Home Sweet Homicide: A Cozy Mystery (A Gemma Stone Murder Mystery Book 5) (14 page)

N
ow he had Gemma’s attention.

Holly grinned and gently elbowed her in the side.

Natalie blushed and placed her paint roller in the tray. “Let me go wash up,” she said.

Gemma watched Nick watch Natalie hurry out of the room. So, that was the reason he was so acting so weird, like a love struck puppy.

“Isn’t she a little young for you?” Gemma said, the first thought that popped into her head.

Nick shrugged. “Maybe, but she’s cute. We had dinner last night and agreed we’d both like to spend more time with each other.”

“Oh,” Gemma said.

“We’re going tonight to pick out paint and start working on her apartment,” Nick told them. “If that’s okay with you.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Holly said, giving Gemma a quick hug. “Isn’t that great, Gemma?”

“Yes,” Gemma said, not really sure if it was great or not.

Hurt, surprised, stunned, she hadn’t known what to feel but she would never let him know that. They had remained friends, though he seemed somewhat distant now and they didn’t talk as often. Emotions swirling, Gemma wasn’t sure what she was feeling right at this moment. She just knew that she liked having Nick on her side again.

“Ready?” Natalie said, coming out of the bathroom.

She had brushed her long, straight hair and touched up her makeup, Gemma noticed.

“I’ll have her back in an hour or so,” Nick promised.

“Take your time,” Holly said, waving them out the door. “Mitch and I are getting together this afternoon to do some hiking. We’re pretty much done here.”

“I’ll help you clean up,” Gemma said.

Why was she fighting back tears? She should be happy for her best friends. Nick appeared to be embarking on a new relationship and Holly and Mitch were perfect for each other. Soon she would be at their wedding.

“Uh oh,” Holly said, when they’d managed to stow all the paint supplies in the storage room.

“What?” Gemma asked, turning to where she stood toward the front of the shop.

“Peggy forgot her briefcase,” Holly said, holding up the bulky looking object. “I guess we should call her, but I really don’t have time to wait around.”

“Her office is on the way to my house,” Gemma said. “Let’s just drop it off there.”

“Good idea,” Holly said, already checking to make sure the shop was locked securely.

Holly parked in front of the Langstrom Real Estate office that was smack in the middle of a small strip mall. Gemma hopped out, lugging the briefcase with her, and headed for the glass door with the garish orange logo emblazoned across the front.

A petite blonde sat at the front desk. She looked up and frowned when she saw Gemma, glanced at her watch and frowned even more. She must have taken customer service lessons from Peggy herself, Gemma thought.

“Hi, Peggy left her briefcase at my shop when she stopped by today. Would you let her know I’ve dropped it off here for her?” Gemma asked.

“Peggy’s gone home for the day and I was told not to disturb her,” the woman said curtly. “And I don’t want that nasty thing cluttering up the place.”

“Okay,” Gemma said, retreating from the office with the bag. “I’ll just...I’ll just figure something other way of getting it to her.”

“You do that,” the woman snapped.

“What was that all about?” Holly asked when Gemma climbed back into the SUV still carrying Peggy’s briefcase.

“She’s trained her staff well,” Gemma said. “Just drop me off at my place and I’ll take this to her house.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You have plans and, well, I don’t,” Gemma said, forcing a smile at her best friend.

“Okay,” Holly said, pulling back into traffic.

Gemma found Ross and Aunt Maisy out on the back patio again, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. This was probably the closest thing he’d had to a vacation in years. She watched them from her bedroom window a moment and wondered if she and Ross had a future together. Had Nick really dumped her so she could be with Ross? Had Ross dumped her, thinking she wanted to be with Nick? But he’d hooked up with Katie much too quickly. Was he telling her the truth about their relationship? One thing for sure, she was going to have to think long and hard before she even considered dating either one of them again.

These were the thoughts that filled her head while she showered and dressed in a comfortable, cotton dress. The soft blue fabric reminded her of summer and the style was just perfect for the warm afternoon.

“You’re home,” Ross said when he found her in the kitchen fixing a sandwich.

“Yeah. I have an errand to run and then I’ll be back. Where’s Aunt Maisy?”

“Taking a nap,” he answered. “What is this hideous thing?”

“Peggy left her briefcase at the shop when she came by today to invite us to join the Chamber of Commerce. I’m going to drop it off at her house,” Gemma explained.

“Have you looked inside?” Ross asked, fumbling with the clasp.

“No. That is her private stuff,” Gemma told him.

“Maybe there’s some incriminating evidence in there,” Ross said. “Maybe a clue that would lead us to something else.”

“She hated Katie, that’s pretty evident, but enough to kill her?” Gemma reasoned. “And what kind of clues would she be carrying around in her briefcase?”

Ross shrugged. “I’m going to look.”

Despite the fact that Gemma knew they were doing something wrong, she inched closer as he lay the leather briefcase on its side and flicked the latches open with his thumbs. It was filled with papers, none of them neatly stacked, nor did they look like anything important.

“See, I told you,” Gemma said, watching Ross shuffle the papers this way and that. “There’s nothing...”

Ross lifted up some papers and she caught a flash of orange.

“Wait.” Gemma reached out and pushed the papers aside.

Ross froze and their eyes met. “This is Paracord. Peggy uses it to tie her trunk shut so she can haul those big-ass signs around with her.”

“I think she uses it to anchor them as well,” Gemma whispered as if someone might hear.

They stood there looking at each other for a moment.

“And I think that’s what was wrapped around Katie’s neck in that closet,” Gemma whispered as if someone might hear her.

“Are you sure?” Ross asked.

Gemma nodded, her heart pounding.

“We need to let someone know...” Ross began.

“Not yet. I want to make sure before we talk to Gilmore,” Gemma said, her thoughts buzzing. “Let me take this to her house and see what else I can find out.”

“Gemma, if she killed Katie, she’s a dangerous woman,” Ross said. “I can’t let you do that.”

Gemma was already shaking her head. “She hated Katie. She doesn’t hate me. At least I don’t think she does.”

“But if she thinks you know something...”

“I’ll play it cool,” Gemma promised him, snapping the briefcase shut and pulling it off the table. “Besides, you’re kind of under house arrest until we get this figured out.”

Ross closed his eyes and shook his head. “You’ve never been able to play it cool about anything in your life. But if I don’t hear from you in one hour, I’m coming after you.”

“Deal,” Gemma said, turned and marched out the door with Peggy’s briefcase weighing heavily in her hand.

“Good girl, Rosie,” Gemma said to the Subaru when it shifted into gear easily and she rolled out of the driveway without a hitch.

With the window down, she drove slowly out of her neighborhood, through some backroads toward Peggy’s address. It appeared to be a quiet neighborhood much like her own with newer, larger homes, wider streets and fewer trees. Gemma circled the block a time or two to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Either Gilmore felt she wasn’t worth watching or the officers on the task chose to look the other way.

Peggy’s house wasn’t large nor small, really unremarkable, and her car was in the driveway. Gemma stepped onto the shaded front porch and rang the bell.

Nothing.

She rang it again and waited, glancing around the side of the house. When there was no response after the third time, Gemma set off around the side of the house. Perhaps Peggy was in the back yard gardening or stirring up some potion in a giant black cauldron...

The back yard was empty but there were several small flower beds and a walk that led out to a potting shed. Gemma wasn’t sure whether to try the potting shed or the back door so she simply stood in the middle of the yard and said Peggy’s name loudly.

The potting shed door opened a crack and Peggy’s gray head popped out.

“Gemma Stone. What are you doing here?” Peggy asked, walking toward her.

Gemma couldn’t tell if she was angry or not but she did seem a bit nervous.

“You left your briefcase at the shop and I thought you might need it,” Gemma explained, holding the heavy object up.

“Oh, Lord, I hadn’t even missed it yet. Thank you so much for bringing it by,” Peggy said, reaching for the briefcase. “You didn’t look inside did you?”

“Oh, no, ma’am,” Gemma lied.

Peggy laughed and it sounded like a witch’s cackle. “Just bustin’ on you.”

They stood there facing each other in the afternoon sunshine for a moment.

Finally Peggy said, “Won’t you come in and have some iced tea. I made a fresh pitcher when I got home today.”

“That would be great. Thank you,” Gemma said and followed Peggy into the back door of her house.

Peggy led the way through a narrow mud room and into a large, well-equipped kitchen. Gemma took a seat on one of the stools at the island and watched Peggy carefully while she filled glasses with ice and poured tea. Strangely enough, the house didn’t smell like cigarette smoke at all.

“To us working girls,” Peggy said and they touched glasses.

“Yeah, working girls,” Gemma said. She didn’t drink the tea but let the cold glass rest against her palms while she formulated her next question. “Peggy, how long have you been in real estate?”

Peggy thought for a minute although Gemma knew she didn’t have to think about it. It was all for dramatic show. “Almost thirty years.”

“Wow. I guess it’s hard to keep up with the new agents and all the technology they have today,” Gemma guessed.

“Ha, they would never have made it back in the day when I started out,” Peggy boasted. “And you’d be surprised how many of them I’ve had to teach how to use that technology.”

“Really?” Gemma asked, knowing it wouldn’t take much to get Peggy going.

She was right. Peggy launched into all the stories Gemma had heard before plus a few new ones in which Peggy was always the hero.

“So how long have you had that orange logo?” Gemma asked.

“At least ten years. It’s distinctive isn’t it?” Peggy asked.

“Oh, yes. And everything is color coordinated right down to your office,” Gemma said.

“Yep. Even the Paracord that I use to anchor the signs matches the color. That’s how I found that color. I bought that spool about ten years ago and things just took off from there.

“So you anchor your signs,” Gemma said. She was thirsty and really wanted that tea but something held her back.

“Yeah, they’re so big, I have to. I just drive a small wooden stake in the ground close by and tie it off. Keeps the wind from blowing the sign around. You have to be careful with everything nowadays.”

Gemma finally relented and took a sip of the cold, sweet tea.

“I put an extra large sign in the yard over on Elm Street,” Peggy said. “You know, where Katie was killed.”

“You did? I didn’t see it there,” Gemma said.

“That’s because the bitch took it down before I could get over there and take care of it myself,” Peggy snapped.

“She took your sign down? I didn’t think you could do that.”

“She did. Katie thought she could get away with anything just because she was sleeping with everyone in town, including that detective. I guess she wanted to make sure she had control of everyone just in case,” Peggy continued her rant.

“Just in case what?”

“In case I came after her,” Peggy said, hands on her hips now, pacing back and forth in the big kitchen. Her anger rolled off of her in great waves, almost visible in the bright lighting.

“You mean in court?”

“I mean anywhere. That bitch needed to be put in her place and I was the one to do it,” Peggy snarled.

At that moment, Gemma knew she was talking to Katie’s killer. She made a show of looking at her watch and then stood up.

“I’m sorry, Peggy, I have to go,” she said.

It took a few moments for Peggy to calm down but she finally did and smiled sweetly at Gemma. “Okay, have you thought about joining the Chamber?”

“Yes, ma’am, as soon as we’re up and running, we’ll give you a call,” Gemma said, moving slowly toward the back door.

“You won’t be sorry. I know your little business will grow twice as fast with my help and guidance,” Peggy said, getting between Gemma and the back door but not blocking the way.

“Thank you,” Gemma said, her heartrate speeding up.

“You have no idea how many young entrepreneurs I’ve tried to help in this town and they refuse to listen to me,” Peggy continued. “But you’re a smart girl.”

She was just about to launch into a story when Gemma spotted something resting on a table just inside the back door. She had to look twice to make sure she wasn’t imagining it but there it was complete with a gold buckle, wide brim, coming to a point at the top.

A witch’s hat.

“L
ike it?” Peggy asked.

“From Halloween?” Gemma asked, praying that was the case.

“Hell no,” Peggy said, her voice deafening in the small room.

Gemma watched, stunned as Peggy reached for the hat. She pushed it aside and grabbed what looked like a rubbery green face. Once that was on, she smashed the hat on her head and then reached for the black cloak hanging on a hook. Fully dressed in her costume, Peggy waved her arms around and cackled wildly.

“When the little monsters that live in this neighborhood come into my back yard, I put this on, run outside and scare the living daylights out of them,” Peggy boasted.

“So you dress up like a witch to scare the children away?” Gemma asked.