Old Fashioned Murder (A Ryli Sinclair Cozy Mystery Book 3)

by Jenna St James

  And then I heard it. A growl.

  I looked down into the ugliest, beadiest black eyes I’d ever seen. The tiny dog bared his teeth—which were almost as big as his whole body. That set off the other dogs to bark.

  “That’s one ugly dog!” Aunt Shirley exclaimed as she took a step back into the house.

  “We’re surrounded!” Paige yelled from the car.

  I realized she was right. Not counting the one currently showing off his wicked set of teeth, there must have been seven or eight more beasts yapping and running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

  “Well, now we know why she pretty much leaves everything open,” Aunt Shirley said dryly.

  “Who keeps a pack of wild Chihuahuas as attack dogs?”

  Aunt Shirley peered around my shoulder. “Obviously that nut Sheri does.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to think up a plan. “Remember that scary movie you made me watch when I was a kid where the family had the demon-possessed dog? Now I know how that family felt. Only for us it’s worse because there are like eight pissed off puppies ready to eat us alive!”

  “I say we make a run for it and hope for the best. This definitely bumps her up higher on my suspect list.”

  I silently agreed.

  “Paige,” I yelled over the barking dogs, “open the front passenger door when we get close so we can jump in!”

  Paige stuck her thumb out the window in acknowledgment. She crawled into the front passenger seat and gave me a nod.

  “On the count of three we run.” I yanked the car keys out of my coat pocket. “One, two—”

  “Wait!” Aunt Shirley cried and grabbed hold of my arm. “What about locking the door?”

  “We aren’t taking the time to lock the door,” I said. “When I get to three, you take off running and I’ll stick the key back under the mat and be right behind you. Maybe she won’t notice the front door is unlocked. Or if she does maybe she’ll think she accidentally left it that way.”

  Aunt Shirley nodded. “Okay. That seems reasonable. I mean, as reasonable as can be when death dogs are trying to tear you limb from limb.”

  “Ready? One, two, three!”

  Aunt Shirley shot out from behind me and sprinted down the two steps before I could even blink. For an old lady she could move. I bent down and shoved the key under the mat, yanked the front door closed, shot up in the air, and took off down the stairs. It wasn’t until I hit the bottom that I noticed Aunt Shirley had fallen.

  There were eight tiny Chihuahuas circling her prone body like vultures circling a carcass. Luckily she had that ridiculous camouflage parka she loves on and it cushioned her fall. Unfortunately the bulk made it so she couldn’t get up quickly.

  I reached up and took off my scarf, wrapped it once around my hand, and started swinging it around in the air. “Shoo! Get back!” I managed to get to Aunt Shirley’s side unbitten.

  “Help! It’s biting me!” Aunt Shirley screamed.

  “It’s not biting you,” I said as I lifted her up off the ground. “It’s just pawing at you.”

  “I’m gonna need a rabies shot! You better run me straight to Doc Powell after this.”

  I rolled my eyes and dragged her along beside me. The dogs were keeping up with us, circling, snarling, snapping the whole way.

  We were about five feet from the door when Aunt Shirley let out a blood-curdling scream. She yanked herself from my grasp and started spinning in circles, still screaming. Three of the dogs had bitten the bottom of her parka and were holding on for dear life—with their teeth. The more she spun, the higher off the ground the dogs got, the bigger their beady little eyes got. I wasn’t sure who was more scared.

  I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh.

  “It’s not funny!” Aunt Shirley yelled. “These little demons better hope they don’t tear my favorite coat.”

  I motioned for Paige—whose mouth was hanging open—to open the door. She pushed the door open, and three dogs ran to get into the Falcon. Paige screamed and slammed the door shut.

  “Open the door!” Aunt Shirley hollered. “I’m gonna puke if I keep spinning.”

  Paige opened the car door once again, this time swinging her coat at the dogs that tried to get in. When we reached the car, she scrambled into the backseat. I reached down and plucked off the three dogs hanging from Aunt Shirley’s coat. When the dogs were gone, I shoved Aunt Shirley head first into the car, dove in beside her, and slammed the door shut.

  “Gimme the keys.” Aunt Shirley waved her right hand under my nose. “Since I’m in the driver’s seat I’ll drive.”

  I was breathing heavy but still managed a laugh. “Not on your life.”

  Aunt Shirley raised an eyebrow at me. “This used to be my car. I’m in the driver’s seat, and I say I’m driving.”

  “You don’t have a valid driver’s license,” I countered.

  Our argument was interrupted by the yapping and clawing of tiny nails on the Falcon’s door. No way was I letting the paint get scratched up by a bunch of angry Chihuahuas.

  I thrust the keys into Aunt Shirley’s hand. “Go, go! I don’t want the paint scratched.”

  With a victory whoop, Aunt Shirley grabbed the keys, stuck them in the ignition, put the Falcon in drive, and slammed down on the gas pedal. The Falcon took off like a rocket, causing me to tumble back and hit my head on the window.

  “Slow down!” Paige cried. “You might hit one of the dogs.”

  Aunt Shirley snorted. “Those demons from Hades will get out of the way, believe me.”

  I turned around in my seat and looked out the rear window. Aunt Shirley was right. All eight dogs were running around yapping. Some were jumping in the air snarling…but all of them had gotten out of the way.

  CHAPTER 16

  * * *

  “Thanks for letting us stay tonight.” I grabbed the bowl of freshly popped popcorn off the kitchen counter while Garrett grabbed two bottled waters out of the refrigerator.

  Garrett chuckled. “When I said yes, I thought it was just going to be you. I didn’t realize we’d be babysitting Aunt Shirley.”

  “I don’t need no stinking babysitter,” Aunt Shirley yelled from the living room. “I can hear you. You realize that, right?”

  Garrett grinned wickedly at me but spoke to Aunt Shirley. “Yep. That’s why I said it loud enough for you to hear.”

  I gave him a light slap on the arm. “Play nice. I couldn’t just leave her at my place alone overnight.”

  “Yes, you could. You realize she’s a grown woman who has lived on her own for years.”

  After the run-in over at Sheri’s house, I didn’t want to take my chances of Sheri finding out and coming after us. I’m not sure how I convinced myself she might find out, but I did. And Aunt Shirley’s constant whining about being left alone for the killer to get her didn’t help. Of course, I couldn’t explain that to Garrett unless I wanted to be thrown in jail for breaking and entering.

  Instead of replying, I shifted the bowl to the side, stood on tiptoe, and leaned in and kissed him. The feel of his rough lips on mine gave me instant goosebumps.

  “What’s keeping you so long?” Aunt Shirley bellowed. “My beer wants some popcorn.”

  Garrett and I both growled. I wanted nothing more than to drop the popcorn and go straight upstairs. Instead, I was being summonsed to watch Aunt Shirley’s favorite movie, Dirty Harry.

  “Later,” Garret whispered against my lips.

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  Fortunately, later was much sooner than I thought. Aunt Shirley’s downfall was stretching out on the couch with a pillow. She didn’t even make it ten minutes into the movie before she started snoring. Garrett clicked off the TV, and I draped a blanket over her.

  Garrett stood at the bottom of the curved staircase and motioned me over. He wrapped his arm around me and we walked up the stairs silently so we didn’t wake Aunt Shirley.

  * * *

  “I need
to get to the station,” Garrett said as he walked out of his walk-in closet. “What’s on your agenda today?”

  I smiled at him. “Are you afraid I’m going to do something I’m not supposed to do?”

  He chuckled. “I’m always afraid of that with you. I’ll start coffee if you want to come down.”

  I grabbed some clothes out of the dresser, brushed my teeth, then made my way downstairs. I wanted to get Aunt Shirley and me to the newspaper office as early as possible to start researching backgrounds on my list of suspects. So far I had Sheri Daniels, Thomas Shifley, and Kaylee Jones. I was also tossing around with putting Lucy Stevenson on the list of suspects. I really didn’t think she was guilty, but my list of suspects was shockingly short.

  Aunt Shirley and Garrett were already in the kitchen when I shuffled in for my morning cup of coffee. I was instantly on guard. These two could barely stand being in the same room without tearing into each other.

  “About time,” Aunt Shirley grumbled. “I thought maybe he sexed you to death.”

  Garrett chuckled, and I choked on the drink I had just taken. “Jeez, do you have to be so crass?”

  Garrett’s cell phone lit up.

  “Excuse me. I’ve been waiting for this call.” He walked out of the kitchen to the far end of the living room. The fact he was standing with his back to me let me know he wanted to keep the conversation private.

  I went to the coffee pot and poured a cup. I was pretty sure I knew what the phone call was about. “Suppose it’s the toxicology report?”

  No answer.

  I turned to repeat the question, figuring Aunt Shirley had forgotten to put in her hearing aid—the one she claims to never wear—only to find I was looking at an empty chair. Fearing the worst, I set my coffee down on the kitchen table and hurried into the living room.

  “What are you doing?” Garrett demanded.

  Aunt Shirley popped up next to the end table where she had been kneeling. “I dropped my hearing aid last night.”

  Garrett narrowed his eyes at her. “I thought you didn’t wear a hearing aid?”

  Aunt Shirley shrugged.

  “And I suppose you heard nothing of my private conversation?”

  “Didn’t you hear me just say I forgot to put in my hearing aid? I didn’t hear nothin’ I tell you. Nothing!”

  Methinks thou dost protest too much.

  Garrett stared her down. Usually when he does that to me I fold like a house of cards.

  Aunt Shirley laughed. “Stare all you want. Once, when I was a private investigator, I was kidnapped and tortured for the information I had.”

  I snorted. “And let me guess, Robert Redford was the one that kidnapped you?”

  Aunt Shirley scowled. “No, Sherlock. It was a Mafia guy who tortured me. Pulled off one of my fingernails before I got the drop on him.” She looked down at her pinky. “Darn thing never did grow back right.”

  I looked at Garrett. His eyebrows were nearly to his hairline. Sometimes it was hard to tell the truth from a lie with Aunt Shirley.

  “I’m late,” he said and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I’ll check in with you today to see how things are going. I have some leads to run, so I may be late tonight.”

  Aunt Shirley crossed her arms. “Don’t worry. We have leads of our own to run today, too.”

  “No you don’t. This is police business.”

  I didn’t want the age-old argument to start up again. “She means we have leads on a story we’re doing.”

  * * *

  I didn’t say anything to Aunt Shirley about eavesdropping until we got to the office. I was still wrestling with the guilt of her garnishing information from Garrett in a sneaky way.

  “Morning you two,” Mindy called out when we walked in. “I was just getting ready to make a cup of tea. Do you want some?” Her voice faded when she looked at Aunt Shirley for the first time.

  “You like?” Aunt Shirley asked.

  Mindy bobbed her head up and down so fast she could have been a bobble-head. “It’s youthful. And the color is amazing.”

  Mindy was such a good woman…and a terrible liar.

  I didn’t want her to squirm anymore. “What kind are we drinking today?”

  Mindy came out of her daze and smiled at me. “It’s a grapefruit and strawberry blend. My new favorite.”

  Aunt Shirley made a face. “This is why we should be able to have tiny bottles of booze in our desk. Alone it sounds gross, but throw some rum in it and we have a party!”

  I bit back a laugh. I didn’t want to hurt Mindy’s feelings, but Aunt Shirley was on to something. Some of Mindy’s teas were pretty good. Others were so bad words couldn’t do them justice.

  “So where are we at with the Manning death?” Mindy set down two cups of tea. “Do we know if it was a murder or just an unfortunate death?”

  “There’s been no confirmation yet of our suspicions,” I said.

  Aunt Shirley made a wrong-answer buzzer noise. “Thanks for playing, but no dice. I happen to know he died from ricin poison.”

  “I knew you were eavesdropping this morning! Forgot your hearing aid, my butt.”

  Aunt Shirley smiled. “Guilty. And it’s a good thing I did eavesdrop because lover boy wasn’t going to tell you a thing.”

  “Ricin?” Mindy mused. “I’m not sure I’m familiar with that.”

  I turned on my computer and signed in. I pulled up Google and found information on ricin poisoning in castor beans. “Looks like ricin is a poison found in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, they release ricin poison. Death could occur anywhere from six hours to a few days.”

  “So Ray Manning ate the castor beans?” Mindy asked.

  Aunt Shirley chuckled. “How did that idiot not know he was eating castor beans? And this just proves that Sheri Daniels is the murderer.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  “She admitted to ordering the castor beans.”

  “But we didn’t find anything at her house,” I reminded Aunt Shirley.

  “At her house?” Mindy asked. “What am I missing?”

  I gave her a brief rundown on everything we knew so far, including yesterday’s escapades at Sheri’s house…ending with the yapping dogs. By the time I finished, Mindy was laughing and wiping tears from her eyes.

  “I can’t believe attack dogs were hanging from your coat,” Mindy said. “I’m almost sorry I missed it.”

  Ever since I started innocently stumbling upon dead bodies, Hank has been more and more adamant Mindy and I don’t spend as much time together. I’d be insulted if I didn’t understand where he was coming from.

  “So somehow Ray Manning ate castor bean seeds but didn’t know it,” Mindy mused. “How can that be? Wouldn’t he know if he ate something that crunchy and nasty?”

  I sucked in my breath and looked at Aunt Shirley. I could tell by the slow smile she knew what I was thinking. She nodded to me.

  I let out a shaky laugh. “I think I know what he ate that killed him. Chocolate covered espresso beans.”

  Mindy scrunched her nose. “Yuck. I hate those things. Did you see him eat them recently?”

  Aunt Shirley nodded her head. “Yes. A couple different times.”

  “I’m not sure this proves Sheri is the murderer,” I argued. “Think about it. Thomas Shifley knew he ate them, Kaylee knew because she placed the order, and everyone on his floor knew.”

  Aunt Shirley narrowed her eyes at me. “What’re you saying?”

  I took a deep breath. “I think we need to add one more person to the list of suspects. I think we need to add Virginia Webber to the list.”

  “Why?” Aunt Shirley demanded. “Just because she’s had three husbands die doesn’t mean she killed Manning.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You’ve been suspicious of her since before we even met her.”

  “I know. But now that I know her, I’ve decided I like her. I don’t think she killed Manning.”

  I gave an exaspe
rated look to Mindy. Leave it to Aunt Shirley to decide someone isn’t guilty because now she likes them. “You know it doesn’t work that way. We have to add her. Remember the first day we met Lovey and Dotty? They talked about how Manning had been harassing Virginia, and we heard them mention the notes he’d been leaving.” I looked pointedly at Aunt Shirley. “And I happen to know they found a letter from Virginia in Manning’s apartment. Garrett didn’t say exactly what it said, but I’m assuming she threatened him. Maybe she took care of it herself.”

  Aunt Shirley crossed her arms. “Fine. We’ll add her to the list, but I’m not happy about it!”

  “Duly noted,” I said dryly. “I say we go to the Manor and talk with some of our suspects.”

  “I suggest,” Hank said crossly as he walked up behind me, “that you go down to the police station and ask that boyfriend of yours for a quote on the death of this Ray Manning character.”

  “On it,” I said.

  Hank did a double-take at Aunt Shirley. “What in tarnation happened to your hair?”

  Aunt Shirley made a face at Hank. “It’s new and modern. It’s all the rage and it’s awesome.”

  Hank shoved his unlit cigar in his mouth. “Whatever you tell yourself, Tinker Bell.”

  I grabbed hold of Aunt Shirley before she could respond. “We’re going. You’ll have something in writing by the end of the day.”

  “Be careful,” Mindy said. “It’s starting to get serious.”

  CHAPTER 17

  * * *

  Aunt Shirley and I headed off toward the police station. I have to admit, I was curious what Garrett would tell me. I parked in the station parking lot and strolled inside. Claire Hickman was working dispatch.

  “Good morning, ladies. Oh, Shirley, I love your hair!”

  I tried not to laugh. Of course Claire would. She had a fashion sense all her own.

  “Thanks. I just got it done.”

  “What’s new with you, Ryli?”