by Rose Pressey
Navigating the streets, Mary Jane came to Strickland Street and made a left turn. I counted down the street numbers until we pulled up in front of the tiny little house. Mary Jane parked along the street and turned off the ignition.
“Now that we’re here what do we do?” I asked.
“I wish we could ask some of the neighbors about him,” Mary Jane said.
I had my hand on the car doorknob and was ready to step out when I caught movement at the house. Hunter and a woman burst out the front door. They stopped on the porch, but they were definitely in an argument. They yelled at each other with a lot of pointing.
“Whoa. What’s this all about?” Mary Jane asked.
“It’s not a friendly chitchat, that’s for sure,” I said.
The woman waved her hands and Hunter pointed again, as if he was telling her to get lost.
“Did he just tell her to leave?” Mary Jane asked.
“I’m not sure, but it looks that way,” I said. “I think they’re dating.”
“They were dating. It appears they’ve had a bit of a breakup,” Mary Jane said.
After a few more moments of arguing, the woman turned, stormed down the steps, and rushed toward a car that was parked nearby. Hunter went back into the house, slamming the door shut behind him.
“Well, that seems pretty final,” I said.
The woman got into the car and started it.
“What should we do now?” I asked
Mary Jane cranked the engine of her car. “I think we should follow her. We can always come back and talk to Hunter or anyone who lives around here, but we might not find her again.”
“Good idea,” I said. “Let’s go after her.”
Mary Jane pulled out onto the street and fell in behind the woman’s car.
“I hope she’s not going too far. I don’t have a lot of gas,” Mary Jane said.
I looked over at the gas gauge. She wasn’t kidding about that. I didn’t want to have to walk all the way back to the candy shop.
Mary Jane was behind the woman’s car, following as close as she could without being obvious.
“It doesn’t seem as if she’s trying to lose us,” I said.
“Yeah, at least she’s not driving fast so I won’t get a ticket or get into an accident,” Mary Jane said.
We were headed through town and it seemed as if we were going back toward my shop.
“I think she might be headed to Fifth Street,” I said.
“What if she’s going to the candy shop?” Mary Jane added.
“That would definitely be a crazy turn of events, but I doubt that’s the case,” I said.
Mary Jane nodded. “Yeah, right.”
The closer we got to the candy shop, the more worried I became. The woman came to a stop just a few doors down from my shop. Mary Jane got a parking spot just a couple cars down from the woman.
“Well, she’s not parked directly in front of the candy shop,” I said. “But nevertheless, she could walk down there from here.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to be parked in front of it so Hunter won’t know she’s actually going there,” Mary Jane said.
“You’re not helping,” I said. “Why would she go there? Does she expect Hunter to show up?”
“Here she goes. It looks as if she’s getting out of the car.” Mary Jane said. “We should get out too and follow her. If she goes into the shop to harass Grandma Honey, then I’ll let her have it.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that, Mary Jane, Grandma Honey will let her have it on her own.”
“True,” she said. “Your grandmother’s a tough cookie.”
The woman walked a short distance until she stopped in front of the coffee place that was right next to my candy shop. It was on the opposite side, not the dentist’s office, but the other side. It had been a coffee shop for as long as I could remember. I hadn’t gotten a chance to go in there yet, but I had planned on it soon.
I wanted to talk with the owner and see if she mentioned anything about the murder. I wasn’t quite sure if I would even admit that I was the candy shop owner until I knew what she had to say about the incident. Maybe she wouldn’t be that friendly when she found out who I was.
Without looking back, the woman stepped into the coffee shop.
“Shall we have some coffee?” Mary Jane asked.
“I think we need caffeine,” I said.
The aroma of coffee encircled us as we stepped into the shop. The woman we had followed was at the counter placing an order. Mary Jane and I walked up right behind her. She looked younger now that I saw her up close. I guessed that she was probably Hunter’s age. They were probably boyfriend and girlfriend, or ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend now, based on the scene that had played out at Hunter’s house. After placing her order, the woman stepped aside to wait. It was time for Mary Jane and me to place an order. I was more interested in talking to the woman.
After Mary Jane and I placed orders we stepped to the side as well. I moved closer to the woman so that maybe I could start a conversation. Then the thought crossed my mind. What if she got her coffee order and took off before we got ours? I would leave the coffee behind if that happened. I’d already paid for it, so I didn’t care if I picked it up. I just wanted to talk to this woman.
She made a noise and I looked over at her. She was still fuming obviously and now talking to herself. She noticed that I was watching her.
“Sorry,” she said.
‘It’s all right. You seem upset about something,” I said.
I was hoping to get an answer from her, but before I had a chance the barista called out her name. She grabbed the cup and turned toward the door. At least I had her first name now. That was if she’d given her real name. Plus, what good would only the first name do me? Candy was her name. How ironic.
Panic started to set in as I watched her head for the door. However, instead of leaving the shop, she sat at a table near the door. That was a relief. Now Mary Jane and I just had to sit beside her and hope that we could start the conversation back up. I hoped she wanted to actually talk. The barista called out our names and we grabbed the cups in a hurry.
“Shall we take a seat?” Mary Jane asked.
“I think that’s a perfect idea,” I said.
We were acting like a couple of spies, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Mary Jane and I sat down at the table next to Candy. She was staring blankly at the menu on the wall over the counter. She sipped on her coffee.
Mary Jane whispered, “Do you want me to say something first?”
“I’ll try, and then if I mess up, you take over, okay?”
Mary Jane nodded.
Now that I’d told Mary Jane this I couldn’t think of anything to say to start the conversation. So instead, I dropped my purse and purposely kicked my lip balm and let it roll across the floor until it reached Candy’s table. She looked down at it and then met my gaze.
“Oh, sorry about that,” I said.
I got up from the chair and went over to her.
“Subtle,” Mary Jane said under her breath.
Candy picked up the lip balm and handed it to me.
“Thank you,” I said. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me today. I’m just so clumsy. I guess I’m still a tad upset.”
Mary Jane coughed.
Okay, so I wasn’t great at this, but I was giving it my best shot.
Apparently, my plan worked because Candy looked at me and said, “Why are you upset?”
I had a feeling she would ask because she wanted to tell me why she was upset. Obviously, she needed to talk to someone. I wanted to hurry up and get the conversation about me out of the way, so I just said, “I have a big project at work and it’s stressing me out. It seems like you’re upset. Is there something wrong?” I tried to sound casual, yet concerned as possible.
Honestly, I was concerned for her. If Hunter was involved in Mr. Sutherland’s murder at all, then I
was fearful for her life.
She stared at me for a moment. “I’m just mad at my boyfriend. We had a fight.”
Mary Jane turned around in her seat so that she could get involved in the conversation. I needed all the help I could get.
“Is there something you would like to talk about? We’re here to listen. We’re just here taking a break,” I said.
“Well, my boyfriend did something that I’m not happy with. Plus, he has something that I bought for him and I want it back.”
“Did you ask for it back?” Mary Jane asked.
“Yes, and he refuses to give it to me.”
“Maybe you should tell the police,” I said.
She shook her head. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“Is it something illegal?” I asked.
Candy gave me a funny look. I had a feeling that it was illegal. But what it was I didn’t know for sure. I had to find out.
“No, it’s nothing like that,” she said.
She was getting anxious, so I had to shift the conversation for a moment. I was ready to give her my name when I realized that I probably shouldn’t give my real name. Although the guy behind the counter had already called out my first name. I would have to change my last name because I wanted to find out her last name.
“My name is Reese Miller, by the way, and this is my friend Mary Morgan.”
I’d totally made up those names on the spur of the moment, which was probably obvious. I hoped that she didn’t tell Hunter that she met people named Reese and Mary.
“Candy Brown,” she said as she stuck out her hand.
I shook her hand. Mary Jane got up and reached across the table, shaking her hand too.
Candy took another drink of coffee and then looked at her phone. “Sorry, I have to go, but it’s been nice talking to you.”
I didn’t want her to leave, but what could I do? At least I had her name now. I had to figure out what it was she was talking about that she wanted to get back from Hunter. It seemed almost impossible though. Candy grabbed her coffee and phone and got up from the table. She hurried out the door.
“We have to follow her,” Mary Jane said.
“I don’t think it’ll do any good. Plus, I need to get back to the candy shop.”
Mary Jane sighed. “Well, at least we have a name.”
“Yes, there is that,” I said. “It’s a starting point.”
“What do you think it is that he has that he won’t give back?”
“I don’t know, but I think it might have something to do with the murder. When I asked her if it was illegal she got a funny look on her face.”
“This is terrifying, Reese,” Mary Jane said.
A woman was cleaning the table next to us. I wasn’t sure why, but she said, “Are you Reese?”
“Yes, I am,” I said.
She came closer and stuck out her hand. “My name is Emily Evans and I’m the coffee shop owner.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“I’ve meant to come over and say hi,” she said.
As a matter of fact, I wanted to talk to her too.
“I heard about everything that you witnessed, and I just want to say how sorry I am that you had to deal with that,” Emily said.
“Well, it has been tough.”
“I Imagine it has, with opening a new shop and everything. Do they have any leads on what happened to Mr. Sutherland? He was a nice man. I knew him for quite a while.”
“Do you have any idea who may have done that to him?”
“I can’t think of any enemies.”
“Have you talked to the police?” I asked.
“Yes, and I told them that,” she said.
Chapter 23
“I showed the police the surveillance video, but they didn’t find anything,” Emily said. “At least that’s the impression I got from what they said.”
Curiosity had me though. I really wanted to take a look at that video too. I wondered if she would mind.
“This may sound like a crazy question, but would you mind if I saw the surveillance video?” I asked.
She was probably a little hesitant at my request, but then when she said she could show it to me I was pleasantly surprised. Not to mention extremely excited. I wasn’t sure why, because obviously the detective knew what he was doing. If he looked at it and saw nothing, then what made me think I would find anything different? But I supposed it was the thrill of the chase that had me intrigued.
“Give me just a moment, I’ll get my laptop and bring it out here to you,” she said.
“That would be great, thank you,” I said.
She turned and headed to the back of the coffee shop. I felt Mary Jane’s stare on me. I took a sip from my coffee cup as if she wasn’t staring at me, but I knew she wouldn’t stop, so I might as well acknowledge her and get that over with. Finally, I looked over at Mary Jane.
“What?” I asked, as if I didn’t know.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I just thought I would take a look at the video and see what’s there.”
“But what we’ll see is a bunch of nothing,” Mary Jane said.
A couple more seconds passed and Emily came back to the front of the shop with her laptop. She placed it down on the table and pushed the on button.
“It’ll take me just a second to pull it up,” she said.
“No problem,” I said, as if I wasn’t anxious to get a look.
When she pulled up the video, I became even more anxious.
“Here’s the time when they say that it happened.” She pointed at the screen.
I moved closer so that I could look. Of course, the camera didn’t have a view of my candy shop. Unfortunately, I didn’t have video hooked up yet. That was something that I definitely had to do soon. I bet the police wished I had done it before I even opened my shop. I was lucky to have enough money to get all the candy, much less surveillance equipment.
People walked up and down the sidewalk. Cars passed down the street, but there was no sign of the murderer or Mr. Sutherland.
“See, I think they came in from the other direction,” Emily said.
I nodded. “Yes, that was the direction.”
“Are there any other cameras from local businesses?” Mary Jane asked.
Emily paused the video. “That I’m not sure. You’d have to ask the police.”
Mary Jane sighed. “I doubt they’d want to give me that info.”
“On the other side is the dentist’s office. I don’t think he has a security camera,” I said.
“Oh, yes, the dentist,” Emily said with a wave of her hand. “He’s such a nice man. Have you met him?”
Why did heat immediately fill my cheeks the moment she asked if I knew him? “Yes, we’ve met,” I said.
“How funny… you own the candy shop, and he’s trying to fight cavities.” Emily slapped the table as she laughed.
“It is funny, isn’t it?” Mary Jane joined in the laughter.
It wasn’t that funny.
“Anyway, back to the video,” I said, pointing at her computer screen.
“Oh, yes, would you like to see it again?” Emily asked.
I supposed that wouldn’t do much good, but I’d look one more time.
I watched the same scene once again. Nothing had changed, but I hadn’t expected it to change. She rewound one more time, going back a little more than last time.
“Wait.” I gestured. “Can you pause it right there?”
Emily touched the keyboard. “Sure. Did you see something?”
“Right there.” I pointed at the screen. “That’s the realtor.”
I looked at Mary Jane. She moved closer and took a peek at the computer.
“That is her,” Mary Jane said.
“This was right before the murder,” I said.
“Yes, but we know that the killer was a man. We saw him.”
“Well, he was wearing a mask.”
&nbs
p; “That’s true,” Mary Jane said.
We continued watching as Joy walked in front of the camera. It was as if she was pacing, perhaps waiting for someone. Then to my shock, Hunter appeared on screen.
Chapter 24
Hunter and Joy were now talking to each other. They definitely knew each other.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” Mary Jane asked.
“I don’t know,” I said.
When I saw Joy move her arms about, I realized this was a heated discussion. Another fight with someone else. Hunter always seemed so nice, but now I was rethinking that. Joy reached into her bag and pulled out something.
“What is that?”
Emily paused the screen. “It looks like she’s handing him cash.”
“Why would she be giving him such a big pile of money?” Mary Jane asked. “How much do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a thousand? I have no idea. I’m terrible at guessing things like that.”
We watched as they finished the transaction and then Joy went one way and Hunter left in the other. It would’ve been only about five minutes later that the murder would have occurred. So Hunter could’ve definitely still been in the area. Maybe he went back to his car, got out the mask, and put it over his head. Then got the gun and came on to the candy shop to murder Mr. Sutherland. How creepy that he was back at my shop just hours later after the murder asking for a job.
What was even worse was that I had given him a job, and now he was in my shop on a daily basis. He could be the murderer. That sent a shiver down my spine.
“Who is this woman?” Emily asked.
“That’s even more strange,” I said. “She came into my shop and said she was a realtor and wanted me to sell the building after I just bought it. Apparently Mr. Sutherland didn’t want to sell it either, and I told her no.”
“What made her think that after he said no? Why did she think you would sell it?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders.
“If he didn’t want to sell it then why did he sell it to you?” Mary Jane asked.
“He said that he was just looking for the right person to come along, and he knew when he met me that I was the right person. So he decided to sell it.”