HAMMERED (Mrs. Fix It Mysteries Book 1)

by Belle Knudson

  Not to be distracted, she went back to the topic she wanted to discuss. “Back to Jackie. Do you know who went in on that deal with her?”

  He sighed. “You really aren’t going to let this go.”

  “Nope, so you might as well help me.”

  “I can’t as long as I am chief. But you should tell me about anything you find out.”

  “Of course. I will.”

  She might tell Scott. She probably wouldn’t tell Ken. He had his mind set already.

  “I can probably find out who was in on that deal, but I wasn’t part of it. She did that deal when we were in the midst of the divorce.”

  “Did she lose a lot of money?” Kate asked.

  Kate was sure that the key to her murder was a bad business deal. If someone had lost their savings, they’d be pretty mad. This might have been the first time that person had gotten her alone. The murderer could have been taking advantage of a small town police force not knowing how to investigate a murder.

  In the big city, they would have been discovered, but not in Rock Ridge—a town that usually brought in the state police for the bigger crimes. Which led Kate to the question of why Ken hadn’t brought them in. Or maybe he had, just hadn’t told her.

  “Probably, but Jackie was like a cat. She always landed on her feet.”

  Kate mulled that over. Maybe Jackie had in the past, but she’d pissed someone off enough to kill her.

  Her nine lives had run out.

  Chapter Seven

  Kate’s first job of the day was to return to the mayor’s house. She had to put a second coat on the new addition. She also wanted to snoop in his office to see if she could find out who had lost money in that bad deal with Jackie.

  She was convinced that was the key to Jackie’s murder. Since she was having no luck figuring out who could have had opportunity, she chose to focus on who had motive and then work backwards.

  Jessica was dressed in slacks and a blouse when Kate arrived. The mayor’s wife was visible and involved in many things, so Kate assumed she had to look good. Her appearance and behavior reflected on the mayor.

  Seemed to be working as he kept getting reelected. Jessica had the perfect temperament for a politician’s wife. She was lovely, but not too hot. Congenial, but not a pushover. She could make anyone feel at ease.

  “Oh, you’re here today?” Jessica said, letting her in. “I have a meeting for my charity association in half an hour. If I gave you the key, would you lock the door when you go out? You can leave the key in the mailbox.”

  Not safe, but whatever Jessica wanted. “Sure, I’ll just need payment before I go.”

  “Do you take credit cards?”

  That was next on her business agenda. “Not yet. I’m working on that swiping thing for my phone, but it hasn’t come through yet.”

  Jessica bit her lip. “Okay, I’ll write you a check before I go.”

  Kate unloaded her truck then set to work painting. With Jessica out of the house, she could snoop in Dudley’s office. It went against her ethics as a tradesperson entering a home, but she considered these desperate times. Ken probably hadn’t even interviewed the mayor. They were buddies from way back.

  Kate poured the lime green paint into a tray with a liner. It meant easier cleanup at the end if she used the liner. The color still made her cringe, but this wasn’t her house. She used a small roller around the edges then the big roller to fill in. She’d opened a window and a breeze blew in, meaning the paint would dry quickly.

  She never liked painting in the summer unless the person had air conditioning. Otherwise, the humidity in the outside air slowed down the drying process.

  Jessica showed up when Kate was halfway through the first wall. She had a pen and a check in her hand. “How much do I owe you?”

  Kate rested the roller in the pan, wiped her hands, and then fished into her tool box for the bill she’d written up. She handed it to Jessica. The woman studied it then wrote the check, leaning against one of the unpainted walls.

  Kate jammed the check into her back pocket, calculating what exactly she would use the money for. Some would go to repair her truck. She’d get one thing done on it and hopefully that would help her poor vehicle limp along for another few months.

  “I’m going out. The key is on the table by the front door. Thanks for locking up after yourself.”

  Kate nodded then went back to work. She heard the garage door open, then close. She finished the rest of the walls. She expected she wouldn’t need another coat.

  The painting done, she left her stuff in the room in case there was any question of why she was still in the house.

  The mayor’s office wasn’t locked. Kate’s heart fluttered. She’d always been the good girl. She rarely went over the speed limit. She hadn’t cheated on her husband. She didn’t pull the tag off her mattress until it had been paid for.

  The craziest thing she’d done in her life was have sex in Scott’s car when they were teens. Even then she’d felt a little bad about it.

  Standing in that office, Kate knew she was crossing a line, but this was important. She’d taught her sons that the end didn’t justify the means, and she was now glad they couldn’t see where she was.

  Enough remorse. She could beat herself up later. Opening all the drawers in the mayor’s desk, she didn’t find anything. She turned to the file cabinet behind her. Most of the files were for his business, but one, way in the back, had a familiar name on it.

  She tugged out the marked folder that said Jackie York. Before she could open it, she heard the garage door again. “Crap.”

  She closed up the folder and only debated for a second. She left the office with it, closing the door behind her. She tucked it into her toolbox, then began her clean-up procedures. She was pouring paint back into the can when Jessica swung by.

  “Forgot something,” she said, breezing past the room.

  Kate hoped Jessica would be gone before she had to leave, so she could peruse the file and put it back. No such luck.

  Kate left the mayor’s house with the folder in her toolbox. Her gaze darted around as she drove to her next job. Did everyone know she’d stolen something? She drove slower than usual, careful not to break any laws.

  All she wanted to do was read the file then return it. She bit her lip as she drove down Main Street. She wasn’t sure how she was going to return it. She had no reason to get back into the mayor’s house.

  She parked her truck at her next job, a shutter repair. It had fallen off the house in a recent storm. Kate would go around and make sure all of the shutters were secure before she left.

  The homeowner, Hazel Millhouse, knocked on her window. She was a sweet older lady whose husband had passed away a year before. He’d been handy, but getting up in years when he died.

  Kate figured Hazel had her on speed dial. She fixed something at Hazel’s house once a week. The woman was probably her best customer.

  “You okay?” Hazel said.

  Kate opened her door as Hazel’s little dog yipped at their feet. She bent down to scratch the dog under the chin. “I’m okay. Just a lot on my mind.”

  “Right, Scott being accused of murder.”

  She resisted rolling her eyes. Why was everyone so sure she and Scott were an item?

  “Something like that.”

  The folder called to her, but this woman was a priority. She might even have Kate change a light bulb or two while she was here. A visit to Hazel’s house was never a quick one.

  “Let me get to that shutter.”

  “It’s around front.”

  The shutters were painted a dark green and probably could use a coat or two of paint. Hazel probably had a fixed income so Kate didn’t suggest it. She wasn’t going to gouge the sweet old woman.

  This was a good karma job. She didn’t charge her much, and in fact, Kate lost money on the transaction, but she gained good karma points for helping out an old lady. It all balanced out in the end.

  T
he shutter only needed some new screws. Kate had just bought ones that wouldn’t rust, so she replaced the screws on all of the shutters as Hazel talked about her hip that needed to be replaced.

  “What is wrong with Rock Ridge that we have a murder? I locked my house last night. Haven’t done that in years. Not since there had been a string of burglaries on the street. Ended up being kids.”

  “I remember that. Yes, Greg had put another lock on our door.”

  Well, she’d done it, but Greg had insisted that it be done.

  “Oh. I’m so sorry about your husband, Kate. Any news?”

  Most of the town skirted around the issue with her. Hazel wasn’t that way. “Nothing. No trace of him.”

  “You need to move on with your life, Kate. You deserve to be happy.”

  “That’s sweet, Hazel. Thank you.”

  For the rest of the conversation, Kate murmured at the appropriate times, but her mind was on that file. Of all the people the mayor dealt with in his jobs, why would he only have a specific file for her?

  It would probably make sense when she read it.

  ***

  Kate had just pulled into her driveway when Scott called. She didn’t like to drive and talk on the phone so she stopped. Her house sat at the end of a windy driveway in a clearing among trees.

  Kate had wanted to live closer to town so the boys had playmates in the neighborhood. Greg had insisted he liked being out in the country. The boys would be able to hike and fish with no one to bother them.

  Her boys ended up not being hikers or fishermen, but they’d never moved out of this house. Kate wasn’t ready to move from the home she had made for them. What if Greg came back and found them gone?

  “Hello.”

  What flirting will he try tonight? A tired Kate might fall for his charms even if she made it clear the other night that they were friends and nothing more.

  “Kate, good news.”

  “You’ve found the love of your life and you’re going to stop flirting with me?”

  He chuckled. Any other man would be insulted. Not Scott. He was too sure of himself. “Funny. No, the autopsy came back. I have an alibi for the time of death. Not only do I have an alibi, but those who saw me were cops.”

  “It doesn’t get any better than that. So you go back to work tomorrow.”

  “Yep and I can stop climbing the walls. You want to come by and help me celebrate?”

  “No can do. I have a date with a bathtub and a glass of wine.”

  “I could join you in both of those things,” he said.

  She sighed. He was incorrigible. “We talked about this, Scott. We agreed.”

  “You talked. I listened. I never agreed.”

  Now that she thought about the conversation, he hadn’t agreed. Damn him. He’d made it sound like he was agreeing, but he wasn’t.

  Then she had a thought. Carly was probably the last person to see Jackie alive. She might have information that she had no idea she had.

  “I have to go, Scott.”

  “You can’t avoid me forever.”

  “I can try.”

  He was chuckling as she hung up. She drove her truck the rest of the way down her driveway, getting that warm, safe feeling when she viewed her house. It wasn’t a big house. I had two stories and four bedrooms. The first floor had a kitchen that she and Greg had renovated not long before he disappeared. They both liked to cook so they’d splurged.

  Still sitting in the truck, Kate called Carly.

  “Hey, girl,” Carly said. “I was just thinking about you.”

  “How would you like to come over for dinner?”

  If she plied Carly with wine, she might remember something.

  “That sounds great. I’m ready to get out of this apartment. I’d love to come over. I’ll bring dessert.”

  “Sounds good. I need an hour.”

  An hour later, Kate had showered and had a salad made when Carly knocked then entered. They had that kind of friendship. They knew the layout of each other’s kitchen and could just walk into each other’s spaces.

  Kate pulled a chilled bottle of chardonnay out of the refrigerator, then poured two glasses.

  “I heard Scott’s off the hook,” Carly said.

  “The grapevine in this town never ceases to amaze me.”

  Carly laughed then drank some wine. “I’m surprised you aren’t celebrating with Scott.”

  “He asked.”

  She leaned on her granite countertop. All she had to do was grill some chicken to top the salad with and they’d have dinner. She’d picked up some fresh vegetables the day before from the farmer’s market.

  “Then why are you here with me? That man wants you so badly.”

  “How do you know?”

  Carly sighed. “He’s seen you on the street. He stares at you as if the sun rose and set with you.”

  “When?”

  “Oh, Kate. He is usually on his way to work when you’re coming out of the hardware store. I have a great view of that part of Main Street.”

  “He hasn’t been in town that long.”

  “Still.”

  Kate waved a hand. “I’m still a married woman.”

  “You know my theory on where Greg is, and he’s not keeping his wedding vows.”

  Kate didn’t want to go down that road. She’d invited Carly over to talk about Jackie, not Scott.

  “So since Scott is cleared and I’m cleared, you were the last person to see her alive. Have you remembered anything else about that day?”

  “I’m not a suspect, am I?”

  “Did you have a reason to kill someone who is a perfect stranger to you?”

  “Not perfect. I hadn’t met her, but my dad had some dealings with her. He wasn’t a fan, but you know my dad. He doesn’t really get mad. He probably had more reason to kill her than I did. What he lost in her deal had no effect on me. I turned down the opportunity. Glad I did.”

  “In hindsight, it was a good decision.”

  “The shop wasn’t doing well at that moment, so I didn’t have any cash to spare,” Carly said.

  “You said you saw Larry’s chief’s truck there?”

  “Yes.”

  Celia had said the same thing. Kate couldn’t figure out why that was significant, but she’d ask Larry next time she saw him. He’d been absent from her life for a few days. Odd for him, but with Scott badgering her she welcomed the relief of not fending off two men.

  First world problems, for sure.

  “I don’t remember any houses for sale near Scott’s.”

  “Maybe he was just checking something for someone. You know Larry. He’s a good guy. Takes his work as fire chief seriously.”

  “That might be.”

  That explanation didn’t sit right with Kate. She didn’t know why. She couldn’t imagine Larry hurting a fly. He’d been sweet and patient with her. He wasn’t pushy and demanding like Scott. He was nothing like Scott.

  Where Scott was all ego and charm, Larry was gentle and loving. If she had to make a choice, it should be Larry. He’d treat her like a queen. No doubt.

  Larry sadly didn’t get her motor running.

  Didn’t matter. She was still a married woman. She couldn’t forget that. She had two sons to be a role model for. Sons that she’d raised to do the right thing. Which was what she was doing.

  “So, Jackie looked okay when you saw her?”

  “She wasn’t staggering, just walking on those impossibly high heels that some women call maneuver on.”

  “I’m not one of them,” Kate said.

  A kitten heel was enough for her.

  Carly sipped her wine. “Why don’t you let the cops figure all of this out?”

  “Spoken like a cop’s daughter,” Kate said.

  “Well, if my dad said it to you, then he had a point.”

  “Did he bring in the state cops?”

  “He did. I wonder if Scott is going to send them away. He was a detective in Philly.”
r />   “A homicide detective?”

  “Yes, he was. How do I know that and you don’t?”

  “Because your father wanted to know his competition, and I’m doing my best to avoid Scott,” Kate said.

  Carly laughed. “How is that working for you?”

  “Not so well, I’m afraid.”

  Chapter Eight

  Kate and Carly had eaten in silence for a few minutes. The silence of a long friendship.

  “Do you have feelings for Scott?” Carly said finally.

  “I don’t. I still love Greg.”

  Or did she? She didn’t really know. She’d gone through some of the stages of grief since he’d left, but she wasn’t sure she’d completely gotten over him.

  “Even though he left you? Even though you have no idea where he is? Aren’t you mad at him? He should have been here to raise your boys with you.”

  They’d had this conversation more than once, and Kate was too tired for it tonight. “Carly, he’s my husband. I vowed to love and honor him.”

  “He isn’t loving and honoring you.”

  “Maybe he died somewhere, and his body hasn’t been found.”

  “This part of Pennsylvania isn’t that remote.”

  That was a good point, and as far as Kate knew, Greg had been on his way home from work at the college when he disappeared. He had to pass through town and not on any country roads until right before the house. His car had not been found.

  On the other hand, there were game lands on the edge of town. Someone could die out there and never be found. How would she feel if she found out that Greg had been nearby all this time? She didn’t know.

  “I’m really not up for this conversation tonight, Carls.”

  Carly sighed. “Fine, but I think you have two fine men after you, and you should take advantage of the opportunities. I can’t get one man to look at me and I’m single.”

  Carly left and Kate was finally able to look at the folder she’d taken from the mayor’s file cabinet. No one had shown up on her doorstep demanding it back, so Dudley didn’t know it was gone yet.

  Or he did and he wasn’t willing to admit that he had such a file?

  She poured herself some more wine then sat out on her back deck. The light was waning; she lit a candle so she could see the folder. Worked, sort of.