Free A Zen For Murder (Mooseamuck Island Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Leighann Dobbs Page A

trust us.” Claire settled back on the bench. “So, let’s see. We know Zoila argued with Norma and then went to the meditation garden. But we don’t know if she had a stop in between.”
    “We could ask Norma if she knew where Zoila went after the argument,” Dom offered.  
    Claire tilted her head. “We could, but she might not tell us. For some reason, she is being exceedingly closed-mouthed. We should ask around to see if anyone was up at the zen garden that morning, and if they saw anything.”
    “I talked to Banes.” Dom told Claire about his conversation with the groundskeeper and the bag from Chowders .
    “It sounds like you think the bag from Chowders could be significant? Why is that?”
    “Banes said the kids leave trash sometimes, but I don’t think kids would have a take-out bag from Chowders . They usually eat junk food.”
    Claire scrunched up her face at him. “So, you think the killer ate at Chowders ?”
    “Not necessarily. I talked to Shane and Sarah after Kenneth, and they acted very strange when I asked about Ben.”
      “Why would you ask about Ben?”  
    Claire had shifted in her seat to face him and Dom knew she was going to be upset, but he had to mention the clues as he saw them.  
    “Kenneth said he was at Zoila’s yesterday and I know he does delivery for Chowders . There was a Chowders bag up near the crime scene…” Dom shrugged, letting his voice trail off.
    “Ben wouldn’t leave trash up there!”  
    “Not normally … but if he was fleeing a murder scene, he might.”
    Claire’s cheeks burned. Her face turned incredulous as she stared at Dom. “You can’t seriously suspect Ben? You know he couldn’t kill anyone and I can assure you from a psychological standpoint, he’s not capable. Besides, why would Ben want to kill Zoila?”
    “That’s the big question. Why would anyone. If we could answer that, we’d have our killer. Besides, it seems that Ben has an alibi.”
    “He does?”
    “Yes, Sarah said he visits his mother on the mainland on Wednesdays and I don’t think he would have been on the island when she was killed.”
    That's right , Claire thought. How had she forgotten that? Of course Ben could not have done it.   She felt a pang of worry—she'd noticed herself getting more and more forgetful and hoped it was just a normal sign of aging and not something more sinister.
    “Right. Well, I can assure you it wasn’t Ben or Norma,” Claire said in a clipped tone. Then, she calmed down and gave the situation some thought. It was better to act professionally, not emotionally. “We need some more leads to follow. Are you sure Banes didn’t see anyone else up there or hear anything? You’d think Zoila would have screamed.”  
    “No. He was cleaning up horse poop on the trails and he said he doesn’t hear very good,” Dom said. “As far as I know, no one else has come forward to say they were there that morning.”
    “Meow!”
    Dom looked down to see a large Maine Coon cat weaving in between Claire’s ankles. Claire reached down to pet the cat’s head.
    “Is that your cat?” Dom asked.
    “No. She’s a stray, but she comes to my garden sometimes, and I always leave something out for her. I call her Porch Cat.”
    “Oh. I’ve seen her on my patio. I wondered who owned her. She seems to stroll by in the afternoon, most days.” Dom tossed a pistachio to the cat. She looked up at him with suspicious green eyes, sniffed the pistachio disdainfully, then rubbed the side of her head on Claire’s calf while she presented Dom with her back end.  
    Claire laughed. “I guess she doesn’t like pistachios. I think most of the neighbors feed her—she’s well fed. I think she makes the rounds, and I’ve seen her sunning herself in the gardens up at the conservation area.”
    “Near the zen garden?”
    “Yes. Too bad she can’t talk,” Claire said. “She probably knows a lot about what’s going on around the island. She might even know who