The Undercover Plan: A Cozy Mystery

Book 19: A Tess and Tilly Cozy Mystery

by Kathi Daley

Genres: Mystery; Animal Cozy Mysteries; Amateur Sleuth; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

Tess and Tilly have returned!

 

If you love charming small towns, heartwarming relationships, lovable animals, and a touch of murder, you'll love the Tess and Tilly Mystery series set in picturesque White Eagle, Montana.

In Book 19, autumn has arrived in White Eagle, bringing brilliant fall colors, pumpkin patches, and preparations for the town's beloved Halloween Festival. Tess and Tony have once again agreed to chair the annual celebration, and with three-year-old Tommi happily keeping them busy with preschool, dance classes, and plans for her Halloween costume, life has settled into a comfortable rhythm.

That peace is shattered when a controversial newcomer to the community is found murdered on the steps of the historic courthouse, throwing the entire town into turmoil. With leads running dry and pressure mounting, Tesse's brother, Police Chief Mike Thomas, asks Tess to dust off the sleuthing notebook she thought she'd retired for good and go undercover one last time.

As Tony pours his energy into decorating the house, carving pumpkins, and making the Halloween Festival a success, he and Tommi eagerly prepare their family costume for the big night. Meanwhile, Bree decides it's time to tackle the few extra pounds she's accumulated by joining a local gym, Shaggy and Tony begin work on a new game, and Hank receives a letter that has Tess worried.

 

Release date: September 8, 2026

Publisher: Kathi Daley Books

Print pages: 147

Sample

Chapter 1

It’s been almost four years since my daughter, Tommi, was born, and I filed away my
sleuthing notebook for what I was sure was the last time. At the time, my husband, Tony
Marconi, and I decided that sleuthing wasn’t compatible with motherhood. And at the time, I was
fine with that decision. But circumstances change and so have I, so when my brother, Officer
Mike Thomas, asked me to dust off my notebook and go undercover, I was more than happy to
comply.
But before I get into the why and the how of my undercover assignment, perhaps I should
introduce myself and provide a bit of the history about the mystery that pulled me out of
retirement in the first place.
My name is Tess Marconi, and I live with my husband, Tony, and daughter, Tommi, in the
quaint and picturesque town of White Eagle, Montana. Even though I’ve lived in White Eagle
my entire life, my story actually begins on a rainy day in mid-October when my best friend and
sister-in-law, Bree Thomas, and I shopped for Halloween décor and costumes for her daughter,
six-year-old Ella, her son, Michael, who’d recently turned four, and my daughter, Tommi, who
would be four in December.
“What do you think about this mask for the Johnsons’ Halloween party?” Bree asked me as
she held up a rubber mask that was supposed to be scary but actually wasn’t.
I wrinkled my nose. “Honestly, not a fan.”
“Really?” She held the mask up to her face. “I kind of like it.”

“It’s not scary, not sexy, doesn’t make a statement, and in no way defines your inner self. I
thought you were going to dress as Cleopatra.”
“I was, but the costume is so skimpy. Last year, I went for sexy and froze my keester off the
entire time. I’m hoping to find something warmer this year.”
Since the Johnsons wanted to give their guests time to take their children trick-or-treating
before leaving them with a sitter, their adult-only party didn’t even start until nine o’clock, so
more often than not, the outside temperature was downright frigid by the time guests began to
arrive. Tony and I had elected to skip the party ever since the birth of our daughter, but Mike and
Nev Johnson had been friends since high school, so Mike and Bree usually stopped by for at
least a few minutes even when they didn’t plan to stay long.
“I noticed a furry gorilla costume at the rental shop when Mom and I went to pick up her
costume for the party the women’s guild is having this Saturday.”
Halloween wasn’t until a week from Saturday, but the women’s guild had decided to have
their party early so it wouldn’t compete with trick-or-treating on the thirty-first or the Halloween
Festival on the thirtieth and thirty-first.
“Is your mom going to the women’s guild party dressed as a gorilla?” Bree asked as she
tossed the mask back onto the table where she’d found it.
“No, she’s going as a flapper from the twenties. I just happened to notice the gorilla costume
when we were there. You said you wanted warm, so I thought I’d pass along the information.”
She frowned. “Not that warm, but I do want something bulky.”
I couldn’t help but notice Bree’s hand settle across her stomach as she shared her desire for a
bit of bulk this year compared to the spandex she wore last year. “Are you pregnant again?” I
asked in a voice much too loud given the sensitive subject matter.
“No, I’m not pregnant, but I have put on a few pounds.”
Hence, the preference for a bulky costume, I realized.
Bree was a tiny thing. Five foot nothing with a slim frame. She had no reason to worry about
a few extra pounds around the middle, but Bree was the sort of person who wanted to look
perfectly perfect all the time.
“If you’ve put on a few pounds, you really can’t tell,” I assured her as she picked up another
mask, which, in my opinion, was no better than the first one. “The Cleopatra costume you picked
out when we went shopping in Kalispell a few weeks ago is draped in layers. It will be fine.”
Bree didn’t look convinced. “Maybe we should just get what we need for the kids, and I can
come back another time to look for a costume for the Johnsons’ party.” She tossed the mask back
onto the table and continued down the aisle.
I glanced at the time displayed on my cell phone. “Wrapping things up might actually be a
good idea. Dad, I mean, Hank, is going to babysit tonight while Tony and I attend the merchants’
meeting. He mentioned he might come by early, so I really should head home as soon as I pick
Tommi up from preschool. Are you going to the merchants’ meeting tonight?”

“I am. Mike’s coming with me since your mom volunteered to babysit. Even if the reason for
a night out is to attend the meeting, I’m looking forward to it. You and Tony aren’t merchants, so
why are you guys going to the merchants’ meeting?”
“We’re going to act as liaisons between the merchants and the planning committee for the
annual Halloween Festival.”
“Oh sure, I suppose that makes sense since you and Tony were guilted into chairing the
Halloween Festival again this year.” Bree held up a child-sized dress from the rack she’d begun
sorting through. “Does this look yellow to you?”
“The dress is green.”
Bree sighed and returned the dress to the rack. “Ella wants to be a princess. And she’s very
specific about what she wants. A yellow dress, gold shoes, and sparkly crown.
“And Michael?”
“Michael wants to be Bluey, but I haven’t been able to find a Bluey costume anywhere.”
“Have you tried ordering one online?”
“I have, but the costumes are so popular with the under-six crowd that every vendor I’ve tried
has the costume on backorder.”
I supposed that was to be expected. Tommi loved Bluey, the Blue Heeler dog, as did most of
the kids in her class. If the holiday store had ever had Bluey costumes in stock, I was sure they’d
sold out weeks ago.
“Is Tommi still planning to dress as Zephyra for Halloween?” Bree asked.
“She is.” Zephyra was a warrior princess from the futuristic video game Tony and his best
friend, Shaggy, had developed and were testing for release at the annual video game convention
in February. Since the game hadn’t been released yet, Zephyra costumes weren’t available
commercially, so Tony was making Tommi a costume with the help of my mother, Lucy. “In fact,
the last I heard, Tony was also going to make a Tarek costume for himself and a Veda costume
for me.”
Bree chuckled. “Veda? Really?”
I shrugged. “It was Tommi’s idea.”
“Zephyra is the warrior princess, Tarek is the handsome prince, and Veda is the evil queen.
Aren’t you worried that Tommi chose the handsome warrior prince costume for Tony and the
evil queen costume for you?”
“Initially, I wondered about Tommi’s choice, but then she explained that I was short like
Veda while she and Daddy were both tall and strong like a warrior.”
“It’s clear to me that Tommi is a daddy’s girl.”
“Tommi is very much a daddy’s girl,” I confirmed.
Bree held up another princess dress. “Do you think this would pass for yellow?”
“Also green, although this one is lime green, so I guess it’s closer to yellow, but knowing
Ella, it’ll never fly.”

Bree sighed and tossed the dress back into the pile of discarded dresses. “Why couldn’t Ella
want pink? There are a ton of pink princess dresses, but not a single dress in yellow.”
“So make her one. You like to sew, and you still have a week and a half before the party at
school, trick-or-treating, and the Halloween Festival.”
Bree paused as if to consider the idea. “I guess that would be easier than trying to find a
yellow princess dress.” She looked at her watch. “We’ll need to hurry, but I think we have time
to head to Sue’s Sewing Nook if you don’t mind a detour before we pick up the kids.”
“I don’t mind. Tony wanted me to pick up a few more decorations for the house, but I can
grab those later.”
“You’re buying more decorations for your house?” Bree asked. “It already looks like
Halloween Town on steroids.”
I smiled. “My man loves to go all out for holidays, and I love my man.”
Bree brought the dress she was holding to her chest. She tilted her head slightly and smiled.
“You know that hasn’t always been true. Tony’s love of decorating. I think the holiday mania is
something you brought to the relationship and Tony ran with.”
Bree was right about that. Before Tony and I started dating, Tony never even had a tree at
Christmas. In fact, I think it was his lack of a tree, and my insistence that he have one, that
helped move our relationship from the friend zone to something more.
Bree placed the dress she had been holding back onto the pile of princess dresses she’d been
sorting through, and we both headed toward the door. It had been raining on and off all day, so
Bree parked her minivan on the street right in front of the store rather than around back in the
parking lot. Once we were buckled in, Bree carefully pulled out into the traffic.
“I really love this time of the year,” Bree said as we drove down Main Street toward Sue’s
Sewing Nook. “The yellow and orange colors of the aspens are especially brilliant on the
mountain this year.”
“The aspens around our lake are in full color right now,” I confirmed. Tony and I lived with
Tommi in a mansion that Tony had built before we’d even started dating, which featured a
private lake. “Although the maple trees I planted around the patio have already changed colors
and lost their leaves.”
“Young trees do tend to change colors earlier than trees that are more established. When I
drove by the old courthouse on my way to drop Ella off at school this morning, I noticed that the
maples in front of it are at peak.”
I turned slightly in my seat. “Speaking of the old courthouse, did you hear the chatter about
the controversy surrounding the sale of the land it sits on?”
“I heard that the agreement Hank Weston negotiated for the building constructed on Weston
land, but leased to the town, was due for renewal this past summer, and Adam Weston, the
current Weston heir responsible for the land, hopes to sell the land and the building that sits on it
to a developer from Chicago named Mason Newton. I don’t know much more than that, although
Mike did mention that some folks aren’t happy about the proposed sale of the property even
though the old courthouse has stood empty since the building that houses the new courthouse and
town offices was built in two thousand eight.”

“The old courthouse may currently serve no purpose, and while it’s true that it’s slowly
crumbling away after years of neglect, I think the controversy has more to do with the
preservation of history than it has to do with functionality.”
Bree turned onto Second Street and then slowed to look for a place to park near the fabric
and craft store. “If they tear the building down, I guess that I’ll miss the reading of the town
charter on the steps of the old courthouse on Founders Day, the duck pond, and the beautiful park
that surrounds the building that’s such a lovely place to sit and sip a coffee; however, I do worry
about the building itself. A lack of maintenance really has made it a safety hazard.”
I supposed that much was true.
“Do you know what the developer who wants to buy the property plans to do with the land?”
Bree pulled alongside the curb just two doors down from our destination.
“No, not really. I just heard that the old courthouse would be torn down. Maybe someone
attending the merchants’ meeting this evening will know more about it. If the opportunity
presents itself, I guess I’ll ask around.”
“Maybe we should just ask Sue,” Bree suggested as she turned off the minivan, unbuckled
her seat belt, and opened the driver’s side door. “Sue is a Wade and the Wades and Westons tend
to keep track of each other.”
Bree wasn’t wrong about that. Sue did seem to be in the know more often than not.
Not only were the Wades and Westons interconnected, but they were also about as close to
royalty as you could get in this part of Montana. Between the two families, they owned a
majority of the land in town and controlled most of the wealth.
Hank Weston originally met Dillinger Wade at the mining camp that existed long before
White Eagle was a town. Dillinger had family money, and Hank struck it rich in mining. After
the gold rush, the two men joined forces and built an even larger fortune in the lumber industry.
In nineteen forty-five, they founded the town of White Eagle.
Shortly after that, Hank met Dillinger’s sister, Hillary, when she came for a visit. The two
married and had three sons, Adam, Carson, and Joseph.
Dillinger married a woman named Alberta, and they likewise had three sons, Austin,
Jonathan, and Theodore. Sue Wade was one of Jonathan’s daughters, which made her Dillinger
Wade’s granddaughter. While Sue’s family line hadn’t ended up with the abundance of cash other
local Wades seemed to enjoy, Sue generally seemed to know what was going on within both the
Wade and Weston families.
As we stepped into Sue’s Sewing Nook, I took a moment to appreciate the effort Sue had put
into creating a mood. Sue was the crafty sort of person who always went all out with her holiday
décor. Even though I didn’t sew and had no desire to learn, I enjoyed visiting her shop during the
holidays. Originally, Sue sold fabric, thread, and other sewing supplies exclusively; however, as
time passed and trends evolved, she expanded and now offered both sewing and needlework
supplies as well as a few craft and decorating items. My favorite this year was the Halloween
village on display. Not only had Sue taken the time to build a fantasy village for her customers to
enjoy, but she also sold the individual Halloween village pieces so they could build their own
spooky hamlet.

“Can I help you, ladies?” Sue asked once the customer she’d been helping when Bree and I
walked in had completed her purchase and left.
“I need fabric and a pattern for a yellow princess dress,” Bree informed her. “I’m also getting
desperate enough to consider making my own Bluey costume. I don’t suppose you have fabric
and a pattern that will work for that.”
Sue tapped her lower lip with her index finger. “I can definitely help you with the princess
dress, but a Bluey costume might be a bit more of a challenge. Is this for Michael?”
Bree confirmed that it was.
“Calista’s son, Jeffrey, dressed as Bluey for Halloween last year. I think he was around
Michael’s size back then. I’d be happy to call Calista and ask if she still has the costume and if
she’s willing to lend or sell it to you if she does.”
Calista was married to Ronald Wade, Theodore Wade’s son, which I guessed made her a
cousin-by-marriage to Sue.
“That would be great,” Bree responded.
As it turned out, Calista still had the costume and was happy to give it to Bree in exchange
for an early copy of the highly anticipated soon-to-be-released novel by one of the most popular
authors of the moment. Bree, who owned the local bookstore, assured Calista that she’d set a
copy aside for her the minute they arrived.
I could see that Bree was relieved to have a princess dress pattern in hand and a wide
selection of yellow fabric to choose from, and was thrilled to have found a Bluey costume. Since
Tommi was only three, she wasn’t as selective as Ella, who would be seven in December, but I
could already see that there would come a time when I would be the one desperately looking for
the highly desired costume or toy.
Remembering the conversation Bree and I had been engaged in on the way to Sue’s, I
decided to ask Sue what she knew about the man who wanted to buy the land where the old
courthouse stood as she measured the yellow fabric Bree had selected for Ella’s princess dress.
“I don’t really know more than anyone else,” Sue shared. “I know that Adam decided to sell
the land the building sits on once the lease came up for renewal. I know that a developer named
Mason Newton, who is from out of the area, is hoping to buy it. If the sale goes through, he plans
to tear down the old building, but he’ll need approval from the town council to do so.”
It seemed that Sue actually knew quite a bit.
Sue continued. “I also heard that Newton wants to use the land to build an indoor mall. Other
than that, I don’t know much.”
“Indoor mall?” Bree asked. “Do you think something like an indoor mall will be profitable in
a small town like White Eagle?”
Sue answered. “I guess this developer has built malls similar to the one he hopes to build
here in both Helena and Missoula. From what I hear, they seem to be doing well, though I don’t
know much about the project. I’m actually hoping to find out more about what’s going on at the
meeting tonight.”
“Do you think the project will be discussed?” I asked.

“I know it will be. The developer who wants to tear down the old courthouse plans to present
his project to the merchants this evening. I think he’s hoping to garner the backing of enough of
the merchants that the group as a whole will support his idea.”
“Does this man need the support of the merchants?” I asked.
“As I mentioned before, our town charter requires a positive vote from the town council
before a project as large as the one Newton is proposing can move forward. I suspect that the
developer has rightfully concluded that the support of the merchants will go a long way toward
swaying the town council to vote in his favor.”
I imagined having the support of the merchants would go a long way toward gaining the
town council’s approval.
Bree thanked Sue for all her help with the costumes, and then we left to stop by Bree’s so I
could get my Jeep. Since Bree had to pick up Ella from the elementary school after we picked up
Michael and Tommi from preschool, it made more sense for me to grab my Jeep first so I could
head directly home to meet my dad after I stopped to pick up my daughter.

Chapter 2

“Daddy’s home!” Tommi yelled at the top of her lungs the minute we turned off the highway
onto the private drive that led up to our home.
“He got back from Missoula earlier than I expected,” I replied with close to as much
enthusiasm as my daughter had expressed. I slowed my Jeep as the family dogs, Tilly, Titan, and
Kody, came running up to greet us.
Tony worked from home most of the time, but for the past couple of months he’d been
working with his best friend and sometimes business partner, Shaggy, on a new project now that
the game featuring Zephyra was ready for release. The men had decided to use a new graphic
artist for the current project, which seemed to require making the drive to Missoula a couple of
times a week.
“Can we put the Halloween village up?” Tommi asked as I unbuckled her from her car seat
and helped her out of the Jeep and onto the ground.
I’d given in to my impulse and purchased at least twenty Halloween village pieces from Sue
while Bree was busy making her fabric selection.
“We’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Daddy and I have a meeting tonight, and Dapa is coming
to stay with you.”
Dapa was the name all the grandkids called my father. It had started with Ella, who couldn’t
say Grandpa when she was younger and settled on Dapa. Once Ella established Dapa as a
substitute term for Grandpa, all the kids had jumped on the Dapa bandwagon. Of course, since
my dad was supposed to be a family friend and not the children’s grandfather, calling Dad

anything other than Hank was tricky, but when anyone asked, we said that Dapa was a nickname
that had to do with affection more than blood history.
“Can Dapa help me with the Halloween village?” Tommi asked as we walked toward the
front door of the house with the dogs.
I hesitated since I really wanted to set up the Halloween village with Tommi myself,
especially since Tony had been working with her on the costumes. But since I knew it would
mean a lot to Dad as well, I agreed that it was fine with me if Dapa wanted to help her with the
Halloween village.
Once we entered the house, the family cats, Tang and Tinder, greeted us. Tommi loved all the
animals, but she shared a special bond with Tilly, so once the cats and the other dogs had headed
into the kitchen to look for food, Tommi and Tilly snuggled up on the sofa.
Tony had made lasagna for dinner before he left for Missoula that morning, so once hugs and
kisses were shared all around, he put the lasagna in the oven, turned on the TV, and found Peppa
Pig for Tommi to watch. Then he poured me a glass of wine to sip while he made a salad and
buttered the bread.
One of my very favorite things in the world was sitting at the kitchen counter sipping a glass
of wine while Tony cooked. Tony loved to cook. He considered cooking a form of art. He always
took his time and did it right. He scoured farmers markets for the freshest ingredients, grew his
own herbs in a window garden, and tended a small patch of dirt just off the patio during the
warm summer months so we’d have fresh fruits and vegetables. Tony was the sort of person who
carefully seasoned his meats, then cooked them slowly to sear in the flavor. I loved watching it
all, every sexy movement and tender caress, but my favorite thing to watch was Tony preparing
the pasta and pizza dough he created from scratch and kneaded to perfection.
Looking back, I think I first fell in love with Tony while watching him cook. The attention to
detail he brought to the task seemed to confirm what I already suspected. Tony would be a
devoted husband, responsive partner, and attentive father.
“What time will Hank be here?” Tony asked.
I noticed that Tony did a much better job remembering to refer to my dad by his new name,
Hank Hannigan, than I did. Given that my dad, Grant Thomas, had gone to a lot of trouble to kill
off Grant Thomas and resurrect himself as Hank Hannigan, I knew it was important to let Grant
Thomas rest in peace. But the man was my father, and I had to admit that completely removing
the term “dad” from my vocabulary when speaking to or about him was much harder than I
originally thought.
“I’m not sure. I asked him to be here by six-thirty, and he said he might come by early. Since
it would be nice if he was here in time to have dinner with us, I’ll text to let him know you made
lasagna.”
I texted my dad, who responded and said he’d be here around five-thirty. It was four-thirty
now. Tony announced that he was going outside to check the orange lights he’d strung now that
the sun had set and it was beginning to get dark. He’d had a few strings that kept blowing one of
the fuses, and he wanted to ensure everything was working after he’d fixed it earlier in the day.
Tommi was still watching her cartoons, so I headed upstairs to freshen up. Not that a merchants’
meeting was the sort of thing one needed to dress up for, but it had been dusty in the holiday

store, and I’d somehow managed to get something gray all over my pants. A clean pair of jeans
and a warm autumn sweater seemed to be the least I could do.
As I dressed, I peered out the second-story window overlooking the patio and the lake. Our
property looked like something you’d find at Disneyland. It really was true that Tony had gone
crazy with the decorations. Bree was right about it being odd that Tony was so into the décor.
When we were younger, I was the one all about adornments, while Tony never bothered;
however, things had changed since that first Christmas when Tony and I had selected and
decorated the tree together. Not only had they changed between us as a couple, but they also
changed the way we interacted with the world. Now, Tony was much more apt to go all out for
the holidays than I was. Although I had to admit that I loved the holidays and the flourish and
fantasy they brought to our lives.
By the time I headed back downstairs, Tony had come back in from his light patrol, and
Hank had arrived. Tommi loved her Dapa and wanted to share everything new and exciting in
her life with him, so we left Tommi and Dapa together to catch up while Tony and I got the meal
on the table.
“I ran into Hap when Shaggy and I stopped to grab a couple of sandwiches for lunch after we
got back into town today,” Tony informed me.
“And what did Hap have to say?”
Hap Hollister owned the local hardware and home supply store. He was a lifelong resident of
White Eagle, and one of my very favorite people. During the years when Tilly and I handled a
regular mail route, we’d stop to chat with Hap most days, and warmed up next to his pot-bellied
stove on cold days. He was not only a welcoming and friendly person, but he usually knew
everything that was going on in town better than most.
“He told me that the merchants are meeting with the developer who wants to buy the old
courthouse and the land it sits on.”
“Yeah. When Bree and I stopped at Sue’s store so Bree could buy a pattern and fabric for
Ella’s Halloween costume, Sue mentioned that the developer, a guy named Mason Newton, was
going to meet with the merchants to try to gain their support for his project. Sue mentioned an
indoor shopping mall. A small one with maybe a dozen shops, not a big one like the malls you
find in the city. An indoor mall with places to shop without needing to go outside might be nice
in the winter, but I’m not sure how I feel about the loss of the courthouse and the park.”
“I suspect that the topic of the teardown of the old courthouse is going to be an emotional
one. At least the developer has found a large plot of land that’s actually for sale for this project
and isn’t trying to create space where space doesn’t naturally exist, as I understand he’s done in
the past.”
“Create space where none exists?” I asked.
Tony answered. “I don’t have all the details, but when I was in town today, I heard a couple
of town council members mention that Newton had bought up a bunch of land in Helena for his
mall. Apparently, he arranged to buy the property from a landowner who’d developed the land
and had been leasing the space to existing retailers. As the leases with each merchant came due,
the landowner, who’d struck up a deal with Newton, refused to renew them.”
“So the men and women who had established businesses in these buildings were out of luck.”

“Basically. I think a few moved to other locations, while others just shut their doors and went
out of business.”
“Why would the landlord do that?”
“The landlord was able to sell the property to Newton for a huge profit. While that was nice
for the landlord, it was devastating for the merchants who lost their businesses in the land grab.”
“That’s terrible.”
“It is. It isn’t, however, what’s going on in our town. Still, I imagine there will be controversy
attached to the proposal. I hope it doesn’t totally overshadow our update on the Halloween
Festival.”
I smiled. “I’m sure the merchants will give their attention to both issues.”
During dinner, the conversation centered on things that Tommi was interested in, such as
Tony’s new game, Uncle Shaggy’s new girlfriend, and Dapa’s lack of decorations at the cabin in
the woods he built with his own hands. Tony promised to share all of the new game’s details with
Tommi once he and Shaggy had settled on a concept. Tony also reminded Tommi that Uncle
Shaggy’s new girlfriend was a subject she should talk to Uncle Shaggy about. And Dapa
promised not only to buy some lights for his place when he was in town tomorrow, but to help
her with the Halloween village Mommy had brought home tonight as long as it was okay with
Mommy.
Mommy assured him that was fine, and Tommi and Dapa began making plans.
As I sat at the kitchen table Tony had refinished this past summer with my little family, I
found myself smiling. Like most little girls, I supposed that I’d dreamed about having a family of
my own one day, but I’d never been the sort of person who really focused on that aspect of my
life to the exclusion of all others. In fact, I really hadn’t been focused on a husband and child at
all until Tony had managed to penetrate the friend zone, making us a couple, and Tommi had
come along, making us a family.
“We should be back by nine-thirty,” I shared with my dad as we gathered our belongings to
head out into the chilly night. “No matter what she tells you, Tommi’s bedtime is eight-thirty.
She’ll want you to read to her once you get her tucked in, which is fine, but lights are to be
turned off by nine, no matter what.”
“Aye aye, captain.” Dad faked a salute.
I rolled my eyes at him. I knew that it was Dad’s opinion that I was too rigid with Tommi
over certain things, such as bedtimes, but Dad had been a lot more rigid than I’d ever be when
he’d lived at home with Mom, Mike, and me before he’d “died” when I was fourteen.
“I’ll text you if we’re going to be late.” I kissed Dad on the cheek and Tommi on the top of
the head, and then followed Tony out onto the drive.
The lakeside mansion we lived in was about twenty minutes from town as long as the roads
were okay. We’d had a light dusting of snow last week, but nothing significant yet this year, so
making the trip in twenty minutes wouldn’t be a problem.
Once we arrived at the community center, which was two doors down from the old
courthouse that would be the topic of conversation for tonight’s meeting, Hap, who was handing

out sweaters, greeted us. Shortly after the time the meeting was scheduled to begin, Hap began to
speak.
“Welcome, everyone. Those of you who are merchants should have received a sweater when
you walked in. Let me know if you’re a member of the merchants’ association and didn’t get
one. All merchants should wear the sweaters during the Halloween Festival so we, as a group,
can present a united theme. Those of you who may want to wear the sweaters between now and
the festival are encouraged to do so. Since we want to get folks excited about coming downtown
and visiting our shops during the celebration, the event committee felt it was important to start
the marketing aspect early.”
Nearly every merchant in attendance donned the sweater they had been given when they
walked in. Of course, Mike, Tony, and I weren’t merchants, so we didn’t receive a sweater, but
Bree owned the local bookstore, the Book Boutique, so she was presented with a sweater, as
were the majority of the other individuals present.
“It looks like our featured speaker, Mason Newton, is running late, so perhaps we’ll mix
things up and ask Tony to start with an update on the Halloween Festival.”
Tony took the microphone Hap handed him and went over the plans that were in place for the
Halloween event. He clearly differentiated between plans that had been decided upon but not yet
implemented and ideas that still required a vote before proceeding.
The merchants asked a few questions, and then Hap took the microphone back. “It appears
that Mr. Newton won’t be able to join us this evening as planned. I’m not sure what happened. I
tried calling him, but his cell phone went directly to voicemail. I realize many of you had
questions for the man, and I am truly sorry for the delay in having him come to our meeting to
answer them. If there isn’t any other business to discuss, I guess we’ll adjourn early.”
A few people asked questions about the pancake breakfast, community parade, kiddie
carnival, and craft fair, which didn’t take long to answer, and then Hap adjourned the meeting.
“Let’s get some pie and coffee,” Tony suggested.
“I’d love some,” I responded.
“I think we’ll skip it. Mike and I really need to get home,” Bree answered on behalf of both
her and her husband. Given Bree’s comment about putting on a few pounds, I suspected that
she’d decided to go on a diet. I was sorry Mike and Bree weren’t coming along, but I was happy
to have some time alone with my husband. The Pied Piper was new to our town, which meant
there were lots of new varieties to try. I ordered a slice of boysenberry pie with ice cream, and
Tony ordered a slice of the banana cream cheesecake. Both were delicious.
It was as we were finishing up that we first heard the sirens. By the time we’d grabbed our
check and paid, the sirens had stopped, but the lights from the police cars reflecting off the cloud
cover overhead could be seen for miles.
“I wonder what happened,” I commented.
“No idea, but I’d like to find out.”

Chapter 3

Mason Newton’s death by gunshot to the heart was the only thing anyone was talking about
the following day. Most felt that he was murdered by someone so bent on preventing the
destruction of the old courthouse that they were willing to kill for it, while others felt that the
man’s death likely came from a motive more personal in nature. A few folks even suggested that
Newton might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Poor Mike had worked tirelessly through the night, determined to collect any evidence that
might be destroyed by the forecasted rain that threatened to wash it all away. The murder of a
rich big-city developer was no small thing for a small-town cop like Mike, so Mike was
determined to do everything perfectly by the book.
“Here’s what we know,” Mike said to Tony and me later that day after he’d called us into his
office for a consultation. “Mason Newton was shot in the chest with a small-caliber handgun on
the front steps of the old courthouse, shortly before his body was found by a jogger. The county
coroner puts the time of death between six-thirty and seven-thirty p.m. Since Newton was due to
give his presentation at the merchants’ meeting at seven o’clock, we’re assuming at this point
that whatever happened occurred while he was making his way to the community center. Even
though we don’t have an official autopsy report to confirm any of this yet, these facts seem to
work with the timeline we’re putting together, which has the jogger finding the body just after
eight-thirty.”
“People were coming and going from the merchants’ meeting all evening. People have
different work schedules and many of the merchants stopped on their way home once they closed

or were off for the day,” I pointed out. “It seems like someone would have seen or heard
something.”
“Someone may have seen or heard something, but nothing was reported. We’re assuming the
killer used a silencer. Perhaps even a homemade device. It’s hard to say at this point since no one
we’ve spoken to remembers hearing a gunshot. Also, based on the lack of defensive wounds
readily visible on the victim’s body, it doesn’t appear that there had been an altercation before the
shooting. Of course, as I indicated, since we don’t have the autopsy results back yet, all I have to
go on is what I observed with my own eyes.”
“Do you have any forensic evidence?” Tony asked.
“Unfortunately, we have very little to go on. All we know at this point is where the man died
and approximately when. Since it rained earlier in the day, I wasn’t surprised that we found
muddy footprints at the foot of the steps where the man’s body was found. There were two sets
of footprints that appeared to be from men’s shoes; one a size ten, and the other a size eleven.
Neither set of footprints matches the shoes Newton was wearing when his body was found, so
we aren’t operating under the assumption that the footprints were left by the victim and the killer
at this point. It’s possible that one of the sets of footprints was left by the killer, but it’s just as
possible that the footprints were left by random passersby before the murder occurred.”
Since the courthouse was permanently closed, there wasn’t much foot traffic near the
entrance, but the veranda was covered, so it seemed possible that someone might have used the
shelter provided by the entryway to duck out of the rain at some point during the day.
“I know that you and Tony planned to have pie and coffee after the meeting,” Mike
continued. “Bree and I actually left before you did. Was anyone else still around when you
finally left?”
“Carl Hartford hung back to ask Tony about the road closures,” I answered. “He wanted to be
sure that the road closures created by the parade would be well publicized, and that the event
committee was sensitive to the needs of the merchants along Main who would need to deal with
a lack of parking during the event.”
“And did he leave before or after you did?” Mike asked.
“He took a call just as Tess and I were about to leave. He was still standing in front of the
community center as we drove away,” Tony responded.
“Just because Carl was the last one in the area doesn’t mean he killed anyone,” I pointed out.
“I wasn’t thinking that,” Mike said. “In fact, due to the preliminary time of death, it seems
likely that Newton was dead before the meeting was adjourned. I was just curious who might
have been around and who might have seen something.”
I guessed that made sense. “The town installed a security camera after the break-in at the old
courthouse two summers ago. Did it pick up anything?”
Mike nodded. “The security camera did pick up something, but unfortunately, the security
camera was tampered with at some point after it was installed. The lens currently points outward
at an odd angle. While we weren’t able to pick up an identifying feature, such as a face, we did
see Newton walking toward the courthouse around six forty-five before he disappeared into the

shadows. Then, about thirty-five minutes later, just after seven-twenty, we saw someone walking
away from the courthouse.”
“Maybe it was Newton walking away,” Tony suggested.
“It wasn’t Newton who was walking away. Newton was wearing a white dress shirt and a
dark blue suit jacket when he walked toward the building. The individual caught by the security
camera walking away from the courthouse wore one of the brand-new merchant sweaters that
were handed out for the very first time at the merchants’ meeting last night.”
I raised a brow. “One of the merchants killed Newton?”
“That’s the way it looks. When I spoke to Hap and asked if any of the sweaters had been
distributed early, he said no. I guess he’d just picked the sweaters up from the vendor that day.
He said that he took two sweaters out of the box before the meeting. His and Hattie’s. All the
other sweaters were brought to the meeting for distribution to the merchants who showed up. I
asked Hap what time he arrived, and he said he was there by six-thirty for the seven o’clock
meeting, and distributed the sweaters as each merchant arrived.”
“So if the individual walking away from the old courthouse was the killer, then the killer was
likely someone who’d been to the meeting.”
Mike nodded. “That’s the way it looks. Of course, there are other explanations for what
occurred, but a merchant as the killer is the theory I’m working from at this time.”
“Is there any way to narrow down the identity of the individual you saw on the security
camera’s feed?” Tony asked. “Even if the security camera was pointing at an odd angle, you
must have been able to distinguish specifics like height and body composition.”
“The individual walking away from the courthouse wearing one of the brand-new sweaters
the merchants were given at the merchants’ meeting appears to be of average height. I think I can
eliminate someone as tall as Hap or as short as Bree, but both Tess and I would fall into the
realm of average, which I would estimate to be between five feet six inches and five feet eleven
inches. It really is hard to say without a frame of reference.”
“And body composition?” I asked.
“Average again. Not fat and not super thin. The sweaters are bulky, which naturally hides a
lot of detail, making this even harder. It was dark, but it appeared the individual had short dark
hair. At this point, we’re assuming the individual caught on the security camera’s feed was
male.”
“So how can we help?” I asked. “Since you called Tony and me down here, you must have a
reason for doing so.”
“I do have a reason for asking you and Tony to meet me here. I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“Given that one of the merchants who was likely in attendance at the meeting last night was
seen walking away from the scene of the murder and could be the killer, Frank and I decided that
one of us, or someone acting on our behalf, needs to interview every merchant who attended the
merchants’ meeting. The thing is, after discussing it further, we realized that the merchants on
Main Street are a close-knit group. Frank felt that we might learn more if someone the merchants

trusted, but who wasn’t a cop, conducted the interviews. Given that you’re easy to talk to and the
merchants already like and confide in you, we decided that you’d be the natural choice, Tess.”
Frank Hudson was Mike’s partner and the second officer who worked out of the White Eagle
office.
“Do you want me to call everyone into the police station and interview them?”
“No, Frank and I both feel that speaking to the merchants in a more relaxed atmosphere
might garner better information. Frank and I are putting together a list of every merchant who
attended the meeting last night, and we’d like you to visit these merchants in their places of
business and casually engage them in conversations. See what they have to share. Pay attention
to their body language. That sort of thing.”
I frowned. “So you want me to walk up and down Main Street, enter the various businesses,
and start asking people about the murder.”
“No. That sort of behavior is less likely to result in the information we need than a casual
conversation would.”
I wasn’t sure where Mike was going with this, so I just waited for him to continue.
“I spoke to Jane Watson at the post office. She took over as manager after the old manager
left, which I guess you know. Anyway, Jane was a good sport and has agreed to let you fill in for
the new girl, Janice, on your old route, even though I didn’t fully read her in on the situation. All
you have to do is accept this temporary assignment, which no one will question since you’ve
previously filled in for mail carriers, and then you can talk to people while delivering the mail on
your old route. We both know you have a nose for snooping. One of the best noses I’ve ever
come across.”
Now, Mike was really buttering me up, but I realized that taking over my old mail route for a
few days while I tried to find out who might know what happened or who might have heard the
best piece of gossip wasn’t the worst idea I’d ever heard. ...