Strawberry Cream Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 1 by Susan Gillard Read Free Book Online Page A

“Hello?”
     
    “Heather?  This is Carolyn Fordyce,” came the voice on the other end, sounding slightly stronger than the day before.
     
    “Good morning, Mrs. Fordyce,” she said.
     
    “I just wanted to let you know that Christa’s funeral will be at St. Gregory’s at 2:00 on Friday,” she said.  “I thought you might want to know.”
     
    “Yes, I certainly do,” she said.  “Thank you.  I appreciate your thinking of me at such a difficult time.”
     
    “Yes, it’s terribly difficult when your family is destroyed,” Mrs. Fordyce said.
     
    “I know it must be.  And I’m so sorry about Christa.”
     
    “I was talking about Billy.”
     
    It took a few seconds for her words to sink in.  “You mean—” Heather started to say, and couldn’t think of how to finish the sentence.
     
    “Billy was doing so much better.  He was making progress.  Getting his life back together.  Or at least, he was, until Christa told William—my husband William, I mean—that Billy was using again.  But he wasn’t.  I’m his mother.  I would have known.”
     
    “Is that why your husband changed his will?” Heather asked.
     
    “He always was too hard on Billy.  And it was true, Billy had been to rehab three times.  But this time, he was clean!  But William sent him to rehab anyway.  Just on Christa’s word.”  Mrs. Fordyce sniffled.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t be airing our dirty laundry like this.  And Christa was my child, too.  But nobody knew what she could be like.  Not even William.  He just didn’t see.  Billy and I were the only ones—” 
     
    Silence fell, and then Heather heard Mrs. Fordyce say, as if from farther away, “Heather.  Christa’s former boss.  She wanted to know when the funeral was.”
     
    Wait, what? Heather thought. 
     
    In a moment, Mrs. Fordyce’s voice came back on the line.  “Thank you so much for calling.  We’ll see you then,” she said, and hung up.
     
    Heather sat staring at the phone.  Why had Mrs. Fordyce lied? 
     
    Clearly, all was not well in the Fordyce household.  Mrs. Fordyce obviously blamed Christa for “ruining Billy’s life.”  Had she been angry?  Angry enough to punish Christa?  Maybe permanently?
     
    “Heather?”  Michelle poked her head into the office.  “Do you still want me to make those Ice Cream Sundae donuts today?”
     
    “Give me a minute, and I’ll be out to help you,” she said.  “I need to call Detective Shepherd.”
     
    “What about?”
     
    “Christa was murdered by ingesting cyanide,” Heather said.
     
    “ What ?” Michelle asked.  “How do you know?”
     
    “Shepherd told me last night.  They thought maybe it was in the donut that she was eating right before she died.  So they tested the remaining half of the donut, but it was clean.  No signs of cyanide found.”
     
    “So how did Christa….”
    “They don’t know,” she said.  “And I don’t have any idea, either.  I need to talk to him about some other things.”
     
    “Don’t get too deep into this, Heather,” Michelle said.  “You should really let the police handle it.  What if the killer finds out you’re investigating and decides to come after you, too?”
     
    “I know, I know,” she said.  “It’s technically a possibility.  But I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
     
    “I sure hope not,” Michelle said.  “So there’s no way I can talk you into leaving this alone?”
     
    “Sorry,” Heather said.  “You know me.  I rush in where angels fear to tread.  Is Maricela here?  I didn’t see her.”
     
    “She was in the front when you came in,” Michelle said. 
     
    “Okay.  Good.  Well, let me make this call, and then I’ll help you get the donuts started.”
     
    When Michelle left, Heather sat staring at her phone for a moment longer, lost in thought.  Then she scrolled through her phone log until she found Shepherd’s number and called