Authors: Sarah Biglow
Debts and Debtors: (A Geeks and Things Cozy Mystery Novella #3) (Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries) (8 page)
Read an Excerpt from HAVE AND HOLD (Geeks and Things #4)
A crisp blanket of snow covered the front yard as Kalina stared out the second-story bedroom window. They didn’t get a lot of snow on the coast. It usually turned to rain by the time it reached the small town of Ellesworth but today, in late January, the storm was raging and heavy. It buffeted the windows and the wind howled in the distance. Her attention diverted to the slender stick in her fingers: a positive pregnancy test. She’d had her suspicions but this confirmed it. She supposed she was lucky that she and Chris were already getting married. Still, she wanted to wait until after the wedding to share the news. She didn’t want him to feel pressured into tying the knot just because of a baby. She also needed to get used to the idea of a child. She hadn’t been against the idea of being a mother, but it hadn’t really been in her life plan. Still, it brought a certain sense of excitement and she knew her mother would be thrilled. She hid the test in a wad of tissues and tossed them in the trash just as the bedroom door opened and Chris appeared in his dress uniform. Since he’d made detective he hadn’t needed to be in uniform. But today was a special day. After almost nine months without a captain, Chris had finally accepted the appointment.
“Well, don’t you look handsome,” she said and pulled him in for a kiss.
“You’re going to be there right beside me,” he said when she’d pulled away.
“You earned this. I’m so proud of you.”
“I don’t know about that. A man that I respected turned out to be a killer. I got this job because someone else murdered little old ladies.”
“Chris, come on. You know you earned this. You put in a lot of hard work to keep this town and its people safe.”
“I wouldn’t be half as good at it without you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She’d only been involved in a few cases but Chris had always been the one to get the credit.
“Yes, you do. I know I can’t stop you from being curious.”
“I’m just a lowly shop owner,” she said with a sly smile.
“I just worry one day it will get too dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine. I promise.”
He settled on the bed to lace up his shoes and Kalina took the break in conversation to put on earrings and tame her short curls into submission. She studied her reflection in the mirror, scrutinizing her waistline to see if she was showing yet. She couldn’t spot any noticeable difference so her secret seemed safe.
“So have you talked to your mom about coming down for the wedding?” she asked.
“Yeah. I called her the other day. She’s going to be here for everything. She said she was sending over a present early. Her instructions were very clear to open it before the wedding.”
“That’s kind of strange.”
His reflection shrugged. “She’s a little weird sometimes. But I figure I’m the last kid to get married so I’ll humor her.”
“I get that.” She was the second of two siblings getting married in her family too.
“I have to admit I’m happy you didn’t want a big ceremony,” he said and moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Breath caught in her chest for a split second before she exhaled and leaned into him. “A big, flashy affair just isn’t us. Besides, we’re paying for everything and a cop’s salary and what I make from the shop isn’t the big bucks. So we do what we can.”
“Exactly.” He kissed her cheek and released his grip.
She checked herself in the mirror one last time before following him downstairs. She paused before going down to consider how far they’d come. They’d been engaged since Thanksgiving and had only been living together since then as well so they’d taken a few months to figure out what they wanted and who was on the guest list. She’d settled on a dress around Christmas but had to pay for it in installments. People liked their comics and other nerdy paraphernalia but the dress was still more than she felt comfortable paying for in a lump sum.
“Come on, we don’t want to be late,” Chris called, holding out her coat.
“Right, sorry.”
She hurried down the stairs and let him help her into her coat. She wrapped a thick scarf over her face and pulled on gloves before they braved the snow. Chris opened the front door to find a package perched on the front steps, covered in a thin layer of snow. He picked it up and heard something move inside. He stepped back inside.
“We’re going to be late if we open your mom’s gift now,” Kalina said.
“I don’t know that this is from her. No return address.”
It was addressed only to Detective Christian Harper. Kalina peered at the postage. “It’s from the right zip code though.”
“They aren’t going to start without the guy getting the promotion. We can be a couple minutes late,” he said and fished in his pocket for his keys. He kept a pocket knife attached and slid the blade along the tape on the top of the box. He folded back the flaps to find a small jar with clear liquid inside. The jar held a human finger with a sparkly engagement ring. Kalina tried not to scream but the sound still came out as a strangled moan. She’d seen dead bodies before but somehow the severed finger was worse. It ignited too many questions that she didn’t want to contemplate: chiefly whether the finger’s owner was still alive. Chris moved with quick steps to the kitchen—ignoring the snow he tracked across the floor—and flipped on the light.
“Why would someone send you a finger?” Kalina rasped.
“I have no idea,” he answered and pulled out his phone. “But I don’t think this is a coincidence.”
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Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries
Debts and Debtors
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Sarah lives in Massachusetts with her fiancé. She is a licensed attorney and spends her days combatting employment discrimination as an Investigator with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
She is a self-professed TV junkie and in her spare time (what’s that?), she runs a TV recap blog with her best friend (and sorority sister), Jen.
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