Assignment Denver: The Case of the Eccentric Heiress: Jae Lovejoy Cozy Mystery One (Jae Lovejoy Cozy Mysteries Book 1)

by Lucey Phillips

  In one swift leap, he grabbed her wrist and pointed the gun away from us. It went off with a crack while I ran, full force, into Mary. I knocked her to the ground, falling on top of her.

  Now my ears were ringing. I could see Mary’s lips moving, but I couldn’t hear any words. I crawled further on top of her, letting one knee rest on her left shoulder and another press down on the center of her chest.

  Colin had both of his hands on Mary’s right hand. He was prying the revolver from her grasp.

  Then the three of us were flooded in bright sunlight as the front door was flung open.

  Pat stood in the doorway, his house keys in one hand. A paper plate holding a piece of chocolate cake covered in plastic wrap was balanced in his other hand. Pat’s mouth hung open as he looked down at the three of us, still struggling on his living room floor.

  Pat stood frozen while Colin was finally able to pull the gun from Mary’s hand. He slid it across the floor and it disappeared under a chair. Then Colin situated himself so he was kneeling beside Mary with both hands pinning her right arm to the ground.

  A chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling above Pat, knocking the cake out of his hand before landing on the floor beside him.

  | Nineteen

  Burton refused to look at me. I don’t know if it was arrogance or shame, but Detective Chamberlain’s partner, the man who had called me Tinkerbell and ignored my warnings about Mary Pettigrew, completely ignored me at the scene of Mary’s arrest, in the parking lot of Pat’s condo.

  Burton, Chamberlain, and three cars with uniformed officers arrived at Pat’s condo a few minutes after we’d disarmed and pinned Mary. Apparently, we’d set off the alarm and they were en route before I’d even tried to call 911.

  The officers promptly arrested Mary, who alternated between shrieking about the watch and claiming Bunny’s death was an accident.

  “I was just trying to get the watch,” she’d cried repeatedly. “Bunny fell. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to!”

  The officers separated Pat, Colin, and I for questioning. Pat went with Burton, Colin went with a uniformed officer, and I went with Detective Chamberlain to give my statement.

  Chamberlain narrowed her eyes and glanced sideways at Burton.

  “I’m sorry he blew you off,” she said. “You were right—obviously. You shouldn’t have come up here by yourself, but I understand why you did it.”

  With a shaky laugh, I said, “I was just trying to check on Pat. I never wanted to get in a wrestling match with Mary.”

  Behind Chamberlain, I could see Mary’s profile as she sat in the back of a patrol car. I shuddered as I saw her head bobbing slightly. She was probably still muttering to herself.

  Despite the fact that the sun was shining and I was wrapped in an EMS fleece blanket, I continued to shake.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? Get an X-ray of your head or something?” Chamberlain asked me. “We also have a violent crime victim debriefing process you can do if you want to come back to the station.”

  I shook my head. “No. I’m fine.”

  I’d already refused to go to the hospital and to go back to the police department to give my statement there. Instead, Chamberlain had agreed to record my comments and take a photo of my head wound at the scene.

  Colin and I had two hours to get to the airport. I wasn’t going to risk missing that plane. We had to get to our next assignment.

  “It would be better if you weren’t leaving town,” Chamberlain said. “But I can’t force you to stay. Just keep in mind, you’ll probably have to come back to testify, depending on how the trial goes.”

  “If she’s even competent to stand trial,” I said as I continued to watch Mary.

  Her mental state seemed to unravel so quickly. I wondered if she was always this unstable, or if the pressure of the past few days was to blame for today’s apparent break.

  Chamberlain shrugged. “I don’t know. Planting that lanyard in Gus Grubler’s office should show everyone she’s capable of seeing the consequences of her actions.”

  “What about Pat? He had to be the one who broke in the next day,” I said. “Are you going to press charges?”

  “We are,” Chamberlain said. “We got an anonymous tip and our IT forensics team has been looking into Pat’s online activity. We think he has the items that were taken that day.”

  Chamberlain paused, then continued, “Do you know anything about that?”

  I shrugged and looked at the ground.

  Colin shook hands with Burton before walking toward me.

  “What do you think?” he asked with a gentle smile. “Can we talk you into seeing a doctor about that lump on your head?”

  “I’m okay,” I said. “We need to get to the airport.”

  A local news van rolled into the parking lot.

  “All right,” Colin said, glancing toward the van and then back at me. “Let’s get out of here.”

  I said goodbye to Chamberlain. She replied, “Take care,” with a sincerity in her voice that I’d never heard from her.

  Colin and I got in our rental car and started toward the airport. As we wound down the hill, Lance called us on Colin’s phone. His voice was loud over the car’s speakers.

  “Are you guys all right?” Lance asked.

  Colin glanced over at me before answering, “Yep. We’re good.”

  “Are you coming home?” Lance asked. “Maybe you should take some time off after all that. H.R. has that trauma counseling thing.”

  “We’re trying to make the flight to Vegas,” Colin said. “This next story is kind of a big deal for Jae. She doesn’t want to miss it.”

  “I get that,” Lance replied. He paused, then added, “But, you know. Maybe you need a break or something. Getting held at gunpoint is kind of a traumatic thing.”

  “Relax, Lance,” I said. “This stuff happens—it’s part of the job. You know that.”

  I sighed and looked out the window, not feeling nearly as tough as my statement implied. Tears stung my eyes and began rolling down my cheeks.

  Colin reached over and squeezed my hand.

  “Lance, I think the best thing for us is just to get back to work,” Colin said.

  “Okay,” Lance said. “In that case, Jae, I hate to ask you this, and you have every right to say no…”

  I laughed. I knew what he wanted—a first-person story about what had happened with Mary in Pat’s apartment. Lance wouldn’t be much of an editor if he didn’t ask me to write it. It was a once-in-a-career story opportunity for me, too.

  “It’s fine, Lance,” I said, smiling through my tears. “I’ll try to write my story at the airport.”

  “Thanks, Jae. Really—you’ve done a great job on this. You too, Colin, as always,” Lance said.

  I didn’t know what to say in response to that. I just wiped my cheeks and looked out the car window.

  Colin answered for both of us. “Thanks, Lance. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Call me if you need anything,” Lance said.

  At the airport, Colin let me wheel my own bag over to the check-in area. While we were standing in line, my phone vibrated with texts from Quinn.

  “So scared for you. Hugs!!!” she wrote.

  Hugs? That wasn’t like Quinn at all.

  I replied, “No big deal.”

  “How’s Colin?” Quinn wrote. “He didn’t get a scratch on that beautiful face, did he?”

  I laughed and wrote, “Stop. We’re fine.”

  Our conversation was interrupted by a phone call from the same area code. The caller ID said “Maple Ridge Hospital.”

  Maple Ridge wasn’t a regular hospital. It was a rehab place back home. The caller was probably my mom. And maybe it was a good sign that she was calling me. Places like that only let patients make personal calls when they’re doing well—behaving themselves and participating in all of their groups and therapies.

  I wondered if my mom had heard what happened to me
. Was she calling to check on me, or did she want to talk about herself? Or maybe this was just another money-seeking call.

  If she really was worried about me, Mom could see my story online soon enough and know that I was alive. I touched the “ignore call” button and went back to texting Quinn.

  At the gate, Colin and I sipped coffee and worked on our laptops—me writing my story and Colin editing his photos.

  Just as I hit “send” to submit my story to Lance, the attendant announced it was time for group one to board. I slid my laptop into my messenger bag and stood.

  Colin didn’t move. I doubled-checked my boarding pass. It said group one.

  “This is us,” I said to Colin. “Ready?”

  “I’m group four,” he said, looking at his boarding pass.

  “Oh. I thought we’d be sitting together,” I said softly. I bit my lip to hide a frown.

  Colin smiled up at me. “Guess you get a break from me for a couple hours,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “See you in Vegas.”

  I smiled and walked toward the boarding line. I called over my shoulder, “See you in Vegas.”

  | Author’s Note

  Thank you to Dj Hendrickson and Wendy Elswick for editing this book. Thank you to Deranged Doctor Design for cover design and Write Dream Repeat for formatting.

  Thank you to anyone who read this book. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review.

  For more information about Lucey Phillips and other works by this author, please visit luceyphillips.com

  Next in the Jae Lovejoy Cozy Mystery Series . . .

  A FEATURE ON OLYMPIAN and Las Vegas star McKenna Johnson could be one of the biggest stories of Jae Lovejoy’s career . . . but only if McKenna stays alive.

  McKenna Johnson is a fiercely private athlete. As a young gymnast, she was an Olympic gold medalist. But when she approached adulthood, a drug and alcohol problem destroyed her career.

  Now McKenna’s sober, and back in the spotlight, with a starring role in a water-themed acrobatics show on the Vegas Strip. She normally shuns any publicity, but Jae has managed to strike up a rapport with the athlete.

  Soon after Jae and photographer Colin Bloom arrive in Las Vegas, they realize something’s not right. A series of strange accidents and near-misses threatening McKenna’s life are pointing to foul play. And before long, Jae becomes a target too.

  Can Jae and Colin save McKenna and finish this assignment? Read Assignment Vegas: The Case of the Athlete’s Assassin and find out today!