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“IMAGINE THAT? SO THE old man did it after all. Who would have thought?” Katie said, mixing butter, sugar and eggs into a bowl to try out a new cupcake recipe.
“Pride was Ned’s demon,” Dana said. “He had way too much pride to lose his family’s historical business. He didn’t want to go down in history as the one who lost the antique store and destroyed a family tradition. So in a desperate attempt to save face, he set up this insurance scam. That’s what it was all about, wasn’t it?”
“I guess so.”
“Well, despite that accident he had, he was still good at lifting heavy stuff, amazingly enough,” Dana added.
“Which reminds me, cuz. You and I really do need to hit the Berry Cove gym. I mean that dude is way older than us and he could easily lift a dead body.”
“Katie!”
“Sorry, cuz. But it’s true. I mean we always pay our gym membership fee and never use it.”
“I think that’s what ninety percent of people do. The gyms count on it to stay in business.” Dana grinned.
“Yeah, just like criminals count on people overlooking the obvious to get away.”
“So true, cuz.”
“So how did you figure it all out?”
“There were a few tell tale signs. First of all, Ned’s brand new jacket that Tiffany had purchased for him was so rumpled when the police made the arrest. His jacket wasn’t neat on him. That’s because it had a missing blue button after that scuffle he had with Chuck.”
“He had a missing blue button on his new jacket?”
“Exactly. I thought that was odd.”
“Good observation, cuz!” Katie mixed in some more ingredients for the batter.
“Thanks, Katie. When Ned’s assistant went away to speak with her therapist, he also left the café when we were in the kitchen busy working. Then he came back as if nothing had happened. That’s when the button was missing from his jacket—by the time he was arrested.” Dana got up to help Katie. She turned on the oven to preheat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. She then pulled out the cupcake tray.
“Imagine that,” Katie added.
“Well, I sure hope that’s the last murder in the town of Berry Cove,” Dana said, lining the cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
“You and me both, cuz. And speaking of murder cases, when are you going to go out again with your hot detective cop with the killer looks?” Katie paused with a hand on her hip.
Dana’s lips curved into a grin. “That, my dear cousin, is classified information.”