Peril for Your Thoughts (Mind Reader Mystery) (7 page)

“You just made your biggest mistake yet, baby.” He grabbed his toolbox and headed for his truck, followed by a clap of thunder. I counted the seconds and briefly wondered what the odds of getting struck by lightning might be.

“Wait, what about the fence?” I yelled after him, trying to focus.

“Do it yourself. It’s a nice big project. I’m sure you’ll be
real
into it.”

“What is the matter with you?” I turned on the detective. “This is all your fault, and you’d better not let your dog out until you finish this fence.”

“My fault? That’s a good one. If you hadn’t been all over him, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

“Are you kidding me? All I did was touch his arm.”

“I thought you didn’t like to be touched?” Nikos the Greek made an appearance, wearing a full smirk.

“I don’t,” I ground out.

“Could have fooled me,” he snapped, his smirk replaced with anger and what sounded suspiciously like jealousy. “Maybe it’s just me who makes you skittish, because I sure as hell did last night with the way you took off.”

“Actually, that’s not why I took off. You’re the only one who doesn’t make me squirm,” I muttered, “I mean you do, but not as much, and I was just … wait,
why
am I explaining myself to you? You’re the one who said I wasn’t your type.” Somehow we had ended up a mere inches apart as the first few raindrops began to fall.

“Well, you said I wasn’t yours either,” he said, his frustration clearly evident.

“Then why are we having this conversation?” My heart started beating heavier with his nearness.

“Damned if I know,” he growled, plunging a hand through his hair. “All I know is that you make me crazy.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do about that?” A fat raindrop rolled down my cheek.

“I don’t have a clue,” he said softer as he tracked its path with his gaze. He lifted his hand as though to wipe it away, and I held my breath.

“Guys, come quickly!” Jaz yelled out the kitchen window. “Meet me out front.”

Nik and I gave each other one last intense look and then took off toward the front of the house. When we got there, my jaw fell open. Jaz’s car had been ransacked. The trunk was pried open, the driver’s side window broken, and door left wide open. The visor hung off one hinge, and the glove compartment looked broken. And then there were the flat tires, which had been slashed in a violent, angry manner that spoke volumes. This didn’t look like an ordinary break-in. It looked like an act of revenge.

The rain started coming down in a sprinkle, so Nik sprang into action. I followed his lead as we rushed to the car.

“Don’t touch anything with your hands,” he said.

“No worries there,” I said, eyeing the car. It was in dire need of a wash, and who knew if the culprit had worn gloves or what Jaz had done in there. I tried not to think of the germs I could encounter as I slammed the trunk closed with my elbow and he bumped the front door shut with his hip. Just then the heavens opened up and it poured. He nudged me toward the front porch, where we ran to join Jaz.

“What happened,” Detective Stevens asked, all business once more.

“I don’t know. I didn’t see or hear anything,” Jaz said, handing us each a towel.

“Do you think it was Mr. Hogan?” I asked.

“I don’t think Johnny would do anything like that to me,” Jaz responded.

“Trust me, you didn’t hear his thoughts.” I scoffed.

The detective frowned. “No kidding, Kalli. Who on earth could?”

Jaz and I locked eyes and I laughed, sounding like a nervous hyena. “Right, I just meant, you should have seen his face. He has not been a happy camper ever since Jaz broke up with him.”

“Is that right?” the detective asked Jaz.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” she responded, looking at me questioningly.

The detective kept watching us keenly. I was sure he knew something was up, but there was no way he could know exactly what. I intended to keep it that way.

“Why would you call Mr. Hogan to fix the fence then?” he asked her.

“Because he’s the best,” she said simply. “Whether he likes me or not, I am first and foremost a business woman. I always hire the best.” That much was true, and it seemed to pacify the detective.

“Okay. I’ll talk to Hogan, but let me make myself clear. You two stay far away from this case, or the consequences won’t be pretty. Hogan left pretty angry after Ms. Ballas acted like a tease, so he could have trashed your car on the way out.”

“Wait a minute … Ms. Ballas did what?” Jaz squeaked, nailing me with a look I didn’t want to face alone.

“Later, ladies.” Nikos the Greek winked at me before the detective finished with, “My work here is done, and I’ve got a job to do.” Then he walked out the door just as the rain let up.

I sat there stunned, thinking I had a job to do as well and it started with a little thing called payback. But first, I had another mess to take care of. I slowly turned around to the murderous look on Jaz’s face.

“Now, Jaz—my favorite person in the world and best friend on the planet who would be really sad and lonely if anything bad should happen to me—let me explain …”

Tuesday afternoon Jaz and I went to Diner Delights for lunch. Since my family ran half the businesses in town, it made the choice of a place to eat difficult for Jaz. My cousins, Kosmos and Silas, were the only members of my family that Jaz got along with. Probably because they were young, single, attractive men … and off limits, which made them that much more appealing. Just because we had an agreement that she couldn’t date my family members did not mean that would stop her from flirting outrageously with them every chance she got.

Kosmos was on the short side, but built like a tank. He kept his dark hair cropped short, and it somehow matched his stature: tough as nails. But his eyes gave him away. They were the soft, dreamy, sleepy bedroom eyes that all women fell for. Then there was Silas. He was the biggest flirt of our family. Thinner but taller, with thick curly black hair and dimples that worked their charm every time.

Kosmos stood behind the deli counter, making sandwiches. He gave us a friendly wave when we came in and sat down. Meanwhile, Silas ran the register. He shot me a quick grin, but focused his sexy smile on Jaz and tossed her a wink. Jaz laughed and blew them both kisses. I just rolled my eyes. At least they’d cheered her up a bit, which even I had to admit she desperately needed.

The rest of my family thought she was a bad influence on me. Now that she was the prime suspect in Darrin Wilcox’s murder, they were on my case more than ever for me to move out. My cousin Eleni had a gypsy boyfriend who had a sister who dabbled in voodoo. I’d caught them whispering about Jaz and was pretty sure they’d put a curse on her. Normally I didn’t believe in such nonsense, but ever since I woke up with my “gift,” I’d come to realize that anything was possible.

“Why do you keep staring at me that way?” Jaz asked me after finishing her bite of Caesar salad. We hadn’t even needed to order. My cousins had prepared our salads and brought them to our table, even though the restaurant was normally self-serve. Today was the first day she’d dressed in a flowy dress and not yoga pants or a warm-up suit. She wasn’t back to work, but she was beginning to get back to her old self.

“Now you know how I felt the day I realized I could read minds,” I responded, wearing yet another suit. I kept hoping if I dressed the part, the rest would follow, but so far I’d had no such luck in creating more designs for my book. “You kept looking at me like I was possessed the other day,” I went on. “I’m just making sure you’re okay.” I took a bite of my own salad.

“Would you forget about that stupid curse? I’m fine.” She set down her fork, and I regretted killing her appetite.

“That’s what I said,” I pointed out, unable to ease my mind. I was worried something bad was about to happen, but I had no clue what or when.

The bell over the door chimed and in walked Detective Stevens. “
There
you are,” he grumbled as he sat down. “Why aren’t you home?”

“I’m a person of interest, not a prisoner. Last time I checked, I couldn’t leave town. No one ever said anything about leaving my house.” Jaz scowled.

“That might be true, but there’s still a killer on the loose and someone did just break into your car,” he pointed out to her.

“Good.” She studied him.

“Come again?” He rubbed his whiskered jaw.

“It’s good that you don’t think I’m a cold-blooded murderer like your joy of a partner.”

He sighed. “No, Jaz, I don’t. But I do think you’ve made some poor choices as of late. I’m just trying to keep you safe and do my job.”

“It’s just lunch, Detective,” I said gently, drawing his attention. “We did like you asked and stayed away from the case the rest of the day yesterday and all this morning. When we didn’t hear anything from you, Jaz got restless. I thought a change of scenery might do her good. That’s all.”

“Now that we’ve established I’m being a good girl, what’s the scoop? Did you find out anything from Johnny?” Jaz asked.

“He says he didn’t trash your car. He was pissed that Kalli was just using him—”

“Only to find out information,” I quickly added, my gaze darting apologetically to Jaz.

“Amateur.” Jaz rolled her eyes, not nearly as mad as she had been when she first thought I was hitting on him for real.

“Yet another reason you need to leave the investigating to the pros.” The detective leveled me with a pointed look.

“Continue please,” Jaz said.

“Hogan said the car was fine when he left your place, but that you had plenty of other enemies who would do something as petty as that. When he said he could think of better ways to get back at you, I did some digging. Detective Matheson and I discovered that John Hogan ran into Darrin Wilcox when he first arrived in town. Hogan was doing some renovations at the Clearview Motel for Larry Miller. When Hogan found out who Wilcox was, they got into an argument right before Wilcox left to meet you at Rosalita’s Place for dinner. Everyone heard Hogan say Wilcox would be sorry he’d ever set foot in Clearview before the night was over.”

“I couldn’t have had a relationship with such a monster,” Jaz said on barely more than a whisper. “You don’t really think Johnny could have killed Darrin, do you?”

“I don’t know him well enough to speculate. What I do know is that after Wilcox left, Hogan headed to Flannigan’s Pub. Michael Flannigan said Hogan came in and stayed all evening, well on his way to getting smashed. So he took his keys. Hogan wouldn’t let him call a cab, so he stormed out to walk it off. He said he was headed home. He can’t prove he actually did go home, but there’s also no way to prove whether or not he made a pit stop at Full Disclosure along the way. He didn’t return until the next day to pick up his truck.”

Mr. Flannigan was married to Lois Flannigan—one of Jaz’s regulars who had shown up for the sale on Saturday morning, only to discover Darrin’s body as she peered through the storefront window. She was the one who had called 911, and apparently she hadn’t been the same since, heart palpitations and all. Jaz had promised her a permanent discount once she reopened, but Lois wasn’t sure she would ever be able to set foot inside that store again.

I had to admit I was worried Jaz would lose business in town after this whole mess was over, but Jaz was a savvy woman with a strong business model. She still had an online component to her store that would work as a fallback for her while she figured out the rest. At this point I just wanted to keep my best friend out of jail. The only problem was the evidence was stacking up against her, and things weren’t looking so good.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“You two behave while I try to find Darrin Wilcox’s next of kin. It’s very strange.” Detective Stevens puckered his brow as he scanned his notebook.

“What is?” Jaz asked.

“Well, there’s not much information on the guy. It’s like he has no family and not much of a past,” Nik said to her, then turned to me. “When I checked out his social media profile for Jaz, he had said he was an international businessman, but then I found a reference he made to selling cars. I had assumed at the time that he’d just slipped up to what his real occupation was. At the time Jaz hadn’t cared that he’d fudged a few details about his occupation to make himself look better, because she wasn’t interested in anything long term. Now I wish I had done an actual background check on the guy. Maybe then we would have avoided this whole mess. Now that I’ve had to do some deeper digging, there’s no other paper trail on the guy. It’s like he never existed.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Nothing good,” the detective responded, giving Jaz a meaningful look.

“Yeah yeah, I get it. Poor choices.” She sighed. “Story of my life.”

“I suggest you write a new story, or you won’t have much of a life left,” he said gravely.

Speaking of having no life, the door chimed once more and in walked my PR rep, Natasha Newlander. “Well, thanks for the update, Detective, but Jaz and I have to go. Lots of work to do, right Jaz?” I smiled brightly as I stood and grabbed my purse.

“Uh, sure, yup, you got it.” She stood beside me, glanced at the detective, and shrugged. “Later gater,” she said to him as she followed me out. “Hey, boys,” she hollered to the back, drawing everyone’s attention, which was the last thing I wanted to do. “Put our lunch on my account. Thanks darlings.” She wiggled her fingers.

I glared at her. “Did you have to be so loud?”

“What’s up with you?”

“Her,” I said in a low voice, jerking my head to the side.

“You mean the stylish woman staring at you from across the room?”

I closed my eyes. Just peachy. Then opened them wide and worked up a smile as I turned around. “Great to see you, Ms. Newlander, but as you can see we were just on our way out. Lots of work to do, and all. You know how it is.”

She didn’t say a word. Just tapped her watch as if to say,
Clock’s ticking, Ms. Ballas, and we both know how it will be if you don’t turn in your book of designs soon
.

“What on earth was all that about?” Jaz asked.

“Story of
my
life.”

On our way home, Jaz begged me to stop by Full Disclosure. There was crime scene tape across the door, letting everyone know it was closed, but that didn’t matter to Jaz. Her store was her baby. She’d worked long and hard to make this place a reality.

“I hate seeing it this way,” she said as she stared in the front window. “I might as well be wearing a scarlet letter. People have always judged me, but I owned that judgment. I am who I am, like it or not. But this … this isn’t fair at all. I’m being punished for one stupid mistake, one more bad choice. I certainly didn’t want Darrin Wilcox dead, but I wish I’d never laid eyes on him.”

“I know. This stinks for sure. Innocent until proven guilty, remember? And we both know you’re not guilty, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Tell that to the judge.” She snorted, then stared down at the ground, her shoulders slumping a bit.

“It’ll be okay.” I dipped my head down so she could see my face. “Just know I’m hugging you on the inside.”

That got a lopsided grin out of her. “I know.”

“Unfreakingbelievable!” Maria Danza came charging out of her pastry shop across the street, followed by some mousy-looking woman who seemed dazed and confused.

Jaz snapped her spine straight. “Always good to see you too, Maria.”

“Save it for the jury. I don’t think you’ll be seeing anyone for quite some time after they get through with you.” She dusted flour off her apron-covered curves, a fine white powder drifting in the air around us.

“Maria, I don’t think—” I started to say, then coughed, wondering if flour dust would act like secondhand smoke in my lungs and what kind of damage it could do.

“And you!” She thrust her plump finger in my face, and I was more than happy to take a step back where I could take in clean air. “Don’t even get me started. For some reason, she has completely fooled you. You’re so blind you can’t see her for who she really is.”

“And what’s that, Maria? Please enlighten us.” Jaz crossed her arms over her chest.

“A man whore.”

“Well, that’s original.” Jaz smirked. “And actually incorrect. A man whore is a guy who acts like a whore, not a woman … kind of like your ex.”

“Well, you would be the expert. I wish you’d
be
more original,” Maria spat. “You’re such a cliché. A hot South American woman who’s so insecure she can’t be happy with a man of her own so she has to steal everyone else’s.”

“Look, I’ve told you a thousand times that Johnny said you two were through. I was under the impression he had already ended things. I had no idea you were still dating.”

“Yeah? Then tell me something. Is it your fault that Darrin was still married?”

“What?” Jaz and I both shrieked at the same time.

Maria looked smug, and the poor woman beside her looked ready to burst into tears.

“I can’t help it that men like me, but a husband stealer I am not. What the hell are you talking about?” Jaz asked.

“Like you didn’t know Darrin Wilcox was married.”

“
Is
married,” were the first words to come out of the mousy woman’s thin lips. “
Is
,” she repeated quietly.

“Then why on earth was he on a dating website?” I asked, unable to process what I was hearing.

“I don’t know. Daddy made him manager of his biggest car lot. We had everything we could want. He said he was going on a business trip, but I found out from Daddy that was a lie. Then I found his email to you, and his profile on the dating website. That’s how I knew to look for him here,” the woman said, finally staring Jaz in the eye. For the first time, she didn’t seem so mousy. She looked confused and hurt and angry enough to commit murder.

“I’m sorry. What’s your name?” Jaz asked, appearing poleaxed.

“Wilma Parks. Scott Parks is my husband. Darrin Wilcox is the alias he used to lure in floozies like you.”

“In Jaz’s defense, she had no idea you existed or she never would have agreed to go out with him,” I said, having a hard time believing someone like him could have been married to a woman like her. They seemed worlds apart, unless he’d been in it for the money her father obviously had.