Home Sweet Homicide: A Cozy Mystery (A Gemma Stone Murder Mystery Book 5)

by Willow Monroe

  In the kitchen, Aunt Maisy had just finished with the bacon and was starting on the French toast. A knock on the back door surprised her and she opened it to find Nick standing there.

  “You’re early,” she said, beckoning for him to come inside.

  “Thought you’d be eager to know what I found out,” he said with a grin.

  Gemma realized he hadn’t met her aunt and made the introductions.

  “I didn’t even know your mom had a sister,” he said. “And obviously she’s a dynamite cook,” he added, sniffing the air.

  “I hadn’t seen her since we left California when I was little,” Gemma explained. “She found me.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Nick said.

  “Nick is one of my oldest and dearest friends,” Gemma explained to her aunt. “We went all through school together.”

  “I’d do anything for my girl,” he assured Maisy, putting one arm around Gemma’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

  Ross chose that moment to enter the room. Hair still wet from his shower, he wore nothing but the jeans he’d had on the night before. “Nick,” he said.

  Nick looked from Gemma in her robe to Ross obviously freshly out of the shower. And there was Gemma caught between the two of them yet again. At least this time there was no awkwardness, just an uncomfortable silence.

  “Please sit down,” Aunt Maisy said before he either of them could comment. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

  “I’ll get Nick a plate,” Gemma said, thankful for something to do as the two men sat down at the wooden table across from each other.

  “Why are the cops watching my house?” Gemma asked, when she finally sat down at the table between the two.

  “Thinking you might know something or can lead them to more evidence,” Nick told her.

  “And speaking of evidence...?” Ross let the question dangle between them.

  Aunt Maisy sat down across from Gemma. “Eat,” she instructed.

  The men were quiet for a while, except to compliment Maisy on her delicious French toast. It had a delightful, sweet crust of brown sugar and butter, with hints of vanilla and cinnamon in every bite. While they ate, they made small talk. Gemma told Nick about their shop and what a surprise it was that Natalie Sparrow showed up right when they were talking about hiring someone to help run it.

  “So you already have an employee?” Nick asked. “Sparrow. From Louisa? Opal’s sister?”

  “The very one. It’s not official but, we think she’ll be a good fit,” Gemma told him.

  He looked doubtful.

  “She’s going to Elizabeth Bailey, studying business administration. And she needs the money.”

  “You don’t know her,” Nick argued.

  “I know enough. She’ll be perfect and we’re thinking she might bring in a younger crowd.”

  “Evidence,” Ross said, reminding them he was there.

  “Oh, yeah,” Nick said with a smile.

  All eyes turned to him as he hesitated and glanced at Aunt Maisy.

  “It’s okay,” Gemma assured him. “My aunt is up to speed on everything, pretty much. She can hear this as well.”

  “Okay. Well, one of the first officers on the scene, Bailor, has been relegated to front desk duty until this case is solved. He argued with Gilmore’s conclusion. That was enough to shut the rest of them down,” Nick announced.

  “He can’t convict me on an argument in a parking lot two days before her murder,” Ross said.

  “What else?” Gemma asked.

  “Okay, they found, um,” Nick stopped and cleared his throat. “...biological evidence on the bed. It’s being tested, but you know how long that takes. That should buy us some time. Also, the couple who own the house say that a rug is missing from beside the bed.”

  “A rug?”

  “A rug. They know that Katie was strangled. There were bruises on her throat but there was also bruising there that was inconsistent with the rope found around her neck. There were ligature marks on her ankles and wrists as if she’d been tied up.”

  “Assaulted?” Ross asked quietly.

  “She’d been with someone recently but no signs of abuse,” Nick reported.

  “Preliminary tests on that?”

  “Male. Blood type O positive,” Nick reported.

  Gemma looked at Ross.

  “Yes, that’s my blood type,” he conceded.

  “But that’s like one of the most common isn’t it?” Aunt Maisy spoke for the first time.

  “Yes,” Gemma told them.

  “They did find some blood spatter, tiny little drops on the foot of the bed and on the floor beside it. That’s been sent away for testing as well. Again, it’ll take some time.”

  “So whatever happened to Katie Mack, happened on that bed for sure,” Ross reasoned.

  The other three nodded. Ross shook his head.

  “When Gilmore interviewed her mom, Cheryl told him that you threatened to kill her if she didn’t leave you alone,” Nick threw out that last statement.

  “I never threatened to kill anyone,” Ross protested, clearly blindsided by this news.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gemma was surprised to get a call from Holly soon after Nick left. “Let’s start working on the shop today,” Holly said.

  It seemed to Gemma that Holly was way more excited about it than she had been the day before. Probably having Mitch’s buy in made her feel better.

  “Sounds good to me. We can order the display cases after we measure.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up. With that cranky car of yours you’ll probably never get there.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Gemma said, unable to keep herself from smiling. That car had been a sore spot between the two of them for months. “Whatever. My car is just fine.”

  She ended the call and turned to face Ross and Aunt Maisy.

  Ross shook his head. “Your car is not just fine.”

  Gemma ignored him. “Holly and I are going to start working on the shop today. That’ll give me some time to think about what Nick told us.”

  “We know for sure she was seeing someone else,” Ross said. “It could have been some kind of, well, game that got out of hand.”

  “Could have been. An accident? But why try to make it look like a suicide?”

  “And why do such a bad job of it? I’d say whoever killed her had never killed before.”

  “Maybe they just panicked,” Aunt Maisy said.

  “And it was personal, up close and personal,” Gemma added, touching her own neck.

  They were quiet for a moment.

  “Ross, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. In fact, it would probably be a good idea if you stayed in case Gilmore decides he can just go out and arrest you. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Gemma said.

  “He doesn’t have as much evidence as he thinks he does, or I would already be in custody. While I’m here, I’ll get online and see what I can find out about Ms. Mack’s business dealings. There might be a suspect lurking there as well,” Ross told her.

  “Good idea, detective,” Gemma said. She showed him where her laptop rested in the rarely used dining room and then ran upstairs to shower and dress.

  “Aunt Maisy, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Gemma said to her aunt, who was back in the kitchen wearing the purple dress she’d worn the first day she arrived.

  Still no witch hat, thank goodness.

  “Okay,” her aunt said, returning the hug. “Be careful. Hey what’s wrong with your car?”

  “Oh, sometimes it won’t go into drive,” Gemma explained. “I know I should trade it in and get something more reliable, but it belonged to mom and...” Gemma ended with a shrug.

  “I was just curious,” Aunt Maisy said with a little smile.

  Gemma heard Holly’s SUV pull into the driveway, kissed her aunt’s cheek and bolted out the door. Wearing old denim shorts, an even older t-shirt and a pair of tennis shoes, Gemma paused just outsi
de the door. She inhaled the clean, fresh air and trotted down the walk toward Holly’s vehicle. Summer was right around the corner. It reminded her of when they were teenagers, heading out for a day at the lake or shopping.

  The only dark spot in Gemma’s sights was Detective Gilmore’s gleaming blue Toyota parked down the block. She watched in the side mirror as he pulled out to follow them.

  “So now I know it’s me they’re watching,” Gemma told Holly.

  Holly glanced in her rearview mirror. “Why are they watching you?”

  “They think I’ll lead them to Ross and maybe some fresh incriminating evidence,” Gemma said. “They’ve probably realized by now he’s not at his apartment anymore.”

  “Where is he?”

  “My house.”

  “Your house? Gemma that’s like harboring a criminal or something isn’t it?”

  Gemma shook her head. “He’s not a criminal. Gilmore just thinks he is. He’s not even looking at or sharing the other evidence in the case. Nick had to dig that out for us.”

  “Oh, Lord,” Holly groaned. “You’re gonna end up in this investigation to your neck, aren’t you?”

  “He showed up at my house last night asking for help. What else can I do?” Holly told her friend.

  “Maybe say no for once,” Holly laughed.

  Natalie was waiting for them outside the shop when they arrived. She was wearing pretty much the same outfit as the other two, her long, pink hair shimmering in the sunshine as she paced back and forth.

  “I think she’s gonna work out just fine” Gemma told Holly as they climbed out of the car.

  “Ready for your first day of work?” Holly asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Natalie said with a bright smile.

  Gemma thought there was a world of difference in the young woman she’d left standing on the porch in Louisa and the pretty girl facing her now.

  “Mama says to say thank you for giving me a job,” Natalie said as she helped unload cleaning supplies from the back of Holly’s vehicle. “It’s really going to help a lot with school and all.”

  “Hey, we’re gonna need the help. You’re really doing us a favor.”

  “Where do you want me to start?” Natalie asked once they were inside.

  “Windows,” Holly said, tossing her a roll of paper towels. “I’m heading for that bathroom.”

  “That leaves me in the middle,” Gemma said.

  Job assignments made, the three women went to work. The longer Gemma spent cleaning those floors the more beautiful they looked. She and Natalie made small talk while they worked, Gemma explaining how HealthGems came about and their plan for the new line for diabetics.

  “My mom is a diabetic,” Natalie told her.

  “Well, why don’t we plan on letting her test our product as soon as we get it that far?” Gemma suggested.

  She had just headed for the back to let Holly know they had a test subject when the bell over the door tinkled. Holly was coming out of the back at the same time and they both turned to see who had entered their not yet open shop.

  It was Peggy Langstrom. A cloud of cigarette smoke seemed to hover over her head.

  “Can I help you?” Natalie asked, not realizing Gemma and Holly were coming to her rescue.

  “Natalie, this is Peggy Langstrom,” Gemma made the introduction. “Natalie is going to Elizabeth Bailey. She’ll be working for us.”

  Gemma prayed Peggy wouldn’t start telling Natalie her life story and was thankful when Holly intervened.

  “Peggy, what can we do for you?”

  “Oh, I was just checking to see if you really were going to rent this place,” Peggy said, tapping her long, scarlet nails together nervously. She glanced around the space, disdain showing on her face.

  “Yes, we signed the contract with Essie the other day,” Gemma told her.

  “Too bad. There’s a nice little shop over on Route Two-Fifty at Gypsy Crossing that would be perfect. They’re in Phase One now but by Christmas they’ll have opened Phase Two. And I heard that both of the anchor stores from the mall are moving over there. You know it’s probably not too late to change your mind...”

  “We like being over here in town, at least for now,” Gemma assured her.

  She and Holly knew they couldn’t afford a place at Gypsy Crossing, which was one of the reasons they had decided to look downtown.

  “I mean, Essie is nice and all but she doesn’t really have her finger on the pulse of the city like I do,” Peggy told them, pulling out a cigarette. It was obvious she was itching to light up, jiggling and jittering in her fingers.

  “I think we’ll be fine over here,” Gemma told her.

  “And what with having to deal with Katie’s murder and all,” Peggy shook her head sadly. “She’s probably not even thinking straight.”

  “She seems to be dealing with it just fine,” Holly said.

  “You know, I don’t want to start any rumors but I heard Katie was fooling around with Essie’s husband,” Peggy whispered as though someone besides the three of them might hear her.

  “Peggy, that’s really none of our concern,” Gemma said, intending to put a stop to her gossiping then and there.

  “And I also heard, they’re about to nail that guy she was dating, Ross Ferguson, for the murder. Maybe he caught them together and snapped. You know, like on that TV show?”

  “Peggy, we really have to get back to work,” Gemma put in, hoping she would take the hint.

  “Oh, yes. Well, it’s a shame you didn’t come to me first,” Peggy said, moving slowly toward the door. “You wouldn’t have to clean or do anything over at Gypsy Crossing. They know how to run a business establishment.”

  “I think we’re going to enjoy putting our own stamp on this place,” Holly told her.

  “Well, if you change your mind...,” Peggy stopped just before she stepped out of the door. “And when you’re ready to look at houses again, give me a call. I’m the big dog in town now.”

  With that she was gone, and Gemma realized she had a suspect to add to her very short list.

  “What a whack job,” Natalie voiced what they were all thinking.

  The three of them burst into giggles.

  They were still laughing when Nick pushed open the door and entered the empty shop. “What’s so funny?”

  “Peggy Langstrom just left,” Gemma said, wiping tears from her cheeks.

  “Ah, I’m sorry I missed her,” Nick said, shaking his head.

  That sent them into gales of laughter again. No one ever said that about Peggy and meant it.

  “Nick, this is Natalie Sparrow. She’s going to be working for us,” Holly said, nodding toward the petite young woman. “Natalie, this Nick Leonard. We all grew up together and now he’s a crack shot reporter for the newspaper.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Natalie said, offering him her hand.

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Nick said, taking her hand in both of his.

  “What an interesting job,” Natalie said.

  “Yeah, it’s a great job. I love it. Started out covering local meetings, social stuff and worked my way up to getting the really good stories,” Nick told her.

  “Like this murder I keep hearing about,” Natalie said.

  “Like the most recent murder,” Nick told her with a warm smile.

  Gemma and Holly exchanged glances. It was obvious that Nick had all but forgotten they were in the room.

  “I’m writing a book. Perhaps you’d like to read it for me when it’s finished,” Nick suggested. “You’re not an English major by any chance, are you?”

  “No, sorry. But I’d like to read your book,” Natalie said.

  Gemma cleared her throat to get Nick’s attention. “Um, Nick did you come by here for a reason?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Nick finally released Natalie’s hand and turned toward Gemma. “I forgot to tell you something this morning. On the outside edge of the carpeted steps in the house, were indentations.”

&n
bsp; “What kind of indentations?” Gemma asked.

  “Just two on each step about two feet apart,” Nick said. “Small but very definite marks like something heavy was rolled down the steps.”

  “Like wheel marks?” Gemma asked, something tugging at her thoughts.

  “I guess so,” Nick said with a shrug.

  “Family could have been moving stuff,” Gemma reasoned. “I know they’ve already bought another house and were just leaving things there for staging.”

  “A heavy dresser or something like that maybe,” Holly put in.

  “Maybe,” Nick said. “Okay, well, that’s it. This is a great location,” he added, looking around. “I’ll stop by in a few days to check on your progress.”

  “Might be a story in it,” Gemma suggested.

  “Might be,” Nick said, backing toward the door. “Nice to meet you, Natalie. I’m sure I’ll see you around sometime.”

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Natalie said.

  Nick gave them his best ‘boy next door’ grin and then he was gone.

  “What a hottie,” Natalie breathed.

  Gemma was too surprised to say anything.

  “So tell me about this list of evidence that they’ve found,” Holly said, cutting into her thoughts.

  Natalie was still gazing out the window.

  “Um, it seems there is a great deal of evidence but Gilmore is keeping it to himself,” Gemma told her.

  “DNA?” Holly asked.

  “Some DNA but the testing won’t be back for a while. We’re thinking he’s just banking on that belonging to Ross so he can arrest him. In the meantime, he’s not even looking anywhere else.”

  “Wheel marks on the stairs,” Holly mused.

  Something was tickling her memory but she just couldn’t put her finger on it.

  “Let’s get some lunch,” Holly suggested. “I’m starving.”

  “How ‘bout pizza?” Gemma said. “I’ll just order in.”

  “Yum,” Natalie said, pulling herself away from the window. “That sounds great.”

  Gemma placed their order and then went into the bathroom to collect her thoughts. Nick and Natalie had really hit it off. She should be happy for him. Why did she feel a little spark of jealousy?

  “Pizza’s here,” Holly announced, tapping on the door.