Vanilla Baked Murder: Cozy Mystery Book 3 (Kim’s Cozy Mystery series) (4 page)

It took Sam just twenty minutes to go from City Hall to the lavish mansion just on the outskirts of Huntington.

For almost five generations, the Guttman family had lived in their two-story Georgian style house. The white painted mansion had a small balcony that overlooked the street. Sam walked towards the big brown door and rang the doorbell.

“Hello, Mrs. Guttman!”  He called out.

The heiress, a lady in her mid-sixties,  proceeded to open the door herself. She looked fashionable in the latest Louis Vuitton pink pants suit.

“My dear boy, now mayor, how fast time flies. I remember when you were at the country club with your mother and brother; it seemed so long ago. You must tell your mother “Hi.” Sam smiled.

“I am so sorry for your loss!”

“Thanks, Sam!” She welcomed a hug from the young mayor.

“You’re always so handsome. I am going to introduce you to one of my nieces; I think you will like her.”

The flattery made Sam smile. “I already have someone.”

As Catherine offered him hot coffee, he stated firmly, “There's something more pressing I wanted to talk to you about.”

What is the matter?” she asked.

“I hate to get into gossip, but I saw a lady called Amy. She claimed to be Mr. Guttman’s fiancée. Is there any truth in that?”

Slightly insulted, Catherine’s welcoming demeanor changed.

“That man! God rest his soul. He didn't always do the right things.  He liked to play and manipulate. He did it over the past 20 years.” Catherine frowned, but tried to remain positive for her guest.

Sam felt that this time, Mr. Guttman had gone even further.

“I don’t think it was just a game; she went with him to the doctor and made plans to go to the Bahamas.”

Catherine fell to the couch after absorbing  the big news. She gasped for air.  “That man never really cared about anybody; all he cared about was his ambition. He manipulated people to his very end.” Catherine broke down, and Sam moved a bit closer and held her hand while she briefly wept.  After she composed herself, he continued his probe to find out how much she actually knew about Amy.

“So you thought it was just a fling?” Sam asked.

“When you are married for such a long time, you overlook many things, but I never thought he would try to replace me. After 20 years!”

“Do you think anyone would harm him?”

“After all the crazy things he did,  I think whatever happened was karma. I think everyone had a bone to pick with him - even you.”

“Why would you say that?” A baffled Sam queried.

“When Guttman first pitched you for mayor, he said he needed someone to take under his wing and control. That was it.”

Sam was appalled that the man he had worked with for months had not cared about him.

“It hurts, doesn’t it, finding out the truth about a person.” Catherine stated, trying  to bond with Sam about the emotional web of deceit Guttman had created.  

“Yes it does,” Sam confessed.

“I didn’t plan on doing this. I am going to ask for your consent to do a second autopsy.”

Catherine, taken aback, tilted her head.

“Why? I don’t see the point in doing one. David is already dead. And it won’t make a difference.”

“I want to be thorough and sure,” Sam responded to a wide-eyed Catherine.

“That request is ill-considered, don’t you think?” she asked.

Sam sat in silence and then lifted his coffee.

I disagree, and it is thanks to you. We just established the true person that Guttman was. Let 's give him the respect he never had for us.”

“You are something, Sam Hamilton. Despite the fact that I told you Guttman’s true intention, you still want to do well by him.”

She cracked a smile.

“I see the man you are: a much better man than David was.” Then she added with a giggle,
Are you sure you don't want to meet my niece?”

“Tell you what. If I get your permission for the inquiry, I might reconsider seeing your niece.”

“Well then, how bold! You have definitely grown up,” Catherine said with piercing eyes.

“I won’t hold you to that wager, but at least just say you will owe me a favor, Mr.
Mayor
.”

“Please let me know whatever you need,” Sam said indulgingly.

Immediately after leaving the Guttman estate, Sam called Sheriff Mulling about enforcing a public inquiry into the Guttman investigation.

It was a Tuesday afternoon; Sam was enjoying a glazed cinnamon bun from Kim’s shop when a call interrupted his delicious snack! Sam was not pleased about breaking from his sweet cinnamon bun, but he glanced at the number and realized it was from the Sheriff’s office.

“Hey, Sam, I have some news on the Guttman case.”

“What is it?” Sam's voice was muffled as he chewed and spoke.

“The coroner medical examiner reports showed some abnormalities with the heart attack. They explained that most heart attacks occur when the oxygen flow in the blood is blocked, but in this case, an unknown substance caused the blood flow to stop. And the unknown substance came from his stomach.”

Sam's eyes bulged out. “I see. I never actually expected anything to surface.”

“We still have more things to look into, like identifying the substance, and whether it was more than an accident.”

Sam was intrigued. “Keep me posted on this investigation.”

“Will do,” Mulling replied.

…

Sam decided to focus all his attention on finding a manager for his campaign. He rifled through a stack of resumes given to him by a headhunter.

Malinda looks good; she ran the Bayset mayoral campaign
, Sam thought to himself. He circled her name and set aside her resume. Then he examined the files of other candidates.

…

It was about 2:30 pm when Sam heard a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Sam yelled, straightening his necktie.

Harold looked slightly unnerved as he shook Sam's hand.

“Well, well, well, the young mayor finally came out to play.”

Sam glared at him with a puzzled expression, wondering what Harold could possibly want. He hadn’t seen Harold since the showdown at the council meeting.

“Hello, Harold; can I help you with anything?”

“Stop playing dumb.” Harold looked sharply at Sam. “I know about your public inquiry into Guttman’s death. What's your angle here? Are you trying to scare people into voting for you? Drop the public inquiry!”

“Are you out of your mind? This is not some political move; this is about doing the right thing and being thorough with an investigation.”

“Okay, Saint Benedict, I will play ball. Let's say you drop the public inquiry and lay Guttman to rest. A seat at the council will be waiting for you.”

Sam face's turned slightly orange, enflamed with anger. He looked Harold dead in the eye and said sternly,

“Like I said before, I am just being thorough; I have no desire to sit on the council, because I will still be the mayor.”

“You hypocrite,” Harold protested.  “All you care about is power. You go around playing the role of a saint. But I see you for who you really are. I'm going stop your little public inquiry if it's the last thing I do.” Harold pointed his finger in Sam's face before he stormed out of the office.

Quickly, Sam called Mulling and told him about Harold's visit and what he had said.

“I will take a look into Harold a bit more carefully,” Mulling responded.

“Thanks, Mulling.” Sam hung up the phone.

It was a little past two o’clock when Sam’s office phone rang again. Sam picked it up and Mulling shared even more shocking news.

“I am afraid the case has taken a more sinister turn. The case is now ruled a homicide.”

Sam hardened his grip on the phone and looked around the room in frustration
.
“How is that possible?”

“Well, because of the second autopsy, the medical examiners were able to get tissue samples which included a compound called ‘Xilinx’ that induced the heart attack. This drug is tasteless and can be baked in food. Right now, I am reinterviewing ‘Cream Fusion’ staff members and particular guests at the Banquet.”

“Mulling, I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but please just be cautious when questioning Kim. Remember what she went through less than a year ago.”

“You're right Sam; you’re stepping on my authority by telling me how to deal with Kim.”

“Okay, that's valid,” Sam admitted.

“I actually have a question for you. Who do you think would greatly benefit from Guttman’s demise?” Mulling asked.

“Well, his wife stands out for sure. I like Catherine a lot, but she looks very suspicious, and Guttman was about to divorce her. But murder, I just don’t think she's the type of woman to do that.”

And then it hit him. “Harold!” Sam yelled out.

“What about Harold?” Mulling replied.

“He had the most to gain from Guttman's demise. He is now more powerful on the town council and the sole executive for the newly-developed real estate properties in downtown Huntington; and recently he behaved aggressively toward me regarding the investigation.”

“This is a lot of information to take in all at once, but I will look into Harold.” Mulling sighed over the new complexity of the case.

…

One of the first things on Mulling’s agenda was to meet Kim at her pastry shop and chat.

When Mulling entered the shop, the midday crowd had died down and he approached Kim directly.

“Where can we chat?” Mulling asked Kim. She was displeased with Mulling, but she decided to cooperate.

“My questions won’t take long, only a sec,” Mulling assured her.

Kim grunted, “Okay, fine, but I do have a lot of work I must get back to; I have a lime cream cake I'm making for a church ceremony later.”

“That's fine; I promise I will be brief,” Mulling politely insisted.

                     “Do you know what 'Xilinx' is?”

Kim, unfazed, sported a poker-face throughout the questioning.

“I have no idea what that is. I've never heard of it before,” she replied.

“‘Okay, was there anyone acting suspicious or mischievous the night of Guttman's death?”

“No, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

“How did you prep the fruit bar for the banquet?”

“I baked everything fresh and delivered it that afternoon. No other food was permitted other than my pastries,” Kim explained.

“Okay, Kim, that’s all,” Mulling said. “See, it wasn’t so bad.” He slipped his notepad into his jacket and looked at the glass case holding the desserts. The strawberry jelly croissants looked tempting.

“Can I get those to go?”

Kim gave him a plastic smile and directed him to the cashier; she just wanted him gone. The cashier wrapped up Mulling's order and placed it in his hand.

It was almost the end of the day, and Sam was whining at having to head down to the police department.
What could this be about?
He complained.  

Sam walked into Mulling’s corner office. Paperwork and boxes were scattered all over. 

“What's going on? “Sam demanded.

“We made an arrest,” Mulling explained.

“What? How?”

“Well, things moved really fast.”

Before Mulling could further explain, a new first-year rocket cop knocked on the door.

“Sheriff, should I bring the suspect to booking?”

“Yes!” Milling said angrily. “Rookie, I will show you myself.”

Mulling left his office and proceeded towards the interrogation room. Sam sat in even more confusion than before. Not wanting to sit idly, he got up to see what was going on. Sam walked to an intersection between Mulling’s office and the interrogation room and saw Mulling hauling Harold out of the room towards the booking area. Harold glanced backwards, locking eyes with Sam as he was being carried away.

“You!.... You did this… you set me up!” Harold screamed with conviction. Sam was appalled by the scene.

After the commotion, Sam returned to Mulling's office and sat down. Fifteen minutes later, Mulling also returned. “Hey,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job right if I didn’t ask. Does Harold have a point about you setting him up?”

“That is preposterous; of course not!” I didn’t even know you held him until now. How were you able to arrest him in the first place?” Sam asked.

“I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect, but I had to ask.

We looked into his credit card statements and he made a purchase of ‘Xilinx’.”

Sam's mouth dropped open. “You mean to tell me he somehow gave the drug to Guttman?”

Sam shook his head “No.” “These men were friends. I mean, I suspect the guy, but to think he really was able to carry this out. “It goes to show you what people are capable of doing.”

Mulling continued, “The credit card statement was the smoking gun, along with the motive for financial gains and new political power. He was your guy.”

Sam was dumbstruck.
Harold is many things and now a murderer - what's going on?
He thought.