Mischief Night Murder: A Haunting Whodunnit Cozy Mystery (Mangrove Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 3) by Joy Patrick

Author:Joy Patrick [Patrick, Joy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

As they walked away from Vincent’s house, Vivian’s head was so filled with new information that she almost felt dizzy.

“It’s a lot to sift through,” Ben said. “A witch costume would make sense if someone was trying to frame Peggy for this. They wear the same outfit as Peggy’s, then they drop the body behind her library when she’s busy in the bookmobile out front.”

“But Eva Cowler was wearing a witch costume, too,” Vivian said. “And, of course, we know that Peggy didn’t do it. But now we know Eva was angry at Hap.”

“Maybe angry enough to kill him,” Ben added.

“But something still doesn’t quite add up,” Viv mused as she stood on the sidewalk in front of Hap’s house, facing the front door. “So okay, Eva Cowler’s shop is going under. She needs money. She goes to Hap, he turns her down. Sure, she’s furious with him . . . But how does killing him solve her problem? She takes a risk like that and doesn’t get any money from it?”

“Right,” Ben agreed. “And everyone knew Hap was an upstanding businessman and investor. Wasn’t like he stashed wads of money under his mattress to steal.”

“Then again, there is the pirate painting,” Viv mused. “Uncle Don used to say that thing was worth a fortune.”

“But if Hap was dead, why didn’t she take it? We all still saw it in his house after the show.”

“And even if she did steal it, it would be kinda hard to sell around here,” Calvin added. “Everyone knows it’s Hap’s painting. I mean, she’d have to go to the black market.”

“And then, there’s the body itself,” Vivian pondered. “She shoots him at the end of the show when the cannons go off. She’s in her witch costume. Rann sees a vague black blur. But Castor and the rest of us were here only minutes later. We all searched his house, and he was nowhere to be found. Unless she—”

“—Stashed the body?” Ben finished, looking a bit repulsed. “But how could an older woman like Eva carry a grown man’s body? Even drag, for that matter.”

“Maybe she had an accomplice?” Viv suggested. “I don’t know. Maybe they came back later while no one was looking—like when everyone was out looking for Hap. They come back, haul the body to the library, boom, Peggy becomes suspect number one.”

“But, in the meantime, stash him where?” Ben asked.

As she spoke, she kept looking at the decorations in the yard. Her mind was racing, and she was mumbling the facts over and over. She felt like she was missing something but didn’t know exactly what.

An idea percolated in her mind.

She whipped out her cell phone and opened the photo gallery, scrolling through.

“What is it?” Ben asked.

“I snapped pictures of all the Halloween decorations when we first got here. She pointed to the screen, and they crowded around to look. “Here’s right after the festival.” She showed a photo of the front lawn view. “I took it right where we’re standing now.

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