Murder on Thanksgiving Read online

  Murder on Thanksgiving

  A Ridgeway Rescue Mystery

  P. Creeden

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  About the Author

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  Murder on Thanksgiving © 2019 P. Creeden

  Edited by Marcy Rachel

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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  Chapter 1

  When Emma Right received the invitation to have Thanksgiving dinner at her mother’s new home in Richmond, she hesitated. But her mother wasn’t one to let silence slip by or even take no for an answer.

  “Emma? Did you hear me? Can you come?” she asked on the other end of the line.

  Emma looked down at Molly who lay on the kitchen floor sprawled out right next to the space heater by the stove. “I’m not sure, Mom. I’d need to ask Dad if he could watch Molly for me.”

  “Molly? You mean that cute little rescue puppy you’re training for therapy? Bring her, please!” Her mother practically squealed in her ear.

  Emma frowned. She tried to come up with another excuse but couldn’t think of one. Her father and Macy were going to have a small Thanksgiving together. She’d already been invited to come but didn’t want to intrude on their private time since they hadn’t really gotten as much time to spend with only each other around holidays since they were married. Colby was likely spending the holiday with his family. She was thinking about just eating a turkey TV dinner or getting something she could warm up easily from the diner’s Thanksgiving brunch and then watching the parade all morning and switching to Christmas movies all afternoon and evening. Spending the day in her sweats on the couch was mighty appealing.

  But now she’d have to get dressed and drive about a hundred miles just to eat a slightly awkward dinner with her mother and her stepsiblings. This time, her apparent silence meant assent, and honestly, she’d come, since she had no reason to decline.

  “Be here by four o’clock, okay. Earlier if you can,” her mother said. “I can’t wait to see you and that cute puppy of yours. Drive safe, honey. Love you.”

  And then she hung up, all while Emma just sat there dumbly on the couch with her movie paused on her laptop. Slowly, she set her cell phone down on the footstool in front of her and closed the laptop. All her plans had been changed by one, simple phone call with her mother. She picked up the pillow next to her and shoved it against her face while she screamed. The muffled, high pitched noise was enough that Molly was soon on the couch with her, tackling her with licks and cuddles. Emma giggled as she pulled the pillow from her face and allowed the puppy to console her. “I’m fine, girl. I’m all right. Thank you for your help.”

  The dog settled down on the couch with her but continued to stare at her as if uncertain she shouldn’t continue with her love attack. Emma laughed and shook her head at the Saint Bernard.

  “You know this couch really isn’t big enough for the two of us,” she said as she pulled the dog’s claws out from digging at the side of her thigh. Then she sighed and gave the big white fluffiness a hug. “If nothing else, you’ll be with me.”

  She imagined that the dog would help temper some of the rest of the family’s judgments of her. Maybe they wouldn’t notice that she’d gained a few extra pounds or shake their heads at her because she didn’t visit often enough. Or that she didn’t work harder to maintain a relationship with her stepsiblings. Maybe they wouldn’t find some other way to insult her because Molly would distract them. Emma ran her fingers through Molly’s long fur, taking comfort in the warmth of the touch. Having Molly with her would be a huge blessing, Emma was sure. And if nothing else, the puppy would do her job as a comfort animal for Emma’s anxiety.

  After letting out a slow breath, Emma picked up her phone and texted her best friend, Rachel. Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?

  After a moment, the text bubble came up, and Rachel responded. I’m meeting Thomas’s parents in D.C. Eek. Nervous.

  You’ll be fine, I’m sure. Everyone loves you. And so will Thomas’s parents.

  Thank you for the vote of confidence. What are you doing?

  My mom wants me to come to their house for the day.

  That’s good! You’ve always complained that she didn’t want to spend much time with you. It’s good she wants to now, right?

  Emma ran her fingers through Molly’s warm fur again. It should have been good. When she was a teenager, she would have jumped at the chance to spend time at her mother’s for Thanksgiving. When she was younger, even more so. But now Emma had kind of gotten used to the fact that she wouldn’t. Her mother usually went on vacations with her new family during the holiday. Like the last few years, they’d gone to the Bahamas. Now that they were staying home for the day, her mother finally invited her to come. But here Emma was, about to turn twenty-one, and unsure about whether she wanted to spend the holiday doing something she hadn’t planned on.

  Or maybe not? Rachel asked since Emma hadn’t answered for a few minutes.

  No, it’s good, Emma finally answered. And she meant it. Maybe it will be a good time for me to catch up with my stepsisters and spend time with Mom. I never see her.

  Great, but don’t let anything get you down. Don’t let people be toxic to you. If you find that the environment is hostile in any way, just make an excuse and get out of there. You can always explain later, even though you don’t owe anyone an explanation.

  Emma smiled as she read the text message. Rachel was always supportive and knew just what to say. In reply, Emma just typed, Thank you.

  It was all she needed to say. Sometimes having the one strong friend who understood what she was going through and gave good advice was all that was needed. Emma sighed, hugged the puppy close to her and closed her eyes. No matter what her family threw at her, she’d handle it. And Molly would be there to help.

  Chapter 2

  ”Are you sure you don’t want to leave Molly here with me?” Sheriff Wright said as Emma started loading the puppy in the back of her SUV. “Macy and I don’t mind babysitting her. I know your mother never really liked pets in the house before.”

  Emma frowned. Her dad was right, but right now, she honestly needed Molly to stay with her if she was going to make it through the next several hours. “Mom was the one who suggested I bring her. It will be fine.”

  He lifted a brow at that but nodded. “Okay... that’s surprising.”

  “I know,” Emma said with a shrug as she pushed the hatch of the SUV closed with Molly inside.
“I was surprised too, at first, but I guess Mom has decided she wants to see me for the holiday no matter what the cost. It’s why I couldn’t say no, even after turning your invitation down.”

  “Oh, no,” her dad shook his head. “Don’t worry about that at all. We’re fine. Just worry about yourself. Drive safely.”

  “I will,” Emma said and then stepped into his open arms. She gave him a big hug and then released him started walking to the front of the vehicle. For some reason, emotion clogged her throat a bit. Unsure why she felt a bit nostalgic and a bit unsettled, she got into the front seat of her vehicle and took a deep breath before starting the engine. She looked in the rear-view mirror at Molly whose big brown eyes peered at her over the back seat. Even just looking at the puppy made Emma made her feel calmer. Her father waved from the front door of his house and then headed inside.

  After setting up her GPS, she put the truck in reverse and backed out onto the street. A bit of rain had come overnight, but luckily it had stopped and the sky was already opening up and showing some blue. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees on both sides of the street in Ridgeway. The few leaves that remained hanging to the branches were brown or orange in color. Soft country music played on the radio while Emma calmly made her way down the street, heading for highway I-64 when she swung into the passing lane to go around someone who had their turn signal on. That’s when Emma suddenly realized that someone’s daytime running headlights were heading directly for her. Her breath caught in her throat. She was right next to the car in the other lane, so she couldn’t just swing back over to get away. Instead, she slammed her brakes and jerked the steering wheel to get behind the car that had been turning.

  The sudden motion of her car combined with the still wet roadway from the rain the night before sent Emma’s SUV into a spin. She ended up doing a complete 180 and stopping in the shoulder, facing oncoming traffic. Her heart beat painfully in her chest. Ringing filled her ears. She took an account of herself and thanked God that she wasn’t injured nor did the car hit anything when it spun or land in the ditch. Then she panicked and unclicked her seat belt. “Molly!”

  The car that had been driving in her lane continued slowly and ended up in the ditch on the side of the road not far from where Emma had stopped. Another car in the distance swung a U-turn from the other side of the road and started back this way. Emma yanked open her door and then stopped dead. She didn’t know whether to head toward the back to check on Molly, her sole responsibility, or to go forward and check on the human driver of the car sitting in the ditch. She took two steps toward the driver when the other car pulled up behind that one and a man rushed toward the vehicle. With a breath of relief, Emma rushed to the back of her SUV and opened the hatch. Molly was lying on the floor, her tail wagging.

  Tears stung the backs of her eyes. “Molly! Are you okay, girl?”

  The dog hopped to her feet and came over toward Emma. Relieved, Emma hugged the Saint Bernard and then checked her over for any obvious injuries. No blood. No cries no matter where Emma touched her. Still Emma hooked the leash to her collar and then had Molly get down from the back so she could see the puppy walk a bit to make sure she was truly okay. As soon as the other vehicle came into her view, Emma dialed the sheriff’s office on her phone and immediately connected with dispatch. “There’s been an accident here on Main Street just past the end of town center. You might have heard already?”

  “I did!” the dispatcher said. “Colby’s on his way.”

  At the mere mention of his name, Emma’s heart leapt. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “Thank you! I’ll stay here to be a witness, too.”

  “All right. I’ll let him know.”

  “Thank you,” Emma said as she hung up.

  Slowly, Emma started toward the car that was still in the ditch and the person who had parked just beyond it. Her heart continued to race in her chest as she gripped the leash and watched for Molly to show her any sign of injury while they walked. So far, so good. The wind about them had picked up considerably, making Emma pull her jacket a bit tighter and zip it up higher. The roadways were generally clear, as they often were on holidays. No other cars had passed by yet. As she approached the wrecked car, she noticed that the person sitting in the driver’s seat was slumped over to the side, their head against the glass on the side door. Their airbag hadn’t deployed, because it had been a somewhat slow-moving accident, and they had landed in the ditch without particularly hitting anything.

  The driver of the other vehicle showed up from behind the car in the ditch. Emma blinked. The man carried a baseball bat. Shocked, she cried out, “Hey! What are you doing?”

  But instead of answering or even acknowledging that she’d spoken, he hefted the bat as soon as he reached the passenger’s side door and hit the windshield with it.

  Chapter 3

  Emma froze in her tracks, her heart suddenly picking up pace for a whole new reason. What was this man doing with the baseball bat, and was he a danger to the person in the vehicle? Was he a danger to Emma?

  The windshield cracked across the whole thing, but where the bat had struck, a hole had formed, and tiny particles of glass went flying into and out of the vehicle. The man hit the windshield again, and Emma found herself wanting to back away. She gripped her phone, preparing to dial the sheriff’s office again when the familiar blue lights shined over the next hill and the sound of the siren reached them. Colby was on his way and when he got here, he’d take care of this man. In the meantime, she kept her distance.

  But then the man dropped the bat on the ground and turned toward her, a distraught look on his face. “Help me! Can you please help?”

  The man was about six feet tall, with dark hair and glasses, tears streaked down his red cheeks. Emma swallowed hard. Her feet involuntarily started forward. “What’s going on? Is she okay?”

  The man shook his head. “It’s Patricia, my fiancé. I was supposed to meet her here in Ridgeway, but she was running late and wasn’t answering her cell phone. I started to make my way out of town toward Culpeper when I saw this. It looked like her car, so I stopped. How... What happened? Help me get her out of the car?”

  Emma came closer, still unsure of what was going on. His story seemed strange and his actions even stranger. However, Emma was the one who’d witnessed the accident, and knew that the driver had been on the wrong side of the road moments before this had happened. When she came closer to the car, she peered in at the woman who seemed uninjured, but had yet to move.

  The man called into the car, “Patricia, I’m here. Everything is going to be okay now.”

  Then he reached around into the windshield and pulled the door handle on the passenger side door. At the same time, Colby’s siren came to an end as he approached and parked his squad car between the wrecked one and Emma’s. Colby hopped out of the door, his eyes wide. “Emma! What happened? Are you okay?”

  Emma nodded, tears suddenly stinging the backs of her eyes at her relief of Colby’s presence. She’d never wanted so badly just to hug him and hold him tight to her. But instead, she pointed toward the wrecked vehicle. “Help! Even though the car was going less than fifteen miles an hour when it went into the ditch, she’s not moving. I think she’s hurt.”

  He nodded, his eyes suddenly growing serious as they landed on the man who was climbing into the passenger side of the vehicle as the vehicle’s engine cut off. “Wait a moment! Please step back. If she’s injured, you can make it worse by moving her.

  The man froze after shutting off the engine and backed out of the vehicle. Wrinkles formed over his brows, and he pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. “I don’t know what’s wrong. Patricia’s not moving. She’s not responding when I talk to her.”

  “You know the driver?” Colby asked just as he leaned to the side and called into his radio to dispatch. “Send an ambulance along with the tow truck, it seems we have an injured driver, Coleen.”

  “10-4,” the feminin
e voice on the other end of the line answered.

  “She’s my fiancé. I was meeting her at the park in Ridgeway so I could show her to my new place. She was late and not answering her cell phone so I drove out to see if I could find her. I found her like this.” The man began wringing his hands and leaning toward the vehicle as if he wanted to go back in and try to get his fiancé out. “There’s something wrong.”

  “Her name?” Colby asked as he came around to the passenger side of the vehicle.

  “Patricia Stone,” the man answered, taking a step back.

  Colby leaned into the open door of the vehicle, “Miss Stone? Are you all right? Ma’am?”

  From where Emma stood, holding Molly’s leash, she could tell the woman still hadn’t moved. Molly sat on Emma’s feet, leaning her body against Emma’s legs, whining up at her. Emma patted the puppy on the head and scratched her behind the ears. The warmth of Molly’s body against Emma’s legs helped her endure as the wind blew. She regretted having worn a sweater dress and tights, but she’d been planning on spending most of the day indoors at the time when she’d chosen what to wear.

  After calling into the vehicle again, Colby climbed over the seat and gave the woman a gentle shake. Still the woman didn’t wake. He covered his mouth with his hand and then, slowly, moved his other hand down the woman’s arm and held her wrist. Emma swallowed again as she watched. He was taking a pulse. Her heart dropped toward her stomach the few seconds that she waited. Somehow, she got a bad feeling about this. Colby reached over the woman and unlocked the driver’s side door to the car. Colby climbed out of the vehicle with a frown on his lips, and Emma knew what the answer was even before he met eyes with her and slowly shook his head. He rushed toward the other side of the vehicle.