Debut Cozy Mystery Box Set 2

by Dianne Harman

  Bernard followed Marlene to the door. “Yes, Marlene, I agree. I will do whatever it takes to make things right with Lisa.”

  “Thank you, my darling.” Marlene nodded at Bernard. “I think that would be wise.”

  A slow smile crossed Bernard’s face as he watched Marlene descend the staircase. Marlene was right, he needed once and for all to get Lisa on his side. He recalled a conversation he’d had with his third ex-wife about the perfect way to commit a murder, and the seeds of an idea for a solution to the Lisa problem began to form in his mind. With Lisa Sanders out of the art scene, Undercover Art would be back in its rightful place as the foremost art gallery in Seattle. A smile slowly spread across his face as he considered the prospect that the Pioneer Art Gallery’s days were numbered.

  CHAPTER 5

  “You signed a two-year commercial lease? Have you gone insane?” Roz asked.

  DeeDee patiently listened while her sister shrieked on the other end of the line. It was exactly the reaction she was expecting from Roz. In fact, if she had reacted differently, DeeDee would have been surprised.

  “You’ve only been there for a few days, for goodness sake. So far, you’ve started a business, rented a commercial unit, and now you tell me you’re going to buy a dog? Next thing I know, you’ll be getting married.”

  DeeDee laughed.

  “You sound happy, Sis,” Roz said.

  “That’s because I am,” DeeDee replied, “and to celebrate, I’m going to go have some ice cream at this shop I keep hearing about. Talk to you later. Bye.”

  DeeDee pressed the end call button on her cell phone and headed out the door towards the ice cream parlor located across the street from the unit she’d just rented. It had a line out the door which seemed to her to mean good things must be happening inside. The nearby location provided a perfect opportunity for her to grab a quick tasty treat and to sample the local gourmet competition.

  She’d seen the sign for the rental units in the office park when she driven by on her way home from the supermarket. It was on the main route out of town on the way to her house, so she’d pulled in. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out it was a great location, well-maintained, and seemed to be quite new. Her commute would be short, and there was plenty of parking for customers and a staff, if and when she became successful enough to hire some workers. DeeDee also thought the other offices might be a good source of clients in the beginning, at least until she established a reputation.

  Once she’d made up her mind about her new business venture, DeeDee didn’t see any sense in waiting to rent it. She’d called the leasing agent from her car and arranged a meeting thirty minutes later. The landlord accepted a month’s rent in cash to reserve the unit while the lease was being finalized, and just two days later, here she was, having just signed on the dotted line.

  DaVinci’s ice cream parlor had a traditional-style red and white awning over the window, providing shade for the tables outside. There were more tables inside, and all of them were filled with customers. The freezer display was full of tubs with different flavors of ice cream and was as colorful as it was mouth-watering. There were at least thirty different flavors, and DeeDee was still undecided about which one to choose when it was her turn to be served.

  “What would you recommend?” DeeDee asked the elderly man behind the counter. “They all look delicious.”

  “Bella!” the man said in a thick Italian accent. He kissed his bunched-up fingers. “All gelato is bellissimo at DaVinci’s. You let Leo pick you something nice.” He started scooping a selection of different flavors of ice cream into a dish.

  DeeDee suppressed a giggle. The man gave her a warning look, so she thanked him and paid, taking a seat outside. When she’d finished, Leo came out, and pointed to her empty dish. “You like?”

  DeeDee beamed up at him. “Yes, it was excellent, thank you, Leo. This is a great place you have here. Is it always this busy?”

  Leo’s eyes narrowed, and he looked at DeeDee suspiciously. “Are you from the IRS?”

  With a straight face, DeeDee shook her head. “No, it’s just that I’m starting a new company here on Bainbridge, and if I could have a business as successful as yours, I’d be very happy.”

  Leo didn’t look pleased at all. “Like mine? You gonna make ice cream? No one makes ice cream like Leo!”

  “Oh, no, Leo.” DeeDee shook her head. “I’m DeeDee, and my business is Deelish Catering. I promise I could never make ice cream as good as yours.”

  Leo nodded, much happier now that his ice cream superiority had been established. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Deelish. All the local businesses support each other on Bainbridge. If you have a good business, you’ll do very well here. If you’re rubbish, well…pah.” Leo threw his hands up in the air. “You come and ask Leo if you need any help, okay, DeeDee?”

  “Thanks, Leo, I do have one question. Do you know where I might buy a dog around here?”

  Leo gave her that look again, the suspicious one.

  “I live by myself, so it’s to keep me company,” DeeDee said.

  “Ahh,” Leo nodded. “That’s a good idea. This must be your lucky day. I saw something in the newspaper today about dogs…I’ll be right back.” Leo cleared her empty dish and wiped the table next to hers with a rag before a young couple sat down. He disappeared inside the store muttering to himself, and returned moments later with a copy of the Bainbridge Island Review. Pulling out the chair next to DeeDee’s, he sat down and started flicking through the publication until he reached the crossword page.

  “Here you go,” Leo said, tapping the page. “Maybe you might want to give this guy a call.” The old man scraped his chair back and patted DeeDee’s hand. “See you soon, bella.”

  “Thanks, Leo.”

  DeeDee scanned the article that was next to the completed crossword puzzle. It told about a local man who had brought four husky dogs down from Alaska, because they hadn’t worked out as sled dogs. The article was accompanied by a picture of four young but full-grown huskies. It looked promising. She definitely wanted to follow up and go see the dogs.

  *****

  “May I speak with an advertising sales rep? I’d like to place an ad.”

  The Bainbridge Island Review newspaper offices were quieter than DeeDee had expected. The man at the reception counter peered into the room behind him and shook his head.

  “The advertising reps are all out, I’m afraid. They have their cub reporter hats on at the moment and are probably chasing stories about a cat being stranded in some tree,” the man said as he smiled at DeeDee. “Or, maybe they’re just at lunch. We have a pretty small staff. Can I help instead? I’m the editor and chief tea-maker, otherwise known as Hugh Lynn.”

  “Sure,” DeeDee said, laughing. “That would be great. Are you…?”

  Hugh nodded. “I’m Tammy’s husband. Do you know her?”

  “Not really,” DeeDee replied. “We met on the ferry. I’ve been hoping to run into her again. I’m DeeDee.”

  “Oh, she mentioned you. You’re The Girl on the Ferry.” Hugh smiled again. “Welcome to Bainbridge, DeeDee. How do you like living here so far?”

  “It’s wonderful, but I’m really just starting out. Everything is new to me. I wonder if it would it be possible to run an ad for my business as soon as next week, Hugh? It’s a catering business called Deelish, and I’d like to launch it as soon as possible.”

  DeeDee knew that the unit she’d rented couldn’t be fitted out with the kitchen equipment in a week, but she wanted to start taking advance bookings as soon as possible. She had a meeting with the kitchen contractor the following day, and she’d have to find out when they thought they would have it ready. In the meantime, some visibility in the local press might get people talking about Deelish.

  “Of course,” Hugh said, writing down the details. “You know,” he went on, “there’s a Chamber of Commerce meeting next Monday evening at seven. It would probably be a good idea for you to meet membe
rs of the local business community. It’s good for networking, and it’s social too. It’s held at the Town Hall. Maybe I’ll see you there?”

  “Thanks Hugh, I’m sure I can make it,” DeeDee said as she paid for the ad. “Oh, and where can I find Tammy?”

  Hugh reached under the counter and pulled out a tourist map of the town. “I should moonlight as a tour guide,” he said laughing. “We’re here.” Hugh marked a dot on the page, “and Tammy’s coffee shop is here.” He drew an X a couple of streets away. “It’s not far.”

  “Thanks, Hugh.” DeeDee turned to leave and then retraced her steps. “Oh, I almost forgot. Is there a print shop on the island? I need to order business cards.”

  “Yep, it’s by the library. Ask for Raff.”

  DeeDee left the newspaper office, feeling very good about her progress. All of the pieces for her new undertaking were coming together. She had one more call to make, then she’d call it quits for the day.

  When she got back to her SUV, she took the newspaper off of the passenger seat and opened it. She wanted to find out more about the husky dogs, and she was afraid if she didn’t call now, they’d all be taken. She knew she probably wasn’t the only one who had seen the article about them.

  DeeDee tapped the phone number listed in the article on her cell phone and pressed send. “This is Jake Rogers,” a man said, answering it after a couple of rings.

  “Hi, Jake. My name is DeeDee Wilson. I’m calling about the husky dogs that were in the article in the paper. Do you still have them? I’d love to come by and take a look.”

  “Sure. I’ve had a lot of calls, but they’re still here.”

  “Could I come by tomorrow, around four in the afternoon?”

  Jake said that would work for him, and DeeDee wrote down the address he gave her. Tomorrow was shaping up to be another busy day.

  CHAPTER 6

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is some kind of a joke, right?” Katie Harris, a thick-set woman who’d recently turned forty, said as she glared at Doug Walters, the head of Human Resources Department for the Seattle Art Museum.

  “I’m sorry, Katie, but our financial gifts are down substantially this year, and although I think you’ve done an excellent job as Marlene’s assistant in the New Acquisitions department, I’m going to have to let you go.”

  Doug rearranged the papers on his desk as he tried unsuccessfully to avoid eye contact with Katie Harris. “You’re not alone, Katie, there are several others who are also being terminated. You’ll receive two weeks’ pay, and of course, a letter of recommendation from the museum.” He gave Katie the fake smile he reserved for such meetings.

  “After all I’ve done for this place, you’re telling me that ten years of hard work means nothing? Wait till Marlene hears about this. She’d never allow this to happen. She’s been talking about me taking over for her when she retires, so how is this even possible?”

  Doug looked bored. Katie’s reaction was fairly standard for employees who had just been given notice that they were being terminated. In fact, if anything, so far Katie’s response was pretty tame compared to some of the others he’d had to deal with.

  “Marlene is aware of the situation, Katie. We always tell the department head before we terminate one of their employees. She said she was very sorry.”

  Katie’s nostrils flared as she shook her finger at Doug. “I can’t believe that’s true. I’m going to sue you and the museum for wrongful termination. Marlene told me at my last review that if I kept up the good work she’d recommend me for a promotion when the time came.”

  Doug rose from his seat. “That may have been true in the past, Katie, but not now. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. A guard is waiting to take you to your office to clean out your desk. When you’re finished, he’ll escort you out of the building. You can give me your keys Katie, since you won’t be needing them anymore.” Doug held his hand out toward Katie.

  Katie took her keys out of her pocket and angrily slammed them into Doug’s hand, where they landed with a thump. Doug winced, and Katie hoped it had hurt him. She’d always despised Doug Walters, and now there was no longer any reason for her to be on her best behavior for the head of Human Resources.

  “I don’t know how you can sleep at night, you slimy toad. This place is full of nothing but backstabbing hypocrites. I’m glad I’ll be leaving.”

  Doug looked at his watch. “Goodbye, Katie. I have another appointment.”

  “Execution, you mean,” Katie yelled as a guard appeared and led her away. She angrily yanked the guard’s hand off of her arm. Katie’s face flushed as her co-workers stared at her in silence, while the guard escorted her to her desk. The contents of her drawers fit into the small cardboard box that had conveniently been placed on her desk while she was in Doug’s office.

  “I need to go to the restroom on the way out, okay?” Katie said to the guard. The man replied with a grunt, and stood by the restroom door while Katie went inside. Her reflection in the mirror was not a pretty sight. Her face was red and puffy, and she had dark spots under her eyes from rubbing them.

  Katie reached in her purse for her makeup to touch up her face. She applied some powder to cover the blotches on her cheeks, a little lipstick, and then she ran a comb through her hair. After all, she still had her pride. It was bad enough being escorted from the museum as if she was a criminal, but she didn’t need to look as bad as she felt.

  She caught a cab, because the thought of going home on a bus and carrying her little cardboard box would feel too much like a walk of corporate shame. On the way back to her apartment, the words “she said she was sorry,” kept running through her head.

  “If Marlene was so sorry, why didn’t she tell me herself?” Katie said to her boyfriend, Frank, who she’d called as soon as she’d gotten home. “I really thought she was serious about me being promoted.”

  “Maybe she wanted you out of there because she was jealous of you,” Frank said.

  Marlene, jealous of her? Katie doubted it, but the more Frank tried to convince her, the more Katie began to think he might have a point.

  “Maybe you got too good at your job, making all those contacts and knowing so much about her department. Marlene’s used to being top dog at that place, and she has been for years. She sure wouldn’t want someone taking over her department who was better than she was. I’m sure she felt threatened by you.”

  Katie was amazed she’d never thought of it. Frank was probably right. She’d trusted Marlene, and Marlene had double-crossed her. It was as simple as that. Katie had seriously misjudged her even though she knew Marlene had a reputation for being all warm and fuzzy on the outside and hard as nails underneath her syrupy façade.

  “What are you going to do now?” Frank asked her.

  Katie knew what she was going to do all right, but she wasn’t about to tell Frank. Katie knew that most murderers got caught because they’d told someone what they’d either done, or planned to do. Katie wasn’t going to be that stupid.

  “I don’t know. I’ll be fine. It’s no big deal. Give me a couple of days, and I’ll get over it. I know with my qualifications and experience I’ll be able to easily find something else. I’ll talk to you later,” Katie said.

  Katie smiled to herself as she hung up the phone. She wasn’t about to tell Frank, but she had no intention of getting over it. Marlene Palmer was going to rue the day she’d been responsible for firing Katie Harris.

  Pouring herself a well-deserved glass of wine, Katie spent the rest of the afternoon planning her revenge. That little dinner party for museum big shots Marlene was going to have at her home would be the perfect opportunity for me to get my revenge. If Marlene was to die at the dinner party, thought Katie, who knows? Maybe the museum would hire me in her place. After all, there’s no one better qualified to take over the department than me.

  “Watch out Marlene, here comes trouble.” Katie murmured to herself as she worked out the de
tails in her mind. She’d been to Marlene’s big house on Bainbridge Island once before, for a staff party. “I’m sure I can find it again. It’s the only time I’ve ever been to Bainbridge Island, so no one will know me on the island.”

  Now that Marlene’s fate was sealed, Katie felt much happier. She turned on the television and surfed through the channels, trying to decide which reality show to watch. She settled on an episode of the Housewives franchise, which had the women checking into an underwater hotel in Dubai. That was when the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. It would be wise for her to spend the night in a motel on the island in case the ferry was searched after the murder was discovered.

  Katie poured herself another glass of wine and took the wrapper off of a chocolate bar.

  CHAPTER 7

  DeeDee had spent some time looking online for Bainbridge website developers who could build a website for Deelish. She didn’t see a lot of difference between them and decided to let the Internet search results speak for themselves. The Website Guy came out on top, so DeeDee had called and made an appointment with him.

  She explained to the owner, Milo, that she needed something in the next few days, and something that wouldn’t cost too much. She was getting a little panicked as she realized how fast her expenses for Deelish were mounting up. She either needed to make some adjustments to her almost non-existent business plan budget, or she needed to start earning some money sooner rather than later.

  When she recovered her breath after she’d climbed the steep flight of steps above the health food store to get to Milo’s office, DeeDee opened the door and saw an earnest young man working in a cramped, but orderly, two-desk office. The music in the background was just low enough that she could hear herself think. A giant screen on the wall appeared to have been paused in a video game.