The Game Night Murders by Theodore Huntington

Author:Theodore Huntington [Theodore Huntington]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

11

LIEUTENANT PIPPA CANNONE entered the war room carrying a pink box of Krispy Kreme donuts. She set the goodies on the table and flipped the lid open, teasing Detective Kranepool, who had been steadfastly sticking to his diet.

“You’re a twat!” Kranepool barked, refusing to even turn around to see the donuts.

Detective Gabriel, on the other hand, had no qualms about snatching three sugary treats, stuffing one whole donut into her mouth before she sat back down.

“Thanks, Lieutenant!” Lauren mumbled, crumbs of donuts spilling from her mouth.

“Ya know, Gabriel, some of the boys around here think you’re actually hot. They have no idea what a pig you are,” Kranepool teased his partner, who smiled wide at Ned, donut remnants oozing from her perfect teeth.

“Alright, what do we have here?” Lieutenant Cannone got comfortable, staring at the images of the various players in the Sanguillen murder mystery.

Pippa Cannone was a Sicilian emigrant whose family relocated to the U.S. when she was a teenager. She still spoke with a slight Italian accent. The petite, raven-haired fifty-two-year-old divorcee was admired by all who served under her for the past decade since elevated to the lieutenant post. She was a brutally honest leader who had innate crime-solving instincts.

Kranepool explained, while aiming a laser pointer at the wall. “We have one Henry ‘Hank’ Sanguillen, deceased. His new bride Juanita reported him missing after Sanguillen took their mammoth dog Mongo for a walk at three a.m. and never returned.”

“Is the wife a suspect?”

“Negative,” Gabriel replied. “Newlyweds, very much in love.”

“Alright, continue …”

“We have the Game Night clan, led by one Kerri-Anne Harmon.”

“She’s the one who’s gone AWOL?”

“Vanished like a fart in the wind,” Detective Kranepool quipped.

“Making her the primary suspect?”

“Maybe. There’s also Linda O’Neill, Game Night host, Harmon’s BFF, and, according to the text messages we just got back, O’Neill and Harmon are more like friends with benefits.”

“Sanguillen looks like a large man. How could either of these slight women have overpowered that guy?”

“Could have been both. We’re not ruling out an accomplice,” Detective Gabriel noted.

“What about motive?”

“Jealousy. Love triangle. All connecting to Linda O’Neill. Seems like all the suspects and the victims have or had some romantic connection with O’Neill,” Kranepool added.

“So then, why would O’Neill be a suspect? Everyone loves Linda, right?”

“Maybe an argument went awry,” Detective Gabriel replied. “Maybe Sanguillen was about to spill the beans to Linda’s new boyfriend. It’s a long shot, but we can’t rule her out.”

“Any other theories?”

Lauren Gabriel looked toward her partner. “Ned has some theories,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, Lieutenant. My skeptical partner disagrees, but Sanguillen had just been fired from his job. And even though he was a newlywed, his texts indicate he still had feelings for O’Neill. So—”

“Suicide?” Lieutenant Cannone speculated.

“Precisely.”

“But no note or any other proof it could have been suicide,” Gabriel added. “Cause of death was a deep puncture wound to the chest, which could have been caused by any number of things—maybe a fireplace poker—”

“And,” Kranepool interrupted, “maybe a mountain lion claw.

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