Snowflake Bay Cozy Mysteries Boxset 1

by C Farren

  “Wait!” Casper called. “We have to talk.”

  She turned to her cat. “This is really weird.”

  “I want you to know I did not make the grey cat pregnant with child,” Casper stated.

  “Have you been fixed?” Wren asked.

  Casper pulled a face. “No. I am not interested in grey cat. She is family. She is off limits.”

  This was the perfect opportunity to find out who the father was. It didn’t matter in the long run, but Wren was curious.

  “Who is the father?” asked Wren.

  “I only know that a white cat came and went several times to visit with grey cat,” said Casper, his tail twitching with irritation. He obviously did not like this white cat. “I am sure he is the father.”

  It took all she had not to say how cute the babies would look. Casper was clearly upset over Gracie’s baby Daddy.

  “So... do you like living here?” said Wren. “Is there anything you want or need? You can tell me anything.”

  “I am going to sleep now,” Casper announced.

  Within half a second he was asleep.

  “Has he told you why he’s stopped sleeping with me?” Wren asked. “I miss him. He’s very warm.”

  “He doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping with a pregnant cat,” Brock answered. “He says her smell is overpowering.”

  “Oh. That’s good to know.”

  Wren left, closing the door quietly behind her. When she got back in her own bed, she was still half convinced she’d dreamed the whole thing.

  THE NEXT MORNING, WREN was up at six on the dot. She had deliveries at the Metropolitan to attend to, and she needed to see Bill, and she had to make some time to go and visit Mr. Barr in the city.

  “There’s not enough time,” she moaned to herself. “Never enough time.”

  Wren was showered and dressed by seven and eating a breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries when Brock got up. He was dressed smartly in a pair of silver slacks and a blue shirt. His hair was perfectly coiffured and he looked refreshed and alert. How did he do it? Wren looked like she’d slept for half an hour on a giant cactus.

  “Why are you so perky this morning?” Wren demanded. She yawned and wiped a bit of sleep out of her eye the size of a ladybug.

  “I’m going to go investigating,” he revealed. He smiled. “I’m determined to find Keegan and solve who’s trying to kill Maureen by the end of the day.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  He really thought he could solve it all just like that. He had no idea what he was doing. He was just going to get in the way and make things more complicated. He might even put Maureen and Keegan in even more danger. He had been semi-useful last night, but she was sure that was just a blip.

  “Why aren’t you more excited?” Brock asked.

  “I have a business to run,” stated Wren. “I haven’t thought about how I’m going to juggle sleuthing with the Metropolitan just yet.”

  He sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of orange juice. It was only then she noticed he hadn’t half burned the kitchen down that morning while making breakfast. He loved making breakfast.

  He’s going to do this with or without me. At least if he’s with me I can keep him on track.

  “You have people working for you,” he suggested. “Let one of them take over for an hour.”

  “I suppose,” Wren conceded. “Finding out who’s targeting Maureen is essential. I’d never forgive myself if she died and I could’ve done something.”

  “Then let’s get out of here! I’m raring to go!”

  Wren rolled her eyes and ignored him, continuing with her breakfast. She didn’t have time for his incessant positivity. It made her teeth hurt.

  Casper jumped up onto the table. “Grey cat is nesting.”

  “What do you mean?” Wren asked. She sighed. “I can’t believe my talking cat is something I’ve accepted so quickly. This is not normal.”

  “She is behind the big picture box,” said Casper. He started pawing at her bowl, trying to pull away a blueberry.

  “You don’t like blueberries.”

  “I like playing.”

  Wren abandoned her breakfast and headed into the living room. There was a piece of silver tinsel over a photo frame on the wall. She must’ve forgotten to take it down after Christmas.

  Gracie was behind the TV in the corner of the room. She was busy ripping apart yesterday’s newspaper into strips and making some sort of comfy nest. Wren asked her what she was doing but the cat was too busy to even twitch her ears.

  “Oh,” said Wren, realizing. “She’s making a place to have her babies.”

  That meant they were coming soon, maybe today or tomorrow. Gracie could do this on her own, but Wren knew she had to be there for her should she need it.

  “I helped to deliver my horse’s foal,” said Brock. He smiled as he looked down at Gracie, busy chewing the newspaper. “I don’t know what happened to the foal because I died a few months later, but the vet said my help was invaluable.” He paused before adding, “The vet was my father.”

  “I can’t leave her on her own,” said Wren, a little torn. “But I have so much to do.”

  She quickly called her mother, waking her up. Dot said she’d be right over.

  “Let me see the little darling!” Dot called, striding in some fifteen minutes later. Her mother was another morning person who slipped out of bed with a perfect hairdo. It was infuriating. “Where is she?”

  Wren pointed to Gracie, who was still furiously ripping apart the newspaper with her claws and teeth. The little cat took a moment to give them a dirty look before continuing with the nest making.

  “You’ll phone me if she has them?” Wren asked.

  Dot smiled and hugged her. “Stop worrying. Everything will be fine.”

  She looked down at her cat, now sitting down in her comfy little nest. She was cleaning her paws now, readying herself for the trauma to come.

  “She’s so little,” said Wren, the tears coming. “She’s so delicate.”

  “She can do this,” said Dot. “Believe in her.”

  Wren looked down at Gracie, who stared back and blinked a few times. She took that to mean she’d be fine.

  “I wish you could talk,” Wren told her little one. “I wish you could tell me how you’re feeling and what you need.”

  She looked back at Brock, who shrugged. Casper came sauntering into the room. He walked up to Gracie and spat out two blueberries. The female cat sniffed them and turned her nose up. She didn’t like fruit, though she could be caught sniffing bananas in the fruit bowl on occasion.

  “I will catch her a mouse,” Casper declared before running off.

  Dot looked at the cat and then at Wren. “Did that cat just talk?”

  Wren laughed nervously. “Of course not! Cats don’t talk. You’re going mad, Mom.” She suddenly remembered her conversation with Anthony. “That reminds me. I need to talk to you about Anthony. He said...”

  Dot shook her head, deliberately interrupting her question. “No. I could swear he talked.” She walked up to the kitchen door and looked in, trying to find Casper. “I’m sure he talked.”

  “That was me,” said Brock. “I like doing impressions.”

  Dot gave him a dubious look before saying, “Can you do Jack Nicholson? I love him.”

  Brock looked uncertain before saying, “No. I’m afraid not.”

  Dot shrugged and sat down, getting herself comfortable on the couch. Wren didn’t know where to look. How could they tell her mother that Casper was talking because an angel had put some sort of weird spell or something on him?

  “I have to go now,” said Wren, still unsure that leaving her mother alone in the house was a good idea or not. “Look after her, okay? And phone me if she starts to go into labor.”

  “I will,” said Dot. She pulled the TV remote out from between the couch cushions. She pointed it at the TV and sighed. “The batteries have run out. It doesn’t wo
rk.”

  “That’s because that’s the remote for the stereo unit.”

  Dot smiled and found another remote. She managed to switch the TV on.

  “Can we talk about Anthony?” Wren asked.

  “None of your business,” Dot stated. “Oh look! I love this commercial.”

  “You’re not really going to marry him, are you? Please tell me you’re not really considering it. Please!”

  Dot continued to ignore her. Wren wanted to scream in frustration. Her mother’s love life, while none of her business, ended up being her business at every opportunity.

  There was a knock at the door as Wren prepared to leave for work. It was Lenny.

  “Keegan is missing,” he stated. He’d never been so wretched before. He’d looked jollier on the day he got sent down for manslaughter. “What are we going to do about it?”

  “I’m on it,” said Wren. “But I am spinning a lot of plates at the moment.”

  “I hope looking for Keegan is one of those plates.”

  Wren rolled her eyes. “Do I really have to answer that?”

  Lenny looked back. Brock was hovering, waiting to leave, and her mother was channel surfing on the couch.

  He held back his anger as he said, “Then I’ll help you.”

  “You started work at Reba’s law firm last week,” Wren reminded him. “You really can’t afford the time off.”

  “This is important. If anything has happened to Keegan then I don’t know what I’d do.”

  “Are you two back together?”

  Keegan hadn’t mentioned anything. Then again, maybe he wouldn’t. He might think she didn’t approve. She wasn’t sure what she thought. They were obviously made for each other, but was there too much water under the bridge to make things work?

  And I still don’t fully trust you, Lenny. It’ll take more an apology and a delicious tray of home baked goodies to make me trust you properly again.

  “We met up for coffee three days ago,” said Lenny, looking away bashfully. “It was nice. We talked.”

  “And that’s it?” Wren asked.

  “That’s it. I want to start slow. I don’t want to push things with him.”

  She knew she was going to regret this. She already had Brock wanting to be the world’s most handsome private investigator. The last thing she needed was Lenny hanging around too. Still, he did have a law degree, and he knew how to spot criminals. His view might come in handy.

  “Phone Reba and tell her you have diarrhea,” said Wren. “She hates talking about bodily functions. It freaks her out. I need to pop into work for a bit and sort things out. Wait here with Brock and Mum and I’ll be back.” She looked back at her mother and shouted, “Don’t try to seduce Brock while I’m gone!”

  She headed out, ignoring her protests, and walked straight into Maureen.

  “Oh good,” said Maureen, beaming. “You haven’t left yet!” She paused and added, “Are you really going out dressed like that?”

  “What are you doing out of hospital?” demanded Wren. “You almost died!”

  There were still bandages around Maureen’s neck. How could she walk around like that after being strangled? She must have a body made of steel.

  “I’m perfectly fine,” Maureen insisted. She brushed a few flakes of snow off her black parka. “Besides, I can’t stay in that awful germ ridden hole when you’re out there investigating all on your own. I want to help. It’s my fault Keegan is missing.”

  Wren looked up at the sky, wondering whether someone was playing a joke on her. The next thing she knew Wanda would turn up, wanting to play her hand at detective.

  How can I investigate this with all these people following me? I have to choose one of them and let the others go.

  “Go inside and wait for me,” Wren commanded. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

  “It’s always cold inside your house,” Maureen complained.

  Wren pointed at her door. “Get in! Now!”

  Maureen grinned and headed inside. Wren slammed the door, so frustrated she wanted to scream.

  Chapter 11

  “Where shall I put these, sweetie?” Wanda asked.

  The village matriarch was looking as stylish as ever today. Her hair was fixed with a blue silk scarf and she wore light make-up that made her look twenty years younger. She was carrying a plastic box full of her famous blueberry scones.

  “On the counter,” said Wren.

  Wanda did as she was instructed. She watched Wren as she cleaned the counter for a moment or two. “Lenny was up all night,” said Wanda. “He’s really worried about Keegan.”

  “He turned up at my place this morning,” said Wren. “He wants to help look for him. I figured it wouldn’t do any harm.”

  On her way to work, she’d settled on Lenny as a potential partner. Maureen’s bluntness would just rub people the wrong way, and Brock was so pretty she was surprised anyone could answer questions without staring into his mesmerizing eyes. Lenny was the safe choice for now.

  “Lenny told me that Keegan was looking into who was trying to kill Maureen.” Wanda was busy taking the scones out of the box. “Why would anyone try to kill her? She’s the most harmless person I know.”

  “That’s what I intend to find out,” Wren answered. “I’m hoping that finding this attacker will lead me to Keegan, or vice versa.”

  “I was very close friends with Maureen’s father, Johnson once upon a time you know. He was a very handsome man in his prime.”

  Wren stopped what she was doing to listen more carefully. This could be important information. “How close?” Wren asked, trying to stop herself from grinning.

  “I went to school with his wife, Yolanda. We were best friends. We were inseparable all our lives until they became obsessed with money.” She shuddered. “You see, Johnson was a budding property developer, and Gerald, my husband, was mayor of Snowflake Bay. He took over as mayor after my father died.”

  “I remember him. He was a great man.”

  Wanda smiled wistfully. “He was.” She paused before continuing. “Anyway, something happened between Johnson and my husband. Johnson wanted to build more properties in town but the public, and my husband was against it. There were protests and petitions and arguments and all sorts of unsavory tactics. In the end Johnson won, obviously.” She shrugged. “Maybe Johnson was right. His new buildings gave the town a new lease of life.”

  It obviously pained Wanda immensely to admit that. Wren knew the marina development and the apartment buildings on the edge of town had brought in more people, thus more money for the local economy. But did that matter in the end, if a small town was changed forever?

  “Why did Gerald give him planning permission if he was so against it?” Wren asked. “Did he realize it would benefit the town in the long run?”

  “Gerald never told me,” said Wanda. “I’m almost positive Johnson blackmailed him somehow. After that our friendship with Yolanda and Johnson soured and the couple moved to the city. We never saw them again.”

  “Do people still hold grudges against Maureen’s family over this?”

  “I wouldn’t know. This was a long time ago. I haven’t heard anyone mention it in a long time.”

  Wanda smiled and left her to it. Wren sat down and had a think. People held grudges, even if they didn’t speak about it openly. There could be any number of people who hated Maureen’s father, but would that be enough to try and hurt Maureen? And why now, after so many decades? Maybe they’d been seething all this time and had just gained the courage to take revenge? Maybe this had nothing to do with Maureen’s black book or the enemies she’d made at all. Maybe it had something to do with her father.

  The lights came on.

  “Bill’s finished!” Reo called from the back.

  Aarna, behind the counter, said, “It’s about time.”

  Wren waited until everything was running smoothly again before deciding to take a break for investigating. They’d been open for an hour by
then. Customers weren’t exactly beating down the doors for her coffee like they were yesterday, but it wasn’t a total loss either. She’d expected some kind of drop off in custom but nothing as big as this. Then again, she knew Garrett hadn’t exactly been raking in the bucks either.

  “Can you believe Lenny called in sick?” Reba complained, waiting at the counter for her coffee. She was clutching a new purse, a furry pink monstrosity that probably cost a thousand dollars. “I hope it isn’t catching.”

  Wren smiled sweetly. “I spoke to him on the phone this morning. He did sound really bad.”

  “He’s probably worried about Keegan.”

  The whole town was talking about Keegan’s disappearance. He’d be glad to know they cared about him so much.

  I hope he’s okay, wherever he is.

  Reba grabbed her coffee and took a sip. ‘Wonderful. I said I was going to cut caffeine out for the new year but I just couldn’t do it. I’d rather live without my twins than live without this wonderful substance.”

  “How are the twins?” Wren asked.

  “The same,” said Reba. “A pain.”

  Unlike most other mothers in the world Reba rarely talked about her children. Not that she didn’t love them she just wasn’t that type of person. Wren had rarely seen them herself. She couldn’t even remember their names.

  Dasher and Dancer?

  Fred and Ginger?

  Reba sat down and opened her bag. She took out a giant pile of paper files and started reading. The whole world was closed off to her now.

  “Is Bill finished yet?” Wren asked.

  Reo shook his head. “Deputy Stark came in to check for fingerprints. He’s not seeing anyone, is he?”

  “He’s straight and married,” Wren told him.

  He sighed and sat down to take a break. Half an hour later he was still there, bored. Reba had gone. A few customers had been in and out since but that was it. You could hear a pin drop it was so quiet.

  Deputy Stark, Bill, and Aarna came in from the back rooms, laughing. The deputy had a black bag with him. It probably contained the fingerprints he’d taken.