I'd just climbed into my jeep when Jackson called. "Hey, where are you at this morning?" he asked.
"I'm leaving the hotel right now. I was hastily shown the door when I started asking Carlton too many questions about Donna."
"Well, I'll be asking him plenty later. Wanted to let you know that the coroner confirmed death by hypothermia. The marks on her arms indicated a struggle before she died. I'm sticking with the theory that she was pushed into that freezer."
The freezer repairman exited the kitchen door with his box of tools. He got into his truck to leave. "I think the freezer is safe again. The repairman is finished. It was just a day too late. I realized something—whoever forced Donna into the freezer knew the emergency button was broken."
"Sure seems that way. There was one more thing."
I glanced toward the house. Thomas was standing in one of the big front windows. I waved to him. He waved back with a kind smile. It was disappointing that we didn't get to talk.
I started the jeep. "What's that?"
"Along with the marks on her arms, there were some stains. They were mixed in with the prints on her arms. The coroner is having forensics run tests. It's not confirmed yet, but he thought the stain came from a plant source. He'll let me know when he finds out what it is."
"Interesting. That angry produce man squashed the berries when Donna complained the strawberries weren't flavorful enough. Of course, that was earlier in the day, but I assume he spends a lot of the day with plant stains on his hands."
"Would he know about the broken freezer?" Jackson asked.
"Definitely. Harris was in the kitchen, smashing his strawberries, when I discovered that Maribel had been locked inside the freezer. Donna went on quite a rant about it while he was still gathering up his berries. He knows."
"That helps. I talked to Minnie again, on the phone. She's got a solid alibi. She was in her knitting circle. Not that I considered her much of a suspect. Her health is so poor, I can't imagine she would have had the strength to fight her sister and push her into the freezer. She mentioned those fence posts she wants to sell, so I'm going to run home and grab the truck. I thought we could get some lunch and then drive out to the sheep farm this afternoon. Meet you at Layers in an hour?"
"That works. See you then." I hung up and glanced in my rearview mirror. A car was coming up the driveway. It parked and Maribel got out. She was holding two bags of groceries. Her white chef's coat was hanging over her arm. She was heading to the back door, to the kitchen. I turned off the jeep and hopped out. Maybe one more visit to the hotel wouldn't hurt.