Murder to Go (The Heights Bed and Breakfast Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (8 page)

Karl
didn’t blink. “They were turkey and stuffing sandwiches with cranberry sauce. I
like to include cranberry sauce with turkey. Turkey goes best with cranberry
sauce. Don’t you think?”

“It
certainly does,” Babs nodded smiling. “All right, Karl. You’ll be released just
as soon as we process the paperwork. I’m sure your wife will be waiting to take
you home.”

Carolyn
clapped her hands and wiped away her tears of joy. “Oh, Karl!”

Karl
frowned at her. “Maybe I should get a motel room instead.”

Babs spoke
up before Carolyn could answer.

“Don’t
even think about it. Your wife is the reason you won’t be sharing a cell
anymore. She was the one who uncovered this discrepancy. I hope she holds this
over you head for a long time,” Babs smirked as she saw Karl’s mouth drop open.

Karl
lowered his eyes. “I didn’t know that.”

Carolyn
rushed to Karl, threw her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. “I
think a champagne dinner will make us even.”

Karl’s
arms slid around her waist.

“This
is very sweet but I still have a murderer on the loose,” Babs reminded them.
“I’m going to interview Phillip Sawyer right now. Karl won’t be released for a
few hours. Carolyn, why don’t you come with me? You can see your first case brought
to a successful conclusion.”

Carolyn
glanced at Karl.

“You
go ahead. I’ll be fine here,” Karl grinned.

Carolyn
smiled at Babs. “I’d like to.”

They
started out of the room, but Karl caught Carolyn by the hand and pulled her
back. “Thank you.”

Carolyn
threw her arms around his neck. “It was my pleasure. I would do anything for
you, darling. You should know that by now.”

Babs
turned and frowned. “What don’t you understand when I say, a murderer is on the
loose?”

Babs
parked outside the Sawyer B & B and looked around. “It doesn’t look like
much, does it?”

Carolyn
surveyed the B & B, too. “It looks like Phillip has seen better years.”

“It
looks like he’s seen better decades, you mean,” Babs countered. “There is peeling
paint everywhere, and a broken window pane on the second floor. Is that grass
growing out of the gutters? Who would stay at a place like this?”

“Before
that nasty headline Phillip wrote, I didn’t know this place existed,” Carolyn
remarked, “I think this is the one time I would agreed with Porky. This place
is a disaster.”

“He
probably poisoned the lunchboxes so that The Heights would be shut down and
bring his B & B more customers,” Babs added. “He would get revenge on Porky
and frame the competition.”

“He
picked the wrong family to go after,” Carolyn insisted.

“I
agree. Let’s go inside,” Babs chuckled as she led Carolyn up the B & B
steps. “The sooner we get that scumbag Phillip behind bars, the better I’ll
sleep tonight.”

As
Babs opened the reception office door, it scraped on its hinges when they went
inside. There was no one to greet them at the front desk. They rang the bell on
the counter, but no one came. Babs looked around again. “Some service. No
wonder he isn’t doing well.”

Carolyn
rang the bell again. A man’s voice echoed from the other end of the hall. “I
heard you ring the first time, I will be there in a minute.

A
tall man in a worn button up short sleeve shirt arrived at the front desk.
“Do you have a booking with us?”

Babs
flashed him her badge. “I’m Babs Gillespie from the Homicide Squad. I’m here to
investigate the murders of Porky Tenboom and Monica Rorschach. They were discovered
on the water’s edge of Grey Fox Lake a few days ago. Are you Phillip Sawyer?”

“Yes,”
Phillip replied. “But they weren’t staying here. They weren’t even found
anywhere near here. I thought you guys caught the man who killed them. Some
lowlife chef with a vendetta.”

Carolyn
bit her lip. She promised Babs not to say a word.

“I have
some questions for you,” Babs told him.

Phillip
glanced at Carolyn. “Who is she?”

“This
is Carolyn Jacobson,” Babs replied. “Maybe you’ve heard of her.”

“No.
Should I know her?” Phillip asked.

 
“You should. She has an amazing food blog but
let me not waste anymore time. Where were you the morning of the murders?” Babs
asked.

“Where
do you think I would be? I was standing right behind this desk.”

“Just
like when we entered a few minutes ago?” Carolyn quipped.

Bab’s
glanced over at Carolyn with a furrowed brow. Carolyn raised her eyebrows and
smiled meekly. She whispered to Babs. “I’m sorry. Not another word.”

Bab
looked back at Phillip. “Is there anyone who would be able to corroborate your
whereabouts?”

Phillip’s
face contorted into a scowl. “No. I am the owner and operator of my bed and
breakfast. I have been running this place for twenty years by myself.”

“How
far from the Lake are you?”

“I’m
about a ten minute drive,” Phillip answered as the corners of his mouth turned
down. “I don’t have time for this. I have a full house of guests that I need to
attend to.”

“Did
you know the victim Paul “Porky” Tenboom?” Babs continued, ignoring Phillips
statement.

“Every
local owner of a restaurant, bar or hotel knows Porky and his blog.” Phillip
replied. “I was not the least bit surprised when I heard he was murdered. The
guy had it coming.”

“You
received a bad review for your B & B from Porky, didn’t you?”

“Yes,
cost me a whole season of guests. I had to take out a second mortgage just to
stay afloat.”

“Is
that why you were so quick to write a post about Porky’s murder the morning
after? I had just reported my findings to the Grey Fox Gazette when you posted
your headline. Did you even read their article?”

“I
couldn’t wait to announce it to the community. I was excited that I would never
have to see another nasty review by that swine.” As Phillip spoke, his words
passed through his clinched teeth. Carolyn took a step back from Babs and
Phillip. His quick mood change frightened Carolyn.

“Yes,
I read it. Your post was quite clever,” Babs remarked. “Wasn’t it,
‘sandwich topped with poisonous mayo for
lunch’?

“Ha!
Yeah, that’s it,” Phillip snickered. “Ham sandwich topped with poisonous mayo,
what a way for Porky to go,” Phillip snorted. “That pig.”

“I
guess I have to disagree with that statement,” Babs countered, “I have a
witness who also ate a lunch box from The Heights that day. She tells me the
sandwiches that Porky and Monica’s picked up didn’t have slices of ham in them.”

Phillip
reared back and his laughter ended. He shifted from one foot to the other. “How
do you figure?”

“Karl
made turkey sandwiches for everyone that day,” Babs informed him. “But you are
right, the sandwiches that killed Porky and Monica were made with ham. What inspired
you to write such a informative post?”

A
bead of sweat raced down Phillip’s forehead, and his skin turned pale. Phillip
glanced back and forth between Babs and Carolyn. “I read it online in the news article.
I knew all the guests would be leaving The Heights and I wanted to get some of
that business. You can’t blame me for trying to turn the situation to my
advantage.”

“Unfortunately
for you, the kind of sandwich they ate was never published in that article,”
Babs imparted. “It wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the media. I should know. I’m
the one who handles all the press releases for the Homicide Squad.”

“I
just read the article wrong… I wanted to post right away… I didn’t want to miss
the opportunity to draw in their customers,” Phillip stammered.

“The
only way you could have known the poisoned sandwiches were made with ham,” Babs
speculated, “was if you put them there. You must have gotten into the
lunchboxes when the couple went swimming and replaced their turkey sandwiches
with the poisoned ones.”

“I
did no such thing,” Phillip shouted.

“You
can deny it all you want,” Babs told him.

“I’m
not denying anything. I told you, I was right here behind the counter the whole
day,” Phillip asserted.

Babs
pointed up at the ceiling. “I think it is time for you to show me where you
store the footage from these security cameras. I think they might help me determine
if you were behind the desk like you are telling me.”

“You
can’t prove any of this,” Phillip stood and stared back at Babs. For the first
time, Carolyn noticed fear enter his eyes.

“I’m
afraid I’m going to have to ask to see your kitchen,” Babs demanded as she
walked around the counter of the B & B.

“What
for?” Phillip asked putting his body between Babs and the entrance to his
kitchen. “You can’t just barge in and demand to see my kitchen. This is private
property.”

“I’ll
need to run a DNA test on all the ham slices in your refrigerator,” Babs
replied. “I’ll have to see if it matches the ham taken from the sandwiches. You
can bring me back to the kitchen now, or I can obtain a warrant with a phone
call and do it myself. Whether you like it or not, I’m taking your ham in that
kitchen to be tested.”

Phillip
grumbled something under his breath and turned away. Babs shot Carolyn a grin
behind his back and followed him to the B & B kitchen.
Carolyn was thankful for the encouraging smile. The
questioning had made her tense.

Carolyn
brought up the rear. He pushed open the swinging kitchen doors, but as soon as
Babs and Carolyn entered the kitchen, Phillip took off running. He dashed
through the kitchen and kicked open the back door.

“Quick,
Babs!” Carolyn cried. “He’s getting away.”

The
two women ran out the back door after Phillip just in time to see his car peel
out of the parking lot. Babs waved her hand. “Hurry, back to the car.”

They
raced around the B & B and jumped into Bab’s police cruiser. They tore out
of the parking lot and screeched onto the road. The dust cloud from Phillip’s
tires was just crossing the horizon in front of them.

The
two women jumped into the car and Babs revved the motor. Carolyn’s head slammed
back against the seat when Babs dropped her foot onto the accelerator. They
skidded onto the road and took off after Phillip.

Carolyn
managed to get her seat belt fastened. Babs gripped the wheel with white
knuckles. “I didn’t know you could DNA match deli meat from somebody’s
sandwich. That’s amazing.”

“I
have no idea if you can,” Babs replied. “I was just bluffing. But I knew
someone so cheap wouldn’t throw out the rest of it after making the sandwiches.”

The smile
vanished from Carolyn’s face. “But you just said....”

Babs
laughed. “The guys in the lab are pretty amazing, but I’ve never had to prove a
case with the remnants of deli meat before.”

“What
are we going to do about Phillip?” Carolyn asked. “How are you going to prove
he killed Porky and Monica?”

“I am
going to haul him in for questioning now,” Babs asserted. “He ran out on an interview.
He’s guilty, all right. That’s why I bluffed him. I knew he wouldn’t take the risk
of letting me test anything,” Babs explained. “He would do anything to stop me
from pinning the murder on him. I can obtain a search warrant and confirm he
left the B & B on his security camera footage.”

Carolyn
gazed at the road ahead. “How are you going to catch up to him?”

Babs
never got a chance to answer. In front of their eyes, Phillip’s car skidded to
one side. He swerved into the middle of the road,
and
then he veered back the other way and turned down a
side road.

“Where’s
he going now?” Carolyn asked.

Babs
yanked the wheel and turned down the dusty side road after Phillip. “He’s not
going anywhere. This is a service road for the fire department. The road ends
in a quarter of a mile.”

Carolyn
glanced back and forth between Babs and the road ahead, but a giant cloud of
dust obscured her view of Phillip’s car.

 
“This roads end with a heavy fenced security
gate,” Babs murmured. “He can’t go any further than this.”

Babs
slowed down, but Phillip’s car continued at a high speed down the dirt road. He
barreled around another corner and discovered the gated fence. He hesitated for
a moment and looked around to avoid slamming into the fence. His car veered
back and forth, and he hit the brake, but was too late. His car skidded on the
loose gravel unable to slow down.

“He’s
going to hit that fence,” Carolyn gasped.

Phillip
spun the steering wheel, but his wheels wouldn’t grab hold of the ground. He
braked and steered, but the car only turned at a more perpendicular angle to
the road. It floated across the gravel and slammed broadside into a tall pine
tree.