“How should we approach this?” Jo’s whisper prompted me from my scrutiny of Fiona’s cabin in the woods.
In addition to being charming in a rustic nature sort of way, the cabin also seemed well-maintained, as though Fiona had been preparing to either move into the home or sell it. My hope it would be a dilapidated shack we could get into without much effort was quickly laid to rest.
“Let’s try the back.” I led the way to the rear of the cabin.
It was well after six PM. The evening sun cast longer shadows now, but we had almost three hours of daylight left. We could see clearly, but others could see us too. We moved fast, trying to act as natural as possible so we didn’t draw attention to ourselves. The last thing we needed was for a vigilant neighbor to report our admittedly suspicious activity to the sheriff’s department. I didn’t want to have to explain our trespassing to Jed or Errol. I checked over my shoulder again before Jo and I ducked behind the cabin.
“There are four windows.” She pointed toward the cabin.
Five steps led to the cedar deck, which was a little bigger than mine. Four windows were set, two each on either side of the backdoor.
“Let’s hope one of these windows is open.” I climbed the steps to the deck.
This time, my wish came through. The first three windows were locked. But the fourth, offset from the deck, gave when we pushed up on the windowpane. It didn’t open all the way, just enough for a smaller person to attempt to wiggle through.
Jo gave me an expectant look. I wasn’t happy about it, but I capitulated without a word.
I turned to face the deck railing. “This reminds me of all the times Dre and I forgot our house keys. After school, if Mom and Dad were still at work, I’d have to crawl through the window and let him into the house.”
Jo probably had the tougher job, though. I needed her to help balance me as I climbed over the deck railing and into the window. My not-breaking-and-entering landed me in the cabin’s kitchen. Gaining my feet, I pulled my gloves snug again before rushing toward the backdoor. My elbow knocked against something—a wooden rolling pin—on the corner of the kitchen counter. That was a weird place for a rolling pin. Why wasn’t it in a drawer? I steadied it as it started to topple over, then opened the backdoor for Jo.
“Are you okay?” Jo looked me over.
“Yes, thanks.”
She did a visual sweep of the interior. “Do you want to split up?”
I heard an ominous “click” right before Willy Pelt stepped out from behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the great room. My gaze dropped to the gun he pointed at us.
Willy’s voice was flat; his face expressionless. “Y’all want to go right back out that door.”
Chapter 31
In my peripheral vision, I saw Jo raise her hands. I followed suit and tried to ignore how badly my legs were shaking. “What happens after we leave? Will you let us go, or will you follow us?”
Jo inhaled sharply. All the color had leeched from her face. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. Even her hair was motionless.
Willy’s eyes narrowed. “D’y’all think I’m stupid? I’m going to follow you, of course.”
His response was barely audible over the pounding of my heart. I was so scared. It was a toss-up as to what would happen first. I would either pass out, throw up, or wet myself. I struggled to slow my breathing. I needed to think. My mind was screaming, Keep him talking! Just keep him talking!
“And then what?” My voice wobbled as though I was crying.
“And then you and Ms. Jolene will disappear.” Willy’s voice was as cold and heartless as his words.
Jo cut off a sob. My attention shifted to her. If she fell apart, so would I. I wanted to use our silent communication to urge her to be strong. But my gaze dropped to the rolling pin lying on the kitchen counter behind her. When I’d opened the door for her, we’d inadvertently switched positions. Now she was within grabbing distance of the rolling pin.
I returned my attention to Willy as my mind raced to form a plan. “We can’t just disappear. We have friends, family, and coworkers. Jo has a business.” I caught her gaze and used mine to direct her to the rolling pin behind her before meeting Willy’s eyes again. “People would search for us.”
“So what?” He waved the gun dangerously. “I’ll be long gone and forgotten by then. They haven’t connected me to Fiona’s murder. Why would they connect me to yours?”
“So you did kill her?” I needed to move. I needed to keep Willy’s attention on me and away from Jo to create an opportunity for her to act. But I was too scared to convince my legs to work.
I glanced at Jo and read my terror in her eyes. Marvey, I can’t.
I dug deep, trying to find even a drop of courage for both of us. Please, Jo, please take this chance with me.
Willy responded to my question with a question of his own. “How did you figure it out?”
“Buddy told someone he’d ‘stolen’ Fiona away from a younger man. You were that man. You and Fiona were going to be married, but then Fiona met Buddy.” I forced my legs to step away from Jo and the door, drawing Willy’s attention with me.
“I begged her not to break our engagement.” He kept his gun trained on me. ”Buddy Hayes wasn’t good enough for her. He was a failed businessman with no ambition.”
“But Fiona was in love with him. She wasn’t in love with you.” I took another, larger step away from Jo and the door. Willy’s back was almost completely turned toward her.
“What are you doing?” He waved the gun. “Get back to the door.”
I held his gaze. “Your engagement was a business arrangement. You didn’t love her and she knew it. You wanted to marry Fiona for the money and property she’d inherited from her uncle, your biggest client.” I stepped back, further angling him away from Jo.
“Stop. Moving.” Willy raised his voice.
“Killing Fiona was a crime of passion.” I was counting on his “passionate” nature to keep him blinded to everything except me, giving Jo the opportunity to strike him with the rolling pin. “You proposed to her again, didn’t you? At the bookstore. How did you know she was a widow?”
Willy’s lips curled in disdain. “I read about Hayes’s death on the internet months ago and immediately proposed.”
That probably hadn’t been a good idea. “Of course, because in your mind, she was free to marry you.”
“And she said no!” He was shouting now, almost out of control in his anger. The gun was still pointed at me. “She kept saying no every time I asked her. When I found out about her book signing, I decided to come to Peach Coast and ask her again, in person.” Willy’s back was to Jo now. He couldn’t see her. He was so angry, I didn’t think he could see me, either. But the gun was still on me. “I got so mad. I shoved her. She fell.”
This was Jo’s opportunity.
“Then I was stabbing her—” Suddenly he crumbled. The gun dropped from his hand and he fell, unconscious, to the ground.
Jo stood over him, her eyes wide, one hand covering her mouth, the other clutching the rolling pin. “My God, Marvey. Have I killed him?”
I crossed to her on shaky legs and kicked the gun out of Willy’s reach. I kneeled beside him, searching for a pulse in his neck. “No, he’s alive.” I looked up at her. “And so are we, thanks to you.”
“No.” The rolling pin clattered on the ground as she dropped down beside me and wrapped her arms around me. “It was all thanks to you.”
“Okay, then we did it together.” I tightened my hold on her. “And now that we’ve closed our investigation, let’s never do this again.”
Our first call was to Spence—after we’d tied up Willy to the best of our ability. Spence called the deputies. Although he drove separately, and Jed and Errol used their lights and sirens to speed through town to the crime scene, Spence ar
rived at the same time as them.
Jo and I spotted his car pulling up behind the deputies’ cruisers at the end of the walkway. He’d barely stepped from his sedan when we raced toward him, throwing ourselves into his embrace. The three of us stood in a silent group hug, giving and taking strength from each other.
Chapter 32
“‘Cobbler Crawl’ is aptly named.” I braced my hands on my knees as I fought off a wave of nausea after the fifth annual Peach Coast Cobbler Crawl late Saturday morning. “I almost ended the race that way, by crawling.”
Conversely, Spence, my race partner, stood beside me, looking like he could run another three-and-a-half-mile event. Jo, Corrinne, Floyd, Viv, and Adrian had gathered around us to offer their congratulations.
“But, Marvey, you and Spence won.” In my current mood, Jo’s laughter seemed to be in poor taste, since I wasn’t convinced I wouldn’t soon be revisiting at least one of those servings of cobbler.
“Not bad for our first Cobbler Crawl.” Spence had already started plans to defend our title at next year’s event.
I had to nip that in the bud. “Our first and last.” I cautiously straightened, then waited to make sure the nausea had passed.
Jo shook her head in mock chastisement. “This from the woman who faced down an armed gunman.”
It had been five days since Jo and I had put our lives in danger to clear her name and had caught Fiona Lyle-Hayes’s killer in the process. Willy Pelt had confessed to killing Fiona and attempting to kill us.
He’d also set off my motion sensors during his prowl around my home, booby-trapped my chair, invited the snake into my car, and tried to run me over with a car he’d rented to direct suspicion away from himself. All of those acts had been attempts to frame Bobby for Fiona’s murder.
After reading the account of Willy’s capture and my role in it in their online version of The Peach Coast Crier, my parents and my brother had called in a panic. Understandably. Almost a week later, I was still trying to calm them down.
I’d assured them in a dozen different ways that I wasn’t going to do anything like this again, but my words weren’t having any effect. That was why Phoenix and I were preparing for a surprise family visit any day now.
I scowled. “Jed and Errol still owe you an apology.”
“Marvey, they did apologize.” Jo spread her arms, drawing attention to her Florida Gator tattoo, which matched the image screened onto her bright orange T-shirt. “And customer traffic in To Be Read is getting back to normal. Slowly.”
“Humph.” I wiped the sweat from my eyes with the back of my right wrist. “If they hadn’t been so focused on you, they would’ve found the truth before things got out of hand.”
Spence and I chugged bottles of water as Jo and the librarians led us through the crowd to the event parking lot. It looked like all of Peach Coast had come to either participate in or cheer on the fundraising event, which started and ended at the Mathilda Taylor Beasley Park & Recreational Center. It was a beautiful day for the event and a lovely venue in which to hold it. The sun was smiling brilliantly. A cool breeze played tag with the Sugar Maples. The sky was a warm azure with only wisps of clouds sailing past.
Corrinne turned to catch my eye. “Actually, Marvey, they should thank you. If it wasn’t for you, they would’ve committed a miscarriage of justice and a murderer would’ve gone free.”
I swallowed a drink of water as I shook my head. “You’re giving me too much credit, Corrinne.” I swept my arm to indicate her, Spence, Jo, Floyd, Viv, and Adrian. “Everyone contributed something to this inquiry’s success.”
Jo looked around the group with a shaky smile. “I really can’t thank everyone enough. This tragedy could have become a personal nightmare.”
Floyd gestured toward Jo with the box of peach cobbler he was carrying away from the event. “Just remember us when you get the library donor package in the mail next month.”
Spence opened another bottle of water. “Jo, we have a dinner party to plan.”
“Oh, that’s right.” She grinned, clapping her hands.
I laughed, remembering her disappointment from being excluded from our librarians’ dinner party and that Spence had cheered her up by promising to host a special dinner party once we cleared Jo’s name.
“Uh-oh.” Adrian did his best impersonation of a subdued warning system. “Here comes Ms. Delores Polly at ten o’clock.”
I was so surprised my water went down the wrong pipe, which triggered a coughing fit. Six sets of arms tried to assist by pounding on my back. I was fortunate enough to wiggle free before their caring bruised me. I dried my eyes and caught my breath in time to see Delores march up to Jo.
“Jolene Gomez.” The older woman stood a few inches below Jo’s five-foot-eight-inch height, but still seemed to be scowling down on her.
“Yes, Ms. Delores.” Jo sounded understandably wary. “How can I help you, ma’am?”
“By accepting my apology.” Delores didn’t even crack a smile. “When I’m wrong, I admit it.”
Around me, I sensed a collective sigh of relief from the group. During the inquiry, I’d shared with them Delores’s assertion—based on Betty’s word—Betty and Bobby were innocent, and Jo was guilty.
Delores continued. “I allowed myself to be duped by someone I considered to be a friend. This person led me to believe the worst about you, and for that I sincerely apologize. I’ve since had some strong words with this person. I’ve made it quite clear she’ll have to do much better if our friendship is to continue.”
Jo’s smile was warm and full of joy. It lit up her face and brought a smile to those of us around her. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Delores. For a moment, the other woman seemed startled by Jo’s reaction, then she returned the embrace.
Their image filled my heart. “Oh, I love happy endings.”
Beside me, Spence rested an arm around my shoulder, sharing the moment.
“Congratulations, Mr. Spence.” Mayor Byron Flowers’s booming voice came from behind us.
Spence turned, still with his arm on my shoulders, so we both faced the mayor. “Good morning, Mayor Flowers, and thank you. The congratulations aren’t just for me, though. My partner deserves them as well.”
The mayor’s cheeks pinkened. “Yes, yes. Of course. Congratulations, Ms. Marvey. So happy you were able to come out today to support this community fundraiser for a worthy cause. The money will help fund our hospital’s critical services.”
I smiled, taking in the public official’s tan carpenter shorts and navy Izod shirt. “Thank you, Mayor. I’m happy to support our hospital. May I ask you a question?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you have a library card?”
The End
Classic Peach Cobbler
A Hallmark Original Recipe
In Murder By Page One, peach cobbler is the dessert of choice for the people of Peach Coast, Georgia. They even have the Cobbler Crawl, a town fundraiser that centers around the tasty treat. Marvey, a librarian turned amateur sleuth, orders some with her mocha each morning before she goes to work. Our Classic Peach Cobbler is perfect for solving the mystery of what to serve for dessert; it’s easy to make, and so delicious, people will always come back for seconds.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
Serves: 10
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups ½-inch sliced peaches
3 cups Bisquick™
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Toss together 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juic
e and peaches. Portion into 4 (5’x5’) ramekins.
Combine Baking Mix, 1/2 cup sugar, butter and orange juice in bowl; mix until it forms a batter. Pour batter evenly over peaches.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
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Murder by Page One. We hope you enjoyed it!
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Dead-End Detective: A Piper and Porter Mystery
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About the Author
Olivia Matthews is the mystery pen name of Patricia Sargeant, an award-winning, bestselling author who also writes romance. Her work has been featured in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, and Library Journal. Her mysteries put ordinary people in extraordinary situations to have them find the hero inside.
For more information about the author and her work, visit PatriciaSargeant.com.
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