Death of a Halloween Party Monster by Lee Hollis

Author:Lee Hollis [Hollis, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Sergio put an arm around Chet’s shoulder. “Okay, son. We’re done for now. You can go sit back down.”

Chet bounded back to his chair in the corner, his phone in hand, to resume texting his friends.

“That’s it? He’s no longer a suspect?” Dr. Reddy scoffed.

“He came clean about the Ex-Lax,” Sergio said.

Dr. Reddy folded her arms, agitated. “Exactly! If he was willing to poison a man, why abandon the credible possibility that the boy took it one step further and bludgeoned him to death?”

Sergio cocked an eyebrow. “Really, Dr. Reddy, I would hardly call a laxative poison.”

“What if Mr. Candy was allergic to one of the ingredients. Would you be so dismissive then?”

“No, but he wasn’t, and the Ex-Lax was not what killed him,” Sergio patiently argued.

“Well, I, for one, think you are letting him off the hook far too easily,” Dr. Reddy snorted. “He has already told us his motive. Mr. Candy unceremoniously kicked him out of jazz band, and the kid was thirsty for revenge.”

Chet sighed loudly in the corner, dismayed to find all the attention in the room was still on him.

Mona lunged forward, red-faced with fury. “First you accuse my Jodie of corrupting your innocent daughter. Now you’re accusing my son of murder? I’ve had it with you, lady!”

Hayley reached out and grabbed Mona’s sweatshirt, forcefully pulling her back.

Mona whipped around to Hayley. “She’s out of line, Hayley! Chet can be a prankster and pig-headed and lazy like his father, but he’s a good boy, for the most part!” She then pointed a finger at Chet in the corner. “But you’re still grounded!”

“A mother is always blinded by the love for her children,” Dr. Reddy said to no one in particular.

Chet had heard enough. He shot back up to his feet and yelled at Dr. Reddy, eyes blazing, “I didn’t get anywhere near Mr. Candy after I gave him the hot chocolate! I bet you can’t say that, can you?”

It took a moment for Dr. Reddy to realize Chet was addressing her, but when she did, she huffed and threw him a haughty look. “I am quite sure I have no idea what you are talking about!”

“I saw you,” Chet growled, eyes narrowing. “I saw you chasing after Mr. Candy. I was sitting right here. You were right in front of me and didn’t even notice me, and I heard you threaten him!”

“That is a bald-faced lie! The boy is obviously just making things up to take the heat off himself,” Dr. Reddy cried.

“You said you were going to do everything in your power to get him fired, or something like that,” Chet said.

“Is that true, Doctor?” Sergio asked.

“No, I . . .” Dr. Reddy glanced around the room, unnerved by all the faces focused on her. “I mean . . . It was nothing!”

“I think you’d better explain,” Sergio said. “And, please, don’t leave anything out.”

“There is nothing to explain! We simply had a disagreement, that’s all.”

She wanted to leave it there, but she instinctively knew that was going to be impossible.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.