by Rosie Sams
Ambrose stopped, and his eyes seemed to will her to understand. Melody nodded and smiled a little despite her fear.
“I’ve never been one to be too judgmental or accept rumors as facts without concrete proof,” Ambrose continued. “I’d gotten to know the man, and he seemed like a good person, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.”
“That’s understandable,” Melody interjected with a small voice.
“Either I’m a fool, or Robin was an Oscar-worthy actor.” He shrugged. “Perhaps both. Finding out about Robin’s unfaithfulness to my daughter was devastating, and I knew it would kill Dorinda. She had stars in her eyes when she looked at that man.”
Melody opened her mouth to offer her sympathies, but Ambrose continued.
“I wanted Robin to pay for manipulating me and making a fool out of my daughter. I hadn’t planned to kill him, but when I saw him… I was just so angry…” His eyes met Melody’s, and she couldn’t look away. She had been held captivated by his story, and she hung on his every word, waiting for what he’d say next. “I stabbed Robin with this knife.”
Melody was sure her jaw brushed the office’s nice navy blue carpet. Perhaps her gut feeling of Ambrose’s innocence was off. Way off. The man had just confessed to murder, and he held the alleged murder weapon in his hand.
Ambrose scrubbed his face tiredly. “After I killed Robin, I went in search of Dorinda. I had intended on grabbing her and leaving. We’d be far away before Robin’s body was discovered. When I couldn’t find her, I panicked and dressed for the wedding, hoping to divert suspicion. I continued searching for her after that, hoping to spare her the sight of Robin’s bloody body… but I was too late.”
Ambrose took yet another step toward Melody, the knife still in hand. This time Smudge released a growl and stepped forward. “What are you planning to do with that knife, Dr. Mitchum?” Melody asked, fully alert, and prepared to spring into action. Once again, her heart rate accelerated and adrenaline began to pour into her system. But once again, Ambrose did the unexpected.
He released a long breath and dropped his hand. “Relax, Melody, I have no intention of doing you any harm.” He eyed Smudge, who was still bristling with menace and watching his every movement, with mild amusement. “I need to get a loyal and fierce companion like the one you have here,” he muttered. “Well, I guess a furry companion is no longer an option since I’ll likely be in prison for the remainder of my life.”
Melody watched the man snatch a clear plastic bag from a box on the counter to drop the knife inside. He handed her the weapon. “Here, take it. I know you’re close to the sheriff. Take it to him, tell him to check for fingerprints. If my confession wasn’t enough, this should help to solve the case.”
With shaky fingers, Melody took the bag from Ambrose. She inspected the weapon with disbelief and swallowed. “Dr. Mitchum, not that your confession isn’t commendable. I mean, if you did indeed commit a crime, the right thing to do is to turn yourself in. But I have to ask. Why are you doing this?” It appeared he'd been ready to go on the run when she arrived. She wondered what had brought about the change of attitude.
Eyes brimming with remorse met hers. “This is all my fault. I brought that vile man into my daughter’s life. If I hadn’t accepted him and taken him into my practice, he likely wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to weasel his way into my daughter’s heart. If I deserve punishment for anything, it’s that.”
“Now, Dr. Mitchum, you can’t blame yourself for that. Dorinda is an adult. She chose who she fell in love with, not you.”
He shook his head. “I asked you earlier if you love your bulldog there like a baby, and you said yes. I’m sure you’d take measures to protect your baby, Melody. That’s what I’m doing, protecting my baby girl.”
Melody stared at the doctor long and hard as confusion swirled in her mind. If he’d already taken measures to protect Dorinda, that is, by killing Robin, what else did he think he was doing to protect her?
“You know, I had fully intended on fleeing until you showed up, but I can’t do it. I have to protect Dorinda. It’s the least I can do for being a bad father.”
Melody clutched the bagged weapon and chanced a step toward Ambrose. She was still confused but felt the need to comfort him. Patting his shoulder, she said, “You’re nowhere close to being a bad father. And you’re a good man, Ambrose. You’re doing the right thing. Not many men would be brave enough to come forward like this.”
She sighed and glanced down at the knife she held. “I suppose I should get this to the sheriff now.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Melody felt like a child about to receive a lecture as Alvin simply stared at her with a mixture of outrage and disbelief. She shifted uncomfortably under his stare. When she could take his silence no more, she sighed. “Well, say something.”
“I can’t believe you confronted a possible murderer. Alone.”
Melody shrugged. “Smudge was with me.”
On cue, Smudge lifted her head and barked.
With a shake of his head, Alvin gave both Melody and Smudge annoyed glances before inspecting the bagged weapon she’d handed him. “So, Mitchum claims this is the weapon he used, huh?”
Glad that Alvin had decided to forgo further reprimanding, she nodded. “He did.”
“I’ll get it checked out. We will get prints too, but as he passed it to you that is a foregone conclusion.” Alvin glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t go chasing any more suspected killers while I’m gone.”
Melody’s lips curled into a slow smile when she recognized the humor gleaming in his eyes. “I won’t move a muscle,” she swore.
Not much later, Alvin appeared. His unreadable expression left Melody a bit irritated. She was dying to know the results of the tests on the weapon. Did it confirm that Ambrose was the killer?
“Well?” Melody prompted. If she wasn’t so anxious, she would have laughed when Smudge jumped up from her corner by the door at the sight of Alvin, as if she too couldn’t wait to hear the results.
Alvin gestured for her to follow him outside as another person had walked into the precinct. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
Gathering her purse, Melody followed him outside. When she was sure they wouldn’t be overheard by anyone, she pressed, “Don’t keep me in suspense, Al.”
Alvin stopped and turned to her, arms folded and wearing a stern expression. “You do know that I shouldn’t be discussing this case with you, right?”
Melody’s heart dropped. She hoped Alvin wouldn’t get all tight-lipped on her now.
“But thanks to your sleuthing and your irresponsible action of putting yourself in danger, we’ve made a discovery.”
Melody smiled sheepishly as heat filled her cheeks. “And out of appreciation, you’re going to share what you’ve found with this helpful civilian?” She stared at him hopefully, eliciting a rumble of laughter. Melody blushed harder. She always did love the sound of Alvin’s laugh.
“Of course, Ambrose Mitchum’s prints were found all over the weapon.”
She sighed. “Does that mean?”
“It means that we still haven’t confirmed Ambrose’s guilt.”
“What?” Melody gaped at Alvin. A confession and fingerprints on a weapon and still nothing? “I don’t understand.”
Alvin let out a long breath. “Though Ambrose’s prints were present on that knife, there was no blood on it, and based on the medical examiner’s report, it wasn’t the murder weapon.”
For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Melody felt pure shock roll through her system. So much for solving the murder. “Well, that was... unexpected. So, what’s next?”
“Next, I go back to the scene and search for that missing knife.”
Melody’s brows shot up. That sounded like searching for a needle in a haystack after so many days had passed, but she kept the negativity to herself. “Good luck. I’m sorry I didn’t help much. I really thought I did.”
�
��Of course, you did,” Alvin quickly reassured. “I think we’ve taken another step forward, and we’ve most likely ruled Ambrose out as a suspect. Though, we have to wonder as to his motives for confessing.”
“What!”
“I think the good doctor found the body, saw the cake knife on the stand, and took it in case his daughter became a suspect. He just presumed it was the murder weapon, it wasn’t, that knife is still missing.”
Unconvinced, Melody nodded, “If you say so. I’m going to get back to the shop. If I learn anything further, you’ll be the first to know.”
Alvin held her door open as she slid into her car. Smudge hopped into her lap to jump to the passenger’s seat, and Alvin smiled. “Just promise you’ll be careful, Mel. You too, Smudge.”
The dog yelped in response, and Melody turned to Alvin with a grin. “Smudge said it, we’ll be careful.”
Melody strolled into her kitchen, where Kerry and Leslie were still hard at work. The women were so engrossed in their respective tasks, neither one of them heard her arrive. Leslie picked up a knife and expertly and playfully twirled it in her hand before sinking it into a freshly baked loaf of bread.
“Hey, guys.”
Leslie jumped and twirled around. “Gosh, Melody, don’t sneak up on us like that.”
“Sorry, I thought you would have heard my car pull up.”
“Sheesh, why so jumpy, Les?” Kerry asked, eyeing Leslie with raised brows.
“There is a knife-wielding murderer running around town. Pardon me for being a little spooked. You know, we really should start keeping that back door locked,” she murmured absently before resuming her task.
“So, how did things go?” Kerry asked Melody.
“What things?”
Rolling her eyes, Kerry pushed her bowl of cake batter aside. “Oh, come on, Mel, don’t play coy. Either you left to have an afternoon rendezvous with your boyfriend, or you were meddling in police business. So, how did it go?”
Hands on her hips, Melody tried her best to look stern. “First of all, Alvin is not my boyfriend.” Not that she would mind if they did make things official. “Second, you know me well. I did, in fact, leave to meddle in police business.”
“And? Has the murderer been discovered?” Kerry’s eyes lit up at the prospect of juicy town gossip. “It was Dorinda, wasn’t it? She probably caught Robin with another woman.”
Melody held up a hand. “Slow down. No, the murderer wasn’t caught, and all I can say is that the police thought they found the murder weapon, but it turned out that it wasn’t. Now, the search is on for the real weapon. That’s all I’m at liberty to say.” If she mentioned anything about her encounter with Ambrose Mitchum, chances are the entire town would know about it before nightfall. Melody wouldn’t do that to the Mitchums. She still thought they were good people.
Plus, her suspicion that Ambrose was innocent was back full force after discovering the weapon he’d claimed to have killed Robin with wasn’t the murder weapon. Both she and Alvin knew he was covering for someone. Dorinda perhaps? The thought of the sweet, bubbly Dorinda being capable of murder was mind-blowing. Plus, Dorinda had sworn up and down that she didn’t kill Robin. Was the woman that good of a liar?
Melody’s thoughts were interrupted by Kerry. She held up a finger. “I think I know who killed Robin.”
Both Melody’s and Leslie’s head snapped to her. “Who?” they chorused.
With a dramatic pause and a teasing smirk, Kerry announced, “I think it was... Leslie.”
“Excuse me?” An outraged Leslie rounded on Kerry, knife still in hand.
“Kerry,” Melody warned, “That’s enough of your outlandish theories. This is no joking matter.”
“Who says I’m joking? Think about it, Leslie was awfully irritated when she recounted how Robin had made a pass at her. Plus, she was the first to arrive at the venue for the wedding, she could have done it then. Let’s not forget the case of our missing cake knife. There you have it, motive and means. So, Les, do you have a confession to make? Could you be the knife-wielding maniac?”
“Why, I'll show you knife-wielding maniac,” Leslie fumed and stormed toward Kerry.
Melody stepped between them, sending Kerry a reprimanding scowl. “Leslie, calm down, I’m sure Kerry doesn’t really think you committed murder.”
“But think about it, Melody. Leslie could have stolen the knife and gotten her revenge on Robin, the rake.”
“How could you even think me capable of such a thing?” There was a sliver of hurt hidden behind Leslie’s anger and annoyance.
“Everyone's a suspect at this point,” Kerry shrugged.
“That’s right, so you could have killed Robin. You had an opportunity to steal the cake knife from the shop.”
Melody groaned. “Enough you two. Bickering about every little thing like school children is bad enough, but I draw the line at throwing around murder accusations. Now is not the time to turn on each other. I’m sure neither of you had anything to do with Robin’s murder.
There was a series of barks and huffs from Smudge as if she too was disappointed in Melody’s employees. Just then, Melody’s phone pinged, and she dug it out of her purse. She felt a rush of excitement when she saw Alvin’s message. He was going to talk to Ambrose and wanted her to come along. The thought that she was spending way too much time investigating a murder instead of doing her actual job occurred to her, but she brushed it off.
She was enjoying her time out of the shop, and most of all, she liked seeing Alvin as much as possible. “Well, ladies, I have to run.”
“Again?” came a chorus from Kerry and Leslie. Both women stared at her with amazement.
“Why did you even bother coming in today, Melody?” Kerry asked, shaking her head.
“Hey, I’m the boss,” Melody asserted. “Besides, I’m so confident in the two of you that I feel comfortable leaving things up to you ladies.” That comment awarded her two proud mega-watt smiles.
With a satisfied grin, Melody shuffled to the back door. “Smudge, you stay here and make sure those two plays nice.”
Smudge whined her protest and watched with big sad eyes as Melody disappeared out the door.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Melody pulled into the parking lot of Ambrose’s office, where Alvin was already waiting. She took a second to admire his tall, lean frame leaned against his sheriff’s cruiser with his hands shoved into his pockets. Jumping out of her car, she strolled toward him with a smile.
“Al, I was surprised to get your text.”
He shrugged. “Well, at the rate you’re going, this is pretty much your case. I couldn’t question a suspect without the lead detective.”
Pursing her lips, Melody fought hard to hold back her giggle and failed. “Very funny. Are you sure you don’t moonlight as a comedian?”
With a deep chuckle, Alvin pushed away from his pick-up. “In all seriousness, I thought I could get more out of Mitchum with you present. He did feel comfortable confessing everything to you and handing you the weapon he claimed to have used.”
“Makes sense,” she smiled.
As they walked to the office’s entrance, Alvin said. “I hope I didn’t take you away from anything important.” He held the door open, and she stepped into the lobby.
“Not at all. I didn’t get into any work when I got back to the shop. I just chatted with the girls.”
“I see you left your trusty companion. Where’s Smudge?”
“At the shop, babysitting Kerry and Leslie.”
That got another hearty laugh from Alvin, and she grinned broadly. Their amusement faded, however, as they neared Ambrose’s office door. “I saw his vehicle still in the lot, I hope he’s still here.”
“I think he took leaving town off of his mind when I last saw him. I think he’s still holed up in there.”
Melody was right. Ambrose’s office door swung open when Alvin twisted the knob, and there was Ambrose sitting calmly behind his desk.
“What took you so long, Sheriff?” Ambrose asked nonchalantly. “Good to see you again, Melody.”
Melody and Alvin exchanged glances. “Dr. Mitchum… you’re still here. How are you doing?” Melody inquired.
“As good as I can be considering the circumstances. So, Sheriff, I assume you’re here to arrest me.” Ambrose rose and offered his wrists. “I’m ready when you are.”
Alvin’s brows rose. “The thing is, Ambrose, I have no grounds to arrest you.”
“Wha-what?” Ambrose’s shocked gaze swung to Melody. “I thought you gave him the knife!”
“I did, but it wasn’t the murder weapon,” she confirmed softly.
A series of emotions flickered across Ambrose’s face, confusion, disbelief, relief, and then disappointment. With a groan he sank into his wingback chair. “How is that possible?” he whispered more to himself than his guests.
Alvin stepped forward, his tone gentle. “Ambrose, I think it’s time you tell the truth. Are you covering for someone? Your daughter, perhaps?”
All color seeped from the older man’s face, and Melody feared he’d pass out. His eyes swung from Alvin to Melody and back again. Finally, fearful eyes landed on Melody. “You know my Dorinda, Melody. She’s a good girl.”
Melody glanced at Alvin, who nodded his encouragement. He’d been right to take her along. Apparently, Ambrose found it easier to talk to her. She took a seat in front of the desk, her expression sympathetic and her eyes filled with compassion.
“I do, Dr. Mitchum. I’ve gotten to know Dorinda over the course of planning her wedding. She is a sweet woman. That’s why you need to tell the truth so we can help her. Keeping secrets and trying to cover things up will only make the situation worse in the long run, especially for her.”
The doctor’s eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “The truth is... I think Dorinda is responsible for Robin’s death.”