Caramels With A Side Of Murder

by Meredith Potts

  “I don’t see how that’s relevant to your case,” Kenneth replied.

  “Do you care enough about her to cover up for her?” David asked.

  “I don’t know where you got the crazy idea that I’m covering up for her,” Kenneth said.

  “Kenneth, doesn’t it bother you that you might be in love with a murderer?” David asked.

  Kenneth shook his head. “No.”

  “Why not?” David said.

  “Because she didn’t kill her sister,” Kenneth replied.

  “What makes you so sure?” David asked.

  “Because she was with me that night. She couldn’t have done it.”

  “So you say,” David replied.

  “Now can I go?” Kenneth asked.

  “Not quite.”

  Kenneth groaned. “I answered all of your questions. What else do you want from me?”

  “A handwriting sample,” David said.

  Kenneth shrugged. “Why do you want that?”

  “Don’t worry. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. So are you willing to give us a sample?”

  Kenneth nodded. “Sure. Whatever it will take to get me out of here.”

  David called the deputy over to get a handwriting sample from Kenneth while David and I moved to Erin’s front porch to question her.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  As expected, Erin did not give the detective and me a warm welcome. Erin scowled as she sat on her porch.

  “You have a lot of nerve,” she said.

  David narrowed his eyes at her. “So do you. Are you still sticking with your story?”

  “It’s not just a story. It’s the truth,” Erin replied.

  “According to you,” David said. “Your boyfriend seemed a little shaky when we questioned him.”

  She shot David a glare. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

  He stared her down. “To figure out who killed your sister.”

  Erin snarled. “You can try to get us to turn on each other all you want. It’s not going to work.”

  David folded his arms. “You and Kenneth may stand in solidarity with each other, but that doesn’t change the fact that your alibi looks very flimsy all of a sudden.”

  Erin narrowed her eyes. “Says you.”

  “The only person who can verify your story is the man you happen to be dating. By definition, that makes your alibi shaky,” David replied.

  “It doesn’t change the fact that I do have an alibi, though.”

  “You could have had Kenneth falsify your story.”

  “That’s a serious accusation. Do you have any proof?” Erin asked.

  David hesitated.

  A smug look came over Erin’s face. “That’s what I thought.”

  “Are you really going to take that tone with me? You’ll need more than just your boyfriend’s words to prove your innocence.”

  A fire came to Erin’s eyes. “And you’ll need a lot more to prove I’m guilty. Especially since I’m not.”

  “That is yet to be determined.”

  She folded her arms. “You’re wasting your time. I already told you everything I know.”

  “You also omitted a really key detail,” I said.

  She opened her mouth.

  I wasn’t done. “Don’t try to downplay the fact that you didn’t tell us about your romantic involvement with Kenneth.”

  “So I withheld that detail from you. It doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t kill my sister,” Erin said.

  “That’s your take,” I said. “After learning about that omission, it makes me wonder what else you might not have told us.”

  “I have told you everything else.”

  “Excuse us if we don’t just take your word for it.”

  “I don’t know why you’re coming so hard at me. You should be talking to Rick Lutz.”

  “We did speak with him,” I said.

  Erin threw her arms out. “Tell me he’s not guilty.”

  “You seem quite determined to point the finger of blame in his direction.”

  “Because he’s practically drenched in motive.”

  “So are you, but you insist that you are innocent,” I said.

  “Because I am,” Erin replied.

  David spoke up again. “If you’re so innocent, then you shouldn’t have any problems providing us with a sample of your handwriting.”

  Erin’s forehead wrinkled. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

  “It just may be the key to finding your sister’s killer,” David said. “Now, will you give us a sample?”

  Erin groaned. “Fine. Although you’re just wasting your time. I didn’t do anything.”

  “We’ll see about that,” David replied.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I was trying my best not to get frustrated, but I was failing miserably. David got a writing sample from both Kenneth and Erin for the handwriting expert to analyze. He then let them go with a strict warning to stay in town. To be sure they actually did, David made sure that a few patrol cars continued to keep tabs on them.

  It was going to take a while for the handwriting expert to analyze the samples. That meant that David and I would be left in suspense for an undetermined amount of time.

  I knew that if I headed back to the police station with David, I would only end up pacing back and forth in the hallway, nervously waiting for any update. That kind of jittery behavior wouldn’t win me any friends at police headquarters, so I had my boyfriend drop me off at Daley Buzz instead.

  The moment I arrived at the coffee shop, I fired up a latte. After taking a few sips of my drink, my eyes caught sight of a delicious treat. There was a container of individually wrapped caramels beside the register that was meant to entice impulse buyers.

  When I was working, I often forgot that the container was even there. So naturally I spotted the caramels while I was in the middle of the most stressful day that I’d had in months. As I stared at the caramels, they proved to be too scrumptious to resist. I reached for one, unwrapped it, and gobbled it right up.

  Mmm.

  So good. The caramel was soft, creamy, and mouth-wateringly good. Sweet treats like this delectable were practically addictive. If I wasn’t careful, I could easily plow through the entire container. That was why I told myself that I would stop at one.

  Three caramels later, I found myself in the middle of a binge. My taste buds were delighted by my complete lack of restraint, but I was horrified to discover just what little willpower I had. Not horrified enough to stop devouring caramels, mind you, but wildly disturbed nonetheless.

  When I grabbed another caramel, my stepfather spoke up.

  “You know those caramels are for customers, right?” Luke asked.

  “We can always order more,” I replied. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  “Things must be really desperate, then.”

  I nodded. “Oh yeah. This is a caramel emergency. You know how it is.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t say that I do. I’ve never had a caramel emergency.”

  “Be thankful for that. They can get pretty brutal.”

  “I can see that. Now why don’t you give those caramels a rest?”

  I unwrapped the caramel that was in my hand. “Times like this, I can’t be held responsible for my lack of willpower.” I gobbled up the delicious treat.

  Luke grabbed the container and tucked it away on a shelf under the counter. “It’s a good thing that your mother isn’t here. She is worried enough about you already.”

  “You’re not going to tell her about this, are you?”

  “You know that I try not to keep secrets from your mom.”

  “But like you said, she’s already worried enough. There’s no need to throw her over the edge.”

  Luke put his hands on his hips. “Sabrina, you know this is a terrible place to put me in.”

  “Trust me. I’m in a much worse place,” I repli
ed.

  “If the case is getting to you this much—”

  “Don’t even say it. I’m not giving up.”

  “That wasn’t what I was going to say.”

  “Good.”

  “I have known you long enough to realize that you won’t give up.”

  “Tell that to my mother,” I said.

  “Oh, she knows. Why do you think she worries about you so much?” he asked.

  “I know why. Trust me, this isn’t easy for me, either.”

  “Clearly. It doesn’t take five empty caramels wrappers to be able to see that. Just promise me that you’re being careful. I don’t know what your mother and I would do if something happened to you.”

  “I am taking every precaution that I can,” I said. “Feel free to tell Mom that.”

  “I will. Although I don’t see her breathing easy again until this case is closed.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure when that will be.”

  “Sometimes it helps to talk things over.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t want to talk about the case. I just want to solve it.”

  “If you change your mind, I’m all ears,” Luke said.

  I stared out into the distance, trying to make sense of all the different aspects of this case. As my mind raced, I had fully intended to keep my thoughts to myself.

  “Sabrina, are you all right?” Luke asked.

  I exhaled. “No.”

  “I know you said that you didn’t want to talk about the case, but maybe it will help you to get things out in the open instead of letting them eat you up inside.”

  “I know that every family is different, but the Baxter family…” I took a deep breath. “I just don’t get how they seem to care more about money than each other.”

  “There’s a reason that greed is one of the deadly sins. Family members have been betraying each other for money since Biblical times.”

  “It’s more than that,” I said. “Terri and Erin Baxter were sisters, but you’d never know it by talking to Erin. They certainly weren’t like any pair of sisters that I know. When I think about my sister…” I lowered my head. “I would give anything to see Jessica again. But Erin, she doesn’t even seem to miss her sister.”

  “I would give anything to have Jessica back, too, but unfortunately, not all families operate like that.”

  “I know. It just makes me so sad to think about sisters not getting along.”

  “I’m sorry this case is really getting to you.”

  I nodded. “As if investigating a murder isn’t hard enough already.”

  “As sad as it is to know that everyone in the Baxter family wasn’t on the best of terms, it does make you appreciate that everyone in our family gets along.”

  I smiled at Luke. “That’s true.”

  “See, there’s a silver lining to everything.”

  “Thanks for cheering me up.”

  “That’s what I’m here for.”

  “In that case, how about letting me have another caramel?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nice try.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I was hoping that when I woke up the next morning, David would call me with an update. When he didn’t have one, I headed off to the coffee shop. Two hours into my work shift, David entered Daley Buzz.

  I didn’t hesitate to try to get information out of him.

  I gazed at David with wide eyes. “Did you get the results back?”

  David glanced around at the half-filled room. “Why don’t we talk about this outside?”

  David and I headed out front, where I studied his face.

  “You don’t look very excited. Do you have bad news?” I asked.

  David groaned. “Times like this, it would be nice if you weren’t so perceptive.”

  My heart sank. “How bad is the news?”

  David grimaced. “The handwriting expert analyzed the samples.”

  “And?”

  “According to him, neither Keith’s nor Erin’s sample matched the letter we received at the station.”

  “I’d like to say that’s surprising, but it isn’t. That would have been too easy.”

  “Yeah. The killer went to too much trouble in covering their tracks to slip up with a simple handwriting sample.”

  “I guess you’re right,” I said. “So what now?”

  “We just have to keep on digging.”

  “No wonder you look so grim.”

  David tried to put on the best face that he could. “The killer is out there. We’ll find them.”

  “David, I know you. I can see the desperation in your eyes. You don’t have to put on a good face for me.”

  “I’m not,” he replied. “I’m doing it for me. If I’m going to crack this case, I need to keep my head up.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  David grabbed a cup of coffee then headed back to the police station to resume work. The rest of my day involved far less detective work—at least on the surface. Even as I made espressos and lattes for customers, the case remained at the back of my mind. All that changed when Ryan Davidson entered the shop.

  The five-foot-nine twenty-eight-year-old still had the body of a lacrosse player even though he hadn’t played the sport in nearly a decade. He had short brown hair, hazel eyes, and an oval face. He also had a very strange sense of timing. I hadn’t seen him in months. Normally that would have really bothered me, but since our last conversation had been quite awkward, the break in time between seeing each other wasn’t such a bad thing.

  I got the sense that another round of awkwardness was inevitable. How could it not be? After all, Ryan was my sister’s old boyfriend. Every time I saw him, I was reminded of Jessica. Only recently a new wrinkle had been added to complicate matters even further.

  The last time our paths had crossed, he had been with his new fiancé. Even now, months later, I was having a hard time grappling with the idea of Ryan being romantically involved with anyone other than my sister. At the same time, it had been ten years since Jessica’s disappearance. Ryan had a right to move on. At least that was what I tried to tell myself.

  If Ryan and I didn’t enter this conversation dragging around enough emotional baggage, there was one more curiosity to deal with—the fact that he had decided to stop into my family’s coffee shop. It may not have seemed like that notable of a detail, but ever since Jessica’s disappearance, I couldn’t recall a single time that Ryan had set foot in Daley Buzz.

  I had a feeling that he had purposefully avoided the shop because of all the memories he had of this place. I didn’t blame him. We all had our own coping mechanisms.

  That was what made seeing him in the shop that afternoon so surreal.

  “Ryan. What a surprise,” I said.

  His muscles were tense. “A good one or a bad one?”

  “Don’t be silly. It’s always nice to see you.”

  Ryan gave me a nervous smile. “That’s nice to hear.” He glanced at the menu board and décor of the shop. “The place looks the same as ever.”

  I nodded. “Don’t expect things to change around here anytime soon. As my grandmother likes to say, it’s not broken, so don’t try to fix it.”

  “That’s a good philosophy to have.”

  “Did you come here to talk philosophy?”

  He shook his head. “Not quite.”

  “In that case, what can I do for you?” I turned to the menu board. “Want an espresso? A latte?”

  He grimaced. “I’m actually trying to cut back on caffeine right now.”

  I snickered. “You’ve come to the wrong place, then.”

  Ryan chuckled. “I guess so.”

  I scrunched my nose. “If you’re not here for a sugary yet delicious drink, what are you here for, then?”

  “Actually, I just wanted to talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  “About Jocelyn.”

  My palms began to sweat. “Really?”

>   He nodded.

  “Are…you two doing all right?” I stammered.

  His face became quite animated. “Oh yeah. We’re great. We’re in love. The wedding is in three months. I have no complaints.”

  I squinted. “Now I’m really confused. If everything is great, then why did you want to talk to me about Jocelyn?”

  He took a deep breath. “It’s just that when you ran into us a few months ago, there was an awkwardness, especially around Jocelyn. I know it must be hard seeing me with someone other than your sister—”

  “I don’t know that hard is the right word. I was just surprised.”

  “However you want to label it, I just felt that we should talk about it.”

  I bit the corner of my lip. “But that was months ago. If you really wanted to talk about it, why did you wait this long?”

  He exhaled. “I was nervous about coming in here.”

  “Ryan, are you looking for my blessing or something?”

  “No. It’s nothing like that.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “I know you’ve only met her once, but Jocelyn is a great woman. She’s kind and sweet and smart.”

  “I don’t doubt it. But I still don’t know what this has to do with me.”

  Ryan went quiet for a few moments. After taking a deep breath, he replied, “I just want you to know that I haven’t forgotten about Jessica. I never will. Every night, I pray that we’ll find her.”

  “You didn’t have to come all the way over here to tell me that. I know you haven’t forgotten Jessica. You don’t forget someone like my sister…or how she disappeared.”

  My chest tightened up. For a second, I stopped breathing. I closed my eyes and slowly calmed myself down. Thankfully, my breathing returned to normal. When I reopened my eyes, Ryan was staring at me.

  “Not many people know what we’ve been through,” he said. “What we’re still going through. I know you probably ask yourself what would have happened if you’d gone on that jog with Jessica instead of staying home.”

  “Of course I do.”

  “I know how you feel. I constantly ask myself, what if I hadn’t been out of town that day? Would she have gone out to breakfast with me instead of going on that jog?” Ryan asked.