Johanna shrugged. “I don’t know. I would have figured it out. But nothing happened. Dutch did admit to using Janet Sandborn as his realtor to purchase the house. So obviously she made a tidy little profit off Felicia’s death. Plus, Dutch was pretty sure there was a Four Seasons Realty car parked in front of the house when he got there that day.”
Mitch stared down at her, and Johanna wished she could read his mind. His stone-cold expression made her wonder if he was mad at her for going to see Dutch without him.
She swallowed hard. “I wasn’t planning to see Dutch, Mitch. He just showed up while I was scouting for more security cameras.”
“We could have made an appointment together to go see him.”
“Yeah, but he might not have taken the appointment. I think it was fate that I saw him pull up when I did. My body just kind of went on autopilot after that. I don’t know what came over me.”
“I don’t know what came over you either. You could have been killed for snooping around,” said Mitch with his brows knitted together.
“I really don’t think Dutch was the one who killed Felicia,” she said lightly.
Mitch nodded, but she could tell he wasn’t as sure.
“JoJo, Mitch,” hollered Melissa from the kitchen. “Time to eat.”
“Be there in a second, Mook!”
Mitch took hold of both of Johanna’s hands then. “Jo. Promise me you won’t go do any more sleuthing without me. Okay?”
“But I—”
“Please?” he asked. He looked down at their joined hands. “I would be devastated if something happened to you.”
Johanna swallowed hard. At first, she’d thought he was just mad at her for finding something out without him, but now, she thought she saw something else in his face. He was worried about her. She couldn’t remember the last time someone besides her family had worried about her.
“Okay,” she finally agreed. “I won’t put myself into any dangerous situations without you anymore.”
Before she could say another word, Mitch was leaning forward. His arms wrapped around her, embracing her in the kind of hug you give someone when you’re thankful they’re still alive and well. Then his face nuzzled her ear and he whispered, “Thank you, Jo.”
29
Aunt Lucy wrung her hands in the doorway only a few hours later. “I can’t believe you have to rush off like this.” Mitch and Johanna, along with the rest of their crew, were headed out the door. “We were just about to get holiday charades going.”
“Sorry, Aunt Lucy. You know I love game night, but this snow is crazy! For months we haven’t gotten a single flake, and now it’s practically blizzarding! We’ll be lucky to make it home now.”
Johanna gave her aunt a kiss on the cheek before lumbering down the front steps with Esmerelda slung over one shoulder and Rocky’s leash wrapped around her wrist. She waved backwards at the multitude of faces crammed in her aunt’s doorway. “Bye, everyone!”
From the top step, Mitch watched Johanna and Rocky trudge through the snow. He watched as heavy wet flakes piled up on the hood of his car. His wipers chased each other across the windshield, keeping it cleared, but even the warmed-up engine couldn’t compete with the heavy snowfall they were getting. In the ten minutes since he’d started the car and cleared off the first six inches, another inch had accumulated. He hoped they hadn’t waited too long to leave. The roads were going to be snow-packed, and likely filled with bad half-drunk drivers on their way home from Christmas in Jersey. And, if he had to guess, the snowplows probably hadn’t even been out yet.
“Drive careful,” said Denny, wagging a finger at Mitch. “Watch that speed and keep a safe following distance. You’re carrying precious cargo.”
Mitch nodded. How right he is! “Of course.”
Melissa hollered out the door at her sister. “And JoJo, make sure to call me when you get home!”
Johanna was already to the car and had Mitch’s back driver’s side door open to let Rocky and Esmerelda into the backseat. She waved a hand over her shoulder at her sister. “I will!”
“Thanks for everything, Lucy. Dinner was amazing. It was great meeting you all,” said Mitch as he walked down the shoveled walk.
Seven hands waved back at him.
“Don’t be a stranger!” said Melissa, shooting him a wink.
Mitch grinned back. He was pretty sure that wasn’t going to be up to him. By the time he got to the car, JoJo already had Rocky and Esmerelda inside and was trudging around the back of the car to the passenger’s side. “I cleared a path around the front, Jo,” hollered Mitch, watching her boots get covered in snow.
But she kept walking, so he went around the front of the car and beat her to her door. “I cleared a path around the front,” he said again.
She peered up at him from beneath the bill of her cute black hat. Her teeth chattered. “Oh. You should have told me,” she said, squinting against the falling snow. “I got snow in my boots.”
“I did tell you, I yelled at you.”
Her big brown eyes blinked back at him. “I didn’t hear you.”
He grinned. “Well, obviously.”
He stared at her then. The streetlights illuminated the inky night sky, and snowflakes fell around her head in an almost magical way. It was such a perfect moment. She looked so angelic, with her nose scrunched up and her head tilted slightly to the side. In that moment, he wanted to ignore the fact that she spooked easily and ignore the fact that her entire family was standing on the doorstep watching them like hungry hawks. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and plant a kiss on those perfectly formed lips of hers.
He’d gone six years without wanting to kiss anyone but Felicia. Six years of not having a single lustful thought towards any other woman in his life, and now the most perfect creature he’d ever met was staring back at him, completely oblivious to how adorable she was, and he felt like there was something standing in the way of him making a move. Was it just her family staring at them? Was he scared of her reaction? Mitch didn’t know.
“It’s cold out here,” said Johanna, eyeing the door he was blocking.
Mitch was pulled from his trance. “Oh! Right, sorry.” He stepped back and opened the door for her, shutting it once she was safely ensconced in the car. Then he rushed around to the other side. As he did, the whole family waved at him from the door once again. He waved back, for a moment thankful he hadn’t laid one on Jo while they were all staring. That would have been awkward.
Back inside the car, she waved at them too. “I wish we didn’t have to leave so early,” said Johanna sadly. “For the first time in forever, I was actually having fun with my family. They really seemed to like you.”
Mitch put his seat belt on and then put the car in reverse. “I really liked them too.” He glanced over at Johanna. “You have your seat belt on? This could be a white-knuckle drive home.”
“It’s on.” She glanced over her shoulder into the backseat. “I wish the seat belts worked for Rocky and Es.”
“They’re going to be fine,” he assured her, patting her hand. “I’ll drive slow. Don’t worry.”
They drove in a comfortable silence for several blocks. Lost in his own thoughts, Mitch took a few blocks to realize just how quiet it had gotten in the car. He glanced over at Johanna, who stared out the window, marveling at the snow.
“Jo? You alright?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I just can’t believe my Christmas wish came true.”
He chuckled. “Looks like you’re getting more than you bargained for.”
“Looks like it. I didn’t think we’d get quite this much, though. You think we’re going to make it home? They haven’t even started plowing yet.”
Mitch’s car pushed ahead unfazed. “Silver Dragon’s a beast. She’ll make it.”
“Silver Dragon?” Johanna laughed. “You named your car?”
“I did. Don’t laugh. You brought your cat to Christmas.”
“This is true.”<
br />
They both stared ahead as the snow mixed with Mitch’s headlights, forming a hypnotizing tunnel.
“Warp speed ahead,” whispered Johanna under her breath.
Mitch leaned sideways. “Did you just say warp speed ahead?”
Johanna looked up at him in surprise. “Oh. Yeah,” she smiled. “Don’t you think it looks like we’re going into hyperspeed when you drive fast in the snow or look up into the rain?”
“Yeah, I guess it does.”
“James and I used to have this thing when we were kids. We’d lie on the grass when it was raining, and he’d hold my hand and he’d say, ‘All systems are a go. Warp speed ahead!’”
“Is that from Star Trek?”
Johanna nodded. “James was a Trekkie.”
“You guys grew up together, right?”
She nodded. “Yup. His house was literally just the next house over from mine. I feel like that’s actually why James and I ended up together. He saw past my obvious flaws because he knew me so well for so many years.”
Mitch quirked up an eyebrow. “What obvious flaws are those?”
“Are you kidding?” deadpanned Johanna. She held out her hand and started ticking off her fingers. “My clumsiness. My aversion to people. My social awkwardness.”
“I’d hardly call a single one of those a flaw,” said Mitch with a laugh.
“I haven’t even told you all about my love for old crime TV shows.”
“Which ones?”
“Oh, any of them, really. Matlock. Columbo. I love Jessica Fletcher, of course.”
“Well, who doesn’t love those old shows? You consider that a flaw?”
She shrugged. “I also watch a lot of those Hallmark Channel Christmas movies.”
He smiled reminiscently. “Felicia liked those too. She wasn’t a big television watcher, because she was so busy, but she did like the Hallmark Channel from time to time.”
“Well, I’m kind of a Hallmark snob. I don’t usually watch it like anytime, just for Christmas.” She picked at a piece of cat hair stuck to her skirt. “So, how did you meet Felicia?”
Mitch leaned his head back against the seat rest and stared into the mesmerizing flurry coming at them. “Well, I was at a place in my life where I was tired of renting and ready to buy. I passed the Four Seasons Realty office at least twice a day on my way to and from work. Usually they were closed by the time I’d walk past in the evenings, but one day in March there was a light on in the front office, so I took that as my sign to stop and see if there was a realtor in. I walked in and there was this redhead behind the desk.” He chuckled. “I thought she was the secretary. She was eating Chinese takeout and watching something on her phone, and it was making her giggle. I just remember thinking what a great laugh she had.”
Johanna smiled at him from the other side of the car. “Awww.”
“Yeah, she was pretty adorable. Anyway, I asked her if there were any realtors around that late, and she told me that she was a realtor and we started talking about what I was looking for. She told me that she had this great new place that was one of her new listings and she thought it was just what I was looking for. She took me to see it the next day. I wasn’t quite sure about it, but she said it was in an up-and-coming neighborhood and the property values were going to appreciate very quickly, and at the very least I’d make a bundle on it if I kept it for a few years. She seemed to really know what she was talking about, so I went for it. I invited her over for a glass of champagne to celebrate the day that we closed on it, and I guess the rest is history!”
“You know I went to see Felicia’s parents. I met her mom, anyway.”
“Yeah, Dawn’s great.”
“She said that you and Felicia had only been dating for a few months before you got engaged.”
He nodded. “I don’t know what to say. When you know, you know, and I knew. She was something special, and everyone around her knew it.”
Johanna’s eyes darkened. “Obviously not everyone thought she was so great. Someone killed her.”
“Yeah,” whispered Mitch. “I know.”
They drove in silence for a while, the idea of Felicia’s fate sobering the energy in the car. Finally, Johanna spoke up. “The snow’s really getting worse. Maybe we should have stayed at Aunt Lucy’s.”
Mitch’s vision narrowed as he squinted into the snow. He suddenly became aware of his tensed shoulders and the tight grip he had on the steering wheel. “It is pretty bad. In hindsight, staying there might not have been a bad idea. At least by morning the snowplows would have been out.”
Johanna pulled her feet out of her boots and curled her legs up underneath herself, tucking her coat in around her tights.
“Cold?”
“A little.”
Mitch adjusted the car’s thermostat.
“Thanks,” she said, grinning at him sleepily. “And if I forget to tell you later, thank you for going with me to see my family.”
“Hey, it was my pleasure. Thanks for giving me somewhere to be on Christmas.”
Johanna leaned her head back against the headrest and yawned. “And thanks for playing along. I know you were playing it up for my benefit.”
“I wasn’t playing anything up,” he said, patting her hand. “Everything I said while I was there was the truth.”
She grinned. “My family really seemed to like you. They probably like you better than me now.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that. Your niece and nephew are all over you, and your dad couldn’t stop singing your praises.”
Johanna gave him a sleepy smile. “Yeah, Dad’s very proud of my accomplishments.”
Mitch looked over at her as she cuddled into his upholstered bucket seat. He wished he was sitting next to her on a sofa, not behind the steering wheel. He’d get to cuddle up with her then. “Getting tired? You’re welcome to fall asleep.”
“No, I’d like to help you stay awake,” she said through the middle of a yawn.
“Okay,” he agreed. “But I think it sounds more like I’ll be the one helping you stay awake. I’m wired. I drank two cups of coffee before we left. I never have coffee this late at night. I’ll make it home just fine.”
“Mmm,” agreed Johanna with a slow nod, her eyes little more than slits now.
“I promise, I’ll wake you when we get there.” Before the words were even out, Mitch could see the muscles in her neck give out as her head bobbed towards her shoulder. “Sweet dreams, Jo.”
30
Johanna awoke to a cold burst of air spiraling in around her. She unfolded her legs quickly, sat up, and realized her neck hurt and there was a little puddle of drool on her cheek. Where in the world was she? As her vision focused, she realized she was sitting in Mitch’s car and the backdoor was open. She wiped the slobber from her face with the back of her hand.
“Brrr,” she said, pulling her coat tighter around herself and slipping her feet back into her boots, where melted snow lay in wait for her stocking feet. She ducked her head and peered out the window. They were back in the city, but she didn’t recognize the neighborhood. She looked over her shoulder to realize that Mitch was extracting Rocky and Esmerelda from the car. Whitley was already standing knee-deep in snow on the curb, with her arms wrapped around herself, shivering.
Mitch slammed the door shut and then opened Johanna’s door. “Come on,” he hollered over the wind, holding out one gloved hand.
Johanna looked up at him curiously. “Where are we?”
“Lenox Hill.”
“Lenox Hill! What in the world are we doing in Lenox Hill? I live in Kip’s Bay.” She stared out the window, reluctant to get out of the warm car and into the freezing cold and snow.
He pointed over Esmerelda’s furry grey head to the building behind him. “This is my apartment building. It was closer. We barely made it here, Jo. You and the kids are going to have to stay with me tonight. I’ll take you home in the morning.”
Johanna’s mind raced. Stay with Mitch? As in
overnight? Is he crazy? Johanna shook her head. “I—I can’t stay with you…”
He grinned down at her, but still waved her forward. “I’m not talking about sleeping together or anything. I’ll take the sofa. Come on, it’s freezing out here. I just about got stuck six times. Cars are stuck in drifts all over the city. If we don’t stay here, we’ll be lucky to make it to your place and then I really don’t think there’s any way I’ll make it back home. Which means I’ll either have to stay with you at your place, or freeze to death in my car. I mean, your choice, but obviously I’d rather you not pick freezing to death in my car.”
Johanna looked out the front window at the pile of snow and the flurry that seemed relentless in its pursuit of blanketing New York City for Christmas. “You don’t want Rocky and Es at your place, though…”
“If it means we get to go inside where it’s warm, then yes, I do want Rocky and Es in my place.” He prodded her along with his hand. “Please, Jo? I’ll be a gentleman, I swear.”
Grudgingly, Johanna took hold of his hand and let him pull her out of the car. When she wobbled on her feet in the snow, he steadied her. Then, only inches away from her face, he stared down at her. “See? I’m only here to help. Come on, the kids are cold.”
She couldn’t help but smile at Mitch calling Rocky, Es, and by default, Whit the kids. She guessed Esmerelda wasn’t getting as big of a kick out of it, but when she actually looked, she realized that the ball of fur was so tightly wound around Mitch’s neck that she couldn’t find where her head began and tail ended.
Mitch led the group of them to the front of his building, where a black-and-gold awning lit with white Christmas lights provided a smidge of protection against the elements.
“This is where you live?” asked Johanna as they hopped through the snow.
“Yeah, why?”
She shrugged as she stared at the two fully decorated Christmas trees in oversized pots flanking each side of the doorway. She wasn’t sure where she’d expected Mitch to live, but she was shocked when she saw just how nice his apartment building was. “Fancy.”
Snow Cold Case_A Mystic Snow Globe Romantic Mystery Page 24
