Hiding From Death (A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery #6) (3 page)

             
She’d just have to wait and hear what Jon had found out.

***

              Back at the bookstore, Sue met her with an uncertain smile.  “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”

             
Darcy had almost forgotten how upset Sue was over her news.  “No, Sue, I’m certainly not mad at you.  I’m happy for you that you’re going to have this opportunity.  Who knows?  Maybe someday I’ll have one of your books on these shelves.”

             
Sue laughed at the thought of that and seemed to feel better, even more so after Darcy gave her a quick hug.  “Why don’t you take your lunch break now, okay?” she told Sue.  “When you come back you can give me all the details about when you’ll have to leave.”

             
Sue nodded, grabbing her coat and promising not to be long as she swept out of the door, making the little bell ring.

             
Darcy twisted the delicate antique ring on the finger of her right hand over and over.  It was a habit she had whenever she was nervous or worried about something.  As happy as she was for Sue, her leaving for more schooling had really brought the situation of her bookstore to the front of her mind.  She actually owned the building, but the business license payment to the town was a monthly expense she was just making now.

             
“Millie, what am I going to do?” she asked out loud.  She knew her great aunt was here.  She always was.  She just didn’t always answer.

             
From the office, Darcy heard a thump.  She rolled her eyes.  A book had fallen off the high shelf above the desk, by the sound of it.  “You can’t just come out and tell me?” she asked with a hint of irritation.

             
Marching to the office, she found one of the leather bound history books she had picked up at a rare bookstore fallen onto the desk.  She and Jon had gotten those on one of their first trips together.  She remembered wanting them for the histories they had of the local towns, including Misty Hollow.

             
Sitting at the desk with the book now, she opened it to the section she had marked.  “Misty Hollow,” it read, “Established 1853.”  There was a rich history to this town, even if the modern day buildings and paved streets didn’t always show it.

             
She turned through the pages, skimming through the paragraphs and glancing at the photographs of how life used to be.  Horse drawn carriages, men holding double-handled saws to cut down trees, children in school using slate boards and chalk to do their lessons.  How different life was, she mused.  Things change so quickly, and it’s hard sometimes to keep up with the changes…

             
She sat bolt upright in the chair.  That was it!  That was the answer.  It would be a big change for her little bookstore, but it felt like the right thing to do.  She shook her head with a smile and looked around her at the empty room.  “Thanks again, Millie,” she whispered.

             
The bell over the door rang.  Sue was back.  “Darcy!” she called out.  “I got a sandwich to go.  I thought we could eat together, if you haven’t finished yours already.”

             
Darcy had actually forgotten all about lunch.  Excitedly she walked out of the office to meet Sue with a smile.  “I have one last job for you to tackle for the store before I can let you go,” she said.

***

              That night on her walk home, Darcy couldn’t help but be in a good mood.  She whistled as she went, watching the sun paint the clouds in different colors as it began sinking towards the horizon.

             
Off Main Street she turned, following the path that led her home.  Her good mood faltered a little as she passed by Anna Louis’ old house.  Now it belonged to Laura Lannis, she supposed.  Darcy stopped and stared at the windows with their lights burning brightly behind them.  She thought she saw shadows move inside a couple of times.

             
What was Laura’s story?  Why had she moved to Misty Hollow?  Where had she come from, for that matter, and why was she being so unfriendly?  There were any number of questions that burned in Darcy’s mind.  That was the kind of person she was, after all.  It had always gotten her into trouble, but even the trouble she got into ended up making good things happen.  Usually.

             
A chill went up Darcy’s spine as she stood there looking at the house.  She shivered, but she knew it wasn’t from the cold.  She knew the difference.  There was something wrong with this situation.  Her instincts always let her know.  Clenching her teeth she decided to go over to meet Laura Lannis tomorrow morning.  She felt a responsibility to know what was going on in there, since it had belonged to her friend.

             
She was sure Jon wouldn’t approve her decision, but he had become accustomed to her following her instincts, or her gut feelings as he called it.  He was still a little nervous about the way she could sense things or talk to people who had passed over.  Even though he’d seen her do it any number of times, she knew it still made him a little uncomfortable.

             
She huddled into her coat to ward off the cold tendrils that still lingered like icy fingers down her back and started walking toward her own house again.  Like it or not, this was something she was determined to do.

             
In the fading sunlight, mist rose from the ground along the path, collecting at the foot of the trees she passed, making the coming night seem even colder.

             
Darcy spooned out balls of cookie dough onto the greased pan.  The oven was set and she figured she’d have at least three dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies from this one batch.

             
Smudge curled around her legs, meowing up at her.  “Sorry, my friend,” Darcy said to him.  “Chocolate isn’t good for cats.  Be a good boy and I’ll give you a little milk before bed.”

             
Smudge made a snorting sound that Darcy understood perfectly well. 

             
She was just setting the timer on the first batch of cookies when Jon came home, whisking through the door with a smile and humming some song that she thought might be Bon Jovi.  “Hey, beautiful,” he said when he saw her, sweeping her into a spin and dancing with her as he hummed some more.

             
Darcy smiled and squealed as he twirled her around and held her from behind.  He kissed her ear and it sent shivers down her back.  “Something smells good,” he said.

             
“Is it me, or the cookies?” Darcy asked.

             
“Definitely you.”  He hugged her once more and then let her go.  “So who are the cookies for?”

             
“I wanted to bring them over to Laura tomorrow.  Kind of a welcome to the neighborhood gift.”  She stirred the rest of the cookie batter with a wooden spoon.  “I heard Cora and Evelyn talking in the Deli today, though.  Seems other people have tried to welcome her to Misty Hollow and she’s actually shut the door in their faces.”

             
Jon took his jacket off and set it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.  “You know, I heard that today, too.  The desk sergeant actually took three or four calls from people saying how they had tried to talk to this Laura Lannis and she wouldn’t give them the time of day.  Can you believe people in this town?  They want us to go investigate her because she’s acting suspicious.”

             
He reached around Darcy to pick up a teaspoon and then tried to steal some of the batter.  She slapped his hand.  “Don’t you dare.  So.  What did you find out about Laura, anyway?”

             
He shrugged and made another stab for the dough.  “There’s not much to learn, apparently.  Laura Lannis, age thirty-nine, moved into Anna’s house with her eight year old son Alex while you and I were away at the cabin.  Apparently the sale was made in cash, which I have to admit is a little strange, but not unheard of.”  He shrugged.  “No criminal record that I could find.  She’s just another neighbor.”

             
“Another neighbor, in Anna’s house,” she added.

             
“I know, Darcy, but Anna wouldn’t want her house to be empty forever.  Right?”  He kissed her cheek and as she was smiling at his little gesture he moved swiftly past her to scoop out a spoonful of the raw batter and pop it into his mouth.

             
“Hey!” she laughed.  “You’re as bad as Smudge.”

             
He smiled at her with the spoon in his mouth, humming and dancing around the kitchen again.  Darcy rolled her eyes at him.  “Oh, for Pete’s sake.  I give up.  Go upstairs and change, Detective Tinker.  I’ll make you a snack if you promise not to eat any more of my cookie dough!”

***

              After Jon had left for work the next morning Darcy put all of the cookies into a yellow plastic container with a lid.  Jon had offered to wait and drive her into town as well but she had told him she didn’t know how long she would be and there was no sense in the both of them being late.  He’d kissed her, taking his time, and then wished her luck.

             
The temperature had gone back down again overnight.  Putting her winter jacket on over her heavy sweater and stepping into her insulated boots Darcy took the cookies with her and walked across the meadow between her house and Anna’s.

             
She frowned.  It was Laura’s house now.  She guessed she’d have to get used to that.  Right.

             
The grass was covered with frost and crunched under her boots with each step.  It wasn’t a long walk between houses.  As she got closer to her new neighbors, she could see lights on in the windows and thought she could even hear a woman’s voice calling to someone.

             
The other thing she noticed was the mist that trailed along the ground at her feet.

             
Walking up the steps to the front door, she took a deep breath.  Raising her hand she knocked three times, and then waited.  The door was suddenly pulled wide open in front of her and a woman with long, jet black hair stood there in a purple robe, a scowl on her face.

             
“You must be Laura,” Darcy said cheerfully, lifting the container of cookies up as if to explain why she was disturbing them.  “Hi.  I’m Darcy Sweet.  I live in the next house over.  I wanted to bring you something to welcome you to town.”

             
“That’s very nice of you,” the woman said quickly, already shutting the door, “but this isn’t a good time.  I’m sorry.”

             
“Wait,” Darcy said, hoping to draw this woman out somehow.  “At least take these.  They’re homemade chocolate chip.”

             
Just then, a child that must be Laura’s son Alex came up to Laura, attaching himself to her side and looking up at the container of cookies the way that every eight year old looks at chocolate.  He had a pixie face and short, straight brown hair that went down just to the top of his ears.  His pajamas had pictures of sharks all over them.

             
Laura put a protective hand around her son and practically glared at Darcy.  It was less intimidating than it should have been because of the way the woman slouched, hunching her shoulders.  It was then that Darcy noticed how much makeup Laura wore, far too much to be pretty.  Her hair was unnaturally dark, too, and was probably dyed.  Laura couldn’t help but wonder who the woman was trying to impress.

             
“We have things to do,” Laura snapped.  “Please leave.  Alex, get inside.”

             
“Mama?” Laura’s son asked, his eyes pleading.  “I like chocolate chip.”

             
Laura’s face softened as she looked down at him.  When she turned back to Darcy there was less hostility in her voice, but just as much caution.  “Thank you,” she said.  She took the cookie container from her.  “I’ll get it back to you.  Now, please just go.”

             
Without letting Darcy say another word, Laura shut the door.  Darcy had just enough time to see a smile on Alex’s face before she did.

             
“Well,” Darcy muttered as she went back down the steps, “that could have gone better.”  Maybe Cora and Evelyn and the other people in town were right.  Maybe Laura was just an unfriendly person.  She’d have a hard time making it in Misty Hollow if this was the way she was going to treat everyone.  At least she had accepted the cookies.  Darcy supposed that was a start.

***

              Darcy made it to work just after Sue had opened the shop.  When she came inside and took her jacket off, Sue was helping a mother pick out a book for her little daughter.  “Something with fairies?” the mother asked hopefully.  “Sophie won’t read anything else.”

             
Sue nodded with a smile.  “Those used to be some of my favorite books, too.  Let’s see.  I remember there was a series I used to love…”