A Murder of Consequence (A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery Book 15) Read online

  COPYRIGHT

  First published in Australia by South Coast Publishing, February 2015.

  Copyright K.J. Emrick (2015)

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and locations portrayed in this book and the names herein are fictitious. Any similarity to or identification with the locations, names, characters or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

  - From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  No responsibility or liability is assumed by the Publisher for any injury, damage or financial loss sustained to persons or property from the use of this information, personal or otherwise, either directly or indirectly. While every effort has been made to ensure reliability and accuracy of the information within, all liability, negligence or otherwise, from any use, misuse or abuse of the operation of any methods, strategies, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein, is the sole responsibility of the reader. Any copyrights not held by publisher are owned by their respective authors.

  All information is generalized, presented for informational purposes only and presented "as is" without warranty or guarantee of any kind.

  All trademarks and brands referred to in this book are for illustrative purposes only, are the property of their respective owners and not affiliated with this publication in any way. Any trademarks are being used without permission, and the publication of the trademark is not authorized by, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  Description

  A Murder of Consequence – A Darcy Sweet Mystery Book 15

  A surprise early morning phone call from an old friend sets Darcy Sweet's sixth sense humming. Darcy's friend needs her help with something but won't say what it is.

  Darcy promises to drive the five hours to her friend’s house the next day. Upon arrival she discovers the shocking news that her friend’s husband, Braden has just been murdered!

  Trying to help find the killer, Darcy is almost immediately dragged into the murder investigation. The further into the investigation she gets the more secrets she uncovers. Half-truths and lies and mysteries within mysteries. It seems things aren't really as they appear to be.

  Who killed Braden and why? Will Darcy be able to work it out before she realizes that her own life may be in danger also?

  Chapter One

  Laying in bed, all warm and comfy cozy next to Jon, Darcy Sweet watched the snow falling outside of her window. The storm had dropped four inches overnight and didn’t show any signs at all of letting up. The wind blew the heavy white flakes into swirling patterns that seemed to hold hidden meanings, like it was some lost language. Sanskrit maybe, or the language of the birds. It was pretty. At least, from this side of the glass it was.

  She had already called Izzy, her next door neighbor and only employee, and told her not to try going into work at their bookstore today. There wasn’t going to be many people coming into Misty Hollow to shop today. Not with this storm going on. Izzy had actually sounded grateful. Now she would be able to stay home with her nine year old daughter. Schools had been cancelled all over the area, too. Lilly must be thrilled.

  So, that had set up her and Mister Fiancé Jon Tinker with a whole morning to do nothing but snuggle with each other and find interesting ways to keep each other warm.

  Until the phone rang.

  Darcy had muttered very explicitly about how she was going to dismantle the phone piece by piece as she rolled over to pick it up again from the bedside table. Early morning phone calls almost never meant anything good for her or Jon. He had taken the day off to spend it with her, but if the last few weeks were any indication of what his new job was going to be like, they could expect a dozen phone calls or more before lunch. That was apparently one of the downsides to being chief of police, even in a small town like this.

  So hearing a good friend’s voice when she answered the phone surprised Darcy. It wasn’t long before she was wide awake again.

  “I just don’t know if I’ll have the time this weekend, Sarah.”

  Jon stirred next to her. She stroked his hair idly as she talked to Sarah Wessel. They hadn’t spoken in a few weeks. Not since before the holidays. Sarah lived all the way out in Birkenfalls now, several hours away, but they had kept in touch with letters and emails and regular phone calls when they had the time. Sarah had been one of the first people Darcy had met when she came to live here with her Great Aunt Millie. A friendship that would last forever had begun right from the start.

  A few years later, Sarah had moved away with her family and that might have been the end of it right there, except that a few months ago Darcy had lost another close friend that she’d promised to keep in touch with. That incident had prompted Darcy to look Sarah up and reconnect. She wouldn’t be able to stand losing another friend to distance or time or fate, or whatever forces of nature were bent on keeping people away from each other. It was just a letter at first. Now the two of them were fast friends again, even if it was long distance.

  So when Sarah asked her now, out of the blue, if Darcy could come visit this Saturday, Darcy had to wonder why.

  “There’s a winter festival this weekend in town,” Darcy explained. “I know, why don’t you come out here?”

  “That sounds nice and all, Darcy, but…um…”

  In the back of Darcy’s mind, a little hum began, low and imaginary but real to her just the same. Her sixth sense was something she had grown up with. It had been the reason she had come to live here with Aunt Millie, for that matter, because Millie had the same abilities that she had. Abilities that very few of her friends or family were willing to accept as real. Abilities that had made Darcy feel like an outcast until Millie had shown her how amazing they really were.

  Right now, her sixth sense was telling her there was a lot more to Sarah’s phone call than just catching up on a cold and blustery January morning.

  Jon rolled closer, his arm across Darcy’s middle and his head pillowed on her belly. Silly man, she thought, as he went back to gently snoring. Her focus was on Sarah’s phone call, though, not the gorgeous man in her bed. She could tell there was something important that Sarah wanted to ask her.

  “I tell you what,” Darcy said into the silence on the line. “This storm is going to keep the roads messy for hours. Why don’t I come out tomorrow for a visit?”

  “Are you sure?” The relief in Sarah’s voice was easy to hear. “I don’t want to put you out. What about your bookstore?”

  “I have a friend who can watch it for me. It won’t be a problem. Hey, maybe I can bring Jon, too. We can finally meet this man of yours. What do you think?”

  “Oh, Darcy, that would be perfect. Braden hears me talk about you all the time.” There was another pause, where Darcy could practically feel Sarah wanting to say so much more. “Thank you, Darcy. This means a lot to me.”

  “You’ll explain the rest when I get there, right?”

  “How…is it that obvious?”

  Darcy smiled. It was obvious, but only to someone like her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sarah. Around eleven, maybe? It’s a long drive.”

  “That would be perfect. I’ll see you then. Bye, Darcy! Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  There was somet
hing in the way Sarah said that, just before she hung up, that set Darcy’s sixth sense on edge. Too bad it was just a sense, and not clairvoyance. It might be nice to know what everyone around her was thinking for a change.

  Not that she had any trouble knowing what Jon was thinking. His fingers were tickling that sensitive spot just above her hip, making her twitch. “Stop it,” she giggled.

  “Stop what? I’m sleeping.”

  “Jon. We still have guests, you know.”

  He sighed, but he knew she was right. Connor, ten years old and full of more energy than Darcy ever remembered having at that age, was probably up already. His mother JoEllen—or rather, Ellen—was probably up as well. Homeschooling for those two started promptly at eight every morning. Ellen had explained to Darcy that she might be in hiding with her son, under a new identity, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a decent education.

  “How long did we agree to let them live with us?” Jon asked with a long sigh.

  “You offered to let them stay. We never said for how long.”

  He moaned dramatically, and she laughed at him, feathering her fingers through his dark hair once more. He was so handsome. His strong, hard body felt good against hers and she could feel the beat of his heart against her body. He leaned up to kiss her and she let him steal one quick smooch before turning her head away. “That’s all you get,” she told him.

  “Aw. How come?”

  “I have morning breath! That’s why. Now, shoo. We might as well get up and do something with our day, don’t you think?”

  He caught her in his arms and pressed his/ lips to hers again anyway with a long and passionate kiss that took her breath away. “I would kiss you,” he said, “even if you had just eaten a toadstool and sauerkraut sandwich.”

  “Yuck! That is so gross.” They ended up laughing in each other’s arms, listing off the most disgusting foods they could think of and deciding none of it would ever keep them apart, although there might have to be a good deal of mouthwash involved.

  “So who was on the phone?” he asked her.

  “Oh, that was Sarah. You’ve heard me talk about her. She wants to know if we can come over tomorrow.”

  He pulled a face. “Doesn’t she live four hours away or something like that?”

  “More like five, give or take. That’s one of the things you get used to when you live in a small town like this. Everything is somewhere else.”

  “Yeah, it’s not like it was in the city.” He rolled onto his back and settled her on his chest, kissing the top of her long brown hair.

  “You miss it sometimes, don’t you?” Her fingers traced the pattern of Notre Dame’s logo on his t-shirt. “Living in the city, I mean.”

  “You using that intuition of yours on me?”

  “Ha. Very funny. I don’t need any paranormal senses to read you, Mister Tinker. I know you too well.”

  Jon had accepted her abilities quicker than most, and had even come to rely on her to help him solve some of the more serious cases at the police department. They were partners in every sense of the word, and she had never been happier. Their wedding day couldn’t come soon enough.

  “I don’t know if I can get away tomorrow,” he told her.

  “Oh, Jon. Really?”

  “Really. Sorry. I already took today off, and you know how crazy it’s been at the department since Chief Daleson retired and I took over.”

  “You’re doing a good job, and everyone says so. Even Grace said so and she wouldn’t give anyone a compliment if she didn’t mean it.”

  “Yeah, your sister is hard to please.” He laughed at that as he sat himself up, propped against the pillows. “I still can’t believe I’m her chief now.”

  Darcy stretched her arms out wide. Guess their morning in bed was over. “I’d like you to come with me, but I’ll understand if you can’t. I really want you to meet Sarah someday.”

  “Why?”

  “You two are my best friends. I think my best friends should meet. That’s all.”

  Jon looked at her, reading her face, and she knew he could tell what she was thinking. The whole thing with Chloe Marrin being murdered still weighed on her, and he knew it. Sometimes it really sucked being the only person who could talk to the dead. The only person people could turn to when they needed that kind of “special” help that Darcy could give. It might be nice to have someone else with the same gifts to talk to.

  She and Aunt Millie used to talk all the time. Millie had taught her that this gift they shared was meant for helping people. With great power, and all that. She tried to live up to her aunt’s expectations, especially now that Millie had moved on to the other side.

  After all, Millie wasn’t actually gone.

  “Want to get some breakfast?” he asked.

  “You know it. Do we have any of those muffins left?”

  Jon swung his feet out onto the floor and got out of bed. “No. Connor ate the last one yesterday.”

  “Huh. That kid sure has an appetite, doesn’t he?”

  “I think he feels safe here.” He helped her out of bed, holding her close. “You know what I mean?”

  “Mmm,” she murmured. He was right about Connor—Ellen too, for that matter—but with him this close that wasn’t what she was thinking about. “We don’t have to go downstairs right away, do we?”

  “Definitely not. What did you have in mind?”

  Explaining it to him, as the snow fell outside and the minutes slipped past, was the best part of the morning so far.

  ***

  Connor’s excited voice met her when she finally went downstairs later.

  “Darcy! Did you hear? It’s a snow day!”

  She ruffled his messy light blonde hair as she walked past the couch where he was sitting in his pajamas, rotting his brain to some splashy cartoon show on the television. “I did hear that. I didn’t think homeschooled kids got snow days?”

  He looked horrified, his young face scrunching up as he tried to decide if she was telling the truth or not. It was his mother who saved him.

  “I told him we could have one day off,” JoEllen called in from the kitchen. “He’s already ahead of the state’s required curriculum.”

  “That’s ‘cause I’m smart,” Connor said to Darcy with a big smile.

  “’Kay, you,” JoEllen told him. “Don’t get conceited!”

  Connor looked confused. “What’s conseeded?” he asked Darcy.

  She leaned down to whisper in his ear. “It’s when little boys are so smart that little girls want to date them.”

  “Eew, gross,” was his immediate response to that.

  Darcy could see through the dramatic expression Connor pulled. He and Lilly from next door had gotten to like each other. A lot. She wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see that develop into a first crush for at least one of them. It was nice to know that Aunt Millie’s old house had so much life in it again. Darcy thought the old woman would approve.

  In the kitchen, she found JoEllen Meyers sitting at one of the four chairs around the table, slouched down with her foot resting against one of the other seats. JoEllen smiled a greeting around a mouthful of eggs. Her once blonde curls were now black with auburn highlights, a color that actually made Darcy a little bit jealous because she could never pull it off herself. Those crystal clear blue eyes were the same as they had always been. Even if she hadn’t been smiling that crooked little grin she wore like armor, there would still always be amusement in those eyes. Not that everything was funny to JoEllen. She just faced the world with a better understanding of the Universe’s humor than most people had.

  JoEllen was on the run from her own past. It might not look like it, as she sat there in an old NYPD t-shirt and gray sweatpants, looking completely at ease with domestic life, but JoEllen had been a killer for hire most of her adult life. Maybe even before her adult life. Darcy wasn’t sure. It really wasn’t the sort of thing you asked someone. When Jon and she had first met her, JoEllen had been wo
rking one last contract against her will. Someone had kidnapped her son and was using Connor as leverage to make JoEllen do what she did best. Kill. Together, she, Darcy, and Jon had stopped the bad guy and saved her son, and in the process had become better friends than any of them had realized.

  Which led to them giving JoEllen and Connor a place to stay. For now. More than that, Jon was helping her build up a new life as Ellen Gless. People wanted her dead for what she used to do. The thing was, she wasn’t the same woman she used to be. Ellen had changed a lot more than her name. Darcy didn’t regret helping her at all. Friends forgave each other their pasts, and helped whenever they could.

  But sometimes she worried the situation they had created here would never end.

  “Did you make any extra?” she asked JoEllen, pointing to the plate of eggs and bacon.

  “Of course. On the stove. Is Mister Police Man going to join us?”

  “Jon will be down in a few minutes. We were talking about something upstairs.”

  “I know,” JoEllen said with a sly wink. “I, uh, heard you.”

  Darcy knew her face was turning red. Turning to the cabinet for a plate to scoop food onto let her hide her blushing. This was one of the things they hadn’t worked out yet. In an old house things creaked, and that meant that alone time with Jon wasn’t necessarily alone time.

  Um. Right.

  “Anyway,” she said, putting all of that aside. “We were talking about a friend of mine. She just called and asked if I could come help her with something. Tomorrow, in fact.”

  “Oh yeah? She say what?”

  “No, actually.” Eggs. Bacon. A slice of bread put into the toaster. “I’m sure there’s something serious going on with her but she didn’t say what it was.”

  “So then how do you know…oh.”

  JoEllen left it at that. She was more than aware of Darcy’s special abilities. She’d seen things that Darcy could do, and just shrugged it off like it was normal for a girl to talk to ghosts.