Tj Jensen Cozy Mystery Boxed Set 2: Books 6-10

by Kathi Daley

  Making a quick decision, I stood up, told Echo to stay, and ran as fast as I could to Kyle. I jumped into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He seemed surprised but managed to catch me without falling over. I looked him in the eye and then leaned forward ever so slowly. I gently and hesitantly kissed him on the lips. His arms tightened around my body, and as my heart raced in anticipation, he pulled me closer and deepened the kiss.

  I’m not sure how long we stood there kissing, but at some point Bookman and Doc took the animals into the house. I pulled back slightly and looked Kyle in the eye. “I missed you.”

  He smiled. “I missed you too.”

  Chapter 9

  Bookman had taken Kyle and Doc home so they could retrieve their own vehicles and freshen up after their long flight, but both promised to return for the evening festivities. Jenna came by with all four girls who were now playing in the pool, while I made the rounds to ensure that everyone who had entered the cook-off had everything they needed.

  I had to admit I was on an emotional roller coaster that afternoon. I was so happy Kyle was home and hopeful about what the future might hold for us. I was looking forward to tasting all the entries from this year’s cook-off and grateful to have a chance to catch up with friends and neighbors I hadn’t seen in a while.

  “I think my favorite part of the cook-off is the smell,” Jenna said as she walked over to join me.

  “Hmm,” I responded as I stared out at the lake, which was dotted with boats of all types, shapes, and sizes on this sunny summer afternoon.

  “I’m sorry Doc couldn’t enter his brisket this year. There are always a lot of delicious entries, but his brisket really can’t be beat.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Are you even listening to me?”

  I turned and looked at Jenna. “Of course.”

  “Somehow I doubt that. Are you thinking about the investigation?”

  I grinned. “No. Not that.”

  “Your dad?”

  I put my arms up in the air and twirled around in a circle. “No, not Dad.”

  Jenna frowned, and then it was as if a light had gone on. “You talked to Kyle.”

  “I did.” I paused. “Actually, talking really wasn’t involved.”

  “Huh?”

  I blushed as I thought of the total abandon I’d demonstrated when I greeted him. That really wasn’t like me at all. I felt like I wanted to dance on the picnic tables while singing a jolly tune. Not that I would. But I couldn’t ever remember being quite this happy. I grabbed both of Jenna’s hands in mine as we stood face to face. “We didn’t really have the opportunity to talk, but I did take your advice and didn’t overthink things. When I saw him, I ran toward him as fast as I could, threw myself in his arms, and kissed him.”

  “And it wasn’t awkward?”

  I grinned and shook my head. “Not even a little bit. It was magical. Probably the most perfect moment of my life.”

  Jenna hugged me. “I’m so glad. You guys are going to be great together. Is he coming back today?”

  “Yeah. Bookman took him home to unpack and get his car, but he promised to be back before Roy gets here with Kate.”

  “Deputy Baldwin, his new partner?”

  I nodded. “Roy thought it would be good if we could all meet. It’s awkward for him to keep things from her. We’re going to have dinner here at the resort. Initially I thought of meeting at the house, but the weather is so perfect I’m thinking maybe we’ll have a picnic on the beach. Why don’t you join us?”

  “I’d like to. Roy’s brought her into the restaurant a few times, but we’ve never had a chance to chat. She seems nice, though.”

  “He hasn’t said much about her. Is she young? Old?”

  Jenna paused. “She’s about thirty, although she’s such a tiny little thing she looks younger. She sort of reminds me of you. She’s petite, but she looks strong, and she wears her confidence for all to see. She likely doesn’t weigh more than a hundred and ten pounds, but she has a way about her that lets you know she could probably wrestle a mountain lion to the ground.”

  I had a feeling I was going to like this woman. “I’m excited to meet her. When Roy said his new partner was a woman I guess I was picturing a female version of him.”

  Jenna laughed. “Not even close.”

  I looked out over the sea of people gathered to sample the meat from the cook-off after the judging was completed. This event had grown in popularity over the years and the resort now offered shuttle buses from town to deal with the parking issue created by so many visitors. The lawn, as well as the beach, was packed, and based on the number of people wandering around with cups of the resort’s signature rum punch in their hand, the bar must be doing a brisk business.

  “It looks like Noah’s waving me over,” I informed Jenna. “He probably wants me to get the judges organized. You can tag along or I can text you when I’m done.”

  “Text me,” Jenna answered, tucking her long blonde hair behind one ear. “I see Frannie over near the ice cream booth. I think I’ll go see if the book she was going to order for me ever came in.” Frannie Edison was the local librarian.

  “I shouldn’t be too long. Maybe we can grab a drink before everyone gets here for dinner. I’ve been running around all day and could use a few minutes to sit down and relax.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Most of the cook-off judges had participated during previous years and knew what to do, but there were a few new ones who needed a quick tutorial on how to proceed and what to look for before they began, so I agreed to take on that duty. I was halfway through my spiel when one of the men I knew from a spin class I’d taken a few times interrupted to let me know he had important information he was sure I’d want to hear.

  “What’s up?” I asked after I had Grandpa come over to finish the introduction to judging speech.

  “I heard what happened to the mayor and your dad. I think I might know something you’d be interested in.”

  “I’m listening.”

  The man looked around. “Not here. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

  He was giving me the creeps, and I hated to invite him into the house, so I suggested we take a walk down to the beach. Both the sand and the water were crowded, but the area up under the trees was only sparsely populated. I located a spot away from everyone, then asked him again what he wanted to tell me.

  “There’s a rumor going around that the mayor was murdered. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is you might want to talk to Sam Wilson.”

  “Sam? Why would Sam kill Judge Harper, or anyone, for that matter?”

  The man looked over his shoulder as if he expected someone to be listening in from behind. Once he was satisfied we were still alone, he proceeded to tell me what I can only describe as a wild and somewhat unbelievable story.

  “Not a lot of people know this, but Sam’s mother lived next door to the mayor.”

  I frowned. “Martha Wilson is Sam’s mother?” I knew both Sam and Martha, and I knew they shared the same last name, but Wilson is a common name and I’d never put together the fact that they were related. Sam talked about his mother a lot, but I guess he had never mentioned who his mother was.

  “If that’s the dame who lives next to the mayor, then yes. Anyway, I ran into Sam a couple of weeks ago and we decided to go for a drink. One drink turned into four, and before long we were both spilling secrets best left unspoken. I won’t go into a lot of detail other than to tell you the reason Sam was drinking like a fish in the first place was because he was mad at both his mother and the mayor for participating in what he called ‘immoral relations.’”

  My jaw dropped. “Judge Harper was in a relationship with Martha Wilson?”

  “If what he told me was true. Anyway, Sam was more than ju
st a little mad. He was furious. He told me he was going to put a stop to things one way or another.”

  I paused to think. Judge Harper had been a widower for a lot of years, and I’d been aware that he was close to his next-door neighbor. Martha was a widow close to him in age and they seemed to have similar interests. I knew they were friends—good friends—but lovers? Somehow that didn’t seem quite right to me.

  “Thank you for telling me this. I’ll have a chat with Sam.”

  “Don’t tell him I told you nothin’. Sam is an odd sort of character, and everyone knows he has a temper. I wouldn’t want to find myself on the wrong side of it.”

  “I won’t tell him where I heard about his mother and the judge, and I promise I’ll keep your name out of it altogether.”

  The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that a son protecting his mother made as good a suspect as anyone. Sam seemed like a nice enough guy, in a dorky sort of way. He was probably in his mid-forties, had never married, and lived alone. I’d had no idea Martha was his mother, but I did remember thinking on several occasions that, based on his personality, his life choices, and the fact that he referred to his mother all the time, he seemed like a man who was a little too attached to his mother. Could he have found out that his mother and the judge were sleeping together and killed the judge due to some sort of outdated moral code?

  I decided I needed to talk to Martha before I pursued this idea any further, so I tracked down Jenna and let her know I had to run an errand and would be back in an hour. She was fine with helping Noah should he need it, so I grabbed the keys to Grandpa’s truck and took off toward Lakeshore Estates without stopping to speak to anyone else. While the area where Judge Harper and Martha Wilson lived wasn’t all that far from the resort, there were a ton of tourists in town for the holiday, causing the traffic through town to move at a snail’s pace. By the time I reached Mrs. Wilson’s home, a good thirty minutes had passed.

  “Tj, do come in,” Mrs. Wilson said when I knocked on the door of her large ranch-style home with the neatly painted white shutters. “I’ve just made some fresh lemonade. Would you care for some?”

  “The traffic through town was a bear so I really only have a few minutes. I wanted to speak to you about Judge Harper.”

  I noticed a look of genuine distress on Mrs. Wilson’s face. “How about we sit out on the patio, have a cold drink, and talk? It’s such a nice day.”

  I was hoping for something quicker, but I could see Mrs. Wilson was genuinely upset. I supposed I could text Jenna and let her know I’d be longer than I’d originally predicted. “I guess I have time for a glass of lemonade.”

  Mrs. Wilson smiled in relief. It occurred to me that she might not have had anyone to talk to about the loss of her friend and neighbor.

  “Please do come in.” Mrs. Wilson opened the door wider. “The patio is at the back of the house.”

  I looked around the immaculate house as I walked through. The complementary neutral colors provided a calming effect that I found pleasant. White sofas and armchairs were arranged artfully around a white brick fireplace. Whitewashed pine end tables and a large matching coffee table blended nicely with the light pine hardwood floors. The walls were painted a pale coffee color with contrasting baseboards and molding in a warm chocolate brown.

  The color scheme continued out onto the patio with accents of red. Climbing roses trailed up a white lattice, completely covering one entire wall of the soft beige exterior of the house. The brick-red patio, which was a novelty for this area since most sitting areas tended to be wooden decking or cement blocks, was furnished with tan wicker furniture with dark brown cushions.

  I sat down on one of the padded patio chairs arranged around a glass-topped table and took a long sip of the cold tart liquid. “I’m here to ask you about something I learned during the course of my investigation into Judge Harper’s death.”

  “You wonder if Sam could have done it,” Mrs. Wilson jumped right in. “The new woman deputy wondered that as well.”

  “She came to speak to you?”

  Mrs. Wilson nodded. “I told her there was absolutely no way my Sammy had anything to do with Harold’s accident.”

  “According to what I’ve been told, Sam believed you were involved in an intimate relationship with the judge.”

  Mrs. Wilson lowered her eyes. She paused briefly before she answered, “I’m afraid I handled things with Sam rather poorly. He’s a good son who looks out for me, but he does have a jealous, possessive side. I suppose that’s why I hid my relationship with Harold from him.”

  “Had it been going on for long?” It really wasn’t any of my business, but I gave in to my curiosity.

  Mrs. Wilson gazed toward the brick wall that separated her property from his. A look of longing crossed her face before she glanced back toward me. “Harold and I lived next door to each other for more than forty years. The four of us, my husband and me and him and his wife, were close friends for most of that time. After his wife died we no longer went on trips together or spent quite as many weekends in one another’s company, but he maintained a relationship with my husband until he passed away eighteen months ago, so I saw him often. When my husband passed, Harold and I began sharing a meal and a card game at the end of the evening. We were both alone and we’d been close friends for so long. At some point our relationship took on an intimate aspect that I knew Sam would never understand, so I hid it from him. A few weeks ago Sam visited me unexpectedly and caught us in a delicate situation. He was so angry. He stormed out of the house, and I didn’t see him again until after Harold died in the accident.”

  I sat back in my chair and considered my response. “Do you know whether Sam ever confronted the judge about your affair?”

  Mrs. Wilson nodded. “Harold told me Sam stopped by his place when I wasn’t at home. Strong words were exchanged between them. Sam wanted Harold to promise not to see me again and he refused. He told me he tried to reason with Sam, to explain how it was between us, but he wasn’t having any of it. Sam has known Harold for most of his life. They were close when Sam was younger. He wouldn’t kill him.”

  I didn’t intend to argue with the woman, but I didn’t necessarily share her certainty that Sam was innocent. If Kate had been by to speak to Mrs. Wilson, it appeared the fact that she and Judge Harper had been intimate must be known by both deputies. Maybe I’d find a way to slip it into the conversation that evening.

  “As long as I’m here and we’re discussing Judge Harper’s accident, I wondered if you could think of anyone else who might have wanted to hurt him.”

  Mrs. Wilson frowned. “Harold and I shared intimate details about our lives after we both lost our spouses. I do know there are some members of the community who found fault with decisions he’d made in his roles as judge and mayor. I find it hard to believe anyone would go so far as to kill him because of those disputes.”

  “I don’t disagree with you, but someone slit his car’s brake line. Did the judge mention anyone in particular he was having a problem with?”

  Mrs. Wilson paused. She narrowed her gaze and tapped a finger against her chin. After a moment she answered, “No. I’m sorry. I can’t say that anyone comes to mind.”

  I thanked Mrs. Wilson for the drink and the conversation and headed back toward the west shore. The traffic was even worse on the return trip, so by the time I finally returned to the resort I had been gone over two hours.

  When I saw Kyle’s car in the resort driveway my heart rate increased dramatically. Suddenly I felt shy and insecure. When he’d been here earlier in the day I’d acted without thinking, but now that I’d had time to think about things…

  I slid out of the driver’s side of the truck, then bent over to greet Echo, Pumpkin, and Trooper. Ashley, Gracie, Kristi, and Kari were playing a game of badminton on the lawn in front of the house, while Doc, Helen, and Bookman looked
on. I didn’t see Jenna, who must still be at the cook-off, and, more importantly, I didn’t see Kyle. I was about to approach the group gathered on the lawn when a pair of arms reached out from behind me and pulled me back to a more isolated spot behind the truck.

  “I’ve missed you,” Kyle said before spinning me around and kissing me in a burst of pent-up passion. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let my actions be my answer. I felt my heart pound and my entire body begin to tingle as he deepened the kiss. The world fell away as sensation took over for thought. I ran my fingers though Kyle’s long blond hair as his arms tightened around me and my body melted into his.

  A short time later I took a step back and came up for air. “As nice as this is, we seem to have an audience.” I nodded toward the gang on the lawn, who had all stopped to watch the show. “Perhaps we should pick this up later. When we’re alone.”

  “Yeah.” Kyle sighed as he fought to control his breathing, which appeared as rapid as my own. “That might be a good idea.”

  I took one long deep breath and blew it out slowly. I needed to get my head back in the game. Kyle’s kiss had taken my imagination to a place which most certainly wasn’t appropriate for mixed company. I looked around the immediate area and hoped my thoughts weren’t readily evident. “I don’t see Jenna. Do you know if she’s still helping Noah?”

  “She’s down on the beach talking to Frannie and Hazel. They have a new theory about who might have tampered with Judge Harper’s vehicle. Is that where you were? Tracking down a lead?”

  It took a minute for my mind to register and understand what Kyle was referring to. The case. Of course he was asking about where I’d been physically and luckily had no idea where I’d just been mentally. I tried to control it, but I couldn’t help but blush. I quickly looked away and glanced at everyone on the lawn. They’d gone back to the girls’ game now that Kyle and I were just talking. No one seemed to be paying us the least bit of attention.