“He’s that convinced he saw it?” Amy asked.
“I told him to think of it as a dream,” Ethel said. “But he didn’t like that. He hasn’t wanted to play checkers with me since this happened.”
“We came for a little more than just checking in,” Heather admitted. “We need to talk to Mr. Rankle again.”
“Who’s there?” Mr. Rankle bellowed from the other room. “Did Nick come to tell me that my store burned down? That would be my luck.”
“No. It’s the investigators from the donut shop,” Ethel replied.
“Even worse,” Mr. Rankle grumbled.
Ethel excused herself to help Mr. Rankle. Heather and Amy took a seat in the same spots they had on their last visit. They looked at the photographs on the wall, trying to find Nick amongst them. They eventually found a picture of a young Nick with his brother fishing with a younger Mr. Rankle.
“What are you doing here?” Mr. Rankle asked, as Ethel wheeled him into the room. “I hope you didn’t bring any of those disgusting donuts. Especially those sundae-flavored ones. Ice cream doesn’t belong in a circle.”
“We did bring some Hot Fudge Sundae Donuts for Ethel,” Heather said. “But we really came here because we had some more questions about what you saw.”
“Are you trying to prove that I’m crazy? You want to get me committed so we won’t be working on the same street anymore?”
“Hey, that’s an idea!” Amy said.
“No,” Heather said, quickly. “We wanted to ask you to describe the victim you saw again.”
“Fine,” Mr. Rankle said, fiddling with the binoculars on his lap. “The man I saw get killed, who I am certain I saw get hit in the head with a shovel, was short and skinny. He had dark hair and was wearing a red bandanna and black shirt.”
“Are you sure?” Heather asked.
“Of course I’m sure!” Mr. Rankle said. “I saw someone get killed. I’m not likely to forget that.”
“Is there some reason that you’re asking this?” Ethel asked as she brought out some cups for drinks and a platter for the donuts.
“Actually, yes,” Heather began. “We found a dead body, and he was hit in the head with what could have been a shovel.”
“I knew it!” Mr. Rankle said. He tried to rise to his feet in excitement, but it hurt his leg, and he fell back into his seat hard.
Ethel hurried over to him to check that he was all right. He waved her away and turned to Heather for details.
“But there were some differences between what you told us and what we found.”
“Well, the bandanna could have gotten lost when the body was disposed of,” Mr. Rankle said. “If you didn’t find it on the beach, then the killer must have moved it.”
“We found him washed up from the ocean,” Heather explained.
“That makes sense,” Mr. Rankle said. “Tourists are always littering in the ocean.”
“But it wasn’t a short and skinny dark-haired man like you described,” Amy said.
“So, it was a different victim?” Ethel asked.
“That’s what it looks like,” Heather said, nodding.
“But I don’t understand,” Ethel said. “How can that be?”
“It’s because these people attract dead bodies,” Mr. Rankle said, accusingly.
“It certainly is odd,” Ethel said, frowning.
“That’s why we wanted to double-check your story,” Heather continued, ignoring the jab. “Just to make sure that you weren’t mistaken.”
“I wasn’t mistaken,” Mr. Rankle said. “Maybe you were mistaken in your find.”
“Maybe we should get going,” Amy said. “This isn’t helping us.”
Amy rose, and Heather followed. They took a few steps towards the door when Mr. Rankle said, “Wait. I can’t tell if you believe me in all this or not.”
“I’m not sure myself,” Heather admitted. “Some things you’ve said fit with what we’ve found and others don’t.”
“You’re sure he was a different victim?”
“He was tall and blond,” Heather replied.
“Did he have a big scar across his cheek?” Mr. Rankle asked.
“Yes,” Heather said, wondering how he could have known that.
“And he’s the one who you found dead?”
“That’s right.”
“This doesn’t make any sense at all!” Mr. Rankle said. “That blond scarred man isn’t the victim. He’s the killer!”
Identifying the Victim
What do you mean?” Ryan asked. “You found the killer?”
“Yes,” Amy said. “But he was really the victim.”
“You’ve lost me,” Ryan said.
He sat down at his desk at the police station and waited for Heather and Amy to start making sense. They took seats near him and tried to clear up the matter.
“It’s confusing to explain because it is confusing,” Heather said.
“Right,” Amy agreed. “Because we have a killer/victim or a victim/killer.”
Heather laughed at the way it sounded and then tried again, “Mr. Rankle confirmed what he told us about the victim he saw killed with the shovel. It didn’t match the description of the man we found. However, Mr. Rankle just told us that the man with the scar on his cheek was the killer he saw.”
“The dead man we found was the one who killed the victim he saw?” Ryan asked, trying to make sure that he was clear on the matter.
“That’s right,” said Heather.
“At least according to Mr. Rankle,” said Amy. “If we believe everything he is telling us.”
“He was the one to mention the scar,” Heather pointed out. “How would he have known about it unless he saw it?”
“There’s more to this situation than we know of right now,” Ryan said. “Nothing quite makes sense, but I think it’s because we don’t have all the pieces yet.”
“I think you’re right,” Heather agreed. “There needs to be something to link what we already know together.”
“Is it possible that the man with the scar did hit the dark-haired man with the shovel like Mr. Rankle saw? But that it didn’t kill him? If the dark-haired man survived and was angry, he could have killed his attacker and disposed of the body,” Ryan suggested.
“There’s some merit to that idea. Mr. Rankle didn’t see exactly what happened after the dark-haired man was hit,” Heather said. “But he believes that he was killed with the blow.”
“Mr. Rankle isn’t exactly an expert on this,” Amy said.
“True, but he did see a lot of blood,” said Heather. “He thinks there was enough blood to prove that the man was killed right away. And even if the dark-haired man did survive the blow, was he strong enough to wrestle the shovel away from his attacker and beat him to death instead? Then he needed to clean up all evidence of a crime.”
“How much time did he have?”
“Ethel estimates that she was away for bingo for about three hours, including her travel,” Heather said. “That is enough time for the average criminal to commit the crime and clean up, but in this scenario, our potential killer was bleeding from a head injury.”
“That would make it more difficult to clean up,” Amy agreed.
“What do we know for certain so far?” Heather asked.
Ryan consulted his notebook and flipped through the pages. He apologized for the delay by saying, “I’m sorry. I’m juggling two cases at once. I needed to figure out which page is related to which case.”
“Is there any chance that these two cases could be related?” Heather asked.
“She’s got a point,” Amy said. “A jewelry store gets robbed, and suddenly we’ve got a dead body or two on our hands. The timing is suspicious.”
“It could be possible,” Ryan said. “But right now, there isn’t anything that links the two cases.”
Heather nodded. “Did you find your pages?”
Ryan read what he found. The medical examiner had confirmed his initial fin
dings with the autopsy. The victim had been hit on the head with a something flat, causing his death. A shovel was consistent with the type of weapon used for the injury sustained.
The time of death was also consistent with when Mr. Rankle saw a murder take place. The man was killed sometime Monday afternoon between noon and four.
Then, Detective Peters joined them with some new updates.
“I have good news,” Peters said.
“Mr. Rankle has decided to move out of town because of all this?” Amy suggested.
“The results of the fingerprints search came back,” Peters explained. “We know who the victim is now.”
“Who is he?” asked Heather.
“His name was Burt Braun. His fingerprints were in the system because he had been arrested for burglary before.”
“What sort of burglary?” Ryan asked.
Peters checked the file. “He robbed a jewelry store a few years ago. He served time for it.”
“I think you might have just found a link between your robbery case and the murder,” Heather said.
“If he was involved in this jewelry store theft,” Ryan said. “We didn’t see anyone who looked like him in the security footage. We would have noticed his scar on the surveillance.”
“Then, did somebody else kill him?” Amy asked. “Someone who was mad about his other crime? Or a partner he scorned? Something like that?”
“Now that we know his name and who he is, we can do more research on him,” Ryan said. “We can see what he was doing in Key West and who his friends were.”
“It’s funny you should mention his friends,” Peters began.
“How funny?” asked Amy.
“Some of his known associates are listed, and guess who made the list? Big CC.”
“Big CC knew the victim?” Heather asked.
“That’s right,” Peters said. “Big CC was a character witness for him at his trial.”
“Big CC is a character,” Amy said. “But I wouldn’t trust him to vouch for anybody.”
“I know it’s hard to get anything to stick to Big CC because Chief Chet doesn’t believe he can do anything wrong,” Heather said. “But right now, he’s our best lead to finding out what Burt Braun was up to.”
“You’re right,” Ryan said. “We need to talk to him.”
“We need him to tell us what he knows,” Heather said. “Intimidating him here doesn’t seem to work because he knows that Chief Chet is nearby. We need to get him in a good mood and see if he’ll talk.”
“What do you suggest?” Ryan asked.
“I’m not sure,” Heather said. “Something like bribing him with those tacos he likes. But a better idea than that.”
The investigators looked at one another. How could they trick Big CC into helping them?
Tacos
These tacos are amazing,” Big CC said. “You do know what I like.”
“We know a lot about you,” Amy murmured. “Sometimes we wish we didn’t.”
Big CC ignored her and picked up another taco. Heather, Amy, Ryan, and Detective Peters were seated at a table with him at the taco restaurant down the street from Donut Delights.
Heather wished she had been able to come up with a better idea about how to handle Big CC, but he did seem to be enjoying his lunch. He had also insisted that Ryan wear a large fiesta hat that was normally reserved for birthday parties, and was very amused by it.
So, Miguel,” Big CC said, turning to Detective Peters. “How is everything going? I heard you might have had your share of heartbreak.”
“How did you hear about that?” Peters asked.
“I know people,” Big CC said. “I know everything that happens around here.”
“Do you know who robbed the jewelry store in town?” Ryan asked.
“By around here, I meant on this street,” Big CC said, covering. “And Miguel’s heart was broken in the donut shop.”
“I don’t know about broken,” Peters said. “I was pretty sad, but I’m not broken. Did I briefly consider changing careers and becoming a firefighter? Maybe. But I’m not destroyed by this. It wasn’t like this was true love or anything. Probably.”
“If you ever want to hit the town with me, let me know,” Big CC said. “We could meet some girls who would make you forget Janine’s name.”
“Janae.”
“Exactly.”
Heather cleared her throat. “We actually wanted to talk to you about something besides Peters’s dating habits.”
“You didn’t invite me out just to catch up over lunch?” Big CC asked. “I’m shocked.”
“We’d like to know what you know about Burt Braun.”
Concern flashed over Big CC’s face for a brief moment. However, he had enough time to recover because the owners of the restaurant, Juan and Don, chose that moment to come over to their table and make sure that they had enough chips and salsa.
Juan and Don had also given Heather a hard time about not being a local and opening up a business on their street. However, they had been won over by her donuts and now gave her special attention whenever she ate their tacos, hoping that they would receive free donut samples.
The attention was annoying when she was trying to question a suspect. After assuring them for the fourth time that they were fine with their food and drinks and inviting the duo to come by Donut Delights to get a sample of the Hot Fudge Sundae Donut, Heather was able to focus on Big CC again.
“These tacos have been delicious, but I think I’m all finished now,” Big CC said. “I should get going.”
“Wait a minute,” Heather said. “We know that you knew Burt Braun. It will be easier for all of us if you tell us what you know now. Then, we don’t have to involve your brother.”
“Burt Braun is my friend,” Big CC said, shrugging. “I guess you know about us because I testified at his trial? I told them what a good guy he was, but they still convicted him.”
“But he did rob that jewelry store, didn’t he?” asked Amy.
“So?” Big CC said.
“Do you know if he had any plans to resume his criminal activities?” Ryan asked.
“Is that what this is all about?” Big CC asked. “You’re trying to get him thrown back in jail.”
“No,” Heather said. “I’m afraid this is about something different. Burt Braun was murdered.”
“What?” Big CC asked, dropping his taco.
“We’re trying to figure out the circumstances surrounding his death,” Heather said.
“But I just saw him last week,” Big CC said. “How can he be dead? How could he be murdered?”
“Do you know anyone who would want to hurt him?” asked Ryan.
“No,” Big CC said. “And Burt could take care of himself. I would imagine him killing someone before I could imagine him being the one who was murdered.”
“It’s funny you say that,” Amy murdered.
“When you saw him last week, how did he seem to you?” Ryan asked. “Did he seem nervous about anything?”
“Actually, he seemed excited,” Big CC said. “I figured he found a new job.”
“Like working in a store?” Amy asked. “Or stealing stuff?”
“The latter,” Big CC said. “But I don’t know any details. When you’re not involved in something, you don’t want to know specifics.”
“Are you admitting that you’ve been involved in other illegal activities?” Heather asked.
“Nice try,” said Big CC. “I wish I could help more, but I don’t know what he was doing. It’s terrible that he’s gone though. We were going to go bowling together.”
Juan and Don came by to check that the table was still set on food and drinks and they insisted that they were. Once they left, Heather turned right back to Big CC.
“A jewelry store was robbed the other night. Do you think Burt Braun was involved?”
“Sounds like something he might be a part of.”
“Do you know who he was working with?” asked He
ather.
“Nope.”
“Here’s the thing,” Ryan said. “We know that he was working with someone else. It was too big a job for one person to get done in three minutes. We have you on tape visiting the jewelry store earlier in the week. It’s possible it was you that he was working with.”
“No,” Big CC said. “I wouldn’t do anything so dangerous. Chet couldn’t overlook me doing something like that. I have been at jewelry stores this week, but it hasn’t been to rob them.”
“Then what were you doing?” asked Heather.
“I was looking for a birthday present for my sister-in-law. I can often get special deals on jewelry, but because this is for my brother’s wife I wanted to get something legit. The police chief’s wife can’t be wearing something that isn’t completely on the level.”
“Her birthday is coming up,” Peters said. “Chief Chet mentioned it.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with a jewel robbery,” Big CC said.
“But do you have some idea who did?” Heather asked. “He might have killed your friend.”
Big CC sighed. “I don’t like squealing, but murder is much worse. Burt was my friend. Sure, he wasn’t as much fun since he got out of prison, but he was still my buddy.”
“Then help us catch his killer,” Heather said.
“I don’t know if he had anything to do with it, but Burt did mention a guy he was doing some work with. His name is Denny Fallon. Don’t know much about him.”
Heather thanked him. The investigators were about to leave to follow their new lead when Juan and Don appeared at the table again. Big CC ordered another round of tacos with a smile.
The Cat’s Cries
Do you think we can trust Big CC?” Amy asked.
“You’re having a lot of trouble trusting witnesses in this case,” Heather said.
“Well, look at who we’re working with!” Amy countered.
Heather had to admit that her friend was right. However, she believed that the tip that Big CC had given them was genuine. He really did want the killer of his friend caught and had given them the one name that he thought might be helpful.
Hot Fudge Sundae & Murder Page 4