Murder to Go (The Heights Bed and Breakfast Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (9 page)

“We
have him,” Babs exclaimed and radioed dispatch for backup. “Carolyn stay in the
car. I don’t know if he has any weapons.”

Babs
braked to a smooth stop, and she jumped out. Carolyn sat watching as Babs made
her way towards Phillip who was struggling in his car.

Phillip
turned the key over and over in the ignition. The engine ground metal against
metal, but the car didn’t move. Steam billowed out from under the hood, and
radiator fluid poured out from underneath the car onto the powdery ground. The
passenger side of the car wrapped around the tree and almost met on the other
side. Phillip kicked at the gas pedal and beat the steering wheel with his
fist, but to no avail.

Babs
stared at Phillip and sighed. “That’s that.” She strode over to the car and
opened the driver’s door. Phillip gave the ignition one more vicious turnover,
then turned to Babs defeated. Babs took hold of his elbow. “Phillip Sawyer,
you’re under arrest for the murders of Paul Tenboom and Monica Rorschach.”

She
handcuffed him and put him into the back of her car. Carolyn fumed as she looked
at him through the caged partition window. She threw open her door and jumped
out. Babs opened the driver’s side door and looked over at Carolyn. “Come on.
Let’s get him back to town.”

“It
isn’t a good idea for me to ride back to town with you and that… that,” Carolyn
stammered to a stop before continuing, “maybe I should find another way to get
back to town.”

Babs
glanced around. “How are you going to get a ride back to town from here? We’re
miles out of cell phone range. I would have to drive back to town and get someone
to come out and get you. That could take all day. Get in the car.”

Carolyn
walked back to the car and pointed to the backseat. “I can’t stand the sight of
that scoundrel.”

“Listen,”
Babs told her. “You might not be a badge-carrying member of the Evergreen
Police Force, but you’re just as much a part of this case as I am. You solved
this case yourself. I know you’re angry, but I wouldn’t be arresting this jerk now,
if it weren’t for you. I should have let you make a citizen’s arrest just now
to cap your victory, but I didn’t know if it was safe. We’ll just have to wait
until next time.”

Carolyn
snorted. “There won’t be another time. Can you retire after one case?”

Babs
chuckled. “Get in the car, Carolyn, and I’ll take you back to Karl.”

Carolyn
looked up from her laptop as Sarah walked into the kitchen of the manager’s
apartment. “How is everything going?”

Sarah
nodded and took the chair next to her mother. “It’s good. I’ve checked in all the
guests who were staying at Phillip’s. Kat is all set to start performing this
week.”

Carolyn
sat up straight with her hands over the keyboard. “I’ll have to be sure to
catch her act. I love listening to her sing.”

“She
asked if you and Dad would come to her opening performance,” Sarah told her. “I
suspect she wants to thank you in front of everyone for saving the day.”

Carolyn
pressed her daughter’s hand. “I’m so happy this is over. You and David can get
back to the nice mundane chores of running this place.”

Sarah
chuckled. “I’m looking forward to the pile of laundry waiting for me.”

David
sauntered in from the B & B dining room. At the same time, Karl swung open
the bedroom door. Karl poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down next to
Carolyn. David poured himself a bowl of cereal from the cupboard and sat down across
from her.

“I
didn’t know you had a review to write today?” David asked.

“I
don’t,” Carolyn replied. “I’m searching through the real estate section of the
gazette.”

Sarah’s
head whipped around. “You’re not thinking of renting a place, are you?”

Carolyn
shrugged. “I’m just seeing what’s out there.”

Sarah
turned towards David. He shrugged his shoulders. She jabbed David with her
elbow. His arm knocked into his bowl, spilling cereal and milk on to the tabletop.
He frowned at her. Sarah jerked her head toward Carolyn.

David
stuck his spoon into his bowl. “By the way, Carolyn....”

She
looked up. “Hmm?”

He
cleared his throat. “By the way, Carolyn, I haven’t said I’m sorry for accusing
you and Karl of destroying our business. I shouldn’t have said that. I should
have known you would do the right thing and find a way to compensate us for
staying here. I’m sorry. Please forget I said anything.”

Carolyn
burst into a glorious smile. “Thank you very much for that, David. I accept
your apology. Let’s forget it ever happened.”

Sarah
stared at her mother. Carolyn returned her attention to the screen and typed a
new search on her laptop. David took a bite of his cereal and Karl sipped his
coffee.

Sarah
nudged her father with her elbow, and he spilled coffee down his front. “Hey!”

Sarah
jerked her head again toward Carolyn. Karl wiped the driblets of coffee off his
cheeks and chin. “You know what, Carolyn....”

Carolyn’s
eyes widened. “Yes?”

Karl continued
in monotone, “I’m sorry I got angry at you for providing a roof over my head. I
was an ungrateful clod. Please forgive me.”

Carolyn
laughed out loud. “I would never hold it against you, darling. I will try to be
more honest with you in the future. I know you were upset with me. I shouldn’t
have hidden anything from you.”

Her
focus returned to the laptop screen with a satisfied smile. Karl brought the
coffee cup up to his lips, Sarah elbowed him again a bit harder this time, and
he set his cup down on the table. “Oh, I didn’t tell you, Carolyn....”

“What
is it?” Carolyn asked as her eyes glanced up at Karl.

Karl
cleared his throat. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for solving the murder....”
Sarah gave him another jab. “And for getting me out of jail. I don’t know how
to thank you.”

Carolyn
beamed at him. “I did it because I love you. You are very welcome. I would do
anything for you. You know that.”

Karl
swallowed hard. He didn’t bring the cup back up to his lips again until Carolyn’s
gaze moved back to the laptop.

Carolyn
pointed to a listing on her screen.

“Look
at this one,” She announced with excitement. “It’s downtown near Stan’s, and
it’s affordable, too. They’re having an open house tomorrow. Maybe we should go
take a look.”

“You’re
not still thinking of moving out, are you?” Sarah asked.

“I
told you,” Carolyn replied. “I’m just looking. I haven’t made any decision
about it one way or the other.”

Sarah
looked at David, and then at Karl. They both looked down at the table. Sarah jabbed
a finger at both of them at the same time.

“We
don’t want you to leave. Right, everyone?” Sarah asserted to Carolyn. Karl and
David nodded in unison.

Carolyn
looked back and forth between the two men. “We don’t?”

Sarah
sat up straighter. “No, we don’t. I’ve talked it over with David, and we both
want you and Dad to stay here with us, in the manager’s apartment. David never
really had any problem with you living here. He was just worried about finances.
Now that he knows you’re contributing, he wants you to stay.”

Carolyn
faced him. “Is this true, David?”

David
peeked up from his cereal bowl. “I wasn’t planning to share the apartment with
my in-laws, but you’ve been here so long, I’ve gotten used to you. It hasn’t
been the same since you’ve been gone. I really would like you to stay—if you
want to. I understand if you want to rent your own place, though. Things have
been pretty tense around here lately.”

Sarah
leaned across the table. “You and Dad were always around the restaurant when I
was growing up. I miss those days. It’s been great getting off of work and
coming in here to talk to you about my day.”

Carolyn
broke into a grin. “I would love to stay on at the B & B. I love the time I
spend here with both of you, and I would hate to leave on a sour note. I’m sure
your father feels the same way. He’s been a new man since he started cooking
again. I know he loved being back in a big kitchen.”

David
interrupted. “You can only stay if Karl goes back to work
as our chef. We’ve gotten more complaints about the
food since Karl’s arrest than we ever got before you two moved in. The guests
won’t have anyone else cooking their meals.”

Carolyn
chuckled. “You were cooking while Karl was in jail, weren’t you?”

David
stirred his cereal. “Well, yes.”

Carolyn
smiled. “I’m sure Karl would love to be your chef for as long as you will let
him.”

Karl put
his coffee cup on the table and stood up. “I better go then.”

Sarah
whirled around. “Where are you going?”

“I
need to start prepping,” he replied. “I have a house full of guests, and a lot
of catching up to do. I have to stock the inventory. I have the produce order
to fill out. And I have today’s baking to do, and I’m already behind.”

Sarah
hugged her father. “Welcome back, Dad. I mean, Chef.”

He
kissed her on the cheek. “You have your mother to thank that I’m not in
prison.” He came to Carolyn's side and took her hand. “I also have to do some
preparation for our champagne dinner.”

Carolyn’s
eyes popped open. “Karl!”

Karl
shook his head. “I should have told you a long time ago, but I was too
stubborn. I’m lucky to have you. I should have never made fun of your blog. I
guess I was jealous of all your success. People love your blog and I should
too.”

Carolyn
threw herself into his arms and kissed him a thousand times. “Hearing you say
those words is the greatest compliment I could ever receive. You know I admire
your culinary genius. If my blog can live up to your standards, I wouldn’t ask
for anything more.”

Karl
folded her in his arms. “It goes way beyond my standards. You know as much as I
do about the culinary arts—maybe even more. Maybe that’s why I got defensive
about it. I always thought of myself as the great genius. I never wanted to
admit a mere waitress could know as much as I did.”

They
kissed and hugged until both Sarah and David blushed and turned away.

“I
think I’ve changed my mind about you guys staying here,” David quipped. He
laughed when Sarah elbowed him.

Karl
gazed down into Carolyn’s face with burning eyes. “Will I see you tonight for
dinner, then?”

Carolyn
laughed through her joyful tears. “Absolutely, then we can go to see Kat’s perform
later.”

Karl
nodded. “That sounds perfect. Let’s plan that week’s vacation at the Mountain Veil
Lodge you mentioned. We can hire a chef to take my place.”

Carolyn
pressed her body against him. “I can’t wait.”

He
gave her one last kiss before he left the room. “Me, neither.”

Carolyn
gazed after her husband as the door shut behind him. Then she wiped her eyes
and sighed. “You’re father surprised me. I never thought he had it in him to
apologize like that.”

David
stood up. “I better go, too. I have to finish weatherizing those windows on the
east wing.”

Carolyn
gave David a hug. “Thank you, David.”

“Welcome
back,” David nodded. He grabbed his tool box and walked out of the room.

In
the quiet that followed, Sarah settled into her chair. “Put your laptop away,
Mom. You’re making me nervous.”

Carolyn
laughed. “I really am just looking. I’m not planning to move anywhere.”

“Still,”
Sarah replied. “Put it away—for my peace of mind.”

“All
right.” Carolyn closed the laptop.

Sarah
reached over and held the top of her mother’s hand.

“I
never got a chance to say thank you,” Sarah admitted. “Thank you for keeping
the family together.”

Carolyn
gasped. “I am pretty overwhelmed at the amount of apologizes and compliments
today. You know this is going straight to my head.”

Sarah
grinned at her. “How does it feel to be the greatest sleuth in town?”

“Hardly!”
Carolyn returned. “I’m a food blogger who happened to put two and two together.
That hardly makes me a sleuth.”

“Admit
it, Mom,” Sarah told her. “You enjoyed every minute of it. If another crime
occurs around Evergreen Cove, you’ll try to solve that, too. I know how your
mind works.”

Carolyn
shot her a radiant smile. “I won’t deny it. I never had so much fun, and I’ve never
experienced the thrill of catching a killer. But for now, I am going to enjoy
sticking with blogging and leave the crime solving to the police.”

Carolyn
stood up and lifted her coat from the back of the chair. “Wait, what time is
it? I’m going to be late.”

Sarah
shot out of her chair. “What? Where are you going?”

Carolyn
put on her coat and hugged and kissed her daughter. “I’m delighted we are going
to be staying here, but right now I have to go. I have an invitation to review
the chef’s tasting menu down at the Foxtrot Cafe.”