Going Through the Notions (A Deadly Notions Mystery)
Page 1
Praise for
Going Through the Notions
“A quaint little village, quirky characters, and a crafty killer—I loved it!”
—Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author of
Sweet Tea Revenge
“Cate Price’s Going Through the Notions has everything I read cozy mysteries for—a terrific setting, a smart plot, and well-rounded, clever characters. Lucky us—it’s the first in an all-new series (Deadly Notions)—and I can’t wait for the next one! Cate Price is a natural-born storyteller.”
—Mariah Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of
The Long Way Home
“A fun and fast-paced debut filled with eccentric characters, quirky humor, and small-town drama.”
—Ali Brandon, national bestselling author of
A Novel Way to Die
Going Through
the Notions
Cate Price
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA)
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GOING THROUGH THE NOTIONS
A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author
Copyright © 2013 by Penguin Group (USA).
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.
BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of
Penguin Group (USA).
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA).
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-10162505-7
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / September 2013
Cover illustration by Ben Perini.
Cover logo Pin copyright © Roman Sotola and Floral Pattern © LDesign.
Cover design by Diana Kolsky.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product
of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for
author or third-party websites or their content.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed
exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy
needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any
adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.
Contents
Praise for Going Through the Notions
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
The Millbury Ladies’ Home Companion
Daisy’s Yard Sale Tips
How to Make a Lavender Sachet
New Uses for Old Sweaters
Repurposing an Old Sewing Machine Cabinet
About the Author
For Jackie
Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to the two great “Jackies” in my life.
The first is my funny, wonderful daughter, Jackie Buden, who always cheers me on, not just in writing, but in all things. The second is my lovely editor, Jackie Cantor, who provided the guidelines for the Deadly Notions Mysteries. What a gift you are to a first-time author with your intoxicating enthusiasm for my work and your gentle, clever guidance. I feel so very lucky.
Thank you to my original agent at BookEnds, LLC, Lauren Ruth, who pulled me out of the slush pile, and now to the fabulous Jessica Alvarez for your warm professionalism.
Terri Brisbin and Mariah Stewart gave invaluable advice on the publishing business in the beginning and I will be forever grateful. For reading the first book in this series and providing such great quotes, a massive thank-you to Ali Brandon, Laura Childs, and again, Mariah Stewart.
There are so many friends in the Valley Forge Romance Writers who have helped me with my writing over the years. I can’t name you all, but thank you from the bottom of my heart. Special thanks in regard to this particular book go to Adele Downs, Carla Kempert, and Ann LaBar Russek.
To Debra Lew Harder, wise critique partner and treasured friend, thank you for everything.
For insights into the life of a teacher, gratitude to Gina Danna, Ashlyn Macnamara, Melissa Macfie, Carla Kempert, and Carla’s mom, Darlene. I’d also like to give a shout-out to another writing group that is very dear to my heart—the Lalalas!
For unwavering support and belief in me, even as I sometimes doubted myself, mega thanks to Jay DiSanto, Patti Mazzola, Maria McCouch, Owen Pritchard, and Debi Wargo. Guys, the drinks are on me.
And finally, to the person who first instilled in me a love of reading, and introduced me to so many of my all-time favorite authors—thanks, Mum.
Chapter One
In my twenties, I fell madly in love with an electric blue pair of Manolo Blahniks in Bloomingdale’s front window. In my thirties, I lusted after bare-chested runners with washboard stomachs and golden biceps sweating in Central Park. In my forties, all I really yearned for was a day off with a good book.
Now in my late fifties, I’ve finally discovered my true passion in life. It’s for my store, a haven of all kinds of sewing notions and antiques named Sometimes a Great Notion. What can I say? I’ve always had a thing for Paul Newman, too.
My heart was currently thumping in anticipation of acquiring an antique dollhouse I’d spotted in the pre-bidding walk-through prior to the auction in Sheepville tonight. My dear husband, Joe, the recipient of some of that aforementioned lust over the years, was driving in his usual careful, and in my opinion, rather pedantic manner.
“Step on it, Joe, or we’ll never get there!”
“Easy, Daisy. We’ll make it in plenty of time.”
I leaned out of the window of our Subaru station wagon into the balmy June evening air, willing the last mile of country road to pass by as quickly as possible.
Not only had the dollhouse caught my eye, but there was a beautiful Singer Featherweight up for bid, a small vintage sewing machine prized by quilters. Either one would look wonderful in the window of the shop. There were plenty of other treasures to be had, too—tins of Bakelite buttons, several boxes of musty, but
restorable tablecloths, glass doorknobs salvaged from century-old buildings, and some wooden darning eggs.
Gravel crunched under the car’s tires as we pulled into the parking lot at twenty minutes to seven. Plenty of time to register and get my bidder’s number before the evening’s events started. As usual, Joe was right.
Angus Backstead, the auctioneer, and his wife lived in a pristine white stucco three-story farmhouse across from the auction building. A Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign featuring a circle of blue and red flowers and sheaves of wheat adorned the front of the house. Baskets of overflowing pink and white impatiens hanging on the powder blue painted porch swung gently in the breeze.
A good crowd had already gathered. It would be a humdinger of an auction tonight.
I loved the auction. It was almost like going to the theater—the drama, the tragedy, and sometimes the comedy, like when Sally McIntire forgot she left her red string bikini underwear in the drawer of a nightstand she’d consigned, and the winning bidder, inspecting his purchase, held it aloft for everyone to see.
I hopped out of the car before it had barely stopped moving. I spotted my good friend, Martha Bristol, as well as several of the other regulars. Various pieces of farm equipment, miscellaneous furniture, and box lots sat on the tarmac, ready to be auctioned off first before we went inside.
But what were all the police cars doing here?
The door to the low-slung building opened, and I gasped as I saw Angus being led out in handcuffs. His face, normally ruddy from a lifetime of outdoor labor and his beloved Irish whiskey, was deathly pale. He spotted Joe and me standing at the edge of the crowd.
“I didn’t do it!” he cried as a policeman maneuvered him into a car. A little too forcefully, as Angus banged his snowy white head on the top of the door frame.
“Hey! Be careful with him,” I shouted. The door slammed shut as Angus cried out to us one last time. “Help me, Daisy!”
But it was too late. The cruiser was already pulling away.
Joe laid a steadying hand on my arm. It was always that way between us. Joe, calm and solid as a rock, and me, impulsive and quick to react.
“What the hell’s going on?” I demanded as Martha sailed up to us. She was an imposing sight in a purple, green, and yellow floral summer dress, belted tightly under her large bosom. Her long legs looked even longer in strappy yellow sandals, and her glorious mane of red hair was bundled up into a precarious knot. Kind of like a vintage Barbie on steroids. Martha was my age, but she wasn’t leaving her youth behind without a fight.
“Jimmy Kratz was found bludgeoned to death in the barn behind his house this morning,” she announced.
“What?”
Jimmy was one of the auction regulars, too. He owned a company called CleanUp and CloseOut. When people needed their basements cleaned out, or even a whole house, they called Jimmy. Some of it was pure trash, some of it he used himself, and some of the scrap metal he took to the local salvage yard. And some of the better stuff he sold at auction and scratched out a living that way.
“Well, why on earth do they think Angus had anything to do with it?” I asked.
“Jimmy stole a collection of fancy fountain pens that were due to be sold tonight. They’re saying they were worth tens of thousands of dollars.”
“Yeah, nowt like the usual rubbish.” Cyril Mackey, the English curmudgeon who ran the salvage yard, sidled up alongside us. He nodded to Joe, but ignored Martha and me. As usual, he wore a flat cap and a tweed jacket that had seen better days. He was a Yorkshireman of indeterminate age and background, and as tough as the heather clinging to the moors in a bitter gale blowing off the Pennines.
Martha sniffed at the sight of Cyril. “Apparently the physical evidence points to Angus as the culprit. His fingerprints are all over the murder weapon—a heavy barn beam.”
“They were drinking together in the pub last night,” Cyril continued, addressing Joe. “You know how Angus likes to shoot his bloody mouth off. Everyone heard him crowing about those damn pens. He were right proud of the fact that he had summat decent to sell for once.”
Joe nodded at him. “Go on.”
“He had one beer and one whiskey too many, so Jimmy took his keys and drove him home. The keys to the auction house were also on that key ring, which is how the coppers think Jimmy managed to pinch the stuff.”
Martha glared at Cyril. “As I was saying, in the morning, Angus must have noticed the pens were missing. He realized Jimmy had the keys and went over to his house. There was some sort of argument, and he hit him with the beam.”
“Angus couldn’t have lifted something like that,” I said. “He’s in his early sixties, for God’s sake. Joe, how much do you think a barn beam would weigh?”
“Not sure. Probably well over a hundred pounds. Maybe one-fifty.”
“You ever see him haul some of this merchandise around?” Cyril spat a stream of tobacco juice onto the parking lot, perilously close to Martha’s yellow sandals. “Steamer trunks, mahogany furniture, boxes of books? The man’s still as strong as an ox.”
“Oh my God, here comes poor Betty.” Martha grabbed my arm as we saw Angus’s wife being helped out of the auction building.
Betty had recently had hip surgery, and was still walking with a slow, painful gait. While Martha stayed behind as roving reporter on the scene, Joe and I brought Betty over to the house. Joe rummaged around in the kitchen and made tea while I got her settled in an armchair in the living room, propped up with some cushions.
“He didn’t do it, Daisy. No matter what they’re saying.” Betty murmured her thanks as Joe gave her a cup of tea.
“Of course he didn’t.” I sat down on a faded cotton love seat with a cabbage rose design.
“Angus was too drunk for me and Jimmy to get him indoors, so we left him in the glider out on the porch. The big oaf was snoring like to wake the dead. I heard him come in later this morning and take a shower. My neighbor took me shopping, but I didn’t see him or speak to him before I left. I was still too mad.”
Shopping to calm down. I could appreciate that. Retail therapy always worked for me.
“So where are these pens? Do the police have them?”
“No, they’re gone. The police searched Jimmy’s place, the barn, the auction building. They even went through everything in the house, too. Everything. It was so embarrassing.”
A tear trickled down her wrinkled cheek. Joe handed her a box of tissues from the coffee table.
Angus and Betty had befriended us when we first bought a house in Millbury, a neighboring village about five miles away. Betty and I made a joke of the fact that while she was named Betty Backstead by marriage, I’d never quite been able to call myself Daisy Daly. I’d kept my maiden name of Buchanan. And yes, in case you’re wondering, my sainted mother was a huge F. Scott Fitzgerald fan.
“You know how Angus carries on when he’s been drinking,” she said. “He talks your ear off. Anyone in that pub could have had the idea to steal them. I’m not even sure Jimmy did it.”
“But what does Angus say?”
“He can’t remember anything past leaving the bar. He can’t remember how he got home.” She took a sip of tea. “It’s the drinking, Daisy. It’s been getting bad lately. He has blackouts. Loses whole chunks of time. I’ve begged him to get help, but he wouldn’t listen. And now this . . .”
She blew her nose again. “He forgets things all the time. He even forgets where he’s going. I do the driving now or we’d end up in Pittsburgh.”
Twenty minutes later, after straightening up the house, Joe and I took our leave of Betty. I promised to stop by the next day.
Joe and I were both silent as we pulled out of the lot and back onto Sheepville Pike. I stared out of the car window at the rolling road, flanked by trees and fields on either side. We passed the riding stable, The Paddocks, with its white corrugated metal buildings, horse trailers, and red barn with grassy bank leading up to the main door. A split rail wooden fenc
e stretched the length of the property, and a red cart wheel was propped up at the entrance.
Past fields filled with bright green rows of ripening cornstalks, the Wet Hen pottery studio, and the Christmas tree farm. Past grand old homes faced with fieldstone, and tall Victorians with arched windows and narrow porch columns.
But I never could stay quiet for long.
“This whole thing doesn’t make sense, Joe. I can see that Angus would be mad at Jimmy for stealing the pens, but why kill him? Why not just take the pens and go on home?”
“Well, maybe he didn’t mean to kill him,” Joe said as he turned onto River Road. “Maybe he hit him in a rage, and hit him a bit too hard. Angus doesn’t know his own strength sometimes.”
“And what would Jimmy do with a bunch of fountain pens?”
“Sell them?”
“Yeah, but that’s not the kind of circles Jimmy moves in,” I said. “If you were looking to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine or a box of washing machine parts, he’s your man. This is way out of his league. Or was, I should say.”
Trees seemed to meet above us in a loosely woven canopy that dappled the road with fading sunlight. Once in a while I caught a glimpse of the canal and the Delaware River beyond. Near a low stone bridge down on Grist Mill Road, a sign advertised the 4-H Fair coming in August.
Joe took a right to head into our tiny village of Millbury, Pennsylvania, a pretty cluster of nineteenth-century shops and homes that time had almost forgotten.
“And if they were that valuable, why not put them up for auction in Philadelphia instead? Maybe Jimmy was stealing them for someone else.”
Joe let me ramble on with my musings until we arrived home, a Greek Revival–style house right on Main Street.
“I tell you what, Joe. I know Angus is innocent, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to prove it.”
*
“The next morning, Betty called, crying. Angus had been denied bail, apparently because of his confused mental state and the potential to be a danger to others, as well as himself.