Have a Deadly New Year

by Lynn Cahoon

  “You didn’t say anything about that.” Cliff squeezed her hand, then stepped away, leaning on the wall next to her.

  “Because one, I know that you hate me smoking.” She sighed. “And—”

  “You wanted to convince him to leave your affair out of the book,” Suzie interrupted, a gleam of pleasure in her look as she saw Bailey react. “Don’t lie, I’ve already read all about it. You called me a friend when you were sleeping with my boyfriend.”

  “It was one time. A drunken mistake. I wouldn’t call it an affair.” She looked at Cliff, pleading in her gaze. “We were fighting about the last tour. I wanted to go home when we hit the US, but you insisted I stay with you. Dane was understanding one night.”

  “Sounds like he was very understanding.” Cliff shook his head then went over and grabbed a chair from the desk and sat down. “So you were smoking, then you came back to bed. We know where Dane was at ten thirty. Anyone else see him that night?”

  Steve nodded. “I must have come out just after Bailey left. Around eleven, I guess.”

  “Tell us about it,” Angie prodded.

  “I was down getting a glass of milk. My stomach seems to settle better with milk and this pill my doctor gave me. I saw Dane outside, so I put on a parka and went out to chat. I wanted to make sure he was going to be on board with the tour and the publicity. You know how he can get.” Steve glanced at Cliff. “He told me he’d rein in his bad side. He said that he wanted one last chance to make music with you.”

  Angie watched the nonverbal exchange going on between Steve and Cliff. The guy knew just what to say to hit the heartstrings. Now whether or not it was true, that only Steve knew. “So then what did you do?”

  “I went upstairs to bed. Carolyn was reading, so I put on my blindfold and went to sleep.” He stood and refilled his coffee cup from the pot.

  Angie turned to Carolyn. “So what were you doing?”

  “Steve just told you, I was reading. Then a couple of hours later, I went to bed.” She glanced nervously at Robbie.

  “You’re such a liar. I thought you didn’t care who found out about us?” Robbie leaned back in his chair and studied Carolyn. “And I believed you. I feel so used.”

  Felicia kicked Angie under the table.

  “Robbie, do you want to tell us where Carolyn was?” Angie turned toward the drummer.

  He shrugged. “She was with me. I made sweet love to her all night long.”

  Suzie barked a laugh. “Probably more like twenty minutes, then you fell asleep, right?”

  He squirmed in his chair. “Look, since I’ve gotten a little older, it takes some time. You have to be inventive.”

  “What time would you say you fell asleep?” Angie tripped over her words. She didn’t want to start talking about his love life. She knew several appropriate responses would lead him right back to his memories and the wild sex he’d had. “And was Carolyn there when you woke up?”

  “No, she has to go back to the man when the day breaks. I am only her night lover. Never in the light of day.”

  “This is just stupid. What do you care who I sleep with?” Carolyn’s face was red.

  “Let her talk, Carolyn,” Steve said. His voice was calm, but it held a note of caution.

  The room felt like it was a movie set and Angie was setting up for the final reveal scene. She met Felicia’s gaze and could see her friend’s concern. But she needed to press on. Angie turned back to Carolyn but focused on the paper. Like she was just following a trail. “What time did you leave Robbie’s room?”

  When Carolyn didn’t answer right away, Angie looked up. The glare she got from the woman could have melted the ice in Angie’s drink.

  “I returned to my room at two a.m.”

  “Thanks.” Angie wrote down the information then turned to Suzie. “What about you?”

  “Let’s see, I got in a fight with Dane at eleven thirty. Then I saw Carolyn leaving her room, and I followed her. She went into Robbie’s room, just like she said. But she didn’t leave at two. She left closer to midnight.” Suzie stared at Carolyn.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carolyn growled.

  Suzie pointed at her watch. “I do know what I’m talking about, because I monitor my sleep. It shows that I was up from eleven thirty to twelve fifteen walking. I left Dane sitting in the living room watching the snow fall. I told him he needed to grow up and stop throwing these fits over nothing. Then I walked through the house several times. I like to get my steps in when he’s occupied. I mean, I did. I guess I can walk anytime now.”

  “And that’s when you saw Carolyn?” Angie pressed, not wanting the story to get lost in what she assumed would be tears now that grief was taking her over.

  “I was at the end of the hall when she left Robbie’s room. I guess she didn’t see me.” Suzie stared at the table. Angie wondered if Dane’s absence was starting to feel real.

  “Well, you have insurance on him. That’s reason to murder him.” Carolyn stood and pointed to Suzie, who was on the verge of breaking down.

  “We all have insurance on our significant others. Steve insisted on it when we started the band. There’s lots of bad things that can happen on tour. We wanted whoever we were with to be protected if something happened to us.” Cliff stared at Carolyn. “But you knew that. Why are you attacking Suzie with it now?”

  Steve turned to Carolyn. “Is there something you need to tell us?”

  She shook her head. Then spun and turned to Bailey. “You were in his room looking for something last night. What did you take? Evidence of your affair?”

  “She was not. You’re throwing out red herrings to get the attention off you,” Cliff shot back.

  Bailey glanced at Cliff and took his hand. “Actually, she’s right. I was in Dane and Suzie’s room last night. I was looking for the tablet. I wanted to delete the section about our affair. I’d asked him not to write it. That it would hurt you. But he laughed and told me that we were way past a little thing like sex breaking us up.”

  “So did you delete the pages?” Angie felt like she was in a reunion show for some reality television series.

  “No. I couldn’t find his tablet. I searched, but it wasn’t there.” Bailey sighed. “And now you know anyway.”

  Cliff squeezed her hand.

  Angie didn’t think everyone caught the little gesture, but she thought that Dane might have been right. That they were past things like a little affair breaking them up. “I wonder what happened to the tablet?”

  “I took it outside and beat it with a hammer until it was in pieces. That stupid book.” Suzie sighed, sipping her coffee. “It consumed him.”

  “You crazy witch.” Carolyn dove at Suzie, but Estebe caught her midair and pulled her back. She growled at Estebe. “Let me go. Do you know what that memoir would bring in a publishing deal? I helped him write most of it. I was entitled to some of the money when he got his advance.”

  “So you were going to just take it over after you killed him?” Angie took a chance that Carolyn was emotional enough that her question might just work.

  “Of course I killed him. With him out of the picture, I’d take over. I could say anything. Anything to help the band.” She turned to Steve. “Tell them. Tell them he was going to delete the manuscript. It wasn’t fair. I deserved to be paid.”

  Chapter 8

  Gasps filled the room. Steve just stared at Carolyn like she was an alien. “You killed Dane? And what about the attack on Bailey? Did you do that too?”

  “You’re not listening. I thought she had the tablet.” Carolyn slowed down her words in her attempt to make her meaning clear to Steve. Her gaze was locked with his.

  “Oh, Carolyn.” He reached for her, then twisted her arms behind her back. “Does anyone have a towel or rope? We need to keep her still until the sheriff gets here.”<
br />
  Bailey raised her hand. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

  Angie watched as the girl almost sprinted out of the room. “I guess she’s feeling better.”

  When she returned she handed a pair of jewel-crusted handcuffs to Estebe, who was on the other side of Carolyn now holding one arm. “Here you go.”

  He held them up, his face showing his doubt.

  “They’re police issue. I have the key right here. I did the jewel work myself. They look rad, don’t they?”

  Estebe took the handcuffs, then led Carolyn to a chair. “They’ll work then.”

  Angie crossed the kitchen to the counter. “It’s almost seven. If the sheriff is coming, it should be soon.”

  Just then a door slammed in the front of the house. “Anyone here?”

  Steve stepped to the door and called back. “We’re in the kitchen.”

  When the sheriff walked into the room, he did a low whistle. Taking in the restrained Carolyn and the bandaged Bailey, he took out his notebook. “Well, I guess I’ve missed a few things. Fill me in on the details.”

  As Cliff took over the explanation using Angie’s notebook to make sure he got the details right, Angie filled her coffee cup and watched. Steve sat close to Carolyn, his hand resting on her shoulder. Angie thought it was better that the book had been destroyed. Dane had been too scared to save it anywhere but the tablet. He hadn’t even made a backup into the cloud just in case someone found it and leaked his secrets before he had the chance to get his payday. The book had ruined too many lives already.

  Chapter 9

  New Year’s Eve, the five of them were huddled around a roaring fire in a large stone fireplace. The room was filled with overstuffed leather furniture and dark oak tables. Felicia had brought party hats and streamers for them. She sat with Estebe on the couch as Angie and Hope took the wing chairs nearer to the fire.

  Matt crossed over from the buffet table with a plate of appetizers they’d spent the day making. He set them on the coffee table, then took the other side of the couch. “I never thought I’d say this since I was a fanboy about meeting the band, but I’m glad to be out of Cliff’s house. Estebe, I can’t believe you had a place here in Sun Valley and we didn’t just have our retreat here.”

  “I didn’t have a place in Sun Valley until yesterday.” Estebe glanced around the dark wood-panel den. “And since the banks haven’t opened yet, I don’t officially own this place either. Please don’t set it on fire or anything crazy, okay?”

  “Wait, you bought this yesterday? When? We didn’t get rescued from the murder house until noon.” Matt took an eggroll and bit into it. “We came right here after the sheriff took crazy Carolyn out to the jail.”

  “I had been talking to a realtor since we scheduled this trip. I wanted to visit a few, but then I saw this one and the prior owners were desperate to get out of it. So desperate they were willing to sell it furnished and be agreeable to renting it out to me while the paper goes through.” Estebe pushed a strand of hair away from Felicia’s face and back behind her ear.

  The motion was so tender, so intimate, Angie had to turn her head. “Well, this is a great place to spend the rest of the week. And it gets us out of Cliff’s and Bailey’s hair. Since they changed their mind about going to California for a few days, I didn’t really want to push our agreement on them.”

  “Cliff says he’d send us a check for our time as well as our food costs. When I get that, I’ll reimburse Estebe for the rent he had to pay along with some more for our retreat.” Felicia squeezed his hand. “Thank you for rescuing us when we needed a place of refuge.”

  “Not a problem. I told you I’d been thinking about buying a place here. I’ll rent it out for vacationers when I’m not here. It will pay for itself sooner than you think.”

  “How’d you become so smart with money?” Felicia beamed at him.

  Hope raised her hand. “By the way, first thing in the morning, we’re doing vision boards for the new year. It’s kind of a family tradition.”

  “What is a vision board?” Estebe asked, looking warmly at the girl.

  “You put all your hopes and dreams for the year into a picture by cutting out things from magazines and gluing them on the board. I brought all the stuff. It’s going to be fun.” She sipped her sparkling cider.

  Angie’s phone rang. The display showed it was Ian. She stood and went to stand in the hallway before answering. “Hey there, how’s New Year’s Eve with your uncle?”

  “Quiet. Well, except for Bleak. She’s got us playing Twister, and there’s talk of some sort of Dance Party game torture coming after we celebrate the new year.” He paused. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you too.” Angie watched as Estebe opened a bottle of champagne and started pouring. “How’s the zoo?”

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve been staying at your place. The roads have been icy this week. Except tonight, I didn’t want to drive back out to the farm so late. I’ll go back tomorrow morning.”

  “That’s fine. Give my regards to Allen and Maggie.” She smiled and took the flute Felicia offered her.

  “Tell Ian hi. It’s almost midnight,” Felicia said before heading back over to stand in front of the fire with the others.

  “Tell her and the rest of your crew I said Happy New Year.” He chuckled. “I just got a glass of sparkling cider. I take it you have the leaded stuff?”

  “Of course. Want to stay on the line for the countdown?”

  “Why do you think I called so late?”

  Estebe started the countdown with the television program time-delayed from NYC. “Ten, nine...”

  “Eight, seven,” Angie joined in. She put the phone on speaker.

  “Six, five,” said Ian and the Brown family.

  “Four, three, two, one. Happy New Year.” The entire group cheered, and Angie smiled, feeling the love circling the room and coming through the phone line. She loved her life and had no regrets or wishes. Well maybe she had some wishes for the new year. She took the phone off speaker. “I love you, Ian McNeal.”

  “I love you too,” came the response.

  As she hung up the phone, she glanced outside at the gently falling snow. Tonight was perfect. Tomorrow may have its problems, but the present was just what she’d always wanted. Friends, family, a career she loved, and a place to call home. What more could she ask for?

  To the Readers

  Dear Readers:

  My first real job was as a food stamp examiner for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. I loved the routine of the decision-making. You checked income, savings, number in the family, and then the formula made a decision of eligibility and amounts. I was helping people and learning a lot about working a job as well as working with others. One of those people was an older co-worker named Shirley. She knew everything and took this young mother in a less than perfect relationship under her wing. And, she shared some of her recipes. Shirley’s gone now, but I think of her often. I don’t think I have her rum cake recipe, which is a real shame. (Roger, I’m sorry if you’re reading this. I know you loved that cake.) I still have this handwritten recipe on a large pink stickie note burned and weathered by age.

  Making this fun, fast appetizer always reminds me of my friend. The version I’m giving you is adjusted a little to spice up the sauce.

  Enjoy,

  Lynn

  NYE Sweet and Sour Chestnuts

  1 can of whole water chestnuts

  1 pound of thin bacon

  2 cups of ketchup

  ½ cup of hoisin sauce

  2 tbsp of Thai chili sauce

  1 cup of brown sugar

  3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce

  Cut bacon strips in half and wrap around the water chestnuts. (I use a toothpick to keep it together.) Broil or bake in an ovenproof pan until bacon is crunchy. Drain o
ff grease.

  In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Pour over water chestnuts and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

  Serve hot with the sauce available to scoop up the amazing flavors.

  Meet the Author

  Lynn Cahoon is the award-winning author of several New York Times and USA Today bestselling cozy mystery series. The Tourist Trap series is set in central coastal California with six holiday novellas and nine full-length novels releasing in 2018-2019. She also pens the Cat Latimer series, available in mass market paperback. Her newest series, the Farm-to-Fork mystery series, was released in 2018. She lives in a small town, like the ones she loves to write about, with her husband and two fur babies.

  Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com

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  DEEP FRIED REVENGE

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  Lyrical Underground

  Chapter 1

  Angie Turner tucked the smiling teddy bear into her backpack as she walked around the carnival with her boyfriend, Ian McNeal. Idaho’s largest fair had just started that morning, and they were enjoying the fun. The sun had just dipped behind the mountains, and the heat of the summer Friday had started to ease. August was typically hot and sticky, and today’s weather hadn’t disappointed.

  Ian pointed to an ATM set up on the grass by the funnel cake booth. “I need to stop and get some more cash.”

  “How much did you wind up spending on Picasso?” She wiggled the bear’s dark blue face that she’d left sticking out of the top of the backpack.

  “I really don’t want to talk about it. I thought I was better at throwing a baseball than that. If anyone finds out, I’ll have to give up my spot on the church league.” He pulled out his wallet and his debit card.