Dangerous Curves Boxed Set 1: 3 Cozy Christian Mysteries

by K L Montgomery

  A dark laugh spilled out of my boss’s mouth as she surveyed the three of us. Then her steely gaze settled right on me. “You know, I really thought you, Sunshine Baker, were a total idiot, a woman people barely tolerated, even though you think you’re all that. I pegged you for someone who always did what they were told, who went along with the crowd as they tried so hard to fit in.

  “Let me guess…” she continued, clearly enjoying the way she was belittling me, “your mom always told you you’re the most beautiful girl in town, didn’t she? And she kept promising you one day your Prince Charming would come and sweep you off your feet. That day never came, did it, Sunshine? Because no man would ever want a stupid, ugly, redheaded librarian—” She sneered the last word like it tasted sour on her tongue.

  “So I was basically right about you. You’re a worthless piece of crap, and that’s why you, your equally stupid blonde ditz of a friend, and this young fresh-faced idiot next to you are going to let me proceed with my plan. Either you do, or you all end up dead. It’s your choice. But by the time the police find your rotting bodies, I’ll be looooong gone.”

  I wanted to defend myself. I wanted to fight back with every fiber of my being after she said such horrible, nasty stuff about me. But I bit back my vitriol, my venomous words. What did Jesus say? Turn the other cheek. I was going to turn the other cheek, and in the end, justice would be served.

  Our boss began to pace then, still waving the gun around and pointing it at us every so often as she continued her diatribe. “You know what, Sunshine? I was a lot like you when I was younger. I was a yes-man…er, yes-woman. I did what I was told. I dutifully went to college and got a job. I went to grad school and got a better job. I was just a stupid librarian too, once upon a time. And then I got promoted. I learned a lot from managing a department, and then the entire library. Do you want to know what I learned?”

  We all nodded, and I began to pray that someone, anyone, really, but preferably Chief James, Lord, would figure out none of us were answering our phones or were where we were supposed to be. I was supposed to be at the Little League game, and Molly was supposed to go to dinner at her sister’s house, and I didn’t know where Jada was supposed to be—I thought she was on vacation this week, but I supposed her vacation was just another one of Susan’s lies.

  “I learned that people are stupid. Just plain, straight-up ignorant. Willfully ignorant. People are so stuck inside their little, peanut-sized brains that they never learn to think for themselves or to see what’s clearly staring them right in the face. We spend our whole lives working, doing the right thing, and for what? So we can scrape together a little bit of savings and retire. And we work so hard and so long that we get what? Ten years? Twenty years of freedom if we play our cards right?

  “But it’s not even freedom—because we have to conserve. We have to penny-pinch. We have to live on fixed incomes because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and if we have a whole lot of tomorrows, we might run out of money. And then what?”

  Where was all this coming from? I had never seen Susan ramble on before. She was always so practical, so efficient. It was like she’d been demon-possessed and was spouting off complete and utter nonsense.

  “I decided I’m not going to play that game. I’m sixty-two years old, and life expectancy in my family is not very long. My parents died in their late sixties. My grandparents, even earlier. I lost my pension at the library a few years ago when the board voted to do away with them and reinvest that money in other ‘municipal interests’ like repairing the boardwalk, fixing our streets, and, yes, even expanding the police force.

  “So, who’s getting my pension? Chief James, for one.” She rolled her eyes and stuck her finger down her throat, mock-gagging like she’d just stepped back in time. I was so tempted to tell her 1984 called and wanted their clichéd gesture back, but I somehow refrained from blurting that out. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, right?

  “I took matters into my own hands,” she continued. “Took me two years to plan. And I knew Evangeline and Jada would be the perfect scapegoats. Sorry, ladies.”

  “So now what?” I finally butted in. Speaking of butts, mine really hurt from sitting on the floor, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could sit here.

  “Now, I’m going to leave. I’m going to the airport to board my flight to the Caribbean, where I’m going to retire with all the money I stole from the gala. It’s rightfully mine, though, for putting my blood, sweat and tears into that place for nearly thirty years, starting out as a lowly reference librarian and working up the ladder—only for them to get rid of my pension and hang me out to dry. I’d have to work at least another five years to fund the lifestyle I really want, and I’ll be dead by then. So, nope, screw that, I’m taking what’s mine and heading off to enjoy my retirement just like I deserve!”

  My instincts advised me to stroke her ego, go along with her story, let her think she was the mastermind of the best and most elaborate scheme in the history of heists.

  “That’s pretty smart,” I praised her, nodding my head and looking at my co-hostages. “I don’t blame you; that’s for sure.”

  “When the cops come, they’ll find all the deposited checks stamped with the library ‘For Deposit Only’ stamp—and it has your fingerprints on it, Jada. Remember last week when I asked you to stamp the checks that came in from the donors who couldn’t make it to the gala?”

  Jada whimpered quietly, tears streaming down her face as she rocked herself back and forth. Molly reached out and took her hand, trying to comfort the poor woman as an understanding of the situation she was now facing cemented itself in her mind.

  “Jada, you’re young, and this is probably your first offense. If you get a sympathetic jury, you’ll probably only serve a few years. Just tell them all that student loan debt drove you to steal. And Miss Evangeline, well, I’ve been spreading rumors about her witchcraft for a couple of years now. Like I said, I’ve been planning this for a while.”

  So that explained why Willa Bryce Monroe adamantly believed our friend was evil!

  I’d had my eyes glued to Susan this whole time, specifically the gun she gripped in her right hand. Using my peripheral vision, I caught Molly’s motion to take Jada’s hand. Then my eyes darted past Susan to the window looking out on the street. My phone had vibrated a few times in my pocket, and I hoped the calls were an answer to prayer. Squinting, I saw lights in the distance, and a wave of power washed over me, giving me the strength to do what needed to be done. I just needed to kill a little more time, keep Susan here for a few more minutes…

  I drew in a deep breath, knowing it was now or never, and rose to my feet, my hands still up in the air. “So what about us?”

  “Sit back down!” Susan screamed at me, her voice vibrating with adrenaline.

  “What do you plan to do about us? We know the truth!” I taunted her. “And if you think we’re going to let you get away with this…well, you’re sorely mistaken.”

  Our boss’s fingers trembled as she raised the gun toward me. “Look, I didn’t want to shoot you. That wasn’t part of the plan, but you just had to go and figure out what I was doing. You think Pam didn’t call me as soon as you saw my office?”

  She shook her head, clearly disappointed with us. “You and Molly were supposed to come over here, find the checks from the gala and the deposit stamp, and go straight to the police. The money is in an account that can’t be traced to me. Once I’m out of here, no one will ever find me. I’ve got a whole new identity waiting for me.”

  Red and blue lights started to swirl around the room, and I had no idea how she didn’t see them.

  I knew I shouldn’t say it…

  It was a very dumb thing for me to do.

  “Oh, you mean ‘Gus Schoona’?” I retorted.

  That was all it took. Like it was happening in slow motion, I watched her finger lower and rest on the trigger, and I dropped back down to my butt, covering Molly and Jada with my ample body.
The shot hit the wall, then another hit the ceiling as police slammed into the door, breaching the entrance. Drywall dust rained down on us as heavy footsteps sounded across Jada’s hardwood floors.

  “Everyone, hands in the air!” came the bellowing voice of an officer. He was flanked by another officer, and behind them was Chief James.

  He’d come just in time.

  Seventeen

  I didn’t make it to the ball field to catch my nephews’ Little League game that night. I was too busy going through the evidence Liz Cooper had collected on the account in the Cayman Islands.

  Unsurprisingly, the police found a fake, but rather legit-looking passport in the name of Gus Schoona, as well as a boarding pass matching that name in Susan’s phone. Gus was listed as male, so evidently she was planning to cross-dress as she fled the country. How she was able to pull off getting that passport was still a mystery to me, but she did tell us she’d been planning this for two years.

  “Actually, if she hadn’t launched into this huge confession, telling us in excruciating detail why she did it, she probably could have made it to the airport before you got here,” I shared with Chief James as he wrapped up taking my statement.

  I looked around the police station at the gray walls. It was growing on me. This place was starting to feel like home.

  “You did good, Ms. Baker,” he said. “How did you figure out Gus Schoona was an anagram for Susan Gooch?”

  “I saw an anagram book pulled out of her bookcase. It wasn’t pushed in and aligned with the other book spines. That’s the type of thing that gives a librarian nightmares, you know.”

  Chief James chuckled. “Well, you were a big help in this case, Ms. Baker—”

  “Don’t you think we should be on a first-name basis by now?” I teased him. He was starting to grow on me too…like the gray walls. He was like a gray wall that once really annoyed me but now was only slightly annoying.

  “I was going to add a BUT,” he said, leveling his gaze on me.

  “Oh. So I shouldn’t call you Vin, then?” I had overheard his parents calling him that at the gala and thought it was sweet. But as soon as that nickname came out of my mouth, his lips pursed. “Vincent, maybe?” I offered, using his full first name.

  “Why don’t we stick with Ms. Baker and Chief James?” he suggested. “And why don’t you stick to librarianship from now on, and I’ll stick to solving crimes?”

  I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest. “If you say so.”

  I hated to admit it, but I’d had more fun this week than I’d had in years as a YA Librarian. Don’t get me wrong—I loved my job, and I loved the young adult patrons who considered the library their second home. Anna Cooper was amazeballs! And her older sister was out-of-this-world smart!

  This week had been the most exciting week of my entire life.

  I had led a pretty boring life, after all, being a single gal in my forties with two cats and living in a tiny little town where nothing ever happened. For once, something did happen. And I was right there in the middle of it!

  I picked up my things and started to leave, but Chief James called after me, “Oh, uh…Sunshine, wait!”

  I whipped around, not expecting my first name to come out of his mouth. He stood there, all tall and broad-shouldered, the fluorescent light reflecting off the smooth, dark skin of his shaved head. “Yes?”

  “We’re releasing your colleague…uh, Ms. Dupree?”

  My face brightened. “Oh, that’s great!”

  “Would you want to give her a ride home? I’m sure you have lots to catch up on.” His lips turned up at the corners as though he was amused by the potential of that conversation.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at this point. “Of course I will.”

  I waited for the snippy guard I’d met the other night to bring my colleague around to the front of the station. Evangeline still looked zombie-like, but I hoped I could bring some life back into her with Chinese food or pizza or whatever sounded good to her. I hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and I was starving. Crime-fighting sure worked up an appetite!

  “Took you long enough,” were the first words out of Evangeline’s mouth when she saw me.

  “I love you too!” I threw my arms around her. She wasn’t a very huggy person, but she humored me by squeezing back…a little.

  “Well? Are you taking me home or what?” Her brows quirked as she studied me, likely surprised to see such an exuberant smile on my face.

  “Pizza? Chinese? Mexican?” I ran down the list of restaurants we could visit.

  “Hmmm, which dish pairs best with vindication?” She smirked and looked down the street toward the water. “Maybe that Italian place?”

  “On the boardwalk? You hate being that close to the sand!” I joked.

  She rolled her eyes and tapped her arm to draw attention to her glowing white complexion. “Well, at least it’s dark outside, so I don’t have the sun to contend with.”

  “You have me, though,” I teased her.

  When she stared at me, blinking, I added, “Uh…Sunshine? Get it?” I shook my head. “Wow, jail sucked all the humor out of you, didn’t it?”

  “Call Molly and have her meet us there,” was all my little jailbird said.

  When I glanced back down the hall, Chief James was still standing there, watching us. He gave a little wave before we pushed open the glass doors, and Evangeline got her first taste of freedom.

  Jada joined the three of us in the small booth at the cozy Italian place on the boardwalk, Angelo’s. She understandably didn’t want to be home alone, even though her captor was now sitting in the city jail awaiting trial—where she might have been if I hadn’t intervened.

  “I have so many questions,” she said, her head bobbling like she was dizzy and trying to reorient herself to the status quo once again. I couldn’t blame her. I felt like I’d been the action star in a summer blockbuster, and now all the sudden, it was back to business as usual.

  “You and me both, sister!” Molly added. “Were you guys both sick?”

  Jada looked at Evangeline and then back to Molly. “Yeah, I came down with the nastiest flu after the gala. I was supposed to go on vacation, and then I was too sick to travel. I never get sick!”

  “I was sick too!” Evangeline echoed, her face the most animated I’d ever seen it. “It took me a few days to really succumb to it, but wow…worst flu ever.”

  “Did Susan give you a piece of candy at the gala? Right after dinner?” Jada questioned.

  “Yes! And I wasn’t going to eat it, but it was chocolate and mint, and I thought it might get the fish taste out of my mouth,” Evangeline explained.

  “You were both sitting at her table, weren’t you?” I remembered, calling once more on my old friend, my photographic memory.

  “Yes! She had public services at one table and tech services at another with her,” Molly added.

  “I bet the candies were laced with germs,” I ventured.

  “You think so? What kind of evil, twisted, sick person does something like that?” Jada shrieked. “And why? I don’t understand her reasoning.”

  “I guess so she could plant the evidence?” Molly shrugged. “I have no idea, really. It’s so strange…”

  Evangeline huffed, “To keep us from talking about it at work, I bet.”

  “What a sicko!” Jada threw her hands up in the air. “How would someone even get ahold of germs like that?”

  “Hey, she said she’d been planning it for two years!” I reminded them. “I wouldn’t put anything past her.”

  “Boy, she sure underestimated you, didn’t she?” Evangeline put her arm around me in another unexpected display of affection. She might end up becoming a softie after all this!

  I shook my head. “I honestly have no idea how in the world she thought she could get away with it. She really believed she could sail off into the sunset with the donation money and retire at the beach like nothing ever happened?”

  “And stealin
g the Bible,” Molly added. “It’s all so crazy.”

  “She had to create a distraction,” I pointed out. “Parts of her plan were brilliant. Other parts still needed some work. Kinda like every time I create a new YA program at the library. There are always kinks.”

  They all giggled, then a serious look took over Molly’s face. “So Liz Cooper cracked the case for you?”

  “Oh my gosh, that girl is incredible! She’s really going places!” I sang her praises. “I need to do something special for her.”

  “I don’t recommend baking anything,” Evangeline teased me. It was all part of their relentless obsession with reminding me that I could never live up to my last name.

  We finished up dinner, and I turned to my friends. “Well, my parents are blowing up my phone. I need to stop by there before I head home for the night.”

  “See you at church on Sunday?” Molly asked.

  “You know it.” I slung my arm around her and gave her an affectionate squeeze. “Stay safe this weekend, ladies.”

  The four of us chipped in for the tip and slid out of the booth, each of us stretching our legs, and one or more of us failing to stop a yawn from creeping up. It had been a long day. A long week. And it was finally over. I led the way out of the restaurant and out onto the boardwalk, where the nearly full moon was hanging over the Atlantic, its reflection dancing on the surface of the waves.

  We said our goodbyes, and I was about to head to my car when I felt the ocean beckoning me. I turned in the opposite direction and walked toward the small opening in the dunes that were edged with a wooden fence. The tall grasses, withered from the winter but starting to come to life again in the spring, blew in the chilly night air, and the crashing waves whispered my name.

  Next thing I knew, my bare feet were sinking into the silver sand, carrying me through the shifting granules until the earth firmed beneath my feet, solid from the water rushing up onto the shore. I held my breath as a white-scalloped edge of a wave rippled over my toes, sending a chill down my spine. And then I exhaled, letting all the tension and fear that had held me in its grips throughout the week rush out and be carried back out to sea on the rolling tide.