Home Sweet Homicide: A Cozy Mystery (A Gemma Stone Murder Mystery Book 5) (17 page)

“And then the ultimate win,” Nick added.

Gemma nodded. “Katie took her husband.”

“Someone else died?”  Maisy asked, a confused look on her face.

“The night before Katie died, Essie just happened to be on that street getting some papers signed for one of her clients. She spotted Arnold’s white mini-cooper in the driveway next to Katie’s red Mercedes and decided to investigate,” Gemma began.

“The door was unlocked and Essie went inside. She told me she called out to both of them and when they didn’t answer, she kind of followed her nose and went upstairs. She found Katie naked except for a red bra, tied up to the bed and blindfolded. Arnold was standing over her, naked as well, and Essie just lost it. She said she ran back downstairs intending to grab something to destroy their cars. She found a hammer in the garage but at the last minute decided something more needed to be done.

Back up in the bedroom, she stormed in and whacked Arnold on the back of the head with the hammer. He went down without a word and Essie began untying Katie. When Katie realized what was happening, she started telling Essie that he had forced her up here, tied her up and planned to rape her. Essie played along with the story, untied one foot and then used that scarf to strangle Katie to death.”

“Oh, my,” Maisy gasped.

Nick was scribbling as fast as he could and Gemma gave him a moment to catch up. She sipped her coffee and tried not to think about what happened next.

“After she killed Katie, she decided to make it look like suicide. She went back downstairs and found the faded orange Paracord that had anchored Peggy’s original For Sale sign. She also found the hand truck there.”

“And her husband?” Maisy asked, her voice hushed.

“She rolled his body up in the rug beside the bed, used the hand truck to get him downstairs and into the back of her truck, took him home and buried him in the back yard on top of the septic tank,” Gemma explained.

Nick took a deep breath, stood up and ruffled her hair with one hand. “Good work, detective,” he said.

Gemma shook her head. “The only thing I knew for sure was that Ross didn’t do it. The rest just kind of happened.”

“The DNA testing on the blood and other stuff all came back to Arnold. So that adds up,” Nick told her.

“I’m pretty sure the fingerprints we lifted from the hand truck will come back to Essie,” Gemma said.

Nick left, eager to get started on his new story and to tie it in with some other pieces he was interested in writing. Gemma wandered through the house, thinking that it felt kind of empty without Ross. She stepped out into the back yard, climbed the bank up to the fish pond, and watched them swimming placidly back and forth. Gemma sat there with her arms wrapped around her knees, watching them and thinking over what Essie had done.

“Maybe you’re not so crazy after all, Crazy Fish,” Gemma said aloud.

“Are you talking to the fish?” Ross’s deep voice startled Gemma.

“I am...I was,” Gemma said.

“Your crazy fish have more sense than us, sometimes,” Ross said, sliding one arm around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head.

“I agree,” Gemma said, letting him pull her to her feet.

“Gilmore went back to Harrisonburg this morning. Looks like I’m the Lone Wolf Detective here in town again,” Ross said. “Well, other than you.”

Gemma punched him playfully in the chest. “Feel good to be back in the saddle?”

Ross nodded. “Yeah.”

“Um, I wanted to talk to you about something, so I’m glad you’re out here alone,” Ross said softly.

Gemma looked up at him, startled again. “What?”

“Now, don’t be mad. I ran a background check on your Aunt Maisy. I was worried about her staying here with you and...” he finished with a shrug.

Gemma wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this but she motioned for him to go on.

“Well, the good news is, I think she really is your aunt. The dates and location of her birth, parents and so forth match up. Nothing definitive but nothing really wrong either.”

“And the bad news?”

“She’s been living in a homeless shelter for the past year in San Diego. It looks like she’s pretty much lost everything and everyone. Except you,” he finished.

Gemma wiped angrily at sudden tears. She didn’t want to hear another word about her aunt’s past what she’d done or where she’d been. “Then it’s a good thing she’s here.”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “I kinda liked being here, too,” he added.

Gemma had to admit that she liked having him around but she wasn’t about to give in to her feelings that easily. If he wanted her back, he was going to have to work for it.

“Why don’t you let me buy you dinner this evening? Maybe we can talk about it.”

Finally, Gemma nodded. “Okay - as long as you know we’re just talking.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up about seven,” Ross said, kissed the tip of her nose and walked away.

Gemma stood there in the sun, watching him go, and then she caught sight of her Aunt Maisy. Her aunt waved and smiled and Gemma realized that she hadn’t worn the witch hat in a while. Maybe Maisy had finally found a place where she felt she belonged, Gemma thought as she started down the bank toward the back door. They would be family...at least for a while.

Thanks for reading!

Did you love
Home Sweet Homicide
? Then you should read
Convicted Witch: Jagged Grove Book One
by Willow Monroe!

Trinket’s life is fantastic, until the moment when her mother screws up yet another magic spell and gets them banished from Earth. Now she’s in Jagged Grove, a town that doesn’t actually exist, to serve out her sentence by teaching a young witch named Maggie how to be a healer. It could be a piece of cake, except for the fact that Trinket once killed somebody trying to heal them and she vowed to never practice her magic again.

Oh, and when she gets there Maggie is dead. Now she has to find out what happened and figure out how to get home before her real life crumbles away to nothing.

***This is the first novel in the new three-part Jagged Grove series***