Home Sweet Homicide: A Cozy Mystery (A Gemma Stone Murder Mystery Book 5) (2 page)

“I’m leaving now, but I’ll be back in a little while. You make yourself at home while I’m gone,” Gemma said.

“Thank you, dear. I’ll be fine right here. Probably take a little nap.”

Gemma patted her aunt’s hand, smiled and nodded. The cat on the back of the sofa watched her with wide green eyes.

Out in Holly’s SUV, Holly continued her warnings. “Gemma, you really should have Nick do some checking on this woman. She could be an imposter.” Holly checked the address of the first house on their tour and steered the car out onto the main road.

“Looking for what?” Gemma asked. “Why would some strange woman show up at my door, have a picture of me and my parents and say she’s my aunt if she isn’t?”

“There are all kinds of wackos out there,” Holly muttered.

“Yeah, like Katie Mack,” Gemma said with a laugh.

“Hush,” Holly said. “We have to deal with this woman, so just let it go.”

“At least Mitch didn’t insist we use that other twitchy real estate agent that has that ugly orange logo. What’s her name?” Gemma asked.

“Peggy Langstrom,” Holly said.

“Oh, yeah,” Gemma said and did her best to mimic the stern, all business older woman smoking. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Holly trying not to laugh.

“She gives me the willies,” Holly said, checking her GPS and turning right onto Elm Street.

“Remember that story she told us about a client’s house burning down and how she ran in and saved the whole family?” Gemma giggled.

“She’s probably the one who set it on fire with one of her cigarettes,” Holly joined in.

There were still laughing when Holly slowed to a stop about halfway down the block. “Here it is,” Holly said.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

“It’s beautiful,” Holly breathed. “And big.”

Gemma barely heard her. All she could see was the brilliant red Mercedes parked in the driveway, glittering in the sunshine. All she could think about was last Valentine’s Day when she watched tall, handsome Detective Ross Ferguson walk out of her life and climb into that exact same car...after dumping her.

“What’s wrong?” Holly finally asked when Gemma didn’t move.

Finally Gemma shrugged. “I just thought I recognized that car from somewhere. I mean there are probably dozens of them in town, right?”

Holly studied the red car. “I doubt that. It’s a Mercedes and it looks pretty new. Why so worried about the car?

“The last time I saw Ross, he was getting into that car,” Gemma said, stepping out onto the sidewalk. She was surprised that her knees felt so weak. “With a blonde.”

“Well, that rules Katie out. She’s a brunette, remember.”

Gemma nodded, still trying to process the information.

“Do you really think he would dump you for Katie Mack?” Holly asked. “I doubt she would stoop so low as to date a police detective, anyway. I thought she only dated doctors and lawyers and...”

“Then you’d better watch out. Mitch is a lawyer,” Gemma said, forcing a smile. “Let’s get this over with.”

The shade of the wide porch felt cool and inviting after being out in the sun. Gemma noted that two large clay flower pots flanked the door, spilling gorgeous petunias over their sides. One looked like it had been tipped over earlier, the flowers askew and dirt cleaned up hastily. The dark, heavy looking wooden door was partially open.

“Katie,” Holly said once they stepped into the spacious foyer. Her voice echoed back at her.

“She’s here somewhere,” Gemma said, almost happy that the woman didn’t answer right away. “Let’s look around. It’ll be easier without her incessant chattering.” The thought of it alone was enough to give Gemma a headache.

To the right of the foyer, through double doors was what looked like an office. Holly discovered a powder room attached to that. The two of them crossed back through the foyer to the left and found themselves in a large but cozy living room with a big fireplace and dark stained hardwood floors.

“It’s staged beautifully,” Gemma said, running her hand along the back of a sleek, white, contemporary sofa. “I can see you and Mitch entertaining here.”

Holly agreed and led the way into a dining room. It was dominated by a table large enough to serve a nice sized dinner party and opened directly up into a gourmet chef’s kitchen. They stood there for a moment, gazing at what appeared to be miles of granite countertops, interrupted only by the professional grade, gleaming stainless steel appliances.

“Wow,” Gemma said softly.

“Yeah, wow,” Holly echoed.

“What’s out here?” Gemma wondered aloud, heading for the door on the other side of the kitchen.

It led to a pantry, laundry room combination with another door that led out to a spacious two car garage. Gemma stuck her head out into the vast space and looked around. Shelving lined the walls and the concrete floor was spotless. A lone hand truck, the kind used to move appliances, stood off to one side of the door. Beside that, one of the oversized, orange Langstrom Real Estate signs was propped against a wall. Evidently Peggy had been a previous realtor.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Holly said. “Katie is probably up there.”

Gemma reluctantly followed her best friend up the wide, carpeted staircase. There were three doors on the right and one set of double doors on the left, just like downstairs. Holly was already checking out the rooms on the right. “Bedroom,” she said. “Good sized, too. Bathroom and, yep, another bedroom.”

“So, that’s two bedrooms and one full bath so far,” Gemma noted.

“And I’ll bet this is the master suite,” Holly said, pushing the double doors wide open.

Neither of them had ever seen such luxury. The room was huge, filled with natural light from bay windows on one end and sliding glass doors that opened out to a small balcony on the wall next to that. The pale gold walls seemed to almost glow. A vaulted ceiling made the room seem even larger. A cozy sitting area filled one end of the room, facing a huge television.

Hearing Holly gasp, Gemma followed her into the master bath. It looked like a spa with a large glassed in shower, double sinks on what looked like antique dressers and a soaker tub as well.

Back in the bedroom, Gemma could not take her eyes off of the massive bed that sat in the center of the room. She’d never seen a bed so big. It had four thick posts and an intricately carved headboard.

“I wonder where Katie is.” Holly said, sliding the door open and stepping out onto the balcony.

“She’ll turn up,” Gemma said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Upon closer inspection, the gold colored comforter was rumpled as if the bed had been made hastily, leaving the tangled sheets underneath. Katie was probably on her cell phone right now giving he owners a dressing down for leaving it like this.

“Wow, you could make some babies on this bed,” Gemma teased, when Holly came back inside.

“Shut up,” Holly said but when Gemma lay back on the bed, she noted that Holly was grinning from ear to ear. “I’m going to check out the closet.”

“Yes, sir,” Gemma called after her. Rumpled or not, this silk comforter was heavenly. “This bed would be just about perfect for making babies.  Lots of babies.”

Gemma heard Holly gasp. Either that closet was massive or she was really disappointed.

“Oh, no,” Holly half moaned, half whimpered.

“Is it that bad?” Gemma asked, sliding easily off the bed and heading toward the closet.

“Oh, God, no,” Holly moaned, louder this time and turned to face Gemma, as white as a ghost.

“Holly, what is it?” Gemma asked, all laughter and teasing gone.

“It’s... She’s...” Holly stammered and pushed past Gemma out into the bedroom, pulling her phone out of her purse at the same time.

Gemma stepped into the closet. It was as big as she would have expected with dark wood organizers lining the walls. But right in the middle of the space, hanging from a metal rod by a short length of orange cord, was Katie Mack. She was naked except for a lacy red bra and matching panties, her head twisted at an unnatural angle. All Gemma could think about was that the hair spilling down over her face was blonde, not dark like she remembered.

Evidently there was only one red Mercedes in town.

“I
called 911,” Holly reported.

“Do you think it was suicide?” Gemma asked, turning toward her friend.

“Looks like it,” Gemma said. “But why here?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. Let’s get out of here,” Holly said in a shaky voice.

“Fine by me,” Gemma said.

They practically ran down the stairs and out the front door as if being chased by a ghost.

True, Gemma didn’t like Katie Mack. No one really did except maybe Mitch and, evidently, Ross, but she felt bad that the woman’s life had come to such a sad end. Hanging herself in the closet of an empty house? How lonely she must have been to choose that way to end her life.

Gemma and Holly had only been on the porch for a few moments when sirens began to wail in the distance.

“I told them she was already dead,” Holly whispered, leaning against the railing and taking deep breaths of air. “They didn’t have to use sirens.”

“You know those guys. This is probably the most excitement they’ve had since Peggy set that house on fire with her cigarette,” Gemma said lightly, rubbing Holly’s shoulder.

Two black and white squad cars screeched to a stop and officers in uniform hopped out. Both of them were young, barely out of the academy, Gemma guessed. For some reason their hats looked like they were too big for their heads. Their name tags just above their badges identified them as Officers Milken and Bailor.

“She’s upstairs in the master bedroom closet,” Gemma told them.

Bailor waited with them on the porch while Officer Milken dashed into the house. Transmissions crackled over the radio clipped to Bailor’s belt. It was distracting, but he seemed not to notice. Gemma could think of nothing to say to him so she just concentrated on Holly.

Milken was back within minutes. He was as white as a ghost and breathless. Gemma figured it was the first time he’d seen a suicide. “She’s definitely dead.”

Didn’t take a genius to figure that one out.

“I called the coroner and homicide,” he said.

“Why homicide?” Gemma asked, her thoughts immediately going to Ross.

He was the only homicide detective in their small town. Gemma hoped it was his day off and he wouldn’t get the call. Surely someone else filled in when he was not working. The last thing she wanted to do was come face to face with Ross after finding his girlfriend hanging in a closet.

“She died alone in an empty house. Just standard procedure, ma’am,” Officer Bailor explained gently.

Before she could respond, the coroner’s van rumbled down the street and pulled into the driveway behind Katie’s Mercedes. Somehow her red car didn’t look as brilliant as it had before. Across the street, a crowd had gathered. The two officers left Holly and Gemma standing on the porch and sauntered in that direction.

“Homicide?” Holly asked.

“I’m sure it’s just what he said, standard procedure,” Gemma told her friend. “They’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“I want to go home,” Holly said, sounding like a little girl.

“I’m sure they’ll need to get a statement from us. Then we’ll go.”

“I’m going to call Mitch.”

“Okay,” Gemma said, watching tall, thin Dr. Biggs open the doors at the back of the van and pull out a gurney. A black body bag was folded neatly in the center. Gemma turned away and tried to block Holly’s view of that sad sight.

Dr. Biggs spoke briefly with one of the young police officers and then strode past them with merely a nod, his face grim. Gemma wondered how in the world he came to work every day.

More police cars arrived, pretty much blocking the street. Gypsy Hill didn’t really have a forensics unit, just a couple of guys who had been on the force a long time and had taken an interest in that sort of thing. One of them had been a former science teacher at the high school. They seemed unsure, as if waiting for further instructions.

Milken and Bailor were already busy questioning the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle, scribbling frantically in their little notebooks. Gemma wanted to be anywhere but here and she turned to ask if Holly was feeling the same way. Holly was on the phone, probably talking to Mitch. He would also be here soon if he wasn’t already on his way.

A familiar deep voice brought a flush of heat to Gemma’s face and she turned slowly to see Detective Ross Ferguson standing at the foot of the steps talking to officers. His tone was clipped, almost harsh. He was even more handsome than she remembered with his thick, inky black hair curling over his forehead and those dark brown eyes. That Italian heritage showed so strongly. He was dressed in his usual suit and tie which only emphasized his physique.

“I’ll go see what the coroner thinks,” Gemma heard him say.

She watched him climb the steps. He paused at the top and took a deep breath, looking around. Then his eyes locked on hers. His hesitated, acted like he wanted to say something. His expression was almost unreadable except for that muscle twitching in his jaw. Then he was all business again and heading inside the house.

Gemma sank down into the closest wicker chair, her knees trembling. There were so many emotions coursing through her that she couldn’t even start to sort them out. One thing she knew for sure, she definitely wasn’t over her feelings for Ross Ferguson, no matter what he’d been doing these last two months.

Before she could think much further about that, Mitch arrived, his attention solely on Holly. “Have you given a statement?” he wanted to know.

Holly shook her head. “No one has talked to us much.”

“Okay, good. I’m sure it’s a simple suicide, but I want to be there with you when you talk to the police,” he added.

Holly snuggled into his arms looking as if she felt safe, looking like she was at home there. Gemma felt more alone than she had in weeks and hugged herself, slowly rocking back and forth.

Ross stepped back out onto the porch, hesitated again, and this time headed in her direction.