Holly and the Framed Friend Read online

  HOLLY AND THE FRAMED FRIEND

  By

  Dianne Harman

  (The Holly Lewis Mystery Series - Book 1)

  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: 9781796818444

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to all the people who allowed me to babysit their children when I was a teenager, so I could spend my earnings on the latest Nancy Drew mysteries.

  This series is my homage to all the hours of enjoyment Nancy Drew’s mysteries brought me and are probably the reason I write mysteries.

  Free Paperbacks

  I'm giving away FREE Paperbacks. Find out more at www.dianneharman.com/freepaperback.html

  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

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  EPILOGUE

  ABOUT DIANNE

  COMING SOON!

  PROLOGUE

  As she approached the high school, she pulled on the zip-up hoodie she’d taken from Chloe’s room a week earlier. She adjusted the long platinum blonde wig and tugged the large hood up over her head, while at the same time, mentally running through her plan. She’d thought through it a million times before, but finally, this was the day she’d been waiting for to carry out her plan.

  This has to work, she thought. I’m sick and tired of Chloe getting all the attention. She needs to be brought down a peg.

  The plan was fairly simple. The jacket was unique, and everyone knew it was Chloe’s. She wore it almost all the time, even when the weather wasn’t that cool. It was black with silver stars all over it that her grandmother had hand embroidered. There were no other hoodies like it anywhere, which was just what the vandal was counting on.

  By wearing it and a wig that looked like Chloe’s own unique hair, she hoped the act of vandalism she was about to commit would be fairly cut and dried. Everyone would think Chloe did it. She knew there were security cameras at each end of the school halls that would record her every movement. All she had to do was keep her face hidden. Everything else should take care of itself.

  As she walked up the sidewalk that led to the large brick building, she became aware of just how nervous she was. Although nobody would think twice of a student entering the school building today, since the summer sports kids had a meeting this morning, that didn’t mean it felt any less dangerous for her.

  She’d planned on getting there early enough so she could enter the school when the doors opened. She didn’t want to wait until everyone else started to show up. Anyone who saw her face would be suspicious. After all, why would she, of all people, be wearing Chloe’s jacket and a wig?

  No, she had to be very, very careful. She’d sat on her bike and watched the last time the summer sports meeting met at the school, so she’d know when the doors would be unlocked and when the majority of the kids would start to arrive. It wasn’t a huge window of time, but it should be long enough to do the damage she intended to wreak on Chloe’s perfect little world.

  She pulled open the glass door that led to the first-floor main hall and paused, listening for sounds. The halls had tile floors, so even the slightest sound echoed. A shoe squeak or a door opening would be easily heard. When no sounds were heard, she made sure the oversized hoodie was pulled all the way forward, so that her face was blocked. She didn’t want anyone to see anything but the almost platinum blonde hair and the hoodie, and only one person in school had hair that looked like that. Chloe.

  Chloe Sellman was everyone’s friend. The teachers loved her as well as the coaches. She was even nice to the janitors and on a first name basis with some of them. That’s why the summer bonfire had become so popular. Chloe made friends with everyone, and if you were her friend you were invited. Her parents were there, along with a few other adults, just to keep an eye on things and make sure nothing got out of hand.

  It was like a big co-ed camping trip in Chloe’s grandparents’ field. It had become so popular that even the kids didn’t want to screw it up. No one wanted to be the person who messed it up for everyone else, so the majority of them would help keep things clean and keep an eye on their fellow students. It sounded like something out of a television sitcom, but it brought out the best in most people. The bonfire was something everyone looked forward to all year. Everyone loved Chloe and her family for hosting it.

  But now she’d decided that Chloe was a little too popular. Maybe it was time for some other people to get some attention, rather than Chloe. It seemed like all the good-looking guys at school had their eyes on Chloe, not that she would ever date anyone. She made it well known she was staying focused on school. Gag, the potential vandal thought.

  What good was all that popularity if you weren’t going to use it to your benefit? And add to that her near perfect grades which she maintained seemingly effortlessly, despite how hard others worked to get them. Plus, she didn’t even want to think about how good Chloe was at cross country. If Chloe participated, it was a shoe-in she’d take first place.

  The vandal didn’t have access to a big tract of land in the country where everyone could party. She was just sick and tired of the huge shadow Chloe Sellman cast across the junior class. Her perfect makeup, perfect family, and perfect grades, were sickening. Surely, she wasn’t the only one to feel that way.

  Maybe if Chloe didn’t look like such a good girl anymore her parents would cancel the summer bonfire. Then, maybe a few other people would get noticed, or at least have a chance. Like her. Yeah, she liked the bonfire as much as the next person. It was fun, but if that had been what helped launch Chloe to fame, then maybe it was the one thing that could topple her.

  She pulled out a couple of dry erase markers from her backpack. She wasn’t trying to get Chloe in serious trouble. No, just enough trouble to possibly ruin her summer. She just needed a bit of time. She had no intention of getting a criminal record. She wasn’t sure if using permanent markers would cause the police to be involved, but if this didn’t work, she wasn’t sure what the next step would be. She’d have to return the jacket soon, but she’d still have the wig, and she needed to figure out what to do with it.

  Starting with the first locker in the row, she began writing swear words and anything else she could come up with. Dirty drawings, trash talking the teachers, there were no limits. She wrote down whatever popped into her mind. Trying to be quick, the letters sprawled across the lockers. Once done with the first floor, she jogged up the stairs and did the same on the second floor.

  Her hands shook as she worked, and she didn’t know if it was from the fear of getting caught or the pure adrenaline that was pumping
through her veins. She wasn’t the type who did things like this, but now she understood why the bad kids did the things they did. It was really liberating and the rush was intoxicating.

  “Hey, you. Stop!” she heard someone yell. Without looking, she darted in the other direction for the stairs. Since there were three stairways, one on each end, and one in the middle, it made for an easy getaway. It was all a part of the plan, the plan she’d spent so much time thinking about. She was pretty sure she’d been spotted, but that was the point.

  The voice sounded like that of the morning janitor. He was an older guy with a big belly and a smoking habit. She doubted he’d be able to chase her for very long. He was always there bright and early, unlocking the doors during the school year, and making sure everything was ready for the school day. She’d been hoping that he’d be the one to spot her.

  “Get back here,” the person shouted, but there was no way she was stopping now. Not after she’d gone to all the trouble of buying the wig and taking the hoodie. Everything had been planned out perfectly. She’d known what she was doing with every step she’d taken. Now all she had to do was get away.

  She slammed through the front door and then burst into a sprint. It was doubtful any teacher or janitor would catch her now. Still, she ran around the corner where she’d hidden her bike. Tugging off the wig and the jacket, she stuffed them into her old grey backpack and slung it over her shoulder. Once on the bike, she pedaled for home.

  It wouldn’t take long to get there, but with the evidence of the crime sitting in her backpack, she wasn’t sure she could relax until it was returned to Chloe’s house, unnoticed. The wig would need a permanent hiding spot until she was sure she was done with it. She’d decided that after the bonfire was cancelled, it would be safe to get rid of it. Until then, she needed to keep it around, just in case this didn’t do the trick.

  The only thing she needed now was a way to get Chloe’s jacket back to her without her noticing. That shouldn’t be too terribly hard, but it was going to take some planning. As she pedaled toward home, she tried to think of the best way to do it. Once she was a few blocks from school, she slowed down, certain that no one was chasing her

  CHAPTER 1

  Holly Lewis wasn’t sure what she expected when she stepped off the airplane and began to make her way through Springfield, Missouri’s National Airport. It definitely wasn’t anything like the ones she’d seen on television, but she thought that was because those were international airports. Still, for her first time flying, it was overwhelming. She couldn’t imagine what it would have been like landing at a bigger airport all alone.

  It had been over a year since her mother had been murdered. Ever since that day, her life had changed for the better. It may sound odd to some, but her mother hadn’t always been the best mother. Holly had learned to be grateful for those few months toward the end when her mom had been sober.

  She’d gotten to see what her mom would have been like without the drugs or alcohol. Because her mom had never done anything in a small way, when she went on a bender, she’d leave Holly alone for days at a time. When Holly had been around seven or eight, she’d had to learn how to make meals for herself, since her mother usually wasn’t there to do it.

  That was when Holly had first learned to love school. It was the one place where she could be a kid, for at least a little while. Homework had been a welcome respite from the silent walls of the rundown trailer where she and her mother, Maggie, had lived. After her mother’s death, Holly had asked a woman named Brigid if she could live with her. Not long before the murder, Brigid had reached out to help Holly and her mother. Brigid had been very involved in assisting the sheriff in finding her mother’s killer. It still hurt Holly to think her mother had been murdered in the one place where she’d felt safe. The church.

  After her mother was murdered, there’d been no other relatives nearby and the sheriff had told her she’d probably have to leave behind the life she’d known. That was the last thing she’d wanted. After all, who wants to lose everything they’d ever known all at once?

  She’d begged him not to make her move to Missouri to live with an aunt she’d never known. Her whole life had been in Cottonwood Springs, Colorado. When Brigid agreed to let Holly move in with her, she’d been so thankful and relieved. Not only was she able to stick around and see that her mother’s killer was caught, she was staying in a place where she was happy and felt supported.

  Not too long ago, her aunt, Katie McCloud, had reached out to Holly online and expressed an interest in meeting her. She’d asked Holly to come to Springfield to meet her family. She respected that Holly had wanted to stay in the only place she’d ever known, but she wanted to get to know her niece. With Brigid getting married to Linc Olsen, their next-door neighbor, and the two of them leaving on their honeymoon, it seemed like a perfect time to visit her Aunt Katie.

  Holly retrieved her suitcase from the luggage carousel and began to look for the area where her Aunt Katie had said she’d be waiting for her. She found a map of the airport and scanned it until she located the “you are here” dot and figured out how to get to the main entrance. Brushing her long blonde hair out of her eyes, she turned in that direction.

  She began walking through the small crowd of passengers, intent on finding her aunt. They’d spoken on the phone a few days earlier to clear up any questions the other may have had. Holly had seen a picture of her aunt, uncle, and cousins, so she had a rough idea of what her aunt looked like, but that hadn’t prepared her for what she’d feel when she first saw her.

  It was almost like looking at a ghost. For a split second, her mind thought she was looking at her mother. Although Katie was a little larger than her mother had been, and since her mother had been very thin, that wasn’t hard to do, but they looked strikingly similar. Holly’s feet froze, locking her in place for a step before she forced herself to keep moving. She felt her throat tighten up. She’d been wondering what she’d feel like, or if she’d have some sort of reaction to seeing this woman who was the closest living relative to her mother. Holly thought she’d prepared herself, but apparently not well enough.

  “Holly?” her aunt asked questioningly. Her chestnut brown hair was longer than her mother’s had been. It was a nice length, half-way down her back similar to the way Holly wore her hair. It was parted on the side and the highlights that had been added gave her a brighter look. Her aunt even had the same crooked crease that appeared between her eyebrows when she was concerned, just like her mother had.

  When Katie smiled, Holly felt tears begin to trickle down from the corners of her eyes. For the first time, Holly wondered if she’d prepared herself well enough emotionally for this occasion. She’d been through a lot in her fourteen years, but nothing prepared her for facing her mother’s ghost.

  Holly nodded and was grateful that, as she drew closer, the similarities between her aunt and mother became less pronounced. Katie had slight differences that were obvious now that she could see her close up. For one thing, their eyes were a different color. Katie looked softer than her mother had looked and had a naturally kind expression on her face.

  Opening her arms, she greeted Holly with a hug. “I’m sorry, I’m a hugger,” she said as she pulled her in. When she stepped back there were tears in her eyes. “You look just like Maggie did when she was a young girl,” she said softly.

  “Thank you,” Holly said. She wasn’t sure what she should say to that, considering she didn’t know why her mother had hardly ever spoken of her sister. For a moment, Holly wondered if her mom would be angry or happy that she’d gone to visit her aunt.

  “Well, everyone’s waiting for us back home. Let’s get out of here,” she said, taking Holly’s suitcase. She followed her aunt outside and into the warm sun. Missouri wasn’t that much different than Colorado. The trees were different and there weren’t any mountains in the distance, but if you didn’t look very closely, they were almost the same.

  Holly walked w
ith her aunt through the rows of cars gleaming in the morning sun. Finally, Katie stopped at a newer looking minivan and pushed a button on her keys. The sliding door popped open. “Let’s toss your things in the back, and you can ride up front with me,” she said.

  After they’d climbed into the minivan and Katie had navigated her way out of the parking lot, she said, “We’ve added a few things to our guest bedroom for you. There’s a flat screen and a laptop you can use while you’re here. If there’s anything else you need, anything at all while you’re here, you let me know,” she insisted.

  “I will,” Holly said, nodding. She looked out the window at the traffic going by. “The only big city I’ve ever been to is Denver,” she admitted.

  “You’re going to love Springfield,” Katie said with a smile. “There’s just about something for everyone here. It’s great. Are you into museums, art, sports, music? Any of it? I know you said you read a lot, but surely you play some kind of sport or something?”

  “Not really,” Holly said. “Mom never had the money for uniforms or equipment. The only sports I played were in gym class.”

  Katie was quiet a moment, as if she were trying to decide how to respond. Finally, she said, “Well, I guess we can just see what sounds fun to you.”

  Holly was a little weirded out by what she thought was Katie’s overly chipper attitude, and she had a feeling it was an act. Not that she was a fake, but just that she was trying to seem overly warm and friendly, so Holly wouldn’t feel awkward. It had to be just as weird for her as it was for Holly, and she was glad her aunt was trying so hard.

  “Sounds like fun,” she said smiling, and it did. Holly was looking forward to seeing what all Springfield had to offer. Maybe, if she enjoyed herself here, she could get Linc and Brigid to come visit next time. Of course, first she’d have to decide how she felt about these people that were now her “family.” She watched Katie when she wasn’t looking and while the woman seemed kind and nice, there had to be a reason her mother had stopped speaking to her. The question was, why?