Banana Muffins & Mayhem - Culinary Competition Mystery #5

Chapter 10

(Amy)

As Amy descended the open staircase inside Quantum, she looked at all of the people bustling around between the desks and cubicles on the main level. Her husband had built a nice, little business empire. Whoever was trying to ruin it wasn't going to get away with it if she had any say in what was happening. She had always prided herself in not being a clingy wife, but since the firebombing, she felt drawn to stopping by his office to check on him. Her morning shift at Riverbend Café was complete. And now so was her mental health booster of making sure her husband was okay and that everybody around him seemed to be okay too. No odd behaviors, that she could see, which could possibly betray a guilty conscience.

The thought that she and Alex could be in the same building as the killer or arsonist or killer/arsonist made her shiver. The jittery reaction threw off her coordination, and only her heel made contact with the next step. Her foot then promptly slid off, landing on the next step with a loud thud that echoed through the reception area. Several people turned to look up at her. Never mind the klutz on the staircase. The clear glass railing was a nice design touch but not so nice for people who were trying to appear graceful...but weren't.

Outside the building, the warm air added to the heat in her cheeks. She had parked in the employee and visitors lot, so that meant she had to trek past the charred, crime scene tape-festooned Dumpster. It was an ugly reminder of the ugly side of people. Amy took a deep, calming breath and forced herself to look at the object of her despair. A man was bent over next to it. When he stood back up, his limp, dark hair glinted in the sunshine. A pink teddy bear sat next to the blackened stump of a former corner post in the enclosure. Amy froze. A pebble crunched under the sole of her shoe. She seemed to have worn cursed footwear that day. The man turned and squinted at her. "Is this where Phoebe Plymouth was killed?" he asked.

Amy tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it stayed there like a lump of stale fruitcake. "It's where her body was found."

He nodded once. "Why is it burnt?"

"Good question. I wish I had an answer for that."

His eyes narrowed further until they were just lines of eyelashes. "Phoebe was the most beautiful woman in the world. I am...was her number one fan. I can't believe someone killed her. Now she truly is an angel."

Was this one of the cyberstalkers Ginny was talking about? Somehow Amy had imagined the men would look as creepy as their comments, but other than needing to wash his hair or try some new styling products, this guy looked pretty normal. Looks could be deceiving though. No reason to provoke the potentially crazy obsessed man. Benign was the name of the conversational game. "Her death was a tragedy."

"It was devastating," he said before turning back to the Dumpster and kneeling in front of the stuffed animal.

Amy willed her legs to move at a casual walking pace instead of giving in to the desire to run away as fast as she could. The ten-second hike to her car felt as though it took ten minutes. Finally, she made it to the Mini. Amy locked herself inside the sun-warmed vehicle, but instead of starting the engine, she pretended to check her makeup in the visor mirror. It reflected Number One Fan Man as he pressed his fingertips to his lips then touched the teddy bear's snout. He stood and began walking diagonally across the parking lot. Just in time too. She was beginning to feel as though she was sitting in a sauna. But she hoped that by not starting the engine, he wouldn't notice that she wasn't leaving. And the locked doors with rolled-up windows made her feel a bit safer while hanging out in the vicinity of the strange man. Especially when her mind was spinning out of control, turning the comment about Phoebe being an angel into a twisted psychopath's reasoning for committing murder.