Pawsitively Fatal (Silver Springs Cozy Mystery Series Book 4) Read online

  Maggie knows Winona heard the whole conversation with Travis but she doesn’t say anything. Winona sips her tea quietly while Maggie looks over the first page in the pile of papers from Travis. It lists everything that James has left to Two Sisters and specifies what percentage of each sale must be donated, and to where, for the transaction to be complete. Most are around fifty percent donations, but a few are higher or lower.

  Maggie considers calling Clem about this. She doesn’t want to interrupt her sister on her honeymoon with Denis, but she’s not comfortable making all these decisions on her own. And she suspects Clem would like to be present when each item is appraised. Maggie will have to stall until Clem gets home if there is any paperwork to sign.

  Maggie looks up and notices Winona leaning over and reading over her shoulder. “What did he leave to Two Sisters?” Winona asks.

  Maggie looks at the first page of the stack and counts the number of each item as she says, “One grand piano, six paintings, three carvings, four rugs—”

  “Why didn’t he leave all of this to his sister?” Winona asks, interrupting Maggie’s list. “These are pretty significant heirlooms.”

  Maggie shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t think she needed the money,” she says offhandedly, using James’s words from her earlier phone call.

  “Something fishy is going on here. And I don’t like it.” Winona finishes her tea and stands. “But I’ve got to get going. My car probably isn’t warm anymore and I have to get those dogs of mine home.”

  Maggie stands quickly and nearly spills her tea on Winona. “I totally forgot about them. Get out of here. You’ll get in trouble if you leave them in your car much longer.” It’s not unheard of for passersby to call the police when a lone dog is spotted in someone’s car. Especially in extreme cold like today.

  Winona leaves and Maggie is by herself once again. She puts the papers from Travis in her handbag and pulls out everything from Daniel. The outrageous spending on travel and entertainment is a point of suspicion for her and she wants to figure out what it means.

  Throughout the afternoon, only a few customers come in. She decides the cold has kept business slower than usual today, but she’s fine with that. If the whole week continues the same way, she’ll be happy.

  With so much free time, Maggie has plenty of opportunity to study everything from Daniel, but when she closes at five, she’s no closer to figuring out what it means. She wishes she knew an accountant, or that Clem was here to analyze it with her.

  Drew doesn’t show up before Maggie is ready to go home and she hopes he comes to her house. Rather than going grocery shopping like she does every Sunday, Maggie is exhausted and stops for a take-and-bake pizza. The veggie supreme is her favorite and she can’t wait to dig into the heaping pile of zucchini, tomatoes, spinach and artichoke hearts on top.

  Maggie turns onto her street and is thrilled to see Drew’s big white SUV parked in her driveway. She pulls her small Prius into the garage and goes inside. She finds Drew lying on the couch, Suzie lounging on the couch under his legs and Oscar on the floor where Drew’s hand rests lightly on his head.

  “You’ve ditched Opal for the dogs?” Maggie teases when she walks inside and sets her handbag on a kitchen chair and the pizza on the counter. “I thought you were a cat person.”

  Drew sits up and both dogs abandon him in hopes of getting dinner in the kitchen. “I guess I had you fooled. I put up with cats about as well as they put up with me.”

  “Speaking of which, where is Opal?” Maggie asks. She hasn’t seen her cat since she arrived and usually Opal will make an appearance for food.

  Drew shrugs. “Haven’t seen her.”

  Maggie doesn’t worry about her cat’s whereabouts, knowing she’s probably safely enjoying the warmth and comfort of Maggie’s bed. She heads into the kitchen and feeds the dogs.

  “I cheated on dinner,” Maggie adds, turning on the oven.

  “I see that we’re having pizza. I brought beer.” He heads to the fridge and helps himself to two bottles, leaving one on the counter for Maggie.

  “Thanks. I’ll be right back,” she says and plants a quick kiss on his cheek. “I want to change.”

  Maggie heads to the bedroom and is less than surprised to find Opal on the bed, curled next to the pillow. Maggie scratches behind her ears and Opal purrs her delight, stretching out her front legs and curling her back. The cat leaps from the bed and makes her way to the top of the dresser, at eye level with Maggie.

  Maggie indulges her cat some more by petting her on top of the dresser. Maggie barely uses it, preferring the closet for clothes storage instead, but Opal loves it because it keeps her out of reach from the dogs.

  Opal rolls onto her back despite the mess that’s up there from before Maggie moved into this room. She’s never taken the time to move anything, only adding her makeup selection on top of the books already there.

  But now Maggie slows down and picks up the first book she touches. It’s a leather bound journal she’s never noticed before. Maggie opens to the first page and sees her mother’s handwriting. She’d recognize that anywhere.

  Maggie takes it to the bed. Her cat, Drew and her beer are temporarily forgotten, and she flips through the first few pages. Each entry is dated over fifty five years ago, before Maggie and Clem were born.

  Even though she’d rather sit and explore this side of her mother, Maggie closes the journal and puts it on her bed. She quickly changes into clean jeans that are worn out so much that she doesn’t leave the house in them, and a sweater. She just wants to be comfortable and knows Drew won’t really care what she looks like.

  Maggie heads back to the kitchen just in time to hear her phone ringing in her handbag. She grimaces at Drew who waves away her concern and then pulls the still ringing phone out.

  It’s Trista, and Maggie answers, desperate to find out the missing link for this murder.

  “Hi Trista. Find something?” Maggie asks, anxious to know who killed James. Despite the various leads she’s tracked down today, part of her is still sure that his death is connected to the previous murders in Silver Springs.

  “I did. Your missing person is Travis Kirsch.”

  Maggie’s heart stops and her hand flies to her mouth. “Travis Kirsch?” she asks, looking at Drew. He knows everyone in Silver Springs and he makes a face of recognition, nodding his head.

  “Yeah. He and Mitch lived together in Silver Springs. And he worked with Karl at the newspaper in Two Forks, Iowa before they both ended up in Colorado. I’m not sure how he knew Josh, but I wanted to let you know these other links before the end of the night.”

  “So there might be no connection between Josh and Travis?” Maggie asks, wondering if this is really the guy she wants to track down.

  “I’m not positive, but the other links are too strong to ignore. You know Travis?”

  “I met him today and I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning.” Maggie’s blood runs cold knowing that she might be alone with Travis at James’s house in just over twelve hours.

  CHAPTER 12

  Maggie hangs up the phone and the oven beeps, letting her know it’s preheated and bringing her back to the present. She slides the pizza into the oven and sets the timer. Drew is staring at her when she turns around. Maggie picks up her beer and pretends that everything is normal.

  “What’s up with Travis Kirsch?” he asks her calmly.

  Maggie takes a drink from her beer, deciding how much to tell him. She knows he’ll want to know everything—that she met him today and will see him again in the morning and that Trista just told her he’s connected to a murderer and a thief. Maggie is touched that he worries about her safety, but she also doesn’t like depending on someone to keep her safe.

  She decides he deserves the whole truth. She sighs and says, “I’m meeting him tomorrow to talk about what he’s appraising for James. And Trista—who just called—told me he used to live with Mitch Cable and worked with Karl Jac
obs. You know, the person who broke into Erline’s house in September and the man who killed Clara in October.”

  Drew doesn’t let his face betray any reaction. “Yes, I remember who each of them is,” he says, his voice measured. “You’re meeting with him tomorrow? What about Two Sisters?”

  Maggie shrugs. “I’ll have to open late. I’m meeting him at nine.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Drew says without missing a beat.

  Maggie meets his eyes and holds his gaze. “You really don’t have to do that.”

  “I saw how you reacted on the phone. You’re nervous about being alone with him. And I don’t blame you. Look, I’ve been involved in this from the beginning. You might remember that I rescued you from Josh’s house last spring.” Maggie smiles at the memory. “I think there are plenty of people who would feel better knowing you weren’t alone with Travis in James’s house.”

  Drew drinks from his beer bottle, effectively ending the conversation.

  Maggie waits a few moments before bringing up another concern of hers—the financial records from Flower Power. She knows she needs a second opinion, and trusts Drew’s analysis, so finally pulls them from her handbag. “I got these this morning from Daniel. I’ve gone through everything related to employees and finances but something seems off about the money.” She hands the papers to Drew. “Would you look at them and tell me what you think?”

  Drew sets his beer on the table and Maggie checks on the pizza. She removes the tray beneath it so it sits right on the oven rack, allowing the crust to crisp before it finishes.

  “Who was in charge of the books?” Drew asks, flipping to the second page.

  “Mona Fitch.”

  Drew nods and returns to the papers, sipping from his beer as he goes. Maggie opens two more bottles and places one in front of him on the table. He looks up and smiles in appreciation.

  “What do you know about Mona?” Maggie asks.

  “In her thirties. From Silver Springs. Stayed here so she can ski. Not thrilled with working for James because he runs a tight ship and she can’t get time off to have fun. Entitled, if you ask me.”

  Maggie chuckles. “I did ask you.”

  Drew continues, “Lives with Tess Shea, who works next door at The Coffee Bean.”

  “Winona told me that today. Also that Tess and Gina were in Flower Power at the time of the murder. They were helping cater Clem’s wedding and stopped by to help with the flowers on their way to Tenderfoot Lodge.”

  Drew looks up suddenly and there’s surprise in his eyes. “Tess was in Flower Power?”

  Maggie nods. “Yeah. Why?” She’s glad Drew is always in her corner. He knows everything that goes on in Silver Springs.

  “James and Tess have a,” he pauses, “history, I’ll say.”

  “Oh?”

  “Nothing like his ex-wife or the rift he’s caused posthumously with his sister. But they didn’t always see eye to eye. I don’t actually know the details,” he clarifies.

  “When did they even interact? Sure, they worked next door to each other, but I can’t imagine their paths overlapping much.”

  Drew shakes his head. “It’s totally unrelated to work. I’m not sure what happened or when it started. But look into that.”

  The oven beeps and Maggie pulls a perfect, crispy pizza from the oven and cuts it while Drew looks at the finances from Flower Power some more. She puts two pieces on two plates and sits at the table.

  “You don’t have to work through dinner,” Maggie teases, taking a bite but instantly regretting it. The cheese burns the roof of her mouth and she’s forced to be patient.

  Drew doesn’t put the papers down right away. “I just wanted to look through it all while it’s fresh in my mind. But it certainly looks like Mona was taking advantage of her position as James’s bookkeeper. She liked to have fun. Maybe he figured it out and she was worried about losing her job.”

  “That’s barely reason enough to kill someone,” Maggie protests.

  Drew shrugs and purses his lips. “Most killers aren’t rational.”

  Maggie has to agree and makes a mental note to check into Mona further, though Travis is her primary suspect right now, simply because of his connections to Karl and Mitch. If he’s keeping the likes of a killer and a thief as company, that speaks volumes about his character.

  Drew stays later than Maggie expected, going home only after they enjoy plenty of brainless TV. After the day Maggie’s endured, she wants to tune out.

  Once she’s alone in the house with just the animals—the dogs retreating to Clem’s room upstairs for the night even though they’ll be sleeping alone—Maggie heads to bed. She’s forgotten about her mother’s journal that turned up unexpectedly but happily picks it up off the bed where it’s lying open. She thought she closed it when she left it there hours earlier, but Opal is right next to it and could have tilted it just enough so it flapped open.

  The entry the journal is open to dates three years before Maggie and Clem’s birth. Maggie slips between the covers and starts reading.

  The first sentence is sure to give Maggie nightmares. I didn’t think we’d make it back alive.

  CHAPTER 13

  Maggie keeps reading. And reading. She can’t put the journal down and is sucked in further and further to her parents’ misadventures in time travel.

  Unfortunately, something seemed to go wrong with every trip they embarked on over half a century ago. From losing keys while they were stuck in the past, to ending up in the future once, her mother writes about each journey being their last.

  The entry that really keeps Maggie awake long after she closes the journal is about what would happen if this power fell into the wrong hands. Maggie reads about extreme wealth being amassed by the few who can time travel, knowledge remaining in the hands of only the elite, and history being changed with the advent of future information making its way into the past.

  Maggie thinks about what all that could mean for the survival of the world. Is the general populace trustworthy enough for such a unique and powerful skill? What would Josh, Mitch and Karl have done with time travel if they were willing to kill or steal to gain access to it?

  Maggie steps out of bed and walks quietly to the bathroom. She stashed Opal’s cat collar with the fourth and final piece to the time traveling puzzle under a loose tile on the floor. She lifts the tile to make sure it’s still there and breathes a sigh of relief. After reading about the nightmares her parents endured and the possibilities of what could happen, she’s sure everything has to be destroyed and the time traveling powers ended.

  But it’s not just up to her. Ginger Rae, Erline and Winona have been involved since Maggie’s parents were active in time travel and they’ll have to be consulted. Just not in the middle of the night.

  Maggie goes back to bed and finally falls asleep, dreams of catastrophe circling her mind all night.

  The morning comes quickly with the dogs charging down the stairs in search of breakfast. With Clem gone, Maggie is forced to be more of a morning person, and her late night of reading has done her no favors.

  Oscar is first on the bed and Opal leaps off to safety on top of the dresser. Suzie quickly follows Oscar and Maggie is bombarded by dog kisses she’d rather avoid. They are persistent and she shuffles to the kitchen to feed them before letting them outside.

  The sun is barely peeking over the tall snow covered mountains surrounding Silver Springs, but there is not a cloud in the sky. It’s a nice change from yesterday’s snow and Maggie busies herself with a shower and breakfast. Since she’s opening Two Sisters late, she’s going to take the opportunity to have coffee at The Coffee Bean with Ginger Rae, Winona and Erline. She has a journal to share with them to help sway them into doing the right thing with their keys.

  At exactly eight o’clock, Maggie opens the door to The Coffee Bean, journal safely tucked into her handbag. She keeps checking to make sure it’s there, not wanting to lose it somewhere between home and Main Stre
et.

  The three older women are already seated on the tan couch, chatting away and sipping coffee. Erline notices Maggie first and all three heads turn in her direction. Their faces all hold surprise. Maggie should be at work by now since Clem is out of town.

  “What are you doing here?” Erline asks before realizing how unfriendly her question sounds. “I mean, it’s good to see you, but we didn’t expect you today.”

  Maggie smiles as Erline’s face flushes in embarrassment. “I’m opening late. I have a meeting at nine so I thought I’d meet you for coffee.”

  Maggie heads to the counter and orders, watching Tess Shea the whole time. Nothing seems out of the ordinary as the young woman comfortably navigates behind the counter, waiting on customers. Without knowing details of Tess and James’s past, Maggie has no reason to put Tess on her suspect list besides the fact that Drew thinks she should be there and that she was present in Flower Power when James was killed.

  Maggie returns to the couch and sits in the middle of the women between Winona and Erline. Ginger Rae is stuffed to the far side of the couch, her huge bottom taking up more than her quarter share of the furniture.

  “What’s your meeting at nine?” Winona asks, anticipation in her eyes. “It’s not often Clem closes Two Sisters. So it must be important.”

  Maggie winces. Clem doesn’t know she’s opening late. “I’m meeting with Travis Kirsch at James’s house. He’s appraising some of James’s possessions and he asked that I be there since some things were left to Two Sisters.”

  The women all nod.

  “But that’s not why I came by this morning,” Maggie continues. She pulls the leather bound journal from her bag between her feet. “I found this last night and thought you should take a look at it.”