Hazard in the Horoscope

by Kari Lee Townsend

  Zack shivered, and Morty appeared from the corner of the room. He jumped on Zack’s lap, and Zack calmed instantly.

  “It doesn’t matter what any of us think,” Miles chimed in. “If the clues point to a suspect, it makes it pretty hard to ignore that.” He glanced at Cole with a wince, then let his gaze settle on Ralph with a frown.

  “How do we know Ray didn’t kill Gunther, and then someone else, who Ray had a beef with, took him out?” Sean asked.

  “We don’t know that,” Mitch answered. “Ray had plenty of enemies, even in his own gang. According to my buddy, Detective Torres, they didn’t want him to replace Gunther as their leader. His killer could be anyone.”

  “Well, all I know is that it’s not me,” Ralph said.

  The Tasty Trio started consoling him, and everyone else started talking about what to do about the ice fishing competition being cancelled and if the rest of Winterfest would continue. The mayor did not want any more events cancelled. The town counted on the money the festival brought in, but murder was a little different than an attempted kidnapping. There would be no keeping this quiet, especially since half the town had been at the inn for the ice fishing competition. Could we risk someone else being murdered?

  “What if Ray wasn’t the person who tried to kidnap me?” Kristen rubbed her arms. “What if that person killed Ray and is still after me?”

  “I’ll protect you.” Ralph put his arm around her.

  Mitch stared him down. “Isn’t that what got you into trouble now?”

  “Legally,” Ralph clarified. “I’ll protect her legally.”

  “See that you do,” Mitch responded. “I’ve got enough matters to look into. I don’t need to be worrying about what crazy thing you might do next.”

  “He’ll behave. You have my word,” Kristen said. “We both will.” They huddled together, speaking in low tones to each other.

  I joined Mitch by the window. “I almost forgot to ask you. Did that lead you were following in Stillwater pan out?” He’d been gone all night, and had just come from briefing Captain Walker when the call came in over the police scanner about the discovery of a dead body beneath the ice.

  “Actually, yes.” He glanced around the room, but everyone had fallen into their own conversations. He motioned for me to follow him out of the sunroom. We wandered out of earshot and into the living room, but no one really noticed.

  “Why all the secrecy?”

  “The investigation for Gunther’s death is ongoing, and there are still suspects in that room. The intel is on a need-to-know basis, and they don’t need to know.”

  A warmth spread through me over my detective finally realizing we made a good team and acknowledging I needed to know. I crossed my arms and waited patiently.

  He glanced around until he was sure we were alone. “Remember when Renee Jordan said she sold a blond wig to Nancy Culligan, the woman from Stillwater who had cancer?”

  “Yes, and she lost her first wig so Renee made her a second one that was longer. The long blond one she gave me.”

  “That’s right. Did you know Nancy is married?”

  “No, why does that matter?”

  “Culligan is her married name.”

  “And…?”

  “So, guess what her maiden name is.”

  “I have no clue, Mitch. What are you getting at?” He was being more dramatic than the lead in a Broadway musical.

  “Nancy Culligan is Nancy Burrows.”

  “As in…”

  “That’s right. Nancy is Adam Burrows’ sister.”

  18

  The next several hours were spent out by the river at the crime scene. The grounds were deserted and the wind had picked up, bringing a chill to the air. Mayor Cromwell, Chief Spencer, Captain Walker, Detective Fuller, and Mitch had all been discussing Ray Simone’s death, as well as Gunther Corp’s, and what, if anything, they had in common.

  “This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.” The mayor shook his oversized troll head as he paced the ice by the shanty where the dead body was caught. “The whole day is shot, which means revenue loss for the town.”

  Mitch’s lookalike, Chief Spencer, was nodding. “Corp’s case should have already been wrapped up.” He glared at me as if it were my fault.

  “I think we’ve made a lot of progress in ruling out the wrong suspects, wouldn’t you agree, Detective Stone?” I stared my fiancé down, waiting to see whose side he would take. I wasn’t about to let Cole take the fall for a crime he didn’t commit just for the sake of the town’s festival. An innocent man’s future was at stake.

  “You’re right, Ms. Meadows. We have made a fair amount of progress so we can be sure to put away the right person.” He glanced at me, then quickly looked at the chief. “I think we’re getting close, Chief. I don’t know if Corp and Simone’s murders had anything to do with each other, but we do have a new lead to follow.”

  “I’m listening.” Chief Spencer crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

  Detective Torres arrived at that moment, right on cue. A tall woman with olive skin and curly brown hair walked beside him.

  “Hey, Chief,” Juan said.

  “Torres.” Chief Spencer nodded once.

  “I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Lindsey Fontanna. She’s a dancer at a club in Stillwater.” Juan faced the woman. “It’s okay, Lindsey. Why don’t you tell the gentlemen what you told me?”

  She took a deep breath and looked around at all the men, her gaze finally settling on me. She let the air out on a slow exhale and relaxed her shoulders. “My friend Jasmine Jackson and I used to dance together a long time ago. She’s a single mom. Dancing isn’t enough to pay the bills, you know?”

  I nodded, keeping my eyes locked onto hers and silently encouraging her to keep talking. It was as if we were the only two people there.

  “I didn’t blame her when she started escorting sugar daddies around town. These rich older men who had money to burn but were lonely started paying her to keep them company. It wasn’t a physical relationship. They simply needed someone to accompany them to different business functions, charity events, or even just to eat dinner with. In return, they paid her in favors. Paid her rent, bought her clothes, paid her bills, etc.”

  “Wasn’t she afraid of falling victim to sex trafficking?” I asked.

  “No, there’s a website where you post a profile, and the men select who they are interested in. Then they meet for coffee in a public place and decide if they are a good fit for each other, based on their needs.”

  “So, what does this have to do with Ray Simone’s murder?”

  “Jasmine has a daughter. She doesn’t normally take any risky chances. She never meets men who aren’t through the sugar daddy website. One of her clients, who is the owner of a pretty successful restaurant in Stillwater, referred her to Ray, promising he was legitimate. Jasmine made an exception just this once. She said he was younger than her normal client and better looking. I told her not to, that I had a bad feeling, but she didn’t listen. Now, she hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”

  “What did she look like?” I asked.

  Lindsey described the woman I had seen with Ray at the cabin in the woods during the snowmobile race.

  “Thank you, Lindsey. Detective Stone and I appreciate your help.” I reached out and squeezed her hand. “I promise you we will do everything we can to find her.”

  She sniffed back tears. “Thank you. I’m really worried about her. I’m taking care of her daughter for now, but the poor thing misses her mother.”

  “Have you been in touch with Jasmine’s family?”

  “Not yet. I’m hoping I won’t have to have that conversation.”

  Torres finished talking with the men, then escorted Lindsey back to his undercover car and they headed back to Stillwater.

  “Good work, Sunny,” Captain Walker said.

  “Thank you, sir.” I smiled, then shot a glance at Chief Spencer, who raise
d a brow at me but didn’t say a word.

  “Torres said the restaurant the client owned was under the protection of the Rebel Riders. Ray wanted Jasmine, so the client made it happen. End of story.” Mitch looked through his notes. The question is… why did Ray want her?”

  We heard a rustle from behind us. Turning around, we saw Kristen Peters walking at a fast pace back towards the inn. I looked at Mitch and no words were necessary. We hurried after her and caught up to her before she could walk through the front door.

  “Hey,” Mitch said in a firm, no-nonsense voice.

  Kristen froze for several moments. She finally turned around slowly, and her face said it all. She knew something.

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Peters,” I said.

  “No, it’s not okay,” Mitch countered.

  “I already told you everything I know.” Kristen’s voice trembled.

  “True,” Mitch said. “What I want to know is exactly what aren’t you telling us?”

  “Do you want anything to drink?” I asked Kristen as she sat in the interrogation room at the Divinity Police Station.

  “Water would be nice.” She sat on the edge of her seat, fidgeting with the zipper on her coat.

  Mitch had made Ralph stay behind at the inn, wanting Kristen to be free to say anything and feeling just vulnerable enough to do so.

  I handed her a glass of water, and she took a sip as I sat down beside Mitch. We waited for Captain Walker to join us. It felt like the longest ten minutes of my life. Finally, Grady walked in and took a seat on the other side of Mitch, with Kristen across from all of us by herself.

  “Hello, Mrs. Peters.” Captain Walker smiled. “I hope you’re doing well.”

  “Yes, thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “They’ve been taking good care of me at the inn.”

  “Good to hear. That Granny Gert’s cookies sure are something, and you won’t find a better cook than Great-Grandma Tootsie.”

  Kristen smiled a genuine smile for the first time and started to relax.

  “Detective Stone tells me you have some information about both murders you would like to share with us?”

  Kristen tensed all over again.

  “Take your time. Whenever you’re ready to talk is fine with us. Right, Detective Stone?” I gave Mitch a look that said, Lighten up if you want to hear anything. He could be so intimidating at times. He might have left New York City to be a small-town detective, but it was hard to take the homicide grit out of him. And Grady had become too much of a “good cop” to be of much help.

  Guess that left me somewhere in the middle.

  Mitch gentled his tone a little. “Can you tell us anything about the missing Stillwater woman, Jasmine Jackson?”

  “Okay, so this is the thing. I don’t know who she is. And I didn’t think anything of Ray having her out to the cabin at the time.”

  “What changed?” Captain Walker asked.

  “Let me start from the beginning. I had an affair with Gunther because I was lonely and he was nice to me. I didn’t like what they did, as far as pressuring the local businesses to pay them for their protection, but I stayed out of it. Then I found out Officer Burrows was a crooked cop who turned a blind eye to what was going on, as long as the Rebel Riders gave him a cut of the action. I could no longer ignore what was going on. I was the one who leaked the information to the Stillwater Police Department, and Internal Affairs got involved. I broke things off with Gunther, but it was too late. His ex-girlfriend Renee Jordan had already told Ralph about the affair.”

  “That’s when you ran away with Ray?” I asked.

  “Yes. Ray acted so sweet, like he really cared about what happened to me. I thought he was a true friend.” Her face turned disgusted. “I should have known better. Ray only cared about one thing. Himself.”

  “What happened?” Mitch asked.

  “Officer Burrows shut their operation down, so Gunther insisted the Rebel Riders start over in a new town. They got a tip that Cole West lived in Divinity, and Gunther became obsessed with revenge. Officer Burrows was angry that the Rebel Riders were moving on without him. He thought they all would lay low until things blew over, then pick up where they left off. But they didn’t lay low, and they didn’t tell him where they were going. Soon after that, Officer Burrows disappeared. Someone said he took a leave of absence after Internal Affairs didn’t have enough evidence on him to stick. I was afraid to come forward before, but I will now. If they ever find him, that is.”

  “That is all helpful information, Mrs. Peters, but what does this have to do with Ray Simone’s death?” Captain Walker asked.

  “After I came to Divinity with Ray and the Rebel Riders, Gunther was murdered. The gang took off, and Ray and I started hiding out in the cabin. He wanted to be the new leader of the gang, but none of them respected him like they did Gunther. That made him furious. He was determined to move on and be more successful than they were. He had a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. He started scaring me more than Ralph did, and I began to question my decision to let him help me. Then he started bringing these women to the cabin. All of a sudden, I started seeing men come to the cabin as well. Ray didn’t want these women for himself.” She looked at Captain Walker. “He started a prostitution ring.”

  My eyes locked with Mitch’s, then I focused back on Kristen. “Did he force you to do anything against your will?”

  “No.” She swallowed hard. “He tried to.”

  “That was when you showed up at the inn, isn’t it?” Mitch asked, making notes in his notebook.

  “Yes. I realized while my husband and I might have issues, I still loved him and I knew he loved me. I thought, when I was drugged and kidnapped, that Ray had found me. But now I’m terrified that Officer Burrows found out about the prostitution ring, and he wanted in on the action. I’ve heard rumors that he has a few twisted habits he needs money for. If Ray turned him down on cutting him in on the action, he might have killed him. He’s crazy enough to do just that. I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed Gunther, and then I haven’t seen Jasmine since she left the cabin. Who’s to say he won’t come after me next? I’m terrified.”

  “We won’t let that happen, Mrs. Peters,” Captain Walker said.

  “Yeah, you know your husband won’t let you out of his sight again,” I added reassuringly.

  “I’ll send a detail around the inn periodically.” Mitch scanned his notes. “Thank you, Mrs. Peters. You’ve helped more than you know. I’ll fill Detective Torres in, and I’m sure Internal Affairs will want to talk with you if you’re up to it.”

  She nodded and wiped her eyes with the tissues I handed her. “No woman should be forced to do anything against her will.”

  “As for me, you can bet I’ll be following up on a few leads of my own.” Mitch stood and gathered his things.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “To look for some action.”

  “Need any help with that?” I asked, not liking the sound of that.

  “No,” he said firmly and frowned at me. “All I want from you is for you to go home.” Then he was gone.

  “He really said that?” Zoe asked later that night at Smokey Jo’s, then took a sip of her wine.

  “Yes. ‘To look for some action’ were his exact words, right after we discovered there was a prostitution ring happening in Divinity.” I drained the last of my rocks glass. It was a whiskey kind of night.

  “Wait a minute.” Jo stopped wiping down the bar. “There’s no way you believe Mitch would cheat on you.”

  “Well, he didn’t ask me to go home with him, so he’s not looking to get any action from me!” I tapped my empty glass on the bar, and Jo eyed me curiously before refilling my glass. “That can only mean one thing. He’s out to see if the prostitution ring is still going on.”

  “Just how far would he go to solve a case?” Zoe’s eyes grew huge.

  “Mitch is a very thorough detective.” I drained my drink and hopped off the ba
rstool, stumbling a bit. Maybe whiskey wasn’t such a good idea after all. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  “Where are you going?” Jo waddled around the bar as fast as she and two babies could go.

  “To get a little action of my own.”

  “Why don’t you let your man do his job,” Jo pleaded, and placed her hands on my shoulders as if that could stop me.

  I reached up to adjust the beanie on my head and spun out of her hold. Little did I know she had signaled for reinforcements. I had only taken five steps before I was whisked off my feet by a sasquatch. “Hey! What are you doing?”

  “Saving you from yourself.” Cole carried me slung over his massive shoulder the rest of the way through the door.

  “Where are we going? I have a date.”

  “The only date you have is with your pillow, my friend.”

  “But what about my Grumpy Pants?”

  “You let me worry about him. Something tells me he just might need my help even more than you do.”

  “Why would he let you help him but not me? Because I’m a woman?”

  “Yes, frankly.” Cole softened his tone before I could protest. “And because you’re his fiancé, and he loves you.” Cole drove me home in his truck and carried me inside of Vicky before setting me on my feet. “Please, for once, stay put. The last thing Mitch needs is to worry about you. I’ll make sure your detective gets home in one piece. And I think I know just where to look.”

  19

  I woke up the next morning and headed to the kitchen for some strong tea. Pouring water in my kettle, I set it on the stove and turned the burner on. Glancing out the window, I sucked in a little breath and my heartbeat sped up. Grumpy Pants was home. His truck was parked by the garage. He must be in his mancave because he hadn’t come to bed.

  I frowned.

  I was in my Tweety Bird pajama bottoms with one of his old NYPD t-shirts and fuzzy slippers. Grabbing a crocheted blanket, I wrapped it around me and picked up my cup of tea, then headed out the door. Even though Mitch was my fiancé, I usually knocked when I entered the garage. I knew that was the one area where he could totally relax, same as my sanctuary was for me. Today, I was feeling too vulnerable. I trusted him completely and knew he wouldn’t cheat on me. I just wanted him to treat me as his equal and let me help.