| Mystery and Crime Fiction posted August 10, 2019 | Chapters: |
3 4 -5- 6... 
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The police go over the house for clues.
A chapter in the book Monica
Monica Chapter 5
by Roxanna Andrews
| Background A narcissistic young woman invades the lives of newly weds, Rob and Sarah. She is determined to have Rob for herself. |
chapter 5
Ending of Chapter 4 - They put their guns on the nightstands and got into bed. Rob pulled Sarah close and held her through the night. They finally fell asleep in the wee hours, but it was a restless sleep. Sarah kept jerking awake, visions of David Lawson in her head.
**************
Early the next morning Rob had his officers out to the house, doing forensics. They didn't have a CSI team. No one was an expert in forensics, but the men took classes every year to keep up on all the latest techniques and discoveries in the world of forensic science.
"I got some prints, we'll run them through fingerprint analysis and see what comes up. I swabbed the computer keys for DNA, but I wouldn't get my hopes over that. It's going to be mixed with yours and Sarah's. I'll send it off to Bozeman DNA lab. It will take weeks, maybe months to come back. Hopefully, the prints will tell us something," Martin Robinson told Rob.
Martin was one of Rob's best men, well-liked and respected. He had the occasional problem with the locals. He was black and some of the older ranchers didn't like a black man telling them what to do, but those same ranchers asked for Martin when cattle were missing. He was an excellent tracker.
"Thanks, Martin. Let me know as soon as you find out anything." Rob gave him a pat on the back. "I meant to ask about the woman who came to the station yesterday. She told me there was suspicious stuff happening around her house. Did you send someone over to check it out?"
"No one reported anything yesterday. I was on duty from one to eight and no lady came in."
"Really? She was young, attractive, drove a Jag. She didn't report anything?"
Martin shook his head. "I didn't see anyone like that. It was so boring yesterday, I'd have remembered an attractive young woman."
"I guess she changed her mind. That's strange."
***
Sarah had gone to work at the bakery. She wanted to stay at the house, but Rob wouldn't let her. "You're not a cop anymore, remember. Go to work. I'll come by later, but we won't know anything for a while."
***
"Hi." Sarah's cousin, Nadine, said as Sarah walked into the bakery, causing the bell over the door to ring. She gave her a big hug. "Welcome home. How was Hawaii?"
"It was beautiful. We had a wonderful time. Our condo was right on the beach. It was amazing."
"I'm trying to talk Kenny into taking me there for our tenth anniversary. I think I've earned it." She gave Sarah a big smile. "I'm kidding. Kenny's great, wouldn't trade him for Tom Cruise. Brad Pitt, maybe, but not Tom."
Sarah laughed. "I'm not going to tell him you said that."
"Is Rob back at work?"
"He is. I'm not sure Big Sky is going to be exciting enough for him. He's used to bigger cases. But being a Sheriff will look good on his resume."
"No, there's not too much excitement in Big Sky. We have had a few murders, but I'm not going to wish for one just to keep Rob busy."
"No, don't do that. I want to thank you for the great job you and Sadie did while I was gone. I came in yesterday and the shop looked great. I saw we made a profit, and we have a party booked."
"You can thank your grandma's cinnamon rolls for the profit. The party is a kid's birthday and they want cupcakes instead of a cake."
"Sounds easy enough. You know, we had a weird thing happen at the house last night."
"Oh yeah, what do you mean?" Nadine walked back and forth between cupboards and the large island where they mixed up all the baked goods. She was getting a large batch of dough ready for cinnamon rolls. She punched down the raised dough in one huge bowl to raise a second time and dumped out the ready dough. Sarah watched as she rolled it out on the parchment-covered marble and slathered it in melted butter. Next, she spread the cinnamon mixture over it.
"That smells so good," Sarah commented.
"Doesn't it. The cinnamon rolls have become very popular. Words getting out. I've had to double the batches. Anyway, what about the weird stuff happening at your house?"
"Last night I noticed the picture of Rob and I was missing off my nightstand. I can't find it anywhere. We looked through the house to see if anything else was missing. Nothing was gone except another picture and a knife from my magnetic board in the kitchen. But stuff had been rearranged. It freaked me out."
Nadine looked at her with a startled expression.
"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Well, there were some weird rumors about that house."
"What do you mean?"
"The builders said they would come in the morning and find their equipment moved, footprints in the sawdust that weren't the construction workers. Nothing was ever taken, but there were things written on the walls."
"What kind of things?"
"YOU BELONG TO ME. The construction guys thought someone just wanted to buy the house. But it was still weird."
"Yeah, that is weird. No one told us about it." Sarah had a worried look on her face. "It's like deja vu."
Rob stopped by the bakery on his way to the station. Sarah gave him a dozen cinnamon rolls to take back to the men.
"The guys are going to be so happy that I'm married to a baker."
"Nadine told me some things about the house."
Rob could see Sarah was more upset now than when she left the house. "Like what?"
She told him what Nadine had told her. "I don't like it that they never said a word to us about this. Maybe someone wanted the house and are getting back at us for buying it."
"We took fingerprints and swabbed for DNA, but it takes time to get that back. We'll see if the fingerprints tell us anything. Martin had the guys look all around outside to see if there are any footprints, but there's none. Martin thinks they got in by the front door."
"How? The lock didn't look tampered with. They had a key?" Sarah's eyes widened.
"I'm calling the real-estate agent to see if anyone could have a key. They usually change the locks right after a house sells, so even if another agent had a key, they shouldn't be able to use it. Maybe they didn't change the locks. I'll look into it. Try not to worry." Rob held her a minute, gave her a kiss and left.
***
"Miss Landers?"
"Lonnie?" Monica said on the other end of the phone. "What do you want?"
"The police were here. They're asking if there was any way someone could have gotten a key to Mitchell's house." The voice on the other end sounded panicked.
"Mr. McGovern, there's no need to panic. I didn't do anything. Nothing was taken...do you want more money? Is that what this is about?"
"Maybe you should leave town. Sooner or later they're going to find out it was you."
Monica kept her cool. "Not if you don't say anything. Why don't we meet, say, at nine tonight at the park? I'll make it very worth your while to keep your mouth shut about this."
Lonnie McGovern's hand shook as he held the phone. If he could get enough money, he could maybe leave town for a while until it all blew over. Why did he give her a key? He was a sucker for a pretty face and for the money she offered. He had gambling debts.
He cleared his throat, but his voice still came out in a squeak. "Okay, I'll meet you, but no more going in that house." He was so stupid. Why did he give her that key?
"Don't worry, Lonnie. Everything will be fine. Meet me in the park at nine."
He agreed and hung up. He paced his office, nervous and worried about getting caught. It had been the Sheriff's house, after all. He'd done some shady things in his life, but he was getting too old for this kind of stress.
Monica paced as well. She was going to have to get rid of Lonnie. She knew she shouldn't have trusted him. He was a little weasel of a man with no backbone at all. She hoped he'd keep it together until tonight.
Ending of Chapter 4 - They put their guns on the nightstands and got into bed. Rob pulled Sarah close and held her through the night. They finally fell asleep in the wee hours, but it was a restless sleep. Sarah kept jerking awake, visions of David Lawson in her head.
**************
Early the next morning Rob had his officers out to the house, doing forensics. They didn't have a CSI team. No one was an expert in forensics, but the men took classes every year to keep up on all the latest techniques and discoveries in the world of forensic science.
"I got some prints, we'll run them through fingerprint analysis and see what comes up. I swabbed the computer keys for DNA, but I wouldn't get my hopes over that. It's going to be mixed with yours and Sarah's. I'll send it off to Bozeman DNA lab. It will take weeks, maybe months to come back. Hopefully, the prints will tell us something," Martin Robinson told Rob.
Martin was one of Rob's best men, well-liked and respected. He had the occasional problem with the locals. He was black and some of the older ranchers didn't like a black man telling them what to do, but those same ranchers asked for Martin when cattle were missing. He was an excellent tracker.
"Thanks, Martin. Let me know as soon as you find out anything." Rob gave him a pat on the back. "I meant to ask about the woman who came to the station yesterday. She told me there was suspicious stuff happening around her house. Did you send someone over to check it out?"
"No one reported anything yesterday. I was on duty from one to eight and no lady came in."
"Really? She was young, attractive, drove a Jag. She didn't report anything?"
Martin shook his head. "I didn't see anyone like that. It was so boring yesterday, I'd have remembered an attractive young woman."
"I guess she changed her mind. That's strange."
***
Sarah had gone to work at the bakery. She wanted to stay at the house, but Rob wouldn't let her. "You're not a cop anymore, remember. Go to work. I'll come by later, but we won't know anything for a while."
***
"Hi." Sarah's cousin, Nadine, said as Sarah walked into the bakery, causing the bell over the door to ring. She gave her a big hug. "Welcome home. How was Hawaii?"
"It was beautiful. We had a wonderful time. Our condo was right on the beach. It was amazing."
"I'm trying to talk Kenny into taking me there for our tenth anniversary. I think I've earned it." She gave Sarah a big smile. "I'm kidding. Kenny's great, wouldn't trade him for Tom Cruise. Brad Pitt, maybe, but not Tom."
Sarah laughed. "I'm not going to tell him you said that."
"Is Rob back at work?"
"He is. I'm not sure Big Sky is going to be exciting enough for him. He's used to bigger cases. But being a Sheriff will look good on his resume."
"No, there's not too much excitement in Big Sky. We have had a few murders, but I'm not going to wish for one just to keep Rob busy."
"No, don't do that. I want to thank you for the great job you and Sadie did while I was gone. I came in yesterday and the shop looked great. I saw we made a profit, and we have a party booked."
"You can thank your grandma's cinnamon rolls for the profit. The party is a kid's birthday and they want cupcakes instead of a cake."
"Sounds easy enough. You know, we had a weird thing happen at the house last night."
"Oh yeah, what do you mean?" Nadine walked back and forth between cupboards and the large island where they mixed up all the baked goods. She was getting a large batch of dough ready for cinnamon rolls. She punched down the raised dough in one huge bowl to raise a second time and dumped out the ready dough. Sarah watched as she rolled it out on the parchment-covered marble and slathered it in melted butter. Next, she spread the cinnamon mixture over it.
"That smells so good," Sarah commented.
"Doesn't it. The cinnamon rolls have become very popular. Words getting out. I've had to double the batches. Anyway, what about the weird stuff happening at your house?"
"Last night I noticed the picture of Rob and I was missing off my nightstand. I can't find it anywhere. We looked through the house to see if anything else was missing. Nothing was gone except another picture and a knife from my magnetic board in the kitchen. But stuff had been rearranged. It freaked me out."
Nadine looked at her with a startled expression.
"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Well, there were some weird rumors about that house."
"What do you mean?"
"The builders said they would come in the morning and find their equipment moved, footprints in the sawdust that weren't the construction workers. Nothing was ever taken, but there were things written on the walls."
"What kind of things?"
"YOU BELONG TO ME. The construction guys thought someone just wanted to buy the house. But it was still weird."
"Yeah, that is weird. No one told us about it." Sarah had a worried look on her face. "It's like deja vu."
Rob stopped by the bakery on his way to the station. Sarah gave him a dozen cinnamon rolls to take back to the men.
"The guys are going to be so happy that I'm married to a baker."
"Nadine told me some things about the house."
Rob could see Sarah was more upset now than when she left the house. "Like what?"
She told him what Nadine had told her. "I don't like it that they never said a word to us about this. Maybe someone wanted the house and are getting back at us for buying it."
"We took fingerprints and swabbed for DNA, but it takes time to get that back. We'll see if the fingerprints tell us anything. Martin had the guys look all around outside to see if there are any footprints, but there's none. Martin thinks they got in by the front door."
"How? The lock didn't look tampered with. They had a key?" Sarah's eyes widened.
"I'm calling the real-estate agent to see if anyone could have a key. They usually change the locks right after a house sells, so even if another agent had a key, they shouldn't be able to use it. Maybe they didn't change the locks. I'll look into it. Try not to worry." Rob held her a minute, gave her a kiss and left.
***
"Miss Landers?"
"Lonnie?" Monica said on the other end of the phone. "What do you want?"
"The police were here. They're asking if there was any way someone could have gotten a key to Mitchell's house." The voice on the other end sounded panicked.
"Mr. McGovern, there's no need to panic. I didn't do anything. Nothing was taken...do you want more money? Is that what this is about?"
"Maybe you should leave town. Sooner or later they're going to find out it was you."
Monica kept her cool. "Not if you don't say anything. Why don't we meet, say, at nine tonight at the park? I'll make it very worth your while to keep your mouth shut about this."
Lonnie McGovern's hand shook as he held the phone. If he could get enough money, he could maybe leave town for a while until it all blew over. Why did he give her a key? He was a sucker for a pretty face and for the money she offered. He had gambling debts.
He cleared his throat, but his voice still came out in a squeak. "Okay, I'll meet you, but no more going in that house." He was so stupid. Why did he give her that key?
"Don't worry, Lonnie. Everything will be fine. Meet me in the park at nine."
He agreed and hung up. He paced his office, nervous and worried about getting caught. It had been the Sheriff's house, after all. He'd done some shady things in his life, but he was getting too old for this kind of stress.
Monica paced as well. She was going to have to get rid of Lonnie. She knew she shouldn't have trusted him. He was a little weasel of a man with no backbone at all. She hoped he'd keep it together until tonight.
Monica-a spoiled narcissist obssessed with Rob
Rob Mitchell-Sheriff of Big Sky, Sarah's husband
Sarah Mitchell-Wife of Rob, ex-detective, now a bakery owner
Martin Robinson - Sheriff's Deputy
Nadine-Sarah's cousin and employee at the bakery
Sadie-Asst Baker, part-time employee
Lonnie McGovern-builder's asst.
Nathan-Sarah's brother
Janelle-Nathan's wife
David Lawson-Sarah's stalker, now deceased.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Rob Mitchell-Sheriff of Big Sky, Sarah's husband
Sarah Mitchell-Wife of Rob, ex-detective, now a bakery owner
Martin Robinson - Sheriff's Deputy
Nadine-Sarah's cousin and employee at the bakery
Sadie-Asst Baker, part-time employee
Lonnie McGovern-builder's asst.
Nathan-Sarah's brother
Janelle-Nathan's wife
David Lawson-Sarah's stalker, now deceased.
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