Traveling Town Mystery Boxset

by Ami Diane

  Rose leaned into him, squeezed his hand, and whispered in his ear. He nodded then affected a blank expression once more.

  Ella looked away, her mind churning. It could be nothing. It could be the reaction of losing a friend. Then again, his reaction gave credence to her suspicion.

  Even though she’d only met the innkeeper five days prior, he didn’t strike her as the cheating type. Still, she’d been surprised by unfaithful men before. It was rarely the ones she suspected, and sometimes the ones she did.

  Ella briefly entertained the notion that the innkeeper had been having an affair with Kayline to see if the puzzle pieces fit. It explained the clandestine meeting in the woods between him and Kay—assuming Six was telling the truth about spotting them together.

  What if that wasn’t the only time they had met up in that spot? What if Kay had arrived early one day, waiting for Jimmy, and stumbled onto Six’s secret still much like Ella had? It seemed plausible that the unpredictable outlaw could have killed Kay in a fit of rage. But if he had, why not just use his revolver?

  To cover his tracks, she thought.

  Surely, a bullet in a body would put Six at the top of the suspect list. So, if he had poisoned Kay to throw suspicion off him, then where had he gotten the jewelweed, supposing that was what killed her? And did he still have it?

  On the other hand, the jewelweed grew right under Jimmy’s roof. What if Kay had tried to break things off or threatened to tell someone about the affair?

  Ella’s stomach tightened with a new thought. What if Rose had found out about the affair?

  It was a lot of supposition on ground as unsteady as Rose’s gelatin mold. Six had a strong motive coupled with the appropriate temperament, which made him her best suspect, followed by Jimmy, then Rose. Both innkeepers had access to the jewelweed, whereas Six… well, she couldn’t be sure without seeing his place.

  As the service drew to a close, Ella decided she needed to rule one of them out. She needed to check out Six’s house.

  There was a great shuffling of suits and dresses as everyone filtered out of the church, shaking hands below somber expressions, a great exodus of black—save for Wink.

  Climbing to her feet, Ella trailed behind Flo and Wink, dodging her head to get a better look at the woman accompanying Will. Finally, the crowd parted enough for her to make out the woman’s face, and Ella’s shoulders slumped. She was beautiful, with soft features and sweeping blonde curls.

  Ella stared so hard, she didn’t see that the aisle of mourners bottlenecked at the door, and she smacked into Wink’s lime-colored back. Chester dug his claws in for dear life, causing Wink to let out a startled cry. Both squirrel and woman chittered at Ella.

  Ella apologized and returned the rodent’s glare. After Wink turned back around, Rose sidled up to Ella’s elbow.

  “You alright?”

  “Yeah, fine.” Ella resisted the urge to see if the inventor had noticed the commotion. “Who is that woman with Will?”

  Rose’s ruby lips twitched as she fought a smile. “Oh, that’s Jenny. She owns the salon across from the inn.”

  Ella remembered passing the salon while job hunting but hadn’t gone inside. She figured no one in their right mind would let her near a pair of scissors.

  “She’s pretty. You know, if you’re into nice hair, a symmetrical face, long legs…”

  “They’re not that close,” Rose explained as they stepped out into the dry, afternoon heat. It hit Ella like a furnace blast.

  “Back when he first got stuck here, before he met Kay, he went through what we all went through: denial, depression, and such. Jenny helped him adjust. Wagging tongues claim they dated, but he denies they ever did. Says they’ve always just been friends. She’s not his type, anyway.”

  “He has a type?”

  This time, the smile broke free. “I don’t know about physically, but let’s just say that Jenny’s… high maintenance. And she’s as friendly and sweet as a cactus.” Rose’s cheeks flushed. “Oh, dear. I didn’t just say that, did I? Well, I suppose there’s no shame in telling the truth. But you didn’t hear it from me.”

  “Hear what?” Ella caught the innkeeper’s eye and winked.

  After a few moments, Rose abandoned Ella to gossip with Wink and Flo about someone’s hat. The three waltzed a few steps ahead of Ella in rapt conversation, setting the pace at a gentle roll over the sidewalk that might get them home before midnight, maybe sunset if they picked up their feet a little.

  As curious as she was about the offending headpiece that had her friends in a tizzy, Ella hung back until she fell into step beside Jimmy. She searched for a conversation opening, one that would land near Kayline, and decided on a simple approach.

  “Sorry for your loss.”

  He started at her voice. “Oh, thanks.”

  “Were you two close?”

  Jimmy looked from his polished black leather Oxford shoes to the three women in front of them. “About as close as anyone else, I suppose. In a small town like this, you get to know everyone a bit.”

  Ella scratched her arm, searching for more questions. This was one of the few times she’d seen him alone, and she didn’t want to lose the opportunity to dig for answers.

  “Jimmy? Can I ask you something?”

  “Just did.” He chuckled at his own joke.

  “Okay, Dad.”

  He shot her a confused look.

  “You know, dad joke?” When his eyebrows didn’t budge, she said, “Doesn’t matter.” She took a breath. “My question is, what was Kay afraid of?”

  Will had said Kay was scared of something. Maybe it had been her secret with Jimmy.

  The laugh lines around the innkeeper’s eyes melted away. “What do you mean?”

  “I’d heard that she was scared of something, wanted to leave Keystone because of it.”

  His features hardened. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”

  “No, I—”

  They’d arrived in front of the inn. Without another word, Jimmy squeezed past the trio of women and marched under the iron archway. He leaped the stoop in one bound, shoved the front door in, and disappeared inside.

  Ella wasn’t sure what she’d said to set him off, but she was now certain that Kay had been scared of something or someone, and it may have gotten her killed.

  After lunch, Ella sat in the backyard with Grandma Wink under an old oak tree, enjoying good company, the dry heat, and drowning in her own sweat.

  Keystone Inn towered at their back, providing little by way of shade as the sun reached its zenith. The lawn sloped gradually until it met the lakeside trail.

  Ella listened to the water lapping at the shore, sipping lemonade and wishing she’d packed a swimsuit for Thanksgiving with her parents. Overhead, the leaves of the oak tree provided a modicum of relief from heat.

  Ella traced her finger through the condensation on her glass before setting the cup down, then she stretched out on her lawn chair the best she could, matching Fluffy’s prone body beside her. It was hard to believe that only a couple days prior she’d been trudging through snow banks up to her knees.

  “So, what do you think of our little town?” Wink asked.

  “It’s beautiful. And full of crazy people.”

  “Present company excepted?”

  “Nope,” Ella teased. “But honestly, once you get past the whole never-see-your-family-or-friends thing, Keystone’s pretty great.” A breeze whispered through the leaves and played across Ella’s skin.

  The tranquility broke with the sound of Wink slapping a fly. “I love it here. It’s a great way to travel the world. ‘Course it’s too risky crossing the boundary line to explore, but I do get to see a lot from my house.”

  “Oh yeah, you live on Twin Hills. I bet you have a great view.”

  “I do indeed. You should stop by sometime and see it.”

  “I would love that.” Ella’s eyelids began to droop.

  “Why don’t you come over fo
r dinner tonight? Say, six o’clock?”

  Remembering Grandma Wink’s moist banana bread and how it had melted over her tongue set Ella’s mouth watering. If Wink’s cooking skills were half as good as her baking, Ella would be crazy not to accept.

  The diner owner slapped at another insect. The movement made Ella’s right forearm crawl. She scratched it.

  “Whatcha you got there?” Wink leaned over, wrapping her bony fingers around Ella’s wrist. She whistled.

  “What?” Ella followed her gaze to her own skin.

  Red splotches covered her from wrist to elbow. She straightened in her chair, pulling the sleeves of her t-shirt higher.

  “What is this?” Now that she noticed the rash, it felt like her whole body crawled with invisible ants.

  “Just some poison oak. Must’ve gotten it when you went on your little escapade into the woods. There’s loads of it there.” When she caught the horrified expression on Ella’s face, she smiled. “Don’t worry, dear. It’s nothing a little jewelweed won’t clear up.”

  Ella froze. “What? What did you say?”

  Wink laughed, the melodious sound bringing Chester down from his branch. “It’s just a poison oak rash, dear.”

  “No, not that. Jewelweed?”

  “Yeah. Some of the residents grow it. It helps with rashes and other skin ailments. Since we can’t exactly run to the local drugstore, we have to look at alternative treatments and medicines.”

  “But isn’t jewelweed poisonous?”

  “Only if you eat it, for heaven’s sake. For a rash, you just mash it up and slather it on your skin.”

  Ella sank back into her chair, her mind racing. “So, most residents grow this plant?”

  Wiggling her fingers at Chester, Wink said, “I wouldn’t say most. But a handful. Most know to stay out of the forest or know what poison oak looks like enough to avoid it.”

  “Who grows jewelweed?”

  “Let’s see, I think Rose might have some in the conservatory.”

  “Who else?”

  Grandma Wink’s hand paused from playing with Chester, and she peered at Ella. “Oh, I don’t know. But why not just get some leaves from the conservatory? Rose wouldn’t mind.”

  Ella chewed her lip. “I wasn’t asking because of the rash. Kay was poisoned.”

  A weighted silence followed, and she allowed Wink to process the news about her employee and to come to the same conclusion Ella had.

  Taking a slow breath, Wink’s hand dropped to her lap, causing the squirrel to wander in search of his playmate. “I see. You know this for a fact?”

  “Yeah. Pauline doesn’t know by what yet.”

  “Hm, I see,” Wink repeated. “Even if it was jewelweed, anyone has access to the conservatory. The inn’s open to the town. Have you noticed anyone hanging around there lately who shouldn’t be?”

  “No. No one besides the usual.”

  Wink’s chest deflated, and she looked tired. “Well, as I said, other people grow it.”

  “Yeah, but that could at least narrow down the suspects, couldn’t it? Does Six grow it?”

  “Not sure. It’s possible.” Her mouth turned down as she swept back a strand of runaway blue hair. “You think Six might’ve had something to do with her death?”

  Ella nodded.

  “But why?”

  Ella rubbed her hand over her lemonade glass, working out how much to tell Wink. It wasn’t that she suspected the diner owner, but she didn’t know Wink well enough yet to know if she could keep a secret or not.

  Wink seemed to pick up on her hesitation and put Ella out of her misery. “That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. Besides, I’m sure Pauline will figure it out.”

  Ella wasn’t so certain. At the potluck, Pauline had said Kay’s stomach contents only had trace amounts of the poison. Meaning that if the plant was what had killed Kay, it would’ve had to have been ground to a fine pulp and already absorbed, otherwise Pauline would’ve found plant fibers.

  Ella needed to look at the jewelweed in the conservatory again. If some of the leaves were missing, maybe that would help narrow down which plant had been used.

  “I have to go.”

  “Investigate a murder?”

  Ella downed the last of her lemonade and searched the older woman’s face. “You going to tell me not to?”

  “Not at all. Sheriff Chapman’s got his hands full enough, what with Six tearing up the town and that Viking throwing his ax at anything that moves.”

  “There’s a Viking in Keystone?”

  “Point is, don’t let Chapman know what you’re up to. He’s a decent man, and he’s the hand of law in Keystone. But he comes from a different time. Truth be told, I’m not sure he knows how to investigate a murder like this.”

  Ella felt both relieved and grateful for the support.

  “Also,” Wink continued, “don’t go having fun without me. I’ve already lost one friend. I don’t want to lose another. And I’m getting bored. There’s only so much trouble Flo and I can get into.”

  Ella squeezed the older woman’s shoulder. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She rushed over the lawn, her bare toes tangling in the thick grass before she reached the terrace. Inside the conservatory, Ella breathed in its earthy aroma, then she homed in on the jewelweed.

  Bending low, she pulled aside the plant’s stems. The wispy white flowers shook with indignity at being handled.

  Near the back, she spotted what she was looking for but hoped to not see. Several stems had been severed.

  Ella’s chest tightened as she realized the implication. She knew it wasn’t catching either Jimmy or Rose red-handed. Knew it could’ve been anyone. It was even possible that Six had sneaked inside and clipped the leaves. It was also possible that the leaves had been used for medicinal purposes as a topical like Wink had explained.

  She also knew it wasn’t definitive that the plant had killed Kay. But what she did know was that it was time to present this information to the sheriff.

  “Hola nuevamente.”

  Ella jumped and whirled around. Angelica stood in the doorway, a pair of gardening gloves and clippers in her hands.

  Ella let out a breath, grabbing her chest. “Angelica, you scared me. Is everyone in this town part cat?”

  “Disculpe, you need help?”

  “No, estoy bien.” Ella jutted out her arms, revealing the offending red splotches creeping up her skin then pointed at the plant. “I just came for some of this.”

  “Ah, sí.” Angelica clipped some leaves off for Ella and dropped them into her palm. Then, she motioned how to mash up the leaves, clicking off instructions in rapid Spanish. Thankfully, Ella understood most of it.

  Ella thanked her then began to walk away before she stopped. “Angelica? Who else clipped this plant?”

  The gardener furrowed her brows in confusion. Ella pointed at the naked spot where other leaves should’ve been. “¿Quién tomó estas hojas?”

  “Ah. Señora Murray.”

  CHAPTER 18

  A BEAD OF sweat rolled down Ella’s back. The sun had carved its path across the sky and turned the day into late afternoon, causing the heat to radiate off the sidewalk like the inside of an oven.

  She teetered outside the sheriff’s office, debating on whether or not to barge in. There had been no doubt on the walk over, but once she’d peeked through the window and saw Six pacing his cell, the doubts crept in.

  The thought of seeing the outlaw again caused more sweat to break out, prickling her forehead—or maybe it was just the heat. The rash on her arms worked overtime in making her miserable, and she resisted the urge to scratch her skin raw. She wished she’d taken the time to make up the jewelweed paste before leaving the inn.

  Ella rolled her shoulders back and took a deep breath. So what if Six was inside? He was behind bars, and she wasn’t. Was she really going to pass up the opportunity to rub it in his face?

  The old hinges on the door creaked as she
walked in. Inside, the temperature wasn’t much lower and had the added benefit of smelling like a high school boys’ locker room.

  “Miss Barton,” Sheriff Chapman drawled from his desk. He shoved some papers around before tipping back in his chair and looking at her. “Help you?”

  She rubbed her arms absently before she caught herself and stopped. She hadn’t looked over at the cells yet, but she could feel Six’s cold eyes on her and could smell his tobacco and woodsy scent.

  “Um, yeah. I may have information that could help your investigation.”

  “Which one?”

  “Kay.”

  The sheriff shifted his body so that his whole lanky frame faced her, giving her his undivided attention. With a leathered hand, he tipped the brim of his hat up. “Go on.”

  The sweat had now collected at the small of Ella’s back, and she was sure she’d have an attractive dark spot on her shirt.

  “Can we talk in private?” Her eyes darted over to the cells. Jesse’s arms draped through the bars. He, too, was giving her his undivided attention.

  Ella glared and before she could stop herself said, “How’s that cage treating you?”

  “Why don’t you come closer and find out?”

  She flipped him off.

  Sheriff Chapman cleared his throat. “Let’s step outside. I could use some fresh air, anyway. Something’s fouling this place up.” He glanced pointedly at Six.

  As he walked towards the door, he said over his shoulder, “Don’t go anywhere, now.” His mustache twitched in a surprising show of humor.

  Maybe he wasn’t so bad, Ella thought. Old-school in his methods, but she was beginning to warm to him.

  They stepped out onto the sidewalk, and he led her to the library’s overhang where they could find a reprieve from the sun.

  “Whatcha want to tell me?”

  As she searched for the words to begin, her gaze wandered from the badge pinned to his vest to his holstered revolver, different from Six’s, with ivory grips.