Catering to Murder

A SHELBY NICHOLS ADVENTURE

Colleen Helme

Copyright © 2017 by Colleen Helme.

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Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

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Catering to Murder/ Colleen Helme. -- 1st ed.

DEDICATION

To some great ladies who let me use their

names in this book!

Shannon

Jeanie

Denise

Sabrina

Kim

Lynn

The Shelby Nichols Adventure Series

Carrots

Fast Money

Lie or Die

Secrets That Kill

Trapped by Revenge

Deep in Death

Crossing Danger

Devious Minds

Hidden Deception

Laced in Lies

Deadly Escape

Devil in a Black Suit ~ A Ramos Adventure

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 1

T he scent of sizzling bacon swirled on the breeze, bringing an appreciative smile of anticipation to my lips. I crossed the plaza to the entrance of this famous breakfast café to meet Shannon, my childhood friend. She’d invited me here to ask for my advice about an exciting opportunity. It sounded harmless enough, and the chance to have an amazing breakfast sealed the deal. I just hoped it didn’t turn out to be something I’d regret. But seriously… what could go wrong?

I’d recently helped Shannon and her husband Kyle with their troubled nephew, Keola, which had earned me their trust in my “psychic ability,” even though calling it that wasn’t exactly the truth. I told people I had premonitions in order to keep my real ability… that of reading minds… a closely guarded secret. It mostly worked, although I’d had to tell the local mob-boss, Uncle Joey, that I could read minds so he wouldn’t kill me.

Now I worked for him. In fact, I’d become so deeply entrenched in his organization that he considered me, along with my husband and kids, part of the “family.” Just thinking about it sent a rush of dread through my stomach and killed my appetite. Since I wanted to enjoy my breakfast, I pushed that unsolvable predicament from my mind and entered the restaurant.

Shannon sat in a corner booth and waved me over with a smile. Her mind overflowed with anticipation and excitement, and I picked up that she could hardly wait to confide in me. She was thinking that, with my premonitions, I’d know if leasing the space next door was the right move. How awesome was that… and wasn’t it great to have a friend with premonitions?

My smile faltered, and even the tantalizing scent of bacon lost its appeal. Dang… this was not what I’d expected. It put me in a tight spot. I listened closely to her thoughts but couldn’t pick up anything else before I slid into the booth across from her.

“Hey Shelby, thanks for meeting me.”

Her smile faltered at the frown on my face, so I smiled and quickly responded. “Sure. How’ve you been? Feeling okay?” She’d found out a few weeks ago that she was pregnant for the first time after years of trying to have a baby. I couldn’t imagine having a newborn at my age, and I was grateful it was her and not me.

A waiter took our orders, and we spoke for several minutes about her condition and what was going on in her family. I especially wanted to know how her teenage nephew, Keola, was doing after being involved with the Polynesian gang and recent drug bust. Since I’d shared a few tense moments with him, I hoped he’d recovered and come out a little wiser.

“I think he’s learned his lesson,” she replied. “Especially after getting beaten up so badly. His jaw was broken, so they had to wire it shut, and he’s still got lots of bruises, but he’s getting better.” Her gaze caught mine, and she lowered her voice. “I thought for sure he’d get arrested for selling drugs, but… it sounds like Big Kahuna… or someone,” she glanced pointedly my way, “took care of it.” She hoped that it was me and not the gang leader, Big Kahuna, since she didn’t want her husband indebted to the gang. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Uh… not much,” I said, lying through my teeth. “But I think as long as Keola stays away from the gang he should be fine.” I didn’t mention that, because of my influence with the police, I’d kept the gang’s participation in the drug bust to a minimum, mostly because Big Kahuna had helped me out of a sticky situation.

To my relief, the server brought our food, effectively ending that uncomfortable topic, and we both dug in, enjoying each bite of our omelets. As we finished up, Shannon broached the subject of why she’d asked me to come. “With the baby coming, I’m thinking of making a career change that will give me some independence. Do you remember my sisters, Kim and Sabrina?”

“Yeah, sure. They’re both older than us, right?”

“Yes. Now that their kids are mostly grown up, they’re looking for something fun to do. You might not know this, but Sabrina spent six months in France at a culinary school after college. She’s a great cook, but with her marriage and kids, she never did much with her cooking. When I suggested we open a bakery together, they jumped all over it.”

“Oh wow, that’s cool,” I said. “Does she know how to make Dirty Johnnies?” At her blank stare, I continued. “It’s a combination of a chocolate chip cookie base, then a fudge brownie, and topped with this yummy, fudge frosting.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing.”

“Yeah, another bakery makes them, so you’d probably have to come up with your own recipe and call it something else, but it could be a best-seller. What about macarons? Can she make those?” I’d become a real fan of them in Paris.

Shannon smiled. “Yes. She can make all of those yummy French pastries and breads. Kim’s been learning from her, and she loves the whole cooking thing, too. Me… not so much, but I got my degree in marketing, so I can use my talents that way. I think it’s a perfect fit to starting our own business.”

“Yeah, it sounds great. So what do you need me for?” I picked up that they’d pretty much made up their minds to go for it.

“Well,” she said, hoping I took it the right way. She trusted my premonitions. Since it was a huge investment, she wanted to have that extra assurance from me that they would succeed. “I was wondering if maybe you could do your thing and get a premonition about it. You know… and tell me if we should go ahead.”

Yikes… talk about pressure.

Noting my hesitation, she continued, “I don’t know how it works for you, but the place we’re thinking of leasing is right next door. That’s why I wanted to meet you here. I thought if you went inside, you’d get a better feel for it. The realtor should be here any minute, and she’ll let us in. What do you think? Will that work?”

“Uh… yeah,” I agreed, going along with her reasoning, even though it was all a lie. “It’s always a good idea to have something physical to touch, so that should help. But… I just need you to know that my premonitions aren’t always perfect. I mean… sometimes it’s more of a feeling than a distinct answer. I hate to have you base your whole decision on me, but I’ll do my best.”

“Oh… of course. That’s all I ask.” She smiled, thinking that I was one-hundred percent right when I’d gotten my premonition that she was pregnant before she’d told another soul, but she figured I had to protect myself and leave a way out in case I didn’t get anything.

“And it’s okay to tell me if you get a bad feeling about it,” she continued. “I mean… if the location seems off, we can always look somewhere else.” But she didn’t think they’d ever find a better place. This brand new mixed-use development was pretty amazing. With all the new shops and apartments, it had a nice upscale, yet homey, feel.

“Sounds good.” I nodded, glad she’d given me an out. I picked up that she and her sisters had basically decided it was a done deal, so maybe I wouldn’t get blamed if anything went wrong.

Just then, a woman spotted Shannon from the entrance and hurried to our table. Shannon introduced her as the realtor, Denise. After paying our bill, we followed her outside to stand in front of the empty rental space next door.

“This space was leased to a caterer,” Denise explained. “So it’s all decked out with the latest equipment for commercial cooking. Perfect for what Shannon and her sisters want to do. The development owner is willing to let them do some remodeling if they want to sign the lease, so I think it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

“That’s cool,” I said, but a sense of foreboding ran down my spine. “Uh… just out of curiosity, who owns this new development?”

She glanced at her papers. “Let’s see… it looks like a company called Thrasher Development.”

My breath caught. Oh great! That was Uncle Joey’s company. Did that mean if Shannon leased the space that she might have to pay Uncle Joey a percentage of her profits for some reason? I wasn’t sure how Uncle Joey’s business worked, but I knew from experience that some of his tenants had dealings with him. Of course, what would he want with a bakery? Most of his business dealings could be totally legitimate, so maybe this one was too?

Denise unlocked the door. She was thinking that having a bakery right next to the thriving breakfast restaurant was a good move. People who came for breakfast might be drawn to the bakery for something yummy to eat later, which made for a nice customer base already in place. It would also be the only bakery in the whole development, which wasn’t anything to sneeze at either.

She had a point, so at least that part sounded good and was definitely something I could use as part of my ‘premonition’ about the place. Still, I didn’t want Shannon involved with the mob, so I’d probably have to ask Uncle Joey about the whole deal before I gave her the go ahead.

Denise paused in front of the doors and motioned toward an awning that covered part of the sidewalk. “There’s enough space here for a couple of tables and chairs for anyone who wanted to eat outside. Isn’t that great?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Just like Paris.”

Shannon grinned with excitement. “Wait until you see the kitchen!”

Denise pushed the door open and held it for us to enter. “There’s room here for about four or five little tables and chairs as well. The counter with the glass display case is plenty big enough to show off your baked goods, and you could decorate the walls with photos of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and all that cool stuff.”

I loved the setting, and the light that came through the windows really brightened up the space. We followed her around the display case and through the doorway into a kitchen with top-of-the-line commercial ovens, a huge refrigerator, a couple of sinks, two dishwashers, and plenty of counter space, all done in stainless steel. “Whoa. This is amazing. I can see why you like it.”

“Yeah,” Shannon said, practically glowing with excitement. “It’s got all the basics, along with plenty of counter space for mixing up the recipes, and all the oven space we’d need for cooking.”

I opened the fridge and found a box of baking soda on a shelf in the back corner, but other than that, it was empty.

“Everything’s been professionally cleaned,” Denise said. “Now all you need to do is add your personal touch to make it your own.”

“Is there a back entrance?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “Right through here is the back door. It opens into a private driveway that all of the businesses here use for deliveries.” We walked down a short hallway to an outside door, passing another door that had “storage” written on it.

She unlocked the outside door, and we stepped through. There was enough room for a delivery truck, and a brick wall separated the driveway from the residential area on the other side.

After Denise commented on how great that was, we followed her back inside. As we passed the storage room, she was hoping that I wouldn’t ask to see it. The previous renter had left it in a mess. Shannon hadn’t examined it closely and, since my opinion seemed to matter to Shannon, Denise didn’t want me to jeopardize the deal.

“What’s in there?” I asked Denise, not about to let her pull something over on me.

She sighed before turning to me, then pasted a bright smile on her face. “Oh… that’s just a small storage room. It’s kind of a mess, but I promised Shannon I’d get someone in there to clean it up and haul away what she didn’t want before anything was signed.” She took a step toward the kitchen, hoping that put an end to the subject.

“I’d like to see it,” I said. “Is there anything useful in there?”

Denise turned back and shrugged. “I think there’s some of those metal storage shelves and an old chest freezer that the renter brought in.” Disappointed that she had to show it to us, she unlocked the door, hoping that I wouldn’t be put off by the canisters and boxes littering the place. The previous renter had used this like a junk room, and it showed.

She pushed the door open and flipped on the light. The musty odor, along with a rancid smell, hit me first, and I wrinkled my nose. The room was unfinished, with a bare concrete floor and unpainted sheet-rock on the walls. But the worst part was the mess on the floor.

A few large canisters and buckets sat open with half of the contents spilled on the floor. Several pots and pans littered the ground, and buckets of cleaning supplies were tipped over on the storage shelves. Nearly every box was opened with half the contents scattered on the ground. With all the clutter, there was barely enough room to step inside.

“Whoa. You’re right,” I agreed. “This is a mess.”

“Yeah,” Shannon said, as if seeing it for the first time. She’d only peeked inside once before and hadn’t noticed how messy it was. “We’ll probably want all of it cleaned out.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “And I think the owner should finish this room as a condition of signing the lease.”

“I think you’re right,” Denise said. “I’ll talk to the owner and work it out.” She was thinking that this room was worse than she’d thought. She hadn’t noticed how jumbled it was before. Now it looked like someone had been throwing things around just for the fun of it. Eager to close the door on that funny smell, she ushered us out of the room.

I followed them to the door, but hesitated. Something wasn’t quite right. It was almost like the room had been searched. Every box and canister had been opened. But why? My gaze came to rest on the freezer. It was the kind that looked like a chest and opened from the top. I took a step toward it, compelled to examine it closer. “That freezer looks old. Do you think it still works?”

Denise pushed in front of Shannon and came to my side. “I have no idea.”

I stepped around a box of plastic utensils and stopped in front of the freezer. The cord was lying on the floor. “Oh… it’s not plugged in. Maybe that’s why it smells so bad in here. Maybe there’s rotten food inside.”

She glanced at me and wrinkled her nose, thinking that would be gross. But, with all the junk in this room, it was a definite possibility.

“You want to open it?” I asked.

“No way,” she said.

I didn’t want to open it either, so I shrugged. “Okay… I guess the owner can deal with it.” Imagining Uncle Joey in here cleaning up this mess was enough to make me grin, even though I was sure he wasn’t involved in this part of the business.

She nodded. “That’s just what I was thinking. I’ll call them when we’re done here.”

We walked back to the door but, once again, I couldn’t seem to leave the room. It was worse this time, and I glanced back inside. Nothing had changed, so what was going on? I shook my head. Then I heard it: a small hiccupping sniffle. Once I recognized the sound, it grew louder, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

Oh no! A chill ran down my spine, and my breath caught. Every once in a while, I not only heard people’s thoughts, but I also caught thoughts from the departed, and it looked like this was one of those times. I shuddered. Did that mean some dead person was in that freezer? Did I have to open it?

“Shelby, are you coming?” Shannon asked.

“Uh… yeah.” I turned to leave, but the noise got louder, and I knew I had to go back inside whether I wanted to or not. “But I think I need to… uh… check something.”

With dread seeping into every part of my being, I stepped back to face the freezer. The sniffling quieted, and I hoped that meant it would stop once I got it opened. I reached toward the handle and unlatched the knob.

“What are you doing?” Denise asked, rushing to my side. “I thought you weren’t…

I quickly lifted the door before I lost my courage. The putrid smell, and a quick glimpse of a decomposing corpse had me jerking away in shock, and I dropped the freezer door with a bang. I hardly heard Denise’s scream, but as it wore on, I grabbed her arm and marched her out of the room.

“Stop that!” I said. “It’s not helping.”

She shut her mouth. Then her eyes rolled back, and she slumped into me in a full-fledged faint. I braced my feet, but her dead weight was too much. I fell back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting sideways on the ground with her lying between my legs.

Shannon’s wide-eyed gaze caught mine. She was thinking how awful that smell was and… was that really a body in there? She hadn’t seen much but… the glimpse of wide-opened eyes and sagging flesh… ugh! The color drained from Shannon’s face. Then she leaned over and threw up all over the floor.

I closed my eyes and swallowed, knowing that if I didn’t pull it together, I’d be throwing up too. Drawing on the inner-mom strength that came from holding sick kids while they threw up on me, I shifted Denise off my legs and hurried to Shannon’s side since she was pregnant, and I didn’t want her fainting on me.

I put my arm around her and held her up, then walked her into the kitchen. I turned on the faucet and told her to wipe her mouth and dab her face with water. “Let’s sit you down on the floor in the other room. Then I’ll see to Denise.”

After getting her settled, I went back for Denise, breathing through my mouth, and keeping my gaze off the floor. I heard moaning but sighed with relief to find that it came from her and not the dead body. I listened for that other sound but, hearing nothing, let out my breath.

Denise blinked her eyes open, and I told her that she’d fainted. After a few minutes, she was ready to get up, so I helped her stand. The tricky part came in stepping around Shannon’s mess and into the other room without either of us losing it.

Once I got Denise into the other room, she insisted on leaving the building. “I can’t stay in here with a dead body.”

“But you have to wait while I call the police. We can’t leave. We’re witnesses.”

Shannon didn’t want to hang around either and managed to stand next to Denise. “We’ll go over to the restaurant while you stay here and call. Besides, I need a drink of water, and… that was a dead body! I can’t stay here either.”

“Okay… fine. Just don’t tell anyone over there what’s going on until the police get here.”

Denise nodded, then took Shannon’s arm, and they hobbled out of the building. I shook my head and took out my phone, ready to call Detective Harris, AKA Dimples, my partner at the police station.

We’d known each other for a year now, and I’d told him I had premonitions in order to explain how I knew things about people. After helping him a few times, the police chief had hired me as a consultant to work for them, and had assigned Dimples to be my partner. It made for an interesting life, since now I not only worked for a mob-boss, but also the police.

That’s when I realized that maybe I’d better let Uncle Joey know too, since this was his building. But… what if he had something to do with it? I groaned. Why did these things always happen to me? With a sigh, I put the call through to Dimples.

“Hey Shelby. What’s up?” he asked, his voice warm and friendly.

“Well… you’re not going to believe this, but I found a dead body.”

“What?”

“Yeah… it’s true. I’m helping a friend, and we were looking at a rental space she wanted to lease with a realtor. Anyway, we found a dead body in the freezer, and it’s pretty bad, mostly because the freezer wasn’t plugged in. How soon can you get here?”

“Holy hell! How do these things always happen to you? Wait… don’t answer that. I’ll alert the team and we’ll leave right away. I’ll need to question all of you, so wait there for me and don’t let anyone enter or exit that place.”

“Okay.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Denise and Shannon had already left. He’d find out soon enough. “Here’s the address.” After giving him the information, we disconnected.

Next, I put a call through to Uncle Joey.

“Shelby,” he answered. “It’s nice to hear from you.”

He said that because he was usually the one who called to ask for my ‘special’ help. That I’d called him usually meant he could do something for me, and he liked having me in his debt.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Uh… I don’t know how to tell you this… but I just found a dead body, and I thought I should let you know since it’s at one of your developments.”

“Oh… that’s too bad. Where are you?” I told him the address and what I was doing there. “How did you know the development belonged to me?”

“Uh… I asked the realtor because my friend is thinking of leasing the space.”

“I see. Well, just so you know… I had nothing to do with whoever it is that’s dead, but thanks for letting me know. Did you call the police?”

“Well… yes. Right before I called you. They should be here soon.”

“All right. Thanks for the heads up. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep my name out of it, but I’m counting on you to let me know if the police mention the connection. Can you do that?”

“Of course,” I agreed.

“Good. Once you’re done there, please come to my office.”

“Okay, but it might be a while, especially if Dimples asks me to help.”

“Take your time. I’ll be here all day.”

We disconnected, and my stomach got a little queasy. Usually a dead body was enough to set me off, but talking to Uncle Joey sometimes had that same effect. Hopefully this wouldn’t turn into something that could get me into trouble.

Just then, Dimples and another detective pulled into the parking lot followed by a couple of police cars. I hurried out to meet them in front of the building. “Hey… that was fast. Glad you’re here.”

“Sure,” he said, thinking that he would never get used to how often this seemed to happen to me. “So where’s the body?” he asked.

“In there,” I answered, pointing to the building.

“Is there a back entrance?” At my nod, Dimples told a couple of the officers to set up a perimeter around the front entrance. Then he asked two other officers to follow him inside and secure the back. Before opening the door, he and Detective Williams slipped on some gloves.

Glancing at me, he handed me a pair. “Here, put these on.”

“Um… okay, but I’ve already touched some things. In fact, my prints, along with Shannon’s and Denise’s are probably all over the place.”

“It’s just standard procedure.”

“Okay.” I slipped them on and followed him into the building.

“Where are the other ladies?” Dimples asked, stopping in his tracks.

“Oh… they’re waiting next door at the restaurant.”

Dimples huffed out a breath and shook his head, then decided to let it go. “Okay. Tell me what happened.” Detective Williams followed behind me, and I explained the whole situation to them both. “Oh… and watch where you step here in the hallway, Shannon had a little accident after she saw the body.”

They both gave the stinky mess a wide berth and stopped in front of the door to the storage room. “The freezer with the body is in there.” As Dimples turned the knob to open the door, I held my nose, worried the smell would get to me this time.

While Williams propped the door open, Dimples glanced at me. “Did you get a good look at the body?”

“No. But I’m pretty sure it’s a woman.”

Dimples nodded and moved to open the freezer.

“Wait! Uh… is it okay if I leave now? I could wait with Denise and Shannon next door. Will that work?”

He glanced at me and shook his head, thinking I was a big chicken. “Okay. But just so I’m clear on this… you’re the one who opened the freezer, right?” At my nod, he continued. “Did anyone else touch it?”

“No. Just me.”

“Okay. Fine. You can go, but make sure you stay with them until I can question all of you.”

“Great. Thanks. I will.” I quickly left before he opened the freezer, grateful I wouldn’t have to see the body again.

The police outside had begun to block off the area with crime-scene tape. As I came out of the building, one of them spotted me and sent me a nod. Then he did a double-take as he recognized me from the short video that had recently been posted on social media. He snickered and motioned to the other police officer, pointing me out. They both took a moment to chuckle before getting back to work.

As I ducked under the tape, my face flamed red from both embarrassment and anger. Would that incident ever stop haunting me? I’d been caught on camera at a recent crime scene with a rip in my pants. That little GIF of me running into the house with my butt showing had gone viral. Luckily, my face wasn’t in the shot, so the only people who knew it was me were the cops, but they laughed about it every time they saw me. I didn’t like it much.

With a huff, I slipped through the crowd that had gathered and hurried into the restaurant. Spotting Shannon and Denise, I rushed over to their table and sat down in the empty chair next to Shannon. “I’m glad that’s over. Dimples wants us to wait here until he’s ready to question us.”

“Dimples what? Who’s Dimples?” Denise asked.

“Oh… I actually work with the police as a consultant, and he’s the detective I work with. When we first met, I forgot his name… and he has these huge dimples in his cheeks, so I just started calling him Dimples. Although… I don’t say that to his face, so you probably shouldn’t either.”

“Okay,” she agreed, smiling and thinking that she’d make sure to get a good look at his face when he came in.

“Are you feeling any better?” I asked her.

“Not really. I think I’ll have nightmares for the rest of my life.” Her thoughts skimmed over the image of the dead person. Something tickled at the back of her mind, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away before she got nauseous and threw up.

“How about you, Shannon?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think so. But… it’s still hard to take in. Who would have thought we’d find a dead body like that? Now I’m not sure what to do about the place.” She was thinking that, as much as she loved it, she didn’t think they could go through with it now, which was kind of sad because it was so perfect for them.

Denise frowned, thinking that Shannon wouldn’t want the place now, which was too bad because it was a perfect spot for a bakery.

I didn’t know if I should encourage her or not since Uncle Joey was involved. On the other hand, he’d probably leave her alone if I had anything to say about it. “Hey Shannon, don’t make up your mind yet. I mean… it’s a pretty good location and set-up. I’m sure once they figure out what happened and arrest the person responsible, it will be okay.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Shannon let out a relieved breath. Did that mean I’d had a premonition about it? And it was okay to go ahead, even with a dead body on the premises? She opened her mouth to ask, but Denise spoke first.

“How long do you think this investigation will take?” Denise thought that, whether Shannon wanted it or not, she didn’t want this dragging out for weeks or even months.

“I don’t know,” I answered. “But I’m pretty sure once they’re done with the crime scene and take the body away, everything should go back to normal… so maybe a day or two.”

“So should we go ahead with the lease?” Shannon asked. “Is that what your premonitions are telling you?” Even with a dead body, Shannon still wanted the place, but only if I agreed.

Denise’s brow puckered, and she stared at me. What was all this premonition stuff about? Did Shannon think I had premonitions? What the hell? If I had premonitions, then why didn’t I know about the dead body ahead of time? She glanced at Shannon, surprised that she believed I was a psychic. But… if it got this place off her hands, who was she to complain? Still… that was just weird.

“Um… I think so, but let’s wait until we talk to the detective. I’ll know better then.” At Shannon’s crestfallen expression, I continued, “I’m sure I’ll get a better feel for it once I have all the facts.” I didn’t add that I also needed to find out how involved Uncle Joey was first.

As Shannon nodded, her phone rang. She checked the caller ID and glanced at me, wondering if she could tell her sister what was going on.

“It’s okay to tell your sister what’s going on,” I blurted, glad to demonstrate my ability just a little, so Denise would know I wasn’t a total flake.

Shannon’s eyes widened, then she nodded and answered her phone, standing up and walking to a spot in the corner for privacy.

Denise’s brows rose with surprise. She wondered if I knew who was calling because of my premonitions, or if it was a lucky guess. She could have guessed that would have been Shannon’s sister, given the circumstances. “So you have premonitions?”

“Uh… yeah… sometimes.”

“Then why didn’t you know there was a dead body in the freezer?” Her brows drew together with stark disapproval. She didn’t believe in anything supernatural and wondered if I was a charlatan taking advantage of unsuspecting people.

I didn’t like her tone. “Why do you think I decided to open it? You wanted to leave and let the owner take care of that room. I knew something was wrong, so I opened it. And I was right.”

“Oh… yeah. I guess that’s true.” She shrugged, not sure what to believe, but uncomfortable just the same. It wasn’t normal, and it kind of freaked her out. She didn’t say any more, but avoided looking me in the eyes after that. She certainly didn’t want me picking up anything about her life, especially since she was having an affair with a married man.

Luckily, the server brought the diet soda that I’d ordered, so Denise didn’t see my eyes widen with surprise. I took a couple of swallows and managed to turn the conversation to what was going on outside with the police.

The white crime-scene van had pulled up several minutes before, and the place was brimming with activity. Since we were stuck there, it was nice to have something outside to focus on, especially since I didn’t want to hear any more about her personal life.

A few minutes later, Shannon finished her conversation and sat down at the table, thinking that her sister, Sabrina, wasn’t too keen on the place after today’s events. But if I thought it was all right, Sabrina would come around.

Just then, Dimples made his way into the restaurant and spotted us. “Ladies,” he began. “I’m Detective Harris. Shelby and I work together. Thanks for waiting. Which one of you is the realtor?”

“I am,” Denise said.

Dimples nodded, then pulled up a chair and gratefully sat down. “We’d like to determine who had access to the building. Were all the doors locked when you got there?”

“Yes,” she said. “As far as I know, I have the only key to the place, unless the last occupant kept one.”

“Who was that?”

“A woman by the name of Jeanie Whitmire. She ran a catering business there until she retired and moved to Florida.”

“Did you ever meet her?”

“Yes. In fact, just yesterday…” Her eyes widened and her breath caught. “Oh no…” She suddenly realized that Jeanie was wearing the same blouse that was on the dead body in the freezer. She covered her mouth in horror. “I think that was her in the freezer.

Chapter 2

I t took Dimples a few minutes to calm Denise down before she could talk. “She was so excited to move.” Denise wiped the unexpected tears from her eyes. “I can’t believe that she’s dead… and in such a horrible way.”

Dimples glanced at me, so I nodded to let him know she was telling the truth. “We didn’t find any identification on the body, so we’ll have to double-check to make sure it’s her, but what more can you tell me? You said she was retiring?”

“Yes. She mentioned that she’d come into some money and didn’t need to work anymore.”

“Where did the money come from?”

“She didn’t say.”

“Do you know if she had any employees?” he asked.

“I know she had a partner. She gave me her card. It’s here in my purse somewhere.” Denise rummaged through her purse before pulling out the card. “Here it is.”

Dimples took it, noting the partner’s name and phone number. “This is great. Thanks. You’ve been very helpful.” He glanced between Denise and Shannon. “You can both go now. If you think of anything else that will help, please call me.” He handed them his business cards before glancing my way. “Shelby, can you stay a minute?”

“Sure.” As they left, I said my goodbyes, then turned to Dimples.

“Could you help me with this?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure,” I agreed. I wanted to help with the case, and I could keep Uncle Joey updated at the same time.

“Great. Let’s head back to the precinct and verify the remains, then I’d like to talk to the partner. Your special skills will certainly come in handy for that.”

“So you think it’s the partner?”

“It’s definitely an inside job, so it’s got to be someone she knew. The coroner estimated the time of death between midnight and early this morning.”

Relief rolled over me. That meant Uncle Joey probably had nothing to do with it. “How did she die?”

“It looks like she was strangled. If you hadn’t opened the freezer, it could have been days before she was discovered. So, even though it was unpleasant, it’s good you found her.”

At the precinct, the remains were quickly identified as a positive match to the caterer, Jeanie Whitmire. Using the police database, Dimples pulled up her name and car registration with her address and business website. Her partner was listed as Lynn McMillan and matched the name on the card Denise had given Dimples.

“Let’s go pay Lynn a visit,” Dimples said.

On the drive, Dimples was thinking about his upcoming wedding. With only three weeks to go, he was a little nervous about this big change in his life. He was also finding it hard to concentrate on his work. He hoped that having me around with my premonitions would help solve the case quickly.

“How are the wedding plans coming?” I asked.

“Good. I think Billie has finally gotten all the loose ends tied up. It helped that her mother came into town yesterday.” He was thinking that it also meant he wouldn’t see her alone much between now and then, but if it helped settle her down, he couldn’t complain.

“That’s great. Did you decide what to do about your uniform?”

Dimples had asked me to find out what was bothering Billie. He was worried that he’d done something wrong since she was telling him that everything was fine when he knew it wasn’t. I’d found out that she didn’t want him to wear his uniform, even though she’d told him it was okay if he did.

“Yeah. I’m wearing a tux. I had no idea she didn’t want me in the uniform. She was always telling me how much she loved seeing me in it, and I thought she’d be happy if I wore it. I’m glad you figured it out.”

“No problem. But just to be clear, it was the hat that she didn’t want you to wear.”

“Oh… right.” He shrugged. “I guess I can see her point.” He gave me a dazzling smile that made his dimples zoom in and out like little dust devils. “But just so you know, I’m okay with it. I’ve got great hair, and I totally rock the tux.”

I chuckled. “That’s true. And with the dress she’s picked out, you’ll be a picture-perfect couple, just like she wants.”

“You know it,” he said with a wink. “Here we are.” He pulled up to Lynn’s house and noted the car in the driveway. “It looks like she’s home.”

We arrived at her house in a nice neighborhood, and Dimples rang the doorbell. Soon, an older woman with short, grey hair and a pleasant smile opened the door. “Can I help you?”

“Lynn McMillan?”

“Yes?”

“I’m Detective Harris, and this is my partner, Shelby Nichols.” He showed her his badge before continuing. “Can we come in and speak to you for a minute?”

“Okay,” she said, her brows drawn together. “Come in and have a seat. What’s this about?”

We sat on the couch across from her, and Dimples began. “I’m sorry to inform you, but it looks like your catering partner, Jeanie Whitmire, has been murdered. We found her body this morning.”

Lynn inhaled sharply and covered her heart with her hand. “What? That can’t be true. I just spoke to her yesterday.”

“What did you talk about?”

Lynn shook her head in disbelief, still in shock. “We talked about her move to Florida and how everything was finally ready to go. She was supposed to leave this morning.”

“She told the realtor that she’d come into some money,” Dimples said. “What do you know about that?”

“Yes she did. I don’t know the particulars, but she told me a cousin recently died and left her enough money so she could retire. I don’t know how much it was, but it must have been quite substantial.”

Lynn frowned and shook her head. “This is awful. Jeanie worked hard all her life but, like most independent business owners, she barely made enough to pay the bills. She often told me that she’d never be able to retire, so receiving this money was a miracle… and now she’s gone?”

“I’m afraid so.” Dimples glanced at the nice house and furnishings. “What was your part in the business?”

“Oh… well, I became her partner about five years ago. We’d been friends for a long time, and when my husband died, she offered me a job. She couldn’t pay me much, but I didn’t do it for the money. It was just something to help fill my days. After it became apparent that investing in the business might be a good idea, we became partners.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I still can’t believe she’s gone, especially now.” She glanced at Dimples, and her brows puckered. “How did this happen?”

“The realtor was showing the building where your catering business was located to a prospective buyer, and they found her there.”

I thought it was nice of Dimples to leave out the part about finding her choked to death in the freezer. From what I could pick up, Lynn had nothing to do with Jeanie’s death.

“At the building? That doesn’t make sense,” Lynn said. “Why would she go back there?”

Since no one knew the answer to that, Dimples asked her another question. “Did Jeanie sell the business to you? Do you own the catering company now?”

“No, no. I’m past retirement myself. I was even thinking about selling my place and moving to Florida with her.” New tears flowed down her cheeks.

“So what happened to the business?” Dimples asked.

“Jeanie paid me back for my initial investment along with a nice bonus of my own. We just finished settling everything else, and she… she… was supposed to be leaving today.”

“Do you know of anyone who would want her dead for any reason? Maybe a customer who wasn’t happy?”

“No.” Lynn shook her head. “She got along with everyone. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill her.”

“Did you have any employees?” Dimples asked. At her nod, he continued, “I’d like their names and contact information. It would also be helpful to know who your last jobs were for… say… in the last eight months to a year.”

“Sure,” she said. “We only hired a few people when we needed them, so it wasn’t a steady job or anything. I’ve got all of that information in my office. I’ll get it for you.”

After she left the room, Dimples turned to me. “I don’t think she had anything to do with it.”

“You’re right,” I agreed. “So it must have something to do with the money. She might have taken a few thousand dollars in cash out for the trip, and maybe someone followed her into the building and robbed her.”

“That’s a possibility.”

Lynn came back with a list of people they regularly hired, along with a separate list of jobs they’d done in the last year. “I hope this helps.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sure it will. One more thing, did she tell many people about her inheritance?”

Lynn shook her head. “No. In fact, she didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t even want anyone to know we were getting out of the business. I thought that was kind of strange, but she insisted, so I went along with it.”

“How sure are you that the money came from a relative?” I asked.

“Well… that’s what she told me. I don’t know why she’d lie about it.” Lynn had never doubted Jeanie’s word before, but now she wondered if Jeanie had been keeping something from her. In hindsight, she’d seemed more troubled and preoccupied than normal in the last few months. So what was going on?

“Thanks.” I patted Lynn’s arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Please find whoever did this to her.” Lynn’s eyes filled with tears, and she sniffed. “It’s just so unfair.”

“We will,” I said.

“And if you think of anything else that might help, please let us know,” Dimples added, handing her his card with his contact information.

Before we got in the car, Dimples’ phone rang. After speaking for a moment, he hung up. “That was Detective Williams. They found nearly five-hundred grand in that storage room.”

“Holy cow! Where?”

“It was tucked away in the bottom of a canister of flour.”

“That must be why she went back there. Do you think that whoever killed her was looking for the money?” I asked.

“It makes sense,” he answered. “Which leads us to two questions: who knew about the money besides Jeanie, and where did it come from?”

“And if it was the same person,” I added. “We could have our killer. Maybe someone in the files Lynn just gave us could shed some light on that.”

Dimples nodded, and we both got into the car. On the drive, I looked over the names of the employees and the catering jobs.

“An employee might have seen something suspicious at one of the jobs,” I said. “We should probably talk to them.” At Dimples’ nod, I moved my attention to the list of catering jobs. “It looks like most of the catering jobs were for weddings, which probably aren’t a breeding ground for suspicious activity, but you never know. Hey… look at this. She catered a party for Aaron Blackburn, that talk-show host on Channel Five.”

“Hmm… that’s interesting. When was it?”

“Let’s see… about six months ago.”

“Any other jobs like that?”

“Yeah… there were some corporate office luncheons, and a few dinners that she catered. It looks like about five in the last eight months.”

“There might be something to those, too. We’ll have to look into them when we get back.”

“Sounds good,” I agreed, but a wave of dread washed over me. One of the luncheons was for Thrasher Development, but she’d also catered a dinner for my husband’s law firm.

Crap! My husband, Chris, had just been promoted to partner less than two months ago. Even though he deserved the promotion, I think it was mostly because of Uncle Joey. Now, Uncle Joey was Chris’ biggest client. Could this get any worse?

We got back to the precinct, and I handed the files over to Dimples. “Uh… what’s next?”

He sat in his chair, and leaned back with his hands behind his neck. “Well… we need to talk to the employees. One of them could be involved. Why would she be hiding that much money? She could have gotten it illegally. If so, what was she involved with?”

Since my first thought involved blackmailing a mob-boss, I shrugged and didn’t answer. “Uh… yeah… those are both good questions. Hey… I’m not sure how long I can stay. Do you want to call me when you have people here to question?”

“Oh… yeah, that should work.” He was thinking that my mad interrogation skills had brought down many a guilty person. “Once the employees get here, I can call you.”

“Great. I’m headed over to my husband’s law firm, so I’ll be close-by when you need me.”

“Okay. I’ll call.”

I waved and hurried out, deciding to stop by my husband’s office after visiting with Uncle Joey, so I wouldn’t be a total liar.

The drive to Thrasher Development hardly took any time at all. Soon, I was in the parking garage and walking toward the elevators. It was a habit of mine to glance around the big pillar next to the elevator and see if Ramos’s motorcycle was parked in its usual spot.

Yup! There is was, all shiny and beautiful. That meant there was a chance I would see Ramos, and it brightened my otherwise crummy day. Ramos was Uncle Joey’s hitman and bodyguard. We’d shared some crazy times during the course of our association, and he’d saved my skin more than once.

Although I was totally in love with my husband, Ramos was one hunk of a man that any warm-blooded woman would find hard to resist. I kept him at arm’s length, even though that didn’t stop my pulse rate from speeding up whenever I was near him. But… since he affected all women that way, I couldn’t feel too guilty about it, right?

I exited the elevator on the twenty-sixth floor and walked through the double-doors with a “Thrasher Development” sign over them. The secretary’s desk sat on one side, and Jackie glanced up with surprise. “Why, Shelby. I wasn’t expecting to see you today. How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. You?”

She smiled and shrugged. “Pretty good, mostly because things are nice and quiet around here.” She was thinking that, now that I was there, it was a pretty safe bet that things were about to change, but she tried not to hold it against me.

“Is Uncle Joey here?”

“Yes. He’s in his office. Go on back.”

“Thanks.” I turned down the hallway, knowing a moment of panic that always seemed to hit me right between the eyes before I talked with him. But hey… since I had something good to share, he was sure to be grateful, right? Too bad that dumb song about ‘don’t fear the reaper’ always popped into my head about now.

I knocked, then, hearing him call to enter, I opened the door.

“Shelby,” he said, pleased that I had come. “You made it.” He sat behind his beautiful, cherry-wood desk and smiled before standing. “Come on in and have a seat. Ramos and I were just talking about you.”

Ramos stood from his chair and glanced my way with a raised brow. He was thinking that I was a trouble magnet, and he wondered what I had gotten myself into this time.

“It wasn’t my fault,” I said.

He just snorted. “Babe. It never is.”

“Tell us what happened,” Uncle Joey said, waving me toward the chair in front of his desk.

“I was meeting my friend to look at the space she was thinking about renting,” I began, then proceeded to tell them everything that had happened. “Did you know she catered a luncheon for you a few months ago?”

Uncle Joey just shrugged. “No. But if she was one of my tenants, I’m sure Jackie would have arranged to use her services. Don’t worry, Shelby. I had nothing to do with it. But this money worries me. Five-hundred grand isn’t something to sneeze at. I wonder where she got it?”

I listened to his thoughts and knew he was telling the truth. With a sigh, I relaxed into my chair. “Yeah. Well, now that the police have the records of all her catering jobs in the last few months, they’ll find out that Thrasher is one of them.” I caught his gaze. “So is Chris’ law firm. You don’t think anyone there was paying her for something, do you?”

“No. I don’t.” His gaze narrowed. “Did you notice any other jobs?”

“Actually yes… there was one that really caught my attention. She catered a party for Aaron Blackburn, the talk show host, at his house.”

Uncle Joey’s eyes widened, and he nodded his head. “That’s interesting. Aaron Blackburn.” He glanced at Ramos. “What do we know about him?”

Ramos raised his brows, and then, at Uncle Joey’s nod, turned his gaze to me. “As a Conservative Talk Show Host, he has a reputation to uphold, but he’s as dirty as they come. If she found out something about him and threatened to go public, he’d probably pay up… at least for a while.”

“Whoa. Really? That’s good to know. Then the police should look into him… and not… well… waste time somewhere else.”

Uncle Joey smiled. “My sentiments exactly.”

“All right. I should probably get back to the precinct.” I stood, relieved that Uncle Joey had helped me. Who would have thought?

“I’ll walk you out,” Ramos said, and moved to open the door for me.

“Uh… all right.” I accidently brushed against his arm as he passed and caught a whiff of his aftershave. Being this close to Ramos rattled me and, since he knew it, he liked to get close every chance he got.

We left the office without a word, but as soon as we stopped in front of the elevator, he turned to me. “Be careful around that guy. When you talk to him, make sure you have the detective with you.”

“I’ll be fine, but thanks.”

He smiled and shook his head, hoping I’d listen to him for a change. The elevator doors whooshed open, and I stepped inside, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. His gaze caught mine and he smiled, then he did that little head-lift thing before the doors closed. Away from his presence, I took a deep breath and let it out, then leaned against the side of the elevator to recover. Sheesh! That man was way too sexy for his own good.

By the time I got into my car, my breathing was steady, and I had a plan. All I had to do was convince Dimples to question Aaron Blackburn before wasting his time on Uncle Joey or my husband’s law firm. I smiled. With my gift, that should be a piece of cake.

Chapter 3

I  walked into the precinct and caught Dimples’ confused gaze. “Shelby? I thought you were going to wait for my call.”

I stepped to his desk and shrugged. “I know, but something’s been bothering me, and I just figured out what it was.”

“What’s that?”

“When we talked with Lynn, she was…” I stopped and glanced around the room to make sure no one could hear me. “I picked up from Lynn that something changed with Jeanie right after the party they’d catered in February. I didn’t put it together until after I left, but I remembered that the only party they catered around that time was the one for Aaron Blackburn. I think we should go talk to him.”

Dimples frowned, thinking that could be huge. Still, he wanted to check the dates himself. “Okay. Let me just double-check.” He pulled out the list and glanced at the dates of the party. “Yeah… you’re right.”

I nodded, pleased that I’d figured out a way to phrase the information from Uncle Joey and Ramos without revealing my source.

Dimples stood, then pulled his jacket from the back of his chair and shrugged it on. “All right. Let’s see what he has to say.”

The news station was located in a building on the west side of downtown, so it wasn’t far. We entered the building, and Dimples showed the receptionist his badge and asked to see Aaron Blackburn. “Uh… he’s prepping for his show,” she stammered. “Let me ask my boss.”

She picked up the phone and put the call through. “She’ll be right out.”

A few minutes later, a woman in a black pantsuit came out. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m Detective Harris, and this is my partner, Shelby Nichols. We just have a question for Mr. Blackburn. It will only take about five minutes. Can we see him?”

She narrowed her eyes, wondering if Aaron was in trouble. “He’s getting ready for the show, so I’m not sure how much time he can give you.”

“We just need to clarify something. It’s really important, but it won’t take long. I promise.”

“All right. I’ll take you to him.”

We followed her down a long hall to a double-door that opened into a studio, and I recognized the chairs and desk from the show. Off to the side, Aaron sat in front of a make-up table, while an assistant brushed his face with powder.

He held some papers in his hands and didn’t look up until we stood in front of him. His brows rose with surprise before dipping together, and he glared at the woman who brought us.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she began. “But these detectives said they needed to speak to you. I told them you didn’t have much time, but they insisted.”

Panic crossed his mind before he cleared his head and sent us both a puzzled smile. “Of course. Thanks Becky,” he said, dismissing her, along with the make-up person. He waited until they were gone before turning to us. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you know a caterer by the name of Jeanie Whitmire?” Dimples asked.

“Uh… it doesn’t ring a bell.” He was thinking that there was no way in hell we could connect him to her, so this had to be a freakish coincidence. “Why?”

“She was found murdered this morning,” I answered. “We’ve been looking through her files and noticed that she catered a party at your home last February.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, that was for my ten-year anniversary of hosting the show. But I hardly remember the caterer. I don’t understand. What has this caterer’s death got to do with me?”

“Haven’t you been seeing her regularly since then?” I asked.

His gaze snapped to mine. “What? No. I don’t even know who she is.” But he wondered how we knew. He’d been so careful… there was no way… wait… we had to be bluffing. He’d destroyed the evidence on her phone… she’d promised that was the only place she’d kept it when she’d begged for her life. He just had to play it cool. We had nothing.

“I’m afraid that’s not true, Mr. Blackburn,” I said. “We know she was blackmailing you. We even found the five-hundred grand you paid her.”

He stood to his full six-foot height and glared down at me. “I think we’re done here. If you want to speak with me again, you’ll have to contact my lawyer.” He stalked away with his hands balled into fists.

“We have evidence,” I shouted.

He glanced back at me with a sneer. “If you had evidence, you’d arrest me.”

With that, he opened an office door and disappeared inside.

“Whoa,” Dimples said, admiration shining in his eyes. “That was impressive.”

I blew out a breath. “It may be him, but we don’t have any evidence.”

“Then we’ll just have to look deeper. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Back at the precinct, Dimples announced to the team that Aaron Blackburn was the main suspect. They divided up the work to look at surveillance cameras near his workplace and the catering office, as well as both their homes. He also put in a call to a judge to get a search warrant to look at his financial records, knowing that withdrawing five-hundred grand should show up somewhere, and that was a good place to start.

“I guess I’ll go now,” I told him. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“What we need are the photos, or whatever she was using, to blackmail him. You said he destroyed her phone, but did you get an idea of where it might be?”

“No, sorry.”

“That’s okay. We’ll keep looking.”

I left the precinct, discouraged that Jeanie’s killer might get away with murder. She’d managed to hide the money from him. Maybe she’d hidden the information as well? It was certainly worth taking a look. I could go back to the building and poke around. Maybe the police had missed something.

I also harbored a small hope that her ghost would tell me where the info was since I’d “heard” her earlier. But only if the evidence was still there. It was a big “if” but what did I have to lose?

I drove back to the scene of the crime and parked in the underground parking lot. After taking the escalator to the main plaza, I found the place still covered with police tape and locked up tight. Dang! I didn’t want to call Dimples and wait around for him to show up.

Then I had an idea and found a way around the building to the driveway in the back. The crime scene tape fluttered in the breeze around the back door. Hoping for a small miracle, I pulled on the door. Surprise flooded over me to find it unlocked. Yes!

Stepping inside, I sighed with relief to find the awful smell gone and the hallway cleaned up. The storage door was still propped open, and most of the contents inside had been removed. Even the freezer was gone. My shoulders drooped with discouragement. The only things still there were the storage cabinets, and a few empty boxes.

I stood in the center of the room and listened real close… hoping to get some direction from the ghost, but absolutely nothing came to my mind. Taking one last look around, I left the room and headed for the kitchen. Maybe the evidence was somewhere else?

I spent the next half hour opening drawers, checking the ovens, the dishwasher, and all of the cupboards and closets. If there was anything that opened, I opened it twice and looked through all the nooks and crannies I could find.

Opening the fridge, I checked the freezer and then moved to the pull-out drawers at the bottom, only to find them empty. The only thing still inside was the box of baking soda. On impulse, I took it out and checked inside. Yup, still full of baking soda. With a shrug, I decided to dump it out onto the counter. Just as the last dregs of powder fell, a thumb-drive wrapped in plastic tumbled out.

I jerked with surprise. This had to be it! Holy cow! This was great!

I reached for my phone to call Dimples and froze. Was that a noise? I listened real close, but all was quiet. Swallowing, I slipped the thumb-drive into my pants pocket and reached into my purse for my trusty stun flashlight.

Holding it steady, I inched toward the hallway and glanced down, finding nothing. Was it just my imagination, or was someone really there? It couldn’t be Blackburn, could it? What about his show? Wouldn’t he still be taping it?

A sudden desire to get the hell out of there washed over me, and I crept down the hall toward the back door, keeping my senses alert and my stun flashlight ready. Coming abreast of the storage room, I stopped to glance inside. I even checked behind the door, but it was empty.

Letting out a sigh, I stepped into the hallway and gasped. Aaron Blackburn stood in the exit doorway, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “Looking for something?” he asked, flexing his gloved hands.

“Uh… nope. I was just leaving.”

“Then why are you holding a flashlight?”

“Oh… well, you know… it’s easier to see in the dark with one of these. Everyone should have one.” At least he didn’t have a gun, so I had a chance, but the way he towered over me with his hands clenched into fists didn’t bode well.

He smirked, thinking there was no way he could let me get out of there alive now that I’d seen him. He’d just have to throw me in the trunk of his car until he could get rid of me.

Deciding to take me by surprise, he lunged at me, but I was ready. Before his arms closed around me, I went down on one knee, and thrust my stun flashlight straight up into his lower abdomen and pushed the button.

One million volts of attack-stopping power jolted into his body, and he jerked into a spasm that dropped him to his knees. I quickly moved out of his way, and he sprawled face-first onto the floor. He shuddered with a few more spasms before he quit moving.

Concerned that I’d killed him, I checked his neck for a pulse. Finding it, I let out my breath. Then, with trembling fingers, I pulled out my phone and managed to call Dimples.

He picked up on the first ring. “Hey Shelby, what’s up?”

“Get over to the crime scene quick. Blackburn is here, and I just stunned him. He’s still out of it, but I don’t know for how long.”

“You… what? Damn it, Shelby. All right, I’m on my way.”

Dimples arrived in eight minutes flat, his siren blazing and tires squealing. It took another five minutes before Blackburn came around. In that time, Dimples cuffed him and read him his rights. The police officers carted him off, and Dimples turned to me.

“What the hell, Shelby!” That’s what he was thinking, but he only shook his head and kept his mouth shut. So I pretended I didn’t hear that and explained why I was there.

“I came looking for the evidence and I found it!” I held up the thumb-drive. “This has to be it, everything you need to put him away.”

“Uh… great, Shelby.” He was thinking that I’d shaved at least five years off his life. Why hadn’t I called him first? He could have come with me. Didn’t I realize that Blackburn could have killed me? “Just… next time you have an idea like this, will you let me know?”

“Um… sure, but in my defense, I thought Blackburn was still at the studio taping his show. Besides, I thought he wouldn’t risk coming back here… you know… if he was smart.”

Dimples let out a breath and gave me a one-armed hug. “You’re right, but sometimes desperate people do stupid things.” He hoped that I’d learned my lesson, but he wouldn’t bet on it.

That kind of hurt my feelings, but he did have a point. “Well, at least we solved the case!”

“That we did… thanks to you.”

I smiled, grateful it was over, and that it had nothing to do with Uncle Joey. In fact, it was because of Uncle Joey that we got the bad guy. What a crazy world?

Now Shannon and her sisters could go ahead and lease the building. I could hardly wait to sample the yummy French breads and pastries. And as my friend, I was sure she’d be safe from Uncle Joey.

Who would have thought? Sometimes knowing a mob-boss wasn’t all that bad.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Read More of Colleen’s Work: Did you enjoy Catering to Murder? If you’d like to read more books in the Shelby Nichols Adventure Series from Colleen Helme, please check out the other bestselling books in the series, starting with Carrots. All are available in kindle, paperback and audio!

The Shelby Nichols Adventure Series

Carrots

Fast Money

Lie or Die

Secrets That Kill

Trapped by Revenge

Deep in Death

Crossing Danger

Devious Minds

Hidden Deception

Laced in Lies

Deadly Escape

Devil in a Black Suit ~ A Ramos Adventure

Provide Reviews: This book is not available on Amazon, so no review is necessary, but please consider showing support for Colleen by leaving reviews for her other books. It helps readers to know what to expect from a book by Colleen Helme. Book reviews help readers as well as authors!

COLLEEN HELME

Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author

As the author of the bestselling Shelby Nichols Adventure Series, Colleen is often asked if Shelby Nichols is her alter-ego. “Definitely,” she says. “Shelby is the epitome of everything I wish I dared to be.” Known for her laugh since she was a kid, Colleen has always tried to find the humor in every situation and continues to enjoy writing about Shelby’s adventures. “I love getting Shelby into trouble…I just don’t always know how to get her out of it!” Besides writing, she loves a good book, biking, hiking, and playing board and card games with family and friends. She loves to connect with readers and admits that fans of the series keep her writing.

Connect with Colleen

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