Angela bolted to her feet. “I have to take my children away from here.”
“I want to stay.” Dakota crossed his arms. “Life is always interesting around Aunt Stormi.”
“There may be no more life if we stay.” Angela put her face inches from her son’s. “Go. Pack. Your. Things.”
“We’ve helped her before.” Dakota rarely talked back to his mother, but I could see a full argument brewing.
I glanced at Matt for help. “Do something.”
“I agree with your mother.” Matt clapped a hand on Dakota’s shoulder. “You should go to the cabin.”
“The cabin.” Cherokee huffed in the way only a teenage girl can. “There is no wifi or cell reception up there. My friends will forget about me.”
“I cannot believe that you consider your friends more important than the lives of your family.” Tears welled in Angela’s eyes. “This is all my fault. Mine and that stupid cream.” She raced from the room, returning minutes later with a case of product. “This is going out to the garbage the minute those reporters leave.”
“It isn’t the product’s fault,” Mom said. “It’s mine. I thought you gave all of that to the police.”
“I kept one in my room, just in case.” Her look dared us to argue.
The only one not taking blame was me. I should have told Norma I wouldn’t help her. It was my fault. Once again, I’d jumped in without thinking fully and endangered everyone I love. I would make it right. I’d faced a gun before, I would do it again if it kept my family safe. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”
“This is the craziest family I’ve ever met.” Matt shook his head. “It’s a chain of unfortunate events that got you here.”
“If I hadn’t starting asking questions—”
He held up his hand. “Stop. Just stop. You cannot be someone you aren’t. You have an avid curiosity. Someone murdered Daisy, most likely a competitor, her john … Who knows right now. My concern at this moment is to keep all of you safe.”
“I’m not leaving,” Dakota said.
“Me either,”Cherokee said.
“I’m the mother and what I say goes.” Angela grabbed her daughter’s arm. “Go pack.”
“No, Mom. Running won’t do anything. Tell her Matt. If these people want us that badly, they will find us no matter where we go.” She yanked free. “I watch TV. I know this.”
“This isn’t television,” Matt said. “Your mother is right.”
“I’ll go.” I stood. “If I leave, you’ll be safe. I’ll buy a portable wifi and head to the cabin.” Tears clogged my throat as I glanced at the faces of everyone I loved. “I’ll go today to buy a four-wheel drive and leave before dark.” I marched from the kitchen to my room and closed the door, leaning against the raised panels.
I’d worked so hard to acquire this house. All my life I’d wanted a Victorian beauty to call my own. I moved to the arched window seat and parted the curtains. The reporters had left. I sighed and pulled my suitcase from the closet.
Would this be the last time I stepped into my customized walk-in closet? The last time I would run my fingers along the cool surface of the old-fashioned claw-footed tub?
A knock sounded on my door. “Come in.” I pulled open my dresser drawers and grabbed jeans and sweatshirts.
“I’ll take you to buy your car.” Matt gave me a lopsided grin. “I’m going to ask Greta to stay with you at the cabin.” He held up a hand as I started to protest and say that my mother needed her. “It was your mother’s idea. A former police woman will be an asset to you. I’ll come up there as often as I can get away.”
I nodded, letting the tears escape. “Watch out for my family, Matt.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “As if they were my own.”
My mind was already trying to find ways to help solve the case so I could come home, if I weren’t killed. The sooner we found out who killed Daisy and threatened me, the sooner life could go back to normal.
Matt tilted my face to his. “Ready to buy that car?”
I nodded.
He lowered his head and kissed me, making me forget all my troubles for a few minutes. When he pulled back, I felt more alone than ever before.
“I’ll need groceries.” We kept the propane tank full but food would only attract critters. Since Dad’s death, we barely used the cabin except for the occasional summer vacation from the heat.
Four hours later, I was behind the wheel of a brand new baby blue jeep, Greta in the passenger’s seat, Sadie sitting behind me, and the back of the jeep packed to the roof with supplies. In my purse was my pink Glock and a Tazer. I was as ready as I would ever be.
The question was … was I ready enough?
8
After Greta and I unloaded the jeep, I took a cup of coffee onto the cabin’s porch, Sadie at my feet, and watched the tree branches move overhead as the wind blew through them. There had been little talking during the unloading. I figured Greta’s mind must be as full as mine with what could transpire.
She joined me outside, sitting in the rocker next to the porch swing where I reclined. “Now what?”
“I write on my next book and wait for things to blow over.” I sipped my drink. “You shouldn’t have come. Your law enforcement days are long over.”
She shrugged. “It’s good to be in on the action again, even if only as a bodyguard.”
I smiled, thinking of the plump late fifties woman as a bodyguard. “I appreciate the company, but you’ll be bored.”
“I doubt it.” She speared me with a glance. “I don’t believe for a minute that you intend to sit back and do nothing.”
I smiled behind my mug. “I’m working on a plan. Know of any good disguises?”
“I knew it!” She leaned forward. “Now, things are going to get interesting. It almost killed Ann to have to stay behind. I think she knows her daughter very well.”
Unfortunately, she does. I prayed Mom wouldn’t decide to take a trip to the cabin. She knew little or nothing about subterfuge. She would lead the bad guys right to me.
“What are you thinking?” Greta scooted her chair closer.
“My original plan was to befriend the gang members. I guess that’s out now.” I pushed my toes against the wood floor of the porch and set the swing into motion, trying not to pay attention to how cold it was in the mountains. “But, I do want to find out who is responsible for Daisy’s death and for the body in my car. In order to do that, I need to ask questions, thus the need for a disguise.”
“I have the perfect disguise. We need to head to my place to pick up my van and then to the medical supply store, the thrift store, and then to the costume store.” She studied me for a moment. “Wear a hat. That red hair sticks out like a pumpkin in a field of snow.”
I dashed inside to grab a beanie, then stuffed my hair under it. Not bad. I looked like a teenager. I sagged my jeans and grabbed my largest sweatshirt. “I’m ready, Grandma.”
Greta grinned. “That should work just fine for the trip into town.”
The prospect of the trip into town pushed aside how much I would miss my family while away. Even with my current disguise, I had no plans of contacting them or Norma. The less they saw or heard of me, the safer they would be.
After locking Sadie in the cabin, Greta and I got back into the jeep and made the hour drive into town. I parked in front of a strip mall that had seen better days. Cutting the engine, I followed Greta into a medical supply store where she rented a wheelchair. Still unclear as to what her plan was, I followed, without asking a lot of questions, to the thrift store next door.
“Find something to make you look old and frail.” Greta headed to a display of wigs.
Did she expect me to wear someone else’s hair? Eew!
I flipped through the racks of second hand clothes, settling on a house dress that resembled something my grandmother might have worn. I then grabbed a pack of knee high socks and sensible brown shoes. I’d never worn hand-me-downs befo
re and hoped there would be a chance to wash the clothes before wearing them.
“Stop being a snob,” Greta hissed. “I can tell from the prim look on your face how disgusted you are.”
“I’m not!”
She gave me the same look Mom used to give me when I argued with her as a child. “We’ll throw them in the wash when we pick up my van.”
Relieved, I followed her to the cashier, when Greta tossed a short gray wig on top of the things I had chosen. I whipped out my debit card and paid a whopping ten dollars for the whole lot.
We threw the bag into the van and headed across the street to a costume store where Greta purchased a nurse’s outfit. Her plan was clicking into place in my head. It might actually work. Who would bother an old lady and her nurse?
“Who are we going to ask questions of?” While I knew we needed to, I had no idea who would be the best to spend time on.
“First, Norma is going to meet us at that restaurant where old people go. Then, we’re going to find out who Daisy’s friends were, and go from there.” Greta opened the passenger door to the jeep. “You’ll have to leave this in my garage for a few days.”
“Will your van make it up the mountain?”
“Good point. We’ll have to drive separately. Where can we leave the van?”
“There’s a Wal-Mart on the edge of town. They allow overnight parking.”
Greta nodded and instructed me on the way to her house. I pulled in front of a one-story bungalow with white siding and forest-green shutters. A well-manicured lawn spread from the porch to the street. A cute place that showed pride of ownership. I definitely needed to hire a new gardener.
I followed Greta into a home that smelled of vanilla and lemon. No mess covered the counters, the coffee table was polished to a high sheen, and although the furniture wasn’t new, the slipcovers gave a welcoming, homey vibe. I loved it.
“The laundry is off the kitchen. Toss those things in the wash and I’ll pour us some tea,” Greta said, shrugging off her coat. “We need to make a plan.”
By the time I had my thrift store purchases in the wash, Greta had tea poured, cookies on a plate, and a pad of paper and a pencil in front of her. “Now, yes, I used to be a police officer, but I sat behind the desk for fifteen of those twenty years. You probably know as much as I do how to go about questioning people and finding this killer. First, who are our suspects?”
I tossed my beanie on the table and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the plate. “Local gang members.”
“We need to be more specific. Who was at your sister’s facial cream thingamagig?”
I gave her the names of the women present. “Sorry, but I don’t have last names.”
She tapped the pencil against her teeth. “I might have an idea how we can get that, but it will require a trip to the printing shop. Anyone else?”
“Jamal, Norma’s neighbor and his mother Shaunda Brown.” I didn’t really think Shaunda was a suspect, but I’ve learned you can’t leave anyone off the list.
“That boy has a rap sheet as long as my arm. Assault is at the top of the list, but I can’t figure out how he could have gotten his hands on poison ivy this time of year. We need someone interested in botany.”
I laughed. “I doubt any of Angela’s guests have such a hobby, but how would we find out.”
“We get their last names, and I can get their addresses. Don’t worry about that. Then, we pay each of them a visit, while they’re out working of course.”
My eyes widened. “You’re willing to break the law?”
“Who said anything about doing anything illegal?” She pasted an innocent look on her face.
“Right.” I almost rubbed my hands together. Finally, I had someone with a bit of knowledge in how things in the crime world worked to help me solve a murder.
The washing machine stopped and I went to transfer the clothes to the dryer. I glanced out the back window at a serene view of the mountain. Why would Greta want to risk all this just to help me?
I moved back to my seat. “Why are you helping me?”
“I’m a bored old woman. While I enjoy working in your mother’s shop, it doesn’t allow much exercising of my gray matter.”
“Whatever plan we come up with will make Matt angrier than a hornet locked out of its nest.” I drained the last of my tea. I could speak in cute Southern phrases along with Greta.
“He doesn’t scare me. I’ve known him his whole life.” Greta placed our glasses in the dishwasher. “He’ll spit and sputter, but he’ll be grateful for any news we have that takes him a step closer to catching a killer.”
Yes, after he lectured me for an hour, then made me feel guilty for worrying him … again.
The dryer buzzed and I hurried to collect our clothes. With my arms full, I rushed back to the kitchen. “Let’s drop your van off and head back up the mountain. The more time we spent in town, the higher chance there is someone might see us.”
“Smart thinking.” Greta followed me outside, locking her door behind us. She yelled out a hello to a neighbor woman across the street. “Nosy old bag,” she said with a smile. “Knows everything about everybody.”
It wasn’t until I backed out of the driveway, tossing a wave in the old woman’s direction, that I realized I had forgotten to put my beanie back on. Hopefully, no one would think that I could possibly have been at Greta’s house. Few young people in Oak Meadows knew about Greta being a former police officer, and even fewer would think that we would be buddies out on a shopping spree or afternoon visit.
We dropped off the van and Greta climbed into the jeep. She eyed my bare head and shook hers. “We’ve got to be better about disguising you.”
“I could dye it.” Please say it wasn’t necessary. I loved my red hair.
“No, a wig or hat should do just fine.” She buckled her seat belt.
I drove back to the cabin as a light rain began to fall. A fire in the fireplace sounded like a good idea.
I stopped in front of the cabin and stared through the window at Matt, who frowned from the driver’s seat of his car. Why hadn’t he called me? He climbed out and met us on the porch.
“The point of the cabin,” he said. “Is for the two of you to stay here where it’s safe.”
“Don’t fret.” Greta patted him on the shoulder. “We headed to my place to pick up a few things.”
He chewed the inside of his lip. “Next time, call me and I’ll get you anything you need. I’m counting on you to keep an eye on Stormi.”
“I’m right here,” I sang out as I unlocked the door. “You can talk to me.”
“I am keeping a very close eye on our girl. Don’t worry.” Greta smiled, tossed me a wink, and bustled into the cabin ahead of me and Matt. “Since you’re here, you might as well stay for supper.”
Matt slung his arm around my shoulder. “Sounds good.” He put his mouth next to ear, his breath tickling the short hairs at the nape of my neck. “Your cats miss you. So do I.”
I giggled. “I haven’t even been gone a full day.”
“Almost. The sun is sitting low on the horizon.” He straightened and glanced around the cabin. “I bet it gets really dark out here.”
“Very much.”
“We need to install motion detection lights and better locks on the doors. Maybe a security system.” He paced the living room, even going as far as to peer up the chimney. Who did he expect? Santa Claus? “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”
Great. Every deer that strolled across the lawn would light the place up like Fort Knox. Plus, Matt knew how bad I was at setting my house alarm. He’d know the first time Greta and I headed into town.
Our plan was in danger of failing before it got started.
9
Matt made a few phone calls and had a crew of technicians to the cabin within the hour. He seemed as pleased as if he had given me a great gift. I suppose he had. After all, he only wanted to protect me. Still, his chivalrous actions would make it dif
ficult for Greta and I to do some snooping.
Greta watched the proceedings with a secretive smile on her face as she set bowls of canned stew on the table. “Come and eat.”
Once we sat at a small wooden table, I felt comfortable enough to ask Matt some questions. I was glad to see him and didn’t want him to think gleaning him for information was the only reason for my pleasure. “Any identification on the body in my car?”
“I can’t give you his name, yet, but it is a gang member. The young man was shot in the head and then deposited in your car.” He gave me a shrewd look. “It’s a warning.”
“Why not just send me a note?” I set my spoon beside my bowl. Someone didn’t have to die for me to get the message. Appetite gone, I reached for my can of diet soda. “Anything else cleared up?”
He shook his head. “We need to infiltrate the gang in order to move this case along, and I don’t see that happening.”
I tried not to look at Greta. Matt was a perceptive man and would know from a glance that we had something planned.
From the sound of her spoon clinking against her bowl, she was focused on her simple meal. I set my supper on the floor for Sadie. The chances of the gang finding out about the family cabin were slim. After all, I had no gang dealings. They didn’t know me or my family. The closest I came to knowing them was giving them a pizza. Surely, that wouldn’t put me in their cross-hairs. So why were they focused on me?
“Any idea how the poison ivy got into Angela’s face cream?” I picked up the empty bowl. Sadie had inhaled the stew.
“No. Someone must be growing the stuff, but why? It isn’t ornamental or useful in any way.” Matt pushed his own empty bowl to the side. “We’re looking for a horticulturist.”
I doubted any of the prostitutes had time for such pursuits, but wouldn’t discount the idea completely. We had the pieces of the puzzle, they just weren’t fitting together. The past year had shown I was good at puzzles. We’d figure it out; hopefully, sooner rather than later.
Nosy Neighbor: All 7 complete Nosy Neighbor cozy mysteries PLUS: 2 short Christmas stories (A Nosy Neighbor mystery) Page 36