Tastes Like Murder (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 1) (19 page)

When the light at the intersection turned green, I plowed ahead. "We still have no proof she's involved."

Josie's mouth dropped open as she gawked at me. "Are you kidding? She threatened us."

"I know, but we need something more concrete."

"I think you should call Brian and fill him in."

"Oh, yeah, that's sure to go over well." I could already hear his voice in my mind.
Didn't I tell you to let the police handle this?

Josie blew out a breath. "Okay, so we don't have proof Charlotte killed Amanda. She did have a motive though. Amanda might have known about her little friend and threatened to tell the world. Plus, there's the fact she may have been taking money from the business, and now she's selling off the antiques?"

"If we knew who the other woman was, maybe it would all come together." I pulled up in front of the shop. "Might as well park here. They'll be coming to fix the back door tomorrow."

"Why not ask Mike to do it?" Josie teased. "I bet you'd get a premium discount."

I stuck my tongue out at her in a childish manner, then glanced across the street and froze. A black Cadillac was parked next to the curb. The driver's door opened, and Kate Gregorio emerged.

"Oh, shit," Josie groaned. "What's she going to do now? Set the place on fire?"

"Great." I rubbed my temples in agitation. "Maybe she's got Brian on his way to arrest me as well."

We both got out of the car and waited for Kate to cross the street. She was dressed in an expensive, black Valentino suit. With a pang, I remembered Amanda's funeral had been held earlier this morning.

Kate's cheeks turned scarlet when she forced her red-rimmed eyes to meet mine. She glanced up and down the street nervously. "I was hoping I could have a word with you, Sally."

I wondered if she was going to lecture me again, but I didn't have the heart to refuse her request when I looked into those despondent eyes. "Of course." I unlocked the front door, then held it open for Kate to enter first.

She stepped inside and gasped aloud as she observed the condition of my shop. Although the frosting had been cleaned up, garbage was still strewn all over the floor, and the shattered case was clearly visible. "My goodness, did you have a break-in?"

I nodded. "Someone's been threatening us."

Her worn face turned a sickly gray. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

I held out a chair for Kate and seated myself across from her. Josie remained standing at my side.

Kate traced a pattern along the tablecloth with her slim fingers. "I wanted to apologize for my actions yesterday. I allowed myself to be swayed by other people's thoughts and don't usually act like that."

"It's okay. You're going through a horrible ordeal right now."

She blinked back a tear. "I lashed out at you because you threatened Amanda. I don't believe you harmed her, but it was so easy to place the blame on you."

That's what the killer wants, too.
I gave Kate a wan smile. "I understand. Let's forget it, all right?"

She reached out to grab my hand in hers. It was like grasping a glacier. "I haven't been truthful about the entire situation."

Josie sat down and leaned forward. "What does that mean?"

Kate blew out a sharp breath. "Instead of blaming you, I should have been paying more attention to the activities at Amanda's Retreat. The president of Colwestern Bank called me this morning. It seems…" Her voice shook. "Charlotte has been making some very hefty withdrawals out of the spa's account."

Josie gave me her
I told you so
expression.

"Well, she is authorized to make withdrawals, right?' I asked.

"She's the accountant of record." Kate nodded. "But the bank president is a friend of mine, and he became concerned. In the last few weeks, Charlotte has withdrawn over one hundred thousand dollars."

"Holy cow." Josie's blue eyes were wide with astonishment.

Kate shifted in her seat. "Charlotte said you threatened Amanda at your shop. What you don't know is she later informed me you mixed up a special batch of cookies for Amanda with bee venom when you heard she was stopping by."

I was horrified by the lie. "That's not true. We think the bee venom came from the spa. Were you aware they used it there?"

Kate's eyes filled with tears as she nodded. "Amanda was so proud of her idea to feature the anti-aging facial. She wanted to be just like the big-city spas. But it's ludicrous to believe her employees would have anything to do with her death. She handpicked every one of those girls. I don't know what to think anymore. The final straw came when the bank called me. Charlotte withdrew twenty thousand dollars this morning. The account is nearly out of money. How does she expect the employees to get paid?"

"Obviously she doesn't care." Josie frowned.

"You're right about that." Kate wiped at her eyes. "I've given her a home, pay all her expenses, and this is how she treats me?"

I knew Charlotte's parents had relocated shortly after Amanda's father died, but Charlotte chose to remain in the area. It sounded like Kate had been pretty good to her niece, but she still desired more. Josie told me she'd heard Charlotte's father had had a huge falling out with his brother shortly before he died. Rumors were that it was money related.

Kate went on. "She's probably waiting around for me to die now. Then she'd inherit everything."

I flinched at the words.
Could this be Charlotte's next plan?
"I need to ask you something personal about Charlotte. Does she—um, have friends over to the house?"

Kate was thoughtful for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I don't remember her ever inviting anyone. She's really not the outgoing type."

"No one at all? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?" Josie glanced sideways at me.

"No one I can think of," Kate said. "Of course, I'm away from home a great deal during the day because of my charity work, so anything's possible."

I decided to get it over with. "We think Charlotte might be gay."

Kate's eyes grew large and round, then she nodded slowly. "Yes, I thought of that, too. I wasn't positive, but there were a few signs. If it's true, I'm hurt she never confided in me. I mean, she knows I would have supported her lifestyle choice. I love her like my own daughter."

If Charlotte isn't worried about Kate knowing, then who?
"You said Charlotte has withdrawn all of the money from the business account?"

"There's about ten thousand dollars left. How generous of her to leave that much." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "I've frozen the account. I'll pay the employees out of my personal funds until I figure out what to do with the spa."

I had a stab of sympathy for Zoe, Connie, and even Liza. "So you have no idea who Charlotte's partner might be?"

"The day Amanda died she said she wanted to talk about Charlotte. I pressed for details, but Amanda said she'd come back, and we'd chat later in the evening. Of course, we never got a chance." The lines around Kate's mouth tightened. "I know what you're thinking, and you're mistaken. There's no way Charlotte killed Amanda."

I gave her hand a slight squeeze. "I know you don't want to even consider she'd do such a thing, but the fact remains—"

She interrupted my speech. "You don't understand. She couldn't have done it. Charlotte wasn't even in town that day. Amanda had her attending some seminar about facials over in Buffalo. She didn't return home until eight o'clock that evening."

Josie and I looked at each other in confusion.

"Are you sure she was there?" I asked.

Kate nodded. "Positive. The police checked the records. She signed in at the seminar about nine o'clock that morning and left at seven in the evening. Several people reported seeing her there as well."

"Another one of our theories bites the dust." Josie folded her arms and rested them on the table.

"Whoever did this must have been with Amanda when she went back to her apartment." Kate glanced at me in sympathy. "I spoke to her on the phone that afternoon, and she told me she was coming here. If someone was there, they would have heard the same thing. They wanted you to take the blame."

A light bulb went on in my head. "Wait a minute. So maybe Charlotte wasn't at Amanda's apartment, but what if her partner was?"

Kate placed her trembling hands in her lap. "I know the money laundering is horrible, but I refuse to believe Charlotte would orchestrate the killing of her own cousin." She searched my face. "And I never really thought it was you. To tell you the truth, I thought it might have been that Vido character she hung out with."

"You heard about his death?" I asked.

"Yes. The police think that he knew who the killer was, which, of course, put his life in jeopardy. I'm sorry he's dead, but I'll never understand why Amanda associated with him." The color rose high in her cheeks. "I never told anyone this, but my daughter was some kind of a sex addict."

I struggled to erase from my mind the mental image of Amanda and Vido together while Josie kicked me under the table.

Exhausted, I rubbed my eyes. The last few days of stress and sleeplessness were taking their toll. "Have you thought about having Charlotte followed? Even if she didn't kill Amanda, it's possible she may know who did."

"I suppose I could." Kate twisted a handkerchief between her hands. "I think the police may be planning on it as well."

As if on cue, the bells over the door chimed, and Brian walked in. He glanced from me to Kate in surprise. "Ladies. What's going on?"

I stood, ready to defend myself. "Kate came to tell me about Charlotte and the problems with the spa."

Brian's expression was grim. "I see. Well, I need to talk to you. In private."

What now?
I gritted my teeth and turned to Kate. "Please excuse me for a moment." I led the way into the back room, with Brian at my heels. I wasn't positive we were completely out of earshot and no longer cared. I had nothing to hide.

I whirled around and placed my hands on my hips. "Okay. What did I do now?" My patience was wearing thin.

"For once,
you
didn't do anything. Your ex-husband was arrested last night in Florida."

My breath caught in my throat. "Colin? No. He couldn't have. I mean—"

Brian held up a hand. "Let me finish. A police officer came to his place of work last night to ask him some questions about Amanda. Colin started a fistfight and was arrested for assaulting an officer."

Josie appeared in the doorway, a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry, I was listening." She came over and draped an arm around my shoulders. "Thank God you're not with that loser anymore."

"My sentiments exactly." Brian studied me. "Are you okay?"

I put my face in my hands for a second and sighed heavily. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. He was furious when he called the other day."

Josie's mouth fell open. "He called? You didn't mention that. What'd he want?"

"Only to harass me." My voice trembled. "He accused me of trying to make trouble for him. He was angry the police were questioning him and tried to blame everything on me. Big surprise there."

Brian folded his arms. "He doesn't have an alibi for that night. He could have flown up here from Florida in about two hours. We're checking plane records, but haven't found anything so far."

I remembered Kate in the shop. "We'd better get back out front. I don't like leaving her alone."

"I'll bet she was listening too." Josie kept her arm around my shoulders as we walked back into the storefront.

Kate was still sitting at the table, handkerchief pressed to her mouth as if it were bleeding. She stood as we approached.

"I think I'd better go." Her voice shook, and she took a step forward, then staggered. Brian jumped forward and caught her in his arms. He gently placed her back in the chair.

"I'll get some water." Josie raced into the back room.

I pulled another chair up and lifted Kate's feet onto it, despite her feeble protests. Josie returned with a paper cup and held it to her blue-tinted lips.

"I'm sorry to be such a bother." Kate's voice was faint.

I rubbed her shoulders gently. "You're not a bother at all."

"Is that your car across the street?" Brian asked, and Kate gave a slight nod. Brian put his hand out for her keys. "I'll drive you home. I'll have another officer meet us at your house and bring me back here for my cruiser."

"Oh, no." Kate looked appalled at the suggestion. "I can't let you go to all that trouble."

Brian helped her to her feet and guided her toward the door. "I insist. You're in no condition to drive."

Kate sighed and handed him the keys. As they walked by me, she grabbed my hand in a fragile grip. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"Take care of yourself." My heart ached for her.

Brian turned around to give me a stern look. "Don't go anywhere. I'm not finished talking to you."