Chapter 42
Dear Natasha,
I am your biggest fan. When I’m not sure about something, I ask myself, what would Natasha do? So now I have to ask: What is your favorite kind of cheesecake?
FanGirl Crush in Fancy Gap, Virginia
Dear FanGirl Crush,
My absolute favorite is a recipe I developed and entered in the Queen of Cheesecake contest. It’s a savory cheesecake that is served as an appetizer. It contains cream cheese, sour cream, chopped dates, fresh rosemary, and chopped jalapenos. And it’s topped with a spicy onion relish! Yum!
Natasha
Safely ensconced in Mars’s car, I phoned Wolf. He surprised me by actually answering his phone.
“You’re not going to let me get to bed at a decent hour, are you?” he asked.
“It’s Coach,” I blurted. “Coach murdered Tate.”
“And how do you happen to know this?”
“Because he just tried to murder me.”
“Where are you?”
“Bernie came to pick me up. I’m okay. However, Coach, if he’s not still in the parking lot, may be going to an emergency room. I bit his fingers, and they were bleeding like crazy, and then I slammed the car door on his arms.”
“Ouch!” Bernie, who was listening, said. “Remind me never to anger you.”
Wolf groaned, thanked me, and disconnected the call.
Bernie parked in front of my house. “Do you want me to stay over in case Coach eludes the police?”
“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think he’ll get very far. And thanks for rescuing me.”
“Anything for a damsel in distress.”
I hit the sack early and when I woke to a beautiful blue sky, I was terribly sad for Tate. He’d had so much to live for.
After a shower, I moseyed down to the kitchen and let Daisy out. She returned with Muppet, Duke, Francie, and Nina. I put on coffee and was pondering what to make for breakfast when Bernie and Mars arrived.
While breakfast was discussed, I called to have my car towed to the dealership again.
They decided on pancakes, which suited me perfectly. Everyone pitched in and we were soon seated at my kitchen table, enjoying blueberry pancakes, bacon, and a colorful fruit salad.
I filled them in on what had happened the night before.
Nina huffed when she realized that both of us had missed the most important clue—Coach’s lie about taking Spencer to work. “I cannot believe that slipped by us.”
Francie scowled. “Let me get this straight. Coach grabbed Spencer’s backpack, followed Tate, and slammed him over the head with a champagne bottle. Then he hides Tate’s body in the Eklunds’ backyard. He goes to get Bernie’s car but when he comes back, Tate is gone because Pierce saw the backpack and Tate’s body, so he thought incorrectly that Spencer had murdered Tate. He drives Tate to the restaurant, leaves him in the cellar, and destroys the backpack.”
“That about sums it up,” I said.
“Wait”—Mars picked up another slice of bacon—“that leaves so many questions unanswered.”
Wolf knocked on the door and opened it. “Am I too late for breakfast?”
Bernie and I set him up with coffee and pancakes.
“You’re just in time,” said Mars. “Do you know yet why Coach murdered Tate?”
Wolf groaned. “He has been in love with Bobbie Sue for over a decade. He saw the family together at games, and Bobbie Sue was always nice to him, including him in their plans, dinner, picnics, things like that. He was a family friend, but none of them realized how much he wanted to be part of their family. And then he convinced himself that Tate was the only thing stopping him. He had to get rid of Tate.”
“He lost his mind,” said Nina.
“He was obsessed with Bobbie Sue,” said Francie.
“Why did he take Spencer’s backpack?” I asked.
“According to him, he saw the backpack lying in the grass. He figured Spencer had forgotten it and he would give it back to him after the race. Initially, he had planned to kill Tate after the race, when everyone broke up to go home. But then he saw Tate cutting through the alley. He was ready. He had the champagne bottle. The fireworks were going off. They weren’t noisy but everyone was focused on them. He caught up to Tate and swung the bottle. Then he dragged Tate into the Eklunds’ backyard. He could feel blood on his shirt, so he dug in Spencer’s backpack and found a shirt. He put that on and stuffed his bloody shirt into the backpack. In the process, the clamshell with the chocolate cheesecake that was in the backpack fell to the ground and opened. He went to get Bernie’s car, not realizing there was blood on his pants. He didn’t even know he left a smear on the car door. When he came back, Tate and the backpack were gone. The only thing that remained was the clamshell, so he threw that into Bernie’s car and drove it back to Bernie’s garage.”
“And that was where Pierce came in,” said Nina. “Did you really find a piece of the champagne bottle in his Jeep?”
Wolf nodded. “Pierce wiped the back of his Jeep clean with bleach. But what he didn’t realize was that the more time he spent with Bobbie Sue, the more he was pushing Coach out of the way. Pierce was trying hard to be a dad to Spencer, so he was the one who was always around the family. And that made Coach mad. He’d heard about this deadly plant and seen one near a trail where he runs. He mixed it with Pierce’s muscle cream, and that landed Pierce in the hospital but fortunately didn’t kill him. But when Coach heard Pierce confess to Sophie about moving Tate’s body—”
“Coach was there?” I asked.
Wolf nodded. “Listening, out in the hallway. He decided to frame Pierce. He took some hair out of a brush that he thought belonged to Tate, and he bought a bottle of the same champagne he used to kill Tate. He left them in Pierce’s Jeep and sure enough, our crime scene techs found them.”
“Coach seemed like a nice bloke,” said Bernie, “but that man is dangerous. He really thought everything through very carefully.”
“And I’m afraid he did not like you, Bernie.” Wolf sipped his coffee. “Apparently, you threw him out of The Laughing Hound once when he was drunk.”
“Hah! There’s a good reason to frame someone for murder,” Mars said sarcastically.
My phone rang and I excused myself to answer it. When I came back to the table, I reported, “My car wouldn’t run because someone put water in my gas tank.”
“Coach?” asked Bernie.
“I have to think so. He left the recital last night for a few minutes. I bet that’s exactly when he did it.”
“We found him in the parking lot where you left him last night,” said Wolf. “He has two broken arms. His fingers are all right. They’ll be scarred, though. But you’re alive. That’s the important thing. We’ll be bringing additional charges of attempted murder. Think you’re up to testifying?” asked Wolf.
“You bet!”
Nina lingered when everyone left. “You’re not going to believe this. You know all the packages we’ve been receiving? It’s a scam!”
“I don’t understand. Your husband fell for a scam but was ashamed and didn’t tell you?”
“No! The seller of the product sends them out to people, then makes up fake names and leaves five-star reviews. If they aren’t actually purchased and sent to someone, the program doesn’t allow them to leave reviews. We get to keep everything, though I don’t know why we would want most of it. I’m taking a huge load down to the thrift shop.”
“So your husband is well. He doesn’t have anything wrong with him.”
“Nothing except being away too much!”