Debut Cozy Mystery Box Set 2

by Dianne Harman

  The event was sponsored by the Men’s Club, and dinner reflected it. From the wedge salad with bacon bits, crumbled Roquefort cheese, bleu cheese dressing, and croutons, to the filet mignon and roasted red potatoes, it was definitely a man’s meal. It was all delicious, however the highlight was the dessert, a stunning chocolate soufflé topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

  When the waiters began serving dessert, Blaine excused himself again and walked up to the podium. “Please, continue eating. Once again I want to thank all of you for coming tonight. I’d like to introduce this year's winners in the various categories.” He proceeded to name the winners and congratulated each one when they came up to the podium to accept their trophy.

  When he had finished with the presentations, he said, “Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. This is something I never thought I would have a chance to do, introduce a winner of the world famous Masters Golf Tournament. I’ve watched this man's career for the last fifteen years, beginning when he was a high school student at Lindsay High School. He won every golf tournament for Lindsay for four years in a row and received a full golf scholarship to the University of Kansas. I know it’s a rival of our university,” he said over the chorus of friendly boos, “but you have to admit that they’ve done a good job with their golf program. Anyway, after graduation this young man spent the next seven years winning one tournament after another, but the Masters always eluded him until this year. Please join me in giving a warm welcome to this year's winner of the Masters Golf Tournament, Jason Wright.”

  The crowd gave Jason a standing ovation. Each man there secretly wished he was the one standing in front of the room and had been the winner of the Masters. Jason gave an upbeat rah-rah “If I did it, you can do it” type of speech that the audience loved. Thirty minutes later, he stepped down from the podium, smiling at the thunderous ovation he received.

  Blaine returned to the podium. “That concludes this evening’s program. The bar will remain open for another hour. You're welcome to stay. I wish I could, but I have to be in court early tomorrow morning.”

  When he got back to the table he said, “Kat, I hope you don’t mind if we leave a little early, but I really do have an early court appearance tomorrow on an important case my office is prosecuting.”

  “That’s fine with me,” she said as she stood up. She turned to the couple on her left, “I really enjoyed talking with you. I hope to see you again sometime soon.”

  Blaine interjected, “You probably will, because I’m hoping you’ll accompany me to our annual dinner dance in two weeks. The tennis club and the golf club have a joint dinner annually, and it’s our biggest social event of the year here at the country club.”

  “Thank you. I’d love to,” Kat said.

  “Have you ever played golf?” he asked a few minutes later as they waited for Scott to bring Blaine's car.

  “Never. My daughter’s an avid tennis player here at the club, but somehow physical exercise has never been my thing, however I do enjoy watching those who have mastered any sport.”

  When they got to her home, he parked the car, got out, opened her door, and walked her up to the porch. She turned to him, “Blaine, as Carl mentioned, my husband was killed in an auto accident over two years ago. I've been reluctant to go to social events since his death, but I really enjoyed tonight. Thank you so much.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Again, thank you.”

  “I'll call you later this week with the details about the dinner dance, but I’m hoping we can do something before then.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, “and good luck tomorrow morning.”

  CHAPTER 4

  “Morning Kat. If you’re here it means six weeks have gone by since your last appointment, but it’s always good to see you. Sit down and let’s get started working on those nasty grey hairs that I can see are starting to peek through.”

  “Thanks, Susie,” she said, putting her tote bag with Jazz in it next to the hairdresser’s stand and sitting back in the chair. “I’ll have the usual color and trim. I’ve finally found a hairdo I like, and one that I can maintain without spending hours on it. I’m glad you talked me into it.”

  “While I’m putting the color on I’ve got a question for you.”

  “Sure. What is it?” Kat asked.

  “I’ve always thought it would be a fun thing to write a book about all the things people tell me. I just found out you’re an author, and I was hoping you could tell me how you got started.”

  Kat stared in the mirror at Susie, not believing what she had just heard. “What makes you think I’m an author?” she asked, her heart thumping in her chest.

  “Well, yesterday Sally Lonsdale was in here, and she was madder than a wet hen. Said the type of writing you did was just sheer filth, and you shouldn’t get paid a red cent for it. Said she didn't see how you had the nerve to show up in church on Sundays. She told me she knew you were the author of a new book about to be published called The Country Club Cover-Up even if you did use the pen name Sexy Cissy.”

  “Why would Sally Lonsdale say those things? What’s she talking about?” Kat asked in an innocent tone of voice.

  “From what she told me she’d been given a copy of the manuscript by someone at the country club. This person told her there was a note from you to Nancy Jennings attached to the manuscript. Apparently the manuscript fell out of Nancy’s tote bag when she was having lunch at the club, and someone there picked it up. She said this person gave a copy of it to her and another guest at the club. She said she’d looked the name Sexy Cissy up on Amazon and discovered there were eight other novels published by an author that writes books using the name Sexy Cissy.”

  “Did she say who the person was at the country club that picked up the manuscript?” Kat asked.

  “No, just that someone had given her a copy of a manuscript called The Country Club Cover-Up. It was about some woman who belonged to a country club, had married an older man, and then had a bunch of affairs. You know how religious Sally is, anyway, she said she was going to talk to Nancy and make sure that book never got published. Said it was an affront to every Christian woman in the world. I guess there was something in the book about the woman going to church on the same day she and a man who worked at the country club had a little secret meeting, if you get my drift. I kinda thought it sounded good, so I asked her if I could read it.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Sally said absolutely not. She was shocked I would even think about reading it. Then she said something I thought was a little strange.”

  “What did she say?”

  “It really bothered me. Her exact words were ‘Sometimes people have to take things into their own hands, and I’m going to make sure that book never sees the light of day.’ That was it. I don’t know what she meant by it, but something about that book really got under her skin. Anyway, are you the author?”

  “I know the person who is the author,” Kat said, hoping that would take care of the question. She wasn’t quite ready to assume the responsibility for being the person who wrote under the pen name of Sexy Cissy. Kat wasn’t sure the small college town where she lived was ready for that kind of information.

  "Okay, I can see you’re not going to give me a straight answer. Actually, if I were you, I’d claim the name. A lot of my customers read books that have sex scenes in them. I could probably sell a lot of them for you. As a matter of fact, I’d like to carry them and sell them right here in the salon.”

  “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind. Oh, one other question. Do you know if Sally ever talked to Nancy?”

  “I don’t know. She mentioned she was going to go over to her house during the day while Carl was at work. She said she didn’t mind being responsible for a book not getting published, but she drew the line at being responsible for Carl finding out that his wife was editing a smut book. She said Carl often spoke in church about how all the problems with the young people toda
y were caused by the filth that was in movies and on television. She said she was sure he’d leave Nancy if he knew she was editing a book like that."

  I wouldn’t call The Country Club Cover-Up a smut book. Yeah, it’s got some pretty sexy scenes in it, but the language is all G-rated. And who's to say there haven’t been lots of women who have belonged to a country club and had an affair with one of the employees?

  “Susie, you could do me a favor by not telling anyone about our conversation or your conversation with Sally. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about what she told you. I’d like you to keep it to yourself for now, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Not a problem, Kat. You're a good customer, but I’m telling you, if that book ever sees the light of day, I’ll be the first one in line to buy it. Matter of fact, think I’ll go on Amazon and pick up a couple of other books Sexy Cissy has written, and no, you don’t need to thank me,” she said winking conspiratorially.

  *****

  “Jazz, I’m going over to the country club, but before I do I need to drop you off at home,” Kat said as she took Jazz out of her tote and put her in the back seat. “The club has a strict policy that no animals are allowed on the premises unless it’s a service dog, and having a Westie for a service dog would be a bit of a stretch I’m not willing to defend.”

  Kat pulled into her driveway, picked up Jazz, and as she entered the house through the kitchen door she heard the house phone ringing. Although Kat had a cell phone, about the only person who used it was Lacie. Most of the residents of Lindsay still preferred to use their house phones. She put the receiver up to her ear and said, “Hello. This is Kat. Hold on for a second while I put my dog down.” She put Jazz on the floor and pushed the screen door open with her foot, so Jazz could go out in the yard.

  “Thanks for holding. How can I help you?”

  “Kat, this is Tiffany Conners,” she said in an icy voice. “Do you know who I am?”

  “Of course. We’ve met several times at the country club. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I just read a copy of the manuscript of some new book you’re writing, the one Nancy Jennings is editing for you, and I was shocked to see what you wrote about me. I can’t believe you’re writing smut like that under the name of Sexy Cissy. It’s disgusting. You can’t publish that filth.”

  “Wait a minute, Tiffany. I don’t know what you're talking about,” Kat said, hoping Tiffany couldn’t hear her heart racing. She wondered if having her heart pound that hard twice in the space of a couple of hours was a healthy thing, and then she resumed listening to Tiffany.

  “Oh, yes you do. You wrote that I’m having an affair. Do you know what will happen to my reputation and my marriage if my husband reads that? He’ll divorce me, and I’ll probably get kicked out of the Junior League. I know the only reason I ever got into that exclusive women’s organization was because I’m married to Lester. I can’t let that happen. You and Nancy are really sick people and quite frankly, don’t deserve to live. The world has enough of your kind spreading filth and lies, so maybe it's time some of us took the steps necessary to get rid of them,” she said as she slammed the phone down.

  Good grief. How did she get a copy of my manuscript? I guess the good news is that she won’t tell anyone about it, since she thinks the main character in the book, Chastity, is her. I suppose the only reason she must think that is because she actually is having an affair. Hmm. Wonder who it’s with. Well, there’s no way I'm not going to publish that book. It may have a little more sex in it than a lot of the residents of the little town of Lindsay, Kansas, would own up to, but based on the fact that Scott’s girlfriend was reading one of my books, rather imagine there are a bunch of other people in this town who are too. What was it Shakespeare said in one of his plays? “I thinketh thou protesteth too much.” Think that’s what just happened with Tiffany.

  CHAPTER 5

  Even though Kat had attended Nancy’s party and been to the awards dinner with Blaine, it had been a long time since she'd had lunch at the country club restaurant, and she wondered if the gossipy daytime dining room hostess Barbara was still there. She got her answer when she saw Barbara standing at the hostess desk. “Hi, Barbara. I'm meeting Bev Simpson. Is she here yet?”

  “No, she’s not, Mrs. Denham. It’s good to see you again. Would you like to be seated or wait for her?”

  “I think I’d like to be seated now. When she gets here, please send her to my table.”

  “Sure. Follow me.” When Kat was seated Barbara handed her a menu and then looked around to see if anyone was listening. She bent her head down and said, “This is the same table where Nancy Jennings sat a few days ago. I probably shouldn’t say anything, but I found your manuscript after she left,” she said giggling. “Wow, didn’t know you were Sexy Cissy. Love what you write, but don’t tell anyone I read that stuff.”

  “What makes you think I’m Sexy Cissy?” Kat asked, looking up at her.

  “You wrote a note to Nancy and attached it to the manuscript. It was signed Kat. There aren't too many people in Lindsay who go by the name of Kat, plus I know you're a friend of Nancy’s. Your name was on the guest list for the party Nancy recently had. I just put two and two together and figured out you had to be Sexy Cissy.”

  “Where is the manuscript? Did you give it back to Nancy?”

  Barbara turned red and stuttered, “Uh, not exactly. Sally Lonsdale was sitting at the table next to where Nancy had been and saw me pick the manuscript up from under the table. She asked me what it was. I walked over to where she was sitting, and we both looked at it. The title ‘The Country Club Cover-Up’ was on the top of the manuscript. We both noticed a note with your name on it attached to the front page. Sally was interested, because she figured it was probably about our country club, and she asked me if I would make a copy of it for her. I didn’t see any harm in doing that, since it was probably going to be published pretty soon anyway. I took it back to the office, made a copy, and gave it to her.

  “After the lunch crowd left, I took my afternoon break and read the first couple of chapters of the manuscript. I figured out right away that the character in the book named Chastity was probably Tiffany Conners, or at least I was pretty sure it was her. After my break was over and I went back to work, I had to go into the bar area to get a drink for one of the customers. Tiffany was there, and I told her about the book. I didn’t tell her I thought the main character was her. Anyway, she asked if she could have a copy of the book, so I made one and gave it to her.

  “I was glad she wanted a copy. She always acts so snooty and everything. Treats me and everyone else on the staff like dirt. Have to tell you it made me feel really good knowing she’d be squirming like a worm on a fish hook when she read it. I know that’s small of me, but like I said, it made me feel good.”

  So that's how Tiffany and Sally got the manuscript, Kat thought.

  “Barbara, did anyone else see that manuscript?” she asked.

  “I'd love to stay and talk, Mrs. Denham, but some people just walked in. I need to get back to the hostess desk,” Barbara said as she abruptly ended the conversation and hurried away.

  Kat took her phone out of her purse and called Nancy’s cell phone. There was no answer. In the past she’d never called Nancy’s house phone, because she hadn’t wanted Carl to know about their relationship even though it was apparent he did based on what he’d said to her the other night. When Nancy’s voice came on the line asking the caller to leave a message, she said, “This is Kat. I'm still planning on being at your house at 3:00 for our meeting. I hope you have the manuscript, because I just found out that Barbara at the club gave a copy of it to Tiffany Conners. I sincerely hope no one else has it. See you in a couple of hours.”

  After she ended the call Kat looked at the menu and saw that a number of new dishes had been added since she'd last visited the restaurant. Lacie had told her the club had hired a new chef and from the looks of the menu items, Kat decided he must have had so
me experience preparing food outside of Kansas. She wondered if he’d been responsible for the awards dinner at the club which she’d thought was delicious. Looking at the menu, it seemed that most of the dishes were basically Midwestern, but from the entrees she saw waiters carrying to tables, the chef was putting his own touch on them.

  She was so deeply engrossed in the menu she didn’t see Bev come in the restaurant. She felt a tap on her shoulder and heard Bev say, “That new menu makes for good reading, but from what I’m hearing, what you write is even better." She took a seat across the table from Kat.

  “It’s been a long time since I've been here, and I can see that the new chef has made a lot of changes to the menu. It looks great, but wait, what were you saying about me writing?”

  “Tell you in a minute. If you’re ready to order I already know what I want. I probably should experiment, but I think the chef does something magical with the seafood salad. It has all the crab and shrimp in it that you’d ever want rather than the piddly two pieces of each that the other restaurants seem to always put on their salads. What sounds good to you?”

  “I’ve got to try his version of meatloaf. I know it’s a common dish, but from what I saw being served at the table next to us, it looks like the chef has taken it to a new level. I mean, who thinks to serve a brown gravy over meatloaf on spinach with swirled mashed potatoes on top of it and garnished with asparagus tips? Definitely can’t get past that.” They gave their orders to the waiter who filled their glasses with Perrier water.

  “Kat, I’m so glad you're back among the living. First of all, you attended the golf dinner last night with our handsome new district attorney. Second of all, you’re meeting me here for lunch. We haven’t done this for way too long. Thirdly, even though I consider you one of my closest friends, I didn’t know you were Sexy Cissy and wrote steamy hot novels.”