by Ava Mallory
Fever Rich
A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery
By Ava Mallory
Copyright @2015 Ava Mallory. All Rights Reserved
http://writeravamallory.wix.com/avamallory
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Cover Design & Image Credits: Danger Zone; https://www.dollarphotoclub.com/; Yael Weiss |
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Table of Contents
Chapter One 4
Chapter Two 20
Chapter Three 34
Chapter Four 53
Chapter Five 64
Chapter Six 83
Chapter Seven 100
Chapter Eight 114
Chapter Nine 129
Chapter Ten 136
Chapter Eleven 139
Chapter Twelve 142
Chapter Thirteen 145
Chapter Fourteen 150
Chapter Fifteen 158
Chapter Sixteen 163
Chapter Seventeen 167
Epilogue 186
About Ava Mallory 190
More Ava Mallory Titles 192
Chapter One
“In two weeks?” The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I only partially listened to my daughter explain my ex-husband's sudden rush to wed.
“Mom, I told you not to freak out,” Diana's words were hard to make out with all that eye rolling she was doing on her end of the line.
“I'm not even sure I know what that means,” I said. “I don't think I know what anything means anymore.” Okay, so maybe that was a tad bit dramatic, but I'd only been home a little less than three hours and I'd already blown a tire, discovered that my wind chimes were missing, opened a slew of late notices I'd received in the mail, and realized that I hadn't had time to make a grocery run in a few weeks because I was out of town, trying really hard to keep myself out of prison. I'm allowed to freak out – a little.
“I knew I shouldn't have told you this over the phone. I told Dad to call you himself and tell you, but he was afraid you'd blow a gasket and try to talk him out of it. I don't know why you two couldn't have just stayed married and miserable. I wouldn't of had to make this phone call, if you had.” Diana whined.
Make this all about you, why don't you?
Ruby, my best friend in the world, stood next to me, grasping for the phone to see what all the fuss was about, but I held onto it like my life depended on it. Someone was going to explain how an engagement announcement just a week earlier turned into a giant affair that would take place in two weeks.
“Give me the phone, Mercy,” Ruby knocked it out of my hand, sending it flying across the kitchen. Luckily for me, not so much for him, her husband Hank happened to walk into the kitchen at about the same time and got a not-so-friendly hello for his efforts.
“Ouch! What is going on in here?” He yelled, rubbing his forehead that had just taken a direct hit from my cell phone.
Ruby and I both answered at the same time. “James is getting married!”
A look of confusion washed over his face. “I know. He told me last month. I thought you knew?” He looked at me, noticed my scowl, and decided it best to keep his eyes focused on Ruby. “She didn't know?”
“She knew.” Ruby answered, pulling her long red locks up on top of her head. Apparently, her lunge for my phone tousled her perpetually styled to perfection hair.
That's what she gets for forgetting that we're no longer college students with supple joints!
“I knew. He had Diana call me when I was in Pleasant Cove. I don't know why he just didn't call me himself. I thought we were friends. Sorry about your head, by the way, but she did it!” I stuck my tongue out at Ruby, who stood rubbing her shoulder.
She stuck her tongue out at me, sending us both into a fit of laughter. Meanwhile, the phone remained on the floor with Diana listening to the whole exchange.
“Give me the phone. I forgot about my baby girl!” I urged Hank.
He readily picked it up and began explaining what happened in the only way he could. “The nurses are at it again. One may have pulled a muscle in her shoulder while she was trying to wrestle the phone away from the other one. I'll give you one guess as to which one was which.” Even though he was a prominent psychiatrist, he wasn't immune from partaking in our shenanigans. He stuck his tongue out at both me and Ruby before handing the phone back to me.
“What in the world is going on over there, Mom,” Diana asked, amused by what she'd heard.
“Aunt Ruby started it,” I answered. “Sorry, honey, so back to your dad – in all the fuss, I'd never even asked who your dad was planning on spending the rest of his life with this time.”
“Mom, this is only his second marriage. You're acting like he's had a zillion wives.” Diana groaned. “Her name is Katherine. She's really nice. You'd like her.”
Ruby's posture changed.
What was that about?
“I'm sure she's a dream come true,” I groaned.
Hank shot Ruby a panicked look.
What was going on?
Diana said, “Well, we know he has good taste in women. He chose you, didn't he?”
Okay, why is she trying to butter me up?
I said to all of them, “Whatever it is you three are trying to shield me from, tell me now!”
Diana did what any reasonable twenty-two-year-old woman would do in this rather uncomfortable situation. She said, “Mom, I have another call. I'll call you back. Love you!”
I was left with a phone in my hand and two very panicked people shifting uncomfortably where they stood.
“Ruby?” I asked.
She flashed a smile at me, her green eyes beaming, but I got the feeling that that was a ploy to soften a blow that would otherwise render me incapacitated.
Please don't tell me that James is about to be a father again.
Per usual, I let my vivid – some would say, wild – imagination get the best of me and I jumped to conclusions. “Why would a fifty-year-old-man want a baby? What was he thinking? How old is this Katharine? She better be older than our daughter or I will – I repeat, I will – throw a colossal fit.”
Hank went into psychiatrist mode, approaching me slowly with a look of understanding on his face. “I would imagine that it would be distressing to find out that someone you shared a life with would be beginning a new life with someone new, but just like everything in life, there is a time and there is a lesson to be learned...”
I couldn't stifle my laugh any longer. He was seriously trying to work me. “Hank, I'm not one of your patients. It's me, remember?” Offering him my hand, I pretended to introduce myself. “Hello, my name is Mercedes Mares, but my friends call me Mercy. I'm a traveling nurse, a great friend, wonderful mother and, if I do say so myself, a good catch.”
“No, what you are is one giant ball of nonsense, woman!” Ruby chimed in to add to my silliness. “The truth is, James is pregnant with your baby and is only marrying this woman so that the child will have a mother.”
We both nearly collapsed from laughter. I needed that moment. My last assignment, not too far from home, left me feeling spent and in much need of some rest and relaxation. That's precisely why I chose to cut my trip short and headed on home.
“Okay, so wha
t's the real story,” I asked, wiping the happy tears from my face.
Hank took a seat at the table next to me, motioning for Ruby to follow suit. “Now, that you've calmed down a little, I suppose, we can tell you. It's no big deal really, just a minor issue or a non-issue, depending on how you looked at it.”
“You're stalling,” I groaned.
Ruby scooted her chair closer to the table and reached across to put her hand on my arm.
Who died?
“Tell me.” I said, looking at Ruby.
Sighing, she explained. “You know Katherine.”
“I do?” I asked. I didn't remember meeting someone in my age group named Katherine. The only women I met named Katherine were either far older than me or several years younger and didn't go by their given name.
Ruby laughed nervously, putting her head down. “You know what, why don't you give James a call and congratulate him? I'm sure he'd love to tell you all about her. They appear to be very much in love.”
“You know her? You've seen them together?” I guess I hadn't realized how much time I spent away from Lake Villa. I couldn't remember when the last time was I'd spent any time just piddling around my small community. I loved where I lived. It had been my home since I'd graduated from college, but as of late, I hadn't had the opportunity to spend much time there.
Hank tried to explain what Ruby had said. “Do you remember the last time James had dinner with us here? Well, when we were leaving, he asked Ruby and I to his place to have lunch the following weekend. You were out of town. I think you were in Nebraska, working at that nursing home. Anyway, Ruby and I went and he introduced us to Katherine.”
I still hadn't seen the problem. It's not like I was jealous. James had just as much right as anyone else to marry or do whatever he wanted. I was just disappointed that he hadn't mentioned anything to me about having a girlfriend. He and I had remained friends after our divorce and not just for the sake of our daughter, who was a toddler at the time. We genuinely liked each other and valued our friendship.
I didn't like putting my friends in an awkward position, so I decided I'd drop the subject and get back to the business of catching up with what else had gone on in the neighborhood.
“I hope whoever took my wind chimes is enjoying them,” I looked outside at all the empty hooks hanging from my porch ceiling. I used to love to sit out there year round in the morning and evening and listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. This community was my refuge. It wasn't fancy, by any means, but it was home.
My double wide sat on two lots and was surrounded by flowers that I'd painstakingly struggled to keep alive for the first few years before I finally turned over lawn duties to my sweet neighbor, Margie Cline. If it wasn't for her green thumb, my yard would look like a junkyard and my Pug, Barney, would have nowhere to play. That is, if he was the 'walking type'. Since, he and I were still in the getting to know each other stage, I wasn't quite sure what his dog personality was beyond the fact that he loved naps and food – in that order.
“Someone stole your wind chimes? I hadn't noticed. Sorry, Mercy, I should have been paying better attention. When we came back from New York, it never occurred to me to make sure that your wind chimes were still hanging.” Ruby said.
“You should call the police.” Hank advised.
Both Ruby and I spoke at the same time again. It was like our minds were always on the same wavelength. “No!”
He put his hands up defensively, remembering that my luck with police officers wasn't one I should hedge my bets on.
“Bad idea?” Hank asked.
“Uh, yep!” Ruby answered, patting his arm. “Anyway, maybe you should talk to Margie about it and see if she saw anything.”
I noticed movement outside in my yard. “Speaking of the spunky little devil, here she is.”
Margie barged right in as she often did. That woman was fearless, but I adored her. She'd always been a good next door neighbor and a good friend, even if she was nosier than all get out and even more tenacious than a car salesman.
“It's about time you decide to spend some time at home. Do you realize what's been going on around here? I swear, I will strangle the creep that keeps stomping on my flowers to get to my goods.” Margie groaned.
Margie wasn't the kind of person I'd ever want to cross. She may have been small, but she was mighty. All one hundred and twenty pounds of her coming at you with or without a weapon were a little more than I ever wanted to contend with on any day.
“I missed you too, Margie.” I said, standing to give her a hug.
“One quick hug, then I'm going to need you to help me catch a thief.” Margie didn't hesitate to enlist me in anything she had going on – from church potlucks to neighborhood yard sales, I was her go-to gal. The only problem was, I never had the heart to say no and I'd find myself running around frantically trying to get everything accomplished and up to her standards.
“A thief? What else got stolen?” I asked.
“You mean, besides your wind chimes? Well, let's see, first, there were my windmills. Oh, that really makes me mad. The next thing you know, everyone around here is missing something. What we have is an equal opportunity thief and I plan to give him an opportunity to meet my temper and the business end of my...” Margie was interrupted by Hank's interjection.
“Don't say it because I don't want to have to testify against you in a court of law someday.” Hank teased.
Our discussion was interrupted by a phone call. I looked at the number on the screen and immediately started to chuckle. It was a former patient, who was even more spunky than Margie. In a perfect world, I'd play matchmaker and make sure that they lived out the rest of their lives together right next door.
“Hello, Nubbin. How are you?” I answered the phone.
“Hey, didn't I tell you not to let things get out of control, Acura?” Nubbin and the nicknames he made up for me always made me giggle, but given his tone, this wasn't a good time to start laughing. He sounded like he meant business.
“What did I do, Nubbin?” I asked, winking at my visitors.
“Nubbin? What's a Nubbin?” Margie whispered to Ruby and Hank.
I put my hand over the receiver to answer. “He's an old patient of mine.”
She nodded and proceeded to speak to Ruby and Hank about the items that had gone missing from our modular home community.
“He's leaving again. I'm telling you that if you keep making the sheriff skip town, I'm going to have to make a phone call to someone about it.” Nubbin warned me, but I still had no idea what he was referring to yet.
“Are you talking about Charlie? What happened to him?” I didn't want to sound too concerned because I'd spent the last few months trying to convince everyone, including myself that Sheriff Charlie Wagner and I were nothing more than friends. I had a strict policy against dating anyone who accused me of murder and dragged me in for questioning.
“He's leaving again. I told you. Ain't you listening, Isuzu?” Nubbin raised his voice. Whatever happened, had him on edge.
“Okay, I'll bite. Where is Charlie going?” I asked, trying to speed this conversation along, so I could diffuse the situation before he decided to take out his aggression on the nursing home staff, where he lived.
“You tell me – he's your boyfriend!” He yelled.
I shivered involuntarily. Something about that word always made me cringe. Call it nerves, fear, or what have you, I'm not the relationship type. At least, I tried real hard to not let myself get involved any more than necessary. And by that, I mean, never.
Nubbin said, “I told him that I'm not buying this conference thing. If he is courting you, then he needs to do it right, but he can't neglect his duties here. After the little one left – what's her name again?”
I knew he was still sad that she'd quit without telling him first. “Tina. Her name is Tina, Nubbin.”
“Well, after she left and you were gone, all I had left was him. Not that he was ever going to
do me any good, but it was better than nothing, I suppose. Now, he's saying he has to go all the way to California for a conference. That just ain't right. I just know one time or another he's going to go chasing after you and never come back.” Nubbin explained.
My other line beeped in my ear. I wanted a chance to respond because this was news to me. Charlie usually called me a few times a week, but I hadn't heard from him since we left the last town I'd worked in, not too far from Lake Villa. I wondered why he wouldn't have let me know he was headed back my way.
“Nubbin, can you stay on the line a minute? I have another call.” I asked.
He mumbled something. I assumed it was that he'd stay on the line, but as soon as I clicked over, he'd hung up.
Great.