SCREWED DOWN MURDER (Mrs. Fix It Mysteries Book 2) Read online

  Which meant Scott had a pile of crap to contend with.

  “Lovely,” Kate said.

  He didn’t look stressed. How could he be so cool about all of this?

  “Kate, I really want you to stay out of this. Do I need to remind you what happened last time you became involved in a murder investigation?”

  “I caught the guy?” she said.

  He wasn’t amused. “I had to rescue you from the man.”

  “I would have thought you liked that. Isn’t that why you became a cop?”

  He growled. “Please, Kate. I don’t want to have to worry about you. I have enough on my plate.”

  She drew herself up. “It isn’t your place to worry about me.”

  “Maybe not, but I do. It’s part of my DNA. I need to know that you’re safe. What will happen to your kids if you’re gone?”

  She got up on her tiptoes to be right by his face. “Don’t throw my kids in my face. It isn’t your place. I think about my boys all of the time.”

  He didn’t step back. He didn’t flinch. She hadn’t expected him to, but she wanted him to know she was no shrinking flower.

  He did put up his hands. “You can pretend that there is nothing between us, but the whole town knows there is.”

  “The whole town is wrong.”

  “You can think that.”

  “Yes, I can think what I want, Scott. And do what I want as long as I don’t break the law.”

  “If I could arrest you, I would. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  She stepped away from him. “I’m fine. I’m here to support Jessica then fix her window.”

  At that moment Ken came out of the office. He eyed the two of them. “I need to see what info the cop has gathered then I might have a few questions for Jessica. Kate, you are free to fix the window.”

  “Thanks, Ken,” Kate said.

  She left Scott standing there. She looked at the window. The glass wasn’t broken as she’d expected. The window had been jimmied open.

  “Doesn’t look like a professional job,” Scott said.

  Kate jumped. She hadn’t heard him walk in. Stealthy for a big guy.

  “How can you tell?”

  “Because it looked like brute force. With a tool. A professional would have gotten that unlocked then pushed it up.”

  “I’ll have to order her a new screen.”

  She ignored his presence. She needed to fix the window then get out. She turned, but Scott was right there. He got ahold of her arms. “So you know. We’re already interviewing a man who wasn’t awarded a contract from Rock Ridge. He’s been very vocal and he has no alibi. No need to help us do our jobs.”

  There was no humor or mirth in his words. He walked out, not giving her a chance to say anything.

  Chapter Ten

  Kate left Jessica with an estimate for the work she needed done on her house. She looked forward to having steady work. Leafing through the book she’d taken out of the library, Kate knew where she wanted to go with her business. She had big plans; she just needed an influx of cash to buy some new tools.

  Fixing Jessica’s house would provide that. She might even get her truck repainted with a new logo, but that was a few months down the road.

  Her next stop was a different type of fix. Marly Jones had found a used chicken coop online, so she had it delivered. It needed some work before she could have chickens. Marly lived in the same neighborhood as Jessica and Scott, but in the older section that had been built in the seventies. The house was a ranch, but because Marly and her husband had done some upgrades, it didn’t look as old as it truly was.

  The back yard abutted the Pennsylvania State Game Lands which made the view spectacular. Kate would bet that wildlife visited them on a regular basis.

  Kate eyed the chicken coop. It was large enough for ten chickens.

  “We’re not buying that many yet. The roof leaks and we need a wire fence around it and over the top to keep the critters out.”

  “I bet you have a lot of critters here.”

  “Yes, but it’s the coyotes that I worry about. They are pretty smart when they are hungry.”

  “I can fix the coop today along with the fencing, but I don’t have any chicken wire for the top. I’ll have to get that. You want me to get the supplies first or fix what I can today.”

  “Just do what you can today. We’re retired so we’re around or not far away,” Marly said.

  “Sound good.”

  Kate pulled her tools out of the truck then set to work, fixing the hole in the roof then putting new shingles on it. The roof would be good for twenty years. Her dad would be proud. Which reminded her that she needed to call him. She hadn’t talked to him in a while.

  Next she tackled the wiring that surrounded the chicken coop. She had some chicken wire with her. She had gloves on, but somehow she managed to trip and snag her arm on the wire. It left a jagged cut down her arm as it pushed her sleeve out of the way.

  “Ouch,” she said.

  She eyed it. The bleeding wasn’t bad, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a tetanus shot. If she knew that, she might just bandage it herself. She’d better get that shot.

  Marly came out of the house with lemonade. “Oh, goodness. You should have that looked at.”

  “I want to finish the job first.”

  “Nonsense,” the older woman said. “Go to the Medemerge place. They can take you faster than the hospital will. Plus they are closer. You have to come back anyway. Go.”

  Kate looked at Marly then at her bleeding arm. “Okay, I’ll go. I’ll get the chicken wire for the roof then come back.”

  “It can wait for another day,” Marly said.

  Kate drove herself to the doc in a box on Main Street. There were only four people in the waiting room. Kate filled out the paperwork. This was going to set her back since she didn’t have the best insurance.

  She finished filling out the paperwork, handed it back to the receptionist as Celia Johnson walked in.

  “Hello, Celia,” Kate said.

  The woman signed in then sat next to Kate.

  “That’s a nasty gash, Kate. You have an up-to-date tetanus shot?”

  Celia would think of that. It must also mean that this place was a good medical facility if a former nurse would come here.

  “No, that’s why I came. The bleeding isn’t that bad, but I do need the shot,” Kate said.

  “You should keep up to date on that considering what you do.”

  “I know. I guess I didn’t think about it.”

  That wasn’t smart, but she was only losing a few hours of work. If this didn’t take too long, she could get back to Marly’s house. Celia gave her a disapproving look.

  “What are you here for?”

  She showed Kate a spot on her leg. “I’m just having my stitches looked at. I think I might have an infection.”

  The woman sported a line of stitches up the side of her calf. It looked like it hurt.

  “How did you get that?” Kate asked, not sure she wanted to know.

  “Someone came to close to me on the road when I was walking.”

  “Did they stop?”

  “No. I was out early and the sun hadn’t come up fully. I might get one of those orange vests so people see me.”

  “Did you get a look at the car?”

  “No, but it had a dent in the back. I couldn’t see what color it was,” Celia said.

  “That’s most of the cars in Rock Ridge. I think we’ve all put dents in our vehicles over the winter. I know I slid into various things driving on ice.”

  “True. I guess they got away with it. Just made me mad that they didn’t stop.”

  “Maybe they really didn’t see you if it was that dark,” Kate said.

  “I screamed. They couldn’t have missed that,” Celia said.

  “Odd. At least all you got was a cut.”

  “Some bruising, but that’s gone away. I just can’t believe the person drove a
way.”

  “That is awful. You’d think that since we all know each other that no one would do that.”

  “Guess not,” Celia said.

  The nurse called Kate in. She followed the woman through a rabbit warren of treatment rooms. She weighed her then left her in a room. Kate’s sleeve was already rolled up and the towel Marly had given her was spotted with red.

  It looked like the bleeding had stopped. The physician’s assistant came in. He was a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and ice-blue eyes. He smiled at Kate.

  “What do we have today?”

  “I cut myself on chicken wire and I know that I haven’t had a tetanus shot in a while.”

  “Okay. We’ll get that done. Let me look at the wound. You might need stitches.”

  “The bleeding has stopped.”

  “Mostly. Let me clean the wound and see what it really looks like.” He ran warm water over it, squirting it from a syringe. “No stitches necessary. I will bandage it and you can’t use it for at least a day to let it heal.”

  “A day?”

  “Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll put some glue on it just in case,” he said.

  “Okay.”

  He applied the glue, put a bandage on, and then administered the tetanus shot. The shot hurt a little so she winced.

  “Was I that bad?”

  “I don’t take shots well. Don’t take it personally,” she said.

  She paid her co-pay then left. She stopped at Grayson’s, bought what she needed for the next day then, then it decided to call it quits.

  ***

  Kate drove home, stopping to pick up her mail at the end of her long driveway. She glanced up at the sky. Clouds were forming and she suspected that a storm was on its way. She liked to sit out on her porch and watch them.

  Her arm throbbed and she hoped she had something in the refrigerator to heat up. She had no desire to cook right now. The day had been exhausting between Jessica’s emotional needs and her own arm getting cut. She was done.

  She turned the last corner of the driveway to see Scott sitting in the rocking chair on her front porch. She sighed. She was not in the mood for a fight.

  Climbing out of the truck, she glanced at him over her sunglasses. “Don’t you have a job?”

  “I do.”

  “Don’t you need to spend time doing that job?”

  “I do, but I knocked off early today,” he said.

  He didn’t stand. He acted like he belonged there. Like he owned the place. In her current mood, that set Kate’s temper on edge. “Do you ever call first or do you assume that I have nothing better to do with my evening than spend it alone?”

  He stood at that. His hands were up in surrender. “I’ve come to apologize.”

  His words took the wind out of her anger. She was tired and she shouldn’t take it out on him. “Okay.”

  She crossed her arms, but stayed by the truck. She wasn’t giving in that easily. He came down the steps toward her, but she wasn’t going to back up. This man wouldn’t lay a hand on her.

  “I have overstepped my boundaries with you.”

  “Keep going.”

  He stopped in front of her, close enough for her to touch, but she wasn’t going to.

  “I can’t tell you what to do. I can’t tell you how to spend your time. I can respectfully request that you stay out of this case, but unless you obstruct justice, I can’t do anything to stop you. Legally or professionally.”

  That was a pretty good apology. She brushed past him. “Apology accepted.”

  “I wish, also, that you would put your security system on before you leave for work. Your husband installed a world class one for some reason.”

  “I would assume that reason left when he did,” she said.

  Her arm throbbed. She had the beginning of a headache. She wanted to go to bed even if her stomach was empty.

  “I brought a picnic.”

  A picnic meant a meal. Food she didn’t have to cook. She stopped walking when she reached her porch. “It’s going to storm.”

  “We can bring it inside,” he said. She heard his trunk close. Glancing back, she saw the basket in his hands.

  He clearly remained undaunted by her mood. Greg would often run and hide when she got like this. He wasn’t as well-versed with women as Scott obviously was. She wondered if the day would ever come when she wouldn’t compare them.

  She sighed. She needed food and Scott had brought it to her. Would he always know what she needed? Damn him. He was making it hard not to be with him.

  The first drops of rain began to fall. “Come in.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. He had a grin on his face. That man was going to be the reason she did something she shouldn’t. He was right behind her when she unlocked her front door. He had a strong presence and he smelled good. Like a man.

  “Where can I set up?” Scott said.

  “At the dining room table?”

  “Let’s make it a real picnic and sit on a blanket on the floor.”

  She turned around to look at him. “You aren’t giving up the idea of a picnic.”

  “I have picnic foods. Fried chicken, potato salad, things like that.”

  She waved a hand. “Set it up, I need to take a shower.”

  “I can wash your back.”

  “I can wash my own back, thank you,” she said.

  She did wash her own back then returned to Scott in shorts and a T-shirt. She wasn’t dressed to impress. He had laid out the food on a red-and-white checkered tablecloth on the floor of her living room. He leaned against the couch, his arms draped across the seat cushions. He was a large man with large hands.

  “It all looks good.”

  “What happened to you?”

  She glanced at her arm. “I got caught on chicken wire.”

  “Did you see a doc?”

  “Yes, I got a tetanus shot. It’s fine.”

  He patted the floor next to him. She sat leaning against a chair. She didn’t need to be so close to him. He smiled at her as if he knew what she was doing. “Does it hurt?”

  “Yes and so did the shot.”

  “Did they give you a lollipop?”

  She laughed. “No, they didn’t. I’ll put that in the suggestion box next time.”

  “No stitches?”

  “Glue. It’ll be fine. I’m not supposed to use it too much for a day. Means I have to take tomorrow morning off,” she said.

  He handed her a plate of food. “Want me to feed you?”

  “No. I can eat.”

  “I wish you would let me take care of you, Katydid.”

  “I can’t, Scott. Not yet.”

  “I’m doing my best.”

  She took a bite of her food. She knew he was doing his best. “So what happened with the angry guy you interviewed today?”

  “He’s in custody. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “He must have been twice as pissed when you told him his suspicions were true,” she said.

  The chicken was good. Moist and crispy.

  “He was, but that’s not your problem. I don’t want to talk about the case.”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Tell me about your kids.”

  “Why?”

  “They are a part of who you are, who you’ve become in the years since I knew you.”

  She put down her plate, wiped her hands. “What can I say? They are great kids, volunteering for AmeriCorps this summer. I wish they were home, but they want to go out and save the world. I can’t deny them that.”

  “Is it harder not having them here since Greg is gone?”

  “Yes, I think if he were here things would be easier. I wouldn’t miss them so much.”

  She thought about her boys. They were still young and thought they could change the world. She admired that about them and didn’t want them to lose that idealism. She must have done something right, since they weren’t bitter after Greg’s disappearance.

&
nbsp; “You must have raised them well if they want to change the world. You had to take over at a crucial time as both mother and father. Do you give yourself credit for that?”

  She leaned back. No, she probably didn’t and she should. “I have as much guilt as the next mother. It is what it is.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Kate was on her way out the door the next morning, thinking about Scott when her phone rang. She looked at the screen. She might have to give Jessica her own ringtone. The woman called her enough and gave her enough business to warrant it.

  In Kate’s mind the case was close to being settled. Scott had convinced her that the contractor they had arrested yesterday was probably the murderer. The mystery woman in Dudley’s office had no bearing on the case. If she came forward, she’d help. If not, they could build a case without her.

  With that settled, Kate had slept better last night than she had in weeks.

  “Hello, Jessica. Have you looked over my estimate?”

  “What? Oh, yeah. It’s fine. I’ll sign it and get it back to you.”

  “Okay. I have a job this morning, but I can see you after that,” Kate said. “It’s a quick job.”

  “No, I really need you to see what I’ve found. I was looking through Dudley’s office to see if anything was missing. I found his appointment book. It has an odd entry in it,” Jessica said.

  “An odd entry?”

  “I can’t describe it. I think you need to come by and look at it.”

  “Jessica, Scott is pretty sure they know who killed Dudley. Can this wait?”

  “Okay, I guess it can.”

  “I’ll be over in two hours.”

  Her first job of the day was fixing a wooden swing set. She used lag bolts to secure the structure so that the kids could climb on it again. The wood might disintegrate before the bolts did. She received a check, then decided to put it in the bank.

  She and Jessica could decide on a payment plan today. Kate couldn’t wait until all of the projects were done to see any cash. She didn’t think that Jessica would be averse to that. With the check in the bank, Kate headed to Jessica’s house.

  Her car wasn’t in the driveway, but that didn’t mean anything. Jessica could have put it in the garage. Kate parked her truck on the street then rang the woman’s doorbell. No one answered, but the house was big enough that Jessica could take a few minutes to get to the front door.