Clem opened her truck door for her and said, “Leave it alone, Kate.”
Reluctantly, she climbed behind the wheel, and Clem closed her door. When she turned the engine, Clem began walking back towards the trailer.
Dusk had fallen quickly, and the sky was darkening by the second, so she flipped her headlights on, swung a U-turn, and crawled through the campsite until she reached the bumpy road.
As she accelerated to a reasonable speed, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her overalls. She was excited that Clem may have changed his mind and called her to spill, so she answered it without checking the screen.
“Kate? It’s Hazel.”
She could hear Mitsy yelping excitedly in the background, as she pulled her truck to a stop on the grassy shoulder of the road.
“Hey Hazel, what’s up?”
“It’s one of the drawers in my kitchen,” she explained. “I hate to bother you so close to dinner time, but I can’t open my utensil drawer. It’s stuck shut.”
Kate smiled. “It’s no problem. I’ll be right there.”
“Oh thank you. I’ll brew a fresh pot.”
After hanging up and returning her cell to her overalls, she checked the time. She’d told Scott she’d be home by seven for dinner, which left her more than enough time to swing by Hazel’s. Tomorrow wouldn’t be pleasant. She hadn’t done the greatest job of tending to Justina’s list, but she vowed to catch up tomorrow—even if it meant working late into the evening.
“Oh shoot,” she said out loud, remembering that Carly’s birthday party was tomorrow night.
As she drove into town, she reasoned she could wake up a few hours earlier tomorrow morning to fit all her work in.
By the time she pulled into Hazel’s driveway, all she could think about was a strong cup of coffee. Night had fallen, and the moon was out. She glanced at it, as she walked with her toolbox in hand to Hazel’s front door.
She knocked on the door, which sent Mitsy into a yippy fit of barking, but when Hazel let her in the dog quieted, waged its tail, and ran circles around her feet.
“Thanks so much for coming,” said Hazel. “I didn’t want to eat a casserole with my hands.”
“My pleasure,” said Kate and followed her into the kitchen where the aroma of fresh dark roast filled the air.
Kate set her toolbox on the kitchen table and started for the coffee maker, remarking, “First things first.”
Hazel chuckled, as Kate helped herself to a cup and leaned her back to the counter to take the first few sips.
“I’ve been accidentally cutting back on coffee,” she explained between sips. “Not a good thing.”
“Well, if you’re ever on the block, you’re welcome to drop in for a cup,” said Hazel. She’d settled into a chair at the table and lifted Mitsy into her lap. “I heard Mrs. Briar tried to have you arrested.”
“Is that what that was?” Kate said softly before taking another sip. “She’s all bark and no bite.”
“She’s got a screw or two loose, is her problem. The library is like a second home for most people. Word around town is that people don’t enjoy going there anymore. I hate to badmouth anyone in town, but I’ve been considering bringing it up at the next town meeting if not privately. I’m not saying I want to get her fired, but she certainly shouldn’t be running things.”
Hazel shook her head and grimaced.
“I used to love going to the library, and I can already tell that when I’m fit to drive I’m going to hesitate before I set foot in it.”
“Would you ever want to work there?” Kate asked, setting her mug on the counter and taking a look at the drawer in question.
“You know, it’s crossed my mind,” said Hazel.
Before her retirement, Hazel used to work as a kindergarten teacher. She’d loved reading to the youngsters and encouraging their curiosities. It seemed that working in the library would be a good fit for her.
“Would I have it in me to keep Mrs. Briar in line is the real question,” she mused.
“At the very least, you could split the hours with her. Then people would have the option of coming to the library during hours they’d know they wouldn’t get harassed.”
“Good point.”
Kate discovered the obstruction inside the drawer. A card-stock menu for the local deli had gotten wedged under the lip of the drawer. She used her screwdriver to dislodge it then eased the drawer open. Then she set the menu aside, removed the utensil tin, and emptied the drawer.
“Fixed?”
“Almost,” Kate said, opening and closing the drawer to see if it would otherwise stick. “Maybe a spray of WD-40 to loosen it up,” she suggested.
“Whatever you need to do,” said Hazel, happily.
Kate didn’t want to spray too much or else the chemicals would linger, so she pumped off a quick spritz then pushed the drawer in and out to work the grease in. After that she kept the drawer open all the way so it could air out.
“That should do it,” she said and closed her toolbox.
“What do I owe you?” asked Hazel, and she muscled out of her chair.
“Don’t even worry about it,” she said. “It took two seconds, and I got a cup of coffee out of it.”
Hazel smiled but made her way to the cupboards anyway and grabbed a small thermos into which she poured the rest of the coffee from its carafe. Then she twisted the top on and handed it to Kate.
“For the road,” she said.
“Thanks, Hazel. You know me too well.”
She was doing good on time and drinking more coffee on the way home had her energized, so when she got to her house at the end of the long, winding driveway, she hopped in the shower for a quick rinse before Scott arrived. She combed her wet hair in the mirror so it would dry straight and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater that she felt was flattering.
She was putting on her socks when she heard Scott ring the doorbell, which reminded her that she hadn’t reset the alarm after she'd gotten home. If she had, it would’ve let off three warning beeps when he stepped up to the door. It wasn’t the worst oversight, but she needed to be vigilant about keeping the alarm set, especially now that she’d gotten an idea of how Greg’s disappearance might be linked to the string of murders around Rock Ridge.
“Hi,” she said, breathy, as she opened the door.
Scott looked like a relaxed version of himself, and his expression wore an easy smile. As she stepped back for him to come in, she smelled the savory scent of Chinese wafting up from the bags he carried. It made her realize she was starving.
“I had an idea for Carly’s birthday party,” he said, as he opened the bags and set out the food on the kitchen table. Kate grabbed a few plates and utensils, as she listened. “You know Gunther?”
She shook her head not quite placing the name.
“He’s one of the police officers in the department. Anyway, he plays the drums. And another officer, Garrison is pretty good on the bass.”
And Scott had a penchant for playing electric guitar, a hobby he’d never dropped since high school. He was actually quite skilled.
“We were talking about putting a little garage band together. You know, a way to blow off steam other than grumbling over beers at The Rail.”
The Rail was a bar three doors down from Grayson’s Hardware and one of Kate’s favorite places, though she agreed drowning your sorrows in a drink or two wasn’t the healthiest option.
“Anyway,” he went on, “we were thinking about putting a few songs together. Covers mostly. And we could play at Carly’s party, have a little fun.”
“That sounds great,” she said with a smile. She wouldn’t mind seeing Scott work his magic on a six-string. It’d be quite the turn on in fact.
“And Ken’s a hell of a singer,” he added. “Sounds just like Axl Rose.”
“Ken’s going to be in the band?”
“If we’re lucky,” Scott chuckled.
She didn’t trust Ken. His name had come u
p too many times out of the mouths of possible suspects. It was bad enough Scott admired him on the job, but if they got particularly close socially, then Scott would never believe her concerns that Ken might have his fingers in criminal pots.
But she remained reserved and supportive in her reaction, as they sat down and ate their Chinese dinner. She mentioned the gift card she’d gotten for Carly and offered to put his name on it as well. And Scott told her about his gripes regarding the impossibility of finding Walter’s murder weapon.
When they got through their meal, Kate felt the nagging urge to clue him in to all she’d learned at the town clerk’s office about the land deal out east. She expected he’d bellyache about her snooping, which she wasn’t looking forward to, but reasoned he needed to know. It could crack his case wide open.
“With regard to Meghan’s files,” she started, “I swung by Jimmy’s office, the town clerk, and learned that Mike Waters, the guy who’d checked out the same library books as Greg, was the one who bought the land out east.”
“Okay,” he said, shifting into cop mode.
“According to Jimmy’s records, Walter Miller was one of the investors, but he backed out of the deal.”
Scott froze and stared at her.
“Yeah, that was my reaction,” she said. “And the other investors, well they were listed as corporations, all sounded like they were from the Middle East: Beirut Building Project, Princes of Dubai. And Mike Waters is head of the Anarchist Freedom Network. The organization is listed on the land deed.”
“Kate, stop. This is dangerous. I don’t want you poking around.”
“But did you know any of this?”
He didn’t answer, but his expression told her he hadn’t known.
“I’m not asking for credit here,” she went on. “But could you look into it? What if the people who know what happened to Greg are over in that campsite?”
“Kate,” he barked then took a carefully measured breath to compose himself, “I don’t want you meddling in this.”
“But—”
“I’ll look into it.”
“But—”
“Kate.”
She didn’t like how he was using her name, but she quieted. Telling him the most important detail of all—that the mayor, Harvy Stuart, was also an investor—was lodged in her throat.
“I will look into it. I will keep you updated as it regards to Greg. Just stay out of it. For your own safety and wellbeing. Agreed?”
Reluctantly, she did.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, Kate rose from bed two hours earlier than usual. The room was still dark, and it took a moment to shake the nightmares about Greg, the anarchists, and Walter Miller’s dead body that had plagued her dreams.
She made a pot of coffee, hopped in the shower, and dressed quickly in her usual attire. Before heading out to her truck, she downed one cup of coffee, poured the rest into the thermos Hazel had lent her, and then drove off to Brent Townsend’s house, the next on Justina’s list.
It needed quite a few repairs, and Kate had noted the majority required her toolbox alone, so she decided to tend to those then drive to Grayson’s for supplies for Townsend’s house and the next one.
When she arrived at Brent Townsend’s house, she hopped to it. She cleared his rain gutters of debris then hosed them down. She fastened two of the kitchen cabinet doors back on the cupboards. For some reason, they were propped against the wall. She fixed the garbage disposal next, which she discovered had been jammed by a toy soldier, Brent’s kids she figured. There were a few loose tiles in the bathroom, which she glued down. On the second floor, she tightened the doorknob on the kids’ playroom, drilled in door stoppers on the wall perpendicular to the bathroom door, and glued down the floppy edged of the carpet in the master bedroom. If it were up to her, Kate would’ve torn the old carpet up and laid in a new one, but it wasn’t her place to argue Justina’s instructions, so she pressed the carpet down against a glob of adhesive then made her way out to her truck.
The minor repairs had taken only a few hours, and she estimated she could get a wealth of work done before lunch. On long days, she allowed herself a sit down lunch, which she would definitely take, but not until the late afternoon.
On her way back to Brent Townsend’s house, after she’d collected all the materials required to address the major alterations on Justina’s list, her cell phone vibrated. She gave it a quick glance and saw that it was her new attorney, Arthur Joseph calling, so she eased her truck curbside and put it in Park then answered the call.
“Hi Arthur.”
“Good morning, Kate. The Order of Notice came through,” he said. “Just wanted to let you know. I’ll contact the newspaper this afternoon to run it.”
“Sounds good, thank you for letting me know.”
“Depending on their space and layout, they might not be able to get it running daily for a few days, but I’ll let you know if that’s the case.”
“Thanks again,” she said then waited for him to hang up.
Before she could get on the road again, her cell vibrated in her hand. This time it was Justina.
“Hey, Kate, could you do me a favor?”
“I hope so,” she said, a little nervous for her tight timetable.
“I placed an order with Carly at Sunshine, but don’t have time to pick it up and bring it to Jessica’s house. Mayor Harvy Stuart is on his way to my office. Could you deal with it and put one bouquet on the dining room table and another on the kitchen counter?”
“Sure,” she said, trying not to grumble.
“I’ll pay you for your time of course,” said Justina.
“I’m on my way.”
At least Sunshine Florist was a mere block away. Kate walked briskly up the street and into Carly’s florist where her friend was putting the final touches on a bouquet of pink peonies.
“I’m just finishing up,” she said without looking at Kate.
“Happy birthday,” said Kate, which got her attention.
“I hear your boyfriend’s going to make his musical debut at my party,” she said with a smile.
It was the first time Kate heard anyone refer to Scott as her boyfriend, and it felt good.
“You don’t mind?”
“Mind?” She laughed. “It’s going to be great. I can’t wait.”
“Well, you won’t have to wait long. I’m just hoping I get all my work done and can shower before the party.”
“Hey, you can drift in,” she said. “Don’t kill yourself to get there at seven.”
It took a little pressure off, and Kate thanked her then took the bouquet. Carly grabbed the second one and together they made their way up the street to her truck.
“Let’s get these in the passenger’s seat,” Carly suggested, “so they don’t topple over when you make a turn.”
Carly set one bouquet on the floor and carefully placed the second onto the passenger’s seat when Kate handed it over.
“See you tonight!” she said, all smiles.
Kate waved at her as she drove off in the direction of Jessica’s house.
The chilly day had warmed up quite a bit. Kate felt the warm sun on her face, as she carried the bouquets to the front door of Jessica’s house then set them down briefly to key in.
She placed the bouquets exactly where Justina had indicated, and as she made her way back to the front door, Justina stepped through, explaining to Harvy the year the house was build and its architectural style.
Making pleasant chit-chat, Justina then asked Harvy if he’d started yet on his re-election campaign.
“I shouldn’t have to do much campaigning,” he boasted confidently, as though his wife hadn’t been arrested for murder. “Besides, the election is a year off. I’m sure my work for Rock Ridge in the meantime will speak for itself.”
Work, like funding an anarchist movement that might be chalk full of killers? Kate wondered, as she smiled uneasily when they realized she was in th
e foyer.
“Kate,” Justina exclaimed. “Nice to see you.” Then she mentioned to Harvy, “Kate has been hard at work making sure every inch of this place is in proper working order.”
Harvy smiled disingenuously then wandered into the living room.
“Thanks again,” Justina whispered.
She nodded, but lingered. She didn’t want Justina left alone with the mayor. If Harvy really was in on Walter’s murder because of his ties to the land deal out east, then he had been in on the effort to frame Justina. So she hung back, while the real estate agent followed Harvy through the expansive living room, noting for him the types of wood, marble, and molding craftsmanship, as well as what Harvy could expect the natural sunlight to do at various times of day.
After a few moment of listening in, her concern for Justina’s safety loosened. The real estate agent seemed to be wrapping up her pitch and based on their exchanges Kate got the impression this was his second time seeing the house.
She let herself out, and as she walked down the driveway, she had the sudden urge to glance in Harvy’s Lexus.
Kate still felt certain that Harvy and Mike Waters had the most motive to kill Walter. Not that Harvy would leave a gun in plain view inside his car if he’d been the one to shoot Walter, but she peeked through the windows anyway, as she slowly worked her way around his vehicle. When she rounded the rear and got to the driver’s side window, she felt eyes on her and her gaze suddenly snapped up to the house.
Harvy stared at her through a window on the first floor that she recalled was the bathroom. His expression was steely, and he seemed to quake with anger. He’d obviously caught her snooping, and she had the impulse to tell him his tires looked low as if that would explain stalking around his Lexus, but she decided against it and instead made her way to her truck and simply got out of there.
The rest of the afternoon unfolded at a clipped pace. Kate painted Brent Townsend’s kitchen, covering the faded, pastel blue walls with classic eggshell white. Then she worked her way through the living room, painting the walls the same shade after laying down cloth and taping off around the windows and molding, which Justina wanted a brighter shade of white.
Mrs. Fix It Mysteries: The Complete 15-Books Cozy Mystery Series Page 36