Cozy Suburbs Mystery Box Set

by Lisa B. Thomas

  “Yes, I had written out instructions for my bookie and thrown them in the trash. Ray found them when he was cleaning up my office. He knew exactly what they were. I begged him not to tell anyone and he agreed—for a while. But it didn’t take long until he decided to ask for money and use the secret against me.”

  “So you paid him?” Deena asked.

  “Obviously, I didn’t have much money. I had to borrow some from the church. I know that was wrong, but I kept a record, and I’m going to pay back every dime. Ray was smart enough not to ask for too much money. Just enough to keep me on the hook and not turn him in to the police.”

  “So that explains why you kept him around when everyone else thought he should’ve been canned.” Deena was starting to get a clear picture of the situation. “Did anyone else know what Ray was doing to you?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Actually, there was one other person who knew,” Helen said. “That’s how I found out that Ray was blackmailing you.”

  “You knew about the blackmailing?” Reverend Abbott looked shocked. “I just thought you found out I had been gambling.”

  Helen put her hand on her husband’s arm. “There was someone else at the church who had your back. Someone who thought I should know what was going on.”

  “Who was that?” Deena asked.

  “Darlene.”

  Chapter 24

  Who would have thought pillars of the community would have such a big crack in their fortress.

  On her way home, Deena pulled over at a gas station to send a text back to Detective Guttman. She told him to call her in the morning because she had some new information to give him.

  While sitting in her car, there was a knock on her side window. An older man wearing an Uncle Sam costume waved and motioned for her to roll down her window.

  “Only six more days until election day!” he said. “Don’t forget to vote for Mayor Thornhill to be reelected. He promises to make Maycroft the happiest place on earth!” The man handed her a flyer.

  “I thought Disneyland was the happiest place on earth,” she said and tossed the flyer into the back seat.

  “Oh, did I say happiest? I meant safest.”

  Deena forced a smile and rolled up her window. If you mean keeping it safe from killer party planners and murdering Methodist ministers, then he’s got my vote.

  It had been a long day, and Deena couldn’t wait to eat supper, slip into her jammies, and stretch out on the sofa with a good book. She came to the front door and was greeted by the sweet aroma of grilled onions and barbequed meat.

  The kitchen table was set and waiting for her. “I’m home,” she yelled in the direction of the den.

  Gary walked in with a funny look on his face. He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “We’ve got company.”

  Sure enough, Sylvia came around the corner clutching the arm of none other than their neighbor Edwin Cooper.

  “Oh, this is a surprise,” Deena said.

  “Close your mouth, dear, you look like a cow.” Sylvia stood by her chair and let Edwin pull it out for her.

  Deena snapped her jaw shut and took her seat at the table. “Well, this day has just been full of surprises.”

  Dinner progressed as if in slow motion. Sylvia commanded the conversation. Luckily, all Deena had to do was smile occasionally and nod. She couldn’t wait to get Gary alone and find out how all this had come about.

  After eating the cake Sylvia had made in the afternoon, Gary suggested they take their coffee to the den. It was obviously just an excuse so he could keep one eye on the sports news on television.

  After a few minutes, Deena excused herself to the bedroom. It wasn’t long until Gary joined her.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered. “Who invited Mr. Cooper for dinner?”

  “Mother. I don’t know the whole story yet, but apparently they have struck up a friendship.”

  “Doesn’t she know about him watching us every time we’re in the backyard? He called the police on her just two days ago. What have I missed?”

  “I’m as confused about this as you are, and believe me, the minute the man leaves, I’m going to straighten her out.”

  A strange sound emanated from the den. Sylvia cackled like a schoolgirl. It was all Deena could do not to go out there and send Edwin packing.

  Lying in bed trying to read was a complete waste of time. Gary kept changing the channels on their small television.

  “Why don’t you just leave it on one station?” Deena complained.

  “I can’t concentrate. I keep wondering what’s going on out there. Do you hear that?”

  “I don’t hear anything.”

  “Neither do I.” He set the remote on the nightstand. “It’s too quiet. I’m going out there.”

  “Suit yourself. It’s your choice if you want to see your mother making out with our neighbor.”

  “That’s just disgusting.” Gary got up and opened the bedroom door slowly. He coughed, and then pulled the door shut behind him with a bang.

  Deena jumped out of the bed and walked over to the door, putting her ear against it so she could listen. Nothing. What was going on out there? She heard Gary’s footsteps and jumped back into the bed.

  Gary came in. “The coast is clear. He’s gone.”

  Deena set her reading glasses on top of her book. “So, are you going to talk to her?”

  Sylvia walked up behind Gary. “You two can stop hiding now. Come out here. I need to talk to you.”

  That was a turn of events Deena had not expected. She wanted to talk to us. Deena grabbed her robe and slippers and followed Gary into the den.

  “Mother, I don’t want you hanging around with that guy,” Gary said as though he were lecturing his teenage daughter.

  “See here, son. You’ll not be telling me who I can and cannot see. I can’t believe how judgmental you two have been. I’ll have you know that Edwin is not at all like you think he is.”

  Sylvia went on to tell them about Edwin and how he lost his wife and his dog. The person she described was a lonely, caring individual who Deena and Gary had never bothered to get to know.

  “I feel just terrible,” Deena said. “I never even knew he had been married. He’s lived alone over there ever since we moved in.”

  Gary looked at Deena. “To think, all this time he’s been watching the dog and not you. I guess we just assumed he was a nut job, like the people you see on TV.”

  Sylvia pulled off her clip-on rhinestone earrings. “It’s like I always say: you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

  That was the second time Deena had heard that saying today. First, it was about the O’Malleys, now it was about their neighbor. And, it was certainly true for the Abbotts.

  Deena tucked in her tail and headed back to the bedroom. She thought about Darlene. Deena’s suspicions were pulling her in that direction. She hated to think that her hunch might be true. Tomorrow she would pay a visit to Darlene to see why she had quit her job so suddenly. Hopefully, there was a simple explanation.

  Not only had Darlene despised Ray, she knew he was blackmailing her boss. However, even more curious was why she was in contact with Julius Dunbar. Darlene had a lot of explaining to do.

  Hurley trotted in to take his usual spot at the end of the bed. Deena remembered the pooch she had helped rescue from Ray's house that was the spitting image of Hurley. She would talk it over with Sylvia first, but Deena had an idea that might help relieve some of Edwin Cooper's loneliness.

  She picked up the dog and scratched his ears. Sometimes we rescue pets, and sometimes they rescue us.

  Chapter 25

  Brown and gold leaves fell like rain as Deena pulled up in front of Ian’s building. A cold Northern had blown in overnight, dropping the temperature down to the low fifties. That was cold for Texas in November. Deena blew on her hands to warm them up, wishing she had dug out her winter gloves. It looked like Rob and Ian were already there.

&nbs
p; Once again, Deena had forgotten her travel mug and hoped there would be a pot of hot coffee waiting for her inside. She looked in the mirror to see if the makeup she had applied had done anything to conceal the bags under her eyes. It was going to be another long day.

  She couldn’t wait to tell Ian about Stephanie’s confession to lying about Wendy. She wouldn’t be able to tell him about the Abbotts. Not yet anyway. She had promised Detective Guttman she would keep that part a secret for now.

  The foyer seemed cold and damp. “Is the heat on?” she asked Rob, who was at the front desk still wearing his jacket and stirring his coffee.

  “It takes a while to warm up these old buildings. Give it an hour, and it will be nice and toasty in here.”

  “An hour—better get a head start with some hot coffee.” She walked back to her office.

  While she was doctoring up her cup with cream and sugar, Rob stuck his head inside the break room. “Ian’s looking for you.”

  Deena picked up her cup and grabbed the satchel from her desk.

  Ian’s office was even messier than usual. That was a good sign. Generally, the more work he had, the better his mood. He should be ecstatic today.

  “Ready for some good news?” she asked. “I think the case against Wendy just got a whole lot weaker.”

  “Why is that? Did you get Stephanie Gander to come clean?”

  “I sure did. It’s like my new cologne is full of truth serum. And get this, she told me she had been bribed to lie about Wendy. You’ll never guess who did it.” Without waiting for a response, she added, “None other than Julius Dunbar.”

  “You mean the guy who works for Terrance O’Malley?”

  “Bingo!”

  Ian rubbed his hands together like a sinister cartoon character plotting out his next diabolical move. “I can’t wait to meet with the DA and present him this information. He’ll have to think long and hard about keeping the charges against Wendy. Got anything else?”

  Deena suddenly felt cornered. Guttman made her promise not to tell anyone she was working for him. She had agreed because she wanted to help Wendy. Could she really keep the information about Reverend Abbott’s gambling problem and his being blackmailed by Ray from her boss?

  “Deena? Is there something else going on?”

  “I can’t tell you, not yet anyway.”

  The look on Ian’s face said she was treading on thin ice.

  She leaned forward and put her hand on the desk. “You trust me, don’t you? You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt our client.”

  “I don’t like this. I don’t like you keeping secrets from me. But, yes, I trust you, and if you think this is the best thing, so be it. When will you be able to fill me in?”

  “I have another lead. As soon as I check it out, I’ll let you know what I find.” She waited for his reaction.

  He leaned back and swiveled in his chair. “All right. But I want a full report when you’re done. By the way, does Detective Guttman know about Julius Dunbar and Stephanie?”

  “I’m not sure. He needs to know, don’t you think?” If Ian agreed, she’d have the green light to talk to Guttman without going behind her boss’s back.

  “Hold off on saying anything to him. I want to sucker punch the DA with the news that their star witness lied. Although, she may have told them already.”

  Deena’s throat clenched. She was walking a fine line now, like an acrobat balancing on a tightrope. One false move, and she’d fall face-first onto the ground. Lying was such a slippery slope. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to keep it up much longer. The sooner they could clear Wendy, the better. She stood up to leave.

  “Just one more thing,” Ian said. “I want to remind you that our sole purpose is to clear our client. Sometimes that means we have to do everything possible to find other suspects or even the true culprit. In this case, I think we have enough to get the charges dropped.”

  Had he read her mind? Did he suspect she was in too deep? “What exactly are you saying?”

  “You don’t need to be out there playing junior cop anymore. Let the police do their job. Remember, if Ray Brewster was murdered, there’s a killer out there who doesn’t want to get caught. I don’t want you to get yourself hurt.”

  She nodded and walked out. Believe me, neither do I.

  THE LAKESIDE APARTMENTS were hardly lakeside. If you stood on a second-floor balcony and leaned just so, you might have a chance of seeing the trees that lined the lake, but certainly the water itself was out of view. Still, it was a popular complex for single mothers, divorced dads, and others looking for reasonable rent and a safe neighborhood.

  Darlene lived on the first floor around back by the pool. Deena glanced at the greenish water covered in leaves. Looked like the pool boy had taken the autumn off. Deena found Darlene’s apartment. A fall wreath decorated the front door.

  Deena rang the bell. Not hearing anything, she pushed it again and waited. The curtains were drawn or else she’d have tried to look inside. She knocked, but there was still no answer. No doormat. She lifted up a pot of dead plants and looked for a key. Nothing. The apartment complex had a bank of mailboxes for the residents, so she couldn’t snoop to see if the mail had been checked recently.

  Finally, she decided to write a note for Darlene to call her and shoved it through the small slit on her mailbox.

  The last thing Deena wanted was to go back to the church to get Darlene’s cell phone number. That might lead to an awkward run-in with Reverend Abbott. Left with few other options, she decided to call the church. If Abbott answered, she would hang up.

  Sitting in her car, she dialed the number and held her breath. Luckily, Mrs. Barrington answered. Deena had taught all three of her children. She asked for the number and Mrs. Easton gladly supplied it. Finally, some small-town luck.

  Deena got back out of the car and stood by Darlene’s door. She busied herself with her phone, waiting until a man who was walking his dog made his way past. She called the number, putting her ear next to the door jamb to listen for ringing inside. Either she was not there or those apartments were super insulated.

  As a last resort, she tried the doorknob and was actually relieved to find it locked. Breaking and entering was not really her cup of tea. It was time to talk to Detective Guttman.

  As she drove downtown to the police station, she tried to get her story straight. She wouldn’t mention talking to Stephanie, in order to keep her promise to Ian. But, she could tell him about Charlie calling and talking to the Abbotts.

  Should she tell him about Darlene and that she may have been in contact with Julius Dunbar? If Guttman didn’t know about Stephanie being bribed, then he may not find the call from Dunbar at the church all that suspicious.

  Deena would have to choose her words carefully. And speaking of careful, was she being followed again?

  DETECTIVE GUTTMAN WANTED to meet at his secret country road hideout where he had taken Deena two days earlier. She looked in the mirror at her hair. The detergent had made it fade a bit, but she still looked like a cartoon version of herself.

  In order to find Guttman’s location, Deena had to drive to the salon first and start from there. Gary often teased her about her terrible sense of direction.

  When she pulled up, Guttman was there waiting. He motioned for her to get in his car.

  “What have you found out?” he asked. “Something good I hope. The clock is ticking, and we need a break in this case or else Mayor Thornhill is going to win the election and continue to make my life miserable.”

  “Not to mention an innocent person is locked up in jail. Anyway, as it turns out, those were indeed Reverend Abbott’s bookie sheets. He denied it at first, but I wormed it out of him. Also, Ray Brewster had found out Abbott was gambling and threatened to tell his wife. Abbott was paying him off to stay silent.”

  “Sounds like a motive for murder if you ask me.”

  “Not so fast. He explained everything, and I think he was telling the truth when he
said he didn’t kill Ray.”

  Guttman twisted his lips. “Nothing personal, but I think I should check him out on the down low. Not that you don’t have good instincts, but there’s a lot riding on this case. Besides, his wife is a nurse. She could’ve been an accomplice as well.”

  “I talked to her, too. Let me tell you how it all went down.” Deena described the call from Charlie, Helen’s job, and Reverend Abbott coming in and verifying what they were saying.

  “Is there a chance you were set up? Maybe they staged the whole thing to convince you they weren’t involved.”

  “I really don’t think so. But there’s more. Someone else knew that Ray was blackmailing Reverend Abbott. Someone who couldn’t stand Ray. I think you interviewed her. Darlene Watson, the church secretary.”

  “You think she might have been involved?”

  “For one, she had access to the church allergy shots and one was missing from the box in her desk drawer. For another, I think she was in contact with Julius Dunbar.”

  “He’s the thug that works for Terrance O’Malley, right?”

  “Yes, and according to Wendy, O’Malley went through him to try to bribe her into breaking off her engagement with David. Who’s to say he didn’t pay off Darlene to kill Ray and set up Wendy?”

  “Sounds like you’re fishing to me. You’re looking for a scapegoat to protect the Abbotts. If O’Malley wanted Wendy out of the picture that badly, why wouldn’t they just have her disposed of?”

  Deena didn’t have an answer. She so badly wanted to tell him about Stephanie’s confession to lying. “I don’t know what to tell you. You asked me to check out the Abbotts and I did. Maybe you should do your own police work and leave me out of it.” She reached for the door handle.

  “Now hold on, Deena. Don’t go getting your panties in a wad.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You know what I mean. I appreciate what you’ve done. I’ll hold off on following up on the Abbotts for now. But what about this secretary? Have you talked to her?”