Welcome to Sweetwater (Annie Parker Mystery Shorts Box Set)

by A. J. Bromley

  “That’s our Annie.” Molly went on to comment on the few times when Annie had upset Sam. “Those two are perfect for each other. It is taking them forever to realize it.”

  “I would love to see them get married.” Taylor felt that her aunt deserved some happiness like her parents have. She was amazed how her parents were so caring about each other. They owned a farm machinery business back home. Taylor’s mom managed the office so she and her dad spent a lot of time together. They were even planning a cruise for next winter during the slow season.

  Taylor parked in a space marked for visitors at the police station. “I’ll be right back.” She smiled and turned a pretty shade of pink. Taylor went in the front door.

  A short time later, she returned with the keys. “Alex was waiting for me. I asked if they had found out anything new but they’re still waiting for the report.”

  Taylor was all tingly inside. Not having had any serious relationships, she was surprised at her reaction to Alex. It might be fun to date him.

  Taylor had to park a few blocks away from the shop. An early crowd had gathered at the other businesses. Hope it’s not because they heard about the murder.

  They collected their water bottles and walked to Old Time Treasures. Unlocking the front door, Taylor had a sudden feeling of sadness. The inside felt creepy, the stillness was disturbing. She quickly turned on all the lights, then showed Molly and Polly around the shop.

  The computer was in the office at the back. Polly went to the desk and looked around. Everything was neatly stored away or organized on the side cabinet.

  “I’ll go ahead and print an inventory list. Molly, if you would help me check off the items in the shop. Polly maybe you can access more business information on the computer. I don’t think we need a special password.”

  Polly sat down at the desk after Taylor got the copies. She was ready to start her search.

  Taylor and Molly went back into the shop area with the list. It was well organized, going from section to section. Soon Polly joined them. “I didn’t find anything useful on the computer.” They completed the inventory and nothing was missing.

  Molly got up from a low stool. “I need to stretch my muscles. I’m going for a walk outside.”

  As she went out the front door, Molly noticed lots of activity across the street. “Taylor come here a minute. I don’t know what to make of this.” Molly was pointing to the police car at Bea’s shop.

  “I have got to check into this. It can’t be another murder.” Taylor dashed cross the street. The door to the shop was wide open and she could see a female police officer talking to Bea. A second officer was looking around the shop. The place was a disaster. The designer clothes were in a heap on the floor. Someone had wrecked the jewelry display on the counter. Bea’s special antique jewelry was still in its locked cabinet in the back. Taylor continued to look around until Bea saw her.

  “Oh Taylor, look what somebody did to my beautiful shop. I’m so grateful that I was late coming in this morning. I had to give the plumber some last-minute instructions. I might have been killed too.” Bea was shaken up. Her summer dress showed stains under her arms where she was perspiring. Her hair was a mess.

  “I’m Officer Kemp. Are you from here?” The female officer walked over to Taylor with her notepad in hand.

  “I’m Taylor Stillman. I work across the street. Someone killed the owner yesterday. Officer Smith asked me to do an inventory today.”

  “What time did you arrive?” The officer was assessing this young woman.

  “About an hour and a half ago.”

  “Did you see anything unusual at this shop?”

  “No I didn’t. I was busy talking to my friends.”

  After she thanked Taylor, the officer turned to Bea. “I need to get someone here to dust for prints.” She took out her phone and called the station. “Someone will be here shortly.” Officer Kemp noticed that the owner looked more stressed out.

  “When can I put everything back in place? I need to be open for business.” Bea was walking around the pile of discarded dresses on the floor.

  “Are you feeling up to it? Is there a friend who can come to help you?” Officer Kemp had a soft warm voice when trying to help this distraught woman.

  “I have called my employee and she will be here soon. I’m having a meeting tonight of the shop owners. I need to get everything put back in place.”

  Taylor was surprised to hear that she still planned to have the meeting. She left quietly and went back to tell Molly and Polly what was happening.

  Chapter 7

  Annie and Kate arrived at Taylor’s shortly before lunchtime. Annie phoned her niece to see how they were doing.

  “We have completed the inventory. Wait until I tell you the latest news, Aunt Annie. Bea had her shop broken into and someone tore up the place. Bea couldn’t tell what was taken.”

  “Oh, Taylor, drive carefully but hurry back so we can all talk this over.” With that, Annie hung up her phone and reported the latest news to Kate. Annie started putting away the food they had gotten for dinner. Annie couldn’t resist buying a chocolate cake. It would be their treat when they got home from the meeting. “We might need some comfort food, don’t you agree Kate?”

  Kate was laughing as she replied, “I’ll never lose any weight if I hang around you, Annie.”

  * * *

  It wasn’t long before Taylor and the twins arrived. It sounded like they were discussing the break-in.

  “How is Bea doing right now?” Annie was feeling anxious.

  “Bea was a nervous wreck. She called Sally, her employee, to come in early. The police needed to fingerprint them and check the shop. With so many customers the police were not hopeful of finding the intruder.”

  “I wonder if Bea will want the meeting tonight.” Annie started to get dishes out of the cupboard for lunch.

  “She insists on having it. She claims the shop owners need a plan now more than ever. I have some other news too. I called Alex to tell him that I had finished the inventory and nothing was missing. He told me that Rick, Jane’s nephew had been in Denver with his girlfriend since Saturday. Guess he talked to her brother about going into this new business. They spent the weekend developing a plan. Monday morning they met with a realtor about renting a storefront.”

  Kate started setting the table for lunch while Annie got out the food and made sandwiches for everyone. In no time, everything was ready. The pink lemonade only needed ice cubes.

  “Why don’t we sit down and eat?” Annie added ice to the drinks and took the glasses to the table.

  “Now that I have told you our excitement, how did it go with Matthew?”

  “We can take him off our list along with the nephew. Oh, Matthew says ‘Hi’ to you Taylor. He thought you were responsible for Jane not pressing charges.”

  “I did convince her not to report him. I’m not sorry I did.” Then Taylor went on. “Polly and I need to complete some research on Jane and her sister. Hopefully there will be a clue from the meeting tonight.” Taylor had taken charge of the group for the moment. Annie was proud of her niece.

  When Taylor’s cell phone rang, everyone was quiet while she took the call. “Hi, Mom. How are you?”

  “Are you and Annie having a good time together?” Taylor’s mother missed her daughter.

  Taylor gave the group a slight smile, held up her left hand with her fingers crossed.

  “We’re having a great time. We are off to the mall for some power shopping this afternoon. Having a quick lunch then we’re going.” Taylor realized that she was rambling but her mother would have a heart attack if she knew the facts.

  “Say hi to your aunt and your dad sends his love. Bye.”

  “Bye, Mom.” Taylor’s reply was weak, but her mom didn’t notice it.

  She turned to the four women and let out a big sigh of relief. “I lied to my mother.”

  “We can go shopping if you want to, Taylor.” Annie chuckled as she
tried to be helpful.

  “I would rather spend time on the computer with Polly while we complete our research. Don’t we have to plan our strategy for tonight’s meeting?”

  “I have given this some thought. See if this will work.” Annie gave a list of possible shop owners for questioning. First on her list was Bea Ames. “I would like to talk to her. There’s Brian, the owner of Coffee Etc. Kate why don’t you have a chat with him. Molly, Paul, the bookstore owner is next door to Bea. Try to feel him out on the murder. Polly, maybe you can talk to Sherri. She owns the hair salon. I forget the name.”

  “Color Me Beautiful is the name.” Taylor wasn’t sure she would show up. “She’s always beat by closing time plus her family’s waiting for her to cook dinner.”

  “Taylor, would you circulate and listen in on the conversations? You might hear something of interest.” Annie felt that the posse would be safe in this environment.

  “The meeting is scheduled for 7:30PM. Dinner will be at 5:30 which I’ll get it started with some help from Kate and Molly.”

  Polly and Taylor headed for the computer. With only two searches, they didn’t feel rushed. Taylor had her computer set up in what used to be the dining room. It had two desks with good lighting and two easy chairs.

  Miss Olive had said to let her know if they needed anything else. Small area rugs covered the shiny hardwood floors.

  The group spent a quiet afternoon. Annie enjoyed being in the kitchen with her friends. It was a pleasant change to the day. Kate and Molly were busy chopping onions and garlic for the meatloaf and scalloped potatoes. They talked about everything but the case.

  Kate told about a new doctor who was moving into Ben and Alice Wilsons’ house. “The Wilsons are both in assisted living now. Ben with his stroke and Alice unable to care for him, this was a good move.

  “Dr. Grover has set up his practice on the west end of Main Street and is taking over for old Doc Winn. He’s young and single. The women will be dreaming up all sorts of aliments.”

  Polly and Taylor came into the kitchen with satisfied looks on their faces. “We have completed our task.” Taylor reported their results.

  “Jane was a long time member of the Chamber of Commerce. She had a good record as a shop owner. Buyers gave her high marks for her online store. Susanne has lived on the old homestead in Cheyenne and has been a widow for many years. Alex told me that she would be here tomorrow. I’m going to give her a call. If she came here first, I could drive her to the police station for any questions they have and then to the shop.

  “Now that we have finished, Polly is going to get me up to speed on all the Sweetwater happenings. Then she is going to tell me about Peru.”

  Taylor started asking about the kidnapping of Victor Franconi. “Sorry I missed out on that caper. Spring Fling sounded like a blast. If I weren’t so busy with school, I would have been there.”

  “We missed having you around, Taylor. I know I speak for the group.” Molly was helping make a salad for dinner. The kitchen was a gathering place for everyone.

  Polly went to get pictures of the trip. Last month she and Molly did a travelogue for the locals. Many enjoyed this yearly event. The twins made a person feel like they were part of the journey.

  “My sister and I make a scrapbook of our trips and put all the pictures on a USB flash drive so we’ll need your computer.”

  They sat on a well-worn but comfortable sofa in the living room. Polly began. “I think we used about every mode of transportation. We took a plane, a train and a bus. Then we ended by hiking in the mountains.

  “What a great experience. Tourists came from all over. It was a mini United Nations. Molly and I spent time with the local schoolchildren.” Polly continued talking and showing Taylor pictures of their trip.

  “Isn’t it hard when you don’t speak the language?”

  “It really would be but, we both learned to speak Spanish several years ago. The school offered night classes for adults. Occasionally there are dialects that we don’t understand.”

  Taylor was looking at Polly in amazement. “Have you made plans for your next trip?”

  “We haven’t decided. There are so many interesting places.”

  “Where else have you been, Polly?” Taylor had never traveled to a foreign country.

  “We have been to the Yucatán Peninsula and Chile. I would say that Peru was the most interesting. The people are so friendly.” Polly was pointing to a picture of an old couple. They were standing in front of their small hut with big smiles on their leathery wrinkled faces.

  “Dinner’s ready.” Annie gave a call from the kitchen.

  During dinner, Molly asked if there had been any other break-ins and robberies recently. “With so many out of work these days, this is certainly a problem.”

  “Why don’t we access the police reports for the past few weeks and check this out. Maybe we’ll have time later tonight.” Polly was ready to research.

  Kate suddenly spoke up. “Can I watch? I need to start learning how to use the computer. That is if you don’t mind taking on an older student.”

  “I’d be happy to show you on Taylor’s computer, Kate. You’ll need to know for when you start your business.” Polly loved to teach no matter how old the student was.

  After dinner, the group cleaned up the kitchen. Taylor slipped away to call Susanne. After offering condolences, Taylor told her about finding Jane dead in her shop.

  “Taylor, I have so many questions but they will have to wait till I get there tomorrow.”

  After giving Susanne directions, Taylor wished her a safe trip.

  Soon it was time for them to get ready for the meeting.

  Chapter 8

  A crowd was gathering at Bea’s shop. There seemed to be quite an interest in the neighborhood watch meeting. The posse entered together. Small groups of people were standing around chatting. They had ideas about the killer and some even speculated about the break-in.

  Beatrice was wearing a striking outfit. As owner of this upscale shop, she had to look her best. The simple line of her cream-colored dress showed quality. A jeweled brooch completed the ensemble.

  The clothing racks were moved to the outside walls but it still seemed crowded. Annie and Kate thought the merchandise was overpriced after checking a few items. The place looked neat and orderly; Taylor looked around in amazement.

  “Okay everyone it’s time to start the meeting.” Bea cleared her throat and took a sip of water then continued. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight. Please take a seat and we will begin.

  “First, I want to tell you about my dreadful experience this morning.” Bea went on to tell everyone about her narrow escape from possibly being murdered. “I’m still shaken up. Fortunately, I didn’t find anything missing.

  “We don’t want this happening to anyone else. I hope all of you have a good alarm system; cameras would be helpful. We probably shouldn’t even be alone in our shops.”

  “I heard that there was no forced entry. Jane had to have opened the door herself. She must have known the person.” Paul, the bookstore owner, spoke convincingly.

  “Jane always came in early. That was her quiet time, without interruptions.” Brian from Coffee Etc. chimed in.

  “We need to be looking out for each other. Report any odd behavior.” Bea tried to take back control of the meeting.

  There was a lot of laughing after that last statement.

  “This is Boulder, Bea; we usually have odd people all over.” Looking around the room Bea couldn’t see who made the comment.

  “Does anyone have any other suggestions?” Bea sounded desperate.

  “I think we are all on high alert. We have to hope the police find the person who did this.” Sherri was anxious to go home. It had been a long day at Color Me Beautiful. She had more appointments than usual. Most of the women wanted to hear some juicy gossip about the murder.

  “Is there anyone who would like to tell the group about some good mom
ents you shared with Jane? I know I will miss her smiling face and pleasant manner.” Bea waited for a response.

  Paul stood up and addressed the group. “Jane was the first person to welcome me here as a shop owner. She would stop in frequently to chat and check out my new books. She always enjoyed a good mystery. It won’t be the same without her.” Paul sat back down with a heavy sigh.

  “I’ll miss having Jane coming in to get her hair done. She had amusing stories to tell about her younger years.” Sherri wiped her tears away, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

  Brian quickly spoke up. “Sherri, I know how you feel. Jane was a good friend to us all. I have furnished my home with several pieces from her shop. They will be pleasant reminders of Jane.” Giving Sherri a quick hug, Brian returned with his chair.