“And I questioned all the suspects,” Tracy said. “I discovered that Edna Waterbaulm had a deep, dark secret.”
“Was it relevant to the case?” Heather asked.
“Actually, no. It turned out that her grandmother’s secret meatball recipe really came from a cookbook. But I got to the bottom of that.”
“Poor Edna,” Amy said.
“And,” Tracy said. “I discovered that Cadence and Vinny weren’t as happy as they pretended to be.”
“How did you discover that?” Heather asked.
“Good police work,” Tracy responded with a smile.
“Well, thank you for all your work so far,” Heather said. “But I really think you should let the police handle it from here on.”
“But I’ve been doing so well,” Tracy said. “And imagine what solving this crime could do for my career.”
“Your career?”
“Of course,” Tracy Trigger said. “An actress and a detective? That’s extremely marketable. Think of the press I could make for myself by catching the killer. Everyone will want to cast me after my exploits are reported.”
“You’re only trying to solve this case because you think it will make you famous?” Heather asked incredulously.
“It doesn’t really matter if I get famous for solving a case and then become a successful actress or vice versa. Just as long as everyone learns the name Tracy Trigger.”
“You don’t care about justice for Vinny Unger?” Heather asked, clenching her hands into fists.
“Justice for Vinny Unger,” Tracy said. “That sounds terrific. It has a nice ring to it. Of course, I care about justice for Vinny Unger.”
“Just as long as it helps your career at the same time?”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Tracy said. “As long as I save the day, I might as well be rewarded for it. Tracy Trigger saves the day on stage and in real life. Maybe I’ll be able to save the day on screen too. Do you think they’ll make a movie about me? A TV show? Could I play myself?”
“You better solve this case before you call your agent,” Amy said.
“You’re right,” Tracy Trigger said. “I loved chatting, but I have to get back on the trail of the killer. I can’t let him get away.”
Tracy Trigger ran off with dramatic haste. Heather and Amy looked at each other.
“This is getting ridiculous,” Heather said.
Then Amy said, “We better solve this case quickly so we can stop her.”
Chapter 15
“Do you think we were that bad when we first began investigating?” Heather asked.
“I sure hope not,” Amy said.
They were at the police station, waiting to catch up with Ryan about what they had learned about the case and about the development with their actress detective problem. While they waited, they were able to have the conversation that had been on Heather’s mind for a little while.
“I know that I ignored Ryan’s advice not to investigate crime at first,” Heather admitted.
“That was ages ago,” Amy said. “Ancient history.”
“I just hope that I wasn’t like Tracy Trigger before I became a licensed private investigator.”
“You weren’t,” Amy said. “And I have a few reasons why.”
“A few reasons?”
“Yes. I’ve collected evidence on this matter,” Amy said with a laugh. “First of all, you’re good at sleuthing. All Tracy Trigger could produce were some random rocks. You produced results and caught killers.”
“I did catch my fair share of killers, even then,” Heather admitted.
“Plus, you didn’t do it to further your career. You decided to help because you wanted to see justice served. You wanted to make sure that the guilty person was held responsible for their actions while the innocent suspects’ names were cleared.”
“Thanks,” Heather said. “I needed to hear that.”
“I’ll have to go through my other reasons later,” Amy said. “It looks like Ryan is joining us.”
She was right because Ryan did come up to them. He had a smile on his face.
“Is there good news?” Heather asked.
“We might have a break in the case,” Ryan said. “A witness is coming in today who might be able to shed some light on who was in the parking lot.”
“How did we not find this witness before?” Heather asked.
“Well,” Ryan said. “We talked to all the audience members by tracking their ticket sales. However, one sale fell through the cracks because the man asked for a refund.”
“Why is that?” Heather asked.
“Yeah,” Amy said. “Seeing the show was good. I wouldn’t ask for a refund there. If I wanted a refund, it would have been before when I couldn’t remember the name of the show to save my life.”
“You said that in the past tense,” Heather said.
Amy accepted the challenge. “Well, it’s The…. The Case of the Stolen Marbles and Death.” Amy shrugged. “I should give up. I seem to have some sort of mental block against this title.”
Ryan chuckled. Then his witness appeared, and he had to act professionally. Heather, Amy, and Ryan sat down to talk to Toby Bingle.
“Thank you for coming in,” Ryan said.
“I’m happy to,” Mr. Bingle said. “If I had realized that I had seen something sooner I would have said something.”
“It’s quite all right,” Ryan said. “Now, you did go to the show?”
“I arrived to see the show. I took a taxi. I was planning on my wife meeting me there. We were going to watch the show and then drive home together. However, she got into a little fender bender. She called me, and I knew I had to leave to go and be with her. So I got a refund quickly and left.”
“This is what we’d like to know more about,” Ryan said.
“Did you take a taxi home?” Heather asked.
“I eventually did,” Toby Bingle said. “When I left the theater, I went to the valet parking area. I thought he might have some advice on who to call for a ride. I waited for a bit, but then it didn’t seem like he was coming back. I eventually figured out a number to call based on past calls I had made and was able to get picked up.”
“Did you notice anything unusual while waiting?” Ryan asked.
“I thought it was unusual that the valet parking attendant wasn’t there,” Mr. Bingle said. “It was still close to the start of the show. But I figured he must have still been parking a vehicle.”
“Did you see anyone else outside?” Heather asked.
“Yes,” said Mr. Bingle. “It didn’t strike me as odd at the time. But I saw someone else leaving the restaurant. She was headed towards the parking lot.”
“It was a woman?” Heather asked to double check.
“Yes. It was a woman with blond hair.”
“Was she wearing a costume?” Ryan asked.
“Actually, she was wearing a big robe. Maybe a dressing robe.”
“Was there anything else distinctive about her?” Heather asked.
“I didn’t get a great look at her. I knew she was blond and wore that robe. Oh,” Mr. Bingle said. “Now that you mention it, I think she might have been a pipe smoker.”
“A pipe smoker?” Amy asked.
“It looked like she had a pipe sticking out of her pocket. It had a fancy white handle like ivory. It was far away but looked really extravagant.”
“Thank you for all your help,” Ryan said.
“No problem,’ said Mr. Bingle. “I only wish I could do more.”
They thanked him again and led him out of the building. Then the trio had a lot to talk about.
“He described the murder weapon,” Amy said.
“He saw the killer,” said Heather.
“And it was a woman,” said Ryan.
“Well,” Heather said. “We only had one suspect with blond hair.”
Chapter 16
“I don’t care what your witness saw,” Rhonda said. “I didn’t ki
ll anybody.”
“You deny leaving the theater?” Ryan asked.
“It wasn’t me,” said Rhonda. She looked across the interrogation table at Heather, Amy, and Ryan. “Didn’t you talk to Martin? Didn’t he tell you that I was helping him with his stage fright all night?”
“He did,” Ryan said. “But we saw the show. He was onstage for a rather long scene in the beginning when you were off stage. You could have committed the crime then.”
“I didn’t leave the theater. There must have been somebody who saw me,” said Rhonda.
“We did have somebody say that they saw a blond woman leaving the theater and heading towards the parking lot where Vinny was killed,” Heather said.
“There are lots of blond women,” said Rhonda.
“Yes. But not lots of blond women who knew where the knife for the show was kept and where Vinny would be that night,” Heather pointed out.
“You’ve got a point,” Rhonda said. “But it still wasn’t me.”
“I think the court will be a lot more lenient on you if you just confess and explain what happened,” said Ryan.
“He was your ex and was messing around with Cadence right in front of you,” Amy said. “One day it pushed you over the edge.”
“Look,” Rhonda said. “I couldn’t have done it. I mean I couldn’t have done it anyway. But I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have done it either.”
“Did you follow that?” Asked Heather.
“I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid it could affect future casting if everybody knew,” Rhonda said.
“Knew what?” Asked Amy.
“I have a problem with my arm,” Rhonda admitted. “It’s a tennis injury from when I was younger. I can’t reach my arm all the way up. And I don’t think I could use enough force to stab somebody. But, of course, I never tested this because I never killed anybody.”
“Do you have documentation about this?” Ryan asked.
“You can see my doctor,” Rhonda said. “I’ve had it for a long time. I’ve tried to hide it from most people, but my friends will tell you that I’m terrible at high-fives. This is why.”
“We will be looking into this,” Ryan assured her. “But if what you say is true—“
“Then she’s not our killer,” Heather finished.
***
Heather was closing up Donut Delights for the day when Tracy Trigger tracked her down again. Amy saw what was happening and hid behind the counter.
“I’m so glad I caught you,” Tracy said. “Is what I heard about the case true?”
“What did you hear?” Asked Heather.
“That you accused Rhonda of the crime, but let her go.”
“That is true for the moment,” Heather said. “We’re double-checking some facts, but we don’t believe she committed the crime.”
“Why not?”
Heather didn’t especially want to reveal information to Tracy Trigger anyway, but she definitely wasn’t going to share a medical issue that Rhonda wanted to keep secret.
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Heather said.
“What made you suspect her at first?” Tracy asked. “I interviewed her too. I know that she and Vinny dated.”
“That was the motive we were looking at. The scorned lover angle. But honestly, we were looking at her because a witness came forward.”
“A witness?” Tracy asked.
“Yes. Someone who left the show early. He saw a woman leave the restaurant.”
“Who was it?”
“He didn’t get a good enough look for a positive identification. But he said the woman was blond.”
“Just like Rhonda. She did it!” Tracy said. “I solved the case.”
“She is blond. But she didn’t do it,” Heather said.
“You’re sure?” Tracy Trigger said. “I could interrogate her again.”
“She didn’t do it,” Heather said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to close my store for the night.”
“Of course,” Tracy said. “And I have a murder to solve.”
Before Heather could say anything else, Tracy had run away down the street. Amy emerged from behind the counter.
“Traitor,” Heather said to her bestie.
Amy shrugged. “I’m not very Trigger-happy.”
***
Heather had put Lilly to bed and wished Eva and Leila a goodnight. She was just about to enjoy a late-night donut with Ryan and her pets when heard someone at the door.
Dave growled.
“Who is it?” Ryan asked.
Heather checked and groaned. “It’s Tracy Trigger. What is she doing at our home?”
“Heather Shepherd?” Tracy said, banging on the door. “I need to talk to you.”
Heather opened the door only partway.
“Tracy, you shouldn’t have come to my home. It’s inappropriate.”
“I thought you’d be proud that I found out where you live. And that I solved the case.”
Heather and Ryan exchanged a look.
They walked outside to talk to Tracy rather than invite her inside. Dave and Cupcake were at the door, ready to provide backup if needed.
“I can’t believe you were going to go to sleep when a case wasn’t solved,” Tracy said. “Does justice sleep? Tracy Trigger doesn’t stop when there’s work to be done.”
“I guess Heather Shepherd is just human,” Heather said.
“It’s okay,” Tracy said. “We knew from the beginning that this was really my case and that I was meant to solve it. And now I have.”
“How did you solve the case?” Ryan asked.
“Well, I followed the clue that you discovered from the eyewitness, so you did both help me some. It was the clue about the blond lady. I knew it had to be a woman in the cast who appeared blond.”
“Right,” Heather said. “So, what’s new?”
“This is!” Tracy Trigger said. With a great flourish, she removed a blond wig from her purse.
“That is a good idea,” Heather admitted. “It is possible that the killer used a wig to conceal their identity while they went off to commit murder.”
Ryan agreed. “We believe it was premeditated, so the murderer could have planned to have a disguise as well as a weapon.”
“But not just any disguise,” Tracy said. “This one.”
“Right,”’ Heather said. “A blond wig. An actress might have one at the theater.”
“Or in her car,” Tracy said.
“What are you getting at?”
“This is Cadence’s wig,” Tracy said. “She’s the killer.”
“You took this wig from her?” Ryan asked.
“It’s the evidence that she’s the killer and I found it,” Tracy said. “Isn’t that great?”
“What were you thinking?” Heather asked.
“That I wanted to catch the killer,” Tracy responded.
“Don’t you understand about the chain of evidence?” asked Heather.
“Why would evidence be in a chain? This is made of hair.”
“It means that this might not be admissible in court,” Ryan said. “Can we prove where it came from? Can we prove where it was every step of the way? And that it wasn’t tampered with?”
“I took a picture of it in her car before I grabbed it,” Tracy said. She took out her phone and showed them the picture of the wig inside the car. “Does that help?”
“It helps,” Ryan said. “I still don’t know if it will stand up in court.”
“Here,” Tracy said, handing them the wig. “Do the tests you have to do on it. You’ll see that it’s Cadence’s. And that makes her the blond woman. She’s the one who killed Vinny.”
“We will get this tested,” Ryan said.
“Your welcome,” Tracy Trigger said. “I’m so glad I solved this case.”
She started to saunter away. “Where are you going?” Heather asked. “You’re not going to try and arrest her, are you?”
“No,” Tracy Trigger sai
d. “I’ll leave something for you to do.”
Chapter 17
Heather did not sleep well that night. She was very tired the next morning, but for some reason, Dave was more awake. He greeted her with lots of doggy kisses when she got out of bed.
Wild Raspberry Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 53 Page 6