Chase rang the bell and soon the gate slid open and they walked up the short paved driveway to the front of the house. Mrs. Cranberry opened the door and watched them arrive, her arms folded across her chest, an expression of suspicion on her face. And as they drew nearer, Odelia saw to her surprise that the woman was the spitting image of Donna Bruce. The same athletic body type, the same facial structure, and the exact same long blond hair. She could have been Donna’s sister.
Chase displayed his badge.“Detective Chase Kingsley. Hampton Cove PD. And this is Odelia Poole. Civilian consultant. We’re investigating the murder of one of your neighbors. Donna Bruce.”
The woman’s scowl deepened. “What’s Donna’s death got to do with me, Detective?”
“That’s what we’re here to find out, Mrs. Cranberry. May we come in?”
Reluctantly, the woman stepped aside to allow them inside. To Odelia’s surprise, a large picture portrait of Donna Bruce dominated the foyer, and as they passed into the parlor, the covers of every Donna Magazine that had ever been published had been framed and put up on the walls.
“You’re quite the fan, aren’t you, Mrs. Cranberry?” asked Chase, studying the setup.
“I am,” said the woman stiffly. She led the way into the living room, where a life-sized bust of Donna Bruce took center stage. Oddly enough, even the furniture reminded Odelia of Donna, as the exact same furniture had graced her own house.
Maureen Cranberry wasn’t merely Donna’s double, she’d also copied Donna’s interior design, down to the intricate wood floor medallions, depicting the yin and yang symbols, the heavy velvet curtains, and the pink marble walls. Eerie.
Chase, too, seemed taken aback by this extreme case of hero worship, as he was lost for words for a moment. Odelia decided to step into the breach.“Is it true that you sued Donna Bruce a couple of years ago, Mrs. Cranberry?”
Maureen, who’d taken a seat on one of three high back chairs placed in the salon area of the living room, gestured at the other chairs and nodded. “Yes, that’s quite true.”
Odelia and Chase sat down, the cop taking out his notebook and Odelia asking,“And is it also true that you lost the case?”
“Yes, unfortunately I did.”
“But the incident doesn’t seem to have turned you off Donna?”
For the first time, the woman displayed a thin-lipped smile.“No, it didn’t.”
“So why is that?” asked Chase.
Maureen heaved a little sigh.“Once you’re a fan, it’s hard to shake that faith. Though I must confess I came close when I had my little… incident.”
“With the steamer.”
“With the steamer,” the woman confirmed.
“But you were seen protesting outside Donna’s house this morning,” said Chase. “That’s not the kind of behavior one would expect from a die-hard fan such as yourself.”
“I—I must confess I only joined the protest to take a closer look at Donna’s house and—and perhaps even catch a glimpse of Donna herself.”
Something occurred to Odelia.“How long have you lived here, Mrs. Cranberry?”
The woman smiled.“I moved in about six months after Donna moved in. Yes, I’m a stalker, Miss Poole, though not the dangerous kind, I can assure you.”
“And yet you sued Donna when the contraption you bought from her website malfunctioned, you joined the neighborhood protest against the wall she was building, and…” Chase leaned forward in his chair, tapping his notebook smartly. “… perhaps exacted your own kind of revenge when the lawsuit you filed against your idol was thrown out?”
Maureen shook her head decidedly.“I would never do that. I would never harm Donna. Ask anyone. I was her biggest fan and it pained me to have to file charges against her. I tried to get donna.vip to reimburse me and compensate me for the damage their steamer caused but they simply refused. Filing that suit was the only recourse I had to get my money back.”
“And you insist losing the lawsuit didn’t inspire you to take revenge in some other way?”
“It did not. Like I said, I would never do anything to hurt Donna. She was my role model, and not just mine. A lot of women looked up to her for advice and leadership. She was an amazing person. One of a kind.” She sighed deeply. “She will be sorely missed.”
Chase sat back.“Where were you this morning at seven, Mrs. Cranberry?”
“I was over at Alpin’s house. Alpin Carr?? He’s the leader of the neighborhood association and was organizing the protest. We were preparing for the demonstration outside Donna’s house. We met at six as we still had a lot of ground to cover. Banners to prepare and signs to put together. Some of the other women brought cake and Alpin provided coffee and tea. We made a fun time of it. We finally set out to march on Donna’s house at nine.” She shook her head. “If only I’d known Donna had passed away, I would never have come.”
There was a sound from the next room, and Maureen sat up with a start.
“Is anyone else here?” asked Chase, his hand moving to his holster.
“No. I live all by myself,” said Maureen, a trembling hand moving to her lips.
Chase got up and moved over without making a sound, treading carefully. He’d taken out his gun and was aiming it in the direction of the noise. For a moment Odelia wondered if Donna’s killer was now coming after Donna lookalikes as well. She followed at a safe distance, Maureen right behind her, her hand on Odelia’s shoulder, as they slowly made their way to the next room.
“What’s in there?” Odelia whispered.
“The kitchen,” Maureen whispered back. Then she added, “I must have left the door open!”
That bit of information, coupled with the grunt of astonishment from Chase, told Odelia who the intruder was even before she’d reached the door and entered the kitchen.
Three cats sat looking up at them from the kitchen floor, with one cat seated on the kitchen counter, snacking on a very delicious-looking meatloaf: Max. When he finally noticed they were no longer alone, Max looked up, his face covered in crumbs of meatloaf.“Oops,” he said.
Chapter 20
For the rest of the day, I was confined to the house. House arrest, Odelia called it. Bummer. Luckily, Dooley had opted to stay behind and share my punishment. Harriet and Brutus, not surprisingly, had not. They were out and about somewhere, continuing their investigation. Harriet, after having supplied Odelia with the identity of the vajayjay woman, had become cocky, and now truly believed she was the second coming of Sherlock Holmes or something, and no longer needed my or Dooley’s assistance in solving this particularly heinous crime.
Good for her. If she didn’t need me, I certainly didn’t need her. But if she thought she could catch Donna’s killer, she was dead wrong. What she hadn’t grasped was that Maureen Cranberry was innocent, which meant she’d led Odelia and Chase on a wild goose chase.
At least I’d had some prime meatloaf. Whatever Maureen Cranberry’s faults, she prepared one mean meatloaf. The meat had been tender, succulent and tasty. Just the way I like it.
I opened one eye when Dooley’s insufferable snuffling told me he was somewhere nearby. He looked up at me expectantly. The moment Odelia had delivered the verdict, I’d plunked myself down in my usual spot on the couch and hadn’t moved from it. I swear, this diet was slowly killing me, not only robbing me of my physical strength but also of my will to live.
“What do you want, Dooley?” I grumbled, closing my one eye again.
“Aren’t we going to continue our investigation?” he asked excitedly.
“What investigation? If you hadn’t noticed, we’re grounded. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”
“But we have the computer! We can find clues, just like Harriet found that clue about the woman with her burnt business.”
I groaned.“If you hadn’t noticed, Dooley, that was a rubbish clue. Nothing came of it.”