Bound To Be Dead: Cozy Mystery Bookshop Series Book 3

by Tamra Baumann

  “Yes, nothing as gross as that to lift the mood,” I reply sarcastically.

  Madge chuckles. “Well, when he sees who the suspects are and what we’ve learned so far, I think he’ll see there was nothing he could’ve done. Oh, that’s why I’m really calling. To tell you that the doc thinks Tina was poisoned.”

  Poisoned? Really? Wow. “That puts a different light on things.”

  “Yeah, but…” Madge clears her throat. “It also means your father is back in the suspect pool. He spent the most time with her before the show. And he gave all the ladies the flowers.”

  Oh, man. I hadn’t thought of that. How can I ask what I want to know without alerting Pattie? She’s clearly listening to my every word. I’ll have to be vague and hope Madge catches on. “Could that…vessel be used for…that?”

  “Do you mean, could a rose be the murder weapon?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ah.” Madge chuckles. “The queen of nosey is standing right there, I take it?”

  “Exactly. I have a book at the shop that might help us out. Want to meet me there in ten?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you in a few. Bye.”

  “See you.” I quickly disconnect.

  After my hair is styled in the longest hour and a half of my life, Pattie finally releases me from the chair. I force a smile and say, “Thanks! It looks great.” And actually, it does. Who knew what a little trim and highlight could do to freshen things up?

  Pattie nods and heads for the cash register. “That’ll be eighty-five dollars. Next one’s on the house as long as you keep our deal.”

  I hand over my credit card. “For eighty-five bucks, I can keep my mouth shut. Have a great day!”

  She closes out the transaction and hands my card back. “You too. See you around, Sawyer.”

  I wave as I hightail it out the glass doors. Once outside, I can retake a deep breath. I’m not sure if I did more harm than good by playing detective, but man, I’m glad to be out of there!

  I tug open the door to my store and am greeted with the lovely aroma of French vanilla coffee and buttery croissants. It reminds me I haven’t had lunch, so I wave to Nan and head for the kitchen area. The Admiral is sitting at one of the bistro tables sipping from a mug and eating a croissant. Cooper wags his tail when he sees me but is rooted to his spot at the Admiral’s feet to retrieve any wayward crumbs.

  “Hi, Admiral. How are you?” I grab some coffee and a pastry and join him at the little table.

  “Confused.”

  Well, that’s nothing new, but I don’t want to be rude. “About?” I take a long slug of caffeine.

  “Why Dylan felt the need to question me about Tina’s death earlier. He should know I’d never hurt anyone.”

  “Of course, you wouldn’t.” I set my mug down with an indignant thump. “What questions did he ask?”

  The Admiral looks away. “He asked about what I use for fertilizer on your mom’s roses and what other chemicals are kept in your greenhouse. And who transported the arrangements to the community center.” The Admiral finally turns and makes eye contact. “And you should probably know he asked if you handled the flowers too when you wrote out the name tags.”

  I should probably take offense at that question, but logic tells me Dylan is just doing his job. Still… He could’ve asked me directly. “Madge just told me the docs think poison might have been involved in Tina’s death.”

  “Really?” The Admiral’s bushy eyebrows arch. “Well then, no wonder Dylan asked me all those questions. But last I checked, roses aren’t poisonous, nor are the chemicals I use. Maybe there was something toxic backstage?”

  “I’m sure that’s what Dylan is trying to figure out. I wouldn’t sweat it.”

  Nan flops the book about authors and their choice of poisons in front of me again. “See pages 119 through 225. You’d be amazed at all the clever ways people got rid of their enemies back in the day. I’ve got to run.”

  “Thanks, Nan.” I glance up and smile. “Sure you don’t want to come to book club later? We’d love to have you.”

  She shakes her gray head on the way to the front door. “I need to talk about another murder mystery today like I need to hear another excuse for an overdue book. See you tomorrow.”

  After she’s gone, the Admiral frowns, “I guess the thing about the excuse was an ex-librarian joke?”

  I nod because my mouth is full. After I swallow, I say, “She has a ton of them. Like, why did the librarian get fired?”

  The Admiral shakes his head. “No idea.”

  “Because she’s always checked out.” I scarf down the rest of my croissant, then add, “What did the librarian say when asked if she knew of any authors who wrote dinosaur books?”

  A ghost of a smile tilts the Admiral’s lips. “What?”

  “Try Sarah Topps. Get it? Triceratops?” I’m cracking myself up with these corny jokes. “Last one. What did the librarian say when asked if she had a book about Pavlov’s dog and Schrödinger’s cat?”

  The Admiral says, “I can’t imagine.”

  “She said it rang a bell, but she wasn’t sure if it was there or not!” I can’t help the stupid grin stretching my face.

  A full-blown smile lights up his face. “Sailor, you’re just like your mom. She could always cheer me up too.” He stands and puts his mug in the sink. “I’ll see you at book club.”

  “To add to that cheer, Madge is making a murder board for tonight.”

  He nods. “That’ll do it every time. Speaking of Madge…”

  Madge barrels through the front door and skids to a stop in front of us. “Sorry that took so long. I got caught up. Nice haircut, Sawyer.”

  “Thanks.” I drain my mug and place it next to the Admiral’s in the sink.

  The Admiral lifts a hand, “See you, ladies, later. Looking forward to that murder board, Madge. Hope my name isn’t on it.” He doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he quickly walks toward the front door.

  When we’re alone, Madge says, “Dylan just added the Admiral’s name to the suspect list on account of the roses, but it’s way at the bottom.”

  This piques my interest. “Who else is on the list?”

  Madge grabs a clean mug and pumps coffee from the carafe. “In no particular order, mainly because I can’t remember exactly, the mayor, your dad, the people at the café who served and made the tea Tina was drinking, the people helping in back with the show, and all the people who touched the roses. Which might or might not include you at some point?” Madge lifts her gaze to meet mine.

  I shake my head. “Nope. I didn’t touch the flowers, only wrote out the name tags in my kitchen. But Pattie is near the top now on my list. Along with my uncle.”

  Madge’s eyes grow wide. “Do tell!”

  After I shared my experience with Pattie, Madge frowns. “So can I add this to my murder board tonight?”

  “No! I don’t want Pattie to know I told you. I’ll share it with Dylan later, but that’s it.”

  Madge draws a crisscross over her heart. “Your secret is safe with me. But I think you and I need to pay a visit to the Blue Hippo in Monterey tomorrow to see what’s really up with Pattie.”

  “Didn’t Dylan go there today?” He’d mentioned he’d planned to last night.

  “No.” Madge clears her throat. “He had an emergency over the lunch hour. At Crystal’s house. In her bathroom. There might have been some nakedness on her part involved. Again.”

  I refuse to react. Crystal has been trying to steal Dylan away from me since elementary school. And her sticky shower door apparently can’t be fixed. “Everything work out?”

  “Yeah. In Dylan’s defense, he told me to send one of the deputies, but they were all at lunch. Together. Crystal’s treat.”

  “Naturally.” It’s probably not right that my heartbeat is pounding so loud in my ears, it’s hard to hear.

  Madge cringes. “Crystal sent lunch for me too, so I could eat at my desk since I don’t get a ful
l lunch hour. Said it was in appreciation for saving her mom after the car accident last month, when all the guys helped pry her mother out of the wreck. Seemed legit at the time.”

  “No worries. I have bigger problems to deal with right now.” My blood pressure can’t take much more today, so I draw a deep breath and then let it out slowly. I read somewhere this works to calm and center a person, but apparently, not for me. “Will Dylan let you off for our snooping session at The Blue Hippo tomorrow?”

  Madge shrugs. “I’ll just tell him I have an errand to run. For woman things. He never questions me if I say that.”

  I’d chuckle, but my hands are starting to tingle from clenching them so hard. I hope it’s just stress and not the beginnings of a heart attack. “Just one problem. If we find something, Dylan is going to want all the details. If he finds out I was there too, he’ll be onto your scam.”

  “You’re a woman.” Madge lifts her hands. “If we go together, it won’t be a lie. We’ll be doing woman things. I’ll pick you up at ten thirty, so we’ll be back in plenty of time for your meeting with Brittany’s mother. See you later for book club.”

  “Okay.” I lift the book Nan set in front of me. “Maybe we’ll go through this with the group for some ideas.”

  “Good plan. Adios.” Madge jumps up and motors out the front door.

  With no other prospects in the empty store, Cooper joins me and leans against my legs for a rub.

  After giving my dog some love, I lay my head down on my folded arms and moan. If I lose all the things my mother left me except for the wine collection, I can survive. I’ll get a chef’s job in San Francisco so I can still be near my family and can feed Brittany and me. If I still have Brittany with me.

  I’m not sure how my heart would survive losing her along with everything else I have here.

  I allow myself a little wallow and give more cuddles to Cooper before anger fills me again. It lights a much-needed fire under me, so I lift my dog’s teddy bear face up and say, “If I can’t beat my uncle in court, maybe I can still send him to jail for the rest of his life for killing Tina. Maybe then there’d be some semblance of justice for you and me!”

  Cooper’s tail wags so fast, it makes me smile. There’s nothing like a dog to help soothe the soul.

  I give Coop one last pat. “And when all that is over, I’m buying Crystal a new shower door!”

  Cooper woofs in agreement as we cross the store and get back to work.

  Cooper and I are just locking up my bookstore’s front door for the day when Dylan appears beside us.

  He squats to pet Cooper and says, “Glad I caught you guys. There’s something I want to tell you, Sawyer.”

  I’m still a little bothered by the earlier Crystal incident that technically wasn’t his fault. However, that doesn’t stop me from saying, “Are you still coming for dinner tonight, or do you and Crystal have plans?”

  He stands and runs a hand down his face in impatience. “I sent the paramedics in first. They got the door open while I waited outside.”

  I’m trying to keep my mad going, but my smile wins. “That had to be terribly unsatisfying for Crystal.”

  “Madge didn’t tell you the whole story, did she?” Dylan takes Cooper’s leash, and we head up the hill.

  “Nope. She left out the whole middle part. And the end too, come to think of it.”

  “Of course, she did.” He wraps his free arm around my shoulder. “You were probably supposed to get so jealous, you’d fall at my feet and beg me to marry you.”

  “Like that’d ever happen.” I snort in a very unladylike manner.

  He stops walking. “The marrying part?”

  “No, the begging part.” I take his hand and tug to get going again. “The marrying part is more complicated. Things aren’t looking good in my case against my uncle. What would we do if I had to move to the city for a job?”

  He grunts. “It’s only forty-five minutes away. We’d make it work.”

  “Even if I might not get off until two in the morning? And I have to take care of Brittany too?”

  Dylan sighs. “I can be a cop anywhere.”

  “And yet you came back to Sunset Cove after the military. Because you love it here. So much so, you’re building a house you’ve so weirdly never invited me to see.”

  Dylan chuckles. “That really annoys you, doesn’t it? That I haven’t shown you the house.”

  “It really annoys me but I’m not entirely sure why.” Best to be honest with him.

  He stops walking when we get to my front porch and faces me. “I haven’t shown you because you’ll probably get all bossy about things. Especially the kitchen.”

  He’s smiling, but his eyes aren’t. A dead giveaway that there’s something more here. I need to tread lightly. “For sure, I’d be bossy about the kitchen. But I’m sure the rest is perfect.”

  He draws a deep breath, looks away, and then meets my gaze again. “Let’s talk about why I’m terrified to show you the house after you tell me why you’re so scared of Beth and her powers.”

  Yep. More to the story. I knew it!

  “Deal. But not right now. I need to go inside, put on a happy face, and try to enjoy what might be our last dinner with Brittany. Without crying.”

  “You never cry.” He wraps me up in a hug.

  I bite my trembling lip before I lose it. “So don’t look tonight if it bothers you.” I try to pull away, but he tightens his embrace.

  “Tears don’t make you weak, Sawyer. They show how much you care.”

  I plaster my face into his uniformed shoulder and whisper, “I’m just barely holding it together here. Thank you for being so patient with me.” I lean back and stare into his troubled eyes, and my stomach takes a dive. I’ve only seen that look once—when he explained why he couldn’t marry me. “What’s the matter?”

  Dylan’s jaw clenches. “I don’t want to do this right now with all…but it’s best if you hear it from me first.”

  “What?” I’m being pushed to limits I didn’t even know I had.

  “Emily Kingsley came to see me this afternoon. She remembered something about the day Tina died. Emily saw your dad putting the top back on Tina’s drink. When your father turned and saw Emily, he got flustered and almost spilled it before sealing the lid again. Then he said something about needing to get back to Tina.”

  I blink at Dylan as my mind absorbs the information. “You can’t possibly think my father could have poisoned Tina.”

  “The cup wasn’t at the crime scene, so he’s officially on the suspect list. Which means you and I need to keep our distance. It’ll look bad if I’m investigating my girlfriend’s father. I’ll have one of my deputies deal with your dad, and I’ll handle the rest. Keeps things cleaner that way for everyone.”

  Except for me. “We can still call each other, but no chatting about the case, right?”

  He shakes his head. “Until the case is closed, we are officially broken up. If this were a bigger town, I’d just remove myself. That’s not an option right now.” He leans down and kisses me. “I hope you’ll take me back after this is over.”

  I cross my arms. “You’re breaking up with me? Again? What if you’d shown up at the church all those years ago and we were married right now?”

  “I’d be the happiest guy on earth.” Sadness clouds his eyes. “But heartbroken if I’d have to arrest my father-in-law.”

  My stomach takes a nosedive. Dylan must think there’s a real possibility that they’ll have to arrest my father. “Instead of breaking up with me, why don’t you let me help clear my dad’s name?”

  Dylan sighs. “Trust me, it’s better this way. Maybe you’ll even miss me a little.” He swallows hard, and then turns and walks away.

  My knees are shaky, so I slump onto the porch step and tug Cooper close. I need a minute before I go inside. I don’t know what’s hurting my heart worse right now, the prospect of my father being arrested for something I’m sure he didn’t do or of l
osing the man who might have to arrest my father.

  My mind races for a solution, but only one answer keeps popping up.

  I’m going to have to find that cup and figure out who killed Tina so I clear my father’s name. ASAP!

  As I stand to go inside, another thought hits me with the force of a tidal wave.

  Could my dad have killed Tina?

  Chapter 9

  With my fake smile firmly in place, Cooper and I walk into the kitchen. The smoky aroma of chicken fajitas, Spanish rice, and pinto beans fills the air. My father, Meg, and Brittany are stuffing their faces with guacamole and chips. They all wave when they see me, but don’t stop grazing as my father regales them with one of his many crazy stories from his time on the road.

  While Cooper trots to the laundry room to inspect his food bowls, I check the pot with the Spanish rice. It looks a tad dry, but I stop myself from adding more tomatoes. It’s Brittany’s dish, and I need to respect that. “This all looks amazing!”

  Brittany appears beside me with a big grin. “I know. I amazed myself.”

  I replace the lid on the rice pan and then give the fajitas a stir. “How much time before we eat, Chef?”

  “About five minutes. Don’t you think?”

  I nod. “Looks right to me.” I give Brittany a shoulder bump. “Thanks for making dinner tonight. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” Brittany grabs plates from the cupboard and heads back to the nook.

  “Maybe we should eat in the dining room tonight.”

  Brittany frowns. “I thought that was just for guests. Or special occasions.”

  I grab a chip and sample the dip. “This amazing guac makes tonight a special occasion.”

  “Thanks. But I’m not even staying. I promised Raphe I’d bring him dinner. His parents got stuck in the city at some meeting, so he was just going to make a sandwich.”

  Of course, boyfriends trump adopted sisters.

  I want to ask her to stay, or at least invite Raphe here, but it’s probably best to let her go. No one wants to have a date with the whole family watching. “You’ll be home by nine, right? It’s a school night with homework, even if you’re not going tomorrow.”