Death Wore Brown Shorts (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 1) Read online

  “Not yet. This is nice.”

  “Do you think she had something to do with Paul?”

  Jane glared at her.

  “Sorry. You’re right.”

  “Okay, I’m going to tell you something, but you have to keep it to yourself.”

  Annie swallowed. “What?”

  “Stacy is seeing Robert.”

  “Like seeing seeing?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s like seventy, isn’t he?”

  “Sixty-five.”

  “And she’s our age.”

  “A little older, but she’s embarrassed about anyone finding out because of the age difference.”

  “And she trusted you? Well, the two of your are closer than she and I, I suppose.”

  “I have my ways, but Stacy ogling him in the grocery store wasn’t too hard to notice either.”

  The news explained where Stacy was coming from the night of the murder, too. Robert’s house was closer to where Paul’s truck had been parked than Stacy’s. That’s why she hadn’t seen anything.

  The door opened, and Stacy returned. Annie found it hard to keep a straight face.

  Jane whispered in Annie’s ear. “She doesn’t know I know.”

  “What are we talking about, ladies?” Stacy beamed at them. Annie began to see why Stacy seemed happier over the last few weeks, but where were the lady and her beau off to in the middle of the night?

  “What stores we will hit first,” Jane promptly lied.

  Stacy whooped. “Well, I don’t have a lot of money, but I love window shopping.”

  “Me too, and Aunt Bridge gave me some amazing pointers the other day, Jane. She has an incredible fashion sense.”

  “Clothes have never been Aunt Bridge’s shortcoming.”

  Annie agreed. “You should have seen her at the luncheon. So many men were at her beck and call. I don’t know how she does it.”

  Stacy huffed. “For a while, I thought she would try to seduce Robert and make him her fourth husband.”

  Annie and Jane fell silent. Stacy looked from one to the other.

  “What did I say?”

  “Nothing.” Jane hopped to her feet. “Let’s get out of here. I’m suddenly feeling very hungry.”

  “Now you’re talking, sis.”

  They left the spa and headed to the mall. For the rest of the afternoon, Annie laughed with her sister and Stacy, teased them both, and enjoyed herself. Her own mind calmed quite a bit, and color she didn’t realize had left Jane’s face returned to it.

  When they dropped Stacy at her place and started around the block toward Annie’s house, Annie reached for Jane’s hand and held it. “Jane, I’m glad we did this. I want to do it regularly from now on.”

  “Me, too.”

  She squeezed Jane’s hand a little. Funny how Jane’s was the only hand she ever held. Every time Annie fell into a situation where the other person might stick their hand out for her to shake, she preempted the movement with one of her own designed to throw them off.

  “And if you ever need to talk to me, day or night, please call, okay?”

  “Annie, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m the big sister. I look out for you.”

  “No, I’m the big sister. Have you seen this chunky body?”

  “Your body’s beautiful. You are beautiful, Annie.”

  She grinned. “Yes, I am.”

  Annie left her sister to drive on to her own house.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Halfway through the next day, Annie stopped work and stretched. She recalled she hadn’t checked the mail today or the day before and figured now was as good a time as any. Carrying her cell phone with her because it was habit, she checked her emails.

  The phone rang, and she almost dropped it. Flynn’s name appeared on the screen, and she rolled her eyes before answering. “I thought you were calling me the other night?”

  “I apologize. I had an issue.”

  She chewed her lip, suddenly self-conscious remembering what happened at Icky’s. “An issue?”

  “Why does it sound like you don’t believe me, Annie?”

  “No idea. So what did he say? Did you ask him about Evie?” She strolled up the drive and unlocked the door. A dog barked, and she glanced over her shoulder. Evie’s dog. Was she back?

  Annie slammed the door she’d just opened and jogged along the walk. The dog stood in the middle of the street, barking at Annie. She dragged the phone from her ear and rested it against her chest. A scan of the area produced nothing. No movement from anyone, no sight of Evie or her car.

  “What’s that, Lassie? Timmy fell down the well?” Annie whispered, remembering an old movie about a dog leading everyone back to his injured owner.

  “Annie? Can you hear me? What’s going on?”

  She raised the phone to her ear. “Nothing. I think Evie’s back. I’m going up there in a minute. What did you say?”

  “Stay home.”

  “What?”

  “Wait for me, and we’ll go together.”

  She sighed. “Flynn, it’s been fun playing…whatever…famous…boy-girl detective combo thing, but I can handle what I need to on my own. Thank you for defending me the other day. You’re a hero.”

  She rambled on a few minutes with him cutting her off every few seconds.

  “Annie!”

  “Yes?”

  He grumbled something under his breath. “Icky told me about three years ago Evie stopped by his place looking for Paul.”

  “Paul? She went to her ex-husband looking for your cousin?”

  “Yeah. Apparently, Icky fenced a lot of stuff through Paul. One day Icky stole a family heirloom like a bracelet or something that belonged to her grandmother. Paul brought it back to her, said it looked precious because of the initials. I don’t know how Icky found out Paul kind of double-crossed him.”

  “Hm, good of Paul.” Sarcasm laced her words.

  “Anyway, Icky said Paul gave him money for the bracelet but took the bracelet back to Evie. That’s how she got know what Paul did for Icky on a regular basis. It might have been one of the only times my cousin thought of someone other than himself.”

  “Maybe deep down family was important to him.”

  Flynn neither denied nor acknowledged her theory. “The incident pushed Evie to decide to leave, but Paul apparently stayed in her mind.”

  “As a contact for the day she decided to switch to the dark side.”

  “Uh, yeah, something like that.”

  Annie paced along the sidewalk. “This is the reason you don’t want me to go up there?”

  “Annie, she’s guilty, and as soon as I turn over what I know to the police, I’m pretty sure they’re going to make an arrest.”

  “Nothing you told me convinces me Evie killed Paul.”

  “It doesn’t prove she didn’t. She’s the closest person I’ve found, and if she’s not guilty why did she try to frame someone else? For that matter, why did she disappear?”

  “I’m going to find out!”

  “Annie.”

  She disconnected the call.

  Annie wanted to believe Evie was innocent. Her fear when she talked to Annie was real. Evie knew she had done wrong, and her actions would probably lead the police to her front door. If Annie and Flynn made the connection with Icky, Detective Lawson couldn’t be far behind.

  Annie came to a stop as she headed up the street. Come to think of it she and Flynn were ahead of the police. In the last few days, they had learned so much on their own, not even consulting with Detective Lawson.

  Friends and even acquaintances like Omen talked to Annie when they had no intention of confessing to law enforcement. A thrill rushed through Annie, and she continued walking. Nothing felt better than making a difference in the world. She smiled to herself and then sobered when she recalled Evie’s predicament.

  At Evie’s drive, Evie’s dog fell into step beside Annie and began walking with her. She gazed down at the pooch. Rea
lly, he was far more than a pooch, as the word put the image of a small dog into Annie’s mind. Shadow, a black Labrador mix with a white chest and snout, had to be at least fifty pounds, maybe more.

  “Where’s your owner, Shadow?”

  The canine’s head turned sideways as if he wondered if Annie was all there for talking to him. She stopped at the door and raised a hand to ring the bell. Screeching tires sounded behind her, and she froze.

  Annie gulped and pivoted around in degrees. Detective Lawson had just pulled up in his car, and a uniformed cop with a female partner rolled to a stop in another vehicle. All three climbed out and headed in Annie’s direction. Shadow, the traitor, jumped into the bushes and disappeared.

  Blood clogged Annie’s ears, making it hard to hear, but she saw Detective Lawson’s lips moving. She looked away from his angry face to where his hand set atop a gun holster at his hip. The other officers did the same.

  “Waaa…” Annie began, feeling silly. “…did you say?”

  Another car arrived, probably making tire noises as well because all the policemen stopped advancing and turned to look. Annie peered past Detective Lawson and spotted Flynn climbing out of the rental.

  “Annie!”

  Her hearing returned, and she sighed in relief. “What are you doing here, Flynn?”

  Detective Lawson raised his hand toward Flynn. “This is police business, Mr. Aikens. Return to your vehicle and go home.”

  “I won’t interfere, but please let Annie come down here.” Flynn signaled.

  Detective Lawson frowned harder. “I’ve just been ordering Ms. Holloway to go home.”

  “Oh is that what you said?” Annie let out a shaky chuckle. “Did something happen? Everyone seems to be up in arms.”

  She knew she should just shut up and move, but the group of policemen looked grim, and her heart pounded. A small panic attack seemed to brew inside her, and she didn’t have panic attacks. Well, aside from the meltdown at Icky’s, but she didn’t count it. That experience was on the extreme side.

  Any woman would freak if Icky touched her.

  “Annie,” Flynn called again, and she stepped off the porch. Her legs wobbled a bit, but she managed to regain the drive and headed toward Flynn.

  When she reached him, they stood side by side facing the house. From the corner of Annie’s eyes, she caught neighbors happening along the street. No one missed the squad cars or resisted getting a closer look. Stacy appeared at her elbow.

  “What’s happening, Annie?” Stacy didn’t look at her but watched the police crowd the front door and bang on it before shouting for Evie to answer. “Is Evie back?”

  “I think she is. Flynn, did you tell them what we learned?”

  He seemed paler than usual. “They didn’t come because of what I told Detective Lawson. He’d already gotten an arrest warrant.”

  “Oh no.” Stacy sniffed. “Poor Evie.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Icky was found murdered this morning. His wife found him.”

  Annie gasped. “They didn’t think his wife did it? Or anyone?”

  “I agree. It’s all circumstantial, but my guess is they’re going to get her in there and put pressure on her. She’ll crack and confess, whether it’s to just the stealing or the murder is anyone’s guess.”

  Stacy started crying in earnest, and Annie patted her shoulder. “Easy, Stacy. I’m sure the police aren’t going to charge her if she didn’t commit the crime. They’ll have to gather evidence against Evie.”

  Stacy sniffled. “No, it’s my fault. Remember when I told you I wouldn’t tell anyone about what happened to you at Icky’s?”

  Annie’s head spun. “Yes.”

  “I couldn’t resist. I told Marianne, and she told Jason while I was still on the phone. Then your Aunt Bridge phoned to tell me about that bake sale at the church. A little bit about Icky slipped out with her, but she was more worried about you. I don’t think she even heard everything I said. Then—”

  “I get it,” Annie muttered.

  Aunt Bridge seemed to know half the city’s residents, at least the charitable ones. Annie didn’t know if her aunt felt strongly enough about the family name not to share what happened. She might believe the news reflected worse on Icky than on Annie.

  Her aunt aside, Stacy gossiped with some pretty nosy women in their city, so Aunt Bridge didn’t have to speak a word for Annie’s humiliation to get around.

  Annie rubbed a temple. “It’s safe to say now everyone knows Icky knew Paul, but it doesn’t give anyone a reason to kill him except…”

  She didn’t want to say it aloud, but Flynn had no such qualms. “Evie. Granted, he only incriminated her. He didn’t give evidence, but he was a witness that says she knew Paul on a personal level. The funny thing is, if Icky were still alive, the police might have suspected him of killing Paul.”

  “Oh dear,” Stacy moaned.

  Flynn turned from them to watch the police, and Annie did, too. Detective Lawson spoke on his radio.”

  “What’s he doing?” Annie asked.

  “Probably getting permission to break the door in. My guess is she’s not there.”

  Flynn turned out to be right, and the fervor died down. Annie’s feet began to hurt, and her stomach rumbled. She saw no reason to stay. Flynn told her he would see her later and drove off. Annie started back home with Stacy at her side.

  “I’m really sorry, Annie.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Annie wondered when she would get the call from her aunt demanding she seek help. She also considered how long it would be before pitying looks were cast in her direction at the grocery store.

  “I guess I should be saying this to Evie, if I knew where she was. You were just a little embarrassed for overreacting. Evie’s being accused of killing a man because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.”

  Annie blinked at her. Stacy thought her reaction to Icky touching her was just being dramatic? Not that she had a screw loose? Hope rose in Annie. Maybe everyone else would think the same. In fact, it could be every woman she knew would agree from what they heard of how Icky was disgusting and scary.

  She was too sensitive and nervous about going too far. The tendency led her to be lenient with everyone and to excuse all quirks and flaws, even wrongdoing she saw in others. All of it was a way to protect herself.

  “It was bound to happen, Stacy. Evie did some things she shouldn’t have. I still don’t believe she killed Paul or Icky, but I’m not an expert.”

  “But you are an expert.”

  “A little internet research doesn’t make me a criminologist. I write fluffy mystery not police procedurals.”

  Stacy pouted. Annie saw her gearing up to make a push for romance again and wished her good night before hurrying into her house.

  After cooking a quick dinner of parmesan crusted chicken kabobs and fries, Annie took her plate to her office and sat down before her computer. She decided to spend the rest of the evening until bedtime getting more words down.

  The next time she looked up and rubbed her burning eyes, the clock registered after eleven. She called it a night and began shutting down the computer. A creak sounded over her head, and she froze.

  For a good fifteen minutes, she strained to hear any other sounds coming from the attic, but there was nothing. Still, Annie knew what she heard. Something or someone was up there.

  Trying to move normally, she left the office and went to her bedroom. The large umbrella didn’t have the weight she wanted, so she decided on the bedside lamp without the shade.

  With her phone tucked into her pocket just in case, she stood at the base of the stairs leading to the attic.

  Exercise, Annie, for cases likes this.

  She’d chanted the statement too many times over the last few days, but she hadn’t started a routine yet. God forbid she would get to the top of the stairs and have to fight for her life on trembling legs. Not good at all.

  The stairs creaked, but she ignored th
em. The person or thing had nowhere to go unless they jumped out of a third story window. None of the trees in her yard were close enough to leap to. Movies were too convenient with that sort of thing.

  Annie yanked on the light string. She expected to peer into the shadows, strain to see, and then get knocked aside as a killer fled past her to storm down the stairs. She almost laughed at the detail of this fantasy.

  What she got instead was Evie, sitting in a corner and Shadow lying on her lap as she stroked his head. Annie blinked. “Evie? How in the world?”

  Evie’s clothes appeared slept in, wrinkled, and dust-covered in spots. Her hair, usually so neat, lay in a greasy tangled heap about her head, and dark rings circled her eyes.

  “Hi, Annie.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Annie set the lamp down and rushed to Evie. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

  “I’ve been hiding out at your house a few days now.” She offered an apologetic smile, but it did nothing to alleviate the feeling of being violated in Annie. “I had a key.”

  “I’ve never given you a key.”

  “I’ve house and pet sat for Jane many times, and no one is as efficient as she is.”

  Annie frowned. “Don’t talk about Jane that way.”

  Evie stood and brushed off her bum. “I didn’t mean any offense. I just mean Jane labels everything, and she has a bunch of keys on the inside wall of her kitchen cabinet. One of them is labeled with your name. A long time ago, I made a copy of it.”

  Annie swallowed a few times. “That’s… I don’t know what to say to that.”

  “I know. You’re my friend. She is too, and I never intended to ever use the key. A few years ago I became a different person, someone I’m ashamed to admit to now.”

  “You mean you started stealing with Paul.”

  Evie’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, I got the stuff for him, and he sold it. We split the profits.”

  “Where did you get the stuff?”

  For the first time since they began talking, Evie smiled. “You haven’t figured that much out?”

  Irritation stirred in Annie, but she said nothing.

  “From everybody, the nosy busybodies, strangers, anyone we came into contact with. I’ll tell you how it worked.”