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“TROY, YOU NEED TO GET hold of Frank, the photographer,” Dana said moments later after Troy had interrogated a few of the guests. Shags’ s body had already been hauled off to the coroner’s office.
“I’ll be getting to him soon, Dana.”
“No, Troy. You don’t understand. You need to do it now.”
“Why is that? Dana, do you know something?”
“He must have seen someone. The culprit. Somebody must have been near to Shags over by the dessert table.”
“Sam,” Troy said, turning to one of his men, a uniformed cop. “Get Frank over here with his camera, stat.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Sam said.
“Thank you,” Dana breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll interview him next and see what we can get from those images, but I still don’t think any of what he has on his camera will help at this point.”
“But you’re not seeing it from my perspective.”
“Which is?”
“Whomever was near Shags just before the blackout could have done it. They had the means.”
He frowned. “Dana. We can’t just go by means. We’ll need a strong motive.”
Dana furrowed her brows. “Troy, can I speak with you privately, please.”
“Sure.”
They walked away from any potential prying eyes or ears over to a far corner of the hall where no one could hear them.
“What’s wrong, Dana?”
“You mean besides the obvious?” Dana arched the brow. “There’s been a horrible murder and I feel that someone’s trying to pin this on one of the cupcakes from the Cozy Cupcakes Café.”
“Dana.”
“Troy.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Before you say it. I’m not paranoid. It seems like such a copy cat case of what happened before with that Gazette reporter who slammed my Grandma Rae’s café after I took it over.”
“I remember that case all too well, Dana.”
“Now, another reporter from the Gazette, the newest columnist who writes gossip, is found dead with a cupcake at her mouth. Doesn’t that seem a bit...odd? Coincidental?”
“All right. You do have a point.” Troy took out his notepad and began making some notes. “Go on.”
“Well, first of all, Shags was offered a cupcake when the waiter made his rounds.”
“And?”
Dana swallowed hard. “W-well, she told him she would pass for now because she’d heard about...the...killer cupcakes.”
“I see,” Troy said, scribbling down some notes.
Oh, no. What had Dana just said? The truth.
Tell the truth Dana. Don’t hold back from Troy. He needs to know everything. Even at the risk that she’d sound crazy.
“I just had no idea that when she said she would pass for now...that she would end up passing away soon after.” Dana gulped. The tragic irony was unbelievable.
“But then she changed her mind, didn’t she?”
“What do you mean?” Dana asked.
“She did end up eating one of your cupcakes.”
“Troy,” Dana said, leaning in closer to him, her voice a whisper. “I think that’s what the killer wants us to believe.”
Troy ran his fingers through his dark sexy mane of hair. “Why would he or she do that, Dana?”
“Because Troy, there were so many guests around us at the time. And they’d heard what she said. What if one of them poisoned the cupcake ahead of time.”
“Sam,” Troy said, “make sure none of the waiters leave the scene.”
“Yes, boss. Billy’s questioning them now.”
“Good.”
Dana’s heart skipped a beat. Did someone slip a cupcake on one of the waiter’s tray and tell him to give one to Shags?
Her mystery riddles thinking mind was working overtime now.
Sam then approached Troy and Dana. “Think you might have something there, boss.”
“What is it, Sam?”
“One of waiters said that someone told him to offer the cupcake to Shags.”
“Oh, really now?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And who was that?”
“He gave us a description. It was a woman dressed in a blue velvet dress.”
“Is she here?”
“It’s possible that she left, sir. But we found a red feathered earring by the victim’s body.”
Dana had to say something. “Troy, I think I know who that belongs to but I really don’t think it had anything to do with the case.”
“Who’s is it?”
Dana swallowed hard. She turned around and saw Bea approaching them with one earring in her ears. “It’s mine, detective. That earring’s mine but I did not kill Shags.”
“I see,” Troy said. “Please don’t go anywhere Bea. We need to speak with you.”
“Fine, Detective. I did have a meeting with Shags and we kind of got into a heated argument. But...I didn’t do it. I...I swear to you.”
Dana sighed, feeling sorry for Bea.
“Sam will take your statement, Bea. And Sam have our men get on the case of the woman in the blue velvet dress. Thanks.”
Sam left them alone.
Troy then turned his attention to Dana, an appreciate glance in his eyes. “I owe you one, as usual, Dana. Good thinking.”
“I just hope we find the killer in time, Troy. And...Troy,” Dana hesitated for a moment.
“Yes, Dana.”
“Where is the mayor?”
Just then, Sarah, the mayor’s secretary came rushing into the party room. “Oh, no. What happened?”
“Shags is...dead,” Dana sputtered.
“What? How?” Sarah looked alarmed. “Where’s the mayor?”
“He’s speaking with one of our officers,” another cop said.
Sarah had a bag filled with ice. Dana then remembered that she’d gone to get ice earlier.
“I need to speak to him,” Sarah said, “I just need to put these in the kitchen first.”
Sarah then hurried off toward the kitchen.
“Troy, we need to get hold of the security tapes here. I need to see who left and who entered.”
“Our men are already on it.”
“Is it possible to see the footage with you, Troy?”
“Dana that’s not standard procedure.”
“But Troy if one of my cupcakes was on the scene, I have a right to know why. Besides, I might be able to find some clues. You yourself said once that I have an unusual eye for picking up on fine details.”
“Fine, since you put it that way,” he said, arching a brow. He looked positively adorable whenever he did that.
She just hoped she would find the killer soon, or else.