Dog Days Murderous Nights: Winnona Peaks Mysteries Book 1 (8 page)

“Hailey, do you know where J.W.’s caméra redondante is?”  Kathleen asked.

“Well, the batteries are dead,” Hailey said.  “It will take a second to get them swapped out.  It’s in my room.  I picked it up with the rest of his things from the closet.  You picked up that camera and I picked up the spare before the police came. J.W. didn’t ever trust local constables and told me to pick up the valuables before they search.  He’d had too many excursions in Singapore to trust many people. Why?”

Diana snorted, “Leave it to that blowhard to have an Italian camera.”

“Just go get the camera please and give it to Christy,” Kathleen asked again.  As she got up off of the couch, Kathleen said, “It’s actually French, Diana.  Charlie said it was J.W.’s little joking way of saying spare camera.  Didn’t Charlie ever mention it to you?”

“Charlie knew I wanted nothing to do with that overdressed pretty boy.” Diana snarled.

Gregory took another sip and raised his glass to Diana.  “You really should take a sip.  Great stuff.  They don’t serve this in prison.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  Diana asked.

“We know you did it.  It’s just a matter of time.”

Diana smiled again. “Well I guess that still comes back to all of you proving it was me instead of the little princess with the pocket full of cash and a new job.” Hailey came back and handed Christy the camera. 

“So what’s so special about the spare camera?”

Christy started perusing the different shots, frowning.  She would glance at the photos on the table and then back at the view finder.  Then she would look again at the photos, comparing notes in her head about something.  Thinking out loud to herself she kept looking.

“So from the beginning the trail mix on the table didn’t make sense.  From the first time they said that it was an accidental death we knew it didn’t add up because J.W. knew to never touch peanuts.  The problem was who knew that he had a peanut allergy?  Hailey was the first to even mention it but then she had the most to gain from his death.  I actually made everyone a suspect when I told you all that I changed my Pad Thai recipe because of his allergy. 

On top of that none of you were at dinner.  But you know what I never understood?” Christy kept talking to herself as the others listened.  “How you got in the room?  I would have heard you go up the stairs.  It’s force of habit.  I listen to this old house.  I would have heard the stairs creak. So it was a genius move to hide in his closet.  All that was left was to figure out was which of you hated him more.  Hailey or Diana.”

“I didn’t hate him,” Hailey protested.

“I didn’t care about his stupid talentless butt.”  Diana yawned.

“Well I guess that makes us grateful that J.W. took a video on his spare camera,” Christy said, showing Gregory the view finder.  Gregory waved the policemen that had been biding their time into the living room.  Christy hit play on the camera and everyone heard Diana say, “Looking for these?” while she hummed a strange lullaby.

“You didn’t wipe this video off this camera when you wiped down all the handles, did you, Diana?”

Diana’s smug grin dropped to horror and then rage.  “He deserved it!  I would do it again if I could!  I’m so sick of rich people taking things from me!  First my Grandma cut me out of her will for breaking that damn bowl and now this!  And he didn’t even want to get paid!  I’ve never been so insulted!  He could go anywhere in the entire world for peanuts and instead he’s here stealing the bread out of my mouth!”

The officers flanked her as she started to stand up.  Gregory stood up in case there was any reason to subdue the murderer.  The officers tugged at her elbow to get her away from the coffee table.  Gregory saw her eyes flash for a second as she looked out the front door but she thought better of it as they put the handcuff on her right wrist.  “You have the right to remain silent.”  Their voices faded through the front door as they took her to the squad car.  Christy handed Hailey back the camera and picked up the tray of lemonade.  Nobody else knew what to say.

Chapter 15

Christy offered Hailey a muffin for the road.  Hailey took one and walked out through the screen door.  It sagged a little and Hailey looked up to push a little harder so she could get to the porch and sit down.  Snowy thought she was more important than the tray of muffins Christy was holding and whimpered.  Setting the muffins down on the check-out desk, Christy smiled and reached down so the grey and white Pomeranian could jump into her arms.

Hailey’s bags were all packed and she tucked the muffin gently into her lunch sack Christy had packed for the trip home. She watched the road, waiting for her taxi to come and pick her up for the airport.

“I can’t believe they found his epi pens in her room.  What kind of horrible person does that?” Hailey said.

“How terrible,” Christy said.

“Sorry about your screen door.”

“Oh, don’t worry. Mr. Binks is just happy I hired him to fix it,” she said with a giggle.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, just a little inside joke. I told him it was only temporary and that I wasn’t interested in any more repair work.”

“Are we still talking about the door?” Hailey asked.  Hailey surprised Christy by standing up, reaching over and patting Snowy on the head like maybe Snowy was a tiger that was going to bite her hand off.  Christy knew it was progress for Hailey and tried not to act shocked.

“He really loved dogs.  I know you thought it was me,” Hailey said. 

Christy offered her a sad smile.  “Yes he did.  You’re doing a good job, right here.  Snowy trusts you.  Don’t worry about how you acted.  You were angry.  I have to admit that the murder did look like it pointed to you.  Lucky for you J.W. found that spare camera in the closet while he was choking and set video recorder on to record.”

“It’s just like Dad to do something like that.”

“Dad?” Christy asked with her eyes widening.

“Well, yes.”  Hailey blushed.  “He didn’t want me to tell anyone because he knew soon enough somebody would try to marry me for the money, or worse yet do what Diana did to him with a ransom note.” Hailey laughed a little.  “Him and Mom were only married a couple of years before she died, but he was always the best father to me.”

“Oh, so that must have really hurt when he fired you that day. I can’t imagine what I would do if my Grandmother fired me from working here at Alfie’s. I’d probably do more than tear the hinges off of a screen door.  I’m so sorry.”

Hailey laughed a little, starting to tear up again.  “Oh, don’t be sorry.  I never got the chance to tell you that after my screaming match he came up later while you were cooking dinner and made things right.  He told me that he just wanted me to do something I loved and that I shouldn’t have to feel like I owed him anything.  I told him I loved working for him and that I was just frustrated because all my business school things felt like they were getting wasted when he didn’t want to turn a profit.”

“What a kind man,” Christy said.

“You should have seen the sweet look in his eyes when I said turn a profit. You know what he said?”

“No, Dear, what?”

“I said the word profit like true Augustine.”

“Well what did he say when you talked about only wanting to work for him?”

“He shook his head and said, that I really didn’t.  He wasn’t all that good at business which is why they put him on as a figurehead at so many charities.  He told me that the right job was out there and that he would support whatever I chose.” Hailey laughed again.

“But what about the new job you have?”

“He must have made those arrangements with his business manager after he left my room.  Maybe it was his way of compromising.”  She gently pet Snowy on the head who thought she had a new best friend. “Christy, I’m really sorry for all of this.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry, Dear.  You lost your Father.  That’s to be expected.  J.W. was right though.  You can do whatever you want.”  Right then the taxi pulled up. 

“Well that’s my ride.  Tell Alfie good-bye for me.”  With that she waved good-bye. Gregory came down the hallway in a pair of jeans and a Winnona Wolves grey, athletic t-shirt.

“So where are your tools?” he asked.

“What?  No polo and khakis?  Stop the presses, I think it’s the end of the world!  Can’t a girl just come to expect one normal day?”

“Do you want the door fixed or not?” he said with a smile.

“Out back in the shed.  Now remember, no funny business, Mr. Binks.  I’m just hiring you for this one little chore.  I’ll leave Snowy here with you to supervise.  Mrs. Deswood checked out long ago and I need to strip all the bedding and start cleaning the bathrooms.”

“Just one little chore.  Sounds like you have a million.”

“You just wait.  You start that coffee business and you’ll have a million chores.”  Mr. Binks suddenly got a very serious look on his face and stepped closer to Christy.  He pointed at his spot on her cheek with a great concern. “What?  Do I have something on my face?” she asked.  Before she could react he quickly kissed her on the cheek.  Smiling from ear to ear he headed around the side of the house with a muffin in his hand.

“No! I got it,” he chirped.

Christy touched her cheek, blushed and smiled.  Alfie came outside to see where Snowy was. A gentle breeze made the willow tree tap the window at the top of the house and she sighed, “Can things really ever go back to normal?”

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Find out what Christy discovers in book 2 of The Winnona Peaks Mysteries here:
http://amzn.to/1I66LaB

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One Cup Flour Two Cups Murder:

Too many Cooks in the Kitchen... and a Kidnapper on the loose!

A small town Cooking Competition is about to get going. It's drawn some of the best local chef talent in town. All of which have their sights set on a $5,000 cash prize.

As the local fair grounds are prepped for the festivities, a buzz of excitement fills the air. The contest eventually gets underway but early into the showcase two of the competitors Lily Smith and Anna Cobler go missing! Leaving a series of competitors and locals confused as to their whereabouts. While some band together to try and locate the missing women, others are either standoffish or cold to the idea of assisting in the investigation. Each with their own motives or reasons.

With a complicated trio of possible suspects in play, each with motive, Christy, along with her two trusty Pomeranians are set to find out who is behind this. But time is running short to find Lily and Anna!

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Find out what Christy discovers in book 2 of The Winnona Peaks Mysteries here:
http://amzn.to/1I66LaB