Aromatherapy & Arsenic (A Cozy Spa Mystery Book 7)

by Jenn Cowan

  Bobby smirks. “She’s holding up ok and your dad hopes to have her out of jail within the next hour. Judge Holliday was out of town on a fishing trip, but your dad was able to get a hold of him and convince him to come back to town. He should be pulling in anytime now. The joys of a small town. In the big city, she’d be waiting until Monday for a hearing.”

  I nod in agreement then ask, “Did she say how her prints got on the arsenic bottle?”

  Bobby shakes his head. “She doesn’t have any clue, but she did say Lindy had her sorting all kinds of bottles and things before passing out dinner. Maybe the killer snuck the bottle in to ensure her prints were on it so they could frame her? She also admitted to moving Lindy’s cup out of the way, but swears she didn’t put anything in it.” He sighs and rakes a hand through his dark hair. “Everyone in town knows about their rivalry. Nikki’s the perfect scape goat.” He stares at the ceiling for a moment before asking, “What’s going on at the morgue? There were a bunch of firetrucks and cops. No one will tell me anything. I figured you knew something.”

  I perk up at his words. “What? Firetrucks? Was there a fire?”

  Bobby furrows his brow. “I know more than the infamous Autumn Fisher?”

  Josh coughs out, “Parker”

  Bobby chuckles. “My apologies. Autumn Parker.”

  I roll my eyes at Bobby. “What do you know? Travis dropped me off earlier when his scanner went off calling all units to the morgue, but he wouldn’t let me go with him. I haven’t heard from him either.”

  “He looked like he was in the thick of things. I’m sure he’ll call once he has a chance.”

  The doorbell rings again.

  We all stare at each other.

  Then Josh peeks out the window and sighs. “Guess he decided to tell you in person.”

  I shoot him an apologetic expression. I told Josh about what Travis said earlier. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. Besides, Josh mentioned Travis still being in love with me earlier so it didn’t come as a surprise to him. Still, I’m sure me spending all this time with Travis isn’t easing his mind. Josh knows I love him, but I’m not sure I would be ok with him solving cases with his ex-girlfriend or having her show up late at night to discuss the case.

  “Is anyone going to get the door?” Bobby inquires, raising an eyebrow at me and Josh. “Is there something going on I don’t know about?”

  Josh shakes his head as I stand to answer the door.

  “Autumn, I’m sorry it’s so late, but I saw your light on and Bobby’s car in the driveway. Is everything ok?” He coughs as he enters the threshold. He smells of smoke and his clothes are covered in soot.

  “What happened to you?” I ask, covering my nose.

  “There was a fire,” he replies, scanning the room, his gaze falling on Bobby. “Everything ok with Nikki?”

  Bobby nods. “Mr. Fisher should have her out before midnight. I’m waiting for his call to go pick her up. What happened at the morgue?”

  “Someone set it on fire.” Travis rakes a hand through his hair, but doesn’t move to step into the room.

  I gasp. “That’s awful. Was anyone hurt?”

  He shakes his head. “No, but Lindy’s gone.”

  “Gone as in taken?” I think back to a couple of cases ago where a corpse got up and walked out of the morgue.

  “No, gone as in she’s been burnt to a crisp along with all the evidence and her autopsy report hadn’t been entered into the system yet.”

  My heart starts to beat wildly in my chest and I can feel a panic attack coming on. “You mean…”

  He gives me a knowing look and nods. “It’s all gone. Everything that could help us steer this investigation in another direction… away from Nikki. It’s all a pile of ash.”

  I’m speechless. This is a huge road block, but not the end of the world, right? I’ve solved plenty of cases with using the autopsy report, but this case is different. The report would probably have been helpful since we don’t have any solid leads besides Nikki. “What about the coroner? What’s his name? He’s new in town.”

  Travis scratches his neck. “Duke. Dr. Duke Bain. We haven’t been able to locate him yet.”

  “What? I thought you said no one was hurt?”

  “Well we didn’t find any sign of him being at the morgue. His car wasn’t there so we assumed he was at his apartment, but when a unit went over there no one could find him. We checked around town to see if he was at a restaurant or the new bowling alley, but so far nothing.”

  “Did you call him?”

  He shoots me an ‘of course we did’ look. “It’s turned off and we can’t trace it.”

  “That’s strange for a doctor. Don’t they always have their phones on?”

  “He’s a coroner, not an ER doc, Autumn.”

  I chew on my lip for a moment, contemplating where the new coroner could be then a thought crosses my mind, “Do you think whomever set fire to the morgue kidnapped him?”

  Travis nods and crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s definitely a possibility, but we’re hoping he just went to Villsboro for the night and will be back tomorrow. Someone mentioned it being his and his wife’s anniversary.”

  “Do you know what caused the fire?”

  “Dave’s not sure yet, but he thinks it was a match and gasoline. Someone must have thought there was something for the coroner to link them to the murder or as the captain suggested, it could have been someone getting revenge on this new guy. Supposedly, we don’t know much about him.”

  “Hmm. Seems strange.”

  “That it does.” Travis glances around the room until his eyes fall on the list. “Any progress on a suspect list.”

  I groan and rub my eyes. “Unfortunately, no. There’s a few people I want to talk to, but no one screams ‘I murdered Lindy’.”

  Travis laughs. “If it were that easy, I’d be out of job.”

  I snort then cover my nose as all three men laugh at my expense. I shoot Josh a warning look and he coughs to cover his laugh.

  “Sorry, babe. Your snort is cute though.” Josh gets up from the couch, careful not to wake the sleeping puppy curled in a ball next to him. He walks over and pulls me into his side. “Well guys, we can pick up here tomorrow. My girl needs her rest,” he declares, kissing the side of my head.

  Bobby says his ‘good nights’ and waves before leaving.

  Travis toes the hardwood and seems to have something on his mind.

  I kiss Josh on the cheek and whisper for him to give us a moment.

  He nods, scoops up the puppy and heads to the bedroom.

  “What’s up, Travis?”

  He cringes slightly. “I hate when you call me that.”

  I cock my head to the side. “What? Travis? That’s your name silly.”

  “No, you always called me Trav. When you called me by my full name, it meant I was on your bad side.”

  I shrug. “You always used to call me Aut and now, you call me Autumn. How is calling you by your full name any different?”

  He opens his mouth then closes it. “Never mind. I’d better be going.” He starts for the door.

  “What’s up? There’s something besides me calling you by your actual name.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  I step in front of him to block his exit. “Tell me. There’s something wrong. What is it?”

  Travis stops trying to get out the door, but doesn’t look at me. “I found something, but I’m not sure what it means.”

  I don’t press. Sometimes Travis needs a minute to process his thoughts before letting anyone in on them. If he found something, it’s something big and could probably blow this case wide open.

  “Remember Raphael telling us Lindy had a boyfriend?” He glances at me to be sure I’m with him.

  I nod, but keep my lips shut.

  “I think I know who it is.”

  My eyes grow wide, but I still don’t dare utter a word.

  “I think it was t
he new coroner.”

  I blink because I was not expecting that. “Why do you think that?”

  “When we were picking through the fire, all of which was strangely contained to just the examination room and thankfully, didn’t take out the whole building, I found some of Lindy’s things in his desk drawer.”

  “What kind of things? Like evidence things or other things?”

  “There was a picture of her on his desk. A tube of bright red lipstick in one of his top drawers and there was even a change of her clothes in his closet.”

  I furrow my brow. “Maybe Raphael brought those things over. Lindy didn’t have any family so it makes sense for him to bring over an outfit for her to be buried in, her favorite make-up and even a picture so they ensure she looks like herself.”

  “Shouldn’t he have taken it to the funeral home? Not the morgue?”

  I shrug. “He’s grieving not to mention swamped. Maybe Dr. Bain offered to take that stuff over to the funeral home.”

  “Maybe, but the fire and then his disappearance. I’m adding him to our suspect list.”

  I smirk. “Well he’s at the top of list if you don’t count Nikki because I don’t have anyone else to add.”

  “What about Raphael?”

  “What about him?”

  “He seems awful eager to step into Lindy’s place and take over. Maybe he killed her so he could have her business?”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “How could you even suggest that? We’ve known Raphael for years. We all grew up together. Went to high school together. He and Lindy were best friends. There’s no way he killed her.”

  “Autumn, we have to be objective. We don’t know what went on behind closed doors and he gave us that ridiculously long list.” He points at the papers on the coffee table. “Maybe he’s trying to keep us busy questioning everyone else so we don’t think to even look at him.”

  I chew on my lower lip and think about what he’s saying. “I guess… Josh and I could go talk to him tomorrow after church.”

  Travis flinches as if my working with Josh hurts him, but quickly recovers. “I’ll interview a few other suspects on the list after I get some sleep.” He yawns and rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands.

  “What suspects? Which ones?” I start for the list, but Travis stops me.

  “Autumn, it can wait. Get some sleep. We’ll reconvene in the morning.” He yawns again. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything else and you let me know what you find out from Raphael. Deal?”

  “Of course. I’ll call as soon as I get done talking to him.” I stand up straight and salute him.

  He smirks. “You do that… goodnight, Mrs. Parker.”

  I open the door. “Night, Detective,” I reply, with a glare.

  Travis opens his mouth to say something sarcastic, I’m sure, when his phone pings. He checks it and his face pales.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “They found the coroner.”

  “Oh, good. Where is he?”

  “At the morgue.”

  “Well let’s go talk to him.” I reach for my coat, not worrying about the fact that I’m in my pajamas.

  “We can’t,” Travis says, putting the phone back in his pocket.

  “Why not?”

  “He’s dead.”

  11

  The church bells seem louder this morning or maybe it’s because I didn’t get much sleep last night. Even Josh chewing his granola this morning sounded like he was munching on gravel. I sigh and tighten my grip on Josh’s hand as we make our way from the windy parking lot into the warm church. The temperature continues to drop and the weather man’s predicting snow by late this afternoon. It’s two weeks until Thanksgiving and we’re getting our first snow. Missouri weather never ceases to amaze me.

  Josh takes my coat and drapes it over the side of the pew then sits down next to me and wraps an arm around my shoulder before whispering, “You look gorgeous this morning.”

  I tuck a loose curl behind my ear and feel my cheeks warm. I’m wearing a long red maxi dress with a jean jacket. Nothing fancy, but Josh always makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the room. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself,” I reply, checking out his dark jeans and tucked in gray button up shirt.

  He smiles and kisses my temple then turns his attention to Violet, who asked all of us to turn to a page in the hymnal.

  She begins to play the hymn while Pastor John takes his place at the altar and we begin to sing.

  I spot Eddie a couple pews in front of us. He’s fidgeting with his suit collar causing his gold wedding band to reflect off the light. He and Violet finally got married last month and just got back from their honeymoon a week ago.

  Josh squeezes my arm to draw my attention to the front of the church.

  We all rise as Pastor John begins the service.

  I spot Travis, Cat and Regina in the pew across from us.

  Cat gives me a small wave and I smile back at her.

  Travis catches the exchange and nods at me before lifting an eyebrow.

  I frown and quirk one of my eyebrows back at him.

  He taps his phone then clears his throat when Regina pinches his side and shoots me a perturbed look.

  I feel like we’re in high school getting caught passing notes in class.

  Josh hip bumps me and I give him a sheepish smile before turning back to Pastor John. My fingers are itching to check my phone so when Pastor John invites us to sit down, I excuse myself to the bathroom.

  Travis catches my eye with a smirk before focusing back on the sermon.

  I hustle to the bathroom and yank my phone from my purse. Before I can read what Travis sent me someone clears their throat behind me. I yelp and jump almost a mile.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you,” Margo May Martin says, stepping out of the stall. “How are you, Autumn?”

  “Fine, Margo and you?”

  She sighs. “Well, I’d be better if Lindy were still alive to run my son, Gabriel’s first birthday party today.”

  “Oh, well we all wish she were still alive.”

  “Not everyone,” Margo mutters under her breath.

  “Excuse me?”

  Margo huffs. “It’s no surprise Lindy was a flirt. Half the town wanted her to throw their parties and the other half would have rather thrown her off a cliff.”

  “Anyone in particular?”

  Margo moves to the counter and washes her hands before opening her purse to pull out a tube of bright pink lipstick. She swipes it over her lips then presses them together. “Well you didn’t hear this from me, but rumor has it Lindy was dating a married man.”

  I gasp even though I knew Lindy was dating someone. I just didn’t think she’d actually date a married one. I mean she was a flirt for sure, but to date a married guy, I guess she did flirt with Josh after we were married. Maybe he was right that she liked the challenge. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure. I saw them together once.”

  “You did? Who is it?”

  Margo blots her lips with a paper towel then throws it in the trash. She fluffs her shoulder length brown hair then turns to face me. “I never saw his face. He was wearing a ball cap and they were kissing in the park. Something about him seemed familiar though.”

  “Any guesses?”

  “Oh, sure.”

  “Care to share?”

  She smiles and says, “Well I would add Dr. Puckett to your list for sure… well maybe more so his wife. She was at the dinner and kept glaring at Lindy all night. Then there’s the new coroner, Duke Bain. Lindy was flirting with him at the party too. His wife did not look happy either.”

  I keep my mouth shut on the fact that the coroner’s dead. No one in Daysville knows yet, which is surprising, but it’s only a matter of time. “Anyone else?”

  “Oh, that new dentist Dr. Puckett was going to bring in… I can’t think of his name, but I did see him and Lindy in a heated argument the other day.”

/>   “Really? Did you hear what it was about?”

  She shakes her head. “I was in my car. They were in the parking lot and when Lindy saw me, she put on a fake smile and went into business mode. I didn’t want to pry.” She taps her chin. “I’m not sure that guy is married though and it didn’t look like a lover’s quarrel. Lindy looked about ready to gut the guy. I’ve heard he’s a crook.”

  “Hmm. Seems to be the rumor.”

  “And, of course, there’s Raphael.”

  I jerk back in surprise. “Raphael? Why? He’s her best friend and right-hand man, not to mention there’s no way they were dating plus Raphael isn’t even married.”

  Margo snorts and waves a hand. “No, he’s not and this has nothing to do with love. He’s been vying for her business for years. They were arguing about it one day when I came in to talk about my son’s party. I caught the end of it. Seems Raphael wanted a bigger role in the business. To be partners, but Lindy wasn’t having it. She was too much of a control freak to let anyone be her partner. She preferred minions to do her work, not an equal.”

  I mull over everything Margo’s told me. “Have you told the police any of this?”

  “Oh, Autumn. You’re more of a detective than any of those morons in that department, minus Travis, of course. You’ll be the one who’ll solve this case just like the other ones. Make no mistake about that.” Margo pats my arm.

  I give her a small smile. This trip to the bathroom has definitely been enlightening and helped narrow down my suspect list.”

  Margo squeezes my hand. “I hope this information helps. I’m forever grateful to you for finding my sweet Darla all those years ago.” She pauses then says, “Come to my son’s party today. Raphael will be there along with Dr. and Mrs. Puckett and Mrs. Bain. Since she’s new in town, I made a point to befriend her. She’s a little strange, but who isn’t in this town. Maybe you can get them alone to question them.”

  “You invited them to your son’s birthday party?”

  Margo laughs. “He’s one so it’s family and friends. It was supposed to be a small gathering, but I couldn’t help myself. Getting pregnant with baby Gabriel was hard.” She swallows and blinks back tears. “I can’t not celebrate his birthday in style. You know?”