Black Coffee, Biscotti & Murder

by Sara Bourgeois

  It was a load off both the girls’ minds now that their decision had been made, and that they’d finally have some help around the shop.

  “I think that’s probably a good idea,” Kasi agreed. “You think we should bring her something to eat? I know that when I’m upset, I tend to forget meals.”

  Kari raised an eyebrow. “You? Forget to eat? That’ll be the day.”

  “Well, I guess I just haven’t been really upset for a while.” Kasi gave her sister a sunny smile. “Speaking of eating, what about Sally’s Diner? We could bring her a cheeseburger. No one can say ‘no’ to a Sally cheeseburger!”

  “Perfect,” Kari confirmed. “And while she’s eating, maybe we can ask her a question or two about a Mr. Razor Sharpe.”

  “I knew it!” Kasi crowed. “I knew you had ulterior motives! Can’t leave a case alone for one day, can you?”

  “Come on, Kasi, I know you want to solve this one as badly as I do. And, if Maddy knows something that will help, well…why shouldn’t we be the ones to find out?”

  “Sis, I couldn’t agree with you more.”

  They arrived at the Whitmore Inn an hour later, bearing a double cheeseburger from Sally’s, and a large cup of black coffee from their shop.

  “I just love this place,” Kasi said as they climbed the steps to the gorgeous inn.

  One of the oldest buildings in Mills Township, the Inn was a large white structure with a wraparound porch and a green roof. Originally a boarding house for sailors, the inn had been through multiple owners over the years and had fallen into disrepair.

  However, when the Sawyers bought it while Kari and Kasi had been in high school, they had rejuvenated it and brought it back to its former glory.

  Both the girls loved coming to the inn on Sundays for brunch—the only time the inn opened its dining doors to those who were not guests. The star of their brunch were the crab cakes, which Kasi adored. Kari knew that her mouth was watering as they walked in the front door, even though having dinner there wasn’t on the agenda that evening.

  Maddy was staying on the second floor, which featured five uniquely appointed guest suites, complete with kitchenettes, living rooms, and updated luxury bathrooms. She answered Kari’s knock almost immediately, making her wonder if she’d been waiting for someone.

  “It’s the Sweet Sleuths,” Maddy said when she saw them, though it was clear she was having trouble mustering up much enthusiasm. “Come on in.”

  She led the girls into the living area and cleared away a pile of papers so they could sit on the couch.

  “I hope you’ll excuse the mess,” she said. “I’ve been talking with Jake’s brother in Philadelphia to try to coordinate the fu-fu—” Unable to get the word out, Maddy collapsed into sobs.

  Kari hurriedly rushed to put an arm around her. “It’s okay,” she soothed, guiding her to sit on the couch between her and Kasi. “Just let it out.”

  After a minute or so, Maddy pulled herself together and took a long, shuddering breath.

  “We’re coordinating the funeral arrangements,” she said in a small voice. “He’s really the only family Jake had. Their parents both passed a couple of years ago.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Kari told her. “But I’m sure his brother is glad to have your help. When’s he coming into town?”

  “Tonight,” Maddy answered. “I already got him a room here at the inn.” For the first time, she seemed to notice that Kasi had not come empty-handed. “Is that a cheeseburger I smell? Because I’m famished.”

  “Oh! Right!” Kasi handed over the bag and the cup of coffee. “We thought you might have forgotten to eat with…everything that’s been going on. So, we brought you something from Sally’s Diner.”

  “Thank you,” Maddy said sincerely, unwrapping the burger and taking a huge bite. “Oh my gosh, this is sooo good.”

  Kari let her get through a few more bites before broaching the topic that had ultimately brought them there. “Hey, do you happen to know anything about a rap battle between Jake and someone called Razor Sharpe?”

  Maddy swallowed her bite of burger and chuckled ruefully. “What would make you want to know about that?”

  “One of the radio DJs came into the shop today and mentioned that Jake had beat him pretty badly and that he might be holding a grudge.”

  Maddy nodded thoughtfully. “Well, it was an eventful night, that’s for sure. Instead of telling you about it, I can do one better.” She grabbed her laptop and brought up YouTube. “Someone there filmed the whole thing.”

  After locating the right video, she pushed play and turned it so both the sisters could watch.

  Kari and Kasi stared open-mouthed as Jake cruelly dismantled the other rapper for a full five minutes. If Kari had not known it had been Jake on the video, she never would have believed that the mild-mannered, polite man she had known was the same one who could make another grown man cry in front of a crowd full of people.

  “Um, that was brutal,” Kasi said when it was over. “Did he have to be so…mean?”

  Maddy smiled sadly. “That’s how rap battles work. The only way to win them is to be mean. Jake didn’t mean any of it, of course. He even tried to find Razor Sharpe afterward to tell him it was all in fun, but he’d already left.” She got to her feet. “Will you excuse me? I just have to run to the bathroom.”

  “Can you believe that?” Kasi asked when she was gone. “I kind of want to watch it again just to make sure that’s actually Jake!”

  “Me, too,” Kari agreed. “It’s just so…not like him.” She reached over to push the play button, then noticed that Maddy’s laptop was about ready to die. “Hey, do you see a power cord around here?”

  Kasi got up to look around, then saw one peeking out of the top of Maddy’s computer bag.

  “Got it!” she said, pulling it out. As she did so, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor.

  “What’s that?” Kari asked.

  “I can’t look at it!” Kasi looked offended. “That’s private!”

  Kari raised an eyebrow. “Are we the Sweet Sleuths, or aren’t we?”

  After a moment, Kasi nodded and picked up the paper. She unfolded it, and quickly read it, her eyes going wide.

  “Oh my God…” she breathed, handing it over to Kari.

  Kari scanned the paper, and her heart started hammering against her chest. It was a letter from Maddy to Jake, and it certainly wasn’t a love letter.

  The words I hate you, I can’t believe you would do this to me, and I wish you were dead right now! jumped out at her.

  “Kasi…” Kari murmured, “do you know what this means?”

  When the toilet flushed, Kasi grabbed the letter, folded it, then stuffed it back in Maddy’s computer bag.

  When Maddy came back into the living room, both girls tried to act normal, but it wasn’t easy.

  After a few minutes, Kari said, “Well, we’ll leave you to your arrangements. We just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  Kasi shot up, clearly relieved that they could get out of there and talk about the note. They each gave Maddy a hug and hurried out of the Inn.

  I can’t believe this, Kari thought as they rushed to her Jeep. The killer might not be an angry rapper, after all. It could be someone who’s been right under our noses.

  Chapter 15

  Kari

  “Well, that was…unexpected,” Kasi said as they climbed into Kari’s Jeep in the Whitmore Inn parking lot.

  “Which part?” Kari asked drily. “The part where we saw Jake absolutely humiliate someone in public, or the part where we found what seemed to be evidence that Maddy wanted her supposedly loving boyfriend dead?”

  “Yeah, both of those,” Kasi said, sighing. “We went from having no suspects in the case to suddenly having two people who seemingly had a reason to hurt our Mr. Dragon. So, I guess you could say, it was a fruitful trip?”

  Kari turned to her. “Do you honestly think that a rap battle—even one as bad as that�
��is cause for murder?”

  Kasi shrugged. “Public humiliation is a pretty strong motive,” she said. “Maybe Razor thought that Jake effectively ended his career with that battle. Feeling like someone took your dreams away from you is definitely a motive for murder.”

  “But aren’t rappers used to things like that?” Kari wondered. “I mean, isn’t it kind of, part of the job?”

  Kasi held up her hands. “How should I know? The most I know of rap battles came from the movie 8 Mile. Honestly, I didn’t even think they really took place in real life.”

  “I think it’s how a lot of the most famous rappers honed their skills,” Kari told her. “I guess I should have realized that Jake would have had a cutting wit like that to get to this point in the industry. It just never really came through in the songs that made him popular.”

  Kasi nodded in agreement. “The Fire Spitters do have a reputation for being good guys, especially for rappers.”

  Kari concentrated on driving for a few moments as she thought it through. “I guess it’s worth looking into more.”

  “What about that letter?” Kasi asked. “I didn’t fully get to read the whole thing, but I certainly got that Maddy was really, really upset with Jake.”

  “She clearly thought he cheated on her,” Kari said, thinking about the letter they’d been able to hurriedly scan before Maddy had come back from the bathroom. “She told me that her last boyfriend had cheated on her, and that’s why they’d broken up. So, I can only imagine how hurt she’d be if she found out Jake had done the same thing.”

  “Why wouldn’t she have said anything?” Kasi asked. “She led us to think everything was just amazing with Jake.”

  “Maybe they were trying to work it out?” Kari guessed. “Or she didn’t want to admit that she got cheated on again? Relationships are funny things, Kasi. There could be hundreds of reasons why she didn’t bring it up. It’s not like we were best friends, or anything. We just met the girl. Maybe she was just feeling really insecure.”

  “Or maybe she killed him, and she didn’t want to tip us off.” Kasi said. “I suppose if I was going to bump off my boyfriend, I’d want everyone to think that we were living in bliss, too.”

  “Let’s not jump to any conclusions,” Kari said, turning down their street. “We don’t know anything yet; this is all speculation. I wonder if Russell knew anything about the troubles they were having? He seemed to be closer to Jake than anyone else.”

  “Maybe we can ask him next time we see him?” Kasi asked. “We wouldn’t have to come right out and say what we found. Just maybe ask him if Jake and Maddy were really as happy as they seemed?”

  “Yeah, that might be a good idea,” Kari told her. “In the meantime, why don’t you try to find Razor Sharpe on Facebook? See if he posted anything about the battle.”

  “Good thinking.” Kasi pulled out her cell and located Razor’s profile page. “Ha, he’s listed under Razor Sharpe Dreyfuss. That kind of ruins the whole image, huh? Ugh, and you should see the profile pic. He seriously thinks he’s one of the Beastie Boys.”

  Kari snorted. “Aren’t they a little before your time?”

  “I’ve been doing some rap reconnaissance,” Kasi admitted. “I have to admit, I really like the Beastie Boys’ sound! No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn, yeah? That’s a good one!”

  Kari chuckled. “I’ve created a monster. You find anything else other than a bad profile pic?”

  She scrolled for a minute, making little ‘hmmm’ and ‘oh!’ sounds.

  “Well?” Kari demanded as she pulled into their driveway. “What did you find?”

  “There are a few posts here that are concerning,” Kasi said without looking up. “Here’s one: You crossed the line in our battle, pal. Karma will get you VERY soon.”

  “Yep, that definitely seems like it’s for Jake,” Kari said. “Anything else?”

  “Uh-huh. Be careful. The Dragon Slayer is about to make a move.”

  “Dragon Slayer, huh? Since Jake’s stage name is Dragon, well…that doesn’t sound good at all.”

  “Maybe he was just venting?” Kasi said. “You know how some people seem to think Facebook is their own personal journal, and that they can write whatever they want with no consequences. Or, they just want attention. Looks like a bunch of his buddies or ‘fans’ are totally talking him up on here. He probably just got his feelings hurt and wanted the Facebook world to make him feel better about himself again.”

  “Yeah, but considering that someone actually did slay the Dragon, I think it’s something we need to check out.”

  Kasi looked up from her phone. “You mean, it’s something that Hunter and the rest of the police department need to look into.”

  “Right. Of course. That’s what I meant.” Kari gave her an innocent smile. “What else would I mean?”

  The girls walked into their house and put their bags on the kitchen table.

  “Why don’t you go get changed, and I’ll give Hunter a call?” Kari told her sister.

  “You might as well make us some coffee, too,” Kasi said. “I know that I could use a little pick-me-up after tonight’s drama.”

  Kari opened the kitchen cabinet that held their at-home stash. “Vienna or French roast?”

  “Oh, this is definitely a French roast evening. And maybe warm up some of those new tarts we’re trying out from Jenna’s bakery?”

  “Sounds like just what the doctor ordered,” Kari said with a wink.

  “Are you going to tell Hunter about the note we found in Maddy’s bag?” Kasi asked.

  Kari chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m not sure. Technically, we were kind of crossing the line by reading it.”

  “Kari, she said she wished he was dead,” Kasi reminded her. “We can’t just ignore that. And, it’s not like we went looking for the note. It totally fell out of the bag when I was trying to get the cord. It was a complete accident.”

  I just don’t want Hunter to think I’m sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong again, Kari thought. He seemed upset when I tried to help solve the fake nun case. Maybe we should just stay out of this one?

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Kasi said when she saw the look on her sister’s face. “Kari, you know that Hunter just wants you to be safe. He really did appreciate the help we were able to give him on the last case. He just doesn’t want you in danger, that’s all.”

  “You really can read my mind sometimes, can’t you?” Kari said with a smile.

  “Of course, I can. I’ve known you my whole life.” She put a hand on her sister’s arm. “We weren’t doing anything wrong tonight. We went to go check on a new friend after the death of her boyfriend. And, in the process, we possibly turned up two new suspects. It’s not like we tried to investigate. It just kind of…happened. Hunter will understand.”

  Kari nodded. “You’re right. And we can’t keep vital information from him just so he won’t get mad that we did a tad bit of amateur sleuthing. That wouldn’t be right.”

  “Give him a call,” Kasi said. “And tell him I said hi.”

  Chapter 16

  Hunter

  Hunter sat patiently in one of the well-worn chairs outside of Captain Edward Spinelli’s office. Through the semi-opaque window, he could make out the shapes of two of his fellow officers who were currently being read the riot act by the chief.

  If he listened closely, he’d be able to make out exactly what Captain Spinelli was yelling about. He didn’t, however, bother to listen closely.

  Not only was he still too broken up about his friend’s death to really care about what was going on in the Captain’s office, but he was also so used to his boss yelling that he’d learned how to tune it out long ago. Though Spinelli was an effective captain and, deep down, a decent man, he was certainly not a person who could keep his cool.

  Since becoming captain of the Mills Township Police Department ten years earlier, Edward Spinelli had been divorced three times, made nearly every officer on the squad
cry, and been put into mandatory anger management classes more times than anyone could count.

  The only result of these weekly meetings with his counselor was that Spinelli now wore funny t-shirts to work on most days as the counselor thought this might help him ‘not take his job so seriously’.

  When he’d walked in that morning, Hunter had noticed that he was wearing an I’m with Stupid t-shirt that had pointed at whichever officer happened to be standing next to him at the time. He didn’t know if it helped the captain’s temper any, but the shirts were at least good for a laugh.

  As he waited his turn to get berated in the office for not catching Jake’s killer yet, Hunter’s thoughts turned to the phone call he’d just gotten off of a few minutes earlier.

  Kari had called to tell him that she and her sister had gone to check on Maddy and ask her about the rap battle that DJ Mad Style had told them about. Though part of him was annoyed that it seemed that the girls were once again sleuthing on their own, he was grateful to finally have a lead that he could tell the captain about.

  “Do you really think someone would kill over a rap battle?” Kari had asked him.

  “I don’t know,” he’d told her. “When we were in the academy, we learned about murder motives that ranged anywhere from a wrong look in a bar, to a misunderstanding over a potted plant. You just never know what people will take offense to and what will lead to a crime.”

  “You’re not…mad that we went to go talk to her, are you?”

  Kari had sounded so worried that he let go of the small amount of frustration he’d still been holding onto.

  “No, I’m not mad. I wish you would have told me first before you went to go see her, but I understand.”

  “Good,” she’d said. “Because I have something else for you.”

  She then proceeded to tell him about the letter than had fallen out of Maddy’s bag when Kasi had reached for the computer cord.

  “Are you sure it said she wished he was dead?” Hunter had asked incredulously.