The Mystery Before Christmas
- Автор: Дэйли Кэти
- Серия: A Cat In The Attic Mystery #2
- Год: 2019
- Язык: английский
- Год: Kathi Daley Books
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «The Mystery Before Christmas». Краткое содержание книги:
“So do you think Ford followed Buford and the men continued their sparring match, resulting in Buford passing out in the snow?”
“I believe that is a possibility, which is why I wanted to call Ford in and have an official record of my discussion with the man.”
“And?”
“And at first he blurted out that he was indeed responsible for Buford’s death. He had me in a panic for a minute since I really didn’t want to have to arrest the guy for murder, but then he elaborated.”
“What did he say?”
“He confirmed that he and Buford had a disagreement over a favor Buford had asked of him that he was having second thoughts about agreeing to do. He shared that both he and Buford had been drinking, and the argument escalated to the point where punches were exchanged. He’d been stressing over the fact that one of the blows he’d delivered might have been the one that led Buford to pass out. He swears that the man was alive and conscious when he left the bar, but he also said it occurred to him that Buford could have had a delayed reaction and that he, in fact, had been the one to kill his best friend.”
“Wow. Poor Ford. No wonder he has been so depressed. I assume that you aren’t convinced that Buford died after having a delayed response to one of the blows delivered by Ford.”
“I hope not, but I’m not a doctor or a coroner. I guess I’ll have to wait to see what the coroner comes back with. If it is possible that Buford passed out due to a blow delivered by Ford, things are going to get complicated. At this point, I am holding Ford until I can have a discussion with the sheriff and the DA.”
“I wonder why Ford didn’t come to you and explain what happened at the time of Buford’s death.”
“I suppose he was scared. It’s understandable that he would be.”
“Yeah, I guess. So what are you going to do now?”
“As I already mentioned, I need to have a discussion with the sheriff and the DA to see what they want to do. I also plan to continue to look into things. If the blow to the head led to Buford’s death, I’m not sure any sort of blow delivered with Ford’s fists could have done that much damage. In my mind, Buford could have come across someone else between the time he left the bar and the time he fell down unconscious in the snow.”
“Someone who hit him with a heavy object which, caused him to pass out.”
“Exactly.”
“Buford must have been in a real mood to have fought with Dennis and Ford on the day of his death. I wonder what was going on. At the beginning of this investigation, you told me that while Buford had been drinking, he hadn’t really been all that drunk. If it wasn’t the alcohol that turned him violent, what did?”
“I don’t know. I guess he might have just been having a bad day. It happens.”
“I spoke to Hope earlier, and she told me that she had spoken to Buford before he went to the bar. She said he was in a good mood, and that all he planned to do was throw back a beer with his friends. Something must have happened that changed his mood after he left the library.”
Cass narrowed his gaze. “I hadn’t heard that Hope had spoken to Buford on the day he died. I guess I’ll stop by the library and have a chat with her. Maybe she can fill in some of the blanks. I’d really like to figure this out before the DA decides to prosecute Ford for Buford’s death because, in my mind, it seems likely that he will do just that.”
Chapter 19
Saturday
This just couldn’t get any worse.
I looked at myself in the mirror and groaned. “I thought I was going to be wearing a sweater with the tights.”
“You were,” Hope confirmed, “but one of the volunteers ripped the sweater last week, so we needed an alternative.”
“Ripped the sweater? You only had one sweater?”
“No, we have several, but the others are all checked out to other volunteers. The sweater that was ripped is the one we’d set aside for you to use this weekend. I know this costume is a bit much, but it was all we had with such short notice. Personally, I think you look adorable.”
Adorable? The heavy red sweater that had fallen to a point just past mid-thigh had been replaced with a green leotard topping the green tights. The outfit did include a short red skirt that barely covered my backside, but when combined with the red boots, I looked more like a holiday hooker than an elf.
“Are you sure there isn’t another option?” I turned just a bit to confirm that my backside was actually covered. It was, but still.
“I’m afraid this is all I have. But you really needn’t worry. You are completely covered from the neck down. The shorts and t-shirts you probably wore over the summer were much more revealing.”
I supposed Hope had a point. It wasn’t like there was skin showing, but the overall effect was just so… I really didn’t want to dwell on it. If wearing this outfit was going to help Hope, I’d do it. She’d been nothing but nice to me since I’d been back.
“Okay, where do I go, and what do I do?”
Hope explained the routine and sent me on my way. Santa was a man named Dover Ledford. He’d worked at the local hardware store in town for a lot of years before retiring, and seemed to know pretty much everyone who stopped by to grab a photo with Santa and to share their wishes. The four-hour shift I’d agreed to, actually flew by. I would have considered it a complete success had Cass not stopped by during the last hour, making me feel self-conscience about my outfit all over again.
“Aren’t you a cute elf,” he chuckled.
I wanted to tell him to bite me, but instead, I just smiled. “Are you working today?” I’d noticed that he was wearing his uniform.
“Rafe, Trent, and I are volunteering our time to provide security over the weekend.”
“That’s nice. Any problems?”
“Not so far. Are you volunteering all day?”
“Just until two. After that, I thought I’d look around and maybe grab a bite to eat. How about you? Will you be here all day?”
“My shift goes until five when Trent takes over. If you’re still in town, maybe we can meet up and grab some dinner.”
I nodded. “I’d like that. Text when you’re done, and we’ll figure out where to meet.” I glanced back at the line. “I should get back.”
“Okay. Have fun, and I’ll see you later.”
“Wait,” I said as he started to walk away. “What happened with Ford? Did you arrest him?”
“No, he has been released on his own recognizance. I’m not saying he is totally in the clear, but at this point, we don’t have enough to charge him, and I really don’t consider him a flight risk. Besides, I’m fairly confident that the coroner will determine that the blows suffered during the fight Ford and Buford engaged in were not the reason he passed out.”
“So, with time, he should be cleared.”
“I hope so. We’ll talk more over dinner.”
I nodded as he walked away.
The rest of the shift flew by, and I was actually looking forward to tomorrow’s volunteer duty. After I changed back into my street clothes, I headed toward the community center where the craft displays had been set up. I thought it would be nice to buy a hand-crafted decoration of some sort for Ethel. Other than the tree Paisley and I had purchased and decorated, she really hadn’t taken the time to set out any other items. Perhaps a centerpiece for her dining table or a wreath for her door. Nothing that she’d have to fuss with, but something she would see often and could enjoy. I knew that Tom and Gracie planned to bring Paisley by later in the day. I supposed I’d spend some time with them before meeting up with Cass for dinner.