Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Boxset

by Brianna Bates

  “That’s right,” Mom said.

  Missy couldn’t help it. “Mom, where did you go?”

  Mom wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Like I said, I was just out and about.”

  Tyler looked back and forth from Mom to Missy. “Why don’t you tell me about what happened between you and the Switzers?”

  Mom grimaced. “I think you already know, Tyler. That’s why you’re here.”

  “Mrs. DeMeanor, I don’t think you’re a killer, but I have to ask these questions or I wouldn’t be doing my job. Believe me, I don’t want to be here doing this.”

  Mom nodded like she understood. It was true, she didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Missy had never seen her lose her cool or get angry with anyone before.

  Missy, on the other hand…

  “What about Cooper Merritt?” Missy blurted out.

  “What about him?” Tyler asked.

  “Well, have you been to see him yet? Or Loretta? Or her new boyfriend? Have you talked to any of them? My mother probably hasn’t spoken to Albert Switzer in years. Tell him, Mom.”

  Mom was making a face.

  “Mom?”

  “Actually, that’s not true,” Mom said.

  Missy’s heart sank. Here she’d asked what she thought was a good question. Instead she’d just opened the door even wider for Tyler.

  “Okay,” Missy said. “Maybe not years…”

  “No, not years,” Mom said.

  Tyler must have been shocked, but he kept his composure. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Al called me.”

  Al? Since when had Mom and Switzer gotten back to a first-name basis?

  “He called you?” Tyler was taking notes again. “When was this?”

  “Actually, it was yesterday morning.”

  “Yesterday morning?” Missy couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “What time?” Tyler asked, shaking his head.

  “Around eleven.” Mom looked over at Missy and mouthed Sorry.

  “Around eleven?” Tyler looked up at her. “And right after that you went for a drive?”

  She nodded.

  Missy didn’t believe it. Why hadn’t Mom said anything about this earlier? Probably because she still felt the need to protect her own daughter. According to Mom Logic, the less Missy knew the better.

  Or, maybe Mom was making this up. Maybe out of fear of Missy getting into trouble, she was now making up a story so that it took some of the suspicion off her only daughter.

  No. Tyler had talked to one of the neighbors. Someone had tipped him off that Mom had gone for a drive yesterday. So at least part of her story was true.

  “What did you and Mr. Switzer talk about?” Tyler asked.

  Mom finally sipped her water. “He said he had to see me. But he wanted it to be in person. He said what he had to tell me couldn’t be over the phone.”

  Tyler’s jaw just about dropped.

  “Listen, Tyler. I think we need to speak to an attorney,” Missy said.

  Tyler’s eyes drifted back to her. He said nothing. But his gaze was intense.

  “You didn’t see your mother at Switzer’s house yesterday?” Tyler asked.

  “Absolutely not. I was the only one there.” Her tongue got tied when she realized how bad what she’d said sounded. “I mean, by the time I got there, I was the only one there. And there’s no way Mom could kill anybody, she can’t even make a fist. Tell him Mom.”

  Mom kept her hands folded on her lap.

  “Mom, tell him.”

  Mom looked from Missy to Tyler.

  Why wasn’t she saying anything? Missy was ready to scream, until the craziest thought popped into her head.

  What if Mom killed Switzer?

  Tyler held his palms out. “Mrs. DeMeanor, would you please tell me what you were doing yesterday morning?”

  “I already told you, I was out for a drive.”

  Tyler’s eyes bore into her, but Mom didn’t flinch. Finally he stood. With a weary shrug and a big sigh, he said:

  “Mrs. DeMeanor, I think you’d better come with me.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “You can’t arrest her!” Missy shouted as Tyler guided Mom into the back of his cruiser. He didn’t respond to her challenge.

  Noreen watched from the lawn while Cody barked her disapproval. Missy was absolutely mortified. She couldn’t help but look up and down the block to check for the neighbors, all of whom had nothing better to do and were watching them. In less than five minutes, the entire town would know that Tyler Brock had arrested her mother.

  “This is insane, Tyler!”

  Missy got right in his face before he could get in the car.

  He said nothing.

  “I’ll call Dr. Weaver and in five minutes I’ll have a note explaining how she can’t even make a fist! How is she supposed to have strangled Switzer who has almost a foot on her?”

  Tyler stared right back at her. “Excuse me, Missy.”

  “You can’t do this!”

  Tyler finally showed some emotion. “I don’t think she did it, but your mother gave me no choice! She wouldn’t answer my questions about her drive and it lines up with the time of death.”

  “There was a twenty minute window, max, between when I talked to Switzer and when I got to his house. And Switzer didn’t mention anything about talking to my mother when I called him.”

  “Why do you think that is?” Tyler asked.

  “Why do I…” Missy really had no idea, but she wasn’t about to concede any points when her mother was sitting in the back of a police cruiser while the whole neighborhood watched. “You’ll be hearing from our attorney.”

  Tyler nodded. “I didn’t want it to come to this, but you gave me no choice.”

  As he pulled away, Missy watched him go and thought just the opposite was true. Tyler had given her no choice. Now she had to find the killer.

  Chapter Twelve

  “So that could have gone better,” Noreen said when they were back in the car.

  “You think?” Missy tipped her head back against the headrest while Noreen drove. For once she was operating the vehicle in a reasonably safe manner.

  “Did you try flirting with him?” Noreen asked.

  “Nor, really?”

  “What? That was the game plan, I thought.”

  Missy shook her head. “I didn’t really have time. You know, he was kind of busy interrogating my mother.”

  “Fair enough.” Noreen nodded. “Why didn’t your Mom tell you about her conversation with Switzer?”

  “Classic Mom move,” Missy said. “If she doesn’t think I need to know something, she doesn’t tell me.”

  Noreen made a left-turn right in front of an oncoming tractor-trailer. The driver leaned on the horn, but Noreen pretended not to hear it.

  She said, “So now what do we do?”

  Missy pinched the bridge of her nose. “I thought you were the expert on mysteries.”

  “I have to admit, I’m at a total loss right now. From what you’re telling me, Tyler didn’t even want to arrest your mom. Which means he didn’t suspect her…so maybe he still suspects you?”

  “While arresting Mom? That makes no sense.”

  “I know, that’s what I’m saying. I wonder if it’s a double bluff on his part.”

  “Double bluff?”

  “Yes. He doesn’t think your Mom killed Switzer, but he doesn’t want the real killer to know that. Maybe he thinks the killer will slip up and make some kind of mistake if they’ve already arrested someone.”

  “Is that what a double bluff is?”

  Noreen stomped her brakes to stop at the last second for a red light. “We need to find other suspects.”

  “First we need to survive this car ride.”

  “I’m glad to see you’ve still got your sense of humor.”

  “I’m going to need it,” Missy said. “This is all too much for me.”

  “I hear you.”

  “So
how do we find other suspects?”

  “I was hoping you’d tell me.”

  ***

  Because visiting hours were pretty narrow on Sunday and the police took a long time to "process" Mom, Missy didn't get a chance to speak to her again. Instead Noreen drove her and Cody home.

  They went inside and parked it on the couch, Cody nestling between them. Missy sat back and stretched out.

  "We have one lead," Missy said. "But I have no reason to talk to him..."

  "Cooper Merritt? That man's a horn-ball. Just wear your favorite pair of jeans. You look great in them."

  Missy had been holding onto her favorite pair of jeans for a few months, hoping she’d be able to squeeze back into them soon. "You want me to just show up at his door?"

  "Why not?" Noreen got up. "I could use a drink. Do you have anything in the house?"

  Missy pointed vaguely toward the kitchen. "Check the fridge, but fair warning it's probably old."

  Noreen went into the kitchen. Cody changed position and rested her long snoot on Missy's lap.

  "What do you think I should do, Nor?"

  Cody rolled over and stuck her paws up in the air. Missy remembered she hadn't called the vet to set up an appointment. With Mom getting arrested today, her schedule had been completely thrown off. It was crazy to think that in one day she'd gone from worrying about getting to the gym and refurbing Switzer's old cabinet into a drink station to being prime suspect in a murder investigation and having to hire an attorney for her mother.

  Her friend came back with the bottle of wine and two glasses. Noreen poured.

  "Cheers."

  They clinked glasses.

  “To Mom.”

  “To your mom.”

  “To the woman who never tells me anything important.”

  Noreen looked at her sideways. “Out of love, Miss. Out of love.”

  Missy shrugged and they both drank. The wine had aged—badly—but Missy drank anyway. She needed to take the edge off. Cody picked her head up and looked expectantly at Missy

  "No way, girl. No wine for you."

  Cody dropped her head pitifully back into Missy's lap. She actually looked sad.

  "Seriously, how do I manufacture a meeting with Cooper Merritt?" Missy said. "I can't just show up at his door."

  "Wing night."

  "Excuse me?"

  Noreen turned to face her on the couch and sat cross-legged. She had already finished her wine and was going in for seconds. "At Hank's tomorrow night. Wing night. He's usually there."

  Missy had forgotten completely about one of Noreen's weekly rituals. She always attended wing night and had competed locally in wing-eating competitions. Of course she had remained a size four despite frequently gouging on fried food like this.

  "I haven't been to Hank's in..." Missy couldn't even remember.

  Noreen chimed in. "Almost two years. I remember."

  "Wow."

  Noreen shrugged. "We used to have a lot of fun."

  “Have you really been counting?”

  Noreen sipped more wine. “Uh, yeah.”

  Missy had stopped doing the local pub thing. Grove City was a small town so it was basically just going out to see everybody she already knew, and beer and fried food did not help in the weight department. In her twenties she had gone out as frequently as Noreen but these days she just couldn't hang and didn't want to drink the empty calories.

  “I’m willing to do anything for my mother. But I never thought do anything would include going to Hank’s for wing night.”

  "This will be great!" Noreen rubbed her hands together. "The dynamic duo, finally going out again. We're going to have a great time! We should pick up an outfit for you tomorrow."

  Missy shook her head. The outfit was the least of her concerns. She didn't think it was right for her to be bar-hopping while Mom sat in jail. But then again, the only reason she was going to Hank's was to help Mom in the first place.

  "I'm working all day tomorrow, so I don't have time to shop for an outfit."

  "Even better.” Noreen’s eyes lit up. “I'll get you something."

  The warning bells inside her head went off immediately. Noreen dressed nicely, always found a way to look sexy without appearing slutty. But she had never been a big woman, which meant she had no idea how to shop for Missy. What worked for Noreen wouldn't work for Missy and vice versa.

  "Uh, I'll find something I haven't worn in awhile..."

  "No way, girl! Let me treat you. You never buy yourself new clothes."

  Missy sighed. It was true, she rarely bought new clothes because her return rate had reached a staggering new high: probably over fifty percent. It was just so hard to find outfits that were flattering when it came to these curves.

  “I’ve already got the perfect outfit in mind,” Noreen said.

  “Can we keep it rated PG?” Missy asked.

  “Miss, you’re there to flirt with the guy to get him to lower his guard. You’ve gotta go R. I’m not saying a hard R. But definitely R.”

  “PG-13?”

  "Come on," Noreen said. "It'll be fun. Live a little."

  Missy was too exhausted to put up much of a fight. "Alright, alright." She could always refuse after trying on whatever the getup was tomorrow.

  Noreen clapped excitedly. "Finally."

  "Finally?"

  Noreen gulped her second glass of wine. "Yes, finally. It only took a murder to get you to come out during the week again."

  "Funny."

  They eventually settled in and got caught up on Flea Market Flip. Normally watching the show gave her plenty of ideas for repurposing and refurbishing old stuff for resale, but tonight Missy could barely stay focused. She kept drifting and thinking about her mother sitting in jail of all places, locked up for the night. It was unbelievable. Outrageous. Mom wouldn't—and these days couldn't—hurt a fly and Tyler knew that and yet he'd locked her up all the same. That settled things. Tomorrow morning she'd go down there and chew him out in front of his boss, Chief Brody. No way should he get away with this.

  But as she thought more about it, she wondered why Mom hadn't told her about the phone call from Switzer yesterday morning? Given what she'd learned today of Mom's assault, for lack of a better term, maybe she'd underestimated her mother. Mom could get angry and had been upset enough to physically attack someone else. It made her feel like she didn't really know her own mother, that after all these years putting Mom comfortably into a box, she'd been wrong. But could Mom have killed Switzer? No. Missy was sure of it. It didn't make any sense. Why would she wait twenty years to exact revenge on Switzer, when based on her story it sounded like she really blamed Loretta?

  And now that she thought about it, why hadn't Switzer mentioned that he'd talked to Mom when Missy had called him yesterday morning? It seemed like a natural topic that would come up.

  She shook her head. It seemed like the whole town knew more about her parents and their falling out with the Switzers than she did.

  Typical.

  After their fifth episode of Flea Market Flip, Noreen got up to leave because she had to open the next day. Missy walked her to the door.

  "Hang in there, Miss. We'll solve this crime." Noreen gave her a hug and left. Missy waited by the door till she got into her car and drove away. As she did, her headlights shifted and caught Missy's truck. All the stuff was still in her flatbed. She couldn't believe she'd just left it basically sitting out in the driveway since yesterday.

  The Tri-County Flea Market was fast approaching now. It was the best venue to sell her stuff. Last year she'd made over four thousand dollars in profit selling about twenty pieces. The money had come in real handy, especially when she later got a letter from the mortgage company telling her this year's payments were going up unexpectedly.

  And not to mention that her raise this year had been one percent. The owner of the bookstore, Brett, had explained how they hadn't hit their budget for the year and just last week mentioned they might have
to further cut back...Missy really needed to get to this market this year. If she was lucky she could make a couple grand in profit. She was going to need it.

  But where would she find the time? Her work schedule was maxed out this week and in her spare time she needed to solve a murder.

  She really needed to get started, but she was exhausted. So instead of moving the stuff into her garage, she took out a tarp and covered it in the back of her truck. She fastened the tarp with some rope.

  As she was walking back to her house, headlights cut across her lawn and stuck to her. Behind her, Cody began barking wildly from the front steps. Missy instinctively stepped backward as an expensive-looking car pulled into her driveway. The headlights were white and looked fancy as opposed to usual yellowish tint. When they winked out, Missy got a good look into the car and saw Loretta Switzer in the passenger seat. Missy assumed the driver was her new boyfriend.

  When the pair of them stepped out of the car, Cody came tearing across the lawn. She positioned herself defensively between Missy and the others and wouldn't stop barking.

  "Cody, it's me, girl. Take it easy," Loretta cooed. Her voice was rougher than concrete at fifty miles an hour. She must have smoked her entire life. "Cody."

  "Take that dog inside," the man ordered.

  Missy knew his name but had never met him. "And you are?"

  "Gordon Block. I'm an attorney and have successfully brought more than twenty dog bite cases for my clients before I specialized in real estate, and in fact I still handle them occasionally. You need to take that dog inside before he attacks us."

  Missy was not about to be pushed around by some stranger on her own property. The fact that he'd played the lawyer card on her only further ticked her off.

  "You're standing in my yard, Gordon. If you've got a problem with Cody, you better leave."

  He pointed at the Irish setter. "If that dog attacks us, you'll have even bigger problems on your hands. We will sue you for all you're worth."

  She laughed. "Blood from a stone, Gordon."

  He had to shout over Cody, who was still going nuts. "I hope you didn't remove any of Albert's belongings from his property yesterday."

  Uh-oh.