Death by Lime: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 5 (3 page)

Detective Bernard Cortland had arrived at Marilyn’s cozy cottage just as the pizza delivery guy was leaving. He was briefed on what had happened, collected the box carefully, promising to talk to Tim Eckels, and left the women to enjoy their girl’s night. Kelcie selected the movie, choosing vintage James Bond, and the three of them indulged in wine, pizza and the suave exploits of Sean Connery. By the time the movie was over, Kelcie and Tiara were feeling a bit tipsy, and fortunately, both of them had brought overnight bags, just in case, so Marilyn insisted that they stay over. Tiara slept in her old room upstairs, and Kelcie was delighted to stay in the bed-and-breakfast-like guest room, with its floral bedspread and curtains, and deep, plush area rug. Fluffy, Tiara’s cat that had to stay at Marilyn’s because animals were forbidden at her apartment, kept their guest comfortable by snuggling up on a corner of the bed and purring herself to sleep.

The three women sat, rather glassy-eyed, around the breakfast bar the next morning, consuming copious amounts of Costa Rican coffee with their slices of Key Lime pie. The two younger women headed out early because Tiara was teaching Yoga on the Beach, and Marilyn stayed behind to tidy up, agreeing to meet them at the shop after their class. They hadn’t been on the sidewalk for more than a couple of minutes before they heard a male voice calling out behind them.

“I know who you are,” Tim Eckels muttered, a few paces behind them, startling the women.

“What do you want?” Tiara whirled to face him, primed and ready to confront the strange little man.

Tim kept his gaze on Kelcie, ignoring Tiara completely. “You took my job,” he said, his eyes dead behind his glasses.

“What?” Kelcie responded, baffled.

“You applied right before I did, and she picked you, even though I would’ve been better. You took my job,” he repeated in the same toneless manner.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, turning to walk away from the odd neighbor.

Tiara kept pace with her as she power-walked away, with Tim on their heels, until the unfortunate man dared to speak again.

“I make the best pies,” he raised his voice, panting with exertion.

All of the fury that had been simmering within Marilyn’s daughter as she had witnessed Kelcie’s fear for the past few weeks, rose up and spilled out all over Tim Eckels.

“Now you listen here, freakshow,” she roared, eyes flashing fire. “You had better stay away from Kelcie, and me, and my mother, or you’ll regret it. My mother puts up with your weirdness because you’re her neighbor, but I swear to you, if you bother any of us again, you’re going to wish you’d never met us,” she threatened, meaning every word.

“I already wish I’d never met you,” Tim replied mildly, seeming entirely unfazed by her outburst. “Except you,” he turned to Kelcie. “You’re nicer than they are,” he nodded, staring eerily at the scared young woman.

“You. Get. Out. Of. Here. Now!” Tiara yelled through gritted teeth. When the creepy, dough-faced man didn’t move, she stepped closer, using every bit of her considerable height to try to intimidate him, and again, he kept his gaze locked on Kelcie.

“I have mace in my purse and I’m not afraid to use it,” she threatened, towering over Tim and reaching into her purse. That seemed to pull him out of his reverie, and he looked at her thoughtfully before turning to go.

“I mean it, sicko. You stay away from us,” she commanded, watching his retreating form. Tim acted as though he hadn’t heard her at all, and meandered away.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Kelcie murmured, her heart pounding.

Tiara nodded grimly. “I’d swear to it.”

**

Tiara and Kelcie arrived at the Yoga on the Beach location early, so that Tiara could set up and check people in. Both women had more than their share of adrenalin coursing through their veins and were looking forward to the release that gentle exercise would provide. While Tiara checked class members off on her list, Kelcie set up her mat in the back, taking small sips from her water bottle and trying to shake off the jitters from her latest encounter with Tim Eckels.

“Hi,” she heard a shy male voice say from beside her. She turned to see the Chinese food delivery guy unrolling his mat.

“Hi,” she smiled. “You’re the Ming Ming guy,” she observed.

“Among other things, yeah,” the young man grinned. “How’s this class? Today is my first day.”

“It’s fantastic,” Kelcie said with enthusiasm. “The instructor, Tiara, is a friend of mine, and she’s just the best.”

“Great,” he nodded. “I’ve been looking for a way to start my day feeling relaxed and mellow, so I’m hoping this helps me out. I’m Sam, by the way,” he introduced himself.

“Kelcie,” she replied. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Sam replied, and seemed as though he was about to say something else, when Tiara called the class together to start.

Tiara and Kelcie both felt much better after the class, having worked out some of their angst. Sam rolled up his mat and thanked Tiara for the class, disappearing before she or Kelcie could engage him in conversation.

“Hmm…kinda cute,” Tiara raised her eyebrows, looking meaningfully at Kelcie.

“Yeah, he actually is, in a nerdy kind of way,” the young woman agreed, watching him walk down the beach with his mat under his arm.

“Do you two know each other?”

“Well, kinda, maybe,” Kelcie smiled. “He delivered my Chinese food the other night.”

“Well, at least he has a job,” Tiara teased. “Let’s get going. Something tells me it’s going to be a long day.”

“Okay, Mom, so what’s it going to be? Are you going to open an additional shop, expand this one, or move to another, larger, location?” Tiara asked, tapping the cover of her binder.

“Well, sweetie, I’ve given it a lot of thought, and, based upon what you’ve researched, I really think that expanding our current shop is going to be the way to go. The retail space next door has been for sale for quite a while, so I’m going to make an offer and just knock down the walls that separate this space from that one. We can make a larger kitchen, with greater production and storage capacity, and make our eat-in area bigger too,” Marilyn’s eyes sparkled as she considered the possibilities.

“Good call, that’s the option that I was hoping you’d pick, based on the numbers. Okay, I’ll get to work on the new business plan. Do you want me to contact the real estate agent, or do you want to take care of that?” Tiara asked, in full business manager mode.

“I’m thinking that you’ll be a tougher negotiator than I am, so go ahead and set up the appointment. I want to do the walk-through with you when you see it, then you can handle all of the details and just tell me where to sign,” her mother instructed. “This is so exciting!”

Tiara grinned at Marilyn’s enthusiasm. “Yes, it is. Here we go…headed for the big time.”

**

Kelcie was behind the front counter, taking care of any customers who came in while Tiara and Marilyn met to discuss strategy. It had been pretty quiet, once the morning rush had ended, and she looked up with a smile when the bells over the front door jangled, signaling a new arrival. Her smile faded quickly, however, when she saw Tim Eckels shuffling in carrying what looked like a Key Lime pie.

“How may I help you?” Kelcie asked primly, pretending to wipe down the front counter and working hard to keep any tremors from her voice.

“I brought you a pie,” Tim replied, looking at her blankly.

“Umm…that’s not how this works. We sell pies to customers, customers don’t bring us pies,” she explained, puzzled and wary. She knew that a few months ago, Tim Eckels had brought Marilyn a Key Lime pie that had laxatives in it, which drove Marilyn and Tiara to their sickbeds for a day.

“No, this is for you. I’m showing you that I deserve this job, not you. My pies are perfect and you don’t know my Grandma’s recipe,” he explained, his fish-eyed gaze creeping her out.

Deciding that she’d never get rid of him if she kept arguing, she played along. “Well, thank you, that’s very kind of you,” she said, taking the pie. “You must have loved your grandmother very much.”

“She’s dead,” he replied, blinking at her.

“Okay,” Kelcie was at a loss for words. “Well, you have a nice day. I’m just going to take this to the back so that I can taste it on my break,” she promised, hoping he’d be gone by the time that she got back from the kitchen.

The young woman was more than relieved when she went back to the front and Sam, the Ming Ming delivery guy was standing there, rather than Tim the Terrible.

“Well, it’s really nice to see you,” Kelcie breathed a sigh of relief.

“Really? I’m not even bringing food this time,” he joked.

“Did you see a kind of funny looking middle aged guy leave here when you came in?” she asked, lowering her voice.

“Kind of a pasty, shifty-eyed guy with glasses?” Sam asked.

“Yup, that’s him,” Kelcie nodded. “I think he may be stalking me,” she confided, her discomfort with that fact evident.

“Wow…really?” he frowned. “That’s terrible. Do you think he’s dangerous?”

The young woman shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, so far he’s only done nice things, but who knows what he might be planning?”

“I’m really sorry, that’s gotta be rough,” Sam observed compassionately.

“Yeah. So far it’s been more annoying than anything else,” she made a face. “So anyway, enough about my troubles, what brings you in today?”

“A fierce desire for a really decadent dessert,” he admitted. “I figure that since I did yoga this morning, I kind of earned it,” he rationalized with a guilty grin.

“I would have to agree,” Kelcie nodded. “Because if you earned a piece of pie after doing yoga, that means I did too,” she returned his grin, glad to be having a conversation with someone normal, after having dealt with Tim.

“Join me? I’d enjoy the company,” he offered.

“Sorry, I can’t. I’m running the front by myself for a while because the owner and her daughter are in a meeting,” she said ruefully.

“Well, then, I’ll just take a slice to go and eat it like a ravenous vulture at home.”

“Okay, coming right up,” Kelcie laughed.

Sam took his pie and headed out, saying that he hoped to see her at yoga in the morning. As he exited the shop, Detective Bernard Cortland came in, looking grim.

“Hi, Detective, what would you like today?” Kelcie smiled, wondering about his dark expression.

“Actually, I need to ask you some questions,” he replied.

“Okay, sure,” she agreed hastily, wondering what was going on.

“Do you know this man?” the detective asked, sliding a photo across the counter to her. It was a picture of an attractive man, with a tennis racket slung casually over one shoulder.

“Yes, I know him,” Kelcie nodded. “That’s Camden Reynolds, he’s a good friend of mine.”

“When was the last time that you saw Mr. Reynolds?” Bernard asked, as a feeling of dread tickled the bottom of Kelcie’s stomach.

“Sunday evening. We had dinner together at Old Italy after he helped me move to my new apartment,” she replied.

“Where were you last night around 11:30?”

“I was at Ms. Marilyn’s house with her and Tiara, eating pizza and watching movies. Why?” she asked, puzzled.

“His body was found in the dumpster behind your new apartment this morning,” Cortland answered, watching her carefully for a reaction.

“What? Camden?” she breathed, horrified. The detective watched as the young woman swayed for a moment, and when her eyes rolled back in her head, he reached across to catch her before she hit the counter or the floor.

“I don’t know how this is possible,” Kelcie shook her head and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Everyone loved Cam, he’s a sweetheart.” She had regained consciousness on the couch in the break room, surrounded by Marilyn, Tiara and Detective Cortland.

“I’m wondering if his death has anything to do with the fact that you have a stalker,” Bernard mused, his pen poised above his ever-present notepad.

“You think Terrible Tim did it?” Kelcie was wide-eyed. “But…as far as I know, Cam didn’t even know that awful man.”

“Terrible Tim?” the detective raised a questioning eyebrow.

“My neighbor,” Marilyn explained. “He’s the one who brought the florist’s box to the door. Did you talk to him?”

“Briefly,” Bernard replied, not giving away any details of his conversation with the creepy neighbor.

“Well, do you think he’s the stalker?” Tiara came right out and asked, frustrated by the detective’s determination to avoid giving a straight answer.

“We’re leaving all possible avenues open for consideration,” Bernard drilled the young woman with a glance. She sighed audibly, but let it go.

The detective moved his gaze back to the devastated young woman on the couch. “Unless you have anything to add, I’m going to get going.”

“Nothing that I can think of,” Kelcie shook her head miserably, then remembered something. “Oh, wait, I forgot!” She told the detective about her encounter with Tim Eckels, and let him know that the pie that the strange man had brought was still on the counter in the kitchen. “I was going to call you, but you came in before I had the chance.”

“Okay, I’ll grab it and take it to the lab. Keep me posted on any strange events,” Bernard directed, standing to go.

“I’ll walk you out,” Marilyn volunteered following him out the door. “Should I be worried about her safety?” she asked softly, once they were out of earshot.

“I’d encourage her to be very careful and alert,” Bernard nodded.

“Who do you think did this?” she asked, worried.

“You know that I can’t share that kind of thing, Marilyn,” he admonished. “But I’m investigating every angle of both cases. I’ll get it figured out. In the meantime, just encourage Kelcie to stay vigilant,” he advised.

“Okay,” Marilyn agreed, her mind going a thousand miles and hour. There had to be something more that could be done, something that maybe the police had overlooked, or didn’t have the time to do. She had never been one to sit idly by and rely on others to solve her problems, and Kelcie’s dilemma shouldn’t be an exception. A plan was beginning to hatch in her mind, and she spent most of the rest of the afternoon lost in thought.

**

“I think that Kelcie should spend the night at your house for the next few days, or until the police figure out what the heck is going on, don’t you think so, Mom?” Tiara asked as the three women closed up the shop for the day.

“Umm…no. You know, sometimes the best thing that you can do when times are rough is to retreat into your own comfortable environment,” Marilyn replied.

Her daughter’s mouth fell open in shock. “Are you serious? What on earth makes you think that her apartment is even a remotely safe place to be right now?” she demanded, wondering if her mother had lost her mind.

“She’s been taking all of the precautions that Bernard suggested, and we’re just a phone call away if she gets scared,” was the matter-of-fact reply.

“What are you up to, Mom?” Tiara’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I know you, you’re not generally one to follow orders, even when they make sense. What’s up your sleeve?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” her mother hedged. “I just think the smart thing to do is follow Bernard’s advice and give him time to figure out what happened.”

Tiara wasn’t buying her mother’s denial for an instant, but before she could reply, Kelcie broke in softly.

“I think your mom is right. I feel perfectly fine about going home. Right now, I just want to take a nice hot bath, eat some dinner and go to bed.”

Marilyn and her daughter looked sadly at the seemingly frail young woman in front of them.

“Fine, if that’s what you want,” Tiara sighed, giving in. “But if you need anything, or if you just want company, you’ll text me, right?”

“Absolutely,” Kelcie nodded gratefully.

“Okay. Do you feel up to walking, or would you like a ride home?” Marilyn asked.

“Well, I’m supposed to vary my routine, so instead of going straight home, do you think that we could go to the grocery store? I want to buy some avocados to make guacamole tonight, it’s my comfort food, and I’ll look and see if they have any good paperbacks so that I can read myself to sleep,” the young woman replied.

“Of course, sweetie, anything you need,” her boss smiled and gave her a hug.