Tea Leaves, Jealousy, and Murder
Jenna St. James
Copyright © 2019 by Jenna St. James.
Published by Jenna St. James
Cover Design by Karen Owen
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Ryli Sinclair Mystery Series Order
Picture Perfect Murder
Girls’ Night Out Murder
Old-Fashioned Murder
Bed, Breakfast, and Murder
Veiled in Murder
Bachelorettes and Bodies
Rings, Veils, and Murder
Last Stop Murder
Gold, Frankincense, and a Merry Murder
Sullivan Sisters Mystery Series Order
Murder on the Vine
Burning Hot Murder
Prepear to Die
Tea Leaves, Jealousy, and Murder
A Witch in Time Series
Time After Time
To Joy Scaggs…you asked me to do something for you in this book…I hope I succeeded and you find it unique, amusing, and clever.
To Shelley Hensel…may you continue to be carefree and active. And if you ever take up tea leaf reading, give me a call!
To Karen Owen…thank you SO MUCH for letting me use one of your beautiful tea-and-light pictures for my cover. You are such an inspiration!
And thank you to everyone behind the scenes…you lovely ladies that read and give me feedback! I appreciate everything you do for me to help improve my storytelling.
“Am I late?” Jax asked as she barreled through the front door of Gone with the Whiskey. “I got here as fast as I could.”
“You’re right on time,” Mom said. “Tillie’s friend just called and said she was ten minutes out.”
I let out a squeal of excitement. I couldn’t wait to meet Tillie’s lifelong circus friend Shayla Hensel—a Gypsy fortune teller who specialized in reading tea leaves. Shayla and Tillie spent years traveling together when Tillie was in the circus.
Natalia Novak, a former trapeze artist and contortionist, was marrying my Gramps, a retired Colonel from the Army, in less than a week. The two were as different as night and day—Tillie eating tofu burgers and Gramps winning the annual barbeque cookoff every year. But somehow they made it work.
Even the wedding meal was a diverse combination of the two. Guests could choose between Gramps’ meal of tri-tip and mashed potatoes or Tillie’s meal of Chilean sea bass and grilled veggie kabobs.
“It’s so nice of Darlene to cover the store for you,” Tillie said, “while you bake and get ready for the wedding this weekend.”
“She’s been a blessing,” Jax agreed.
My sister, Jax, recently opened Sinfully Sweet Bakery just a few doors down. Gramps and I owned Gone with the Whiskey, a trendy bookstore and bar. At thirty-one, I considered myself lucky to be a business owner…even if Gramps was the one who helped both Jax and me get started. Our stores were located on the South side of town in a cluster of old wooden saloon-type structures. All the stores were connected via wooden walkways and small foot bridges.
“Hey, Jaycee,” Mom said. “How about a round of the monthly special, Peach of a Deal, while we wait for Shayla?”
“Coming up,” I said.
“I’ll get the drunken crisp,” Jax offered.
Each month my sister made a boozy dessert to pair with one of my drinks. This being the first week of October, we decided to serve a warmed peach crisp made with a splash of peach Schnapps and rum together with a mango-peach wine slush. A salute to the two different northern California temperatures…cool in the mornings and evenings yet hot in the afternoons.
Gramps lumbered out from the back storeroom carrying two bottles of wine with Duke on his heels. Duke, named after the late and great John Wayne, was a massive bulldog given to my Gramps by a Marine buddy of his.
“I just pulled a few chardonnay bottles,” Gramps said.
“One of the perks of living in the wine country,” I said, “is always having good wine on hand.”
Traveler’s Bay, a tourist town in Sonoma County, California, was situated amid redwood and sequoia trees, myriad wineries and spas, the Pacific Ocean, and the Russian River. The bulk of the town lay between Hwy 116 and Hwy 1, and meandered along the curved streets carved out of the tall hills.
The bell over the door jingled and in walked a tall, lanky woman in her early sixties. She looked and dressed a lot like Tillie. She had on the same colorful flowing dress, and numerous bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces adorned her thin body. She carried a gigantic satchel bag that crossed in front of her body and hung down low on her hips. The only difference between Tillie and Shayla was the hair. Instead of long, silver blonde curls like Tillie, this woman wore a mass of long, dark unruly curls.
“Shayla!” Tillie bolted off the barstool and flung herself onto the other lady.
As the two beautiful women stood there hugging, laughing, and crying, Mom, Jax, and I hurried over to stand in line to meet the notorious Gypsy fortune teller, Shayla Hensel.
“Your colors are beautiful,” Shayla said as she ran a hand down Tillie’s face. “I see a lot of blue, purple, and pink. You are very happy with this love match.”
My mouth dropped open. “You can read auras?”
I’d heard about such things but had never actually witnessed it before.
“My dear child,” Shayla said as she waved her braceleted, slender hand through the air, “I can see, read, and predict many things.”
I grinned at her answer then cut my eyes to Gramps. He stood next to a table, watching our exchange with apprehension. By the way his forehead crinkled, I knew he was nice and uncomfortable with this declaration from Shayla. Gramps didn’t go in for all that “hooey balooey.” Which was kind of funny, seeing as how Gramps touted he was as Irish as they come, and Ireland is well known for its amazing mystical folklore.
“Come meet my John,” Tillie said as she pulled a laughing Shayla behind her.
“Oh, yes,” Shayla said as she walked around Gramps and Duke…taking them both in.
Gramps was a pretty intimidating guy. He was a little over six feet tall and was still a soldier at heart, even though he was almost seventy years old. He lifted weights and ran early in the morning hours when most of us were still asleep, and he believed in discipline and hard work. Occasionally his Irish eyes would dance with merriment when he was down in his cups of Duke bourbon, but usually he was a no-nonsense kind of guy.
He stood there with his arms crossed over his expansive chest as Shayla looked him up and down. Even though he looked intimidating, I could tell Gramps wanted to bolt and run. Duke had the same look…stalwart and proud, yet his Bulldog eyes followed Shayla apprehensively with every turn she made.
“Cuvintele nu pot descrie dragostea mea pentru tine!” Shayla catapulted herself into Gramps’ arms.
Gramps was so shocked he barely had time to right himself before he fell over. He unhooked his arms and tried to push Shayla off him. Duke shook his jowls in surprise and did his famous snort Bulldogs are known for. Gramps’ ears were red and he looked like I often felt—like the joke was on him.
“What did she say?” Jax and Mom both asked Tillie.
Tillie beamed at them. “She said that words could not describe how much she loved him.”
Whoa! Guess Gramps passed muster.
“Shayla not only speaks Romanian fluently,” Tillie said, “but she also speaks Hungarian, Slovak, and German.”
Shayla leaned back and gave Gramps a big smack on the mouth with her lips and then patted his cheek. “Tillie has chosen well.”
Before Gramps could react, Shayla turned and embraced each one of us. “Oh, such love is in the air. The colors are so wonderful in this family.”
I had to admit it was probably true. Pretty much overnight every one of us went from being single…to in a relationship. I’d been seeing Detective Mike Connors now for almost four months, and just two months ago my sister started seeing former Gunnery Sergeant Trevor Garrison. Even Mom had recently jumped the singles ship and hooked up with her high-school sweetheart, retired FBI profiler and current best-selling author, Andrew Tipton.
“We were about to enjoy the monthly special,” Mom said to Shayla. “Won’t you join us?”
“I’d love to,” Shayla said.
I hurried back behind the counter to get the drinks going as Mom, Jax, Tillie, and Shayla each grabbed a seat in a circle of comfortable chairs along one side of the wall. I could hear Tillie making introductions as Shayla took off her satchel and set it down carefully beside her.
I poured the wine and mango-peach slushy mix into the blender. I gave it a quick pulse and then added the ice and blended for a minute. After pouring the slushies into stemless wine glasses, I portioned out huge servings of Jax’s delicious boozy peach crisp.
“Here you go.” I set the drinks down on the coffee table then ran back, retrieved the dessert, and handed the cobbler out. “The Peach of a Deal. Enjoy.”
“Thank you,” Shayla said.
“I like your bag.” Jax pointed to the large satchel at Shayla’s feet.
“I never leave home without it.” Shayla took a bite of her peach crisp and moaned. “Uimitor…amazing!”
Jax laughed. “Thank you. I make the boozy desserts and Jaycee and Gramps serve up the drinks.”
Shayla nodded. “A prosperous future I see for both of you. In fact, I’d love to do a reading for you while I’m here. Did Tillie mention I’m a tasseographer? I read tea leaves.”
I nodded enthusiastically. “She did. And I’d love to have a reading.”
“That’s what’s in my bag,” Shayla said. “I carry my own miniature teapot, leaves, saucer, and spoon. You never know when you might need to do a reading for someone.”
“I think we’d all like to do that,” Mom said.
Gramps had finally snapped out of his stupor and plunked down two drinks onto the counter. His way of telling me to get back to work.
“She’s something, isn’t she?” I asked as I sidled up next to him. “I can see why her and Tillie are best friends.”
“She’s odd,” Gramps said.
I smiled. “You thought the same thing about Tillie when you first met her.”
He grunted. That was all the response I was going to get.
“Where are you guys going again today?” Gramps asked.
“To Joy’s Party Rentals to pick up the cotton candy machine and a couple other wedding supplies.”
“Cotton candy machine for a wedding,” Gramps groused. “Have you ever heard of anything so crazy?”
Duke snorted in agreement, shook his heavy jowls, then plopped his head down on the floor and began to snore.
I pulled my new Rubicon into an empty slot outside Joy’s Party Rentals and turned off the ignition. I’d gotten the Jeep recently from Gramps after my beloved Mini Cooper was totaled thanks to a psychotic killer.
Jax parked her pickup next to mine and hopped out. She’d decided to follow us since we also had to pick up the small circus tent guests would walk through to get to the barn.
Tillie and Gramps were getting married at Abbott Acres, a small farm between Occidental and Bodega. Not only was there a venue for a barn wedding, but there was also a large outdoor garden on the grounds and a working fruit stand. And while the stone outbuilding where the bride’s party would get ready was nice and spacious, it paled in comparison to the barn where the actual wedding reception would take place.
We all hurried inside the rental store. The owner, Joy Braggs, had made sure that everything Tillie wanted for her wedding was available to rent.
Mom, Tillie, and Shayla immediately went to look at the tall box against the wall that held the circus tent. Jax and I headed over to the counter where a young woman stood, dressed in a baggy t-shirt two sizes too big and touted Joy’s Party Rental across her breasts. She had on supersized oval glasses in a dark black color, and her hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail high on her head. Not a stitch of makeup was on her face.
“Good afternoon,” the woman said. “My name’s Danita. How can I help you?”
“Hello, Danita. I’m Jaycee Sullivan. We’re here to pick up a couple items for the upcoming Novak-Flynn wedding.”
Danita’s eyes grew big behind her fake plastic lenses. “Oh, yes. I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but I’m so excited to meet you guys in person.”
“Oh?” Jax said. “Why’s that?”
Danita laughed softly. “Anyone who has the courage to do a circus theme for a wedding is someone I want to know.”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Right? How often do you get to go to a circus-themed wedding?”
The bell over the door chimed, and a handsome man dressed in black slacks and a light blue Polo breezed through the door. His sandy hair was rumpled, and he attempted to smooth it down before heading our way.
Danita self-consciously yanked her glasses off her face and plunked them down on the counter. She stood a little taller and smiled shyly at the man.
“Hello, Samuel,” Danita said softly. “How are you this afternoon?”
The man smiled at Jax and me then turned his attention to Danita. A flash of desire crossed his face before a mask fell. “Fine, thank you. Just dropping by the payroll.”
Before Danita could answer, a petite, beautiful woman sashayed out the back of the store and stopped short when she saw Samuel. The woman scowled at him and then looked at Danita. “Put on your glasses.”
Her barking order took me by surprise, and I watched in amazement as Danita shoved her glasses onto her face and looked down at the floor. If this was Joy, she was the very antithesis of her name.
“What do you want, Samuel?” the beautiful woman demanded.
Samuel narrowed his eyes. “Joy. So not a pleasure seeing you today.”
Joy’s nostrils flared but she said nothing.
“I’m dropping off the payroll,” Samuel said.
Joy flipped her straight blonde hair over her shoulder and hiked her designer purse up higher on her shoulder. “It’s about time. I expected it this morning. I’m heading next door to the bank right now.”
“Can I speak with you a moment?” Samuel asked.
Not waiting for her reply, Samuel grabbed Joy’s elbow and guided her swiftly to the other side of the store. Five seconds passed before voices were raised and the two were hissing at each other.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Danita bit her lip. “Samuel and Joy used to be married. They divorced about a year ago.”
“But they jointly own the company?” I asked.
Danita nodded. “Samuel still holds fifty percent interest in the company, so they have to deal with each other quite regularly.”
“That must be hard,” Jax murmured.
Danita sighed. “It is.”
The two marched back over to us, and Joy set her purse down on the counter. “I’ll go get an envelope in the back.”
I volleyed my gaze between Samuel and Joy, then Samuel and Danita. There was so much undercurrent going on, I was afraid I might drown in all the drama.
“Girls,” Mom called. “Come look at this tent.”
Jax and I wandered over to where Mom, Tillie, and Shayla stood.
“What was that about?” Mom whispered.
I smiled. I should have known Mom didn’t want to show us anything. She wanted the gossip.
I surreptitiously glanced over to the counter. Joy wasn’t around, but her massive purse still sat on the counter, so I figured she was in the back of the store. Danita and Samuel had their heads together and whispered back and forth to each other.
“I’m not sure,” I muttered. “Evidently the owner, Joy, and that man used to be married.”
Mom let out a low whistle. “There’s a lot of hostility there.”
Shayla nodded. “I see a lot of red, grey, brown, and black. That’s not good.”
I wasn’t sure what all those colors meant, but I could guess just by the feeling I got when I was over there in their presence.
“Here,” Joy announced loudly as she marched out from the back of the store. She thrust a paper at Samuel, picked up her purse, and strode out the door. Samuel and Danita continued to whisper for a few more seconds before Samuel turned and left.
“Well now,” I said, “this is awkward.”
Tillie snorted. “Let’s get our stuff and get out of here.”
Fifteen minutes later, we had the tent loaded in the back of Jax’s pickup truck, along with boxes containing items like red and white striped popcorn bags and both Barnum’s animal cookies and individual packaged servings of iced animal cookies. The two different cookies would be party favors for the guests to pick up on their way out the door. Jax was also making popcorn drizzled with Godiva liqueur and white chocolate in the traditional circus popcorn bags.
“And now to show you how the cotton candy machine works,” Danita said.
We all gathered round the pink, industrial-sized machine pushed up against the wall. A plastic guard covered the back half of the open cotton candy machine. I figured it was to protect customers when the machine was on and being used. There was a giant wheel on one half of the cart so we could tote the machine easily enough. The machine itself was fairly tall, hitting me just above my waist.
“It’s very sturdy,” Danita said. “There are attachments here that clamp the metal bowl into place, so you can’t just knock it over.” She clamped the bowl down and shook it forcefully back and forth. The bowl didn’t budge. “This half-sized plastic dome makes it so people can’t just stick their hands inside the machine and take out the sugar. And to make sure the device is extra sturdy, there’s a brake here on the back of the wheel that you can pull down to lock the cart into place. Believe me, this thing isn’t going anywhere.”
“That’s good,” Tillie said. “Safety first.”
“Can you come help me get the bag of sugar crystals?” Danita asked me. “They’re kinda heavy.”
I grinned and clapped my hands in excitement. “I sure can.”
I followed Danita over to the counter as the front door opened and Joy breezed in.
“I see I’m just in time to show you how the cotton candy machine works,” Joy said as she put her purse down on the counter. “I’ve got this Danita. It’s not that complicated to run, but it does take finesse. It’s better if I do it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Danita dropped her eyes and scurried back over to the cotton candy machine. I was about to open my mouth and give the rude Joy a lesson in manners when Joy’s phone rang. Grumbling, she fumbled inside her purse and snatched out her cell phone.
She took a look at the number and rolled her eyes. She swiped her finger over the phone and then turned her back to me. “What do you want now?”
I couldn’t hear what the woman on the other end said, but I could hear her tone…and it wasn’t nice.
“I’m not sleeping with your husband,” Joy hissed. “Get over your insecurity and leave me alone.”
My eyes popped open and I strained to hear more of the conversation.
“So what if I saw your husband last night? Doesn’t mean anything.” Again, screaming on the other side of the phone. “Honey, you leave me a one-star review, and I’ll come looking for you. You can take that to the bank…or the grave. Take your pick.”
Oh, boy!
Joy hung up and turned back to me. “Grab that bag of Flossugar there.”
I reached down and picked up the bag behind the counter as Joy dropped her phone back in her purse. Shifting the bag to my hip, I waited impatiently as Joy reached back inside her huge purse and reverently lifted out a small, ornate box of chocolates. It was from Lumiere’s Chocolates, a new store that opened recently on the square. She lifted the lid off the Lumiere’s Crème Filled Chocolates and smiled. Pursing her lips she carefully chose one and sighed as she bit into it. She didn’t offer me one…just slid the lid back down on the box and dropped it into her purse.
I silently followed her over to where everyone stood. Luckily I was used to carrying heavy items since I helped Gramps carry in crates for Gone with the Whiskey. I set the hefty bag on the floor and stepped backward. Joy slid open the bag and took out a tall, plastic beaker with a pour spout. She emptied the Flossugar into the center of the cotton candy machine then flipped on the switch.
“The most important thing to remember,” Joy said, “is that you don’t want any of the cotton candy to hit the center of the burner. It will smell and be an awful mess.”
Almost immediately fragile, spider web-like string gathered at the sides of the round machine. “I just gather…” Joy trailed off and shook her head as though clearing it. When she didn’t say anything more, Danita jumped in.
“Until you get the hang of it,” Danita said, “you don’t have to twirl it like you see the professionals do. You can just take the stick here and lift it off.”
When Joy didn’t lift the stick, Danita panicked and grabbed the stick from Joy. She carefully lifted the delicate sugar strands off the side of the round machine and set it on the table nearby.
“Joy?” Danita asked. “Are you okay?”
Joy put her hands up to the side of her neck and grimaced. “Hollow feeling, ears hurt, throat and tongue swelling. I think I ingested peanuts.”
“Oh no!” Danita cried. “How? Where’s your purse? I’ll get an EpiPen for you!”
Joy didn’t say anything. She just stood rooted in front of the cotton candy machine…which continued to blow out delicate strands of sugar.
I pointed to Joy’s purse on the counter. “Over there!”
Danita took off like a bat out of Hades, slid to a stop in front of the counter, rummaged through Joy’s purse, then bolted back over to us.
Mom touched Joy’s arm and tried to comfort her, but it was in vain. Joy was in panic mode. Her lips were puffed up to twice their normal size, and her eyes were almost completely swollen shut.
“Hold on, Joy,” Danita said. “I’m going to inject you.”
Danita popped open a toothbrush holder and pulled out a syringe. She uncapped the super-thin needle, lifted Joy’s dress above her knee, and injected the liquid into Joy’s body.
“That doesn’t look like any EpiPen I’ve seen before,” Shayla said.
“It’s homemade,” Danita said, her words nearly falling on top of each other. “Joy was tired of paying ridiculously high prices for the pens. So she watched a video on YouTube and made her own.”
Oh, that seems safe…NOT!
“You should feel better shortly,” Danita said loudly to Joy. “Want me to call an ambulance?”
Joy shook her head. “I should start feeling better…” but Joy never finished the sentence. Instead, her body seized and she started to shake violently. An agonizing scream, as if her body was being ripped in two, filled the air. “What? What have you…”
Before she could finish, Joy stumbled forward, pushing the cotton candy machine up even closer to the wall. I tried to grab for her, but I was too slow. Joy slumped forward and landed headfirst into the cotton candy machine. Within seconds, Joy’s head and upper torso were quickly surrounded and wrapped in pink sugary goodness.
“Shut it off!” Danita cried. “Shut it off!”
Mom reacted first. She reached down between Joy’s body and the machine and flipped the switch. I grabbed hold of the back of Joy’s dress and swiped my hand over the top of her body and head, flinging the cotton candy onto the floor.
Tillie grabbed one side of Joy and together we lowered her to the floor. Mom bent down and tried to find a pulse.
“Oh, dear,” Shayla said. “I don’t think she’s…alive.”
After a few seconds, Mom shook her head and straightened. “There’s no pulse.”
“Does anyone know CPR?” Tillie asked.
Shayla gave a small shake of her head. “I’ve seen her aura. I don’t think that will matter.”
“I’ll call nine-one-one,” Jax said.
Danita dropped to her knees and rocked back and forth. “What’s happening?”
I had a pretty good idea what had just happened—either Joy Braggs had an adverse reaction to her homemade EpiPen, or her homemade EpiPen hadn’t worked.
“Nine-one-one dispatched to the police department,” Jax said. “Ambulance and police should be here shortly. I told the dispatcher we couldn’t find a pulse and that we thought she was already dead.”
I glanced down to where Joy Braggs lay…no doubt about it, she was dead.
“How about some tea?” Shayla asked. “Danita, I see you have an electric tea kettle. Would you mind boiling some hot water?”
“What?” A dazed Danita looked blankly at Shayla.
I had to admit, I was a little thrown by Shayla’s sudden need for tea.
“Will you brew some hot water, please?” Shayla asked more forcefully.
Danita nodded and stumbled over to where a coffee pot and electric tea kettle sat on a small counter. She numbly switched the tea kettle on. When she reached for tea bags, Shayla stopped her.
“I carry my own tea. Just the hot water, please.”
Danita nodded and turned back toward the kettle to wait for it to boil.
“I’m going to read Danita’s leaves,” Shayla whispered. “I’m going to have her think about what all has happened here and then pour her a small amount of tea to read. It won’t be an ideal reading, but I think it may help us later on.”
Shayla patted her satchel then glided over to where Danita stood. “Let me help you. I always carry my own special blend of tea everywhere I go. It helps to keep me grounded no matter where I am.” Shayla dumped two teaspoons of leaves into her teacup and then reached over and poured the boiling water.
Jax came over and stood next to me. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I know,” I whispered. “Gramps is going to blow a gasket when he finds out we’ve discovered another dead body.”
Jax snickered but didn’t say anything else.
“Here you go.” Shayla handed the delicate teacup to Danita.
“For me?” Danita asked. “I don’t usually drink loose tea like that.”
“You’ll love it,” Shayla said. “Trust me. It’s relaxing and soothing.”
I heard sirens in the distance and said a quick thank you to the men and women in blue for getting to us so quickly.
A few minutes later, the front door flew open and three EMTs rushed over to where we were. We all backed away from the body and let the professionals take over. A squawking shoulder radio announced the first officer on the scene. I smiled when I recognized Officer Landry speaking into his radio. He met my eye and ambled over to where we huddled together.
I slid my gaze to Danita and Shayla. They were currently sipping tea and staring out the window, not paying us any attention.
“What’s going on?” Officer Landry asked.
While we’d been waiting, I thought about what I would say to the police. I was pretty darn sure Joy’s death wasn’t an accident. After all, I’d seen the box she ate out of…it was supposed to be crème filled chocolates. Added to that, in the short time I’d been around her, she’d fought with her ex-husband, had words with Danita, and she’d threatened another woman on the phone. Somehow I doubted Joy’s death was a simple result of her medication not working properly. Of course, I had no proof…yet.
“Well,” I said, “we’re here picking up last-minute items for the wedding this weekend, and the owner, Joy Braggs, keeled over in the cotton candy machine. Dead.”
Landry’s mouth dropped open. “Run that by me again? She died by falling into the cotton candy machine?”
I shook my head. “No. That’s the result of what happened to her. I think she died from either her medication in her wonky EpiPen not working…or maybe something a little more sinister.”
Landry groaned. “More sinister? Please don’t say those words to me. I know how you are when it comes to solving crime.”
Over the last few months, I’d been instrumental in helping to solve three different murder cases. Unfortunately, the Traveler’s Bay Police Department didn’t exactly embrace my sleuthing talent.
“The woman on the floor is allergic to peanuts?” Landry asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m pretty sure she had a reaction to peanuts, which caused her to need the EpiPen. But what followed afterward was a little unusual.”
“I agree with Jaycee,” Mom said before Officer Landry could ask me more questions. “Before she died, Joy said she thought she ingested peanuts.”
Tillie and Jax nodded in agreement.
The front door banged opened again. The Traveler’s Bay forensics team walked in, along with my boyfriend, Detective Mike Connors. He immediately caught my eye and headed my way.
“What’s going on?” Mike asked Officer Landry.
Landry smiled. “I just arrived on scene myself. EMTs are with the body right now. Oh, and Jaycee was just getting ready to tell me why she thought the owner, Joy, had been murdered.”
I scowled at Officer Landry then turned to Mike. “I didn’t say that at all. Well, okay, maybe I did. But let me tell you what’s happened since we arrived.”
Mike held up his hand then snatched out the notebook he kept with him for times like this. “Okay. Go ahead and tell me what happened before I ask my questions.”
“When we first got here, the owner, Joy Braggs, had words with her ex-husband, Samuel. Then like twenty minutes later, I heard Joy on the phone threatening someone…a female. Joy told the woman on the phone if she gave her a one-star review, that she would all but kill her. And, she also told the woman on the phone that she wasn’t sleeping with that woman’s husband.”
“Hold on.” Mike continued to write. A few seconds later he looked at me and smiled. “I should have known this wasn’t going to be a simple story. Okay. How do you go from all that straight to murder?”
I rolled my eyes at his tone. “Like I said, I think you’ll find out from Joy’s assistant, Danita, that Joy was allergic to peanuts. Before Joy came over here to demonstrate how the cotton candy machine worked, I was alone with her. She dug around in her purse and pulled out a box of Lumiere’s Crème Filled Chocolates in front of me and ate one of the chocolates. A few minutes later she started to swell from the candy. Danita ran over to get this wonky homemade EpiPen from Joy’s purse—”
“Wait,” Mike said. “Why was—”
“Just let me finish,” I said excitedly. “Then you can ask questions. So Danita ran over to get these funky EpiPens from Joy’s purse and then runs back over and plunges a syringe into Joy’s leg. Only instead of getting better, Joy started convulsing and screaming. She took a step forward, hit the cotton candy machine, and plopped down into the machine while it was still going. It totally encased her head and shoulders in pink cotton candy!”
Mike’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
“Look at her,” I whispered.
Mike and Officer Landry both shifted their bodies to glance around us.
“Wow,” Landry said. “She’s really puffy.”
“And pink,” Mike added.
“That’s exactly how it happened,” Mom agreed. “I didn’t see Joy eat the candy, but I saw her swell up and then after being injected with the medicine she started convulsing and screaming and fell headfirst into the cotton candy machine.”
Mike blew out a sigh. “Okay. Who else was here during this cotton candy fiasco?”
I pointed to Danita and Shayla by the window. Shayla had the delicate teacup resting upside down in the matching saucer.
“That’s my best friend, Shayla Hensel,” Tillie told Mike. “She’s a seer. She’s having Danita drink tea, so afterward she can read the tea leaves.”
Mike closed his eyes and shook his head. “Of course she is.”
“Don’t scoff,” Tillie said. “Shayla has helped the police before. She’s very good at what she does.”
Mike smiled tightly. “I’m sure she is. I wouldn’t imply otherwise.”
Liar!
The front door opened again and a middle-aged man dressed in a suit and tie walked in carrying a medical bag. I almost didn’t recognize him. Usually our coroner, Ray Bartonni, wasn’t dressed so formally.
“That was quick,” Mike said. “I didn’t realize they’d placed the call to you already.”
Ray smiled. “I was actually driving by on my way out of town for a seminar when I got the call. Figured I’d make a pit stop and see what we have.”
Ray walked over to Joy’s body and began his examination. Having discovered my fair share of dead bodies, I knew this was standard procedure. He’d have to officially pronounce Joy dead.
Mike pointed his pen at Officer Landry. “Why don’t you take statements from Mrs. Sullivan, Ms. Novak, and Jax. I’ll take Jaycee, Shayla, and Danita. That work for you?”
Officer Landry nodded. “Got it.”
Landry motioned for Mom, Tillie, and Jax to follow him to the opposite side of the room from the dead body, and Mike put his hand on my back and propelled me toward Shayla and Danita.
When we reached the two women, Shayla smiled but said nothing. Instead, she tapped and turned the delicate teacup three times.
“Ladies, my name is Detective Connors. I need to ask Danita a couple questions.”
“Of course,” Shayla said. “Danita and I are finished here.”
“If you two don’t mind,” Mike said to Shayla and me, “could you please stand over by the counter while I speak with Danita?”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. That would put us close enough to hear Danita’s answers. I had to wonder if Mike knew that or not. Was he throwing me a bone?
“Of course,” Shayla said. “Just let me take the cup and saucer.” She carefully grasped the teacup and saucer and followed me to the counter.
“Are you Danita?” Mike asked.
Danita nodded. “Yes. Danita Maurizzi. I’ve worked with Joy now for about five years.”
Mike made small talk for a few minutes, trying to get Danita to relax. I’d seen him use this move countless times…mostly on me.
“Is Joy allergic to anything?” Mike asked.
Danita nodded. “Yes. She’s deathly allergic to peanuts. That’s why she keeps her EpiPens in her purse.”
“Can I see one of the pens?” Mike asked.
Danita furrowed her brow. “I don’t remember what I did with them.”
I coughed loudly. “Over there.” I pointed to the ground next to where a photographer had just finished taking pictures of the scene. Mike pulled out gloves from his pocket, donned them, then went and swiped the toothbrush holder off the ground and examined the needles inside.
I cut my eyes to Shayla. She was inspecting the inside of the tea cup and frowning. She lifted her eyes to me, and I barely tamped down my excitement. She’d seen something…something good. Or maybe bad in Danita’s case.
Mike popped off the top of the toothbrush holder and frowned. “These don’t look like EpiPens.”
“They’re homemade,” Danita said. “Joy was always complaining how much EpiPens cost, so she watched this video on YouTube and started making her own. She’s been using these versions for about two years now.”
“And she’s never had a problem before?” Mike asked.
Danita shook her head emphatically, which caused her fake glasses to slide down her nose. She yanked them off in disgust and tossed them down. “Never! I promise. She’s had to use them a handful of times over the years. I remember a couple months ago when we were at the Traveler’s Bay Art and Wine festival, one of the booths used peanut oil to deep fry their apple fritters. Joy and I didn’t see the sign until it was too late. But Joy just popped open one of her pens and she was immediately fine. Things like that happen a lot to her.” Danita bit her lip and let out a little sob. “I mean they happened a lot to her. Is she really gone? Is she really dead?”
Mike’s eyes cut to Ray. There was a silent conversation between the two men before Mike turned back to Danita. “Yes, she is. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Danita nodded and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I need to tell Samuel.”
“Who’s Samuel?” Mike asked.
“Joy’s ex-husband.”
“How was the relationship between Joy and her ex-husband?”
Danita bit her lip. “They don’t really get along, but they each own fifty percent of the business so they have to work together.”
“That seems a little unusual,” Mike said.
Danita shrugged. “I guess. They started the business together, and even though their marriage didn’t work out, I guess they were happy enough to keep the business together.”
That’s not how it looked to me.
“Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Joy Braggs?” Mike asked.
Danita’s eyes grew wide and she gasped. “What do you mean? Do you think something happened to her?”
Mike tilted his head and stared Danita in the eyes. “You tell me. I’ve been told that she believed she’d somehow ingested peanuts, and when you gave her the antidote out of her purse, it didn’t work. Don’t you think it odd that suddenly her medication didn’t work? You just told me a minute ago she had used the homemade pens numerous times without fail.”
Danita’s mouth dropped. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Do you know if her purse was with her at all times today?” Mike asked.
Danita looked up at the ceiling before replying. “I think so.”
I don’t. In fact I know it wasn’t.
It was after lunch by the time I finally pulled into the parking lot of Gone with the Whiskey. After Mike had taken the rest of our statements, he left me with the reminder that the coroner would rule on the cause of death. So at this time it was not a murder and I was not to assume it was. He and I both knew he wasted his breath…but he did his job in telling me to back off.
Jax decided to run over to her place, Sinfully Sweet Bakery, real quick. Once she had things settled there, she’d meet back up with us.
“It’s about time,” Gramps called out. “I was beginning to get worried. How long could it take to get a cotton candy machine?”
I looked at Mom and bit my lip.
“Dang it!” Gramps slapped his bar rag down onto the countertop. “I know that look. What’s happened now?”
Ruff! Ruff!
Duke looked up from his napping position to give me the questioning eye. A couple of our customers also looked up from their books, interests piqued. Most of them knew they only had a short wait before something exciting happened. I seemed to be a magnet for drama and dead bodies.
“Now Dad,” Mom said, “just calm down. At least this time it doesn’t involve either Jaycee or Jax.”
“Yeah.” I walked behind the counter to stand next to him. “So don’t go getting your panties in a twist.”
Gramps’ ears turned red. “I swear, your Momma should have turned you over her knee more often than she did. Maybe you wouldn’t be so mouthy.”
I grinned up at him. “Yes, I would.”
“So what happened?” Gramps asked.
I rested my hands on the counter. “Joy Braggs owns the rental store where we are getting the wedding decorations. As you know, we went in to see her today to pick up some items, and while we were there, she was murdered.”
Rarely do I shock Gramps. He’d spent over twenty-five years in the Army and had pretty much seen it all and heard it all. So when I did manage to take him by surprise…I liked to relish in the discovery.
“How was she murdered in front of you?” Gramps demanded.
Mom, Tillie, and Shayla hopped up on a couple barstools in front of the bar. Gramps automatically started mixing a drink he’d recently perfected—the Victorious Turn of the Screwdriver. A drink made up of orange juice, vodka, peach Schnapps, and a splash of champagne.
I set out four champagne flutes.
“Oh, you’re drinking on the job now?” Gramps asked.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s for Jax.”
“Uh huh. So, how was she murdered?” Gramps repeated.
I bit my lip. “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think she was murdered by peanuts or peanut oil of some kind.”
Gramps frowned. “Why do you say that?”
The front door opened and Jax rushed in. “I haven’t missed anything, have I?”
“Nope,” I said. “I was just telling Gramps why I think Joy was murdered.”
“Perfect.” Jax picked up her Victorious Turn of the Screwdriver and took a sip. “This is perfect, too.”
Gramps preened when the other ladies concurred.
“So anyway,” I continued, “I saw her take a bite of chocolate candy, and a few minutes later she started to swell up. I’m thinking somehow peanuts got into the candy.”
“Why would she eat it if it had peanuts?” Gramps asked.
I sighed dramatically. “Obviously she didn’t know they were in there. The box said they were crème filled.”
“Okay,” Gramps said. “I’m with you so far. Go on.”
“So her assistant, Danita, rummaged through Joy’s purse and brought her back a homemade EpiPen. But when Joy was injected, instead of feeling better, she started convulsing and screaming. She looked at Danita accusingly, started to ask Danita a question, but couldn’t finish. Instead, Joy pitched forward and fell head first into the cotton candy machine.”
“Which was still running by the way,” Jax added. “Really disgusting!”
I snorted. “Wrapped up her head and shoulders in a sugary cocoon.”
Mom tsked. “You girls are morbid. It’s not funny in the least.”
I shrugged. “It kind of is, Mom.”
Mom lifted her drink to hide her smile. “Okay, maybe just a little. She really was an awful lady…needed a bit more sugar and spice.”
Gramps just shook his head in disgust, but we all thought it was funny.
“But here’s the clincher,” I said. “Mike was the detective on scene, and he asked Danita if the purse had been in Joy’s possession all day, and Danita said yes. Only that’s not true. I remember a couple times when her purse was just sitting out and both Danita and Samuel had access to it.”
“Who’s Samuel?” Gramps asked.
“Joy’s ex-husband,” Tillie said.
“He came into the store,” I said, “and they had some pretty heated words.”
“Seems like a pretty open and shut case then,” Gramps said. “It was either Danita or Samuel.”
I shook my head. “Not so fast. I also overheard Joy on the phone exchanging angry words with a woman. The other woman accused Joy of having an affair with her husband and threatened to give Joy a one-star rating and tell everyone what she’d done. I don’t know what all that means, but Joy said if she did that, pretty much Joy would kill her.”
Gramps frowned. “Do you know who this mystery woman on the phone was?”
I shook my head. “No, but I figured we could look online to see if a rating has gone up. If that doesn’t work, I may just ask Danita if she knows who it is.”
“Nope,” Gramps said. “What you meant to say was you will tell Mike what you overheard and he can ask Danita if she knows who this mystery woman is.”
One corner of my mouth lifted in a half smile. “That’s exactly what I meant to say.”
Gramps’ nostrils flared. “You will not get—”
“Relax,” I said. “I did tell Mike about the other woman.”
Gramps continued like he hadn’t heard me. “Like I said, you will not get involved with anything three or four days before this wedding. Do you hear me? I don’t want anything ruining Tillie’s big day.”
Tillie and Shayla oohed and aahed over Gramps’ declaration of love. I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. I knew the truth…this had nothing to do with Tillie and her big day. Gramps just didn’t want me investigating on my own.
“Regardless of this other woman,” Gramps said, “I’m sure Mike will get this settled quickly.”
Shayla set down her flute and nodded. “Especially if I tell your young Mike what I saw in the leaves.”
I sucked in a breath. “That’s right. I forgot you read her tea leaves. What did they say?”
“It’s not good, I’m afraid,” Shayla said.
“What did you see?” Tillie asked.
“Toward the top of the rim I saw a snake. A snake usually represents treachery, disloyalty, and even hidden danger.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “After what we saw today and Danita’s reactions, I can see all three of those things in Danita. I mean, even the glasses she wears are fake. So why wouldn’t the rest of her be?”
“What you need to understand,” Shayla said, “is that this isn’t an exact science. This is an interpretation. We might find out later there was another meaning.”
I nodded. “I understand. I won’t put a lot of emphasis on this…but I will file it away for later use.”
Gramps cleared his throat and gave me a pointed look. I ignored him.
“Now, a little farther down toward the center I saw a shark. A shark usually represents a sign of death.”
Jax gave a small laugh. “There’s not too many other ways we can interpret that sign, is there?”
Shayla gave a mysterious smile then took a drink of her Victorious Turn of the Screwdriver. “Here’s where it gets really interesting. Toward the bottom of the cup, I saw a castle. A castle usually represents good fortune. So when you think about that, it makes me wonder if maybe there isn’t another meaning behind the snake and shark.”
We all sat in silence thinking about what Shayla had just told us. Thinking outside the box didn’t always come easy to me. I’m more of a black and white kind of person…and right now I needed to see more gray. What other meanings could the tea leaves have?
The bell jingled overhead and Mike sauntered in. He gave me a quick grin then greeted some of the locals camped out around the bar.
“I figured you guys would be here putting your heads together.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Mike, I want you to officially meet my best friend, Shayla Hensel,” Tillie said.
Shayla thrust out her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Mike clasped her hand in his and gave her a wide grin. “Ditto.”
Shayla laughed softly then flipped Mike’s hand over. She drew a line down his palm with her fingertip. “Very nice.”
I was dying to ask, but I could tell Mike was a little unnerved by the action. He took his hand back and faced me. “Anything I need to know?”
“Shayla has something,” I said.
Shayla filled him in on her interpretation of the tea leaves. I bit my lip to keep from smiling at Mike’s uncomfortable look. I could tell he didn’t want to hurt Shayla’s feelings, but I knew he wouldn’t put much stock into what she’d just told him. He and Gramps were a lot alike.
“Thank you, Shayla,” Mike said. “I’ll make note of that.”
Gramps snorted.
We all frowned at Gramps. Knowing he was going to be in big trouble with Tillie if he didn’t straighten up, he topped off the drinks for the girls.
“And don’t forget to find out who the woman on the phone was,” I said. “Unless you already know?”
Mike chuckled. “Nice try, Jaycee. Even if I knew the person, I’m not at liberty to tell you. You know that.”
I narrowed my eyes. I don’t know why, but it always infuriated me when he placated me like that. I lifted one shoulder at him, acting like I wasn’t offended.
You won’t tell me the woman’s name, then I won’t tell you the purse was abandoned in front of both Danita and Samuel.
A pain shot through my heart and I winced. I surreptitiously rubbed the center of my chest and cursed myself for suddenly developing a conscience when it came to Mike. No way could I keep something so important from him.
I sighed loudly. “I suppose I should tell you that Danita didn’t tell the truth when she said Joy had her purse on her the whole time. I remember distinctly two times when both Danita and Samuel had access to Joy’s purse.”
Mike arched one of his eyebrows. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
I rubbed my chest again. “Seems I had to.”
Mike grinned. “Try not to be so disappointed.”
I made a face.
“I still want to talk with the other woman on the phone,” Mike said. “Having access to the purse to drop in the tainted EpiPens or whatever—I’ll know more when I get the lab report back—is one thing. But the bigger question is who sent her the candy with the peanuts?”
My eyes widened at his declaration. I couldn’t believe he’d share that kind of information with me. He was right, though. The person who sent the candy had to know Joy was allergic and that eventually Joy would use the medication in her purse. Of course, that still didn’t rule out either Samuel or Danita. Either one of them could have sent the candy and exchanged the EpiPens days ago.
“I can read your mind, Jaycee,” Mike said. “As of right now the medical examiner has not ruled on this. It isn’t a homicide. I’m working the angle of suspicious death until the report comes back. Do not ask Danita if she knew who the person on the phone was or who sent Joy the box of candy. That’s my job. Understand?”
I blew out a quick breath. “Fine. I won’t ask Danita.”
Now I had to think of another way to get the answers I needed.
Randy Adams reached down and gave Duke a pat on his head then tied an apron around his fit waist. He was a large man in his late sixties with silver strands threaded around his temples and speckled in his goatee.
“Thanks for helping to cover for me while we finalize the wedding plans.” I gave Randy’s hand a pat then grabbed my purse under the counter.
Randy smiled. “Not a problem, Jaycee. I think Darlene is coming over after she closes down Jax’s bakery.”
Randy and Darlene were lifesavers for our family. They were always good about jumping in and helping out in a pinch. And more often than not…lately I seemed to be in a pinch quite a bit.
“Let’s go get our bridesmaid dresses,” Jax said excitedly.
The five of us waved bye to Gramps, Randy, and Duke then jumped in my Rubicon and headed to I Do & More, an upscale boutique that dealt in wedding, bridesmaid, prom, and other formal attire. Jax and I had attended high school with the owner, Melinda Mantley.
Tillie’s wedding dress had arrived two weeks ago, but she refused to let us see the final result. Shayla had phoned in her measurements to Melinda for her maid-of-honor dress, while Mom, Jax, and I had been measured in the store. Today would be the first time we’d see the final results of our choices in color.
Tillie led the way and pushed open the front door. The overhead bell rang, and Melinda called out that she’d be with us shortly.
The best word to describe Melinda was dynamo. She was a petite woman of not quite five feet, with flame-red hair and greenish-gray eyes. She was funny and sassy and wasn’t afraid to tell you how it really was.
“C’mon in,” Melinda greeted as she sashayed over to us in her three-inch wedges. “I’ve been biting my nails waiting for you guys to arrive.”
Mom clasped her hands together. “We’re excited to see the dresses, too.”
Melinda waved her hand dismissively in the air. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll get to those in a minute. I’m dying to hear about Joy Braggs and what happened!”
I rocked backward, shocked at the fact that Joy’s death had only happened about four hours ago. It seemed like forever since I watched the pompous woman pitch forward into the cotton candy machine.
“It was terrible,” Tillie said. “Poor woman injected herself with her EpiPen and a few seconds later fell head first into the cotton candy machine.”
Melinda Mantley’s mouth dropped open. “Then the rumors of how she died are true? I’m sure I should feel badly for her dying and all, but really I wasn’t a fan. In fact, most people who knew her weren’t fans.”
I blinked and looked hard at Melinda. Maybe I’d just found my way to figure out who the other woman on the phone was.
“Anyone in particular you can think of that didn’t like her?” I asked. “Another woman, perhaps?”
“Stand in line.” Melinda made a sound of disgust. “Joy was a beautiful woman. She loved to have men fawn all over her.” Melinda leaned in conspiratorially. “You didn’t hear this from me, but the Sawyer wedding was a couple weeks ago, and she almost single-handedly succeeded in derailing it.”
“How so?” Mom asked.
A twinkle appeared in Melinda’s eye. “Well, I don’t know if you know this or not, but Monica Pengrove finally married Jonathan Sawyer.”
“I remember Monica and Jonathan from high school,” Jax said.
I furrowed my brow. “You do? I don’t.”
“They were a year under me,” Jax said. “You probably wouldn’t have remembered them. But they were one of those on-again off-again couples. Last I heard, Jonathan moved away to attend college years ago.”
“Yes, but then he moved back to Traveler’s Bay last year,” Melinda offered. “He’s an insurance guy at Braxton and Mayes.”
“Guess if they just got married that means Jonathan and Monica hooked back up?” I mused.
Melinda laughed. “Yes. During Monica’s last fitting, she was a raging bridezilla. And it had nothing to do with the wedding itself. It had to do with Joy.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Well, from what I overheard, Monica believed Joy was deliberately trying to sabotage her wedding to Jonathan. Monica claimed Joy was calling Jonathan at all hours of the day…and night.”
“That’s just sleazy,” Jax said.
“But what was really insane about the conversation I overheard, was that Monica bragged to her bridesmaids that she told Joy to her face she’d kill her if she didn’t back off.”
I whistled. “That’s harsh. But who’s to say if Monica was just blowing off steam or if she really meant it?”
Melinda shrugged. “I don’t know. But Joy is dead.”
Can’t argue with that.
I bit my lower lip and thought about what Melinda had said. “The person who killed Joy had to know about her allergy to peanuts and that she carried around homemade EpiPens in her purse.”
Melinda let out a barking laugh. “Please. Even I knew about Joy’s allergy. We were in a similar business in many ways, and Joy was very vocal about her allergy.”
“Interesting,” I murmured. “Was she dating anyone significant?”
Melinda pursed her lips in thought. “Maybe. I think I heard rumors about her dating that clock guy in town. But I don’t know for sure. Joy doesn’t do commitment. Just ask her ex-husband on that.”
“Thanks for the info,” I said.
“No problem,” Melinda said. “Now, let’s get you girls into your gowns and make sure everything is a go before the wedding.”
We spent the next hour making sure the bridesmaid dresses were a perfect fit for Sunday’s wedding. Tillie had chosen simple gowns of bobbinet tulle with thin straps, plunging necklines, and cinched waists. The only thing we had to do was pick out the colors. I’d chosen a bright teal, Jax a vibrant eggplant, Mom a deep navy blue, and Shayla a dark moss green.
I dropped everyone off back at Gone with the Whiskey. Jax wanted to check in at her bakery before they closed, then she was headed to our house to start on the wedding cake. Shayla, Mom, and Tillie headed to Mom’s house to put the animal cookie wedding favors together. I saw Gramps’ Hummer in his normal parking spot and frowned. Usually he was gone by now.
With a sigh I shut off the Rubicon and hopped out. The bar was half mine, and even though we’d made arrangements for me to take off a few days to finalize wedding plans, I just couldn’t leave Randy and Gramps in the lurch.
I pushed open the front door and was immediately surrounded by customers wanting to know about Joy’s murder. I swallowed back a groan. Once again I’d totally forgotten that word would be out by now. And what did it say about me that dead bodies no longer gave me pause?
I held up my hand to stop the barrage of questions. “I only popped in to see how things were going. I honestly don’t know anything other than Joy Braggs was killed this morning.”
“So she was killed?” Linda Packard asked.
“I mean died,” I said. “All I know is that she died this morning.”
Great! Mike finds out I’m the one that said Joy was killed and he’ll kill me for letting the cat out of the bag.
“I heard someone stabbed her in the neck with a Bic pen,” someone yelled out.
I rolled my eyes. “It was a homemade EpiPen. Not a Bic pen.”
Linda grabbed hold of my arm. “I heard it was her ex-husband that offed her.”
I opened my mouth but didn’t get a chance to answer.
“All right. Break it up. Break it up.” Gramps’ booming voice rang out in the bar as he and Duke pushed their way through the small crowd. “Give my granddaughter a chance to breathe. Go back to your drinks and books.”
With obvious reluctance, the nosy group fell back a couple steps. They may have been greedy for answers, but no one was stupid enough to go toe-to-toe with Gramps.
Gramps wrapped his arms around me and all but pushed me behind the counter. “Why’re you here? I thought you took the rest of the night off?”
I narrowed my eyes at his tone. “I thought I’d come in and see if you guys needed help. Usually you’re gone by now, and I could see we were busy.”
Gramps snorted. “Of course we’re busy. You managed to get yourself thrown into yet another murder. It stands to reason the gossipers would be out.”
I bit my tongue to keep from arguing over his accusation of me once again finding a body. No sense beating that dead horse.
Randy slid an empty tray down on the counter and gave me a grin. “I didn’t expect to see you back here, Jaycee.”
“I thought I’d come in and see if you guys needed help.”
Randy looked around the packed room but shook his head. “I’m managing. Plus Darlene is stopping by when she closes down Jax’s bakery.”
“Okay,” I relented. “Guess I know when I’m not needed.”
Randy laughed and slapped his hand down on the counter. “Nonsense. You’re always needed.”
I gave Gramps a pointed look. He grunted but said nothing.
I bent down to give Duke one more scratch before saying goodnight. I’d just reached out to yank open the front door when Linda Packard flanked me.
“Listen, Jaycee. I only mentioned Joy’s ex-husband because I know how you girls like to investigate on your own.”
“Oh?” I wasn’t sure how to answer that.
Linda nodded sagely. “Yes. And I think you should know that Joy’s divorce from her husband was ugly and bitter.”
“So not an amicable divorce?” I asked dryly.
Linda obviously didn’t pick up on my sarcasm because she shook her head earnestly. “Definitely not. My husband knows Joy’s ex, Samuel. And so I heard lots of stories about the divorce. If you’re looking for your first suspect, I’d definitely look at him.”
I tried not to smile. I didn’t want to hurt Linda’s feelings, but I was already three steps ahead of her. “Thanks, Linda, for the information. I’ll keep it in mind.” I leaned in close. “I mean, I would keep it in mind if I were investigating. But since I’m not…” I let my voice trail off.
Linda shot Gramps a worried look. He was behind the bar not paying attention, but Linda still looked nervous. “Right. It would have been a good clue if you were investigating. But since you’re not, I obviously just wasted my breath. But it was a good clue, right?”
I laughed, gave her a wink, and sauntered out the door.
“Who’s excited for tonight?” I sang out as I shuffled into the kitchen the next morning.
Mom’s house was a huge sprawling Victorian. She’d bought the house when my dad was killed in a freak accident—a semi carrying lumber rolled over on his car. So Mom decided to work through her grief by buying a rundown Victorian to restore. And she succeeded in doing just that.
The first level, except for the kitchen, had basically been Gramps’ playground, complete with his own bedroom, bathroom, and living room where he and Duke sat and watched John Wayne movies and Gramps sipped on his nightly glass of bourbon. The upstairs was Mom’s domain. She had three bedrooms, a first-class spa bathroom, and a balcony that overlooked the curved oak staircase where she sat and read in peace. The attic had been converted when Jax and I moved home a while back. It was spacious, had a lot of natural light thanks to the skylights installed, and the bathroom was just as stellar as Mom’s. But the best part of the house was the outdoor kitchen Mom had recently added.
Unfortunately, not too long ago Gramps had moved in with Tillie…who just happened to live three doors down. And even though he was close by, it was still a little lonely without Gramps underfoot every night. I never thought I’d admit it, but I missed not hearing John Wayne movies played at all hours of the day, Duke shuffling and snorting around the house, and I especially just missed my gruff, big-hearted Gramps barking orders at me and telling me what to do.
Jax stood in front of the refrigerator and tried to make room for yet another wedding dessert, Gramps slurped black coffee at the table and slipped Duke bacon scraps, and Mom, Tillie, and Shayla finagled with a commercial popcorn machine Mom bought as a surprise off ebay.
Jax grinned and leaned back against the refrigerator. “I’m excited. I have all the boozy desserts ready to go.”
“What time are your mom and step-dad coming in?” I asked Tillie.
Tillie looked up from the popcorn machine and smiled. “They should be here any minute.”
While I couldn’t wait to finally meet Tillie’s family, the couple I was dying to meet were the Mercers. Real-life retired clown husband and wife Teddy and Ethel Mercer. I promise you I couldn’t make that up.
“What are you mighty men doing for your bachelor party?” I asked Gramps.
“None of your business,” Gramps said.
“Let me guess,” I went on unphased, “you’re gonna have a sexy clown jump out of a cake and do a strip tease?”
Gramps’ ears turned bright pink and he started to bluster. I loved when I did that to him. “Of course not! Sexy clown? Where do you come up with your ridiculous ideas, Jaycee?”
“Not a sexy clown?” I mused. “Ooh, I know. Maybe a John Wayne look alike will pop out, do his famous strut, and quote a few lines for you?”
“Are you daft?” Gramps asked.
I shrugged and grinned. “No. But I do got a lot going on in my head.”
“Too bad it’s nothing useful,” Gramps shot back.
We both guffawed at that and did a high five.
“Good one,” I said.
“You two be on your best behavior,” Mom scolded. “This is Dad’s first time meeting Tillie’s family.”
Gramps instantly sobered at that. Even though the tough, big guy would never admit it…I could tell he was nervous as heck about meeting Tillie’s mom and step-dad. After all, he had a good ten to twelve years on Tillie. He would turn seventy in a few months. Not really a big deal this late in life, but it was still a point of contention for Gramps sometimes.
Tillie had been a trapeze artist and contortionist in the circus for nearly thirty-five years before retiring and training other performers. Her parents had both been performers, too. Even though the family had been out of the entertainment business for years, all the previous performers still kept in touch. In fact, after Tillie’s dad died, her mom started dating the former ringmaster, Patrick Carlisle.
The doorbell sounded and Tillie pulled Gramps up from the table and headed toward the door. Jax and I took off after them. No way were we gonna miss this homecoming.
Tillie threw open the front door and leaped into her mom’s wide-stretched arms. Both women laughed and cried and spoke softly in Romanian. I guess it didn’t matter if you were five or ninety-five…mothers and daughters who loved and missed each other usually reacted the same way.
“My sweet bebelus!” Viviana Novak-Carlisle murmured as she ran her wrinkled hand over Tillie’s face. “My sweet, beautiful baby.”
Viviana Novak-Carlisle in no way looked to be eighty. She was tall and imposing, with the waif-like build of an athlete. Her short, pixie hair was completely silver, and her face, although showing signs of age, was still captivating with high cheekbones and dark eyes encased in long lashes. She was a beauty, just like her daughter.
“Pap Pap!” Tillie laughed as she threw her arms around the distinguished-looking gentleman who stood beside Viviana.
“Tillie Teacup,” Patrick Carlisle murmured as he wrapped his arms around her.
Tillie kissed his cheek then turned to us. “Mom, Patrick, I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Colonel John Flynn.”
Gramps shook Patrick’s hand and awkwardly hugged Viviana. Viviana laughed and patted Gramps’ cheek. “You are nice and big and strong. You will do well.”
Gramps’ ears turned pink but he accepted the compliment.
“And this is the rest of the gang,” Tillie said proudly. “My new family.”
I wiped a tear from my cheek as we all hugged and made our way back inside the house.
“Shayla,” Viviana smiled and kissed both of Shayla’s cheeks. “So good to see you.”
“Viviana, you look as lovely as when we were all performing,” Shayla said. “I need to know your secret.”
Viviana winked at Shayla. “It’s in our genes.”
“Come inside and let me get you some coffee while we talk,” Mom said.
“Jaycee and I will get it,” Jax said. “You guys go into the parlor and get to know each other.”
Jax and I hurried into the kitchen, talking over each other.
“Wow,” Jax said. “Tillie’s mom is beautiful.”
I nodded and poured the coffee in a carafe while Jax set out small dishes on a tray for the coffee cake. “Can you imagine how much fun it would have been to have traveled around with this group?”
Jax grinned. “Every night would have been magical.”
We carried our goodies back into the parlor and sat down with everyone as Shayla regaled us with one of her stories. Not to be outdone, Viviana recalled a story of when Shayla and Tillie had gotten into trouble when they were young girls. There was so much laughter and love shared, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Shayla murmured about the lovely colors she saw surrounding us.
“I hate to break up this party,” Gramps said, “but I need to get to the store to open up.”
“A bookstore and bar,” Viviana mused. “Such a wonderful combination. We will stop in this afternoon and see you.”
Gramps nodded, said his goodbyes, and got up to leave. I decided now would be a good time to follow him out. I had some errands I needed to run this morning, too.
“Where are you going?” Jax asked as she jogged up next to me.
“I need to run by and see about getting a new cotton candy machine for the wedding. And then I need to drop off packages to Gone with the Whiskey for tonight’s party.”
Jax’s eyes lit up. “I want to run by the bakery real quick this morning. I know my helpers have it under control, but I just want to check in.”
I patted her on the shoulder. “I get it.”
“But if you go with me to the bakery real quick,” Jax said, “I’ll help you load up the Jeep and ride over with you to Joy’s store so we can see what’s going on.”
I threw back my head and laughed. “You know me well!”
I didn’t call Danita ahead of time to let her know we were coming in. I wanted to catch her off guard. Not that I honestly thought she had anything to do with the murder—if it even was a murder—but I still wanted to dot all my ‘i’s and cross all my ‘t’s.
“I can’t believe they are open today,” Jax said as I pulled up in front of the rental store.
I shrugged. “Mike said until he hears otherwise, this isn’t a murder scene. He told me they processed everything yesterday, so there’s no reason they can’t open today.”
Jax rolled her eyes at me. “If something were to ever happen to you, rest assured I’d close down my shop for a few days.”
Her dry tone made me laugh out loud. “Good to know. Back at ya, sis.”
We strolled aimlessly into the store, not really sure what to expect. When I raised my hand to greet Danita behind the counter…I did a double take.
“What the—is that Danita?” I hissed.
Jax whistled low. “I’d say she’s holding up pretty well.”
Gone was the mousy Danita of yesterday. Today she wore a short, magenta skirt with a matching button-up blazer. Her long brunette hair was down and brushed out into soft waves around her face and shoulders. The ridiculous glasses were also gone, and her makeup was impeccable.
“Hey.” Danita sashayed over to where we stood, her strappy high-heeled shoes making a clack clack sound on the floor. I’d always envied women who could walk in heels higher than an inch. “What can I do for you today?”
“Um…” I shook my head to clear it. “My sister and I were hoping you could see about ordering another cotton candy machine before the wedding Sunday.”
I was still having a hard time processing the metamorphosis from the woman of yesterday to the beautiful woman standing before us now.
“I really love your outfit,” Jax said. “It’s a beautiful color.”
Danita’s cheeks turned pink, and she brushed her palms down her blazer. “Thank you. This is normally how I dress during my off hours, it’s just…” Danita bit her lip and looked around. “Well, it’s just not how Joy wanted me to dress, you know?”
Because looking like this you could have rivaled her beauty?
“And it’s not that I’m being disrespectful,” Danita hurried on, “it’s just—”
Jax held up her hand. “You don’t have to explain to us, Danita. I really was just complimenting your outfit.”
I bit back a smile.
No, you weren’t.
Danita expelled the breath she’d been holding. “Okay. So, you want to know about getting another machine in? Let’s go see what I can do.”
Danita turned and motioned us to follow her back to the counter. Grabbing a huge binder out from underneath, she plopped it down and began leafing through the pages.
“Sometimes I keep extra numbers of venders not too far from here that we work with,” Danita explained.
I heard muffled footsteps and looked up to see Samuel cross the threshold of the door that led to the back of the store. His head was buried in a ledger, and he didn’t act like he knew we were there.
“Danita,” Samuel said, “I’m wondering about this entry…” He trailed off when he glanced up and saw the three of us staring at him.
If I thought Samuel looked good yesterday, today he looked even better. His royal blue and yellow tie matched the hue of his suit and his eyes. A bit startled, Samuel drew himself up to full height.
“I’m sorry,” Samuel said. “I didn’t realize we had customers.”
“This is the Novak-Flynn wedding party,” Danita hastily explained. “They were in here yesterday when—well, when Joy had her seizure and died.”
Samuel appraised us coolly. “I remember. What can we do for you?”
Danita cleared her throat. “They wanted to order another cotton candy machine for the upcoming wedding on Sunday.”
Samuel’s gaze fell on Danita, and I swear his demeanor changed. “Is that something you can do for them?”
Danita smiled shyly. “I think so. I’m going to try the rental place in Santa Rosa.”
Samuel nodded his head. “Good thinking. And if that doesn’t work, try the one down in San Rafael.”
Happy they’d do what they could to help us out, I changed tactics and focused on Samuel. “I’m sorry about what happened to Joy yesterday.”
A muscle in Samuel’s jaw jumped. “Thank you. I’m sorry you were here when it happened.”
What does that mean?
“I guess it was the nuts in the chocolate she ate,” I said. “Is that what you’ve heard?”
I had no idea if Mike had said anything to Samuel about the suspicion of peanuts in the chocolate Joy ingested before she died, but I wanted to see his reaction.
Samuel scowled. “I was questioned about whether or not I had knowledge of Joy ingesting chocolate with peanuts right before she died. The answer was no.”
“And you didn’t send her the box, right?” I said innocently. “So you have nothing to worry about.”
Samuel’s nostrils flared. “No, I didn’t send her the box of chocolates.”
I turned to Danita. “Do you know who sent her the chocolates?”
Danita shook her head. “The detective from yesterday already asked me that. He stopped in right before you guys this morning.”
“What did you tell him?” Jax asked.
Danita wiped her hands on her suit. “I told him the truth. I have no idea who sent Joy the box of candy. She was very secretive about it.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure we can all agree it wasn’t Monica Sawyer after the rumors I heard there,” I said. “Am I right?”
Danita’s mouth dropped open and her eyes cut to Samuel. “Um—I mean—I don’t know.”
“What about this Monica Sawyer?” Samuel asked.
“Oh, you didn’t know?” I smiled sweetly at Samuel. “It seems Monica and Joy have been having quite a public spat the last few weeks.”
“Over what?” Samuel asked.
Danita let out a little squeak and nervously twisted her hands together. “Nothing. Just a misunderstanding.”
Samuel’s eyes flashed and he swore softly. “Never mind. If it’s about what I think it’s about, now you know why we’re no longer married.” Samuel turned his cold, hard eyes fully on me. “My ex-wife was a narcissistic, self-centered, cold-hearted woman who used her wiles in any way she could to get what she wanted. But she was too thick-headed to realize she couldn’t be like that and run a successful business in a town of this size.”
No argument there.
“Was Joy seeing anyone in particular?” I asked.
“Throw a stone,” Samuel said.
Danita bit her lip. “She was seeing Harvey Krause over at TicToc Clocks for a while. But I don’t think they’re together anymore.”
The clock guy!
I made a mental note to get over to TicToc Clocks to have a little chat with Harvey soon. Even if they weren’t seeing each other anymore, he still might be able to shed light on Monica’s recent indiscretions.
“What will happen to the store now that Joy is gone?” I asked. “It would be a shame for Traveler’s Bay to lose such a great store.”
“We will remain open,” Samuel said. “Joy and I had a fifty-fifty split of the store. Upon the death of one of us, the other spouse incurred the other fifty percent.”
Major motive.
“Well, thank you for checking on the cotton candy machine,” I said. “We better run now. We have a lot of errands to get done before the bachelorette party tonight at Gone with the Whiskey.”
I grabbed Jax’s arm and started to turn around. “Oh, real quick, Danita. Did you tell Mike about Jonathan and Monica?”
She shot a glance at Samuel before nodding. “He asked if I knew who Joy may have argued with on the phone yesterday, and I gave him Monica’s name.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Danita walked us to the front door. “I’ll call you the minute I hear from one of the other rental companies about the cotton candy machine.”
The front door closed firmly at our backs. Jax and I rushed back to the Rubicon and hopped in. We buckled our seatbelts and didn’t say another word until we were driving down Hwy 116.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked.
“I think any number of people could have killed Joy Braggs.”
Jax and I were still running errands when my cell phone rang around eleven. I looked at the caller ID and smiled.
“Hey, Mike. What’s up?”
He cleared his throat. “Heading out to do some fact checking. You didn’t hear this from me, but I just got a call that the report came back and there were peanuts found in the chocolate Joy consumed. There were also traces of peanut oil in the homemade syringes.”
I was quiet for a half second. I wasn’t sure exactly why Mike told me this. He usually went out of his way to steer me clear of a case. I also needed a moment to do a happy dance that I’d been right about the peanuts in the chocolate.
“So now I guess you just have to find the person who sent her the chocolate,” I said.
Mike snorted. “Yeah, that’s all I need to do. Should be a piece of cake.”
“Or piece of chocolate,” I joked.
Mike grunted. “Not funny, Jaycee.”
I grinned into the phone. “C’mon. It was kinda funny.”
“Nope.” But I could tell he wanted to chuckle.
“So are you telling me this out of the kindness of your heart?” I asked.
“No. I’m telling you this so you know my progress on the case. You know, so you don’t feel the need to try and help me out here.”
And…there it was. The subtle reminder that he didn’t need my help. Although, there was less steel in his voice when he told me not to interfere. Almost like he told me out of habit more than anything.
“Jax and I stopped by Joy’s store this morning to see about getting another cotton candy machine for the wedding,” I said.
Mike let out a small laugh. “And what else did you find out?”
“That Samuel gets the other half of the store now that Joy is dead,” I said proudly.
“I already ran their financials,” Mike said. “Plus, I knew he would inherit. He told me yesterday when I went to question him.”
Drat!
“Have you checked out Monica Sawyer yet?” I asked.
“I have,” Mike said. “So there’s no need for you to go anywhere near her.”
I growled low in my chest. He’d blocked my every move. “Glad you’re making such wonderful progress on the murder. You are calling it a murder, right?”
Mike sighed. “Yes. Mainly because there was residual traces of peanut oil in the homemade EpiPen.”
I bit my lip. “Are you arresting Danita? I mean, she did administer the medication.”
“Not until I can prove she did it knowingly,” Mike said. “I need to run. Trevor and I will stop by Gone with the Whiskey around five to pick up the Colonel for a little bachelor party while you girls live it up at the bar tonight.”
I grinned and looked over at Jax. “You boys be on your best behavior tonight. You hear?”
Mike chuckled. “Same goes for you. I don’t want to have to get a call to come arrest you girls for excessive noise.”
I smirked. “If you show up in your uniform, will you strip for all of us?”
Mike laughed. “Not on your life.”
“I say we go pay Harvey a visit real quick.” I filled Jax in on the phone call with Mike.
“Sounds good,” Jax said. “I think TicToc is located next to Sarah’s store, Etched in Glass.”
I turned the Jeep toward the downtown square and five minutes later pulled into an empty parking space. I locked the car and waved at Sarah in her store before following Jax into TicToc Clocks.
I tried to keep the horror from my face as I closed the door behind me. Clocks of every shape and size hung on the walls and sat on countertops. The noise alone was enough to drive me batty. I eyed a huge cuckoo on the wall and prayed it wouldn’t go off while we were here.
“Welcome to TicToc Clocks,” a young, twenty-something said as he put down the tools he’d been using and adjusted his round glasses on his face. He had a slight accent I couldn’t place. “How can I help you?”
I cleared my throat and hoped like heaven this guy wasn’t who Joy was seeing. He had to be more her son’s age—if she had a son. “Um, are you Harvey Krause?”
“Nein,” the young man said. “That’s my uncle. I’m Stefan Krause. Did you need to see him?”
“Yes,” I said. “If he’s here.”
“He’s in the back.” Stefan lightly tapped the tool he’d been using on the countertop. “Let me go get him for you.”
“Thank you,” Jax said.
Stefan nodded once and then pushed off his stool and ambled through a door that led to the back of the store.
“This place is creepy,” Jax whispered. “All these clocks. I feel like they’re watching me.”
I chuckled and silently agreed. “But these hardwood floors are beautiful.”
Jax ran the top of her sandal lightly over the floor. “They really are.”
The door opened and a handsome man in his late thirties stepped across the threshold. He was dressed in khaki dress pants and a dark blue button-down shirt. A bright red bowtie and brown loafers set off his outfit. He adjusted the same style glasses his nephew wore and ran his hands through his long brown hair that reached his chin.
“Hello. I’m Harvey Krause. How can I help you?”
His words were sharp and crisp with the same hint of accent as his nephew. His eyes were red and swollen, almost like he’d been crying.
“Mr. Krause, my name is Jaycee Sullivan, and this is my sister, Jax.”
He shook both our hands.
“I’ve been to your bakery a couple times, Miss. Your desserts are exquisite.”
“Thank you,” Jax said.
Harvey tilted his head at me. “And I believe I’ve seen you and your grandfather at local business meetings.”
I nodded. “Probably.”
“Well, what can I do for you today?” Harvey asked.
“My sister and I were at the store yesterday when Joy died,” I said, figuring blunt would be best.
Harvey sucked in a breath. “You were?”
I nodded. “Yes. I was hoping to ask you some questions.”
His eyebrows dipped down low and he frowned. “What kind of questions? I’ve already answered questions from a detective this morning.”
I nodded. “Yes, I’m sure you have. I won’t take up much of your time, I promise.”
Harvey waved his hand through the air. “Fine. Fine.”
Stefan leaned against the door jamb but didn’t venture farther into the room. He crossed his arms over his chest and listened silently.
“Were you dating Joy Braggs?” I asked.
Fire flashed in Harvey’s eyes before he masked it. “Nein…no.”
“But you were dating at one point?” I asked.
Harvey sat down on the stool his nephew had abandoned. “Yes. We were together a little over six months.”
“What happened?” Jax asked.
“What happened?” Harvey repeated bitterly. “What happened was I fell madly in love and Joy didn’t. I should have listened to her ex-husband.”
“What did Samuel say?” I asked.
Harvey blew out a breath. “He warned me Joy didn’t know what the word commitment meant.” Harvey snorted. “But I was stupid enough to think I could change her mind.”
“I’m sorry for your hurt,” I said.
Harvey shrugged. “I thought I was okay with it, and then suddenly out of nowhere a couple weeks ago she starts playing nice with me again.”
Harvey picked up an awl sitting on the countertop and began tapping it very lightly. “I guess because she had no one else chasing her at the moment. So she decided to call me and lure me back in.”
“I’m sorry she did that to you,” Jax said. “That was so wrong.”
Harvey shrugged. “I’m the stupid one for falling for it.”
“Do you know how Joy died?” I asked.
“Yes.” Harvey laid the awl back down. “And before you ask, yes, I did send the box of chocolates.”
My mouth dropped. “You are the one who sent the box of chocolates?”
Harvey scowled. “Obviously I didn’t send her the box of chocolates that killed her. The detective who came by said when Joy ate one of the chocolates she had a reaction to the peanuts inside the chocolate. But I didn’t order a box of chocolates with peanuts in them.”
“Because you knew about her allergy?” Jax asked.
“Ja…yes. Of course I knew. I placed the order with Lumiere’s Chocolates three days ago and specifically said the box of assorted chocolates to be delivered couldn’t have peanuts in them. They had to be the crème filled.”
“And yet they delivered the wrong box,” Jax mused. “Maybe it really was an honest mistake.”
Something flashed in Harvey’s eye. I got the feeling he didn’t agree with Jax’s statement. Whether it was because he tampered with the chocolates himself or because he thought someone else tampered with them…I couldn’t tell.
“She stopped by two days ago to thank me,” Harvey continued. “I saw the box. It said it was crème filled chocolates.”
Doesn’t mean that’s what was in it when she left.
“Did you know her EpiPen failed her, too?” I asked.
Harvey scoffed and wiped his glasses on the bottom of his shirt. “I can’t tell you how many times I told her to stop that foolishness! Imagine making your own? I just didn’t understand it.”
“Thank you for taking the time to speak with us,” I said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Harvey’s brows lifted and he waggled a finger at me. “You are having some sort of celebration this weekend, Ja? I saw something in the paper about a wedding?”
“Yep,” I boasted. “Our Gramps is getting married in a couple days. In fact, we better head out, we’re having the bachelorette party tonight at my place of business, and we still have a few stops to make.”
Harvey stared down at the counter for a few seconds, and I could see he was blinking back tears. “Well, you girls have fun tonight. Be safe this weekend.”
We assured him we would and with one more wave, we headed back to the Jeep. Sarah had a handful of customers in her glass shop, so we didn’t stop in to say hi, just waved through the window.
“What do you think?” Jax asked.
“I think it’s sad he loved Joy so much. Seeing as how she didn’t love him back, I mean. But he did admit she dropped by to thank him for the chocolates, so it’s definitely plausible Harvey tampered with Joy’s box of chocolates and homemade EpiPens at some point. I say we go see what Marcus Lumiere has to say about the chocolates.”
Jax grinned. “Sounds good.”
“I think we need to start looking at motives, too.”
I pulled out of the parking space and headed over to the South side of town near our stores. Lumiere’s Chocolates was just a stone’s throw away.
“Okay,” Jax said. “Let’s first look at Harvey’s motive. I think it’s a little weak. Are we to believe he killed Joy because she cheated on him early on in the relationship?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He looked pretty torn up. I think Harvey cared deeply for Joy. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he was seriously upset when he found out she was looking elsewhere for love. Rejection and anger are pretty good motives to kill.”
Jax shrugged. “Okay. I’ll give you that. But with Samuel and Danita, I think the motives are stronger. Samuel wanted Joy dead because he would assume her half of the business. He now owns one hundred percent of the company. He was tired of fighting with her, and so he killed her. He has to know the police would look closely at him. They always look closely at the spouse or ex-spouse.”
“True,” I said. “And Danita?”
Jax laughed. “That one’s easy, too. Danita likes Samuel. Everyone could see it, even Joy. That’s why she made Danita dress like she did. Make her unattractive. Danita finally decides she’s had enough and by getting rid of Joy, she can date Samuel and still stay employed.”
I laughed out loud at her employment statement. Only Jax would factor employment into the equation. “Hopefully Marcus can shed some more light on the mysterious box of chocolates. I’m going to let you take the lead, okay?”
“Sure,” Jax said.
Jax and Marcus had first met when he came to town last month looking for a building to buy to open his own chocolate store. Jax had just opened Sinfully Sweet Bakery. Marcus and Jax struck up a conversation and in the process struck up a friendship. In fact, Trevor had done a lot of Marcus’ renovations to the store. I was afraid the two bakers would be in competition with each other, but Jax and Marcus offered two different products to consumers.
Lumiere’s Chocolates had a line out the door. I had to circle the block twice before I could find a parking space. I engaged the alarm and wound my arms through Jax’s as we ambled down the sidewalk to the store.
When I first heard Marcus was going to paint the outside of his building dark brown, I was shocked. Poopy brown wasn’t a color I would have gone with. But now that the whole package was put together, the final result was magnificent. The building was a rich, chocolate brown, with “Lumiere’s Chocolates” in deep gold. The display window was simple and understated…letting the chocolates inside tell the story.
Ten minutes later, Jax and I finally made it inside the store, even though we were still shoulder to shoulder with customers.
“I’m afraid this might be a waste of time,” I said.
“Why?” Jax eyed the chocolates like she’d been on a year-long diet.
I watched a middle-aged couple loaded down with bags walk out the door before answering. “So much chocolate is going out of here, Marcus isn’t going to remember who placed the order…much less if someone came in specifically to buy chocolates with peanuts. I bet ten boxes will go out that door in the next ten minutes.”
“You might be right,” Jax said. “But it can’t hurt to ask. And to sample some products.”
I laughed. “You’d think with the amount of baking you do, you wouldn’t crave chocolate.”
Jax slapped my arm. “Bite your tongue!”
“Jax!”
Jax and I turned and smiled at the middle-aged petite man who scurried out from behind the counter to kiss both of Jax’s cheeks.
“Marcus!” Jax exclaimed. “I love coming in here!”
Marcus Lumiere patted his heart. “Your praise! It touches me right here.”
I loved the cadence of his accent. So French. Everything about the man made me smile. “Looks like you’re doing great.”
Marcus gave me a wink. “Oui! So happy here.”
“I don’t want to take up much of your time,” Jax said. “My sister and I were just hoping you could answer a few questions for us.”
“Mon ami! Is it this death the detective is asking about?” Marcus asked. “I do not understand what is going on. Why my chocolates are involved.”
“Jaycee and I were at the store when Joy was killed,” Jax said. “So we know about the peanuts in the chocolate box.”
Marcus fluttered his hands in front of his face. “I told the policeman I only do what was asked of me. I send a box to the woman with no peanuts inside. Crème centers only. I wrote it down on the pad and even showed the policeman my pad.” Marcus wrung his hands together. “Bad for business is what this is.”
I looked around the packed store and chuckled. I’d hate to see what Marcus called a good day.
“I told the policeman when we get an order because of a peanut allergy, it goes automatically to the safe zone.”
“What’s the safe zone?” Jax asked.
Marcus’ eyes twinkled. “It’s a room I keep in the back. I know about food allergies. There’s a room in the back where crème centers are kept. Workers must enter with no gloves on their hands. They put gloves on inside the room and throw them away before they exit. I’m very careful.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this,” Jax said.
Marcus inclined his head. “Merci.”
“I was hoping you might know who could have bought an identical box of chocolates, only with peanuts inside,” I said. “But with the volume you’re doing, I’d say we are barking up the wrong tree.”
Marcus furrowed his brow. “I know not of this tree you talk about, but I can tell you I sell many boxes of chocolates. Today alone I have sold nearly a hundred boxes of various sizes, both with and without peanuts.”
“Wow!” Jax exclaimed. “That’s great, Marcus!”
Marcus preened at her praise.
“Did you personally take the order for Harvey Krause?” I asked.
“Oui. According to the pad I showed the policeman, I did take that message. I don’t remember. I take so many a day. But I write down exactly what customer says to do. On the pad I marked safe zone.”
“We just thought it might be worth a try,” Jax said. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.”
Marcus grabbed Jax’s arms and kissed her on both cheeks again. “You are welcome, chérie. Now, I must get back before my workers tear me limb from limb.”
We both laughed and waved goodbye before walking out of the store empty-handed. I tried not to be too disappointed with the outcome, but I couldn’t help it.
We buckled up, and I started to pull out of our parking spot. I had every intention of going back to Gone with the Whiskey, but something stopped me.
“We should make one more stop,” I said.
“You’re going to go question Monica, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I heard Mike tell you not to go over to Monica’s house,” Jax said. “He’s going to kick your butt if he finds out you went there.”
“I can handle Mike,” I said.
Not really, but I faked it for Jax’s sake.
“Let’s do it then,” she said.
As I finished plugging in the address on my GPS, I once again thanked the Internet for making things so easy. It was creepy the way you could easily find information out about someone, yet for people like me who openly snooped, it was fabulous.
“If I thought Heidi and Bridget could get away from the art gallery, I’d take them with us.”
Jax turned to me and grinned. “It’s straight up noon. That’s their lunch time. I say we go grab them, fill them in, and make it an adventure.”
With a whoop I flipped the Jeep around and headed back toward Gone with the Whiskey. Jax opened her cell phone and called Traveler’s Bay Art Studio.
“Heidi, it’s Jax. Are you guys closed for lunch? Perfect. Jaycee and I are on a mission. You and Bridget wanna join? Excellent. Our ETA is three minutes.”
Jax shoved her cell phone back in her pocket. “Heidi didn’t even ask what it was we were doing.”
I laughed. “If it’s a mission and we’re involved, those girls want in.”
Heidi and Bridget owned an art gallery in the same cluster of stores Jax and I had our businesses. They were cousins, stood nearly six feet tall, and were crazy enough to do anything. I once saw Heidi do a swan dive two stories high just to escape from a house we’d broken into.
I skidded to a halt in front of the art gallery and Heidi and Bridget jumped in.
“So what’s going on?” Bridget asked. “Is this about Joy’s murder?”
“It was a murder, wasn’t it?” Heidi asked.
I quickly filled the girls in on everything I knew so far—including the fact the police were now calling it a homicide.
“Did you guys know Joy?” I asked.
Heidi rolled her eyes. “Yes. We had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting her once when she came into our store. She definitely left an impression.”
“And it wasn’t a good one,” Bridget added.
“Which brings us to why we’re going to check out Monica Sawyer,” I said.
“I heard her and Jonathan finally got married,” Bridget said. “They were younger than us in school, so I don’t really remember them. I just heard their fights were legendary.”
Heidi clapped her hands. “So, how’re we playing it? You two wanna be the good cops and Bridget and me be the bad cops? We can stand all stoic, arms crossed over our chests, scowling. Maybe look like we might take her down if she says the wrong thing?”
I snorted. “I just thought we’d ask some questions. No need to intimidate her.”
Bridget clucked her tongue. “Disappointing.”
I pulled into the small subdivision off Redwood Drive and drove slowly until I found Cypress Street. Monica Sawyer lived in a pale yellow bungalow-style house almost completely hidden by trees.
I rang the doorbell and the four of us waited impatiently for the door to open. I was about to push the bell again when the front door was thrown open and a scantily-clad woman stood swaying on her feet holding a champagne flute.
“Welcome!” she sang out as she dug the bottom of her gold bikini from her hind end. “Who do we have here?”
I was about to remind her who we were, but I was interrupted by another barely-dressed brunette who also carried a champagne flute and scurried to the door. “C’mon Monica. We still need to drink this last bottle and head outside to the pool.”
Oh, yes. Because drinking and swimming go so well together.
“Hey,” the tipsy brunette said as she pointed at Jax. “I know you.”
Jax’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Hello, Tamera. Long time, no see.”
Tamera frowned and took a long swallow from her flute. “Who’re you again?”
“Jax Sullivan. We played on the same volleyball team in high school.”
Tamera’s mouth dropped open and she flung her arm out to Monica, spilling her drink in the process. “It’s A-Jax!”
Both women snickered and eyed Jax up and down. I clenched my hands into fists. It didn’t take a genius to figure out these women were poking fun at Jax.
“So what’s new A-Jax?” Monica asked snidely.
I turned to Jax. “What’s going on here?”
Jax rolled her eyes. “Tamera and her friends always thought it was funny to call me A-Jax because they thought I was squeaky clean in high school.”
Tamera giggled uncontrollably and stamped her foot on the ground. “That’s A-Jax. Never went to parties, never drank, never went out with the bad boys, always a good girl.”
Monica laughed so hard she stumbled into the front door. “Well, come on in A-Jax, and bring your friends, too. We got lots to celebrate today.” Without waiting for a reply, the two tipsy women linked arms and stumbled back inside the house.
I put my hand on Jax’s arm. “We don’t have to do this. I had no idea she was this horrible of a person.”
Jax shrugged. “They were just typical high school mean girls.”
“But we’re thirty now,” Bridget pointed out. “That’s just ridiculous.”
I sighed. “Okay, let’s make it quick before I let you guys play bad cop and take these girls down.”
We followed Monica and Tamera into the kitchen. Two empty champagne bottles peeked out of the trash can, while another sat on the counter, opened but only half full.
“Can I offer you girls a drink?” Monica asked.
“No thanks,” I said. “What’re we celebrating today?”
Monica scowled as she poured more champagne into her flute. “That cow Joy Braggs.” Suddenly Monica’s face brightened and she laughed. “She went and got herself killed. Like totally dead.”
Tamera giggled. “Yeah, like totally dead.”
The girls laughed and took another drink.
“You didn’t like her?” I asked.
Monica furrowed her brow. “Who? Joy. Hated her.”
“Yeah,” Tamera echoed. “Hated her.”
“Why do you say that?” Heidi asked.
Monica looked at Heidi and her eyes grew wide. “Dang, you’re huge.” She turned her head to look at Bridget. “You are, too. Like Amazon women huge.”
Bridget took a threatening step forward, and I quickly repeated Heidi’s question. “Why did you dislike Joy?”
Monica looked at me like I’d grown another head. “Because she tried to sleep with my husband!”
“Yeah,” Tamera echoed. “She was always all over Monica’s man. And she did bad things on purpose, too.”
Now we’re getting somewhere.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Like she placed an order for my wedding wrong, then made it seem like I was the one who made the mistake. She was constantly running to Jonathan about things, trying to touch him, calling him.”
“She was so obvious.” Tamera poked Monica’s arm. “But now she can’t do that anymore.”
Monica’s lips turned up in an evil grin. “No, she can’t.” Monica leaned close to me…or rather tilted toward me. “He assured me nothing was going on. He was just as upset about her calling and hitting on him at every turn. He told me she disgusted him. Not that I was worried. Jonathan loves me. He’d never cheat on me.”
“Yeah, Jonathan would never cheat on Monica,” Tamera parroted. “He loves her.”
Here was my opening. “Monica, did you call Joy yesterday and threaten her?”
Monica reeled back. “How did you know? How did that detective guy know?”
I shrugged innocently. “He probably looked up the last number that called Joy before she died.”
“Oh, I guess so.” Monica took another drink then frowned. “How did you know I called?”
“I was in the store at the time and overheard the conversation. I overheard you tell Joy you thought Jonathan was sleeping with her.”
I winced at Monica’s sudden shrill laugh. “Nonsense! I wouldn’t say that. I know Jonathan’s not cheating on me. He’d never cheat on me!”
I held up my hand. “Okay. I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood.”
“Besides,” Monica said, “it doesn’t matter now. She got what she deserved. She’s good and dead and she’ll never sleep with another woman’s husband again. I hope it was a painful death. I just wish I could have been there to see it.”
“Did you know Joy was allergic to peanuts?” I asked.
Monica closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “I’m getting bored with this conversation.”
I heard Heidi snort.
“I’m sorry,” I said smoothly. “I wondered if you knew Joy was allergic to peanuts?”
“Of course I knew. She was always going on and on about how she couldn’t be around anything with peanuts because she’d swell up. She was very particular of the foods we could bring around her when she’d come over to the venue to set things up. One time, one of my bridesmaids had a Snickers bar out, and Joy went ballistic. Screaming for that assistant of hers to bring her those pretend EpiPens out of her purse. It was ridiculous.”
“So she made it known to everyone she was allergic and she carried medication just in case she had a reaction?” Bridget asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I just said.” Monica rolled her eyes and finished the last of the champagne in her flute. “But it doesn’t matter now. Because she’s dead.”
Tamera poured the last of the champagne from the bottle into her flute. “Yeah. Good riddance.”
Monica suddenly frowned and rubbed her head. “Why’re you guys here again?”
Jax stepped forward. “We’re just going around letting people know about the bakery I just opened.”
“Oh, okay.” Monica glanced at the clock. “I hate to cut this short, but Jonathan should be here for lunch any minute now, and I still have to make him a sandwich.”
“Of course,” Jax said. “Again, congratulations on your marriage.”
“Thank you,” Monica said. “I’m very lucky to have a man who loves me as much as Jonathan does. He dotes on me, waits on me hand and foot. He’s so attentive to my every need.”
I glanced at Tamera. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn she rolled her eyes.
“I’m home,” a deep voice called out. “Is my lunch ready?”
Monica gasped. “My man is home!”
We all hurried into the living room where Jonathan Sawyer stood. I had to admit, I understood why Joy might have thrown herself at Jonathan. He was a little over six feet tall, broad shouldered, short dark hair, vivid blue eyes. It was still early afternoon and he already had a five o’clock shadow. His suit was expensive and tailored…no off-the-rack suit for him.
“Hello,” Jonathan said, taking us all in. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, Jonathan, you remember Jax from high school, right?” Monica gushed.
Jonathan looked Jax over in a way I didn’t particularly like. He smiled a slow, predatory smile at her. “Of course I do.” He thrust his hand out to Jax. “How are you?”
Jax swallowed hard and shook his hand. “Fine, thanks. We were just in the neighborhood and thought we’d stop by. I recently opened a bakery in town, and I also heard about your recent marriage. Just thought we’d say congratulations.”
A look I couldn’t decipher passed over Jonathan’s face. “Thank you very much. I couldn’t be happier Monica finally said yes.”
Tamera linked her arm through Monica’s. “We’re all so happy for them.”
Jonathan turned his smoldering gaze once more to Jax. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask who your insurance carrier is for the bakery?”
“Oh,” Jax said. “Um, Jaycee and I use the same company.”
Jonathan ran his eyes over me. “Yes. I think I know about your place. You have a bar or something, don’t you?”
I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t like his implication. “My Gramps and I own a bookstore and bar called Gone with the Whiskey.”
Jonathan nodded. “Yes. I remember now.” He turned back to Jax and placed his hand on her arm. “Well, if you find your insurance carrier isn’t giving you the results you want, I’m sure I could be just what you need. I’ve never had complaints with my results.”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. That was the lamest come-on I’d ever heard. And did Monica not pick up on it? I glanced over at her, but she was all smiles and googly-eyes at her husband.
“Well,” I said, “we better be heading out. We have a bachelorette party to get ready for tonight at Gone with the Whiskey.” I looked pointedly at Jonathan. “You know, my bar.”
But Jonathan didn’t bite, instead he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a business card. Handing it to Jax he said, “Be sure to call me if you want to get together and discuss…business or whatever.”
I barely refrained from making a gagging noise. The four of us said goodbye to the newly married couple and Tamera and made our way to the front door. I turned around to shut the door behind me and almost gasped out loud.
Jonathan Sawyer was kissing his wife…while his hand caressed Tamara’s butt.
“Omigosh, Omigosh,” I whispered as I gently pulled the door closed. “Hurry! Get in the Jeep. Omigosh!”
“What?” Jax, Heidi and Bridget all shouted at me. “What’s going on?”
“Shh!” My heart raced so fast, I thought it would shoot out of my chest. “Just get in the Jeep!”
We all jumped in and slammed the doors closed.
“What?” Jax screamed excitedly. “What’s going on?”
I threw my hands up in the air. “You’re never going to believe what I just saw?”
Heidi rolled her eyes. “What? Perfect husband kissing perfect wife. The perfect couple being perfect?” She pretended to stick her finger down her throat. “If I had to hear one more time how wonderful Jonathan was and how much he loved Monica from either of those two women, I was going to strangle them both!”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I wanted to make sure I had my moment in the limelight as I dropped the bomb. “I just saw Jonathan kissing Monica…while his hand roamed all over Tamera’s butt!”
“Shut up!”
“No way!”
“What a slime!”
I shook my head slowly and laughed. “I have to say, that totally threw me for a loop. I mean, I was already getting creepy vibes from Monica and her so-happy-Joy-was-dead chatter. But for both women to go on and on about Jonathan being faithful to Monica, and then witnessing that…I’m not sure if Monica killed the right woman or not. I mean, if she did kill Joy, maybe she should have also looked at killing her best friend. Because there was nothing right about what I just saw.”
“So what does this mean?” Jax asked then giggled. “I mean, I know what you just saw means. But I’m talking about Joy’s murder. Where does that place Monica and Jonathan on the list of suspects?”
“Yeah,” Heidi said. “Who would have more motive to kill Joy now?”
I started the Jeep and pulled out of the Sawyer driveway before answering. “Well, the motive for Monica to kill Joy is jealousy and revenge. She thinks Joy is sleeping with her husband so she kills Joy. She admitted to knowing about the allergy and the homemade EpiPens Joy kept in her purse.”
“I get that,” Bridget said. “But why would Jonathan kill Joy?”
“Maybe he was afraid his wife would find out,” I said.
“Um, Jaycee,” Heidi said, “you just told us he put his hand on another woman’s butt while he kissed his wife. Somehow he doesn’t strike me as the worried and scared kind of guy.”
I nodded. “I guess you’re right. So we have to find another motive for why Jonathan might want to kill Joy.”
“How many suspects do you have now?” Heidi asked.
“I have five,” I said. “I don’t know about Mike and what all he’s found out. But for me, and what I immediately know, I’m looking at Joy’s ex-husband Samuel, the ever-changing assistant Danita, the recently-dumped boyfriend, Harvey, especially since he’s the one that actually sent her the candy…and now freaky and freakier Monica and Jonathan.”
I pulled into the cluster of saloon-type storefronts where we all had our shops and parked. A few spaces down from us was a tiny, weird looking fire engine red car. If possible, it was smaller than the Mini Cooper I used to drive.
“What is that silly looking thing?” Jax asked.
“I don’t know,” Heidi said. “But there’s no way more than one person rides in it. It’s smaller than any Smart car or Mini I’ve ever seen.”
“We’ll see you tonight, right?” I asked.
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Bridget said.
Jax and I headed inside Gone with the Whiskey, our arms loaded down with packages. Mom was close by so she opened the door for us. There were about seven or eight customers milling around, reading, and having drinks. Viviana and Patrick stood talking with Shayla at one of the book shelves.
“Do you have more to carry in?” Mom asked.
“Nope,” Jax said. “This is everything for tonight’s party. Jaycee and I made a couple quick stops this morning to finish up the last of the purchases.”
“Should I look inside and see what you bought?” Mom teased.
Jax laughed. “I wouldn’t advise it.”
“I don’t want to hear that,” Tillie hollered behind me. “We agreed on nothing crazy tonight.”
I set my bags on one of the tables and turned to tease Tillie. My mouth dropped open when I saw the couple with her. I thought Shayla and Viviana were extraordinary and unique, but they paled in comparison to this couple.
I placed them in their late sixties. He was tall, reed thin, and completely bald except for a thick strip of frizzy, afro-like red hair that wrapped around the lower rim of his head. She barely reached his chest, was a good fifty pounds overweight, had short kinky curls dyed in a vibrant blue, and a wide smile that overtook her face.
A sudden thought whirled through my head, and I almost burst out laughing. Was this the couple who owned the miniscule car outside? Were they purposely trying to be the proverbial clowns-in-a-small-car joke?
“I want to introduce Teddy and Ethel Mercer,” Tillie said. “They’re now retired, but when we were all together performing, these two were a dynamic duo team.”
Teddy pulled Ethel close and beamed. “Been married about fifty years now. Been performing together for about that long, too. Yep. I took one look at her in her oversized polka dotted dress and silly matching hat and I knew she was the clown for me.”
It was crazy, but I felt tears sting the back of my eyes. There was so much pride and love in Teddy’s silly speech, it went straight to my heart.
“It was the same for me,” Ethel said as she patted Teddy’s chest and looked up adoringly at him. “He came strolling inside the tent on stilts, towering over everyone…such a commanding presence my Teddy had. Still does, too.”
He leaned down and kissed Ethel lightly on her forehead. I suddenly understood why Tillie chose to live her life in this atmosphere. The people she surrounded herself with were uniquely individual, yet they shared a bond that was unbreakable.
“Married fifty years?” I asked. “How old were you when you got married?”
Ethel giggled. “Teddy was sixteen, and I was fifteen. We’d each ran away from home and joined the circus.”
“It was the sixties,” Teddy said dramatically. “A different time and a different era.”
“I take it that’s your car outside?” I asked.
Teddy’s chest puffed out. “Sure is. It’s a 1957 BMW Isetta. It’s my pride and joy.”
Duke ambled by and nudged my leg. I bent down and gave him a scratch. He shook his jowls at me, grunted, and ambled back over to his bed.
“Were you able to get the popcorn popper here?” Jax asked Mom.
“Yes. It’s in the storeroom all set up and ready to go.”
“I’m going to start popping then,” Jax said. “I can drizzle the Godiva liqueur and white chocolate over it later. But I need to pop a lot of popcorn today for the wedding favors.”
I turned to Gramps. “We’re doing a circus theme tonight for the bachelorette party. What’s your theme? Do you know?”
Gramps scowled, but I could see he was secretly pleased. “Men don’t have themes. That’s a woman thing.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. What are you guys doing tonight?”
“All I know is Major Hopkins, Mike, and Trevor planned it. I’ve overheard bits and pieces of conversations, and if I had to guess, we’ll start out the night at Hopkins’ shooting range.”
“Should be a grand time,” Teddy said. “I haven’t shot much in my day. I’m more of a knife thrower. Taught Tillie all she knows.”
My mouth dropped. “You’re the one who taught Tillie to throw?”
Teddy chuckled. “Well, me and a couple other clowns.”
Mom pulled me aside and motioned Shayla and Tillie over. The two women made a beeline for us and looked at me expectantly.
“So,” Mom said, “did you do some snooping this morning?”
I chuckled. “Yes. And here’s what I’ve learned.”
I filled the ladies in on our impromptu stop at Joy’s store and what we found out from Danita and Samuel. I also mentioned Harvey and how he admitted he sent the chocolates to Joy, and then went over everything Monica told me about her and Joy and the ending I witnessed between Monica, Tamera, and Jonathan.
“That’s disturbing,” Mom said. “What’s next?”
“I want to find a plausible motive for Jonathan to have killed Joy. I don’t think it’s a solid reason to say he was afraid Joy would leak their affair. There has to be something more solid if he’s to be considered a suspect.”
We closed Gone with the Whiskey around four-thirty. Mom and the girls spent the afternoon putting up decorations for the bachelorette party—red and white paper umbrellas draped from the ceiling, white Christmas lights wove in between the umbrellas, and fat white candles in mirrored holders sat in the middle of the tables.
Gramps and I had just finished carrying out an armload of champagne for the cotton candy champagne drinks, when Heidi and Bridget rushed through the door each rolling a suitcase.
“We got the supplies for the face painting,” Bridget said. “Where do you want us to set up?”
“How about the big table over by Shayla,” I suggested.
Shayla had volunteered to read auras, tea leaves, and goodness only knew what else. She looked the part with her long green scarf wrapped around her head and gold and purple gems decorating her forehead. Her flowy dress was made of the same material and color as her headpiece, and numerous rings, bangles, and necklaces adorned her body. She definitely looked the part of a fortune teller.
The door opened again and Mike and Trevor entered, each carrying a side of a huge box. Andrew followed behind, grinning.
“Let’s put it down here,” Mike said.
“What’s this?” Tillie asked as she sidled up next to the box.
“This is a gift from Elizabeth and me. It’s specifically for your party tonight.” Andrew turned and grinned at Gramps. “But I’m sure you’ll find a nice spot for it in your together home.”
Clapping her hands in glee, Tillie ripped into the box. Mom came over and wrapped her arms around Andrew, enjoying the scene.
“Thank you,” Mom said.
Andrew winked at her. “You’re welcome.”
Tillie let out a shriek that could be heard a mile away. She turned, flung her arms around Andrew, and squeezed. We all laughed.
“What is it?” Bridget asked.
“It’s the Love Tester,” Tillie said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “I used to spend my precious nickels trying to get it to the highest setting.”
It was an absolute beauty…an obvious antique. A tall wooden box on ornate metal legs that had words like “hot stuff,” “clammy,” “mild,” “wild,” and other suggestive meanings.
“You grab as tight as you can to this knob sticking up from the center of the machine,” Tillie said, “and think ‘hot stuff’ the whole time.”
Jax and I laughed.
“I love it, Andrew,” Tillie gushed. “How did you know?”
“Elizabeth mentioned she’d like to find it for you, so I called in a favor from friends I know who deal in antiques, and one of them found it.”
Gramps and Duke ambled over to where Andrew and Mom were standing. Gramps clapped Andrew on the back, making him pitch forward slightly. “That’s real nice of you, son.”
Andrew smiled and nodded.
Gramps and Andrew were finally beginning to see eye to eye now that the air had been cleared about Andrew’s and Mom’s past. Mom recently learned the full story about why Andrew left her when they were young teenagers dating and in love. Needless to say, my Gramps had a hand in Andrew’s disappearance, and the reason behind why Mom never heard from him again. That is, until recently when I invited Andrew to Gone with the Whiskey to read from his latest novel.
“We can put it right next to your life-size cardboard of John Wayne,” Tillie told Gramps. “Wouldn’t that be a hoot?”
Gramps stared menacingly at Andrew. “Yes. A hoot.”
“Okay,” I said. “We got girls coming at seven. You boys need to get out of here and let us have our night of wild debauchery!”
Mike narrowed his eyes. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
I laughed and pushed him and Duke toward the door. “You go and do your man things and we’ll be here doing our woman things.”
“Un huh.” He leaned down and kissed me. “Try not to get arrested. I don’t want to have to leave the Colonel’s bachelor party to come bail you out of jail.”
I grinned. “No promises.”
By the time the men all left for Hopkins’ shooting range, it was almost six o’clock. I’d just finished setting out the champagne flutes for the cotton candy drink when my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Jaycee? This is Danita from Joy’s Party Rentals.”
“Oh, hi. I didn’t recognize your number.”
“I’m not calling from the shop,” Danita said. “We closed at five tonight. It’s just too much trying to juggle everything right now, and we were slow.”
“Of course,” I said. “I totally understand.”
“Sounds like you’re having a party,” Danita said.
“Tillie’s bachelorette party is tonight.”
“Oh, that’s right. I remember you saying something about that today when you stopped by earlier.”
There was an awkward silence.
“So what can I do for you, Danita?”
Danita chuckled. “It’s actually what I can do for you. I found a cotton candy machine in Santa Rosa you can rent.”
“That’s fantastic!” I exclaimed.
“The company said I could have it on Saturday. So if you want, I can drive over and get it and deliver it to the wedding venue for you.”
“Oh, Danita, you’re a lifesaver. That would be great.”
I reminded her of the venue address and had just said goodbye when I heard a man’s voice in the background. Instead of ending the call, I waited to see what I could hear before the call automatically disconnected.
“Red or white?” the man asked.
The phone disconnected before I heard Danita’s reply. But that was okay…it was enough time for me to recognize the man’s voice.
“Psst.” I motioned Jax over.
“What?”
“I just got off the phone with Danita,” I whispered. “She was calling from her house. She said she could get us a cotton candy machine for the wedding.”
“Great. Why are you whispering about that?”
“Shh.” I leaned in close. “Before she could hang up, I heard Samuel’s voice in the background asking her if she wanted red or white.”
Jax blinked. “Like wine? Like they were having a romantic dinner?”
She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice, and I smiled knowingly. I wasn’t the only one who loved to investigate, but with the recent opening of her store, it was harder and harder for Jax to sleuth with me.
“Sounded that way,” I said. “Should we go make a run real quick and see?”
Jax bit her lip and glanced over to where Mom was helping Tillie put a BRIDE sash on over her colorful bohemian dress. “Mom will kill us if she finds out we’ve left the party to go snoop on possible murder suspects. This is Tillie’s big night.”
“Danita lives in town,” I said. “We can—”
“How do you know she lives in town?” Jax interrupted.
“Duh, because this morning I already scoped her out on Google to find her current address.”
“It freaks me out sometimes how well you do that,” Jax said.
I grinned. “So like I said, we go snoop it out real quick, see what we can see. Then we come back here and no one suspects a thing.”
Jax snorted and slid another surreptitious look at Mom. “If you can make it to where she won’t kill us, I’ll go with you.”
I let out a squeal of excitement before heading over to Heidi and Bridget’s table. Face paints in every color imaginable were lined up in a row. They’d also designed a cute picture booth complete with props so we could take pictures.
“I need to go run an errand real quick,” I said. “I need you two to stay here and make sure Mom doesn’t freak out.”
“Who’re you spying on?” Bridget demanded.
“What makes you think—never mind. I’m going to Danita’s house. Samuel is over there, and it sounds like they’re having more than a working dinner tonight if you get my drift.”
“Eww,” Bridget said. “His ex-wife just died, and he’s already scamming on the help. Even if it’s his ex, it still looks bad.”
“Don’t you need backup?” Heidi asked. “We can do that for you.”
“Any other time I’d say yes. But I really need you to keep Mom from losing her mind and threatening to whip us if we leave.”
Both girls laughed.
“Fine,” Heidi said. “We’ll stay here and make sure everything gets set up before the guests arrive. But you better fill us in the second you get back.”
“Deal.”
My next stop was to convince Mom that Jax and I would be back before the party started and that we wouldn’t ruin the party by leaving. She must have seen the look on my face, because she was already shaking her head and giving me a lecture before I even got to her side.
“No,” Mom said. “Whatever it is you think you need to run and go do before the party starts…no.”
I sighed. “Mom, Jax and I will be right back. It’s important.”
“Important? Really? More important than being here with Tillie on her big night? Just two nights before she walks down the aisle and marries your grandfather? More important than—”
Tillie laughed and put her hand on Mom’s arm. “Elizabeth. Let the girls go do what they need. This place is already set up. We still have nearly an hour before guests arrive.” Tillie turned to me. “You’ll be back before the guests get here, right?”
Even though she said that last part with a smile…I understood the veiled threat that I better not be late.
Grinning, I leaned over and kissed Tillie on the cheek. “You bet we will! If you need anything while we’re out, just text.”
Mom snorted but didn’t say anything else as Jax and I snatched up our purses and ran out the door. Since I already had Danita’s address plugged into my GPS, it didn’t take long to reach her subdivision. Not wanting to get caught, I parked three houses down from where she lived.
“Have you noticed this style of investigating,” Jax said, “seems to be our standard MO? We go to someone’s house and then we sneak into their backyard.”
I laughed. “What else is there to do? I’m not gonna sit in the car all night and wait for something to happen. I’m about results!”
“What exactly are we hoping to find?” Jax whispered as we tiptoed around the side of Danita’s house.
“I have two objectives here,” I said. “First is to get proof that one or both of them murdered Joy, and the other is to not get caught peeping and thrown in jail.”
Jax laughed and pressed me up against the side of the house. “I’ll take a peek around the corner and see if I can see anything through the windows.”
“Why you?” I asked.
She gave me a hard look. “Because I have less to lose if I get caught. Trevor didn’t warn me not to get arrested tonight.”
“Ha ha.” But deep down inside I couldn’t argue with her.
Jax slipped around the corner and out of sight. It was all I could do not to give in to temptation and look for myself.
“Psst.” I leaned around the corner and Jax motioned to me. “C’mon. Coast is clear. Although, that’s about the only thing that’s clear. I can’t really see anything from this angle.”
She was right. Directly in front of the big kitchen window were two rose bushes. The only thing I could make out was the top of Samuel’s head.
I looked above her to the tree and cocked my eyebrow at her. “You want me to climb the tree and see what’s going on?”
Jax gave me a “get-real” glare I didn’t quite appreciate.
“What?” I said. “I can climb that tree.”
Jax motioned toward the tree. “Oh, then by all means, please do.”
I gave her a baleful glare before stomping over to the trunk. I tossed my hair back over my shoulder, planted my fists on my hips, and considered my first move in tackling the darn thing. I’d once watched Tillie scale down a tree and she made it look effortless.
Two seconds later, I had to admit defeat. I had no idea how to climb a tree, but I’d rather be tortured than concede.
“Move aside, big sis.” Jax bumped her hip against mine then jumped up and grabbed onto the lowest branch. With ab muscles I could only pretend to have, she brought her feet up off the ground and scaled the trunk before throwing her legs over the branch and twisting her body so she sat atop the branch.
“Okay,” Jax hissed. “I have a perfect view of the two of them.”
I didn’t say anything for a few seconds, just let her take in everything. When I finally couldn’t stand it anymore, I tried to get a better view by standing on my tiptoes. That didn’t help.
“Stop moving,” Jax whispered. “You’ll draw attention to yourself.”
“What do you see?”
“They’re toasting each other…and now…yuck. Now they’re kissing.”
I gave a low whistle. “That’s moving fast.”
Jax reached down into her jean pocket and pulled out her phone. She snapped a picture then returned the phone to her pocket.
“Good thinking,” I said.
Before Jax could respond, a huge crack reverberated through the air. Jax let out a little squeal and grabbed on tighter to the tree limb.
“Crap, it’s breaking!” Jax exclaimed. “And I think Samuel is headed outside to see what’s going on!”
“Drop down.” I lifted my hands in the air. “I’ll catch you!”
Jax rolled off the side of the branch and dropped on top of me.
I didn’t exactly catch her like I had hoped.
We both lay on the ground, trying to catch our breath, when the back door creaked open.
“Stay low,” Jax commanded as she crawled to the side of the house. I had no choice but to follow suit. We scrambled across the grass and twigs on our hands and knees as fast as we could, barely making it to the side of the house before Samuel stepped outside. We were still crouched down against the house.
“Do you see anything?” I heard Danita yell out.
“No,” Samuel replied. “But I could have sworn I saw someone in the tree.”
Please don’t look over here. Please don’t look over here.
A few seconds later I heard Danita call Samuel back inside saying she wanted him to finish where he left off. I breathed a sigh of relief when Samuel did just that.
“Let’s go,” Jax said, “before Samuel decides to check the front of the house.”
We popped up and took off around the side of the house and down to the sidewalk. Slowing down so we didn’t bring attention to ourselves, Jax and I averted our gazes and walked to my Jeep. We didn’t say a word until I pulled out of the subdivision and headed back to Gone with the Whiskey.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I think it’s awfully strange that those two would take up with each other just a day after Joy’s death. I know it’s not exactly a clue, but that’s a glaring motive to me.”
“I agree.” I bit my lip. “You don’t think he saw you, do you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
We didn’t say anything for a few more minutes. “So, were they drinking white or red wine?”
Jax laughed. “Red. Why?”
“I’d say it’s pretty telling.”
“How so?”
I gave her a cheeky grin. “Everyone knows red usually signifies death or a harlot in books.”
Jax shook her head. “You’re too much sometimes, Jaycee.”
We made it back to Gone with the Whiskey by six-forty. Mom didn’t say a word as we ran inside and went straight to the storeroom where our dresses for tonight’s party were stored. Once we were dressed, Jax and I donned our matching sparkle sashes that read Bridesmaid. Ten minutes later, we hurried out to mingle with the few guests who had arrived early. Namely the Graffiti Grannies—a group of elderly graffiti artists.
I’d met the leader of the gang, Bernita, a few months back when she and her gang helped me solve a murder involving poison. In return, I had to pay them back by being a lookout for the police while they tagged the town with their beautiful artwork.
“Hello, Jaycee.” Bernita snatched a flute of cotton candy champagne off a nearby tray before heading my way.
“Hey, Bernita. Where are the others?”
“Irma and Ilita are over with Heidi and Bridget getting their faces painted, and Patsy is having a reading done.” Bernita looked me up and down. “So, are you next for one of these wedding parties?”
A meme I’d recently come across flashed through my mind of a younger woman complaining she was always getting poked by older people at weddings saying she would be next. So she started going to funerals and doing the same thing to them.
I shrugged and took a sip of my champagne. “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Cagey,” Bernita cackled. “I like that.” She lifted her own glass and toasted me before heading over to talk with Mom and Tillie.
By seven-thirty, the place was packed. Customers, friends, family…at least forty or fifty women were having a good time celebrating Tillie. The circus theme was a hit.
“You need to have your reading still,” Tillie said as she pulled me out from behind the bar. “Stop catering and go have fun. There are plenty of drinks and desserts for people to finish off.”
“Okay, okay.”
I sauntered over to where Jax was talking with Ethel Mercer. Ethel had decided to go all out and dress in her old-fashioned clown costume. The vintage, pantaloon dress was adorable. Add in the cute face paint and hair, and I could totally see why Teddy fell for her all those years ago. She was definitely enjoying herself. Her big trick tonight was every time she pulled out a plethora of scarves from up her sleeve, a tiny bottle of booze would be tied off at the end.
“Have you had a reading with Shayla, yet?” Jax asked excitedly when I snagged her drink and took a sip. “I just did, and it was awesome!”
“Nope, not yet.” I handed the drink back to her. “I’ll do it soon.”
“You’ll enjoy it,” Ethel said. “Shayla is a master at her craft.”
I linked my arms through Jax’s. “Let’s go get our face painted first. I want to make sure I look good for my reading.”
Jax grinned. “Deal.”
We said goodbye to Ethel and wandered over to Heidi and Bridget.
“What’ll it be, girls?” Heidi asked. “Nude male dancer on the cheek?”
“Maybe a nudie self portrait of Mike or Trevor?” Bridget teased.
I shuddered at the thought as I sat down in Heidi’s chair. “Just give me a book with a bottle of whiskey next to it.”
Jax laughed. “Only you, Jaycee.” She sat down in Bridget’s chair. “I want a cupcake on one cheek, and a big heart with little balloons floating above it.”
I filled Heidi and Bridget in on what had transpired at Danita’s house between her and Samuel. The girls agreed it was in bad taste, but neither were sure it was absolute proof of one or both of them having committed the crime.
“I need a big clue soon,” I said. “Something that either proves or disproves someone.”
“You’ll find it,” Bridget said. “You always do.”
Heidi stepped back and admired her work. “You’re done. I figure Mike will love it.”
She handed me a mirror, and I bit back a laugh. She’d drawn an overly-voluptuous me, holding a book in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure.”
Jax and I thanked the girls and made our way over to Shayla. When she caught sight of us, she smiled and beckoned us forward. I don’t know if it was because of the two drinks I’d already had, but her scarves and jewelry were captivating. I couldn’t stop staring.
Jax gave me a little shove. “You go on. I already had mine done. You need to be alone.”
Before I could protest, Shayla stood and grabbed hold of my left hand—since the right one still held another drink. Her smile was friendly and calming.
“I’m so glad you finally stopped by,” Shayla said. “I’ve been hoping you would.”
“I’m excited,” I said, “but also a little apprehensive. I didn’t think I would be.”
Shayla smiled at me. “That’s perfectly natural. What kind of a reading would you like to have done?”
I shrugged. “How about a tea reading.”
“Tea it is.” Shayla stared at me a few seconds before turning to choose a teacup. “I’m going to go with this cup. This will be a general reading, so your immediate future will be at the rim, your near future in the middle, and your distant future at the bottom.”
“Okay.”
She didn’t say anything more as she busied herself with preparing the kettle and tea. She took the exact steps with me as she did Danita just the day before.
“Drink up,” she said. “Depending on the type of reading you have done, you may take this time to ponder a certain question. Tonight I’m just going to do a general reading. So I want you to just sit and sip your tea quietly and reflect on your life. Be sure to leave just a little of the liquid at the bottom of the cup.”
I did as she commanded. The tea itself was a sweet blend of fruits and spices. She sat back and closed her eyes and let me sip my tea quietly. When I was finished with the tea, I placed it on the saucer.
“There is no one way to read tea leaves,” Shayla said. “This is my personal way I’ve done for over forty years now. We want to make sure the handle is facing you on your left. Now take your left hand and turn the cup three times, please.”
I did as she asked.
“And turn the cup over. We will leave it sit like this for a few minutes.”
Once again Shayla closed her eyes and went into her own trance. I tried to clear my mind and focus solely on the reading, but my mind was also on everything that had happened the last two days.
“Okay, let’s continue. Please tap the bottom of the teacup three times. Good. Now turn it in a complete rotation three times with the handle pointing to you.”
I did as she commanded then sat back.
“I’m going to take a minute to look over the images and see what I can see in your leaves,” she said. “It’s important to know that there is no right or wrong or good or bad. I will only tell you what I see. Okay?”
I nodded and swallowed hard, suddenly terrified of what she might see. Shayla picked up my cup and moved it around. She made a few guttural noises, but for the most part she was quiet. Finally, she put the cup down.
“Like I said, there’s no good or bad or black and white to a reading.”
Oh, boy. That doesn’t sound good.
“I’ll start with the rim first. This is your immediate future. This is the part that troubles me the most.”
I groaned. “Oh, gosh. How bad?”
Shayla clucked her tongue. “I told you, Jaycee, this isn’t set in stone, it’s not concrete, it’s not—”
“Okay.” I held up my hand. “I understand. What’s it say?”
Shayla frowned again before tilting the delicate teacup to me. “Do you see this right here?”
She pointed to what looked like the letter “t” or a cross. “Yes.”
“Well, usually the letter “t” or a cross implies trouble or death.”
I sucked in my breath. “Mine?”
“It’s just a warning, Jaycee. Tea leaves cannot set your life path.”
“Right,” I nodded, wishing I had another drink handy—one with a huge alcohol kick.
“But the fact I can pair it to this right here,” she pointed to what looked like a long, rectangular outline of leaves, with more leaves at the base of the rectangle. “I might see this as an hourglass. Which is a grave warning.”
I started to shake. “You’re kinda worrying me here, Shayla.”
Shayla smiled serenely at me. “Look down here.” She pointed to the middle of the cup. “I see a star and moon. That means happiness and success. And down here at the bottom of your cup, I see a large triangle. That represents a fortunate meeting or good luck of some kind.”
I gave a shaky laugh. “Okay. That’s a little better.”
Shayla put the cup down and stared unblinkingly at me. “This is a good reading. I think you need to heed the warning. With your part in this murder investigation, this is something you need to take seriously. You need to be extremely careful from here on out.”
A shiver ran down my spine. “I will. I promise.”
She leaned back in her chair and clapped her hands together once. “Thank you for visiting me. Now, go and have fun.”
Have fun? You just said I was in grave danger!
“I will, thanks.” But the words sounded hollow even to me.
I stood up and grabbed my plastic champagne flute off the table and proceeded to throw it away. Walking around the side of the bar, I stopped and watched the forty or so women laughing and having a good time. It was hard to believe another killer was on the loose in Traveler’s Bay.
“Jaycee? You look a little pale,” Linda Packard said. “Are you feeling all right?”
Linda Packard, recurring customer and wanna-be sleuth, stood in front of me with a look of concern etched on her face. Tonight she was dressed in ivory linen slacks and a midnight blue shell. Her brown hair was pulled back in an elegant chignon.
“I’m fine, Linda. Thanks for asking.” I poured myself a glass of pinot noir and wrapped my hands around the stemware. “Are you having fun?”
Linda grinned. “I sure am. I’m about to go get my face painted.” She reached over and tossed some of Jax’s boozy popcorn into her mouth. She finished chewing then leaned in conspiratorially. “Any news on Joy’s murder?”
I saw the hopeful gleam in Linda’s eyes. I liked Linda. I really did. Even though she could be nosey and pushy sometimes, she had a good vibe about her.
“I’m still looking into it,” I said vaguely. “I hope to have something soon.”
Linda pursed her lips and nodded. “I’m sure you will.” She reached over and patted my hand. “Well, I’m off to see Heidi and Bridget. We’ll talk later.”
I watched her go before taking another drink of my wine. I suddenly felt the need for some fresh air. Catching Jax’s eye, I motioned my head to the door as I ambled over to the front entrance.
“What’s up?” Jax said. “How was your reading?”
“Odd. Come outside so I can get some fresh air.”
Jax grinned. “A little too much to drink?”
I laughed and opened the door. “No. Just need to think.”
We linked arms and started walking down the wooden crosswalk, the boards creaking under the weight of our bodies. When we reached the turn to head to her shop, I walked to the opposite edge of the crosswalk and sat down…my feet dangling over the side of the raised platform. Jax plopped down beside me.
The sun had set, and the soft glow of the sunset was fading fast. The many sequoia and redwood made it difficult for the light to stay around long. In a few minutes, the night sky would be pitch black.
“Was it your reading?” Jax asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been feeling a little melancholy lately. What with Gramps moving out, and now the upcoming wedding. I’m just a little sad, I guess.”
Jax laid her head on my shoulder. “It is weird to think about. But they’re happy. We should be happy for them.”
“I know. It’s just sometimes I miss the old times. Gramps and Duke watching John Wayne movies in the living room. You baking all your goodies in the kitchen instead of your own bakery.”
“You spending every waking minute at Gone with the Whiskey instead of out with Mike,” Jax teased.
I took a drink of my wine. “Touché.”
We sat like that, gazing out into the distance, pondering old times for a few minutes. Every once in a while the quiet was interrupted by a passing car on the road about thirty yards in front of us.
“I’m going back inside,” Jax said. “Are you coming?”
I sighed and set my drink down on the wooden planks. “I think I’m going to stay for a minute longer. I want to go over a few things from the case.”
Jax kissed my cheek and hopped up. “Don’t stay out too long. Mom will think you’ve gone off again and whip you!”
Laughing, I waved her off and continued to stare out into the distance. I didn’t want to think about Joy and her death, but I couldn’t help it. Someone had obviously wanted Joy dead, and they’d gone about it in a very calculated way.
I thought about my five suspects, their motives to kill Joy, and had to wonder about the level of difficulty it would be to slip the chocolates and contaminated EpiPen into her purse without her seeing. That seemed a fairly time consuming thing to do. It had to be someone who had access to her purse for a certain period of time.
I heard a rustle behind me and figured either Jax or another party goer had come back outside. I put my hand down on one of the wooden planks and started to stand up…when I felt something clamp around my neck.
For a few seconds I just sat there, terror and adrenaline charged through my body. The pain was immediate and intense. The pressure so tight, I couldn’t even scream. Finally, I had the presence of mind to lift my hands and try to push whatever was choking me away. But I couldn’t budge it. I felt hot breath against my ear and realized it was an arm around my neck.
The arm closed tighter, and I felt my chin lift so high tears sprang to my eyes…but I still couldn’t move or scream. The left side of my chin and jaw felt like it could snap at any moment.
Just when my vision started to close in around me, and I started to seriously panic, I heard a commotion in the distance. Or at least it sounded like it was in the distance. With one more squeeze to my neck, my assailant murmured something in my ear then pushed me forward off the wooden platform. I didn’t even flail. I just landed on my hands and knees…confused, gasping for air, and in serious pain.
I heard scuffling behind me, and I tried to stagger to my feet to see what was going on. But no matter how hard I tried to stand, I just couldn’t do it. I went down on my knees again.
“Stay there!” I heard a voice shout. “Don’t move, Jaycee. I’m getting help!”
I tried to nod, but coughed and dry heaved instead. Never had I been so angry with myself for not having my stun gun on me. A few seconds later I felt my mother’s arms around me as I breathed in her scent. Hot tears flowed down my face.
“Shhh,” my mom soothed. “I’m right here. We’re all right here. You’re gonna be fine.”
I sat there and sobbed, letting my mom rock me back and forth for a long time. After a while I became aware of people standing around me in a circle. I lifted my head off her chest.
“What happened?” I whispered.
“I came outside to get some fresh air,” Ethel said, “and I saw someone strangling you.”
“Who was it?” Mom demanded.
“Did you see which way he went?” Jax asked.
“I couldn’t make out a whole lot about the person,” Ethel said. “It was so dark. I could just see the struggle. I tried to throw things at him, then I turned back and ran inside for help.”
Putting on my big girl panties, I slowly rose to my feet…wincing at the stinging pain in my hands and legs. My palms and shins were scraped and bleeding.
“Oh, Jaycee,” Linda Blanchard tsked, “I’m afraid you’ve torn your pretty dress.”
I looked down. Sure enough, there were tiny holes in the fabric where the rocks had scraped against the fabric. Not to be beaten down, I straightened my glittery Bridesmaid sash. “Damn. I really liked this dress.”
It was what needed to be said.
Relieved laughter and chatter filled the air as the ladies all speculated who could have done something like this to me. I caught Shayla’s eye. She gave me a soft smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She bit her lip and gathered Tillie close. I gave her a slight nod.
“We’re going to have to call Mike,” Mom said.
“Uh…no,” I said adamantly. “No way are we bringing in the boys.”
Mom speared me with a sharp look. “This isn’t a boys and girls thing, Jaycee Sullivan. This is a matter for the police. Someone just tried to kill you.”
Not the first time!
“She’s right,” Jax said. “The police need to know, they need to take samples from you. Maybe you scratched the person or maybe they left fibers on your clothes. We need to call Mike immediately.”
I knew they were right, but I really didn’t want to. I didn’t want to interrupt Gramps’ bachelor party, and I really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a lecture from Mike. Which he was good at giving.
But majority rules…well, mainly my mom rules and she called Mike and Gramps and let them in on what had happened. The girls didn’t want me to move, so we brought the party outside—not exactly legal, but at this point, who really cared. They kept far away from the crime scene, even though I tried to tell them they’d already disturbed it. I was given a glass of whiskey, told to be quiet, and drink it.
Ten minutes later, Gramps’ bachelor party and two Traveler’s Bay police cars slid to a stop in the large parking lot. Heidi and Bridget were inside preparing coffee, and Jax had ran to her bakery three storefronts down to grab some leftover cupcakes, cookies, and scones.
Gramps’ Hummer hadn’t even come to a full stop before Mike jumped out of the passenger side and ran toward me. He stopped before he could reach out and touch me.
“I don’t want to risk getting fibers on you,” he said. “It’s tearing me up I can’t hug you. Just know when this is done, you and I have some unfinished business to do.”
I gave him a watery smile as I wiped new tears off my cheeks.
“You okay?” he asked.
I shrugged and nodded. “Yeah. Just shook up.”
He dug out a penlight from one of his pockets and splayed it across my neck and down the front of my dress. I knew better than to say anything as his nostrils flared and a tic appeared in his jaw.
“I’m sure it looks worse than it really is,” I finally said.
“Lame.”
I swiped at my nose and tried to laugh. “I know. But I thought it needed said.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m going to strangle the person who did this to you.”
I gasped. Mainly because I expected him to give me a lecture, not threaten bodily harm to someone else. “Michael Connors, I’ll tell you what you always tell me…don’t let another police officer overhear you threaten those things.”
The tic in his jaw worked double time.
“Please don’t be mad,” I said. “Don’t be upset. Don’t be sad. I’m having a hard enough time dealing as it is.”
Mike was saved from answering when one of the forensic guys came over to check me out. He left me to go stand next to Gramps and the other party goers.
Thirty minutes later, I was back inside Gone with the Whiskey. I’d changed back into my jeans and t-shirt I had on previously since the forensics team had taken my dress. Officer Landry had questioned me for a good ten minutes about my attack and was currently over in the corner speaking with Ethel.
I sipped on my glass of whiskey and watched as Heidi and Bridget packed up their belongings. Most of the ladies had left the bachelorette party once it became apparent the night was over, and Gramps’ bachelor party had relocated to Gone with the Whiskey. I felt horrible for ruining both parties. Even though everyone assured me I hadn’t…I knew the truth.
Duke must have sensed how I was feeling, because he shuffled over, nudged my leg, and huffed. “I know. I ruined your evening of dog treats and guy time. I’m sorry.”
“So now what?” Jax asked as she munched on some boozy popcorn.
“Now we wait until Landry finishes with Ethel,” Mike said, “and see what she has to say about the attacker.”
We didn’t have long to wait. A few minutes later Mike walked Officer Landry to the door. By now the party had dwindled down to family, circus friends, and Heidi and Bridget.
Mike, Andrew, and Trevor pushed two tables together and we all sat down. Mike sat next to me, holding my hand. He caught Gramps’ eye, and Gramps gave him a small nod. His way of saying Mike was to take the lead. Trevor slid his chair close to Jax and rested his arm on the back of her chair.
Mike gave my hand a gentle squeeze before he leaned forward in his chair to look at Ethel.
“Ethel, what can you tell us about what you saw?” he asked.
Ethel cut her eyes to me. “I decided to go outside and get some fresh air. When I stepped out onto the walkway, I didn’t notice anything at first. Then I saw the struggle. I yelled at the person to stop and—”
“Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?” Mike asked.
Ethel’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Jaycee. I couldn’t.”
“It’s okay, Ethel.” Tears of gratitude filled my eyes. “I’m just glad you came out when you did. I don’t know how much longer I could have held on. I was—”
My voice broke and Mike pulled me into his arms. I didn’t want to be such a sissy, but I was so overwhelmed by what had happened.
Gramps slammed his fist down on the table. “Someone is gonna pay. And pay big.”
My heart nearly burst as every head around the table nodded in agreement. Some of these people I didn’t even know that well, but they were willing to stand and fight with me.
“I remember running toward you and yelling,” Ethel continued. “I could make out you were trying to push up the attacker’s arm, but you just couldn’t. I reached up my sleeve and grabbed the first prop I had on me. Unfortunately, it was a pair of plastic flowers. I threw them at the person, but they just bounced off. I then took off my shoes and threw them. They were a little more hurtful. I heard the attacker grunt and figured I must have hit his head or something.”
“Good,” I said. “I hope it hurt.”
“Too bad there were no defensive marks on you,” Jax said.
“Gee, sorry he used gloves when he strangled me,” I joked.
“You know what your sister meant,” Mom chided.
I grinned at Jax. “I know.”
She flung a piece of popcorn at me. I snatched it out of the air and ate it.
“Truth is,” I said, “I just couldn’t get enough strength in my body to do anything.”
“No one in your position could have,” Gramps said gravely. “It’s just a good thing you were sitting down. Had you been standing, this may have been a whole different outcome.”
No one said a word as Gramps’ words sank in.
“What do you mean?” Viviana asked.
“I mean had he or she been standing directly behind Jaycee, they would have had a better grip on her. As it was, the attacker would’ve had to have been bent over, so he was probably precarious in his stance and couldn’t take Jaycee out like he planned.”
I shivered. “It felt like they had a pretty good hold on me.”
“I’m sure it did,” Gramps said as he stared solemnly at me. “Just know the danger could have been worse.”
I looked at Shayla. I was nearly out of my mind thinking about the attack and what she had predicted just an hour before.
“And you can’t remember anything about the attacker?” Andrew asked. “He or she didn’t say anything to you?”
I closed my eyes. I felt there was something I should remember…something right at the front of my brain, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Everything happened so fast, I honestly couldn’t remember hearing or smelling or doing anything.
I shook my head. “Not that I can remember. If he did say something, I don’t remember.”
“Give it time,” Mom said. “Maybe something will come to you.”
“Who knew you were going to be here tonight?” Mike asked.
I looked at Jax, Heidi, and Bridget. They had been with me throughout the day. “If I miss something, let me know.” I held up one finger. “I believe both Danita and Samuel knew because Jax and I stopped by to see about ordering another cotton candy machine for the wedding. I remember maybe mentioning something to them about the bachelorette party tonight.”
Jax nodded. “I think that’s right.”
I bit my lip and slid a guilty look to Mike. “Jax and I may have also went by and seen Harvey Krause today. Danita mentioned him to us. And I guess I should also mention a group of us stopped by to see Monica.”
I surreptitiously looked out the corner of my eye to gauge Mike’s reaction. The only tell that he was upset was the slight flair of his nostrils.
“I know why you stopped to see Harvey Krause,” Mike said. “Why did you go see Monica Sawyer?”
“To tell her about my bakery,” Jax said quickly.
All eyes turned to Jax. But she was a pro…she smiled sweetly at Mike, stared him in the eye, and dared him to call her on it.
“Let me see if I understand this,” Mike said slowly. “You just happened to randomly stop by a possible murder suspect’s house to invite her to your bakery?”
“Yep. I was telling the girls I wanted to be more proactive…do more door-to-door calls.”
Gramps chuckled. “And did it work out for you?”
Jax shrugged. “Maybe.”
I looked at Mike. “I also may have witnessed something today I forgot to tell you about.”
Mike closed his eyes momentarily. “Dear God…what?”
“Nice,” I said dryly. “Okay, so when Jax, Heidi, Bridget, and I stopped by Monica’s house today, we—”
“It took all of you to invite her to Jax’s bakery?” Mike deadpanned.
I grinned. “Do you want to hear this or not?”
Mike motioned for me to keep talking.
“Okay, so as you know Joy supposedly may have been having an affair with Jonathan Sawyer. At least, that’s what the town gossips have said.” I was proud of Mike for not saying anything to that statement. “Well, when we were getting ready to leave, Monica’s husband, Jonathan, came home. He leaned over and kissed his wife hello…and at the same time ran his hand over Monica’s best friend’s butt…without Monica knowing!”
I glanced around the tables and saw looks of horror, disgust, and even amusement. I shifted in my seat to look at Mike.
He frowned. “I’m not sure how that plays into Joy’s murder. Did both of them know about tonight’s party?”
I looked up, trying to recall what had transpired that afternoon in their house. Had I mentioned something about tonight’s party to both of them? I looked at the girls for help.
“Yes, they knew.” Jax looked at Trevor then back at me. “Remember? Jonathan tried to put the moves on me and you tried to be the muscle and insult him.”
Heidi and Bridget laughed.
“You should have let us take care of that,” Bridget laughed.
“He tried to hit on you?” Trevor said.
I saw the spark of rage and smiled. It might do for Jonathan to finally meet someone willing to take him down a peg or two.
Jax patted Trevor’s arm. “It was nothing. Just some boyish attempt at flexing his muscles.”
Which was stupid. No one had muscles like Trevor.
Trevor ran his fingertip down Jax’s cheek. “That so? Then I guess I can’t fault him for trying. Of course, he does it again, and I may have to seriously hurt him.”
Jax preened and leaned into Trevor. “Promise?”
“You two are so weird,” I said.
“Let’s get back to tonight,” Mike said. “So you’re telling me that both Jonathan and Monica could have known about tonight’s party?”
“That’s correct,” Heidi said.
I bit my lip. “I wish I could remember something about the attack. Like if the person was wearing perfume or cologne. But I just can’t.”
“Anyone else?” Mike asked wearily.
I looked at Jax, Heidi, and Bridget one more time. “I don’t think so. Do you guys?”
They all shook their heads.
“Then I think we’re done for tonight,” Gramps said. “Tomorrow is another long day. Between finding out who tried to kill Jaycee, who killed Joy, and the wedding rehearsal…I think we’ll be plenty busy.”
It didn’t take long to clean up. We decided to leave the decorations up and just deal with the food. Gone with the Whiskey was going to be closed until Tuesday, so there was plenty of time to take care of the decorations.
Viviana, Phillipe, Teddy, and Ethel all followed Tillie back to her house. They would be staying at Tillie’s house while Shayla bunked upstairs on the second floor with Mom, and Tillie and Gramps were staying downstairs in Gramps’ old room.
Mike put his arm around me, walked me to my Jeep, and opened the passenger-side door for me. He was driving me home and then catching a ride back to his place from Trevor. Once settled in, Mike turned to me. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it.
“Everything okay?” I asked, even though I knew it wasn’t. I knew he was upset.
“Jaycee, in the months I’ve known you, you’ve proven yourself to be smart and capable in many difficult situations. I won’t deny that. Not only do you know how to protect yourself, but you surround yourself with others who are just as capable, too. But tonight…tonight when I received that call from your mom that you’d been attacked, I almost lost my mind on the drive over.”
My heart pinged at his admonition. I also knew what he was going to say next. What he’d want me to do—or rather not do. And I broke out in a cold sweat. I didn’t know if I could step back. If I could just let it go and forget about trying to solve the case.
“I love you, Jaycee Sullivan. I love your spirit, your huge heart, your enthusiasm for life. I love how you stand up for others and how you constantly try to prove you have grit.”
My mouth dropped open. Of all the things I thought Mike was going to say to me…this never entered my radar.
“You have no idea how many times over the months we’ve been seeing each other that I’ve wanted to flex my muscles and demand you not interfere with one of my investigations. Make you step back from this crazy need you have to constantly snoop around and get in my way.” He reached down and picked up my hand. “But that wouldn’t be fair to you. As much as I may not like what you do, I respect you. And I’m going to have to come to terms with that if we’re going to keep seeing each other.”
Oh, God. Was he going to break up with me?
I unhooked my seatbelt, scrambled to my knees, and reached across to cup his cheek. My heart felt like it was breaking in two. I shook my head but no words came.
He brought my hands back down to rest on the console. “What I’m trying to say, Jaycee, is that I love you. I respect you for who you are, and from now forward I’m going to make sure you know how I feel every day. Because the thought of losing you…the thought of you not in my life…that is not a life I want for myself.”
“Oh.”
He reached over and wiped a tear off my cheek. “I love you, Jaycee. I wanted to tell you that tonight. I’ve implied it over the months we’ve been together, but I’ve never said the words to you. I’m saying them now.”
A goofy grin split my face as I popped back up on my knees and grabbed his face in my hands. “And I love you, Michael Connors. With all my heart…I love you.”
Mom kept Jax and me so busy the next morning that we couldn’t sneak off and question Danita like I wanted. We made the first trip to Abbott Acres—the venue for Gramps’ wedding—around nine o’clock. The farm was located between Occidental and Bodega and took about twenty minutes to get to. The actual barn where Gramps and Tillie would have their reception was being used later that evening, so we couldn’t set up, but Sabrina—the owner of Abbott Acres—said we could start moving items over to the white stone building about fifty yards from the barn and where the women would be getting ready tomorrow.
Heidi, Bridget, the Graffiti Grannies, Linda Packard, and a couple other women volunteered to come in Sunday morning and start decorating the barn. It would be a crunch, but I had all the faith in the world in those women.
The wedding was set for Sunday at four o’clock with caterers and flowers to arrive at three. Gramps and Tillie were going to have an intimate gathering of about fifty family and friends outside in one of the flower gardens, with the dinner and dance to be held inside the barn later that night.
“It’s nice of Sabrina to let us have the rehearsal at two today,” Jax said.
Since the barn was being used tonight, we couldn’t do a traditional rehearsal followed by dinner. So we were doing a walk-through around two and then having a dinner at Gone with the Whiskey with the same company that was catering the wedding.
“It sure is,” I agreed as I opened the door to the small building we’d be getting dressed in tomorrow.
The building was spacious and serene. It was a multi-purpose room with a kitchen and bathroom down the hall and the bulk of the room designed for the bride’s big day. Several screened partitions for privacy were scattered about the room, and a massive three-sided mirror stood toward the back. Tiny vanities for individual use lined the walls.
Jax placed Gramps’ groom’s cake down on a table and stood back to admire it. I had no idea where in the heck she found time to do the spectacular things she did. I was convinced she didn’t sleep.
“This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” I said.
Jax had this fancy machine that prints on edible sheets of paper, and you could put people’s pictures on it. I had no idea how it was done, but it was pretty amazing. For Gramps’ grooms cake, she’d printed off a picture of John Wayne, and under it she’d written, “I got hitched, Pilgrim!” It was adorable! Gramps was going to love it.
I’d just set a tote bag with curling irons, hair spray, and tons of other girlie stuff down on a table when the door opened again. I was shocked to see Danita wheeling in a cotton candy machine.
“Oh, hey,” she said when she saw Jax and me standing by one of the tables. “I wasn’t going to bring this by until later this afternoon, but I had to go to Santa Rosa this morning anyway.”
“Thank you,” Jax said. “We’re all so thrilled you were able to find another machine so quickly.”
“Speaking of things happening quickly,” I said, ignoring Jax’s gasp, “have you spoken with Mike today?”
Danita’s brow furrowed. “No. I saw where he tried to call, but I must have been in a dead zone.”
“He’s probably going to ask you where you were last night,” I said.
Danita frowned. “Where I was? Why? Did something happen?”
“You can say that,” I said. “But I guess you probably have a pretty solid alibi, right? Maybe you were with someone all night?”
A flush crept up Danita’s cheeks and neck. “No. I was alone. What happened?”
I cocked my head to the side. “You were alone? Last night? Say from five o’clock until nine o’clock?”
“Yes.” Danita bit her lip and refused to look at either Jax or me. “Why would the detective need to know this?”
I couldn’t figure out why Danita was lying unless Samuel really did have something to do with my attack. But even then, wouldn’t she at least alibi Samuel for the dinner?
“I was attacked last night outside Gone with the Whiskey,” I said.
Danita’s hands flew to her mouth. “Omigod! Are you all right? I mean, obviously you’re all right, you’re standing here. But I mean are you—wait. Why would I need an alibi? Mike doesn’t think I had something to do with your attack, does he?”
Danita’s voice had increased an octave on the last two words. She honestly looked horrified. I couldn’t tell if it was because she was afraid of being caught or because she was afraid to be accused.
“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Jax said smoothly. “He probably just wanted to see if maybe you and Samuel were together to kill two birds with one stone.”
Nice word choice, Jax!
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I’m sure it’s nothing. It’s just too bad you don’t have a solid alibi.”
Color drained from Danita’s face. “I—I guess so.”
Danita shoved the cotton candy machine up against the wall and pulled her phone out of her purse. “I don’t have any bars here.”
“Yeah, neither do we,” Jax said.
“I better bring in the bags of Flossugar,” Danita said, “and then head back to the store.”
I frowned. “Is the store open today?”
Danita shook her head frantically, obviously upset. “No. No, I meant head back to my house. Not the store. We’re keeping the store closed until next week. Samuel said he wanted to wait until after things settled down.”
“Well, let Jaycee and me help you carry in all the bags,” Jax said. “This way you can get out of here.”
“Thank you,” Danita said.
It only took two trips with all of us helping to get the six bags of Flossugar in. As Danita peeled out of the drive, I couldn’t help but wonder why she was so upset.
Jax and I left shortly after Danita. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. By my calculations, we still had a couple hours before we had to be back at Abbotts Farm for the rehearsal.
“It’s not even eleven,” I said. “Let’s go see Harvey.”
Twenty minutes later, I pulled into an empty space outside of TicToc Clocks. Pulling open the front door, Stefan looked up from behind the counter where he was working on a clock. He didn’t exactly scowl at us, but he didn’t exactly smile, either.
“What can I do for you?” Stefan asked.
“We’d like to speak to Harvey,” I said.
Stefan sighed. “He is not here. He left about half an hour ago. After the detective accused him of trying to kill you last night, he was so stressed out he went home to take some headache medicine and lay down. He won’t be back in until after lunch.”
“So did Harvey give an alibi?” I asked.
Stefan stared at me a good ten seconds before speaking. “Uncle Harvey was heartbroken when Joy broke up with him. For reasons I’m sure none of us can understand, he loved her. He honestly did. He was devastated when she just up and left him. My uncle didn’t kill Joy, and he didn’t try to kill you last night. Uncle Harvey is a nice guy.” He picked up an awl and continued working on the small clock in front of him. “I went to the back room to give them privacy. I have no idea what Uncle Harvey told the detective about where he was last night.”
“Thank you,” Jax said. “I’m sure your uncle is a nice guy.”
Stefan smiled. “Ja! He is.”
We said goodbye and headed back to the Jeep.
“Since we have a little time,” I said, “how about we stop by Monica’s and see how she and hubby are doing?”
“Jaycee Sullivan, you are determined to get us in trouble today, aren’t you?”
I grinned and shrugged. “Maybe. Oh, come on! It’s not like this will be a surprise to anyone if they find out what we did.”
Jax laughed and fastened her seatbelt. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
By the time I pulled into Monica’s driveway, it was nearly lunchtime. I figured I timed it just right. I couldn’t imagine Jonathan would be at the office on a Saturday, but just in case, he’d be home by lunch if he followed his pattern from the other day.
I rang the doorbell and stood silently next to Jax as we waited for the door to open. I had to wonder how she’d fared after yesterday’s day-drinking binge. When she opened the door, Monica didn’t disappoint.
She was dressed in short shorts, bikini top, and her hair was piled in a haphazard knot on top of her head. She still looked a little green around the gills—especially since she didn’t have on any makeup.
She groaned. “What do you want now?”
Jax gave her a perky wave. “Hello, Monica. How’re you this morning?”
Monica scowled. “Why do you care?”
Jax touched her chest and gasped. “Why, I’m shocked you’d ask that after yesterday.” Jax turned to me and shouted even louder. “Aren’t you surprised, Jaycee?”
Monica winced and put her hand to her head. “Do you have to be so loud?”
“Was I being loud?” Jax asked as she bit her lip. “I didn’t realize.”
I loved Jax when she was in retaliation mode. It was priceless to watch. She tolerated, tolerated, and tolerated…until she finally blew. And then it was a beautiful show of crazy.
Monica stepped back for us to enter. “You might as well come in. I’m sure you’d just stand there all day knocking if I didn’t invite you in.”
Jax slammed the door shut and Monica nearly screamed in pain.
“Oops,” Jax deadpanned, “I didn’t realize the door was so lightweight.”
Monica staggered into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. I noticed her hand was shaking. Was it because we were here questioning her, or did she have the shakes from drinking too much yesterday? If it was the latter, I had to wonder if she would have been able to pull off bending over behind me and strangling me.
“Might I suggest tea bags or cucumbers,” Jax said.
“What?” Monica grumbled.
I noticed she didn’t offer us anything to drink.
“For the bags under your eyes,” Jax said.
I laughed and tried to cover it up by coughing into my hand.
Monica scowled. “What could you two possibly want?”
“We came by to see how last night went,” I said.
“Stop beating around the bush,” Monica snapped. “That stupid detective guy came by already looking for me and Jonathan.”
My nostrils flared at her description of Mike, but I didn’t want to give my hand away. “Is that so? And what did he ask?”
“He wanted to know where we were last night. That’s what.”
Jax and I waited a beat for her to continue. When she didn’t, I pressed. “And what did you and Jonathan tell him?”
Monica crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll ask you the same thing I asked him. Why do you want to know?”
One side of my mouth curled up. I bet Mike loved interviewing her. “And what did he tell you when you asked him that?”
She narrowed her eyes until they were puffy little slits. “He said he’d ask the questions.”
I tsked. “Sounds just like him.”
Monica picked up her coffee mug and blew across the top before taking a sip. “I told him I was home all afternoon with girlfriends and then I went over to my mom’s around six. I got home from my mom’s at eight-thirty or nine.”
“Was Jonathan with you?”
“Um, hello? My husband works for a living.”
“On a Friday night?” Jax asked. “He worked until nearly nine on a Friday night?”
“Yeah!” Monica’s head wobbled back and forth. “It’s what husbands who love their wives do. Maybe someday you’ll understand.”
I shook my head as if to clear it. Was she seriously that obtuse? I glanced over at Jax and put my hand on her arm. I knew that look…she was about to out Jonathan. I shook my head at her. I couldn’t afford for her to show our hand.
Jax sighed loudly. “Fine.”
“Fine what?” Monica asked.
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “So you were at your mom’s house pretty much all night and Jonathan was at work. Well, then, I guess there’s nothing more to ask.”
“You still haven’t told me why you want to know,” Monica said.
“Didn’t I?” I feigned confusion. “I’m sorry.”
Monica threw her hands up in the air. “You know what? I don’t care. I really don’t. But what I would like, is for you two to leave. Jonathan should be home any minute now for lunch.”
“Did he go into the office?” I asked. “On a Saturday?”
A text sounded on Monica’s cell phone. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Jonathan works every day. Seven days a week. He’s working his way up in the company he works for.”
“The insurance company?” Jax asked.
Monica read the message and her mouth tightened. It wasn’t good news whatever it was.
“Yes, at the insurance company,” Monica all but screamed at us. “He’s gone all day and all night making a name for us. Making a living for us. He’s doing all this for us.”
Is that the lie he’s telling you?
I saw the look of pity in Jax’s eye, and I knew she’d fold. She just didn’t have it in her to be vicious. “I’m sure that’s exactly why he’s gone a lot.”
Tears sprang to Monica’s eyes as she deleted the message. “You two need to leave.”
“I don’t suppose we could stay until Jonathan gets here for lunch and ask him—”
“He’s not coming,” Monica snapped. “He’s working through his lunch.”
“We’ll just get out of your hair.” Jax grabbed my arm and all but pulled me out of the kitchen toward the front door. “Thanks for talking with us, Monica. See ya around.”
The front door closed behind me, and I frowned at Jax.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to take it if she started crying,” Jax said as she walked toward the Jeep. “I needed to get out of there.”
“Think she’ll ever believe the truth?” I asked.
“Nope.”
I shut the driver’s side door and fastened my seatbelt. “We learned a lot.”
“We sure did.” Jax fastened her seatbelt then shifted to face me. “Do you think it was Jonathan who strangled you last night?”
I started the Jeep and slowly backed out of Monica’s driveway. Putting the vehicle in drive, I grinned over at Jax. “Only one way to find out.”
I stopped off at the ice cream parlor so Jax and I could grab a milkshake for lunch. Not exactly the most nutritious lunch a person could have, but we were in a hurry. Braxton and Mayes was on the outskirts of town going north. The complete opposite direction of Gone with the Whiskey. We needed to hurry if we didn’t want Mom to suspect anything was up.
Five minutes later, I slid into an empty parking spot outside the flashy one-story building that was Braxton and Mayes. The whole thing was pretentious. Like it was trying too hard to be modern in a town that embraced its roots. Most of the building was encased in different-sized windows. The rest of the exterior was a cool gray color.
“He’s here,” I said. “I recognize his BMW from the driveway the other day.”
I opened the front door and walked inside. The interior had the look of a large warehouse with cement floor and gray walls. In the center were a cluster of cubbies and around the perimeter of the room were personal offices and conference rooms.
A young woman behind the front counter looked up from her magazine. I placed her in her early twenties. “Can I help you?”
On the ride over Jax and I had agreed we’d cast her as bait. Jonathan obviously was interested in her bakery and in her, and so we’d dangle that carrot in front of his face.
“I’m not sure if Jonathan Sawyer is in,” Jax said. “But I was hoping to speak to him about insurance rates for my bakery.”
The young girls eyes lit up. “Of course. Let me buzz him and see if he can meet with you.” She picked up the phone then pointed to a box. “Feel free to help yourself to some chocolates while you wait.”
She slid a huge box of Lumiere’s Chocolates toward us, and I surreptitiously slid a glance toward Jax. The firm kept the chocolates on hand. Pretty convenient.
I wandered over toward the cubbies, figuring that’s where Jonathan would be. After all, he’d only been at the firm for less than a year. I was surprised when a dark-haired woman ambled over from behind one of the cubbies.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“My sister and I are here to see Jonathan,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you are.”
I frowned at her obvious rudeness. “Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. Although I didn’t think she sounded the least bit sorry. “It just gets tiring seeing girl after girl after girl come through those doors asking for Jonathan. I swear, I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s doing something right.”
“What do you mean?” Jax asked, walking up behind me.
“Ladies,” the girl behind the counter called out, “he said he’d be with you in a moment. He’s wrapping up his lunch with the bosses.”
“The bosses,” I whispered, unable to keep the mocking out of my tone.
“He’s always doing that,” the brunette said. “I wish I knew what he was doing to get all these new clients.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think you do.”
Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks turned red when realization bloomed in her eyes. “Oh! Do you mean…are you both sleeping with him?”
“God no!” Jax and I both cried.
The girl behind the counter looked up and frowned at us. Not like we could offend anyone…we were pretty much alone in the huge building.
“But I wouldn’t say others aren’t,” I said.
“I wondered,” the brunette said. “There was no way he was getting all these women without doing a little something hanky.” She stuck out her hand. “My name’s Charlotte. I’ve been here about five years. Five long, suffering years.”
I laughed. “Jax and I really stopped by to ask Jonathan some questions that had nothing to do with him taking over Jax’s bakery. But it’s the excuse we came up with.”
Charlotte’s eyes grew wide. “Is it along the same lines as the police guy that came by? I swear, I wish I could have overheard the conversation. Whatever it was, it put Jonathan in a foul mood. When the detective left, Jonathan went into his office and shoved all the papers off his desk.” She grinned maliciously at us. “I loved every minute of it. Is he in trouble with the law? I kinda thought maybe he was skirting the ethics part of his code. Ya know what I mean?”
I really had no idea what Charlotte meant. I had a hard time keeping up with her ramblings.
“Jax,” Jonathan’s voice boomed out. “So good to see you!”
“Does he not see you?” Charlotte stage whispered to me.
I laughed. “Nope. Only Jax.”
Jonathan strode over in his midnight blue suit, his head held high, his shoulders back. He clasped Jax on the forearm and brushed his lips across her cheek.
Jax’s mouth fell open, and I saw her fists clench at her sides. Good for her! I hope she kicked the crap out of him for being so forward.
He winked down at Jax. “I somehow knew you’d be back to see me.”
“Actually,” I said, “my sister and I just wanted to ask you a question about where you were last night. Between seven and nine.”
The smirk fell and his face closed in around itself. It was like a shadow passed over him and changed his whole personality.
“I’ve already answered questions from Detective Connors. I don’t have to say anything to you. If that’s all, I have a ton of work to do.”
“You can’t or won’t answer?” Jax asked in her sweetest voice.
Jonathan crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her. He shot a look at Charlotte and me before nodding his head to the side. “Let’s go over here.”
Jax slid me a look before following Jonathan over to a glass office. Charlotte and I watched as Jax and Jonathan stood talking. A few seconds later, Jax headed back my way. Jonathan turned and strode back into his office and slammed his door shut. He sat down at his desk but continued to glare out at us.
“What did he say?” I whispered out the side of my mouth. For some reason, I didn’t want him to see my mouth move.
Jax bent down and made a pretense of fixing her sandal strap. “He said he was here working last night until eight. He said he was the last one to leave.”
“That’s not true,” Charlotte said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Because I forgot a file I wanted to work on last night. I left around seven-fifteen and Jonathan was still here. I was almost home when I realized I forgot the file and turned back around. I’d say I was at the office by seven-thirty and it was locked up tight. I went ahead and fired up the computer and worked on the file for about forty minutes before heading back home. So I left around eight-fifteen. I was the only one here.”
“So why did he lie to his wife, you, and Mike?” I asked.
“He was probably out on a date,” Jax sneered.
Charlotte snickered. “I just wish the bosses knew what he was doing.”
“Thanks for talking with us,” I said. “We better head out.”
We said goodbye to Charlotte then Jax and I headed for the door. Before I pulled it open, I looked over my shoulder and saw Jonathan staring at me through his office window. It wasn’t an inviting look.
“Jeez,” Jax said as she pulled the Jeep’s door closed and put on her seatbelt. “Is anyone going to tell the truth for their alibi?”
“Just Monica,” I said. “And at this point I’m not sure I believe that.”
Jax laughed and nodded in agreement. “Right? Where do you suppose Jonathan was last night?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. It could be something as simple as he met up with Tamara for a quickie.” I laughed when Jax made a gagging sound. “What? It holds with his reputation. Or it could be he was at Gone with the Whiskey trying to strangle me.”
Jax grinned. “Well, I think about the only people we haven’t questioned are Harvey the ex-boyfriend and Samuel the ex-husband. I wonder what Mike has come up with?”
“Let’s go find out.”
I drove back to Gone with the Whiskey. Gramps and I had decided to close down the place until Tuesday. While Jax and I made the first run to the venue out in Occidental…Mom and the girls were setting up for the rehearsal dinner, and the men were recruited to help. Since Mike was still technically on the clock with the murder, I didn’t know if he’d be at the bar or not.
I was disappointed to see his police-issued vehicle wasn’t around. Trevor held open the door for us as we entered the bar. Since he owned his own successful carpentry business, his work schedule was more flexible.
“No Mike?” I asked Gramps.
“Nope. Not yet. He texted me about an hour ago and said he had one more suspect to question then he’d be over.”
I glanced down at the clock on my phone. We had twenty minutes before we all caravanned out to Occidental. If I wanted to talk with him, he needed to get here soon. I wasn’t disappointed when a few minutes later the front door opened and Mike strolled in.
I hurried over to kiss him. “So, what’ve you learned today?”
Mike pulled on one of my curls. “You know I can’t tell you. And I better not hear of you questioning anyone today.”
I rolled my eyes at him. So much for his I-support-your-snooping declaration last night. “Let’s say hypothetically that potential suspects lie about their alibi. What do you do in a case like that?”
Mike sighed and slid a doggie bone out of his pocket for Duke. “What’s going on, Jaycee?”
“Okay. You can’t yell at me. Promise?”
“No.”
I let out a breath and rolled my eyes again. “I’m serious, Mike. I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you yelling.”
Mike gave me a hard look. “I don’t yell. Now, lay it on me.”
I scowled at his refusal to give me an inch. “Fine. So I may not have told you everything last night. Right before the party started, I got a call from Danita saying she could get a new cotton candy machine to us by the wedding.”
“With you so far.” Mike steered me over to a table so we could sit. “What happened then?”
“I thanked Danita, and as I was getting ready to hang up, I heard Samuel’s voice in the background ask her if she wanted red or white wine.”
“You were able to identify the voice in the background?”
I waved my hand back and forth. “Kind of. I knew if I could physically see the person it would be better.”
Mike shook his head. “So let me guess? You hopped in your Jeep, drove over, and spied on them?”
“I know!” Mom yelled out. “I told her not to go.”
I gave Momma the big eyes. I didn’t need her encouraging him to be mad at me. “So Jax and I decided to check it out.” I tried to say this as casually as if I were talking about the color of the sky. “When we got to Danita’s house, we sneaked around the back. And guess what? It was Samuel, they were having an intimate dinner together, and they were all loving and toasting each other and kissing.”
Mike stared at me for a long time without saying anything. I tried not to squirm under his stare. Finally he sighed. “So if one or both of them told me they were at their house alone last night…”
“They’d be lying,” I said. “We actually snapped a picture as proof.”
Mike threw back his head and laughed. “You didn’t?”
I gave him my best cheesy smile. “I sure did! Jax, come over here and show Mike your phone.”
Jax slowly made her way over to us. I could see the apprehension on her face. “Now, don’t go getting mad.”
“I’m not mad, Jax,” Mike said. “I’ve come to learn if I want to date your sister, and I do, I’m just going to have to learn to live with the fact that she can’t follow simple directions.”
“Rude!” I exclaimed.
“But true,” Mike said.
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
He kissed my forehead as Jax pulled up the photo. He studied it carefully. “Looks like from the timestamp it was taken around six-thirty.”
“Yep,” I said. “We were back here by six-forty. They were still going strong and steady when we left.”
“But even if Samuel stayed another hour,” Mike argued, “it would still give him plenty of time to come over here and attack you.”
“Unpleasant to think about,” I said, “but true.”
“Okay, what else is there?” Mike asked. “I know there’s more.”
Mom set a glass of champagne down in front of me. “I thought this might help.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She leaned down and gave Mike a hug. “You’re such a good man.”
Mike’s mouth twitched, and I could tell he was trying not to smile. “Thanks, Mrs. Sullivan.”
We didn’t say anything until Mom went back to help the other women set up tables for the dinner.
“Your whole family makes it impossible to stay mad at you,” Mike said.
I chuckled. “I’ll remember that when we really have a spat.”
“What else do I need to know?” he asked again.
I took a sip of my champagne. “I honestly don’t know what Jonathan Sawyer told you, but he told Jax he was at his office until a little after eight.”
Mike nodded. “And you have proof that’s a lie?”
“I do. Charlotte—I didn’t get her last name—works there, and she said when she left the office the first time around seven, Jonathan was still there. But she returned to the office around seven-thirty, and the place was closed up tight. She didn’t leave until a little after eight, and she was the only one there.”
“I don’t know why I try to run down alibis when I get them,” Mike said. “Maybe from now on I’ll just let you do that little piece of legwork.”
“I’d say okay if I thought you meant it!”
Mike laughed. “I’m sure you would.” He took out his notepad and wrote down some notes. “Anything else I need to know?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.”
Mike pulled me over to him and down onto his lap. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and laid my forehead against his. He reached up and traced his thumb over my cheek. “I love you…that’s why I worry.”
“I know,” I whispered. “Same here…in both the love and worry.”
He gave me a low growl. I knew he was about to give me his usual retort of it’s his job and that’s what he’s been trained for, so I leaned down and kissed him. I heard cat calls, laughter, and even Gramps’ grumbling…but I didn’t care.
We ended up taking three cars to the dress rehearsal out at the farm. Mom, Andrew, Tillie, Gramps, Viviana, and Phillipe in Mom’s SUV…Teddy, Ethel, and Shayla in what I was sure was the world’s tiniest car…and Jax, Trevor, Mike, Duke, and me in my Jeep.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into the venue and headed toward the flower gardens.
“Over here,” Tillie yelled. “Everything’s ready.”
The five of us joined the rest of the party. Major Gilbert Hopkins—retired Marine and now owner of Gramps’ old gun range—was the best man. He would be meeting Shayla for the first time, and I couldn’t wait to see his reaction.
“Well, now, aren’t you just a refreshing dash of crazy,” Major Hopkins said to Shayla.
Shayla laughed and linked her jewelry-encased arms and fingers through Major Hopkins’ arms. “I sure am. So tell me, honey, anyone ever read your aura for you?”
Gramps twitched. Yep, no doubt about it, this was going to be the most entertaining wedding of the decade. A military chaplain Gramps had known for years came by to say he was ready to get started. He led Gramps and the other men under a huge pergola entwined with purple and pink wisteria. Standing up with Gramps was Major Hopkins, Andrew, Mike, and Trevor.
Tillie, Shayla, Mom, Jax, and I took our places behind a huge row of hedge and waited for our turn to walk down the aisle. I looked over at Jax and we both started to tear up. Tomorrow would be the best day and yet worst day for us. We may be gaining Tillie, but we were losing Gramps in many ways. No more late night John Wayne marathons, no more Duke ambling into the kitchen looking for scraps and plopping down to sleep. Tomorrow would be the final nail in that coffin.
The rehearsal took about thirty minutes to walk through. There were a few stutters that had to be worked out, but overall tomorrow’s ceremony should go off without a hitch. Fingers crossed. Duke was the center of attention as the ring bearer. He had on a bow tie and carried the pillow in his mouth.
By the time we got back to Traveler’s Bay, it was nearly three-thirty. I made a quick stop at the local florist shop before they closed and grabbed fresh flowers for Tillie.
I’d just pulled up to park in front of Gone with the Whiskey when Mom ran outside. “We saw that Lumiere’s Chocolates was still open! You guys go on back and get some chocolates for tonight.”
I groaned. “Mom, Jax brought a ton of her bourbon truffles for tonight.”
“Jaycee Sullivan! What did I just say, young lady?”
My eyebrows nearly hit the top of my head. Mom only got snippy when she was highly stressed. I hadn’t seen her this bad in a long time.
I placed my hands on Mike’s shoulders. “You need to take one for the team. I need you to go in there and smother any fires. You’re good at this kind of stuff.”
Mike gave me a quick kiss. “Trevor and I can handle this. You go get the chocolates and save this party.” He grabbed my hand when I turned to leave. “And then come straight back. Do not make four or five stops to question anyone about my case.”
I gasped and pretended to be indignant. But I couldn’t quite pull it off. He knew me too well. I probably would make a couple stops if it meant I could find out something relevant.
We pulled into Lumiere’s Chocolates with a few minutes to spare. I pulled in behind an older BMW. “Hey, isn’t this Jonathan’s car?”
Jax furrowed her brow. “I think so. Wonder what he’s doing here?”
“Maybe purchasing some chocolates with peanuts in them?”
Jax shuddered. “Let’s hope not.”
“Or hope so. We need to get this case solved!”
I yanked open the front door and immediately heard a heated argument toward the back of the store. I gave Jax my excited face and hurried over toward the doorway. At the same time Marcus Lumiere came stomping out…Jonathan Sawyer followed close behind.
It was as plain as the nose on my face that Marcus was hopping mad. I knew I had to play this hand right. I waited until Jonathan came out and stood next to us before looking at Marcus. “Is everything okay?”
Neither man said anything. Finally Jonathan picked up a box of chocolates off the counter and strode out the door.
“What is going on?” Jax asked. “He looks angry.”
“Ha! If anyone is angry, it is me!” Marcus said.
“What happened?” I asked.
Please let it be about the murder.
“That no-good liar promised me the lowest insurance rates around, and I have found out that all he said was a lie.”
“Really?” Jax asked. I could tell she was disappointed in the answer.
“Oui! All a lie! He’s a liar!”
I held up my hand to keep them from talking. Something was coming to me. Something important.
“Do you think that’s why he killed Joy?” I asked no one in particular. "Maybe he wined and dined her, got her to change insurance carriers, and then when she started making a huge fuss about not having the lowest rates, he decided to kill her to shut her up. After all, she could make waves for him at his job.”
The three of us looked at each other. Not a pleasant thought to think about since Marcus had pretty much just done the same thing to Jonathan.
Marcus cleared his throat. “Perhaps I was a little hasty in calling him a liar and cheat.”
I laughed and laughed at that. I laughed so long and hard, I had to bend over just to catch my breath. I could hear the other two joining in, which made me laugh even harder. When I finally caught my breath, I stood up and breathed deeply.
“That was the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time,” I said. “I know we shouldn’t laugh, just in case it’s true, but that was hysterical.”
“Oui! It was.” Marcus sobered. “But if it is a little true, I suppose I should watch my back.”
Jax laid her hand on Marcus’ arm. “Yes, my friend, you should. Be very careful where that man is concerned. I don’t like him.”
Marcus sighed. “I feel I’ve made a grave mistake, but the lure of low insurance rates was strong with the new business.”
“I know,” Jax said.
“I hate to cut this short,” I said, “but Mom is going to freak if we’re late. Marcus, we need some chocolates to get us through the rehearsal dinner.”
Marcus clapped his hands twice. “I know just what you need!”
Ten minutes later, loaded down with more chocolates than a person could eat in a week, Jax and I hopped into the Rubicon and sped down the street.
“You know we’re not too far from TicToc,” I said innocently. “And we never did find out Harvey’s alibi from last night.”
Or Samuel’s.
“Jaycee, you know Momma’s gonna blow a gasket if we’re too late,” Jax said. “Tonight is for Gramps and Tillie.”
I made a sharp left. “Five minutes…tops!”
Harvey Krause was in the process of locking his store’s front door when I pulled into a vacant space along the street. Jax and I rushed over to him.
“What can I do for you?” he asked. “We’re closed.”
“I can see that,” I said. “I just wondered if Detective Connors stopped by today. You know, to talk about what happened to me last night?”
Harvey shoved his keys in his pocket and looked me up and down. “Ja. He did. I am sorry to hear of your accident. Very tragic.”
I narrowed my gaze at him. “Where were you last night between seven and nine?”
Harvey let out a bark of laughter. “It was not me. I do not need to tell you anything.”
“Why not?” Jax asked. “Do you have something to hide?”
“Nein. I do not. But I know my rights.”
“But if you have nothing to hide,” I said. “Why don’t you tell us?”
Harvey sighed. “I need to go.”
“Last night?” I pressed.
“If you must know I went home, watched TV, and fell asleep on the couch. I am very sad about Joy.”
“And you didn’t go out anywhere or see anyone?” Jax asked.
“No. Now I must go.”
Without another word, Harvey pushed past us and hurried down the alleyway between his store and Sarah’s. A few seconds later, his car came squealing around the corner and headed in the opposite direction.
“Well, whaddya think?” Jax asked.
I sighed. “I just don’t know. I mean, I get he’s probably sad about Joy deep down. It’s obvious he cared about her. But all these people have lame alibis. He was at home? C’mon.” I blew out a deep breath. “I don’t know. I still feel like there’s something just out of reach I need to remember about the attack. Something that might help identify the person.”
Jax put her arm around me. “Let’s forget this and go have a good time tonight. It’s not every day Gramps is gonna get married.”
I grinned and let her lead me toward the Jeep. “You’re right. This can keep for another night, I’m sure.”
By the time the rehearsal dinner and after party ended and everyone made their way to their cars, it was almost ten o’clock. I was about to invite Mike and Trevor back to Mom’s when Mike’s cell phone rang.
“Detective Connors.” Trevor, Jax, and I watched as Mike’s posture changed. His eyes hardened and his voice took on a rough edge. “Understood. I’ll be there shortly.”
“What?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
Mike shook his head. “Danita Maurizzi has been stabbed twice. A neighbor found her in her garage.”
“Omigosh!” Jax cried, doubling over in shock. “Is she alive?”
“Yes,” Mike said. “But just barely. The paramedics rushed her to the hospital. The chief hesitated to call me because he knew I’d be here, but he wants me at his office right now to go over everything I have so far.”
“What about Samuel?” I asked. “Does he know?”
“A couple officers have been dispatched to his place.”
Trevor helped Jax stand up and wrapped his muscular arms around her. “You go on, Mike. I’ll make sure Jax and Jaycee get home safely.”
“Stop by,” I begged. “After you meet with the chief, please stop by Mom’s house. You know Jax and I will be up.”
I could see Mike wrestling with what to say. Finally he leaned over and kissed me. “I promise to stop by before I head home. It could be late.”
“We’ll be up,” Jax said firmly.
We decided to leave my Jeep in front of Gone with the Whiskey and pick it up in the morning before heading to the wedding. Trevor drove Jax and me home and escorted us inside. Shayla, Tillie, Gramps, Duke, and Mom were in the kitchen having coffee when we stumbled in. We filled them in on what had happened.
“Do you think it’s the same killer?” Mom asked.
“I just don’t know,” I said. “I thought Joy was an isolated event. Why try and kill Danita? Does it have to do with the shop? Samuel will inherit from what I understand, and he’s dating Danita from all accounts.”
“Who are your main suspects now?” Gramps asked.
My eyes widened at Gramps’ question. Usually by now he’d be demanding I not get any more involved than I already am. Splashing a little French Vanilla creamer in my coffee, I swirled it around. “Well, I guess Samuel is the main suspect. His motive to kill Joy was he’d get one hundred percent of the store. He knew about her allergy, and he knew she kept homemade EpiPens in her purse. Not sure of his alibi when it comes to my attack, and I have no idea his motive to kill Danita.”
“Maybe Danita figured it out,” Trevor said. “Samuel had no choice but to take her out.”
We all snapped our heads at Trevor.
“That’s genius,” I said.
He laughed. “I’m not saying it’s fact. I’m just say what if.”
“I like it,” Jax said.
“Others?” Gramps asked.
“I think we can rule out Monica. I mean, we know she was mad enough to kill Joy, but she alibied out on my attack, and I have no idea why she’d try and kill Danita. There’s really no correlation except Danita ran the store.”
“I agree,” Mom said. “That seems weak.”
“The other two suspects at this point,” I said, “since Danita has been attacked, are Harvey Krause and Jonathan Sawyer.”
“Who’s Harvey again?” Tillie asked.
“He was seeing Joy for a while,” I said. “He claims he was madly in love, but she broke it off. Then Joy started dropping hints she wanted to get back together, so he ordered a box of crème filled chocolates for her. He admitted she went to his store a couple days ago to thank him personally for the chocolates. That means he would have had access to Joy’s purse to make the switch. He doesn’t really have an airtight alibi on the night of my attack, and I have no idea why he’d attack Danita, but it can’t hurt for Mike to check on him tonight.”
“And Jonathan?” Jax said. “What about him?”
“That weasel?” I said as I gave Trevor a pointed look. “We know he’s pretty much a cheating scumbag. I think it’s safe to say he all but had an affair with Joy. We need to ask Mike about whether or not he’s her insurance carrier. But he definitely knew about the allergy and had access to Joy’s purse. Joy admitted to Monica over the phone she’d seen Jonathan recently. The alibi he gave on the night of my attack is a lie. And maybe it’s like Trevor says…maybe Danita figured out he was the killer and contacted him or something.”
“I hope that poor girl pulls through,” Shayla said. “She seemed so lost when I read her leaves the other day.”
I took another sip of my coffee. “I still feel like I’m forgetting something about my attack. The more I struggle to remember, the more I’m sure there’s something there.”
“Don’t force it,” Mom said. “It will come when it does.”
“It better get here before someone else gets murdered,” I muttered.
“Your mother’s right,” Gramps said. “It’ll come when it comes. The brain is amazing that way. Now, I don’t know about you all, but I’m dog tired.” He looked over at Tillie and winked. “I got me a big day tomorrow. I need my sleep.”
“Where’re you sleeping tonight?” I asked.
Gramps frowned. “Here, of course.”
I gasped. “With Tillie? On the night before you’re to be married? That’s unheard of!”
I was totally kidding, but I couldn’t stop the ribbing.
Gramps slammed down his coffee. “It’s not like we need to be apart. We’ve been living together for a few weeks now.”
I held up one finger. “So basically you’re telling Jax and me it’s okay to move in with a boy before we’re married.” I held up another finger. “And then you’re telling us it’s okay to sleep with that person the night before we’re to get married.” I turned to Jax. “Are you taking notes? Just in case Gramps decides to throw a fit when it’s our turn?”
Jax giggled. “Leave me out of this.”
Mom turned to Gramps and raised an eyebrow.
“She’s right,” Tillie said softly. “We shouldn’t be together tonight.”
My mouth dropped open. I was only kidding. I didn’t know how to backpedal fast enough.
“So just where in tarnation do you expect me and Duke to sleep?” Gramps grumbled.
Duke whined at the mention of his name. Like he knew he was being thrown out of the house.
“With me?” Trevor said. “I don’t mind at all, sir.”
Jax threw her arms around Trevor. “You’re just the sweetest thing ever.”
Trevor had the good sense to blush but not scoff at Jax’s declaration. He looked questioningly at Gramps.
Gramps let out a few more grumbles. “Fine. Duke and I will stay with you tonight.” Gramps glowered at me. “I won’t forget this, girlie!”
I grinned and finished off my coffee as Gramps and Duke shuffled into his old room to pack some clothes.
“That was rotten,” Mom said.
“But I’m glad you said something,” Tillie said with tears in her eyes. “I think it will make tomorrow extra special.”
Ten minutes later Gramps, Duke, and Trevor were pulling out of the driveway, and Tillie, Mom, and Shayla went to their rooms to rest up for tomorrow’s big day. Jax and I locked up and then quietly made our way upstairs to the attic.
I got ready for bed, said goodnight to Jax, and then pulled up the latest book I was reading on my Kindle. I wanted to make sure I was awake when Mike stopped by, so I sat up with my back against the headboard. He had a key to the house, so he could just come upstairs. But I wanted to make sure I was still awake so he wouldn’t have the excuse of me sleeping to turn around and leave.
“Hey, babe.”
I felt Mike brush his lips across mine, and I smiled. I must have fallen asleep anyway. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head to where he was sitting next to me on the bed—his back also against the headboard.
“Hey. How’d it go tonight?”
He waited to answer as Jax came running and plopped down on the other side of me.
“Rough,” he admitted. “Danita is in Intensive Care. It’s touch and go. They aren’t sure she’s going to make it…she lost a lot of blood.”
Tears filled my eyes, and I tried to blink them away. “I just don’t understand.” I shifted on my bed and turned to him. “Trevor thinks maybe Danita figured out it was Samuel who killed Joy and he decided to take her out, too.”
“Samuel is a wreck,” Mike said. “They ended up bringing him to the station. He’d gotten so wound up he took a swing at an officer. They arrested him and cooled him down at the station while I was there. It could be an act, but he was devastated by the news of Danita. There’s a search warrant being issued to search his house for peanut oil and a screwdriver. The doctor said the puncture wounds were more consistent with a screwdriver than a serrated blade.”
“I know this may sound weird,” I said, “but I honestly think he loves her. I don’t think he did it. Even though everything points to him, I just can’t see him killing her.”
Mike shrugged. “I’ve seen crazier things.”
“What about Harvey?” Jax asked.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Did anyone go see about his alibi tonight?”
Mike pulled me against him, and I laid my head on his chest. “You know I can’t tell you anything other than in hypotheticals.”
I lifted my head and narrowed my gaze. “Give it to us in hypotheticals then, please.” I decided to throw him a bone and gave him a huge fake smile.
Mike laughed. “Is it no wonder I love you? Okay. Hypothetically speaking, maybe Harvey and his nephew had an early dinner out, then drove by Samuel’s house to stop and offer their condolences. Maybe Harvey admitted he and his nephew caught Danita at Samuel’s house and left when they realized it was an intimate dinner date. The two men may have driven back to Harvey’s house to have a drink or two or three, and soon afterward they fell asleep. The police had to pound pretty hard on Harvey’s door just to wake them both up.”
“Does the nephew live with Harvey?” I asked.
“No. But evidently it’s not uncommon for him to just stay over at his uncle’s from time to time.”
“And Jonathan?” Jax asked.
Mike chuckled. “Hypothetically speaking, Jonathan is in a little bit of trouble. The officer who questioned him asked him for his time from seven o’clock until ten o’clock, just to cover all the bases. I’d told the officer about him lying to me about his last alibi, so the officer knew to press harder if it sounded feasible.”
I sat up straighter. “This should be good.”
“Jonathan told the officer he was at the office until eight working on a couple insurance claims. Then he met a potential client for a drink at Giano’s Restaurant. Then he came home.”
“And what’s the truth?” I asked gleefully.
“The waiter at Giano’s places Jonathan there having dinner with another woman around six. After they ate they went to the restaurant’s bar and had a couple drinks. The bartender says Jonathan left around eight-thirty.”
“So plenty of time to go by Danita’s and stab her?”
Mike shrugged. “There’s no evidence that points to that.”
“Yet. You guys will find something.” I sat up straighter in bed. “Hey, did you ask Jonathan if Joy had recently changed insurance carriers?”
I filled Mike in on what we’d overheard at Lumiere’s Chocolates and my motive for Jonathan to have killed Joy.
“The chief has requested that both Jonathan and Harvey appear at the station by eight tomorrow morning for further questioning. Just to make sure they can be eliminated and the focus stay with Samuel.”
Jax scooted off the bed and said goodnight.
“I really hate this for Danita,” I said when Jax was gone. “She seemed so happy with Samuel.”
Mike kissed my forehead. “I’m tired. Do you need a ride to Gone with the Whiskey to pick up your Jeep?”
“I think Trevor is stopping by in the morning since he has Gramps and Duke at his house tonight. He can drop me off.”
“Is there a story here?” Mike asked.
I quickly filled him in on how I made Gramps and Duke sleep at Trevor’s. Mike laughed and stood up.
“You’re one of a kind, Jaycee Sullivan.” He leaned down and kissed me. “I’ll stop by in the morning and see what’s going on anyway if I’m not pulled away at the station.”
Gramps’ and Tillie’s wedding morning was perfect. The sun was up and shining, the fog from the Pacific Ocean had almost burned off, and the birds were singing. Jax and I hurried downstairs to grab coffee and breakfast. Mom, Shayla, and Tillie were already in the kitchen giddy with excitement.
Once again tears filled my eyes. I told myself I wouldn’t cry today, but the emotion was so overwhelming. Everything about Tillie was amazing. She brought love and happiness not only to Gramps’ life, but to Mom’s as well. My mom had never had someone like Tillie…not only was she her best friend, but she would soon technically be her step-mom. And Mom couldn’t be happier.
“Morning, ladies,” I said as we entered the kitchen. “Who’s ready to get married today?”
We all squealed in excitement as Mom poured two more mimosas into flutes. She handed Jax and me each a flute then made a toast. I took a long drink and then went to hug Tillie.
“Now, I don’t want to drink too much,” Tillie said. “We are supposed to be in Occidental around two to get ready. The photographer will be there around three to take bridal pictures and then photograph the wedding at four.”
I looked at the clock on the wall. “That gives us plenty of time before we have to leave.” I looked at Jax and grinned. “I say we have another!”
The girls all squealed again as Mom poured the rounds. Shayla set out the scrambled eggs and bacon while I planned ahead for the drive out to Occidental and made coffee. Jax had brought home leftover muffins and scones from her bakery to add to our morning buffet.
“I received a text from Heidi a minute ago,” Jax said. “They are almost to the venue.”
“I wonder how the men are faring this morning?” Mom mused.
“I’m surprised they haven’t tried to sneak over and steal some breakfast,” Tillie said.
The doorbell rang and Jax went to answer. Viviana and Phillipe ambled in and made a beeline toward the coffee and muffins.
“Where’s Teddy and Ethel?” I asked.
“They’re coming in a little bit,” Phillipe said. “They were dragging a little this morning.”
Ten minutes later Mike, Trevor, Gramps, and Duke arrived. They all grabbed muffins and coffee.
I sidled up to Mike. “Heard anything new about Danita?”
“Still in Intensive Care. But she survived the night, so that’s good.”
“Samuel?” I asked.
“The search warrant turned up a screwdriver,” Mike said, “but that’s it. We’re running it now for traces of blood.”
“So now what?” I asked.
“Pretty slow day today,” Mike said, “as far as crime in Traveler’s Bay. There will be a lot of police patrolling certain areas…if you know what I mean?”
I chuckled. “Yes, I understand. What about Jonathan and Harvey?”
Mike finished eating his blueberry muffin before answering. “They should be about done at the station. They were both questioned extensively, but there’s nothing to hold them on. Jonathan caved and claimed he was at a bar the night of your attack. Landry is going to follow up on that when the place opens later today. And while Harvey doesn’t have a solid alibi for the night you were attacked, he does have one for last night.”
“I feel like the answer is in front of us,” I said. “Like if I just think—”
Mike put his hands on each side of my face then kissed me quickly. “First off, I feel I need to remind you again that you aren’t on the force.” He held up his hand when I went to interrupt him. “And second, this is not about us. Today we are focused on the Colonel and Tillie getting married. That’s it. I’m confident this case will be solved shortly. But it’s not going to be by you or me. We are focusing on a wedding today.”
I mock rolled my eyes at him and let out a huff. “If you insist, I guess I can take one day off from sleuthing.”
Mike placed his hand over his chest. “Be still my heart.”
I smacked his hand away. “Ha ha.”
Shayla clapped her hands together to get our attention. “Tillie needs to bring out her wedding dress soon.” She turned to Gramps. “You can’t be anywhere around here when she does.”
Gramps groaned. “Woman, I think I can avert my eyes.”
Mom stood up with her hands on her hips. “Dad, technically you aren’t even supposed to be here today! You aren’t supposed to see the bride before the big day.”
“She’s right,” Tillie said to Gramps, kissing him on the temple. “I’ve never had a wedding before, John. I’d like to stick as close to tradition as possible.”
Which surprised me. Tillie was the least traditional person I knew.
“The men already agreed to meet at Gone with the Whiskey to get ready and have a celebratory toast before heading to Occidental.” Gramps looked at his watch then kissed Tillie softly on the lips. “Consider us men gone. You go do your traditional thing, and I’ll be the guy at the end of the aisle waiting for you today.”
Again, those damn tears filled my eyes. I was never going to make it through the day at this rate. I made a mental note to pack extra tissue and makeup.
I rode over with Mike to Gone with the Whiskey to pick up my Jeep. I unlocked the bar for Mike and Trevor since there was still no sign of Gramps. Waving goodbye, we told them we’d see them at the wedding.
“Call Mom,” I said as I pulled the Jeep out of the parking lot, “and see where Gramps is.”
Jax pulled out her phone and put it on speaker. I could tell Mom was outside when she answered.
“Hey, Mom,” Jax said. “We just left Gone with the Whiskey and Gramps still isn’t there. Do you know where he is?”
I pulled onto the main drag and half-heartedly listened to all the noise in the background.
Mom laughed. “You know your Gramps. I’m watching him try to sneak in one last time to see Tillie.”
“Stai departe!” Shayla cried through the phone. “Stay away!”
“Is that Shayla yelling at Gramps?” Jax asked as she held the phone closer to me so I could hear.
“Bleib weg!” Shayla cried again. “I said stay away!”
My heart lurched, and I shook my head to clear it. “What did Shayla just say?”
Jax laughed. “I believe she just told Gramps to stay away.”
“No, no. Before that. She said something else.”
Jax shrugged then looked at me and frowned. “I don’t know. It was something in whatever language she speaks. What’s wrong, Jaycee? You look pale.”
I slowly pulled to the side of the road and let my mind think about all the clues and what I knew so far. Those words, the instrument used to stab Danita, and by the time I got to the peanut oil, everything clicked in place.
“Hang up the phone and hold on. I know who the killer is. But we have to hurry before he gets rid of the evidence.”
“What?” Jax gasped. “Oh crap! Mom, I need to go. See you out at the venue!”
Jax hung up the phone and turned to me. “Who? Should we call Mike?”
I turned down the main drag and ignored Jax’s question. My mind was still trying to put it all together, but something still wasn’t making sense. Why would the killer try and take out Danita? It didn’t fit.
I wasn’t shocked when I pulled into a vacant spot in front of Etched in Glass and saw the light on next door. The sign in the window said CLOSED, but there was obviously someone inside. No other cars were parked in the front of the stores.
“I’m going to go around back and make sure he doesn’t escape,” I said. “And, yes, call nine-one-one and then Mike.”
“Jaycee, we need to wait for the police.”
“Don’t worry.” I grabbed my Swiss Army knife and jumped out of the Jeep. “I’m not going inside to confront him. I promise. I’m just going around back.”
“You know something crazy is going to happen! This little stunt of yours is equivalent to the dumb girl in high heels trying to run away from the killer in a slasher movie. Somehow you’re going to get caught!”
“Just call,” I hissed and took off down the narrow alleyway between TicToc Clocks and Etched in Glass.
I knew better than to try and get tangled in the middle of this one. If for any reason I made us late for the wedding, Mom would never forgive me. My goal was to make sure the killer didn’t get away. And I knew just how to do it.
I opened my knife and rounded the corner. I said a prayer of thanks that there was only one car behind the store. The stores downtown usually weren’t open on Sunday, otherwise there would have been a handful of cars in the back.
I crept over to the car and peered inside. There wasn’t a whole lot that let me know whose car it was, but I was willing to chance it. I crouched down and jabbed the knife near the rim of the tire and then slowly worked the blade back and forth. A few seconds later, I had a nice sized hole in the tire. I was about to move on to another tire when an arm snaked around my neck, cutting off my air supply.
“I would like nothing more than to finish what I started the other night, but something tells me I may need a hostage.”
I had just enough presence of mind to be surprised at the voice.
“How did you figure it out?” Stefan rasped as he propelled me forward back inside the clock shop. I could hear sirens outside and knew I didn’t have much time to get a confession. As we shuffled by the counter, he reached down and picked up an awl.
“Did you use that on Danita?”
“One like it,” he acknowledged.
“I wasn’t really sure,” I admitted. “Not until I heard my friend yell at my Gramps to go away or something like that in German.”
“Stay away,” Stefan corrected. “I told you that night you should have stayed away.”
The ticking of the clocks were already driving me insane. I needed to think of a plan of escape, but all I could hear was the slow, rhythmic tics around me.
Stefan pushed me forward until I was standing in front of the store’s big window looking outside. His right arm was still around my neck, while he grasped the awl in his left hand. I looked over at my Jeep outside, but didn’t see Jax anywhere.
“We’re gonna need to take your car since you damaged mine,” Stefan said.
“Why did you kill Joy?” I asked. “You never came on my radar. Until you just grabbed me, I expected to see Harvey in here.”
Stefan gave a short laugh then tightened his hold on my neck when the first two cop cars pulled up outside. I knew if he panicked, I was a dead woman…and Mom would never forgive me for ruining Gramps’ and Tillie’s wedding.
“Joy was a horrible woman. The way she carried on with other men in front of my uncle. He’s a good guy. He didn’t deserve to be saddled with someone like her. Someone cheap and easy.” He banged his fist on the storefront window, and I tried not to scream. I took that moment to gather in a few deep breaths before he wrapped his arm back around my neck. “I heard him order her the chocolates over the phone. So that evening after work I went to Lumiere’s Chocolates and bought random items and one lone piece of chocolate with nuts. When Joy came to thank Harvey and try to make up, I switched out one of the pieces with peanuts and replaced the new syringes I made. All I had to do was wait for her to eat a piece of chocolate and then grab one of those stupid pens.”
“You knew she carried those homemade EpiPens?”
He let out a mirthless laugh. “Yes.”
“And you have plenty of peanut oil on hand here at the store,” I said.
He snickered. “I knew the day you came in to question Uncle Harvey and mentioned the floors you knew about the peanut oil and would need to go. I was just glad you mentioned where you were going to be that night. All I had to do was wait for an opportune time.” His arm tightened around my neck and my vision swam. “Unfortunately, one of your friends came out and foiled my plan.”
He must have realized I was about to pass out because he eased up a little on my throat. I gulped in deep breaths.
“I actually didn’t know,” I gasped. “It wasn’t until this morning that I finally figured it all out. There’s a restaurant in Santa Rosa that lets customers throw peanut shells on the floor because they say the oils from the peanuts are good for the hardwood floors. But your floors are too nice and clean for that, so I figured you must use a drop or two of peanut oil in your solution.”
“Very clever. Now, do you have your keys on you or are they in the Jeep?”
“Why Danita?” I asked, hoping to catch him off guard.
“What?”
“Why Danita?” I repeated.
“Opportunity. My uncle insisted last night that we stop by and see Samuel. He wanted to commiserate and wallow in his sorrow. I didn’t think Joy deserved that much of his attention, but he insisted. Misery loves company and all that. When we got to Samuel’s house, Danita was inside and they were…well, let’s just say Samuel was not sad and lonely like my uncle.”
“What did that have to do with Danita?”
“Samuel didn’t deserve happiness,” Stefan said matter-of-factly. “When my uncle first approached Samuel to see about asking Joy out, Samuel laughed and told him to go for it. It wasn’t a good laughter, but my uncle couldn’t see that. When I saw those two locked in an embrace last night, I saw red.”
“I thought you two were home last night drinking and sleeping it off until the cops knocked on your door?”
Stefan laughed bitterly. “My uncle is not a drinker. Two stiff drinks mixed with a sleeping pill he keeps in his medicine cabinet put him out within minutes.”
“And then you sneaked out and waited for Danita to go back to her house?”
“Yes. How dare Samuel be so happy when my uncle was so sad.”
“Why stab Danita and not Samuel?”
“If she died then he would know the sorrow my uncle felt.”
“That is so messed up,” I said.
I was about to say more when Mike walked up to the front door. He didn’t say anything through the glass, just stared. Before I could react, Stefan shoved the awl in his right hand and grabbed the back of my hair with his left hand.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him I had a wedding to go to with this hair, but the serious look on Mike’s face through the window stopped me from getting lippy. I wasn’t sure what it said about me that my first concern was about him messing up my hair, though.
“You’re surrounded,” Mike hollered at Stefan, his eyes never once looked at me. “Just come on out and we can see about making a deal.”
“No way,” Stefan yelled back. “We’re taking her car and she’s going with me.”
“Like hell she is,” a voice said behind us. “We have a wedding to go to!”
Stefan whipped me around with him, but he wasn’t quick enough. Jax was standing less than a foot behind us holding one of Tillie’s stun guns. She reached out and zapped his arm. He dropped the awl and staggered, causing me to fall off balance onto my knees.
Pain sliced through my brain as some of my hair came out in his fist. When I was finally able to vocalize my outrage at the sudden pain and loss of hair, I let out a scream that reverberated throughout the store.
I looked up just in time to see Jax jump on Stefan’s back. She threw back her head and let out a maniacal cackle as she plunged the stun gun into the side of his neck and gave him another zap. At that exact moment she looked both savage and beautiful. Stefan staggered and went the rest of the way down. Jax stood up and lifted both hands in the air and let out another victorious scream.
I’d never been more scared of my sister in all my life. She turned her wild, brown eyes on me, and I almost took a step backward. I heard the front door crash open and Mike rushed inside while two cops dashed from the back of the store. They went immediately to Stefan’s side and handcuffed him.
Jax was still shaking her fists and screaming by the time Mike got to her. He didn’t touch her. “Jax? Honey? Can you hear me?”
Jax slowly let her arms down, her chest heaving rapidly. I swear spittle gathered around the corners of her mouth as she continued to pant and look wildly around the store.
“Focus,” Mike said. “Focus on my voice, Jax. It’s just the adrenaline running through your body.”
I saw the change happen. One minute she was a fierce warrior woman…the next, she let out a cry and staggered into Mike’s arms. Weeping, she clung to him for dear life.
“Jaycee! Jax!”
I heard Mom’s yell and saw her run toward the store. A police officer tried to head her off, but Mom was determined. She blew by him and was about to tackle two more officers when Gramps suddenly appeared and threw Mom over his shoulder. Andrew was next to him, trying to calm everyone down.
“Jax?” Mike said. “Can you walk?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Good. Because if we don’t get you and Jaycee outside, the wedding may have to take place at the police station. Your momma is about to get herself arrested.”
Jax giggled and stepped out of Mike’s arms. When she saw me she flung herself at me. I caught her and hugged her tightly.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she sobbed. “I saw him take you inside, and I knew I had to save you. Luckily I’d grabbed my purse with the stun gun in it this morning.”
We all shuffled outside toward the family as Jax continued to talk.
“I waited until I thought the moment was right and then I just went for it,” Jax said. “By that time I was so worked up over him having Jaycee in that death hold with that weapon, and then hearing him talk about killing Joy and hurting Danita. I just snapped.”
Mike put his hand on Jax’s back and motioned Trevor forward. He pushed through a couple of the officers that now had my whole family corralled off to one area.
“Trevor is here to help you, Jax,” Mike said. “If anyone knows how you’re feeling right now, it’s him.”
I saw something pass between the two men as Trevor wrapped my tiny sister in his huge arms. When he turned and walked away, her feet weren’t even touching the ground.
“Does she need a paramedic?” I asked. “I’ve never seen her so crazy.”
Mike wrapped his arms around me and kissed my temple. “No, Trevor can handle it.”
A few seconds later, I was surrounded by everyone demanding to know what had happened. By the time I relayed my story to them…and then again to the police…we were running half an hour behind schedule. I could tell Mom and Tillie were getting antsy, so with a promise on my life that Jax and I would come back in and answer questions if we could just get to the wedding, the chief let us go.
I made it to Occidental in record time. Jax and I had calmed down during the ride, and by the time we finished our hair and makeup…and a bottle of champagne…the Sullivan Sisters were once again in charge.
Heidi and the gang had finished decorating the barn and came over to help us get dressed. Bridget re-curled my hair while the Graffiti Grannies carried Gramps’ groom’s cake and a couple other party favors back over to the barn.
“Let’s go,” Mom said an hour later as she grabbed hold of Jax and me. “All the pre-wedding pictures are done and Tillie is ready to marry your Gramps.”
I lifted the hem of my bridesmaid dress and carefully followed the bridal party outside. Tillie looked beautiful in a sleeveless wedding dress that showed off her shoulder tattoo. It amazed me how two people who could be so different could come together and make each other so happy.
Sabrina Abbott handed me my bouquet of flowers, and I took my position behind Mom but in front of Jax. The music sounded and Duke once again started down the aisle, looking dashing in his bow tie and carrying the pillow in his mouth.
When it was my turn to round the corner, I wasn’t quite ready for the impact of seeing Gramps and Mike at the end of the aisle. I stumbled but righted myself immediately. Embarrassed, I caught Mike’s eye and he grinned at me. Jax snorted behind me.
At that exact moment…everything was right in the world.
I leaned back against the side of the barn and peered up into the night sky. It was a beautiful, clear night with myriad stars twinkling in the sky. There was a slight twinge of chill in the air, compliments of the Pacific Ocean. I could smell the sugars from the cotton candy and boozy popcorn inside, and the faint sound of music trickled out whenever the barn doors opened.
“I thought I’d find you out here.” Mike sidled up next to me and copied my lean-back pose against the barn. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just needed some fresh air.”
He wrapped his arm around me, and I snuggled into his side. “I just heard back from Landry. They’ve pretty much wrapped everything up.”
I took a sip of my champagne. “I just hate this sometimes.”
“What?”
“The aftermath. The conclusion. It’s like I want to scream and shout at the bad guys, ya know? Do they not see how the fallout will affect everyone else?”
Mike gave a dry laugh. “Honey, the bad guys and gals don’t care. They are only thinking of themselves. They don’t put other people’s needs and feelings before theirs. It’s why they do what they do.”
I blinked back the sudden onslaught of tears. “Well, it’s just not fair. I feel horrible for Harvey.”
Mike kissed the top of my head. “That’s what I love about you, Jaycee. You are brave enough to stand and tackle a dangerous situation head on, yet you’re soft enough to cry and worry how the other parties will feel later. You are one of a kind.”
“I don’t think so. I’d like to think a lot of people feel like I do.”
Mike said nothing for a few seconds. “Well, Harvey is a complete mess. He had no idea what his nephew was up to. When he was finally told everything, he broke down in tears. He’s hired a lawyer out of San Francisco for Stefan.”
“And Danita?” I asked.
“Doing good. So good, in fact, she may be able to be moved out of ICU and into a different room tomorrow.”
“I hope her and Samuel can finally find happiness.”
Mike took a sip of his beer. “I don’t have a doubt they will. When he found out the good news that she’d get moved soon, he proposed to her in the ICU. Made a big deal out of it. Got the nurses and doctors involved.”
“Nice,” I said. “I like that ending.”
“Then you’re gonna love what happened to Jonathan.”
I pulled out of his arms and rounded on him. “Tell me! Tell me!”
Mike threw back his head and laughed. “I told you he was in hot water with his wife because of the lies he’s been telling about where he’s at in the evening?”
“Yes.”
“Well, when Braxton and Mayes found out about how he’d been getting all those new clients, they fired him.”
I gasped. “No way!”
Mike nodded his head. “Yep. Landry was in the parking lot getting ready to go out on patrol, and Jonathan and Monica were fighting in the police station parking lot this morning after Jonathan was questioned. From what Landry could make out, the company called Monica when they couldn’t reach Jonathan. He was to get his stuff out of his office immediately.”
“Charlotte is going to love that!”
“And as a thank you for closing the case, Marcus sent over six huge boxes of Lumiere’s Chocolates to the police department.”
“So all things considered, a good ending to a good day. Well, except for Harvey. I still feel horrible for him.”
Mike pulled me back to him. “Yes, overall a very good day. The bad guy was caught, the Colonel and Tillie are married, and I am in love with a girl named Jaycee Sullivan.”
I finished my flute of champagne and set it on the ground. Wrapping my arms around him, I looked up into his face. “And I love you, Michael Connors. Whatever happens next, always remember that.”
He gave me a grin before kissing me quickly on the lips. “You mean next month if you happen to get tangled up in another mystery, I need to fall back on this moment right here?”
I laughed. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
Boozy Peach Crisp
Filling:
2 pounds peaches (I used frozen since not in season)
2 tablespoons cornstarch OR flour
1/3 cup peach Schnapps (I used DeKuyper)
¼ cup spiced rum (I used Blue Chair—Kenny Chesney)
Crisp:
½ cup flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup of slightly softened butter
1) Mix peaches, flour, Schnapps, and rum together in a bowl and set aside for about thirty minutes.
2) Dump peach mixture into 8X8 baking dish.
3) In another bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well. Then cut in the softened butter. Again, mix well.
4) Spread crisp mixture over the peaches.
5) Bake at 375 for 30 min. Serve warm!
*This recipe is very light on the booze compared to the other recipes in this series. However, the flavor was still amazing!
Jenna writes in the genre of cozy/women's literature. Her humorous characters and stories revolve around over-the-top family members, creative murders, and there's always a positive element of the military in her stories. Jenna currently lives in Missouri with her fiancé, step-daughter, Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever dog, Brownie, her tuxedo-cat, Whiskey, and long-haired tortoise, Cleopatra. She is a former court reporter turned educator turned full-time writer. She has a Master’s degree in Special Education, and an Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She also spent twelve years in full-time ministry.
When she’s not writing, Jenna likes to attend beer and wine tastings, go antiquing, visit craft festivals, and spend time with her family and friends. You can friend request her on Facebook under Jenna St. James, and you can also e-mail her at authorjennastjames@gmail.com.
Jenna writes both the Ryli Sinclair Mystery and the Sullivan Sisters Mystery. You can find out more about upcoming book at http://jennastjames.com/. Don’t forget to sign up for her monthly newsletter while you’re there!
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