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TEN MINUTES LATER, Dana pulled up at the Town’s Square near to Bea’s Salon with a box of Coconut Cream Cupcakes for Bea’s “Customer Appreciation” event.
Dana couldn’t help but feel terrible about Garth’s arrest. She’d been the one who encouraged him to go to the police. She had to clear his name and catch the real killer. If Garth killed Brenda, why on earth would he return to the scene of the crime?
Then she remembered Troy had told her once that suspects usually did return to the scene....
“Miss Dana! Miss Dana,” Henrietta, the maid came rushing up to her car. She was out of breath.
“Hey. Are you all right?” Dana asked, winding down the passenger side window further.
“No. They arrested Garth, but I know he didn’t do it.”
Dana felt a lump in her throat. “I don’t think he did either but do you have any information that could help him?” Dana looked around. “You’d better come into the car.”
She leaned over and opened the passenger side of the door.
“Mmm, that smells good,” Henrietta said as she climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door.
“Thank you. I was just about to bring these cupcakes inside to Bea. I can’t stay too long in here.”
“No problem. You need to help him. He’s innocent.”
“Do you know something?”
“Well, I think it could be one of her friends. She was having a fight with someone.”
“She was? Did you tell the cops?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know who it was and they still arrested Garth. He didn’t do it.”
“Okay, let’s start at the beginning. Who was this character that was having a fight with Brenda?”
“I don’t know but she was planning a big party to celebrate a milestone.”
“A milestone?”
“Yes.”
“What did this character say?” Dana probed further.
“He was telling her about her partying ways...”
“Her partying ways?”
“Yes and that she’s spending like crazy and she was a disgrace to the family.”
“A disgrace to the family, huh?” Dana wondered who could have been talking to Brenda that way.
“He was saying that she was careless with his money. And to wait until her money comes?”
Dana pulled out her notebook. This was odd. “Why on earth would someone tell her to...?”
She thought about it for a moment. The insurance company wouldn’t release the funds so quickly. Maybe this character guy was concerned she was blowing through her auntie’s money too soon. Or racking up a huge credit card debt. Dana noticed that she always paid via credit card. Never debit or cash—even for a single cupcake at the café, which was odd.
Was she that deep in debt?
“I think she was doing some bad things in the States. I think she used to do bad things.”
“What makes you say that?”
“She stole someone’s credit card. I saw it when she was paying for pizza one night. The name on the card was L. Roberts. She was upset that I saw that.”
Dana froze. “She was?”
Henrietta nodded slowly.
Was this Brenda’s ex-boyfriend’s card she was using?
Did he kill her because she was sinking him into deep debt while promising him that she’d pay him back with her inheritance when it came through? But then why kill her? Then again, she was probably pushed down the stairs so it could have been an unplanned killing, a crime of passion.
“Thank you for telling me this, Henrietta. I need to deliver these cupcakes, but please keep in touch with me. I’m going to let the cops know.”
“Oh, be careful. I don’t want to get into any trouble.”
“I will.”
“She...um...” Henrietta looked around. “She’d threatened me.”
“She did what?”
“I know I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but somehow I trust you. I hear you’re a nice girl. Anyway, she knew about my...my papers. I overstayed my work visa. She kept telling me to watch it because she could turn me in any time.”
Dana was aghast. “Oh, Henrietta. I’m....so sorry to hear that.”
Henrietta swallowed hard. “Please don’t say anything. I...I didn’t get to renew my visa but I’m trying to see if I can work something out...Mrs. Barinotta died before she could renew my sponsorship.”
“That’s terrible.” So that’s why she wasn’t able to get it renewed.
“I don’t want to keep you. I have to speak to my rep. I will talk to you later.”
“Sure. Please let me know if you need anything at all.”
She smiled appreciatively.
Henrietta then got out of the car and took her shopping bag with her. She looked around suspiciously then walked into the grocery store near by.
Dana got out of her car with a box of Coconut Cream cupcakes for Bea’s Salon.
“It’s about time!” Bea said, grinning. “You know the customers don’t like to be kept waiting.”
“Sorry, Bea. I had a few stops to make.” Dana tried to sound as polite as possible considering what a morning she’d just had. Not to mention her conversation with Henrietta and earlier with Garth. Talk about a complex situation. All this time she had no idea there was so much drama going on next door, never mind the music!
And you think you know your neighbors.
So Mrs. Barinotta passed away before she could renew her sponsorship of her maid and Brenda Barinotta found out about that. She was obviously bullying her. Dana’s stomach knotted in a twist. That meant that Henrietta would have a solid motive for killing Brenda.
Holy crap.
The more she thought about it, the more it didn’t look good for the maid without a valid working visa.
* * *
“GOSH, IT’S A SHAME about what happened to your neighbor, Mrs. B’s niece,” Bea said, moments later after they’d finished setting the luscious cream cupcakes on the customer appreciation table.
“I know. I’m still in shock.”
“You must be child. Right in your own neighborhood. Talk about hitting close to home.”
“That’s it.”
“What’s it, child?”
“Close to home. That was Mrs. B’s prized home, I can’t believe that Brenda was going to sell it so fast. I mean what about Mrs. Barinotta’s things? What would happen to those? I thought she would have at least wanted to sort through them first. She just got there.”
Her heart jolted inside her. Mrs. Barinotta was still a person, a long time neighbor of her grandmother’s. It was awful to think that her niece would just come and sell the home a month after arriving. So much for leaving a legacy.
“Well, you know how these young folks are these days. Not too many of them like you and Katie who cherish old memories and want to preserve the past. That Brenda seemed like a colorful spirit. A party girl. She probably wanted to sell it and get some fancy condo in the city. She didn’t seem like a small town type of girl. In fact, she was talking about the lack of clubs in the area. Imagine that? She was talking about bar hopping and making her rounds at the clubs and said this town was too quiet for her.”
“I see. Well, I guess that makes sense then. She was always blasting her music loud. I guess that’s why she wanted to sell. Probably all the neighbor complaints. But she was upsetting everyone around her.”
“Rebecca was pretty upset, the other day, too,” Bea said as Dana set the table, unloading each of the cupcakes on a tray.
“She was?”
“Oh, yeah. She’d been given the green light by Brenda to sell that old house. Rebecca was over the moon. That would’ve been a huge commission. You know how the real estate business is slow around here.”
“And then what happened?”
“That girl bailed out on her. Changed her mind.”
“She did?”
“Yep. Miss Rebecca was not too happy about that.”
“But she was showing the house not too long ago when ...” Dana stopped herself. What was she going to say? She was showing the house when Dana and Katie happened to hide in the broom closet after they’d snuck into her house in the middle of the day?
“When what?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just...I’m pretty sure she was showing Brenda’s house. Maybe, she’d changed her mind and wanted to sell it after all.”
“Oh, no child. She was going to go in with this other agent instead and give him the big commission. Some dude she met at a restaurant or a bar.”
Dana’s spine tingled. “Do you know the name of that guy or where she met him?”
“Sorry, I don’t. But you know Brenda did come in once to get her nails done.”
“She did? When was that?”
“Oh, the other week. She was really chatty with Trixie and when Trixie mentioned she was looking for a lawyer, she suggested using her guy in Toronto. She gave Trixie the card. Now where is it?”
“How did you manage to get the card?”
“Oh, she gave Trixie a few of the guy’s card. So Trixie just left one up at the counter here.” Bea looked around with a frown, trying to find the card. “Now where did I put it? Oh, here it is.”
Bea handed the card to Dana.
“Thank you so much, Bea.” Dana glanced at the card. It read:
Peter Maddles
Consultant
Maddles Search
123 Criptic Avenue, Unit 33
Hmmm. Dana was going to take a spin to the big city of Toronto tomorrow to see if she could meet with this Peter Maddles. At first, she didn’t want to warn him that she was coming but then she thought it was better to make contact. She wanted to do some sleuthing of her own to help Troy’s case. Besides, one of her suppliers, was from Toronto and she would pay them a visit to pick out a new design for her cupcake wrappers. She could accomplish two things at once.
Once Dana left the salon and got into her car, she reached into her handbag and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed the number that was on the business card for Maddles Search.
“Maddles Search, can I help you?” a woman answered the phone with a polite thick Canadian accent.
“Hi there. I’m interested in using your services. I received a business card from a friend.”
“Are you looking for a relative?”
“A relative?”
“Yes, ma’am. We’re a company that specializes in searching for lost relatives.”
“Oh, I...um...see.”
Why on earth would Brenda be involved with a company searching for lost relatives?
“Is it possible to see Mr. Maddles tomorrow morning? I am in fact looking for someone.”
“I’ll have to check his schedule. Can you please hold the line?”
“Sure.”
Just then, Dana heard some classical music playing while she was on hold. She looked out at the street and saw many people were busy going about their day. The weather wasn’t as windy as it was yesterday or the day before. Thank goodness, the weather had calmed down a bit. She’d just gotten her hair done and the last thing she would want was for the wind to make it look as if she’d just combed her hair with an egg beater.
A moment later, the woman came back on the phone. “I see here that Mr. Maddles has a cancellation. Would you like to come in at, say...ten o’clock?”
Dana glanced at her car clock. “Sure. That sounds great. I’ll be able to beat the morning rush hour into the city.”
“Can I get your name and phone number just in case we need to reach you?” the woman asked politely.
“Sure. Dana gave the lady her first and last name and her cell phone number.”
“I see you’re in Berry Cove. I have an aunt that lives out there,” the woman said, noticing the area code on Dana’s number.
Dana smiled. “Where about?”
“On the east side. I haven’t been in years. It’s a cute town.”
“Yes, it is.” Dana smiled and after they ended their call, she speed dialed Katie.
* * *
“Where are you going tomorrow?” Katie asked again over the phone.
Dana had her hands-free speaker on in the car.
“I’m just going to head up to Toronto tomorrow morning to check out the new catalogue from one of our suppliers. Can you deliver the cupcakes to the nursing home for me?”
“Couldn’t they send it in the mail? Or don’t they have their new designs online?”
“Yes, but...”
“Dana, are you going to try snooping around to see that lawyer guy?”
Katie knew Dana all too well. The truth was Dana didn’t want to get her cousin worried but it was better to let her know where she was headed for safety reasons.
“Yes, I am,” Dana said, closing the window of her car.
“And he’s not a lawyer. I just called the office and the secretary said he’s no longer practicing law, but he’s a search consultant or something to do with finding lost relatives.”
“A speech consultant? What on earth was Brenda seeing a search consultant for?”
“I’ll find out tomorrow. I just have this strong hunch that he might know something that can help the case.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“I’m very sure. Brenda obviously trusted him. And if it wasn’t for his phone call to the local police here, we might never have known she was even missing. Remember, she missed her important appointment with him?”
“But why did she say he was her lawyer?”
“Maybe she didn’t want anyone to know her real business.” Dana shrugged.
“Just be careful, cuz. You know what your gorgeous cop boyfriend said.”
“Katie!”
“What?”
“Did I tell you Detective Troy and I were dating?”
“Nope. But you should be dating him by now. You guys are always together and I see the secret glances you give each other when each of your backs are turned.”
Dana playfully rolled her eyes. The truth was, she was secretly seeing Troy on the side. She hoped Katie would forgive her for not telling her yet. She burned inside, not being able to share that with Katie, but it was for the best...for now, anyway, Troy and Dana had both made a pact not to tell family yet.
Right now, she had to help Troy with this baffling case. Obviously, Brenda trusted this Peter guy more than she trusted anyone in Berry Cove. She needed to find her killer soon, or he could strike again. This was just too close to home. This murder happened right in Dana’s back yard. Well, her neighbor’s yard.
“Oh, and Katie.”
“Yeah.”
“When you get the chance, if you see Rebecca at the café, can you ask her a few questions about her listing with Brenda.”
“Why?”
“I just heard from Bea that Brenda had fired her.”
“She did? When? Before or after she tripped and broke her neck down the basement stairs?”
“That’s just it. It looks very funny, doesn’t it? Obviously Brenda changed her mind about Rebecca showing the house.”
“Maybe she didn’t get the memo that she’d been given her walking papers,” Katie teased.
“Maybe. But I’d like to know why she was still showing the property if she wasn’t supposed to be.” Dana pondered for a moment. “And why did she still have the key?”
“Hmm. Good point. I’ll look into it.”
“Thanks, cuz.”
“No worries. Just be careful, Dana. Seriously.”
“I will.”