William Jarvis - Sky Valley 04 - Murderous Coffee Crumble Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Contents

  Chapter 1 What’s Your Angle?

  Chapter 2 I’ll Take You Down

  Chapter 3 Sewing The Ties

  Chapter 4 Surprise

  Chapter 5 Let’s See Jimmy

  Chapter 6 The Conversation

  Chapter 7 Still Unanswered

  Chapter 8 What Do You Even Want?

  Chapter 9 She’s In The Hospital

  Chapter 10 A Big Puzzle

  Chapter 11 I Need To See You

  Chapter 12 Turn Things Around

  Chapter 13 But Why?

  Chapter 14 The Yearbook

  Chapter 15 She Loved You

  Chapter 16 You Have To Fix This

  Chapter 17 Die, Bitch

  Chapter 18 It’s Over

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Murderous Coffee Crumb

  SkyValley Cozy Mystery Series

  Book 4

  By: William Jarvis

  Yap Kee Chong

  8345 NW 66 ST #B7885

  Miami, FL 33166

  Digital Edition

  Copyright 2015

  All Rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any way or form or by any means whether electronic or mechanical, this means that you cannot record or photocopy any material ideas or tips that are provided in this book.

  Get Notice of Our New Releases Here!

  http://eepurl.com/7jbzn

  Part 1 – Coffee, Cupcakes & Murder

  Part 2 – Beaches & Coffee

  Part 3 – Mayhem At The Mansion

  Check Out Our Other Books

  Wolf In Disguise: Once Bitten

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PH8QGTO

  Wolf In Disguise: Never Forgotten

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHJSF5Q

  Wolf In Disguise: The Past Bites

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHJSF10

  Wolf In Disguise Trilogy

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RD4JH1O

  Forbidden Passion

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHF6YQM

  Second Chance

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHQ6HO0

  Closure

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHF6XZY

  Black & White Trilogy

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHJSF10

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 What’s Your Angle? 6

  Chapter 2 I’ll Take You Down 11

  Chapter 3 Sewing The Ties 14

  Chapter 4 Surprise 20

  Chapter 5 Let’s See Jimmy 24

  Chapter 6 The Conversation 28

  Chapter 7 Still Unanswered 33

  Chapter 8 What Do You Even Want? 36

  Chapter 9 She’s In The Hospital 41

  Chapter 10 A Big Puzzle 46

  Chapter 11 I Need To See You 50

  Chapter 12 Turn Things Around 56

  Chapter 13 But Why? 59

  Chapter 14 The Yearbook 62

  Chapter 15 She Loved You 69

  Chapter 16 You Have To Fix This 73

  Chapter 17 Die, Bitch 76

  Chapter 18 It’s Over 80

  Epilogue 84

  About The Author 87

  CHAPTER 1

  WHAT’S YOUR ANGLE?

  “Emmy,” Lena McMahon said, “Serena’s my daughter.”

  Emmy could not believe what she just heard. She was at the back porch of Frank Holt’s house and things seemed great until suddenly, it felt like Frank was just playing games with her because he told Serena, his wife, whom he first referred to as his “stalker”, that he didn’t actually invite Emmy there and that he didn’t want her to make pastries for the event. It turns out that Serena actually has gluten allergies so she couldn’t eat anything that Emmy made. What irked and hurt Emmy was the fact that Frank lied to him—and is now acting like they didn’t spend lots of time together and that this was all Emmy’s doing.

  And then things got even worse when Lena McMahon, the police officer who was in charge of Annabeth’s and Ruby’s cases, suddenly came to the party. Emmy didn’t know what her business in there was; she didn’t think she was actually committing a crime. Then, Lena told her that she’s Serena’s mother. She’s the mother of the person who could be getting gluten allergies because of all those pastries. It’s like the world has crashed down on Emmy; she didn’t know what to feel anymore.

  “I don’t understand.” Emmy stammered. She was feeling cold through and through; the night was unforgiving and her mind was scattered into pieces. She could not believe that this was happening.

  “I don’t think what I said is puzzling, Miss Byrne.” Lena said. “I told you that Serena’s my daughter. And I think you have to apologize. Why would you even bring your murderous ways to my son-in-law’s party?”

  “Excuse me?” Emmy said, her voice shaking. “I don’t know why you hate me so much, Officer McMahon, but I can assure you that I’m not murderous. And you have to watch your mouth because you’re talking so wrong about me and it’s not helpful.”

  “And who would you tell that to, Emilia?” Lena asked, “You know I run this town.”

  Just then Frank came to the back porch and placed his arm around Serena’s waist. “Wow.” Emmy fake-laughed, “Just…wow.” She went on, “So, now you’re actually admitting that you control all of these? What? You’re behind this, aren’t you? You are behind all of these. What’s your angle, Lena?”

  “Hey,” Frank said, “Show some respect.”

  Emmy bit her lip and took a deep breath. “You’re the one who has no respect, Frank. You told me that Serena was your stalker!” The words felt bitter around her mouth, creating intangible calluses. “And now you’re acting like you don’t know me! You’re acting like I’m crazy!” She laughed and cried at the same time, the pain inching through her every vein. “You planned this, didn’t you?” She looked from Lena to Frank and back again. “You both planned this.” She looked at Frank. “You told me once that you’ll do anything for this mother figure of yours. That’s Lena, isn’t it? You’ll do anything for Lena so you wormed your way into my life, pretended that you liked me and that you were my friend so that one day, it could lead to this. You’re insane!”

  “Look who’s talking.” Serena said. “Never call my husband or my mother insane. Look at you,” she looked at Emmy from head to foot, “You’re the one who looks deranged. You’re the one who seems not to be in proper order so why don’t you just shut it? And remember, I’m the one you tried to kill here.”

  “I would never plan on doing that. I don’t even know you!” She then turned towards Lena again. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Emilia.” She said. “But as far as I am concerned, this just shows us how vulnerable and manipulative you are. This shows us that you don’t care about other people and that it’s so easy for you to worm your way into everyone’s lives and ruin their lives on the run. You won’t be able to do that to my daughter and my son-in-law, not while I’m around.”

  “Oh for heaven’s sake!”

  “Oh, I think your knight in shining armor is here.” Frank said sarcastically.

  Emmy looked back and saw that Daniel was there, coming towards them. He didn’t even care if it was so late in the night or that they practically broke up a couple of months ago. He didn’t care if she was being stupid, or why she wouldn’t call anyone else—he was there; he wanted to be there.

  Daniel didn’t say anything. He suddenly just went towards Frank and punched him in the face.

  “Oh m
y god!” Serena screamed. “Call someone—mom! Mom, do something!”

  Emmy saw that Lena McMahon was taken aback. In fact, for a couple of seconds, it was as if she couldn’t move.

  “Mom!” Serena repeated as Frank held his bloodied nose.

  “No,” Lena said. “Let them go.”

  “What?!” Serena said. Emmy was just as confused as her.

  “Let them be free now.” Lena said. “After all, they have lots of crimes to pay for.”

  “Come on.” Daniel stated and led Emmy away from Lena and her family all the way to his car. She was still cold and nervous. She couldn’t speak the first couple of moments that she was in the car until she found the courage to.

  “Dan,” she said, “thanks.”

  Daniel was already driving. “Don’t mention it.” He said.

  “I’m so sorry.” She was crying now. “I didn’t know whom to call.”

  He took a deep breath. “You know you can always call me.”

  “He’s an asshole.” She said, all the frustrations coming out of her. “I couldn’t believe I ever trusted him.”

  “We all get mistaken sometimes.” He said. “You don’t have to blame yourself for this.” He went on, “And besides, you have to get yourself ready.”

  She was confused all the more. “What do you mean?”

  “There’s something going on at Time for Coffee.”

  “What?”

  He didn’t speak anymore. Actually, he didn’t need to. As they arrived near Time for Coffee, her family’s coffee shop that was closed for a while now, she noticed that there were a throng of people around. She didn’t wait for Daniel to help her get out of the car anymore; she got out by herself and was shocked to see Tripp Meyer, Annabeth’s father, making a speech in front of Time for Coffee, a big tractor by his side.

  CHAPTER 2

  I’LL TAKE YOU DOWN

  Emmy and Daniel ran in front of the group of people who was watching Tripp Meyer speak. She also noticed that Audrina, her bags in tow, and her father were also there. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the time for a proper “Welcome Home” scene for Audrina as it is being overshadowed by Meyer’s drama.

  “Oh, great, the murderess is here.” Tripp said. “Let her see Time for Coffee one last time before we bulldoze it! It should not just be part of the past the way your family will be once you all go to jail! Your boyfriend and that Audrina woman will go to jail, too. It’s funny that she’s back because she won’t stay free for long, you know?”

  Daniel was about to go towards him but Emmy and Audrina pulled him back.

  Emmy stepped forward.

  “Em—“ Her father, Troy, said but Emmy shook his head and went on.

  “I don’t know what you’re doing, Mr. Meyer, but please, it’s over now. Do not disrespect my parents’ business anymore than you have already done. We’ve all gone through hell already.”

  “I don’t care if you go through hell, Emilia.” He said. “I have gone through hell and back after my daughter died and this is all because of you!”

  Emmy laughed. She didn’t care what other people would think anymore. She was tired of being blamed and this night has been exhausting. “Are you drunk?” She asked. “Because I have no idea what you’re playing at, Mr. Meyer, but we all know that someone is in prison right now because he admitted that he killed Annabeth, didn’t he? Or maybe, you know something else? He didn’t really kill Annabeth, did he?”

  “You’re crazy.” Tripp said, but the fear in his voice was evident. “I will tell the police about this. Let’s see how they react.”

  “The police or Lena?” Emmy shot back. “Because as far as I’m concerned, something wrong’s going on here. And you and Lena have a lot to do with it.”

  “That is a very strong accusation.” Tripp said and walked towards Emmy. “I’ll take you down, Emilia. You don’t belong here. You and your family do not belong here.”

  “That’s enough, Tripp.” Troy said. “I don’t know what your business around here is but you have no right to be around Time for Coffee.”

  “Why? Because you’re scared of the secrets that I may find? Because you’re scared that I can tell everyone that you’re capable of killing others the way you killed my daughter? Because you do not want to deal with the fact that another unfortunate incident happened at the resort months ago? Isn’t that enough reason for you to back away from business, Troy?”

  “I have no secrets, Tripp.” He said. “And we didn’t kill your daughter so go away now. Go and don’t ever come back.”

  Tripp laughed. “I won’t bulldoze your beloved shop,” he said, “but be prepared. I have something far bigger coming up. And you’re going down, Troy. You’re certainly going to go down.”

  “We’re not scared of you, Tripp.” Emmy spat. “You should be scared and ashamed of yourself.”

  Tripp shook his head, called his bodyguards and went inside his car and sped away. Emmy then looked at the bunch of people around. “Go away!” She said. “Go away, all of you!”

  People shook their heads and murmured as they all went their separate ways. It was close to midnight but it felt like the day was just starting.

  “Oh well,” Audrina quipped as almost everyone left them, “that was quite a homecoming.”

  CHAPTER 3

  SEWING THE TIES

  “Thanks, Anja.” Daniel said as Anja served them tea when they got home that night. He was sitting next to Emmy who was sitting next to Audrina. Troy was sitting down across them.

  “She’s very pretty.” Audrina quipped and everyone looked at her. Some things have never changed.

  “What?” She said with a playful smile on her face.

  “You’re not her.” Troy said.

  “Oh god.” Emmy said at the awkwardness of it all.

  “Sorry.” Troy said. “I know you’re having a tough night, Em, I didn’t mean to—“

  “No, dad, it’s okay.” Emmy said. “I mean, this is all crazy but it seemed like Audrina came home for you so…”

  “Hey!” Audrina said, “it’s not just about that. I mean, I had a feeling that things are going crazy again and as you can see, I’m right. Plus…that Frank guy seemed sketchy. I wish I called you earlier, Em. I mean, I searched for him everywhere on the web and he has no single profile whatsoever. I found that to be really weird so I decided that maybe, it’s high time for me to get back. And looks like I’m right…what happened at the party?”

  “It was a disaster.” Emmy said. She told them about how Frank acted like he didn’t know her and that he didn’t want her there, and how he lied to her about Serena. She also told them that Serena was Lena McMahon’s daughter.

  “What?!” Audrina said. “Now that’s really weird!”

  “I know.” Emmy said. “I just find it so hard to believe that this is all just a coincidence and that they never planned for this to happen.”

  “Of course it’s not a coincidence.” Daniel said. “The question is, why? Why are they doing this? What’s their angle? Of course, they’re going to deny that there’s something behind this but we’re not stupid. Their angle is what we have to focus on.”

  “Easy, kids.” Troy said. “That’s a strong accusation.”

  “Oh come on, dad.” Emmy said. “They’re trying to bring us down and it’s so obvious!”

  “Lena is a police officer. She probably won’t allow herself to deal with things like this.”

  “You are so naïve!” Audrina said. “Sure, she may be a police officer but can’t you see the evil that’s seeping through her veins, huh? She’s obviously not in the right state of mind. If you’d ask me, I think she’s working with Tripp Meyer on this.”

  “Tripp lost his daughter.” Troy said. “He’s being crazy right now, sure, but why would he work to kill his daughter?”

  “What if that wasn’t necessarily the plan? What if that just happened? I mean, have you forgotten Tripp’s face when Jimmy admitted that he was behind this? Plus, it felt like he wa
s so keen on pinning the blame on Audrina. There’s just something behind this, dad. I’m sure.” Emmy asked. “With how things have panned out in the past couple of months, I’d say I agree with Audrina’s idea. Tripp and Lena are behind this. And we have to find out the reason why.”

  “See?” Audrina said.

  “Still, you can’t go on and say those words out loud because it might make things more dangerous.”

  Emmy sighed. “You are just so nice, dad.” She said. “This is why people work against you.”

  “He lost his daughter.” He said. “I could lose mine, too.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Emmy said, “especially because it feels like you’re no longer hell bent on knowing who’s behind this and why they’re trying to ruin our lives. You’ve given up.”

  “What are you talking about, Emmy?” Troy asked. “I certainly haven’t given up.”

  “That’s surely not what you’re showing right now.”

  “Yeah?” Troy said. “But how would you know that, Emmy? You’ve been gone all those years and I’m here. I’ve been here all along and now I’m trying my best to protect this family and you can’t even see it? Maybe the problem lies in the fact that you can’t see who’s there for you, Emmy, so you fall into the trap of trusting people whom you really shouldn’t trust.”

  “So, now you’re blaming me?” Emmy retorted. “Why can’t you understand that we’re trying to help you, dad?”

  “Em,” Audrina said.

  “No, let her speak.” Troy said. “She never speaks to me anyway.”

  “You never speak to me, too.” Emmy said. “Maybe, if mom was here, she would understand why I think the way I think. She wouldn’t tell me that she’s trying to protect this family because she really would be in the business of doing so.”

  “That’s enough.” Daniel said. “Everyone’s just tired and frustrated right now. We’ll just do what we can to find out why this is happening.”

  “And we should do so as soon as possible or else we’re all going down.” Emmy said. “Sorry, dad, but I don’t think we need to wait until the next person dies or something.”