A Vonnie Vines Mystery

Chapter 7

"She already took the cards down and put them in a box," Jimmy said, dropping the cloth he used to obsessively clean his counters.

I backed up against the table, jostling the empty planner I'd returned to its new home so no one would miss it.

"I can give you the box of cards to look through. Will you give them to the police when you're done?" he asked, rounding the counter and getting me way too excited. It couldn't be this easy. Could it?

It could.

I bit my bottom lip, so I didn't smile. You didn't smile at dead client homes. "That would be perfect, Jimmy. Thank you. Which card made her mad?"

He'd already left me alone in the kitchen, but returned less than a minute later with a box he placed on the table.

"One from my ex. It's in there somewhere. I really can't bear to go through them, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. Jalinda wanted me to recycle them, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet."

Score one for procrastination.

"The police said they think she died of natural causes. Do you think it might be something else?" he asked.

Not wanting to sound like a person who got excited over a murder-even though I definitely was one of those people-I shook my head, trying to look unsure. "We'll have to see. I'll review the cards and let you know what I come up with. Okay?"

I planned to do it either way, but it would help to have his compliance. Jimmy handed me the box of cards... er... evidence and I let him hold the door open for me as I walked out, promising to call him with the first thing I found.

I couldn't believe the man gave me the evidence I'd probably use to put him behind bars, but smarter criminals had done worse. No way would I look his gift in the mouth... or turn it over to the police. At least not before I reviewed every piece of paper in the box.

I'd find Jalinda's killer and prove Jimmy did the deed before Anderson finished his morning coffee.

**

I snuck out of my car, trying to look inconspicuous as I walked across my office parking lot. In the short distance, a cop car drove past along with two big black SUVs everyone knew belonged to the former SEAL security agency.

Stupid police always walking around Pelican Bay like they owned the place. Between the cops, the billionaires, and the former Navy SEALs, it's a wonder they hadn't ripped the town apart. How bad was it when my favorite person was the local crime lord?

I kicked open the door to my office after fumbling to get it unlocked. A guitar solo, courtesy of my office neighbors, started up further down the hall, and I closed my eyes to stop myself from screaming. My office reeked of old papers and something fishy like mold, but I didn't have time to worry about it at that moment.

If I wanted to stay ahead of the local police and solve the murder of Jalinda Jones, I needed to process the box of cards and other paperwork her husband Jimmy just handed over before someone important realized I had them.

I dropped the box on the top of my-what should have been-empty desk and disturbed a small rectangle box wrapped in brown paper.

Interesting.

That wasn't there earlier. For sure. And my dad changed the locks on the door after I signed the lease. There shouldn't be a way for anyone to get into my comfort space.

It might be a bomb. Or an anthrax-loaded package. Even a clue to the current crime someone mailed to maintain their secret identity.

The responsible action would be to call in the police and see how the mysterious package ended up here and where it came from.

Responsible, yes. Going to happen? No.

I wasn't a woman who turned down a gift.

The paper tore easily from the bottom where someone secured it with big, thick packaging tape. I lifted the lid on the box, taking a moment to appreciate my life in case the next thing I remembered was waking up in a hospital bed.

What the hell?

A flashlight?

I turned the thin pink device around in my hand and then studied the end. No way.

Not just a flashlight. A stun gun!

Holy hell.

A rechargeable stun gun.

If you could fall in love and marry an inanimate object in the state of Maine, I just did.

I held the baby to my chest and then pressed in the button on the bottom of the barrel, turning on the light. That worked. Now to test the other use.

But on what? No way was I going to test it on myself. Grams always said I had a curious spirit, but even I wasn't that curious.

The next biggest thing in the room, which wasn't metal, had to be the desk. With precision the moment required, I flipped the tactical tool in my hand and slid the red button, sending millions of volts onto the top of the wooden desk. Holy s**t. Sparks flew and energy zapped at my fingertips against the wood. It was glorious.

A second later, I removed the device and ran my finger over the warm, slightly burned singe mark in the top corner. My hand shook from excitement.

Totally amazing.

The gift passed, but who did it come from? I dug back through the small box, removing the plastic insert before finding a small white card taped to the top.

Only a single letter written in thick black font from a Sharpie graced the front. The back remained stark white.

B.

Hmm. I didn't know a ton of B people. Only one came to mind. Broadrick, but I refused to admit it could be him. Surely not.

Someone knocked on my office door, and the force caused it to open a fraction. "Hey, pumpkin. I came to visit," my dad said, letting himself in.

"Hey, Dad." I quickly but carefully dropped the stun gun on the top of the box of cards and moved it to the floor. Something warned me Dad would not find the stun gun as cool as I did.

"It's so dark in here." He walked further into the room, unzipping his coat but not taking it off.

I leaned to the side and flicked on the switch for the lamp. It did little for the problem, but did cast a glow in the area directly under it. Trying to pretend like it was no big deal, I moved the lamp closer, letting it illuminate the surface of my desk. "Yeah, sorry. Still working on that electrical issue."

The building I leased as my first office was older. One of the first built in Pelican Bay. I couldn't afford the rents in the new Kensington building... yet. Old building meant old wiring and few electrical sockets. My space didn't have an overhead light, meaning the one socket in the entire room had to be enough to provide all my light.

Currently, the lamp I'd purchased from the Women's Auxiliary Christmas rummage sale was providing the best it had in her. It wasn't much.

"Does it smell like something's burning in here?" he asked, taking a seat in the chair directly across my desk when I sat in the one behind it.

"No. I don't think so." Quickly, I dropped my phone over the freshly burned area of my desk. "I'm working on the light situation, but I haven't had time to run to the mall."

Mall being a word we used lightly around here. The closest real mall was in Portland. The Pelican Bay mall was a section of town with six stores in a line with a parking lot attached. It was more a plaza than a mall, but no one argued about it. Much.

"I don't think they sell electricians at Bed, Bath, and Beyond," my father joked. His gaze traveled around the room, probably looking for something to fix.

He and my mother were not one hundred percent supportive of my new career venture. He was at a solid eighty-five percent and willing to let me prove myself, but my mother couldn't hit above a negative one percent in her excitement about the new PI in the family.

"Right," I said with a laugh. His dad jokes were bad, but if you didn't pretend, it hurt his feelings. "No, I planned to pick up one of those big electrical extension plugs. It will give me the space to plug in more lamps."

They were only a couple of bucks, and if I found one big enough, I'd have space for eight items rather than my two. Hell, even a surge protector should give me more.

His face fell into one of horror. At least I thought so. It was hard to tell with the poor lighting. "Pumpkin, absolutely not. Do you want to burn the whole place down?"

Dad stood up so fast I checked his ass to make sure he wasn't on fire and then cringed. Eww. I just looked at my father's butt.

"Not really."