by Nicole Ellis
Murderous Mummy Wars
Nicole Ellis
Copyright © 2018 by Nicole Ellis
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
1
“What are you looking at, Jill?” Desi Torres peeked her head around my office door.
I set down the photographs I was viewing at my desk and beckoned to my sister-in-law. “Come see.”
She came over to me, her long skirt swirling around her ankles, and leaned over the desk to see them better. “Whoa. Is that a haunted house?”
I nodded and held up a handful of photos. “These are from when Angela Laveaux used to hold it in her garage.”
Desi sat down in the chair opposite mine and took them from me. As she rifled through them, her eyes widened more with each one she looked at. “This was in her garage and yard? These are amazing!”
“I know. A few years ago, she moved it out to a bigger venue and the Ericksville Chamber of Commerce sponsored it. Your mom offered up the Boathouse for it this year, and I can’t wait to see what she pulls off with all the space we have here.” I laughed. “It might even make the past few months of dealing with Angela worth it to see what she comes up with.” The heat kicked on and a draft from the ceiling air vent scattered the photos that Desi had discarded on the desk. I stacked them up neatly off to the side.
“Do you know what she has planned for this year?” Desi asked.
“Nope. Angela isn’t the sharing type, and she hasn’t yet divulged her plans to me.” I glanced at my calendar. It was already the first of October. “She needs to do so soon though. Halloween is coming up quickly.”
“Anthony and Mikey are going to have so much fun trick-or-treating this year. They’re the perfect age for it.” She made a face. “I love Halloween, but I’m not looking forward to the after-candy sugar rush. Four-year-old boys are active enough, even without the extra sugar.”
“Adam is excited about taking them around our neighborhood this year with Tomàs, and he was thrilled when he heard we’d be hosting the haunted house. It’s his favorite holiday.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. When we were kids, he always had his costume idea ready in the summertime.”
“This year is no different—except he’s roped the kids and me into it as well. He wants Mikey and Ella to be Darth Vader and an Ewok, and for us to be Luke and Leia.” I wrinkled my nose.
“But you hate Star Wars.” She glanced up from the pictures.
“I know. But I couldn’t tell him no. He looked so excited about the idea.” Usually, I’d buy Mikey a costume at Costco or my mother-in-law, Beth, would make him one, but this year I was letting Adam take over costume duty. In the last three years, he’d only been home for one Halloween with Mikey, so I knew it was important to him.
“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about it this year. I made Anthony a pirate costume this week and I didn’t really think it through. As soon as I showed it to him, he took the rubber sword and ran off throughout the house, terrorizing the cat and knocking things off the shelves. We’re now down two coffee mugs and an ugly vase we got for our wedding.” She shrugged. “I guess some good things came of it. I hated that vase, but I didn’t want to offend Aunt Arlene by sending it to the thrift shop.” Desi lifted one of the photos and turned it around to face me. “Hey, did you see this one?”
The backyard of a grand old Victorian had been transformed into a creepy graveyard, complete with moss-covered tombstones and a freshly dug grave.
“Yeah. She went all out.” I examined the historic home in the photo. I would guess it had been built shortly after Ericksville was founded in the late 1800s. “Her house is perfect for Halloween.” The house was built of red brick and had some Gothic influences. A gabled roof extended high above the porch that spanned the whole front of the house. A wrought iron fence bordered the property.
“How did one person do all of this?” She handed the photos back to me. “These displays are pretty intricate. It would take me at least a year to put one of them together.”
I shrugged and carefully filed them away in a photo storage box in order by year. Angela had loaned me the images to give me an idea of what the haunted house would look like, but I’d hate to think what she’d do to me if I lost any of them. “I think she had help setting it up, but as far as I know, the ideas were all hers. She’s a local artist and Halloween is a passion of hers. She gets started months early with the plans.”
Desi nodded. “I can tell.”
I checked the clock on the wall. Four o’clock. Usually Desi was at the BeansTalk Café, her business located just down the block, at this time of day. What was she doing here so close to closing time? “What’s up?”
She smiled at me. “Can’t someone just visit their very favorite sister-in-law at work?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You want me to do something unpleasant, don’t you? What is it this time?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said innocently. “I came here to ask if you’d like to go to a MUMs meeting with me. Nothing bad.”
“A MUMs meeting?” The name rang a bell, and I racked my brain trying to remember where I’d heard it before.
“More United Mothers. You know, it’s a group of moms who get together and do physical fitness and other activities together. Motherhood can be so isolating and the group’s goal is to put an end to that. It’s a national organization. A friend of mine told me about it.”
I folded my arms in front of my chest and leaned back in my ergonomic chair. “Uh huh.” With everything I had going on at the Boathouse, my husband’s new business, and two small kids, I wasn’t sure I had time to add something else to the mix. Plus, these groups had a way of needing way more of a time commitment than they initially let on.
“Jill! It’ll be so much fun. They put you in groups with mothers of other kids born in the same school year as yours. Since Ella and Lina were both born last year, we can be in the same group. So cool, right?”
I smiled at her enthusiasm. “So cool.” I was beginning to thaw to the idea, but I wanted to hear more about it before I made a commitment to Desi. If I told her I’d do it with her, she’d be crushed if it didn’t work out.
“This group has more of a focus on fitness at the moment as we’re all moms who have had babies in the last year and we want to get back in shape. I’ve seen them out doing yoga in Lighthouse Park with their babies, and they go on easy local hikes with their babies in packs too.”
“After what happened to Mikey last time we went hiking, I don’t know if I want to go ever again.”
She shook her head. “Mikey’s fine. It was just an accident. He probably doesn’t even remember it anymore.”
“But I do.” I was quiet for a moment. For Labor Day weekend, we’d gone on a family vacation to a lake cabin resort in Eastern Washington. On a nearby hike, Mikey had fallen off a steep edge of the trail. Luckily, we’d been able
to pull him back to safety, but for at least twenty minutes, I’d been terrified. While our vacation had been fun, that was one of the memories from it that I’d happily never relive again.
“Anyway. Mikey wouldn’t be with you for these meetings and you don’t have to go on the hikes if you don’t want to. All I’m asking is that you attend the meeting with me tonight. They have an interest meeting for new members at seven tonight in a conference room at the library. Moms only, no babies. I think there will be wine and snacks.” She batted her eyelashes at me. “Pretty please?”
“I thought you said you had a friend that was already in MUMs. Can’t you go with her?”
“Her youngest is two, so she wouldn’t be in the same group. Please? Just try it one time with me and then if you don’t want to go again, you don’t have to.”
“Are these all going to be stay-at-home moms that will make me feel guilty about going back to work?” I’d fought my own demons about that and I’d reached a good place in my life where I knew I’d made the right decision for me.
She sighed. “I’m sure there will be both stay-at-home and work-outside-the-home moms there. The focus of the group is to unite moms, not create distance between them.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. I’m so sick of the whole Mommy Wars thing. What time did you say it was?” Although my husband Adam was home more now that he’d quit his demanding job as a corporate lawyer, I wanted to make sure he’d be able to watch the kids if I attended the meeting.
“Seven,” she said brightly. “Adam can put the kids to bed and by the time you get home, you’ll have free time. Win–win.”
I looked at Desi. “Fine. I’ll go with you and find out more about the group. But I’m letting you know now—if it doesn’t work for my schedule, I won’t be able to join. Right now, the haunted house is sucking up most of my time and energy.”
“Understood.” The metal legs of her chair skittered precariously on the hardwood floors before settling in an upright position when she stood abruptly. She circled my desk and wrapped her arms around me. “Thanks! I’d better get back to the café and help Andrea close up, but I’ll see you tonight,” she called over her shoulder as she hurried out of my office.
“See you.” I sat back in my chair, surveying the mess on my desk. Photos, diagrams, and client paperwork covered the surface. A ceramic mug full of coffee fought for space near my computer. I took a whiff of it before setting it back down without drinking it—cold as ice. I hadn’t even had time to drink my morning cup of coffee.
Maybe this MUMs group would be a good thing for me. Even though I’d vowed to not let work take over my life again, the haunted house had definitely disrupted the work/life balance I’d worked hard to cultivate since I became an event coordinator here last spring. It had been ages since I’d had a night out without Adam and the kids, and maybe I’d meet some new friends too. At the very worst, Desi and I could hang out, munch on snacks, and drink wine while finding out about the group.
2
I pulled up to the library at ten to seven that night and turned off my car’s engine, but didn’t exit the vehicle. I didn’t see Desi’s car in the lot and I wasn’t going in without her. At this time of day, things were winding down at the Ericksville Library, but a few stray people were still trickling in. A minivan similar to mine idled near the front door while a young boy jumped out and ran to the exterior book depository to return some borrowed items.
When the vehicle moved, I could see Desi standing next to the door, jabbering on her cell phone. I craned my neck around to check behind me. Sure enough, she’d parked on the opposite side of the library lot. I sighed. Part of me had hoped she’d change her mind about going, but now I was stuck.
I swung my purse onto my shoulder and gritted my teeth before opening my car door. A blast of chilly air hit me and I considered grabbing my jacket. As soon as September was over, the summer around here seemed to end abruptly and the days shortened dramatically. Soon, it would be dark by five o’clock and the winter rains would start. Who was I kidding? This was the Pacific Northwest. Once the rain started, it wouldn’t stop until next May. I already missed the long summer days where we could sit outside on the deck until ten o’clock at night. I decided to leave my jacket behind because there was a good chance I’d forget it in the library if I brought it in. Besides, it was a short walk to the front door.
I slammed the car door and walked toward the library. Before I reached Desi, I took a long breath. This could be good for you, Jill. It doesn’t hurt to have more mommy friends. Maybe this was what I needed as I navigated my way through the challenges of being a working mother of a preschooler and a baby.
“Hey,” Desi said as she slipped her phone into her purse. “I didn’t see you. Are you ready? This will be fun, I promise.”
I had my doubts about that, but I smiled bravely and nodded.
Inside the conference room in the library’s lobby, about ten to twelve women milled around, drinking wine out of plastic cups and eating cheese and crackers. Desi nudged me and winked.
“Told you there would be yummy snacks.” She led me over to the refreshments table where we each grabbed something to eat and drink.
We stood together, waiting for the meeting to start.
“Hi, I don’t think I’ve seen you two before. Are you thinking about joining our group?” asked a woman who was dressed in tight-fitting jeans and a flowered off-the-shoulder blouse.
Desi smiled. “Yes, a friend of mine recommended MUMs to me. She’s in the class before this one.” She gestured to me. “I’m Desi and this is my sister-in-law, Jill. We both have little girls under a year old.”
“Oh, fabulous,” the woman gushed. “I’m Lisa. I’m the leader of our little group and we’re just so glad to have you both here.”
“We’re glad to be here,” said Desi.
I nodded my head. “Yes, it’s great to be around other moms. I haven’t been out without my kids in a while.”
Lisa beamed at us. “You’ll find we have a great selection of activities both with and without our little ones.” A woman wearing a trendy long-sleeved knit shirt and designer jeans tapped her on the shoulder and muttered something in her ear. “Well, I’ve got to take care of this before the meeting starts, but please, mingle with the other women.”
“We will, thank you.” Desi turned to me. “This isn’t so bad, right?” She peered at me with an anxious expression on her face. I knew this was important to her, so I vowed to make an effort to enjoy it.
“Nope, so far it’s fine.” I felt a little underdressed and disheveled in comparison to some of the other moms who wore perfectly applied makeup and obviously spent some time in the gym.
At the front of the room, someone clapped to get everyone’s attention, and Lisa made her way there.
“Hi, everyone! I’m so excited to see our regular members and some new people too! If you could all find a seat, we’re going to get started sharing what we have planned for our MUMs group for this year.”
The group murmured as they sat down. Desi and I took seats next to each other near the rear of the room. I had a sinking feeling that this was a little like a PTA meeting. At the end of last school year, I’d daydreamed for a few minutes in a preschool PTA meeting and somehow ended up chairing the preschool auction. No way was that happening again. I straightened my spine and focused on Lisa.
“So, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Lisa Aldane.” She waited as people said hi to her. “I have a three-year-old and a six-month-old, and I’ve been active in MUMs since my eldest was a baby. These have been some great years for me and I’m thrilled to give back as the leader for this group.” She beamed at the audience. “We’ve got an outing to the zoo planned for next month and a stroller walking group that will meet three times a week. We’d love to have you attend. Also, we’re going to be staffing the Ericksville Haunted House as a fundraiser.”
Desi and I exchanged glances.
“Really?” she
whispered.
I shrugged. This was the first I’d heard of it, but it wasn’t really anything I needed to know about in my role as the event coordinator. All I knew was that Angela planned to take care of the staffing.
“I know all of you want to get involved, so we’ve opened up a few positions in our MUMs group. We’re looking for a secretary and a treasurer for the year. They’re both relatively easy and you’ll report to the director of our local MUMs chapter. For the new people, this is a great way to meet people and be a part of our organization.”
Desi’s hand inched up. I shook my head in disbelief. She was crazy to want to add this responsibility on top of everything already on her plate.
“Desi, right?” Lisa said. “Are you interested in one of these roles?”
“I’d be willing to be the treasurer,” Desi said. “I’ve done it before for the Ericksville Historical Society.”
“Wonderful!” Lisa exclaimed. “So we’ve got our treasurer. Do we have any volunteers for the secretary position?”
Desi looked over at me.
I scrunched up my face. “No way.”
Luckily, someone else volunteered before Desi could guilt me into it. Lisa continued on, talking about the group’s planned activities, and the meeting was over by eight. I had to admit, it was nice to be out in the evening without the kids, even if it was in our local library. After most of the people had left, I hung back with Desi while she talked to Lisa about the treasurer position.
“So, there’s not too much to it,” Lisa said. “Here’s our director’s information and she’ll get you all set up on our bank account and everything. I gave her assistant, Mindy, the books last time I saw her. I’ve been managing our funds since our last treasurer moved away, but I’m happy to let someone else do it now so that I can focus on my role as the leader of this group.”
