by Nancy CoCo
“What’s up with the cat?” Office Brown asked.
“I think she walked through the blood,” I said, and waved her dirty paw. “I didn’t see her do it.”
“There are tracks through the blood pool,” Rex said.
“Is he dead?” Sophie asked. “I’m hoping he’s just a fake like our makeup. You know, for the zombie walk.”
Rex frowned and stood. “I think some of this is makeup, but this man is clearly dead. I’ll call Shane out here.” He reached for the walkie-talkie on his shoulder.
“Let’s step away from the scene,” Officer Brown said as he motioned us across the alley.
The door on the building behind us opened and Margaret Vanderbilt stepped out. Maggs was Frances’s best friend and worked at the drugstore beside Doud’s. She had long, curly gray hair, incredible skin, and wide blue eyes. “What’s going on?” she asked as she looked at us in our zombie makeup. “Are you going to the Walking Red Walk? It’s starting in a few minutes.”
“We were,” Liz said, “but something more important has come up.”
“What is more fun than raising money for heart disease awareness?” Maggs looked at Officer Brown and then over at Rex. “Oh! This doesn’t look good.” Her gaze went to the crumpled heap on the ground at Rex’s feet. “Anthony?”
“Who?” Officer Brown asked.
Maggs pushed through us, but Charles held her. “Anthony? Anthony!”
“Who’s Anthony?” I asked.
“My son,” she said, and covered her mouth with her hands. “Please tell me, tell me it’s not Anthony.”
Rex stepped over and hid the body from her. “We don’t know who it is, Maggs.” He touched her trembling arm. “Why do you think it’s Anthony?”
“He was supposed to meet me here. He was going to dress as a business zombie. I think that’s his suitcoat. The one with the patches.” She started trembling hard.
“You need to sit down,” I said, and handed Mella to Liz. I took Maggs by the shoulder and helped her to sit on the edge of the brick flower bed beside the door. “Does anyone have a blanket?”
The ambulance rolled up to the mouth of the alley. EMT George Marron came out. “Charlene called,” he said.
“We need a blanket, I said. “I think Maggs might be in shock.”
“Got it,” George said, and reached into the ambulance and grabbed a blanket. He came over and tucked it around Maggs’s shoulders. “Are you hurt?” he asked her quietly and calmly.
“No,” she said, gasping for air. “No, I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?” He studied her with his dark eyes. His handsome face, high cheekbones, and copper skin gleamed in the light over the door to the drugstore.
“It can’t be Anthony,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “Please tell me it’s not Anthony.”
George looked up at Rex. He shook his head subtly and my stomach tumbled. Rex knew everyone on the island. From the look on his face, he was sure it was Anthony. I sat down and put my arm around Maggs’s shoulders. She rested her head on my shoulder. I turned to look at Sophie. “Call Frances.”
Sophie turned her back to us and talked on her phone.
“We’re going to find out what happened,” I said.
Rex cleared his throat. “Margaret, Frances will be right here. Go with her, please. You shouldn’t stay. We need to work this crime scene and find out what exactly happened.”
I helped Maggs to her feet as Frances came over. “I’ve got her,” Frances said, and put her arm around Maggs, carefully and quietly speaking to her as they walked the short distance to the McMurphy.
Shane walked into the alley with his crime scene investigator jacket on and his kit in hand. “What do we have?”
“A crime scene that is less than a block away from a crowd of zombies,” Rex said grimly. “What’s worse is the man’s in costume, so it’s hard to tell what is real and what is fake.”
Shane glanced at Mella in Liz’s arms. “Is that fake blood on the cat?”
“I’m afraid not,” I said. “Do you need to bag her feet?”
“I need you to put her in a crate and take her to the vet clinic,” Shane said in a serious tone. “I need to process the scene and I need evidence collected off of her before she cleans herself.”
“Right,” I said, and lifted Mella out of Liz’s arms. I glanced at Rex. “Do you need me to stay?”
“No, go,” he said. “I’ll come around later for a debriefing interview. Whatever you do, don’t change clothes. It looks like the cat smeared evidence on you as well.”
“Right,” I said, and looked down at the bloody paw prints on my pinup girl outfit. “What about chain of evidence? Do I need a policeman to go with me to ensure there isn’t contamination?”
“Shane?” Rex asked.
“Probably a good idea,” Shane said from his position beside the body.
“Fine,” Rex said. “Officer Brown, escort Miss McMurphy and her cat to the vet clinic and ensure the chain of custody isn’t broken.”
“Will do,” Charles said. “Shall we?” He pointed toward the McMurphy.
“Okay.” This was a fine kettle of fish. I was becoming an expert in crime scene investigation . . . and so were my pets.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks go out to my family for their love and support. The only way to get a book written is with a lot of help and patience.
Thank you to the team at Kensington. You all are awesome. Especially, my editor, Michaela.
And always, special thanks to my agent, Paige Wheeler.
About the Author
Nancy Coco is the byline chosen by popular author Nancy J. Parra for use exclusively with the Candy-Coated Mysteries series. With degrees in engineering, journalism, and an MA in Writing Popular Fiction, Nancy has published in cozy mystery, romantic suspense, and sweet Western historical romances.
An Air Force veteran who rose to the rank of sergeant, Nancy is a member of an online group of female veterans who are authors—Military Women Who Have Turned Sword to Pen. The group’s website is www.romvets.com.
Nancy is also a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She has given workshops on a number of writing topics and enjoys doing author panels at fan conferences such as Malice Domestic and Bouchercon. She lives in Oregon with her dog—a bichon poo affectionately known as Little Dog on Nancy’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Check out Nancy’s website at www.nancyjparra.com.
The author will donate a portion of her earnings from this book to the ASPCA®. Learn what you can do to help at www.aspca.org/donate.