The Sweet Taste of Murder: An Angel Lake Mystery

by CeeCee James

  A cold wave washed down Elise’s back as she finally understood Crystal’s intentions. “You want me to lie for him?”

  “No. Not lie.” Crystal brushed the front of her blouse before raising her gaze to Elise. “I’m just asking you to think back on that day. And there is quite a financial incentive if you can recall it.”

  Elise was already waving her hand in the negative before the words were completely out of Crystal’s mouth. “Absolutely not. What are you saying?”

  Crystal pressed her lips together, turning them into two white lines. “Just think about it. Please. I believe that, in the end, it would be in everyone’s best interests.”

  “Everyone’s best interests?” She froze, remembering that Lavina had said she’d seen him at the dealership.

  Crystal sniffled and pressed the knuckles of her hand against her mouth.

  “Why do you want me to do this? Where was he when Cameron was murdered?”

  “You promise not to tell. Tell me that you promise. No one will understand.” Crystal stood up and walked stiffly to the window. She pulled a lace-trimmed handkerchief from her pocket and blotted her nose. “Everyone’s going to know. Everyone’s going to think he did it.”

  “Know what? Just tell me. I can’t help you without knowing what’s going on.”

  “He was with Mrs. McMahon,” Crystal whispered. “She picked him up from his work. But if you tell anyone I’ll deny it.”

  Elise tensed, realizing what Crystal was saying. Fear trickled in. Was her life in danger if Eric found out that she knew he had been there that day? She took a long swallow of her tea, trying to regain her composure.

  “Oh, don’t act so shocked. These December-May relationships happen all the time.”

  “It’s not the age difference that’s giving me pause, Crystal. Don’t you think this is something that might help with the investigation?”

  “No! The Angel Lake police are about as effective at their job as a mime with no hands. They just want to solve the case and close the book on it. They don’t care who it is.” She sniffled again and used the hanky to wipe her eyes. “They’ll frame my baby! Those two couldn’t help it if they fell in love. Anyone could see that the McMahon marriage was destined for divorce. Besides, the police already know who the killer is. Either that baby mama or her nasty husband. I have no idea why they’re delaying the arrest of them.”

  “Oh, you can’t seriously think that poor girl had anything to do with Cameron’s death. What, she’s going to drug him and drag him into the car? She’s an itty bitty thing, besides being pregnant.”

  “You’re standing up for that little piece of trash?” Crystal’s face turned white. The botox had frozen any possible physical expression, but anger laced throughout her voice. Her eyes grew wider and wider.

  Elise took a step back. What in the world? “She’s not a piece of trash. She’s a young girl who works hard, made a mistake, and recently found herself pregnant. And she’s alone, very alone.”

  Crystal’s hand gripping the glass shook as her knuckles whitened. “She is a whore. A low-class home wrecker who deserves what she got.”

  “Who’s home did she wreck? Your own? What really bothers you about her?”

  “I just think it’s too convenient that her illegitimate son is suddenly the heir to Cameron’s estate. It’s uncouth.”

  Elise stood up. “As nice as this has been, I really need to get running.”

  As she was leaving, a display of white flowers on the sideboard caught her eye. Casually, she walked over. She grabbed a bloom and let the delphinium petals sift between her fingers, her brow wrinkling.

  Crystal’s heels clattered after her. “Weren’t you listening to me?” Crystal continued. “You understand that Eric couldn’t possibly have done it. He was with Mrs. McMahon all afternoon. I’m sure her staff would attest to it.”

  “Where did you get these?” Elise asked, cutting her off.

  “What?”

  “These flowers. Where did you get them?”

  “Oh.” Crystal’s pursed her pink slathered lips. “Those are from my beau.” She fluttered her eyes coyly. “He brings them every Saturday.”

  Busy woman. Barely divorced and already a beau, Elise thought. Along with panting after Cameron. “What I meant is, where did they come from?”

  “You mean the flower shop? Just that local one in town. Tamara’s flowers, or whatever the yahoo.”

  “They are indeed beautiful. Again, thank you for the tea. I’m sure it will all work out for Eric.”

  “You do know that she brought your name up.”

  Elise shivered at the way Crystal’s voice curled at the end of the sentence. “Who did?”

  Crystal smiled as she looked at her. “The baby mama.” She narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t know?”

  “What did she say?”

  “She said that your friend, Lavina, got into some trouble, and you’re really here on account of your big-wig husband about to bail your friend out. Conflict of interests maybe?”

  “Oh, Crystal.” Elise snorted and held up her bare ring finger for viewing. “Trust me, I’m not here to bail anyone but my own self out.”

  “I think you’re being modest. Because I also heard that Eric has a little secret on your snotty friend. You know how this works, don’t you? If you don’t do this for me, I will ruin her. I’ll do it without blinking an eye.” She smiled again, a picture of a gentile woman. “Well. It really was a nice tea. Us divorcees need to stick together to defend against all that ugly gossip. I can be a real good friend. To both you and Lavina.” She opened the front door. “Goodbye, dear. You just think about what I said. I’ll expect to hear from you soon.”

  CHAPTER 27

  Elise drove around aimlessly for nearly an hour after her meeting with Crystal. Instead of getting clearer, the murder case was getting murkier despite all her intentions.

  She glanced down by chance and saw her gas needle hovering nearly at “E.” Feeling like the weight of the world was crashing on her, she pulled her car over to park.

  “I can’t hardly do this anymore.” Elise whispered with her fingers pressed against her temples. “Dear God, just make it stop.”

  She looked out the windshield with a sarcastic laugh. There was no escaping it. Completely on autopilot, she’d driven herself to the lake.

  “The place where this all began.”

  She got out of the car and stretched her legs. Almost half-heartedly, she checked her Fitbit. 3289 steps. Great. Not even a third of the way there for the day. She couldn’t do anything about it now with her feet clad in the flimsy sandals she’d worn to tea. Jogging would have to wait.

  Somehow, she wasn’t even sorry about that.

  As she walked under the trees, a breeze picked up the edge of her sundress. She held it down and breathed in the lake air deeply. If only it were that easy to wash away her anxiety.

  A thicket of rushes whispered against each other and caught Elise’s attention. The dark head of a duck bobbed as she rustled around rearranging her nest. Not wanting to disturb her, Elise crept away.

  Why couldn’t she figure out who had killed Cameron? Was it Frank? Eric? Mrs. McMahon? Was she going to be able to save Lavina?

  Crystal’s threat lurked inside her ear like the voice of a specter, eerie and sinister. She was going to ruin Lavina by outing her boyfriend if Elise didn’t cooperate and say she’d been with Eric.

  That woman made her skin crawl.

  The wind picked up more, and she was blinded by her own hair. Her hands shook as she tried to scoop her hair back into a ponytail.

  She felt like a failure.

  Tears pricked her eyes. She couldn’t take another minute of this. The meeting at Crystal’s had to be exposed, come what may. Finding her cell, she scrolled for Brad’s number with a lump in her throat. It was time to tell him everything she knew.

  It was time to come clean.

  “Hey, Elise,” he answered, his voice low and sweet, makin
g her smile even under the heavy feeling of discouragement. “Glad you called. I’ve got some stuff to share with you.”

  “Hi, Brad. I need to talk with you. You busy?”

  There was just a hint of a pause. “You’ve never asked that before. What’d you do this time?”

  “You go first.” She walked under the trees, feeling slightly reinvigorated by the shade.

  He laughed. “I hate to do it because I know whatever it is you want to tell me has gotta to be good. But here it is. I visited the Northgate animal shelter today. Actually, just got back.”

  “Seriously? And what did they say?” Reaching out, she began to play with a leaf growing from a low branch. Her finger traced the ridged underside.

  “I was mostly curious about how they got that little dog. Luckily, their file on him was still open and they were happy to let me see it. On the 27th, a man dropped him off saying that he’d nearly hit the dachshund on the highway. But here’s the funny thing. When I showed the assistant a few of the pictures I had with me, she identified the man right away.”

  “Brad! That was brilliant! Who was it?”

  “You’re going to love this. It’s a fellow we both know by the name of Eric Bridgewell.” He chuckled at Elise’s gasp. “And there’s more. The vet assistant had to run out in the parking lot to stop his car before he left. It seems they needed one more signature. She said Eric was most unhappy about being stopped, but he did sign the form. And the assistant got a good look at his passenger, describing her as an older, blonde woman.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I was able to pull a picture off of Facebook to confirm it, and it was indeed her. Mrs. McMahon.”

  Elise sagged with relief against the tree. She didn’t need to confess to Brad after all. “You really are so smart. I can’t believe I ever doubted you.”

  “Me finding another suspect sure makes you sappy. Keep in mind, this is all still just circumstantial evidence. I still have my number one in mind.”

  “Who? Lavina? Oh, please. It could never be her. Be serious for a second. How much do you think he weighed? Over two hundred pounds? How do you suppose she lifted his weight and gotten him into the driver’s side of the car? And where would she have gotten the poison?”

  “Is that what’s stumping you, Elise? Let me assure you that he was alive when he was in the car. He probably climbed in himself. There’s no doubt he definitely knew whoever it was who killed him. As for the poison, we’re still working on that.”

  She wrinkled her nose at hearing the smugness in his voice. “Well, now you’re doing that conjecture thing you always accuse me of doing. How can you possibly know that?”

  “His thigh had a purple injection site where the poison was administered. Probably knocked his heart out within minutes after he got it. Then, whoever it was, drove the Mercedes over the tracks and left it there. Cameron was slumped over so it wouldn’t have been clear that he wasn’t in the driver’s seat. Sorry to tell you, but your friend absolutely would be capable of doing this.”

  “Quit saying that. She’d never do it.”

  “Just stating the facts, Ma’am.”

  Elise decided to change the subject. “Any more news about Frank?”

  “I figured out where he was for those twenty minutes. Calling his parole officer. He has fifty hours of community service. Right now they’re picking up garbage and fixing the white crosses on the highway. He’s probably repainting the one at Flower’s Cove right now.”

  “Flower’s Cove?”

  “Yeah. That’s the other name they call the valley at Reicher cliff. Where Mr. Davis’s son died. So, tell me. What were you calling about?”

  “Aww. It’s not a big deal now.”

  “Come on. Don’t be like that.”

  “Well, I just have some theories on who I think did it myself. Just kind of spinning in my mind.”

  “Your spinning mind scares me. Let’s go have lunch at Taco Del Santo. I have a feeling there’s still something more you want to tell me.”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice. I love that place.”

  “Oh yeah? Why?”

  “Because. Tacos!”

  CHAPTER 28

  At the restaurant, Elise waited to turn left into the parking lot for the car on the other side of the road to turn right. A hand waved through the windshield.

  It took her a second to recognize it was Brad in his civilian vehicle.

  With a smile, she pulled in after him and parked.

  He was out of his jeep before her and headed over to open her door. “You ready, trouble maker?” His dark eyes were warm.

  “For what?”

  “Confession. It’s good for the soul.” There was a flicker of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

  Once inside, the waitress soon had them seated with a bowl of warm tortilla chips and salsa.

  “So, what have you got for me?” Brad studied her and took a long sip off his coke.

  “Well, I think I have the nail for the killer’s coffin.”

  Brad raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently.

  “I know who did it. It’s not who you think. It wasn’t Frank or Sylvia.” Elise shoved a chip into her mouth.

  Brad nodded with his face devoid of emotion.

  “Quit using your detective mind skills on me. I’m saying it wasn’t Frank.” Elise repeated.

  “I heard you the first time. Are you going to tell me why you’re saying that?”

  “Frank couldn’t have done it because at the time of his death he was at the movies, and then like you discovered, calling his parole officer. I knew he couldn’t have done it regardless because twenty minutes wasn’t enough time for him to get to the dealership and back. I tried it the other day. Barring traffic, I was able to make a round trip without stopping in twenty-five.”

  The waitress approached with two plates of tacos. Elise’s mouth watered at their beautiful sight. Her stomach growled, and she suddenly didn’t want to talk anymore.

  Brad crunched his taco loudly and seemed to be digesting her hypothesis at the same time. “So, who was it then?”

  “Mrs. McMahon.”

  “Ahh, our doggy kidnapper. Tell me why.”

  Quickly, she filled him in on her excursion at Crystal’s. At the last moment, she left out the part about blackmailing Lavina. She decided to keep it as an ace-in-a-hole just in case she needed it later.

  With a deep exhale that flared his nostrils, Brad shook his head. “I have my doubts that it was her. I’m sorry to say this, but you’re too close to the case.”

  “What? Didn’t you hear everything I said?”

  “Yeah I did. And I’ve already been over that scenario.”

  “Don’t you remember how the dog acted?”

  “I did. I think they got rid of him because Herman hated Mrs. McMahon due to the fact that she was cheating on Cameron with Eric. After his death, she didn’t want the dog around incase his aggression threw suspicion on her. You need to consider the fact that she drove two hours away to give Herman to an animal rescue that specializes in adopting dogs, rather than putting him down. That doesn’t sound like someone who’d poison their husband and let him get smashed by a train. Or let anyone else do it, for that matter.”

  “You don’t know women. We are capable of anything. And, you’re the one who said the killer was someone close to him.”

  “Actually, I said Cameron knew the killer. Which is why you don’t see what’s right before your eyes.”

  Elise looked warily over at him.

  “I got a phone call on my way here. I was told they’re putting together an arrest warrant for your friend, Lavina.”

  “What?” Elise choked on a piece of lettuce and grabbed for her drink. When she was done, her hands were shaking. “Don’t let them do this, Brad. They’re wrong. Please, don’t let it happen.”

  Brad’s mouth dipped in sadness. He sighed and ran his hands through his short hair. “Look. I know this is hard. I get it. But they have vi
deo evidence showing that she was there on that day.”

  Elise rubbed her temples. “How can you prove it was her?”

  “You know that dark figure? The one we couldn’t identify? Well, the camera from the convenience store caught a white convertible pulling up, and the figure from the video got out of it. That car is registered to Lavina. And, there is a shot of her face before she slid the glasses and hat on. It was her, Elise. She was there.”

  “What about innocent until proven guilty?”

  “Absolutely. But our job is to gather enough evidence to prove that a suspect is guilty. And, I checked back with the receptionist at Friendly Smiles Dentistry, and she insists it was a female who rescheduled the appointment.”

  “That still could have been Sylvia or even Mrs. McMahon.”

  “I don’t know if you knew this, but Lavina also was being extorted.”

  Elise nearly cried as her ace flushed down the hole. “By Eric!” She caught the look in his eye and bit her lip.

  Brad frowned. “So, you did know that. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  “And help you build a case against an innocent person? By the way, since the extortionist was Eric, that should make you take a closer look at him.”

  “Except, with Cameron dead, Lavina inherits his estate. And with that kind of money she could buy protection to make sure Eric stayed quiet. Permanently.”

  She pushed the plate of tacos away from her. “I feel sick. I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “I’m sorry, Elise. The powers above me made the decision. They were really pushing for an arrest before this week’s reading of the will. By state law, if a recipient of a will is accused of the murder of that person, they no longer stand to inherit anything. I guess the Captain thought this would make things much easier in the long run.”

  “So, it’s a nice, tidy case for the executor since it gets rid of the inheriting child.” She couldn’t help the bitter tone.

  “I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. She’ll need your support more now than ever.”

  “This is bull crap, Brad.” She had more to say to him, but something niggled at her about their earlier conversation. She couldn’t concentrate on it now. Instead, she gave him a stiff smile, purposely showing how angry she was, and threw down a twenty dollar bill. Then, gathering up her stuff, she headed out to her car.