HAMMERED (Mrs. Fix It Mysteries Book 1)

by Belle Knudson

  She heard voices as she arrived at the end of the walkway. She stopped, then peeked out. The man, Dean, was talking with Clark.

  She could hear them so there was no need to step out of the walkway. She pulled out her phone, so that if anyone walked past, they would think she was checking her e-mails. She sent another text to Scott updating him on her position.

  “I want to know why you wanted to talk to Jackie,” Dean said.

  “That’s none of your business. You should just go back to Philly and stay there. Someone might think you killed her.”

  “I didn’t kill her. I loved her. I was going to marry her.”

  “You think she was going to marry you?”

  “We were together for years. I think you killed her. She said you were unhappy with what happened in Philly.”

  Kate’s ears perked up. This guy knew about Philly.

  “That’s the past,” Clark said.

  “You threatened her. I know you did. She told me.”

  His voice was heart wrenching. This man had really loved Jackie. This was the first person who had anything positive to say about her. Every villain is a hero in his own story. It’s all about perspective.

  She leaned against the wall, holding her phone to her chest. Where was Scott? He wasn’t here yet. Nor did she see a patrol car. Didn’t he want to speak to this guy? She didn’t want to confront him. He might be dangerous.

  “I loved her and I think you killed her. I’m going to the cops,” the man said.

  “Then I’ll tell them what you’ve been doing for me. You aren’t clean in all of this,” Clark said.

  “All I did was put a note on a car.”

  Note? Had he been the one to threaten her? Or had Clark? Why would Clark threaten her?

  Jackie had ruined him. He now owned a hardware store in a small town. He lived with his bachelor son. That’s a mighty fall for someone who had probably dined in the best restaurants in Philadelphia.

  He’d be bitter.

  Jackie had cheated on Scott with Dean, and they had still been together when she’d been killed. Had she cheated on Dean? Had he killed her out of fury? Was he mad at her for cheating?

  Kate was more confused now than ever.

  “I’m leaving, but I’ll be back,” the man said.

  “Don’t come back. I’m done with you.”

  “I’ll be back, but no more dirty work. I’m not doing it. They’ll read Jackie’s will and I’ll be rich.”

  “Not if you’re in jail for killing her,” Clark said.

  So Clark thought this guy killed Jackie. The more they talked, the more complicated this case was becoming. Where was Scott?

  Then she saw his car in the alley. He stepped out, not acknowledging her in the walkway.

  “Dean,” Scott said.

  “Scott. Long time, no see. Chief of police, huh?”

  “Better than a dirty cop like you.”

  Kate gasped. This guy was a cop? Had they worked together in Philly?

  “I wasn’t dirty.”

  “Close enough.”

  This was beginning to get personal, so Kate slinked away. She didn’t want to know anymore. She had to return the power washer and hope that Clark hadn’t seen her truck parked the last few minutes.

  Chapter Eleven

  When Kate wheeled the power washer into the hardware store, Clark was back at the register. He was waiting on a customer. Kate wheeled the equipment to the back of the store. She didn’t know where it belonged, so she left it there.

  She returned with the ramps and Clark was by himself.

  “Glad you made it back. I was about to close up. Sadly, not for fishing. I need to do inventory.”

  “Then let’s get this transaction over with, though I bet you are in no hurry to do that task,” Kate said.

  His mood was light as if he hadn’t just had the conversation she knew about. She leaned on the counter as he figured out her discount then credited her card.

  “So, who was that guy that was out back?” She couldn’t find a subtler way to do it. “Looked like you were arguing with him.”

  Clark shrugged. “Someone who wasn’t happy with my service. How did you see him?”

  “He was watching me as I power washed the Ogdens’ house. Unnerving, for sure.”

  “He’s probably harmless,” Clark said.

  “Didn’t sound it. Didn’t he threaten you?”

  “You misheard. He was just unhappy about his service.”

  “Haven’t seen him around.”

  Clark eyed her. “You don’t know everyone in town.”

  The bell over the front door jangled. They both turned. Larry sauntered in through the door.

  “Hey, Kate. Saw your truck. You up for a drink?”

  She could use one, but not with Larry. Unfortunately, they had been friends for long enough that she couldn’t turn him down.

  “Sure thing, but nothing fancy.” She indicated her clothes. “Unless you need me to change.”

  “Nah. We’ll go to The Rail. No one cares what you look like there.”

  “Good.”

  The Rail was a blue-collar bar and sat three doors away from the hardware store. Greg wouldn’t have ever had a drink there, but Kate liked the lack of pretension.

  “Let me send a text and then we can go.”

  She sent one to Scott. Having drink with Larry at The Rail.

  Should I be jealous?

  You have no right to be jealous.

  She tucked the phone in her pocket then smiled at Larry.

  He motioned her out the front door, waving at his father. “You’ve been busy.”

  “Yes, it’s been nice to have jobs. Things are picking up.”

  They found a spot in a booth then ordered beers.

  Larry wasn’t in uniform, so he must have had the day off.

  “How has your day been?” Larry asked.

  He’d been a good guy and a good friend after Greg disappeared. He’d only been making romantic overtures in the last year. She wanted to feel that way about him, he just didn’t give her the zings like Scott could.

  “My day was busy, like you said. What about yours?”

  “Other than a trash can fire, nothing exciting. I knocked off early then I saw your truck and figured it was fate. We haven’t just sat and talked for a long time.”

  “I know, Larry. I’m glad you walked in. I would have just gone home.”

  “That would have been a shame.”

  The waitress brought their beers. Kate poured some of the amber liquid down her throat.

  “So, Scott ended up having an alibi for his wife’s murder.”

  She bit her tongue before she corrected him and said ex. “Yes. Have you heard anything?”

  “No, no one’s talking.”

  “By the way, you were in that neighborhood around that time. You didn’t see anything?”

  “I don’t remember being there that morning.”

  “Several people saw your truck.”

  “Then I guess I’m remembering the wrong day.”

  “There are no houses for sale on that block. I know you do inspections when they are. I was wondering what you were doing there.”

  “I guess if I was there, I might have been checking someone’s fireplace. I really don’t remember what day I was there.”

  He seemed adamant, but Carly and Celia had seen his truck. What was he hiding? The hair on the back of Kate’s neck went up. Was Larry lying to her?

  He’d raised his voice a little, so she dropped the subject. Clearly, it was a sore subject for him. Her phone buzzed. She slipped it out of her pocket.

  Scott. He’d sent a text that he was waiting at her house. He sent a picture of himself on her front porch. She smiled.

  “Funny text?” Larry said.

  “Yes, but it’s an inside joke or I’d show it to you,” she said.

  Scott would just have to wait, but the idea that Larry was hiding something couldn’t be shaken. She didn’t want to
tip him off and ask more questions, but she had many.

  What did it matter that he was in the neighborhood at that time? Unless he was the killer, but she doubted that Larry would advertise his presence if he was planning on offing Jackie.

  “I saw your dad talking to a guy from Philadelphia. They seemed to be arguing.”

  Larry frowned. “Dad knows a lot of people from there. Some he never wants to see again.”

  “Maybe you saw him around. Goth-looking. In his thirties.”

  Larry shook his head. “No, doesn’t sound familiar, but I’ve been in my office most of the day. Paperwork.”

  “The bane of everyone. I have to write up invoices for two customers who weren’t home when I came by today.”

  “I would imagine that you have plenty of paperwork, too. I just got backed up because we’ve been running to field fires this week.”

  “The dry weather and all, I bet.”

  What made a man want to run into burning buildings? She’d never understand it, but she admired his commitment. During Fire Prevention Week he talked in the school. He held an open house so the residents of Rock Ridge could see what they bought for the fire company.

  She should like him. She should fall in love with him. He’d be safe and secure. Of course, her heart wanted her husband back, and if not, it wanted Scott. Damn him.

  Her phone buzzed again. Would Scott leave her alone?

  It wasn’t Scott. It was Clark.

  There’s something wrong with the power washer. Can you meet me back at the hardware store?

  Okay, she texted back.

  What could be wrong? Nothing had been broken. Not when she left it there. She would have said something.

  “Problem?” Larry asked.

  “A little, but I can clear it up.”

  She finished her beer in another gulp.

  “You going?”

  “I better. I’m tired and I have a stop to make on the way home.”

  “I’m going to hang out and have dinner,” Larry said.

  She stood, kissed him on the cheek then left him in the bar.

  ***

  Kate called Scott when she reached the sidewalk.

  “Hey,” he said as if she called him all the time. “You should put your security system on when you’re gone. Anybody could be sitting on your porch when you arrived home.”

  Kate chuckled. “I’m going to be a few minutes more. I have to check on something with Clark at the hardware store.”

  “Is he giving you a hard time?”

  “Never. He’s been great about supporting me in my new business. No, he says there’s something wrong with the power washer I borrowed from him. I’m sure this won’t take long. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way home.”

  “I have dinner. It’s smelling really good.”

  “What did you get?”

  Her stomach rumbled.

  “Pot pies from the Amish Market,” he said.

  “Yum. We can reheat them in the oven. They are almost better that way.”

  “If you say so. I have to say I missed them since I’ve been gone, and I had a hankering for them,” Scott said. “I may have to eat one while wait for you.”

  “How many did you get?”

  “Five.”

  Kate shook her head. “I only need one, so go ahead if you’re starving.”

  She disconnected then walked the half a block to the hardware store. It was dark inside and the front door was locked. She tapped on it, but no one answered.

  “Guess I better go around back.”

  She traipsed down the walkway and into the alley. The back door to Grayson’s Hardware Store was unlocked. When she opened it, everything was dark. Her instincts screamed not to go inside, but what if something was wrong with Clark?

  “Clark?”

  She stuck her head in. “Clark?”

  She didn’t hear anything at first. No moaning. Nothing. She should call the cops and not be inside here. Someone could be lurking. Before she could do anything, someone grabbed her from the side. She couldn’t see, and the person put a hand over her mouth.

  She jammed down on his instep, but the person had steel-toed work boots on, so her foot barely grazed him. She assumed it was a him from the strength.

  She bit down on the hand what was over her mouth. He knocked her in the back of her head with his own. The dark room spun a little. She tried to clear her head, but she couldn’t shake it with his hand on it.

  She wiggled and made noises, but not enough for anyone to hear. He kicked the door closed so now no one could hear her.

  The shops on either side of the hardware store were closed. Damn. Her thoughts went to her kids. Would she ever see them again?

  She couldn’t imagine them growing up the rest of the way without her. Her father would have to come back from Florida. They’d need something familiar to come home to when the semester was done.

  She kept squirming, but the person had a good grip on her. He knocked into her head again. This time her world went a little fuzzy. She couldn’t clear it, and the person hoisted her over his shoulder.

  She wanted to throw up from the change in latitude. She recognized the boots. Clark? This didn’t make sense. She tried to kick, but he had a good hold of her legs.

  Why would he be kidnapping her?

  He dropped her on a chair. The dizziness became worse, and Kate fought to keep conscious. She couldn’t fight back if she passed out. She gritted her teeth. She couldn’t move her limbs. Couldn’t get control of them.

  The person tied her hands behind her and to the chair. When she finally had her senses back, she tugged at the ropes.

  “Don’t bother, Kate. You’ll never get them loose.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Kate froze at the sound of the voice. It was Clark. Had he gone mad? What was he doing?

  He switched on a lamp. She realized they were in a stock room at the back of the hardware store. Clark looked weary. As if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

  Then it all fell into place for Kate. “Why did you kill Jackie?”

  “It was an accident.”

  “She had blunt force trauma to her head. Did you accidentally bludgeon her?”

  She couldn’t imagine any of that being an accident.

  Clark rubbed a hand down his face. “I’ll make my confession to you since you’re going to have an accident anyway.”

  That chilled Kate. Would Scott come looking for her? Or would she be another dead body on his watch? She tugged at the ropes again.

  “I’d hoped you would be my daughter-in-law, but you have this loyalty to that husband of yours. I don’t get it. He left you high and dry with adolescent boys.”

  “He left the money,” she said, wanting to defend her husband.

  “He still left, and I’m sure for no good reason.”

  “Tell me what happened with Jackie. Why were you there?”

  “My car was in the shop. I took Larry’s truck because he was out with his regular car. He’s a good kid. You should love him, Kate. He loves you so much.”

  That made Kate uncomfortable. She didn’t want Larry to love her, because she didn’t think she’d ever love him back. Scott’s return had illustrated that for her. If she got out of here alive, she would have to make it clear to him that she wasn’t interested in anything more than a friendship. He deserved to know the truth and be free to find someone to love him the way he deserved.

  “That’s why Larry didn’t remember being there that day. He wasn’t.”

  “No, he wasn’t. I followed Jackie to Scott’s house. She walked in the place like she owned it. That was Jackie. I don’t know what she was doing in town, but I needed to see her. I needed her to give me back that money she owed me.”

  Clark truly looked repentant. Not like a killer, but someone who made a bad decision. Now he was regretting it. His bad decision had cost a woman her life. Even if that person wasn’t a good person, she didn’t deserve to be killed
.

  Kate tried to reach her phone in her back pocket, but she couldn’t. She wanted to call Scott so he’d hear this.

  The phone was just out of reach, the way he’d tied her arms behind her. Had he been a Boy Scout? Those knots were tight.

  “The money you lost in that deal?”

  “That deal? Dudley had told us it had been a sure thing. I sunk a lot of my savings into that deal. I figured I could sell Grayson’s and retire. Maybe buy a boat and go fishing. Seemed like a nice idea.”

  “Did the mayor invest some?”

  “He did, but a small amount. His loss wasn’t horrible. He has more of it than the rest of us.”

  “Who else?”

  “Ken and even Larry invested. Larry was smarter than the rest of us. He wasn’t so quick to throw so much money in the pot. Guess he gets that from his mother, not me.”

  Kate listened in case she heard anyone outside. No one came by. Dinnertime. Most people were home with their families enjoying a meal. Even Larry was tucked into food at The Rail.

  No hope of him stopping by. Guess his father had told him he’d be doing inventory all night.

  “There’s no one to save you, Kate. I’m sorry to have to kill you, but you were going to figure it out. Larry asked me if I’d borrowed his truck. I did lie, but he knew the mileage was different. He didn’t know that I’d done anything wrong. I couldn’t risk him mentioning it to you.”

  “Did you plan on killing Jackie?”

  “No, I didn’t. We got into a tussle and she fell. I was stunned, but she hit her head on Scott’s table then I didn’t know what to do. She was lifeless. I didn’t know what to do so I left.”

  “You left her there?”

  That was cold. She wouldn’t have thought Clark would have been capable of being that unfeeling. He’d been so good to her. He’d given her advice when she wasn’t sure how to fix something. He’d been a second father to her when hers moved out of state. How could she reconcile that man with the one in front of her telling her he’d killed awoman?

  “What if she’d been alive? What if someone could have saved her? You could have called an ambulance anonymously,” Kate said.

  “I was afraid, Kate. I shouldn’t have been there. She shouldn’t have been there.”

  “So you killed her and ran.”