Gamma needed my help. I had left Lauren without saying goodbye. What about poor little Tyke, now that Jason was gone? And then there was Cocoa Puff and Sunlight.
“We’ll settle here for the night,” Smulder said, standing next to the window, lifting the curtain back a sliver to peer out into the dusk.
The town was cute, the apartment situated in the center of it down the road from a coffee shop and bakery, but it wasn’t Gossip. No strange restaurant owners or moody librarians, and where was the smiling chef or the guests or the—
“Charlie,” Brian said and let the curtain settle. “You know this is for the best.”
It wasn’t even a question. I didn’t agree with the concept, but what could I say? He was in charge as my liaison and “babysitter,” as per our boss’s instruction. “Why this place for a safehouse?” I asked, getting up from a plastic-covered sofa. “It’s in the middle of town.”
“Best place to hide is in plain sight,” Brian said.
I nodded. I’d already known that, but I’d felt like picking this place apart. There was no reason to, other than my bad mood. We weren’t even close to me being “underground”—that fresh heck was still to come—but the fact that I was so close to it irked me.
It wasn’t that I had to experience it. It was leaving Gossip behind.
Sadness and anger had settled around my shoulders like a dark cloak.
“I’m going out to get us dinner,” Brian said. “Stay here, Charlotte.”
“You’re just going to leave me here? I thought you were my babysitter.”
He rolled his eyes at me and left.
Smulder was more than capable of looking after himself out there. And, on the off-chance Kyle or one of his allies was in this town, they wouldn’t be looking out for him.
I walked through the tiny, two-bedroom apartment and into the bathroom. I splashed water on my face, frowning at my dark hair in the mirror. I’d gotten used to it, now, but I still missed my short blonde locks. Not that it mattered now.
Quickly, I marched through to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of scissors out of the drawer and returned to the bathroom.
“Time for a change,” I muttered and started cutting.
No one could accuse me of being a competent hairdresser, but by the time I was done, my hair didn’t look too bad. I cut it into a short brown bob, nothing like either of my previous hairstyles. I kind of looked like a soccer mom.
Afterward, I cleaned up my hair then walked through to the bedroom that would be mine and shut the door.
Cutting the hair was meant to be cathartic, but I felt empty instead. Like I’d cut off an important part of myself by removing the hair, a part that was connected to all the people I cared about. And the town I loved.
Town you love? You’re hopeless.
I flopped onto the single bed and covered my eyes with my palms. I couldn’t let these emotions overwhelm me, but it was so plain now that I had changed. I didn’t want to be here. But if I was in Gossip, I…
“Stop it.” I sat up right and shook out my hands. “You’re fine.” I brought my phone out of my pocket and stared at the screen.
I needed to know everything was OK back in Gossip. I’d throw my phone out and get another burner on the road tomorrow.
Just one last call to check.
I dialed my grandmother’s number.
“Charlotte,” my grandmother answered, her tone hushed.
“How are you?” I asked.
“I imagine I’m a side better than you,” she replied. “But things have gone downhill since you left.”
“What do you mean?” My stomach sank.
“They’ve closed the inn,” Gamma said. “We’ve had to leave.”
“But I thought…”
“Apparently, one of the guests tried to sneak upstairs while no one was looking and got caught,” Gamma said. “Of course, they wouldn’t tell me which guest but, regardless, they’ve all been moved out to the motel.”
“Ugh.”
“Probably for the best since poor Lauren isn’t in the mental state to cook for anyone,” Gamma continued. “And that Josie has other duties to attend to at her bakery.”
The inn was closed. I was gone. Gamma had no leads on the murderer.
“How’s Lauren holding up?” I asked.
“I’m staying at her home for the time being,” Gamma said, and it was followed by the shuffling of her footsteps and a door closing. “I can’t sleep, so I’m looking after the baby while she rests. But she’s in a bad way, Charlotte. When I see Jason again, I’m going to throttle him.”
I gritted my teeth. “What’s gotten into him? This doesn’t make sense. Why would he just abandon her or—could he be in some kind of trouble?”
“I have no idea,” Gamma replied.
“What about Cocoa and Sunlight?” I asked, suddenly desperate for some connection to the pets that weren’t technically mine.
“They’re with Jordan in the kitten foster center,” Gamma said. “He was allowed to stay to look after them since that part of the inn is locked off from the area where the murder transpired.”
The murder. “Callie’s dead,” I said.
“Indeed.”
“It can’t be the stalker. It’s got to be one of the three left, right? Gerry, Sherise, Brixton. Callie’s out of the running, unless she was working with one of them and whatever deal they had went sour.”
“Charlotte,” Gamma said. “Is this really how you want to spend the phone call? You’re going to have to leave this to me, unfortunately. And stay safe.” My grandmother’s voice was laden with regret.
“But… I—I want to help.”
“I know you do, dear, but things have changed now. I don’t want you to worry about the murders. Focus on yourself. You are for more important to me than anyone else,” Gamma said.
I teared up and swallowed hard. “Right. OK. Well, I’ll call you again as soon as I can.” I didn’t have to tell her it would be from a different number or that she shouldn’t call me back or try to. She knew the procedures better than I did.
“Take care, Charlotte.” Gamma broke off for a second and sighed. “It was a pleasure having you home, even if it was just for a little while.” And then she was gone.
I lay back on the bed and allowed myself a good old-fashioned cry.
28
I lay awake in bed until midnight, staring at the ceiling. The pizza Brian and I had eaten for dinner had been a tad on the greasy side and nothing in comparison to Lauren’s cooking. Thinking about that hurt a little, but I didn’t let it show.
Brian hadn’t said a word to me during dinner. He knew me by now and that I didn’t want to talk. I was prickly at the best of times, and now was not the best of times.
The night shrouded me, settling against my skin and brining memories with it.
Gamma laughing in the kitten foster center before it had been set up.
Lauren cooking cupcakes in the oven.
Cocoa curled up at the base of my bed, and Sunlight purring in my lap.
Stop it. That’s not going to help.
I would’ve been fine if I could reach out to my grandmother and find out what was going on. Or would I have been? Probably not, to be honest. None of this was fine.
You didn’t really think you’d be able to stay in Gossip forever, did you?
I hadn’t, but at the same time, it’d started feeling that way. Like Gossip was my real home, even though I was constantly maintaining my cover.
I couldn’t stay here.
What if Kyle arrived in Gossip after I’d left and exacted his revenge on the people I cared about the most? What if Darling’s killer got away with it because I wasn’t there to help? What if Lauren couldn’t manage without the extra help I provided in the kitchen? What about Jason? What had happened to him?
I sat upright in bed.
I didn’t belong here.
Hiding wasn’t my thing.
And if I had to choose between my fa
mily and friends, and the NSIB, I would choose Gamma and the gang every time.
Doesn’t that make you just as bad as Kyle?
No, Kyle had given up family and the NSIB for himself. That was different. Wasn’t it?
Either way, I couldn’t stay a second longer, not when I was needed so desperately back home. I slipped out of the bed and crept to the door. The lights were still on in the living room, but Brian was asleep on the sofa. He’d drifted off watching TV on mute—a weird habit he’d always kept throughout the years.
I’m sorry. I sent the stray thought his way.
I truly cared about Brian, and he gave me all the butterflies, but Gamma and the inn were more important right now. Brian would take care of himself, and he would always be an NSIB man, through and through.
I grabbed the car keys for the rental off the coffee table then left the apartment behind and headed for the Honda. If I left now and drove nonstop, I’d arrive before sunrise. I’d approach the inn from the creek’s side, sneak through the trees, check on the cats, and hopefully, catch Gamma when she arrived at the inn.
Just the thought of seeing them all again cheered me.
Is this the right thing to do?
Of course, it was. I’d never felt safer than with my grandmother, and I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to my friends while I wasn’t there.
I crept through the trees, keeping along the creek’s bank, and letting the rush of water soothe me. I didn’t know why, but I was on edge, even though I was back in Gossip, in the inn’s grounds. Sure, we hadn’t heard from Special Agent in Charge Grant, but that didn’t mean Kyle had found me.
Then again, I could only believe Smulder would come back to Gossip to fetch me, and that I’d put my career at the NSIB at jeopardy—if I didn’t get removed altogether. The only thing that would keep me safe was the fact that they didn’t want Kyle learning their secrets.
Don’t overthink it. Do what you think is right.
I kept walking, but the scent of smoke stopped me in my track.
Was the inn on fire again? No, it smelled more like barbecue. A fragrant, mushroom-flavored, smoky barbecue.
What on earth?
A glimmer of light came from between the trees, and I turned my back and headed toward it, intrigue getting the better of me. If there was someone on the inn’s property, Gamma would want to know about it.
I stepped between the trees and emerged into a clearing. A shack had been erected in the center, under the shade of the branches, and light flickered in the open windows. Firelight. A column of smoke rose from the chimney.
What on earth?
Someone was cooking in a shack in the middle of the night? A person living on the inn’s grounds who Gamma didn’t know about?
A shadow moved inside the shack, and I closed in on the window. I crouched low, keeping my breathing even.
Was it Kyle? Or was it…?
My eyes widened.
Of course! The figure that’d met Brixton in the woods. How could I have forgotten? He’d handed the stranger a basket, and they dove into the creek and disappeared.
This had to be them.
The basket had food in it.
Mushrooms! The smoky scent of cooking mushrooms.
I rose slowly and peeked into the shack. My gasp caught in my throat.
By the light of the fire, snacking on mushrooms on a skewer, was none other than Jason, Lauren’s missing husband.
29
Anger flooded me
Why was Jason here? Was he the one who’d been meeting Brixton out in the woods? What did it all mean?
I tamped down on my emotions and sneaked around to the front door of the shack. I doubted Jason would attack—he was a little round around the belly and definitely not the fighting type, as evidenced by his mad dash through the forest and subsequent swan dive into the creek. That meant I had him exactly where I wanted him.
Instead of busting the door down, as I so dearly wanted to, I knocked.
The shuffling inside stopped. “Who’s there?” Jason called, timorously.
Your worst nightmare. “Pizza delivery,” I called, my tone dripping with sarcasm, and then I smashed the door open with a swift kick to its middle.
Jason shrieked and dropped his mushroom skewer.
I charged into the room. “Well, well, well,” I said. “There you are, Mr. Harris. Having a nice vacation away from your loving wife and newborn baby?” OK, so Tyke was like three months old, but that didn’t matter in this context.
“I can explain,” Jason stammered.
“I highly doubt that,” I replied. “But you’re going to try anyway.” I marched over to him and grabbed him by the collar, helping him upright. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“But—but—but—”
“Now, Jason. I don’t have all day.”
I marched him out of the shack and into the gray forest—the sun had started rising, and I’d bet my last Glock Gamma was already up at the inn, flitting around the kitten foster center and making sure everything was OK as it could be.
“You’re going to regret skipping out on my friend,” I said.
“I wasn’t skipping out on her!” Jason wailed. “I swear. I just needed a break.”
“From what? Your perfect life?”
“It’s not like that, I—”
“And what’s with the mushrooms, Jason?” I growled. “You stole your wife’s prized possession and ran out on her? You’re deathly allergic to mushrooms!” Lauren had told me so.
“It’s… I—”
“Save it for the judge,” I snapped.
Because my grandmother would be the judge, jury and executioner in this instance. We’d made a load of noise circling to the back of the inn, and as expected, Gamma stood outside under the light from the porch, arms folded.
“Charlotte,” she said. “You’re back from your vacation. And you cut your hair. Good heavens.”
I marched Jason over to the steps and sat him down on the bottom one, like a naughty child in time out. “Stay there.”
And then, I drew Gamma a short way off. “I had to come,” I said. “I couldn’t leave things like this.” In truth, I just couldn’t leave.
“That complicates things,” my grandmother replied, slowly. “But I’m glad to have you back. Whatever comes, whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. Together.”
Gamma extended a hand, and I took it. We shook firmly.
With the best spy in the history of the NSIB on my side, what could possibly go wrong?
Gamma turned on Jason, and if he’d been intimidated by me, it was nothing compared to now. He practically whimpered under her withering gaze.
“Mr. Harris,” she said, coolly, not a hint of anger in her tone—that made her even scarier. “Would you care to explain what on earth is going on?”
He opened his mouth, and his chin wobbled. He snapped it shut again, swallowing.
“I found Mr. Harris in a shack on the edge of the creek, near the border of your property, Georgina. He was cooking skewered mushrooms over an open fire.”
Realization dawned on Gamma’s face. She put together the pieces swiftly. “Brixton gave you the mushrooms,” she said, instantly. “In a basket. Correct?”
Jason nodded, shamefully.
“Why?” I asked.
I had to know what would drive a man to leave his devoted, kind wife and gorgeous baby boy.
“Look, it’s not what you th-think,” Jason stammered. “I love Lauren, but I—look, I just needed some time off. Between all the business stuff that’s been going on, and now the new baby, I just—I can’t wake up again and change another diaper. All I wanted was a weeklong break, and then I’d come back again and continue as normal.”
“Lauren knows you’re gone,” I said. “She tried calling you.”
“I lost my phone in the creek.” Jason hung his head. “I was going to act like everything was normal, and come back… I—”
“Why not go to a hotel
in another town?” Gamma asked. “And why the mushrooms?”
His tongue darted out and wet his lips. “Because I couldn’t afford it. Babies are expensive. And the mushrooms… well, they were just something that happened by chance. I asked Brixton for help getting me food, and that’s what he got for me. That and a couple cupcakes from the kitchen.” Jason fished out a key from his pocket. “I made a copy of Lauren’s key.”
“But you hate mushrooms,” I said.
“I don’t,” he replied. “Lauren just loves them so much I let her eat them off my plate when we go to restaurants. She believes I don’t like them because of that. Look, please don’t tell her about this. I didn’t mean to—”
“Let me get this straight,” I said, slowly, “you stole Lauren’s prized mushrooms, hid from her for a week, refused her calls, broken phone or not, and potentially liaised with a murderer, and you expect us not to say anything to our best friend?”
Jason went even paler, if that was possible. “Wait a second. Murderer?”
“Come now, Mr. Harris.” Gamma pursed her lips at him. “Surely, you don’t expect us to believe you hadn’t heard about Darling’s murder.”
“What? No! Look, I wasn’t anywhere near the inn when that happened. I’ve been staying in the shack. Just ask Brixton, OK?”
“How did you two even meet?” I asked.
Jason sucked in deep breaths to calm himself. He looked convinced we were about to cart him off to the police. Or maybe he was afraid of how Lauren would react when she found out just how terrible he’d been to her. It wasn’t my business to worry about their relationship, but I couldn’t fathom how she’d keep him around if he could flake out like this.
“I met Brixton on the day all the guests arrived for the big party. I came to visit Lauren and tell her I was going away on a business trip, and he caught me… well, I’m not proud of it, but he caught me crying in the downstairs bathroom. He told me he could help me, so we organized to have dinner together that night,” Jason said, gulping. “And we did. I told him about the shack on the edge of the creek, but that I didn’t have any money for food. He said he’d help. I didn’t want him to buy anything, but I had the key to the Shroom Shed so…”
Mint Murder (A Mission Inn-possible Cozy Mystery Book 5) Page 11
