“Why do you think so?” Heather asked.
“Grills are made to have fire inside them. They are made by professionals and tested to make sure they’re safe. This guy was playing around with that. He turned it into something dangerous, and unfortunately, an accident happened.”
“Oh really?” Amy replied. “Are they tested by scientists to make sure they’re safe?”
“Sure,” Hoskins said before realizing the implication. “But this scientist was just messing around in his backyard. Something must have gone wrong.”
“I agree something went wrong but was it because someone made it go wrong?”
“Seems like a drastic way to kill someone,” Hoskins said. “There must be easier ways.”
Heather thought for once he was making a valid point but found it funny that it was because Hoskins thought the killer would also look for the easiest way to complete their task. There certainly could have been less destructive means to kill Ed Templeton.
Hoskins continued, “I mean why would a killer choose this method? It must have been an accident.”
“Unless the killer wants us to think that what happened was an accident. So far they’ve done a great job of confusing what happened,” Heather said.
Hoskins seemed to think that she was making a valid point too, but was still clinging to his theory.
“You’ve just got murder on the brain,” he said. “Always looking for one whether it’s there or not.”
After seeing and solving so many murders, Heather thought it was possible that she might look for the possibility of murder more than an average person. However, she didn’t think that was the case with this death. It was true that she was relying more on a gut feeling than on the inconclusive evidence, but there were several things that made the explosion suspicious. The fact that only Ed Templeton had been in harm’s way and the fact that he had examined the grill that morning before using it made her sleuthin’ senses tingle.
“At least we’re using our brains,” Amy muttered.
Ryan had been looking at the case folder, but now stepped in to play diplomat. “Let’s consider all the evidence we have and then base our decision on that,” he said.
Hoskins took out a candy bar and started chomping on it as Ryan lay out the crime scene photos in front of them.
“We saw many of these pieces of the grill when we were there,” Heather said. “Was your team able to figure out how they fit together?”
“Partially. Apparently, it was a very complex machine.”
“See? What I was saying,” Hoskins said. “Just needs one little mistake somewhere in the machine and kaboom.”
“Are there any plans for it somewhere? Or was he a secretive scientist?” Amy asked.
“It sounds like he was continually tinkering with this machine. He didn’t draw out blueprints for it. He just added new things when he had the idea for it.”
“That does complicate rebuilding it from the broken pieces,” Heather admitted.
“Does anyone in the family know how it works?” Amy asked. “I know they might be suspects if this is a murder, but they might still be helpful if they know what it looks like.”
“None of them are as scientifically minded as the victim. They didn’t know how it worked,” Ryan said. “However the son did give us a picture. Let me find it.”
He showed them a picture of Ed Templeton, Eddie, and Janine standing by the grill with their dog Bingo.
“I know the picture is really just a family snapshot, but you can make out the overall shape of the grill. This is only a month old, so there haven’t been too many upgrades since then,” Ryan added.
“Except the deadly one,” Hoskins said in between bites of chocolate.
Heather ignored him. “With all of these pieces damaged from the explosion, will they be able to determine what part caused it to happen?”
“It is difficult, but we’re hoping they will be able to. They were able to discover some of the chemicals that were at the scene. If we could figure out which chemicals created which reaction and fit with what part of the grill, maybe it can lead us to an answer.”
“I’m telling you we have an answer,” Hoskins said.
Heather and Amy ignored him to look at the print-out list of chemicals that had been discovered so far.
“I don’t recognize all of these chemicals,” Heather said. “But what I do seems really dangerous.”
They cut off Hoskins before he could continue down his “dangerous grill/accident” theory.
“I’m surprised a scientist would use nitroglycerine near an open flame when his family is nearby,” Heather continued.
“Maybe he didn’t add that ingredient to his cooking,” Amy said. “Maybe the killer added that to one of the tube-y things or lever-y things on the grill. Then when he pulled or twisted the wrong thing, it went off.”
“Maybe,” Hoskins started. However, he wasn’t able to finish because they were joined by another person.
“Are you the detectives in charge of the Templeton case?” The man asked.
“We are,” Ryan said, before briefly introducing everyone in the room.
“Excellent,” the man said. “I have some information for you. Ed Templeton was murdered.”
Chapter 7
Donovan Dunning gratefully accepted a glass of water from Ryan. Everyone, except maybe Hoskins, was eager to hear what the man had to say.
As he sipped the drink, Heather took a moment to analyze his appearance. Donovan Dunning looked like he had hurried over to the police station without completely changing his outfit. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt but had thrown a suit jacket over it to appear more professional. The bottom half of his attire was suffering from a similar dilemma. He was wearing suit pants, but his toes could be seen in his flip-flop shoes. He had a defined tan line on his face in the outline of where his sunglasses would have sat on his nose.
He looked at them from his palely outlined eyes and said, “You need to treat the Templeton case like a murder. That’s what I hurried back to tell you.”
“Hurried back?” Ryan asked.
“I was on the most lovely vacation. The beaches of Florida,” Dunning said.
Heather smiled with memories of her own exciting vacation to Key West. The vacation aspect had been really wonderful, but a murder investigation had stumbled onto their itinerary to complicate matters. She set her focus back on Dunning and realized the vacation explained his odd suntan.
“The beaches were really beautiful. It was perfect weather. Warm sand and cool water. I enjoyed dipping my toes in the sand. You know, I don’t always enjoy swimming, but I actually went all the way into the water this trip. It was heaven.”
“Mr. Dunning, how do you know Mr. Templeton?”
“I’m his lawyer. And we were good enough friends that I cut my vacation short to tell you he was murdered. And I left the best beach in the world.”
“Why do you think so?” Ryan asked.
“It’s true I haven’t been to too many beaches. I haven’t been to many outside of the country. But this was just such a wonderful combination of sand and surf, and there weren’t too many seagulls. Seagulls can be mean little devils.”
“Why do you think Mr. Templeton was murdered?”
“Because of his will,” Mr. Dunning said.
“Who benefits from his will?” Ryan asked before Heather could. She shot her husband a quick smile, pleased that they were on the same page.
“Right now it’s an even split between his wife and two children. One is technically a step-child, but he thought of them both as his own. He and Nancy have been married for what, seven years now. So he lived through all of Janine’s teenage years. Everyone has the same last name now.”
“Is there a large inheritance?” Heather asked. “Even if split three ways?”
“He has a decent amount of money, yes. He’s done well with profits from his bunion invention. And he worked for a company for a quite a while. He was good with hi
s savings.”
“So if one of the family members really needed their inheritance now, they could have decided to kill Ed Templeton?” Heather thought aloud.
“No, that’s not what I mean,” Mr. Dunning said. “Right now it’s an even split between the three family members. Right now.”
“But?” Amy asked, eager to move this conversation from confusing to enlightening.
“But he wanted to change his will,” Mr. Dunning said. “He called me right before I left for my trip. He told me that as soon as I came back, he wanted to alter his will.”
“How?” Ryan asked.
“He knew I was very excited about my vacation, so he didn’t want to interrupt it. I told you we were friends. But it was important enough that he wanted to meet as soon as I returned. I didn’t think it was an emergency though because he was willing to wait a few days. Important but not an emergency,” Mr. Dunning said. “It’s a shame. If I had returned earlier, maybe they wouldn’t have had the time to kill him off before the changes. So I return now to tell you the information. I return from those beautiful sandy shores.”
“But what information?” Ryan asked, knowing he’d have to more direct in his questioning. “What was he changing in his will? Was he removing someone?”
“I got that impression, but he didn’t tell me who it was over the phone.”
“So you don’t know who had the motive?” Heather asked, hiding her disappointment.
“No. But I think one of them realized what he planned to do and took action to stop the changes.”
“How are you so sure this wasn’t an accident?” Detective Hoskins asked.
“Surely you find this timing suspicious?” Mr. Dunning asked.
Heather nodded. The list of reasons why this “accident” seemed suspicious was growing and growing.
“I found it so suspicious that I ran right out from under my umbrella when I heard the news,” Mr. Dunning said. “I had the cutest little umbrella. It was checkered like a picnic table. I loved to sit under it. But I also liked my time in the sun. A little bit of both is good for relaxing.”
“Thank you for this information,” Ryan said.
“I would have cut any vacation short if it helps catch whoever killed Ed. And this really was a wonderful one. But well worth it,” Mr. Dunning said. “I’ll send you over a copy of his current will and any other documents I think might be useful.”
They thanked him again and listened to a few more details about the pristine beaches and fine dining. Then when they had the room to themselves again, they exchanged a look.
“Mr. Dunning certainly thinks a murder has been committed,” Ryan said.
“I do too,” Heather said. “But how do we prove it when we’re not sure what actually made the explosion occur?”
Chapter 8
Heather was lost in thought as she and Ames gave Dave and Cupcake their walk. Her mind was spinning with thoughts of grills and barbecues and murder. They had three suspects, but until they could prove how the killer could make the grill explode, how could they determine who had the ability to carry out the explosive plan? Was the sabotage something that could be carried out quickly? Or did it require more time and effort, which would require an excuse for why they had been by the grill? Was it possible to be carried out in a way that the cautious Ed Templeton wouldn’t have noticed the change when he checked his grill that morning? Or did it have to be altered that afternoon?
There were too many questions and not enough answers. Heather thought she was normally pretty good at solving puzzles – the puzzle of this murder and of putting the grill pieces back together was eluding her.
She looked over at her bestie who also looked deep in thought as she walked the kitten along the path.
“Any thoughts on the case?” Heather asked.
“Sorry. Thoughts on the Jamie,” she replied.
“Can’t blame you for that. Is everything okay?”
“Nothing is wrong. I think he’s just feeling a little insecure about whether my friends like him. Which is crazy. Of course, you do.”
“Of course we do. We’d like to get to know him a little better. But we like him a lot.”
“That’s what I told him. Okay, admittedly, I first joked with him and said that you thought he was a serial killer. But it was obviously a joke.”
Heather laughed. “We solve so many crimes he might not think it’s a joke.”
“Whatever. He loves me for my sense of humor.”
Heather nodded. Amy’s sarcastic jokes might unnerve some people (or suspects), but to her friends, it was one of her most endearing qualities.
“So now does he think that Ryan is going to show up at his house with a search warrant for bodies?”
“No. But because the barbecue didn’t go as planned, he wants to plan something for all of us to do together. It ranges from planning a double date at Dos Chicos to all going rock climbing together.”
“Rock climbing? Can you imagine us on a rock wall?”
“It might be payback for the serial killer joke. Seeing me sweat as I cling on for dear life.”
They laughed. Then Heather said, “I’m not sure how far I’d get up the wall. But this double date idea sounds nice. What’s the matter with it?”
“Like I said, nothing is really wrong.”
“But?”
“But I’d rather he wants to do something with my friends because it would be fun for all to do something together. Not because he feels he has to prove himself to the group.”
“I can see your point. Is there anything we can do to get him to relax?”
“I don’t know. His nervousness seemed to pop up recently, like I said when we announced the move.”
“Maybe we can offer now to help with the move,” Heather said. “Then he can see that we’re excited for you both.”
“It might backfire and make him feel indebted. Helping people move is hard. We can’t exactly pay you in pizza and beer like people do in college.”
“You can pay us in friendship and donuts.”
The pair laughed again. Dave and Cupcake stopped to look at them. They both tilted their ears, wondering what was so funny.
“Okay. Enough about my woes, do you want to talk about the case? I can see the gears spinning in your head.”
“Spinning and stopping,” Heather corrected. “I feel like until we know how the grill was sabotaged it’s hard to figure out when and who could have done it.”
“If it’s a very sciencey way to kill, maybe we could just determine who was smart enough to do it.”
“I like the train of thought, but I think the technique could have been learned by looking through Ed Templeton’s office notes and supplies. He apparently had a lot of reference books and some chemicals there. The killer could have found out the means to kill without leaving an internet trail by searching it online.”
“So any of the three family members that were potentially getting written out of the will could have learned how to kill him? By the stuff that was in his office. Remind me not to have any books on poison in my office. Ooh, maybe I’ll have an office in my new place with Jamie.”
“That would be nice. If it’s a big space, we could spread out evidence for cases we are working on together there.”
“And I could do some artwork again. But not at the same time. I don’t want any crime scene photos to be my artistic muse.”
Heather chuckled and then started thinking about the crime scene photos again. How could they fit the pieces back together on the grill? Would the police be able to do it? Would she be any better at it if she gave it a try? She was great at piecing ingredients for donuts together into something tasty. Could she reassemble a murder weapon?
She was dragged out of her reverie by Dave barking at a squirrel that had dared to come too close. Cupcake joined him in their stance against the squirrel, but try as she might no bark would come out of her mouth.
Heather suddenly felt like she had forgotten something
, and maybe something not related to a murder.
“How could I forget my best friend?” She said to herself.
“What’s that?” Amy asked. “What are you forgetting about me? Is it my birthday? Are you getting me a pony?”
“No, my other best friend. My four legged one.” She pet Dave on the head after he had chased the squirrel away and calmed down. She hoped Cupcake wasn’t jealous by the reference to canine companionship. She did love both of the animals, but Dave had been with her through thick and thin for a long time.
Blueberry Spangled Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 48 Page 3