Home Sweet Homicide: A Cozy Mystery (A Gemma Stone Murder Mystery Book 5) (12 page)

“I swear I had no idea this was here,” she said when she was finally able to speak.

“Well, it’s here now,” Aunt Maisy said. And then she stepped closer to Gemma and lowered her voice. “Great addition to the fingerprint kit by the way.”

Before Gemma could ask how her aunt knew about that, Aunt Maisy was gone and Ross entered the kitchen. “This tape is driving me crazy.”

Gemma handed him the cocoa powder and took the tape. After less than a minute of picking at the bump at the end, she got it loose. Then she curled the end back on itself to make sure she could get it again.

“Okay, we’ve got everything we need, I think,” Ross said, assessing their items.

“Let me tell Aunt Maisy we’re going out for a while and then we’ll get going,” Gemma told him.

Aunt Maisy was in the living room, listening to some soft music and reading. A glass of wine sat on the table at her elbow.

“We’re going out for a bit,” Gemma told her. “Will you be okay by yourself?”

Aunt Maisy chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I will be. You guys be careful. Breaking and entering is dangerous stuff.”

“How did you know...?”

Aunt Maisy waved her away. “Never you mind. Just be careful.”

Gemma stepped out onto the porch and inhaled the cool evening air. She tried to look casual, as if she was just enjoying being outside, looking up at the stars that were scattered across the sky. What she was really doing was checking to see if anyone was watching her house. The street was empty.

“Looks like the coast is clear,” she said without turning her head.

Ross stood just inside the door behind her. The plan was for him to get into her car and lie down on the back seat. Then she would get in the car and just drive around aimlessly until she was sure they weren’t being followed.

“Don’t move,” he whispered.

Gemma continued to look at the night sky, with both hands on the porch railing. The door opened and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ross scuttling across the porch, moving with startling speed. Just as he hit the sidewalk, a car turned the corner and came slowly up the street.

“Ross,” Gemma hissed. “Someone’s coming.”

Immediately, he stretched out on the sidewalk and rolled off into the grass. The car cruised by, coming to a stop on the street in front of her house. The passenger side window was lowered and Detective Gilmore waved at her.

“Nice evening isn’t it, Ms. Stone?” he said.

“Yes, it is. A beautiful evening,” she agreed. “Did you need something?”

“Oh, no, just keeping an eye on you and the neighborhood. Just a precaution,” he said.

“Well, thanks, but I don’t think there are any problems here,” Gemma told him.

“Okay. You have a nice evening,” he told her. The window slid back up and Gilmore drove away slowly.

Ross was already on the move and Gemma finally let out a breath when her car door closed behind him.

Back in the kitchen, she grabbed her purse and keys and made herself walk slowly toward her car. Inside, she put the key in the ignition, turned it and put the car in reverse. God, she hoped it would go into drive when she got out on the street. The last thing she needed was for the police to come by while she struggled to get the car into gear.

“That was close,” Ross said from the back seat.

“Tell me about it,” Gemma said, still a little shaky from the close call.

“Now, if this jalopy of yours will cooperate,” Ross added.

He must have been reading her mind, Gemma thought as she backed out of the driveway and onto the street. Foot on the brake, she slid the lever into Drive. She heard the familiar sound of changing gears and the car moved forward smoothly.

“So far so good,” Ross said, sitting up but keeping his head down low. “Make sure we’re not being followed,” he instructed.

Gemma circled her block twice and then drove through the neighborhood. When they were satisfied that no one was following their movements, they headed for Elm Street and the scene of Katie Mack’s murder.

“Circle this block a couple of times,” Ross told her. “And then park about two blocks over. The last thing we need is for anyone to see your car here.”

“No one knows my car here,” Gemma said.

“They will if it won’t go into Drive when I get back,” he said, sliding out of the car, closing the door silently behind him.

“I’m going, too,” Gemma announced getting out of the car.

He paused as if to argue and then motioned for her to follow.

Gemma’s heart pounded as she followed his dark figure across several back yards and then down a narrow concrete space between two houses. A dog began barking as they dashed through there and then quickly across the street. The back of the house where Katie had been killed loomed huge against the night sky, not a light on.

“Looks like no one is there,” Ross whispered.

“Crime scene tape is gone, too,” Gemma said, as they circled around to the front.

Ross hesitated at the corner of the garage, looking up and down the dark, quiet street. “We might be able to open the garage door manually, just enough to slip inside.”

“Let’s hope so,” Gemma whispered as she followed Ross to the front of the garage.

He bent over, caught the edge and lifted.

The door opened maybe six inches. If we were letting the cat out, this would be great, Gemma thought.

Ross tried again. He may have gained another inch.

“Not happening,” Ross muttered.

Car lights appeared on the far corner and the two of them returned to their hiding place in the darkness beside the house.

“Now what?” Gemma asked, her voice just above a whisper.

“Did I see a balcony on the back of the house?” Ross asked.

“Yes, right off the master bedroom. Holly thought it would be a lovely place for morning coffee,” Gemma told him.

“Well, it’s also a lovely place for me to get inside,” Ross said, trotting back the way they had come.

He stepped onto the railing of the deck just below the balcony and reached upward with both hands. They barely touched the bottom. Gemma shook her head, thinking they were going to have to try something else. But before she could say a word, Ross jumped, and was able to catch the edge of the balcony with gloved hands. The next thing she knew, he was climbing over the railing and landed with a soft thump on the balcony above her head.

“There is no way...” Gemma protested. She was much shorter than Ross and her upper body strength wasn’t that great and...

“If you hear an alarm, run. Get away from here as fast as you can,” he whispered through the railing.

“But...”

“Don’t worry about me. If there’s no alarm, meet me around front and I’ll let you in,” he said.

Relieved that she didn’t have to climb up on that balcony, Gemma held her breath and waited. She couldn’t see Ross but she could hear him doing something with that sliding glass door that led into the bedroom. In just a matter of moments, she heard it slide open and then he said. “All clear.”

More terrified than she had ever been in her life, Gemma dashed to the front of the house and flattened herself against the wall just beside the front door. She heard the lock turn and then it was open just wide enough for her to slip inside.

Ross handed her a flashlight. “Keep these pointed toward the floor and get me to that garage.”

Gemma led the way through the darkness, past the stainless steel appliances that looked like animals crouching and ready to pounce on her as she passed them. The door into the garage was locked and she fumbled with it only briefly before pushing it open. It suddenly dawned on her that the hand truck might be gone. If they had gone through all of this...

“There she is,” Ross said, his flashlight picking up the hand truck where it sat in the corner.

“That’s it,” Gemma said as Ross knelt beside the hand truck and unpacked his fingerprinting kit.

“Keep the flashlight on this for me,” he told her.

Squatting beside him, Gemma held her light steady and watched him work. First he sprinkled the cocoa powder on the red plastic handles and then he used the brush gently, expertly, almost like an artist.

“Bingo,” he said around the flashlight he was holding between his teeth.

“Prints?” Gemma whispered.

“Tape,” he instructed.

Gemma tore off a long strip of tape and handed it to him. She placed a card on the concrete floor and trained the light on it. At that moment, Peggy Langstrom’s huge real estate sign fell forward, hitting the floor with a deafening clang. She jumped like she was shot. Ross simply froze.

“Holy cow,” Gemma breathed.

Ross shook his head and went back to work.

“Beautiful,” Ross said, once he’d pressed the tape onto the card. “These handles are made of rubber, not plastic, so we’re in luck.”

“Are there more?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ross said and went to work repeating the process.

Gemma watched silently while he carefully printed both handles. He found more prints on the metal part of the truck, nothing on the traps but one perfect thumb print on the buckle.

“That should do it,” he told Gemma and they stood there in the dark looking down at the white cards on the floor. “If we’re in luck, the killer’s fingerprints will be in here somewhere.”

Before Gemma could respond, a car pulled into the drive. A car door slammed and a male voice called out, “I’ll only be a minute. I just forgot something.”

“Well, hurry up.” This was a female voice. “This place gives me the creeps now.”

Gemma’s breath caught in her throat and her heart hammered in her chest. Ross simply gathered up the cards and then guided her to the far wall where they stood in the dark. He put both arms around her and Gemma trembled against him. She listened to an engine rumbling quietly. The front door slammed and Gemma dared to breathe. When that car left she was getting out of there as fast as she could.

Then the mail voice again. “Do you want me to get those boxes out of the garage?”

“O
h, God,” Gemma whispered and buried her face in Ross’s chest. She could hear his heart thumping steadily. She wished they could just somehow become invisible.

“Hold tight,” he whispered back.

“Nah, we don’t have enough room,” a female voice responded. “We’ll get them tomorrow.”

“Okay, just trying to help.”

The car door slammed and the engine faded away.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ross said.

Gemma had never heard more welcome words in her life.

Slipping out of the house, they hurried back the way they had come. Ross tumbled into the back seat and Gemma got behind the wheel, praying the Subaru would continue to cooperate. Her prayer was answered as it slid smoothly into drive and she was able to head for home.

“You okay?” Ross asked, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

His touch, his voice was welcome coming out of the darkness of the back seat. “Yes. Now I am,” she said. “I just want to go home.”

“Lord, Child, did you see a ghost?” Aunt Maisy asked when Gemma rushed into the house. She was sitting at the table, sipping from a mug of tea.

“Oh, my God. I’ve never been so scared in my life,” Gemma said, pacing back and forth in the kitchen, trying to calm her trembling hands.

Aunt Maisy caught her hands. “They’re like ice. You need tea. Sit.”

Ross and Gemma took seats opposite from each other at the table while Maisy placed cups in front of them and poured hot water from the kettle.

“Exciting enough for you?” Ross asked.

“Shut up,” Gemma said, dunking her tea bag in the hot water. “I was just sure we were going to get caught in that garage.”

Ross chuckled. “If they’d been paying any attention, they would have noticed that the garage door was still open about six inches.”

“What!”

Ross shrugged and chuckled again. “I forgot to close it.”

Gemma covered her face with both hands.

Aunt Maisy returned to the table and watched while Gemma took her first sip. “Tell me,” she said.

Ross told Gemma’s aunt what had happened, leaving out nothing.

“But you got prints?”

“We did,” Ross said, proudly. “And if Gemma’s right, our killer as well.”

“Now to get them analyzed,” Gemma said, her voice still shaking just a little.

They were all quiet for a moment.

“Do you think Nick would act as a go-between for us?” Ross asked.

“I’m pretty sure he would. I’ll call him in the morning,” Gemma offered.

“Well, then, I’d say that wraps up this day pretty nicely,” Ross said, swallowing the last of his tea. “We got some dirt on Katie Mack and maybe more suspects and we have fingerprints that might belong to our killer.”

Aunt Maisy put her hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn. “Just watching you two wears me out,” she said with a laugh. “I’m going to bed.”

With that she stood up, called to the cat and left them alone in the kitchen.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to bunk on your sofa for another day or so,” Ross said. “Just knowing that they’re watching my house gives me the creeps.”

“That’s fine,” Gemma said.

“I’d just go visit family or something but Gilmore would misconstrue that into me running away and being guilty,” Ross reasoned.

“I can understand that,” Gemma said, finally making up her mind. “You don’t have to sleep on the sofa, you know.”

Ross appeared to be speechless for a moment.

“I have two more bedrooms upstairs. You can use one of them until this is over,” Gemma said, making sure he understood her offer completely.

“Thanks,” Ross said, taking a deep breath. “That would be great.”

It took Gemma a long time to calm down and go to sleep and when she did it was fitful, restless. Was it the excitement from the night before? Or the excitement of having Ross sleeping right across the hall?

She awoke early, stiff and sore and still tired, but the smell of coffee brewing wafted up the stairs, luring her out of bed. Aunt Maisy was in the kitchen, dressed in a long, burgundy colored dress, a little black shawl over her shoulders.

“Do you ever sleep?” Gemma asked, sliding into a chair at the table, accepting the coffee gratefully.