A VENEER OF MURDER (Mrs. Fix It Mysteries Book 3) (2 page)

“Some of them do. I prefer open carry to conceal, since with open carry I know it’s there.”

“Do cops always carry?”

She really didn’t know.

His gaze narrowed. “Of course. I always have my weapon with me. You’re always safe by my side.”

“Well, I better get going. I have to meet Meghan.”

“Let me know what that book is. It might be more significant than you think. Anything could be a clue.”

“Well if it’s a book about living frugally on a deserted island, I’m sure it’ll be helpful.”

Scott chuckled. “Clues aren’t always that obvious.”

She stood. “That’s why you’re the guy with the badge and I’m the gal with the hammer.”

“You want a police escort? I’m on my way out in a few minutes.”

“Across the parking lot? No. I don’t think that man was a threat now that he isn’t staring at me.”

“Can I stop by for a drink later?”

He was doing his best to insinuate himself into her life. She wasn’t doing as good a job at resisting it as she should. “No, I’m going to bed.”

“We could go there, too. I could tuck you in. Tell you a bedtime story.”

Part of her was thrilled that this hot man was attracted to her, but she knew she shouldn’t do anything about it. She didn’t answer him, just waved as she went out the door.

“That wasn’t an answer,” he yelled from his office.

Back out in the parking lot, Kate looked up at the sky again. It was still blue with puffy clouds wandering by. How could anything be bad on an evening like tonight? Dean and Jessica had had a great night to get married.

Meghan’s car was parked outside the library, so Kate entered the building.

“Meghan?” Kate said.

The hair on the back of Kate’s neck stood on end. Should she call Scott?

She called out to her friend. Some of the lights were on in the library, but Kate had been here enough lately to know her way around in the dim light. It just wasn’t like Meghan to forget to light her way.

“What did you have to show me?”

No answer. Kate made her way around the bookshelves and back to Meghan’s office. There was a light on in there. Her friend must have gotten distracted by something and forgotten that Kate was coming by.

Kate entered Meghan’s office then let out a squeal. Meghan was at her desk, slumped over a letter opener that was sticking out of her neck. Kate went close enough to feel for a pulse, though not expecting to find one.

She stepped out of the office then gulped in some air. Meghan was dead. Kate took out her phone and dialed Scott.

“Couldn’t stay away?” Scott said.

“It’s Meghan. She’s dead.”

“Kate, where are you?”

“In the library.”

“Get out and stand in the parking lot. Someone could still be in there.”

She hadn’t thought of that. “Okay. I’ll hang up.”

“No, stay on the line until I get there.”

Kate walked back out to the parking lot, her mind buzzing and her body cold. Meghan’s eyes were lifeless. Staring at her in her mind. Who would do such a thing?

Kate wrapped her arms around herself while she stood in the evening sun. Scott flew out of the police department door with two uniformed officers behind him. The cavalry. What an odd thought. The tears started to flow.

The first new female friend she’d had in a while and now she was dead. Was it Kate? Was she the problem? This was the third dead body she’d found in six months. Something had to be wrong with her. Her body began to shiver.

Scott had touched her arm then disappeared into the library. An ambulance drove around the municipal complex, parking by her.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” the young EMT asked.

“I’m not the patient,” she said.

She glanced at the library, but the young man didn’t take his eyes off of her. She must have looked a sight. Kate wiped at the tears rolling down her face. The man handed her a tissue from his ambulance.

“Thank you.”

Scott strode outside and right to her. He took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, Kate.”

She sniffed. She’d known that Meghan was dead, but hearing someone else confirm it brought the reality to her doorstep. She buried her face in Scott’s chest. He gave instructions to the EMTs.

“Let’s go to my office.”

He held her as they walked across the parking lot. Kate’s heart hurt. They hadn’t been friends long, but she had been developing a sincere affection for Meghan. Now she was gone. Murdered.

Scott put Kate in his office chair.

“I’ll get you some tea with sugar,” he said.

“No sugar.”

He shook his head. His tone was stern. “You need it, Kate.”

She didn’t have the strength to argue. She didn’t want to fight. “Okay.”

She stared at his blotter while waiting for him to return. She couldn’t get the sight of Meghan’s eyes out of her mind. How did Scott deal with dead people when he was a homicide detective in Philadelphia? She’d never get used to it.

He returned with a paper cup filled with hot tea. She sipped the steaming liquid as he cleared off his desk. Then he leaned on it, staring at her. It was a little unnerving to have this large man hovering over her. Greg hadn’t been that way. He assumed she could take care of herself. He wasn’t cold; he’d just never been this concerned about her.

“I’m upset, but I won’t shatter.”

“You’re much stronger than that, I know, but I’m still concerned,” he said.

Kate rolled the word around in her mind. “Murdered?”

“Most likely. I will need to ask you some questions, Kate. It can wait until tomorrow if you’d like.”

She shuddered. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“Okay, honey.”

She let the endearment go. Today it felt good for him to have this much concern for her. She’d just found a friend dead. She could use all the warmth she could get. Hugging the cup, she sipped it slowly, beginning to feel human again.

“Can I get you anything else?” Scott said.

He hadn’t moved. He was just within her reach, but she didn’t reach out to him. She couldn’t.

“No, the tea’s fine.” Kate took a deep breath, let it out then composed herself. “I’m ready to answer questions.”

“We need to go to an interrogation room, so I can record it. You okay with that?”

Whatever he needed. She wanted to talk while it was all fresh in his mind. “Fine.”

She followed him to such a room. She’d never seen him so solicitous toward her. He touched her more than usual, and she appreciated the human contact. Finally, he was ready to ask her questions.

“You were supposed to meet Meghan in the library?”

Kate thought back over her conversation with Meghan at the reception. She wasn’t specific about the item she had wanted to show her. “Yes. We talked about it at the wedding reception. She had something to show me.”

“Did she indicate what it was?” Scott said.

He sat across from her. A microphone hung in between them. He had his cop face on now. Serious. He was studying her as if trying to read her body language. She didn’t take offense. This was his job. His life.

“She said it had something to do with a book that my husband had taken out of the library and not returned.”

“Did she tell you what book?”

Kate shook her head then realized the microphone wouldn’t pick that up. She’d been puzzled and curious about what Meghan had wanted to show her. “No. She didn’t say the title or the subject.”

“So you don’t have any idea what she wanted to show you?”

“No, I don’t.”

Kate set the empty cup down. It no longer was keeping her fingers warm. She figured nothing would right now. The vision of the letter opener in Meghan’s neck wasn’t going to leave her mind anytime soon.

“You need some more tea?”

“No, thanks.”

Scott nodded then went on. “So you met her at the library.”

Kate took a deep breath. Scott held her hand. “I did. It was dark, which I thought was odd. She usually turned some lights on so I could see.”

“Did you often meet at the library?”

“Once in a while when she wanted to show me something new that I might like to borrow,” Kate said.

They’d share a pot of tea and sometimes cookies. It was sweet and fun. They were two middle-aged women who had had a lot in common. Her friendship with Carly was the same, but Carly had never been married. Meghan had.

“So the lights were off.”

She remembered being bothered by the light being off. It should have been her first clue that something was off. “Yes.”

“You didn’t think it might be dangerous?”

“Rock Ridge Public Library? No. The thought never occurred to me.”

As much as there had been two, now three murders in town this year, Kate still felt safe here. That had been important when she’d chosen to have children and raise them in Rock Ridge. She wanted them to be safe.

“What did you do next?”

“I walked back to Meghan’s office. I called out once, but she didn’t answer,” Kate said.

“Then what?”

“I saw her slumped on her desk. I checked for a pulse then called you.”

“Did you notice anything unusual besides the body?”

“That she had a letter opener sticking out of her neck. A piece of paper was stuck on the opener.”

“Did you look at it? Did you touch it?”

“I didn’t touch anything but Meghan’s neck,” Kate said.

“Anything you want to add? Any enemies you could think of?”

“No, not at all. As far as I knew, everyone liked her,” Kate said.

“Anything that happened earlier in the evening you want to add?”

That’s when Kate remembered that Meghan had argued with Celia. “Uh, at the wedding reception, she told me she had an argument with Celia Johnson.”

Kate felt bad for saying that, but she had to be honest. She couldn’t hold back from Scott.

Scott nodded. “Anything else? Anything you can think of, even if it seems insignificant?”

“Nothing else.”

She didn’t think the man staring at her had anything to do with Meghan’s death. Could he have even gotten to the library that quickly?

Scott turned off the recorder. “This will be typed up, and I’ll need you to come back to sign it.”

“No problem. Can I go?”

“You want me to drive you home?”

She shook her head. As much as she didn’t want to be alone, she had to keep this man away. There was a strong possibility that in her current she would do something stupid. “My car is back at the reception. I just need a ride to Knights of Columbus Hall.”

“I can take you.”

He drove her to her car and followed her home. She waved at him from the porch, then curled up in bed without undressing and tried to erase the memory of Meghan’s face from her mind.

***

Kate returned to the police station the next morning to sign her statement. On her way, her best friend, Carly, called. She was in hysterics.

“Carly, what’s wrong?”

“They’ve arrested my mother, Kate. They think she killed Meghan.”

Kate cringed, wondering if it was because she had said something. She had to trust that Scott knew what he was doing. She was on her way to the cop house anyway. “Look, I have to go there anyway. I’ll see what I can find out. Get your mother a lawyer.”

“She’ll need a lawyer?”

“If they are charging her with murder, or at least questioning her, she needs a lawyer. Tell her not to talk to anyone until she gets one.”

“Oh, Kate. What will she do? She’s a touch bird, but not prison tough.”

Celia would probably tell the prison ward how to run his own place. And she’d be right. The woman could be a force of nature.

“Your father is there. She won’t get a raw deal.”

Carly’s father, Ken Johnson, was a detective for the Rock Ridge Police Department. Scott must’ve had some serious evidence to warrant bringing Celia in.

Kate parked her truck at the other end of the complex from the police department. She didn’t want to look at the library today. She just couldn’t.

Scott was in his office, of course. He wasn’t wearing the same suit. He must have gone home at some point. He looked fresher than she felt. Her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep. She’d showered, but she’d probably washed her hair more than once because she’d lost track. She’d pulled it back into a ponytail.

He stood when he saw her. “I have your statement here.”

He handed her a pen. “Go into the room and read it. If you’re okay with it then sign it.”

She read it, signed it, then brought it back to him. “I hear you’ve brought Celia in for questioning.”

Scott put up a hand. “Don’t get involved, Kate.”

“Carly called me on my way here. Could I at least see Celia so I can tell Carly that she’s okay?”

He frowned. “You don’t want to be in a relationship with me, but you certainly take advantage of our friendship when you want something.”

“I’m not asking for that much. I don’t have a file to pass her.”

He shook his head. “She’s in lockup. You want me to take you there?”

“I think I can find it.”

Lockup was in the basement and a uniformed officer sat at a desk by the entrance. He waved her in. It seemed everyone in the police department knew her. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

Celia sat primly on the edge of the bunk bed in lockup. No one else occupied the cell with her. Whatever drunks had been arrested last night were in the other cell. Kate didn’t glance in there. She didn’t want to know.

Celia didn’t stand. She just looked at Kate, her lips pressed together. Kate would bet that Celia had never been in jail in her life before.

“Hello, Celia.”

“Kate.”

“Did they tell you why you were arrested?”

“Besides the fact that I had an argument with Meghan earlier in the night?”

“What did you argue about?”

Celia sighed. “About my outstanding fines.”

“Doesn’t sound like a motive for killing a person.”

“I said that, too, Kate, but only Ken is listening to me. Scott wasn’t. I’m here now.”

“Do you have a lawyer?”

“He’s on his way,” Celia said.

Ken couldn’t investigate this case. Not as long as Celia was a suspect. Kate could not imagine the woman killing anyone. She could be a pain, but Kate couldn’t see her doing anything as violent as what had happened to Meghan. The killer had been mad.