A Dastardly Death in Hillbilly Hollow (Ozark Ghost Hunter Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  “Now, Maryann is going to mind the booth for us on Saturday while the rest of us are at Suzy and Brian’s wedding,” Grandma explained. “She drew the short straw, you know,” she said, raising an eyebrow, “but she wasn’t as close to them as the rest of us, not having had any children or grandchildren and never having been around you kids as much growing up.”

  “Will she be able to manage by herself?” I asked.

  “Oh yes, she’ll be fine. Lyndon, your Grandpa’s friend, generously offered to help her. Mm-hm,” she said, rolling her eyes and giggling. Then she whispered, “They’re an item, you know.”

  I chuckled. “Yes, I suspected as much when I saw them together at the Flower Festival.” I remembered Billy grabbing my hand and dragging me over to dance beside Grandma and Grandpa that evening. They were looking at each other like newlyweds, as if there wasn’t another soul around. Watching them dancing that night, I knew exactly what love looked like, and that was it.

  Grandpa was coming in from the shed when we started walking out with the boxes full of jars, and when he saw us, he double-timed his walk to take the small box Grandma was carrying from her. As he took it from her hands, he leaned forward and gave her a small peck on the cheek. It was uncharacteristic for him, but every once in a while, he did some little thing that showed his affection. My grandpa was old-school. The strong, silent type. We never doubted for a moment, though, how much he loved us.

  After we finished loading up the truck, I got cleaned up. I opted for a long-sleeved shirtdress and a pair of short boots. Not knowing what else Suzy would want to take care of, I wanted to be comfortable. I told Grandma that I would call her if I planned to be late, kissed her cheek, and headed to town.

  Chapter 5

  I pulled right up to the front door when I got to Farm King, knowing I had a lot to unload. The store was busy, which was no surprise, given that everyone was trying to get ahead of the cooler weather by winter-proofing their property.

  I walked in and was surprised to see Dylan, Jennie Weaver’s boyfriend, stocking shelves near the front. When Melody was killed a few months before, I had briefly wondered if Dylan could have been involved, since Melody had been giving Jennie a hard time at the diner. At that time, he was unemployed, having been laid off from the dog food factory, and rode his motorcycle around town, revving the engine at all hours of the day and night, much to the chagrin of local residence, and was hanging with a rough crowd. The Dylan I saw at Farm King, though, was completely transformed. He was clean-cut, wearing a button-down flannel work shirt, and khakis.

  “Hi,” Dylan said as soon as I walked in, “How can I help you today?” He flashed a broad smile.

  “Hi, I’m just here to drop off some canned goods for the women’s auxiliary sale this weekend. I was hoping I could borrow a cart or something to bring them in,” I replied.

  “Oh, no ma’am!” Dylan replied enthusiastically. “Please, let me get those for you! Just show me to your vehicle.”

  I stepped outside and opened the gate of the truck. Dylan stacked two flats of jars, one on top of the other, and picked them up as if they weighed nothing. “These look great,” he said. “I don’t want to drop any, so I’ll come right back for the rest.” He disappeared into the store, and returned a few minutes later.

  “Aren’t you Jennie Weaver’s boyfriend?” I asked as he got the next load of jars.

  “Yes ma’am! Dylan – Dylan Shepherd.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “And you’re Emma Hooper. I’ve seen you around town. Nice to meet you properly, ma’am.”

  “Nice to meet you, Dylan. How’s Jennie doing? I haven’t seen her at the diner lately,” I replied.

  “Oh, she’s great! She’s working over at Mueller and Johns – the law office? She’s a receptionist there now, and she’s going to paralegal school online too. I got this job, and Mr. Plummer says if I do a good job, I might make assistant manager one day. In fact, I’m saving up to get Jennie an engagement ring, but don’t tell anybody, will ya?” He winked.

  Wow, wedding fever really was in the air. “That’s great, Dylan! Congratulations!” I smiled at him.

  After thanking Dylan for his help, I got back in the truck and headed over to Posh Closet to meet Suzy. Sweet Adeline’s, the bakery, was just up the block so we could walk over for the cake tasting.

  “Hi, Emma!” she said cheerfully as I walked into the shop.

  “Hi, Suzy. Hi, Phoebe.” I waved to the young woman behind the counter. She was a quiet girl, but very sweet, and most importantly for Suzy’s sake, very dependable. “Suz, you ready to roll?” I asked.

  “Yep. Let me grab my bag.” She pulled a large purse from under the counter, and started toward the door, then stopped. “Oh! And my book!” She went back and retrieved a giant, 3-ring binder. It reminded me of those huge books that medical offices used to keep behind the counter with patient records when I was a kid before everything went digital. “Okay, let’s do it!” she said cheerfully as she donned her sunglasses and we stepped out into the sunshine.

  Sweet Adeline’s had been in business in Hillbilly Hollow for nearly a hundred years. The same family, the Phillips, had owned it, one generation after the other. Diane Phillips was one of Grandma’s quilting circle friends, but she had retired out of the business several years before. Her daughter, Alice, was closer to Suzy’s mom’s age, and she ran the place. She had kept all her family’s recipes, but also added some modern twists. Like using the filling from their cream horns, a local favorite, in profiteroles to make beautiful, towering and impressive croquembouche, the French dessert, covered in lacy spun sugar.

  “Come on through, Suzy. Hi, Emma,” Alice said when we came in. “We’ve got you set up back here.”

  Off to the side of the bakery kitchen was a small room with a table and six chairs. It was decorated with paintings of cupcakes and sweets. We sat in the space and chatted for a moment with Alice, then one of the bakers brought in a small tray with slices of cake on little plates.

  “No, not that one,” Alice told the girl, “that one’s for…” She stopped and looked at us. “That one is for the confidential client that’s coming by this evening, remember? Suzy’s is the large tray. It should be on the back prep table.”

  “Oh, of course! So sorry!” The girl disappeared and reappeared a moment later with a tray twice the size of the previous one.

  “Confidential client, eh, Alice? What, did a celebrity move to town, and nobody told us?” We both laughed heartily, but Alice’s laugh was cautious.

  “Oh, no!” She forced a smile. “Well, you know – we have to keep our client’s privacy in mind. That’s not just for doctors and lawyers, ya know. Bakers keep their secrets too!” She shrugged it off and pushed the tray the other baker had brought in to the center of the table before us. “Now, all these are labeled, and I’ve got a stack of forks and napkins right here for you. Suzy, is Brian joining you today?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. He helped pick the venue, and a few details, and now he’s concentrating on the honeymoon while I put the finishing touches on the ceremony. All he asks is that the groom’s cake be some sort of chocolate.” Suzy smiled.

  “Well, there are four varieties there to choose from.” Alice pointed to the far end of the tray where four decadent, brown squares of frosted bliss sat on little white plates. “If you don’t like those, just let me know, and we can whip up something else. I’ll check back with you soon!” Alice disappeared back into the kitchen.

  “Do we really have to taste all of these?” I asked, pretending to be put out at the prospect of eating tons of cake.

  “We do!” Suzy said cheerfully. “But, then we eat salads for the rest of the week!” She laughed.

  Suzy pulled out two sheets of paper with little boxes all over them. “Here,” she said. “We can rate each cake we try then compare notes. Write the name here,” she pointed to the larger spaces, “then rate each one from one to five with five being the best and one being a pass.”
r />   We started sampling and I tried to be strategic, tasting the plainer flavors, like vanilla and white cake first, then moving on to stronger flavors, like chocolate and fruit. They were all delicious and I wasn’t sure we would ever come to a consensus. White cake was traditional, of course, but Alice had told Suzy she could do a different flavor on every layer, with the small white cake layer on top. The tradition was that the top layer, the smallest one, was frozen and saved for the happy couple to eat on their one-year anniversary.

  After eating cake until I thought I might be sick, I finally picked my top four, plus my favorite of the chocolate options for the groom’s cake. “Okay,” Suzy said, “you go first.”

  “Well, they’re all amazing, but I think the Strawberry Shake, Perfectly Peach, All the Rage Raspberry, and then the Angel Wing White for the top. Oh! And Chocoholic for the groom’s cake. How about you?” I asked.

  Suzy squealed. “See? See why we’re best friends?” She flipped her paper over to reveal she had chosen the exact same ones. “Heck, maybe I should be marrying you instead of Brian, you know me so well!” She laughed.

  “First, quit trying to marry me off!” I laughed. “And second, you know blondes aren’t my type.”

  “Oh, I know!” She gave me a knowing grin. “Besides, I don’t think I could ever do better than Brian. I’m so crazy about him, Emma. I feel insanely lucky.”

  “He’s the lucky one,” I said. “You both are.”

  Alice came back and Suzy gave her the selections. We got up to leave, and my phone buzzed.

  BILLY: Where r u? Haven’t seen you in days.

  ME: Wedding duty. Cake tasting

  There was a pause, then he replied.

  BILLY: I like cake

  He followed the words with a frowny-face, and I giggled.

  “Come on,” Suzy said, “we have to go pick up the topper.”

  “Okay, we have to make one stop first, though,” I replied. I turned to the girl behind the counter as we walked through the bakery. “Could I get one Strawberry Shake cupcake and one Chocoholic in a box please? Oh, and one of the Vanilla Rainbow in a separate box, too.”

  “You haven’t had enough cake for one day, I take it?” Suzy asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I’ve had enough cake for a lifetime!” I said, then rethought my statement. “Well, that’s a lie, but yes I’ve had enough for one day. We’re dropping these off at the clinic,” I replied.

  We stopped by the clinic, where I gave the Vanilla Rainbow cupcake to Lana, Billy’s receptionist. She told us to go back to his office to wait for him, and he appeared a few minutes later.

  “Hi, Suz! Emma!” he said cheerfully as he walked in and sat down behind the shiny wooden desk. It looked like every desk in every doctor’s office I’d ever been in. I thought they might be standard issue when a doctor received their medical license.

  “Hi, Billy,” Suzy said. “Is it a two-cupcake kind of day already?” She snickered.

  “Oh, no,” I interjected. “He cuts them in half, and smashes the strawberry half against the chocolate half and eats them together. Because he’s a lunatic. I’m thinking of calling the medical board so they can have his head examined.” I smirked.

  “So says the woman who puts whipped cream on her hot chocolate instead of marshmallows. I don’t know that her judgment can be trusted, Suz,” Billy replied with a grin.

  We chatted for a moment and made plans to all meet for dinner at Chez Jose the next night.

  “I know I’ve been monopolizing her time, but she’ll text you later,” Suzy said nodding in my direction as we stood to leave, “when we get back.”

  “Get back?” I asked.

  “From Springfield. We have to go pick up the cake topper and the silver service.” She winked at me. “Sorry, did I forget to mention? See ya, Billy,” she said, walking out of his office.

  “Is she wearing you out too much, Emma?” Billy asked.

  “No, it’s not so bad. I’m glad I’m here to do it with her.” I shrugged.

  “I’m glad too. Have fun in Springfield.”

  Suzy and I made the drive to Springfield in her SUV, which I had to admit was a darn site comfier than my old farm truck. It took us a little less than an hour, thanks to Suzy’s lead foot. The small boutique where Suzy had ordered the custom cake topper and silver serving set was called Merry, Marry. It was located in the older downtown area. As we checked the GPS for the location, I looked up and saw that the Hotel Vandivort, where I had gone with Billy to the physicians’ conference, was just ahead on the right. I thought about my talk with Dr. Edelson that night, and how much better I had felt about my experiences with spirits after we had spoken. I couldn’t help but grin thinking about that evening.

  “What’s that all about?” Suzy swirled her finger in a circle in front of my face.

  “Huh? What’s what all about?” I replied.

  “You know what! That look.” She cocked an eyebrow up at me.

  “Oh, nothing. Can’t a girl just be generally happy?” I batted my eyelashes at her.

  We soon found the boutique and Suzy did an amazingly good job parallel parking against the curb. I fed the meter and we went inside.

  The topper she had chosen was adorable. She hadn’t yet picked out her dress when she ordered it, but as luck would have it, the dress on the bride figure was very similar to what she had ended up with. The bride had a blonde up-do, with a narrow cascade of curls spilling down the middle of her back. She had blue eyes, like Suzy’s, and a huge smile. The groom figure, too, looked remarkably like Brian with neatly styled blondish-brown hair, and bright green eyes.

  The serving set came from the same boutique, and was engraved exactly to Suzy’s specifications. The hilt of both the knife and the server were engraved with a shield upon which there were several wavy, six-pointed stars. Around the shield was ivy which ran down the handle.

  “The Bailey family crest,” Suzy said proudly, showing me the intricate work.

  After we finished at the boutique, we decided to head over to the Battlefield Mall. I was never much of a mall shopper, really, but it was nice to peruse some stores we didn’t have at home. We ended up getting a mani-pedi, and picking up a few small things before we headed home.

  By the time we started back, I had forgotten all about the mystery of Prudence Huffler’s secret engagement.

  Chapter 6

  The venue at Shaffers’ Farm didn’t have any events before Suzy and Brian’s wedding, so they had already started setting up when we got there on Wednesday afternoon for the final walkthrough Suzy had arranged.

  Donna Shaffer, the co-owner, took us through, showing us where guests would park, where the band would be located, and where the photographer could set up. The wedding party table would be at the far end of the hall, with Suzy and Brian in the center, their parents, and the rest of the wedding party flanking them on either side. There was a table for the cake set up off to the side, and a gift table on the opposite corner.

  Donna pulled me aside while Suzy was in the restroom to show me where the car would pull up after the reception. Brian had asked me to arrange a place for the limo to pick them up – the car to the airport for their honeymoon being arranged as a surprise for Suzy. Everything was in place for a perfect day.

  As we were heading back to town, I got a call from Cindy Green confirming our appointment for Saturday morning. She also let me know that the makeup artist that she sometimes worked with, Julia, would be available as well. I was glad to see that Suzy’s demeanor was finally turning a corner from being nervous to becoming excited.

  We met Billy at Chez Jose for dinner as we had planned. He had ordered an appetizer, which he had half-finished, by the time we got there. As soon as we sat down, we were surprised when Madeline came over with three glasses of champagne, which Billy had ordered for us. He held up his glass and said, “This might be our last meal together with all of us single. So, here’s to you, Suzy, for boldly going where no musketeer has gone
before! All for one!”

  “And one for all!” Suzy and I chimed in, as we clanked the three glasses together.

  Billy threw back the narrow glassful of bubbly quickly and grimaced. “That stuff tastes terrible. I don’t know what you girls see in it.” We all laughed.

  We chatted only briefly before Suzy started doing the run-through of each of our responsibilities on her big day. Billy and I looked at each other. “Can we have the night off, boss? Just this once?” I asked, and he threw his head back and laughed.

  Suzy looked indignant for a moment, then smiled. “Yes, of course,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  The conversation shifted, and we started talking about when Billy and I had met Suzy on our first day of kindergarten. “Remember,” Billy said, “I was drawing with crayons on the easel and you came up and took the red crayon out of my hand and gave me a blue one and said, ‘use this one instead.’ Then Emma came running up to see what we were doing, and you took her by the hand and led her over to the other easel to draw with you.”

  “I had forgotten that!” I said, laughing. “You were even bossing us around back then!”

  “Yep, and you were running to Billy’s side, just in case he needed you. Even back then.” Suzy smirked, and I saw Billy drop his head a little, his cheeks turning pink.

  We were just about to order dessert when Billy’s phone buzzed. “Oh no!” he exclaimed, jumping up and dropping his napkin on the table. “I gotta go! Call you later.” He ran out of the restaurant.

  “Wonder what that was all about,” Suzy said.

  “I don’t know, but I hope everyone is okay.”

  The attic was getting cooler, so I had swapped my typical sleep shorts for full pajamas. I was about to climb into bed when my phone buzzed. It was almost eleven, and I couldn’t imagine anyone calling me so late – at least not anyone in Hillbilly Hollow. It was Billy.