Coconut Cream Murder

by Susan Gillard

“It depends on what part of which activity they were a part of,” Heather said. “Some players could sneak away and others couldn’t.”

  * * *

  “It would be hard for someone to sneak away from the one that the victim died at,” Amy said. “If one rope wasn’t doing what it was supposed to, you’d notice it.”

  * * *

  Heather nodded.

  * * *

  “Are there any other suspects here?” Ryan asked.

  * * *

  “The owner Tessa,” Heather said. “I don’t know if she’d have a motive, but she knows this place better than anyone.”

  * * *

  “It looks like we have our work cut out for us,” Ryan said.

  * * *

  “We’ll get started on our search,” Jung said.

  * * *

  The assistants all headed towards the woods, ready to help solve the case.

  * * *

  “All our suspects are here for the day already,” Heather said. “I hope we can solve this one quickly.”

  “I hope so too,” said Amy. “But do you think it’s possible?”

  * * *

  “It is if we move quickly,” Heather answered, and started walking.

  * * *

  “Great,” Ryan said. “Who should we interview first?”

  Chapter 9

  “I can’t believe we have to stay here after an incident like this,” Mitch Mallard was saying. “Obviously, I want to leave this place immediately.”

  “Don’t you want to help us catch the one responsible for what happened to Gordon Masters?” Ryan asked.

  “Of course,” Mitch said. “But why do we have to do it here? Can’t we contact our lawyers from our office to sue this establishment? And if you want to seek criminal action, I still feel like we could make statements when we are less upset.”

  The rest of Techy Tech Tech that they had gathered together were nodding their heads in agreement.

  “We are very upset,” Janet said. “This was supposed to be a day to bring us together.”

  “But obviously, it hasn’t been,” Mitch said. “When can we go?”

  “Mr. Mallard, what do you think happened here?” Heather asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Mitch asked.

  “You really like that word,” Amy commented. Then, she went back to taking notes on the questioning. Expecting to be outside climbing on things and not investigating a murder, Amy did not bring the tablet that they usually took notes on. Instead, she had borrowed some pages from Emily Potts’s notebook to record on. She admitted it that writing “the old fashioned” way seemed more fitting that day because they were out in nature, surrounded by trees.

  “My colleague Gordon was killed because this team building establishment is recklessly unsafe,” Mitch continued.

  “I’m afraid that’s not the case, Mr. Mallard,” Ryan said. “The line was intentionally cut.”

  “What do you mean?” Benny

  “We mean that Gordon Masters was murdered,” Heather said. “Do you have any idea who might have done it?”

  “Murdered?” Janet asked.

  “Can that be possible?” The short man in the group asked.

  “It certainly could have been possible,” Mitch said. “I wondered why they came here today.”

  “Who?” Heather asked.

  “3T Tech,” Mitch said. His lip curled as he said it as if he had just smelled something distasteful.

  “You didn’t get along?” Heather prodded.

  “Not at all,” said Mitch Mallard. “I didn’t think they would stoop to murder, but if anyone did it, then they did.”

  “Why do you think it was them?”

  “They’re already thieves and liars. They just escalated higher to murder,” Mitch said.

  “That is a bit of a jump,” Janet said.

  “They are our main competition,” Mitch said. “And recently, they’ve been stealing our ideas. Our newest robot, they completely stole the concept of. It wasn’t even the most high-tech thing. It was to help you with your laundry outside so it wouldn’t blow away. Our Laun-Dry Robohelper. Many people just use dryers now, but we thought this was a great concept for the small market of those people who love hanging their clothes outside. And then, they came out with the exact same product. How can you have two products competing for such a small group of customers? And this wasn’t the only time.”

  “But why would they go after Gordon Masters?” Ryan asked.

  “Maybe to set us behind even more on our new project,” Mitch said. “I had just given Gordon a raise and a new project to work on.”

  “Do you have any idea how 3T Tech could be getting this information from you?” Heather asked. “Could Gordon have been telling them?”

  “You think he was giving away trade secrets and then was silenced to cover it up?” Benny asked.

  “I’m just asking if it’s possible,” Heather said. “We’re trying to look into all possible motives now.”

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Mitch Mallard said. “But I wouldn’t have thought so. I trusted Gordon. I had just given him that promotion.”

  “Besides 3T Tech, do you know anyone who would want to hurt Gordon Masters?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Mitch said. “It had to be them.”

  The other team members admitted that they didn’t know anyone else who would want to hurt Gordon either.

  “Where was everyone during this challenge?’ Heather asked.

  “Obviously, Gordon was up in the tower,” Mitch said.

  “Obviously,” Amy echoed.

  “Then, the four of us were in the woods manning the four ropes that moved the box and flag in the air,” he continued.

  “You didn’t have an extra person to run around and help give directions,” Amy said, referring to her job on the course. “How did you coordinate?”

  “We had to call out through the trees,” Benny answered. “Gordon helped keep us on track.”

  “Nobody left their spot at any time?” Heather asked.

  They all shook their heads no. Janet was a little slower than the rest of the group to join in.

  “How was your challenge going up until the point of Gordon’s demise?” Heather asked.

  “I thought it was going rather well,” Mitch said.

  “There was one obstacle we had trouble going around,” Benny said.

  “That’s right,” said Sam. “Janet had trouble with her rope for a bit and wasn’t moving.”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry about that,” Janet said. “I broke a nail. You know how tough that can be.”

  “Sure,” Heather said, hoping to keep her talking.

  “Well, I was distracted for a little while. But then I was able to grab the rope again, and we succeeded in the challenge,” Janet finished. “Well, until, you know.”

  Heather surreptitiously looked at Janet’s hand. There was a broken nail, but that didn’t guarantee that what she told them was true. Heather got the sense that she was hiding something. However, she was sure that she wouldn’t reveal any secrets in front of her colleagues. Heather would have to talk to her later when the other members of Techy Tech Team weren’t listening in.

  “The killer had to be able to sneak away during their obstacle challenge and come over to where Gordon was,” Heather said. “Did you see anyone in the area?”

  “No,” Janet said.

  The rest of the team agreed that they hadn’t noticed any other players or anything suspicious.

  “You know who you should seriously consider?” Mitch Mallard said, suddenly realizing something.

  “Who?” Heather asked, excited for some insight into the case.

  “That girl in the cabin. She could have been pretending to be sick so that she wouldn’t be part of activities. Then, she went out when no one was looking and set the trap for Gordon. Maybe she’s a trained assassin!”

  Heather tried not to laugh at the idea of her sweet Emily Potts as a trained assassin and tha
nked the Techy Tech Tech team for their time.

  Chapter 10

  “So, should we arrest Emily Potts now?” Amy asked as they headed towards the cabin.

  Heather laughed. “Mitch Mallard really did accuse everyone, didn’t he? First, it was Tessa, and then 3T Tech, and then Emily Potts.”

  “It is that there are so many potential suspects, they he did just keep changing his guess?” Amy asked. “Or is he trying to distract us? Did he really kill Gordon?”

  “It seemed like he was a fan of Gordon Masters if he just gave him a promotion,” Heather said.

  “But if it turned out that Gordon was the one telling company secrets, then Mallard might have felt betrayed and killed him,” said Ryan.

  “This is a really difficult situation,” Heather said. “Because we have to remember how the obstacle works. If it were one of Gordon Masters’ team members, then they would have to leave their rope post without being detected. If one rope goes slack when it needs to be pulled, then it would be noticed.”

  “The only thing that the group noticed is that Janet let hers go for a little while,” Amy said. “Something she explained by saying she broke a nail.”

  “I know you two ladies are tough and barely let getting shot at or poisoned slow you down, but could breaking a nail be a valid reason?” Ryan asked.

  “It depends on the person,” Heather said, shrugging. “I’d like to talk to her again away from the group, but there’s someone else I would like to talk to first.”

  “Our prime suspect,” Amy teased as the assistants joined them.

  “What’s that?” Emily Potts asked.

  “Someone we interviewed said they thought you could have been pretending to be sick so that you could kill the victim,” Heather chuckled.

  “I wish I were pretending to be sick,” Emily Potts said. “I really wasn’t feeling well before. Though I have to admit, part of me is glad that I missed seeing the dead body.”

  “I don’t begrudge you that,” Heather said. “Did you find anything?”

  “Not yet,” Jung said. “But we’re not giving up yet.”

  “We’ve only searched one section so far,” Ken said.

  “But we wanted to see how your first interrogation went,” Angelica said.

  “So, boss,” Maricela said. “What did you find out?”

  Heather explained what they had learned about Techy Tech Tech. Everyone had to be at their post to keep the obstacle moving forward, and only Janet’s rope had been slacking briefly. Mitch Mallard was furious with 3T Tech and had accused them of the murder, though he had also accused some other people as well. It seemed that 3T Tech had been stealing Techy Tech Tech's ideas and had even made a similar product to their Laun-Dry Robohelper.

  “Wait a second,” Emily Potts said. “A laundry robot helper?”

  “Yes,” Heather said, wondering where this could lead.

  “Do you need help with your laundry?” Amy asked.

  “It’s not that,” Emily Potts said. “It’s something I saw in the office. I didn’t mean to snoop, but I was told it was okay for me to adjust the blinds and I saw it on her desk. Tessa had an investment certificate for a laundry robot thing. It was so unusual it caught my eye and stuck in my head, even when I was feeling sick.”

  “I’m glad you saw that,” Heather said. “You might just have revealed that Tessa has a bigger motive for murder than she let on. If she lost money in this enterprise, she might be willing to kill.”

  “I’ll be happy to help in any way I can,” Tessa assured them as they all took seats in her office in the cabin. “You think this was a murder?”

  “We are investigating it as such,” Ryan said. “We believe the obstacle was sabotaged so that Gordon Masters would fall to his death.”

  “Sabotaged?” Tessa smiled and then quelled it. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m still terribly upset that he died. But I feel better knowing that it wasn’t that my equipment was damaged. It wasn’t my fault.”

  “You still probably should have more security here or some more attendants to help players with these dangerous challenges,” Ryan said.

  “You know, like a team,” Amy said.

  “Yes,” Tessa said.

  “Where were you during this challenge?” Heather asked. “When it was our turn we saw you coming and going.”

  “I did set them up,” Tessa said. “And I checked and made sure that everything was safe and secure. Then, I went to go check on another group. I was going to come back, but I hit a spider web on my way back over. My skin kept crawling so I couldn’t tell if a spider was on me or not. I walked back the way I came, hoping I wouldn’t run into another one.”

  “Are there a lot of spiders out here?” Amy asked with a grimace.

  “No, not a lot,” Tessa said. “This is the first time it happened to me here, which is good because I’m really scared of spiders.”

  “Did you know any of the players here today before they arrived?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Tessa said. “I spoke to some of them about their bookings here today, like I spoke to you about your group. But I didn’t meet anyone in person before today.”

  “You knew of some of these businesses before today though, right?” asked Heather.

  “I wish I could say I knew Donut Delights before today,” Tessa said. “You sound like a wonderful place with delicious snacks.”

  “I’m not fishing for compliments,” Heather said. “I’m looking for answers in a murder investigation. Did you know Techy Tech Tech before they came?”

  “I think I’ve heard of them before,” Tessa said vaguely.

  “You invested in their laundry robot product, didn’t you?” Heather asked.

  “I suppose I did,” Tessa said. “How did you find that out?”

  “We’re investigators,” Ryan said.

  “Did you lose a lot of money in this deal?” Heather asked.

  Tessa nodded. “I thought it was going to be a great product. I love hanging my clothes outside so they smell like the fresh air. I thought others would too. But it hasn’t made anything. I lost money. So much so that I had to scale back my staff.”

  “So, that’s why you don’t have a team!” Amy said.

  “Right,” Tessa said. “I couldn’t afford to pay them anymore. I thought I could run things on my own. It almost worked.”

  “You were angry at losing money on this investment?” Heather asked.

  “More angry at myself for doing something so stupid,” Tessa said. “And just sad with the whole situation.”

  “It might have made you feel better to seek revenge on the company that lost you so much,” Heather suggested.

  “No,” Tessa said. “I did consider saying something to them but decided against it. In the end, it was my foolish decision to invest. And I wanted everyone to like my team building obstacles and want to return. But now, nobody will want to. This death is going to be terrible for my business. People are going to think this place is deadly.”

  Heather, Amy, and Ryan exchanged a look. What she said did make sense. Murdering someone here would hurt her business, whether it looked like an accident or a crime.

  “I didn’t kill him,” Tessa said. “But is there anything else I can do to help you investigate?”

  “I think I have one more question,” Heather said. “When were all the bookings for today made?”

  Tessa checked her notes. “The Wildcats high school band is an annual event. The Chester’s Craft & Co made their reservation three months ago. Techy Tech Tech reserved three weeks ago, and 3T Tech was only three days ago. Does this help?”

  “It might,” Heather said. “Thank you for your time.”

  As they left the cabin, Amy asked, “Does the order of reservations really help?”

  Heather shrugged. “Maybe. We know that 3T Tech reserved after Techy Tech Tech. It is possible that they were following them. And it is possible that they had a reason for it.”

  “A killer reason
?” offered Amy.

  Chapter 11

  Heather, Ryan, and Amy were about to head over to 3T Tech and talk to them when they were intercepted by some happy assistants.

  “We think we found something,” Maricela said.

  “And we took all the proper precautions for bagging it,” Emily Potts said.

  “I photographed it before we moved it,” Ken said.

  “What is it?” asked Ryan.

  They proudly held up the bag, containing something thin and white.

  “Again,” Amy said. “What is it?”

  “It’s thread,” Angelica said. “We found it in the trees by the obstacle where the victim died.”

  “How did we miss this?” Ryan asked.

  “It was pretty far back,” Maricela said. “But it looked like a perimeter or at least part of one.”

  “Is this helpful?” Angelica asked.

  “It might be,” Heather said. “I’m not sure why it was there, but I think I know where it’s from.”

  “Where?” asked Amy.

  “I think we have a new direction for our questioning,” Heather said. “Because I think this is from the craft store group.”

  “They would have thread,” Amy agreed.

  “And one of their fancy shirts had embroidery on it. It looked like a plant with white flowers. In just this shade.”

  The craft store crew looked like they had no interest in helping with the investigation. Because they had been made to sit and wait for a while, they had all begun working on separate crafty projects. Two people were whittling some wooden pieces into works of art. One person was sketching in a notebook, while another had started knitting. The last team member was sewing some small clothing pieces that Heather assumed was for a chipmunk.

  “It doesn’t bother you that a man died here today?” Heather asked.