The Emma Wild Mysteries: Complete Holiday Collection Books 1-4 (Cozy Romantic Mysteries with Recipes)

by Lin, Harper

  “Fate wanted us to meet.” Craig’s face lit up the more he spoke. “And when we finally did, I was completely starstruck. I mean, I’ve been to so many of her concerts and I listen to her music all the time. In fact, I was listening to her last album when I ran into her on the street earlier. Imagine that! Emma Wild running into me and wanting to talk to me. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t know what to say to her. I was afraid that whatever I said would make me sound like a blubbering fool so I said next to nothing.”

  “Why do you love Emma so much?” asked Sterling.

  “My upbringing wasn’t so good. It was true that I got into all sorts of trouble as a kid that by the time I was twenty, I couldn’t take it anymore. If I’d stayed in the city, I would’ve gone deeper with the wrong crowd. My drug addiction would’ve gotten worse. I needed to clear my head. The last straw was when my girlfriend broke my heart, man. I was in love with her for three years. We were finally together when I got my act together, but then she dumped me. Dumped me for some crappy asshole who works in I.T. Emma’s music was what got me through it all. She saved my life. If I didn’t have her music to get me through the horrible times I went through in the last few years of my life, I wouldn’t be here right now. I travelled, worked on the road, went to her concerts, got my head straight. And now I’m here, in Hartfield. And I love it here. It’s so peaceful. The people are so friendly.”

  Sterling seemed to be digesting his story.

  “Look,” said Craig. “I would never hurt Emma, I swear to you. I’m her biggest fan. Why would I hurt her?”

  Sterling sighed. “Somebody I spoke to thought you were involved, or might know something.”

  “Who?” Craig frowned.

  “I’m not at liberty to say, but you do come in contact with everyone at the cafe. You do touch every cup when you write the customer’s name on them.”

  “Yes,” Craig said, exasperated. “I do write the names on the cups, but the baristas are the ones who make the drinks. They would know if the cups were filled. I don’t leave the cash register once I give the cups to them. In fact the counter is quite far from the cash register.”

  “Do you think one of the cashiers had something to do with it?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” But something in Craig’s expression told otherwise.

  “Are you sure?” Sterling pressed.

  “Except…”

  “What?”

  “Kate, one of the baristas. She hates Emma’s music.”

  “Why does she hate Emma’s music?” Sterling asked.

  Craig thought about it. “I think she mentioned that she just didn’t like her voice. That it gave her a headache. Oh, and she was the first one to leave after we were all questioned. She looked really ill and really shaken up. It could’ve been that she was shocked, but who knows. Maybe she was overdoing it as an act.”

  ***

  “Well, what do you think?” Sterling asked me.

  “I believe Craig. He didn’t do it,” I said. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t think he did it either.”

  Craig was just a hardcore fan who was going through a difficult time. I was glad that my music was able to help him. Plenty of fans wrote to me to tell me about their breakup stories all the time. When you were hurt and vulnerable, you needed someone who understood, and I was the safe person who was close but far, who whispered sweet songs of comprehension in their ears and gave them reassurance that they weren’t alone.

  “I’ll go visit Kate at her home,” said Sterling.

  “I want to come,” I said.

  “No. It’s better if I do it. Don’t want to put you in danger.”

  I sighed.

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll go home and ask Mirabelle what she knows about her.”

  I didn’t know Kate well, but the few times that I’d talked to her, she seemed nice and friendly, but so were those journalists who used to interview me. To my face, they were adoring angels. Then later I’d find out that they’d written the most scathing review or the most damning interview. In all my years in the industry, I knew that people weren’t to be trusted at face value. And I didn’t trust Kate.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Mirabelle was on the couch again, finishing the stale cakes from the shop ever since it closed down. Somebody had to finish the inventory. On TV the evil twin on the cheesy soap was caught in the act of trying to kill the good twin by her mother. The mother was in hysterics.

  “So what’s up with Kate?” I asked. “What’s the scoop on her?”

  “Why? Is she a suspect now?”

  Mirabelle had already been informed by the police that the drink had been tempered with. I didn’t try to rub in the fact that I was right, seeing what a terrible situation it was to gloat about.

  “Well, maybe. I mean, she does hate my music.”

  Mirabelle’s jaws dropped. “Really? Says who?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “I hope that’s not true. I play your music in my cafe all the time.”

  “Thanks, sis.”

  “I hope it’s not Kate. It can’t be. She’s so nice.”

  “What do you know about her?”

  “Well, she’s two years younger than you.”

  “Did she grow up here?” I asked.

  “Yes. But you’ve probably never seen her because she had twins at sixteen unfortunately and had to drop out of school.”

  “Really?” I exclaimed. “Twins? Wow.”

  “No kidding. She’d been working odd jobs since then. Never graduated. Her boyfriend, the father of the kid, skipped town five years ago. Terrible. So I was happy to give her a job at the cafe just when she was broke and getting kicked out of her apartment.”

  “Are you close at all?” I asked. “Does she talk a lot about her personal life?”

  “Well, she talks about the kids, and sometimes who she’s dating. So yes, I guess you can say that we’re friends. She’s closer to Kendra. She’s her cousin, you know.”

  “Kendra? I didn’t know they were related.”

  “I don’t think they were close growing up. Kendra used to distance herself from Kate because she got pregnant so young and Kendra didn’t want to be associated with all of that. But now, as far as I can tell, they’re pretty close. Kendra comes in to chat all the time.”

  “I need to go talk to Kendra then.”

  Mirabelle put down the piece of cake and gave me a look.

  “You’re not going to tell her that Kate’s a suspect are you? I mean, you can’t just accuse her cousin of trying to poison you.”

  ***

  When I knocked on Kendra’s door, I heard Blake, Jr screaming in the house.

  Kendra was shouting at him to pipe down when she opened the door.

  “Hi,” I said. “I hope it’s not a bad time.”

  The kid was banging on a pot and singing at the top of his lungs in the kitchen.

  Kendra was surprised to see me. She hesitated at the door.

  “No,” she said. “Come on in.”

  She cringed when her son sang a high note.

  “Blake! I’ll give you a dollar if you go upstairs and keep quiet.”

  “A dollar? Yay! I can buy ice cream!”

  The kid with chocolate on his face happily went up the stairs.

  Kendra rubbed her temples. “Ugh. I have a headache.”

  “How old is Blake?”

  “Four. It’s hard to keep up with him, and he still has all this energy even after running around in daycare all day.”

  “I didn’t mean to intrude,” I said.

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why are you here?”

  “We’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this whole case at the cafe, as you know. And it has been confirmed. Someone did poison the drink.”

  Kendra looked shocked.

  “Oh my God.”

  “Yes. Craig mentioned that Kate might know something and I was wondering if she told you something?”

/>   “Kate? No. What would she know?”

  “We just don’t want to leave any stones unturned, that’s all. Kate’s at the police station, being questioned right now. I just wanted to know if she’d mentioned something strange. She’s closest to all the action, and maybe she mentioned whether she suspected someone, or knew something that she wasn’t telling us?”

  “Or if she did it herself you mean?” Kendra asked. “Is that what you’re trying to say?”

  “No. Of course not.” I chuckled.

  “Why would she want to kill you?” Kendra had her hands on her hips. Oh lord.

  “I’m not accusing her.”

  “Sure she has a temper sometimes. Sure Kate hates your music, and your looks and the fact that you stole her man, Nick Doyle.”

  I gasped. “What?”

  “She’s obsessed with Nick Doyle. She’s loves all his movies.”

  “Oh.”

  “And she’s jealous that you’re with him. Plus, sometimes Kate can get a bit stressed out. Her life is in shambles, has been ever since she had those twins young. Losing the best years of her life to raise kids? Brutal. She’s had more than a few nervous breakdown. Boyfriends just come and go. The baby daddy’s long gone. And she sees you and your perfect life, and well…”

  “What, so she does hate me?”

  Kendra paused. “Hate is a strong word.”

  I was expecting Kendra to defend her cousin, to say that she was sweet and caring, and that she would never hurt a fly. But this just got interesting.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I called Sterling, but he was probably still questioning Kate. After getting her address from Mirabelle, I set off for her house.

  I had to pass through Samford Street because she lived on the other side of town, but a crowd of paparrazzi had shown up. They were at the cafe, taking pictures.

  My instinct was to run away, but I was so surprised that I froze and watched them.

  Until it was too late. One of them saw me and began running towards me.

  “Hey! Emma!”

  “Is it true that someone was trying to poison you?”

  “Who do you think is the killer?”

  “Is it true that Nick dumped you for that hot model?”

  They had cameras, and one of them even had a video camera. I began to run. For a small woman with short legs, I could run really fast. As I did, my phone rang.

  “Emma,” Sterling explained. “What’s going on. What’s all that noise?”

  He was referring to all the commotion behind me. The townspeople were looking at me, while the hound dogs were hot on my trail.

  “Paparazzi scum,” I said. “They’re here.”

  I explained that I was literally on the run as I spoke.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  We made plans to meet two blocks away, so I ran even faster. All the time at the gym working out paid off. I silently thanked my trainer. By the time I reached my destination, those scum were eating my dust.

  Sterling pulled up in his black Honda. My getaway ride.

  “Thanks.” I jumped in and he sped away.

  “How did they get here?” he asked.

  “I should ask you. You’re the detective.”

  “It could be anyone,” he said.

  “That’s how it always happens. Where should we go?”

  “Well,” Sterling raised an eyebrow. “Are you hungry?”

  He drove outside of town until we were surrounded by farm land covered with snow.

  “I know this great diner that just opened up,” he said. “I’ve bet you’d never been.”

  After a few more minutes, he pulled into The Burger Shack.

  “This is nice,” I said. “Away from all the commotion.”

  We slid into a booth. When the waitress came, I ordered a cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake, and Sterling ordered the same.

  “I see our taste buds hasn’t changed,” he said.

  I made a face. “What, you think I would live off salads with low-fat dressing now?”

  “Isn’t that the celebrity diet?”

  “Yeah, well, I do admit to that, although I reserve my weekends for junk food. I also have a dozen people working on me at all times. It’s all part of the job unfortunately.”

  “You look great either way,” he said. “But I’d always liked you better with no makeup.”

  “Thanks. I do too.”

  We shared a moment of looking into each other’s eyes.

  “So this is your life, huh? Is it always that chaotic?” he asked.

  “Worse,” I said. “There’s usually one or more of these paparazzi bastards trailing me whenever I go outside. Which is why I stay in a lot of the times. I thought I’d get some peace in Hartfield, but they found me.”

  “Don’t worry.” He grinned. “I’ll protect you.”

  I grinned back.

  “Did you talk with Kate?” I asked.

  “Yes. But I didn’t get much out of her. She said the reason she left so abruptly that day was because she was sickened by the whole thing and went home because she was nauseous.”

  I told him what Kate’s cousin told me.

  “Unstable, huh?” he said.

  “Yes. Do you think that she has access to cyanide?”

  Sterling thought about it. “I thought I saw her some time ago with this guy who worked at the pharmacy. But they broke up a year ago.”

  “But she might still have access to it?”

  “Maybe. Sure.”

  “But I still don’t understand her motive. Does she hate my music so much?”

  “Maybe it is jealousy,” Sterling said. “She’s a single mom of two kids with no education and tons of debt. She has to work two jobs. And here you are, wealthy, loved, dating rich movie stars.”

  His eyes clouded over. Maybe Sterling was the one who was jealous. If only he knew how much I was in love with him, how hurt I was when he dumped me…

  “That’s what Kendra said,” I said.

  The waitress brought our food and we dug into our burgers. We were both famished.

  “I want to search Kate’s house as well,” I said.

  “Let’s not have another B&E,” he said. “I’ll get a warrant this time.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The next morning, Sterling and his team went over to Kate’s house. I wanted to be there, but he wouldn’t let me come.

  I stayed in on the Saturday morning, baking gingerbread cookies with my parents instead.

  When the cookies were in the oven, Sterling called me, excited.

  “It’s her,” he said. “We just found the bottle of cyanide hidden inside her toilet.”

  “No way!”

  “She’s been arrested by the police.”

  “So you’ll be at the station soon?” I asked.

  “Yes, but—”

  “I’m coming.”

  Sterling sighed. “I guess I can’t stop you, can I?”

  “Don’t you know? I’m a celebrity. I can get in anywhere.”

  “I bet you do.”

  “Come on, please?”

  “Fine. Come on over. Maybe you’ll be an asset.”

  ***

  “It’s not me! I swear!” Kate shrieked as they brought her up the steps and through the front door of the police station.

  Her brown hair was a mess over her face and her hands were handcuffed behind her back. She sobbed and snot dripped down her nose. Once she was inside, the police uncuffed her and Sterling gave her a tissue.

  “Emma!” she said when she saw me coming in the front door. “I didn’t do it. You have to believe me.”

  I signalled to Sterling to bring her into the interrogation room. I wanted to talk to her too.

  “If you didn’t do it, why is there a bottle of cyanide in your house?” I asked.

  “I was framed.”

  “By who?”

  Kate cried louder.

  “Who, Kate?” My voice raised.