Darcy Sweet Mystery Box 1

by K. J. Emrick

  Before heading to the bookstore Darcy headed over at the Bean There Bakery and Café to get some coffee. She waved to Mrs Sparks as she passed the old woman working in her front garden, which was immaculate already. Darcy knew that she spent a lot of time tending it.

  Lily was alone and was busy serving behind the counter when she entered the cafe. She looked a little flustered as she poured coffee for Darcy. She spilled a little over the brim of the cup.

  “Sorry, Darcy. I’m just so busy what with Helen taking over the mayoral duties. She has less time for the café. I’ve had to take over the baking and the serving, too. I’ve even had to bring my brother in to help me.” She ran a hand through her short blonde hair. “You don’t want to hear all this. I love the baking part actually. I’ve been trying out new recipes. Here, take this muffin and try it. Let me know what you think of it.” She shoved a muffin towards Darcy before darting off to serve someone else.

  “Thanks,” Darcy said quickly as she started to pour milk into her coffee.

  Lily finished with the other customer and came back to stand at the counter in front of Darcy. She had a sly grin on her face. “Say, I saw Jon all dressed up and heading out towards your house last night. I’ve heard a lot of rumors about the two of you. Are you dating?”

  The question took Darcy off guard and she nearly spilled her coffee. While she quickly shoved the top back onto the cup she mumbled some stupid answer about how you never know and then took her coffee cup and muffin and raced out of the shop.

  Darcy found herself staring out of the window yet again. She was at the bookstore and was supposed to be cataloguing some books she’d obtained from a second-hand store, but she wasn’t being very productive. She kept watching and hoping to spot Grace coming with news.

  “Hey, earth to Darcy.” Darcy hadn’t heard Sue come up behind her and jumped when she finally realized she was speaking to her. “You’ve been way distracted today. Get in too late last night? You expecting a visit from a hunky police officer or something?” Sue smiled slyly at Darcy with a wink.

  As if on cue, through the window she saw Jon coming toward the store. She couldn’t believe his timing. She turned quickly to Sue and said, “Jon and I had a big fight last night. I really don’t want to see him right now can you cover for me?” Another lie. She would have to decide what she was doing about Jon, and decide quickly, because she couldn’t keep lying just to avoid him.

  Sue nodded, though, and put a finger up over her lips while Darcy ran to hide behind the shelves in the back of the store. She only just made it before she heard the tinkling of the bell over the door as Jon entered.

  “Hi, Sue,” she heard Jon saying. “Is Darcy here?” Darcy couldn’t work out his mood from the tone of his voice. Neutral, was the best she could decide on.

  “Um…no, she’s not here right now.” Darcy could hear the nervousness in Sue’s voice. Darcy knew she wasn’t a very good liar. Jon was sure to hear the lie in her voice. She put her forehead down against the books and shook her head from side to side. What was she doing?

  “Okay,” Jon said a little too quickly. “When will she be back?”

  “I really don’t know, Jon.” Darcy could just imagine Sue out there, twirling her finger into her hair. “She didn’t say.”

  There was a moment’s pause and Darcy heard that edge to Jon’s voice he always got when he was suspicious. “Well, I thought she was sick, but she isn’t at home. I guess she’s around somewhere. Can you tell her I stopped by?”

  Sue giggled nervously and said, “Sure thing.”

  He left the store and Darcy slowly came out of hiding. Sue practically pounced on her. “Come on Darcy give over. What’s going on?” Sue wanted all of the details of their fight.

  “It’s nothing really. We just fought about silly little things last night. That’s all. I’d really rather not talk about it. I’m going for a walk.” She didn’t wait for Sue’s reply as she left the bookstore.

  Darcy didn’t get very far on her walk when she saw Grace walking quickly towards her. “I was just coming to find you,” she said to Darcy.

  “Do you have news?” Darcy was eager to hear what Grace had found out.

  “Yes, I looked into some things.” She looked around them and then continued, “But not here. Let’s go and find a seat somewhere quiet.”

  “You want to talk at home?”

  “No,” Grace said with a shake of her head. “I don’t want to wait that long.”

  They found a quiet spot inside the Gazebo in the town square. Grace wasted no time in getting to the point. “You remember that whole thing that you and Jeff told me about Jon back when we were investigating Anna’s murder, right?”

  Jeff, her late ex-husband, and Darcy had found an article about Jon being accused of murder back at his old precinct. It was all cleared up, but at the time it had seemed to indicate that Jon could perhaps be capable of murder. “Yes,” Darcy said at last, after replaying some of those horrific events from just one month ago. “I remember. But he was cleared of those charges. The article said so.”

  “Well,” Grace said with a twist to her mouth, “Maybe he was cleared or maybe that was just the story that they fed the newspapers. Cover ups do happen.” She raised her eyebrows.

  Darcy couldn’t believe that Jon would be guilty of this but then again she didn’t really know him that well either. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and then asked, “So who was the victim of the crime that Jon was investigated for?”

  “He was investigated for the murder of a man called Kyle Young.”

  “Okay. I remember that the paper said Jon solved the crime himself and in the end it hadn't been a murder at all but a suicide.”

  “Which may be what happened. It also may not be. Not long after that he resigned from the police force there and came to work with us out here.” She sat back on the bench and brushed her dark hair back.

  “Look, Darcy, I’m not happy about this. This guy is my partner, and I trust him, and I think you two are good together. I hate that we’re digging into his past this way but maybe…maybe there’s good reason to. The details are sealed, which is strange. That raised my suspicions as it seems to indicate that there is more to it. I’ve got a contact in the State Police over near Pequot Lakes, where this all happened, and he says he can find out what really happened for me.”

  “Thanks Grace. I appreciate it.” She sighed, still not sure what to make of it all. “I need to get home now. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  Grace nodded and Darcy walked away toward home. She had completely forgotten that she needed to go back to the bookstore. Right now she just wanted to be alone to think.

  She had thought that this whole thing with Jon had been cleared up when Jeff and Anna’s murderer had been caught. She thought she could trust Jon, that he was safe, that she could let herself fall in love with him.

  Had she invited a murderer into her heart after all?

  It seemed as though she wasn’t going to get space from Jon after all. As she got closer to home she could see him waiting for her on her front porch. Her steps slowed as she mentally prepared herself for a confrontation. He was sitting on the steps with his head in his hands and the sight of him gave her pause. She stopped a little way from the house to just study him.

  Could he really be a killer? Hadn’t they already been through this a month ago, settled it, moved past it? Yet, here they were all over again. She didn’t really believe it but what about her vision? Her visions were always right, even if she couldn’t figure out exactly what they meant right off. It looked bad for him.

  At the sound of her footsteps his head popped up and his eyes locked onto her immediately. He stood up slowly and waited for her to approach and when she was close enough he said in a demanding voice, “I want to know what’s going on, Darcy. I looked for you here, I looked for you at the bookstore, everyone I talk to says they haven’t seen you. What’s going on? Are you avoiding me?”

  Darc
y decided that she couldn’t avoid this anymore. She needed to know what had happened. More than that, she couldn’t keep lying to him. “What really happened with Kyle Young?” Jon looked surprised by her question. She told him about the vision she had in the restaurant bathroom. She added the part about the dying man being Kyle, sure now that was who it had been.

  “Darcy, we’ve been through this before.” Jon started to pace. “You and this damned sixth sense. Why didn’t you tell me about the vision last night? Why keep it from me?” He sounded very upset. “What? Do you think I actually killed someone? I can’t believe that you don’t trust me.” He started to walk past her.

  She grabbed his arm. “No, Jon. You don’t understand. I never thought you really did it. I was just confused and anxious about the vision.”

  Jon shook her hand off and said, “Darcy you asked me all about this. I told you how all that happened, about how I was accused, and cleared, and I really thought this was done between us. I don’t even know what I’m doing here.” He stormed away from her heading back to town.

  Darcy felt her temper rise and then quickly break apart. She’d accused him without proof. Again.

  There was something her visions wanted to know, though, and Jon hadn’t exactly tried to help her understand what.

  Chapter 4

  Darcy was so upset over Jon’s reaction that she couldn’t sit still. She was pacing the length of her kitchen, backwards and forwards, until she could calm down somewhat. Only then could she admit that she was also really mad at herself. Why didn’t she trust him? She loved him, didn’t she? She should have talked to him right away about the vision she’d had instead of running away from him. She’d only made things worse now.

  The case had been ruled a suicide, according to what Grace had found out, and she should have accepted that at face value. Or accepted what the old newspaper article had said about the whole thing. It was probably a very sensitive subject for Jon. It had been enough to drive him away from his old department.

  She decided to stop being an idiot and go after him. Her mind made up, she left her house quickly. She needed to find him in a hurry if she was going to set this right.

  She wasn’t sure where he would have gone. She didn’t find him on the path back into town so she went to the police station. The desk sergeant let her know he wasn’t there. The next logical place to look was his apartment, which was located a little outside of the town center on the opposite side from where she lived. Before long she found herself climbing the creaking, wooden steps to his front door.

  With butterflies rampaging around inside of her she lifted her hand and knocked on the door. Several agonizing moments passed where she was convinced he wasn’t going to answer. She was about to knock again when she heard his voice through the door. “Go away Darcy, I don’t want to see you right now.”

  “That’s too bad Jon, because I’m not leaving. I messed up, and I need to let you know that, and I’ll stay here all night if I need to.” She stood up straight and propped her hands on her hips.

  Jon sighed and then reluctantly opened the door. He walked away and she took that as an invitation to enter. Closing the door behind her she followed him into the entry hall and then into his living room. Not exactly sure how to start, she stood in front of him looking up into his face, her mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out. He just stood with his arms folded across his chest glaring at her.

  She gulped a breath before finally speaking. Funny, now that she’d almost forced her way in here she didn’t know what to say. “I’m so, so sorry. I messed up.”

  “You said that.”

  “Well, I mean it.” She reached out for him and pulled him into her arms, hugging him close. He held himself stiffly at first but then she felt him relax into her and return the hug. She breathed a sigh of relief then. “I was just scared about what I saw and I panicked.”

  “I understand,” Jon said into her hair. She could feel his warm breath on her head as he spoke. He dropped a soft kiss to her hair. “No, I actually don’t. I’m not quite up to speed on your whole sixth sense thing. But I suppose I might have done the same thing if I’d had a vision like that.” He pulled away slightly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he steered them towards the kitchen. He pulled a chair out for her and then went to one of the cabinets to take out two glasses and poured them each a small amount of whiskey from a bottle he had in the same cabinet.

  They sat down at the table and Jon said, “All right. I’m ready to listen. Tell me more about the vision.”

  Planting her hands firmly in her lap so that she wasn’t tempted to play with her ring, she went on to tell him what she had seen, not leaving out any of the details this time.

  Jon took a big sip of his drink. He looked thoughtful. “Kyle was a really good friend of mine. He worked freelance as a private eye sometimes. There was this one murder case that I just couldn’t figure out. The murderer had left a cryptic poem at the scene of the crime.” He paused to take another sip of his drink. He put the glass down onto the table and started to roll it between his hands. Darcy could sense that telling this story was hard for him.

  “I gave the poem to Kyle hoping he could figure something out. He always was one of the smartest men I know. A few days later he called me to tell me that he’d found something. The night that Kyle died I went over to his place to find out what he had learned.” He paused again to take another generous sip of the whiskey. “When I got there Kyle was lying on the floor really sick, or something. He died within seconds of my arrival. I was in shock and I blamed myself for his death. Then, on top of all that, I was investigated because I was on the scene when he died. It was finally ruled a suicide but it took a while and in the meantime my career suffered. I had to leave town. I just couldn’t stay after that.”

  Jon went quiet then and Darcy leaned over and kissed him. “That must have been so difficult for you.” They sat in silence and Darcy moved her chair closer to lay her head on his shoulder.

  Although Jon had explained the story something still felt off to Darcy. She’d told him everything. Was he holding back on her?

  Darcy was alone in the bookstore the next day, quietly sitting and reading one of her favorite books. There had been no customers today. Sue had the day off and Darcy quite enjoyed having the bookstore to herself. It gave her time to think.

  As she was flipping a page in her story she saw Millie appear out of the corner of her eye. The woman always appeared in a long dark dress, a heavy broach around her neck, her translucent gray hair done up in that modest bun she had preferred to wear. Darcy turned to the ghost of her great aunt and smiled. “You’re not going to throw a book at me, are you?”

  Millie stared at her and then she eerily raised both hands. One hand was holding a letter, a sealed envelope. She could make out the name that it was addressed to. Detective Jon Tinker.

  Jon.

  Millie’s other hand was closed. Darcy took a step towards her, wanting to see that letter more clearly, but as she tried Millie just disappeared.

  Darcy didn’t understand what was going on. Millie’s messages were always cryptic, never clear or direct. And now she was giving her a message about Jon.

  Feeling very shaken up from seeing Millie, Darcy closed the bookstore and headed to the Bean There Bakery and Café for a cup of coffee to settle her nerves. She was hoping to have a chat with Helen. Talking to her friend always helped make her feel better. So when she saw that Lily was behind the counter she felt a little disappointed. It seemed that these days Helen was never around and Darcy missed her.

  She moved up to the counter and gave Lily her order. Darcy knew Lily could tell how upset she was. Lily had to ask her twice how her day was going. Then when her coffee was ready, Darcy spilled it.

  Darcy felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry, Lily. It’s been a rough couple of days, I guess.”

  Lily nodded. “I used to have days like that too. I went to the doctor and got some anxiety pil
ls that have really helped me. My brother, Robbie, he borrows them sometimes too, when he gets stressed.” She winked at Darcy. “Don’t spread that around though, okay?”

  Darcy smiled at her and said, “Thanks. I mean, I won’t. Isn’t that dangerous, though?”

  Lily shrugged. “He only uses what he needs.” Then she was off to help another customer looking to order a cake for a birthday party.

  Darcy appreciated the woman’s attempt to help, but she knew that anxiety meds weren’t what she needed. She had to confront her problems head on. She decided to go and talk to Jon about the letter. She’d kept silent about what she had seen the last time, and nearly put a permanent rift between herself and Jon. This time, she was going to try honesty.

  Chapter 5

  Darcy hurried to the police station hoping to catch Jon there. The desk sergeant smiled at her and told her Jon was inside. She found him working at his desk. Before she had a chance to talk to him, though, Grace greeted her from her own desk. “Hi sis. What’s up?”

  Darcy smiled at her. “Hi Grace. I just wanted to talk to Jon.”

  Grace gave her a knowing look. Jon stood up without hesitation, though, and Darcy didn’t have time to explain to her sister why she was suddenly all right with Jon again. He walked around to the front of the desk where Darcy was standing. “We’ll just go for a walk and…”

  “No need for that,” Grace said. “I need to head on home anyway so I’ll get out of your hair.” Grace put the file away that she had been working on and grabbed her bag and coat. “I’ll see you two later,” she said with a smirk as she left the room.

  Darcy shook her head at her sister and then turned back to Jon. Every other officer on duty at the moment was also out of the building, except for the desk sergeant up front who was separated from them by a wall. Now that they were more or less alone Darcy eyed Jon for a moment before she said, “Do you know anything about a letter? Something sent to you with your name on it? I think it might have something to do with my first vision.”