Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Rare Catch Cozy Mystery

by Liz Turner

  There was a long pause before Jessica answered. “No. It’s not.”

  “What?” Max and Veronica said at once.

  “The blood from the tissue isn’t a match to the blood on the photograph,” she explained. “It doesn’t match at all. Are you sure you gave us the right sample?”

  “We’re sure the tissue blood came from Naomi,” Veronica insisted. “What do you mean it didn’t match?”

  “I mean, the blood from the photograph belongs to someone other than her father,” Jessica repeated.

  “Why wouldn’t it match?” Veronica asked herself.

  “So we still have no idea who the blood belongs to,” Max said, gripping the steering wheel tighter.

  “We do have a match for the fingerprints, though,” Jessica informed them. “The ones found on the photo and on the cameras both belong to Louis Edwards.”

  “But we didn’t get his prints,” Max recalled. “How could you match them?”

  “Ned did some digging. Turns out Louis was a bank manager a couple years back,” the technician continued. “Your fingerprints are always taken when you work at a bank. We dug them up and matched them to the ones from the crime scene.”

  “That answers the question of who moved the cameras and tore up the picture,” Veronica summarized.

  “But there’s a snag too,” Jessica reported. “There were more prints on the photograph. One of them was Leo’s. Doctor Vallas took them when she did the autopsy. Two of the other prints are unknown.”

  “I bet they belong to Liam and Naomi,” Max presumed. “So that points to Louis as our man.”

  “But why wouldn’t the blood match?” Veronica questioned. “Was it Leo’s?”

  “No,” Jessica answered. “It didn’t belong to him. The only explanation is that it came from his killer.”

  “Was there anyone else with an injury that we saw today?” Max asked Veronica. She bit her lip as she tried to wrack her brain for the answer, but she ultimately just shook her head. Max sighed. “Jess, any chance one of the samples was contaminated so they wouldn’t match?”

  “No. The samples were intact when we ran the tests,” she answered. “Much to my surprise.”

  “Louis was the only one with any hand injuries, and the fingerprints match,” Veronica restated. “It doesn’t make sense. Does DNA not work like that?”

  “No, your plan was perfect,” Jessica reassured her. “We’ve managed to get partial matches from parents or children before. It just didn’t pan out this time.”

  “But then…the only way that would be possible is if…”Veronica trailed off, her eyes widening as Max continued to drive. He tried to keep his focus on the road rather than the revelation that Veronica seemed to have come to. He’d just have to ask her once they reached Delta Avenue.

  Chapter 14

  The lovely neighborhood of Delta Avenue appeared very different at night. The street lamps illuminated the road and sidewalk, but the shadows cast by the bushes and trees on the front yards all had the eerie appearance of reaching hands and sharp sticks. Most of the houses had their lights out. The exceptions were the Amato and Dolan residences; giving them the appearance of lit jack-o-lanterns. The ambiance wasn’t something Veronica was afraid of now, but she was sure she would be wary of it during her childhood.

  The Halloween atmosphere was mostly ruined by the flashing red and blue lights of the police cars surrounding the Amatos’ driveway. Max parked a little distance away before turning the car off and hopping out. Veronica followed suit, needing to rush a little to keep up with the detective’s long strides. A couple of officers walked up to them.

  “Detective Bernard,” one of them said. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

  “No problem.” Max turned to gesture to Veronica. “This is Veronica Koche, my assistant. She’s with me. What’s the situation?”

  “The caller said someone broke into the house and started yelling. They’ve been arguing ever since ” the officer reported. “We have a few officers there to keep the peace, but we wanted to wait until you got here before we did anything.”

  “Thanks for that,” Max replied. “Let’s go.”

  The officer led the two into the house and to the living room, where four more policemen stood evenly on each side. Pietro and Lorenzo stood to one side of the couch and coffee table while Louis and Amy stood on the opposite side. Amy was a little closer to the couch, holding her husband by the shoulder to keep him in place. Lorenzo was leaning against the sofa, staring at Louis with a murderous glare. Pietro was nursing a black eye, but that didn’t take away from his glower at the intruder either.

  “Okay, what’s going on here?” Detective Bernard inquired. Everyone, including the officers, began speaking at once. Veronica covered her ears at the sound, and Max put his index finger and thumb in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. Suddenly the room was silent. Max waited a minute before talking. “Everyone, one at a time. Tell me what happened.”

  “Louis just came barging in here,” Pietro answered.

  “No provocation at all,” Lorenzo added. “He stayed outside at first, but then broke down our door and started yelling up a storm.”

  Veronica glanced over her shoulder at the front door. It was only then that she noticed the lock was broken and torn from the wall. Her eyebrows instantly rose.

  Wow. That must have taken a lot of strength, she thought. I never want to get in his way.

  “No provocation?” Louis responded with a shout. “You have Naomi here! You’re holding her hostage!”

  “We have done no such thing!” Pietro argued. “You just barged in here for no reason!”

  “Then where is my daughter?” Louis demanded.

  “Louis, will you stop shouting?” Amy declared. “You’re only making things worse.”

  “Detective, we’ve already searched this house up and down,” one of the officers described. “There is no sign that Naomi Edwards has ever been here, inside or outside.”

  “You aren’t looking hard enough!” Louis screamed.

  “Louis, admit it, she’s not here,” Amy reasoned. Her face was twisting into a glare as well by this point. “They clearly don’t have anything to do with where Naomi’s gone.”

  “There’s no other explanation!” Louis jutted his finger at Amatos. “Leo was always obsessed with her! Watching her! You must have done something to her!”

  “They did something?” Amy argued. “Might I remind you that you were the one who drove her from home to begin with?”

  “Hold on!” Veronica called. “What’s that? He drove Naomi from your house?”

  “They were fighting about something, but I didn’t hear what,” Amy explained to her. “Naomi left over an hour ago.”

  “And I’m positive they have something to do with it!” Louis persisted. “I want to know where she is! And you’re going to tell me! Right now!”

  “I’m telling you, we don’t know!” Pietro repeated.

  Veronica gently grabbed Max’s hand, biting her lip and tilting her head towards the door. He watched her face for a moment before a wave of understanding entered his face. He smiled and nodded, and Veronica released his hand. Max walked to place himself between the quarreling families, putting one hand up to each.

  “All right. Enough. Stop this now or we can have this conversation at the station. Is that what you want?”

  Veronica heard a string of negative responses as she headed out the broken doorway and down the street. She spotted Denise and Henry Mullins standing on their porch in their bathrobes. She gave them a wave and a thumbs up to indicate that everything was going to be okay, and Denise gave her a smile in return before Henry led his wife back to their house.The chef walked straight across the cul-de-sac, sure no cars would endanger her life at that hour, and paused to open the gate leading to the Dolans’ front lawn. Veronica rang the doorbell and thanked her lucky stars Sully hadn’t gone to bed yet.“Chef Koche?” he said with a yawn. “What are you doing here?”


  “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but is there any chance I could speak with Liam?” she requested.Aileen walked up behind her husband. “Liam? Has he done something? Is everything all right?”

  “Something big has happened. Look.” Veronica moved out of the doorway so the couple could see the police vehicles flashing at the Amato residence. “It’s very important I talk to Liam. Privately, if I can?”

  “Privately?” Aileen repeated. “What is this all about?”

  “I can’t tell you. I made a promise,” Veronica replied. “But you’ll find out soon enough. But I have to speak with Liam first.”

  Aileen shrugged her shoulders while Sully allowed Veronica inside. Since she had already been to Liam’s room once, she knew the way on her own. After asking the parents to stay downstairs, Veronica made her way up the steps to the third floor where Liam’s bedroom door was located. She paused, looking over her shoulder to make sure Sully and Aileen were not around, and then knocked soundly on the door.

  “Liam? It’s Veronica,” she informed through the wood. “There’s no one else with me. May I speak with you?”

  She heard the distinct shuffling of socks against the carpet, and not a second later the door was cracked open, and Veronica got a glimpse of Liam’s dark brown eyes.

  “Chef Koche?”

  “Yes, it’s me. Just me.”

  Liam opened the door a little wider so he could look farther out. Once he was satisfied that Veronica was alone, he opened the door enough for her to slip inside. Cale and Rupert were sitting on Liam’s bed, which was now in disarray from what Veronica could only assume had been jumping on it. She glanced around the teen’s room, not noticing anyone else, and sighed.

  “It’s okay Naomi,” she reassured to no one. “It’s just me. No one else is with me.”

  The bathroom door creaked open, and out came Naomi, still dressed in the shirt and jeans she had on previously. She glanced down at her sneakers before looking Veronica in the eye.

  “Has Louis figured out where I am?” she asked.

  “Or do my parents know?” Liam inquired.

  “No. Neither knows you’re here. I keep my promises.” Veronica gave each child a smile, stopping on Rupert. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “I ran away,” the young boy replied. “I just got here.”

  “He said there was a bunch of yelling at his house,” Liam explained. “And he needed a place to stay for a while.”

  “Mom and Dad already know he’s here,” Cale added. “It’s only Naomi who’s a secret.”

  “Well you were right to do so,” Veronica stated. She turned her attention back to Naomi. “Your parents are at the Amatos’ home right now. Louis is causing a lot of problems. He thinks they’ve kidnapped you or something.”

  “He would assume that, wouldn’t he?” Naomi said a bit of sting in her tone that Veronica hadn’t heard before. She crossed her arms over her chest. “He doesn’t trust anyone at all, does he?”

  “He’s worried about you,” the chef informed her. “I know you had a fight with him earlier, but it would probably be good if you came and calmed him down.”

  “What does he know?” Naomi disputed. “I want nothing to do with him right now. He has no right to tell me what to do!”

  “Because you don’t think he’s your father, right?” Veronica offered. “And not just because of how he’s treated you.”

  The young girl smiled while the boys all stared at each other in confusion.

  “What’s she talking about, Naomi?” Liam asked gently.

  Naomi was still silent, so Veronica decided to enlighten them all. “Remember that DNA test you gave use her nosebleed tissue for?”

  Liam nodded. “Yeah. Was it bad or something?”

  “What DNA test?” Naomi asked.

  “We were trying to match Louis’ blood to the blood found on the photograph where Leo died,” Veronica described. “That way we could have evidence proving he killed Leo. But the samples didn’t match.”

  “But why wouldn’t it?” Liam asked. Cale and Rupert still looked confused. “I mean, I’m no DNA expert but wouldn’t you be able to tell the blood belonged to Naomi’s father?”

  “Exactly. Why wouldn’t it match?” Veronica proclaimed. She continued to watch the emotions flash across the teenage girl’s face. “Naomi?”

  There was another long pause. “How sure are you that Louis is the murderer?”

  “Pretty sure,” she replied. “Even without the forensic evidence, he had the strongest motive and the only one without an alibi. He had the opportunity when you snuck out and came here last night.”

  “And killed him…” Naomi trailed off. “Because he thought Leo hurt me. But he wouldn’t do that.”

  “What makes you so sure?” Liam asked her.

  “Leo told me, that day he took the picture of me in the park,” Naomi explained. “He said he was my father, not Louis.”

  “Did Louis ever find out about that?” Veronica inquired.

  “No idea. He caught me with that picture and stole it from me,” the teen continued. “That was the same night I ran away from home and came here. He probably thought Leo had something to do with it and went after him.”

  “That makes sense,” Veronica agreed.

  “So Leo…my real dad is dead…because of me.”

  “No,” Veronica declared forcefully, making the children jump. “It was Louis who decided to kill someone, not you.”

  “Does that mean you knew who killed him all this time?” Liam asked his friend.

  “I think…I think I knew, but I had no proof,” Naomi answered. “And who would believe me?”

  Veronica walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Naomi looked up into her eyes.

  “I believe you.” And Naomi gave her a small smile.

  Chapter 15

  Naomi stopped a few feet from the entrance to the Amatos’ home. Veronica turned to watch her, and immediately understood why she hesitated. Louis’ voice could still be heard from the outside, his yelling was so noisy. Even a couple of police officers were starting to look worried about the argument occurring inside.

  “If you don’t bring me, my daughter, right now I’m going to do more than break your front door!”

  “Wow,” Liam said. “That’s not good.”

  “Are you all right?” Veronica asked Naomi, who gave her a nervous smile.

  “I’ve never heard him so angry before,” she replied.

  “Don’t worry,” the older woman reassured her. “Nothing will happen while Max and I are there. We won’t let it.”

  Naomi continued to listen to the yelling for a few more minutes before letting out a long breath and walking to the door. Veronica headed in first, making sure that no physical altercations were taking place before allowing the children in. No one had moved from their previous standing position except Max, who was now sitting on one of the chairs with his fingers massaging his temples. Veronica waved for Naomi and the others to enter. Liam stayed in the background while Rupert walked straight to his father and put his arms around Pietro’s legs.

  “Rupert!”

  “What is going on in here?” It was Aileen Dolan, who arrived with her husband and sons since she didn’t want Liam going somewhere potentially dangerous.

  “What in the world?” Sully said.

  “Okay, there are way too many people in here now!” Max proclaimed. “Everyone, be quiet unless your name is called! And Mister Edwards, this is your last warning. If you don’t calm down, I will arrest you for disturbing the peace.”

  “Can’t you arrest him for that now?” Pietro asked as he pulled his son into his arms and sat on the couch, as far away from Louis as possible.

  “I’m not going to calm down until they bring me, Naomi!” Louis shouted.

  “Well, then you have no more reason to yell,” Naomi commented.

  Somehow her tiny voice managed to break through all the commotion, and everyone turned t
o look at her. Amy sprang to her and took her in a tight hug, which Naomi eagerly returned.

  “There you are, Naomi!” her mother called. “We were so worried about you!”

  “Yes! Where were you?” Louis asked. He moved to hug her as well, but she stepped back towards Liam, leaving her father flabbergasted. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t feel like hugging a murderer, that’s all.” Everyone jumped again at her statement, and Naomi continued to scowl at Louis. “So excuse me if I want to stay away from the person who killed Leo.”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Louis demanded. Everyone else in the room was at attention at this accusation. “I’ve done nothing of the sort! How dare you accuse me of murdering Leo!”

  “Actually, we have evidence proving you’re who we’re looking for,” Veronica declared. “Max? Do you still have the photograph?”

  “I don’t. It’s in the lab,” the detective replied. “But I can tell you we’ve matched fingerprints to Louis Edwards. He was the one who tore up the photograph.”

  “And you’re the only one with cuts on your hands, so the blood on the photo must be from you,” Veronica added, pointing to the bandages covering his fingers. Louis immediately put his hands in his pockets. “You’re right-handed, just like the person who killed Leo…and don’t give me that look and try to argue that most people are right-handed. But you’re also the correct height for the kind of stab wounds on Leo’s body. And remind me, Max. Louis’ fingerprints were also found on Sully Dolan’s neighborhood watch cameras too?”

  “That’s right,” Max confirmed, standing from his seat. “The cameras that were moved just hours before the crime, had your prints all over them.”

  “That’s all you have? Prints? I’ve moved the cameras for Sully plenty of times,” Louis argued. “And that blood on the picture isn’t mine.”

  “True, we haven’t been able to match the blood to a sample of yours,” Max conceded, but his tone still had confidence.

  Louis smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “And I’m not giving you a sample either.”