Shivers of Murder

by Gretchen Allen

  “I want you to go as far as you can in life and succeed in every way, just like I want that for Tonya and anyone else who works here. If you want to leave to go experience other things, I get that. I want the best for you. Just promise me that you’ll tell me your plans. I’ll never hold you back.”

  “I promise.”

  “Great. I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for jobs that might suit you,” Yvette told him.

  “What? My boss is going to find me another job?”

  Yvette laughed. “No. I’m not going to actively help you leave but if I see something I will absolutely tell you about it. See, I’m not so bad, right? You don’t need to hide things from me.”

  “You’re not bad at all. You’ve been there for me from the beginning, and I appreciate that. I’m sorry I was acting dumb.” Joey twisted his lips and looked up to Yvette with his best puppy dog eyes.

  “Put those away and get to work! I didn’t do any of the opening duties.”

  “Good. Because, you aren’t the opener today,” Joey retorted.

  “I know but I usually try and help. Anyway, I’m going in my office to set up a few interviews so holler if you need me.”

  “Will do, boss lady.”

  Once she got settled in her office at her desk, Yvette pulled out all the applications. Setting them down, she noticed a few more had come in online since the last time she’d looked. Scrolling through all the names and skimming their experience levels, Yvette came across an application that surprised her. She rolled her chair a little closer and opened the application all the way. Cyndee Martinson. There was no way it was the same Cyndee. It just so happened that there was another person in the tiny town of Heritage that Yvette didn’t know who spelled their name the same way as the woman who had just been brought in for extra questioning in the death of a man. Right?

  Digging deeper into the application, Yvette realized that it was, in fact, the same Cyndee. She recognized the town that Cyndee had mentioned when they’d shared a conversation over coffee. Smithfield. That certainly wasn’t in a decent location where Cyndee could travel back and forth every day. The commute was too long. Remembering that she’d said how much she loved the town, Yvette was afraid that the other woman may actually be considering moving to Heritage. If that were the case, it was even more important to find out if Cyndee was the one responsible for killing Jason. There was no way Yvette was going to knowingly let a killer move to her little town, and she definitely wasn’t going to hire her.

  Yvette went through a few more of the applications hoping that she’d recognize another one of the names from a situation other than murder. Not coming up with anything that really struck her as a good fit, she put everything away, making a note to try and call Cyndee later in the day. Maybe she’d be able to kill two birds with one stone. If Cyndee wasn’t the killer, she may not be a half bad employee.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hey, Dad!” Yvette said, hugging her father.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  “Could be better,” she admitted, stepping into the garage.

  “You here to take all this darn ice cream back?”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t eaten it yet,” she teased. “I’m here because I’m feeling stuck and talking to you always helps.”

  “What’s up?” he gestured for her to take a seat on his work bench.

  “Everything usually falls into place. Not because I think that’s how things work but because I try really hard to make them happen. We’re heading into the busy season and I’m short staffed. Heath is upset with me and I think Nate is too now. I was trying to play it cool, but I was worried about mom when all those people were here. I don’t know. I don’t typically stress out like this and I just can’t find a solution.”

  “First of all. I was worried about your mom as well, but from what I heard you were a huge help and the reason she was able to stay so calm. I want to thank you for that. You didn’t realize how helpful you were.”

  “Thanks. That makes things a little better,” Yvette gave her dad a genuine smile.

  “Second. A solution for what? New employees, or for who killed that boy?” Charlie gave his daughter a knowing look.

  “Of course I’m concerned about making sure the shop is covered!”

  “I know, and I also know you will handle that. You’ve never been anything less than an overachiever, especially when it comes to your career. I have no doubt you will pull together an amazing team. But, I don’t think that’s your real issue here. You want to solve a murder and you can’t and it has you in a tizzy.”

  “See. I knew I should come here. Even if you give me a hard time, you knew that I just needed to dig deeper into what the real issue was and your right. I am struggling.”

  “Why? Because you previously solved some? I mean, good for you. But, you aren’t in law enforcement… You shouldn’t worry about not being able to solve a murder.” Yvette’s dad sat down next to her.

  “I guess. I just feel really close to this one and I feel like I should be able to see right through it.”

  “You must have been pretty close to the others too since you felt the need to solve those,” Charlie pointed out.

  Yvette stifled a laugh. “Right again. I need something to do with myself, so I don’t keep stressing out. I need a hobby!” Yvette grinned.

  “I could use some help in the basement on a project…” her dad suggested.

  “I’ll pass, unless we can work on it in here. No Lockhart basement for me,” Yvette said, shaking her head. Her dad knew how much she hated the basement.

  “Fine,” he groaned. “When was the last time you did all that picture stuff? Gluing photos into a book with stickers or whatever it is?” he asked.

  “Scrapbooking?” Yvette laughed.

  “Sounds right.” He shrugged. “You used to love doing that.”

  “I have no idea. It’s been years. I don’t even know where all my stuff is.”

  “It’s here. Your mother never throws anything out, you know that. Everything you ever owned is still in this house somewhere,” he said, exaggerating.

  “Hmmm. It has been a really long time. Maybe I’ll check it out. I’ve taken so many pictures at Sundae Afternoon. I bet a scrapbook of all our memories would be a great gift to give to Tonya before she leaves! You are so smart!” Yvette said, high fiving her dad.

  “Glad to be of service,” he replied, shaking his head as Yvette dashed out of the garage and into the house.

  Yvette wasn’t sure where to look but she didn’t want to call her mom while she was at her book club meeting. Assuming that none of it was in the basement or the garage, she went first to the attic to see if anything was stored up there. There were several boxes labeled with her name on them, but none were her old crafting supplies. Next, she went to her bedroom, not sure they’d be in there since her mom had mentioned turning it into a reading room. Starting with her closet, she began to dig around. It wasn’t until she reached under her bed to see if anything had been stored under there that she found something. The first two boxes were labeled Yvette’s Photos and the next was a decent sized plastic tote about eight inches high, covered in stickers from her childhood. Jackpot. Her dad had been right. Yvette’s mother had kept all of her supplies and most of them were in the exact same condition they had been when she’d moved out all those years ago. The tote was filled to the brim with papers, stickers, ink and stamps and embossing powders. Everything inside the tote would be perfect for making a memory book for Tonya.

  Sliding the two boxes that held her old photos back under the bed, Yvette pulled the tote out even further, so she could start digging through it. She began removing things from the tote one by one until it was empty, figuring she’d just put back what she didn’t need and get a bag for the rest, so she could take it home. Standing up with an armful of scrapbook paper, an envelope slipped out from between the papers spilling sequins out all over the bed and rug below it.

  “Bette
r than glitter…” Yvette thought to herself, chuckling at how comical it would be if her mother came home to glitter embedded in her rug.

  She set the papers on her old bed and bent down to begin cleaning up her mess when she felt something crinkle under her fingers. Reaching a little further under the bed, she pulled out a plastic bag similar to one you’d get from a grocery store. Hoping for more supplies since she was having so much fun searching through her old things, Yvette untied the bag and peered inside. It looked as though it was just a few items of clothing inside, but she pulled them out anyway. She couldn’t imagine that her mother would have accidentally left a bag of rumpled clothes under her bed, so Yvette started picking the items out of the bag wondering if she’d find some old concert t-shirts. She didn’t recognize anything in the bag and had a sudden realization. Her mother had said that Shannon and Patrick had shared her bedroom while they were there. These were women’s clothes, so they must have belonged to Shannon. Yvette began tucking the items back in when she noticed a clothespin at the bottom of the bag.

  “Oh. Oh my gosh,” Yvette stuttered, dropping the bag to the floor.

  Think. Did Shannon really kill Jason and leave a bag with the evidence inside her mother’s house? Had a killer slept in the same bed Yvette had slept in as a child? That didn’t make any sense. Or maybe it did.

  Yvette couldn’t think straight so she pulled out the chair from her old desk and sat down. Patrick and Jason had been at the farm together and it sounded as though there could have been an argument between the two of them about the trolley. It must have been Patrick that called Cyndee to alert her that Jason had left the farm. That made her think Cyndee could have found him at the Bed and Breakfast and killed him while everyone else was busy at the tour. But, Shannon had a clothespin in a bag full of her clothing. Nothing was making sense. She had never expected Shannon.

  She didn’t want her parents to know what she’d found, so Yvette put the bag back under her bed and took the craft supplies she needed downstairs with her.

  “Dad?” she called.

  “Find what you were looking for?” he asked.

  “I sure did. Maybe even more than I’d hoped for.”

  “That’s great. I’m sure Tonya will cherish her gift.”

  “Thanks again, Dad,” Yvette said embracing her father.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Thanks for coming,” Yvette said.

  “No problem. Everything okay?” Nate asked, taking the porch steps two at a time.

  “For the most part. Just wanted your advice.”

  “Did you call me here to ask what color you should paint your door?” Nate laughed.

  Yvette crossed her arms. “I’ve already got my color picked out, thank you very much.”

  “What can I do to help then?”

  After explaining everything to Nate, Yvette cringed. She knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say and for all she knew, he’d turn around and leave.

  “So, what do you think?” she asked.

  “I haven’t thought about it nearly as much as you have,” he replied. “I don’t know. I mean, you found a clothespin in her clothes, the guy was strangled with a clothesline. That doesn’t seem coincidental. People don’t just carry clothespins with them, and I doubt she was hanging her laundry while she was here and forgot one in her pocket. Not the strongest evidence but it seems possible.”

  “So, what should we do then?” Yvette asked eagerly.

  “Tell my dad?” Nate suggested.

  “If you mean ask Shannon, then yes, I think that’s a great idea.”

  “Not at all what I meant…” Nate shook his head. “Look Yvette, I think it’s admirable that you want to fight the good fight, but I don’t want you to get killed doing it.”

  “Come with me then. I’m going either way. We’ll both feel safer if you come along.”

  Nate stared at her for a few moments. “Fine. Where are we going? I have to be to work in three hours,” Nate said, looking at his phone.

  “We’re going to find Cyndee,” Yvette told him.

  “What does she have to do with it?” Nate asked.

  “Everything.”

  “You make no sense sometimes.”

  “I have a hunch, just trust me.” Yvette grinned.

  “Whatever you say.”

  “I’ll be right back. I have to grab something upstairs then we can leave.”

  “Why would she leave the bag there? That doesn’t make any sense,” Nate asked from the driver’s seat of his truck.

  “Maybe it was an accident? Maybe she was framed…” Yvette trailed off.

  “Framed? You said you had a hunch, but I didn’t realize it was just you grasping at straws. Who framed her?”

  “That’s what we’re about to find out,” Yvette said, pointing across the street. “Right there, pull over!” she directed.

  “The Merryville Motel? What are we doing here?” Nate asked.

  “It’s where everyone from the tour is staying.”

  “Right, so what are we doing here?”

  “Just trust me,” Yvette said before slamming the truck door shut and dashing across the street.

  “You’re fast,” Nate said, trying to catch his breath from running behind her.

  “You should have been paying more attention. Let’s go. I called and got their room numbers when I was upstairs getting my jacket.”

  “That’s what took you so long? I was sitting in your living room forever.”

  “It’ll be worth it,” Yvette said, walking down the aisle, reading the room numbers.

  Yvette and Nate reached the motel room they’d been looking for. She knocked on the door, nervous, but her adrenaline was flowing.

  “Yvette?” Shannon said, opening the door. “What are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted to check in and see how you were all doing. I know we weren’t close or anything, but I knew that this must be such a difficult time for all of you, stuck here after losing a friend.”

  “We got the okay to leave actually. We were just packing things up,” Shannon told her. “Come on in, if you want.”

  “Thanks. This is Nate, we happened to be in the area, so I asked him to stop by here. I hope you don’t mind,” Yvette asked.

  “Not at all,” Shannon said.

  “Where is everyone else?” Yvette looked around the empty room.

  “We have adjoining rooms, and everyone is over there. I was too until just a second ago. I seem to have misplaced a bag of laundry and I’ve been looking all over for it. One of my favorite shirts, too,” Shannon grumbled.

  “That’s too bad. You should tell everyone we’re here. I’d love to see all of you before you go.”

  “Okay. We can just go through here,” Shannon said, motioning toward the door to the attached hotel room.”

  “What if she’s lying?” Nate whispered.

  Yvette shook her head, hoping that Nate got the hint that she knew Shannon wasn’t lying.

  “What are you two doing here?” April asked when they’d all gotten to the other room.

  “They stopped by to see how we were doing,” Shannon told the group.

  Yvette nodded. “That and I wanted to personally invite Cyndee in for an interview at Sundae Afternoon. We’re hoping she’ll be a great fit.”

  Between Cyndee’s wide eyes and Nate’s jaw dropping it was hard for Yvette to keep a straight face.

  “You came here to steal my assistant?!” April shrieked. “What is wrong with you?”

  “Actually, I came here to ask for an interview in response to the application she submitted to my shop,” Yvette replied, hoping her suspicion was correct.

  Everyone in the room turned to stare at a red faced Cyndee.

  “Care to explain yourself?” April asked, arms crossed and body language suggesting she was ready for a fight.

  “I. Umm, Well, I just…” Cyndee began.

  “It’s true? You applied for a job at her ice cream shop?” Patrick�
�s voice raised as he spoke. “We had a deal and you’re going to give it all up for some ice cream?”

  “A deal? What are all of you talking about right now? I don’t have time for nonsense,” April yelled, putting her hands up.

  “Yes, Patrick. What are you talking about?” Cyndee asked slowly.

  The look on Patrick’s face was answer enough.

  “I can probably clear all of this up,” Yvette offered.