Killer Dress: A Small Town Cozy Mystery (Shot & Framed Book 1)

by Nancy McGovern

  “We’re just trying to see if Blake has a perspective to offer,” Nolan said.

  “Sure he does. I’m just not sure he has the time to offer it to two young kids when he’s already spoken to the Sheriff,” Curtis said. “Now I’d advise you both to go home. Goodbye.”

  “Now hold on a second, Curtis,” a voice said. The door opened, and a bald man with a sharp smile walked in. “That’s not way to treat guests.”

  “Boss.” Curtis stood at once.

  “Sit, sit.” With the lazy arrogance of a royal, Blake Dowell swept into the room, and pulled up a chair for himself. “So what do we have here? I know you, don’t I? Bluebell Knopps? Your father’s done some good work for me over the years. A good lawyer, that man.”

  “Thank you,” Bluebell said, wondering if that were just small talk, or a way for Blake to warn her - be nice to me because I employ your father.

  “Tragic, that Steve Talzer is dead,” Blake said. “He was a man after my own heart. I don’t believe in college degrees, you know. I believe in men who are passionate about their work, and Steve was very much so. A pity we lost him.”

  “He wasn’t very happy when he left your company, was he?” Nolan asked.

  Blake smiled, though a hint of irritation appeared on his face. “We parted on good terms. He left to start his own venture.”

  “That’s not true,” Bluebell said. “We were dating. He told me all about it. How you were profiting off inventions he’d made. How you threatened him before he left, and told him that you’d do your best to ruin him.”

  Blake Dowell’s smile became the bared teeth of a wolf. “Is that right?”

  “Why would Dowell Industries care about a young kid?” Bluebell asked. “You’re one of the most famous auto part makers in the USA.”

  “That’s right, we are,” Dowell said. “And we didn’t care. I didn’t care. Now enough of this. What are you really here for?”

  Nolan and Bluebell looked at each other. They didn’t know what to say.

  “Steve took information from me before he left,” Dowell said. “Information that I suspect he was using to make his company competitive with ours. Well, if you’re here to sell it back to me, let’s just say I’d be willing to make a fair deal.”

  “I don’t…” Nolan began, but Bluebell kicked him under the table.

  “What does a fair deal look like?” she asked.

  Dowell smiled. He shrugged. “Anywhere in the neighborhood of 50 grand.”

  Nolan gasped.

  “That sounds a lot to you, but it’s pocket change, really,” Blake Dowell said. “So do we have a deal?”

  “Where were you that night?” Bluebell asked.

  “Me? I have a cast iron alibi,” Dowell said. “I was at a conference in Miami, and two hundred people saw me there. So if you’re here to pin the blame on me, think again. Now I have no more time. I’ll give you a day. If you find and sell me that information, I’ll make it worth your while. If it leaks to the public or to my rivals, however…” Blake’s eyes narrowed. “...I’ll make sure that every single person here suffers.”

  Bluebell gulped, and so did Nolan. They saw Curtis wipe a bead of sweat off his forehead.

  “So. You have a day or two to think about it, and get in touch with Curtis.” Dowell slapped his employee on the shoulder. “Good day, kids.”

  They exited through the lobby, both feeling gloomy. As they stepped out, they saw the secretary leaning against the wall, having a smoke. She brightened as she saw them.

  “Hey, you said you’re friends of Steve’s, right?” she asked.

  “Right,” Nolan said. “Just wondered if we could speak to Blake.”

  “Well, that’s awesome, that you’re his friends, I mean. There’s this girl… I forwarded her number to the police, but I thought maybe I can give it to you and you can talk to her too. She’ll need a friend at a time like this. She called yesterday insisting she wanted to speak to him. She said she’s staying down at Irma’s B and B.”

  “Did she say who she was?”

  “Oh, sure. Said her name is Martina Murphy. Said she’s his wife.”

  *****

  Chapter 7

  Steve Returns

  “Blue?” Nolan sounded worried. “Blue, now, calm down. You don’t want to do anything rash.”

  “Rash? Me?” Bluebell had wrestled the keys from Nolan, and was gripping the steering wheel so hard she left grooves on it. She floored the gas pedal and the rusty old car gave a little cough as it accelerated. Nolan hurriedly put on his seatbelt.

  “This isn’t good,” he said, taking his notebook out. He took a deep breath, and scribbled down wife in large block letters. “This is not good.”

  “He had a wife?” Bluebell said. “Who was Steve? I wish I could talk to him one more time because-”

  A man appeared out of thin air on the road. Bluebell screamed and swerved, nearly crashing the car.

  “Blue! Come on! Control yourself!” Nolan exclaimed.

  “That man, did you see him?”

  “What man? You swerved for no reason! Are you trying to kill us? Pull over, right now.”

  “Okay,” she said. Taking deep breaths, she tried to get herself under control. She had seen a man, but apparently Nolan hadn’t. She parked the car and pushed her head back against the headrest.

  “You wished I’d vanish, so I vanished. Now you wish to talk, so here I am,” a voice said in her ear. Jumping, she whirled around, and found Steve lying in the backseat, his feet propped up on the window sill. He gave her his signature lazy grin. “What’s up, Bluebell?”

  “Don’t do that!” Bluebell said.

  “Do what? Blue, are you okay?” Nolan asked. He looked around at the backseat, confused. “Who are you talking to?”

  “I’m…” She remembered what Oliver had said. This was just a shadow of Steve, not Steve himself. Steve was dead. So naturally, Nolan couldn’t see him.

  “I never liked this jerk,” Steve said, putting a finger in Nolan’s ear. “Always struck me as a little too much of a good boy, you know?”

  “Nolan,” Bluebell said, “I need some time alone. To process what I just heard. Do you mind maybe giving me ten minutes?”

  “Sure, take all the time you need,” Nolan said.

  “Yeah… well…” She reached over and unlocked his door.

  “Oh. Right. I’ll just go for a short walk, I guess,” Nolan said, getting out. “You aren’t going to leave me stranded, are you?”

  “No, just come back in ten minutes. But please, give me time alone,” Bluebell said.

  “Okay. I’ll be over by those trees. Give me a honk when you want me to come back.” He sounded concerned, but left her alone. She gave him a grateful smile.

  Once he’d walked away, she turned back and scowled at Steve. “You!” she said.

  “Me.” He smiled.

  “Why are you here?” she asked. “Actually, who killed you?”

  “I wish I knew,” Steve said. “That blow to my head must have scrambled my brains. The only thing I remember is meeting you at the diner and breaking up.”

  “Are you real or just a fiction my brain’s made up?” she asked.

  “Well, I feel real to me.” Steve pinched himself. “Hmm. That doesn’t hurt. Let’s see…” He shoved his head back violently, trying to bang it against the door, only to have it pass right through. Straightening up, he grinned. “Nope, that doesn’t hurt at all. You know, being dead isn’t half bad. I can pass through doors.”

  “This is a really terrible time for you to develop a sense of humor,” Bluebell said. “Now, if you are Steve, tell me, who is this woman who’s claiming to be your wife?”

  A scowl spread across Steve’s face. “Do you have to bring up my past all the time?” he asked angrily. “Anyway, we broke up, right? So you shouldn’t care anymore.”

  “Steve, you’ve been dating me for years and now I find out you had a wife? You were only four years older than me! The thought never e
ven crossed my mind. Of course I care that you lied!”

  “Yeah, well. Mainly, I cared about myself,” Steve said with a sigh. He sat up cross-legged. “You know, if it weren’t for you, I’d have moved on to the afterlife by now. You should feel bad too, instead of trying to rake up drama.”

  “This isn’t drama!” Bluebell took a deep breath. “Now I need some answers from you, Steve. First off, how are you even here?”

  “I don’t know,” Steve said. “I only know that I’m connected to you. So, like, deal with it. You brought me back somehow.”

  The backdoor opened, and Oliver slid in. “I can explain how,” he said.

  Bluebell gaped at him. “What, why are you here? How are you here?”

  “Well, I’d set up a spectrometer to tell me when any entities emerged,” Oliver said. “When you called Steve here, they went off, and it was easy to trace you.”

  “I don’t even know how I called him.”

  “You made a wish, so here I am,” Steve said.

  “Yeah. Well… I wish I had all the answers to this mystery. See? Wishes don’t work that way.”

  “With Steve, it does,” Oliver said. “You’re bonded to him.”

  “How? Oliver, I’m begging you, tell me what’s going on.”

  “All right, look. It’s simple enough. Last night, you and Mathilda clearly performed a spell that brought Steve back to life and linked him to you. Well, not all of him, but enough of him. He’s fading fast, see?”

  “I am?” Steve looked down at his hand and gave a little yelp. It was almost transparent.

  “Yes. Now any play with entities is strictly forbidden, unless you’ve taken ten no-objection certificates from the highest rectors of the Magical Ministry,” Oliver said. “Seeing as Mathilda performed an illegal spell and then vanished, I have to find her and bring her back to justice. And seeing as Steve here is an illegal entity, I have to send him back where he belongs pronto.”

  “Oh.” Steve sounded disappointed, but not very sad. “Is it a good place, where you’re sending me?”

  Oliver didn’t look him in the eye. He pulled back his sleeve and tapped his Rolex twice. A glow began to emanate from it.

  “But we didn’t perform an illegal spell,” Bluebell protested. “Unless a love spell is illegal. Is it?”

  “Depends on the strength,” OIiver said. “A 24 hour spell is legal-ish as long as the person you’ve used it on clears you afterwards. A lifelong spell will get you put away forever. I guess this was a 24-hour spell, given how fast Steve here is fading. If that’s the only spell Mathilda used, and it was in conjunction with your 21st birthday godmother rites, then she shouldn’t have any problems. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to do my duty.” He turned to Steve. “You ready for this? Any last words?” he asked.

  “Sure I’m ready,” Steve said, sounding glum. “I mean, it’s no fun floating around and if I’m going to go, I’d rather just choose my own time. Do me a favor and tell Selena that I’m dead. She must be worried.”

  “Who’s Selena?” Oliver asked.

  “Selena Boyer. You’ll meet her soon enough. Oh and one more thing…” Steve took a deep breath. “Blue, I was a total jerk, and all I ever cared about was money. But in the end, I was planning to come back to you. I always thought you and I were endgame. An epic couple destined to be happily ever after.”

  “So why did you break up with me?” Bluebell asked, tears slowly falling from her eyes.

  “Money,” Steve said. “Selena was going to give me a chance to be a multimillionaire, and we were too young for me to give that up for you. But I loved you. No matter what you find out about me, no matter how complex it all gets, I want you to remember that what we had was based on the truth. I loved you most of all.” With that, he vanished, leaving Bluebell curled in a ball, utterly wrecked.

  *****

  Chapter 8

  Casanova Talzer

  When Nolan saw Oliver get out of his car, he came running back to it. “You!” he exclaimed. “How did you get here?” He looked at the driver’s seat, where Bluebell sat mute, hugging herself with her knees to her chest. “What did you do to her!”

  “Relax. She’s just upset about Steve.” Oliver opened the door, and tried to coax Bluebell out.

  Nolan shoved him away. “You stay away from her!” Nolan said, pointing a shaking finger at him. “I don’t know what you said or did, but she was fine until… like five minutes ago.”

  Oliver raised his hands and took a step back. “As you please. Who are you again?”

  “Her best friend.” Nolan raised his chin defiantly. In a softer voice, he bent and asked, “Blue? Blue? Are you all right? Come on, babe. Pull yourself together. Justice for Steve, remember?”

  “He loved me.” Blue shook her head, tears collecting around the edges of her eyes.

  Nolan had his doubts about that, but agreed. “Of course he did. That’s why you have to keep it together now. The rest of us love you too, and we don’t want you in jail.”

  “Nolan.” Blue wrapped her arms around him, and he pulled her into an embrace. Her shoulders shook as she cried. “I hate him,” she said. “I hate him so much, but I also love him. I loved every inch of who he was. He was greedy, and passionate and ambitious and kind and… how can a single human being be so many things at once?”

  “I wish I knew,” Nolan said. “I knew who he was to you, and I’m so sorry, Blue. I’m sorry about all of this. He didn’t deserve to die.”

  “He lied to me. He left me. I would have killed him myself if I’d known he was married all along,” Blue said. “But he loved me too. I can’t wrap my head around it. How could he?”

  “Don’t say that. That thing about how you could have killed him.” Nolan took a step back, held her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “I know why you’re saying it, I know what you’re feeling, but don’t ever say that in public again, got it? It could be very dangerous. The sheriff-”

  “Never mind the sheriff.” Oliver stepped up, sounding interested. “I’m your lawyer aren’t I, Blue? What’s all this about a wife?”

  “Selena Boyer,” Bluebell said. “He had a wife. She’s staying in Irma’s B&B.”

  “We should go talk to her,” Nolan said.

  “I’m not sure that’s very smart,” Oliver said. “I mean-”

  “We’re going,” Bluebell said grimly. “You two can walk there if you like, but I’m going right now.”

  “Looks like I don’t have a choice,” Oliver said. He looked at his watch and frowned. “Actually, something’s come up. Why don’t you two carry on, I’ll… er… I’ll make my own way back.”

  “How?” Nolan looked one way, then another. “We’re the only car around, and the town’s five miles away.”

  “Right.” Oliver looked a little irritated. “But I bought my own car. It’s that black one parked next to yours. Right? I’ll take that back to town.”

  “What black car? I don’t see any car.” Nolan gaped at him. “Are you mad?”

  Oliver maintained eye contact with Nolan. “The black one parked next to yours. I’ll be leaving in it. Now why don’t you go sit in the passenger’s seat?”

  Nolan’s eyes glazed slightly. “Right. The black one. I see it now.”

  “Entry level hypnosis,” Oliver said to a frowning Bluebell as Nolan went and sat in the passenger seat.

  “Shouldn’t it be illegal?” Bluebell asked.

  “Well, there are regulations against using it for evil purposes,” Oliver said. “But it’s perfectly acceptable to use it for mild trickery, especially if it means that wizard secrets aren’t revealed. I’m going to disappear now, and he’s going to assume I took a car. Simple, no harm done. You’ll learn it soon enough. I guess if Mathilda goes to jail, you’ll have a new tutor assigned to you.”

  “I don’t know if I even want one,” Bluebell said. “This whole witch thing… it’ll just make my life more complex. I’m happy as I am. It’s not like all this magic helped us prevent
a crime, and it’s not as if you’re able to magically figure out who killed Steve.”

  “Yes, well. Magic is a tool, not a solution,” Oliver said. “You’ll figure that out as you practice it.”

  “What’s the emergency about anyway?” Bluebell asked. “Why aren’t you coming with us?”

  Oliver said, “We’ve found Mathilda.”

  “Oh.” Bluebell hesitated, not knowing what to feel about this. “Is she going to be…”

  Oliver shrugged.

  “Oliver, we already know that Mathilda didn’t do anything illegal, don’t we?” Bluebell asked. “She didn’t murder Steve. Why would she? She only cast a love spell on him, not knowing that he had died already. When she did that, Steve bonded to me, and part of him stayed behind for a little while.”

  Oliver gaped at her. “That’s brilliant! How did you figure that out?”

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s logical. Steve said it himself, that I’d bought him back from the dead. When Mathilda realized she’d accidentally brought him back, she panicked and ran.”

  “Well, I still need to bring her into custody,” Oliver said, a little doubt plain on his face. “I have to go, but look…” he handed her a bracelet. “Just twist on this if you need me. I’ll appear.”

  She slipped it on, tracing a finger over the bracelet next to it, the one that Steve had once given her. “It would be easier if you just gave me your number, you know,” she said.

  Oliver laughed. “But where’s the fun in that?” With that, he vanished.

  *****

  Irma’s B&B was a cozy place about three miles outside of town. It was a quaint little cottage with a wraparound porch and pink trim. Irma was always seated on a floral rocking chair outside, either knitting or browsing the internet on her iPad. She looked up as Nolan and Bluebell approached, and motioned to the pitcher of iced tea that sat next to her.

  “Help yourselves,” she said.

  “Hey, Irma.” Nolan smiled. “Mom said you beat her at scrabble last week. You devouring any dictionaries lately?”