina said back, venom in her voice.

  Hannah stepped back and looked at Alaina in horror. “You murdered three innocent men because you were jealous? You are ridiculous. You deserve whatever you get.”

  In the distraction they had been able to put the cuffs on Alaina, who was led away while everyone was whispering around them. Hannah couldn’t believe Alaina would have done that, and she turned to head back to her kitchen. Now that the problem was solved she was ready to get back to baking, to get back to doing what she enjoyed doing. She knew it would help her relax, and she also had to think about what Nick had said. She thought he was a nice guy, but he seemed a bit clingy and she wasn’t sure if she could deal with that. She just wanted to bake desserts and enjoy her cruise, not worry about a guy who seemed upset at her talking to other guys. Looking at the ingredients on her workstations, she smiled, knowing that even if she dropped the whole bag of flour right now she was still where she wanted to be. And now she could serve her chocolate cake without risking someone dying.

  The End

  Murder Book Club

  Cozy Mystery

  About the Book

 
; Susan’s book club reads mystery books all the time, but this time they aren’t just reading about it, they are living it when Laura dies the same way the main character in the book did. Carbon Monoxide poisoning might be common, but Susan does not like the coincidence and refuses to believe it is accidental the way the police think it is.

  Butting heads with Detective Mason, Susan is determined to find out the truth and together with her beloved dog Toby she sets out to find it. Will Susan be able to find out what truly happened, and whether it was murder or an accident, or will the fact that she can’t remember the night herself get in the way of the truth? Will Toby be able to help her, despite the fact that he can’t talk?

  1

  Susan loved going to her book club each week, always ready to discuss the next chapters in the book they were reading at the moment. They all loved mystery books and speculated over who they thought was the killer and who they thought would be the next victim. Often though, once the book had been discussed, talk turned to other things going on in the world around them. Combined with good drinks and appetizers, it always made for a pleasant evening and one that Susan tried never to miss.

  This week they were meeting at Laura’s house and Susan was excited about that. Laura loved entertaining and always went the extra mile for the ladies of the book club, trying to outdo all the others. Her drinks were slightly better quality and her appetizers slightly more unique and extravagant. All the ladies were in their early thirties, and they all had average everyday jobs, with the exception of Laura. See, Laura didn’t need a job as she had inherited quite a bit of money from a distant uncle who had left her everything he had. She lived fairly frugal when alone, and only splurged when it came to entertaining others, which is how she was able to live without having to work a day in her life. At the age of thirty two, she had no intention of settling down anytime soon and made it a point to enjoy life and everything in it. Every week she had stories of some man she had met, and while they all grumbled and complained, they all secretly wanted to know more and looked forward to these stories.

  Susan herself didn’t think she was nearly that exciting, and considered her life quite dull in comparison. At 26, she was the youngest of the group and she was the only one who had joined the club with the sole intention of reading more books. Everyone else was in it for the books as well as the gossip and friendship. Susan was a librarian, and while that sounded boring to everyone else, she loved it and went to work with a smile on her face every single day. She loved helping the small children choose what books to read next, getting excited over the prospect of taking them home, just as much as she loved showing an elderly woman how to email her grandson across the country. She felt like she was passing on a joy of reading to the next generation, cultivating the joy of reading in those who had already discovered it, and helping the community with anything else they might need. Just that day she had helped a young man apply for jobs after he had been laid off from his current job, and he was worried about how he was going to support his young wife and new-born son.

  The third member of their group was Angela. Angela was a corporate lawyer, smart as could be and tough as nails. Susan knew she would be terrified if she ever had to oppose Angela in a courtroom, and she admired the drive she had in a world mostly consisting of men. She had fought her way up the ladder, and she wasn’t backing down. More often than not she figured out who the culprit in the story was before anyone else, and Susan had learned more about crime and mystery from Angela than anyone else.

  Next they had Rebecca, who was a stay at home mother now but had been a nurse before. She planned to go back to work once her children were in school, but for now she wanted to be there to watch them grow. She always talked about them, and it was clear her whole world revolved around them. She wasn’t shy about the fact that book club was her weekly escape from the craziness that was her household, especially since she had three boys under the age of four. Susan didn’t understand how she wasn’t going crazy, especially when she showed up to book club looking like she had never heard of a hairbrush or washing machine, but then she heard her talk about the good moments and she suddenly understood. She loved those three boys, and she would do anything for them even if it meant not brushing her hair or taking the time to change her shirt.

  Kelly was the one who had started the book club, and she was the only one who had known everyone before they had started meeting every week. She was a true social butterfly which was useful in her job, considering she worked in sales. Susan knew she was very successful, and it didn’t surprise her in the least. She was very opinionated and wanted to be heard, but she also knew exactly when to listen and be quiet and when to say exactly what someone else wanted to hear. Susan had known Kelly for many years, and sometimes she loved talking to Kelly even if only to hear what she wanted to hear.

  The last member of their little group was Robin. Susan hadn’t known Robin before book club had started but they had become fast friends. Robin was the director at the local animal shelter, and through Robin Susan had adopted her dog Toby. Toby meant the world to her now, even though she had been hesitant to get a dog at first. Robin loved animals, and there were times she would show up at book club, furious about some animal or another being mistreated. She could not imagine a bigger injustice in this world, and was always trying to get others to adopt an animal she felt was in need of a loving home.

  As Susan arrived at Laura’s house she immediately knew that the day was going to be interesting. Robin seemed to already be complaining about some dog owner who had all his dogs taken away that day when all twelve of his dogs had been found to be malnourished. Rebecca apparently had a bad day, if the hoody and sweatpants were anything to go by and Angela was still in her suit which indicated she had come straight from work. Looking at her Susan was glad she got to wear jeans to work because none of that looked comfortable.

  “Susan! Come in come in!” Laura exclaimed as she spotted Susan coming through the door. “I made these new bacon cheese bites that you just have to try, I think you’ll love it!”

  Susan felt at ease in this group, and she immediately smiled when Laura grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the table with food and drinks. “I also got this amazing new wine that I think you’ll love,” Laura said softly as they stood at the table, putting food on their plates. “Stay behind after club and we’ll try it. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten completely wasted and quite frankly I’m in the mood.”

  “Deal,” Susan said with a smile before walking towards the couch and sitting down next to Rebecca. “So what happened today? You look exhausted.”

  “Conner is just getting over the flu, Eric got suspended from preschool for biting and Jared is teething.”

  “Suspended? From preschool? I did not even know that was possible. Biting isn’t entirely unusual though.”

  “We’re looking at another preschool. We don’t like his teacher, but for now it meant that I had an extra kid at home when I’m already slightly overwhelmed with the others. Josh couldn’t take off work, but he dealt with Eric and made sure he knew biting wasn’t alright. So naturally he bit his brother first thing this morning after Josh left. Did I mention that Conner threw up on me twice today?”

  “I’m sorry, that sounds like a terrible day. Do you need me to refill your drink?” Susan asked, noticing Rebecca’s wine glass was almost empty.

  “You know! That would be lovely. Thank you. I’m glad you aren’t trying to give me advice or anything, sometimes that’s not needed.”

  “If it makes you feel better, I had a kid throw up on me yesterday,” Susan said as she got up to get the bottle of wine, thinking Rebecca could probably use it. “This mother left her kid at story time and went to go look for books for herself, which is fine except it was clear the kid wasn’t feeling well. That was proven about halfway through the story.”

  Rebecca was laughing now, refilling her glass from the bottle Susan handed her. “I think that might be worse, at
least with Conner it was my own child not someone else’s. So are we getting started?”

  “Alright, so we all read through chapter nine, right?” Laura asked, once everyone had stopped the conversations they had been having on the side. “I honestly think it’s the brother. I mean, the girl died from carbon monoxide poisoning and he was there just before it happened! How else could that have happened so suddenly?”

  “I agree,” Kelly nodded. “I mean, he is an electrician, surely he knows how to cause carbon monoxide poisoning.”

  “Yes but he has no motive,” Susan replied, shaking her head. “He loves his sister. I suspect the boyfriend, I’ve had an odd feeling about him from the start. Something isn’t right there, he’s too perfect.”

  “I agree with Susan,” Robin added before getting up and getting more from the food table. “I just get this feeling like he’s hiding something, what if he is cheating on her?”

  “I think it’s the neighbor,” Angela replied. “She is always getting angry at her for playing loud music, and some of the case studies I had to read in college had people killed for much less.”

  “But the neighbor was out of town,” Laura put in, thinking about it. They all knew Angela was often right.

  “Was she? She said she was but has that been checked into?”

  “I suppose not and it wouldn’t be the first time someone lied, but how would she have gotten into the house? It’s not like she has a key and the doors were always locked.”

  “I guess that is the question,” Angela said thoughtfully. “I’m not sure it’s the brother though. Carbon monoxide poisoning is tricky, it could be just about anyone because it’s not like there’s a real murder weapon.”

  “We’ll just have to keep reading. How about we read two more chapters for next week?” Laura suggested. “I’m sure we’ll get more clues in two chapters.”