After that, there isn’t much to add, so I levitate our dirty cups back to the kitchen area while Miranda and Aranya head out into the cold snowstorm. I gather the three boys who are thankfully sound asleep in my office and not out in the snow looking for treats.
The roads are slippery enough that I drive home extra cautiously as I continue to ponder a way to find Mr. Munoz. Just as I’m pulling into my driveway, my phone rings. It’s Chloe!
“Hey, Chloe!” I answer. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m at home. I was released on bail, as I’m sure you’ve already heard through the Crested Peaks gossip hotline,” she sighs. She sounds tired. I know what it’s like to have a cloud of suspicion hanging over your head. When my former landlord was murdered behind my cafe, the police found the weapon in the park up the street. Unfortunately, it came from my cafe, and had my fingerprints all over it.
”Is there anything I can do for you?” I ask.
“I kind of feel like getting out of the house. Are you doing anything tonight? You want to go out to dinner or something?”
“Here’s an idea. Why don’t you come over to my place and I’ll cook dinner for you. I’ll make a fire, we can just hang out, drink some wine, and watch a movie if you want.”
“That actually sounds really good,” she responds with a sigh of relief.
“Okay, give me an hour to feed the boys their dinner, and then get everything else ready.”
“That sounds great. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I touch the phone screen to hang up. I just hope I can help her because so far, it’s looking really bad for her.
Precisely an hour later, the doorbell rings. “Chloe’s here!” the rabbits shout.
“Let her in!” I call back laughing. The confused looks on their faces when I say that never gets old for me.
I open the door and realize it’s snowing even harder now. “It’s really starting to come down out there!” she exclaims as she bustles into the house.
“I’m so sorry, Chloe.” I give her a big hug before she can even get her coat off.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “I appreciate all your support.”
“I guess I should let you come in now,” I say, finally letting her go. “Take off your coat and go warm up in front of the fireplace while I pour some wine.”
“What did you bring us?” Marcus asks, standing at her feet, blocking her way.
“She didn’t bring you anything. She has far more important things to worry about than your treats. Now step aside so she can come in.”
“Actually,” she says, “I brought them some of these.” When she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a couple of blueberries, their eyes nearly bug out of their heads. They love blueberries. She holds them out in the palm of her hand as they each grab one and race off, flopping down in front of their fireplace to enjoy their newfound treasures.
“And I didn’t forget you, Stumpy,” she tells him as he eagerly awaits at her feet now that he realizes they’re getting presents. “It’s a cookie from the Five Dachshund Bakery.”
“Oh, he loves those!” I tell her.
Stumpy snatches his treat from her hand as well and settles himself down on the couch to gnaw on it. Nothing like cat treat crumbs all over the sofa.
As I hang up Chloe’s coat, I tell her to make herself at home while I pour us each a large glass of white wine. “I have tomato soup and grilled cheese panini if that sounds good to you,” I tell her. “Whenever you’re ready to eat.”
“This is all fabulous. Thank you so much. You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. I could have just brought takeout over.”
“It’s really no big deal, just soup and sandwiches.” Then I jump right in. “So, what’s the deal with the syringe in your cupcake truck? I don’t understand that.”
Chloe takes a deep and jagged breath, and for a moment, I’m sure she’s going to cry. I know I’m just throwing this at her with no small talk. Still, it seems weird to waste time chatting about the upcoming ski season when she’s accused of murdering her former boss.
“You know how much I hated that guy Charlotte.”
“I do.”
“He’s the reason I started the cupcake business to begin with! I loved cosmetology, and I felt like I was providing a valuable service to people. I know it must sound weird, but for some people, I brought them a little peace. Like the family of the young man who was in a horrible car accident. I could put him back together enough to have an open casket funeral and make him look natural. It meant a lot to his family to see him like that. I can’t bring their loved one back, but I can at least do something for them.”
I nod my head at her, unable to really add anything to the conversation at this point. I saw many crappy things in my life thanks to my unsavory parents, but I can’t imagine what some people go through when a loved one dies too young.
“I hated that Morley was such a horrible person and made working for him a living hell. And yes, I could have moved somewhere and taken a job at another mortuary, but I didn’t want to leave Crested Peaks just because of him.”
“So, you started your own business.”
“I took my love for baking and serving others, and I started a business, yes,” she smiles.
“Now that I understand. And in case you were wondering, I have yet to come across a single person who has the slightest good thing to say about him.”
“I don’t doubt that,” she shakes her head sadly. “But I swear to you Charlotte, I never would have killed him.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
“And I have no idea how that syringe got into my truck.”
“This may sound obvious, but you lock the door, right?”
“I always lock the door, but…” she trails off.
Uh oh. “But what?”
“When I got to the truck, the morning after Morley died, I noticed the door was unlocked, when I knew for a fact I had locked it when I left the night before.”
“Oh no, did you call the police?”
From the look on her face, she clearly didn’t. “My first thought was the condition of my truck inside. I worried someone broke in and vandalized it overnight or stole something. Some of that equipment is incredibly expensive, you know…”
I’m nauseous because I can just picture where this is going.
“I went into the truck terrified of what I might see, but when it looked like nothing had been touched, I was so relieved. I assumed that whoever picked the lock had changed their minds, or when they realized there wasn’t any money in the truck, they left.” She throws her hands up in defeat and looks so heartbroken I want to cry.
“And then you just went on about your business,” I add, almost in a whisper.
“Right, I had cupcakes to make and customers to serve. I planned to let the police know later, but then next thing I know, they’re knocking on my door and arresting me.”
I take an extra big gulp of wine. “And when you tried to tell them about the lock being picked—”
“—it was too late. They didn’t believe me. I just don’t know what to do. I have a lawyer, but it all seems so hopeless. I’m going to lose the food truck and go to jail, all because of that monster Morley. I should have just moved away.” Chloe then drops her head into her hands and sobs.
I gently rub her back and just let her have a good cry. She’s obviously been holding back, and I think it’s good for her to let it all out. When she finally stops, I take her hand. “You have to know that you have a lot of friends here in Crested Peaks, and not a single one of us thinks you could have done this. And I promise you, I’m doing everything I can to help clear your name.”
“Really?” she sniffles. “Are you even supposed to be helping with this? As much as I appreciate the help, I don’t want you to get in trouble with the CPPD or anything.”
“Don’t worry about a thing,” I wave my hand in dismissal. “So far I’ve talked to Shauna, and her boyfriend Neil, and Ethan at the mortuary, about their relationship with Morley and where they were that night.”
“Seriously? You think one of them could have killed him?”
“Given the lengthy list of people who hated him, it seems like just about anyone in this town could have. But I’m trying to narrow down the list to people who had the most reason to hate him and who also had access to him that night. And then there’s the pesky detail of who could have had access to the cyanide. But one step at a time.”
”Is there any way I can help? I can’t believe you’re doing this for me, Charlotte. I’m so grateful.”
“I know better than anybody what it’s like to be falsely accused of committing a crime, so I’m happy to help in any way that I can. Besides, your cupcakes are delicious, and we can’t afford to lose them.”
“They are rather delicious, aren’t they?” she laughs. “What did Shauna say when you talked to her? Haynes was downright emotionally abusive to her mother, and Shauna hates him.”
“Yes, she made that perfectly clear. She mentioned that she heard they arrested you and that she was glad you killed him. She also wished she had thought to do that herself a long time ago.”
“She actually said that to you?” Chloe responds in shock.
“She actually did.”
“Wow. Did you know that the trust her mom set up for her is worth a ton of money?”
“Define ton.”
“I’m not sure exactly, but I’ve heard rumors that it could be as high as $200,000.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“But here’s the real kicker. The original trust was established, so Shauna automatically got the money when she turned 28. But rumor also has it that Morley got some shady lawyer to rewrite the terms, making him the manager of the trust.”
My mouth drops open. “Morley took her money?”
“Not exactly, although I’m sure he tried. I think the best he could do was set it up so he had control of her mom’s money.”
“Now that Morley’s dead, does Shauna finally get the money? Or does she still have to wait until she’s 28? $200,000 is a lot of money, but is it worth killing over? Especially if you assume she would get the money eventually no matter what.”
Chloe shrugs. “That part I don’t know for sure.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I worked for the mortuary, remember? We know all sorts of people’s secrets. Families get very emotional and tell stories while they’re with us. I never actually repeated any of those secrets until now though, just so you know.”
“Which leads me to the next person I talked to, Ethan Davis.”
At this, Chloe laughs.
“What, what’s so funny?”
“I know it really isn’t funny, but that poor guy, I don’t know what his deal is. Morley was horrible to him, too. Fired him all the time, but then Ethan would sweet talk him and beg him to let him come back and Morley would relent. I swear he did it just for fun. He loved to lord his power over Ethan.”
“Morley fired him at the Halloween Festival. They had a big fight about it in front of everyone, from what I hear. But he was back at work today.”
“That’s Ethan. Just keep showing up to work no matter what.”
“He said Morley was training him to become the General Manager at the mortuary when he retired.”
This time Chloe snorts. “Morley was never retiring, and he was never making Ethan a manager. Yet another one of his sick games. Man, that guy was messed up.”
“You’re sure of that? Because Ethan is convinced that he really was becoming the manager. And now that Morley is dead, he’s extra convinced of it.”
“I swear to you, Charlotte, there is no way Ethan was ever taking over that mortuary. I don’t care what Morley told him. He’d have to pry that mortuary out of Morley Haynes cold dead hands.”
“So Morley’s poisoning could be his best chance?” I ask.
“It would have to be.”
“And there’s another person I think we should talk to, Owen Munoz.”
“Oh yeah, that poor guy. You weren’t here when that happened, were you?”
“I wasn’t, but he showed up at Marcall’s the day after Morley died, and when he saw the story in the newspaper, he practically danced a jig. And made no effort to hide it.”
“Did he tell you he sued Morley?”
“No, he didn’t mention that. What happened? Did he win?”
“The jury found Morley guilty of negligence but only awarded Mr. Munoz the cost of the funeral.”
“All he got was a free funeral out of it?”
“Yeah, they said that Morley was at fault for leaving the hearse unattended, but the teens were responsible for the actual damage to his wife’s body. Morley considered it a win for himself and threw it in Mr. Munoz face every chance he got.”
“That guy was really a piece of work, wasn’t he?”
“Imagine working for him all those years!”
“Owen was so distraught he showed up at the mortuary one day, jumped Morley in the parking lot, and tried to beat him up.”
“What?” I shriek.
“It took several employees to pull him off Morley. And then at least half of us joked we weren’t sure we wanted them to stop the fight.” Chloe laughs at the memory. “I know it’s terrible to think that, but we were all so tired of Morley’s abuse that for once, we couldn’t help but enjoy watching someone give it back.”
“What happened after that?”
“The CPPD came, and naturally, Morley pressed charges. The court granted Morley a restraining order, and Owen had to attend counseling.”
I pound my fist on the table I’m so frustrated. “If Owen Munoz has a history of violence against Haynes, why aren’t the cops looking at him?”
“I don’t know,” Chloe responds sadly.
“Do you know where we can find Mr. Munoz so I can talk to him?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t. He’s mostly been a recluse since his wife died. I’m surprised he came into your cafe. I only see him around town occasionally.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll have to figure out a way to find him tomorrow.”
”As much as I appreciate your taking the time to listen to me about this, I believe you offered to feed me as well?” Chloe laughs.
“Oh, my goodness! I almost forgot about dinner!” I jump up and run to the kitchen.
“Can I do anything to help?” Chloe calls after me.
“Nope, it’s all good. Just have a seat at the table, and I’ll bring out some more wine.”
In short order, Chloe and I are enjoying a dinner that’s pure snowy evening comfort food. I made a simple yet exquisite tomato soup from a recipe Damien gave me. Just canned tomatoes, onion, butter, and vegetable stock.
Then we top it off with a side salad, and panini pressed gruyere cheese sandwiches. Also, thanks to a Damien recipe, I smear a bit of dijon mustard on whole grain bread and top them with caramelized sweet onions. I have the best friends. Miranda helps me with magic, and Damien helps me with cooking.
It’s times like this that I realize how grateful I am for friends who have become my family, plus a boyfriend and familiars who, even though they love to try my patience, make me laugh and feel special.