Dead and Berried (The Early Bird Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) Page 4

  “Oh good, you let yourself in. I couldn’t remember if I’d left the café unlocked,” Kori said, turning around and placing a bottle of red wine on the island.

  Nora took a seat on a stool and started opening the bottle. “I locked it behind me. I hope you weren’t expecting anyone else.”

  Kori pulled out veggies for a quick salad and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet for Nora to fill. “Did you find out anything else this afternoon about Dan Roche?” Kori asked, ignoring Nora’s obvious line about having Zach join them and getting straight to the topic they needed to discuss.

  Nora shook her head. “I think you’d be in a better position for that. But I did spend all afternoon distracted thinking about possible suspects.”

  Kori paused in her veggie chopping and pulled the piece of paper with their only suspect listed so far—Stanley Roche—from her pocket and was ready to add another name. “Did you come up with anyone?”

  Nora got the bottle of wine opened and talked while she poured two glasses. “AJ Long. You know that name?”

  “Yeah. Actually I hired him last month to help me take care of an ant problem in the café. He would definitely have access to rat poison.”

  AJ had been the only pest exterminator in Hermit Cove for as long as Kori could remember—all the way back to when she was a kid and he would spray yards for mosquitoes. She was glad that fad had ended.

  “But I was thinking about Stanley too. And so would he.”

  “As a teacher? I don’t know.”

  “A chemistry teacher,” Nora stressed. “Even if he didn’t have any, I bet he could make some.”

  Kori was skeptical. “Maybe.” She sipped her glass of wine and turned back to the salad she was making. “But you said yourself that a teacher couldn’t be a killer. And his own brother?”

  Nora nodded. “I know. I just feel like we have to keep him on the list.”

  “Oh, he’ll stay on the list. But I think we should talk to him. Find out what he was doing Friday night. And what kind of stuff is in the chemistry lab that he’d have access to over the summer.”

  “Good point. He’s not even working right now. Back to AJ. What might he have against Dan? Why would he want to kill him? He definitely has access to rat poison, but what about a motive?”

  “I’m not sure. And when I hired him, he was all about natural remedies. I used ground cinnamon and lemon juice around entrance points and my ant infestation was gone within a week. And it was all stuff I had. I didn’t even have to buy anything from him. Maybe he doesn’t use poisons.”

  “Come on. Of course he does. But you were trying to get rid of ants in a café. Maybe it’s not up to code to use poisons.”

  “Well if that were true then everyone would be eating organic because that’s all there would be.”

  “Good point. Hey, do you have any filtered water?” Nora asked, getting up to help herself.

  “Yeah. It’s in the container in the fridge. I don’t have a filter here, just downstairs. If it’s empty could you go refill it?” Kori continued drinking wine and arranging the salads on their plates.

  Nora found the water and poured two glasses. “I still can’t believe that manufacturing company won the lawsuit against them. It happened so fast, like there was some dirty dealing—a bribe or a backroom deal. What makes them think they can just dump things into our drinking supply and get away with it?”

  “I know. It makes me sick. And if I drank the water, I would probably actually get sick. Did you hear that the EPA has cleared it as safe for drinking again?”

  Sipping her water, Nora nodded. “But I don’t trust them as far as I could throw them. They’re just trying to cover it up and downplay it. I actually have an outside firm coming to test my water again next week.”

  “Good. Let me know what the outcome is. I might hire them after.”

  Just then the oven beeped and Kori pulled two steaming enchiladas out. She placed one on each plate next to their salads and sat down on the stool next to Nora who refilled their wine glasses, polishing off the bottle.

  “I hope I can still get up in the morning. Are you going to be okay to drive home?” Kori asked.

  “I might have to take a nap here, but the dogs will be okay if I don’t go home until the morning. I left the dog door open.”

  “You think that’s safe with someone showing up poisoned at your house this morning? What if they’re coming after you next?”

  “Hadn’t thought about that. I guess I’ll have to go home tonight to make sure the dogs aren’t poisoned.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Kori enjoyed another late-for-her morning on Sunday. Nora had stayed until she’d felt safe to drive home after consuming half a bottle of wine so Kori hadn’t made it to bed until around midnight. Now, at six thirty, she was ready to go.

  After a quick breakfast—she planned to eat some crepes later—and a walk for Ibis, she packed up her car and they were on their way back to the fairgrounds. Kori hoped Nora was on time today. She didn’t think Mayor Devlin would take kindly to a local vendor missing half of the festival.

  But maybe her mom could smooth things out. If their date had gone well.

  When Kori arrived and began carrying coolers to her tent, the fairgrounds were already hopping with vendors setting up. More so than yesterday, which surprised her since most tents were already ready for customers.

  Jackie once again came to Kori’s aid and they got all of the coolers there in three trips each, Ibis happy to tag along. Finally, Kori tied Ibis to the tent post and started heating up the waffle press and pans for crepes.

  “Morning Kori,” Jay said, making Kori look up in surprise. It wasn’t even seven thirty yet and she hadn’t expected him until after the gates opened at eight.

  “Hey. How were the fireworks? Make any of your own?” she teased her brother.

  In response, Jay blushed. “The fireworks were fine. Did you know Mom was going with Mayor Devlin?” Clearly Jay didn’t want to talk about his own relationship with Lani.

  “I did. You see them?”

  “Uh huh.” He didn’t offer any more details. “What can I do to help?”

  Kori handed him the waffle batter. “Ever make waffles?”

  “You better give me a quick lesson.”

  Kori got to work teaching her brother how the waffle irons worked. Luckily they were the same, and he was a fast learner. By the time the gates opened at eight, they’d both filled up on breakfast—Jay on his test waffles and Kori on crepes. They were both ready for an influx of customers.

  Kori saw that Nora was across the way and looked well rested after their night of drinking wine and scheming to solve Dan’s murder. Nora had been tasked with talking to Stanley to find out what he knew and Kori was hoping to get more information from AJ. She was hoping that both of their current suspects would be at the festival today.

  Gale was one of the first people through the front gate and she made a beeline for Kori and Jay.

  “Watch out,” Jay warned under his breath before Gale arrived. Kori chuckled.

  “Hi Mom,” Kori greeted her.

  “You didn’t tell me Jay was going to be helping today too,” Gale said, a smile spreading across her entire face.

  Kori saw Jay cringe. She hadn’t told him their mom was going to be their relief at lunch. “Yup. I thought you were just coming for lunch.”

  “I am. I just wanted to stop by and tell you how great the fireworks were last night. You really missed out.” Gale waggled her eyebrows, making Kori wonder if she’d had the other kind of fireworks that Jay hadn’t wanted to talk about. Kori hoped her mom didn’t want to talk about it either.

  Kori suddenly missed Zach and wished that they’d gone to the fireworks together last night instead of going their separate ways after lunch and not seeing each other again. She knew he was busy with the murder case, and she had to admit that she’d enjoyed talking through suspects with Nora. But knowing that everyone else in her family had gone on a dat
e last night made her miss him more than she ever had.

  Gale continued talking, but Kori couldn’t take in what she was saying because she saw Stanley Roche walk in just then and head straight to Nora’s booth. That was either a good thing because they knew each other and it would be easy for Nora to ask him about his brother, or it was a very bad thing because he thought she was somehow involved in Dan’s death.

  “Well, I’ll see you at eleven thirty then,” Gale said, bringing Kori back to the present.

  Kori nodded and said, “Great. See you then. You might be alone from noon to one so Jay and I can both get a break.”

  “No problem. I’m up to the challenge.”

  Gale walked away and Kori glanced across to Nora’s booth to see if Stanley was still there. He was, and Nora looked relaxed. Kori was confident that the conversation was going well.

  But she didn’t have a chance to head over to find out in person because the same crowd that had flocked to her waffles and crepes yesterday arrived en masse again this morning. She was relieved that Jay was there and she only had to assist him a couple times when things became too rushed. It made her realize that having help on a regular basis wasn’t a dream anymore, it was a growing necessity.

  Around ten, the crowd started to slow and Kori heard over the bull horn an announcement for the Strawberry Shortcake lookalike for kids. She loved seeing kids she knew dressed up, but today she didn’t get the chance.

  Kori saw Zach approaching the front gate and hoped he was just coming to say hi, not on official business. When she saw him glance in her direction and offer no smile, her heart sank. He headed over to Nora’s tent instead of her own.

  Kori looked at Jay and saw that he was trying not to look at her, sneaking quick glances when he thought she wasn’t looking. “I’ll be right back. You got this under control?” she asked him. They hadn’t had any customers for the last few minutes and no one was approaching.

  “Yeah. Go ahead,” he said.

  Kori dashed across the entryway to Nora’s tent just as Zach got there. “Is everything okay?” she blurted out before either of them could say anything.

  Zach only gave her a blank look.

  “What’s going on?” Kori asked, worry starting to eat away at her.

  Zach chuckled. “You can read me like a book already, can’t you?”

  Kori relaxed a little and grinned. She’d been so sure that something had happened and Zach was here about Dan’s murder. Now she had growing hope that wasn’t the case.

  “I’m here about Dan’s murder,” Zach said, throwing Kori back into a tailspin of worry. “We found what looks like it was used as a weapon in your barn, Nora.”

  “When did you find that? I thought you finished everything yesterday.” Kori could hear panic rising in Nora’s voice.

  “We went back to do a final sweep and came across a bloody shovel. It looks like it was used to know Dan unconscious, but not do any serious or life threatening damage. We already printed it and yours aren’t on there, so you don’t have to worry about that. But neither are the owner’s—Holly Barton. I just wanted to ask again if you saw anyone or anything out of the ordinary Friday night into Saturday morning.”

  Nora paused, looking like she was reliving the night Dan Roche was either killed or dumped right outside her barn. Finally she shook her head. “And the dogs never woke me up. So they must have not heard anything either.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Zach turned away from Nora and gave Kori a real smile, melting her heart. “How’s the morning going?” he asked.

  “Just as busy as yesterday. I actually have to get back to my tent. I left Jay there to hold down the fort but I don’t think he was really comfortable with that. Come by around noon? My mom’s covering for an hour so I get a real break.”

  “See you then.” Zach gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and she felt her face flush where his lips had touched her.

  Kori waited for Zach to go back through the entryway to the parking lot before she turned to Nora and said, “Holly’s shovel? She told me yesterday that it was missing. What if she was involved? Or if she really had no idea where it was? What about Stanley, how’d your conversation with him go?”

  “We’ll talk at lunch. Or this afternoon. Have you seen AJ yet?” Nora asked.

  Kori shook her head. “Still hoping he shows up. I don’t remember seeing him yesterday either though. Maybe he skipped town.”

  “Could be,” Nora agreed, almost too readily.

  Kori went back to her tent and found Jay struggling to get waffles and crepes made fast enough. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave just before another rush,” Kori whispered to him. To the next customer she said, “What can I get you?”

  Kori fell back into the rhythm of making crepes and helping Jay with waffles as needed. She even managed to put the murder investigation out of her mind long enough to eventually see that AJ was walking out of the festival. She hadn’t seen him come in. At least he hadn’t left Hermit Cove, but she couldn’t really call him over when she was in the middle of serving food.

  Instead, she had to wait as patiently as possible until her mother showed up, which ended up being sooner than she’d expected. As Gale was approaching her tent, Jay ducked out, not wanting to risk an interrogation about his current love life.

  “How was the Strawberry Shortcake lookalike contest?” Kori asked. She knew that her mom would have gone to see Jenna’s handiwork. She always painted the faces of the kids in her daycare if they were competing.

  “Oh, it was perfect. Remember when you used to compete? You loved it more than Halloween.”

  That was a memory Kori preferred to forget about. “Ready to have a crash lesson on waffles and crepes?” Kori asked, ready to change the subject.

  “Ready.” Gale came around to the back of the tables and Kori walked her through all of the alerts on her equipment that she’d shown Jay earlier.

  When she was finished, she assured her mom, “The pie eating contest is happening now too, so you shouldn’t be too busy. And just call me if you need help.”

  Gale nodded and Kori headed over to Nora’s tent. “Have you seen Zach?” she asked when she arrived.

  Nora shook her head. “Wanna get out of here for a few minutes?”

  “Love to. Can you leave your booth?”

  “Yeah. No one is going to need anything while the pie eating competition is going on. Text Zach and tell him we’re going back to my house. I’ve gotta let the dogs out. After last night’s conversation I didn’t want to leave the dog door open all day for them.”

  Kori multitasked by following Nora to her truck, texting Zach at the same time and holding on to Ibis’ leash. She was impressed that she didn’t walk straight into anyone, and even kept track of Ibis.

  In the car, Kori asked, “Do you want to wait for Zach to talk about Stanley or can you tell me now?”

  Nora nearly jumped out of her skin. “I’ve been dying to tell you. I just didn’t want to at the festival. He’s been questioned by the police, not as a suspect at first. But then they started putting the timeline together and Stanley was the last person to see him alive. I hope Zach comes and tells us more about that timeline.”

  Kori’s phone buzzed and she looked at the screen. “He’ll meet us at your house.”

  “Good. What did you think about Holly’s shovel turning up? And bloody?”

  “Definitely suspicious. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet. I want to this afternoon. Hopefully the police haven’t yet. And I saw AJ but I couldn’t get away to ask him about Dan. But at least we know he’s still in town.”

  When they pulled into Nora’s driveway they saw Zach’s car already parked in front of the barn and they could hear the dogs barking ferociously to be let out. Ibis ran to the front door and joined the racket, anxious to be reunited with her friends.

  Zach met them at the front door and Milo and Otis nearly bowled the three of them over in their rush to start playing.

  “I bro
ught lunch,” Zach said, placing a large paper bag on the counter.

  Kori couldn’t help herself. She wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him to her. “Thanks,” she said, resting her head on his chest.

  “Of course. It’s just sandwiches.”

  “That’s not what the hug is for,” Kori whispered.

  Zach chuckled and Kori backed up. Nora’s back was to them, opening the bag and pulling out three sandwiches from Stella’s Deli near the fairground. Because of its proximity to the festival, there was no tent from which they were selling sandwiches, but Kori supposed they still did a heck of a business this weekend.

  Nora filled three glasses with filtered water and placed them on the table. They each took a seat and started eating immediately.

  “Still filtering?” Zach asked.

  Nora chewed quickly and answered after she smiled. “Yeah. I don’t trust the public reports. I’m having my water tested later this week.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Zach admitted. “You girls will find this interesting. Dan Roche was actually involved with that case. He was defending the manufacturer’s right to continue operating after the spill. He’s the reason there were no penalties or fines against them and why it all got settled so quickly.”

  Kori suddenly lost her appetite. She had to know who the prosecutor was and if he or she was involved in Dan’s sudden death.

  CHAPTER 6

  Back at the fairgrounds, Kori flashed her vendor badge at the gate and rushed to the back of the festival. She would let Gale do all the serving for a few more minutes. Right now she had to talk to Holly, hopefully before the police had.

  Kori found her sitting off to the side of the pony ride and petting zoo fences, drinking something that looked cold. Kori sat on the bale of hay next to her.

  “Hey Kori. How’s it going today?” Holly sounded relaxed and not worried about her shovel having shown up at a crime scene. Maybe that meant she didn’t know.

  “Better than yesterday, actually. I have help today! Jay and my mom have both put in some time and it’s been a relief.” Because I’ve been looking into a murder, she thought to herself.