Mushing is Murder, page 7
part #1 of Cozy Mystery Tails of Alaska Series
“Is everything all right at home?” he asked.
“It's fine,” she said.
“Why are the two of you here, then?”
“Don't be rude, Rod,” Cheryl said. “They are going to think they aren't welcome.”
“Of course they're welcome, I was just wondering why they are here.”
“We need to leave, Dad,” Angie said.
“Is your mother okay?”
“Yes, she's fine.”
“Then why do we have to go? What's going on?”
She took a deep breath. “Because I know who killed Bill, okay?”
She froze. As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew that she had made a mistake. Sometimes her father just frustrated her so much, and it was difficult to control her temper when he was being obstinate.
Cheryl gasped. “Dave! Dave, it really was Rod. The police were right.”
“No,” Angie said. This was all getting out of control. Why couldn't anything go as planned? “My dad didn't do it. Don't you dare try to throw him under the bus.” She glared at the older woman.
“What are you talking about, Angie?” her father asked, standing up. “If you know who killed Bill, spill it. I'm sure Dave and Cheryl want to know too.”
Angie fell silent. Why wouldn't her father just listen to her and leave with them? She looked at Cheryl again and her eyes narrowed. How dare she try to bring Angie's family into all of this? Using her mother as an alibi was bad enough, but then spending time around her father with this innocent act just made matters worse.
“Angie?” her father said. “You're acting very strange. What's going on?”
Malcolm stepped up next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently guiding her back so that she was standing partially behind him, placing himself between her and Cheryl.
“Rod, we think someone in this room is the killer. The police are on their way. Right now, it's safest if we all just go our separate ways.”
Angie's father took a step back, his eyes darting between Dave and Cheryl. “Are you saying that one of them –”
“It was Cheryl, Dad,” Angie snapped. “She was having an affair, Bill found out, and she killed him when he confronted her about it.”
The silence in the room was so thick that it made it hard to breathe. Everyone was looking at Cheryl, who had a hand clutched to her chest.
“You think I – I –” she sat down heavily in an armchair. “How could you say something like that? You've known me your whole life, Angie. How could you think I'm a killer?”
“It's the only thing that makes sense,” Angie said softly. “Like Malcolm said, the police are on their way. I just want to get my dad out of here safely.”
“Oh... I can't breathe..” Cheryl gasped, still clutching her chest.
“Enough,” Dave said. “You're going to give her a heart attack. She didn't kill Bill. I did.”
Whereas there had been silence when Angie accused Cheryl, not even a moment of quiet passed before Angie's father roared, “What?”
Dave raised his hands, looking terrified. And she didn't know whether it was at her father's reaction or at the admission he had just made.
“He… he found out I drugged his dogs before the race last month. It wasn’t anything dangerous, just something to make them a little bit sleepy, to where they wouldn’t want to run. I just wanted one win. One. So, I could pin it on the sled and start selling them for some extra cash. I was about to pass him on the trail a couple days ago when he made his dogs stop, blocking my way. He wanted to confront me alone, probably so you wouldn't get involved. I didn't even know what was going on. He just spun around and punched me. Then he told me if I ever messed with his dogs again, he would do a lot worse than that. You've got to believe me, I never planned on it. I just lost control. He turned around to get back on his sled and I grabbed a big stick from the side of the trail and hit him with it. It was heavier than I thought, covered in ice… He just dropped to the ground. I tried to make it look like an accident. I never meant to kill him. I wanted to give myself more time to hide the body, so when I met you back at the house, I sabotaged your team so you would have to go home instead of practicing.”
“You sabotaged…” Her father trailed off, his eyes going wide. “You mean you cut the line? One of my dogs got lost and nearly got killed, because of you.”
Angie had never seen her father so angry. She was glad when Malcolm stepped forward and gently pulled him back. She didn't want her father to do something that would make the murder accusation the police had laid on him stick.
She glanced at Cheryl and saw that the woman looked like she was in serious trouble. She hurried over to her, glaring at Dave on her way. She wasn't frightened anymore. He didn't look dangerous. He was wide-eyed and terrified, and when someone banged on the front door, he jumped almost a foot in the air.
“Police, open up.”
Epilogue
“Here's two smiley-face waffles with extra whipped cream, two sides of hash browns, one egg sunny side up, and one scrambled with extra cheese.” She put the plates down in front of the two eager children, then turned to their father. “And one very boring oatmeal with raisins and maple syrup.”
The children laughed, and Malcolm scoffed at her jokingly. “I think you mean 'healthy,’ not boring. I think I lost the ability to eat large amounts of sugar for breakfast sometime around the time I started needing coffee just to feel like a person in the morning.”
Angie watched as Malcolm's children dug into their waffles. “Well, it doesn't seem to be genetic.”
“Give them ten or fifteen years, you never know. Thanks, by the way. For the waffles. I wasn't sure where to take them.”
“Hey, kids are always welcome at Lost Bay Burgers. My father and I are supposed to be switching weekends, but if you ever come in on a day when I'm not here, I'm sure you'll be able to convince him to do smiley faces on their food too.”
“I brought them here once before you started working here,” he told her, lowering his voice. “He stopped by the table to say hi, and the kids told me that the grumpy cook scared them. I was only able to convince them to come back by promising that he had been replaced by a pretty cook who is not scary at all.”
Angie gave a snort of laughter that she tried to disguise as a cough. “I should head back into the kitchen before Betty hunts me down. Is there anything else I can get you?”
“I don't think so.” He looked at his kids, who were busy eating. “I was wondering… how is your father doing? I haven't seen him for nearly a week.”
“Well, his best friend is dead, his neighbor is looking at a life sentence in prison for murder, and his dear daughter – that would be me – almost put his neighbor's wife in the hospital from a heart attack. He is probably going to spend another couple of weeks ignoring everyone before he is willing to talk about anything. Are you still watching Bill's dogs?”
“I am. I was expecting that they would have found new homes by now.”
“Well, I can come out and help you with them if you want. It's not like you live far away. And I feel bad, since my dad is the one who roped you into all of this in the first place.”
“If you do that, you should let me buy you a cup of coffee. Or even lunch, if you want.” He hesitated. “It could be a date. Or not. Up to you.”
She smiled. “Lunch, sometime this week?”
“Just name a day and a time, and the place, and I'll be there.”
“It's a date.”
Also by Patti Benning
Papa Pacelli’s Series
Book 1: Pall Bearers and Pepperoni
Book 2: Bacon Cheddar Murder
Book 3: Very Veggie Murder
Book 4: Italian Wedding Murder
Book 5: Smoked Gouda Murder
Book 6: Gourmet Holiday Murder
Book 7: Four Cheese Murder
Book 8: Hand Tossed Murder
Book 9: Exotic Pizza Murder
Book 10: Fiesta Pizza Murder
Book 11: Garlic Artichoke Murder
Book 12: On the Wings of Murder
Book 13: Mozzarella and Murder
Book 14: A Thin Crust of Murder
Book 15: Pretzel Pizza Murder
Book 16: Parmesan Pizza Murder
Book 17: Breakfast Pizza Murder
Book 18: Halloween Pizza Murder
Book 19: Thanksgiving Pizza Murder
Book 20: Christmas Pizza Murder
Book 21: A Crispy Slice of Murder
Book 22: Lobster Pizza Murder
Book 23: Pizza, Weddings, and Murder
Book 24: Pizza, Paradise, and Murder
Book 25: Meat Lovers and Murder
Book 26: Classic Crust Murder
Book 27: Hot, Spicy Murder
Book 28: Pork, Pizza, and Murder
Book 29: Chicken Alfredo Murder
Book 30: Jalapeño Pizza Murder
Book 31: Pesto Pizza Murder
Darling Deli Series
Book 1: Pastrami Murder
Book 2: Corned Beef Murder
Book 3: Cold Cut Murder
Book 4: Grilled Cheese Murder
Book 5: Chicken Pesto Murder
Book 6: Thai Coconut Murder
Book 7: Tomato Basil Murder
Book 8: Salami Murder
Book 9: Hearty Homestyle Murder
Book 10: Honey BBQ Murder
Book 11: Beef Brisket Murder
Book 12: Garden Vegetable Murder
Book 13: Spicy Lasagna Murder
Book 14: Curried Lobster Murder
Book 15: Creamy Casserole Murder
Book 16: Grilled Rye Murder
Book 17: A Quiche to Die For
Book 18: A Side of Murder
Book 19: Wrapped in Murder
Book 20: Glazed Ham Murder
Book 21: Chicken Club Murder
Book 22: Pies, Lies and Murder
Book 23: Mountains, Marriage and Murder
Book 24: Shrimply Murder
Book 25: Gazpacho Murder
Book 26: Peppered with Murder
Book 27: Ravioli Soup Murder
Book 28: Thanksgiving Deli Murder
Book 29: A Season of Murder
Book 30: Valentines and Murder
Book 31: Shamrocks and Murder
Book 32: Sugar Coated Murder
Book 33: Murder, My Darling
Killer Cookie Series
Book 1: Killer Caramel Cookies
Book 2: Killer Halloween Cookies
Book 3: Killer Maple Cookies
Book 4: Crunchy Christmas Murder
Book 5: Killer Valentine Cookies
Asheville Meadows Series
Book 1: Small Town Murder
Book 2: Murder on Aisle Three
Book 3: The Heart of Murder
Book 4: Dating is Murder
Book 5: Dying to Cook
Book 6: Food, Family and Murder
Book 7: Fish, Chips and Murder
Book 8: Deathly Ever After
Author’s Note
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Patti Benning, Mushing is Murder
