Pawsitively Lethal (Silver Springs Cozy Mystery Series Book 3)

by Ginny Gold

There’s a pause in the shouting so Suzie sits down behind a bench to wait.

  “I don’t care what the policy say. We’ve been paying into this for over thirty years and now you tell me because she was killed the policy is void. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

  Suzie notices the finality of the woman’s tone who quickly stashes her phone in her pocket and disappears into the building across the street.

  “What are you doing over here?” a voice behind Suzie growls, making her turn quickly and nearly jump out of her fur.

  “Barney, you scared me. Don’t do that again.” Suzie approaches the fence hesitantly, checking for any people who might not want her there.

  “But what are you doing here?” he asks again. “You know what happens too dogs caught off leashes in town.”

  “I heard someone shouting and wanted to know what was going on. Meet me at our usual spot,” Suzie instructs him before taking off at a gallop to the other side of the park where she can hide in the trees while they talk.

  Suzie makes it to the other side before Barney, whose short Bulldog legs don’t allow for as quick movements as her agile Australian Shepherd build. She pants and watches him make his way slowly to her, sniffing plenty of dogs, shrubs and rocks on his way.

  “Anything interesting happening inside?” she asks him. It’s unusual for her to visit the other side of the fence since Clem gives her freedom instead of taking her to the dog park.

  “A raccoon family visited overnight, but nothing else.”

  “I have news,” Suzie blurts out, proud of herself for bringing news rather than only receiving updates from Barney.

  Barney’s eyes widen. “About the shouting person?”

  Suzie lowers the front of her body toward the ground in an invitation to play. “No.” She jumps up, excitement taking over her body. “About the cat collar that Oscar keeps watch over. Winona was at our house last night with her other friends and they had all the keys. They want the final object, and only Oscar and I know where it is.”

  Barney yips in excitement, sounding more like a poodle than a bulldog. “We have to give it to them then.”

  Suzie shakes her head before answering. “I don’t know. It sounds like they can’t decide if they want to use it or destroy it.”

  Barney growls. “We know they can be trusted. They will use it, and only for good. We’ll help to make sure they see the full potential it can offer them. Like the stories of our predecessors, when Eleanor and Charles Boothe used it, they benefitted greatly but for the good of the world. These are people of the same mindset. We can trust them,” he says again.

  Suzie isn’t sure he’s right but she gives in.

  CHAPTER 16

  Maggie finds herself alone with Drew back on the street in front of the Silver Times once Winona and Erline go their separate ways. Winona has two dogs she has to take out and Erline has errands to run so Maggie walks with Drew to the brewery on Main Street.

  “What do you have going on today?” he asks, his big hand enveloping her smaller one.

  “I guess I should go over to Two Sisters and make sure Clem is okay alone today. She always works Sundays so I close during the week. But with so much going on, I don’t know how much time I’ll spend there.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  Maggie shakes her head. “Don’t worry about me. I know Ginger Rae asked you to keep an eye on me in the past, but you have your own job and responsibilities. I’ll work with the police and make sure I stay safe.”

  Drew doesn’t look convinced. “At least keep me in the loop if I’m not going on stakeouts with you.”

  Maggie smiles at the memory of a month ago when they got to know each other in the seclusion of Drew’s car. They watched a couple houses for clues about a murder and Maggie knew by the conclusion of the case that he was someone she wanted to know better.

  “I’ll send you texts with my whereabouts so you can always come rescue me.” Maggie laughs, mostly joking, but Drew’s face is nothing but serious. She has never been a damsel in distress, but she has to admit that she enjoys having someone always worried about her safety. She knows he cares about her.

  Drew kisses her cheek and says, “Great. I’ve gotta get to work. See you tonight?”

  Maggie nods. “Come over after work. I think Denis is coming for dinner too.”

  “And you’re cooking for everyone?”

  “I don’t know who else would.” Maggie laughs again. Clem is useless in the kitchen, but she’s great at ordering in.

  Maggie is alone on the sidewalk and heads west toward Two Sisters. It’s not yet noon, but she’d normally be there to help Clem by now. When she walks inside, she’s surprised at the number of customers and immediately sets her bag behind the counter so she can make sure everyone is taken care of.

  Clem is busy with a customer near Maggie’s favorite permanent piece, a 1920s airplane propeller that brings back fun memories of childhood. Maggie makes a quick tour of the store, asking if anyone needs help.

  One woman holds up a quilt, handmade by Winona. “Could you tell me the history of this?” she asks Maggie. “It’s in such good condition.”

  Maggie smiles. While Two Sisters is an antique shop, they’ve expanded over the years to include imports, and now Winona’s local and handmade quilts. “All of our quilts are made by Winona Landis, a resident of Silver Springs.”

  “Wow,” the woman says, running her fingers along the stitching. “When did she live here?”

  “She lives here now. This is her latest quilt. I think it’s only been in the shop for a couple days.”

  The woman furrows her brow. “So . . . it’s not an antique?”

  Maggie shakes her head. “Nope. It’s the newest item we have, actually.”

  “Hmm.” The woman folds it back up and places it where she found it. “I’m not sure it’s the right thing for me, then.”

  Maggie nods. “Okay. Let me know if you have any other questions.”

  “Thank you.” The woman walks away, finds who Maggie decides must be her husband, and they promptly leave the store.

  At the sound of the bell on the door ringing, Clem looks up and catches Maggie’s eye. They exchange unspoken questions about the sudden departure of customers. As soon as Clem can pull herself away from her own customer—who buys three scarves from India—the sisters meet at the register.

  “What was that about? That couple had been here for half an hour and then disappeared as soon as you talked to them?” Clem asks. Her tone is not accusatory, only concerned that Maggie’s mind might be preoccupied.

  More customers pay for their purchases and leave. Maggie waits until she’s alone with Clem again. “I told the woman about Winona’s quilt and she didn’t seem to like my answer. She was looking for something antique I guess and didn’t want something new. What other feedback have you had on Winona’s quilts?”

  “Only positive.” Clem rings up the final customer and the sisters are the only people left in the store. Business always slows during lunch.

  Before either of them can sit down, the phone in the phone booth rings and Maggie walks quickly to answer it, never even looking at Clem to see if she’s surprised. Maggie isn’t. She’s been expecting a call from Clara and knew it would come as soon as the customers were gone.

  “Hi Maggie,” Clara’s impatient voice says when Maggie picks up.

  “Clara.”

  “What news do you have?”

  Maggie gets right to the point with the new details she knows. “Jessie isn’t guilty, I know that much. Blood was left on the window in your bedroom but there’s no match in the system. Stewart was spotted in Silver Springs this morning. Any ideas why he might be here?”

  “No new suspects?” Clara asks, ignoring Maggie’s question.

  Maggie wishes she was the one asking the questions. “Not with names. But Ginger Rae’s neighbor claimed publicly in the newspaper to have seen someone fleeing your aunt’s house after she heard the scream.”<
br />
  “Well what are you waiting for? Talk to her. Find out who it was. It had to be the killer.”

  “I’m hoping to talk to her this afternoon. Ginger Rae doesn’t know her. The woman is a recluse so I’m taking my time approaching her.” Maggie considers mentioning Karl Jacobs and the article he published on Sunday but thinks better of it. Clara is already worked up and Maggie doesn’t need to make her even more anxious.

  “How are my parents?” There’s a tenderness to Clara’s voice that surprises Maggie.

  “David and Marla? Upset. They’re in Silver Springs. I haven’t seen them yet but Ginger Rae has. I’m also hoping to talk to them this afternoon.”

  “They won’t know anything about me. I didn’t tell them things.”

  Maggie nods. She’s still thinking they are possible suspects. Unlikely suspects, but possible.

  Maggie asks her next question carefully. “Did you ever meet a Mitch Cable or Josh McMann?”

  Without missing a beat Clara says, “No, why?”

  “No reason.” Maggie doesn’t have to go into their past crimes in Silver Springs. She can tell Clara isn’t lying. “What about a Karl Jacobs?” she asks, going out on a limb, asking only because she wants a reason to talk to Karl. If only to give him a piece of her mind for yesterday’s article.

  “Yeah. I knew him. I met him in rehab.”

  Maggie’s heart skips a beat. “Really?” she asks, almost breathless.

  “Yeah. He was another patient. Is he involved?”

  “Maybe,” Maggie tells her. “He’s a reporter with the Silver Times and he wrote an article yesterday. He quoted Ginger Rae’s neighbor, Valerie. The one who doesn’t even talk to Ginger Rae.”

  “We didn’t exactly get along. I told you yesterday I didn’t make a lot of friends. Well, he certainly wasn’t a friend.”

  “Would you go so far as to call him an enemy?” Maggie asks.

  No answer comes and Maggie replaces the receiver, wondering what the nature of Clara and Karl’s relationship was. Now at least she has a starting point to talk to him.

  CHAPTER 17

  Maggie doesn’t even have to ask Clem for the rest of the day off. Clem offers. “I don’t want to see you until tonight. Are you still making dinner for Denis and Drew?”

  Maggie smiles, relieved. “Thank you. And yes. I’ll see you at home.”

  Maggie leaves without another word, her handbag slapping into her knee as she walks quickly down the sidewalk back to her car. She stops at the sandwich shop above the parking garage and orders herself a hot avocado wrap and then goes immediately to her car.

  She has four options: visit Valerie Hunt, track down Karl Jacobs and chew him out for his disrespect of Clara, look for Stewart Cole, or find Marla and David. She takes a bite and thinks of a fifth option: call Trista, the computer whiz she used when she was a private detective in Denver with her partner Garth. Trista always made her job easier by supplying background information on suspects that no one was ever willing to offer in person.

  Maggie takes out her smart phone—not the burner phone she used to use to call Trista, she gave that back to Garth when she left their office—and sees that she has no service underground. She backs out of her parking spot, her wrap on the passenger seat, and drives down River Road along the Spring River to a good pull off spot with picnic tables.

  Once her wrap is finished, Maggie calls Trista, never leaving her car in her rush to find out new information.

  “Hello?” Trista’s voice asks. This is the first time Maggie has called her since leaving her job in Denver.

  “Hi Trista, it’s Maggie.”

  “Maggie Boothe?”

  “Mm hmm.” Maggie smiles at the excitement in Trista’s voice.

  “I didn’t expect to hear from you again. How are you?”

  They chit chat briefly about what’s been going on in their lives but then Maggie gets down to business. “I have a favor. I can still pay, it just won’t come from the office.”

  “Of course.” Maggie imagines Trista spinning around in her computer chair and pulling up whatever databases and computer hacking tools she uses to get her information. Maggie prefers not to know too many details about Trista’s methods. She suspects they aren’t all legal.

  “There was another murder in Silver Springs.”

  “You sound like you bring bad luck to that small town,” Trista teases.

  “You know, I think you might be right,” Maggie agrees. “But I’m wondering now if they’re somehow all connected. Can you try to find any connection between Josh McMann and Mitch Cable?”

  “Why Mitch? I didn’t think he was guilty for murder.”

  “He wasn’t,” Maggie confirms. “But his theft might be connected to Josh murdering my parents.”

  “I see.” Maggie hears the faint sound of papers being shuffled on a probably overcrowded desk. “And who’s the newest murderer?”

  “I don’t know that yet. Stewart Cole is my top suspect. Not everyone’s, but mine. See if you can find anything out about him. I know he’s the ex-husband of the victim, Clara Speed, but I don’t know much else.”

  “Okay. Josh McMann and Mitch Cable connection, and anything on Stewart Cole. Got it.”

  “You have my number. Call me when you have something.”

  “Will do. Take care of yourself.”

  Maggie smiles and hangs up. She locks her car and walks down to the river and onto the bike trail. She needs to clear her head and get everything in order, and the best way to do that is to take a brisk walk.

  There is no one else on the bike trail—no walkers, no runners and no cyclists. Maggie is completely alone. This gives her the perfect opportunity to prioritize her tasks for the afternoon.

  Most curious to Maggie is Stewart Cole’s sudden appearance in Silver Springs. He hasn’t had a good relationship with Clara since their divorce, so why did he show up? Was he here before today? Was he around on Saturday night when Clara was killed?

  Valerie Hunt is also a high priority. She claims she saw someone fleeing Ginger Rae’s house right after Clara screamed. Maggie’s first conclusion is that this is the killer and he or she needs to be identified. But Valerie isn’t a friendly person. So why did she talk to Karl? Was she just looking for time in the spotlight? If that’s the case, then her testimony doesn’t hold much weight.

  Finally, Marla and David are of great importance. Maggie hopes that they can shed some light on their daughter, though Clara says they won’t know anything about her. But parents always know more than their kids think, at least that was Maggie’s experience with her parents. They might have insight into Clara’s more recent relationship with Stewart. Or they might be able to point Maggie toward a new suspect who hasn’t come to light yet.

  And then there’s Karl. There’s really no reason to talk to him other than to let him know he was way out of line with yesterday’s article. Hopefully Ginger Rae is making progress with Ellen at the Silver Times on a redemption article. But that won’t undo the pain Karl has already inflicted.

  Maggie suddenly finds herself back at her car. She doesn’t remember turning around—and the trail isn’t a loop—but she gets in and makes her decision. She’s going to try her best to talk to Valerie Hunt.

  CHAPTER 18

  Maggie drives slowly by the houses on either side of Ginger Rae’s home. One house does not have a name on the mailbox and the other says “Smith.” Maggie parks across the street and knocks on the unmarked home, hoping that it belongs to Valerie Hunt.

  As Maggie waits for someone to come to the door, she takes in her surroundings. Ginger Rae’s house still has police tape across the front door and the window is cracked open upstairs in Clara’s bedroom. Maybe to get any lingering scents out. Or maybe it was unintentional.

  Maggie rings the bell, wondering if the sound of her knocking didn’t travel through the house and no one knows she’s there. A few moments later, the door is opened just a crack and a middle aged woman peeks around the
corner.

  “Hi. Valerie?” Maggie asks.

  The woman’s blue eyes are wide. She doesn’t give any indication that her name is Valerie.

  “My name’s Maggie. I’m . . . a colleague of Karl Jacobs. I wondered if I could ask you a few questions.” Maggie is quick on her feet coming up with a lie she hopes won’t be obvious. If Valerie spoke with Karl once, maybe she’ll be willing to talk to another reporter.

  The door opens an inch wider. “Yes. I’m Valerie. But who is Karl Jacobs?”

  “The reporter you spoke with. He writes for the Silver Times.”

  Valerie’s eyes show no recognition. “I never spoke with a reporter, but come in,” she invites Maggie hesitantly, opening the door just wide enough for a person to slip through.

  The inside of the house is the opposite of what Maggie expected. Outside, the siding needs to be replaced, leaves are falling out of the gutters and the roof looks like it could be redone. It looks like it hasn’t had any maintenance in years.

  But inside, everything shines. Light streams through windows and reflects off mirrors and silver is displayed on every available surface. Valerie’s reclusiveness seems to lend itself to housework and maintaining her immediate surroundings.

  Valerie leads Maggie toward the back of the house and into a sun room. The room is not visible from neighboring homes, as there is a tall privacy fence around the whole backyard. Outside of the sunroom are multiple bird feeders, flower gardens that are past for the season and bird baths. The yard is quiet.

  Valerie sits on a wicker chair with large cushions and Maggie sits opposite her. Valerie’s demeanor is still standoffish but at least she’s willing to speak to Maggie. She’ll count that as a win.

  Maggie pulls her tablet computer from her handbag and turns the screen on. “Is it okay if I take notes?” she asks, looking up and meeting Valerie’s gaze.

  Valerie nods.

  “You said you never spoke with a reporter?” Maggie asks.

  Valerie nods again. She doesn’t seem ready or willing to use more words than absolutely necessary.