Cupid's Corpse: A Cozy Mystery (Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Book 3) (8 page)

“Oh, I’ll bet not everyone is unhappy about this turn of events,” she said. “In fact, rumor has it that Joel and Natasha planned it all along.”

“I heard they were going to run away but...”

“But if she can collect some life insurance money, that would just be an extra little boost to her wallet wouldn’t it?”

“I suppose,” Gemma said. “Hey, have you seen my, um, my husband this morning?”

Madge thought for a moment. “No, can’t say as I have. Maybe he snuck off to buy you something special.”

“Maybe,” Gemma said, forcing a small smile. “Thanks anyway.” As she walked away from the shop, she turned to see Madge watching her from the doorway.

She walked around the block, not really sure where she was going but constantly looking for that black Escalade. She spotted a sporting goods store down a side street. The sign said Valentine Sports. Maybe someone there could give her some insight into who else in the area might be skilled enough to set up that crossbow in the balcony besides Joel.

It took Gemma’s eyes a few minutes to adjust from the bright winter sun to the dim interior of the store. The center aisle was flanked by rows of rifles and shotguns. Shelves of ammunition ran along the back and a low counter was on her left. She caught a whiff of some kind of oil and noted that the right side of the store seemed to be devoted to bows of all sizes.

“Can I hep ya?”

Gemma finally spotted a round little bald man maneuvering himself out from behind the counter. He had the bushiest beard she had ever seen. Stenciled on his t-shirt was the phrase
Grave before shave
.

Hi,” she said. “Could I ask you a few questions about the crossbows here?”

“Sure. Lots of bow hunters in these parts.”

“Any particular reason why it’s so popular?” Gemma asked.

“Many reasons. You can buy three-season tags and hunt with a crossbow from October to January in this state now,” the owner explained. “Instead of using a modern deer rifle or a muzzle loading rifle, a hunter can use a bow or crossbow and hunt all winter long. Also, crossbows have become much more sophisticated and easier to use in recent years.”

It was easy for Gemma to understand why this man owned a gun store. He obviously loved the sport. His whole demeanor changed when he began talking about the merchandise.

The man leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Also, it's getting harder for people to buy guns. You don't have to do a background check to buy a crossbow.”

“I guess you need to be pretty knowledgeable about them if you’re going to be safe,” Gemma began, not really sure where she was going with this.

“And fairly strong, unless you use a cocking device,” he added.

“Could a woman set one up?” Gemma asked.

“Sure,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You the law?”

“I’m undercover,” she told him, surprised that the words came out so easily. Well, it wasn’t really a lie. She was undercover with Nick.

“Guess you’re helping the sheriff with that murder what happened last night up at the lodge,” he suggested.

Gemma simply nodded. “You’ve heard about it then?”

He laughed. “Ma’am, this is a tiny little place. True, most of the town was there but the rest of us knew about it before morning.”

“Any thoughts on who might have done it?” she asked.

“I’d almost bet it was Joel. He’s one of the best crossbow hunters I’ve ever seen. Has one of the biggest collections, too. And everyone knew he and Mrs. Muzak were foolin’ around,” he added.

“But you just said there were lots of bow hunters in the area,” Gemma reminded him.

“How many of them were sleepin’ with the dead feller’s wife?” he countered, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’ll give you that,” Gemma said with a smile.

“Kinda odd though, don’t you think, since he and Joel went hunting every fall, he did it the way he did it last night. In front of everyone. He could have just done it out in the woods and called it an accident.”

“The two men hunted together? Mr. Muzak?” Gemma asked, pretending surprise. “He just didn’t seem the outdoorsy type.”

“Yeah, I leased them huntin’ rights on some wooded property I own, just a few miles from here. Got a little shack on it they used when they stayed out all night. They use it from fall and into winter,” he told Gemma.

“To hunt?”

The man shrugged beefy shoulders. “I guess so. Don’t know what else they’d be doin’ up there.”

Gemma had a thought. “A skilled hunter like him wouldn’t have an accident, though.”

“True. And, man, he is good. A beautiful sight to see when he uses that bow. Almost like it was meant to fit right in his hands. Joel wins the competition almost every year at the Fall Festival here in town.”

“No competition at all?”

“Oh, there’s plenty of competition, but the only one who comes close to his skill with a crossbow is Missy Tyler.”

“M
issy Tyler, the event planner up at the lodge?” Gemma asked in surprise.

“Yeah, her daddy taught her everything he knew about crossbows and hunting and she took it from there. She’s always buying targets and supplies from here. She likes the fixed blade arrow instead of the expandable ones that Joel uses. Guess she has lots of time to practice when the lodge isn’t busy,” he told her.

“I guess so,” Gemma said, a glimmer of an idea forming in her head. She was pretty sure no one was looking at Missy Tyler as a suspect. They were all focused on Natasha and Joel.

“Thank you,” Gemma said, moving toward the door. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“My pleasure. Tell Sheriff Burton I said hello,” he said.

“I will,” Gemma said. His mention of the sheriff reminded her that she had an appointment with her at three. That was a little over an hour away and she still hadn’t located Nick. “Oh, have you seen a black Escalade here in town this morning?”

The man thought for a minute, forefinger tapping his bearded chin. “Nope, can’t say as I have.”

“Okay, thanks,” Gemma said and hurried out the door into the cold. Where could he have gone?

Back at the lodge, Gemma returned the keys to Missy and thanked her again for the loan. She stayed at the restaurant and ordered lunch even though she wasn’t really hungry. While waiting on her food, she checked emails on her tablet. Nothing from Ross or Holly. And no texts or calls or anything from Nick.

Missy approached her table and Gemma watched her out of the corner of her eye. She tried to picture the woman dressed in camouflage and carrying a crossbow through the woods. Yeah, it was possible.

“More coffee?” Missy asked.

“Yes, please,” Gemma answered, knowing she was drinking too much caffiene. Her outing had chilled her to the bone and in just a few minutes she was going to have to talk to the sheriff. Nick was not going to be happy with her but she simply could not lie to the authorities any longer.

“Hey, I haven’t seen Harold this morning,” Gemma said as Missy turned to leave.

“He called out along with the rest of them,” Missy told her, clearly not happy about the situation. “I just hope the computer system doesn’t go down. He’s the only one who can fix it. When I take over, I’m going to have to keep him on the payroll for that reason alone,” she joked.

Gemma laughed softly but her thoughts were whirling. She wondered if anyone had considered Harold a suspect. He had the means, the run of the place and surely the smarts. Motive? And what did he want to discuss with Nick? Unless he had somehow discovered Nick’s real identity. But maybe she was jumping to conclusions.

“Ma’am, if you’re available, the sheriff is ready for you.”

Gemma was startled by the young man who had just suddenly appeared next to her. He looked way too young to be wearing a uniform. “I’ll be right there,” Gemma told him and then, leaving her half-eaten lunch behind, she reluctantly followed him.

Gemma found Sheriff Donna Burton sitting behind a big mahogany desk in a book lined office near the front desk. The sheriff smiled and motioned for Gemma to have a seat directly across from her. Gemma perched on the edge of the chair, purse clutched on her lap. Her palms were sweaty and her heart pounded in her chest.

“I really only have a few questions for you,” the sheriff began. “I think your table was the closest one to the stage. But there’s one really, really important one.”

“Okay,” Gemma said.

“Why did you lie about who you were?”

The question, so abrupt and out of the blue, made Gemma jump. “I...um...we...”

Sheriff Burton waited patiently for Gemma to collect herself. Gemma couldn’t read anything at all in her steady expression.

She took a deep breath. “I’m here with Nick Leonard. He’s an investigative reporter for our local newspaper. Somehow he learned about a blackmailing scheme coming from the lodge. He asked me to come up here pretending to be someone else so we could maybe catch them,” Gemma said in such a hurry that she tripped over her words but finally she was able to get it all out.

“Blackmail?” Sheriff Burton said, sitting up straight.

“There are cameras in some of the rooms. The video from them was used to blackmail several pretty influential people around here, and who knows who else has been exploited. Nick and his editor thought it would be great if he could come up here posing as a rich playboy with his mistress and blow the story wide open.”

“And you are pretending to be his wife?”

“Yes. Well...mistress, actually,” Gemma said.

“Do you know for a fact that this is going on?” she asked.

“Right after we got here, I let it slip that I wasn’t really his wife just like I was supposed to. They gave us a different cabin at the last minute. Nick says there are cameras in there,” Gemma answered truthfully.

“But no one has approached you?”

“Not me, but...” Gemma hesitated. The sheriff had enough on her plate without worrying about a missing person, and Nick was probably just talking to Harold. Probably.

“But what? Ms. Stone, this could have something to do with the murder of Mr. Muzak. I think you know better than to try to withhold any information from me.” Sheriff Burton’s voice was firm but calm.

Gemma sighed and then struggling to keep her voice steady she said, “Nick left early this morning to meet Harold Holland somewhere. I haven’t heard from him since.”

“And Holland called out sick today,” the sheriff said, reaching for her phone.

Before Gemma could say anything more, the sheriff was already talking to one of her deputies. “Go to Holland’s house. Check to see if there’s a...” She glanced at Gemma.

“Black Escalade,” Gemma told her.

“See if there’s a black Escalade parked there. If so, we may have a kidnapping situation on our hands,” she told him and then ended the call.

“Since you’re an outsider, you probably don’t know much about the dynamics of the relationships here at Cozy Valley. I told you about Missy Tyler this morning...”

“Did you know that she’s almost as good with a crossbow as Joel?” Gemma asked.

The sheriff smiled. “I do know that. She’s way better than me.”

“Oh.”

“We’ve also uncovered a few other things this morning. For example, the owners and Joel kept a second set of books. The accountant was as surprised as we were, or at least he appeared to be. Usually where money like that is concerned, things are going to get dangerous. Someone always gets greedy,” she finished with a shrug.

“Do you think Joel did it?” Gemma asked.

“We haven’t made any arrests, not really enough evidence yet, but we’re keeping an eye on them,” Sheriff Burton explained. “Joel is an upstanding businessman in the community. He’s not likely to just take off. Natasha is taking this very hard. She’s been in her room, sedated, since this morning. And its obvious Muzak was the only intended victim.”

Gemma nodded.

“We’re just giving them a little while to stew in their own juices. Maybe Joel thinks she did it. Maybe she thinks he did it. Maybe they were both involved or maybe one thinks he’s covering for the other. Either way, one of them will crack.”

“They didn’t do it,” Gemma repeated.

“You’re sure about that?”

Gemma nodded.

“And how do you know this?” she asked, leaning forward and clasping her hands together on the desk.

“Well, I don’t know for sure,” Gemma amended, squirming under Burton’s gaze. “I just don’t think they did.”

“Who then? Missy Tyler? Harold Holland? Maybe someone they blackmailed here without their knowledge?”

Gemma kept quiet. There was something wrong with the whole scenario and she just couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Tyler actually videotaped the whole thing with her cell phone. I don’t think she would have done that if she was involved. Holland is just a computer guy, he could handle the timer but I’m betting he doesn’t know a thing about crossbows. Any other bright ideas?”

Gemma shook, her head.

The sheriff’s phone chimed and she answered it immediately, speaking quietly into the phone. “It is. Can you tell if he’s inside?”

Gemma listened closely.

“Okay. If you’re sure. Be careful and call me right back.”

“I’m guessing you don’t get many murders up here in the mountains,” Gemma said. She made it clear she was not moving until she knew that Nick was safe.

“I’ve been the sheriff here for five years. We’ve had a few. Up until now they’ve all been domestics,” Sheriff Burton told her. “And this one probably will turn out to be one as well.”

“Can you tell anything at all from the video Missy made?” Gemma asked.

“From all of the videos that we’ve seen - and we confiscated all of them - it looks like Natasha was tugging at his arm as if trying to pull him in front of the arrow.”

“Or pull him out of the way. If she was involved, perhaps she had second thoughts,” Gemma suggested.

The sheriff shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Before she could say anything else, her phone chimed and she snatched it up. “You’ve got him. Is the victim okay?” She nodded at Gemma and gave her a thumbs up. She listened a few moments and then said, “Alright, I’m on my way.”

Gemma stood and faced the sheriff. “I’m going with you.”