A Mysterious Mix Up

Book 3: Allie Cobb Mystery

by J.C. Kenney

Genres: Amateur Sleuth; Cozy Mystery

Synopsis

Murder hits the stacks when literary agent Allie Cobb investigates a fatality in the local library . . .  
 
Allie Cobb returns home from a book conference armed with hugs for her cat and her boyfriend, and dreams of a long, hot bath. She’s also getting ready to take the plunge by hiring an intern for her expanding literary agency. But it’s one for the books when Allie finds the town’s librarian—and her longtime role model—seconds away from death on the library floor.
 
Who would want to poison Vicky Napier—one of Rushing Creek’s most beloved citizens—on the eve of her retirement? But it seems there were toxic people in her life, like the handyman with an obsessive crush, and a wood carver with a hair-trigger temper. The list of suspects includes Allie’s boyfriend, Brent, who’s in the running to take over as town librarian. Avenging her friend’s murder could be a trap as she goes up against a killer determined to write Allie’s epitaph . . .

Release date: January 7, 2020

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Print pages: 256

Sample

Chapter One

If all the world is truly a stage and we’re the players, I was relieved beyond belief to have my time in the spotlight behind me. I’d been in my old stomping ground of New York City for a national book conference. That meant three days of getting up at five, followed by meetings with editors, authors, and other folks in the book business. That was combined with educational breakout sessions and interspersed with meals and social activities, so my head never hit the pillow until midnight.

The nonstop schedule included my appearance on two panels. The first was a discussion of women-owned businesses. The second talked about the pros and cons of being your own boss. Those appearances had been as terrifying as they were exhilarating. It was still hard to imagine that little Allie Cobb had become someone whose words came with a sense of authority in the wonderful world of publishing, but it was true and oh so empowering.

The conference had been a thrilling time, full of seeing old friends and making new ones, but when two days of travel were added, the trip had left my inkwell of energy dry.

I was ready to be back home again in Indiana.

My exhaustion gave way to anticipation as my rideshare driver pointed out a sign indicating we were entering Brown County. In twenty minutes, I’d be safe and sound in my apartment, snuggling with my feline fur baby, Ursula, or Ursi for short.

Ursi wasn’t the only one I’d be snuggling with, though. A very special house sitter and his faithful canine sidekick were waiting for me, too. The thought made me smile as I checked my hair in the sunshade mirror. I wanted to look good for the house sitter, also known as Brent Richardson, my boyfriend.

It was dark when the car rolled to a stop in front of my building, the sun having set during the hour-long drive from Indianapolis International Airport. A chilly April breeze knifed through my Cobb Literary Agency fleece as I waited on the sidewalk for the driver to unload my luggage.

I shivered.

Not from the cold, though. It was in anticipation of seeing three of my favorite people in the world. Okay, technically, only Brent was a person. The others were my tortoiseshell kitty, Ursi, and Brent’s golden retriever, Sammy. I loved them both like they were my own children, so they might as well have been human.

As the driver pulled away, I hoisted my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my suitcase, and turned toward the door of my building. To my great pleasure, my very own welcoming committee was waiting for me.

Grinning from ear to ear, Brent opened the door. With his right hand, he was holding Sammy on a leash. With his left, he had Ursi on her leash.

“Welcome home, babe!” He gave me a kiss on the lips that made my knees weak.

I wanted it to last forever, but Sammy nosed himself between us, begging to be petted. Meanwhile, Ursi almost knocked me over by bumping her head against my shin, demanding attention.

“Hello, young lady.” I picked up my cat and kissed her on the head. “And to you, too, Sammy.” I scratched the dog’s ear as Brent took my luggage.

“All right, kids. Let’s let Allie get upstairs so she can relax.” He struggled up the steps with my bag, suitcase, and Sammy in tow.

I chuckled as Ursi and I followed them to my second-floor apartment. It was good to be home.

Once we were all safely inside the apartment, Brent removed the animals’ harnesses. Sammy went to his bed in the corner of the living room while Ursi sauntered to the kitchen for a drink of water. Evidently, their welcome home efforts were complete.

Brent, on the other hand, was scurrying around like every inch of his six-five frame was on fire. First, he dashed to the couch and fluffed the cushions. Then he went to the bedroom to drop off my luggage. Next, he took my computer bag and delivered it to my office. Only when I was comfortable, with my feet propped up on the coffee table, did he take a seat.

“To what do I owe such regal treatment?” I glanced around the apartment.

It was spotless. The cleanliness called to mind a time when Luke and Rachel, my older brother and sister, had friends over while our parents took me to Chicago for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. Nobody got hurt and nothing got broken, but my siblings’ efforts to eliminate any evidence of the festivities resulted in the first floor of our house being cleaned until it shined like polished silver.

It had taken Mom and Dad all of about ten seconds after they opened the front door to figure out something was amiss. Mom finally called them out on their misdeed when she found a beer can in the refrigerator’s vegetable crisper.

Neither Mom nor Dad drank beer.

The interrogation lasted five minutes. The lecture about making good choices lasted half an hour. The smile on my face at seeing my older sibs get in trouble lasted a week.

At the moment, I could totally imagine how my mom felt all those years ago.

“This place looks awfully nice. Did you have a party with a bunch of young ladies and have to clean up?”

Brent laughed. “I figured you’d appreciate coming home to a clean apartment.” He went to the fridge and returned with a bottle of white wine and two glasses. “Tell me about your trip.”

“Wow. Where to start.” I took a drink to gather my thoughts. As it danced over my taste buds, the refreshing, semisweet wine had a touch of apple and pear to it. Riesling, my favorite. Brent had all his bases covered tonight.

He knew I’d been stressing about my two panels, so I started with those. “The room was full, and we got tons of great questions from the audience. After the Be Your Own Boss session, I had two women thank me and say the session was the motivator they needed to strike out on their own.”

“That’s awesome.” Brent gave me a fist bump. “Gotta be pretty cool to have people tell you things like that. Then again, you’re living proof of no guts, no glory, am I right?”

“Guess so.” It had been a little over two years since I’d said goodbye to New York City and my job with a well-respected literary agency and returned to my home town of Rushing Creek, Indiana, to assume the reins of my deceased father’s literary agency. I still missed my dad. I always would.

I took another sip of wine and massaged the back of my neck to release some tension that had taken up residence there during the trip home. Despite my weariness from the long day of travel, I had a great life. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“It’s amazing people think of me as an expert on anything. But it’s a good way to be amazed. If I can help someone, even in a small way, find a job they enjoy, the effort’s totally worth it.”

“That’s my girl.” Brent wrapped me up in his long arms.

His body heat warmed me and made me feel safe as I told him about the rest of the trip. A lot of my report included meetings with editors, taking pitches from authors, and visiting with colleagues. It would bore most people to death. Not Brent. He gave me his full attention while I spoke.

“How about you? I hope cleaning out Ursi’s litter box every day wasn’t too much of a hassle.” I snuggled into him, the stubble of his beard tickling my cheek.

“Nah. It’s actually easier than having to scoop Sammy’s poo when we’re out for a walk.” He pointed at a stack of papers on the coffee table. “By the way, I got through the resumes for your intern. I scheduled interviews with four.”

“Sweet.” I glanced through the pages Brent handed me. Business continued to be good for the Cobb Literary Agency. So good, in fact, I’d begun to think about getting help. With thirty authors now signed, handling all aspects of agency business, from reading query letters to calculating royalty statements, was becoming a challenge. I wasn’t ready for another agent, but an intern sounded good. I wanted someone in town who loved to read a wide variety of genres, was well versed in grammar, and was willing to work ten to fifteen hours a week. If I could find that person, I’d be set.

If only.

“Or maybe not so sweet.” I tossed the documents on the coffee table. “Not the strongest group of candidates, huh?”

Brent shrugged. “Wanting someone local is limiting your candidate pool. There are a lot of smart, talented people in the area. Just not a lot who meet the qualifications you want.”

I didn’t want to ruin the good welcome home vibes, so I kissed Brent’s cheek. “You’re right. I set the parameters. I have to live with the results. It’s not like I need someone tomorrow, right?”

Ursi jumped on my lap and gave me a long, penetrating look. Her unblinking, golden eyes were hypnotic. Evidently satisfied she’d sufficiently punished me for going out of town by ignoring me, she was now ready to have me shower her with undivided attention. I complied by scratching her between the ears.

“Indeed.” He took a small sip of wine. “I’ve got news. Vicky Napier’s retiring. She’s going to make an official announcement to the library board later this week.”

The wineglass came to a stop inches from my lips as I tried to make sense of Brent’s words. When they wouldn’t compute, I returned the glass to the table. Sensing trouble, Ursi leapt from my lap and dashed to the bedroom.

“Are you sure? Mrs. Napier’s too young to retire.” When Brent wouldn’t maintain eye contact, desperation set in. “She can’t retire. When I was a kid, she promised me she’d be the librarian forever. It was a pinkie promise.”

I grabbed a throw pillow and held it against me in an attempt to ease the sudden aching in my midsection. Mrs. Napier was one of my heroes. Growing up, Luke revered ballplayers. Rachel admired celebrity chefs. As a nerdy bookworm, I looked up to Vicky Napier.

She was the one I turned to for refuge from the challenges of youth. She was the one who, along with my parents, empowered me to believe in myself and follow my dream of becoming a literary agent.

To me, the thought of the Rushing Creek Library without Vicky Napier at the helm was like trying to pass off Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy. It simply made no sense.

“She admitted it’s sudden, but I guess she decided now was the right time.”

“She’s in her mid-sixties at most. Did she say if she has plans?”

Brent swallowed and adjusted his collar, apparently sensing I wasn’t going to like his answer. “She’s moving to Florida as soon as her house sells. She wants to be near her sister.”

“Wow. I guess it’s too late for me to try to talk her out of it.” I scratched my head. “Well, she’s given this town a lot over the years. She deserves to enjoy retirement.”

I got to my feet. Instead of being sad at seeing Mrs. Napier go, I’d be happy for all the time I got to spend with her.

With a spring in my step, I headed for the kitchen. “I know just the thing. I’m going to bake her a batch of cookies. She always loved oatmeal raisin. Then I’ll go with you to the library tomorrow and give them to her.”

“I’ll help you.” Brent’s footfalls echoed off the hardwood floors. As a large man who wasn’t light on his feet, stealth wasn’t a part of his repertoire. “Besides, there’s something else.”

The excitement in his voice brought my search for cooking raisins to a halt. As I faced him, his wide eyes made quite a pairing with the voice.

“By the look of you, it must be good news, so don’t keep me in suspense.”

He ran his thumb and second finger around his lips. He always did that when he was excited and needed to force himself to slow down.

“Vicky said she was going to recommend I take her place. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but she made me swear I wouldn’t speak a word of this until she talks to the board.”

“No way.” I left the package of raisins on the counter and threw my arms around him. “Congratulations. That’s better than when Westley and Buttercup rode off into the sunset in The Princess Bride.”

I gave him a long kiss. “This calls for another glass of wine while you help me bake. What do you say to that, Mr. Richardson, Rushing Creek Librarian to Be?”

“Allow me to pour, and then I am at your service.”

“I like the sound of that.”

I poked him in the belly with a mixing spoon and winked. It had been a long, tiring day of travel, but the good news made me feel as if I’d just woken from a long night’s sleep on the most comfortable down-filled mattress ever created.

With the festive vibe in full swing, I cued up Brent’s favorite musician, jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and got to work on the cookies. And the wine. It was a celebration, after all.

It was past midnight, and way past my regular bedtime, when I put the last of the three-dozen cookies we’d take to Mrs. Napier into a plastic container. She’d insist on sharing them with her staff, so my guess was they’d be gone in two days.

As I slipped into bed and snuggled up against Brent, with Ursi purring at my feet and Sammy snoring in his doggy bed under my bedroom window, I smiled. We had our own little family, and maybe, in the not too distant future, we’d be able to make this arrangement permanent.

First things first, though. I had an old friend and hero to congratulate. I drifted off to sleep rehearsing what I was going to say to Mrs. Napier when I handed her the cookies. She was a special woman, and I couldn’t wait to tell her what she meant to me.

Chapter Two

“Will you relax?” Brent pulled on a purple polo I’d given him for his birthday. “I’ll be ready to go in a minute. Besides, it’s not like I have to punch a clock or anything. I’m volunteering. We’ll get there when we get there.”

I forced my foot to stop tapping. I’d been ready to leave for fifteen minutes. Waiting on someone was something I wasn’t accustomed to. “I know, but I want to get there before the library opens. I was hoping on having a few minutes alone with Mrs. Napier.”

He tied his shoes, tan chukka boots he’d polished while I’d been gone, and slapped his hands against his thighs. “Let me put Sammy in his crate and we’re outta here.”

The dog seemed unsympathetic to my eagerness to get going and kept dashing behind furniture pieces until Brent corralled him in the bathroom. Ursi wasn’t any help as she observed the entire affair from her favorite spot, a seat cushion atop an end table placed under a living room window.

Despite my eagerness to get going, I couldn’t help laughing at the sequence. It was right out of a Looney Tunes cartoon. “Does he fuss that much all the time?”

While Ursi didn’t love it when I put in her carrier, she tolerated it and never fought me. Then again, I always showered her with praise and kitty treats while I maneuvered her into the carrier. She was no dummy. When the potential for snacks was involved, my kitty’s behavior was exemplary.

“No.” Brent sucked in a few deep breaths. The great golden retriever chase had left him winded. “He probably thinks since you’re here, we should be going for a walk. He’ll be fine.”

I went to the crate and tossed a doggie biscuit to the poor canine, who’d looked at me with the saddest eyes. “We’ll be back soon and I promise to let you out as soon as we come through the door. Then we’ll go for a walk. How about that?”

Sammy gave me a woof and started gnawing on his biscuit. With his tail now flipping back and forth like a fuzzy metronome, the insult of being crated while Ursi had the run of the apartment was evidently forgotten.

“Feel free to call me Madame Dog Whisperer from now on.” I gave Brent a wink, grabbed the container of cookies, and headed for the door.

I got into his truck and immediately started bouncing up and down in the passenger seat like a kid on the way to see Santa Claus. Once I’d come to grips with Mrs. Napier’s decision, I’d become truly happy for her. And eager to give her my best wishes.

Sure, it was a surprise, but the woman had dedicated her life to Rushing Creek. She deserved to enjoy retirement while she was still healthy and active.

The truck’s engine rumbled to life. It reminded me of her connection to Brent and her recommendation to have Brent succeed her. I smiled at the thought. If I was going to lose my favorite librarian, getting my favorite guy to replace her wasn’t a bad deal.

As we headed north on Washington Boulevard, the main thoroughfare through Rushing Creek, my phone buzzed. It was an e-mail from one of my authors, asking for my thoughts on a new story idea. While I was reading the e-mail, the truck slowed, and we turned into a parking spot in front of the general store.

A peek at the clock confirmed the library opened in fifteen minutes. Before I could protest, Brent put his hand on my arm.

“I’m going to get a card. That’s all. I promise I’ll be fast.” Leaving the engine running, he was out of the truck and entering the store in the blink of an eye. With his long, lanky frame, he could cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time when motivated.

I was still typing out my reply when he opened the door and handed the card to me. “Told you. Dash, that kid from The Incredibles, has nothing on me.”

“You’re such a dork.” I took a pen from my purse and chuckled as I looked at the funny farm animals on the front of the card.

“True, but I’m your dork.” In seconds we were back on our way.

We’d arrive at the library before it opened, as promised.

One of the great things about Rushing Creek was that you could get from one end of town to the other in ten minutes if you were traveling by car. That was why a mere five minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of the Rushing Creek Public Library.

Two vehicles were already there. I recognized Mrs. Napier’s silver SUV, but the red pickup next to the SUV wasn’t familiar. As Brent signed the card, I asked him about the truck.

“It’s Porter Rasmussen’s. The guy who cleans the restrooms and takes out the trash.”

“Gotcha.” With the minor mystery solved, I got out of the truck, eager to see Mrs. Napier.

When I lived in New York, many of my colleagues were convinced I must know everyone in my hometown on a first-name basis. I understood the logic. After all, when one came from a community of 3,216, how hard could it be to get to know everyone in town?

My colleagues were partially correct. Outgoing folks like my mom and Angela Miller, Rushing Creek’s mayor, not only knew everybody, they knew what was going on in the lives of their fellow citizens.

That wasn’t the case with me. Growing up, I had a small circle of friends and when I left Rushing Creek, it was more than a decade before I came back for good.

Every May, my dad used to take Luke, Rachel, and me to the garden center to pick out flowers to give Mom for Mother’s Day. Porter Rasmussen had owned Rushing Creek Hardware and Garden Center. Sometime after I headed off to college, Porter sold the business to a chain of hardware stores and retired. From what I’d heard, he’d spent his years in retirement with the local garden club and helping at the library.

“That’s some serious dedication to the library. If I was retired, I’d try to find a more fun way to help out.” As we neared the entrance, I glanced at the container. Should have asked Brent to get a bow I could stick to the lid. I’ll make her some more before she leaves town.

“Porter’s got an ulterior motive.” Ever the gentleman, Brent opened the door to the library with his key fob and stepped aside. “He brings Vicky flowers every week. He’s got a crush on her.”

Thunderstruck, I stopped just inside the threshold as memories of recent visits to the library filled my mind. At least a dozen times, I’d asked Mrs. Napier where she got the flowers she displayed on the checkout counter. She always gave me the same answer.

A secret admirer.

I shook my head. “All this time and I never knew. I am such a dunce.”

“You’re not a dunce.” Brent dropped his messenger bag beh. . .