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:
I took a sip of the coffee and then sat down at the empty table. “I have to meet with Dex, and then I’m hoping to meet with Cass and get an update on Ford Fisher’s situation. Where is Tom this morning?”
“He’s having breakfast in town with some of the guys from the lodge. I guess everyone is pretty freaked out about losing two of their own. They wanted to get together and discuss the situation.”
“The whole thing is really odd. First, Buford dies under suspicious circumstances, and then Ford is found dead just a day after being released as a suspect in Buford’s death. I don’t know what is going on, but I would be willing to bet that the two deaths are related.”
Gracie slid my plate in front of me. Boy, did it look good. In my opinion, having waffles with fruit topping and whipped cream for breakfast was a bit like having pie. Totally decadent and generally much enjoyed.
“Was Cass able to determine Ford’s cause of death?” Gracie asked.
“He, like Buford, was hit over the head with a heavy object, only the injury to Ford was a lot more extensive. Cass said that he most likely died from the blow, whereas the cause of death for Buford seems to have been hypothermia. I’m not sure why the killer went to all the trouble to dump Ford’s body in the lake. The fact that he did seems important to me. It appeared that Buford was hit and then left where he fell, but Ford was moved and then placed under the ice. That would require someone to make a hole in the ice so the body could be inserted. I have to wonder why someone went to all that trouble.”
“It took a lot of effort,” Gracie agreed. “Do you think there is symbolism at play?”
I frowned. “Like what?”
“I’m not sure exactly, but I do agree that even if the person who killed Ford didn’t want to leave the body at the location of the murder for some reason, there are easier ways to dispose of remains. Even if he wanted to leave Ford at Logan Pond, why not just dump him on the shore or in the forest? Why go to all the trouble to chop a hole in the ice and slide the body into the water?”
I took a sip of my coffee. “I guess that is the question of the day. I know Cass has been struggling with it. Maybe he knows something by now.”
“Maybe. I hope he figures this out soon. Tom and the other guys from the lodge are really worried about things. I think they are concerned that the reason Buford and Ford were targeted was because of their association with the lodge, and perhaps that could mean that one of them is next.”
I paused to consider this. “I don’t think the lodge is the common link. Ford and Buford were both at the bar on the day Buford died. I would think if there was a place that served as a common denominator, it would be the bar and not the lodge. But even that seems like a longshot. I suppose that being taken in for questioning in Buford’s death could have led to Ford’s death. I know Cass has considered that scenario.”
“Why would Ford be killed for being questioned in Buford’s murder?”
I shrugged. “Maybe whoever killed Buford suspected or even knew that Ford knew something that could help Cass to identify him or her, so the person who killed Buford decided to kill Ford before he could talk. Maybe the pond was chosen as the dump spot because it is shocking and public. The killer might even have known about the ice fishing competition.”
“So the killer was trying to send a message.”
“Perhaps.”
“To who?”
I shrugged. “Maybe there is someone else out there who knows something the killer doesn’t want to be told.”
“Well, that’s frightening.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “It is.”
“Let’s just hope that Cass can figure out who did this terrible thing and lock them up before they can hurt anyone else.”
I licked the last of the whipped cream from my fork. “Cass is a good cop. He’ll figure it out.”
Chapter 22
I had to admit that I was more than slightly nervous about my meeting with Dex. I wasn’t sure if he’d be angry or disappointed in me or if he’d understand my trepidation and simply pass the story to Brock. I really wanted Dex to like me, and I really wanted to expand my hours at the newspaper, but I’d given the situation a lot of thought, and as I’d told Gracie, I really needed to follow my heart and my conscience.
“Hey, Gabby,” I greeted the friendly receptionist after entering the building. “Is Dex here? I have my articles.”
“Actually, he isn’t here. I’m not sure if you heard, but there was a house fire on the north end of town this morning. Brock is still on leave due to issues of a personal nature, so Dex is covering it himself.”
I frowned. “Was anyone hurt?”
“No. Based on what I heard, the Christmas tree caught fire after the lights were left on all night. I guess the tree is in a separate living area in a finished basement, and no one even knew it had been left on. The light sets used on the tree were old, and it looks like one of the strings may have shorted out. The kids had already gone to school by the time the fire started, and both parents were at work. There were a couple of cats indoors, but a neighbor got them out in plenty of time, so everyone is fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I feel bad that the family lost their home, but homes can be replaced while people and pets cannot.”
Gabby smiled gently. “I couldn’t agree more. If the fire had started while everyone was sleeping, who knows what would have happened.”
I pulled up a chair and sat down. “I know this is none of my business, but what’s going on with Brock. When I saw Dex on Saturday, he mentioned that Brock was taking care of some personal issues, but I wasn’t aware there was anything so serious going on that he would still be out this week.”
“His wife left him. I don’t think that is common knowledge at this point, so please don’t say anything to anyone. Apparently, the couple had a huge fight on Friday, and she packed her bags and took herself and the kids to Virginia, where her sister lives.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ve only spoken to Brock twice and even then only briefly, and I’ve never met his wife, but I hate to hear about families in crisis.”
Gabby picked up her stapler and secured the stack of papers she’d been shuffling around since I’d been there. “According to Dex, Brock has asked to be off until after New Year’s. He decided to go to Virginia to try to work things out. It is going to make things tough on Dex, but at least he’d decided to assign the Secret Santa story to you and not Brock. It would have been a real mess if he’d been the one responsible for the series.”
“Yeah,” I groaned. “A real mess.”
Now, what was I going to do? I’d been all set to pass Secret Santa off to Brock, but now that wasn’t going to work out. Maybe Dex would want to do the final story himself. Not that he had time to research Secret Santa now that he’d lost his only full-time reporter. The poor guy was going to have his hands full shuffling everything he was already doing with everything Brock had been assigned.
“I guess I’ll just leave the photos and stories I have with you.” I handed Gabby the envelope with the hard copy, photos, and thumb drive with digital copies of everything. “If Dex has any questions, he can call me. I know he is probably going to be swamped today, but I do need to talk to him. I guess maybe just pass that message along. My schedule is pretty flexible, so we can meet whenever it is convenient for him.”
Gabby took the envelope. “Okay. I’ll tell him.”
“And let him know if he wants me to help pick up some of the slack, I can make myself available to cover other stories. I’m not sure what Brock was working on, but I’m sure Dex is going to have his hands full.”
“I’m sure Dex will appreciate the offer, and I suspect he’ll take you up on it. Not that there is ever a good time for Brock to be gone, but now with everything that is going on, it seems like a worse time than normal.”