Mrs. Fix It Mysteries (5 Cozy Mystery Books Collection)

by Belle Knudson

“I screamed. They couldn’t have missed that,” Celia said.

  “Odd. At least all you got was a cut.”

  “Some bruising, but that’s gone away. I just can’t believe the person drove away.”

  “That is awful. You’d think that since we all know each other that no one would do that.”

  “Guess not,” Celia said.

  The nurse called Kate in. She followed the woman through a rabbit warren of treatment rooms. She weighed her and left her in a room. Kate’s sleeve was already rolled up and the towel Marley had given her was spotted with red.

  It looked like the bleeding had stopped. The physician’s assistant came in. He was a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and ice-blue eyes. He smiled at Kate.

  “What do we have today?”

  “I cut myself on chicken wire and I know that I haven’t had a tetanus shot in a while.”

  “Okay. We’ll get that done. Let me look at the wound. You might need stitches.”

  “The bleeding has stopped.”

  “Mostly. Let me clean the wound and see what it really looks like.” He ran warm water over it, squirting it from a syringe. “No stitches necessary. I will bandage it, and you can’t use it for at least a day to let it heal.”

  “A day?”

  “At least until tomorrow afternoon. I’ll put some glue on it just in case,” he said.

  “Okay.”

  He applied the glue, put a bandage on, and then administered the tetanus shot. The shot hurt a little so she winced.

  “Was it that bad?”

  “I don’t take shots well. Don’t take it personally,” she said.

  She paid her co-pay then left. She stopped at Grayson’s, bought what she needed for the next day, and then decided to call it quits.

  ***

  She drove home, stopping to pick up her mail at the end of her long driveway. She glanced up at the sky. Clouds were forming and she suspected that a storm was on its way. She liked to sit out on her porch and watch them.

  Her arm throbbed and she hoped she had something in the refrigerator to heat up. She had no desire to cook right now. The day had been exhausting between Jessica’s emotional needs and her work and injury. She was done.

  She turned the last corner of the driveway to see Scott sitting in the rocking chair on her front porch. She sighed. She was not in the mood for a fight.

  Climbing out of the truck, she glanced at him over her sunglasses. “Don’t you have a job?”

  “I do.”

  “Don’t you need to spend time doing that job?”

  “I do, but I knocked off early today,” he said.

  He didn’t stand. He acted as if he belonged there—like he owned the place. In her current mood, that set Kate’s temper on edge. “Do you ever call first or do you assume that I have nothing better to do with my evening than spend it alone?”

  He stood at that. His hands were up in surrender. “I’ve come to apologize.”

  His words took the wind out of her anger. She was tired and she shouldn’t take it out on him. “Okay.”

  She crossed her arms, but stayed by the truck. She wasn’t giving in that easily. He came down the steps toward her, but she wasn’t going to back up. This man wouldn’t lay a hand on her.

  “I have overstepped my boundaries with you.”

  “Keep going.”

  He stopped in front of her, close enough for her to touch, but she wasn’t going to.

  “I can’t tell you what to do. I can’t tell you how to spend your time. I can respectfully request that you stay out of this case, but unless you obstruct justice, I can’t do anything to stop you. Legally or professionally.”

  That was a pretty good apology. She brushed past him. “Apology accepted.”

  “I wish, also, that you would put your security system on before you leave for work. Your husband installed a world-class one for some reason.”

  “I would assume that reason left when he did,” she said.

  Her arm throbbed. She had the beginning of a headache. She wanted to go to bed even if her stomach was empty.

  “I brought a picnic.”

  A picnic meant a meal. Food she didn’t have to cook. She stopped walking when she reached her porch. “It’s going to storm.”

  “We can bring it inside,” he said. She heard his trunk close. Glancing back, she saw the basket in his hands.

  He clearly remained undaunted by her mood. Greg would often run and hide when she got like this. He wasn’t as well versed in the ways of women as Scott obviously was. She wondered if the day would ever come when she wouldn’t compare them.

  She sighed. She needed food and Scott had brought it to her. It seemed he always knew what she needed. Damn him. He was making it hard not to be with him.

  The first drops of rain began to fall. “Come in.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. He had a grin on his face. That man was going to be the reason she did something she shouldn’t. He was right behind her when she unlocked her front door. He had a strong presence and he smelled good. Like a man.

  “Where can I set up?” Scott said.

  “At the dining-room table?”

  “Let’s make it a real picnic and sit on a blanket on the floor.”

  She turned around to look at him. “You aren’t giving up the idea of a picnic?”

  “I have picnic foods: fried chicken, potato salad, things like that.”

  She waved a hand. “Set it up, I need to take a shower.”

  “I can wash your back.”

  “I can wash my own back, thank you,” she said.

  She did wash her own back, and then dressed in shorts and a T-shirt before she returned to Scott. She wasn’t dressed to impress. He had laid out the food on a red-and-white checkered tablecloth on the floor of her living room. He leaned against the couch, his arms draped across the seat cushions. He was a large man with large hands.

  “It all looks good.”

  “What happened to you?”

  She glanced at her arm. “I got caught on chicken wire.”

  “Did you see a doc?”

  “Yes, I got a tetanus shot. It’s fine.”

  He patted the floor next to him. She sat leaning against a chair. She didn’t need to be so close to him. He smiled at her as if he knew what she was doing. “Does it hurt?”

  “Yes and so did the shot.”

  “Did they give you a lollipop?”

  She laughed. “No, they didn’t. I’ll put that in the suggestion box next time.”

  “No stitches?”

  “Glue. It’ll be fine. I’m not supposed to use it too much for a day. Means I have to take tomorrow morning off,” she said.

  He handed her a plate of food. “Want me to feed you?”

  “No. I can eat.”

  “I wish you would let me take care of you, Katydid.”

  “I can’t, Scott. Not yet.”

  “I’m doing my best.”

  She took a bite of her food. She knew he was doing his best. “So what happened with the angry guy you interviewed today?”

  “He’s in custody. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “He must have been twice as pissed when you told him his suspicions were true,” she said.

  The chicken was good—moist inside and crispy outside.

  “He was, but that’s not your problem. I don’t want to talk about the case.”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Tell me about your kids.”

  “Why?”

  “They are a part of who you are, who you’ve become in the years since I knew you.”

  She put down her plate and wiped her hands. “What can I say? They are great kids. Both are volunteering for AmeriCorps this summer. I wish they were home, but they want to go out and save the world. I can’t deny them that.”

  “Is it harder not having them here since Greg is gone?”

  “Yes, I think if he were here, things would be easier. I wouldn’t miss the
m so much.”

  She thought about her boys. They were still young and thought they could change the world. She admired that about them and didn’t want them to lose that idealism. She must have done something right, since they weren’t bitter after Greg’s disappearance.

  “You must have raised them well if they want to change the world. You had to take over at a crucial time as both mother and father. Do you give yourself credit for that?”

  She leaned back. No, she probably didn’t and she should. “I have as much guilt as the next mother. It is what it is.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Kate was on her way out the door the next morning, thinking about Scott when her phone rang. She looked at the screen. She might have to give Jessica her own ringtone. The woman called her enough and gave her enough business to warrant it.

  In Kate’s mind the case was close to being settled. Scott had convinced her that the contractor they had arrested yesterday was probably the murderer. The mystery woman in Dudley’s office had no bearing on the case. If she came forward, she’d help. If not, they could build a case without her.

  With that settled, Kate had slept better last night than she had in weeks. She felt so good, in fact, that she decided to disobey the doctor’s orders and get back to work.

  “Hello, Jessica. Have you looked over my estimate?”

  “What? Oh, yeah. It’s fine. I’ll sign it and get it back to you.”

  “Okay. I have a job this morning, but I can see you after that,” Kate said. “It’s a quick job.”

  “No, I really need you to see what I’ve found. I was looking through Dudley’s office to see if anything was missing. I found his appointment book. It has an odd entry in it,” Jessica said.

  “An odd entry?”

  “I can’t describe it. I think you need to come by and look at it.”

  “Jessica, Scott is pretty sure they know who killed Dudley. Can this wait?”

  “Okay, I guess it can.”

  “I’ll be over in two hours.”

  Her first job of the day was fixing a wooden swing set. She used lag bolts to secure the structure so that the kids could climb on it again. The wood likely would disintegrate before the bolts did. She received a check and decided to put it in the bank right away.

  She and Jessica could decide on a payment plan today. Kate couldn’t wait until all of the projects were done to see any cash. She didn’t think that Jessica would be averse to that. With the check in the bank, Kate headed to Jessica’s house.

  Her car wasn’t in the driveway, but that didn’t mean anything. Jessica could have put it in the garage. Kate parked her truck on the street and then walked to the door and rang the woman’s doorbell. No one answered, but the house was big enough that Jessica could take a few minutes to get to the front door.

  Kate looked around at the neighborhood. Kids played in nearby yards. She could hear some splashing in a pool. Those were the sounds of summer, and as much as Kate didn’t like the hot weather, she did enjoy those sounds.

  She even missed them a little, living out in the country. Greg had insisted that he wanted a country home. He wanted a place the boys could fish and climb trees. Neither of the boys had wanted to do that, but Greg had not budged once they’d been settled in the house for a few years. It would be nice for Kate to have a neighbor she could invite over for coffee. One that was just over the back fence.

  Instead, Kate had gotten involved by way of the community center and by volunteering at the kids’ school. By the time middle school rolled around for Jason and Jared, Kate was a little bored with the stay-at-home mom thing.

  That’s when she had the idea of creating her current business when her father, also a handyman, retired. It was about the same time Greg had disappeared and her dream became a necessity.

  Jessica was taking her time for someone who had wanted to see Kate so badly this morning. Kate rang the doorbell again. She waited, and then tried the knob. The door was locked, of course. Kate glanced in the sidelight, but that didn’t yield any information.

  Kate found this odd. After wanting to see her so badly, why had Jessica stood her up?

  She dialed her phone. Kate could hear it ringing inside the house. Even odder.

  She contemplated what to do and finally decided to go see Scott. She parked by the police station and was let in like a relative.

  Scott was on the phone and held up a finger for her to wait. She leaned on the doorjamb, her arms crossed. She really wanted to talk to him. He finally hung up.

  “Come in, Kate. You look worried.”

  She sat. “I got a call from Jessica Stuart this morning.”

  “And?”

  “She wanted to see me. She found something in Dudley’s office that she wanted me to see.”

  “The case is probably closed, Kate.”

  “That’s what I said. So, I put her off and did my first job of the day before I went over there. I knew it wasn’t a rush. When I got there, she wasn’t home.”

  “Maybe she ran out to the grocery store.”

  “No, she was insistent that I see her and that I text her before I came over. I did and she texted back that she was waiting for me. When I got there she was gone.”

  “Did you call her?”

  “I did. Her phone rang inside the house. I rang the doorbell twice. She didn’t answer. I’m worried, Scott.”

  “Maybe she remembered a meeting she had, but forgot her phone so she couldn’t call you.”

  “Sounds reasonable except that she was so insistent that I come over today.”

  Scott shrugged. “She’s a grown woman, Kate. I can’t do anything until she’s gone for twenty-four hours.”

  Kate frowned. She understood what he was saying.

  “I get it. I’ll see if I can find her car in town.”

  “Don’t you have better things to do than keep track of her? Maybe Dean knows where she is.”

  Kate knew it hurt Scott to even mention Dean, but it was a good idea. “I’ll try now.”

  She dialed Dean’s number, but it went right to voicemail. She left a message that she was looking for Jessica. “Where does Dean live?”

  “You think I know that?” Scott said.

  “No, I guess you don’t. Let me see what I can figure out.”

  “I think you should leave it alone. Maybe she’s off having a nooner with Dean.”

  Kate hadn’t thought of that. How embarrassing would that be if that was the reason Jessica had stood her up. And if she went searching and found them…well, no way. She didn’t want to be involved in that.

  “The thought hadn’t entered my mind. I was sure she was missing because of something bad.”

  “You do remember those heady days in the beginning of a relationship when you can’t get enough of each other?”

  Kate probably blushed. Scott was thinking about the two of them in high school. They had been all over each other that summer before he went to college—young love and lust.

  “On that note, I’m leaving. You have a good rest of the day.”

  He smiled as if knowing that he’d gotten her thinking about the old days. Those days were gone. They were simpler times, for sure. She didn’t think about them very often. She had too much going on in the present.

  Since she unexpectedly had time on her hands, Kate pondered what she was going to do next. While she was here, she could return the book on home repair to the library. It had served her well and she’d learned a lot. Her phone rang and she saw a text from Scott.

  I have a job for you to do, but not until tomorrow.

  Okay.

  Can you come by in the morning?

  Yes, can I have a clue?

  Just bring your tools.

  Okay.

  That didn’t narrow it down, but she’d bring her tools.

  ***

  The next day, Kate appeared at Scott’s house first thing in the morning. He smiled when he opened the door. “You are a lovely sight first thing in the morning.
”

  “What’s broken?”

  “My garbage disposal. I don’t know how old it is, so if I need a new one, go ahead.”

  She walked into the kitchen and went right to the sink. She smelled coffee. She’d had her first cup at home, but her body was calling for the second cup. Her mouth watered as she examined his disposal. “The house isn’t that old. I can’t imagine you need a new one.”

  She eyed the pot.

  “Would you like a cup of coffee?” he said.

  She was about to say she’d kill for a cup of coffee, but she didn’t think that was appropriate on any level. “Yes, I’d love a cup of coffee.”

  “You still take it black?”

  “Yes.” She turned on the disposal and it made a dying cat noise. “That doesn’t sound good. You don’t have anything stuck in it?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  He set a cup of coffee on the counter and she immediately reached for it. “I’m going to take it off to look at it. Do you need to get to work?”

  “Not yet.”

  He poured himself another cup and leaned against the counter next to where she was working.

  “Let me get some tools.”

  Scott hadn’t moved when she returned. She removed the disposal, changed a few parts and put it back on. It worked.

  “You’re a genius,” he said.

  “Not really.” She wrote up her bill and handed it to him.

  He wrote her a check.

  “What else do you have going on today?” he said.

  “I’m going to check in with Jessica since I’m here and see if I can start her jobs. See if she has any priorities.”

  “Well, then enjoy your day.”

  “Go catch some bad guys,” she said as she walked out of his house.

  “Not so many in Rock Ridge, but I’m not complaining.”

  Kate didn’t bother moving her truck since she’d parked it on the street.

  She walked over to Jessica’s house in the humidity, wishing for some relief from it. She’d bet she could get her truck’s air conditioning looked at soon. Two newspapers were on the doorstep. Kate picked them up then rang the doorbell.

  Dean had never gotten in touch. Maybe the two had gone away together and were out of cell phone range. No one answered as Kate stood in the heat.

  She was beginning to wonder if Jessica was ever going to let her start. Where was the woman who had so desperately needed to see her yesterday? The situation seemed odd to Kate. Certainly by now, Jessica must have remembered that she’d called Kate.