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LATER IN THE AFTERNOON, Dana placed some coconut cream cupcakes on the coffee table. She knew that Peter was coming by soon and she couldn’t wait to tell him her findings. Katie had already gone back to the Cozy Cupcakes Café.
She glanced around the room at the lovely get well flowers and cards from everyone at the Café, her staff and customers and a few from her neighbors. There were bouquets of flowers from Bea’s Salon and Gerdie Sue. She was so touched by everyone’s show of affection and concern.
There was a knock at the door.
Dana took up her crutch and hobbled over to answer the front door.
“Peter, so good of you to come by.”
“Of course, Dana. How are you feeling today?”
“Much better since leaving the hospital,” she said. “I love the care there, but there’s no place like home.”
“I hear you,” he said.
He walked into the living room behind Dana and he helped her over to the couch. “Is there anything I can help you with?” he said.
“No, I’m fine. Actually, do you mind taking off your shoes. We just had the carpet cleaned.”
“Oh, sure.” He didn’t hesitate to pull off his nice leather pair and placed them over by the side.
Dana observed the side of his soles on the brown leather. Her heart leaped hard in her chest.
Her eyes widened in shock. There was a smear of pink on it. Most likely from the basement paint. Thank heaven’s Katie painted it that hideous color that night.
Dana had suspected this morning that it could have been him that pushed her down the stairs, but she wasn’t sure. Motive, means, opportunity. That’s what wasn’t making any sense right now.
“Peter, I wanted to speak to you about Mrs. B’s Last Will and Testament.”
He sat down by the fireplace opposite to where Dana was seated.
“Oh? What about it?” He crossed his right leg on top of his left knee.
“Well, Mrs. B made it clear in her will to her lawyer that everything would go to her maid and gardener, if no heirs were ever found.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. But I found an heir. Her brother’s daughter.”
Dana shook her head. “No you didn’t. Actually, yes you did.”
He looked confused.
“Let me explain. You see I did some digging up on my own and found out that you did in fact locate Brenda Barinotta—in a cemetery under plot number 432-B down in Texas.”
His eyes widened with shock. He uncrossed his leg and leaned forward. “Excuse me?
“You located and found Brenda, the missing heir only to discover that she was dead.”
He gave nervous chuckle. Th-that’s preposterous. She’s dead now!”
Dana shook her head. “No, Peter. She was dead then. And her birthdate matches what was on the will. You see Brenda was born in December and would have only been twenty-eight this year. So I thought it was so strange that Brenda, our next door neighbor was celebrating her thirtieth birthday in May. Then I searched for L. Roberts, thinking it was her ex boyfriend. When in fact, it wasn’t. It was Lucinderalla Roberts. You’re unemployed ex-girlfriend who was an aspiring actress. You told her about an opportunity of a lifetime to play the part of a missing heiress. This was all a scheme. After all, you already had all the details about her life. And Mrs. B. hadn’t seen her real niece since her birth.”
Peter readjusted his tie at the neck and tried to loosen it. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
But Dana was also perspiring.
What if this backfired in her face? She was alone in her living room with a creepy killer.
“I wasn’t even in Berry Cove when this woman died. And I had nothing to do with any charades.”
“Yes, you did,” Dana tried to keep calm and not make him see how nervous she really was. “Just like the charade you’re keeping up right now.”
“I never meant to kill her,” he said coldly. “She was the golden goose that laid the egg and I killed the goose but she was getting greedy. She was bailing out on her side of the deal. If I didn’t get her that gig, she would have nothing!”
Dana shook her head. “The money would have gone to the gardener and the maid and you hoped they’d be found guilty of Brenda’s death so they couldn’t collect their inheritance which would leave you to collect! You framed them...you were in the dark car all along but you made a mistake when you parked on the messy street with all the shedding cherry blossoms...”
“The shedding cherry blossoms?”
“Yes. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but your car was a mess when we met in Toronto. There were smeared berries stuck under the wiper blades and all over the car. And it occurred to me that those berry colors were only found in this part of town and we had one heck of a windy day the day Brenda was murdered. Any car parked under that tree would have a tone of fallen berries on it.”
“So what?”
“Then at the hospital, Troy told me that you’d come for a visit when I asked for a list of guests who’d dropped by when I was out of it. I saw the floor had a pink shoe mark on it. Katie had painted the basement door and floor upper landing with the color pink. But you didn’t know there was wet paint when you pushed me. There were no wet paint signs around.”
“So?”
“You left your foot prints.”
“And?”
“And your car left a foot print when you parked under the cherry blossom tree and berries got stock in your windshield, hiding under the windshield wiper and when you used the wipers it messed up your windshield, leaving a smudge. It was Rocko that just reminded me that nowhere else in Ontario has that type of hue. You’d said you’d never been to Berry Cove before that. That places you on the day of her murder when you lied and said you’d never been in the area. And it was you who pushed me, too. You can plan a perfect murder but people are not perfect. You messed up, thankfully for us.”
Peter reached underneath his jacket and pulled out a pistol and pointed it to Dana.
She gasped.
“I can have your place rummaged in no time and make it look like a burglary gone wrong. Pity you messed with the wrong person, Dana Sweet, getting all nosy into this case. And I really was beginning to like you.”
“You’re going to just shoot me?”
“I have no choice.” His voice was calm and cold enough to give Dana chills.
“Freeze!” Troy’s voice came through as he entered with his gun pointed at Peter.
Peter froze promptly. The look of terror in his eyes. He was busted! He dropped his pistol on the ground.
“You’re under arrest for suspicion of murder of Brenda Barinotta and attempted murder of Dana Sweet,” Troy said, reading him his rights.
He looked down and shook his head. “It would have worked if she hadn’t been so damn greedy,” he muttered under this breath.
“She was greedy?” Dana asked incredulously.
“Well, if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black,” Katie said, walking into the living room. “Oh, speaking of kettle, anyone want tea?”
Dana gave Katie a funny look then playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head. Well that certainly broke the tension.