Crumbling Up Crooks Read online

  By now, we’d actually made it across Main Street, which took much longer than the minute or so it should have taken if we hadn’t had so many stops and starts during our conversation. I opened the side door, letting Maggie and Pip enter before me. “Yeah, a real knock-down drag-out fight by the looks of it.”

  Maggie rolled her eyes. “Men. Can’t they just learn to talk out their differences instead of using their fists?” She uncurled the scarf from around her neck and shook her short dark hair, freeing it from the collar of her coat.

  “I hate to tell you this, Mags, but I don’t think AJ will ever have a chance to talk things out with Nick North.” I threw my parka on the nearest booth along with my hat and gloves.

  “Hey, Lil. How’s the baking coming along?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

  “Great. You’re just in time to help decorate the cookies.” Lily slid a tray out of the oven setting it onto the marble worktop to cool. A delicious aroma of sweetness filled the diner.

  I reached for one of the cookies on the tray, getting my hand swatted for my effort. “No sampling while they’re still so hot. You should know better,” Lily said with a shake of her finger.

  She wiped her hands on her apron. “Can I see the rings?”

  I glanced at Maggie, busy scratching Pip’s stomach. The Pipster lay on her back enjoying every bit of her spoiled dog’s life. She wasn’t worried about who or why Nick North lay dead in the back of Kelly’s store.

  “There was a problem at Creative Designs,” I said.

  Maggie stood up and brushed Pip’s hair off her pants. “What Dani is trying to say is that she found Nick North’s body in the back of the store and AJ in the front of the store. She’s trying to dance around the fact that she has no explanation for what happened and on the surface at least, AJ has a ton of questions to answer.” She looked at me with one eyebrow raised. “Right?”

  “You’re taking this well, Mags,” I said. I, for one, had expected a big melt down from her.

  She shrugged as if to convey that she didn’t see any big deal about the situation. “AJ didn’t kill Nick. The problem is getting to the bottom of what happened. He never lets me help him with this kind of thing. So, the only answer is that you’ll have to use your Mackenzie charm and help me help AJ.”

  I wasn’t sure I agreed with this logic, but I also suspected that I had no choice but to get involved. Was Maggie in denial of the possibilities surrounding AJ’s situation? Probably. But I agreed with her about one thing. I also didn’t believe that AJ killed Nick North.

  The problem was finding who did.

  3

  Lily hadn’t said a word yet about the disaster at Creative Designs that I’d just dumped in her lap, but true to form, she put mugs and a plate of cooled cookies on the counter. When in doubt, Lily offers a sweet treat and a hot drink.

  The problem was, the butter cookies that smelled like a warm helping of Christmas, were in the shape of a reindeer, which I hadn’t noticed when they first came out of the oven.

  The sight dashed my appetite away right along with my Christmas spirit.

  “Just tea for me, please, Lil,” I said and pushed the plate closer to Maggie. She hadn’t seen the broken and bloody reindeer, so her appetite was probably still fine. I supposed her appetite would be fine in any case with her obsession around all things to do with murder investigations.

  Before our discussion got any further, the side door opened, and Rose, my grandma, swept in with a wide brimmed felted hat and long purple wool coat.

  “What’s going on with all the police at Creative Designs?” she asked in her no-nonsense tone as she unbundled her outside layer of clothes. “Isn’t there an open house over there tonight?”

  “Probably not anymore,” I said.

  That response got a raised eyebrow but before she asked for more information, she had to give Pip her undivided attention.

  “Hello, Pipsqueak. What mess has Dani gotten herself into now?” Rose asked when Pip ran to greet her. “I’ve got something for you.” She pulled a red bandana covered with reindeer from her hobo bag. “Isn’t this one to die for?”

  “Not the best choice of graphics or words, Rose,” Maggie said. “Dani’s going to be having nightmares about Christmas reindeer for a while.”

  “Are you being overly dramatic, Maggie? Everyone loves reindeer.” Rose walked to the diner’s front window and leaned right up to the glass. “Come over here quick.” She gestured wildly for us to join her. “Is that a body being taken out on a stretcher? And what could you possibly mean about nightmares and reindeer?”

  I gave Rose the quick version of what had happened, finishing just as the door opened, letting a gust of cold air blow in along with Detective Jane Winter. She rubbed her hands together and walked to the counter, leaned her elbow on it, and rewarded each of us with a steely glare.

  We waited silently.

  Not even an offer of a hot coffee from Lily. An uncharacteristic passive-aggressive behavior on her part.

  I wasn’t sure what we were waiting for, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to start the conversation.

  “Danielle,” Jane said in an extremely disappointed schoolteacher-like tone. “You didn’t tell me about the body in the back room. Why was that?”

  I felt Rose’s eyes on me, but I didn’t dare look at her while Jane had me under scrutiny. Instead, I sipped my mint tea hoping it would keep my nerves from shooting fireworks through my body. “I was worried about AJ,” I said. That wasn’t a lie.

  Jane flicked her wrist like he wasn’t even worth a second thought. “He’ll be fine. Who knew a big strapping guy like him would pass out from a little tap on the head. But what is even more curious,” she drummed her fingers on the counter and held my gaze, “Detective Crenshaw was holding what appears to be half of the murder weapon. Odd, don’t you agree?”

  I swiveled on the stool so my whole body faced her straight on. “Murder weapon? I thought it was an accident.” Okay, that was a lie.

  A grin spread across Jane’s face. “So, you did see the body and the broken reindeer, but you didn’t mention either to me. Again, why was that, Danielle? Are you trying to protect your friend?”

  Jane grinned like she had me in a corner. I felt about as vulnerable as a mouse with no escape route from a starving cat.

  “Protect him? What are you implying, Detective Winter?” I knew exactly what she was implying, but I wasn’t going to let her put words in my mouth. If she wanted to accuse AJ of murder, that was her job, not mine.

  She continued her finger-tapping, which had taken on the beat of a funeral march. Not taking my baited question, instead she asked, “Did you see anyone else when you were in the back room of Creative Designs?” She put her finger to her lips like she was in deep thought. “Oh… like maybe Kelly Crenshaw, the owner?”

  As if I didn’t know who the owner was.

  Was Kelly there? Or someone else? Not that I saw.

  But there had to have been someone since I didn’t believe for one second that AJ murdered Nick North.

  “I guess you’ll have to ask Kelly yourself,” I said. “All I can tell you is that when I went into the store, I heard a crash, and AJ came out of the back and asked me to call an ambulance before he crumpled to the floor.”

  Jane moved her attention to Maggie. The air practically snapped with the electricity jumping between the two of them. “And you, Ms. Marshall? What was your big rush about getting to Creative Designs this morning?”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s cold outside. Plus, AJ was planning to buy me some jewelry and he wanted my input,” she answered.

  “A nice Christmas present?” Jane asked.

  “I guess so.” Maggie lowered her head. A sure sign, as far as I was concerned, that she was lying.

  “A Christmas present that you pick out? Interesting.” Jane’s lip twitched at the edge as if she wasn’t buying that story for one second.

  “I don’t like surprises,” Mag
gie said, which was true, even if the story about AJ buying her jewelry was wishful thinking, at best.

  Jane smacked her hand on the counter making me jump at the sudden noise. “Well, then. I’ve got a murder investigation to solve. Don’t leave town, Danielle... or Maggie.”

  “What about Dani’s honeymoon?” Lily blurted out. I sent a silent thanks to my best friend for keeping the priorities straight. Nick was dead. No one could change that so why ruin my wedding and honeymoon, too?

  “I guess it will be right here in Misty Harbor. Could be worse, right? It could be in jail.”

  With that, Jane did a perfect pivot and walked out of the Little Dog Diner.”

  “Jail?” Lily sputtered. “She thinks you murdered that glass blowing artist guy?”

  “She’s just throwing her power around,” I said. “She’s trying to squeeze me for more information but, honestly, I don’t know anything. AJ’s the only one that might be able to shine something on this investigation.”

  “And he’s probably Jane’s number one suspect right now. I’ve got to talk to AJ,” Maggie said, with uncharacteristic panic in her tone. “If that woman has her way,” she spit out the words, “she’ll lock him up and throw the key away before anyone even misses Nick North.”

  I was afraid Maggie had just predicted Jane’s intention perfectly.

  But something worried me more. Was AJ protecting someone?

  4

  While we paced in the Little Dog Diner, trying to figure out what to do next, Maggie’s phone jingled with her Christmas ringtone.

  “Are you okay?” I heard her ask in a breathless voice. AJ, I assumed, and she ran her fingers through her hair and nodded even though he couldn’t see her gestures. I guessed he’d given her some kind of instructions.

  “Okay. Sure. Got it,” she said before she tucked her phone back into her jeans pocket. She looked at us with that glint in her eyes whenever she was about to jump into an investigation.

  “First,” she said to all of us, “AJ is fine. He has no idea who or what blindsided him when he was bending over to check on Nick North, but he’s not worried about that right now. Kelly is his focus. He hasn’t heard from her since she left her shop after he arrived. He left a message for her to come here to the diner. And, this is important. He said not to let her go near her store under any circumstance.”

  “Why?” I asked. It didn’t take me more than a second to jump to the conclusion that AJ, being the older over-protective brother and a detective, might think he had to protect his baby sister from any possible involvement in this murder. Did he think Kelly killed Nick? Apparently, he wanted her as far away from Detective Jane Winter as possible for some reason. Granted, the Little Dog Diner was only across the street, but he knew he could count on us to run interference.

  “He just wants to talk to Kelly before Jane gets her claws into her,” Maggie said as if this was a normal procedure.

  “AJ, as the senior detective on the Misty Harbor police force, shouldn’t be coaching anyone, even his sister,” I said, shocked at Maggie’s cavalier attitude about this potential interference in a criminal investigation. Something I’d always considered to be unthinkable for someone like AJ who always went by the book. To a fault.

  “AJ’s off the case.” A darkness clouded her eyes for a split second. What did that mean? “So it’s not a conflict of interest.”

  Before I had a chance to digest this bit of information, the side door of the diner opened. Pip dashed to the newcomer with her full attack mode on display.

  Wide eyes stared from under the brim of a hat and over a scarf concealing the bottom half of the person’s face. Enough cold air blew in to make me shiver, but I wasn’t sure if it was really from the winter air or this person who stood in front of us.

  “Pip! It’s okay!” Maggie yelled. “Get inside, Kelly, and close that door. You never know what might blow in with this wind.” She had to be referring to Detective Winter.

  In a flash, Maggie rushed to Kelly and pulled her inside and kicked the door closed with her foot. She turned the lock, too. “No sense in encouraging any unwanted visitors.”

  Maggie untwined the scarf from around Kelly’s face, threw that and her hat on the closest booth.

  “AJ told me to come here but he didn’t say why.” Kelly nervously glanced out the window toward the commotion in front of her store. “I don’t understand what’s going on over there.”

  I poured the last bit of tea from what was left in the teapot, for Kelly. “Here,” I said, offering her the hot cup of what I hoped would both warm and soothe her. “Sit here.” I patted the stool next to me.

  “Now that Kelly is here,” Rose said as she slipped her arm into the sleeve of her coat, “let’s all go to Sea Breeze. If AJ wants her out of Detective Winter’s way, that’s a much better place for her instead of here in full view of anyone looking into the diner windows.”

  Kelly wrapped both hands around the hot cup of tea. “Before we go anywhere, will someone please tell me what happened to make AJ insist that I not go back to my gallery?”

  Her voice held a firmness with a hint of frustration, which made me feel sorry for her. Knowing what I knew, I was glad I wasn’t in her position.

  With an arm around Kelly’s shoulder, Rose said, “AJ didn’t tell you anything?”

  “All he mumbled, in a hushed whisper I might add, was that he couldn’t tell me what happened, and I had to go to the Little Dog Diner and not, he emphasized, go near my store. Then, the connection went dead.” She stuck her chin out defiantly. “So, I’m not leaving here until someone tells me what all this cloak and dagger stuff is about.”

  An awkward silence draped the diner as everyone waited for someone else to explain the horrible situation to Kelly.

  Everyone looked at me. Sure, I was the only one who’d been in Creative Designs, but why did I have to be the bearer of bad news?

  “Okay,” I said, seeing no exit ramp from just laying out the truth. “Someone murdered Nick North.” I couldn’t see any point in mincing words. He was dead; someone murdered him; AJ didn’t want his sister near the scene of the crime. “Any idea who would do that?” I asked, not really expecting Kelly to respond. She sure as heck wasn’t going to say she did it.

  “Harry Glassman,” she mumbled without flinching or blinking an eye. Just those two words, said with a sure confidence.

  “Who?” That name rang no bell in my mental contact list.

  Maggie stepped closer to Kelly and said, “You didn’t even flinch when Dani said Nick was murdered. Why is that?”

  Kelly’s eyes widened with the realization of what we must all be thinking. “I’m shocked but not surprised,” she said.

  “Shocked but not surprised?” I asked. “What do you mean by that?”

  Kelly slid off the stool, abandoning the cup of tea. “Can we leave? Now I understand why AJ told me not to go to my shop. As soon as I’m away from here, I’ll explain everything I know. And, just for the record, Nick North was alive, in the back room of Creative Designs with his boxes of glass reindeer and Christmas trees, when I left. At least, what I assumed was his work.”

  I couldn’t understand what that was supposed to mean, but I agreed, it was time to leave. Across the street, Detective Winter stood outside of Creative Designs, talking and gesturing to several investigators. She glanced toward the Little Dog Diner sending chills up my spine.

  We had to get moving. Now.

  Where was AJ? If Nick was alive when Kelly left her store, that didn’t bode well for AJ. Someone else must have snuck into the store unseen.

  “Get yourself bundled up, Kelly.” I handed her my thick parka. “Wear my coat and take Pip’s leash. Can you drive a standard?”

  Kelly nodded.

  “Great. You get to drive the MG.” I tossed her the car keys. She reacted quickly and accurately, impressing me with her reflexes, especially after the information I’d just dropped on her. “I’ll go with Rose and we’ll all meet at Sea Bre
eze. With a bit of luck, this little sleight of hand will throw Detective Winter off your trail for long enough to give you time to fill us in on who this Harry Glassman is.”

  5

  I let out a long satisfying sigh when I walked into my beautiful home, Sea Breeze. Rose, along with Pip, and our latest family member, Trouble, a cat who lived up to his name, all shared this incredible spot overlooking Blueberry Bay on the coast of Maine.

  Luke, who I hoped to spend the rest of my life with if I could untangle myself from this mess at Creative Designs, must have heard the cars pull into the driveway. The confused look on his face when he met us in the living room, made me laugh. His expression suggested that we were uninvited guests showing up on the wrong day. He looked puzzled to say the least.

  “I thought I’d have the place to myself today to finish up some last-minute details in Rose’s apartment,” he said. “What’s going on?”

  “My apartment will have to wait,” Rose said, all business as she dumped her coat over the back of a chair and picked up Trouble. “Our business is much more urgent.”

  That comment showed just how serious the situation was since Rose was the one who’d pushed and nagged to have her brand spanking new apartment ready before Luke and I said, I do. She’d insisted that we wouldn’t want her or Trouble under foot. I admitted that having Trouble in a separate apartment would end his constant harassment of Pip. But I never in a million years considered Rose to be any problem. I’d finally relented to her plan. But did she suspect the murder might interfere with those plans enough to push finishing her apartment to the back burner?

  Luke looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I didn’t want to tell him about the disaster I’d walked into at Creative Designs. I was just there to pick up our wedding rings, not disrupt my life with a crime scene.

  Maggie, blunt as usual, blurted out, “There’s been a murder at Creative Designs.” As if that explained everything when, just the opposite, it led to a million questions. She added as if her needs topped everything else. “Can someone round up some coffee and something to eat? I never think well on an empty stomach.”