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“YOU’RE GOING TO DO what?” Katie said an hour later, while stirring some chocolate chips into a cookie batter. They were back at the Victorian. Katie was making some fresh baked home-made cookies to bring to the café later.
“Trap the real killer.”
“Okay, you’re crazy, cuz. Love you to death, but you’re crazy as a bat right now.”
“Troy’s hands are tied.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He’s got to go by proper procedure. The murder weapon was in Terry’s hand. She was there at the scene of the crime. So, of course, he has to go by that or he could lose his badge, especially when he’s up against a big hitter like the Mercers or Cicaro.”
“True. You’ve got a point. But what are you going to do about it?”
“Speak to Mr. Cicaro.”
“Say what?” Katie stopped mixing the cookie mixture in the bowl.
Dana could smell the sweet scent of vanilla extract in the dough mixed with sugar, eggs, and flour. She had to resist the urge to scoop her finger in and taste some of the pastry before it went into the oven.
“I’m going to speak to Mr. Cicaro.”
“You know cuz,” Katie said, wiping her hands on her apron as she prepared to spoon out the batter on the cookie tray. “I used to think you were crazy. Now I know you’re crazy.”
“But Katie, how else am I going to find the real killer. The cops already think Terry did it. They’re probably not going to even look into other possible suspects. They don’t believe Terry.”
“And you do?”
“Yes, I do. I know she couldn’t have done it. For instance why was her knife so clean? Where did she wipe the blood stain?”
“You know, that is a good question, cuz.” Katie spooned each cookie dough mixture onto the shiny aluminum tray spreading them an inch apart on the pan.
Truffles then strutted into the kitchen and circled her bushy self around Dana’s ankles. “Hey, sweetie. Ready for your treat?”
Dana then pulled out a box of Temptations from the shelf. Truffles went crazy for it. She loved those treats with the scrumptious crunch outer shell and the soft center. She devoured the evening snack as soon as Dana poured the contents out into her favorite bowl. Dana then stroked her fuzzy fur, feeling warm inside. She then replaced the box back up on the shelf.
“Hmm, hard on the outside, soft on the inside,” Dana murmured to herself.
“What are you talking about, cuz?”
“The analogy. That’s Terry isn’t it? She’s all tough on the outside and rarely smiles or talks but soft inside. I notice that she gets emotional whenever there’s a broadcast about a missing pet or something like that.”
“That’s true. I’ve noticed that, too.”
“Which means she probably couldn’t even harm a fly. I’m going to go and speak with her at the station.”
“Do you think they’d let you?”
“I’ll ask Detective Troy.”
“Okay,” Katie sighed. “Now what is this about speaking with Mr. Cicaro?”
“I’m going to see if I can get him to confess somehow that he had set up Carlos to be bumped off.”
“Oh, yeah, like he’s going to just come out and admit it.”
“Maybe not out right, but as Detective Troy would say, no matter how well-planned a crime is, the perps are never perfect. Crimes may be perfectly planned but people are not perfect. The killer always slips up...somehow. First I’m going to go to the garage and ask Gary the mechanic what kind of dent was in Mr. Mercer’s car.”
“Dana, even if his car had a dent in it, that’s not what killed Carlos.”
“Yes, but it would prove that he attempted to kill Carlos when he ran over that lawyer outside Gigi’s home thinking it was Carlos.”
“True. But in any case what makes you think Gary would tell you about a dent in a powerful rich guy’s car?”
“I’m not going to ask out right. I’m going to just bring it up in conversation when I bring my own car in.”
“But you already brought your car in last week.”
“So? I’m going to bring it in again. Which mechanic would ever complain about you bringing a car in too often?”
“True,” Katie said, washing up the mixing bowl in the sink. “That is their bread and butter. Go on...”
“And then we have to look at the other possible suspects.”
“What other possible suspects?”
“Well, I thought it was very strange that Steve was engaged to Gigi after she dumped Mr. Cicaro.”
Katie stopped washing the pan in the sink and looked at Dana, stunned. “What?” Her jaw fell open.
“Yep, that’s right. I forgot to mention to you?”
“Dana, how could you forget to mention something like that? Does Detective Troy know about this?”
“Well, I tried to tell him but he had his mind fixated in nailing Terry to the murder. It was no use.”
“Oh, my goodness. This is huge. Why would she dump Steve for Carlos? They were both her back up dancers, right?”
“Yep. I have no idea why she dumped Steve for Carlos, but I would love to find out. I think that might have a significant bearing on the crime.”
“Maybe Carlos was better at the horizontal mumbo than Steve...” Katie pursed her lips together.
“Katie!”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist, cuz. I just think it doesn’t make for good team spirit, going from one dancer to the next.”
“You know something. You’re right. I will have to tell Detective Troy to look into this Steve character. He really seemed like a vindictive guy. He didn’t seem to bothered by Carlos’s murder. He was very chatty too when I saw him. Spilled everything out.”
Just then, they both looked up with a eureka expression on their face as if a bright light bulb appeared before them.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, cuz?” Katie asked.
“Sure am, cuz. The only person or place in town who would know for sure what’s going on is...”
“Bea’s Salon,” they both said in unison then chuckled.
Bea’s Salon was known to be the gossip headquarters of the small town of Berry Cove. It also had a reputation for providing the best service this side of the border—especially for a small town.
The very rich and the very affluent also frequented there to get their nails done, their feet massaged, their brows waxed, their hair styled and their morning dose of juicy gossip and real news about who’s who and what’s really going on. As much as Dana didn’t want to admit it, she’d found many good leads on some cases she’d been inadvertently involved in by going to Bea’s Salon. Besides, Bea really looked out for her own. She didn’t take no nonsense from outsiders and would always give you the heads up if something was about to go down.
Local towns people, realtors, bankers, rich housewives, former movie stars, CEO wives, heiresses and you name it all frequented the famous Bea’s Salon.
“I guess, I’m going to have to make an appointment for tomorrow to get my nails done,” Dana grinned.
“I guess you will.”