Wild Blue Mysteries Boxed Set

by Diane Bator

  “Okay, enough brainstorming.” Hilda clapped her hands and stood. “Go mind your shop. I have some notes to make and some business to take care of. My newspaper deadlines don’t meet themselves. I might drop by later today to see if that hunky cop is hanging around. I think I need to do some research.”

  Katie faked a smile. The last thing she needed was Danny and Hilda hanging around.

  Hilda cleared her throat as though she sensed Katie’s reluctance. “I know it’s your life and I definitely don’t want to interfere, but—”

  Katie struggled to breathe. “The less people who know, for now, the better for the both of us.”

  “Both of us?” Hilda’s eyebrows rose.

  “Your book.” Her brain hurt. She focused on hugging the warmth of the coffee mug to calm her, but the coffee sloshed in the cup. “You don’t want anyone asking me questions about your story line and stealing your idea, do you?”

  “You’re right.” One of Hilda’s wrinkled hands created an instant warm spot on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ve made a lot of friends here. That’ll count for something if things get tough with Danny. We’ll all have your back.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Things will be fine. Give the poor boy another chance.” Her landlady padded down the hallway to her room and closed her door.

  Katie stood with only the silent television for company. Her brain swam with a billion questions and a ton of doubt about the answers.

  Someone from DMR killed Dunnsforth, which left Maddox and Roland, who weren’t likely to leave her fluttering around as a liability. If they didn’t already know where she was, they’d find out soon enough. Especially with her picture all over the news.

  If she were smart, she wouldn’t show up at the bookstore today. With her luck, Ray would track her down and drag her to work. Dunnsforth was dead, but her new life had to go on as normal or people would ask questions. She dumped the cold coffee into the sink.

  A gentle rain fell and drummed the leaves of the trees. She hunched her shoulders, snuggled into her jacket against the morning air then put up her blue paisley umbrella. Had anyone found the scarf she lost at Maddox’s the night of the party?

  The chill on her skin was nothing compared to the one that settled in her bones after the news broadcast. Gardens full of phlox and peonies bowed their heads as she passed. When the sun reappeared later, they’d lift their showy faces to the world.

  Katie hoped she’d still be around to do the same.

  There was no one else in the store at nine thirty. Laura wasn’t due in until ten when they opened. She had a half hour of nerve-wracking silence to plan a way out.

  If Maddox or his men killed Dunnsforth, why was she a person of interest? Had Dunnsforth’s wife and kids made their escape before Maddox’s goons got Dunnsforth? Where was Maddox’s wife while all this was going on? She stared out the front window and wished she’d grabbed coffee on her way over. There was still time to run to Java Jo’s, but staying in the bookstore seemed like a safer option. Preferable to being out in the open on the quiet street. She lowered the shade, blocking most of the store from passersby.

  She gave a mournful sigh when she nudged up the heat. The store was a lonely place without people filling it. Including Ray. She’d miss it all when Danny threw her in prison. Of course, that would be the best thing to happen to her at this point. If Maddox found her first, she wouldn’t have to worry about jail or anything else.

  She needed to write a will and name Ray as her beneficiary—with the provision he hold book launches for the local writing group, like it or not, to breathe some life into the bookstore. Thinking about Ray dragged her thoughts to Danny.

  He was secretive but, she supposed, it went with the territory. He was a cop and had to be hunting her, especially after the official announcement. Had he pretended to be interested and asked her out just to get close to her? Whose side was he really on?

  Her thoughts broke off as the jingle of chimes broke the cold silence around her. She was positive she’d locked the front door. Breathless, she grabbed the nearest sharp object. A pen.

  Ray slipped his keys into his pocket and shuffled through the door with a soggy cardboard coffee tray holding two large coffee cups and a plain, damp paper bag. He looked like he’d swam across Lake Erie in his rain jacket.

  “You’re here early.” She hadn’t expected anyone to come in after the news that morning.

  “Goddam rain.” Ray set the tray on the counter. “I got you a pumpkin spice latte. I know you girls like those frilly flavored things some days.”

  “Thanks.” Katie struggled to make small talk, but her throat tightened. She wrapped her shaking hands around the paper cup in an attempt to appear steady. “I missed my morning cup of coffee. I should have stopped at Jo’s on my way.”

  “I stopped at the bakery too. There are some cookies in the bag. ” Ray sipped his coffee. “I couldn’t decide what to get so I got a few of each.”

  She peered into the bag and laughed. “A few? Ray, there’s a dozen cookies in here.”

  “There were lots of different kinds. I’ll take the rest home later.”

  She picked a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, her mind whirling. “It’s miserable out there. Why aren’t you at home?”

  “At the seniors’ home from hell? It’s bloody depressing. Imagine a hundred old people crammed into a building waiting to die. Half of them wet themselves. The other half can’t walk without canes or walkers. Most of them can’t remember anyone’s name, let alone their own. What’s not depressing about that?”

  “Which group are you in?”

  “I’m still above the average crowd, but it won’t be long before the arthritis takes over and I’ll be a vegetable.”

  “The power of positive thinking.” She managed a small smile. Old age wouldn’t be an option if Maddox found her. The cookie sank in her stomach like a rock.

  Ray shot her a withering look. “You wait until you’re old. Why do you think I hang out here with you and Laura? You two clowns make me feel young.”

  “How old are you?”

  “I’ll be seventy-three next month.”

  “I have a ways to go.”

  “I used to think that too. Now I’m old. My body might be ready to give up, but my eyes and ears still work.”

  Katie tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

  Ray pulled himself onto a stool behind the counter and looked her in the eye. “I saw the news this morning about the dead guy from DMR. What was his name? Dunnsforth?”

  Her heart beat at a dizzying rate. “You saw the news?”

  “I almost called Danny to see what was up, but I wanted to talk to you first.” He paused and looked her in the eye. “Are you Paulina Chourney?”

  She sighed as a piece of her puzzle clicked into place. “Danny’s a cop. He told you he was looking for me, didn’t he? Did he already know who I am?”

  “I used to be a cop. Danny hasn’t been able to keep a secret from me since he was two and pissed on my ficus.”

  Katie hoped that was some kind of plant. “When did you know the truth?”

  “A couple months ago when I moved. Danny was on some big case that was getting to him. I asked questions, but he wouldn’t tell me much.” He stared at his coffee cup. “When he came back, I pestered him. He said he’d lost Paulina’s trail but had a gut feeling she was close.”

  Katie was right. Danny wasn’t only looking for her, he’d found her. Maddox wouldn’t be far behind. “You told him about me.”

  Ray frowned. “I told him you looked a bit like the woman in his pictures, even though she wore more makeup and had lighter hair. You even got here around the same time she went missing. It was your eyes that gave you away.”

  “My eyes?”

  “One thing that’s hard to disguise is fear.” He took a cookie from the bag and avoided her gaze. “You jump every time the chimes jingle. You look around the store and make sure you know exa
ctly who’s in the room.”

  “I watch for customers.”

  “Behind you and in the back room?”

  Katie was speechless. “Did you tell anyone else?”

  “Why would I? Laura’d beat me for even suggesting it. Mimsy’d just go off and write some cockamamie book about you.”

  “You know Mimsy’s a writer?”

  “With that stupid old typewriter clickity-clacking all night? Who doesn’t?” Ray scowled. “It’s either that or she’s got a hell of a lot of prison penpals. We all wish someone would give her a bloody laptop and teach her how to use it.”

  Her secret was out, at least with Ray. Katie had no idea how the people around her would react when they learned the truth. If Dunnsforth embezzled that much money, Maddox would want it back no matter what. In coming to Packham, she’d put a lot of innocent people in harm’s way.

  She should run, which was the one answer she kept coming back to. Maddox wouldn’t expect her to head south toward Florida or north toward…What was north of Packham that was big enough to hide in? Canada? The Arctic? Not going to happen. She hated the cold.

  Joseph Roland was the silent partner. He’d hung back while Maddox made the decisions. He was no angel either, but he wasn’t the one she had nightmares about. If Al and Chevy couldn’t find her, he’d send Roland who wouldn’t play nice.

  “You okay, boss?” Ray laid a warm hand on her icy one.

  Katie jumped. “I’ve been so stupid.”

  “Yeah, it sounds like you were.”

  She made a face but deserved the comment. “I was involved, indirectly, with the money laundering. I didn’t realize I wrote up deals that only existed on paper.” A knot tightened between her shoulder blades. “I don’t know how I got in so deep. You do favors for people and money flows in. It’s addictive.”

  “Did you really steal millions of dollars like they’re saying?”

  “I didn’t steal anything.” The rain beat harder against the front window. With any luck, customers would be afraid of getting wet and stay home. “Dunnsforth gave me five hundred thousand dollars and told me to take a lifelong vacation as someone else. I took the money, ditched my Jag and left town on the wrong bus.”

  “Damn!” Ray smacked the counter with his palm. His cup jumped and spilled coffee through the hole in the top. “If I knew you were worth half a million, I would’ve held out for more money for this dump.”

  Katie laughed, sorely in need of the brief bit of humor. Her coffee still too hot to drink, she blinked back tears and snaked her hand into the bakery bag. The chocolate chip cookies left blobs of melted chocolate on her fingers.

  “So, if you have all that money, how come you live like you just came in off the street?”

  “I didn’t want to make people suspicious. If I came to town throwing money around, it would’ve been obvious.” She bit into the cookie and savored its warmth.

  “Nah.” He waved her off. “You’d be just like all the other big shot city folks who move out here and throw around money they don’t have.”

  “Good point.” Katie’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “I still don’t understand. If I only got half a million, then where’s the rest of the missing money?”

  “Offshore accounts. Precious metals. I’m sure Dunnsforth, or whoever took it, hid it well enough to not be found for a while.”

  “Why would someone think I killed Dunnsforth when Maddox and Roland are crooks? Did someone frame me for his murder? Do the police have evidence against me?”

  Ray shook his head. “I can’t really help you there. The TV said you were a person of interest, not a suspect. I still have some connections. You need to sit tight and act like nothing’s wrong.”

  “That’s easier said than done.”

  “You’ve managed pretty well so far.”

  True. “Oh, Ray. What am I gonna do?”

  He seemed to contemplate his reply then leaned forward. “You do what I did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ray chuckled. “You’ve probably heard rumors about me being a rich man. They’re true. I’m worth a bundle. Don’t tell my family or they’ll never leave me alone.”

  “How did you get your money?”

  “Back when I was a kid in my twenties, I worked for a casino in Atlantic City. Acquaintances of mine got it into their heads to rob the place and wanted me to be their inside man.”

  “Nice friends. Did you do it?”

  He shook his head. “I was an undercover cop. When my so-called friends found out, they shot me in the back and left me in a ditch to die. That’s why this old body doesn’t move the way it used to.”

  Katie grew lightheaded. “I’m sorry.”

  “Whether you knew what was going on or not, you were used. Someone thought they could tuck you out of sight then get rid of you later. You became a problem when you left town and they lost track of you.” He waved a hand.

  “They got scared.”

  “That would be my guess.”

  Katie reeled in his words and hugged her cup for warmth once more. Grateful for the silence in the store. “What are we going to do?”

  “First, I’ll find Danny and keep him away from you until I know what’s going on in that thick head of his. You need to make some plans. How are you going to handle the goons those guys will send after you?”

  “That’s assuming Danny has already told them or the cops where I am.” Katie didn’t know the first thing about self-defense. Hell, she couldn’t even hide well enough to avoid being found.

  “Let’s assume so. I’ll help you hide. I’ll tell everyone you had to leave town and—”

  “And where would you hide me? The home? Not likely.” Panic seized hold of her chest. It was like being a kid at the seashore scraping together a sand wall that washed away as fast as she built it.

  Ray stared at his cookie. “Nate and Hannah—”

  “No. They have young kids. Besides, isn’t that where Danny stays? How will you hide me from him?”

  “Danny—”

  “I’m not even going to talk about Danny.” Katie held up a hand. “Just do your thing, Ray. I need to think first and hide later.”

  Ray called Danny and they arranged to meet at Java Jo’s an hour later.

  “Where’s your car?” she asked.

  The hard line of his lips became a sheepish smirk. “It died. Nate’s towing it out to the farm. I guess it’s time to let Danny finish his job to get it running again.”

  “I hear he’s a pretty good mechanic.” She smiled. “Ray? How did you get all your money, anyway?”

  “The casino. I couldn’t return to work as a cop after the shooting and inquest, so the casino hired me to work security. They were generous, considering all I’d done.”

  “Right.” Her voice was salted with disbelief.

  “Okay.” Ray winked. “I gambled and got lucky. I had one hell of a poker face. Way better than my nephew’s. I still beat him every time.”

  “You’ve never told anyone about the money?”

  “There’s something to be said for keeping secrets. It makes for colorful stories.” He winked. “The secrets coming out about you, little girl, will leave Packham humming for years. No one will ask about my mythical fortune again till I die.”

  Packham certainly had no shortage of colorful stories. Katie was sure she was about to live through a few of the best ones. Ray was right. There would be stories told about her for years to come.

  “Oh good, you’re both here.” Laura flew in out of the rain ten minutes before her shift started. “Have either of you seen the morning news?”

  “We were just discussing that,” Ray said. “I’m on my way to meet Danny and keep him away from Katie today.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  Katie exchanged a surprised glance with Ray and shook her head. At least she could keep one person oblivious to the truth.

  “There was a murder in Newville.” He watched Laura’s face. “Some guy nam
ed Dunnsforth.”

  “Ray, don’t.”

  “Oh that.” Laura scoffed. “I was talking about the street racers they caught on the freeway last night. One of the kids was my next door neighbor’s boy. Serves her right. She always brags he’s such a genius and going to play in the NHL.”

  Ray shrugged. “The police are looking for a woman.”

  “Wow. A crime of passion. You don’t hear about those much anymore. Usually, you read about the gang murders and the murder-suicides.”

  “Her name is Paulina Chourney. Didn’t she remind you of someone?”

  Laura looked at Katie and furrowed her brow. “I did hear that. She was gorgeous. Isn’t she dead or something?”

  Ray slapped his lined forehead in frustration. “Katie is Paulina Chourney. She’s the woman they’re looking for.”

  Laura blinked several times then shook her head. “No way. That woman looked way too classy for all that nonsense. Besides, Katie would never kill someone or steal money, and she’d definitely never disappear without telling anyone.” She paused. “Would you?”

  Katie looked away and wished Ray had been able to keep her secret longer than five minutes. “I was framed. I left town, but I didn’t kill Dunnsforth or steal the money.”

  “Sure you were.” Laura’s cherry red lips curved into a slow smile. “So, is there a reward? I could use a few extra bucks.”

  “Laura!” Ray and Katie chorused.

  “I’m kidding. I get it. What do we do about it?”

  He grimaced. “I’m going to keep Danny out of her hair while we figure that out. I’ll check in later. Don’t let any strangers in.”

  “We’re in a bookstore. That’s difficult. Any other bright ideas?” Katie asked.

  Ray turned to Laura and waggled a finger at her. “Don’t leave her alone, even to go get lunch. Order something to be delivered.”

  Laura huffed, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m under house arrest too? I haven’t even done anything. Why should I be grounded?”

  “You’re not grounded. I just don’t want Katie left alone in case someone tells the bad guys where she is.”

  “Good point.” Laura put her hands on her hips. “Then you stay and keep watch with me.”