Scrambled to Death: A Sage and Dash Cozy Mystery

by Molly Dox

  “I’ll go get her for you. Are you okay? You’re a bit flushed.” Libby’s concern was sincere. Myrtle normally had calm written over her face. Today was different. She appeared agitated.

  Libby went back to the kitchen and spoke with her daughter. “Myrtle is out front looking for you. She looks a wee bit disheveled. Not sure what’s up. You’ll see.”

  Rosie followed her mother out to the front of the restaurant. “Myrtle? You wanted to speak with me?”

  “Oh Rosie, dear, it’s Gloria. She’s up and taken off. She’s not answering her phone, and nobody knows where to find her. When she didn’t answer, I stopped by her house. There’s was a letter taped to the door. I mean, I wasn’t sure who it was for, since it didn’t have a name on it. I might have peaked inside the envelope. She said she couldn’t hide her truth anymore and had to leave. She said she left a letter with you to explain more. It was a bit cryptic.”

  “Me?” Rosie shook her head, completely unaware that Gloria was supposed to have contacted her or leave some sort of note. “I haven’t seen her.”

  “Oh, no, not with you – but here. Something about a rocking chair and a cat? None of it made sense.”

  “She put a letter near Dash’s chair? She must mean the back porch. We can go look, but I’m not sure how we wouldn’t have noticed it.” Rosie led Myrtle through the door that attached to their house. Once there, she went to the door that opened up to the back porch. “There’s the chair she’s probably talking about. I don’t see a letter.”

  “Why would she leave a letter here, of all places?”

  Rosie slipped her hand under the cushion, and sure enough there was a small envelope. “Well, I’ll be. I wonder when she did that?”

  “Open it! What does it say?” Myrtle’s agitation grew. “Hurry!”

  Rosie unsealed the letter and pulled out the paper. “First, I didn’t have anything to do with the murders. I might know more than I should, and got scared. When that guy asked me for help the other day, I saw a brochure on the passenger side of his vehicle. I think he saw me looking at it, because he started acting weird. I blew it off, thinking nothing of it at first, but then I started to wonder why he got antsy. Maybe he thought he’d tucked it away? I’m not sure. Anyway, I’m taking an extended vacation with some money I’ve saved. That man…I bumped into him again and I got a weird tingling inside, like I was being watched. Go talk to Charlie Staggs. I think he may have more information than he’s let on. I’m not sure when I’ll return, but for now, I think it’s best that I keep my distance. Myrtle, I knew you’d open that note on my door. Nobody else would touch an envelope not addressed to them, but I knew you would. I’m so grateful you did. Maybe it will help solve the horrendous crimes that have been committed. Myrtle dear, I’ll miss our breakfast mornings while I’m away, but think of all the great adventures and stories I’ll bring back with me. It’s signed G.”

  Chapter 23

  Rosie brought the letter out to her mother. “I think it’s time we go back and talk to Charlie Staggs.”

  Libby read it aloud to Owen. There was no questioning Owen’s response. “I’m coming with you. Let’s get to the bottom of this.”

  Rosie wondered if she should quietly go talk to Charlie alone, rather than bring a cavalry, when the man might not know more than he already spoke of. The idea of four of them charging in there seemed a tad overkill.

  “Why don’t I-”

  “No,” Libby said. “We’re doing it together. Come on, Owen.”

  Myrtle chimed in. “Oh, I’m not missing this for anything in the world.”

  Rosie sighed. So four of them it was.

  Rosie, Libby, Owen, and Myrtle closed up shop and headed to pay Charlie a visit.

  On arriving, they were greeted by Nancy who was sitting in Charlie’s office. “Wow, quite a crowd,” she chirped.

  Libby spoke first. “We were given new information, and were pointed in your general direction. We’re hoping you can shed light on a few dark corners.”

  Charlie’s shoulders stiffened up on seeing Owen Masters. It was well known that he was a retired officer of the law. Guarded, Charlie forced his voice to remain calm, but leaned forward to offer him a solid handshake. “Owen, how have you been? It’s nice to see you.”

  “We have a few questions, Charlie. Off record of course…I’m no longer active on the force. Your name came up in a ‘conversation’ about the recent events that have everyone on edge. Why would your name be linked to that? Odd, right? You’re not the kind of man to be involved with criminal matters. Not a lawbreaker as long as I’ve known you, so imagine my surprise to hear your name mentioned when this discussion about the murders took place.” He didn’t need to know it was a letter, and nobody was volunteering any information.

  “Myrtle? What are you doing here? Oh, don’t tell me, passing the gossip along? I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I wish you’d keep my name out of this.”

  Rosie stepped forward. “How do you know Matt Adams?”

  Charlie coughed and stuttered on hearing the man’s name. “I, I don’t…who is…who’s that?”

  Libby groaned. “Oh, I know you can lie better than that.”

  Nancy chimed in. “I don’t know exactly what you’re saying here, but I think we’ve heard just about enough. If you have questions, I don’t really care. Until an actual non-retired and official person is asking…”

  Charlie put his hand up to stop his sister. “Fine, I know the man. We were talking business. What does that have to do with anything?”

  Owen stepped closer to Charlie, getting in his personal space and lowered his voice by an octave. He may have tweaked the facts and wording a bit, but what Charlie didn’t know, didn’t hurt him. “Because he got just as cagey as you when your name was mentioned. Is there anything you want to say before I get Sheriff Snyder over here? He’s chomping at the bit to get a big arrest under his belt, and I’ve got a feeling you know more than you’re admitting. Holding back evidence is a punishable crime. Interference, accessory, would you like me to go on?”

  Nancy jumped up. “Stop! Stop! Stop! Charlie, make it stop. I can’t do this. Not anymore.”

  Charlie dropped his head onto his desk. He whispered, newly broken. “Fine. I’ll tell you what happened.”

  Nancy started to cry and sat back down. She fidgeted with the edge of her dress, afraid to look anybody in the eye.

  “It was me. I hired Matt Adams to take out Peyton. Christopher was an accident. He got the wrong guy by mistake, don’t ask me how. So he laid low for a day, and took out Peyton the following day.” Charlie’s body shook when the reality of the words struck him. “I hired a hit man. What did I do?”

  Nancy took over where her brother stopped. “I think it was on getting the cancer diagnosis. Charlie cracked. He was doing it for me, trying to stop my past from haunting me. I couldn’t let go. I’ve had so much anger. Peyton – well, he hasn’t made it easy for me. The tipping point was when Charlie caught Peyton with Christopher’s wife. He was cheating on me, but with only Charlie’s word to go by, it wasn’t enough to take him out in the divorce. He kept chipping away at me, and I couldn’t take anymore. And then, after I was told I had a rare form of cancer, I broke down. Charlie said he’d take care of things, make my stress go away so I could focus on healing. I don’t know…I nodded, not caring what he had in mind. He always took care of me, of anything that came up, and I let him.”

  Rosie, Libby, Owen, and Myrtle stood with their jaws hanging open. Shock painted their faces. Did they just confess to hiring a hitman? Was that hit man really Matt Adams? Oh, this was big. Even Myrtle was speechless.

  Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Everybody glanced around, looking at one another, but not saying a word. What now? It wasn’t an official statement. They’d confessed to hiring somebody to do the job, and that somebody did the job. Wow. Just wow.

  Owen walked outside. Libby followed him. Myrtle didn’t know what to do. She wanted to speak, to scold, to gossi
p, to utter words, but still she was speechless. She followed the others outside.

  “What are you going to do?” Charlie asked, looking directly at Rosie.

  “I don’t know. I’m not sworn to uphold the law, but people are dead. I understand that you thought you were righting a wrong, but Charlie, Matt killed two people at your request. I don’t even want to know how much you offered him. I’m overwhelmed with the information. I just…I’m not going to say anything, not right now. Maybe later I will. I need to think about it all. How could you…? Never mind. I need to get some fresh air and process this stuff.”

  “Rosie, if you could find it in your heart…you’ve known me a long time…this isn’t the man that I am. I lost it, made a rash decision, and then it was too late.”

  “Charlie, Nancy, two men are dead at your request. What do you want us to do with that? Pretend like it never happened?”

  Nancy stood and looked Rosie dead in the eye. “Yes, that’s exactly what we’re asking. Pretend like you never heard this. Let us live our lives, go back to where we were. We’re good people, Rosemary. You know that. You know us. You’ve known us most of your life. Please…”

  Rosie dropped her head. “I’m sorry to hear of your diagnosis, Nancy, but what your brother did…”

  It seemed people were having trouble finishing sentences. It was all surreal.

  Chapter 24

  Owen draped his arm over Libby. “What just happened in there?”

  “I know, right. Trust me, I’m no saint. I’ve been in my own share of trouble, but that was huge. And Charlie Staggs, he’s always been a decent guy. Poor Nancy, she’s got her own issues and now she’s a part of this. Do you think she knew he’d go to such extremes? I mean, once she did learn, she didn’t come forward.” Libby leaned into Owen.

  Myrtle stumbled over her words, a rare moment indeed. “Nobody liked Peyton or Christopher anyway. Come on, we’re all thinking it.”

  “It doesn’t mean they deserved to die. They have family, like the rest of us. Maybe their ex-wives aren’t distraught, but what about their siblings and parents? Don’t they deserve justice?”

  “I should go,” Myrtle mumbled. “I’m going to keep this one to myself. It’s too big to be gossip. This is real life.”

  Rosie was still inside. Before turning to leave, she looked Charlie in the eyes. “They might be more lenient on you if you turn yourself in. I hope you do the right thing. I’m going to leave it to you for now. I need to wrap my head around all of this. Charlie, I never thought…” Again, she was unable to finish her sentence.

  Owen tapped on the doorframe to make his presence known. He’d slipped back inside only a moment before. “Come on, Charlie. Let’s go pay a visit to Sheriff Snyder.”

  Charlie simply nodded, dropped his head, and left the building with Owen. Together, they would take care of business.

  Nancy pleaded with Rosie. “Stop them, please, Rosie.”

  “Nancy, two men are dead.”

  She sobbed openly.

  Rosie turned to leave. Once this was resolved, she’d go visit Alyssa. It would be good to put this all behind them. As sad as it was, she was relieved it was over. Once the police got the information, there would be a warrant put out for Matt’s arrest, and the crimes will have been solved.

  ***

  It was a long day, but there was still time to stop up and see how Alyssa was making out. With the news of her parent’s impending divorce, the hit and run, Alyssa was having a run of bad luck. She hoped her friend was at least feeling a little better. Rosie stopped in the hospital gift shop to pick up a small stuffed bear and a bundle of fresh cut flowers. As she turned toward the register to pay, she came face to face with Matt Adams.

  Rosie gasped. “What are you doing here?”

  “My girlfriend was hit by a car. I’m here to visit her? You?” He thought nothing of seeing Rosie there.

  Rosie panicked. She knew where he was, who he was, and what he’d done. And his girlfriend…hit by a car? No. It had to be a coincidence. She swallowed hard. “Your girlfriend?”

  “You might know her; she lives in your town. Goes by Alyssa,” he said. A smile spread across his face. “Nicest girl I’ve met in a long time.”

  Rosie’s heart raced. She forced air into her lungs. She wasn’t feeling so well.

  “Rosie, are you okay? You don’t look so well. It’s like all the color drained out of your face,” he said. He placed his hand on her shoulder to steady her.

  “Don’t touch me,” she said, jumping back. “I know what you did.”

  She didn’t mean to say the words, but they slipped out.

  Matt cocked his head, trying to read Rosie’s meaning. “I should be going. My friend is expecting me.”

  She waited only a second for him to turn and leave before she dialed 9-1-1. “You need to send a car to the hospital. A killer is on the loose,” she whispered. “I know something, I’m afraid to talk about it, but he’s here. Please hurry.

  “Ma’am, what’s your name?”

  “Please, there’s no time. He’ll get away.” She started to walk after him. He turned to see her and picked up his pace.

  Rosie tried to keep up.

  Matt threw his purchases down on the ground, turned, and ran past Rosie toward the parking lot.

  “Hurry!” Rosie yelled into the phone. “I’m following him. He’s going to get away. We’re heading into the parking lot.”

  “Ma’am, a car is on the way. If you could slow down and tell me exactly what happened.”

  “No time,” Rosie said and clicked off her phone. She yelled across the lot, as he slammed his keys into his car, trying to open the door. “Matt, don’t do it. Don’t run. It’s too late. They’re already coming for you.”

  Matt only had one option. He spun and turned toward Rosie. He walked up to her, wrapped his arm around her and spun her against his body, holding her snug so she couldn’t move. “I don’t know what you think you know, but you need to forget you saw me. Do you understand? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Put your hands up,” the officer yelled as he jumped from his car. His gun was pointed directly at Matt.

  Matt’s arms flew into the air. “I didn’t do it. I don’t know what they told you, but I didn’t do anything. I was coming to visit my girlfriend.”

  Under her breath, Rosie sneered, “She’s not your girlfriend. She deserves somebody way better than a murderer in her life.”

  As the officer cuffed Matt, he swung him around and placed him in the backseat of his cruiser. With the door firmly closed, he turned his attention to Rosie. “You’re the woman who called? I’m going to need a full statement. I really don’t know what’s going on here, but they said to hurry, so here I am. I saw him grab you as I was pulling in. Lucky timing is all.”

  Rosie nodded. After catching her breath, she promised to stop by the police station in an hour and give a full statement, but advised him to contact Sheriff Snyder in Spring Valley. He’d be looking for Matt Adams, and was wanted for two murders.

  After the officer left, Rosie drew a deep breath. Why of all the people in the world did it have to be Matt? She wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news to Alyssa. Things hadn’t been going so well for her friend. She’d make it a point to set time and money aside to take a fun trip with her best friend when she was healed. They both needed to get some fresh air, far away from Spring Valley, Pennsylvania.

  THE END

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  About Me:

  Molly Dox is happily married and has two grown boys. Her husband, an insanely patient man, believed in her from the start. Crazy man didn’t know any better. She spends her time between writing and corralling her dogs in an attempt to get them to go outside at the same time. Sometimes writing books is easier. In her (cough) late forties, she’s enjoying her dream of writing full-time.

  My Website is Here.

  Other reads by Molly Dox. I write both short and long. Please see the listings below.

  Coming in 2016 – Sage and Dash Cozy Mysteries – Full-Length Reads

  Some eggs aren't all they're cracked up to be. Scrambling for clues in the small town of Spring Valley, Molly and Libby look for answers when two men drop dead, one of them in their small country cafe. Can they save their business before it goes under? This soft-boiled cozy is a family-friendly read.

  Longer Standalone Reads:

  Death of a Game Show Host

  Lily Ballantine was having a bad day. It started with losing her television game show job to a younger, fresher model. About to turn fifty, the news was a serious blow to her ego. When she didn’t think her day could get any worse, her co-host turned up dead.

  Determined to uncover the truth about who killed Patrick, Lily found herself tangled up with too many loose ends. Between death threats to her life and no murder suspect in sight, she was left with no one to trust and with nowhere to turn.

  Digging for clues was a delicate balancing act. She needed to be careful not to ruffle any feathers now that her own life was in jeopardy. Would she unravel the clues and finger the culprit? If she played her cards right, she might just find the killer.