Diane called me after I left Cassidy’s shop. "You have to see this," she said before I could even say hello.
"See what?"
"Roger reminded me that we paid for cloud storage for our security system. The company backs up our surveillance data for thirty days. It's all right here."
"What's there?”
"Mr. Haggerty, he came into the bakery Saturday morning around seven thirty. He placed his order and then went into the restroom. Amber then came in with that new deputy. She placed an order but then got distracted chatting with the deputy. Get this, Amber took Mr. Haggerty’s drink and left. Then, when Mr. Haggerty came out, he motioned to Amber's drink as if asking if it was his. Anna comes into the frame, nods, and tells Mr. Haggerty to " have a good day."
"Wait, are you saying that Amber was the intended target?"
"I think so. I mean, if he was poisoned at the bakery, how else would you explain it?" Diane asked.
“Unless someone slipped the potion into his drink between the bakery and the inn?”
“I suppose that’s possible, and it would clear my staff’s names.”
“Can you see who made the drinks?”
“No, the machine’s not in the frame. The camera is more for watching the register.”
"Where's Anna now? And what did you say the other worker’s name was?" I only knew him by face.
"Kellan Mahoney.”
"Where are they now?"
"I don't know. They both have the day off."
"Okay, I'm going to call the sheriff's department and fill them in. Cassidy also told me more about Mr. Haggerty. It turns out he had an incurable condition. It was getting progressively worse.”
“No. Now I feel even more sorry for him.”
“I know. Me too. He was seeing her to try and cure him.”
“Given his review, I take it the medicine wasn’t working.”
“You’d be correct.”
‘That’s too bad.”
“I know. Let me make that call and update the sheriff about the drinks. Someone needs to question Anna and Kellan as soon as possible.” I wasn't sure if the sheriff or Amber would listen. They didn’t like when I uncovered evidence before them.
"Okay, and what do you want me to do?"
"Nothing, just stay where you are. I'll come to you."
I called the sheriff’s department as I got in my car. “Hey, Dottie, is the sheriff available?"
“Oh, I’m afraid not.”
“What about Deputy Reynolds?” I thought I should practice referring to Amber by her title if I was going to get on her good side. I wanted her listen to me for once and take the treat seriously.
“You must not have heard. There's been an accident."
"What kind of accident?" I stopped in the middle of buckling my seatbelt. I remembered hearing the sirens and wondered if they were connected.
“A bad one. We’re all praying Deputy Reynolds will be alright.”
“What happened?”
“It's just so awful. She lost control driving around the lake. Her cruiser hit a tree halfway down the bank.”
“What? Is she okay?" The terrain on the other side of the lake was quite steep.
"I don't know. Her car didn't land in the lake, but it's not good."
“No, it doesn’t sound like it. I’m sorry to hear that. Is Deputy Jones available?" I needed to tell someone about the swapped drinks.
“Hold on. He just got back from the scene; let me transfer you to him."
I waited for Deputy Jones to pick up the line.
"Deputy Jones,” he said.
"Hey, it's Angelica. I have to talk to you about something." I went on to recap everything I knew about Mr. Haggerty’s murder and how I suspected Amber was the target. "What do you think?"
“I think you’re right. The preliminary investigation shows Amber’s brake lines were cut.”
I swallowed uncomfortably. Now, more than ever, I was convinced she had been the target all along.
“You need to find Anna and Kellan and bring them in for questioning.” I didn't mean to tell the deputy how to do his job, but I couldn't help it.
“Agree. I'm on it right now."
"How's Amber doing? Do you know anything?"
"No, the sheriff is at the hospital. Amber was unconscious last I knew."
"Okay, I'm going to head up there. Diane has the camera footage on her phone. I want to show it to the sheriff and see what he thinks."
"Tell him I'll be in touch."
"Will do."
Thirty minutes later, I managed to do just that. Vance and Diane met me in the waiting room with Sheriff Reynolds. The cozy space offered some privacy. "I don't know what to think about all of this," the sheriff sat down, stood up, and sat back down again. He had already watched the video ten times.
"Does Amber have any enemies?" I asked the sheriff. I meant besides me, and I didn't count. I might not like Amber, but I never wanted to see her hurt. Have her grow up a little bit? Maybe. Become a better person? Most definitely. But get hurt? Never.
“I don't know. She's a good deputy; she's put away a lot of bad guys." There was no question that the sheriff thought highly of his daughter.
"Has anyone recently been paroled?" Vance asked.
"I don't know." The sheriff looked down at his folded hands in his lap.
"Or what about convictions overturned?" I remember seeing that two of Amber's convictions had been thrown out over the last year. That meant we knew of at least two individuals who might want to seek revenge.
"I don't know." The sheriff shook his head. Those three words seemed to be the only thing the sheriff could say.
Vance turned his attention to Diane. "What are your staff's full names?"
"Anna Sanderson and Kellan Mahoney."
Vance turned to the sheriff. "What about those two surnames? Do they ring any bells?" The sheriff zoned out and continued to stare at the floor. Diane, Vance, and I shared a look. We weren't getting anywhere here. The sheriff was too shocked to answer.
"Well, hopefully, Deputy Jones can track them down and find out which one made Amber's drink and what they had against Amber," I said.
"I agree. Maybe this nightmare will be over sooner rather than later."
"Is there anything we can get you, Sheriff?" I asked.
"No, I'm fine. I'll be here if anyone needs me. I'm not leaving until I know how my baby girl's doing."
“Go, I’ll stay with him,” Diane offered.
Vance and I turned to walk away, but the sheriff stopped us. "Normally, I’d be mad at you for doing my job, but right now, I'm numb. Can't promise I won’t chew you out tomorrow."
I smiled. "I look forward to it."
My phone chimed in my pocket. It was Deputy Jones calling me. "Are you still with the sheriff?"
"Yes, he's right here."
"Tell him to give me a call."
I turned away from the sheriff. "He's in a bit of shock at the moment. I'm not sure if it's the best time."
"It's that barista of Diane’s, Kellan Mahoney?"
"Yeah?"
"We just found him. He's dead."
I was sure that my mouth was left wide open.
"What? What is it?" Vance looked at me with a concerned expression.
"Kellan is dead," I wasn't sure why I was whispering. Perhaps it was the sacred nature of the hospital waiting room. I didn't want to bring any negativity into a space that was already filled with such tension. Or maybe it was because I didn't know how to break the news to Diane. Kellan had been working for her for some time. Blurting out that he was dead wasn't the right way to go about it.
"Angelica? Can you hear me?" Deputy Jones asked. "Can you tell the sheriff? He's going to want to know."
"Yeah, I'll let them know."
"I can handle the investigation, but I want him to be aware. Tell him to call me when he can."
"I will. Anything else?"
Deputy Jones seemed like he was weighing his options. Finally, he must've realized there was no sense in keeping any information from me. "Tell him it was a suicide. We have a note, and it looks like he used the same potion that killed Mr. Haggerty."
"Final Night potion?"
"How did you figure that out? The department hasn't released that information."
"Connie helped me analyze it." It paid to be friends with a potion expert.
"Of course she did."
I walked farther away from the group. "So what? Kellan accidentally killed Mr. Haggerty and then tried to kill Amber?"
"His note doesn't say anything about Mr. Haggerty, only Amber. He said she had to pay for her crimes.”
"What crimes?”
“We're still piecing it together, but he thinks he killed her.”
“He thought he killed Amber and then went and killed himself? What, out of guilt?”
“Sounds like it.”
I frowned. “There has to be more to it. What’s his connection to Amber?”
“Still working on it. Hang on.” The deputy shouted something to another member of the team. They continued to have a side conversation. “Listen, I’m pretty busy here.”
“Sorry, I know you are. I'll relay all the information.”
I turned hesitantly back to Sheriff Reynolds and Diane. Diane met my eyes. "There's been a break in the case?" she asked.
"Something like that.”
Diane frowned.
I pressed on. “That was Deputy Jones. They’re at Kellan’s house, and Kellan’s passed away.”
The sheriff snapped his head up. "Did he say how?"
“He drank the Final Night potion.” I let the implications hang in the air.
"No.” Diane covered her mouth in shock. "You mean he killed Mr. Haggerty and started the fire? I can't believe that. Kellan wouldn't do that."
"I guess there's a note. Deputy Jones says it doesn't mention Mr. Haggerty, but he does confess to going after Amber. According to the note, he thinks he killed her.”
The sheriff growled. I took a step back. "Why did he want to murder my daughter?"
"Something about paying for her crimes. If you want to go, we can stay here, and you can meet Deputy Jones," I offered.
The sheriff looked torn.
I looked over at Diane. "Is Amber stable right now?"
Diane shrugged her shoulder. “I don’t know.”
The sheriff answered. "She's in surgery. The doctor said the seatbelt ruptured her spleen, and she has a broken hip. I don't want to leave just yet."
"Okay, we'll keep working the case then. If you need me to do anything, just let Diane know, and she’ll get ahold of me," I offered. Sheriff Reynolds wasn't one to ask for my help, but this was his daughter we were talking about. He might like to give me grief, but I had to believe that deep down inside, he knew I was good at solving mysteries, and if you asked me, this case was far from being solved.
Again, we turned to leave.
“Angelica?” The sheriff’s voice stopped me once more.
“Yeah?”
“If you two are going to keep investigating this, I’m officially deputizing you.”
I looked back at Vance. Was the sheriff serious? By the look on his face, he was.
"Both of us?" I asked.
"Seems only right," the sheriff replied.
“You don’t think it’s a simple case of Kellan having it out for your daughter?” Vance asked.
“No,” was his one-word response. I had to agree with him. “I’ll let Jones know. I expect you to work together,” he added.
“Um, yes … sir.” I stumbled over my words, unsure of what being deputized fully entailed and how this changed my relationship with the sheriff.
Sheriff Reynolds took out his phone and made a call. I could tell it was to Deputy Jones, given the conversation. There was no need for us to wait around.
Diane held her pinkie and thumb in the universal “call me” sign. I nodded that I would, and Vance and I left.