Back Room Bookstore Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1 - 12

by Susan Harper

  The chief looked at Monica curiously, and Monica studied his face right back. He was a funny-looking fellow. Round but somehow still looked quite fit. His face was scrunched up a bit, and his jaw stuck out further than normal. His forehead was a bit wrinkly to the point that his skin seemed to make his eyes seem narrower, and his nose was enormous but somewhat flat. But his smile was warm and welcoming. He put his hand out to Monica to shake. “I knew your aunt well,” he said. “I think I was one of the few people in town she actually bothered telling she was moving back to… Where was it? Chicago?”

  “Yes, sir,” Monica said, shaking his hand and trying not to stare at the man’s crooked teeth. He was indeed a funny-looking fellow.

  “You ready, Brian? Monica and I will be here listening in,” Chief Tollr said.

  “Ready,” Brian said, entering the interrogation room. Monica watched excitedly as Brian sat down across from Gerald. The chief pressed a button under the two-way mirror that allowed Monica and the chief to listen in on the interrogation.

  “I just want to know why someone thinks my father would hurt anyone!” a voice echoed from down the hall.

  Chief Tollr jerked his lumpy head to the side. “Is that Janice?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “All right, which one of my officers told her that Gerald was a suspect?” The man grunted. “Pardon me, Monica. Let me go simmer the girl down. She shouldn’t even be here.” He trotted off down the hall and into the main lobby, leaving Monica alone to listen in on the interrogation that had already gotten underway.

  “I wouldn’t ever hurt Darren, if that’s what you’re suggesting,” Gerald hissed in Brian’s direction. “I’m not a violent man, Officer Brian.”

  Monica watched as Brian reached into his pocket and plopped the pocket-watch down in front of the man. Gerald’s eyes grew twice the normal size. “Tell me, Gerald, do you recognize this?” Brian asked.

  “Matter of fact, I do,” Gerald said. “It was mine.”

  “Was?” Brian questioned.

  “Gave it away,” Gerald said.

  “Awfully convenient, Gerald, seeing as how it was found at the scene of the crime,” Brian said.

  Gerald frowned. “I bet it was, seeing as how I gave it to the victim not two days before he was killed.”

  Monica raised a brow. Had the shadow she saw dropping the trinket been Darren? That didn’t make sense. Brian seemed to agree. He leaned back in his chair a bit. “You’re telling me you gave this nice pocket-watch to Janice’s boyfriend? You already admitted to me that you couldn’t stand Darren. Why give him something nice like this?”

  “Hey! Stop! You can’t go back there, Janice!” Chief Tollr called, and Monica looked up to see Janice storming down the hall toward her.

  Chief Tollr caught up just in time for all three of them to hear Gerald’s response to Brian’s question. “I gave Darren my pocket-watch a few days before he was killed when the man asked me for my blessing to marry Janice!” Gerald snapped.

  Janice froze, and Chief Tollr seemed less inclined to chase the woman down. The chief, Janice, and Monica all stood there in silence, staring through the two-way mirror. “Darren was going to ask Janice to marry him?” Brian asked, and Monica glanced over at Janice to see tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “He was,” Gerald said sadly. “Don’t tell Janice, please. She’s already so upset…”

  “And you gave him your pocket-watch? What, as some sort of sign of your blessing?” Brian asked. “But you didn’t like him?”

  “No, not really,” Gerald said. “I mean, I didn’t really like him. I’ve always said that Janice could do better than that…that clown, but…” He sighed. “He made her so happy, Brian. You and I aren’t strangers. You’ve seen them together. I’ve never seen my girl so happy. Darren, well, he wasn’t the ideal son-in-law. I mean, what father wants his daughter to marry a literal clown? But he was good to her. Really good to her. Would have been a modest life for my daughter, but so what? Would I have rather her married a doctor or a lawyer or someone who could have afforded to provide her with the world? Of course! But Darren, like I said, he was good to her. He was the type of guy who would bend over backward to make her happy, and frankly, I had to admit that that was far better than a man who could afford to buy her a big house. When Darren sat me down to ask for my blessing, I could see how nervous he was. He was downright shaky because he knew how I felt about him. I gave him the watch because it was a gift from my father that he gave me the day I married Janice’s mother. I never had a son to pass it down to, just Janice, so I gave it to Darren and told him to get her a nice ring with his clown money. We had a little laugh about it.”

  Janice couldn’t take any more, it seemed. She forced her way into the room, and Gerald didn’t look at all pleased to see that his daughter had been listening in. She came and sat with her father, crying. Brian stood and left the room, giving the father-daughter pair a moment. He closed the door behind him and looked at Chief Tollr with a confused expression. “I don’t know what this means for the case, Chief,” Brian admitted.

  Chief Tollr sighed. “It means you’ve got your work cut out for you, kid.”

  Monica huffed, and she could feel Abigail shifting around in the satchel. “You got a breakroom I could borrow to fix myself a cup of coffee?” Monica asked, and the chief nonchalantly nodded down the hall. She left the two men to discuss the interview and dipped into the empty breakroom.

  Abigail jumped out of the satchel to stretch her legs. “Ugh, my legs were starting to fall asleep in that thing,” she said, yawning slightly.

  “Ugh, I thought we had figured it out!” Monica exclaimed. “I mean, I really thought that shadow spell was going to be just what I needed to solve this thing.”

  Abigail hopped up onto the table in the center of the room, and Monica sat in one of the chairs, bringing the two of them eye level with one another. “So…here’s a thought…” Abigail said. “If Darren was the one with the pocket-watch, wouldn’t that make him the aggressor?”

  Monica sat upright, thinking back to the shadows. The shadow that had dropped the trinket had been the one who had attacked the other. “Oh, wow… You’re right!”

  “Of course I am,” Abigail said.

  “That would mean… That would mean whoever killed Darren was acting in self-defense!” Monica shouted. “Oh, wow! This changes everything, Abigail!”

  “So, Darren attacked someone. The person defended themselves, and from what I recall from what we saw with your shadow spell, that person probably killed Darren by accident,” Abigail said.

  “And then they must have panicked and fled the scene!” Monica said. “Abigail, you’re a genius.”

  “Darling, you say nothing I don’t already know,” Abigail said, sitting upright, clearly very proud of herself.

  Monica tapped her chin as she thought. “I need to look at this whole case differently,” she said. “Instead or thinking about who would want to hurt Darren, I need to figure out who Darren would want to hurt, right?”

  “Exactly,” Abigail said. “And that’s not going to be the man who just a couple of days ago gave him his blessing to marry his daughter.”

  “Ugh!” Monica grunted. “I can’t explain to Brian how I came to that conclusion, can I?”

  “No, I don’t think it’s okay to tell him you cast magic shadows,” Abigail said, shaking her head.

  “I’m going to have to figure this out on my own,” Monica said, sighing.

  The door to the breakroom opened, and Brian sulked on his way in. “Gerald is leaving,” Brian said. “He’s a little mad that we’re keeping his pocket-watch as evidence right now, but I told him he’d get it back once this investigation is over…if we solve it, that is.” He sat down next to Monica, looking a bit upset. “I really thought we had it in the bag.”

  “Me too,” Monica said. “Maybe we should look at this case from a new angle?”

  “I’m not sure what angle that would be,” Brian grunted. “But I suppose we�
�ll figure it out.”

  “I’m confident that we will,” Monica said. He really did look down, and she felt bad for bringing the pocket-watch to him at all and getting his hopes up. She decided he needed a pick-me-up. She nudged him slightly. “So, listen… I know you were not really acting like yourself when you asked me out on a date…but I was wondering if maybe you were still interested?”

  He smiled ear-to-ear. “You seriously still want to go on a date with me after the way I acted?”

  “If you were serious,” Monica said. “And so long as you don’t take me to get burgers. I don’t think I can handle watching you eat another hamburger after the Mega Burger Challenge.”

  Brian cringed. “Please, let’s never speak of that again. And, honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to eat meat without getting sick again for a while.”

  Monica laughed. “Okay, perfect,” she said.

  “I’m really glad you still want to go out,” he said. “How about tonight? You busy tonight?”

  “No, tonight sounds just perfect,” Monica said.

  “I can pick you up around six?” he asked.

  “Yes!” she said. “Do you know where my aunt’s cottage is?”

  “Yes, actually. Is that where you’re staying?” he asked.

  “That’s the place,” she said, standing up and opening her satchel for Abigail to hop into. “I’ll see you tonight at six! I’m looking forward to it. Just…no burgers.”

  Brian nodded and laughed in embarrassment. “Agreed. No burgers.”

  13

  “You really don’t want to come?” Monica asked Abigail after she had finished getting ready for her date with Brian.

  Abigail curled up on Monica’s pillow. “No. And mortals don’t usually bring their pet cats out on dates. You really have to get used to the behavior of mortals if you’re ever going to blend in around here, Monica.”

  Monica sighed, crossing her arms. “I suppose you’re right.” She looked at herself in the standing mirror in the corner of her room.

  “Looking good, Monica!” the mirror said.

  “Thanks, Laura,” Monica responded as a woman’s face appeared in the mirror and winked at her before once again showing her how she looked. She had picked out a purple and black dress that went down to her knees and frilled a bit at the bottom. She had her strawberry blonde hair hanging in slight curls, and she felt confident in her choice of attire.

  Then, right on time, she heard the doorbell ring. “Ooh! That must be Brian!” she cried excitedly, snatching her purse off her bed. “Bye, guys!”

  “Have fun, Monica!” Laura, the magic mirror, called.

  Monica ran and answered the door, smiling brightly to see Brian standing at her doorstep. “Whoa,” he said. “You look amazing.”

  Monica blushed. “Thanks. You ready?” she asked.

  “Of course,” he said, offering her his arm. They headed outside to where his personal vehicle was parked in the small drive. “I always liked this little cottage,” he said. “Your aunt invited me over for tea once.”

  “How sweet,” Monica said. “Aunt Wilma loves her tea. So, where are we going?”

  “There’s this pub on Main Street that I think you’ll like,” Brian said. “They do live music just about every night there.”

  “I love music!” she exclaimed happily. She smiled when he opened the car door for her. They laughed and chatted casually as they headed to town, nabbing themselves a good parking spot just in front of the pub.

  They entered, and Monica giggled to herself as just about every person they walked past greeted Brian in some fashion. “You sure are popular,” she said.

  “It’s a small town,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody. Must be really different from Chicago.”

  They took their seats. “Um… Yes…” she said. She had been reading up a bit on Chicago, but she certainly wasn’t going to count herself an expert. Monica glanced toward the small stage in the corner and smiled. “Hey, that’s Judd’s band!”

  Brian turned his head. “Oh, I didn’t know they played here.”

  Soon they were ordering food—anything but burgers, of course—and they spent a good bit of their evening dancing with the small crowd brave enough to venture in front of the band and sway. When their food arrived, the two settled down and soon found themselves deep in conversation. “So, tell me about growing up with a twin sister,” Brian said. “That must have been fun. Did people confuse you two for each other a lot?”

  “Not really. Mona’s hair is jet black, so it was always pretty easy to tell us apart,” Monica explained.

  “Really?” he asked. “Your Aunt Wilma told me you two were identical twins.”

  “We are,” she said. “Don’t ask me why, but for some reason, I wound up blonde and she’s got hair darker than the night sky during a new moon.”

  “You two a lot alike?” Brian asked.

  “I wish,” Monica said. “Honestly, we couldn’t be more different. Mona is a sort of homebody.”

  “And you’re the type of woman who took the first opportunity she got to travel across the US to come work in a small town you’ve never been to before?” Brian asked.

  “Exactly,” Monica said. “Plus, Mona was always…” she sighed. “Good at everything.”

  “Am I sensing a little bit of sibling rivalry?” he asked.

  “I wouldn’t call it that. Not much of a rivalry when it’s obvious to everyone around you who’s the gifted child and who’s not. Everything just comes naturally to Mona. I have to work really hard to accomplish things she could do in her sleep,” Monica explained. “It was always kind of a bummer. She wasn’t a gloater or anything like that, but it was still pretty obvious who was the child prodigy. I was the goofy sister who took forever to learn how to fly a…ride a…bike.”

  He stared at her for a moment. “You can ride a bike, right?”

  Monica’s face turned a bright red. “Um…”

  “Oh my gosh, you can’t ride a bike, can you?” he asked.

  “Okay, moving on,” she said, waving him off. “That’s all I’m trying to say. I just have always had to try so much harder than her just to get to her level. And that’s with pretty much everything.”

  “I kind of know how you feel,” Brian said. “I mean, I’m an only child, so it’s a little different. But I became a cop like my dad. I feel like people are always comparing me to him. Your aunt was always really nice about it, always reminding me not to compare myself to him.”

  “How did you and my aunt get to know each other so well?” Monica asked.

  “Mostly from always coming into the bookstore to get coffee,” Brian said. “Chief Tollr told me the coffee was really good there, and I went in one day to try it out. I instantly became addicted. Wilma and I weren’t best friends or anything like that, but we definitely enjoyed speaking to each other on occasion. And like I said, I did visit her for tea once. She’s a fun lady. I hate that she left.”

  “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be around some for a visit,” Monica said. “She’ll probably come check in on the shop sooner or later.”

  The music stopped, and they heard Judd announce that he and the band would be taking a brief intermission. The crowd clapped and cheered for them. “They’re very good, aren’t they?” Brian said. “I’m glad they were here. Definitely one of the better local bands we’ve got around here.”

  “Yo! Officer Brian!” the drummer of the band called, and the man came waddling over. Monica could tell that the drummer had had a little bit to drink. He smiled down at Monica and tipped his beanie to her like it was a gentleman’s cap. “What’s up, pretty lady? Nice, Brian. Cute date you got here.”

  Brian shook his head. “Hey, Tommy. I do hope you have a ride home tonight?”

  “Of course,” he promised Brian. “You know me. I stick to the rules.”

  “Sure you do,” Brian said with a laugh. “I didn’t realize you guys played here.”

  Tommy shrugged. “Yeah, this is our
first time. The owner was at the Founder’s Day celebration by the falls, and he loved some of the originals we were playing and invited us to come out. Darren was ticked, though. Hey, you ever find out what happened to Darren, man? I hate it for him. I do. He was a good dude.”

  “What do you mean Darren was ticked?” Brian asked.

  “Well, he used to be in the band, you know. He sounded like a dying cat up there singing, though. We gave him the boot a while back. Judd thought it would be a good idea to play some originals Darren had written when he was in the band,” Tommy explained. “Darren got all mad when he heard one of his songs, though.”

  “But…didn’t Judd buy those songs from Darren?” Monica asked.

  Tommy shrugged. “I don’t think so. Maybe. I don’t know.” Tommy turned his head around toward the bar. “Yo, Judd! Order me another shot!” Tommy gave Brian a friendly punch in the arm. “Catch you around, Brian.” And with that, the man waddled off.

  Brian looked at Monica with a concerned expression.

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Monica asked.

  “That we were looking at this thing wrong,” Brian said. “That Darren wasn’t just the victim. He was the aggressor.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Monica said. “Darren went after Judd for stealing his music!”

  “And then Judd defended himself,” Brian said. “Wound up knocking Darren over, and he bled out in the water and drowned.”

  Monica nodded in agreement. “Looks like you just solved the case, Officer Brian.”

  “We did,” Brian said, slowly getting up from his seat. “I hate to cut our date short, but it looks like I need to go speak to Judd.”

  “Looks that way,” Monica said approvingly.

  Monica felt quite satisfied. She had thought she was going to have to find a way to convince Brian that Darren had started a fight, but thanks to Tommy’s drunken rambling, Brian had figured it out on his own. He was a good cop, Monica decided.