Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Boxset

by Brianna Bates

  But what if it was Noreen calling? Maybe she’d been arrested.

  Missy frowned. If Noreen was in that much trouble, she would have called several times till she got an answer. Missy decided it could wait and closed her eyes.

  Five minutes later she was still thinking about her phone.

  Sitting up, she took the phone off the nightstand and put her glasses on. It was a text from Trudy:

  We need to talk.

  Missy put a hand over her mouth. She had no idea who this could be. But it had to be related to Anne’s death. Getting a random text from a stranger about anything else would be way too coincidental.

  Missy sat up, fully awake now despite her earlier exhaustion. She put her feet on the rug, where space was at a premium because Cody always slept on it. The dog snored softly.

  It was pretty late so Missy didn't think she should call Trudy, who had a husband and two young children. But she was intrigued by the text message. Maybe Trudy had seen something? But if she had, she would have already shared it with the police.

  Wouldn't she?

  The best and only way to find out would be to talk to her. Instead of calling and possibly waking up Trudy's entire household, Missy thumbed a text.

  Call me if you're still awake.

  Missy laid back down, and before her head even hit the pillow, her phone rang.

  "Trudy?"

  "Missy." Trudy's voice was a whisper. Missy pictured the forty-year-old mother down in her living room, probably wearing a robe and speaking in a hushed tone so as not to wake everybody else up. "Are you home?"

  "Yes." Missy got out of bed. Cody just kept on sleeping as Missy went downstairs. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm worried."

  As she listened, Missy went into the kitchen. She was on autopilot as she opened the cupboard and grabbed a bag of pretzels. Fortunately, before she got it open, she realized what she was about to engage in that big no-no: mindless eating. She put the bag away.

  "What's wrong?"

  Trudy hesitated. "Anne was seeing somebody..."

  "What?" Missy's ears perked up.

  "On the side, you know?"

  Missy would never have thought the respectable Anne Baxter would even be capable of an affair. She had the perfect husband, perfect family, perfect job. Her life was in order. Why would she want to mess all that up? Missy never understood the mentality of cheaters. She couldn't fathom doing that to anybody.

  "Who was he?"

  "I don't know..."

  Missy rolled her eyes. Trudy was always full of unsubstantiated rumors. She was the queen of them.

  "How do you know she was cheating then?"

  "I saw her at the grocery store once. She was sitting in the front of the...vehicle with someone. I didn't get a good look at him—"

  "Hold on, Trudy," Missy said. "Why would Anne be sitting in a car with some other man in front of her store where she knew everybody would recognize her?"

  "It was after hours, really late," Trudy said. "And it was in back. It was very strange."

  "What were you doing there?"

  "I was leaving work." Trudy worked at the card store at the end of the strip where the grocery store was. "I was there later than usual, because we had a big corporate audit coming up and I wanted to make sure the reconciliation was correct. I mean, I was real late, till almost one. The grocery store closes at ten on Sundays so I didn't understand why she'd be there."

  Missy nodded. That was suspicious. She very much doubted Anne was that involved in the day-to-day business of the grocery store, her role (as she was so fond of mentioning) was more strategic, so why would she be there after midnight and meeting up with a man in a car?

  It was a good lead, but Missy didn't know why Trudy was calling her to share.

  "Did you tell Tyler?"

  "No, that's why I'm calling you."

  Missy sat down at her dining room table. "Why not?"

  "You can't tell Tyler."

  Missy didn't want to make that promise. Even though their relationship was very awkward these days, Missy still considered Tyler a friend and as the chief detective of Grove City, she had to share important information that would help him in his investigation. Missy was generally a rule-follower, and withholding information from not only the police but her friend was a big no-no in her mind.

  "Trudy, if you don't know who it is, why can't I tell Tyler that Anne is having an affair?" She figured Trudy was afraid of breaking Anne's trust. But now that Anne was dead, wasn't finding the killer more important. Sometimes she didn't get Trudy. "Tyler can just act like he figured it out on his own. Nobody is going to point the finger at you."

  Trudy lowered her voice even more. It was barely a whisper now, but it came loud and clear through the phone.

  "Because of his car."

  "What about his car?" Missy was really confused now. Maybe Trudy had had a little too much wine tonight?

  "It was a cruiser."

  Missy nearly dropped the phone.

  "She was fooling around with a cop?"

  Chapter Six

  Missy started pacing. Her mind churned with questions and possibilities.

  "You think this guy killed her? Maybe in a jealous rage, or maybe because she broke it off?" Trudy asked.

  "It's possible." She palmed her forehead. "I mean, it's much more likely than one of us doing it, right?"

  "That's what I was thinking. And, you know, with how she died..."

  Missy had already been thinking the same thing. Anne had died in a violent struggle. Somebody had smashed her head on the pipe stand or at least pushed her into it. Missy shuddered. It was a horrible way to die, your final moments spent in a blind panic as someone tried to...she knew what that was like. Six months ago, Gordon Cooper would have done the same to her were it not for that lovable Irish setter sleeping upstairs.

  "You've got a point." Missy tongued her teeth. She was trying to figure out what to do with the information. "I think we should tell Tyler."

  "We can't!" Trudy said. "What if it's him?"

  Missy almost laughed out loud at the thought of it. Everybody in town knew by now that he and his estranged wife were working on their relationship and Tyler didn't have a wandering eye. He was honest, loyal, and true. He wasn't the type to run around on somebody or go behind their back—

  Or was he?

  He and Noreen had a relationship in college that Missy hadn't known about. College changed many people, especially that first semester. Maybe it had changed him? A few months around all these new women, where the old high school rules of "date one person" no longer applied. In high school he had his pick of women, but only dated three total, herself included. Had he turned promiscuous?

  No. She refused to believe that Tyler Brock was having an affair with Anne. Sure, he had changed since high school—everybody had—but she just didn't think he was capable. Especially considering she was pretty certain he still had some old feelings for her. If he was going to cheat on the wife he was also trying to reconcile with, Missy was the most likely candidate, not—oh God—Anne Baxter. He wouldn't have been caught dead with a woman like that before and she couldn't envision it now. Tyler was down-to-earth, easy-going, and not class-conscious.

  Missy made up her mind. “No, it’s not Tyler.”

  “How can you be sure?” Trudy said. “Are you two…”

  “No.” Her answer came a little too quickly, sounding defensive. Everybody knew they’d been high school sweethearts, and according to Noreen, the rumor mill hadn’t stopped spinning about them since Tyler had returned, filling the vacant detective role at the police department.

  “Oh, I thought…well, I was kind of hoping you were…I mean, that’s why I called you.”

  Now Missy understood why Trudy had confided in her. Trudy had thought Missy and Tyler were an item, which meant Tyler wasn’t likely to be Anne’s behind-the-scenes beau.

  “I think we need to tell him,” Missy repeated. “I trust him.”

 
; “No!” Trudy practically screamed. When she spoke again, it was at a whisper. “Even if it’s not him, you can’t tell him. I mean, what if…”

  Missy rolled her eyes. Trudy could figure out a way to find every horrible hypothetical possible. She was a sweet woman, but her pessimism was just hard-wired. If she won the lottery, she’d complain about the taxes.

  “What if what?”

  Trudy said, “If the cop that killed Anne knows that we know about him, what do you think he’s going to do? He killed one woman. And he had feelings for her. What do you think he’d…”

  It made perfect Trudy Sense.

  Missy shook her head. “We’re safer if we tell Tyler, Trudy, trust me. There’s a killer out there right now and if he thinks we suspect him, he’s going to…you know, come for us anyway.”

  Trudy went deadly silent. This had apparently not occurred to her.

  Missy said, “Look, let’s take it one step at a time. We need help—”

  “I shared this with you in confidence, Missy.” Trudy’s voice was cold.

  “Trudy—”

  Trudy hung up.

  Missy thought about calling her back, but instead put the phone down. She slumped on the couch, her hand hitting a bag of chips.

  With a gasp, she realized she’d been eating chips during the end of that conversation. But she didn’t even remember getting them out of the pantry.

  She carried the bag into the kitchen and threw it out.

  Mindfulness.

  She needed mindfulness when it came to food. Her habits were deeply ingrained. Without even realizing it, she’d opened a bag of junk food and started eating.

  She wondered what had happened to Noreen.

  Chapter Seven

  Missy woke in the darkness to an annoying, insistent buzzing. Through the confusion of being stirred from sleep early, she squinted her eyes and noted the time on her clock: 3:15AM.

  So much for sleeping in and getting up late.

  She grabbed her cell and checked the caller ID. It was a local number, but one she didn’t recognize. Probably some player fat-fingering the number for one of his booty calls. Missy would normally let such a call go to voicemail, expecting it to be a wrong number. But tonight was anything but a normal night, and she got a feeling the call was important.

  “Hello?”

  Noreen was hysterical. “Missy?”

  “Nor, are you okay?”

  “No.” She laughed but the laugh was full of despair. “I’m not okay.”

  Noreen started crying.

  Missy was already getting out of bed. “Nor, I’ll be right there.”

  “No…hours…right now.”

  Her words had been garbled through her hysterical crying. “What did you say? Noreen, calm down for a sec and tell me what’s wrong.”

  Noreen needed a moment to pull herself together. When she spoke, her voice was clear as a bell. “There are no visiting hours right now.”

  Missy’s heart sank. She knew what this meant.

  Noreen forced a laugh. “You’re my one phone call, Missy.”

  “Oh my God, Noreen. This can’t be happening.”

  “It’s happening.” She started crying again. “I need your help, Miss. They think I did this.”

  Missy felt horrible about equivocating with Noreen earlier. Of course she was going to help. She’d do anything for her best friend.

  “Noreen, we’re going to get through this. I promise.”

  “Thank you, Missy.” She sad-laughed again and it broke Missy’s heart.

  “First thing in the morning, I’m going to talk to Len Greenberg,” Missy said. “He’ll have you out of there in no time.”

  “Okay.” Noreen was breathing heavily now and sounded like she was hyperventilating.

  “Nor, take it easy, take it easy. Take a long, slow breath, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Missy sat back down on the bed. Cody picked her head up and looked sullenly at her. The dog always could tell her moods and knew whenever something was wrong.

  Missy didn’t even know where to start. She wanted to get Noreen out of there as quickly as possible. No, she had to. But that would mean investigating another murder. And it also meant challenging Tyler, who’d obviously arrested the wrong woman.

  “Missy.” Noreen’s voice was calm again. “I did not do this.”

  “Don’t worry,” Missy said, making up her mind. With Noreen officially arrested, she couldn’t sit on this information that Trudy had shared. “I think I can get you out of there fast. Is Tyler right there?”

  “No.”

  Missy cursed silently. “Is he at the station?”

  “They processed me an hour ago, and that was the last time I saw him…I really don’t know where he is.”

  Missy thought about it. She could just call him directly. It was probably safer that way.

  “Okay, Nor. Listen to me. I’m going to call him right now, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “And even if that doesn’t work out, I’ll still be there tomorrow with Len Greenberg, okay?”

  “Miss, I didn’t do this.”

  “I know, Nor. I know.”

  “Missy, I don’t know what to say…I’m so scared.”

  Missy’s heart broke again. Noreen was usually so upbeat, carefree. Things rarely got her down. But this had crushed her, as it would anyone.

  “I’m scared too. But we’re going to get through this. Okay?”

  “Okay. Thank you, Missy. You’re a real friend.”

  Missy told Noreen to be strong and try to get some sleep, promising her tomorrow would look a lot different. It was 3:30AM by the time she got off with Noreen, which really wasn’t a great time to call somebody but Missy figured that Tyler was still up. He’d just arrested Noreen, so he was probably at the station, filling out the endless paperwork she’d heard police complain of all the time.

  She scrolled through her contacts and thumbed the phone icon next to his number.

  It rang a few times before a woman answered in a sleepy voice. “Hello?”

  Missy was thrown off by the voice. Who was this?

  “Hello, I’m calling to speak to Tyler.”

  “Who is this?” The voice was instantly suspicious.

  “This is Missy DeMeanor.”

  There was a pause. “I’ve heard about you.”

  Then Missy put it together. It had to be Tyler’s ex-wife, Jill. They were estranged but trying to work out their marriage. From what Missy had heard, Jill still lived near Philadelphia, where Tyler had worked as a detective until recently. When he’d moved back here, it had been alone. Missy knew they were working things out, but she hadn’t known Jill was in town.

  “I’ve heard about you too,” Missy said, which was only half-true. She’d heard about Jill from everybody except Tyler. In the few conversations they’d had over the last six months, Tyler had mentioned her in passing, and never by name, and he’d never revealed anything about her except that she worked in sales at a pharmaceutical company. Missy knew that meant she probably made a fortune, at least by Missy DeMeanor standards. She’d seen pictures of the woman online, and she was stunning. Tall, long legs, blond hair, year-round tan, and her body had a long, lean look to it like she’d played sports her whole life.

  In other words, she looked exactly like Missy didn’t.

  “What do you want?” Jill said, no humor in her voice.

  Missy’s anger rose. “I called Tyler because I need to speak to him.”

  Jill didn’t respond for a moment. “Why are you calling my husband at this hour?”

  “It’s police business.”

  “Oh right.” Her voice changed tone and became mocking. “You think you’re a detective. I forgot. You think you can do what Tyler does.”

  “I’m just trying to help.”

  “More like you’re trying to get your friend out of trouble by exploiting your relationship with the chief detective.”

  “We’re not in a rel
ationship, Jill.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you want there to be one.”

  Missy knew she and this woman would never get along. “You must not think much of Tyler if you think he’d let someone he thought was guilty go because I said so.”

  Score one for Missy.

  “You can speak with him tomorrow.”

  “This is tomorrow.”

  “Morning.”

  “I need to talk to him now. He’s got somebody locked up who shouldn’t be, while there’s a killer out there. Every minute that goes by is another minute that person could hurt somebody else, or get away. You’re obstructing justice, really.”

  This last bit she just threw in. Missy had no idea if Jill’s actions here constituted obstruction of justice.

  “Detective Missy DeMeanor.” The other woman forced a laugh. “You mean he’s got your friend locked up right now. Talk to him tomorrow.”

  “You’re not seriously going to hang—”

  Jill cut her off. “Don’t ever call my husband on his private phone again.”

  “This is—”

  “And don’t ever call Tyler again at this hour. I don’t care if you’re dying.”

  She hung up.

  “What a Queen B,” Missy said.

  Chapter Eight

  The morning came early. It had taken Missy an hour to calm down enough after her call with Noreen and nasty conversation with Jill, Tyler’s wife, to fall asleep. She woke at 7:00AM, her mind already racing, and as tired as she felt couldn’t fall back asleep. It would have been nice to catch another hour of sleep. Missy felt like she was going to need it because the next few days were probably going to be crazy. But no such luck.

  Though it was early, she tried Lee Greenberg anyway. Attorneys usually worked long hours so there was a chance he could be there.

  Nobody answered at his office.

  Missy started thinking about next steps but didn’t get anywhere. Not able to sit still, she decided to get out some of her nervous energy by exercising.

  Missy pulled on some old sweats that were really starting to get loose (yay!) and a black t-shirt that wasn’t quite form-fitting but also didn’t look like she was wearing a trash bag. The sun was out when she slipped on her sneakers and bounded down her steps. Cody watched her leave from the front door.