Hot Stones & Homicides

by Jenn Cowan

  Hot Stones & Homicides

  A Cozy Spa Mystery (Book 2)

  Jenn Cowan

  JRC Press

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  A Note from the Author

  About the Author

  Other Books by the Author:

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2018 Jenn Cowan

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual person’s, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of author.

  1

  “Oh no!” I gasp as I read the text on my phone from Regina, owner of Regina’s Hair Salon next door.

  “What?” Josh mutters as he rummages through the spa break room fridge for his lunch.

  “Jamie Rollins just died.”

  Josh drops his chicken and rice bowl (luckily it’s in plastic) and rushes over to me “You’re kidding. She was just here. Had her usual hot stone massage. Seemed fine to me. She was only thirty-five. What happened?”

  The phone is kind of shaking in my hand. My heart is beating wildly in my chest. All the feelings I’d experienced when April was killed on my table a couple months ago come rushing back. My voice is shaky as I paraphrase the text, “The police are suspecting she was poisoned.”

  “Poison?” He takes the phone from me as if he doesn’t believe what I’m telling him. “She was practicing with Violet and started feeling ill then just collapsed.” Josh frowns. His face turns a little pale as he sets the phone down on the table. “She was all excited because she’s performing in the talent show at this weekend’s Spring Festival.”

  I pick up the phone and read a new text from Regina. “She says they’re still investigating, but they believe Jamie was poisoned with antifreeze slipped into a water bottle.” I shiver. “Who would do such a thing?”

  Josh runs a hand through his dark hair then rubs his blue eyes. “Autumn, I need to tell you something.”

  I set down the phone and give him my full attention. Something’s wrong. I can hear it in his voice.

  He takes a deep breath and says something I’m not expecting, “Jamie has been asking me to go on a date with her for the past couple of weeks. I finally agreed to go out with her tonight.”

  My jaw drops open. Not because I’m shocked a woman as pretty as Jamie was pursuing my best friend, but because he agreed to it and…didn’t tell me...maybe he didn’t want to tell me. I don’t even know what to say so I say the first thing that pops into my head, “She’s a client...or was.”

  He shakes his head. “I told her if we were going to date…go on a date, she would have to come to you for massage. She agreed and even scheduled with you next month.” He leans over me and clicks the schedule on the laptop sitting beside me. “See.” He points to the screen as if trying to prove he’s being professional. Josh bites his lip and furrows his brows. “I guess we can take her off now.” He moves the mouse to click on the trash can, but I swat his hand away. He jerks back and rubs it. “What was that for?”

  “Let’s hold off.”

  “Why?” He gives me a strange look.

  I shrug. Something tells me we need to wait and I always listen to my gut. “I think we need to make sure the police don’t show up.”

  Josh’s eyes grow wide and sweat breaks out on his forehead. He lowers his voice and glances toward the break room door. “Why would the police show up?”

  I pat his hand and try to reassure him the best I can, but I was just accused of killing a client and mortal enemy a few months ago. That case was a total soap opera. Who knew this little town could have so much drama or so many secrets.

  I’m glad it’s over and life in Daysville has been relatively calm except for the status of the spa, which is kind of up in the air. Our boss, Sally, is currently serving a year in jail for several crimes, but we’re hopeful she’ll get out sooner. She inherited the spa and we’re holding down the fort or the spa until she gets out of jail. She’s planning to keep the spa open for the time being and even made me the manager. I tried to offer it to Josh, but he refused. So here I am managing the spa and now possibly looking at another murder to solve, even though I promised Josh I’d quit sleuthing.

  Another text comes through and I shake my head. It’s about the Mayor…or old Mayor. He stepped down and Bobby took his place. Now, he’s busy fighting tooth and nail to stay out of jail for various crimes. Looks like the judge has granted him another extension. Knowing him, he’ll drag this on for years or until he runs out of money, where the money is coming from, I have no clue.

  My phone buzzes again. It’s a text from Dr. Gregory letting me know he’s spoken with Sally and we can order more towels from Adam if we need them for the new esthetician I hired. Speaking of Dr. Gregory, he was cleared of any wrong doing. The Mayor insisted he wasn’t kidnapped and Sally signed documents stating she didn’t share any information with him about the murder or her other crimes. So, he’s now chief resident of Daysville Hospital and he and Sally are back together. He talks to her daily and even travels to see her every week in jail.

  Another thing he does for her is check in on the spa to ensure I’m doing my job, something that drives me mildly crazy. He stopped by the other day and actually knocked on the door when I was in with a client. Why? Because he wanted me to go over numbers with him right then. I mean hello I can’t make the spa any money if I don’t actually finish working on the client.

  I take a deep breath and release my frustration. I know he means well, but he has no clue how to run a spa. He needs to stick to running the hospital.

  Now, back to my BFF, who appears to be hyperventilating. I’ve never seen him so worked up. “Josh, are you alright? I know Jamie was a client and you were kind of dating her or planning to date her.” I gulp. The thought of them dating kind of turns my stomach for some reason. I shake it off and pat his hand. “You must have really liked her if you’re this upset.”

  Josh is staring off into space. He’s almost turning green then blinks like he’s snapping out of trance. “The text says she was poisoned with antifreeze in a water bottle, right?”

  I glance back down at the text. “Um, yes. Why?”

  “I gave her a water bottle when she left. Like we give all our clients.”

  “So.”

  “So, what if it was the same water bottle I gave her.”

  “Did the lid look like it had been tampered with?”

  Josh shakes his head and plops down into the seat next to me. “I-I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

  “I need you to think, Josh. It may be good to write down everything you remember from your time with Jamie. Anything suspicious. Was she acting strangely? Did she say anything that would make you think someone had it out for her?”

  Josh gulps. “Do you think…” the bell above
the front door of the spa chimes before he can finish.

  I pat his hand and say, “Hold that thought.” Then I rush out to greet the one o’clock client. As I turn the corner, I realize it’s only twelve-thirty and the person coming in isn’t our next client. “Travis.”

  He nods. “You know why I’m here, don’t you?”

  No greeting. No smile. His dark suit is wrinkled as if he slept in it and his red hair is sticking up in all directions as if he’s been running his hands through it. Something he does when he’s frustrated. His green eyes are hard and looking a little tired. He must have been up all night because he never called me back. Oh yeah, we’re talking again. After fifteen years, I’ve decided to bury the hatchet. He wants to pick up where we left off, but I’m not ready for that just yet. The man did cheat on me.

  Travis also has a daughter, Cat, from that little affair so I’m not sure I’m ready to step into “mom shoes” just yet. So, we’re talking. Texting. Hanging out. We’ve gone to dinner a couple of times, but we’re definitely not dating because that would make what I’m doing tonight wrong and I’m not a cheater.

  I sigh and gesture toward the back of the spa where I know Josh is probably chewing on his nails. A gross habit he only does when he’s nervous.

  The bell over the door chimes again. A gorgeous bouquet of sunflowers in a crystal vase come through the door and behind them is a pimpled face teenager in jeans and a red polo shirt. He’s wearing a red baseball cap with the words, Villsboro Florist across the front.

  “Delivery for Autumn Fisher.”

  My face flushes and I can feel Travis’s eyes on me. “That’s me.” He hands me the bouquet and I scribble my signature on the receipt before he leaves.

  “Who are those from?” Josh asks coming up behind me.

  I know who they’re from, but I’m not ready to share the news with these two guys. Two guys I’m pretty sure would jump in their vehicles and make a trip to Villsboro. I can feel their eyes on me. Out of the corner of my eye Travis runs a hand through his red hair; his face matches it. A low growl comes from his throat as he glares at the flowers.

  “Autumn, what’s the card say?” Josh reaches for it.

  I grab the card before Josh can read it and tuck it into the front of my scrubs. “Probably from my parents. They know how much I love sunflowers.”

  Josh narrows his eyes at me. “Your parents never send you flowers unless it’s your birthday and it’s not until August.”

  Is it warm in here? I feel like I’m in a sauna. My black scrub top is beginning to stick to me.

  “Who are the flowers from, Autumn?” Travis asks, gruffly.

  I gulp, knowing I can’t hold them off any longer. “James Rose.”

  Both guys’ jaws drop. The only sound in the room is the soft piano music coming from the new speakers Josh installed in the waiting room. Lavender essential oil is wafting through the room and I hope it can calm these guys down. Josh is the first to speak. “You’re dating Villsboro’s florist, James Rose?”

  I cringe and sneak a peek at Travis. His head is hung, shoulders slumped. He looks defeated and I can’t say I blame him. I told him I wasn’t ready to date. What I meant was I wasn’t ready to date him. “We’re not dating. He asked me out to dinner last week when we ran into each other at the Farmer’s Market.” Villsboro’s Farmer’s market is way better than ours so I make a trip there almost every Saturday before the spa opens. It’s only a twenty-minute drive and they open at eight so I’m able to get back here before the spa opens at ten.

  “Isn’t he like forty and going gray?” Josh wrinkles his nose as if he’s disgusted by my taste in men.

  I roll my eyes. “He’s thirty-eight and only has a few gray hairs by his temples. It’s distinguished,” I argue. James is hot. Dark hair with amber highlights, blue eyes. He’s slender, but still has some muscle, he’s not bulky and bull-like, not like Travis or Josh, but he’s fit. He also slicks his hair back like James Dean and the man loves flowers. I sigh thinking about him and then quickly recover because Josh and Travis are both glaring at me.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Josh’s voice catches in his throat.

  “Probably for the same reason you didn’t tell me about your Friday night date with Jamie.” I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow at him.

  He diverts his eyes and stares at the ground.

  “You and Jamie were dating?” Travis asks, stepping up to the counter. Shooting a glare at the sunflowers before fixing his green eyes on Josh.

  Oh, shoot. Me and my big mouth again. I feel my face flush and reach for the end of my copper colored braid.

  Josh rubs the back of his neck. “Not dating. She asked me out. We were supposed to go out tonight.” He starts to nibble on his nails and I smack his hand. He tucks his hands into his black scrub pockets and frowns.

  “Her calendar showed she had a hot stone massage with you before she met Violet at the church to practice for the talent show.”

  Josh nods again.

  “And you gave her a bottle of water before she left.”

  Josh’s face turns bright red.

  I narrow my eyes at Travis. “What are you implying? You know we give all our clients water before they leave. The bottles are always sealed.”

  “As the rumor mill has probably already told you, Jamie was poisoned. A substance we believe to be antifreeze was slipped into her water bottle. The same water bottle that she got from this spa. A bottle you gave her, I assume,” Travis cracks his knuckles then clasps his hands on the counter.

  I roll my eyes at his attempt at intimidation.

  Josh goes pale and sways a little. I reach out to steady him and gesture to the chair next to him. He plops down and puts his head in his hands.

  I glare at Travis before asking, “Are you sure? I mean have you even had time to test it?”

  Travis shrugs. “We follow the evidence.”

  “Evidence?”

  Travis nods and flexes his jaw, but doesn’t elaborate.

  I bite the inside of my cheek to try and keep vile words from escaping. Travis is walking a thin line. I stomp over to the mini fridge and pull out ten eight-ounce water bottles. “Here. Test these to see if there’s any poison in them. Whatever Jamie was poisoned with didn’t come from our spa water bottles.”

  Travis eyes the water bottles and appears almost unsure of what to do with them.

  I cross my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes. “Our bottles aren’t that big. She could have finished the water on her way to practice then taken it inside to refill it at the water fountain. Anyone at the church could have tampered with it. Maybe one of the other contestants who wanted to win the talent show grand prize. The grand prize is ten thousand dollars. Jamie had a voice that could rival Christina Aguilera’s. That’s a pretty big motive to get rid of her. Have you questioned any of them yet?”

  Travis’s cheeks flush and match his hair. “I-I’m following leads.”

  “Leads? Well Josh didn’t poison Jamie. He has no motive.”

  Travis runs a hand through his hair then smiles kind of evilly at Josh. “Why did you accept Jamie’s offer to date? Some ladies at the church said she kept hounding you about it. Did that annoy you?”

  Josh opens and closes his mouth, but says nothing.

  “Why didn’t you want to go on a date with Jamie? She was your age, blond, attractive, sweet, a successful bakery business owner. Any man in town would have loved for her to look their way. Why didn’t you?”

  Josh’s face turns even more pale and he looks about ready to pass out.

  “I think we’re done here, detective.”

  “I-I’m.”

  I cut him off. “Is Josh under arrest?”

  Travis narrows his eyes at me. “Not yet.”

  I glare at him. “If you have any further questions for Josh, be sure to call my father. My parents will be home tomorrow from Florida. I’m sure my dad would love to talk to you.” I continue to glare at him as he gathers up the
water bottles.

  Before he leaves he turns to Josh. “Don’t leave town.”

  2

  “Excuse me. I’m looking for Autumn Fisher.”

  I sigh and give Josh one last pat on the shoulder. I’ve been trying to console him for the past fifteen minutes behind the front desk. His thick dark hair is thinning as we speak from him continuing to run his hand through it and then tugging on it in frustration. When he’s not doing that, he’s biting his nails. They’re almost completely gone and he kept them short to begin with. The guy is beside himself.

  I turn to find a petite blond, who is probably about twenty-five and shorter than me if that’s even possible. I’m five three and she’s probably only about five feet. She’s holding a red purse in front of her, which matches her bright red lipstick. Her blond hair is pulled up in a bun atop her head and she’s wearing black scrubs. “I’m Autumn,” I say, feeling a tad bit suspicious.

  She steps forward and sticks out her hand. Her red coated short nails glisten under the soft lighting. “Maggie Marshall. We spoke on the phone. I’m the new esthetician.”

  “Maggie.” It takes me a minute to register this then it all comes back to me. I smile and say, “Welcome.” I shake her hand and gesture to the sullen man next to me. “This is Josh. He’s our other massage therapist.”

  Josh barely acknowledges her and excuses himself to the break room. I canceled his day. There’s no way he can work on clients, but he’s refusing to go home. He doesn’t want to be alone or leave me here to run the spa by myself. I thought about canceling my clients too, but Mrs. Walls, my one o’clock, relies on her weekly massage. She’s got a bad hip so I didn’t feel like I could cancel on her at the last minute, even though I knew she’d understand.