Chair Massage & Chaos (A Cozy Spa Mystery Book 5)

by Jenn Cowan

“You should leave,” she whispers, her lower lip beginning to quiver more and tears begin to fall from her eyes.

  Travis opens his mouth to say something, but decides against it and gestures for me to go out before him.

  I turn to leave when something in the plastic bag catches my eye. “Jana was wearing gloves when they brought her in.”

  “Now isn’t the time, Autumn,” Travis mutters.

  “I know and I’m sorry, but this is important.”

  Brooklyn sighs and rolls her eyes. “It’s like zero degrees outside, Autumn. I’m sure she was wearing gloves.”

  I think back to yesterday. “When I found Jana yesterday, she was in her black dress with her black gloves on, but her coat was lying on the couch.”

  “So.” Brooklyn crosses her arms. “What’s your point?”

  “Can you wake Jana up please?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Autumn, let’s go.” Travis gives me a slight nudge.

  I stand my ground. “Please. I think I know who hurt her.”

  Brooklyn perks up. “Jana is sedated. She hasn’t said more than a couple of words. She doesn’t tolerate pain well so we’ve just been letting her rest.”

  “Don’t you want to know who hurt her?”

  Brooklyn jerks back like I slapped her. “Well, of course I do.” She furrows her brow. “Fine.” She shakes Jana lightly. “Honey, wake-up.”

  Jana moans. “I’m sleepy.”

  “I know, but we have some questions for you.”

  Jana’s eyes flutter open and it takes her a minute to focus on me. “What is she doing here?”

  “She thinks she knows who hurt you.” Brooklyn pats her hand. “You haven’t said much about the attack. Are you up for making a statement? I can call a real cop.” She sneers again at Travis.

  He ignores her and pulls out his phone. “I’m going to call the captain. Someone needs to take her statement and I can’t.”

  Jana yawns. “Will this take long? I’m really tired.”

  Travis hangs up after a second. “The captain is in the waiting room. He was coming over to take her statement anyway. Hang tight.” He steps into the hall and greets the captain.

  The captain greets Travis then enters the room. His gray hair glistens underneath the fluorescent lights. He adjusts his dark pants and belt before taking a notepad out of the front pocket of his pressed white shirt. “How are you feeling Jana?”

  “Sleepy.” She yawns again.

  “I’m going to ask you a couple of quick questions to ensure you’re lucid enough to go on record, okay?”

  Jana nods.

  The captain runs through some basic questions. I don’t hear any of them because I’m staring at Jana’s gloves. Finally, the captain finishes and turns to me. “Why are you fidgeting, Miss Fisher? Something on your mind?”

  “Yes!” I blurt out. “Do you mind if I ask a few questions? I think I know what happened.”

  He shoots a glance at Travis, who shrugs. “I guess that’s alright just don’t wear her out before I have a chance to ask official questions.”

  “I’ll make it quick.”

  Brooklyn opens her mouth like she wants to object, but closes it and leans back in her chair, shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

  I ignore her and start, “Jana. I’ve talked with several of your ‘friends’ who say you have been blackmailing them. Is that true?”

  Brooklyn objects, “You can’t be serious. Really? Blackmail? Jana would never do such a thing.” She glances at her daughter who won’t meet her eyes and asks, “Right, Jana?”

  “Well…”

  Brooklyn gasps. “Well, what? You’ve been blackmailing your friends?”

  Jana bites her lip. “They’re not really my friends and it’s not so much as blackmailing just an exchange if you will.”

  “An exchange. For what?”

  “I keep certain things a secret if they help me with my school work.”

  “Or date you,” I add.

  Brooklyn glares at me for a second then turns back to Jana. “I don’t know what to say. Why would you do this?”

  Jana’s lower lip quivers and she blinks continuously to keep the tears from falling, but doesn’t respond.

  I decide to keep going. “We have surveillance footage from the day of the attack. Liam met you at the spa. He says you texted him from Cat’s phone Saturday night, the phone you stole from Cat’s purse along with the keys to the spa when you knocked the soda all over the table at Pete’s. Then you and some of your ‘friends’,” I glare at Brooklyn, who won’t meet my eyes, “left the phone in my Jeep along with that lovely skunk.”

  Brooklyn goes pale and looks about ready to faint. She’s a good actress, I’ll give her that.

  Jana fiddles with the edge of the blanket, but doesn’t confirm or deny anything.

  I continue, “Liam says when he got to the spa, you tried to talk him into dating you again, when he refused, you got angry. Threw the daisies he got for Cat on the ground then began destroying the spa while ranting and raving about Cat and how everyone likes her and not you.”

  Tears fall from Jana’s eyes as she continues to stare at the blanket.

  “He’s lying,” Brooklyn states. “He admits to being at the spa. He and Cat probably hurt my baby together. Lock them up, Captain.”

  I shake my head. “No, Liam left and texted Cat that Jana was destroying the spa. Cat left the funeral and hurried to the spa to keep Jana from doing any more damage.”

  “And you believe him? He and Cat are lying. Arrest them, Captain.”

  I hold up a hand. “No, they’re not lying.” I wait a second and stare at Jana. “Jana, what happened between the time Liam left and Cat showed up?”

  More tears fall from her eyes.

  “That’s enough. Can’t you see she’s struggling to remember? This was a traumatic experience for her and you’re making her relive it.” Brooklyn stands up with her hands on her hips. “This is the end of this interview.”

  I ignore her. “Jana, you were wearing gloves, but no coat when I found you on the ground. You were bleeding from a wound in your back.” I turn around and move my arm so it’s behind my back. “You took a knife and jabbed yourself, didn’t you?”

  Brooklyn laughs. “That’s absurd. Why would she do that? Jana hates blood. She would never inflict pain upon herself. Tell her, darling.” She gestures to me, but when her daughter doesn’t say anything she turns and stares at her. “Jana, honey. Tell Autumn she’s crazy. You would never intentionally hurt yourself, stab yourself, right? I mean the wound isn’t very big, but someone stabbed you. Tell her who.”

  Jana twists the blanket in her hands.

  “Tell her! You didn’t do this!” Brooklyn screams.

  Jana’s head jerks up, her face full of fear before she bursts into tears. “Yes, yes I did it! Liam rejected me. Everyone rejects me. I don’t have any real friends. Everyone hates me.”

  “Brittney and Lydia are your friends, right?” Brooklyn says softly, sitting back down in her seat, looking even more pale and in shock.

  Jana scoffs. “Only because you’re friends with their moms. They’re always talking behind my back. They would rather be friends with Cat than me. Everyone thinks she’s so perfect. She’s popular, smart and sweet without even trying. It’s just her. I can’t compete with that.” She pauses and wipes the tears from her face. “I knew Liam would text Cat to come to the spa when he saw me throwing things around. I was so angry. I saw the knife and thought if I made it look like Cat stabbed me, everyone would turn against her. I put on my gloves so my fingerprints wouldn’t be on it. I meant to take them off after I dropped the knife, but I saw all the blood and...” She gulps.

  “You fainted,” Brooklyn coughs out. “Why would you do this? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Jana screams, causing us all to jump. “I can’t take it anymore. All the pressure to be perfect. Perfect hair. Perfect nails. Perfect skin. Perfect reputation. Perfect grades. Per
fect. Perfect. Perfect. I can’t. I’m not.” She bursts into tears and begins muttering about all the things she isn’t.

  Brooklyn’s jaw is hanging open as she stares at her daughter.

  I glance around the room. Everyone appears to be in shock. To be frank, I wasn’t prepared for Jana to confess. I figured she would deny everything and I would have to find more proof. For Cat’s sake, I’m grateful she didn’t prolong the inevitable, but I can’t help feeling sorry for the poor girl. High school is hard enough without your parents throwing on their own expectations and demands. Hopefully, Brooklyn will get Jana the help she needs and support her through it. It’s going to be a long road.

  The captain taps me on the shoulder, causing me to jump. “Sorry.” He motions to the hallway since Jana is still ranting and raving and Brooklyn is still sitting there in shock. “Well I have to say when I came here, I wasn’t expecting this. How did you figure it out?”

  “The gloves.”

  “The gloves?” he scratches his head.

  “When I found her, Jana was wearing gloves and no coat. I didn’t think anything of it at the time because I was focused on getting her medical attention. Then I saw Jana’s gloves in her personal belongings bag and remembered it. My father said Cat’s fingerprints were the only ones on the knife so there had to be an explanation for it because Cat would never hurt anyone.” I smile over at Travis, who returns it.

  The captain shakes his head then glances toward Jana’s room. “Poor thing.”

  “My father will talk to the judge. We’ll get her the help she needs.”

  The captain sighs and sticks out his hand. “Thanks, Autumn. I hear the spa is closing so if you are interested in becoming a paid consultant just let me know.”

  I cringe at the memory of the spa closing, but shake his hand. “Thank you, sir. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Travis reaches out to shake the captain’s hand. “I’m assuming this means Cat’s cleared of all charges, correct, sir?”

  The captain takes his hand and nods, “Yeah and you’re back on the clock. Tomorrow.” He gives Travis a pointed look. “Go enjoy the rest of the holiday with your daughter.”

  Travis grins and claps him on the back. “Thank you, sir. Merry Christmas.”

  “You too. Both of you. Thanks again for your help on this case, Autumn. It would have killed me to actually have to arrest Cat.”

  “Me too,” Travis and I say in unison then smile.

  The captain chuckles. “Cat’s lucky to have you, both of you.” He nods and strolls back into Jana’s room.

  “Well, are you ready to go tell Cat the good news, Inspector Fisher?”

  I smirk and smack him on the arm. “So ready and I prefer amateur sleuth,” I say, with a wink.

  He chuckles and says, “Autumn the Amateur Sleuth it is.”

  New Year’s Day

  Epilogue

  “Why are we here?” I groan as my father pulls into the spa parking lot. “I thought we were going to pick up pizza for everyone. I’m starving and Cat is too.” My stomach growls to confirm it.

  My father chuckles. “The judge is as well. It was nice of your mother to invite him over for dinner.”

  I nod. “Did he say when Jana will get transferred to a mental health facility?”

  “Tomorrow. Brooklyn is planning to go with her and stay in Chicago until Jana’s able to come back home.”

  “And the blackmail charge?”

  “No one is pressing charges.” He gives me a pointed look because I wanted Brooklyn to be held accountable for her role in all of this, but he convinced me to let it go. So I did. “Jana gave the drive to Vivian and Liam came clean to his coach and parents. The scout got fired and the players he’s recruited are being interviewed and investigated. It’s a mess, but Liam did the right thing. Lindsay and her family left town a couple of days ago. Seems her dad got a new job.”

  I smile, knowing exactly why Lindsay’s family left town. I hate that it had to come to that, but their safety is what’s most important. “Well I’m glad it all worked out and for Cat too. Seems she and Liam are enjoying their Christmas break together.” My smile grows, thinking about the couple. “I can’t believe Mom insisted Cat stay the whole week with us while Regina and Travis went back to work.”

  “She enjoys having kids to fuss over, which is why she invited Liam over for dinner again.”

  I laugh. “That kid’s been at the house every day this week, much to Travis’s dismay. He looks like he’s going to have a coronary every time Liam even gets close to Cat.”

  My dad chuckles and shakes his head. “Kind of how I felt when you and Travis were dating in high school.”

  I pat his arm. “Being a dad to a girl is tough, huh?”

  He places his hand atop mine. “You have no idea.”

  I smile at him and then ask again, “Why are we here?”

  “Sally said there were a few things you needed to pick up.”

  I frown. “I got everything.”

  “Apparently, not everything. Want me to go with you?”

  I sigh and push open the truck door. “No, I’m sure it’s just papers or something small.”

  “I’ll wait here. Take as much time as you need.”

  I shoot him a smile. I love that he gets it. I need a chance to say good-bye. This place has been my home away from home for almost fifteen years. My heart hurts with each step. I think about Josh and how much I wish he was here with me. This isn’t how our story is supposed to end. I sigh and open the spa door.

  The lights are off, but candles are lit all over the place. What is going on? This is a fire hazard. I begin to blow out the candles, wondering what Sally was thinking. Burn down the building and get the insurance money? I’m sure Regina would have something to say about that. When I reach the hallway, I find more candles lining the floor. “Hello? Sally? Are you here? I’m not interrupting a date or something, am I?”

  Nothing.

  I blow out all the candles and see the lights from the Christmas tree in the reception area are on. Ugh. Seriously. What is Sally thinking? I step in the waiting room and freeze. My heart picks up speed and my palms get sweaty. “I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”

  He shakes his head.

  “Are you sure?”

  He smiles that smile I’ve seen a million times and it melts my heart.

  I rush into his arms, knocking him back.

  “Did you miss me?” Josh whispers in my ear.

  I pull back, patting his chest and stroking his cheeks to make sure he’s not a figment of my imagination. “Is it really you?”

  He chuckles and takes my hands in his. “It’s me, Autumn. I heard I was dead for about a week.”

  “You were, but I didn’t believe it. Not until they found your Tom Petty t-shirt, socks and wallet. They were covered in blood. The evidence pointed to you being on the boat. A boat that exploded. Celeste and the PI…” I gulp, emotion welling up in my throat.

  Josh drops his head. “I know. I wasn’t on the boat. I should have been, but I wasn’t.”

  “Thank God, you weren’t.” I give him another hug then ask, “Where were you?”

  “On the beach. I got sand in my shoes so I took them off and ended up stepping on some glass. That’s where the blood came from. I used my shirt and socks to stop the blood. I hobbled over to the convenience store to get some bandages. When I got back, the boat was gone. I heard the explosion, I dropped everything and took off down the beach.” He sighs. “I tried to swim out to the wreckage, but the waves were too high. Somehow, I ended up on a beach several miles from shore. A lovely old woman found me and took care of me. I hit my head.” He rubs a fading bruise on his forehead. “Had a little bout of amnesia. When my memory finally came back, I heard about the accident and how everyone thought I was dead. I booked a flight and came straight home.”

  “Does your mom know?” I bite my lip and mutter, “She hates me now. Blames me for your marriage to Celeste and...”

  He
places a finger to my lips to silence me. “They all know and she doesn’t hate you, she was just upset. Grief causes people to say and do things they wouldn’t otherwise. She plans to come over and apologize.”

  I shrug like it’s no big deal even though it kills me to think of Abby not liking me then ask, “When did you get home?”

  “This morning.”

  “This morning? It’s almost five o’clock.” I blink up at him. “In the evening. Why didn’t you come over and see me right away?”

  He strokes my cheek. “I had some things I needed to take care of.” He hands me a square box wrapped in red and green paper. “Since I missed Christmas.”

  I squeeze him again. “You’re the best present I could ever ask for.”

  He grins and rubs my back then says, “Open it.”

  I give him one last hug just to be sure he’s really real then tear into the package. When I lift the lid, I take out a stack of papers. I give them a once over and gasp. “Is this…?”

  He nods. “It is.”

  “You bought the spa. How?”

  “With a lot of help from the bank and my skills with investing.”

  I look over the papers again then ask, softly, “So, you didn’t get the money back from Celeste?”

  He shakes his head and shrugs as if losing all that money is no big deal. “Who knows where she hid it? We’ll probably never know, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is we’re the proud owners of Vicky’s Day Spa.”

  I smile. “Well, you are, I’m just your lowly worker.” I wink at him so he knows I’m joking. We’ll figure out the technicalities of our partnership in a minute. “I think it’s time for a name change though.”

  Josh scratches his chin then says, “I agree. What do you think?”

  “Hmm.” I tap my chin. “How about AJ’s Day Spa.”

  He smirks. “Our first initials combined… I like it.”

  I hug him again. “Me too.” Then I draw back. “Wait right here.”

  “What? Why? Where are you going?”

  “I have a present for you too.”

  I dash back to the office, praying it’s still there. I can’t believe I forgot about it. I hide all of Josh’s presents in the safe and change the combination so he can’t peek. We’re both guilty of snooping around for our Christmas gifts. I pull it out and rush back to the waiting room, letting out a breath when I see him still sitting by the tree. I can’t believe he’s alive. He’s the best gift I could ever ask for, but I’m also excited about the spa. “Here.” I hand him a rectangular box wrapped in green Christmas paper. “Merry Christmas or Happy New Year.”