Sharpe Edge (Cozy Suburbs Mystery Series)

by Lisa B. Thomas

  “Just do it! We can’t be here when they find the body.”

  Irene glared at Estelle. “Just like your mother.” She turned and left.

  *

  After several minutes, Deena heard someone walking down the aisle toward her booth.

  “Mrs. Sharpe. Janet just told me you were here.” Marie dropped her gaze to the floor. “Thank you for vouching for me.”

  “You’re welcome. I hope this will be a new start for you.” Deena moved about picking up items to dust, trying to look busy.

  “Did Miss Estelle tell you about the deal we made?” Her mood brightened. “I am going to sell some of her things in my new booth.”

  “Really?” Deena was surprised.

  “Yes. She is going to let me keep half the money for each item and the other half is going to the animal shelter. I can’t wait to get set up. I won’t have to sell at the flea market anymore.”

  “That’s great. I’m glad the money will be going for a good cause.” Deena smiled at the thought of Estelle’s generosity and capacity for forgiveness. Then she thought about Russell. “I thought you were working at the Fitzhugh house today.”

  “I was, but when I got there, Miss Irene told me to take the day off. She said not to come back until Monday. You don’t think she wants Miss Estelle to fire me, do you?” Her voice began to quiver.

  Deena motioned for her to move further into the booth. “I doubt it,” she said in a low voice. “Besides, it’s not really her decision.”

  Marie nodded and blinked back the tears that had threatened to appear.

  Deena glanced down the aisle to make sure there was no one around. “There’s one last question that has been bothering me.”

  “Is it that knife? I swear I didn’t take it.”

  “No. I believe you. But there was another time you didn’t tell the truth.”

  Marie stared wide eyed. “What do you mean?”

  “You made a list of people you saw milling around the kitchen the night of the Christmas party. Remember?” Marie nodded. “You wrote that you saw Estelle’s boyfriend in the kitchen that night. But Russell was never in the kitchen. Why did you make that up?”

  “No, no! I didn’t lie! It was not that boyfriend—it was her other boyfriend. The tall one.”

  Deena cocked her head in surprise. “You mean, Blake Whitman?”

  “Whitman. That’s it. I couldn’t remember his name.” She clasped her hands and shook them in earnest.

  “Marie, are you sure? Mr. Whitman wasn’t at the party. Not invited, anyway.”

  “Yes. I’m positive. I remember wondering why he was so late. I’m telling you the truth!”

  Deena took a step back. “What was he doing when you saw him?”

  “I was getting a tray to carry into the dining room. We were hurrying to serve the dinner plates. He came in through the back door and was talking to Miss Irene.”

  “Did you see him in the dining room?”

  “No, but I was not paying much attention to the people inside. Miss Wendy was yelling at us to hurry, hurry.”

  Deena stared at the girl. A knot gripped her stomach and her pulse raced as she took in this new information. Blake Whitman was only interested in Estelle’s money. He was at the house the night of Carolyn’s death. He came in through the kitchen where the chef’s knife was. He did it. He killed Carolyn Fitzhugh!

  “I need to call Russell,” Deena said, grabbing her phone out of her purse. With each unanswered ring, her breathing quickened. When the call went to voicemail, she ended it and dialed Estelle. “Come on!” she said when there was no answer.

  “What’s the matter?” Marie asked, grabbing Deena’s arm.

  “Something’s wrong.” She dialed Estelle’s house phone. No answer. She ran to the front door. “Janet! Call the police. Tell them to go to Carolyn Fitzhugh’s house.”

  Ignoring the rain, she flung open the car door so hard that it came back and hit her in the head. She squinted against the pain. Her hands shook so badly she could barely get the key in the ignition. She jerked the car into reverse and then sped off toward the far side of town. She swerved back and forth on the wet road trying to find Trey’s number on her phone. She finally dialed 9-1-1 instead and told the operator who she was. “I need you to call Deputy Trey Simms at the Perry County Sheriff’s office. Tell him it’s an emergency. He needs to get to his aunt’s house immediately!”

  *

  “Blake, no, please!” Estelle struggled to break free of his grip.

  “Shut up! If you had just married me, you wouldn’t be in this position. Not yet, at least.”

  “The money. I can give you whatever you want. You can have it all!”

  “Too late.” He snickered. “All that cash and jewelry in the safe will have to do. You see, Plan A was to kill you, then have your mother change her will, leaving everything to her closest friend—my cousin Irene—right before her untimely death. You were going over the balcony that time, too.” He pushed her toward the door.

  “Russell!” She saw his head move slightly.

  “Sorry. Prince Charming isn’t going to rescue you.”

  He stopped abruptly as he heard someone yelling outside. No time to waste. He used that moment to shove Estelle over the edge of the balcony. He watched her hands grip the wet railing as her shrill scream pierced the air. At last, her fingers slipped.

  “Let’s move!” he called downstairs to Irene after he heard the thud below. He grabbed the empty sleeping pill bottle and jammed it into his pocket. He pushed the picture back in its place over the wall safe. Russell was heavier than he would have thought, but he managed to get him down the stairs. Irene held the back door open as Blake hurried out and dumped the body into the trunk. She slipped on a patch of ice, but caught herself on the side of the car before falling.

  *

  Deena finally reached the edge of the county and sped around the winding road. A squirrel darted in front of the car, causing her to swerve again. She stopped at the curb. There were no cars in the driveway. Where was Russell? She jumped out of the car and raced to the front door, banging as hard as she could. She tried the knob. It was locked. “Russell! Estelle!”

  She heard a scream from the side of the house by the driveway. She ran in that direction and saw Estelle doubled over the balcony rail.

  “No!” Deena yelled. She ran as fast as she could, but her legs felt like dead weights. It was like a nightmare where everything seemed to move in slow motion.

  *

  Irene breathed hard as she slammed the car door. She pulled at the sides of the wig.

  “Why are you wearing that get-up?” He started the engine and steam blew out of the tail pipe.

  “Everyone around here knows me. It worked when I broke into the thrift store.” She pulled on it again. “I’ll take it off when we get out of this stupid town.”

  “Suit yourself,” he snarled.

  “What about Deena Sharpe? I heard her yelling and knocking at the front door.” She slumped low in her seat as Blake turned the car around, barely missing Russell’s truck. He pulled along the side of the house heading for the street.

  “Don’t worry,” he said with a sadistic grin. “Looks like we got two for the price of one.”

  The two women lay motionless in a heap below the balcony. He slowly drove past them, seeing a pool of blood by Estelle’s head. He muttered under his breath, saying goodbye for the last time. Hitting the gas, he sped around the tree-lined curve, heading for the main highway.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Whether it was the sound or the feeling that caught Deena’s attention first, she couldn’t be sure. She pictured herself inside a clothes dryer. Everything was spinning. Around and around. She listened as the steady swishing sound grew louder. A faint bright spot spun in circles as she tried to steady her dizzy head. She heard beeping. Is the cycle over? Is Gary inside here, too?

  “Deena? Deena,” Gary said. “I think she’s waking up.”

  Wit
h all the might she could muster, Deena opened her eyes.

  “Well, hello, sleepy pie.” Gary smiled down at her.

  She blinked against the bright light. “Where am I?”

  “You’re in the hospital.” Gary stepped back as a nurse rushed to her side and checked the monitor that had been making all that noise. Deena looked down to see Sandra standing at the foot of the bed, grinning like a silly child.

  “I’ll let the doctor know,” the nurse said, and hurried out of the room.

  “What happened?” She tried to sit up but her body would not cooperate. Looking around, she saw a large cast on her arm.

  “Don’t try to sit up,” Sandra said. “I’ll adjust the bed.” She pushed the button on the remote.

  Deena gasped. “That’s enough.” Her chest felt like an elephant were sitting on it. Doctor Roberts came in the room.

  “Well, look who’s awake.” He pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and looked in Deena’s eyes. He had her move her fingers, toes, and head. “Everything looks pretty good. I want you to stay at least a few more days so we can monitor your breathing. I’ll check on you again later.”

  “Thanks, doc,” Gary said. He held a glass of water with a straw up to her lips. “You have a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm, broken wrist, and several cracked ribs. You’ve been in the hospital for two days. Do you remember what happened?”

  Deena took several sips of water, and her head began to clear. “Estelle. I went to her house. She fell off the balcony.”

  “And you tried to catch her,” Gary said.

  Deena remembered Gary’s words when he would have her hold a ladder. “If I’m coming down, I’m taking you with me,” she whispered.

  “That’s just exactly what happened,” he said. “You saved her life by breaking her fall.”

  “And you broke some bones in the process,” Sandra added.

  Deena moaned, trying to find a comfortable position. “Where’s Russell?”

  Gary and Sandra exchanged glances. Gary started to answer.

  “Sis! You’re awake!” Russell rushed into the room and leaned over to kiss Deena’s cheek. “They just told me. They are about to take Estelle into surgery.”

  “How is she and what’s wrong with your voice?”

  “I had my stomach pumped. Gary can tell you all about it. Estelle broke her leg, among other things. That’s what they’re fixing today.”

  Deena tried to smile at her brother. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “Thanks to you, yes.”

  “You’d better get back down there, buddy,” Gary said. “We’ll check on you later.”

  Russell blew Deena a kiss and headed out the door.

  “So, what happened to Russell?”

  “You better tell it quick,” Sandra said. “I have a feeling some of the Bluebonnets will be up here before long.”

  Gary pulled up a chair. “So you know that Blake Whitman turned out to be a con man, right? Did you know he and Irene were cousins? Last summer when she went home for vacation in New Orleans, she told Blake about the rich woman and her daughter she worked for. Blake hatched a scheme to swoop in on Estelle and marry her for her money. Carolyn hired a private eye and found out who he really was. She paid him off to leave town.”

  Deena remembered talking to Russell. “He called me and told me about the report.”

  “Apparently, Blake got greedy. His new plan was to get rid of Estelle, and then Irene would trick Carolyn into leaving her all her fortune. I’m sure she would have had an ‘accident’ after that.”

  Deena was thinking more clearly. “So he meant to kill Estelle? Did he use the knife?”

  “Yes. Carolyn rolled all the way back down the hall to protect Estelle.”

  “Bless her heart.” Tears welled in Deena’s eyes as she thought about Carolyn’s sacrificing her life for her daughter.

  “Apparently, he hid the knife in the box when he climbed down the balcony.”

  Sandra moved to the side of the bed. “Irene was the one who broke into the store trying to find the knife.”

  “But you still haven’t told me what happened to Russell? He called me when he was at the house waiting for Estelle to come back from her lunch with Blake.”

  Gary’s voice cracked with emotion. “Irene found out Russell was onto Blake and drugged him with sleeping pills. Blake and Irene cleaned out Carolyn’s safe and were planning on leaving the country. They put Russell in the trunk. He might have died if they had gotten away.”

  There was a knock. They looked up to see Officer Nelson standing in the doorway. “Hi. Mind if I come in? I heard you were awake.”

  “Gotta love a small town,” Sandra said.

  Gary walked over to shake the officer’s hand. “Here’s our other hero,” he said. Deena thought she saw tears in her husband’s eyes. “Tell her about the call you got.”

  “I was headed to the Fitzhugh house along with another squad car when a call came over the radio. Someone reported a vehicle speeding through a stop light. It almost hit their car. I had a hunch it might be related. I let the desk know I was after that driver since the other officer and Deputy Simms were almost to the residence. The caller gave a detailed description of the car, license plate number, and occupants. I pulled them over just as they were heading for the interstate.”

  “Was it Blake and Irene?” Deena asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. I noticed Mr. Whitman sweating even though it was starting to sleet. There were suitcases in the back seat, so I told them I needed to see in the trunk. That’s when I found Mr. Sinclair.”

  Deena let out a cry and covered her mouth with her good hand.

  “If you hadn’t called when you did, it might have been too late,” she said.

  Deena couldn’t hold back her tears.

  Gary took her hand gently. “He’s fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”

  The flood of emotion made her dizzy again. She felt both relief and despair.

  “Deena,” Sandra asked, “what tipped you off in the first place?”

  “Marie,” she said, wiping her eyes with the bedsheet. “She told me she saw Blake at the party that night. That’s when it all came together.”

  “We’ll be contacting you in a few days to get a full statement. Luckily, Irene rolled over on Blake as soon as we mentioned ‘accessory to murder.’ That’s how we know everything that happened.”

  “Thank you so much, Officer Nelson,” Gary said. “Before you go, do you want to tell Deena who called in the report about the speeding car?”

  “Sure. It was one of your neighbors, actually. Christy Ann Maples.”

  Deena’s mouth dropped open, and Gary let out a laugh—his first in days. “So now we are indebted to the Queen of the Suburbs for the rest of our lives!”

  “I’m surprised she wasn’t too busy to make the call.” Deena chuckled then put her hand on her sore chest. “Don’t make me laugh.”

  “Inside joke?” Sandra asked, smiling at her friend.

  Officer Nelson left, telling Deena to get some rest.

  A few minutes later, Russell came back into the room. “What did I miss?”

  “Just a good laugh,” Gary said, and stepped back out of his way.

  “Estelle’s in surgery. I just thought I’d run back down here to tell you something.” He stood close to Deena and took her hand. She felt him trembling. “It looks like you’re gonna need to set an extra place at Christmas dinner after all.”

  “For your girlfriend?” Deena asked with a grin.

  “No, for your future sister-in-law. I just proposed and she said yes.”

  From the Author

  Thank you for reading Sharpe Edge, Book 2 in the Cozy Suburbs Mystery Series. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I encourage you to leave a review on Amazon.

  I am a retired teacher from Texas who writes both fiction and non-fiction. I also have a blog. In my spare time, I enjoy my grandchildren, photography, treasure hunting, antiquing, a
nd snorkeling. You can visit my website at www.lisabthomas.com.

  As a teacher, I worked face-to-face with students every day. As a writer, my audience is more abstract. In order to get to know each other better, please follow my blog and offer comments at “Lisa’s Stuff & Such” Blog. lisabthomas.blogspot.com/

  Sign up to receive my Newsletter and a FREE copy of my non-fiction writing guide, My Dead Relatives: How to Keep the Family Tree Alive. I will not send you an email unless I have a new release, special giveaway, or other noteworthy information.

  Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LisaBThomasAuthor.

  More Works by Lisa B. Thomas

  Sharpe Shooter, Cozy Suburbs Mystery Series, Book 1 is available HERE on Amazon.

  The Perry County Sheriff’s office has a problem on their hands. They found a skeleton in the closet…literally.

  When they identify the man’s body 50 years after his disappearance, the family turns to their niece, Deena Sharpe, to uncover the truth about his murder. She’s a burned-out high school teacher who soon discovers a mysterious author is about to implicate the victim in his latest conspiracy theory book. She must channel her inner super-sleuth to solve the puzzle and protect her family name.

  With the help of her off-beat brother and others from the cozy town of Maycroft, Texas, Deena takes on a quest that leads to more questions than answers. Along the way, she discovers some truths about herself as well.

  From antique shopping to car chases to ghosts in the night, life in the suburbs just got a lot more complicated.

  My Dead Relatives, How to Keep the Family Tree Alive is available HERE on Amazon.

  As we grow older, memories dim and eventually fade. Unless we document the past, stories of our loved ones will fade away as well. This guide offers a step-by-step process of how to write literary non-fiction stories about yourself and your family. It includes Style Tips as well as example stories about the author’s own family.

  Sharpe Mind, Cozy Suburbs Mystery Series, Book 3 is due out in December. Watch for it in the Kindle store or sign up for my newsletter to get release information.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to everyone who encouraged me during the writing of this book. Writing can be a lonely affair, but it helps knowing I have true supporters in my corner.