Marion Mysteries: Books 1-3 (A Cozy Mystery Bundle) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Death Visits the Hair Salon

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  An Unexpected Death

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  The Mysterious Sullivan Case

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Death Visits the Hair Salon

  Chapter 1

  Marion Fox had no idea a dead body would be her first customer as she walked with her friend and only employee, Ruth Jones, to their downtown salon, Silver Shears. It was a normal, chilly morning in Chippingville. The sun was shining, the storefronts looked like they always did and the air smelled just a little bit like bacon as nearby cafes fed the breakfast crowd. Marion took a moment to stretch while Ruth fumbled for her keys.

  “You’re quiet this morning,” Marion said, frowning at Ruth.

  “I just couldn’t get to sleep last night.” She rubbed her forehead, sighing. “Andy snores like a wood saw. It’s awful.”

  She held eye contact with Marion for a long moment, who returned it with her arms crossed and her eyebrow up. After a few seconds, the two of them burst into laughter. It was their favorite joke and just like always, they would laugh about it the rest of the day.

  Marion loved Ruth dearly. They had gone to school at different times, came from different generations, sure. But once they started hanging out, they both found the friend they’d been looking for year after year. Marion always had a hard time with how seriously her peers took life, not understanding any level of irony or laughing at themselves, even in a truly silly situation.

  Ruth was the opposite. Almost nothing was a serious matter to the young, vivacious twenty-something, and when Marion found out she also did hair, she snapped her up. Ruth had been so grateful to have a good steady job that the partnership worked out beautifully for both of them and the business was thriving. Today they were booked solid with appointments for highlights, cuts, waxing and nails. Lately it seemed all of Chippingville needed to get beautiful and wanted the Silver Shears salon on the job.

  Still laughing, the two of them walked over to their salon. Marion adored this little place. Her mentor had handed over the keys a couple of years ago and it had been tough at first, but now she was loving every moment of being the boss.

  Ruth fumbled for a moment, turning her big key ring full of jangly keys until she finally found the one she needed. Ruth let out a little sigh at the sight of the key going into the door.

  The door opened into the same old salon and Marion flipped on the lights and both of them froze. There was a horrible smell in the salon, like sour, dark earth filled with worms and maggots. Both of them put their hands over their noses, the stench stopping them in the doorway.

  “What is that?” Ruth choked a little as Marion moved forward, looking for the source. She froze when she realized that in one of their hair dryer chairs was a stiff, unmoving woman. Marion moved slowly, uncertain why the visitor was there.

  “Hello?” No answer. “Can I help you?” Silence. Gathering all her courage, she approached the stranger and reached out to tap her shoulder. As soon as she touched it, the woman’s body fell to the side and Marion shrieked when she saw what was going on.

  There was a reason their new customer wasn’t talking; this woman was dead. Both women could see that her face was stiff with a look of fear and shock and her neck was covered with deep red marks.

  “Oh no. No, no, no, no! What is this? What is going on?” Marion looked all over the salon for something, anything that would explain the corpse sitting in the chair, but there was nothing. Everything looked normal, just like always. She looked back at the dead woman for any indication of what could have happened, but she was just sitting there, being very unhelpful.

  Suddenly there was a knock at the door. “Hi! I’m ready for my highlight. I hope I’m not too early.”

  Marion ran back with Ruth and made sure to stand between the door and the body; they couldn’t let anyone see the dead woman.

  “Oh dear. I’m afraid you are early, Miss Tuppins. Could you please come back in an hour? That would help us so much. Thank you, sweetheart!”

  Miss Tuppins cocked an eyebrow as she was escorted away. “Did you give my appointment to someone else? I made mine three weeks ago!”

  “Don’t worry!” Marion kept a big smile on her face. “Just a minor maintenance issue. We’d love for you to come by in just a little while. If you would please.”

  “Fine,” Miss Tuppins turned to go, a bit miffed about the whole thing. “Keep your secrets. Just so long as I get my hair done.” She walked away and Marion turned from her living customer to go and deal with her dead one.

  Inside, Ruth reached out and touched the face of the dead woman, half expecting the corpse to turn and chomp at her hand. She didn’t move. Her face was so cold that Ruth snatched her hand back. Ruth’s hand was chilled the rest of the day and no matter what she did, it wouldn’t warm up.

  Marion joined her, shaking her head at the scene. “Poor thing,” she said softly. “How could she have broken in?”

  “I don't know,” said Ruth, shrugging.

  “Well, we better call Carter,” Marion let out a big sigh and got her brother on the phone.

  “I know her.” Carter, Marion’s older brother and Chippingville’s police chief, had come down right away when she called. He immediately called for the medical examiner and stayed with Marion while Ruth called all their clients for the day and cancelled appointment after appointment. The sound of her calling, chatting with the other person, became a constant while Marion and her big brother talked.

  “What was her name?”

  “Angela Burr. She had a little coffee shop not far from here. Nice lady; very friendly and generally happy. The boys and I would go in for a break sometimes. I wonder what this was all about.”

  The two of them stared at her, taking in the whole scene, while Ruth dragged herself through another phone call with another client. “Yes, Mrs. Duggerson, I completely understand…”

  Marion felt as if she were moving through a dream. Hoarsely, she asked, “Was she murdered?”

  “I can’t say. The medical examiner will have to take a look at her.” Carter pushed his lips together, considering the possibilities. “These red marks mean she was strangled.”

  Just then, a knock on the door broke their trains of thought and both looked up to see a man in a white uniform with a gurney behind him. Marion recognized him; it was Glenn Steele, the local doctor and man about town. As always, her heart did a little spin at the sight of his bright blue eyes, tousled hair and muscular shoulders. He gave her his winning smile and she ran up to let him inside.

  “Quick,” she whispered, motioning him in, “before anyone sees you.”

  Carter strode to the door and opened it without a hello. Glenn let out a cheery “Officer Fox! Great to see you. May I take a look?” Carter waved him in with a look of disgust on his face.

  “Sis,” he gestur
ed to the man in white, “you remember Glenn Steele, the city’s medical examiner. He has to determine how she died and see if we need to get any warrants, press charges, that sort of thing.”

  “Yes, of course,” she shook his hand, more than happy to have a chance to meet him all over again. Doctor Steele was considered one of the hottest bachelors in town. His charm and great sense of humor always made him fun to be around, even in dark moments like this one. Glenn knew he was good looking and thoroughly enjoyed the looks he got from the local females. He even seemed to revel in the awkward exchange with Marion near the corpse. He took a little stroll to the body and picked up her wrist.

  “Well,” he said, setting her hand down. “It appears we have a deceased woman on our hands. Judging by the marks on her neck,” he turned her head gently from side to side, “she was strangled. Maybe with one of the dryer cables, possibly a belt.” He focused on the dead woman’s neck while the rest of them watched. Carter turned to Marion, his face very serious.

  “She wouldn’t happen to have the keys to your salon, would she?”

  “No! I don’t even know her. Only Ruth and I can unlock the door.”

  “I take it you don’t have security cameras?”

  “No,” said Marion. “Too expensive, I told you.”

  He stood back to take in the whole scene, deep in thought. “Any chance she came in for an appointment yesterday as you were finishing up?”

  “I don’t think so. Oh,” she smacked her forehead. “We can check the appointment book. Ruth? Come here, please, and bring the book.”

  Together, they regarded the big black book full of names, amounts paid, future appointments and searched for Angela’s name. Marion watched Glenn’s face, trying hard not to think about how much she liked his eyes. Carter looked at the style the names were written in, calm and measured, and the amounts of money being exchanged in his sister’s salon. He gave them some cryptic instructions for the body that only a medic could understand. They listened and nodded, asking the occasional question.

  While everyone was distracted, Ruth focused on dead Angela. Through the mirror, Angela’s cold, dead eyes stared back at her. Ruth shuddered at the sight and turned away, but she couldn’t get the look those eyes had given her out of her mind for the rest of the day. They followed her everywhere.

  Chapter 2

  Chippingville was not the sort of place where a person found dead bodies at work. In fact, dead people usually died politely and quietly in hospitals or at home, far away from people they didn’t know and didn’t want to bother. Typical residents were the sort of people who waved a lot and expected waves in return. Death was rarely a topic in this little town.

  Located in an enclave next to the ocean, Chippingville seemed to reflect the waves that lapped at its edges. There was the usual ebb and flow of life; children were born, they grew bigger, they went to the local school and then took summer jobs entertaining or feeding tourists during the high season. They learned to drink at the local bars, got bigger and more mature as they did, until finally they were old enough to get married and have children of their own. As they shrank into old age, they could move into one of the two retirement homes that overlooked the ocean and wait for their new little great-grandchildren to come and visit them.

  Winters were cold, spring was chilly, summer was beautiful and fall took everyone’s breath away as temperatures dipped again and leaves exploded into every shade of orange and red one could hope for. Marion stared out at the fall leaves beyond the window and wondered how on earth this safe, familiar cycle had been broken. She wanted to be helpful, but she also wanted to walk away and forget any of this had ever happened.

  “Sis, I need you to focus.”

  She snapped her head around to focus on her brother, Carter. It was so strange seeing him here at his metal desk, his uniform crisp and adorned with a little clip-on walkie-talkie. She took a deep breath, nodded and looked Carter in the eye and then turned to look at Ruth who was chewing on a pen.

  “Okay, what do you need to know?”

  “Well,” he leaned back in his chair, tapping his pencil’s eraser against his leg, “for starters, I need you to walk me through your whole day yesterday. Don’t leave anything out. Any little detail could be a clue.”

  “Well,” Marion started, “as usual, Ruth picked me up in the morning. We always stop and get a cup of coffee to go at the Sea Cave Cafe before we open up.”

  Carter made some notes. “Anyone see you at the Sea Cave?”

  Ruth jumped in. “Our usual barista, Mary.”

  “What next?”

  Marion kept the thread going. “Then we rode downtown together in my car. We got there, opened the doors and did our usual opening routine. We pulled up the blinds, got the lights on and fired up the computers. Then we checked the register to make sure we have enough change, and go to break any bills at the Co-op if it’s not enough.”

  “Good. Keep going. Do you remember who the first appointment was?”

  Ruth jumped in. “I have the whole book so we can go over it again.” She laid the large, black leather appointment ledger on the desk and opened it to the day before. Together, they talked over each client, the service they had gotten and any odd conversations they could remember.

  “Mrs. Stravides went on and on about the dog shelter as usual. She volunteers there.”

  “Mr. Goodman always wants to talk about his pottery.”

  Shaves, cuts, highlights; the list went on and on. The salon had really come into its own and Marion could see Carter’s eyes glazing over a bit as they related their day detail by detail. She gave his arm a smack.

  “Hey, you said not to leave anything out.”

  He rubbed his face and let out a long breath. “I did say that. Okay, did Ms. Burr come in at any point?”

  The two women thought hard, looking at one another and then at Carter, then down at the floor again. “I just don’t have any memory of her,” Marion’s eyebrows knitted together with worry. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t stress, Marion,” Carter gave her arm a little brotherly squeeze. “Just relax and see if any memories come back to you.”

  Ruth chewed the necklace hanging around her neck, deep in thought. “I do remember her walking by our windows a few times. She would wave, but I honestly don’t think she ever came in. Not once.”

  “Who closed up?”

  “Oh, I had to leave a little early,” Marion offered. “I’d had a packed morning and I was shot. Ruth offered to close up, so I left her to it.”

  “My husband works close-by, so I went to pick him up right at seven.”

  Carter nodded, wrote more notes. “Anyone see you two leave?”

  “Well, anyone working at the Co-op would have seen me go around 6:15,” Marion confirmed.

  “My husband,” Ruth offered. “We went home in his truck.”

  The three of them sat back and regarded each other, blown away by what a normal, ordinary day it had been just before Angela had passed away.

  “Do the two of you have any idea how someone could have gotten ahold of the keys to the salon?”

  Ruth and Marion looked at Carter blankly. “No,” Marion shook her head. “I just assumed someone had broken in. Didn’t they?”

  “No. Angela managed to get in through the door without breaking a thing. Either she had a key or she’s a magician with locks.”

  Marion snapped her head around to look at Ruth, who did the same. What did that mean? How could someone they didn’t even know have access to Silver Shears?

  “I don’t know what to say. We’re the only ones who can open the front door. And we never loan our keys out.” Ruth shook her head no, confirming the story.

  Carter frowned. “Ruth, any chance at all you forgot to lock the door on the way out?” He focused on her eyes and she immediately looked down, embarrassed.

  “It’s possible. I don’t usually lock up alone, so …” Marion patted her h
and, wanting her to forget the slip-up.

  “Does the train to New York ring a bell? Any of your clients mention it?”