Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Boxset

by Brianna Bates

  It hurt to get in and out of the car. It hurt to walk. It hurt to bend over. It hurt to twist, turn. It hurt even to sit. The workout last night had been intense, and her muscles were revolting today. Every square inch of her body felt sore.

  She opened the store and settled in behind the desk. Her note pad from yesterday was still there, and she went to work thinking about the suspects. She added some notes about Ellen and Richard. The more she thought about it, it just seemed too much of a coincidence that Ellen was dating a cop with anger management issues who had no alibi for the night in question. Maybe he’d dated Anne before he’d dated Ellen and she had broken his heart. Maybe Ellen was his revenge on Anne. But there was something there, especially in light of how quickly and urgently Ellen had tried to keep him quiet about Anne.

  She’d passed that information along to Paul I.S. Gold after leaving the bar, and the detective had promised to follow-up on it independently, whatever that meant. She’d asked him what else he intended to do, and he’d given her vague answers. Beginning to feel like she was going to do most of the heavy lifting on this case (if not all of it), she’d confronted him and Paul had admitted he had plans to stay in the background. He’d explained by saying that if he questioned anyone directly, they’d know something was up. On the other hand, if Missy got information out of people naturally, they wouldn’t suspect anything. He’d gloated, saying it was the perfect set-up, but of course it meant Missy would do all the leg work.

  While Paul snapped pictures of her bum in transparent yoga pants.

  Said pants were now balled up in the bottom of her trash can. Noreen could buy another pair. Missy considered that a good deal in exchange for all the investigating Missy was doing.

  She still had three more people on her suspect list:

  Trudy.

  Kylie.

  Alison.

  Of the three, Alison was the least likely so Missy decided to focus on the other two. Trudy had missed out on a big deal because of Anne. Though Missy had never had a lot of money herself, she could only imagine what that must have been like.

  And the more she thought about it, was it a coincidence that Trudy had called to tell her about seeing Anne with a cop late one night behind the grocery store? Maybe that was all misdirection on Trudy’s part, because she didn’t want anybody thinking about what had happened between her and Anne. When Missy had shared that information with Tyler, he’d seemed wholly unimpressed by it. He’d dismissed it almost out of hand, as a matter of fact. He obviously wasn’t taking it seriously.

  Missy’s head was spinning with the possibilities now. But how could she get information about a real estate deal that had fallen through? And how could she question Trudy about it without being obvious?

  She didn’t know. And when five minutes, and another five, and another five passed, she stood up, frustrated.

  The thought of Noreen sitting in a jail cell did not help. She was practically boiling when she called Tyler.

  “Melissa, you need to call me on my office line,” he said.

  She ignored the comment. “Are you investigating anybody else? You’ve got three really good suspects I can think of. And none of them are Noreen.”

  He sighed. “I can’t discuss an open investigation with you.”

  “Can I see Noreen?”

  “You know you can’t.”

  She was squeezing the phone really hard. “Tyler, why are you doing this?”

  “Melissa, believe me, we are exploring all possible angles.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.”

  “You just can’t let me do my job, can you?”

  “Maybe you’re not so good at it.”

  She regretted saying it immediately. On the other end of the line, she heard a sharp intake of air. He held that breath for a moment, before slowly letting it out.

  “Melissa, I’m a good detective.”

  “Why’d you leave Philadelphia then?”

  “Who’s under investigation here?” He shouted. “Me or the killer?”

  “Sorry.” She settled down, knowing she’d crossed the line not once, but twice in one call with him. As ticked off as she was at him, she knew he was a good man who always did the right thing. But that just frustrated her all the more here. Noreen wasn’t guilty. He should have known that.

  “Yeah, you’re sorry,” he said ruefully. “And when we hang up, I’ll bet you go right back to what you’re doing.”

  “Tyler.” There were tears in her eyes now. She didn’t understand how talking to him brought out every single extreme emotion she had. “I really am sorry, but…she’s my friend. You have to know I’m going to do everything I can for her.”

  “I know. And I love that about you.”

  Had he really just used the L-word? Her stomach clenched. She wondered if that was a Freudian slip…she almost hoped it was.

  Tyler continued. “I really do love that about you. You’re a true friend. But it doesn’t mean I like you being a pain in the ass.”

  She laughed, feeling comfortable again with him. Things had been so awkward since they’d solved Albert Switzer’s murder, she was happy to see him letting his guard down, even if it was only for a moment.

  It was a weird feeling, both trusting him and thinking he was making a mistake all at the same time. But in the end, she decided to let him know what she’d found out.

  “I met Richard last night.”

  “You did?” Genuine surprise.

  “Yes. At WiredFit, of all places.”

  “Wow.”

  She really wished she could see him right now to gauge his expression. Was he picturing her in exercise gear? Did he think about her the way she thought about him?

  “He’s dating Ellen Stein.”

  “I know.”

  Missy hesitated, wavering over how much to share. Finally she settled on trusting him. She knew Tyler. He was a good man. He’d do the right thing. And he was capable of admitting he’d made a mistake.

  “And you know what Anne Baxter did to her?”

  “Several years ago, yes. I’m aware.”

  “Richard wasn’t working last night.”

  “Okay, Melissa.” His voice grew firm. “This conversation is over.”

  “I’m just making small-talk.”

  “The hell you are. Like I said, I cannot discuss an open investigation with you. Now was there anything else?”

  Oh yeah, there was something else. A lot of something else’s. But it was never a good time to ask him those questions. What she really needed was to get him alone one time, when he wasn’t in the middle of some big investigation, away from prying eyes. But that would be difficult, especially if his wife was still in the picture. The chances of them being able to meet privately and discuss the past were slim and none, and it saddened her. Maybe she should just accept the fact she’d never completely understand the past and just move on.

  “I’ll call you if I find out anything else,” she said.

  “Thank you.”

  They said goodbye and hung up. Missy went back to staring at her notepad, her eyes bouncing from one suspect to the next. Cody got up to move away from the front door and settle under the desk on top of her feet.

  “Hey, girl.”

  The dog thumped her tail against the desk.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Alison Breckmyer came into the store a little after one. She was Missy’s third customer of the day, and by the way she walked right over to the desk, Missy didn’t think she was here to buy anything.

  “Any luck so far?” Alison asked.

  She was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved turtleneck that showed off her impressively-toned arms. There was no way she’d gotten that look just by dieting. She had to work out. Missy wanted to ask what program she was on.

  “What do you mean?”

  “In your investigation.” Alison pulled up a chair to sit across from her. “Everybody knows what you’re up to.”

  Great.

  “I though
t you were only taking questions from real detectives,” Missy said.

  “Sorry I blew my stack.” Alison shrugged apologetically. “I was fired up.”

  “Noreen didn’t do this.”

  Alison nodded. “How about Ruby?”

  Missy laughed, thinking Alison was making a joke. Ruby was four-eleven and probably hadn’t yelled at anybody in her entire life, let alone murdered Anne.

  But Alison appeared serious.

  “I don’t think…” Missy shook her head. “There’s no way.”

  “She’s the quiet librarian. Nobody would suspect her, since she weighs about eighty pounds with her coat and boots on,” Alison said.

  “Uh, exactly,” Missy said. “That makes her the least likely suspect.”

  Alison smiled, like Missy was being dense. “That makes her the perfect killer.”

  Missy rolled her eyes. She really didn’t think Ruby was capable of murder and more importantly, she had no reason to kill Anne. It just didn’t make sense.

  Alison went on. “Think about what it must feel like to be her. To be that small, that short, that overlooked your whole life. Physically she’s completely un-intimidating. People probably look through her half the time, or over her.” Alison laughed at her own joke. “Think about how much anger that probably creates in a person, to be constantly ignored and never heard. She probably has a lot of bitterness inside her.”

  Missy shook her head in disbelief. “Ruby is a sweet woman. I’ve known her for a long time too. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  What was more, Missy really didn’t want to add a name to the suspect list. She already didn’t know how to question Trudy about her real estate deal falling through, and didn’t know how to talk to Kylie about Anne firing her brother from the deli. She already had enough to figure out, without having to worry about Ruby as a suspect when she clearly wasn’t. She was running out of time and couldn’t go in too many different directions at this point. Missy thought back to that night at the library and the aftermath.

  “She spent half the break talking to me inside,” Missy said. “She wouldn’t have had much time to get out there and confront Anne.”

  “She wouldn’t have needed much time to do that.” Alison shook her head. “I think whoever did this was so angry with Anne, that they just flipped out. It was probably over in ten seconds.”

  Missy said nothing. Though she didn’t think of Ruby as a suspect, Alison had a point.

  Missy nodded. “Nobody heard Anne scream or anything. So you’re right: it must have been over quickly. Almost before Anne knew what was happening.”

  Alison smiled. “I should try my hand at private investigating. I’ve read a ton of mysteries myself.”

  The door opened and speak of the devil, Ruby herself entered. She smiled when she saw Missy, but then noticed Alison. Tentatively she moved toward them, not wanting to intrude on their conversation.

  See? Missy wanted to say to Alison. There was no way this sweet little woman could have killed Anne Baxter.

  “Hi,” Ruby said, the word almost coming out like a question.

  Missy smiled. “Good to see you, Ruby. How are you holding up?”

  Alison stood. “I have to get back to work. I’ll see you both later.” She smiled at Ruby like she hadn’t just been talking behind her back and left. Missy wondered why Alison had come to the store. If it’d been for the sole purpose of casting suspicion on Ruby of all people, it seemed like a wasted trip.

  Or was it?

  Maybe Alison was the killer and wanted to make someone else look guilty…Missy thought it made a strange kind of sense. Ruby was so ridiculous a suspect.

  Missy shook her head and decided to think about it later. She couldn’t fall down another rabbit hole right now, not with Ruby in here.

  Ruby settled into the chair where Alison had just been sitting. She was so small in that chair, she could have passed for a sophomore in college.

  “Oh.” Ruby looked down under the desk. Realizing Cody was under the desk at Missy’s feet, Ruby smiled and petted the dog.

  Cody thumped her tail against the desk in appreciation.

  “Nice dog.” Ruby smiled but her voice was sad.

  “Ruby, are you okay?”

  Ruby stopped petting Cody and sat up. Her eyes drifted away from Missy and looked puffy, like she’d just been crying.

  “They let me go.”

  Missy’s stomach dropped. She felt horrible.

  “Once it got out we were drinking wine, it just didn’t look good…” Ruby was about to cry again. “People are saying that we got drunk and the wine contributed to the argument between Noreen and Anne…it just doesn’t look good. They had no choice, Missy. I mean, what could they say? They had to let me go. If they didn’t, people would make such a huge fuss about me working still at the library.”

  Missy came around from behind the desk and hugged the tiny woman. It took her back almost twenty years, to when she’d babysat Ruby as a youngster. They’d hugged like this back then too. She wished she could say something, or do something. Wished she knew somebody looking for a librarian somewhere else.

  Ruby cried into Missy’s shoulder. “How am I going to find another job?”

  Missy didn’t know what to say, so she blurted out the first thing she thought of. “You love reading, so why not try writing?”

  Ruby stiffened in her arms. “No, I’ve got no shot at that.”

  “Why not?” Missy asked. “Readers probably make the best writers, no?”

  Ruby shook her head. “No. I mean, you’d think that. But I’m a horrible writer.”

  Missy had stepped on another land mine. Ruby had mentioned wanting to be an author before.

  Ruby moved back and sat down. She rubbed under her eyes to wipe the tears away.

  Missy went back to her chair. In that short span of time, Cody had stretched out under the desk, taking away all the leg room that had been available. Missy sighed and reangled herself so she had room. The dog was already back to sleep.

  “Weren’t you trying to get something published?” Missy asked.

  “Trying being the operative word,” Ruby said. “It’s such a long shot. Publishing is like playing a lottery just for the chance to play another lottery. Very few people make a living at it. So even if I got lucky—and there’s a lot of luck involved—I’d still have to find a day job anyway.”

  “But still. You’d be doing something you enjoyed. That’s worth more than money. Think of all the people who have money and are miserable.”

  Ruby sighed. “I have less chance than an ant on a balloon in a hurricane.”

  Missy smiled at her friend’s metaphor. She liked how Ruby was trying to think up new ways to describe things, even if the phrasing was awkward. For a brief moment it made Missy think about the book they had been reading for the Book Club. Anne had made a similar comment about the writer’s style of that book. It was a little awkward.

  “I’m sorry, Ruby.”

  “No other library is going to hire me now.” She hugged herself, looking down. “All those years of school, the student loans I racked up to get my Masters of Library Science. I just poured all that down the drain. I won’t be able to get another library job. I can’t believe it. To think that one mistake can absolutely change your life forever…”

  Missy really didn’t know what to say. She’d worked at Books and Crannies since graduating college, supplementing her income through her hobbies, so she’d never experienced what Ruby was facing. The sheer panic and pessimism emanating from the woman was powerful.

  “Ruby, I know how bad things look right now. But you’ll get through this. I know you will. You just have to stay strong.”

  Ruby took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if to gather herself up. “At least I have John. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

  Missy smiled. Ruby was deeply in love with John. He’d proposed not so long ago and their wedding was planned for September. That gave Ruby something to look
forward to. Hopefully it would keep her going till she climbed out of the funk she was in. If Missy didn’t know any better, it sounded like Ruby might be slipping into a depression. Her father had suffered from the disease, so she knew a little about it.

  “Sounds like you’ve got a great guy,” Missy said. “You’re lucky.”

  Ruby laughed. “Real lucky.”

  Missy checked the time. She hadn’t had many customers, and Brett had given her permission to close up for a few hours in the afternoon to take a break since she was the only one working the next few days.

  “How about I take you to lunch?”

  Chapter Twenty

  Cody waited in her truck, with the windows down of course, while they ate in the diner up the street. When the waitress dropped the check, Missy snatched it up.

  “Missy, you—”

  Missy held out a palm. “You just lost your job. Let me get this.”

  Ruby looked down, embarrassed. “Thanks.”

  Missy left a generous tip. In high school, she’d worked one summer as a waitress and knew how difficult the job was. The servers were the ones that got the brunt of a diner’s disappointment whenever something went wrong in a restaurant, even if it was outside of their control. She’d tipped well ever since.

  “Missy, thanks, I really feel bad, coming here and dumping all my problems on you while your best friend is…” Ruby’s voice drifted off.

  Missy reached across the table and held Ruby’s hands. “It’s okay. I kind of needed the break myself. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. I just wish I knew how to find the information I need.”

  Ruby’s eyes went wide. “Information?”

  Missy lowered her voice. She figured she could share a little with Ruby. Not everything, but a little. “I’ve got my own theories about who killed Anne, but I need access to real estate records.”

  Ruby’s eyes went back to normal. “Uh, hello? Librarian here.”

  Missy palmed her forehead. “Of course I should have come to you.”

  Ruby smiled. “I know how to research. What do you need?”

  “I’m not sure exactly.” Missy hesitated, wondering how much to share. Paul Gold had passed the information along about the property Trudy and Anne had both been interested in.