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LATER THAT EVENING, Dana set the bathtub in the upper bathroom. She poured some lavender fragrant Epsom Salt bath crystals into the tub as the hot water ran, watching the crystals melt into the steam. She placed two large glass jars of Vanilla Cream Cupcake scented aroma candles by the side of the bathtub and lit the candle wicks with a lighter.
Mmmm. She enjoyed the relaxing aroma and scent of the crystals combined with the delicious scent of the candles while she waited and waited for the tub to fill up to the rim with 50 gallons of water. There was nothing like soaking in an aromatherapy salt bath after a long stressful day at work. There was something comforting about soothing scents.
Grandma Rae always told her about the power of aromatherapy calming the senses. “Always do something special for yourself everyday, child. Pamper yourself,” Grandma Rae would say. “You’re your own best friend. If you don’t treat yourself like a queen, who else do you think will?”
Grandma Rae had a point. She always told Dana about meditating for a moment. Finding time in the day for oneself. Relaxing, listening to music, or reading a favorite book along with a hot beverage to warm the insides.
Although Dana wasn’t always this way—she would learn gradually how to schedule “me” time no matter how busy she was.
Later, she would grab her Kindle and read while in the tub or close her eyes and play the audio version of the book instead from her iPad. Yes, that’s what she would do. Lord only knew she had to relax her mind and switch off from the world for a moment to regain some inner peace.
Dana’s mind then raced back to her encounter earlier with Troy. She really needed to get a hold of herself and focus. She was not very lucky when it came to relationships. She knew that. She’d always end up with the heartbreakers and a bucket load of empty promises.
Besides, Troy was way too busy for her. It could never really work in the long run. She would need a guy that 1) didn’t have a dangerous job 2) was available during sociable hours like weekends and evenings. Unfortunately, Troy worked shift work, around the clock. That was just the nature of his job.
Then Dana thought about the crazy insane case surrounding Lichelle’s murder and all the possible suspects.
Who on earth sent her that crazy text message? Was it Lichelle’s brother? Was it Gerdie?
There was a banging sound coming from the back of the house as if someone was trying to force the lock open.
Dana’s heart jumped. She heard another sound coming from the door.
Someone was trying to break into her house!
She thought about calling Troy on his cell phone.
Dana stopped the water running in the tub that was now almost full to the top. The pipes made a screeching sound as she turned the faucets off. The old Victorian was a classic house built centuries ago, but the plumbing was old as sin. Still, she loved the character of the house. Just not right now. She wished it didn’t make such a loud noise to wake up the dead.
Dana then tried to reach Troy on his cell phone. She called his number but it went straight to voicemail.
“Please leave a message.” The deep sexy sound of Troy’s voice on the answering system did nothing to calm Dana’s nerves right now. She wanted the live person, not a recorded message.
“Hi...um. Troy. It’s me, Dana. Um...I think someone’s trying to break into my house. I’m going downstairs to turn on the light. Hopefully, I’ll scare them away.” She hung up the phone abruptly only to realize later how awful that message might have sounded. He would panic and come right over or send some cars over when he got the message. Then again, that was what she wanted, right? On the other hand, what if it was just a stray animal clawing at the door.
Dana drew in a deep breath and took her phone along. She quietly crept down the stairway turning on the passage light. When she reached the lower level, she heard the sound getting louder and louder.
“Dana, please let me in. It’s Katie.”
Dana breathed a deep sigh of relief.
She quickly made her way over to the kitchen back door and opened it.
“What happened, Katie?”
“I’m sorry, but the darn key won’t work.”
“Again?” Dana said, pulling her robe tightly around her waist. She’d already undressed and pulled her robe on when she got the bathtub set.
“You were in the tub?”
“I was about to climb in. But it’s okay. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m glad it’s not a burglar.”
“Oh, no. So sorry to alarm you.”
“We need to get the door locks fixed.”
“Tell me about it. Grandma Rae probably had those locks for the longest time even before she got the house.”
“I know.”
“You know I tried the front door and it almost got jammed in, then I went to the back thinking, the other key would work.”
“You know something,” Dana keyed in a number on her cell phone. “I’m going to call Jimmy, the locksmith.”
“Now?” Katie asked, “Why don’t you just see him in the morning? His shop is right beside the Cozy Cupcakes Café.”
“True. It’s not an emergency. You’re home safely now. Did anything happen at the café at closing?”
Katie and Dana made their way into the center of the kitchen.
“Nothing unusual.” Katie placed her bag down on the counter and grabbed a mug and proceeded to fix herself some hot chocolate. “Just the usual chatter about the day. Of course, so many people are talking about Lichelle Sampson’s untimely death and the poisoned cupcake.”
Dana’s heart slammed against her rib.
“Oh, great. That would do wonderful for the Café’s reputation. We really need to get to the bottom of this like yesterday.”
“I hear you, cuz.” In no time, Katie had her steaming mug filled with cream hot chocolate.
“So what’s the talk about at the café?” Dana asked.
“Well, there’s talk of Thomas Sampson, Mr. Sampson estranged step son, who has a vendetta against his own sister?”
“A vendetta? That’s terrible.” Dana grabbed her MacBook and flipped it open. She proceeded to enter some notes.
“Yes, it is terrible. Apparently, they have different mothers and were never close. He’s had some sort of gambling debts according to one of the customers at the café. ”
“How would they know that? He’s from out of town?” Dana paused from entering any more information on the screen.
Katie took a sip of her hot chocolate and rolled her eyes. “My darling cuz, you should be the one to know that you can find anything on the Internet, right?”
“I know, dear cuz. But you also can’t believe everything you see and read on the Internet?”
“True,” Katie added thoughtfully.
“Besides, there must be thousands of males named Thomas Sampson. It’s not exactly an unusual name, you know?”
“That’s true, too. Well,” Katie shrugged. “I guess people are just making conversation.”
“Yes, we must be very careful not to confuse gossip with facts. We really don’t know too much about his background yet, except what Gerdie told me about the kids.”
“What did she tell you?” Katie leaned forward excitedly.
Dana didn’t want to put forth too much information since she’d promised Gerdie Sue she would not divulge information about her marriage to old man Sampson.
“Well, she said that the kids were left out of the will.”
“Left out of the will? Why would their father do that?”
Dana sighed heavily. “Apparently, he’d given them everything in life and they had abused their privilege. And...well, I suppose this will come out soon, they weren’t his biological kids—not that it should matter really.”
Katie’s jaw fell open. “They weren’t? I don’t get it.”
“Yes, neither do I. But, he couldn’t have biological children. He was sterile but his wives didn’t know that. They had an affair and produced children insisting the kids were his.”
“How awful. Dana, this sounds like a Hollywood drama or a topic for one of those old Jerry Springer talk shows.”
Dana grinned and playfully rolled her eyes. “Yeah, tell me about it.”
Dana then tapped into her computer.
“What are you typing up, cuz?”
“A list of possible suspects.”
“Who do you have on your list so far?”
“Well, there’s Thomas Sampson, Jr.”
“That’s obvious. If anything happens to his sister and Gerdie Sue, he’ll inherit the millions by default as the next logical heir.”
“Precisely. As Troy would say it’s all about Means, Motive and Opportunity!” Dana asserted with confidence. Troy had given her a quick lesson on court procedures of trying the accused. She’d found it all too exciting.
“Of course, means, motives and opportunity,” Katie parroted. “The common summation of the three aspects of a crime that must be established before guilt can be confirmed.”
“Before guilt can be determined in a court of law,” Dana added. Troy was right. She was eager about solving mystery riddles and the psychology of human behavior and motives. So maybe a life of solving crime would be a little more adventurous. Then again, maybe not. She wasn’t exactly an adrenaline junkie. She was worried sick about the dangers of the job concerning poor Troy.
“Right, of course,” Katie agreed. “So you need to look at the ability of committing the crime.”
“Which is the means,” Dana added.
“And the motive,” Katie said.
“And that’s very obvious. Greed.”
“Greed?”
“Yes, greed.”
“You’re saying the love of money is the root of this evil.”
“I’m saying the lack of money is the root of this evil, more like it.”
“How so?”
“Well, we all know now that the kids were left out of the will. Cut off from their life of luxury. If there’s one thing I learned, it’s that rich people do not want to turn into poor people.”
Katie grinned. “You have a point, cuz. You always make a good point.”
“Thanks.” Dana grinned and continued to enter more information. “We also have to look at the opportunity. Who had the opportunity, the chance to commit the crime?”
“So is that why you came up with Thomas Sampson as suspect number one?”
“Of course. Money would give him a strong motive. Not to mention opportunity. He’s here in Berry Cove. He followed his sister all the way from the States. But I don’t think it’s him.”
“Say what?” Confusion spread across Katie’s face.
“Come let’s go into the living room. I want to sit on the comfy couch by the fireplace. I think better there.”
“Sure.” Katie picked up her mug of chocolate and followed Dana into the living room.
Dana looked around and was disappointed that Truffles was snuggled and fast asleep by the fireplace. She was hoping she would get a reaction from Truffles on the possible suspects but she would leave it for now.
Besides, she still thought it was odd that Truffles hissed loudly when Troy came in. Maybe it was just an oversight. Maybe Truffles was just tired.
What if it wasn’t an oversight? A disturbing thought slid into her mind that it wouldn’t be the first cop that had been a suspect.
Stop that, Dana. Troy is not involved in the crime and you know it. He’s sweet and caring and honorable. No way, was he involved. Despite Truffles’ loud hissing when he walked through the door.
“What is it, cuz? You look as if you have something on your mind.”
“Well, it’s just that Truffles hissed loudly when Troy came in earlier,” Dana blurted out.
“What? Why?”
“Oh nothing.” Dana’s cheeks flushed. She felt heat climb to her throat. She’d just remembered that she hadn’t told Katie about Truffles secret talent. The last thing she would want was for her cousin to think she had gone stark crazy.
“Maybe it’s because he didn’t have any treats with him this time.”
“Treats?” Katie asked dubiously.
“Yes, Troy usually offers Truffles something when he sees her. We’ve been to the park while I take Truffles on her walk in the cat stroller. He’s fond of her and Truffles is crazy about him.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet of him. So when are you two going to go out?”
“Katie!”
“What?”
“I already told you...”
“I know, I know. You have no time for new relationships...” Katie playfully rolled her eyes. “Yet every chance you get, you’re practically salivating over this hot detective.”
“Katie, you know that’s not true.”
Katie gave Dana a “really now?” look.
“Okay, maybe once I salivated over him, but that was it. That was when we first met. I had no idea how cute the cops were in this town.”
She had no idea she would be so attracted to Detective Troy.
“Yeah, right,” Katie teased.
Dana cleared her throat and returned to her computer screen. “Anyway, let’s get back on track. So far, possible suspects are...Thomas Sampson, Gerdie Sue, even though I don’t think she did it.”
“Okay, cuz. Now you’ve lost me. Two suspects and you don’t think either did it?”
“It’s called a hunch, Katie.”
“But what if your hunch is a little off, cuz? Gerdie looks guilty as sin. I mean, she did have a heated argument with Lichelle shortly before her body was found. Not to mention the threat she made to get rid of Lichelle while she was at the Café—in front of witnesses.”
“That’s true,” Dana admitted regretfully. “Grandma Rae always used to say, ‘keep your words soft and sweet because the next day’...”
“You might have to eat them,” Katie finished Dana’s sentence.
Dana grinned. “Exactly. Gerdie Sue said some toxic things yesterday in front of witnesses and now she has to swallow that bitter consequence of her words. Now Gerdie’s all mixed up in this murder. The cops have freed her based on her alibi but she’s got a strong motive and means. They still have her as a person of interest.”
“Person of interest?”
“That’s what Gerdie told me yesterday.”
“I see.” Katie took another sip of her hot chocolate and placed her mug by the side table near the fireplace. She covered her legs with the quilted cover on the chair.
“So who else does that leave us with?” Katie asked, leaning back in the cozy recliner in the living room. The fire crackled in the fireplace. Truffles was still sound asleep, looking as comfortable as ever.
Dana would give anything right now to be snuggling asleep by the fire without a care in the world. Right now, she had to clear up this horrible case involving her cupcake and find out who in heaven’s name would poison her cake at the scene of this crime. The last thing she wanted was for the Cozy Cupcakes Café to be called the Killer Cupcakes Café again.
“Mr. Terrence.” Dana responded to Katie’s question.
“Mr. Terrence? The landlord at the Maison? No way.”
“Yes, way. He’s a possible suspect, Katie. Troy told me that it had to be an inside job. There were no signs of forcible entry.”
“Yes, but...he’s the landlord, wouldn’t that make it obvious?”
“Sometimes, criminals operate on the fact that people tend to overlook the obvious, Katie.”
“Oh, right. I forgot. You’re the mystery riddles champion of the Internet.”
“It’s not funny. This is a murder investigation involving one of our customers and one of our cozy cupcakes.”
“I know. I know. It’s just that...”
“Just what, cuz?” Dana softened her tone. She’d had a hectic day. She hadn’t had her relaxing ritual of the day. She just remembered that her bath was still set and sadly empty except for steaming hot water and the melted aromatherapy crystals. She just needed to jot down a few things while Katie was up, then she’d go take her bath. But this was bugging the sweetness out of her. How could she relax in a tub now? She always had a habit of setting the tub hot, then doing a few things while the water cooled a little. In five minutes, she’d be back upstairs to take her bath.
“Mr. Terrence is grumpy and aloof at times, but I don’t think he could murder one of his own tenants, do you?”
Dana sighed. “Right now Katie, anything is possible. Let’s keep our options open. He was at our café that morning. Lichelle made it known that she was allergic to peanuts.”
“True. I guess he really could be a suspect, but what about motive?” Katie asked.
“There’s something Kerry said yesterday, that since Lichelle had moved to the Maison, Lichelle had promised him first and last month’s rent—but broke that promise.”
“He let her move in without paying rent up front? Not even a deposit check?”
“Well, apparently, the check didn’t check out.”
“Oh?”
“It bounced like a rubber ball and he was not impressed. But...” Dana hesitated at first. She hated to be the one to bring up or quote what could be construed as gossip. But this was about clues for a murder investigation so she proceeded...“According to Kerry, they might have had something going on.”
“Mr. Terrence and Lichelle? That’s insane! You think she slept with him in lieu of a deposit?”
“Well, it’s not that simple. Apparently, she promised him the checks and said that she was coming into some money soon,” Dana said raising a brow, “and they might have had a few drinks and he went back to her apartment.” Dana shrugged. “That’s all I know, cuz.”
“That’s all you know?” Katie leaned forward amused. “Dana! That is scandalous! How is it that Gerdie Sue isn’t spreading this around?”
“Maybe, because she’s too busy trying to clear her own name right now.”
Katie leaned back, a frown on her face. “Of course,” she sighed.
“Anyway,” Dana continued. “Kerry said there was an argument with the landlord the night before she died.”
“Do you think, maybe she threatened to tell on him?”
“I don’t know. I wish I knew...for the sake of the case,” Dana added.
Dana really wished she was closer to finding out the truth. But right now, she was feeling like the water in the bathtub, getting colder by the minute with this case.