Corpse in the Crystal Ball (25 page)

“Something smells good,” he said.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just whipped up—”

His phone rang. He glanced down and answered immediately, cutting me off midsentence. “Selena, I’m here. What’s wrong? You took a cab home? Why didn’t you call me?” He listened for a minute, and then his face hardened. “What? I’m on my way.” He snapped his phone shut and headed for the door with a determined look on his face and a purpose to his gait.

“You’re leaving?” I sputtered. “Is Selena okay?”

He looked at me as though he’d completely forgotten I was standing there. “Selena’s fine. It was just an anxiety attack. She took a cab home from the hospital with Granny. Someone broke into my place while I was here last night. Thank God she wasn’t there at the time.”

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to stay.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Sunny.” He rubbed the
bridge of his nose, the stress and tension firmly back in place. “I wanted to stay. I …it’s complicated.”

“Just go, Mitch. She needs you more than I do right now. I get it.”

He stared at me hard, shook his head, then said, “You really don’t get anything.” And then he was gone.

“He’s right. I don’t get it,” I said to Jo and Sean at Smokey Jo’s during the lunch crowd on Saturday.

Mitch had left, picked up Granny and Selena, dropped Granny off at my house, and then immediately went to the police station to report the break-in at his place. Whoever did it hadn’t stolen anything. It was as though they were looking for something. All of this I got from Fuller.

I had to admit it helped Mitch’s case as well as Selena’s. If someone knew about the money Isabel had embezzled, they would have thought to search her sister. Or Mitch. With Selena in the hospital last night and Mitch at my place, the coast had been clear to raid his place for clues to the money’s whereabouts. I was beginning to wonder if the disturbance at my place had been a ruse to get Mitch away from his apartment. I had told Fuller about what happened at my place last night, and he was looking into it.

I was angry and sad and disappointed. Mitch hadn’t taken me with him or consulted me at all. He was right about one thing: I didn’t understand one bit. Isabel had almost been his fiancée, and Selena was her sister. I knew he felt protective of Selena, with a killer still on the loose and all, but I was in danger, too. Yet the second she had beckoned, he’d jumped. That didn’t sound brotherly to me.

That sounded “loverly” to me.

“Something is going on between the two of them, and I want to know what,” I continued, pushing my sandwich around on my plate. I’d lost my appetite.

“You’re crazy. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, lass,” Sean said, restocking the cooler and wiping the bar top.

“They have a history somehow. I can feel it,” I went on.

“You’re a strong, independent woman, Sunny,” Jo added, looking through her list of upcoming reservations. “Mitch knows that. He was there when you needed him, and now he’s there for Selena. That’s just the type of man he is. Overprotective and loyal to a fault. You know that. And yes, they
do
have a history. She was almost his sister-in-law.”

Cole West walked in and sat at the end of the bar. Jo got up, poured a bottled beer into a mug, adding a slice of orange, and then slid it expertly down the bar as though she did this every day. Cole caught the beer, gave her a two-finger salute and a twisted smile, and then took a hearty sip. Jo didn’t even try to act indifferent as a sexy-as-all-get-out smile slowly crept across her face. Cole spilled a bit of his drink, and Jo let out a throaty laugh.

“Um, is there something you want to tell me?” I asked.

“Nothing to tell …yet.” She winked. “I’m still deciding.”

Sean rolled his eyes. “You women are so damned
confusing.” Jo swatted him on the back of the head as he walked by, and he just chuckled. “On to more serious matters. Is Mitch still a suspect?”

“He’s still a person of interest and so is Selena, but even the police have to admit, the break-in takes a lot of the suspicion off of them,” I replied. “I have to wonder if the person who broke into Mitch’s place is the same person who was stalking me.”

“Any leads regarding who could be behind all this?” Jo asked, a more serious expression crossing her own face.

“Well, there still is Ted Baxter, who was Isabel’s ex-boyfriend and is all chummy-like now with Abigail Brook. And then there’s Roz Sanderson, who was Isabel’s cell mate and who I suspect is connected somehow to Chuck Webb. Any one of them has reason to spy on me. They all could have known about Isabel’s money and think they deserve some after how she treated them. I don’t know. It’s all so confusing and makes my head spin.”

“What are you going to do?” Jo asked.

“I’m not sure. Check in with Fuller, I guess.”

“But it’s the weekend,” Sean said. “A little birdie told me you might have a date or something?”

“Your birdie is misinformed. The prospective date was for last night, but I called it off because I was exhausted.”

“Last night? As in the same night Detective Hottie spent the night at your house?” Jo asked, the pages in her ledger stilling.

“One and the same.” I winced. “But the actual date was supposed to have been with Kevin.”

“Oh, love, you’d better watch out. You’re turning into me.” Sean tapped the bar on a laugh.

“Bite your tongue, Casanova. See why I need to work? Trying to solve this case and juggle my love life is too much to handle.” I paid my tab and stood. “I think I’ll take my chances with the killer.”

“Good luck,” Jo hollered. “Call me later.”

“Will do,” I answered as I walked out the door into the bright sunshine after the previous night’s storm.

Kevin’s mail truck was by the curb. I hurried to my bug in hopes of avoiding him, but he walked out of the
Divinity Gazette
at that exact moment and saw me. I froze like a wax statue and then forced a smile.

“Kevin, how great to see you.”

“Hey, Sunny,” he answered a little stiffly. “I heard you had quite the night last night.”

“Y-You did?” I swallowed hard.

“Small town.” He shrugged. “You’re looking well rested I see.”

“Kevin, I—”

He held up his hand. “You don’t owe me anything, Sunny. I said to call me if you needed anything. Obviously you didn’t need anything from me. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I only called Detective Stone because he’s a cop.”

“Isn’t he suspended right now?”

He had me there. “Yes, but we’ve worked together, and I know him well. It was the weekend. Fuller was spending time with his family, and Captain Walker has enough on his plate with Isabel’s murder. Mitch—I mean Detective Stone—just seemed the most logical person to call. I’m sorry. It had nothing to do with you.” True, but it had nothing to do with logic, either, if I were being completely honest.

“Like I said. You don’t owe me anything. You take care.
I’ve got to run if I’m going to finish my route on time.” He saluted me with his cast and then climbed into his mail truck without looking back. I watched him with a heavy heart as he drove away.

Damn Isabel. Damn Mitch. Damn this case!

All dressed up and no place to go on a Saturday night is pathetic
, I thought. Kevin wasn’t answering my calls. Mitch wouldn’t leave Selena’s side. Granny was at bridge with Captain Walker. Detective Fuller was at Nikko’s with his wife. Sean and Jo were working.

Even Morty was still MIA.

Grabbing my purse, I headed to the Song Bird to see if I would run into Ted or Abigail. Fifteen minutes later I had my answer: a big fat no.

I decided to head to Mini Central Park, where the annual spring festival was going on. No Ted or Abigail there, either, but I did see Chuck. He gave me a dirty look and walked the other way. I didn’t see Roz, either.

I sighed and decided to stroll a bit. The days were getting longer, and the sun was just beginning to set. A rare warm evening breeze blew through the trees, bringing with it the promise of a beautiful day tomorrow. The old-fashioned lanterns flickered to life around the swan pond, reflecting their orange glow off the water. A string quartet played a lively tune in the gazebo, which was decorated in twinkling white lights. Food of all sorts lined tables beneath tents.

And the spring flowers they’d hauled in were absolutely gorgeous.

Everywhere you looked, flowers in every color of the
rainbow stood tall and proud in arrangements adorning everything, swaying ever so softly in the breeze with a promise of what the ground would be covered with very soon. The night couldn’t be more perfect. Well, okay, it could be if I had someone to share it with, but I wasn’t going to go there. I didn’t need a man to make me happy. Men were nothing but trouble. Especially the men in my life.

I sampled a bit of the food, listened to a little music, said hello to Mayor Cromwell, and then wandered off alone. I strolled away from the crowds and ambled around the far side of the swan pond.

I wasn’t even close to the swans yet, so why were they squawking something fierce? I drew closer to see what all the fuss was about as they fluttered their wings and honked over and over again.

I didn’t see anything but dark ripples, white feathers, and flapping yellow beaks. Finally, they settled a bit and swam to the other side. I noticed their nest on the edge of the pond next to a large overhanging bush. So that’s why they were in such a tizzy. They had eggs in there. I turned to leave so they wouldn’t worry when movement in the water caught my eye.

Creeping closer, I saw something bobbing. What the heck was it? It almost looked like …

Oh my gosh, it was a dead body!

My scream lodged in my throat. I couldn’t make a sound or move or do anything. Who could it be? I didn’t have to wait for long as the body pitched and rolled over, faceup. My gaze traveled up the length of the bloated figure of a woman, stopping at the neck.

Black and blue and strangled by what looked like a wire.
I swallowed, forcing the contents of my stomach to stay put. And then my eyes stared at the face, and pure shock rocketed through my system. I knew the woman.

The woman was Roz Sanderson.

The rest of Saturday evening ended in a blurry whirlwind. I’d finally managed to scream, I guess, because all at once the entire town descended upon me. The poor swans would never be the same. I had been so confused and in such a state of shock that Mayor Cromwell had ordered Chief Spencer to have someone take me home and someone else follow with my car.

The police questioned me again this morning. I’d told them all I could remember about last night, which wasn’t much. Roz Sanderson could have killed Isabel and then her partner in crime could have killed her. Maybe they found the money and no longer wanted to share it.

Anything was possible.

Chuck had been there last night. And the look he’d given me was anything but innocent. It had been evil enough to give me chills. The man really did hate my guts.

My doorbell rang. I peeked out the window. Fuller. I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I might not like to work weekends, but I figured these new developments warranted an exception.” He grinned. “Besides, the festival is canceled for today.”

“Ahhh. No food?” I raised a brow.

“Bingo.” He touched his nose and chuckled, then rubbed his protruding stomach. “I guess missing a meal or two couldn’t hurt me none. I thought you might be up for a little work.”

“I’ll grab my purse.”

“Sitting still, thinking about seeing a dead body, is enough to make a person go insane.”

“No kidding. I never had to look at Amanda Robbins when she died a few months ago. And then when Isabel Gonzales died, Detective Stone and Captain Walker had been with me, which somehow made it more bearable. But with Roz Sanderson, I was alone. It was so unexpected and, well, scary. Totally freaked me out.”

“You good today?”

I nodded once, sharply. “I’m good. Where are we going?”

“I thought we’d pay Mr. Webb a little visit.”

“Sounds like we’re on the same page.”

“Indeed, it does. You’re much more than a consultant. You’ve become quite the investigator, Miss Meadows.”

“Why, thank you, Detective Fuller. That means more than you know.”

Ten minutes later we pulled up in front of the Divinity Hotel and marched inside to the front desk. “Mr. Webb.” Fuller dipped his head once in salute. “We have a warrant to search Roz Sanderson’s hotel room.”

We did? I blinked. Fuller could move fast when he wanted to, after all. Something told me he was a lot shrewder than either Mitch or I had realized. He must have some serious connections to have pulled that one off so quickly. Not to mention the mayor and the entire police force were in a panic after this second murder. Everyone wanted this investigation over with sooner rather than later.

Webb took the warrant and read it. He leveled me with a look of disdain and then ignored me. “Follow me,” he said
to Fuller as he grabbed a set of keys. The hotel was as old-fashioned as the rest of the town and Webb stubbornly refused to upgrade to key cards.

“Heard you were at the festival last night,” Fuller said.