Come to think of it, I know Scott, too.
She shrugs before pulling her fruity looking cocktail to her lips. “Stacy and Scott were hammering away at her, yelling as if they were right back at the ranch. Scott has always had it in for her.”
Everett leans in. “Stacy was yelling at her, too?”
“Oh yeah.” Bonnie dabs her lips with a napkin and slightly smears her lipstick, and it gives her a crazed look that no woman is after. “It’s a common occurrence at the ranch. I do the books, so I’m in the office and hear the whole thing. They like to let loose on one another about three or four times a week. It didn’t help that neither Tamara nor Scott refused to move out of the house. It was truly a toxic working environment. I hate to say it, but a part of me is relieved it’s over.”
Everett swills the beer in his hand. “I bet that’s why you needed someplace like this to turn to. I find playing a hand of blackjack relaxing myself.”
She barks out a laugh. “You betcha. I knew I liked you.” She snuggles up beside him, and I’m tempted to knock her drink over.
“So what do you usually play?” I ask, trying to steer the direction back to the topic at hand—her.
“Slots mostly. But I like blackjack, too.” She giggles over at Everett and my tolerance for this interrogation is quickly waning. “You know, I’m pretty good at it, too. Last year I won enough to take a trip to Atlantic City. Oh, they’ve got miles and miles of glorious slots machines in every shape and size.” Her eyes grow swirly as if she were hypnotized. She turns my way. “And if you really want to play craps, you should come with me on my next trip. They’ve got tables to die for.”
Noel howls over at her, “Ask if Tamara ever went with her.”
“Good question,” I say, inspiring a confused look from Bonnie. “I mean, I have a question. Did Tamara ever join you?”
Her eyes grow wide again. “No. Let’s just say she didn’t exactly approve of my—hobby. Some people can be such prudes.” She makes a face before draining the rest of her drink and motioning for the bartender to deliver another.
Everett leans in close to her, shoulder to shoulder, as if he were flirting himself, and I’ll admit that a part of me is a bit jealous that she’s getting all that glorious Baxter body heat to herself.
“Just as a theory”—he starts—“let’s say Scott didn’t send Tamara to her death. Who do you think could have done it?”
Bonnie swallows audibly, prompting both Everett and me to exchange a glance.
Noel hobbles my way. “She’s acting strangely, Lottie. I’m afraid Stacy might be right. Bonnie Dupre is guilty as sin.”
I twist my lips over at him. We shall see.
The bartender slides another fruity concoction her way and she pulls it in. “Yes, Scott had a reason to push her off that embankment. I can see why he’d want all of his problems solved, but to be honest, he’s a smart man. He would have known it would have brought far more legal troubles than the trouble he was already in. That’s why I don’t think he did it.”
I suck in a quick breath. “But don’t you think he was worked up in a rage?”
“Not really. He was just blowing off steam. Trust me when I say he’s learned to rein it in before it gets out of hand.” She looks my way. “You do realize Scott wasn’t the only one who was angry with Tamara that night.”
“You mean Stacy.” I nod as if affirming this. Although it was really the other way around. It was Tamara who was fuming at Stacy. Personally, I’m surprised it wasn’t Stacy at the bottom of that cliff.
Bonnie shakes her head. “I mean Joyce.”
“Joyce was angry with Tamara?” I inch back, uncertain if I heard right. “Tamara’s personal trainer? The perky brunette? She seemed ready to defend her, not kill her.”
Bonnie rolls her eyes. “Let’s just say they have a thorny history together. A few years back they opened up the first of a few boutique type gyms that cater to women. Maybe you’ve heard of them? Swerve the Curve?”
“Oh, I think I have heard of them,” I say. “They have one out in Fallbrook, right?”
She nods. “And two in Hollyhock. Anyway, it was always Joyce’s dream, and Tamara came in as the financial brawn. But things went south just last week. Apparently, Tamara made Joyce a lowball offer to buy her out, and when Joyce refused, Tamara hired some fancy lawyer to make it happen. Joyce was fuming. In fact, the night of the murder, I had to ask her to put off the confrontation she was determined to have with her until after the holidays.” Her lips twitch as if there’s more to the story but she isn’t about to share it. “Joyce is power-hungry—a control freak. You just have to be around her for five minutes to know that. And she’ll do anything to protect that power.”
Power-hungry. The words swill in my mind long after she says them.
Everett and I wrap it up with Bonnie. I even invite her to my mother’s speed dating event at the B&B next weekend, and she agrees to give it a shot. Everett and I watch as Bonnie takes off, more than eager to say goodbye to us as she hits the slots.
Noel follows Everett and me outside of the establishment where the snow is still softly sifting its way to earth, and I take up Everett’s hand in the event Noel decides to share his thoughts again.
“Well, Lottie?” Noel prances between Everett and me. “We’ve got a killer, haven’t we? It’s this Joyce person! I say we find her and tie her to a tree so the wolves can ravage her.”
Everett and I share an amused smile.
“Ixnay to the wolves,” I say. “I like life outside of prison just fine.”
Everett nods. “And I quite like my view in the courtroom. So what’s next with the investigation?”
“I think maybe Keelie and I need to think about getting in shape before the man in the red suit tries to fill my stocking.”
A naughty gleam takes over Everett’s eyes. “I’ve got something to put in your stocking.”
“Everett.” I laugh while swatting him on the chest.
“What? I happen to have a gift for you.” A sly grin glides up one side of his face. “And technically, it could easily fit in the smallest of stockings. But you’ll have to wait until Christmas morning to open it.”
“Everett.” My voice is far less abrasive, and instead of swatting him, I hug his arm. “You really are the sweetest.”
He shrugs. “I’ll keep the red suit on standby that night in the event you don’t get what you want. I’ve got a bag of treats you can dip into anytime you want.”
“Why do I get the feeling this bag of treats is in your bedroom?”
“Because you know me well, and you happen to have a very dirty mind.”
“Why do I get the feeling that’s the part of me you like best?”
“Because you’re intuitive.”
I laugh into the night as Everett and I head back to his car and back to Honey Hollow.
But I can’t seem to get my mind off Tamara—and the mounting number of people who might have wanted her dead.
6
The Swerve and Curve Gym in Hollyhock just so happens to be the exact place where I was able to track down Joyce Calypso.
Okay, so a bit of cyberstalking might have been involved. It took less than a day to follow all of her social media pages, only to figure out that she was regularly checking in her locations. And it turns out, she’s spending the afternoon teaching a class at this location. A class that both Keelie and I loathe to participate in.
“Why are we doing this again?” Keelie asks as she struggles to take her thick down jacket off.
“Because we care about Tamara,” I whisper as the rest of the class files into the small boxy gym filled with a smattering of dumbbells and elliptical equipment.
Noel appears, gliding through the air like the fantastic phantasm he is.
“I’m so lucky I’ll never need to torment myself that way. Might I add, it’s a delight to be floating as effortlessly as a cloud.”
“Showoff,” I hiss and a couple of women running on
nearby treadmills glance my way, affronted.
Joyce strides in with her dark hair swept up into a bun, skintight yoga pants, and a matching tank top despite the deep freeze going on outside. Keelie and I donned our sweats, and evidently nothing screams novice at the gym like elastic lined fleece.
“Keelie? Lottie?” Joyce wraps her arms around us both. “I’m so thrilled to see you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Oh”—I look to Keelie in a mild panic—“we’ve decided not to wait until after the new year to start working on our bikini bodies.”
“That’s right.” Keelie pushes up the sleeves on her old Honey Hollow High sweatshirt. “Lottie keeps shoveling those delicious desserts she bakes into both of our mouths—and we’ve got waistlines to preserve, judges and homicide detectives to attract.”
I make a face at her for that one.
Noel howls a laugh. “She’s got you there, Lottie!”
Joyce chortles at the thought herself. “From what I hear, Lottie already has their attention. Sure wish I had two hotties at my side whenever I wanted them. What’s your secret?”
Keelie nods. “It’s the cookies.”
Both Keelie and Joyce break out into a fit of laughter, leaving Joyce in tears over it.
“I knew I should have opened up a bakery instead.” She dabs her eyes with her pinkies.
Perfect segue, so I go with it.
“What made you open this place? It’s great, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Joyce waves a hand around the room. “It’s my baby and I’ve got three more just like it. It’s been my dream my whole life to open up a place like this.”
Keelie gives a slight nod my way as if to say I’ve got this. I filled her in on everything Bonnie said on the way over.
Keelie cocks her head. “What made you wait so long?”
“Money,” Joyce is quick to answer. “I finally had a financial fairy step in and save the day.” She wrinkles her nose. “It was Tamara. And now that she’s gone, I’ll have to figure out how to remove her name from the lease.”
“What about the loans? You know, for the equipment and the start-up costs?” I ask and Noel glides in close as if he were anxious to hear this, too.
Joyce glances out the window a moment. “Thanks to Tamara, there are no loans. She wanted to start debt-free. And with the money she was getting from the farm, she could afford to do it. But she doesn’t have any kids. And her parents have both passed away—I guess I own the businesses free and clear. With the exception of the ground leases, of course. But the gyms are in the black, so there shouldn’t be a problem with that.”
Keelie nods. “And now I guess you don’t have to split the profits with anyone either.”
Noel huffs, “She’s our killer, Lottie. I can see it in her greedy eyes.”
I’m wondering if I can, too. In the least I can see a decent motive starting to form.
Joyce takes a quick look around the box-shaped room. “I’ll admit, it is a bit of a relief to know I can make all of the decisions on my own. And if I’m honest, taking the whole profit—well, that’s something I can get used to, I suppose.”
“Bingo!” Noel lights up as blue as a flame. “Lock her up and throw away the key, Lottie! She’s living high off of my sweet Tamara’s hog.”
“Maybe,” I say a touch too loud and both Keelie and Joyce look my way. “Maybe Scott didn’t push Tamara off that embankment.” I shrug. “I mean, he says he didn’t do it.”
Joyce’s mouth falls open. “What are you implying?”
“Oh no, not that.” I try to laugh it off while making a mental note to ignore every ghost in the vicinity for a year.
Noel swims through the air and gets right in her face. “That’s exactly what we’re implying!”
I shake my head at him. “I mean, maybe she slipped.”
“Oh.” Joyce tips her head to the side as if considering this. “No, I don’t think so. Anyone else, maybe—but Tamara? She had enemies.”
“Enemies?” Keelie winces. “That’s a strong word, don’t you think?”
“No.” Joyce shakes her head emphatically. “And I’m not talking about Scott—
that’s a given.”
Keelie leans in. “You mean Stacy?”
Ugh. A part of me wants to swat my bestie for feeding Joyce an option, but then it’s the only other logical one.
Noel growls over at Keelie, “Someone needs a muzzle. Don’t you think, Lottie?”
Joyce shakes her head. “Stacy didn’t want to make any more waves than she already did. She had Scott and they seemed pretty happy together.”
Now it’s my mouth falling open. “So who could have done it? What other enemies did Tamara Gray have?”
Joyce pins those dark eyes right over mine. “Bonnie,” she says it plain as day and my mouth is right back to falling open again. “I know what you’re thinking. Who in their right mind would implicate Bonnie in a murder investigation of all things, but I don’t think it needs to be that dramatic. Bonnie and Tamara were having it out on the car ride over to the lot. I should know. We drove out together. In fact, I had to tell them to settle down.” She holds herself as if reliving a bad memory. “You probably don’t know this, but Bonnie is a compulsive gambler. Scott and Tamara found out two weeks ago that she was pilfering funds from the farm to support her habit.”
Both Noel and I suck in an audible breath.
Keelie clasps her neck. “That’s terrible!”
“It is.” Joyce looks out at the rest of the women in the room. “We had no idea it had gotten that bad. As soon as Scott and Tamara discovered what was happening, they suspended her. It didn’t help that Tamara threatened her in the car that day.”
A threat?
I take a step in. “What did she say?”
Joyce nods my way. “She said as soon as the holidays were over, it was prison for Bonnie.”
“Prison?” I gasp. “That’s terrifying. I can see why Bonnie would feel threatened. They were such good friends. I would guess Bonnie was hoping to maybe pay them back or something along those lines.”
“It wasn’t going to happen.” Joyce looks from Keelie to me. “The weird thing is, the only reason I left Bonnie in the woods with Tamara that night was because I thought you were with them.”
“Me?” I bury a finger in my chest and she’s quick to nod.
“I heard her talking to you, Lottie.”
Keelie looks equally baffled. “Maybe she was mentioning Lottie? Like in a conversation?”
“No.” Joyce shakes her head. “I specifically heard her carrying on a conversation with you. Trust me. Her tone was a lot curter when dealing with Bonnie these days. And with you, she was perky and chipper.” A slew of women walk through the door and Joyce greets them. “I’d better start up the class. Oh, and if you can’t keep up, don’t worry. No one thinks much of the first-timers.” She gives a sly wink, leaving Keelie and me to huff in her wake.
“I’m not a first-timer in a gym,” I say. “I just delivered a platter of sugar cookies to Boom Fitness in Ashford for their holiday party.”
Keelie bucks with a laugh. But as soon as the class begins, neither of us is laughing.
Afterwards, I invite Joyce to my mother’s speed dating party before Keelie and I hobble on out of there and straight back to Honey Hollow.
Joyce could have been the one to push Tamara off the embankment that day.
And for that matter, it could have been Bonnie.
But one thing is for sure—it wasn’t me.
7
There is something special about living in a cozy small town, especially at the holidays—especially when everyone you know comes out to partake in the tree lighting ceremony in the town square.
All of Main Street is bustling with bodies as townspeople and tourists alike congregate in the park that houses the behemoth evergreen that gets lit up like the glorious wonder it is every single year. The snow has stopped falling as if taking a respite just for t
he event at hand, and the air is permeated with the scent of fresh baked cookies and melted chocolate from the hot cocoa stand.
My mother is here with her friends, and my sisters, Lainey and Meg, stand bundled in wool coats, sipping on hot cocoa. The Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery has a booth set up right next to the cider and cocoa stand, and already we’re selling out of iced sugar cookies and my walnut chocolate fudge.
“Lottie,” Meg moans through a bite. Meg is gorgeous with her jet-black hair and icy blue eyes. One might think that Meg’s days as a female wrestler might have toughened her up, but the truth is, she came out of the womb as tough as a nail. She’s never been one to shy away from conflict, nor does she shy away from what she’s really thinking. “This fudge is amazing. What are you putting in it to make it so addictive? I’m betting it’s not legal.”
I laugh at the thought. “That’s one bet you’ll lose,” I say, stealing a cube of fudge out of her bag and popping it into my mouth. “Mmm. I can vouch for the addictive part. Each night when I head home, I bring a box of fudge along with me.”
Lainey giggles at the thought. “I bet you share them with your handsome neighbors, too.”
Meg howls, “Among other things she freely gives away.”
“Would the two of you stop?” I swat them both on the arm. “Yes, it’s a plus living near both Everett and Noah, but believe me, I’m not giving anything away.”
“That’s right.” Keelie comes up and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Lottie makes them work for any affection she doles out.”
“As it should be!” Lily shouts from behind.
Lily Swanson offered to help man the booth for me tonight along with a few other employees from the bakery. I told her there was a certain man I wanted to question about Tamara’s death, and rumor has it he’ll be here tonight.
Scott Gray hasn’t been formally charged, but from what Noah says, it’s just a matter of time.
Lainey spoke with Stacy this morning, and she mentioned that both she and Scott would be here tonight. Some might say it’s crass to come to such a festive event just days after Tamara’s death, but I’m not against it in the least. I remember after my father died I tried desperately to erase the grief, if only for a moment. Not that either Stacy or Scott is truly grieving her—especially not if one of them is responsible for her death to begin with.
Six Merry Little Murders Page 32