Hawgs, Dogs, and Murder (Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mysteries Book 4) Read online

  “Yep, he’s the one who killed Deedee. Shoulda been me that died, but she got to the water first. He could’ve killed all of us. He put cyanide in the coffeepot and water cooler. Nobody drank it but Deedee. Poor, innocent Deedee,” she shook her head.

  “But doesn’t your building have some sort of security? How would he have gotten in to put the poison in the water and coffee?”

  “After hours, you have to scan an employee ID to get in. I was at an ice cream social at the church. Marvin scanned my badge in, did his evil deed, and was back home before I finished my hot fudge sundae. It’s a good thing that I was in a public place with lots of witnesses when he did it, or they would’ve come after me.”

  “But how did they know that it was Marvin who did it and not Carissa?”

  “Something about some white powder in his office and some strange envelopes and a messed up key on his typewriter. They also had an invoice from the chemical company. He gave ‘em a fake name to buy the stuff, but some kinda expert compared the handwriting of his signature with the fake signature and said it was the same.”

  “How did he convince them to sell him cyanide?”

  “Said he was a high school teacher and needed it for an experiment. The sales rep was a kid fresh out of school and didn’t know any better, so when his manager found out about it, he called the cops and they traced it back to Marvin.”

  “So he wrote the threatening letters to you, pretending to be Howard?” Rossie asked softly, appalled.

  “Yep. He confessed to it too. He set the whole thing up. He bought life insurance so when I died he’d have a bunch of money. He even had an engagement ring that he bought for that woman. It was way bigger than mine,” Ruth looked at her recently-empty third finger and tears rose in her eyes. “He tried to frame Howard Parker. He figured he’d get rid of her ex and me at the same time,” she shook her head. “Now I know what it feels like to be treated like trash. When you’re done with someone, you just throw ‘em away.”

  “Oh Ruth, you’re not trash. He didn’t deserve you,” Rossie reached across the table and squeezed the grieving woman’s hand.

  “He wanted to throw me away for someone younger.”

  “His bad choices aren’t your fault,” Rossalyn reassured her. “Was Carissa in on it?”

  “I don’t know. The police wouldn’t tell me anything. They told Marvin the evidence that they had and he confessed, so he’s going to go to jail. What happens to anyone else, I don’t know. Don’t care really,” she shrugged.

  “Is there anything that I can do?” Rossie’s heart ached for the woman in front of her. Even if he deserved to go to jail, the loss of a spouse was hard, and knowing that he wanted to kill you must have made it even harder.

  Ruth took a deep breath. “I sure would like some more of those grits and eggs,” she smiled faintly.

  “Bacon too?” Rossie asked, encouraged by her attitude.

  “Bacon too.”

  **

  Walking home from school, Ryan Channing was in a great mood. Since Barney came to the end of the block to wait for him every day, he hadn’t been bullied in a long time. The April sky was clear and blue, and the sunny day would be just perfect for more adventures with a boy and his dog. Ryan didn’t need a leash, Barney trotted obediently at his side, but he used one anyway, just in case the dog decided to chase a cat or something.

  He noticed that the hound kept scenting the air and scanning the area around him like he’d detected an animal to retrieve or something, and he chuckled as he scratched between the dog’s ears.

  “Come on boy, you don’t have to hunt anymore, we have plenty of food at home.”

  The two went on their way, and as they approached the front porch, Barney stared toward the garage and went into a pointing stance.

  “Is there something over there?” Ryan asked, beginning to get a bit worried about the dog’s behavior, it was starting to freak him out. He walked toward the garage a bit and stopped. Barney wasn’t acting like he was afraid. His tail was wagging slowly back and forth.

  “Anybody there?” he called out, hating how his voice cracked, making him sound like a freak rather than a tough guy who could handle confronting strangers.

  He stood in the driveway, not knowing what to do, then realized that he might just be putting himself into a dangerous situation if he continued to follow his curiosity.

  “Chicken,” he taunted, sounding more unsure of himself than ever, and hoping that Barney would guard him if a hoard of bullies happened to come sidling around the end of the garage. It was stupid to take his chances, so he took Barney by the collar and headed into the house, just as Tom Hundman pulled up on his motorcycle, it’s engine drowning out the sounds coming from behind the garage.

  Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott