Liana raced down the porch steps...and hit a patch of ice at the bottom.
Her feet went out from under her and she landed hard on the ground.
“Oof!” she grunted, dismayed that the powdery white snow wasn’t as soft as she had expected.
“Hello?” a male voice called.
The figure in the woods began to move purposefully toward Liana.
She scrambled to her feet just as the man closed in on her.
“Liana?” he asked, shining his flashlight in her direction. “What are you doing out here?”
“Being blinded,” she replied, shading her eyes with her forearm.
“Oh, sorry.” The flashlight switched off.
She blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. “Luke?”
“Yeah, hi. I didn’t expect to run into you out here,” he said, shifting a backpack on his shoulders.
“I didn’t expect to run into anyone out here,” Liana replied. She looked at him curiously, her gaze lingering on the mysterious, heavy-looking backpack. “What are you doing in the woods this late at night?” she demanded.
He hesitated. “I like to come out here to look at the stars,” he finally said, sounding sheepish.
“In these temperatures?” she pressed, skeptical. “Do you have a telescope in your backpack?”
Luke looked down and cleared his throat. “It is cold out tonight,” he agreed, dodging her question. “But tonight is the perfect night to see a constellation that...ah, never mind. I’m sure you’re not interested in that sort of thing.”
Liana raised an eyebrow. Was he implying that she wasn’t intellectual enough to appreciate astronomy? Or was he trying to get rid of her? Either way, she was now completely convinced that Luke wasn’t interested in her.
“I should be going,” Luke announced abruptly.
“Oh yeah, me too.” Liana hesitated and then asked, “Do you need a ride somewhere?”
Truthfully, she was only offering to be polite. Offering rides to acquaintances was the sort of thing one did in small town Minnesota when winter rolled around. She didn’t expect Luke to actually take her up on her offer.
“Actually, a ride would be great,” Luke said gratefully. “I don’t know what I was thinking, walking all the way out here. I should have brought my truck. The wind has really gotten up the past twenty minutes or so.”
Liana led Luke to her car. She climbed behind the wheel and he got into the front passenger seat.
“Mrow!” Fluffy complained as Luke almost sat on him.
Apparently he had given up on capturing his tail and returned to the front of the car.
“Whoa!” Luke gasped, obviously startled.
“Oh yeah, the cat is in the car,” Liana remembered.
“I see that,” Luke replied wryly as the cat growled at him.
“That’s strange,” Liana remarked. “Fluffy is usually so friendly.”
“He must sense that I’m a dog person,” Luke shrugged as he pulled off his Star Wars knit hat, which was modelled after R2D2. He tossed it aside and began to clean his fogged up glasses on his scarf.
“You don’t like cats?” Liana asked, appalled.
“It’s not that I dislike them. I’ve just never been around them much,” Luke explained. “We had a few farm cats around, I guess. But they were outdoor cats, not pets. They were vicious. I’ve never really known anything different.”
“Not all cats are vicious. Most of them make excellent pets,” Liana assured him.
“I’ll take your word for it. Growing up, we always had dogs. First there was Beast, a yappy little chihuahua that followed my mom everywhere. Then after that strange panhandler came to town that one year, we got a Rottweiler for protection. As it turned out, the Rottweiler was terrified of Beast. Still is, really.”
“What was the Rottweiler’s name?” Liana asked, mostly just to make conversation. Talking made it easier to ignore the fact that her car suddenly felt much smaller than usual.
“Princess Pepperton the Second,” Luke replied.
She looked over at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”
“Unfortunately, no. My little sister named him. She was eight at the time.”
“Was there a Princess Pepperton the First?”
“No!” Luke chuckled. “My sister just like the way ‘Princess Pepperton the Second’ sounded.”
Liana grinned. “Is your family still here in town?”
She vaguely remembered Luke’s sister, a pigtailed strawberry blonde who liked to sing. Of course, Liana’s recollection was from at least twenty years ago. The little girl she remembered would be all grown up by now. Time passed way too fast.
“My sister is studying architecture in Europe right now.”
“Ah, I see. And your parents?” Liana asked.
Immediately, she grimaced. Had she just inadvertantly put her foot in her mouth, as she so often seemed to do? What if one or both of Luke’s parents had passed away and she somehow hadn’t heard the news? Maybe that was why she hadn’t seen them around town in ages. Oh dear...
Then, much to Liana’s relief, Luke said, “My parents moved out to the family farm as soon as Dad retired. I’m not sure working on a farm is my idea of retirement, but they love it. My mom practically has a whole zoo out there, and my dad loves restoring cars. He’s got half a dozen old clunkers out there.”
“Nice!”
Liana nearly asked Luke what he was keeping busy with these days.
Then she thought better of it.
Times had been tough in Sugarcomb Lake as of late, what with the mine outside of town closing and various Ma and Pop shops going under. Liana knew of a number of young people who had moved to Green City in search of work. The town’s population was aging, and many of those who remained were retirees.
Considering the town’s current economic conditions, there was a fairly good chance that Luke was unemployed. Liana didn’t want to put him on the spot by asking him about work, so for once she kept her mouth shut.
“Are your parents still in town?” Luke asked. “I remember your mom made red velvet cupcakes for the school bake sale one year. They were the best thing I’d ever tasted.”
“She’ll love hearing that,” Liana smiled. “And yes, my parents still have a house here. But right now they’re off on another cruise - they’re in the Mediterranean this time. That’s their idea of retirement: cruising. They spend more time on the water than on land!”
“That sounds amazing.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I’m so envious!” Liana admitted as she drove through town. Then a thought occurred to her. “Where am I going?” she asked. “I don’t know where you live.”
“Oh, right. Two streets over from you, right across from the park,” Luke replied.
Liana gave him a curious look. “You know where I live?”
He looked embarrassed. “It’s a small town,” he reminded her. Then he made a big production of putting his R2D2 knit hat back on. Liana suspected it was so that he didn’t have to talk to her any more. Ouch.
They drove the rest of the way in strained silence.
When they neared the park, Luke pointed out a small, tidy looking apartment building. “That’s me,” he said, scrambling to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.” He jumped out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop.
“That was weird,” Liana commented as she watched Luke hurry away.
“Mew,” Fluffy agreed, glaring out the window at Luke’s retreating figure.
Chapter 08
Who killed Colin Watson?
The question was weighing heavily on Liana.
It had bugged her all day long at work, and it was occupying her thoughts now.
“It had to have been a man,” she whispered to Fluffy as they drove away from Just Desserts. “It would take a lot of upper body strength to strangle someone Colin’s size. He wasn’t able to fight his assailant off, so he must have been overpowered.”
/> “Mrow,” Fluffy squawked, peering out from his pet carrier with interest.
“We’re going to the leisure center,” Liana told the cat. “Penny Trembley works there. I overheard someone at the coffee shop say Colin and Penny knew each other. Maybe she can help answer some of my questions.”
Liana pulled up outside the leisure center.
It had been built several years earlier thanks to an anonymous and very generous donation. With its turreted architecture and stone exterior, it was quite an impressive structure for such a small town. It boasted an indoor swimming pool, a rink, outdoor tennis courts and even a mini golf putting range. It was the pride and joy of Sugarcomb Lake.
“Wait here,” Liana instructed Fluffy as she opened up the pet carrier. “I’ll be right back.”
“Meow,” Fluffy protested as he sauntered out and stretched his legs.
“I’ll leave the car running for you. I always do.”
Fluffy looked unimpressed.
“I’ll turn the radio on for you,” Liana offered. “You like Christmas music, don’t you?”
The cat promptly sat down on the front passenger seat and sprawled out. Sometimes Liana could swear the furry feline could understand her! It was the strangest thing.
“Okay, see you in a few minutes,” Liana said after turning the radio to the local station.
Liana didn’t know Penny Trembley well, but she vaguely remembered her from years ago. She thought maybe they had gone to school around the same time, though her recollection was hazy. Thankfully, it hadn’t been hard to learn that Penny worked at the fitness center.
“Where is she?” Liana whispered to herself as she stood in the entryway looking around.
The only person in sight was a slender, athletic-looking man with closely cropped blonde hair. He had his back to Liana as he surveyed the contents of a vending machine thoughtfully. Judging by his bulging muscles, he was probably a regular at the fitness center.
“Excuse me?” Liana called. “I’m looking for Penny Trembley. Do you know her?”
The man turned around.
That was when Liana saw it wasn’t a man at all. It was a very muscular woman!
“I’d better know her. I’m Penny,” the woman replied.
“Oh! Oh, right. Hi!”
“Hello.” Penny looked at Liana inquisitively. “You look familiar. Laura, is it?”
“Liana. Liana Campbell. I uh, was hoping you could help me with something.”
“You’re in luck,” Penny told her. “There are still a few spots left in our beginners’ yoga class.”
“Huh? Oh, no...that’s not what I meant.” Liana cleared her throat awkwardly and then decided to just go for it. “Colin Watson was killed behind my coffee shop,” she explained. “I’m trying to find out what happened. I heard you two knew each other.”
Penny’s face darkened. “Yeah, unfortunately we did.”
“Sorry for your loss,” Liana managed to choke out. She was taken aback by Penny’s reaction.
“It wasn’t any loss of mine.” Penny sighed and ran a hand through her closely-cropped platinum blonde hair. “Colin came here to take a fitness class. He said he couldn’t find an opening in Green City, so he registered in Sugarcomb Lake.”
“That’s a long way to drive for a fitness class, isn’t it?”
Penny nodded. “I said the same thing to him. He insisted he didn’t mind the drive. He said our facilities were better than any gym he had been to in the city - which I totally believe, by the way. So whatever, I let him sign up. It was fine at first.”
“Only at first?” Liana pressed.
Penny sighed. “He became sort of fixated on me.”
“What do you mean by that?” Liana asked curiously.
“At first it seemed innocent enough. I’d catch him staring at me a little too intensely, and he’d find excuses to stay late after class and talk to me. I figured it was just a socially awkward guy with a harmless little crush. But then Colin got more aggressive.”
“What did he do?”
“He started following me around town,” Penny said with a shudder. “I recognized his van - it was hard to miss. It had the logo for a party supply store in Green City on the side of it. The van would be there when I ran errands. It would be there when I went to my book club at the library. Once I even spotted him outside my house.”
Liana’s eyes widened. “That’s so creepy!”
“Ugh, tell me about it. I ended up asking him to leave my fitness class.”
“How did he take it?”
“He seemed angry,” Penny recalled. “He tried to turn it around on me. He said I was imagining things. He told me not to flatter myself - he said he’d never be interested in a woman with big muscles like mine. He said it would be like dating a man.”
“Rude!”
Penny nodded. “But that wasn’t the worst part. He kept following me.”
“No!” Liana gasped in horrified disbelief.
“Yes. Eventually I confronted him. I told him if I ever saw him following me again, I’d make him regret it. I didn’t mean it, of course. I just wanted to scare him. Guys like Colin are usually cowards,” Penny said knowingly.
“I guess he won’t be bothering you anymore…”
Penny winced. “Yeah, I don’t mean to sound so heartless. Colin was a creepy guy, but that doesn’t mean I wanted him to wind up dead. It’s terrible, what happened to him. Do you have any leads on who might have killed him?”
“No, not yet.”
“Oh. Well good luck with your investigation. Are you sure I can’t sign you up for yoga class?”
“No thanks!”
As Liana ran back out to her car, her mind was whirling.
“Mew?” Fluffy asked as soon as Liana climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Maybe I jumped to conclusions,” Liana told the cat. “It seemed likely that a man killed Colin. But a really strong woman could have also been responsible,” she said, thinking of Penny’s impressive, muscular physique.
Suddenly the Christmas music on the radio stopped.
“We interrupt regularly scheduled programming with a very important special news bulletin!” the local radio announcer said, sounding excited.
“Maybe the police found the killer!” Liana exclaimed. She leaned forward in anticipation.
“The town will start clearing snow tonight at midnight. The area north of Birch Street will be affected. Residents of said area are asked to remove their vehicles from the street. Vehicles that interfere with snow removal may be towed.”
“Ugh,” Liana groaned in frustration. “That’s considered a Very Important Special News Bulletin? Please! For a moment there I got my hopes up that Colin’s killer had been found. But no luck. I guess I will just have to solve the mystery myself.”
Liana looked at the cat expectantly.
The cat ignored her.
“It’s a tough job but I’m sure I’m up to the challenge,” Liana continued, mostly to try to convince herself. “You think I can figure it out, don’t you Fluffy?”
“Meow,” Fluffy replied, looking bored.
“For a trusty sidekick, you’re kind of a buzzkill.”
The cat yawned in response.
“Okay, okay. I’ll take you home so you can nap for approximately eighteen hours,” Liana promised. “But first I need to stop by the coffee shop real quick. I think I forgot my phone there when I locked up this evening.”
Fluffy looked exasperated.
“I know, I’m terrible about leaving my phone at work,” Liana admitted. “I’ll try to do better. Now get back into your carrier, please!”
She made the drive across town cautiously, cursing the icy roads.
It would be good when the packed-down snow was hauled away and sand was sprinkled over the slippery patches. Driving during the winter months was never fun, but thankfully Liana hadn’t ever been in a fender bender. She credited her paranoia - and dumb luck.
When she pulled up
outside her darkened coffee shop, Liana let out a shriek.
Chapter 09
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Liana started screaming the second she flung open her car door. She jumped out of the still-running vehicle and stormed over to the front of her shop. There was a man standing there with his back to her. She could tell he was up to no good.
The man was considerably taller than Liana. It was tough to estimate his weight because of his dark, puffy winter jacket. When he turned around, Liana saw that he was wearing a black balaclava. It covered his face, obscuring his identity.
And in his gloved hand, he held a can of spray paint.
When the man saw Liana barrelling toward him, he appeared to lose his nerve. He tossed the can of spray paint into a nearby bush. Then he took off running down the street at a pace that was impossible to catch up with.
Livid, Liana retrieved the can of spray paint from the bush.
Then she turned her attention to the graffiti.
“Oh no he didn’t,” she groaned in disbelief.
There, scrolled across her front door in bold, black letters was a horrible, accusatory word:
MURDERER.
“Why?” Liana groaned in despair. “Who would write that? And do people actually think I killed Colin just because I was the person who found his body? Oh, this is going to be terrible for business! I have to paint over it tonight, before anyone sees it!”
Liana’s hand was shaking so badly that she had trouble inserting her key into the lock. Eventually, she made it inside the darkened coffee shop. She switched on a light. She immediately saw she had managed to get black paint all over her mittens and jacket.
“Great, just what I need!” she muttered sarcastically.
She tossed the leaking can of spray paint into a plastic bag. She figured she’d turn it over to the police when she reported the vandalism, though she doubted it would do much good. If the local cops didn’t prioritize solving a murder, they certainly wouldn’t care about catching some bratty kid with too much time on his hands.
Red Velvet Cupcakes to Die For (A Liana Campbell Cozy Mystery Book 1) Page 5