Read Death by Chocolate Sundae: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 2) for Free Online Page B

your laptop,” Paige said to me, then she turned to Mr. Brooks. “Mr. Brooks have a seat.”
     
    “What is going on here…I demand to know,” he insisted.
     
    “Mr. Brooks, we have you on surveillance tape the night of the murder of Mr. Jenkins standing right outside this window,” Paige announced to Mr. Brooks who know looked stricken. He sat down at the nearest table.
     
    I brought out my laptop from the back and handed it to Paige who set it down on the table in front of the lawyer.
     
    “You don’t have to show it to me,” Mr. Brooks replied looking at the floor. “I’m sure I know what’s on it.”
     
    “You looking through the window at us trying to save Mr. Jenkins,” Stormi affirmed.
     
    “Well yes, I think you were trying to save him. I wasn’t all that sure since you all seemed to be in hysterics,” he added.
     
    “Now we weren’t that bad. We were just nervous and it came out wrong….” Stormi said her voice trailing.
     
    “That’s besides the point Mr. Brooks,” Paige interjected. “What were you doing staring in at us? Why didn’t you help?”
     
    “By the time I looked in I could hear the sirens approaching,” he explained. “I don’t know CPR and didn’t feel like I’d be of much use. So I stayed out of the way.”
     
    I looked at Paige and Stormi. It seemed plausible.
     
    “What were you doing in town so late?” I asked as I sat down across from him. Stormi and Paige remained standing on either side of me.
     
    “Well I suppose it doesn’t matter now since my client is dead, “Mr. Brooks sighed. “I came to town to talk to Mr. Jenkins concerning the lawsuit against the Parker’s.”
     
    “So you had access to his pill bottle!” Stormi announced accusingly.
     
    “I’m sure I did,” Mr. Brooks agreed. “However, I did not poison the man. On the contrary, I was trying to help him.”
     
    “What do you mean?” Paige asked as she pulled out the chair beside me and sat down.
     
    “I wasn’t happy with the lawsuit he’d brought against the Parker’s. It was a minor accident and I felt the two parties could work it out. The Landry Department store case was different. Mr. Jenkins did suffer from that event and Landry needed to make things right. Since they were a huge department store located in 30 states, I knew they would have no difficulty with a hefty settlement.”
     
    At this point Stormi sat down as well. Mr. Brooks continued.
     
    “Once I had time to look over the lawsuit against the Parker’s, I honestly didn’t feel right pursuing it. So I came down to see Mr. Jenkins to talk him out of it. After some persuading, I convinced him to drop the case. He was to meet me at my office the next day to sign papers dropping the lawsuit. But before I left, he told me there was something else he wanted me to do.”
     
    The three of us sat on the edge of our seats. We must have looked like ravenous dogs waiting for the next hotdog morsel to drop.
     
    “He wanted to change his will. His son was the sole beneficiary and it seems they had a blow up and Mr. Jenkins wanted to remove him. I told him that maybe he should take a few days to think it over. Sometimes a cooler head can change one’s perspective, but he was adamant and wanted me to have the necessary paper work ready the next day.”
     
    “When we parted, Mr. Jenkins said he was heading to the ice cream Shoppe in town to satisfy a craving. We said our goodbyes while I took a phone call. As I was driving through town I saw his car and decided to stop myself and grab a shake for the long drive back to Atlanta.”
     
    “When I walked up to the store window and saw what was going on…well, I think I was in shock,” Mr. Brooks admitted. “I’m very ashamed you ladies saw me on the tape staring in through the window like a lump of coal.”
     
    “It did seem strange,” Stormi said shifting in her chair. “We thought maybe you were making sure the old guy bought it…so to