by J A Whiting
Joe did see someone at Janice’s door on the night of the murder. It was his then-girlfriend, Brittany. He decided to go over to join the women, but when he crossed the street, he heard what sounded like a fight inside the house.
When he reached for the door knob, the door flew open and Brittany practically knocked Joe off the front steps in her haste to escape.
Joe sobbed when he told Gagnon what he saw that night. Janice was dead on the floor from knife wounds inflicted by Brittany Patterson.
Brittany threatened Joe into silence. She said she would kill Joe if he told, but before she killed Joe, she would murder Joe’s brother … while she made Joe watch.
Joe said, “She screamed at me, waved that bloody knife right in my face. I’ve never seen anyone so crazed. She scared me to death so I did what she asked. I took her clothes and my clothes and stuffed them into a garbage bag. The next morning, I drove fifty miles out of my way to dispose of the garments. I wanted her to get caught. I prayed she would. I told the police I saw someone at Janice’s door, but in my nervousness, I stupidly said I saw a man.”
When Joe was asked if he and Brittany were in town walking around together the night of the murder, Joe replied, “We went out for dinner and then we walked around town for a little while. I was tired from a long work week and Brittany told me she needed to study. Before we split up and said goodbye, we had a fight. Brittany accused me of flirting with Janice, of having the hots for her. I did, but I denied it. I only said I thought Janice was pretty and fun … well, Brittany went ballistic. She said she’d never go out with me again, we were finished. She actually punched me in the face.”
Claire had come up with the idea that Brittany had planned to kill Janice before she arrived at the bungalow. Claire also had another idea.
When Joe was asked if he was wearing his orange softball hoodie that night, Joe told the police he had been wearing it until Brittany got cold. Then he gave it to her to wear.
Claire thought that Brittany must have headed to the ball field on the way home and when she noticed Brandon Willis sitting in the park and the kids playing there, she devised a second plan. She would set up Brandon as the perpetrator in two incidents that would happen that evening.
Brittany knocked Sally Harrison from her bike and menaced the child before running off hoping to implicate Brandon as the attempted abductor. Claire surmised that Brittany tightened the hoodie around her face and put on sunglasses.
The attack on the child was quick. Brittany and Brandon were similar in height and build. It would be easy for the child to accuse Brandon Willis because he was seen at the park right before the attack.
Not only did Brittany hope Brandon would become a suspect in the abduction attempt, but that he might also be suspected of killing Janice Carter.
In a town where nothing ever happened, two terrible events on the same night would have to be linked, wouldn’t they, Brittany must have thought.
Hopefully, the full truth would eventually come out at the woman’s murder trial.
Claire, Nicole, and Robby bustled around the chocolate shop preparing for the morning rush.
“When are you going to find out if you won the test taste and will get the contract to cater that wedding?” Robby put the finishing touches on a tray of chocolate and vanilla custards.
“In a couple of days,” Nicole said. “I was a nervous wreck at the taste test. I could barely string a sentence together. I’m sure they thought something was wrong with me.”
“At least you didn’t faint like you did at the food festival,” Robby grinned. “That was really something.”
Claire peeked into the back room. “They’re coming.”
“Who?” Robby asked.
Nicole stood straight and adjusted her apron. “Come out front and see.” She smiled as she left the work room and headed for the front of the shop.
Claire and Nicole pretended to busy themselves as the door opened and in came the property manager and two other people. Jim and Jessie Matthews of J J’s Bakery, the ones who negotiated with the building’s owner to pay more for the lease in order to have Nicole kicked out.
The property manager said, “This is Claire Rollins and Nicole Summers.”
“We know who they are,” Jim Matthews said with a distasteful tone to his voice.
“Well. Good.” The manager stammered. “Ms. Rollins and Ms. Summers have recently purchased the building.”
Jessie Matthews glared at the manager. “This building?”
The manager said, “Ms. Rollins and Ms. Summers have agreed to honor your lease. However, if you would prefer to break the lease and not rent the space from them, they will allow you out of the contract.”
Jim and Jessie became red-faced and blustered words to the effect of how could this happen and why weren’t they informed, to which the property manager only shook his head and shrugged.
“We’re breaking the lease,” Jim Matthews announced with angry eyes and a loud voice.
He and Jessie stormed out of the building.
Watching from the doorway to the work room, Robby whooped with joy at the unexpected turn of events.
“And don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Nicole muttered to the Matthews, her arms crossed over her chest.
Claire turned to Robby. “The store next door is closing. The owner is retiring. We’re going to take over that space, too. It’s time for Nicole to expand.”
“Oh, happy day,” Robby began to sing in his most entertaining way as he high-fived Nicole and Claire. “Onward and upward, my two crazy co-workers.”
“You mean your two crazy bosses,” Nicole corrected.
“Same thing,” Robby winked. “When am I being brought in as the third partner?”
“Don’t hold your breath,” Nicole bopped the young man playfully on the arm.
As the three of them headed to the back room to finish the morning prep, Robby said, “I will never, for as long as I live, forget the look on Jim and Jessie’s faces. They couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Well done, you two. Well done.”
Claire and Ian each held one of the Corgi’s leashes as they strolled along the river on the cold, late October afternoon under the red, orange, and yellow leaves of the tall trees lining the path. Every now and then, Bear and Lady stopped to sniff at spots on the trail.
“It will be Halloween soon,” Claire said with a smile as her feet rustled over some fallen leaves. “I love Halloween.”
“Me, too,” Ian admitted. “The costumes, the candy, the little kids all excited.” With a grin he added, “The candy.”
“You said that twice,” Claire told him.
“I thought it should be emphasized. You know I have a sweet tooth.”
“It’s a good thing you work out all the time ... otherwise….”
“You wouldn’t like me if I wasn’t in shape?”
“I’d have to think about that,” Claire teased.
After walking further down the path, Claire took Ian’s hand. “I have something else I need to tell you.”
Ian eyed her. “What could you possibly have left out of the last chat we had? You’ve already told me you worked as a lawyer, you were married previously, and that you have paranormal skills. What’s next? You’re really an alien?”
“Not quite.” Claire chuckled. “When my first husband passed away, he left me some money.”
“That’s great,” Ian said.
“There’s more to it than that.”
“How so?”
Claire stopped walking. “Nicole and I didn’t need to take a loan to buy the North End building. I paid cash.”
Ian’s eyebrow went up. “That building is worth a lot of money.”
“I have a lot of money.” Claire stepped closer to Ian and whispered in his ear to tell him how much she was worth.
Ian’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he staggered back two steps with his mouth hanging open.
“Do you only like me for my money?”
Claire asked him.
When he found his voice again, Ian cleared his throat and smiled. “Well, now that I know how wealthy you are, maybe that has become half the reason I like you.”
“What’s the reason for the other half?” Claire grinned and narrowed her eyes. “My paranormal skills?”
“I always knew you had those extrasensory-type of skills.”
“Did you?” Claire asked in surprise.
“Yeah,” Ian tugged her close. “I knew as soon as you put that spell on me. The spell that made me fall head-over-heels in love with you.”
With the Corgis bouncing around them and barking their approval, Claire took Ian’s face gently in her hands, and just before she leaned in to kiss him, she said, “Then you must have paranormal skills, too. Because you’ve cast that very same spell over me.”
And when Claire stepped closer and pressed her lips against Ian’s, somehow it just didn’t seem quite as cold out anymore.
Thank you for reading!
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Books/Series By J. A. Whiting
*CLAIRE ROLLINS COZY MYSTERY SERIES
*PAXTON PARK COZY MYSTERIES
*LIN COFFIN COZY MYSTERY SERIES
*SWEET COVE COZY MYSTERY SERIES
*OLIVIA MILLER MYSTERY-THRILLER SERIES (not cozy)
About the Author
J.A. Whiting lives with her family in New England. Whiting loves reading and writing mystery stories.
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