by Liz Turner
“She’s so cute!” she exclaimed. “Is she yours, Veronica?”
“Yes. I hope it’s okay she’s here.”
“Of course! Dogs are great!” Denise made sure her ice cream was out of Amber’s reach before turning her attention back to the fluff ball next to her. “Henry, maybe we can get a dog too since we have space and the yard now?”
Henry gave a small laugh. “I don’t think the timing is good right now.”
“Yeah, maybe your should get your home in order before you do that,” Veronica suggested, glancing around at all the boxes again. “I think you have enough on your plate.”
“Yeah, moving in has been slow since Henry’s always working at the pharmacy,” Denise explained, her hand still scratching Amber’s head. “He’s gone most of the day. I’m still taking classes at the university, and I don’t have the energy I used to have.”
“It wouldn’t be good for you to move a lot of heavyweight anyway,” Veronica commented.
Max gave her a confused look. “Why do you say that?”
“It’s because I’m pregnant,” Denise admitted. “You noticed?”
“Yeah, how could you tell?” Henry asked, suspicion in his tone.
“She’s an expert chef, remember?” Sakura reminded them. “She can tell these things just from the food people eat.”
“Or in this case, the food people don’t eat,” Veronica added. “Pregnant women shouldn’t have undercooked meat or raw fish.”
“You’re right,” Denise confirmed. “Most people can’t tell, even though I’m four months along. I’m glad you paid attention, though.”
“It’s my job. I would never serve food to someone if it were a problem. Whether it’s a food allergy or a requirement for a woman having a baby,” Veronica continued. She sat down next to Denise and picked up one of the open books, waving it in front of everyone to see. “Of course, it also helps when you have a bunch of pregnancy books lying around.”
Denise’s face went a little red in embarrassment, but she just smiled in response.
“Does this have anything to do with Leo Amato coming by to help you moving things into your house?” Detective Bernard asked suddenly. “Since he could move a lot of these boxes that you shouldn’t carry?”
“That’s right. I asked him if he wanted to make some extra cash by helping us out,” Denise confirmed. “Leo was so sweet, and offered to do it for free to help out a pregnant lady.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica noticed that Henry had had started to bite his lip. She decided now was the time to bring up the main reason they were here.
“We heard that you got into a fight with Leo, Henry,” she announced, and Henry jumped a little at being addressed for the first time in a few minutes. “Was it about Leo helping you move?”
“I was worried you’d bring that up,” Henry responded with a nervous laugh. Amber seemed to notice his anxiety since she jumped down from the couch and started sniffing around the boxes in the living room. “Especially since Leo’s been found dead.”
“Well, we do need to know about it,” Max insisted. “We’re looking into any and all leads after all.”
“I know, I know. I admit it, I lost my temper with him,” Henry confessed. “I saw Leo with Denise and I, just…lost it. I don’t want anything to happen to her, especially since she’s going to have a baby. I just…”
“Are a bit overprotective?” Veronica suggested good-heartedly.
“Yeah.” Henry finally smiled again. Denise held her hand out to him, and he squeezed it gently. “I mean, this is a new neighborhood, and we don’t know the people very well, so I guess I let my paranoia get the best of me.”
“I suppose I can understand that,” Max conceded.
“I went to the Amato's the day after to apologize, and Leo and I went out for drinks together that night,” Henry continued. Amber found the only unboxed item on the floor, which turned out to be Henry’s satchel, and started digging through it. Henry watched her do so for a moment before turning his attention back to the investigators. “That was a few days ago.”
“And definitely too long for the time frame for Leo’s death the medical examiner gave me,” Max proclaimed.
Amber was now squeaking as she continued to stick her nose in each pocket of the satchel. Denise leaned forward so she could see past her husband’s legs, and she laughed at the sight of Amber’s tail sticking up in the air and wagging as she searched the bag.
“She’s so adorable!”
“And ridiculous!” Veronica agreed with her own laugh. “Amber, you silly pup! Get out of there!”
Amber ignored the playful command as Max returned to the subject at hand.
“Can you two tell me where you were last night?”
“We went out to dinner at Ye Olde Steakhouse,” Denise replied. “Henry came home late from work, and I wasn’t up to cooking.”
“Denise sometimes gets sick when she cooks,” Henry added. “So we decided to eat out. I’ve still got the receipt. Hold on.”
He headed over to where his satchel sat on the floor and gently pushed Amber aside. The puppy barked as he did so, but he gave her a few pets to placate her. He dug through the bag and pulled out his wallet. He rose and looked through it as he returned to the group. He pulled out two pieces of paper: a receipt for the restaurant from the day before and a piece of a photograph. Henry passed the receipt to Max while he looked at the picture.
“This wasn’t in here before…” he said. Sakura looked over his shoulder and gasped. “What? What is it?”
“Veronica? Max? You’ll want to see this. Excuse me.” Sakura plucked the paper from Henry’s hands and passed it over to them. “Here.”
It was a piece of a photograph with some bushes and grass, both of which looked similar to the one they found on Leo’s body earlier that day. Like the first one, there was a bit of square wood at the corner, although this one was larger and took up a little more space on the picture. All sides of this piece were torn, indicating it came from the center of the photo.
Max pulled out the photograph found at the crime scene, still in the evidence bag in his pocket. He held it up to the one Veronica held and took a closer look.
“It must’ve come from the same photo,” he concluded. “They look similar enough.”
“What is it?” Denise asked.
“We found this piece of a picture on Leo’s body,” Veronica described, pointing to the evidence bag. “We think it might have something to do with why he was killed. We’re looking for the other pieces.”
Henry’s eyes widened, and he held hands out in a surrendering gesture. “I, I swear it wasn’t there earlier today!”
“You’re sure about that?” Sakura questioned.
“I’m sure!” Henry insisted. “I’ve never seen it before, and I don’t know how it got there!”
“Don’t worry, we believe you,” Veronica said. She grabbed the restaurant receipt out of Max’s hands and looked at the time stamped on it. “This proves you were both gone for many hours last night. Leo was killed while you were gone.”
Max nodded in agreement. “That rules both of you out as suspects.”
“Thank goodness,” Denise said with a gasp.
“Strange that the photo piece got into your bag, Henry,” Sakura commented. “Any ideas about how that happened?”
“I told you, I have no idea!”
“Didn’t you have it at the park earlier today?” Veronica asked. “I could’ve sworn I saw a bag like that left alone on one of the benches.”
“I did have it with me then,” Henry confirmed. “Do you think someone would’ve snuck the picture into my wallet then?”
“It’s possible, but I’d think someone would have noticed,” Veronica debated, rubbing her chin in thought. “There were so many people. Surely someone would have seen it.”
“Honey, didn’t you leave your bag outside just a little while ago?” Denise questioned her husband. “While you were moving t
hose boxes into the kitchen?”
“That’s right! I did!” Henry declared. “I was getting the bag out of my car and decided to grab a few boxes on the way back in. I dropped my satchel outside, and I didn’t get back to it until we had unpacked that box.”
“How long did that take?” Max inquired.
“Fifteen minutes? Maybe twenty?” Henry surmised.
“Long enough for someone to plant the photo on you,” Sakura confirmed, a bit more excited than she should have sounded given the suspicious circumstances. “I bet they did it then!”
“Or at the party. We can’t completely rule that time frame out,” Max reminded them. “But that begs a lot of questions.”
“Who planted the photographs? Where are the rest of the pieces?” Veronica wondered aloud as Amber sat down next to her. “And how is the picture related to Leo’s death?”
Chapter 7
Veronica heard the sound of birds chirping as she and the others left the Mullins’ house. It was truly a shame a murder had to happen on a day like this. …Well, murder is more than unfortunate on any kind of day, but it has been particularly unlucky for it to be on such a sunny summer day. The sun was out, with only a few clouds casting shadows on the ground, and birds flew everywhere, catching insects to feed their hatchlings in their nests. A light breeze blew through the air, rustling the trees and making the nests sway, but not enough to cause any harm to the babies. Veronica closed her eyes and took in every sound and smell of the nearly perfect day.
A bleeping of Max’s cell phone rudely interrupted the peaceful sounds of nature in the park, and Veronica reminded herself why it was only a nearly perfect day.
“It’s the lab. I need to take this.” Max looked up from his phone and stared right at Veronica. “Wait a bit for me? Before we interview anyone else?”
“No problem,” Veronica replied. Max walked a little distance from them down the sidewalk, away from the park. Sakura, meanwhile, gave her an exasperated look, and Veronica’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? What’s wrong?”
“You are impossible.” Sakura threw up her hands and looked away. She started walking towards the park, with Amber galloping ahead of them.
Veronica followed with a raised eyebrow. “What?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice the tone in Max’s voice?” All she got was a blank stare. “Oh come on!”
“I really don’t understand...”
“Wait for me, Veronica!” Sakura mocked in a deeper voice. “Don’t go interviewing anyone without me!”
“That’s not what he said!” she protested. “And not in that tone!”
“That’s exactly how he said it!” Sakura put her hands on her hips. “Veronica, you are as dense as a doornail!”
Veronica paused. “Dense as a doornail? What does that even mean?”
“Never mind!” Sakura threw her hands up again. “Let’s go back to the crime scene.”
Veronica wanted to discuss Sakura’s insistence further, but her friend was already several feet ahead of her, and Veronica had to jog to catch up. Amber began running back and forth between the two of them, not wanting to leave either behind and making sure she kept track of both chefs.
Good. Run around, little puppy! That’ll get the extra energy out of you!
The crime scene, behind the bushes near the Edwards’ home, was still taped off and guarded by a couple of police officers. Knowing they would not be allowed close enough to get a good look at the crime scene, Veronica and Sakura stood a few yards away and stared at the area.
“So, any ideas?” Veronica inquired of her friend.
“From what I can tell, nothing really points to any particular person as the killer,” Sakura answered.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Veronica agreed. “Leo and Henry seemed to have resolved their differences, and although Aileen was angry with Leo can you actually see her doing something like that?”
“Not really,” Sakura admitted, twitching her mouth as she thought about it. “But do you think she just let go of the idea of a refund? She sounded pretty adamant, by what Pietro and Lorenzo said.”
“And you’ve told me plenty of people kill over money.” Veronica’s nose crinkled. “What a thought. Then again, the whole Leo is watching Naomi thing.”
“You’re not suggesting Naomi killed him?” Sakura proclaimed. “You don’t think Aileen could murder Leo, but Naomi could?”
“No! That’s not what I meant at all!” Veronica debated. “I was actually thinking more along the lines of Louis. He’s quite protective of his daughter, isn’t he?”
“Overly protective of everything he owns!” Sakura declared. “That includes his family. You’ve got to admit, though, it’s weird that Leo was watching Naomi so much.”
“Weird…that’s one word for it,” Veronica concurred. “I wonder why he was…”
“Veronica? There you are!” The women turned to see Max walk to them. Amber met him halfway and jumped up onto his hips. “I’ve been looking for you!”
“Amber! Down!” Veronica commanded, and the pup did as she said. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s no problem. But anyway, I’ve got some news from the medical examiner,” Max responded. Veronica, Sakura, and Amber all waited eagerly for him to continue. “He finished Leo’s autopsy, and confirmed that the cause of death was a stab in the back.”
“That’s what you thought it was earlier, right?” Veronica asked.
“Right. There were at least three extensive stab wounds, but the killing blow was with a deep penetration to Leo’s back.” Veronica put her hand up to her mouth at the thought, and Max smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. No details.”
“No. Details are okay,” Veronica replied. “It’s just a little hard to think about.”
“We deal with meat all the time, boss!” Sakura joked.
“That’s not the same!” Veronica huffed and turned back to Max. “Please continue, Detective.”
“Well, the stab went through his back, into the lungs and then into the aorta just above his heart,” Max described as cleanly as he could. “Leo bled out.”
“The aorta…That’s the big blood vessel, right?” Veronica asked, trying to recall her basic human anatomy.
“One of them, yeah,” Max confirmed. “One of the biggest, actually. Leo was dead in minutes.”
Veronica swallowed deeply. “At least he didn’t suffer.”
“Not for long.” Max shook his head slowly. “We still have no idea about the murder weapon, but at least we know how he died.”
Sakura groaned. “Can we talk about something else? This is the only part of murder mysteries I don’t like.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s move on.” Veronica cleared her throat. “Where were the stab wounds? On Leo’s body?”
“Near the top of his back, near his neck,” Max described. “They were downward strokes, from the right side to the left.”
“May I borrow your pen?” Max’s eyebrows rose at the sudden request, but he handed the object over to her regardless. She held the pen up, trapped in her right fist, and brought it downward from right to left. “Like this?”
“A little higher I think, but yeah,” he confirmed. “Leo was lucky it missed his heart…but it wasn’t enough to spare his life.”
“Lucky. Right.” Sakura let out a long breath. “But why is the direction important?”
“You not only read murder mysteries, but you’re also a chef, Sakura,” Veronica teased her. “Haven’t you ever noticed how differently steak and chicken cuts when you do it with your right hand versus your left?”
“Well since I’m right-handed, I’ve never tried it with my left,” Sakura announced with a smirk. “But I forgot. You’re ambidextrous.”
“I am not,” Veronica insisted, but none of her companions looked convinced. Amber barked in protest. “Okay, so I’ve trained my left hand to work a little better. That doesn’t make me ambidextrous, and…We’re getting off topic! The cuts on a roast are different be
tween right and left-handed chefs, so I assume it’s the same for stabbing?”
“In a way,” Max concurred. “Do you pay that much attention to that kind of thing? When you cook?”
“She’s a bit obsessive,” Sakura joked.
“It has more to do with presentation,” Veronica added. “Cutting meat a certain way to make it look nice for the customer.”
“I see.”
“So how tall was Leo?”
Max looked back through his notes. “Doctor Lansome, the medical examiner, said Leo was five foot six.”
“And since the stab wounds were close to his neck, the murderer would need to be tall enough to make downward strokes with a long knife to someone that tall,” Veronica described. “Unless Leo was kneeling…”
“I doubt it. He was stabbed from behind,” Max contributed. “And Doctor Lansome said the line of the blade was relatively straight. He wasn’t hunched over.”
“That answers that question then.” Veronica paused. “Do we know anyone else’s height?”
“Most of them are taller than all of us…Most of them,” Sakura said. “The only person I know for sure is Liam. He’s about my height, so five foot two.”
“I noticed Naomi was a little shorter than Liam,” Veronica added. “So maybe she’s five foot even?”
“That all sounds about right,” Max confirmed. “Neither of them would be tall enough to make those sorts of stab wounds.”
“Just to be sure, can you come here, Max?” Veronica requested.Max walked over and stood in front of her. Veronica put her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed down, forcing him to squat just a little until he was at about Leo’s height. Sakura barely held in a snort as they did this, and Veronica gave her a small glare.Veronica passed the pen over to Sakura. “Here. Pretend to stab him.”Sakura held the pen just like her friend did minutes earlier, and slowly brought it down to his back in a stabbing motion. Being approximately Liam’s height, Sakura was not able to reach the spot near his neck where Leo’s fatal wound had been.“No dice. I can’t do it,” she declared. “Which means Liam wouldn’t be able to either.” Max straightened up. “The murder weapon, whatever it was, was much longer than my pen, so it would be unwieldy for someone of Liam or Naomi’s heights.”“Rupert and Cale are both much smaller,” Sakura added. “Not that I think a kid would stab someone!”