A Darcy Sweet Mystery Box Set Six

by K. J. Emrick

  Darcy switched the intercom off. She didn’t need to hear any more of this. Once more, they had arrested someone who might have been the killer and wasn’t.

  That left them with Jess O’Conner as their one and only suspect. If they could find her.

  She decided to just leave Jon a note and meet him back at home. There was nothing more she could do here, and she had been away from their kids long enough today as it was.

  Speaking of which, there they were.

  At the front of the police station was where the workspace was for the officers, and where the filing cabinets kept all of the case files for the department, and over in the corner was the dispatch equipment for radio communication between the patrol cars and the station. It wasn’t used much anymore. Not in the era of cellphones and internet messaging services. So for the most part it was just where the desk sergeant manned the front service window for the lobby.

  Now that same desk sergeant was acting as temporary baby sitter.

  Darcy knew Sergeant Sean Fitzwallis, and although their relationship had been shaky at times, she considered him a good friend. He was a very old man, thin and gray in a uniform that hung loosely from his shoulders, but anyone who assumed he was frail was in for a big surprise. He’d been part of Misty Hollow’s police force for as long as anyone could remember, and possibly longer than that. He laughed with Colby as they sang a nonsense song for Zane about a donkey climbing a mountain during a snowstorm. He let Colby make up the next line, and Zane clapped and babbled as if he was singing along.

  Darcy took a moment to watch them playing. It made her happy to see her kids just being kids. She was so lucky to be their mother. God had truly blessed her with these two kids.

  “Oh, hey,” Sean said when he saw her. “There’s your mother, kids. Guess it’s time for you to go.”

  “Thanks, Sean.” Darcy caught Colby as she ran across the floor and into her arms. “There you are! Did you have fun with Sergeant Fitzwallis?”

  “He’s funny,” Colby said. “I like him. He’s got a voice like an angel.”

  Darcy bit her tongue. Colby was more right about that than she knew. “Well. Who’s ready to go home? I think we’ll have pizza for supper. How’s that sound?”

  “Yup, yup,” Zane said eagerly, reaching out for his mother to hold him, too. “P’za, p’za.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad we’re teaching you all the important words.” She set Colby down on her feet and then lifted her little boy out of Sean’s hands. “Thanks again. I promise not to make it a habit.”

  “You can count on me anytime,” Sean said to her. “You know that. Besides, I have a feeling that as long as Jon stays Chief, you’ll have lots of chances to call on old Sean Fitzwallis to watch these two wonderful kids.”

  “Mmm-hmm, sure. As long as he stays.”

  Sean gave her one of those knowing smiles he did so well. “Every man thinks he knows when he’s had enough. Thing is, no man knows when he’s had enough, until he’s had too much.”

  Darcy stared him down, maybe a little more angrily than she meant to. “Jon has almost died for this job, Sean. He’s put himself in danger more times than I can remember. He’s lost his family to this job. There’s so much that we’ve given up for this job, how can you possibly say he hasn’t had too much already?”

  “The strength of a man like Jon Tinker is close to infinite, Darcy. Jon’s still got more to give.” He scratched at his forehead, and added, “Now, if he’s going to give it all up because he’s tired and he wants to rest for a while, nobody’s going to hold that against him. If he quits just because things get tough sometimes… well, that’s just not the Jon Tinker I know. Everybody respects him, Darcy. Maybe me most of all.”

  Colby ran up and gave Sean one last hug. “I think my dad likes you too,” she whispered loudly in his ear.

  Sean mussed her hair. “Well I sure enough like your daddy, and your mommy, too. Know what? I like you too, little Starshine.”

  Darcy told them it was time to go, and thanked Sean again. He’d been like one of the family for a while now. It was good to know he would continue being a friend to the next generation of the Tinker-Sweet family.

  Chapter 7

  One more day until the Fourth of July, and the music in town was still driving Darcy absolutely bonkers.

  If she wasn’t at her wits end with this murder mystery, then maybe she would be able to concentrate more on enjoying the holiday spirit. Izzy had been humming away the whole morning as they helped customers find books that they wanted, or refilled the coffee maker at the tables off to the side of the store by the tables, or fielded questions about who wrote that book with the man who did the thing with the car.

  Thankfully, they were used to questions like that. Usually they could figure out what book the customer wanted after ten questions or so.

  Ordinarily they would have been closed on a Sunday but with all the hoopla in the town she doubted there was anyone who was closed today. So they had decided to open up until noon and reap the benefits of the warm day and the happy tourists. It was like this all over town. Pastor Phin probably had a packed house in his church, even. No doubt there were plenty of people who wanted to hit up a service and give a few dollars to a collection plate before going off to spend ten dollars on a scented beeswax candle from Jessie Rivers’ homemade honey store, or whatever.

  Not that Darcy minded some of that money coming her way. Even on a Sunday. When you owned your own business, there weren’t many days in your schedule that were dedicated to rest. She was going to have to find time to go to one of Pastor Phin’s services next weekend though and put a few dollars of her own windfall in that collection plate. Every small town in America survived on the charity of its people. Misty Hollow was no exception.

  Today, Colby was running up and down the stacks, in between all the people, picking up books that were somehow managing to fall off the shelves when no one was looking. Aunt Millie was taking advantage of her favorite great niece being here to play a game with her. Zane was in the office, his playpen crammed into the already cramped space. He’d dropped off for a nap the last time Darcy had checked on him. That was five minutes ago. She liked bringing her kids to the store, but she still didn’t like to have them out of her eyesight for very long. She could imagine it would be a lot of years before she would ever be comfortable with that.

  Izzy laughed as Colby picked up a book from the children’s section and put it back, only to have the one right next to it fall off instead. That went on for a few minutes as customers came and went. Darcy had noticed how several of them were stopping to watch Colby. A couple of them even took out their cellphones to record what was going on. She finally realized that they were here because of what happened yesterday. They’d heard the rumors of the books that had fallen all by themselves. Now they were seeing it for themselves.

  The haunted bookstore. Add that to all of the other curious places in Misty Hollow.

  Fantastic.

  “Millie,” Darcy whispered behind her cupped hand, “knock it off before we go viral, will you?”

  In response to that, two books fell at the same time. Colby absolutely squealed with laughter. Darcy sighed, and glared at the books, and after that the game was done. Millie’s fun was over. At least for now. When the people recording with their cellphones realized that was the end of the show, a few of them walked away disappointed. Darcy was almost afraid to think of what she would find plastered all over the internet tomorrow.

  As the door opened again, and the music of George Gershwin came through for the umpteenth time to grate on Darcy’s nerves, she saw it wasn’t tourists coming into the shop this time. Instead it was Jozelle and Althea, smiling and holding on to their matching clutch purses. Their dresses were a near match again, too, both of them purple and breezy.

  “Well,” Darcy said to Izzy, “I definitely didn’t expect to see them again. At least not this quickly.”

  “I think you’ve got two new fans,” I
zzy chuckled. “That’s Darcy Sweet for you. Making friends wherever she goes.”

  Darcy playfully slapped her friend on the shoulder as she walked past, on her way to meet Jozelle and Althea. The two old ladies waited for her with smiles on their faces. “Hello, Darcy,” Jozelle said. “We’ve heard lots of people around town talking about your store today. We thought we’d stop by.”

  “And see what all the fuss was about,” Althea added.

  “Right,” said Jozelle.

  “Exactly,” said Althea.

  “Oh, my store gets its share of excitement,” Darcy decided to say. Everyone knew about her and her store, and their reputation for attracting the odd and the weird and the bizarre. She supposed that the sisters had been pretty much housebound for a while, and only now did they have the freedom they needed to get reacquainted with the town. Darcy remembered seeing them around town sometimes, here and there, getting groceries or treats from the deli and the bakery before it burnt down. Never for very long, and they never mingled with anyone. They’d spent so much time taking care of their father that they hadn’t had time for themselves. Now, they had a second chance to live, even if it was coming to them so late in life.

  “Speaking of excitement,” Jozelle said with a sly nod of her head.

  “We wanted to invite you,” Althea beamed.

  “To the reading,” Jozelle said.

  “Of our father’s will,” Althea added.

  Merlon’s last will and testament? Darcy was surprised. As people swirled around them through the shop, she stood there looking from one of the sisters to the other. “You want me there? When the will is read?”

  “Well, certainly,” Jozelle said.

  “You’re our new friend,” Althea told her. “We want you to see what all the trouble has been about.”

  “Someone died for it, after all,” Jozelle whispered, as if it was a big secret.

  “Two someones,” Althea corrected her sister. “Our father, and also your son Steve.”

  “I know that, Althea.”

  “Well, so does Darcy, Jozelle.”

  “I know she knows it, you old crone.”

  “Then why did you say it?”

  “Because I want her to know she’s welcome, that’s why.”

  “Oh, Jozelle.”

  “Oh, Althea.”

  Darcy reached out and put a hand on each of their shoulders, bringing their attention back to her. “Of course I’ll be there, if you want me to be. Thank you. I’m sorry but I don’t really have time to visit with you right now. My children are here with me and I really should go check on my son and make sure he’s still asleep. Can I help you find some books before you go?”

  “Oh, no,” Althea told her immediately. “We’ve never had much time for books.”

  “I prefer to watch television,” Jozelle said.

  “Our stories, mostly.”

  “Yes, our daytime soaps.”

  “One of them is in Spanish.”

  Before the conversation got completely out of hand, Darcy jumped back in. “I’ll be happy to be there, if you want me. Just let me know when and where.”

  “At our house, of course,” Jozelle said.

  “It’s tonight, actually,” Althea said. “We want to get this done and over with now that Jozelle’s poor son has died. Gloria is on her way to prison, I expect. There simply isn’t anyone left in the family. We insisted that lawyer of ours do the reading now.”

  “Like you said,” Jozelle added.

  Althea finished the thought, “There’s no reason to wait.”

  That wasn’t exactly what Darcy had meant but she couldn’t disagree, either. These two deserved whatever they were going to get from their late father’s will. They also deserved an answer to the mystery of who killed Steve.

  And unfortunately for Darcy, she knew one way to get it. She needed to go to the source because right now all she had was a whole bunch of unanswered questions.

  Jess O’Conner was their last suspect, but did that mean it was her? There was a whole town out there who hated Steve Nelson for what he did all those years ago. Anyone who had lived in Misty Hollow back then could be a suspect. Even Helen’s current husband Bruce had talked on and on about how much he hated Steve. Darcy had a feeling that if Steve had showed up on Helen’s doorstep to so much as apologize, Bruce would have strangled the man to death with his own two bare hands…

  Oh, no.

  It couldn’t be him. It had to be Jess O’Conner. Or someone else. Anyone else. It just couldn’t be nice, sweet Bruce Turner.

  Could it?

  If there was one thing that Darcy had learned after all this time, it was that anyone could be the killer. Anyone.

  That made what she was planning to do all that more important. If she could think of any way to avoid it, she would, but this mystery had her stumped. So, she was going to have to look past the fact that she absolutely hated Steve and do a spirit communication to call up his ghost.

  Even if she didn’t want to.

  Well. No sense putting it off any longer.

  “Will you two excuse me?” she said to Jozelle and Althea. “I, um, have something to do.”

  “Absolutely, dear,” Jozelle said.

  “We have somewhere to be ourselves,” Althea told her. “We need to get ready.”

  “For tonight,” Jozelle added.

  “For,” Althea clarified, “the reading of the will.”

  Then they turned and walked out of the book store, linked arm in arm, and Darcy hoped she would have an answer for them about who had killed Steve Nelson sometime soon. They deserved to know. One way or another, Darcy promised to find the answer for them. Either Jon would find Jess O’Conner, or Darcy would find an answer from Steve.

  Reluctantly, she put Bruce Turner on the list of suspects. He’d given Helen part of her alibi, but did he have one of his own for the rest of the time?

  She rushed back to the checkout counter where Izzy was patiently waiting for her with a little knowing smile.

  “Izzy, would you mind—?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Darcy blinked at her. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”

  “Yes I do,” Izzy told her. “Darcy, how long have we known each other? We’ve been friends for years. I know you. I know you need to help everyone you can, and I know this town wouldn’t be the same without you. Know what else I know?”

  Darcy stuck out her hip and crossed her arms in mock annoyance. “Okay, my all-knowing friend. Why don’t you just tell me what you know?”

  “I know that you’re about to ask me if I can watch your kids while you go home and… do what you do.”

  Izzy was right, of course. She knew exactly what Darcy was planning to do. Over the course of several conversations, over their years of friendship, Darcy had revealed a little bit of what she could do to her friend. Her gift for seeing ghosts. Izzy had listened to every word and then she had accepted Darcy just the way she was. It had been a real blessing. Darcy found that having a few good people who knew what made her special really took away some of the burden of her gift. She didn’t have to pretend all the time when she was around Izzy. Not that she knew half the things about it that Jon did, but she knew enough to know Darcy was planning on going home to do a communication.

  Knowing that, she was offering to help.

  Darcy rolled her eyes as a grin tugged at her lips. “Fine. You got me. I swear, Izzy, sometimes I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

  From across the counter Izzy put her hand over Darcy’s. “You aren’t taking advantage of a friend when they offer to help. Go on. I’ll be fine here. We’re only going to be open for a couple of more hours anyway, and after that I’ll walk your kids home to you. Zane’s stroller is here, and Colby can help me out around the shop until then. Right Colby?”

  Darcy hadn’t heard her daughter sneaking up, but there she was, stretching up on her tiptoes to look over the top of the counter. She was smaller than a lot
of kids her age, but Darcy had a feeling she would hit her growth spurt soon. After all, her father was over six feet tall. In the meantime, she made up for her smaller size by having a really big heart.

  “I’m a good helper,” Colby said to Izzy. “I know where all the books are in the store. Even the ones I’m not supposed to read yet.”

  Izzy shared a look with Darcy. They had both seen Colby hanging around the romance novels when she wasn’t chasing after the books Aunt Millie kept dropping off the stacks. Apparently, Darcy told herself, she would have to have another conversation with her young daughter about when she would be allowed to read adult books. Colby might think she was a mature woman stuck in a little girl’s body, but it was going to be a good long while before Darcy would let her read steamy romance paperbacks. Years. Lots of years. Like when Colby was thirty. If then.

  For now, she had something important to do.

  “Okay, honey.” Darcy bent down and held her daughter tight, kissing the top of her head. “Thanks for being such a good kid. Sometimes grownups need to do things that take us away from our kids even when we don’t want to.”

  “I know, Mom,” Colby said. “You and Dad have important jobs. There’s still work to do in our town and nobody gets to quit when there’s still work to do. Right?”

  Darcy thought that was a very good way of putting it. Obviously, she was doing something right, if her daughter had turned out to be this smart. Darcy was more than willing to take credit for that one. Maybe not for Colby’s love of campy sci-fi shows, though. That one was all Jon.

  Together, they’d made a couple of truly amazing children.

  Back at home, Darcy cleared a space for herself in the living room. It meant moving Zane’s highchair, and several of his toys, and putting books away on their shelves like the kids should have done in the first place. Preparing the space she would need was always the first step in a spirit communication. Not exactly something she could do at the drop of a hat.

  When that was done, she went up to her room to get her communication kit. It had to be kept locked away now, because Colby had already shown too much interest in performing communications just like her mom did. And, just like those steamy romance novels in the bookstore, this was something that a ten-year-old just wasn’t ready for.