Strawberry Kiwi and Slayings Read online

  “I don’t mean to come off as mysterious,” Daniel said. “I do appreciate my privacy, and it was difficult to talk about at first, but a few people that I trust do know. And I’d be happy to tell you, Carl. I moved here after my wife died. I cared for her while she was ill and after she was gone, I couldn’t stay in that house anymore.”

  “So, you and Lydia have something in common besides chasing suspects,” Carl said. “You both cared for sick loved ones. Right? Lydia helped care for her uncle.”

  Lydia was impressed that Carl remembered. Maybe he did listen to Trina more than she gave him credit for. Tonight he seemed like a perfect boyfriend for her friend.

  “It’s a sorrowful common ground to share,” Lydia said. “But it is nice to know someone who understands the roller coaster of emotions that you went through at that time. And I am very lucky because it’s because of my uncle that I was able to open my taffy shop. He and my aunt raised my brother and me, and I miss him a lot. But whenever I go to the taffy shop, I feel close to him.”

  “I tried to run away from my memories of Delilah,” Daniel said. “Not that I wanted to forget her. But missing her hurt so much. And I think that’s why I moved here.”

  “Because of the soothing beaches?” asked Carl.

  “No,” Daniel admitted. “There are lots of places with nice beaches, and I saw them when I was part of the Coast Guard. In fact, in my time off, Delilah and I loved to travel. We went all over the country. And to a few places outside of the country. We weren’t quite the world travelers like Lydia’s Aunt Edie is.”

  “Aunt Edie plans to see as much of the world as she can,” Lydia said. “I love getting her postcards. It’s always a surprise to see where she ends up next.”

  “But why did you come here?” Trina asked, confused.

  “I wanted to move someplace that didn’t remind me of her,” Daniel said. “And we had traveled to so many places together that this was difficult, but we had never come to New Jersey. It was never a place that we thought was worth visiting.”

  “Of course, you feel differently now, don’t you?” Lydia asked, feeling her Jersey pride rise up inside her.

  “Yeah. It’s not as bad as people say,” he said with a wink.

  Lydia knew that he was teasing her, but it was still difficult not starting to list the many virtues that her home state had to offer. She reached for another piece of garlic bread so she wouldn’t rant about the scenic beaches, the Pine Barrens, and famous 24-hour diners in front of Trina and Carl.

  “Don’t start arguing like children,” Trina teased. “And you’re outnumbered by Jersey folk, Daniel.”

  “Yeah. Don’t start arguing like children,” Carl said. “I didn’t want to be around all that and that’s why I’ve vowed never to have them.”

  Trina took another sip of her wine and Lydia sensed that this was news to her. However, trying to keep the conversation going, Trina turned to Daniel. “Do you feel the same?”

  “I’m not sure,” Daniel admitted. “Delilah and I planned to have children eventually, but that didn’t happen. I never imagined having children with anyone but her. But I guess there’s already been a lot of changes in my life after losing her.”

  Not sure exactly how she felt on the matter because she wanted to make sure that her business was profitable before she planned to care for someone else and completely unsure of what to say aloud, Lydia reached for another piece of bread. However, as soon as her mouth was full of bread, she heard her cell phone ringing. She saw it was a call from Kelsey and finished chewing quickly. She wondered what the problem could be. Kelsey wasn’t working that night. She was supposed to be relaxing after her dress rehearsal.

  “Hi, Kelsey. Is everything all right?”

  “No,” came Kelsey’s terrified reply. “Lydia, I need you to come to the theater. Come alone. It’s an emergency.”

  “If it’s an emergency, I’ll be right there,” she said, pushing away her plate and standing up.

  “It’s a matter of life and… well, maybe just death.”

  3

  Terror at the Theater

  Lydia hung up the phone and addressed the table. “I’m sorry. I have to go. Kelsey is in trouble.”

  She started running out of the restaurant before her friends could finish telling her that they understood and ask if she needed help. Daniel had been getting up from his chair, but she was already dashing to the door. However, her wits soon caught up with her feet, and she remembered something.

  She hurried back to the table, anxious and slightly embarrassed.

  “I didn’t drive here,” she said.

  “I’ll take you wherever you need to go,” Daniel said.

  Lydia shook her head. “Kelsey said for just me to come. I’m not sure why.”

  “Take my car,” Trina said quickly. She took her keys out of her purse and threw them to her friend. “Carl can give me a ride home in his seafood van. I might end up smelling like flounder, but for you and Kelsey, I’ll take the risk.”

  Lydia thanked her and then rushed to the theater. She parked Trina’s car in the parking lot and realized that there were two other cars there. It wasn’t the full cast, and it wasn’t Kelsey here alone. What was going on? Was someone hurting Kelsey? What she had said on the phone didn’t quite make sense. All Lydia knew was that it was important she was here.

  She hurried up to the building. The breeze from the nearby ocean felt chilly with the sun down, but Lydia was already shivering.

  The front door was unlocked, and she went inside. She saw Kelsey sitting on the floor just inside the lobby, hiding in the corner. She was wearing stage makeup that would exaggerate her features so they could be seen by the audience even if they were in the back row. However, it was clear Kelsey had been crying as there were lines of tears running through the blush on her face.

  Kelsey had always seemed so capable and determined that Lydia sometimes forgot how young she was. However, now, shaking in her seat on the ground, she looked her age. The teenager looked up gratefully when she saw Lydia.

  Lydia reached her and gave her a hug. “Your call scared me. I was afraid someone was after you.”

  “Not me,” Kelsey said quietly.

  “Why don’t you try and tell me what’s going on?” Lydia suggested.

  She kept an arm around Kelsey but looked around the lobby. There were several posters for the upcoming drama The Family Hildenbraugh that was set to open in two days. The door that led to the room with the theater and audience seating was closed.

  “It’s… It’s Stephen,” Kelsey said, finding her voice. “He’s the playwright for our show. He lives in town, and he wrote this play that we’re going to put on. But now – he’s dead.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “It looked like he was strangled with the curtain rope. And I got close enough to make sure it wasn’t a prank. And it’s not. He’s dead.”

  “I’m so sorry that you came across this,” Lydia said. “And I am happy to be here for you, but we have to tell the police if someone was killed.”

  “No. Not yet,” Kelsey pleaded. “Because there’s more.”

  Lydia braced herself to hear what was “more” than a dead body.

  “I know I should have called the police and I wanted to leave here, but I needed to talk to someone I trusted first. I came back here after the dress rehearsal because I forgot my script. I do know all my lines, but I like to reread them to myself every day to be really certain. I went towards the stage because that’s where I thought I left it, but that’s when I saw Stephen. And I dropped my purse, and it rolled in the seats. I was just lucky I had my cell phone in my pocket, but I couldn’t leave without my car keys.”

  “I understand that,” Lydia said. “Just like you can’t leave without a car.”

  “I called you first because I was scared of how it would look and sound to the police. I found my script. It had been ripped up onstage and was right near where Stephen was. I know it was my script bec
ause of the lines that had been highlighted. Part of me was afraid that the police would think I killed him. If I was the only one who was at the theater and it seemed like he ripped up my script. Plus, the police considered you as a suspect before so it doesn’t seem outrageous that they would consider me one.”

  “Kelsey, if you didn’t kill the playwright, then you have nothing to worry about. Leo and Detective Grey did briefly think I might be a killer, but that was a different situation. Leo was still upset with me because of how our uncle divided his estate in his will, but that’s been resolved now. Also, in that case, the murder weapon was a piece of poisoned taffy. I can see why they would look at me. But that’s not the same here. And clearly, you weren’t the only person in the building after dress rehearsal because the killer had to have been here before you arrived.”

  “Well, that’s really what I’m worried about,” Kelsey said. “I’m not sure that another person was here. I don’t want Detective Doherty or Detective Grey to think I’m crazy.”

  “But why would they think that?”

  Kelsey wrung her hands together. “Because of what else was on the stage. It was very wet. There was water all over the place.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” said Lydia. “Do you think this might have been an accident? That Stephen slipped in the water and then hurt himself?”

  “No,” Kelsey said. “I know this sounds crazy, but I’m afraid that the phantom was here.”

  “The phantom that you and Jeff were joking about yesterday?”

  Kelsey nodded solemnly. “I didn’t take it seriously before, but now I’m afraid it’s true. What if there is a phantom that’s haunting our theater and he killed Stephen? And all the water is the beginning of the phantom’s attempt to take the theater into the ocean?”

  “I don’t remember either of you mentioning water in the theater as an indication that the phantom had been there,” Lydia pointed out. “Jeff said he left seaweed behind, and you thought he left a trail of salt.”

  “The salt might be left there after the water dries up. And it just feels so eerie in there. Like there really is an evil phantom.”

  “It might feel eerie because someone just died,” Lydia said. “And I think we need to call the police now.”

  Kelsey nodded, and Lydia took out her cell phone to call her brother. This certainly wasn’t the way she expected the night to go. She thought there was a chance that the dinner date might be a dud, but she never expected to be called to a crime scene.

  4

  The Crime Scene

  “Now you’re getting involved in my cases before I am?” Leo asked Lydia after he and his partner had conducted a brief sweep of the building to make sure that no one was hiding at the theater.

  “It’s not intentional,” Lydia said.

  She had gotten involved with several murder investigations - much to her brother’s chagrin. However, she only stepped in to help when the case was affecting someone she cared about, and this was what had just happened with Kelsey. Lydia refrained from pointing out that every time she had helped with an investigation, she had figured out an important clue that led directly to catching the killer. She and her brother were finally getting along again, and she didn’t want to upset him.

  “Why was it that you were called before the police?” Detective Grey asked. The serious officer was addressing Lydia but kept an eye on Kelsey, who was sitting nearby.

  “Because Kelsey needed to see a familiar face after such a shock,” Lydia said. “She was also frightened into thinking that a legend about the theater might be true. Apparently, the cast and crew all tell stories about a phantom from the ocean who haunts the theater. She thought that the water on the stage was an indication that the phantom had been here.”

  “Well, there didn’t seem to be an obvious reason for why there would be so much water there,” Leo said. “The mode of death didn’t cause blood to be spilled, and the surface of the stage isn’t ideal for collected shoe prints. Not to mention how many people have walked up there, it would be impossible to differentiate when the prints were made. Maybe this is related to the phantom.”

  “You’re not suggesting a creature committed this murder?” Detective Grey said incredulously.

  “No, but maybe someone wanted us to think that there was a supernatural element involved to throw us off the scent,” said Leo.

  “I think that’s right,” Lydia agreed. “Because it did have that effect on Kelsey. She’s a very bright girl, but the superstition of this theater makes her consider that it was the phantom who acted instead of a person.”

  “We should talk to Kelsey and get her statement,” Leo said. “Then, we can let her go home.”

  “Her mom is on her way here,” Lydia said. “Kelsey’s car keys were lost in the theater, and it’s for the best if a parent drives her home.”

  “We should be able to return her personal items to her tomorrow after we process the scene,” Detective Grey said.

  He nodded as if what he said was a proper farewell and then walked over to Kelsey. Lydia grabbed her brother’s arm before he could follow.

  “Wait. Leo, you don’t think of Kelsey as a suspect, do you? You know that she couldn’t have killed anyone.”

  “I think any person is capable of murder under the right circumstances.”

  “But,” Lydia began.

  “But, I think in this instance, Kelsey isn’t someone to consider,” Leo continued. “She is much smaller than the victim, and I think she would have had a difficult time strangling him to death. Of course, I’ll need the medical examiner to confirm that the cause of death is what it appears to be. But I don’t really think Kelsey did this.”

  “I’m so glad to hear you say that.”

  “Actually, I’m glad I can say it too. If your employee isn’t a suspect, then it means that you won’t have to poke your nose into my case, right?”

  “Well, probably not,” Lydia said. She didn’t like being put on the spot for an answer like that, and she did still feel involved with this case. Kelsey wasn’t a suspect, but she was clearly upset by what happened. She had stumbled across the dead body of someone she had been rehearsing with, and someone was trying to convince her that a phantom was really at the theater.

  Leo didn’t seem completely pleased with that answer, but he didn’t push. Instead, he said, “Stay here. Don’t go into the other room.”

  He left to talk with Kelsey. Lydia stood near the doorway to the adjoining room that housed the stage. She hadn’t planned on getting any closer to the dead body than she already was, but she had to admit that she was a little curious about the scene. Rationalizing that she wasn’t disobeying Leo’s instructions if she just peeked into the other room, she nudged the door open enough so that she could see inside.

  She thought she might be able to better help Kelsey if she knew what her employee and friend had stumbled across. If she saw anything that she could tell Leo about to help him with the case, then that was just a perk.

  She took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she would see and peeked inside. The full stage lights weren’t on, but the room was illuminated enough for people to move comfortably around in. The stage was decorated like a room in an opulent house. It looked out of place to see the well-dressed room covered with ripped pieces of wet paper. The coloring of the floor did indicate that it was still wet, and there were shells scattered about the stage.

  The deceased playwright was facing away from her, but she could see the rope from the curtain near where he lay was still wrapped around his neck. On the right side of the stage, a gold colored rope was holding that side’s red curtains together in a decorative way. However, on the other side, the curtains were loose because its rope was used for the deadly deed.

  She could make out something in the playwright’s hand and was trying to make out what it was when she heard Leo’s angry voice.

  “Lydia!”

  She jumped and turned around to face her brother. “I d
idn’t go inside,” she protested.

  “You and your loopholes,” he grumbled.

  “I just had to take a look to see if I could help Kelsey. And I noticed something in the victim’s hand. I think it might be a piece of paper.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Is it a page from the script? Maybe he was holding Kelsey’s script when he was attacked and tore it up while trying to fight his assailant. It might have nothing to do with the fact that it’s Kelsey’s script. Maybe the playwright found it left behind,” Lydia said. “Or, possibly the playwright reached for a certain page from the script to give a clue about his attacker. Maybe there is a line on that page that will indicate who the killer is.”