Small Town Murder: Midwest Cozy Mystery Series Page 6

  “Yes, my dear?”

  “This is very hard for me,” he said, looking at the floor. “I can only ask that the Lord give me strength as I come to talk to you now. I can only ask that you approach me with a Christ-like heart of forgiveness.”

  Georgina’s heart started beating furiously. “Hunter, what have you done?”

  He winced. “I can’t… I can’t say it.”

  “Say it.”

  He took a breath, then whispered, “Oh, my loving Jesus.” He looked up at her, tears welling up in his blue eyes. “Our life as we know it is over, and it is all my fault.”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Georgina absolutely loved their life, just as it was. She couldn’t imagine anything different. She didn’t want a single thing to change. She was beginning to panic.

  “Well… we will have to leave this house, and maybe give up the church.”

  “What?” Georgina yanked her hand away and stood up. “Hunter, what on earth is going on? Stop speaking in riddles and tell me what you’ve done!”

  Hunter played with his hands and stared down at them, wanting to avoid any kind of eye contact. “I’ve gambled our money away.”

  “You… Huh?” Georgina laughed. “Oh, Hunter you got me. You got me hook, line, and sinker. Oh my goodness, don’t ever do that again.”

  “I’m not joking, Georgina.”

  “Of course you are,” she said. She sat back down at her dressing table and continued applying her makeup. “Gambling? You’d never even dream of such a thing.”

  “I gambled all our money away. We’ll have to leave this house.”

  She laughed. “That’s a weak link in a very bad joke, Hunter. Because this house was bought and paid for outright with congregation money. How could we lose it? There’s no mortgage on it.”

  “I remortgaged it,” he said quietly, “so I could use the money for gambling. Now it’s all gone, and we’ll have to leave. We have no money to pay the loan back and the bank is threatening to foreclose.”

  “Don’t be so incredibly silly,” Georgina said. “I don’t know why you’re making up such a crazy story.”

  “It’s not a story, Georgina!” Hunter shot back, getting to his feet and raising his voice.

  She turned to him with an icy stare, then smiled. “Honey, please talk to me in a calm, quiet tone as I am doing with you. I very much appreciate when you model the gentleness, kindness and patience of Christ. Now, please, I need to get ready to go and minister to Jacqueline and her children. I don’t have time for jokes, stories or whatever else is going on. Thank you.”

  “But, Georgina—”

  “I really would like to talk about this later, darling,” she said, “if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t think you understand how serious this is. I’m going to have to go and confess to the church elders and—”

  “Don’t you do any such thing,” Georgina snapped. “How could you be so incredibly foolish? One member of the marriage should not go and do something that will affect the whole family without it being agreed to. I do not agree to it.”

  “But—”

  “Please,” she said, her voice heavy. “Just give me some time.”

  “Fine,” Hunter said. “We’ll talk when you get back.”

  But they hadn’t talked when she’d returned from her lunch with Jay. She had absolutely refused. She had put it all out of her mind, and that is where it would stay, she decided. She put Hunter off, telling him she wanted some time to think it over.

  “How long can you give me?” he asked.

  “Two months,” she said.

  That was plenty long enough to forget all about it for a few weeks.

  Eventually the day of Jay’s talk rolled around. Over the past few weeks, they’d actually gotten closer. Somehow Georgina had managed to find some real sympathy for Jay’s situation, instead of just judging her. It was actually very satisfying, showing the love of Christ to someone and accepting them, Georgina found. Of course, she still internally judged, but less harshly than she had before. It was quite liberating.

  By the time Georgina was going out the door with her family to watch Jay’s talk (Hayden was driving them all there – he’d just gotten his driver’s permit), she was actually looking forward to it. There was something to be gained by their relationship as sisters, after all.

  CHAPTER 9

  To her surprise, Kat found being on the stage exhilarating. At first, it was terrifying, just as she’d expected. But about five minutes into her talk, something wonderful happened. All of a sudden, her nervousness just disappeared. She remembered what Blaine had said, about first-time authors needing her advice and help, and all her anxiety changed into passion.

  In fact, it wasn’t until that moment that she realized how much she truly loved writing. She had the best job in the world! She got to create her own worlds, meet new characters, and dive into exciting stories, all from the comfort of her own home. She could write what she wanted, when she wanted, and could fit it around her schedule. She was free to take Jazz and Rudy on long morning walks, or take an afternoon off to spend with Lacie, all without having to report to a boss. That was wonderful.

  But the best thing about it, she thought, was her readers. She gained immense pleasure from the fact that they loved the worlds she created as much as she did. They emailed her to ask when the next book in the series would be out. They wrote great reviews for her, entered her book giveaways, and wrote lovely emails back to her in response to her weekly newsletter. It was like she’d built a second family. It was a warm and comforting feeling and so, so fulfilling.

  She spoke about all of this and more to the audience. She tapped into a well of passion somewhere deep within herself, and the words just flowed out of her mouth. She even veered off her planned speech which she’d practised so many times in front of Blaine, and spoke from her heart.

  Kat talked about how to plot a book, how to keep going when you get writers’ block, how to develop interesting characters, how to promote your book, and how to make your reading audience feel like a real community. Lastly, she spoke about her own experiences investigating murders, and how she weaved that into her work. She explained how you can use your everyday experiences to create amazing stories.

  The theater had low-level lighting, even in the audience seating area, so people could easily see to take notes. Lennon had been very specific about that – she thought of everything. Kat saw people quickly writing down notes as she spoke, and it felt great. She felt so useful.

  Finally, when she was finished, everyone burst into applause. Kat felt like her chest would burst with excitement and pride. She gave everyone a lovely smile and a wave, and then headed off stage.

  Lennon grabbed her in a bear hug. “Oh my goodness, Kat. You were just incredible! Are you sure that was your first time speaking?”

  Kat was flushed with adrenaline and happiness. “Yes,” she said. “But certainly not the last time. That was an amazingly enjoyable experience.”

  Lennon smiled and patted her on the back. “Fantastic, isn’t it? I’m so proud of you.”

  Then she strutted on stage in her high heels. “Give it up one more time for Kat Denham!” she said, and the audience cheered.

  Kat felt the applause and cheering surge through her chest.

  “And now, for an incredible Instagram influencer and motivational speaker. He’s famous for his no-nonsense approach and sometimes colorful language. We hope he’ll keep it family-friendly for the young writers in our audience. Today, he’s going to talk about how to write an awesome self-help book, and give us some motivation on how to push through writing any kind of book. Everybody ready? Put your hands together and give a big welcome to EJ Lewis!”

  EJ had been standing in the wings on the other side of the stage, with his very pretty and serious-looking assistant, Marie Claire. Kat watched as he bounded onto the stage. He was huge, with wide muscular shoulders and bulging biceps covered in tattoos. “Hey ther
e, everyone!” he bellowed, moving around the stage with a huge energy that made him look like a rock star. “Everybody stand up! Yep, yep, you heard right. Get on your feet!”

  Kat had planned to go back to her dressing room to grab her things, then join Lacie, Tyler, and Blaine, who had come to see her performance. Lennon had said that once Kat was done with her talk, she would take everything from there. But Kat stood still in the wings, captivated by EJ, in spite of herself.

  “Now, I want everyone except the front row to sit the heck back down,” EJ continued. “This is reality. You see, 95% of people don’t finish writing the books they start. So when you all stood up, that represented people who wanted to write a book. But the people who are standing now? They represent the people who actually did write a book, all the way through to the end. Now, you guys up front can sit down.

  “Listen,” he said, pacing up and down the stage like a cornered tiger. “The world is divided into winners and losers. Most people are losers. Very few are winners. And it doesn’t matter where you grew up, what college you went to or if you didn’t go to one at all. It doesn’t matter what you believe in, or whether you’re rich or poor. All that matters is EFFORT. That’s what differentiates between the winners in life and the losers in life.”

  Kat stood in the wings and continued to watch EJ and his mesmerizing performance. He really did have a gift for speaking. He made all kinds of wild hand gestures, but the thing that was so captivating was his voice. It sounded like he was putting his heart and soul into what he said, and this gave him magnetic appeal as a speaker.

  “Now here’s where people slip up. They think enthusiasm is the same as effort. But it’s not. Effort is about keeping going even when your enthusiasm has run dry. Even when you can’t stand to see the sight of your book. Even when a bright new shiny idea comes along to tempt you. Even when you could gladly throw your manuscript into a fire and watch it burn. If you keep pushing through all that, you will find success, but so few people are willing to do that.”

  He looked around the audience, his eyes intense. “Are you willing to make the effort? Are you willing to push through being bored? Through fear that your work’s not good enough? Through that voice in your head that tells you you were dumb to start this book in the first place? Through—”

  Suddenly, a huge bang sounded. It was a gunshot.

  EJ collapsed and fell to the ground. There were a couple screams, then the theater fell into complete silence. EJ didn’t move.

  Kat felt her heart thunder in her chest. What on earth?

  People started running for the exits.

  Lennon and Kat rushed forward onto the stage.

  “He’s breathing!” Lennon said.

  Kat and Lennon looked all over his body for a gunshot wound, but there wasn’t one.

  “I don’t… understand,” Kat said. “There’s no blood, no wound…”

  Lennon’s face turned from devastation to anger. She kneeled down and shook EJ. “Is this some kind of prank? What on earth is going on?”

  EJ didn’t move, and his body flopped lifelessly.

  Lennon looked back at Kat, confused.

  Kat had an idea. She bent down and tickled EJ under the chin. He squirmed and opened his eyes for a moment.

  “Aha!” Lennon said. “What kind of a game are you playing, huh?”

  EJ pretended to be lifeless again.

  “Game’s up, pal,” said Kat. “Seriously, you know you have the whole place freaking out and the audience running out of the theater?”

  EJ opened his eyes. He looked up at them and grinned. “Really?” Then he sat up and looked at the slowly emptying theater. Some people pointed at him and started talking among themselves.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Lennon asked, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him up. She was surprisingly strong.

  “Oh, it’s just a prank,” he said.

  Kat suddenly remembered his assistant. She looked into the wings where she had previously been. “Where’s Marie Claire?”

  EJ’s eyes widened. He looked into the wings. “She was… She was there, wasn’t she? I don’t know where she is.” He looked at the emptying theater and grinned.

  Lennon’s face was getting redder by the second. “How dare you ruin everything! What is this all about?”

  “Oh, come on, Lennon,” he said. “Everyone will be talking about this event, far and wide.”

  “My main speaker hasn’t even come on yet,” Lennon said, furiously, “and everyone will be leaving in their vehicles right about now.”

  “Oh, that’s what you’re worried about?!” EJ said scornfully. “Oh, no, no. I have some of my team in the lobby, telling everyone it was a prank and giving the ones who got out first candy bars and some of my merch.”

  Lennon growled. “Don’t you think you should have run this by me first?”

  EJ shrugged. “You’d have just said no. Do I lie?”

  “For good reason!” Lennon snapped. Then she breathed deeply and found a smile. “Now go out there, show them you’re not dead, and come back and finish your talk, please.” She talked to him in a calm but firm way, like he was one of her kids acting up.

  He noticed. “Yes, Mom.” He took a running jump off the stage, then ran up one of the aisles and out of the door leading to the lobby.

  “Goodness gracious me,” Lennon said, turning to Kat. “He nearly gave me a cardiac event.”

  Kat found a laugh from somewhere. She was just relieved that no one was really dead. “I know. Me too!”

  Lennon made a tsk-tsk sound as she walked towards the wings. “Giving away his merch in the lobby. Honestly.”

  “He’s certainly not shy, is he,” Kat said.

  “You can say that again.” Lennon looked at her watch. “He’s making us run over our allotted time.” A small group of people began to trickle back into the theater, talking excitedly. She tipped her head to one side, watching them. Kat could see the cogs in her brain whirring. “Well, he’s right that it’s injected some extra excitement into the conference. It probably will make the news.”

  “You can see why he’s famous, can’t you?” Kat said. “He knows how to draw attention to himself and work the media.”

  Lennon smiled. “That he does.” She looked at her watch again. “I don’t want to overrun EJ’s time slot. Let’s cut his talk down by ten minutes, and give Jay her fully allotted time. I think that’s only fair.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” said Kat.

  “That means EJ will have about five minutes left, if he returns in three minutes, which looks likely. Jay needs to be ready.” Lennon turned and bit her lip. It looked like a lot of the stage crew had left at the sound of the gunshot. “You don’t mind going to get her for me, do you? I want to be here when EJ gets back.”

  “Sure, of course,” Kat said. She went back through the wings, then through the door that led to the corridor where all the dressing rooms were. She was coming from the other side of the stage, and felt a little disoriented. She couldn’t remember which room was which. Thankfully each of the dressing rooms had people’s names taped onto them. It wasn’t long before she found Jay’s.

  She knocked, but there was no answer.

  “Jay?” Kat said. “Jay, are you there?” Maybe she’d heard the gunshot and run away, too, Kat reasoned. Or maybe she went outside for another cigarette, to calm her nerves.

  When Jay still didn’t answer, Kat pushed the door open. There was something obstructing the door on the other side, and she had to push quite hard. “Jay?” she called out as she peered around the door. When she looked down, to see what she had been pushing against, Kat almost fainted. What she saw was Jay’s body lying on the floor, bunched up in a sort of fetal position and situated in front of the door.

  Kat pulled the door shut with a slam, adrenaline pumping through her veins, and ran back towards the stage. “Lennon! Lennon!”

  EJ was just beginning to restart his talk.

  “Lennon!” Kat s
aid, rushing up to her. “I think Jay’s… dead!”

  Lennon smiled. “Come on, Kat. We’ve had that prank played once already today. I don’t think it will fly a second time.”

  “No, Lennon, I’m serious,” Kat said. “Come and look.”

  Kat, more prepared this time, led Lennon to Jay’s dressing room. Kat looked down at Jay, and could tell instantly that she wasn’t simply unconscious, but that she was dead. Even so, she still checked for breathing and a pulse. There was none.

  Lennon looked at Kat with wide eyes. “Kat, what on earth is going on?”

  Kat shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  The first thing they did was call the police. Kat then went to tell Monique what had happened. Lennon went on stage and told the audience that the main speaker Jay Talbot had fallen ill and couldn’t perform. She offered refunds to anyone who wanted one. She left her teenagers, Monique and the other theater staff in charge, while she returned backstage to talk to the police.

  Detective Randson Butler of the Green Rock Police Department was the man in charge of the scene. ‘Smooth’ was the best word Kat could think of to describe him. He smiled sympathetically, but it was not a warm smile. He used people’s names to address them and learned these very quickly, but Kat could tell his respect didn’t run deep. He was very professional, and went through all the right motions, but something about him didn’t sit right with Kat.

  It was as if he was treating this simply as a job and wasn’t considering the human side of things. Someone had just died, but he was acting as casual as if he was writing a speeding ticket. Kat wondered if he was desensitized because it was his job to investigate murders, or if it indicated something about his character on a deeper level.

  Once he’d finished interviewing her, where she gave him the basic facts in about five minutes, she offered to stay with Lennon, but Lennon’s husband had arrived after helping get the audience out of the theater and everything else now seemed to be in control. Also, Lennon’s pastor Hunter and his wife Georgina, who was Jay’s sister, had arrived. Georgina had wet eyes. Hunter put his arm around her, and spoke words of comfort to both her and Lennon.