Along Came A Needle: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery

by Ava Mallory

  I exhaled. “You have no idea how much you catch when you can't sleep.”

  “You still haven't slept? Are you trying to kill yourself?” Ruby asked in frustration. “The whole point of this trip was so that you would relax and have some fun.”

  I took an exaggerated look around to remind her that we weren't exactly basking in luxury in this crazy, ghost obsessed town and that we had a bit of a murder on our hands.

  Ruby followed my gaze and chuckled. “Okay, so it didn't turn out like we planned, but still, we meant well. Now, you're scheming with some man you don't even know. Tell me how that's supposed to help you or anyone. You can't go around thinking that you can solve the world's problems. You should know that. Let's just lay low until your car is ready, then we can all go home and, I promise you, I will spend the rest of my days...” She couldn't say it without laughing. “Okay, the rest of the month, making it up to you. I really wanted you to have a nice birthday and have some fun. I'm sorry we got you into this, but please don't get involved in their convoluted affairs.”

  “Thanks, but it is already too late. Ruby, I love you dearly and I appreciate what you were trying to do. I really do, but we both saw what happened with Flynn. You can't tell me that whoever did that to him didn't do that intentionally. We were so busy fussing over the car ride and my whining that we – you know, two veteran nurses – didn't do anything to help him.” I said.

  “Is that what all this is about? You think that we should have or even could have saved him?” She pulled me in for a much-needed hug. “Honey, we are human. We didn't do this and its not our mess to clean up.”

  Jackson walked in behind us, teasing, “So, the real party is in here. Can I get in on that hug?”

  I squinted my eyes at him and held my tongue before I said something I wasn't quite sure I'd regret, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't take with a smile on his face.

  Ruby answered him with a question. “Are you always so rude or is this just for our benefit?”

  When the swinging doors stopped, he answered, “Sorry. I see my humor isn't appreciated here, but what else is new? I was never appreciated here.”

  Now, I was interested. “You've been here before,” I asked.

  “Every day when I was growing up. Flynn was my uncle. He's my dad's youngest brother. I guess you could say we used to be close before...” Jackson swallowed. We could only assume that he meant before he died.

  “So, this is your family's house?” I asked as I tried to make the connection in my head. I'd seen someone lurking around upstairs on two separate occasions and suddenly the prodigal nephew returns after a stint in prison? Maybe, he was the answer to the mystery of who was rifling around in Flynn's office and who had the ever important missing medical case. “Was that you I saw upstairs the other night? Were you looking for something?”

  He froze. Caught him! “You have to know – I wasn't stealing. I was taking back what he stole from my father. Well, I was trying to, but I couldn't find it.”

  “Is that what Annie is so upset about? I'm confused. Are you related to Paul?” I asked.

  Jackson put his head down for a moment to consider his answer. “You could say that.”

  “I could? Well, I believe I just did. Are you related? Does that mean he's related to Flynn too? Is everyone in town related to each other?” Small towns tended to be inhabited with family member after family member. That's how most small town's worked.

  Chip walked into the kitchen, closely followed by Calvin. “What's going on in here? Something wrong with the muffins?” His tone was jovial, but the look in his eyes spoke of something more. He wasn't at all happy to find Jackson in the kitchen.

  “Like I said, breakfast was great. I can't wait to see what you have in store for us later.” Jackson nodded at me before walking out the door, ignoring Chip's cold stare.

  Ruby and I looked at each other and shrugged. That would be yet another thing I'd have to explore. This town and the people in it were so full of secrets.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Now, Mercy, you have to get out of there. I paid for it and that's that. The part should be there by morning. After that, they can slap it on and you, Ruby, and Diana can be on your merry way. Do you understand?” Charlie asked.

  I rolled my eyes until I couldn't see straight anymore. Ruby and Diana watched with amusement. I'd been on the phone for well over an hour while they readied themselves for a fun-filled day of visiting the Green Farm with Chip and his growing band of degenerates. I, very wisely I might add, opted out of the ghost hunting field trip, explaining that I had a big dinner in mind and wouldn't have time to partake of their wacky adventure. Truth be told, I had no idea what I planned to make for dinner, but I knew better than to indulge any of them and their crazy scheme. I had enough to worry about to not have any desire to invite the undead into my world. Besides, how was I supposed to snoop around with everyone around?

  “Charlie, the last I checked, you were neither my husband nor my father, so at the risk of sounding like a child, you are not the boss of me.” I said. “Besides, what does any of that have to do with what's going on in this town?”

  I could tell by the long pause that whatever Charlie had to say next wasn't going to make me giddy, so I slumped down on the bed and waited for him to find his words while Ruby and Diana watched and waited with me.

  After a moment, Charlie took a deep breath and said, “You are more impossible than anyone I've ever met in my life and I've met all kinds of people – good people, bad people, people I never want to see again. Why can't you listen to reason, Mercy? Did you think that I wouldn't have looked into this? If you weren't so busy sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong and you did a simple internet search, you would have known all this before you packed your bags and headed to the land of felons and swindlers.”

  Well, that's not what I was expecting him to say.

  He wasn't done. “And, by the way, get this through your pretty, little head – I will never... I mean, never... ask you to be either one of those things. I'd pull my hair out if I was married to you and, as far as my daughter goes, my kid listens to my advice and knows better than to trust every person she meets.”

  And, there it was – the part I was waiting for.

  I paused for a moment, just to make him squirm, then replied, “Are you done, Sheriff?”

  Charlie sighed. “Yes. Now, seriously Mercy, you have to get out of there. That town and everyone in it is bad news. There are so many lawsuits against them. It seems that they invite unsuspecting people to stay with them, then they take them to local haunts – fake, of course. While they have them there, they supposedly rob them blind.”

  I was shocked. “How do they get away with that? Don't people call the police?” I asked.

  “I'm telling you that, yes, they have called the police, but the local police over there are in on the whole thing. That town is rife with misfits and people after easy money. Get out of there, Mercy.” Charlie ordered me.

  I looked over at Ruby and Diana, both adjusting their hair and makeup and realized that they were about to walk into a trap.

  “Hold on,” I put the phone down and spoke to them. “You two can't go. It's a ploy to steal from you. Charlie said that he checked online and there are all kinds of articles about it, which by the way, you two should have done before you roped me into taking this vacation with you.”

  Diana pulled her smart phone out of her pocket and began her own internet search. Ruby stopped what she was doing and went into deep thought. I felt bad for telling them, but I couldn't let them leave and have them subjected to something so horrible.

  “I'm sorry,” Ruby muttered. “I had no idea.”

  I picked the phone back up to speak to Charlie, acknowledging that we were in over our heads. “What do we do?”

  Charlie and I exchanged ideas. I filled him in on the little spats we'd witnessed between Chip and Calvin and Jackson and Annie. He suggested that their arguments were probably p
art of the whole scheme, which caused me to question everything that I'd seen and heard, but it still didn't answer the question as to how and why Flynn ended up dead in this scenario.

  Charlie said, “I really don't know how his death figures in, but I can bet that it definitely has something to do with what that crazy little town does to keep them afloat. What you need to do is mind your business and stay away from any of their off site field trips. Trust no one, Mercy. I mean, no one.”

  After I assured Charlie that I wouldn't do anything rash, I told Diana and Ruby what he'd said. Immediately, my always brave daughter wanted to confront Chip and the others. Ruby and I caught her before she walked out the door.

  “Wait. We can't just go up and ask them about it. Do you really think that they are going to confess to duping people? I think we need to make a plan – a better plan - and just try to stay vigilant until that darn beast of a car is fixed. If all else fails, I could call Hank and have him come to pick us up. I'm sure that's what he'll want to as soon as I tell him what's going on here. He'll probably never let me plan another trip again, but I'm fine with that. Obviously, I'm not very good at it.”

  Just then, there was a knock on the door. Diana threw the door open, expecting to find Chip or one of his seedy cohorts on the other side of the door, but it wasn't any of them.

  “Oh, hi, Jessica. How are you?” I asked as I walked over to her.

  “Sorry to disturb you, but I won't be going on the trip to the Green Farm. Would you like some help in the kitchen today? I have some time. I wouldn't mind helping you.” Jessica offered. Truthfully, I didn't want to get her involved with what I had planned. I may have promised not to do anything rash, but I didn't see the harm in trying to find out how Jackson figured into all of this and I couldn't help but wonder what was in that medical case that was so important.

  “Thank you, but I think I'll be fine. You should try and get some rest. We've had a long couple of days.” I said, hoping she wouldn't be disappointed. “How's your book coming along?”

  Jessica's face reddened slightly. Was she embarrassed about writing a book or just shy about it? “It is going well. Thank you. I really would love to help. It has been a long time since I cooked for someone other than myself.”

  How could I deny her now? That was heartbreaking to hear.

  “You know what? I think I'd love the company. Sure, why don't you join me? The girls will be here too to help.” I said as Ruby and Diana exchanged glances. “You two are staying here, aren't you?”

  Ruby looked panicked. Diana feigned a smile. “We were just going to go out and look around town. We'll be back by dinner.”

  I wanted to scream at them for blatantly ignoring Charlie's warnings, but then I realized that I was essentially doing the same thing.

  “Don't worry, Mom. We're not going anywhere near the farm.” Diana's promise wasn't doing anything to ease my fear.

  Jessica looked at them curiously and asked, “Where are you two off to? Isn't today Mercy's birthday?”

  That's right. I'd totally forgotten that it was officially my birthday and, apparently, everyone else did too.

  Diana and Ruby exchanged panicked glances. Oh, that's what they're up to. I can't wait to find out what they had planned next for me. Perhaps, a stint in the local penitentiary?

  I thought it better not to hide the look of disapproval on my face. These girls were taking this birthday surprise thing a tad bit too far.

  “It will be great. Don't worry, Mercy. Just enjoy your day and try to keep weirdos from entering our rooms and stealing our loot,” Ruby advised me with a wink.

  They rushed out of the room, leaving me and Jessica alone for the day.

  “Shall we,” Jessica asked.

  I took a deep breath and agreed that we should get started. Everyone else stood outside, waiting to go on their epic adventure to the ghost farm. Part of me wanted to run out and tell them that they were being set up, but I still hadn't figured out who was robbing who. The obvious choice was that Chip was the ring leader in this swindling deal, but I didn't know who he was working with just yet. If I had to bet on it, I'd say that Jackson was a likely cohort, given his criminal history, but something didn't read well as far as their relationship went. I only had a short amount of time to figure out who was doing what and why.

  As I watched Diana and Ruby scurry past the others, I noticed a strange look on Chip's face. He must have called out to them because they both stopped before reaching the sidewalk and turned around to face him.

  Chip stepped down off the stairs and sauntered up to them with a smile on his face. I wasn't buying it and I hoped that they weren't either. He spoke with them for a moment before turning away, his face red, and nodding at Paul.

  “Do you see something interesting,” Jessica asked behind me as she pulled vegetables out of the refrigerator.

  “Oh, I'm just watching Diana and Ruby leave. I wonder where they are going.” I answered, still keeping my eyes focused on what was going on outside.

  Jessica didn't say anything in response, so I assumed she'd gone on to continue working on the meal she was assembling. When I turned around, she was gone.

  “Jessica?” I called out. She couldn't have moved that fast.

  Up above on the second floor, I heard movement.

  Wow! She climbed those stairs fast.

  I glanced back out the window, but everyone was gone. The van carrying the other visitors was pulling out of the drive. I could barely make out Ruby and Diana in the distance as they walked down the block, heading towards the town center.

  Okay, well, I guess, I'm alone then.

  I opened the freezer and pulled out a roast that I'd seen earlier in the morning when I was preparing breakfast. I walked to the butler's pantry and grabbed a crock pot in one arm and a bag of potatoes for the other arm.

  “Roast and potatoes, it is,” I said, pleased with myself for squaring dinner away with little effort.

  Up above, there were heavy footsteps. I found that to be unusual shoe wear for a woman of Jessica's age.

  What is she doing up there, I wondered.

  As I threw the ingredients into the crock pot for dinner, I couldn't help but think that Jessica wasn't alone upstairs. I know I'd seen everyone else go outside to meet the van, so I couldn't for the life of me figure out who she was with or what they were doing, other than making a lot of noise, walking back and forth.

  “Jessica,” I called out the from the kitchen again. “Are you okay up there? Do you need help?”

  I heard shuffling and the low hum of voices.

  “Can you hear me?” I asked, wiping my hands on my apron as I made my to the stairs.

  She didn't answer me. I took a look out the front door, just to make sure that the others had left and went up the stairs to see if she needed help.

  “Jessica, I'm coming up. Are you okay?” I reached the top of the stairs and found myself looking at an empty hallway and rooms with closed doors.

  The front door suddenly opened downstairs.

  “Mercy, look what I found in the garden,” Jessica said from downstairs.

  What? How could that be possible?

  “Jessica, is that you?” I asked as my limbs began to shake. I swear I heard movement up here.

  “Mercy, are you doing okay? Is something wrong?” Jessica stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at me.

  I stood still, listening for movement. My heart raced. I looked down the stairs at Jessica, then back down the hallway.

  I must be going crazy, I thought.

  “What did you find, Jessica?” I asked as I walked back down the stairs. “I didn't hear you go outside?”

  Jessica smiled, holding my least favorite vegetable in her hand: a beet.

  “Oh, yum,” I said, although I could never bring myself to eat any of it, let alone make other people eat it.

  “I think I'll make soup,” Jessica said before walking back into the kitchen.

  I looked back up the stai
rs and told her that I would meet her in a few minutes and I ran up the stairs to face my fear. Someone else was in the house. I knew it.

  My cell phone vibrating in my pocket about gave me a heart attack as I reached the landing.

  “I know you're in here. Come out before I call the police.” I said.

  Well, that wasn't the best idea. The police were supposedly in on this according to Charlie.

  I heard a woman chuckle. “You think Calvin is going to help anyone?”

  I spun around to face Flynn's office door. “Who is that?” I asked.

  The door opened slowly. Alice stood on the other side of the door. “Calvin is no good, you know? He never has been and he never will be.”