Coughing & Donuts: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery

by Ava Mallory

  He took a couple of quick deep breaths, then, answered my initial question. “Okay, I asked an investigator friend of mine to keep an eye on you.”

  “You what? You had no right to do that. I've been taking care of myself for a long time, buddy, and I don't need...” I started to raise my voice and I didn't like that. In my experience, yelling solved nothing. I took a deep breath to calm down. “Sorry, but I just don't understand why you would do that. What did you expect him to find out? Do you think I'm guilty too?”

  “No, of course not. Maybe if you'd just listened and not got all testy you would have heard me say that I asked him to keep an eye on you, not investigate you. I'm not the enemy here. You're the one running around here like some kind of detective. I told you that you were going into dangerous territory. I made a phone all to an old buddy of mine to keep you safe.” He explained.

  “I don't need someone to protect me. I'm fully capable of taking care of myself.” I knew I was still sounding obstinate.

  Charlie sat back, smirking, “Why do I get the feeling that you're not just talking about my investigator?”

  My breath caught. What was he insinuating? I was speaking about his investigator. I think.

  Chapter Eight

  When I left work, all I had in mind to do was sleep the rest of the day away. Now, six hours later, all that I've managed to accomplish is discovered that my laptop is missing, open my door to find an uninvited guest, find out that not only is the local police department investigating me, but so is a private detective. If the day kept going the way it had begun, I'd probably end the day hanging off the side of a cliff.

  “Why are you making that face?” Charlie groaned as he handed me my order.

  “What face are you talking about? The one that should have told you hours ago to go back to Nebraska or the one that has been silently screaming at you for having someone follow me around?” I lived for sarcasm.

  Charlie took a sip of the soda he'd ordered and said, “Both. Now, when you're ready to get down to business, do you think you could let me know? I'm only in town for a couple of days.”

  I didn't let what I was thinking come out of my mouth. I really wanted to, but I didn't. Instead, I said something much more age appropriate, “You're mean.”

  He started laughing and soon I was laughing too. We were a sight to see, I'm sure. It was a good thing that the restaurant was virtually empty at this time of day. In another hour or so, I imagined that the tables around us would have been filled with annoyed patrons. No one liked to be seated next to nuisances.

  When our bellies hurt from laughing, we both sighed loudly and continued our conversation.

  “Alright, so you didn't want to call the police about the break in. Why not? How do you expect to find the person who stole it?” He asked, adding, “Remember you're talking to a cop here.”

  I told him the truth. “I don't think anyone would care. This place is like a little clique. They stick together. Last night, I had to work with a group of people who were told not to speak to me unless absolutely necessary. Can you believe that? How am I supposed to do my job right, if the people I work with won't speak to me?” I could hear the hurt in my voice. I hadn't yet admitted how hurt I was by all that had happened.

  “Well, that's just dumb. Who told them not to talk to you? What good would that do?” Charlie seemed genuinely concerned.

  I didn't have an answer for him. If I did, I wouldn't have been in the situation I was in.

  We sat quietly for a few minutes. I sipped my coffee, while Charlie took in the scenery.

  “Is everything made of Carrera Marble in this town?” He examined nearby surfaces.

  With all the chaos and sleep deprivation, I hadn't taken the time to take in the sights or do any sightseeing. Those were two items I had on my mental checklist of things I'd do during my month long stay.

  “I never really paid attention. I haven't had much time to browse. I can tell you that the hospital is exquisitely designed. You wouldn't believe it. Now that I think about it, the floors are made of Carrera marble there too.”

  “Hmm, people with money sure like to spend money, don't they?” Charlie nodded at a blonde, holding a camera outside on the sidewalk.

  Typical male.

  “Your eyebrows twitching.” Charlie smirked at me.

  “Stop gloating. You don't know me.” I quipped.

  He laughed. “For your information, I didn't notice how attractive she was until you got hot under the collar.” I willed myself not to blush.

  What was it with me? I'd like to think that peri-menopause is a few years down the pike for me.

  “I don't care about your love life.” I replied.

  “I'll ignore that because I know what you're really trying to say to me. Anyway, that camera she has in her hand is pretty snazzy.” Charlie's eyes were on his cell phone.

  “Are you texting some woman, while ogling another one? What is wrong with you?” I hated how petty I sounded.

  He didn't look up from his phone as he responded to me. “And, you forgot that I was also having dinner with one very hot-headed nurse.”

  I stammered over my words. I think I must have been shocked, because as I've said ad nauseam to everyone I knew over the last decade or so, I will never date again. Nope, not going to happen.

  “When you're done flattering yourself, would you mind getting to the point? Who cares about her camera?” I asked.

  He turned his phone to face me. It was a listing for an expensive camera, popular with photojournalists and the paparazzi.

  “Is that what kind of camera she has?” I turned to look back at the woman, but she was gone. I didn't think too much of it. Rollie had mentioned that the media were always lurking around because of the clients that the psych unit treated.

  “Anyone famous in the psych unit?” Charlie asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “No, I can't imagine why a reporter would be in town.” My sarcasm reservoir was overflowing. “Maybe, she's here waiting for a murder to happen.”

  He sighed. “Oh, that gal wasn't taking pictures of a murder scene. I think she was taking pictures of you.”

  *

  “Nice place.” Charlie had no shame. He stood in front of the windows, leaning on them to see inside. “You said she's a tall blonde, right?”

  I tugged his arm to get him away from the window. A small crowd of horrified diners had gathered to gawk at him. “Get away from there. You know, for a cop, you sure are horrible at being discreet.”

  He smiled and bowed for the crowd inside, eliciting nervous laughter from them.

  “They probably think that I'm out for a walk with one of my eccentric patients.” I said.

  “I don't have a problem with that,” Charlie shrugged.

  “Here she comes. Now, behave yourself. This woman doesn't need any help being...” I paused because I couldn't think of an appropriate term for the kind of woman I thought she was.

  Brandi spotted me right away. She ran over like we were old friends. “Hi, hon! I'm so happy to see you.”

  I was a bit taken aback. Why would she be happy to see me? She didn't even know who I was?

  “Hi, Brandi. Sorry to bother you again. This is my... This is Charlie.” She didn't hesitate a second before she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. He didn't resist her. I think he enjoyed the warm welcome.

  “Here's the thing, Brandi. My friend here tells me that you may be able to fill in some gaps for us. You see, people were not really keen on giving us any information about your husband.”

  Brandi was quick to interject, twirling her hair as she spoke. “Oh, he wasn't my husband. He was my ex. That relationship died years ago, honey.”

  This woman gave me chills. I'd never met anyone like her.

  “Oh, I apologize. I can't believe he let you go.” Charlie was laying it on thick. I was going to have to bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from stopping this love fest.

  Brandi giggled like he'd said
the funniest thing she'd ever heard. Kill me now!

  “Well, aren't you a sweetheart. Looks like someone let you get away too.” She grabbed his hand, pointing to his empty ring finger.

  “Okay, that's enough!” I hadn't expected that to come out so harshly. Both Charlie and Brandi looked at me with silly grins on their faces. I cleared my throat. “Sorry, did anyone else hear that car's muffler. It was loud.” That's the first thing I could think of.

  Charlie took a step back and stood next to me. Brandi's facial expression changed as he did that.

  “Well, if you have a few minutes, we just have a few more questions for you?” Charlie finally remembered why we were talking to her in the first place.

  She looked toward the front entrance of the restaurant. “Well, we can't stay here.” After a moment of hesitation, she walked around the corner and sped up her pace.

  Charlie followed suit and sped up his pace to keep up with her. I watched, not understanding why she felt the need to run.

  “You okay?” Charlie looked over his shoulder at me.

  I shook my head to get rid of the cobwebs and started jogging behind them.

  Charlie stopped running after her to let me catch up. Brandi rounded the corner, keeping her quick pace steady.

  Breathless, I asked, “What is she doing? Why is she running from us?”

  “I don't know, but we'll find out.” Charlie grabbed my hand and pulled me with him, walking, then, running. “Let's find her.”

  When we rounded the same corner that she'd just run around, she was leaning against a pickup truck. “I outran you in these heels?”

  Charlie threw the blame on me. “I wouldn't have had a problem catching up to you, but my friend here isn't used to running after people.”

  She looked at me curiously. “You're not a detective?”

  I didn't realize that she could possibly be speaking to me. I was busy trying to control my breathing. It wasn't the little jog. It was the hand hold that threw me for a loop.

  Charlie laughed. “No, she's not a detective.”

  Brandi shrugged, satisfied with that answer. “Okay, so what do you want to know?”

  Charlie surprised me by asking a question we hadn't discussed. “Why did you steal Mercy's laptop?”

  I started choking. He patted me on the back while he waited for Brandi's response.

  “What? I didn't steal anything. I'm not a thief.” She looked at Charlie wide-eyed.

  He asked another question. “When did you figure out that Mercy was the nurse that police suspected in your ex-husband's murder?”

  Her eyes shifted from us to the ground. “I didn't.” She sighed slowly. “Lou told me a few days ago, but I don't care what the police think. It just doesn't make sense. Why would some nurse who just got to town kill Mike? He had plenty of enemies. One of them killed him and Lou knows that.”

  Charlie looked at me. “I told you not to cross this guy.”

  I knew that Lou thought I was guilty of conspiring or that I was in cahoots with Eli, but it never occurred to me that he would have told the guard's loved ones that he thought I did it.

  Brandi put her manicured hand on my shoulder. “For what it's worth, you don't look a murderer.”

  I appreciated the gesture, but she didn't know what I knew about murderers. Sometimes they are the last people you'd suspect.

  That's it! What if Lou was the one who did this? Maybe he was applying all the pressure on me to throw the scent off him.

  I asked, “Did Mike and Lou ever have any problems? When people know each other for some time, they eventually have differences or bump heads.”

  Charlie chimed in. “It must have been a really big decision to leave life behind in Chicago and move halfway across the country with a friend.”

  Brandi rolled her eyes. “Everything about moving here caused problems for everyone. Like I was telling your girlfriend,” Brandi started, pointing to me, “I came here first to get away from Mike and probably Lou too, if I had to admit it. When they started showing up a few years later, my whole world got turned upside down again.”

  “Why would Mike have left his job and moved out here? Was it because of the kids? Was he hoping that you two could work things out?” I asked.

  Brandi seemed to consider an answer, then, offered, “This looks like it might take a while. Why don't you follow me to my place or, better yet, let's go to wherever you're staying and talk some more?”

  I looked at Charlie. He nodded slightly.

  “Okay, let's do that. Wait right here and I'll pull the car around.” Charlie said.

  “What kind of car should I be looking for?” Brandi asked him.

  “Well, I left my bike at home, so I'm afraid you'll have to do with a luxury rental, if that's okay?” Charlie asked.

  He rides a bike? Is he really flirting with the victim's ex-wife?

  Brandi fell for his nonsense. “Oh, a luxury vehicle, huh? Nice. I'll wait right here for you.”

  I wanted to lose my dinner. This was getting out of hand.

  I held my tongue until we were far enough away from Brandi for her to have heard anything we said. “What was all that about?”

  “What?” Charlie grinned from ear to ear. “Just making conversation.”

  “No, you're just making a fool of yourself.” I shook my head at him.

  He draped an arm over my shoulders. I pushed him away, playfully. “Don't you ever get tired of listening to yourself?” I asked.

  Charlie pretended to think for a moment. “Nope, not really.”

  I ignored his comment. He didn't need me to feed his ego. I'm sure there were plenty of other people in his life who could do that for him.

  “Why did you ask her if she broke into my apartment?” I asked.

  “Why not?” He shrugged.

  “Well, do you think she did it? What would her motive be? What would anyone's motive be? What was on your laptop that some thief would want? I'll tell you what I think. I think you were focusing so much on matters that you had no business nosing around in that you forgot to shut your door and someone saw an opportunity and took it.” He opened my door for me. “Now, let's go have a chit-chat with your new best friend. And, by the way, I didn't want to say anything, but...”

  I interrupted his speech. “It always baffles me when someone says that and then proceeds to say what they didn't want to say.”

  He closed the door and walked around to the other side of the car to get in.

  “Afraid to hear what I have to say?” Charlie smirked.

  “Stop talking and drive.” I answered.

  *

  “I always wondered what these apartments looked like. Fancy.” Brandi examined the living room furniture.

  “Yes, it is quite nice. I was surprised. Usually, temporary housing for staff isn't all that great. You're lucky if you get a microwave and running water.” Oh, the stories I could tell about some of the dives I'd been forced to call my temporary home just to be able to do the job that I loved.

  “So, your job pays for this?” She asked me.

  “Yes.”

  She peeked into the kitchen. “Maybe I should become a nurse.”

  I clamped my mouth shut. Insulting her wouldn't have gotten us much information.

  Charlie, on the other hand, agreed with her. “You'd make a wonderful nurse. Heck, I'd bet you're more skilled than any of the nurses I know now.”

  I shot him a dirty look.

  “You're funny.” Brandi said. “So, can we get back to our discussion? I have to get home before the kids tear the place apart.”

  Finally!

  “Great idea, Brandi. I'll let you take the lead. You obviously knew Mike and Lou better than we would.” Charlie motioned for her to take a seat.

  She nearly jumped at the chance to sit next to the almighty sheriff. What did she see that I didn't see? He wasn't bad looking by any means, but maybe I was too close to him to see him as any more than a demanding, sometimes immature, rural Sheriff,
who not so long ago nearly hauled my ample behind to jail. I was innocent, of course, but a girl never forgets when they are accused of murder.

  “Okay, well, here's what I know. I hope it helps.” She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. “I loved Mike. I mean, when we first met he was like the cream to my coffee, if you know what I mean. He was a cop. He was one of those tall, dark, and handsome types. I guess, I was attracted to him because he was so different from the guys from my neighborhood. He was tough, but sensitive and he came from a good family.”