Curl Up and Die

by Sophie Sharp

  “And Danika has her necklace, and no apparent motive to help blackmail anyone. Plus she has an alibi for the time of death.”

  “True that,” Mia said. “I wish I could think of who else bought my necklaces. I really messed that up.”

  “Live and learn, sweets.”

  “Mean Goat will be after me for it, soon, regardless of Heath’s support. If I can’t give him good answers …”

  “All the more reason for us to finish what we were doing.” Aunt Molly turned Mia back toward the board. They eyed it in silence.

  “Given everything we’ve learned, the only person still on the known necklace list is Nell,” Mia said.

  “I’ll be honest,” Aunt Molly said and looked at Mia. “It’s not Nell. Like you knew it couldn’t be Tabitha? I know it can’t be Nell.”

  Mia held up her index finger. “I know at lot has happened since Opal May died, Aunt Molly, but Nell loves San Cosmas. Maybe she changed her mind again and didn’t want to support Veronica’s plans after all. But she could have felt stupid after only encouraging the mayor’s support days ago. If so, maybe she’d do anything to protect the lot. It is a beautiful spot and most people in San Cosmas really love it as a place to gather.”

  “Yes, I just wish everyone had felt that way,” Aunt Molly said. “She does love San Cosmas. And some day she’ll be the mayor. She was at the funeral. I saw her with my own eyes several times. Not to mention, just because Veronica is dead, it doesn’t mean that Max Harrison can’t find another developer to move forward with different plans. No, if this was about stopping the development, people would have had to stop more than just Veronica.”

  Mia sighed. This was getting complicated. What were her priorities? She needed Heath to give Moat an alibi and she needed that necklace to no longer be a clue. “Let’s run through the guest registry so you can return it to Max. Maybe it will help us think of someone who wasn’t there.”

  “Let’s keep in mind, too,” Aunt Molly said, “that the registry will show us people were at the funeral, but there’s no way for us to know if they were there the entire time.”

  “Ooh, you mean someone could have snuck out? That’s good.” Mia stepped up to the white board and in a blank space, wrote Signed In and No Show.

  But if only it had been so simple. When it came to the registry, they made quick work of finding the outstanding trucky-preneurs: Sherman, Carl, Pam, Vicki, and Ben as attendees.

  “Cripes,” Aunt Molly said, running her finger along the list of names on each page two more times before updating Mia.

  “I already know what you’re thinking,” Mia said. “I look guilty. Not at the funeral. Found the body. Held the murder weapon. And then there’s that necklace. But I assure you, Aunt Molly, it wasn’t me.”

  Aunt Molly snorted. “As if I’d ever think so. Maybe the necklace isn’t as big of a clue as we are making out of it, but …”

  “But the victim was holding it in her bloody fist. Until Heath vouches for my whereabouts at the time of Veronica’s murder, I’m still on Moat’s list.”

  “He’ll vouch for you,” Aunt Molly said, “And as soon as he does, I’m sure Detective Moat will let us know. Did Heath say when he’d speak to Moat again?”

  “No. I guess I should have asked.” But she’d trusted that he would, and she’d been excited about setting up the situation board.

  “This is strange, or maybe not,” Aunt Molly said, “but neither Mayor Tully nor Nell signed in. Why wouldn’t they? And how many others didn’t sign in?”

  Mia snapped to attention, her sleuth cap back on in a nanosecond. “They were probably busy greeting everyone and preparing for the eulogy. And then the mayor left early for his meeting, right? He ran out of time is my guess.”

  “Well, Mia, I think we know who we need to talk to next just to clear up our minute suspicions.”

  Mia clapped her hands once. “We need to talk to Nell. Let’s see her necklace and try to find out what she and Veronica were arguing about at the Moscone Center.”

  “Right, it might steer us in the right direction.” Aunt Molly ushered Mia out of the situation room and pulled the curtain closed. “And I need to figure out how I’ll return the guest book to Max.”

  As her aunt babbled about different ways she might approach Max, Mia worried about someone closer to home. The list of suspects was getting shorter and with every new clue, it got closer and closer to Damion. Yes, he’d shown her the necklace, but they still didn’t know for sure if the necklace in Veronica’s hand had belonged to the killer. What if the killer had been hired, like Aunt Molly said? What if the mystery man who’d bought the necklace had somehow been involved? Damion had so many secrets lately and never any good explanations. He had hated Veronica Corsello, but was he capable of killing her?

  The idea was too horrible to say out loud, but unless they found the real killer, she would have to tell Aunt Molly about Damion’s shady behavior soon. Or worse, Detective Moat.

  Though Glam Van was closed on Mondays, her aunt soon badgered Anthony to come over for the cut and shave she had offered. Anthony was getting more than hair therapy; he was rehearsing his apology to Jocelyn on Aunt Molly. Mia was sure this must have been the longest service Aunt Molly had ever given. Neither had felt like going home, feeling powerless.

  Anthony was still there at three o’clock when Mia’s phone finally rang. All day she’d been listening for the ping of a text or a call from Damion to see if he’d forgiven her and to set up this possible surprise date tomorrow night that Tabitha mentioned. Every time she heard a noise, she stared at the phone’s screen, hoping to see his name. She’d almost given up, sure she was starting to hear things, when her phone rang. Actually rang. She whipped it out and stared at the screen. It was a local number she didn’t recognize. Her heart skipped. Maybe the strange necklace man had tracked down her phone number along with her last name.

  “This is Mia.”

  “Miss Casey,” a very professional, and unfortunately, familiar sounding voice said, “this is Detective Moat from San Cosmas PD.”

  Mia’s heart thudded. Maybe Heath had spoken to him and he was calling to let her know she was off the hook. Oh, please let it be that.

  “Quick question for you,” he said.

  Mia waited.

  “I understand you make jewelry from …” Mia heard the rustle of papers. “… sea glass.”

  She waved at Aunt Molly to follow her into the situation room.

  Aunt Molly told Anthony she’d be right back.

  Mia scribbled on the board for her aunt to read: Moat. Necklace.

  Her aunt did a silent scream and put her hands on her head. She shook her head and mouthed, “Stall.”

  But instead, Mia answered. “Uh-huh.”

  “Any chance you have a list of customers that have bought from you?”

  Mia pointed at section of the board with the necklace list.

  Aunt Molly dropped her head.

  Mia knew what she had to do—she and Aunt Molly had agreed to tell the truth, if asked—but suddenly she worried it might not be so simple as that. She glanced at her aunt for moral support, but Aunt Molly looked panicked. “Um, I might,” she said. “Why?”

  “I can’t say too much at the moment, but if you could send over the list, that would be appreciated.”

  Mia hesitated. On the upside, this meant she and Aunt Molly had been right about the necklace at the scene. On the downside, Mean Goat would think it had something to do with her.

  “Um, am I still a suspect? Heath confirmed my location, right? He said he would. Do I need a lawyer?” she asked.

  “No lawyer necessary. He talked to me, yes, and you’re no longer a suspect.”

  “That’s a relief,” she said, thrilled, but also part furious that she’d been worrying over nothing.

  “So, the list?” Moat said.

  “Right. I’ll, um, pull it together and send it over by tomorrow morning. But Detective Moat”—she wished she didn’t have
to admit this to him of all people—“it’s not a thorough list. I was just starting my business and wasn’t very good at record keeping.”

  “Thank you for the honesty. We will have to make do with what you have.”

  Mia hung up, her body swirling with emotions. She was no longer a suspect. She and Aunt Molly had been right about the necklace needing to be traced, so their instincts were good.

  “I’m no longer a suspect,” Mia said to Aunt Molly.

  “So we don’t have to prove your innocence anymore.”

  “We can stop sleuthing.”

  They threw their arms around one another and both blinked away the hint of tears.

  “Detective Moat wants a list of necklaces. I didn’t mention we were a few steps ahead of him. Do you think I should I tell him we’ve accounted for most of the necklaces?”

  Aunt Molly gave her a thumbs up. “Yes, but Nell …”

  “I already know what you are going to say. This isn’t fair to Nell because we didn’t give her a chance to show us her necklace like the others. But I don’t want to lie and keep her name off the list,” Mia said.

  “Maybe,” Aunt Molly said at last, “we should go and talk to Nell right away. We can ask her about her confrontation with Veronica Corsello at the conference too. And then when we go to the detective, we can come clean about everything we know. Even hand over and explain the photos.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Mia said.

  “I’ll finish Anthony’s hair, and we’ll head to Nell’s right after dinner with your uncle. I have to admit, it will be nice to confess everything to Doug tomorrow after we meet Moat.”

  As her aunt walked back to the main cabin of Glam Van, Mia took another look at her phone to see if any calls had gone to voicemail while she’d been talking to Detective Moat. Nope. Damion had most definitely not called.

  Chapter Eighteen

  And Damion never did call. Didn’t even bother to text her. If he had been planning a surprise for her, their fight last night had cancelled it. Or the surprise had never been for her. She pushed her growing suspicions aside and tried to stay focused on the evening’s plans.

  Uncle Doug had made Mia’s favorite chocolate chocolate chip cake for dessert. She had a feeling he’d heard about her disappointment over Damion and was trying to make her feel better, or maybe he was just in a very cakey mood because he already had a second cake, lavender and honey, in the oven. The chocolate chocolate chip cake did help, just a little.

  When they were done, Aunt Molly pushed up from the table and did a huge fake stretch. “I feel fat,” she said. “I need a walk. Mia, you want to come?”

  “Sure,” said Mia, already dressed in walking shoes, as they’d planned.

  “Great idea,” said Uncle Doug, heading to the coat rack by the door. “I’ll come too.”

  Aunt Molly rushed after him and Mia heard her say something about his cake in the oven and girl time and “You know she’s having boyfriend trouble.” Uncle Doug was going to think she was a complete basket case at this rate.

  “Shall we?” Aunt Molly said, grinning at Mia from the door.

  Mia kept her head down, sure she would give them away if she caught Uncle Doug’s eye. Minutes later, they were out in the streets of San Cosmas, heading for Nell’s house.

  There was a hint of fog in the air and a chilly dampness that made Mia turn up the collar of her pink jacket and zip it all the way to the top.

  “I’m ready for summer.” Aunt Molly pulled her sleeves over her hands. “We have seasons here, you know?”

  “More than Los Angeles, that’s for sure.” It was nice, if only for a few seconds, to talk about something as mundane as the weather.

  It was about a twenty-minute walk through town to the block of modern condos nestled in the trees overlooking San Cosmas. Nell’s was only halfway up the hill, but Aunt Molly was already breathless before they’d passed the first driveway.

  “You okay?” Mia asked, dropping back to keep pace with her aunt.

  Aunt Molly waved her off and said what Mia supposed was “fine” but came out as “fa-hu.”

  “Nothing that losing ten pounds wouldn’t fix,” her aunt said.

  Mia pulled her over to a narrow wooden bench near the San Cosmas free shuttle stop. “Let’s have a break.”

  It was a pity the service didn’t run at night, but they had agreed to walk anyway in case anyone saw them. And there was only a small ways to go. They could say they were out for a stroll, whereas if they’d driven or taken the shuttle, their arrival at Nell’s would have looked deliberate. There was so much to think about when you were an undercover sleuth.

  “Aunt Molly?” Mia asked, once her aunt was no longer gasping for air. “Am I being an idiot?”

  “About what?”

  “Men. Damion.” It was easier to think about men right now rather than murder. Assuming the two weren’t connected.

  Aunt Molly lifted her eyebrows and smirked. “Not sure I’m your resident expert on that topic. I’ve been married to your Uncle Doug for over twenty years and I’m still trying to figure him out.”

  Mia nodded. She thought about Anthony and Jocelyn again.

  “But you love Uncle Doug and he clearly loves you. That part’s easy. And you trust one another, don’t you?”

  “I suppose. I mean, in terms of him being faithful, yes, absolutely, one hundred percent. And I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else except him. But, I’m not sure you’re supposed to know every single detail of one another’s lives.”

  “Like us being here, now?”

  Aunt Molly pulled a pained face. “No, I think I probably should have been honest about our plans. But I know he’s protective, and he thought we shouldn’t get involved, and maybe he he’s right, but sometimes you need to be able to make your own choices, even mistakes, if only so that the people who love you can say, ‘I told you so.’”

  “Do you think I’m making a mistake with Damion? Do you think I should trust him? Ignore his secrets?”

  Her aunt hesitated, and then asked, “Do you think he’s in some kind of trouble or in over his head on something?”

  “I hope not.”

  “Do you think he loves you?”

  “I guess. In a way.”

  “Do you think he’s seeing someone else?”

  It was Mia’s turn to hesitate. She still had no idea who the strange man and woman were. And he’d been so secretive about his private time. Who was Mama Bear? Possibly Mama Cougar? So many unknowns. Men were exhausting.

  “What does your gut tell you?” Aunt Molly prodded.

  “My gut says no. It says he’s not like that. It says that San Cosmas is a pretty small town and if he was seeing someone else, I’d have heard about it by now. But so much doesn’t make sense.”

  Aunt Molly stood up and dusted off the seat of her pants. “Then go with your gut.”

  “You’re right. Tomorrow I’ll talk to him. Clear everything up. Now that Detective Moat knows about the necklace, I can tell Damion everything, and explain why I’ve been acting so weird.”

  There were lights in both the upstairs and downstairs windows when Mia and Aunt Molly reached the gate to Nell’s condo.

  “One second,” said Aunt Molly, stopping again to catch her breath. She held up three fingers as if to tick off three items. “I’m glad I don’t live on a hill. Two, I’ll do the talking and ask—”

  But before she could say more, the door to Nell’s condo opened and light spilled across the doorstep and down the path, stopping just before it reached Mia and Aunt Molly’s feet. Aunt Molly pulled Mia behind a bush and motioned for her to stay quiet.

  Mia could hear Nell talking, her voice quiet, but excited. She gave a little laugh, almost a giggle, a giggle of adoration.

  Someone answered. Mia frowned. Her chest tightened and she gasped. She knew that voice. But just to be sure, she poked her head around the hedge. There, on the doorstep, on display for the entire world to see, was Nell, wra
pped in the embrace of a man.

  The man was Damion. Her once perfectly lovely boyfriend.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Mia, what’s wrong?” Molly whispered. Her niece’s jaw was practically on the ground and she’d turned as pale as the phyllo dough Doug liked to use for baklava.

  With crushed eyes, she turned to Molly. “Damion and Nell are making out.”

  What? No way.

  Molly all but shoved her niece aside to double check. She had to be wrong. She peeked around the hedge, then squinted as if it would help her see better. Molly had been meaning to reschedule her eye appointment. What she wouldn’t give for some glasses right now. Or binoculars. It was definitely Nell. And definitely Damion. But technically, they weren’t making out. They were, however, very close and holding each other fast. They weren’t kissing. Not yet, anyway.

  Still, Molly was hard pressed to believe what she was seeing because she had no idea Nell knew Damion, much less well enough to be so affectionate. Sure, she didn’t know everything about everyone, but in her line of business with gossip and what-not, she felt like she normally did know everything. Speaking of gut instincts, her gut said this all had something to do with the craziness that had hit San Cosmas in the past few days. Was something in the water, turning everyone cuckoo or something?

  Had Veronica known about this relationship, or whatever it was, between Damion and Nell? Is this what she and Nell had been arguing about at the conference? And like so many others, had Veronica been blackmailing Nell about this affair to get support over her development? Because in the beginning, Nell had been in support of saving the lot, and Nell had always wielded great influence over the mayor and would be the mayor someday. So an affair with a much younger man could hurt Nell’s long-term mayoral career, but would it ruin it? Molly didn’t think so, but if Nell had been afraid …

  She needed to know more before she jumped to any conclusions. Well, there was no time like the present. She would strike while the iron was hot and while everyone felt vulnerable, and confront Nell tonight as planned. Besides, they had to go to the detective tomorrow no matter what. But first things first, she had to get Mia out of here. No way would her niece be able to have an intelligent interrogation with Nell right now. She could actually blow everything.