A Catered Christmas Killer (A Sinful Sweets Cozy Mystery) (10 page)

Daggers shot from Maria’s eyes. “He’s human. And he has dreams. Just like the rest of us. He came here because there was no opportunity in Cuba. Just like my family. The only difference was that I came young and married an American. So then I could stay, even after he died. But Eduardo . . . he was already married when he came over. And his wife didn’t understand the challenges. So he blames her for the hardships they’ve faced as a family.”

Sydney was speechless.

“Did the Durans ever try to help him?”

“Julia did. Well, she thought she was helping. But when Marcus found out that she was doing it, that’s when Eduardo lost his job. Marcus didn’t want to compromise the company for the livelihood of one man. So he sent him away instead.”

Sydney was stunned. Julia had tried to help him?

“Did she try to help him after he was fired?”

“She didn’t have the chance. His family was already reported to Homeland Security. Marcus must have done it. Eduardo’s wife and kids were sent away immediately. Somehow Eduardo’s name slipped through. He wasn’t home when they came for the family, and when he got back, they were gone. So he knows he’ll be next now.”

“Where was he when his family was taken?”

“He was at my house.” Maria looked crestfallen. It was clear that this was not the first time she’d had friends deported and it was painful for her to witness, or to talk about.

Sydney’s mind was racing again. Maria, as their housekeeper, would have a key to the Durans’ house. If she and Eduardo were as close as she said, there’s no reason he wouldn’t have had access to it as well. He certainly had motive. Could he have killed Julia last night? Or would Maria have killed Julia to defend her lifelong friend? But why would either of them have killed Julia if she’d tried to help him?

Just then, Austin walked through the open—and guarded—door and walked straight to Sydney.

***

“Where were you last night?” Detective Moore asked Sydney, Austin at her side. Grace had just finished being questioned and had given an encouraging look to Sydney as they traded places.

“I was here, in this house.”

“Did you kill Julia Duran?”

So much for tricking me into telling him
, Sydney thought. “No.”

“But it was your knife that was used—”

“You said it was a blade
like
my knife,” Sydney corrected him.

“But you had access to a blade exactly like the one that killed Julia. And you complained about her as a boss. And you now claim you know where the knife is.”

“I know where it is, yes. But not because I put it there. And I would only tell you I know that because I know I didn’t do it and you’ll find evidence of that on the knife.” Austin gave her a warning look to keep her tone friendlier.

“I’ll find evidence of that on the knife,” Detective Moore repeated.

“You know, fingerprints.”

“Wouldn’t yours be on it?”

“Of course, it’s my knife. But the killer’s fingerprints will be on it, too.”

“You seem to know an awful lot about crime scene investigations, Ms. Marshall.”

She smirked.

“We’ll have our detectives check out your claim about the knife.”

The questioning continued and Austin only stepped in twice to keep Sydney civil. She was ready to go home and be done with this catering job and get back to Maple, her house and Sinful Sweets. And she was looking forward to her dinner with Austin on Monday.

Finally, she was released and she and Austin headed to the kitchen. They found Grace there and the two women compared their interrogations.

“They seem to really think it was you, Sydney. All he asked me was about you.”

Sydney gave her a half-hearted smile. “I know. What do you think Austin?”

“Well, you really have no motive. So the murder weapon might belong to you—if they can confirm that—but there was no reason you’d have killed Julia. You’d have been out of a job then.”

“Bad news, Sydney,” Detective Moore said, interrupting their conversation in the kitchen. “The knife isn’t where you said it is. Any ideas about where it might have walked off to?”

Sydney gave Austin a pleading smile. She knew he wouldn’t want her to reveal this much, but she felt backed into a corner.

“I know the Durans’ housekeeper, Maria, and an former employee of Marcus’, Eduardo, were upstairs earlier. One of them might have taken it?” she asked, rather than stated.

Detective Moore gave her a knowing look, like she knew more than she should. Sydney didn’t dare look at Austin.

Moore left the kitchen to return to his interrogation, but Sydney wasn’t willing to simply stay put. She needed to find out from Marcus what had happened with Eduardo. There was always another side to the story, and Maria had told her only one.

“I’m going to find Marcus. Maybe he has suspicions about who killed his wife,” Sydney said.

“Then the police will deal with it,” Austin said forcefully.

“Austin, this isn’t your name, your livelihood, your business on the line. I need to get to the bottom of this because I know how the police work—too slow.” She instantly regretted the words, but it was too late. He looked wounded, like she’d slapped him, but she couldn’t let her name be dragged through the mud publicly. She left the kitchen before Austin or Grace could stop her.

Marcus was sitting on the other side of Stacey, his hand on her leg. Sydney remembered her conversation with Ryan—about him not having a relationship with Julia—but she still hadn’t learned about Marcus and Stacey. The thought flashed through her mind once more that it could actually have been Marcus who killed his wife, not Eduardo or Maria.

“Sydney. Is everything alright?” Ryan asked as she approached the three of them on the couch.

“Yes, it’s fine. I’m just disappointed that this has all happened. Marcus, I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with all of this today.”

“It’s nothing you should be apologizing for, Sydney. Julia’s murder has nothing to do with you. The killer will be found and punished, I’m sure of that.”

“I wanted to ask you about one of your former employees, actually. Eduardo. I heard he was let go, and I was wondering if you’d tell me why. I was thinking of offering him a job at Sinful Sweets.” She continued her tact from earlier with Maria.

“It wasn’t me who let him go, actually. I mean, technically it was, but it was Julia’s prodding that convinced me to release him.”

This came as a surprise to Sydney. Had Maria known the truth and lied about it, or was she really led to believe Marcus had been responsible while Julia had tried to help?

Sydney gave him a questioning look, encouraging him to keep talking.

“Look, I can only share some of what happened. The legal side of it was that his family was here illegally. But I wouldn’t offer him a job, regardless. There were other work related issues that would have gotten him fired anyway.”

Sydney nodded her head and said thanks, then went to look for Eduardo. She was nearly certain he had killed Julia for revenge of losing his job, his family and facing deportation, but now she had to prove it. And she was sure he’d have the murder weapon with him to get her off the hook.

***

Sydney didn’t head back to the kitchen first, she didn’t think Grace or Austin would agree with her plan. They’d both tell her to report this information to Detective Moore, but he was less than willing to listen to her hypotheses.

Instead, she headed upstairs, hoping she’d find Eduardo so she could bring him to Detective Moore herself.

At the top of the stairs, the front ones this time, she stopped to listen. She didn’t hear anyone upstairs, nor did she see any lights coming from under any of the closed doors. She began tiptoeing the length of the hall, back toward her own room.

As she got closer to her room, she became aware of someone watching her. Her mind went in two drastically different directions for the way this could play out, and she wasn’t sure which was worse.

She looked around, trying to spot the source of her discomfort, but didn’t see anyone in the hall. If Eduardo was the killer, he likely wouldn’t suspect that she was onto him. They hadn’t spent any time talking. Unless Maria had alerted him. So he could be watching her from a dark corner, waiting to reveal himself with her own knife.

Or he could have planted the murder weapon in her own room. If Maria was helping him—whether accidentally or on purpose—he would know where Sydney’s room was.

But there was no way that he could have left the house, so he was definitely still here. All exits were guarded by detectives. No one was allowed to come or go. The knife in her room might look worse than a knife disappearing altogether.

Why would he have picked her to frame? Dumb luck on her part? The knife could have just been the first weapon he’d seen and later learned it belonged to Sydney.

Sydney didn’t have time to work through each scenario, because suddenly an arm was thrown around her neck, a knife against her throat. The air was being squeezed out of her, but she managed to squeak out, “It won’t help you . . . if you kill . . . the police’s . . . prime suspect.”

She was sure Eduardo was the one holding her. Maria wouldn’t have been this strong and Marcus was downstairs. She suddenly wished she had told Grace and Austin where she was going.

“You’re right. So I guess I’ll just have to hand deliver you to Detective Moore,” Eduardo whispered in her ear. His arm around her neck loosened and she could more easily breathe again.

“This isn’t the way this should end.” Sydney was pleading. She had to get him to admit the truth, but at just the right moment so there were other witnesses. She had to get them to head back downstairs on her own terms. She was starting to fear for her life.

“This isn’t the end. This is my ticket to freedom.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, taking a step toward the front staircase. They were still too far for anyone to see or hear them unless she called out, but she didn’t think that would be the best defense right now.

“Apprehending a killer? You don’t think they’ll still deport me, do you?”

“What about your family?”

“My family? Maria is the only family I need.”

Sydney stopped moving her feet.
Maria was his family?
Everyone had lied about him? “You’re married?” she asked, starting to walk again after he pushed her forward.

“That’s my wish. But she doesn’t feel the same way, even if it would be the only way to keep me here.”

“What about your wife and kids?”

“They’ll be fine without me.” He snickered.

“Why did you lose your job at Marcus’ factory?”

“Julia found out I wasn’t legal. So she offered to help get me my papers, but I knew it wasn’t as simple as that. Even for a pretty woman like her with a well known name. So when she told her husband what her plan was, he fired me. He wants to run a legitimate business. Just like I want to earn a legitimate living.”

At least part of the story had been true. “So you blamed Julia for losing your job.”

“Who else could I have blamed? If she’d just let me deal with it on my own and not gotten involved, I’d still be working and no one would be any worse for it. My family would be here, the authorities wouldn’t know about our status and life would have continued.”

Sydney saw his logic, but thought he’d taken it a step too far. “So you killed her to get even with her. And to get even with Marcus at the same time. She lost her life, and he lost his wife.”