Murder at the Church: Cottonwood Springs Cozy Mystery Series Read online

  “Oh, goody. I was getting ready to make a snack,” Fiona said as she came out from behind the counter. “Hello, you must be Holly,” she said when she saw the young girl. She held out her hand, “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Brigid did a short introduction before handing over the candy bar. “I know how much you love one,” she said with a laugh.

  “You bet I do,” Fiona said tearing into it. She turned and looked at Holly, “Brigid tells me you’re a reader, is that true?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I love to read,” Holly said politely.

  “Please, call me Fiona,” she said smiling. “Why don’t you take a look around? Since you’re living with my sister, I think that qualifies you for the family discount.”

  “A discount? Really?” she turned and looked at Brigid. “I have some money from tutoring, you won’t mind, will you?”

  “Not at all. Take your time,” Brigid said. Holly clapped and did a little jump before disappearing between the rows of books.

  “Cute kid,” Fiona said savoring her bite of the candy bar. “She seems great.”

  “She is, and she’s so helpful,” said Brigid. “She’s been doing chores around the house and in the yard without me even having to ask. She’s even taken Jett for a walk.”

  “Good, I’m glad you’ve got company.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by Brigid’s cell phone ringing. She looked at the screen and saw it was Sheriff Davis. She put the phone on speakerphone and answered, “Hi, Sheriff Davis. What’s up?”

  “Brigid, sorry this is short notice, but I jes’ got a call from Billy’s neighbor sayin’ he and Sam were at Billy’s place. Thought I could swing by and get ya’ if you ain’t too busy?”

  “I’m at the bookstore with my sister and Holly,” Brigid said.

  “Go, she can stay here,” Fiona mouthed to Brigid when she overheard what the sheriff said.

  “You sure?” Brigid whispered. Fiona nodded.

  “Corey, if you could pick me up at the bookstore, that would be great,” Brigid said. “See you in a few minutes.”

  CHAPTER 18

  “Really appreciate yer’ help with this,” Sheriff Davis said as he drove the unmarked police car he and Brigid were in towards Billy’s house. “Know it ain’t exactly an easy thing to do, tryin’ to corner an addict.”

  “I don’t mind,” Brigid said as she watched the houses pass by. “We need to find out who killed Maggie, for Holly’s sake, if nothing else. If this helps us get answers, I’m all for it.”

  “If this don’t work, I’m gonna’ have to get more creative,” he said.

  “Something tells me we’re going to get somewhere with this,” Brigid said. “I don’t know why.”

  “Hope yer’ right, ‘cuz we’re here,” the sheriff said. Brigid looked at the tired-looking apartment building where Billy lived and felt sad for him. She knew this guy was bad news, but she couldn’t help but feel as though there were some people who were just dealt a bad hand to begin with. At some point, life’s circumstances caused them to turn down the wrong path. She wondered if someone had taken the time to reach out to help Billy, maybe he wouldn’t be in the place he now found himself.

  Brigid followed Corey up the short stairs to the front door. The screen door was ripped and flapping in the breeze. Corey lifted his hand and knocked on the side of the door.

  Brigid turned towards Corey, certain she heard movement inside. The look on his face said he’d heard it, too. When no one answered, he knocked again. This time he opened the screen door and rapped directly on the door. In a few moments, a woman answered the door.

  “Can I help you?” she asked as she barely pulled the door open and wedged her body into the narrow crack.

  “Howdy, ma’am. We’re just lookin’ for Billy Watkins. Would he happen to be around?”

  The woman bit her lip as she ran her fingers through her short curly blonde hair. “I’m afraid you just missed him.”

  “Know where he went?” Corey asked.

  “He just went to the store.” Her eyes darted around outside, as if she was looking for something or someone.

  “I see,” Corey said. “We’re with the county. Mind if I ask a few questions?”

  The woman looked from Corey to Brigid and back again. “I don’t see what harm there could be in answering a few questions,” she responded while remaining securely wedged in the slightly opened door.

  Corey lifted his collar. “Mind if we step inside? It’s getting’ a bit warm out here.”

  Brigid watched as the woman looked around inside and realized she couldn’t come up with a reason to say no. “Sure, come on in.”

  Brigid stepped into the small apartment which smelled of stale cigarette smoke and body odor. The smell was so overwhelming she had to consciously keep herself from showing her revulsion.

  “Thank you kindly, ma’am,” Corey said as the woman shut the door behind them. If he smelled the horrible stench, his face didn’t show it.

  “Not a problem. What do you want to know?” she asked, looking down the hallway nervously.

  Corey pulled out a small notebook and a pen. “First, I need your name. Just fer the record.”

  Brigid noticed that Corey wasn’t exactly lying. He was in fact with the county, and he did have some questions to ask. She was impressed by his ability to think on his feet.

  “Sam Rogers,” she said rubbing her arm. “Now I don’t want my name going on anything…” she started to say.

  “Oh, don’t worry. So, tell me Sam, do ya’ live here?”

  “No, my boy… I mean this is my friend’s house.”

  Brigid and Corey exchanged glances before he said, “Ya’ said he went to the store?”

  “Sure did, I don’t know when he’ll be back,” she said with a smile, her confidence returning.

  “I see,” Corey said. “Well, we’re supposed to look around random homes to get a feel for what our local residents are strugglin’ with when it comes to maintainin’ their homes. Weatherization and all that. Ya’ don’t mind if I take a quick look-see, do ya’?” Corey began to walk toward the hallway.

  “Well I don’t think…” She faltered. Sam began to follow Corey down the hallway, but Brigid grabbed her arm and held her back. Sam turned and looked at Brigid.

  “It will be brief. He won’t take but a minute,” Brigid said.

  “Hey, wait, aren’t you that lady who helped the sheriff when Lucy died?” Sam said in a startled voice. Brigid saw the realization set in as Sam’s eyes widened, and she turned towards the direction Corey was headed as he walked down the hallway. “Billy, it’s the sheriff! Run!” Sam screamed just as Corey was pushing on a door leading to the hallway that was partially cracked open.

  As he opened the door, Corey saw Billy come flying out of a closet on the far side of the room and make a run for the wide-open window on the other side.

  “Freeze!” Sheriff Davis yelled as he pulled out his gun which had been hidden by his jacket. Billy began pushing himself up to the window, having no intention of stopping.

  Sam broke free from Brigid’s grip and started running down the hall. “Leave him alone!” she screamed.

  Brigid darted after her, easily catching up to her and holding her back before she could jump on Corey. He glanced back to see that Brigid had Sam restrained before holstering his weapon and grabbing Billy by the ankles just as he was about to make it out the window. In one solid jerk, he pulled Billy back into the room and threw him onto the floor. Corey pulled out a pair of handcuffs and snapped them on Billy.

  “Recommend ya’ stay put, boy,” he said gruffly. He pulled out his cell phone and punched speed dial for the sheriff’s office. “Sheryl, send three or four deputies over to the Watkins place,” he barked into his phone. “Make it quick. Code three.”

  “Look, I didn’t mean to,” Billy started to yell. “It was an accident.” He was talking so loudly Brigid was sure the neighbors could hear.

  “Billy, ya’ have t
he right to remain silent…” Corey said as he began to read him his Miranda rights. Once he was finished he looked at Brigid who was still holding on to Sam. “Don’t let her go anywhere. Keep her right there.”

  Brigid nodded and held fast to the small woman, grateful she’d recently been working out at the gym. Otherwise, the fighting and flailing woman might have been a challenge. It wasn’t long before the deputies Corey had summoned showed up and handcuffed Sam, reading the Miranda rights to her, as well.

  “Seriously, Sheriff. I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Billy said as one of the deputies took Sam outside.

  She could still be heard screaming. “Billy, don’t tell them anything!”

  “Who didn’t ya’ mean to hurt?” Sheriff Davis asked as he knelt down in front of Billy.

  “Maggie. I didn’t mean to hurt Maggie,” Billy said. “I love her. It’s just when I heard her talking about all the bad things she’d done, including what she’d done to me and the part about her leaving me and being better off without me, I just snapped.”

  “Whaddya’ mean, ya’ snapped?” Corey asked.

  “I grabbed the nearest thing I could find and just wrapped it around her throat. I only wanted her to stop talking. I didn’t want to hear those words come out of her mouth anymore. I just, I just, I didn’t want to kill her, but I guess I did.” He broke down in sobs and slammed his head against the floor.

  “Relax, Billy.” Corey patted him on the shoulder. “It’s all over now, no more runnin’. So, where’s the thing ya’ wrapped around her neck?”

  “It’s… it’s in a box in my bedroom,” Billy said between sobs.

  “Take him down to the station,” Corey said to one of his deputies who had entered the room with his gun drawn as a backup for Sheriff Davis. “I’ll be there in a coupla’ minutes.”

  “How did you know what room he was in?” Brigid asked after Billy had been taken outside by the deputy.

  “Jes’ a feelin’, I guess.” As Corey crossed the hallway and entered a second bedroom, he slipped on a pair of rubber gloves. He found a trinket box on the nightstand next to the unmade bed. He carefully lifted the lid which revealed the missing tieback from the church. “Looks like we got us our murder weapon,” he said.

  Brigid stared at the small mundane piece of decorative rope which had been used to kill Maggie. “It’s hard to believe something that little took her life,” Brigid said.

  “Hard drugs and alcohol took her life, this was just a tool,” Corey said as he closed the lid on the box. “Bag this up,” he said when one of his deputies walked in the room. “Need one of ya’ to give Brigid here a ride back to her sister’s bookstore,” he said. Turning to Brigid he said, “Thanks fer bein’ here. If I woulda’ come by myself, Sam mighta’ jumped me, and he’d have gotten away. Ya’ saved my skin.”

  “It’s the least I could do,” Brigid said. “I’m just glad we know who did it.”

  “Agreed. By the way, how’s Holly doin’?” Corey asked.

  “Good,” Brigid said. “She has her moments of sadness, but she’s a strong young woman.”

  “That she is. Ya’ don’t even wanna’ know what that kid’s been through. I need to come see her. Maybe I’ll have time now,” he said looking around the room.

  “She’d like that. We’ll make you dinner if you stop by around supper time,” Brigid said.

  “I can take you to the bookstore, ma’am,” one of the deputies said.

  Brigid nodded and turned back to Corey. “Be safe,” she said.

  “Always,” was his response.

  On the drive back to the bookstore, Brigid felt a huge sense of relief wash over her. Now she could tell Holly that her mother’s killer would be behind bars as well as the woman who was trying to help him cover up his crime. Sam was obviously trying to help Billy get away with it, probably for her own gain.

  As she got out of the sheriff’s car in front of the bookstore, Brigid noticed that Fiona and Holly were looking out the front window. Their eyes were wide, and their expressions showed they were shocked that Sheriff Davis hadn’t brought her back. Instead, she’d arrived back at the bookstore in a black and white patrol car.

  “What happened? We heard the sirens,” Fiona said as soon as she walked in the door.

  “They caught him,” Brigid said, turning to Holly. “Billy did it. He killed Maggie.”

  The color drained from Holly’s face. “Are you sure?” she asked.

  Brigid nodded. “Yes, Sam was helping him hide out. Once he was caught, he confessed.” She opened her arms and pulled the girl toward her. “It’s over.”

  Holly wrapped her arms around Brigid before pulling back, tears running down her cheeks, but she was smiling. “Good. Mom deserved justice.”

  “I agree,” Brigid said.

  “While you were out playing Columbo, Holly and I came up with something we want to talk to you about,” Fiona said.

  Holly nodded. “Brigid, if you aren’t okay with it, just say so, but I really hope you’re fine with it,” she said.

  “Oh? What is it?”

  “Well, you know I’m always here at the store, and I never really have time to take a decent break,” Fiona began.

  “Right, once you said something about hiring someone part time, but it never happened.” Brigid walked over to the coffee pot and poured a cup. They all sat down in the armchairs in the open middle area of the store.

  “Exactly. You know I’m fairly picky, though. I only wanted to hire someone who loved books as much as I do,” Fiona said.

  “Good luck with that,” Brigid joked as she rolled her eyes and made a face. Holly laughed as the friendly banter between the sisters continued.

  “Well thanks to you, dear sister, I have. I’d really like to have Holly come work for me, with your permission, of course.” Fiona sat back in her chair, sipping her coffee.

  Brigid turned to Holly. “Is this something you’d like to do? I mean my sister can be pretty pushy. Are you sure?” she asked.

  Holly nodded emphatically. “Definitely! I love this place already. I was helping Fiona while we waited for you to come back.”

  “Holly helped me organize the back room,” Fiona said.

  “Oooh, that’s a big undertaking,” Brigid said raising her eyebrow.

  “I’m well aware of it, but once I showed Holly the mess back there, she started organizing it and creating a locator system for the used books. She did a great job.” Fiona smiled at Holly who looked like she’d just been awarded the Nobel Prize.

  “I don’t have any problem with it, as long as she gets paid fairly and still has plenty of time for her school work,” Brigid said, wondering if she was saying the things a mother would say.

  Holly jumped up and squealed. “I promise, Brigid, I won’t let my grades slip one bit. Thank you so much.” She leaned over and hugged Brigid before turning to Fiona. “Do you mind if I go finish what I was doing?”

  “Knock yourself out,” Fiona said, motioning towards the back room. Holly skipped her way around the counter and to the rear of the store. “You’d think we just took her to meet the Backstreet Boys.”

  “I don’t think they’re popular anymore, Fiona, Anyway, you’re the one who’s always reading the latest magazines about the stars, so, who is popular now?” Brigid asked with a laugh.

  “I skip over that stuff. Geeze.” Fiona laughed. “Nothing like having a kid around to make you feel old.”

  “I’m quickly learning that to be a true statement,” Brigid said.

  “So, exactly when did you turn into a crime fighting superhero?” Fiona asked as she tucked her feet up under her.

  “Well, it all started back when we were kids. I was stung by a radioactive bee,” Brigid said with a laugh.

  “You may think it’s a joke, but you’re going to get a reputation after this. You just wait and see,” Fiona said wagging her finger at her older sister.

  “I didn’t do anything. I was just there helping Sheriff Davis,” Brigid sai
d as she held her hands up in mock surrender.

  “I wonder how Linc’s going to like you helping catch another bad guy. Have you told him yet?”

  “No, I haven’t,” Brigid said as she pulled out her phone.

  Fiona put her hand on Brigid’s phone and pushed it down. “Go see him. It would be better if you told him in person. I’ll bring Holly home in a few hours. You deserve some alone time,” Fiona said with a knowing wink.

  EPILOGUE

  It didn’t take long before word got out that Maggie Lewis’ killer had been caught. Between the yelling Samantha had done and the neighbors seeing Samantha and Billy led out of his apartment in handcuffs, everyone in town pretty much knew by dinner time.

  A week after Billy was caught, Holly returned to school. She was surprised by how kind and friendly the other kids were to her. Even Amanda kept her snide remarks to herself, although she still gave Holly dirty looks. That didn’t bother Holly, though. Things were finally starting to work out for her.

  Two days a week after school and on the weekends, Holly worked at the bookstore with Fiona. She loved every minute of it and had become the official person in Cottonwood Springs to ask for your next book recommendation, especially if you’re looking for a suitable book for a teenager.

  She helped Fiona build out the young adult section in the store and has recently started a book club for the younger crowd. She still makes time to help out her fellow students with tutoring during the school year. She’s made a couple of new friends and has been hanging out with Wade a bit more often.

  “This is really good, Brigid,” Wade said, as they sat at the new dining room table Brigid had recently purchased from the Thompson’s furniture store. And yes, she’d gotten a very good deal on the purchase price.

  “Thanks, Wade,” Brigid said. “What do you think, Holly?”

  “I hate to say it, but I think Linc still has you beat on this one,” Holly said as she took another bite of her pasta.

  Linc laughed and pounded his fist on the table, “I told you! I am the Pasta King!” He raised his hands in the air in celebration while everyone else laughed.