Death of the Couch Potato's Wife: Cozy Christian Mysteries (Women Sleuth, Female Detective Suspense) (17 page)

Chapter 19

The phone rang first thing Tuesday morning. After a long, fitful night filled with dreams about Jasmine and Donna, I awoke with a start. I grabbed the phone, fearing the worst: news about my husband being arrested, the pharmacy shutting down, and losing the boring life we’d given up everything to obtain.

Instead, I heard Babe’s voice. “Donna is being held for Candace’s murder.”

I sat up in bed and ran a hand through my matted hair. “Really? Why?”

“You’ll never believe this. You know those wipes Donna’s always bragging about? The ones that clean anything, that you can only buy online?”

I remembered. Magic Wipes. Donna talked about them all the time. You’d think she had stock in the start-up company. “Yeah, I remember.”

“That’s what was used to smother Candace. The report just came back today, I guess. They found trace evidence on Candace’s face and mouth, and they found one of the wipes in the trashcan.”

“No.” I leaned against the headboard—a little too hard. I rubbed the back of my head.

“And her fingerprints were found on the remote that Candace was holding. I guess that, coupled with everything else, gave them enough to hold her. The chief has had a lot of pressure on him to make progress on this case and get the killer off the street.”

With all of that pressure on him, had he made the right decision, though? I supposed Donna had means, motive, and opportunity, although none seemed strong enough to charge her. “I expected a bigger reaction from you,” Babe said. I could picture her tapping her foot impatiently.

I searched for the right thing to say. “I guess everyone can sleep better now.” Bad choice of words considering the way we’d found Candace. “Everyone can
rest
better now. But what was her motive?”

“Don’t know. I’m sure it will all come out soon, though. In the meantime, I’d watch your mailbox.”

“My mailbox?” Was there an announcement about her motives coming to me soon or something?

“I saw her put something in there the other day.”

I tensed. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now that I know she’s guilty, it made me think about what I saw. I looked out my window and saw Donna put something in your mailbox. Now I’m thinking it’s a good thing it wasn’t a bomb or something.”

“Babe—the note? The threatening letter I got?” Her lips parted. “Oh, yeah. Oops.”

My mind reeled. Donna was the one who’d left the banana bread—and the threatening note. Sometimes the answers were obvious. Donna must have assumed Kent knew about Jasmine giving her extra sleeping pills. She must have figured he’d put the puzzle pieces together eventually. But why hadn’t she threatened Jasmine? Sure, Donna took sleeping pills. But so did a lot of other people in Boring.

Why couldn’t Babe have told me that information… oh, I don’t know…two weeks ago?

At least now I could eat in peace. I had to accept the fact that Donna had sent me that threatening letter. Somehow, she’d bugged my house and blown up my shed. Donna was guilty. Wasn’t it always the innocent ones who ended up doing the crime? At least the woman was in jail now.

As soon as Babe and I hung up, the phone rang again. Hillary.

“The debate is cancelled tonight, but we still need to meet to discuss the future of this neighborhood. I’m calling everyone to let them know.”

The debate. I’d nearly forgotten about the pre-election event between Hillary and Donna. “Okay. Thanks.”

“One more thing. I need you to take over the treasurer position that Candace left vacant.”

“Me?” I pointed to myself as if Hillary could see me.

“Only for a couple of weeks until the election. We need someone—other than me—in the position to keep things on the up and up.”

“I don’t know if I’m the right person—”

“I think so. Say you’ll do it. Please. You’re such a hard worker, I really think you’re the best person for the job.”

I shrugged. “Since you put it that way.”

“Great. Let’s meet to discuss a few things before tonight’s meeting. It’s really quite tragic about Donna, isn’t it?”

“You heard too?”

“Everyone has. This is small town America. So, when can you come over? The sooner, the better.”

My schedule today was the same as most days—nothing important penciled in—unless you included housework. “Just let me get dressed.”

Thirty minutes later, I arrived at her house. Her husband’s SUV waited in the drive. He must be taking the day off work.

As soon as I stepped inside, Hillary grabbed her purse and keys. “We’ve got to go to the bank so I can put your name on the paperwork.” She walked out the door. “Come along.”

I raised my eyebrows, but still swiveled to follow.

“It will only take a minute. Then I’ll explain how everything works, and off you’ll go. I’ll announce you tonight.”

“It seems like an awful lot of trouble for a two-week position.”

“Rules are rules. We have to have a treasurer. Now that Candace is buried and her killer is behind bars, I figured we could fill the position with a clear head.”

Paul greeted us at the bank with his normal sparkle. I glanced down at his desk and noticed a Backstreet Boys CD with a name written in fingernail polish across it. Babe’s!

What was Paul doing with it? Maybe Babe was right and he was nothing but trouble. In my mind, I saw his teasing in a different light—perhaps he was deranged, even stalking Babe.

My hackles went up.

“How are you today, Mrs. Berry?”

I nodded stiffly. “Fine.”

He eyed me a moment, as if wondering about my aloofness. Hillary explained something about a fingerprint I’d need in order to balance the books or cut checks. As she spoke, Paul casually pushed the CD under a pile of papers. The action was so swift, I wouldn’t have noticed had I not been watching the CD. He didn’t miss a beat in the conversation.

I had to talk to Babe about this. I had to warn her.

What if the police had picked up the wrong killer? What if Donna didn’t do it at all? What if that evidence had been planted? What if Paul was the real killer? He was the one with suspicious behavior around here.

After I was added to the account and Hillary and I were outside, I paused on the sidewalk. “I really need to stop by and see Kent. Can we talk about the treasury stuff tomorrow?”

Her gaze flickered, as if my choice didn’t please her. Oh well.

“I suppose that will be fine.”

I stuffed my hands deeper into my coat pockets. “Great. Thanks.”

I bypassed her car and went into the pharmacy. Kent worked alone today, and I could see by the circles under his eyes that he was exhausted. His eyes brightened when I walked in.

“Hey, honey. What brings you here?”

I walked up to the counter and leaned toward him. “Did you hear?”

He continued to mark something on his clipboard. He glanced up in response. “About Donna? It’s been all the talk today.”

“Sad, isn’t it?”

He nodded and paused from his work. “Incredibly. I would have never thought she could do something like that. I guess some people can really have you fooled.”

Jasmine. He was talking about Jasmine and, based on his frown, he was truly disappointed to know his employee had stolen from him. “Any word about an investigation?”

Kent shook his head. “Chief Romeo sounds like he’s willing to let this drop, if I am. He said there’s no need to get the DEA involved in something this trivial. If Donna goes to trial and the stolen pill is presented as evidence, the issue might have to be revisited. Nothing’s definite, yet, though. This could all still blow up.”

I nodded, trying to look on the bright side. “And at least we can eat without fear again,” I offered, figuring that news might cheer him up. Guys always cheered up when food was mentioned, right?

He stopped shuffling through papers, and his gaze fell heavily on mine. “What do you mean we can eat without fear?”

I shrugged. “You know, the poisoned banana bread and stuff.”

He put the clipboard down and stepped closer. “You think Donna did that?”

I figured now was as good a time as any to tell him about the note. The threat didn’t matter anymore—Donna was behind bars. My family was safe. “I didn’t want to worry you, but I got this note right after Candace died, saying that you better keep your mouth shut or we’d both end up like Candace. Donna must have been afraid that Jasmine would spill the beans about that extra pills she doled out. It all makes sense now.”

Kent’s eyes were big and his lips tight. “Someone threatened us, and you didn’t think it was important to tell me?”

I felt myself shrinking back. I thought he’d be relieved, to think of me as brave for protecting him with my silence. “The note said if I told anyone, we’d die.”

His mouth gaped open, and he shook his head. “So you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to die.”

He leaned with his palms on the counter toward me. There was no amusement or gratefulness in his voice. Only disappointment. “I can’t believe you kept that from me.”

How could he be mad about this? Anger surged inside me. “I was trying to save your life!”

Kent opened his mouth as if to respond, then his gaze flickered behind me. A customer approached the counter. He looked at me again and shook his head. “I have to get back to work.”

“But—”

“We’ll talk later, Laura.” His voice sounded firm. He looked beyond me. “Can I help you, Mrs. Walker?”

The woman scooted past me and handed Kent a paper.

I didn’t even have the chance to bring up rescheduling our missed date from last night. But that dinner was the least of my worries right now.

I felt like my world had crashed around me.

Chapter 20

I felt even worse when I came home to my empty abode. My neighbor had killed another neighbor. My husband was mad at me for trying to protect him. And I just generally felt miserable about life.

And I couldn’t stop believing that the wrong person had been arrested, that my husband didn’t love me anymore, and that moving here had been one big, bad mistake.

Maybe I could rewind my life.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Instead, I cuddled on the couch with Mr. Sniggles—the Flynns’ cat—in my arms. I guess with Jerry cleared I should return the feline sometime. I’d found comfort in having him waiting for me at home every day. He purred as I stroked his head.

I watched Rachael Ray reruns. Sure, I’d seen the recipes before. Just a couple of weeks ago, my goal had been to become a different version of Rachael Ray, all perky and happy to be in the kitchen. I wanted to turn over a new leaf from career woman to housewife. I wanted to let go of the things that defined me and learn to be content simply as a child of God.

Was there anything I wasn’t failing at?

I’ve had it, God. I’m hanging up my detective hat. I’m hanging up everything. What do You want me to do now? It’s up to You. I’m tired of trying to do things on my own. I’ve just made a mess of everything.

I glanced at the calendar and saw the big day circled on Sunday. Surely Kent would put aside his anger in order to celebrate our anniversary, wouldn’t he?

Besides, why did I feel guilty? Sure, I’d kept the note from him. But I’d done it to protect him. I had to get credit for that, didn’t I? And what about his Friday afternoon outings? Was he forgetting about those and any other secrets he kept from me?

Marriage was definitely the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.

It was work, pure and simple. Yet, it was also a delight—usually.

A car door slammed, and I peeked out the window. Maybe Kent had decided to come home early and apologize for being so nasty about my secret.

Only my car was parked in the driveway.

I glanced across the street and saw Harry walking up to the front door of my new neighbor’s house. He glanced around him as he did so, as if checking for anyone watching. What was going on between the two men? I remembered their whispers while at the gym.

Maybe they had gone in together to kill Candace. Of course, I had no motive for either of them. Darius had said that Candace and Harry used to date. Steele and Gia were opening a futon store. But the dots still weren’t connecting.

Besides, Donna was behind bars.

Of course, Jerry had been at the station being questioned before that. Maybe the Boring Police Department really didn’t know what they were doing after all. Perhaps I wasn’t being hypercritical in my analysis of them.

Harry disappeared inside the Brunos’ house. I resigned myself to getting ready for the association meeting tonight. It started in an hour. How depressing was it that the only thing exciting about my evening was going to one of these meetings? I really did have to get a life.

By the time our meeting started, Kent was still working. He was probably happy for the opportunity to avoid me. I climbed in my car and drove to Boring High School, where Hillary would announce to everyone that I’d taken over the treasurer position. I still had no idea why she wanted me to fill the void, but nonetheless, the position was mine.

Hillary started the meeting by banging her gavel on the podium.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming to the meeting tonight. The good news is that we can all have a little more peace of mind since we know a killer is behind bars.” She smiled. “In case you haven’t heard, Donna Roberts is being held for the murder of Candace Flynn. While I’m talking about Donna, this would be a good time to mention that, due to her current situation, our bylaws state she won’t be able to run against me for president.”

I looked around but didn’t see Babe. It wasn’t like my friend to miss a meeting—especially when it gave her the opportunity to make fun of Hillary and hear some good gossip.

“She’s a rat,” Karen Jones mumbled beside me.

“Who?”

“Hillary.”

“Why do you say that?” I whispered.

“Harry saw her over at Candace’s on the day she died. The police don’t even want to touch her since her husband still owns half of the neighborhood.”

Hillary was at Candace’s on the day she died? Now that was news.

“But the police have Donna in custody.”

“Donna is adamant that she didn’t do it. She doesn’t know how those cloths ended up in Candace’s house.”

“You’ve talked to her?”

“Shh!” someone behind us insisted.

Karen cast a dirty glance over her shoulder. “I stopped by this morning.”

I hadn’t realized that Karen and Donna were friends.

“And I’d now like to announce that Laura Berry has graciously agreed to step into the treasurer’s position until it’s time for our elections in two weeks. Laura is very experienced, and I feel she’ll be great in this interim position.” Hillary looked at me and smiled.

Why would Hillary have killed Candace?

“Laura, would you like to say a few words?”

My eyes widened. I hadn’t been prepared to say anything, just to quietly fill the position and do the best I could with it until someone qualified took over the task. I couldn’t refuse Hillary in a room full of people, though. I stood and smoothed out my slacks as I walked toward the podium.

I stared at everyone, images of the Chicago press conference flashing back to me. Of course, here, I wasn’t surrounding by reporters hungry for hot gossip. Here, I was surrounded by neighbors hungry for hot gossip. I took a deep breath and tried to slow my racing heart.

“I’m honored that Hillary asked me to fill this position until someone else is elected. I just want to let everyone in Dullington Estates know that I’m here to serve the neighborhood. For the next two or three weeks, at least.”

Everyone chuckled.

The rest of the meeting was routine. I counted down the minutes until it was over. All I could think about was Kent, and how upset he’d been with me. I hadn’t kept the note from him to hurt him. I’d wanted to protect him. Why couldn’t he see that?

Everyone filled the aisles to leave the meeting. Harry stood in front of me, chatting with Karen—whom I really wanted to speak with. I wanted more information about Hillary. Why was today the first I’d heard about her being at Candace’s house? And was Chief Romeo really not investigating that tip? Did he need to, now that Donna had been taken into police custody? What if someone had set her up to take the fall? Everyone knew Donna was crazy about those cleaning wipes. Leaving one of them in the house would be a sure set-up. How could I find out if anyone else in the neighborhood used them? There had to be a way.

A piece of paper slipped from Harry’s pocket. I reached down to grab it for him, in case it was important. My eye caught a glimpse of the words across the top first, though. Futon World. The Brunos’ business.

I knew I shouldn’t, but I slipped the paper into my coat pocket. I had a feeling this was one clue I wanted to see.

As soon as I got in my car, I pulled the paper from my pocket, and quickly scanned the text. It was a receipt. Harry had purchased a futon from the company. I guess there wasn’t anything juicy about that.

I remembered Jerry telling me that Harry purchased a couch from him that he didn’t like. He found another one in Indy that he liked better. Had he gotten that couch from Steele’? That would have been before the family moved here.

What was going on between the two men? That was one mystery I’d sure like to solve.

Someone suddenly banged on my window. I gasped and glanced through the glass.

Harry.

I tried to smile and act like I was okay. I didn’t want to roll down the window, though. What if the man was a killer? What if he’d poisoned those pork rinds, intending to kill Jerry?

I waved at him. “How’s it going?” I raised my voice so he could hear me.

He nodded and flipped his finger, trying to signal to put the window down. I carefully tucked the paper under my leg so he wouldn’t see it and then raised my hands into a “whoops” position.

“It’s broken,” I shouted.

He scrunched his eyebrows together then shrugged. “You all set for neighborhood watch tonight?”

I’d almost forgotten. “I’m ready.”

“You and Babe give me a call if you have any trouble, okay?”

“Got it.”

“And get that car window fixed soon. You never know when you might need to escape through it.”

I stared at him.

“Sorry, I just watched a Dateline special about a car that went off a bridge.”

I nodded. Maybe that made sense. I just hoped that Harry wasn’t getting any ideas about how to off me if I figured out he was guilty.

I had just enough time between when I got home and when I started my Neighborhood Watch shift to visit the website for Magic Wipes. Apparently, the wipes were organic and contained no chemicals.

With a little searching, I found the contact information for a representative who sold them in Indiana. The woman lived about an hour from Boring, close enough that she would be the logical sales contact for anyone buying the product in our town.

I punched in her number. A moment later, a perky voice came over the line. “This is Sally, a Magic Wipes representative. Magic Wipes can magically wipe away your worries about dirt and harmful chemicals. How can I help you?”

“I’m interested in ordering your product. I’ve heard good things about it.”

“Wonderful!” Her voice went even more high-pitched than earlier. “How many would you like?”

“How about four boxes to start with?”

“Excellent. I assure you, you won’t be disappointed. I’m just in love with this product. I can’t stop talking about it! In fact, I don’t have to work—my husband makes plenty of money. But I believe in this product so much that I decided to forget about the easy life and follow my passion!”

“That’s…great.”

“Now, let me get your information.”

“I was hoping I could combine shipping with one of my neighbors. I like to save money wherever I can.”

“Who is your neighbor, sweetie?”

“A couple of them use it. Do you have any shipments going to Boring, Indiana, any time soon? For a Donna Roberts? She said she orders from you.”

“Oh, Donna in Boring! I just love Donna from Boring! Let me check my records here.” I heard typing in the background. “I’m trying to talk her into become a Magic Wipe rep also. She’d just be perfect. But she doesn’t have any orders for this month.”

“It seems like I know someone else here who uses them, I just can’t remember who exactly.”

“I’m not supposed to do this—confidentiality and all—but let me see if there’s anyone else. Oh, here you go. Tiara Swain has an order that’s going out on Monday. Is that early enough?”

“Tiara uses Magic Wipes?” My adrenaline surged.

“Of course! She was one of my first customers, before Donna even. She orders every month. You will, too, once you try them.”

I tapped my pen against my chin. “Good to know. Very good to know.”