A Murderous Misconception Read online

  Remembering the passionate kiss she and Ray had shared, Katie felt a stab of guilt.

  But that was different! Andy and I were broken up when Ray and I kissed. Okay, maybe not officially, but… I’d have never acted on my feelings for Ray if—

  The thought stopped her in her tracks. Her feelings for Ray? Did she have feelings for Ray that went beyond friendship? Obviously, that kiss said she did. Of course, the embrace had occurred at a time when she was feeling alone, vulnerable, and betrayed.

  Shaking her head, Katie stepped into the shower’s spray. Whether she had feelings for Ray Davenport—or anyone else—at this time was a distraction she didn’t need in her life. It was taking every ounce of her mental capacity to run Artisans Alley and Tealicious, get ready to move into her new apartment, oversee the preparations for the Harvest Festival, and discover who’d murdered Erikka Wiley—or, at least, provide Detective Schuler with another viable suspect. All of this in addition to dealing with her breakup with Andy. Because one thing had become crystal clear to her the night before when Bob and Judy Mills stopped by their table to console Andy—her relationship with him was now irrevocably broken.

  The water pounded down on her head, washing away the shampoo’s lather. Too bad it couldn’t wash away the profound sense of loss she felt.

  Upon arriving at Artisans Alley, Katie scrounged a cup of coffee in the vendors’ lounge and hid away in her office with her computer. According to Erikka’s social media accounts, it didn’t appear that any of the woman’s friends or followers were police officers. Of course, Katie could only see the profile pictures and names of Erikka’s friends—and not many officers used their uniform portrait for a profile pic—but none of the images leapt out at Katie as anyone she’d ever seen before. And since taking over the running of Artisans Alley, Katie had interacted with a lot of the county’s finest.

  Finding nothing helpful on Erikka’s social media pages, she combed through both Erikka’s sister’s and her former boyfriend’s pages. Nothing on either of those accounts provided the information Katie sought, but she did learn that Luke Stafford was working at a grocery store on the outskirts of town now. She decided to drop in there at lunchtime and see if she could talk with him.

  Katie logged off social media and was determined to knuckle down and get some work done when Janey Ingram barreled through her door after giving the briefest of knocks.

  “Good morning!” Smiling broadly as she plunked down in Katie’s only guest chair, Janey clapped her hands together. “Thank you for teaming me up with Izzy. What a little dynamo! After speaking with her, I believe she’ll be a wonderful influence on VJ.”

  “I’m glad everything’s going so well,” Katie said. “How are the reception preparations going?”

  “Just fine. I’m planning on talking with Chef Brad this afternoon about providing a few items for the buffet, and I thought I’d see if any of the other merchants want to showcase any of their specialties as well.”

  Frowning slightly, Katie said, “This event is for the merchants. I don’t want them to feel obligated to provide the food.”

  “True. But hear me out.” Janey leaned forward in her chair. “I’m having the majority of the food catered by Del’s. The items provided by the merchants—if they so choose—are merely to promote their businesses to their peers.”

  “Okay. I can understand that, especially for us newbies like Tealicious.”

  There weren’t any other “newbies” in Victoria Square, as far as eating establishments went, but perhaps the other merchants might have some new recipes they’d like to test out.

  “Izzy is working on the entertainment,” Janey said. “She’s checking with some groups she and VJ know from their schools, and she might even be able to get the university’s acapella choir to perform.” Smiling, she added, “I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes back to me with.”

  “Great.” Katie tasted her coffee and was disappointed to find it had grown cold. She stood. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  Janey got to her feet and stepped toward the door. “No, thanks. I need to be going—I have a hundred things to do.”

  “Thanks for all your hard work,” Katie said, opening the door with a pronounced bounce to her step. “Keep me posted.”

  She took her cup into the vendors’ lounge, emptied it, and refilled it with fresh hot coffee that would, hopefully, help restart her brain. But first things first; she needed to call the moving company.

  It was nearly eleven that morning when Seth Landers made an unexpected appearance at Artisans Alley. Delighted, Katie stood and gave him a hug.

  “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by,” he said, lowering his lanky frame into the chair by Katie’s desk.

  She arched a brow and grinned. “Really? That old cliché?”

  He laughed. “Clichés are still around because they’re based in truth. Or, at least, some of them are.”

  “Speaking of truth…” She left the prompt open-ended.

  Seth’s smile faded. “I spoke with Nick, and he told me you were pretty upset when you came in last night.”

  “I wasn’t as upset as I had been before I came in, but no—” She sighed— “it wasn’t one of my better dates.” She told Seth what had happened at the restaurant the night before. “So, anyway, I called the movers and they rescheduled me for tomorrow afternoon for no extra charge.”

  “Is the apartment ready then?” Seth asked.

  She shrugged. “John Healy is putting the finishing touches on it. I spoke with him last night, and he said that bringing in the furniture now won’t hinder the work that remains. He just wants me to do a walk-through before we do that. It’ll happen later today.”

  “That’s excellent news. I know you must feel relieved.”

  Katie gave a slow nod. “I am. The sooner I get my stuff out of Andy’s building and into my own, the better. Now if I could only learn who killed Erikka Wiley.”

  “Your suspicions about her were correct, by the way. I’m telling you this in the strictest of confidences, but Jamie confirmed to me that Erikka wasn’t pregnant.”

  Seth’s partner, Jamie Siefert, worked in the medical examiner’s office.

  “That’s not a surprise to me,” Katie said. “You know what is though? Moonbeam Carruthers said this morning that Erikka told her she was dating a police officer. I’ve been trying to follow that lead, but I haven’t had any luck.”

  “You know whose help you need with that, don’t you?”

  Of course, she did. She’d have to swallow her pride and talk to Ray.

  Katie sidestepped Seth’s observation. “The only other lead I have is Erikka’s assertion that she had a stalker. I’m thinking it might’ve been her ex-boyfriend, Luke Stafford. He’s working at a grocery store in Greece, and I plan to go there on my lunchbreak to talk with him.”

  “Not alone, you aren’t. If I remember correctly, that guy is dangerous.” Setting his mouth in a firm line, he said, “I’m coming with you.”

  Katie managed a wry grin. “I’d welcome the company.”

  “Great. I hear they have a market café.”

  “They do indeed.”

  “Then would you do me the honor of having lunch with me there?”

  Katie’s smile softened. “I’d be delighted.”

  Chapter 13

  Seth insisted on driving them to the grocery store where Luke Stafford was a full-time, day-shift manager. As she got out of Seth’s sleek black Mercedes, Katie felt underdressed in her jeans and T-shirt. She’d rather talk to Luke without the impeccably dressed attorney at her side, but that wasn’t going to happen. She strode toward the entrance with Seth matching her stride for stride.

  “What’s your game plan once we get in here?” he asked.

  “If I don’t see him right away, I’ll ask for him at the service desk.”

  Seth took her arm, “You can’t just storm in there, ask to see Stafford, and start firing questions at him.” />
  “Please,” she said and glowered. “I have more diplomacy than that.”

  Seth still looked wary as he accompanied her into the store where the aromas of pizza and other hot entrees from the café filled the air, making Katie’s stomach rumble. Rather than approaching the customer service counter, Katie wandered into the produce section. “What beautiful apples!” she exclaimed, plucking an Empire apple from a bin. “Aren’t these gorgeous, Seth?”

  His eyebrows came together. “Sure.” It was evident he hadn’t a clue as to what she was doing.

  A tall, slightly stooped older gentleman was adding Vidalia onions to an already ponderous pile.

  Katie approached the man. “Hi. Is there any chance I could speak with the store manager?”

  Noticing the apple in her hand, he asked, “Is there something wrong with that apple?”

  “On the contrary, I think this is a fantastic apple,” Katie said. “I want to know what farm it came from. Are these apples locally grown?”

  “Yep. They’re from Foster Farms.” At Katie’s squint, he added, “It’s an orchard in Wayne County.”

  “Cool. Is the produce there organic?” she asked.

  “Some of it is.”

  At the older man’s succinct response, Seth crossed his arms and smirked at Katie.

  Raising her chin, Katie said, “You certainly are knowledgeable about your produce.”

  “I have to be,” the man said. “It’s my job.”

  “Marvelous.” Katie gave the man a broad smile. “I think it’s wonderful when people take such pride in their work. In fact, I would love to speak with your manager to tell him of your superior knowledge.” She gave him a wink.

  The man’s cheeks reddened. “That’s not necessary. I’m happy I could help.”

  “But I really would like to talk with your manager,” Katie said.

  A deep, irritated voice came from behind her. “Is there a problem here, Duncan?”

  “N-no sir,” the older man stammered. “No p-problem.”

  “No problem at all.” Katie turned and found herself face to chest with Luke Stafford. She’d forgotten how tall, muscular, and scary the man was.

  Looking up into Luke’s face, Katie feigned surprise at seeing him there. “Luke? Luke Stafford? It’s me—Katie Bonner.”

  He scrutinized her face, his expression stony. “I remember you.”

  “And Seth?” Taking Seth’s elbow, she pulled him closer. “You remember Seth Landers, don’t you?” she asked, knowing Luke had never met him.

  “Can’t say as I do.”

  “That’s okay,” Seth said. “I’m not that memorable.”

  Katie gave his arm a playful tap. “Of course, you are! But where are my manners? Luke, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  Luke’s almost black eyes narrowed. “What loss?”

  “Well...Erikka Wiley. You did hear about her death, didn’t you?”

  “Sure, I heard about it. It’s no skin off my nose, though. She and I were over long ago. In fact, I’m engaged to a much prettier woman now.”

  Was he kidding? Erikka was a stunning brunette.

  “Congratulations.” Katie’s brain raced for something else to ask him—a way to find out where he was when Erikka was killed.

  “Thanks. But you aren’t here to ask about my love life. Why were you giving Duncan a hard time?”

  “She wasn’t,” Seth said. “She wanted to tell his boss what a fine job he’s is doing.”

  Duncan nodded emphatically.

  “Fine.” Luke jerked his head toward the cart of vegetables that needed to be added to the shelves and tubs. “Please get back to work. I’ll handle this,” he told the older man. Turning back to Katie, he snapped, “Is there anything else?”

  “Had you seen Erikka lately?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

  He anchored his fists to his hips, scowling. “That’s none of your business.” “Now, if there’s nothing else I can help you with, I have a department to run,” he said pointedly.

  “No, thank you. It was so nice to see you again,” Katie lied sweetly. “Have a good life.” Without a backward glance, Katie flounced out of the produce department with Seth by her side.

  He waited until they were closer to the café’s hot food trays to speak, looking over his shoulder to see if Luke was watching them. He wasn’t. “So, I suppose he’s off our suspect list for Erikka’s stalker.”

  “Not necessarily. He wouldn’t tell me when he’d seen her last, especially not if he’d been stalking her. And how do we know his story about being engaged is even true?” She took out her phone, planning to check out Luke’s social media pages once more.

  “You need to ask Andy,” Seth said. “He’s your best chance of finding out who might have been stalking Erikka.”

  She sighed, slipped her phone back into her purse and kept walking. “I know. And he’s left a dozen messages on my phone since last night but I’m not ready to face him yet.”

  “It’s something you’re going to have to do sooner or later. Personally, I think you should get it over with if you really want insights into Erikka’s murder. Besides, if nothing else, you need to get closure with Andy.”

  Katie felt herself deflate more than just a little. “You’re right, of course. I was planning on talking with him when I dropped off the keys to the apartment, but I suppose this can’t wait.” She looked up and frowned at Seth. “Can it?”

  “If it were me, I’d want answers—and the sooner, the better.”

  Katie stopped walking. “Wait. You know something, don’t you?” she accused.

  Expelling a breath, he said, “Not really, but Jamie has heard rumors floating around. Schuler is really gunning for you—and Andy—on this.”

  Katie’s brow furrowed. “You mean, he thinks we conspired to kill Erikka?”

  Seth spread his hands. “Again, it’s just a rumor. But if you can, you need to find a more viable suspect and concentrate on him or her.”

  What he said resonated with her.

  Katie’s stomach growled once again. She inhaled the aroma of various Chinese entrees that sat in the hot-food trays.

  “Lunch?” Seth suggested.

  “Lunch,” Katie whole-heartedly agreed, and hang the calories.

  Later that afternoon, Katie sat at her desk at Artisans Alley and debated about what was the lesser of two evils: to contact Ray or Andy. She chose Ray.

  She pulled up the contacts list on her phone, pressed Ray’s number, and waited for him to answer.

  “Still mad at me?” he asked brusquely, apparently recognizing her number.

  “Wow, that’s some greeting. You’re obviously not vying for the title of most congenial phone recipient.”

  “Answer my question, Bonner. If you’re still miffed, I don’t have time to be berated,” he growled.

  “I’m not going to berate you, Davenport.” Was that what they were doing now—addressing each other by last names as if they were hockey teammates? “I called to ask you a question about Erikka.”

  He let out what seemed to be an exasperated breath before answering, “All right, let’s hear it.”

  “This morning, I had an interesting conversation with Moonbeam Carruthers over at The Flower Child. Apparently, Erikka told Moonbeam she was dating a police officer,” Katie said. “She didn’t give her a name, though, and—”

  “Isn’t she supposed to be psychic or something?” he interrupted. “She strikes me as a real woo-woo type. Can’t she look into a crystal ball or something else to find out who Erikka was dating? Better yet, why doesn’t she conduct a séance and get Erikka to tell her the identity of her murderer?”

  It seemed like the previous year of friendship and trust had suddenly evaporated, and Ray sounded like the curmudgeonly detective Katie had initially met two years before.

  “Calling you was obviously a mistake. I’m sorry I interrupted your work.” She ended the call, stabbing the end-call icon—the equivalent of hanging up on him
.

  She sat there, fuming, still not ready to talk with Andy, and decided she might as well go to Tealicious and do the walk-through of the apartment. She’d no more than gotten up from her desk when Ray stormed into her office.

  “Don’t ever hang up on me again,” he said angrily.

  Katie’s cheeks flushed with irritation. “Then don’t be such an ass. If you were still angry with me, you shouldn’t have answered my call.”

  “If I recall correctly, you’re the one who gave me a dressing down on the side of the road last night.”

  “Because you were spying on me!”

  “We’ve already been over this, and I have no intention of repeating myself,” he asserted.

  Katie glowered at the man. “How’d you get here so fast anyway?”

  Ray shrugged. “I was in the building talking with Vance.”

  She wondered what would bring him to the Alley in the middle of the day but figured it was probably none of her business. “I’m sorry I hung up on you,” she lied, “but if you’ll excuse me, I need to be somewhere else right now.”

  “Where?” he demanded.

  Pursing her lips, she debated not telling him, but at last she said, “If you must know, I’m going to do a walk-through of my new apartment.”

  “Fine. I’ll come with you,” he said.

  Katie glowered. “I don’t need your input.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He raised a bushy eyebrow. “Then why did you call me?”

  “I called to see if you’d ask some of your police friends if they knew of anyone who was seeing Erikka,” she said. “Maybe the comment she made to Moonbeam was a lie, but I’d like to know for sure. Seth told me Jamie, his partner, heard a rumor that Schuler is determined to pin Erikka’s murder on Andy and me.”

  Ray swore under his breath. “Okay,” he said grudgingly. “I’ll look into it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And I would like to go do the walk-through with you,” he said more kindly. “I might catch something that you don’t. That is unless you’re planning on having Brad walk through the place with you.”