Frosted on the Ferris Wheel (9 page)

Charlene studied the paper, then nodded. “Good work.”

“Where do we go from here?” Millicent didn’t give anyone else a chance to answer. “I suggest Kitty and Ann hit the library and town offices and dig up information on these properties. Find out what made them so special.”
 

“I’ll review the photos taken at the crime scene. Maybe I missed something,” Charlene said.

“Yes!” Millicent fist-pumped the air, then smiled at Holly. “You and I are going undercover.”

***

Fairview Realty was on the opposite side of town from Sunny Side Realty.
 

Holly felt choked up standing here again. It didn’t seem so long ago that she was new in town, about ready to meet Nancy Cummings, the realtor who snagged
Just Cheesecake
for her, and her apartment across the street. A part of her wanted to go back to a time when she knew no one in town.

Holly pondered her decision not to mention this resource at the secret meeting. Maybe she didn’t want Millicent shooting her down, making her look like an incompetent fool. Maybe she didn’t want to mention it and then mess it up, like she’d done with just about everything lately. Maybe a part of her secretly wanted to stumble upon a big clue and then present it to her friends.
 

Maybe she was just jealous.

Ignoring that hard thought, Holly strode to the front door and went inside. The place was clean but spacious. Brochures lay on a table. Nancy sat at a desk, studying papers. Her salt and pepper hair pulled back in a fancy twist.
 

“Nancy?”

The realtor looked up, confusion on her face as she tried to place Holly.

“It’s Holly. Holly Hart?” She stepped farther into the room. Why did she feel so nervous? “You helped me find my apartment and place to rent for my business last year.”

“Of course.” Nancy smiled. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember. But I remember you. How’s the business going? How’s Fairview been for you?” She laughed. “Sorry for all the questions. I like to know my customers are happy.”

“Just fine. I love small-town life. It’s quaint. It’s charming.” Her voice broke, her emotions finally seeping through.

Nancy stood and rushed around the desk. She pulled Holly into a motherly hug and patted her back. “Now, now, dear.”

Holly’s eyes burned with unshed tears. Mostly because she missed her mother. She missed having someone to talk to, really talk to. Charlene had been absent lately. Trent busy with the case and Millicent. Leaving Holly stranded.

“You tell me everything. My children are all grown up and living all over the country. I need someone to mother.”

Holly let Nancy lead her to a chair and accepted tissues. “It’s nothing really.” As much as she wanted to spill everything. She couldn’t. “Feeling a bit lonely, I guess.”

“Well, that’s normal. I always tell my clients that it takes about two to three years to really feel at home.” She narrowed in on Holly’s face. “And to figure out who your real friends are.”

“Can’t disagree with that.” Holly sniffed and wiped away the tears. “Thank you.”

Nancy glanced at the clock on the wall. “I hate to leave but I’m meeting a client. Someone’s looking at that abandoned lot.”

Holly straightened, alert. “You mean the one where...”

“Yes, that one. The owner put it up for sale right away.”

“Oh.” Holly bit back her nerves at her next question. “Why would someone, say a realtor, purchase land without telling anyone?”

Nancy tapped her fingers together, her gaze shifting left then right. “You mean and why would someone kill over it?”

Holly nodded. “Exactly.”

“I probably don’t have the answers you’re looking for, but if a man were keeping those kind of secrets and keeping his loved ones and close friends in the dark, then I’d suspect those aren’t his only secrets, his only lies. From what I know of Gary, he fits that description.”

“Thanks.” Holly gave her another hug and then left with a lot to think about.

Holly didn’t share this new insight with anyone. She didn’t rush to text Charlene or Kitty or Ann. She certainly didn’t swing by
The Tasty Bite
to tell Millicent. And, she ignored several texts from Trent.

“Are you ready for this?” Millicent jabbed Holly in the ribs with her elbow. “Because if you’re not on the top of your game, then I should go in alone. Judy is a smart woman, grieving, but smart. She’ll see right through your amateur act.”

Holly raised her eyebrows.

Millicent sniffed. “I’m an investigative reporter. I’m a professional. I do this for a living. My gift is reading body language and facial expressions. I always know when someone is telling the truth or lying. So let me handle this.”

“Of course,” Holly stated.

They were dressed as cleaners. Two young college kids trying to make some cash on the side. They played up their youthfulness, hair back in ponytails, wearing jeans and T-shirts. Millicent had driven them to Judy’s house.

Millicent rapped against the door. They waited, hoping Judy would answer. Their whole plan was based on the fact that Judy probably wasn’t in the mood for social events or for cleaning.

Judy opened the door. Her brown hair hung by the sides of her face, but it didn’t look greasy or a mess. In fact, she looked rather put together and upbeat for a grieving widow. “Yes?” she asked.

Millicent took the lead. “Are you Judy?”

“I am.” She studied the two of them. Would she recognize Holly and her red hair from the other morning at the crime scene? From the Fairview Inn the other night?

“An anonymous donor from the community paid us to clean your house. He said slip in quietly, do our work, and then leave.”

“He?” Judy wasn’t opening the door further to let them in.

“Oops.” Millicent giggled. “But after he explained the situation, we said we’d do it for free.” Millicent paused, her voice dropped. “I lost my mother last year. I understand.”

Judy’s face softened, the hard angles smoothing behind a faint smile. “I’ll be outside on the back porch then. Thank you.”

Once they were alone, Millicent said, “I’ll tackle the study. I’ll know better what kind of papers are important. You, um, look around in the kitchen.”

“Aren’t we going to clean?”

Millicent shrugged. “Spray some cleaner, wipe down the counters, do a little dusting. Beyond that she won’t know the difference. It’s not as if we’re getting paid.”

When Millicent left, Holly breathed a sigh of relief. She also couldn’t believe how easily the lies slipped off Millicent’s tongue. Like she did it everyday. In a way, she did. Not only through her mystery novel but in the daily paper, which Holly knew from personal experience was often filled with fairy tales and hidden slams.

Holly shook off her thoughts on Millicent. She had a different mission. Let Millicent hunt for more information on the properties, clues on why this land was so important. Instinct told Holly that his murder might not have anything to do with the real estate. Not if Nancy was right about a man keeping secrets.
 

The house was lovely. A bright, open kitchen let in lots of sunlight. The whole downstairs was an open concept. The kitchen flowed to a dining area, which led into the living room with puffy leather couches. It reminded Holly of the rooms she’d see in a magazine. Perfect. Everything in its place.
 

First, she cleaned. The counters and the tabletop. She dusted the coffee table and used a dust buster on the area rug. Their cleaning job needed to be somewhat legit.

Then, knowing their time was running out, she studied the room. The family pictures on the wall, the smaller frames on the fireplace mantel. She flipped through the photo albums on the bookshelf.
 

She studied Gary’s smile, the way he held his wife. The love and sincerity in his smile.
 

Nothing suspicious.

Holly was lost in her thoughts when Millicent appeared behind her.
 

“Are you daydreaming? Hello? We’re here for a reason.”

“No, I’m not,” Holly said curtly, her face flushing. She redirected. “Find anything?”

Millicent shrugged. “Zilcho. Let’s go to phase two.”

As they said goodbye and left the Schilling residence, Holly had her doubts at Millicent’s admission that she found nothing. Mainly, because Holly had her own suspicions and impressions that she wasn’t sharing either.

Outside, at the car, they loaded their cleaning supplies into the trunk. Millicent slammed it shut. “Let’s hope we find something at Sunny Side Realty. They might not accept our services quite so easily.”

Finally, one thing Holly agreed upon. Joel Atherton seemed a bit savvier than Judy.

***

They parked across the street from Sunny Side Realty. Millicent checked her makeup and redid her ponytail. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“I’m sure.”

“Because I can’t have an amateur messing this up. Joel Atherton comes across a little flaky, but he is a shrewd businessman.”

Holly studied Millicent who was now applying lipstick. “Do you know him?”

“Not personally. I can tell these things.”

Holly smiled. “I’m sure between your gifts at reading people, your sixth sense when it comes to seeing beyond the facade people present, and your writing talent, you’ll have a novel published in no time.”

Millicent squealed and grabbed Holly’s arm. “Do you think so? You really think so?”

“Sure.” Holly wondered why, with all her talents, Millicent couldn’t pick up her hint of sarcasm. “You have a wonderful imagination.”

“I know.” She blew her hair out of her eyes. “My biggest problem right now is giving my main character a flaw. Every protagonist, even a sleuth, needs a flaw.”

“I’ll think about it.” Holly looked away from Millicent and across the street at Sunny Side Realty. “Maybe we should get going?”

“Just a minute.” She tapped the steering wheel, gazing off. “What if she...”

“Has a propensity for lying?” Holly suggested. “That would create lots of tension.”

Millicent looked shocked and said with a hint of disdain. “Characters have to be likable.”

“Oh.” Holly nodded. “What if, even though she comes across as confident, she’s really insecure and that leads her to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Could add some comedic breaks.”

“Oh, Holly.” She patted Holly’s leg. “Thanks for trying to help. I appreciate it. I guess I’m just thinking out loud.” She snapped out of it. “Alright, time to go.

After collecting their cleaning buckets filled with the necessities, they strode across the street.
 

“I’ll take the lead,” Millicent stated.

“I figured.”

Millicent tried the door but it was locked. “Darn. Must be on a lunch break. Perfect opportunity.” She pulled out a hairpin and wiggled it in the lock until it popped open. “We’re in.”

“You never cease to amaze me.” This time Holly meant it.

“I know, right?” Millicent giggled.
 

The place was silent. Even though it had a great spot on Main Street, it was small. Just one room. Two desks on either side. One nameplate said Joel Atherton, the other said, Gary Schilling.

“You clean,” said Millicent, taking charge. “I’ll snoop.” Before Holly could argue, Millicent explained. “That way if Joel enters or someone sees through the window we’re legit.”

“Of course.” Holly fumed and grabbed the duster. “I’ll start on the windows.” She whisked the feather duster over the windowsills, acting busy but keeping an eye on Millicent. “What are you looking for?”

“I’ll know it when I see it. A threatening letter from Joel to Gary. Secret contact numbers or emails. Joel is the kind of person who wouldn’t get his hands dirty but would pay someone else to do the killing.”

Holly thought about Chip and his mysterious phone calls. Maybe Joel had hired the out-of-towner to do his dirty work. The thought bothered Holly. Pegging Joel seemed too easy, too cliché.
 

As Millicent searched Gary’s desk, opening and shutting drawers and fumbling with papers, she said, “One method I use when plotting a mystery is to envision myself in the murderer’s shoes, focus on his or her personality. Joel is suave but cocky. That’s his downfall. He feels like the world owes him, so when a situation doesn’t go his way, he will plan and scheme until it does. Even if that requires murder.”

“And you know this how?” Holly asked. “Brainstorming for a novel isn’t real life. You can’t assume a man is guilty based on a stereotype.” As she dusted, she inched over to Joel’s desk and casually looked for anything askew or unusual.

Millicent snorted. “Leave the character development to me, honey. I know all about three-dimensional characters.”

“Of course.” Holly moved closer to the desk.

“Stop snooping and clean,” Millicent ordered. “Or our whole plan could blow up in our faces.”

At this point, Holly missed sleuthing with Charlene. Millicent’s snooty comments were wearing her down. She lost motivation to snoop so followed orders and dusted the frames on the wall.
 

“Here he comes!” Millicent hissed and moved to cleaning.