Free 1 Catered to Death by Marlo Hollinger

husband.”
    “Doesn’t matter, ma’am. This is a crime scene and everyone in this room is a person of interest.”
    Steve laughed. “DeeDee doesn’t even like to kill mosquitoes.”
    “I don’t understand your point, sir, but we have to go by the rules.”
    “I’m sorry,” Steve apologized. “My wife catered the lunch and when she called and said that there had been a murder at the school I naturally rushed down here to make sure she was safe. I’m sure you can understand that.”
    “Of course, but we’ll still have to ask you to leave.”
    “May I leave too?” I asked, still clutching Steve’s arm tightly.
    “Not quite yet but it shouldn’t take much longer.”
    “Who was killed, officer?” Steve questioned.
    Officer Austin didn’t respond. “Please leave and we’ll be releasing your wife real soon. Thank you for your cooperation. You can wait in the hallway until we’re done with your wife.”
    “Officer, I must talk to you immediately!” Claudine came over and yanked at the police officer’s arm. “I feel faint and I need medical assistance now. This has been such a traumatic experience for me—I really feel quite unwell.”
    “Of course, ma’am.” Officer Austin and Claudine moved a few feet away. Steve seized the moment to ask me again, “Are you sure you’re all right?”
    I nodded. “I’m OK. When do you think they’ll let me leave?”
    “I don’t know. I’ve never been around a real murder investigation before. Who was that?”
    “The redhead? She’s a teacher at Eden Academy. Her name is Claudine Markham.”
    “She looks pretty shaken up.”
    “From what I gathered, she was very close to Frank Ubermann—the man who was murdered. Actually, she’s the one who hired me to cater the lunch.” I felt my lower lip start to tremble. “Oh, Steve, I think I should have chosen another career path to follow. This whole thing is a nightmare!”
    Steve held my arms firmly and used the no-nonsense voice he always used during a family crisis. “DeeDee, you’re catering the lunch today has nothing to do with the murder. It isn’t like they used your seafood casserole to choke someone.”
    “No,” I agreed. “The seafood casserole was really quite a hit with most of the staff.”
    “See? You did the right thing by choosing to go into catering. Now tell me fast before the junior cop gets back: who did you say was killed?”
    “Frank Ubermann. I met him this afternoon. He seemed nice. Well, sort of nice in an oily kind of way.”
    “Was he a teacher?”
    “No, he’s the head of the school, like a principal only they call him a director instead. Or a dictator. That’s what I heard a teacher call him this afternoon—before he got murdered.”
    “And you said he was shot, right?”
    I nodded.
    “Who shot him?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Steve’s eyes widened. “You didn’t see it happen?”
    “No, it was down in the gym in the basement. We were on the first floor.”
    “Thank God for that. Did you hear the gun go off?”
    DeeDee shook her head. “He wasn’t shot with a gun.”
    Steve frowned. “He wasn’t shot with a gun? Then what was he shot with?”
    “An arrow.”
    “An arrow? As in a bow and arrow?”
    “Yes. There’s an archery thing set up in the basement. Frank was down there getting supplies for his camping trip when––”
    “Now you’re really going to have to leave, sir.” Officer Austin was back without Claudine. “Please wait outside for your wife. This shouldn’t take too much longer.”
    “I’m sorry. Of course. Dee Dee, I’ll be in the hallway.”
    Watching Steve leave the room was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I know our friends all think that we’re overly dependent on each other but at that moment, it was like watching my oxygen supply get cut off. Fortunately, after another ten minutes of sitting in the lounge, I was told I could go.
    The hallway was beginning to fill with other people. While I was searching for Steve I