Plotting for Murder (Cozy Mystery Bookshop Series Book 1)

by Tamra Baumann

  Dylan and Cooper are waiting for us on the porch. Bert, the one who gave me my dog, is standing right next to them. She and Dylan are the same height.

  She lifts a huge hand and says, “Hi, Sawyer. I’m here for the one-week doodle well check.”

  “You’re checking up on Cooper?” I lean down and pet my dog, who’s jumping on my leg. “Like I’d be a bad dog owner or something?” I think I’m a little insulted.

  I guess it’s better than a social worker checking up on my parenting skills now that I’ll have Brittany to care for. I’m not sure what I’m doing in that department, but a dog I think I can handle.

  “No.” Bert shakes her head. “Your mom wanted me to make sure you’re okay with keeping Cooper. She worried it might be too much.”

  I narrow my eyes. “That’s not what you said when you shoved him at me. You were worried about your chakras, remember?”

  Bert laughs. “I was just pulling your leg. I’ve known your mom for years, and I miss her. And I’ll take him if he’s too much. Your mom never meant to add to your burdens. She hoped Cooper would help you heal.”

  “He’s done more than that.” I pick up my dog and cuddle him against my chest. “This guy saved my life this morning. I’m keeping him.”

  Bert lumbers down the steps. “Doodles are hard not to love. I’ll check back in a month or so, just to be sure.”

  I open my mouth to protest, but Bert is quicker. “Your mom asked me to check in with you too, Sawyer. Let you know I’m not only a breeder of dogs, but I was also your mom’s therapist.” She sweeps her arm out toward Dylan and Brittany and says, “Looks like you’re surrounded by the ones your mom hoped you’d let help you. Still, you can call if you’d ever like to talk.”

  Wait a minute. Don’t therapists know people’s secrets? She might know about Brittany. “Hey, Bert? Wait up, will you?”

  I hand Coop to Brittany and join Bert at the bottom of the steps. Whispering, I ask, “Do you know where I can find Brittany’s paperwork?”

  Bert smiles as she nods. “Find what your mom hid, and you’ll figure that part out. Your mom thought it’d be better to spring all her secrets on you a few at a time. Brittany knew to call me if she needed anything in the meantime.”

  A few secrets at a time? “Are there any more surprises?”

  “You knew your mom, Sawyer.” Bert laughs and starts walking away. “What do you think?”

  I think that’s a big fat yes.

  Dylan is driving Brittany and me to the storage unit located outside town when Brittany leans forward from the backseat and says, “Wade really killed his best friend just to have Julie? That’s so messed up.”

  “And because Chad wanted a bigger piece of whatever Zoe hid.” Dylan’s eyes cut to Brittany’s in his mirror. “I’ve been breaking up fights between Chad and Wade for years. They kept escalating to the point where I was afraid one of them was going to hurt the other seriously. There was underlying hate.”

  “Why?” Brittany’s brows scrunch. “Didn’t Chad’s family take Wade in after his parents died?”

  “Yes, but Wade was always upset that Chad and his father didn’t include him in their business. Treated him like the ward he was after his parents died. He thought for sure when Chad’s dad died a few years later, he’d be asked to be part of their affairs, but that didn’t happen either. Wade always resented that Chad lived a life Wade never did, even after he was a part of it. When Julie picked Chad over him, Wade lost it.”

  At the word “ward,” Brittany’s eyes, full of worry, cut to mine. I give her hand resting on the seat a quick squeeze, silently telling her she’ll never be treated like that.

  Dylan pulls up to the storage facility’s front doors and parks. My uncle is sitting in his fancy car with his arms crossed, waiting for us. My sister and her family are there too, in their car. I wanted to do this together, and luckily, my sister’s schedule worked out for a change. That and I promised to make dinner for everyone afterward.

  Gage is here too, just in case we need some legal help.

  We all get out, and, after I get hugs from my sister’s kids, Collin and Alexandra run ahead into the lobby. Apparently, they think this is a fun adventure.

  My stomach is housing a swarm of butterflies in anticipation of what’s inside when my sister puts a hand on my arm and whispers, “Whatever we find is all yours, Sawyer. We’re just here out of curiosity. And to find out about Brittany. You get that, right?”

  I shake my head. “Don’t commit until you see what it is first. Okay?”

  My sister reluctantly nods to appease me.

  A guy in his sixties is sitting behind a reception counter and smiles. “Need some help?”

  “Yes.” I pull out my key. “Can you point us to number 101?”

  “101?” The guy’s brows disappear under his baseball cap. “Are you Sawyer?”

  I nod.

  “Mike. Nice to meet you. I’ll show you myself. My father left your mom that unit and what’s inside a few years ago after he died. It’s yours now as long as you need it.”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry about your father too, Mike.” That his dad gave my mom the unit probably explains why I’ve never seen a monthly bill.

  Mike smiles. “Right back atcha. This way.”

  My butterflies have turned to a horde of angry bees in my gut as we all follow Mike to what looks like a standard metal office door. It’s not the same as all the other doors that slide up like a garage door that we passed in the long, tiled hallway.

  Mike explains, “My father was an avid reader. Loved to talk books with your mom. They became good friends. May I?” He holds his hand out for the key, and I drop it in his palm. “He left her this from his estate.” So maybe Mike is the one who was supposed to explain where the wine came from. Not a note.

  My uncle’s face turns red. “Zoe inherited whatever’s in there?”

  Mike nods, opens the door, and then stands back to let us step inside. “Except for the book.”

  I start to enter first, but my uncle beats me to the door and says, “That book belonged to both of us, if it’s the one I think it is.”

  Shaking my head, refusing to argue with him in front of the kids, I follow behind. It’s cold inside and filled with bottles of wine in racks stacked ten bottles high on each side. I pick up a familiar-looking bottle and show the label to Dylan.

  He smiles, recognizing the name as I do from the expensive wine website. Who knows what it’s all worth, but it’s a lot. Half will be plenty to keep Brittany and me afloat until I can open my restaurant.

  Mike has finally made his way in behind the rest and points to a case in the corner. “I helped your mom make that, Sawyer.”

  We all shuffle to the very end, where an ancient book sits in a glass case. Its binding is leather and very old, but in perfect shape. My nephew, Collin, squeezes by everyone and reads the title. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County? By Mark Twain? What kind of book is that?”

  My uncle says, “One worth a heck of a lot of money. Don’t get too attached. We’re selling it.”

  Mike frowns. “Zoe hoped you’d display it in the bookstore where it belongs. It’s why I made that case.”

  I glance at my sister, who is shaking her head in a “let it go” kind of way. Megan hates drama.

  Gage clears his throat. “Actually, Mayor, you and I should talk outside. It could have been excluded from the trust for a reason.”

  My uncle’s jaw clenches, but he reluctantly follows Gage out into the hall. Once my uncle is out of earshot, I turn to Mike and ask, “Did my mom leave any paperwork? Or a note for me?”

  “Not that I know of. She just said to tell you to sell the wine or keep it for your restaurant.” Mike hands me back my key. “This is just a fraction of what my dad left for my brother and me. I’ve been selling ours little by little because we could never possibly drink it all. I’d be happy to give you my broker’s name if you want it. He’s done a good job for us. Your mo
m used him when she sold a few cases.”

  That’s where my mom got the money for Brittany and the lawyers. “Thank you, Mike. I’ll call you tomorrow about that.”

  He nods and makes a hasty retreat.

  I say to my sister, “I’ll sell it all and you can have half. Please? I insist.”

  Megan shakes her head. “Still not interested. But what about finding something that’s supposed to explain things?” My sister’s eyes cut toward Brittany, whose back is to us as she reads all the labels aloud in what sounds to me like perfect French.

  I’d explained about Brittany’s confession and what Bert said when I’d asked my sister to join us. “If the Twain book is here, and the wine, then that only leaves whatever is in the pantry at the house. Come on, guys. We need to go. Preferably before Uncle Frank figures out what we have.”

  I grab two expensive bottles of wine from the rack and shove them into my brother-in-law’s hands. “Keep these for a special occasion. No arguments.”

  Lance looks at Megan, who shrugs, and then at his brother, Dylan, who’s standing by the door watching Gage and my uncle fight. “Should I? Sawyer needs this worse than we do.”

  Dylan grins. “Doubt Sawyer will take no for an answer, but they’re your eardrums.”

  Lance kisses me on the cheek. “Thank you, Sawyer.”

  “Thank my mom.”

  After I lock up and wave to Mike, we all race back to our cars, leaving Gage and my uncle still arguing in the parking lot. Dylan, Brittany, and I arrive at my house first.

  I want a chance to see what’s behind the pantry before my uncle arrives, so as soon as Dylan stops the car, I run to the house.

  Once inside, Dylan jogs after me toward the kitchen while Brittany lets Coop out of the laundry room. I skid to a stop in front of the pantry and dive right in, throwing cans aside as fast as I can. My inner OCD freak is cringing at how long it’ll take me to put all of it back in order when I’m done. Dylan and I have it mostly cleaned out when Brittany kneels beside me.

  She says, “Want me to open this?”

  I turn and blink at her. “You know how?”

  Brittany nods. “Your mom showed me. I think I know what’s behind here.” Her fingers dance between the shelves, and suddenly, the front pops open, revealing shelves with two fat envelopes resting on them.

  My sister’s family joins us just as Brittany pulls out the two legal-size envelopes. Tears form in Brittany’s eyes as she hands them over. “I’ve seen these a few times. These are the papers your mom had drawn up. In this envelope are the ones you need when I’m sick or whatever. The other is just a bunch of legal stuff that says Zoe adopted me.”

  Dylan says to a visibly disappointed Collin, who was hoping for buried treasure or some such, “Hey. I figured out Sawyer had a PlayStation a few nights ago. Want to go check it out?”

  Collin’s face lights up. “Yeah! Let’s go!”

  Dylan runs a hand down my arm as he passes by to follow our nephew to the living room. I’m grateful he’s distracting Collin from any potential drama once my uncle gets here. Because there will be drama if Brittany is entitled to the trust too.

  After the guys are gone, my sister says, “Do I want to know how he knows you had a PlayStation when the kids didn’t even know?”

  “Dylan stayed over on the couch to protect me the other night. He had to stay up anyway, so he played with it.”

  My sister grunts in disbelief while Brittany grins and says, “Never pegged you for the video-game type.”

  I inherited it from a former roommate right before I’d moved here. I’ve never even used it, but Brittany doesn’t need to know that. “I’m just full of surprises.” I hold out my hand for the paperwork.

  Gage and my uncle join us in the kitchen too.

  My uncle growls, “What’d you find, Sawyer?”

  I draw a deep breath and slowly open the envelope. Inside is a stack of legal papers, and my mom left a note attached to the front. I clear my throat and read aloud, “Taa-daa! I knew you guys would figure out the puzzle. I know I wasn’t always the best mother, but somehow, I still ended up with the best daughters any mother could wish for. You raised each other at times, despite your goofy parents. So, I hope you both can find it in your hearts to help raise your new sister too. Good karma follows your spirit through all your many lives, and Brittany is a gem who needs her sisters to help her shine her brightest. Just like both of you do. Love you for eternity. Mom.”

  That is so something our incredibly kind mother would do. It brings tears to my eyes.

  I catch my sister’s gaze, and she smiles and nods in agreement. We both understand why our mom took Brittany in. It was our mom’s incredible big heart that made it easier to excuse the crazy, irresponsible things she often did.

  Uncle Frank grabs the papers from my grasp and hands them to Gage. “I’m not letting a street rat get a portion of the trust. Fix this!”

  Brittany holds up her palms. “I don’t want anything. I should go.”

  “Nope.” I pull Brittany beside me. “You’re stuck with us. Legally. Might as well get used to it.”

  Megan nods. “I’m happy to have a new sister, Brittany.” Megan draws Alexandra beside her. “Alex and Collin could use a cool aunt.”

  “Hey!” I’d take offense to that, but I’m happy to have Brittany too.

  Gage hands the papers back to me. “These appear to be in order. And if so, Brittany is an equal heir to the trust.”

  My uncle is turning purple, he’s so mad. “Not going to happen. I’ll hire a lawyer from the city and fight this. Until then, no one spends another dime of the trust’s money!” He stomps out of my kitchen, and after a few moments, the front door slams shut.

  I smile and say, “Who wants to tell Brittany the good news? Gage?”

  Gage grins. “Brittany, assuming these papers check out, you’ll probably never get a lump sum of money from the trust, but you can go to any college you choose. Anywhere in the world, all expenses paid.”

  Brittany looks at me first and then Megan to confirm. “Anywhere I want? Even, like, Oxford?”

  Megan says, “If you can get in, you can go. Please, take advantage of it. Especially because it’ll piss off Uncle Frank.”

  Dylan appears by my side, and I ask him, “How long have you been standing there?”

  He says, “Long enough,” before gently pulling me out of the kitchen and to the front porch. After the front door closes behind us, he asks, “Do I want to know how Zoe ended up with Brittany?”

  “Better not to ask.” I stand on my tiptoes and hug Dylan. “I might actually miss solving crimes with you. Parts of it was fun. Thanks for saving me from Wade today.”

  When I lean away, he pulls me right back. “There’s always going to be a new crime you can help me with. And we still have that golf ball to get to the bottom of. How about we leave it to be continued?” His eyes fill with hope.

  As I stare into those blue eyes, remembering how much I used to love him, against my better judgment, I whisper, “Yes. To be continued.”

  Also by Tamra Baumann

  It Had to Be Series:

  It Had to Be Him

  It Had to Be Love

  It Had to Be Fate

  It Had to Be Them

  Heartbreaker Series:

  Seeing Double

  Dealing Double

  Crossing Double

  Matchmaker Series:

  Matching Mr. Right

  Perfectly Ms. Matched

  Matched for Love

  Truly A Match

  About the Author

  Tamra Baumann is an award-winning author of light-hearted contemporary romance and cozy mystery. A reality-show junkie, she justifies her addiction by telling others she’s scouting for potential character material. She adamantly denies she’s actually living vicariously in their closets. Tamra resides with her real-life characters—her husband, kids, and their adorable goldendoodle in the sunny Southwest. Visit her online at: www.ta
mrabaumann.com