"One last hurrah," I said, raising my glass in a toast to the last ever crafting circle I was going to hold in Pottsville.
Billy was there, and the red-haired woman, and a few other familiar faces. No Brenda or Prue, though. "Surprise, surprise."
I set down my wine glass. "So, we should actually get down to business, seeing as this is my last meeting. Let's talk crafting! How has everyone been trucking along this week?"
"I've been having some trouble this week actually," Billy said.
"Oh?" I asked.
"I've been getting back into scrapbooking, which I haven't done in over a year, but I'm having some trouble with some of the paperwork." He let out a little laugh. "I don't mean balancing the books or anything. I mean I'm having trouble because I couldn't find my good tools."
I leaned forward a little and waved my hand around. "Well, you're in the right place. We're having a closing down sale as well, so you'd better get in quick." I smiled at him. "What is it that you’re looking for?"
"I lost my bone folder. Probably just over a year ago now. I can't find it anywhere."
Chapter 12
It was freezing cold by the time I returned home and Jasper greeted me at the door, almost knocking me over by leaping on me. "Jasper!" I cried out, chastising him. "Naughty boy!" The jumping up onto people was really starting to become a problem. Usually, I wouldn't have had it in my heart to get upset with him. But that night, I was shaking, and it wasn't just from the cold. I was full of nervous energy as I ran toward the open window and reached for the piece of paper just outside it.
I unpegged the note, thanking whoever was listening that it was still there and hadn't blown away.
I read over it. The same three words were visible.
"Don't. Careful. Watch." I reached into my pocket for my reading glasses and pulled them out, squinting, trying to make anything else out. There was something that looked like the word "out" after the word "Watch."
"Watch out."
This was a note addressed to me. What was she telling me to watch out for? I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Brenda's number. I knew she was far too much of a gossip not to answer the call, even once she saw it was from me.
"You've got some nerve, young lady!" Her words were loud and shrill.
"Brenda. This is important. This is an emergency. I need to ask you something."
She was silent, but I could practically hear her fuming from the other end of the line.
"Brenda?" I asked frantically. "Are you still there? Look, I know you're mad at me, but I need to know something. I know that you kept a close eye on Amanda's house. You have a perfect view of it. Tell me, was she dating anyone before she died?"
Brenda remained silent.
"Brenda!" I was losing patience.
"Yes," she finally said. "But it was quiet, no one knew, and I wasn't supposed to say anything. I don't think it was anything serious."
"Who, Brenda?"
"That same man I saw you talking to the other morning in the front of my house. Billy."
I hung up without even saying goodbye or thanking her and stared at the note again.
Amanda had been trying to warn me to stay away from Billy.
But it had been too late for her.
Well, it wouldn't be too late for me.
Jasper ran up to me and curled himself around my ankles.
"Jasper, he was here...that night that Julia was killed in this house. That's when he dropped the bone folder. It must have gotten buried underneath all that dirt. He lied to me about never being in my house before."
Jasper whimpered.
I stared down at Jasper. "Maybe he came back that night to try and find it." A shiver ran down my spine. "Maybe he realized he had lost it, and just where and when."
The whiteboard caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. All this time, I had failed to add the real suspect to my list. I stomped over to it and wrote "BILLY" in thick, block letters.
I paced back and forth in front of the board, unloading everything onto Jasper's eager ears. "He only joins the craft circle to meet vulnerable women...his victims," I said, stopping. I stared straight at Jasper, who had sat up, ears alert.
I nodded. "That's right, boy. He thinks I'm the next victim. The next on his list. Well, I'm not like the rest of them, Jasper. I'm not that weak and vulnerable. If Billy wants to kill me, he's going to have to kill me first! Hmm, that doesn't really work, does it?"
Jasper looked nervous.
"Come on, Jasper, we're going out."
He whimpered. He seemed to know exactly where we were going. How do dogs manage to do that?
"We need proof," I explained slowly and clearly to him. "Don't worry, Jasper, we won't be in any danger. I've got you to protect me, don't I?"
Billy's house was dark. I'd been pretty sure he wouldn't be home, because the others at the craft circle had made plans to get drinks, which I had declined to be a part of.
"We've probably got about half an hour," I said to Jasper, placing my hand on Billy's front door. I let out a little laugh when it opened right away. Small towns, hey? The kind where everyone keeps their front door unlocked. Looked like it wasn't just something that absentminded folk like myself fall prey to.
It was dark inside the house but I didn't switch on any lights. There were two floors, and I eyed the staircase uneasily. I wasn't even sure what I was looking for, but there had to be something at Billy's house that would identify him as the killer. Not just killer. Serial killer.
Once my eyes had adjusted, I noticed that there was a small dog flap at the back door. "Uh-oh," I said, tugging on Jasper's collar. Too late, he was already running toward it and had managed to push his way through and into the back yard. Oh no!
I heard footsteps coming up the path out the front door. "Cripes!" I ran to the back door and tried to wave Jasper over to me through the window without speaking. "Jasper!" I hissed, trying to get him to come back. I could just make him out, rolling on his back in the yard.
"Jasper, no! Come back!"
It was no use. I was about to be caught.
Chapter 13
I looked down at the tiny little flap. It was too small for me to attempt to fit through. I kept imaging how I would look if Billy came in and saw me stuck half way through the door.
Never mind how it would look—I'd be trapped.
I saw it out of the corner of my eye. The staircase. With the key turning in the door, I had no choice. I flew up it as fast as I could.
But not fast enough.
"Georgina?"
I was halfway up the staircase. I stared at Billy and bolted the rest of the way with him chasing after me. I looked around frantically. There was nowhere to hide. I edged into the doorway of a bedroom while Billy walked slowly toward me.
I gulped. I just needed to stick clear of the landing, and everything would be okay.
Where is Jasper? Where is he when I need him?
"What are you doing here, George?"
I swallowed. "I just... I wanted to see you again." I tried to swallow, wondering if the terror was shining in my eyes. "I regretted not coming for a drink. Your front door was open."
He shook his head. "You didn't want to see me again," he said slowly. "You've been avoiding me ever since our date. And you didn't even want to go on that."
"Of course I did," I said, backing away from him. "I had a wonderful time, Billy."
He shook his head again.
"You're all the same. All you women. Julia, Amanda, you. You say you want a 'nice man' and then one comes along, and you'd rather be with someone else. Someone younger and better looking," he said pointedly, in a low voice. "Like that cop you've been hanging around with."
I shook my head. "No, Billy, it's not like that at all." I gulped.
"I thought that meeting women through crafts would make it easier. I thought you were supposed to be nice, quiet types. Women who might actually give men like me a chance."
I tri
ed to smile at him. "Billy, this has all been a misunderstanding. Of course I will give a man like you a chance."
Until I am safely out of this house and you are behind bars.
"But you crafters are not nice!" he hissed. "You're just the same as all the rest. Only worse, because you pretend to be so nice."
"Crafters pretend to be nice?" I asked. "Have you ever met Brenda?"
His mouth curled up into a snarl. Probably not the right time for me to make light of the situation.
He came around behind me and I had no choice but to move backward until I got closer and closer to the top of the staircase. The closer he got to me, the closer I got to the edge.
I looked down and gulped. It would be quite the tumble. Even if my neck survived the fall without snapping, my head would hit the hard tiles below.
I was getting closer and closer to the edge.
With Billy right in front of me with his arms outstretched, I was about to topple backward.
Would these be my last few moments on this earth?
All of a sudden, I heard the door of the dog flap moving and Jasper fly through it.
"Jasper!" I screamed.
He bounded up the stairs and in one swift movement, jumped up onto Billy's chest and knocked him right over.
I gasped as Billy hit his head hard on the floor. Jasper was standing over him growling and I shakily moved toward them to check if Billy was still alive.
"Billy?"
His eyes sprung open and I squealed, falling backward and down several stairs before Jasper managed to get behind me and stop me falling any further.
"Ouch," I cried out, rubbing my neck as I stood up, wincing in pain. I'd twisted it badly.
There were police sirens out front and within seconds, Ryan was sprinting through the door.
Always first on the scene.
"How did you know?" I managed to ask through the pain.
"Brenda called the station," he said before he arrested Billy. "She saw you heading over here and knew you were in trouble."
Jasper was trying to leap up on me, but I was in too much pain to tolerate it.
"Come on, Jasper," I said quietly. "Let's get out of here."
Epilogue
Three days later
Brenda offered me the weakest of smiles while she sat the sponge cake down on the coffee table next to the couch where I was still resting. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Much better, thank you," I said, turning my head in my neck brace just to prove it to her. "I only need bed rest for a few more days." I shot her a wink. "Then I'll be fit and fighting and ready to host the next craft circle."
"I'll be there," Brenda said. "As long as you will be?"
I nodded. "I think I'm gonna stick around in this town after all. I think you guys need me."
Brenda smiled. "I'm just glad you're okay. And that you found out who killed Amanda and Julia."
"Thank you for having my back, Brenda. And thanks for looking after my dogs for a few days." She turned to leave, but there was still one thing I had to say. "You know, I do need an assistant in the shop. Are you interested?"
Her face spread into a wide grin. I'd never seen her so happy. "I'd be delighted!" she said.
I'd been resting for days, and had plenty of visitors and well-wishers.
Still, there was one visitor I hadn't received yet. I wondered if he would even be coming. Would he ever even talk to me again?
I got my answer later that evening when he stopped by, still in his police uniform.
I quickly took off my brace and threw it across the room where it couldn't be seen. Any added injury and a few extra days bed rest would be worth it.
He cleared his throat. "I wanted to come a couple of days ago, but I wanted you to get your rest," Ryan said.
"Oh." I sat up straighter.
"I see you're looking much better now," Ryan said.
"Oh, was I looking terrible before?" I tried to act offended and Ryan looked concerned for a moment until I let out a little laugh that hurt my neck. "It's okay. I know I looked pretty terrible the night it happened.
"Ryan, I just wanted to say..."
He shook his head. "I should be the one who's apologizing." He shook his head. "I wish I could apologize on behalf of the whole Pottsville police force. We should have seen all this before."
"It's not your fault," I said. "You did your own job well, Ryan. And you just might have saved my life."
I couldn’t help but feel, though, that Pottsville might actually need me. Maybe they needed me around to solve the cases that the police were just too scared to touch. I could make a little side career out of this—crafter by day and detective by night.
My neck twisted awkwardly and I had to stop myself from letting out a little cry of pain. Maybe my neck wouldn't thank me for taking on this extra job. Maybe I'd have to take it easy for a little while.
But as I looked out the window of the living room and onto the street in front of my house, I just had this creeping feeling that Pottsville wasn't as quiet as it had seemed at first sight. That this town wasn't going to let me get much rest.
"It's good to have you back to your old self, George. And it's good to have you in this town." Ryan offered me a wink as he walked out. "I'll see ya around."
Arts, Crafts and Murder
Chapter 1
"Hey!" I called out, flying across my office to try to prevent the crime from taking place. "Those aren't for you!"
But Jasper had his eyes trained on the tray, on the rows of freshly cut ham sandwiches. I'd been foolish enough to turn my back for one second, and with a border collie like Jasper on the loose, one second was a second too long.
"Phew!" I said, almost falling to the ground as I grabbed the silver tray and held it high enough so that the jumping dog pawing at my waist couldn't get to them. "If there's any leftovers, they're all yours," I told him. "But these women are a hungry bunch."
My weekly craft circle—and the women who attended—were waiting for me on the other side of the door. I'd made special arrangements to close the shop a couple of hours early so we could all meet to gossip, eat, and swap crafting secrets. I'd only lived in Pottsville for two months and, sad as it is to say, even though I am a rather effervescent woman, this craft circle was still my only real social activity. It wasn't that the women in Pottsville were standoffish, per se. They were more...tight-knit. And I still had to prove myself, apparently.
I braced myself, ready to swing through the doors of the shop with my best, brightest, 'here to make new friends' smile.
"Welcome, everyone..." I stopped in my tracks, the tray of salvaged sandwiches in my hand. Where was everyone?
"Hello?" My store was totally empty. I looked down at Jasper. "Did I get the date wrong?"
No. It was definitely Friday. I can be a bit scatterbrained at times, and like most people, I have a habit of wishing it was Friday when it actually wasn't, but it was absolutely, one hundred percent Friday afternoon.
Jasper ran over to the counter and knocked a pile of loose buttons to the ground as he put his paws up and started to sniff at something.
"Hmm," I said, spotting the item he was sniffing at. A note.
Moved the meeting to the town hall. Meet us there if you like,
Brenda.
I crumpled up the note. Brenda. Trust my newest casual employee and full-time frenemy to pull a stunt like this. She wanted to be in charge of the craft circle, and my store for that matter. It was probably some kind of power play. I decided not to let it bother me, shrugged it off, and picked up the sandwiches. "Come on, Jasper, looks like we're taking a walk to the town hall."
By the time we got to the town hall, it was obvious that the meeting had been in full swing for a while. I frowned but quickly straightened my face as Brenda approached me while I tied Jasper up outside.
Despite only being a year older than me, Brenda could almost pass for a decade my senior, with her matronly clothes and manner. She made a show of
looking all apologetic, like it had all been a very innocent misunderstanding. "So terribly sorry for the mix-up, Georgina." She always called me by my full name, though most people called me George. "I hope it didn't put you out too much."
"No," I said. "I'm just the new girl. Ignore me." I flashed a wide grin to show that I was joking. Kind of joking. Sort of.
Yes, just ignore the person who formed the group in the first place. Why should I need to know where the meeting was being held or at what time?
Brenda shot me a sickly sweet smile.
"I just thought we'd start a little bit earlier. It's better for the other women in the group. They are a little bit older, you know," Brenda said knowingly. "They like to get home early, have their dinner early, watch their shows."
Yeah, I knew it. Even though I was in my early forties myself, I sometimes felt like a spring chicken in Pottsville. It was the sort of town people moved to when they retired, and even though there were children, of course, there were very few people in their twenties or thirties. Besides Ryan, that is. But he was a police officer, and he had to live in town. My mind briefly started to wander and I found a smile coming to my lips, thinking about him. Then I remembered I was standing in a musty town hall with a tray of sad looking sandwiches in my hand. I glanced at the circle of women to my left and saw all of their empty plates full of crumbs. They had already eaten.
"And the change of location?" I asked.
"Oh, that was more convenient for everyone as well."
"It wasn't convenient for me."
Brenda shrugged. Less apologetically this time. "I made an executive decision."
Great. So now I'd been superseded as leader of the group I created. Brenda had become the de facto leader, just as she'd wanted all along, while I'd been too busy making sandwiches and minding my own business.
Seemed like you couldn't escape the politics of stuff like this, of friendships and social circles, no matter where you ended up. Even in a teeny tiny town, just trying to run an innocent little craft circle. I'd lived in Paris before Pottsville and in a way, life in a big city had been far more peaceful than this.
Craft Circle Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 9
