1 Death Comes to Town (7 page)

The Agatha Christie book sat upside down and open on the couch next to her. She had finished the first four chapters again, not seeing any relevance to Anna’s death. She’d read the book three times before. She knew the plot, knew who the killer was. She wished she could say the same thing here. Maybe Millie hadn’t dropped the book for any particular reason after all. She’d just bring it back to the bookstore and put it back in its place. Millie could drop it all she wanted to after that.

She decided that she would go and question Pete tomorrow. Yawning widely, she stretched her arms up above her head to try and get the kinks out of her aching back and shoulders. She was terribly stiff from bending over the papers in front of her for hours.

She looked at the square clock up on her wall and was surprised to see how late it was. She packed up the papers and put them away in the drawer before going up to bed.

***

Darcy decided to take the next day off work. She could hear the surprise in Sue’s voice over the phone when she was told she’d be left in charge. “Are you sure everything is okay? You never take time off from work.”

Darcy smiled. She knew that Sue could be a bit of an airhead sometimes but her heart was in the right place. “Sure, Sue, everything is fine. I just need to take care of a few things and I won’t have time to come into work today.”

“All right. You can count on me.” Darcy was sure she could.

It wasn’t exactly a lie that she had some things to take care. She just didn’t think Sue would understand if she told her exactly what.

Darcy planned to spend the day following Pete around to see what he got up to. She needed to know whether he was a viable suspect or not. She wanted to think not, but at this point she felt like anything was possible. Pete was an author and worked from home so that was where she headed first thing. He lived with his brother, Blake, who worked at the post office. Darcy figured she would wait until Blake had left for work before starting her stakeout.

Not to say Blake couldn’t be a suspect too, she supposed. But Blake hadn’t been the one to date Anna.  Pete had.

Darcy and Smudge headed for Pete’s house just before eight o’clock giving them plenty of time to walk into town and get to the other side where Pete’s house was located. Darcy was able to sneak up behind his house and peer through his windows without being seen by anybody. She saw him working in the living room tapping away on his computer. It looked like he was on a bit of a roll. He had one break where he made a couple of phone calls. Darcy wasn’t able to hear what he said as the window was inconveniently closed. When he hung up he went back to work.

He typed for what seemed like forever and Darcy was getting a bit bored when nothing happened. Then around eleven o’clock he stopped typing. He got up and grabbed his coat before leaving the house. She snuck up the side of the house and peered around the corner to watch him walk down the street.

Darcy followed Pete through the town. He never looked back once and she stayed well back so that he wouldn’t see her. When he went into the Bean There Bakery and Café Darcy decided to follow him. She sat down at a table in the corner and opened up one of the complementary newspapers to keep herself out of Pete’s eye range. She was glad that Helen was busy in the back and hadn’t seen her sitting there yet. The lunch crowd was starting to come in. There was so much going on that no one noticed her.

She watched surreptitiously like a detective in one of those old movies as Doctor Sandal, Misty Hollow’s local doctor, came into the bakery and nervously looked all around. When he saw Pete he went and sat down next to him. Doctor Sandal leaned in close to Pete and started talking to him. Darcy couldn’t hear what they were saying but after a few minutes she saw the doctor hand Pete a plain, brown package. Pete then shook the doctor’s hand and left the bakery.

Darcy thought that this behavior definitely counted as suspicious. Was Pete taking drugs? Was he not in his right mind? Did that lead him to hurt Anna? Her mind raced with all of the possibilities. Each one sounded more outlandish than the last.

After counting to thirty Darcy left the bakery and followed Pete again. He went right back to his house. She took up her post outside the window to watch him. She was disappointed to see that he just went back to writing on his computer.

Frustrated, feeling stupid for having wasted her whole day standing outside this man’s house, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Taking a deep breath she went up and knocked on the door.

Darcy was surprised when Blake opened the door. She hadn’t seen him all morning and had just assumed he’d gone to work. Now she had to think fast. She needed a reason for being here. “Uh, hi Blake. I was just passing by and…”

She trailed off, the half-formed excuse dying on her tongue. She took a better look at Blake. His face was terribly flushed and he looked feverish. He tried to speak but went into a bad coughing fit. She took a step back on the porch, realizing how sick he was. He looked awful.

“Oh, Darcy. What are you…are you…” he had to stop as another coughing fit racked him. Darcy hoped that she wouldn’t get infected with whatever it was that he had. “Sorry, Darcy. Can’t stay and talk.” Cough, cough. “Listen, as long as you’re here, Pete is in the other room. Maybe you can cheer him up a bit? He is having a hard time over Anna’s death.” Cough, hack, cough.

Pete came into the entryway at that moment. “Blake, get back into bed. I can take care of Darcy.”

They watched as Blake shuffled away towards his bedroom. Pete closed the door behind her and Darcy followed him into the living room. “Would you like some tea?” he offered.

“Oh yes please, that would be lovely.” She was relieved not to have to explain herself now. She was here to check on Pete. It was the neighborly thing to do. That was all.

It didn’t take any time at all for Pete to start talking about Anna and how close they once were. “You know I never stopped loving her. She always laughed and shrugged me off when I tried to tell her, but that didn’t change my feelings for her.”

He looked so sad that Darcy just couldn’t see him as Anna’s killer.  “It’s a terrible thing, Pete. I miss her too.”

“I know. It was worse for you, Darcy. You had to find her. I can’t…I can’t imagine.”

“Yes, that was hard. I didn’t see you at the festival that night, Pete. Where were you?” There. That was subtle, wasn’t it?

She hadn’t been prepared for him to start crying. “I was here, taking care of Blake. He’s had this flu for weeks now. I must look like a wreck. I’m so sorry for crying Darcy. I’ve been so depressed since hearing the news about Anna that I haven’t been able to sleep. I can’t eat. I cry at every little thing. I even had my doctor write me an emergency prescription for a sleep aid.” He held up the package that she had seen Doctor Sandal give him. “I really need to get some sleep.”

Darcy felt horrible that she had ever suspected Pete. He wasn’t the one to do this horrible thing. Now that she’d talked to him face to face, she was sure of it. She stayed with him for a while, comforting him as best she could, and then left him alone. She was frustrated that she was back to square one.

Chapter Eleven

The next day didn’t get any better.

In the book store, the bell over the door jingled and in walked the last man on Earth that Darcy wanted to see. Jeff smiled in that arrogant way he had and sauntered up to the counter. Sue rolled her eyes before going off into the back. She had her own opinion of Darcy’s ex-husband. It more or less mirrored Darcy’s own opinion.

“Jeff, I’m so not in the mood for you today. Just go.” She hoped that would be the end of it. It wasn’t.

He held up his hands, palms facing out to her. “I come in peace.”

Darcy didn’t believe him and folded her arms across her chest. “Then what do you want?”

“You’re being awfully tough on someone who is here to help. I have news about Anna. I was going to tell the police but then I changed my mind. I figured, why not tell you first?”

Darcy stood up straighter and let her arms fall to her sides. She did not trust him, but Jeff had gotten her interest. He’d always known how to do that. “Well, keep talking.”

His smile got wider. “On the night Anna was killed I saw her at the festival. She seemed really upset. She seemed to be talking to herself so I went over to her to see if she was alright.”

“You?” She snorted. “You were never the helpful type.”

“See, right there is why I divorced you,” he complained. “You never had any faith in me. None.” He ran a hand through his hair and started to pace back and forth.

“I broke it off with you, Jeff. I thought you had something to tell me?”

He stopped his pacing and looked at her. “Fine. Be like that. Anna wasn’t making much sense, but I asked her if there was anything I could do for her just like I always do for a friend,” he made sure to add. “She told me that she had seen something but was practically talking over herself and I’m not sure exactly what she said. Something about someone new in town.”

Darcy stared at him for a moment. “That’s it? That’s your big news? What do you think she meant?”

Jeff shrugged. “I only know of one new person in town. That’s your sister’s new partner, this Jon character. That’s why I didn’t take this to the police, see?”

Darcy shook her head. “You must have misunderstood. Besides I was with Grace and Jon when it happened.”

“Sure, Darcy. You’re always right, after all.” He waited a moment and when Darcy didn’t rise to his bait he said, “Guess I’ll see you later then.”  He turned away and headed towards the door.

When he got to the door she shook her head at herself for treating him so badly. He came to her, after all. “Why do you care anyway Jeff? You were never close to Anna.”

He shrugged again. “You and me might have fallen apart, and I still want those photos you stole from me, Darcy. But I always liked Anna. She didn’t deserve this.”

Then he turned and left the store leaving Darcy standing there, wondering about Jeff’s sudden unselfish gesture. And what was it with him and those photos?

***

That night Darcy was pacing back and forth in her kitchen. She was out of options and knew what she had to do next. She’d put it off long enough. Now, for Anna’s sake, she needed to do it. She had to turn to the spirit world. She looked at Smudge and sighed. The cat blinked at her. “Yeah. I know,” she answered his unspoken encouragement.

She grabbed a flashlight from off the counter in the kitchen and pulled on her jacket. Closing the front door behind her she walked slowly down the path towards Anna’s house.

As she cut through the mist, she couldn’t help but think about the last time she took this walk, the night she’d found Anna’s dead body. Anger coursed through her and she knew that she had to bring the murderer down.

That resolve carried her to Anna’s front steps.

When she reached Anna’s house she turned the flashlight on and ducked under the yellow police tape that was stretched across the front door. She cautiously entered, her nerves on edge, and went to the spot where she had found Anna’s body the other night.

The spot wasn’t marked. Not even any blood on the floor. She remembered exactly where it had been, though. Sitting down on that spot she closed her eyes and told herself to relax. She created a picture of the mist in her mind. It was a method she employed to clear her mind. Concentrating on the haze allowed her to center herself and connect with the other side.

It was sudden, when it happened. With a jolt she was transported to another place. Everything came to her in flashes once again. This wasn’t accidental, though. She was intentionally seeking it out. This time, she saw more.

She saw Anna opening the door, then her visions flashed to Anna pouring the tea, then to Anna running into the living room, then her on the floor. Darcy could see a clock in the background in that instant. It read ten o’clock.

Abruptly she was thrown out of the vision. She fell forward onto her hands and knees, panting like she had run a marathon. Her head was spinning. She scrubbed a hand over her face as she tried to settle down. Although the vision was painful to watch she was glad she had seen it. She’d seen something. Something no one else knew.

The coroner got the time of death wrong by a full hour. That meant everyone’s alibis were off. The entire town was now filled with suspects.

***

Feeling extremely shaken by her vision, Darcy returned home as fast as her legs would carry her. She fell into the rocking chair on her front porch and tried to calm down. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes in the darkness and just sat there. Smudge jumped into her lap, startling her. He curled into her lap and purred. It was reassuring to have him there with her. She could feel her muscles starting to loosen a bit.

She jumped when someone called her name. Jon. What was he doing here? It was almost midnight, for crying out loud! She was twirling the ring on her finger before he was even within the reach of the porch light. Smudge jumped off her lap and ran away into the house.

As he got closer to her she could see that he was carrying an envelope in his hand. His hair was damp as if he had just showered. It curled slightly. At the porch he leaned one elbow casually against the railing.

Her eyes were drawn to his muscled chest and the way the shadows fell across his wonderful face. She did not like this man, did not trust him, but she couldn’t help but be attracted to him. Her hands itched to reach out and touch him. She licked her lips and stopped trying to keep her mind from wandering over his body. She was just too tired to fight it.

He looked her directly in her eyes. “Is this a bad time?”

No, she thought to herself. Come inside and let me run my hands through your hair… Darcy cleared her throat and made sure to keep her eyes away from his face. “It’s very late, Jon. What are you doing here?”

She heard him sigh before he quietly said, “I’m breaking all sorts of rules coming here to talk to you. That’s why I’m here so late. I was surprised to see you up. Surprised, and kind of glad, actually.”