HAMMERED (Mrs. Fix It Mysteries Book 1)

by Belle Knudson

  “Could have been something illegal or something for the government. There are all sorts of people who work for the government doing odd jobs.”

  She blinked at him. Just a week ago she was a handywoman. Trucking along through the life she’d built since her husband had disappeared. Now she might have been married to a spy, or worse, a criminal. How had a small town girl like her gotten involved in this?

  “I guess he took advantage of my naiveté,” Kate said.

  She heard the bitterness in her own voice. Scott stood, putting his hands on her arms. “We don’t know anything yet.”

  “No, we really don’t. I appreciate you looking into this,” Kate said.

  She may not trust this man with her heart, but she trusted him to find out about her husband. Scott was determined and he’d ferret out details that others had missed. Of that she was sure.

  “Are you ready to go? I’m not leaving you here by yourself.”

  “I am. I already had my truck packed when I walked out to it.”

  “Good. Where will you be?”

  “I have to go back to Hazel’s house. She wants me to replace an outside faucet that’s been leaking.”

  “You’ll be visible then. Good. No one should bother you in broad daylight. Just let me know where you are next. Then meet me for lunch.”

  “As much as I appreciate what you are doing, we aren’t going to be dating.”

  “It isn’t a date, as much as I would like it to be, but if we begin to spend time together, then whoever is threatening you will back off. Besides, half the town thinks we’re going to be an item anyway.”

  She snorted. He wasn’t wrong there.

  ***

  Hazel’s dog yipped as Kate climbed out of her truck. She leaned down to pet the dog. He licked her hand.

  She straightened, then had the distinct sensation that someone was watching her. She glanced around, but saw no one.

  “Just paranoid.”

  The dog trotted beside her as she walked to Hazel’s front door. She liked to let the woman know that she was here before she began work. Odd that the dog was out and about without her.

  Something had to be wrong. Kate knocked on the door. She heard a moan. Yanking the door open, she entered Hazel’s house. The woman was on the floor.

  “Oh, Kate, I fell. Help me up.”

  “How about I call you an ambulance?”

  She flipped out her phone, dialed 911. Then she went to get a pillow for Hazel to put her head on.

  “Oh, Kate. Don’t go to any trouble.”

  “Hazel, it’s okay.” She sat on the floor next to the old woman. “Are you in pain?”

  “A little.”

  “Is there anyone I can call?”

  “My cell phone is on the kitchen table. Can you bring it to me?”

  Kate did. She thought Hazel was pretty calm for having fallen while by herself. The woman called someone then hung up.

  “I called my son. He’s going to insist that I move in with him. He’s been badgering me for months.”

  “Might not be a bad idea, Hazel,” Kate said.

  Someone knocked on the door. Kate yelled for them to come in.

  The EMTs had arrived. She moved out of their way and let them work. They had Hazel on the cot and out in the ambulance in no time.

  “You want me to come to the hospital?” Kate said.

  “No, honey. My son is meeting me there. Thank you for staying with me,” Hazel said.

  “No problem. I’ll have that faucet fixed in to time.”

  “Good.”

  They put her in the ambulance then drove away. Kate returned to her truck, gathering the materials she needed to replace the faucet. She still had the sense that someone watched her.

  She did the job at Hazel’s then texted Scott with her next location. She had to stop by Grayson’s to rent a power washer. As she drove, her mind filled with thoughts of Greg. She had stopped long ago thinking about him every day. He only entered her thoughts once in a while.

  Now he was all she could think about. What had he been involved in?

  She shooed away those thoughts and pondered what she’d seen in the mayor’s folder. That was something she might be able to solve. Where her husband was might always remain a mystery.

  Kate was sure that Jackie’s death had something to do with the deal gone badly. Didn’t that happen once in a while? No one had a perfect track record. Why would people be mad? Had Jackie done something wrong?

  She must have done something underhanded in the investing. Did she make money? If she asked Scott, he’d admonish her to stop investigating. Especially since she’d been threatened.

  Nor could she tell him about the folder. He wouldn’t appreciate that she’d stolen it.

  Grayson’s was full of the usual guys talking about home improvement. Clark stood behind the counter listening. He smiled at Kate.

  “I need a power washer.”

  “I have one in the back you can rent.”

  She gave him her credit card, hoping it wasn’t full. She breathed a sigh of relief when it was accepted. She signed.

  “Drive the truck around to the back. I’ll load it into your truck. You going to be able to unload it?”

  “Let’s see it first.”

  The part of being a woman in the handyman world was that a lot of equipment was too heavy or not built with a woman in mind. She’d often had to figure out creative ways to get the job done.

  She parked her car in the alley behind Grayson’s. Clark waited for her. The power washer sat at his feet. She hopped out then opened her tailgate.

  “You might want to invest in ramps to get this stuff in and out of your truck,” Clark said. “I have ones you can borrow.”

  “Thanks, Clark.”

  He showed Kate how to set them up then she was able to wheel the power washer into the bed. She secured it with bungee cords.

  “If you bring it back before I close, I can knock some off the price,” Clark said.

  “I appreciate that. I’ll do my best.”

  “Remember I close early today. Fishing trip.”

  “Right.”

  She left him standing in the alley. She set up the washer in minutes. Before she began, she had that sensation again. Someone was watching her. This time he didn’t hide.

  He was a man probably in his thirties. Why would he be staring at her? She wasn’t hot, and she sure didn’t cut a sexy figure in her overalls. She pretended to go back to her truck then detoured toward the man standing across the street. He stood by a tree. She memorized details about him. He had black hair and black jeans. His T-shirt sported some video game character that Kate had seen her sons play.

  He had glanced down at his phone so he didn’t see her. She was halfway across the street when he ran in the opposite direction. She wasn’t in any shape to chase him.

  “Damn.”

  She watched him go, then turned back to her job. Turning on the water, she fired up the power washer. The house she was cleaning had a lot of mold on it. She’d brought bleach just in case the washer alone wouldn’t remove it. The green stuff was tenacious, but Kate was more so.

  She kept glancing in the direction of the street, but the man didn’t reappear. Her mind turned over the facts of the case in her mind. Someone had entered Scott’s house. They had to have known that Jackie was in there.

  Was she meeting someone? Given her vast investments, it could have been a former client, a current client or, as it turned out, someone out to kill her. Who would be mad enough to follow her and kill her?

  Who was this mysterious man who had been staring at her? Was he the killer? Or did he have nothing to do with it? Maybe he had something to do with Greg’s disappearance. Someone could have been following her all of these years and she never noticed. Took a dead body to wake her up to her surroundings. How many things around her had she missed?

  She packed up the washer when she was done. Glancing at her phone, she wasn’t sure if she had time
to return it to Grayson’s before she had to meet Scott. She drove by the hardware store, but the place was packed. She signaled to Clark that she’d come back later.

  He nodded. She took out her phone to call Scott. She was ready for lunch. Guess they would keep up the charade of spending time together. Like lovers. She was sure there would be tongues wagging as she was still married.

  She hadn’t filed for divorce yet. Should she? Maybe she could wait until Scott found out more about Greg’s disappearance.

  That settled, she dialed his number.

  Chapter Ten

  Kate met Scott at the Time to Eat Diner at one end of Main Street. People occupied most of the tables, but Scott was already there holding a booth. He was wearing the same suit jacket, but he’d put on a tie since Kate had seen him last.

  “You would think they were giving something away here,” Scott said when she slid onto the seat across from him.

  The diner was the usual type with a counter that ran through most of it. The kitchen lay behind that. The seats in each booth were made with red vinyl that Kate remembered sticking to in her shorts when Scott would bring her here after a movie.

  Before they’d go fool around. That had been their Friday night ritual. Kate wished she hadn’t thought of that right now. She’d eaten in this place many times since then, and not once had it provoked those memories.

  Nope, sitting across from Scott did that.

  Sigh.

  “The special today is meatloaf and macaroni and cheese bites,” Kate said.

  “Macaroni and cheese bites?”

  “Those haven’t made it out to the big city? They are practically a delicacy here.”

  “Sounds like a cholesterol nightmare. Does it come with an AED on the side?” Scott said.

  Kate laughed. “It’s good.”

  She didn’t even pick up her menu. She knew she was having the special. Maybe even some pie for desert. She’d been good all week.

  “You having the special?” he said.

  “Of course.”

  He closed his menu, then put it on top of hers. “I will, too.”

  “You going to risk a heart attack?”

  “I’ll run an extra mile tonight.”

  She laughed. So that’s how he kept in shape. Her work kept her from gaining too much weight. If she had an office job, she would have been the size of a house.

  A harried waitress came by.

  “Hey, Mrs. Flaherty.”

  “Hello, Caitlin.”

  Caitlin attended community college and waitressed part-time here. Kate knew her because she’d been dating her son Jared before he left for college. She didn’t know if they’d kept in touch, but they’d both agreed there wasn’t any reason to do the long distance thing. Kate had liked Caitlin very much after that.

  “How’s Jared?”

  Kate tried not to chuckle. “He’s good.”

  “Tell him I said hey next time you talk to him.”

  “I will,” Kate said.

  She took their orders, gathered the menus then left.

  “A friend of your son’s?” Scott said.

  “Ex-girlfriend. She was always sweet, but I think she liked Jared more than he liked her. He let her down as easily as he could. He didn’t just run off to college,” she said.

  Scott put a hand on his heart. “Ouch. I resent that remark.”

  She laughed. “Ancient history.”

  “Clearly not or you wouldn’t have brought it up.”

  “No, it really is. I just am busting your chops.”

  He nodded, but she didn’t think that he believed her.

  “Tell me about your sons,” Scott said.

  “They are both freshmen at Penn State. Jared wants to major in forensic science. Jason is going for computer science.”

  “Both good majors.”

  “Yes, they can both get jobs. As long as they can support themselves, I’m happy.”

  “Guess that’s what a parent’s job is.”

  “Yes it is.” She put hand on his. “Before we go any further, I need to tell you about the strange thing that happened to me today.”

  He glanced down at her hand on his. She pulled it back.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I had the sense that someone was watching me. I didn’t see anyone when I was at Hazel’s.”

  “By the way, Hazel broke her hip, but she’s going to be fine,” Scott said.

  “Good. Anyway, when I went to my next stop I felt it again. This time I saw a man in his thirties watching me. He was goth-looking, which I thought was odd for someone that age.”

  “Did he look like a rocker? Had guyliner on?”

  “You know what guyliner is?”

  Scott chuckled. “Yes, I did spend some time patrolling South Street.”

  “Right. Yes, I think he did have guy liner on.”

  “He sounds like Dean Wentworth.”

  “Who is that?”

  “The guy that I caught Jackie with.”

  Kate sat back with her mouth open. “How old was Jackie that she was with this guy?”

  “She was in her early forties. Dean is older than he looks, but she had a decade on him.”

  “Yikes. I didn’t know. Sorry.”

  “No problem. Ancient history.”

  So that’s what had happened. Sad. Scott didn’t deserve that.

  “I tried to confront him, but he ran away,” Kate said.

  “Don’t, Katydid. Don’t put yourself in danger,” Scott said.

  “Is he dangerous?”

  “He could be the killer. I’ll let Ken know the guy’s in town.”

  “You guys kiss and make up?”

  Scott laughed. “We’ve come to a truce. For now. We’ll work it out. We, men, do that.”

  “Right.”

  “Other than your stalker, how was your day?”

  He was asking about her day? How boyfriend-like. “You know about most of my day already.”

  “That’s true. Mine has consisted of catching up on paperwork.”

  “Sounds exciting.”

  Caitlyn brought their meals and drinks.

  “These are macaroni and cheese bites?” He eyed them as if they would nip at him.

  “Yes, try one. It won’t kill you.”

  “No, but a steady diet would.”

  “Probably.”

  He tried one and his eyes fell closed. Oh God. She remembered that look. It was one of ecstasy. “Wow. You were right. They are good.”

  “Hence this place is packed when the cook makes them. Word spreads around the town.”

  “Yes, I’m getting acquainted with the local grapevine.”

  “Better than social media. The vine will be abuzz after our lunch. We will be the topic, I’m sure.”

  “I’ve had no less than ten people ask me if you and I are going to date,” Scott said. “As if high school was only a few years ago.”

  “Long memories in small towns.”

  “So what should I tell them next time they ask? Should we say we are dating?”

  She almost choked on her meatloaf. “I’ve taken the tack that I’m still married. No one would believe that I’m suddenly going against that.”

  He smiled. “But you just couldn’t resist my charm, so you agreed to date me.”

  “You think people will believe that?”

  “Why not? My charm is still legendary in this town. I’ve had no less than four pies on my desk from eligible women. Might be your last chance to get me. I’m pretty hot property,” Scott said.

  “Modest, too.”

  Celia Johnson chose that moment to stop at their table. “Eating the special, I see. Nice to have you back, Scott. You plan on sticking around?”

  “Yes, I do, Mrs. Johnson.”

  She glanced at Kate then back at Scott. She left shaking her head.

  “I always got the impression that she didn’t like me,” Scott said.

  “You chose me over Carly. That never sat well with h
er.”

  “These people need to get a life and better things to talk about.”

  “Get used to it if you intend to stick around. Not the anonymity of a big city. They’ll know your shoe size, what ailments you have and who you’ve taken to bed.”

  “Would you be surprised that I haven’t taken anyone to bed since I’ve been here?”

  She put a hand up. “None of my business.”

  ***

  At the end of lunch, Kate receives a text from a neighbor of her last customer asking if she could come and power wash their house. She sends a text to Clark asking him if she can keep the washer until tomorrow since he is closing early.

  He agrees.

  “Where to now?” Scott said. He’d paid the bill and met her outside. She stood by her truck.

  “I have another power-washing customer. That’s good. I didn’t have any jobs this afternoon,” she said.

  He kissed her on the cheek. “Where?”

  She gave him the address. “Out in the open again.”

  “If you see that guy again, text me. Also, call me before you go home. I’ll have a patrol car meet you out there.”

  “Isn’t that an unofficial use of municipal property?”

  “No. We’re merely serving and protecting.”

  She laughed as he walked away. She watched him go for a moment. He walked like he owned the place. Long strides, his head high and his eyes forward. He did cut an attractive figure. Striking with his white hair, and even some of the younger women looked his way.

  The next house she cleaned was bigger than the last and had more windows she had to avoid. She hadn’t broken any in her short career, but she had to admit she was more distracted today than usual.

  The day was hot, but she appreciated the moisture from the washer. She was a little wet and that cooled her down. She packed up the washer. That was when she saw the man again. She sent a text to Scott that she’d seen him.

  Dean, if that was who he was, started to walk away. She loaded the power washer into her truck then climbed in to follow him. He walked straight down Main Street. Kate parked her truck and watched him go in-between Grayson’s and the consignment shop next to it. That led to the alley. She moved her truck in front of Grayson’s then followed him into the alley.

  Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but she wasn’t going to lose sight of him. If Scott wanted to question him, she needed to stick with him.