Cozy Suburbs Mystery Box Set

by Lisa B. Thomas

  “No. I think she got there a few minutes before me. She was getting out of her car when I pulled in. We walked around to the back door of the portable building. We waited a couple of minutes and Wendy let us in. We were filling treat bags with candy and waiting for our friends to get there to help with the haunted house. I swear, we never walked around there where Mr. Brewster was.”

  “I see,” Deena said. “Why didn’t you turn on the lights when you went inside?”

  “Uh, I don’t know. We turned on the strings of party lights. We—we could see what we were doing.”

  “And then you heard me yelling?”

  “That’s right.”

  Deena shook her head. Nothing Charlie said seemed unusual. “Is Stephanie here?”

  “No, she’s at work. Why?” He seemed worried by the question.

  “I just wanted to ask her the same questions.” Deena looked back to make sure Dunbar was still in his car.

  “She’s not going to tell you anything different,” he said anxiously.

  “I’m sure you’re right. I just wanted to talk to her, too. Does she still work at Las Abuela’s?”

  He nodded. “Look, I’ve got to get back.” He glanced over his shoulder.

  “No problem. Thanks for talking to me. And don’t worry. You guys aren’t in trouble or anything.”

  He walked back toward his friends who were standing with a group of girls.

  Deena now faced the task of getting rid of Dunbar. She had always considered herself a bad liar, but lately it was becoming easier and easier. It was probably par for the course in her new line of work. She quickly rehearsed her words and walked back to where the man was waiting in his car.

  He rolled down his window. “So? What’s the verdict?”

  “Unfortunately, they didn’t want to talk to you. Nothing personal, it’s just that most people in a small town are a little wary of strangers. Plus, they’re kids...” She waited to see if he would be satisfied with her answer.

  “I guess. Did you ask them anything about that night?”

  “Actually, I did. He—they—said Wendy was there and let them into the building where they had set up the haunted house earlier in the day. They said her demeanor was normal.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes. They said Wendy seemed to be arguing with Ray earlier in the day. They didn’t know what about. In all fairness, it could have been about him not helping them with the set-up. It could have been anything.”

  Dunbar shook his head. “I guess the police have that information.”

  “Yes. They said they had already talked to the police.”

  Dunbar rubbed his chin. “And I don’t suppose you will give me their names.”

  “They are minors. It wouldn’t be ethical. You understand.”

  “Sure. Well, thank you for your help, Mrs. Sharpe.” He reached through the window to shake her hand. “I’ll report this to Mr. O’Malley. I’m sure he’ll be grateful.” He let go of her hand. “And one more thing—don’t mention any of this to Ms. Fairmont. Mr. O’Malley wants his involvement to remain anonymous.” He leaned closer to the window. “The only way she could possibly find out that Mr. O’Malley is trying to help her is if you tell her. And that would be bad.”

  Deena’s throat tightened. She recognized a threat when she heard one, and this was definitely a threat. She nodded and stepped back from the car. As she watched him pull away, she reached into her pocket and felt the business card.

  Hopefully, that was the last she’d see of Julius Dunbar.

  Chapter 11

  It hadn’t taken long for Sylvia to realize that Deena and her neighbor, Christy Ann, had a love-hate relationship. Deena seemed to dislike her, but Christy Ann had actually saved the life of Deena’s brother the year before. Sylvia knew it bothered Deena that she had become friends with her neighbor.

  Christy Ann was the epitome of a soccer mom: gossipy, nosy, and oh, so busy. She and Sylvia got along fabulously.

  “Now don’t you worry about a thing. Gary and I will take care of everything. You just have fun with those precious children.” Sylvia scooted Christy Ann and her three little monsters out the front door just as a new set of ghouls came running up the sidewalk.

  Gary fetched the bowl of candy and stood next to his mother. “It’s the Wentworth children,” he said. “Aren’t they cute?”

  “I suppose,” Sylvia said. She smiled sweetly, giving each child just one small piece of candy and a large dose of discipline. “Now you be good children. Mind your mother and father. And say your prayers.” She stepped back inside and grabbed her cane. “All this standing is wearing me out. I’m just going to sit here on the sofa and let you take over for a bit.”

  She picked up the remote control for the television and tried to find a program to watch.

  Gary was like a yo-yo, bouncing back and forth between the den and front door.

  Sylvia was just getting interested in a rerun of Castle when she heard Gary holler from the entryway, “Mother, there’s someone here to see you.”

  “My lands, who would want to see me?” She hoisted herself from the sofa and hobbled to the front door. There he stood, none other than Edwin Cooper himself. That awful, no-good neighbor just couldn’t leave well enough alone. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you get enough trick-or-treat today already?”

  Gary stood in the doorway, stupidly holding the bowl of candy with his mouth hanging open.

  “Son, run get me a glass of water. I may need to drench this delinquent again.”

  Gary ran off dutifully, unaware her snarky remark had been a joke.

  “Now, Mrs. Sharpe, I ain’t here to cause no trouble. In fact, I wanted to apologize and explain myself.” Edwin pulled his arm from around his back and presented Sylvia with a small bouquet of fresh flowers.

  Although surprised, she didn’t want to let on to the delight she felt by his token apology. “Those roses didn’t come from our yard, did they? I’d hate to call the police about you trespassing on our property.”

  “You know good and well your roses put mine to shame.”

  He might be a crazy old coot, but he knew just the right words to worm his way into Sylvia’s affection. She looked over his shoulder to see another group of ruffians headed up the walk. “Well, you might as well come in, seeing that those kids might just run you down.”

  Gary walked up with a glass of water. “Here you go, Mother.”

  Sylvia shook her head and led Edwin to the den. When they were both settled, she turned off the television and turned to her guest. “Now, what’s this about an explanation? I find it hard to believe you have a good excuse for staring through the fence at your neighbors.”

  Edwin wrung his hands, touching his finger where a wedding band used to rest. “I wasn’t staring at you. I don’t stare at Deena or Gary or any other person. The police said I was a peeping Tom, but they don’t know me and neither do you.”

  “Well, you were looking at something. What was it?”

  “The dog. That little black dog.”

  “Hurley?” Sylvia squinted her eyes at the old man.

  Edwin lowered his head. "Yes, ma'am. Hurley." A mist filled his eyes. "You see, I used to have an old dog named Buster. He was a good dog—the spitting image of that one Deena got a few years back. Every time I see him out there, I think of Buster and..."

  A knot caught in Sylvia’s throat. She didn’t know what to say. All this time Deena had assumed her neighbor was a creep. Turns out, he was just lonely.

  Edwin cleared his throat and stood up, still looking down at the floor. “Well, now you know. I best be going.”

  Sylvia picked up the remote. “I was just watching a little television. You can stay if you’d like,” she said.

  “I’d like that,” he said. “Thank you kindly.”

  As Richard Castle set about solving another crime, Sylvia thought about her own situation. She had only been a widow for two years. She couldn’t imagine being alone f
or as long as Edwin Cooper. She couldn’t wait to get ahold of Deena and scold her for jumping to conclusions about an innocent man. That woman could be so judgmental.

  Glancing sideways, she noticed his strong features and kind eyes. Maybe this was fate. Maybe she was supposed to find a way to help poor Mr. Cooper. Truth be told, she was a little bit lonely herself.

  Funny how things work out. You take the good with the bad. Halloween was turning out to be one of her favorite holidays after all.

  Chapter 12

  Before calling it a day, Deena had one more stop to make. She wanted to talk to Stephanie Gander. The last thing she needed was Dunbar following her to the restaurant, so she waited a few minutes until she was sure he would be long gone. Finally, she started up the car and turned toward downtown.

  Girls were better at picking up subtle details than guys, and they were generally a lot nosier. Stephanie may know more about Wendy’s interaction with Ray than Charlie had reported. Also, Stephanie had been in Deena’s journalism class as a freshman, so she might be more comfortable opening up to Deena than she was to the police.

  Deena couldn’t believe how sneaky and manipulative she had become. It made her a better investigator, but did it make her a better person? She generally hated those qualities in other people. She brushed the thought from her mind. After all, she was trolling for the truth. She was trying to bring justice for a dead man and make her community a better place to live.

  She pulled up on the side of Las Abuela’s. It was busier than usual for a Monday night. Deena’s best hope for having a conversation would be to get a table in Stephanie’s section.

  The hostess raised an eyebrow at Deena. “Mrs. Sharpe, are you here alone tonight? No husband?” She and Gary were regulars. This was the first time she’d been there alone.

  “Yep. It’s just me. Oh, and would you mind if I sit in Stephanie’s section?”

  “Let me look,” the hostess said. “Yes, they just cleaned off a booth. Follow me, please.”

  Deena sat down at the booth and waited.

  “What can I get you to drink?” Stephanie asked, staring at her order pad.

  “Hey, Stephanie,” Deena said. “How’s it going?”

  “Oh, sorry, Mrs. Sharpe. I didn’t see it was you.”

  “No worries. It’s pretty busy tonight.”

  “Yep. Lots of families out tonight.”

  “Well, I’ll have sweet tea.”

  “Great. I’ll be right back.”

  As Stephanie hurried off, Deena noticed how disheveled the girl looked. Although her family didn’t have a lot of money, she was always well groomed and tidy at church and school. Today, her jeans were frayed at the bottoms—and not the stylish way kids wore them. Her sneakers were dirty, and her hair was falling out of her ponytail. It looked like she hadn’t bothered with makeup either.

  Stephanie returned and set the glass of tea on the table. “Here you go. Now what can I get you to eat?”

  “Um, I’ll have a small order of nachos.” Deena handed her the menu.

  Stephanie made a note and stuck the pen in her apron pocket.

  “How’s school going?” Deena asked. “Senior year can be rough.”

  “My AP classes are kicking my you-know-what,” Stephanie said. “Financial aid applications, essays, working double shifts—it’s a lot, you know.”

  “I thought you already got scholarship offers to several schools?”

  “I have. But they only cover tuition and part of the costs. There’s still a lot of expenses to go to college. My brother is also in college, and he didn’t get a scholarship. My sister is graduating in two years...”

  “I understand,” Deena said.

  Stephanie lowered her eyes. “I’ll be back in a minute with your order.”

  Maybe now wasn’t the best time to ask questions about the night of the murder. The last thing she wanted was to stress the girl out even more.

  When Stephanie returned with the food, Deena apologized and asked her to wrap it up to go, saying she had gotten a call and needed to leave. Deena left a large tip and headed back home to plan her next move.

  Maybe Stephanie’s version of the story wouldn’t be that much different than Charlie’s anyway.

  Chapter 13

  Sylvia had not yet come out of the bedroom when Deena left the house Tuesday morning. Just as well. Deena was anxious to get to Ian’s office and catch him up on the events of the previous evening. Fueled with hot coffee and a renewed energy, she set her things down in the tiny office he had assigned her next to the copy room.

  Thus far, she hadn’t taken the time to really make it her own. Between babysitting her mother-in-law, learning to cook, keeping up with her booth at the antique mall, and working the occasional case for Ian, she hadn’t had the energy or motivation to do much with her small space.

  But something about the crisp fall air seemed to bring on a renewed sense of purpose. Besides that, it wouldn’t be long until Ian and Sandra’s baby was here. She would be dropping everything to take over the thrift store in Sandra’s place. If she didn’t set up her office now, Ian might forget she worked there or even replace her.

  She didn’t want either Ian or Sandra to get too comfortable with her running the store. Investigations were her passion. At least, for the moment. She shook her head and took a long chug of hot coffee. She closed her eyes and let the warm brew travel through her insides like Reese Witherspoon making her way down the Pacific Crest Trail.

  “Ian’s waiting for you,” Rob said, pulling her out of her caffeine-induced fantasy.

  She looked around. What she needed was a coat rack. She had seen a couple of them at Hidden Treasures last week when she was adding merchandise to her booth space. That, of course, was before all this business with Ray Brewster had come up. She jotted a note to buy one and threw her jacket and scarf in an empty chair.

  With coffee in one hand and a legal pad in the other, she headed down the hall to Ian’s office. What she found inside took her by surprise.

  Actually, it wasn’t what she found, but who she found.

  Wendy Fairmont.

  “Deena, come on in,” Ian said. “You need to hear this.”

  She took a seat next to Wendy and gave her a quick nod.

  “Go ahead. Start at the beginning,” Ian said.

  “This morning, Detective Guttman came to my house to ask me questions about Ray Brewster. He had a file of photos. He asked me all kinds of questions about my relationship with Ray. He...” She swallowed hard as if trying to swallow back the truth. “He asked if Ray had been blackmailing me.”

  “I knew it!” Oops. Deena slapped her hand over her mouth. She had not meant to say that out loud.

  “What?” Wendy seemed incredulous. “How did you know?”

  Ian gave Deena a stern look. “That’s not important, right now. What did you say to Guttman?”

  Wendy dropped her chin to her chest. “I told him I wanted to talk to my attorney and asked him to leave.”

  “Perfect,” Ian said in his most reassuring manner. “That’s exactly what you should have done. Did he say anything else?”

  “Something about lawyering up not changing the facts.”

  “Never mind that. He’s just trying to scare you.”

  “Well, it worked,” Wendy said. “I came right over.”

  Even though she was without makeup and her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, Wendy was still a beauty. It was then that Deena noticed the flannel pajama bottoms underneath the “I (heart) Texas” t-shirt. She really had left home in a hurry.

  “I suppose you know what I’m going to ask next,” Ian said.

  “Was I indeed being blackmailed by Ray Brewster?” She didn’t wait for a response. “Yes.”

  Deena tried to hide her sense of vindication. Of course, being blackmailed didn’t necessarily mean Wendy was a murderer or murderess or whatever, but it did seem awfully fishy. “Tell us how and when it started,” Deena said.

&nb
sp; “Well, about six months ago, Ray came to my house with some pictures. I don’t know where he got them.” Her face flushed as she spoke. “It’s kind of cliché. The usual story. Girl wants to go to college. Girl doesn’t have enough money. Girl does something stupid to earn the money. I let a photographer from a sleazy magazine take my picture. You can imagine what they looked like.”

  In this case, Deena didn’t have to imagine. She had seen the photos for herself.

  “Anyway, I got ten thousand dollars for the pictures. They made up a name. Along with the scholarship I got from the pageant circuit, I was able to go to Texas Tech and get a degree in business and interior design, for which I’m very proud.” She raised her head and squared her shoulders. “That was ten or eleven years ago, and I put the whole thing behind me. Until Ray showed up with the pictures, that is.”

  Deena felt a twinge of sympathy for Wendy. Even though her own parents didn’t have a lot of money, she was able to work her way through college without having to compromise her integrity. Then again, she didn’t look like Wendy. If she had been in the same spot, might she have done the same thing?

  “Obviously, I didn’t want Ray going public with those, and it wasn’t just for me. It was for David...and his family. I didn’t want to smear their good name. You learn in business that ninety percent of your dealings are based on your reputation, not how capable you are.”

  Ian nodded his head. “I understand. Go on.”

  “So I paid him. I knew better than to think a one-time payout would get rid of him.”

  Deena caught her breath. Was this it? Was Wendy about to confess to murder?

  “That’s when I decided to stall as long as possible. After I was married, I would tell David the truth.” She twisted the whopping engagement ring on her left hand. “I figured that David’s father could work out a deal that would get Ray off my back permanently.”

  “So what about the restraining order you wanted?” Ian asked. “Was that part of your stall tactic?”