Summer Reading is Killing Me (Phee Jefferson Book 2) (2 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

I bought two coffees to go and headed to the library.
I had called Wade when I left the park to tell him about the canceled
celebration. He wanted to hear about the crime, but some things should be
shared in person. I walked in and saw Juliet sitting on the circulation desk.

“Have you lost your ever
lovin
’ mind?”
I exclaimed. Juliet jumped down and gave me a guilty look. “Wade has clearly
lost his mind letting you sit your derriere on the desk. Good golly,
Juls
, were you raised in a barn?”

“As a matter of fact...” Juliet gave me a cheeky
grin. “Sorry,
Phee
. Nobody was in here. Everybody’s
milling around by the park to see what the police learned about the murder.”

“Either there or at Nellie Jo’s grabbing a cup of
coffee with a side of gossip,” Wade said as I handed him the cup I bought for
him.

“I didn’t realize you were here or I would have
brought you one, Juliet,” I apologized.

“That’s okay. I’m here to find out the real deal
about what happened in the park. That and to check out the hot guy behind the
desk pushing subversive books on the innocent townsfolk of Miller’s Cove. He
tried to make me read
The Scarlet Letter
. The nerve! So what’s the
skinny, Minnie, with the murder?” Juliet leaned forward and fixed me with her
best detective interrogation glare. After our pitiful attempt at crime detection
last year almost got me killed, Juliet immersed herself in the world of crime –
fact and fiction. She read as many mystery novels as she could and watched
cheesy, 1970s cop shows during her free time. I had created a monster. A
yoga-loving, granola-eating, Nancy Drew wannabe monster. 

      “What makes you think I
know anything?” I grabbed the
Miller’s Cove Courier
and pretended to
read the headlines. “I see they are planning to build a new subdivision down by
the lake. It’s called Shady Retreat.”

      “
Aargh
!
Spill it!” Juliet screeched as she snatched the paper out of my hands.

      “I’m guessing it was one
of the summer renters here for the artist’s retreat. She was young, blonde and
pretty,” I lowered my voice and glanced around to make sure the library was
empty, “Don’t breathe a word, but somebody stabbed her in the chest with
a paintbrush.” 

“Jiminy Christmas! That’s a horrible way to kill
someone!” Juliet exclaimed. She clapped her hand over her mouth when she
realized how loud she was.

“Shush! No one is supposed to know that little
detail,” I admonished her. I briefly considered showing them the pictures I
took on my phone, but decided to hold off for now.

“The cops kept a piece of evidence back from the
press so they can identify the perp. Smart.” Juliet narrowed her eyes. She
tried for wise cop but came across more like a crazed Pomeranian.

“You’ve been watching way too many police shows
from the seventies,” Wade chuckled. “I can’t imagine Clint saying
perp
when he discusses a case with Sheriff Dawes,
but I could be wrong. For all I know, they might sit around with their feet on
the desk and eat doughnuts all day.” 

“I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out how you
kill somebody with a paintbrush. Wouldn’t the handle break?” I recalled the crime
scene and the wound in the girl’s chest. Something about it seemed odd. Like
someone staged it.

      “Wait a minute.
Paintbrush?” Wade made a motion like he was painting the side of a barn. 

      “An artist’s paintbrush,
silly, not a paintbrush for painting walls. That would be too bizarre. There
was an unfinished canvas and easel on the ground next to her. I guess
we’ll wait until they release more details about the crime to find out who she
was and who killed her,” I said.

“We should investigate and solve the crime
ourselves. Clint’s out of town. The sheriff is short-staffed since the new
deputy isn’t here yet. We could help,” Juliet said. Wade and I both turned and
gave her open-mouthed stares. “What? Don’t stare at me like I’ve gone bat guano
crazy. We found clues last time.
Phee
used to be the
only one with investigator knowledge. Now that I’ve read every Agatha Christie
novel in the library, I’ll be a real asset. Besides,” Juliet rummaged in her
purse and pulled something out, “I made us both the coolest crime fighting
accessory ever.” 

I shook my head as I saw what Julie pulled
out of her purse. She held two hot pink masks she had obviously sewn
herself. A bedazzled ‘L’ was on the forehead of one and a ‘Y’ on the other.
“Okay, ‘L’ I get. Super Librarian. But,
Juls
, I’m
dying to know. What the heck does the ‘Y’ stand for?”

“Super Yogi!” She exclaimed.

“Lord love a duck, but I believe you’ve gone mad,”
I laughed.

CHAPTER FIVE

“The two of you scare me sometimes, and this is
coming from a guy who’s been to war.” Wade shook his head as he watched Juliet
and I try on our masks. I had to admit that I liked my hot pink mask much
better than my boring black one I made last year. “I don’t have enough in
savings to bail you both out of jail if you get caught doing something crazy.
Do I rescue my girlfriend or the lady who signs my paycheck? Decisions.
Decisions.” 

 Juliet leaned over and gave Wade a quick
peck on the lips. “No worries. Now that I’m in the game, there is no way we can
get in trouble. Besides, the masks are for fun. I doubt we’ll ever be lucky
enough to wear them.”

“Listen up, Super Yogi, our first task is to
identify the victim. She wasn’t a local, so we should go to the rental cabins
by the lake and snoop there first,” I suggested. I felt safe nosing around a
stranger’s death. No ties to me meant no danger.

“You want to go down there this evening?” Juliet
asked.

“Sorry, I can’t. I forgot to tell you. I ran into
Grant at the coffee shop. We’re going to a movie tonight.”

“Have
you
lost your ever
lovin
’ mind?” Juliet parroted. “Oh, wait. I don’t even need
to ask because I know you have. There is no way you’d catch me hanging out with
him again!” 

“It’s hard to explain,” I hesitated while I
formed the words to explain my decision to still be friends with Grant. “It’s
not Grant’s fault his mom is crazy. He’s been my friend for so long I need to
at least make an effort to keep the friendship going. Grant’s a good guy. To be
honest, I looked at him today, and it was like seeing a kicked puppy.”

“You’re a better person than I am. I’d leave that
kicked puppy at the pound. I need to go adjust my chakras and try harder to
forgive,” Juliet said. “What’s Clint’s opinion of this movie date?”

“It’s not a date. It’s two friends figuring things
out after a shared trauma,” I protested. “And Clint doesn’t know because he’s
in class all day today. I’ll call him tonight before I go.”

“Whoa. Good luck with that one.” Wade gave a low
whistle. “If it was me, I’d be pissed if Juliet went to the movies with a man
whose mom tried to kill her. Clint must be more evolved than I am. Me, Tarzan.
You, Jane.” Wade beat his chest. He grabbed Juliet around her waist and
pretended to swing on a vine. She giggled and kissed Wade. They were good for
each other. Wade brought Juliet down from the clouds, and she made Wade take
life a little less seriously.

“Clint doesn’t have a jealous bone in his body. He
knows how much I pine for him every day and long for his sweet kisses at
night,” I simpered in my best bodice-ripping heroine voice. I batted my
eyelashes at Wade and clasped my hands to my heart. “I just can’t live
without my big, strong lawman.”

“I just threw up a little in my mouth,” Juliet
gagged. “Be serious. Once we know who she is, we can find out who hated her
enough to kill her. I’ll mosey down to the park and see what I can overhear.”
Juliet grabbed her bag off the desk and started towards the door. She paused
and looked over her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later, my big
hunka
chunka
burning love.” She
blew Wade a kiss and sashayed out the door.

“
Hunka
chunka
burning love? Hmmm…I need to change the name on your
personnel file.” His face turned bright pink, and he busied himself by
straightening the newspaper to put back on the rack.

“She just said that to tease you. Behind closed
doors, I’m her Sugar Booger,” Wade deadpanned as he headed over to the reading
area to shelve new books.

“I think I’m the one that just threw up a little.
We’d better get busy unloading all the boxes of books still in my van. We’ll
have to see if they reschedule the Founder’s Day Celebration or cancel it
altogether. In the meantime, I need to supervise Juliet’s detective work before
she gets herself into a pickle.” I snapped my fingers at a sudden thought. I
reached over and picked up the phone to ferret out my first clue. “I know the
perfect person to help me figure out who that girl was.”

CHAPTER SIX

“Stone Street Gallery. Nicolette Simonton
speaking.”

“
Nic
, it’s
Phee
Jefferson over at the library,” I said.
Nic
and I knew each other from volunteering with the kids
at the Miller Cove’s Parks and Recreation Department Summer Camp. I did story
hour and crafts with the younger children while
Nic
taught beginning art to the tweens and teens. “I wanted to ask you a quick
question.” 

“
Phee
! It’s good to hear
from you. What’s up?” 

“I had the misfortune of discovering a murder this
morning down at the park. You might have heard about it through the rumor
mill.” 

“It was all anyone could talk about when I grabbed
my cup of coffee today.”

“I hoped that you might know who the victim was,”
I said.

“Me?”
Nic
sounded
surprised. “I don’t see how in the world I can help.”

“She was in her early twenties with long blond
hair. Very attractive. She was painting a landscape. She could be here for the
artist’s retreat.” 

“Petite with long blonde hair past her shoulders?
Sounds like
Elody
Campbell. She brought me a few
pieces to sell in the gallery. I was thrilled to take her art on commission
because she has talent. Her paintings are amazing.”  

“Do you know anything about her? Was she attending
the artist’s retreat?”

“Aren’t these questions for the police to ask? I
don’t mean to sound rude, but aren’t you sticking your nose into something that
isn’t your business?”
Nic’s
voice tightened. 

“You’re right,” I said. “I’ll pass
Elody’s
name on to the police. I was curious about who she
was since I found the body. I appreciate your help.”
Nic
wouldn’t understand my urge to investigate the murder myself. She probably
thought my interest was a little ghoulish.

“Not a problem. I wish I could tell you more,
Phee
, but go ahead and pass
Elody’s
information to the sheriff. I’ll be happy to help them however I can. Take care
of yourself.”
Nic
disconnected the phone. Perhaps I
just imagined it, but her voice seemed to have lost its earlier warmth.

I felt bad for upsetting
Nic
,
but then gave myself a small mental kick. The one thing I learned from my
near-death experience last year was that I wasn’t responsible for everyone
else’s feelings. I picked the phone back up and dialed the number for the
sheriff’s office. 

When Tina answered, I asked to speak to Mark. “You
haven’t found another body, have you? I swear Miller’s Cove is turning into a
veritable hotbed of crime.” 

“What? No, I wanted to tell Mark the victim’s name
is
Elody
Campbell.”

“Thanks, but we’ve already identified the victim.”
Tina lowered her voice, “Mark’s down at the lake. Turns out somebody broke into
one of the cabins and turned it upside down. He’s trying to investigate the
break-in and the murder. Sheriff Dawes is on damage control calming everybody
down before people say a serial killer is on the loose!” I heard the nervous
snapping of gum through the phone.

“That’s odd. Two crimes in one day? Did someone
local know the victim?”

“You don’t keep up with the celebrity gossip do
you?
Elody
Campbell is Senator Campbell’s daughter.
They had a huge falling out when she dropped out of college and went on the
party circuit with her grungy artist boyfriend a little over a year ago.
His name is Jay something or another. Anyway, he’s a petty criminal who got
lucky when he hooked up with
Elody
. An article about
his artwork appeared in a big spread in a magazine. He went from drinking cheap
beer at the local bar to sipping champagne with the jet setters. It was on the
cover of 
People Peepers 
a
few months ago. The Senator cut her off without a dime, but she kept on
partying. It almost lost him the last election. I can’t believe you didn’t hear
about this. You should read more than just those dusty old books in the
library,” Tina admonished.

Feeling chastised, I said, “You’re right. I tend
not to keep up with the news or gossip rags.”

“The sheriff already notified the family. As soon
as I saw the crime scene photos, I recognized her,” Tina bragged. “At first I
wasn’t sure because in all the magazines she had her hair and makeup done to
the max. I follow her on Twitter though, and she posted a no makeup picture of
herself supporting a celebrity cause. I’m positive it was her. Her daddy may
have cut her off from the family trust, but she was still living a trust fund
baby’s life. She went on vacations on tropical islands and dinner in Paris with
that Jay guy. She tweeted about everything she did until about a month ago,
then no one saw hide nor hair of her. The rumor is that she dumped him and was
trying to get back in good with the family. Who knew she’d been hiding out here
in Miller’s Cove the whole time!”

“Thanks, Tina. I guess you didn’t need my
information. Between you and Nellie, the sheriff knows everything that everyone
is doing. Could you let Mark know that I talked to Nicolette Simonton?
Elody
gave Stone Street Gallery her paintings to sell on
commission. It might be nothing, but I am sure he’ll want to speak to Nic. I’ll
chat with you later.” I hung up and contemplated Tina’s celebrity gossip. It
was odd that a famous for being famous social butterfly would be murdered in
remote Miller’s Cove. We were as far removed from the nightlife of the city as
you could get. My next step would be to find out as much as I could about
Elody
outside of the gossip pages. The only problem was how
did a small town librarian with the fashion sense of a gnome learn about the
hip and chic crowd of the big city?