A Chilling Conundrum (An East Pender Cozy Mystery Book 9) Read online

  A Chilling Conundrum

  An East Pender Mystery Book 9

  Leona Fox

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 1

  East Pender was a quiet town, tucked away in the heart of America, ringed by a lush expanse of trees, with the wide Mississippi River flowing through it. The town was largely secluded from the outside world and for most of the people who lived there it was like something out of a dream. Large cities were just a couple of hours away. Not an insurmountable distance, yet they could have been a world away, for East Pender seemed to exist in another realm of space and time.

  And yet, for all the peace and tranquility East Pender promised there often were crimes committed, and it was not unusual for the town residents to feel fear creep up their spines as their safety was threatened in numerous ways. Murders, thefts, and corruption had all been experienced by the people of the town and, as such, some had chosen to move away and start a new life somewhere else. But for most they realized that such things would be found everywhere for it is human nature to be fallible. The only hope is for the best of us to band together and remain true to moral ideals.

  There was an ineffable quality of the town that made people want to stay; they knew that it was of value to remain in the town because, for all the darkness that slithered its way through the wholesome heart of this traditional place, there was also much light, too. On this occasion, the light of love shined brightly as Kelly and Matthew had joined their souls in matrimony, and the party was in full swing.

  It had not been an easy road by any means. Matthew had been haunted by the scars of his previous failed marriage, and Kelly had been shackled by secrets but they had come together and found a way past their fears and doubts. Indeed, their relationship epitomized the symbiotic relationship between light and dark as they had met during the investigation of a crime. From these beginnings their love had blossomed and now Kelly was beaming as brightly as a star.

  Initially the two of them only had wanted a small wedding. But due to recent circumstances that had caused a great deal of distress to her friends and other community members, Kelly had decided she wanted to welcome everyone to her wedding. So with everyone in attendance, the entire population of the town was packed into the town hall and spilling out of the doors, of the only building big enough to house that many people.

  The ceremony had been wonderful and everyone had applauded when the ring had been slipped on Kelly's finger. Although there were a number of jealous men who had pursued her throughout the years who now were frustrated that another man had won her heart. Of course, this was offset by the relief of the women who had been irked by their husbands' wandering eyes.

  This had led to a slight dislike of Kelly, not helped by the artist's flighty nature. This seemed like a new beginning for the town, a new chapter in which they could move on from the recent events and embrace each other as a community. At the heart of it, of course, was Ellen.

  The slim, petite woman was standing by, watching the proceedings with her usual caring eye, her observational skills taking in much information through the chaos of the party. Being maid of honor, she was keeping an eye on Kelly and making sure the wedding ran smoothly. Already she had had to deal with a crisis in the kitchen and a problem with the flowers, but nobody was any the wiser.

  Her dress was lavender and a single strap ran over her right shoulder, leaving her left one bare. The dress clung to her figure, showing off the benefits of a steady routine of jogging. Her fingers were curled around a glass of wine and her eyes sparkled with delight at having watched her best friend find happiness.

  Although somehow, being an observer herself, she felt detached from the environment, as though she was not really there. As her eyes roamed about the hall, she watched as Kelly spoke with the endless queue of people who wanted to congratulate her. Matthew, the groom, was standing with his family, laughing and joking. Kids were running in between the legs of adults, playing their own games, not caring or grasping the importance of the occasion. Ellen's lips curled into a smile as she thought back to a time when she had been that young and the adult matters were of no concern to her. The innocence of a child was a precious thing and something that she missed.

  Through the years she had seen much sadness. Perhaps the worst moment of her life was when the veil of illusion had been lifted and she had seen the true nature of the world, but like all things it passed once she decided to be the best person she could be. Her smile widened as she saw little Scott Bishop running around, claiming he was a hero on the way to defeat a villain. After the ordeal of him having been kidnapped it was good to see the boy being a child again, and it reminded Ellen how resilient human beings were.

  She had seen a lot of suffering, especially in East Pender, and at times it would have been easy to lose all hope and simply give up but it was on occasions like this that she knew what she was fighting for. She had no real need or obligation to continue helping the police solve crimes. Yet, it had become such an integral part of her life, she couldn't imagine what she would do with her time if she stopped.

  Her eyes moved from Scott back up to the adults, most of them lost in their own conversations. There were a few times when her eyes moved to someone who had been admiring her. She never had classed herself as gorgeous but a lot of men had found her attractive, although in her modest way she had put this down to the fact that there were few eligible single women in East Pender. Of course, she had not been single for a long time.

  Then her eyes moved to a man who strode through the crowd, a crowd that parted for him instantly. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a tie that shimmered. His dark hair was cut neatly and his eyes were locked on her. As he came closer she saw his gaze was filled with a ravenous hunger, and a thrill spread through her body, for she knew she was the only one who could fulfill that particular need. Even though they had been apart only for about ten minutes he looked at her as though they had been separated for a lifetime. The electricity that coursed through her body was something she never would grow tired of.

  “Seems like you got rid of your little sidekick,” she said, looking down toward Scott, who had raced to the middle of the room.

  Andy chuckled, “Yeah, he's a good kid. I thought I'd be stuck with him the whole night but I guess even the chief of police can't compete with a girl,” as he said this both of them looked to the companion standing beside Scott, and they recognized the first flush of romance on the boy's cheeks.

  Andy then turned back to Ellen and slipped his arm around her waist. There had been a time when such an act was only a thing of fantasy and only now it was so casual and so normal. His strong arm fit perfectly around her and it was as though her waist had been made for his arm, like it belonged there. They stood in silence for a few moments while they surveyed the scene.

  “I'm glad this day has turned out well, Kelly deserves it,” Ellen said.

  “I think we all do,” Andy replied, squeezing Ellen tightly.

  Ellen looked up at him and rested her head against his arm. Andy had been through a lot recently but the trauma seemed to be behind them.

  “You know, I'm not sure I ever did thank you properly for what you did...or if I even can.”

  “I'll always be there for you, just like I know you'll always be there for me,” Ellen said, “but let's not dwell on that now. We should just en
joy the party. The past is past, let's focus on the future.”

  Nothing sounded better to Andy and the two of them stood side by side, watching events around them unfold.

  The town hall was used for a variety of purposes, mostly for meetings of the town council. While those were usually dry affairs, this event filled the hall with buoyant sounds of happiness and laughter. An array of circular tables was arranged around the floor, and because the amount of people invited had been a last minute adjustment, the guests had been encouraged to bring their own food and share it with everybody. This led to a varied feast of all manner of foods, from savory snacks to sweet treats.

  There had been some tense times in the town over the past few months, and times when the town residents had been at loggerheads with Ellen and Andy, but both were pleased that everyone could come together and celebrate this happy occasion.

  Aside from all the other guests there was one in particular who, like the children, was lost in a world of his own. He was tearing into a wide slab of meat that had been given to him especially by the butcher. Scampy, Ellen's dog, was sitting underneath the table, focusing on his meat. A forest of legs passed through his field of vision and it wouldn't be long before he was up creating mischief. He had become something of a mascot for the town. It wasn't long before Scott came up to him and invited him to play. Scampy met this offer with a high-pitched yelp and left an empty bone behind him, scurrying after Scott to join in with the frivolities.

  Eventually there came a break in the evening when Kelly was free and able to talk with Ellen.

  “What a day,” Kelly said.

  “You look happy,” Ellen replied, taking a moment to take care of a piece of Kelly's dress that had become folded in the wrong way.

  “I am. It's funny. I spent so much time worrying about if I was ready for this moment and I feel like such an idiot. This has been a perfect day,” she beamed.

  “I'm glad. It seems like everyone is having a good time.”

  “They sure need it after what happened.”

  “Let's hope we can just move on from that and maybe things can get back to normal again.”

  “You sure you want normal? I think normal for this town is different than it is for anywhere else,” Kelly said with a half-smile.

  “You could be right there,” Ellen said, sharing in the humor.

  “We've come a long way, haven't we? Seems like only a short time ago that we were just two single girls trying to make our way through the world.”

  “And now you're married and I'm with Andy.”

  “Yeah, and you sure took your sweet time about it,” Kelly teased.

  “It wasn't that easy!” Ellen protested.

  “All I'm saying is that when it came down to it I was right and you should have trusted me. You may know more than me when it comes to mysteries but I always know better when it comes to romance.”

  “I suppose that you do,” Ellen agreed, willing to give the bride her moment of triumph on her special day. After all, it would be incredibly bad form for the maid of honor to argue with the bride.

  The party continued and dusk began to settle in, making the mood more intimate. Kids began growing tired and their parents took them home, leaving the adults to enjoy a quieter atmosphere. As the amount of people thinned Kelly moved over to Matthew and the two of them embraced each other. The music stopped and everyone's attention was caught. An announcement was made for the two of them to move onto the dance floor, and all eyes turned toward the newly-wedded couple. Kelly bowed her head slightly, a tinge of red flushing her cheeks as she became aware that all the attention was on her. Matthew stood proudly, his broad shoulders straight and his smile wide.

  They linked their arms together as they strode to the middle of the dance floor and took their position. A hush settled over everyone for a few moments, a few eternal moments where the bride and groom could look at each other, gazing into the forever love of each other’s eyes. Caught in this perfect bliss they almost didn't realize the music had started playing, but soon enough their hands linked together and their feet stepped closer to each other. Their bodies pressed against each other and in the slow, melodic rhythm of the dreamy song they closed their eyes and thought of the heaven that awaited them, not just on their wedding night, but for every night that was to come.

  Ellen watched as Kelly rested her head against Matthew's chest, and the maid of honor squeezed Andy's hand. Then the announcement came for everyone to join the bride and groom. People flooded onto the brown wooden flooring and the sparse dance floor was now filled with couples, holding each other tightly, enjoying basking in the loving glow of Kelly and Matthew.

  Ellen and Andy made their way to the middle of the floor so they could be next to the bride and groom. The two women shared a secret smile with each other before turning back to their men. Ellen sighed contentedly as she wrapped her arms around Andy's neck and leaned against his body, feeling his powerful heartbeat underneath his rib cage. Andy's arms held her in the small of her back and he kissed the top of her head.

  “This is perfect,” she said.

  “I know, and I just wanted to say once and for all that now I've dealt with my past I can move properly onto my future...our future.”

  Ellen looked up at him with the light of love sparkling in her eyes. They gazed at each other for a moment, then Ellen raised herself on her tiptoes as they descended into a long, passionate kiss.

  Yet not everyone at the wedding was on the dance floor. Only those who felt the slightest flourish of love were dancing with each other. Some had been married for years, others had seen this as the perfect time to ask those they had adored from afar for a dance and were only now taking the first steps to happiness. Others still had been dating only for a short time. Then there were those left on the sidelines, the ones who had nobody to dance with them.

  Such was this man, sitting at an empty table. He had been enjoying an invigorating conversation about the candidates in the next presidential election but as soon as the music started everyone at his table had left him without so much as a thank you. That had been the story of his life, however, it was a sad state that humans were simply rude, even the best of people fell victim to bad manners. Looking at them all now he smiled grimly to himself. There were others like him dotted around the other tables, looking forlorn. The last toys that nobody wanted to buy, waiting until they were cast away for good. It wasn't their fault, though. It certainly wasn't his.

  There was something in the universe that had conspired against him, he had decided long ago. Somehow it was easy for other people to fall into relationships and recognize when there was attraction but for him it had proven elusive. Sometimes he felt as though he was slightly out of place with the rest of the human race as nobody quite seemed to see him. He was there, he occupied space in the physical world, and he had a history made up of memories and actions. Yet there were so many things he had not experienced, things that were normal for people.

  They all found it so easy to find each other and embark on romantic journeys while he was left in a perpetual state of wonderment and loneliness. It had been the same thing all through his life, even going back to his prom. He was left sitting on the sideline while everyone else enjoyed the night for what it was supposed to be. At the end he was walking off into the darkness while the night, for the rest of them, was only just beginning.

  It was almost as though he had been placed on Earth by some higher being to observe the human condition but nobody had asked him for a report. It was getting to the point where his whole life was starting to feel like a waste. He left no great legacy behind, and while he had learned a great deal from reading voraciously, there was still so much about basic human companionship that was a mystery to him. But that did not mean he never had experienced love.

  On the contrary, he was in love at this very moment, and his eyes were locked on the object of his affection. It was a powerful love, one that had consumed him for a long time. Ever since he h
ad first laid eyes on her his heart had been captured and his breath had been taken away. All through his life he had looked with scorn upon those who lost themselves to romance and believed the illusions spoon-fed to the masses through movies and sappy songs, but when he had seen her he suddenly saw the light of truth and everything made sense. In every book he read, every song he heard, every movie he watched, he saw her. She had permeated every part of his life and he knew they were meant to be together.

  But something had gone wrong. In some sick way the universe had taken a wrong turn and she had chosen the wrong man. He didn't understand it, couldn't understand why the universe seemed to have such a need to make life tough on him. Now it filled him with bile to watch her on the dance floor with her sorry excuse of a man draping his arms around her, feeling her in a way that he never would.

  His hand tightened around a flower as he watched the couple dance. The stem bent and the head bowed under his power as his frustration grew. She should have been with him. They had enjoyed many pleasant conversations and he was sure that if she just looked at him properly she would see everything he had to offer. He didn't necessarily mind having missed out on intimacy so far because he never had met anyone with whom he felt such intensity. To let her slip through his fingers when it felt so right, so natural...that would be a crime against nature, it would be violating destiny itself.

  Still, he was sitting by himself while she was there with him and there was nothing he could do. Going up to her now and telling her the truth would do no good, it simply would ruin the occasion and he would be laughed out of town. No, he could not act so overtly. It would have to be something subtle, something that only she would see. She wasn't like the others. She had a special mind, one that could look beyond the ordinary. A smile began creeping over his lips as a plan formulated in his mind. For such an intelligent woman it was surprising she had made a big mistake like this but he wasn't going to hold it against her. In time she would realize the error of her ways and take measures to correct it. Then finally he would get to experience what he had been waiting for all this time. All the years he had spent by himself simply had allowed him to hone himself into the perfect man. The universe had known she would be here and it only had taken him time to wait.