A Drizzle of Deception: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 10) Read online

  A Drizzle of Deception

  by

  Constance Barker

  Copyright 2015 Constance Barker

  All rights reserved.

  Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.

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  Chapter One

  While it was a wild vacation to say the least, I was glad to get back home to Caesars Creek and to my little guy Winchester. Sammi, Paige and Bruce’s daughter, had taken care of him at their house, but I knew he missed me terribly, and I did him as well. After a few days of rest however, I was ready to get back to work at my ice cream shoppe, The Frozen Scoop. I took Winchester with me that first day back and of course Stormi made over him.

  “How’s my little stinker?” Stormi cooed to Winchester. “Has you been a good boy?”

  Winchester stood on his tiny Westie legs and pranced for her.

  Stormi giggled. “I never get tired of watching him dance.”

  It wasn’t long before we were busy with customers. Some wanting ice cream cones, others fruity smoothies, or ordering ice cream cakes. Everyone wanted to know what happened on Stormi and Greg’s honeymoon and mine, Brandon, Paige and Bruce’s vacation. We filled people in on the resort and of course the two poor murdered individuals and my almost demise.

  Trixie, our older, but never a grey hair out of place friend, stopped in during a slow time in the afternoon to catch up along with Paige. So we filled her in on our adventures as well.

  “I ought to slap you girls silly for getting into something as dangerous as a murder mystery.” Trixie admonished as she took a lick of her chocolate almond delight in a sugar cone.

  Stormi sat down next to Trixie at one of our small tables out front. “As if a murder is going to stop us. I reamed that guy a new one.”

  Trixie guffawed. “I bet you did! He had no clue who he was dealing with until it was too late.”

  I took a load off and sat down next to Trixie. “I could do with some peace after that fiasco.”

  “You and me both,” Paige said as she grabbed a scoop of plain vanilla.

  Stormi gave Paige a look of disgust. “Vanilla again. Branch out woman.”

  Paige stood with the ice cream scoop in her hand. “Hey, you do your thing I’ll do mine. There’s a reason vanilla is your best seller.”

  “You’ve got a point,” Stormi smirked. “I just never saw the allure. Plain vanilla is so boring.”

  Paige grabbed a spoon atop a canister filled with chocolate chips. “Who said it would be plain.” She dusted a scoop of chips over the vanilla ice cream, and then added a ladle of hot fudge to it.

  Stormi nodded. “That’s more like it.”

  Stormi has been my best friend since we were little, and now I was engaged to her brother Brandon. Stormi had recently married the best cop in town, Greg. Our other friends, married couple Bruce and Paige, and Brandon and I accompanied Stormi and Greg on their honeymoon to an exotic locale. I know how that sounds…why would you go with your friend on her honeymoon? But we were a tight-knit group and Stormi and Greg wanted us to come along. Well, as long as we gave them a wide berth, which we did.

  “I still can’t believe the trouble you girl’s get into.” Trixie crunched into her sugar cone. “Reminds me of my rowdy youth back in the day.” Trixie had a faraway look. “Greta and I would get into some wild shenanigans.”

  “Greta?” Although the poor woman was murdered by Trixie’s daughter, Stormi still held disdain for the woman. But honestly, Greta had earned most of it. “I can’t imagine Greta getting into too much trouble.”

  Trixie grabbed a napkin. “Oh, she had a wild hair up her hiney.”

  We grimaced with the mental image.

  Trix chuckled at her memories. “Yes, we got into a few scrapes in our day.”

  Suddenly our attention was directed at the front door as it swung open and Stormi’s grandfather, Papaw Jeb burst in.

  “Stormi, I’m so glad you’re back! You have to send Greg to my place….someone’s trying to rob me.”

  Stormi jumped up and led Jeb over to our table and made him sit. “Now Papaw, tell me what’s been going on.”

  Paige set a cup of water in front of him and he took a swallow before filling us in.

  “Ever since you all have been gone there’s been weird activity out at my place at night. I’ve been seeing strange lights. I tell you, someone’s trying to steal my money and valuable items I have stored away.”

  “Now just calm down Papaw,” Stormi said as she pulled a chair up next to him and sat down. “What kind of lights have you been seeing?”

  Jeb took a deep breath and continued. “I woke up one night and saw these lights streaming through my window. When I got up to look, the lights were shining on my outbuildings. I went to the door and shouted for whoever it was to get out and the lights stopped. But then the next night they were back and have been every night since. Someone’s trying to rob me like your cousin tried to do.”

  Stormi’s cousin Howie faked his own death to try and steal Papaw Jeb’s money. It was a terrible thing to do to his family and Lord knows what Howie might have done had Jeb discovered he was still alive. Howie was sent to prison while his girlfriend who helped him got off with a slap on the wrist.

  Stormi looked around the table at us as Jeb drank his water. I knew what she was thinking. Jeb had always told tall tales about his valuables and money. No one really believed him, even his own daughter Dottie, Stormi and Brandon’s mother. The town figured it was just an old man’s way of gaining attention and prominence. But when Howie pulled his stunt, all bets were off. Did Howie know something the rest of us didn’t? Or was it that the debacle with Howie had made Jeb paranoid?

  “Papaw, I’ll talk to Greg and see what he can do.” Stormi patted his shoulder. “Don’t you worry.”

  Jeb nodded and stood up. “I’m so glad you’re back Stormi. I feel better all ready.”

  Stormi hugged him and we bid him goodbye as he sauntered out of the shoppe and across the street to sit with ol’ Charlie on the bench outside the hardware store.

  Stormi plopped back down in her chair. “Well wasn’t that a swell howdy-doo. Momma told me that Papaw was acting peculiar but she didn’t elaborate.”

  Trixie dotted her lips with a napkin. “That was a subject I wanted to broach with you girls today. My friend Celeste rents one of the two workshops out on your grandpa’s property. She told me while you all were gone that he wasn’t acting himself and was talking about people trying to steal from him.”

  “Has your friend seen anything abnormal?” I asked.

  “Yeah, maybe she could collaborate his story,” Paige said her mouth full of vanilla ice cream.

  Trixie stood. “She works at the library. I’ll stop by and talk to her more about it.”

  After Trixie left, the shoppe became busy again. Paige left to help Bruce next door at his investment business, but not before inviting us to dinner on Friday night which we happily accepted.

  I knew Stormi wasn’t that worried about Jeb. He’d come unglued in the past with wild stories of strange animals like a wildebeest hanging around the property. So to her this probably wasn’t much different. But my gut was saying otherwise. And you know, I always trust my gut.

  Chapter Two

  Friday night was pitch in at Paige and Bruce’s house. They made the spaghetti and meatballs, Brandon and I brought the tossed salad and breadsticks, and Greg and Stormi brought 2 bottles of wine. Of course I brough
t an ice cream cake for dessert.

  The meal was filled with laughter as we reminisced about the trip. It was nice to think of the fun adventures we had on vacation instead of the macabre part of it. We went whale watching, the boys hang glided and rode jet skis, and us girls were pampered in the spa.

  While Sammi cut the ice cream cake, the subject of Jeb came up.

  “He would come into the shoppe while you were gone,” Sammi said as she handed out the slices of cake on paper plates. “He’d be grumbling about people trying to steal his gold or something like that.”

  Greg took a bite of his red velvet and vanilla ice cream cake. “He’s been calling the police station too. Apparently he had a security alarm installed on the house and something keeps tripping it. I went out to the property and looked around. I didn’t see anything unusual though.”

  “Then what’s setting off the alarm system?” I asked, taking another sip of wine.

  “Not sure,” Greg answered. “I had the alarm company guy come out and test the system and it seems to be working okay. The only thing I can come up with is that either an animal or the wind is setting it off.”

  Stormi made a face. “Oh Lord, he’ll think the wildebeest is back.”

  Greg shook his head and placed his napkin on the now empty paper plate. “He didn’t mention the wildebeest, only that he thinks someone is trying to rob him.”

  Stormi threw her napkin on her plate. “It’s all Howie’s fault! He got Papaw all worked up and now we have to pick up the pieces.”

  “But what if he’s not exaggerating,” Bruce offered as he sliced himself another piece of ice cream cake. “Maybe in his mind he really thinks someone is after his loot.”

  Paige licked her fork. “What are you saying? That he’s going senile?” You never had to wonder what Paige thought…she was a straight shooter. No pussy footing around with her.

  Stormi grimaced. “Ugh! I would hate to think Papaw is losing it.”

  “Maybe it’s just a momentary lapse,” Bruce offered. “He got all excited over the Howie deal and it’s taking him a while to decompress.”

  Stormi nodded but I could tell that little suggestion was enough to worry her. The funny thing was, nobody had entertained the thought that perhaps it was real. That someone was actually trying to steal from Jeb.

  That evening as Brandon took me home I decided to quiz him on the subject.

  “So, what do you think of this predicament with your grandfather?”

  “What predicament?” Brandon asked as he pulled into my driveway.

  “Huh? Where have you been? All this craziness that’s going on at Papaw Jeb’s.”

  Brandon put his truck in park and turned off the engine. “Hon, it’s probably nothing. I’ve lived my entire life listening to Jeb’s tales about his money, valuables, and ghosts haunting him, wild animals tearing up his property. But no one else has ever seen his money, heard or seen the ghosts, or witnessed weird animals on his property. I just think it’s the musings of a bored man who needs the excitement of these stories to keep him entertained.”

  As Brandon walked me to my door and kissed me goodnight my mind reeled. Something wasn’t adding up. But it looked like I might be on my own with this way of thinking.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning I stopped at the bank on my way to The Frozen Scoop. As I walked from the bank towards the shoppe I noticed Jeb and ol’ Charlie sitting on their usual bench in front of the hardware store. I walked slowly near them so I could hear their conversation. Jeb looked stricken while Charlie rattled on. Seems Charlie was trying to convince Jeb that the lights he saw outside his house at night were aliens. Good grief! The awful grimace on Jeb’s face made me think he was contemplating the notion.

  “Have you seen any of those crop circles down your way?” Charlie asked Jeb. “That’s how they communicate with each other.”

  Jeb rubbed his chin. “No, can’t say I’ve heard any of the farmers down my way speak of anything like that. I have talked to some neighbors to see if they’ve seen these strange lights too, but they haven’t.”

  Charlie took a cigar out of his pocket. “Sounds like the aliens are only interested in you Jeb. I’d keep a shotgun nearby and fill them full of buckshot if I was you.”

  I walked in front of the bench before Charlie could light the cigar. “Hey Jeb and Charlie. Why don’t you two come over to the ice cream shoppe and I’ll make us a pot of coffee.”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice,” Charlie said as he stored his unlit cigar back into his pocket, then moved over and plopped himself in his motorized wheelchair. Charlie could walk, but it was a struggle for him, hence the wheelchair. His slow moving sign still hung from the flimsy pole, a reminder of how it had once been the catapult for someone’s demise. But that’s a different story.

  I led the men back to my shoppe, unlocked the door, and started a pot of coffee. I left the men at a table while I filled the ice cream case with barrels of Mississippi Mud and Butter Pecan. Jeb sat silent while Charlie watched the people from my large plate glass window as they walked down the sidewalk. I poured them both a cup of coffee and me one as well.

  Charlie steered his wheelchair closer to the window. “Just a dab of milk in mine Tara. I can drink dairy, just can’t eat it.”

  Yep, that was ol’Charlie and his idiosyncrasies. He drove Stormi crazy with that one.

  I handed Charlie his coffee, and then sat down with Jeb who looked like he was about to fall asleep.

  “How are you doing today Jeb?”

  Jeb blew on his coffee. “Oh, not good Tara.” He took a sip. “I can’t sleep because of the lights and noises outside my house. And the security alarm keeps going off. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “I’m sure you know there aren’t aliens visiting you like Charlie mentioned.”

  Jeb nodded. “I know. In fact I wish it was. I think they’d be friendlier than whatever is causing the commotion outside my house.”

  I smoothed out my pink apron. “So now you’re hearing noises outside too? What type of sounds?”

  Jeb looked thoughtful. “Kind of like humming noises. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like a loud hum.”

  Okay, that was strange. Lights and humming noises. It was starting to sound like it was aliens hovering over his property in their spacecraft. I shook my head.

  “Is it a loud or a soft hum?” Not that it mattered, but I had to try and get something plausible out of him.

  “Sometimes it was loud and other times soft.” Okay, that didn’t work.

  “Look Jeb, Brandon, Stormi and I will come out tomorrow and look around. Maybe we can get to the bottom of it.”

  Jeb sighed and lifted his cup of coffee. “I don’t know. The police and the security guy from the alarm place have been out there and they can’t find anything.”

  “Don’t be so fast to dismiss us Jeb,” I said as I stood up to get back to work. “We might run across something.”

  Jeb smiled and looked more at ease. Yes we could see what there was to unearth on Jeb’s property…unfortunately it would be Jeb who would try and stop us.

  Chapter Four

  Brandon, Stormi and I headed to Jeb’s the next day. I told them about ol’ Charlie and his own tall tale of aliens visiting Jeb in the night.

  “You got to hand it to Charlie,” Brandon said as he pulled into Jeb’s driveway. “He has an answer for everything. Honestly he may not be far off.”

  I slapped Brandon’s arm. “Yeah, like you believe in UFOs.”

  “Hey, this is where most UFOs are spotted…out in the countryside. I mean why hover over the big cities where all the lights and people are. Instead, let’s go bug an old man who’ll shoot buckshot up their tiny Martian asses.”

  “Hey, stop your blabbering and get me out of here.” Stormi was stuck in the backseat of Brandon’s truck. There wasn’t much legroom back there and Storm was having a heck of a time getting comfortable on the way out.

  Br
andon jumped out and pulled the front seat forward so Stormi could hop out. “I’ll be glad when you get one of those trucks with a decent cab. I felt like a pretzel in there…my arms and legs going in different directions.”

  Brandon rolled his eyes. “I’ll get right on that Sis.” Ahhh, the brother and sister bond. I knew they loved one another, but their favorite pastime was to bicker with one another. That’s how they communicated so I just let them have at it.

  “I mean you could have at least taken out some of your tools. That pry bar was trying to goose me in the nether regions.”