by Molly Dox
It felt wrong. This entire thing was nonsense. What was she trying to pull? Poppy’s mind ricocheted between right and wrong. With the address of the shared business space, she hit the post office next. She sent letters that they’d need to sign a receipt for. Poppy left the information as low key as possible. She used the address and skipped a business name. She claimed to be from the insurance office. All it would take is one call. If they called the office, it would be all over. Her gig would be up.
She hoped their greed and need to do things quickly got their attention. In the letter it stated that because the inheritance went to them after their step-mother’s passing, they needed to sign release forms so that they could issue the checks. Bea had exactly one job. Sit silently at the table and act as a witness. Poppy didn’t tell her what it was about, but promised to fill in details when it was over.
Poppy’s hands were sweaty, her nerves getting the better of her. She wiped them on her black slacks and drew a deep breath. “I’m going to head downstairs. As soon as they get here, I’ll bring them up. I need you to remain quiet. This is a really important matter. Can you do that?”
Bea shook her head, her gray curls bobbing. “Sure thing,” she guaranteed.
Poppy pushed the elevator button in the hallway and paced, waiting for the lift to arrive. As the door opened, she stepped inside and pushed the button for the lobby. It took everything inside to keep her breathing calm. She focused on not giving anything away. Her body language was crucial. They’d already recognize her as the woman from the insurance company.
The women were waiting in the lobby as instructed, and recognized Poppy immediately. Poppy forced a smile on her face and stuck out her hand. “I’m sorry for the occasion, but it’s nice to see you again. We just need you to sign a few documents so we can issue you your checks for the estate.”
Gary’s daughters joined Poppy on the elevator. She pushed the button to the third floor and waited. As the doors opened, she readied herself. “Oh, here we are. We’ll just need a few minutes of your time.”
“Why isn’t this at the regular office?” Cassidy asked.
“We’re in the process of painting the office, and the stink, ugh. Anyway, sometimes we’ll use temporary conference space. Hopefully, the scent will be gone by tomorrow,” she said. Poppy impressed herself with the quick answer. She reached for a folder on the table and pointed toward Bea. “The files are right here, and this is our witness so we can wrap up these documents. She’s a notary, so we can finish this here and now.”
Bea sat in silence and gave a small smile.
Poppy opened the folder in her hands, and then placed a couple of papers on the table. “I’ll need you both to sign here and here,” she said, pointing out the tiny paper flags that emphasized the signature line.
“What is this?” Claire’s jaw dropped. She glared at Poppy. “Who are you and what are you up to? Cassidy, don’t sign it! Read what it says.”
Cassidy’s eyes bulged. “What are you trying to get away with?”
“Don’t say a word,” Claire warned as Cassidy tended to ramble.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she snapped at her younger sister. “This was your idea.”
Claire spat at her sister. “Don’t you dare drag me into this mess; none of this would have happened if it weren’t for your foolish mistakes.”
“Mistakes? It’s not like I could trust you to handle the details.” Cassidy growled.
Poppy and Bea stared in disbelief as the women argued, oblivious to anything or anyone else. The stress and pressure of hiding the secret grew too big.
“Hey, you’re the one that had to make it grisly. That was our father,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Oh, so now you’re feeling sympathetic. How did you expect us to get rid of the body? Somebody had to do it.” Everybody froze. Nobody expected the words that were flowing.
Claire barked at Poppy. “You know too much. It looks like we’re going to have to get our hands dirty again.”
The door swung open. “Not so fast, ladies,” Reggie said, weapon drawn. Both Panda and Martin were by his side.
Poppy let out a long sigh, relieved that there was back-up. “They confessed. We both witnessed them admitting to being responsible. Dad, how did you know I was here?”
“Bea clued me in that something might be going on, and told me where you were heading. I rounded up the gang and got here as fast as I could. Looks like our timing couldn’t have been any better.”
The women were bickering with each other as Reggie turned the first around and cuffed her. Panda cuffed the second Portersmith girl with Reggie’s spare set of handcuffs. “We’re headed down to the station. Let’s sort this out there.” He was still tender and moved slowly, but nobody doubted he could handle the situation if need be.
She could finally breathe. Poppy had the best family a girl could ask for. She thanked Bea for her fast thinking and sheepishly admitted she should have said more. “I should have told you what I was up to.”
Bea laughed. “Don’t you worry; your Poppa already warned me you bump into trouble once in a while.”
Following everybody into the elevator, Poppy leaned in close to Reggie and whispered into his ear. “My future husband sure is cute when he’s in uniform.”
Reggie leaned over and kissed her cheek. As the elevator opened, they led the girls to his work car. Opening the back door of the sheriff’s car, he helped them lower their heads and get in. After he closed the door, he turned to Poppy. “You solved another case. Maybe you ought to think about this as a line of work. We could always use another good investigator in the county.”
“We’ll see. I think this was my last case. I’m hanging up my detective boots for now,” she said.
Panda laughed. “We’ll believe it when we see it.”
THE END
Thank you for choosing “Deadly Baggage,” the fifth book in the Poppy Pepper’s Paradise Cove and Mini Golf series. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review so others can decide if this is a book they would like. Thank you for your time.
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Be sure to keep an eye out for book six – “Criminals on Vacation” coming soon to your favorite ebook retailer.
