A Murderous Misconception Read online

  A Murderous Misconception

  Lorraine Bartlett

  Gayle Leeson

  A MURDEROUS MISCONCEPTION

  COPYRIGHT © 2020 by Lorraine Bartlett. All rights reserved.

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously--and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

  Publisher's Note: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

  The recipe oven temperatures have been converted to Celsius and Gas Mark to make things a bit easier for non-US readers. However, please note all recipes were tested in Fahrenheit.

  Created with Vellum

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Pat O’Keefe for providing us with the perfect tarot spread for Rose.

  Thanks to members of the Lorraine Train for their support: Mary Ann Borer, Amy Connolly. Linda Kuzminczuk, and Pamela Fry Priest,

  * * *

  Cover by Wicked Smart Designs

  Cast Of Characters

  Katie Bonner: owner-manager of Artisans Alley, the anchor on Victoria Square

  Andy Rust: owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria and Katie’s boyfriend

  Ray Davenport: former homicide detective and owner of Wood U on Victoria Square

  Rose Nash: jewelry vendor at Artisans Alley and Katie’s friend

  Nick Ferrell: co-owner of Sassy Sally’s B&B on Victoria Square

  Seth Landers: attorney and Katie’s friend

  Don Parsons: co-owner of Sassy Sally’s B&B on Victoria Square

  Detective Schuler: homicide detective with the Sheriff’s Office

  Brad Andrews: Noted chef, hired to manage Tealicious tea shop

  Roger Mitchell: works at Angelo’s Pizzeria and also in construction for John Healy

  John Healy: contractor renovating Katie’s apartment over the Tealicious tea shop

  Nona Fiske: owner of the Quiet Quilter on Victoria Square

  Vance Ingram: vendor at Artisans Alley and Katie’s second-in-command

  Janey Ingram: wife of Vance, mother of VJ

  VJ Ingram: teenage son of Vance and Janey Ingram

  Izzy Jenkins: receptionist for Matt Brady Photography Studio

  Matt Brady: owner of Matt Brady Photography

  Moonbeam Carruthers: owner of The Flower Child flower and gift shop.

  Ann Tanner: Co-owner of Tanner’s Bakery and Cafe on Victoria Square, wife of Jordan

  Jordan Tanner: : Co-owner of Tanner’s Bakery and Cafe, husband of Ann

  Erikka Wiley: Andy’s assistant manager at Angelo’s Pizzeria

  Erryn Fletcher: Erikka’s sister

  Captain Spence: Officer in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Detective Schuler’s superior

  Chapter 1

  Katie Bonner had no idea of the wretched turn her life was about to take. In fact, she started the day in a particularly cheerful mood. The renovations on her new apartment were coming along nicely, her boyfriend Andy Rust had been extra attentive for the past couple of days, and both of her businesses were doing exceptionally well.

  Tealicious, the tearoom she’d bought earlier that year, was busy from the time it opened until closing time. This, even though construction was ongoing nearly twelve hours a day over the shop—it was where Katie’s new apartment was being overhauled. Patrons didn’t seem to mind the noise since the teas, sandwiches, and pastries were delicious. The piped-in music also helped.

  Artisans Alley, the former applesauce warehouse bequeathed to Katie by her late husband and his business partner, had seen its share of rough times in the past. But now the consortium of vendors was consistently turning a profit and getting ready for the much-anticipated annual Harvest Festival.

  Katie sat back in her chair in her Artisans Alley office and munched on a hard peppermint from the jar she kept on her desk. Delighted to have a few minutes of free time, she decided to check social media. In particular, she wanted to post about the upcoming Harvest Festival to get some buzz going among McKinlay Mill shoppers.

  She opened her Facebook feed and the first thing she saw caused a cold fist of dread to encircle her heart, squeezing until she felt breathless. It was Erikka Wiley, Andy’s assistant manager at Angelo’s Pizzeria…lovely Erikka, with her luscious waves of dark brown hair, who Andy had driven home from work one evening not so long ago shortly after he and Katie had argued. Andy had sworn to Katie that nothing had happened between them. But here Erikka was holding a sonogram photo with the caption, “It’s a boy! I hope he has big, brown eyes just like his handsome Daddy!”

  Katie threw up in the trash can beside her desk.

  After a few minutes, Katie recovered enough to go to the bathroom, wash her face, and down some water. She wasn’t watching where she was going, and she nearly ran headlong into Rose Nash. Rose, a spunky seventy-something jewelry vendor, also happened to be one of Katie’s closest friends. She was also far too observant to suit Katie that morning.

  Rose grasped Katie by the shoulders. “Are you all right? Sweetheart, you’re shaking like a leaf! What’s wrong?”

  “I’m feeling a little sick this morning,” Katie said. “I…I guess I ate something that didn’t agree with me.”

  Rose’s mouth quirked into a knowing smile. “Oh, I was sick like that once.” She lunged forward to hug Katie. “It took me about nine months to recover.”

  Katie backed out of her friend’s embrace. “No! No, it’s not that, I assure you.” How utterly mortifying that Rose—rather gleefully—thought it was Katie who was pregnant. The poor woman couldn’t be farther off the mark.

  But Katie couldn’t tell Rose that. She couldn’t tell her—or anyone—what she’d seen that had upset her so badly…not until after she’d spoken with Andy.

  “I’m going to step out for a few minutes,” Katie told Rose.

  Rose smiled. “A breath of fresh air will do you good. Maybe you should go to the drug store while you’re out and pick up a test…you know, just to be sure.”

  Katie ignored her friend’s suggestion. “Please tell Vance to call me if he needs me.”

  Vance Ingram was not only a vendor at Artisans Alley, but he was also Katie’s invaluable second-in-command.

  “Oh, don’t forget about Mr. Brady,” Rose said.

  At Katie’s blank expression, she elaborated.

  “You told me to remind you to see Mr. Brady about his past-due rent today.” Rose looked at her watch. “And you should probably try to catch him before he slips out. I don’t know why he even keeps a studio. He certainly doesn’t spend a lot of time there.”

  “He’s not going to have one if he doesn’t start paying his rent,” Katie said.

  She was fed up with Matt Brady, the thirty-eight-year-old photographer who was habitually late with his payments. Katie had to physically track the man down every single month. It was time for him to shape up or find a studio elsewhere. She’d had to turn away several businesses whose owners would love to have his space for Katie to have to jump through hoops every month to get paid the rent she was owed.

  As soon as she got the bag from her wastebasket and put it into the dumpster out back, she’d find Brady and then she’d go talk to Andy.

  They had a lot to talk about.

  As Katie ascended the stairs for the building’s second floor and the photography studio above the lobby, she considered the irony of
Rose thinking that she was pregnant. Some would likely have thought Katie was jumping to conclusions about Erikka’s pregnancy. But Katie wasn’t. She knew just as sure as she knew her heart was beating that the baby Erikka bragged about belonged to Andy.

  She’d known Erikka was in love with Andy almost from the moment the woman began working for him. And, lately, Erikka had become more brazen in her flirtatious behavior toward Andy, even in front of Katie. Who knew what she did when Katie wasn’t around?

  The memory of the sonogram photo and Erikka’s triumphant smile swam before Katie’s eyes.

  Oh, yes. She was already certain of the truth. But she needed to hear—face to face—what Andy had to say for himself.

  She strode into the photography studio. “Hello!”

  A young woman stepped out from behind a backdrop. She wore ripped jeans, a tie-dye T-shirt, and black sneakers. Her pink-streaked hair was caught up in a messy bun.

  “Hi,” the girl said, before going back to snapping her gum.

  “Do you work here?” Katie asked. If the man could afford an assistant, then he could absolutely pay his rent on time. If making the time to get around to delivering the check was the issue, he could have this little Girl Friday bring it down to Katie’s office.

  “Yeah…I mean, yes.” It had apparently dawned on the young woman that she was supposed to be professional. “I’m Isabelle Jenkins, but you can call me Izzy. Most everybody does.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Izzy. I’m Katie Bonner. Is Mr. Brady here?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know where I might be able to find him?” Katie persisted.

  Izzy shook her head.

  Katie tried one last time. “When will he be back?”

  Izzy shrugged. “I don’t know. I only started working here yesterday. The school sent me over.”

  “School?”

  Izzy nodded. “The community college. I’m on a work-study program.”

  Now it made sense. Brady had found a way to get free help. Of course, if the job facilitated Izzy’s education, Katie was all for it. She only wished Izzy had the authority to write a check to Artisans Alley for the rent Brady owed.

  She smiled at the young woman. “Thank you for your help. I’ll try to catch up with Mr. Brady later today.”

  “Um…you said your name was Bonner, right?”

  “Yes.” Was it too much to hope that Matt Brady had left the payment for her?

  “Your husband was Chad?” Izzy asked.

  Katie’s smile faded. Yes, of course, it had been too much to hope for. She felt that the universe was truly conspiring against her today.

  “Yes,” she said. “I was married to Chad.”

  “When I was younger, my mom brought me here to pick out a birthday present.” Izzy’s expression softened at the memory. “I fell in love with one of Mr. Bonner’s paintings, but we couldn’t afford it. He heard Mom and me talking about it, and he gave me the painting.”

  A hard knot formed in Katie’s throat, making it difficult for her to swallow or to speak. At last, she croaked, “That sounds like Chad.”

  “Anyway, one of the other vendors told me you keep some of his paintings here.” She lifted and dropped one bony shoulder. “I looked around a little yesterday, but I couldn’t find them.”

  The girl looked so hopeful that Katie asked, “Are you allowed to leave your post?”

  Izzy smiled and nodded. “All I have to do is take my phone with me. Mr. Brady forwards his calls to my phone when he’s on a shoot.”

  Katie led Izzy inside Artisans Alley, up the stairs and to the room she called Chad’s Pad where she displayed the remainder of her late husband’s paintings. As they approached the small room, Izzy called out and Katie turned.

  “Whoa! What’s with the floor?”

  Katie frowned and watched as Izzy pointed the toe of her right shoe and pressed several spots on the floor. “What’s wrong?”

  “This wood feels kind of spongy.”

  Izzy moved aside and Katie tested the floor for herself. It was indeed soft under her foot. She looked above and saw a water stain on the ceiling. It looked like the roof had leaked at some point. She’d walked the aisle hundreds of times and never noticed that spot on the old wooden floor. “I’ll have to get this fixed.”

  “I’ll say,” Izzy agreed.

  They continued along the aisle and, already irked, Katie felt an additional, and unreasonable, stab of resentment toward Chad as she and Izzy entered the room. She and Chad had been separated when a car accident had claimed her husband’s life, but they’d been working on their issues. They’d almost reached the point of reconciliation. Had he not crashed that night, Katie wouldn’t be going through this heartbreak with Andy now. She and Chad would be happy. Maybe. Probably. It wasn’t like Katie to dwell on the past or on what might’ve been.

  Besides, there was a chance that Andy would look her in the eye and tell her he’d never slept with Erikka, that the child she was carrying couldn’t possibly be his.

  Sure, there was a chance…a fat chance.

  After giving Izzy a few minutes to browse Chad’s work, Katie told the young woman that they’d both better get back to work. “I’ll bring you back again sometime soon if you’d like.”

  “I’d like that a lot,” Izzy said. “I’m studying graphic design in college, but it’s my dream to be an artist.”

  “I wish you all the best, Izzy. I really do.”

  Katie closed and locked the door to the tiny room, then squared her shoulders and headed for the staircase. She’d put off the confrontation with Andy for as long as she could. As she walked, she took her phone from her pocket and called him.

  “Hey, Sunshine,” he answered. “I was just thinking about you.”

  I’ll bet you were.

  “Could you please meet me at the apartment?” Katie asked. She occupied the rooms above his pizzeria. “I’m on my way there now.” She didn’t want a scene to play out at Angelo’s.

  “Sure. Is…is everything all right?”

  “I want to talk.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Face to face.”

  “Yeah. All right. I’ll have Roger watch the place for a few minutes.”

  She ended the call.

  At the bottom of the stairs, she found Ray Davenport waiting for her. Ray was a former homicide detective who now owned and operated Wood U, a gift shop offering handmade products made with with materials from trees across the globe, and located on Victoria Square.

  “Hi, Katie. Have you got a second?”

  “Not really, Ray.”

  “This will only take a moment. I promise.” He grinned. “It’s about the new tenant on Victoria Square—Moonbeam Carruthers.”

  Moonbeam was what Katie’s Aunt Lizzie would’ve called a hippie. She’d leased the shop owned by a group of the Victoria Square Merchants and had named the place The Flower Child. At The Flower Child, Moonbeam sold milled soaps, homeopathic remedies, crystals, candles, incense, and more.

  “I’m sorry, Ray, I don’t have time right now. We can talk about it later or, if you have a problem, you can take it up with one of the other building owners.”

  “Wait…what’s wrong?” He took her arm. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” Katie avoided looking into Ray’s eyes, sure that if she did, he’d be able to read just how very far from fine she truly was.

  Katie and Ray hadn’t been friends when she’d first taken over management of Artisans Alley. Their relationship had taken quite a while to grow. But once it had started, the two of them had become close…so close that Ray’s three teenaged daughters began to see Katie as a rival for their late mother. They became bitter about their father’s friendship with Katie, and Andy hadn’t been thrilled about it either.

  “I have to go,” she whispered, hurrying past him and out of Artisans Alley.

  Her phone rang as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. She thought the caller was most likely Andy and that he was w
ondering where she was. If it wasn’t Andy, she’d return the call later. She needed to get this confrontation over with.

  On legs heavy with dread, she pressed on. She needed to know the truth so she could decide what her next move would be.

  She reached for the doorknob, but Andy flung open the door.

  “I was getting worried about you,” he said, stepping aside to let her into the kitchen.

  “Ray Davenport stopped me in the hallway when I was on my way out of the Alley.”

  “Of course, he did,” Andy said tartly.

  “Don’t start with that,” Katie said quietly.

  She looked up into those beautiful big brown eyes—the eyes Erikka hoped her baby would have—and pain wrenched through her gut. For a second, she thought she was going to be sick for the second time that morning. She tried to brush past Andy to go into the living room, but he caught her in his arms. She sank against him, wanting to let him hold her.

  Katie hadn’t realized she was crying until she pulled away and saw that Andy’s shirt was wet. “Is it true? Is Erikka having your baby?”

  Every muscle in Andy’s body seemed to tense and he looked away. “Well…maybe.”

  White-hot anger, laced with a thread of utter betrayal, coursed through her. “Maybe?” Katie demanded.

  Andy shrugged, looking sheepish. “I don’t know if Erikka has slept with anyone else.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “I swear, it was only one time,” Andy said. “And I’ve made it clear to her that if this kid is mine, I will support him, but he will mean nothing to me.”

  “So, you’ve talked to her about this? You knew, and you didn’t tell me? You let me find out on social media?” Was that why he’d been so attentive to her for the past couple of days?

  “There’s no reason to worry,” Andy said defensively. “I won’t let this come between us.”

  “If that child is your son, then he’s already come between us.”