Mists of the Past (A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery #2)

by K. J. Emrick

  She was just getting to the good part in her book when there was a knock at the door. She was tempted to just ignore whoever it was but when they knocked a second time she knew that they weren’t going to go away. “Oh for Pete’s sake,” she mumbled. Sighing, she put the book down. Checking out the window before opening the door, she was surprised to find Linda and Helen standing on the other side.

  “Hello, you two. What a surprise.” Darcy was genuinely happy to see them and stood back to let them enter. She noticed they had their arms full of plastic bags and paper sacks and a pot that Helen carried in both hands.

  “We heard that you were a bit under the weather so we come bearing gifts,” Linda said as she made her way into the house and straight into the kitchen.

  “Are you alright dear,” Helen said, looking at Darcy with a frown. “You look a bit pale. Never mind. Once you get some of my chicken soup into you, you’ll feel better in no time.” Helen indicated the huge pot of soup she held.

  “And don’t forget some of my tea,” Linda called out from the other room. Darcy and Helen laughed as they followed her into the kitchen. Her two friends had been in Darcy’s house a number of times. They knew to make themselves at home.

  Linda was a tall woman, thin in that way that some women could pull off so easily, and always quick to smile. She worked at the library in town, one of Darcy’s favorite spots, so they got to spend a lot of time together. Her red hair was curly on the ends and, as she was fond of pointing out, her natural color.

  In contrast, Helen was a stocky older woman with graying dark hair. She wore a gray pantsuit with a crisp white blouse. Those weren’t the clothes that Darcy was used to seeing her friend in. But since she’d began taking on the mayoral duties her husband used to perform, she’d stopped dressing like a bakery owner and started dressing like a businesswoman. Darcy had to smile. She thought her friend would make a fine mayor.

  “Thank you very much for the gifts, I appreciate it.” Darcy said as they sat around the kitchen table drinking tea and pushing spoons through steaming bowls of thick chicken soup. She was very touched by their thoughtful gesture. She also felt a little sad to remember how Anna, her neighbor, had been murdered just a few weeks before. Anna had always been stopping by to drop off food to Darcy or to just sit and visit. She missed her friend.

  “How did you know I was sick anyway?” she asked. Knowing this town it wouldn’t have taken long for it to get around that she wasn’t at work. She almost never missed work.

  “I saw Jon earlier,” Helen said. “He told me. And Grace told Linda when she saw her at the bank earlier. So when Linda came into the bakery and we got to talking we decided to come and visit you together.”

  They sat and chatted over unimportant things for a while, until Helen and Linda both said they had to get back to work. Darcy thanked them again and saw them out. Helen left the rest of the soup with her, and Linda left the crusty loaves of bread she’d brought. It was enough for two or three meals.

  She actually felt much better after that little visit. Any trace of a headache was gone and she felt ready to dive right back into the mystery at hand. Darcy decided that she would ask Jon about the attack he’d been accused of. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too mad at Grace for looking into it.

  There had to be an end to the secrets between them, though, if their relationship was going to go anywhere.

  ***

  “Wow, something smells great.” Jon sniffed the air as he entered Darcy’s house. “What are you cooking?” He dropped a quick kiss to her cheek and then he headed for the kitchen with Darcy following him. She had to smile at the boyish way he was acting. Anyone watching him would think he hadn’t eaten all day.

  Darcy explained how Linda and Helen had stopped by earlier and dropped off some food, including the soup. Jon went over to the pot and lifted the lid to take a look. He sniffed appreciably again. Then he turned to her with a more serious expression. “How are you feeling today?”

  Darcy nuzzled in close to him for a hug. “I’m feeling much better. Thanks for looking after me when I passed out. I just took it easy today. I’m back to my old self.”

  She went to the cupboard and took out two bowls. She served up the soup and cut pieces off the bread and they sat down to eat it. Jon was making all sorts of appreciative sounds and Darcy couldn’t help but grin at him.

  “What?” he said when he caught her looking at him.

  “Nothing. I just like watching you.” The soup wasn’t the only thing that looked tasty, she thought.

  Jon talked about his day while they ate and brought up the subject of the letter twice. Each time he paused like he was expecting her to say something. She kept quiet each time, though, knowing she had to bring up the subject of the assault with him, but wanting to wait until later. She wanted their evening to at least have one happy, normal moment before diving into whatever had happened in Jon’s past again.

  When they were done and had cleaned up the dishes they moved into the living room, each with a cup of Linda’s special tea. Darcy was suddenly nervous at the thought of telling Jon what Grace had done, and what she had found out.

  She cleared her throat as they sat down on the couch and she looked at Jon. “I have to tell you something.”

  He put down his cup on the coffee table and sat up straighter. “Okay,” he said, a little defensively. “I’m listening.”

  She started twirling the ring on her finger frantically. It didn’t help to comfort her at all. She said quickly, “I had Grace look into your file. I know about how you were charged for attacking someone, I don’t want there to be any more secrets and I just want you to tell me about it.” She cringed, ready for whatever his reaction might be.

  To her surprise, he reached out a hand and laid it over hers where she was twisting her ring. “I understand why you looked into my file. It’s all right. No more secrets.”

  She relaxed when she realized that he wasn’t going to be mad and then waited for him to continue. “I attacked a man,” he said. “A guy that I thought was responsible for Kyle’s murder. After he died and after I found him there I, uh, went a little insane. I was so certain it wasn’t a suicide, but no one believed me.”

  “Why did everyone think it was a suicide?”

  “Kyle overdosed on anxiety pills. They were prescribed to him. He had to carry those things with him everywhere he went.” Jon’s eyes got wider. “You know, I didn’t think of that. Maybe the thing that rattled in Kyle’s hand in your vision was a pill bottle.”

  She couldn’t hold back her surprise. “I thought you didn’t believe in my sixth sense?”

  He brought her hand up to his lips for a kiss. “What I believe doesn’t matter. You believe it. And I believe in you.”

  Her heart melted. Not even her ex-husband, Jeff, had ever said those words to her. As she looked up into Jon’s face, a realization of her own bubbled to the surface. “You know, Lily told me that she’s on anxiety meds. That seems too much of a coincidence doesn’t it? Do you think she had anything to do with it?” Darcy shook her head. There had been so many false accusations flying around town last month when Anna and Jeff were murdered. “She seems so nice but I’ve learned that people are often not what they seem. Oh, I just don’t know.”

  Jon stood up. “Tell you what. I’ll go and question Lily right now. Maybe being honest with her like we’re being with each other will get some answers to all of these questions.”

  He started for the door and Darcy got up to follow him. He put a hand on her arm to stop her. “You stay here, this is police business. I’d feel better if you stayed here.” He left as she was trying to formulate the words to argue with him. She stared at the closed door for several moments before throwing her head back against the couch. She couldn’t say that she wasn’t a little miffed about being left out of this, even if she did understand his reasoning.

  She stayed at home for an hour, cleaning up, reading, pacing. Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore. She ha
d to find Jon and find out what was happening.

  ***

  Ten minutes later Darcy arrived at the police station. She had practically run all the way into to town. Jon rolled his eyes at her when she came through the doorway.

  “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away for long,” he grinned at her. “You’re starting to give our desk Sergeant fits, you know. You’re in here more often than some of the people who actually work here.”

  She sat down at his desk with a little smile. It was true. Not only did trouble find her, but sometimes she actively sought it out. Finger combing her windblown hair, she said, “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “Lily said she didn’t know anything about any murder and refused to come in with me to talk. She got so agitated that she slapped me.”

  Darcy was shocked, but Jon put his hands up and motioned for her not to worry. “It didn’t hurt. It did, however, make my job easy. I was able to bring her in for assaulting a police officer. I’ve been letting her cool down a bit before I question her.”

  “Are you going to charge her? Send her to court?”

  “No. If I arrested everyone who got mad at me the jails would be full. It does give me an excuse to go and question her now.”

  Jon got up from his chair and moved towards the interrogation room. One of the interrogation rooms was fitted with a one-way mirror, and Darcy went to stand on this side of it as Jon went inside the room. She looked at Lily through the glass. Was this the murderer? How could they tell?

  Some days, she wished her sixth sense could do more for her than muddle her life.

  Chapter Nine

  Darcy continued to watch through the one way glass as Jon questioned Lily.

  “Have you ever lived anywhere else Lily?” Jon asked. “Do you know anything about Kyle Young?” Lily started to cry. “Do you enjoy poetry?” Jon kept throwing the questions at her, getting nothing but more crying for his efforts.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lily managed to say in between sobs. Darcy could see that Jon wasn’t going to get anywhere. Not this way. Without waiting for permission she entered the room where Jon was interrogating Lily.

  “What are you doing Darcy?” Jon asked. “You can’t be in here.” She ignored him and sat down next to Lily, taking hold of her hands. She had decided, watching all this, that she would try to use her sixth sense to get some answers. Darcy closed her eyes and concentrated. But nothing happened. She didn’t feel anything. She let go of Lily’s hands, stood up and left the room with Jon following her.

  “What was that all about?” he demanded.

  Darcy looked back into the room through the one way glass at the still crying Lily. “It seems like Lily is probably innocent. You’re not getting anything from her so I just wanted to try it my way.”

  He waited before asking, “And?”

  She shrugged. “Nothing. I didn’t sense anything at all.”

  Jon shook his head. “All right. But I want to hold her for a bit longer anyway…” He was interrupted by a commotion in the outer office. Darcy could hear a man yelling. They went to see what was going on and found Wilson Barton, the night shift officer, trying to calm down an irate guy in a gray hoodie and blue jeans.

  It was Lily’s brother Robbie. “You let Lily out right now!” He was demanding at the top of his voice. Jon went over to him and put a restraining hand on his shoulder but Robbie shook him off. “I want to see my sister right now! You have no right to hold her, she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “Look, Robbie, is it?” Jon started to say. “You need to calm down. Your sister is being questioned and I know that you...” He was interrupted once again, this time by his cell phone ringing. He took it out and Darcy expected him to ignore it after looking at the caller display. Instead, he immediately thumbed the screen to connect the call. “Grace?”

  Grace? Darcy stiffened as she heard her sister’s name. While Officer Barton finally managed to escort the still upset Robbie out of the office, Jon finished his call and then turned to her.

  “Darcy…I’ve got bad news. That was Aaron. Grace has been attacked.”

  ***

  Jon took them straight to Grace’s apartment building. She was his partner, after all, and Lily wasn’t going anywhere. Darcy was grateful for his company.

  When they got there, Darcy pounded on the front door. “Darcy,” Jon said, holding her fist in his hands, “it’s all right. She said she was all right.”

  “It is not alright! Every time I get into these kinds of things, someone I care about gets hurt! Every time!”

  Aaron opened the door at that moment and Darcy flew past him into the neat, orderly apartment. “Is she alright? Where is she?” Aaron pointed towards the bedroom and Darcy hurried down the hallway to get there. Jon stayed behind to talk to Aaron.

  Grace was reclining on the bed with an ice pack on her forehead. Darcy was speared by alarm when she saw it. She dropped down into the chair next to the bed and immediately peppered her sister with questions.

  “What happened sis? Who did this? Should we call the ambulance?”

  “No, no I’m fine. Well, not really,” her sister said with a wince. “I was coming into the house when someone hit me over the head with something hard. Right at my door. Can you believe it?”

  “Did you see who it was?”

  She went to shake her head but then stopped herself. “No. I didn’t see who it was, I didn’t even hear anything. Aaron found me lying in the entryway when he got home a little while ago. We figure I was lying there for about twenty minutes or so, give or take.”

  “Oh, Grace.” Darcy was at a loss. “This is terrible.”

  “It gets worse,” she said with a sober expression. “Apparently there was a typed note lying on my chest when Aaron found me.” Grace handed the note to her in a plastic Ziploc bag.

  When you look into the past

  You find nothing but strife

  This warning will be my last

  Stay out of a dead man’s life

  Lo ti distruggero

  Darcy’s breath hissed in as she read the note, the same type of note and bad poetry that had been left previously for Jon. “I’m so sorry Grace.” Darcy realized what had happened. When Grace went looking into Jon’s files, she must have alerted Kyle’s murderer. She was convinced now that Kyle had been murdered. If her spirit communication hadn’t shown that to her, then this did. No one would go through this much trouble over a suicide.

  “Don’t worry about it Darcy, all right?” Grace took the note back and read it over again. “I’m a police officer. It’s part of the job.”

  “I don’t think getting mugged at the door to your apartment by a psychopath qualifies as part of your job, Grace.”

  “He didn’t mug me. To mug me, he would have had to rob me after he hit me, and he didn’t. So thank God for small favors.”

  Darcy tried to smile but she didn’t find it very funny. “What about the ambulance?”

  “I’m fine, sis. Really. But the doctor is coming over to check me out just in case anyway. Aaron already called. Don’t worry.”

  Jon came in at that point and Darcy listened as Jon and Grace talked over the note and the particulars of the whole matter. Jon let on some of the secret information that he had already told Darcy about. He looked devastated that his old life had gotten both of them involved in this mess.

  ***

  Back at the police station, Robbie was waiting for Jon outside. He approached them as they were just getting out of Jon’s patrol car.

  “You can’t hold Lily she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “Yes, I can.” Jon said to him, holding up a hand as Robbie got a little too close. “I tried to explain to you earlier that she attacked me by slapping me across the face. I’m holding her on a pending assault charge. Robbie, go home. I’ll be sure Lily lets you know what’s going on.”

  But Robbie wasn’t having any of it. He was shaking and his eyes were wide, his h
ands fisted at his sides. “You have to let her go.”

  Darcy moved in closer to Jon very carefully and laid a hand on his arm. “I have to talk to you Jon.”

  Jon didn’t look away from Robbie as he nodded. “You try to calm down while I talk to Darcy okay Robbie?” He backed away from the other man carefully and he and Darcy went to the back of his car.

  Darcy kept darting her eyes over to Robbie and then back to Jon. “You know Lily couldn’t be the one who attacked Grace, right? She was here with you.”

  “I know that. The time frame matches up, from what Grace told us. That doesn’t mean she didn’t have an accomplice.” He closed his eyes and took a breath and tried to calm his voice down. “I’m sorry. I just can’t help but think that I got Grace hurt. I mean, how many other people are going to get hurt because my past is catching up to us? Are you safe around me, even?”

  Darcy’s eyes softened and she took his hand in hers. “It isn’t your fault, okay? There’s a crazy person out there and you aren’t responsible for what they do. Not Kyle’s murder, not my sister’s attack, none of it. Okay?”

  He nodded after a moment. “I know that. It’s just…it followed me here.” He looked deep into her eyes and she could see how tired he was. “It followed me.”

  Chapter Ten

  “The town is buzzing with the gossip about Lily’s arrest.” At work in the bookstore the next day Sue was going on and on about everything that had happened. “Come on Darcy, tell me all of the details.”

  Oh for Pete’s sake couldn’t people in this town just mind their own business for once. “It was nothing really. Just a simple mistake.” Darcy didn’t want to talk about it, even with Sue. The woman kept twirling her blonde hair around a finger though, and asking the same questions. Thankfully Jon walked in just as Darcy was about to give in and tell Sue something just to get her to stop.