House of the Rising Nun

by Dakota Cassidy

  He mumbled something I didn’t catch, but I did take satisfaction in hearing his footsteps as he followed behind me.

  I stopped at the door. “Coop? You want to come with?”

  She shook her head and rose from the couch. “I think I’ll stay here with Solomon. He needs a friend, and I don’t want him to go back to the bridge just in case the bad man is there. Also, maybe he knows something else and he’ll tell me once his stomach is full. Everything always makes more sense once I’ve eaten.”

  I smiled at her in relief. “You’re the real deal, Coop O’Shea. Thank you for caring so much about Solomon.”

  Higgs smiled his approval, too. “That’s a great idea, Coop. Please keep him in your sights, would you? I know he loves to roam, but I’d feel much better if he stayed at the shelter for a few days where I can keep track of him. There’s enough danger out there already without having to worry there’s a killer on the loose, too.”

  Coop saluted him and clicked her heels together. “Aye-aye, Captain. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  Just as we stepped out the door, Nadia texted me Nissa’s phone number, and I shot off a text to her in the hopes she’d meet me and cooperate.

  Nissa certainly didn’t look like someone who was big enough to drag a fully grown man off in the way Solomon had described, but stranger things had been known to happen, I suppose.

  She did take yoga classes—that made you strong, right?

  Higgs tapped me on the shoulder as I began to walk toward the car. “What are you mulling over?”

  “The idea that Nissa is strong enough to kill Dr. Mickey by puncturing his brain, not to mention carry Griffin.” I held up the picture of her Facebook page. “Does she look like she’s capable of something like that?”

  “I’d say that theory is questionable at best. She wasn’t even here at the time of the murder. She was visiting her sister.”

  True enough. “And what about Griffin? What do we do about him?” My chest ached at the idea he could be hurt or even dead. No. I wouldn’t think about him being dead. I couldn’t.

  “I don’t know what to do other than ask around and look for him. He’s not a drifter like the others, Trixie.” Sighing, he planted his hands on his hips. “I’m going to be honest here. I’m worried. Griffin is such a gentle soul…”

  My heart tightened in my chest in fear. “Do you think Solomon’s right? Did he really see someone take Griffin, and could Dr. Mickey’s murder be related to this? It has to be, even though it makes absolutely no sense. A homeless guy and a dentist? Two very different people from very different walks of life, Higgs. Is some guy in a gorilla suit just randomly killing people for the thrill?”

  “All good, worthy questions, Fledgling.”

  My phone buzzed then with a text from Nissa, who’d agreed to meet with me.

  I held up the phone to show Higgs Nissa’s answer. “Then let’s go get some answers.”

  As we piled into my old Caddy, a new sense of urgency overwhelmed me, rooting in the pit of my belly.

  How was this all connected? Was this all connected?

  And most of all, where was Griffin?

  Chapter 14

  As Nissa Lawrence crossed the concrete floor of the small café where we’d chosen to meet her, I couldn’t help but think of Griffin. It was raining pretty steadily now, and he hated the rain. In fact, he’d joked that he’d picked the worst state in the country to be homeless, due to the rains we get here during the fall and winter months.

  I refused to think of him as anything other than missing until we heard otherwise, which had led me to wonder if he were warm enough. If he had the socks Higgs had given him last week. I wondered if his beloved backpack held some water and food inside.

  As the rain pelted the tin roof of the tiny café called Cranberry’s, with its kitschy collection of assorted tin buckets and rustic appeal, I smiled and waved to Nissa, but she didn’t smile back. Her eyes held hesitance, maybe even a little fear.

  She was, as Goose would say, a real looker. Blonde and curvy and toned in all the right places. She was the kind of woman who’s fashion sense came easily to her, and who came off as though she’d merely thrown together an outfit without much thought, but still managed to look put together. Her artfully tied royal-blue and green scarf hung around her neck as though she’d walked into it and it had just settled around her shoulders, and her ankle-high royal-blue boots were the perfect finishing touch.

  We both rose to greet her as I held out my hand. “Hi, Nissa. I’m Trixie Lavender, and this is my friend, Cross Higglesworth. He owns the shelter Dr. Mickey did so much work for.”

  She cleared her throat, her creamy skin flushed, her handshake clammy. “Yes. Dr. Welch spoke fondly of you both. So do Nadia and Amber. They told me it would be all right to speak to you.”

  I waved to the chair opposite mine at our small table made of shiny mahogany, and smiled. “Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything? Some tea to warm your insides on this chilly day, maybe?”

  But she held up a delicate hand and shook her head, the artfully highlighted blonde in her hair glimmering under the soft glow of the lamp above our table. “No. Thank you. I don’t have much time. I have to grab the kids from school soon. So, if we could…”

  Get on with it. I sensed her discomfort and agreed. “Of course,” I said as I settled into my chair. “I have a question for you, Nissa. One that might make you incredibly uncomfortable regarding Dr. Mickey.”

  In a flash, her eyes welled with huge tears, catching on her long eyelashes. “Yes. Yes…” she murmured softly, her voice meek. “Oh, goodness, yes.”

  I cocked my head and glanced at Higgs before I asked, “Yes, what?”

  “Yes!” she suddenly hissed, looking around the room at the people sitting at the surrounding tables before her face returned to showcase her misery. “We were having an affair. Okay? I just knew someone would find out. I knew it. When Nadia and Amber told me you were helping the investigation, I knew you’d probably figure it out even if they didn’t, but I was too afraid to tell the police when they interviewed me.”

  Well, that had certainly been easy. I clicked open the picture on my phone and pointed to the necklace. “So this is your necklace, then?”

  She gasped softly as a tear slipped down her porcelain cheek. “Where did you find that? Did the police give that picture to you? How can that be? They never said a word!”

  “No. The police didn’t give it to me. I saw it at Dr. Mickey’s apartment. Or should I say, his mother’s apartment?”

  Now her shoulders sagged in her pale blue waist-length jacket, making it look too big for her. “I knew it had to be there, but I couldn’t get back in to check without a key. How did you know it was mine?”

  I tapped the face of my phone. “Your picture on your Facebook page. You’re wearing it at a yoga class.”

  She shook her head in a slow swish, her eyes wide and sad. “I told Michael I was no good at this! All the hiding and skulking around was getting harder and harder, and he kept pressuring me to tell my husband. And now look! Oooo, I feel just awful,” she muttered, and indeed, she looked miserable.

  I gave her a sympathetic smile even if I was having a hard time reckoning her infidelity. But I had to remember I wasn’t here to judge. I was here to get to the next point in this mystery.

  “Is that why you were heard fighting by some of Dr. Mickey’s neighbors? Because he was pressuring you to tell your husband?”

  Guilt spread across her face like wildfire as she looked down at her hands. “The guilt was killing me, tearing me apart. I know what we were doing was wrong, but I loved Michael, and I was preparing to leave my husband for him just before he—” She stopped short and inhaled, twisting her fingers together. “We argued a lot over me leaving my husband, Felix. He wanted me to leave him a long time ago, and I kept stalling because I knew how much it would hurt Felix, the kids… Gosh,” she said with a bitter laugh. “When I say that out loud, it sounds as bad
as it really is. I never thought I’d be one of those women, but here I am. I’m that woman.”

  Higgs finally spoke up, and when he did, his voice was brisk and husky. “How long were the two of you having an affair?”

  Nissa blanched and cringed. “Almost three years now,” she replied. “We didn’t mean for it to happen. We didn’t mean to have so many things in common, but—”

  I flashed a hand upward, cutting her off. “I don’t need to know the details or the reasons why, Nissa. That’s not why I’m here.”

  I know it’s horribly judgmental of me, but Nissa sounded like she needed to unload, and I wasn’t the person to do that with. I didn’t know her circumstances at home or what kind of character she possessed, but a cheater was a cheater, and I fought saying as much. Confirmation Dr. Mickey had been helping her cheat shined new light on him, too, and I was struggling with my disappointment.

  I’d have to chalk it up to the notion that good people make poor choices all the time, and let it go. He still didn’t deserve to be murdered.

  But Nissa was like a dam that had broken, the floodgate of guilt overflowing and rushing out. “I went to my sister’s to clear my head, and that’s where I decided to finally leave Felix. I was going to tell Michael I’d made the decision the night of the Halloween party, but then…then he was killed,” she almost sobbed, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth.

  I reached out and took her hand and squeezed it while Higgs squirmed in his chair. Whatever it was about Nissa and this conversation, it was making him uncomfortable. I’d sensed it from the moment she’d sat down.

  Still, I needed to move this along. I had Griffin’s safety to think of, and Nissa didn’t scream “suspect” to me. She’d been a long shot to begin with due to the visit with her sister, but stranger things have been known to happen. She could have hired a hitman. Goodness knows I had some experience with that.

  “Do you have any idea who might have wanted to kill Dr. Mickey, Nissa? Did you ever hear him argue with anyone? Did he ever mention any disagreements with anyone?”

  I felt like I’d asked those questions a lot the past couple of days, and the answer was always the same.

  Nissa shook her head and sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “No. Never. We were very careful about our time together. In fact, he moved out of his place and into his mother’s when she passed because he thought we were less likely to be found out farther from Cobbler Cove.”

  Well, that explained the cows, for sure.

  Sighing at the notion we’d hit yet another roadblock, I looked her in the eyes, searching them for answers. “One last question, if you don’t mind. Did Dr. Mickey ever say anything about the Organ Grinder?”

  Nissa looked horrified when her eyes flew open wide. “The what?”

  Higgs suddenly popped up from his chair as though for him, the conversation was over, and held out his hand. “It’s just a Cobbler Cove myth. Nothing important. Thanks for your time, Mrs. Lawrence. Trixie, I’ll be right outside.”

  I tried to hide my surprise at his departure as I thanked Nissa, too. “Yes. We appreciate your help, but I have to warn you. I’m going to have to share the information about the necklace with the Cobbler Cove Police. I hope you understand. I wish you’d done it yourself, but I can’t withhold information like this.”

  Now she flashed angry eyes at me, her body language going from worn to angry in seconds. “How did you get that necklace, Miss Lavender? You didn’t get into that apartment legally, that’s for sure!”

  When the guilty are caught, they often become defensive. Everyone knows that, right? I understood this reaction well, but I was guilty, too, and could quite possibly be charged, at the very least, with breaking and entering. It was a risk I had to take in order to do the right thing. Call that corny or maybe even stupid, but I wasn’t going to hide evidence if it turned out to be something vital to the police investigation.

  “But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to have to do the right thing, Nissa—even if it gets me into trouble, too.”

  Now she hopped up from her chair and leaned over the table to gaze down at me, holding her purse to her chest, her eyes full of fear. “You self-righteous—”

  I stood up, using the palms of my hands to leverage against the table, thwarting her angry words and glaring back at her. “Thank you again for your help. Have a lovely day, Nissa.”

  With those words, I turned on my heel and threaded my way through the crowd of tables, pushing my way out the door.

  I found Higgs leaning against a maple tree in full bloom, his face in a scowl. Now, I know Higgs pretty well. To see him scowl is unusual at best, meaning something was up.

  I peered at him through the light rain and smiled. “Hey, you okay?”

  He sighed and shook off whatever was bugging him. “I’m fine. Sorry I was so abrupt.”

  “Care to share why you made such an abrupt departure?”

  His lips went thin and he squinted into the rain. “The whole affair thing bugs me. I feel judgmental about it, but it leaves me feeling very uncomfortable, knowing I know a secret that will likely destroy a marriage, and I don’t even personally know Felix. Crazy, right?”

  I understood that completely. “Not so crazy, and I don’t think it’ll be long before Nissa has to fess up. I got the impression if she hadn’t been pressed, she might never have told Felix, but she’ll have no choice now. That aside, is that all that’s bugging you—because I feel like there’s more.”

  He pulled his knit cap off and ran a hand over his shiny black hair. “It’s nothing. Happened a long time ago. I was once seriously involved with a woman who turned out to be married, and I had no idea. It still sticks in my craw, I guess. Maybe more than I’d like to admit.”

  “Is that because you still love her?” I don’t know why I asked such a personal question, but it shot out of my mouth before I could stop it.

  “No. That feeling’s long gone. Believe me. Yet, I still feel angry over being duped.”

  “Ah, the ex-cop-should-have-figured-it-out feeling?”

  “Yeah. I guess that’s it. That, and the fact that I could be so blinded by love I forgot to compartmentalize.”

  I began to back away, smiling as I did. “Love stinks, huh?”

  He followed with a grin on his face. “Not always, but in that instance, it stunk to high heaven.”

  As we began to walk, I pointed out, “I think the guilt of this is going to weigh heavily on Nissa for a very long time. Sometimes that’s far worse than the actual act. And FYI, she wasn’t too happy when I told her I had to share that I’d found the necklace with the police.”

  He cocked his head, his handsome face confused. “So you’re going to give yourself up in the process?”

  I shrugged my shoulders and wrinkled my nose. “I can’t very well ask her to do the right thing if I’m not willing to do the same.”

  “I was with you, Trixie. I did the actual breaking in. I should confess, too.”

  I wagged a finger at him. “You’ll do no such thing, and if you do, I’ll lie and say you’ve lost your mind.”

  Higgs stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “You’re really something else, Sister Trixie Lavender. You never cease to surprise and amaze me.”

  “Oh yeah? If only you felt that way about my soup.”

  “I’m here to tell you, I’ll never feel that way about your soup.”

  “You know, what exactly do you think it is that makes it so horrible? Too much Worcestershire?”

  Higgs let out a laugh, that deep, husky one I liked so much. “I think pinpointing the horrible is pointless. It’s just horrible.”

  As we arrived at my car, I planted my hands on my hips and gave him a jaunty look. “Fine. See if I ever offer you any soup ever again.”

  “Ah. I love it when you withhold,” he teased as he pulled his phone out of his pocket at the sound of an incoming text. As he read it, he frowned.

  “What’s wrong?”

&
nbsp; “It’s from Tansy. They found Griffin’s backpack.”

  I swallowed hard, my pulse racing in my ears. “Where?” I whispered.

  “Exactly where Solomon said he saw the gorilla take him.”

  I felt like there was more, judging by the tone in his voice. “And?”

  “And there was blood on it.”

  Chapter 15

  “Holy Toledo, Trixie!” Jeff declared, bouncing around me on the couch and sniffing my face with furious snorts. He jammed his wet snout against my cheek. “What the what was that? You were wicked batty there for a minute!”

  After meeting with Nissa and finding out there was blood on Griffin’s backpack, I found myself almost immobilized with fear. But that would get me nowhere, so I forced myself to drop Higgs at the shelter and finish out the day at the shop while keeping a watchful eye on Solomon, all the while, my brain testing out theories.

  Unfortunately, Solomon still didn’t have anything to add to his story, nor did he have any extra information about Skinny or Lazlo, but I wasn’t letting him leave until we found out who was doing this.

  I tossed around a million scenarios in my head. One that included an attack on the homeless, but that still didn’t account for Dr. Mickey.

  Thankfully, business was brisk and the day went pretty quickly, so after dropping Solomon off with Cal at the shelter, I offered to take Jeff back to our place so Higgs could run some errands and meet us later for dinner and a “Who Murdered Dr. Mickey” brainstorming sesh.

  I’d decided to sit with my thoughts on the couch amidst my fluffy pillows before our dinnertime chaos ensued—and that was the last thing I remember.

  As I wriggled away from Jeff and sat up on my couch, I looked around me, pushing my hair from my eyes, my sketch pad still clutched in my hands.

  “What happened?” I asked with a trembling voice, noting my breathing was coming in choppy puffs.

  Livingston clucked his tongue in dismay, hopping down from the back of the couch to sit on the cushion next to me. “Ya did that ting again, lass.”