Cream Pie Murderous Intent: Kim’s Cozy Mystery - Book 2 (Kim’s Cozy Mystery series) (3 page)

By ten minutes past 9 pm, the moon had climbed into the sky, shining its light on the girls. Kim and Stacy had just arrived at Sharon’s house. Stacy was tempted to sneak in through the back, but Kim protested. As they walked toward the front door, Kim had second thoughts about visiting Sharon that night.

Kim turned to Stacy. “Maybe we should go home.”

              “I won’t leave until I speak to Sharon,” Stacy replied firmly.

Once they were at the front door, they could hear the TV running in the living room.

“I wonder what she’s watching,” Kim said jokingly. “Probably housewife shows.”

              “Hey, anybody home?” Stacy said as she pounded her hand on the door. Kim quickly got annoyed that Sharon wasn’t responding.

“Wha—tever, I am going home,” Kim frowned, sighing in displeasure.

“Wait! I know where Sharon keeps a spare key.” Stacy pushed away the black and white welcome mat and extracted a small key.

“Okay, let’s check on her before we go.” Kim said with a poker-face.

The television was deafeningly loud, and the lights were burning hot in the living room, as if they hadn’t been turned off in days. Kim started to feel uneasy about the condition of the house.

“I’ve looked everywhere! Where is she?”

“Maybe she went somewhere and just forgot to turn things off!” Kim reassured Stacy.

“No, her car’s in the driveway,” Stacy said with heavy breaths.

Concern flared inside Kim. “Well, let’s just hang around until she returns.” Ten minutes flew by, and Kim decided she was already bored. “I remember I leant Sharon some cookie cutters. They weren’t in the kitchen, so I’m going to check the basement.”

The wooden steps were loud and squeaky, making every step feel like you were going to fall through. After taking a billion steps, Kim finally made it to the foot of the basement.

“Why is it so dark here?” Kim asked aloud as she fought off the spider webs. “Eww, I think I need some light down here.” She stumbled into a chair in the center of the basement. “What th-- aaaahh, HELP! Stacy, call the police, call the police!”

“Kim, I can’t hear you. What are you huffing and puffing about?” Stacy chuckled at Kim. “I’m coming.” Stacy quickly walked down the steps to investigate the matter.

She quickly realized what Kim was screaming about once she made it down the stairs. “What the...?” Stacy passed out from the shock. Kim raced up the wooden stairs, screaming for help as she ran outside and onto the streets. She was out of breath and dialing 911.

“Operator, I need the police and an ambulance. Mmm-my friend is ti-ied-d... to a ch-chair and not mov-ving,” Kim stammered through the phone call.

At that moment, Detective Mulling emerged from out of nowhere to meet Kim on the street.

“What’s the matter” inquired Mulling.

“It‘s…Sharon. She’s being held downstairs” Kim replied, still panicking.

He pulled out his gun and raced to the basement. He saw a passed out Stacy and a lifeless Sharon bound to a chair.

“Kim! If you can hear me, get a knife!” Mulling shouted. “Wake up, wake up, you need to get up. Can you walk?” Mulling asked Stacy.

Mulling saw the door flew open, and the paramedics arrived at record speed. The paramedics quickly carried Sharon up from the basement.

“Oh my god! Stacy called out in disbelief. Kim stood in complete silence as their friend was carried away.

“Hey, are you guys okay?” Mulling asked Kim and Stacy once they settled down and Sharon was tucked away in the ambulance.

“No, I’m not; I just saw….” Kim couldn’t finish. “Wait. What are you doing here anyways? You appeared out of nowhere! You came before the 9-1-1- call.”

“Huh….with all due respect, I was keeping an eye on you. I wanted to make sure I could clear you as a suspect.” Mulling replied. Kim was now clearly pissed at Mulling.

“Oooh, I can’t believe you! If you ever follow me again, I swear, I’ll get your badge,” Kim boldly told the detective.

To lighten the tense mood, Stacy interjected. “Well I don’t care why you are here, I am just glad you came, to our aid,” she smiled and showed gratitude.

Sharon was the glue who held the girls together. The “three sexy musketeers” they used to call themselves. Tonight was a very close call for one of the musketeers.

Mulling refocused the investigation on Sharon. “I know this is an emotional situation, but we need to focus on Sharon. So, from the top, why are you here and when was the last time you saw Sharon?” Mulling inquired. He pulled out his black ink pen and began to make notes.

Kim was yet again answering questions, but this time she knew it was for Sharon’s sake; and that Mulling wanted to find out the truth.

“Girls, one more thing; I don’t understand why he didn’t just kill her. What do you girls think?” Mulling asked.

“They were probably going to come back and finish the job.” Stacy blurted out.

“I think it’s time we head back to the hospital; we should have been there 20 minutes ago,” Kim said concerningly.

“The details are still fresh, we needed to talk about them sooner rather than later,” Mulling explained to Kim. “Come with me; I’ll give you a ride to the hospital.” Kim was still uncomfortable with Mulling, but decided it was best to leave with him and Stacy.

Other officers were dispatched to be with Sharon; for her protection. Additionally, an emergency abduction alert was sent to the entire town about the home invasion. The entire town would be well aware of the situation in the morning.

Kim and Stacy searched high and low in the hospital for Sharon. Once they found her floor, they ran into different problems. The doctors were very hesitant to let them visit.

“Ma’am, I’m afraid the patient is not allowed to have visitors,” said the doctor. After Mulling caught up with the girls, he asked the doctors for an exception.

“The girls are family to the victim,” Mulling fibbed to the nurse working that shift. Finally, after several delays, the girls were finally reunited. Kim and Stacy hovered over an unconscious Sharon. After a few minutes, Kim started to cry. Tears flowed down her cheeks.

“You were right, Stacy. Sharon was in trouble. You sensed it and knew it, but I was blind to the whole thing. It’s my fault we didn’t find her sooner,” Kim told Stacy.

“Kim, you’re not responsible for this. If we’d gotten over there earlier, there’s no telling what would have happened. Besides, your quick response saved her life.” Stacy reached out, her fingers closing around Kim’s hand in silent comfort.

“We are together again,” Stacy murmured.

In the middle of the emotional moment, Sharon’s eyes popped open.

“What happened?”

“Nurse, she’s awake!” Stacy yelled with tremendous relief. The nurses approached Sharon, checking her vitals and heart levels. Once the nurse gave the go ahead, Mulling proceeded to find out everything Sharon knew.

“Detective, don’t push her too hard; she’s still not 100 percent better yet.” The nurse told the detective. The detective nodded before starting his questioning.

“Hey, Sharon, I’m glad you’re back among the living. Can you try and recall the last thing you remember?”

Sharon was delirious, but once she saw her girls, she started to smile. “I don’t know, Detective,” Sharon replied, turning her attention to Mulling.

“That’s fine, Sharon, just tell me something,” Mulling calmly encouraged.

“I remember getting ready to leave to see Kim and somehow…I just blacked out. I…I remember a man in a mask. He told me if I cooperated, I would live.” Sharon frowned, looking almost fearful as she recalled the incident.

“It’s okay, Sharon; he can’t hurt you now. We’ve got security guards here to protect you,” Mulling said reassuringly. “Did anything else stand out about this masked man?”

“Well … yes. He cried when he asked me about Jasmine,” Sharon replied. Things seemed more bizarre.

Why would he cry? Mulling thought. “Are you sure he was crying?” He asked. Sharon nodded once. “Alright then, what are some of the questions the kidnapper asked you?”

“Detective, I think you are pushing her too hard; she needs to get some rest,” insisted the nurse. Mulling decided to retreat. He would ask Sharon more questions when she was feeling better.

“Girls, visiting hour is up!” The nurse also said, looking at the girls.

“Please, let us stay a bit longer; she just woke up,” Kim begged the nurse. The nurse agreed to a few more minutes.

Before Mulling left, he gave the girls his card. “If you girls need anything else, just give me a call.”

Kim looked at Mulling with disapproval. Deep down, she know that the detective was just doing his job when he arrested her that night at the police station, but the trauma of being in a holding cell still hurt.

“We are finally together at last” Kim exclaimed as the girls gave each other a group hug.

“Ouch! That hurts,” Sharon said, pulling away her sore arm.

“Sorry, Sharon; I was just excited,” Stacy said apologetically, loosening her hold on Sharon.

“There something I need to tell you,” Sharon blurted out.

“What is it?” Kim asked, concerningly.

“The kidnapper wanted to know who vandalized Jasmine’s house. I told him I didn’t know, but he saw straight through me. He threatened me with a knife at my throat and told me he was going to kill me,” Sharon looked upset as she fought to find the words to explain to the girls. “I’m sorry, Stacy; I had to tell him the truth! My life flashed before my eyes when he rubbed the blade against my neck.” The girls were puzzled as to why the kidnapper who they presumed was responsible for killing Jasmine would want to know about the vandalism.

“This is all my fault; if I hadn’t vandalized the house, maybe Jasmine would be here.” Stacy said.

“That’s not true; we have no idea what is going here,” Kim replied. She’d opened her mouth to continue when the nurse once again burst in the room.

“Girls, please, it’s past visiting hours; I don’t want to get security,” the nurse instructed. Kim rolled her eyes.

“We’ll be here again first thing in the morning,” Stacy said as the nurse chased them out the room.

While the girls went home and locked their doors extra tight, the town digested the news of Sharon’s home invasion. The crime had sent the town into more panic.

This time, the sheriff had to say something; he held a closed press conference. He didn’t want to give the people a chance to rebut. Only a camera and himself speaking, just the way the sheriff chief likes it.

“I want to give a special thanks to Detective Mulling and Kimberly Johnson for saving a member of this town. The courage it took to save that girl’s life must be recognized.” Sheriff King included Kim only to appease the mayor. Not wanting to lose his job, he painted Kim as a town hero to make up for the bad blood between them. The sheriff continued speaking about the invasion and warned the town about the new curfew and reporting suspicious activities in the town. It was a brief conference to calm the people’s fear.

When Sam got wind of the attack, he was lock-jawed when he realized he hadn’t been around to protect Kim. Simmering with regret, he drove immediately to Kim’s house after the pressed conference. He was thankful that he still had keys.

“Kim, are you here?” Sam asked as he slammed the door behind him.  He glanced up at the stair case and saw Kim’s glowing blonde hair as she made her way down the stairs.

“What do you want, Sam?” Kim asked, getting straight to the point.

“I watched the press conference with the sheriff and immediately came over here just to make sure you were okay,” Sam informed Her.

“Huh, well, as you can see, I’m fine,” Kim replied, her tone angry.

“I don’t care how you feel about me right now; all you need to know is that I will never leave your side again no matter what! I will stand here and protect you like I should have done.”

“It’s a little too late, Sam. The damage is already done,” Kim said as she walked him to the door.

“I know we are complicated, Kim, but I won’t walk away; not this time,” Sam informed her. He went toward the door and tried to hold her hand, but she snatched it away.

“You are welcome to stay on the sofa,” Kim said as she went back up the stairs. Sam knew he’d just won a battle, but not yet the war for his sweet Kim.

It was a very scary time for Kim and her friends. Everyone was on edge. Anything could happen and they still hadn’t found the kidnapper or murderer.  Kim was very determined to find the killer. This person stole her freedom, her relationship, her catering business, and now the health of one of her best friends. Kim resorted to what she did best: baking delicious treats at the Johnson Resort.

“I don’t know why you followed me here; I told you I can take care of myself.” Kim explained as she walked away from Sam. “Besides, Sharon is leaving the hospital today, and I want to make her something to celebrate.” Once Sam was convinced all was well, he stepped out of the kitchen. Kim proceeded to begin her ritual: she rolled up her sleeves, put on her apron, and gathered her ingredients. As she was baking, the tranquility gave her the perfect opportunity to reflect on everything that had happened so far. Kim’s thoughts turned back to the first time she met Jasmine, at the town bakeoff. Kim tied with Jasmine for 1st place. Kim also recalled that Jasmine was in search of her family.

Maybe whoever killed Jasmine had something to gain,
Kim thought to herself. Just before Kim shared her theory aloud with Sam, the smoke alarm went off and the smell of burnt chocolate chip cookie dough flooded the kitchen. So, much for taking Sharon a tasty treat.

“I cannot believe I never smelled them!”  Kim said to herself.

“Hey, everything okay? I heard the alarm.” Sam rushed in the kitchen.

“It’s fine; just burnt my first batch of cookies,” Kim explained.

“I have never seen you burn cookies before,” Sam said, concerned. He pulled up his sleeves and went to throw away the burnt dough. “Here, let me do that,” Sam proposed, taking the baking tray to the sink to wash it.

“I’m going to make a quick call,” Kim told Sam as she left the kitchen.

“Hello detective. It’s Kim. I just wanted to let you know something about Jasmine.”

Mulling was shocked to hear Kim’s voice; he couldn’t believe she’d called him. “Thanks for the call. I’m all ears,” Mulling said eagerly

“In one of my meetings with Jasmine, she told me she was here to meet her family, primarily Mr. Stove. I don’t know how they are related. I was thinking the killer might be someone who would benefit from Jasmine’s death.”

“That does sound very interesting; I’ll look into it,” Mulling said as he made notes of her every word. “Johnson, since you are on the phone, I want to personally apologize for the hell you endured while you were in jail. I should have dug deeper before we arrested you. I failed you, and I am sorry.”

“I’m going to be honest; I am forever changed because of that experience, but I will try my best to forgive,” Kim said, bottling her rage.