Murder as Sticky as Jam Read online

  “You know, Collin died in my warehouse, do you have any idea why he may have been there?”

  Stephanie sighed. “I think I know why he was there. I don’t like to talk about their personal life, but I suppose you are just as involved as I am, a victim of it same as me. Lacey was unhappy with Collin; she was looking for a way out if you ask me.”

  “Do you mean she wanted a divorce?”

  “I think so, I can’t say for sure. His PTSD would flare up sometimes, and it was more than he or she could handle. See, you have to understand something, Collin loved Lacey, and he tried to be strong for her, but Lacey didn’t want to have to put up with him when he was broken and needed help.”

  “That sounds right, like the Lacey I know, but about the warehouse?”

  “He would have episodes, really bad ones. He was ashamed of it and didn’t want anyone to know. At first, he’d come up here. Stay in my spare bedroom ... but when the rumors started, he didn’t want to come here anymore. Didn’t want to cause trouble for me. I didn’t know he was in your warehouse, but that makes sense now. He’d have done anything to hide his demons from Lacey. He didn’t want her to know just how bad it really was for him. So, he’d hole up somewhere that he wouldn’t be disturbed. Sounds like your warehouse fit the bill. He could go there and not have to be strong for anyone, he could fight his demons, cry, do what he needed to and go back to Lacey like nothing ever happened.”

  “That poor man,” said Mona.

  Stephanie let out a long breath. “Don’t you feel sorry for him, there’s nothing poor about him. His pain is over, he is in a far better place. Maybe now he can find peace.”

  Chapter Seven

  Mona left Stephanie’s house with a heavy heart. The conversation had been an eye-opening experience for Mona. PTSD wasn’t a subject she understood or knew much about until she spoke with Stephanie. Mona was struck by Stephanie’s honesty and willingness to discuss the condition that had caused her brother to take his own life and drove Collin into hiding in dark, unknown places like her warehouse.

  Driving down the mountain, she stopped her car briefly in the valley and said a quick prayer for Stephanie’s departed brother, Gabe. Despite the warm weather, she felt a chill crawl up her spine as she drove back home.

  Gabe had killed himself...

  An ominous thought nagged at the back of Mona’s head.

  Could Collin have done the same...

  Maybe it was Collin that started the fire?

  Maybe he was looking for a way to end everything ... but why burn down her shop in the process?

  Mona made her way home with morbid thoughts swirling in her head. She contemplated going to see Lacey but thought better of it. Maybe she needed to leave the investigation up to the police.

  She pulled onto her own private road, ready to call it a day, when her cell phone buzzed in her purse. She took it out and saw it was Aunt Bee.

  “Hello Honey,” Aunt Bee said cheerfully. “I’m just checking in to make sure you’re not sulking too much.”

  Mona smiled despite herself. “Not too much.”

  “Good, good. We can’t let material losses get us down. Everything will work out in the end. You’ll see.”

  “Thanks Aunt Bee,” Mona said, climbing out of the car and making her way to her front door.

  She was ready to end the call when Bee said, “Hang on! I have good news.”

  “Great. I need some of that.”

  “The Coupon Clippers are super excited about your BOGO.”

  “What?”

  “The BOGO on your special blackberry ginger jam.”

  Mona paused at her front door. “Um ... I don’t think I can do that anymore Aunt Bee—”

  “Nonsense! It’s exactly what you need to do. It will keep you busy and bring in a little cash flow for you dear.”

  “Bee, it’s not like I’m hurting for cash so much that a few jars of jam—”

  “Well then it’s settled!”

  “What? No, I—”

  “And it’s not just a few jars mind you. You remember Alana? She runs that blog Frugalicious. She’s going to feature you. Said she get gets over a hundred thousand views a day. You could really move some products!”

  With her free hand, Mona dug around in her purse and pulled out her house keys. She was fighting overwhelm as she said, “I suppose that’s a good opportunity, but how many jars—”

  “Not jars, darling,” Aunt Bee cooed. “Cases!”

  Mona stuck her key in the door and stopped cold. “Oh no.”

  “What?” Aunt Bee asked. “I think preparing the jam in your kitchen will be the perfect antidote to keep you busy. You’ve always told—”

  “My door is unlocked!” Mona whispered into the phone.

  “What’s that dear?”

  “I could have sworn I locked my door when I left.”

  “Oh, don’t worry too much, darling. That happens to me all the time,” Aunt Bee said.

  But Mona couldn’t help herself, her heart thudded in her chest, and her palms grew slick with moisture. “I ... let me call you later, Aunt Bee.”

  Anger flared inside Mona. She would not be a victim! She would not allow someone to break into her home while she cowered. Without thinking, Mona kicked it into overdrive. She pushed open her front door and called out, “Hello?”

  She tore through her house, dashing from one room to another, screaming out, “Is someone here? Hello?”

  There was no response to her calls, in fact, the house was deathly silent.

  She examined each room, more slowly and realized nothing seemed out of place.

  Oh Lord, I’m losing my mind!

  Did I really leave my front door unlocked?

  She returned to her front porch and looked outside. There were no other car treads on her dirt driveway except the ones from her own car.

  I’m getting completely paranoid, she thought.

  The sound of frogs and crickets singing their sunset opera, should have soothed her, but instead it made her antsy. The day had evaporated, and she was no closer to finding out who had set fire to her dreams.

  The thought made her blood pressure rise. She needed answers.

  It was embarrassing to admit, but she had already memorized Leo’s number from the card he gave her at their morning meeting; she dialed his number and prayed he would answer.

  “Detective Lawson.”

  “Hi, Leo, It’s Mona, do you have a second?”

  “Sure I do, what’s going on? How are you holding up?”

  A rush of warmth heated Mona, and she almost felt giddy.

  He cares how I’m holding up!

  “I’m alright. I had an upsetting phone call after you left, I don’t want to say from who, but it was troubling, and I need to ask you something,” Mona answered.

  “Ask me anything.”

  “I feel silly, really. But it came to my attention that there’s an awful rumor flying around town that Collin and I ...” She hesitated and cleared her throat. “Some people think that Collin and I were having an affair. And I wanted to make sure you knew ... well ... that the police, you know ... that the record show ...”

  Oh lord, I’m making an idiot of myself!

  “I wasn’t having an affair with Collin, Leo. I want to be clear about that. I hardly knew him. And we certainly weren’t having an affair.”

  The silence on the phone was deafening. “Leo, are you still there?”

  “I’m still here, Mona, I was hoping you wouldn’t hear anything about that, I’m furious that the information leaked. You know how small towns can be. I’m not supposed to discuss it with you, but since you know about it anyway, I suppose it won’t hurt.”

  Mona could feel the beginning of an anxiety attack, she tried to steady herself and asked, “Leo, you think it’s true? You can’t believe that I would actually have an affair with a married man?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I believe, I have to investigate the case from all angles and consider
every possibility. A case like this would be bad enough if it was just arson but with the murder of a well-known citizen, I have to research every theory, regardless of my own feelings.”

  “This is horrible, you know I’m not capable of anything like that,” said Mona.

  “I hate to ask this right now with you being upset, but I’m going to need for you to come down to the station tomorrow.”

  Her heart racing, she asked quietly, “Are you going to arrest me?”

  “No, I’m not going to arrest you. I just have a few more questions that’s all. Look, don’t let any rumors get to you, it’s just part of the investigation, nothing more.”

  “Alright, thanks Leo. I’ll see you tomorrow, what time?”

  “How about the morning, around ten?”

  “I’ll be there. Good bye,” she said, her hands shaking as she hung up.

  He can’t really believe I had anything to do with the fire.

  What are they saying now? That I was mad at my lover and burned down my own shop?

  She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She admired the red color of the setting sun and told herself everything would work out.

  In her head, she replayed every piece of the conversation with Leo. He had said not to worry about the arson charges. He was trying to soothe her frazzled nerves. It made her want him even more. He was a good man.

  And she’d be seeing him in the morning. Now that was something to look forward to.

  She returned inside the house and was dreaming about him before her head hit the pillow.

  Now only one question loomed.

  What do I wear tomorrow?

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning, Mona was in surprisingly good spirits for a woman who was going to the police station to answer questions. Especially about a fire where she was the suspected arsonist. She sang in the shower and thought about how handsome Leo was and how sweet he had been during this ordeal.

  As she dressed in a crisp pair of khakis and a button down blue shirt, she wrestled with her own heart. She promised herself that after he broke her heart in high school she’d never allow herself to fall in love with him again. Selecting the perfect earrings and necklace, she realized that she was breaking that promise to herself.

  But high school was so long ago.

  Everyone deserves a second chance.

  The drive into town was pleasant, and Mona sang along to the satellite radio in her car. She turned to a station that specialized in sappy love songs and sang along with each one. Catching a glimpse of herself in the rear-view mirror, she looked crazy. A killer was probably on the loose, her shop burned down, and she was dreaming about the handsome detective.

  She arrived at the police station, parked her car and walked inside. After a quick exchange with the receptionist, she waited patiently in the lobby for Leo to arrive. Holding up her cell phone, she took one last look at her hair and make-up, double checking for any flaws. Every hair was in place and her make-up had not smeared, she was pleased with her image and turned the phone off.

  “Miss Reilly, I’m glad you could make it, please come with me,” said Leo as he coolly greeted her and escorted her to his office.

  He’s so formal! Mona thought, worriedly following him through a labyrinth of corridors and desks to a small office.

  He invited her to have a seat, saying, “I’ll be with you in just a second. I promise.” He left the room, leaving Mona alone for a moment in his office.

  Mona looked around the room and took a deep breath, the scent of his cologne, clean and masculine, hung in the air. Her mind drifted to wondering what time he was off, and if he had any dinner plans, when suddenly she was brought back to the present by the sound of his voice.

  Just outside his office door, which was left ajar, she heard him speaking in a quiet voice to another man. Mona strained to listen to the conversation as it seemed to pertain to her and to the case.

  “Lawson,” said the other man in a low tone, “I know I don’t have to say this, but it’s important; this case involves your sister and this woman, Mona Reilly that you have known for years, do I have your assurance there is no conflict of interest?”

  “Chief, I don’t know what to say, what would give you the impression there is a conflict of interest?” asked Leo.

  “Isn’t Mona your sister’s business partner and the woman that owned the shop? Can you honestly tell me that you can remain impartial? If you cannot, I don’t want to jeopardize this case, just tell me, and I can assign it to another officer.”

  “Sir, there is no conflict of interest, absolutely none. Mona really is a friend and business partner of my sister, but she doesn’t mean anything to me. I hope that puts this to rest.”

  “It does, so no feelings there, not an old high school flame, eh Lawson?”

  “Not a chance, sir.”

  Mona sat motionless in the chair, afraid to move, to breathe, to do anything. Leo had told the Chief of police that there wasn’t a thing between them, nothing.

  She doesn’t mean anything to me.

  Those words repeated in her head as she felt a familiar feeling, the feeling of her heart being broken all over again by Leo. She immediately recalled when Leo took Lacey to the prom. Mona remembered it all like it was yesterday, the feelings of betrayal and anguish.

  In an instant, Mona’s memory drifted back to that terrible summer that Mona and Leo spent nearly every day in each other’s company. They were as close as best friends, and there seemed to be a mutual attraction between them. Without saying a word to her, Leo suddenly stopped calling her and coming to her house. It was Vicki that told her why, that he was dating Lacey, beautiful, popular Lacey the cheerleader, the homecoming queen, everything Mona wasn’t.

  That desperate feeling of uncontrollable sadness and loss descended on Mona as she sat in his office. Watching the door, she dreaded it opening, of seeing him walk in. All she wanted was to curl up and die, but she knew that wasn’t an option. I was so stupid to think anything could change between us!

  She remembered Mrs. Fletcher praising Lacey’s beauty and felt like she wanted to punch a hole in the wall. A noise behind her sounded as if Leo was about to enter the room, so she straightened in the chair and smoothed down her shirt.

  “Hey, sorry about that,” Leo said, coming into the room. “Do you want some coffee or something?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” Mona said in a stilted voice that she barely recognized as her own.

  He quirked an eyebrow at her but said nothing. He sat down at the desk and ran his hand through his hair. He sighed and reached for a file in the top drawer of his desk. He opened the file and turned to Mona. From his furrowed brow and frown, she could see that he was stressed.

  Part of her wanted to reach out to him, to take care of him but the other part of her could barely look at him. Each time her gaze fell on his face, she was terrified she would say or do something stupid, like burst into some uncontrollable emotion.

  Leo drummed his fingertips on his desk. “So...uh...you and Collin ...”

  Mona leveled a gaze. “We were not having an affair.”

  “Right,” Leo said.

  Is it my imagination or does he look relieved?

  “Apparently, he was suffering from PTSD. That’s why he was in my warehouse.”

  Leo frowned. “Yeah. I know about the PTSD. We served together in Afghanistan until he got discharged a couple years ago ... But how do you know about it?”

  Mona shifted uncomfortably in her in chair. “I talked to Stephanie Tyndall yesterday.”

  Leo’s eyes darkened. “I didn’t know you and Stephanie were friends.”

  “We’re not.”

  Confusion clouded Leo’s handsome face. “I don’t understand. Why did you talk to her then?”

  “I wanted to find out what Collin was doing in my warehouse—”

  “Whoa, whoa. You have to leave the investigating up to the police.”

  “Someone burned down my shop,
Leo. I can’t sit around doing nothing.”

  “I’m not asking you to do nothing! I’m asking you to leave the investigation to me.” He stared at her.

  “I have a list of people,” she muttered.

  “What?” he asked.

  She reddened. “Suspects, you know.”

  He motioned for her to spit it out, and she rushed to share her theory about Alexander. “He was at Vicki’s yesterday trying to get her to sell her honey at his shop again.”

  Leo nodded. “I know, but that doesn’t prove he set fire to your place.”

  “My cousin Stewart is mad at me and he could have set the place up, just to ...”

  “Just to what? Punish you?”

  As if eavesdropping on her conversation, a text from Stewart suddenly appeared on her phone: Are you avoiding me?

  Mona swiped right on her phone, dismissing the text before Leo could see it.

  She sighed. All her theories were sounding hollow and silly in front of Leo. She shrugged. “I don’t know. What if Collin wanted to kill himself and burned the placed down?”

  Leo frowned. “Go out in a blaze of fury?”

  “Stephanie’s brother, Gabe, had PTSD. He shot himself.”

  Leo glanced at the open file on his desk. “I doubt Collin set the place on fire, based on the location of where his body was recovered, but I’ll share that theory with the coroner.”

  Mona sighed. “And then there’s Lacey ...”

  “What about her? You think she set fire to your place? Why would she do that?”

  “What if she was trying to get Collin out of the way?”

  Leo shook his head. “She didn’t know Collin was at the warehouse. He hadn’t been home in days. She thought he was with Stephanie Tyndall. Figured he’d left her.”

  Mona felt sick to her stomach. All her theories were going up in smoke faster than her shop had.

  Leo began a slew of questions surrounding timing, movement, whereabouts, technical questions about the store, the burner, the kitchen, her phone calls and schedules. She answered as best she could, but the details were a blur. She had the distinct impression that Leo was trying to prove that the fire wasn’t her fault.

  But had it been?

  An excruciating hour later, she found herself sitting in the driver’s seat of her car. She didn’t remember walking out of the police station or saying good bye to Leo.