Pink Moscato & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 15

by Susan Gillard

  "And it's lovely outside," Heather said. "But let's start our questions, so we don't take up too much of your time."

  "What can I tell you?”

  "Was there anything unusual about that morning?" Heather asked as Amy took out the tablet to take notes.

  “No,” Mrs. Trag said. “It seemed just like any other morning. Clint didn’t have an exact time that he had to be to work on the weekends, but he liked to go in early and chat with Mr. Gusters. He tried to time it with activities I took our son to so we could all have breakfast in the morning."

  "And he left around eight a.m.?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Mr. Gusters mentioned that your husband wanted to talk to him about something in particular that morning,” Heather said. “Do you happen to know what it was about?”

  “I think it was about one of his cooks. A man named Josh. He was fired the other day,” Mrs. Trag said. “Clint had been having trouble with him before that.”

  “How so?” asked Heather.

  “Do you think he was the one who killed my husband?”

  “We need to follow all potential leads,” Heather said. “That’s only one possibility. But do you think there’s merit to it?”

  "Clint had a strong personality,” Mrs. Trag said. “And Josh did too. It sounded like he had a temper and was a touch dramatic. Clint would complain about him a lot. But he was good with food. He was planning on keeping him on at the restaurant until he started a fight at work.”

  “What sort of fight?” asked Heather.

  "Just a shouting match. Nothing violent," Mrs. Trag explained. "It was an argument over the preparation of a dish. But Clint couldn't allow him to stay after insulting his culinary skills in front of the other staff. Apparently, Josh threw something and stormed out. Clint was trying to figure out how to replace him. But it's hard to find a good Sous Chef."

  “Do you know anyone else who might have wanted to hurt your husband?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Mrs. Trag said sadly.

  “Did he get along with everyone else at the restaurant?” Heather asked.

  “He could be firm,” Mrs. Trag admitted. “But that was part of his job. He ran an orderly kitchen. He was very good at it.”

  “Is there anything you can tell about the restaurant that might be of help to us?” Heather asked.

  Mrs. Trag thought about it. “I can’t think of anything that should be related to the murder. But I do know a lot about the goings on of the restaurant. Clint would talk about what was happening at work. He said that one of the waiters, Andy, was annoying him because he wanted to become a chef. He liked Mr. Gusters a lot. He complained about Josh’s ego. Clint was very particular about his menu. He hated when anyone tried to make adjustments or suggestions to it. It seemed like Josh was making a lot of suggestions.”

  A thought occurred to Heather, and she asked, "Do you know if your husband would have been creating a new dish that morning? Or if he liked to cook before they opened?"

  "I'm not sure, but I don't think he usually did any cooking until they opened," Mrs. Trag replied. "Maybe if he were trying out a new recipe he would have. But he didn't mention anything to me about it."

  A woman who looked like Mrs. Trag appeared at the door. “Junior is asking for you,” she said.

  "Do you mind if I go?” Mrs. Trag asked.

  “Go ahead,” Heather said. “Thank you for your time.”

  Mrs. Trag moved to the door to follow her sister but then paused. "Please catch him."

  “We will,” Heather promised.

  As they left the house, Heather and Amy were quiet.

  Finally, Amy said, “It still sounds like Josh is the prime suspect, doesn’t it?”

  Heather nodded. “It’s not definite that he did it, but he’s definitely a suspect.”

  “I wish we could talk to him,” Amy said.

  "Me too," said Heather. "We have to find justice for Clint Trag."

  “Right,” Amy agreed. “His son is growing up without a father because somebody felt like being stabbed. We need to catch this person and get him behind bars.”

  “Even if it’s Josh?”

  “Even if it’s Josh,” Amy said. “Though I really hope it’s not him.”

  "The other employees did have keys, and one of them might have dropped the scrunchie," Heather said. "They could all be suspects, even though no one we spoke to currently knows of a motive."

  “And there might be significance to the trash,” Amy said.

  “And figuring out which knife is the murder weapon will help,” Heather said.

  "But it still looks bad for Josh," Amy said. “His hiding isn’t helping him.”

  “Do you think Jamie knows where he is?” Heather asked, facing her bestie.

  “I think he might,” Amy said. “He acted very strangely last night. And I don’t think it was just because he was annoyed that we were investigating his friend.”

  “We need to find Josh,” Heather said. “It’s the only way we can figure out what happened and the only way we can get justice for the Trag family.”

  “Fine,” Amy said. “If you think that Jamie will lead us to him, then I guess we can have a stakeout and shadow my boyfriend for the day.”

  The Van Stake-Out

  “Maybe we’re wrong about him,” Amy said. “Maybe he doesn’t know where Josh is.”

  “Maybe,” Heather agreed.

  Their stake-out and following of Jamie had been uneventful. They had watched him travel around to his grooming appointments. He would park on the street while owners brought their dogs and sometimes grumpy cats to him.

  “He can’t see our car, right?” Amy asked.

  “I think I’ve been good about hiding far enough away that he won’t notice it,” Heather said. She knew that her red Chevy Spark would be recognizable.

  They watched as Jamie returned an excitable terrier to his owners and began cleaning up to change locations.

  Amy groaned. “I feel bad about this. I’m spying on my boyfriend. We’re watching him work hard while we sit here. And I’m accusing him of lying to me and harboring a felon.”

  “At least we have donuts,” Heather offered.

  Amy laughed, and Dave piped up with a bark.

  “All right. For all your hard work, you can have a little donut too,” Heather told him.

  They had brought Dave along as their cover. They could have just shown up at the van with donuts, but they thought it was better if they brought Dave with them. They were both feeling a little jumpy about being suspicious of Jamie and wanted to have something to direct their small talk towards. They were fully prepared to let Dave roll in the mud or get frosting in his fur to give them an excuse to need him bathed again. Dave was more than willing to play his part – as long as donuts were involved.

  They followed Jamie’s van at a distance and watched as he stopped at a sandwich shop.

  “Great,” Amy said. “Now he’s doing the totally suspicious thing of buying lunch. What criminal thing will he do next? Spread mayonnaise? Sip soda?”

  “Maybe we are barking up the wrong tree,” Heather admitted.

  Dave barked for emphasis.

  “I don’t blame us,” Amy said. “He was acting weird. I mean, he never refuses donuts. But maybe he was just acting that way because he is worried about his friend and the situation, and not that he had any insider knowledge.”

  "I suppose these situations can make people act in unexpected ways.” Heather thought back to a time when Amy had been accused of a crime. Perhaps she had not acted in the most rational manner in defense of her bestie then too.

  “I’m really glad,” Amy said. “I hated to think that he was lying to me. Especially about something that’s related to a murder case. And it worked out. All we wasted was a little time chasing him. But we did get to enjoy more Pink Moscato Donuts.”

  Dave made a noise and wagged his tail.

  Amy chose to interpret his behavior not as begging. “
And we got to enjoy Dave’s company too.”

  “We might have spoken too soon,” Heather said, keeping an eye on Jamie.

  “Why?”

  “He just picked up two lunches,” said Heather.

  “Hey there, my wonderful, honest and loving boyfriend,” Amy said a little too sweetly. “How was work today? Uneventful?”

  Amy, Heather, and Dave walked purposefully up to Jamie's van. He had stopped by a remote park and had put the sandwiches in the back of the van.

  “Yes. Pretty uneventful. Calm. Nothing out of the ordinary.” Jamie cleared his throat. “Is Dave here for another bath?”

  “One way or another, somebody is going to be in hot water,” Amy said.

  “I’d just need to prepare the back before I bring him in,” Jamie said. “There was a mastiff that caused a big mess earlier.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Heather said.

  She walked quickly over to the van’s doors and swung them open. Josh was there stuffing a sandwich into his mouth. He began coughing when he saw he had been caught.

  “Well, this is a mess,” Heather said.

  “How could you lie to me?” Amy asked, turning on Jamie.

  “Now, I didn’t lie,” Jamie said. “I didn’t know where he was when you asked me. But I guess I did know where he would be when I picked him up later. I told him he could sleep in the van if he needed a place to hide.”

  “You know that’s aiding and abetting?” Amy said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “But he didn’t do it,” Jamie said.

  “That’s right,” Josh said. “I didn’t kill Clint.”

  “Then why are you hiding?” Heather asked.

  “Because I knew everyone would think that I did it,” Josh said. “I knew it looked bad. And I don’t want to go to jail.”

  “You didn’t trust Ryan and the police or us to figure out what happened?” Amy asked.

  “Jamie had been trying to convince me to tell you my side of the story. He said you solved a lot of other cases before. But I didn’t want to be found until you discovered who really killed him,” Josh said.

  “Or maybe you thought that we would solve it,” Heather said. “But you knew that we’d discover that you were the killer.”

  “No,” Josh said. “But I knew that my fight with Clint would make me look guilty. And I can have a temper. I wanted to calm down before I got too mad at my situation.”

  “Why don’t you come out of there?” Jamie said. “Since you’ve been discovered, there’s no point in your eating near where the dogs bathe.”

  Josh climbed out of the van but didn't take another bite. "I think I've lost my appetite."

  Dave put a paw on his leg to indicate that he would happily help him with any leftovers. Josh did hand him a piece of meat from the sandwich.

  “I really didn’t do anything wrong,” Josh said. “It’s just a bunch of bad coincidences.”

  “Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Heather said.

  Josh’s Side

  They found a bench by the park. The private detectives sat near Josh and Jamie. Dave continued to beg for Josh’s remaining sandwich.

  “Once you hear Josh’s side of the story, you’ll know that he’s not a murderer,” Jamie said.

  “Oh?” Amy said. “Is there a part of this story that explains why you thought it was okay to lie to me? And to interfere with an investigation?”

  “Don’t be mad at him,” Josh said. “It’s not his fault. It’s mine. He thought he was doing the right thing in protecting me. He was being a good friend.”

  “And a bad boyfriend,” Amy said, not letting up.

  “Let’s focus on the murder now,” Heather said. “We can deal with the rest later. First, tell us about your relationship with Clint Trag.”

  Josh sighed. “He was my boss. We didn’t quite get along. I have to admit that I didn’t like not being in charge, and he didn’t like that I wasn’t a subservient servant willing to bow down to any of his cooking requests. He was an overbearing, stubborn man. He always wanted to be right. And he enjoyed telling people when they were wrong. And, well, I already admitted I have a temper. I didn’t like that.”

  “Yeah. His side of the story is great,” Amy said to Jamie. “He definitely didn’t do it.”

  "But he was a strict and sometimes mean boss to everyone," Josh said. "He used to tease the waiter Andy for wanting to become a chef. He would yell at the waitress Mary Lou all the time because he thought she was too slow coming and going from the tables. He couldn't understand that customers liked to talk to her and a rapport with them is important for our business. He would yell at Damian too for no particular reason."

  “So, you think one of them could have killed him?” Heather asked.

  “I don’t know,” Josh shrugged. “I just know that I didn’t.”

  “What was your fight about the day you left your job?” Heather asked.

  "Honestly, it was more about our clashing of personalities than anything, but we were yelling about a stir-fry. There are many ways to make a stir-fry, but Clint didn't want to hear of it," Josh said. "It's like your donuts, you know? You can make lots of different flavors, and they're still donuts."

  “Don’t bring donuts into this,” Amy said.

  "He proclaimed that his stir-fry was the best and that all others were inferior. He challenged anyone to make a better one. I definitely had one," Josh said. "But he didn't want a new recipe. He wanted to prove he was in command. I wasn't going to take that. But it was just yelling. I'm not violent."

  "Mr. Gusters said you threw potatoes before," Amy pointed out. "And didn't you throw a pot?"

  “All right. Yes,” Josh said. “But I didn’t throw them at anybody.”

  “Where were you Saturday morning between eight thirty and ten thirty?” Heather asked.

  "You weren't meeting with us like you planned,” Amy said. "You were supposed to meet us to go to the Butterfly Conservatory. Jamie kept calling you, and you never answered."

  "I know," Josh said. "I was scared, and I didn't know what to do."

  “Because you killed somebody?” Amy asked.

  “Amy,” Jamie said. “Can you just listen to him?”

  “When we saw you Friday after helping Jamie with the wet dogs all day, you said that you were going to apologize to your boss,” Heather said. “Did you do that?”

  “That was my intention,” Josh said. "After I found out I was no good in a field beside cooking, I thought I should try and get my job back. I could always look for other opportunities while there. But I didn't want to talk to him when I was so gross from the day's work. I decided I'd try and talk to him before I met you all for the butterfly thing. I figured it would be quick because he'd either say yes or no and I could move on."

  “How did you know he’d be there that morning?” asked Heather.

  “He’s in early most weekends. He talks with Mr. Gusters about stuff.”

  “Did everyone at the restaurant know this?” Heather asked.

  Josh nodded. “It wasn’t a secret. In fact, sometimes Clint would say to let him know if there were things for him to discuss with the owner over the weekend. Of course, he never brought up my suggestions.”

  “If everyone knew Mr. Gusters would be in early that morning, it seems like a bad time to murder someone,” Amy said.

  “Unless it wasn’t planned,” Heather said. “There were a lot of knives in the kitchen.”

  "Look, Clint was already dead when I got there,” Josh said. “I wasn’t even sure that he would be there that early, but I was hoping to catch him before he spoke to Mr. Gusters. The door was unlocked when I arrived, so I thought Clint was there.”

  “Didn’t you have a key?” Heather asked.

  “I used to,” Josh said. “But I gave it back when I quit and stormed out.”

  "He could have made a copy of it," Amy said.

  “I didn’t need a key,” Josh said. “Clint left the door unlocked. I went insid
e to talk to him, but I saw his body on the ground. I freaked out and left.”

  “Why didn’t you call the police?” Heather asked.

  “Because I knew it would look like I did it,” Josh said.

  “When you came across the body,” Heather started. “Did you see the murder weapon?”

  “I just saw a lot of blood,” said Josh. “I would have guessed he was stabbed. But I didn’t see the knife there. I figured that would be another reason why it looked bad for me. I handle knives all the time.”

  “What time did you arrive there?” asked Heather.

  “It must have been around nine,” Josh said.

  “If we believe you, then that does cut down on the window for the time of death,” Heather said.

  “Yeah,” Amy said. “If we believe you.”

  "I think you should come to the station and give an official statement to Ryan and Detective Peters,” Heather said. “I think that’s the best option for you. Hopefully, we can get this all sorted out soon.”

  “I don’t want to go to the station,” Josh said. “I don’t want to get locked up.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jamie said. “It will be okay.”

  “But—“

  “Go get your jacket from the back of the van. And it will all work out,” Jamie said. “It will be just like when we went camping the first time.”

  “All right,” Josh said. “Just like camping.”

  Josh hurried to the back of the van. The others stood up.

  “Thanks for convincing him,” Heather said.

  “I guess you’re redeeming yourself,” Amy said.

  Jamie gulped, and Dave started barking.

  “Oh no,” Heather said.

  They hurried to the van, but Josh was no longer there. He had run off into the trees. He had escaped.

  Arresting Behavior

  “Officer, arrest this man,” Amy said.

  “What’s going on?” Ryan asked.

  He was used to seeing Amy and Heather come to the station when they were working on a case. He was not used to seeing Dave plod along with them or Amy dragging Jamie inside with an arm twisted behind his back.