Toil and Trouble: (A Geeks and Things Cozy Mystery Short Story) (Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries Book 0)
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“Do they know who it is?”
“I think I heard her name was Tasha or something like that.”
“Tasha, you’re sure?” Even over the phone Kalina picked up on the rising panic in the girl’s tone.
“Yeah. You don’t know her do you?”
Kalina gestured from Sergeant Whitman to her nephew, hoping he understood that she wanted him to interrupt them before things could go any further. With a curt nod, the sergeant headed off in their direction.
“Hey, you kids can’t be here.” The sergeant’s voice rang out on Kalina’s phone.
“We were just looking,” AJ said.
“This is an active crime scene,” Sergeant Whitman said.
“Crime scene? I thought they just found someone who was hurt,” Jocelyn said.
Sergeant Whitman shook his head and gestured for Melody to join them. Kalina gave her hand a firm squeeze before she approached.
“This is the young woman you believe Ms. Fordham went to meet earlier?”
“I think so, sir.”
“I don’t know what she’s talking about.” Jocelyn started to back away.
“Miss, I would like to see your phone.”
“No. Why would you need to see my phone?”
“To determine if you’ve contacted the victim recently.”
“She dropped the restraining order!” Jocelyn’s eyes were wide now and her cheeks had blanched.
Sergeant Whitman held out his hand and Jocelyn handed over the phone. Kalina now stood alone, Officer Larkin having gone to offer his superior officer some backup. Kalina wanted AJ to get out of the line of fire but he stayed put. It made no sense to stand on the sidelines now while Jocelyn confessed. At least she could pull her nephew out if she lashed out.
“What did you ask Ms. Fordham to meet to talk about?”
“Nothing. Family stuff.”
Sergeant Whitman fixed her with a stern glare and held on to her phone. “The truth, please.”
“I was angry. She kicked me out of Sigma for no reason and acted like I was a lunatic. But I’m not. She knew things were bad at home. My parents split up. I had no one.”
“But you’re pledging Kappa,” AJ pointed out. “Aren’t they like family?”
“They aren’t the same. I just wanted a place to belong. They know I tried to pledge Sigma last year and they gave me a pity pledge. I wanted back in and Tasha said no. I just got angry and I pushed her. She hit her head. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“And why did you tie her up to the fence?”
“I didn’t know what else to do. I panicked and figured people wouldn’t notice.”
“And the symbol carved into her chest?”
“I thought it would make people think it was just part of the maze. I swear I didn’t mean to hurt her. Please tell me she’s going to be OK.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and her hands shook.
“You didn’t mean to hurt her and yet you didn’t call for help. You left her here, bleeding and unconscious.”
Jocelyn slumped to the ground, her chest heaving with loud sobs. Officer Larkin bent down and gently slid handcuffs around her wrists. He helped her up and took off his windbreaker, hanging it over her wrists to hide the cuffs. She continued to sob as they led her away. Melody watched and, as soon as they were out of sight, turned and threw her arms around Kalina’s neck.
“Thank you.”
“We didn’t do anything.”
“You did everything. You found her and got her help. You two figured out who went after her.”
Kalina returned the hug, unsure what else to say. She hadn’t intended to get wrapped in the mystery and she definitely didn’t want the recognition. She just hoped Jocelyn could get the help she needed and that Tasha would pull through. She looked over at AJ who stood with his nose buried in his phone.
“Hey, kiddo, what are you doing?”
“Deleting her number. I don’t want anything else to do with her.”
Melody released Kalina and pulled AJ into a bear hug and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks. You were really brave drawing her out like that.”
AJ blushed bright pink and grinned ear to ear. “I was just trying to help. I’m sorry it ended so crazily.”
Melody dried her eyes and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. “I’m going to tell the rest of the girls the good news.”
Her red hair disappeared from view and Kalina pulled her nephew into a tight embrace that lasted longer than AJ was probably comfortable with. But she didn’t care. He was safe. They were both safe. “You scared me. Don’t ever do something like that again.”
“I promise. I think I just want to go home if that’s OK with you.”
“You bet, kiddo.” She ruffled his hair and they walked, arm in arm, back to the car.
No doubt Jillian would ask how the trip went but Kalina was confident they’d have enough time to get their story straight. It hadn’t been the trip they’d been planning for but it would definitely be a memorable one.
Also By This Author
Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries
Pains and Penalties
Stand Alone Titles
Unplanned
Archangel Rising: Volume 1
About The Author
Sarah lives in Massachusetts with her fiancé. She is a licensed attorney and spends her days combatting employment discrimination as an Investigator with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
She is a self-professed TV junkie and in her spare time (what’s that?), she runs a TV recap blog with her best friend (and sorority sister), Jen.
You can connect with Sarah on Twitter @SBiglowWrites or by joining her newsletter on www.sarah-biglow.com
For those TV-obsessed souls, you can head on over to the recap blog: www.more-tv-please.com. You can also follow the blog on Twitter @MoreTVPlease and check it out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoreTVPlease.