Murder at the Bookstore, page 1
part #3 of Cottonwood Springs Cozy Mystery Series
MURDER AT THE BOOKSTORE
By
Dianne Harman
(A Cottonwood Springs Cozy Mystery - Book 3)
Copyright © 2018 Dianne Harman
www.dianneharman.com
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Paperback ISBN: 9781790612345
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To those of who are loyal readers, thank you.
To those of you who make it possible for my books to be published, thank you.
And to those of you who are first-time readers of my books, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
EPILOGUE
RECIPES
ABOUT DIANNE
COMING SOON!
PROLOGUE
Brigid parked her car in front of Read It Again, the only bookstore in the small town of Cottonwood Springs, Colorado, and which happened to be owned by her sister, Fiona. They’d decided to go out to lunch today, rather than having Brigid pick up something to eat and bring it to the bookstore, like they usually did. She rarely got to spend quality time with Fiona when she was distracted and surrounded by books. It would be a pleasant change.
“Hey, why didn’t you call me back last night?” Brigid asked as she entered the storage room in the back of the bookstore. Fiona was standing at a table butted up against the wall with her back towards Brigid, cutting open a box that had just arrived. There was a ripping sound as the knife tore through the cardboard. The back door was standing wide open, letting in a blast of cold air. Brigid thought that was odd. She’d never seen Fiona leave the back door standing open like that.
“Hello?” Brigid said as she moved closer. Why isn’t she answering me? she thought. Just as she was about to reach out and touch the woman she thought was her sister, Fiona walked through the back door, shutting it behind her with a slam, causing Brigid to do a double take.
“Oh!” Brigid exclaimed as she jumped back. “I thought…” She looked from the woman she thought was her sister to Fiona and back again. Confusion and shock were clearly registered on her face.
After an awkward moment, Brigid realized the woman standing at the table was Shelly, the new part-time employee Fiona had recently hired, and she relaxed. Shelly and Brigid were both members of the book club that met once a month at Read It Again and Brigid was casually acquainted with her. Brigid had forgotten that Shelly was now working at the bookstore, and when viewed from the back, the two women, Shelly and Fiona, looked remarkably alike.
Seeing the look of uncertainty on Brigid’s face, Fiona laughed. “I know, it totally flummoxed the UPS guy, too.” She tapped Shelly on the shoulder, and pulled an earbud from her ear. “Brigid, thought you were me, too. I think we’re fooling everyone today. This could be really fun. Maybe we should set up a hidden camera to catch everyone’s reactions?”
When Shelly turned around, Brigid saw that although from behind Shelly looked just like Fiona, from the front there was no resemblance. Both were roughly the same build and height with the same shade of deep red hair, but Shelly was much older than Fiona. Her dark eyes were gentle and a smile lifted her thin lips. Her lined face had all the indications she’d lived a hard life.
“We must look alike if we fooled your sister,” Shelly said. She turned back to the box she was unpacking and lifted something shiny out of it. “Looks like your new metal bookmarks are here.” She turned one over in her hand before passing it to Fiona. “I think they turned out beautifully, and I’ll bet they sell like hotcakes.”
Fiona took the bookmark Shelly handed her and looked it over. There was a long, pointed metal base for putting it into the book to save the place where the reader had last been. The bookstore’s name and address were engraved on it, topped with a cluster of crystals in the shape of a flower. The crystals caught the overhead light, twinkling like stars in the night sky.
“Oh, they’re gorgeous,” Brigid said as she admired the bookmark. “What are you going to do with them?”
“I think I’ll put them next to the cash register. I thought I could sell them for a couple of bucks each or give them as a free gift when customers spend over a certain amount on a purchase.” She leaned over the box and pulled out another one. “Here,” she said as she handed two of the bookmarks to Brigid. “One for you and one for Holly.”
“Thanks,” Brigid said as she admired them. She tucked them both in her purse and said, “Ready to go to lunch?”
“I think so,” Fiona said as she looked around the storage room making sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. Once she was satisfied nothing else needed her attention, she grabbed her coat from a nearby chair. She turned to Shelly and said, “I left the back door unlocked in case there are any more deliveries. Most of the delivery guys come in through it, although I’m not expecting any more today. I think the rest are coming in tomorrow, but you never know.”
“Not a problem,” Shelly said. “I’ll keep an eye out in case one does show up, and I’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone. You two go enjoy yourselves.”
“Are you sure you’re good?” Fiona asked.
“Definitely, I don’t think there’s going to be a mad rush for books just because you’re away from the store having lunch,” Shelly said with a laugh.
“Thanks, Shelly,” Fiona said as she picked up her purse. “You’re the best!” The two sisters headed towards the front of the store, leaving Shelly alone in the storage room. Shelly heard the bell attached to the front door tinkle, letting her know that Fiona and Brigid had left.
She took her earbuds and her phone from her pocket and put them on the table beside the box full of metal bookmarks. A surge of heat coursed through her body, making her skin feel the beginning prickles of sweat. Rather than deal with the hot flash, she propped the back door open slightly with a brick in order to let in cool air for a few minutes. It was colder than it had been recently, but the air was perfect for combatting the brief feeling of intense warmth she knew would be gone just as quickly as it had arrived out of nowhere.
Shelly moved around the back room, shuffling books that she’d entered into the store’s tracking system and then getting them ready to be displayed on the book shelves in the front of the store. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed such simple, methodical tasks. It was too bad the job was only temporary, because she could definitely see herself doing this on a daily basis. She turned off a few of the lights in the back room, leaving on only the small overhead spotlight above the door.
The rest of the storage room was bathed in darkness. She liked to keep as few lights on as possible when she was working in the storage room. Maybe it was because when she was a child her father had been adamant about only turning on just the minimum number of lights you needed or maybe her eyes didn’t like the bright glare from the fluorescent tube lights. Either way, when all the big bright lights were on in the room it bothered her eyes, so she always turned them off.
The storage room wasn’t big, but there were several rows of shelves completely filling it. There was just enough space for a desk in the corner and a table next to the door. Shelly grabbed another stack of books as she moved towards the desk. Settling into the chair at the desk, she selected a music app on her cell phone and turned on her favorite music so it played through the phone’s speaker. It wasn’t loud, but it was nice to have a little background music while she was working. After choosing a song, she opened the inventory program on the store’s computer and began to work on inputting the books.
A person walking down the alleyway heard the music playing as they slowly approached the back door of the bookstore. They knew exactly what store it was. There was only one bookstore in town, and it was owned by that awful woman, Fiona. They really didn’t like her, and had been thinking of getting back at her, but had yet to find the right opportunity. It was fortunate that the rear entrance to the bookstore was slightly open. They’d walked down this alley many times, and it had never been left open like it was now. Deciding to seize the opportunity, they slipped in without making a sound.
As soon as they saw who they thought was Fiona sitting at the desk with her back towards the door, the attacker was sure this was their lucky break. They’d wanted to get back at Fiona for a while now and there was no way they were going to pass up this chance. If they’d walked down the sidewalk in front of
The glint of the new metal bookmarks caught the attacker’s eye. Reaching in, they pulled one out of the open box, marveling at the sharp tapered end and the way it narrowed to a dull point, making it almost look like a knife. Wrapping it in their gloved fist, they crept up behind the woman at the desk. Lost in her work, her head was nodding in time to the beat of the music. As the attacker pulled their hand back, every bit of frustration, anger and hate they felt went into slamming the bookmark down and burying it repeatedly into Shelly, ignoring her toe-curling cry when it first pierced her skin with a pop.
The attacker lost count of how many times they’d stabbed the metal bookmark into her. It was as though something else took complete control of their body. Their hands moved on their own, releasing the pent-up anger they’d felt for Fiona. Feeling disconnected from the reality of what they were doing, it was as if they were watching a movie, not really doing the thing they’d been fantasizing about.
Shelly felt the initial stab to her neck, but after the searing pain and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness, all she was aware of was the rhythmic thumps of each blow. Thump, thump, thump. Her attacker finally stopped when her body slumped to the side, lifeless.
The attacker knew it was time to leave before anyone came into the storage room and saw Shelly’s body. There was no feeling of regret by the attacker, only the thought of self-preservation. Satisfied with what they’d done, they slipped the metal bookmark into their coat pocket and rushed over to the door. The gloves they were wearing were insulated, so they didn’t realize when they pushed the door open, they left behind a partial, bloody gloved handprint.
Kicking aside the brick that was holding the door open, they hoped to make it look as though the door hadn’t been open. It never had been before, so why should this time be any different? When they left the back of the bookstore, they heard the metallic click of the door latch slipping into place. Tucking their hands into their coat pockets, they continued walking down the alley to their original destination.
Smiling happily, they were convinced that Fiona and her bookstore were history.
CHAPTER 1
“I really think she should focus on her classes for a couple of weeks,” Brigid said to Fiona. “Don’t get me wrong, Holly does great in school, but with the holidays and exams coming up, I can tell she’s feeling stressed.”
Brigid was referring to Holly, the thirteen-year old girl who had come to live with her after her mother was tragically murdered during a late-night visit to her church. She continued, “Holly needs to take some time off from her part-time after school job here at the bookstore.
Holly, who was standing beside Brigid, nodded. “Fiona, it will only be for like, three weeks,” she said. “Tops. I just need to study a bit and stay on top of my tutoring along with getting all my homework done. I’d slow down on the tutoring, but I think they need as much help as they can get from me right now.” In reality, she was only tutoring Wade on a continuing basis. Occasionally she’d have another student come to her for a short session, but not on a regular basis.
“It’s not a problem, Holly,” Fiona said. “Your school work definitely comes first. I’m sure I can manage, and if not, I can find someone to fill in temporarily for you.”
“I can help,” a voice said. The three women turned to see Shelly Logan standing close to them and collecting her things. It was just after a book club meeting, and Brigid and Holly were helping Fiona clean up after everyone left. December was only a couple of days away, although you wouldn’t know it from the weather. They had yet to see their first snowfall of the year. Even if it didn’t look like winter, temperatures reflected it, especially at night.
“Are you sure?” Fiona asked Shelly. “It would mainly be in the evenings and helping me on the weekends.”
The rest of the book club members had gone home, so it was just the four of them. “That’s not a problem,” Shelly said. “I just sit around and watch TV anyway. It would be nice to get out of the house and have some interaction with people.”
“I’m sorry to say the pay isn’t all that great,” Fiona said, “but the good news is you can read pretty much anything you want.” They began to move the chairs back to where they usually were and straighten up as Fiona outlined the details of the job to Shelly.
“I’m not worried about the money, Fiona. When Bill died, he left me quite well off. Really, it’s no trouble,” she said reassuringly. “I love this place, and I just like to spend time here.” She looked around the room fondly. “You know I think of your bookstore as a second home, and I’d consider it an honor to work here.”
“That’s great,” Fiona said clapping her hands together. “Holly, take whatever time you need to get ready for your exams, and make sure those grades stay nice and high. Maybe there will be some store credit waiting for you if you get good grades,” she said with a grin as she hugged her.
It seemed like only yesterday that Holly had come into Brigid’s life, an orphan after her mother was tragically murdered, with no family living nearby. Now she was just as much a part of Brigid’s family as if she’d been born into it. “Shelly, could you come in tomorrow around 4:00 in the afternoon, so I can show you the ropes?” Fiona asked.
Shelly nodded. “Sounds great. See you then!” She waved to them as she crossed the room and pushed the door open with her hip, the cold early winter air making her red hair blow around her head.
“I’m so glad that worked out,” Brigid said. “Holly thought she could still work for you and be ready for her exams, but since she’s taking both physics and college algebra this year…”
“You’re what?” Fiona said, her eyes widening as she looked at Holly. “How are you able to take two hardcore classes like those in one semester? Doesn’t your head want to explode?”
Holly laughed. “Not really, I like math and science.”
Fiona leaned forward and put her hand on the girl’s forehead. “Yep, she’s sick, Brigid. Real sick. She’s delusional. You better get her to a doctor right away.” They all laughed as Fiona stood and began to clean up the paper cups and cookie wrappers left after the book club meeting. Holly and Brigid joined her.
“Did I tell you what my new landlord’s trying to pull?” Fiona asked, shaking open a trash bag.
“No, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Brigid said.
“Well, a while back my landlord mentioned something about raising the rent for my store as well as the stores in the adjoining buildings. I told her my rent was locked in and couldn’t be raised. There was a stipulation in the purchase contract when she bought the whole row of buildings from my former landlord that she couldn’t ever raise the rent on the current tenants.” Fiona paused to lift a book that had been left on the floor before continuing.
“Jeff had given me a good deal and told me at the time I signed the lease that he would make sure nobody else could come along and try to screw things up by raising my rent. I told her in no uncertain terms that she couldn’t raise my rent,” Fiona said as she moved around the store, slipping the book back into its rightful place. “Guess she hadn’t paid attention to what I said, because she stopped by the other day to inform me she expected me to pay the new increased rent next month.”
“What did you do?” Holly asked.
“I went to the file cabinet, showed her the contract, and let her know it wasn’t going to happen. Let’s just say she wasn’t happy when she left here.” Fiona laughed, but Brigid didn’t.
“Are you sure making your landlord mad was a very wise thing to do?” Brigid asked. “What if she decides to throw you out?”
“She can’t. I’m following the exact terms and conditions of the contract. Legally, she doesn’t have a leg to stand on.” Fiona smiled cockily.
“Just be careful,” Brigid said. She admired Fiona’s ability to stick up for herself, but sometimes her sister’s sassy self-assuredness could rub people the wrong way. “There are some crazy people out there. You never know what she may be capable of doing if she wants to retaliate.”
