Croaked Wheat (The Early Bird Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 4)

by Ginny Gold

  Did she want to risk breaking and entering? Not really, but this was her best friend’s life she was playing with. It wasn’t like she really had a choice.

  To minimize the huge risk she was about to take, Kori drove back out to the road and parked a couple driveways down, pulled just off to the side of the road. Would Karin remember her car if she drove by? Kori hoped not.

  Then she ran back up Karin’s driveway and for good measure knocked again. Still no answer.

  Kori tried the front door, which unsurprisingly was unlocked. Being this far out of town and with no visibility to neighbors, what did she have to worry about?

  Or maybe Kori was thinking about it all wrong. Maybe since the neighbors weren’t visible, she should have been considering the fact that Karin’s house was also not visible. If Kori ran into trouble, she was completely on her own.

  She pushed that thought out of her mind as she pushed open the front door. She didn’t particularly care about her own safety right now. She was only worried about Nora’s.

  Once inside, Kori slowed down. Last time she’d been here, she’d had one mission: find out if Karin was Marty’s killer. Now her mission had changed and she started taking in her surroundings.

  Karin’s house was old. Every step Kori took would probably send boards squeaking and squealing, giving away her location if Karin was indeed inside with Nora somewhere. But she’d already knocked, so it wasn’t like she was approaching stealthily.

  Kori walked through the entryway into the kitchen that they’d passed through last time to get to the living room. Instead of going quickly from room to room, Kori paused and looked around.

  What she noticed scared her nearly to death. In almost every corner, and tucked away on every tall piece of furniture or appliance, was some kind of gun or rifle.

  This woman is crazy, Kori thought to herself. Or she was an avid hunter. But either way, Kori didn’t really want to come face to face with her on her turf.

  Just as quickly as the thought passed through her mind, Kori heard a car drive into the driveway and she looked out a kitchen window to see Karin step out of the driver seat of a car. She tried to read Karin’s body language to see if she was in a hurry or worried about hiding anything—or anyone. But she seemed completely relaxed.

  Kori wasn’t relaxed. She left the front window and ran through the living room, searching for a back door to leave through. On her way she opened as many doors as she could without slowing down. She found a bathroom, a coat closet and a bedroom before she opened a door leading into a basement.

  Kori hesitated. She had a decision to make, and she had to make it fast. Did she go into the basement where Nora was potentially being held or did she find the back door and leave?

  Her mind returned to the image of the guns stashed around the kitchen. Even if she hid in the basement with Nora, what did they have to defend themselves? A cell phone she might not even be able to use to call Zach for help?

  Kori decided that she had to leave. She opened one more door and flew onto the grass, staying close to the house so she wasn’t visible from inside. She crept along the edge of the house, peering in the few windows leading to the basement but saw no movement and no light.

  Around one corner, the woods had grown closer to the house than anywhere else. Kori made a dash for cover and crouched behind shrubs, watching Karin unload more grocery bags from her car.

  She looks too calm to be guilty, Kori thought to herself as she tried to slow her rapid breathing and painfully fast heart.

  She continued sitting just at the edge of the woods until Karin didn’t come outside again. Then she made her way back down the driveway, staying safely under the cover of bushes and shrubs, and got in her car.

  When her breathing and heart rate were finally under control—again—Kori decided she had to talk to Karin. If nothing else, she could at least read her body language up close to see if she might be hiding something. Or Nora.

  So she started her car and drove back up the driveway, parking behind Karin’s car. As calmly as she could, she walked back up to the front door and knocked. She knew Karin was home now so she waited patiently—or as patiently as she could knowing Nora might be in trouble inside—and then knocked again.

  This time, Karin came to the door and opened it but didn’t step aside to let Kori in. “Hi Mrs. Rivers. I’m Linda Smith. I was here the other day—”

  Karin interrupted her. “I remember you. But when I called about the life insurance yesterday and asked for Linda Smith or Julie Fellows, I was told that you don’t work there.”

  Shoot, Kori thought to herself. She didn’t have an excuse. “Well, yes. I—”

  “Don’t even try. I trusted you with personal information. I could have you arrested for fraud, you know that?”

  Kori nodded and looked at her feet. This wasn’t going how she’d hoped. She tried her best at connecting on a personal level rather than trying to salvage her lie. “I’m actually looking for Julie Fellows. Have you seen her?”

  Karin laughed in Kori’s face. “Hah. If that’s even her real name. No, I haven’t seen her since you two were last here. Good luck.”

  Karin slammed the door in Kori’s face. She decided that given the lie and impersonation of an insurance representative, she’d chalk this up to a win. She hadn’t been arrested—or shot at.

  As Kori hustled back to her car, a new question crossed her mind. Hadn’t Marty been shot? Kori wondered if it had been one of Karin’s guns that had killed him. Why wasn’t Zach telling her more? It would really make this a lot easier for her.

  Or better yet, why hadn’t he found the killer? Then Nora wouldn’t be missing, potentially kidnapped, and maybe even dead.

  That thought made Kori’s stomach twist into knots she wasn’t sure she’d get rid of until she found Nora. Hopefully alive.

  Positive. Stay positive, she told herself as she turned her car on and backed out of the driveway. She parked on the side of the road again, just far enough from Karin’s that she’d see her leave but not so close that Karin would notice her car. Unless she turned toward where Kori was parked and drove right by her.

  I have to get out of here. Kori headed back toward the center of Hermit Cove so she could collect her thoughts and come up with her next move.

  As Kori parked back at The Early Bird Café, her phone buzzed and her heart leapt at the thought that it could be Nora calling. She checked the screen and saw that it wasn’t Nora, but a reminder about something else she’d promised to do today—Jenna had texted.

  Kyle is leaving now. Red pickup heading toward café.

  At least Kori was in the right place at the right time this time. She quickly wrote back, On it, and then looked up just in time to see Kyle drive by. Kori started her car again and pulled out behind him.

  CHAPTER 16

  Kori followed Kyle through the familiar streets of Hermit Cove, keeping her distance. She thought she must be getting better at following people because it had been happening far too often lately.

  When Kyle turned onto a side street, Kori sped up to make sure she kept him in her sights and then turned after him.

  As she drove, she thought about Nora and where she could be. She picked up her phone to check for any missed calls or texts, but her phone was ominously empty. She tried Nora’s number again, just in case.

  Nothing. No ringing, no answer. Just straight to voicemail.

  Had someone turned her phone off so they couldn’t be tracked using GPS? Or had they even gone so far as to dump the phone so there was really no trace of Nora’s whereabouts. Kori felt her hands want to shake and she gripped the steering wheel tighter, keeping the tremors under control.

  Kori looked ahead and saw Kyle park on the side of the road. Kori drove past him before she let herself really take in their location, but once she had parked and turned around to watch him walk toward the house he was in front of, her mouth dropped.

  “No,” she said out loud to no one, not even Ibis.r />
  Kyle had parked in front of the old Victorian that housed Seeds ‘n More—and Ria’s house. Was he having an affair with Ria? Or was he involved in Marty’s death?

  Kori put her phone in her pocket, knowing she might need it to call Jenna. Or Zach, depending on how this went. Then she got out of her car and crossed the street so she wouldn’t be walking right in front of the house when she reached it. She wanted to remain somewhat anonymous, but with the sun still high in the sky, she needed as much distance as possible for that.

  As Kori approached the building, she noticed that Ria’s car wasn’t out front. She looked around for a garage but didn’t see one. Was she even home? And if not, what was Kyle doing there? Did he think Ria was a murderer and was looking for evidence?

  She didn’t let herself consider all of the possibilities and instead walked across the street toward the house to get a better view. Staying close to the walls, just like she’d done at Karin’s, she peeked in the few windows that were low enough for her. She wasn’t super tall and had to stand on her tiptoes to even reach the bottom of the first floor windows.

  People used to be tall, she thought to herself, also wondering how old this house was.

  Kori couldn’t see anything in the rooms she managed to look into, not even Kyle. She wondered, Where did he go?

  She decided to take her chances and knock on the door. She didn’t think Ria was home, and even if she was, they hadn’t met yet. And it couldn’t go worse than at Karin’s house and she’d lived through that.

  She walked up the steps to the giant front door and lifted the brass knocker. She couldn’t find a doorbell to press, so she waited.

  To her surprise, Kyle answered the door. He must have been just as surprised as she was because his eyes bugged out and he took a step backwards.

  “Kori? What are you doing here?” he asked when he’d recovered and stepped aside to let her come in.

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to enter the house but she did so out of politeness. “I could ask you the same thing,” she said, but wasn’t really sure she could. She supposed he had a right to be here, but then, so did she.

  He cocked his head to the side like he was thinking the same thing. “I . . . work here?” he hesitantly asked.

  Kori exaggeratedly nodded her head. “Oh. Well, then I guess you should be here then.”

  “Uh huh. But what are you doing here? Did Jenna send you?” He crossed his arms over his chest like he was trying to physically hold himself together.

  Kori didn’t want to tell him the truth and get him into marital trouble, but if he was asking then he must have already suspected. Instead she asked, “You work here? You left the auto body?”

  Kyle shook his head and dropped his hands to his sides in defeat. “No, I didn’t leave. I took a second job. I was just worried about Jenna having to take time off when she has the baby and I wanted to be able to cover all of our expenses.”

  Kori nodded.

  “She thought I was cheating, didn’t she?” he asked her, making eye contact.

  Now she definitely couldn’t lie. A direct question deserved an honest answer. “Yes.”

  “When did she come to you?”

  “This morning,” Kori said gently. “Why didn’t you tell her?”

  “I didn’t want her to worry about money. And I knew she wouldn’t want me to take a second job. But they offered me really flexible hours here just to manage their books. But it’s been a bigger job than I’d expected so I’ve been working a lot of late nights.”

  Kori paused before asking, “Why is it a bigger job than you thought?”

  A look of fear flashed across Kyle’s eyes. He looked around before answering and then shook his head. “They were just careless before, I guess.”

  Kori wasn’t positive but she thought he was lying. If Seeds ‘n More had funny financials, and Marty had known about it, then that could have been reason enough for someone to take him out. But was it Peter or Ria?

  “I’ve gotta go,” Kori suddenly said. “Will you . . . um, actually do me a favor?”

  “Sure. Anything.”

  “Would you come outside and call Jenna with me so she doesn’t worry?” Kori asked. She needed to get him out of this house so she could ask him the truth about what he’d found in the financial records of Seeds ‘n More. But she worried that there was video surveillance and she didn’t want to get him into trouble by telling her anything he shouldn’t. Or get someone on her trail.

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  Kori led the way back outside and went as far as to walk across the street before opening her phone and calling Jenna. She wanted to put her friend’s mind at ease before she jumped into what else was going on.

  “Kori? Did you find anything?” Jenna asked after only half a ring.

  “Hi Jenna. I have Kyle here with me. I think he can tell you everything to clear things up,” Kori replied and handed the phone to Kyle before Jenna could protest.

  “Honey,” he started, then paused. “Baby. I got another job. I’ve been working evenings to make sure everything will be okay once the baby arrives.”

  Kori was close enough to hear an audible sigh of relief on the other end of the line, followed by laughter and apologies.

  Finally, to Kori’s relief, Kyle said, “I’ve gotta go. But I’ll be home later and make all this up to you.”

  Kyle handed the phone back to Kori and she jumped right into what she needed to ask. “What else did you find in the books besides bad record keeping?”

  Kyle looked up and down the street and Kori followed his gaze. No one was lurking, there were no cars driving and she didn’t see anyone sitting in a parked car. The only person she saw was mowing his lawn at least a dozen homes away. There was no way he’d be able to hear anything Kyle told her.

  Kyle got closer to Kori and said quietly, “It wasn’t bad record keeping. Someone was cooking the books.”

  Kori gasped. She’d been worried that was the case and now she needed even more desperately to find Nora. “I need some more help. Come with me,” she said and started pulling him toward her car. If she was going to look for Nora, she wasn’t going to go alone and maybe she could use Kyle’s connections to create a more reliable story than the one she’d told Karin.

  CHAPTER 17

  “What’s going on?” Kyle asked Kori as she turned the key in her Subaru’s ignition and the car came to life. “I really should go home and talk to Jenna about all of this sneaking around.”

  “Jenna will be fine but I don’t know if the same will be true for Nora. You need to help me find her,” Kori explained vaguely as she pulled out onto the street.

  Kyle looked at her with fear in his eyes. “What?”

  “You know about Marty Rivers?” she asked and he nodded. “He turned up dead on Wednesday in Nora’s grain delivery. Now she’s missing and I think I might know where she is.”

  “How do I fit into this?” he asked.

  Kori went on to explain about her visits to Karin Rivers, Joline Richards and what little she knew about Peter Jones and Ria Mayfield.

  “But shouldn’t we call the police?” Kyle asked.

  Kori smacked her forehead. “But there’s really no reason for me to know any of this.”

  “We could just have them show up at Peter’s house,” Kyle offered as Kori continued to speed toward Chickadee Circle where she suspected Nora was being held captive. Captive for what, she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want to consider the alternative reality that she could already be dead for getting too close to the killer’s trail.

  “Okay, you can call him. Here,” Kori handed him her phone again, “use my phone. Zach’s personal number is in there. Call him and put it on speakerphone so I can talk to him.”

  Kyle did as instructed and Zach quickly picked up. “Hey Kori.”

  “Zach, I’m with Kyle Rhodes right now,” Kori blurted out by way of greeting.

  “Okay . . . I’m at the office working on the Marty R
ivers case with Lani,” he said slowly. Usually she put a little more effort into the small talk, but not when Nora’s life was on the line.

  “Nora’s been missing all afternoon and I think I might know where she is. Meet me at Peter Jones’ house on Chickadee Circle.”

  “On my way.”

  That was one thing about Zach that Kori loved—he at least took her investigating seriously enough to go to an address when she thought she might be on to something. Maybe he was about to put all the pieces together with who killed Marty and she’d just barely beat him to it.

  Either way, she was confident Ria was holding Nora at Peter’s house and she had to get there soon or she didn’t want to know what she might find.

  Kyle turned to look a Kori, his eyes squinty and questioning. “Do you . . . work for the police?”

  Kori laughed despite herself. “No. I’ve just been finding myself in some compromising situations that are better solved by civilians who don’t necessarily have to follow all the rules,” she said.

  With only one turn left until she was on Peter’s street, three police cars came screaming around the corner and cut her off, stopping behind Ria and Peter’s cars parked in his driveway.

  Kori really hoped she was right about where Nora was or she’d be at a complete loss. She didn’t think Joline had it in her to abduct someone. Never mind that she didn’t exactly have the body to be able to do it.

  Kori parked in front of all the police cars, their lights still flashing, and she got out at a run. Kyle didn’t seem like he quite knew what to do so he stayed in the car.

  Kori surveyed the house as she approached it, always scanning for Zach. He found her before she spotted him and he had her in an embrace, but not the sexy kind. “Sorry, but you can’t go in there,” he whispered in her ear. She wished it hadn’t had the effect on her that he was probably going for. Now she was completely thrown off her game and he knew it.

  “But Nora’s in there. I know it,” she said, almost whining. She mentally kicked herself for that terrible voice.