Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries Collection

Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

"She almost fell off the ladder when the police barged in!"

Grace and I were sitting in her office and I was telling her how I'd outsmarted Marian. Actually, how we had outsmarted Marian because, without Grace and Duke, Susan Doyle and Adam, Aunt Peg and yes, even Nick Dimitropoulos, Marian would've gotten away with murder.

"I love it! I would've paid money to see the look on her face," Grace said.

"But wait, there's more," I said.

"I'm waiting," Grace said, drumming her fingers on the desk. "And not patiently either."

"Not only was Marian taken away, so was her car, and it turned out to be the other murder weapon." I let that sink in.

Grace gasped. "She killed Rosa, too!"

"She was crazy with jealousy. She thought Spike and Rosa were sleeping together. She probably wouldn't have cared about that, actually, since Spike slept around, but, when Adam told her Spike was in love with Rosa, Marian totally lost it."

Grace looked thoughtful. "So, there really was a love triangle, just not the one we thought. Marian loved Spike, Spike loved Rosa, and Rosa?"

"She still loved Steve, her high school sweetheart, even after he was so abusive."

"But what happened with Spike, do we know?"

"Here's the timeline: the night before the murder, Spike took Rosa to a hotel to protect her from Steve. We know that Spike received calls that night from both Steve and Daryl, one of the Zombies. Steve was probably looking for Rosa. The next morning, Spike had breakfast with Daryl at the diner next door and they had an argument. Then, after breakfast, Spike went to the music store where Marian was waiting. She was furious because she thought he'd spent the night with Rosa. She started screaming at him and then she totally lost it, picked up Adam's didgeridoo and whacked Spike on the head. When she realized what she'd done, she left the building so she could pretend she arrived later. Poor Adam walked in a few minutes later and found Spike dead on the floor."

"Wow! That's some story," Grace said. "You can't make stuff like that up. I mean, who would've imagined a didgeridoo could be a deadly weapon?"

"No one, especially since nobody even knows what a didgeridoo is!" I laughed.

"I think this is a great excuse to go out and celebrate," Grace said.

"Since when do we need an excuse?" I asked. Just then, my phone rang. I looked at the number, and said "Sorry, I have to take this" to Grace.

"What can I do for you, Nick? Is it okay if I call you Nick? I never really asked." I laughed. "I see, okay, no problem. I'll be right there."

I looked at Grace, "Do you mind if we make a stop before we go celebrate?"