Banana Chocolate & Murder

by Susan Gillard

  “Why did you run away from the crime scene?” Amy asked.

  “Why?” Micah asked. “Do you think I could have killed her? Not me. I loved her. I loved her more than anything.”

  “People have said that before and still committed murder,” Heather said.

  “I left because I couldn’t handle her death,” Micah said. “And I felt guilty because something happened with the tank. But I thought it was some sort of terrible accident. I didn’t know she was killed. And I certainly didn’t kill her.”

  “You went out of your way to hand her that certain air tank,” said Heather. “The one that was poisoned.”

  “But that was because it was her lucky tank,” Micah said. “She always used that one. I didn’t hand her one because it would kill her. I handed her hers. So if that’s the one that was poisoned, then somebody messed with that one because it was hers.”

  “She had a lucky tank?” Amy asked. “Is that weird?”

  “A long time ago, when she was a beginner, she made a mistake while rising from the water. She almost got hit by a boat. But she was lucky. All that happened was that little scratch. She could have been killed. But she escaped with only a scratch. She also thought it was a good reminder about safety while diving. That’s why I gave it to her.”

  “Did Julie know about this too?” Heather asked.

  “Everybody knew about it,” Micah said. “She loved telling us about her near-death experience and liked to remind us about safety.”

  “Where were you last night?” Heather asked.

  “Not preparing for murder,” said Micah. “Actually, last night I was at an all-night board game event. I made it to the final round too. There were lots of people there. They can back me up.”

  “We will look into that,” Heather said. “Do you know anyone who would want to kill Shelly?”

  “A monster,” said Micah. “A true monster.”

  “What about a name?” Amy asked.

  "Hank Club was a thorn in all of our sides. And he was competitive about business. You saw him at the dock. Maybe it was him," said Micah. "But most likely it was her boyfriend. He was never good enough for her."

  “Why do you say that?” asked Heather.

  “He made her feel bad. He would get jealous and try to make her feel guilty. For no reason at all. You shouldn’t do that to someone you’re supposed to love. He was really mad too about the combination lock.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She changed the combination lock to the supply closet recently,” Micah said.

  “Right,” Amy said. “To her birthday.”

  “Well, she changed it from her anniversary with Dylan to the birthday combination. He was mad. He wanted to know why she did it.”

  “Do you know why she did it?” Heather asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Micah said. “Maybe it was because she was becoming more self-reliant and was putting herself before a man. Maybe she was starting to develop feelings for someone who had been there all along, but she never realized it until then, and she was weaning herself away from the wrong love. Or, well, maybe she just thought we should change the combination lock every year or so just in case.”

  Bernadette brought the book out to him. The cover picture was of a man and woman in half-dressed Victorian garb holding one another. Micah hugged the book close.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  "Micah Crosby," Detective Smith said, entering and getting straight to the point. "You're wanted for questioning regarding the death of Shelly Little."

  “I’ll come with you and answer your questions,” Micah said. “If I can bring this book with me. It was the last thing she read.”

  “Fine,” Detective Smith said, as he and his partner led Micah outside.

  “Sorry about all that,” Heather said. “If you want, we can pay for the book.”

  “If that will somehow help solve Shelly’s death, he can have it,” Bernadette said.

  Heather promised to bring over some Banana Chocolate Donuts later as a comfort food for having learned that a favorite customer had died and for facing a suspect. Bernadette said she couldn’t refuse the offer of donuts, but felt guilty because she had recommended the place where a woman ended up dead.

  Heather and Amy left the shop, discussing what had just happened.

  “I’m sure the detectives will reach the same conclusion that we did,” Heather said. “That Micah isn’t the killer.”

  “It’s a shame we couldn’t get one easy case,” Amy said. “It really looked like he did it.”

  “They can check on his alibi,” said Heather. “But I don’t think he wanted to hurt Shelly.”

  “He is a mess with her gone,” Amy agreed.

  “I’ll tell you one thing I wouldn’t mind doing,” Heather said. “And that’s talking to the boyfriend Dylan again.”

  “Micah did point the finger at him.”

  “But I’ll have to do that in the morning,” said Heather. “I have something important I need to do now.”

  Walking and Wondering

  “So,” Heather asked. “How was school?”

  “It was all right,” Lilly said in a noncommittal tone. “How was scuba diving?”

  “Oh,” Heather said. “It didn’t quite work out.”

  “Why not?”

  "It's a long story," Heather said. "And I bet yours is a long story too. Let's take Dave and Cupcake for a walk, and we can discuss it all. I bet they would like the exercise."

  "I think they've been enjoying lounging in the sun," Lilly said. "But you're right. There are all new things for them to sniff."

  Heather attached the leash to her doggy friend Dave who had, indeed, been lying in the sun. Lilly got the kitten Cupcake ready for the walk too. Even though she was a feline, she enjoyed going on walks as much as Dave did.

  As they were leaving, they were joined by Ryan. Heather was sure that he was itching for information, both about the case and Lilly’s first day of school.

  They started their walk but found it to be slow progress. Dave and Cupcake were determined to smell everything they walked past. They would take a step and stop to sniff.

  “So, tell me more about your day,” Heather said.

  “We want to hear all about it,” said Ryan.

  "It wasn't bad," Lilly said. "Switching for my classes was exciting. But they were all in the same corridor, so it wasn't intimidating. It was the first day, so it was mostly meeting our teachers and learning where to go when the bell rings."

  “Do your teachers seem interesting?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes,” Lilly said. “They had some fun stories. And I think I’ll learn a lot. I like my English teacher very much too. I’m excited for what I’ll read in her class.”

  “There’s something still bothering you,” Heather said.

  “It’s not a problem yet,” Lilly said. “I know it’s only the first day. But I felt like I didn’t make any friends yet.”

  “Were they mean to you?” Ryan asked, hiding some anger.

  "No," Lilly said. "No one was mean. In fact, everybody was pretty nice. They'd show you where to go if you didn't know the way."

  “But you didn’t click with anybody?” Heather asked.

  “No,” said Lilly. “I feel like everyone has their friends already. And I didn’t know where to sit at lunch.”

  "I know it can be difficult," Heather said. "But you just need to get to know somebody better. I know you'll make friends soon."

  “Definitely,” said Ryan. “You’re a great kid.”

  “Thanks. I’m sure it will happen soon. Right now, I just feel disappointed. I wish Marlene or Nicolas were here,” said Lilly. “But now tell me about your day. What went wrong?”

  “Another case dropped into our lap,” Heather said. “We ended up starting to solve a murder instead of going in the water.”

  “Wow,” said Lilly. “Do you have an idea who did it?”

  “Do you still think it was the assistant M
icah?” Ryan asked.

  “The police are talking to him now,” Heather said. “But I don’t think it was him.”

  “Then who are you leaning towards?”

  “It could be the scuba competitor or the ex-boyfriend,” said Heather. “But right now, my money is on the boyfriend. He’s the one I want to talk to next.”

  “Why him?” asked Ryan.

  "He was jealous, and we saw him arguing with the victim earlier that day. He also knew what the combination to the supply closet where the air tanks were kept was," said Heather.

  “Well, that sounds like a solid lead,” Ryan said.

  Heather could tell that he was disappointed he wasn’t officially a part of the investigation. He normally would be tracking down leads on his own at this point in a case.

  "I'm sure Detective Smith will retire soon, and then you will be the new detective in town," Heather said.

  “It’s fine,” Ryan said. “I know that the Key West police will solve this case, especially when they have you and Amy helping them. And I’m enjoying the time off.”

  He was half-believable.

  "You're lucky to have the time off," Lilly said. "I'm in school now. There are so many exciting things to do here, and I don't know when I could do any of them."

  Heather thought about it. "Lilly brings up a valid point. We can all end up rather busy. With school, and detective work and the donut shop. Maybe we should choose one afternoon where we all make sure we are free and go do something touristy."

  “Like what?” asked Lilly.

  “Saturday afternoons let’s all do something fun in Key West together. This weekend we could all go to the Southernmost Point.”

  “I’d love to see that,” said Lilly. “Can Eva and Leila come too?”

  “Of course,” said Heather. “Everybody can come.”

  Dave and Cupcake looked up at her expectantly.

  “Well, with you two furry friends, it will depend on where we go.”

  They wagged their tails as their humans laughed. Heather was happy for the plan. It was nice to look forward to a family outing, and if they made it a weekly thing, they were sure not to miss out on anything that the island had to offer.

  Heather crossed her fingers. She hoped she would have the case solved by then. She wasn’t sure she could fully enjoy the afternoon, knowing that a killer was still out there.

  The Jealous Boyfriend

  They found Dylan Newhart's address, and he greeted them unhappily at the door.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Come to check up on Shelly and me? There's no need. She died yesterday."

  “Yes, we know,” Heather said.

  “We were there,” said Amy.

  “You were?” Dylan asked. “Can you tell me? Did she suffer?”

  Heather wasn't sure of his motivation for asking that question yet but decided to answer him and see where it led. "It was over in a few minutes. I don't believe there was any undue suffering."

  He nodded. “But, then, if you knew she was dead, why are you here?”

  “We’re investigating her murder,” Heather said.

  “And just who are you? Some wannabe scuba divers who are playing detective?”

  “Oh no. We’re licensed private detectives,” Heather said, introducing themselves. “And we received Detective Smith’s blessing to follow our own leads on this case, seeing as we felt involved.”

  “That will happen when you see someone murdered in front of you,” Amy said.

  “Can we ask you a few questions?” Heather asked.

  Dylan crossed his arms and thought about it.

  “Of course, if you’d rather talk to Detective Smith, we can call him,” Heather said.

  “He might get cranky though,” Amy said. “Being called from one lead to come and talk to you because you didn’t want to talk to us. That might put him in a bad mood for the interview. But if that’s what you want.”

  "No," Dylan said before they could walk away. "Come on it. We'll talk."

  As they entered, Heather wished that they could have conducted the investigation outside. To call Dylan’s home a pigsty was an insult to pigs. Every flat service was covered with junk, and there were food wrappers all around.

  He led them to the living room and pushed some empty Chinese food containers off the couch so they could sit down. They gingerly did. Amy cringed and kept her bag on her lap so it wouldn’t touch the mess. She took a tablet out of her bag so that she could take notes about their questioning.

  After their move, they had been without the tablet for a case because it had been hidden in a moving box. They were glad to have it back so that they could refer back to their notes as they gathered enough information.

  “What do you want to know?” Dylan asked.

  "Let's start with what you were fighting about the day she died," Heather asked. "What did we walk into?"

  “I thought she might be cheating on me,” Dylan said. “Her ex had been hanging around a lot. And I wanted to know why.”

  “And what did she tell you?”

  “That she wasn’t cheating and she didn’t want her ex around,” he said. “I wasn’t sure that believed her or not. But now, I guess it’s true.”

  "You think of her fondly and trust her now that she's dead?" Amy asked.

  “Because she was murdered,” Dylan said. “It must have been Tommy who did it. He wasn’t able to win her away from me, so he killed her.”

  “Did Tommy do anything specific to make you think this?” Heather asked.

  "Not exactly," said Dylan. "But he was obsessed with her. And he used to be really jealous when they were dating."

  “Who does that sound like?” Amy muttered.

  “I loved Shelly,” Dylan said.

  “Mr. Newhart, you said you saw her ex around frequently. Where did you see him? And when?”

  "When seemed to be real often," said Dylan. "And where? Most often on the beach. Within walking distance from the boat house. I thought he and Shelly were meeting up, and he was leaving when I arrived. But he might have been stalking her. You need to talk to that guy."

  “Mr. Newhart, did you often grab Shelly the way we saw this morning? Grabbing her arm when she told you to let go?”

  Dylan took a deep breath. “I get angry sometimes. I admit I can get jealous. But I never hurt her-hurt her. I loved her so much.”

  “Someone mentioned that what might have set you off this time was that the combination in the boathouse was changed,” said Heather.

  “It used to be our anniversary,” Dylan said. “Did they tell you that? The combination was our anniversary. I thought it was so sweet at the time. And then she went and changed it. Why would she do that?”

  “Maybe because the lock was no longer secure if everyone knew the combination was your anniversary,” Amy said.

  “You think it could have just been that? Because everyone knew about us. And how important I was to her?”

  “Maybe,” Amy shrugged.

  “Did you know what the new combination was?” Heather asked.

  “It really wasn’t anything related to another man,” Dylan admitted. “She changed it to her birthday. She always used important dates as her passwords and combinations. But we used to be the important date.”

  “And you do know when her birthday was?” Heather asked.

  “Of course,” Dylan said indignantly.

  “Did you have a key to the boathouse?” asked Heather.

  “Why would I have a key to her job?” he asked.

  “Maybe in case there was an emergency,” Heather suggested.

  “No, I didn’t have a key. But I knew where she kept her keys when she was home. If she forgot it or something, I could have grabbed it for her. I did have a key to her apartment.”

  Heather nodded.

  “Why?” he asked. “You can’t think I killed her, can you?”

  “I think that we saw a suspect fighting with the victim the morning of her murder. Now we’ve lear
ned that he would have easily been able to unlock both the door and the closet where air tank that killed her was kept.”

  “When you put it like that, it does sound like I could have done,” Dylan said. “But I didn’t. I—“

  “You loved her?” Amy finished.

  “Where were you the night before she died?” Heather asked.

  “I was home,” he said.

  “Can anyone vouch for that?” Heather prompted.

  “Shelly didn’t come over,” he said. “She was tired. I just came home, cleaned up and went to bed.”

  “Cleaned up?” Amy asked, looking around the messy living room.

  “Yeah,” Dylan said, not understanding her skepticism.

  “Shelly mentioned that you were between jobs?” Heather asked.

  “Yeah,” Dylan said. “But I have some promising leads.”

  “Do you know who inherits her business and belongings? Or collects any life insurance?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t know. I’d guess her parents,” said Dylan.

  Heather thanked him for his time and then she and her bestie left.

  “I don’t like him,” Amy said.

  “Neither do I,” said Heather. “But I’m not sure if he’s the killer.”

  “Why not? Like you said he had access to the tank and had no alibi. He was a jealous guy and was angry with her. For no real reason, but he thought there was one.”

  “I’ve been thinking about the fight he had with her this morning,” said Heather.

  “More motive,” said Amy.

  "If he knew he was going to kill her because he executed his plan the night before, why would he fight with her where others could overhear them arguing?"

  “Because he couldn’t control himself?” Amy suggested. “Because he’s an angry person who is capable of murder.”

  “That could be true,” said Heather. “But it would have been sloppy. He was setting himself up to be a suspect.”

  “So, what now?”

  “We’ll keep him on the suspect list, but we should keep talking to the other suspects.”

  “Right now?”

  Heather looked at the time. “Nope,” she said. “We need to get back to Donut Delights.”