Old Fashioned Murder (A Ryli Sinclair Cozy Mystery Book 3) Read online

“Nonsense.” Lovey’s flushed face grinned at me. “Surely you have time for one more drink!”

  I suppressed a groan when Aunt Shirley jumped up from her chair and started heading to where Dotty was making more drinks.

  I pulled out my phone and shot Hank a text telling him I got the story and I’d have the outline to him by seven o’clock.

  Aunt Shirley and I ended up staying another hour drinking and telling stories. Well, they drank and told stories. I had plain tonic water and listened attentively. I wasn’t about to have to text Garrett for a ride home.

  By the time five o’clock rolled around and Aunt Shirley had finished off her last Spanish Fashion, I was about out of patience.

  “Aside from all the death talk in the beginning,” Aunt Shirley said as she walked toward Virginia’s front door, “I haven’t had this much fun in an afternoon since my phone got stuck on vibrate!”

  CHAPTER 8

  * * *

  We didn’t even make it across the hall to Aunt Shirley’s apartment before she started in on not staying there. “Do you think you can run me by the grocery store real quick?”

  “Why?”

  “I need to pick up some soup. Soup is a good dinner when you have to eat all alone. And it looks like that’s what I’ll be doing tonight…eating all alone.”

  I shook my head and chuckled at her pathetic attempt at puppy-dog eyes. “I have soup at my house. You can eat dinner with me tonight then I’ll bring you back. By the way, for a lady who just guzzled five drinks, you look and sound pretty sober.”

  Aunt Shirley looped her arms around mine as we walked toward the elevator. “What you have to understand about the cocktail party is that you drink to socialize. You don’t drink to get drunk.”

  The elevator slid open and out walked Thomas Shifley, Ray Manning, and the other male orderly that Shifley handed the paper off to.

  Manning shoved a handful of chocolate into his mouth. “Too old and feeble to walk on your own there, Shirley?”

  Aunt Shirley withdrew her arms from mine and stood up straight and tall. “Watch it, Manning, or I’ll shove those chocolates so far down your throat you won’t have time to think about breathing.”

  Manning stopped laughing and pounded his cane on the floor. “Don’t you talk to me like that, woman!”

  Aunt Shirley grinned wickedly, her head and body doing a little sassy shake. “I hope you choke on those chocolate peanuts and die!”

  Manning pounded his cane again. “They’re espresso beans, you stupid woman!”

  “Well excuuuuuse me!” Aunt Shirley cackled. “I hope you choke on those chocolate covered espresso beans and die!”

  I heard an apartment door open and saw Lovey, Dotty, and Virginia slowly make their way out into the hallway.

  “Everything all right out here?” Lovey called.

  Manning looked over at the three of them then back at us. “These two here just threatened me. You heard it right? Maybe you should call down to the desk and report it.”

  I sucked in my breath. One more report of disturbance and Aunt Shirley was out.

  “We didn’t hear anything of the sort,” Lovey said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “And Thomas Shifley, if you or Carl Baker say otherwise, we’ll testify we heard things the other way around. And while we’re at it, Ray Manning…if you don’t stop sending Virginia threatening letters, we’ll make sure you’re the one kicked out!”

  “Yeah!” Virginia and Dotty echoed.

  Carl Baker.

  I now had a name to put with the face. I sized Carl Baker up and decided he didn’t pose too much of a threat. He was a pretty puny looking man. Taller than Shifley, but not by much. And he had a rather unfortunate receding hairline.

  Shifley held up his hands and took a step back. “I didn’t hear nothin’.”

  “Me either,” Baker agreed.

  Manning scowled at the orderlies. “You lily-livered fools. Grow a backbone!”

  Thomas Shifley and Carl Baker both continued to back up toward the elevator. Shifley reached out and pushed the button to go down. The elevator immediately opened and both men fled inside.

  “Looks like no one’s got your back there, Manning,” Aunt Shirley taunted.

  “This isn’t over!” Manning shoved a handful of chocolate covered espresso beans into his mouth and hobbled down the hallway toward his apartment.

  I turned to Virginia. “What kind of letters is he sending you?”

  Virginia’s eyes filled with tears. “Just vague mean things about me, about my husbands. Even a couple about Lovey and Dotty.”

  My mouth hung open. “Have you shown these letters to anyone else?”

  The girls all shook their heads.

  “No,” Lovey said. “We just burn them when Virginia gets them. We don’t want Mr. Manning to have that kind of power over her.”

  I frowned. I wasn’t sure that was the best solution to the problem.

  “You girls have a good night,” Lovey called out as the three of them retreated back into Virginia’s apartment.

  Aunt Shirley walked past me and pushed the elevator button. “You still think this is a nice place to live?”

  “Outside of Manning, and Thomas Shifley, and Sheri Daniels? Yes, I do.”

  “Humph!”

  We rode the elevator down in silence. I was going over the outline I planned on submitting to Hank tonight. After hearing Virginia’s whole story, I knew the direction I wanted to go for the front-page story.

  Aunt Shirley and I walked past the cafeteria where dinner was being served. I was about to suggest we just eat in the cafeteria when Sheri Daniels’s office door flew open and she came barreling out.

  “Move it. I’m in a hurry.”

  I took a tiny step back. More from shock than anything else. “Sorry. We didn’t know you were coming out.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “What are you waiting for? I said move.”

  Aunt Shirley nudged me in the ribs, “You heard her. Move out of the way. You know what they say, ugly before beauty!”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. I decided to grow a backbone of my own. “So, Sheri, any comment on the record about the missing items—or should I say stolen items? I’m sure the Granville Gazette readers would be interested in knowing how incompetent you and your staff really are.”

  Sheri’s face turned bright red. I was almost afraid I’d stepped over the line. She looked ready to deck me. Instead, she stepped within two inches of my face. “You print one false word, and I’ll make sure your aunt leaves tonight!”

  “Pshaw!” Aunt Shirley guffawed. “That ain’t no threat. I’d love to leave this place. I say we go back and print something right now!”

  Sheri grabbed me painfully by my elbow. The pain was immediate and fierce, and I’m not ashamed to say I momentarily lost focus. She obviously worked out a whole lot more than I did.

  She gave me a quick shake, her black glasses sliding down her nose. “I wouldn’t recommend playing with fire.”

  “You’re gonna want to let go of my niece,” Aunt Shirley whispered. “Or this here dart is gonna go right through your neck.”

  My tunnel vision was clearing, and I realized Aunt Shirley had whipped out a dart from her mini blowgun she loved to carry around. She had the dart poised at Sheri’s neck.

  Sheri immediately let go of my arm and turned to Aunt Shirley. “You’re on thin ice here. You better watch your step!”

  I grabbed Aunt Shirley’s arm and propelled her out the front door. I ran to the Falcon and got in, my heart still racing.

  “Jesus, these people are seriously whacked!”

  “I’ve been trying to tell you. I don’t know how I’ve survived living here all this time.”

  I looked over at Aunt Shirley, all snuggled up in her camo parka coat she loved to wear. I didn’t see the dart anymore. “Where exactly do you have the dart and blowgun?”

  Aunt Shirley grinned and spread open her coat. Inside were two tiny elastic loops. On
e loop held the blowgun, the other held the dart. She was always prepared.

  I took Aunt Shirley back to my place. I knew Garrett was due for dinner around six, and I was dreading him finding Aunt Shirley there. Plus I still needed to get an outline to Hank.

  I put Aunt Shirley in charge of heating up soup, grabbed my laptop and started plunking away. Miss Molly meowed and jumped up on the sofa with me. I gave her a few scratches before turning my focus back to the outline.

  By the time I hit submit, the soup was ready to eat and the frozen garlic bread was ready to come out of the oven. I looked at the clock on my phone and realized Garrett was due any minute.

  Usually Garrett just let himself in, but I didn’t want to surprise him with Aunt Shirley. I flipped on the front-porch light and hoped he was in a good mood. I didn’t have to wait long before he arrived right on time.

  “What’s she doing here?” he demanded as he stepped through the front door. He knew I was a pushover when it came to Aunt Shirley.

  Aunt Shirley placed the bread on the table. “Hello to you, too. I just slaved over a hot meal, so don’t give me grief.”

  I held in a sigh and walked over to Garrett. I slid my arms around him and laid my head on his chest. He took pity on me and wrapped his strong arms around me. “Should I ask what’s going on, or give it a little while?”

  I chuckled. “Give it a little while. Aunt Shirley needs to stay here at least through dinner. I can probably drop her off later and we can be alone.”

  Garrett leaned down and kissed me. “Holding you to that promise.”

  “You two love birds get over here and eat before I puke in my soup bowl. I swear, some things just can’t be unseen.”

  I closed my eyes and prayed for patience. “She’s definitely going home tonight. Promise.”

  Garrett ran his hand over my cheek. “I’ll do you a favor and take her home for you.”

  “Deal. And I promise to make it up to you.”

  Garrett’s eyes turned dark. “Deal.”

  CHAPTER 9

  * * *

  “It’s a decent article.” Hank yanked his unlit cigar out of his mouth and walked out of his office toward Mindy, Aunt Shirley, and me. “You got your front-page story.”

  Mindy squealed and gave me a high five. “I knew it! Everyone loves a good love story, especially around Valentine’s Day.”

  I preened. “That’s what I was banking on.”

  “Let’s not go patting ourselves too hard on the back,” Hank said. “I’d rather have a murder, robbery, or even a good car chase instead. But this will have to do.”

  I bit back a grin. That would be as close as I’d ever get to an outright compliment.

  “I still say there’s a story with the missing boxes and burglaries over at the Manor,” Aunt Shirley grumbled.

  “You may be right,” I conceded. “Sheri Daniels sure seemed upset over a few items. Makes me think there must have been something pretty important in the last shipment she ordered. So maybe there really is a story here.”

  “What kind of story?” Hank demanded.

  I took a sip of my herbal tea—a Mindy special. “I didn’t think much about it at first, since it’s just some boxes from the Manor and a few personal items from the residents missing. But yesterday when I threatened to expose the story, Sheri Daniels went ballistic.”

  “Like how ballistic?” Hank said, his eyes lighting up.

  “Like I had to put a dart to her neck and tell her to let go of Ryli, ballistic,” Aunt Shirley supplied.

  “No kidding,” Hank said sounding impressed. I wasn’t sure if it was because Sheri wanted to protect her story that much or because Aunt Shirley held a dart to Sheri’s neck.

  “So I’m thinking there might be a story there after all,” I said. “The only thing is, she threatened to kick Aunt Shirley out of the Manor if I ran with it.”

  “And?” Hank demanded. “What’s the holdup?”

  “Hank!” Mindy admonished. “Obviously it could mean Aunt Shirley loses her place to stay.”

  Hank yanked the cigar out of his mouth and pointed it at me. “We don’t negotiate with terrorists! I don’t care if it does mean she’s out on her butt. Get me the story if there’s a story!”

  “Fine,” I said smugly. “Then Aunt Shirley can come live with you when she gets kicked out.”

  Hank’s face turned purple. I could see I hit a nerve. “Just get me that story, Sinclair. You hear me?”

  “I hear you,” I grumbled.

  Hank turned on his heel, walked back into his office, and slammed the door. One of these days that door was gonna splinter into a thousand pieces from the amount of abuse it takes.

  “So what’s on your agenda tonight?” Mindy said, oblivious to the fact her husband was clearly insane.

  “After work, I’m taking Aunt Shirley home. Then I’m going home to take a bubble bath and get prettied up. I have a date with Garrett tonight.” I looked pointedly at Aunt Shirley.

  Aunt Shirley ignored me and continued filing her nails. “I ain’t got much planned. I may play some cards with some friends.”

  Wait…what?

  “Since when do you have friends?” I asked.

  Aunt Shirley huffed. “I got friends. You don’t know everything about me. After your boyfriend kicked me to the curb last night outside of the Manor so he could get hanky-panky from you, I picked myself up off the sidewalk and hobbled inside.”

  I rolled my eyes at her.

  “There were some nice people inside playing cards and they offered to let me play with them tonight. So I am.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Mindy gushed. “See, making friends isn’t so hard.”

  I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

  * * *

  I dropped Aunt Shirley off at the Manor around four with a promise she’d behave and headed home. I had an hour and a half to soak, primp, and be out to Garrett’s for dinner.

  I unlocked my front door and was greeted by Miss Molly. By the way she was shrieking, she obviously thought she was starving. I opened a small can of flaked salmon and mixed in a couple tablespoons of dry cat food.

  I opened a bottle of Riesling and poured a small glass, carrying it into the bathroom. I lit a vanilla lavender candle, dispensed a capful of vanilla lavender bubble bath into the running water, and went to pick out something to wear.

  I decided on a pair of black leggings, silver tank top, a long-sleeved black and silver cardigan sweater, and my black boots.

  I piled my hair on top of my head, opened a music app on my phone, and went back into the bathroom. Turning off the water I slid down into the hot, steamy water and sighed. The smell of vanilla lavender immediately soothed me. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift.

  I heard my cell phone announce a text. I sent up a quick prayer that it wasn’t from Aunt Shirley telling me to come pick her up. I wiped my hands on a towel and picked up my phone. I smiled when I saw the text from Paige.

  Just wanted to say have fun tonight. I know you’ve been stuck with Aunt Shirley the last few days. Talk later. I’m off to make a baby!

  I chuckled and drained the tub, toweled off, and quickly got dressed. I brushed my hair and gave it a quick curl at the ends. I was ready to go with a few minutes to spare.

  I’d recently splurged on a slate colored parka that was filled with goose down and had a faux fur brim. It was expensive, but worth it since it kept me warm in the cold Missouri winter.

  I threw a kiss to Miss Molly, grabbed my phone, and hopped in the Falcon. Garrett’s house is out in the country, about five miles from town. He has seven acres, including a one-acre pond behind the house.

  His road had recently been plowed to remove the snow, but I still made sure to go extra slow. The Falcon wasn’t exactly a great winter car.

  I parked the Falcon in his circle drive and made my way up the cobblestone walkway. Garrett opened the door before I even reached the front porch.

  “A little early,” he said and gave
me a kiss on my lips. “That’s always a good sign.”

  I laughed and pushed past him, hurrying into the warm house. I hung my jacket up on the peg by the door. “I know we haven’t had a lot of snow this winter, but I wish it would ease up on the cold temperatures.”

  “It’s called winter for a reason, Ryli,” Garrett said dryly.

  I stuck my tongue out at him and followed him into the dining room. The food was already laid out. He had a battery-operated candle burning at the far end of the table and an opened bottle of wine between our plates.

  “Wow, everything looks amazing.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s going on?”

  Garrett laughed. “Nothing. I swear. I just wanted to have a nice meal tonight. I feel like we’re constantly bypassing each other.”

  “You realize you still have to do something special next week for Valentine’s Day, right?”

  Garrett threw back his head and laughed. “Yes. Now sit down and let’s eat.”

  He’d prepared baked chicken, jasmine rice, and steamed asparagus with a bottle of Scully’s White. Scully’s was a local Missouri wine from Cellar Ridge Winery. He picked up the bottle and started to pour me a glass. “What’s wrong? I can tell by the look on your face you’re thinking about something.”

  I smiled. “I just don’t understand how you found time to do all this after you’ve worked all day.”

  Truth is I’m terrified that if things get any more serious between us, I’ll not be able to measure up to what Garrett expects. Garrett served in the military, embraces structure, has an actual career, and pretty much has life whipped into shape. I’m lucky to remember to feed Miss Molly in the mornings. I still sniff my clothes to make sure they don’t stink. I couldn’t imagine being able to get home from work and throw something like this together. There’s a reason why I’ve had soup every night for dinner at my house.

  “Ryli, I enjoy doing this. It’s how I relax. Don’t start measuring what I do by what you do, okay. Let’s just enjoy.”

  “You’re right.” I gave him a cheeky grin. “After all, you’ve had years more practice at this than I have.”