Murder at Christmas in Honeysuckle Grove by Jaden Denise

Author:Jaden, Denise
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen – Tabby

We sat around Mallory’s small kitchen table, eating delicious Chess Pie, which consisted of sweet pie dough filled with cornmeal custard, apparently a West Virginia staple, and something that Mallory knew how to bake without a recipe.

Alex flipped open a file folder and the three of us—Mallory, Hunch, and I—sat forward on our chairs to listen as he read from his notes.

“When I interviewed Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, both seemed convinced that the death was an unfortunate accident. When I introduced the idea of foul play, they were both more concerned about keeping any suggestion of that out of the news than they were about discovering who may have wanted to hurt the old man.”

“So you believed them?” Mallory asked.

“The jury is still out in my mind. I wanted to interview them again today, especially Emily, right after I received my report from forensics. As soon as I mentioned electrical tampering, she immediately said her step-daughter Cindra knew all about electrical wiring, but Conrad quickly shut the conversation down and claimed they would be too busy at the funeral home to meet with me again today. We have an appointment at ten in the morning tomorrow.”

I could sense Alex’s frustration at having to wait, but more importantly, was Emily Peterson only throwing her step-daughter under the bus as a distraction, or did she truly suspect Cindra of some wrongdoing? It seemed that if Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were at the heart of this investigation, Alex should be able to demand an interview whenever he wanted. But I wasn’t here to tell him how to do his job. Instead, I wanted to catch him up on our notes, so he at least knew they were serious suspects.

“Apparently, Emily and Melvin Peterson really hated each other. Melvin owns the mansion and let his son Conrad, and his wife Emily move in, but Emily would sit and watch the old man struggle in trying to climb the stairs. Everyone else in the household would help, even the housekeeper Rhonda, but not Emily Peterson.”

Alex made a note of this, but I went on, telling him about Jerry the mechanic, and the way Melvin had apparently threatened his job, and the rivalry between Pete’s father and Melvin.

Alex made thorough notes. “They are both on my list to interview today.”

I also told him the details about the saffron grinder that was usually kept on the dining room table, but had been missing all week, and that Victoria suspected Rhonda of having it.

“Then there’s the grease or dirt on my sliding glass door.” Mallory pointed. “If the lab can confirm it is indeed grease, that would lead me to think that maybe Cindra was in my house.”

I hated to admit it, but that sounded better to me than the idea of a stranger or someone with a deadly anger breaking into Mallory’s house.

Alex twisted his lips and continued writing, but I got the sense he felt relief from this, too.

“I tried to ask Cindra about her family’s spice grinders when we were alone in the lunchroom,” Mallory said.

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