Mists of the Past (A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery #2)

by K. J. Emrick

  Sue giggled nervously and said, “Sure thing.”

  He left the store and Darcy slowly came out of hiding. Sue practically pounced on her. “Come on Darcy give over. What’s going on?” Sue wanted all of the details of their fight.

  “It’s nothing really. We just fought about silly little things last night. That’s all. I’d really rather not talk about it. I’m going for a walk.” She didn’t wait for Sue’s reply as she left the bookstore.

  ***

  Darcy didn’t get very far on her walk when she saw Grace walking quickly towards her. “I was just coming to find you,” she said to Darcy.

  “Do you have news?” Darcy was eager to hear what Grace had found out.

  “Yes, I looked into some things.” She looked around them and then continued, “But not here. Let’s go and find a seat somewhere quiet.”

  “You want to talk at home?”

  “No,” Grace said with a shake of her head. “I don’t want to wait that long.”

  They found a quiet spot inside the Gazebo in the town square. Grace wasted no time in getting to the point. “You remember that whole thing that you and Jeff told me about Jon back when we were investigating Anna’s murder, right?”

  Jeff, her late ex-husband, and Darcy had found an article about Jon being accused of murder back at his old precinct. It was all cleared up, but at the time it had seemed to indicate that Jon could perhaps be capable of murder. “Yes,” Darcy said at last, after replaying some of those horrific events from just one month ago. “I remember. But he was cleared of those charges. The article said so.”

  “Well,” Grace said with a twist to her mouth, “Maybe he was cleared or maybe that was just the story that they fed the newspapers. Cover ups do happen.” She raised her eyebrows.

  Darcy couldn’t believe that Jon would be guilty of this but then again she didn’t really know him that well either. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and then asked, “So who was the victim of the crime that Jon was investigated for?”

  “He was investigated for the murder of a man called Kyle Young.”

  “Okay. I remember that the paper said Jon solved the crime himself and in the end it hadn't been a murder at all but a suicide.”

  “Which may be what happened. It also may not be. Not long after that he resigned from the police force there and came to work with us out here.” She sat back on the bench and brushed her dark hair back.

  “Look, Darcy, I’m not happy about this. This guy is my partner, and I trust him, and I think you two are good together. I hate that we’re digging into his past this way but maybe…maybe there’s good reason to. The details are sealed, which is strange. That raised my suspicions as it seems to indicate that there is more to it. I’ve got a contact in the State Police over near Pequot Lakes, where this all happened, and he says he can find out what really happened for me.”

  “Thanks Grace. I appreciate it.” She sighed, still not sure what to make of it all. “I need to get home now. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  Grace nodded and Darcy walked away toward home. She had completely forgotten that she needed to go back to the bookstore. Right now she just wanted to be alone to think.

  She had thought that this whole thing with Jon had been cleared up when Jeff and Anna’s murderer had been caught. She thought she could trust Jon, that he was safe, that she could let herself fall in love with him.

  Had she invited a murderer into her heart after all?

  ***

  It seemed as though she wasn’t going to get space from Jon after all. As she got closer to home she could see him waiting for her on her front porch. Her steps slowed as she mentally prepared herself for a confrontation. He was sitting on the steps with his head in his hands and the sight of him gave her pause. She stopped a little way from the house to just study him.

  Could he really be a killer? Hadn’t they already been through this a month ago, settled it, moved past it? Yet, here they were all over again. She didn’t really believe it but what about her vision? Her visions were always right, even if she couldn’t figure out exactly what they meant right off. It looked bad for him.

  At the sound of her footsteps his head popped up and his eyes locked onto her immediately. He stood up slowly and waited for her to approach and when she was close enough he said in a demanding voice, “I want to know what’s going on, Darcy. I looked for you here, I looked for you at the bookstore, everyone I talk to says they haven’t seen you. What’s going on? Are you avoiding me?”

  Darcy decided that she couldn’t avoid this anymore. She needed to know what had happened. More than that, she couldn’t keep lying to him. “What really happened with Kyle Young?” Jon looked surprised by her question. She told him about the vision she had in the restaurant bathroom. She added the part about the dying man being Kyle, sure now that was who it had been.

  “Darcy, we’ve been through this before.” Jon started to pace. “You and this damned sixth sense. Why didn’t you tell me about the vision last night? Why keep it from me?” He sounded very upset. “What? Do you think I actually killed someone? I can’t believe that you don’t trust me.” He started to walk past her.

  She grabbed his arm. “No, Jon. You don’t understand. I never thought you really did it. I was just confused and anxious about the vision.”

  Jon shook her hand off and said, “Darcy you asked me all about this. I told you how all that happened, about how I was accused, and cleared, and I really thought this was done between us. I don’t even know what I’m doing here.” He stormed away from her heading back to town.

  Darcy felt her temper rise and then quickly break apart. She’d accused him without proof. Again.

  There was something her visions wanted to know, though, and Jon hadn’t exactly tried to help her understand what.

  Chapter Four

  Darcy was so upset over Jon’s reaction that she couldn’t sit still. She was pacing the length of her kitchen, backwards and forwards, until she could calm down somewhat. Only then could she admit that she was also really mad at herself. Why didn’t she trust him? She loved him, didn’t she? She should have talked to him right away about the vision she’d had instead of running away from him. She’d only made things worse now.

  The case had been ruled a suicide, according to what Grace had found out, and she should have accepted that at face value. Or accepted what the old newspaper article had said about the whole thing. It was probably a very sensitive subject for Jon. It had been enough to drive him away from his old department.

  She decided to stop being an idiot and go after him. Her mind made up, she left her house quickly. She needed to find him in a hurry if she was going to set this right.

  She wasn’t sure where he would have gone. She didn’t find him on the path back into town so she went to the police station. The desk sergeant let her know he wasn’t there. The next logical place to look was his apartment, which was located a little outside of the town center on the opposite side from where she lived. Before long she found herself climbing the creaking, wooden steps to his front door.

  With butterflies rampaging around inside of her she lifted her hand and knocked on the door. Several agonizing moments passed where she was convinced he wasn’t going to answer. She was about to knock again when she heard his voice through the door. “Go away Darcy, I don’t want to see you right now.”

  “That’s too bad Jon, because I’m not leaving. I messed up, and I need to let you know that, and I’ll stay here all night if I need to.” She stood up straight and propped her hands on her hips.

  Jon sighed and then reluctantly opened the door. He walked away and she took that as an invitation to enter. Closing the door behind her she followed him into the entry hall and then into his living room. Not exactly sure how to start, she stood in front of him looking up into his face, her mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out. He just stood with his arms folded across his chest glaring at her.

  She gulped a brea
th before finally speaking. Funny, now that she’d almost forced her way in here she didn’t know what to say. “I’m so, so sorry. I messed up.”

  “You said that.”

  “Well, I mean it.” She reached out for him and pulled him into her arms, hugging him close. He held himself stiffly at first but then she felt him relax into her and return the hug. She breathed a sigh of relief then. “I was just scared about what I saw and I panicked.”

  “I understand,” Jon said into her hair. She could feel his warm breath on her head as he spoke. He dropped a soft kiss to her hair. “No, I actually don’t. I’m not quite up to speed on your whole sixth sense thing. But I suppose I might have done the same thing if I’d had a vision like that.” He pulled away slightly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he steered them towards the kitchen. He pulled a chair out for her and then went to one of the cabinets to take out two glasses and poured them each a small amount of whiskey from a bottle he had in the same cabinet.

  They sat down at the table and Jon said, “All right. I’m ready to listen. Tell me more about the vision.”

  Planting her hands firmly in her lap so that she wasn’t tempted to play with her ring, she went on to tell him what she had seen, not leaving out any of the details this time.

  Jon took a big sip of his drink. He looked thoughtful. “Kyle was a really good friend of mine. He worked freelance as a private eye sometimes. There was this one murder case that I just couldn’t figure out. The murderer had left a cryptic poem at the scene of the crime.” He paused to take another sip of his drink. He put the glass down onto the table and started to roll it between his hands. Darcy could sense that telling this story was hard for him.

  “I gave the poem to Kyle hoping he could figure something out. He always was one of the smartest men I know. A few days later he called me to tell me that he’d found something. The night that Kyle died I went over to his place to find out what he had learned.” He paused again to take another generous sip of the whiskey. “When I got there Kyle was lying on the floor really sick, or something. He died within seconds of my arrival. I was in shock and I blamed myself for his death. Then, on top of all that, I was investigated because I was on the scene when he died. It was finally ruled a suicide but it took a while and in the meantime my career suffered. I had to leave town. I just couldn’t stay after that.”

  Jon went quiet then and Darcy leaned over and kissed him. “That must have been so difficult for you.” They sat in silence and Darcy moved her chair closer to lay her head on his shoulder.

  Although Jon had explained the story something still felt off to Darcy. She’d told him everything. Was he holding back on her?

  ***

  Darcy was alone in the bookstore the next day, quietly sitting and reading one of her favorite books. There had been no customers today. Sue had the day off and Darcy quite enjoyed having the bookstore to herself. It gave her time to think.

  As she was flipping a page in her story she saw Millie appear out of the corner of her eye. The woman always appeared in a long dark dress, a heavy broach around her neck, her translucent gray hair done up in that modest bun she had preferred to wear. Darcy turned to the ghost of her great aunt and smiled. “You’re not going to throw a book at me, are you?”

  Millie stared at her and then she eerily raised both hands. One hand was holding a letter, a sealed envelope. She could make out the name that it was addressed to. Detective Jon Tinker.

  Jon.

  Millie’s other hand was closed. Darcy took a step towards her, wanting to see that letter more clearly, but as she tried Millie just disappeared.

  Darcy didn’t understand what was going on. Millie’s messages were always cryptic, never clear or direct. And now she was giving her a message about Jon.

  ***

  Feeling very shaken up from seeing Millie, Darcy closed the bookstore and headed to the Bean There Bakery and Café for a cup of coffee to settle her nerves. She was hoping to have a chat with Helen. Talking to her friend always helped make her feel better. So when she saw that Lily was behind the counter she felt a little disappointed. It seemed that these days Helen was never around and Darcy missed her.

  She moved up to the counter and gave Lily her order. Darcy knew Lily could tell how upset she was. Lily had to ask her twice how her day was going. Then when her coffee was ready, Darcy spilled it.

  Darcy felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry, Lily. It’s been a rough couple of days, I guess.”

  Lily nodded. “I used to have days like that too. I went to the doctor and got some anxiety pills that have really helped me. My brother, Robbie, he borrows them sometimes too, when he gets stressed.” She winked at Darcy. “Don’t spread that around though, okay?”

  Darcy smiled at her and said, “Thanks. I mean, I won’t. Isn’t that dangerous, though?”

  Lily shrugged. “He only uses what he needs.” Then she was off to help another customer looking to order a cake for a birthday party.

  Darcy appreciated the woman’s attempt to help, but she knew that anxiety meds weren’t what she needed. She had to confront her problems head on. She decided to go and talk to Jon about the letter. She’d kept silent about what she had seen the last time, and nearly put a permanent rift between herself and Jon. This time, she was going to try honesty.

  Chapter Five

  Darcy hurried to the police station hoping to catch Jon there. The desk sergeant smiled at her and told her Jon was inside. She found him working at his desk. Before she had a chance to talk to him, though, Grace greeted her from her own desk. “Hi sis. What’s up?”

  Darcy smiled at her. “Hi Grace. I just wanted to talk to Jon.”

  Grace gave her a knowing look. Jon stood up without hesitation, though, and Darcy didn’t have time to explain to her sister why she was suddenly all right with Jon again. He walked around to the front of the desk where Darcy was standing. “We’ll just go for a walk and…”

  “No need for that,” Grace said. “I need to head on home anyway so I’ll get out of your hair.” Grace put the file away that she had been working on and grabbed her bag and coat. “I’ll see you two later,” she said with a smirk as she left the room.

  Darcy shook her head at her sister and then turned back to Jon. Every other officer on duty at the moment was also out of the building, except for the desk sergeant up front who was separated from them by a wall. Now that they were more or less alone Darcy eyed Jon for a moment before she said, “Do you know anything about a letter? Something sent to you with your name on it? I think it might have something to do with my first vision.”

  Jon went pale when she said that. “How did you know?” he whispered. She told him about Millie’s visit. He usually met her stories about Millie with scepticism but he didn’t even blink an eye this time. He went back to his desk and pulled a letter out of the top drawer. Darcy drew in a sharp breath. It was the letter from the vision, with his name on it.

  “I got this the morning after our date, after the vision you had in the bathroom. I hadn’t told you yet, because…well, here.” He handed it to her

  “Shouldn’t this be in an evidence bag?” She asked.

  Jon nodded and said, “Yes you’re right.” Darcy realized then just how rattled he was by this.

  She turned her attention back to the letter in her hand and carefully fished it out of the envelope. She held the letter by the edges as she read it.

  It was a typed letter. A poem, actually, which read:

  “Your time is up

  We’ve reached the end

  The wind is gone from your sails

  I’ve killed others

  Those who asked questions

  Those who told lies and tall tales

  I won’t need weapons, not a gun or a knife

  If you try to find me, I’ll end your life

  Stay away from me or you’ll meet your fate

  With me there can be no clean slate

  Lo ti distruggero”

  “A
young woman called Emily Ayers was killed in my home town of Pequot Lakes,” Jon said. “There were many poems found in her apartment but not in her hand writing. I was hell bent on finding her murderer and then when Kyle died, even more so. I never thought that Kyle killed himself, but everyone else did.” He paused for a moment. “Right before Kyle died, he said two words. Misty Hollow. That was the reason that I asked to transfer to this police department.”

  Darcy fit that piece into the puzzle in her head. The murder Jon had been accused of had really been ruled a suicide. And from what Jon was saying, he hadn’t actually believed it to be a suicide so he had left Pequot Lakes to come to Misty Hollow because he thought the real murderer might actually be here. He’d been following a lead.

  “I was hoping I would find clues about the murderer,” Jon said, confirming her train of thought, “but I haven’t been able to.” He speared his fingers through his hair. “I have been researching it and then I got this letter. I’m sure that the murderer lives in this town.”

  “You don’t think they sent that to you from Pequot Lakes?”

  Jon shook his head. “No. I’m sure that they’re here. And I think I’m getting close. I think I’ve spooked someone.”

  “What about the last part of the poem, what does it mean?”

  “It’s Italian for I will destroy you. It was also on a bunch of poems in the first murder victim’s apartment.”

  Darcy reached up to kiss him. She hoped to reassure him a little. She could see how rattled he was. “We will figure it out.”

  Here she was again, attracting trouble to herself. It just seemed as if she couldn’t stay away from the dark mysteries.

  ***

  A night’s sleep didn’t make any of the problems popping up around Darcy seem any more distant. Walking into town from her home the next morning to meet Jon, she saw how the mist was starting to rise. That was never a good sign, but she’d gotten used to these mists rising whenever there was trouble in town. Trouble she always managed to find. She hoped that they could solve this crime quickly.